JP6032004B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus (so-called laser printer) is known in which an upper housing that houses a reading unit that reads an image of a document is provided above a lower housing that houses an image forming unit. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  In the case of the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1 below, a space for discharging a recording medium on which an image is formed in the image forming unit (hereinafter also referred to as a medium discharge space) is a lower housing. And the upper housing.

Japanese Patent No. 4389177

  By the way, the electrophotographic image forming apparatus incorporates a fixing device as a heat source. For this reason, conventionally, a countermeasure has been taken in which an exhaust fan is provided in the lower casing and the exhaust fan is operated to forcibly discharge the hot air trapped in the lower casing to the outside. However, if such an exhaust fan is provided, there is a problem that the power consumption increases and the environmental load increases accordingly.

  On the other hand, if an exhaust fan as described above is not provided, it is possible to reduce power consumption accordingly. However, if the exhaust fan is simply abolished, naturally, heat tends to be accumulated in the lower housing.

  Therefore, in particular, when the medium discharge space as described above is formed between the lower housing and the upper housing, the hot air inside the lower housing travels along the discharge path of the recording medium. There is a possibility that it may easily flow into the medium discharge space described above. In such a case, when the user picks up the sheet discharged into the medium discharge space, there is a possibility that the user may feel unexpected heat, and in a high temperature environment (for example, summer), the user There is concern that it feels hot and uncomfortable.

  The present invention has been completed under the background as described above, and an object thereof is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of efficiently discharging hot air in the apparatus to the outside of the apparatus.

Hereinafter, the configuration employed in the present invention will be described.
The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes an electrophotographic image forming unit including an exposure unit, a developing unit, and a fixing unit, a discharge unit that discharges a sheet on which an image is formed by the image forming unit, and the image A lower housing provided with a forming portion and the discharge portion, and an upper housing disposed above the lower housing, and the lower surface of the upper housing faces from the lower end to the upper end. And a lower end of the first inclined surface is disposed at a position where hot air heated by the fixing unit rises from below, and the first inclined surface is formed to extend obliquely upward. The upper end of the first inclined surface is disposed at a position for guiding the hot air flowing obliquely upward along the first inclined surface from the lower end of the first inclined surface in a direction away from the discharge portion, and The upper end of the first inclined surface is the partition wall that partitions the outside and inside of the device. Provided on a side, the partition wall, an exhaust port for discharging to the outside of the device hot air flowing along the first inclined surface is formed.

  According to the image forming apparatus configured as described above, the hot air heated by the fixing unit is guided in the direction away from the discharge unit along the first inclined surface formed on the lower surface side of the lower housing, Hot air can be discharged from the exhaust port to the outside of the apparatus. Therefore, compared with the case where the configuration corresponding to the first inclined surface is not provided, hot air can be efficiently discharged out of the apparatus, and an increase in the temperature in the apparatus can be suppressed.

  Moreover, since the hot air guided along the first inclined surface is guided in a direction away from the discharge portion, it is possible to suppress discharge of hot air from the discharge portion. Therefore, compared to a device that easily discharges hot air from the discharge unit, when the user picks up the sheet discharged from the discharge unit, the user does not have to feel hot air, and the user feels uncomfortable with the hot air. There is nothing to do.

  By the way, the image forming apparatus of the present invention is provided with a cover portion that covers the upper portion of the fixing portion, and on the lower surface side of the cover portion, a second inclination that is shaped to extend obliquely upward from the lower end toward the upper end. A lower surface of the second inclined surface is disposed above the fixing portion, and an upper end of the second inclined surface is disposed below the lower end of the first inclined surface. preferable.

  According to the image forming apparatus configured as described above, since the hot air generated in the fixing unit can be guided by the second inclined surface, even when the lower end of the first inclined surface and the fixing unit do not overlap in the vertical direction. The hot air generated in the fixing unit can be guided to the first inclined surface.

  In the image forming apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the lower end of the first inclined surface may be disposed at the same position as the upper end of the second inclined surface or a position overlapping the second inclined surface in the vertical direction. preferable.

  According to the image forming apparatus configured as described above, the first inclined surface and the second inclined surface have the lower end of the first inclined surface at the same position as the upper end of the second inclined surface in the vertical direction, or the second inclined surface. Since it exists in the position which overlaps with a surface, when it sees from the downward direction, it will be in the arrangement | positioning state which looks like there is no clearance gap between the lower end of a 1st inclined surface, and the upper end of a 2nd inclined surface. Therefore, hot air efficiently flows from the second inclined surface side to the first inclined surface side, and the hot air discharge efficiency can be improved as compared with the arrangement in which such a gap appears to be present.

