TW202342893A - Hinge and business machine using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a hinge, which has a sliding member for distributing a load of a compression spring when ascending and descending. The hinge includes a body part, a supporting member, a sliding member and at least three compression springs. The body part is hollow, has a bottom, and is fixed on the device body. The supporting member is fixed on the manuscript pressing plate, and is connected to the body part by a hinge shaft to rotate, and a cam portion is formed on a side of the supporting member close to the body part. The sliding member is stored in the body part, and it can be moved in a direction closer to or farther away from the cam portion of the supporting member. A cam surface is formed on a side close to the cam portion. The at least three compression springs are inserted between the sliding member and the bottom of the body part, for applying force to the sliding member in a direction approaching the cam portion so as to make the sliding member contact the cam portion. The three compression springs are configured as a first compression spring, a second compression spring and a third compression spring from a side close to the hinge shaft, and the cam surface is located on the upper side of the second compression spring and the third compression spring.

Description

Hinge and business machines using this hinge

The present invention relates to a hinge that connects a document pressing plate to a device body so that it can be opened and closed, and a business machine using the hinge. For example, the document pressing plate of a business machine is connected to the body of the device so that it can be opened and closed.

Conventionally, most office machines such as photocopiers, fax machines, and scanners include a document reading section (exposure glass) on the main body, and a document laminating plate covering the document reading section. The original pressing plate brings the original placed on the original reading unit into close contact with the original reading unit and maintains the original in a position relative to the original reading unit.

The device that connects the main body of the office machine and the manuscript laminate is a well-known hinge (please refer to, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 6690086). The above-mentioned hinge includes: a body part; a support member that is connected to the body part through a rotating shaft so as to rotate; a cam part that is formed on the support member; and a sliding member that is stored in the body part and has a cam connected to the cam part formed on it. surface; and two compression springs, which are arranged in a direction away from the rotation axis, so that the sliding member exerts force on the cam portion.

In the above-mentioned hinge, the connection position between the cam portion and the cam surface is the upper part of the compression spring farther away from the rotation axis side (front side) of the two compression springs. Therefore, when the sliding member rises and falls, the sliding member tilts toward the front compression spring, so that the load of the front compression spring is greater than the load of the rear compression spring.

In view of the above facts, the present invention provides a hinge in which the sliding member can disperse the load of the compression spring when rising and falling.

In order to achieve the above object, a hinge according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a body part, a supporting member, a sliding member and at least three compression springs. The main body part is hollow, has a bottom and is fixed to the device body; the supporting member is fixed to the original pressing plate, and is connected to the main body part by a hinge shaft to rotate, and a cam part is formed on the side close to the main body part; the sliding member is stored The body part can move in a direction closer to or farther away from the cam part relative to the support member, and a cam surface is formed on the side close to the cam part; at least three compression springs are inserted between the sliding member and the cam part. Between the bottom of the body part, a force is exerted on the sliding member in a direction approaching the cam part, so that the sliding member contacts the cam part. The three compression springs are arranged as a first compression spring, a second compression spring and a third compression spring in sequence from the side close to the hinge axis, and the cam surface is located on the upper side of the second compression spring and the third compression spring.

In the above embodiment of the hinge of the present invention, the second compression spring is offset to the left or right relative to the line connecting the first compression spring and the third compression spring, whether viewed from the front side or the rear side. either side of.

In the above embodiment of the hinge of the present invention, the sliding member is provided with an anti-fouling plate from its upper front side upward.

In the above embodiment of the hinge of the present invention, the cam surface refers to a part of the side surface of the sliding member close to the cam portion, and is a surface protruding toward the cam portion.

In the above embodiment of the hinge of the present invention, when the supporting member closes the body part, the position where the cam part contacts the cam surface is located on the upper side of the second compression spring.

The office machine of the present invention uses various hinges as described above between the device body and the original pressing plate.

The hinge of the present invention can achieve the effect of dispersing the load of the compression spring when the sliding member rises and falls.

