JP2019204023A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus capable of sufficiently opening an opening / closing unit even in a small installation space. An apparatus main body 1A having an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet, and an image reading apparatus 20 that is supported openably and closably with respect to the apparatus main body 1A and is arranged above the apparatus main body 1A. .. The image reading device 20 is opened from the front side to the rear side. When the image reading device 20 is closed with respect to the device body 1A, the back surface 32 of the image reading device 20 is arranged in front of the back surface of the device body 1A. [Selection diagram] Figure 12

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet.

  Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 15 and FIG. 16, a multifunction device including a multifunction device main body that forms an image on a sheet, and an image reading unit 80 that is swingably supported at a rocking fulcrum 81 of the multifunction device main body. 100 has been proposed (see Patent Document 1). When replacing the toner cartridge of the multifunction device 100, the user holds the lower portion of the operation panel 80b and swings the image reading unit 80 upward. At this time, since the image reading unit 80 and the upper surface cover 83 are connected by the link member 87, the upper surface cover 83 also swings upward about the swing fulcrum 85 as the image reading unit 80 swings.

  When the image reading unit 80 swings to a predetermined opening angle, the support arm 90 provided on the image reading unit 80 engages with an engagement unit (not shown) of the multifunction machine main body, and the image reading unit 80 and the upper surface cover 83 are engaged. Held open. In this state, the user replaces the toner cartridge.

JP 2011-123112 A

  Here, the back surface 100R of the multifunction device main body and the back surface 80R of the image reading unit 80 described in Patent Document 1 are formed flush with each other. Then, when the user opens the image reading unit 80 in order to replace the toner cartridge, the back surface 80R of the image reading unit 80 protrudes far behind the back surface 100R of the multifunction device main body as shown in FIG. For this reason, in order to fully open the image reading unit 80 and the upper surface cover 83, it is necessary to install the multi-function device 100 at a predetermined distance from the wall, and a large installation space is required.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an image forming apparatus that can sufficiently open an opening / closing unit even in a narrow installation space and solves the above-described problems.

  The present invention includes an apparatus main body having an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet, and an opening / closing unit that is supported to be openable and closable with respect to the apparatus main body and disposed above the apparatus main body. The unit is opened from the front side to the rear side, and when the open / close unit is closed with respect to the apparatus main body, the back surface of the open / close unit is disposed forward of the back surface of the apparatus main body. It is characterized by.

  According to the present invention, since the back surface of the opening / closing unit is disposed in front of the back surface of the apparatus main body, the opening / closing unit can be sufficiently opened even when the apparatus main body is installed close to the wall. For this reason, the installation space of the image forming apparatus can be reduced.

1 is a perspective view showing an image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an image forming apparatus. The perspective view which shows an operation panel. (A) is a side view showing the image forming apparatus in a state where the operation panel is closed, and (b) is a side view showing the image forming apparatus in a state where the operation panel is opened. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating the image forming apparatus in a state where the image reading apparatus is opened. The perspective view which shows an upper cover. The rear perspective view which shows a reading rotation part. Sectional drawing which shows a reading rotation part. The rear perspective view which shows a cover rotation part. Sectional drawing which shows a cover rotation part. The top view which shows arrangement | positioning of a reading rotation axis | shaft and a cover axis | shaft. FIG. 4A is a side view showing the image forming apparatus in a state where the image reading apparatus is closed, and FIG. 4B is a side view showing the image forming apparatus in a state where the image reading apparatus is opened. The perspective view which shows an exhaust port. Sectional drawing which shows an exhaust port and a fixing | fixed part. The perspective view which shows the conventional multifunctional device. The side view which shows the conventional multifunctional device.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, “image forming apparatus” includes a printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, and a multifunction machine having these functions. In addition, “sheet” refers to a sheet material that can be used as a recording medium or a manuscript, such as plain paper and cardboard, plastic film such as an overhead projector sheet, specially shaped sheet such as an envelope or index paper, and the like. Cloth shall be included.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus 1. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the image forming apparatus 1 roughly includes an image forming apparatus main body 1A (hereinafter referred to as an apparatus main body) having an image forming function (printing function), and an image for reading image information from a document. And a reading device 20.

