JP7414487B2 - Image reading device and image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image reading device and an image forming device that read images on sheets.

Conventionally, a document reading unit has been proposed that includes a box-shaped frame composed of an upper frame and a lower frame, and a scanner unit that is housed in the frame and reads an image of the document (patent) (See Reference 1). A cover main body portion is arranged on the front side of the frame body. The cover main body part covers the front side of the frame by connecting the top mounting part that covers the top side of the upper frame, the bottom mounting part covering the bottom side of the bottom frame, and the top mounting part and the bottom mounting part. It has a front projecting portion. The upper mounting portion is provided with a wedge-shaped rib-like insertion protrusion, and when the rib-like insertion protrusion is engaged with a locking hole formed on the upper surface of the frame, the cover is closed. The main body is attached to the frame.

JP2008-92222A

However, the cover main body portion described in Patent Document 1 is attached to and detached from the frame in the front-rear direction. When removing the cover main body from the frame, the user must elastically deform the upper mounting portion of the cover main body upward to disengage the rib-like insertion protrusion from the locking hole. For this reason, it is troublesome to remove the cover body from the frame.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an image reading device and an image forming device whose covers can be easily removed.

The present invention provides an image reading device that includes a reading unit that reads an image on a sheet, a housing that houses the reading unit, and a cover that is attached to and removed from the housing in the vertical direction, and the housing is , a frame for accommodating the reading unit; and a fixing member fixed to the frame and having an extending portion extending in the vertical direction ; movement of the cover in a front- back direction intersecting the vertical direction by not overlapping the extending portion and engaging with the extending portion when viewed in the vertical direction It is characterized in that it has an engaging part that regulates.

According to the present invention, the cover can be easily removed.

FIG. 1 is an overall schematic diagram showing a printer according to an embodiment. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an image reading device. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an image reading device. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an image reading device. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state where a part of the dashed-dotted line shown in FIG. 4 is cut away. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the installation configuration of the front cover. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the installation configuration of the front cover. FIG. 3 is a side view showing how the front cover is attached using the R2 route. FIG. 3 is a side view showing how the front cover is attached using the R1 route.

An image forming apparatus including an image reading apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus will be described using a copying machine as an example. It goes without saying that the image reading device may be used alone, and may also be provided in an image forming device such as a printer, a facsimile, or a multifunctional device equipped with these functions, in addition to a copying machine.

In the following explanation, the term "sheet" includes not only plain paper but also special paper such as coated paper, recording materials with special shapes such as envelopes and index paper, and plastic films and cloth for overhead projectors. It is something that In addition, a document is also included in the concept of a sheet, and a document may be a blank sheet or may have an image formed on one or both sides. Furthermore, in the following description, the surface of the image forming apparatus that faces the user will be referred to as the front surface, the surface opposite to this front surface will be referred to as the back surface, and the direction toward the front and rear of these image forming apparatuses will be referred to as the front-back direction. Further, the directions orthogonal to this front-rear direction are referred to as the left-right direction and the width direction.

[Schematic configuration of image forming apparatus]
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a copying machine 201 as an image forming apparatus according to this embodiment. The copying machine 201 is configured such that an image reading device 101 for reading an image of a document is provided above a printer section 103, and an ADF 102 is provided above the image reading device 101.

The printer unit 103 includes therein a sheet conveying unit 107 that conveys sheets, and an electrophotographic image forming unit 104 that forms an image on the sheet conveyed from the sheet conveying unit 107. . The printer unit 103 also includes a fixing unit 105 that heats and pressurizes the unfixed toner image transferred by the image forming unit 104 to fix it on the sheet, and a printer control unit 106 that controls the printer unit 103. We are prepared.

The image reading device 101 includes a box body 108 in which a document table glass 1 for placing a document is provided, and an image provided inside the box body 108 for reading an image of the document placed on the document table glass 1. A reading section 4 is provided. The image reading device 101 also includes a reading control unit 18 that controls the image reading device 101.

When copying a document using the copying machine 201, the document is first placed on the document table glass 1, and a copy button (not shown) is pressed by the user. When this copy button is operated, the image reading section 4 described above reads the image of the document while moving in the sub-scanning direction M (in the width direction in this embodiment). The image information read by the image reading section 4 is communicated to the printer control section 106 via the reading control section 18, and a toner image is formed in the image forming section 104 based on this image information. Then, this toner image is transferred to the sheet conveyed from the sheet conveying section 107, and the unfixed toner image transferred to the sheet is heated and pressurized in the fixing section 105, so that the sheet is It will be established. The sheet on which the image has been fixed by the fixing unit 105 is discharged to the outside of the machine, thereby completing the copying of the original.

