JP5315265B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that forms an image on an image forming medium such as paper.

  An image forming apparatus such as a copier is provided with a main body side housing having an image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet based on image data, and the main body side housing can be opened and closed, and generates image data. For this purpose, there are some which include an upper housing having a document reading unit for reading a document. The image forming apparatus includes a lock mechanism for locking the upper housing so that the upper housing is not opened when the upper housing is closed with respect to the main body housing. The lock mechanism includes a lock claw provided in the upper housing and an engagement portion provided in the main body side housing and engaged with the lock claw (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2009-86628 A

  In the image forming apparatus described above, when the upper casing is closed with respect to the main body casing, the lock claw and the engaging portion are engaged by applying a downward load to the upper casing. It is necessary to match. However, in the image forming apparatus described above, if the hand is placed on the upper part of the main body side housing when the upper case is closed, the hand may be caught between the main body side case and the upper case. is there.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of improving safety for a user when an upper housing is closed.

  The present invention provides an image including a main body side housing having an image forming unit that forms an image on an image forming medium based on image data, and an upper housing that can be opened and closed above the main body side housing. An angle detection unit that is disposed in the upper housing and detects a predetermined angle with respect to the main body side housing when the upper housing is in an open state; and An open / close detection unit that detects an open state or a closed state of the upper housing, a notification unit that performs predetermined notification, an open state of the upper housing is detected by the open / close detection unit, and the angle detection unit The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls the notification unit so as to perform a predetermined notification when it is detected that the upper casing has a predetermined angle.

  The angle detection unit includes a light sensor having a light emitting element, a light receiving element that receives light emitted from the light emitting element, and the light receiving element from the light emitting element when the upper housing is less than a predetermined angle. A light blocking member that blocks a light path of light traveling toward the light source, wherein one of the light sensor and the light blocking member is fixed to the upper housing, and the other is coupled to the upper housing at a fulcrum portion. At the same time, it is preferably suspended downward from the fulcrum part.

  Further, it is preferable that the upper housing includes a document reading unit that reads a document to generate the image data, and a document transport unit that supplies the document to the document reading unit.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, when closing an upper housing | casing, the safety with respect to a user can be improved.

1 is an external perspective view of a copier according to an embodiment of an image forming apparatus. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the copier shown in FIG. 1 when the upper housing is open with respect to the main body housing. FIG. 2 is a right side view of the copier shown in FIG. 1 when the lid is opened with respect to each of the main body side housing and the document reading portion housing. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a copier. FIG. FIG. 4 is a right side view of the copier when the document reading unit housing is open with respect to the main body housing. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an angle detection unit when a document reading unit housing is opened with respect to a main body housing. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an angle detection unit when a document reading unit housing is in a closed state with respect to a main body housing. It is a circuit diagram showing the outline of an angle detection part. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a characteristic operation of the copier.

  Hereinafter, a copying machine 1 according to an embodiment of an image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, the overall configuration of the copy machine 1 will be described. FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a copier 1 according to an embodiment of an image forming apparatus. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view of the copier 1 shown in FIG. 1 when the upper housing 5 is open with respect to the main body housing 4. 3 shows that the lid 7 is open with respect to the document reading unit housing 6 and the document reading unit housing 6 is open with respect to the main body side housing 4 in the copier 1 shown in FIG. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the copier 1 includes a main body side housing 4 and an upper housing 5.
The main body side housing 4 includes an image forming unit 40 that forms an image on a sheet (image forming medium) based on image data. An upper cover 4 a is disposed on the upper part of the main body side housing 4 so as to be openable and closable. When the upper cover 4a is opened, it is possible to replace a toner cartridge (not shown) arranged inside the main body side housing 4 and to maintain the image forming unit 40.

