JP7336279B2 - image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to image forming apparatuses such as electrophotographic copiers and electrophotographic printers (for example, laser beam printers, LED printers, etc.).

2. Description of the Related Art In image forming apparatuses, a configuration is widely known in which electronic boards such as a controller board and a power supply board are electrically connected with a cable via a connector (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-200013).

JP 2006-154076 A

When the board-side connector is mounted on the electronic board, the terminals of the board-side connector are generally provided so as to extend in a direction orthogonal to the mounting surface of the electronic board. When the cable-side connector is inserted obliquely into the board-side connector in a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface of the electronic board, the terminals of the board-side connector and the cable-side connector interfere with each other. In this case, a force in an unintended direction is applied to the terminals of the board-side connector, deforming the terminals, and the electrical connection between the board-side connector and the cable-side connector may not be properly established.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of regulating the insertion angle of a cable-side connector with respect to a board-side connector.

A representative configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention for achieving the above object is a first board arranged on the back side of the image forming apparatus and electrically connected to the first board via a cable. and a board-side connector mounted on the first board to which a cable-side connector of the cable is connected, the connector extending in a first direction orthogonal to the mounting surface of the first board, a plurality of terminals arranged in parallel in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction; a first wall having a length in one direction longer than the length of the plurality of terminals in the first direction; a housing having a second wall longer than a length in a first direction; a board-side connector disposed adjacent to the first wall of the board-side connector in the second direction; a first regulating member having a length longer than the length of the first wall in the first direction and regulating an insertion angle of the cable-side connector with respect to the board-side connector; It is arranged adjacent to the second wall, has a length in the first direction longer than the length of the second wall in the first direction, and regulates an insertion angle of the cable-side connector with respect to the board-side connector. A second regulating member and an accommodating member that accommodates the first substrate, wherein K1 is the length of the first wall in the first direction, and K1 is the length of the second wall in the first direction. K2, the length of the first restricting member in the first direction K3, the length of the second restricting member in the first direction K4, the distance between the first wall and the first restricting member Let K5 be the distance in the second direction, K6 be the distance in the second direction between the second wall and the second regulating member, and when K3≦50 mm and K4≦25 mm, K5≦(K3−K1 )/tan65° and K6≦(K4−K2)/tan65° , and the first restricting member is a part of the wall of the accommodating member .

According to the present invention, it is possible to regulate the insertion angle of the cable-side connector with respect to the board-side connector in the image forming apparatus.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus; FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an image forming apparatus; FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a plug connector and a receptacle connector; It is the front view of a receptacle connector, a side view, a rear view, and a top view. They are a front view, a side view, a rear view, and a bottom view of the plug connector. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing how the plug connector is inserted into the receptacle connector; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing how the plug connector is inserted into the receptacle connector; It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of a regulation plate. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a regulating plate and an electrolytic capacitor; It is a table|surface which shows the layout drawing and specification of a receptacle connector.

(First embodiment)
<Image forming apparatus>
Hereinafter, first, the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described together with the operation during image formation with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative positions, etc. of the components described below are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only to them, unless otherwise specified.

The image forming apparatus A according to this embodiment is an intermediate tandem system that forms an image by transferring four color toners of yellow Y, magenta M, cyan C, and black K onto an intermediate transfer belt and then transferring the image onto a sheet. image forming apparatus. In the following description, although the subscripts Y, M, C, and K are attached to the members using the toners of the respective colors, the configurations and operations of the members are different except that the colors of the toners used are different. Since they are substantially the same, suffixes are omitted as appropriate unless they need to be distinguished.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus A. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus A includes an image forming section that transfers a toner image onto a sheet S to form an image. The image forming unit includes photosensitive drums 1 (1Y, 1M, 1C, 1K), charging rollers 2 (2Y, 2M, 2C, 2K), and developing devices 3 (3Y, 3M, 3C, 3K). It also includes primary transfer rollers 5 (5Y, 5M, 5C, 5K), a laser scanner unit 98, an intermediate transfer belt 6, a secondary transfer roller 16, a secondary transfer opposing roller 12, a drive roller 17, and the like.

Further, on the front side (front side) of the image forming apparatus A, there is provided an operation section 9 that allows setting regarding image formation by an operation. The operation unit 9 includes a display unit (display screen) for displaying information, a numeric keypad for inputting numerical values, a clear key for canceling input by the numeric keypad, a start key for executing image formation, and a start key for stopping image formation. It has a stop key etc. for Instead of providing hard keys such as a numeric keypad, a clear key, a start key, and a stop key to the image forming apparatus A, an operation unit that displays these keys as soft keys on a touch panel display unit may be used. The user can make settings related to image formation, such as the type of sheet S, the output size of the image, and the number of images to be formed, by operating the numeric keypad and inputting numerical values. Here, the front side of the image forming apparatus A is the side on which the user normally stands to operate the operation unit 9 . Further, in the image forming apparatus A, the back side is the side opposite to the front side with respect to, for example, a metal or resin frame supporting the image forming section. The left side of the image forming apparatus A is the left side as seen from the front side, and the right side side is the right side as seen from the front side.

