TWI838975B - Insertion hinge and office equipment using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides an insertion hinge to make it easier for the operator to operate the cover plate of an office equipment. The insertion hinge includes: an installation box having a machine storage part with an opening upwards and embedded and installed in an installation hole arranged at the device body side of the office equipment; a support member, which is connected to two side plates of the installation box through the hinge shaft so as to be rotated, and is configured to support the cover plate; a sliding member, which is accommodated in the installation box and is slideable; and an elastic member, which is elastically arranged between the sliding member and the bottom of the installation box, and presses the sliding member to the rotating cam part provided on the support member. The insertion hinge is provided with a sliding friction mechanism, which converts the rotation motion of the support member within a specific rotation angle range with the opening and closing operation of the cover plate into a sliding motion and generates a friction torque.

Description

Insertion hinge and business machine using the same

The present invention relates to an insertable hinge and an office machine using the insertable hinge. The insertable hinge is particularly suitable for a document pressing plate on an office machine such as a small photocopier, so that the document pressing plate can be installed on the device body and opened.

It is known that office machines such as photocopiers, multifunction machines, fax machines, scanners, printers, etc. are mostly provided with a manuscript placement table with an exposure glass on the device body, and a manuscript pressing plate that can be opened with the manuscript placement table is covered on the manuscript placement table. In order to enable the manuscript pressing plate to be assembled on the device body and opened relative to the device body, various hinge structures are known in the art.

Among the hinges mentioned above, for example, the insert hinge described in the known technical document Japanese Patent Publication No. 2018-21586 is well known. The installation box of the insert hinge is embedded in the installation hole provided on the side of the device body, and the support member supporting the manuscript pressing plate through the hinge shaft is installed in the installation box so as to be opened, so that the sliding member abutting against the cam portion provided on the support member is accommodated in the installation box so as to slide; a fluid damper and an elastic member composed of a compression coil spring are elastically provided between the sliding member and the bottom of the installation box.

Although the insertion hinge described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2018-21586 has the functions it should have, in recent years, a friction mechanism has been installed to improve the operability of the hinge, so that the operator needs an insertion hinge with a better operating feel when opening and closing the manuscript pressing plate.

The object of the present invention is to provide an insertable hinge that allows the operator of the transaction machine to more easily operate the document clamping plate.

To solve the above problems, the hinge of the present invention is an insertion hinge, which includes a mounting box, a supporting member, a sliding member, and an elastic member. The mounting box has an upwardly opened machine storage portion inside, and is embedded in a mounting hole provided on the side of the device body installed on the office machine; the supporting member is connected to the two side plates of the mounting box through a hinge shaft so as to be rotatable and support the manuscript pressing plate; the sliding member is received in the mounting box so as to be slidable; the elastic member is elastically arranged between the sliding member and the bottom of the mounting box, and presses the sliding member to the rotating cam portion provided on the supporting member. The insert hinge is provided with a sliding friction mechanism, which converts the rotational motion of the supporting member accompanying the opening and closing operation of the manuscript pressing plate within a specific rotation angle range into a sliding motion and generates a friction torque.

Next, according to the insert hinge of the present invention, the sliding friction mechanism includes a sliding receiving member and a friction convex portion. The sliding receiving member is received in the mounting box and connected to the hinge shaft. The friction convex portion allows the sliding member to be received in the sliding receiving member so as to slide, and is pressed with the sliding member at the sliding receiving member according to the sliding position of the sliding member.

Furthermore, according to the insert hinge of the present invention, the lower side of the friction convex portion is provided with an inclined portion facing upward.

Furthermore, according to the insert hinge of the present invention, when the sliding friction mechanism generates friction torque, the opening angle of the manuscript pressing plate is above 30 degrees.

In addition, according to the insert hinge of the present invention, a fluid damper is housed between the bottom plate portion of the sliding housing component and the inner top portion of the sliding member.

Then, the transaction machine of the present invention uses the above-mentioned plug-in hinge.

