JP2008197412A - Option device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an option device capable of easily and securely preventing falling of an image forming apparatus to be interlocked with the installation operation of the image forming apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: The option device 2 on which the image forming apparatus 1 is placed and connected includes: a holding member 9 vertically moved so as to project or retract from an upper surface; a spring (pressing means) 10 for pressing the holding member 9 upward; a locking member (engaging member)16 engaged with the holding member 9 prior to the installation of the image forming apparatus 1, thereby holding the holding member 9 in the position where the holding member 9 does not project from the upper surface; and a fall preventing means 6 having a release button (disengaging means) 13 moved in synchronization with the installation of the image forming apparatus 1 and disengaging the holding means 9 from the locking member 16. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an optional device that mounts an image forming apparatus on the upper portion and couples the image forming apparatus.

  In some cases, an optional device such as a reversing device or a paper feeding device is attached to the image forming apparatus. In such a case, the image forming apparatus is installed on and coupled to the optional device.

  By the way, when the image forming apparatus is installed on the optional apparatus and coupled, conventionally, two high-positioning positioning pins project from the upper surface of the optional apparatus, and these positioning pins are provided on the bottom surface of the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus is positioned by fitting the formed positioning holes, and the image forming apparatus is prevented from falling.

  However, it is difficult in terms of the product configuration to configure the positioning pin to have a height and thickness enough to prevent overturning, and it is difficult to reliably prevent the image forming apparatus from overturning.

  Therefore, it is conceivable to prevent the image forming apparatus from overturning by attaching a fall prevention member. However, forcing the user to attach the fall prevention member is bothersome for the user and forgetting to attach it. In particular, in a small machine such as a personal printer in which a service person does not install an optional device, the burden on the user increases and it is easy to forget to attach the fall prevention member. In addition, it is difficult for the user to know where the protrusion protruding from the upper surface of the optional device is inserted on the bottom surface of the image forming apparatus, and the connector and the positioning pin may be damaged.

Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-228620 proposes to install a rotation lock type fall prevention means in order to prevent the image forming apparatus provided with the optional device from toppling over.
JP 2004-109509 A

  However, in order to install the fall prevention means proposed in Patent Document 1, it is a condition that the strength of the holding portion of the fall prevention means is high, which leads to an increase in cost, and the image forming apparatus using the fall prevention means. There is a problem that it is necessary to manually perform the fixing lock, and the operation is troublesome.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an optional device that can easily and reliably prevent the image forming apparatus from falling over in conjunction with the installation operation of the image forming apparatus. There is to do.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an optional apparatus in which an image forming apparatus is mounted on the upper part, and a holding member that moves up and down and protrudes from the upper surface, and the holding member is moved upward. Biasing means for biasing, an engaging member that engages with the holding member before installation of the image forming apparatus and holds the holding member in a position that does not protrude from the upper surface, and interlocked with the installation operation of the image forming apparatus A fall prevention means including an engagement release means for releasing the engagement of the holding member by the engagement member is provided.

  The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 1, the fall prevention means is arranged at one of the four corners of the upper surface, and a cradle is installed at the other three places.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the image forming apparatus is installed on the optional apparatus, the engagement of the holding member by the engaging member of the fall prevention means is released in conjunction with the installation operation, and the image forming apparatus is installed. The holding member that has been submerged from the upper surface is moved upward by the urging means and protrudes from the upper surface of the optional device before engaging the recess formed in the bottom surface of the image forming apparatus. In conjunction with the installation operation of the apparatus, the image forming apparatus can be prevented from falling over easily and reliably.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the image forming apparatus can receive the load in a well-balanced manner by the cradles installed at the four corners of the upper surface of the optional apparatus, and can prevent the distortion and the inclination from being prevented. Can be obtained stably.

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

  1 is a perspective view of an optional device and an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the operation of the overturn prevention means when the image forming apparatus is installed. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the fall prevention means.

  An image forming apparatus 1 such as a copying machine shown in FIG. 1 is provided with an optional device 2 such as a paper feeding device, and the image forming apparatus 1 is placed on and fixed to the upper portion of the optional device 2.

  Here, a pair of positioning pins 4 are erected on the upper surface of the housing 3 of the optional device 2, and cradles 5 are installed at three of the four corners of the upper surface of the housing 3. Is provided with a fall prevention means 6 shown in FIGS. A rectangular hole 3a through which a block-like holding member 9 (described later) protrudes and a circular hole 3b through which a columnar release button 13 protrudes are formed at a portion where the fall prevention means 6 is provided on the upper surface of the housing 3. .

  In addition, a connector 7 is erected in the vicinity of one positioning pin 4 on the upper surface of the housing 3 for connecting a connector (not shown) protruding from the bottom surface of the image forming apparatus 1. Further, a paper feed cassette 8 that can be pulled out is mounted on one side of the short side of the optional device 2, and a plurality of sheets (not shown) are stored in the paper feed cassette 8 in a stacked state. Yes.

  Here, the details of the structure of the fall prevention means 6 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The holding member 9 is housed and held in the housing 3 so as to be movable up and down, and is always urged upward by a spring 10 as urging means. A pair of rib-like stoppers 11 extending in parallel to the vertical direction are projected on the front surface of the holding member 9, and an engaging projection 12 is projected on one side surface.

  The release button 13 constitutes an engagement release means, and a rod 14 extends vertically downward in the housing 3 from a disk-like stopper portion 13a. The contact member 15 is inserted and fixed. In the housing 3, a lock member 16 as an engagement member is rotatably provided by a shaft 17, and the engagement member protrudes from the holding member 9 at the tip of the lock member 16. An engaging claw 16 a that selectively engages with the protrusion 12 is formed.

