JP6167384B2 - Fall prevention member for image forming apparatus and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a fall prevention member for an image forming apparatus, and an image forming apparatus provided with the fall prevention member, in particular, a fall prevention member used in a stationary type electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and the fall prevention member. The present invention relates to a stationary electrophotographic image forming apparatus.

  In general, a stationary electrophotographic image forming apparatus generally includes a sheet feeding unit having a plurality of drawer-type cassettes, an image forming unit that is positioned on the sheet feeding unit and forms an image, and the image forming unit. And an image reading unit that scans a document or the like. The image forming apparatus having such a configuration inevitably has a high center of gravity, and may fall over when an external force is applied for some reason, such as a user leaning on the image forming apparatus.

  As means for solving this problem, for example, it is conceivable to incorporate the fall prevention device described in Patent Document 1 in the lower part of the image forming apparatus. However, this type of overturn prevention member has a problem that workability such as attachment / detachment is poor because it is provided almost directly under an object to be prevented from overturning.

JP 2011-24933 A

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a fall prevention member used in a stationary electrophotographic image forming apparatus having good workability such as attachment and detachment, and a stationary electrophotographic image forming apparatus provided with the fall prevention member. Is to provide.

The fall prevention member for an image forming apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is
A fall prevention member attached to the bottom surface of the image forming apparatus to prevent the image forming apparatus from falling over by a stationary type electrophotographic system, and projecting horizontally outside the image forming apparatus,
A main body removable from the image forming apparatus;
A fastener for preventing the main body from being detached from the image forming apparatus;
With
The fastener is provided with a lock releasing portion that serves as a power point when releasing the function of preventing the main body from being detached, and the lock releasing portion is provided to be located outside the side surface of the image forming apparatus. It is and,
The unlocking portion is provided in a recess of the main body,
The main body is provided with a restricting portion for preventing the unlocking portion from projecting to the outside from the concave portion,
It is characterized by.

An image forming apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is
A fall prevention member for the image forming apparatus;
An attachment member for engaging the fall prevention member with the image forming apparatus;
With
The attachment member is provided on a frame of a housing of the image forming apparatus;
It is characterized by.

  A fall prevention member for an image forming apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes a fastener that prevents the fall prevention member from being detached. Further, the fastener is provided with a lock releasing portion which is a power point when releasing the function of preventing the main body from being detached, and the lock releasing portion is located outside the side surface of the image forming apparatus. Is provided. Accordingly, the lock release unit can be easily operated from the outside of the image forming apparatus, and the fall prevention member can be easily attached and detached. That is, the workability of the fall prevention member for an image forming apparatus which is an embodiment of the present invention is good.

  According to the present invention, the fall prevention member can be easily attached and detached, and workability is good.

1 is an external perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. 1 is a plan view of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment as viewed from the bottom surface thereof. It is an external appearance perspective view of the fall prevention member concerning one example. It is sectional drawing of the fall prevention member which concerns on one Example. It is sectional drawing at the time of attachment of the fall prevention member which concerns on one Example. It is sectional drawing of the bottom face of the fall prevention member and image forming apparatus which concern on one Example. It is sectional drawing at the time of removing the fall prevention member which concerns on one Example.

(Schematic configuration of image forming apparatus, see FIG. 1)
Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus 1 and an overturn preventing member 10 for an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each figure, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the same components and parts, and the overlapping description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 is an electrophotographic stationary color printer, and an image reading unit 2 that scans a document image from the top thereof, and image data read by the image reading unit 2 Forming unit 3 for forming an image on a printing medium based on the electrophotographic method, a sheet feeding unit 4 having a plurality of sheet feeding cassettes and feeding the printing medium to image forming unit 3, and the image forming apparatus 1 is provided with a member 10 (hereinafter referred to as a fall prevention member) 10 for preventing the fall.

