JP5127407B2 - Lid opening / closing structure of image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a lid opening / closing structure of an image forming apparatus including a lid supported by a rotation shaft formed on an arm.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in image forming apparatuses such as printing machines, FAX machines, copiers, and composite machines of these, a toner cartridge provided in a developing unit for forming an image is removed and paper is removed during jam processing. Some have a lid 40 that can be opened and closed.
FIG. 10 shows a part of such an image forming apparatus 1. One end of an arm 42 is attached to the lid 40 of the image forming apparatus 1, and the lid 40 can be rotated on the other end of the arm 42. A rotating shaft (not shown) is provided to be supported.
The apparatus main body 2 is provided with a partition wall 57, and a groove-shaped passage port 58 is formed in the partition wall 57. The partition wall 57 is provided to prevent the structural member inside the apparatus main body 2 from being seen, and to prevent the user from accidentally contacting the structural member, and the passage port 58 is provided for the arm 42 when the lid 40 is opened and closed. Is provided so as not to contact the partition wall 57.
Such a lid 40 rotating via the arm 42 has an advantage that the lid 40 can be separated from the opening portion by the length of the arm 42 when opened, and the opening portion can be greatly opened. For example, there is an effect that a toner cartridge or the like can be attached and removed from the open portion with a margin. Further, there is an effect that a guide portion or the like can be formed on the arm 42 for a mechanism that performs processing in conjunction with opening and closing of the lid 40.
An image forming apparatus provided with an openable / closable lid is disclosed in Patent Document 1 below.
JP 10-301351 A

  As described above, the image forming apparatus provided with the lid that is rotatably supported via the arm has a space (gap) below the passage opening 58 when the lid is opened due to the structure of the arm 42 shape. Some are formed. Such a space may be a gap enough for one adult's finger to enter, and the finger may be inserted inadvertently or intentionally into this gap. A structural member of the image forming apparatus is disposed inside the apparatus main body 2, and a high voltage portion, a lever of a laser scanning unit, or the like may be disposed behind the passage opening 58.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides a lid opening / closing structure of an image forming apparatus in which a gap through which a finger or the like is inserted is not formed in a passage opening through which an arm of the lid is inserted. For the purpose.

In order to achieve the above object, the lid opening / closing structure of the image forming apparatus of the present invention has a lid that can be opened and closed with respect to the apparatus main body at one end and a rotating shaft that opens and closes the lid at the other end. arm and a partition wall for shielding device inside during opening of the lid provided in the apparatus main body, an image forming closure at the arm of the lid is formed in the partition Setsukabe has a passage port that will be inserted In the lid opening / closing structure of the device,
The arm has a circular arc part attached to the lid at one end side, a radial direction part extending in the radius direction of curvature of the circular arc part from the other end of the circular arc part, and a part of the passage opening when the lid is opened. A rotation portion of the arm is formed at a curvature center position of a radius of curvature of the arc portion in the radial direction portion,
The closing portion continuously extends from the other end portion of the arc portion along the curvature direction of the arc portion, and the end position of the closing portion extends to the passage port when the lid is opened,
The apparatus main body is provided with a shutter opening / closing lever that blocks the laser beam of the laser scanning unit facing the passage, and the arm is provided with a guide portion that can be engaged with the opening / closing lever.
When the lid is closed, the guide portion contacts the opening / closing lever to open the shutter, and when the lid is opened, the contact between the guide portion and the opening / closing lever is released to close the shutter.

Closing structure of the lid of the image forming apparatus of the present invention, fitted with openable lid with respect to the apparatus main body at one end, and the arm with a rotary shaft for opening and closing the lid at the other end, provided in the apparatus main body is a partition wall for shielding device inside during opening of the lid, the opening and closing structure of the lid of the image forming apparatus and a passage port which the arm during closure of the lid is formed in the partition Setsukabe is to be inserted, The arm is provided with a blocking portion that closes a part of the passage opening when the lid is opened. This not be fingertip into the accidentally or intentionally passage opening upon opening of the lid, so that there is also such as touching them of the apparatus main body, it is possible to prevent failure or malfunction.
The arm of the lid opening / closing structure of the image forming apparatus includes: an arc portion having one end side attached to the lid; and a radial direction portion extending in a radius direction of curvature of the arc portion from the other end portion of the arc portion, The rotation axis of the arm is formed at a radius of curvature position of the arc portion in the radial direction portion, and the blocking portion continuously extends from the other end portion of the arc portion along the curvature direction of the arc portion. The end position of the closing portion can be extended to the passage opening when the lid is opened. Therefore, a gap is formed in the passage after the radial portion has passed through the passage, but since the blocking portion is still disposed in the passage, the gap can be eliminated in the passage.
The apparatus body of the lid opening / closing structure of the image forming apparatus is provided with a shutter opening / closing lever that blocks the laser beam of the laser scanning unit facing the passage, and the arm can be engaged with the opening / closing lever. A guide portion is provided, and when the lid is closed, the guide portion contacts the opening / closing lever to open the shutter, and when the lid is opened, the contact between the guide portion and the opening / closing lever is released to open the shutter. Since the shutter is closed, it is possible to prevent the shutter from being opened when the lid is opened.

