JP4191504B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In general, an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, or a facsimile is provided with a sheet conveyance unit 20 as shown in FIGS. The sheet transport unit 20 includes a one-surface structure 25a of a sheet transport path 25, and a cover member 21 that rotates around a rotation shaft 21c supported by the apparatus body (not shown) rotates to the apparatus body. On the other hand, the opening / closing operation can be performed between the opening posture and the closing posture, and the one-surface-side structure 25a of the sheet conveyance path 25 can be contacted / separated with respect to the apparatus main body according to the opening / closing operation. It is.
[0003]
The sheet transport unit 20 includes a metal shaft 22 rotatably provided at an appropriate position of the cover member 21, and is connected to the shaft 22 to lock the cover member 21 and the apparatus main body in the closed posture. And a hook member 23 that releases the hook member 23, and an open / close lever 24 that is configured to be operable from the outside of the cover member 21 and that is connected to the external operation and enables the hook member 23 to be locked and released. Is provided.
[0004]
Further, for example, Patent Document 1 includes a multi-opening / closing lever, a fulcrum shaft, and a lock link. By rotating the multi-opening / closing lever around the fulcrum shaft, the lock link is operated to lock the unit. A technique of a sheet conveying device of an image forming apparatus that performs unlocking is disclosed.
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 9-22239 A
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described sheet conveyance unit 20 and the sheet conveyance device disclosed in Patent Document 1, the hook member 23, the shaft 22, and the opening / closing lever 24 are configured as separate members, and thus the number of parts is large. Thus, the manufacturing process such as the line configuration and inventory management becomes complicated, and there is a problem that the cost for manufacturing and assembling the parts is increased. In particular, in the case of the sheet transport unit 20 shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the shaft 22 is provided inside the sheet transport unit 20 so as to cross the sheet transport path 25, so that the sheet transport is performed so as to cover the shaft 22. There is a problem in that the conveyance guides 25c and 25d for guiding the sheet are provided, and the number of parts is further increased to increase the cost for manufacturing the sheet body conveyance unit 20.
[0007]
Further, when the hook member 23, the shaft 22, and the opening / closing lever 24 are separate components as in the above-described sheet conveyance unit 20 and the sheet conveyance device disclosed in Patent Document 1, the components are assembled when each component is attached. There was a problem that an error occurred.
[0008]
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, has a small number of parts, simplifies manufacturing processes such as line configuration and inventory management, and can reduce manufacturing costs and improve assembly accuracy. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention for solving the above-described problems is provided with a structure on one side of the sheet conveyance path, and a cover member that rotates around a rotation shaft supported by the apparatus main body is rotated with respect to the apparatus main body by the rotation. An image forming apparatus that can be opened and closed between an open position and a closed position, and that the structure on one side of the sheet conveyance path can be brought into contact with and separated from the apparatus body according to the opening and closing operation. A shaft rotatably provided at an appropriate position of the cover member, a hook member connected to the shaft and locking and releasing the cover member and the apparatus main body in the closed position, and a cover member It is configured to be operable from the outside, and includes an opening / closing lever that is connected to the external operation to enable locking and releasing operation of the hook member, the shaft, the hook member, and the Together are molded integrally with the closing lever, on the shaft is an image forming apparatus characterized by conveying guide for guiding the conveyance of the sheet is formed.
[0010]
According to the present invention, the shaft, the hook member, and the opening / closing lever are integrally formed, and the conveyance guide that guides the conveyance of the sheet body is formed on the shaft. As a result, the number of parts can be reduced as compared with the conventional image forming apparatus configured with the above-described members. As a result, manufacturing processes such as line configuration and inventory management can be simplified, and manufacturing costs can be reduced. . Moreover, since each member is shape | molded integrally, an assembly precision can be improved.
[0011]
In the present invention, the hook member is preferably provided on both sides of the shaft.
[0012]
According to this preferred aspect, since the hook members are provided on both sides of the shaft, the cover member can be more reliably brought into the closed posture with respect to the image forming apparatus main body.
[0013]
Moreover, it is preferable that the said opening / closing lever is provided in the approximate center of the said shaft, and is each connected with the hook member of both sides with the said shaft.
