JP4417617B2 - Interlock switch mechanism and image forming device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an interlock switch mechanism used for detection of opening / closing of a door cover, and an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, etc. having the interlock switch mechanism.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In this type of image forming apparatus, a door cover (side plate) is provided so as to be openable and closable in order to perform jam processing or the like. However, for safety reasons, the image forming apparatus operates when the door cover is open. In order to prevent this, an interlock switch mechanism that cuts off power to the image forming apparatus is provided.
When there are two door covers, an interlock switch mechanism is provided for each door cover, and the interlock switch is turned on / off in each door cover. However, in such an image forming apparatus, there is a restriction that there is an order in opening and closing the door cover, and the operation accuracy of the interlock switch is lowered.
[0003]
In order to cope with such a problem, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 11-305512 and 2000-214645 associate a plurality of door covers that open and close in different directions with one interlock switch mechanism. Proposals have been made in which the interlock switch function can be obtained regardless of the opening / closing order and the operation accuracy of the interlock switch is improved.
In each of these conventional techniques, each door cover is provided with a pressing member for the link mechanism, and the switch of the mechanism main body provided in the image forming apparatus main body is turned on and off by these pressing members. It has become. The mechanism main body has a structure that integrally includes a movable member (actuator) that is moved by being pushed by the pressing member, and a switch that is actuated by the movable member.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-305512 [Patent Document 2]
JP 2000-214645 A [Patent Document 3]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-255792
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in each of the above prior arts, the link mechanism is employed as a pressing member for operating the on / off of the switch. Therefore, the configuration is complicated, and from the viewpoint of long-term use, the operation accuracy is lowered due to the complexity. There was concern.
[0006]
Therefore, the present invention provides an interlock switch mechanism that can operate a switch on and off with a simple configuration and can improve reliability, and an image forming apparatus having the interlock switch mechanism. , Its main purpose.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus main body, a door cover provided on the apparatus main body so as to be freely opened and closed, and a press provided on either the apparatus main body or the door cover. A member, a movable member provided on the other and operated by the pressing action of the pressing member, and a mechanism main body having a switch operated by the movable member, and when the door cover is opened, In an interlock switch mechanism for interrupting energization for the operation of the apparatus main body, the apparatus main body has two door covers provided on adjacent side surfaces of the apparatus main body and opened and closed in different directions, and these doors The cover is provided with the pressing member as a single member, the mechanism main body is provided on the apparatus main body, and the pressing work by the pressing member of one door cover is in direct contact. Only the mechanism body portion is displaced by, the mechanism body portion adopts a configuration in which, the movable member is operated only by the pressing action of the pressing member of the other of the door the cover is in contact directly while displaced .
[0008]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the interlock switch mechanism according to the first aspect, when the mechanism main body portion is supported rotatably at one end side and the pressing member of the one door cover does not act. It is configured to return to the original position .
[0009]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the interlock switch mechanism according to the second aspect, the mechanism body is returned to its original position by an elastic member .
[0010]
In the invention of claim 4, wherein, in interlock switch mechanism according to claim 2, return to the original position of the mechanism body portion, adopts a configuration that is made by the weight of the mechanism body portion.
[0011]
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the interlock switch mechanism according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, a guide member that covers the movable member operates the movable body on the mechanism main body. The other door cover pressing member corresponding to the movable member is in contact with the guide member so as to be displaceable .
[0012]
The invention according to claim 6 is the interlock switch mechanism according to claim 5, wherein the guide member has a slope portion for guiding the pressing member .
[0013]
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the interlock switch mechanism according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, the base of the mechanism main body is integrally formed of a sheet metal member. ing.
[0014]
According to an eighth aspect of the invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus having an interlock switch mechanism, wherein the interlock switch mechanism is the one according to any one of the first to seventh aspects. Yes.
[0017]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, an outline of a configuration of a color laser printer 100 as an image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment will be briefly described with reference to FIG. This color laser printer is of a tandem type in which a photosensitive drum as a 100 image carrier and a developing unit are arranged in quadruplicate.
In FIG. 1, laser light is scanned as image data from the polygon mirror 2 in the writing unit 1 at the time of image formation, and this laser light is color-separated for each color component of yellow, cyan, magenta, and black. Each of the four photosensitive drums 3 (3Y, 3M, 3C, 3B) as the carrier is irradiated to form a latent image on the drum.
These electrostatic latent images are visualized as toner images by four developing units 4 (4Y, 4M, 4C, 4B) arranged adjacent to the respective photosensitive drums 3, and these are transferred to the intermediate transfer member. 5 is primarily transferred onto the transfer belt 6. On the other hand, the paper P fed from the paper feed tray 7 by the paper feed roller 8 is conveyed through the registration roller pair 9 and reaches the secondary transfer unit 10. Here, the image that has been primarily transferred onto the transfer belt 6 is transferred onto the sheet by the transfer roller 11 and further fixed by the fixing device 12. After the fixing is completed, the paper P is discharged to the apparatus upper surface tray 14 by the paper discharge roller pair 13.
