Image forming apparatus

Abstract

To more effectively emit light of a light emission diode to the outside from a light guide member provided in an operation section rotatable with respect to a device body.SOLUTION: An operation section 20 includes: a power supply lamp 24a which is turned on, flickered, or turned off according to an operation state; a status lamp substrate 27 which is mounted with the power supply lamp 24a; and a power supply lamp display window 23a which is arranged on an edge closer to a front face side of a device body than a liquid crystal panel 22 and has an emission port for emitting light from the power supply lamp 24a to the outside. The power supply lamp display window 23a is arranged so that a front face has an angle of 45±15 degrees with the liquid crystal panel 22. The emission port of light of the power supply lamp display window 23a faces a light emission surface of the power supply lamp 24a.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, and an image forming apparatus having a combination of these functions. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, the surface of an operation unit used as an input device for an image forming apparatus is provided with a status lamp whose illumination state changes depending on the operating state of the image forming apparatus. The status lamp is configured to illuminate depending on the operating state of the image forming apparatus. The status lamp is composed of multiple lamps, such as a lamp that lights up when the power is on, a lamp that flashes when printing on recording paper, and a lamp that flashes when an error occurs inside the image forming apparatus, such as a paper jam or toner shortage. Therefore, a user of the image forming apparatus can visually check the status lamp without approaching the image forming apparatus. Many status lamps are composed of a board on which light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are mounted. To make it easier for users who are far from the image forming apparatus to check the illumination state of the status lamp, the following image forming apparatus has been proposed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a light-guiding member with a tapered cross section in the direction of light emission of the LED in the operation unit, thereby improving the visibility of the light emitted from the light-guiding member.

[0003] While the image forming apparatus of Patent Document 1 is known, there is also known an image forming apparatus equipped with an operation panel that is rotatable relative to the main body to improve usability (see, for example, Patent Document 2). The light guide member described in Patent Document 1 is preferably provided so that the operation panel is easily visible regardless of the angle at which the operation panel is positioned relative to the main body of the apparatus. In this respect, providing the light guide member of Patent Document 1 in the operation panel described in Patent Document 2 is considered to be a rational design. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-286297 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-109370 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to more effectively emit light from a light-emitting diode to the outside from a light-guiding member provided in an operation unit that is rotatable relative to the device body. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has the following configuration.

[0007] (1) An image forming apparatus having a display screen that switches between multiple screens depending on input information, and a frame body that holds the display screen, and a rotatable operation unit attached to the apparatus body, wherein the operation unit comprises a light-emitting diode that lights up, blinks, or goes out depending on the operating state, a light source board on which the light-emitting diode is mounted, and a light-guiding member that is arranged on the edge of the apparatus body closer to the front side than the display screen and has an outlet for emitting light irradiated from the light-emitting diode to the outside, wherein the light-guiding member is arranged so that the surface of the light-guiding member is at an angle of 45°±15° to the display screen, and the light outlet of the light-guiding member is directly facing the light-emitting surface of the light-emitting diode. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, the light from the light-emitting diode can be more effectively emitted to the outside from the light guide member provided on the operation unit that is rotatable relative to the device body. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1]FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus; [Figure 2] A perspective view showing the configuration of a general operation unit. [Figure 3] Cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a typical operating section, and an enlarged view of the main part [Figure 4] Diagram showing the directional characteristics of a typical LED [Figure 5] Relationship between luminous intensity and luminous flux for a typical LED [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the operation unit in the first and second embodiments. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an operation unit according to the first embodiment; [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration of an operation unit according to a second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0011] (Image forming device) An image forming apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. The up-down direction of the image forming apparatus 100 is the direction indicated by the double-headed arrow Z. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus 100 equipped with a general operation unit. The image forming apparatus 100 includes an image reading device 101, an image forming unit 108, an operation unit 10, sheet storage devices 102, 103, 104, and 105, and an output tray 106. The image reading device 101 is provided above the image forming unit 108 at a predetermined distance. Between the image reading device 101 and the image forming unit 108, an output tray 106 is provided onto which sheets (not shown) are discharged, which are recording materials conveyed from any of the sheet storage devices 102, 103, 104, and 105 and onto which images are formed by the image forming unit 108. The space between the image reading device 101 and the image forming unit 108 is hereinafter referred to as the "internal space." In other words, the output tray 106 is provided inside the body of the image forming apparatus 100. In comparison with a configuration in which the discharge tray is provided on the side of the image forming apparatus, a configuration in which the discharge tray 106 is provided inside the body of the image forming apparatus 100 allows for space saving for the installation location of the image forming apparatus 100.

