JP4490785B2 - Switchgear - Google Patents

Description

The present invention provides an opening / closing device having an opening / closing body rotatably supported by the apparatus main body and a torsion coil spring for biasing the opening / closing body in an opening direction, for example, an image forming apparatus such as an electrostatic copying machine, The present invention relates to an opening / closing device such as an automatic document feeder provided in an image forming apparatus or the like.

The device body is composed of an upper structure and a lower structure, and the upper structure is provided to be openable and closable around the support shaft with respect to the lower structure, and a torsion coil spring is wound around the support shaft. An image forming apparatus configured to urge the upper structure in the opening direction by a torsion coil spring is disclosed in Patent Document 1. According to this apparatus, when closing the upper structure opened with respect to the lower structure, the shock is buffered by the spring force of the torsion coil spring.

However, in the above apparatus, since the torsion coil spring is wound around the support shaft, the support shaft serves as a guide rod for the torsion coil spring, and the shape of the torsion coil spring such as the coil diameter and wire diameter is It is restricted by the shape such as the outer diameter. On the contrary, in order to ensure a load necessary for the torsion coil spring, it is necessary to match the shape of the support shaft with the shape of the torsion coil spring. That is, when designing the support shaft and the torsion coil spring, mutual restrictions are imposed, and the degree of design freedom is impaired. Further, since the position of the support shaft is limited to a position where the torsion coil spring can be supported, the degree of freedom in design is impaired in terms of layout. Furthermore, since the load is applied to the support shaft via the torsion coil spring when the upper structure is opened and closed, it is necessary to increase the strength of the support shaft.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 05-323686

An object of the present invention is to provide a novel opening and closing that allows the design and arrangement of the support shaft and the torsion coil spring to be freely performed without being constrained to each other and can reduce the load on the support shaft. Is to provide a device.

According to the present invention, the apparatus body, the opening / closing body supported by the apparatus body so as to be rotatable around the support shaft between the closed position and the open position, and the opening / closing body positioned at the closed position are attached in the opening direction. in closing device provided with a torsion coil spring for energizing, the torsion coil spring is disposed in a different position relative to the support shaft, the torsion coil spring includes a coil portion, the tangent of the coil portion from one end of the coil portion The coil portion of the torsion coil spring is disposed on the opening / closing body or the device main body, and includes one end portion extending in the direction and the other end portion extending in the tangential direction of the coil portion from the other end of the coil portion. One end of the torsion coil spring is fitted and locked so as to be relatively movable along a locking elongated hole provided in the holding member, and extends outward from the holding member. The other end extends from the outside of one end of the holding member, One end of the torsion coil spring is fitted to one end of the locking elongated hole of the holding member in a state in which the holding member is held by the locking means disposed on the mounting body or the opening / closing body so as to be relatively movable, In the angular region before and after the opening / closing body is urged in the opening direction by being pressed and the opening / closing body is rotated from the closed position toward the opening direction so that the center of gravity of the opening / closing body exceeds the support shaft in the opening direction. An opening / closing device characterized in that one end of the holding member is separated from one end of the locking elongated hole of the holding member, and thereafter the biasing in the opening direction by the torsion coil spring is released until the opening / closing body reaches the open position. Provided.
It is preferable that the torsion coil spring is disposed at a position where the axis does not coincide with the axis of the support shaft .
Supporting Jijiku is arranged to support both sides of the closing member rotatably respectively, a torsion coil spring, together with the holding member, it is plural arranged at mutually spacing between opposite sides of the opening and closing member It is preferable.
With the opening / closing body positioned at the closed position, each of the torsion coil springs is positioned below the axial direction of the support shaft in the radially outward direction, and the other end of each of the torsion coil springs of the apparatus main body. A flat surface is provided at a lower position corresponding to the position of the torsion coil spring. A rib extending in a direction orthogonal to the other end is disposed, and the locking means is formed by a locking hole or a locking notch formed between the flat surface and each of the ribs, and the torsion coil spring Each other end is inserted and locked from the outside to the inside of the device main body with respect to the locking hole or the locking notch, and when the opening / closing body is rotated from the closed position to the open position, the torsion coil The other end of the spring is a locking hole or locking In locked state to lack, is moved relative from outside the apparatus main body towards the inside relative-out locking hole or locking notches, it is preferable.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a switchgear constituted according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an automatic document feeder 2 which is an opening / closing device according to the present invention. The automatic document feeder 2 is disposed on the upper surface of a copying machine (not shown). Since the basic configuration of the automatic document feeder 2 itself may be a known configuration, the configuration will be briefly described below.