Furthermore, when copies of multiple originals are to be taken, the originals are transported one by one by the ADF 102, and the images of the transported originals are read by the image reading unit 4 located at a predetermined reading position. . Note that fixed reading is a method in which the image reading unit 4 reads the image of a document placed on the document table glass 1 while moving in the sub-scanning direction M, whereas the image reading unit 4 that is stopped is conveyed by the ADF 102. The method of reading the image of a document is called panning.

[Summary of configuration of image reading device]
Next, the configuration of the image reading device 101 will be explained based on FIGS. 2 to 4. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the image reading device 101 includes a box 108, a document table glass 1 and a platen glass 2 provided on the top of the box 108, and an operation unit 109 supported by the box 108. It has a front cover 13.

The box body 108 is formed into a box shape so as to have an internal space, and is a frame made of sheet metal or the like. In the internal space of the box body 108, a guide shaft 5 extending in the sub-scanning direction M, pulleys 6, 7, 8, a drive belt 9 wound around the pulleys 6, 7, 8, and an image reading section 4 are provided. is provided. An image reading section 4 serving as a reading section is supported by a drive belt 9 driven by a motor (not shown), and is guided in a sub-scanning direction M by a guide shaft 5. Further, in the internal space of the box body 108, a detection unit (not shown) is arranged to detect whether or not the image reading unit 4 is located at a standby position, which is the position when image reading is not performed.

In the present embodiment, the left end position of the internal space of the box body 108 in FIGS. 2 and 3 is the standby position, and the image reading unit 4 reads the document placed on the document platen glass 1 in the standby position. Read the image on the left. In a standby state before a reading job for reading an image of a document is input, the image reading unit 4 waits at a standby position.

The image reading unit 4 includes a carriage that holds an image sensor and internal components, and a light source that irradiates light onto a document. The image sensor is electrically connected to the reading control unit 18 by a band-shaped FFC (flexible flat cable), not shown, and image information read by the image sensor is transmitted to the reading control unit 18.

The operation section 109 includes an IC card reader section 10, an operation panel section 11, and an operation lower cover 12. The IC card reader unit 10 reads information recorded on the IC card and performs user authentication and the like. The operation panel unit 11 includes a liquid crystal panel that can display various types of information about the copying machine 201, a plurality of physical buttons, and the like. The operation lower cover 12 as a fixed member is fixed to the box body 108 and the printer section 103, and covers the lower part of the operation section 109. The box body 108 and the operation lower cover 12 constitute a housing 90 that houses the image reading section 4.

When the copy button on the operation panel section 11 is pressed with a document set on the document table glass 1, the drive belt 9 is driven by the motor. Then, the image reading section 4 supported by the drive belt 9 moves in the sub-scanning direction M from the standby position along the guide shaft 5. At this time, the original placed on the original platen glass 1 is scanned, and the image of the original is read.

When the image reading unit 4 moves to a predetermined position depending on the size of the document, the motor rotates in the reverse direction, thereby causing the drive belt 9 to rotate in the reverse direction. Then, the image reading section 4 returns to the standby position and the reading operation is completed.

[Front cover and operation lower cover]
Next, the front cover 13 and the operation lower cover 12 will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 4, the front cover 13 serving as a cover is disposed between the box body 108 and the lower operation cover 12, and covers the exposed portion of the box body 108 in front of the document table glass 1 and the platen glass 2. covered. In particular, the front cover 13 covers the front surface 108a (see FIG. 5) of the box body 108. The front surface 108a extends in the left-right direction and the up-down direction.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state where a portion D shown in FIG. 4 is cut away. FIG. 6 is a side view showing the mounting structure of the front cover 13. FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the installation configuration of the front cover 13. In FIGS. 5 to 7, the front cover 13 is located in the mounting position where it is mounted to the housing 90 (see FIG. 4).

As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the operation lower cover 12 includes a main body 12b that covers the lower part of the IC card reader section 10 and the operation panel section 11, and is provided at the left end and rear end of the main body 12b. It has an extending portion 12a formed by being bent from. The extending portion 12a has a rib shape extending in the vertical direction.

