JP5049201B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus in which a document conveying apparatus whose rear end is rotatably connected to an image forming apparatus main body and an image forming apparatus main body are electrically connected by a relay line.

  2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus such as a copying machine that employs an electrophotographic system is provided with a document conveying device whose rear end is rotatably connected to the main body of the image forming device, and the document conveying device is rotated. As a result, the document placement section on the image forming apparatus main body is opened and closed.

  By the way, the document conveying device provided in the upper part of the image forming apparatus main body has a function as an automatic document conveying device or a tablet input device. In such a document conveying device, A relay line for electrically connecting the image forming apparatus main body is led out from the rear end.

  In the configuration in which the relay line is led out in the normal direction from the lower end position of the document conveying device, when the document conveying device is opened, a middle portion of the relay line restrained by the document conveying device and the upper surface of the image forming apparatus main body is Bends with a large curvature. For this reason, when opening the document conveying device, it is necessary to open the relay line while largely bending it. The large elastic force accompanying the deformation of the relay line becomes a resistance when opening the document conveying device, and the relay line is damaged. There is a problem that it is easy.

  In view of this, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-228561 proposes that the direction in which the relay line is led out from the rear end surface of the document conveying device is a direction substantially along the rear end surface and substantially parallel to the width direction of the document conveying device. Yes.

  In Patent Document 2, an electric cable bundle that connects an ADF and an optical reading unit is supported by two fixing portions, and an electric cable between the fixing portion and the fixing portion is covered with a bundle tube to form a bending portion. Proposals have been made to absorb the twist of the electric cable bundle formed by opening and closing of the ADF at the bending portion and the fixing portion.

  In Patent Document 3, a bundle wire cover for passing at least one bundle of two types of power bundle wires and signal bundle wires is provided, and one end of the bundle wire cover is fixed near the rotation fulcrum on the upper surface of the apparatus main body. There has been proposed a configuration in which the other end of the bundled wire cover is fixed through the vicinity of the rotation fulcrum on the bottom surface of the document feeder.

  In Patent Document 4, as an electric wire cable mounting structure for fitting and fixing a bushing in which an electric wire cable is inserted and fixed to a notch portion connected to an insertion opening of a component formed on a side wall of a housing, the shape of the notch portion is defined from the opening. Proposals have been made in which the adhesive is applied evenly over the entire joint surface with the bushing of the notch portion, and the flow of the adhesive after application is suppressed, as the shape becomes narrower as the distance increases.

In Patent Document 5, in an image reading apparatus that reads a document by a fixed reading method, a snap-fit mechanism is provided on a main body of a pressure plate having a pressing surface that presses the document at the time of image reading, and other pressure plate components (for example, In addition, a proposal has been made that a pocket-shaped document storage unit, a document table used when ADF is mounted, and the like can be joined.
Japanese Patent No. 3625148 JP 2004-357370 A JP 2001-142272 A JP 2000-307266 A JP 2002-287274 A

  By the way, the relay line derived from the document conveying apparatus that performs the opening / closing operation is easily damaged because a large bending stress is generated by the opening / closing operation of the document conveying apparatus, and is exposed to the outside of the apparatus. It is necessary to regulate movement, that is, drawing and pushing (strain relief).

  However, in order to restrict the longitudinal movement (pulling and pushing) of the relay line in the prior art, it is necessary to fix the relay line in the vicinity of the relay line outlet at the rear end portion of the document conveying apparatus. The closer the twisted part of the part and the trunk line are, the higher the possibility that the trunk line will be damaged.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the object of the present invention is to suppress the generation of bending stress of the relay line to prevent damage to the relay line and to move the relay line in the longitudinal direction. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of regulating (drawing and pushing).

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is provided with a document conveying device whose rear end portion is rotatably connected to the main body of the image forming apparatus, and is relayed from the rear end portion of the document conveying device. In the image forming apparatus that electrically connects the document conveying apparatus and the image forming apparatus main body with a line and opens and closes the document placing portion on the image forming apparatus main body by rotating the document conveying apparatus, the relay line A guide member is formed on the document conveying device, and a cover member for positioning the relay line on the guide portion is attached to the document conveying device, and a protrusion is provided on a part of the relay line. A relay wire fixing means for restricting movement in the longitudinal direction while allowing twisting of the relay wire is provided by sandwiching both sides in the longitudinal direction with the cover member therebetween.