1 and 3, the automatic document feeder 2 includes an apparatus main body 4. The apparatus main body 4 includes a pickup roller (not shown) and a pair of paper supply rollers (not shown) arranged on the downstream side of the pickup roller. (Separation roller pair), a registration roller pair 6 arranged on the downstream side of the paper feed roller pair, and conveying rollers 8, 10 and 12 arranged on the downstream side of the registration roller pair 6. The registration roller pair 6 includes a driven roller 6a and a driven roller 6b. A large-diameter roller 14 is disposed above the image reading position P formed in cooperation with the upper surface of a copying machine (not shown). The transport rollers 8, 10 and 12 are each in pressure contact with the outer peripheral surface of the large-diameter roller 14. A pickup roller (not shown), a pair of paper feeding rollers, a pair of registration rollers 6, a conveyance roller 8, a conveyance roller 10, and a conveyance roller 12 are arranged along the document conveyance path 15 of the automatic document conveyance device 2 from upstream to downstream. Arranged in order. A document feed table 16 is disposed on the extension of the upstream end of the document transport path 15, and a document discharge tray 18 is disposed on the extension of the downstream end of the document transport path 15. The document discharge tray 18 is disposed vertically below the document feed table 16. The document conveyance path 15 is curved so as to be reversed between the conveyance roller 8 and the image reading position P.

A document (not shown) set on the document feed table 16 is transported along the document transport path 15 by the rollers described above and discharged to the document discharge tray 18. The image is read and copying is performed by a copying machine (not shown). Since such an operation is performed as is well known and does not form a feature of the present invention, further description is omitted.

2, 3, and 5, in the automatic document feeder 2, the opening / closing body 20 has a closed position (position shown in FIG. 3) and an open position (the position shown in FIG. 3) around the support shaft 22. (Position shown in FIG. 4) is supported so as to be rotatable (openable / closable). The opening / closing body 20 has a main body 21 that can be integrally formed from an appropriate synthetic resin, and the main body 21 has three driven rollers 6a (three in the embodiment) of the registration roller pair 6. A central region in the width direction of 20 (direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIGS. 2 and 3) is rotatably arranged via a common shaft. In the embodiment, five transport rollers 8 are rotatably supported on the main body 21 at intervals in the width direction. When the opening / closing body 20 is positioned at the closed position, a part of the inner surface of the main body 21 and the tip surfaces of the plurality of ribs provided on the inner side cooperate with a partial region on the outer peripheral surface of the large-diameter roller 14. Thus, an upper area of the document conveyance path 15 is formed. The driven roller 6a of the registration roller pair 6 is brought into pressure contact with the driven roller 6b, and the transport roller 8 is brought into pressure contact with the large-diameter roller 14, respectively. As shown in FIG. 4, when the opening / closing body 20 is positioned at the open position, the driven roller 6a of the registration roller pair 6 is separated upward from the driven roller 6b, and the conveying roller 8 is a roller 14 having a large diameter. The upper region of the document conveyance path 15 is opened upward. As a result, it is easy to handle a jam that has occurred in the document transport path 15.

With reference to FIG.3 and FIG.5, the support shaft 22 is arrange | positioned so that the both sides of the opening-closing body 20 may each be supported rotatably. More specifically, a bearing portion 24 having a bearing hole that opens to the outer side is integrally disposed on both side portions of the lower end portion of the main body 21. Each of the bearing holes of the bearing portion 24 is rotatably supported by a pair of support shafts 22 that are detachably fixed to the apparatus main body 4 side in a form not shown, whereby the opening / closing body 20 is attached to the apparatus main body 4. Between the closed position and the open position, the support shaft 22 is supported so as to be rotatable. Needless to say, each of the support shafts 22 is positioned on a substantially common axis.

