JP5193993B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus represented by a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, and the like.

This type of image forming apparatus has a document conveying device and image reading means such as a scanner unit mounted on the upper side of the apparatus main body, and a document set on the document conveying device or a document placed on the scanner unit. Is optically read by the scanner unit.
In an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic process, a photosensitive drum of the image forming unit is charged in advance, and light is irradiated on the surface of the drum to form an electrostatic latent image. Next, the developed toner image is transferred and fixed on a sheet.

Here, a structure is disclosed in which the scanner unit is housed in a housing, and the inside of the apparatus main body is made visible by opening the housing from the main body so that maintenance and attachment / detachment of members can be performed. (For example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).
Specifically, in Patent Document 1, the lower surface of the casing forms an exterior wall of the apparatus main body, and the casing can be accessed by rotating the casing with respect to the apparatus main body. On the other hand, in Patent Document 2, an outer wall member that also serves as a paper discharge tray is provided on the lower surface of the casing, and this outer wall member also serves as an exterior wall of the apparatus main body. Opening the main body of the device allows access to the inside of the main device.

JP 2003-101704 A JP 2005-62326 A

By the way, in view of the weight of the above-described document conveying device and the scanner unit, the scanner unit housing is opened smaller as in Patent Document 2 than the structure in which the scanner unit housing is opened widely as in Patent Document 1. A structure in which the outer wall member opens largely is preferable because it allows easy access to the inside of the apparatus body by an easy operation.
However, even if the above-described conventional technology, particularly the structure of Patent Document 2, is used, there is a problem that the number of parts increases and becomes complicated, and the apparatus main body becomes large.

This is because the structure of Patent Document 2 requires a plurality of link members for maintaining the opening posture of the casing and the outer wall member in order to open and close the outer wall member in conjunction with the opening and closing operation of the casing. It is.
In addition, care must be taken not to deteriorate the appearance of the secondary appearance of the image forming apparatus with the housing open. This is because in Patent Document 2, the plurality of link members are arranged in the apparatus main body, and the link members are visible from the front when the casing is opened from the apparatus main body.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that solves the above-described problems, reduces the number of parts, and can be easily accessed in the apparatus main body without reducing the apparatus main body in size or the secondary appearance of the apparatus. That is.

According to a first aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, there is provided an apparatus main body containing image forming means capable of outputting an image on a sheet, and is supported rotatably with respect to the apparatus main body. The apparatus main body is provided with an outer wall member whose upper surface faces the lower surface of the housing, and whose lower surface externally covers the image forming unit. The outer wall member is formed with an arm portion extending in a direction perpendicular to the upper surface of the outer wall member , and directly connects the rail member formed on the lower surface of the housing with the arm portion of the outer wall member. A suspension mechanism is provided for opening and closing the outer wall member in conjunction with the opening and closing operation of the housing.

  According to the first invention, these rail members are not the main body of the apparatus, but the facing portion of the lower surface of the housing and the upper surface of the outer wall member, in other words, the projected portion on the lower surface of the housing by the upper surface of the outer wall member. As compared with the conventional case, the arrangement space of the plurality of link members with respect to the apparatus main body is not required, the apparatus main body can be made compact, and the rail can be provided even when the image reading means is opened with respect to the apparatus main body. The member becomes difficult to see and the secondary appearance of the device is not impaired.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the configuration of the first aspect, the upper surface of the outer wall member forms a stacked space for discharged paper, and the suspension mechanism has a stacked space for the paper among the upper surface of the outer wall member. It is arrange | positioned in the outer area | region of.
According to the second invention, in addition to the action of the first invention, the suspension mechanism further includes an upper surface of the outer wall member, specifically, between the inner region of the apparatus main body and the outer region of the sheet stacking space. This point also contributes to the formation of a compact apparatus main body as compared with the conventional case where a plurality of link members are arranged in the apparatus main body.

