Opening / closing member of image-forming device

Abstract

To compose an opening / closing member by an outer opening / closing member and an inner opening / closing member and suppress a decrease in product quality of a device caused by the outer opening / closing member when providing a housing section allowing a member housed in the opening / closing member to be taken out.SOLUTION: An opening / closing cover of an image-forming device includes: an openable / closable outer cover that composes one portion of an outer surface of the image-forming device and exposes the inside of the image-forming device in an open state; an inner cover 6 that is positioned in an inner surface side of the outer cover, has an opposite face that opposes the inside, and can be opened and closed along with the outer cover; and a housing space 61a that forms a first housing space 61b by projecting toward the outer cover from the opposite face, forms a second housing space 61c by projecting toward the outer cover from the opposite face more than the first housing space 61b, and allows a cleaning rod 8 housed in the first housing space 61b and the second housing space 61c to be taken out when the outer cover and the inner cover 6 are opened.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an opening and closing member for an image forming apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an electrophotographic image forming device that includes an electrophotographic image forming unit that uses powder toner as a developer, a housing that houses the image forming unit, and a cover that opens and closes an opening in the housing and has a reinforcing rib on its back surface, in which part of the rib on the back surface of the cover has been removed to flatten it and create a non-rib portion. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2002-341726 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Here, if the rigidity of the openable and closable outer opening / closing member that constitutes part of the outer surface of the image forming device is low, it may impair the product quality of the device. On the other hand, if the rigidity of the outer opening / closing member is increased by strengthening it by adding reinforcing ribs to the outer opening / closing member or by increasing the height of the reinforcing ribs, sink marks may occur, deteriorating the appearance of the outer opening / closing member and compromising the product quality of the device. The object of the present invention is to suppress a deterioration in the product quality of a device caused by the outer opening / closing member when an opening / closing member is constructed from an outer opening / closing member and an inner opening / closing member and a storage section is provided from which a member stored in the opening / closing member can be removed. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The invention described in claim 1 is an opening / closing member for an image forming device, comprising: an outer opening / closing member that constitutes part of the outer surface of an image forming device and exposes the interior of the image forming device when open; an inner opening / closing member that is located on the inner surface side of the outer opening / closing member and has an opposing surface facing the interior and that can be opened and closed together with the outer opening / closing member; and a storage section that forms a first storage section by protruding from the opposing surface toward the outer opening / closing member, and forms a second storage section by protruding from the opposing surface toward the outer opening / closing member more than the first storage section, from which members stored in the first storage section and the second storage section can be removed when the outer opening / closing member and the inner opening / closing member are opened. The invention described in claim 2 is an opening / closing member of the image forming apparatus described in claim 1, characterized in that the inner opening / closing member has a longitudinal direction and a transverse direction, and the storage section is formed utilizing the longitudinal direction of the inner opening / closing member. The invention described in claim 3 is the opening / closing member of the image forming apparatus described in claim 2, characterized in that the storage section is formed so that the first storage section extends in the same direction as the longitudinal direction. The invention described in claim 4 is the opening / closing member of the image forming apparatus described in claim 3, characterized in that the storage section is located toward one end in the longitudinal direction of the first storage section. Effect of the Invention

[0006] According to claim 1, when an opening / closing member is constructed from an outer opening / closing member and an inner opening / closing member, and a storage section is provided from which a member stored in the opening / closing member can be removed, deterioration in product quality of the device caused by the outer opening / closing member can be suppressed. According to claim 2, the housing portion can house a long member more easily than when the housing portion is not formed using the longitudinal direction. According to claim 3, it is possible to facilitate the manufacture of a manufacturing die, compared to a case in which the housing portion is not formed so that the first housing portion extends in the same direction as the longitudinal direction. According to claim 4, the container can more easily take out the member from the container, compared to when the container is located at the center in the longitudinal direction of the first container. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus to which the present embodiment is applied; [Diagram 2] 2A and 2B are diagrams showing an exposure apparatus to which the present embodiment is applied, in which (a) is a perspective view of the exposure apparatus, and (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line IIB-IIB in FIG. 2A. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an exterior member of the image forming apparatus. [Figure 4] 4 is a rear view of the opening / closing cover as seen from the inside. FIG. [Diagram 5] 4A and 4B are diagrams illustrating the configuration of the opening-closing cover, in which FIG. 4A is an exploded perspective view of the opening-closing cover as viewed from the exterior cover side, and FIG. 4B is an exploded perspective view of the opening-closing cover as viewed from the interior cover side. [Figure 6] FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 4 is a rear view of the exterior cover as seen from the rear side. [Figure 8] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the interior cover as viewed from the front, with (a) being a front view and (b) and (c) being perspective views in which (a) is partially enlarged. [Figure 9] This is a rear view of the interior cover as seen from the back side. [Figure 10] 1A and 1B are diagrams explaining the function of the hard keys, in which (a) shows a state in which the hard keys are not interfering with the rotary handle, and (b) shows a state in which they are interfering with each other. [Figure 11] 13 is a rear view of the interior cover illustrating the accommodating recess according to the modified example. FIG. [Figure 12] FIG. 11 is a rear view of the opening / closing cover according to the modified example. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XIII-XIII in FIG. 12. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0008] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Overall configuration of image forming apparatus 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus 1 to which the present embodiment is applied. The image forming apparatus 1 is generally a so-called tandem type image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus 1 includes an image forming section 10 that forms images corresponding to image data of each color, a control section 41 that controls the overall operation of the image forming apparatus 1, and a paper holding section 42 that holds paper supplied to the image forming apparatus 1. The image forming apparatus 1 also includes an image processing section 43 that performs predetermined image processing on image data received from, for example, a personal computer (PC) 2 or an image reading device 3. The image forming apparatus 1 is an example of an image forming apparatus, and the image forming section 10 is an example of an image forming section.

