JP4341352B2 - Hinge and image input / output device having the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a hinge and an image input / output device including the hinge.

  As an image input / output device, a so-called multifunction device in which an image scanner as an image reading device and a printer are integrated is known. Among such multifunction peripherals, a scanner housing that houses an image scanner is used as an opening / closing body, a printer housing that houses a printer is used as a main body, and the former is connected to the upper part of the latter via a hinge (for example, , See Patent Document 1).

  FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional hinge 5. The hinge 5 includes a base 51 that is attached to the printer housing 6, and a rotor 52 that is rotatably supported by the base 51 and is attached to the scanner housing 7. In the hinge 5, the rotor 52 is attached to the scanner housing 7 by two screw members 54 and 55 that are screwed in from the side opposite to the printer housing and the printer housing of the scanner housing 7. That is, since the rotor 52 is screwed to the scanner housing 7 on the front side in the opening direction and on the front side in the closing direction, the problem that the scanner housing 7 is detached from the rotor 52 due to the operating force in both the opening and closing directions is unlikely to occur.

JP 2001-98839 A

  However, when the base 51 is mounted on the printer housing 6 and the rotor 52 is mounted on the scanner housing 7 when the hinge 5 is assembled, the screwing operation of the screw member 55 is performed between the housings 6 and 7. There must be. Therefore, assembly workability deteriorates.

Therefore, the present inventors examined a method of omitting the screw member 55. This is because by omitting the screw member 55, it is possible not only to prevent the above-described deterioration of the assembly workability, but also to reduce the number of parts and reduce the manufacturing cost. As a result of the examination, it has been found that the protrusions 56 of the rotor 52 fitted into the scanner housing 7 from the printer housing side can exhibit the effect of preventing the scanner housing 7 from being detached from the rotor 52 to some extent. However, when the scanner housing 7 is operated and moved in the opening direction, the scanner housing 7 works by setting the screwing position by the screw member 54 as a fulcrum and the insertion position of the projection 56 as an action point. For this reason, it has been found that the protrusion 56 is pulled outward in the radial direction of the rotor 52 and is damaged, so that the scanner housing 7 is detached from the hinge 5.
The present invention was created in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a hinge that is excellent in assembling workability and prevents the opening / closing body from being detached, and an image input / output device including the hinge. It is in.

  In order to achieve the above object, a hinge according to the present invention is a hinge that connects an openable / closable body to an upper part of a main body so as to be openable and closable, and is rotatably supported by the base and the base. A rotating part mounted on the opening / closing body by a first screw member screwed from the opposite side of the opening / closing body, and a radial direction of the rotating part fitted into the opening / closing body from the body side of the opening / closing body A connecting portion that faces the turning portion, a surface that faces the fitting portion in the turning portion, and a surface that faces the turning portion in the fitting portion, and the turning portion and the And a connecting portion that rotates integrally with the fitting portion. The rotating part is attached to the opening / closing body by a first screw member screwed from the side opposite to the main body of the opening / closing body, and the fitting part connected to the rotating part via the connection part is opened from the main body side of the opening / closing body. Inserted. As a result, the rotating part and the fitting part that rotate integrally are fastened to the opening / closing body on the front side in the opening direction and the front side in the closing direction, thereby preventing the opening / closing body from being detached from the hinge by the operating force in both the opening and closing directions. it can. Moreover, the fitting portion faces in the radial direction of the rotating portion, and the connecting portion connects between a surface facing the fitting portion in the rotating portion and a surface facing the rotating portion in the fitting portion. For this reason, when the opening / closing body is moved in the opening direction, the fitting portion becomes the diameter of the rotating portion by operating the opening / closing body by using the screwing location by the first screw member as a fulcrum and the fitting location of the fitting portion as an action point. Even if pulled outward in the direction, the fitting portion is unlikely to break due to the presence of the connecting portion. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the opening / closing body from being detached from the hinge due to breakage of the fitting portion. Furthermore, when assembling the hinge, after the base is attached to the main body, the fitting part only needs to be fitted into the opening / closing body when the rotating part and the fitting part are attached to the opening / closing body. Later, the first screw member can be easily screwed into the rotating part from the opposite side of the opening / closing body. Therefore, the assembly | attachment of the hinge excellent in workability | operativity is realizable.

