JPH11161135A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent exhaust air from blowing off the face an operator by making an air exhaust port face downward at a step part whose upper side projects to a back surface side further than the lower side. SOLUTION: An image forming part 20 is equipped with an air exhaust part 30 on the back surface side with the step part so that it may project to the back surface side further than the back surface of a paper supply part 21. The exhaust part 30 is composed of a panel 31 attached to the back surface of the image forming part 20 and a fan provided in a recessed part formed inside the panel 31. The panel 31 is composed of a lower side part provided so as to be flush with the back surface of the paper supply part 21, an upper side part projecting to the back surface side from the back surface of the paper supply part 21 by as much as the step, a step surface part positioned between both parts an other peripheral parts, etc. Then, the recessed part in which the fan is provided is provided on the inside of the upper side part, and the air exhaust port and a suction port formed of many slits are provided to be positioned right and left at the step surface part. The surface the panel 31 is a flat surface constituting the back surface of the image forming part 20, so that the image forming device is installed extremely proximately to the wall, etc.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile, a printer, and the like, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus in which air exhaust from an image forming apparatus main body is improved.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The main body of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine includes many components and devices that generate heat when operating. Deterioration of performance of parts and equipment due to temperature rise inside the machine caused by this heat,
In general, in order to prevent the life of the apparatus from being shortened, many apparatuses are provided with an exhaust fan and an exhaust port for forcibly exhausting the air in the apparatus main body.

On the other hand, many copiers and the like adopt a main body structure that can be arranged so as to be fitted to a wall or the like so that the installation space can be reduced. However, if there is a wall or the like near the exhaust port, the exhaust efficiency of the exhaust fan tends to be remarkably reduced, which causes a problem that the purpose of providing the exhaust device cannot be achieved. In order to solve this, various techniques have been conventionally proposed. For example, there is an exhaust port provided on the side of the device main body, but if the device is installed so that it is surrounded on three sides by a recessed wall, the exhaust air from the side of the device rises along the wall and becomes warm. It was easy for the exhaust air to blow on the operator's body, especially the face and hands, immediately.
In some cases, the exhaust vent is provided upward on the back side of the main unit.However, in this case too, the exhaust air is likely to hit the operator's face, and dust and dirt easily enter from the upward exhaust vent. Was desired.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus in which exhaust air warmed by heat generated in a fixing device or the like is hardly applied to an operator's face or the like. .

[0005]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus comprising: The image forming apparatus is characterized in that a projecting step is provided, and an exhaust port provided by an exhaust unit in the image forming apparatus main body faces downward.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a handle portion is provided at a portion of the step portion where the air outlet is not provided.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the handle is provided so as to be recessed from the outermost edge of the step.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the handle portion is provided so as to protrude downward from an upper edge of the step portion, and the exhaust port is provided on one side of the handle portion and the main body of the image forming apparatus is provided on the other side. It is characterized by providing an intake port to the inside.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view (A) from the front side and a perspective view (B) from the back side showing an embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. This image forming apparatus is a multifunction machine that realizes not only a copy function but also a facsimile function or a printer function. The image forming apparatus is referred to as an internal discharge type or the like. The two-stage paper feed unit 21 is disposed immediately below the document feed unit. The document reading unit 22 is separated from the front of the image forming unit 20 by a space that is open at the front and the left side in the figure (left in FIG. 1A). A space between the image forming unit 20 and the reading unit 22 is disposed as a paper discharge storage unit 23, and an operation unit 24 for operating a plurality of functions is provided on the front side of the apparatus main body of the reading unit 22.

Although not shown, a photoconductor as an image carrier, an optical writing device for forming an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor, a charger for charging the photoconductor, an electrostatic latent The image forming apparatus includes a developing device for visualizing an image, a transfer device for transferring and conveying a visible image to a sheet, and a fixing device for generating heat most and for fusing and fixing a toner image on a sheet.

An operation unit 24 includes a copy function panel unit 57 including a copy start key 53, a numeric keypad 54, a liquid crystal display unit 55, a copy operation unit 56, and the like, for operating a plurality of functions described above, and a dial key 58 and the like. And a facsimile function panel section 59.
Reference numerals 7 and 59 are provided over almost the entire width of the paper discharge storage section 23. In the figure, reference numeral 60 denotes a power switch.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1B, the image forming section 20 is provided with an exhaust section 30 on the back side. As shown in FIG. 2, the air discharge unit 30 is provided with a step so as to protrude further to the rear side than the rear surface of the paper feed unit 21.

