Image forming apparatus

Abstract

An image forming apparatus configured to form an image on a recording material includes: a first housing; a second housing connected to the first housing in a vertical direction; the positioning bulge is arranged on the first shell; and a mating portion provided on the second housing, the positioning protrusion being fitted to the mating portion. The mating portion is formed to allow relative sliding movement between the positioning protrusion and the second housing in a first direction crossing the vertical direction when the first housing and the second housing are connected to each other, and to restrict relative sliding movement between the positioning protrusion and the second housing in the vertical direction and the first direction, and to restrict relative sliding movement between the positioning protrusion and the second housing in the vertical direction and the first direction when the first housing and the second housing are connected to each other. And a range of relative movement in a second direction intersecting the direction.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus, such as a printer, copier, fax machine, or multifunction peripheral device. Background Technology

[0002] In an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording material, a configuration in which multiple housings housing various units are vertically stacked is proposed. A series of operations related to image formation on the recording material are implemented by various units mounted in the multiple housings. For example, a sheet feed device is connected to the underside of the image forming apparatus body (hereinafter referred to as the apparatus body). The apparatus body has a housing in which an image forming device configured to form an image on the recording material is mounted. The sheet feed device has a different housing in which a cartridge for storing recording material and a supply unit configured to supply the recording material in the cartridge to the apparatus body are mounted.

[0003] To attach the sheet feeding device to the device body, the operator lifts the device body above the sheet feeding device and places it on top. At this time, the operator positions the housing of the device body and the housing of the sheet feeding device at predetermined relative positions. For this purpose, positioning holes and positioning pins are provided on the housing of the device body and the housing of the sheet feeding device, respectively. Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2021-31275 discloses a sheet feeding device that also includes an additional positioning component. As the lifted device body descends from above onto the sheet feeding device, the auxiliary positioning component guides the lower frame of the device body, causing the positioning holes on the lower frame to align with the positioning pins on the upper frame of the sheet feeding device.

[0004] However, even with the aforementioned auxiliary positioning components, the operator must still align the housing of the device body and the housing of the sheet feed device horizontally while lowering the lifting device body from above onto the sheet feed device below. Therefore, in the currently known technology, it is difficult to perform the operation of connecting multiple housings at predetermined relative positions. Summary of the Invention

[0005] This disclosure provides an image forming apparatus configured to allow an operator to easily align a first housing and a second housing.

[0006] According to a first aspect of this disclosure, an image forming apparatus configured to form an image on a recording material is provided. The image forming apparatus includes: a first housing; a second housing connected vertically to the first housing; a positioning protrusion disposed on the first housing; and a mating portion disposed on the second housing, the positioning protrusion being fitted to the mating portion. The mating portion is configured to allow relative sliding movement between the positioning protrusion and the second housing in a first direction intersecting the vertical direction when the first housing and the second housing are connected to each other, and to limit the range of relative movement between the positioning protrusion and the second housing in a second direction intersecting both the vertical direction and the first direction.

[0007] According to a second aspect of this disclosure, an image forming apparatus configured to form an image on a recording material is provided. The image forming apparatus includes: a first housing; a second housing connected to the first housing in a vertical direction; a positioning protrusion disposed on the first housing; and a mating portion disposed on the second housing and configured to be fitted into the positioning protrusion. The mating portion includes a recessed portion extending in a first direction intersecting the vertical direction, and the positioning protrusion is inserted into the recessed portion. When the positioning protrusion is inserted into the recessed portion, a first range of movement of the positioning protrusion in the first direction is greater than a second range of movement of the positioning protrusion in a second direction intersecting both the vertical direction and the first direction.

[0008] The features of this disclosure will become apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description of embodiments is given by way of example. Attached Figure Description

[0009] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus according to this embodiment.

[0010] Figure 2 This is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus in a state where the apparatus body and the sheet feeding device are separated from each other.

[0011] Figure 3A This is a perspective view showing the sheet feeding device as seen from above.

[0012] Figure 3B This is a perspective view showing the main body of the device as seen from below.

[0013] Figure 4 This is an enlarged view showing the positioning component.

[0014] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram showing the positioning components, positioning protrusions, and protruding parts.

[0015] Figure 6A It is a view showing the state before the alignment operation.

[0016] Figure 6B It is a view showing the status during the alignment operation.

[0017] Figure 6C It is a view showing the status after the alignment operation.

[0018] Figure 7 It is a side cross-sectional view showing the position of the positioning protrusions and protrusions relative to the positioning components.

[0019] Figure 8A This is a schematic diagram showing the protruding part of the device body and the protruding part of the sheet feeding device abutting each other.

[0020] Figure 8B This is a schematic diagram showing the state just before the contact between the protruding part of the device body and the protruding part of the sheet feeding device is about to be released.

[0021] Figure 8C This is a schematic diagram showing the state in which the protruding part of the device body and the protruding part of the sheet feeding device do not abut against each other.

[0022] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram showing the positioning component, positioning protrusion, and protrusion when the attachment direction is from front to back.

[0023] Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram showing the positioning components and positioning protrusions in a configuration excluding the protrusions. Detailed Implementation

[0024] Image forming apparatus

[0025] This embodiment will be described below. First, refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 A schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 is described. For example... Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown, the image forming apparatus 1 in this embodiment is mainly divided into an apparatus body 100 and a sheet feeding device 150. The sheet feeding device 150 is an example of an optional device that can be freely detached and disposed below the apparatus body 100. As will be described in detail below, the apparatus body 100 is stacked on top of the sheet feeding device 150 with the housing 100A aligned with the housing 150A of the sheet feeding device 150 in the front-back and left-right directions. That is, in this embodiment, the housing 100A and the housing 150A are connected to each other in the vertical direction. The connection in this embodiment includes the state in which the two housings are fixed to each other by welding, screws, etc., and the state in which one of the two housings is simply placed on the other housing. In the following description, for convenience, the use of housing 100A (which is used as the first housing) and housing 150A (which is used as the second housing) will be used. However, when the arrangement of the positioning protrusions and positioning members described below is interchanged, housing 150A corresponds to the first housing and housing 100A corresponds to the second housing.

