JPH10235966A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To miniaturize an image forming device by realizing the rational arrangement of a rocking member and a rod member. SOLUTION: In the image forming device equipped with a rocking member 12 which rocks on a pivoted shaft C and a movable rod member 9 which is movable in the pivoted shaft C direction of the rocking member 12, a retaining member 13 is provided which retains the rocking member 12 in a freely rocking manner, by an arc curved face (a retaining part 13-1 for the rocking member) centered around the pivoted shaft C of the rocking member 12. At the same time, the pivoted shaft C of the rocking member 12 is brought into close proximity with or enveloped in the rod member 9. In this case, the retaining member 13 is provided which retains the rocking member 12 in a freely rocking manner by the arc curved face on the pivoted shaft C of the rocking member 12 and at the same time, the pivoted shaft C of the rocking member 12 is brought into close proximity to or enveloped in the rod member 9. Thus it is possible to realize the rational arrangement of the rocking member 12 as a movable member and the rod member 9 and thereby obtain the miniaturized image forming device.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a laser beam printer, and an LED printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The basic structure of a laser beam printer for recording an image by an electrophotographic process is shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the basic structure of a laser beam printer. As shown, a laser scanner 102, a photosensitive drum 103, a primary charger 111, and a developing device 112 are included in the printer main body. A printing process unit 101, a transfer roller 109, a fixing device 104, a pair of conveying rollers 108, a sheet feeding cassette 106,
The paper feed roller 107 and the like are stored.

The photosensitive drum 103 rotates in the direction of the arrow (clockwise) in the figure, and its surface is
11 are uniformly charged. The outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 103 is irradiated with the laser beam L from the laser scanner 102, so that the photosensitive drum 1
An electrostatic latent image is formed on the outer peripheral surface of No. 03, and this electrostatic latent image is developed by the developing device 112 and visualized as a toner image.

On the other hand, the sheet material S stacked and stored in the sheet feeding cassette 106 is fed by a sheet feeding roller 107 rotating in a direction shown by an arrow (counterclockwise), and is conveyed along a sheet material guide 113. It is transported to the nip of the pair 108. Then, the sheet material S is sent to the transfer nip portion between the photosensitive drum 103 and the transfer roller 109 by the conveying roller pair 108, and the photosensitive drum 1 is placed thereon.
The toner images formed on the transfer roller 03 are sequentially transferred by the action of the transfer roller 109.

The sheet material S to which the toner image has been transferred as described above is sent to the fixing device 104, where the sheet material S is heated and pressed to fix the toner image. Then, the sheet material S on which the toner image has been fixed is sent to the discharge roller pair 105 by the transport roller pair 110, and is then stacked on the discharge tray 114 on the upper surface of the printer main body by the discharge roller pair 105.

An outer cover 1 that can be opened and closed is provided on the upper surface of the printer main body adjacent to the paper discharge tray 114, and near the outer cover 1, the outer cover 1 is provided.
There is provided a detection mechanism 3 for detecting the opening / closing of the device.
Note that the outer cover 1 is opened and closed when removing jammed paper in front of the fixing device 104.

The construction and operation of the exterior cover 1 and a detection mechanism 3 for detecting the opening and closing of the exterior cover 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 6A is a sectional view showing a state in which the outer cover 1 is closed, and FIG. 6B is a sectional view showing a state in which the outer cover 1 is opened. The outer cover 2, which can be opened and closed around the center, is a fixed outer cover provided adjacent to the outer cover 1.

The detecting mechanism 3 includes a swinging member 4 swingable about a swinging shaft 5, a moving member 6 for transmitting the movement of the swinging member 4, and a sensor 7 for detecting the open / close state of the outer cover 1. Plate 8 supporting the moving member 6 and the sensor 7
It is composed of

On the other hand, the outer cover 1 has a rib portion 1-2 which comes into contact with the swing member 4 when closed, and a locking portion 1 which is locked when closed.
-3 etc. are formed. On the other hand, the swing member 4 includes a cover contact portion 4-1 that contacts the rib portion 1-2 of the exterior cover 1 and a moving member contact portion 4 that contacts the moving member 6.
-2 is provided. The moving member 6 is urged leftward in the figure by a spring (not shown).

