JP6274437B2 - Image capturing apparatus and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image reading apparatus that optically reads a document image and an image forming apparatus including the image reading apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine that forms an image on a sheet by an electrophotographic method or an ink jet method, an image reading device that optically reads a document image is installed on the upper portion of the image forming apparatus main body (for example, Patent Document 1). reference).

  In the type in which the image reading apparatus and the image forming apparatus main body are electrically connected by a connector, the first connector on the image reading apparatus side is provided with a retaining release switch, and the first connector is the image forming apparatus unless the retaining release switch is pressed. The electrical connection between the image reading apparatus and the image forming apparatus main body is prevented from being unexpectedly disconnected at all times so as not to be disconnected from the second connector on the main body side. There is a case where the stopper of the connector from the second connector is released.

JP 2013-229704 A

  In this case, if the retaining release switch is located inside the outer case, or if there is no space for a finger to press the retaining release switch directly with your finger, remove the outer case and press the retaining release switch one by one. In addition, it is uneconomical to increase the maintenance man-hours and the number of parts by separately using a relay connector to release the electrical connection.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image reading apparatus that can easily release a connector without incurring an increase in the number of maintenance steps and the number of parts, and the image reading apparatus. An image forming apparatus including the apparatus is provided.

An image reading apparatus according to the present invention has a first connector with a retaining release switch inside a resin-made first outer case in which an optical unit that optically reads a document image by reciprocating in the horizontal direction is housed. An image reading apparatus that is installed on an upper part of the image forming apparatus main body by electrically connecting the first connector to a second connector inside a second outer case on the apparatus main body side, and is provided inside the lower end of the first outer case. And an operation lever body provided with a knob at one end of the upper part and a pressing part provided at the other end of the lower part facing the retaining release switch of the first connector, and a middle part of the operation lever body. projecting, an elastically deformable support part for supporting the operating lever body inside the first external case, resin operating lever made of is molded integrally with the outer instrumentation case The operation lever elastically deforms the support portion by operating the knob and tilts the operation lever main body with the support portion as a fulcrum, thereby pressing the retaining release switch with the pressing portion and the first connector. The release prevention from the second connector is released.

  According to this, even if the retaining release switch is located deep inside the first exterior case, or when there is no space for a finger to enter and the retaining release switch cannot be pressed directly with a finger, the retaining release switch can be operated with the operation lever. You can easily release the first connector from the second connector and remove the first outer case to press the release release switch, or use a separate relay connector for electrical connection. This eliminates the need to cancel the operation and is economical without increasing the number of maintenance steps and the number of parts.

  In this case, it is desirable that the distance from the knob portion to the support portion is set longer than the distance from the pressing portion to the support portion.

  According to this, the lever can be operated with a little force by effectively utilizing the lever principle.

  Moreover, the distance from the said press part to the said support part may be set longer than the distance from the said knob | pick part to the said support part.

  According to this, it is possible to easily press the retaining release switch located at the inner side of the first exterior case with the operation lever.

  Moreover, the said knob | pick part may be formed in the rough surface. Here, the rough surface only needs to have a function of imparting contact resistance to the finger to make it difficult to slip, such as a textured surface or an uneven surface, such as a parallel array, a lattice array, a zigzag array, a random array, etc. The arrangement format does not matter.

  According to this, the picking portion can be firmly caught with the finger and the retaining release switch can be reliably pressed with the operation lever.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes the image reading apparatus as described above and an image forming apparatus main body on which the image reading apparatus is installed, and the image forming apparatus main body reads image data read by the image reading apparatus. And an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet based on the above.

  According to this, the image reading apparatus can be quickly detached from the image forming apparatus main body, and the image forming apparatus is easy to use.

  According to the present invention, an image reading apparatus that can easily release the first connector from being detached from the second connector by pressing the retaining release switch with the operation lever, and does not increase maintenance man-hours or the number of parts, In addition, it is possible to provide a user-friendly image forming apparatus.

FIG. 1 is an external view of the image forming apparatus as viewed from the back side. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the image reading apparatus. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the image forming apparatus main body. FIG. 4 is an enlarged cross-sectional view corresponding to part A of FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the operation lever. FIG. 6 is a side view showing a posture before and after the operation lever is pressed against the retaining release switch. FIG. 7 is a side view showing Modification 1 of the operation lever. FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a main part showing a second modification of the operation lever. FIG. 9 is an enlarged view of a main part showing a third modification of the operation lever.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, this invention is not limited to the following embodiment.