Because the present invention has the above structure, when the manuscript pressing plate installed on the supporting member performs the opening and closing action, the sliding friction mechanism operates within a specific opening and closing angle range, so that the manuscript pressing plate can stop at any angle within each specific opening and closing range, effectively preventing the manuscript pressing plate from bouncing up at a specific opening angle due to the elastic force of the elastic member, thereby improving the operability of the operating lever. In addition, when performing the closing operation, the sliding friction mechanism is released before the fluid damper takes effect, so the function of the fluid damper itself will not be damaged, and the closing operation can be performed smoothly.

1: Office machine (photocopy machine)

2: Device body

2a: Mounting hole

2b: Original document placement table

2c: Recessed portion for locking

3: Original document pressing plate (cover)

4: Insert hinge

5: Mounting box

5a: Machine storage area

5b: flange

5c: Connection hole

5d: Side panels

5e: Stop recess

5f: Inner bottom

5g: locking protrusion

6: Sliding storage component

6a: Bottom plate

6b: Side panels

6c: Reinforcement plate

6d: Reinforcement Department

6e: Friction convex part

6f: Connection hole

6g: inclined part

6h: Protrusion for pressing

7: Support components

7a: Connection part

7b: Support plate

7c: Rotate the cam

7d: Connection hole

7e: rear end

8: Hinge and chain

8a: flange

9: Sliding parts

9a: Spring storage section

9b: Cam part

9c: Sides

9d: Inner top

10: Elastic components

11: Fluid damper

11a: Piston

12: Receiver component

12a: receiving tube

12b: oblique part

12c: Inner bottom

13: Sliding friction mechanism

Figure 1 is a diagram illustrating the state of the insertable hinge of the present invention installed on a photocopier, which is one example of an office machine.

Figure 2 is also an illustration of the insertion hinge of the present invention installed on a photocopier, one example of an office machine, and shows the state viewed from the side.

Figure 3 is a three-dimensional diagram of the support member of the insert hinge of the present invention in a closed state.

Figure 4 is a three-dimensional diagram of the insert hinge of the present invention with its supporting member in the open state.

Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of the insert hinge of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a three-dimensional diagram of the installation box of the insertable hinge of the present invention.

Figure 7 is a three-dimensional diagram of the sliding storage component of the insert hinge of the present invention.

Figure 8 is a side view of the support member of the insert hinge of the present invention.

Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the sliding member of the insert hinge of the present invention, (a) is its three-dimensional view; (b) is its bottom view.

Figure 10 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view used to illustrate the internal mechanism of the plug-in hinge of the present invention when it is closed.

Figure 11 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view used to illustrate the internal mechanism of the insert hinge of the present invention when it is opened to the middle angle.

Figure 12 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view used to illustrate the internal mechanism of the insert hinge of the present invention when it is opened to a fully open angle.

Figure 13 is an operation diagram of the sliding friction mechanism of the insert hinge of the present invention, (a) is the state of the manuscript pressing plate being closed; (b) is the state of the manuscript pressing plate being opened to the middle angle; (c) is the state of the manuscript pressing plate being opened to the full open position.

The following is a diagram illustrating the insertable hinge of the present invention and an office machine using the insertable hinge. The implementation form of the diagram takes a photocopier as an example of an office machine.

FIG1 is a schematic diagram of a photocopier as one example of an office machine, and the symbol 1 in the figure represents a photocopier. The photocopier 1 is not limited to the state shown in the figure, and also includes photocopiers of other structures. According to the figure, the photocopier 1 includes a device body 2 and a manuscript pressing plate 3 (sometimes referred to as a cover 3 in the following contents of the present invention specification and the scope of the patent application), and the manuscript pressing plate 3 is installed on the device body 2 through the insertion hinge 4 of the present invention to be opened.

The insertable hinge 4 of the present invention usually has a pair of left and right parts, and is used to install the manuscript pressing plate 3 on the device body 2 of the photocopier 1 so that it can be opened and closed. In the embodiment of the present invention, since the structure of the insertable hinge 4 is the same, the following description is made with respect to one of them. In addition, in the present embodiment, the photocopier 1 has the insertable hinge 4, and in addition to the photocopier 1, a multifunction machine, a fax machine, a scanner, a printer and other business machines may also have the structure of the insertable hinge 4 of the present invention in its device body and between the manuscript pressing plate and the cover. In addition, when describing the effects of the insertable hinge 4 of the present invention, the description is based on the premise of the same structure and the pair of left and right parts, and one of the insertable hinges in a set of the insertable hinges may be the insertable hinge of the present invention, and the other may be of other different structures. For example, in the present embodiment, as described below, although a fluid damper 11 is used, one of the inserted hinges 4 may not have a fluid damper. In addition, multiple elastic members 10 formed by compression coil springs may be placed side by side, or elastic members of different sizes may be overlapped for use.