The main body 21 of the opening / closing body 20 is provided with a torsion coil spring 30 that urges the opening / closing body 20 positioned at the closed position around the support shaft 22 in the opening direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 3). A plurality of torsion coil springs 30, two in the embodiment, are arranged at different positions with respect to each of the support shafts 24. That is, the torsion coil springs 30 are disposed with the holding member 40 in a region between both sides of the main body 21 (within a region between the bearing portions 24) with a space therebetween. Each of the torsion coil springs 30 is formed from a common part, and each of the holding members 40 is also formed from a common part.

6 and 7, the torsion coil spring 30 includes a coil portion 32, one end portion 34 linearly extending from one end of the coil portion 32 in the tangential direction of the coil portion 32, and the coil portion 32. The other end portion 36 extends from the end in the tangential direction of the coil portion 32. The other end portion 36 includes a proximal end region that extends linearly in the tangential direction of the coil portion 32, and a distal end region that is bent at a slight angle from the distal end of the proximal end region to the proximal end region and extends linearly. Become.

The holding member 40 formed by bending a substantially rectangular sheet metal includes a bottom wall 41, a pair of side walls 42 and 43 that stand upright from both sides of the bottom wall 41, and one side wall. And an attachment flange 44 extending obliquely upward in the opposite direction with respect to the other side wall 43 from the upper end of 42. The height of one side wall 42 from the bottom wall 41 is higher than that of the other side wall 43. A channel portion is formed by the bottom wall 41 and the pair of side walls 42 and 43. An elongated locking hole 45 is formed at a substantially central portion of the holding member 40 in the longitudinal direction (left-right direction in FIG. 7). The locking oblong hole 45 having a substantially rectangular shape as a whole is formed so as to extend across the mounting flange 44 and the one side wall 42 at a constant interval in the longitudinal direction. In the embodiment, one end of the locking elongated hole 45 is present at a position near the upper end of the one side wall 42 in the mounting flange 44, and the other end is slightly lower than the center in the height direction of the one side wall 42. It exists in the position close to 41. Two mounting holes 46 and 47 are formed in the mounting flange 44.

The distance between the side walls 42 and 43 of the holding member 40 and the height of the one side wall 42 from the bottom wall 41 are each formed larger than the diameter (coil diameter) of the coil portion 32 of the torsion coil spring 30. The height of the other side wall 43 of the member 40 from the bottom wall 41 is set to be substantially the same as the radius of the coil portion 32 of the torsion coil spring 30. The length of the holding member 40 (the length in the left-right direction in FIG. 7) is formed larger than the axial length of the coil portion 32 of the torsion coil spring 30. The interval in the longitudinal direction of the locking elongated holes 45 is formed to be slightly larger than the diameter (wire diameter) of the one end portion 34 of the torsion coil spring 30.

The coil portion 32 of the torsion coil spring 30 is positioned in the channel portion formed by the bottom wall 41 and the pair of side walls 42 and 43 of the holding member 40 so as to be relatively rotatable around the axis of the coil portion 32. The one end portion 34 of the coil spring 30 is fitted and locked so as to be relatively movable along a locking slot 45 provided in the holding member 40. One end portion 34 of the torsion coil spring 30 extends through the locking elongated hole 45 to the outside of one side wall 42 of the holding member 40. The other end 36 of the torsion coil spring 30 extends substantially outward from the bottom wall 41 from one end of the holding member 40 (the right end in FIG. 7). In this manner, the coil portion 32 of the torsion coil spring 30, that is, the torsion coil spring 30, is held by the holding member 40 so as to be relatively rotatable. The movement of the torsion coil spring 30 in the longitudinal direction of the holding member 40 is limited by the one end 34 of the torsion coil spring 30 being fitted and locked in the locking elongated hole 45 of the holding member 40. .

