JPH11338208A - Cover opening / closing device and image forming apparatus provided with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Problem] To provide at least a two-stage openable / closable cover that can be opened in the same direction, that one cover is not opened carelessly when opening one cover, or that one cover is opened A cover opening / closing device is provided which has the advantages that the other cover can be opened by opening the cover, and that the cover can be easily opened / closed and maintenance work and paper jam processing can be easily performed. SOLUTION: This opening / closing device is configured such that a lid plate 102 is detachably engaged with a top of a main lid 101 by a first engaging means, and the lid plate 102 is detachably engaged by a second engaging means. hand,
The biasing force of the distal end engaged portion 118a of the spring member 118 as the second engaging means is smaller than that of the locking pieces 109a on both sides of the spring member 109 as the first engaging means, and the guide frame Notch 116c in the middle of 116
The engagement force between the front end engaged portion 118a and the engagement portion 108a of the engagement portion 108 is considerably smaller than the engagement force between the locking piece 109a of the spring member 109 and the engaged portion 108a.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a first cover, in which a second cover is detachably engaged with an upper side of a first cover by a second engaging means, and the first cover is detachably engaged with the main body by the first engaging means. And a cover opening / closing device having at least a two-stage openable / closable cover, and an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile device, a printer device, or a composite device thereof provided with the device. It is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Among image forming apparatuses of this type, for example, in an electrostatic copying machine, a paper feeding unit for feeding paper for image formation, a photosensitive drum, and a developing device for supplying toner to the photosensitive drum are provided. And a process unit incorporating a transfer roller, a scanner unit for forming an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum, a fixing unit for heating and fixing the toner image transferred to the paper, and the like. A document reading unit is further provided. In these apparatuses, sheets stacked on a sheet feeding unit or the like are separated one by one and conveyed to a process unit, an image is formed on the sheet, and the sheet is carried out from a fixing unit to a sheet discharge tray.

In the above-described image forming apparatus, usually, in order to replace a toner cartridge or an ink cartridge of a printer (image forming section), or to perform a jam clearance when paper or a document is jammed, usually, It has multiple openable covers. For example, JP-A-10-2
In the apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 0738, the top cover body covering the upper rear of the main body and the operation panel provided adjacent to the front are developed rearward or forward at the joint of the two, and open to the double door. It has a structure to be done. In a state where both are opened at the same time, an intermediate cover for transporting the document is exposed inside the apparatus main body, and this intermediate cover is also detachably attached to the apparatus main body.

[0004]

However, the image forming apparatus having the conventional cover opening and closing structure described in the above publication has room for improvement in the following points. That is, since the upper two covers are opened in the opposite directions to the front and the rear, respectively, the opening directions of the covers are different, and it is difficult to open the covers.

[0005] Since the two covers on the upper part of the main body are opened upward by being opened in opposite directions to each other, a large space is required upward, and it is necessary for a user to look in from above when inspecting the inside of the main body. The installation location of the device is easily restricted.

In some situations, it is necessary to remove the intermediate cover further inside with the upper two covers open, which complicates the handling of the cover when replacing cartridges or parts or performing other maintenance work.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and that one of the covers is not inadvertently opened when one of the covers is opened, or that the other cover can be opened by opening one of the covers. The cover opening and closing device has an advantage that the cover can be easily opened and closed, maintenance work and paper jam clearing can be easily performed, and furthermore, a cover opening and closing device provided with at least a two-stage openable and closable cover that can be opened in the same direction. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus including the same.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, a second cover is detachably engaged with a first cover above a first cover by a second engaging means. A cover opening / closing device having at least two upper and lower covers that are opened in the same direction in which a first cover is detachably engaged with a main body by first engagement means, wherein the first cover is opened.
The engaging force of the engaging means is different from the engaging force of the second engaging means.