The front cover 13 is arranged in front of the front surface 108a of the box body 108 and includes a first portion 21 extending in the vertical direction, a second portion 22 extending rearward from the upper end 21a of the first portion 21, and a second portion 22 extending rearward from the upper end 21a of the first portion 21. The third portion 23 extends rearward from the lower end portion 21b. In this way, the front cover 13 has a substantially U-shaped cross section.

The third portion 23 of the front cover 13 is provided with a groove-shaped opening 13c and an engaging portion 13b that can be engaged with the extending portion 12a. The opening 13c serving as a permitting portion opens in the vertical direction, and allows the extending portion 12a to pass therethrough when the front cover 13 is attached or removed in the vertical direction, which is the first direction. The engaging portion 13b extends in the vertical and horizontal directions and has an engaging surface 31 that can be engaged with the extending portion 12a, and a slope 32 that extends rearward as it goes downward.

The extending portion 12a of the lower operation cover 12 includes a first guide portion 41 that guides the engaging portion 13b in the vertical direction, and a first guiding portion 41 that is arranged below the first guiding portion 41 and guides the engaging portion 13b in the front-back direction. 2 guide portion 42. The first guide portion 41 extends in the vertical direction in a flat plate shape and has a slope 41a at the top. The slope 41a is formed to extend to the left as it goes downward.

The second guide part 42 is formed continuously from the first guide part 41, and is formed to extend rearward as it goes downward. The second guide portion 42 also includes an engaged surface 42a (see FIG. 8) that serves as an engaged portion that can engage with the engagement surface 31 of the engagement portion 13b when the front cover 13 is in the mounting position. )have. As shown in FIG. 6, in the front-rear direction, the distance between the lower end of the second guide portion 42 and the front surface 108a of the box body 108, that is, the distance between the engagement surface 31 and the front surface 108a, is a distance L1. In the front-back direction, the distance between the upper end of the first guide portion 41 and the front surface 108a of the box body 108 is a distance L2. The arrangement relationship between the box body 108 and the extension portion 12a is determined so that the distance L1 is shorter than the distance L2.

Here, a service label is affixed to the inside of the front cover 13 on which adjustment values and characteristic values of the optical unit and CIS sensor of the image reading device 101 are written. This service label can be used to confirm the factory default adjustment values and enter new adjustment values when replacing or adjusting parts such as the optical unit or CIS sensor. be exposed. Therefore, since the front cover 13 may be attached and detached, there is a demand for improvement in the ease of attachment and detachment of the front cover 13.

Furthermore, the front cover 13 is formed to be elongated in the left-right direction, and there is a need to improve the mounting rigidity of the front cover 13 so that it will not be displaced due to unexpected pulling by the user.

[How to attach and detach the front cover]
Next, a method for attaching and detaching the front cover 13 according to this embodiment will be explained. First, the case where the front cover 13 is attached to the housing 90 (see FIG. 4) will be described. In this embodiment, the front cover 13 is attached from above at a position between the box body 108 and the operation section 109. It is mounted below.

At this time, the engaging part 13b of the front cover 13 has an R2 route passing behind the extension part 12a of the operation lower cover 12 and an R1 route passing in front of the extension part 12a. The installation of the front cover 13 will be explained.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, the user slides the front cover 13 downward from above while aligning the opening 13c provided in the third portion 23 of the front cover 13 to pass through the extension 12a. Installing. At this time, since the slope 41a is formed at the upper part of the extension part 12a, the edge of the opening 13c is guided by the slope 41a, making it easy to align the front cover 13.

The engaging portion 13b of the front cover 13 passes through the space SP between the front surface 108a of the box body 108 and the extending portion 12a. At this time, the engaging portion 13b is guided in the vertical direction by the first guide portion 41 of the extending portion 12a. Since the distance L2 between the upper end of the first guide part 41 of the extending part 12a and the front surface 108a of the box body 108 is larger than the length L3 of the engaging part 13b in the front-rear direction, the engaging part 13b can be easily moved. can enter space SP.

Furthermore, when the front cover 13 is mounted downward, the engaging portion 13b of the front cover 13 is guided in the front-rear direction by the second guide portion 42 of the extending portion 12a. By guiding the engaging portion 13b along the second guide portion 42, the front cover 13 is guided to the mounting position shown in FIG. At this time, since the distance L1 is configured to be shorter than the distance L2, the front cover 13 is naturally positioned in the front-rear direction and guided to the mounting position.

