JPH04223970A - Device for jointing peripheral equipment of image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a joint device which can be installed to various placing stands having different dimension. CONSTITUTION:A main frame 13 is located rear of a placing stand 2, on which a copying machine main frame 1 is placed, and a left side frame 14 and a right side frame 15 are located in both sides of the main frame 13 freely to move against the main frame 13. Abutment parts 23, 30 for abutting on both the sides of the place stand 2 are formed in each side frame 14, 15. These both side frames 14, 15 are pressure-contacted with both sides of the placing stand 2 by a pressure-contacting mechanism 16.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a peripheral device joint device for an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a joint device for connecting an image forming device and peripheral devices.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, peripheral equipment such as a sorter and a finisher may be attached to the discharge section of the copying machine. When such a peripheral device is installed, a safety standard-compliant mechanism such as a rail or a guide member is required to prevent the peripheral device from falling over when the peripheral device is separated from the main body of the copying machine.

For example, in a console type copying machine,
The main body of the copying machine itself is machined with holes for mounting rail members and the like that guide peripheral devices. A rail member fixed to a peripheral device such as a sorter is attached to this hole.

[0004] Also, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 64-9958,
It is shown that a sorter movement guide device is attached to a desktop type copying machine placed on a mounting table. In this device, a slide member functioning as a rail member is attached to the main body of the copying machine, and a sorter is fixed to the tip of this slide member.

[0005]

As mentioned above, when peripheral equipment such as a sorter is attached to a copying machine, a mechanism for preventing the peripheral equipment from falling is required in accordance with safety standards. However, especially in desktop type copiers where the copying machine body is placed on a mounting table, the width and height of the mounting table vary, so when additional peripheral equipment such as a sorter is installed, Mechanisms such as rails to prevent falling may not be properly attached. Even in the device disclosed in the above publication, if the height of the mounting table changes, the height of the guide device itself also changes, and the height position may not match the mounting hole on the sorter side. Therefore, depending on the dimensions of the mounting table, it is not possible to additionally equip peripheral equipment, which is very inconvenient.

An object of the present invention is to provide a peripheral device joint device for an image forming apparatus that allows easy attachment of a rail member to prevent peripheral devices from falling over even when the dimensions of the mounting table vary. There is a particular thing.

[0007]

A peripheral device joint device for an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is a joint device for connecting an image forming device and peripheral devices. and,
It includes a main body frame, a first side frame body, a second side frame body, and a pressure contact mechanism.

[0008] The main body frame can be arranged along the image forming apparatus, and a guide member on the side of peripheral equipment can be attached thereto. The first side frame body has a contact portion that comes into contact with one side of the image forming apparatus, and is attached to the main body frame. The second side frame has a contact portion that contacts the other side of the image forming apparatus, and is movably attached to the main body frame. The pressing mechanism is a mechanism for pressing the contact portions of the first side frame body and the second side frame body against one side and the other side of the image forming apparatus, respectively.

[0009]

[Operation] In the present invention, the second side frame is moved relative to the main body frame, and the distance between the abutting portions of the first side frame and the second side frame is adjusted to the dimensions of, for example, the mounting table of the image forming apparatus. Adjust accordingly. Then, the first side frame body and the second side frame body are respectively set on both sides of the mounting table, and the contact portions of each side frame body are pressed against the sides of the mounting table by the pressure contact mechanism. As a result, the joint device including the first side frame, the second side frame, and the main body frame can be easily and reliably attached to mounting tables of various sizes. A guide member on the peripheral device side is attached to the main body frame, thereby preventing the peripheral device from falling over.

0010

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a copying machine which is additionally equipped with a sorter as a peripheral device using a joint device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a copying machine main body 1 is placed on a mounting table 2. As shown in FIG. A document presser 3 is attached to the upper surface of the copying machine main body 1 so as to be openable and closable. Further, on one side of the copying machine main body 1, a paper feed cassette mounting port 4 into which a paper feed cassette is mounted is provided. Further, although not shown, the other side of the copying machine main body 1 is formed with an ejection port through which copied sheets are ejected. A sorter 5 is arranged on the side of the copying machine main body 1 to sort and process discharged sheets. The sorter 5 is provided with a plurality of bins 6 for storing sheets, respectively. Casters 7 and 8 are provided at the bottoms of the mounting table 2 and the sorter 5, respectively, so that they can be easily separated.

A joint device 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention is attached to the rear of the mounting table 2. As shown in FIG. A guide rail 11 is attached to this joint device 10, and the tip of the guide rail 11 is fixed to a guide rail attachment portion 12 of the sorter 5.

Next, the joint device 10 will be explained using FIGS. 2 to 5. 2 is a plan view of the joint device 10, FIG. 3 is a partial side view thereof, FIG. 4 is a front view thereof, and FIG. 5
is a partially sectional plan view.

The joint device 10 mainly includes a main body frame 13 disposed along the mounting table 2, a left side frame 14 disposed at one end of the main body frame 13, and a left frame body 14 disposed at the other end of the main body frame 13. It is composed of a right side frame 15 and a pressure contact mechanism 16 for pressing the left and right side frames 14 and 15 against both sides of the mounting table 2.