According to a third invention, in the configuration of the first or second invention, the opening angle of the outer wall member with respect to the apparatus main body is larger than the opening angle of the housing of the image reading means with respect to the apparatus main body.
According to the third invention, in addition to the effects of the first and second inventions, if the opening angle of the outer wall member is made larger than the opening angle of the housing of the image reading means, the housing of the image reading means Even if the opening angle is limited, the outer wall member can be opened larger, and access to the inside of the apparatus main body becomes easy.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, in the configuration of the third aspect of the invention, the outer wall member makes the replacement part of the image forming means accessible by the opening operation.
According to the fourth invention, in addition to the action of the third invention, the opening angle of the outer wall member is larger than the opening angle of the housing of the image reading means, so even at the limited opening angle of the image reading means. The maintenance of replacement parts can be performed satisfactorily.

  According to a fifth invention, in the configuration of the first to fourth inventions, the image reading means is provided between the lower surface of the casing of the image reading means and the outer region of the outer wall member of the apparatus main body. A holding member capable of holding the open state of the image forming apparatus, and a stopper provided in the apparatus main body, the stopper holding the open state of the image reading means of the housing by being locked to the holding member. .

  According to the fifth invention, in addition to the operations of the first to fourth inventions, the outer wall member is opened by the suspension mechanism provided on the upper surface of the outer wall member, whereas the image reading means is provided. The opening posture of the housing is held by a holding member or a stopper provided outside the outer wall member. In other words, only the image reading means that is heavier than the outer wall member is supported on the apparatus main body side. Thus, the space of the facing portion between the housing of the image reading means and the apparatus main body can be used effectively.

According to a sixth invention, in the configuration of the fifth invention, the holding member is swingably connected to the housing at one end side thereof, and the other end side is along a direction in which the rail member extends with respect to the apparatus main body. It is supported so as to be movable, and moves in a direction away from the open side of the housing as the housing is moved from the apparatus main body to the open position.
According to the sixth aspect of the invention, in addition to the action of the fifth aspect of the invention, the holding member moves in a direction away from the open side in the state where the open state of the housing is held, so that maintenance work on the open side is performed. Work in is easier.

  According to the present invention, the suspension mechanism that opens and closes the outer wall member provided in the apparatus main body in conjunction with opening the image reading means casing with respect to the apparatus main body is not the apparatus main body, but the lower surface of the casing. The image forming apparatus can be easily accessed in the apparatus main body because it is disposed in the facing portion between the outer wall member and the upper surface of the outer wall member, so that the number of parts can be reduced, and the apparatus main body is compact and the secondary appearance of the apparatus is not impaired. Can be provided.

1 is an external perspective view of a multifunction machine according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram including a controller of the multifunction peripheral of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view around a paper discharge tray in FIG. 1. It is explanatory drawing of the connection of the casing of FIG. 3, and an outer wall member. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the multifunction machine viewed from above in FIG. 3. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the multifunction machine in which an outer wall member of FIG. 1 is opened. FIG. 7 is a side view showing fulcrums of the housing of FIG. 1 and the housing of FIG. It is the side view which showed the closed state of the outer wall member of FIG. It is the side view which showed the open state of the outer wall member of FIG. (A) is a holding link in the closed state of FIG. 7, (b) is a side view of the holding link in the opened state of FIG.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a digital multifunction peripheral, which is an example of an image forming apparatus, a so-called multifunction peripheral (hereinafter referred to as MFP) 1 from the upper right front. In the figure, the front of the MFP 1 facing the user and the right side of the MFP 1 can be seen. The MFP 1 includes a box-type apparatus main body 2, and a sheet is discharged to the upper side of the apparatus main body 2.

Specifically, the inside of the apparatus main body 2 is covered with an outer wall member 6 from above, and the upper surface 7 of the outer wall member 6 visible in FIG. 1 functions as a paper discharge tray.
Further, the apparatus main body 2 of this embodiment protrudes upward on the left and right sides and the rear side with respect to the upper surface 7 as viewed in FIG. 1, and an optical scanner unit (image reading means) is provided above the apparatus main body 2. ) 20 is installed.

  Further, although not shown in the figure, an automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as ADF) can be mounted on the upper side of the scanner unit 20, and when the MFP 1 is used as a copying machine, a facsimile, or a network scanner. The original is conveyed from the ADF, and the image surface is optically read by the scanner unit 20.