[0014]
According to this preferable aspect, since the opening / closing lever is provided at substantially the center of the shaft and is connected to the hook members on both sides by the shafts, the hook members provided on both sides of the shaft are operated by one opening / closing lever. Therefore, an image forming apparatus with good operability can be obtained.
[0015]
Moreover, it is preferable that the opening / closing lever can be operated to release the cover member together with the unlocking operation of the hook member.
[0016]
According to this preferable aspect, since the opening / closing lever can be operated to release the cover member together with the unlocking operation of the hook member, the image forming apparatus can be more easily operated.
[0017]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus 50 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a perspective view showing an inner surface of the sheet transport unit 10 of the image forming apparatus 50 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a sheet body of the image forming apparatus 50 according to the embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a perspective view showing an outer surface of a transport unit 10. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a shaft, a hook member, an opening / closing lever, and a conveyance guide in the sheet conveyance unit, where (a) is viewed from the inside and (b) is viewed from the outside. It is a perspective view. (C) is an enlarged perspective view of the hook member.
[0018]
In FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 50 according to an embodiment of the present invention is an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, or a facsimile, and includes a main body housing 100 and an upper housing 101 mounted on the upper body 101. It is partitioned. A sheet stack space portion 102 is formed in an intermediate portion between the main housing 100 and the upper housing 101 so as to enter the inner side in a substantially horizontal direction from the right side surface. The sheet stack space 102 receives a sheet discharged from the main body housing 100 in the lateral direction.
[0019]
The upper housing 101 includes a document transport unit 200 that transports a document to an image reading position in order to read a document image, and a document reading unit that scans and scans the document at the image reading position. The main body housing 100 further includes a sheet body supply unit, a photosensitive drum and a developing unit for forming a toner image on the sheet body, and a fixing unit for fixing the toner image on the sheet body. And a connection housing 105 having a built-in sheet body conveyance path for conveying the sheet body and discharging it to the sheet body stack space 102. A sheet cassette 106 that accommodates a sheet body is attached to the lower part of the front surface of the main body housing 100 so that it can be pulled out in the depth direction from the front side.
[0020]
2 is provided on the side surface of the connecting housing 105 of the image forming apparatus 50. The sheet transport unit 10 includes a cover member 1 and a shaft as shown in the figure. 2, a hook member 3, and an opening / closing lever 4.
[0021]
In FIG. 2, the cover member 1 faces an image forming apparatus 50 main body (not shown) positioned in front, and a rotation shaft 1 c (FIG. 3) provided on the image forming apparatus 50 main body is the center. It is provided so as to be rotatable. The cover member 1 is provided so as to be rotatable in this manner, whereby an open posture 1b (FIG. 7) for opening the one-surface structure 5a of the sheet conveyance path 5 of the image forming apparatus 50 and a closed posture 1a. (FIGS. 5 and 6) can be opened and closed.
[0022]
The sheet transport path 5 is for transporting a sheet body on which an image is formed. The sheet transport path 5 is provided on one side of the sheet transport path 5, that is, transport rollers 5 c, 5 e, 5 g assembled to the cover member 1. And the conveyance guides 5b, 5d, 5f, etc., and the one-surface-side structure 5a of the sheet conveyance path 5 can be brought into contact with and separated from the apparatus main body according to the opening / closing operation of the cover member 1. Yes.
[0023]
The sheet conveyance unit 10 of the image forming apparatus 50 can contribute to the cost reduction and the improvement of the operability of the image forming apparatus 50. Is provided in the conveyance path from the sheet to the discharge of the sheet body, and the sheet body is conveyed by the conveyance rollers 5c, 5e, and 5g along the conveyance guides 5b, 5d, and 5f from the bottom to the top in the drawing. It is configured.
[0024]
Next, referring to FIG. 4, the shaft 2 is a member rotatably provided at a bearing portion 1 d (FIG. 2) provided at an appropriate position of the cover member 1, and is formed in a column shape. A conveyance guide 5d for guiding the conveyance of the sheet body is formed on the surface.
