Image formation device

Abstract

To provide an image formation device capable of surely preventing overturn by a simple method.SOLUTION: There is provided an image formation device in which an image formation unit is mounted on a plurality of paper feeders connected to each other by a connection mechanism in a vertical direction, wherein the connection mechanism 9 includes: engagement pieces 11 provided on a top plate 5X of the paper feeders 5U; a through hole 21 that is provided on bottom plates 5Y of the paper feeders 5U, and through which the engagement pieces 11 penetrate; arms 41F and 41R which are provided on the bottom plate 5Y of the paper feeders 5U, and are movable between a connection position engaged with the engagement pieces 11 penetrating through the through hole 21 and an open position separated from the engagement pieces 11; biasing members 43F and 43R for biasing the arms 41F and 41R to the connection position; and a handle 45 for moving the arms 41F and 41R to the open position by being operated by a user.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6C

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus in which an image forming unit is placed on a plurality of paper feeders connected in the vertical direction.

Background Art

[0002] An image forming apparatus in which an image forming unit is placed on a plurality of paper feeders connected in the vertical direction has a predetermined height and further has a center of gravity located upward, so that measures for preventing tipping are required. Conventionally, since the upper and lower paper feeders were fixed to each other with screws via a connecting member, there has been a problem of poor workability.

[0003] As a measure for preventing tipping, the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is provided with a locking portion that is disposed with a predetermined gap upward with respect to the base of the main body portion (corresponding to the image forming unit) on the paper feeder and restricts the upward movement of the main body portion with respect to the paper feeder. In this anti-tipping measure, since the main body portion moves with respect to the paper feeder within the range of the gap, it is said that vibrations applied from the outside are absorbed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, in the image forming apparatus of Patent Document 1, the locking portion is rotated by manually operating a lever to a regulation position for restricting the upward movement of the main body portion and a release position for releasing the regulation. For this reason, when the locking portions are provided at a plurality of locations or the number of paper feeders is large, there is a problem that workability deteriorates.

[0006] Therefore, in view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can surely prevent falls in a simple manner.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] To achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus of the present invention includes an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet, and a plurality of paper feeders that supply the sheet to the image forming unit. The image forming unit is placed on the plurality of paper feeders that are vertically connected by a connecting mechanism. The connecting mechanism includes an engaging piece provided on the top plate of the paper feeder, a through hole provided on the bottom plate of the paper feeder and penetrated by the engaging piece provided on the top plate of the lower paper feeder when the upper paper feeder is placed on the lower paper feeder, a connecting position provided on the bottom plate of the paper feeder and engaged with the engaging piece penetrating the through hole when the upper paper feeder is placed on the lower paper feeder, an arm movable between the connecting position and an open position spaced apart from the engaging piece, a biasing member that biases the arm to the connecting position, and a handle that is operated by a user to move the arm to the open position. The arm moves to the open position against the biasing force of the biasing member when the handle is operated by the user before connecting the paper feeders, and moves to the closed position biased by the biasing member when the user releases the hand from the handle after the upper paper feeder is placed on the lower paper feeder.

[0008] In the present invention, the handle is operated by being gripped by the user when moving the paper feeder to move the arm to the open position, and the arm is biased by the biasing member to move to the closed position when the user releases the hand after the upper paper feeder is placed on the lower paper feeder.

[0009] In the present invention, the engaging piece has a through hole along the horizontal direction, the arm has a pin inserted into the through hole of the engaging piece, and in the closed position, the pin is inserted into the through hole of the engaging piece, so that the paper feeders are connected in the vertical direction. In the open position, the pin is separated from the through hole of the engaging piece, so that the vertical connection of the paper feeders is released. This may be a feature.

[0010] In the present invention, the connecting mechanism may be characterized in that it can connect the image forming unit and the uppermost paper feeder.

[0011] According to the present invention, when the handle operated by the user moves, the arm and the engaging piece are connected, and the upper and lower paper feeders are maintained inseparable. Therefore, even when the image forming apparatus is tilted, the image forming apparatus can be prevented from falling.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0012]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5A

Figure 5B

Figure 6A

Figure 6B

Figure 6C

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0013] Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

[0014] First, with reference to FIG. 1, the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described. FIG. 1 is a front view showing the image forming apparatus 1. Fr, Rr, L, R, U, and Lo shown in each figure indicate the front side, rear side, left side, right side, upper side, and lower side of the image forming apparatus 1, respectively.

