JPH06135096A - Cover opening and closing detector - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily confirm the mounting inferiority of a cassette by preventing the closing of a cover when the cassette is not perfectly mounted. CONSTITUTION:An attaching and detaching function equipped with an opening and closing cover 12 opened and closed when the ink cassette 7 having a recording medium agent stored therein is replaced with respect to a recording paper cassette 1 and the attaching mud detaching lever 9a performing the attachment and detachment of the ink cassette 7 is provided. The attaching and detaching lever 91 of the attaching and detaching function is arranged at a position preventing the closing operation of the cover 12 when the ink cassette 7 is not mounted or imperfectly mounted.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cover opening / closing detector for use in an image forming apparatus which uses a cassette storing a recording medium agent such as ink or toner and for detecting the mounting of the cassette.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, this type of image forming apparatus has been used,
The cover open / close detection device that detects the mounting of the cassette detects the attachment / detachment of the cassette storing the recording medium agent (hereinafter, the cassette storing the recording medium agent is simply referred to as a cassette), and jams the platen roller. The recognition and release of the recording paper that has entered is detected by a sensor and is displayed by lighting a lamp. Examples of this sensor include a well-known photo sensor, an ON / OFF switch, and a conductive / non-conductive terminal.

[0003]

By the way, using the sensor of the above-mentioned conventional example, mounting or non-mounting of the cassette, that is,
When detecting the presence or absence, there are the following drawbacks.

(1) Although the presence or absence of the cassette can be confirmed, it cannot be confirmed whether or not the cassette is completely installed. In particular,
In an inkjet recording device in which the cassette reciprocates,
If the cassette is incompletely arranged, the image may be disturbed,
Images may not be printed. Further, during recording, the cassette may come off and collide with a wall or the like, thereby damaging the cassette attaching / detaching mechanism, the reciprocating drive mechanism, or the like.

(2) The sensor for recognizing and releasing the recording paper is for taking out the recording paper when an abnormality such as a jam occurs, and is not used during the normal operation. The cost increases when the sensor having the relatively complicated structure is arranged. in this case,
The operator is performing the operation to clear the jam, and it is not easy to confirm the recognition or clear the recording paper.

The present invention solves the above problems in the prior art. As a first object of the present invention, the cover is prevented from closing when the cassette is not completely installed, and the cassette is not properly installed. Provided is a cover open / close detection device which can be easily checked.

A second object of the present invention is to provide a cover opening / closing detection device which enables visual and / or audio confirmation of the case where the cover is not closed, and can easily confirm a cassette mounting failure that causes the cover not to be closed. provide.

A third object of the present invention is to provide a cover open / close detection device which prevents the cover from closing when the platen roller is unwound on the recording sheet and allows easy confirmation of the platen roller unwinding.

A fourth object of the present invention is to provide a cover opening / closing detection device which enables visual and / or audio confirmation of the case where the cover is not closed, and can easily confirm a cassette mounting failure that causes the cover not to be closed. provide.

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 corresponding to the first object uses a cassette storing a recording medium agent for recording an image on a recording sheet. In the cover open / close detection device in the image forming apparatus, when the cassette is exchanged, the cover has an attachment / detachment function that includes an opening / closing cover that enables the exchange, and an attachment / detachment lever that attaches / detachs the cassette. The configuration is such that it is arranged at a position that prevents the operation of closing the cover in the case of an incompletely mounted state.

A second aspect corresponding to the second object is a cover open / close detection device in an image forming apparatus which uses a cassette storing a recording medium agent for recording an image on a recording sheet. In addition to the configuration, at the time of cassette replacement, the cover that opens and closes to enable this replacement also serves as a cover that opens and closes for purposes other than cassette replacement, and an opening and closing detection means that detects opening and closing of the cover and visual confirmation of opening and closing of the cover And / or a warning means for displaying by voice.

According to a third aspect of the invention, which corresponds to a third object, in a cover open / close detection device in an image forming apparatus for recording an image by winding a recording sheet around a platen roller, the release of releasing the winding inside the main body of the image forming apparatus. A release mechanism including a lever and a cover that opens and closes for operating the release lever are provided, and the release lever is arranged at a position that prevents the operation of closing the cover when the release lever is in the released state.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, which corresponds to a fourth object, is a cover opening / closing detection device in an image device for recording an image by winding a recording sheet around a platen roller. The cover that opens and closes to release the wrapping inside the body also serves as a cover that opens and closes for purposes other than this opening and closing. A warning means for displaying is provided.

