JPH07314856A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To detect a state wherein both covers are closed by using a single switch to a structure wherein an opened or closed state of each cover is separately independently detected by providing a switch respectively to a feed paper cover of a printer and a body cover. CONSTITUTION:When a feed paper cover 3 is closed, a pressing force acts on a pendulum 12 via a feed paper lever 5 and a feed paper side interlocking lever 7. When a body cover 7 is closed, an opposite pressing force acts on the pendulum 12 via a body side interlocking lever 10. When both pressing forces of the feed paper side interlocking lever 7 and the body side interlocking lever 10 act on the pendulum 12, the pendulum 12 energized upward with a lever 15 is displaced from an upper part non-acting position to a lower part acting position to turn on an interlocking switch 17. When at least either of the feed paper cover 3 or the body cover 9 is opened, the pendulum 12 swings in either of left or right directions, and the interlocking switch 17 does never turn on.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to an open / close state of two cover members provided in the image forming apparatus, which can be operated when both cover members are closed. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus typified by a printer, a facsimile, a copying machine, etc. is usually provided with a cover member such as a main body cover and an opening / closing door for accessing the main body of the apparatus. The cover member removes paper jams,
A switch that operates in conjunction with the cover member opens and closes when replenishing consumables or when replacing the process unit installed in the main body of the device, etc. It is provided.
When this switch is turned off corresponding to the state where the cover member is opened, the connection between the power source and the device driving unit is cut off.

Further, various accessory units may be detachably attached to the image forming apparatus, and a cover member may be provided for the accessory unit. For example, in the case of a printer, a paper feeding device is detachably attached to the printer main body as an accessory unit, and a paper feeding cover that opens and closes when paper is replenished is also provided in the paper feeding device itself. A second switch is provided in addition to the switch for the apparatus main body in order to detect the attachment / detachment state of the sheet feeding apparatus with respect to the printer main body or the opening / closing state of the sheet feeding cover, and the state in which the sheet feeding apparatus is detached from the printer main body.
Alternatively, when the paper feed cover is still open, the paper feed device switch is turned off, and the connection between the power supply and the device drive unit is cut off in the same way as when the cover member of the device body is open. There is.

As described above, in the conventional image forming apparatus, the switch for detecting the open / closed state of the cover member of the apparatus main body and the switch for detecting the attachment / detachment state of the accessory unit or the cover member of the accessory unit are provided. A switch for detecting the open / closed state is provided separately and independently, and when at least one of these two switches is in an off state, power is not supplied to the device drive section. It was

[0005]

However, the above-mentioned conventional image forming apparatus requires two switches independently of each other, even though the image forming apparatus plays a common role of cutting off the power supply to the apparatus driving unit. This is one of the causes of the cost increase due to the increase in the number of parts.

The present invention has been made for the purpose of reducing the number of parts and the cost by reducing the number of switches required to be two in the past to one.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus having a first cover member and a second cover member which are openably and closably attached.
An actuating means that engages the first cover member and the second cover member and is movable between a non-actuated position and an actuated position; and an on-state when the actuating means is in the inoperative position and an on-state when in the actuated position. An image forming apparatus is provided which is provided with a switch means for operating the switch means, and when the first cover member and the second cover member are both closed, the actuating means moves to the actuating position to turn on the switch means. To do.

Further, in the present invention, the above-mentioned actuating means is
A first actuating member that is displaced from the first position to the second position when the cover member is closed, and a third actuating member that is displaced from the third position to the fourth position when the second cover member is closed. The second actuating member and the first actuating member are displaced to the second position, and the second actuating member is displaced to the fourth position.
The third actuating member is displaced from the non-actuated position to the actuated position in conjunction with the displacement of the actuating member and the second actuating member.

Further, it is preferable to provide displacement amount adjusting means for adjusting at least one of the displacement amount of the first operating member and the displacement amount of the second operating member.

