JP4352351B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus typified by a printer, an opening and an openable / closable cover that covers the opening are provided on the front side of the housing, and the removable component that is disposed inside the housing by opening the cover There is provided a so-called front access type printer for attaching and detaching (for example, process cartridge). This method is easy to handle, and some have been put to practical use.
JP 2002-111243 A

  Nowadays, in addition to ease of handling, there is a need for thinning and miniaturization. When trying to meet such needs for thinning and miniaturization, the layout is limited. Therefore, when the conventional configuration is adopted as it is, when a removable part such as a process cartridge is replaced, the gripping part of the removable part is There are problems that it becomes difficult to grip, or that an operation unit such as a lever is difficult to operate when the operation unit is inside the printer. For example, when the device is configured to have a low height, it is necessary to set the opening height of the opening provided on the front surface side low, or to set the position of the opening itself low overall. This results in a configuration that is difficult to access from the front side.

On the other hand, the cover is configured to include not only the front surface portion of the housing but also the paper placement portion provided on the upper surface side, and the front side of the printer and the vicinity of the front end of the paper placement portion are both opened by opening the cover. A configuration in which the gripping portion of the process cartridge is exposed on the upper front end side of the printer can be considered. However, when the opening is increased in this way, access to the process cartridge is facilitated, but on the other hand, there is a concern that the support surface of the paper is reduced and the support of the paper becomes unstable.
The present invention has been made based on the above circumstances, and in an image forming apparatus in which an opening is provided in a housing and a detachable part can be taken in and out through the opening, not only the front side but also the upper surface. An object of the present invention is to provide a configuration in which an opening is provided on the side so that the inside of the housing can be easily accessed, while a paper can be stably supported by the top surface of the housing.

As means for achieving the above object, the invention of claim 1 is a paper feed cassette for storing paper, an image forming means for forming an image on paper fed from the paper feed cassette, and the paper feed. A casing for storing the cassette and the image forming unit, a sheet placing unit for placing a sheet on which an image is formed by the image forming unit on the upper surface of the casing, and a detachable in the casing An opening configured to open across the front side and the top side of the casing when the one end side of the casing is the front side and the opposite side is the rear side in order to attach and detach the detachable parts provided And a front side cover portion that is configured to cover the front side of the opening and that can be opened and closed on the main body of the housing, and the paper placement portion is disposed on the rear side The paper placement unit main body and the front side of the paper placement unit It is configured to cover at least the front side of the upper surface of the unit, and can be opened and closed to the main body of the housing so that the front end is a free end and rotates about a horizontal axis set on the rear end side. The upper surface side cover portion is provided, and the paper is configured to be placed on the paper placement portion main body and the upper surface side cover portion in a state where the opening portion is released. Features.
In the present invention, the paper placing portion main body means a portion obtained by removing the upper surface side cover portion from the paper placing portion.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, a grip portion for the detachable component is arranged at a position below the opening area on the upper surface side of the opening portion.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the other opening operation is performed in conjunction with the opening operation of either the front surface side cover portion or the upper surface side cover portion. An opening operation interlocking mechanism is provided.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the other closing operation is performed in conjunction with the closing operation of either the front surface side cover portion or the upper surface side cover portion. It is characterized by having a closing motion interlocking mechanism for performing the motion.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the front cover portion has an upper end as a free end, and the lower end side has a horizontal axis as a rotation center. As described above, the main body of the housing is rotatably supported.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the front side cover portion is configured to be slidable back and forth.

<Invention of Claim 1>
According to the configuration of the first aspect, since a part of the opening is provided not only on the front surface side but also on the upper surface side, it becomes easy to access the inside of the housing, while the upper surface side is open. Even if it exists, it becomes the structure which can support a sheet | seat stably by a part of sheet | seat mounting part main body.

<Invention of Claim 2>
According to the configuration of the second aspect, in the opening formed so as to extend over the upper surface side and the front surface side, the grip portion is disposed at a position below the opening region on the upper surface side, so that the structure can be easily accessed from above. It becomes.