  Further, an arm 18 extends perpendicularly from the lock member 16, and the rod 14 extending vertically downward from the release button 13 is inserted into the arm 18. A spring 19 is compressed between the arm 18 and the bottom surface of the housing 3, and the spring 119 biases the lock member 116 counterclockwise (engagement direction) in FIG. The release button 13 is biased upward.

  Thus, in a state before the image forming apparatus 1 is installed on the option device 2, the holding member 9 of the fall prevention means 6 is at the lower limit position and is formed on the upper surface of the housing 2 as shown in FIG. All of them are accommodated in the housing 3 without protruding upward from the rectangular holes 3a. At this time, the engaging claws 16a of the locking member 16 are engaged with the engaging protrusions 12 protruding from the holding member 9. And the holding member 9 is maintaining the state of illustration. Further, the release button 13 is urged upward by the spring 19 as described above, and the stopper 13a is in contact with the peripheral edge of the circular hole 3b of the housing 3 to protrude from the circular hole 3b to the upper side of the housing 3. Is maintained.

  In the above state, in the state where the positioning hole (not shown) formed on the bottom surface of the image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 is placed on the upper surface of the option apparatus 2 and installed, the connector (not shown) on the image forming apparatus 1 side and the connector 7 on the option apparatus 2 side are connected to each other so that the image forming apparatus 1 and the option apparatus 2 are connected. Electrically connected.

  When the image forming apparatus 1 is installed on the upper part of the optional apparatus 2 as described above, the circular convex portion 1a protruding from the bottom surface of the image forming apparatus 1 comes into contact with the release button 13 as shown in FIG. In order to push it down against the urging force of the spring 19, the rod 14 extending vertically downward from the release button 13 is also pushed down integrally. Then, the contact member 15 inserted and fixed to the rod 14 contacts the arm 18 to rotate the arm 18 and the lock member 16 about the shaft 17 in the clockwise direction in FIG. The engaging claw 16 a is disengaged from the engaging projection 12 of the holding member 9, and the holding member 9 is moved upward by the urging force of the spring 10, and its upper half protrudes upward from the rectangular hole 3 a of the housing 3. Then, it fits into a recess 1b formed in the bottom of the image forming apparatus 1. At this time, since the stopper 11 formed on the holding member 9 contacts the inner surface of the housing 3, further upward movement of the holding member 9 is prevented, and the holding member is held at the upper limit position shown in FIG. . At the time of mounting, only the pair of standing positioning pins 4 are fitted to the image forming apparatus 1, but the option device 2 and the image forming apparatus 1 are connected to the image forming apparatus 1 by fitting the fall prevention means 6 to the image forming apparatus 1. As a result, the image forming apparatus 1 is prevented from falling. In addition, it is more preferable that the fall prevention means 6 is provided far from the four corners with respect to the positioning pin 4.

  As described above, the holding member 9 fits into the recess 1b of the image forming apparatus 1 to prevent the image forming apparatus 1 from falling over. However, in the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 1 is replaced with the optional device 2. When installed above, the engagement of the holding member 9 by the lock member 16 of the overturn prevention means 6 is released in conjunction with this installation operation, and it was submerged from the upper surface of the housing 3 before installing the image forming apparatus 1. The holding member 9 is moved upward by the spring 10 and protrudes from the upper surface of the option device 2, and the holding member 9 engages with the concave portion 1 b formed on one bottom surface of the image forming apparatus. In conjunction with this, it is possible to easily and reliably prevent the image forming apparatus 1 from toppling over.

  In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 1 receives the load in a well-balanced manner by the cradles 5 installed at the three corners on the upper surface of the option apparatus 2, so that the image forming apparatus 1 is distorted and tilted. Is prevented, and high-quality images can be stably obtained. In particular, when the image forming apparatus 1 is a color tandem machine, the meandering of the intermediate transfer belt and the skew of the conveyance are prevented, and a high-quality color image can be stably obtained.

1 is a perspective view of an option device and an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. It is an AA line expanded sectional view of FIG. FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the operation of the overturn prevention means when the image forming apparatus is installed in the optional apparatus according to the present invention. It is a perspective view of the fall prevention means of the optional device according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 1a Convex part of image forming apparatus 1b Concave part of image forming apparatus 2 Optional apparatus 3 Housing 3a Rectangular hole of housing 3b Circular hole of housing 4 Positioning pin 5 Receiving base 6 Fall prevention means 7 Connector 8 Paper feed cassette 9 Holding Member 10 Spring (biasing means)
11 Stopper 12 Engagement protrusion 13 Release button (engagement release means)
13a Release button stopper 14 Rod 15 Contact member 16 Lock member (engagement member)
16a Locking member engaging claw 17 Axis 18 Arm 19 Spring

Claims (2)

In an optional device that mounts an image forming apparatus on the top and combines them,
A holding member that moves up and down to protrude from the upper surface, an urging means that urges the holding member upward, and a position that engages with the holding member before the image forming apparatus is installed and does not protrude from the upper surface And an overturning prevention means configured to include an engagement member that is held by the image forming apparatus and an engagement release means that releases the engagement of the holding member by the engagement member in conjunction with an installation operation of the image forming apparatus. Features optional equipment. 2. The optional device according to claim 1, wherein the fall prevention means is disposed at one of the four corners of the upper surface, and cradles are installed at the other three locations.

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