Structure and image forming apparatus

Abstract

The invention provides a structure and an image forming apparatus. The purpose of the present invention is to attach an additional member to the outside surface of some of a plurality of square tubes with high positional accuracy. Each of the four outer side surfaces of each of the plurality of square tubes has a groove portion formed along the longitudinal direction of each of the plurality of square tubes, and a pair of ridge portions forming edge portions on both sides of the groove portion. The additional member has a contact plane in contact with one or both of the pair of ridge portions of each of the plurality of target pipes. The plurality of cantilever portions of the additional member are in contact with only one of the pair of ridge portions of each of the plurality of target pipes. The erecting part of the additional part is formed between two specific cantilever parts among the plurality of cantilever parts, and is connected with both of the pair of ridge parts of a specific pipe. The respective edges of the plurality of cantilever sections are welded to the respective groove sections of the plurality of target pipes.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a structure including a plurality of joined square tubes and an image forming apparatus including the structure. Background Art

[0002] The image forming apparatus includes a paper feed section, a printing section, a developer container, etc. The image forming apparatus further includes a structure that supports the paper feed section, the printing section, and the developer container.

[0003] For example, it is known that the structure includes a plurality of square tubes joined by welding. The strength of the structure of such a structure is high.

[0004] However, a general square tube is manufactured by a process of bending a metal plate and welding two edge portions of the metal plate.

[0005] On the other hand, sometimes an additional component such as a sheet metal component is mounted on a part of the plurality of square tubes in a state along the outer side surface of a part of the plurality of square tubes. In this case, sometimes the additional component is required to be mounted with high positional accuracy.

[0006] Conventionally, since the shape accuracy of the outer surface of each of the plurality of square tubes is not sufficient, it is difficult to attach the additional component to a part of the plurality of square tubes with high positional accuracy. Summary of the invention

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide a structure and an image forming apparatus, the structure having a plurality of joined square tubes and an additional component attached to the outer side surface of a portion of the plurality of square tubes with high positional accuracy.

[0008] A structure according to one aspect of the present invention comprises a plurality of joined square tubes and an additional component mounted on a portion of the square tubes among the plurality of square tubes. The four corners of each of the plurality of square tubes include: three first corners formed by bending a metal plate; and a second corner including two edge portions of the metal plate and a welding portion joining the two edge portions. The four outer side surfaces of each of the plurality of square tubes respectively include a groove portion formed along the long side direction of each of the plurality of square tubes and a pair of ridge portions forming the edge portions on both sides of the groove portion. The additional component has a contact plane, which is a plane connected to one or both of a pair of ridge portions of each of the plurality of target tubes, which are a portion of the square tubes among the plurality of square tubes. The outer edge portion of the additional component includes a plurality of cantilever portions and a mounting portion. The plurality of cantilever portions respectively include an area in the contact plane that is connected to only one of a pair of ridge portions of each of the plurality of target tubes. The mounting portion is formed between two specific cantilever portions among the plurality of cantilever portions so as to protrude outward from the two specific cantilever portions, and includes an area in the contact plane that contacts both sides of a pair of ridge portions of a specific tube, the specific tube being one of the plurality of target tubes. The edges of the plurality of cantilever portions are welded to the groove portions of the plurality of target tubes.

[0009] An image forming apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention includes: the structure; and a printing unit attached to the structure and forming an image on a sheet.

[0010] According to the present invention, a structure including a plurality of joined square tubes and an additional component attached to the outer side surfaces of some of the plurality of square tubes with high positional accuracy and an image forming apparatus can be provided. The structure includes: a plurality of joined square tubes; and a plurality of additional components attached to the outer side surfaces of some of the plurality of square tubes with high positional accuracy.

[0011] This specification is presented in a simplified form, with appropriate reference to the accompanying drawings, to summarize the concepts described in the following detailed description. This specification is not intended to limit the important features and essential features of the subject matter described in the claims, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the subject matter described in the claims. In addition, the subject matter described in the claims is not limited to implementations that solve some or all of the disadvantages described in any part of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Figure 1 It is a structural diagram of an image forming apparatus including the structure according to the embodiment.

[0013] Figure 2 It is a perspective view of a structure according to an embodiment.