  The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 1, the protrusion is provided by winding a binding band around a part of the relay line.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the lead-out direction of the relay line from the rear end of the document pressing device is obliquely downward with respect to the image forming apparatus main body. And

  The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cover member is formed with an opening and a pressing part on both sides of the opening, and the relay line is formed in the opening. The protruding portion provided is exposed, and both sides sandwiching the protruding portion of the relay line are pressed by the pressing portion.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the longitudinal movement of both sides in the longitudinal direction sandwiching the protruding portion of the relay wire is sandwiched by the cover member, so that the longitudinal movement is restricted while allowing the twisting of the relay wire. Generation | occurrence | production of the bending stress of a wire | line is suppressed and the damage to this relay wire is prevented, and the movement (drawing and pushing) of the longitudinal direction of a relay wire is controlled.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, by winding a binding band separate from the relay line around a part of the relay line, the protrusion for restricting the movement of the relay line in the longitudinal direction can be easily formed on the relay line. Can be provided.

  According to the third aspect of the invention, since the direction in which the relay line is derived from the rear end of the document conveying device is obliquely downward with respect to the image forming apparatus main body, the relay line is bent downward, and the relay line is imaged. While suppressing the stress at the time of connecting to the forming apparatus main body, it is possible to suppress the amount of protrusion of the relay line to the rear.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the cover member is formed with the opening portion and the holding portions on both sides sandwiching the opening portion, and the projection portion provided on the relay line is allowed to face the opening portion, and Since both sides of the protrusion are pressed by the pressing part, the semi-fixed state of the relay wire by the protrusion after assembly and after assembly (state in which longitudinal movement is restricted while twisting is allowed) can be easily confirmed. It is possible to prevent assembly failure.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. The illustrated image forming apparatus 1 is a multifunction machine having a copy function, a fax function, and a printer function, and is an upper part of the image forming apparatus main body 2. Is provided with a document conveying device 3 which is an automatic document conveying device, a document reading device 4 is disposed on the upper part of the image forming apparatus main body 2, and an operation display unit 5 is provided on the front side thereof. A print unit (not shown) is accommodated inside the image forming apparatus main body 2, a paper discharge tray 6 is disposed on the upper left side of the image forming apparatus main body 2, and upper and lower sides accommodating sheets on the front surface. Four stages of paper feed cassettes 7a to 7d are provided on the front side so as to be drawn out.

  Thus, in the image forming apparatus 1 configured as described above, when the original P stacked on the original tray 8 of the original conveying device 3 is automatically and continuously read, the original P is the main body of the image forming apparatus. 2 are fed one by one to a document placing portion (not shown) such as a platen glass provided on the upper surface of the sheet 2, and the image is read by the document reading device 4 and then discharged onto the sheet discharge tray 9.

  When the original P is manually read one by one, the original conveying device 3 is rotated upward about the rear end portion to open the original placing portion, and the original P is placed on the original placing portion. Later, the document conveying device 3 is rotated downward about the rear end portion to close the document placement portion, and the operation display portion 5 is operated by keys to read the image of the document P by the document reading device 4.

  When the image of the original P is read by the original reading device 4 as described above, the printing unit in the image forming apparatus main body 2 forms a toner image based on the read image data, and feed cassettes 7a to 7d. The toner image is transferred to a sheet fed from any of the above. The toner image transferred onto the paper is heated and pressed by a fixing device (not shown) and fixed on the paper, and the paper on which the toner image is fixed is discharged to the paper discharge tray 6 to form a series of image formations. The operation ends. The operation when the image forming apparatus 1 functions as a copying machine has been described above. However, the printing unit forms an image on a sheet based on image data transmitted from a personal computer or a facsimile apparatus. The device 1 can also perform a printer function and a facsimile function.

  Here, details of the semi-fixed structure of the document feeder 3 and the relay line 10 by the relay line fixing means will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the original conveying apparatus as viewed from the upper front, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the original conveying apparatus as viewed from the upper rear, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the original conveying apparatus as viewed from the upper right. 5 is a perspective view of the relay line semi-fixed portion of the document feeder, FIG. 6 is an enlarged detailed view of FIG. 5, FIG. 7 is a perspective view with the cover member semi-fixed portion removed, and FIG. The perspective view which looked at the member from diagonally upward, FIG. 9 is the perspective view which looked at the cover member from diagonally downward.

  The document conveying device 3 according to the present embodiment has an automatic document conveying function for automatically conveying the documents P stacked on the document tray 8 one by one to the document placing portion on the image forming apparatus main body 2. 2 to 4, the apparatus main body 11 attached to the upper part of the image forming apparatus main body 2, the document tray 8 attached to the upper part of the apparatus main body 11, and the lower side of the document tray 8. The paper discharge tray 9 is provided. Here, the document tray 8 is disposed between the front side plate 12 and the rear side plate 13, and for this purpose, the right and left for regulating the sheet passing width direction of the document P (direction perpendicular to the feeding direction of the document P). A pair of width regulating plates 14 are slidably provided.