The vertical positioning of the front cover 13 is performed, for example, by the support portion 11a of the operation panel portion 11 or the upper surface 108c of the box body 108, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the front cover 13 is fixed to the side surface 108b of the box body 108 in the left-right direction by screws 15 in the mounting position. Since no screws or the like are provided on the front surface of the front cover 13, the appearance can be improved.

When the front cover 13 is located at the mounting position, the engaging surface 31 of the engaging portion 13b engages with the engaged surface 42a of the extending portion 12a, thereby moving in the second direction intersecting the vertical direction. The movement of the front cover 13 in the front-rear direction is restricted. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, when viewed in the left-right direction, the engagement surface 31 of the engagement portion 13b is at a position where at least a portion thereof overlaps the engaged surface 42a of the extension portion 12a in the vertical direction. It is located in

Therefore, even if the user pulls the front cover 13 toward the user, the engagement portion 13b of the front cover 13 engages with the extension portion 12a, so that displacement of the front cover 13 can be reduced. In particular, since the engaging portion 13b and the extending portion 12a are arranged at the center of the front cover 13 in the left-right direction, as shown in FIG. 4, the displacement of the front cover 13 can be effectively reduced. .

Note that when the front cover 13 is in the attached position, the engaging surface 31 of the engaging portion 13b is not engaged with the engaged surface 42a of the extending portion 12a, and there is a slight play. However, it is not limited to this. For example, when the front cover 13 is in the mounting position, the engaging surface 31 of the engaging portion 13b and the engaged surface 42a of the extending portion 12a may be engaged.

Next, mounting of the front cover 13 in the R1 route will be explained. As shown in FIG. 9, when the front cover 13 is attached using the R1 route, the engaging portion 13b is located in front of the extending portion 12a. The engaging portion 13b is guided in the vertical direction by the first guide portion 41 of the extending portion 12a.

Here, a slope 42b is formed on the front surface of the second guide portion 42, and extends rearward as it goes downward. Then, the front cover 13 is moved backward toward the mounting position with the engaging part 13b in contact with the front surface of the second guide part 42, so that the engaging part 13b contacts the second guide part 42. It has an elastically deformable portion 23a that is elastically deformed downward so as to cross over.

When the front cover 13 is moved rearward with the slope 42b of the second guide part 42 and the slope 32 of the engagement part 13b in contact with each other, the slope 42b of the second guide part 42 and the slope 32 of the engagement part 13b are moved downward relative to the engagement part 13b. force acts on This force causes the elastically deformable portion 23a to elastically deform. Note that only one of the slope 42b and the slope 32 may be formed.

When the engaging portion 13b passes over the second guide portion 42, the front cover 13 is located at the mounting position as shown in FIG. In this way, in this embodiment, there are two routes when attaching the front cover 13, so the user or service person can select two routes as appropriate, and usability can be improved. Further, regardless of whether the route is R1 route or R2 route, there is no difficulty in attaching the front cover 13, and the front cover 13 can be attached easily.

Next, the operation when removing the front cover 13 from the housing 90 (see FIG. 4) will be described. Regarding the removal of the front cover 13, either the R1 route or the R2 route may be selected, but the R2 route is preferable because it does not deform the front cover 13.

Here, when the front cover 13 is located in the mounting position, the engaging portion 13b does not overlap the extending portion 12a when viewed in the vertical direction, as shown in FIG. Furthermore, when viewed in the vertical direction, at least a portion of the extending portion 12a is located inside the opening 13c. Therefore, when the user removes the front cover 13 upward, the extending portion 12a does not obstruct the movement of the engaging portion 13b. Furthermore, the extending portion 12a passes through the opening 13c of the front cover 13. Therefore, when removing the front cover 13 in the R2 route, the user does not need to deform the front cover 13, and can remove it from the housing 90 by simply pulling the front cover 13 upward.

As described above, in this embodiment, the front cover 13 is attached to and detached from the housing 90 in the vertical direction. When the front cover 13 is located at the mounting position, the engaging portion 13b and the extending portion 12a restrict the front cover 13 from moving toward the front. Thereby, the displacement of the front cover 13 can be suppressed without increasing the rigidity of the front cover 13 itself, and it is possible to prevent the front cover 13 from increasing in size and cost due to increased rigidity.