An image reading section 8 for reading an image of a document is provided on the upper portion of the image forming apparatus A. As shown in FIG. The image reading unit 8 is composed of a reader 8a and an AFD 8b. The reader 8a optically reads an image of a document placed on a reading surface (not shown) formed of a glass plate and converts it into image data. The ADF 8b automatically conveys the document placed on the document tray and reads the image. The ADF 8b is rotatably supported, and the reading surface of the reader 8a can be accessed by rotating the ADF 8b and opening it upward.

Next, an image forming operation by the image forming apparatus A will be described. When forming an image, first, an image forming job signal is input to a control unit (not shown). As a result, the feeding roller 11 and the conveying roller 85 are rotated, and the sheet S stacked and accommodated in the sheet cassette 10 is sent out to the registration roller 86 . Next, the sheet S is sent to the secondary transfer portion formed by the secondary transfer roller 16 and the secondary transfer opposing roller 12 at a predetermined timing by the registration rollers 86 .

On the other hand, in the image forming section, first, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y is charged by the charging roller 2Y. After that, the laser scanner unit 98 irradiates the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y with a laser beam according to a drive signal generated based on the image of the document read by the image reading unit 8, and forms an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y. Form. Thereafter, the developing device 3Y attaches yellow toner to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y to form a yellow toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y. The toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y is primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 6 by applying a primary transfer bias to the primary transfer roller 5Y.

By a similar process, magenta, cyan, and black toner images are also formed on the photosensitive drums 1M, 1C, and 1K. By applying a primary transfer bias to the primary transfer rollers 5M, 5C, and 5K, these toner images are superimposedly transferred onto the yellow toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 6 . As a result, a full-color toner image corresponding to the image signal is formed on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 6 .

After that, the driving force is transmitted from the drive roller 17 to the intermediate transfer belt 6, and the intermediate transfer belt 6 rotates, so that the full-color toner image is sent to the secondary transfer portion. Then, the full-color toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 6 is transferred to the sheet S by applying a secondary transfer bias to the secondary transfer roller 16 in the secondary transfer portion.

Next, the sheet S onto which the toner image has been transferred is subjected to heat and pressure processing in the fixing device 15, whereby the toner image on the sheet S is fixed to the sheet S. FIG. After that, the sheet S on which the toner image is fixed is discharged to the discharge section 7 by the discharge roller 13 .

<Control board>
Next, the control board mounted on the image forming apparatus A will be described.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the image forming apparatus A as seen from the rear side. In FIG. 2, in order to show the internal configuration of the image forming apparatus A, exterior covers on the back and left side of the image forming apparatus A are omitted. As shown in FIG. 2, a rear plate 100, which is a frame of the image forming apparatus A, is provided with stays 101, 102, 103, and 104 for reinforcing the rear plate 100. As shown in FIG. The rear plate 100 and stays 101 to 104 are frame bodies on the back side of the image forming apparatus A, which are arranged on the back side of the image forming apparatus A relative to the image forming unit such as the photosensitive drum 1 .

A metal electrical box 700 (receiving member) is fixed to the stays 101 and 102 with screws 90 . In FIG. 2, the metal lid of the electrical box 700 is omitted in order to show the internal configuration of the electrical box 700. As shown in FIG. A first substrate 400 (first substrate) is housed inside the electrical equipment box 700 . The first board 400 is fixed to the electrical box 700 with screws 91 . In other words, the first board 400 is fixed to the frame on the back side of the image forming apparatus A via the electrical box 700, and in order to minimize the influence of external noise on the image processing described below, Also, in order to shield as much as possible radiation noise that may be radiated to the outside due to the following image processing, etc., it is housed and shielded in a metallic electrical box 700 . The electrical equipment box 700 of this embodiment is a box formed by bending a single sheet metal (steel plate). Side walls of the first substrate 400 are bent from the mounting surface on which the first substrate 400 is mounted by screws 91 . A lid (cover member) that covers the first substrate 400 may be attached to the electrical equipment box 700 .

The first board 400 is a controller board provided in the image forming apparatus A for controlling the power supply board 420, processing image data (image processing), and communicating with external devices such as PCs, tablets, and smartphones. . Image processing is performed to convert the image of the document read by the image reading unit 8 on the first substrate 400 into image data. Further, image processing for generating image data based on an image input from an external device is performed on the first substrate 400 . Image processing includes processing for converting RGB to YMCK, density correction, magnification correction, color misregistration correction, and the like. Also, in the first substrate 400, the image data is converted into the drive signal. In order to perform the functions described above, the mounting surface 400a of the first substrate 400 is mounted with many electronic components including the controller IC, the electrolytic capacitor 600, and the ASIC. A total of six receptacle connectors 300 to 305 (board-side connectors) are mounted on the first board 400 .