(Refer to the mounting position of the tipping prevention member, see FIGS. 1 and 2)
As shown in FIG. 2, the fall prevention member 10 is attached to the bottom surface of the paper feeding unit 4, that is, the bottom surface of the image forming apparatus 1. The bottom surface of the image forming apparatus 1 is a sheet metal 30, which is a frame that forms the skeleton of the casing of the image forming apparatus 1. In addition to the fall prevention member 10, casters for moving the image forming apparatus 1 are attached to the sheet metal 30 at the four corners of the sheet metal 30.

  In the present embodiment, two fall prevention members 10 are attached to the bottom surface of the image forming apparatus 1. One is attached to the side S1 side of the image forming apparatus 1 having a so-called manual feed tray or a reversing unit used for duplex printing, which is used for feeding paper that is not normally used, such as a deformed size such as a postcard. One is attached to the back surface S2 side of the image forming apparatus 1 on which a heavy object such as a motor is arranged, that is, near the center of gravity of the image forming apparatus 1.

(Refer to the configuration and function of the fall prevention member, FIG. 1, FIG. 3 and FIG. 4)
The fall prevention member 10 includes a main body 12 and a fastener 14 that prevents the main body 12 from being detached from the image forming apparatus 1.

  The main body 12 is made of a black resin as a material, and as shown in FIG. 3, the main body 12 includes an engagement portion 22 and a tip-over prevention portion 24 that form a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. Therefore, the shape of the main body 12 is a shape obtained by combining these two portions forming a rectangular parallelepiped shape. Here, in FIG. 3, the long side direction of the main body 12 is defined as the x-axis direction, the width direction is defined as the y-axis direction, and the thickness direction is defined as the z-axis direction. Each corner of the main body 12 is chamfered so as to be rounded.

  The engaging portion 22 is positioned on the negative side of the main body 12 in the x-axis direction. When the main body 12 is attached to the bottom surface of the image forming apparatus 1, the sheet metal 30 that is the bottom surface of the image forming apparatus 1, and the sheet metal 30. It is inserted into a cavity formed between the holding plate 32 attached to the lower surface of the plate. When the engaging portion 22 is inserted, the upper surface S3 on the positive side in the z-axis direction of the engaging portion 22 faces the sheet metal 30, and the negative-side surface in the z-axis direction and both surfaces in the y-axis direction are held. Surrounded by a plate 32. At this time, the width of the cavity and the thickness of the cavity formed between the sheet metal 30 and the holding plate 32 are substantially equal to the width w1 of the engaging portion 22 and the thickness t1 of the engaging portion 22. Further, an arrow A parallel to the x-axis direction, which is an attachment direction when attaching the fall prevention portion 10 to the image forming apparatus 1, is engraved on the upper surface S <b> 3 of the engagement portion 22.

  The fall prevention unit 24 is located on the positive side in the x-axis direction in the main body 12. Further, as shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 1, the end E on the positive side in the x-axis direction of the overturn prevention unit 24 and its periphery project horizontally from the lower part of the image forming apparatus 1 to the outside. .

  Therefore, when the image forming apparatus 1 is tilted, the end E comes into contact with the floor surface before the side surface S1 and the back surface S2 of the image forming apparatus 1. As a result, the image forming apparatus 1 is suppressed from being largely inclined, and as a result, the image forming apparatus 1 is prevented from falling.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a recess G extending in the x-axis direction is provided near the center in the y-axis direction on the upper surface of the overturn prevention portion 24. The end of the concave portion G on the positive side in the x-axis direction reaches a portion protruding toward the outside of the image forming apparatus 1. Further, protrusions (regulating portions) P1 and P2 are provided on both outer edges of the concave portion G in the y-axis direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a fixing portion P <b> 3 that protrudes in the positive direction side in the z-axis direction is provided in the negative direction side portion in the x-axis direction on the bottom surface of the recess G.

