JP2008310151A - Cover opening/closing mechanism, and image forming apparatus with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cover opening/closing mechanism that can solve the problem that a cover may open against a user's intention. <P>SOLUTION: In the cover opening/closing mechanism, a cover 6 includes a fixed hook 10, a button 7, and a spring 9 that urges the button 7. An apparatus body 2 includes a movable hook 11 and a spring 13 that urges the movable hook 11. When the cover 6 is pushed to be closed, the fixed hook 10 abuts on the movable hook 11 and pushes the movable hook 11 to open it. When the cover 6 is closed completely, the abutment of the fixed hook 10 and the movable hook 11 is released. The movable hook 11 is rotated by the spring 13 to be engaged with the fixed hook 10, thereby locking the closing state of the cover 6. When the button 7 is pushed in such a state that cover 6 is closed, part of the button 7 abuts on the movable hook 11 and pushes it, thereby the engagement of the movable hook 11 and the fixed hook 10 is released. Thereafter, when a user removes his/her hand from the button, cover 6 is kicked out by the spring 9. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cover opening / closing mechanism that rotates a cover with respect to an apparatus main body around a rotation fulcrum to open and close the cover, and an image forming apparatus including the cover opening / closing mechanism.

The body of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer that forms an image by an electrophotographic system is provided with a cover that can be opened and closed during maintenance such as jam processing or parts replacement. The cover is opened and closed by rotating with respect to the image forming apparatus main body about a rotation fulcrum. The cover opening / closing mechanism opens the cover when the entire cover is pressed, and presses it again. In general, the cover is closed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-020445 JP-A-8-006468

  However, the conventional cover opening / closing mechanism has a problem that even if the user does not intend to open the cover, if the cover is accidentally touched and pressed, the cover opens. In the case of a cover provided with an interlock, when the user accidentally touches and presses the cover during the image forming operation, the cover opens and the device is forced to stop during the image forming operation. There was a problem that occurred.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the object of the present invention is a cover opening / closing mechanism capable of solving the problem of opening the cover against the user's intention and an image forming apparatus provided with the cover opening / closing mechanism. Is to provide.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is a cover opening / closing mechanism for rotating the cover relative to the apparatus main body about the rotation fulcrum and opening / closing the cover.
The cover is provided with a fixed hook, a button rotatably held, and a biasing means for biasing the button, and a movable hook and a biasing means for biasing the movable hook are provided on the apparatus body,
When the cover is pushed in and closed, the fixed hook comes into contact with the movable hook and pushes it open. When the cover is completely closed, the contact between the fixed hook and the movable hook is released, and the movable hook is energized. The closed state of the cover is locked by rotating by means and engaging the fixing hook,
When the button is pressed in a state in which the cover is closed, a part of the button comes into contact with the movable hook to release it, thereby releasing the engagement between the movable hook and the fixed hook. The cover is kicked out by the urging means when the hand is released from the button.

The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 2, an auxiliary spring for kicking is interposed between the cover and the apparatus main body.
The cover opening / closing mechanism according to claim 1.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, an image forming apparatus provided with a cover that is opened and closed by rotating about a rotation fulcrum with respect to the apparatus main body includes the cover opening and closing mechanism according to the first or second aspect. Features.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, unless the button is pressed, even if the cover is pushed in by mistake, the cover does not open, so that the problem that the cover opens against the user's intention can be solved. When the opened cover is closed, if the cover is pushed in without any operation of the button, the closed state is locked at the same time as the cover is closed. Also, if you push the button to open the cover, the cover will be unlocked, and if you release the pushed hand from the button, the cover will be kicked out, so you can easily open it by putting your hand on the kicked cover Can do. Accordingly, the opening / closing operability of the cover is improved.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the kicking force when opening the cover is weak, not only the cover is not kicked out sufficiently, but also the device main body side that returns to the original position by the biasing force of the biasing means is provided. Although there is a possibility that the movable hook and the fixed hook on the cover side interfere with each other, the above-mentioned problem is solved because the kick-out force of the cover is increased by the auxiliary spring for kick-out interposed between the cover and the device body. The

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the cover is not opened even if the cover is accidentally pushed in unless the button is pressed, even if the cover is provided with an interlock, the user mistakenly operates during the image forming operation. Even if the cover is touched, there is no problem that the device is forcibly stopped.