The following describes a business machine including a hinge 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, that is, a photocopier 1 using FIG. 1 .

The photocopier 1 includes a device body 2 and an original pressing plate 3 . In this embodiment, the photocopying machine 1 includes the hinge 100 . However, other business machines other than the photocopying machine 1 or multifunction machines may also have a structure including the hinge 100 . The so-called other business machines may be, as will be described later, in addition to the photocopier 1 , and may be various stand-alone machines such as multifunctional business machines, fax machines, and scanners. The device body 2 and the original pressing plate 3 are examples of the device body and the original pressing plate respectively.

The device body 2 includes a document reading device, a control device, a printing device, a display device, and an input device.

The original reading device is arranged on the upper surface of the device body 2 . The original reading device reads the original placed on the device body 2 (generates original image information).

The control device controls the operations of various parts of the photocopier 1, specifically, it controls the operations of the original reading device, the printing device described later, and the automatic document feeder (ADF (Auto Document Feeder)) described later. In addition, the control device can record the image information generated by the original reading device and the image information obtained through the line (line such as network line) connected to the device body 2.

The printing device is arranged below the original reading device. The printing device prints the image onto specific paper based on the image information recorded by the control device.

The display device is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal screen, which displays information such as the operating status of the photocopier 1 .

The input device is composed of components such as buttons and switches, so that the user can operate the input device to input information such as instructions to the photocopier 1 . The display device and the input device are arranged on the upper front side of the device body 2 .

The original pressing plate 3 presses (presses) the original placed on the original reading device toward the original reading device, thereby preventing the original from moving when the original reading device reads it (preventing the original and the original reading device from moving) changes in relative position).

The original pressing plate 3 includes a pre-reading original receiving box (not shown), an ADF (automatic document feeder), and a post-reading original receiving box.

The ADF (automatic document feeder) takes out multiple originals stacked in the pre-reading original storage box one by one and places them at a specific reading position on the original reading device. After the original reading device completes reading the original, the ADF (automatic document feeder) then transports the original placed at the reading position to the read original storage box.

The "office machine" of the present invention refers to a device that at least has the function of reading original documents (obtaining original image information).

Specific examples of business machines are as follows: (a) Scanners, which have the function of reading originals and transmitting the image information of the read originals to other machines (such as personal computers); (b) Fax machines, which It has the function of reading the original, transmitting the image information of the read original to other machines through communication lines, and printing the image information obtained from other machines; (c) Photocopier, which has the function of reading the original function, and the function of printing the image information of the read original; (d) a multi-function machine that has the functions of the above-mentioned scanner, fax machine and photocopier; etc.

In the following description, when the original pressing plate 3 is closed (when the lower surface of the original pressing plate 3 contacts the upper surface of the device body 2 ), the rotation angle θ of the original pressing plate 3 (strictly speaking, the rotation angle θ of the original pressing plate 3 relative to the device body 2 The rotation angle θ) is defined as "0°"; when the original pressing plate 3 rotates in the opening direction and the rotation angle θ increases (the rotation angle θ is a positive number), the rotation angle θ of the original pressing plate 3 is defined accordingly (please refer to Figure 1). The direction in which the device body 2 of the photocopier 1 faces the front is the front, and the direction in which the device body 2 of the photocopier 1 faces inward (the position where the hinge 100 is provided) is the rear. When the photocopier 1 is viewed from the front, its left and right sides The direction is the left-right direction, the upward direction of the photocopier 1 itself is the upward direction, and the downward direction of the photocopier 1 itself is the downward direction. The front and rear directions, the left and right directions, and the up and down directions are perpendicular to each other.

The hinge 100 will be described below using FIGS. 1 to 7 .

