JP5298226B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus in which a release lever for opening a front cover covering a front of an image forming apparatus body so as to be freely opened and closed is made difficult to see from an operator who operates the image forming apparatus and is made difficult to be performed wrong operation. <P>SOLUTION: A lower end side of a front cover 3 which can be freely opened and closed and covers a front side of an image forming apparatus body 2 is supported by the image forming apparatus body 2. A sheet ejection port 55 for ejecting a sheet to a paper ejection tray 10 is arranged to face a back side so that the sheet ejection port 55 projects from the ejection tray 10. A release lever 80 for opening the front cover 3 is arranged to face the back side on a left side and a right side of the sheet ejection port 55. The release lever 80 is made difficult to see from the front side and is made difficult to be performed wrong operation. When the release lever 80 is operated intentionally, the release lever 80 is operated easily. An operator can smoothly perform operations from operating of the release lever 80 to opening of the front cover 3 as a series of operations. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2013,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having, on the front surface of an image forming apparatus main body, for example, an openable and closable front cover that is opened when performing jam processing.

In an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copier, or a facsimile, a sheet is conveyed by a sheet conveying unit, and an image is formed on the sheet by an image forming unit. For example, when the image forming apparatus is an electrophotographic image forming apparatus often used in an office or the like, the toner transferred in the sheet feeding cassette or the toner transferred onto the sheet Jam (paper jam) is likely to occur at the time of fixing by fixing an image by heating and pressing. For this reason, the image forming apparatus is provided with an openable / closable cover on the front side or the left and right side surfaces. When jamming, the openable / closable cover is opened to expose a part of the sheet conveyance path and easily remove jammed paper. Be able to.

The opening / closing cover is normally locked to the image forming apparatus main body by a lock member, and this lock member is released by an operator (user, serviceman, etc.) pushing or pulling a release member such as a lever or button. By doing so, it can be opened.

Conventionally, such a release member is provided on a relatively conspicuous portion on the front side or side surface of the image forming apparatus main body, as shown in Patent Document 1, so that anyone can easily find out when a jam occurs. Generally, it is arranged so that it is easy to operate.

JP 2002-351128 A

However, according to the above-described prior art, the release member is arranged so as to be conspicuous and easy to operate for the operator. As a first problem, for example, when the operator takes out the sheet after image formation, There is a risk of accidental touching or accidental touching.
In addition, since it is arranged so as to be conspicuous at a place that is easy to see from the operator, a second problem of deteriorating the aesthetics also occurs.

Therefore, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus provided with a release member that is easily visible when an operation is required while being disposed at a location that is difficult to be seen by an operator who operates the image forming apparatus and is difficult to be erroneously operated. It is intended to provide.

The present invention includes an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet, a sheet conveying unit that conveys the sheet related to image formation, an image forming apparatus main body provided with the image forming unit and the sheet conveying unit, The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including The image forming apparatus according to the present invention has an operation unit and is supported by the image forming apparatus main body so that the lower end side thereof is swingable. The closed position covers the front side of the image forming apparatus main body and a part of the image forming apparatus main body. And a holding mechanism that is interposed between the image forming apparatus main body and the front cover and holds the front cover in the closed position. The holding mechanism includes a lock member that is supported by one of the image forming apparatus main body and the front cover and that can be engaged with and disengaged from the other, and a release member that releases the engagement of the lock member. doing. Further, the release member is disposed on a surface located on the rear side of the operation portion on the upper end side of the front cover and facing the back side. Further, when the operator located on the front side of the main body of the image forming apparatus hangs his left and right hands on the upper end side and the rear end of the left and right panels forming the front cover, the operator The release member can be operated with a finger of the operator, the operator operates the release member to release the engagement of the lock member, and the operator pulls the left and right hands toward the front as it is. It is swung and opened from the closed position to the open position so that a part of the main body of the image forming apparatus can be exposed.