The main body frame 13 is a member having a substantially U-shaped cross section, and the end on the opening side (the end on the front side in the paper of FIG. 4) has a retaining member that protrudes inward at a predetermined length. Edge 17
is formed. Further, a mounting plate 18 is fixed to the lower surface of the main body frame 13. Mounting plate 1
Tap holes 21 for fixing the left and right leg members 19, 20 (see FIG. 1) are formed in 8. Moreover, a tap hole 22 for fixing the guide rail 11 to this joint device 10 is formed further outside the tap hole 21.

The left frame 14 is provided with a left contact portion 23 that contacts the side surface 2a of the mounting table 2 and is perpendicular to the left contact portion 23, and one end is slidably inserted into the main body frame 13. It has a left horizontal portion 24. The left contact part 23 is shown in Figure 4.
As is clear from the figure, it is formed of a member having a U-shaped cross section, and an elastic member 25 made of rubber or the like is attached to the opening side end, that is, the part that comes into contact with the side surface 2a of the mounting table 2. . Further, a rear contact member 26 that contacts the rear surface 2b of the mounting table 2 is attached to the left contact portion 23 with screws 27. As shown in FIG.
3a is formed so that the mounting position of the rear abutment member 26 can be adjusted. Further, a plurality of tapped holes 28 are formed in a straight line at a predetermined pitch on the upper and lower surfaces of the left horizontal portion 24. And, in this tap hole 28,
A screw 29 is adapted to be attached by passing through a hole (not shown) formed in the main body frame 13.

The right frame 15 has a right contact portion 30 that contacts the side surface of the mounting table 2, and a right horizontal portion 31 that is provided perpendicularly to the right contact portion 30. Similar to the left contact part 23, the right contact part 30 has an elastic member 32 at its open end.
is fixed, and furthermore, a rear abutment member 26 is attached with screws 27. The mounting position of the rear abutment member 26 can be adjusted in the same manner as described above.

The right horizontal portion 31 of the right side frame body 15 is a member having a U-shaped end face, and is fixed to the right abutment portion 30 in such a posture that the opening is located at the rear. One end thereof is slidably inserted into the main body frame 13. As shown in FIG. 5, the portion of the right horizontal portion 31 inserted into the main body frame 13 has elongated holes 31a formed in its upper and lower surfaces. A pin 33 passing through a hole formed in the main body frame 13 is inserted through the elongated hole 31a. Therefore, the right horizontal portion 31 is movable relative to the main body frame 13 over the range in which the elongated hole 31a is formed.

On the other hand, on the right horizontal portion 31, a lever 34 is rotatably supported by a fulcrum pin 35. Lever 3
4 is formed of a plate material having a U-shaped cross section, and a rotating shaft 3 is located near the portion supported by the fulcrum pin 35.
6 is rotatably attached. A hole is formed in the rotating shaft 36 in the direction intersecting the axis, and the pressure welding screw 3
7 is inserted through this hole. The pressure welding screw 37 is attached to the pin 3
It is inserted through a hole perpendicular to the shaft formed in 3, and a nut 38 for adjusting pressure contact force is screwed into the tip thereof. With such a configuration, the lever 34 can take a set position shown by a solid line in FIG. 5 and a set release position shown by a dotted line in FIG. and slide relative to each other.

FIG. 6 shows a bottom view of the guide rail 11 attached to the joint device 10.

As shown in this figure, the guide rail 11 includes a fixed frame 40 that is fixed to the main body frame 13 of the joint device 10, and a slide frame 4 that slides within this fixed frame 40.
1. As described above, the slide frame 41 is fixed to the guide rail attachment portion 12 of the sorter 5. The fixed frame 40 is a member having a U-shaped cross section, and is attached so that the opening is located at the bottom. Similarly, the slide frame 41 is a member having a U-shaped cross section, and is inserted into the fixed frame 40 so that the opening is positioned downward. A guide roller 42 is rotatably mounted on the bottom surface of the fixed frame 40, and the outer peripheral surface of the guide roller 42 comes into contact with the inner surface of the side wall of the slide frame 41. Furthermore, a guide rail roller 43 is rotatably provided at the end of the slide frame 41, and its outer circumferential surface abuts the inner surface of the side wall of the fixed frame 40. With such a configuration, the slide frame 41 is guided by the guide rollers 42 and the guide rail rollers 43 and smoothly slides within the fixed frame 40.

Next, the operation of mounting the joint device 10 on the mounting table 2 will be explained.

First, the leg member 19 fixed to the main body frame 13
, 20 on the floor. Next, the mounting position of the left side frame 14 is adjusted according to the width dimension of the mounting table 2. In this case, remove the screws 29, slide the left side frame 14 left and right with respect to the main body frame 13, select an appropriate tapped hole 28, and fix again with the screws 29. At this time, the rotation lever 34 is adjusted while remaining in the set release position shown by the dotted line in FIG.