According to the first aspect of the present invention having the above structure, when the user opens at least two covers, the force (opening force) applied to the covers is adjusted to a certain extent to a certain extent, thereby achieving the desired purpose. Only the cover can be opened, and the cover that does not need to be opened need not be opened carelessly. Alternatively, on the other hand, the first cover can be opened by a single operation when the second cover is opened. In this configuration, it is desirable to restrict the opening range of the first cover.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the first engagement means and the second engagement means can be disengaged from a spring member having an engaged portion and an engaged portion of the spring member. , And the engaging force of the spring members can be made different.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the spring strength of the two types of spring members is made different, and the shape and shape of the engaged portion and the engaging portion of the spring member together with the spring strength. By changing the size (contact area), the engaging force of the spring member can be easily and reliably changed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the second cover is removably engaged with the upper side of the first cover by the second engaging means, and the first cover is engaged with the main body by the first engaging means. A cover opening / closing device having at least two upper and lower covers that are opened in the same direction where the first cover is detachably engaged, and wherein a direction in which a load is applied to open the first cover, (2) The direction in which a load is applied to open the cover is made different.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the cover can be opened even if the engaging forces of the first engaging means and the second engaging means are not particularly different as in the first and second inventions. Therefore, only the target cover can be reliably opened due to the difference in the direction in which the load is applied. Of course, in this case, if the engaging forces of the first engaging means and the second engaging means are made different, it goes without saying that only the target cover can be opened more reliably. On the other hand, similarly to the first aspect of the present invention, another cover can be opened stepwise by opening one cover. At this time, it is particularly preferable that the opening range of the first cover is regulated within a certain range.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the second cover is supported on the first cover so as to be openable and closable via a second rotating shaft, and the first cover is supported on the main body via a first rotating shaft. By opening and closing the first cover and the second cover, the first rotation axis and the second rotation axis are displaced at least in the vertical direction so that the direction in which a load is applied to open the first cover and the second cover is determined. Be different.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the position of the center of rotation when the cover is opened and closed is shifted between the first and second covers, the force required to open the cover is different. Will come. Although related to the overall design of the device, it is desirable that the direction in which the load acts can be reliably and easily changed by shifting the rotation axis not only in the vertical direction but also in the front-rear direction.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus comprising an upper and lower image reading unit and an image recording unit, and using the cover opening / closing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The first cover may be a cover of the image recording unit, and the second cover may be a cover of the image reading unit.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the maintenance work such as cleaning of the image reading unit and the processing of jamming of the document are performed by opening the second cover, replacing the toner and the ink cartridge of the image recording unit, and jamming the paper. Processing is first
When the operation is performed with the covers opened, only the respective covers can be opened individually, or the first and second covers can be opened stepwise.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the engaging force by the first engaging means can be made larger than the engaging force by the second engaging means.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, only the target cover can be selectively opened, such as opening the first cover or opening the second cover.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the engaging force of the first engaging means can be made smaller than the engaging force of the second engaging means.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, when the second cover is opened, the first cover is also opened in a stepwise manner, so that the image recording section is opened simultaneously with the image reading section. Can be checked at once.

[0022]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of a cover opening / closing device of the present invention and an image forming apparatus provided with the same will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a cover opening / closing device according to an embodiment of the present invention applied to a facsimile machine also serving as a copying machine as an example of an image forming apparatus, omitting an internal mechanism. FIG. 2 is a facsimile machine of FIG. It is a side sectional view showing the outline of the internal structure of a device.

