JPH07112564A - Image formation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To mount/demount an upper case, a lower case and a guide for hand insertion on a printer by a simple operation so that these components are freely mounted/demounted. CONSTITUTION:A lower case 4 where the frame 13 of a mechanical part is accommodated and an upper case 5 are constituted in a printer device so that both cases can be engaged in a freely detachable manner by engagement claws 41, 49 and engagement holes 42, 48 provided in an inner surface near a part where the cases are fitted into each other. In addition, the sheet insertion part 11 of a guide 10 for manual sheet feeding formed in an internally hollow shape by an upper plate 8 and a lower plate 9, is positioned in front of the part where the upper case 5 fits into the lower case 4, and a sheet guide-out part to which the upper plate 8 and the lower plate 9 are in close proximity at the guide 10, is arranged so that the sheet guide-out part comes closer to a frame 13. Further, the outer periphery of the sheet insertion part 11 is held by an opening 56 with a notch formed in the part where the upper case 5 and the lower case 4 are fitted together. On the other hand, engagement claws 14a, 14b provided at the sheet guide-out part of the guide 10 are engaged with the front of the frame 13.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a structure of an image forming apparatus such as a printer which can manually feed paper, and more particularly to a structure of a case for covering a mechanical portion.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, an automatic paper feeder for mounting cut sheets in a stacked state and feeding the sheets one by one, and one sheet by hand It is known to have a so-called manual paper feeding unit for feeding paper one by one. In addition, in this manual paper feeding unit, generally, a paper feeding port is simply opened at a position adjacent to the automatic paper feeding unit, or a paper feeding port opened at a position distant from a place where the automatic paper feeding device is installed. It is known that a paper receiving plate is removably attached to the outer surface of the main body case adjacently, and a paper receiving plate is rotatably or foldably attached to the main body case.

[0003]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the former,
That is, even if the paper feed port is simply opened at a position adjacent to the automatic paper feed unit, or if there is a paper receiving plate like the latter, the printing unit ( It is necessary to separately provide a guide body for guiding the paper in the image forming portion), and a mounting structure of the guide body must be devised. Further, in the latter case, since the paper receiving plate is located outside the main body case, it is bulky.

The present invention has been made to solve these problems, and the manual paper feeding section can be formed at substantially the same time as the case assembly work in an image forming apparatus such as a printer.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus in which those operations are also simplified.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus of the present invention comprises a lower case accommodating a mechanical section in an image forming apparatus such as a printer and an upper case covering an upper side of the mechanical section. , A manual feed formed by an upper plate and a lower plate to have an internal hollow shape, which is configured to be detachably fitted by a convex engagement portion and a concave engagement portion provided on the inner surface near the mating portion of the both. The guide body for the paper, the paper insertion portion of which is located on one side of the joining portion between the upper case and the lower case,
An opening formed by arranging the paper lead-out portion where the upper plate and the lower plate of the manual feed guide body are close to each other so as to be close to the mechanism unit, and forming the notch at the outer periphery of the paper insert portion at the joining portion between the upper case and the lower case. While sandwiched by the section, the locking section provided on the sheet lead-out section of the guide body is detachably locked to the mechanism section.

[0006]

EXAMPLES Next, examples embodying the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an ink jet type printer device 1 as an example of an image forming apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the paper feed tray 2 is mounted on a paper feed unit 3 on the upper surface of the main body of the printer device 1. 3 is an exploded perspective view of components of the apparatus 1, and FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of a main part. The main body of the printer device 1 includes a lower case 4 accommodating a mechanical section 6 of the printer, a board 7 for electronic control, a drive motor (not shown) and the like, and an upper case 5 covering the mechanical section 6 from above. As will be described, the lower case 4 and the upper case 5 are fitted to each other by fitting means at the mating portion by a convex engaging portion and a concave engaging portion. An operation panel section 36 is provided on one side of the upper case 5.

