JPH11125056A - Hinge device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a hinge device for moving a cover body vertically together with the hinge operation of the cover body to a main body device. SOLUTION: The hinge device consists of a support member 107 fixed and installed to a main body, a rotary member 104 rotated to the support member 107 and a first link 102 and a second link member 3, in which each one end is supported pivotally at a separate place on the rotary member 10 and at the separate place of a cover-body mounting member 9. The hinge device has a cam section 102a set up at the rotary-member side end section of the first link member 102, a place, where rotation in the counterclockwise direction of the first link member 102 is limited by the position of a pin 116, by which the rotary member 104 and a lock arm 105 are inserted and connected slidably into a slot 124 formed to the rotary member 104, and a pushing means being constituted so as to limit revolution in the clockwise direction of the first link member 102 by bringing the end section of the first link member 102 and a projected section formed at the end section of the rotary member 104 into contact with each other while working in the direction that the link member is pushed up between the link member and the support member 107.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hinge device for joining a cover to a main body, and more particularly to a document provided on an upper surface of a copying machine, a facsimile machine, or the like (hereinafter referred to as "image forming apparatus"). The present invention relates to a hinge device for opening and closing a cover for covering a reading surface or an automatic document feeder installed on the document reading surface.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus, light is emitted from below a glass surface (hereinafter, referred to as "platen glass") constituting an original reading surface, and reflected light from the original placed on the reading surface is read. Thereby, image information on the document surface is obtained. Documents to be read by the image forming apparatus
It may be a single sheet or a thick book opened on a given page. In any case, when reading a document, press the document surface against the reading surface using a lid that covers the reading surface to prevent light from escaping to the outside of the device and to clearly and accurately read images. I do.

[0003] The lid is attached to the upper part of the image forming apparatus via a hinge. In a normal hinge mechanism, the lid is rotated by a first plate fixed to the main body and a second plate fixed to the lid are rotatably connected around a common rotation axis. It is configured to rotate about an axis, thereby opening and closing one surface on the main body.

On the image forming apparatus, there is provided an automatic document feeder for continuously sending a plurality of unbound loose sheets to be read one by one to a reading surface of the image forming apparatus. In some cases. In such a case, the automatic document feeder itself also plays the role of the lid described above.

When an operation of reading a predetermined page such as a thick book by the image forming apparatus is performed, a cover or an automatic document feeder that covers a reading surface is attached to the image forming apparatus by the above-described ordinary hinge mechanism. In such a case, only one end of the thick original is pressed against the reading surface, so that the binding portion is damaged and sewing of the book may be broken. Furthermore,
When only a part of the platen glass is pressed by a large pressing force, the platen glass may be damaged.

In order to prevent an undesired situation that occurs when a thick original is sandwiched by opening and closing the two devices, such as a main body and automatic original feeding, etc. It is desired that the apparatus is configured such that an apparatus is referred to as a “lid” and moves up and down in parallel with the reading surface to press the upper surface of the thick original evenly.

For this reason, conventionally, a hinge operation for opening and closing the lid in a door shape with respect to the reading surface of the main body and a hinge device for moving the lid up and down in parallel with the reading surface have been used. In such a hinge device, a hinge device using a compression spring that repels a downward pushing force of the lid due to gravity has been used in order to enable opening and closing operations of the lid with as small a force as possible. .

An example of such a conventional technique is disclosed in
No. 9597. FIG. 16 shows a hinge device disclosed in this publication (hereinafter, referred to as “first related art”). As shown in FIG. 16A, the first related art includes a body attachment frame 8 attached to a body and a movable hinge 1 attached to a lid 100.
A fixed hinge 2 for rotatably supporting the movable hinge 1
And a parallel link 11 for connecting the fixed hinge 2 to the body mounting frame 8 so as to be vertically movable. Then, in order to enable the opening and closing operation of the lid with a smaller force, a spring 5 that pushes up the movable hinge 1 attached to the lid 100 as shown in FIG. 16B is attached. Then, as shown in FIGS. 16C to E,
In the case of thick originals, after performing the hinge operation of the lid,
The inside of the lid is pressed against the edge of the thick document, and the lift operation of the lid is performed using the contact line as a fulcrum.

By adopting such a configuration, this publication discloses that in the hinge device according to the first prior art, the fixed hinge 2 is attached to the body attachment frame 8 via the parallel link 11. The vertical movement is substantially the same as the circular movement by the link 11. For this reason, when the rotational force of the document pressing cover 100 is transmitted to the fixed hinge 2 in the case of the thick document 102, the fixed hinge 2 can smoothly move upward (FIGS. 16C to 16E).
In addition, the hinge device can be integrated with the lifter mechanism by connecting the fixed hinge 2 to the main body mounting frame 8 via the parallel link 11 to form a unit. The document states that the opening and closing function and the lifter function can be performed together, and that the smooth opening and closing operation can be performed by the urging force of the spring 5.