The upper housing 5 is disposed so as to be openable and closable with respect to the main body side housing 4 at the upper portion of the main body side housing 4. The upper housing 5 includes a document reading unit housing 6 and a lid 7.
The document reading unit housing 6 is disposed on the upper portion of the main body side housing 4 so as to be openable and closable, and a document reading unit 20 (see FIG. 4) for reading a document (not shown) for generating image data is disposed. . The document reading unit housing 6 is engaged at the lower rear end portion thereof with the upper rear end portion of the main body side housing 4 by the first engaging portion 6a (see FIG. 2). Further, the document reading unit housing 6 is engaged with the upper surface of the upper cover 4a on the lower surface thereof by the second engaging portion 6b (see FIG. 2). Therefore, when the document reading unit housing 6 is in a closed state (see FIG. 1) or an open state (see FIG. 2), the upper cover 4a is in a closed state in conjunction with opening / closing of the document reading unit housing 6. (See FIG. 1) or open state (see FIG. 2). Further, the document reading unit housing 6 includes an operation panel 6d arranged so as to project forward. An operation unit 50 including a plurality of keys and a display unit 100 are arranged on the operation panel 6d.

  The lid 7 is disposed on the upper part of the document reading unit housing 6 so as to be opened and closed. The lid portion 7 is engaged at the lower rear end portion thereof with the upper rear end portion of the document reading portion housing 6 by the third engagement portion 6c (see FIG. 3). The lid 7 is in an open state or a closed state without being interlocked with the opening / closing of the document reading unit housing 6. 1 and 2 show a case where the lid 7 is closed with respect to the document reading unit housing 6. FIG. Further, from the state where the lid 7 is closed with respect to the document reading unit housing 6 and the document reading unit housing 6 is closed with respect to the main body side housing 4 (see FIG. 1), the document reading is performed. When the body case 6 is in an open state with respect to the main body side body 4 (see FIG. 2), the lid portion 7 and the document are prevented so that the lid portion 7 does not open with respect to the document reading portion housing 6. A stopper (not shown) is disposed on the reading unit housing 6.

  Next, the functional configuration of the copy machine 1 will be described. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the copy machine 1. FIG. 5 is a right side view of the copier 1 when the document reading unit housing 6 is open with respect to the main body housing 4. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the angle detection unit 120 when the document reading unit housing 6 is opened with respect to the main body housing 4. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the angle detection unit 120 when the document reading unit housing 6 is closed with respect to the main body housing 4. Here, FIGS. 6A and 7A are front views, and FIGS. 6B and 7B are side views. FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram illustrating an outline of the angle detection unit 120.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the copier 1 includes a document transport unit 10, a document reading unit 20, a sheet transport unit 30, an image forming unit 40, an operation unit 50, a storage unit 60, and a control unit 70. The display unit 100, the open / close detection unit 110, the angle detection unit 120, and the notification unit 130 are provided.

  The document transport unit 10 is an ADF (Auto Document Feeder) and is disposed on the lid 7. The document transport unit 10 includes a document placement unit 11 (see FIG. 1) and a document stacking unit 12 (see FIG. 1). The document placed on the document placement unit 11 is supplied to a document reading surface (not shown) of the document reading unit 20 by a feed roller (not shown). The documents read by the document reading unit 20 are discharged to the outside of the lid unit 7 and stacked and stacked on the document stacking unit 12.

  The original reading unit 20 reads the original conveyed by the original conveying unit 10 and generates image data. The document reading unit 20 includes a contact glass (not shown) disposed on the upper surface of the document reading unit housing 6. The document reading unit 20 can also read a document placed on the upper surface of the contact glass.

  The paper transport unit 30 is a paper stored in a paper feed cassette (not shown) arranged in the main body side housing 4 or a manual feed tray 31 arranged on the front surface of the main body side housing 4 (see FIG. 1). A sheet placed on the image forming unit 40 is supplied to the image forming unit 40. Further, the paper transport unit 30 discharges the paper on which the image is formed by the image forming unit 40 to the outside (upper part) of the main body side housing 4.

  The image forming unit 40 forms an image (toner image) on a sheet based on the image data using the toner contained in the toner cartridge described above. The image forming unit 40 directly or indirectly transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum (not shown) to the paper, and then heats and pressurizes the paper on which the toner image is transferred. The toner image is fixed on the paper.

  The operation unit 50 (the above-described key) is operated, for example, when inputting a number such as the number of copies to be printed or when executing printing.

The storage unit 60 includes a hard disk, a semiconductor memory, and the like. The storage unit 60 stores image data based on the document read by the document reading unit 20. The storage unit 60 stores a control program used in the copier 1, data used by the control program, and the like.
The display unit 100 displays various information by being controlled by the control unit 70. The display unit 100 may be, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL (electroluminescence) display. The display unit may be a touch panel including a touch sensor together with a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display.