According to the present invention, the release member is disposed on the surface located on the rear side of the operation portion on the upper end side of the front cover and on the surface facing the back side, so that the operator can operate the operation portion. From the front side of the image forming apparatus, which is located at the time of the operation, the release member is difficult to see and is not easily operated. Further, according to the present invention, the operator can smoothly perform the opening operation of the front cover as a series of operations from the operation of the release member.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the entire image forming apparatus as viewed from the upper left oblique side of the front side. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the entire image forming apparatus as viewed from the rear and obliquely upward on the left side. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing an internal structure of the image forming apparatus as viewed from the left side. It is a perspective view of the front cover of the state removed from the state of FIG. It is the figure which looked at the upper part of the front cover of the state which removed the left panel from the left side. It is a figure explaining the state which operated the release lever as a release member from the state shown in Drawing 5, and operated the lock member. It is an expansion perspective view explaining a release lever, a slide member, a rotation member, a connection member, etc. It is a perspective view which takes out and shows a locking member. It is a schematic diagram explaining a front cover and a conveyance unit, (a) shows both closed positions (closed state), (b) is a figure which shows an open position (open state).

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each drawing, the member etc. which attached | subjected the same code | symbol are the same structures, The duplication description about these shall be abbreviate | omitted suitably. Moreover, in each drawing, members and the like that are not necessary for the description are omitted as appropriate.

<Embodiment 1>
The entire image forming apparatus 1 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition,
In FIGS. 1 to 3, the vertical and horizontal directions in the image forming apparatus 1 are indicated by arrows. 1 to 3, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the entire image forming apparatus 1 as viewed from the upper left side of the front side thereof. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the entire image forming apparatus 1 as viewed from the rear and obliquely upward on the left side. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing the internal structure of the image forming apparatus 1 as viewed from the left side. 4 shows a perspective view of the front cover 3 in a state where it is removed from the state shown in FIG. However, the manual feed tray 16, which will be described later, is removed in FIG.

Here, examples of the image forming apparatus 1 include a printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, and a multifunction machine of these. In the following description, a case where the image forming apparatus 1 is a printer will be described as an example. An image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a four-color full-color image forming apparatus 1 that employs an electrophotographic system, an intermediate transfer system, and a tandem system.

With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the configuration of the entire image forming apparatus 1 as viewed from the outside will be described.
The image forming apparatus 1 includes a substantially box-shaped rectangular parallelepiped image forming apparatus main body 2 and the image forming apparatus main body 2.
And a front cover 3 that is supported so as to be freely opened and closed.

The image forming apparatus main body 2 has a front surface covered with a front cover 3 and a left side surface and a right side surface covered with a left exterior panel 4 and a right exterior panel 5 made of synthetic resin. On the rear surface of the image forming apparatus main body 2, a part 7 of a sheet metal constituting the main body frame 6 is exposed as a structure. The upper surface of the image forming apparatus main body 2 is covered with a front cover 3 at the front, and is covered with a paper discharge tray 10 having a sheet stacking surface 8 that is raised from the middle to the rear.

The front cover 3 includes a front exterior panel 11 and a later-described sheet conveyance unit 2 incorporated inside the front cover panel 11.
4 part. The front exterior panel 11 includes a front panel 12, a rear upper panel 13 that continues from the upper end, and an inverted “L” -shaped left panel 14 and right panel 15. A rectangular manual feed tray 16 is disposed on the front panel 12.
The manual feed tray 16 has a swing center on the lower end side, and forms a part of the front panel 12 at the closed position of the standing posture shown in FIG. In an open position (not shown) that is rearwardly lowered, it becomes a sheet feed table on which the sheet is placed on the upper surface. Upper panel 1
3, an operation panel (operation unit) 17 is arranged. The operation panel 17 is arranged so as to be inclined substantially upward so that the rear end side is slightly higher so that an operator (for example, a user) who operates standing on the front side of the image forming apparatus 1 can easily see. A touch panel type liquid crystal display unit and various buttons are arranged on the operation panel 17, and the operator stands on the front of the image forming apparatus 1 and the entire image forming apparatus 1 is operated by the operation panel 17. It can be operated. The left panel 14 and the right panel 15 are disposed so as to cover a part of the sheet conveying unit 24 configured inside the front cover 3 from the left side and the right side, respectively.

As will be described later, the front cover 3 is supported by the image forming apparatus main body 2 in a swingable manner at the lower end side, so that the entire front cover 3 can be opened and closed. A release lever (release member) 80, which will be described later, which is operated when the front cover 3 is opened, is located at the upper end side and the rear end side (right side) of the left panel 14 and the right panel 15 as shown in FIG. It is disposed on the upper end side and on the inner side (left side) of the rear end side. The release lever 80 will be described in detail later. The front cover 3 having the above-described configuration allows the operator to open the front cover 3 from the front side of the image forming apparatus 1 to the front side and perform jam processing (operation for removing a sheet that has caused a paper jam). It is. Further, as will be described later, the paper feed cassette 25 in which a sheet to be subjected to image formation is accommodated can also be detached from the front side. As described above, the operator performs the entire operation of the image forming apparatus 1 using the operation panel 17, the jam processing when the jam occurs, the sheet replenishment to the sheet feeding cassette 25 when the sheet runs out, and the like. All can be performed from the front side of the image forming apparatus 1. The front cover 3 will be described in detail later.