As can be seen from FIGS. 2 to 4, the air exhaust unit 30 is provided on a panel 31 mounted on the back surface of the image forming unit 20, and on one or both of recesses 32, 33 formed inside the panel 31. And a fan (not shown). The panel 31 includes a lower portion 34 provided flush with the rear surface of the paper feeding portion 21, an upper portion 35 protruding further from the rear surface of the paper feeding portion 21 by a step difference, and both portions 34. , 35
Consisting of a stepped surface portion 36 and other peripheral portions located between the
The recesses 32 and 33 for providing the above-described fans are provided in the upper portion 3.
5, the step surface portion 36 is provided with an exhaust port 38 and an intake port 39 formed by a large number of slits 37 so as to be located on the left and right. Also, a recess 32 of the panel 31,
Reference numeral 33 denotes a ventilation passage formed by covering the lower portion with a panel member 40, leaving an upper portion to which the fan is attached. Note that the surface of the panel 31 constitutes the back surface of the image forming section 20, but this surface is a flat surface, so that the image forming apparatus can be installed even very close to a wall or the like.

Although an intake fan may be provided on the intake port 39 side, a pressure difference is generated inside and outside the image forming apparatus due to exhaust air from the exhaust port 38 even without the intake fan, thereby causing natural circulation of air. In the illustrated embodiment, the air intake 39
The power supply connector etc. are attached under the
It will not obstruct ventilation unless it is covered in a wide area.

A handle 41 is formed between the air outlet 38 and the air inlet 39 so as to hang straight from the center of the upper portion 35 to the lower edge of the lower portion 34. The central portion of the handle portion 41 is slightly recessed upward from the lower edge as shown in the figure, and the recess serves as a handle 42. In addition, the part of the handle 42 has a slight thickness to increase the strength, and is deformed even when a force is applied during transportation or the like.
No damage is caused. In addition, this handle part 4
In FIG. 1, as shown in FIG. 2, the air outlet 38 and the air inlet 39 are divided so that the flow of the exhaust air from the air outlet 38 and the flow of the air from the air inlet 39 are not obstructed from each other.

Assuming that the rear surface of the above-described image forming apparatus is operated with the rear surface of the image forming apparatus being tightly attached to the wall 43 as shown in FIG. 5, the hot air generated in the image forming section 20 is discharged from the exhaust port 38 of the exhaust section 30. The air is blown downward between the lower portion 34 of the panel 31 and the back surface of the paper feeding unit 21 and the wall 43. Since the temperature of the air flow is higher than that of the surrounding air in most cases, the air flow eventually rises from the vicinity of the side surface of the image forming unit 20 and also from the back side. Since the temperature drops due to mixing, even if it wraps around to the front side of the image forming apparatus and blows on the operator,
The operator hardly feels heat or warmth.

[0017]

As described above, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the image forming apparatus main body is provided at the stepped portion provided on the back side of the image forming apparatus main body and projecting from the lower side to the rear side. Since the exhaust port provided by the exhaust means in the interior faces downward, the hot air generated in the image forming apparatus main body is blown downward on the back side of the apparatus, and it is difficult for warm air to flow to the front side of the apparatus. Even if the air flows around, there is an effect that the temperature is lowered by mixing with the surrounding air, so that it does not cause discomfort even if it hits the operator.

In the image forming apparatus according to the second aspect, as described above, the handle portion is provided at a portion of the stepped portion provided on the back side of the image forming apparatus main body, where the air outlet is not provided. In addition to the common effect, there is an effect that the position can be easily moved during transportation or the like.

In the image forming apparatus according to the third aspect, as described above, the handle portion is recessed from the outermost edge of the step portion. There is an effect that it is difficult to have a portion provided with an exhaust port that is easy to find and easily break.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, as described above, the handle is provided so as to protrude downward from the upper edge of the step, the exhaust port is provided on one side, and the image forming apparatus is provided on the other side. Since the intake port is provided in the main body of the apparatus, in addition to the above-mentioned common effects, the handle section separates the flow of exhaust air from the exhaust port and the flow of external air to the intake port so that they do not interfere with each other. There is an effect that can be.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view (A) and a rear perspective view (B) showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.
It is.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1 as viewed obliquely from the rear side.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing an internal structure of a panel forming an exhaust portion.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the panel shown in FIG. 3, showing an exhaust port, an intake port, and a handle, as viewed from the bottom side.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a flow of exhaust gas in the image forming apparatus of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 20 image forming unit 21 paper feed unit 22 reading unit 23 paper discharge storage unit 24 operation unit 30 air discharge unit 31 panels 32, 33 recess in panel 34 lower part of panel 35 upper part 36 step surface part 37 slit 38 discharge Vent 39 Inlet 40 Panel material 41 Handle 42 Handle 43 Wall 53 Copy start key 54 Numeric keypad 55 Liquid crystal display unit 56 Copy operation unit 57 Copy function panel unit 58 Dial key 59 Fax function panel unit 60 Power switch

Claims (4)

[Claims] An image forming apparatus is provided with a stepped portion on the back side of which the upper side protrudes from the lower side to the backside, and the exhaust port of the exhaust means in the image forming apparatus body is directed downward at the stepped portion. An image forming apparatus comprising: 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a handle portion is provided at a portion of the step portion where the air outlet is not provided. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the handle is recessed from an outermost edge of the step. 4. The handle portion is provided so as to protrude downward from an upper edge of the step portion, and the exhaust port is provided on one side of the handle portion, and the air intake port to the inside of the image forming apparatus main body is provided on the other side. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: