JP7172200B2 - CONNECTOR HOLDING MEMBER AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS INCLUDING THE SAME - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a connector holding member and an image forming apparatus having the same.

A panel-mounted connector that can be attached to a plurality of mounting panels having different thicknesses without rattling has been known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP-A-7-296903

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a common connector holding member that can be used for a plurality of connectors having at least different lengths in the longitudinal direction, and an image forming apparatus having the same.

In order to achieve the above object, a connector holding member according to a first aspect of the present invention has a flat plate-like main body and at least a portion of a plurality of openings having different lengths in the longitudinal direction. a common opening formed in the main body in a shape and into which a connector corresponding to one of the plurality of openings is inserted.

A connector holding member according to a second aspect is the connector holding member according to the first aspect , wherein the plurality of openings are each formed in a rectangular shape, and the common opening includes the plurality of openings. At least a portion of each of the four edges of the opening is formed.

Further, the connector holding member of the third aspect is the connector holding member of the first or second aspect , wherein the plurality of openings are not overlapped at angles perpendicular to each other.

A connector holding member of a fourth aspect is the connector holding member of the first or second aspect , wherein the plurality of openings overlap each other at an acute angle.

A connector holding member of a fifth aspect is the connector holding member of the third or fourth aspect , wherein the plurality of openings are not overlapped so as to extend in the longitudinal direction.

Further, the connector holding member of the sixth aspect is the connector holding member of the third or fourth aspect , wherein the plurality of openings intersect with each other at their longitudinal midpoints.

A connector holding member according to a seventh aspect is the connector holding member according to any one of the first to sixth aspects , wherein the main body portion is formed with independent openings that do not overlap each other. At least a part of the independent opening overlaps the common opening when viewed from a direction perpendicular to the plate thickness direction of the main body.

A connector holding member of an eighth aspect is the connector holding member of the seventh aspect , wherein the independent opening entirely overlaps the common opening.

A connector holding member according to a ninth aspect is the connector holding member according to any one of the first to eighth aspects , wherein a plurality of the common openings are formed in the main body and All openings differ in at least their longitudinal length.

An image forming apparatus according to a tenth aspect of the present invention comprises the connector holding member according to any one of the first to ninth aspects , and a connector inserted into the common opening of the connector holding member. ing.

An image forming apparatus according to an eleventh aspect is the image forming apparatus according to the tenth aspect , wherein the connector is a connector that cannot be used simultaneously with other connectors that can be inserted into the common opening.

According to the invention of the first aspect , it is possible to obtain a common connector holding member that can be used for a plurality of connectors having different lengths at least in the longitudinal direction.

According to the second aspect of the invention, compared to the case where only three of the four edge portions of each of the plurality of opening portions are formed in the common opening portion, poor retention of the connector can be suppressed. can.

According to the third aspect of the invention, it is possible to reduce the length of the connector holding member in the width direction compared to the case where the plurality of openings are overlapped at angles perpendicular to each other.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, it is possible to reduce the length of the connector holding member in the width direction compared to the case where the plurality of openings are overlapped at angles perpendicular to each other.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the length of the connector holding member in the height direction can be reduced as compared with the case where the plurality of openings are overlapped so as to extend in the longitudinal direction.

According to the sixth aspect of the invention, the length of the connector holding member in the height direction can be reduced compared to the case where the plurality of openings overlap each other at the ends in the longitudinal direction.

According to the seventh aspect of the invention, compared to the case where the entire independent opening is displaced from the common opening when viewed from the direction perpendicular to the plate thickness direction of the main body, the connector holding member is The length in the width direction and height direction can be reduced.

According to the eighth aspect of the invention, compared to the case where only a part of the independent opening overlaps the common opening when viewed from the direction perpendicular to the plate thickness direction of the main body, the connector holding member can be reduced in width and height.

According to the ninth aspect of the invention, compared to the case where at least part of the openings in each common opening have the same length in the longitudinal direction, for example, it is physically impossible to connect connectors that cannot be used simultaneously. can be prevented.