The holding member 40 holding the torsion coil spring 30 is placed in a region between both sides of the main body 21 (in a region between the bearing portions 24) by bolts (not shown) through mounting holes 46 and 47 of the mounting flange 44. ) Installed at a distance from each other. The axis of the coil portion 32 in each of the torsion coil springs 30 is positioned substantially on the common axis.

As shown in FIG. 3, in a state where the opening / closing body 20 is positioned at the closed position, each of the torsion coil springs 30 is positioned below the axial line of the support shaft 22 in the radially outward direction. On the other hand, flat surfaces 50 (horizontal surfaces in the embodiment) are respectively disposed at lower positions corresponding to the other end portions 36 of the torsion coil springs 30 of the apparatus body 4. As shown in FIG. 6, each flat surface 50 has an inner position (a position on the right side in FIG. 3) in the apparatus main body 4 with respect to the coil portion 32 of the corresponding torsion coil spring 30. Ribs 52 that are upright and extend in a direction perpendicular to the other end 36 of the torsion coil spring 30 are disposed. Between the flat surface 50 and the rib 52, a locking hole 54 constituting a locking means is formed. The inner diameter of the locking hole 54 is slightly larger than the wire diameter of the other end 36 of the torsion coil spring 30.

The tip region of each of the other end portions 36 of the torsion coil spring 30 is inserted into the corresponding locking hole 54 from the outside (left side in FIG. 3) to the inside (right side in FIG. 3). Locked. The tip region at the other end 36 of each torsion coil spring 30 can be moved relative to the corresponding locking hole 54 in the left-right direction in FIG. In place of the locking hole 54, the tip region of each other end 36 of the torsion coil spring 30 is relatively movable in the extending direction and fitted so that it does not come out radially outward. There are other embodiments in which a locking notch (not shown) to be locked is formed in the rib 52.

As described above, in a state where the opening / closing body 20 is positioned at the closed position, each one end portion 34 of the torsion coil spring 30 is connected to one end (upper end in FIG. 3) of the locking elongated hole 45 of the corresponding holding member 40. Press contact. Since each of the torsion coil springs 30 is twisted between the one end portion 34 and the other end portion 36, the opening / closing body 20 is rotated around each of the support shafts 22 in the opening direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 3). It is energized as follows. One end 34 of each torsion coil spring 30 and the tip region of the other end 36 extend substantially in parallel in the vertical direction as viewed in the axial direction of the coil portion 32. The tip region of the other end 36 of each torsion coil spring 30 is brought into pressure contact with the flat surface 50 of the apparatus body 4.

3 and 4, between the opening / closing body 20 and the apparatus main body 4, the opening / closing body 20 is releasably locked with respect to the apparatus main body 4 in the closed position (position shown in FIG. 3). A locking means (not shown) is provided. The lock by the locking means is released, and the opening / closing body 20 is rotated around each of the support shafts 22 in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 3 from the closed position toward the open position (the position shown in FIG. 4). When the center of gravity of the opening / closing body 20 exceeds the support shaft 22 in the opening direction, the rotational moment due to the weight of the opening / closing body 20 acts to rotate the opening / closing body 20 around the support shaft 22 in the opening direction. In the angular region before and after the center of gravity of the opening / closing body 20 exceeds the support shaft 22 in the opening direction (in the embodiment, immediately after the center of gravity of the opening / closing body 20 exceeds the support shaft 22 in the opening direction), one end of the torsion coil spring 30 Since the portion 34 is separated from one end of the locking elongated hole 45 of the holding member 40 in the other direction, the spring of the torsion coil spring 30 that urges the opening / closing body 20 in the opening direction around each of the support shafts 22 with respect to the apparatus body 4. The power is released. Thereafter, the opening / closing body 20 is rotated to the open position without being biased in the opening direction of the spring force of the torsion coil spring 30 to the open position. The opening / closing body 20 is positioned at a predetermined open position (see FIG. 4) by stop means (not shown) disposed between the opening / closing body 20 and the apparatus main body 4.

