JP2018169562A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To enable a user to easily perform an authentication operation of communication devices without complicating the appearance of an image forming apparatus.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus 1 comprises: an image reading part 41 that reads an image of a document; an image forming part 44 that forms the image on a recording medium; communication devices 32, 33 that can communicate with a holding device 52 holding information by short-range radio communication; and an attachment part 23 to which the communication devices are attached. The attachment part is provided between the image reading part and image forming part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a communication device capable of communicating by short-range wireless communication.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, image forming apparatuses such as copiers, multifunction machines, printers, and facsimiles have a communication device that authenticates an electronic device equipped with an IC card or communication means disposed outside the image forming apparatus or in an operation unit. is there. Patent document 1 is disclosing the operation part provided with the operation panel and the communication apparatus attachment part. Considering that there are many right-handed users, the communication device mounting portion is disposed on the right side of the operation panel as viewed from the front side of the device. Similar to the operation panel, the communication device attachment portion has a surface that is inclined forward and downward, a recess to which the communication device is attached, and an opening through which the USB cable is passed. The communication device is attached to the recess with a double-sided tape and connected to a USB cable.

JP 2011-154075 A

  According to Patent Document 1, a communication device that authenticates an electronic device equipped with an IC card and communication means is not a standard equipment but is added as an option to the image forming apparatus. Therefore, the priority of the communication device mounting portion is low in designing, and the communication device is arranged in the surplus space of the main body of the image forming apparatus. However, depending on the arrangement position of the communication device mounting portion, the authentication operation of the electronic device equipped with the IC card or the communication means becomes inconvenient. Therefore, the communication device mounting portion is arranged in the vicinity of the operation portion, and the user installs the communication device. It needs to be easy to identify. In addition, when the communication device is attached as an option to the main body of the image forming apparatus, the exposed wiring or connector is damaged or the appearance becomes messy.

  Accordingly, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus that can facilitate an authentication operation without complicating the appearance of the image forming apparatus by disposing the communication apparatus between the image reading unit and the image forming unit. .

In order to solve the above problems, an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes:
An image reading unit for reading an image of a document;
An image forming unit for forming an image on a recording medium;
A communication device capable of communicating with a holding device that holds information by short-range wireless communication;
An attachment part to which the communication device is attached;
With
The attachment portion is provided between the image reading portion and the image forming portion.

  According to the present invention, since the communication device is disposed between the image reading unit and the image forming unit, it is possible to facilitate an authentication operation without complicating the appearance of the image forming device.

1 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1. FIG. 1 is a partial front view of an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a partial top view of the image forming apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment. 1 is a partial cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 9 is a partial perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to a modified example of Embodiment 1. FIG. 9 is a partial front view of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(Image forming device)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. The image forming apparatus 1 is a full-color multifunction machine provided with an image reading unit 41. As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 1 is a tandem type in which process cartridges (hereinafter referred to as cartridges) 3Y, 3M, 3C, and 3K are arranged along an intermediate transfer belt. The image forming apparatus 1 is an electrophotographic image forming apparatus that forms an image on the recording medium S using an electrophotographic method, but is not limited thereto. The image forming apparatus 1 may be an ink jet printer. The recording medium S is a transfer material on which an image is formed by the image forming apparatus 1 and is, for example, paper, an OHP sheet, cloth, or the like. Hereinafter, the recording medium S is referred to as a sheet S. The image forming apparatus 1 includes an image reading unit 41, a feeding cassette (sheet supply unit) 42, a sheet conveying unit 43, an image forming unit 44, a fixing unit 45, and an operation unit 46.

