JP4480136B2 - Housing with cover opening / closing mechanism - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a housing such as a printer, and more particularly to a housing provided with a cover opening / closing mechanism for closing an opening of the housing .

  Office equipment such as printers is usually covered with a casing, and this casing is used for manual replacement when replacement of consumables such as ink and toner, or when paper is jammed inside. In addition, an opening is provided in part. Such a housing opening is preferably closed to ensure safety and to prevent sound during normal use, and for this reason, it is usually provided by a cover that is supported by the housing body so that it can be opened and closed. Covered.

  5 to 7 are schematic diagrams showing the configuration of a casing of an ink jet printer as an example of a conventional casing covering such office equipment. This casing has a casing body configured by connecting a base 51 that holds the printer unit 55 and an upper cover 52 that covers the upper side. A paper feed port 58 for supplying the recording paper 56 to the printer unit 55 is formed on one side surface of the housing body, and a recording on which recording has been completed is formed on the side surface opposite to the side surface on which the paper feed port 58 is formed. A paper discharge port 59 for discharging the paper 56 is formed. A recording paper 56 can be placed on the printer unit 55, and a paper feed unit 57 for feeding the placed recording paper 56 to the printer unit 55 via a paper feed port 58 is attached. As shown in FIG. 5, the paper feeding unit 57 is disposed so as to protrude obliquely upward from the paper feeding port 58.

  The printer unit 55 has a recording head 67 for performing recording by ejecting ink toward the recording paper 56. The recording head 67 is supported by a carrier 60 that can reciprocate in a direction crossing the conveyance direction of the recording paper 56, and holds a predetermined amount of ink inside.

  The ink inside the recording head 67 decreases as recording is performed, and eventually becomes empty. Thereafter, in order to perform recording again, it is necessary to replace the recording head 67 with a new one. In this case, a dedicated opening 52c is provided in the upper cover 52 so that the recording head 67 can be replaced. The opening 52c is used to prevent a user from touching an operating member such as a carrier 60 that moves at a high speed during a recording operation or an operation member such as a conveyance roller (not shown), or to prevent a recording operation from being damaged. It is usually preferable to close the head except when the head 67 is replaced.

For this purpose, an access cover 53 is attached to the upper cover 52. In the access cover 53, support shafts 53a and 53b formed to project from both end portions of one edge thereof are fitted into bearing portions 52a and 52b formed in the upper cover 52, and the support shafts 53a and 53b are centered. It is attached as rotatable. The access cover 53 can normally keep the opening 52c closed. When the recording head 67 is replaced, the access cover 53 can be rotated to open the opening 52c. .
JP-A-5-246112

  As described above, conventionally, as the opening / closing mechanism of the access cover 53, a hinge mechanism that allows a rotating operation around the support shafts 53a and 53b, which is easy to enable a smooth opening / closing operation, is used. Is common. However, when such a hinge mechanism is used, a large gap is not generated between the upper cover 52 and the access cover 53 when the opening 52c is closed, and the upper cover 52 and the access cover 53 interfere with each other to open and close. In order not to hinder the operation, there are restrictions on the shapes of the upper cover 2 and the access cover 3 and the position of the hinge.

  For example, in the example shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the upper surface of the access cover 53 is higher than the upper surface of the upper cover 52. Therefore, as best understood from FIG. 7, when the rotation center axis of the hinge mechanism is positioned at the height of the center of the upper wall of the upper cover 52, the access cover 53 is interfered by the interference between the access cover 53 and the upper cover 52. Will not be able to open enough. In order to avoid this, in the example shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the rotation center axis of the hinge mechanism is set higher than the upper surface of the upper cover 52. For this purpose, the bearing portions 52 a and 52 b constituting the hinge mechanism are formed so as to protrude from the upper cover 52. Such a configuration may not always be preferable from the viewpoint of product design.

The present invention has been made in view of the conventional problems described above, an object of the present invention, a printer or the like in the housing, the restriction opening of the housing bodies in the design of the cover covering openably to provide a housing comprising a cover closing Organization that can allow a smooth opening and closing operation without giving.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the housing of the present invention is a housing including an opening and an opening / closing mechanism for a cover that covers the opening so as to be opened and closed.
The opening and closing mechanism, said a first guide portion having a first groove formed and in a circular arc shape is provided inside the housing, provided in parallel to said first guide portion in the interior of the housing And a second guide portion having a second groove formed in an arc shape;
A first plurality of projections engaging said first formed side by side along the groove and the first groove on the side facing the opening of the cover, facing the opening in the cover An arm having a second plurality of protrusions formed side by side along the second groove and engaged with the second groove ;
The arm includes a first gear-shaped portion extending in an arc shape having the same center as the arc of the first groove, and a second gear extending in an arc shape having the same center as the arc of the second groove. A shape portion is formed, and a gear portion that meshes with the first gear shape portion and the second gear shape portion is formed on the outer periphery between the first guide portion and the second guide portion. A single roller member is rotatably supported,
The cover during opening and closing, the plurality of first protrusions to move along the first groove while engaged with the first groove, the plurality of second protrusions is the second By moving along the second groove while engaging with the groove , the center of the arc of the first groove and the second groove rotates about the rotation center axis, and the rotation center axis is the housing It is in the position of outside.

