JP5641119B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus equipped with a document reading device such as a multifunction peripheral copying machine.

In the conventional image forming apparatus, the electrical box containing the board is positioned on the opposite side (rear side of the main body) from the front position where the operation unit can be easily operated, and the connection surface with the connection port provided in the electrical box is A configuration is known that is provided at a position inside the exterior surface of the apparatus main body (see Patent Document 1).

However, in such a conventional configuration, when connecting the controller to the interface surface, for example, when performing an operation of connecting a LAN, USB, or the like to the terminal of the power transmission box, there is a connection surface on the side surface or the rear surface of the image forming apparatus. Therefore, there has been a connection work that must be performed by moving from the front side with the operation surface.

In a small office, the image forming apparatus is often installed along a wall. In such a case, the entire image forming apparatus is moved so that the connection surface can be accessed by an operator and then connected. There was a troublesome work that had to be done.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve such a conventional problem and to provide an image forming apparatus capable of accessing the interface surface from the front side having the operation surface and improving the operability.

The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes:
Various operation units for image formation are provided on the front side,
An image reading unit that reads a document and converts it into a data signal is provided at the top,
In an image forming apparatus provided with an image forming unit on the lower side of the image reading unit for forming an image such as a picture or a character on recording paper based on the data signal,
An electrical component with a substrate;
An opening that is accessible from the outside to the electrical component is provided on the rear side surface,
On the side surface, it has a protrusion that protrudes from the opening,
The side surface of the image reading unit protrudes from the opening,
An interface surface for facing the opening,
The interface surface is provided so as to extend to the vicinity of the image forming unit, and is provided with a step with respect to one side surface of the image forming unit.
The operation unit is inclined with respect to the upper surface of the image reading unit, and the protrusion is arranged so that an operator can access the opening from a position where the operation unit is operated. It is characterized by.

According to the present invention, an operator and a user can access the interface surface even from the front side of the image forming apparatus main body, and can easily perform connection work, etc., and can perform equipment connection work to terminals provided on the interface surface. Operability can be improved.

1 is a schematic central sectional view of a color printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Same perspective view Perspective view seen from the back side The perspective view of the color printer which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 7 is a schematic central sectional view of a color printer according to a third embodiment of the present invention. Front view Perspective view seen from the front side The front view of 4th Embodiment of the image forming apparatus to which this invention is applied.

Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the illustrated image forming apparatus, and can be applied to various apparatuses that perform image formation.

<First Embodiment> Hereinafter, a first embodiment of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described. First, a description will be given with reference to FIGS. An image reading unit 1 that reads a document and converts it into a data signal is provided at the top of the image forming apparatus main body 10. An operation unit 2 for operating the image forming apparatus is attached to the image reading unit 1. An image forming unit 3 that forms an image such as a picture or a character on the recording paper is provided below the image reading unit 1, and a paper feeding unit 4 that accumulates and stores the recording paper is provided below the image forming unit 3. It is provided.

On the opposite side of the image forming unit 3 from the operation unit 2, an electrical box 5 is arranged. The electrical box 5 contains a board for processing signals such as a computer, a telephone line, and a wireless LAN. One surface of the electrical box 5 is provided with an interface having a connection portion with an external device such as a computer, a power source, and a peripheral device, and a connection device with the external device. That is, an interface for connecting an external device, a connection port for connection with a LAN, USB, telephone line, or the like, or an adapter for inserting a memory card such as an SD card or CF card. A surface 5a is formed.

A space X that is continuous from the interface surface 5a toward the front is provided so that the operation unit 2 can be easily connected from a position direction in which the operation unit 2 can be easily operated. The space X is formed by providing a step on one side surface of the image forming apparatus main body 10 and one side surface of the image reading unit 1 corresponding to the image forming apparatus main body 10. The space X is upward along the side surface of the image reading unit 1. It is also continuous. The interface surface 5 a protrudes from the side surface of the image reading unit 1 and does not protrude from the side surface of the image forming apparatus main body 10. For this reason, the attachment of external devices such as LAN terminals, USB terminals, and SD cards connected to the interface surface 5a, which is a connection portion, the connection portion of the external device, and the vicinity of the attachment portion are spaces from the front side of the image forming apparatus body 10. It can be seen through X and is visible.