  The image forming unit 44 includes four cartridges 3Y, 3M, 3C, and 3K. The cartridges 3Y, 3M, 3C, and 3K are detachably attached to the main body 1A of the image forming apparatus 1. The cartridge 3Y forms a yellow image using yellow toner. The cartridge 3M forms a magenta image using magenta toner. The cartridge 3C forms a cyan image using cyan toner. The cartridge 3K forms a black image using black toner. The suffixes Y, M, C and K of the reference symbols indicate yellow, magenta, cyan and black, respectively. In the following description, the subscripts Y, M, C, and K may be omitted if not particularly necessary. The four cartridges 3 have the same structure except for the color of the developer (toner).

  The cartridge 3 has a photosensitive drum 6 as a photosensitive member. Around the photosensitive drum 6, a charging device 2, an exposure device 15, a developing device 4, a primary transfer member 5, and a cleaning device 7 are arranged. The photosensitive drum 6, the charging device 2, the developing device 4 and the cleaning device 7 constitute a cartridge 3 as a unit. An endless intermediate transfer belt (intermediate transfer member) 14 is disposed above the photosensitive drum 6 so as to be in contact with the photosensitive drum 6. Above the intermediate transfer belt 14, a toner bottle 12 that is a toner storage container for storing toner as a developer is disposed. The toner bottle 12 is detachably attached to the main body 1 </ b> A of the image forming apparatus 1. The toner bottle 12 supplies toner to the developing device 4.

  On the front side of the image forming apparatus 1, a front door 25 is provided as an openable opening / closing member. The front door 25 is opened and closed by the user when the cartridge 3 including the photosensitive drum 6 or the toner bottle 12 is replaced.

  The intermediate transfer belt 14 is stretched around a driving roller 62 and two driven rollers 63 and 65. The primary transfer member 5 is disposed to face the photosensitive drum 6 with the intermediate transfer belt 14 interposed therebetween. The primary transfer member 5 transfers the toner image on the photosensitive drum 6 to the intermediate transfer belt 14. The secondary transfer roller (secondary transfer member) 8 is disposed to face the driven roller 65 with the intermediate transfer belt 14 interposed therebetween, and forms a secondary transfer portion T2.

  In the lower part of the image forming apparatus 1, a feeding cassette 42 that stores sheets S is arranged. The feeding cassette 42 is mounted on the main body 1A of the image forming apparatus 1 so that it can be pulled out to the front side. The sheets S are fed one by one from the feeding cassette 42 by the pickup roller 67 and the feeding roller 10. The sheet S is conveyed to the secondary transfer portion T2 by the registration roller 9. The fixing unit 45 is disposed on the downstream side of the secondary transfer roller 8 in the conveyance direction of the sheet S. The fixing unit 45 is provided in the sheet conveying unit 43 in the vertical direction. A vertical path unit 19 is provided between the image forming unit 44 and the image reading unit 41. The downstream part of the sheet conveying unit 43 is stored in the vertical path unit 19. The sheet conveyance unit 43 includes a feeding roller 10, a registration roller 9, a secondary transfer roller 8, a fixing unit 45, a discharge roller 18, and a reverse conveyance roller 17. The sheet S is conveyed in the sheet conveyance unit 43 from the secondary transfer roller 8 through the fixing unit 45 to the discharge roller 18 in the vertical direction. On the downstream side of the fixing unit 45 in the conveyance direction of the sheet S, a discharge tray 13 for stacking the sheets S on which images are formed is provided. The sheet S is discharged to the discharge tray 13 by the discharge roller 18.

  The discharge tray 13 is disposed in a discharge space DS formed between the image forming unit 44 and the image reading unit 41. The discharge space DS is provided adjacent to the vertical path portion 19. The sheet S on which the image is formed is discharged to the discharge space DS by a discharge roller (discharge unit) 18 provided in the vertical path portion 19. The image forming apparatus is a so-called in-body discharge that discharges the sheet S on which an image is formed to a discharge space DS formed between the image forming unit 44 and the image reading unit 41.

(Image formation process)
Next, an image forming process of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described. Since the image forming processes in the four cartridges 3 are the same, the image forming process in the yellow cartridge 3Y will be described. The description of the image forming process in the magenta cartridge 3M, the cyan cartridge 3C, and the black cartridge 3K is omitted.