  According to this configuration, the cover opening / closing mechanism is provided so as to protrude from the outer surface of the housing, and the rotation center axis of the rotation operation of the cover is adjusted between the cover and the housing main body during operation without affecting the housing design. It is possible to set an appropriate position without causing interference.

According to the present invention, to provide a housing comprising a cover closing Organization that can allow a smooth opening and closing operation without imposing a constraint opening of the housing bodies in the design of the cover covering openably Can do. In particular, the cover opening / closing mechanism is placed inside the case body so as not to affect the case design, and the rotation center axis of the cover operation is set to a position outside the case so that the cover is attached to the case. Opening and closing operations can be performed without interference.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
1 and 2 show the configuration of the casing covering the periphery of the ink jet recording type printer unit 5 shown in FIG. 3 as the casing of the first embodiment of the present invention.

  The printer unit 5 includes a carrier 10 on which a recording head 17 that ejects ink can be detachably mounted. The recording head 17 is a type of head that holds a predetermined amount of ink inside and is replaced when the ink runs out. The carrier 10 is supported on the guide shaft 11 and the guide rail 12 that are attached to the chassis 13, and the driving force of the carrier motor 18 is transmitted through the belt 19, thereby along the guide shaft 11 and the guide rail 12. It can be moved back and forth. The chassis 13 is provided with a recording paper 6 conveyance mechanism including a paper feed unit 7, a conveyance roller 15, a platen 16, and the like. The paper feeding unit 7 can place the recording paper 6 and functions to feed the placed recording paper 6 to the transport roller 15. The transport roller 15 transports the fed recording paper 6 in a direction crossing the reciprocating direction of the carrier 10 through the platen 16 disposed at a position facing the ink ejection surface of the reciprocating recording head 17. Work.

  In the recording operation, according to the recording data sent to the printer, the recording paper 6 is conveyed until a predetermined recording location of the recording paper 6 is located on the platen 16 facing the recording head 17, and then the carrier 10 is moved. While being moved along the guide shaft 11, the recording head 17 is driven and ink is selectively ejected toward the recording paper 6. Thereafter, conveyance of the recording paper 6 by a predetermined amount and ink ejection from the recording head 17 while reciprocating the carrier 10 are repeated, and recording is performed on a predetermined area of the recording paper 6.

  The casing has a casing body constituted by a base 1 that supports the printer unit 5 and an upper cover 2 that covers the base 1. On the side of the housing body on the side where the paper feed unit 7 is located, the paper feed unit 7 protrudes, and a supply port 8 through which the recording paper 6 supplied by the paper feed unit 7 passes is formed. A paper discharge port 9 for discharging the recording paper 6 that has exited the printer unit 5 is formed on a side surface of the housing body that faces the side surface on which the supply port 8 is formed. The upper cover 2 has an opening 2c for replacement of the recording head 17, and an access cover 3 for opening and closing the opening 2c is attached.

  The access cover 3 is formed with an arm 31 that protrudes from near the edge of the surface of the access cover 3 facing the upper cover 2 and extends in an arc shape in the direction toward the outside beyond the edge of the upper cover 2. Yes. The arm 31 has a predetermined width in a direction parallel to the central axis of the arc, has a partially cylindrical shape as a whole, and has protrusions 33 at both ends in the width direction. As the projections 33, a plurality of cylindrical ones are provided on each side, and two on each side in the example shown in FIGS. The upper cover 2 has fan-shaped guides in which arc-shaped grooves 23 and 24 with which the projections 33 of the arm 31 are engaged are respectively formed at positions adjacent to the respective ends in the width direction of the arm 31 of the access cover 3. Portions 21 and 22 are formed.

  The curvature of the arm 31 and the curvature of the groove 24 formed in the guide portions 21 and 22 are the same. Therefore, the protrusion 33 can slide smoothly along the grooves 23 and 24. As described above, the protrusion 33 engages with the grooves 23 and 24 and slides along the grooves 23 and 24, whereby the access cover 3 can be rotated and opened and closed.