As another example of another prior art, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Sho 61
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 20587 discloses an original document pressing plate opening / closing device (hereinafter, referred to as “second related art”). As shown in FIG. 17, the apparatus includes a lifter A attached to the main body and a hinge B attached to the lifter A. The hinge B allows the original cover C to be opened and closed. A base plate 1,
A pair of first elevating arms 3 attached to the base plate 1 so as to be rotatable in a direction orthogonal to the opening / closing direction of the document pressing plate D, and each of the first elevating arms 3 is pivoted to the free end side thereof. A pair of second elevating arms 5, which are freely attached, and brackets 6 attached to the free ends of the second elevating arms 5, and the hinge B is attached to the bracket 6. doing. Thereby, even if a thick book original is placed on the contact glass, the upper side of the thick original can be covered in a horizontal state without the front side jumping up when the original cover is closed, and the original cover is bent, It is said that there is an effect of preventing light from leaking to the outside or preventing external light from entering the optical system and hindering clear copying. Here, in order to facilitate the opening and closing operation of the original cover, the hinge A is provided with a spring 15 for assisting the pivoting operation of the hinge.

[0011]

However, the above-mentioned first method
In the hinge device according to the related art, the lid lifting operation is continued while the pressing operation of the lid is continued while the edge of the thick original book set on the image reading surface of the main body device and the lid serving as a pressing member are in contact engagement. The operation is performed, and there is no linkage between the hinge operation and the lift operation. For this reason, the operator is forced to separately perform an opening and closing operation for opening and closing one side of the lid and a lift operation for vertically moving the entire lid. And the spring 5
Does not reduce the force required for the hinge operation of the lid, although it reduces the force required for the lifting operation of the lid. Therefore, especially when the lid is an automatic document feeder,
Opening and closing the lid is not easy. As shown in FIG. 16C, the entire weight of the lid is directly applied to the spring 5, so that
In order to counteract this, to reduce the lifting operation of the lid, a strong spring having a considerably large size must be used. Also, since the lid is not configured to move up and down in parallel with the reading surface according to the thickness of the document, when closing the lid after setting the document on the reading surface, the document is There is also a drawback that a sliding force that shifts the reading surface in the left-right direction in FIG.

In the document cover opening / closing device according to the second prior art, a hinge mechanism for opening / closing operation and a jack-type lift mechanism for up / down operation are provided separately and independently. And costly.
As in the hinge device according to the first related art, the operator can perform an opening / closing operation for opening / closing one side of the original cover and a lift operation for vertically moving the entire plate separately. Be strong. The spring 15 acts only on the lifting operation of the lid. Therefore, it is not easy to open and close the original cover. In addition, since the entire weight of the lid is directly applied to the spring 15, it is necessary to use a considerably large-sized powerful spring in order to reduce the lift operation of the lid in repulsion. This is the same as the hinge device according to the second related art.

[0013]

In view of the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, in the hinge device according to the present invention, a single operation of opening and closing one end of the lid up and down is performed by a single operation of opening and closing the lid with respect to the main unit. A hinge operation is accompanied by a lift operation, and a certain sequence is given to the hinge operation and the up-down operation. At least when the lid body transitions from the open state to the closed state, the hinge operation is performed first, After the body has reached a predetermined distance above the reading surface, the lid is forced to move downward while maintaining a parallel state with the reading surface. And a support member fixedly attached to the main body and a rotating member pivotally supported on the support member and rotating with respect to the support member so that the opening and closing operation of the lid body can be performed by a light operating force. A link member comprising a first link member and a second link member each of which one end is pivotally supported at a separated position on the rotating member; and a lid attached to the main body. A lid attachment member fixedly attached, wherein the other end of each of the first link member and the second link member is pivotally supported at a separated position on the lid attachment member. A body attachment member, one end of which is pivotally supported by the support member, and the other end of which is engaged with the link member; and the support member is disposed between the support member and the link member. Trying to push up the link member Pressing means for generating a pressing force in a direction, wherein the locking member has a large angle with the rotating member when the lid is opened from a closed state with respect to the main body. When the lid is closed from an opened state with respect to the main body, the angle is reduced to a small angle after maintaining the large angle, and the lid is closed to the main body. When the lid is closed in contact with the upper surface of the main body, the angle is minimized, so that the lid is closed when the lid transitions from the closed state to the open state. The rotating member is opened by rotating the rotating member while moving upward by a predetermined distance with respect to the upper surface, and the rotating member is rotated when the lid changes from an open state to a closed state. And then translate downward with respect to the upper surface of the body Configured to close by Rukoto. Here, the pressing member is constituted by a compression spring or a cylinder means for sealing the compressed air, and the pressing force is set according to the weight of the lid. Further, in the first link member and the second link member, the four rotation axes on the vertical cross section connecting the two rotation axes at the one end and the two rotation axes at the other end. The main line forms a substantially parallelogram, and the lid moves up and down in parallel with a predetermined distance in the vertical direction of the upper surface of the main body by deforming the substantially parallelogram with opening and closing thereof, and It is configured to rotate around a rotation axis of the support member and the rotation member. Thereby, when the lid moves upward with respect to the upper surface of the main body, the substantially parallelogram is expanded, and when the lid moves downward, the substantially parallelogram is narrowed. The pressing member expands the substantially parallelogram and generates a pressing force in a direction for rotating the lid mounting member with respect to the support member via the link member.

