JPH10269882A - Interlocking device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the cost by making an interlocking device in common even in a case that a cover is different in direction between opening and closing in the interlocking device whose power supply switch is turned on/off by letting the cover be opened/closed. SOLUTION: This device is equipped with a lever member 21 capable of being freely rotated to positions where a power supply switch 22 is turned on/off, an energizing member 24 energizing the lever member 21 in such a way that the lever is rotated to the position where the power supply switch is turned off, a first pressure receiving part 28 rotating the lever member 21 to the position where the power supply switch 22 is turned off while the receiving part is pressed by a cover 26 that is opened/closed sideway, at the time when the cover 26 is closed, and with a second pressure receiving part 29 rotating the lever member 21 to the position where the power supply switch 22 is turned on while the receiving part is pressed by the cover 26 that is vertically opened/closed, at the time when the cover is closed. Even when the cover 26 is opened/closed in either sideway or vertically, an interlocking device can be made in common, and costs can thereby be lowered down.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an interlock device for turning on / off a power switch in conjunction with opening and closing of a cover.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus employing an electrophotographic recording system such as a laser printer, a power switch is turned off when a cover is opened for replacing a toner cartridge or removing jammed paper, and when the cover is closed. Is provided with an interlock device for turning on a power switch. Here, the cover used in the image forming apparatus is divided into a cover that opens upward and a cover that opens laterally depending on the type of the image forming apparatus.

[0003] The structure of the interlock device is also changed as the opening and closing directions of the cover are different.

[0004]

Accordingly, the interlocking device having a different structure must be used due to the different opening and closing directions of the cover, resulting in an increase in cost.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an interlock device that can be used in common even when the cover is opened and closed in different directions.

[0006]

According to the first aspect of the present invention,
In an interlock device for turning on / off a power switch in conjunction with opening and closing of a cover, a lever member rotatable between a position where the power switch is turned on and a position where the power switch is turned off; An urging member for urging the lever member to be turned to an off position; and a power switch for turning off the lever member by being pressed by the cover when the cover provided on the lever member and opening and closing laterally is closed. And a first pressure receiving portion for rotating the lever member to a position where the power switch is turned off by being pressed by the cover when the cover provided on the lever member and opened and closed in a vertical direction is closed. And a second pressure receiving portion to be moved. Therefore, in a case where the cover is opened and closed laterally, when the cover is closed, the cover presses the first pressure receiving portion to rotate the lever member, and the power switch is turned on. When this cover is opened, the first
The pressing force acting on the pressure receiving portion is released, and the lever member rotates in the opposite direction by the urging force of the urging member, and the power switch is turned off. In the case where the cover is opened and closed in the vertical direction, when the cover is closed, the cover presses the second pressure receiving portion to rotate the lever member, and the power switch is turned on. When the cover is opened, the pressing force acting on the second pressure receiving portion is released, and the lever member rotates in the opposite direction by the urging force of the urging member, and the power switch is turned off. For this reason, the interlock device is shared even when the opening and closing directions of the cover are different.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in an interlock device for turning on / off a power switch in conjunction with opening and closing of a cover, at least one gear in a gear train for transmitting a driving force from a motor to a transport roller is provided. A rocking member for holding and moving this gear to a position where the gear meshes with another gear; a lever member rotatable between a position where the power switch is turned on and a position where the power switch is turned off; A biasing member for biasing the power switch to a position at which the power switch is turned off; and a biasing member provided on the lever member, which is pressed by the cover when the cover is closed to turn the lever member on and the power switch is turned on. A pressure receiving portion for rotating to a position where the power switch is turned on when the lever member is turned to a position where the power switch is turned on. And a pressing portion for pressing to be moved to a position to return to the state meshing with the gear. Therefore, when the cover is opened, the pressing force from the cover does not act on the pressure receiving portion, and the lever member is rotated by the urging force of the urging member to turn off the power switch. Further, when the cover is closed, the pressing force from the cover acts on the pressure receiving portion to rotate the lever member, and the power switch is turned off. Further, if the gear is released by rocking the rocking member when the cover is opened, even if the cover is closed by forgetting the operation of returning the gear to the meshed state, the lever member is rotated by being pressed by the cover. The pressing portion presses the rocking member to rock the rocking member, and the gear is returned to the meshed state.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the interlock device according to the second aspect, the pressure receiving portion is pressed by the cover when the cover that opens and closes sideways is closed, so that the power switch is turned off. And a second pressure receiving portion that is pressed by the cover when the cover that opens and closes in the vertical direction is closed and rotates the lever member to a position where the power switch is turned off. Therefore, since the lever member has the first pressure receiving portion and the second pressure receiving portion, the first pressure receiving portion or the second pressure receiving portion which is located opposite to the cover regardless of whether the cover is opened or closed in the lateral or vertical direction. (2) The pressure receiving portion is pressed by the cover, and the interlock device is shared.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the interlock device according to the first, second, or third aspect, a power switch is provided on the substrate. Therefore, a harness drawn from the power switch is not required.