  This is the end of the description of the configuration of the entire image forming apparatus 1 viewed from the outside.

Next, the internal structure of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. In the image forming apparatus 1, a sheet storage unit 20, a substrate storage unit 21, an image forming unit 22, a toner supply unit 23, and a paper discharge tray 10 are provided in order from the lower side to the upper side of the image forming apparatus main body 2. . A sheet conveying unit 24 is provided between the front side of the image forming apparatus main body 2 and the front cover 3.

A sheet cassette 25 is disposed in the sheet storage unit 20. The sheet feeding cassette 25 stores a plurality of sheets in a stacked state, and biases the leading end side (the right side in the figure) of the stacked sheets upward by a lift plate 26 disposed at the bottom. Yes. As a result, the uppermost sheet in the sheet feeding cassette 25 is fed by a pickup roller 27 of a sheet transport unit 24 described later, and further, the feeding roller 28 and the retard roller 30 prevent double feeding, and only one sheet is downstream. To the side. The paper feed cassette 25 can be inserted and removed from the front side of the image forming apparatus 1. A substrate storage unit 21 is disposed above the paper feed cassette 25.

The substrate storage unit 21 is provided with a substrate and electrical components (not shown) that control the entire image forming apparatus 1. An image forming unit 22 is disposed above the substrate storage unit 21.

The image forming unit 22 includes an intermediate transfer belt 31 and four (four color) image forming stations having the same configuration along the rotation direction (direction of arrow R31) of the intermediate transfer belt 31, that is, yellow (Y). Image forming station 32, magenta (M) image forming station 33
, Cyan (C) image forming station 34, and black (Bk) image forming station 35. The yellow image forming station 32 includes a photosensitive drum 36, a charging device 37, an exposure device 38, a developing device 40, and a primary transfer roller disposed around the photosensitive drum 36 along the rotation direction (arrow direction). 41, a drum cleaner 42, and the like.
The photosensitive drum 36 is driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow at a predetermined process speed. Photosensitive drum 36
The surface (outer peripheral surface) of the exposure device is uniformly (uniformly) charged to a predetermined polarity and potential by the charging device 37 and then exposed by the exposure device 38 based on image information sent from a personal computer (not shown) or the like. As a result, the charge in the exposed portion is removed and an electrostatic latent image is formed. The electrostatic latent image is developed as a toner image with the toner in the developer attached thereto by the developing device 40. In the present embodiment, a two-component developer mainly composed of toner and carrier is used as the developer.

The toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 36 as described above is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 31.
Is transcribed. The intermediate transfer belt 31 is stretched around a driving roller 43 and a driven roller 44, and rotates in the direction of arrow R31 by the rotation of the driving roller 43 in the direction of the arrow. The yellow toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 36 is transferred to the primary transfer roller 4 at the primary transfer portion T1.
1 is primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 31. The toner (primary transfer residual toner) remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 36 after the primary transfer of the toner image is removed by the drum cleaner 42.

The remaining three color (cyan, magenta, black) image forming stations 33, 34, 35
Also, the toner image of cyan, magenta, and black is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 36 of these image forming stations 33, 34, and 35 in the same manner as the yellow image forming station 32 described above. Then, primary transfer is sequentially performed on the intermediate transfer belt 31. Thus, the four color toner images are superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 31. The four-color toner images on the intermediate transfer belt 31 are secondarily transferred collectively to a sheet conveyed by a sheet conveying unit 24 described later by a secondary transfer roller 45 in a secondary transfer unit T2. Toner remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 31 after the secondary transfer of the toner image (secondary transfer residual toner) is removed by a belt cleaner 46 disposed in the vicinity of the driven roller 44. A toner replenishing unit 23 is provided above the image forming unit 22.

