JP4686205B2 - Connection structure of sheet metal member and other members - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a connection structure between a sheet metal member and another member (for example, another sheet metal member).

Patent Document 1 discloses a connection structure between a side plate portion of a chassis that is a sheet metal member and a sliding shelf that is another member (another sheet metal member). The side plate portion is formed with two abutting members, three screw holes, and two positioning holes (positioning holes) that are projected at right angles inward by bending. The sliding shelf has an L-shaped cross-sectional shape, and three screw holes are formed in a vertical surface portion thereof, and two positioning protrusions (positioning protrusions) are formed so as to protrude outward. Has been. When the sliding shelf is attached to the side plate portion, first, the lower end portion thereof is temporarily placed on the corresponding member, and the vertical surface portion is applied to the side plate portion. Each of the holes approximately matches. Therefore, when screws are respectively screwed into these screw holes, the sliding shelf is pressed against the side plate portion, and accordingly, each of the positioning protrusions is naturally fitted into the positioning hole of the side plate portion, The moving shelf is positioned.

In the above connection structure, the amount of protrusion of each positioning protrusion is large, and therefore positioning is relatively easy. However, when deep drawing cannot be performed because the area of the plate part forming each of the positioning protrusions is small The positioning projection is formed by half punching or burring. The positioning protrusion formed by half punching or burring has a small amount of protrusion from the one side, so it is difficult to align the sheet metal member with another member, and the positioning protrusion has run over a part of the peripheral edge of the positioning hole. There is a risk of being fastened in a state. In the above connection structure, when the sliding shelf is attached to the side plate, first, the lower end of the sliding shelf is temporarily placed on the corresponding member, but the sliding shelf needs to be held in the temporarily placed state. Therefore, it is difficult to fasten with screws.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 09-163094

An object of the present invention is to easily and reliably position and connect a sheet metal member having a positioning protrusion formed by half punching or burring to another member having a positioning hole formed corresponding to the positioning protrusion. It is to provide a connection structure between a new sheet metal member and another member that makes it possible.

Another object of the present invention is to easily and reliably position a sheet metal member having a positioning projection formed by half punching or burring with respect to another member having a positioning hole formed corresponding to the positioning projection. It is possible to provide a connection structure between a new sheet metal member and another member that can be connected by a simple operation.

According to the present invention,
In the coupling structure of the sheet metal member and the other member, the sheet metal member is provided with a flat plate portion extending between one end and the other end, to one end of the flat plate portion extends in the extending direction of the flat plate portion from one end A temporary positioning protrusion to be extended and a flange extending at a right angle from one end are formed. One end positioning protrusion and a female screw hole formed by half punching or burring are formed on the flange, and the other end of the flat plate portion is formed from the other end. The other end positioning projection extending in the extending direction of the flat plate portion is formed, and the other member is composed of a pair of side walls facing each other with a space therebetween, and one side wall has a temporary positioning projection corresponding to the temporary positioning projection. A positioning support hole is formed corresponding to the one end positioning projection, a positioning hole is formed corresponding to the female screw hole, and a mounting support hole is formed corresponding to the other end positioning projection on the other side wall. , Other than the flat part of sheet metal members Is supported at a predetermined position on the other side wall by fitting and supporting the other end positioning projection in the positioning support hole on the other side wall, and one end of the flat plate portion of the sheet metal member has the temporary positioning projection on one side. By fitting and temporarily supporting the temporary positioning support hole on the side wall, it is temporarily supported at a temporary position on one side wall, and the mounting hole on one side wall and the female screw hole on the sheet metal member that are aligned with each other by the temporary support. By inserting and fastening the male screw member from the mounting hole, the one-end positioning projection of the sheet metal member is fitted into the positioning hole on one side wall, and the sheet metal member is fastened at a predetermined position on one side wall. A connection structure between a sheet metal member and another member is provided .
The temporary positioning support hole of the flange provisional positioning projection and one side wall of the one end of the flat plate portion of the sheet metal members, respectively, without a cross-section with the one formed rectangular, the width of the temporary positioning support hole and Each of the lengths is formed to be slightly larger than the width and length of the temporary positioning protrusion, and the one end positioning protrusion formed on the flange and the two positioning holes on one side wall are respectively formed. Each of the one end positioning protrusions has a circular peripheral edge, and one of the positioning holes formed in one side wall has a circular inner peripheral surface and is substantially the same as or slightly the outer diameter of the one end positioning protrusion. The other positioning hole formed on one side wall is formed from an elongated hole having a width substantially the same as or slightly larger than the outer diameter of the other one-end positioning protrusion, It is preferable.
The positioning support hole of the other end positioning projection and the other side wall at the other end of the flat plate portion of the plate member, respectively, without a cross-section with the two form a rectangular, the width and length of the positioning support hole , respectively, are slightly larger than the width and length of the other end positioning projection, it is preferable.
Each of the side walls is disposed in a fixing device of the image forming apparatus, and each of the side walls is rotatably supported by a heat roller having a built-in heat source and a pressure roller pressed against the heat roller. The flat plate portion of the member is disposed so as to extend in the axial direction of the heat roller at a distance from the outer peripheral surface of the heat roller, and the flat plate portion includes the heat source corresponding to the temperature of the outer peripheral surface of the heat roller. It is preferable that a thermostat for turning on and off an electric circuit connecting the power source and the power source is arranged to face the outer peripheral surface of the heat roller with a gap.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a connection structure between a sheet metal member and another member configured according to the present invention and applied to a fixing device of an image forming apparatus will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. .