  The scanner unit 20 is housed in a casing (housing) 22 described later, and an operation panel 28 is installed on the front side of the casing 22. The panel 28 is provided with an operation screen for displaying various information such as a plurality of operation keys used for various operations of the user, character information, and guide images. These operations are notified to the controller 38 of FIG.

On the other hand, a front loading type paper supply device is disposed at the lower part of the apparatus main body 10. Specifically, this supply device has a paper feed cassette 4 (FIG. 1), and the cassette 4 can store sheets stacked in the thickness direction and can be pulled out from the apparatus main body 2. .
Next, FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram including the controller 38 of the MFP 1.

The MFP 1 is connected to a network via a network interface (IF) 26 and further connected to a public line. The MFP 1 executes various operations in accordance with program instructions.
The MFP 1 has, for example, a printing function (Copy function), a transmission function (Send function), and a storage function (Box function).

Specifically, the HDD 32 includes a box area 34, and sequentially stores various data such as a print job transmitted from the client PC, a scan job read by the scanner unit 20, and a facsimile job received by the FAX communication unit 24. And has a Box function.
Further, the MFP 1 includes a memory 30. The memory 30 includes a ROM, a RAM, and the like, and stores programs for various processing operations.

The above-described FAX communication unit 24 also has a Send function, and transmits a facsimile job stored in the HDD 32 to the other party.
The print engine (image forming means) 10 includes an ADF that transports a document to an image reading position of the scanner unit 20, a paper feed cassette 4 that stores paper, a drum unit 14 that forms an electrostatic latent image corresponding to each color, Connected to the developing unit 16 that develops the toner image using the toner of the corresponding color toner container 18 and the intermediate transfer belt 12 that transfers the toner image onto the paper, the print job stored in the HDD 32 is transferred to the upper surface 7 of the outer wall member 6. It has a copy function.

The intermediate transfer belt 12, the drum unit 14, the developing unit 16, and the toner container 18 are accommodated in the apparatus main body 2 above the paper feed cassette 4.
Returning to FIG. 1 again, the casing 22 of the present embodiment is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped whose longitudinal direction is larger than the width of the front surface of the MFP 1, and a contact glass 23 is disposed on the upper surface thereof.

  The components of the scanner unit 20 are housed in the casing 22 below the contact glass 23. Specifically, the scanner unit 20 includes a carriage for reading image data of a document, a CCD (none of which are shown), and the like. The carriage irradiates light toward the contact glass 23 and extends along the longitudinal direction of the casing 22. Moving. The irradiated light is read by the CCD and converted into a predetermined signal, and an electrostatic latent image of a document image can be formed on the photosensitive drum of the drum unit 14 by the laser unit 13.

  The upper surface having the contact glass 23 faces the lower surface 66 of the cover having the operation keys and the operation screen of the operation panel 28 (FIG. 3), and the peripheral edges of the upper surface and the lower surface 66 are the front surface as shown in FIG. 60, the back surface 62 and the side surface 64. Specifically, the side surfaces 64 and 64 face each other at both end portions in the longitudinal direction of the casing 22. The front ends of these side surfaces 64, 64 are connected to the front surface 60 on which the operation panel 28 is disposed, and the front surface 60 faces the back surface 62 located on the back side as viewed in FIG. 1.

A reading side fulcrum 68 is provided at an appropriate position on the back surface 62 (FIG. 7), and the casing 22 is rotatably supported by the apparatus main body 2.
A suspension mechanism for connecting the outer wall member 6 is provided at a position facing the upper surface 7 of the outer wall member 6 in the lower surface 66. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the suspension mechanism of this embodiment includes a rail member (opening rail) 80, an arm portion 42, and a link pin (pin member) 46. A rail 80 is formed on the lower surface 66 of the casing 22.

  Specifically, the release rails 80 of the present embodiment have cylindrical main bodies 82 that are respectively positioned at the left and right ends of the upper surface 7 that functions as a paper discharge tray as viewed in FIG. The opening of the cylindrical main body 82 is formed in a rectangular shape, and a peripheral wall is connected to the periphery of the opening, and extends from the front of the MFP 1 toward the back. In addition, an outer groove 83 and an inner groove 84 penetrating the peripheral wall are formed in the peripheral wall of the cylindrical main body 82 (FIGS. 3, 4, and 7).