  The image reading apparatus 20 as an opening / closing unit includes a base unit 61 and an automatic document feeder 62 (Auto Document Feeder, hereinafter referred to as ADF) that can be opened and closed with respect to the base unit 61. The ADF 62 includes a document tray 65 on which documents are placed, a document feeding unit that feeds documents one by one from the document tray, and a discharge tray 66 that ejects documents from which image information has been read. The ADF 62 can be opened upward in the drawing with respect to the apparatus main body 1A.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the base unit 61 includes a flat platen glass 30 and a reading sensor 63 as a reading unit that reads image information from a document placed on the platen glass 30, and is supported by the apparatus main body 1A. Has been. The reading sensor 63 can also read the image information of the document fed by the ADF 62. The reading sensor 63 includes a light source, a photoelectric conversion element, and an optical system that emits light from the light source to the document and guides reflected light to the photoelectric conversion element.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an operation panel 11 for a user to operate the image forming apparatus 1 is provided at the front end portion of the base portion 61. Hereinafter, the side on which the user operating the operation panel 11 stands with respect to the image forming apparatus 1 is referred to as “front” of the image forming apparatus 1, and the opposite side is referred to as “rear” of the image forming apparatus 1. Further, the right hand side when the image forming apparatus 1 is viewed from the front is defined as “right” of the image forming apparatus 1, and the opposite side is defined as “left” of the image forming apparatus 1. Furthermore, it points to the vertical direction when the image forming apparatus 1 is installed on a flat installation surface, and is “upper” and “lower” of the image forming apparatus 1.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2, the apparatus main body 1 </ b> A includes a sheet feeding device 3, an image forming unit 60 that forms an image on a sheet, and a fixing unit 8. The sheet feeding device 3 feeds the sheets P stacked on the feeding tray 13 one by one by the feeding roller 3a. The image forming unit 60 includes a process cartridge 4 and a laser scanner 6, and creates a toner image by executing an electrophotographic process based on image information transmitted from the image reading apparatus 20 or an external computer. . That is, the photosensitive drum 5 as a photosensitive member is charged, and exposure by the laser scanner 6 is performed based on the image information to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 5, and the electrostatic latent image is developed into a toner image. .

  The toner image carried on the photosensitive drum 5 is transferred to the sheet P in the transfer unit 12 constituted by the photosensitive drum 5 and the transfer roller 7, and is fixed on the sheet P in the fixing unit 8. The fixing unit 8 includes a fixing film 8b as a heating rotator for heating the sheet P with a built-in heater, and a pressure roller 8a as a pressure rotator for pressing the sheet P against the fixing film 8b. The sheet P is held at a predetermined pressure by the fixing film 8b and the pressure roller 8a, and heat and pressure are applied to the toner image transferred to the sheet P. As a result, the toner is melted and then fixed, whereby an image fixed on the sheet P is obtained. Instead of the fixing film 8b, a heating roller or a heating belt incorporating a heater may be used.

  When the image forming apparatus 1 is requested to form an image, the sheet P stored in the feeding tray 13 is sent out by the feeding roller 3a at a predetermined timing in accordance with the operation of the process cartridge 4. The sheet P on which the toner image has been transferred in the transfer unit 12 and the image has been fixed in the fixing unit 8 is discharged from the apparatus main body 1A by the discharge roller 9 and stacked on the discharge stacking unit 10. Further, when performing double-sided printing, the sheet P is fed into the double-sided conveyance unit 67 via the double-sided conveyance path R1 by being reversed after the discharge roller 9 has conveyed the sheet P for a predetermined distance. Thereafter, the sheet P on which the image is formed on the other surface reaches the discharge roller 9 again and is discharged to the discharge stacking unit 10.

  The discharge stacking unit 10 is provided below the base unit 61 of the image reading device 20 and is provided at a position overlapping the base unit 61 when viewed from above. That is, in the present embodiment, the sheet P discharged by the discharge roller 9 is discharged into a discharge space SP formed between the apparatus main body 1A and the image reading apparatus 20.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the sheet P on which an image has been formed inside the apparatus main body 1A is discharged from the rear to the front of the apparatus main body 1A by a discharge roller 9 as a discharge unit. An extension tray 15 is supported on the discharge stacking unit 10 so as to be openable and closable around a rotation shaft 15a. By opening the extension tray 15, a long sheet can be stacked on the discharge stacking unit 10.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the operation panel 11 is connected to a bearing provided on the base portion 61 via the swing support portion 16 and rotates around the swing support portion 16 as a rotation fulcrum. However, in FIG. 3, illustration of the base portion 61 is omitted. The direction of the rotation axis of the swing support portion 16 is the left-right direction of the image forming apparatus 1, similar to the rotation axis of the rotation shaft 15 a (see FIG. 2) of the extension tray 15.

