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 part is provided with a contact plane, and the contact plane is a plane which is connected with a part of the square tubes in the plurality of square tubes. The additional member is fixed to a plurality of first target pipes in a state in which the contact plane is in contact with at least one of the pair of ridge portions of each of the plurality of first target pipes, or the additional member is fixed to a second target pipe in a state in which the contact plane is in contact with the pair of ridge portions of the second target pipe. The plurality of first target pipes are some of the plurality of square pipes, and the second target pipe is one of the plurality of square 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, additional components such as sheet metal components may be mounted on some of the plurality of square tubes along the outer side surfaces of some of the plurality of square tubes. In this case, the additional components may be required to be mounted with high positional accuracy.

[0006] Conventionally, it has been difficult to attach the additional component to a portion of the plurality of square tubes with high positional accuracy because the shape accuracy of the outer surface of each of the plurality of square tubes is insufficient. Summary of the invention

[0007] An object of the present invention is to provide a structure and an image forming apparatus, wherein the structure has a plurality of joined square tubes and an additional component mounted with high positional accuracy on the outer side surfaces of some of the plurality of square tubes.

[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. 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 welded portion joining the two edge portions. The four outer side surfaces of each of the plurality of square tubes respectively include a groove 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. The additional component has a contact plane, which is a plane in contact with a portion of the square tubes. The additional component is fixed to the plurality of first target tubes in a state where the contact plane is in contact with at least one of the pair of ridge portions of each of the plurality of first target tubes, or the additional component is fixed to the second target tube in a state where the contact plane is in contact with the pair of ridge portions of the second target tube, the plurality of first target tubes being a portion of the plurality of square tubes, and the second target tube being one of the plurality of square 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.

[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 stereoscopic view of a plurality of first target tubes and a first additional component in the structure of the embodiment.

[0017] Figure 6 It is a stereoscopic view of the second object pipe and the second additional component of the structure of the embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] 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.

[0019] [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 .

[0020] 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.

[0021] 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 .

[0022] 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.

[0023] 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 .

[0024] 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.

[0025] 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.

[0026] 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.

[0027] 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 .

[0028] 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.

[0029] 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.

[0030] 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.

[0031] However, a general square tube is manufactured by a process of bending a metal plate and welding two edge portions of the metal plate.

[0032] On the other hand, there is a case where one or more additional components 7 are attached to a part of the plurality of square tubes 60 in a state along the outer side surface of a part 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.

[0033] 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.

[0034] 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.

[0035] 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.

[0036] 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.

[0037] [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 .

[0038] 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.

[0039] The two edge portions 61 and the welding portion 600 are formed to extend along the longitudinal direction of each square tube 60 .

[0040] The square tube 60 has a plurality of through holes 64 formed in one or more 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.

[0041] 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 .

[0042] 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 .

[0043] 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.

[0044] 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 .

[0045] 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 ).

[0046] 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.

[0047] By Figure 3 The square tubes 60 shown are used for the structure 6 , and all of the four outer side surfaces 62 of each square tube 60 can be used for mounting parts.

[0048] 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.

[0049] 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.

[0050] The four outer side surfaces 62 of each of the plurality of square tubes 60 respectively have a groove portion 62a and a pair of ridge portions 62b (see Figure 3 , Figure 4 ).

[0051] 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.

[0052] 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.

[0053] 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.

[0054] 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 ).

[0055] 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 .

[0056] 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.

[0057] 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.

[0058] 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 .

[0059] 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 ).

[0060] 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.

[0061] 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 5 , Figure 6 ). Hereinafter, the two types of components in the additional component 7 are referred to as the first additional component 7x and the second additional component 7y (see Figure 2 , Figure 5 , Figure 6 ).

[0062] In addition, the plurality of square tubes 60 to which the first additional components 7x are attached are referred to as first target tubes 60x (see Figure 5 Similarly, the tube to which the second additional component 7y is attached among the plurality of square tubes 60 is referred to as a second target tube 60y (see Figure 6 ).

[0063] The first additional member 7x is fixed to the plurality of first counterpart tubes 60x (see FIG. 1 ) in a state where the contact plane 7a of the first additional member 7x is in contact with at least one of the pair of ridges 62b of each of the plurality of first counterpart tubes 60x. Figure 5 ).

[0064] exist Figure 5 In the illustrated example, the plurality of fixing portions 71 of the first additional member 7x are welded to the groove portions 62a of the plurality of first counterpart pipes 60x.

[0065] When the contact plane 7a is in contact with at least one of the pair of ridges 62b of each of the plurality of first object tubes 60x, a slight gap is formed between the first 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.

[0066] On the other hand, the second additional member 7y is fixed to the second counterpart tube 60y in a state where the contact plane 7a of the second additional member 7y is in contact with a pair of ridges 62b of the second counterpart tube 60y (see Figure 6 ).

[0067] exist Figure 6 In the example shown, the second additional component 7y is fixed to the second counterpart pipe 60y by a plurality of screws 72. The plurality of screws 72 are inserted into a plurality of through holes 73 formed in the second additional component 7y and a plurality of through holes 64 formed in the second counterpart pipe 60y (see Figure 6 ).

[0068] In addition, the plurality of fixing portions of the second additional member 7y may be welded to the groove portion 62a (not shown) of the second counterpart pipe 60y.

[0069] In a state where the contact plane 7 a of the additional member 7 is in contact with at least one of the pair of ridgeline portions 62 b of a part of the square tubes 60 among the plurality of square tubes 60 , the additional member 7 is positioned with high accuracy.

[0070] By using the structure 6 , the additional component 7 can be attached to the outer side surface 62 of a part of the plurality of square tubes 60 with high positional accuracy.

[0071] 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 connected to a part of the square tubes among the plurality of square tubes. The additional component is fixed to the plurality of first object tubes in a state where the contact plane is in contact with at least one of a pair of ridges of each of the plurality of first object tubes, or the additional component is fixed to the second object tube in a state where the contact plane is in contact with a pair of ridges of the second object tube, the plurality of first object tubes are a part of the plurality of square tubes, and the second object tube is one of the plurality of square tubes.

2. The structure according to claim 1, characterized in that The additional member is welded to the groove portion of each of the plurality of first target pipes or the groove portion of the second target pipe.

3. 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.

4. 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