  More specifically, the inner groove portion 84 is disposed close to the upper surface 7 of the cylindrical main body 82 and extends from the front surface of the MFP 1 toward the rear surface. On the other hand, the outer groove 83 also extends from the front to the back of the MFP 1, but is located on the opposite side of the inner groove 84. The outer groove 83 and the inner groove 84 face each other at substantially the same height. The link pin 46 is received.

The link pin 46 has a head 47 and a leg 48. The head 47 is disposed in the inner groove 84 and the leg 48 is disposed in the outer groove 83.
In addition, in the cylindrical main body 82, in the vicinity of the back end of the outer groove portion 83, a rotation support portion 86 is drilled through the peripheral wall of the cylindrical main body 82 (FIGS. 8 and 9), and a holding link (holding) which will be described later. Member) 52 is rotatably supported.

  The casing 22 is provided with a hook member 72 that engages with the apparatus main body 2 (FIG. 7). The hook member 72 protrudes downward from the lower surface 66 and is shown in FIG. 5 from which the upper surface having the contact glass 23 and the cover having the operation keys and the operation screen of the operation panel 28 are removed from the casing 22. As shown in the figure, the apparatus body 2 is configured to be engageable with the protruding left and right sides in the vicinity of the front surface 60.

3 and 5, an operation lever 70 is disposed on the front surface 60 on the right side of the operation panel 28. When the operation lever 70 is pulled toward the front side, the hook member 72 and the apparatus main body 2 are disengaged. can do.
On the other hand, the arm portion 42 described above is provided on the upper surface 7 of the outer wall member 6. The arm portions 42 are also formed on the left and right ends of the upper surface 7 functioning as a paper discharge tray (FIG. 3), and are provided with peripheral walls in which an outer groove 83 and an inner groove 84 are formed from below the opening of the cylindrical main body 82, respectively. (Fig. 4).

In the arm portion 42, an insertion hole 43 corresponding to the outer groove portion 83 and the inner groove portion 84 is drilled through the arm portion 42. When the insertion hole 43 is disposed between the outer groove 83 and the inner groove 84 and the casing 22 and the outer wall member 6 are connected by the link pin 46, the outer wall member 6 is suspended from the casing 22.
Further, as shown in FIG. 7, an outer wall side fulcrum 38 is provided at the inner end of the outer wall member 6, and this outer wall member 6 is also rotatably supported by the apparatus main body 2 in the same manner as the casing 22.

Thus, the casing 22 and the outer wall member 6 are connected by the lower surface 66 on which the upper surface 7 is projected, whereas the casing 22 and the apparatus main body 2 are connected outside the outer wall member 6. ing.
Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, holding links 52 are respectively provided on the outer side of the peripheral wall in which the outer groove 83 of the opening rail 80 is formed as viewed from the outer wall member 6.

  One end of the holding link 52 is formed with a turning portion 53, and the turning portion 53 is connected to the turning support portion 86 in the vicinity of the outer groove 83 described above. On the other hand, a slide part 54 is formed at the other end of the holding link 52 (FIG. 10A). It is slidably supported by the holding rail 50 formed on the protruding left and right sides.

  The slide portion 54 is biased by an assist spring (not shown). Specifically, the spring connects the round pin 55 and the back side of the apparatus main body 2, and when the casing 22 is opened, that is, the holding link 52 from the posture of FIG. 10A (b). When moving to this posture, the slide portion 54 is quickly moved toward the back side of the apparatus main body 2. On the other hand, during the closing operation of the casing 22, that is, when returning from the posture of FIG. 10B to the posture of FIG. 10A, the damper function that slowly moves the slide portion 54 toward the front side of the apparatus main body 2. have.

  In the MFP 1, when the operation lever 70 is pulled to the near side in the state of FIG. 1 to disengage the hook member 72 from the apparatus main body 2, the front surface 60 side of the casing 22 is lifted by about 10 mm from the apparatus main body 2. . This is because the casing 22 is pushed up by the protrusion 49 shown in FIG. More specifically, trigger springs (not shown) are respectively provided on the protruding left and right sides of the apparatus main body 2 to urge the protrusions 49 upward. Thereby, when the engagement between the hook member 72 and the apparatus main body 2 is released, the protrusion 49 pushes up the front surface 60 side of the casing 22 by the biasing force of the spring.