[0009] The image forming section 10 includes four image forming units 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K (collectively referred to as "image forming units 11") that are arranged in parallel at regular intervals. Each image forming unit 11 includes a photoconductor drum 12 that forms an electrostatic latent image and holds a toner image, a charger 13 that charges the surface of the photoconductor drum 12 to a predetermined potential, an exposure device 14 that exposes the photoconductor drum 12 charged by the charger 13 based on image data for each color, a developer 15 that develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor drum 12, and a drum cleaner 16 that cleans the surface of the photoconductor drum 12 after transfer. Each of the image forming units 11 has the same configuration except for the toner contained in the developing device 15, and forms a toner image of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), or black (K), respectively.

[0010] The image forming section 10 also includes an intermediate transfer belt 20 onto which the toner images of each color formed on the photoconductor drums 12 of the image forming units 11 are transferred in a multi-layered manner, and a primary transfer roll 21 which sequentially performs primary transfer of the toner images of each color formed on each image forming unit 11 onto the intermediate transfer belt 20. The image forming section 10 also includes a secondary transfer roll 22 which performs secondary transfer of the toner images of each color transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 20 in a superimposed manner all at once onto a sheet of paper which is a recording material, a belt cleaner 23 which cleans the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 20 after the secondary transfer, and a fixing device 30 which fixes the toner images of each color which have been secondary transferred onto the sheet of paper.

[0011] In this image forming apparatus 1, the image forming section 10 performs an image forming operation based on various control signals supplied from the control section 41. That is, under the control of the control section 41, image data input from the PC 2 or the image reading device 3 is subjected to image processing by the image processing section 43 and supplied to each image forming unit 11. Then, in each image forming unit 11, the photoconductor drum 12 is charged by the charger 13, exposed by the exposure device 14, and the electrostatic latent image is developed by the developer 15, so that a toner image of each color is formed on the surface of the photoconductor drum 12. The toner images of the respective colors formed on the photoconductor drum 12 are then transferred in sequence onto the intermediate transfer belt 20 by the primary transfer roll 21 .

[0012] Then, the composite toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 20 is transported to a secondary transfer section T, which is an area where a secondary transfer roll 22 is arranged, as the intermediate transfer belt 20 moves. When the composite toner image is transported to the secondary transfer section T, a sheet of paper is supplied from the paper holding section 42 to the secondary transfer section T in accordance with the timing at which the composite toner image is transported to the secondary transfer section T. Then, the composite toner image is electrostatically transferred all at once onto the transported sheet of paper by a transfer electric field formed by the secondary transfer roll 22 at the secondary transfer section T.

[0013] Thereafter, the paper onto which the composite toner image has been transferred is transported to the fixing device 30, where the toner image is fixed onto the paper through a fixing process using heat and pressure. Then, the paper onto which the toner image has been fixed is transported to a paper stacking section provided in the discharge section of the image forming apparatus 1. On the other hand, the toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 20 after the secondary transfer is removed from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 20 by the belt cleaner 25 after the secondary transfer is completed. In this manner, image formation in the image forming apparatus 1 is repeated a number of times, the number of cycles being equal to the number of prints.

[0014] The image forming section 10 includes a rotary handle 24 (see FIG. 3 or FIG. 10) for performing a retract operation, which is an operation for retracting the intermediate transfer belt 20 from the photoconductor drum 12 of each image forming unit 11. The retract operation using the rotary handle 24 is performed when removing paper that is jammed in the paper transport path in the image forming apparatus 1.

[0015] [Explanation of Exposure Apparatus 14] Next, the configuration of exposure apparatus 14 of the present embodiment will be described. 2(a)-(b) are diagrams showing an exposure apparatus 14 to which the present embodiment is applied. Fig. 2(a) is a perspective view of the exposure apparatus 14, and Fig. 2(b) is a cross-sectional view at IIB-IIB in Fig. 2(a).

[0016] 1, the exposure device 14 is disposed vertically below the photoconductor drum 12 and exposes the photoconductor drum 12 from vertically below. As shown in FIG. 2(a), the exposure device 14 includes an LED (Light Emitting Diode) print head (LPH) 140.