Referring to FIG. 1, a fixing device 2 includes a bottom wall 4 that is elongated and a pair of side walls 6 that are disposed on the bottom wall 4 so as to face each other upright from both ends in the longitudinal direction of the bottom wall 4. And 8. A sheet metal member 10 is detachably mounted between the side walls 6 and 8 as described later. Between the side walls 6 and 8, a heat roller 12 incorporating a heat source (not shown) such as a halogen heater and a pressure roller 14 pressed against the heat roller 12 are rotatably supported. The sheet metal member 10 includes a flat plate portion 10A that extends linearly between one end (left end in FIG. 1) and the other end (right end in FIG. 1). The flat plate portion 10A is disposed so as to extend in the axial direction of the heat roller 12 with a space from the outer peripheral surface of the heat roller 12, and the flat plate portion 10A corresponds to the temperature of the outer peripheral surface of the heat roller 12. A thermostat S for turning ON / OFF an electric circuit (none of which is shown) connecting the heat source and the power source is disposed so as to face the outer peripheral surface of the heat roller 12. For the sheet metal member 10, the pair of side walls 6 and 8 constitute another member.

Next, an embodiment of a connection structure between the sheet metal member 10 and a pair of side walls 6 and 8 which are other members according to the present invention applied to the fixing device 2 will be described in detail. 3 and 4, at one end of the flat plate portion 10A of the sheet metal member 10, the upper end in FIGS. 3 and 4 is one temporary projecting linearly from one end in the extending direction of the flat plate portion 10A. The positioning projection 20 is integrally formed. Further, a flange 22 that is bent at a right angle and extends from one end is formed in a region below the temporary positioning protrusion 20 in FIG. 3 at one end of the flat plate portion 10A. As shown in FIG. 4, the temporary positioning protrusion 20 has a rectangular cross section having a width x and a longitudinal length y perpendicular to the width x and a length y slightly longer than the width x. I am doing. The width x is the same as the plate thickness of the flat plate portion 10 and coincides with the plate thickness direction.

The flange 22 is rectangular when viewed in the extending direction of the flat plate portion 10A, and both surfaces thereof are orthogonal to the extending direction of the flat plate portion 10A. The flange 22 is formed with a plurality of, in the embodiment, two positioning protrusions 24 and 25 and one female screw hole 26 formed by half punching or burring, in the embodiment half cutting. Positioning protrusions 24 and 25, which are one end positioning protrusions formed at one end of the flat plate portion 10A, are formed at intervals in the vertical direction in FIGS. Each of the positioning protrusions 24 and 25 having substantially the same configuration as each other is formed to protrude from the outer surface of the flange 22 and has a circular peripheral edge. The female screw hole 26 is formed at an intermediate position of each positioning protrusion 24.

