JP2022148683A - image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an image formation apparatus which can secure the visibility of a display unit.SOLUTION: An image formation apparatus comprises: a housing; an operation unit 130 which is provided on a front surface of the housing; a display unit 131 which is provided on the substantially center of the operation unit 130 and displays an image; a light irradiation unit 132 which is provided along the upper edge of the display unit 131 and emits light; a light guide unit 134 which guides light to the light irradiation unit 132; and a light source 135 which emits light to the light guide unit 134. The operation unit 130 is attached to the housing in such an inclined manner that the front side becomes low. The light irradiation unit 132 is inclined such that in order that an inclined angle of the light irradiation unit is larger than that of the operation unit 130, the front side along the edge of the display unit 131 becomes low, the end part on the front side becomes lower than the surface of the display unit 131 and the end part on the rear side becomes higher than the surface of the display unit 131.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having an operation section provided on the front surface of a housing.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an image forming apparatus provided with an operation panel (display panel) having a display unit has become popular so that a user can visually recognize various information. Further, in some image forming apparatuses, light representation is used in order to notify a distant user, and some are equipped with an LED that emits light. By the way, in a display device, a device in which lighting means such as LEDs are arranged around a display panel has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2009-276603 A

The display device described in Patent Document 1 includes a display panel and illumination means for illuminating the display panel. Further, the display device includes a circuit board having an annular component mounting area and an opening formed inside the component mounting area, and the connecting member connects the lighting means and the circuit board. ing.

In the above-described display device, since the illumination means is simply provided around the display panel, the light emitted from the illumination means may irradiate the display panel side and deteriorate the visibility of the display panel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of ensuring visibility of a display section.

An image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus including a housing and an operation unit provided on the front surface of the housing, wherein a display for displaying an image is provided substantially in the center of the operation unit. a light irradiation section that is provided along the upper edge of the display section in the operation section and that irradiates light; a light guide section that guides light to the light irradiation section; and a light guide section that guides light to the light guide section. a light source for irradiating light, wherein the operation unit is attached to the housing with an inclination such that the front side is lower; The front side along the edge of the display is inclined to be lower, the front end is lower than the surface of the display part, and the rear end is higher than the surface of the display part.

In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the light guide section may be configured to guide the light emitted from the light source to the light irradiation section so that the amount of light is larger at the central portion than at the front end portion. good.

In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the light irradiation section may be a light filter for diffusing incident light, and may be thick at the front end and thin at the center.

The image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a rotation shaft extending along the left-right direction of the operation unit and supporting the operation unit; and a connection unit connecting the rotation shaft and the light irradiation unit. The portion rotates around the rotation shaft, and the connection portion rotates the light irradiation portion in accordance with the operation portion. Alternatively, the rotation angle may be small.

According to the present invention, by tilting the light irradiator, a portion close to the display unit is prevented from being exposed to strong light to the operating user, and a portion far from the display unit is easily irradiated with light and visually recognized. can ensure the integrity of the

1 is an external perspective view showing an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention; FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1; FIG. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main portion showing an operating portion viewed from the front; FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of main parts showing an operation unit viewed from the side; FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of main parts showing an operation unit viewed from the side in an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 11 is a main configuration diagram showing an operation unit viewed from the side in an image forming apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a main configuration diagram showing the operating section in a rotated state;

(First embodiment)
An image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

The image forming apparatus 100 is a multifunction device having a scanner function, a copying function, a printer function, a facsimile function, and the like, and transmits an image of a document read by an image reading device 110 to the outside (corresponding to the scanner function). A color or monochrome image is formed on paper from the image of the read document or the image received from the outside (corresponding to the copying function, printer function, and facsimile function).

A document feeder 120 (ADF) is provided above the image reading device 110 so as to be openable and closable with respect to the image reading device 110 . When the document conveying device 120 is opened, the upper part of the image reading device 110 is opened so that the document (paper) can be manually placed. Further, the document conveying device 120 automatically conveys the placed document onto the image reading device 110 . The image reading device 110 reads a placed document or a document conveyed from the document conveying device 120 to generate image data.

The image forming apparatus 100 includes an exposure device 1 , a development device 2 , a photosensitive drum 3 , a cleaner device 4 , a charger 5 , an intermediate transfer belt device 6 , a fixing device 7 , a paper feed tray 81 , a manual feed tray 82 , and a paper discharge tray 91 . , and a sheet conveying path S, and forms multicolor and monochromatic images on a predetermined sheet of paper in accordance with image data transmitted from the outside.