  The open / close detection unit 110 detects an open state or a closed state of the upper housing 5 (document reading unit housing 6) with respect to the main body side housing 4. For example, the open / close detection unit 110 is disposed in the main body side housing 4 and is pressed by the upper cover 4a when the upper cover 4a is closed in conjunction with the document reading unit housing 6 being closed. What is necessary is just to have a switch to be lowered. The open / close detection unit 110 detects that the upper cover 4a (document reading unit housing 6) is in a closed state based on the switch being lowered by the upper cover 4a. On the other hand, the open / close detection unit 110 detects that the upper cover 4a (document reading unit housing 6) is in an open state based on the switch being raised without being lowered by the upper cover 4a. To do.

  The angle detection unit 120 is disposed in the upper housing 5 and detects a predetermined angle with respect to the main body side housing 4 when the upper housing 5 is in an open state. That is, the angle detection unit 120 detects that the angle θ (see FIG. 5) of the upper housing 5 with respect to the main body housing 4 has become a predetermined angle. The predetermined angle is about 10 °, for example. The angle detection unit 120 is preferably disposed in the document reading unit housing 6.

As shown in specific examples in FIGS. 6 and 7, the angle detection unit 120 includes an optical sensor 122 and a blocking member 123.
The optical sensor 122 includes a light emitting element 122a disposed on a base 121 fixed to the document reading unit housing 6, and a light receiving element 122b that receives light emitted from the light emitting element 122a. The light emitting element 122a is made of, for example, a laser diode or a light emitting diode. The light receiving element 122b is made of, for example, a photodiode. As shown in FIG. 8 as an example, one end of the light emitting element 122a is connected to the power source Vcc via the first resistor R1, and the other end of the light emitting element 122a is grounded. One end of the light receiving element 122b is connected to the power supply Vcc via the second resistor R2 and to the control unit 70. The other end of the light receiving element 122b is grounded.
Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the blocking member 123 blocks the optical path of light traveling from the light emitting element 122a to the light receiving element 122b when the upper housing 5 is less than a predetermined angle. As shown in FIG. 6A, the blocking member 123 is coupled to the lid portion 7 at a fulcrum portion 123a disposed at the upper portion and is suspended downward from the fulcrum portion 123a. The blocking member 123 is formed such that the lower end side is wider than the upper end side (fulcrum portion 123a side).

  Next, the operation of the angle detection unit 120 will be described. When the document reading unit housing 6 is in an open state with respect to the main body side housing 4, as shown in FIG. 6A, the optical sensor 122 follows an arc-shaped locus from the state shown in FIG. Draw and move up. In this case, the blocking member 123 remains suspended from the fulcrum portion 123a in the vertical direction. For this reason, the light emitted from the light emitting element 122a is not blocked by the blocking member 123 but is received by the light receiving element 122b. When light is received by the light receiving element 122b, a low signal is supplied from the power supply Vcc to the control unit. Thereby, the control unit 70 determines that the angle of the document reading unit housing 6 with respect to the main body side housing 4 exceeds the predetermined angle.

  When the document reading unit housing 6 transitions from the open state to the closed state, the lower end side of the blocking member 123 is formed wider than the upper end side. The light from the light emitting element 122a toward the light receiving element 122b is blocked by the blocking member 123 before being completely closed. That is, when the angle θ of the document reading unit housing 6 with respect to the main body side housing 4 reaches a predetermined angle, the light traveling from the light emitting element 122a to the light receiving element 122b is blocked by the blocking member 123. When the light receiving element 122b switches from a state in which light is received to a state in which light is not received, the state is switched from a state in which a low signal is supplied from the power supply Vcc to the control unit 70 to a state in which a high (high) signal is supplied. At this time, the control unit 70 determines that the angle of the document reading unit housing 6 with respect to the main body side housing 4 has reached a predetermined angle.

