JP6043713B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including an opening / closing member.

  The image forming apparatus is provided with a storage portion in which a toner container is stored, and the toner container storage portion is opened and closed by an opening / closing member for replacement of the toner container.

  A conventional example of the opening / closing member of the toner container accommodating portion will be described with reference to FIGS. The opening / closing member 101 includes a main body portion 103 that covers the toner container housing portion, and a hinge portion 104 that pivotally supports the support shaft 105. The main body portion 103 and the hinge portion 104 are formed of different members. As shown in FIG. 13, the hinge portion 104 has a recess 107 into which the main body portion 103 is fitted at the upstream end in the opening direction of the opening / closing member 101, and a protrusion 108 at the downstream end. Is formed. As shown in FIG. 12, the protrusion 108 abuts against the contact member 109 when the opening / closing member 101 rotates in a predetermined angle opening direction, and regulates the rotation of the opening / closing member 101.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a structure in which a support pin serving as a rotation fulcrum is erected on a side plate of a document cover and a support pin is pivotally supported on a support plate having a curved inner surface as a rotation mechanism of an opening / closing member. Is disclosed.

JP 2002-14432 A

  However, in the opening / closing member 101 shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the contact member 109 must be disposed near the support shaft 105 of the opening / closing member 101 due to the structure of the toner container housing portion. For this reason, the lever ratio between the portion operated by the user when opening the opening / closing member 101 and the contact member 109 increases, and the force acting on the contact member 109 from the opening / closing member 101 increases when the opening / closing member 101 is opened. Become. In particular, since the opening / closing member 101 that opens and closes the toner container accommodating portion has a relatively large size, the force acting on the contact member 109 is further increased. Further, after the opening / closing member 101 hits the contact member 109, the user may further rotate the opening member in the opening direction. For these reasons, there is a problem that the protrusion 108 that contacts the abutting member 109 and the wall 107a of the recess 107 of the hinge portion 104 that contacts the main body 103 of the opening / closing member 101 are easily damaged.

  As a countermeasure, it is conceivable to form the hinge portion 104 with a high-strength material or to reinforce it with a sheet metal member. However, the material cost increases and the number of parts increases, leading to an increase in cost. .

  Also, in the rotation mechanism of the opening / closing member described in the above patent document, the support plate may be damaged depending on the amount of force applied from the support pin to the support plate when the document cover is rotated to the open position. There is a risk of doing.

  Therefore, in consideration of the above circumstances, the present invention provides an opening / closing member provided so as to come into contact with the abutting member in the open position, even when a force that further rotates in the opening direction from the open position is applied. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus configured so as not to be easily damaged.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes an opening / closing member that rotates about a support shaft, and a contact member that the opening / closing member rotates and contacts in a certain angle opening direction. In the image forming apparatus, each of the opening / closing member and the abutting member has a first contact portion and a first contacted portion that contact the opening / closing member in a posture rotated by the angle in the opening direction. And the opening and closing member is opposed to each other through a predetermined clearance in the posture rotated in the opening direction by the angle, and is in contact in the posture in which the opening and closing member is further rotated in the opening direction from the angle. A contact portion and a second contacted portion are provided.

  By adopting such a configuration, the rotation of the opening / closing member can be regulated in two stages, that is, the opening position of the opening / closing member and the position further rotated from the opening position.

  In the present invention, the direction in which the first abutting portion of the opening / closing member abuts on the first abutted portion of the abutting member, and the second abutting portion of the opening / closing member on the abutting member The first contact portion of the opening / closing member when the opening / closing member is further rotated in the opening direction from the angle is a direction opposite to a direction contacting the second contacted portion. The opening / closing member may be prevented from being deformed by sandwiching the abutting member from the facing direction by the second abutting portion.

  By adopting such a configuration, when the opening / closing member is further rotated from the open position, the load acting on the opening / closing member is distributed to two locations and acts so as to cancel the load. Deformation is suppressed, and breakage of the opening / closing member can be prevented more reliably. Therefore, deformation and breakage of the opening / closing member can be prevented, and it is not necessary to increase the strength of the opening / closing member such as addition of a reinforcing member or use of a high-strength material, thereby reducing the cost.

  In the present invention, the opening / closing member includes a main body portion and a hinge portion that is provided integrally with the main body portion and on which the support shaft is pivotally supported, and the first contact portion is provided on the hinge portion. The formed second contact portion may be formed on the main body portion.

  By adopting such a configuration, the hinge portion can be prevented from being damaged.