Hereinafter, a lid opening / closing structure of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The direction indicated by the arrow F of the printer 1 shown in FIG. 1 is the front of the printer 1, and the direction intersecting the arrow F is the width direction of the printer 1.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view thereof. Referring to these drawings, a laser printer 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as “printer 1”) as an image forming apparatus includes an apparatus body 2 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. A paper discharge tray 4 is formed on the upper surface of the apparatus main body 2.
The discharge tray 4 is formed of an inclined portion that is inclined forward and upward from a vertical wall 55 on the rear side of the apparatus main body 2 in FIG. 1 and a flat portion that is positioned on the front side of the inclined portion. A paper discharge port 5 is formed in the vertical wall 55, and the printed paper is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 4 located on the front side. A front lid 6, which is a manual feed lid, is formed at the front portion of the apparatus main body 2 so as to open with a support portion at a lower end (not shown) as a rotation shaft and with the upper end portion at the front side. Yes.

In a substantially central region within the apparatus main body 2, a photosensitive drum 7 as an image carrier is disposed so as to be rotated in the clockwise direction in FIG. Around the photosensitive drum 7, a main charging roller 8, a developing sleeve 9 of a developing device, a transfer roller 10, a cleaning roller 11 and a cleaning blade 12, a static eliminator (not shown), and the like are provided. A laser scanning unit (hereinafter referred to as LSU) 51 that converts input image information into laser light and irradiates the surface of the photosensitive drum 7 with laser light is disposed at an upper position in the apparatus main body 2. .
As the photoreceptor of the photoreceptor drum 7, an a-Si system or OPC is used. When a charging bias is applied to the main charging roller 8 by a charging bias power supply device (not shown), the surface of the photosensitive drum 7 is uniformly charged. In the embodiment, a positive charging bias is applied, and the surface of the photosensitive drum 7 is uniformly positively charged.

  The developing device includes a developing sleeve 9 disposed in the developing housing 13 and a toner cartridge 14 for supplying toner to the developing housing 13. When a developing bias is applied to the developing sleeve 9 by the developing bias power supply device, the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 7 is developed by being exposed by the LSU 51. In the embodiment, a developing bias having the same positive polarity as the polarity of the charging bias is applied, and the toner, which is a magnetic one-component developer, is reversely developed with respect to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 7. It is configured to be allowed to.

A transport path 15 for transporting paper is disposed at a substantially central portion in the vertical direction in the apparatus main body 2, and a paper feed cassette 16 is mounted at the lower end. The conveyance path 15 passes between the photosensitive drum 7 and the transfer roller 10 and extends substantially horizontally in the tangential direction thereof. The upstream end region of the transport path 15 is inverted downward and connected to the paper feed cassette 16. On the upstream side of the photosensitive drum 7 in the conveyance path 15, a separation roller pair 18, a conveyance roller pair 19, and a registration roller pair 20 are disposed along the conveyance path 15 in that order from upstream to downstream. Yes. On the upstream side of the pair of registration rollers 20 in the conveyance path 15, a sheet detection sensor S that can detect the sheet P being conveyed is disposed.
In the paper feed cassette 16, a bottom plate 22 that is a paper placement plate supported at one end so as to be rotatable around the shaft 21, a compression coil spring 28 that pushes the other end of the bottom plate 22 upward, and the like are disposed. . The upper surface at the leading end of the paper P stacked and accommodated on the bottom plate 22 is pressed against a pickup roller 23 disposed in the apparatus main body 2.

  A fixing device 24 is disposed on the downstream side of the photosensitive drum 7 in the conveyance path 15. The fixing device 24 includes a heat roller 25 and a pressure roller 26 pressed against the heat roller 25 from below. On the downstream side of the fixing device 24 in the conveyance path 15, a conveyance roller pair 27 is disposed. The conveying roller pair 27 includes a driving roller 30 and a driven roller 31 that is pressed against the driving roller 30. A discharge conveyance path 29 is disposed on the downstream side of the conveyance roller pair 27, and the discharge conveyance path 29 extends upward along the inside of the rear surface wall of the apparatus main body 2, and the apparatus main body 2 at the upper end. It curves to the front side of and is connected to the discharge port 5. A conveyance roller pair 32 is disposed at a substantially central position in the vertical direction of the discharge conveyance path 29, and a discharge roller pair 33 is disposed at the upper end (downstream end). The discharge roller pair 33 discharges the paper P from the paper discharge port 5 to the paper discharge tray 4.