[0025]
The hook member 3 has shafts on both the left and right sides of the sheet conveyance path 5 in order to more securely engage the cover member 1 with a hook member engaging portion 6 (FIG. 6) provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus 50. 2 are connected to both ends. The left and right hook members 3 are locked with respect to the left and right hook member engaging portions 6 provided opposite to the hook members 3 to lock the cover member 1 (FIG. 5). ) And the unlocking posture 3b (FIG. 6) for releasing the lock.
[0026]
The opening / closing lever 4 is a member that is rotatably provided on the cover member 1 and is connected to the shaft 2, and the hook member 3 has a lock posture 3 a (FIG. 5) and a lock release posture 3 b (FIG. 6). It is configured to be able to be operated so as to change the posture. In particular, in one embodiment of the present invention, the hook member 3 provided on both sides of the sheet conveyance path 5 is operated by one opening / closing lever 4 to provide the sheet conveyance unit 10 of the image forming apparatus 50 with good operability. In order to be able to do so, the open / close lever 4 is provided at the approximate center of the sheet conveying path 5 and is connected to the hook members 3 on both sides by the shaft 2.
[0027]
In addition, the opening / closing lever 4 is configured so that the cover member is opened between the opening posture 1b (FIG. 7) and the closing posture 1a (FIGS. 5 and 6) while maintaining the unlocking posture 3b in which the hook member 3 releases the lock. It is comprised so that it can operate so that a posture may be changed between.
[0028]
In one embodiment of the present invention, in order to simplify the manufacturing process such as line configuration and inventory management by reducing the number of parts, these shafts are reduced. 2, the hook member 3, and the opening / closing lever 4 are integrally formed of synthetic resin.
[0029]
Next, in FIG. 5 to FIG. 7, the operation of the sheet transport unit 10 of the image forming apparatus 50 according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 5 is a side view showing the cover member 1 of the sheet transport unit 10 of the image forming apparatus 50 according to the embodiment of the present invention in the closing posture 1a and the hook member 3 in the locking posture 3a. FIG. 4 is a side view showing the cover member 1 in a closing posture 1a and the hook member 3 in a lock releasing posture 3b. FIG. 7 is a side view showing the cover member 1 in the opening posture 1b and the hook member 3 in the unlocking posture 3b.
[0030]
In FIG. 5, the sheet transport unit 10 of the image forming apparatus 50 according to the embodiment of the present invention places the cover member 1 in the closed posture 1 a and pushes down the opening / closing lever 4 to move the hook member 3. The hook member 3 is rotated around the bearing portion 1d and locked to the hook member locking portion 6 provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus 50, thereby changing the posture of the hook member 3 to the lock posture 3a for locking the cover member 1. can do.
[0031]
Next, in FIG. 6, the sheet transport unit 10 of the image forming apparatus 50 lifts the opening / closing lever 4 while the cover member 1 is in the closed posture 1 a as shown in the drawing, and the hook member 3 is moved to the bearing portion. The hook member 3 can be changed in posture to the unlocking posture 3b for releasing the lock of the cover member 1 by rotating around 1d and pulling it down.
[0032]
Further, in FIG. 7, the sheet transport unit 10 of the image forming apparatus 50 rotates the opening / closing lever 4 and the cover member 1 while keeping the unlocking posture 3 b for unlocking the cover member 1 as illustrated. By rotating around the shaft 1c, the cover member 1 can be brought into the open posture 1b.
[0033]
As described above, according to the image forming apparatus 50 according to the embodiment of the present invention, the shaft 2, the hook member 3, and the opening / closing lever 4 are integrally formed, and the shaft 2 has a sheet. Since the conveyance guide 5d for guiding the conveyance of the body is formed, the number of parts can be reduced as compared with the conventional image forming apparatus 50 in which these parts are constituted by separate members. Manufacturing processes such as inventory management can be simplified, and manufacturing costs can be reduced. Moreover, since each member is shape | molded integrally, an assembly precision can be improved.
[0034]
Further, according to the present embodiment, since the hook members 3 are provided on both sides of the shaft, the cover member 1 can be more reliably closed with respect to the main body of the image forming apparatus 50.
[0035]
In addition, according to the present embodiment, the opening / closing lever 4 is provided at substantially the center of the shaft and is connected to the hook members 3 on both sides by the shaft 2, so that one opening / closing lever 4 is provided on both sides of the shaft. As a result of being able to operate the hook member 3 provided, the image forming apparatus 50 with good operability can be obtained.
