JP5115447B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having an open / close cover, such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile machine, using an electrophotographic process.

  Conventionally, in order to stably close the open / close cover of the image forming apparatus, the thickness of the open / close cover is increased, the rigidity is added by adding a rib shape, or the reinforcement member is added as a separate member. . Therefore, there existed a problem that a machine enlarged and a weight increased.

  Therefore, the opening / closing cover has been thinned to reduce the size and weight, but the rigidity of the opening / closing cover is reduced, so that only one direction of the opening / closing cover is locked during the opening / closing operation, and the other is not locked (single lock).

  In particular, when the side on which the safety switch is arranged becomes a one-lock configuration and the machine is in an operating state, there are problems that mechanical parts (rack holding) are damaged or laser light leaks to the outside. Further, it is necessary to fix the image forming cartridge or the rack supporting the cartridge when the cover is opened and closed.

  Further, an image forming apparatus that uses a safety switch to prevent malfunction is proposed as follows.

  For example, Patent Document 1 proposes a copying machine in which a pressing lever presses an operating member of a safety switch via a pressing arm when the cover is closed, and the safety switch is turned on.

  In Patent Document 2, when both the open / close frame and the front cover are closed, the first link member is pressed against the inner surface of the open / close frame, the support shaft is positioned at the right end of the guide hole, and the protrusion of the front cover The second link member is pressed around the support shaft by pressing the contact portion of the second link member, and the operation projection of the second link member presses the operated portion of the safety switch, thereby ensuring safety. An image forming apparatus in which a switch is turned on has been proposed.

  In Patent Document 3, in the closed state of the first and second doors, that is, in the standby state, the engaging portion engages with the second door in the closed state so that the switch body is disposed in the operating position. In some cases, the copier is allowed to energize the copier by engaging the arm with the closed first door and placing it in the on state.

  However, the image forming apparatus or the copying machine described in any of the above patent documents has a problem that the opening / closing member cannot be pulled into the main body when the cover is closed to the main body.

JP-A-8-241025 JP-A-11-249365 JP 2002-91250 A

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an image forming apparatus capable of pulling the cover into the main body and locking it securely even when the cover has low rigidity.

As means for solving the above-described problems, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a main body, a toner cartridge that is mounted in the main body and contains toner necessary for image formation, and the toner cartridge can be attached to and detached from the main body. And an opening / closing member that rotates about the first shaft and opens and closes with respect to the main body.
A rotation lever that is rotatable around a second axis is provided between the toner cartridge and the opening / closing member,
When the opening / closing member closes to the main body, the rotating lever rotates around the second axis so as to approach the opening / closing member while being in sliding contact with a protrusion provided on the opening / closing member and pressing downward. Is preferred.

  As a result, the rotating lever presses the protrusion downward and urges the opening / closing member toward the main body via the first shaft. Therefore, even when the cover is weak, the opening / closing member is pulled into the main body and securely Can be locked.

  The rotating lever is a cartridge that contacts the toner cartridge and positions the toner cartridge when rotating around the second shaft toward the toner cartridge by slidingly contacting the first sliding surface of the protrusion. A holding lever is preferred.

  As a result, the incompletely positioned toner cartridge can be completely positioned by being pressed by the cartridge pressing lever which is a rotation lever.

  After the cartridge pressing lever contacts the toner cartridge, the cartridge pressing lever slidably contacts the second slidable contact surface opposite to the first slidable contact surface of the protrusion and rotates about the second shaft toward the opening / closing member. It is preferable to move.

  As a result, when closing the opening / closing member, the cartridge pressing lever first rotates while sliding on the first sliding contact surface of the protrusion to position the toner cartridge, and then the cartridge pressing lever moves to the second sliding contact of the protrusion. It can be slidably contacted with the contact surface and rotated while being pressed downward to draw the open / close cover into the main body and be securely locked.

The main body further includes a rack stopper that is biased toward the toner cartridge and engages with a rack unit provided at an end of the toner cartridge to fix the rack unit;
When the opening / closing member is closed to the main body from the opened state, the rotating lever is slidably contacted with the first sliding contact surface of the protrusion and rotated about the second axis, and the rack stopper is A rack unlock lever that is retracted from the rack unit is preferable.

  Accordingly, when the opening / closing member is closed from the opened state, the engagement between the rack stopper and the rack unit is released, and the toner cartridge can be rotated.

  It is preferable that an end face of the rack unlock lever is provided with an inclined surface that comes into contact with the protrusion in a state where the opening / closing member is closed.