  By the way, the width w2 of the fall prevention part 24 is wider than the width w1 of the engagement part 22 as shown in FIG. 3, and the thickness t2 of the fall prevention part 24 is as shown in FIG. It is thicker than the thickness t1. Accordingly, when the fall prevention member 10 is attached to the image forming apparatus 1, the fall prevention unit 24 cannot pass through the cavity formed between the sheet metal 30 and the holding plate 32. That is, when the fall prevention member 10 is pushed into the above-described cavity, the engaging portion 22 of the main body 12 is accommodated in the cavity, and the joint with the fall prevention portion 24 comes into contact with the holding plate 32. Thereby, the fall prevention member 10 is positioned with respect to the image forming apparatus 1. A gently inclined surface is provided between the engaging portion 22 and the fall prevention portion 24, and the engagement portion 22 and the fall prevention portion 24 are connected in a curved line.

  The fastener 14 is made of a rectangular sheet metal such as SUS, and is located in the recess G of the main body 12 as shown in FIG. More specifically, the fastener 14 extends in the x-axis direction along the recess G. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the fulcrum portion 42 which is the end portion on the negative side in the x-axis direction of the fastener 14 is riveted or press-fitted on the surface on the positive direction side in the z-axis direction of the fixing portion P3 of the concave portion G. It is fixed by means such as. And since the fulcrum part 42 is being fixed to the vertex part of the fixing | fixed part P3, the other part in the fastener 14 is supported by the fulcrum part 42, maintaining a fixed distance from the bottom face of the recessed part G. .

  Furthermore, the approximate center of the fastener 14 in the x-axis direction is bent so as to protrude toward the positive side in the z-axis direction when viewed from the y-axis direction. This bent portion is referred to as a lock portion 44. The lock portion 44 is an inclined surface S4 in which the component in the z-axis direction increases from the negative side in the x-axis direction toward the positive side, and the end on the positive side in the x-axis direction. It is comprised by the parallel surface S5.

  Further, the thickness t3 of the portion from the fulcrum portion 42 to the lock portion 44 is thinner than the thickness t4 of the other portion of the fastener 14.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the fastener 14 configured as described above has a bent end portion of the sheet metal 30 that is the bottom surface of the image forming apparatus 1 when the fall prevention member 10 is attached to the image forming apparatus 1. By the side wall W, the inclined surface S4 of the lock portion 44 enters the lower portion of the image forming apparatus 1 while being pushed toward the negative side in the z-axis direction.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 6, when a force F <b> 1 is applied to the fall prevention member 10 in the direction toward the outside of the image forming apparatus 1 (the positive direction side in the x-axis direction), the locking portion 44 of the fastener 14. The surface S5 and the side wall W of the sheet metal 30 that is the bottom surface of the image forming apparatus 1 collide with each other. Thereby, the fall prevention member 10 is prevented from being detached from the image forming apparatus 1.

  On the other hand, when the user removes the fall prevention member 10, as shown in FIG. 7, the unlocking portion 46, which is the end on the positive direction side in the x-axis direction of the fastener 14, is placed on the bottom surface of the recess G (z-axis direction). The force F3 is applied toward the negative direction side). As a result, with the fulcrum part 42 as a fulcrum, the lock part 44 is pushed down toward the negative direction side in the z-axis direction, and as a result, the surface S5 is shifted from the side wall W to the negative direction side in the z-axis direction. At this time, the surface S6 (removal surface) on the positive side in the x-axis direction of the concavity G that has been hidden is exposed by the unlocking portion 46. Then, the user can remove the fall prevention member 10 from the image forming apparatus 1 by applying a force F2 toward the positive side in the x-axis direction with respect to the surface S6.

(effect)
In the fall prevention member 10 according to one embodiment, the lock release portion 46 of the fastener 14 that prevents the main body 12 of the fall prevention member 10 from being detached is provided outside the side surface of the image forming apparatus 1. Yes. Thereby, the unlocking part can be easily operated from the outside of the image forming apparatus 1, and the fall prevention member 10 can be easily attached and detached. That is, the workability of the fall prevention member 10 for an image forming apparatus which is an embodiment of the present invention is good.