With such a configuration, in the hinge device according to the present invention, the deformation of the substantially parallelogram, which is responsible for lifting the lid up and down, is restricted according to the opening and closing angle of the lid. Therefore, it is not necessary to set a strong pressing force for pushing the lid upward. This makes it easier for the operator to open and close the lid.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the hinge device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a transparent side view of a hinge device 1 mounted on an upper portion of an image forming apparatus main body such as a copying machine having a cover that opens and closes and for opening and closing the cover.
The dotted line indicates a hidden part. Hinge device 1
Has a base 7 fixedly attached to the upper part of the main body and serving as a support member. In addition, a lift arm 9 which is a lid attachment member fixedly attached to a lid (not shown) for attaching a main body is provided at an upper portion of the hinge device 1. Then, a lid is attached to the lift arm 9 so as to extend in the direction of arrow A. Therefore, as will be described in more detail later, the lid body can be easily set on the platen glass provided on the upper surface of the main body by rotating and vertically moving the lift arm 9, or a thick original or the like can be used. Up and down in order to hold down in parallel from above.

One end of the arm 4 is connected to a pin g18.
Is pivotally supported by the pin g18 so as to be rotatable about the center, and is connected to the base 7. At the other end of the arm 4, one end of the front link 2 is pivotally supported by the pin c14 and connected to the arm 4 so that the front link 2 can rotate around the pin c14. In the middle part of the arm 4, one end of the rear link 3 is pivotally supported by the pin d15 and connected to the arm 4 so that the rear link 3 can rotate around the pin d15. Further, a pin f17 attached to the base 7 near the pin g18 and a pin c1
The spring 8 is connected to a pin h19 attached to the front link 2 at a position slightly away from the spring 4. The other end of the front link 2 has its pin a1 so that the lift arm 9 and the front link 2 can rotate relatively around the pin a12.
2 and is connected to the lift arm 9. Then, the rear link 3 extending substantially in parallel with the front link 2
Is pivotally supported by the pin b13 and connected to the lift arm 9 so that the lift arm 9 and the rear link 3 can relatively rotate around the pin b13. The line connected from the pin a12 to the pin c14, the pin d15, the pin b13, and the center point of each of the pins in the order of the pin a12 forms a substantially parallelogram. And the previous link 2
By rotating the rear link 3 about the pin c14 and the pin d15, respectively, the parallelogram changes its shape.
Then, when the parallelogram is expanded, the lift arm 9 rises in parallel, and when the parallelism is narrowed, the lift arm 9 descends. Therefore, the vertical movement of the lid (not shown) can be adjusted by the parallelogram that changes the shape. In addition, since the rotation of the front link 2 in the clockwise direction is restricted by the one side 4a of the arm 4 in the expansion of the parallelogram, the lift arm 9 does not move further upward. The lid is opened and closed by the rotation of the lift arm 9 according to the rotation of the arm 4. Therefore, the arm 4 functions as a rotating member for opening and closing the lid. The moving distance of the vertical movement of the lift arm 9 depends on the size and spread of the side of the parallelogram. Therefore, the thickness of the original or the like that can be pressed by the lid depends on the size and spread of the side of the parallelogram, so that the front link 2 and the rear link 2 can be adapted to the thickness of the original or the like to be used. The size of the links 3 and the distance between them may be determined.

The operation of the hinge device 1 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 shows the front link 2 and the rear link 3 with the lid (not shown) closed, that is, with the arm 4 kept closed and not rotating.
Only the case where only the arm 4 rotates relatively to the arm 4 causes the lift arm 9 to move up and down in parallel. This allows the lid to move up and down while keeping the lid parallel to the surface of the platen glass at the top of the main body. FIG. 3 shows that the front link 2 and the rear link 3 do not rotate, that is, the relative position between the lift arm 9 and the arm 4 does not change, and only the arm 4 rotates about the pin g18. 3 shows a process in which the lid transitions between the closed state and the open state (this is called a hinge operation). FIG. 4 shows the opening and closing rotation of the lift arm 9 when the rotation of the front link 2 and the rear link 3 described with reference to FIG. 2 and the rotation of the arm 4 described with reference to FIG. It shows the process of vertical movement.
Thus, the hinge device 1 shown in FIG. 1 can perform the hinge operation and the elevating operation of the lid independently or simultaneously. Therefore, even when a thick document or the like placed on the surface of the platen glass at the top of the image forming apparatus main body is closed by the lid, the vertical position of the lid can be secured according to the thickness. And, by having the arms 2 and 3 that move up and down in parallel with the arm 4 itself for the hinge operation, it is easy to close the lid while keeping the lid in the raised state, and then to lower the lid in parallel. Therefore, the document and the like are not damaged.

The hinge device 1 shown in FIG.
As described above, the hinge operation and the elevating operation of the lid can be performed independently. On the other hand, the hinge device 101 shown in FIG. 5 associates the hinge operation with the up and down operation of the lift arm 9 in the process of opening and closing the lid, and appropriately limits the up and down operation according to the state of the hinge operation. The lid can be opened and closed and moved up and down according to a predetermined sequence.

Referring to the transparent side view of FIG.
The difference from the hinge device 1 of FIG.
And the pin e116 are added as new components, and the shapes of the front link 2, the arm 4, and the base 7 are different.
That is, the front link 102, the arm 104, and the base 107 are respectively replaced.