[0012] The image forming operation in the image forming apparatus 100 is performed as follows. The user inputs various output conditions, such as the number of sheets to be output and the size, into the operation unit 10. The configuration of the operation unit 10 will be described later. When the user inputs via the operation unit 10, for example, the image of a document placed on the image reading device 101 is read by the image reading device 101. The image forming apparatus 100 has a memory unit (not shown), and data of the document image read by the image reading device 101 is stored in the memory unit. Next, sheets are transported one by one to the image forming unit 108 from one of the sheet storage devices 102, 103, 104, and 105, which store sheets matching the paper type, size, etc. specified via the operation unit 10. The image forming unit 108 forms an image on the sheet based on the image data stored in the memory unit, and discharges the sheet to the discharge tray 106. The image forming apparatus 100 also has a control unit (not shown) that controls the series of image forming operations, sheet transport operations, etc. The image forming unit 108 may have a known configuration.

[0013] (Operation unit) Next, the operation unit 10 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the operation unit 10 with a general configuration. The longitudinal and lateral directions of the operation unit 10 are as shown in FIG. 2. The operation unit 10 has a touch panel 11, a liquid crystal panel 12, a display window 13, a numeric keypad 15, a start key 16, and a status lamp board 17 (see FIG. 3(a)). The touch panel 11 is a panel through which information is input by the user touching the panel surface. Hard keys such as the numeric keypad 15 and start key 16 are used as information input means other than the touch panel 11. The liquid crystal panel 12, which serves as the display unit, is provided inside the touch panel 11 and switches between multiple screens depending on the input information. The display window 13 is provided near the liquid crystal panel 12 and has a power lamp display window 13a, an error lamp display window 13b, and a job lamp display window 13c. The display window 13 may be configured as a single component. The operation unit 10 has a controller board (not shown). The controller board controls the light emission of the status lamp board 17, which is a light source board, and controls the switching of the screen display of the liquid crystal panel 12 based on information input from the touch panel 11, etc. The controller board also communicates with the control unit described above.

[0014] Fig. 3(a) is a cross-sectional view of a typical operating unit 10. Fig. 3(a) is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA at the position of the power lamp display window 13a in Fig. 2. In the operating unit 10, the side on which the touch panel 11 (or the liquid crystal panel 12) is provided is referred to as the front side, and the side opposite the side on which the touch panel 11 (or the liquid crystal panel 12) is provided and facing the discharge tray 106 is referred to as the back side.

[0015] A power lamp 14a, which serves as a light source, is located inside the power lamp display window 13a. Although not shown, error lamps and job lamps are also located inside the error lamp display window 13b and job lamp display window 13c, respectively. These lamps are collectively referred to as status lamps. The status lamps are configured to change their state—on, blinking, or off—according to the operating status of the image forming apparatus 100. For example, the power lamp 14a lights up when the image forming apparatus 100 is turned on, and the job lamp blinks while image formation is in progress. The error lamp also blinks to alert the user to issues such as a sheet jam in the image forming apparatus 100, a sheet shortage in at least one of the sheet storage devices 102, 103, 104, and 105, or a toner shortage in the image forming unit 108. Under these settings, light emitted from the status lamps passes through the display window 13 to notify the user of the operating status of the image forming apparatus 100. The light-transmitting display window 13 may be transparent, but may also be colored, and may further contain a diffusing agent that diffuses the light that passes through it.

[0016] LEDs (e.g., Al-Ga-As type) are widely used for status lamps. LEDs can be broadly categorized by the location of light emission: a top-view type in which the semiconductor element is placed on the front of the board and emits light from the front, and a side-view type in which the semiconductor element is placed on the side of the board and emits light from the side. Figure 3 shows a configuration in which a top-view type LED power lamp 14a is mounted on a status lamp board 17.