[0015] The image forming apparatus 1 includes a tandem type image forming unit 3 that forms an image on paper, and a plurality (in this example, four) of paper feeders 5 that supply paper to the image forming unit 3. The paper feeder 5 is prepared separately from the image forming apparatus 1 as an optional device. The four paper feeders 5 are stacked in the vertical direction. The lower paper feeder 5 and the upper paper feeder 5 are connected to each other by a connection mechanism 9 (not shown in FIG. 1, see FIG. 2, etc.).

[0016] Note that the lowermost paper feeder 5 is connected to a dedicated stand 7 provided with casters and support means for stabilizing the installation state. By connecting the lowermost paper feeder 5 to the dedicated stand 7, the image forming apparatus 1 is easy to move and difficult to topple over. Further, the image forming unit 3 is of a tandem type and has a longer length in the depth direction (front-rear direction) than in the width direction (left-right direction). For this reason, when the image forming apparatus 1 is tilted at a predetermined angle (for example, 14 degrees) in the front-rear direction, the center of gravity of the image forming apparatus 1 is within the projection range of the image forming apparatus 1 on the floor surface, and it is difficult to topple over in the front-rear direction. On the other hand, when the image forming apparatus 1 is tilted at a predetermined angle (for example, 14 degrees) in the left-right direction, the center of gravity of the image forming apparatus 1 is outside the projection range of the image forming apparatus 1 on the floor surface. For this reason, the connecting mechanism 9 of the present embodiment prevents toppling by making it impossible to separate the upper and lower paper feeders 5 when tilted in the left-right direction.

[0017] The connecting mechanism 9 includes a left connecting mechanism that connects the left end portions of the upper and lower paper feeders 5 to each other, and a right connecting mechanism that connects the right end portions to each other. Both connecting mechanisms have the same configuration.

[0018] Next, the connecting mechanism 9 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the right connecting mechanism 9. The right connecting mechanism 9 includes two front and rear engaging pieces 11 formed at the front right corner and the rear right corner of the top plate 5X of the lower paper feeder 5L, and an assembly 15 formed on the bottom plate 5Y of the upper paper feeder 5U and engaged with and disengaged from the two engaging pieces 11. The left connecting mechanism 9 (not shown) includes two front and rear engaging pieces 11 formed at the front left corner and the rear left corner of the top plate 5X of the lower paper feeder 5L, and an assembly 15 formed on the bottom plate 5Y of the upper paper feeder 5U and engaged with and disengaged from the two engaging pieces 11.

[0019] First, the lower paper feeder 5(5L) will be described with reference to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the paper feeder 5L. The engaging pieces 11 are erected at the four corners (front right corner, rear right corner, front left corner, rear left corner) of the top plate 5X of the paper feeder 5L. The engaging piece 11 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a circular through-hole 13 penetrating in the horizontal front-rear direction is formed at the same height position.

[0020] Next, the upper paper feeder 5(5U) will be described with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional perspective view showing the right end portion of the paper feeder 5U. Through-holes 21 (only two of the front right corner and the rear right corner are shown in FIG. 4) are formed at the four corners (front right corner, rear right corner, front left corner, rear left corner) of the bottom plate 5Y of the paper feeder 5U. The through-hole 21 has a dimension through which the engaging piece 11 (see FIG. 3) of the lower paper feeder 5L can penetrate. Further, a central opening 23 is formed in the middle of the front and rear through-holes 21. The central opening 23 has a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction. The central opening 23 communicates with notches 25 formed in the left and right side plates 5Z of the paper feeder 5. The user's hand is inserted into the notch 25 when lifting the paper feeder 5.

[0021] Furthermore, on the upper surface of the bottom plate 5Y, on both sides in the front-rear direction of the central opening 23, a first guide protrusion 27, a second guide protrusion 29, and two third guide protrusions 31 are erected respectively. The first guide protrusion 27 has a plate shape perpendicular to the upper surface of the bottom plate 5Y and is disposed between the central opening 23 and the through hole 21. The second guide protrusion 29 has a plate shape perpendicular to the upper surface of the bottom plate 5Y and is disposed along the outer edge (outer edge in the front-rear direction) of the through hole 21. The second guide protrusion 29 is arranged side by side with the first guide protrusion 27 in the front-rear direction. A circular through hole 33 penetrating in the front-rear direction is formed in the second guide protrusion 29. The two third guide protrusions 31 are disposed at a predetermined interval in the front-rear direction on the outer sides in the left-right direction of the first guide protrusion 27 and the second guide protrusion 29. Specifically, one third guide protrusion 31 is disposed between the first guide protrusion 27 and the central opening 23, and the other third guide protrusion 31 is disposed at the same position as the through hole 21 and the second guide protrusion 29 in the front-rear direction. The third guide protrusion 31 has two protruding pieces 35 disposed at a predetermined interval in the left-right direction. The two protruding pieces 35 have a leg portion that stands vertically from the bottom plate 5Y and a tip portion that bends so as to face each other from the leg portion.