A second board 410 (second board) is fixed by screws 92 to the stays 103 and 104 positioned below the electrical equipment box 700 . The second board 410 is an engine board provided in the image forming apparatus A for controlling a motor (not shown) for driving rollers for conveying the sheet S and other drive systems. Other objects driven by the drive system include charging rollers 2 (2Y, 2M, 2C, 2K), developing rollers included in developing devices 3 (3Y, 3M, 3C, 3K), primary transfer rollers 5 (5Y, 5M, 5C, 5K), etc. In addition, objects driven by other drive systems include a drive motor that rotates a rotating polygonal mirror included in the laser scanner unit 98, the intermediate transfer belt 6, the secondary transfer roller 16, the secondary transfer opposing roller 12, and the like. In order to perform the above functions, the mounting surface 410a of the second substrate 410 is mounted with many electronic components including a controller IC and an ASIC. A receptacle connector 306 (board-side connector) is mounted on the mounting surface 410 a of the second board 410 .

The first substrate 400 and the second substrate 410 are electrically connected by a cable 230, and are configured to be able to communicate with each other. An electrical signal is transmitted from the first board 400 to the second board 410 via the cable 230 to convey the timing of starting or stopping the drive system described above. The cable 230 is routed from the first board 400 to the second board 410 through an opening 700 a 1 formed in the wall 700 a of the electrical box 700 . A plug connector 200 (cable side connector) connected to a receptacle connector 300 mounted on the first substrate 400 is attached to one end of the cable 230 . A plug connector 203 (cable side connector) connected to the receptacle connector 306 mounted on the second substrate 410 is attached to the other end of the cable 230 .

A power board 420 is provided on the front side of the rear plate 100 of the image forming apparatus A. As shown in FIG. The power supply board 420 is provided in the image forming apparatus A to supply power to each unit of the image forming apparatus A (the image forming section, the fixing device, the driving source of the roller for conveying the sheet, and the image reading section). there is The first board 400 and the power board 420 are electrically connected by cables 221 and 222 . Power for operating the first substrate 400 is transmitted from the power substrate 420 to the first substrate 400 via the cable 221 . A power control signal is transmitted from the first board 400 to the power board 420 via the cable 222 . Cables 221 and 222 are routed from first board 400 to power supply board 420 through opening 700 a 1 formed in electrical box 700 and opening 100 a formed in rear side plate 100 . Plug connectors 201 and 202 that are connected to receptacle connectors 301 and 302 mounted on the first substrate 400 are attached to one ends of the cables 221 and 222, respectively. A plug connector 204 connected to a receptacle connector 307 mounted on the power supply board 420 is attached to the other ends of the cables 221 and 222 .

Plug connectors (not shown) attached to the ends of cables (not shown) are connected to the receptacle connectors 303 to 305 mounted on the first substrate 400 in the same manner as the receptacle connectors 300 to 302. be done. A receptacle connector 303 is a connector to which a cable for communicating with the image reading unit 8 and the operation unit 9 is connected. A receptacle connector 304 is installed in the image forming apparatus A as an option, and is a connector to which a cable for communicating with a FAX unit for transmitting and receiving FAX is connected. A receptacle connector 305 is a connector to which a cable for communicating with Bluetooth (registered trademark) or NFC, which is installed in the image forming apparatus A as an option, is connected. In this manner, electrical connection is established between the first substrate 400 and the above-described other units via cables.

<Plug connector and receptacle connector>
Next, configurations of the plug connector and the receptacle connector will be described. The plug connectors 200 to 204 are of the same type and have the same configuration other than the number of terminal poles and dimensions. The receptacle connectors 300 to 307 are of the same type, and have the same configuration other than the number of terminal poles and dimensions. Therefore, the configurations of the plug connector 200 and the receptacle connector 300 will be described below.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of plug connector 200 and receptacle connector 300. FIG. 4A and 4B are views showing the receptacle connector 300, FIG. 4A is a front view, FIG. 4B is a side view, FIG. 4C is a rear view, and FIG. 4D is a top view. be. FIG. 5 shows the plug connector 200, FIG. 5(a) is a front view, FIG. 5(b) is a side view, FIG. 5(c) is a rear view, and FIG. 5(d) is a bottom view. .

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the receptacle connector 300 has pin terminals 300b that are electrical contact portions. The pin terminals 300 b are arranged parallel to each other at regular intervals and are composed of 17 pins extending in the direction of arrow Z (first direction) perpendicular to the mounting surface 400 a of the first substrate 400 . The length in the arrow Z direction of each pin terminal 300b is the same. One end 300b1 of the pin terminal 300b is bent along the mounting surface 400a of the first substrate 400 and soldered to a conductor pattern (land pattern) formed on the first substrate 400 (not shown).

The receptacle connector 300 also has a lock plate 300c extending in the arrow Z direction. The locking plate 300c is formed with an engagement hole 300c1 recessed in the arrow X direction perpendicular to the arrow Y direction (second direction), which is the parallel direction of the pin terminals 300b, and the arrow Z direction.

These pin terminal 300b and lock plate 300c are accommodated in the housing 300a. The housing 300a has a wall 300a1 arranged on one side of the pin terminal 300b in the arrow X direction and a wall 300a2 arranged on the other side. The housing 300a also has a wall 300a3 (first wall) arranged on one side of the pin terminal 300b in the arrow Y direction and a wall 300a4 (second wall) arranged on the other side.