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

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state where a cover of the image forming apparatus is opened, and the illustrated image forming apparatus 1 is an electrophotographic printer. A paper discharge tray 3 is provided above the main body 2, and an operation display unit 4 is provided in front of it.

  Further, a cover 6 that is opened and closed by horizontally rotating around the rotation fulcrum 5 is provided on the side of the image forming apparatus main body 2. This cover 6 is a cover opening and closing mechanism according to the present invention. The cover 6 is provided with a button 7.

  Thus, when opening the closed cover 6 as shown in FIG. 1, the cover 6 is unlocked by pressing the button 7, and when the released hand is released from the button 7, the cover 6 is moved forward. Since it is kicked out, the cover 6 can be opened as shown in FIG. 2 by placing the hand on the kicked cover 6 and rotating the cover 6 around the rotation fulcrum 5. With this, maintenance such as jam processing and parts replacement can be performed.

  In order to close the open cover 6, if the cover 6 is pushed in without any operation of the button 7, the cover 6 is closed as shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, the structure and operation of the cover opening / closing mechanism according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 to 6 are cross-sectional views taken along the line AA of FIG. 1 for explaining the configuration and operation of the cover opening / closing mechanism according to the present invention.

  First, the structure of the cover opening / closing mechanism will be described. The button 7 is pivotally supported on the cover 6 so as to be rotatable about an axis 8, and the button 7 is attached to the back side of the cover 7. It is constantly urged outward (upward in FIG. 3) by a spring 9 as a biasing means. A part of the button 7 is integrally formed with a protrusion 7a having a sharp tip. A fixing hook 10 is fixed vertically on the back surface of the cover 6.

  On the other hand, on the image forming apparatus main body 2 side, a movable hook 11 is pivotally supported by a shaft 12 at one end thereof, and a surface of the movable hook 11 facing the button 7 is stepped. Engaging surfaces 11a and 11b are formed. The movable hook 11 is always urged to the button 7 side (the right side in FIG. 3) by a spring 13 that is compressed between the movable hook 11 and the apparatus main body 2.

  Next, the operation of the cover opening / closing mechanism configured as described above will be described along the opening / closing operation of the cover 6.

  When the cover 6 is closed as shown in FIG. 3, the button 7 always biased outward by the spring 9 has a locking step 7 b formed on the button 7 engaged with the periphery of the hole 6 a of the cover 6. In this case, the illustrated posture is maintained. At this time, the operation surface of the button 7 is flush with the outer surface of the cover 6. Further, the movable hook 11 on the apparatus main body 2 side always urged to the button 7 side (the right side in FIG. 3) by the spring 13 is engaged with the end face of the button 7 as shown in FIG. At this time, since the movable hook 11 is engaged with the fixed hook 10 on the cover 6 side, the cover 6 is locked in the closed state, and the cover 6 cannot be opened as it is. Can not.

  Next, to open the closed cover 6, the button 7 is pushed against the biasing force of the spring 9. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the button 7 rotates about the shaft 8 in the direction of arrow a (clockwise), and the tip of the projection 7a formed on a part of the button 7 is a movable hook on the image forming apparatus main body 2 side. 11, the movable hook 11 is rotated in the direction of arrow b (counterclockwise) about the shaft 12 against the urging force of the spring 13, so that the movable hook 11 is fixed to the fixed hook 10. And the engagement between the two is released, so that the cover 6 is also unlocked.

  When the button 7 is further pushed in, as shown in FIG. 5, the contact position of the projection 7a of the button 7 with the movable hook 11 moves from the engaging surface 11a to the engaging surface 11b. A click feeling is given to the hand. The movable hook 11 is slightly rotated in the reverse direction (clockwise) by the urging force of the spring 13, but the movable hook 11 remains separated from the fixed hook 10, so that the cover 6 remains unlocked. is there.

  Thus, when the user releases the button 7 in the state shown in FIG. 5 in which the user feels a click, the cover 6 is moved outward (upward in FIG. 6) by the biasing force of the spring 9 as shown in FIG. 2), the user can put the hand on the kicked cover 6 and rotate it to open the cover 6 as shown in FIG. At this time, the movable hook 11 is rotated about the shaft 12 in the direction of arrow c (clockwise) in FIG. 6 by the urging force of the spring 13 to return to the original position, but the cover 6 is kicked out as described above. At the same time, the fixed hook 10 moves outward, so that the movable hook 11 does not engage with the fixed hook 10.

