JPH1154975A - Enclosure exhaust device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent an in-device cooling capacity from deteriorating, even when an obstruction exists within a specified distance from an air-exhaust port, thanks to an installation condition, in a picture formation device, etc. SOLUTION: Under an unappropriate installation condition in which a wall 5, etc., exists within a specified distance from an air-exhaust port, air-exhaust resistance becomes large, so that a capacity for cooling in-device is deteriorated, and both an in-device temperature and an air-exhaust temperature rise, and the temperature of an obstruction existing near the air-exhaust port also rises, so that a fan 2 is controlled by utilizing temperature change of the wall 5. When a sensor 4 senses a temperature higher than a certain reference level, the number of rotation of the fan 2 is increased higher than a normal condition, to suppress deterioration of an exhausting capacity. When the temperature of the wall 5 near the air-exhaust port is normal, the number of rotation of the fan 2 is decreased to reduce noise.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an exhaust device in a housing which can be used for an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile, a printer, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The components of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or the like include components and devices that generate heat when operating, and the performance of components and devices deteriorates due to a rise in internal temperature. In general, in order to prevent a reduction in service life, an air outlet and an exhaust fan for forcibly discharging air in the apparatus are often provided. However, if there is an obstacle such as a wall near the exhaust port, the exhaust efficiency of the exhaust fan is likely to be significantly reduced, and the purpose of providing the exhaust device cannot be achieved. Technology has been proposed.

[0003] The present invention proposes a new technique capable of solving the above-mentioned conventional problems. Even if there is an obstacle within a certain distance from the exhaust port due to installation conditions, it is not necessary to reduce the cooling capacity inside the machine. It is another object of the present invention to provide an in-housing exhaust device capable of reducing noise under appropriate installation conditions in which there is no obstacle within a certain distance from an air outlet.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus, comprising: an exhaust fan for cooling the inside of an apparatus; A sensor capable of detecting the temperature of an obstacle is provided in the vicinity of the exhaust port, and when the sensor detects a temperature higher than a predetermined reference level, the rotation speed of the exhaust fan is set to the reference level. It is characterized in that it has a means for performing a control that is higher than in the following steady state.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, an exhaust fan for cooling the inside of the apparatus is provided in a housing,
A sensor capable of detecting the temperature of an obstacle is provided in the vicinity of the air outlet of the housing, and when the sensor detects a temperature higher than a predetermined reference level, the detected temperature of the sensor increases the opening area of the air outlet. It is characterized in that it has means for making it larger than the steady state below the reference level.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, an exhaust fan for cooling the inside of the device is provided in the housing,
A sensor capable of detecting the temperature of an obstacle is provided in the vicinity of the air outlet of the housing, and when the sensor detects a temperature higher than a predetermined reference level, the angle or position of the louver provided in the air outlet is changed. In this case, there is provided a means for reducing the exhaust air resistance as compared with a steady state in which the temperature detected by the sensor is equal to or lower than a reference level.

[0007]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an in-housing exhaust device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a duct, 2 denotes a fan, 3 denotes an exterior cover of a housing such as an apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus, 4 denotes a sensor, and 5 denotes a wall which obstructs exhaust. The duct 1 is a passage for guiding the air inside the device to the outside of the device, and a fan 2 is arranged in the duct 1 to discharge warm air inside the device to the outside and cool the inside of the device.
The hot air inside the machine is released by the rotation of the fan 2 and the exterior cover 3.
Through the opening 3a provided as an air outlet. In the figure, L indicates the distance between the opening 3a and the wall 5, and the arrow indicates the exhaust direction.

The sensor 4 has a wall 5 near the opening 3a.
It is installed to detect the temperature at or near the surface. That is, under improper installation conditions (the state in which the wall 5 or the like is within a certain distance from the exhaust port), the ability to cool the inside of the machine is reduced due to the influence of an obstacle (for example, an increase in exhaust resistance). The temperature inside the machine rises, and the exhaust air temperature rises accordingly. Then, naturally, the temperature of the obstacle near the air outlet also rises. Therefore, in this embodiment, the fan 2 is controlled using the temperature change of the wall 5. For example, when the sensor 4 detects a temperature higher than a certain reference level, drive control means (not shown) controls the rotation speed of the fan 2 to be higher than that in a steady state. Then, a decrease in the exhaust capacity can be suppressed. When the temperature of the wall 5 near the air outlet is steady, it is possible to reduce the noise by lowering the rotation speed of the fan 2.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an in-housing exhaust device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. In the drawing, reference numeral 6 denotes an adjusting plate, 7 denotes a solenoid, and 8 denotes a spring. The adjusting plate 6 has an adjusting opening 6a, and one end is connected to a solenoid 7 fixed to the outer cover 3 and the like, and the other end is connected to a spring 8 fixed to the outer cover 3 and the like.
The balance between the F operation and the biasing force of the spring 8 allows the adjustment plate 6 to slide in the direction of the arrow in the figure. Note that the same parts as those in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and described.