The second cover member may be a sheet feeding device which is detachably mounted, and in this case, the sheet feeding device is a first sheet which is openably and closably attached to replenish the sheet therein. And a fourth actuating member that is displaced from the fifth position to the sixth position with the closing operation of the third cover member, and the fourth actuating member is at the sixth position. At this time, the fourth actuating member is engaged with the actuating means in a state in which the paper feeding device is attached to the image forming apparatus. The sheet feeding device and the first cover member are arranged adjacent to each other so as to cooperatively cover one opening of the image forming apparatus.

The second cover member may be a third paper feed cover mounted to be openable and closable in order to supply paper to the paper feed device.

[0012]

When the two cover members provided in the image forming apparatus are both closed, the operating means moves to the operating position, and when at least one of the two cover members is opened, the operating means operates. Move to inoperative position. When the actuating means moves to the actuated position, the switch means is turned on,
The switch means is turned off when the actuating means is moved to the non-actuated position. When the switch means is turned on, the image forming apparatus becomes operable.

More specifically, the actuating means comprises a first actuating member, a second actuating member and a third actuating member, and the first actuating member when the first cover member is closed. Is displaced from the first position to the second position, and when the second cover member is closed, the second actuating member is displaced from the third position to the fourth position. The third actuating member is displaced to the actuating position in conjunction with the displacement of the first actuating member and the second actuating member.

When the displacement amount adjusting means for adjusting at least one of the displacement amount of the first operating member and the displacement amount of the second operating member is provided, excessive displacement of the operating member is absorbed by the displacement amount adjusting means. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the switch means from being broken.

In the image forming apparatus having the detachable paper feeding device as the second cover member, when the paper feeding device is mounted, the second actuating member is displaced from the third position to the fourth position, When the paper feeding device is removed, the second actuating member returns to the third position. The first cover member is closed,
When the second actuating member is displaced to the fourth position, the switch means is turned on.

In the case where the detachable sheet feeding device is provided with the third cover member, the first cover member and the third cover member are attached with the sheet feeding device attached to the image forming apparatus. The switch means is turned on only when both are closed.

[0017]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a laser printer will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 show a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment. As is well known, the laser printer supplies the toner to the photosensitive drum by exposing the surface of the photosensitive drum, which has been uniformly charged, to an electrostatic latent image by exposing the surface of the photosensitive drum to form an electrostatic latent image. A developing unit for forming an image, a transfer unit including a transfer roller for transferring the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum onto the paper surface, and a fixing unit for fixing the toner image transferred onto the paper surface. And a cleaning unit for removing residual toner on the photosensitive drum, and a paper feeding device having a paper feeding roller for feeding paper to the image forming unit. . The photosensitive drum, the developing unit, and the cleaning unit are integrated as a process cartridge and can be replaced according to the service life. A toner cartridge for supplying toner to the developing portion is provided so as to be replaceable. The exposure unit has a laser diode 24 (see FIG. 8) as a light source. In the laser printer, a fan 25 (see FIG. 8) and a motor 26 (see FIG. 8) for rotating the photosensitive drum, the paper feed roller, the transfer roller, and the like to radiate heat generated from the fixing unit to the outside. And are provided.

As shown in FIG. 6, the printer 1 has a main body cover 9. The main body cover 9 is pivotally supported at an end of a housing 21 that accommodates the printer main body,
It can be opened and closed with respect to the housing 21. The housing 21 has one opening 21e, and the main body cover 9 covers the front half of the opening 21e. The body cover 9 has an opening 9e facing the latter half of the opening 21e.
Have. The sheet feeding device 2 described later is attached to the latter half of the opening 21e through the opening 9e. The main body cover 9 and the sheet feeding device 2 adjacent to each other cooperate to cover the opening 21e. That is, the sheet feeding device 2 has a function of a cover member. On the back side of the body cover 9, three ribs 9a, 9b,
9c is provided in a protruding manner, and three holes 21a, 21b, 21c are formed on the printer body side corresponding to these ribs. When the body cover 9 is closed, the ribs 9a, 9b,
9c are respectively inserted in the corresponding holes 21a, 21b, 21c. The hole 21a through which the rib 9a is inserted is formed in the housing 21, and the holes 21b and 21c through which the ribs 9b and 9c are inserted are formed in the paper guide 22 that is openable and closable. The main body cover 9 is closed at the time of printing, but when a trouble such as a paper jam occurs, the main body cover 9 and the paper guide 22 are sequentially opened to perform necessary processing.
The replacement of consumable parts such as toner cartridges or replacement of process cartridges is performed by removing the paper feeding device 2 and opening the main body cover.