<Invention of Claim 3>
According to the configuration of claim 3, since the other opening operation is performed in conjunction with the opening operation of one of the front side cover portion or the upper surface side cover portion, the other opening operation can be omitted, and the operation It becomes the structure excellent in property.

<Invention of Claim 4>
According to the configuration of claim 4, since the other closing operation is performed in conjunction with the closing operation of either the front side cover portion or the upper surface side cover portion, the other closing operation can be omitted, and the operation It becomes the structure excellent in property.

<Invention of Claim 5>
According to the configuration of the fifth aspect, the front side cover portion is opened and closed by rotation, and the upper side is opened and closed in conjunction with the rotation. Therefore, both the front side and the upper side can be opened and closed with a simple operation.

<Invention of Claim 6>
According to the structure of Claim 6, since the front side cover part is comprised so that a slide is possible, it becomes easy to perform operation.

<Reference Example 1>
A first reference example in which the image forming apparatus is applied to a laser beam printer will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of this reference example, and FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of this reference example.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the laser beam printer 1 includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing 2, and a sheet feeding cassette 10 in which stacked sheets are stored in a lower portion of the housing 2 and includes a handle 13. Is installed. The paper feed cassette 10 is detachable and can be removed by pulling it out in the front direction of the printer 1 (the direction of arrow P in FIG. 2). The paper feeding cassette 10 is provided with a paper pressing plate (not shown) urged upward by a pressing spring (not shown), and the uppermost sheet stacked on the paper pressing plate is the printer 1. Is provided so as to come into contact with a paper feed roller 14 that rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow, and only one sheet is separated and fed by the action of the separation pad 15.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an operation unit 91 including an operation button 91a and an LED 91b and an insertion port 92 (FIG. 2) for inserting manual paper are provided on the front surface of the printer 1.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a process cartridge 20 shown in FIG. The process cartridge 20 is also detachable in the same manner as the paper feed cassette 10 and is pulled out in the arrow Q direction during maintenance such as toner replacement. The process cartridge 20 includes a photosensitive drum 21 that carries a toner image, a transfer roller 22 that transfers the toner image carried by the photosensitive drum 21 to a sheet, and a corona discharge to cause the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 to have a positive potential. A photosensitive cartridge 20A having a scorotron charger 28 for charging the toner, a developer chamber 24 (FIG. 2) for containing toner, a developing roller 25 for supplying toner to the photosensitive drum 21, and a toner for supplying the toner to the developing roller 25. And a developing cartridge 20B having a supply roller 27. The developer chamber 24 is provided with an agitator 24a for stirring the toner.

  The photosensitive cartridge 20A and the developing cartridge 20B are separable from each other, but when the process cartridge 20 is removed from the main body of the printer 1, the two are pulled out in an integrated state. A front cover 33 is provided on the front portion of the printer 1 with the lower end of the printer shaft 1 attached to the rotary shaft 33c so that the lower end of the printer 1 can be turned. The axis of the rotation shaft 33c is conceptually indicated by a broken line L). The front cover 33 is configured to cover the front side of the printer 1, and the process cartridge 20 can be attached and detached by rotating the front cover 33 clockwise in FIG. 2 to open the front of the printer 1. Can do. An opening 34 (see FIG. 5) for attaching / detaching the process cartridge 20 is formed on the back side of the front cover 33. Note that an arrow R in FIG. 1 indicates a rotation direction when the front cover 33 is opened.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a pair of registration rollers 31 and a registration roller 32 are rotatably mounted between the process cartridge 20 and the paper feed cassette 10.

  Above the process cartridge 20, a laser generator (not shown) that emits a laser beam, a polygon mirror (hexahedral mirror) 41 that is driven to rotate, a lens 42, a reflection mirror 43, a reflection mirror 44, a lens 45, and a reflection mirror A laser scanner unit 40 including 46 and the like is attached. As shown in FIG. 2, the laser beam L shaken by the polygon mirror 41 is irradiated onto the photosensitive drum 21 through the lens 42, the reflecting mirrors 43 and 44, the lens 45 and the reflecting mirror 46, and An electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface.