  In this invention, it is good also as providing the lock member which maintains the said opening-and-closing member in the attitude | position rotated by the said angle.

  By adopting such a configuration, it becomes easy to perform operations such as replacement of the toner container in a state where the opening / closing member is rotated to the open position.

  In the present invention, a damper member that biases the opening / closing member in the opening direction may be provided.

  By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the opening / closing member from rotating at once in the closing direction due to its own weight.

  In the present invention, in the opening / closing member provided so as to come into contact with the abutting member in the open position, the opening / closing member is not easily damaged even when a force that further rotates from the open position in the opening direction is applied. Can be provided.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a color printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a top cover is opened in a color printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view showing a top cover of a color printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the hinge part of the upper surface cover of the color printer which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. 1 is a perspective view showing an upper surface cover and a contact member of a color printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view which shows the upper surface cover and contact member of the color printer which concern on one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a positional relationship between the upper surface cover and the abutting member at the upper surface cover closed position of the color printer according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a positional relationship between the upper surface cover and the abutting member at the upper surface cover open position of the color printer according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the positional relationship between the upper surface cover and the abutting member at the upper surface cover closed position of the color printer according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the positional relationship between the upper surface cover and the abutting member at the upper surface cover open position of the color printer according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view which shows the state of the upper surface cover open position of the color printer which concerns on other embodiment of this invention. It is a side view which shows the opening / closing cover of the conventional color printer. It is a perspective view which shows the hinge part of the opening / closing cover of the conventional color printer.

  Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings.

  First, the overall configuration of the color printer 1 (image forming apparatus) will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 is a front view schematically showing the overall configuration of the color printer, and FIG. 2 is a front view showing a state in which the top cover and side cover of the color printer are opened. The front side in FIG. 1 is the front side (front side) of the color printer, and the left and right directions will be described with reference to the direction when the color printer is viewed from the front.

  The color printer 1 includes a box-shaped printer main body 2, a paper feed cassette 3 that stores paper (recording medium) is provided in the lower part of the printer main body 2, and a paper discharge tray is provided in the upper part of the printer main body 2. 4 is provided.

  An intermediate transfer belt 6 is installed between a plurality of rollers in the center of the printer main body 2, and an exposure device 7 composed of a laser scanning unit (LSU) is disposed below the intermediate transfer belt 6. Has been. Below the intermediate transfer belt 6, four image forming units 8 are provided for each toner color (for example, four colors of magenta, cyan, yellow, and black). Each image forming unit 8 is rotatably provided with a photosensitive drum 9, and around the photosensitive drum 9, a charger 10, a developing unit 11, a primary transfer unit 12, and a cleaning device 13 are provided. The static eliminator 14 is arranged in the order of the primary transfer process. Above the developing unit 11, a toner container storage unit 15 is provided, and a toner container 16 corresponding to each image forming unit 8 is stored side by side in the horizontal direction for each toner color. An upper surface cover 30 (opening / closing member) is provided above the toner container housing 15 so as to be rotatable about the right side. The right side portion of the top cover 30 forms a paper discharge tray 4. When the toner container 16 is replaced, as shown in FIG. 2, the upper surface cover 30 can be rotated to open the toner container housing portion 15.

  On the right side inside the printer main body 2, a paper conveyance path 17 extending in the vertical direction from the paper feed cassette 3 toward the paper discharge tray 4 is provided. A paper feeding unit 18 is provided at the upstream end of the conveyance path 17, and a secondary transfer unit 19 is provided at one end (right end in the drawing) of the intermediate transfer belt 6 at a middle portion of the conveyance path 17, and downstream of the conveyance path 17. A fixing device 20 is provided at the section, and a paper discharge port 21 is provided at the downstream end of the transport path 17.

  Next, an image forming operation of the color printer 1 having such a configuration will be described. When the color printer 1 is turned on, various parameters are initialized, and initial settings such as temperature setting of the fixing device 20 are executed. When image data is input from a computer or the like connected to the color printer 1 and an instruction to start printing is given, an image forming operation is executed as follows.

  First, after the surface of the photosensitive drum 9 is charged by the charger 10, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 9 by laser light (see arrow P) from the exposure device 7. Next, the electrostatic latent image is developed into a toner image of a corresponding color by the developing device 11 with the toner supplied from the toner container 16. This toner image is primarily transferred to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 6 in the primary transfer portion 12. Each image forming unit 8 sequentially repeats the above operation, whereby a full-color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 6. Note that the toner and charge remaining on the photosensitive drum 9 are removed by the cleaning device 13 and the static eliminator 14.