In the toner replenishing unit 23, four toner containers each containing toner of each color, that is, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black toner containers 47, 48, 50,
51 is disposed. Each color developing device 40 is provided with a density sensor (not shown) for detecting the toner density (toner / developer weight ratio). When it is detected that the toner amount is less than a predetermined value, the toner is replenished to the developing device 40 of each color from the toner containers 47, 48, 50, 51 of each color. A paper discharge tray 10 is provided above the toner supply unit 23.

The paper discharge tray 10 is formed so as to cover the upper surface of the image forming apparatus main body 2, and the intermediate portion in the front-rear direction is inclined so that the rear end side is positioned upward, and the rear end side is the intermediate portion. It is formed flat so as to be continuous. On the sheet stacking surface 8 on the upper surface of the sheet discharge tray 10, sheets discharged backward from a sheet discharge port 55 of a sheet conveying unit 24 described below are stacked.

In the present embodiment, the sheet conveying unit 24 is provided between the front side of the image forming apparatus main body 2 and the front cover 3, and a sheet conveying path 52 that guides a sheet from below to above.
And a sheet re-conveying path 53 that is disposed in front of the sheet conveying path 52 and guides the sheet from the upper side to the lower side, and further includes a manual feeding unit 54. In the present embodiment, the sheet re-conveying path 53 is a sheet conveying path that is directly opened by opening the front cover 3 described later. On the other hand, the sheet conveyance path 52 is a sheet conveyance path that is indirectly opened through a conveyance unit 73 described later when the front cover 3 is opened.

The sheet conveyance path 52 rises upward from the vicinity of the above-described feeding roller 28, extends upward while being gently curved backward, and extends upward in the vicinity of the intermediate transfer belt 31 with the bending direction facing forward. The sheet extends obliquely upward toward the rear and reaches the sheet discharge port 55. The sheet conveyance path 52 includes a rear guide 52a and a front guide 52b facing each other, and a part of the front guide 52b is formed in a conveyance unit 73 described later. In the sheet conveyance path 52, the pickup roller 27, the feeding roller 28, the retard roller 30, the conveyance path roller pair 56, the registration roller pair 57, and the above-described intermediate transfer belt 31 are sandwiched between the driving roller 43 in order from the bottom. Secondary transfer roller 45, fixing roller pair 58, conveying roller pair 60,
A switching flapper 61, a discharge roller pair 62, and the like are provided. The fixing roller pair 58 described above.
Includes a fixing roller 63 having a built-in heater (not shown) and a pressure roller 64 which is in contact with the fixing roller and forms a fixing nip portion therebetween.

The sheet fed from the sheet feeding cassette 25 by the pickup roller 27, the feeding roller 28, and the retard roller 30 is a pair of conveying rollers 56 and a pair of registration rollers 57.
In the secondary transfer portion T2, the four color toner images on the intermediate transfer belt 31 are secondarily transferred in a batch, and heated and pressurized when passing through the fixing nip portion to fix the toner image on the surface. Is done. The sheet after the toner image is fixed is switched by a conveyance roller pair 60.
The sheet is guided to the lower surface of the sheet and conveyed to the sheet discharge roller pair 62, and is discharged rearward from the sheet discharge port 55 facing the back side by the sheet discharge roller pair 62, on the sheet stacking surface 8 of the sheet discharge tray 10. To load. In the figure, the sensor flag 65 of the paper discharge sensor disposed immediately downstream of the paper discharge roller pair 62 is operating with the sheet P being discharged.

The sheet re-conveying path 53 extends obliquely from the upper side to the front side of the above-described sheet discharge port 55, and gently slopes and extends to the rear side with a steep slope, and protrudes downward at the lower end portion. Then, the sheet merges with the sheet conveyance path 52 described above. The sheet re-conveying path 53 includes a rear guide 53a and a front guide (guide portion) 53b that face each other. A part of the rear guide 53a is formed in a transport unit 73 described later. Further, most of the front guide 53b is incorporated inside (rear end side) of the exterior panel 11 and constitutes the front cover 3 together with the exterior panel 11. In the sheet re-conveying path 53, a reverse roller pair 66, a switching flapper 61, first, second, and second are sequentially arranged from the upper side, which is the upstream side when re-conveying the sheet.
Third and fourth re-conveying roller pairs 67, 68, 70, 71 are disposed.