3 is a perspective view of a state in which the lid 40 forming the front portion of the paper discharge tray 4 is opened, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the lid 40, and FIG. 5 is a side view of the lid 40.
The rectangular lid 40 is formed of synthetic resin, and a pair of arms 41 and 42 attached to the back side of the lid 40 are attached to the left and right ends of the lid 40 on the rear side. Each arm 41, 42 is provided with arc portions 41a, 42a curved in an arc shape, one end side is attached to the lid 40, and the other end side of the arc portions 41a, 42a is relative to the curvature of the arc portions 41a, 42a. Radial portions 41b and 42b extending (bending) in the radial direction are formed.

Rotating shafts 41 c and 42 c that allow the lid 40 to rotate are formed at the end portions of the radial direction portions 41 b and 42 b so as to protrude on the inner side surfaces of the arms 41 and 42 and inward in the width direction of the apparatus main body 2. ing. The rotation shafts 41c and 42c are the centers of curvature of the radii of curvature of the arc portions 41a and 42a.
One arm 42 of the pair of arms 41 and 42 that support the lid 40 extends continuously from the end of the arc portion 42a with the curvature of the arc portion 42a at the meeting portion of the arc portion 42a and the radial portion 42b. The closed portion 42d is formed, and the rear end portion of the closed portion 42d is formed in a flat plate shape that is cut in the radial direction. The arc length of the arc portion 42a and the closing portion 42d is a semicircular arc shape that is close to approximately 180 °. Further, a guide portion 42 e that protrudes inward in the width direction of the apparatus main body 2 is formed on the inner side surface of the arm 42. The guide part 42e is a plate-like member formed by being curved so as to follow the outer peripheral shape of the arc part 42a.

As shown in FIG. 6, a partition wall 57 extending downward from the lid opening 56 is formed at the rear end portion of the lid opening 56 where the lid 40 of the apparatus main body 2 is disposed. A passage port 58 formed by a notch, a groove or a hole is formed in a portion of the partition wall 57 through which the arm 42 of the lid 40 passes.
With respect to the shape of the closing member 42d described above, the length to the end position (rear end portion) of the closing member 42d is the vicinity of the passage port 58 or the back (rear side) of the passage port 58 with the lid 40 opened. ) To be on the side. Moreover, although the cross-sectional shape of the blocking member 42d and the circular arc part 42a is made the same shape, it does not necessarily have to be the same, and any shape that can close the passage port 58 may be used.

  A stopper member 35 is provided on the front end side of the lid 40. The stopper plate 36 of the stopper member 35 is disposed such that a tip 36 a is rotatable with respect to the lid 40 about the rotation shaft 37 in the vertical direction. The stopper plate 36 serves as a stopper so that the paper P discharged from the paper discharge port 5 of the printer 1 does not flow forward (see FIG. 1). Further, a blindfold plate 47 is disposed on the lower surface of the front end side of the lid 40 and plays a role of concealing the upper inside of the apparatus main body 2 when the front lid 6 (see FIG. 1) is opened.

  With reference to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the LSU 51 described above is disposed below the paper discharge tray 4. The LSU 51 is provided with a shutter 52 for blocking laser light. The shutter 52 can be rotated around a shaft 53, and an end portion on the arm 42 side is provided with a shaft 53 that protrudes outward from the main body portion of the LSU 51. 54 is attached. The open / close lever 54 can open and close the shutter 52 about the shaft 53 as a rotation center. When the shutter 52 is closed, the shutter 52 blocks the optical path of the laser light, and as shown in FIG. 2, when the shutter 52 is opened, the laser light passes through the shutter 52 and passes through the shutter 52. Is reflected by a mirror 59 located on the front side of the image forming unit to irradiate the photosensitive drum 7 of the image forming unit.

  The position at which the opening / closing lever 54 is disposed is the side portion of the inner surface of the arm 42. When the lid 40 is in the closed state, the guide lever 42e is provided on the inner surface of the arm 42 as shown in FIG. The guide portion 42e rotates the opening / closing lever 54 of the shutter 52 in the opening direction to open the shutter 52. When the lid 40 is opened, the engagement between the guide portion 42e and the opening / closing lever 54 is released, and the opening / closing lever 54 is rotated in the closing direction to close the shutter 52. In order to close the shutter 52, the shutter 52 may be closed by the gravitational action of the shutter 52 or may be closed by attaching a torsion spring or the like to the shaft 53 of the shutter 52.