  The charging device 2Y uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 6Y. The exposure device 15 emits a light beam modulated according to the image information of the yellow component to the uniformly charged surface of the photosensitive drum 6Y to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 6Y. The developing device 4Y develops the electrostatic latent image with yellow toner (developer) supplied from the toner bottle 12Y to form a yellow toner image. A primary transfer bias is applied to the primary transfer member 5Y from an electric substrate (not shown). The primary transfer member 5Y primarily transfers the yellow toner image on the photosensitive drum 6Y onto the intermediate transfer belt. The toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 6Y after the primary transfer is removed by the cleaning device 7Y.

  Similarly, the magenta toner image formed by the magenta cartridge 3M is transferred onto the yellow toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 14 with high accuracy. Thereafter, the cyan toner image and the black toner image are sequentially superimposed and transferred onto the magenta toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 14. As a result, four color toner images are superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 14.

  The sheets S stored in the feeding cassette 42 are fed one by one to the registration roller 9 by the pickup roller 67 and the feeding roller 10. The sheet S is conveyed by the registration roller 9 to the secondary transfer portion T2 in synchronization with the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 14. The toner images on the intermediate transfer belt 14 are secondarily transferred onto the sheet S all at once by the secondary transfer roller 8. The sheet S on which the toner image is transferred is conveyed to the fixing unit 45. The fixing unit 45 heats and pressurizes the sheet S to fix the toner image on the sheet S. As a result, the four color toners are melted and mixed to form a full color image on the sheet S. The sheet S on which the image is formed is discharged to the discharge tray 13 by the discharge roller 18.

  The sheet conveying unit 43 includes a reversing unit that performs reversal of the sheet S when images are formed on both sides of the sheet S. The reversing unit includes a reversing conveyance roller 17. When images are formed on both sides of the sheet S, the discharge roller 18 reverses in the middle of discharging the sheet S and conveys the sheet S to the reverse conveyance roller 17. The sheet S that has been turned upside down is again conveyed to the secondary transfer portion T2 by the reverse conveying roller 17. The toner image is transferred to the back surface of the sheet S by the secondary transfer unit T2, and the toner image is fixed to the sheet S by the fixing unit 45. The sheet S on which images are formed on both sides is discharged to the discharge tray 13 by the discharge roller 18.

(Image reading unit)
An image reading unit (flatbed scanner) 41 is disposed above the main body 1A of the image forming apparatus 1 via the vertical path unit 19. The image reading unit 41 optically reads an image on the lower surface of the document placed on the document reading surface (glass plate) 47 and converts it into image data.

(Operation section)
The image forming apparatus 1 is provided with an operation unit 46 for a user to input information or a command or to operate the image forming apparatus 1. The operation unit 46 displays an input area for displaying information to be input or items of commands, and is provided with a touch panel (input means, display means) for inputting information when the user touches the input area. The touch panel is a capacitive touch panel. However, the touch panel may be a resistive film type (pressure sensitive) touch panel. The upper surface 48 of the operation unit 46 is disposed at substantially the same height as the document reading surface 47 of the image reading unit 41 or at a position lower than the document reading surface 47. The operation unit 46 is disposed on the front side of the main body 1A. The operation unit 46 is arranged so that the upper surface 48 of the operation unit 46 is equal to or less than the height of the document reading surface 47 so that the user does not disturb the accessibility of the operation of placing the document on the document reading surface 47. Yes.

(Communication device)
The image forming apparatus 1 includes at least one authentication device (hereinafter referred to as a communication device) (information reading unit). The communication device can be connected to an authenticated device that holds information (hereinafter referred to as a holding device) by wireless communication. When the user brings (holds) the holding device close to the communication device, the holding device is connected to the communication device by wireless communication. The communication device is a communication device that can read information from the holding device by wireless communication and / or write information to the holding device by wireless communication. The communication device is configured to perform wireless communication with a holding device compliant with the international standard ISO / IEC18092 or the international standard ISO / IEC21481 using a frequency band centered on 13.56 MHz at a close range of a few tens of centimeters. It is good to have.