According to the tenth aspect of the invention, the position of the connector can be determined by a common connector holding member that can be used for at least a plurality of connectors having different lengths in the longitudinal direction.

According to the eleventh aspect of the invention, connection of other connectors that cannot be used at the same time can be physically prevented.

1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus provided with a connector holding member according to this embodiment; FIG. It is a perspective view of a connector holding member according to the present embodiment. It is a front view of the connector holding member which concerns on this embodiment. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the first connector and the independent connector are connected to the connector holding member according to the embodiment; FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which a second connector and an independent connector are connected to the connector holding member according to the embodiment; FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a state in which the first connector and the independent connector are connected to the connector holding member according to the embodiment, and the second connector is not connected; (A) is a front view showing a connector holding member according to the present embodiment; (B) is a front view showing a connector holding member according to a comparative example; It is a front view which shows the 1st modification of the connector holding member which concerns on this embodiment. It is a front view which shows the 2nd modification of the connector holding member which concerns on this embodiment.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1, the direction indicated by arrow UP is the height direction (vertical direction) of the image forming apparatus 10, and the direction indicated by arrow W is the width direction (horizontal direction) of the image forming apparatus 10. As shown in FIG. Also, in FIG. 1 , the direction indicated by an arrow D perpendicular to the height direction and the width direction is defined as the depth direction (front-rear direction) of the image forming apparatus 10 .

<Image forming apparatus>
As shown in FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 10 has an apparatus main body 11 in which a storage unit 12 stores recording paper P, a toner image forming unit 14 forms a toner image, and a recording paper P is conveyed. A conveying unit 16, a fixing device 18 for fixing the toner image transferred to the recording paper P onto the recording paper P, and a discharge unit 20 for discharging the recording paper P on which the toner image is fixed are driven. and a control unit 22 for controlling.

The toner image forming section 14 includes yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) image forming units 24 Y, 24 M, 24 C, and 24 K, and a transfer unit 26 . Each of the image forming units 24Y, 24M, 24C, and 24K includes a photosensitive member 28, a charging device 30, an exposure device 32, a developing device 34, and a removing device 36.

Each photosensitive member 28 is formed in a cylindrical shape having a photosensitive layer on its outer peripheral surface, and is driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow by driving means (not shown). Each exposure device 32 irradiates the outer peripheral surface of the photoreceptor 28 charged by the charging device 30 with exposure light according to the image data of each color, and exposes the outer peripheral surface of each photoreceptor 28 according to the image data of each color. It is designed to form a latent image.

The latent images formed on the outer peripheral surface of each photosensitive member 28 are developed as toner images of respective colors by the respective developing devices 34 . That is, each developing device 34 develops the latent image formed on the outer peripheral surface of each photoreceptor 28 as a toner image, and each photoreceptor 28 holds the toner image developed by the developing device 34 on its outer peripheral surface. It's like

The transfer unit 26 includes an endless transfer belt 38 , a drive roll 42 and a driven roll 48 that circulate the transfer belt 38 , and a tension applying roll 46 that applies tension to the transfer belt 38 . The transfer unit 26 includes a primary transfer roll 40 for each color that primarily transfers the toner image of each color held on the outer peripheral surface of each photoreceptor 28 to the outer peripheral surface of the transfer belt 38 .

Specifically, the outer peripheral surface of each photoreceptor 28 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the transfer belt 38 stretched between the tension applying roll 46 and the driven roll 48 . The primary transfer roll 40 for each color is arranged to face the outer peripheral surface of each photoreceptor 28 with the transfer belt 38 interposed therebetween, and is configured to contact the inner peripheral surface of the transfer belt 38 and be driven to rotate. there is

The transfer unit 26 also includes a secondary transfer roll 44 that faces the outer peripheral surface of the drive roll 42 with the transfer belt 38 interposed therebetween. In addition, residual toner remaining on the transfer belt 38 is removed downstream of the transfer belt 38 in the movement direction of the secondary transfer portion T constituted by the drive roll 42 (transfer belt 38) and the secondary transfer roll 44. A cleaning device (not shown) is provided.