[0014] Figure 3 This is a perspective view of one square tube in the structure of the embodiment.

[0015] Figure 4 It is a diagram showing a part of the manufacturing process of the square tube in the structure of the embodiment.

[0016] Figure 5 This is a front view of a plurality of target tubes and target additional components in a structure according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiment is an example of embodying the present invention and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.

[0018] [Structure of Image Forming Apparatus 10] The structure 6 of the embodiment is used in the image forming device 10. Figure 1 As shown, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a main body unit 1 and an image reading unit 2 .

[0019] The main unit 1 includes a paper feeder 30, a paper conveying device 3, a printing unit 4, one or more developer containers 5, and a structure 6. The image reading unit 2 is connected to the upper part of the main unit 1. The image reading unit 2 is a device for reading an image of a document.

[0020] The paper feed unit 30 is a device that stores a plurality of sheets of paper and feeds the stored sheets one by one to the paper conveyance path 300 . The paper conveyance device 3 includes a plurality of conveyance roller pairs 31 that convey the sheets of paper along the paper conveyance path 300 .

[0021] The printing unit 4 is a device that forms an image on the paper supplied from the paper supply unit 30 through the paper conveying device 3. Figure 1 In the example shown, the printing unit 4 forms an image on the paper by electrophotography. The paper is an example of a sheet.

[0022] The electrophotographic printing section 4 includes a laser scanning unit 40 , one or more image forming sections 4 x , a transfer device 44 , and a fixing device 45 .

[0023] exist Figure 1 In the example shown, the printing unit 4 is a tandem color image printing device. Therefore, the printing unit 4 includes four image forming units 4x corresponding to four color toners of yellow, magenta, cyan and black. The image forming device 10 also includes four developer containers 5 corresponding to the four image forming units 4x.

[0024] In each image forming unit 4x, a drum-shaped photoconductor 41 rotates, and a charging device 42 charges the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor 41. Furthermore, a laser scanning unit 40 writes an electrostatic latent image on the outer peripheral surface of the photoconductor 41, and a developing device 43 develops the electrostatic latent image into a toner image.

[0025] Then, in the transfer device 44, the intermediate transfer belt rotates while contacting the four photosensitive bodies 41, and the four primary transfer devices corresponding to the four image forming units 4x transfer the toner image to the intermediate transfer belt. Then, the secondary transfer device transfers the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt to the paper being transported in the paper transport path 300.

[0026] The fixing device 45 fixes the toner image on the paper to the paper by applying heat and pressure. The paper conveying device 3 discharges the paper on which the image is formed from the paper conveying path 300 .

[0027] The developer container 5 supplies toner to the corresponding developing device 43 in the printing unit 4. The toner is an example of a developer. The printing unit 4 may also be a device that forms an image on the paper by inkjet method or other methods.

[0028] The paper feeder 30, the paper conveying device 3, the printing unit 4, and the developer container 5 are mounted on the structure 6. The image reading unit 2 is connected to the upper part of the structure 6.

[0029] The structure 6 includes a plurality of square tubes 60 (see Figure 2 ). In the structure 6, a plurality of metal square tubes 60 are joined by welding. Such a structure 6 has high strength.

[0030] However, a general square tube is manufactured by a process of bending a metal plate and welding two edge portions of the metal plate.

[0031] On the other hand, one or more additional components 7 may be attached to a portion of the plurality of square tubes 60 in a state along the outer side surface of a portion of the plurality of square tubes 60 (see Figure 2 ). In this case, it is sometimes required to install the additional component 7 with higher position accuracy.

[0032] For example, the additional component 7 is a sheet metal component or the like manufactured by performing one or both of a bending process and a hole punching process on a metal plate.

[0033] In this embodiment, the structure 6 includes a plurality of additional components 7 (see Figure 2 ). The additional component 7 is fixed to a portion of the plurality of square tubes 60 by welding or screws.

[0034] In the conventional structure, since the shape accuracy of the outer surface of each of the plurality of existing square tubes is insufficient, it is difficult to attach the additional component 7 to a part of the plurality of existing square tubes with high positional accuracy.