The length of the portion of the wall 300a1 facing the pin terminal 300b in the arrow Z direction is longer than the length of the pin terminal 300b in the arrow Z direction. The length of the part of the wall 300a2 facing the pin terminal 300b in the arrow Z direction is shorter than the length of the pin terminal 300b in the arrow Z direction. A part of the wall 300a2 facing the pin terminal 300b is cut away. The length of the portion of the walls 300a3 and 300a4 facing the pin terminal 300b in the direction of the arrow Z is longer than the length of the pin terminal 300b in the direction of the arrow Z.

Regarding the arrow Z direction, the walls 300a2, 300a3, and 300a4 have portions shorter than the length of the wall 300a1 and longer than the length of the pin terminal 300b. When plug connector 200 is connected to receptacle connector 300, portions of housing 200a of plug connector 200 are exposed from these portions. A maintenance worker can easily pull out the plug connector 200 from the receptacle connector 300 by gripping the exposed portion of the plug connector 200 .

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the housing 200a of the plug connector 200 is formed with a cable housing hole 200a3. A terminal 200d having a claw portion 200d1 (FIG. 6) is provided near the cable housing hole 200a3. The assembling operator stores the cable 230 (FIG. 6) in the cable storage hole 200a3, and bites the claw portion 200d1 of the terminal 200d into the insulation coating of the stored cable 230 with a tool. As a result, the claw portion 200d1 of the terminal 200d comes into contact with the conductor inside the insulation coating of the cable 230, and the two are electrically connected.

A through hole 200a1 is formed in the bottom surface of the housing 200a of the plug connector 200 so as to pass through the bottom surface of the housing 200a in the direction of the arrow Z. As shown in FIG. When plug connector 200 is inserted into receptacle connector 300, pin terminal 300b of receptacle connector 300 enters through hole 200a1. As a result, the movement of the plug connector 200 in the arrow Z direction is guided by the pin terminal 300b. When the plug connector 200 is inserted, the pin terminals 300b and the terminals 200d are brought into contact with each other, and the receptacle connector 300 and the plug connector 200 are electrically connected.

Further, on the outer surface of the housing 200a of the plug connector 200, a protrusion 200a2 (engagement portion) is formed that protrudes in the arrow X direction. The convex portion 200 a 2 engages with an engaging hole 300 c 1 (engaged portion) formed in the lock plate 300 c of the receptacle connector 300 . This restricts the movement of the plug connector 200 connected to the receptacle connector 300 in the direction of the arrow Z, suppresses the positional deviation of the plug connector 200 with respect to the receptacle connector 300, and stabilizes the electrical connection between the two. Further, since a click feeling is generated when the projection 200a2 engages with the engagement hole 300c1, the operator can confirm that the plug connector 200 has been inserted.

<Issues when inserting and removing the plug connector>
Next, problems when plug connector 200 is inserted into and removed from receptacle connector 300 will be described.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing how the plug connector 200 is inserted into the receptacle connector 300 as viewed from the arrow Y direction. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing how the plug connector 200 is inserted into the receptacle connector 300 as viewed from the arrow X direction. 6(a) and 7(a) show how the plug connector 200 is inserted from the arrow Z direction. FIG. 6(b) shows how the plug connector 200 is inserted from a direction inclined 25° toward the arrow X direction with respect to the arrow Z direction. FIG. 7(b) shows how the plug connector 200 is inserted from a direction inclined 25° toward the arrow Y direction with respect to the arrow Z direction.

As shown in FIGS. 6(a) and 7(a), when the plug connector 200 is inserted from the direction of the arrow Z, the pin terminals 300b of the receptacle connector 300 are inserted from the direction in which the plug connector 200 extends. The inner wall of the hole 200a1 and the pin terminal 300b do not interfere. Therefore, the force in an unintended direction is not applied from the plug connector 200 to the pin terminal 300b, and the pin terminal 300b is not deformed. Therefore, the pin terminal 300b and the terminal 200d are stably brought into contact with each other, and the electrical connection between the plug connector 200 and the receptacle connector 300 is stably established.

As shown in FIG. 6B, when the plug connector 200 is obliquely inserted from the arrow X direction, the pin terminals 300b of the receptacle connector 300 interfere with the inner walls of the through holes 200a1 of the plug connector 200. As shown in FIG. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 7B, when the plug connector 200 is obliquely inserted from the arrow Y direction, the pin terminals 300b of the receptacle connector 300 interfere with the inner walls of the through holes 200a1 of the plug connector 200. . If the plug connector 200 is forcibly inserted in this state, the pin terminal 300b is deformed by applying a force in an unintended direction from the plug connector 200 to the pin terminal 300b. In this case, the pin terminal 300b of the receptacle connector 300 and the terminal 200d of the plug connector 200 may not be in good contact with each other, and electrical connection between the two may not be established properly. Similarly, when the plug connector 200 is pulled out obliquely from the receptacle connector 300, the pin terminals 300b may be deformed.

When the plug connector 200 is inserted while the pin terminals 300b of the receptacle connector 300 and the inner walls of the through holes 200a1 of the plug connector 200 are interfering with each other, the pin terminals 300b scrape the plug connector 200. As shown in FIG. In this case, scraped powder 800 (FIG. 6(b)) enters between the terminal 200d of the plug connector 200 and the pin terminal 300b of the receptacle connector 300, and the terminal 200d and the pin terminal 300b do not come into good contact with each other, causing an electrical breakdown between the two. connection may not be performed properly.

