Image forming apparatus

Abstract

To provide an image forming apparatus capable of releasing connection between a plug and a receptacle when moving the apparatus.SOLUTION: The image forming device is provided with a device main body for housing an image forming part, a receptacle 3 for providing the device main body and inserting and connecting a plug 31 of a power cable C for applying driving force to the image forming part along a prescribed inserting direction, a notch 27 for inserting a user's hand when carrying the device main body, a handle 4 for being moved in the direction opposite to the inserting direction when the device main body is carried by the user's hand inserted in the notch 27 and pushed up, and a moving member 71 for releasing the connection with the receptacle 3 by moving in the opposite direction to the inserting direction by pushing up the handle 4 in a state that the plug 31 is inserted in the receptacle 3.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus in which a driving force is applied to an image forming unit by connecting a plug provided at the end of a power cable to a receptacle. [Background technology]

[0002] In order to supply power from a commercial power source to an electronic device such as an image forming device, a plug attached to the end of a power cable is connected to a receptacle attached to the device body. For example, Patent Document 1 describes a plug device that can prevent the plug from being accidentally pulled out without turning off the power switch of the device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-210001 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Furthermore, in electronic devices equipped with a plug and a receptacle as described above, when the device is moved, the plug must be pulled out from the receptacle. If an attempt is made to move the electronic device without pulling the plug out of the receptacle, the power cable may be pulled or the plug or receptacle may be damaged.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In consideration of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can release the connection between the plug and the receptacle when the apparatus is moved. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the image forming apparatus of the present invention comprises an apparatus main body in which an image forming unit is housed, a receptacle provided in the apparatus main body and into which a plug of a power cable for applying driving force to the image forming unit is inserted along a predetermined insertion direction to connect, a notch into which a user's hand is inserted when carrying the apparatus main body, a handle disposed within the notch and which is lifted relative to the apparatus main body by the user's hand inserted into the notch when carrying the apparatus main body, and a movable member disposed between the handle and the receptacle and which, when the handle is lifted with the plug inserted into the receptacle, moves in a direction opposite to the insertion direction to push out the plug and release the connection with the receptacle.

[0007] In the present invention, the insertion direction may be a direction along the horizontal direction, and the moving member may include a slide bar supported so as to be movable in the insertion direction and the opposite direction, and a biasing member that biases the slide bar in the opposite direction relative to the receptacle to bring it into contact with the handle, and when the handle is lifted, the slide bar moves in the opposite direction against the biasing force of the biasing member to push out the plug.

[0008] In the present invention, the insertion direction and the opposite direction may be aligned with the moving direction of the slide bar.

[0009] In the present invention, the slide bar may be configured to push out the plug by penetrating the receptacle. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, even if you forget to pull the plug out of the receptacle, the plug will be pulled out of the receptacle when you lift the device body, so the power cable will not be pulled and the plug or receptacle will not be damaged. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 1 is a cross-sectional perspective view showing a connector portion and a release mechanism (handle, slide bar, and moving member) of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3] 1 is a perspective view showing a handle in an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a slide bar of a moving member in the image forming apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 5] 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a plug and a receptacle connected together in an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 6] 10 is a cross-sectional view showing the plug and receptacle disconnected by a disconnection mechanism in the image forming apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] An image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0013] First, the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to Fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing the image forming apparatus 1. In each figure, Fr, Rr, L, and R indicate the front side, rear side, left side, and right side of the image forming apparatus 1, respectively.

[0014] The image forming apparatus 1 includes a device body 3 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped hollow section. The device body 3 is formed of vertical support columns provided at the four corners, multiple horizontal support columns connecting adjacent vertical support columns, a top panel 11, a bottom panel 13, left and right side panels 15L and 15R, and front and rear side panels 17Fr and 17Rr. A document transport device 5 is provided on the top panel 11 of the device body 3.

[0015] The device main body 3 accommodates a paper feed cassette 21 that stores sheets, and an image forming unit 23 that electrophotographically forms a toner image on the sheet stored in the paper feed cassette 21. The image forming unit 23 includes a paper feed unit that feeds sheets from the paper feed cassette 21, a toner image forming unit that forms a toner image on the fed sheet, a fixing unit that fixes the toner image on the sheet, a discharge unit that discharges the sheet, and a transport roller that transports the sheet along a transport path. The image forming unit 23 performs an image forming operation by feeding a sheet from the paper feed cassette 21, forming a toner image on the sheet based on image data of a document transported by the document transport device 5, fixing the toner image on the sheet, and discharging the sheet. The image forming operation is performed by applying a driving force to the image forming unit 23 from a power source.

[0016] A paper output tray 25 is formed on the top surface of the top plate 11 of the device body 3, on which sheets on which images have been formed by the image forming unit 7 are stacked. In addition, left and right notches 27 are formed in the center of the corners between the left and right side plates 15L, 15R of the device body 3 and the bottom plate 13, into which the user can insert both hands when lifting the image forming device 1.