[0017] The LPH 140 includes a housing 141, an LED array 143 having a plurality of light-emitting elements, an LED circuit board 142 mounting the LED array 143 and a signal generating circuit (not shown) that drives the LED array 143, a rod lens array 144 that focuses light emitted from the LED array 143 onto the surface of the photoconductor drum 12, and a frame 145 that reinforces the housing 141. The LPH 140 also includes, at both ends of the axial direction of the photoconductor drum 12, a first positioning portion 146 that positions the LPH 140 in the X1 direction relative to the photoconductor drum 12, and a second positioning portion 147 that positions the LPH 140 in the Y1 direction. In the following description, the optical axis direction of the rod lens array 144 in the LPH 140 shown in Fig. 2(a) (the direction in which light is emitted by the light emitting elements of the LED array 143) may be referred to as the Y1 direction. The main scanning direction, i.e., the axial direction of the photoconductor drum 12 (see Fig. 1), may be referred to as the Z1 direction. The sub-scanning direction, i.e., the direction perpendicular to both the Y1 direction and the Z1 direction, may be referred to as the X1 direction.

[0018] The housing 141 is made of a resin material such as ABS, and supports an LED circuit board 142 and a rod lens array 144 . The frame 145 is formed from a metal material such as steel or SUS, and is attached to the housing 141 on the opposite side to the rod lens array 144 .

[0019] The rod lens array 144 is arranged along the Z1 direction which is the axial direction of the photoconductor drum 12, and is formed to have a width in the X1 direction which is the movement direction of the photoconductor drum 12. The rod lens array 144 is configured by arranging a plurality of gradient index lenses which form an erect life-size real image in the axial direction of the photoconductor drum 12, for example. The rod lens array 144 forms an image of the light emitted from the LED array 143 on the surface of the photoconductor drum 12.

[0020] An LED array 143 is mounted on the LED circuit board 142. The LED array 143 is composed of a plurality of LED chips, each having a light-emitting element (LED), arranged in the Z1 direction. Thus, a plurality of light-emitting elements are arranged in the Z1 direction on the LED circuit board 142. Also, each light-emitting element is arranged so as to emit light in the Y1 direction toward the photoconductor drum 12 side (rod lens array 144 side). In the LED array 143 of this embodiment, the LED chips are arranged in a staggered pattern so that the positions of the light-emitting elements in the Z1 direction overlap at the boundary between adjacent LED chips.

[0021] When the exposure device 14 is installed in the image forming apparatus 1, the first positioning portion 146 and the second positioning portion 147 abut against a housing member (not shown) that houses and supports the photosensitive drum 12 inside the image forming apparatus 1. More specifically, the first positioning portion 146 abuts against the housing member for the photosensitive drum 12 in the X1 direction, and the second positioning portion 147 abuts against the housing member for the photosensitive drum 12 in the Y1 direction.

[0022] As a result, the LPH 140 is positioned in both the X1 and Y1 directions with respect to the photoconductor drum 12 at both ends in the Z1 direction. Then, the LPH 140 is disposed at a position where the distance between the rod lens array 144 of the LPH 140 and the photoconductor drum 12 matches the focal length of the rod lens array 144. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the central portion of LPH 140 in the Z1 direction, i.e., the area sandwiched between first positioning portion 146 and second positioning portion 147 provided at both ends of LPH 140 in the Z1 direction, is not in contact with photosensitive drum 12 and is floating above photosensitive drum 12.

[0023] Note that, in the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, an electrophotographic method is used in which toner attached to a photosensitive member is transferred to a recording material to form an image, but the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, an inkjet method in which ink is ejected onto a recording material to form an image may also be used. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 1 that forms a color image has been described, but the image forming apparatus 1 may be configured to form a black (K) toner image (monochrome image) and not to form a color image.

[0024] [Exterior member of image forming apparatus 1] Next, the exterior member of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described. 3 is a perspective view for explaining an exterior member of image forming apparatus 1, and shows a state in which opening / closing cover 45 is open to housing 44. Note that part of the internal configuration of image forming apparatus 1 is not shown. 3, the image forming apparatus 1 includes, as exterior members, a housing 44 made up of a plurality of parts that serves as a container for accommodating components for implementing various functions of the image forming apparatus 1, and an opening / closing cover 45 that, together with the housing 44, constitutes the outer surface of the image forming apparatus 1 (hereinafter, may be referred to as the "apparatus outer surface") and can be opened and closed relative to the housing 44. Note that the opening / closing cover 45 referred to here can be called a front cover since it is located on the front side of the image forming apparatus 1, and can also be called a maintenance cover since it is a member that can be opened when performing maintenance work on the image forming apparatus 1. The opening / closing cover 45 is an example of an opening / closing member. In this specification, the term "component" is not limited to a single component, but may be a combination of multiple components.

[0025] A rotation center 46 about which opening / closing cover 45 rotates relative to housing 44 is located on the lower side, that is, near the bottom surface of image forming apparatus 1. Rotation center 46 is located away from the top surface of image forming apparatus 1. Furthermore, a magnet 47 is attached to the housing 44 and an iron plate member 451 is attached to the opening / closing cover 45 at a position above the rotation center 46. The magnet 47 and the iron plate member 451 attract each other and stick to each other due to the magnetic force of the magnet 47, thereby maintaining the opening / closing cover 45 in an upright state and closing the opening / closing cover 45. In this embodiment, when opening / closing cover 45 is closed, opening / closing cover 45 forms a part of the outer surface of image forming apparatus 1. The center of rotation 46 is an example of a center of rotation.