That is, in order to stabilize the electrical connection between the plug connector 200 and the receptacle connector 300, it is desirable that the plug connector 200 is inserted and removed from the direction of the arrow Z, not obliquely. As described above, in the housing 300a of the receptacle connector 300, the length of the wall 300a1 in the direction of arrow Z is longer than the length of the pin terminal 300b in the direction of arrow Z, and the length of part of the wall 300a2 in the direction of arrow Z is longer than that of the pin terminal 300b. is configured to be shorter than the length in the direction of the arrow Z. Therefore, when the plug connector 200 is obliquely inserted and removed from the arrow X direction side, it is particularly easy to insert and remove from the side where the wall 300a2 is arranged with respect to the pin terminal 300b.

<Regulation member>
Image forming apparatus A includes a restricting member that restricts the insertion angle of plug connector 200 with respect to receptacle connector 300 . The configuration of the regulating member will be described below.

First, the configuration of the restricting member that restricts oblique insertion of the plug connector 200 from the direction of the arrow X will be described. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a regulation plate 700a2 as a regulation member. Here, the regulation plate 700a2 is a part of the side wall 700a of the electrical equipment box 700 shown in FIG. In other words, in this embodiment, the electrical equipment box 700 provided as a countermeasure against noise is used as the restricting member.

As shown in FIG. 8, the regulation plate 700a2 is arranged at a position adjacent to the wall 300a2 of the housing 300a of the receptacle connector 300 in the arrow X direction. The regulating plate 700a2 is configured such that the length in the direction perpendicular to the mounting surface 400a of the first substrate 400 (the arrow Z direction) is longer than the length of the pin terminal 300b in the same direction.

Here, in the direction of arrow Z, the length of pin terminal 300b is L1, and the length of regulation plate 700a2 is L2. The length L1 of the pin terminal 300b here means the length of the portion of the pin terminal 300b that extends in the direction of the arrow Z and contacts the terminal 200d of the plug connector 200. As shown in FIG. In the direction of arrow X, the distance between the portion of pin terminal 300b extending in the direction of arrow Z and regulation plate 700a2 is L3. Let θ1 be the limit angle at which normal electrical connection between the plug connector 200 and the receptacle connector 300 is ensured when the plug connector 200 is obliquely inserted into the receptacle connector 300 from the arrow X direction. At this time, L1, L2, L3, and θ1 are configured to satisfy Condition 1 below.

(Condition 1)
L3≦(L2−L1)/tan(90−θ1)°

With such a configuration, when an operator attempts to insert plug connector 200 into receptacle connector 300 from a direction oblique to limit angle θ1, regulation plate 700a2 abuts on plug connector 200 to prevent insertion. Further, when the operator attempts to pull out the plug connector 200 from the receptacle connector 300 in a direction oblique to the limit angle θ1, the restriction plate 700a2 comes into contact with the plug connector 200 and hinders the pulling out. In other words, the insertion/extraction angle of plug connector 200 with respect to receptacle connector 300 is regulated within a normal range by regulating plate 700a2. Therefore, deformation of the pin terminal 300b of the receptacle connector 300 is suppressed, and electrical connection therebetween can be stabilized.

Here, in this embodiment, the limit angle θ1 at the time of insertion of the plug connector 200 is assumed to be 25°, more preferably 15°. When mounting the receptacle connector 300, the length L1 of the pin terminal 300b is predetermined according to the specifications. Note that the length of the pin terminal 300b is often 1 mm≦L1≦10 mm. Further, the height of the wall 700a of the electrical box 700 is predetermined, and considering the overall size of the image forming apparatus A, the length should be 10 mm≦L2≦50 mm. In this case, when the receptacle connector 300 is mounted, or when the first substrate 400 with the receptacle connector 300 mounted thereon is attached to the image forming apparatus A, the distance L3 is set so as to satisfy Condition 2 below.

(Condition 2)
L3≦(L2−L1)/tan65°

Further, when the size of the electrical equipment box 700 is selectable, the length L2 of the regulation plate 700a2 can be arbitrarily set. If the distance L3 is too long, it is difficult to regulate the insertion angle of the plug connector 200 even if the length L2 of the regulation plate 700a2 is long, and it is desirable that 5 mm≦L3≦25 mm. In this case, the length L2 of the regulation plate 700a2 is set so as to satisfy Condition 3 below.

(Condition 3)
L2≧L3tan65°+L1

In this way, L1, L2, and L3 are set so as to satisfy the conditions 2 and 3 above. As a result, even when the plug connector 200 is obliquely inserted from the X-direction side, the insertion angle can be suppressed to 25° or less, which is the limit angle θ1. Therefore, deformation of the pin terminal 300b of the receptacle connector 300 is suppressed, and electrical connection therebetween can be stabilized.

Note that, in this embodiment, all the pin terminals 300b of the receptacle connector 300 and the regulation plate 700a2 are configured to overlap when viewed in the direction of the arrow X. As shown in FIG. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the above effects can be obtained as long as at least a portion of the pin terminal 300b and the regulation plate 700a2 overlap when viewed from the arrow X direction.