  A fixing unit 50 for fixing the toner on the paper is provided behind the process cartridge 20. In this reference example, the front-rear direction is set so that the side (front cover portion side) from which the paper feed cassette is attached / detached is the front side, and the opposite side is the rear side. Further, the left-right direction is set as a direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction, and the right side wall 2a (FIG. 1) side is the right side and the left side wall 2b (FIG. 2) side is the left side when viewed from the front side. The fixing unit 50 is provided with a heating roller 51 for heating and melting the toner on the transferred paper, and a pressing roller 52 disposed so as to face the heating roller 51 and pressing the fed paper toward the heating roller 51. And a pair of transport rollers 53 and 54.

  In FIG. 2, a shooter 61 that is formed in a curved shape and that reverses the direction of the sheet as necessary is rotatably attached to the rear of the conveying rollers 53 and 54. When the shooter 61 is rotated rearward, the sheet is discharged onto the shooter 61 without being discharged onto the discharge tray 70. Thus, the sheet can be conveyed and discharged linearly, and it is particularly effective when used in the case where the manual sheet is a thick sheet. A pair of paper discharge rollers for supporting the paper transported along the shooter 61 and discharging the paper to a paper discharge tray 70 formed on the upper surface of the housing 2 are provided on the extended line of the shooter 61. 64 and 65 are attached.

  Projections 71 having a flat upper surface are provided around the discharge tray 70 (on the left and right sides and the rear side in FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. It is formed by dropping from the upper surface of 71.

  FIG. 4 is a control block diagram showing a control system of this reference example. As shown in FIG. 4, an operation unit 91, a laser scanner unit 40, a fixing unit 50, and a motor 102 as a drive source for each drive mechanism are connected to a printer control unit 101, and each unit of the printer 1 is connected by the printer control unit 101. Is controlled. In this reference example, the process cartridge 20, the laser scanner unit 40, and the fixing unit 50 correspond to the image forming means in the claims, and the housing 2 is configured to accommodate them.

  Next, a paper feeding operation will be described. When the paper supply roller 14 is rotated at a predetermined timing, the paper is supplied from the paper supply cassette 10 one by one. This sheet is reversed by the action of the guide 35, the position of the leading end is adjusted by the pinch roller 31 and the registration roller 32, and then conveyed between the photosensitive drum 21 and the transfer roller 22.

  On the other hand, the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 charged by the charger 28 is irradiated with laser light emitted from the laser scanner unit 40 to form an electrostatic latent image. When the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 21 faces the developing roller 25, the toner conveyed through the supply roller 27 and the developing roller 25 visualizes the electrostatic latent image, and the toner image is exposed to light. The image is transferred to a sheet passing between the body drum 21 and the transfer roller 22.

  The sheet on which the toner image is transferred next passes between the heating roller 51 and the pressing roller 52. At this time, the toner image is fixed on the sheet by applying heat and pressure to the toner image on the sheet. .

  Further, the sheet passes between the transport rollers 53 and 54 and is transported along the shooter 61, and is then discharged from the discharge rollers 64 and 65 to the discharge tray 70 with the printing surface facing down (face-down). Is done.

Next, the opening cover will be described.
In the image forming apparatus according to this reference example, as schematically shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, an opening 34 is formed so that at least the front side of the housing 2 is open, and the housing 2 is detachable. An attachable / detachable part (in this reference example, the process cartridge 20 (FIGS. 2 and 3) corresponds to the attachable / detachable part in the claims) can be inserted into and removed from the housing 2 through the opening 34. It is configured. An opening cover 33 is provided so as to cover the opening 34. The opening cover 33 includes a front surface side cover portion 33 a that covers the front surface side of the housing 2 and an upper surface side cover portion 33 b that covers the upper surface side. The upper surface side cover portion 33b is formed integrally with the front surface side cover portion 33a. When the opening portion cover 33 is in the closed position, the upper surface side cover portion 33b covers the upper surface side so as to close the notch portion 70b. When the part cover 33 is in the open position, the cutout part 70b is opened. The front-side cover portion 33a is rotatably supported by the main body portion of the housing 2 so that the upper end is a free end and the lower end is centered on a rotation shaft 33c in the left-right direction.