One side wall 6 is integrally formed from a sheet metal and has a flat plate portion 6A. The flat plate portion 6A has one temporary positioning support corresponding to the one temporary positioning protrusion 20, the two positioning protrusions 24 and 25, and the one female screw hole 26 formed on the sheet metal member 10, respectively. A hole 28, two positioning holes 30, 32, and one mounting hole 34 are formed. As shown in FIG. 4, the temporary positioning support hole 28 has a width x + d and a longitudinal length y + d that is perpendicular to the width x + d and is slightly longer than the width x + d. It has a rectangular shape. As described above, the width x + d and the vertical length y + d of the temporary positioning support hole 28 are formed slightly larger (by + d) than the width x and the vertical length y of the temporary positioning protrusion 20, respectively.

Of the positioning holes 30 and 32 formed in the flat plate portion 6A of the one side wall 6, one positioning hole 30 (the positioning hole 30 positioned on the upper side in FIGS. 3 and 4) has a circular inner peripheral surface. One of the positioning protrusions 24 (the positioning protrusion 24 positioned on the upper side in FIGS. 3 and 4) has an inner diameter that is substantially the same as or slightly larger than the outer diameter. Further, the other positioning hole 32 (positioning hole 32 positioned on the lower side in FIGS. 3 and 4) formed in the flat plate portion 6A is positioned on the other positioning projection 25 (positioning on the lower side in FIGS. 3 and 4). It is formed from an elongated hole having a width substantially the same as or slightly larger than the outer diameter of the projection 25). The extending direction of the elongated hole of the positioning hole 32 is the vertical direction in FIGS. 3 and 4.

Referring to FIG. 2, at the other end of the flat plate portion 10A of the sheet metal member 10, two positioning projections 40 that extend linearly from the other end in the extending direction of the flat plate portion 10A at the upper end and the lower end in FIG. And 42 are integrally formed. The positioning protrusions 40 and 42 that are the other end positioning protrusions formed on the other end of the flat plate portion 10 </ b> A have a rectangular shape similar to that of the temporary positioning protrusions 20. In the embodiment, the width of the rectangular shape of the positioning protrusions 40 and 42 is the same as the plate thickness of the flat plate portion 10 </ b> A, and therefore the same as the temporary positioning protrusion 20, but the longitudinal length is larger than the temporary positioning protrusion 20. Has been.

The other side wall 8 is integrally formed from a sheet metal and has a flat plate portion 8A. In the flat plate portion 8A, two positioning support holes 44 and 46 are formed corresponding to the two positioning protrusions 40 and 42 formed in the sheet metal member 10. The positioning support holes 44 and 46 are rectangular in cross section, and the widths and lengths of the positioning support holes 44 and 46 are slightly larger than the widths and lengths of the positioning protrusions 40 and 42, respectively.

In the illustrated embodiment, the side walls 6 and 8 are mounted in advance at predetermined positions on the bottom wall 4 of the fixing device 2 so as to face each other. Referring to FIG. 2, in order to attach the sheet metal member 10 to the side walls 6 and 8, first, positioning protrusions 40 and 42 formed on the other end of the flat plate portion 10 </ b> A of the sheet metal member 10 are respectively connected to the other side wall 8. The positioning support holes 44 and 46 are fitted and supported. As a result, the other end of the flat plate portion 10A of the sheet metal member 10 is detachably supported at a predetermined position on the other side wall 8 (see FIG. 6).