  For example, the communication device is an IC card reader that reads a non-contact communication IC card (Integrated Circuit Card). The non-contact communication type IC card is, for example, an NFC compatible IC card that is connected to a communication device by NFC (Near Field Communication) which is a short-range wireless communication means. The NFC compatible IC cards are, for example, Felica (registered trademark) compatible IC cards, Type A compatible IC cards, and Type B compatible IC cards. The Felica (registered trademark) compatible IC card is an IC card for high-speed processing conforming to Japanese Industrial Standard JIS X 6319-4. The Type A compatible IC card is a non-contact IC card conforming to the international standard ISO / IEC14443A. The Type B compatible IC card is a non-contact IC card compliant with the international standard ISO / IEC14443B. The NFC-compatible IC card is a thin plate having a length of about 85 mm and a width of about 55 mm, for example.

  The communication device may be configured to perform wireless communication using a 2.4 GHz band with a holding device compliant with the wireless communication standard IEEE 802.15.1 (Bluetooth (registered trademark) standard). The communication device may be, for example, Bluetooth in which only classic Bluetooth is implemented, or Bluetooth Smart in which only BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) is implemented. The communication device may be, for example, Bluetooth Smart Ready in which both classic Bluetooth and BLE are implemented.

  The communication device is configured to perform wireless communication using a holding device compliant with the wireless communication standard IEEE 802.11, which is one of wireless LAN standards, and Wi-Fi of 2.4 GHz band, 5 GHz band, or 60 GHz band. May be. The communication device of the present invention is not limited to the communication device described above, and may have other information reading means.

  The holding device is, for example, an NFC-compatible IC card or an NFC-compatible mobile device (NFC-compatible electronic device). NFC-compatible mobile devices are, for example, NFC-compatible mobile phones, smartphones, tablet terminals, tablet personal computers, NFC-compatible cameras, NFC-compatible video cameras, and NFC-compatible notebook personal computers. For example, when the holding device is authenticated by NFC, the communication device may be configured to automatically establish an interconnection with the holding device by Bluetooth, BLE, Bluetooth Smart Ready, or Wi-Fi.

(Communication device mounting part)
The image forming apparatus 1 according to the first exemplary embodiment includes a plurality of communication devices. The communication device can communicate with a holding device that holds information by NFC. A plurality of communication devices are attached to the attachment portion 23 of the image forming apparatus 1. Specifically, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a first communication device 31, a second communication device 32, and a third communication device 33. Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 3, 4, and 5, the attachment portions 23 of the first communication device 31, the second communication device 32, and the third communication device 33 in the image forming apparatus 1 will be described. FIG. 3 is a partial front view of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 4 is a partial top view of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a view of the mounting portion 23 as viewed from the front. FIG. 4 is a view of the attachment portion 23 as viewed from above, and is a view seen through the upper portion (horizontal cover 21) of the attachment portion 23 so that the first communication device 31 disposed inside the attachment portion 23 can be seen. is there. FIG. 5 is a view of the attachment portion 23 as viewed from the front, and the attachment is performed so that the first communication device 31, the second communication device 32, and the third communication device 33 arranged inside the attachment portion 23 can be seen. It is the figure which saw through the front (vertical cover 22) of the part 23. FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the operation unit 46 is provided in the image forming apparatus 1 before the image reading unit 41 that reads an image of a document. The attachment portion 23 is provided adjacent to the right side of the operation portion 46 at the front portion of the image forming apparatus 1. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the attachment portion 23 is provided in a portion corresponding to the vertical path portion 19 between the image reading portion 41 and the image forming portion 44. The attachment portion 23 is provided on the right side of the discharge space DS. The mounting portion 23 is provided at the same height as the document reading surface 47 or in a region surrounded by a broken line above the document reading surface 47 and above the image forming unit 44. The first communication device 31, the second communication device 32, and the third communication device 33 are arranged in a concentrated manner in the attachment portion 23. The attachment portion 23 includes a first attachment portion 23a surrounded by a one-dot chain line and a second attachment portion 23b surrounded by a two-dot chain line. The mounting portion 23 is covered by a horizontal cover 21 as a first exterior member that covers the image forming apparatus 1 in the horizontal direction and a vertical cover 22 as a second exterior member that covers the image forming apparatus 1 in the vertical direction. Yes. Since the attachment portion 23 is provided inside the horizontal cover 21 and the vertical cover 22, whether or not the first communication device 31, the second communication device 32, and the third communication device 33 are attached. Therefore, the appearance of the image forming apparatus 1 is not complicated.