[0017] The light-emitting characteristics of a typical LED are explained below with reference to Figures 4 and 5. The graph on the right side of Figure 4 shows the directional characteristics of an LED measured under the following conditions: a predetermined ambient temperature (°C) and a predetermined forward current (mA) are applied to the LED. The directional characteristics of an LED refer to the relative light intensity at each scan angle, assuming the LED's peak light emission value to be 100%. The graph on the right side of Figure 4 shows the relative intensity (%) on the horizontal axis and the scan angle (°) on the vertical axis. As shown on the left side of Figure 4, the graph on the right side of Figure 4 shows the directional characteristics obtained for both the short and long scan directions of the LED. As can be seen from Figure 4, the relative intensity of the light emitted by the LED decreases as the scan angle increases from the primary light-emitting direction (near 0°). For example, in the configuration of Figure 3(a), the primary light-emitting direction (hereinafter referred to as the primary light-emitting direction) in which the relative intensity of the LED used in the power lamp 14a is 100% is indicated by the dashed line 14a1, and will be referred to as the primary light-emitting direction 14a1 hereinafter. The angle θ1 formed between the surface of the liquid crystal panel 12 (or touch panel 11) and the main light emission direction 14a is approximately 90 degrees. Therefore, the status lamp board 17 and the touch panel 11 (or liquid crystal panel 12) are parallel to each other.

[0018] Figure 5 is a graph showing the relationship between LED luminous flux and luminous intensity. In Figure 5, the horizontal axis shows LED luminous intensity (unit: candela) and the vertical axis shows LED luminous flux (unit: lumens). Luminous flux, which indicates the brightness of light emitted from a light source, is proportional to luminous intensity, which indicates the brightness of light emitted from the light source in a given direction per unit solid angle. To measure the light-emitting characteristics of such LEDs, measuring equipment is used that complies with the technical report CIE127 Condition B published by the International Commission on Illumination (CIE).

[0019] In recent years, in a configuration in which a discharge tray 106 is provided inside the body of the image forming apparatus 100, the following configuration has become mainstream in order to improve the user's visibility of the sheets output to the discharge tray 106. That is, the mainstream configuration is to integrate the information input means to the operation unit 10 into the touch panel 11 and make the operation unit 10 smaller.

[0020] 3(a), the status lamp board 17 is arranged so that the angle θ1 between the main light emission direction 14a1 of the power lamp 14a and the touch panel 11 (or the liquid crystal panel 12) is approximately a right angle. This results in a configuration in which the power lamp display window 13a covers the vicinity of the power lamp 14a, which creates a problem in that the power lamp display window 13a occupies a large space within the operation unit 10.

[0021] FIG. 3(b) is an enlarged view of the main portion of the vicinity of the power lamp display window 13a in FIG. 3(a). The power lamp display window 13a spans two surfaces: the top surface of the operation unit 10 (the surface facing the touch panel 11 or LCD panel 12) and the side surface of the operation unit 10. The power lamp display window 13a is composed of a window 13a1 visible to the user and a window 13a2 invisible to the user. The window 13a2 invisible to the user covers the power lamp 14a. Furthermore, a rib (not shown) constituting the operation unit 10 may be provided near the window 13a2 invisible to the user. For example, the rib (not shown) may be provided between the window 13a2 invisible to the user and the power lamp 14a, and the rib may cover the power lamp 14a. The status lamp board 17 is provided so that the surface of the window 13a1 visible to the user is approximately perpendicular to the status lamp board 17. That is, the surface of window 13a1 visible to the user and main light emission direction 14a1 of power lamp 14a are approximately parallel. For this reason, in a typical operation unit 10, it is necessary to provide window 13a2 that is invisible to the user in order to guide the light of power lamp 14a to window 13a1 visible to the user, which is one of the factors that hinders miniaturization of operation unit 10. [Example]

[0022] To address the above-described issues, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an operation unit 20 according to first and second embodiments of the present invention, with the longitudinal and lateral directions indicated by double-headed arrows. The operation unit 20 is rotatable relative to the image forming apparatus 100 body. The operation unit 20 includes a touch panel 21, a liquid crystal panel 22 serving as a display screen, and a frame 25 that holds the touch panel 21 and the liquid crystal panel 22. The operation unit 20 includes a display window 23 that is a light-guiding member, and the display window 23 includes a power lamp display window 23a, an error lamp display window 23b, and a job lamp display window 23c. The display window 23 is located closer to the front edge of the image forming apparatus 100 body than the liquid crystal panel 22. The operation unit 20 includes a status lamp board 27 and a support plate 291 that supports the status lamp board 27 (see FIG. 7). The support plate 291 that supports the status lamp board 27 is held by the frame 25. Fig. 7(a) is a cross-sectional view of the operation unit 20 taken along line BB in Fig. 6. Fig. 7(b) is an enlarged view of the portion α enclosed by a broken circle in Fig. 7(a).