An apparatus body 2 made of synthetic resin, which constitutes the facsimile apparatus 1, is formed of a substantially rectangular casing as viewed from above with an open upper end, and is formed by injection molding or the like. Main lid 10 as a first cover for covering upper end opening 2A of apparatus main body 2
1 is mounted to be openable and closable. The main lid 101 has a base 101a extending downward when viewed from the side.
The distal end side is supported to be openable upward through 103. The rotating cam 103 causes the arc-shaped cam 104 to move to the apparatus main body 2.
Side, and a plug type cam slider 10 on the main lid 101 side.
5 is attached via a bracket 106 so as to be slidable in the axial direction. A coil spring 107 is wound around a shaft portion 105a of the cam slider 105,
06 are placed in opposing frames 106a. When the main cover 101 is opened beyond a predetermined opening range, no spring force acts on the coil spring 107. However, as shown in FIG. 1, the main cover 101 is closed, and as shown in FIG.
The coil spring 107 is compressed in a state where is opened at a predetermined angle, and is maintained in a closed state and a predetermined (normal) open state by the reaction force (biasing force). In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, a stopper line 101S for regulating the open range of the main lid 101 is provided. Thus,
When the main lid 101 is closed, the coil spring 107 is closed.
Is exerted, and when the opening operation is started, the urging force of the coil spring 107 is exerted with substantially the same force to offset the own weight of the main lid 2 to facilitate the opening operation. For this reason, the engagement means 108a / 109 described below
The engagement force a is at least stronger than the opening force acting on the main lid 101 by the coil spring 107 when the main lid 101 is closed, so that the closed state of the main lid 101 is reliably maintained.

As shown in FIG. 5A, an engaging portion 108 extends downward from substantially the center in the width direction of the lower edge of the front end of the main lid 101. This engaging portion 108 bulges a lower end portion (engaged portion) 108a to both sides, and as shown in FIG. 6, an upper end portion of both ends of a spring member 109 screwed to a corresponding position of the apparatus main body 2 with a screw 109b. It is configured to be able to be disengaged from the "-" shaped locking piece 109a. Therefore, the opening force of the coil spring 107 is applied to open the main lid 101, but the engaging force between the locking piece 109 a of the spring member 109 and the engaged portion 108 a of the engaging portion 108 Lid 101
You need the power to overcome your own weight. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a discharge port 110 for the image-recorded sheet is formed below the mounting position of the spring member 109 of the apparatus main body 2, and the discharge port 11 is formed.
The paper 3 is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 56 (FIG. 2) to which the sheet No. 0 is attached.

A cover plate 102 as a second cover is attached to the central portion of the main cover 101 slightly closer to the front end so as to be freely opened and closed. In this example, the upper surface of the cover plate 102 is formed on the operation panel 8, and has a keyboard 8a having a push button for transmitting a call to a destination of a telephone or facsimile, a document transmission button, a button for starting copying, and a liquid crystal display window 8b. And so on. A rotation shaft (second rotation shaft) 114 is provided at the lower end on both sides of the base end of the cover plate 102 via a bracket 114a, and a substantially U-shaped slot 115a with a front end opened to a support frame 115 fixed to the main lid 101 side. A rotating shaft 114 is slidably and rotatably fitted into the cover member 102, and supports the distal end side of the cover plate 102 so as to be openable upward. Further, semi-circular guide frames 116 extend from the lower ends near the base ends on both sides of the cover plate 102, and the support shafts 117 projecting from both sides of the main lid 101 into the arc-shaped long holes 116 a of the guide frames 116 are loosely inserted. . The front end of the support shaft 117 is formed in a tapered portion whose upper and lower surfaces gradually become thinner toward the front end, and the lower edge is guided to the front end taper portion of the support shaft 117 by pressing the guide frame 116 downward. Then, it is slidably fitted into the arc-shaped long hole 116a.