[0026] In the following description, the terms "front" and "rear" refer to the front side of the image forming apparatus 1 as "front" and its rear side as "rear." The front side of the image forming apparatus 1 is generally the side where the user is located when operating the image forming apparatus 1. For example, the side with the operation panel or the side where the storage box 31 for recording material is pulled out is the front side. The terms "right" and "left" correspond to the right and left sides when viewing the image forming apparatus 1 from the front to the rear. In addition, "vertical direction" refers to the vertical direction when the image forming apparatus 1 is mounted on a mounting surface. Generally, the "vertical direction" is the same as the vertical direction. Figure 1 An image forming apparatus 1 is shown as viewed from the front to the rear.

[0027] Figure 1 The image forming apparatus 1 shown is an intermediate transfer type full-color printer. In the apparatus body 100 of the image forming apparatus 1, for example, a cartridge 31, a transport path 60, an image forming unit 500, a fixing device 50, a sheet ejection unit 700, a double-sided transport path 701, and various rollers are mounted in a housing 100A. The image forming unit 500 forms a toner image on the recording material S based on image signals received from an original document reading device (not shown) or an external terminal such as a personal computer. The image forming unit 500 has four-color image forming sections PY, PM, PC, and PK, and an intermediate transfer unit 600. The image forming sections PY, PM, PC, and PK form toner images of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K), respectively.

[0028] The transfer process of the recording material S in the device body 100 will be described. The recording material S is stored in one or more (two in this document) cartridges 31. According to the image forming timing, the recording material S is fed from the cartridges 31 to the transfer path 60 one sheet at a time by the feed roller 31a. In this embodiment, the transfer path 60 is configured such that the recording material S can be transferred from bottom to top (so-called vertical transfer type). The recording material S can be any type of sheet, including paper (e.g., plain paper, thick paper, rough paper, and embossed paper), plastic film, and cloth.

[0029] The recording material S fed from the cartridge 31 to the conveying path 60 is conveyed to the alignment roller pair 42 located in the middle of the conveying path 60. The alignment roller pair 42 corrects the skewness of the recording material S and conveys the skew-corrected recording material S to the secondary transfer clamping part formed by the secondary transfer inner roller 22 and the secondary transfer outer roller 44.

[0030] The image forming process, in which the toner image is transferred to the secondary transfer clamp at the same timing as the transfer process of transferring the recording material S to the secondary transfer clamp, will be described. First, the image forming sections PY to PK will be described. However, the image forming sections PY to PK for the corresponding colors are basically the same, differing only in the color of the toner. Therefore, the image forming section PY for yellow, as a representative example, will be described below.

[0031] The image forming section PY includes a photosensitive drum 11Y, a charger 12Y, an exposure device 13Y, and a developing device 14Y. The surface of the photosensitive drum 11Y, which is driven to rotate, is pre-charged uniformly by the charger 12Y. Subsequently, an electrostatic latent image is formed on it by a laser beam emitted from the exposure device 13Y, which is driven based on an image signal. Then, the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 11Y is developed into a toner image by the developing device 14Y. The developing device 14Y develops the electrostatic latent image into a toner image using a developer containing toner and a carrier. The toner image developed on the photosensitive drum 11Y is transferred once by a primary transfer roller 25Y with a transfer voltage applied, and then transferred once from the photosensitive drum 11Y to an intermediate transfer belt 21. The primary transfer roller 25Y is positioned opposite the photosensitive drum 11Y across the intermediate transfer belt 21.

[0032] The intermediate transfer belt 21 is an annular belt that is stretched around the secondary transfer inner roller 22, drive roller 23, tension roller 24, etc., and... Figure 1The tension roller 24 moves in the direction of arrow A. While applying tension to the intermediate transfer belt 21, the tension roller 24 is rotated and driven in conjunction with the movement of the intermediate transfer belt 21 via the drive roller 23. The image forming processes for the corresponding colors, processed in parallel by the image forming sections PY to PK as described above, are executed at timed intervals, sequentially stacking the toner images transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 21 in a single transfer on the upstream side of the movement direction. As a result, a full-color toner image is finally formed on the intermediate transfer belt 21. The primary transfer rollers 25Y to 25K, the intermediate transfer belt 21, the secondary transfer inner roller 22, the drive roller 23, and the tension roller 24 are integrally configured as an intermediate transfer body unit 600.

[0033] Through the transfer and image forming processes described so far, the timing of the recording material S is matched with the timing of the full-tone toner image in the secondary transfer clamping unit, and then secondary transfer is performed to transfer the toner image from the intermediate transfer belt 21 onto the recording material S. A predetermined pressure and secondary transfer voltage are applied to the recording material S, which is clamped and transferred to the secondary transfer clamping unit. In this manner, the toner image is transferred from the intermediate transfer belt 21 onto the recording material S.

[0034] Recording material S, on which a toner image has been transferred, is conveyed along conveyor path 60 to fixing device 50. Fixing device 50 then heats and pressurizes the recording material S to fix the toner image onto the recording material S. Fixing device 50 has a fixing roller heated by a heater (not shown) and a pressure roller that abuts against the fixing roller to form a fixing clamping portion. Fixing device 50 heats and pressurizes the recording material S passing through the fixing clamping portion to fix the toner image onto the recording material S.

[0035] The recording material S, having a toner image fixed thereon by the fixing device 50, is further conveyed upward along the conveying path 60 and discharged to the outside via the sheet discharge unit 700. The sheet discharge unit 700 has a sheet discharge roller 61, and the recording material S is discharged onto the sheet discharge tray 81 via the sheet discharge roller 61. In this embodiment, in the double-sided mode where images are to be formed on both sides of the recording material S, in order to form an image on the back side of the recording material S on which an image has already been formed on its front side, the recording material S is conveyed to the double-sided conveying path 701 to reverse its recording surface. In the double-sided mode, the recording material S is conveyed by the forward rotation of the sheet discharge roller 61 until its trailing edge passes the baffle 63. Thereafter, the sheet discharge roller 61 rotates in the reverse direction to switch the leading and trailing edges of the recording material S, and the recording material S is conveyed to the double-sided conveying path 701. The recording material S conveyed to the double-sided conveying path 701 returns to the alignment roller pair 42. The subsequent transfer processing and image formation processing on the back side are the same as described above, and therefore will not be described again. The recording material S with images formed on both surfaces is discharged to the outside through the sheet discharge unit 700.

[0036] Sheet feeding device

[0037] In the sheet feeding device 150, a feeding unit 300 is installed in a housing 150A. The feeding unit 300 has one or more (two in this document) cassettes 32 for storing recording material S, a feeding roller 32a, etc. The recording material S is fed one sheet at a time from the cassettes 32 to the transport path 60 of the device body 100 via the feeding roller 32a according to the image forming timing. Subsequent operations are the same as described above.