A paper feeding device 2 as an accessory unit is detachably attached to the printer 1. In FIG. 7, the paper feeding device 2
And the structure of the receiving portion on the printer body side are shown. The sheet feeding device 2 is detachably mounted on a pair of left and right frame side plates (only one is shown). The frame side plate 30 is provided in the housing 21 and supports the process cartridge, the toner cartridge, the exposure unit, and the fixing unit.

As shown in FIG. 8, the sheet feeding device 2 feeds the laminated sheet 40 placed on the placing plate 41 by the sheet feeding roller 42, and separates the sheets one by one by a separating member 43 such as a friction pad. And supplies it to the image forming unit. Mounting plate 41
Is rotatably mounted around the shaft 41a, and the paper 4
It is biased by a spring 44 in a direction of pressing 0 toward the paper feed roller 42. Above the placement plate 41, the paper feed cover 3
Is openably and closably provided around the shaft 4. Mounting plate 4
In order to replenish the paper on the sheet 1, there is provided means for interlocking so that the mounting plate 41 is separated from the paper feed roller 42 when the paper feed cover 3 is opened. That is, the paper feed cover 3 is provided with an arm 3b that integrally rotates around the shaft 4, and the side edge of the mounting plate 41 is provided with an inclined cam portion 41b with which the arm 3b can abut. When the paper feed cover 3 is opened, the arm 3b moves toward the cam portion 41 as shown by the chain double-dashed line.
Press b to rotate the mounting plate 41 around the shaft 41a,
It can be separated from the feed roller 42 against the action of the spring 44.

Next, with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 4, the structure for detecting the opened state of the sheet feeding cover 3 and the main body cover 9 and the detached state of the sheet feeding device 2, that is, the structure of the operating means will be described.

FIG. 1 shows a state in which both the paper feed cover 3 and the main body cover 9 are closed. Axis 4 of paper feed cover 3
In the vicinity of, a projection 3a is formed which comes into contact with one leg 5a of the substantially V-shaped paper feed lever 5 pivotally supported by the shaft 6. The other leg portion 5b of the sheet feeding lever 5 is in contact with a first leg portion 7a that extends obliquely to the upper right of the substantially Y-shaped sheet feeding side interlock lever 7. The paper feed side lever 7 is pivotally supported by a shaft 8, and a second leg portion 7b of the paper feed side interlock lever 7 extending in the horizontal direction is in contact with an upper end portion 12a of a pendulum 12 described later.

The main body cover 9 is rotatable about a shaft 31, and when the main body cover 9 is closed as shown in FIG. 1, the rib 9a protruding on the back side of the main body cover 9 has a main body side interface. The main body side interlock lever 10 pivotally supported by the shaft 11 is rotated clockwise by contacting the leg portion 10a extending above the lock lever 10. The horizontally extending leg portion 10 b of the main body side interlock lever 10 is in contact with the upper end portion 12 b of the pendulum 12.