Further, a notch 116 is formed at the side edge of the guide frame 116 at the lower end portion and the intermediate portion, as an engaging portion detachable from a tip engaged portion 118a of a spring member 118 described later.
b, 116c are formed. On the other hand, the spring member 118
Is made of a thin plate-shaped spring steel, and the lower surface of the spring member 118 is fixed to the main lid 101 via a resin pressing member (not shown). Further, as shown in FIG. 5B, the distal end engaged portion 118a of the spring member 118 is bent substantially in a mountain shape, and the guide frame 116 is formed with the cover plate 102 opened.
The notch 116b at the lower end of the cover plate 102 is engaged so as to rest on the upper surface of the front end engaged portion 118a, and the cover plate 102 is held in an open state. The notch 116c at the intermediate portion of the guide frame 116 is formed in a substantially mountain shape corresponding to the tip engaged portion 118a.
With the cover plate 102 completely closed, the notch 1 in the middle portion of the guide frame 116 is formed in the front end engaged portion 118a of the spring member 118.
16c fits and engages. A shielding plate 120 extends downward from a substantially central portion in the width direction of the lower edge of the distal end of the lid plate 102, and when closed, abuts against the distal end of a support portion 121 extending upward from the main lid 101 side. . However, lid plate 1
The central portion of the front end surface (entire surface) of the main lid 101 is opened below the upper cover 02 to form a discharge port 122, and the document 4 is discharged from the discharge port 122. The maximum open range of the cover plate 102 is determined by the arc-shaped long hole 116 a of the guide frame 116 and the support shaft 1.
17, when it is necessary to further open the cover plate 102, if the tip of the cover plate 102 is further lifted upward by a larger force, the tip of the support shaft 117 is guided to the tapered portion. Arc-shaped slot 1 of the guide frame 116
16a comes out of the support shaft 117 and is opened. Also,
The locking piece 109a of the spring member 109 and the engaged portion 108a of the engaging portion 108 serve as the first engaging means, and the notch 116c at the intermediate portion of the guide frame 116 and the tip engaged portion 1 of the spring member 118.
18a constitute the second engagement means, respectively.

In this embodiment, the cover plate 10
A reading section 70 (FIG. 2) for the original 4 is provided below the original 2. When the original 4 is faxed or copied, the original 4 may be jammed. The cover plate 102 is set to be lightly opened with a small force because it is considered to be higher than the case where the sheet 3 to be ejected and discharged is jammed. When the lid plate 102 is opened, the main lid 101 having the same opening direction is set so as not to be opened at the same time. That is, the spring member 118
The biasing force of the distal end engaged portion 118a of the guide frame 1 is smaller than that of the locking pieces 109a on both sides of the spring member 109.
The notch 116c at the intermediate portion of the sixteen and the front engaged portion 118a
Is significantly smaller than the engaging force between the locking piece 109a of the spring member 109 and the engaged portion 108a of the engaging portion 108. In particular, in the case of this example, since the opening force by the above-described coil spring 107 acts, the locking piece 109a of the spring member 109 and the engaging portion 1 are also considered in consideration of the spring force.
08 is set to the engagement force with the engaged portion 108a. For this reason, the lid plate 102 is easily opened, but the main lid 101 is opened.
Requires a great deal of power to open. However, on the other hand, the engaging force between the notch 116c at the intermediate portion of the guide frame 116 and the front end engaged portion 118a is set so that the lid plate 102 is not inadvertently opened during the opening operation of the main lid 101.

In addition to the above, the following points are also devised. That is, in the above embodiment, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 4, both the main lid 101 and the lid plate 102 have a two-stage opening / closing structure in which the front ends are lifted upward to open from the front end to the rear, respectively. ing. For details,
On the other hand, the main lid (first cover) 101 is largely opened upward at the front end side around the rotation shaft 103 at the lower end of the rear end portion,
The inside of the main body 2 is exposed. As described above, this opening is performed by the locking piece 109a of the spring member 109 and the engaging portion 1
It is possible to apply an opening force equal to or greater than the sum of the engaging force of the main cover 101 and the engaging force of the main cover 101 (the opening force by the coil spring 107 is subtracted). On the other hand, the lid plate (second cover) 102 with respect to the main lid 101 is largely opened upward at the front end side around the rotation shaft 114 at the lower end of the rear end, and the inside of the main lid 101 near the center is exposed. The position of the rotating shaft portion 114 of the cover plate 102 is far ahead of the rotating shaft 103 of the apparatus main body 2 (substantially in the middle of the depth of the apparatus main body 2), and is largely shifted in the upper position. In the main lid 101 and the lid plate 102, the position of the operation unit for the user to open and close is also on the front end (front end) side of the front of the main body 2, but the opening and closing operation unit of the main lid 101 is low. The opening / closing operation section of the lid plate 102 is high and is provided at a position slightly retracted from the tip of the main lid 101. Further, the lid plate 102 is opened by operating the opening / closing operation unit to lift it directly above,
The main lid 101 is opened smoothly by pulling the opening / closing operation unit slightly upward from the front of the apparatus main body 2 and lifting the main lid 101 upward. in this way,
The main lid 101 and the lid plate 102 differ in the direction in which the user applies a force (load) when performing the opening operation.