  In the image forming apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the fixing unit may include a heating roller and a pressure roller, and hot air flowing along the second inclined surface may be directed upward of the cover unit. A vent for discharging is formed, and the dimension of the vent is preferably equal to or larger than the dimension of the heating roller in the axial direction of the heating roller.

According to the image forming apparatus configured as described above, the hot air warmed by the fixing unit can be efficiently discharged from the vent hole.
In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the upper housing is provided with a reading unit that reads an image of a document.

According to the image forming apparatus configured as described above, the hot air from the fixing unit can be guided to the outside of the apparatus by using the lower surface of the upper housing provided to accommodate the reading unit.
In the image forming apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the bottom surface inside the upper housing has a first range in which the highest position is the first position and a highest position in the vertical direction. And a second range at a second position above the position, and the first inclined surface is preferably formed below the second range.

  According to the image forming apparatus configured as described above, the first inclined surface is formed below the portion where the bottom surface inside the upper housing is high (the portion corresponding to the second range). The inclined surface can be formed without increasing the vertical dimension of the upper housing as compared with the case where the first inclined surface is formed below the portion where the bottom surface inside the body is low (for example, the portion corresponding to the first range). And the thickness of the entire apparatus can be reduced.

In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the image forming apparatus includes a flat cable having one end connected to the reading unit and the other end connected to a processing unit that processes an image read by the reading unit. The upper cable is configured to reciprocate inside the upper housing when reading an image of a document, and a part of the flat cable is wired inside the upper housing. The upper part extending in the moving direction of the reading unit from the one end, the curved part curved in a U shape downward from the upper part, and the curved part to the upper part A lower portion extending in the moving direction of the reading unit, and when the reading unit moves in any one of the forward movement direction and the backward movement direction, the curve on the flat cable By changing the position of the minute, the upper part is longer than the lower part, while when moving in the other direction, the lower part is configured to be longer than the upper part, The bottom surface inside the upper housing has the first range defined as the range below the lower part when the lower part is longer than the upper part, and the upper part is the lower part. It is preferable that the second range is a range that is below the upper portion when not longer than the range that is not below the lower portion.

According to the image forming apparatus configured as described above, when the shape of the flat cable is changed as described above with the reciprocation of the reading unit, both the lower part and the upper part are located above the first range. Will arrive. However, in the first range, the place at the highest position of the bottom surface is at the first position below the second position, so the place at the highest position is at the second position above the first position. Compared to the range, there is room in the vertical space. Therefore, even when both the lower part and the upper part described above arrive in such a space, the curvature of the curved part becomes excessively large or the upper part and the lower part are excessively close to each other. There is no. On the other hand, in the second range, the place at the highest position of the bottom surface is in the second position above the first position, and in this place the vertical space is narrower than the first range. Only the upper part described above arrives above. Therefore, the lower part does not overlap with the upper part of the location at the second position, and the curvature of the curved part does not become excessively large in this case as well.

  Therefore, it does not cause excessive stress to the flat cable due to the fact that the place at the highest position in the second range is at the second position above the first position. The formation location of the first inclined surface and the wiring area of the flat cable can be ensured together.

In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, it is preferable that the first inclined surface is configured by combining a plurality of inclined surfaces having different inclinations.
According to the image forming apparatus configured as described above, even when it is difficult to provide a single inclined surface having a predetermined inclination due to the structure on the upper housing side, the structure on the upper housing side is advantageous. Accordingly, a plurality of inclined surfaces having different inclinations can be combined to form a first inclined surface that exhibits the desired performance.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a schematic internal structure of the multifunction machine. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a schematic internal structure of a reading unit. Explanatory drawing which shows the motion of the movable part in a reading unit. The longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the exhaust heat structure from a fixing | fixed part. Explanatory drawing which shows the area | region in which the vent hole was formed, and the width | variety of a heating roller.

  Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with an example. The image forming apparatus exemplified in the present embodiment is configured as a multi-function machine having other functions (for example, an image scan function, a copy function, a facsimile transmission / reception function, etc.) in addition to a function (print function) as an image forming apparatus. It is a thing. In the following description, in order to briefly explain the relative positional relationship of each part of the multi-function peripheral, description will be made by using the respective directions of up, down, left, right, and front, which are also shown in the drawing.

[Machine structure]
As shown in FIG. 1, the multifunction machine 1 includes a lower unit 2 and an upper unit 3 mounted on the upper side of the lower unit 2. The upper unit 3 is attached to the lower unit 2 so that it can be opened and closed. When the upper unit 3 is closed, the upper surface side of the lower unit 2 is covered with the upper unit 3. When the upper unit 3 is opened, the upper surface side of the lower unit 2 is exposed to the outside.

  The lower unit 2 includes a lower housing 2A. Inside the lower housing 2A, a processing unit 11 constituted by a control board having a known CPU, ROM, RAM, and the like, an image forming unit 12 for forming an image on a recording medium by an electrophotographic method, and the like Is housed.

  The upper unit 3 includes an upper housing 3A and a document cover 3B that covers the upper surface side of the upper housing 3A. The document cover 3B is attached to the upper housing 3A so as to be openable and closable. When the document cover 3B is opened, the upper surface side of the upper casing 3A covered with the document cover 3B is exposed to the outside.

  A reading unit 13 (see FIG. 2) for reading an image of a document is accommodated in the upper housing 3A. The document cover 3B is provided with a document transport unit (not shown) constituted by an ADF (Automatic Document Feeder). An operation unit 15 that is operated by a user is provided on the upper front side of the upper unit 3.

[Details of lower unit]
As shown in FIG. 1, the lower unit 2 is provided with a sheet supply unit 21, and a recording medium is supplied from the sheet supply unit 21 to the image forming unit 12. The image forming unit 12 includes a process cartridge 22, an exposure unit 23, a fixing unit 24, and the like. The recording medium on which the image is formed in the image forming unit 12 is conveyed from the image forming unit 12 to the discharge unit 25 and discharged outside the apparatus.

  The sheet supply unit 21 includes a sheet supply tray 30, a sheet supply roller 31, a separation roller 32, a separation pad 33, a registration roller pair 34, and the like. The process cartridge 22 includes a photoreceptor 35, a charger 36, a developer supply roller 37, a developing roller 38, a transfer roller 39, and the like. The fixing unit 24 includes a heating roller 41, a pressure roller 42, and the like. The discharge unit 25 includes a discharge roller pair 45, a sheet discharge tray 46, and the like.

  The recording medium placed on the sheet supply tray 30 is pulled out from the sheet supply tray 30 by the sheet supply roller 31 and is sent out to the downstream side of the conveyance path (path indicated by a broken line in FIG. 1). At that time, the recording medium is separated one by one by the separation roller 32 and the separation pad 33 and then sent to the downstream side of the conveyance path. When the recording medium comes into contact with the registration roller pair 34, the leading end position of the recording medium is positioned and the inclination with respect to the transport direction is corrected.

  The process cartridge 22 and the exposure unit 23 cooperate to form an image on the recording medium. Specifically, the process cartridge 22 includes a photoconductor 35 and a transfer roller 39 at a position where the recording medium conveyed along the conveyance path is sandwiched from the front and back. When forming an image, the surface of the photoconductor 35 is charged by the charger 36 and then irradiated by a laser scanner provided in the exposure unit 23 (see the arrow indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1). By scanning the photoconductor 35, an electrostatic latent image is drawn on the surface of the photoconductor 35. The developer supplied from the developer supply roller 37 is carried on the surface of the developing roller 38, and the developing roller 38 comes into contact with the surface of the photoconductor 35 on the surface carrying the developer, whereby the photoconductor 35. A visible image is formed on the surface by the developer. The visible image thus formed is transferred to the recording medium side when the recording medium is sandwiched between the photoreceptor 35 and the transfer roller 39.

  The recording medium to which the visible image is transferred is further sent to the downstream side of the transport path and reaches the fixing unit 24. In the fixing unit 24, the recording medium is sandwiched between the heating roller 41 and the pressure roller 42 and is heated and pressurized, and the visible image transferred to the recording medium is fixed to the recording medium. When the recording medium sent out from the fixing unit 24 reaches the discharge unit 25, the recording medium is discharged to the upper surface side of the sheet discharge tray 46 by the discharge roller pair 45. The sheet discharge tray 46 is disposed in a medium discharge space 48 formed between the upper unit 3 and the lower unit 2.