The base 107 is connected to one end of the arm 104 so as to be rotatable by a pin g18, as described with reference to FIG. The arm 104 has a slide opening 124 in which a part of the arm 4 in FIG. 1 is a long hole, and one side 104a for limiting clockwise rotation of the front link 102 to a certain limit. Further, the front link 102 has a cam 102a that is partially protruded around the pin c14. And the previous link 1
02 rotates about the pin c14, the cam 10
The rotation of 2a causes the cam mechanism to operate. Lock arm 1
05 has a slide opening 123 with a slightly widened hole at one end, into which a pin f17 is inserted.
This pin f17 is pivotally supported by the base 107. On the other hand, a pin e116 is pivotally supported at the other end of the lock arm 105, and is inserted into the slide opening 124 of the arm 104. Accordingly, the lock arm 105 has a play that can move slightly along the slide opening 123 and the slide opening 124, and
Rotates around the pin f17 and the pin e116. The cam 102a of the front link 102 has a substantially straight cam right side portion 102b. And
The pin e116 is connected to the cam right side portion 102 of the cam 102a.
b, restricting the rotation of the front link 102 counterclockwise. The other configuration is the same as that described with reference to FIG. 1, and therefore, further description will be omitted.

Next, FIG. 6 to FIG.
From the state where the lid attached to the lid is closed, that is, the state where the lift arm 109 is kept horizontal without tilting, to the process of opening the lid, and further, the hinge device 101 from the opened state to the original closed state. 3 shows a transition state. The lock arm 105 and the cam 10 of the front link 102
By 2a, the interval between the front link 102 and the rear link 3 according to the rotation position and the rotation direction of the arm 104 is adjusted,
The hinge operation and the lifting and lowering of the lid are performed in a certain sequence.

The operation and sequence of the mechanism will be described in order from FIG. FIG. 6A shows a state in which the cover is closed and there is no manuscript paper on the platen glass or there is a thin manuscript paper. Hinge device 10 in the closed state
1 is shown. The arm 104 is lying in a substantially horizontal direction. The cam 102a is rotating in the maximum counterclockwise direction, and the cam right side portion 102b is
Is pushed to the right. Therefore, the interior angle formed by the straight line connecting the pin g18 and the pin c14 and the straight line connecting the pin c14 and the pin a12 is minimized, and the distance between the front link 102 and the rear link 3 is the closest, and the lift arm 109
Becomes the lowest state. And the pin e116 is
It is shifted to the right along the slide opening 124. On the other hand, the other slide opening 123 of the lock arm 105
Side restricts further movement of the lock arm 105 due to contact with the pin f17, so that the lock arm 105 is at the rightmost position.

Next, when the user tries to open the lid, the force is transmitted to the arm 104 as a moment, and
As shown in (b) and (c), the arm 104 rotates counterclockwise. Following this rotation, the lock arm 105 also rotates counterclockwise about the pin f17. Further, the front link 102 receives a counterclockwise moment about the pin c14 by the force for opening the lid, so that the cam right side portion 102b is different from the pin e17 of the lock arm 105 with the pin f17. To push it out to the opposite position, the lock arm 105 rotates while being shifted to the opposite position. Here, the pin f17, which is the rotation axis of the lock arm 105, is
The pin c14 and the pin e116 do not draw concentric circles because the pin c18 and the pin e116 are provided apart from the pin g18 which is the rotation axis of the pin 104.
The position 6 rotates rightward while moving leftward relative to the pin c14. Accordingly, the pin e116 relatively moves in the direction of the pin g18 in the slide opening 124 while being in contact with the cam right side portion 102b, and pushes the cam right side portion 102b of the cam 102a. I do. As a result, with the opening of the lid, the front link 102 rotates clockwise about the pin c14. Accordingly, the substantially parallelogram formed by connecting the pins a12 to the pins c14, the pins d15, the pins b13, and the pins a12 in the order of the center points of the respective pins expands in size.
The lift arm 9 moves upward in parallel, and the lid moves upward. In this manner, the pin e
Since the position 116 is different from the position of the arm 104 and the front link 102, the hinge operation of the lid and the ascent are linked. When the arm 104 reaches a certain rotation angle, as shown in FIG.
The cam right side portion 102b of 2a is substantially parallel to the longitudinal inner side of the slide opening 124, and the arm 104
When the is rotated, the expansion of the parallelogram almost stops.
Also, one side 104a of the arm 104
, The lift arm 109 does not move upward in parallel any more.
Therefore, from FIG. 6A to FIG. 6C, the opening operation of opening the lid and the ascent operation are performed simultaneously.

FIGS. 7A to 7C show a process in which the lid is further opened and then moved to the closed state. FIG. 7 (a)
FIG. 6C shows a state in which the lid is further opened to the maximum, and the arm 104 moves fully counterclockwise (also called counterclockwise rotation), and accordingly, the pin e116 attached to the lock arm 105. Moves relatively maximally in the direction of the pin g18 in the slide opening 124. However, since the cam right side portion 102b of the front link 102 is substantially parallel to the side of the slide opening 124, the cam 1 is moved by the movement of the pin e116 in the slide opening 124.
02a is rarely extruded. Therefore, FIG.
In the process from (c) to FIG. 7 (a), the lift arm 1
In the step 09, the position is not substantially changed relative to the arm 104, the lid is only opened, and the ascent is almost stopped. Thereafter, when the lid is to be closed from the open state, as shown in FIGS. 7B and 7C, the lock arm 105 is lowered in the direction of the base 107 by its own weight, and the pin e116 is connected to the pin f17. Move slightly in the direction. Even if the lock arm 105 is not lowered by its own weight, the pressing force of the lid generates a clockwise moment on the front link 102, so that the pin e116 receives a downward force by the cam right side portion 102b, and the lock arm 1
05 similarly goes down to the base 107 direction.