While the opening / closing body 20 is rotated from the closed position to the open position, each of the torsion coil spring 30 and the holding member 40 is rotated around each of the support shafts 22, but the coil portion 32 of the torsion coil spring 30 is provided. And the relative movement between the holding member 40 and the channel portion is absorbed by the gap between them. The relative movement between the one end portion 34 of the torsion coil spring 30 and the locking elongated hole 45 is absorbed by the gap between the longitudinal direction of the locking elongated hole 45. Further, the relative movement between the other end 36 of the torsion coil spring 30 and the locking hole 54 of the apparatus main body 4 is such that the other end 36 moves along the flat surface 50 in the locking hole 54 in FIG. Absorbed by being moved to the right. In the state where the opening / closing body 20 is positioned at the open position, the tip region of the other end 36 of the torsion coil spring 30 extends along the flat surface 50 and does not protrude upward. Further, it is avoided that the hand touches the tip (cut surface) of the other end portion 36.

Thus, according to the present invention, while the rotational moment due to the weight of the opening / closing body 20 acts to rotate the opening / closing body 20 around each of the support shafts 22 in the closing direction, the spring force of the torsion coil spring 30 is reduced. Since it acts in the opening direction, even when the opening / closing body 20 is heavy, the force to open the opening / closing body 20 is reduced. Further, almost simultaneously with the fact that the rotational moment due to the weight of the opening / closing body 20 causes the opening / closing body 20 to rotate about the respective support shafts 22 in the opening direction, the biasing force in the opening direction by the spring force of the coil spring 30 is applied. Since it is cancelled | released, the impact at the time of the opening-and-closing body 20 being rotated to an open position is relieved. Furthermore, since the opening / closing body 20 has a rotational position where the spring force of the torsion coil spring 30 does not act in the opening direction, assembly is facilitated.

Conversely, when the opening / closing body 20 is rotated from the open position toward the closed position and the center of gravity of the opening / closing body 20 exceeds the support shaft 22 in the closing direction, the rotational moment due to the weight of the opening / closing body 20 causes the opening / closing body 20 to be supported. It acts to rotate around each of 22 in the closing direction. Immediately before the center of gravity of the opening / closing body 20 crosses the support shaft 22 in the closing direction, the one end 34 of the torsion coil spring 30 is brought into contact with one end of the locking elongated hole 45 of the holding member 40. The spring force of the torsion coil spring 30 biasing in the opening direction starts to act. Thereafter, the opening / closing body 20 is rotated to the closed position against the biasing of the spring force of the torsion coil spring 30 in the opening direction to the closed position. When the opening / closing body 20 is rotated to the closed position, it is locked at the closed position with respect to the apparatus main body 4 by the locking means (not shown). While the opening / closing body 20 is rotated from the open position to the closed position, the relative movement between the other end portion 36 of the torsion coil spring 30 and the locking hole 54 of the apparatus main body 4 is the tip region of the other end portion 36. Is absorbed by being relatively moved leftward in FIG. 4 along the flat surface 50 in the locking hole 54.

As described above, according to the present invention, the rotational moment due to the weight of the opening / closing body 20 acts to rotate the opening / closing body 20 around the support shaft 22 in the opening direction (immediately before in the embodiment). Since the spring force of the torsion coil spring 30 that urges the opening / closing body 20 in the opening direction with respect to the apparatus main body 4 starts to act, the impact when the opening / closing body 20 is rotated to the closed position is reduced.

In the present invention, the torsion coil spring 30 is disposed at a different position with respect to the support shaft 22, so that the design and arrangement of the support shaft 22 and the torsion coil spring 30 are not mutually limited. Allowing you to do it freely. Specifically, the opening / closing body 20 is not restricted by the shape of the support shaft 22 when the torsion coil spring 30 is disposed in order to reduce the impact when the opening / closing body 20 is rotated to the closed position. It becomes possible to design freely according to the weight of the.

In the present invention, the torsion coil spring 30 is arranged at a position where the axis of the torsion coil spring 30 does not coincide with the axis of the support shaft 22, so that it can be freely designed without being restricted mutually.