[0018]
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 15 (15Y, 15M, 15C, 15B) denotes a charging roller, 16 (16Y, 16M, 16C, 16B) denotes a photoreceptor cleaning device, 17 denotes a belt cleaning device, 18 denotes a switching claw, Reference numeral 19 denotes a conveyance path during double-sided image formation, and 20 denotes a manual feed tray.
[0019]
As shown in FIG. 2, the color laser printer 100 has a front door cover 21 and a left door cover 22 that can be opened and closed in different directions, and can be opened and closed in directions indicated by arrows, respectively.
The front door cover 21 is opened and closed when removing a paper jam in the apparatus, and the left door cover 22 is opened and closed when the developing unit and the writing unit are maintained and when the waste toner bottle is replaced. When these door covers 21 and 22 are opened (both open and one side open), the operation of the apparatus must be turned off. In order to realize this, an interlock switch mechanism described later is provided. The device is energized only when both door covers 21 and 22 are completely closed by releasing / not releasing the energized state of the device by the on / off operation of the interlock switch mechanism.
[0020]
The details of the interlock switch mechanism will be described with reference to FIG. The interlock switch mechanism 23 is a single member fixed to the front door cover 21 and a flat plate-shaped pressing member 24, a mechanism main body portion 25 provided on the apparatus main body side, and a single member fixed to the left door cover 22. In addition, a flat plate-shaped pressing member 26 is provided.
Here, the single member is distinguished from a link mechanism or the like in which a plurality of members are movably connected, and is not only a single member but also a concept in which a plurality of members are fixed integrally. It means to include. The pressing members 24 and 26 are not limited to a flat plate shape, and may be a rod shape or the like.
The mechanism body 25 includes a bracket 27, an interlock switch 29 fixed to the bracket 27 with a screw 28, an actuator 30 as a movable member for operating the interlock switch 29, and a spring engagement formed on the bracket 27. A tension spring 33 is provided as an elastic member hung between the stopper 31 and a spring locking portion 32 fixed to the apparatus main body. Reference numeral 34 denotes a harness for energization.
The bracket 27 is supported at its lower end by a shaft 35 provided in the apparatus main body so as to be rotatable in the opening / closing direction of the front door cover 21.
[0021]
The pressing member 24 that is integrally fixed to the front door cover 21 moves in the direction of the arrow (left and right in the drawing) as the front door cover 21 is opened and closed. On the other hand, the pressing member 26 that is integrally fixed to the left door cover 22 moves in the thickness direction of the sheet as the left door cover 22 is opened and closed.
As shown in FIG. 4, when the front door cover 21 is closed, the pressing member 24 moves to the left side to press the bracket 27, and the bracket 27 rotates to the left with the shaft 35 as a fulcrum. Here, when the left door cover 22 is closed, that is, when the pressing member 26 is present at a position indicated by a two-dot chain line, the actuator 30 is pressed by the pressing member 26 and the interlock switch 29 is turned on.
Since the bracket 27 is also subjected to the pressing force of the pressing member 24 of the front door cover 21 while receiving the urging force of the tension spring 33, the bracket 27 is prevented from being damaged by an external force, thereby improving the durability and the reliability of the interlock switch mechanism 100. Therefore, in this embodiment, it forms integrally with the chromium free steel plate as a sheet-metal member.
[0022]
When the left door cover 22 is open, that is, when the pressing member 26 is not present at the position indicated by the two-dot chain line, the actuator 30 is not subjected to a pressing load, so that the bracket 27 is rotated by the closing operation of the front door cover 21. Even if the interlock switch 29 rotates counterclockwise, the interlock switch 16 remains off.
In this state, when the left door cover 22 is closed and the actuator 30 is pressed by the pressing member 26 and the interlock switch 29 is turned on, the non-energized state of the apparatus main body is released.
[0023]
When the front door cover 21 is opened in the energized state of the apparatus main body, the bracket 27 returns to the original position on the right side by the urging force of the tension spring 33, whereby the actuator 30 by the pressing member 26 of the left door cover 22 is returned. Thus, the interlock switch 29 is turned off.
Even when only the left door cover 22 is opened while the front door cover 21 is closed, the pressing action on the actuator 30 by the pressing member 26 disappears, so that the interlock switch 29 is turned off. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 36 indicates an installation space including a displacement operation in the apparatus main body of the mechanism main body 25.
[0024]
In the present embodiment, the structure of the door cover that opens and closes in different directions is illustrated, but the displacement method of the mechanism main body 25 itself can be implemented even in the case of a single door cover. For example, in the case of only the front door cover 21, a member that presses the actuator 30 may be fixed to the apparatus main body side.
In this embodiment, the mechanism main body 25 is provided on the apparatus main body and the pressing members 24 and 26 are provided on the door cover.
Further, although the displacement of the mechanism main body 25 is a rotation method, a linear slide method may be used. In these cases, the original position (of the front door cover 21 of the front door cover 21) is not used without using the tension spring 33. You may make it return to the position which does not receive the load by the pressing member 24). In the case of the rotation method, this can be realized by shifting the position of the center of gravity of the mechanism main body 25 and in the case of the slide method, the guide rail is inclined.