  On the other hand, the paper taken out from the paper feed cassette 3 by the paper feed unit 18 is conveyed to the secondary transfer unit 19 in synchronism with the image forming operation described above, and in the secondary transfer unit 19 on the intermediate transfer belt 6. A full color toner image is secondarily transferred to the paper. The sheet on which the toner image is secondarily transferred is conveyed to the downstream side of the conveyance path 17 and enters the fixing device 20, where the toner image is fixed on the sheet. The sheet on which the toner image is fixed is discharged from the discharge outlet 21 onto the discharge tray 4.

  Next, the top cover 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the entire structure of the upper cover, and FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view showing a part of the upper cover. The upper surface cover 30 is supported so as to be rotatable about a support shaft provided along the right side between a closed position where the toner container housing 15 is closed and an open position where the toner container housing 15 is opened. Further, when the upper surface cover 30 is rotated to the open position, the upper surface cover 30 comes into contact with a contact member 50 provided in the printer main body 2 so that further rotation is restricted.

  The upper surface cover 30 includes a main body portion 31 that covers the toner container housing portion 15 and a hinge portion 37 on which a support shaft is pivotally supported.

As shown in FIG. 3, the main body portion 31 has a flat, substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and an inclined portion 32 that is inclined to the upper left at a gentle inclination angle from the right side, and a plane portion that is continuous from the left side of the inclined portion 32. 33. The upper surface of the inclined portion 32 forms a paper discharge tray 4.
Ribs 35 are provided on the lower surface of the inclined portion 32 along the front and rear sides and the right side. The rib 35 is formed inside the front and rear sides and the right side of the lower surface of the inclined portion 32, and the right end edge 32 a (second contact portion) of the inclined portion 32 is more rightward than the right end edge of the rib 35. It is extended. Further, a protruding portion 35a is formed at the right end portion of the rib 35 along the front and rear sides.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the hinge portion 37 includes a cylindrical portion 39 having a shaft hole 38 through which a support shaft is inserted, and an arm portion 40 connected to the main body portion 31. The arm portion 40 is configured by arranging two substantially L-shaped plate-like members 41 in parallel in a front view, and one end portion of each plate-like member 41 extends from each of both ends of the cylindrical portion 39. It is formed to extend in a direction perpendicular to the shaft hole 38. The inner edge of the arm portion 40 extends radially from the cylindrical portion 39 and then curves in a substantially arc shape with the shaft hole 38 as the center. The outer edge of the arm portion 40 extends radially from the cylindrical portion 39 and then bends around the shaft hole 38 through a plurality of bent portions. The two plate-like members 41 are connected by a plurality of ribs 42. A flat plate portion 43 (first contact portion) is formed between the radially extending portions of the inner edges of the plate-like members 41. The flat plate portion 43 is formed to be substantially horizontal when the upper surface cover 30 is rotated to the open position.

  The other end of each plate-like member 41 of the arm portion 40 is connected to a protruding portion 35a of each rib 35 formed on the inclined portion 32 of the main body portion 31, and the hinge portion 37 and the main body portion 31 are integrally formed. It is formed to become. As shown in FIG. 3, the hinge portion 37 protrudes rightward from the front and rear end portions of the right side of the main body portion 31, and between the right end of the main body portion 31 and the hinge portion 37, FIG. As shown in the figure, a fan-shaped space 45 is formed around the shaft hole 38 of the cylindrical portion 39 of the hinge portion 37. In addition, the hinge part 37 and the main body part 31 may be formed so as to be integrated in advance, and the hinge part 37 and the main body part 31 are separately formed, and then the hinge part 37 is incorporated into the main body part 31. It may be formed.

  Next, the contact member 50 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the contact member and the upper surface cover, and FIG. 6 is a front view showing the contact member and the upper surface cover. As shown in FIG. 5, the contact member 50 is provided in the printer main body 2 so as to correspond to each of the hinge portions 37 of the upper surface cover 30.

  The abutting member 50 is a vertically long member in the form of an angle member having a substantially L-shaped cross section. A rectangular lower end surface 51 is formed at the lower end of the abutting member 50. As shown in FIG. 6, the lower end surface 51 is formed in a two-step staircase shape that increases in the right direction, and includes a lower step portion 51a (first contacted portion) and an upper step portion 51b (second step). Contacted part). The lower surface of the lower step portion 51a is formed in a substantially horizontal plane, and the upper step portion 51b is formed to have a larger area than the lower step portion 51a, and is formed so as to be gently inclined downward toward the lower step portion 51a.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the abutting member 50 is arranged so that the corners are in contact with the right front and right rear corners of the toner container housing portion 15 of the printer main body 2.