[0038] Both the housing 100A of the device body 100 and the housing 150A of the sheet feeding device 150 are formed by a front plate on the front side, a rear plate on the rear side, and a high-rigidity metal frame such as pillars supporting them, struts connecting them, and beams. Both housings 100A and 150A are covered by multiple outer covers that constitute the exterior of the image forming apparatus 1. Housing 150A is located below housing 100A and can be connected to housing 100A.

[0039] like Figure 2 As shown, the sheet feed device 150, used as an optional device, is configured to be attached to / removable from the device body 100. The sheet feed device 150 has four casters 151 on its lower surface and is mounted on a mounting surface such as a floor. The sheet feed device 150 also has four height-adjustable legs 152 on its lower surface, thereby allowing the operator to adjust the height of the sheet feed device 150 to a position where the casters 151 are positioned away from the mounting surface.

[0040] When the device body 100 is connected to the sheet feed device 150 disposed on the mounting surface, a two-person team of operators grips handle portions 40 disposed on the left and right surfaces of the device body 100 and lift the device body 100. Each handle portion 40 is configured to pivot between a first position and a second position. In the first position, when the operator is not using the handle portion 40, it is stored in a storage portion 41 disposed on the corresponding side surface of the device body 100. Figure 2 In the second position shown, the handle portion 40 protrudes from the corresponding side surface of the device body 100, making it easy for the operator to grip when in use. The operator places the raised device body 100 onto the sheet feed device 150 and securely connects the housing 100A and the housing 150A using screws (not shown) or similar means.

[0041] Here, since the device body 100 and the sheet feeding device 150 are separate structures, the device body 100 is connected to the sheet feeding device 150 with the relative position between the housing 100A and the housing 150A adjusted. When the housing 100A and the housing 150A deviate from their predetermined positions, for example, the skewness of the recording material S fed from the sheet feeding device 150 to the transport path 60 may increase, causing the recording material S to become stuck in the transport path 60, or the alignment roller pair 42 may not be able to adequately correct the skewness of the recording material S, thus failing to transfer the toner image to the correct position on the recording material S.

[0042] In this embodiment, to allow workers to align housings 100A and 150A at a predetermined position, one of housings 100A and 150A has a positioning protrusion, while the other has a positioning hole. In the known art, to assemble the positioning protrusion into the positioning hole, workers must align housings 100A and 150A at the predetermined position while lifting the heavy device body 100. Such an operation is fraught with difficulty.

[0043] With this in mind, in this embodiment, the operator first temporarily places the device body 100 on the sheet feeding device 150. Then, the operator slides the temporarily placed device body 100 on the sheet feeding device 150. This method allows the housing 100A and housing 150A to be aligned at a predetermined position without lifting the device body 100. Referring below... Figures 3A to 7 The configuration for achieving this alignment in this embodiment will be described. It is assumed here that the left-right direction is the attachment direction (first direction) from the device body 100 to the sheet feed device 150, and the front-back direction is the direction intersecting the vertical direction and the attachment direction (second direction). In the following example, the device body 100 slides from left to right on the sheet feed device 150. For this operation, the position of the device body 100 relative to the sheet feed device 150 at an earlier time point can be referred to as "upstream," and the position of the device body 100 relative to the sheet feed device 150 at a later time point can be referred to as "downstream." The expressions "upstream" and "downstream" also apply to components disposed on the device body 100 and components disposed on the sheet feed device 150.

[0044] Figure 3A This is a perspective view showing the sheet feeding device 150 as seen from above. Figure 3AAs shown, the sheet feeding device 150 has a front upper frame 160a and a rear upper frame 160b on its upper surface side. Both the front upper frame 160a and the rear upper frame 160b form part of the frame body of the housing 150A. The front upper frame 160a bridges the left and right frames at the center front side in the front-rear direction. The rear upper frame 160b bridges the left and right frames at the center rear side in the front-rear direction. These front upper frames 160a and rear upper frames 160b are wide enough in the front-rear direction to accommodate protrusions 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d. The protrusions 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d are provided on the device body 100 described below.

[0045] On the upper surface (second surface) of the upper front frame 160a, positioning members 170a and 170b, serving as mating parts, are spaced apart in the left-right direction. Positioning protrusions 50a and 50b are provided on the device body 100 (see...). Figure 3B The positioning protrusions 50a and 50b are respectively assembled to the positioning components 170a and 170b. More specifically, each positioning component 170a and 170b has a recessed portion extending in the attachment direction. Positioning protrusions 50a and 50b are assembled to the recessed portions. Each recessed portion has an opening at a first end on the upstream side in the attachment direction, such that when the device body 100 and the sheet feeding device 150 are connected to each other, a corresponding positioning protrusion of the positioning protrusions 50a and 50b can enter the corresponding recessed portion. The positioning components 170a and 170b will be described in detail below (see...). Figure 4 ).

[0046] Figure 3B This is a perspective view showing the device body 100 as seen from below. (As shown) Figure 3B As shown, the device body 100 has a lower surface front frame 52a and a lower surface rear frame 52b on its lower surface side. Both the lower surface front frame 52a and the lower surface rear frame 52b form part of the frame body of the housing 100A. On the front side in the front-rear direction, the lower surface front frame 52a bridges the left and right frames. On the rear side in the front-rear direction, the lower surface rear frame 52b bridges the left and right frames. When the device body 100 is attached to the sheet feeding device 150, these lower surface front frames 52a and lower surface rear frames 52b are respectively positioned opposite to the upper surface front frame 160a and upper surface rear frame 160b of the housing 100A.

[0047] On the lower surface (first surface) of the lower front frame 52a, positioning protrusions 50a and 50b, respectively fitted to positioning members 170a and 170b, are spaced apart in the left-right direction. The positioning protrusions 50a and 50b are, for example, cylindrical protrusions projecting downwards from the lower surface of the lower front frame 52a. On the lower surface of the lower front frame 52a, protrusions 55a and 55b projecting downwards towards the upper front frame 160a are aligned with the positioning protrusions 50a and 50b in the left-right direction. The protrusions 55a and 55b are respectively located upstream of the positioning protrusions 50a and 50b in the attachment direction (from left to right in this document) from the device body 100 to the sheet feed device 150. The protrusions 55a and 55b are configured to be longer than the positioning protrusions 50a and 50b in the vertical direction. When the device body 100 is temporarily placed on the sheet feeding device 150, the protruding parts 55a and 55b abut against the upper surface of the upper surface of the front frame 160a of the sheet feeding device 150.