Next, the configuration of the restricting member that restricts oblique insertion of the plug connector 200 from the direction of the arrow Y will be described. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a regulating plate 700a3 as a regulating member and electrolytic capacitor 600. As shown in FIG. Here, the regulation plate 700a3 is a part of the side wall 700a of the electrical equipment box 700 shown in FIG. In other words, in the present embodiment, the electronic components mounted on the electrical box 700 and the first substrate 400 provided for noise countermeasures are used as the restricting members.

As shown in FIG. 9, the regulating plate 700a3 (first regulating member) is arranged at a position adjacent to the wall 300a3 of the housing 300a of the receptacle connector 300 in the arrow Y direction. The length of the regulating plate 700a3 in the Z direction is configured to be longer than the length of the pin terminal 300b in the Z direction. Electrolytic capacitor 600 (second regulating member) is arranged at a position adjacent to wall 300a4 of housing 300a of receptacle connector 300 in the Y direction. The length of the electrolytic capacitor 600 in the Z direction is longer than the length of the pin terminal 300b in the Z direction.

Here, in the direction of arrow Z, the length of wall 300a3 of housing 300a of receptacle connector 300 is K1, the length of wall 300a4 is K2, the length of regulation plate 700a3 is K3, and the length of electrolytic capacitor 600 is K4. . The lengths K1 and K2 of the walls 300a3 and 300a4 of the housing 300a refer to the lengths of the longest portions of the walls 300a3 and 300a4 in the arrow Z direction. In the arrow Y direction, the distance between wall 300a3 of housing 300a and regulation plate 700a3 is K5, and the distance between wall 300a4 of housing 300a and electrolytic capacitor 600 is K6. Regarding the insertion angle of the plug connector 200 with respect to the receptacle connector 300, the limit angle of inclination at which normal electrical connection is guaranteed when the plug connector 200 is obliquely inserted in the direction of arrow Y is defined as a limit angle θ2. At this time, K1 to K6 and θ2 are configured to satisfy the following conditions 4 and 5.

(Condition 4)
K5≦(K3−K1)/tan(90−θ2)°

(Condition 5)
K6≦(K4−K2)/tan(90−θ2)°

With such a configuration, when an operator tries to insert the plug connector 200 into the receptacle connector 300 from a direction oblique to the limit angle θ2, the restriction plate 700a3 or the electrolytic capacitor 600 comes into contact with the plug connector 200 and hinders the insertion. be done. Also, when an operator attempts to pull out plug connector 200 from receptacle connector 300 in a direction oblique to limit angle θ2, restricting plate 700a2 or electrolytic capacitor 600 abuts on plug connector 200, hindering the pulling out. In other words, the insertion/extraction angle of the plug connector 200 with respect to the receptacle connector 300 is regulated within a normal range by the regulating plate 700a2 or the electrolytic capacitor 600. FIG. Therefore, deformation of the pin terminal 300b of the receptacle connector 300 is suppressed, and electrical connection therebetween can be stabilized.

Here, in this embodiment, the limit angle θ2 at the time of insertion of the plug connector 200 is assumed to be 25°, more preferably 15°. When mounting the receptacle connector 300, the length K1 of the wall 300a3 and the length K2 of the wall 300a4 of the housing 300a are predetermined according to the specifications. The length of the wall 300a3 and the length of the wall 300a4 are often 4 mm≦K1≦20 mm and 4 mm≦K2≦20 mm. The height of the wall 700a of the electrical box 700 is predetermined, and considering the overall size of the image forming apparatus A, the length is 10 mm≦K3≦50 mm. Also, the length K4 of the electrolytic capacitor 600 is predetermined according to the specifications, and a standard is 10 mm≦K4≦25 mm. In this case, when mounting the receptacle connector 300 or mounting the first substrate 400 with the receptacle connector 300 mounted thereon to the image forming apparatus A, the distances K5 and K6 are set so as to satisfy the following conditions 6 and 7. .

(Condition 6)
K5≦(K3−K1)/tan65°

(Condition 7)
K6≦(K4−K2)/tan65°

Further, when the size of the electrical equipment box 700 is selectable, the length K3 of the regulation plate 700a3 can be arbitrarily set. Further, when the specifications of the electrolytic capacitor 600 are selectable, the length K4 of the electrolytic capacitor 600 can be set arbitrarily. If the distances K5 and K6 are too long, it is difficult to regulate the insertion angle of the plug connector 200 even if the length K3 of the regulation plate 700a3 and the length K4 of the electrolytic capacitor 600 are long. It is desirable that K6≦15 mm. The length K3 of the regulation plate 700a3 and the length K4 of the electrolytic capacitor 600 are set so as to satisfy the following conditions 8 and 9.

(Condition 8)
K3≧K5tan65°+K1

(Condition 9)
K4≧K6tan65°+K2

In this manner, K1 to K6 are set so as to satisfy the conditions 8 and 9 above. As a result, even when the plug connector 200 is obliquely inserted from the Y-direction side, the insertion angle can be suppressed to 25° or less, which is the limit angle θ2. Therefore, deformation of the pin terminal 300b of the receptacle connector 300 is suppressed, and electrical connection therebetween can be stabilized.