[0035] In the present embodiment, the structure 6 has a structure that enables the additional member 7 to be mounted with high positional accuracy on the outer side surface of a part of the plurality of square tubes 60. This structure will be described below.

[0036] [Structure of each square tube 60] The plurality of square tubes 60 each have four outer side surfaces 62 and four corners 63 (see Figure 3 The four outer side surfaces 62 and the four corner portions 63 are formed to extend along the long side direction of each square tube 60 .

[0037] The four corners 63 include three first corners 63a and one second corner 63b. The three first corners 63a are three bent portions formed by bending a metal plate. The second corner 63b includes two edge portions 61 of the metal plate and a welded portion 600 joining the two edge portions 61.

[0038] The two edge portions 61 and the welding portion 600 are formed to extend along the longitudinal direction of each square tube 60 .

[0039] The square tube 60 has a plurality of through holes 64 formed on each of the four outer side surfaces 62 (see Figure 3 ) The plurality of through holes 64 in the plurality of square tubes 60 are processed on the flat metal plate before the bending process.

[0040] Some or all of the through holes 64 are used for mounting parts. For example, the parts are directly mounted on one of the outer side surfaces 62 of each square tube 60 by means of fixing members such as screws inserted into the through holes 64 .

[0041] In the present embodiment, the image reading unit 2 , the paper conveying device 3 , and the printing unit 4 are mounted on the structure 6 by the fixing members inserted into the through holes 64 .

[0042] In addition, for the purpose of commonality of parts, two or more of the plurality of square tubes 60 may be the same kind of parts. In this case, in some of the plurality of square tubes 60 of the same kind, some of the plurality of through holes 64 may not be used for mounting parts.

[0043] In each square tube 60 , none of the four outer side surfaces 62 includes the welded portion 600 . Therefore, in each square tube 60 , it is easy to form one or more through holes 64 in each of the four outer side surfaces 62 .

[0044] For example, at least four through holes 64 are formed on four outer side surfaces 62 of at least one square tube 60 among the plurality of square tubes 60 (see Figure 3 ).

[0045] In each square tube 60, two of the four outer side surfaces 62 are formed between the three first corner portions 63a, and the remaining two of the four outer side surfaces 62 are formed between two of the three first corner portions 63a and the second corner portion 63b.

[0046] By Figure 3 The square tubes 60 shown are used for the structure 6, and all four outer side surfaces 62 of each square tube 60 can be used for mounting parts.

[0047] In this embodiment, the three first corner portions 63a are formed into a chamfered shape (see Figure 3 ) In addition, at the second corner portion 63b, the two edge portions 61 of the metal plate are bent to form a chamfered shape.

[0048] In each square tube 60, the welded portion 600 is sometimes formed to slightly protrude from the gap between the two edge portions 61. Even in such a case, since the two edge portions 61 are chamfered, the welded portion 600 does not interfere with the parts mounted on each of the two outer side surfaces 62 adjacent to the second corner portion 63b.

[0049] The four outer side surfaces 62 of each of the plurality of square tubes 60 have a groove portion 62a and a pair of ridge portions 62b (see Figure 3 , Figure 4 ).

[0050] The groove 62a is a concave portion formed along the longitudinal direction of each of the plurality of square tubes 60. The pair of ridges 62b is a portion forming the edge portions on both sides of the groove 62a. The pair of ridges 62b is also formed along the longitudinal direction of each of the plurality of square tubes 60.

[0051] The pair of ridges 62b form a pair of top portions between the pair of steps on both sides of the groove 62a and the pair of corners 63. The plurality of square tubes 60 have four grooves 62a corresponding to the four outer side surfaces 62 and four pairs of ridges 62b.

[0052] For example, the step between each groove portion 62 a and a pair of ridge portions 62 b on both sides of each groove portion 62 a is approximately 0.3 mm to 0.8 mm.

[0053] In the following description, the square tube before the grooves 62a and the pair of ridges 62b of the four outer side surfaces 62 are formed is referred to as the original square tube 60P (see Figure 4 ).

[0054] like Figure 4 As shown, the groove portions 62 a and the pair of ridge portions 62 b of the four outer side surfaces 62 of each of the plurality of square tubes 60 are formed by rolling the original square tube 60P through four pressurizing rollers 8 .

