JPH0667479A - For image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a exhauster for an image forming device, which does not stick out of the main body of the image forming device and is easily operated for changing an exhaust direction. CONSTITUTION:Exhaust openings 12, 13, and 14 and provided at plural positions in the main body 1a of the image forming device, and connected via exhaust connection pipes 9, 10, and 11, respectively, to pipe openings separately arranged in the main body 1a. On the other hand, an operation member 3 for the selective setting of a fan unit in relation to each pipe opening is so provided that it can be operated from the external part of the main body 1a.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an exhaust device for an image forming apparatus having a plurality of exhaust ports which can be selectively used in an image forming apparatus main body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus in which the air inside the apparatus main body is discharged to the outside by driving an exhaust fan, and the apparatus main body having a plurality of exhaust ports that can be selectively used Already proposed.

For example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1-257977, a detachable fan unit can be driven to exhaust air from one exhaust port, and one exhaust port can be closed with a lid to exhaust the other. There is described an electrophotographic recording apparatus in which a fan unit can be attached to the mouth to exhaust air from the other exhaust port.

Further, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-276156, a plurality of auxiliary exhaust ports which are opened in different directions of the main body and a closing member which can selectively close the auxiliary exhaust ports are provided to the outside. An auxiliary exhaust device capable of discharging exhaust gas in any direction is described.

[0005]

By the way, in the former case of the above-mentioned conventional example, when setting / changing the exhaust port, the fan unit needs to be attached / detached each time, which is not troublesome. Further, in the latter case, since the auxiliary exhaust device formed separately is attached to the main body of the copying machine, that portion projects and is bulky, so that there is a problem in that the degree of freedom in layout of the main body of the copying machine is restricted.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances.
An object of the present invention is to provide an exhaust device for an image forming apparatus, which does not have a portion protruding to the outside of the main body of the image forming apparatus and in which an operation of changing the exhaust direction is easy.

[0007]

The exhaust device of the image forming apparatus of the present invention has means for solving the above-mentioned problems as follows. That is, exhaust ports are opened at a plurality of positions of the main body of the image forming apparatus, and each exhaust port is communicated with a pipe port separately arranged in the main body through an exhaust connection pipe, while a fan unit is connected. Is provided so that it can be operated from the outside of the main body.

[0008]

[Operation] By operating the operation member provided on the main body,
The fan unit can be selectively and appropriately set for the pipe opening, and the air can be discharged to the outside from the exhaust port communicating with the pipe opening. That is, the exhaust direction can be appropriately selected by operating the operation member.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of an exhaust device for an image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus 1. Reference numeral 2 is an operation panel for instructing a copying operation, 3 is an operation member for changing the setting of the exhaust position, and a first setting position on the operation panel 31. 31
a, a second setting position 31b, and a third setting position 31c can be manually and variably set, and an operating member 3 thereof is provided inside the apparatus main body 1a so as to be vertically slidable. 3 (see FIG. 3), and the fan member 4 is opened by the operation member 3 in the array plate 5 arranged in the vertical direction.
It is possible to selectively correspond to 6, 7, and 8, respectively.

The above-mentioned openings 6, 7 and 8 are provided with exhaust gas connecting pipes 9, 10 and 11, respectively, through a first exhaust port 12 opened at the upper left front end of the apparatus body 1a and the back of the apparatus body 1a. Is connected to the second exhaust port 13 opened at the upper end of the device and the third exhaust port 14 opened at the upper corner of the apparatus body 1a. Therefore,
From the first exhaust port 12 when the operating member 3 is in the first set position 31a, and the second exhaust port when it is in the second set position 31b.
13 and from the third exhaust port 14 when in the third set position 31c, inside the apparatus main body 1a (see FIG. 2).
The air can be discharged to the outside. Therefore, the exhaust direction can be appropriately set / changed in accordance with the arrangement position of the apparatus main body 1a and the ambient conditions at that time.
It is possible to prevent the exhaust port from being blocked by an obstacle and reduce the exhaust capability, and also to prevent the surrounding people from feeling uncomfortable.

More specifically, the interior of the apparatus main body 1a is provided with a copying chamber 1b (see FIG. 2) for performing a copying operation by means of a partition plate 15 (see FIG. 1), and for ventilation within the copying chamber 1b. The exhaust chamber 1c (see FIG. 1) is divided into two parts,
The fan unit 4, the array plate 5, the exhaust connection pipes 9 and 1 described above.
0, 11 and the like are stored in the exhaust chamber 1c.