  Further, the fastener 14 is located in a recess G provided on the upper surface of the main body 12 of the fall prevention member 10. Accordingly, the lock release unit 46 can be operated from the upper surface of the main body 12. Thereby, the attachment / detachment of the fall prevention member 10 is further facilitated, and the workability of the fall prevention member 10 is further improved.

  Furthermore, protrusions (regulators) P1 and P2 are provided on both outer edges of the recess G in the y-axis direction. Thereby, the fastener 14 located in the recessed part G is prevented from jumping out of the recessed part G. Therefore, even if the user steps on the fall-preventing member 10 by mistake, it does not come into contact with the fastener 14 in the recess G, so the fall-preventing member 10 is not accidentally unlocked, and the manual feed tray The fall prevention member 10 can be attached to the side operated by the user.

  By the way, when the user removes the fall prevention member 10, the force F <b> 3 is applied to the lock release portion 46 toward the bottom surface of the recess G (the negative side in the z-axis direction). Then, by applying the force F <b> 2 to the positive surface S <b> 6 in the x-axis direction of the concavity G that has been hidden by the unlocking portion 46, the fall prevention member 10 can be removed from the image forming apparatus 1. . Therefore, the user can perform a series of operations from the unlocking operation to the removal of the fall prevention member 10, and the workability of the fall prevention member is good. Further, the surface and the attaching / detaching direction when operating the lock release unit 46, and the surface and attaching / detaching direction when attaching / detaching the fall prevention member 10 are different. Thereby, it is prevented that the force applied at the time of attachment / detachment of the fall prevention member 10 is applied to the lock release part 46, and the lock release part 46 is prevented from being damaged by the force. Further, by operating the lock release portion 46, the surface S6 appears, and a force for attaching and detaching the fall prevention member 10 to the surface S6 can be applied. Therefore, the fall prevention member 10 can be attached and detached more easily by the surface S <b> 6 that appears by operating the unlocking portion 46. In addition, there is a gap between the bottom surface of the fall prevention member 10 and the floor surface FS. Thereby, even if the force F3 is applied to the fall prevention member 10, the fall prevention member 10 is not caught on the floor surface, so that the fall prevention member 10 can be easily attached and detached.

  Further, the thickness t3 of the portion from the fulcrum portion 42 to the lock portion 44 is thinner than the thickness t4 of the other portion of the fastener 14. That is, the rigidity of the part from the fulcrum part 42 to the lock part 44 is lower than the rigidity of the other part of the fastener 14. Thereby, when the lock release part 46 is operated, the part from the fulcrum part 42 to the lock part 44 is positively deformed, so that deformation of the other part is suppressed. Accordingly, when the lock release unit 46 is operated, only the periphery of the lock release unit 46 is deformed, the lock unit 44 does not move to the negative side in the z-axis direction, and the fall prevention member 10 cannot be attached or detached. Is suppressed.

  Furthermore, the color of the main body 12 of the fall prevention member 10 is black, and the color of the fastener 14 is silver because the material is a metal such as SUS. That is, the color of the unlocking part 46 in the fastener 14 and the color around the unlocking part 46 in the main body 12 are good in visibility. Therefore, the user who uses the fall prevention member 10 can easily distinguish the lock release portion 46 and its surroundings.

  The fall prevention member 10 is attached to the sheet metal 30 on the bottom surface of the image forming apparatus 1. Therefore, when the fall prevention member 10 functions, the sheet metal 30 receives the force from the floor surface FS. At this time, the sheet metal 30 is a frame that forms a skeleton of the casing of the image forming apparatus 1, and thus is not easily deformed. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the image forming apparatus 1 from being deformed by the force from the floor surface, and at the same time, the overturn preventing member 10 can function to prevent the image forming apparatus 1 from toppling over. Further, the protrusions (regulating portions) P1 and P2 prevent the fastener 14 located in the recess G from jumping out of the recess G. Therefore, even if the tipping prevention member 10 receives force from the sheet metal 30. The lock is not accidentally released.