  A target display unit 24 is formed on the outer surface of the vertical cover 22 as a target for a user to hold a mobile device (second electronic device 52 described later). The target display unit 24 is provided on the front side of the image forming apparatus 1 above the front door 25 and below the image reading unit 41. In this embodiment, a round target display serving as a mark for bringing the mobile device close to (holds over) the second communication device 32 or the third communication device 33 substantially at the center of the front surface (external surface) of the vertical cover 22. The part 24 is formed by silk printing. The target display unit 24 is a target display when the second communication device 32 or the third communication device 33 brings the mobile device closer to receive information from the mobile device by NFC. When the NFC-compatible mobile device is brought close to (opposed to) the target display unit 24, it is connected to the second communication device 32 or the third communication device 33 by NFC. The target display unit 24 is provided on the side surface of the image forming apparatus 1. Although the target display unit 24 is drawn with a circle, any illustration, symbol, character, etc. can be used as long as the user can recognize the target unit of the second communication device 32 or the third communication device 33. A notation may be adopted.

(First mounting part)
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the first communication device 31 attached to the first attachment portion 23a with the horizontal cover 21 removed. The first attachment portion 23 a is disposed at the same height as the document reading surface 47 or below the document reading surface 47. The first attachment portion 23 a is disposed at the same height as the upper surface 48 of the operation unit 46 or below the upper surface 48. By covering the first communication device 31 with the horizontal cover 21 covering the image forming device 1, wiring (not shown) and connectors (not shown) for connecting the image forming device 1 and the first communication device 31 are the Is housed in the mounting portion 23a. Accordingly, the first communication device 31, wiring (not shown), and connector (not shown) are not exposed to the external appearance of the image forming apparatus 1.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the horizontal cover 21 in the horizontal direction covering the image forming apparatus 1 is substantially the same height as the document reading surface 47 of the image reading unit 41 and the upper surface 48 of the operation unit 46, or the document reading surface 47 and Lower than upper surface 48. Since the step D is provided between the operation unit 46 and the horizontal cover 21 and between the document reading surface 47 and the horizontal cover 21, the arrangement of the first communication device 31 is conspicuous to the user. Can do. Therefore, it is possible to obtain an effect that the operability when the user performs the authentication operation of the holding device with respect to the first communication device 31 attached to the first attachment portion 23a is improved.

(Second mounting part)
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the second communication device 32 and the third communication device 33 attached to the second attachment portion 23b with the vertical cover 22 removed. Wiring for connecting the image forming apparatus 1 to the second communication apparatus 32 and the third communication apparatus 33 by covering the second communication apparatus 32 and the third communication apparatus 33 with the vertical cover 22 covering the image forming apparatus 1. (Not shown) and the connector (not shown) are accommodated in the second mounting portion 23b. Accordingly, the second communication device 32, the third communication device 33, the wiring (not shown) and the connector (not shown) are not exposed to the appearance of the image forming apparatus 1.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the second attachment portion 23 b is substantially the same height as the lower surface 49 of the operation portion 46 or is lower than the lower surface 49. Since the second mounting portion 23b is disposed at a height below the lower surface 49 of the operation portion 46, the user can hold the holding device or the holding device regardless of the size or shape of the operation portion 46. The authentication operation can be performed without touching the operation unit 46. Therefore, the operability when the user performs the authentication operation of the holding device with respect to the second communication device 32 or the third communication device 33 attached to the second attachment portion 23b is improved. .