When the lock arm 105 moves in the direction of the base 107 by the closing rotation operation of the lid, even if the position of the arm 104 in the opening rotation operation of the lid and the position of the arm 104 in the closing rotation operation of the lid are the same, the pin e116 is In the closing rotation operation, the cam right side portion 102b is pressed at a position slightly farther from the pin c14 than in the opening rotation operation. Therefore,
The inner angle formed by the arm 104 and the front link 102 (strictly speaking, the angle formed by the straight line of the pin g18 and the pin c14 and the angle between the pin c14 and the pin a12) is larger in the closing rotation operation than in the closing rotation operation.

FIGS. 8A and 8B show a state where the lid is further closed from FIG. 7C and a state where the lid is finally parallel to the platen glass. Here, as described with reference to FIGS. 7B and 7C, the lock arm 105 is at a position slightly shifted in the direction of the pin g18, and the lift arm 109 is moved by the slight difference in position. The influence on the position becomes greater as the arm 104 moves to the original closed state. Therefore, FIGS. 6A and 8B
When the lid is parallel to the surface of the platen glass and the position of the arm 104 is the same, the cam 102a of the front link 102 is moved by the pin e116 shifted in the direction of the pin f17. Then, the return rotational movement is restricted, and the space between the front link 102 and the rear link 3 is opened in parallel. As a result, the lid comes to have a certain distance from the platen glass.

Further, when a downward force is applied to the lid, the arm 104 is already prevented from rotating further, so that the force is applied to the counterclockwise centered on the pins c14 and d15. Front link 10 as moment of rotation
2 and the rear link 3. Then, by the moment, the cam right side portion 102b gives a force to move the pin e116 in the opposite direction to the pin f17 along the slide opening 124, and the lock arm 105 moves. Then, by the movement of the lock arm 105 and the pin e116, the cam 102a further rotates in the counterclockwise direction, and the rear link 103 and the front link 102 move closer to each other while the pin c
14 and the pin d15. Therefore, the lift arm 9 and the lid attached thereto gradually descend in parallel downward. If a thick original or the like is placed on the platen glass, the lowering of the original is restricted at a position in contact with the upper part, so that the upper surface of the original can be pressed in parallel with the lower surface of the lid.

As described above, when the pin e116 is at a different position with respect to the arm 104 and the front link 102 due to the difference between the opening / closing angle and the opening / closing direction of the lid, the lifting and the opening rotation of the lid are mutually performed. They are related and go through a certain sequence. When the lid is changed from the closed state to the open state, the lid moves in parallel with the rotation, and when the lid is changed from the open state to the closed state, the lid is parallel with a certain distance from the platen glass. Rotate until
Then descend while maintaining the parallelism.

Next, the spring 8 provided in the hinge device will be described. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 5,
Both ends of the spring 8 are attached to a pin f17 attached to the base 7 and a pin h19 attached to the front links 2 and 102, respectively. Here, the hinge device 1,
Consider a usage state in which the bases 7 and 107 of 101 are attached to the image forming apparatus main body and the lid is attached to the lift arms 9 and 109. The lid is a lift arm 9,
It extends in the direction of arrow A in FIG. Then, the weight of the lid gives a moment of force in the clockwise direction to the arms 4 and 104. Since the center of gravity of the lid is located away from the lift arm 9 in the direction of arrow A, the moment exerted on the arms 4 and 104 varies depending on the degree of opening and closing of the lid. For example, if the arms 4 and 104 are made substantially horizontal to make the lid parallel to the platen glass, the arms 4 and 104 receive the strongest rotational moment. On the other hand, when the lid is opened in the vertical direction, the arms 4 and 104 receive the weakest rotational moment. Therefore, the spring 8 uses an elastic member that generates a repulsive force that can oppose the rotational moment that changes depending on the degree of opening and closing. Further, FIG.
In the hinge device 1 described above, the front link 2 and the rear link 3 use an elastic member capable of withstanding the moment that the front link 2 and the rear link 3 rotate counterclockwise around the pins c14 and d15, respectively, depending on the weight of the lid. As long as the degree of compression is large, the spring 8 may be any pressing means that increases the repulsion force accordingly. For example, it may be a cylinder that seals compressed air. The pressing force may be set according to the weight of the lid.

Next, the operation of the spring 8 will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIGS. First, with respect to the vertical movement of the lift arm 9 shown in FIG. 2, a lid is attached to the lift arm 9, and the load of the lid is applied to the lift arm 9. The load on the lift arm 9 is applied to the front link 2 and the rear link 3 by the pins c14, respectively.
And acts as a moment of a force rotating counterclockwise about the pin d15. Therefore, a spring 8 is provided between the base 7 and the front link 2 so that the user can oppose the moment and move the heavier lid up and down with little resistance.

Here, one end of the spring 8 on the front link 2 side is attached to a pin h19 which is spaced apart from the pin a12 and is rather attached near the pin c14. Thus, even if the front link 2 is rotated to move the lid up and down, the change in expansion and contraction of the spring 8 is not large, so that a substantially constant pressing force against the load of the lid is applied to the pin h19. Can be given. Therefore,
The rotation of the arm 4 is hardly affected by the change of the spring 8 caused by the rotation of the front link 2.