FIG. 6A shows a state in which the outer cover 1 is closed. In this state, the swinging member 4 is pushed by the rib 1-2 of the outer cover 1 and swings counterclockwise. Since the moving member 6 moves rightward on the base plate 8 and presses the sensor 7, the sensor 7 detects that the exterior cover 1 is closed.

When the outer cover 1 is opened, FIG.
As shown in (b), the moving member 6 moves to the left by the urging force of the spring, causing the swinging member 4 to swing clockwise. It detects that the exterior cover 1 has been opened.

A rod member 9 is provided in the vicinity of the detection mechanism 3 so as to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 6, and the rod member 9 is provided on the outer cover 1 as shown in FIG. When the exterior cover 1 is closed, the exterior cover 1 is engaged with the engaging portion 1-3 to fix the exterior cover 1, and when the exterior cover 1 is opened, a button, a lever, or the like (not shown) is pressed to move and fix the exterior cover 1. Cancel.

[0015]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional detection mechanism 3, the detection mechanism 3 and the rod member 9 are adjacent to each other, but the swing member 4 and the rod member 9 of the detection mechanism 3 are both Since it is a movable member, a certain distance must be provided between the two so as to avoid the movable range of the two. For this reason, there is a limit to miniaturization of the image forming apparatus,
In particular, when the swing range of the swing member 4 is increased, the swing member and the rod member 9 must be separated from each other, causing a problem that the image forming apparatus becomes large.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide an image forming apparatus capable of realizing a rational arrangement of a swing member and a rod member and achieving downsizing. Is to do.

[0017]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a swing member swinging about a swing shaft, and the swing member is movable in a swing axis direction. In the image forming apparatus having a simple rod member, a holding member that holds the swing member so as to be swingable by an arc curved surface centered on the swing axis of the swing member is provided, and the swing shaft of the swing member is It is characterized in that it is close to or included in the rod member.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the holding member has a semi-cylindrical curved surface that is open at the top, and a space surrounded by the semi-cylindrical curved surface of the holding member. Wherein the rod member is disposed.

Further, in the invention according to a third aspect, the rod member is a member that is engaged with and disengaged from an openable and closable exterior cover, and the swinging member is a member that constitutes a detection mechanism for detecting opening and closing of the exterior cover. It is characterized by having.

Therefore, according to the present invention, a holding member for holding the swing member so as to be swingable by an arc curved surface centered on the swing axis of the swing member is provided, and the swing shaft of the swing member is connected to the rod. Since the movable member and the rod member are disposed close to or included in the member, a rational arrangement of the movable member and the rod member can be realized, and the size of the image forming apparatus can be reduced.

[0021]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an outer cover of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention and a detection mechanism for detecting the opening and closing of the outer cover, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a swing member, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a holding member, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a swinging member and a holding member in an assembled state.

In this embodiment, a laser beam printer similar to that shown in FIG. 5 will be described as an example.
In FIG. 1, the same elements as those shown in FIG. 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted below.

FIG. 1A shows a state in which the outer cover 1 is closed. In FIG. 1A, reference numeral 11 denotes a detecting mechanism for detecting the open / closed state of the outer cover 1, and the detecting mechanism 11 is a swingable swinging mechanism. A moving member 12, a holding member 13 for holding the swing member 12 in a swingable manner, a moving member 6 for transmitting the movement of the swing member 12, and a sensor 7 for detecting opening and closing of the exterior cover 1
And a base plate 8 holding a moving member 6 and a sensor 7.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a rod member which is movable in the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG.
As shown in (a), the outer cover 1 has a function of fixing the outer cover 1 when the outer cover 1 is closed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the swing member 12 constituting the detection mechanism 3 has a cover contact portion 12-1 which contacts the rib portion 1-2 of the exterior cover 1, and a moving member 6 as shown in FIG.
Curved surface 12 in addition to the moving member contact portion 12-2 contacting the
a are formed, and arcuately curved hook portions 12-3 and 12-4 are formed at both ends in the width direction, and the hook portions 12-3 are formed on the side where the hook portions 12-3 are formed. , Two claw portions 12-5 are formed. The hook 12-4 stands up from the arcuate curved surface 12a by a predetermined height.