The image data handled by the image forming apparatus 100 corresponds to a color image using black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y). Accordingly, four developing devices 2, photosensitive drums 3, chargers 5, and cleaning devices 4 are provided so as to form four types of latent images corresponding to the respective colors, respectively black, cyan, magenta, and yellow. , and these constitute four image stations.

The photoreceptor drum 3 is arranged substantially in the center of the image forming apparatus 100 . The charger 5 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 3 to a predetermined potential. The exposure device 1 exposes the surface of the photosensitive drum 3 to form an electrostatic latent image. The developing device 2 develops the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoreceptor drum 3 to form a toner image on the surface of the photoreceptor drum 3 . A toner image of each color is formed on the surface of each photosensitive drum 3 by the series of operations described above. The cleaner device 4 removes and collects residual toner on the surface of the photosensitive drum 3 after development and image transfer.

The intermediate transfer belt device 6 is arranged above the photosensitive drums 3 and includes an intermediate transfer belt 61 , an intermediate transfer belt driving roller 62 , an intermediate transfer belt driven roller 63 , an intermediate transfer roller 64 and an intermediate transfer belt cleaning device 65 . ing. Four intermediate transfer rollers 64 are provided corresponding to the YMCK color image stations.

An intermediate transfer belt drive roller 62, an intermediate transfer belt driven roller 63, and an intermediate transfer roller 64 stretch the intermediate transfer belt 61 and move the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 61 in a predetermined direction (direction of arrow E in the drawing). is configured as

The intermediate transfer belt 61 rotates in the direction of arrow E, residual toner is removed and collected by the intermediate transfer belt cleaning device 65, and the toner images of each color formed on the surface of each photosensitive drum 3 are sequentially transferred. are superimposed on each other to form a color toner image on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 61 .

The image forming apparatus 100 further includes a secondary transfer device 10 including a transfer roller 10a. A nip area is formed between the transfer roller 10a and the intermediate transfer belt 61, and the sheet conveyed through the sheet conveying path S is nipped in the nip area and conveyed. The toner image on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 61 is transferred to the paper while passing through the nip area.

The paper feed tray 81 is a tray for storing paper used for image formation, and is provided below the exposure device 1 . The manual feed tray 82 is a tray that is provided on the side surface of the image forming apparatus 100 (the side surface on the right direction R side in FIG. 1) on which sheets to be used for image formation can be placed. Also, the paper discharge tray 91 is provided on the upper side of the image forming apparatus 100, and is a tray for placing paper on which an image has been formed.

The paper transport path S includes a main path S1 provided in an S shape and a reversing path S2 that branches off and rejoins the main path S1. A roller 11b, a pre-registration roller 12a, a registration roller 13, a secondary transfer device 10, a fixing device 7, and a paper discharge roller 12b are arranged. The reversing path S2 branches from between the fixing device 7 and the discharge roller 12b, and rejoins between the pre-registration roller 12a and the registration roller 13 via the reversing conveying roller 12c and the reversing conveying roller 12d.

The pickup roller 11a is provided near the end of the paper feed tray 81, and is a pick-up roller that feeds the paper from the paper feed tray 81 to the paper transport path S one by one. The registration rollers 13 temporarily hold the paper conveyed from the paper feed tray 81, and convey the paper to the transfer roller 10a at the timing when the leading edge of the toner image on the photosensitive drum 3 and the leading edge of the paper are aligned. The pre-registration roller 12a is a small roller for assisting the transportation of the paper.

The fixing device 7 includes a heating section 73 that heats the fixing roller 71 by pressing the pressure roller 72 against the fixing roller 71 . The fixing device 7 receives the paper on which the unfixed toner image is formed, and conveys the paper while sandwiching it between the fixing roller 71 and the pressure roller 72 . After fixing, the paper is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 91 by the paper discharge rollers 12b.

When an image is to be formed not only on the front side of the paper but also on the back side, the paper is transported in the reverse direction from the discharge roller 12b to the reversing path S2, the front and back of the paper are reversed, and the paper is transferred to the registration rollers 13. , image formation is performed on the back side in the same manner as the front side, and the sheet is discharged to the discharge tray 91 .

An operation unit 130 having an input unit 133 and a display unit 131 is provided on the front side surface of the image forming apparatus 100 . The input unit 133 is a button provided on the frame of the operation unit 130, but is not limited to this, and the display unit 131 may be used as a touch panel and also serve as the input unit 133. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1 , in the image forming apparatus 100 , a document conveying device 120 is provided above, and an image reading device 110 is provided below the document conveying device 120 . A paper discharge tray 91 is provided below the image reading device 110 and substantially in the center of the image forming device 100 .