  Further, according to the hinge according to the present invention, in the opening / closing body, the screwing location by the first screw member and the fitting location of the fitting portion are separated from each other in the rotation direction of the rotation portion. To do. In the opening / closing body that is moved in the opening direction, the screwing position by the first screw member that serves as a fulcrum and the fitting part that serves as the lever operating point are spaced apart in the rotating direction of the rotating part. And the length of the lever arm becomes longer. Thereby, since the force by which the opening / closing body pulls the fitting portion when the opening / closing body is moved in the opening direction is reduced, the effect of preventing the fitting portion from being damaged is improved.

  Furthermore, according to the hinge which concerns on this invention, the said base is mounted | worn with the 2nd screw member in the location which faces the said opening-closing body in the fully-closed state in the said main body. The second screw member that mounts the base at a position facing the fully closed opening / closing body in the main body is hidden between the main body and the opening / closing body when the opening / closing body is in the fully closed state. Therefore, in the thing used in the state which fully closed the opening-closing body with respect to the main body, the external appearance property can be improved.

  Furthermore, according to the hinge which concerns on this invention, the said opening-and-closing body has a to-be-fit part provided adjacent to the periphery of a board part and the said board part, and the said fitting part is inserted. In the opening / closing body, the strength of the fitted portion adjacent to the periphery of the plate portion with respect to the force received from the fitted portion inserted therein is increased. Thereby, the detachment | leave from the hinge of the opening / closing body by the failure | damage of a to-be-fitted part can be prevented.

  Further, according to the hinge according to the present invention, the connection portion is formed in a flat plate shape extending on a virtual plane perpendicular to the rotation axis of the rotation portion, and the fitting portion is a flat plate shape perpendicular to the connection portion. It is formed in this. Since the connection portion is formed in a flat plate shape extending on a virtual plane perpendicular to the rotation axis of the rotation portion, it is difficult to break. Moreover, since the fitting part is formed in the flat plate shape perpendicular | vertical to a connection part, the damage prevention effect of the fitting part by a connection part improves.

  Furthermore, according to the hinge which concerns on this invention, the said connection part is inserted in the said opening / closing body from the main body side of the said opening / closing body, It is characterized by the above-mentioned. Since the connecting portion is inserted into the opening / closing body, the connecting portion is prevented from being damaged. Moreover, since the connecting portion is inserted from the main body side of the opening / closing body in the same manner as the fitting portion, the connecting portion and the fitting portion can be simultaneously inserted into the opening / closing body when the hinge is assembled.

  Furthermore, an image input / output device according to the present invention includes the hinge according to any one of claims 1 to 6, the main body that houses a printing unit, and the opening / closing body that houses an image reading unit. It is characterized by. According to this image input / output device, since the hinge according to any one of claims 1 to 6 is provided, it is excellent in assembling workability of the hinge, and the detachment of the opening / closing body that accommodates the image reading means can be prevented. .

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on examples.
FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a multifunction machine 4 as an image input / output device having a hinge 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The multifunction machine 4 includes a scanning unit 20 as an image reading unit and a printing unit 30 as a printing unit. The scanning unit 20 realizes an image reading input function as an image scanner, and the printing unit 30 realizes an image printing output function as a printer. Further, the multifunction device 4 also realizes a function as an electronic copying machine by printing an image read by the scanning unit 20 by the printing unit 30.

  The scanner housing 2 as an opening / closing body accommodates the scanning unit 20. The scanner housing 2 is formed in a box shape with resin or the like, and constitutes a so-called flatbed scanner having a document table 21 on the side opposite to the printer housing 3 described later. A document table cover 22 that covers the surface of the document table 21 is attached to the outside of the scanner housing 2 so as to be freely opened and closed. The scanning unit 20 includes a carriage 23, an optical system, and a linear image sensor 25. The carriage 23 is provided so as to be able to reciprocate in a horizontal direction parallel to the surface of the document table 21, and carries the light source 24a, mirror 24b, lens 24c, and linear image sensor 25 constituting the optical system in the A direction. As shown by a broken line in FIG. 2, the reflected light image of the subject M irradiated by the light source 24a is formed on the linear image sensor 25 by the mirror 24b and the lens 24c.