[0022] Furthermore, on the upper surface of the bottom plate 5Y, inside the central opening 23 in the left-right direction (opposite side of the side plate 5Z), a guide wall 37 is formed along the side edge of the central opening 23.

[0023] Next, referring to FIG. 2 again, the assembly 15 will be described. The assembly 15 is composed of front and rear arms 41F, 41R (referred to as the arm 41 when collectively referred to), front and rear coil springs 43F, 43R (referred to as the coil spring 43 when collectively referred to), and a handle 45 provided between the front and rear arms 41F, 41R.

[0024] The arm 41 will be described with reference to FIG. 5A. FIG. 5A is a perspective view showing the arm 41. The arm 41 has a rectangular plate shape, and its lower surface is formed flat. An end wall 51 is erected on the upper surface of one end of the arm 41 in the longitudinal direction. A rib 53 is formed between the outer surface of the end wall 51 and the upper surface of the arm 41, and the end wall 51 is reinforced by the rib 53. A columnar pin 55 extending in the longitudinal direction of the arm 41 is erected on the inner surface of the end wall 51. At the other end of the arm 41 in the longitudinal direction, a square tube-shaped portion 57 extending in the vertical direction is formed. The lower surface 57a of the tip of the square tube-shaped portion 57 is inclined upward in a direction opposite to the end wall 51. A guide groove 59 is formed along the longitudinal direction between the end wall 51 and the square tube-shaped portion 57.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 2, the front and rear arms 41F and 41R are arranged along the front-rear direction between the central opening 23 on the upper surface of the bottom plate 5Y and the front-rear through holes 21 with the square tube-shaped portions 57 facing each other. The arm 41 is arranged between the two protruding pieces 35 of the third guide protrusion 31 (see FIG. 4), and the first guide protrusion 27 and the second guide protrusion 29 are inserted into the guide groove 59. Thereby, the arm 41 is guided by the first, second, and third guide protrusions 27, 29, and 31 and can move along the front-rear direction on the bottom plate 5Y. Also, the upward movement is restricted by the tip portions of the two protruding pieces 35 of the third guide protrusion 31.

[0026] When the front and rear arms 41F and 41R move in the direction approaching the central opening 23 most, the pin 55 of the end wall 51 penetrates through the through hole 33 of the second guide protrusion 29 and protrudes inward.

[0027] Next, the coil spring 43 will be described. The coil spring 43 is arranged between the square tube-shaped portion 57 of the arm 41 and the first guide protrusion 27 of the bottom plate 5Y. The coil spring 43 biases the square tube-shaped portion 57, that is, the arm 41, in the direction approaching the central opening 23 with respect to the first guide protrusion 27.

[0028] Next, the handle 45 will be described with reference to FIG. 5B. FIG. 5B is a perspective view showing the handle 45. The handle 45 has a concave portion 61 that is recessed upward, and a plate-like portion 63 provided on one side surface of the concave portion 61. The upper surface of the concave portion 61 has a central flat surface 61a and inclined surfaces 61b that are inclined downward from both ends of the flat surface 61a. The angle of the inclined surface 61b with respect to the horizontal plane is equal to the angle of the lower surface 57a of the square tubular portion 57 of the arm 41 with respect to the horizontal plane.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 2, the handle 45 is disposed between the side plate 5Z and the guide wall 37 on the bottom plate 5Y. The concave portion 61 overlaps the central opening 23 of the bottom plate 5Y and enters the notch 25 of the side plate 5Z. The plate-like portion 63 is in contact with the inner surface of the side plate 5Z. Also, the two inclined surfaces 61b of the concave portion 61 are in contact with the lower surfaces 57a of the square tubular portions 57 of the front and rear arms 41F, 41R.