[0026] Additionally, housing 44 and opening / closing cover 45 are connected by a resin strap 48 at both ends in the direction in which rotation center 46 extends. More specifically, one end of strap 48 is screwed to a position on housing 44 between rotation center 46 and magnet 47 in the direction intersecting rotation center 46. Additionally, the other end of strap 48 is screwed to a position on opening / closing cover 45 between rotation center 46 and iron plate member 451. As a result, when opening / closing cover 45 is opened, tension is applied to straps 48 due to the weight of opening / closing cover 45, and the inclined state is maintained without interfering with the placement surface of image forming apparatus 1. Therefore, when opening / closing cover 45 is opened, it is supported by two straps 48 and falls to the side. The strap 48 is an example of a limiting member.

[0027] Handles 452 are formed on opening / closing cover 45 to be used when opening opening / closing cover 45. These handles 452 are recessed and located at both ends in the direction in which rotation center 46 extends. When opening opening / closing cover 45 in the closed state, the user can easily perform the opening operation against the magnetic force by placing a hand on either one or both of two handles 452 of opening / closing cover 45. Handle 452 is an example of a user-used part.

[0028] The opening / closing cover 45 is normally closed and can be opened for maintenance or the like. That is, when the opening / closing cover 45 is opened, it is possible to enter the inside of the image forming apparatus 1. For example, the paper holding section 42 can be pulled out, and the toner cartridges 49Y, 49M, 49C, and 49K (collectively referred to as "toner cartridges 49") of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) that contain the toner to be supplied to the developing device 15 of the image forming section 10 can be taken out. The toner cartridges 49 are detachably provided in the housing 44, and are replaced when the remaining amount of toner becomes low. Therefore, by opening the opening / closing cover 45, it is possible to perform maintenance tasks such as refilling paper into the paper holding section 42, replacing the toner cartridge 49, dealing with paper jams in the paper transport path within the image forming device 1, and cleaning the toner, which will be described later. A storage medium such as an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable ROM) may be provided in toner cartridge 49. In this case, the storage medium stores information indicating the type of toner cartridge 49 and information regarding the usage of toner cartridge 49, such as the number of rotations of a rotating member (a rotating member used to transport toner) provided inside toner cartridge 49.

[0029] Here, a storage portion 7 is formed in the openable cover 45. This storage portion 7 is for storing a cleaning rod 8 that is used periodically. This cleaning rod 8 is inserted in the Z1 direction (see FIG. 2(a) or (b)) toward the space A (see FIG. 2(b)) between the photosensitive drum 12 (see FIG. 1) of the image forming unit 10 and the exposure device 14 with the opening / closing cover 45 open, to clean the toner. The accommodation portion 7 is an example of a accommodation portion, and the cleaning rod 8 is an example of a member accommodated in the accommodation space.

[0030] In addition, an interlock component 91 and a hard key 92 are attached to the opening / closing cover 45. The interlock component 91 is a component used to detect whether the opening / closing cover 45 is closed. The hard key 92 is a component for preventing the opening and closing cover 45 from closing when a retraction operation is performed using the rotary handle 24, and is rotatable about a rotary shaft 92a (see FIG. 4).

[0031] [Configuration of the opening / closing cover 45] Next, the configuration of the opening and closing cover 45 will be described. Fig. 4 is a rear view of opening-closing cover 45 as viewed from the inside. Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of opening-closing cover 45, where (a) is an exploded perspective view of opening-closing cover 45 as viewed from the exterior cover 5 side, and (b) is an exploded perspective view of opening-closing cover 45 as viewed from the interior cover 6 side. As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the opening / closing cover 45 includes an exterior cover 5 located on the outside of the opening / closing cover 45, and an interior cover 6 located on the inside. The interior cover 6 is screwed to the exterior cover 5 to be integrated. Specifically, the interior cover 6 and the interior cover 5 are assembled so that their back surfaces 6b and 5b face each other, and as is clear from the screw heads shown in Fig. 4, mounting screws 453 are inserted from the front surface 6a of the interior cover 6. There are five mounting screws 453 in total, and they are attached to the female threads of bosses 54 (see Fig. 7) formed on the back surface 5b of the exterior cover 5. In this way, the opening / closing cover 45 employs a double structure made up of the exterior cover 5 and the interior cover 6.

[0032] 5(a), surface 5a of exterior cover 5 becomes surface 45a of opening / closing cover 45. When opening / closing cover 45 is closed, surface 5a of exterior cover 5, i.e., surface 45a of opening / closing cover 45, forms part of the outer surface of image forming apparatus 1. The exterior cover 5 is an example of an exterior opening / closing member, the back surface 5b of the exterior cover 5 is an example of an interior surface of an exterior opening / closing member, and the interior cover 6 is an example of an interior opening / closing member.