The transport unit 16 includes a feed roll 13 for feeding the recording paper P from the storage unit 12, and a plurality of transport roll pairs (not shown) arranged along the transport path. Therefore, the recording paper P delivered by the delivery roll 13 is transported by each transport roll pair to the secondary transfer portion T where the drive roll 42 and the secondary transfer roll 44 face each other with the transfer belt 38 interposed therebetween. .

That is, the recording paper P is sent out from the storage unit 12 at the timing when the toner images formed by sequentially primary-transferring the toner images of the respective colors onto the transfer belt 38 reach the secondary transfer unit T. It is conveyed to a secondary transfer portion T composed of a drive roll 42 (transfer belt 38 ) and a secondary transfer roll 44 . Then, the toner image on the transfer belt 38 is secondarily transferred to the recording paper P at the secondary transfer portion T. FIG.

The recording paper P on which the toner image has been secondarily transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 18 . Then, the recording paper P is heated and pressed at the contact portion between the heating roll 18A and the pressure roll 18B provided in the fixing device 18, and the toner image is fixed on the surface thereof. Then, the recording paper P on which the toner image is fixed is conveyed by the conveying section 16 toward the discharging section 20 and discharged to the discharging section 20 .

<Connector holding member>
Next, in the image forming apparatus 10 configured as described above, the connector holding member 50 provided inside the apparatus main body 11 will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 1, the connector holding member 50 is disposed, for example, on the rear side and the lower side in the device main body 11, and is positioned inside the device main body 11 as a relay connector 62 on the power supply side, which will be described later. A relay connector 64 on the device side (for example, wiring extending from a motor or the like for driving the manual feed tray) is held, and their positions are determined.

That is, as shown in FIG. 6, for example, a relay connector 62 on the power supply side and a relay connector 64 on the device side are connected to each other and held by the connector holding member 50 . 4 and 5 show part of the relay connector 62 on the power supply side and the relay connector 64 on the device side.

Further, hereinafter, the relay connector 64 to be inserted into one opening 56 (extending in the vertical direction) of the common opening 54 to be described later will be referred to as a first connector 66 (see FIG. 4), and the other (vertical and horizontal directions). A second connector 68 (see FIG. 5) is a relay connector 64 inserted into an opening 58 extending obliquely to the opposite direction.

Further, an independent connector 70 is a relay connector 64 inserted into an independent opening 60 (see FIGS. 2 and 3), which will be described later. Further, the image forming apparatus 10 described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 and 7 is provided with either one of the first connector 66 and the second connector 68 and the independent connector 70 . That is, the image forming apparatus 10 described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5 and 7 is provided with two relay connectors 62 and 64 on the power supply side and the device side, respectively.

4 and 5, each of the independent connector 70, the first connector 66 and the second connector 68 has stepped portions 70A, 66A and 68A on one long side of both ends in the longitudinal direction. It is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The independent connector 70, the first connector 66 and the second connector 68 are formed to have different lengths in the longitudinal direction. It is formed to be short in length.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the connector holding member 50 has a metal main body 52 having an "L" shape when viewed from the side. That is, the body portion 52 has, for example, a bottom plate 52A fixed to the bottom surface of the apparatus body 11, and a front plate 52B erected upward from one end of the bottom plate 52A in the depth direction. there is

The front plate 52B of the main body 52 has only two openings 56 and 58 that match the shape of the first connector 66 and the shape of the second connector 68 (at least have different lengths in the longitudinal direction). , and an independent opening 60 that matches the shape of the independent connector 70 (a shape in which a plurality of openings are not overlapped) is formed.

Specifically, of the two openings 56 and 58 forming the common opening 54, the longer one is the first opening 56, and the shorter one is the second opening 58. The second opening 58 is formed so that the direction is the longitudinal direction, and the second opening 58 is formed so that the diagonal direction with respect to the up-down direction and the left-right direction is the longitudinal direction.