With respect to the opening and closing movement of the lift arm 9 shown in FIG. 3, the rotational moment applied to the pin g18 is as shown in FIG.
3 (b) and FIG. 3 (c).
Therefore, in order to prevent the lid from closing easily against the rotational moment, the opposing force must be weak in this order. As described above, since the spring 8 utilizes the stretching force generated by the compression, the greater the compression, the greater the repulsion.
Therefore, the spring 8 has the largest repulsive force in FIGS. 3A and 6A and the smallest repulsive force in FIGS. 3C and 7A. And the front link 2, 102. For example, in FIGS. 1 and 5, one end of the spring 8 on the base 7 side is separated from the pin g18, and the pin g18 and the pin c14 are separated from each other.
Is attached to a pin f17 provided below a straight line connecting. Thus, as shown in FIG. 3, when the lid is closed and the arms 4 and 104 are horizontal, the compression of the spring 8 becomes maximum and the repulsive force thereof becomes maximum. On the other hand, when the lid is rotationally moved in the opening direction, the distance between the pin f17 and the pin h19 is accordingly increased, so that the spring 8 is extended, and the repulsive force is reduced accordingly, and the lid is opened to the maximum. FIG. 3C showing the state.
Then, the repulsive force is minimized.

As described above, with respect to the hinge device 1 and the hinge device 101, the bases 7, 107 and the front links 2, 10
With only one spring 8 provided between the two, the moment around the pin c14 and the moment around the pin g18 due to the weight of the lid that moves up and down and opens and closes can be received. In the hinge device 101 shown in FIG. 5, a series of processes from FIG. 6A to FIG.
The pin e116 of the lock arm 105 moves inside the slide opening 124 by the rotation of the arm 104 about the pin g18, thereby changing the size of the parallelogram formed by the front link 102 and the rear link 3, Since the lid is moved up and down, the load on the spring 8 due to the moment around the pin c14 can be reduced. Therefore, a small spring having less elastic force can be used, and the load on the lid is reduced, so that the operability of opening and closing the lid can be improved.

Next, the spring 8 of the hinge device 1 shown in FIG.
The case where two new springs 30 and 31 are used instead of the above will be described. FIG. 9 shows a state in which a spring 30 is mounted between a pin f17 supported by the base 7 and a pin i32 supported by the arm 4, and the spring i is connected to the pin j32 supported by the front link 2. Spring 31 between
2 shows a configuration in which is attached. Both the spring 30 and the spring 31 have a repulsive force for pushing outward. Accordingly, the spring 30 connects the arm 4 to the pin g1.
The spring 31 generates a moment to rotate the front link 2 clockwise from the position shown in the figure about the pin c14 from the position shown in FIG. The repulsive force of the spring 30 is strongest when the arm 4 is horizontal and the lid is closed, and is weakest when the arm 4 is nearly vertical and the lid is open. The spring 31 is connected to the pin c1.
Since the front link 2 is pushed out with the pin i32 at a position slightly separated from the front link 4 as a fulcrum, there is no large difference in repulsion force with respect to the vertical movement of the lift arm 9. The function of the spring 8 shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 and the function of the two springs 30 and 31 in FIG. 9 are almost the same. Then, the spring 30 and the spring 31 independently perform the hinge operation of the lid and the ascending operation.
The moment for the climb does not change,
There is no change in the moment for the hinge operation due to the upward movement of the lid. Therefore, the hinge device can be used if there is enough space for providing the two springs 30 and 31. However, if there is no space, the hinge device 1 and 101 shown in FIGS. 1 and 5 can be used. Thus, one spring 8 may be used.

Next, a hinge module 2 which is a hinge device when the hinge device 101 of FIG.
01 will be described in comparison with the hinge devices 1 and 101 of FIGS. 1 and 5 with reference to FIGS.

FIGS. 10 and 11 show the hinge module 2.
It is the side view and top view of No. 01. 12 and FIG.
3 is a transparent side view and a transparent plan view of the hinge module 201. As is apparent from these drawings, the base 207, the arm 204, the lock arm 205, the front link 202, the rear link 203, and the lift arm 209
Are provided symmetrically with respect to the line BB ′ in FIGS. 11 and 13, and in particular, the base 207, the arm 204, the lock arm 205, the front link 202, and the lift arm 209 are
One plate is bent with its BB ′ line symmetrical, and the side surface shown in the side view of FIG. 10 and FIG. 12 and the both side surfaces of the side surface viewed from the opposite direction of the drawing are respectively shown in FIG. The roles of the base 107, arm 104, lock arm 105, front link 102, and lift arm 109 are indicated. The two plate-shaped rear links 203 are connected to the arm 204 and the lift arm 209, similarly to the rear link 3 in FIG. Lift arm 2
09 has a plate 209a that extends outward at both ends. The plate 209a has a plurality of screw holes 209b. Therefore, the lift arm 209 is inserted into a part of the lid having a thickness for opening and closing the platen glass, and the surface of the plate 209 a of the lift arm 209 is aligned with a part of the lid, and the screw hole 20 is formed.
The hinge module 201 and the lid can be connected by screwing with the screws passed through 9b.

A pin (pin a21) for connecting each component
2, pin b213, pin c214, pin d215, pin e216, pin f217, pin g218, pin h21
9) are the pins (pin a12, pin b13,
Pin c14, pin d15, pin e116, pin f17,
Pin g18 and pin h19). And pin b
Except for 213 and pin d215, each pin is a single pin extending on both sides, each pin passing through the associated component and connecting the components on each side.