[0014]

In the cover opening / closing detection device of the present invention having the above-mentioned structure, the detaching lever is arranged at a position for preventing the closing operation of the cover when the cassette is not mounted or is incompletely mounted. Therefore, when the cassette is not completely attached, the cover does not close, and it is possible to easily confirm the attachment failure of the cassette.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the operation of the first aspect, the opening and closing of the cover is detected and the opening and closing of the cover is visually and / or audibly displayed. And / or it is possible to easily confirm by voice, and it is possible to easily confirm the mounting failure of the cassette that causes the cover not to close.

In the third aspect, the release lever in the released state is
Since the cover is placed at a position that prevents the closing operation, the cover will not close when the recording paper is unwound, and the unwinding of the platen roller can be easily confirmed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the operation of the third aspect, the opening / closing of the cover is detected and the opening / closing of the cover is visually and / or audibly displayed. And / or it is possible to easily confirm by voice, and it is possible to easily confirm the improper mounting of the cassette that causes the cover not to be closed.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a cover open / close detection device of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an inkjet recording type facsimile apparatus to which the cover open / close detection apparatus of the present invention is applied.

In FIG. 1, the facsimile apparatus is
A paper feed roller 2 that conveys the recording paper P from the recording paper cassette 1, a separation claw 3 that separates the recording paper P, a platen roller 4, a platen roller winding mechanism 6, and winding by the platen roller 4. And a release lever 6a for releasing. Further, in this facsimile apparatus, an ink cassette (cartridge) 7, a recording head 8, an ink cassette attachment / detachment mechanism 9, a paper ejection roller 10, a detachment lever 9a for performing an exchange operation of the ink cassette 7, and an auxiliary ejection device. A paper roller 11 is provided.

Further, this facsimile apparatus has an opening / closing cover 12 which is opened / closed for maintenance such as replacement of the ink cassette 7 and removal of recording paper when a jam occurs, an interlock switch (SW) 13, and a paper ejection guide 14 ( Solid line), the second paper ejection guide 15, and the operation display unit 1 for displaying information on the status of transmission and reception, the entered telephone number, etc.
7, a display 17a in the operation display unit 17,
It has a plurality of display lamps 17b and a scanner unit 19.

Next, the operation and function of the configuration of this embodiment will be described. In FIG. 1, a recording paper cassette 1
The recording paper P from No. 1 is brought into contact with the separation claw 3 by the rotation of the paper feed roller 2 to be separated, and is further conveyed to the platen roller 4. The recording paper P conveyed to the platen roller 4
Is wound around the platen roller 4 by the platen roller winding mechanism 6 and is conveyed in accordance with the rotation of the platen roller 4.

The winding here is released by operating the release lever 6a described later. The recording paper P conveyed to a predetermined position is subjected to image printing by the recording head 8 integrated with the ink cassette 7. In this case, the recording paper P
Is ejected by being sandwiched between the paper ejection roller 10 and the auxiliary paper ejection roller 11, so that the distance between the recording head 8 and the recording paper P is kept constant and a high quality image is obtained. In addition,
The ink cassette 7 is held by the ink cassette attaching / detaching mechanism 9.

The ejected recording paper P is stocked in the movable paper ejection guide 14 (in the solid line) and the second paper ejection guide 15. The open / close cover 12 that opens and closes for maintenance such as replacement of the ink cassette 7 and removal of recording paper when a jam has occurred is detected by the interlock switch 13, and the detected content is displayed on the display 17a of the operation display unit 17. , The display lamp 17b or the like.