In this embodiment, when viewed from the arrow Y direction, all portions of the wall 300a3 of the receptacle connector 300 overlap with the regulation plate 700a3. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the above effect can be obtained as long as at least a portion of the wall 300a3 and the regulation plate 700a3 overlap when viewed from the arrow X direction. Moreover, the above effect can be obtained if at least a part of the wall 300a4 and the electrolytic capacitor 600 overlap each other when viewed from the arrow Y direction.

In this embodiment, a part of the wall of the electrical box 700 or the electrolytic capacitor 600 mounted on the first substrate 400 is used as the restricting member, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, instead of the regulation plate 700a2, the regulation plate 700a3, and the electrolytic capacitor 600, other electronic components mounted on the first substrate 400 may be used as regulation members. Further, instead of the regulation plate 700a2, the regulation plate 700a3, and the electrolytic capacitor 600, another member may be provided as a regulation member on the mounting surface 400a of the first substrate 400 or in the vicinity of the first substrate 400. FIG. A wire saddle that restrains the cable 230 can be considered as an example of the restricting member provided on the mounting surface 400 a of the first substrate 400 . Even with such a configuration, the same effect as described above can be obtained.

<Arrangement of receptacle connector>
Next, the arrangement of receptacle connectors 300-305 will be described.

FIG. 10(a) is a layout diagram of the receptacle connectors 300-305. Here, FIG. 10A is a front view of the first substrate 400 fixed to the stays 101 and 102, which are the frames of the image forming apparatus A, via the electrical box 700. FIG. The direction indicates the vertical direction, and the horizontal direction indicates the horizontal direction. FIG. 10(b) is a table showing the longitudinal lengths of the receptacle connectors 300 to 305, the number of poles of the pin terminals 300b, and the number of engagement holes 300c1. Here, the longitudinal direction of the receptacle connectors 300-305 is the parallel direction of these pin terminals.

As shown in FIG. 10, the mounting surface 400a of the first substrate 400 forms an end portion of the mounting surface 400a and includes a side 400a1 (first side) extending in the horizontal direction and a side 400a1 facing the side 400a1. It has a side 400a2 (third side) extending in parallel. The mounting surface 400a also includes a side 400a3 (second side) that forms an end portion of the mounting surface 400a and extends in the vertical direction, and a side 400a4 (fourth side) that faces the side 400a3 and extends parallel to the side 400a1. have

Here, when a receptacle connector with a large number of pin terminals and a long longitudinal direction is arranged on the mounting surface 400a so that the longitudinal direction and the vertical direction are aligned with each other, the operator must ensure that the longitudinal direction of the plug connector is the vertical direction. The plug connector is gripped and inserted so that it is aligned with the When the plug connector is gripped in this manner, the visibility of both ends in the longitudinal direction of the receptacle connector becomes poor, and the orientation of the wrist makes it difficult to maintain the insertion angle of the plug connector with respect to the receptacle connector. Therefore, the plug connector can be easily inserted into the receptacle connector obliquely with respect to the direction orthogonal to the mounting surface 400a of the first substrate 400. FIG. In particular, in a receptacle connector that is long in the longitudinal direction and has a plurality of engagement holes, it is conceivable that an operator sequentially fits the protrusions of the plug connector into the engagement holes one by one. Therefore, the plug connector can be easily inserted obliquely with respect to the direction orthogonal to the mounting surface 400a of the first substrate 400. As shown in FIG.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the receptacle connectors 300, 303, and 305 having pin terminals with 15 or more poles are arranged so that their longitudinal directions are aligned with the horizontal directions in which the sides 400a1 and 400a2 extend. Specifically, the receptacle connector 300 is mounted around the side 400a1 on the mounting surface 400a of the first substrate 400, and arranged so that the longitudinal direction and the extending direction of the side 400a1 are aligned. The receptacle connector 303 is mounted adjacent to the receptacle connector 300 on the mounting surface 400a of the first board 400 in the direction in which the side 400a1 extends, and is arranged so that the longitudinal direction is aligned with the direction in which the side 400a1 extends. Further, the receptacle connector 305 is mounted around the side 400a2 on the mounting surface 400a of the first substrate 400, and arranged so that the longitudinal direction and the extending direction of the side 400a2 are aligned. These receptacle connectors 300, 303, and 305 are receptacle connectors with a longitudinal length of 20 mm or more, and are also plug connectors having a plurality of engagement holes. In this embodiment, the receptacle connectors 300, 303, and 305 are arranged so that the longitudinal direction of the receptacle connectors 300, 303, and 305 and the horizontal direction in which the sides 400a1 and 400a2 extend are parallel. may