Here, the pin e 216 penetrating both side surfaces of the lock arm 205 passes through the slide opening 224 opened in the arm 204, and the periphery thereof comes into contact with the cam right side portion 102 b of the cam 102 a of the front link 202. ing. Also, inside the hinge module 201, the pin e2
A lock roller 206 that rotates on the circumference of the same axis as the roller 16 is provided. This lock roller 206 is
5 and the pin e216 slide smoothly, so that the arm 2
04 rolls along the inner bottom surface.

Referring to the side view of FIG. 12 and the plan view of FIG. 13, a spring 208 corresponding to the spring 8 of FIG. Both ends of the spring 208 are connected to the guides A221 and B222, respectively. The guide A 221 and the guide B 222 are connected to a pin f217 and a pin h219 respectively penetrated therein.
The guide A 221 and the guide B 222
In order to prevent bending of the spring 208 when it expands and contracts,
Has a substantially flat surface for receiving the entire surface. The surface opposite to the surface has an elliptical or protruding surface extending in both sides of the hinge module 201 when viewed from the side. The inside of the front link 202 has a lift cam 220 fixedly attached thereto. When one side of the lift cam 220 comes into contact with the pin h19, the extension force from the spring 208 causes the front link 2
02.

Returning to FIG. 10, the hinge module 20
1 is a stopper that adjusts the position of the arm 204 when the lid is closed by restricting the right rotation of the arm 204 so that the lid and the platen glass are parallel when the lid is closed. 211 is provided. Stopper 2
Reference numeral 11 is provided along the side wall 207a of the base 207, and has a flat portion 211b whose upper portion is bent. And, it is in contact with the end of the screw 221 attached to the upper part of the side wall 207a.

FIG. 14 shows a rear view and a side view of the hinge module 201 when the position is adjusted by the stopper 211 as viewed from the stopper 211 direction. The stopper 211 is provided on the side wall 207 of the base 207.
The plane has a plane abutting on the plane a, and the plane has a hole 211c extending vertically. A screw 222 for fixing the side wall 207a of the base 207 and the stopper 211 is penetrated through the hole 211c. Screw 222
Is loosened, the stopper 211 can freely move up and down along the side wall 207a. However, the upper flat portion 211b of the stopper 211 is restricted from moving upward by the screw 221. Further, both ends of the stopper 211 have outwardly enlarged portions. As is clear from FIG. 10, the arm 204 partially extends beyond the stopper 211. A receiving portion 211a which is a part of an enlarged portion of the stopper 211
And the contact portion 204b, which is a piece of the enlarged portion of the arm 204, comes into contact with each other. Therefore, the arm 204 cannot further rotate clockwise due to contact between the receiving portion 211a and the contact portion 204b. FIG. 10 shows that the flat portion 211 b of the stopper 211 is
1, the upward movement of the stopper 211 is restricted, and the receiving part 211 a and the contact part 204 b are in contact with each other.
Cannot rotate right any further. And FIG.
4 (a) to 4 (c), the screw is advanced downward or upward by tightening or loosening the screw 221. As the stopper 211 moves downward or upward, the arm 204 rotates leftward or rightward. By rotating, the angle of the lift arm 209 and the lid attached to the lift arm 209 can be adjusted as a result. Thus, even when an angle error occurs between the platen glass and the mounting surface of the hinge module 201 or when there is a mounting error between the lid and the lift arm 209, the lid and the platen glass are adjusted to be in a parallel state. By tightening the screw 222, the stopper 211 and the base 207 can be fixed and finally fixed and maintained at an appropriate position.

FIG. 15 shows second and third specific examples having the role of the stopper 211. When the rotation of the arm 204 is limited by the receiving part 211a and the contact part 204b of the arm 204 using the stopper 211 of FIG. 10, the contact part is close to the rotation axis of the pin g218, The load from the body and the downward pressing force applied to the lid from the outside are concentrated on the receiving portion 211a and the contact portion 204b, and are greatly applied. Therefore, it is expected that, depending on the use for a long time, the contact portion may be set and the position of the lid may be changed. Therefore, in FIG. 15, the arm 204 is not provided with an enlarged portion for the receiving portion 211. In particular, in FIG. 15A, a stopper 225 provided on the base 207 at a position far from the pin g218 causes the arm 204 to be moved. Make sure the lower end is supported. The stopper 225 moves along an opening 226 that is long in the base 207 in the lateral direction. Therefore, the position where the arm 204 can rotate rightward is limited and adjusted by the movement of the stopper 225. If the lateral position of the stopper can be adjusted by the screw 227 penetrating the rear part of the base 207, the user can easily adjust the closed position of the lid from outside. On the other hand, FIG.
(B) shows a configuration in which an adjusting means is not provided on the hinge module 201, but a screw 228 capable of moving up and down is provided on a main body of the image forming apparatus or the like, and the lower surface of the arm 204 is supported by the head of the screw 228. is there. This allows the arm 20
The distance from the pin g218, which is the rotation axis of No. 4, is kept large, and the deformation of the arm 204 can be further suppressed.
The other mechanism and operation of the hinge module 201 shown in FIG. 10 are the same as those described with reference to FIGS.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a transparent side view of a hinge device 1 according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a transparent side view of the hinge device 1 showing a transition process in which a lid body moves up and down.