  Further, on the upper surface portion of the housing 2, a paper discharge tray 70 on which the paper on which an image is formed by the above-described image forming means is placed (the paper discharge tray 70 corresponds to a paper placement portion in the claims). The paper discharge tray 70 includes a paper discharge tray main body 70a and an upper surface side cover portion 33b. The discharge tray main body 70a corresponds to a paper stacking section main body referred to in the claims. The discharge tray main body 70 a is formed such that a cutout portion 70 b continuous with the opening 34 a on the front side of the housing 2 forms a part of the opening 34 in a part of the width direction of the discharge tray 70.

  When the cutout portion 70b is closed, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper surface side cover portion 33b and a part of the paper discharge tray main body 70a are adjacent to each other at least in the width direction, and at least by a part of the paper discharge tray main body 70a. When the notch portion 70b is opened, the adjacent portions in the width direction are separated from each other as shown in FIG. 5, and the sheet P is separated by a part of the discharge tray main body 70a as shown in FIG. Can be supported. In the state where the upper surface side cover portion 33b and a part of the paper discharge tray main body 70a are adjacent to each other, the paper may be supported only by the paper discharge tray main body 70a. You may comprise so that a paper may be supported by both the paper tray main bodies 70a. In the configuration in which the paper is supported by both, the paper can be supported more stably.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a grip portion 23 (see FIG. 3) of the process cartridge 20 is disposed at a position below the region cut out by the cutout portion 70 b. In this reference example, a gripping portion 23 is formed on the front end side of the process cartridge 20, and the gripping portion 23 can be viewed from above via the cutout portion 70b. The grip portion 23 in FIG. 3 is merely an example, and another grip portion configuration may be used as long as the process cartridge 20 can be gripped. Further, if the width W of the notch portion 70b is 10 cm to 20 cm, for example, the hand can easily enter through the notch portion, while the sheet is difficult to fall off.

  In this reference example, as schematically shown in FIG. 7, the process cartridge 20 is provided with an electrode and a drive portion at one end in the width direction, and the notch portion 70 b is the center in the width direction of the paper discharge tray 70. A part of the sheet discharge tray main body 70a is provided so as to cover the electrodes T1 to T3 and the drive unit 75 at the side in the width direction of the notch 70b.

  The electrodes T1 to T3 are provided to supply power to the charger 28, the developing roller 25, the transfer roller 22 and the like in the process cartridge 20, and the driving unit 75 includes the photosensitive drum 21 in the process cartridge 20, The mechanism is configured as a mechanism for driving the developing roller 25 and the supply roller 27 (here, a power transmission mechanism such as a gear). Reference numeral 75 conceptually indicates a space in which such a drive unit is disposed. Yes. More specifically, a gear transmission mechanism or the like provided at the end of the photosensitive drum 21, the transfer roller 22, or the like can be given. Here, the configuration in which both the electrode and the drive unit are provided at both ends of the process cartridge 20 is illustrated, but the electrode and the drive unit may be arranged on one side of the process cartridge.

<Reference Example 2>
Next, Reference Example 2 will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the reference example 2, the paper placement space when the maximum size paper that can be imaged by the laser beam printer 1 is placed on the paper discharge tray 70 and the opening / closing track of the upper surface side cover portion do not overlap. It is configured.