  FIG. 1 shows a so-called in-body discharge type image forming apparatus 1 such as a laser printer or a multifunction machine. The image forming apparatus 1 includes an image forming apparatus main body 2 and an image reading apparatus 3 installed on the upper part of the image forming apparatus main body 2.

  The image reading device 3 includes a first resin outer case 4. As shown in FIG. 2, an optical unit 5, a reflection mirror 6, a CCD sensor 7, and a data storage unit 8 are accommodated in the first exterior case 4. The optical unit 5 reciprocates in the horizontal direction and irradiates light toward the document to optically read the document image. The reflection mirror 6 guides reflected light from the document to the CCD sensor 7. The CCD sensor 7 photoelectrically converts the received light to generate image data of a document image. The generated image data is stored in the data storage unit 8.

  The image forming apparatus main body 2 includes a resin-made second outer case 9. As shown in FIG. 3, a paper feeding unit 10, an image forming unit 11, and a fixing unit 12 are accommodated in the second outer case 9, and the upper surface of the second outer case 9 between the image reading device 3 is A paper discharge unit 13 is provided.

  The paper feeding unit 10 is a cassette paper feeding unit or a manual feed tray that supplies paper to the image forming unit 11. The image forming unit 11 includes a developing device 14 and a photosensitive drum 15. In the image forming unit 11, the surface of the photosensitive drum 15 is irradiated with laser light based on the image data stored in the data storage unit 8 of the image reading device 3 by the scanning device. An image is formed, and the electrostatic latent image is developed by the developing device 14 to become a toner image. This toner image is transferred to the paper supplied from the paper supply unit 10. The fixing unit 12 includes a fixing roller and a pressure roller, and fixes the toner image transferred to the sheet by the image forming unit 11 on the sheet. Thus, an image is formed on the paper. The paper on which the image is formed is discharged from the fixing unit 12 to the paper discharge unit 13.

  Further, the image forming apparatus main body 2 includes a toner container 16 and a toner recovery device 17. The toner container 16 stores toner as a developer supplied to the developing device 14. The toner collecting device 17 sucks and collects the toner scattered by the developing device 14.

  An opening 4a is formed substantially at the lower center of the back surface of the first exterior case 4 of the image reading apparatus 3, and a cover 18 is detachably attached to the opening 4a. As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 4, the first connector 19 with a release release switch is connected to the electrical substrate of the data storage unit 8 via the cable 20 at the position corresponding to the opening 4 a inside the first exterior case 4. Are arranged.

  On the other hand, a second connector 21 connected to an electric substrate of a scanning device that irradiates the surface of the photosensitive drum 15 with laser light is provided inside the back surface of the second outer case 9 on the image forming apparatus main body 2 side. The image reading device 3 is installed on the upper portion of the image forming apparatus main body 2 with the first connector 19 electrically connected to the second connector 21.

  The first connector 19 is provided with a retaining release switch 22 that releases the first connector 19 from the second connector 21, and the first connector 19 is disconnected from the second connector 21 unless the retaining release switch 22 is pressed. It is designed not to come out. This is to prevent the electrical connection between the image reading device 3 and the image forming apparatus main body 2 from being unexpectedly disconnected at all times, and on the other hand, the maintenance release switch 22 is pressed during maintenance to prevent the first connector 19 from being disconnected. The retainer from the second connector 21 can be released.

  A plate-shaped resin operation lever 23 made of the same resin as that of the first exterior case 4 is integrally formed in the lower end inside the back surface of the first exterior case 4 so as to correspond to the lower part of the opening 4a.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the operation lever 23 includes a vertically long rectangular operation lever main body 24 extending in the vertical direction. A knob 25 is provided at one end (upper end) of the operation lever main body 24 and the other end (lower end). ) Is provided with a pressing portion 26 facing the retaining release switch 22 of the first connector 19. The knob 25 is formed on the flat surface 25a.

  A support portion 27 is integrally projected so as to be elastically deformable in the middle portion of the operation lever main body 24, more specifically near the lower end from the upper and lower centers, and the protruding end of the support portion 27 is below the opening 4a on the inner wall of the first exterior case 4 The operation lever body 24 is supported inside the first exterior case 4 by the support portion 27.

  The distance L1 from the knob 25 to the support 27 is set longer than the distance L2 from the pressing part 26 to the support 27.

  The operation lever 23 is operated by a person who has turned around the back side of the image forming apparatus 1 to pick the knob 25 with a finger F as shown by phantom lines in FIG. The support portion 27 is elastically deformed so as to approach the control lever body 24 and the operation lever main body 24 is tilted about the support portion 27 as a fulcrum, thereby pressing the retaining release switch 22 by the pressing portion 26 and the second connector 21 of the first connector 19. It is trying to release the retaining from the.