[0010]

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention.
A description will be given based on FIG. In a main body case 1 of the image forming apparatus, a motor 2, a fixing roller 3 as a transport roller, and a paper feed roller 4 as a transport roller are housed. A gear train 19 including a plurality of gears 5 to 18 for transmitting the driving force from the motor 2 to the fixing roller 3 and the paper feed roller 4 is provided on a side surface of the main body case 1. A lever member 21 which is rotatable around is provided. The gear 15 is connected to one end of the fixing roller 3, and the gear 18 is connected to one end of the paper feed roller 4. Below the lever member 21 is provided a microswitch 22 which is a power switch which is turned on / off by the rotation of the lever member 21. The microswitch 22 is mounted on a substrate 23 and is a leaf spring 24 which is an urging member for urging the lever member 21 to rotate to a position where the microswitch 22 is turned off.
Is provided.

A cover 26 is attached to the body case 1 so as to be rotatable laterally around a support shaft 25. The cover 26 is formed with a protrusion 27 protruding laterally toward the lever member 21. The lever member 21 has a first pressure receiving portion 28 that receives a pressing force from the protrusion 27 in a direction in which the lever member 21 rotates to a position where the micro switch 22 is turned on when the cover 26 is closed. Are formed. Further, as described in a second embodiment described later, when a cover that rotates in the vertical direction is provided on the lever member 21 instead of the cover 26 that rotates in the lateral direction, A first pressure receiving portion 28 that receives a pressing force in a direction of turning to a position where the micro switch 22 is turned on is formed.

Next, a first swing member 30 made of resin is attached to the main body case 1 so as to be swingable about a support shaft 31 as a fulcrum. The gear 12 is rotatably held by the swing member 30, and the gear 12 is rotated by swinging the swing member 30 around a support shaft 31.
3. Move to the position where the engagement with 3 is interrupted. The gears 10 and 11 are mounted on a support shaft 31.

A second swing member 32 made of resin is swingably attached to the main body case 1 with a support shaft 33 as a fulcrum. The swing member 32 includes the gear 1
6 and 17 are held movably, and the swing member 32 is
By swinging around the gear 3, the gear 17 moves to a position where the engagement with the gear 18 is interrupted. In addition,
The gears 8 and 9 are mounted on a support shaft 33.

The swing member 30 includes the swing member 30
Is fixed. Further, a cam-shaped pressing portion 35 is formed on the rocking member 30, and when the rocking member 30 is rocked to a position where the engagement between the gear 12 and the gear 13 is released, the pressing portion 35 rocks. The structure is such that the moving member 32 is pressed to swing the swing member 32 to a position where the engagement between the gear 17 and the gear 18 is released.

The cover 26 is attached to the lever member 21.
When the lever member 21 is turned to the position where the micro switch 22 is turned on in accordance with the closing operation, the upper edge of the rocking member 30 is pressed to move the rocking member 30 to the gears 12 and 13. A pressing portion 36 is formed to press so as to oscillate to a position where the gears mesh with each other.

FIG. 1 shows a state in which all the gears 5 to 18 are engaged, the cover 26 is closed and the microswitch 22 is turned on. When the start switch is turned on from this state, the motor 2 is driven, and the driving force from the motor 2 is transmitted to the gear train 19.
, The paper feed roller 4 and the fixing roller 3 are rotationally driven.

FIG. 2 shows a state in which the cover 26 is opened. The cover 26 is opened when the jam occurring at the position of the paper feed roller 4 or the fixing roller 3 is released or when the toner cartridge is replaced. When the cover 26 is opened, the protrusion 27 of the cover 26 separates from the first pressure receiving portion 28 of the lever member 21, and the lever member 21
The micro-switch 22 is turned off by the urging force of (2) in the counterclockwise direction around the support shaft 20.