The pendulum 12 is a rod-shaped member arranged in the vertical direction, and the transmission holes 12 are formed in the central portion and the lower portion thereof.
Pins 13 and 14 nailed in c and 12c are loosely attached to the main body frame. Pin 1
Reference numerals 3 and 14 are sufficiently smaller than the lengths and widths of the transmission holes 12c and 12c, and the pendulum 12 can move vertically and horizontally while being restricted by the pins 13 and 14. The lower end of the pendulum 12 is in contact with the tip of a lever 15 pivotally supported by a shaft 18. A biasing force for rotating the lever 15 in the clockwise direction by the spring 16 and a torque for rotating the lever 15 in the counterclockwise direction are applied. A spring 16 that rotates clockwise by the torque that rotates the lever 15 counterclockwise.
If the urging force of the lever 15 is larger, the lever 15 moves to the upper position (inoperative position), and conversely, the torque that rotates the lever 15 in the counterclockwise direction than the urging force of the spring 16 that rotates the lever 15 in the clockwise direction. Is larger, the lever 15 moves to the lower position (operating position).

The pendulum 12 is given an upward moving force by the urging force of the spring 16 received via the lever 15, and the levers 7, 10 and 5 are also given a turning force. The portions where the upper ends 12a and 12b of the pendulum 12 and the levers 7 and 10 contact each other are formed on an inclined cam surface. Due to the cam surface, each lever 7, 10
The pendulum 12 upwardly biased by the spring 16 is guided to be tilted toward the other levers 10 and 7, respectively. When the legs 7b and 10b of both levers 7 and 10 face each other, both levers 7 and 10 cooperate to hold the pendulum 12 in a neutral state.

An interlock switch 17 is arranged below the lever 15. When the lever 15 is in the non-actuated position, the interlock switch 17 is off, and when the lever 15 is lowered to the actuated position, the interlock switch 17 is turned on.

As shown in FIG. 1, when both the paper feed cover 3 and the main body cover 9 are closed, the protrusion 3a of the paper feed cover 3 comes into contact with one leg 5a of the paper feed lever 5. The paper feed lever 5 is rotated clockwise, and the paper feed side interlock lever 7 is rotated counterclockwise. Also, since the main body side interlock lever 10 rotates clockwise, the pendulum 1
2 is pushed by the leg portions 7b, 10b of both levers 7, 10 to move vertically downward against the upward biasing force of the lever 15, and the interlock switch 17 is turned on.

Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the paper feed cover 3
Is closed and the main body cover 9 is opened,
The rib 9a protruding on the back side of the main body cover 9 is in a state where the pressing of the main body side interlock lever 10 is released, but the protrusion 3a of the paper feed cover 3 is one leg of the paper feed lever 5. The sheet feeding lever 5 is rotated clockwise by coming into contact with the sheet 5a, and the sheet feeding side interlock lever 7 is rotated counterclockwise. As a result, the pendulum 12 has the spring 16
The cam surface between the upper end 12a and the interlock lever 7 displaces the upper end to the left while moving upward by the urging force of. As a result, the pendulum 12 moves upward while pushing up the main body side interlock lever 10 and separates from the switch 17. Therefore, even when the paper feed cover 3 is closed, the interlock switch 17 remains off when the main body cover 9 is opened.

As shown in FIG. 3, when the paper feed cover 3 is opened and the main body cover 9 is closed, the protrusion 3a of the paper feed cover 3 presses one leg 5a of the paper feed lever 5. On the other hand, the rib 9a protruding on the back side of the main body cover 9 presses the main body side interlock lever 10. As a result, the pendulum 12 moves upward,
The cam surface between the upper end 12b and the main body side interlock lever 10 displaces the upper end to the right. As a result, the pendulum 12 moves while pushing up the paper feed side interlock lever 7 and the lever 5 around the respective shafts 6 and 8, and separates from the switch 17. Therefore, the body cover 9
Even if is closed, the interlock switch 17 remains off if the paper feed cover 3 is opened.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the main body cover 9 is closed and the paper feeding device 2 is removed, the paper feeding lever 5 is separated from the paper feeding side interlock lever 7 and the lever 7 is pressed. To cancel. Then, as in the case of FIG.
While the pendulum 12 moves upward, the upper end of the pendulum is displaced to the right, so the feed-side interlock lever 7 is pushed up.
The interlock switch 17 is turned off.

