JP4501865B2 - Electronic apparatus and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electronic device and an image forming apparatus including a connector for connecting an external device.

  In an electronic device such as a conventional image forming apparatus, various connectors such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) connector for an interface to be connected to an external device are connected to a back surface portion, a side surface portion, and a front surface portion of a housing of the electronic device. (For example, Patent Document 1 below). Here, when the connector is disposed on the back surface portion, the side surface portion, and the front surface portion of the housing, the connector is disposed such that the insertion direction of the insertion port is orthogonal to the surface of the side surface portion.

JP 2003-276276 A

  However, in the above-described conventional electronic device connector arrangement, when the connector is provided on the back surface of the housing, the user takes time to confirm the position of the connector on the back surface of the housing. In some cases, the plug to be inserted is inserted into the wrong connector, or the plug is inserted with the front and back sides reversed. In addition, when the connector is disposed on the side surface portion of the housing, a member such as a plug inserted into the connector protrudes directly from the side surface portion of the housing. Furthermore, there is a possibility that the connector and plug in the joined state may be damaged by an external force. When the connector is disposed on the front surface of the housing, the user can confirm the position and shape of the connector and insert a plug or the like, but the connector insertion port can be seen on the front surface of the housing. That is why there is a difficulty in designing electronic devices. Moreover, since a member such as a plug inserted into the connector protrudes to the front surface of the housing, it is not preferable in appearance.

  An electronic device according to the present invention is an electronic device including a connector for connecting an external device, and the connector is disposed on a side surface portion of a casing of the electronic device, and an insertion direction of an insertion port of the connector Is inclined toward the front surface of the housing with respect to the surface of the side surface portion.

  According to the electronic device of the present invention, the connector is disposed on the side surface portion of the housing of the electronic device, and the insertion direction of the insertion port is inclined toward the front surface of the housing with respect to the surface of the side surface portion. As a result, the user can confirm the insertion port of the connector and reliably insert the plug or the like. In addition, since the insertion direction is inclined to the front surface at a predetermined angle, the user can easily insert and remove the plug and the like by ergonomic natural arm movement. In addition, it is preferable in terms of appearance as compared with a conventional connector disposed on the front surface of the housing or disposed on the side surface so that the insertion direction is orthogonal to the surface. Furthermore, as compared with the case where the conventional side surface portion is disposed, it is possible to reduce a useless space between the side surface on the connector side of the housing and the adjacent wall surface.

  In the electronic device according to the present invention described above, the connector is a USB connector.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus as the above-described electronic apparatus, and the image forming apparatus includes a handle portion for opening and closing a front surface portion of the housing, and the handle portion includes the connector. It protrudes in the direction of the side part arrange | positioned, The position of the vertical direction in the said housing | casing and the said connector is substantially the same, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the handle portion provided on the front surface portion of the housing and the connector disposed on the side surface portion of the housing have substantially the same vertical position in the housing. The connector can be made inconspicuous to jump out from the side surface portion of the housing, which is preferable from the viewpoint of design of the image forming apparatus.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an image forming apparatus as an example of an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in the figure, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a side case portion 10 and a side case portion 30 as side portions of the case on both side surfaces of the image forming apparatus 100, and a front portion of the case as a front side portion of the case. A front casing 20 and a rear casing 40 on the back are provided. The front housing part 20 is provided with a front cover 21 that can be freely opened and closed. The front cover 21 is provided with a manual paper feed part (not shown) in which various sheets are set as required. ing. Further, the front cover 21 is provided with a handle portion 22 for opening and closing by the user at an end portion on the side housing portion 10 side which is one side surface of the image forming apparatus 100. Further, the side housing unit 10 is provided with a USB connector 11 as a connector for a print data input interface. USB devices connected to the USB connector 11 include a USB cable and a USB memory. When the USB cable is connected, print data is input from the host device to the image forming apparatus 100 via the USB cable. When the USB memory is connected, print data stored in the USB memory is input to the image forming apparatus 100 and direct printing is executed by the image forming apparatus 100.

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a peripheral portion of the USB connector disposed in the image forming apparatus. As shown in the figure, the USB connector 11 disposed on the side housing 10 includes an insertion port 12 for inserting a USB cable, a USB memory plug, and the like, and a joint between the USB connector 11 and the plug. And a connector cover 13 for protecting the cable.