  In this configuration, the rotation center axis A of the access cover 3 can be set by the curvature of the arm 31 and the groove 23 of the guide portions 21 and 22 and their positions. In the present embodiment, the rotation center axis A of the access cover 3 is shown in FIG. 1 in spite of the fact that the opening / closing operation mechanism including the guide portions 21 and 22 of the access cover 3 is arranged inside the housing. As shown, it is set outside the housing.

  In other words, in the configuration of the present embodiment, the rotation of the access cover 3 at a position away from the member that includes the arm 31 and the guide portions 21 and 22 and supports the access cover 3 so as to be able to rotate, that is, the rotation mechanism. A central axis A can be set. Thereby, for example, as in the prior art, the rotation center axis of the access cover 3 is set at a position above the upper surface of the upper cover 2 without requiring a member protruding from the upper surface of the upper cover 2. be able to. That is, according to the present embodiment, the access cover 3 is placed between the upper cover 2 and the rotational cover while the rotational operation mechanism is disposed inside the housing so as not to adversely affect the design of the housing. Between the position where the opening 2c is closed without causing a large gap therebetween and the position where the opening 2c is opened, the access cover is placed at a position where the access cover 3 and the upper cover 2 can be rotated without causing interference. The rotation center axis A can be set. Therefore, it is possible to perform a smooth rotation operation without causing a great restriction on the shapes of the access cover 3 and the upper cover 2.

  In the present embodiment, a gear-shaped portion 35 is formed on the surface of the arm 31 facing the center of the arc. An assist roller (roller member) 40 having a gear portion 41 meshing with the gear shape portion 35 formed on the outer periphery thereof is rotatably supported and attached to the guide portions 21 and 22. The assist roller 40 is configured such that the gear portion 41 always meshes with the gear shape portion 35 of the arm 3 over the entire width within a range in which the access cover 3 operates.

  In the configuration of the present embodiment, the frictional load between the protrusion 33 and the grooves 23 and 24 is different from the groove 23 side and the groove due to non-uniformity of the state of the sliding surface and the degree of force applied to the access cover 3. It can be considered that an imbalance occurs on the 24th side. However, even if the frictional load becomes unbalanced on both sides as described above, by providing the assist roller 40 as described above, the operation amount on the side where the protrusion 33 and the groove 23 on one side are engaged, and the protrusion 33 The amount of movement on the side where the groove 24 on the other side engages is always the same. In other words, when the access cover 3 is operated, even if the friction load increases on one side, the force to operate on the other side is transmitted through the assist roller 40, thereby The speed difference of operation is automatically corrected. In this way, the access cover 3 is opened / closed while being inclined in the width direction of the arm 31, thereby increasing the frictional force between the protrusion 33 and the grooves 23, 24, thereby reducing the load on the opening / closing operation. Smooth opening and closing operations can be made possible.

  In this embodiment, the example in which the arm 31 has a partial cylindrical shape is shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any configuration can be used as long as the protrusions 33 can be arranged at a plurality of positions on the arc-shaped line. Good. As in the present embodiment, the configuration in which the arm 31 has a partially cylindrical shape has an advantage that a space required for the operation of the arm 31 is relatively small.

  Moreover, although the structure which provides the protrusion 33 in each side was shown multiple, it is good also as a structure which provides one protrusion extended in circular arc shape. As in the present embodiment, the configuration in which the columnar protrusions 33 are provided at a plurality of positions on the arc-shaped line is advantageous in that the frictional load generated between the grooves 23 and 24 can be relatively small. There is.

  The assist roller 40 is configured to be arranged on the rotation center axis side of the arm 31, but may be arranged on the opposite side. The configuration in which the assist roller 40 is disposed on the rotation center axis side has an advantage that the space for disposing the printer unit 5 due to the assist roller 40 can be reduced.

Providing the guide portions 21 and 22 on both sides is advantageous in obtaining a smooth operation because it can suppress unbalance of operations on both sides, but may be provided only on one side. Further, a groove may be formed on the arm 31 side and a protrusion may be formed on the guide portions 21 and 22 side.
(Second Embodiment)
In the first embodiment, the configuration in which one partial cylindrical arm 31 is formed on the access cover 3 has been described. However, in this configuration, increasing the width of the arm 31 as much as possible causes the access cover 3 to operate smoothly. This is advantageous. That is, if the width of the arm 31 is increased, the access cover 3 can be more effectively prevented from moving unbalanced in the width direction of the arm 31, that is, on both sides in the direction parallel to the rotation center axis of the opening / closing operation. Can do. However, a space for operating the arm 31 is required inside the housing, and if the arm 31 is widened, the necessary space increases correspondingly, and the space available for the printer unit 5 is much. It will be restricted.