Subsequently, referring to FIGS. 3 and 5, the temporary positioning protrusions 20 formed at one end of the flat plate portion 10 </ b> A of the sheet metal member 10 are temporarily supported by fitting into the temporary positioning support holes 28 of the one side wall 6. (See FIG. 5 (a)). Accordingly, one end of the flat plate portion 10 </ b> A of the sheet metal member 10 is temporarily supported at a temporary position on the one side wall 6. This temporary support operation is performed with the positioning protrusions 40 and 42 at the other end of the flat plate portion 10A of the sheet metal member 10 fitted and supported in the positioning support holes 44 and 46 of the other side wall 8. The temporary positioning protrusion 20 can be easily performed by moving it toward the temporary positioning support hole 28 of the one side wall 6. The positioning protrusions 40 and 42 formed on the other end of the flat plate portion 10A of the sheet metal member 10 are relatively moved while being fitted and supported in the positioning support holes 44 and 46 of the other side wall 8, respectively. The distance between the side walls 6 and 8, the total length of the sheet metal member 10 (the length from the tip of the temporary positioning projection 20 to the tips of the positioning projections 40 and 42), the projection amount of the temporary positioning projection 20, and the projection amounts of the positioning projections 40 and 42 By appropriately setting the above, the fitting operation can be easily performed.

Mounting holes in one side wall 6 that are aligned with each other in a state where the other end of the sheet metal member 10 is supported at a predetermined position on the other side wall 8 and one end is temporarily supported at a temporary position on one side wall 6. The male screw member 50 is inserted from the mounting hole 34 into the female screw hole 26 of the sheet metal member 10 and the tightening is started (see FIG. 5B). One end of the sheet metal member 10 is relatively moved toward the flat plate portion 6 </ b> A of the one side wall 6 while the temporary positioning projection 20 is guided in a state of being fitted in the positioning hole 28 of the one side wall 6. In the middle of the relative movement, the positioning protrusions 24 and 25 of the sheet metal member 10 are fitted into the positioning holes 30 and 32 of the one side wall 6 (see FIG. 5C). Even if the positioning protrusions 24 and 25 and the positioning holes 30 and 32 are displaced to the maximum, the positioning action is such that the curved surface formed on the circular peripheral edge of the positioning protrusions 24 and 25 is the annular edge of the positioning holes 30 and 32. This can be achieved by setting the gap d between the temporary positioning projection 20 and the positioning hole 28 so as to be within the range of contact with the portion. As described above, when the positioning protrusions 24 and 25 are fitted in the positioning holes 30 and 32, respectively, the sheet metal member 10 is positioned at a predetermined position with respect to the one side wall 6. By further fully tightening the male screw member 50, the sheet metal member 10 is fastened to a predetermined position with respect to the one side wall 6 (see FIGS. 5D and 7). In this state, the temporary positioning protrusion 20 is prevented from being excessively pressed by the gap provided between the temporary positioning protrusion 20 and the positioning hole 28.

As described above, according to the present invention, the sheet metal member 10 having the positioning protrusions 24 and 25 formed by half punching or burring is replaced with one side having the positioning holes 30 and 32 formed corresponding to the positioning protrusions 24 and 25. It is possible to easily and surely position and connect to the side wall 6. Further, since the fastening operation can be performed with the sheet metal member 10 temporarily supported between the side walls 6 and 8, it is possible to connect them by a simple operation. When the present invention is applied to the fixing device 2 of the image forming apparatus, the sheet metal member 10 can be mounted on the side walls 6 and 8 with high accuracy. Therefore, when the thermostat S is disposed on the sheet metal member 10, the thermostat is provided. Since the gap between S and the outer peripheral surface of the heat roller 12 can be set with high accuracy, it is possible to easily perform appropriate heat control based on an accurate temperature catch.

