JP6463109B2 - Cover opening / closing unit, casing, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a cover opening / closing unit, a casing, and an image forming apparatus that switch between opening and closing states.

  Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus that forms an image using electrophotographic technology, a USB port into which a USB memory is inserted, a power switch, and the like are arranged. The USB port, the power switch, and the like are arranged on the surface of the casing in the image forming apparatus so that the user can easily reach them. Further, in order to prevent foreign matters such as dust from entering the USB port and accidentally turning off the power switch, a cover for covering the USB port and the power source has been provided. Patent Document 1 discloses a safety device having a cover that covers a power switch and a detection device that detects opening and closing of the cover.

JP 2004-087161 A

However, if the cover covering the power switch is left open, the user may accidentally touch the power switch to turn off the image forming apparatus. Further, when a cover that covers the USB port is provided in the image forming apparatus, if the cover is left open, foreign matter such as dust may enter the USB port.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to prevent a cover provided in the apparatus from being left open.

In order to achieve the above object, the cover opening / closing unit of the present invention comprises:
A cover opening / closing unit provided in a housing of the image forming apparatus,
A cover member for switching the rotation of the open state does not cover the closed said connector to cover the connector for connecting an external storage device in the image forming apparatus about the rotation axis, a portion covering said connector cover A cover member having a portion and a biased portion located on the opposite side of the cover portion across the rotation axis;
An urging member that urges the urged portion of the cover member at an angle that is in the open state and cannot return to the closed state by its own weight with a predetermined urging force, and the predetermined urging force is: at a predetermined urging force that can rotate the cover member to an angle that can be said cover member in a state in which external force except force received from the biasing member to the cover member is not working returns to the closed state by its own weight and a biasing member Ru Oh,
It is characterized by having .

In order to achieve the above object, the housing of the present invention
A housing of an image forming apparatus provided with an opening,
It has the said cover opening / closing unit, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

In order to achieve the above object, the image forming apparatus of the present invention includes:
Having the housing;
An image is formed on a recording medium.

According to the present invention, the cover can be closed so that the cover is not left open.

1 is a schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus to which a cover opening / closing unit according to Embodiment 1 is mounted. 1 is an external view of an image forming apparatus to which a cover opening / closing unit according to Embodiment 1 is attached. The figure which shows the open state in the cover opening / closing unit which concerns on Example 1. FIG. The figure which shows the closed state in the cover opening / closing unit which concerns on Example 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a cover opening / closing unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a cover opening / closing unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the cover opening / closing unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an open state of the cover opening / closing unit according to the first embodiment. The figure which shows the state which a to-be-biased part contacts a biasing member in a cover opening / closing unit. The figure which shows the state of the urging | biasing member when a to-be-biased part contacts an urging | biasing member. Sectional drawing which shows the state which the to-be-biased part in a cover member contacts a biasing member. It is a schematic diagram which shows the open state and closed state in a cover opening / closing member. FIG. 6 is an external view of an image forming apparatus to which a cover opening / closing unit according to Embodiment 2 is attached.

  Embodiment 1 of the present invention is illustrated below with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative arrangements of the components described in the first embodiment should be appropriately changed according to the configuration of the apparatus to which the invention is applied and various conditions. It is not intended that the scope of the present invention be limited to the following embodiments.

Example 1
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus to which a cover opening / closing unit according to the first embodiment is mounted.
An image forming operation in the image forming apparatus 1 will be described. The image forming apparatus 1 includes a housing 2, a paper discharge unit 3, a photosensitive drum 4, a developing roller 5, a charging roller 6, a primary transfer roller 7, an intermediate transfer belt 8, a secondary transfer roller 9, and a paper feed roller 10. A paper tray 11, a fixing device 12, a paper discharge roller 13, and an optical device 14 are included.