The insert hinge 4 of the embodiment 1 of the present invention, as shown in Figures 3, 4 and 10 and subsequent thereto, and as described in claim 1 of the invention abstract and the scope of the patent application, comprises a mounting box 5, a supporting member 7, a sliding member 9 and an elastic member 10. The mounting box 5 has an upwardly opened machine storage portion 5a inside, and is embedded and mounted in the mounting hole 2a on the side of the device body 2 of the photocopier 1; the supporting member 7 is connected to the two side plates 5d, 5d of the mounting box 5 through the hinge 8 so as to be rotatable and support the manuscript pressing plate 3; the sliding member 9 is stored in the mounting box 5 so as to be slidable; the elastic member 10 is elastically arranged between the sliding member 9 and the inner bottom 5f of the mounting box 5, and presses the sliding member 9 to the rotating cam portion 7c provided on the supporting member 7. The insertion hinge 4 is also provided with a sliding friction mechanism 13, which converts the movement of the supporting member 7 within a specific rotation angle accompanying the opening and closing operation of the manuscript pressing plate 3 into a sliding movement and generates a friction torque.

In addition, the sliding friction mechanism 13 of the insert hinge 4 of the present invention includes a sliding receiving member 6 and friction convex portions 6e, 6e. The sliding receiving member 6 is received in the mounting box 5 and connected to the hinge shaft 8. The friction convex portions 6e, 6e allow the slider 9 to be received inside the sliding receiving member 6 so as to slide, and the sliding receiving member 6 is pressed against the two side portions 9c, 9c of the slider 9 according to the sliding position of the slider 9.

In this embodiment, the mounting box 5 is a resin molded product such as POM (polyoxymethylene) or ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) rich in mechanical strength. In addition to the machine storage portion 5a, it also has a flange 5b, a pair of side plates 5d, 5d and a stopper recess 5e. The flange 5b is located around the upper end of the mounting box 5; the side plates 5d, 5d have connecting holes 5c, 5c. The connecting holes 5c, 5c are located on the left and right sides above the flange 5b, separated by a specific interval and shared by each other's axis; the stopper recess 5e is provided on the rear side of the flange 5b. In addition, a locking protrusion 5g is provided at the rear of the lower end of the mounting box 5.

Next, the mounting box 5 is mounted on the device body 2 as shown in FIG. 10 to FIG. 12. The mounting box 5 is embedded and inserted into the mounting hole 2a provided downward at the rear end of the device body 2 of the photocopier 1, and the locking protrusion 5g is inserted and engaged into the locking recess 2c provided at the bottom of the mounting hole 2a, so that it is not easy to fall off from the mounting hole 2a. In this case, a mounting screw can be installed on the mounting box 5 toward the mounting hole 2a, and the mounting screw can be used to lock the mounting box 5 in the mounting hole 2a.

Secondly, the sliding storage member 6 is a punch-formed product made of a metal plate, and the metal can be, for example, stainless steel. The sliding storage member 6 is of a size that can be inserted into the machine storage portion 5a of the installation box 5, and has a bottom plate portion 6a, two side plates 6b, 6b, reinforcing plate portions 6c, 6c‧6c, 6c, and reinforcing portions 6d, 6d. The bottom plate portion 6a overlaps with the inner bottom 5f of the installation box 5; the two side plates 6b, 6b stand upward from the two sides of the bottom plate portion 6a; the reinforcing plate portions 6c, 6c‧6c, 6c are bent inward from the front and rear positions of the two side plates 6b, 6b; and the reinforcing portions 6d, 6d stand slightly from the front and rear of the bottom plate portion 6a. The upper parts of the two side plates 6b and 6b are provided with friction convex parts 6e and 6e protruding inward. In addition, the upper ends of the two side plates 6b and 6b are provided with connecting holes 6f and 6f with common axes. At the same time, the two side plates 6b and 6b and the reinforcing plate parts 6c, 6c‧6c, 6c are provided with press-in convex parts 6h, 6h, ... protruding outward. In particular, as shown in Figure 7, the lower sides of the friction convex parts 6e and 6e are provided with inclined parts 6g and 6g that make it easy to press the sliding member 9.

Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the supporting member 7 is the same as the mounting box 5, and is a resin molded product such as POM (polyoxymethylene) or ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) rich in mechanical strength, and has a connecting portion 7a, a supporting plate portion 7b and a rotating cam portion 7c. The connecting portion 7a is inserted between the two side plates 5d and 5d provided in the mounting box 5, and the supporting plate portion 7b is in the shape of a long rectangle extending left and right, and is integrally formed on the front side of the connecting portion 7a; the rotating cam portion 7c is connected to the cam portion 9b of the sliding member 9 at the lower portion of the supporting plate portion 7b and the connecting portion 7a. Furthermore, the support member 7 is rotatable by connecting the connection hole 7d provided in the connection part 7a through the hinge 8, and the hinge 8 is inserted into the connection holes 5c, 5c and 6f, 6f of the two side plates 5d, 5d‧6b, 6b of the mounting box 5 and the sliding storage member 6. In addition, as shown in FIG. 5, the hinge 8 has a round rod shape with a flange 8a at one end, and the other end is riveted although not shown. However, a groove may be provided at the other end of the hinge 8 and locked with an E ring.

The sliding member 9 is in the shape of a square tube, and can be, for example, a resin molded product, with a downwardly opened spring receiving portion 9a inside and a cam portion 9b on the top. In addition, the sliding friction mechanism 13 is received in the sliding receiving component 6 to slide up and down, and is composed of the two side portions 9c, 9c of the sliding member 9 and the friction convex portions 6e, 6e of the sliding receiving component 6.

Next, the elastic member 10 composed of a compression coil spring is elastically disposed between the bottom plate portion 6a of the slide receiving member 6 and the inner top portion 9d of the spring receiving portion 9a of the slide member 9. When the slide member 9 is pushed upward in the figure, the support member 7 is rotated clockwise through the rotating cam portion 7c. In addition, the fluid damper 11 is accommodated inside the elastic member 10, and the receiving seat member 12 is disposed on the bottom plate portion 6a of the slide receiving member 6 facing the piston 11a of the fluid damper 11. The receiving seat member 12 is provided with a receiving tube 12a at the inclined portion 12b on the inner entrance side. Even if the piston 11a is slightly tilted when the inserted hinge 4 is in motion, it can be guided by the receiving tube 12a to maintain the correct posture. The form of the elastic member 10 is not limited. Although the number is 1 in this embodiment, the elastic member can be 2 or 3 according to the different torques required by the inserted hinge 4, and compression coil springs of different radii can also be used in a stacked manner.

In this way, as shown in Figures 10 and 13(a), when the manuscript pressing plate 3 is closed, when the manuscript pressing plate 3 covers the manuscript placing table 2b, the rotating cam portion 7c of the supporting member 7 will press the cam portion 9b of the sliding member 9 downward, so that the elastic member 10 is in the maximum compression state, but because the weight of the manuscript pressing plate 3 itself is greater than the rotation torque generated by the weight of the manuscript pressing plate 3 around the hinge 8, the manuscript pressing plate 3 can resist the elastic force of the elastic member 10 and maintain the closed state. In addition, at this time, the front end of the piston 11a of the fluid damper 11 is in contact with the inner bottom 12c of the receiving cylinder 12a of the receiving seat member 12.

Therefore, when the operator who wants to make a copy opens the manuscript pressing plate 3 from the closed state in order to place the manuscript on the manuscript placing table 2b, as shown in Figures 10 and 13(a), the two side parts 9c, 9c of the sliding member 9 do not contact the friction convex parts 6e, 6e provided on the two side plates 6b, 6b of the sliding storage member 6, so the operator can easily open the manuscript pressing plate 3 by the elastic force of the elastic member 10, because the elastic member 10 composed of the compression coil spring at that time applies force to make the sliding member 9 slide upward.