  In the document conveying device 3, a document feeding unit (not shown) is provided on the left side of the document tray 8 (the feeding direction of the document P). Various rollers and conveyance paths are provided in the document feeding unit. These are covered with a transport cover 15 that can be opened and closed.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the document conveying device 3 has a rear end portion connected to the upper portion of the image forming apparatus main body 2 by a pair of left and right hinges 16 so as to be vertically rotatable. When the document P is manually read, the document conveying device 3 is rotated upward about the hinge 16 to open the document placing portion, and after placing the document P on the document placing portion, the document conveying device 3. Is pivoted downward about the hinge 16 to close the document placement portion.

  Thus, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a power source and a signal for operating the document feeder are supplied from the rear plate 13 at the rear end of the document conveying device 3 from the image forming apparatus main body 2 side. A relay line (interface cable) 10 is led out obliquely downward with respect to the image apparatus main body 2, and the relay line 10 is electrically connected to the document reading device 4 via a connector 17. Specifically, the relay line 10 is led obliquely downward from the right end portion of the rear side plate 13 toward the rear, and then bent to the left (right side in FIG. 3) at a substantially right angle to be connected to the rear side plate 13. The rear end of the connector 17 attached to the end of the document reader 4 is electrically connected to the document feeder 3 and the image forming apparatus main body 2 by extending horizontally behind the connector 17. .

  Here, the semi-fixed structure of the lead-out portion of the relay line 10 from the document conveying device 3 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  5 to 7 are partial perspective views showing the inside of the apparatus main body 11 with the rear side plate 13 removed from the document conveying apparatus 3. As shown in FIG. 7, the relay line 10 at the rear end of the apparatus main body 11 is led out. A rectangular base 11A is integrally formed in the portion to be formed, and two through grooves 11a and 11b constituting a guide portion are formed in the base 11A. The bottom surfaces of the through grooves 11a and 11b are formed in a semicircular arc shape along the outer periphery of the relay wire 10, and the relay wire 10 extending from the inside of the document feeder 3 passes through one through groove 11a to the outside. Is derived. And the binding band 18 is wound around the outer periphery of the part which penetrates the penetration groove | channel 11a of this relay line 10, and this binding band 18 forms the projection part. In addition, positioning pins 19 and 20 are provided at both ends of a portion of the document conveying device 3 that is formed in the apparatus main body 11 and sandwiches the through-groove 11a on the pedestal 11A, and a screw hole 21 is provided at a central portion therebetween. It is engraved.

  Thus, as shown in FIG. 7, with the relay wire 10 passed through the through groove 11a of the pedestal 11A, the cover member 22 is put on the pedestal 11A and fixed as shown in FIGS. As a result, both side portions in the longitudinal direction sandwiching the binding band 18 that is a protrusion of the relay wire 10 are sandwiched by the cover member 22, and the relay wire 10 is allowed to be twisted while being restricted from moving in the longitudinal direction (that is, pushing and pulling). In a semi-fixed state.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a circular hole 22a is formed at the center of the upper surface of the cover member 22, and a positioning circular hole 22b and a long hole 22c are formed on the left and right sides thereof. In addition, openings 22d and 22e having a rectangular shape in plan view are formed at positions corresponding to the through grooves 11a and 11b of the cover member 22, and the openings 22d and 22e are sandwiched between the openings 22d and 22e (the length of the relay line 10). Strut-shaped presser portions 22A and 22B are integrally formed downward in the front and rear directions, and a notch-like space S1 is formed between two opposing presser portions 22A and 22B. S2 is formed.

  Furthermore, semicircular cutouts 22f and 22g along the outer periphery of the relay wire 10 are formed at locations corresponding to the holding portions 22A and 22B of the front side wall 22C and the rear side wall 22D of the cover member 22, The lower surfaces of the presser portions 22 </ b> A and 22 </ b> B are formed into a semicircular curved surface along the outer periphery of the relay wire 10.