1 is a perspective view of a fixing device including an embodiment of a connection structure between a sheet metal member and a pair of side walls, which are other members, configured according to the present invention. It is a perspective view which decomposes | disassembles and shows the structure of the other end part and other side wall of the sheet-metal member shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which decomposes | disassembles and shows the structure of the one end part and one side wall of the sheet-metal member shown in FIG. It is the expansion perspective view which looked at the structure of the one end part of the sheet-metal member shown in FIG. 3, and one side wall from another angle. (A)-(d) is sectional drawing which shows the procedure of a connection with the one end part of the sheet-metal member shown to FIG.3 and FIG.4, and one side wall. It is a perspective view which shows the assembly | attachment state of the other end part and other side wall of the sheet-metal member shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the assembly | attachment state of the one end part and one side wall of the sheet-metal member shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

2: Fixing device 6: One side wall 8: The other side wall 10: Sheet metal member 10A: Flat plate portion 12: Heat roller 14: Pressure roller 20: Temporary positioning protrusion 22: Flange 24, 25, 40, 42: Positioning protrusion 26: Female screw hole 28: provisional positioning support hole 30, 32: positioning hole 44, 46: positioning support hole 50: male screw member

Claims (4)

In the coupling structure of the sheet metal member and the other member,
The sheet metal member includes a flat plate portion extending between one end and the other end, and at one end of the flat plate portion, a temporary positioning protrusion extending from the one end in the extending direction of the flat plate portion, and a flange extending at a right angle from the one end The flange is formed with one end positioning projection and female screw hole formed by half punching or burring, and the other end positioning projection extending from the other end in the extending direction of the flat plate portion at the other end of the flat plate portion Formed,
The other member is composed of a pair of side walls facing each other with a space therebetween, and one side wall has a temporary positioning support hole corresponding to the temporary positioning protrusion, and a positioning hole corresponding to the one end positioning protrusion, and the female screw. A mounting hole is formed corresponding to the hole, and a positioning support hole is formed on the other side wall corresponding to the other end positioning projection,
The other end of the flat plate portion of the sheet metal member is supported at a predetermined position on the other side wall by fitting the other end positioning projection into the positioning support hole on the other side wall and supporting it. The temporary positioning protrusions are temporarily supported by fitting into the temporary positioning support holes on one side wall, thereby temporarily supporting the temporary positioning at the temporary position on one side wall, and mounting the one side wall aligned with each other by the temporary support. By inserting and tightening the male screw member from the mounting hole into the female screw hole of the sheet metal member, the one end positioning projection of the sheet metal member is fitted into the positioning hole on one side wall, and the sheet metal member is placed at a predetermined position on the one side wall. To be concluded,
A connection structure between a sheet metal member and another member. The temporary positioning protrusion of the flange at one end of the flat plate portion of the sheet metal member and the temporary positioning support hole of one side wall are each formed with a rectangular cross section, and the width and length of the temporary positioning support hole Are formed slightly larger than the width and length of the temporary positioning protrusion, and the one end positioning protrusion formed on the flange and the two positioning holes on one side wall are respectively formed on the one end. Each of the positioning protrusions has a circular periphery, and one of the positioning holes formed in one side wall has a circular inner peripheral surface and is substantially the same as or slightly the outer diameter of the one end positioning protrusion. The other positioning hole formed on one side wall having a large inner diameter is formed from an elongated hole having a width substantially the same as or slightly larger than the outer diameter of the other one end positioning protrusion. The connection structure of the sheet metal member according to claim 1 and other members. The positioning support hole of the other end positioning projection and the other side wall at the other end of the flat plate portion of the plate member, respectively, without a cross-section with the two form a rectangular, the width and length of the positioning support hole , respectively, are slightly larger than the width and length of the other end positioning projection, the coupling structure between the sheet metal member and the other member of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein. Each of the side walls is disposed in a fixing device of the image forming apparatus, and each of the side walls is rotatably supported by a heat roller having a built-in heat source and a pressure roller pressed against the heat roller. The flat plate portion of the member is disposed so as to extend in the axial direction of the heat roller at a distance from the outer peripheral surface of the heat roller, and the flat plate portion includes the heat source corresponding to the temperature of the outer peripheral surface of the heat roller. The sheet metal member according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein a thermostat for turning on and off an electric circuit connecting the power source and the power source is arranged to face the outer peripheral surface of the heat roller with a gap. Connecting structure with other members.

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