  8 and 9, the paper support rib 70c is formed so as to support the paper at a position higher than the bottom surface of the paper discharge tray 70. The paper support ribs 70c are disposed at least on both sides of the notch portion 70b, and are configured to support the paper P at a position higher than the bottom surface (that is, a position above the bottom surface) as shown in FIG. Has been. On the other hand, the upper surface side cover portion 33b is tapered so that the tip thereof is tapered, whereby the outermost edge of the locus of the upper surface side cover portion 33b has a smaller diameter. As shown in FIG. 9, the outermost edge L passes below the leading end P <b> 2 of the paper P, so that the paper P and the opening cover 33 do not interfere with each other.

Moreover, it is good also as a structure like FIG.10 and FIG.11.
10 and 11, the opening cover 33 is configured such that the angle formed by the upper surface side cover portion 33b and the front surface side cover portion 33a can be changed. The angle formed by the side cover portion 33b and the front surface side cover portion 33a is configured to be smaller than the angle formed by the upper surface side cover portion 33b and the front surface side cover portion 33a at the closed position. As shown in FIG. 11, the upper surface side cover portion 33b is configured to be rotatable about the axis C2 of the front surface side cover portion 33a, and the angle formed by the upper surface side cover portion 33b and the front surface side cover portion 33a is a spring. The member 33d is held at an angle slightly smaller than 90 ° (for example, about 80 °).

  Accordingly, the distance from the rotation center (rotation shaft 33c) of the opening cover 33 to the tip P1 of the upper surface side cover 33b can be shortened, and the outermost edge of the locus of the opening cover 33 can be set to a small diameter. it can. As a result, during the opening / closing operation, the tip of the upper surface side cover portion 33b moves to a position lower than the bottom surface 70c of the paper discharge tray 70, and interferes with the paper held on the bottom surface of the paper discharge tray 70. Disappear. On the other hand, when it is displaced from the open position toward the closed position and the closed state becomes close, the stepped portion 33e formed on the upper surface side cover portion 33b is guided to the tapered portion 76 formed inside the notch portion 70b. As a result, the angle between the upper surface side cover portion 33b and the front surface side cover portion 33a slightly opens against the urging force of the spring member 33d, and takes the closed position as shown in FIG.

<Reference Example 3>
Next, reference example 3 will be described with reference to FIG.
In the above reference example, the configuration in which the front side cover part opens and closes by rotation is illustrated, but in this reference example, the front side cover part 11a is configured to be slidable back and forth. In the example of FIG. 12, the front wall 11 of the paper feed cassette 10 extends to the upper surface of the housing 2, and the entire front surface of the housing 2 is configured by the front wall 11. The front wall 11 functions as an opening cover 33 in which a front cover portion 11a and an upper cover portion 11b are integrally formed. In the configuration of FIG. 12, the opening cover 33 slides with the opening / closing operation of the paper feed cassette 10, and as a result, the opening 34 is opened.

  In the configuration of FIG. 12, the upper surface side cover portion 11b is formed in a plate shape, and is configured to slide in the plate surface direction. The upper surface of the upper surface side cover portion 11b and the upper surface of the discharge tray main body 70a may be positioned on the same plane, and the upper surface of the upper surface side cover portion 11b is more than the upper surface of the discharge tray main body 70a. If it is configured so as to be slightly lower, the sheet and the upper surface side cover portion 11b do not reliably interfere with each other.

<Embodiment 1>
Next, Embodiment 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 13, in this embodiment as well, the above-mentioned image forming means (process cartridge 20 etc. (FIG. 2) (FIG. 2) that forms an image on the paper fed from the paper feed cassette 10 and the paper feed cassette 10 that contains the paper. And a housing 2 that houses the paper feed cassette 10 and the image forming means. The device configuration in the housing 2 is the same as that of the first reference example. And the opening part 34 is comprised so that it may open over the front side and upper surface side of this housing | casing 2, and in this embodiment, the front side cover part comprised so that the front side of the opening part 34 might be covered further 100 and an upper surface side cover portion 102 configured to cover at least the upper surface front side of the opening 34 are provided as separate components. The upper surface side cover portion 102 is provided on the main body portion of the housing 2 so as to be openable and closable so that the front end is a free end and rotates about a horizontal axis set on the rear end side. Further, the upper surface side cover unit 102 is configured to form a part of a paper discharge tray 70 on which a sheet on which an image is formed by the above-described image forming unit is placed. Also in the first embodiment, similarly to the reference example 1 and the like, the process cartridge 20 is located in the lower position of the opening area on the upper surface side (the opening area covered by the upper surface side cover portion 102) in the opening portion 34 as in the first embodiment. The grip part 23 (see FIG. 3) is arranged.