  Here, the image forming apparatus 1 is an image forming apparatus that forms toner images of a plurality of colors. Since the photosensitive drums 4a to 4d have the same configuration, the photosensitive drums 4a to 4d will be collectively described as the photosensitive drum 4. Since the developing rollers 5a to 5d have the same configuration, the developing rollers 5a to 5d will be collectively described as the developing roller 5. Further, the charging rollers 6 a to 6 d will be collectively described as the charging roller 6, and the primary transfer rollers 7 a to 7 d will be collectively described as the primary transfer roller 7.

  The paper discharge unit 3 is a portion where the recording medium S on which an image is formed is discharged. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 4 by the laser irradiated by the optical device 14. The developing roller 5 develops the electrostatic latent image by supplying toner to the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 4. The charging roller 6 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 4. The primary transfer roller 7 transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 4 to the intermediate transfer belt 8.

  Further, the secondary transfer roller 9 transfers the toner image transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 8 to the recording medium S. The paper feed roller 10 supplies the recording medium S stacked on the paper feed tray 11 to a transport path (not shown). The fixing device 12 fixes the toner image on the recording medium S by applying pressure while heating the recording medium S on which the toner image has been transferred by the secondary transfer roller 9. The paper discharge roller 13 discharges the recording medium S on which the toner image is fixed by the fixing device 12 to the paper discharge unit 3.

  A flow of forming an image on the recording medium S will be described. When the image forming operation is executed, first, the photosensitive drum 4 is uniformly charged by the charging roller 6. Next, the optical device 14 irradiates the surface of the photosensitive drum 4 with a laser based on the image information, so that an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 4. The developing roller 5 supplies toner to the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 4, and a toner image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 4.

  The toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 4 is primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 8 by the primary transfer roller. The toner image transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 8 is transferred to the recording medium S by the secondary transfer roller 9. Thereafter, the recording medium S to which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 12, and the recording medium S is pressed while being heated by the fixing device 12, whereby the toner image is fixed to the recording medium S. The recording medium S on which the toner image is fixed is discharged to the paper discharge unit 3 by the paper discharge roller 13.

FIG. 2 is an external view of the image forming apparatus to which the cover opening / closing unit according to the first embodiment is mounted.
In the housing 2 of the image forming apparatus 1, an opening 103 is formed on the upper surface 2 </ b> A that is the upper surface of the image forming apparatus 1 during normal use and is the surface on which the paper discharge unit 3 is provided. The opening 103 is formed in the housing 2 such that the object 101 (see FIG. 3) disposed inside the housing 2 (inside the housing) is exposed to the outside of the housing 2 (outside the housing). ing. Here, in the first embodiment, the object 101 is a USB port (connector) for connecting an external storage device (for example, a USB memory) to the image forming apparatus 1. However, the object 101 is not necessarily limited to the USB port. For example, the object 101 may be a power switch of the image forming apparatus 1.

  In the first exemplary embodiment, the cover member 102 and the paper discharge unit 3 are arranged side by side in a direction (width direction of the image forming apparatus) perpendicular to the D direction that is the paper discharge direction of the recording medium S on the upper surface 2A. Further, the cover member 102 is arranged on the upper surface 2A so that the D direction, which is the direction in which the recording medium S is discharged, and the L direction, which is the longitudinal direction of the cover member 102 (see FIG. 4), are parallel. .

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an open state of the cover opening / closing unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a closed state of the cover opening / closing unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the cover opening / closing unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the cover opening / closing unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the cover opening / closing unit according to the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, the cover opening / closing unit 100 includes a cover member 102 and an urging member 104.

  The cover member 102 can be switched between an open state and a closed state by rotating around the rotation axis 105. Here, a state where the cover member 102 does not cover the object 101 is referred to as an open state, and a state where the cover member 102 covers the object 101 is referred to as a closed state. The state of the cover member 102 shown in FIG. 3 is an open state, and the state of the cover member 102 shown in FIG. 4 is a closed state. In the first embodiment, the cover member 102 is in a closed state that covers the object 101 by closing the opening 103, and is in an open state that does not cover the object 101 by opening the opening 103. Further, a portion of the cover member 102 that covers the object 101 is referred to as a cover portion 102A, and a portion of the cover member 102 that is located on the opposite side of the cover portion 102A across the rotation axis 105 is referred to as a biased portion 102B.

