JPH10161506A - Cover opening/closing mechanism for image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve visibility and operability in operation for removing jammed paper. SOLUTION: As to a cover opening/closing mechanism for an image forming device 1 where a cover 3 is disposed on the side wall of the image forming device 1 so that it can be opened/closed, and a projecting member 4 is made to project on the side wall above the cover 3; the member 4 is released from the projecting state interlocked with the opening of the cover 3. An interlocking mechanism for releasing the member 4 from the projecting state interlocked with the opening action of the cover 3 is formed between the cover 3 and the member 4. Furthermore, the member 4 is disposed so that it can be opened/ closed, and the interlocking mechanism acts to close the member 4 by opening the cover 3. Then, the interlocking mechanism is constituted of a link mechanism.

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 mechanism of an image forming apparatus, for example, a copying machine, and more particularly to a cover opening / closing mechanism suitable for removing a sheet left in a sheet conveying path.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer in which a paper feed tray is loaded has an openable / closable cover attached to a side wall of the image forming apparatus corresponding to a paper feeding position of the paper feed tray. I have. The cover is opened to remove a jammed sheet when a sheet jam occurs in a sheet conveyance path formed in the image forming apparatus.

[0003] Conventionally, measures have been devised to easily remove the jammed sheet. For example, a paper guide member disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 64-14757 and a cover (referred to as a door in the publication) are connected by link means, and the paper guide member is opened in conjunction with opening of the cover. And an interlocking opening means for opening one sheet conveying path (referred to as a sheet feeding path in the publication) disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 64-18040 to open another sheet conveying path. There are things.

[0004] However, the above-mentioned device opens a sheet guide member or opens another sheet conveying path, and does not consider a projecting member described later at all. That is, an actual image forming apparatus has a projecting member such as a manual feed tray or a discharge tray above the cover, and this projecting member prevents the jammed sheet from being viewed from above. The projecting member also hinders the work when removing the jammed sheet.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a cover opening / closing mechanism which can prevent the visibility and workability from being deteriorated due to the protruding member located above the cover when removing jammed paper. It is intended to be.

[0006]

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has the following structure. That is, in a cover opening / closing mechanism of the image forming apparatus in which a cover is provided to be openable and closable on a side wall of the image forming apparatus, and a protruding member is protruded from the side wall above the cover, the cover interlocks with opening the cover. The projecting member is released from the projecting state. Further, an interlocking mechanism for releasing the protruding member from the protruding state in interlock with the opening operation of the cover is formed between the cover and the protruding member. Further, the projecting member is disposed so as to be openable and closable, and the interlocking mechanism functions to close the projecting member by opening the cover. Furthermore, the interlocking mechanism comprises a link mechanism.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a view showing an image forming apparatus provided with a cover opening / closing mechanism of the present invention.

As shown in the figure, a paper feed tray 2 is loaded in the image forming apparatus 1. A cover 3 is provided on the side wall of the image forming apparatus 1 corresponding to the sheet feeding position of the sheet feed tray 2 so as to be openable and closable. The cover 3 is opened to remove a jammed sheet when a sheet jam occurs in a sheet conveyance path formed in the image forming apparatus 1. A projecting member 4 is provided above the cover 3 so as to be openable and closable. The protruding member 4 depends on the way of setting the paper conveyance path.
It may be a manual feed tray or a discharge tray. The image forming apparatus 1 usually includes, as shown in FIG.
The cover 3 is closed and the protruding member 4 is open.

An interlocking mechanism is formed between the cover 3 and the protruding member 4, and the interlocking mechanism functions to close the protruding member 4 by opening the cover 3. That is, when the cover 3 is opened in the operation of removing the jammed sheet, the projecting member 4 is closed in conjunction therewith, and the state shown in FIG.
With this, when the cover 3 is opened, the protruding member 4 closes and does not protrude, so that visibility from above is improved.
Further, since the projecting member 4 does not hinder the work, the workability is improved. In addition, the opening / closing operation of the cover 3 and the protruding member 4 is convenient because one of them is operated to operate the other.

Next, a link mechanism as a specific means of the interlocking mechanism will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a link mechanism that forms an interlocking mechanism. FIG. 2A shows a state where the cover 3 is closed and the projecting member 4 is opened. The cover 3 can be opened and closed about the first fixed fulcrum 51. A first movable fulcrum 53 is formed at a position at a predetermined distance upward from the first fixed fulcrum 51. The distance from the first fixed fulcrum 51 to the first movable fulcrum 53 is a first lever 52. Also, the first movable fulcrum 53
, One end of a connecting rod 54 is rotatably fixed.

On the other hand, the protruding member 4 can be opened and closed about a second fixed fulcrum 55. The projecting member 4 extends a part thereof from the second fixed fulcrum 55 to the right in the drawing to form a second lever 56. A second movable fulcrum 57 is formed at the tip of the second lever 56, and the other end of the connecting rod 54 is rotatably fixed to the second movable fulcrum 57.