When images are formed on both sides of the sheet, the switching flapper 61 is switched to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line, and the sheet on which the toner image is fixed is conveyed to the conveying roller pair 60 and the switching flapper 61 It is conveyed along the upper surface and further conveyed rearward by the reverse roller pair 66. The trailing edge of the sheet passes through the conveying roller pair 60 and before the reverse roller pair 66 passes through, the reversing roller pair 66 is reversely rotated, and the first to fourth re-conveying roller pairs 67 and 6 are rotated.
The sheet is conveyed downward by 8, 70, 71 and conveyed to the sheet conveying path 52. Then, the toner image is transferred and fixed on the rear surface of the sheet in the same manner as on the front surface, and is discharged rearward from the sheet discharge port 55 and stacked on the sheet stacking surface 8 of the discharge tray 10. The
Note that the manual feed roller 7 is disposed immediately in front of the conveyance roller pair 56 in the sheet conveyance unit 24.
2 is disposed, and in the closed state, a manual feed tray 1 constituting a part of the front cover 3
6 is pulled out, and the sheet set on the manual feed tray 16 is fed toward the conveying roller pair 56 side.

A part of the sheet conveying unit 24 described above constitutes a conveying unit 73 that can be opened and closed. The transport unit 73 is disposed between the sheet transport path 52 and the sheet re-transport path 53, and a part of the front guide 52 b in the sheet transport path 52 and a part of the rear guide 53 a in the sheet re-transport path 53. And one roller 57a of the registration roller pair 57, the secondary transfer roller 45, one of the third and fourth re-conveying roller pairs 70 and 71,
71a is integrally formed. The transport unit 73 has a swing center on the lower end side and is supported by the image forming apparatus body 2 so as to be freely opened and closed. As will be described later, the upper end side of the transport unit 73 is opened to the front side by opening the front cover 3, and a part of the sheet transport path 52 and a part of the sheet re-transport path 53 are opened. ing.

  This completes the description of the internal structure of the image forming apparatus 1.

Next, the front cover 3 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 is a perspective view of the front cover 3 in a state where it is detached from the image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. However, FIG. 4 shows a state where the manual feed tray 16 is removed. FIG. 5 shows the left panel 1
It is the figure which looked at the upper part of the front cover 3 of the state which removed 4 (refer FIG. 1) from the left side. FIG. 6 is a view showing a state where the release lever 80 as the release member is operated from the state shown in FIG. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the release lever 80 and the lock member 81. The release lever 80 and the lock member 81 constitute a holding mechanism 82. In addition, FIG.
It is a perspective view which takes out and shows lock member 81. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram for explaining the front cover 3 and the transport unit 73, in which (a) shows the closed positions A1, B1 of the front cover 3 and the transport unit 73, and (b) Open positions A2 and B2 are shown. 9A and 9B, the left side plate 83 and the right side plate 84 that constitute a part of the main body frame 6 of the image forming apparatus main body 2 are illustrated by two-dot chain lines. The left side plate 83 is the transfer unit 7 described above.
3 and the left side surface of the front cover 3, and the right side plate 84 is disposed so as to cover the right side surface of the transport unit 73 and the front cover 3.

As shown in FIG. 4, the front cover 3 has a swing center 85 at the lower end, and the swing center 85 is supported by the image forming apparatus body 2 so as to be swingable. The image forming apparatus main body 2
As shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the left side plate 83 and the right side plate 84 of the main body frame 6 made of sheet metal are extended to the front side, and the left side surface and the right side surface of the front cover 3 described above are provided. And the left side surface and right side surface of the transport unit 73 are covered. These left side plate 83 and right side plate 84
A shaft 86 protrudes from the lower end of the front end side, and the swing center 85 of the front cover 3 is supported by the shaft 86 so as to be swingable. As a result, the front cover 3 is formed as shown in FIG.
A closed position A1 shown in FIG. 9 and an open position A2 shown in FIG. 9B can be taken. The above-described transport unit 73 also has a swing center (not shown) on the lower end side, and swings by a shaft (not shown) protruding from the left side plate 83 and the right side plate 84 on the image forming apparatus main body 2 side. It is supported freely. Thereby, the conveyance unit 73 can take the closed position B1 shown to Fig.9 (a), and the open position B2 shown to FIG.9 (b).