The independent opening 60 is formed so that the vertical direction is the longitudinal direction (parallel to the first opening 56). In addition, the independent opening 60, the first opening 56 and the second opening 58 have stepped portions 60A, 56A and 58A corresponding to the stepped portions 70A, 66A and 68A on one long side of both ends in the longitudinal direction, respectively. is formed in a substantially rectangular shape.

Therefore, the relay connector 62 (the first connector 66 or the second connector 68 and the independent connector 70) on the power supply side and the relay connector 64 (the first connector 66 or the second connector 68 and the independent connector 70) on the device side are common. They are inserted into the opening 54 and the independent opening 60 in a fixed direction and connected to each other.

As a result, the relay connector 62 on the power supply side and the relay connector 64 on the device side are held by the connector holding member 50 in a state where their positions are determined. Only the first connector 66 corresponding to the first opening 56 or the second connector 68 corresponding to the second opening 58 is inserted into the common opening 54, and both the first connector 66 and the second connector 68 are inserted. are not inserted at the same time (see FIGS. 4 and 5).

That is, the common opening 54 has a prohibition function of prohibiting the insertion of either the first connector 66 or the second connector 68 when either the first connector 66 or the second connector 68 is inserted. It is configured to have

In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, at least a part of each of the four edge portions of the first opening portion 56 and the second opening portion 58 is formed in the common opening portion 54 . More specifically, the first opening 56 in the common opening 54 includes a portion of the long side 56B and a portion of the long side 56C facing each other, and a portion of the short side 56D facing each other and a short side 56C. A part of the side portion 56E and are formed respectively.

Similarly, the second opening 58 in the common opening 54 has a part of the long side 58B and a part of the long side 58C facing each other, and a part of the short side 58D and a short side facing each other. 58E and are formed respectively.

Also, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first opening 56 and the second opening 58 are not overlapped at an angle perpendicular to each other. In other words, the first opening 56 and the second opening 58 overlap each other at an acute (or obtuse) angle θ (see FIG. 7A).

Further, the first opening 56 and the second opening 58 are non-overlapping so as to extend longitudinally. In other words, the first opening 56 and the second opening 58 intersect each other at the longitudinal midway point. The second opening 58 is formed at a position that does not project upward beyond the first opening 56 .

In addition, the second opening 58 is arranged so that an upper corner 58F and a lower corner 58G (see FIG. 3), which are one diagonal corner, are located on opposite sides of the first opening 56. is formed in The first opening 56 and the second opening 58 are formed so that the stepped portions 56A and 58A face each other. may be formed in a direction in which they do not face each other.

In addition, the independent opening 60 is positioned such that at least a portion, preferably the entirety thereof, overlaps the common opening 54 when viewed from the direction orthogonal to the plate thickness direction of the front plate 52B constituting the main body 52. is formed in That is, the independent opening 60 is formed, for example, on the obtuse side of the common opening 54 in the main body 52 (front plate 52B) and below the second opening 58 .

More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the independent opening 60 has at least a widthwise central portion 60C (indicated by a phantom line) on the upper side where the stepped portion 58A of the second opening 58 is not formed. The lower short side portion 60</b>D is formed at a position that does not protrude further outward in the width direction than the corner portion 58</b>F and does not protrude further downward than the lower short side portion 56</b>E of the first opening 56 .

That is, the independent opening 60 overlaps the common opening 54 in its entirety in the vertical direction, and overlaps the common opening 54 by 1/2 or more (partially) in its width direction. The independent opening 60 shown in FIG. 3 is positioned such that the widthwise outer long side portion 60B where the stepped portion 60A is formed does not protrude further widthwise outward than the corner portion 58F of the second opening 58. It may be formed, and that is preferable.

Next, the operation of the connector holding member 50 configured as described above will be described.