[0030] Regarding the operation in which the upper and lower paper feeders 5U and 5L are connected by the connecting mechanism 9 having the above configuration, it will be described with reference to FIGS. 6A to 6C. FIGS. 6A to 6C are cross-sectional views showing the connecting mechanism 9.

[0031] When the paper feeder 5 is not stacked and exists alone, as shown in FIG. 2, the front and rear arms 41F, 41R are biased by the front and rear coil springs 43F, 43R and move in a direction approaching the central opening 23, and the pin 55 of the arm 41 penetrates the through hole 33 of the second guide projection 29.

[0032] When connecting the paper feeder 5 in the vertical direction, first, the user inserts both hands into the left and right notches 25 of the paper feeder 5U placed on the upper side and lifts the paper feeder 5U. Since the concave portion 61 of the handle 45 enters the notch 25, when the user puts a hand into the notch 25 and lifts the paper feeder 5U as it is, the handle 45 is lifted within the notch 25.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 6A, when the handle 45 is lifted (see arrow A1), the inclined surface 61b of the concave portion 61 of the handle 45 presses the lower surface 57a of the square tube-shaped portions 57 of the front and rear arms 41F and 41R, and the front and rear arms 41F and 41R move in a direction away from the central opening 23 (see arrow A2). At this time, the front and rear arms 41F and 41R are guided in the front-rear direction by the first, second, and third guide protrusions 27, 29, and 31. When the front and rear arms 41F and 41R move in a direction away from the central opening 23 in this way, the end walls 51 of the front and rear arms 41F and 41R are separated outward from the third guide protrusion 31. As a result, the pin 55 of the end wall 51 is accommodated in the through hole 33 of the second guide protrusion 29 without protruding from the through hole 33.

[0034] Thereafter, the user places the upper paper feeder 5U on the upper surface of the lower paper feeder 5L while inserting a hand into the notch 25 of the paper feeder 5. At this time, the engaging piece 11 of the lower paper feeder 5L is inserted into the through hole 21 of the upper paper feeder 5U. When the upper paper feeder 5U is placed on the upper surface of the lower paper feeder 5L, as shown in FIG. 6B, the engaging piece 11 of the lower paper feeder 5L penetrates the through hole 21 of the upper paper feeder 5U and protrudes above the bottom plate 5Y of the upper paper feeder 5. As a result, the engaging piece 11 is aligned with the second guide protrusion 29 of the bottom plate 5Y in the front-rear direction, and the through hole 13 of the engaging piece 11 and the through hole 33 of the second guide protrusion 29 are aligned in the front-rear direction.

[0035] Thereafter, when the user releases the hands from both notches 25, that is, releases the hands from both handles 45, as shown in FIG. 6C, the handle 45 descends onto the bottom plate 5Y (see arrow A3), and the front and rear arms 41F and 41R are biased by the front and rear coil springs 43F and 43R and move in a direction approaching the central opening 23 (see arrow A4). As a result, the end wall 51 of the arm 41 moves inward, and the pin 55 of the end wall 51 protrudes inward through the through hole 33 of the second guide protrusion 29 and is inserted into the through hole 13 of the engaging piece 11. As a result, the upper and lower paper feeders 5U and 5L are connected.

[0036] Since the paper feeders 5 are connected vertically in this way, even if the image forming apparatus 1 is tilted, the paper feeders 5 do not move apart vertically. Since the upper and lower paper feeders 5U and 5L cannot move apart in this way, the image forming apparatus 1 is prevented from tipping over.

[0037] On the other hand, when lifting the upper paper feeder 5U from the lower paper feeder 5L, the user first inserts both hands into the two cutouts 25 of both side plates 5Z of the upper paper feeder 5U and lifts it. Then, the handle 45 is lifted. When the handle 45 is lifted, the lower surfaces 57a of the square tube portions 57 of the front and rear arms 41F and 41R are pushed by the inclined surfaces 61b of the concave portions 61 of the handle 45, and the front and rear arms 41F and 41R move in a direction away from the central opening 23 against the biasing forces of the front and rear coil springs 43F and 43R. As a result, the pins 55 on the end walls 51 of the front and rear arms 41F and 41R come out of the through holes 13 of the engaging pieces 11 (see FIG. 6B), so the connection between the upper and lower paper feeders 5U and 5L is released. In this way, the arm 41 is movable between a connection position (see FIG. 6C) where it engages with the engaging piece 11 passing through the through hole 21 when the upper paper feeder 5U is placed on the lower paper feeder 5L and an open position (see FIGS. 6A and 6B) where it is separated from the engaging piece 11. Also, the coil spring 43 is an example of a biasing member that biases the arm 41 to the connection position in the present invention.