The two sliding parts 12- are located on the arcuate curved surface 12a of the swinging member 12 with the hook part 12-4 interposed therebetween.
6 are formed.

On the other hand, the holding member 13 is fixed to the base plate 8 by screws (not shown) or the like, and the holding member has a swinging member holding portion having a substantially semi-cylindrical shape as shown in FIG. 13-1 is formed, an arc-shaped slit hole 13-2 is formed on one end surface in the width direction, and a step groove-shaped holding portion 13 is formed on the other end in the width direction of the swing member holding portion 13-1. -3
Are formed.

When the swinging member 12 is mounted on the holding member 13 from the lateral direction, as shown in FIG.
The hook portion 12-3 and the claw portion 12-5 are inserted into the slit holes 13-2 of the holding member 13, and the swing member 12 is held by the hook portion 12-4 and the sliding portion 12-6. The holding member 13-3 is held by the swing member 13 so as to be swingable. The swing member 12 has a claw portion 12-
5 is inserted and locked in the slit hole 13-2 of the holding member 13, thereby preventing the holding member 13 from dropping off the holding member 13.

By the way, in this embodiment, FIG.
As shown in the figure, the center axis C of the swinging member holding portion 13-1 having a substantially semi-cylindrical shape of the holding member 13 coincides with the center (center of curvature) of the arcuate curved surface 12a of the swinging member 12, and this center The axis C is located in the rod member 9. The rod member 9 is movably disposed in a space having a substantially U-shaped cross section surrounded by a holding member 13 opening upward.

Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the rod member 9 can be moved and can be included in the detection mechanism 11 while being detachable as a single item. And the image forming apparatus can be downsized, particularly in the height direction.

Since the holding member 13 is formed in a semi-cylindrical shape and has a substantially U-shaped cross section with an open upper side, the rod member 9 can be easily attached and detached upward.

In this embodiment, the rod member for fixing the outer cover and the detecting mechanism for detecting the open / closed state of the outer cover when the openable / closable outer cover is closed have been described. The swinging member may be any member as long as it is a member that can swing in the swing axis direction. For example, the rod member may be a rod member interlocked with a power switch for turning on / off a main power supply of the image forming apparatus, or a member holding a swing gear provided in a drive system for turning on / off a drive transmission. good.

[0034]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, a holding member for holding a swing member so as to be swingable by an arcuate curved surface centered on a swing axis of the swing member is provided. Since the swinging shaft of the swinging member is close to or contained in the rod member, the rational arrangement of the swinging member, which is a movable member, and the rod member can be realized, and the image forming apparatus can be downsized. can get.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an exterior cover of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention and a detection mechanism that detects opening and closing of the exterior cover.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a swinging member constituting a detection mechanism for detecting opening and closing of an exterior cover of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a holding member constituting a detection mechanism for detecting opening and closing of an exterior cover of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an assembled state of a swinging member and a holding member constituting a detection mechanism for detecting opening and closing of an exterior cover of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a basic configuration of a conventional image forming apparatus (laser beam printer).

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of an exterior cover of a conventional image forming apparatus and a detection mechanism that detects opening and closing of the exterior cover.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Exterior cover 9 Rod member 11 Detecting mechanism 12 Swinging member 13 Holding member 13-1 Swinging member holding part C Swing center

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus comprising: a swing member swinging about a swing axis; and a rod member movable in the direction of the swing axis of the swing member, wherein the swing shaft of the swing member is An image forming apparatus comprising: a holding member that holds a swinging member so as to be swingable by an arcuate curved surface having a center; and a swinging shaft of the swinging member is close to or included in the rod member. 2. The holding member has a semi-cylindrical curved surface opening upward, and the rod member is disposed in a space surrounded by the semi-cylindrical curved surface of the holding member.
The image forming apparatus as described in the above. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rod member is a member that is engaged with and disengaged from an openable and closable exterior cover, and the swing member is a member that constitutes a detection mechanism that detects opening and closing of the exterior cover. Or the image forming apparatus according to 2.