[Details of upper unit]
As shown in FIG. 1, the upper unit 3 includes a platen glass 51 disposed on the upper surface side of the upper housing 3A. Below the platen glass 51, as shown in FIG. 2, a reading unit 13 constituted by an image sensor, a carriage 54, a guide unit 55, an FFC (Flexible Flat Cable) 56 (corresponding to an example of a flat cable in the present invention). .) Etc. are provided.

  In the present embodiment, the reading unit 13 is a contact image sensor (CIS). A plurality of reading elements included in the reading unit 13 are arranged in the front-rear direction in the multifunction machine 1. Hereinafter, the front-rear direction which is the arrangement direction of the reading elements is also referred to as a main scanning direction.

  The reading unit 13 is mounted on the carriage 54. A compression spring (not shown) is interposed between the reading unit 13 and the carriage 54, and a spacer (not shown) is interposed between the reading unit 13 and the platen glass 51. With these configurations, the reading unit 13 is pressed toward the platen glass 51 (upward) with a predetermined gap between the reading unit 13 and the platen glass 51.

  The carriage 54 is connected to a timing belt (not shown) driven by a motor (not shown). When the timing belt is driven, the carriage 54 reciprocates in the left-right direction along with the reading unit 13 along the guide unit 55. Hereinafter, the left-right direction that is the moving direction of the reading unit 13 and the carriage 54 is also referred to as a sub-scanning direction. The guide portion 55 is integrally formed with the upper housing 3A by a resin material, and a portion protruding upward from the inner surface of the bottom portion of the upper housing 3A extends in the left-right direction. The left side in FIG. 2 is the standby position of the reading unit 13, and the reading unit 13 reads the image of the document supported by the platen glass 51 while moving to the right side from this position (forward movement). Further, when the reading of the document is completed, the reading unit 13 returns to the left standby position (reverse movement).

  A part of the FFC 56 is wired inside the upper housing 3 </ b> A, and the remaining portion is led out of the upper housing 3 </ b> A and connected to the processing unit 11. Of the FFC 56, a portion wired inside the upper housing 3A has one end 56A connected to the reading unit 13 and the other end 56B connected to the upper housing, as shown in FIGS. 3 (a) to 3 (c). It is fixed to the bottom of the body 3A.

  Further, the portion from the one end 56A to the other end 56B includes an upper portion 56C extending from the one end 56A in the sub-scanning direction (moving direction of the reading unit 13), and a curved portion that curves downwardly from the upper portion 56C in a U shape. 56D and a lower portion 56E extending in the sub-scanning direction from the curved portion 56D in parallel with the upper portion 56C.

  When the reading unit 13 moves in the backward movement direction (see FIG. 3A), the position of the curved portion 56D on the FFC 56 changes, so that the upper portion 56C becomes longer than the lower portion 56E. . On the other hand, when the reading unit 13 moves in the forward movement direction (see FIG. 3C), the lower portion 56E is longer than the upper portion 56C.

  Hereinafter, when the lower part 56E is longer than the upper part 56C, the range below the lower part 56E is the first range S1, and when the upper part 56C is longer than the lower part 56E, the upper part 56C. A range that is below the lower portion 56E and that is not below the lower portion 56E is referred to as a second range S2.

[Exhaust heat from fixing unit]
As shown in FIG. 4, a first inclined surface 61 is formed on the lower surface side of the upper housing 3A. The first inclined surface 61 has a shape extending obliquely upward from the lower end 61A toward the upper end 61B. Further, a cover portion 2B that covers the upper portion of the fixing portion 24 is provided on the upper portion of the lower unit 2, and a shape that extends obliquely upward from the lower end 62A toward the upper end 62B is provided on the lower surface side of the cover portion 2B. A second inclined surface 62 is formed.

  The first inclined surface 61 and the second inclined surface 62 constitute a ventilation path for guiding the air (hot air) heated by the fixing unit 24 to the back side (rear) of the multifunction machine 1 (see FIG. (See open arrow in 4).

  More specifically, the lower end 62A of the second inclined surface 62 is disposed above the fixing unit 24 so that hot air rising from the fixing unit 24 strikes the second inclined surface 62. The hot air hitting the second inclined surface 62 flows along the second inclined surface 62 toward the upper end 62B.