(Modification of Example 1)
FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of an image forming apparatus 1 according to a modification of the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the first communication device 31, the second communication device 32, and the third communication device 33 attached to the attachment portion 23. The first communication device 31 is attached to the outside of the horizontal cover 21 that covers the image forming apparatus 1 in the horizontal direction. A wiring (not shown) and a connector (not shown) for connecting the image forming apparatus 1 and the first communication device 31 are accommodated in the first attachment portion 23 a via the horizontal cover 21. Therefore, the effect that the wiring (not shown) and the connector (not shown) of the first communication device 31 are not exposed to the outside of the image forming apparatus 1 can be obtained.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the first communication device 31 may be an IC card reader. The first electronic device (holding device) 51 read by the IC card reader is an NFC compatible IC card. The NFC-compatible IC card (IC tag) is large enough to fit in the palm of a hand (about 85 mm × about 55 mm) so that the user can always wear it. The user can comfortably perform the authentication operation of the first electronic device 51 even in a relatively small operation space. The second communication device 32 or the third communication device 33 is connected to the second electronic device (holding device) 52 by NFC, BLE, Wi-Fi, or the like. The second electronic device 52 is larger than an IC card such as a smartphone, a tablet, or a digital camera. As shown in FIG. 6, a relatively large operation space is provided in front of the second communication device 32 or the third communication device 33. Therefore, even if the second electronic device 52 is a smartphone, tablet, or digital camera that is relatively larger than the IC card, the user can comfortably perform the authentication operation of the second electronic device 52. The second communication device 32 or the third communication device 33 may be an IC card reader, and the second electronic device 52 may be an NFC compatible IC card.

(Authentication operation)
As shown in FIG. 6, the user performs the authentication operation by bringing the first electronic device 51 close to the first communication device 31 in the vertical direction indicated by the arrow V. In the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 5, the first electronic device 51 may be brought into contact with the horizontal cover 21. In the modification of the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 6, the first electronic device 51 may be brought into contact with the first communication device 31. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the user performs the authentication operation by bringing the second electronic device 52 close to the second communication device 32 or the third communication device 33 in the horizontal direction indicated by the arrow H. The second electronic device 52 may be brought into contact with the vertical cover 22. In the first embodiment, the first communication device 31, the second communication device 32, and the third communication device 33 are adjacent to the right side of the operation unit 46 and include the image reading unit 41 and the image forming unit 44. It is aggregated between. Therefore, the vertical authentication operation indicated by the arrow V and the horizontal authentication operation indicated by the arrow H can be performed in a space-saving manner.

  According to the present embodiment, the first communication device 31, the second communication device 32, and the third communication device 33 are collected in a portion corresponding to the vertical path unit 19 on the right side of the operation unit 46. Therefore, regardless of whether the communication device for authenticating the NFC-compatible IC card or the NFC-compatible mobile device is a standard device or an optional device in the image forming apparatus 1, the user can easily recognize the arrangement of the communication device, and the authentication operation can be performed. Good operability. Further, the communication device and the wiring of the communication device are accommodated so as not to affect the appearance of the image forming apparatus 1 without being exposed from the main body of the image forming apparatus 1.

  According to the present embodiment, since the communication device is disposed between the image reading unit 41 and the image forming unit 44, the authentication operation can be easily performed without complicating the appearance of the image forming device 1.