The hinge 100 in this embodiment includes a body part 10, a support member 30, a sliding member 40 and at least three compression springs. In this embodiment, there are three compression springs, namely a first compression spring 51 and a second compression spring. 52 and the third compression spring 53. The main body 10 is hollow, has a bottom and is fixed to the device body 2; the support member 30 is fixed to the original pressing plate 3, and is connected to the main body 10 by the hinge shaft 15 for rotation, and is formed on the side close to the main body 10. Cam portion 36; the sliding member 40 is housed in the body portion 10 and can move in a direction closer to or farther away from (rising or descending) the cam portion 36 of the supporting member 30, and forms a cam on the side close to the cam portion 36. Surface 43; the first compression spring 51, the second compression spring 52 and the third compression spring 53 are inserted between the sliding member 40 and the bottom of the body part 10, and exert force on the sliding member 40 in the direction approaching the cam part, so that The sliding member 40 contacts the cam portion 36 .

There is one sliding member 40 . The three compression springs are sequentially arranged as a first compression spring 51 , a second compression spring 52 and a third compression spring 53 from the side close to the hinge axis 15 . The cam surface 43 connected to the cam portion 36 is located on the upper side of two of the three compression springs, that is, the upper side of the second compression spring 52 and the third compression spring 53 .

As shown in FIG. 1 , the hinge 100 connects the original pressing plate 3 of the photocopier 1 to the device body 2 to rotate. Specifically, the main body 10 which is hollow and has a bottom is fixed to the device body 2 of the photocopier 1, and the supporting member 30 is fixed to the original pressing plate 3 of the photocopier 1, thereby connecting the original pressing plate 3 to the device body 2. be able to turn.

In this embodiment, when the original pressing plate 3 is closed (when the rotation angle θ of the original pressing plate 3 is 0°), it is called the "closed state" of the supporting member 30 (please refer to FIG. 2A and FIG. 6 ); the original pressing plate 3 When it is opened (when the rotation angle θ of the original pressing plate 3 is greater than 0°), it is called the "open state" of the supporting member 30 (please refer to FIG. 2B and FIG. 7 ).

As shown in FIGS. 2A to 7 , the hinge 100 includes a body part 10 , a support member 30 , a sliding member 40 , and a first compression spring 51 , a second compression spring 52 , and a third compression spring 53 . The support member 30 is connected to the rear upper end of the body part 10 through the hinge shaft 15 so as to be rotated, and a cam part 36 is formed on the side close to the body part 10 (the lower side when the support member 30 is in a closed state); the sliding member 40 is stored inside the body part 10 to move in a direction closer to or farther from the cam part 36 (up and down direction); the first compression spring 51 , the second compression spring 52 and the third compression spring 53 are inserted into the sliding member 40 and the bottom of the main body 10 .

For convenience of explanation, the shape of each component of the hinge 100 will be described below based on the up-down, front-back, and left-right directions of the photocopier 1 when the original pressing plate 3 is in a closed state relative to the device body 2 (rotation angle θ = 0°) ( When the original pressing plate 3 is in a closed state relative to the device body 2, the up-down direction, the front-rear direction, and the left-right direction of the photocopier 1 correspond to the up-down direction, the front-rear direction, and the left-right direction of the hinge 100 respectively).

The main body 10 is a hollow member with an upper side open. As shown in Figures 6 and 7, the main body 10 is inserted into the mounting hole 2a provided in the device body 2, and as shown in Figure 4, a screw 19 (refer to Figures 6 and 7) is formed at the lower part of the main body 10 for insertion. The screw hole is 10J. The main body part 10 is inserted into the mounting hole 2a of the main body 2 of the photocopier 1, and is fixed with screws 19 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 . The main body 10 is a member made of resin injection molding. The inner bottom of the body part 10 forms spring fixing parts 11, 12, and 13 protruding upward.

As shown in Figure 5A, the spring fixing parts 11, 12, and 13 are not arranged in a straight line. Between the straight line passing through the center position of the spring fixing parts 11 and 13 located on the outside and the center position of the spring fixing part 12 located on the inner side, system is offset by a specific distance.

In addition, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B , the main body 10 includes support plates 14 , 14 located on the left and right sides of the upper end of the rear side and protruding upward. The hinge shaft 15 is inserted into the insertion holes 10H, 10H with a common axis provided on the support plates 14, 14, so that the main body 10 can support the hinge shaft 15.