  If the kicking force when opening the cover 6 is weak, the cover 6 is not kicked out sufficiently, and the movable hook 11 and the cover 6 on the side of the apparatus main body 2 return to the original position by the biasing force of the spring 13. There is a possibility that the fixing hook 10 on the side is engaged, but if an auxiliary spring for kicking is interposed between the cover 6 and the apparatus main body 2, the kicking force of the cover 6 is increased by the auxiliary spring. The problem is solved.

  Next, when closing the opened cover 6, if the cover 6 is pushed in without any operation of the button 7, the fixed hook 10 abuts against the movable hook 11 to open it, and the cover 6 is completely opened. When the cover is closed, the contact between the fixed hook 10 and the movable hook 11 is released, and the movable hook 11 is rotated by the spring 13 to engage with the fixed hook 10, so that the cover 6 is closed again as shown in FIG. Locked.

  As described above, according to the cover opening / closing mechanism according to the present invention, unless the button 7 is pressed, even if the cover 6 is accidentally pushed, the cover 6 does not open. Therefore, the cover 6 opens against the user's intention. Can solve the problem. When the opened cover 6 is closed, if the cover 6 is pushed in without any operation of the button 7, the cover 6 is closed and the closed state is locked at the same time. If the button 7 is pushed to open the cover 6, the cover 6 is unlocked. If the pushed hand is released from the button 7, the cover 6 is kicked out. This can be opened easily. Therefore, the opening / closing operability of the cover 6 is improved.

  Further, in the image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, even when the cover 6 is open / closed, even if the cover 6 is accidentally pushed in as long as the button 7 is not pushed, the cover 6 Since the image forming apparatus 1 is not opened, there is no problem that the image forming apparatus 1 is forcibly stopped even if the user accidentally touches the cover 6 during the image forming operation, and a jam occurs because the image forming apparatus 1 is forcibly stopped. The problem is solved. Although the outer surface of the cover 6 and the operation surface of the button 7 are the same, the operation surface of the button 7 is recessed from the outer surface of the cover 6 to further prevent erroneous operation.

1 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which a cover of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is opened. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1 for explaining the configuration and operation of the cover opening / closing mechanism according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1 for explaining the configuration and operation of the cover opening / closing mechanism according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1 for explaining the configuration and operation of the cover opening / closing mechanism according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 1 for explaining the configuration and operation of the cover opening / closing mechanism according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Image forming apparatus main body 3 Paper discharge tray 4 Operation display part 5 Rotation fulcrum 6 Cover 6a Cover hole 7 Button 7a Button protrusion 7b Button engaging step part 8 Shaft 9 Spring (biasing means)
10 fixed hook 11 movable hook 11a, 11b engaging surface of movable hook 12 shaft 13 spring (biasing means)

Claims (3)

In a cover opening / closing mechanism that opens and closes the cover by rotating the cover with respect to the apparatus main body around the rotation fulcrum,
The cover is provided with a fixed hook, a button rotatably held, and a biasing means for biasing the button, and a movable hook and a biasing means for biasing the movable hook are provided on the apparatus body,
When the cover is pushed in and closed, the fixed hook comes into contact with the movable hook and pushes it open. When the cover is completely closed, the contact between the fixed hook and the movable hook is released, and the movable hook is energized. The closed state of the cover is locked by rotating by means and engaging the fixing hook,
When the button is pressed in a state in which the cover is closed, a part of the button comes into contact with the movable hook to release it, thereby releasing the engagement between the movable hook and the fixed hook. The cover opening / closing mechanism is structured such that when the hand is released from the button, the cover is kicked out by the biasing means.   2. The cover opening / closing mechanism according to claim 1, wherein an auxiliary spring for kicking is interposed between the cover and the apparatus main body.   An image forming apparatus comprising a cover that is opened and closed by rotating with respect to the apparatus main body around a rotation fulcrum, and comprising the cover opening and closing mechanism according to claim 1. apparatus.

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