JP4599089B2 - Opening and closing mechanism of image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus main body and an opening / closing mechanism of the image forming apparatus provided with an opening / closing body that is provided at an opening of the image forming apparatus main body and that is opened and closed.

Conventionally, for example, a front cover in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a facsimile is generally attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus by a cover attaching mechanism such as a hinge. In such a cover attachment mechanism, when the cover is opened and closed, the cover protrudes from the attachment position and rotates while interfering with the adjacent member. Therefore, a gap is provided between the adjacent member. If the gap between the cover and the adjacent member is large, dust or spilled toner or the like is likely to enter the image forming apparatus main body. Therefore, a technique for reducing the gap between the cover and the adjacent member is required.
As a technique for reducing the gap between the cover and the adjacent member, for example, there is a cover attachment mechanism configured to attach the cover to the main body by two arm type hinges (see, for example, Patent Document 1). This cover mounting mechanism opens and closes the cover while avoiding the adjacent member by two large arm type hinges, and since the cover does not interfere with the adjacent member during the opening and closing operation, there is a large gap between the cover and the adjacent member. There is no need to provide.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-130095 (FIG. 1)

  However, in the cover mounting mechanism of Patent Document 1, the arm type hinge becomes large in order to open and close the cover while avoiding adjacent members and to increase the durability of the arm type hinge. For this reason, there has been a problem that a large space is required for installing the arm type hinge in the image forming apparatus main body.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to allow the opening / closing body to open and close without interfering with the adjacent member, and to reduce the gap between the opening / closing body and the adjacent member. The present invention is to provide an open / close mechanism of an image forming apparatus that can do this.

In order to achieve this object, an image forming apparatus opening / closing mechanism according to the present invention includes an image forming apparatus main body having an opening, and an opening / closing body capable of opening and closing the opening of the image forming apparatus main body. There,
The characteristic configuration is that the opening / closing body has a pair of substantially right-angled triangular fixing plates forming a pivot support for opening / closing, one side of the fixing plate sandwiching a right angle along the surface of the opening / closing body and the other In a state of projecting from the surface of the opening / closing body, provided with a pin member that defines the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing body across the pair of fixing plates, and an acute angle portion of the distal end portion of the fixing plate , When a contact portion for defining the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing body is provided at the intersection of the back and end surfaces of the opening / closing body at one end of the opening / closing body, and the opening / closing body is viewed from the extending direction of the pin member The pin member is provided at one end portion of the opening / closing body at a position where the distance from the front and back surfaces of the opening / closing body is equal to the distance from the end surface. Provided with a pair of guide plates that sandwich the fixed plate Both the when viewed in the extending direction of the pin member, the guide plates each, a hole for guiding the pin member, said movable member is opposed to the pin member when in a full closed state position A linear engagement hole extending in a direction opposite to the position facing the contact portion from the position, and the opening / closing body from the position facing the contact portion when the opening / closing body is in a fully closed position A linear plate-shaped guide portion extending in a direction along the back surface of the opening / closing body is provided, and in the fully closed posture of the opening / closing body, the pin member abuts on one end portion of the engagement hole, and the inclined portion of the fixing plate Abutting against the end of the plate-like portion protruding in a bent state from the end of the guide portion toward the opening / closing body, and as the opening / closing body moves from the fully closed position to the fully open position, the contact And the pin member is moved along the guide portion. Between definitive end portions reciprocate in the fully open position of the closing member, together with the pin member abuts the first end of the engagement hole, the abutting portion, and the plate-shaped portion and said guide portion It exists in the point contact | abutted at the corner formed in the connection location.

When the opening / closing body is opened, as shown in FIGS. 4A to 4C, when viewed from the extending direction, the pin member 5c is in the engagement hole 6c and the opening / closing body 4 is in the fully closed position. As the linear movement reciprocates along the direction from the position of the pin member 5c to the position of the contact portions 11a and 11b, the contact portions 11a and 11b move on the guide portion 9a. It linearly moves along the back surface 4c of the opening / closing body 4 from the position of the contact portions 11a, 11b when the 4 is in the fully closed posture. When the opening / closing body 4 is closed, the pin member 5c and the contact portions 11a and 11b move in the opposite direction to that during the opening operation.
At this time, at one end portion of the opening / closing body, both of the intersection position of the opening / closing body surface and the end surface and the intersection position of the opening / closing body rear surface are both the fully closed position and the fully opened position of the opening / closing body. Since it moves within the region surrounded by the posture and does not interfere with the adjacent member adjacent to one end of the opening / closing body, the gap between the opening / closing body and the adjacent member can be reduced. Thereby, it is possible to reduce the size of the image forming apparatus. Since the gap between the opening / closing body and the adjacent member can be reduced, dust, spilled toner, and the like can be prevented from entering the inside.