  In the printer 1, when a print signal is transmitted to the printer 1, an electrostatic latent image is formed by exposing the surface of the photosensitive drum 7 uniformly charged by the charging roller 8 by the LSU 51, and electrostatically. The latent image is developed by the developing device to become a toner image. At this time, the guide part 42e of the arm 42 of the lid 40 and the shutter 52 of the LSU 51 are engaged, and the shutter 52 is opened by the guide part 42e. Thereafter, the toner image is transferred by the transfer roller 10 to one side of the paper P conveyed from the paper feed cassette 16 at a predetermined timing. The sheet P on which the toner image has been transferred is guided by the conveyance path 15 and conveyed to the fixing device 24, and is thermally fixed while passing through the fixing device 24.

The sheet P on which the toner image is fixed is one sheet in a face-down state from the discharge port 5 to the discharge tray 4 through the discharge conveyance path 29 by the conveyance roller pair 27, the conveyance roller pair 32, and the discharge roller pair 33. Or two or more sheets are discharged continuously.
For the paper P continuously discharged from the paper discharge port 5, after the rear end of the paper P is discharged from the paper discharge port 5, the front end of the paper P comes into contact with the rear surface of the stopper plate 36, and more than that. Forward movement is restricted. When the paper P is continuously discharged, the progress of each paper P is restricted by the stopper plate 36, and the paper P is bundled with the front end of the paper P aligned with the paper discharge tray 4.

When the toner cartridge is replaced when the toner runs out, or when the paper is jammed, the lid 40 is opened and processing corresponding to each situation is performed. When the lid 40 is opened, the arms 41 and 42 arranged on the back side of the partition wall 57 rotate around the rotation shafts 41c and 42c, and one end side of the arms 41 and 42 is raised. At this time, due to the rotation of the arm 42, the engagement between the guide portion 42e and the opening / closing lever 54 in contact with each other is released, and the shutter 52 is closed, whereby the laser beam is blocked and the leakage of the laser beam is prevented. .
Also, as shown in FIG. 6, the rear end portion of the closing member 43d of one arm 42 is positioned at the lower end of the passage port 58, and the upper side of the passage port 58 faces the arc portion 42a, thereby passing the passage port 58. Is blocked. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the opening / closing lever 54 of the shutter 52 from being intentionally or mistakenly touched from the clearance of the passage opening 58.

As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated in detail, referring an accompanying drawing based on embodiment, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, Furthermore, various other various, without deviating from the scope of the present invention. Can be modified or modified.
For example, in the above embodiment, the printer 1 is taken as an example, but the present invention can also be applied to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine thereof.
In the above-described embodiment, the opening / closing lever 54 of the shutter 52 of the LSU 51 is disposed behind the passage port 58. However, when other members, for example, the lid 40 is opened, the power of the constituent members of the printer 1 is shut off. Thus, the same effect can be obtained even if a switch or the like interlocking with the guide portion 42e of the arm 42 is provided.

1 is a perspective view of a printer adopting a lid opening / closing structure of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1 cut in the front-rear direction. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1 with a lid opened. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state where a lid of the image forming apparatus in FIG. 3 is closed. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a lid of the image forming apparatus in FIG. 3. FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of an arm portion of the lid in a state where the lid of the image forming apparatus of FIG. 3 is opened. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of an LSU shown in the image forming apparatus of FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating an engagement state between a guide portion of a lid arm and an LSU shutter of the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a state in which the lid of FIG. 4 is opened. FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of an arm portion of a lid in a state where a lid of a conventional image forming apparatus is opened.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer 2 Apparatus main body 4 Paper discharge tray 40 Lid 41, 42 Arm 41a, 42a Arc part 41b, 42b Radial direction part 42d Closure part 42e Guide part 51 Laser scanning unit (LSU)
52 Shutter 54 Opening / closing lever 57 Partition wall 58 Passing port

Claims (1)

A lid that can be opened and closed with respect to the apparatus main body is attached to one end, an arm having a rotation shaft that opens and closes the lid to the other end, and an apparatus provided in the apparatus main body for shielding the inside of the apparatus when the lid is opened and the partition wall, in the opening and closing structure of the lid of the image forming apparatus and a passage port which the arm during closure of the lid is formed in the partition Setsukabe is to be inserted,
The arm has a circular arc part attached to the lid at one end side, a radial direction part extending in the radius direction of curvature of the circular arc part from the other end of the circular arc part, and a part of the passage opening when the lid is opened. A rotation portion of the arm is formed at a curvature center position of a radius of curvature of the arc portion in the radial direction portion,
The closing portion continuously extends from the other end portion of the arc portion along the curvature direction of the arc portion, and the end position of the closing portion extends to the passage port when the lid is opened,
The apparatus main body is provided with a shutter opening / closing lever that blocks the laser beam of the laser scanning unit facing the passage, and the arm is provided with a guide portion that can be engaged with the opening / closing lever.
When the lid is closed, the guide portion contacts the opening / closing lever to open the shutter, and when the lid is opened, the contact between the guide portion and the opening / closing lever is released to close the shutter. And a lid opening / closing structure of the image forming apparatus.

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