  The cover portion 2B is formed with a vent 63 for discharging hot air flowing along the second inclined surface 62 to the upper side of the cover portion 2B. As shown in FIG. 5, the vent 63 is formed in a range in which the dimension W <b> 1 in the width direction (front-rear direction) is equal to or larger than the dimension W <b> 2 of the heating roller 41. In addition, the shape and number of the vent holes 63 are not limited to those shown in FIG.

  The upper end 62B and the vent 63 of the second inclined surface 62 are disposed below the lower end 61A of the first inclined surface 61. More specifically, the lower end 61A of the first inclined surface 61 is disposed at a position (or the same position as the upper end 62B of the second inclined surface 62) between the upper and lower ends of the second inclined surface 62 when viewed from below. ing.

  Thereby, the hot air rising from the vent hole 63 hits the first inclined surface 61. That is, the lower end 61A of the first inclined surface 61 is arranged at a position where the hot air heated by the fixing unit 24 rises from below, and is referred to as “hot air heated by the fixing unit 24” in this specification. "Is not limited to hot air rising from the fixing unit 24 itself.

  The hot air hitting the first inclined surface 61 flows along the first inclined surface 61 toward the upper end 61B. The upper end 61 </ b> B of the first inclined surface 61 is located behind the apparatus from the lower end 61 </ b> A of the first inclined face 61, and the discharge unit 25 is located ahead of the apparatus from the lower end 61 </ b> A of the first inclined face 61. Therefore, the first inclined surface 61 guides the hot air flowing obliquely upward along the first inclined surface 61 from the lower end 61 </ b> A in a direction away from the discharge unit 25.

  An upper end 61B of the first inclined surface 61 is provided inside a partition wall 65 formed as a part of the upper housing 3A. As shown in FIGS. 3A to 3C and 4, the partition wall 65 has an exhaust port for discharging hot air flowing along the first inclined surface 61 to the outside of the multi-function device 1. 66 is formed. Therefore, the hot air that has flowed to the partition wall 65 is discharged to the outside of the apparatus through the exhaust port 66.

  By the way, the longitudinal cross-sectional view shown in FIG.1 and FIG.4 is sectional drawing in the cut surface shown by the AA line in FIG. 2, The sectional view shown in FIG.3 (a)-FIG.3 (c) is It is sectional drawing in the cut surface shown by the BB line in FIG. As is clear from these drawings, the first inclined surface 61 is formed below in the range of the second range S2 described above.

  Further, by forming the first inclined surface 61 at such a position, the height position of the bottom surface inside the upper housing 3A is changed between the first range S1 and the second range S2. Specifically, among the bottom surface inside the upper housing 3A, the location 67 at the highest position in the first range S1 and the location 68 at the highest position in the second range S2 are in the direction of the second range S2. Is at a high position (above) (see FIGS. 3A to 3C). And the location 68 in the high position is provided, and the above-mentioned 1st inclined surface 61 is formed in the lower surface side of the part.

  If the first inclined surface 61 is formed at such a position, the first inclined surface 61 can be formed further upward without interfering with the movement of the FFC 56 described above, whereby the height direction of the upper unit 3 can be increased. The dimensions can be reduced.

  More specifically, when the FFC 56 is displaced with the operation of the carriage 54, the curved portion 56D reciprocates and the length of the lower portion 56E varies in the first range S1. Therefore, if it is going to form the 1st inclined surface 61 within the range which does not prevent such a motion of FFC56, the 1st inclined surface 61 must be formed below the wiring position of the lower part 56E.

  On the other hand, in the second range S2, even if the FFC 56 is displaced with the operation of the carriage 54, the curved portion 56D and the lower portion 56E arrive at the second range S2 only by changing the length of the upper portion 56C. There is nothing. Therefore, in forming the first inclined surface 61 below the second range S2, the first inclined surface 61 can be formed as long as it is below the wiring position of the upper portion 56C, and the position is set to the lower portion. It is also possible to set it above the wiring position 56E. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the thickness of the upper unit 3 while forming the first inclined surface 61 further upward to ensure a sufficient angle of inclination.

[effect]
As described above, according to the MFP 1, the hot air heated by the fixing unit 24 is guided along the first inclined surface 61 formed on the lower surface side of the lower housing 2A, and the hot air is exhausted. It can be discharged from the port 66 to the outside of the multifunction device 1. Therefore, compared with the case where the configuration corresponding to the first inclined surface 61 is not provided, hot air can be efficiently discharged to the outside of the apparatus, and an increase in the temperature inside the apparatus can be suppressed.