When the main body cover 9 is opened and the paper feeding device 2 is removed, or both the main body cover 9 and the paper feeding cover 3 are opened, both interlock levers 7 and 1 are released.
0 is released, the pendulum 12 moves to the spring 16
By the action of, the interlock switch 17 is turned off by moving upward.

FIG. 5 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. The paper feed side interlock lever 7 is a rod-shaped body having a sharpened portion 7c, and a flexible arm 19 pivotally supported by a shaft 20 is provided between the paper feed side interlock lever 7 and the paper feed lever 5. Although different from the first embodiment in points, other parts are the same as the first embodiment.

The paper feed cover 3 is closed, or the paper feed device 2
Attached, the leg 5b of the paper feed lever 5 and the bending arm 19
And contact each other to rotate the bending arm 19 clockwise.
When the bending arm 19 rotates clockwise, the central portion of the bending arm 19 and the sharpened portion 7c of the paper feed side interlock lever 7 are in contact with each other, so that the paper feed side interlock lever 7 rotates counterclockwise. A spring 19a is inserted in the lower central portion of the bending arm 19, and the sharpened portion 7c of the paper feed side interlock lever 7 is in contact with this spring. With this configuration, even if the stroke for pressing the bending arm 19 by the paper feeding lever 5 is designed to be large, the extra stroke can be absorbed by the spring 19a of the bending arm 19, and the interlock switch 17 is pressed excessively. Since it does not occur, it is possible to prevent the interlock switch 17 from being broken. As described above, by designing the slot talk of the paper feed lever 5 to be large, the interlock switch 17 may be damaged due to an assembly error or the like.
It is possible to solve the situation that does not work.

In the embodiment of the present invention described above,
The open / closed state of the main body cover 9 of the printer 1 and the open / closed state of the paper feed cover 3 when the paper feed device 2 is attached to the printer body are detected, and the paper feed device 2 is attached and the main body cover 9 and the paper feed cover are detected. When both 3 are closed at the same time, the interlock switch 17 is turned on to make the printer 1 ready for printing. When the paper feeding device 2 is removed or it is detected that at least one of the main body cover 9 and the paper feeding cover 3 is open, the motor 26 housed in the printer main body and the laser light source of the exposure device. The power supply to the diode 24 is cut off.

FIG. 9 shows the connection relationship of the electric system according to the present invention. The low-voltage power supply 28 converts an AC voltage into a low DC voltage, and starts up when the printer power supply is turned on. The low voltage power supply 28 is a central control unit (CP
A DC voltage of 5 V is constantly applied to (U) 23.
A DC voltage of 24 V is applied to the fan 25, and heat generated from the fixing device during the operation of the printer 1 is released to the outside of the printer. Electric power is supplied from a low voltage power supply 28 via an interlock switch 17 to a laser diode 24 which is a light source of a developing device and a motor 26 which is a drive source for rotating a photosensitive drum and the like. A DC voltage of 5V is applied to the laser diode 24 and a DC voltage of 24V is applied to the motor 26. The laser diode 24, the motor 26, and the fan 25 are driven and controlled by the CPU 23 in a known manner.

If the paper feeding device 2 is removed or at least one of the paper feeding cover 3 and the main body cover 9 is in the cover open state, the interlock switch 17 is turned off, and the power to the laser diode 24 and the motor 26 is turned on. The supply is cut off. When the CPU 23 detects the cover open, the CPU 23 displays the display LED.
An error is displayed on 27.