[0055] Two of the four pressurizing rollers 8 and the remaining two are disposed to face each other across a forming space 80 into which the original square tube 60P is inserted. The four pressurizing rollers 8 are fixed at predetermined positions.

[0056] As the original square tube 60P passes through the forming space 80, the four pressure rollers 8 rotate while being in pressure contact with the four outer side surfaces of the original square tube 60P. Thus, four grooves 62a corresponding to the surface shapes of the four pressure rollers 8 are formed on the four outer side surfaces of the original square tube 60P.

[0057] Furthermore, while the four groove portions 62 a are formed, a pair of ridge line portions 62 b are formed on both sides of each of the four groove portions 62 a .

[0058] In addition, during the rolling, the inner side of the original square tube 60P is not constrained. Therefore, the four inner side surfaces 65 of each of the plurality of square tubes 60 are formed to be convex inwardly corresponding to the four grooves 62a (see Figure 3 , Figure 4 ).

[0059] Even when the dimensional accuracy of the four outer side surfaces of the original square tube 60P is insufficient, the dimensional accuracy of the four groove portions 62a and the four pairs of ridge line portions 62b in the square tube 60 after being formed is high.

[0060] On the other hand, each of the additional components 7 has a contact plane 7a, which is a plane that contacts a part of the plurality of square tubes 60 of the structure 6 (see Figure 2 , Figure 5 ). Hereinafter, one of the additional components 7 is referred to as an object additional component 7x (refer to Figure 2 , Figure 5 ).

[0061] The plurality of square tubes 60 include a plurality of target tubes 60x (see Figure 2 , Figure 5 ) The contact plane 7a of the target additional component 7x is a plane that contacts one or both of a pair of ridgeline portions 62b of each of the plurality of target tubes 60x.

[0062] exist Figure 5 In the illustrated example, the contact plane 7a of the target adding member 7x is in contact with one or both of the pair of ridgeline portions 62b of each of the four target tubes 60x.

[0063] In the following description, one of the four target tubes 60x is referred to as a specific tube 60y (see Figure 5 ).exist Figure 5 In the example shown, the specific tube 60y is arranged along the lower edge portion of the target adding member 7x.

[0064] The outer edge of the object attachment member 7x includes a plurality of cantilever portions 71 and at least one mounting portion 72 (see Figure 5 ).exist Figure 5 In the example shown, the outer edge portion of the object adding component 7 x includes six bridge portions 72 .

[0065] The plurality of cantilever portions 71 are portions each including a region in contact with only one of the pair of ridgeline portions 62b of each of the plurality of target tubes 60x in the contact plane 7a of the target adding member 7x.

[0066] The edges of the cantilever parts 71 are welded to the groove parts 62a of the target pipes 60x. The edges of the cantilever parts 71 are welded to the groove parts 62a via one or more first weld parts 81. The first weld parts 81 are formed along the longitudinal direction of the target pipes 60x.

[0067] When the contact plane 7a contacts at least one of the pair of ridges 62b of each of the plurality of target tubes 60x, a slight gap is formed between the target additional component 7x and the groove 62a. When the two components are arranged with a gap of about 0.3 mm to 0.8 mm, there is no particular problem in welding the two components.

[0068] On the other hand, the bridge portion 72 is formed between two specific cantilever portions 71a of the plurality of cantilever portions 71 so as to protrude outward from the two specific cantilever portions 71a. The bridge portion 72 is a portion including an area in contact with both sides of a pair of ridge portions 62b of the specific tube 60y in the contact plane 7a of the target attachment component 7x.

[0069] The two specific cantilever parts 71a on both sides of each of the bridge parts 72 are fixed by the first welding parts 81. Thus, even if the bridge parts 72 are not fixed to the specific pipes 60y, the target additional member 7x is firmly fixed to the plurality of target pipes 60x.

[0070] In this embodiment, the edge of the first installation part 72a, which is one of the installation parts 72, is welded to the groove part 62a of the specific pipe 60y by the second welding part 82. The second welding part 82 is formed along the direction intersecting the pair of ridge parts 62b of the specific pipe 60y.