  Moreover, since the hot air guided along the first inclined surface 61 is guided in the direction away from the discharge unit 25, it is possible to suppress the discharge of hot air from the discharge unit 25. Therefore, when the user picks up the sheet discharged from the discharge unit 25, the user does not need to feel hot air as compared with an apparatus in which hot air is easily discharged from the portion corresponding to the discharge unit 25. I don't feel hot and uncomfortable.

  In the multifunction machine 1, the hot air generated in the fixing unit 24 is guided to the first inclined surface 61 by the second inclined surface 62. Therefore, the hot air generated in the fixing unit 24 is guided to the first inclined surface 61 even though the lower end 61 </ b> A of the first inclined surface 61 and the fixing unit 24 do not directly overlap in the vertical direction. Can do.

  Further, according to the multifunction device 1, the first inclined surface 61 and the second inclined surface 62 are arranged so that there is no gap between them when viewed from below, so there is a gap between them. Compared with the arrangement state that looks like this, hot air efficiently flows from the second inclined surface 62 side to the first inclined surface 61 side, and the hot air discharge efficiency can be improved.

  Further, in the multifunction machine 1, the front-rear direction dimension of the vent hole 63 is equal to or larger than the front-rear direction dimension (axial direction dimension) of the heating roller 41, so that the hot air heated by the fixing unit 24 is efficiently vented. Can be released from.

  According to the MFP 1, the first inclined surface 61 is formed below the location where the bottom surface inside the upper housing 3A is high (the location corresponding to the second range S2). An inclined surface can be formed without increasing the vertical dimension of the device, and the entire apparatus can be made thinner. Further, since the second range S2 is a range in which only the upper portion 56C arrives even when the FFC 56 is displaced, the FFC 56 is not excessively stressed, and the first inclined surface 61 is formed as described above. The wiring area of the FFC 56 can be secured at the same time.

  As described above, when forming the first inclined surface 61 below the portion corresponding to the second range S2, a portion of the first inclined surface 61 is within a range that does not hinder thinning of the device. There is no problem in reaching below the portion corresponding to the first range S1. In other words, the term “formed below the portion corresponding to the second range S2” does not mean that it is formed only below the portion corresponding to the second range S2, but at least the second range S2. It is formed below the location corresponding to, but it does not matter whether it is formed up to other locations.

[Other Embodiments]
As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to said specific one Embodiment, In addition, it can implement with a various form.

For example, in the said embodiment, although the example which provides a single inclined surface as the 1st inclined surface 61 was shown, the 1st inclined surface 61 may be comprised combining the some inclined surface.
To give a more specific example, for example, in the above-described embodiment, in the area A1 showing the schematic range in FIG. 2, an inclined surface that is inclined upward is provided on the lower surface of the upper housing 3A. One inclined surface 61 was provided. In addition to this, even in the front area A2, an inclined surface that is inclined upward toward the rear may be provided on the lower surface of the upper housing 3A, and the first inclined surface 61 may be configured by these two inclined surfaces. Good. In this case, the angle of inclination of the two inclined surfaces may be changed, whereby the shape of the first inclined surface 61 can be optimized so as to minimize the influence on other structures.

  Also, in the area A3 on the right side of the area A1 and the area A4 on the left side of the area A1, an inclined surface is provided on the lower surface of the upper housing 3A, and the first inclined surface 61 is configured by the plurality of inclined surfaces. May be. In this case, the region A3 has an inclined surface with an upward slope toward the left, and the region A4 has an inclined surface with an upward slope toward the right. In the area A1, hot air can be collected and exhausted backward.