As described above, taking the case where the present invention is applied to a laser printer as an example, the mounting state of the sheet feeding device 2 and the open / close state of the sheet feeding cover 3 and the body cover 9 of the sheet feeding device 2 are detected, and the interlock switch 17 is detected. I explained the configuration to control
If the paper feed cover 3 is not provided, the interlock switch 17 may be turned on by detecting both the state where the paper feed device 2 is attached to the printer body and the state where the body cover 9 is closed. In the case where the sheet feeding device 2 is fixedly provided in the printer body, it may be detected only by the open / closed state of the sheet feeding cover 3 and the body cover 9. Also, for other types of printers, image forming apparatuses such as facsimiles, copiers, etc., the operating state, the mounting state, etc. of the two separated movable parts can be detected regardless of the operating sequence or the mounting sequence. It is possible to perform on / off control of the switch. Further, the bending arm 19 shown in the paper feeding lever 5 in the figure
An arm similar to the above may be provided for the main body side interlock lever 10.

[0038]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, by closing both of the two cover members provided in the image forming apparatus in an arbitrary order, that is, after closing the first cover member. When the second cover member is closed, the second cover member is closed and then the first cover member is closed, or the first cover member and the second cover member are closed at the same time, the actuation means is Since the switch means is configured to be turned on by the displacement of the operating means from the non-operating position to the operating position, it is not necessary to provide the switch means individually for each cover member, and the number of switch means is increased. It is possible to improve the reliability of the operation of the electric system by reducing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of a printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which both a main body cover and a paper feed cover of the printer are closed.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which the main body cover of the printer is opened and the paper feed cover is closed.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which the main body cover of the printer is closed and the paper feed cover is opened.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view of the printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which the main body cover of the printer is closed and the paper feeding device is removed.

FIG. 5 is a vertical cross-sectional view of a printer according to a second embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which both the main body cover and the paper feed cover of the printer are closed.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the printer when the paper feeding device is removed and the main body cover is opened.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a sheet feeding device and a printer main body on which the sheet feeding device is mounted.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a sheet feeding device and a printer body in which the sheet feeding device is mounted.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating a connection relationship of an electric system of a printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Printer 2 Paper Feeding Device 3 Paper Feeding Cover 5 Paper Feeding Lever 7 Paper Feeding Side Interlock Lever 9 Body Cover 10 Bodyside Interlock Lever 12 Pendulum 17 Interlock Switch 19 Bending Arm 21 Housing 22 Paper Guide

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus comprising a first cover member and a second cover member that are openably and closably attached, wherein the first cover member and the second cover member are engaged with each other and are inoperative. An actuating means movable between a position and an actuating position; and a switch means turning off when the actuating means is in the non-actuated position and turned on when the actuating means is in the actuated position, the first cover member and the second cover member The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the operating means is moved to an operating position to turn on the switch means when both of the cover members are closed. 2. A first operating member, wherein the operating means is displaced from a first position to a second position in accordance with a closing operation of the first cover member, and a closing operation of the second cover member. Accordingly, a second actuating member that is displaced from the third position to the fourth position, the first actuating member is displaced to the second position, and the second actuating member is displaced to the fourth position. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a third actuating member that is displaced from a non-actuated position to an actuated position in association with a displacement of the first actuating member and the second actuating member. apparatus. 3. The displacement amount of the first actuating member and the second amount
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a displacement amount adjusting means for adjusting at least one of the displacement amounts of the operating members. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second cover member is a paper feeding device that is detachably mounted. 5. The paper feeding device is provided with a third cover member that is openably and closably attached to replenish paper therein, and a third cover member is moved from a fifth position to a third position when the third cover member is closed. And a fourth actuating member that is displaced to a position 6, and when the fourth actuating member is in the sixth position, the fourth actuating member with the sheet feeding device mounted in the image forming apparatus. Engaging the actuating means.
The image forming apparatus described. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the third cover member is a paper feed cover attached so as to be openable and closable in order to supply paper to the paper feed device. 7. The sheet feeding device and the first cover member are arranged adjacent to each other so as to cooperatively cover one opening of the image forming apparatus. 4. The image forming apparatus according to item 4.