Further, the structure of the opening / closing mechanism can be simplified by using the pin member provided over the pair of fixing plates and the contact portion provided at the tip of the fixing plate. Since a large member is not required, it is not necessary to provide a large space for attachment in the image forming apparatus main body, and the image forming apparatus can be downsized.
When the pin member is provided at another position, the pin member moves on the curve. Therefore, by configuring as in the above characteristic configuration, the engagement hole can be formed in a straight line, the configuration of the engagement hole can be simplified, and the manufacture of the device of the present invention can be facilitated.

When the opening / closing body is viewed from the extending direction of the pin member, for one pin member provided at a position where the distance from the front and back surfaces of the opening / closing body and the distance from the end surface are equal at one end of the opening / closing body, Since the guide portion is provided to guide the rotation or sliding of the opening / closing body, it is not necessary to provide a plurality of pin members, and the configuration of the apparatus can be simplified.
By providing a pair of guide plates, it is possible to reduce the installation space for these members by keeping the members for mounting the opening and closing body in one place while maintaining durability. Can be miniaturized.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of an opening / closing mechanism of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention (hereinafter abbreviated as “the mechanism of the present invention” as appropriate) will be described based on the drawings.
The mechanism of the present invention is applied to an image forming apparatus 1 such as a copying machine. As shown in FIG. 1, a front cover formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape is provided in the opening 3 of the image forming apparatus main body 2 as an opening / closing body 4. A separate member cover is provided as the adjacent member 7.

  The mechanism of the present invention is provided with a pin member 5 provided on one member of the image forming apparatus main body 2 and the opening / closing body 4 and on the other member so that the pin member 5 can rotate and slide around the pin axis. An opening / closing body with respect to an opening / closing body separating side edge 4a and an opening / closing body proximity side edge 4b located on the opening / closing body extending direction end face 4d of the opening / closing body 4 in the fully closed position. 4 is set in a region surrounded by both the fully closed posture and the fully open posture of the open / close body 4.

  First, a first embodiment of the opening / closing mechanism of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. Here, in the present embodiment, the pin shaft of the pin member 5 is provided along the left-right direction of the image forming apparatus main body 2 as viewed from the front, and this direction is the opening / closing body axis direction (the first pin member or the second pin). It coincides with the extending direction of the pin member. The direction perpendicular to both the front and back direction of the opening / closing body and the axial direction of the opening / closing body, in other words, when the opening / closing body 4 is in the fully closed position, the direction that coincides with the vertical direction of the image forming apparatus main body 2 is viewed. The extension direction. In the present embodiment, two pin members 5a and 5b are provided on the axial end surface 4e of the opening / closing body 4 along the opening / closing body axial direction, and the two engaging portions 6a and 6b corresponding thereto are provided in the image forming apparatus main body. 2 is provided.

  The pin member 5 is configured as a hinge pin, and two pin members 5 are disposed on the axial end face 4e of the opening / closing body 4, and are disposed so as to protrude outward in the opening / closing body axial direction from the axial end face 4e. Here, as shown in FIG. 2A, when the width of the opening / closing body 4 in the front and back direction (left and right direction in the drawing) is t, the axial center position of one pin member 5a (corresponding to the first pin member) is Both t / 2 (first pin member and front and back surfaces of the opening / closing body) from the opening / closing body front / back direction end face 4c (corresponding to the front and back surfaces of the opening / closing body) and the opening / closing body extending direction end face 4d (corresponding to the end face of the opening / closing body) Of the first pin member and the end face of the opening / closing body). The axial center position of the other pin member 5b (corresponding to the second pin member) is set at the position of the opening / closing body proximity side edge 4b.

  The engagement portion 6 is a linear engagement hole provided in a surface of the image forming apparatus main body 2 that faces the side surfaces of the opening / closing body 4 provided with the first pin member 5a and the second pin member 5b. It is formed corresponding to each of 5a and 5b. As shown in FIG. 2 (a), the engaging portion 6a (corresponding to the first engaging hole) corresponding to the pin member 5a is parallel to the opening / closing body front / back end face 4c of the opening / closing body 4 in the fully closed position. A direction that bisects both end surface directions of the close-separated direction end surface of the apparatus main body 2 and the vertical end face in the front view of the image forming apparatus main body 2 that is parallel to the open / close body extending direction end face 4d of the open / close body 4 in the fully closed position. That is, in FIG. 2A, it is configured as a linear engagement hole extending linearly in the direction of 45 degrees to the left from the opening / closing body proximity side edge 4b. The engaging portion 6 b (corresponding to the second engaging hole) corresponding to the pin member 5 b is an opening / closing body in the fully open position of the opening / closing body 4 from the position A of the opening / closing body proximity side edge 4 b in the fully closed position of the opening / closing body 4. It is formed as a straight hole extending to the position B of the near side edge 4b.