When the position adjustment of the left side frame body 14 is completed, the both side frames 14 and 15 are brought into close contact with the sides of the mounting table 2 while the lever 34 is kept in the set release position. With the contact portions 23 and 30 of the side frames 14 and 15 in close contact with the side surfaces of the mounting table 2, the pressure contact force adjustment nut 38 is tightened, and the nut 38 is brought into contact with the pin 33. Next, move the lever 34 as shown in Figure 5.
When pushed down toward the mounting table 2 as shown by the arrow, the pin 33
is a long hole 31a formed in the right horizontal part 31 of the right side frame 15.
5, relative to the right in FIG. The contact portions 23 of each side frame body 14 and 15 are
, 30 are elastically deformed,
Grip the mounting table 2 firmly.

By installing such a joint device 10, when the sorter 5 is separated from the copying machine main body 1, the slide 41 of the guide rail 11 is supported by the fixed frame 40, and the sorter 5 is prevented from falling. .

[0025] In this embodiment, the joint device 10 can be firmly attached to various mounting tables having different sizes. Further, since the pressure contact mechanism 16 does not use a spring and grips by utilizing the elastic deformation of the elastic members 25 and 32 provided at the contact portions 23 and 30 of the both side frames 14 and 15,
For example, the entire mechanism can be made smaller compared to the case where a spring is used to obtain the pressure contact force.

Furthermore, since the leg members 19 and 20 are fixed to the main body frame 13 so that they do not move from side to side during the installation work of the joint device 10, the leg members 19 and 20 may get caught on the floor or cause damage to the floor. can be prevented.

[Other Embodiments] (a) FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the pressure contact mechanism 16. In this embodiment, the lever 34
is rotatably supported on the right horizontal portion 31 by a fulcrum pin 35, and a rotating shaft 36 is rotatably mounted on the lever 34, similar to the previous embodiment. A screw 37 is provided through the pin 33 and the rotating shaft 36, and a nut 38 is screwed onto the screw 37, as in the previous embodiment. Furthermore, in this embodiment, a spring support pin 45 is fixed to the main body frame 13, and a long hole 31 through which this pin 45 is inserted is provided in the right horizontal portion 31.
b is formed. Then, the support pin 45 and the pin 33
A spring 46 is provided between them.

In this embodiment, as in the previous embodiment, the contact portions 23 and 30 of both side frames 14 and 15 are brought into contact with both sides of the mounting table 2, and the nut 38 is tightened to contact the pin 33. Let them come into contact with you. If the lever 34 is pushed down from this state, the main body frame 13 and the right side frame 15 slide relative to each other, and the pin 33 moves rightward in FIG. 7. As a result, the spring 46 is expanded, and this spring force causes both side frames 14 and 15 to
The contact portions 23 and 30 press against the side surface of the mounting table 2. Therefore, in this embodiment, elastic members are not required at the abutting portions 23 and 30 of the frame bodies 14 and 15 on both sides. Moreover, the screws 37 and nuts 38 are used to prevent the frame bodies 14 and 1
Since the contact parts 23 and 30 of 5 are brought into contact with both sides of the mounting table 2, the spring 4 when the rotation lever 34 is pushed down
6 is always the same amount, and a stable pressing force can always be obtained.

(b) In the above embodiment, the adjustment nut 38 is screwed onto the screw 37 to adjust the distance between the pin 33 and the rotating shaft 36. You may also screw it in. In this way, the adjustment nut 38 becomes unnecessary.

(c) In the above embodiment, a sorter was used as an example of a peripheral device, but the present invention can be similarly applied to other peripheral devices such as a finisher.

(d) In the above embodiments, the joint device of the present invention is mounted on the mounting table of a copying machine, but it can of course be mounted on the main body of a console type copying machine.

[0032]

As described above, in the present invention, the side frame bodies are provided movably with respect to the main body frame, and the two side frame bodies are pressed against the sides of the image forming apparatus by the pressure contact mechanism.
Particularly in a desktop type image forming apparatus, it is possible to realize a joint device that can be firmly attached to mounting tables of various sizes.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a copying machine and a sorter supported by a joint device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Fig. 2] Plan view of the joint device.

[Figure 3] Partial side view of Figure 2

[Fig. 4] Front view of the joint device.

[Fig. 5] A partial plane cross-sectional view of the joint device.

[Figure 6]
Bottom view of the guide rail attached to the joint device

[Fig. 7] A partial plane cross-sectional view of a pressure welding mechanism according to another embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Copy machine body 2　Placement stand 5 Sorter 10 Joint device 13 Main body frame 14 Left side frame 15 Right side frame 16 Pressure welding mechanism

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A joint device for connecting an image forming apparatus and a peripheral device, the joint device being able to be arranged along the image forming apparatus and comprising a main body frame to which a guide member on the side of the peripheral device is attached, and the image forming device. a first side frame body attached to the main body frame; a contact part abutting on the other side of the image forming apparatus; the main body frame; a second side frame movably attached to the image forming apparatus, and pressure contacting portions of the first side frame and the second side frame, respectively, to one side and the other side of the image forming apparatus; A peripheral device joint device for an image forming apparatus, comprising a mechanism.