Further, the receptacle connectors 301, 302, and 304 having pin terminals with 2 or more poles and less than 15 poles are arranged such that their longitudinal directions are aligned with the vertical direction in which the sides 400a3 and 400a4 extend. Specifically, the receptacle connector 301 is mounted around the side 400a3 on the mounting surface 400a of the first substrate 400, and arranged so that the longitudinal direction and the extending direction of the side 400a3 are aligned. The receptacle connector 302 is mounted adjacent to the receptacle connector 301 on the mounting surface 400a of the first substrate 400 in the direction in which the side 400a3 extends, and is arranged so that the longitudinal direction and the direction in which the side 400a3 extends are aligned. Further, the receptacle connector 304 is mounted around the side 400a4 on the mounting surface 400a of the first substrate 400, and arranged so that the longitudinal direction and the extending direction of the side 400a4 are aligned. These receptacle connectors 301, 302, 304 are receptacle connectors with a longitudinal length of less than 20 mm, and are also plug connectors with one engagement hole. In this embodiment, the receptacle connectors 301, 302 and 304 are arranged so that the longitudinal direction of the receptacle connectors 301, 302 and 304 and the vertical direction in which the sides 400a3 and 400a4 extend are parallel. may

By arranging the receptacle connectors 300 to 305 in this way, it is possible to prevent the plug connector from being inserted obliquely into the receptacle connector with respect to the direction orthogonal to the mounting surface 400a of the first substrate 400. FIG. Therefore, deformation of the pin terminals of the receptacle connectors 300 to 305 and the terminals of the plug connector inserted therein is suppressed, and electrical connection between the two can be stabilized.

200... plug connector (cable side connector)
230... Cable 300... Receptacle connector (board side connector)
300a... housing 300a3... wall (first wall)
300a4 ... wall (second wall)
300b... Pin terminal 400... First substrate (first substrate)
410... Second substrate (second substrate)
700... Electrical box (accommodating member)
700a3... Regulating plate (first regulating member)
600... Electrolytic capacitor (second restricting member)
A... Image forming apparatus

Claims (6)

a first substrate arranged on the back side of the image forming apparatus;
a second substrate electrically connected to the first substrate via a cable;
A board-side connector mounted on the first board and connected to a cable-side connector of the cable, the board-side connector extending in a first direction orthogonal to a mounting surface of the first board and extending in a first direction orthogonal to the first direction. a plurality of terminals arranged in parallel in two directions; and a housing for housing the plurality of terminals, arranged on one side of the plurality of terminals in the second direction, and having a length in the first direction a first wall longer than the lengths of the plurality of terminals in the first direction; a housing having a long second wall; and a board-side connector comprising:
The cable-side connector is arranged adjacent to the first wall of the board-side connector in the second direction, has a length in the first direction longer than the length of the first wall in the first direction, and is of the cable-side connector. a first regulating member that regulates an insertion angle with respect to the board-side connector;
The cable-side connector is arranged adjacent to the second wall of the board-side connector in the second direction, has a length in the first direction longer than the length of the second wall in the first direction, and is of the cable-side connector. a second regulating member that regulates an insertion angle with respect to the board-side connector;
a housing member that houses the first substrate;
with
K1 is the length of the first wall in the first direction; K2 is the length of the second wall in the first direction; K3 is the length of the first restricting member in the first direction; 2 K4 is the length of the regulating member in the first direction, K5 is the distance in the second direction between the first wall and the first regulating member, and K5 is the distance between the second wall and the second regulating member. When the distance in the second direction between
satisfying K5≦(K3−K1)/tan65° and K6≦(K4−K2)/tan65°,
The first regulating member is part of a wall of the housing member,
An image forming apparatus characterized by: a first substrate arranged on the back side of the image forming apparatus;
a second substrate electrically connected to the first substrate via a cable;
A board-side connector mounted on the first board and connected to a cable-side connector of the cable, the board-side connector extending in a first direction orthogonal to a mounting surface of the first board and extending in a first direction orthogonal to the first direction. a plurality of terminals arranged in parallel in two directions; and a housing for housing the plurality of terminals, arranged on one side of the plurality of terminals in the second direction, and having a length in the first direction a first wall longer than the lengths of the plurality of terminals in the first direction; a housing having a long second wall; and a board-side connector comprising:
The cable-side connector is arranged adjacent to the first wall of the board-side connector in the second direction, has a length in the first direction longer than the length of the first wall in the first direction, and is of the cable-side connector. a first regulating member that regulates an insertion angle with respect to the board-side connector;
The cable-side connector is arranged adjacent to the second wall of the board-side connector in the second direction, has a length in the first direction longer than the length of the second wall in the first direction, and is of the cable-side connector. a second regulating member that regulates an insertion angle with respect to the board-side connector;
a housing member that houses the first substrate;
with
K1 is the length of the first wall in the first direction; K2 is the length of the second wall in the first direction; K3 is the length of the first restricting member in the first direction; 2 K4 is the length of the regulating member in the first direction, K5 is the distance in the second direction between the first wall and the first regulating member, and K5 is the distance between the second wall and the second regulating member. Let K6 be the distance in the second direction between
satisfying K3≧K5tan65°+K1 and K4≧K6tan65°+K2,
The first regulating member is part of a wall of the housing member,
An image forming apparatus characterized by: The housing member is made of metal,
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said second restricting member is an electronic component mounted on said first substrate. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the electronic component is a capacitor. The board-side connector has an engaged portion,
The cable-side connector has an engaging portion that engages with the engaged portion and restricts movement of the cable-side connector connected to the board-side connector in the first direction. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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