In the present embodiment, the transport unit 73 does not need to be actively opened and closed by the operator. When the front cover 3 is opened, the transport unit 73 is opened. When the front cover 3 is closed, the transport unit 73 is opened. Closed. The front cover 3 and the transport unit 7
As shown in FIG. 9 (b), No. 3 is held in a state where an appropriate inclination posture is held by a stopper, a spring and the like provided on the image forming apparatus main body 2 side. When the front cover 3 and the conveyance unit 73 are opened, the sheet conveyance path 52 and the sheet re-conveyance path 53 are largely opened, so that the jammed paper can be easily removed.

When opening the front cover 3, the operator operates the release lever 80 of the holding mechanism 82. As shown in FIGS. 5 to 8, the holding mechanism 82 includes a release lever 80 as a release member, and a lock member 81 that is operated by the release lever 80.
Further, it has a slide member 86, a rotating member 87, a connecting member 88, and a hook 90. The release lever 80 is formed long in the vertical direction, and an arcuate fulcrum 91 facing forward is projected from the lower end side. The fulcrum 91 is a contact portion 9 that is a part of the front cover 3.
2 (shown by a two-dot chain line). The release lever 80 can move substantially in the front-rear direction on the upper end side with the fulcrum 91 as a reference. As shown in FIG. 2, a circular button 93 is formed on the rear side of the upper end side of the release lever 80 so that an operator's finger can be easily applied during operation. The button 93 faces the back side and is not visible to an operator who operates the operation panel 17 on the front side of the image forming apparatus 1.

The dimension from the fulcrum 91 to the center of the button 93 is such that when a normal adult lightly puts four fingers except the thumb and puts the index finger on the center of the button 93, the little finger located below is It is set so as to hit a portion above the fulcrum 91. Further, the vicinity of the portion corresponding to the fulcrum 91 on the back side of the release lever 80 is gently curved in a convex shape toward the rear. As a result, the release lever 80 is configured such that the upper end side having the button 93 moves backward regardless of the position of the release lever 80 except when the operator operates the lower end side extremely. .

Further, a pressing portion 94 projects from the front surface side of the upper end side of the release lever 80 and is in contact with the base end portion 95 of the slide member 86. In the present embodiment, the release lever 80 is on the upper end side of the left panel 14 (see FIG. 2) and inside the rear end side (right side), and on the upper end side of the right panel 15 and inside the rear end side (left side). It is arranged to face the back side. This position corresponds to the left side and the right side of the peripheral edge of the sheet discharge port 55 described above. Furthermore, the sheet discharge port 55 is configured to face the back side so as to protrude upward from the sheet discharge tray 10 on the upper surface of the image forming apparatus body 2 at the front portion on the upper surface of the image forming apparatus body 2. Therefore, an operator located on the front side of the image forming apparatus 1 can easily operate the release lever 80 with a clear intention to actively operate.

The slide member 86 is formed in a rectangular bar shape that is long in the front-rear direction, and as shown in FIG. 7, it projects between the left slide guide 96 and the right slide guide (not shown) in the front-rear direction. It is disposed so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction. Further, the position of the slide member 86 in the vertical direction is restricted by the above-described upper panel 13 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) so as not to float. The slide member 86 has a base end portion (rear end portion) 95 in contact with the pressing portion 94 of the release lever 80 described above, and a distal end portion (front end portion) 97 in contact with a rotating member 87 described below. Has been.

As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the rotating member 87 is formed in a substantially fan shape when viewed from the left, and is rotatable about an integrally configured shaft 98. The rotating member 87 has a contact portion 100 on the rear end side, and the tip end portion 97 of the above-described slide member 86 is contacted.
The rotating member 87 has an engaging portion 101 on the front end side, and a connecting member 88 described below.
The base end portion 102 is engaged. When the rotating member 87 is rotated about the shaft 98 in the clockwise direction in FIG. 5, the base end portion 102 of the connecting member 88 is pulled diagonally downward to the left.

The connecting member 88 is formed in a flexible belt shape, 102 is engaged with the rotating member 87 described above, the intermediate portion 103 extends forward, and is gently curved along the front cover 3. Extending downward, the distal end portion 104 is connected to the proximal end portion 105 of the hook 90. In FIG. 8, the connecting member 88 in a state in which the engagement with the rotating member 87 is released is indicated by a two-dot chain line. The connecting member 88 is fitted and guided in a groove 106 (see FIG. 7) formed in the front cover 3.

The hook 90 has a base end portion 105 connected to the tip end portion 104 of the connecting member 88 described above, and an intermediate portion 106 supported by a shaft 109 on the front cover 3 side so as to be swingable. An upward engaging recess 108 is formed at the tip portion 107 of the hook 90, and an inclined portion 110 is formed further on the tip side of the engaging recess 108. On the left side plate 83 of the image forming apparatus main body 2 shown in FIGS. 9 (a) and 9 (b), an engaging convex portion 111 for engaging and disengaging the engaging concave portion 108 of the hook 90 is projected. The hook 90 is urged clockwise in FIG. 5 by an urging member (for example, a torsion spring), and the hook 90 engaged with the engaging convex portion 111 is urged by the urging member. In this state, the engagement state with respect to the engagement convex portion is maintained.

The front cover 3 is provided with a stopper (not shown) for restricting the swing range (movement range) of the hook 90, and the position of the hook 90 when the engagement is released, that is, when the front cover 3 is opened. It is regulated. When the front cover 3 in the opened state is gradually closed, this stopper temporarily retracts when the inclined portion 110 of the hook 90 hits the engaging convex portion 111 and the engaging concave portion 108 engages with the engaging convex portion 111. Is set to a position where 5 and 6,
Timing belts 120 and 121 for driving the first, second and third re-conveying roller pairs 67, 68 and 70 (see FIG. 3) are shown.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the release lever 80 is disposed on both the left end side and the right end side of the front cover 3. Correspondingly, as shown in FIG.
A right slide member 112 and a part 113 of the rotating member are disposed at a position corresponding to 0, and this part 113 is configured integrally with the rotating member 87 via the shaft 98 described above. Yes.
Further, a hook 114 having an engaging recess 115 is also provided on the right side, and is fixed to a shaft 109 integral with the left hook 90 described above. Note that, on the right side plate 84 of the image forming apparatus main body 2, at the position corresponding to the engagement concave portion 115 of the right hook 114, an engagement convex portion (not shown) similar to the engagement convex portion 111 of the left side plate 83 described above. ) Is arranged. In the present embodiment, since the lock member 81 is configured as described above, when at least one of the left and right release levers 80 is operated, the hooks 90 and 114 are unlocked with respect to the engaging convex portion 111 and the like. Thus, the front cover 3 can be opened.

Here, each member constituting the above-described holding mechanism 82, that is, the release lever 80, the slide member 86, the rotating member 87, the connecting member 88, and the hook 90 are formed of, for example, synthetic resin. Further, in the present embodiment, the connecting member 88 and the hook 90 are integrally formed, and accordingly, the number of parts constituting the holding mechanism 82 can be reduced.

The front cover 3 described above is, for example, when a jam occurs in the sheet conveying unit 24,
It can be opened as follows. The operator presses the button 93 at the upper end of at least one of the left and right release levers 80 shown in FIG.
When pressed in the front side (arrow a direction), the pressing portion 94 of the release lever 80 pushes the slide member 86 forward (arrow b direction) and moves it. Thereby, the front-end | tip part 97 of the slide member 86 rotates the rotation member 87 in the arrow c direction. Then, since the proximal end portion 102 of the connecting member 88 is pulled in the direction of arrow d, the distal end portion 104 of the connecting member 88 is pulled in the direction of arrow e to lift the proximal end portion 105 of the hook 90 and The part 107 is rotated in the direction of arrow f.

Thereby, the engagement recess 1 of the hook 90 with respect to the engagement protrusion 111 on the image forming apparatus main body 2 side.
The engagement of 08 is released. Furthermore, the operator can open the front cover 3 by placing the vicinity of the release lever 80 of the front cover 3 toward the front, and can place the front cover 3 at the open position A2 shown in FIG. 9B. Along with this, the transport unit 73 is also opened and disposed at the open position B2. As a result, the sheet re-conveying path 53 between the front cover 3 and the conveying unit 73 and the sheet conveying path 52 between the image forming apparatus main body 2 and the conveying unit 73 are opened, so that the jammed sheet can be easily removed. Can be removed. After the jam processing, when the front cover 3 is closed and the front cover 3 is closed and returned to the closed position A1 while the front cover 3 is pushed, the hook 90 of the holding mechanism 82 is engaged with the engagement convex portion 111 on the image forming apparatus main body 2 side. Thus, the closed state is maintained.