When the manuscript pressing plate 3 is opened to a larger angle, as shown in FIG. 11 and FIG. 13(b), the sliding friction mechanism 13 composed of the two side portions 9c, 9c of the sliding member 9 and the friction convex portions 6e, 6e of the sliding receiving member 6 starts to operate from the opening angle of 30 degrees. As the two side portions 9c, 9c of the sliding member 9 and the friction convex portions 6e, 6e of the sliding receiving member 6 are pressed, Although it encounters friction resistance, it can obtain a suitable operating feel when opening through this friction resistance. In addition, at a specific opening angle of the manuscript pressing plate 3, it can prevent the sliding member 9 of the rotating cam portion 7c of the pressing support member 7 from pushing up the support member 7 through the rotating cam portion 7c due to the push of the elastic member 10, thereby preventing the manuscript pressing plate 3 from opening suddenly, and also improving the operability. In addition, the opened manuscript pressing plate 3, as shown in FIG12, stops because the rear end 7e of the support member 7 abuts against the stop concave portion 5e of the mounting box 5, and will not open to a larger angle.

If the document pressing plate 3 is to be closed from the fully open state as shown in Figures 12 and 13(c), it can be closed with a suitable operating feel by operating the sliding friction mechanism 13. Although the sliding friction mechanism 13 stops moving from a specific closing angle, the front end of the piston 11a of the fluid damper 11 abuts against the inner bottom 12c of the receiving tube 12a of the receiving seat component 12, generating a braking effect, thereby preventing the document pressing plate 3 from closing suddenly. In addition, although the action at this time is omitted and not shown, when the fluid damper 11 is in motion, the two side parts 9c, 9c of the sliding member 9 and the friction convex parts 6e, 6e of the sliding receiving member 6 are in a non-contact state, so the sliding friction mechanism 13 will not produce motion, and can bring a smooth buffering effect.

In addition, the sliding friction mechanism 13 of the insert hinge 4 of the present invention has an operating angle range of 30 degrees to the maximum opening angle, but is not limited to this angle range.

The insert hinge of the present invention has the above-mentioned structure and is particularly suitable for opening the original document pressing plate of a smaller model of office machines, among which the office machines are represented by photocopiers. The insert hinge provided by the present invention is also particularly suitable for office machines using insert hinges because of its small size, simple structure and good operability.

5: Mounting box

5a: Machine storage area

5b: flange

5c: Connection hole

5d: Side panels

5e: Stop recess

6: Sliding storage component

6a: Bottom plate

6b: Side panels

6c: Reinforcement plate

6d: Reinforcement Department

6e: Friction convex part

6f: Connection hole

6h: Protrusion for pressing

7: Support components

7a: Connection part

7b: Support plate

7d: Connection hole

8: Hinge and chain

8a: flange

9: Sliding parts

9b: Cam part

9c: Sides

10: Elastic components

11: Fluid damper

11a: Piston

12: Receiver component

12a: receiving tube

Claims (5)

An insertable hinge comprises: a mounting box having an upwardly opening machine storage portion therein and inserted into a mounting hole provided on the side of a device body of an office machine; a supporting member connected to two side plates of the mounting box through a hinge shaft so as to be rotatable and to support a manuscript pressing plate; a sliding member received in the mounting box so as to be slidable; and an elastic member , which is flexibly arranged between the sliding member and the bottom of the mounting box, and presses the sliding member against a rotating cam portion provided on the supporting member; wherein the insert hinge is provided with a sliding friction mechanism, which converts the rotational movement of the supporting member accompanying the opening and closing operation of the manuscript pressing plate when the opening angle of the manuscript pressing plate is above 30 degrees into a sliding movement and generates a friction torque. As for the insert hinge described in claim 1, the sliding friction mechanism comprises: a sliding receiving member, which is received in the mounting box and connected to the hinge shaft; and a friction convex portion, which allows the sliding member to be received in the sliding receiving member so as to slide, and is pressed with the sliding member in the sliding receiving member according to the sliding position of the sliding member. In the inserted hinge described in claim 2, the lower side of the friction convex portion is provided with an inclined portion facing upward. As in the insert hinge described in claim 2, a fluid damper is housed between the bottom plate portion of the sliding housing member and the inner top portion of the sliding member. A transaction machine using an insert hinge as described in any one of claims 1 to 4.