As shown in FIG. 6, the image forming apparatus 10 is provided with a relay connector 62 on the power supply side and a relay connector 64 on the apparatus side. At least the lengths in the longitudinal direction are different. For example, some image forming apparatuses 10 are provided with the independent connector 70 and the first connector 66 , and other image forming apparatuses 10 are provided with the independent connector 70 and the second connector 68 .

Therefore, conventionally, a connector holding member (not shown) having an opening into which the independent connector 70 can be inserted and an opening into which the first connector 66 can be inserted, and an opening into which the independent connector 70 can be inserted and the second connector 68 can be inserted. Therefore, two types of connector holding members (not shown) having openings for connecting the connector and the connector holding member had to be prepared.

However, since the connector holding member 50 according to this embodiment has the independent opening 60 into which the independent connector 70 can be inserted and the common opening 54 into which the first connector 66 or the second connector 68 can be inserted, One type is enough. That is, the connector holding member 50 can be used in common for the two types of image forming apparatuses 10 described above. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the connector holding member 50 is reduced compared to the conventional method (compared to the case where two types of connector holding members must be manufactured), and as a result, the manufacturing cost of the image forming apparatus 10 is reduced.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, at least a part of each of the four edge portions of the first opening portion 56 and the second opening portion 58 is formed in the common opening portion 54 . Therefore, the first connector 66 of the connector retaining member 50 is more flexible than if the common opening 54 were formed with only three of the four edges of each of the first opening 56 and the second opening 58 . Alternatively, poor retention of the second connector 68 is suppressed or prevented. In other words, even in the common opening 54 in which part of the first opening 56 and part of the second opening 58 overlap, the first connector 66 or the second connector 68 rattles against the connector holding member 50. retained without

Also, as shown in FIG. 7A, the first opening 56 and the second opening 58 are arranged so as not to overlap each other at an angle perpendicular to each other. In other words, the first opening 56 and the second opening 58 overlap each other at an acute (or obtuse) angle θ. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7B, compared to the connector holding member 150 according to the comparative example in which the first opening 156 and the second opening 158 are overlapped at an angle orthogonal to each other, the connector holding member 50 At least the length in the width direction (left-right direction) of (main body portion 52) is reduced (reduced by length L shown in FIG. 7A).

Further, as shown in FIG. 7A, the first opening 56 and the second opening 58 are arranged so as to extend longitudinally and not overlap. In other words, the first opening 56 and the second opening 58 intersect each other at the longitudinal midway point. Therefore, compared to the case where the first opening 56 and the second opening 58 are overlapped so as to extend in the longitudinal direction (overlapping each other at the ends in the longitudinal direction), the connector holding member 50 (main body portion 52) is ) at least in the height direction (vertical direction).

As shown in FIG. 3, the independent opening 60 at least partially overlaps the common opening 54 when viewed from the direction orthogonal to the plate thickness direction of the front plate 52B of the main body 52. there is Therefore, when viewed from the direction perpendicular to the plate thickness direction of the front plate 52B of the main body 52, compared to the case where the independent opening 60 is entirely displaced from the common opening 54, the connector holding member 50 (main body At least the width direction (horizontal direction) and height direction (vertical direction) of the portion 52) are reduced.

It is preferable that the independent opening 60 entirely overlaps the common opening 54 when viewed from the direction orthogonal to the plate thickness direction of the front plate 52B of the main body 52 . According to this, compared to the case where only a part of the independent opening 60 overlaps the common opening 54 when viewed from the direction perpendicular to the plate thickness direction of the front plate 52B of the main body 52, the connector can be held more easily. At least the lengths in the width direction (horizontal direction) and height direction (vertical direction) of the member 50 (body portion 52) are further reduced.

Also, there is an image forming apparatus 10 that is provided with a first connector 66 and a second connector 68 that cannot be used at the same time, as shown in FIG. That is, there is also an image forming apparatus 10 in which three relay connectors 62 and 64 are provided on the power supply side and the device side, respectively. In this case, the connector holding member 50 according to this embodiment can be used particularly effectively.