[0048] On the other hand, on the lower surface of the lower rear frame 52b, similar to the aforementioned protrusions 55a and 55b, protruding downwards toward the upper rear frame 160b, protrusions 55c and 55d are spaced apart in the left-right direction. When the device body 100 is temporarily placed on the sheet feeding device 150, the protrusions 55c and 55d abut against the upper surface of the upper rear frame 160b of the sheet feeding device 150. These protrusions 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d are all formed of high-rigidity metal or the like, and will not deform due to the weight of the device body 100 when they abut against one of the corresponding upper front frame 160a and upper rear frame 160b. Three or more protrusions 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d can be provided as support portions to support the device body 100 temporarily placed on the sheet feeding device 150 in a sliding manner without tilting. The configuration of each of the protruding portions 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d is an exemplary configuration of the support portion, and the support structure between the device body 100 and the sheet feeding device 150 is not limited to having these portions. Incidentally, when the device body 100 is temporarily mounted on the sheet feeding device 150, the positioning protrusions 50a and 50b do not contact the upper surface of the upper surface front frame 160a. That is, the lower ends (far ends along the protrusion direction) of the positioning protrusions 50a and 50b are away from the upper surface of the upper surface front frame 160a.

[0049] Positioning components

[0050] Positioning components 170a and 170b will be described. Figure 4 This is an enlarged view showing the positioning components 170a and 170b. Figure 5This is a schematic diagram showing the positions of positioning members 170a, 170b, positioning protrusions 50a, 50b, and protrusions 55a to 55d when the device body 100 is attached to the sheet feeding device 150. Since positioning members 170a and 170b can have the same configuration, the following description will take positioning member 170b, which is located in the left side portion of the upper surface front frame 160a, as an example.

[0051] The positioning member 170b is configured such that the positioning protrusion 50b can enter along the attachment direction (in this context, the left-to-right direction, the entry direction). Figure 4 As shown, the positioning member 170b has an abutment wall portion 180, a top surface portion 181, a rear wall portion 182, and a front wall portion 183. The positioning member 170b is arranged to traverse the upper surface of the front frame 160a in the front-rear direction, such that the abutment wall portion 180 is arranged on the downstream side in the attachment direction. The rear wall portion 182 and the front wall portion 183 both extend from the abutment wall portion 180 to the upstream side (left side) in the attachment direction. At both ends of the abutment wall portion 180 in the front-rear direction, the rear wall portion 182 and the front wall portion 183 are arranged opposite each other and spaced apart. The top surface portion 181 is provided on the upper ends of the abutment wall portion 180, the rear wall portion 182, and the front wall portion 183. The top surface portion 181 has a notch portion 184, which, when the device body 100 is attached to the sheet feed device 150, is positioned by the positioning protrusion 50b of the device body 100 (see Figure 3B The recessed portion 184 is entered. The abutment wall portion 180 is located on the downstream side of the recessed portion 184 in the attachment direction. On the other hand, the upstream side of the recessed portion 184 in the attachment direction is open to allow the positioning protrusion 50b to enter.

[0052] like Figure 5As shown, since the top surface portion 181 has a notch portion 184, the top surface portion 181 forms a guide portion 181a and a positioning groove portion 181b. When the device body 100 and the sheet feeding device 150 are connected to each other, the positioning protrusion 50b moves relative to the sheet feeding device 150 in the attachment direction from left to right. The guide portion 181a controls the movement of the moving positioning protrusion 50b in the direction intersecting the attachment direction (front-back direction). More specifically, the width of the guide portion 181a in the front-back direction narrows from the upstream side to the downstream side along the attachment direction. With this configuration, the guide portion 181a guides the positioning protrusion 50b so that the positioning protrusion 50b can enter the positioning groove portion 181b. An opening is provided at the upstream end of the positioning groove portion 181b along the attachment direction (the left end in the left-right direction, the second end on the opposite side). Through this opening, the positioning protrusion 50b enters the positioning groove portion 181b. The downstream end (right end, first end) of the positioning groove portion 181b along the attachment direction is closed. The width of the positioning groove portion 181b in the front-back direction (its spacing in the front-back direction) is approximately constant.

[0053] As described, the top surface portion 181 has a guide portion 181a on the upstream side in the attachment direction and a positioning groove portion 181b on the downstream side in the attachment direction, continuous with the guide portion 181a. The positioning groove portion 181b is spaced in the front-rear direction to have a constant width that is approximately the same as the diameter of the positioning protrusion 50b. Therefore, when the positioning protrusion 50b is fitted into the positioning groove portion 181b, the relative movement range of the positioning protrusion 50b relative to the sheet feed device 150 in the direction intersecting the attachment direction (front-rear direction) is limited. The downstream end of the positioning groove portion 181b in the attachment direction (its right end in the left-right direction) is closed. Therefore, when the positioning protrusion 50b abuts against the closed end of the positioning groove portion 181b, the relative movement range of the positioning protrusion 50b relative to the sheet feed device 150 in the attachment direction (left-right direction) is limited.

[0054] Next, refer to Figure 3. Figure 4 , Figure 5 ,as well as Figures 6A to 6C The alignment between the housing 100A of the device body 100 and the housing 150A of the sheet feeding device 150 will be explained. Figure 6A The image shows the state of the workers before the alignment operation. Figure 6B The status of the workers during the alignment operation was shown, and Figure 6C The image shows the state of the workers after the alignment operation.

[0055] like Figure 6AAs shown, the operator first grasps the handle portion 40 to lift the device body 100, then moves the lifted device body 100 to a position above the sheet feeding device 150. Next, the operator lowers the device body 100 toward the sheet feeding device 150. At this time, as... Figure 6B As shown, the device body 100 is lowered and temporarily positioned to the left of the sheet feed device 150 from its initial attachment position. In this embodiment, the housings 100A and 150A are temporarily positioned in a misaligned state such that, when viewed from above, the right side of the device body 100 overlaps with the projection plane of the sheet feed device 150. The sheet discharge unit 700, which is heavier than other components, and the double-sided conveying path 701 are vertically mounted in the right-side portion of the housing 100A (see [reference]). Figure 1 This is appropriate when the center of gravity of the device body 100 tends to be biased to the right. In other words, the operator can temporarily place the relatively heavier right side of the device body 100 on the sheet feeding device 150.