  When the opening / closing body 4 is opened, the pin member 5a and the pin member 5b move in conjunction with each other. Here, the arrows in FIG. 2A indicate the trajectories of the pin member 5a and the pin member 5b when the opening / closing body 4 is opened. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C, as the pin member 5a reciprocates in the engaging portion 6a from below to above and from above to below, the pin member 5b is positioned. Move straight from A to position B. When the opening / closing body 4 is closed, the pin members 5a and 5b move in the opposite direction to that during the opening operation. At this time, both of the opening / closing body separation side edge 4a and the opening / closing body proximity side edge 4b of the opening / closing body 4 move within an area surrounded by both the fully closed posture and the fully open posture of the opening / closing body 4 and move to the adjacent member 7. Therefore, the gap between the opening / closing body 4 and the adjacent member 7 can be reduced.

  Next, a second embodiment of the opening / closing mechanism of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the first embodiment, two pin members 5a and 5b are provided on the axial end surface 4e of the opening / closing body 4, and the corresponding engaging portions 6a and 6b are provided in the image forming apparatus main body 2. As shown in FIG. 3, this embodiment includes one pin member 5 c, a pair of guide plates 8, and a pair of fixed plates 10.

  The pin member 5 c of the present embodiment is composed of a rod-like member and extends in the opening / closing body axial direction of the opening / closing body 4. Specifically, the pin member 5c is inserted into both the engaging portions 6c and 6d provided on the pair of guide plates 8a and 8b so as to be rotatable and slidable, and the pair of fixing plates 10a and 10b. Are inserted into and fixed to both of the fixing holes 12a and 12b.

A pair of guide plates 8 are provided in the approximate center of the image forming apparatus main body 2 in the left-right direction when viewed from the front. The guide plate 8a is provided with an engaging portion 6c and a guide portion 9a. Similarly, the guide plate 8b is provided with an engaging portion 6d and a guide portion 9b.
Similar to the engaging portion 6a in the first embodiment, the engaging portions 6c and 6d are halved in a direction that bisects both end surface directions of the front-view vertical direction end surface and the proximity separation direction end surface of the image forming apparatus main body 2. In FIG. 4A, it is configured as a linear engagement hole extending linearly in the direction of 45 degrees to the left from the opening / closing body proximity side edge 4b.
The guide portion 9 is configured to guide the rotation or sliding of the pin member 5 c in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing body 4 with respect to the rotation or sliding of the pin member 5 c with respect to the engaging portion 6. Specifically, since the guide portion 9a (9b) is provided at a position where the contact portion 11a (11b) of the fixed plate 10a (10b) corresponds to the open / close body proximity side edge 4b, It is provided from a position A corresponding to the opening / closing body proximity side edge 4 b in the closed position to a position B corresponding to the opening / closing body proximity side edge 4 b in the fully open position of the opening / closing body 4. With this configuration, when the opening / closing body 4 is opened / closed, the guide portion 9 has both the opening / closing body separating side edge 4a and the opening / closing body proximity side edge 4b of the opening / closing body 4 fully closed. And the contact part 11 is guided so that it may move within the area | region enclosed by both attitude | positions of a fully open attitude | position. In addition, since the guide part 9 is integrally formed with the engaging part 6 on the guide plate 8, the positional accuracy with the engaging part 6 is good.

  A pair of fixing plates 10 is provided in the left-right direction of the image forming apparatus main body 2 in the front view, and is disposed at a position surrounded by the guide plates 8a and 8b at the approximate center in the left-right direction of the image forming apparatus main body 2. ing. Each of the fixing plates 10a and 10b is formed in a substantially right-angled triangle, and is formed in an arc shape so that an acute angle portion disposed at a position corresponding to the opening / closing body proximity side edge 4b becomes the contact portion 11. Yes. Furthermore, the fixing plates 10a and 10b are provided with fixing holes 12a and 12b for engaging the pin member 5c, respectively. As in the case of the pin member 5a in the first embodiment, when the pin member 5c is engaged, the fixing holes 12a and 12b are arranged such that the axial center position of the pin member 5c is the opening / closing body front / back end face 4c and the opening / closing body extension. Both are set to be t / 2 from the direction end face 4d.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the opening / closing body 4 is opened, the contact portion 11a contacts the guide portion 9a, and the contact portion 11b contacts the guide portion 9b while moving linearly from position A to position B. . In conjunction with this, the pin member 5c reciprocates in the engaging portions 6c and 6d. In the fully open posture of the opening / closing body 4, the pin member 5c contacts one end of the engagement hole 6c, and the contact portions 11a and 11b contact a stopper provided at the end of the guide portion 9a. When the opening / closing body 4 is closed, the contact portions 11a and 11b and the pin member 5c move in the opposite direction to that during the opening operation. In the fully closed posture of the opening / closing body 4, the pin member 5c abuts on one end of the engagement hole 6c, and part of the fixed plates 10a and 10b abuts on a stopper provided on the end of the guide portion 9a. At this time, similarly to the first embodiment, both the opening / closing body separating side edge 4a and the opening / closing body proximity side edge 4b of the opening / closing body 4 do not interfere with the adjacent member 7, so that the opening / closing body 4 and the adjacent member 7 The gap can be reduced.