  The rotation operation of the upper surface cover 30 in the upper surface cover 30 and the abutting member 50 having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 is a perspective view showing the top cover closed position, FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the top cover open position, FIG. 9 is a side view showing the top cover closed position, and FIG. 10 is a side view showing the top cover open position.

  The upper surface cover 30 is inserted through a shaft 55 (not shown in FIGS. 8 and 9) into a shaft hole (not shown) formed in the toner container housing portion 15 and the shaft hole 38 of each hinge portion 37. As a result, the toner container accommodating portion 15 is opened and closed by rotating about the support shaft 55.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, in the closed position of the upper surface cover 30, the cylindrical portion 39 of the hinge portion 37 is positioned below the upper step portion 51 b of the lower end surface 51 of the abutting member 50, and The lower step portion 51 a of the lower end surface 51 of the abutting member 50 enters the fan-shaped space 45 from the gap between the right end edge 32 a of the inclined portion 32 and the cylindrical portion 39 of the hinge portion 37. The right end edge 32 a of the inclined portion 32 of the main body portion 31 is located to the right of the upper step portion 51 b of the abutting member 50.

  When the upper cover 30 is rotated to the open position around the support shaft 55 (not shown in FIGS. 8 and 9) (see arrow A in FIG. 9), as shown in FIGS. Eventually, the flat plate portion 43 of the hinge portion 37 of the upper surface cover 30 comes into contact with the lower surface of the lower step portion 51a of the lower end surface 51 of the abutting member 50 from below. Thereby, the further rotation of the upper surface cover 30 is controlled. At this time, the right end edge 32 a of the inclined portion 32 of the upper surface cover 30 and the upper surface of the upper step portion 51 b of the lower end surface 51 of the abutting member 50 are not in contact with each other with a predetermined clearance G therebetween. The clearance is 0.5 mm, for example.

  When the upper surface cover 30 is further rotated in the opening direction (see arrow B in FIG. 10), the flat plate portion 43 of the hinge portion 37 of the upper surface cover 30 is below the abutting member 50 as shown in FIGS. The right end edge 32a of the inclined portion 32 of the upper surface cover 30 is in contact with the upper surface of the upper step portion 51b of the lower end surface 51 of the abutting member 50 from above while remaining in contact with the lower surface of the lower step portion 51a of the end surface 51 (FIG. 10). (See dashed line). Thereby, the further rotation of the upper surface cover 30 is controlled. At this time, the upper surface cover 30 is slightly deformed so that the main body 31 is warped in the right direction with respect to the hinge portion 37, and the abutting member is formed by the flat plate portion 43 of the hinge portion 37 and the right end edge 32 a of the inclined portion 32. The lower end surfaces 51 of 50 are respectively sandwiched from the lower direction (see arrow C in FIG. 10) and the upper direction (see arrow D in FIG. 10).

  As described above, in the upper surface cover 30 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the rotation of the upper surface cover 30 can be regulated in two stages by the open position and the position further rotated in the opening direction from the open position. it can. Further, when the upper surface cover 30 is further rotated in the opening direction from the open position, the upper surface cover 30 is brought into contact with the abutting member 50 at two locations of the flat plate portion 43 of the hinge portion 37 and the right end edge 32a of the inclined portion 32. The reaction force received from the abutting member 50 is distributed in two places. Further, the flat plate portion 43 of the hinge portion 37 contacts the lower step portion 51a of the lower end surface 51 of the abutting member 50 from below (arrow C in FIG. 10), and the right end edge 32a of the inclined portion 32 is the lower end surface 51 of the abutting member 50. Since the upper stage portion 51b abuts from above (arrow D in FIG. 10), the direction of the reaction force received by the upper surface cover 30 is opposite and acts so as to cancel each other. Thereby, although the upper surface cover 30 deform | transforms a little so that it may curve, the further deformation | transformation is suppressed. Therefore, it is not necessary to add a reinforcing member for preventing the top cover 30 from being damaged or to use a high-strength material, so that the cost can be reduced.

  Further, in the upper surface cover 30, the main body 31 and the hinge portion 37 are integrally formed. Therefore, when the upper surface cover 30 is further rotated in the opening direction from the open position, the conventional technique (FIGS. 12 and 13). As in (see), there is no problem that a force is applied to the hinge part from the main body part and the connecting part is damaged.