  Thereby, when the opening / closing member is closed to the main body, the inclined surface of the rack unlocking lever comes into contact with the protruding portion of the opening / closing member, and the protruding portion can be pressed obliquely downward. Therefore, the opening / closing member can be biased toward the main body via the first shaft, and the opening / closing member can be more securely locked to the main body.

  The center of gravity of the opening / closing member is preferably located on the outer side of the main body with respect to the first shaft.

  As a result, when the opening / closing member is released from the main body, even if the opening / closing lever abuts against the protrusion and presses downward, the opening / closing member can be easily released from the main body without applying excessive force to the opening / closing member.

  It is preferable that the protrusion is located in the vicinity of the first axis of the opening / closing member.

  Thereby, the force which presses a projection part below can be effectively transmitted via a 1st axis | shaft, and can urge an opening-and-closing member toward a main body.

The body further has a safety switch on one side,
It is preferable that the rotating lever is located in the vicinity of the side surface of the main body opposite to the safety switch.

  As a result, even if the one side surface of the toner cartridge provided with the rotation lever is completely locked by the rotation lever, and the other side surface portion of the toner cartridge not provided with the rotation lever is not completely locked, Is detected by the safety switch. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the image forming apparatus from being started in a state where the opening / closing member is locked incompletely.

  When the opening / closing member closes to the main body, the rotating lever presses the protrusion downward to urge the opening / closing member toward the main body via the first shaft. It can be pulled into the body and locked securely.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an image forming apparatus 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a developing rotary unit 4 that holds a toner cartridge 3 that contains cyan, magenta, yellow, and black toner in an annular shape inside a main body 2 and a rotation that can form an electrostatic latent image on the surface. An imaging unit 9 that holds an intermediate transfer belt 8 to which an image formed on the photoreceptor 5 is transferred by a possible photoreceptor 5, a charger 6 that charges the photoreceptor 5, a primary transfer roller 7, and a primary transfer roller 7. An exposure unit 10 that exposes the photoreceptor 5, a secondary transfer roller 11, a fixing unit 12, and a paper feed unit 13 are provided.

  The imaging unit 9 includes a photoreceptor frame 14 that holds the photoreceptor 5, the charger 6, and the primary transfer roller 7, an intermediate transfer belt that holds the tension rollers 15 and 16 and the tension roller 17 that stretch the intermediate transfer belt 8. Frame 18. The photoconductor 5 is located outside the intermediate transfer belt 8, the primary transfer roller 7 is in contact with the inside of the intermediate transfer belt 8, and the photoconductor 5 and the primary transfer roller 7 are connected via the intermediate transfer belt 8. It is held so as to face each other.

  Further, the imaging unit 9 can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus 1 by opening the lid 19 of the main body 2 around the shaft 20, and in the mounted state, the photosensitive member 5 is one of the toners of the developing rotary unit 4. The tension roller 15 faces the cartridge 3 and is in pressure contact with the secondary transfer roller 11 via the intermediate transfer belt 8.

  As shown in FIG. 2, an opening / closing cover 22 that is an opening / closing member that rotates around a first shaft 21 provided on the main body 2 is disposed between the main body front surface 2 a and the toner cartridge 3. A cartridge pressing lever 31 that is a rotating lever that rotates around a cartridge pressing lever rotating shaft 23 that is a second shaft provided in the vicinity of the first shaft 21 is disposed.

  A first protrusion 26, which is a protrusion, is provided at the lower end of the opening / closing cover 22. The first protrusion 26 has a first slidable contact surface 27 extending from the lower end of the openable / closable cover 22 toward the toner cartridge 3 and upward from the first slidable contact surface 27 with the open / close cover 22 closed to the main body 2. And a second sliding contact surface 29 extending from the curved surface 28 toward the opening / closing cover 22. The center of gravity of the opening / closing cover 22 is located outside the main body 2 with respect to the first shaft 21.

  A head portion 32 having a curved surface is provided on the upper portion of the cartridge pressing lever 31, and a convex portion 33 toward the opening / closing cover 22 is provided in the middle portion of the cartridge pressing lever 31. The convex portion 33 has an upper first surface 34 and a lower second surface 35. The cartridge pressing lever 31 is urged toward the open / close cover 22 by a spring 37 connected to the main body 2.