  The operation panel 11 can be operated to tilt at an arbitrary angle (tilt operation) between the positions shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B in accordance with the height of the viewpoint of the user. FIG. 4A shows a state in which the operation panel 11 is closed. In this case, the operation panel 11 extends in the vertical direction along the downstream side surface (that is, the front surface 1f) of the apparatus main body 1A in the sheet discharging direction, and the front surface and the front surface 1f of the operation panel 11 are substantially flush with each other. . That is, the front surface 20f of the image reading apparatus 20 including the front surface of the operation panel 11 and the front surface 1f of the apparatus main body 1A are arranged on the same plane PL. FIG. 4B shows a state in which the operation panel 11 is opened. In this case, the operation panel 11 protrudes forward with respect to the front surface 1f of the apparatus main body 1A.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the front surface of the operation panel 11 is configured as an operation surface 18 including a plurality of operation keys 18a and a display 18b. The user confirms the current operation state and setting information of the image forming apparatus 1 from the display content of the display 18b, and operates the operation key 18a to input a command to the image forming apparatus 1. Here, the command for the image forming apparatus includes a command for instructing execution of a copy job for causing the image reading apparatus 20 to read image information to form an image on a sheet, and image forming conditions (whether or not double-sided printing is performed). Includes instructions to change.

[Opening and closing configuration of image reading apparatus and upper cover]
Next, the opening / closing configuration of the image reading device 20 and the upper cover 22 described later will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, the image reading apparatus 20 is rotatably connected to the apparatus main body 1 </ b> A by a reading rotation unit 19. The reading rotation unit 19 is provided on each of the left and right sides on the rear end side of the image reading device 20. The apparatus main body 1 </ b> A has reading support portions 25, 25 formed higher than the discharge stacking unit 10 on both the left and right sides of the discharge stacking unit 10. The image reading device 20 is supported by the reading support portions 25, 25 of the apparatus main body 1A when closed.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the discharge space SP is a space surrounded by the reading support portions 25 and 25 and the discharge stacking unit 10, and the discharge stacking unit 10 is a main body fixed as a casing of the apparatus main body 1A. A top cover 21 and an upper cover 22 are provided. The upper cover 22 is rotatably connected to the apparatus main body 1A by a cover rotating unit 24, and includes a discharge port 23 through which the sheet is discharged, a support surface 22a that can support the discharged sheet, And an abutment surface 22b extending upward from the rear end of the support surface 22a.

  In the closed state where the upper cover 22 is closed with respect to the apparatus main body 1A, the support surface 22a is inclined downward toward the rear, and the sheet supported by the support surface 22a abuts along the support surface 22a. Slip toward face 22b. When the trailing edge of the sheet abuts against the abutting surface 22b, the trailing edge of the sheet discharged to the discharge stacking unit 10 is aligned.

  The upper cover 22 constitutes a part of the top surface 70 of the apparatus main body 1A in the closed state. The top surface 70 is constituted by the upper surfaces of the main body top cover 21, the upper cover 22, the reading support portions 25, 25, and the like. Further, when the upper cover 22 is opened, the inside of the apparatus main body 1A is exposed, and the process cartridge 4 and other parts can be taken out. An exhaust port 26 is formed in the main body top cover 21 between the reading rotation portions 19 and 19 in the left-right direction. The exhaust port 26 serving as an exhaust unit allows the inside of the apparatus main body 1A and the external space (outside air) to be formed. Communicate.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the reading rotation unit 19 includes a bearing unit 27 provided on the base unit 61 of the image reading apparatus 20 and a reading rotation shaft 28 provided on the reading support unit 25 of the apparatus main body 1A. And have. The reading rotation shaft 28 is engaged with the bearing portion 27 and is rotatably supported. That is, the base portion 61 is supported so as to be openable and closable around the reading rotation shaft 28 with respect to the apparatus main body 1A.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the cover rotating portion 24 includes a bearing portion 29 provided at the rear end portion of the upper cover 22, a cover shaft 31 provided on the main body top cover 21 of the apparatus main body 1A, have. The cover shaft 31 is engaged with the bearing portion 29 and is rotatably supported. The reading rotation shaft 28 and the cover shaft 31 are parallel to each other and extend in the left-right direction, but may be provided so as to cross each other within a range of ± 5 degrees, for example. The image reading device 20 and the upper cover 22 are opened from the front side to the rear side.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the reading rotation shaft 28 and the cover shaft 31 are disposed between the back surface 33 of the apparatus main body 1 </ b> A and the back surface 32 of the image reading device 20 in the front-rear direction. Further, the reading rotation shaft 28 is disposed between the main body top cover 21 and the lower surface 34 of the image reading device 20 in the vertical direction. The rear surfaces 32 and 33 are endmost surfaces that do not include a cable or the like for electrically connecting the image reading apparatus 20 and the apparatus main body 1A, or a swinging means for pressing a document placed on the document table glass from above. Point to.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the cover shaft 31 is disposed between the reading rotation shaft 28 and the outlet 23 in the left-right direction, and in the front-rear direction, the reading rotation shaft 28 and the back surface 33 of the apparatus main body 1A. It is arranged between. That is, the cover shaft 31 is disposed inside the apparatus with respect to the reading rotation shaft 28 in the axial direction of the cover shaft 31, and is disposed behind the reading rotation shaft 28.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 12A, when the image reading apparatus 20 is closed with respect to the apparatus main body 1A, the back surface 32 of the image reading apparatus 20 is more forward than the back surface 33 of the apparatus main body 1A by a distance D. Is arranged. For this reason, when the image reading apparatus 20 is opened, the rear portion of the image reading apparatus 20 is unlikely to protrude rearward from the back surface 33 of the apparatus main body 1A. For example, as shown in FIG. 12B, the image reading apparatus 20 can be sufficiently opened without jumping out rearward from the plane L1 along the back surface 33 of the apparatus main body 1A. Further, since the cover shaft 31 is arranged behind the reading rotation shaft 28, the upper cover 22 can be opened more widely, and the inside of the apparatus main body 1A covered with the upper cover 22 can be widely exposed. it can.