[0033] [Explanation of exterior cover 5] 4, the exterior cover 5 has an engagement portion 51 that engages with the housing 44 (see FIG. 3). The engagement portion 51 is a portion that forms the above-mentioned rotation center 46. The above-mentioned rotation center 46 of the image forming apparatus 1 is on the exterior cover 5 side. As shown in Fig. 5(a), the exterior cover 5 has a side wall portion 5c formed to protrude from the front surface 5a toward the back surface 5b. A partially recessed handle recess 52 is formed in the side wall portion 5c. This handle recess 52 corresponds to the handle 452 of the opening / closing cover 45 shown in Fig. 4.

[0034] [Explanation of interior cover 6] As shown in Fig. 5(b), the interior cover 6 has an accommodating recess 61 recessed from the front surface 6a to the back surface 6b to form an accommodating space 61a for accommodating the cleaning rod 8 (see Fig. 4). The cleaning rod 8 is accommodated in the accommodating recess 61 from the front surface 6a side of the interior cover 6. The accommodating recess 61 corresponds to the above-mentioned accommodating portion 7 shown in Fig. 4. The accommodation space 61a is an example of the accommodation space.

[0035] 5(a) and (b), the interior cover 6 is formed with a partially recessed handle recess 62. The handle recess 62 has a shape corresponding to the shape of the handle recess 52 of the exterior cover 5, and in the opening / closing cover 45, the handle recess 62 of the interior cover 6 is positioned adjacent to the handle recess 52 of the exterior cover 5, as shown in FIG.

[0036] 5(a), the interior cover 6 has a reinforcing rib 63 that protrudes toward the exterior cover 5. The reinforcing rib 63 is formed on the back surface 6b side of the interior cover 6. In other words, the reinforcing rib 63 is formed on the surface of the interior cover 6 that faces the exterior cover 5. The reinforcing rib 63 can increase the rigidity of the interior cover 6. The reinforcing rib 63 is an example of a reinforcing rib.

[0037] Here, as described above, the interior cover 6 is located inside the opening / closing cover 45 and opens and closes together with the exterior cover 5. The interior cover 6 is also located so as to connect the handles 452 of the opening / closing cover 45 shown in Fig. 4, more specifically, the handle recesses 52 shown in Fig. 5 to each other. In other words, the handle recesses 62 of the interior cover 6 are located between the pair of handle recesses 52 of the exterior cover 5, and receive the load when the handle recesses 62 are pressed inward. This improves the rigidity of opening / closing cover 45, and makes it possible to suppress deformation of opening / closing cover 45 due to an external force acting on handle 452 when opening opening / closing cover 45. A user can easily open opening / closing cover 45 with one hand by placing a hand on either one of the pair of handles 452.

[0038] 4, the storage recess 61 of the interior cover 6 is located closer to the handle 452 than the rotation center 46 is in the intersecting direction that intersects with the rotation center 46. In other words, when the opening / closing cover 45 is opened, the storage recess 61 is located away from the rotation center 46 and close to the user. Although a configuration in which accommodating recess 61 is provided at a position close to rotation center 46 may be adopted, in the case of this embodiment, cleaning rod 8 accommodated in accommodating recess 61 can be easily removed.

[0039] As shown in FIG. 4, at least a part of the accommodating recess 61 is located in a region R sandwiched or surrounded by the pair of handles 452 (see the shaded region). A configuration in which the accommodating recess 61 is located in an area other than area R may be adopted, but in the case of this embodiment, the rigidity of the handle 452 can be improved by the uneven shape of the accommodating recess 61 without providing a rib.

[0040] 4, interior cover 6 is positioned away from rotation center 46 and toward handle 452 in the cross direction. A configuration may be adopted in which the rigidity of opening / closing cover 45 is increased by making interior cover 6 the same as exterior cover 5 in the cross direction, but in this embodiment, the amount of material used for interior cover 6 can be reduced by making interior cover 6 smaller.

[0041] [Explanation of cleaning stick 8] FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating the cleaning rod 8. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the cleaning rod 8 comprises an elongated portion 81 having a flat surface 81a, a gripping portion 82 formed at one end of the elongated portion 81, the other end 83 of the elongated portion 81, and a nonwoven cleaning portion 84 provided on the flat surface 81a of the elongated portion 81. In this embodiment, the cleaning portion 84 is not provided along the long portion 81, but is provided at three locations, including one location at the other end 83, spaced apart from one another.

[0042] [Configuration of exterior cover 5] FIG. 7 is a rear view of the exterior cover 5 as seen from the rear surface 5b. 7, the exterior cover 5 has a strap attachment portion 53 on the back surface 5b for attaching an end of the strap 48 (see FIG. 4). In addition, as described above, the exterior cover 5 has a boss 54 on the back surface 5b for attaching the interior cover 6. Furthermore, the exterior cover 5 has reinforcing ribs 55 on the rear surface 5b for connecting the strap attachment portions 53 and the bosses 54 to each other for reinforcement.