5 to 7 show a mating portion and engaging means on the rear side of the lower case 4 and the upper case 5, and the upper end of the rear side plate 4a of the lower case 4 is integrally formed with a thin edge portion 40. The inwardly projecting laterally long engaging claws 41 as one example of the convex engaging portion are formed on the inner surface upper portion of the rear side plate 4a.
To provide. On the other hand, on the rear side plate 5a of the upper case 5, an engaging piece 43 with a hole 42 as a concave engaging portion that fits into the engaging claw 41 is provided so as to project downward. Further, a rib 44 projecting from the inner surface of the rear side plate 5a is integrally formed in the lateral vicinity of the engaging piece 43, and the lower case 4 is provided between the lower end of the rib 44 and the inner surface of the rear side plate 5a. A cutout locking portion 45 that is open downward is provided on the edge portion 40 of the above so as to fit from the front and back. As a result, the rear side plate 5a of the upper case 5 is brought closer to the rear side plate 4a of the lower case 4 from the inner side, and as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. The engaging hole 42 of the engaging piece 43 is fitted into the engaging claw 41 almost at the same time as the fitting is performed and the positioning is performed.

8 to 10 show a lower case 4 and an upper case 5.
The lower case 4 shows the mating part and the engaging means on the front side with
The upper end of the front side plate 4b is integrally formed with a thin edge portion 46, and the engaging piece 47 protruding upward from the inner surface of the front side plate 4b has a horizontally long shape that penetrates in the front-rear direction as a concave engagement. Engaging holes 48 are formed. Further, a laterally long engaging claw 49 that projects inward as one embodiment of a convex engaging portion is provided at a portion of the upper case 5 near the lower inner surface of the front side plate 5b. The engaging claws 4 are provided on the inner surface of the front side plate 5b of the upper case 5.
A vertically long rib 50 is integrally provided in the vicinity of the lateral side of 9, and is fitted in the edge portion 46 of the lower case 4 from the front and back between the lower end of the rib 50 and the inner surface of the front side plate 5b. A notch locking portion 51 that is open downward is provided. As a result, the front side plate 5b of the upper case 5 is brought closer to the front side plate 4b of the lower case 4 from the outside, and as shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. The hole 48 of the engaging piece 47 is fitted into the engaging claw 49 almost at the same time as the fitting is performed and the positioning is performed.

As described above, by bringing the upper case 5 closer to the lower case 4 from the front direction to the rear direction, the engaging means at the front and rear side plate portions of both cases 4 and 5 can be engaged. Therefore, it is possible to perform the assembly work without misalignment or dropping. As can be understood from FIGS. 3 and 4, the front end side of the manual insertion guide body 10 formed in a horizontally elongated shape having an inner hollow shape by the upper plate 8 and the lower plate 9 is a paper insertion portion 11 having a large vertical opening area. On the rear end side of the manual guide body 10, there is formed a paper lead-out portion 12 in which the upper plate 8 and the lower plate 9 are close to each other. Then, in the paper lead-out section 12, a plurality of horizontally long flat locking claws 14 protruding rearward from the lower plate 9 are provided.
a and a locking claw 14b having a circular cross section are formed, and further, a pair of left and right elastically locking locking claws 52 are integrally formed on the sheet insertion portion 11 side from the lower plate 9 rearward. The locking claws 14a and 14b may be projected from the upper plate 8 side.

On the other hand, the metal plate frame 13 of the mechanism portion 6 which is placed on the bottom plate of the lower case 4 and fixed by screws (not shown), as shown in FIGS. 3, 15 and 16.
It has a box shape that is open upward, and a horizontal gap 16 that communicates with the horizontal opening of the sheet outlet 12 is formed in the middle of the front plate 13a in the vertical direction, and is bent toward the front side of the front plate 13a. The bracket 53 is provided with locking holes 54 and 55 corresponding to the horizontally long locking claw 14a and the locking claw 14b having a round cross section.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, on one side surface (front side in the embodiment) of the mating portion of the lower case 4 and the upper case 5, the paper insertion which is the front end side of the manual guide body 10 is inserted. An opening 56 into which the part 11 can be fitted is formed in a notch (on the lower case 4 side in the embodiment), and further, the locking claw 52 is fitted and locked to the front side plate 4b of the lower case 4. Stop groove 5
7, 57 are stepped. It should be noted that the opening 56 may be formed as a cutout across the lower case 4 and the upper case 5, or may be formed only on the upper case 5 side.