A printer housing 3 as a main body accommodates a printing unit 30. The printer housing 3 is formed in a box shape with resin or the like, and is connected to the upper portion of the scanner housing 2 via a hinge 1. The carriage 31 of the printing unit 30 is provided so as to be reciprocally movable in the horizontal direction, and conveys a plurality of mounted cartridges 32 and the recording head 33 in the B direction. The ink stored in each cartridge 32 is ejected onto the printing paper N by the recording head 33 in the form of drops. The transport mechanism 34 of the printing unit 30 transports the printing paper N supplied to a paper feed port (not shown) of the printer housing 3 to a predetermined printing position. Further, the transport mechanism 34 discharges the printing paper N on which an image has been printed by the recording head 33 from a paper discharge port (not shown) of the printer housing 3.
The control unit 40 generates image data representing the subject image based on the output signal of the linear image sensor 25 input through the cable 41. Further, the control unit 40 prints an image representing the subject image on the printing paper N by controlling the operation of the recording head 33 and the transport mechanism 34 based on the generated image data.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a connection structure between the scanner housing 2 and the printer housing 3. The hinge 1 connects the scanner housing 2 to the upper portion of the printer housing 3 so as to be freely opened and closed. The hinge 1 includes a case 11, a plunger 12, a compression coil spring 13, a metal shaft 14, a rotor 15, and screw members 16 and 17.

  A case 11 as a base is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape with resin or the like, and accommodates a plunger 12 and a compression coil spring 13. A rotor 15 is connected to the case 11 via a metal shaft 14. The case 11 is fitted into a recess 35 formed in the printer housing 3, and the screw member 16 is attached to the top plate portion 36 facing the scanner housing 2 in the fully closed state (see FIG. 6A described later) in the printer housing 3. It is installed.

The plunger 12 is accommodated so as to be reciprocally movable in the cylinder axis direction of the case 11. A slope 121 is formed at one end of the plunger 12 so as to be in sliding contact with a cam surface 151b described later.
One end of the compression coil spring 13 is locked to the bottom wall 111 of the case 11, and the end of the compression coil spring 13 on the side opposite to the bottom wall is locked to the end of the plunger 12 on the side opposite to the cam surface. The plunger 12 is biased toward the cam surface by the restoring force of the compression coil spring 13.

The rotor 15 includes a rotation part 151, a fitting part 152, and a connection part 153.
The rotating part 151 is supported by the case 11 so as to be rotatable about the central axis O of the metal shaft 14 as a rotating axis. Note that a shaft may be formed integrally with the rotating portion 151 and the shaft may be supported by the case 11. The rotating portion 151 is attached to the scanner housing 2 by a screw member 17 screwed from the side opposite to the printer housing of the scanner housing 2. Thus, the scanner housing 2 is screwed to the rotating portion 151 at the screw fastening portion 27 adjacent to the outer peripheral edge 26 a of the top plate portion 26. A cam surface 151 b that can slide with respect to the inclined surface 121 of the plunger 12 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating portion 151. Further, a stopper surface 151 c that contacts the opening end surface 112 of the case 11 when the scanner housing 2 is fully opened is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating portion 151.

The fitting portion 152 is fitted into the scanner housing 2 from the printer housing side. Accordingly, the scanner housing 2 is fastened to the fitting portion 152 at the fitted portion 29 adjacent to the outer peripheral edge 28 a of the bottom plate portion 28. The fitted portion 29 into which the fitting portion 152 is inserted and the screw fastening portion 27 screwed by the screw member 17 are separated from each other in the rotation direction X of the rotation portion 151.
The connection part 153 is formed between the rotation part 151 and the fitting part 152, and can rotate integrally with these parts 151 and 152. The connecting portion 153 is fitted into the fitted portion 29 of the scanner housing 2 from the printer housing side.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state where the scanner housing 2 is detached from the hinge 1. The fitting portion 152 is formed in a flat plate shape parallel to the rotation axis O of the rotation portion 151, and faces the rotation portion 151 in the radial direction Y of the rotation portion 151. The connecting portion 153 connects between the surface 151 a facing the fitting portion 152 in the rotating portion 151 and the surface 152 a facing the rotating portion 151 in the fitting portion 152. The connection portion 153 is formed in a flat plate shape extending on a virtual plane S (see FIG. 5 described later) perpendicular to the rotation axis O of the rotation portion 151, and is perpendicular to the flat fitting portion 152. ing.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the scanner housing 2 removed from the hinge 1. The fitted portion 29 has a hole 29 a having a rectangular cross section corresponding to the outer shape of the fitting portion 152. In the fitted part 29, a groove part 29f is formed in the side wall 29e on the side opposite to the bottom plate part among the side walls 29b, 29c, 29d, 29e surrounding the hole part 29a. The groove portion 29f penetrates the side wall 29e in a rectangular cross section corresponding to the outer shape of the connection portion 153. The screw fastening portion 27 has a seat plate portion 27a through which the screw member 17 is passed from the side opposite to the printer housing, and protrusions 27b and 27c projecting from the seat plate portion 27a toward the printer housing side.

  FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VV in FIG. 1 and shows a state in which the scanner housing 2 is attached to the hinge 1. In the mounted state of the scanner housing 2, the fitting portion 152 is fitted into the hole portion 29 a of the fitted portion 29, the connection portion 153 is fitted into the groove portion 29 f of the fitted portion 29, and the rotating portion 151 is screwed. 27 is fitted into the protrusions 27b and 27c of the screw 27 and screwed to the seat plate 27a of the screw clamp 27.

Next, the operation of the hinge 1 will be described.
6A is a diagram illustrating a state in which the scanner housing 2 is fully closed, and FIG. 6B is a diagram illustrating a state in which the scanner housing 2 is fully opened. In the fully closed state, the scanner housing 2 is placed on the printer housing 3 by the action of a lock mechanism (not shown). In this fully closed state, the plunger 12 pressed toward the bottom wall of the case 11 by the rotating portion 151 compresses the compression coil spring 13.

  When the scanner housing 2 is moved in the opening direction so as to change from the fully closed state to the fully opened state, the plunger 12 is biased toward the cam surface by the restoring force of the compression coil spring 13. As a result, the inclined surface 121 is in sliding contact with the cam surface 151b, and the rotational force in the opening direction acts on the rotor 15. Therefore, the operation force required to move the scanner housing 2 in the opening direction is reduced by an amount corresponding to the rotational force.

In the fully open state, the stopper surface 151c of the rotating portion 151 contacts the opening end surface 112 of the case 11, and further opening operation of the scanner housing 2 is restricted.
When the scanner housing 2 is moved in the closing direction so as to change from the fully open state to the fully closed state, an operating force for moving the scanner housing 2 in the closing direction is transmitted to the plunger 12 through the rotor 15, and the plunger 12 compresses the compression coil spring 13. .

  In the present embodiment described above, the rotating portion 151 is attached to the screw fastening portion 27 by the screw member 17 screwed from the side opposite to the printer housing of the scanner housing 2, and the fitting portion 152 from the printer housing side of the scanner housing 2. Is inserted into the fitted portion 29. Thereby, since the rotor 15 is fastened to the scanner housing 2 on the front side in the opening direction and the front side in the closing direction, it is possible to prevent the scanner housing 2 from being detached from the rotor 15 by the operating force in both the opening and closing directions. Further, when the case 11 is mounted on the printer housing 3 and the rotor 15 is mounted on the scanner housing 2 and the hinge 1 is assembled, the fitting portion 152 only needs to be fitted into the fitted portion 29, and the fitting is performed. Later, the screw member 17 can be easily screwed into the rotating portion 151 from the side opposite to the printer housing of the scanner housing 2. Therefore, the assembly workability of the hinge 1 is excellent.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the connecting portion 153 is fitted into the fitted portion 29 to prevent breakage. Moreover, since the connecting portion 153 is fitted into the fitted portion 29 from the side opposite to the printer housing of the scanner housing 2 in the same manner as the fitting portion 152, the connecting portion 153 and the fitting portion 152 are assembled when the hinge 1 is assembled. Can be inserted simultaneously. By realizing the simultaneous insertion of the connecting portion 153 and the fitting portion 152, the assembly workability of the hinge 1 is improved.

Further, in the present embodiment, the connecting portion 153 connects between the rotating portion 151 and the surfaces 151 a and 152 a of the fitting portion 152 that face each other in the radial direction Y. Therefore, during the opening operation, the scanner housing 2 works by using the screw fastening portion 27 as a fulcrum and the fitted portion 29 as an action point. Even if the fitting portion 152 is pulled radially outward, the scanner housing 2 is fitted by the presence of the connecting portion 153. It is difficult for the portion 152 to be damaged. In addition, since the screwing portion 27 serving as the fulcrum and the fitted portion 29 serving as the lever are separated in the rotation direction X, the length of the lever arm is increased. . Thereby, since the force by which the fitted portion 29 pulls the fitting portion 152 during the opening operation of the scanner housing 2 is reduced, the damage preventing effect of the fitting portion 152 is improved. In addition, in this embodiment, the connection portion 153 is formed in a flat plate shape that extends on a virtual plane S perpendicular to the rotation axis O and is perpendicular to the flat fitting portion 152. Therefore, the strength of the connecting portion 153 and the fitting portion 152 with respect to the operating force in both the opening and closing directions, that is, the rotation direction X is high.
According to this embodiment, it is possible to prevent the scanner housing 2 from being detached from the hinge 1 due to breakage of the fitting portion 152 and the connecting portion 153.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, a fitting portion 29 is provided adjacent to the outer peripheral edge 28 a of the bottom plate portion 28 of the scanner housing 2. As a result, the strength of the fitted portion 29 against the force received from the fitted portion 152 inserted therein is increased. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the scanner housing 2 from being detached from the hinge 1 due to breakage of the fitted portion 29.