For the sake of explanation, the directions on the housing of the image forming apparatus 100 may be referred to as follows. Specifically, the upward direction in the height direction is called an upward direction U, and the downward direction in the height direction is called a downward direction D. Also, the leftward direction in the width direction is referred to as the left direction L, and the rightward direction in the width direction is referred to as the right direction R. Further, the direction toward the front in the depth direction is called the front direction F, and the direction toward the rear in the depth direction is called the rear direction B.

Next, the operation unit 130 provided in the image forming apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the main part showing the operation part seen from the front.

In FIG. 3, only the operation unit 130 is extracted from the image forming apparatus 100 and shown. As shown in FIG. 3, the operation unit 130 seen from the front has a substantially rectangular shape, and a display unit 131 for displaying an image is provided in the center. Further, a light irradiation section 132 is provided along the upper edge of the display section 131 in the operation section 130 . In the image forming apparatus 100, the light emitted from the light emitting unit 132 is used to perform optical representation such as notification to the user.

FIG. 4 is a main configuration diagram showing the operation unit viewed from the side.

As in FIG. 3 , only the operation unit 130 of the image forming apparatus 100 is extracted and shown in FIG. 4 . The operation unit 130 is attached to the image forming apparatus 100 so as to be inclined in the downward direction D toward the end in the forward direction F. As shown in FIG. The display unit 131 is provided in front of the operation unit 130 so that the surface can be easily viewed obliquely from the upper front (upper left in FIG. 4). That is, by adjusting the tilt angle of the operation unit 130, the angle of the display unit 131 is also set.

A light source 135 and a light guide section 134 are provided in the operation section 130 . Light emitted by the light source 135 is guided to the light irradiation section 132 by the light guide section 134 . The light guiding portion 134 guides the light to the central portion between the front (left in FIG. 4) end and the rear (right in FIG. 4) end of the light irradiation portion 132 . By guiding the light to the central portion of the light irradiation section 132 in this way, the light from the central portion can be made stronger. The light source 135 is not particularly limited, and may be, for example, an LED that emits monochromatic light or an LED that emits multicolored light.

The light irradiation unit 132 is attached to the operation unit 130 with its front side inclined downward so that the angle of inclination is larger than that of the operation unit 130, and the front side (left side in FIG. 4) end is displayed. It is lower than the surface of the display unit 131 (especially, the end on the rearward B side), and the end on the rear side (right side in FIG. 4) is higher than the surface of the display unit 131 (especially, the end on the rearward direction B side). ing. By tilting the light irradiation unit 132 in this way, the portion near the display unit 131 is prevented from being exposed to strong light on the operating user, and the portion far from the display unit 131 is easily irradiated with light. , visibility can be ensured.

(Second embodiment)
Next, an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In the second embodiment, the structure of the light irradiation section 132 is different from that in the first embodiment. Since the second embodiment has substantially the same configuration as the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, description thereof will be omitted, and only different points will be described.

FIG. 5 is a main configuration diagram showing an operation section seen from the side in an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

In the second embodiment, the light irradiation part 132 has a structure in which the thickness differs depending on the part. The light irradiation section 132 is an optical filter that diffuses incident light, and is thick at the front end and thin at the center. Specifically, a recessed portion 132a is provided on the back side of the light irradiation portion 132 so as to have a reduced thickness. Since the degree of diffusion of light varies depending on the thickness of the optical filter, a thin filter emits bright light with strong directivity, while a thick filter emits weak light that spreads over a wide range. In this way, the light on the side closer to the display section 131 is weakened, the light is suppressed from circling around, and the display section 131 can be easily seen. Also, in the central part, the light can be increased to make it brighter.

In FIG. 4, the concave portion 132a is provided only in the central portion of the light irradiation portion 132 to reduce the thickness, and a difference in thickness from the front end is shown. , the recess 132a may be provided to reduce the thickness.

(Third embodiment)
Next, an image forming apparatus according to a third embodiment of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In the third embodiment, the structure of the operation unit 130 is different from that in the first embodiment. The third embodiment has substantially the same configuration as the first and second embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, so description thereof will be omitted, and only different points will be described.

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram of the main part of the operation part seen from the side in the image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a main part showing the operation part in a rotated state. It is a block diagram.