[0036]
In addition, according to the present embodiment, the opening / closing lever 4 can be operated to release the cover member 1 to the open posture 1b together with the unlocking operation of the hook member 3, so that the image forming apparatus 50 can be operated more easily. can do.
[0037]
Further, according to the present embodiment, in the image forming apparatus 50, the sheet conveyance path that is frequently opened and closed is a conveyance path for discharging the fixed sheet. In particular, it can contribute to cost reduction and operability improvement of the image forming apparatus 50.
[0038]
The above-described embodiment is merely a preferred specific example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment.
[0039]
For example, the image forming apparatus 50 is not necessarily limited to a copying machine, a printer, or a facsimile. The present invention can also be applied to the image forming apparatus 50 such as other printing apparatuses.
[0040]
Further, the sheet transport unit 10 of the image forming apparatus 50 is not necessarily limited to being provided in the transport path from image fixing to sheet discharge. The image forming apparatus 50 can be applied to any conveyance path such as a conveyance path on the sheet feeding side as long as it is a sheet conveyance path.
[0041]
Further, the hook member 3 is not necessarily limited to being provided on both the left and right sides of the sheet conveyance path as in the illustrated shape. As long as the cover member 1 can be reliably locked to the hook member locking portion 6 provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus 50, the design can be changed so as to correspond to one hook member 3. is there.
[0042]
Further, the opening / closing lever 4 is not necessarily limited to being provided at substantially the center of the shaft as shown in the figure. It is also possible to provide it on the side of the sheet conveyance path.
[0043]
Further, the shaft 2, the hook member 3, and the opening / closing lever 4 are not necessarily limited to being made of synthetic resin. Various design changes can be made as long as they are integrally formed of an inexpensive material.
[0044]
In addition, it goes without saying that various design changes are possible within the scope of the claims of the present invention.
[0045]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the number of parts is small, the manufacturing process such as line configuration and inventory management can be simplified, the manufacturing cost can be reduced, and the assembly accuracy can be improved. Has an effect.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an inner surface of a sheet conveyance unit of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an outer surface of a sheet conveyance unit of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a shaft, a hook member, an opening / closing lever, and a conveyance guide in the sheet conveyance unit of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. (B) is the perspective view seen from the outer side, respectively. (C) is an enlarged perspective view of the hook member.
FIG. 5 is a side view showing a cover member in a closed posture and a hook member in a locked posture in a sheet transport unit of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.
FIG. 6 is a side view showing a cover member in a closed posture and a hook member in a lock release posture.
FIG. 7 is a side view showing a cover member in an open posture and a hook member in a lock release posture.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a conventional example of a sheet transport unit.
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a conventional example of a sheet transport unit.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cover member 1a Closing attitude | position 1b Opening attitude | position 1c Rotating shaft 2 Shaft 2a Opening attitude | position 2b Closing attitude | position 3 Hook member 4 Opening / closing lever 5 Sheet body conveyance path 5a One-surface side structure 5b, 5d, 5f Conveyance guide 10 Sheet body conveyance unit 50 Image Forming equipment

Claims (4)

A cover member that has a structure on one side of the sheet conveyance path and that rotates around a rotation axis supported by the apparatus main body opens and closes with respect to the apparatus main body between the open posture and the closed posture by the rotation. An image forming apparatus that is operable and has a structure on one surface side of the sheet conveyance path that can be brought into contact with and separated from the apparatus main body in response to the opening and closing operation.
A shaft provided in place of the cover member;
A hook member connected to the shaft, for locking and releasing the cover member and the apparatus main body in the closed posture; and
It is configured to be operable from the outside of the cover member, and includes an open / close lever that is coupled to the shaft and enables locking and releasing operation of the hook member.
The image forming apparatus, wherein the shaft, the hook member, and the opening / closing lever are integrally formed, and a conveyance guide for guiding conveyance of the sheet member is formed on the shaft. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hook members are provided on both sides of the shaft. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the opening / closing lever is provided at substantially the center of the shaft, and is connected to hook members on both sides by the shaft. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing lever is operable to release the cover member along with an unlocking operation with respect to the hook member. 5.

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