  For example, the cartridge pressing lever 31 may be provided at two places on both sides of the main body 2 or may be provided at one place on the opposite side of the main body 2 where a safety switch 41 described later is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 6, an operating lever 42 that turns on or off the safety switch 41 (see FIG. 9) is disposed on the side surface 2 b of the main body 2. As shown in FIG. 9, the operating lever 42 includes an elongated hole 44 that fits into a shaft 43 provided in the main body 2, a first arm portion 46 that extends from the elongated hole 44 toward the safety switch 41, and an elongated hole 44. The second arm portion 47 extends toward the opening / closing cover 22. The operation lever 42 is biased upward by a spring 49 that connects the frame 48 of the main body 2 and the first arm portion 46.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, a rack unit 51 surrounding the outer periphery of the toner cartridge 3 is provided at the end of the toner cartridge 3. The rack unit 51 has a stepped portion 52 on the outer peripheral surface, and the tip of a rack stopper 53 urged toward the toner cartridge 3 by a spring 64 is engaged with the stepped portion 52 so that the rack unit 51 cannot rotate. Fixed. The rack stopper 53 is arranged to engage with or release the stepped portion 52 in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing cover 22 via the rack unlocking lever 57 that is a rotation lever. Yes. The rack unlock lever 57 is in sliding contact with the second protrusion 54 that is a protrusion provided on the opening / closing cover 22 and rotates around the rack unlock lever rotation shaft 56 that is the second axis.

  The second protrusion 54 of the opening / closing cover 22 is formed horizontally at the lower edge of the second protrusion 54 with the opening / closing cover 22 closed to the main body 2 as shown in FIG. A first slidable contact surface 58 extending toward the upper side, and a second slidable contact surface 59 curved upward from the first slidable contact surface 58. Further, the second slidable contact surface 59 includes a curved surface 60 that is continuous with the first slidable contact surface 58, and a contact surface 61 that extends from the curved surface 60 toward the opening / closing cover 22.

  The rack unlock lever 57 extends from the rack unlock lever rotation shaft 56 toward the second protrusion 54, and a first arm 62 that is in sliding contact with the second protrusion 54, and the rack unlock lever rotation. The second arm portion 63 extends from the shaft 56 toward the rack stopper 53 and abuts against the rack stopper 53. An inclined surface 62 a is formed at the end of the first arm 62 opposite to the rack unlock lever rotation shaft 56.

Next, the operation of the cartridge pressing lever 31 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
When the open / close cover 22 is opened, as shown in FIG. 2, the head portion 32 of the cartridge pressing lever 31 is retracted from the toner cartridge 3, and the first surface 34 is in contact with the first sliding contact surface 27 of the first protrusion 26. Opposite. Further, since the toner cartridge 3 has been inspected or replaced with the opening / closing cover 22 opened, the toner cartridge 3 is positioned incompletely. In this state, when the opening / closing cover 22 is closed with respect to the main body 2, first, the first sliding contact surface 27 of the first protrusion 26 of the opening / closing cover 22 comes into sliding contact with the first surface 34 of the cartridge pressing lever 31. While rotating clockwise around the first shaft 21. Accordingly, the cartridge pressing lever 31 urged toward the opening / closing cover 22 by the spring 37 rotates around the second shaft 23 toward the toner cartridge 3.

  When the opening / closing cover 22 continues to rotate, the curved surface 28 of the first protrusion 26 comes into sliding contact from the first surface 34 to the second surface 35 of the cartridge pressing lever 31 as shown in FIG. As a result, the cartridge pressing lever 31 rotates around the second shaft 23 toward the toner cartridge 3, and the toner cartridge 3 whose head portion 32 is not positioned on the developing rotary unit 4 is pressed toward the developing rotary unit 4. To do. Therefore, the toner cartridge 3 positioned incompletely in the developing rotary unit 4 can be completely positioned by being pressed by the cartridge pressing lever 31.

  When the opening / closing cover 22 is further rotated, as shown in FIG. 4, the second sliding contact surface 29 of the first protrusion 26 is in sliding contact with the second surface 35 of the cartridge pressing lever 31, and the cartridge pressing lever 31 is spring 37. And is rotated around the second shaft 23 toward the opening / closing cover 22.

  Finally, as shown in FIG. 5, the opening / closing cover 22 is locked to the main body 2 in a state where the second sliding contact surface 29 of the first protrusion 26 and the second surface 35 of the cartridge pressing lever 31 are in contact with each other. Is done. As described above, the second surface 35 of the cartridge pressing lever 31 presses the second sliding contact surface 29 of the first protrusion 26 downward, so that the opening / closing cover 22 is directed toward the main body 2 via the first shaft 21. Therefore, even when the rigidity of the opening / closing cover 22 is weak, the opening / closing cover 22 can be pulled into the main body 2 and locked securely.

  In addition, since the first protrusion 26 is located in the vicinity of the first shaft 21 of the opening / closing cover 22, the force for pressing the first protrusion 26 downward is effectively transmitted via the first shaft 21 to open and close the opening / closing cover 22. The cover 22 can be urged toward the main body 2 and retracted.