[0017] A connector unit 29 is provided in the lower right corner of the rear side plate 17Rr of the apparatus main body 3. Driving force is applied to the image forming unit 23 from a power cable C connected to a power source via the connector unit 29. The connector unit 29 includes a plug 31 provided at the end of the power cable C and a receptacle 33 fixed to the rear side plate 17Rr and connected to the image forming unit 23. The plug 31 is inserted into the receptacle 33 in an insertion direction from rear to front, and the two are electrically connected.

[0018] The device body 3 is provided with a release mechanism 41 (not shown in FIG. 1, see FIG. 2 etc.) that automatically pulls out the plug 31 from the receptacle 33 by lifting the device body 3. When carrying the image forming device 1, the release mechanism 41 automatically pulls out the plug 31 from the receptacle 33 by inserting hands into the notches 27 on the left and right sides of the device body 3 and lifting the device body 3.

[0019] Next, the release mechanism 41 will be described with reference to Figures 2 to 4. Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the release mechanism 41, Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the handle 43 of the release mechanism 41, and Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the slide bar 71 of the release mechanism 41. The release mechanism 41 includes the handle 43 (see also Figure 1) disposed in the right cutout 27, and a moving member 45 disposed on the bottom plate 13 of the device body 3 between the right cutout 27 and the receptacle 33.

[0020] First, the bottom plate 13 of the device body 3 will be described with reference to FIG. 2. The bottom plate 13 has front and rear guide walls 51, 53 and a locking wall 55 formed between the right cutout 27 and the receptacle 33. The front and rear guide walls 51, 53 each have a pair of guide walls arranged along the front-rear direction at a predetermined interval in the left-right direction. Each pair of guide walls has an upper wall that bends from its upper end toward each other. The locking wall 55 is formed along the left-right direction between the front and rear guide walls 51, 53. The bottom plate 13 also has an inner wall 57 formed along the inner edge of the right cutout 27. Furthermore, a front wall 59 is formed along the front edge of the right cutout 27.

[0021] Next, the handle 43 will be described with reference to Fig. 3. The handle 43 has an upwardly facing, generally arc-shaped recessed portion 61 and a plate-like portion 63 provided on one side of the recessed portion 61. The upper surface of the recessed portion 61 has a central flat surface 61a and an inclined surface 61b that slopes downward from one end of the flat surface 61a.

[0022] 2, handle 43 is disposed between right side plate 15R, inner wall 57, and front wall 59 of device body 3, with inclined surface 61b facing the receptacle 33. A portion of recess 61 is recessed into notch 27 (see also FIG. 1).

[0023] Next, the moving member 45 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the moving member 45 includes a slide bar 71 and a biasing member 73. First, the slide bar 71 will be described with reference to FIG. 4. The slide bar 71 has a rectangular plate-shaped bottom plate 81, a vertical wall 83 provided at one end of the bottom plate 81 in the longitudinal direction, and a square tubular portion 85 provided at the other end of the bottom plate 81 in the longitudinal direction. The bottom surface of the bottom plate 81 is formed flat. In addition, a guide groove 87 is formed in the bottom plate 81 along the longitudinal direction.

[0024] The vertical wall 83 stands along the edge of the bottom plate 81 at a right angle to the bottom plate 81. A rod 89 protruding in the longitudinal direction is provided on the outer surface of the vertical wall 83. A rib 91 is formed between the vertical wall 83 and the bottom plate 81. A lower surface 85a at the tip of the rectangular tubular portion 85 is inclined upward in the direction opposite to the vertical wall 83. The angle of the lower surface 85a with respect to the horizontal plane is equal to the angle of the inclined surface 61b of the handle 43 with respect to the horizontal plane.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 2 , the slide bar 71 is disposed between the receptacle 33 and the right notch 27 with the vertical wall 83 facing the receptacle 33 and the rectangular tubular portion 85 facing the right notch 27, and the bottom plate 81 is placed on the bottom plate 13 of the device body 3. The bottom plate 81 is disposed between a pair of front and rear guide walls 51, 53. The locking wall 55 is inserted into the guide groove 87 of the bottom plate 81. Furthermore, the movement of the bottom plate 81 in the up and down direction is restricted by the upper walls of the pair of front and rear guide walls 51, 53. Thus, the slide bar 71 is guided by the front and rear guide walls 51, 53 and the locking wall 55, and is movable on the bottom plate 13 in the front-to-rear direction. In other words, the slide bar 71 is movable in the insertion direction of the plug 31 (from rear to front) and in the opposite direction (from front to rear).

[0026] When the slide bar 71 moves to the rearmost position, the rod 89 moves away from the receptacle 33, and the lower surface 85a of the rectangular tube portion 85 abuts against the inclined surface 61b of the recessed portion 61 of the handle 43. When the slide bar 71 moves forward, the rod 89 passes through the receptacle 33.