  When the angle θ of the document reading unit housing 6 with respect to the main body side housing 4 is equal to or smaller than a predetermined angle (including a case where the document reading unit housing 6 is in a closed state (see FIGS. 7A and 7B)), the optical sensor 122. A blocking member 123 is disposed between the two. For this reason, the light emitted from the light emitting element 122a is blocked by the blocking member 123 and is not received by the light receiving element 122b. When no light is received by the light receiving element 122b, a high signal is supplied from the power supply Vcc to the control unit 70. Accordingly, the control unit 70 determines that the angle θ of the document reading unit housing 6 with respect to the main body side housing 4 is less than a predetermined angle.

The angle detection unit is not limited to the configuration described above, and may be a configuration in which the optical sensor is suspended from the fulcrum unit and the blocking member is fixed to the base.
Further, the blocking member is not limited to the shape shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, and may have other shapes. For example, the blocking member may be rectangular when viewed from the front. In this case, the width of the blocking member when the blocking member is viewed from the front is such that the light traveling from the light emitting element to the light receiving element is blocked when the angle θ of the document reading unit housing with respect to the main body housing is equal to or smaller than a predetermined angle. Any width can be used.

  The notification unit 130 illustrated in FIG. 4 performs predetermined notification. The alerting | reporting part 130 should just be comprised from the speaker. The notification unit of the present invention may be the display unit 100. The predetermined notification is at least one of outputting a warning sound or a warning sound from a speaker and displaying a warning image on the display unit 100.

The control unit 70 controls the document conveying unit 10, the document reading unit 20, and the engine unit 3.
Further, the control unit 70 detects the open state of the upper housing 5 (document reading unit housing 6) by the open / close detection unit 110, and the upper housing 5 (document reading unit housing 6) by the angle detection unit 120. When it is detected that the angle becomes a predetermined angle, the notification unit 130 is controlled to perform a predetermined notification.

  When the document reading unit housing 6 changes from the open state to the closed state with respect to the main body side housing 4, the open / close detection unit 110 determines whether or not the light emitted from the light emitting element 122 a is blocked by the blocking member 123. Based on the change in the state, it is detected that the angle θ of the document reading unit housing 6 with respect to the main body housing 4 has become a predetermined angle. When the angle θ of the document reading unit housing 6 with respect to the main body side housing 4 reaches a predetermined angle, the document reading unit housing 6 is not completely closed with respect to the main body side housing 4. Therefore, the above-described switch constituting the open / close detection unit 110 is not pressed by the upper cover 4a. That is, the open / close detection unit 110 detects the open state of the upper cover 4a (document reading unit housing 6). As described above, the open / close detection unit 110 detects the open state of the document reading unit housing 6, and the angle detection unit 120 makes the document reading unit housing 6 have a predetermined angle with respect to the main body side housing 4. Since the document reading unit housing 6 is in a state immediately before being completely closed with respect to the main body side housing 4, the control unit 70 controls the notification unit 130 to perform a predetermined notification. Then, the user of the copier 1 is cautioned so that his / her hand is not pinched between the upper cover 4a and the main body side housing 4.

Next, a characteristic operation of the copier 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining the characteristic operation of the copier 1.
In step ST1, based on the detection result of the open / close detection unit 110, the control unit 70 determines whether the upper cover 4a is open (the document reading unit housing 6 is open with respect to the main body housing 4). Determine whether. If the upper cover 4a is not in the open state (No), the determination in step ST1 is performed again. If the upper cover 4a is open (Yes), the process proceeds to step ST2.

  In step ST <b> 2, based on whether or not the light emitted from the light emitting element 122 a is received by the light receiving element 122 b of the angle detecting unit 120, the control unit 70 moves the document reading unit housing 6 to the main body side housing 4. On the other hand, it is determined whether or not a predetermined angle has been reached. When the document reading unit housing 6 reaches a predetermined angle (Yes), the process proceeds to step ST3. If the document reading unit housing 6 has not reached the predetermined angle (No), the process proceeds to step ST6.

  In step ST3, since the upper cover 4a (document reading unit housing 6) is in the middle of the transition from the open state to the closed state, there is a risk that a hand may be caught between the main body side housing 4 and the upper cover 4a. Therefore, the control unit 70 controls the notification unit 130 so as to perform predetermined notification.