Further, in the present embodiment, the rotating portion 151 is fitted to the protrusions 27 b and 27 c of the screw fastening portion 27. Thereby, since the position shift of the screw fastening part 27 with respect to the rotation part 151 is suppressed, the screw member 17 is difficult to loosen. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the scanner housing 2 from being detached from the hinge 1 due to the looseness of the screw member 17.
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, when the scanner housing 2 is fully closed, the screw member 16 for mounting the case 11 to the top plate portion 36 of the printer housing 3 facing the housing 2 is replaced with the housing 2 as shown in FIG. , 3 is hidden. Thereby, the external appearance of the multifunction device 4 is enhanced.

In the above-described embodiment, the example in which the present invention is applied to the hinge 1 of the multifunction machine 4 serving as the image input / output device has been described. Can be applied to hinges. Therefore, the shape of the main body and the opening / closing body to which the hinge of the present invention is attached may be, for example, a plate shape in addition to the box shape as in the above-described embodiment.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the connecting portion 153 is fitted into the groove 29 f of the fitted portion 29 of the scanner housing 2. On the other hand, the connecting portion 153 may not be fitted into the scanner housing 2 by making the inner method of the groove portion 29f slightly larger than the outer shape of the connecting portion 153.

Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the fitted portion 29 is provided adjacent to the outer peripheral edge 28 a of the bottom plate portion 28 in the scanner housing 2. On the other hand, you may make it provide the to-be-fitted part 29 in the board part etc. which were formed with the form bent with respect to the baseplate part 28. FIG.
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case 11 is screwed to the top plate portion 36 that faces the fully closed scanner housing 2 in the printer housing 3. On the other hand, the case 11 may be screwed to a portion of the printer housing 3 that does not face the fully closed scanner housing 2.

It is sectional drawing which shows the connection structure of the housing by a hinge. It is a schematic diagram which shows the multifunctional machine provided with the hinge. It is a perspective view which shows the state which removed the scanner housing. It is a perspective view which shows the scanner housing removed. It is the VV sectional view taken on the line of FIG. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the action | operation of a hinge. It is sectional drawing which shows the conventional hinge.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Hinge, 2 Scanner housing (opening-closing body), 3 Printer housing (main body), 4 Multi-function machine (image input / output device), 11 Case (base part), 15 Rotor, 16 Screw member (2nd screw member), 17 Screw member (First screw member), 20 scanning portion (image reading means), 27 screw fastening portion, 28 bottom plate portion (plate portion), 28a outer peripheral edge (periphery), 29 fitted portion, 29a hole portion, 29f groove portion, 30 printing Part (printing means), 36 top plate part, 151 rotating part, 151a surface facing the fitting part, 152 fitting part, 152a surface facing the rotating part, 153 connecting part, O rotating axis, S virtual plane, X rotation direction, Y radial direction

Claims (7)

A hinge that connects the opening / closing body to the upper part of the body so as to be freely opened and closed
A base attached to the body;
A rotating part that is rotatably supported by the base part and is attached to the opening / closing body by a first screw member that is screwed in from the opposite side of the opening / closing body;
A fitting portion that is fitted into the opening / closing body from the main body side of the opening / closing body and faces the rotating portion in a radial direction of the rotating portion;
A connecting portion that connects a surface facing the fitting portion in the rotating portion and a surface facing the rotating portion in the fitting portion, and rotates integrally with the rotating portion and the fitting portion; ,
A hinge comprising: 2. The hinge according to claim 1, wherein in the opening / closing body, a screwing portion by the first screw member and a fitting portion of the fitting portion are separated from each other in a rotating direction of the rotating portion. 3. The hinge according to claim 1, wherein the base is attached to a portion of the main body facing the opening / closing body in a fully closed state by a second screw member. The said opening-closing body is provided adjacent to the periphery of the said board part, and the to-be-inserted part by which the said fitting part is inserted is inserted, The Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned. The hinge as described in. The connection portion is formed in a flat plate shape that extends on a virtual plane perpendicular to the rotation axis of the rotation portion,
The hinge according to claim 1, wherein the fitting portion is formed in a flat plate shape perpendicular to the connection portion. The hinge according to claim 1, wherein the connection portion is fitted into the opening / closing body from a main body side of the opening / closing body. The hinge according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The body containing the printing means;
The opening / closing body for accommodating the image reading means;
An image input / output device comprising:

Images