  13 and 14, the front side cover unit 100 is rotatably supported by the main body of the housing 2 such that the upper side is a free end and the lower side is centered on a horizontal axis 100a. Yes. In FIG. 14, the rotation axis of the front cover unit 100 is 100a, and the rotation axis of the upper cover unit 102 is 102a. Further, in this configuration, an opening operation interlocking mechanism that performs the opening operation of one of the front side cover portion 100 and the upper surface side cover portion 102 in conjunction with the opening operation of the other one is provided. In addition, a closing operation interlocking mechanism that performs the closing operation of the other side in conjunction with the closing operation of either the front surface side cover unit 100 or the upper surface side cover unit 102 is also provided. FIG. 14 shows a specific example of the opening operation interlocking mechanism and the closing operation interlocking mechanism, and shows a state in which the upper surface side cover portion 102 is opened in conjunction with the opening of the front surface side cover portion 100. Reference numeral 115 functions as a guide plate for guiding the component 106 and is configured to be fixed to the housing 2.

  When the front cover unit 100 starts to open in the closed state as shown in FIG. 14A, the rail 104 moves in conjunction with the front cover unit 100. As shown in FIG. 14B, the protrusion 106b relatively moves in the groove 104a, and when the protrusion 106b reaches the end of the groove 104a, the gear 106a moves together with the rail 104 to transmit power to the gear 108. To do. As a result, as shown in FIG. 14C, the upper surface side cover portion 102 fixed to the gear 108 rotates, and the upper surface side is opened. Although the opening operation interlocking mechanism is configured in this way, the closing operation is the opposite, and the protrusion 106b relatively moves in the groove 104a with the operation of the front side cover 100 from the state of FIG. When it moves and reaches the end 104b, the projection 106b is pushed and the gear 106a moves. As a result, the gear 108 is displaced to return to the state shown in FIG. 13 and 14, even when the opening 34 is opened as shown in FIG. 13 and the inside of the housing can be accessed from the upper surface side, the paper can be discharged from the discharge tray main body 70 a and the upper surface side cover. It will be stably held by the part 102.

  Moreover, you may comprise as FIG.15 and FIG.16. In the example of FIG. 15, the front cover unit 100 is configured to be slidable back and forth, and the sliding operation of the front cover unit 100 and the opening / closing operation of the upper cover unit 102 are interlocked. Even in this configuration, the opening operation interlocking mechanism and the closing operation interlocking mechanism are provided, and when the front cover unit 100 is slid so as to be in the state of FIGS. 102 opens in conjunction. On the other hand, when the front cover unit 100 is closed from the state of FIG. 16B, the upper cover unit 102 is closed in conjunction with the front cover unit 100.

  In this configuration, the upper surface side cover portion 102 rotates about the rotation shaft 102a, and the component 120 rotates about the rotation shaft 120a. The component 120 is biased by a spring (not shown) in the arrow X direction. Further, the engaging portion 122a formed at the tip of the component 122 is configured to engage with the engaged portion 100b formed in the front cover portion, and in the engaged state as shown in FIG. The engagement is maintained, and the upper surface side cover portion 102 and the front surface side cover portion 100 are closed together. On the other hand, when the front side cover part 100 is pulled out, the engaged state between the engaging part 122a and the engaged part 100b is released, and the component 120 is displaced in the direction of the arrow X by biasing, and the upper surface side cover part 102 is opened. It becomes. Conversely, when the front side cover portion 100 is pushed back from the state of FIG. 16B, the engaging portion 122a and the engaged portion 100b are engaged and the upper surface side cover portion 102 is closed, as shown in FIG. It becomes a state. 15 and 16, even when the opening 34 is opened as shown in FIG. 15 and the inside of the housing can be accessed from the upper surface side, the paper can be discharged from the discharge tray main body 70 a and the upper surface side cover. It will be stably held by the part 102.