  Accordingly, even when the image forming apparatus 1 is installed close to the wall, the image reading apparatus 20 does not interfere with the wall and cannot be opened sufficiently, and the process cartridge 4 provided inside the apparatus main body 1A and the like The parts can be easily replaced. For this reason, maintainability can be improved. The other parts include, for example, a toner cartridge and a developing cartridge when the process cartridge and the toner cartridge and the developing cartridge are separately configured.

  If the back surface 32 is disposed in front of the back surface 33, the rear portion of the image reading device 20 may protrude rearward from the back surface 33 of the apparatus main body 1A when the image reading device 20 is fully opened. . Even in this case, the rear portion of the image reading apparatus 20 can reduce the rearward protrusion amount with respect to the back surface 33 as compared with the case where the back surface 32 is arranged flush with or behind the back surface 33.

  Further, as described above, the upper cover 22 has the support surface 22a that inclines downward toward the rear when the upper cover 22 is in the closed state. When the upper cover 22 is in the open state, the support surface 22a acts in the direction of narrowing the work space for exchanging the process cartridge 4. However, the work space can be secured without changing the size of the image forming apparatus 1 by disposing the cover shaft 31 behind the reading rotation shaft 28 as in the present embodiment.

  Further, when the operation panel 11 is closed, the front surface 20f of the image reading apparatus 20 and the front surface 1f of the apparatus main body 1A are substantially flush with each other. be able to. Since the operation panel 11 is rotatable and provided on the forefront of the image reading device 20, the operability of the operation panel 11 is improved, and the image reading device 20 and the upper cover 22 are opened to replace the process cartridge 4. In doing so, the work space is not reduced.

[exhaust port]
Next, the exhaust port 26 will be described in detail. As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, an exhaust port 26 having a plurality of holes 26a opened upward is formed in the rear portion of the upper cover 22 which is a part of the top surface 70 (see FIG. 6). . A plurality of holes 51a are formed in the double-sided conveyance guide 51 that constitutes the double-sided conveyance path R1. Below the upper cover 22 and the double-sided conveyance guide 51, the fixing unit 8 is disposed, and the hot air heated by the fixing unit 8 rises in the apparatus main body 1A. The raised hot air is discharged to the outside by natural convection through the plurality of holes 51a and the exhaust port 26 of the double-sided conveyance guide 51. That is, the exhaust port 26 is disposed above the fixing unit 8 and discharges hot air heated by the fixing unit 8 to the outside of the apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the exhaust port 26 is disposed between the back surface 32 of the image reading apparatus 20 and the back surface 33 of the apparatus main body 1A in the front-rear direction. Further, the exhaust port 26 overlaps a straight line CL extending in the vertical direction through the axial center 8c of the pressure roller 8a of the fixing unit 8. That is, the straight line CL passes through the opening width X in the front-rear direction of the exhaust port 26. Furthermore, the opening width Y (see FIG. 11) of the exhaust port 26 in the left-right direction is set to be approximately equal to the width of the pressure roller 8a in the left-right direction.

