Image forming apparatus

Abstract

In an image forming apparatus in which the lower surface of the image reading device forms the upper surface of the discharge section, the objective is to facilitate the removal of the sheet from the discharge section. [Solution] The image forming apparatus 100 includes an ejection section 108 whose upper surface is formed by the lower surface 101a of the image reading apparatus body 101. The image reading apparatus body 101 includes size detection sensors 118a and 118b for detecting the size of a document placed on the document glass 112, and a sensor cable 121 connected to the size detection sensors 118a and 118b. A groove 129 is formed on the lower surface 110a of the housing 110 of the image reading apparatus body 101, and the sensor cable 121 is arranged to pass inside the groove 129.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including an image reading apparatus that reads an image of a sheet.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, an image reading apparatus mounted on an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine is known to read an image of a document placed on a document table glass while a reading unit moves in a sub-scanning direction. Further, in such an image reading apparatus, there is one in which a size detection sensor for discriminating the size of a document placed on the document table glass is arranged under the document table glass (inside the housing of the image reading apparatus) (Patent Document 1).

[0003] Inside such an image reading apparatus, there are arranged cables for transmitting signals of an image read by a reading sensor, cables for transmitting signals of a size detection sensor, and the like. And these cables are crawled along the bottom surface of the housing so as not to contact the reading unit when the reading unit moves.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Incidentally, in some image forming apparatuses equipped with an image reader, the upper surface of the discharge space from which the image-formed sheet is discharged is formed by the lower surface of the image reader's housing. In such image forming apparatuses, it is desirable to make the image reader's housing smaller (thinner) in the height direction in order to make it easier to remove the sheet from the discharge section. However, in order to prevent the cable located on the bottom surface of the image reader's housing from coming into contact with the reading unit, it is necessary to leave a sufficient gap between the area in which the reading unit moves and the cable, and conventional image reader housings have been large in the height direction. As a result, the space in the discharge section of the image forming apparatus becomes narrow, and there is a problem in that it is difficult to remove the sheet from the discharge section.

[0006] Therefore, the present invention aims to facilitate the removal of sheets from the discharge section in an image forming apparatus in which the upper surface of the discharge section is formed by the lower surface of the image reading device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To solve the above problems, one aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus comprising: an apparatus body for forming an image on a sheet; and an image reading device disposed above the apparatus body for reading an image of a document, wherein the apparatus body comprises: a transport unit for transporting a sheet; an image forming unit for forming an image on a sheet transported by the transport unit; and an discharge unit for discharging the sheet on which the image has been formed by the image forming unit, and the image reading device comprises: a transparent member on which a document is placed; a reading unit for reading an image of a document placed on the transparent member; a housing that supports the transparent member and houses the reading unit; a sensor disposed below the transparent member for detecting the size of the document placed on the transparent member; and a cable connected to the sensor for transmitting a signal from the sensor to a control unit, wherein the upper surface of the discharge unit is formed by the lower surface of the housing, a groove recessed downward is formed on the bottom surface of the housing, and the cable is arranged to pass through the inside of the groove. [Effects of the Invention]

[0008] According to the present invention, in an image forming apparatus in which the upper surface of the discharge section is formed by the lower surface of the image reading device, it is possible to make it easier to remove the sheet from the discharge section. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0009] [Figure 1] A schematic cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus. [Figure 2] A schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus viewed from the rear side. [Figure 3] Perspective view of the image reading device. [Figure 4] Perspective view of the main body of the image reading device. [Figure 5] A perspective view of the image reading device with its top cover removed. [Figure 6] Perspective view of a size detection sensor. [Figure 7] Perspective view of the sensor cable and cable guide. [Figure 8] Cross-sectional view of the discharge section of the image forming apparatus and the main body of the image reading apparatus. [Figure 9] A cross-sectional view showing the groove and flat cable of the image reading device. [Figure 10] A cross-sectional view showing the recess and drive motor of the image reading device. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0010] The image reading apparatus and image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Unless otherwise specifically stated, the dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative arrangements of the components described in the following embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of application of this technology to those components only.

[0011] [Outline configuration of an image forming apparatus] First, the schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 according to this embodiment will be described using Figure 1. Figure 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the image forming apparatus 100 according to this embodiment. In the following description, the position from which the user faces the unshown operating section will be referred to as the front side of the image forming apparatus 100, and the opposite side will be referred to as the rear side. Furthermore, the direction from the front to the back when viewing the image forming apparatus 100 from the front side will be referred to as the depth direction, and the direction perpendicular to the depth direction and the vertical direction will be referred to as the left-right direction.

[0012] As shown in Figure 1, the image forming apparatus 100 comprises an image reading device 100a for reading an image from a document and an image forming apparatus body 100b for forming an image on a sheet P. The image reading device 100a comprises an image reading device body 101 for reading an image from a document and an automatic document feeder (hereinafter referred to as "ADF") 102 for transporting the document to the image reading device body 101, and is located above the image forming apparatus body 100b. Although the image forming apparatus 100 shown in Figure 1 is an electrophotographic laser beam printer, it may also be an image forming apparatus that uses an inkjet method or other image forming methods as the image forming means.