Also in the present invention, the support shaft 22 is disposed so as to rotatably support both side portions of the opening / closing body 20, and the torsion coil spring 30, together with the holding member 40, is located in a region between both sides of the opening / closing body 20. A plurality are arranged at intervals. As described above, by providing a plurality of torsion coil springs 30, a necessary load can be easily ensured when the size of the torsion coil springs 30 is limited. Moreover, it becomes possible to arrange | position the one end part 34 where the load of the torsion coil spring 30 acts on the opening / closing body 20 in the position which acts with sufficient balance with respect to the opening / closing body 20 (supporting both sides of the opening / closing body 20 respectively). In the case of the structure supported by the shaft 22, the opening / closing body 20 may be twisted if the applied position of the load of the torsion coil spring 30 is biased).

In the above-described embodiment, each of the torsion coil spring 30 and each of the holding members 40 are disposed on the opening / closing body 20 side, but other embodiments may be disposed on the apparatus main body 4 side.

It is a front view showing an embodiment of an automatic document feeder which is an opening and closing device according to the present invention, and is a front view showing a state in which an opening and closing body is closed. FIG. 2 is a front view showing a state in which an opening / closing body is opened in the automatic document feeder shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the automatic document feeder shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the automatic document feeder shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the opening / closing body shown in FIG. 2. It is a perspective view which shows the mounting state of a torsion coil spring and a holding member. It is the perspective view which looked at the torsion coil spring and holding member shown in FIG. 6 from the back side of the paper surface in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

2: Automatic document feeder 4: Apparatus body 20: Opening / closing body 22: Support shaft 30: Torsion coil spring 32: Coil portion 34: One end portion 36: Other end portion 40: Holding member 45: Locking long hole 50: Flat surface 52: Rib 54: Locking hole

Claims (4)

An apparatus body, an opening / closing body supported by the apparatus body so as to be rotatable about a support shaft between a closed position and an open position, and a torsion coil spring for urging the opening / closing body positioned at the closed position in the opening direction In a switchgear provided with
The torsion coil spring is disposed at a different position with respect to the support shaft ,
The torsion coil spring includes a coil portion, one end portion that extends in the tangential direction of the coil portion from one end of the coil portion, and the other end portion that extends in the tangential direction of the coil portion from the other end of the coil portion. The coil portion of the coil spring is held by a holding member disposed in the opening / closing body or the apparatus main body so as to be relatively rotatable, and one end portion of the torsion coil spring is relatively moved along a locking elongated hole provided in the holding member. Fits and locks as possible and extends outward from the holding member, and the other end extends from the outside of one end of the holding member and moves relative to the locking means provided on the apparatus main body or the opening / closing body With the opening / closing body held in the closed position, one end of the torsion coil spring is pressed against one end of the retaining elongated hole of the holding member, the opening / closing body is urged in the opening direction, and the opening / closing body is The center of gravity of the opening / closing body is supported by being rotated from the closed position toward the opening direction. In the angular region before and after the shaft in the opening direction, one end of the torsion coil spring is separated from one end of the retaining elongated hole of the holding member, and thereafter the opening and closing body is attached in the opening direction until it reaches the open position. The momentum is released,
A switchgear characterized by that. The opening / closing device according to claim 1, wherein the torsion coil spring is disposed at a position whose axis does not coincide with the axis of the support shaft. The supporting shaft is disposed so as to rotatably support both side portions of the opening / closing body, and a plurality of torsion coil springs are disposed with a holding member between the both sides of the opening / closing body at intervals. The switchgear according to claim 1 or 2 . With the opening / closing body positioned at the closed position, each of the torsion coil springs is positioned below the axial direction of the support shaft in the radially outward direction, and the other end of each of the torsion coil springs of the apparatus main body. A flat surface is provided at a lower position corresponding to the position of the torsion coil spring. A rib extending in a direction orthogonal to the other end is disposed, and the locking means is formed by a locking hole or a locking notch formed between the flat surface and each of the ribs, and the torsion coil spring Each other end is inserted and locked from the outside to the inside of the device main body with respect to the locking hole or the locking notch, and when the opening / closing body is rotated from the closed position to the open position, the torsion coil The other end of the spring is a locking hole or locking In locked state to lack, from the outside of the apparatus main body to-out locking hole or locking notches inward are moved relative opening and closing device according to claim 3.

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