[0043] The strap attachment portion 53, the boss 54, and the reinforcing rib 55 are all located on the periphery, not the center, of the back surface 5b of the exterior cover 5. This makes it possible to prevent sink marks from having a significant effect on product quality even if they occur on the front surface 5a side of the exterior cover 5. When there is a risk of sink marks occurring on the peripheral edge of the exterior cover 5, the peripheral edge may be subjected to an embossing process, that is, a process for providing a wrinkled pattern.

[0044] [Configuration of interior cover 6] Fig. 8 is a view of the interior cover 6 as seen from the front surface 6a, with (a) being a front view and (b) and (c) being perspective views of (a) partially enlarged. More specifically, (b) is an enlarged perspective view showing the periphery of the cutout portion 61d together with the cleaning rod 8, and (c) is an enlarged perspective view showing the periphery of the cutout portion 61e together with the cleaning rod 8. Fig. 9 is a rear view of the interior cover 6 as seen from the rear surface 6b. 8(a) and 9, the interior cover 6 has a longitudinal direction X2 and a lateral direction Y2, and the accommodating recess 61 is formed utilizing the longitudinal direction X2. This makes it possible to accommodate a long member. The longitudinal direction X2 is the same direction as the direction in which the rotation center 46 (see FIG. 3, for example) extends, and the lateral direction Y2 is the direction intersecting the rotation center 46 or the same direction as the intersecting direction. The longitudinal direction X2 is an example of a longitudinal direction, and the transverse direction Y2 is an example of a transverse direction.

[0045] As shown in FIG. 8(a), the storage space 61a of the storage recess 61 includes a first storage space 61b that corresponds to the outer shape of the cleaning rod 8 (see FIG. 6) and a second storage space 61c that is used when storing and removing the cleaning rod 8. The first storage space 61b is formed so that the space extends in the same direction as the longitudinal direction X2. The second storage space 61c extends widely in the short direction Y2 at the middle position of the first storage space 61b. More specifically, the second storage space 61c is located not in the center of the first storage space 61b but toward one end. The bottom surface of the second accommodating space 61c is formed deeper than the bottom surface of the first accommodating space 61b, which allows the cleaning rod 8 to be pinched when removing it, making it easier to remove the cleaning rod 8.

[0046] 8(a) and 9, the storage recess 61 has cutouts 61d and 61e formed at both ends of the first storage space 61b. The length between the cutouts 61d and 61e is shorter than the overall length of the cleaning rod 8. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 8(b) and 8(c), both ends of the cleaning rod 8 inserted into the first storage space 61b of the storage space 61a from the front surface 6a side pass through the cutouts 61d and 61e and are positioned on the side (back surface 6b) opposite to the front surface 6a. That is, the cleaning rod 8 is stored in the storage recess 61 by passing the gripping portion 82 through the cutout 61d and the other end 83 through the cutout 61e while bending the cleaning rod 8. This makes it possible to prevent the cleaning rod 8 from falling out of the first accommodating space 61b without providing a separate member for holding the cleaning rod 8 accommodated in the accommodating recess 61. Furthermore, the cleaning rod 8 can be easily accommodated and removed.

[0047] In Fig. 8(b), the cleaning rod 8 is housed in the housing recess 61 so that the nonwoven fabric cleaning part 84 is visible, but the position is not limited to this. In the position shown in Fig. 8(b), it is easy to check the degree of dirt on the cleaning part 84, but there is a risk of toner stains due to the opening and closing of the open-close cover 45. If the cleaning rod 8 is housed in a position that does not allow the nonwoven fabric cleaning part 84 to be seen, it is not possible to check the degree of dirt on the cleaning part 84 just by opening the open-close cover 45, but toner stains due to the opening and closing of the open-close cover 45 are reduced.

[0048] As described above, the reinforcing rib 63 is formed on the back surface 6b of the interior cover 6, and is formed in a direction different from the longitudinal direction X2, i.e., a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction X2, as shown in Fig. 9. The reinforcing rib 63 according to this embodiment can more effectively suppress twisting of the interior cover 6 due to an external force and can increase rigidity than when the reinforcing rib 63 is formed in the same direction as the longitudinal direction X2.

[0049] As shown in FIG. 8(a), the interior cover 6 has, on its surface 6a, an attachment portion 64 for attaching the iron plate member 451, an attachment portion 65 for attaching the interlock component 91, and an attachment portion 66 for attaching the hard key 92.

[0050] [Explanation of hard key 92] 10 is a diagram for explaining the function of the hard key 92, where (a) shows a state in which the hard key 92 is not interfering with the rotary handle 24, and (b) shows a state in which the hard key 92 is interfering with the rotary handle 24. For ease of explanation, the opening / closing cover 45 is omitted from FIG. 10. As described above, the hard key 92 is attached to the opening and closing cover 45, and the rotating handle 24 is attached to the image forming unit 10 (see FIG. 1) inside the apparatus.