FIG. 3 is a transparent side view of the hinge device 1 showing a transition process in which the lid performs a hinge operation.

FIG. 4 is a transparent side view of the hinge device 1 showing a transition process when the lid body performs a hinge operation and a vertical movement in parallel.

FIG. 5 is a transparent side view of the hinge device 101 that performs a predetermined sequence operation by associating a hinge operation and an elevating operation with each other by a lock arm mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a transparent side view of the hinge device 101 showing a transition process when the lid is opened from a closed state.

FIG. 7 is a transparent side view of the hinge device 101 showing a transition process when the lid is opened to the maximum and then closed, following FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a transparent side view of the hinge device 101, following FIG. 7, showing a transition process in which the lid is further closed and then returned to the original position.

9 shows a transparent side view of a hinge device using two springs instead of the spring 8 of the hinge device 1 of FIG.

FIG. 10 shows a side view of the hinge module 201.

11 shows a plan view of the hinge module 201. FIG.

FIG. 12 shows a transparent side view of the hinge module 201.

FIG. 13 shows a transparent plan view of the hinge module 201.

14A and 14B are a rear view and a side view of the hinge module 201 showing the position adjustment of the hinge.

FIG. 15 is a side view of a hinge module having a different hinge position adjusting mechanism.

FIG. 16 shows a side view of a first prior art hinge device.

FIG. 17 is a side view of a document pressing plate opening / closing device according to a second prior art.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 101,. . . Hinge device 2, 102, 202. . . Previous link, 3, 20
3. . . Back link 4, 104, 204. . . Arm, 5, 105, 2
05. . . Lock arm 7, 107, 207. . . Base 8, 30, 31, 208. . . Spring 9, 209. . . Lift arm, 102a. . . Cam 102b. . . Right side of cam, 116, 21
6. . . Pin e 123, 124, 223, 224. . . Slide opening 201. . . Hinge module, 211, 22
5. . . Stopper 211a. . . Receiving part, 211b. . . Flat part,
211c. . . Hole 204b. . . Addressing part, 206. . . Rock roller, 220. . . Lift cam, 221, 227, 22
8. . . Screw 226. . . Aperture

Claims (8)

[Claims] A supporting member fixedly attached to the main body; a rotating member pivotally supported on the supporting member and rotating with respect to the supporting member; and one end of each of the rotating members is the rotating member. A link member comprising a first link member and a second link member pivotally supported at an upper separated position; and a lid attachment member fixedly attached to a lid attached to the main body, The other end of each of the first link member and the second link member is pivotally supported at a separated position on the lid attachment member, and one end is the support member. A locking member that is pivotally supported by the other end and engages with the link member; a locking member that is installed between the support member and the link member, in a direction that attempts to push up the link member with respect to the support member. And a pressing member for generating a pressing force. When the lid is opened from a state in which the lid is closed with respect to the main body, the angle formed with the rotating member is increased to a large angle, and the lid is attached to the main body. On the other hand, when the lid is closed from the opened state, the angle is reduced to a small angle after maintaining the large angle, and the angle is minimized when the lid is closed in contact with the upper surface of the main body. Therefore, when the lid transitions from the closed state to the open state, the lid moves upward by a predetermined distance with respect to the upper surface of the main body while rotating. When the moving member opens by rotating, and when the lid transitions from the opened state to the closed state, the rotating member moves downward and then translates parallel to the upper surface of the main body. By closing, by being configured to Hinge apparatus according to symptoms. 2. The hinge device according to claim 1, wherein the pressing member is constituted by a compression spring or a cylinder means for sealing the compressed air, and the pressing force is set according to the weight of the lid. 3. A vertical cross section of the first link member and the second link member, which connects the two rotation shafts at the one end and the two rotation shafts at the other end. The hinge device according to claim 1, wherein the upper four lines form a substantially parallelogram. 4. The lid moves up and down in parallel with a predetermined distance in the vertical direction of the upper surface of the main body by deforming the substantially parallelogram as the lid is opened and closed, and rotates the lid with the support member. The lid is configured to rotate around a rotation axis with a member, and the substantially parallelogram is expanded when the lid moves parallel to the upper surface of the main body, and the lid is lowered. When the parallel movement is performed, the substantially parallelogram is narrowed, and the pressing member pushes and expands the substantially parallelogram and rotates the lid mounting member with respect to the support member via the link member. The hinge device according to claim 3, wherein the hinge device is configured to generate a pressing force of: 5. The engagement of the locking member with the link member includes a pin provided on the other end of the locking member provided on the rotating member as the lid is opened and closed. The hinge device according to claim 3, wherein the hinge device is configured to move in an elongated hole, and the pin is configured to contact and engage with a cam surface provided on the link member. 6. The locking member is pivotally supported by the supporting member so as to be slightly movable in the front-rear direction toward the long hole direction, whereby when the lid is being opened, the locking member is closed. The locking member moves in the long hole direction, and the locking member moves in a direction opposite to the long hole direction when the lid is being closed. 6. The hinge device according to 5. 7. The hinge device according to claim 3, wherein the distance by which the lid translates on the upper surface of the main body is determined by the size of the parallelogram. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said main body has an original reading surface for scanning an original on its upper surface, and said lid is a lid or an automatic original feeder for covering said image reading surface. Item 8. The hinge device according to any one of Items 1 to 7.