  Subsequently, when the user lifts the front surface 60 side of the casing 22 with his / her hand, the release rail 80 is tilted, and the rotating portion 53 of the holding link 52 is rotated while rotating with respect to the release rail 80 of the casing 22. The unit 54 moves along the holding rail 50 from the front side of the MFP 1 toward the back side. As a result, the casing 22 starts to open in the direction of the arrow in FIG. The holding link 52 in FIG. 7 also shows an intermediate posture between the posture in FIG. 10A and the posture in FIG.

  At the same time, the arm portion 42 of the outer wall member 6 has a position in which the link pin 46 is positioned on the front side of the outer groove 83 and the inner groove 84 of the opening rail 80, in other words, a leg portion 48 of the pin 46. Since the opening rail 80 is inclined from the position of the right end of the outer groove 83 as viewed in FIG. 8, the position of the outer groove 83 or the inner groove 84 on the inner side, in other words, the position of the left end of the outer groove 83 as viewed in FIG. Since the outer wall member 6 is guided toward the position, the outer wall member 6 opens in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 9 about the outer wall side fulcrum 38 (opening angle: about 60 °).

The opening angle of the outer wall member 6 is further increased if the distance between the reading side fulcrum 68 and the outer wall fulcrum 38 is increased.
Here, the holding rail 50 is provided with a stopper 56 (FIG. 10). The stopper 56 is provided at a position in contact with the slide portion 54 of the holding link 52 according to the posture shown in FIGS. 7 and 10B, and can hold the fully opened position of the casing 22.

  Specifically, the stopper 56 is urged upward by a stopper spring 58 (FIG. 10B), and the slide portion 54 in the posture of FIG. When it moves toward the side and comes into contact with the stopper 56, the stopper 56 is pushed downward of the holding rail 50 against the biasing force of the spring 58.

  On the other hand, when the slide portion 54 further moves toward the back side of the MFP 1 from the position of the pushed stopper 56, the stopper 56 jumps out above the holding rail 50 by the biasing force of the spring 58, and the slide portion 54 is moved. Lock. Thereby, the casing 22 opened in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 7 with the reading side fulcrum 68 as the center is held in the posture shown in FIG. 6 (opening angle: about 40 °).

  Then, as shown in FIG. 6, when the lower surface 8 of the outer wall member 6 is visible from the outside, the user can use the service unit housed in the apparatus main body 2, that is, the above-described intermediate unit. The transfer belt 12, the drum unit 14, the developing unit 16, the toner container 18 and the like can be accessed, and these can be easily replaced.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the print engine 10 is stored in the apparatus main body 2, and the scanner unit 20 is stored in the casing 22. The casing 22 can be opened and closed with respect to the apparatus main body 2. is there.
The outer wall member 6 has an upper surface 7 that forms a stacking space for discharged papers against the lower surface 66 of the casing 22, and a lower surface 8 that covers the print engine 10. The outer wall member 6 is also attached to the apparatus main body 2. It can be opened and closed.

Here, a suspension mechanism is provided between the lower surface 66 of the casing 22 and the upper surface 7 of the outer wall member 6.
Specifically, the release rail 80 is formed on the lower surface 66 of the casing 22, and the release rail 80 and the arm portion 42 of the outer wall member 6 are connected by the link pin 46. The outer wall member 6 is the lower surface of the casing 22. 66 is suspended. Thus, if the outer wall member 6 is connected to the casing 22 by the opening rail 80 and the link pin 46, the number of parts can be reduced as compared with the conventional case, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

  The opening rails 80 and the link pins 46 are not the main body 2 but the facing portion of the lower surface 66 of the casing 22 and the upper surface 7 of the outer wall member 6, in other words, the casing 22 formed by the upper surface 7 of the outer wall member 6. Since it is arranged in the projection part on the lower surface 66, the arrangement space of the plurality of link members with respect to the apparatus main body is not required as compared with the conventional case, the apparatus main body 2 can be made compact, and the scanner unit 20 can be used as the apparatus main body 2. When opened, the opening rail 80 and the link pin 46 are difficult to see, and the secondary appearance of the MFP 1 is not impaired.