As described above, the main lid 101 and the lid plate 102 not only differ in the magnitude of the force required for opening, but also differ in the operation position, the operation direction, and the like in the opening operation. Thus, it is ensured that only the lid (cover) that the user intends to open can be reliably opened, and at that time, another lid (cover) is not opened.

While the embodiment relating to the cover opening / closing device has been described above, the present invention can be implemented with the following modifications.

The position of the opening / closing operation unit at the tip of the cover plate 102 is extended forward to a position close to the opening / closing operation unit of the main cover 101, and the direction in which force is applied when the cover plate 102 is opened is changed to the main cover 1.
It is almost the same as that of 01. Then, the guide frame 116
The engagement force between the notch 116c at the middle portion of the spring member 109 and the front end engaged portion 118a is
8, the main cover 101 is opened, and the main cover 101 hits a stopper cable 101S (FIG. 3) or the like to prevent the opening operation. You may make it open. In this case, the main lid 101 and the lid plate 102 can be opened by one opening operation.
Are gradually opened.

The engagement position of the tip of the main lid 101 is
02 and rearward from the engagement position of the tip of 02
The center of rotation of the cover plate 102 is set near the engagement position of the main cover 101. Then, the cover plate 102 is opened by appropriately weakening the engaging force between the locking piece 109a of the spring member 109 and the engaged portion 108a of the engaging portion 108.
The main cover 101 can be opened by opening the main cover 101 in the same direction.

It is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to a cover that can be opened and closed in two upper and lower stages, and can be applied to a case where a cover that can be opened and closed in three upper and lower stages or more is provided.

In any case, the opening direction is common to the upward direction from the front end to the rear side, and the user can look into the opened interior from the front side, so that maintenance work and paper jam processing can be easily performed. Can be.

Next, an embodiment of the facsimile apparatus combined with the opening / closing device of the above-described embodiment and serving as a copying machine will be described with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 2, a feeder unit 10 for feeding paper for image formation, a laser printer unit 20 having a laser scanner unit 25 and a photosensitive drum 21 are provided in a main body 2 of the facsimile machine 1. A document reading device 70, a drive mechanism (not shown) for driving a drive system including the photosensitive drum 21 and various rollers, and a control unit (not shown) for controlling the facsimile machine 1 are provided.

The feeder unit 10 is provided in the main body 2.
A paper pressing plate 11 is disposed in a feeder unit case 2a at an upper portion of a rear end portion, and a front end portion of the paper pressing plate 11 is elastically urged upward by a compression spring 12 to feed the paper 3. A roller 13 is pivotally supported rotatably. The paper feed roller 13 is driven to rotate at a predetermined paper feed timing by a drive mechanism (not shown).

Then, in the feeder section case 2a,
A paper feed cassette 14 capable of storing a plurality of sheets 3 of fixed cut paper is detachably mounted in an inclined state, and the paper 3 stored in the paper feed cassette 14 is supplied one by one by rotation of a paper feed roller 13. Paper. On the downstream side of the paper feed roller 13 in the transport direction (in FIG. 2, from rear to front),
A pair of registration rollers 15 for aligning the leading ends of the fed sheets 3 are rotatably supported respectively.