<Other embodiments>
The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described with reference to the above description and drawings. For example, the following embodiments are also included in the technical scope of the present invention, and further, within the scope not departing from the gist of the invention other than the following. Various modifications can be made.
In the first embodiment, the example in which the notch is formed near the center in the width direction is shown, but the position of the notch is not limited to this. For example, contrary to the first embodiment, a discharge tray main body may be provided near the center in the width direction, and a notch may be formed near the end in the width direction. In this case, it is desirable that the grip portion of the process cartridge is also arranged near the end in the width direction. Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the process cartridge was illustrated as an attachment / detachment component, other attachment / detachment components may be sufficient.

The perspective view which showed the whole structure of the laser printer which concerns on the reference example 1. Side cross-sectional schematic of laser printer Sectional view showing process cartridge Control block diagram of Reference Example 1 Schematic diagram schematically showing a laser printer according to Reference Example 1. Explanatory drawing explaining the state by which the paper was mounted in the paper discharge tray of the laser printer of FIG. Explanatory diagram for conceptually explaining the process cartridge Schematic diagram schematically showing a laser printer according to Reference Example 2. Explanatory drawing explaining the principal part of FIG. Schematic diagram schematically showing an example different from FIG. Explanatory drawing explaining the principal part of FIG. Schematic diagram schematically showing a laser printer according to Reference Example 3. Schematic diagram schematically showing a laser printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. Explanatory drawing explaining the principal part of FIG. Schematic diagram schematically showing a laser printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. Explanatory drawing explaining the principal part of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1. Laser beam printer (image forming device)
2 ... Case 10 ... Paper cassette 20 ... Process cartridge (detachable part)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 23 ... Gripping part 33 ... Opening part cover 33a, 100 ... Front side cover part 33b, 102 ... Upper surface side cover part 34 ... Opening part 40 ... Laser scanner unit 50 ... Fixing unit 70 ... Paper discharge tray (paper placement part)
70a: Paper discharge tray main body (paper placement unit main body)
70b ... Notch

Claims (6)

A paper cassette for storing paper,
Image forming means for forming an image on paper fed from the paper cassette;
A housing for housing the paper feed cassette and the image forming means;
A paper placement unit for placing a paper on which an image is formed by the image forming unit on the upper surface of the housing;
In order to attach and detach a detachable component that is detachably provided in the case, an opening is provided across the front side and the top side of the case when one end side of the case is the front side and the opposite side is the rear side. An opening configured to, and
It is configured to cover the front side of the opening, and includes a front side cover part that can be opened and closed on the main body of the housing.
The paper stacking unit is configured to cover the paper stacking unit main body disposed on the rear side and the front side, and to cover at least the upper surface front side of the opening, with the front end as a free end, and the rear It consists of an upper surface side cover portion that can be opened and closed on the main body portion of the housing so as to rotate around a horizontal axis set on the end side,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the sheet is placed on the sheet placing portion main body and the upper surface side cover portion in a state where the opening is released.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a grip portion for the detachable component is disposed at a position below an opening area on the upper surface side of the opening portion.   The opening operation interlocking mechanism that performs the opening operation of the other in conjunction with the opening operation of either the front surface side cover portion or the upper surface side cover portion is provided. Image forming apparatus.   4. A closing operation interlocking mechanism that performs a closing operation in conjunction with a closing operation of either the front surface side cover portion or the upper surface side cover portion. The image forming apparatus described in 1.   The front-side cover part is rotatably supported by the main body part of the casing so that the upper end is a free end and the lower end side is centered on a horizontal axis. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the front side cover portion is configured to be slidable back and forth.

Images