Further, the suspension mechanism of the present embodiment is disposed in the upper surface 7 of the outer wall member 6, specifically, a space between the inner region of the apparatus main body 2 and the outer region of the sheet stacking space. This also contributes to the formation of a compact apparatus main body as compared with the prior art in which a plurality of link members are arranged in the apparatus main body.
Furthermore, if the opening angle of the outer wall member 6 is made larger than the opening angle of the casing 22, the outer wall member 6 can be opened more greatly even if the opening angle of the heavy scanner unit 20 is limited. Access to is easier.

  Furthermore, since the opening angle of the outer wall member 6 is larger than the opening angle of the casing 22, even at a limited opening angle of the scanner unit 20, replacement parts, in this embodiment, the intermediate transfer belt 12, the drum unit 14, The detachability of the developing unit 16 and the toner container 18 is improved.

  The opening of the outer wall member 6 is performed by a suspension mechanism provided on the surface 7 of the outer wall member 6, whereas the opening posture of the scanner unit 20 is a holding link provided outside the outer wall member 6. 52 and stopper 56. Further, the holding link 52 moves in a direction away from the opening side in a state where the opening posture of the scanner unit 20 is maintained. With these configurations, the above work becomes easier.

  That is, since only the scanner unit 20 that is heavier than the outer wall member 6 is supported on the apparatus main body 2 side, the scanner unit and the outer wall member are held on the apparatus main body side in addition to the scanner unit. It is possible to effectively utilize the space of the facing portion between the unit 20 and the apparatus main body 2.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the claims.
For example, the above-described MFP 1 is an example of an image forming apparatus, and the present invention can naturally be applied to a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, and the like provided with an outer wall member that opens in conjunction with the opening operation of the casing of the scanner unit. .

  In any of these cases, the number of parts can be reduced as described above, and the apparatus main body can be made compact and the secondary appearance of the apparatus is not impaired, and the apparatus main body can be easily accessed.

1 MFP (image forming device)
2 apparatus main body 6 outer wall member 7 front surface 8 back surface 10 print engine (image forming means)
12 Intermediate transfer belt (replacement parts)
14 Drum unit (replacement parts)
16 Development unit (replacement parts)
18 Toner container (replacement parts)
20 Scanner unit (image reading means)
22 Casing (housing)
46 Link pin (suspending mechanism)
52 Holding member (holding link)
56 Stopper 66 Lower surface 80 Rail member (rail for opening, suspension mechanism)

Claims (6)

An apparatus main body containing image forming means capable of outputting an image on paper;
The apparatus main body is rotatably supported, and is composed of a housing containing image reading means capable of optically reading a document,
The apparatus main body is rotatably supported by the apparatus main body, and has an outer wall member whose outer surface faces the lower surface of the housing, and whose lower surface covers the image forming unit.
The outer wall member is formed with an arm portion that extends to the upper surface and extends in a direction perpendicular thereto.
A suspension mechanism is provided that directly connects the rail member formed on the lower surface of the housing and the arm portion of the outer wall member, and opens and closes the outer wall member in conjunction with the opening and closing operation of the housing. An image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The upper surface of the outer wall member forms a stacked space for the discharged paper,
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the suspension mechanism is disposed in an outer region of the sheet stacking space on the upper surface of the outer wall member. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
An image forming apparatus, wherein an opening angle of the outer wall member with respect to the apparatus main body is larger than an opening angle of the housing with respect to the apparatus main body. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the outer wall member is configured to be accessible to a replacement part of the image forming means by the opening operation. An image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A holding member provided between a lower surface of the housing and an outer region of the outer wall member of the apparatus main body, and capable of holding an open state of the housing;
An image forming apparatus, further comprising a stopper that is provided in the apparatus main body and that is engaged with the holding member to hold the housing in an open state. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein
The holding member is swingably connected to the housing on one end side, and the other end side is supported so as to be movable along a direction in which the rail member extends with respect to the apparatus main body.
The image forming apparatus, wherein the holding member moves in a direction away from an open side of the casing as the casing moves from the apparatus main body to an open position.

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