As shown in FIG. 6 , the supporting member 30 is a member formed with a cam portion 36 protruding downward in a closed state, and is pivotably supported on the main body 10 through the hinge shaft 15 so as to be rotated. The cam portion 36 is in contact with the sliding member 40 biased by compression springs (the first compression spring 51 , the second compression spring 52 , and the third compression spring 53 ). The support member 30 is a member made of resin injection molding.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 , the support member 30 includes a support portion 30A, a protruding portion 30B, and an adjacent portion 30E. The support part 30A supports the cam part 36 that protrudes downward in the closed state from the upper side of the cam part 36; the protruding part 30B protrudes upward on the rear end of the support part 30A; the abutment part 30E is located under the support part 30A. side and adjacent to the rear side of the cam portion 36 . The support part 30A has an upper surface 30C in a closed state. The protruding portion 30B has a face 30D on the side of the supporting portion 30A and forms a hole 30H1 for the screw 17 to be inserted.

The original pressing plate 3 includes a fixing portion 3A for fixing the original pressing plate 3 to the supporting member 30 . The fixing portion 3A has a lower surface 3S1 and an end surface 3S2 in a closed state (please refer to FIG. 6 ).

The lower surface 3S1 of the fixed portion 3A of the original pressing plate 3 is in contact with the upper surface 30C of the supporting portion 30A, and the end surface 3S2 of the fixed portion 3A is in contact with the surface 30D of the protruding portion 30B. In this state, insert the screw 17 through the hole 30H1. The fixing portion 3A of the original pressing plate 3 can fix the original pressing plate 3 on the supporting member 30 .

In addition, the abutment portion 30E is formed with a hole 30H2 for the hinge shaft 15 to be inserted.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 , the sliding member 40 is a resin member slidably accommodated inside the main body 10 . The sliding member 40 is a bottomed hollow member. As shown in FIG. 5B , the inner upper bottom of the sliding member 40 is formed with spring fixing portions 47 , 48 , and 49 protruding downward. The positions of the spring fixing parts 47, 48, and 49 correspond to the spring fixing parts 11, 12, and 13 respectively. As mentioned above, the straight line passing through the center position of the spring fixing parts 11 and 13 located on the outside and the center position of the spring fixing part 12 located on the inside are offset by a specific distance (please refer to Figure 5A). Therefore, The straight line passing through the center position of the spring fixing parts 47 and 49 located on the outside and the center position of the spring fixing part 48 located on the inside are also offset by a specific distance.

A cam surface 43 is formed on the upper surface of the sliding member 40 on the side close to the cam portion 36 .

On the upper surface of the sliding member 40 , further forward than the cam surface 43 , an antifouling plate 42 extending in the up, down, left, and right directions and extending upward is provided upright and in the form of a flat plate. As shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 6 , the antifouling plate 42 is stored in the main body 10 in the closed state. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2B and FIG. 7 , the anti-fouling plate 42 will extend from the main body 10 in the open state and cover the side of the device main body 2 close to the original reading section. In this way, when the support member is turned from the closed state to the open state, the anti-fouling plate 42 can prevent dirt such as lubricating oil in the contact portion of the cam portion 36 and the cam surface 43 from adhering to the document reading portion of the device body 2 set original. In addition, the antifouling plate 42 can also prevent foreign matter from entering the portion where the cam portion 36 contacts the cam surface 43 .

The cam surface 43 is a part of the upper surface of the sliding member 40, is located at the rear side of the anti-fouling plate 42, and is an upward convex surface. The second compression spring 52 and the third compression spring 53 are located on the lower side of the cam surface 43, but the first compression spring 51 is not located here.