  Further, since the center of gravity of the opening / closing cover 22 is located on the outer side of the main body 2 with respect to the first shaft 21, when the opening / closing cover 22 is released from the main body 2, the cartridge holding lever 31 is moved to the second sliding portion of the first protrusion 26. Even if the opening / closing cover 22 is urged toward the toner cartridge 3 via the first shaft 21 by abutting against the contact surface 29 and pressing downward, it is easy to apply no excessive force to the opening / closing cover 22. It can be released from the main body 2.

Next, the operation of the rack unlock lever 57 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described.
As shown in FIG. 7, when the opening / closing cover 22 is opened, the rack stopper 53 is biased toward the toner cartridge 3 by the spring 64, and the tip of the rack stopper 53 is connected to the stepped portion 52 of the rack unit 51. Since they engage, the rack unit 51 and the toner cartridge 3 are fixed. In this state, the first sliding contact surface 58 of the second protrusion 54 provided on the opening / closing cover 22 is in contact with the first arm 63 of the rack unlock lever 57.

  When the opening / closing cover 22 is closed to the main body 2, as shown in FIG. 8, the opening / closing cover 22 rotates clockwise around the shaft 21, and the second protrusion 54 provided on the opening / closing cover 22 also rotates around the shaft 21. To turn. At this time, the curved surface 60 of the second protrusion 54 comes into contact with the first arm 62 of the rack unlock lever 57 and presses the first arm 62 toward the toner cartridge 3. As a result, the rack unlock lever 57 rotates counterclockwise around the rack unlock lever rotation shaft 56 and the second arm portion 63 presses the rack stopper 53 in the direction of the arrow. And the stepped portion 52 are disengaged, and the toner cartridge 3 can be rotated.

  When the curved surface 60 comes into contact with the first arm portion 62 of the rack unlock lever 57, the curved surface 60 receives a force from the first arm portion 62 in the direction indicated by the arrow as a reaction force. Thereby, the opening / closing cover 22 can be biased toward the main body 2 around the first shaft 21.

  In the state in which the opening / closing cover 22 is closed to the main body 2, as shown in FIG. 9, the contact surface 61 of the second protrusion 54 contacts the inclined surface 62a of the first arm portion 62, and the contact surface 61 is in the direction of the arrow. Is being energized. Accordingly, even when the rigidity is weak, the opening / closing cover 22 is urged in the direction of the main body 2 via the first shaft 21, so that the opening / closing cover 22 can be pulled into the main body 2 and reliably locked.

Next, the operation of the operation lever 42 and the safety switch 41 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 10, when the imaging unit 9 is detached from the main body 2, the operating lever 42 is biased upward by the spring 49 by the spring 49, so that the operating lever 42 is connected to the shaft 20 (FIG. 1). (Ref.) It is outside the rotation locus of the rib 19a provided on the lid 19 that rotates around. Therefore, in a state where the imaging unit 9 is removed from the main body 2, even if the lid 19 is opened and closed around the shaft 20, the operation lever 42 does not operate and the safety switch 41 is not turned on. The operation can be prevented.

  As shown in FIG. 11, when the imaging unit 9 is mounted on the main body 2, the rib 9 a provided on the imaging unit 9 presses the upper surface of the first arm portion 46 downward. Thereby, the operation lever 42 rotates clockwise around the shaft 43, and the end portion of the first arm portion 46 enters the rotation locus of the rib 19a. Therefore, when the lid 19 is closed from the open state, the lower edge surface 19b of the rib 19a comes into contact with the end of the first arm portion 46 and presses downward as shown in FIG. However, in this state, since the first arm portion 46 is not in contact with the safety switch 41, the safety switch 41 is turned on with the opening / closing cover 22 opened to prevent the image forming apparatus 1 from operating. Can do.

  When the opening / closing cover 22 is closed from the opened state with the lid 19 closed to the main body 2, the rib 22 a provided on the opening / closing cover 22 contacts the second arm portion 47 of the operating lever 42 as shown in FIG. 13. . As a result, the operating lever 42 rotates counterclockwise around the shaft 43 while being in contact with the lower edge surface 19b of the rib 19a, whereby the lower surface of the first arm portion 46 turns on the safety switch 41. When the safety switch 41 is turned on, the image forming apparatus 1 starts warming up and enters a preparation stage for a printing operation.

  By providing the cartridge pressing lever 31 in the vicinity of the side surface of the main body 2 opposite to the operation lever 42 and the safety switch 41 for performing the above operation, the side surface of the main body 2 provided with the cartridge pressing lever 31 is moved by the cartridge pressing lever 31. Even if the other side surface of the main body 2 that is completely locked and not provided with the cartridge pressing lever 31 is incompletely locked, the safety switch 41 is not turned on. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the image forming apparatus 1 from being started in a state where the opening / closing cover 22 is locked incompletely.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment.