[0071] When the first mounting portion 72a and the two specific cantilever portions 71a on both sides of the first mounting portion 72a are welded to the specific pipe 60y, the first welded portion 81 and the second welded portion 82 are formed close to each other. In this case, due to the dimensional error of the height of the pair of ridge portions 62b of the specific pipe 60y, a relatively large stress may be applied to the first mounting portion 72a.

[0072] Therefore, the object adding part 7x has a cutout portion 73 formed between the first mounting portion 72a and one of the two specific cantilever portions 71a on both sides of the first mounting portion 72a. The cutout portion 73 is recessed toward the inside of the object adding part 7x to a position where a pair of ridgeline portions 62b of the specific tube 60y are exposed.

[0073] That is, a portion between the first bridge portion 72a and one of the two specific cantilever portions 71a on both sides of the first bridge portion 72a in the outer edge portion of the target additional component 7x does not contact the specific tube 60y.

[0074] The fixing of the first bridging portion 72a by the second welding portion 82 is suitable when the target additional component 7x needs to be fixed more firmly. The cutout portion 73 has the effect of relaxing the stress applied to the first bridging portion 72a fixed by the second welding portion 82.

[0075] In this embodiment, the plurality of mounting portions 72 include one or more second mounting portions 72b, which are formed by extending to the position of an adjacent pipe 60z adjacent to the specific pipe 60y. The adjacent pipe 60z is one of the plurality of square pipes 60 other than the plurality of target pipes 60x. Figure 5 In the illustrated example, the plurality of bridge portions 72 include two second bridge portions 72 b .

[0076] The contact plane 7a of each of the second bridge portions 72b is in contact with both of the pair of ridgeline portions 62b of the specific pipe 60y and one of the pair of ridgeline portions 62b of the adjacent pipe 60z.

[0077] The edges of each of the second bridge portions 72b are welded to the groove portion 62a of the adjacent pipe 60z by the third welded portions 83. The third welded portions 83 are formed along the longitudinal direction of the adjacent pipe 60z.

[0078] The third welded portion 83 is formed at a position sufficiently spaced apart from the second welded portion 82 formed at the two specific cantilevered portions 71a on both sides of each of the second bridge portions 72b. Therefore, the stress applied to the second bridge portion 72b due to the dimensional error in the height of the pair of ridgeline portions 62b of the specific pipe 60y and the adjacent pipe 60z is not large.

[0079] In addition, the cutout portion 73 may be formed between each second bridge portion 72 b and one of the two specific cantilever portions 71 a on both sides of each second bridge portion 72 b.

[0080] In the present embodiment, the mounting portions 72 other than the first mounting portion 72 a and the second mounting portion 72 b among the plurality of mounting portions 72 are not welded to any of the plurality of square pipes 60 .

[0081] In a state where the contact plane 7a of the target adding component 7x is in contact with one or both of the pair of ridgeline portions 62b of each of the plurality of target tubes 60x, the target adding component 7x is positioned with high accuracy.

[0082] By using the structure 6, the target additional component 7x can be welded to the outer side surface 62 of the plurality of target pipes 60x with high positional accuracy.

[0083] [Notes on the invention] Hereinafter, the summary of the invention extracted from the above-mentioned embodiment will be described in the supplementary notes. In addition, each structure and each processing function described in the following supplementary notes can be selected and omitted and can be arbitrarily combined.

[0084] <Additional Note 1> A structure, the structure comprising a plurality of joined square tubes and an additional component installed on a portion of the plurality of square tubes, the four corners of each of the plurality of square tubes comprising: three first corners formed by bending a metal plate; and a second corner comprising two edge portions of the metal plate and a welding portion joining the two edge portions, the four outer side surfaces of each of the plurality of square tubes respectively comprising a groove portion formed along the long side direction of each of the plurality of square tubes and a pair of ridge portions forming the edge portions on both sides of the groove portion, the additional component comprising a contact plane, the contact plane being a contact plane of the pair of ridge portions of each of the plurality of target tubes The plane on one or both sides, the multiple object tubes are a part of the multiple square tubes, and the outer edge portion of the additional component includes: multiple cantilever portions, each including an area in the contact plane that only contacts one of a pair of ridge portions of each of the multiple object tubes; and a mounting portion, which is formed between two specific cantilever portions among the multiple cantilever portions and protrudes more outward than the two specific cantilever portions, including areas on both sides of a pair of ridge portions of a specific tube in the contact plane, the specific tube is one of the multiple object tubes, and the edges of the multiple cantilever portions are welded to the groove portions of the multiple object tubes.