[0025]
Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, the same part as the said embodiment is shown with the same code | symbol, and the already demonstrated structural and functional description is abbreviate | omitted unless there is particular need. Only the main part will be described.
In this embodiment, two interlock switches 29 are overlapped and fixed to the bracket 27 due to the capacity, and there are also two actuators 30 for pressing the switch. A guide plate 37 as a guide member is rotatably attached to the bracket 27 with a shaft 38 as a fulcrum so as to cover these two actuators 30.
The guide plate 37 has a pressing portion 37 a that presses the two actuators 30 and a slope portion 37 b that guides the pressing member 26 of the left door cover 22. In the present embodiment, the slope portion 37 b is integrally formed by bending the guide plate 37.
[0026]
FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a state in which the mechanism main body 25 is attached to the apparatus main body. The mechanism main body 25 is configured as one unit. When the mechanism main body 25 is attached to the apparatus main body, the lower end portion of the bracket 27 is inserted into the shaft 35 on the apparatus main body side, and then the tension spring 33 is connected to the spring locking portions 31 and 32. Just put it in between.
As shown in FIG. 7, when the left door cover 22 is closed while the front door cover 21 is closed, the pressing member 26 comes into contact with the inclined surface portion 37b of the guide plate 37, whereby the guide plate 37 smoothly moves. It is rotationally displaced toward the front door cover 21 side. Due to the displacement of the guide plate 37, the two actuators 30 are pressed almost simultaneously, and the two interlock switches 29 are also turned on almost simultaneously.
The actuator 30 is pushed from the side on the left door cover 22 side, and the pushing force to the actuator 30 is less likely to be applied than the front door cover 21 side pushes the actuator 30 from the front. It can be corrected. .
It is desirable to provide the slope portion 37b that makes the contact with the pressing member 26 smooth also in the first embodiment. Further, the same function can be obtained even if the pressing member 26 of the left door cover 22 is provided with a slope portion that makes the contact with the actuator 30 smooth.
[0027]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, together with low cost can be realized by reducing the number of components as compared with the conventional structure using the link mechanism, it is possible to improve the long-term operational reliability by the simple construction. In addition, it is possible to reduce the space for installing the interlock switch mechanism.
In addition, the on / off state of the switch can be obtained with certainty.
Further, the structure of the mechanism main body can be simplified.
Even if the number of switches increases due to the capacity, they can be turned on / off simultaneously.
The contact between the guide member and the pressing member can be made smooth and the displacement of the guide member can be made smooth.
Further, it is possible to improve the durability of the mechanism main body base and hence the reliability of the interlock switch mechanism.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a color laser printer as an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an open / closed state of a door cover.
FIG. 3 is a schematic front view of an interlock switch mechanism.
FIG. 4 is a schematic front view showing a state in which two door covers are closed and an interlock switch is turned on.
FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of an interlock switch mechanism according to a second embodiment.
6 is an exploded perspective view relating to attachment of the interlock switch mechanism shown in FIG. 5. FIG.
FIG. 7 is a main part front view showing a state where two actuators are pressed simultaneously.
[Explanation of symbols]
21, 22 Door cover 24, 26 Press member 25 Mechanism main body 27 Bracket 29 as base of mechanism main body 29 Interlock switch 37 as switch Guide plate 37b as guide member Slope

Claims (8)

The apparatus main body, a door cover that can be opened and closed on the apparatus main body, a pressing member that is provided on one of the apparatus main body and the door cover, and a pressing action that is provided on the other side and that operates on the pressing member. In an interlock switch mechanism having a movable member and a mechanism main body having a switch operated by the movable member, and shutting off power for operation of the device main body when the door cover is opened ,
The apparatus main body has two door covers that are provided on adjacent side surfaces of the apparatus main body and open and close in different directions, and each of the door covers is provided with the pressing member as a single member. Is provided in the apparatus main body, and the mechanism main body portion is displaced only by a pressing action caused by direct contact of the pressing member of one door cover, and the pressing member of the other door cover is in a state in which the mechanism main body portion is displaced. An interlock switch mechanism, wherein the movable member is operated only by a pressing action caused by the direct contact of the two. The interlock switch mechanism according to claim 1.
An interlock characterized in that the mechanism main body is supported rotatably at one end side and is provided so as to return to its original position when the pressing member of the one door cover does not act. Switch mechanism. The interlock switch mechanism according to claim 2,
An interlock switch mechanism, wherein the mechanism main body is returned to its original position by an elastic member. The interlock switch mechanism according to claim 2,
An interlock switch mechanism, wherein the mechanism main body is returned to its original position by its own weight. The interlock switch mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A guide member covering the movable member is provided in the mechanism main body so as to be movable so that the movable member can be operated, and a pressing member of the other door cover corresponding to the movable member is provided on the guide member. An interlock switch mechanism that abuts. The interlock switch mechanism according to claim 5,
The interlock switch mechanism, wherein the guide member has a slope portion for guiding the pressing member. The interlock switch mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
An interlock switch mechanism, wherein the base of the mechanism main body is integrally formed of a sheet metal member. In an image forming apparatus having an interlock switch mechanism,
8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the interlock switch mechanism is one according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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