[0056] When the device body 100 is temporarily placed on the sheet feeding device 150, the protruding portions 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d of the device body 100 are respectively placed on the upper surface front frame 160a and upper surface rear frame 160b of the sheet feeding device 150. On the upper surface front frame 160a, the protruding portions 55a and 55b are respectively placed on the upstream side of the positioning members 170a and 170b along the attachment direction. As described, in this embodiment, the upper surface front frame 160a and upper surface rear frame 160b have abutment surfaces for temporarily placing the protruding portions 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d.

[0057] In such Figure 6B In the state of the temporary mounting device body 100 shown, the positioning protrusions 50a and 50b are not respectively assembled to the positioning components 170a and 170b. Therefore, in order to assemble the positioning protrusions 50a and 50b to the positioning components 170a and 170b respectively, when the device body 100 is temporarily mounted on the sheet feeding device 150, that is, when the protrusions 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d abut against the upper surface front frame 160a and the upper surface rear frame 160b respectively, the operator slides the device body 100 from left to right.

[0058] As the device body 100 slides, the positioning protrusions 50a and 50b respectively enter the recesses 184 of the positioning members 170a and 170b. More specifically, each positioning protrusion 50a and 50b first enters the guide portion 181a of the corresponding recess 184. The device body 100 slides from left to right, and its movement in the front-rear direction is controlled by the positioning protrusions 50a and 50b via the recesses 184 of the positioning members 170a and 170b. As described above, in each positioning member 170a and 170b, the width of the guide portion 181a of the top surface portion 181 in the front-rear direction gradually narrows from the upstream side to the downstream side along the attachment direction (see...). Figure 5 Therefore, even if the relative positions of the positioning protrusions 50a and 50b with respect to the positioning components 170a and 170b in the front-rear direction are slightly deviated during the temporary placement of the device body 100, the operator can easily make the positioning protrusions 50a and 50b enter the recessed portions 184 of the positioning components 170a and 170b respectively.

[0059] Each positioning protrusion 50a, 50b is first guided by the guide portion 181a of the corresponding recess 184, and then reaches the opening of the corresponding positioning groove portion 181b. Thereafter, each positioning protrusion 50a, 50b moves along the corresponding positioning groove portion 181b. Then, the device body 100 slides until the positioning protrusions 50a, 50b respectively abut against the abutment wall portion 180 (the closed end of the positioning groove portion 181b) of the positioning members 170a, 170b. When the positioning protrusions 50a, 50b abut against the abutment wall portion 180 and are respectively assembled to the positioning members 170a, 170b, the housings 100A and 150A... Figure 6C Align the positions shown. After aligning between housing 100A and housing 150A, the operator secures housing 100A to housing 150A using screws (not shown) or similar means.

[0060] In this embodiment, two positioning components 170a and 170b are provided. At least one pair of positioning protrusions 50a and positioning components 170a are required to align housings 100A and 150A. Therefore, positioning component 170b can be omitted. The positioning component 170b, located upstream in the attachment direction, also serves as a rotation control component. With the device body 100 attached to the sheet feed device 150, the rotation control component controls the rotation of housing 100A relative to housing 150A around the positioning protrusions 50a of positioning component 170a located downstream in the attachment direction. As described, by adding positioning component 170b, housings 100A and 150A can be easily aligned in the rotation direction.

[0061] like Figure 7As shown, the positioning protrusion 50b is configured to protrude from the lower surface (first surface) of the lower surface front frame 52a, which is opposite to the upper surface front frame 160a, toward the upper surface front frame 160a. On the upper surface (second surface) of the upper surface front frame 160a, which is opposite to the lower surface of the lower surface front frame 52a, the top surface portion 181 of the positioning member 170b is positioned closer to the lower surface of the lower surface front frame 52a than the upper surface of the upper surface front frame 160a. Then, when the positioning protrusion 50b abuts against the abutment wall portion 180, a portion of the protrusion 55b can enter the recessed portion 184 of the positioning member 170b; in other words, the downstream side of the protrusion 55b along the attachment direction, viewed in the front-rear direction, can overlap with the guide portion 181a of the top surface portion 181. Before the housing 100A is secured to the housing 150A, if an unexpectedly large force is applied to the device body 100 in the front-rear direction, the positioning protrusion 50b (50a) may break. Therefore, the breakage of the positioning protrusion 50b (50a) is prevented by inserting a portion of the protrusion 55b (55a) into the recess 184.

[0062] As already described, in this embodiment, the housing 150A of the sheet feeding device 150 has positioning members 170a and 170b, and the housing 100A of the device body 100 has positioning protrusions 50a and 50b. The positioning members 170a and 170b are configured such that when the device body 100 slides on the sheet feeding device 150 along the attachment direction from the device body 100 to the sheet feeding device 150, the positioning protrusions 50a and 50b respectively enter and assemble into the positioning members 170a and 170b. When the positioning protrusions 50a and 50b are assembled into the positioning members 170a and 170b respectively, the housing 100A and the housing 150A are aligned with each other. In other words, a simple configuration can be adopted so that when the device body 100 is attached to the sheet feed device 150, the operator temporarily places the device body 100 on the sheet feed device 150, slides the temporarily placed device body 100 on the sheet feed device 150, and thereby aligns the housing 100A and housing 150A. In this way, since the operator temporarily places the device body 100 on the sheet feed device 150, the operator does not need to keep the device body 100 in the raised state. Therefore, the burden when attaching the device body 100 can be reduced, and more specifically, the burden of aligning the housing 100A and housing 150A can be reduced.

[0063] The guide portion 181a in the above embodiment can be omitted. Since the positioning protrusion 50b is fitted into the positioning groove portion 181b, the degree of freedom of relative movement of the positioning protrusion 50b relative to the sheet feeding device 150 (housing 150A) is limited. More specifically, in a first direction intersecting the vertical direction (the left-right direction in the above example), the positioning protrusion 50b is allowed to move relative to the sheet feeding device 150 (housing 150A). On the other hand, in a second direction intersecting both the vertical direction and the first direction (the front-back direction in the above example), the range of relative movement of the positioning protrusion 50b relative to the sheet feeding device 150 (housing 150A) is limited. With this configuration, the effect of significantly reducing the burden on the alignment housing 100A and housing 150A described above can be achieved. We believe that the absence of the guide portion 181a may cause some difficulties when inserting the positioning protrusion 50b into the positioning groove portion 181b. However, since the operation is performed by sliding the temporarily placed device body 100 on the sheet feed device 150, the alignment can still be performed more easily than with currently known techniques.