Next, the laser printer 20 is a developing unit having a cylindrical photosensitive drum 21, a laser scanner unit 25 for forming an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 21, a toner box 35, and a developing roller 43. 40
And a transfer roller 45 for transferring the toner image on the photosensitive drum 21 onto the paper 3, a fixing unit 50, and a drive mechanism (not shown) for driving the photosensitive drum 21, the developing roller 43, and the like.

The photosensitive drum 21 has a hollow shape in which a photoconductive layer having a predetermined thickness (for example, about 20 μm) in which a photoconductive resin is dispersed in polycarbonate is formed on an outer peripheral portion of an aluminum cylindrical sleeve. , And is rotatably supported by the apparatus main body 2. In other words, the positively charged electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 21 is developed with the positively charged toner 37 by the reversal development method.

The laser scanner unit 25 is disposed below the photosensitive drum 21, and is rotated by a semiconductor laser emitter 26 that generates a laser beam L for forming an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 21. The semiconductor laser emitter 26 includes a polygon mirror 27 (pentahedral mirror), a pair of lenses 28 and 29, a pair of reflection mirrors 30 and 31, and the like.
An electrostatic latent image can be formed on the photosensitive drum 21 by performing main scanning with the laser light L emitted from the photosensitive drum 21.

On the other hand, a scorotron-type charger 32 for generating a corona discharge from a charging wire made of tungsten or the like at a position on the rotation direction advance side of the position on the photosensitive drum 21 where the laser beam L is irradiated. The discharge lamp 33 is provided at a position further advanced in the rotation direction than the charger 32.

Next, the toner box 35 and the developing unit 40 disposed immediately behind the photosensitive drum 21 will be described.

The developing unit case 2b is provided with an agitator 36 which is driven to rotate, and an insulating toner 3 having an electric insulating property.
7 is detachably mounted, and a double cylindrical toner box 35 accommodating the toner box 7 is mounted on the front side of the toner box 35.
A toner storage chamber 41 for storing the toner 37 supplied by the rotation of the agitator 36 through a toner supply port formed in the toner box 35 is formed, and a supply roller 42 is rotatably pivoted in the toner storage chamber 41. The developing roller 43 is rotatably supported so as to partition the front side of the toner storage chamber 41 and to be in contact with the supply roller 42 and the photosensitive drum 21, respectively. Here, the toner 37 is made of synthetic resin having a particle diameter of 7 to 10 μm, and the supply roller 42 and the developing roller 43 are made of conductive rubber.

On the other hand, a thin plate-like elastic layer-thickness regulating blade 44 made of stainless steel or phosphor bronze is attached downward to the developing unit case 2b, and a bent portion formed at the lower end thereof is formed with a developing roller 43. The layer thickness of the toner 37 supplied from the supply roller 42 and adhered to the surface of the developing roller 43 in a layer form is regulated by the layer thickness regulating blade 44.

A cooling fan 5 is provided directly below the developing unit 40. By driving the cooling fan 5, the toner box 35 is particularly cooled to prevent the toner 37 from coagulating due to a rise in temperature. Thus, the image quality is prevented from deteriorating. Further, a toner temperature detection sensor 6 composed of a thermistor is provided immediately below the toner box 35 in close proximity to the toner box 35, and the toner temperature detection sensor 6 detects a temperature reflecting the temperature of the toner 37. Has become.

Then, the photosensitive drum 21 and the supply roller 4
2. Since the developing roller 43 and the like are each driven in a predetermined rotation direction by the driving mechanism, each toner particle of the toner 37 is
By rubbing between the supply roller 42 and the developing roller 43,
Further, the toner is charged to a positive polarity by the friction of the layer thickness regulating blade 44 against the developing roller 43, and the toner 37 charged to the positive polarity adheres to the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 21 by the laser beam L. And is developed by a reversal development method.