In this embodiment, the position of the adjustment plate 6 is controlled by the ON / OFF operation of the solenoid 7. That is, in a steady state, the opening area is made small by making the adjustment opening 6a of the adjustment plate 6 slightly shifted from the opening 3a of the exterior cover 3, and when the sensor 4 detects a temperature higher than a certain reference level. Then, the solenoid 7 is driven by drive control means (not shown) to move the adjustment opening 6a to a position coincident with the opening 3a of the outer cover 3, thereby maximizing the opening area. When the temperature of the wall 5 near the air outlet is steady, it is also possible to reduce the sound leakage by moving the adjusting plate 6 so that the opening area of the opening 3a is smaller than in the state of FIG. .

FIGS. 3 and 4 are sectional views showing an exhaust device in a housing according to a third embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 11 is an exterior cover, 12 is a louver, 13 is a support shaft, and 14 is a wire. The louver 12 is rotatably supported by a support shaft 13 fixed to the exterior cover 11 and the like, and has a wire 14 connected to one end. The wire 14 is connected at one end to a solenoid 7 fixed to an appropriate part in the machine, and at the other end to a spring 8 also fixed to another part in the machine.
Note that the same parts as those in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and described.

In this embodiment, the ON / O of the solenoid 7 is
By the balance between the FF operation and the biasing force of the spring 8,
The angle (or position) of the louver 12 can be changed. That is, in the steady state, the louver 12 is inclined (the state shown in FIG. 3) to make the opening area small, and when the sensor 4 detects a temperature higher than a certain reference level,
The solenoid 7 is driven by drive control means (not shown) so that the louver 12 becomes horizontal (becomes the state shown in FIG. 4), and the opening area is maximized. The louver 12 can be raised in the exhaust direction to make the opening area smaller than in the state shown in FIG. 3, thereby reducing sound leakage.

In an image forming apparatus or the like, the distance L at which the sensor 4 should detect the temperature of an obstacle is about 0 to 500 mm, and there are generally many sensors suitable for that.
However, in the present invention, it is only necessary to employ a sensor capable of detecting the temperature at a distance from the obstacle regardless of the value of the distance.

[0014]

According to the exhaust device in the housing according to the present invention,
When the temperature of the obstacle near the air outlet becomes higher than a certain reference level, increase the rotation speed of the fan, increase the opening area of the air outlet, or change the angle (position) of the louver. Depending on whether or not the exhaust resistance is reduced, there is an effect that the cooling capacity in the housing can be prevented from being reduced even under an improper installation condition in which an obstacle is within a certain distance from the exhaust port. . Further, according to the exhaust device in the casing according to the present invention, when the temperature of the obstacle near the exhaust port is steady, the rotational speed of the fan is reduced, or the opening area of the exhaust port is reduced, so that There is also an effect that noise can be reduced under proper installation conditions where there is no obstacle within a certain distance.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an in-housing exhaust device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an in-housing exhaust device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an in-housing exhaust device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where an operation of increasing an opening area is performed in the embodiment of FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 duct 2 fan 3 outer cover 3a opening 4 sensor 5 wall 6 adjusting plate 6a adjusting opening 7 solenoid 8 spring 11 outer cover 12 louver 13 support shaft 14 wire L Distance between opening and wall

Claims (3)

[Claims] An exhaust fan for cooling the inside of a machine is provided in a housing, and a sensor capable of detecting a temperature of an obstacle is provided near an exhaust port of the housing, and the sensor has a temperature higher than a predetermined reference level. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising means for controlling the number of revolutions of the exhaust fan to be higher than when the temperature detected by the sensor is lower than or equal to a reference level. 2. An exhaust fan for cooling the inside of a machine is provided in a housing, a sensor capable of detecting a temperature of an obstacle is provided near an air outlet of the housing, and the sensor has a temperature higher than a predetermined reference level. The exhaust device in a housing, characterized in that it has means for making the opening area of the exhaust port larger when the sensor detects that the temperature is below a reference level when the sensor is in a steady state. 3. An exhaust fan for cooling the inside of the machine is provided in the housing, and a sensor capable of detecting a temperature of an obstacle is provided near an exhaust port of the housing, and the sensor has a temperature higher than a predetermined reference level. When the sensor detects, the angle or the position of the louver provided in the air outlet is changed, and the temperature detected by the sensor is reduced to a level lower than a reference level. Exhaust device.