In the present embodiment, the release lever 80 is disposed on the surface located on the rear side of the operation panel (operation unit) 17 on the upper end side of the front cover 3 and facing the back side. From the front side of the image forming apparatus 1 where the operator is operating the operation panel 17, the release lever 80 is difficult to see and is not easily operated. Moreover, when the operator intends to actively operate the release lever 80, the operator can easily operate without moving from the front side. Further, the front cover 3 has a front panel 12.
The upper panel 13 and the upper panel 13 are formed relatively flat, and there is no part that can be particularly gripped when the front cover 3 is opened. A hand is naturally placed on the rear end of the right panel 15. When left and right thumbs are put on the left and right ends of the rear end of the upper panel 13, the remaining four fingers are applied to the release lever 80, and in particular, the index finger is related to the button 93 of the release lever 80. The front panel can be opened by pressing the button 93 forward and pulling the left and right hands as they are. That is, since the operating direction of the release lever 80 by the operator and the opening direction of the front cover 3 are substantially the same, the operator performs the opening operation of the front cover 3 from the operation of the releasing lever 80 in a series of operations in the same direction. Can be done smoothly.

Here, as described above, the release lever 80 is disposed on the reference plane substantially in the vertical direction with respect to a plane orthogonal to the front-rear direction (hereinafter referred to as “reference plane”). . That is, the button 93 of the release lever 80 faces the back side (substantially right behind). For this reason, the release lever 80 including this button 93 is hardly visible from the front side of the image forming apparatus 1. The present invention is not limited to the fact that the release lever 80 faces the back side. That is, the case where the release lever 80 is arranged on a virtual plane arranged at an appropriate angle with respect to the above-described reference plane is also included. For example,
Even when the virtual plane has an inclination angle of 15 degrees, 30 degrees, 45 degrees, 60 degrees, or the like with respect to the reference plane, the release lever 80 is difficult to see from the front side. In an extreme case, if the inclination angle is less than 90 degrees, in other words, if the normal line standing on the virtual plane is a virtual plane having a backward component, the release lever 80 is at least from the front side. It can be said that it becomes difficult to see.

In the above description, when the example in which the present invention is applied to the configuration in which the front cover of the image forming apparatus is opened is described, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention may be applied to a general apparatus in which the front cover does not open and close. Is possible.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image forming apparatus 1, 2 ... Image forming apparatus main body, 3 ... Front cover, 10 ... Paper discharge tray, 17 ... Operation panel (operation part) 22 ... Image forming part, 24 ... Sheet conveyance Part 53
... Sheet re-conveying path (sheet conveying path), 53b ... Front guide (guide section), 55 ... Sheet discharge port, 80 ... Release lever (release member), 81 ... Lock member, 82 ... Holding mechanism , 93 …… button, A1 …… front cover closed position, A2 …… front cover open position, P
…… Sheet

Claims (2)

An image including an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet, a sheet conveying unit that conveys the sheet related to image formation, and an image forming apparatus main body in which the image forming unit and the sheet conveying unit are disposed. In the forming device,
A front surface having an operating portion and having a lower end side swingably supported by the image forming apparatus main body and taking a closed position covering the front side of the image forming apparatus main body and an open position exposing a part of the image forming apparatus main body A cover,
A holding mechanism that is interposed between the image forming apparatus main body and the front cover and holds the front cover in the closed position;
The holding mechanism includes a lock member that is supported by one of the image forming apparatus main body and the front cover and that can be engaged with and disengaged from the other, and a release member that releases the engagement of the lock member.
The release member is a surface located on the rear side of the operation portion on the upper end side of the front cover, and is disposed on a surface facing the back side,
When the operator located on the front side of the main body of the image forming apparatus hangs his left and right hands on the upper end side and the rear end of the left and right panels forming the front cover, the operator's fingers The release member can be operated by the operator, the operator operates the release member to release the engagement of the lock member, and the operator swings by pulling the left and right hands toward the front as it is. And is opened from the closed position to the open position so that a part of the image forming apparatus main body can be exposed.
An image forming apparatus. The main body of the image forming apparatus has a paper discharge tray on the upper surface for discharging the sheet after image formation,
The sheet transport unit includes a sheet transport path for transporting the sheet disposed on the front side of the image forming apparatus main body, and directs the sheet after image formation to the front side of the paper discharge tray. A sheet discharge port for discharging
The release member is disposed at a peripheral portion of the sheet discharge port and on the left side and the right side of the sheet discharge port, and the lock member can be released by operating any one of the release members.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.

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