More specifically, when connecting the independent connector 70, the first connector 66 and the second connector 68 on the power supply side to the independent connector 70, the first connector 66 and the second connector 68 on the device side, the first connector 66 and the second connector 68 may not be connected at the same time. For example, the first connectors 66 may be connected together, but the second connectors 68 may not be connected together.

In this case, since only one of the first connector 66 and the second connector 68 can be inserted into the common opening 54 of the connector holding member 50, both the first connector 66 and the second connector 68 can be connected at the same time. physically impossible. In other words, once the first connectors 66 are connected to each other, it is physically impossible to connect the second connectors 68 to each other (as shown in FIG. 6, the second connectors 68 remain unused). .

Therefore, an erroneous connection in which both the first connector 66 and the second connector 68 are connected at the same time is automatically prevented. Note that the fact that the first connector 66 and the second connector 68 cannot be used at the same time is usually described in the manual or the like of the image forming apparatus 10 . It can also be said that the independent connector 70 is a connector that can be used simultaneously with the first connector 66 or the second connector 68 .

In addition, in the present embodiment, the number of openings constituting the common opening 54 is two, namely, the first opening 56 and the second opening 58. It is not limited. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, a common opening 54 in which a portion of the first opening 56, a portion of the second opening 58, and a portion of the third opening 57 are overlapped with each other. good. That is, the number of openings forming the common opening 54 may be three.

At least the lengths in the longitudinal direction of the first opening 56, the second opening 58, and the third opening 57 are formed to be different from each other. For example, the first opening 56, the second opening 58, and the third opening 57 are formed so that their lengths become shorter in this order. Although the independent opening 60 is omitted in FIG. 8, the length of the independent opening 60 is also different from that of the first opening 56, the second opening 58, and the third opening 57. there is

A stepped portion 57A is formed on one long side of both ends of the third opening 57 in the longitudinal direction. Then, not only the first opening 56 and the second opening 58 in the common opening 54, but also the third opening 57 has a part of the long side 57B and a part of the long side 57C facing each other. A portion of the short side portion 57D and a portion of the short side portion 57E that face each other are formed.

Further, in the present embodiment, one common opening 54 is formed in one main body portion 52, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, if there are two connectors that can be used at the same time in addition to the independent connector 70, as shown in FIG. may

That is, when the image forming apparatus 10 is provided with a third connector (not shown) having at least a longitudinal length different from that of the independent connector 70 , the first connector 66 and the second connector 68 , the first connector 66 and the third connector, or when connecting both the second connector 68 and the third connector, the first common opening 54A and the second common opening are provided in one body portion 52 (front plate 52B). It may be configured to form the portion 54B. In this way, even if the number of connectors that can be used simultaneously increases, only one connector holding member 50 will suffice.

In this case, at least the longitudinal sides of the first opening 56 and the second opening 58 that form the first common opening 54A and the third opening 57 and the fourth opening 59 that form the second common opening 54B It is preferable that the lengths in the directions are all different lengths. For example, it is preferable to form the first opening 56, the third opening 57, the second opening 58, and the fourth opening 59 so that their lengths become shorter in this order. This prevents erroneous connection in which a connector that cannot be used is connected at the same time.

Specifically, for example, if the length of the second opening 58 and the length of the third opening 57 are the same, the first connector 66 is inserted into the first opening 56, and the third opening 57 is inserted. It becomes possible to insert the second connector 68, and at the same time, it becomes possible to connect the first connector 66 and the second connector 68 which cannot be used. If the lengths of the first opening 56, the second opening 58, the third opening 57, and the fourth opening 59 are all different, such erroneous connection can be prevented.

Although the independent opening 60 is omitted in FIG. are of different lengths. A stepped portion 57A is formed on one long side of both longitudinal ends of the third opening 57, and a stepped portion 57A is formed on one long side of both longitudinal ends of the fourth opening 59. A portion 59A is formed.