[0085] <Note 2> According to the structure described in Note 1, the edge of the mounting portion of the additional component is welded to the groove portion of the specific tube, and the additional component has a cutout portion, which is formed between the mounting portion and one of the two specific cantilever portions on both sides of the mounting portion, and is recessed inwardly to a position where a pair of ridge portions of the specific tube are exposed.

[0086] <Addendum 3> According to the structure described in Note 1, the contact plane of the mounting portion of the additional component contacts a pair of ridge portions of the specific tube and one of a pair of ridge portions of an adjacent tube among the plurality of square tubes, the adjacent tube is adjacent to the specific tube, and the edge of the mounting portion is welded to the groove portion of the adjacent tube.

[0087] <Note 4> According to the structure described in any one of Notes 1 to 3, the groove portions and a pair of ridge portions on the four outer side surfaces of each of the plurality of square tubes are formed by rolling, and the rolling is a processing method in which the original square tube before the groove portions and a pair of ridge portions on the four outer side surfaces are formed is passed between four pressure rollers that are crimped onto the four outer side surfaces of the original square tube.

[0088] <Addendum 5> An image forming apparatus comprises: the structure according to any one of Supplementary Notes 1 to 4; and a printing unit mounted on the structure and forming an image on a sheet.

[0089] The scope of the present invention is not limited to the above content, but is defined by the description of the claims, so it can be considered that the embodiments described in this specification are only illustrative, not limiting. Therefore, all changes that do not depart from the scope and limits of the claims, as well as contents that are equivalent to the scope and limits of the claims, are included in the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A structure, characterized in that: The structure includes a plurality of joined square tubes and an additional component installed on a portion of the square tubes among the plurality of square tubes. The four corners of each of the plurality of square tubes include: three first corners formed by bending a metal plate; and a second corner including two edge portions of the metal plate and a welding portion joining the two edge portions. Each of the four outer side surfaces of the plurality of square tubes has a groove portion formed along the longitudinal direction of each of the plurality of square tubes and a pair of ridge portions forming edge portions on both sides of the groove portion. The additional component has a contact plane, which is a plane in contact with one or both of a pair of ridge portions of each of the plurality of target tubes, and the plurality of target tubes are some square tubes among the plurality of square tubes. The outer edge portion of the additional component comprises: a plurality of cantilever portions, each including a region in the contact plane that contacts only one of the pair of ridgeline portions of each of the plurality of target tubes; and The mounting portion is formed between two specific cantilever portions among the plurality of cantilever portions so as to protrude outward from the two specific cantilever portions, and includes an area in the contact plane that contacts both sides of a pair of ridge portions of a specific tube, wherein the specific tube is one of the plurality of target tubes. The edges of the plurality of cantilever parts are welded to the groove parts of the plurality of target pipes.

2. The structure according to claim 1, characterized in that The edge of the mounting portion of the additional component is welded to the groove portion of the specific pipe, The additional member has a cutout portion that is recessed inwardly between the mounting portion and one of the two specific cantilever portions on both sides of the mounting portion to a position where the pair of ridgeline portions of the specific pipe are exposed.

3. The structure according to claim 1, characterized in that The contact plane of the installation portion of the additional member is in contact with one of the pair of ridges of the specific tube and the pair of ridges of an adjacent tube adjacent to the specific tube among the plurality of square tubes. The edge of the mounting portion is welded to the groove portion of the adjacent pipe.

4. The structure according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: The grooves on the four outer side surfaces and a pair of ridges on each of the multiple square tubes are formed by passing the original square tube through rolling between four pressure rollers in pressure contact with the four outer side surfaces of the original square tube before the grooves on the four outer side surfaces and a pair of ridges are formed.

5. An image forming device, characterized in that: include: The structure according to claim 1 or 2; as well as The printing unit is mounted on the structure and forms an image on a sheet.

Images