  Therefore, as a second embodiment, a configuration that enables a smooth opening / closing operation while suppressing the arrangement space of the printer unit 5 will be described. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the cover opening / closing mechanism of the present embodiment. In the figure, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in the figure, in this embodiment, a pair of arms 31 a and 31 b are formed near one edge of the access cover 3. Both arms 31a and 31b protrude from the surface of the access cover 3 facing the upper cover 2 and extend in an arc shape, as in the first embodiment, but are narrow and spaced apart in the width direction. Are arranged. Each arm 31a, 31b is formed with a plurality of protrusions 33 projecting in the width direction, and these protrusions 33 are fitted in the grooves 23, 24 of the guide portions 21, 22 similar to those of the first embodiment. It is.

  Also in the configuration of the present embodiment, the access cover 3 can be rotated and opened by sliding the protrusions 33 along the grooves 23 and 24, as in the first embodiment. The rotation center axis during the opening / closing operation of the access cover 3 can be set at a position away from the member that supports the access cover 3 so that the access cover 3 can rotate, including the arm 31 and the guide portions 21 and 22. In particular, it is set outside the housing. For this reason, even in the configuration of the present embodiment, it is possible to perform a smooth rotation operation without causing a great restriction on the shapes of the access cover 3 and the upper cover 2. Further, in the configuration of the present embodiment, by widening the distance between the arms 31a and 31b, it is possible to prevent the movement from becoming unbalanced on both sides in the direction parallel to the rotation center axis of the opening / closing operation, thereby making the opening / closing operation smooth. In this case, since the portion between the arms 31a and 31b can be used effectively as an arrangement space for the printer unit 5, the restriction on the arrangement space for the printer unit 5 can be reduced. .

  Also in this embodiment, in order to prevent the movement of the arms 31a and 31b from becoming unbalanced, each arm 31a, 31b is formed with a gear-shaped portion 36, and the gear meshes with both the gear-shaped portions 36. An assist roller 42 having a portion 43 on the outer periphery of both end portions is rotatably supported and attached by guide portions 21 and 22. As a result, even if the friction load is increased on one of the arms 31a and 31b, the force to operate the other side is transmitted through the assist roller 40, and the speed difference between the movements of both the arms 31a and 31b is automatic. The amount of motion on both sides is always the same. In this way, it is possible to prevent the movement of the arms 31a and 31b from becoming unbalanced, thereby compensating for the smooth movement.

It is sectional drawing of a housing | casing provided with the cover opening / closing mechanism of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an upper cover to which an access cover is attached that constitutes the housing of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a printer unit arranged in the housing of FIG. 1. It is a perspective view of the upper cover with which the access cover was attached which comprises the housing | casing provided with the cover opening / closing mechanism of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a general | schematic perspective view of the inkjet printer which has a housing | casing provided with the cover opening / closing mechanism of a prior art example. FIG. 6 is a schematic perspective view of the housing of FIG. 5. It is sectional drawing of the housing | casing of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

1 Base (component of the chassis body)
2 Upper cover (component of the chassis body)
2c Opening 3 Access cover (cover)
A Rotation center axis

Claims (2)

A housing including an opening and an opening / closing mechanism for covering the opening so as to be openable and closable;
The opening and closing mechanism, said a first guide portion having a first groove formed and in a circular arc shape is provided inside the housing, provided in parallel to said first guide portion in the interior of the housing And a second guide portion having a second groove formed in an arc shape;
A first plurality of projections engaging said first formed side by side along the groove and the first groove on the side facing the opening of the cover, facing the opening in the cover An arm having a second plurality of protrusions formed side by side along the second groove and engaged with the second groove ;
The arm includes a first gear-shaped portion extending in an arc shape having the same center as the arc of the first groove and a second gear extending in an arc shape having the same center as the arc of the second groove. A shape portion is formed, and a gear portion that meshes with the first gear shape portion and the second gear shape portion is formed on the outer periphery between the first guide portion and the second guide portion. A single roller member is rotatably supported,
The cover during opening and closing, the plurality of first protrusions to move along the first groove while engaged with the first groove, the plurality of second protrusions is the second By moving along the second groove while engaging with the groove , the center of the arc of the first groove and the second groove rotates about the rotation center axis, and the rotation center axis is the housing A housing characterized by being located outside of the housing. The casing according to claim 1, wherein a printer unit including a recording head is provided inside the casing.

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