In addition, not only the first opening 56 and the second opening 58 in the first common opening 54A, but also the third opening 57 in the second common opening 54B is provided with a part of the long side 57B facing each other and the long side 57B. A part of the side part 57C and a part of the short side part 57D and a part of the short side part 57E facing each other are respectively formed. In the fourth opening 59 of the second common opening 54B, a part of the long side 59B and a part of the long side 59C facing each other and a part of the short side 59D facing each other and a short side A portion of the portion 59E and are formed respectively.

Although not shown, the second common opening 54B has at least a portion thereof extending over the first common opening 54A when viewed from a direction orthogonal to the plate thickness direction of the front plate 52B constituting the main body 52. It may be formed at a position to wrap. Specifically, the second common opening portion 54B is formed, for example, on the obtuse side of the first common opening portion 54A in the main body portion 52 (front plate 52B) and below the second opening portion 58. overlaps the first common opening 54A, and at least a part of the width direction overlaps the first common opening 54A.

Although the connector holding member 50 according to the present embodiment has been described above with reference to the drawings, the connector holding member 50 according to the present embodiment is not limited to the illustrated one, and does not depart from the gist of the present invention. The design can be changed as appropriate within the range. For example, the body portion 52 is not limited to being made of metal (sheet metal), and may be made of resin.

Further, the shape of the main body portion 52 is not limited to the illustrated shape, and may be a shape extending in the width direction (horizontal direction) of the device main body 11, for example. Also, the shape of the common opening 54 is not limited to the illustrated shape. For example, the first opening 56 and the second opening 58 may be formed in different shapes not only in the longitudinal direction but also in the length (width) in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 image forming apparatus 50 connector holding member 52 main body 54 common opening 56 first opening (an example of an opening)
58 Second opening (an example of an opening)
60 independent opening 66 first connector (an example of a connector)
68 second connector (an example of a connector)

Claims (11)

a flat plate-like main body;
A common opening formed in the main body in a shape in which only a portion of a plurality of openings having at least different lengths in the longitudinal direction are overlapped with each other, and into which a connector corresponding to one of the plurality of openings is inserted. Department and
has
The connector holding member , wherein the plurality of openings are not overlapped at an angle orthogonal to each other . a flat plate-like main body;
A common opening formed in the main body in a shape in which only a portion of a plurality of openings having at least different lengths in the longitudinal direction are overlapped with each other, and into which a connector corresponding to one of the plurality of openings is inserted. Department and
has
The connector holding member , wherein the plurality of openings are overlapped at an acute angle to each other . 2. The plurality of openings are each formed in a rectangular shape, and the common opening is formed with at least a part of each of the four edge portions of the plurality of openings. Item 3. The connector holding member according to item 2. The connector holding member according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the plurality of openings are not overlapped so as to extend in the longitudinal direction . 4. The connector holding member according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the plurality of openings intersect each other at a longitudinal middle portion . The main body is formed with independent openings that do not overlap a plurality of openings,
According to any one of claims 1 to 5, at least a part of the independent opening overlaps the common opening when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the plate thickness direction of the main body . A connector retaining member as described. 7. The connector retaining member of claim 6 , wherein the independent openings entirely overlap the common opening. 8. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , wherein a plurality of said common openings are formed in said main body, and at least lengths in the longitudinal direction of all openings in said common openings are different . connector holding member; a connector holding member according to any one of claims 1 to 8;
a connector inserted into the common opening of the connector holding member;
image forming apparatus . 10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the connector is a connector that cannot be used simultaneously with other connectors that can be inserted into the common opening . A plate-shaped main body and at least a plurality of openings having different lengths in the longitudinal direction are formed in the main body so as to overlap each other, and correspond to one of the plurality of openings. a connector holding member having a common opening into which the connected connectors are inserted;
a connector inserted into the common opening of the connector holding member;
with
The image forming apparatus, wherein the connector is a connector that cannot be used simultaneously with other connectors that can be inserted into the common opening.

Images