  Next, Example 2 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a partial front view of the image forming apparatus 201 according to the second embodiment. The image forming apparatus 201 according to the second embodiment has the same structure as the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment except that the vertical path unit 19 is disposed on the left side of the image forming apparatus 201. In the second embodiment, the same structures as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. Since the image forming process, the image reading unit 41, the operation unit 46, and the communication devices 31, 32, and 33 of the second embodiment have the same structure as that of the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

(Communication device mounting part)
The image forming apparatus 201 includes at least one communication device (information reading unit). In the second embodiment, the image forming apparatus 201 includes the first communication device 31, the second communication device 32, and the third communication device 33, as in the first embodiment. The first communication device 31, the second communication device 32, and the third communication device 33 are attached to the attachment portion 23. The attachment portion 23 is provided adjacent to the left side of the operation portion 46 at the front portion of the image forming apparatus 201. As shown in FIG. 7, the attachment portion 23 is provided in a portion corresponding to the vertical path portion 19 between the image reading portion 41 and the image forming portion 44. The attachment portion 23 is provided on the left side of the discharge space DS. The mounting portion 23 is provided at the same height as the document reading surface 47 or in a region surrounded by a broken line above the document reading surface 47 and above the image forming unit 44. The first communication device 31, the second communication device 32, and the third communication device 33 are arranged in a concentrated manner in the attachment portion 23. The attachment portion 23 includes a first attachment portion 23a surrounded by a one-dot chain line and a second attachment portion 23b surrounded by a two-dot chain line. The mounting portion 23 is covered with a horizontal cover 21 as a horizontal exterior member that covers the image forming apparatus 201 and a vertical cover 22 as a vertical exterior member that covers the image forming apparatus 201. Since the attachment portion 23 is provided inside the horizontal cover 21 and the vertical cover 22, whether or not the first communication device 31, the second communication device 32, and the third communication device 33 are attached. Therefore, the appearance of the image forming apparatus 201 is not complicated.

  According to the present embodiment, since the communication device is disposed between the image reading unit 41 and the image forming unit 44, the authentication operation can be easily performed without complicating the appearance of the image forming device 201.

1, 201 ... Image forming apparatus 23 ... Mounting section 31 ... First communication apparatus 32 ... Second communication apparatus 33 ... Third communication apparatus 41 ... Image reading section 44 ... Image forming section 51 ... First electronic device (holding device)
52 ... Second electronic device (holding device)

Claims (8)

An image reading unit for reading an image of a document;
An image forming unit for forming an image on a recording medium;
A communication device capable of communicating with a holding device that holds information by short-range wireless communication;
An attachment part to which the communication device is attached;
With
The image forming apparatus, wherein the attachment portion is provided between the image reading portion and the image forming portion. A cartridge including a photosensitive drum and detachably attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus;
A toner storage container detachably attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus;
A front door that is opened and closed when the cartridge or the toner container is replaced;
A target display unit that allows the holding device to approach in order for the communication device to receive the information from the holding device via the short-range wireless communication;
With
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the target display unit is formed on a side surface on the front side of the image forming apparatus above the front door and below the image reading unit.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the communication devices are attached to the attachment portion.   The image according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the communication device is connected to the holding device by the short-range wireless communication when the holding device is brought close to the communication device. Forming equipment. An operation unit for inputting information or commands is provided.
5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the attachment portion is provided on a front side portion of the image forming apparatus on a right side of the operation unit or a left side of the operation unit. . A first exterior member that covers the image forming apparatus in a horizontal direction;
A second exterior member that covers the image forming apparatus in the vertical direction;
With
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the attachment portion is covered with the first exterior member and the second exterior member. A discharge space formed between the image reading unit and the image forming unit;
Discharging means for discharging the recording medium on which the image is formed by the image forming unit to the discharge space;
A vertical path portion provided with the discharging means;
With
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the attachment portion is provided in the vertical path portion.   The communication device can be connected to the holding device compliant with international standard ISO / IEC18092, international standard ISO / IEC21481, wireless communication standard IEEE802.11 or wireless communication standard IEEE802.15.1 by the short-range wireless communication. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus.

Images