  As shown in detail in FIG. 6, the cover member 22 configured as described above is placed on the pedestal 11 </ b> A of the document conveying device 3 from above, and the positioning pins 19 and 20 protruding from the pedestal 11 </ b> A are covered with the cover member 22. The cover member 22 is positioned by being fitted in the positioning circular holes 22b and the long holes 22c formed respectively. If the cover member 22 is attached to the pedestal 11A by passing the screw 23 through the circular hole 22a formed in the cover member 22 from above and screwing the screw 23 into the screw hole 21 formed in the pedestal 11A, the pedestal 11A Two portions in the longitudinal direction sandwiching the binding band 18 that is a protrusion of the relay wire 10 passed through the through groove 11a are pressed by the pressing portion 22A of the cover member 22. At this time, since the binding band 18 is fitted into the notch-shaped space S1 between the holding parts 22A, the movement of the relay wire 10 in the longitudinal direction (that is, pulling and pushing) is restricted, but the cover member 22 Since the notch-shaped space S1 does not restrict the rotation of the binding band 18 in the circumferential direction, twisting of the relay wire 10 is allowed, and as a result, the relay wire 10 is fixed in a semi-fixed state.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the both sides in the longitudinal direction sandwiching the binding band 18 that is the protruding portion of the relay wire 10 are sandwiched by the cover member 22 so that the relay wire 10 is fixed in a semi-fixed state and twisted. Since the movement in the longitudinal direction is restricted while allowing the bending, the generation of bending stress in the relay line 10 is suppressed, and damage to the relay line 10 is prevented. (Push-in) is regulated.

  Further, in the present embodiment, a tying band 18 that is separate from the relay line 10 is wound around a part of the relay line 10, so that a protrusion for restricting the movement of the relay line 10 in the longitudinal direction is formed on the relay line. 10 can be easily provided.

  Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, since the lead-out direction of the relay line 10 from the rear end portion of the document conveying device 3 is obliquely downward with respect to the image forming apparatus main body 2, the relay line 10 bends downward, The stress at the time of connecting the relay line 10 to the image forming apparatus main body 2 can be suppressed to a small level, and the amount of protrusion of the relay line 10 to the rear can be suppressed to a small level.

  In the present embodiment, the cover member 22 is formed with the opening 22d and the pressing portion 22A on both sides of the opening 22d, and the binding band 18 wound around the relay wire 10 is exposed to the opening 22d. Since both sides of the relay wire 10 sandwiching the binding band 18 are pressed by the pair of pressing portions 22A, the relay wire 10 is semi-fixed by the binding band 18 during and after assembly (the twisting is allowed and the longitudinal movement is allowed). The regulated state) can be easily confirmed, and an effect that assembly failure is prevented can be obtained.

  In the above, the present invention has been described with respect to an embodiment in which the present invention is applied particularly to a multifunction machine employing an electrostatic copying system. However, the same applies to a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile machine alone, or an image forming apparatus employing an ink jet system. Of course, it is applicable.

1 is an external perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the document conveying device as viewed obliquely from the upper front. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the document conveying device when viewed from the rear and obliquely above. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the document conveying device as viewed obliquely from the upper right. It is a perspective view of a relay line semi-fixed portion of the document conveying device. FIG. 6 is an enlarged detail view of FIG. 5. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a cover member semi-fixed portion of the document feeder with a cover member removed. It is the perspective view which looked at the cover member from diagonally upward. It is the perspective view which looked at the cover member from diagonally downward.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Image forming apparatus main body 3 Document conveying apparatus 4 Document reading apparatus 5 Operation display part 6 Paper discharge tray 7a-7d Paper feed cassette 8 Document tray 9 Paper discharge tray 10 Relay line (interface cable)
11 Document Conveying Device Main Body 11A Document Conveying Device Main Body Base 11a, 11b Pedestal Groove (Guide Section)
12 Front plate 13 Rear plate 14 Width regulating plate 15 Transport cover 16 Hinge 17 Connector 18 Binding band (protrusion)
19, 20 Positioning pin 21 Screw hole 22 Cover member 22A, 22B Cover member pressing portion 22C Cover member front plate 22D Cover member rear plate 22a Cover member circular hole 22b Cover member positioning circular hole 22c Cover member positioning Long hole 22d, 22e Cover member opening 22f, 22g Cover member notch 23 Screw P Document S1, S2 Space

Claims (4)

A document conveying device having a rear end portion rotatably connected to the image forming apparatus main body is provided, and the document conveying device and the image forming apparatus main body are electrically connected by a relay line led out from the rear end portion of the document conveying device. An image forming apparatus that opens and closes a document placing portion on the image forming apparatus main body by rotating the document conveying device.
A guide portion for guiding the relay line is formed on the document conveying device, a cover member for positioning the relay line on the guide portion is attached to the document conveying device, and a protrusion is provided on a part of the relay line. An image forming apparatus comprising: a relay line fixing means for restricting movement in the longitudinal direction while allowing twisting of the relay line by sandwiching both side portions in the longitudinal direction sandwiching the protruding portion of the projection line by the cover member .   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion is provided by winding a band around a part of the relay line.   3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a direction in which the relay line is led out from a rear end portion of the document pressing device is set obliquely downward with respect to the image forming apparatus main body. The cover member is formed with an opening and a pressing part on both sides of the opening, and the protrusion provided on the relay line is exposed to the opening, and both sides of the protrusion of the relay line are The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is pressed by a pressing portion.

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