  Next, an upper surface cover according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The upper surface cover 30 of this embodiment includes a lock member 60 that maintains the upper surface cover 30 in the open position, and a damper member 70 that provides resistance to rotation of the upper surface cover 30 to the closed position.

  A V-shaped concave portion 49 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the hinge portion 37 of the top cover 30 in a front view.

  The lock member 60 is a rectangular column-shaped hollow member, and has a front end portion 60a formed in a V shape in a front view. The lock member 60 is supported in a direction in which the upper surface cover 30 advances and retreats with respect to the concave portion 49 of the hinge portion 37 in the open position, and is biased by a coil spring 61 in a direction to advance into the concave portion 49.

  The damper member 70 is a torsion coil spring, and has a winding portion 71 at the center portion and two arm portions 72 and 73 extending from the winding portion 71. The winding portion 71 is inserted through the support shaft 55, one arm portion 72 is locked to the left end surface of the hinge portion 37, and the other arm portion 73 is locked to the abutting member 50. The damper member 70 urges the hinge portion 37 in the clockwise direction in FIG. That is, the damper member 70 urges the top cover 30 to the open position.

  In the upper surface cover 30 having the above-described configuration, when the upper surface cover 30 rotates to the open position, the lock member 60 is urged by the coil spring 61 and the distal end portion 60a engages with the concave portion 49 of the hinge portion 37. . Thereby, the upper surface cover 30 is held in the open position. When closing the upper surface cover 30, if the upper surface cover 30 is rotated in the closing direction, the distal end portion 60 a of the lock member 60 is pushed in the retracting direction on the side surface of the recessed portion 49 of the hinge portion 37, so Since it comes off, the upper surface cover 30 can be rotated from the open position.

  Further, when the upper surface cover 30 is rotated from the open position to the closed position, resistance is applied from the damper member 70 to the upper surface cover 30, so that the upper surface cover 30 can be prevented from being lowered at a stretch by its own weight.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the case where the configuration of the present invention is applied to the opening / closing cover 30 of the toner container accommodating portion 15 has been described. However, a cover for opening / closing the paper conveyance path 17 for performing processing such as a paper jam, In the case of a color printer provided with a document pressing cover, the configuration of the present invention may be applied to a document pressing cover or the like.

  Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the case where the configuration of the present invention is applied to the color printer 1 has been described. However, in another different embodiment, an image forming apparatus other than the color printer 1 such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine. The configuration of the present invention may be applied to.

  Furthermore, since the above description of the embodiment of the present invention describes a preferred embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, there may be various technically preferable limitations. The technical scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments unless specifically described to limit the present invention. That is, the above-described components in the embodiment of the present invention can be appropriately replaced with existing components and the like, and various variations including combinations with other existing components are possible. The description of the embodiment of the present invention described above does not limit the contents of the invention described in the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Color printer 30 Upper surface cover 31 Main-body part 37 Hinge part 32a Inclined part right end edge (2nd contact part)
43 Flat plate part (first contact part)
50 Abutting member 51a Lower part (first contacted part)
51b Upper stage (second contacted part)
55 Support shaft 60 Lock member 70 Damper member

Claims (2)

An image forming apparatus comprising: an opening / closing member that rotates about a support shaft; and a contact member that the opening / closing member rotates and contacts in a certain angle opening direction,
Each of the opening / closing member and the abutting member includes a first contact portion and a first contacted portion that contact the opening / closing member in the posture rotated in the opening direction by the angle, and the opening / closing member. A second abutting portion and a second abutting portion that face each other through a predetermined clearance in the posture rotated in the opening direction and in contact in the posture in which the opening / closing member is further rotated in the opening direction from the angle. and the abutment, are provided,
A direction in which the first contact portion of the opening / closing member contacts the first contacted portion of the contact member, and the second contact portion of the opening / closing member is the second contact portion of the contact member. The direction of contact with the contacted portion is the opposite direction,
When the opening / closing member is further rotated in the opening direction from the angle, the contact member is sandwiched from the opposing direction by the first contact portion and the second contact portion of the opening / closing member. an image forming apparatus comprising Rukoto deformation is suppressed of the opening and closing member by. The opening and closing member includes a main body portion includes a hinge portion to which the support shaft is axially supported with provided integrally with the body portion, wherein the first contact portion is formed in the hinge portion, the The second contact portion is formed on the main body portion ,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first contacted portion and the second contacted portion are formed adjacent to each other with a stepped portion at one end of the contact member. .

Images