When the ink cassette 7 is replaced, the opening / closing cover 12 is opened in the state shown by the alternate long and short dash line to allow the detachable lever 9 to be attached.
Push a in the direction of arrow A as shown by the solid line in the figure,
The holding of the ink cassette 7 of the ink cassette attaching / detaching mechanism 9 is released, and the ink cassette 7 is taken out. Here, if the opening / closing cover 12 is tried to be closed while the detachable lever 9a is released, a part of the lever comes into contact with a part of the opening / closing cover 12 due to the movable difference d1 of the lever and the opening / closing cover 12 is completely closed. I can't.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a detailed structure of the ink cassette attaching / detaching mechanism 9. In FIG. 2, this example
A portion serving as a rotation fulcrum 20 that constitutes the detachable lever 9a,
It has a part 21 following the part of the rotation fulcrum 20. Further, the guide groove portion 2 formed in the ink cassette 7
2 and a rotation stop member 23 fixed to the ink cassette 7 for abutting and stopping the rotation of the detachable lever 9a.

Next, the operation and function of the ink cassette attaching / detaching mechanism 9 will be described. In FIG. 2, the detachable lever 9a rotates in the directions of arrows B and C at the rotation fulcrum 20 to regulate the lateral direction of the detachable lever 9a. The end point of the detachable lever 9a has a shape into which the part 21 of the ink cassette 7 is fitted. On the ink cassette 7 side, the guide groove portion 2 of the portion 21 is provided.
2 is provided, the guide groove portion 22 has a shallow groove along the direction of the arrow C, and the final point is lowered by one step to form a concave hole, and the portion 21 is fitted into this hole to be removed. The lever 9a is locked.

Further, when the ink cassette 7 is taken out in the direction of the arrow D, the detaching lever 9a is always acted on by its own weight or pressure or suction (not shown) so as to rotate in the direction of the arrow B, and the rotation stop is stopped. The rotation is defined by the material 23. Therefore, when the ink cassette 7 is inserted again in the direction of arrow E, the lever portion 21 and the guide groove portion 22 of the ink cassette 7 are fitted together.

The illustrated attachment / detachment lever 9a of the ink cassette attachment / detachment mechanism 9 is not limited to this structure. Various structures can be used as long as they have similar functions.

Similarly, a part of the release lever 6a is opened and closed for the release lever 6a for removing the recording paper from the platen roller 4, that is, for removing the jam when the paper is jammed during recording. It is possible to use a structure in which the opening / closing cover 12 cannot be completely closed by contacting a part of the cover 12.

In FIG. 1, the release lever 6a is the opening / closing cover 1.
2 shows a case in which the opening operation of the opening / closing cover cannot be prevented directly from the position 2 apart from the above. When the release lever 6a is operated after moving the paper discharge guide 14 and the opening / closing cover 12 is closed with the release lever 6a being released, a part of the release lever 6a is partially discharged. The discharge guide 14 does not completely close due to the contact with a part of the sheet. As a result, the discharge guide 14 can prevent the opening / closing cover 12 from closing. In this case, it is possible to indirectly block the closing operation of the open / close cover by disposing the release lever 6a.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example of a release mechanism for opening and closing the open / close cover 12 to release a jam or the like. In FIG. 3, the release mechanism is provided with a pressure roller or pressure roller 25 for pressing the platen roller 4 around the fulcrum R when the release lever 6a is moved in the directions of arrows G and F.

Next, the operation and function of the detaching mechanism of the ink cassette 7 will be described. The pressure roller or pressure roller 25 and the release lever 6a are connected by a link structure, and the pressure roller or pressure roller is moved by movement in the directions of arrows G and F with the intermediate portion of the release lever 6a as the rotation fulcrum R. 25 moves in the directions of the arrows. The winding mechanism around the platen roller 4 is not limited to the illustrated example.

As described above, since the opening / closing cover 12 cannot be completely closed by disposing the detachable lever 9a or the like, it becomes possible for the operator to recognize the abnormality of the apparatus. Further, when the open / close cover 12 is provided with an open / close detecting unit such as the interlock switch 13, the set state of each lever can be detected only by detecting the open / close of the cover. In this case, the warning display is that the opening / closing cover 12 is not completely closed as shown in FIG. 1, that the release lever 6a of the ink cassette 7 is not properly arranged, or the release lever 6a of the recording paper cassette 1 is not properly arranged. If the factor is displayed on the display 17a or the like, the abnormality can be quickly grasped.