According to the link mechanism 5 having the above structure, the operation of opening the cover 3 and the operation of closing the projecting member 4 can be linked. That is, when the cover 3 is opened, the first lever 5
2 rotates, the connecting rod 54 is pulled, and the connecting rod 54 rotates the second lever 56. As a result, the protruding member 4 is closed, and the state shown in FIG. At this time, by closing the protruding member 4 from the state of FIG. 2A, the second lever 56 is rotated, the connecting rod 54 is pushed, and the first lever 52 is rotated to open the cover 3, and 2 (B).

Further, when the cover 3 is closed from the state shown in FIG. 2 (B), the first lever 52 rotates, the connecting rod 54 is pushed, and the connecting rod 54 rotates the second lever 56. As a result, As a result, the protruding member 4 opens and returns to the state of FIG. At this time, by opening the protruding member 4 from the state of FIG. 2B, the second lever 56 is rotated, the connecting rod 54 is pulled, the first lever 52 is rotated, and the cover 3 is closed. The state shown in FIG. 1A can be returned.

FIG. 3 is a view showing another example of a link mechanism forming an interlocking mechanism. FIG. 3A shows a state in which the cover 3 is closed and the projecting member 4 is opened. The cover 3 can be opened and closed around a first fixed fulcrum 61. The cover 3 partially extends from the first fixed fulcrum 61 to the right in the drawing to form a first lever 62. This first lever 62
A first movable fulcrum 63 is formed at the tip of the connecting rod 64, and one end of a connecting rod 64 is rotatably fixed to the first movable fulcrum 63.

On the other hand, the projecting member 4 can be opened and closed about the second fixed fulcrum 65. A part of the protruding member 4 extends downward from the second fixed fulcrum 65 in the figure to form a second lever 66. A second movable fulcrum 67 is formed at the tip of the second lever 66, and the other end of the connecting rod 64 is rotatably fixed to the second movable fulcrum 67.

The link mechanism 6 having the above-described structure can also link the operation of opening the cover 3 and the operation of closing the projecting member 4. That is, when the cover 3 is opened, the first lever 62 rotates, the connecting rod 64 is pushed, and the connecting rod 64 rotates the second lever 66. As a result, the projecting member 4 closes, and FIG.
The state shown in FIG. At this time, by closing the protruding member 4 from the state of FIG. 2A, the second lever 66 is rotated, the connecting rod 64 is pulled, and the first lever 62 is rotated to open the cover 3, and FIG. 2 (B).

Further, when the cover 3 is closed from the state shown in FIG. 2B, the first lever 62 rotates, the connecting rod 64 is pulled, and the connecting rod 64 rotates the second lever 66. As a result, As a result, the protruding member 4 opens and returns to the state of FIG. At this time, by opening the protruding member 4 from the state of FIG. 2B, the second lever 66 is rotated, the connecting rod 64 is pushed, the first lever 62 is rotated, and the cover 3 is closed. The state shown in FIG. 1A can be returned.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the one in which the projecting member 4 is opened and closed using the above-mentioned link mechanisms 5 and 6. That is, any cover opening / closing mechanism that releases the projecting member 4 from the projecting state in conjunction with opening the cover 3 may be used. Therefore, a mechanism for retracting the projecting member 4 into the image forming apparatus 1 may be provided as a mechanism for releasing the projecting member 4 from the projecting state.

The cover opening / closing mechanism of the present invention is not limited to the one in which the protruding member 4, that is, the manual feed tray or the like, is directly attached to the image forming apparatus 1, but may be applied to the one in which the projecting member 4 is inserted into the image forming apparatus 1. it can. In this case, an interlocking mechanism may be formed between the cover 3 and a tray guide into which a manual tray or the like is inserted.

[0020]

As described above, in the present invention, the projecting member is released from the projecting state in conjunction with opening the cover. Therefore, when the cover is opened, the protruding member does not protrude, so that visibility from above is improved. Further, since the projecting member does not hinder the work, the workability is improved. In addition, the operation of the cover and the protruding member is interlocked, so that the usability is good.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus provided with a cover opening / closing mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a link mechanism forming an interlocking mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another example of a link mechanism forming an interlocking mechanism of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 3 Cover 4 Projecting member 5, 6 Link mechanism

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A cover opening / closing mechanism for an image forming apparatus, wherein a cover is provided on a side wall of the image forming apparatus so as to be openable and closable, and a projecting member projects from the side wall above the cover. And a cover opening / closing mechanism for the image forming apparatus, wherein the projecting member is released from the projecting state. 2. An interlocking mechanism between the cover and the projecting member for releasing the projecting member from the projecting state in interlocking with the opening operation of the cover. A cover opening and closing mechanism for the image forming apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims. 3. The cover opening and closing of the image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the projecting member is provided so as to be openable and closable, and the interlocking mechanism functions to close the projecting member by opening the cover. mechanism. 4. The cover opening / closing mechanism for an image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said interlocking mechanism comprises a link mechanism.