[0051] If no retraction operation is performed using the rotary handle 24, when attempting to raise the opening / closing cover 45, as shown in FIG. 10(a), the hard key 92 does not interfere with the rotary handle 24, and the opening / closing cover 45 can be closed. On the other hand, when a retraction operation is performed using the rotary handle 24, as shown in Fig. 10(b), even if an attempt is made to raise the opening / closing cover 45, the hard key 92 overlaps and interferes with the rotary handle 24 in the depth direction (Z1 direction in Fig. 2), making it impossible to close the opening / closing cover 45. This makes it possible to prevent the image forming apparatus from operating if the opening / closing cover 45 is closed during retraction.

[0052] Incidentally, a retraction operation is performed when the image forming apparatus 1 is shipped, in order to reduce the effects of vibration, shaking, and the like during transportation. For this reason, at the time of product shipment, the hard key 92 is attached by a rotating shaft 92a so that the position of the hard key 92 relative to the opening / closing cover 45 can be changed so that the opening / closing cover 45 can be closed without the hard key 92 interfering with the rotating handle 24 even if the retraction operation is performed.

[0053] [The significance of making the opening / closing cover 45 a double structure] Here, there will be explained the significance of forming the opening / closing cover 45 into a double structure with the outer cover 5 and the inner cover 6. As will be explained below, there are several such significances.

[0054] [First meaning] Conventionally, reinforcing ribs have been provided to increase the rigidity of exterior covers, but this can lead to sink marks on the surface of the exterior cover, which can cause deterioration in appearance. If an exterior cover with such poor appearance is used in a product, it may lead to a deterioration in product quality, which is not preferable. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a storage section that forms a storage space by protruding toward the exterior cover 5 is provided in the interior cover 6, and the interior cover 6 is attached to the exterior cover 5 to form a double-structure opening / closing cover 45, thereby increasing rigidity while preventing deterioration of appearance due to sink marks and suppressing deterioration of the product quality of the image forming device 1.

[0055] Additionally, it is preferable to provide the interior cover 6 with reinforcing ribs 63 to make it a structural member, and to provide the exterior cover 5 with no reinforcing ribs or the like to make it a decorative member. However, if reinforcing ribs 55 or bosses 54 are provided, the reinforcing ribs can be positioned on the periphery rather than the center to ensure rigidity while preventing deterioration of appearance.

[0056] [Second Meaning] Furthermore, the exterior cover is a member that is opened and closed during maintenance work. For example, when the exterior cover is used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, if there is a reinforcing rib in the area where toner cleaning is performed, it becomes difficult to perform toner cleaning. Therefore, in this embodiment, the reinforcing ribs are provided on the surface of the interior cover 6 facing the exterior cover 5, rather than on the surface of the opening / closing cover 45 facing the housing 44 of the image forming device 1, thereby increasing rigidity while making it easier to clean the toner.

[0057] [Third meaning] In some cases, a product is completed by attaching an exterior cover whose configuration changes according to the product specifications to the product. In such cases, since the exterior cover cannot be shared, it is necessary to design and manufacture an exterior cover for each product specification separately, manage it as inventory, and create and manage a manufacturing manual, making it difficult to reduce manufacturing costs.

[0058] The image forming apparatus 1 of this embodiment has four image forming units 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K, and is configured to form a color image using yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) toner images (see FIG. 1), but is not limited to this and can also be configured to have only one image forming unit 11K and form a black and white image using a black (K) toner image.

[0059] When the shape of the above-mentioned rotating handle 24 for performing the retraction operation differs between a configuration having four image forming units 11Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a "color image forming configuration") and a configuration having only one image forming unit 11K (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a "black and white image forming configuration"), the shape of the hard key 92 that interferes with the rotating handle 24 will differ. Also, the length of the cleaning rod 8 (for example, see FIG. 5) may differ between the color image forming configuration and the black and white image forming configuration. In order to accommodate components having different shapes for the color image forming configuration and the black-and-white image forming configuration, it is necessary to carry out design, manufacturing, inventory management, etc. for two types of components.

[0060] Furthermore, when the image forming device 1 is manufactured as a product of another company's brand, the exterior design is designed based on the specifications of that company, and therefore the exterior parts of the image forming device 1 may be changed for each exterior design. Therefore, there are a large number of combinations of the above-mentioned color / black and white and exterior designs, and design, manufacturing, inventory management, etc. are performed for each combination, making it difficult to reduce manufacturing costs.

[0061] Therefore, in this embodiment, two types of interior covers 6 are provided, one for color image formation and the other for black and white image formation, and the exterior cover 5 is made changeable according to the exterior design, thereby accommodating a wide variety of opening / closing covers 45.

[0062] More specifically, the shape of the mounting portion 66 (FIG. 8(a)) of the interior cover 6 differs between the color image forming configuration and the monochrome image forming configuration. Also, if the length of the cleaning rod 8 (see FIG. 5, for example) housed in the housing recess 61 of the interior cover 6 differs between the color image forming configuration and the monochrome image forming configuration, the shape of the housing recess 61 (FIG. 8(a)) of the interior cover 6 will differ. Therefore, two types of interior covers 6 are prepared, one for the color image forming configuration and one for the monochrome image forming configuration. Furthermore, the exterior cover 5 located on the front side of the image forming apparatus 1 can be changed according to the exterior design, regardless of whether the image forming apparatus is configured for color image formation or monochrome image formation.