  FIG. 3 is a front view of the image forming apparatus. As shown in the figure, the vertical position in the housing of the handle portion 22 provided in the front cover 21 provided in the front housing portion 20 and the USB connector 11 provided in the side housing portion 10 is as follows. , Approximately the same position.

  FIG. 4 is a plan view of the image forming apparatus as viewed from above. In the figure, a USB cable plug 50 to be inserted into the insertion slot 12 of the USB connector 11 is shown. As shown in the figure, the direction in which the plug 50 is inserted into the insertion slot 12 is inclined in the direction of the front casing 20 by an angle θ with respect to the surface of the side casing 10. In the present embodiment, θ is set to approximately 50 °, but viewpoints such as ease of insertion / removal work of a plug and the like with respect to the connector, design elements of the image forming apparatus, and strength of the connector portion disposed in the housing, etc. The angle of inclination may be determined as appropriate.

  As described above, since the insertion port 12 of the USB connector 11 is inclined in the direction of the front housing unit 20 by an angle θ with respect to the surface of the side housing unit 10, the user inserts the plug 50 into the insertion port 12. When inserting into the image forming apparatus 100, the insertion port 12 can be confirmed from a position facing the front of the image forming apparatus 100. Thereby, the user can insert the plug 50 into the insertion port 12 correctly and surely without taking time and trouble to confirm the position of the insertion port 12 and without reversing the front and back sides of the plug 50. . In addition, the angle θ that becomes the inclination is an angle that allows the user to turn the arm naturally by ergonomically, so that the user can easily insert / remove the plug 50 into / from the insertion port 12. be able to.

  Further, as described above, the handle portion 22 and the USB connector 11 provided in the front cover 21 have substantially the same vertical position in the housing. Therefore, as shown in FIG. When viewed from the front, the position of the handle portion 22 and the USB connector 11 overlap each other. Thereby, there is an effect of making the USB connector 11 not stand out from the side housing portion 10 of the housing, which is preferable from the viewpoint of design of the image forming apparatus 100.

  (Modification 1) In the above-described embodiment, the image forming apparatus has been described as the electronic apparatus. However, the electronic apparatus according to the present invention includes various connectors for interfaces connected to external apparatuses in addition to the image forming apparatus. For example, the present invention may be applied to other electronic devices such as personal computers and projectors.

  (Modification 2) In the above embodiment, the USB connector has been described as an interface connector for connecting to an external device. However, the present invention is applicable to various connectors (for example, a LAN connector, an RGB connector, an AC connector, etc.) other than the USB connector. You may do it.

  (Modification 3) In the above-described embodiment, the vertical position of the housing of the USB connector 11 is set to be substantially the same as the grip portion 22 provided in the front cover 21. However, the vertical position of the USB connector 11 in the housing is not limited to the vertical position of the handle portion 22, and if the USB connector 11 has an effect of making the USB connector 11 jump out of the side housing portion 10, the vertical position is different. You may match | combine with vertical positions, such as a member.

  (Modification 4) In the above-described embodiment, the USB connector 11 is provided on the side case 10 that is one side of the image forming apparatus 100, but the connector is provided on the side case 30 that is the other side. May be installed. Further, the number of connectors to be arranged is not limited to one, and a plurality of connectors may be arranged side by side in the horizontal direction or the vertical direction in the side case part 10 or the side case part 30.

1 is an external perspective view of an image forming apparatus as an example of an electronic apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a peripheral portion of a USB connector disposed in the image forming apparatus. 1 is a front view of an image forming apparatus. The top view which looked at the image forming apparatus from the upper side.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10, 30 ... Side housing part, 11 ... USB connector, 12 ... Insertion port, 13 ... Connector cover, 20 ... Front housing part, 21 ... Front cover, 22 ... Handle part, 40 ... Rear housing part, 50 ... Plug, 100... Image forming apparatus.

Claims (2)

A connector for connecting an external device ;
An image forming apparatus including a handle portion for opening and closing a front portion of the housing,
The connector is disposed on a side surface portion of the housing of the electronic device and protrudes outward from the side surface portion of the housing, and the insertion direction of the insertion port of the connector is the surface of the side surface portion. Inclined toward the front of the housing,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the handle portion protrudes outward from a side surface portion on which the connector is disposed, and the handle portion and the connector have substantially the same vertical position in the housing. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the connector is a USB connector.

Images