[0038] As described above, according to the present invention, since the upper and lower paper feeders 5U and 5L are maintained unable to move apart by the connection mechanism 9, even when the image forming apparatus 1 is tilted, the image forming apparatus 1 can be prevented from tipping over.

[0039] In particular, insert a hand into the notch 25 of the side plate 5Z to lift the paper feeder 5, place the lifted paper feeder 5 on the lower paper feeder 5, and then release the hand from the notch 25. By doing so, the paper feeder 5 is automatically connected vertically by the connecting mechanism 9. On the other hand, when separating the upper paper feeder 5U from the lower paper feeder 5L, insert both hands into both notches 25 of the upper paper feeder 5U and lift it. Then, the connection between the upper and lower paper feeders 5 is automatically released. Therefore, there is no need to perform a special operation to connect and disconnect the paper feeder 5.

[0040] Specifically, the pin 55 of the arm 41 and the engaging piece 11 are engaged or disengaged by the movement of the handle 45 interlocking with the operation of inserting a hand into the notch 25 of the paper feeder 5 and the operation of releasing the hand from the notch 25.

[0041] However, the handle 45 may be arranged at a position different from the notch 25 and provided to move the arm 41 between the closed position and the open position without interlocking with the operation of inserting a hand into the notch 25 and the operation of releasing the hand from the notch 25. In this case, when connecting and disconnecting the upper and lower paper feeders 5, the handle 45 is operated to move the arm 41 between the closed position and the open position.

[0042] Also, the image forming unit 3 and the uppermost paper feeder 5 may be connected by the connecting mechanism 9. In this case, a through hole, a central opening, first, second, and third guide protrusions, and a guide wall as described in the figure may be formed on the bottom plate of the image forming unit 3, and the assembly 15 may be supported as described above.

[0043] Although the present invention has been described with respect to specific embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. The above embodiments may be variously modified, substituted, and deformed without departing from the scope and gist of the present invention, and the claims include all embodiments that can be included within the scope of the technical idea.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0044] 1 Image forming apparatus 3 Image forming unit 5(5U, 5L) Paper feeder 9 Connecting mechanism 11 Engaging piece 13 Through hole 21 Through hole 41 Arm 43 Coil spring (biasing member) 45 Handle 55 Pin

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet; and a plurality of paper feeders that supply the sheet to the image forming unit, wherein the image forming unit is placed on the plurality of paper feeders that are vertically connected by a connecting mechanism, wherein the connecting mechanism includes: an engaging piece provided on the top plate of the paper feeder; a through hole provided on the bottom plate of the paper feeder, through which the engaging piece provided on the top plate of the lower paper feeder penetrates when the upper paper feeder is placed on the lower paper feeder; an arm provided on the bottom plate of the paper feeder, which is movable between a connecting position where the arm engages with the engaging piece that has penetrated through the through hole when the upper paper feeder is placed on the lower paper feeder, and an open position where the arm is separated from the engaging piece; a biasing member that biases the arm to the connecting position; and a handle that is operated by a user to move the arm to the open position, wherein the arm moves to the open position against the biasing force of the biasing member when the handle is operated by the user before connecting the paper feeders, and after the upper paper feeder is placed on the lower paper feeder and the user releases the hand from the handle, the arm is biased by the biasing member and moves to the closed position. The image forming apparatus is characterized by this.

2. The handle is operated by being gripped by the user when moving the paper feeder to move the arm to the open position, and after the upper paper feeder is placed on the lower paper feeder and the user releases the hand, the arm is biased by the biasing member and moves to the closed position. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 is characterized by this.

3. The engaging piece has a through hole along the horizontal direction, the arm has a pin that is inserted into the through hole of the engaging piece, and in the closed position, the pin is inserted into the through hole of the engaging piece, whereby the paper feeders are vertically connected, and in the open position, the pin is separated from the through hole of the engaging piece, whereby the vertical connection of the paper feeders is released. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 is characterized by this.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the connecting mechanism is capable of connecting the image forming unit and the uppermost paper feeder.

Images