Next, a transfer roller 45 made of rubber having conductivity is provided so as to be in contact with the upper side of the photosensitive drum 21 and is rotatably supported by a pivot. The toner image on the photosensitive drum 21 is transferred by the transfer roller 45. , Is surely transferred to the paper 3.

The fixing unit 50 is provided downstream of the photosensitive drum 21 in the transport direction and includes a heating roller 52 having a fixing heater 51 such as a halogen lamp and a pressing roller 53. The heated toner image is heated simultaneously with the pressing, and is fixed on the sheet 3. Here, a heater temperature detection sensor 7 composed of a thermistor is provided close to the heating roller 52, and the surface temperature of the heating roller 52 is detected by the heater temperature detection sensor 7.

At the downstream side of the fixing unit 50 in the transport direction, a pair of transport rollers 55 for transporting the paper and a paper discharge tray 56 are provided, respectively. Here, the paper feed roller 13, the registration roller 15, the supply roller 42, the developing roller 43, the transfer roller 45, the pressing roller 53, and the transport roller 55 are not specifically illustrated, but are driven by a motor for LF through a gear mechanism. And each is driven to rotate.

Subsequently, a document separating device 6 for transporting the document 4
The operation panel includes a keyboard 8a provided with a power switch, a mode setting switch, a numeric keypad, and various function keys, and a liquid crystal display 8b on the front upper portion of the apparatus main body 2. 8 is provided on the cover plate 102, and the operation panel 8
A document separation device 60 that separates the document 4 on which the document insertion guide 61 is placed, and a document reading device that reads an image (information such as characters and drawings) recorded on the document 4 below the document 4 70 are provided.

The original 4 placed on the original insertion guide section 61 includes a pair of upper and lower original feed rollers 62, a paper guide 63 for guiding the original, and a pair of original discharge rollers 64.
Thus, the document is sent to the document reading position by the document reading device 70, and these constitute a transport unit for transporting the document along the transport path. Although not specifically shown, the document feed roller 62 and the document discharge roller 64 are rotationally driven via a gear mechanism by a document transport motor driven and controlled by a control unit. The document reading device 70
Is provided in the middle of the transport path, that is, on the downstream side of the document separation device 60, and includes a contact type image sensor 71 (CIS) having the same structure as that of the related art. The image sensor 71 reads an image described on the document 4 and supplies an image signal to the control unit.

The control unit for controlling the facsimile machine 1 includes a CPU and various control programs such as recording control and document reading control.
ROM storing a plurality of control programs for controlling the
A microcomputer including a RAM is provided.

The image forming apparatus is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be applied to, for example, a copying machine or a combined apparatus of a copying machine and a printer. Needless to say, the image recording unit is not limited to a laser printer, but may be an ink jet printer or a thermal transfer printer.

[0055]

As is apparent from the above description,
The cover opening and closing device according to the present invention and the image forming apparatus provided with the same have the following excellent effects.

(1) According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the user opens at least two covers, only the target cover can be opened by adjusting the force applied to the covers. It is not necessary to inadvertently open the cover that may be used. Alternatively, the first cover can be opened by a single operation when the second cover is opened.

Furthermore, since the cover is opened and closed in a common direction, and various operations such as toner replacement and jam clearance can be performed while looking in from the front with the cover opened, a large space must be directed above the installation location of the apparatus. There is no convenience.

(2) According to the second aspect of the present invention, the spring strength of the two types of spring members is made different, and the shape and engagement of the engaged portion and the engaging portion of the spring member together with the spring strength. By changing the size (contact area) of the portion, the engaging force of the spring member can be easily and reliably changed.

(3) According to the invention described in claim 3, according to claim 1
-Even if the engaging forces of the first engaging means and the second engaging means are not particularly different as in the second invention, only the target cover can be reliably secured by the difference in the direction in which the load for opening the cover is applied. Can be opened to the public.