  Accordingly, there is a case where the retaining release switch 22 (first connector 19) is in the back of the inside of the first outer case 4, or there is no space for the finger F to enter and the retaining release switch 22 cannot be pressed directly by the finger F. Also, the cover 18 is removed from the opening 4a of the first outer case 4, the operation lever 23 is operated with the finger F, and the retaining release switch 22 is pressed with the operation lever 23 from the second connector 21 of the first connector 19. Can be easily released.

  Thereby, it is not necessary to remove the first outer case 4 and press the release release switch 22 or to use another relay connector to release the electrical connection. An economical image reading apparatus 3 that does not cause an increase can be obtained. Further, the image reading apparatus 3 can be quickly detached from the image forming apparatus main body 2, and the user-friendly image forming apparatus 1 can be provided.

  Furthermore, the operation lever 23 is set so that the distance L1 from the knob 25 to the support 27 is longer than the distance L2 from the pressing part 26 to the support 27, that is, the support serving as a fulcrum of the operation lever 23. Since 27 is closer to the pressing portion 26 at the lower end from the center in the vertical direction, the lever lever can be used effectively and the operating force of the operating lever 23 can be reduced.

  Note that, as in the first modification shown in FIG. 7, if the support portion 27 serving as a fulcrum of the operation lever 23 is near the upper end knob portion 25 from the center in the vertical direction, that is, the distance L2 from the pressing portion 26 to the support portion 27. However, if it is set to be longer than the distance L1 from the knob 25 to the support 27, the retaining release switch 22 even if the retaining release switch 22 (first connector 19) is recessed inside the first exterior case 4. The pressing operation by the operating lever 23 is easy and convenient.

  Moreover, although the case where the knob portion 25 of the operation lever 23 is the flat surface 25a has been described in the above embodiment, the knob portion 25 may be formed on a rough surface. For example, the knob 25 may be formed on the embossed surface 25b as in Modification 2 shown in FIG. 8, or the knob 25 may be formed on the uneven surface 25c as in Modification 3 shown in FIG. Well, by doing in this way, the knob 25 can be firmly caught by the finger F and the pressing operation by the operation lever 23 of the retaining release switch 22 can be reliably performed. Further, the rough surface of the knob 25 is not limited to the textured surface 25b and the uneven surface 25c, but may be any function as long as it has a function of imparting contact resistance to the finger F to make it difficult to slip. The arrangement of the pattern forming the rough surface may be any arrangement form such as a parallel arrangement, a lattice arrangement, a zigzag arrangement, and a random arrangement.

  As described above, the present invention is useful for an image reading apparatus that optically reads a document image and an image forming apparatus including the image reading apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Image forming apparatus main body 3 Image reading apparatus 4 1st exterior case 5 Optical unit 9 2nd exterior case 11 Image forming part 19 1st connector 21 2nd connector 22 Unlock release switch 23 Operation lever 24 Operation lever body 25 Knob 25b Textured surface (rough surface)
25c Uneven surface (rough surface)
26 Pressing part 27 Supporting part L1 Distance from the picking part to the supporting part L2 Distance from the pressing part to the supporting part

Claims (5)

The first outer case made of resin that houses the optical unit that optically reads the original image by reciprocating in the horizontal direction has a first connector with a retaining release switch, and the second outer case inside the image forming apparatus main body side. An image reading apparatus that is electrically connected to the second connector and installed on the upper part of the image forming apparatus main body,
On the inside of the lower end of the first exterior case,
An operating lever body provided with a knob at one end of the upper part and provided with a pressing part facing the retaining release switch of the first connector at the other end of the lower part ;
An elastically deformable support portion that is integrally projected in the middle of the operation lever body and supports the operation lever body on the inside of the first exterior case;
The resin operation lever is formed integrally with the first outer case ,
The operation lever elastically deforms the support portion by operating the knob and tilts the operation lever main body with the support portion as a fulcrum, thereby pressing the retaining release switch with the pressing portion and the first connector. An image reading apparatus that releases the stopper from the second connector. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1,
An image reading apparatus, wherein a distance from the knob portion to the support portion is set longer than a distance from the pressing portion to the support portion. The image reading apparatus according to claim 1,
An image reading apparatus, wherein a distance from the pressing portion to the support portion is set longer than a distance from the knob portion to the support portion. The image reading apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The image reading apparatus, wherein the knob is formed on a rough surface. An image reading apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
An image forming apparatus main body on which the image reading apparatus is installed;
The image forming apparatus main body includes an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet based on image data read by the image reading apparatus.

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