  Therefore, the hot air heated by the fixing unit 8 inside the apparatus main body 1 </ b> A rises by natural convection and is efficiently discharged from the exhaust port 26 arranged immediately above the fixing unit 8. For this reason, the inside of the apparatus main body 1A can be appropriately cooled, and damage to components and defective printing can be reduced. Further, since the back surface 32 of the image reading device 20 is disposed in front of the exhaust port 26, the upper side of the exhaust port 26 is opened, and it is possible to reduce the condensation on the image reading device 20. In particular, it is possible to reduce condensation on the photoelectric conversion element and the lens of the reading sensor 63 of the image reading apparatus 20, and it is possible to reduce reading defects.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, since the back surface 32 of the image reading device 20 is disposed in front of the back surface 33 of the apparatus main body 1A, even if the image reading device 20 is opened, the back surface 33 of the apparatus main body 1A. Therefore, the rear portion of the image reading device 20 does not protrude greatly. For this reason, even if the image forming apparatus 1 is installed close to the wall, the image reading apparatus 20 can be sufficiently opened, and parts such as the process cartridge 4 can be replaced. Therefore, the installation space of the image forming apparatus 1 can be reduced without impairing maintainability.

  In the present embodiment, the reading rotation shaft 28 is provided in the apparatus main body 1A, and the bearing portion 27 is provided in the base portion 61 of the image reading apparatus 20, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the reading rotation shaft 28 may be provided in the base portion 61 and the bearing portion 27 may be provided in the apparatus main body 1A. Similarly, in the present embodiment, the cover shaft 31 is provided on the main body top cover 21 of the apparatus main body 1A and the bearing portion 29 is provided on the upper cover 22. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the cover shaft 31 may be provided on the upper cover 22 and the bearing portion 29 may be provided on the top cover 21.

  In the present embodiment, the image reading device 20 is arranged above the apparatus main body 1A. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and another apparatus such as a facsimile may be arranged above the apparatus main body 1A. In the present embodiment, the ADF 62 is disposed above the base portion 61. However, instead of the ADF 62, a pressure plate for pressing and positioning the document placed on the document table glass from above may be provided.

  In the present embodiment, the discharge roller 9 is configured to discharge the sheet from the rear to the front of the apparatus main body 1A. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the sheet may be discharged by the discharge roller 9 from the left side to the right side or from the right side to the left side.

  In this embodiment, the electrophotographic printer has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied to an inkjet image forming apparatus that forms an image on a sheet by ejecting ink liquid from a nozzle.

  1: image forming apparatus / 1A: apparatus main body / 1f, 20f: front surface / 8: fixing unit / 8a: pressure rotating body (pressure roller) / 8b: heating rotating body (fixing film) / 8c: axis center / 9 : Discharge part (discharge roller) / 11: operation panel / 20: opening / closing unit (image reading device) / 26: exhaust part (exhaust port) / 26a: plural holes / 32, 33: rear face / 60: image forming part / 61: Base unit / 63: Reading unit (reading sensor) / 70: Top surface / CL: Straight line

Claims (8)

An apparatus main body having an image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet;
An opening / closing unit supported so as to be openable and closable with respect to the apparatus main body and disposed above the apparatus main body,
The opening / closing unit is opened from the front side to the rear side,
When the opening / closing unit is closed with respect to the apparatus main body, the back surface of the opening / closing unit is disposed in front of the back surface of the apparatus body.
An image forming apparatus. The apparatus main body includes a fixing unit that fixes the toner image transferred to the sheet by the image forming unit to the sheet by heat and pressure,
The top surface of the apparatus body is disposed between the back surface of the opening / closing unit and the back surface of the apparatus body above and in the front-rear direction of the fixing unit, and discharges hot air heated by the fixing unit to the outside of the apparatus. An exhaust part to be
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The fixing unit includes a heating rotator that incorporates a heater, and a pressure rotator that sandwiches the sheet together with the heating rotator,
The exhaust unit overlaps with a straight line extending in the vertical direction through the axial center of the pressurizing rotator as viewed from the axial direction of the pressurizing rotator.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2. The exhaust part has a plurality of holes opened upward.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. The front surface of the apparatus main body and the front surface of the open / close unit are arranged on the same plane.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. The open / close unit includes: a base portion that is supported to be openable / closable with respect to the apparatus main body; and an operation panel that is rotatably supported at a front end portion of the base portion and that receives a command input operation to the image forming apparatus. Have
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. The opening / closing unit has a reading unit capable of reading image information of a sheet,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. The apparatus main body has a discharge unit that discharges the sheet from the rear to the front of the apparatus main body.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus.

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