  In the case of the multifunction machine 1 of the above embodiment, since the hot air can be efficiently discharged using the first inclined surface 61, an exhaust fan for forcibly discharging the air of the lower housing 2A is provided. However, it is optional whether or not an exhaust fan is used together. Even in such a case, since the exhaust / exhaust heat effect by the first inclined surface 61 can be expected, there is an advantage that sufficient exhaust / exhaust heat performance can be secured even with a smaller exhaust fan.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... MFP, 2 ... Lower unit, 2A ... Lower housing, 2B ... Cover part, 3 ... Upper unit, 3A ... Upper housing, 3B ... Document cover, 11 ... Processing part, 12 ... Image forming part, 13 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS Reading unit 15 ... Operation unit 21 ... Sheet supply unit 22 ... Process cartridge 23 ... Exposure unit 24 ... Fixing unit 25 ... Discharge unit 30 ... Sheet supply tray 31 ... Sheet supply roller 32 ... Separation Roller, 33 ... Separation pad, 34 ... Registration roller pair, 35 ... Photoconductor, 36 ... Charger, 37 ... Developer supply roller, 38 ... Development roller, 39 ... Transfer roller, 41 ... Heating roller, 42 ... Pressure roller 45 ... discharge roller pair, 46 ... sheet discharge tray, 48 ... medium discharge space, 51 ... platen glass, 53 ... image sensor, 54 ... carriage, 55 ... guide section, 56 ... FFC, 56A ... FFC One end of the portion wired in the upper housing, 56B ... the other end of the portion wired in the upper housing of the FFC, 56C ... an upper portion of the FFC, 56D ... a curved portion of the FFC, 56E ... a lower portion of the FFC, 61 ... 1st inclined surface, 61A ... Lower end of 1st inclined surface, 61B ... Upper end of 1st inclined surface, 62 ... 2nd inclined surface, 62A ... Lower end of 2nd inclined surface, 62B ... Upper end of 2nd inclined surface, 63 ... vent hole, 65 ... partition wall, 66 ... exhaust port.

Claims (6)

An electrophotographic image forming unit including an exposure unit, a developing unit, and a fixing unit;
A discharge unit for discharging the sheet on which the image is formed by the image forming unit to the outside;
A lower housing provided with the image forming unit and the discharge unit;
An upper housing disposed above the lower housing,
On the lower surface side of the upper casing, a first inclined surface is formed that extends obliquely upward from the lower end toward the upper end,
The lower end of the first inclined surface is disposed at a position where the hot air heated by the fixing unit rises from below, and the upper end of the first inclined surface extends from the lower end of the first inclined surface. It is arranged at a position that guides the hot air flowing obliquely upward along one inclined surface in a direction away from the discharge part,
In addition, the upper end of the first inclined surface is provided inside a partition that divides the outside and the inside of the device, and hot air flowing along the first inclined surface is supplied to the partition from the outside of the device. an exhaust port for discharging into is formed,
Further, a cover portion is provided to cover the upper portion of the fixing portion,
A second inclined surface having a shape extending obliquely upward from the lower end toward the upper end is formed on the lower surface side of the cover portion,
The lower end of the second inclined surface is disposed above the fixing unit, and the upper end of the second inclined surface is disposed below the lower end of the first inclined surface . The lower end of the first inclined surface in the vertical direction, the upper end at the same position of the second inclined surface, or the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 which is disposed at a position overlapping with the second inclined surface. The fixing unit includes a heating roller and a pressure roller,
The cover portion is formed with a vent for discharging hot air flowing along the second inclined surface upward of the cover portion,
Wherein the axial direction of the heating roller, the size of the vent, the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2 which is equal to or greater than the dimensions of the heating roller. Wherein the upper housing, an image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the reading unit reads an image of a document is provided. One end is connected to the reading unit, and the other end includes a flat cable connected to a processing unit that processes an image read by the reading unit,
The reading unit is configured to reciprocate inside the upper housing when reading an image of a document, and a part of the flat cable is wired inside the upper housing,
A portion wired inside the upper housing includes an upper portion that extends from the one end in the moving direction of the reading unit, a curved portion that curves downwardly from the upper portion, and a curved portion that extends from the curved portion. A lower portion extending in parallel with the upper portion in the moving direction of the reading unit,
When the reading unit moves in any one of the forward movement direction and the backward movement direction, the position of the curved portion on the flat cable changes, so that the upper portion becomes the lower portion. The lower part is configured to be longer than the upper part when moved in the other direction.
Of the bottom surface inside the upper housing, the first range is a range that is below the lower part when the lower part is longer than the upper part,
Of the bottom surface inside the upper casing, the second range is a range that is below the upper portion and not below the lower portion when the upper portion is longer than the lower portion. When
The image forming apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the first inclined surface is formed below the second range. Said first inclined surface, the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 4 or claim 5 is constructed by combining a plurality of inclined surfaces of different inclination.

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