  In step ST4, based on the detection result of the open / close detection unit 110, the control unit 70 determines whether or not the upper cover 4a is in a closed state (the document reading unit housing 6 is in a closed state with respect to the main body side housing 4). Judging. If the document reading unit housing 6 is not in the closed state (No), the process returns to step ST3. When the document reading unit housing 6 is closed (Yes), the process proceeds to step ST5.

  In step ST5, the control unit 70 controls the notification unit 130 to stop the predetermined notification. Thereby, the copy machine 1 can avoid continuing predetermined notification.

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step ST2 that the document reading unit housing 6 has not reached the predetermined angle, the upper cover 4a is in the open state (the document reading unit housing 6 is in the open state). In ST6, the control unit 70 controls the display unit 100 to display information indicating that the document reading unit housing 6 is in the open state.

As described above, according to the copying machine 1 of the present embodiment, the following effects are produced.
That is, according to the copier 1 of the present embodiment, the open / close detection unit 110 detects the open state of the document reading unit housing 6 and the angle detection unit 120 makes the document reading unit housing 6 have a predetermined angle. When this is detected, the notification unit 130 performs a predetermined notification. Therefore, when the document reading unit housing 6 (upper cover 4a) is closed, a hand is sandwiched between the main body side housing 4 and the upper cover 4a. It is possible to avoid the danger that occurs to the user. Therefore, the copy machine 1 of the present embodiment can improve the safety for the user.

  Further, according to the copier 1 of the present embodiment, the angle detection unit 120 includes the optical sensor 122 and the blocking member 123, and one of the optical sensor 122 and the blocking member 123 is fixed to the document reading unit housing 6. The other is coupled to the document reading unit housing 6 at the fulcrum portion 123a and is suspended downward from the fulcrum portion 123a, so that the document reading unit housing 6 is predetermined with respect to the main body side housing 4. The angle detector 120 can detect that the angle has been reached.

  Further, according to the copier 1 of the present embodiment, since the upper casing 5 includes the document reading unit 20 and the document conveying unit 10, the upper casing 5 (document reading unit casing 6) is replaced with the main body side casing 4. On the other hand, for example, a toner cartridge (not shown) arranged inside the main body side housing 4 can be replaced by opening the upper cover 4a.

In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, It can implement with a various form.
The image forming apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the copying machine 1 described above. In other words, the image forming apparatus of the present invention may be a multi-function machine having a copy function, a facsimile function, a printer function, and a scanner function, or may be a facsimile or a printer.
The image forming medium on which an image is formed by the image forming apparatus of the present invention is not limited to paper, and may be a film sheet such as an OHP (overhead projector) sheet.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Copy machine (image forming apparatus), 4 ... Main body side housing | casing, 5 ... Upper housing | casing, 6 ... Document reading part housing | casing, 7 ... Cover part, 10 ... Document conveyance part, 20 ... Document reading part, 70 ... Control part 110 ... Opening / closing detection part 120 ... Angle detection part 122 ... Optical sensor 123 ... Blocking member 130 ... Notification part

Claims (2)

An image forming apparatus comprising: a main body side housing having an image forming unit that forms an image on an image forming medium based on image data; and an upper housing disposed to be openable and closable above the main body side housing. And
An angle detector that is disposed in the upper housing and detects a predetermined angle with respect to the main body housing when the upper housing is in an open state;
An open / close detection unit for detecting an open state or a closed state of the upper housing with respect to the body-side housing;
A notification unit for performing a predetermined notification so as not to pinch a hand between the main body side housing and the upper housing;
The notifying unit for performing a predetermined notification when the open / close detection unit detects an open state of the upper casing and the angle detecting unit detects that the upper casing has a predetermined angle. A control unit for controlling
Equipped with a,
The angle detector
A light sensor having a light emitting element and a light receiving element that receives light emitted from the light emitting element;
A blocking member that blocks an optical path of light traveling from the light emitting element to the light receiving element when the upper housing is less than a predetermined angle,
Either one of the optical sensor and the blocking member is fixed to the upper casing, and the other is coupled to the upper casing at a fulcrum and is suspended downward from the fulcrum. /> Image forming apparatus. The upper housing is
A document reading unit that reads a document to generate the image data;
A document conveying section for supplying a document to the document reading section;
An image forming apparatus according to claim 1 .

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