[0064] In the above embodiment, although not shown, for example, the support leg 152, which is height-adjustable with the sheet feed device 150 (see... Figure 2 A similar height-adjustable component can be detachably mounted on the lower surface of the device body 100. When using the device body 100 alone, the operator attaches the height-adjustable component to the four corners of the lower surface of the device body 100. Then, the operator adjusts the distance between the mounting surface and the lower surface of the device body 100 so that the positioning protrusions 50a, 50b and the protrusions 55a to 55d do not contact the mounting surface, thereby adjusting the height of the lower surface of the device body 100 from the mounting surface via the height-adjustable component.

[0065] In the above embodiments, the housing 150A of the sheet feeding device 150 has positioning members 170a and 170b, and the housing 100A of the device body 100 has positioning protrusions 50a and 50b and protrusions 55a to 55d. However, this disclosure is not limited thereto. The housing 100A of the device body 100 may have positioning members 170a and 170b, and the housing 150A of the sheet feeding device 150 may have positioning protrusions 50a and 50b and protrusions 55a to 55d.

[0066] Other embodiments

[0067] In the above embodiments, for example, such as Figure 3A and Figure 7As shown, the upper surfaces of the front frame 160a and the rear frame 160b, which are respectively abutted by protrusions 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d, are both formed as flat surfaces, but are not limited to this. The upper surfaces of the front frame 160a and the rear frame 160b may not be flat surfaces, and at least one of them may have a protrusion 1601, such as... Figures 8A to 8C As shown. Figures 8A to 8C Both show a protrusion 1601 (second protrusion) formed on the upper surface of the upper surface front frame 160a in a manner corresponding to the protrusion 55b (first protrusion) of the lower surface front frame 52a.

[0068] A protruding portion 55b is provided on the lower surface front frame 52a and protrudes further toward the upper surface front frame 160a than the lower surface of the lower surface front frame 52a. A protruding portion 1601 is provided on the upper surface front frame 160a and protrudes further toward the lower surface front frame 160a than the upper surface of the upper surface front frame 160a. Although not shown, in addition to the protruding portion 1601, the upper surface of the upper surface front frame 160a has another protruding portion corresponding to the protruding portion 55a of the lower surface front frame 52a in a similar manner to the protruding portion 1601.

[0069] When the device body 100 is temporarily mounted on the sheet feeding device 150 and the housing 100A is in a first position relative to the housing 150A in the attachment direction, such as Figure 8A As shown, the protruding portion 55b abuts against the protruding portion 1601, which is one level higher than the upper surface of the upper front frame 160a. However, the positioning protrusion 50b is not fitted to the positioning member 170b. Then, when the device body 100, temporarily mounted on the sheet feed device 150, slides from left to right, the device body 100 undergoes the following... Figure 8B The state before the abutment between the protruding portion 55b and the protruding portion 1601 is released, and then it falls on the side of the sheet feed device 150. Thereafter, when the housing 100A is in a second position downstream of the first position in the attachment direction relative to the housing 150A, as... Figure 8C As shown, the protrusions 55b and 1601 do not abut against each other, and the positioning protrusion 50b is fitted to the positioning component 170b.

[0070] The positioning member 170b has a stop member 190 serving as a control member, and the stop member 190 has a gap on the upstream side of the abutment wall portion 180 in the attachment direction to allow the positioning protrusion 50b to be fitted between the stop member 190 and the abutment wall portion 180. When the device body 100 is positioned on the sheet feed device 150 side, the positioning protrusion 50b enters the gap between the stop member 190 and the abutment wall portion 180 obliquely downward from the left side. In the state of abutting the abutment wall portion 180, the movement of the positioning protrusion 50b in the attachment direction is controlled by the abutment wall portion 180, while its movement in the opposite direction (from right to left) is controlled by the stop member 190. In addition, in the state of not abutting the protrusion 1601, the movement of the protrusion 55b in the opposite direction to the attachment direction is controlled by the protrusion 1601. In this way, even if an unexpectedly large force is applied to the device body 100 in the left-right direction before the housing 100A is fixed to the housing 150A by screws or the like, the aligned housings 100A and 150A will not be misaligned.

[0071] In the above embodiments, such as Figure 3A and Figure 3B As shown, the upper front frame 160a has positioning members 170a and 170b, the lower front frame 52a has positioning protrusions 50a and 50b and protrusions 55a and 55b, and the lower rear frame 52b has protrusions 55c and 55d. This is an example of the attachment direction from the device body 100 to the sheet feed device 150 being "from left to right" as described above. On the other hand, for example, if a drive unit, electrical components, etc. (not shown), which are heavier than other components, are mounted in the rear of the housing 100A, the attachment direction from the device body 100 to the sheet feed device 150 can be "from front to back". Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram showing the positioning components 170a, 170b, positioning protrusions 50a, 50b, and protrusions 55a, 55b, 55c, 55d when the attachment direction is "from front to back".

[0072] When the attachment direction of the device body 100 to the sheet feeding device 150 is "from front to back", such as Figure 9 As shown, positioning components 170a and 170b are provided on the surface of the upper right frame 160d of the housing 150A. Furthermore, positioning protrusions 50a and 50b and protruding portions 55a and 55b are provided on the surface of the lower right frame (not shown) of the housing 100A. Additionally, protruding portions 55c and 55d are provided on the surface of the lower left frame (not shown) of the housing 100A.

[0073] The sheet feeding device 150 has an upper surface right frame 160d and an upper surface left frame 160c, both forming part of the frame body of the housing 150A, on its upper surface side. The upper surface right frame 160d bridges the front and rear frames to the right of the center in the left-right direction. The upper surface left frame 160c bridges the front and rear frames to the left of the center in the left-right direction. Although not shown, the device body 100 has a lower surface right frame and a lower surface left frame, both forming part of the frame body of the housing 100A, on its lower surface side. The lower surface right frame bridges the front and rear frames to the right of the center in the left-right direction. The lower surface left frame bridges the front and rear frames to the left of the center in the left-right direction. When the device body 100 is attached to the sheet feeding device 150, these lower surface right frames and lower surface left frames are positioned opposite to the upper surface right frame 160d and upper surface left frame 160c of the sheet feeding device 150, respectively.