[0027] Next, the biasing member 73 will be described. The biasing member 73 is a compression coil spring. The biasing member 73 is disposed between the square tube portion 85 of the slide bar 71 and the locking wall 55 of the bottom plate 13 of the device body 3. The biasing member 73 biases the square tube portion 85, i.e., the slide bar 71, forward against the locking wall 55, causing the lower surface 85a of the square tube portion 85 to abut against the inclined surface 61b of the recessed portion 61 of the handle 43 (see FIG. 2). When the slide bar 71 is biased forward in this manner, the handle 43 is also biased forward, but the forward movement of the handle 43 is restricted by the front wall 59.

[0028] The operation of the release mechanism 41 having the above configuration to pull out the plug 31 from the receptacle 33 will be described with reference to Figures 5 and 6. Figures 5 and 6 are cross-sectional views showing the connector portion 29 and the release mechanism 41. Normally, as shown in Figure 5, the recessed portions 61 of the handle 43 fit into the left and right cutouts 27. Furthermore, the slide bar 71 is biased by the biasing member 73, and the lower surface 85a of the rectangular tubular portion 85 contacts the inclined surface 61b of the recessed portion 61 of the handle 43.

[0029] When carrying the image forming apparatus 1, the user inserts both hands into the left and right cutouts 27 of the apparatus body 3 and lifts the apparatus body 3. As shown in Figures 1 and 5, the recessed portions 61 of the handle 43 fit into the left and right cutouts 27, so when the user inserts their hands into the left and right cutouts 27 and lifts the apparatus body 3, the handle 43 is lifted within the right cutout 27.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 6, when the handle 43 is lifted (see arrow A1), the inclined surface 61b of the handle 43 presses against the lower surface 85a of the square tubular portion 85 of the slide bar 71, and the slide bar 71 moves rearward (in the direction opposite to the insertion direction, toward the receptacle 33) against the biasing force of the biasing member 73 (see arrow A2). At this time, the slide bar 71 is guided in the front-to-rear direction by the front and rear guide walls 51, 53 and the locking wall 55. When the slide bar 71 moves toward the receptacle 33 in this way, the rod 89 penetrates the receptacle 33 and abuts against the plug 31, pushing the plug 31 rearward (in the direction opposite to the insertion direction). As a result, the connection between the plug 31 and the receptacle 33 is released.

[0031] After moving the device body 2, when the hands are removed from the left and right cutouts 27, the square tubular portion 85 of the slide bar 71 is biased by the biasing member 73, and the slide bar 71 moves forward. In addition, the handle 43 is lowered by its own weight and by being pressed by the underside of the square tubular portion 85.

[0032] As described above, according to the present invention, by inserting one's hand into the notch 27 of the device body 3 and lifting the device body 3, the plug 31 is automatically pushed out of the receptacle 33. Therefore, even if one forgets to pull the plug 31 out of the receptacle 33 when carrying the image forming apparatus 1, the plug 31 is pulled out of the receptacle 33 when the device body 3 is lifted, so the power cable C is not pulled and the connector portion 29 is not damaged.

[0033] Furthermore, the rod 89 of the slide bar 71 passes through the receptacle 33. Therefore, the direction in which the slide bar 71 moves when the handle 43 is lifted, the insertion direction of the plug 31, and the opposite direction can be aligned on a single straight line. Therefore, the plug 31 can be reliably pushed out by the movement of the slide bar 71, and the release mechanism 41 can be placed in a small space.

[0034] The plug 31 and the receptacle 33 are connected with a predetermined force so that the plug 31 cannot be easily pulled out of the receptacle 33, and so a certain amount of force is required to pull the plug 31 out of the receptacle 33, or in other words, to push the plug 31 out of the receptacle 33. In the present invention, the rod 89 that directly contacts the plug 31 is reinforced with the rib 91, so that the plug 31 can be pushed out of the receptacle 33 against the connecting force between the plug 31 and the receptacle 33.

[0035] Although the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. The above embodiments may be variously changed, substituted, or modified without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention, and the claims include all embodiments that may fall within the scope of the technical concept. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 1. Image forming device 3. Device body 23 Image forming unit 27 Cutout 31 Plug 33 Receptacle 43 Handle 45 Moving parts 71 Slide Bar 73 biasing member

Claims

1. an apparatus main body that houses an image forming unit; a receptacle provided in the apparatus main body into which a plug of a power cable for applying a driving force to the image forming unit is inserted along a predetermined insertion direction to be connected; a notch into which a user's hand is inserted when carrying the device body; a handle disposed within the notch and lifted relative to the device body by a user's hand inserted into the notch when carrying the device body; an image forming apparatus comprising: a movable member disposed between the handle and the receptacle, which, when the handle is lifted with the plug inserted into the receptacle, moves in a direction opposite to the insertion direction to push out the plug and release the connection with the receptacle.

2. the insertion direction is a direction along the horizontal direction, The moving member is a slide bar supported so as to be movable in the insertion direction and in the opposite direction; a biasing member that biases the slide bar in the opposite direction relative to the receptacle to contact the handle; 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the handle is lifted, the slide bar moves in the opposite direction against the biasing force of the biasing member to push out the plug.

3. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the insertion direction and the opposite direction are aligned with the moving direction of the slide bar.

4. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the slide bar penetrates the receptacle and pushes out the plug.

Images