(4) According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the position of the center of rotation when the cover is opened and closed is shifted between the first and second covers, the force required to open the cover is reduced. It is different. Although it is related to the overall design of the device, if the rotation axis is shifted not only in the vertical direction but also in the
The direction in which the load acts can be changed significantly.

(5) In the invention according to the fifth aspect, the maintenance work such as cleaning of the image reading section and the processing of jamming of the document are performed by opening the first cover, replacing the toner and the ink cartridge of the image recording section, and replacing the paper. Jam treatment is the second
When the covers are opened, only the respective covers can be opened individually, or the first and second covers can be opened at the same time, and the opening and closing directions of the covers are common. Work such as work is easy.

(6) According to the invention described in claim 6, only the first cover or the second cover and the target cover can be individually opened.

(7) According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, when the first cover is opened, the second cover is also opened almost simultaneously, so that the image reading section and the image recording section are also opened simultaneously. Inspection of both can be performed at once.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a cover opening / closing device according to an embodiment of the present invention applied to a facsimile machine also serving as a copying machine as an example of an image forming apparatus, omitting an internal mechanism.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view schematically showing the internal structure of the facsimile apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a cross section of a main part of the apparatus of FIG. 2 showing a state where a main lid is opened.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a cross section of a main part showing a state in which a cover plate is opened in the apparatus of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5A is an enlarged front view of a first engaging means, and FIG. 5B is an enlarged perspective view of a second engaging means.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the general outline of the apparatus main body with the main lid removed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Facsimile machine 2 Machine main body 3 Paper 4 Document 101 Main cover (1st cover) 102 Cover plate (2nd cover) 103 Rotation shaft (1st rotation shaft) 104 Arc cam 105 Plug cam slider 106 Bracket 107 Coil Spring 108 Engaging portion 108a Lower end portion (engaged portion) 109 Spring member 109a Locking piece 110 Discharge port 111 Discharge tray 113 Operation panel 114 Rotating shaft (second rotating shaft) 115 Support frame 115a Substantially U-shaped groove Hole 116 Guide frame 116a Arc-shaped long hole 116b / 116c Notch (engagement portion) 117 Support shaft 118 Spring member 118a Tip engaged portion 122 Discharge port

Claims (7)

[Claims] A second cover is removably engaged with an upper side of the first cover by a second engaging means, and the first cover is removably engaged with the main body by the first engaging means. A cover opening / closing device provided with at least two upper and lower covers that are opened in the same direction, wherein the engaging force of the first engaging means and the engaging force of the second engaging means are different. Features a cover opening and closing device. 2. The first engaging means and the second engaging means each include a spring member having an engaged portion, and an engaging portion which is detachably engaged with the engaged portion of the spring member. And
2. The cover opening / closing device according to claim 1, wherein said spring members have different engagement forces. 3. A second cover is removably engaged with the upper side of the first cover by second engaging means, and the first cover is removably engaged with the main body by the first engaging means. A cover opening / closing device having at least two upper and lower covers opened in the same direction, wherein a direction in which a load is applied to open the first cover;
A cover opening / closing device, wherein a direction in which a load is applied to open the second cover is made different. 4. The first cover is provided with a second cover in the second cover.
The first cover is supported on the main body so as to be openable and closable via a first rotation shaft, and the first rotation shaft and the second rotation shaft are at least vertically positioned in a vertical direction. The cover opening / closing device according to claim 3, wherein the cover is shifted. 5. An image forming apparatus comprising a cover opening / closing device according to claim 1, further comprising an image reading unit and an image recording unit on the upper and lower sides, wherein the first cover has the image recording unit. Part of the second cover
An image forming apparatus, wherein the cover is a cover of the image reading unit. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein an engaging force by said first engaging means is larger than an engaging force by said second engaging means. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein an engaging force by said first engaging means is smaller than an engaging force by said second engaging means.