The fan unit 4 (see FIG. 3) is formed in a compact thin shape in which four blades are driven by a motor supported by a rectangular frame 4a, and the frame 4a is fixed to a partition plate 15. A pair of guide frames 1
One end of each of wires 22 and 23 wound around pulleys 20 and 21 pivotally supported on the upper ends of the guide frames 17 and 18 is connected to both ends thereof by being guided vertically along 7 and 18. Wire
A counterweight 19 is hung on the other ends of 22, 23.
Further, the expandable bellows blinds 24 and 25 are fixed at one end to the upper and lower ends of the frame 4a, and the other ends are fixed to the upper end and the lower end of the array plate 5, respectively. A communication hole 26 (see FIG. 2) is opened in the partition plate 15 over the movable range of the fan unit 4 in the vertical direction, and the communication hole 26 is formed through the fan unit 4 in each of the openings 6, 7, 8 of the array plate 5. It corresponds to.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a support shaft 27 projecting from one side of the frame 4a is loosely fitted in a long hole 18a formed in one of the guide frames 18 to support the support. Axis 27
The operating member 3 is fitted to and is biased and supported outward by the spring 28. A meshing portion 3b having horizontal teeth is formed integrally with the knob portion 3a formed on the front side of the operation member 3, and the meshing portion 3b is formed in each opening on the back side of the operation panel 31. It meshes with a meshing portion 31b formed at positions corresponding to 6, 7, and 8 so that the position of the fan unit 4 can be set easily and surely. That is, by pushing the knob portion 3a inward against the biasing force of the spring 28, the meshing portions 3b and 31b are disengaged from each other, and the fan unit 4 is released.
Can be moved up and down, and when the knob portion 3a is released by moving it to a desired setting position, the engagement of both engagement portions 3b and 31b is formed by the urging force of the spring 28, and the fan unit 4 is placed at that setting position. Stable and reliable setting is possible.

The fan unit 4 is, for example, the second setting position 31.
When set to b, the fan unit 4 corresponds to the opening 7, while the upper and lower bellows blinds 24 and 25 blind the other two openings 6 and 8, and the air in the copying chamber 1b is opened from the communication hole 26. The gas is exhausted to 7 and is discharged to the outside through the exhaust connection pipe 10 and the exhaust port 13 on the back.

As described above, the first exhaust port 12, the second exhaust port 13, or the third exhaust port 14 can be operated by an extremely simple operation.
It is possible to appropriately set or change the exhaust direction by selecting any of the above. Since the respective exhaust ports 12, 13, 14 are opened on the surface of the image forming apparatus 1a without protruding from the apparatus main body 1a, the surrounding space is not restricted and the degree of freedom in the layout of the image forming apparatus 1 is improved. .

Next, the structure of the apparatus main body 1a for forming an image will be described. The sheet feeding cassettes 34 and 35 are removably fitted into the lower front surface of the apparatus main body 1a, and the upper front surface thereof. A front cover 46 that can be opened and closed toward the front is provided so that internal maintenance and inspection can be performed easily. A discharge tray 47 for accumulating sheets of paper after copying is erected on the upper portion of the apparatus main body 1a in a state of being inclined rearward.

On the other hand, in the copying chamber 1b inside the apparatus main body 1a, sheet feeding rollers 36 and 37 for discharging and feeding the sheets in the sheet feeding cassettes 34 and 35, and a conveying means composed of two pairs of rollers.
38, a developing unit 40 including a photosensitive drum 39, an exposure unit 41, a fixing unit 42, a paper discharge roller pair 43, a paper discharge chute 44, a discharge roller pair 45, and the like are arranged.

Inside the copying room 1b, a considerable amount of heat is emitted from the light source, the heater and the driving source during operation, but the hot air is a communication hole formed in the partition plate 15.
The fan unit 4 can forcibly discharge the air from the outside by 26, and as described above, the exhaust direction can be appropriately selected by the operation member 3 without attaching a separate member. Moreover, each exhaust port 1
As described above, since 2, 13, 14 are provided on the surface of the apparatus main body 1a, the layout space of the image forming apparatus 1 is improved without limiting the surrounding space.

[0019]

As described above, according to the exhaust device of the image forming apparatus of the present invention, exhaust ports are opened at a plurality of positions of the main body of the image forming apparatus, and the exhaust ports are separately provided in the main body. Since the main body is provided with an operation member that communicates with the pipe openings arranged in the above through the exhaust connection pipes, and that allows the fan unit to correspond to and set the selection for each of the pipe openings, the image forming apparatus is provided. There is no part protruding outside the body,
The degree of freedom in layout is improved, and the conversion operation in the exhaust direction becomes extremely easy.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the fan unit.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the operation member.

FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional view of the same.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image forming apparatus, 1a ... Main body, 3 ... Operation member, 4 ... Fan unit, 6, 7, 8 ... Tube opening (opening), 9, 10, 11
… Exhaust pipes, 12, 13, 14… Exhaust ports.

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Hiroki Morishita 1-228 Tamatsukuri, Chuo-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture Mita Kogyo Co., Ltd. (72) Makoto Eki 1-2-2 Tamatsukuri, Chuo-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Mita Kogyo Co., Ltd. (72) Keiji Ban, Inventor 1-228 Tamatsukuri, Chuo-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Mita Kogyo Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An exhaust port is provided at a plurality of positions of a main body of an image forming apparatus, and each exhaust port is communicated with a pipe port separately arranged in the main body through an exhaust connection pipe. An exhaust device for an image forming apparatus, wherein an operating member for selectively corresponding and setting a fan unit to each of the tube openings is provided so as to be operated from outside the main body.