As a result, before the upper case 5 is covered on the lower case 4, the bracket 53 on the front plate 13a side of the frame 13 is provided on the rear end side of the manual guide body 10 with respect to the locking holes 54 and 55. The locking claws 14a and 14b are respectively inserted, and then the lower case 4 is fitted into the opening 56 on the front side of the paper insertion portion 11 which is the front end side of the manual insertion guide body 10 and is locked in each locking groove 57. When the claws 52 are fitted, the manual guide body 10 is fixed to the front side plate 4b of the lower case 4 and the frame 13.
It is mounted across and and can be positioned without lateral displacement. Next, as described above, when the upper case 5 is covered and fitted, the sheet insertion portion 11 which is the front end side of the manual guide body 10 is sandwiched between the upper case 5 and the lower case 4 and cannot move up and down. Become.

The sheet 15a inserted into the manual guide body 10 is guided to the upper peripheral surface of the platen 17 through a gap 16 formed in the frame 13 in a lateral direction, and passes between the sheet and the ink jet type printing section 18. Then, the sheet is discharged from the sheet discharge port 19a formed in the top cover 19 detachably mounted on the upper surface of the upper case 5 toward the sheet receiving plate 20 arranged on the front surface side of the sheet feeding tray 2. . The lower case 4, the upper case 5, the manual guide body 10 and the top cover 19 are each made of synthetic resin.

As can be understood from FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the sheet feeding tray 2 is provided with a coil spring 22 on a portion of the tray main body 21 having an open top surface and having a rectangular shape in plan view, near the lower portion of the bottom plate 21a.
It is mounted so as to rotate up and down around a support pin 24 on the upper end side of a support plate 23 that is biased upward via.
Further, an operating lever 25 extending along the surface of the bottom plate 21a to the outside of the one side plate 21b allows the support plate 23 to be biased by the coil spring 22 and the biasing prohibited state in which the support plate 23 is brought close to the bottom plate 21a. The position can be selectively retained in and. Further, the base portion of a metal support rod 26 having a U-shape in a plan view can be detachably attached to the upper end side of the bottom plate 21a.

On both left and right side plate portions of the tray body 21, fitting portions 27 and 27 for supporting the left and right side ends of the wide board portion of the sheet receiving plate 20 and the sheet receiving plate 20 cannot be slid down. Engaging means composed of stopper portions 28, 28 that are supported by the above is provided. Further, the paper feed tray 2 is configured to be detachably mounted diagonally downward on the support portion 35 of the paper feed portion 3 in the upper case 5.

The paper feed roller 30 of the paper feed unit 3 having a substantially D shape in a side view and a large circumferential surface having a large friction coefficient and the paper pressing member 31 made of a synthetic resin and having a substantially rectangular shape in a side view are the top covers. The partition plate 1 is provided so as to be adjacent to the sheet discharge port 19a at 19
A plurality of paper feed rollers 3 are attached to a rotary drive shaft 32 provided on the lower surface side of 9b (see FIGS. 3 and 4) and intermittently rotated by a motor (not shown).
0 is fixed so as to rotate integrally. Similarly, elastic locking claws (not shown) in the plurality of paper pressing members 31 are locking grooves (not shown) formed at appropriate portions of the rotary drive shaft 32. ), Is immovable in the longitudinal direction of the rotary drive shaft 32, and is loosely fitted irrespective of the rotation of the rotary drive shaft 32.

The paper pressing body 31 is elongated upward from the lower end of the paper feed tray 2 with the axis of the rotary drive shaft 32 interposed therebetween, and the lower end side of the paper pressing body 31 is heavy due to the difference in thickness of ribs and the like. Is formed. The pressing surface 31a, which is one of the long sides of the paper pressing body 31, is capable of abutting against the uppermost surface of the paper 15b stacked on the support plate 23, and the distance from the axis to the pressing surface 31a. The dimension is larger than the dimension up to the flat peripheral surface of the paper feed roller 30,
Moreover, it is set to be smaller than the dimension of the paper feed roller 30 up to the circumferential surface. As a result, the upper and lower pressing surfaces 31a prevent contact between the flat peripheral surface of the paper feed roller 30 and the surface of the stacked paper 15b, and allow pressure contact with the circumferential surface of the paper supply roller 30. It is configured as follows.