[0074] With the attachment direction of the device body 100 "from front to back", the housings 100A and 150A are temporarily positioned in a staggered state such that when viewed from above, the rear side of the device body 100 overlaps with the projection plane of the sheet feed device 150. This is suitable when heavier components such as drive units and electrical components (not shown) are mounted in the rear of the housing 100A, and therefore the center of gravity of the device body 100 tends to be biased towards the rear.

[0075] With the device body 100 temporarily positioned, the positioning protrusions 50a and 50b are not yet attached to the positioning components 170a and 170b, respectively. Therefore, in order to attach the positioning protrusions 50a and 50b to the positioning components 170a and 170b, when the device body 100 is temporarily positioned on the sheet feeding device 150, that is, when the protrusions 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d abut against the upper right frame 160d and the upper left frame 160c, respectively, the operator slides the device body 100 from front to back. As the device body 100 slides, the positioning protrusions 50a and 50b enter the recesses 184 of the positioning components 170a and 170b, respectively.

[0076] exist Figure 9In the example shown, the device body 100 slides until the positioning protrusion 50a abuts against the abutment wall portion 180 of the positioning member 170a. When the positioning protrusion 50a abuts against and is fitted to the abutment wall portion 180 of the positioning member 170a, the housing 100A and the housing 150A are aligned with each other. Here, the positioning protrusion 50b may not abut against the abutment wall portion 180 of the positioning member 170b. That is, with the positioning protrusion 50a abutting against the first end of the positioning groove portion 181b of the positioning member 170a, the positioning protrusion 50b can be positioned away from both ends of the positioning groove portion 181b of the positioning member 170b (the first end has an opening and the second end is closed). When the device body 100 is attached to the sheet feed device 150, the positioning member 170b only needs to control the rotation of the housing 100A relative to the housing 150A about the positioning protrusion 50a fitted to the positioning member 170a.

[0077] In the above embodiments, a configuration including protruding portions 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d is described. However, depending on the circumstances, a configuration excluding protruding portions 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d may be used. Figure 10 This is a schematic diagram showing positioning components 170a, 170b, 170c and positioning protrusions 50a, 50b, 50c in a configuration excluding the protrusions. (Refer to...) Figure 3A , Figure 3B and Figure 10 Here, the attachment direction of the device body 100 is "from left to right".

[0078] Similar to the embodiments described above, positioning components 170a and 170b are disposed on the front frame 160a of the upper surface of the housing 150A. Additionally, as... Figure 10 As shown, a positioning component 170c, different from the aforementioned positioning components, is provided on the upper surface rear frame 160b of the housing 150A. These positioning components 170a, 170b, and 170c are all formed of high-rigidity metal or the like. Similar to the above embodiment, positioning protrusions 50a and 50b are provided on the lower surface front frame 52a of the housing 100A. Furthermore, the positioning protrusion 50c to be assembled to the positioning component 170c is provided on the lower surface rear frame 52b. These lower surface front frames 52a and lower surface rear frames 52b do not have protruding portions 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d.

[0079] Without the protruding parts 55a, 55b, 55c, and 55d, and with the device body 100 temporarily mounted on the sheet feeding device 150, the lower surface front frame 52a is mounted on the top surface portion 181 of the positioning members 170a and 170b, and the lower surface rear frame 52b is mounted on the top surface portion 181 of the positioning member 170c. To assemble the positioning protrusions 50a, 50b, and 50c onto the positioning members 170a, 170b, and 170c respectively, when the device body 100 is temporarily mounted on the sheet feeding device 150, that is, when the top surface portion 181 of the positioning members 170a, 170b, and 170c abuts against the lower surface front frame 52a and the lower surface rear frame 52b respectively, the operator slides the device body 100 from left to right. In this configuration, in the positioning members 170a, 170b, and 170c, the top surface portion 181 abuts against the lower surface of the lower front frame 52a and the lower surface of the lower rear frame 52b, respectively, and serves as a support surface capable of supporting the housing 100A on the housing 150A. Then, according to the sliding movement of the device body 100, the positioning protrusions 50a, 50b, and 50c respectively enter and assemble into the recessed portions 184 of the positioning members 170a, 170b, and 170c. In this manner, the housing 100A and the housing 150A are aligned with each other.

[0080] Three or more positioning components 170a, 170b, and 170c can be provided to slidably support the temporarily placed device body 100 in a non-tilting manner. When three positioning components 170a, 170b, and 170c are provided as described above, when viewed from the front, positioning component 170c can be positioned between positioning component 170a and positioning component 170b in the left-right direction.

[0081] In the above embodiments, as an example, the case where the device body 100 and the sheet feeding device 150 are vertically stacked and attached to each other has been described. When there are three or more structures, similar effects can be achieved by using the above embodiments for the structures that are vertically stacked and attached. For example, the above embodiments can also be applied to cases where the original document reading device is detachably mounted on the device body 100.

[0082] Although this disclosure has been described with reference to embodiments, it should be understood that this disclosure is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. The scope of the appended claims should be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to cover all such variations and equivalent structures and functions.

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus configured to form an image on a recording material, the image forming apparatus comprising: a first housing; a second housing connected to the first housing in a vertical direction; a positioning protrusion provided on the first housing; and a fitting portion provided on the second housing into which the positioning protrusion is fitted, wherein the fitting portion is formed to allow a relative sliding movement between the positioning protrusion and the second housing in a first direction intersecting the vertical direction and to limit a range of relative movement between the positioning protrusion and the second housing in a second direction intersecting the vertical direction and the first direction when the first housing and the second housing are connected to each other.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fitting portion includes a groove portion extending in the first direction into which the positioning protrusion is inserted.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the fitting portion is configured such that the positioning protrusion abuts a first end of the groove portion in the first direction so that the range of relative movement between the positioning protrusion and the second housing in the first direction is limited.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first end of the groove portion in the first direction includes an opening configured to allow the positioning protrusion to enter the groove portion along the first direction when the first housing and the second housing are connected to each other.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the fitting portion is configured such that the positioning protrusion abuts a first end of the groove portion in the first direction so that the range of relative movement between the positioning protrusion and the second housing in the first direction is limited, and wherein a second end of the groove portion in the first direction on a side opposite to the first end includes an opening configured to allow the positioning protrusion to enter the groove portion along the first direction when the first housing and the second housing are connected to each other.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising: a guide portion configured to guide the positioning protrusion to the opening of the groove portion by limiting a relative position of the positioning protrusion with respect to the second housing in the second direction when the first housing and the second housing are connected to each other.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a spacing of the guide portion in the second direction narrows from an upstream side to a downstream side along an entering direction of the positioning protrusion when the first housing and the second housing are connected to each other.

8. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising: a second positioning protrusion provided on the first housing; and a second fitting portion provided on the second housing and configured to be fitted to the second positioning protrusion. ​ ​ wherein the second engagement portion is configured to allow relative sliding movement between the second positioning protrusion and the second housing in the first direction and limit the range of relative movement between the second positioning protrusion and the second housing in the second direction when the first housing and the second housing are connected to each other.

9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the engagement portion includes a first groove portion that extends in the first direction and into which the positioning protrusion is inserted, wherein the second engagement portion includes a second groove portion that extends in the first direction and into which the second positioning protrusion is inserted, wherein the engagement portion is configured such that the positioning protrusion abuts a first end of the first groove portion in the first direction so that the range of relative movement between the positioning protrusion and the second housing in the first direction is limited, and wherein the second positioning protrusion is positioned away from both ends of the second groove portion in the first direction in a state in which the positioning protrusion abuts the first end of the first groove portion.

10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the positioning protrusion protrudes from a first surface of the first housing toward the second housing, the first surface being opposite to the second housing, and wherein the engagement portion includes a top surface portion that is provided on a second surface of the second housing opposite to the first surface, formed with the groove portion, and disposed at a position closer to the first surface than the second surface.

11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a support portion that is provided on one of the first housing and the second housing and configured to abut the other of the first housing and the second housing, wherein the positioning protrusion protrudes from a first surface of the first housing toward the second housing, the first surface being opposite to the second housing, wherein the support portion is longer than the positioning protrusion in the vertical direction, and wherein a distal end of the positioning protrusion in a protruding direction is positioned away from a second surface of the second housing opposite to the first surface.

12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the positioning protrusion protrudes from a first surface of the first housing toward the second housing, the first surface being opposite to the second housing, and wherein the engagement portion includes a support surface configured to abut the first surface and support the first housing on the second housing.

13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first housing is connected to the second housing in the vertical direction.

14. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first housing is connected to a bottom portion of the second housing in the vertical direction.

15. An image forming apparatus configured to form a toner image on a recording material, the image forming apparatus comprising: a first housing; a second housing; and a positioning protrusion that protrudes from a first surface of the first housing toward the second housing, the first surface being opposite to the second housing, and an engagement portion that is provided on a second surface of the second housing opposite to the first surface, formed with a groove portion into which the positioning protrusion is inserted, and disposed at a position closer to the first surface than the second surface. a second housing connected to the first housing in a vertical direction; a positioning protrusion provided on a first surface of the first housing; a fitting portion provided on a second surface of the second housing and configured to fit to the positioning protrusion, the second surface being opposite to the first surface; a first protruding portion provided on the first housing and protruding more toward the second surface than the first surface; and a second protruding portion provided on the second housing and protruding more toward the first surface than the second surface, wherein the fitting portion is formed to allow relative movement between the positioning protrusion and the second housing in a first direction intersecting the vertical direction and limit a range of relative movement between the positioning protrusion and the second housing in a second direction intersecting the vertical direction and the first direction when the first housing and the second housing are connected to each other, and wherein, when the first housing and the second housing are connected, in a case where the first housing is located at a first position with respect to the second housing in the first direction, the first protruding portion and the second protruding portion abut each other, and the positioning protrusion is not fitted to the fitting portion, and in a case where the first housing is located at a second position on a downstream side of the first position with respect to the second housing in the first direction, the first protruding portion and the second protruding portion do not abut each other, and the positioning protrusion is fitted to the fitting portion.

16. The image forming apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the fitting portion includes a governing member configured to govern movement of the positioning protrusion in a direction opposite to the first direction when the first housing is located at the second position and the positioning protrusion is fitted to the fitting portion.

17. The image forming apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the fitting portion includes a groove portion extending in the first direction and into which the positioning protrusion is inserted, wherein the fitting portion is configured such that the positioning protrusion abuts a first end of the groove portion in the first direction so that the range of relative movement between the positioning protrusion and the second housing in the first direction is limited, and wherein a second end of the groove portion on a side opposite to the first end in the first direction includes an opening configured to allow the positioning protrusion to enter the groove portion along the first direction when the first housing and the second housing are connected to each other.

18. The image forming apparatus according to claim 17, further comprising: a guide portion configured to guide the positioning protrusion to the opening of the groove portion by limiting a relative position of the positioning protrusion with respect to the second housing in the second direction when the first housing and the second housing are connected to each other.

19. The image forming apparatus according to claim 18, ​ wherein the interval of the guide portion in the second direction narrows from an upstream side to a downstream side along an entering direction of the positioning protrusion when the first casing and the second casing are connected to each other.

20. An image forming apparatus configured to form an image on a recording material, the image forming apparatus comprising: a first casing; a second casing connected to the first casing in a vertical direction; a positioning protrusion provided on the first casing; and a fitting portion provided on the second casing into which the positioning protrusion is fitted, wherein the fitting portion includes a groove portion that extends in a first direction intersecting the vertical direction and into which the positioning protrusion is inserted.

21. The image forming apparatus according to claim 20, in a state where the positioning protrusion is inserted into the groove portion, the positioning protrusion is relatively movable with respect to the second casing in the first direction at least within a first range, wherein, wherein, in the state where the positioning protrusion is inserted into the groove portion, relative movement of the positioning protrusion with respect to the second casing in a second direction intersecting the vertical direction and the first direction is restricted within a second range, and wherein the first range is wider than the second range.

22. The image forming apparatus according to claim 20, wherein the fitting portion is configured such that the positioning protrusion abuts a first end of the groove portion in the first direction so that a range of relative movement between the positioning protrusion and the second casing in the first direction is restricted, and wherein a second end of the groove portion on a side opposite the first end in the first direction includes an opening configured to allow the positioning protrusion to enter the groove portion along the first direction when the first casing and the second casing are connected to each other. ​

Images