[0023] The power lamp display window 23a is positioned so that the angle θ2 (predetermined angle) between the surface 23a1, which is the surface of its light-guiding member, and the touch panel 21 (or the liquid crystal panel 22) is 45°±15°, in other words, less than 90°. The surface 23a1, which is the light exit port of the power lamp display window 23a, faces the light-emitting surface of the power lamp 24a (described later). Note that in FIG. 7, the dashed-dotted line extending from the surface 23a1 is denoted by the symbol 23a1 (the same applies to FIG. 8). Even if the surface 23a1 of the power lamp display window 23a is, for example, a convex or concave surface with a curvature, the line segment connecting the start and end points of the curvature is defined as the surface. Although not shown, the error lamp display window 23b and the job lamp display window 23c have a similar configuration. The display window 23, which is composed of the power lamp display window 23a, the error lamp display window 23b, and the job lamp display window 23c, may be configured as a single component. The light-transmitting display window 23 may be transparent, but may also be colored, and may further contain a diffusing agent that diffuses the light that passes through it.

[0024] A status lamp board 27, which is a light source board on which a power lamp 24a (light source), such as a top-view LED, is mounted, is disposed inside the power lamp display window 23a, which is a light-guiding member. Light emitted from the power lamp 24a is guided to the outside by the power lamp display window 23a. The main light-emitting direction of the power lamp 24a is indicated by a dashed line 24a1, hereinafter referred to as the main light-emitting direction 24a1. The main light-emitting direction 24a1 indicates the center line of the light emitted by the lamp 24a and is the line passing through the maximum value of the Gaussian distribution of the light intensity. In the configuration of the operation unit 20 shown in FIG. 7, the status lamp board 27 is disposed so that the angle θ3 between the main light-emitting direction 24a1 of the power lamp 24a and the surface of the power lamp display window 23a is approximately a right angle (90 degrees). This differs from the general configuration described in FIG. 3, in which the surface of the window 13a1 visible to the user and the main light-emitting direction 14a1 of the power lamp 14a are approximately parallel. For this reason, the status lamp board 27 is arranged so that it is approximately parallel to the surface 23a1 of the power lamp display window 23a. Therefore, the angle between the status lamp board 27 and the touch panel 21 (or the liquid crystal panel 22) is angle θ2. This differs from the general configuration described in FIG. 3(a), in which the status lamp board 27 and the touch panel 11 (or the liquid crystal panel 12) are parallel.

[0025] Although not shown, an error lamp and a job lamp, which are light sources, are similarly arranged inside the error lamp display window 23b and the job lamp display window 23c, which are light-guiding members. Furthermore, a controller board 28, which controls the light emission of the status lamp board 27 and switches the display of the screen on the liquid crystal panel 22 based on information input from the touch panel 21, is arranged independently from the status lamp board 27. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 7(a), the status lamp board 27 and the controller board 28 are held by the same support plate 291. The controller board 28 may be formed from the same board as the status lamp board 27.

[0026] As explained above, in the first embodiment, the status lamp board 27 is arranged so that the main direction of light emitted by the status lamp is orthogonal (vertical) to the transmission surface of the display window 23. This eliminates the need for the display window to cover the status lamp as in the past, and provides the effect of saving space around the LED in the operation unit without reducing the effectiveness of the status lamp in informing the user of the image forming apparatus. Note that although the operation unit 20 in FIG. 6 does not have hard keys (information input means) such as the numeric keypad 15 and start key 16 described in FIG. 2, these hard keys may be included.

[0027] As described above, according to the first embodiment, the light from the light emitting diode can be more effectively emitted to the outside from the light guide member provided on the operation unit that is rotatable relative to the device body. [Example]

[0028] Next, an operation unit to which Example 2 is applied will be described. Fig. 8(a) shows an operation unit 20 in which a status lamp board 37 is arranged, on which a power lamp 34a, which is a side-view type LED, is mounted. Fig. 8(a) is a cross-sectional view of the operation unit 20 taken along line BB in Fig. 6. Fig. 8(b) is an enlarged view of the portion β enclosed by a dashed circle in Fig. 8(a). Note that the same components as those described in Fig. 7 are designated by the same reference numerals, and their description will be omitted.