Compression springs, namely the first compression spring 51 , the second compression spring 52 and the third compression spring 53 , are inserted between the sliding member 40 and the bottom of the body part 10 . Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 4 , 6 and 7 , the first compression spring 51 , the second compression spring 52 and the third compression spring 53 are arranged in sequence from the side close to the hinge axis 15 . The first compression spring 51 , the second compression spring 52 and the third compression spring 53 are respectively fixed by the sliding member 40 through the spring fixing parts 11 , 47 , spring fixing parts 12 , 48 and spring fixing parts 13 , 49 inserted from the up and down direction. inside the main body 10 .

Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B , the spring fixing portions 12 and 48 in the central portion are offset to one side from the line connecting the spring fixing portions 11 and 47 and the spring fixing portions 13 and 49 . In this way, the left and right sliding movement when the sliding member 40 is pushed by the cam portion 36 on the supporting member 30 side will become smooth. Furthermore, the deflection direction of the spring fixing portions 12 and 48 can be toward either the left or right side of the spring fixing portions 11 and 13 and the spring fixing portions 47 and 49 . However, in this embodiment, the possibility of the six upper and lower spring fixing portions 47, 48, 49 and 11, 12 and 13 being neatly arranged in a straight line is not excluded.

As mentioned above, by inserting the first compression spring 51 , the second compression spring 52 and the third compression spring 53 between the body part 10 and the sliding member 40 , the first compression spring 51 , the second compression spring 52 and the third compression spring 53 can be inserted between the body part 10 and the sliding member 40 . The urging force of the three compression springs 53 imparts force to the supporting member 30 in the rotation direction away from the main body 10 . Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7 , the biasing force from the first compression spring 51 , the second compression spring 52 and the third compression spring 53 is transmitted to the cam portion 36 provided on the support member 30 via the cam surface 43 of the sliding member 40 . In this way, the front part of the supporting member 30 is rotated in the upward lifting direction.

The hinge 100 of this embodiment has the above structure. The first compression spring 51 , the second compression spring 52 and the third compression spring 53 are arranged in order from the side close to the hinge axis 15 . With these first compression springs 51. The second compression spring 52 and the third compression spring 53 generate hinge torque. In this way, the hinge torque can be fully exerted on the hinge 100 through the force of the three compression springs (the first compression spring 51 , the second compression spring 52 and the third compression spring 53 ), so that the thickness of each compression spring is reduced. Therefore, the size of the support member 30 in the direction of the hinge axis 15 (left-right direction) can be controlled to one compression spring thickness. Furthermore, the biasing forces of the first compression spring 51 , the second compression spring 52 , and the third compression spring 53 are applied to the same part (approximately the center part) of the hinge shaft 15 . Therefore, even if the first compression spring 51 , the second compression spring 53 52 and the third compression spring 53 have different elastic forces, which will not cause the supporting member 30 to twist and rotate relative to the hinge shaft 15 .

In the hinge 100 of this embodiment, the cam surface 43 in contact with the cam portion 36 is located above the second compression spring 52 and the third compression spring 53 on the front side, as described above. Therefore, when the sliding member 40 rises and falls, the load generated by the forward tilt of the sliding member 40 can be distributed to the second compression spring 52 and the third compression spring 53 on the front side.

The present invention is also applicable to the following aspects.

In the first aspect, the compression spring is not limited to three compression springs: the first compression spring 51 , the second compression spring 52 , and the third compression spring 53 , and may also be a plurality of four or more (N) compression springs. Therefore, the number of spring fixing parts of the sliding member 40 and the spring fixing part of the main body part 10 may be N.

In the second aspect, the spring fixing parts of the sliding member 40 and the spring fixing parts of the main body 10 may be arranged in a straight line, or a plurality of spring fixing parts arranged in a row in the front and rear direction may be arranged in the left and right directions.

In the above-mentioned first and second aspects, a plurality of compression springs are arranged on the lower side of the cam surface 43 in contact with the cam portion 36 . More specifically, two or more and N-1 or less compression springs are arranged.