FIG. 4 (a) shows an abnormality warning in characters on the display 17a. Here, "ERR
OR 1, Cover Open Ink Kaijo Lever Fry? , Yoshi Open Ink Kaijo Lever Fry? Is displayed in characters. FIG. 4 (b) shows that the indicator lamp 17b lights up abnormally, and in this lighting, "cover open, ink / paper release lever failure".
Is shown. In addition to such a visual display, a voice warning may be sent from a synthetic voice output unit (not shown).

[0035]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the detachable lever is arranged at a position that prevents the closing operation of the cover when the cassette is not mounted or is incompletely mounted. The cover is prevented from closing when the cassette is not completely mounted, and the cassette mounting defect can be easily confirmed. Claim 2
In addition to the operation of the configuration according to claim 1, since the opening / closing of the cover is detected and the opening / closing of the cover is visually and / or audibly displayed, it is easy to visually and / or audibly indicate that the cover is not closed. Therefore, it is possible to easily confirm the mounting failure of the cassette that causes the cover not to be closed. According to the third aspect of the invention, since the release lever in the release state is arranged at the position that prevents the operation of closing the cover, the cover does not close when the recording sheet is unwound by the platen roller. This has the effect of easily confirming the unwinding of the platen roller. In the fourth aspect, in addition to the operation of the configuration of the third aspect, the opening / closing of the cover is detected and the opening / closing of the cover is visually and / or audibly displayed. This makes it easy to confirm by voice, and has an effect that it is possible to easily confirm the mounting failure of the cassette that causes the cover not to close.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of an inkjet recording type facsimile apparatus to which a cover open / close detection device of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a detailed configuration of an ink cassette attaching / detaching mechanism in the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing an example of a release mechanism in the embodiment.

FIG. 4A is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which warnings are displayed as characters on a display. (B) is an explanatory view showing an example of displaying a warning with a display lamp lit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Recording Paper Cassette 2 Paper Feed Roller 3 Separation Claw 4 Platen Roller 6 Platen Roller Winding Mechanism 6a Release Lever 7 Ink Cassette (Cartridge) 8 Recording Head 9 Ink Cassette Desorption Mechanism 9a Desorption Lever 10 Paper Ejection Roller 11 Auxiliary Ejection Roller 12 Open / close cover 13 Interlock switch 14, 15 Paper ejection guide 17 Operation display section 17a Display 17b Display lamp 19 Scanner unit 21 part 22 Guide groove 23 Rotation stop 25 Pressure roller or pressure roller

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Internal reference number FI Technical display location G03G 15/08 115 9222-2H G12B 9/04 6947-2F

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A cover open / close detection device in an image forming apparatus using a cassette storing a recording medium agent for recording an image on a recording sheet, the cover being opened / closed when the cassette is replaced. And having a detaching function including a detaching lever for detaching the cassette, and disposing the detaching lever at a position that prevents the operation of closing the cover when the cassette is not attached or is incompletely attached. A characteristic cover opening / closing mechanism. 2. A cover open / close detection device in an image forming apparatus that uses a cassette that stores a recording medium agent for recording an image on a recording sheet, in addition to the configuration according to claim 1, when the cassette is replaced. , The opening / closing cover that enables this replacement also serves as the opening / closing cover for purposes other than the above cassette replacement,
A cover opening / closing detection device comprising: an opening / closing detection means for detecting opening / closing of the cover; and a warning means for visually and / or audibly displaying the opening / closing of the cover. 3. A cover opening / closing detection device in an image device for recording an image by winding a recording sheet around a platen roller, and a release mechanism including a release lever for releasing the winding in the image forming apparatus body. A cover opening / closing detection device, comprising: a cover for opening / closing for operating a release lever; and the release lever is arranged at a position that prevents an operation of closing the cover when the release lever is in a released state. 4. A cover open / close detection device in an image device for recording an image by winding a recording sheet around a platen roller, and in addition to the configuration according to claim 3, releasing the winding inside the image forming apparatus main body. The cover for opening / closing serves also as a cover for opening / closing for a purpose other than this opening / closing, and is provided with an opening / closing detection means for detecting the opening / closing of the cover and a warning means for visually and / or audibly displaying the opening / closing of the cover. A cover open / close detection device characterized in that