The third embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the operation unit 130 is rotatable. Specifically, the operation unit 130 is provided with a rotation shaft 136, a connection portion 137, and an irradiation support shaft 132b. Rotation shaft 136 extends along the horizontal direction of image forming apparatus 100 and supports operation unit 130 . The operation unit 130 rotates around a rotation shaft 136 as a fulcrum. The irradiation support shaft 132 b extends along the horizontal direction of the image forming apparatus 100 and supports the light irradiation section 132 . The light irradiation unit 132 rotates around the irradiation support shaft 132b.

The connecting portion 137 connects the rotation shaft 136 and the irradiation support shaft 132 b and rotates the light irradiation portion 132 in accordance with the operation portion 130 . In the present embodiment, the rotating shaft 136 and the irradiation support shaft 132b are arranged apart from each other, and the connecting portion 137 is a shaft extending from the rotating shaft 136 to the irradiation support shaft 132b.

In the structure shown in FIG. 6 , the connecting portion 137 is divided into a plurality of parts according to the structure of the operating portion 130 . Further, the connecting portion 137 is configured to be meshed with each other by gears at the points of contact with the rotary shaft 136 and the irradiation support shaft 132b. The position of the rotating shaft 136 is not limited to this, and the connecting portion 137 may be a gear provided between the rotating shaft 136 and the irradiation support shaft 132b.

The operation unit 130 is attached to the image forming apparatus 100 so that the front surface faces obliquely forward and upward, and is rotated around a rotation shaft 136 to change the angle at which the operation unit 130 faces. can be done. In this manner, the operation unit 130 can be rotated to adjust the angle to be easily visible by the user.

FIG. 6 shows a state in which the operation unit 130 is directed upward as much as possible, and the light irradiation unit 132 is tilted further forward than the operation unit 130 . When the operation unit 130 is directed upward, it is assumed that the user operating the image forming apparatus 100 looks down on the display unit 131 from above. If there is, the light from the light irradiation unit 132 is directed directly toward the user, which impairs the visibility of the display unit 131 . Therefore, by shifting the orientation of the light irradiation section 132 with respect to the display section 131, the visibility of the display section 131 can be ensured.

FIG. 7 shows a state in which the operation unit 130 is directed as far forward as possible, and the light irradiation unit 132 is slightly tilted forward relative to the operation unit 130 . It is assumed that the user is far away from the image forming apparatus 100 when the operation unit 130 is directed toward the front. In this case, if the light irradiation unit 132 is tilted at the same angle as the operation unit 130 from the state shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the connection portion 137 transmits the movement of the rotation shaft 136, so that the light irradiation portion 132 rotates in conjunction with the operation portion 130, but the rotation angle is smaller than that of the operation portion 130. It is said that By adjusting the angle of the light irradiation unit 132 when the operation unit 130 is rotated, the light from the light irradiation unit 132 can be made easier to see, and the light can be prevented from reaching the display unit 131 .

In addition, the embodiment disclosed this time is an example in all respects, and does not serve as a basis for a restrictive interpretation. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention is not to be interpreted only by the above-described embodiments, but is defined based on the description of the claims. In addition, all changes within the meaning and range of equivalence to the claims are included.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 image forming apparatus 130 operation unit 131 display unit 132 light irradiation unit 132a recess 132b irradiation support shaft 133 input unit 134 light guide unit 135 light source 136 rotation shaft 137 connection unit

Claims (4)

An image forming apparatus comprising a housing and an operation unit provided on the front surface of the housing,
a display unit that is provided substantially in the center of the operation unit and displays an image;
a light irradiation unit provided along the upper edge of the display unit in the operation unit and irradiating light;
a light guide section that guides light to the light irradiation section;
A light source that irradiates the light guide section with light,
the operation unit is attached to the housing with an inclination such that the front side is lower;
The light irradiation unit is inclined such that the front side along the edge of the display unit is lower so that the angle of inclination is larger than that of the operation unit, and the front end is lower than the surface of the display unit, An image forming apparatus, wherein a rear end is higher than a surface of the display unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the light guide section guides the light emitted from the light source to the light irradiation section so that the amount of light is larger at a center portion than at a front end portion. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 2,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the light irradiation section is an optical filter for diffusing incident light, and has a thick front end and a thin central section. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
a rotating shaft that extends along the left-right direction of the operation unit and supports the operation unit;
A connecting portion that connects the rotating shaft and the light irradiation portion,
The operation unit rotates about the rotation shaft as a fulcrum,
The connection portion is configured to rotate the light irradiation portion in accordance with the operation portion,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the light irradiation section rotates at a smaller angle than the operation section.

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