As shown in FIG. 1, the exterior surface of the image reading unit 1 is located inside the image forming apparatus main body 10 with respect to the exterior surface of the image forming unit 3. Further, the interface surface 5 a is present at a position protruding from the exterior portion of the image reading unit 1 by one step. Therefore, it becomes easy to access the paper discharge unit 7 that forms a paper discharge space for discharging the recording paper provided between the image reading unit 1 and the image forming unit 3, and it is easy to take out the printed recording paper. .

If comprised in this way, if the hand is extended from the position which operates the operation part 2, it will become possible to access the interface surface 5a easily. Further, by providing an insertion port 5b for a memory card such as an SD card frequently used by a user and a connection port 5c for a USB terminal in a place where connection is easy, it is easy to use. In addition, the operator can access the interface surface 5a without dropping his / her line of sight from a position where the operation unit 2 is operated.

Even when the interface surface 5a is attached to the wall, the interface surface 5a can be easily accessed. Further, by providing the connection port at a position where the interface surface 5a is easy to operate, it is possible to attach various types of highly versatile options with one connection port. In addition, by providing the connection port of the recording medium frequently operated by the operator at a position where it can be easily operated, the usability of the operator can be improved.

That is, the substrate to be attached to the image forming apparatus is often provided on the back side of the image forming apparatus main body 10 due to heat dissipation and the like. Therefore, there is an advantage that the wiring is shorter and the reliability is improved when the terminal on which the storage member (USB memory or the like) is detachable is also on the back side. However, for the operator, the user-friendliness is naturally deteriorated, but the present invention solves this point.

Second Embodiment FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In addition, about the structure same as 1st Embodiment, only the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to a figure, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted. The same applies to other embodiments described below.

Although the basic configuration of the present embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, the side surface of the image reading unit 1 facing the space X is flush with the interface surface 5a so that the space X is more in front of the image forming apparatus main body 10. It is easy to see from the side.

<Third Embodiment> FIGS. 5 to 7 show a third embodiment of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied. Although the basic configuration of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, the image reading unit 1 has a width of the image forming unit 3 up to the vicinity of the end. Even in such a structure, a space X continuous toward the front is provided on the side of the interface surface 5a of the electrical box 5 so as to be easily connected to the operation unit 2 from a position direction in which the operation unit 2 can be easily operated.

Embodiment 4 FIG. 8 shows a fourth embodiment of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In the present embodiment, the position of the exterior surface of the image reading unit 1 is offset in the rearward direction of the image forming apparatus body 10, and the front upper direction of the space of the paper discharge unit 7 is provided. Further, the image forming unit 3 is positioned on the inner side of the image forming apparatus main body 10 with respect to the exterior surface, and the interface surface 5a of the electrical box 5 is provided therebetween. Therefore, the interface surface 5a can be easily accessed even when the interface surface 5a side is installed in close contact with the wall or when an option such as the paper discharge unit 6 is installed.

1: Image reading unit 2: Operation unit 3: Image forming unit 4: Paper feeding unit 5: Electrical box 5a: Interface surface 5b: Memory card insertion slot 5c: USB connection port 6: Paper ejection unit 7: Paper ejection unit 10: Image forming apparatus body X: Space Y: Space Z: Viewing direction

JP 2007-261240 A

Claims (2)

Various operation units for image formation are provided on the front side,
An image reading unit that reads a document and converts it into a data signal is provided at the top,
In an image forming apparatus provided with an image forming unit on the lower side of the image reading unit for forming an image such as a picture or a character on recording paper based on the data signal,
An electrical component with a substrate;
An opening that is accessible from the outside to the electrical component is provided on the rear side surface,
On the side surface, it has a protrusion that protrudes from the opening,
The side surface of the image reading unit protrudes from the opening,
An interface surface for facing the opening,
The interface surface is provided so as to extend to the vicinity of the image forming unit, and is provided with a step with respect to one side surface of the image forming unit.
The operation unit is inclined with respect to the upper surface of the image reading unit, and the protrusion is arranged so that an operator can access the opening from a position where the operation unit is operated. An image forming apparatus.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a space continuous from the opening toward the front side of the apparatus main body is provided.