The biasing member 104 is an elastic member to which the other end 104B is fixed so that the one end 104A becomes a free end. In the first embodiment, the urging member 104 has the other end 104 </ b> B fixed to a support member 106 provided inside the housing 2. The support member 106 is attached to a surface opposite to the upper surface 2 </ b> A that is a surface on which the paper discharge unit 3 is provided in the housing 2, and is attached so as to surround the urging member 104. The urging member 104 is fixed to the support member 106 at the other end 104B so as to extend in parallel with the direction of the rotation axis 105. The one end 104A is formed to extend in the direction toward the upper surface 2A of the housing 2.

  FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating an open state of the cover opening / closing unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the biased portion contacts the biasing member in the cover opening / closing unit. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a state of the urging member when the urged portion contacts the urging member. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the biased portion of the cover member is in contact with the biasing member. FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating an open state and a closed state of the cover opening / closing member. The manner in which the urging member 104 closes the cover member 102 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 to 12.

  When the cover member 102 rotates to a predetermined angle, the biased portion 102B of the cover member 102 comes into contact with one end 104A of the biasing member 104, and the cover member 102 receives a biasing force from the biasing member 104. As the cover member 102 further rotates, the urging force received from the urging member 104 gradually increases. When the cover member 102 is rotated to an angle α such that the cover member 102 does not return to the closed state due to its own weight, the one end 104A of the urging member 104 urges the urged portion 102B with a predetermined urging force.

  Specifically, the one end 104A biases the biased portion 102B in a state where a moment due to its own weight acts so that the cover member 102 rotates in the direction toward the open state. Then, the one end 104A of the biasing member 104 causes the biased portion 102B of the cover member 102 to rotate so that the cover member 102 rotates to a position where the moment acts so that the cover member 102 rotates in the direction toward the closed state. Energize.

  Here, the predetermined urging force is an urging force capable of rotating the cover member 102 to an angle at which the cover member 102 can return to the closed state by its own weight in a state where no external force is applied to the cover member 102. . When the cover member 102 rises from the closed state parallel to the upper surface 2A and the elevation angle exceeds 90 °, the cover member 102 receives a predetermined biasing force from the biasing member 104. The cover member 102 is returned to an elevation angle smaller than 90 ° by the predetermined urging force.

  The biased portion 102B comes into contact with the biasing member 104 and the biased portion 102B presses the one end 104A. Therefore, the biasing member 104 is deformed (deflected) to be biased against the biased portion 102B. Occurs. Specifically, a biasing force is generated on the biased portion 102B by displacing the one end 104A in a direction away from the upper surface 2A than when the biased portion 102B is not in contact with the one end 104A. Here, in the first embodiment, the urging member 104 urges the urged portion 102B so that the cover member 102 rotates to an angle that returns to the closed state by its own weight. The cover member 102 returns to the closed state by the biasing member 104 biasing the biased portion 102B.

  In the first exemplary embodiment, the image forming apparatus 1 includes an operation unit 2 </ b> B for the user to set the image forming apparatus 1. The operation unit 2B is disposed in the vicinity of the downstream end portion in the D direction on the upper surface 2A, and is configured to be visible to the user from the downstream side in the D direction. The cover member 102 is also arranged in the vicinity of the downstream end in the D direction on the upper surface 2A, and the operation unit 2B, the paper discharge unit 3, and the cover member 102 are arranged in a direction orthogonal to the D direction on the upper surface 2A. Has been placed. That is, on the upper surface 2A, the operation unit 2B, the paper discharge unit 3, and the cover member 102 are arranged so as not to overlap in a direction orthogonal to the D direction. At the user's standing position on the downstream side in the D direction of the image forming apparatus 1, the user can easily access the operation unit 2 </ b> B, the paper discharge unit 3, and the cover member 102.