Open the cover 26 and open the microswitch 2.
After turning off the gear 2, the operating lever 34 is operated to swing the swinging member 30 clockwise around the support shaft 31 to release the engagement between the gear 12 and the gear 13. By releasing the engagement between the gear 12 and the gear 13, the fixing roller 3
The load acting on the fixing roller 3 is reduced, and the jam occurring at the fixing roller 3 can be easily removed. The swing member 3
By the swing operation in the clockwise direction of 0, the pressing portion 35 of the swing member 30 hits the swing member 32, and the swing member 32 swings counterclockwise around the support shaft 33. Then, the meshing between the gears 17 and 18 is released by this swing, the load acting on the paper feed roller 4 is reduced, and the jam occurring at the position of the paper feed roller 4 can be easily released.

Here, when the swing member 30 is swung clockwise to release the jam, the swing member 30
Of the lever member 21 approaches the pressing portion 36 of the lever member 21. For this reason, if the lever member 21 has not moved to the position where the micro switch 22 is turned off for some reason despite the cover 26 being opened, the upper edge of the swing member 30 presses the pressing portion 36. To rotate the lever member 21 to a position where the micro switch 22 is turned off. Therefore,
During a jam clearing operation, the micro switch 22 can be reliably turned off, and the jam clearing operation can be performed safely.

After the jam is released, the operating lever 34 is operated to swing the swinging member 30 counterclockwise around the support shaft 31 so that the gear 12 meshes with the gear 13. Return to Further, the pressing portion 35 is connected to the swing member 3.
The swing member 32 is moved away from the gear 17
The gear automatically returns to the position where the gear meshes with the gear. Gear 12
After the gear 26 and the gear 13 and the gear 17 and the gear 18 are returned to the engaged state, the cover 26 is closed, and the lever member 21 is rotated clockwise around the support shaft 20 with the cover 26 closed. Thereby, the micro switch 22 is turned on.

Here, after the jam is released, the cover 26 may be closed while forgetting the operation of swinging the swing member 30 around the support shaft 31 in the counterclockwise direction. In such a case, by closing the cover 26 and rotating the lever member 21 clockwise, the pressing portion 36 of the lever member 21 presses the upper edge of the swing member 30,
The swing member 30 is swung counterclockwise around the support shaft 31 to return the gears 12 and 13 to the meshed state. Further, the swing member 32 swings clockwise around the support shaft 33, and the gear 17 and the gear 18 are returned to the meshed state. Therefore, after the jam is released, the swing member 30,
Even if the user forgets the operation of swinging the fixing roller 32 to the original position, by closing the cover 26, the swing members 30 and 32 automatically swing to the original position, and the fixing roller 3 and the sheet feeding roller 4 are rotated. And the transmission of the driving force to the vehicle.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
A description will be given based on FIG. 1 and 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. In the present embodiment, a cover 37 rotatable in the up-down direction is attached to the upper part of the main body case 1 instead of the cover 26 rotatable in the front-rear direction. Other structures are the same as those in the first embodiment.

The cover 37 has a projection 38 projecting downward toward the lever member 21. The projection 38 comes into contact with the second pressure receiving portion 29 of the lever member 21 when the cover 37 is closed, and exerts a pressing force in a direction of rotating the lever member 21 to a position where the microswitch 22 is turned on. Let it.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which all the gears 5 to 18 are engaged, the cover 37 is closed and the microswitch 22 is turned on. When the start switch is turned on from this state, the motor 2 is driven, and the driving force from the motor 2 is transmitted to the gear train 19.
, The paper feed roller 4 and the fixing roller 3 are rotationally driven.

FIG. 4 shows a state in which the cover 37 is opened. The cover 37 is opened when the jam occurring at the position of the paper feed roller 4 or the fixing roller 3 is released or the toner cartridge is replaced. When the cover 37 is opened, the protrusion 38 of the cover 37
The lever member 21 is rotated counterclockwise around the support shaft 20 by the urging force of the leaf spring 24, and the micro switch 22 is turned off.

Open the cover 37 and open the micro switch 2
After the gear 2 is turned off, the swing members 30 and 32 are swung to rotate the gears 12 and 1 in the same manner as in the first embodiment.
3 is disengaged from the gears 17 and 18,
Clear the jam. After the jam is released, the gears 12 and 13 and the gears 17 and 18 are returned to the engaged state as shown in FIG. 3, and the cover 37 is closed. As the cover 37 is closed, the protrusion 38 presses the second pressure receiving portion 29, and the lever member 2
1 is turned to turn on the micro switch 22.