  5 to 7 show a conventional image forming apparatus and another image forming apparatus 1 to which the mechanism of the present invention is applied. FIG. 5D is a schematic diagram of the printer 1 viewed from the opening / closing body axis direction when the top cover 4 of the printer 1 to which the mechanism of the present invention is applied is in the fully open posture. FIG. It is a schematic diagram when the top cover of the printer of FIG. As shown in FIGS. 5C and 5D, the top cover 4 of the printer 1 to which the mechanism of the present invention is applied is opened and closed without protruding from the side surface of the printer 1. Similarly, FIG. 6 (d) is a schematic view when the front cover 4 of the copying machine 1 to which the mechanism of the present invention is applied is in a fully open position, and FIG. 7 (d) is a copying machine 1 to which the mechanism of the present invention is applied. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram when the automatic document feeder 4 is in a fully open posture.

  In the first and second embodiments, the pin member 5 is provided in the opening / closing body 4 and the engaging portion 6 is provided in the image forming apparatus main body 2. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The engaging portion 6 may be provided in the opening / closing body 4 in the forming apparatus main body 2.

1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of an opening / closing mechanism of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. Operational diagram of first embodiment of opening / closing mechanism of image forming apparatus according to the present invention Configuration diagram of second embodiment of opening / closing mechanism of image forming apparatus according to the present invention Operational diagram of second embodiment of opening / closing mechanism of image forming apparatus according to the present invention Schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the opening and closing mechanism of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. Schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the opening and closing mechanism of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. Schematic diagram showing another embodiment of the opening and closing mechanism of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Main body 3 Opening part 4 Opening / closing body 5 Pin member 6 Engagement part 8 Guide plate 9 Guide part 10 Fixing plate 12 Fixing hole

Claims (1)

An image forming apparatus main body having an opening;
An opening / closing mechanism for an image forming apparatus, comprising an opening / closing body capable of opening / closing an opening of the image forming apparatus main body,
The opening / closing body includes a pair of substantially right-angled triangular fixing plates that form a pivot support for opening / closing, one side of the fixing plate sandwiching a right angle along the surface of the opening / closing body, and the other side of the opening / closing body. In preparation for projecting from the surface, a pin member is provided that defines the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing body across the pair of fixing plates, and is an acute angle portion of the distal end portion of the fixing plate , A contact portion for defining an opening / closing operation of the opening / closing body is provided at an intersection between the back surface and the end surface of the opening / closing body at an end portion ;
When the opening / closing body is viewed from the extending direction of the pin member, the pin member is positioned at one end of the opening / closing body so that the distance from the front and back surfaces of the opening / closing body is equal to the distance from the end surface. Provided,
The image forming apparatus main body includes a pair of guide plates that sandwich the pair of fixing plates, and when viewed from the extending direction of the pin member, each guide plate includes:
A hole for guiding the pin member, which extends in a direction opposite to the position facing the contact portion from the position facing the pin member when the opening / closing body is in the fully closed position. While providing a joint hole,
Providing a linear plate-shaped guide portion extending in a direction along the back surface of the opening and closing body from a position facing the contact portion when the opening and closing body is in a fully closed posture ;
In the fully closed posture of the opening / closing body, the pin member is in contact with one end of the engagement hole, and the inclined portion of the fixing plate is bent from the end of the guide portion toward the opening / closing body. Abutting on the end of the protruding plate-like part , the abutting part moves along the guide part as the opening / closing body moves from the fully closed position to the fully opened position, and the pin member The pin member is in contact with the one end portion of the engagement hole in the fully open posture of the opening / closing body in a reciprocating manner between both end portions of the joint hole, and the contact portion includes the plate-like portion and the guide portion. And an opening / closing mechanism of the image forming apparatus that abuts on a corner formed at a connection portion.

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