(Example 2)
Example 2 will be described. In the second embodiment, parts having the same functions as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. In the second exemplary embodiment, the cover member 102 is disposed on the upper surface 202 </ b> A that is a surface on which the paper discharge unit 3 is provided in the housing 202 of the image forming apparatus 201. The cover member 102 is arranged side by side with the paper discharge unit 3 in a direction orthogonal to the D direction, which is the direction in which the recording medium S is discharged, so that the longitudinal direction of the cover member 102 and the D direction are orthogonal to each other. Is provided. Further, the rotation axis 105 of the cover member 102 is located upstream of the object 101 in the D direction and is orthogonal to the D direction.

  As described above, in each embodiment, when the cover member is rotated at an angle such that the cover member does not return to the closed state due to its own weight, the biasing member biases the cover member so that the cover member is closed. Can be returned. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the cover member from being left open.

  In the first exemplary embodiment, the discharge unit and the cover member are arranged side by side in a direction orthogonal to the discharge direction of the recording medium on the surface (upper surface) of the image forming apparatus on which the recording medium is discharged. When the cover member and the paper discharge unit are arranged so as to overlap in the direction perpendicular to the paper discharge direction on the upper surface, and the cover member is positioned downstream of the paper discharge unit in the paper discharge direction, the discharged recording medium is opened. This is because there is a risk of contact with the cover member in a state. In each embodiment, the cover member is disposed on the surface of the image forming apparatus where the paper discharge unit is provided so that the recording medium is discharged in the direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the cover member. By arranging the cover member and the paper discharge unit in such an arrangement relationship, an image in a direction (width direction of the image forming apparatus) orthogonal to the direction in which the recording medium is discharged on the surface where the paper discharge unit is provided. The length of the forming apparatus can be reduced.

  In each embodiment, the cover member and the operation unit are arranged in the vicinity of the downstream end in the paper discharge direction of the recording medium on the surface of the image forming apparatus where the paper discharge unit is provided. The operation unit is configured so that the user can visually recognize from the downstream side in the paper discharge direction, and the user operates the image forming apparatus from the downstream side in the paper discharge direction. By disposing the operation unit at a position close to the user who operates the image forming apparatus, the user can easily operate the operation unit. Further, since the cover member is disposed at a position close to the user, the user can easily open the cover and touch the object.

  The operation unit, the paper discharge unit, and the cover member are arranged side by side in a direction orthogonal to the paper discharge direction on the surface where the paper discharge unit is provided. As described above, when the cover member and the operation unit overlap the paper discharge unit in a direction orthogonal to the paper discharge direction, the discharged recording medium may come into contact with the cover member and the operation unit. In order to dispose the operation unit and the cover member as close to the user as possible, it is preferable that the cover member and the operation unit do not overlap in a direction orthogonal to the paper discharge direction. That is, in each embodiment, the user operating the image forming apparatus can easily touch the cover member and the operation unit without the cover unit and the operation unit coming into contact with the discharged recording medium.

  In the second embodiment, the cover member is provided so that the longitudinal direction of the cover member and the paper discharge direction are orthogonal to each other on the surface of the housing of the image forming apparatus where the paper discharge unit is provided. Accordingly, the installation width of the cover member is narrowed in the paper discharge direction, and the degree of freedom of the position where the cover member is arranged in the image forming apparatus is increased. Therefore, the cover member can be arranged at a position desired by the user.

In the second embodiment, the rotation axis of the cover member is located upstream of the target in the paper discharge direction and is orthogonal to the paper discharge direction. In the embodiment, the operation unit is configured to be visually recognized by the user from the downstream side in the paper discharge direction. In other words, the rotation shaft of the cover member is positioned upstream of the object in the paper discharge direction, so that the user who is downstream in the paper discharge direction can visually recognize the object when the cover member is open. When the rotation axis of the cover member is located downstream of the object in the paper discharge direction, the user may not be able to visually recognize the object by overlapping the opened cover member.