Further, since the front cover 13 can be attached and detached without deforming the front cover 13, the front cover 13 can be easily attached and detached. Particularly, when a service person goes to the user's location to perform maintenance, the maintenance work time can be reduced, which can contribute to reducing maintenance costs and improving the image of the product.

<Other embodiments>
Note that in this embodiment, the front cover 13 is attached to the housing 90 composed of the box body 108 and the operation lower cover 12, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the lower operation cover 12 may be omitted and the front cover 13 may be attached to the box body 108. At this time, the extending portion 12a is formed on the box body 108.

Further, the present invention may be applied to a cover of an image forming device instead of a cover of an image reading device. For example, the present invention may be applied to a cover that is attached to and detached from a housing of an image forming apparatus. At this time, it does not matter whether the image forming apparatus is equipped with an image reading device or not.

Further, in this embodiment, the front cover 13 is attached and detached in the vertical direction, but the present invention is not limited thereto. As long as the attachment/detachment direction of the front cover 13 and the movement restriction direction of the front cover 13 by the engaging portion intersect with each other, these directions may be any direction.

Further, in this embodiment, the front cover 13 is provided with the groove-shaped opening 13c, but the shape of the opening 13c is not limited, and may be a hole, for example.

Further, although this embodiment has been described using the electrophotographic printer 100, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the present invention can be applied to an inkjet image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet by ejecting ink liquid from a nozzle.

The present invention provides a program that implements one or more functions of the embodiments described above to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or device reads and executes the program. This can also be achieved through processing. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

4: Reading section (image reading section) / 12: Fixing member (lower operation cover) / 12a: Extension section / 13: Cover (front cover) / 13b: Engagement section / 13c: Allowance section, opening section / 21: First part/21a: Upper end part/21b: Lower end part/22: Second part/23: Third part/23a: Elastic deformation part/41: First guide part/42: Second guide part/42a: Engaged Joining part (engaged surface) / 90: Housing / 101: Image reading device / 104: Image forming unit / 108: Frame (box) / 108a: Front / 108b: Side / 109: Operation unit / 201: Image Forming device (copying machine)/L1, L2: Distance

Claims (11)

a reading unit that reads the image of the sheet;
a casing that accommodates the reading section;
a cover that is attached to and detached from the housing in the vertical direction;
The casing includes a frame that accommodates the reading unit, and a fixing member that is fixed to the frame and has an extending portion that extends in the vertical direction,
The cover does not overlap the extending portion when viewed in the vertical direction and engages with the extending portion when the cover is attached to the casing and is located in an attached position covering the front surface of the frame. an engaging portion that restricts movement of the cover in the front -rear direction intersecting the up-down direction;
An image reading device characterized by: The cover has a permitting portion that allows the extending portion to pass when the cover is attached or detached in the up-down direction.
The image reading device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The allowable portion is an opening that opens in the vertical direction,
At least a portion of the extending portion is located inside the opening when viewed in the up-down direction when the cover is located at the mounting position.
The image reading device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The cover is arranged in front of the front surface of the frame and includes a first part extending in the vertical direction, a second part extending rearward from an upper end of the first part, and rearward from a lower end of the first part. a third portion extending to;
The engaging portion and the opening are provided in the third portion,
The image reading device according to claim 3 , characterized in that: The extending portion includes a first guide portion that guides the engaging portion in the up-down direction, and a second guide portion that is disposed below the first guide portion and guides the engaging portion in the front-rear direction. , has
The second guide part has an engaged part that can be engaged with the engaging part.
The image reading device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 . The second guide portion extends rearward as it goes downward.
The image reading device according to claim 5 , characterized in that: The front surface of the frame extends in the up-down direction,
In the front-back direction, the distance between the lower end of the second guide part and the front surface is shorter than the distance between the upper end of the first guide part and the front surface.
The image reading device according to claim 5 or 6 , characterized in that: The cover is moved rearward toward the mounting position with the engaging portion in contact with the front surface of the second guide portion, so that the engaging portion rides over the second guide portion. has an elastic deformation part that elastically deforms,
The image reading device according to any one of claims 5 to 7 . The cover is fixed to a side surface of the frame in the left-right direction in the mounting position.
The image reading device according to any one of claims 1 to 8 . further comprising an operation section disposed in front of the frame,
the fixing member covers a lower part of the operating section;
The image reading device according to any one of claims 1 to 9 . An image reading device according to any one of claims 1 to 10 ,
an image forming section that forms an image on the sheet;
An image forming apparatus characterized by:

Images