Specifically, for example, if you want to arrange the first to fourth compression springs from the side close to the hinge axis, the lower side of the cam surface 43 in contact with the cam portion 36 can be arranged in the following situations. The first case: configure the second compression spring and the third compression spring; the second case: configure the second to fourth compression springs; the third case: configure the third compression spring and the fourth compression spring. In addition, if you want to arrange the first to fifth compression springs from the side closer to the hinge axis, the lower side of the cam surface 43 that contacts the cam portion 36 can be arranged in the following situations. The first case: configure the first, second and third compression springs; the second case: configure the third compression spring and the fourth compression spring; the third case: configure the fourth compression spring and the fifth compression spring; the third case: configure the fourth compression spring and the fifth compression spring; Four situations: configure the second to fourth compression springs; the fifth situation: configure the third to fifth compression springs; the sixth situation: configure the second to fifth compression springs.

Due to the above structure, the present invention can provide a hinge for office machines that does not deflect in the front-rear direction or the left-right direction even if the sliding member bears the load pushed by a plurality of compression springs.

1: Photocopier 10: Ontology part 11, 12, 13: Spring fixing part 14:Support board 15:Hinge axis 17, 19: Screws 10J: screw hole 100:hinge 2:Device body 2a:Mounting hole 3:Original laminating plate 3A: Fixed part 30: Support components 30A:Support Department 30B:Protrusion 30C:Top 30D: surface 30E: Adjacent Department 30H1, 30H2: hole 36: Cam part 3S1: Below 3S2: End face 40:Sliding member 42:Antifouling board 43:Cam surface 47, 48, 49: Spring fixed part 51:First compression spring 52:Second compression spring 53:Third compression spring

FIG. 1 is a left side view of a photocopier equipped with a hinge according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2A is a left side perspective view of the hinge in a closed state according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2B is a left perspective view of the hinge in an open state according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of a hinge according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a schematic structural diagram of a compression spring fixed between the body part and the sliding member of the hinge according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5A is a schematic view of the position of the spring fixing part, which is located on the main body side of the hinge according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5B is a position view of the spring fixing portion on the sliding member side as viewed from the lower side. Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of the hinge in a closed state according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view of the hinge in an open state according to an embodiment of the present invention.

10: Ontology part

100:hinge

11, 12, 13: Spring fixing part

15:Hinge axis

17, 19: Screws

2:Device body

2a:Mounting hole

3:Original laminating plate

3A: Fixed part

30: Support components

30A:Support Department

30B:Protrusion

30C:Top

30D: surface

30E: Adjacent Department

30H1, 30H2: hole

36: Cam part

3S1: Below

3S2: End face

40:Sliding member

42:Antifouling board

43:Cam surface

47, 48, 49: Spring fixed part

51:First compression spring

52:Second compression spring

53:Third compression spring

Claims (6)

A hinge consisting of: A body part, which is hollow, has a bottom and is fixed to a device body; a support member, which is fixed to an original pressing plate and is connected to the body part by a hinge shaft to be rotated, and a cam part is formed on a side close to the body part; A sliding member, which is received in the body part and can move in a direction closer to or farther away from the cam part of the support member, and forms a cam surface on the side close to the cam part; At least three compression springs, which are inserted between the sliding member and the bottom of the body part, exert force on the sliding member in a direction approaching the cam part, so that the sliding member contacts the cam part; Wherein, the three compression springs are configured as a first compression spring, a second compression spring and a third compression spring from the side close to the hinge axis, and the cam surface is located on the second compression spring and the third compression spring. The upper side of the spring. As for the hinge of claim 1, the second compression spring is offset to either the left or the right when viewed from the front side or the rear side with respect to the line connecting the first compression spring and the third compression spring. side. As for the hinge according to claim 1, the sliding member is provided with an anti-fouling plate from its upper front side upward. As for the hinge of claim 1, the cam surface refers to a part of the side surface of the sliding member close to the cam part, and is a surface protruding toward the cam part. The hinge according to claim 1 or 2, when the support member closes the body part, the position where the cam part contacts the cam surface is located on the upper side of the second compression spring. A work machine using any one of the above hinges between a device body and a manuscript pressing plate that opens and closes relative to the device body.