[0029] A status lamp board 37, which is a light source board on which a power lamp 34a (light source), such as a side-view LED, is mounted, is disposed inside the power lamp display window 23a, which is a light-guiding member. The main light-emitting direction of the power lamp 34a is indicated by a dashed line 34a1, hereinafter referred to as the main light-emitting direction 34a1. In the configuration of the operation unit 20 shown in FIG. 8, the status lamp board 37 is disposed so that the angle θ4 between the main light-emitting direction 34a1 of the power lamp 34a and the surface 23a1 of the power lamp display window 23a is approximately a right angle (90 degrees). This differs from the general configuration described in FIG. 3(a), in which the surface of the window 13a1 visible to the user and the main light-emitting direction 14a1 of the power lamp 14a are approximately parallel. Therefore, the status lamp board 37 is disposed so that it is approximately perpendicular to the surface 23a1 of the power lamp display window 23a. Therefore, the angle between the status lamp board 37 and the touch panel 21 (or the liquid crystal panel 22) is 90 degrees + θ2. This differs from the general configuration described in FIG. 3(a) in which the status lamp board 17 and the touch panel 11 (or the liquid crystal panel 12) are parallel to each other.

[0030] Although not shown, an error lamp and a job lamp, which are light sources, are disposed inside the error lamp display window 23b and the job lamp display window 23c, which are light-guiding members, respectively. The controller board 28 that controls the status lamp board 37 is disposed independently from the status lamp board 37. Furthermore, the status lamp board 37 and the controller board 28 are held by the same support plate 292 (one support portion). This configuration allows the side-view type LED power lamp 34a to achieve the same effects as in the first embodiment.

[0031] As described above, according to the second embodiment, the light from the light emitting diode can be more effectively emitted to the outside from the light guide member provided on the operation unit that is rotatable relative to the device body. [Explanation of symbols]

[0032] 20 Control section 22 LCD panel 23a Power lamp indicator 23a1 surface 24a Power lamp 25 Frame 27 Status lamp board

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a sheet, a display screen for displaying an image; a plurality of light sources that emit light to notify a user of a state of the image forming apparatus, the light sources being arranged along a longitudinal direction of the display screen; a light guiding member provided in common to the plurality of light sources and guiding each of the light beams emitted by the plurality of light sources to the outside; Equipped with a surface of the light guide member that is continuous between a light source disposed on one side in the longitudinal direction and a light source disposed on the other side in the longitudinal direction among the plurality of light sources is exposed to the outside of the image forming apparatus, the display screen and the surface are at an angle to each other; An image forming apparatus characterized by:

2. The plurality of light sources include a plurality of light emitting diodes and a light source substrate on which the plurality of light emitting diodes are mounted.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is a recording medium.

3. The light-guiding member is colored.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is a recording medium.

4. The light-guiding member contains a diffusing agent.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is a recording medium.

5. The display screen and the surface form an angle of 45°±15° with each other.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is a recording medium.

6. The plurality of light sources include a power lamp that emits light to indicate a power state of the image forming apparatus.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is a recording medium.

7. The plurality of light sources include an error lamp that emits light to indicate that the image forming device is in a state where it cannot form an image.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the image forming apparatus is a recording medium.

8. The power lamp and the error lamp are provided adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7,

9. At least a portion of the light-guiding member is located within a width of the display screen in the longitudinal direction when the image forming apparatus is viewed from the front in the front-to-rear direction.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is a recording medium.

10. An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a sheet, comprising: a display screen for displaying an image; a plurality of light sources that emit light to notify a user of a state of the image forming apparatus, the light sources being arranged along a longitudinal direction of the display screen; a light guiding member provided in common to the plurality of light sources and guiding each of the light beams emitted by the plurality of light sources to the outside; Equipped with a surface of the light guide member that is continuous between a light source disposed on one side in the longitudinal direction and a light source disposed on the other side in the longitudinal direction among the plurality of light sources is exposed to the outside of the image forming apparatus, the display screen and the surface intersect with each other; An image forming apparatus characterized by:

11. The plurality of light sources include a plurality of light emitting diodes and a light source substrate on which the plurality of light emitting diodes are mounted.

11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10.

12. The light-guiding member is colored.

11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10.

13. The light-guiding member is doped with a diffusing agent.

11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10.

14. The display screen and the surface form an angle of 45°±15° with each other.

11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10.

15. The plurality of light sources include a power lamp that emits light to indicate a power state of the image forming apparatus.

11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10.

16. The plurality of light sources include an error lamp that emits light to indicate that the image forming device is in a state where it cannot form an image.

16. The image forming apparatus according to claim 15.

17. The power lamp and the error lamp are provided adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction.

17. The image forming apparatus according to claim 16.

18. At least a portion of the light-guiding member is located within a width of the display screen in the longitudinal direction when the image forming apparatus is viewed from the front in the front-to-rear direction.

11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10.

Images