[0027]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the lever member is rotatable between a position where the power switch is turned on and a position where the power switch is turned off, and the power switch of the lever member is turned off. A biasing member for biasing the lever member to rotate to a position, and a first pressure receiving portion provided on the lever member and pressed by the cover when the cover is closed to rotate the lever member to a position where the power switch is turned on. When the cover is closed, the first pressure receiving portion or the second pressure receiving portion facing the cover is pressed by the cover when the cover is closed, so that the interlock device is shared even when the opening and closing directions of the cover are different. And cost can be reduced.

According to the interlock device of the present invention, at least one gear in the gear train for transmitting the driving force from the motor to the transport roller is held, and this gear meshes with another gear. A rocking member for moving to an intermittent position, a lever member rotatable between a position for turning on and off the power switch, and a lever member for rotating the lever member to a position for turning off the power switch. A biasing member for biasing, a pressure receiving portion provided on the lever member and pressed by the cover when the cover is closed to rotate the lever member to a position where the power switch is turned on, and a lever member provided on the lever member. When the cover is turned to the position where the power switch is turned on, the cover has a pressing portion that presses the swinging member and moves the gear to a position where the gear returns to the meshing state. Ri, can be returned to the state meshing with a gear of the gear train makes it possible to turn on the power switch, it is possible to improve the operability for restarting after jam clearance at points of the conveying roller.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in the interlock device according to the second aspect, when the cover that opens and closes sideways is closed as the pressure receiving portion, the cover is pressed by the cover to turn off the power switch. A first pressure receiving portion for rotating the lever member to a position where the power switch is turned off by pressing the cover when the cover that opens and closes in a vertical direction is closed. Therefore, by closing the cover, the power switch can be turned on and the gears in the gear train can be returned to the meshing state, improving operability for restarting after the jam has been cleared at the transport roller. Can be improved. In addition, regardless of whether the cover is opened or closed in the lateral direction or the vertical direction, the first cover located opposite the cover may be used.
By pressing the pressure receiving portion or the second pressure receiving portion with the cover, the interlock device can be shared, and the cost can be reduced.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention,
In the interlock device according to the second or third aspect of the present invention, since the power switch is provided on the substrate, a harness drawn from the power switch can be dispensed with, and the cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an arrangement state of a lever member, a cover, and a gear train according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a state where a cover is opened to turn off a micro switch and a swing member is swung to a jam release position.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing an arrangement state of a lever member, a cover, and a gear train according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a state in which a cover is opened to turn off a micro switch and a swing member is swung to a jam release position.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 2 motor 3, 4 transport roller 19 gear train 21 lever member 22 power switch 23 substrate 24 biasing member 26, 37 cover 28 first pressure receiving portion, pressure receiving portion 29 second pressure receiving portion 30, 32 swinging member 36 pressing portion

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An interlock device for turning on / off a power switch in conjunction with opening and closing of a cover, wherein the lever member is rotatable between a position where the power switch is turned on and a position where the power switch is turned off. An urging member that urges the power switch to be turned to a position where the power switch is turned off; and a cover that is provided on the lever member and that opens and closes laterally. First turning the power switch to the off position
A pressure receiving portion, and a second pressure receiving portion which is provided on the lever member and which is pressed by the cover when the cover which opens and closes in the vertical direction is closed and turns the lever member to a position where the power switch is turned off. An interlock device characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. An interlock device for turning on / off a power switch in conjunction with opening and closing of a cover, wherein at least one gear in a gear train for transmitting a driving force from a motor to a conveying roller is held and the gear is held. A rocking member for moving the gear to an intermittent position with another gear; a lever member rotatable between a position where the power switch is turned on and a position where the power switch is turned off; A biasing member for biasing the lever member to rotate to a position where the power switch is turned on when the cover is pressed by the cover when the cover is closed. A pressure receiving portion to be provided, the lever member being pressed to press the swinging member when the lever member turns to a position where the power switch is turned on, thereby meshing the gear. An interlocking device having a pressing portion for moving to a position for returning to the engaged state. 3. A first pressure receiving portion which is pressed by the cover when the cover which opens and closes sideways is closed to rotate the lever member to a position where the power switch is turned off, and a cover which opens and closes vertically. 3. The interlock device according to claim 2, further comprising a second pressure receiving portion that is pressed by the cover when the cover is closed to rotate the lever member to a position where the power switch is turned off. 4. The interlock device according to claim 1, wherein the power switch is provided on a substrate.