  In each embodiment, the biasing member does not have to be an elastic member that is fixed at the other end so that the one end is a free end. The biasing member may be, for example, a spring that generates a biasing force by being pressed and compressed by the biased portion.

100 cover opening / closing unit, 101 object, 102 cover member,
102A Cover part, 102B Energized part, 104 Energizing member, 105 Rotating axis

Claims (12)

A cover opening / closing unit provided in a housing of the image forming apparatus,
A cover member for switching the rotation of the open state does not cover the closed said connector to cover the connector for connecting an external storage device in the image forming apparatus about the rotation axis, a portion covering said connector cover A cover member having a portion and a biased portion located on the opposite side of the cover portion across the rotation axis;
An urging member that urges the urged portion of the cover member at an angle that is in the open state and cannot return to the closed state by its own weight with a predetermined urging force, and the predetermined urging force is: at a predetermined urging force that can rotate the cover member to an angle that can be said cover member in a state in which external force except force received from the biasing member to the cover member is not working returns to the closed state by its own weight and a biasing member Ru Oh,
A cover opening / closing unit comprising: The cover member in the opened state is (i) at an angle at which it can return to the closed state by its own weight, and in the state where no external force is applied except for the force received from the urging member, the cover member is closed by its own weight. (Ii) When the external force acting on the cover member is only the predetermined urging force at an angle at which it cannot return to the closed state due to its own weight, and the closed force is applied by the predetermined urging force. The cover opening / closing unit according to claim 1, wherein the cover opening / closing unit returns to the closed state by its own weight after rotating to an angle at which the state can be returned.   The cover opening / closing unit according to claim 1, wherein the biasing member biases one end side of the cover member in the rotation axis direction.   The urging member is an elastic member whose other end is fixed so that one end becomes a free end, and an urging force is generated when the one end is pressed and deformed by the urged portion. The cover opening / closing unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cover opening / closing unit is provided.   4. The cover opening / closing unit according to claim 1, wherein the biasing member is a spring that generates a biasing force by being pressed and compressed by the biased portion. 5. The connector is disposed inside the casing so as to be exposed to the outside of the casing through an opening provided in the casing.
The cover opening and closing according to any one of claims 1 to 5 , wherein the cover member is in the closed state by closing the opening, and the cover member is in the open state by opening the opening. unit. A housing of an image forming apparatus provided with the opening,
A housing comprising the cover opening / closing unit according to claim 6 . The cover member is arranged side by side with the paper discharge unit in a direction orthogonal to the paper discharge direction of the recording medium on a surface of the housing where a paper discharge unit for discharging a recording medium on which an image is formed is provided. Has been
The housing according to claim 7 , wherein the casing is provided so that a direction in which the recording medium is discharged and a longitudinal direction of the cover member are parallel to each other. The cover member is arranged side by side with the paper discharge unit in a direction orthogonal to the paper discharge direction of the recording medium on a surface of the housing where a paper discharge unit for discharging a recording medium on which an image is formed is provided. Has been
The casing according to claim 7 , wherein the casing is provided so that a direction in which the recording medium is discharged and a longitudinal direction of the cover member are orthogonal to each other. Having a housing according to any one of claims 7 9,
An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium. An operation unit for a user to set the image forming apparatus;
A paper discharge unit for discharging the recording medium on which the image is formed,
The operation unit is disposed in the vicinity of a downstream end in the sheet discharge direction of a surface of the housing where the sheet discharge unit is provided, and in the sheet discharge direction that is a direction in which the recording medium is discharged. It is configured for the user to visually recognize from the downstream side,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein the rotation axis of the cover member is orthogonal to the paper discharge direction and is located upstream of the connector in the paper discharge direction. The cover member is disposed in the vicinity of the downstream end portion of the surface in the paper discharge direction,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein the paper discharge unit, the operation unit, and the cover member are arranged side by side on the surface in a direction orthogonal to the paper discharge direction.

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