[0063] In this way, the interior covers 6 are classified into types based on the internal configuration or performance of the device, and the exterior covers 5 are designed and manufactured individually based on the exterior design. The interior covers 6 and exterior covers 5 are then screwed together to manufacture the openable cover 45, thereby enabling small-lot production of a wide variety of products.

[0064] [Various modified examples] Next, various modifications are possible for the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, examples of which will be described below as various modifications. FIG. 11 is a rear view of the interior cover 6 illustrating the accommodating recess 61 according to a modified example, as viewed from the rear surface 6b of the interior cover 6, and corresponds to FIG. 9 of the present embodiment. 11 is formed to extend in a direction different from the longitudinal direction X2. That is, the accommodating recess 61 according to the modification extends in a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction X2, which differs from the present embodiment in that the accommodating recess 61 extends in the same direction as the longitudinal direction X2.

[0065] 11, the reinforcing ribs 63 extend in a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction X2, and the accommodating recess 61 is located between the reinforcing ribs 63. Therefore, the accommodating recess 61 can function as a reinforcing rib, and by omitting the reinforcing rib, it is possible to reduce the amount of molding material used. As shown in FIG. 11, the extending direction of the reinforcing ribs 63 is not the same as the extending direction of the accommodating recess 61, but the extending direction of the reinforcing ribs 63 and the extending direction of the accommodating recess 61 may be the same.

[0066] Fig. 12 is a rear view of opening / closing cover 45 according to the modified example, and corresponds to Fig. 4 in the present embodiment. Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XIII-XIII in Fig. 12. 12, the opening / closing cover 45 according to the modified example has a structure for attaching the strap 48 which is different from that of the present embodiment. That is, the modified example has a structure for attaching the strap 48 to the interior cover 6, which is different from the present embodiment in that the strap 48 is attached to the exterior cover 5.

[0067] More specifically, the interior cover 6 shown in Fig. 12 has an extension 67 that extends to the attachment position of the strap 48. This eliminates the need to form a strap attachment portion 53 (see Fig. 7) for attaching the strap 48 in the exterior cover 5, and prevents sink marks from occurring on the surface 5a of the exterior cover 5. Also, by adopting a structure in which the strap 48 is attached to the interior cover 6, which has higher rigidity than the exterior cover 5, it becomes possible to attach the strap 48 to the opening and closing cover 45 more firmly.

[0068] 13, the second housing space 61c of the housing recess 61 protruding from the interior cover 6 toward the exterior cover 5 is in contact with the exterior cover 5. The exterior cover 5 and the interior cover 6 are fixed to each other at this position with a mounting screw 453. That is, in this modified example, the bottom surface of the housing recess 61 is in contact with the boss 54 of the exterior cover 5, and a configuration is adopted in which it can be fixed with a screw. This makes it possible for the exterior cover 5 to be reinforced by the interior cover 6.

[0069] Unlike the other mounting screws 453 (see FIG. 4), the screw fastening position is not on the peripheral portion of the interior cover 6, so that the intervals between the mounting screws 453 are shorter, and the exterior cover 5 and the interior cover 6 can be more firmly integrated together with the other mounting screws 453. When such a screw fastening configuration is adopted, it is possible to reduce the number of mounting screws 453 while ensuring the necessary rigidity, and the workability of assembling the opening / closing cover 45 can be improved. The second housing space 61c is an example of a portion that protrudes toward the outer opening / closing member. Although the structure shown in FIG. 13 is described as a modified example, it is also possible to apply this structure to this embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0070] 1...image forming apparatus, 5...exterior cover, 5b...rear side, 6...interior cover, 7...accommodating section, 8...cleaning rod, 10...image forming section, 45...opening cover, 46...rotation center, 48...strap, 61...accommodating recess, 61a...accommodating space, 61c...second accommodating space, 63...reinforcing rib, 452...handle, X2...longitudinal direction, Y2...transverse direction

Claims

1. an outer opening / closing member that constitutes a part of the outer surface of the image forming apparatus and that is openable and closable to expose the inside of the image forming apparatus when it is open; an inner opening / closing member that is located on the inner side of the outer opening / closing member, has an opposing surface that faces the interior, and can be opened and closed together with the outer opening / closing member; a storage section that forms a first storage section by protruding from the opposing surface toward the outer opening / closing member, and forms a second storage section by protruding from the opposing surface toward the outer opening / closing member further than the first storage section, from which members stored in the first storage section and the second storage section can be removed when the outer opening / closing member and the inner opening / closing member are opened; An opening / closing member of an image forming apparatus comprising:

2. The inner opening and closing member has a longitudinal direction and a lateral direction, The storage portion is formed by utilizing the longitudinal direction of the inner opening and closing member.

2. The opening and closing member of an image forming apparatus according to claim 1.

3. The housing portion is formed such that the first housing portion extends in the same direction as the longitudinal direction.

3. The opening and closing member of an image forming apparatus according to claim 2.

4. The housing portion is located toward one end in the longitudinal direction of the first housing portion.

4. The opening and closing member of an image forming apparatus according to claim 3.

Images