  Further, in the fall prevention member 10, the side S1 side of the image forming apparatus 1 having a so-called manual feed tray or a reversing unit used during double-sided printing, and the back S2 side of the image forming apparatus 1 on which a heavy object such as a motor is disposed, That is, it is also attached near the center of gravity of the image forming apparatus 1. Accordingly, the fall prevention member 10 projects in a direction in which the image forming apparatus 1 is easy to fall. Thereby, the function by the fall prevention member 10 can be improved more.

(Other examples)
The fall prevention member and the image forming apparatus according to the present invention are not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be variously modified within the scope of the gist. For example, the attachment position, size, shape, and the like of the fall prevention member may be changed as appropriate. Moreover, you may comprise the main body 12 and the fastener 14 with the same member.

  As described above, the present invention is useful for a fall-preventing member used in a stationary electrophotographic image forming apparatus and an image-forming apparatus provided with the fall-preventing member. It is excellent in that it can be carried out easily and the workability is good.

S1 Side S2 Back (side)
S3 Top surface S6 surface (removal surface)
P1, P2 Protrusion (Regulator)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 10 Fall prevention member 12 Main body 14 Fastener 30 Sheet metal 42 Support part 44 Lock part 46 Lock release part

Claims (9)

A fall prevention member attached to the bottom surface of the image forming apparatus to prevent the image forming apparatus from falling over by a stationary type electrophotographic system, and projecting horizontally outside the image forming apparatus,
A main body removable from the image forming apparatus;
A fastener for preventing the main body from being detached from the image forming apparatus;
With
The fastener is provided with a lock releasing portion that becomes a power point when releasing the function of preventing the main body from being detached,
The unlocking portion is provided so as to be located outside the side surface of the image forming apparatus ,
The unlocking portion is provided in a recess of the main body,
The main body is provided with a restricting portion for preventing the unlocking portion from projecting to the outside from the concave portion,
A fall-preventing member for an image forming apparatus. A fall prevention member attached to the bottom surface of the image forming apparatus to prevent the image forming apparatus from falling over by a stationary type electrophotographic system, and projecting horizontally outside the image forming apparatus,
A main body removable from the image forming apparatus;
A fastener for preventing the main body from being detached from the image forming apparatus;
With
The fastener is provided with a lock releasing portion that becomes a power point when releasing the function of preventing the main body from being detached,
The unlocking portion is provided so as to be located outside the side surface of the image forming apparatus,
The operation direction of the unlocking part is different from the attaching / detaching direction of the main body,
A removal surface for applying a force in the attaching / detaching direction is provided around the lock release portion of the main body;
Fall prevention member for images forming device you characterized. By operating the unlocking part, the removal surface hidden by the unlocking part is exposed,
The fall prevention member for an image forming apparatus according to claim 2 . The unlocking part can be operated from the upper surface side of the main body,
The fall prevention member for an image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . The fastener is provided with a lock portion that is an action point for the lock release portion and engages with the image forming apparatus, and a fulcrum portion that is a fulcrum for the lock release portion and the lock portion,
In the fastener, the fulcrum part, the lock part and the lock release part are arranged in this order,
The rigidity of the part from the lock part to the lock release part is higher than the rigidity from the fulcrum part to the lock release part;
Fall prevention member for the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in. The color of the unlocking part is different from the surrounding color of the unlocking part in the main body,
The fall prevention member for an image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein: A fall prevention member according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
An attachment member for engaging the fall prevention member with the image forming apparatus;
With
The attachment member is attached to a frame of a housing of the image forming apparatus;
An image forming apparatus. A fall prevention member according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
The overturn prevention member projects toward a side operated by a user in the image forming apparatus;
An image forming apparatus. A fall prevention member according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
The fall prevention member is attached near the center of gravity of the image forming apparatus;
An image forming apparatus.

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