  With respect to the first protrusion 26 and the cartridge pressing lever 31, when the opening / closing cover 22 is closed, the toner cartridge 3 is pressed, and the first protrusion 26 and the cartridge pressing lever 31 are in sliding contact with each other to attach the opening / closing cover 22 to the main body 2. The shape is not particularly limited as long as the opening / closing cover 22 can be reliably locked.

  Regarding the second protrusion 54 and the rack unlock lever 57, when the open / close cover 22 is closed, the second protrusion 54 and the rack unlock lever 57 are in sliding contact to urge the open / close cover 22 toward the main body 2. The shape is not particularly limited as long as it can help to securely lock the opening / closing cover 22.

1 is a schematic view of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged side view of a rotation lever and a toner cartridge in a state where an opening / closing cover of FIG. 1 is opened. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged side view of a rotation lever and a toner cartridge in a state where an opening / closing cover of FIG. 1 is slightly closed. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged side view of a rotation lever and a toner cartridge in a state where the opening / closing cover of FIG. 1 is further closed. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged side view of a rotating lever and a toner cartridge in a state where the opening / closing cover of FIG. 1 is locked to a main body. FIG. 2 is a partially broken perspective view of the image forming apparatus in FIG. 1 showing a position of an operation lever. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of a rack unlock lever and a rack stopper in a state where the opening / closing cover of FIG. 1 is opened. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of a rack unlock lever and a rack stopper in a state where the opening / closing cover of FIG. 1 is slightly closed. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of a rack unlock lever and a rack stopper in a state where the opening / closing cover of FIG. 1 is completely closed. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged side view showing an operation lever and a safety switch with the imaging unit of FIG. 1 removed. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged side view showing an operation lever and a safety switch in a state where the imaging unit of FIG. 1 is mounted and the open / close cover and the lid are opened. FIG. 11 is a partially enlarged side view showing the operating lever and the safety switch in a state where the lid of FIG. 10 is closed. FIG. 12 is a partially enlarged side view showing the operating lever and the safety switch in a state where the open / close cover of FIG. 11 is closed.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Main body 3 Toner cartridge 21 1st axis | shaft 22 Opening / closing member (opening / closing cover)
23 Cartridge holding lever rotation axis (second axis)
26 First protrusion (protrusion)
27 First sliding contact surface 29 Second sliding contact surface 31 Cartridge pressing lever (rotating lever)
41 Safety switch 51 Rack unit 53 Rack stopper 54 Second protrusion (protrusion)
56 Rack unlocking lever rotation axis (second axis)
57 Rack unlock lever (rotating lever)
62a Inclined surface 64 Spring

Claims (8)

A main body, a toner cartridge that is mounted in the main body and contains toner necessary for image formation, and rotates via a first shaft so that the toner cartridge can be attached to and detached from the main body, and opens and closes with respect to the main body. In an image forming apparatus having an opening and closing member,
A rotation lever that is rotatable around a second axis is provided between the toner cartridge and the opening / closing member,
When the opening / closing member closes to the main body, the rotating lever rotates around the second axis so as to approach the opening / closing member while being in sliding contact with a protrusion provided on the opening / closing member and pressing downward. An image forming apparatus.   The rotating lever is a cartridge that contacts the toner cartridge and positions the toner cartridge when rotating around the second shaft toward the toner cartridge by slidingly contacting the first sliding surface of the protrusion. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is a pressing lever.   After the cartridge pressing lever contacts the toner cartridge, the cartridge pressing lever slidably contacts the second slidable contact surface opposite to the first slidable contact surface of the protrusion and rotates about the second shaft toward the opening / closing member. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image forming apparatus moves. The main body further includes a rack stopper that is biased toward the toner cartridge and engages with a rack unit provided at an end of the toner cartridge to fix the rack unit;
When the opening / closing member is closed to the main body from the opened state, the rotating lever is slidably contacted with the first sliding contact surface of the protrusion and rotated about the second axis, and the rack stopper is The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is a rack unlock lever that is retracted from the rack unit.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein an inclined surface is provided at an end portion of the rack unlock lever so as to contact the protrusion when the opening / closing member is closed.   6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a center of gravity of the opening / closing member is located outside the main body with respect to the first shaft.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion is located in the vicinity of the first axis of the opening / closing member. The body further has a safety switch on one side,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotating lever is positioned in the vicinity of a side surface portion of the main body opposite to the safety switch.

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