When a paper feed command is issued, the rotary drive shaft 32 makes one full rotation in the clockwise direction in FIG. 4, the paper feed roller 30 rotates, and the circumferential surface thereof is a pressing surface 31a of the paper pressing body 31. When it comes to the side, the paper 15 with the circumferential surfaces laminated
Since the surface of b is rotated while being pressed against it, only the topmost sheet 15b of the stacked sheets is the sheet feeding tray 2.
The sheet is fed from the lower end side in the direction of the platen 17. Next, when the flat peripheral surface comes to the pressing surface 31a side of the paper pressing body 31, the flat peripheral surface of the sheet feeding roller 30 does not contact the surface of the stacked paper 15b, and the paper pressing body 31 is driven to rotate. Since it is loosely fitted regardless of the rotation of the shaft 32,
Since the pressing surface 31a can hold the state of pressing the surface of the paper 15b, double paper feeding is not performed.

In the present invention, it goes without saying that the printing unit 18 can adopt various types such as a dot impact type and a thermal type such as a thermal head in addition to the ink jet type.

[0020]

As described above, the image forming apparatus of the present invention includes the lower case that houses the mechanism portion of the image forming apparatus such as a printer and the upper case that covers the upper portion of the mechanism portion. A manual insertion guide that is configured to be detachably fitted by a convex engagement portion and a concave engagement portion provided on the inner surface near the mating portion of the both, and is formed in an inner hollow shape by an upper plate and a lower plate. The sheet insertion section of the body is located on one side of the mating section of the upper case and the lower case, and the sheet lead-out section in which the upper plate and the lower plate of the manual guide body are close to each other is brought close to the mechanism section. , And the outer periphery of the paper insertion portion is sandwiched by an opening formed in a notch at a mating portion of the upper case and the lower case, while a locking portion provided in a paper delivery portion of the guide body is provided in the mechanical portion. It is detachably locked to.

Therefore, the upper case is mounted on the lower case in a state where the manual guide body is mounted across the opening on one side of the lower case and the mechanism portion housed in the lower case. Since it is only necessary to cover and fit the convex engaging portion and the concave engaging portion of the mating portion of both cases, the manual paper feeding portion can be formed at approximately the same time as the case assembling work, and those operations are also easy. Has the effect of becoming. Further, since the entire manual feed guide body is completely stored in the upper and lower cases, it does not become bulky, and the entire image forming apparatus can be made compact, and the paper feed-out section of the manual feed guide body approaches the mechanical section. Since it can be positioned at the above position, there is no need to provide a separate paper guide body, and the structure is extremely simple.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a printer device.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the paper feed tray is attached to the paper feed unit on the upper surface of the main body of the printer device with the top cover removed.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of upper and lower cases and the like.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of a main part.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a rear plate side of a lower case and an upper case.

6 is a sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along the line VII-VII of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing front plate sides of a lower case and an upper case.

9 is a sectional view taken along the line IX-IX of FIG.

10 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a bottom view of the manual insertion guide body.

12 is a sectional view taken along the line XII-XII of FIG.

13 is a sectional view taken along the line XIII-XIII of FIG.

14 is a sectional view taken along the line XIV-XIV of FIG.

FIG. 15 is a partially cutaway side view of the frame.

16 is a front view taken along the line XVI-XVI of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer device 4 Lower case 5 Upper case 6 Mechanism part 8 Upper plate 9 Lower plate 10 Manual insertion guide body 11 Paper insertion part 12 Paper ejection part 13 Frames 14a, 14b Locking claw 16 Gap 17 Platen 18 Printing part 19 Top cover 19a Discharge port 41,49 Engaging claw 42,48 Engaging hole 43,47 Engaging piece 52 Engaging claw 53 Bracket 54,55 Engaging hole 56 Opening 57 Engaging groove

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A convex case engaging portion and a concave case provided on an inner surface of a lower case accommodating a mechanism portion of an image forming apparatus such as a printer and an upper case covering an upper portion of the mechanism portion in the vicinity of a mating portion of the both. The manual insertion guide member, which is configured to be detachably fitted by the engaging portion, is formed in an inner hollow shape by the upper plate and the lower plate, and the paper insertion portion of the manual insertion guide member is formed between the upper case and the lower case. The paper lead-out portion, which is located on one side of the aligning portion and in which the upper plate and the lower plate of the manual feed guide body are close to each other, is arranged so as to be close to the mechanical portion, and the outer periphery of the paper insert portion is divided into the upper case and the lower case. The image forming apparatus is characterized in that an engaging portion provided in a sheet leading-out portion of the guide body is detachably engaged with the mechanism portion while being sandwiched by an opening formed in a notch in the mating portion.