[0013] The image forming apparatus main body 100b comprises cassettes 103 and 104, an image forming unit 105, a fixing unit 106, and an ejection unit 108. Cassettes 103 and 104 are sheet storage units that contain the sheets P on which images are formed. The sheets P contained in cassettes 103 and 104 are fed by feeding rollers 107a and 107b and transported to the image forming unit 105 by a pair of transport rollers 107c.

[0014] The image forming unit 105 is a conventionally known electrophotographic image forming unit composed of a laser scanner, a developing unit, an intermediate transfer belt, a secondary transfer roller, etc. The image forming unit 105 forms a full-color toner image using developing units corresponding to yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K), and transfers the toner image from the intermediate transfer belt to the sheet P using the secondary transfer roller.

[0015] The sheet P onto which the toner image has been transferred by the image forming unit 105 is conveyed to the fixing unit 106. Then, by heating and pressing the sheet P in the fixing unit 106, the toner image is fixed on the sheet P. In the case of single-sided printing, the sheet P with the fixed toner image is discharged to the discharge unit 108 by the discharge roller pair 107e. In the case of double-sided printing, the sheet P with the fixed toner image is switched back by the discharge roller pair 107e and conveyed again toward the image forming unit 105 by the duplex conveyance roller pair 107d. Thereafter, the sheet P with toner images formed on both sides is discharged to the discharge unit 108 by the discharge roller pair 107e.

[0016] The image forming apparatus main body 100b has a so-called in-body paper discharge configuration in which the discharge unit 108 is provided inside the housing. The discharge unit 108 has a discharge tray 108a on which the sheet P discharged by the discharge roller pair 107e is stacked. The space in the discharge unit 108 where the sheet P is stacked is formed by the discharge tray 108a and the lower surface 101a of the image reading apparatus main body 101. More specifically, the lower surface of the discharge space of the discharge unit 108 is constituted by the discharge tray 108a, and the upper surface is constituted by the lower surface 101a of the image reading apparatus main body 101. And the front side and the left side of the image forming apparatus 100 are open in the discharge unit 108. Therefore, the user can stand in front of the image forming apparatus 100 and take out the sheet P from the discharge unit 108.

[0017] FIG. 2 is a view of the image forming apparatus 100 seen from the back side. Inside the back side of the image forming apparatus main body 100b, a controller board 109, which is a control unit for controlling the image reading apparatus 100a and the image forming apparatus main body 100b, is arranged. Cables such as a flat cable 119, a motor cable 120, and a sensor cable 121, which will be described later, are connected to the controller board 109. The controller board 109 is capable of executing the above-described image forming process based on the image data of the document read by the image reading apparatus 100a.

[0018] Note that the configuration of the above-described image forming apparatus main body 100b is an example, and various modifications are possible. For example, it may be configured to transfer the toner image directly onto the sheet from the developing unit, or to form monochrome images. Furthermore, it may be provided with a manual feed tray for manually inserting the sheet.

[0019] [Schematic Configuration of Image Reading Apparatus] Next, the schematic configuration of the image reading apparatus 100a will be described with reference to FIG. 3. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the image reading apparatus according to the present embodiment.

[0020] As described above, the image reading apparatus 100a is composed of an image reading apparatus main body 101 and an ADF 102. The ADF 102 is provided so as to be openable and closable with respect to the image reading apparatus main body 101 by two hinges 200 (see FIG. 2). The two hinges 200 are fixed to the back side of the image reading apparatus main body 101, and the rotation axes of the two hinges 200 extend in the left-right direction.

[0021] The ADF 102 has a document tray 201 on which documents are placed, a document conveyance unit 202 that conveys the documents placed on the document tray 201, and a document discharge tray 203 from which the documents are discharged. The document conveyance unit 202 conveys the documents placed on the document tray 201 toward a platen glass 113 described later. When the documents conveyed by the document conveyance unit 202 pass over the upper surface of the platen glass 113, images are read by a reading unit 114. Thereafter, the documents from which the images have been read are discharged to the document discharge tray 203. Note that the ADF 102 may be configured to include a reading unit different from the reading unit 114 inside thereof and be capable of reading images on both sides of a document in a single conveyance.

[0022] [Configuration of Image Reading Apparatus Main Body] Next, the configuration of the image reading apparatus main body will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the image reading apparatus main body 101. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the image reading apparatus main body 101 with the upper cover 111a of the housing 110 removed. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the size detection sensor 118a.

[0023] The image reading device body 101 comprises a housing 110, a document glass 112, and a scanning glass 113. As shown in Figure 5, the reading unit 114, guide shaft 115, drive belt 116, drive motor 117, size detection sensors 118a, 118b, etc. are arranged inside the housing 110.

[0024] The housing 110 is composed of a resin upper cover 111a and a lower cover 111b, and houses the reading unit 114 and a drive mechanism for driving the reading unit 114 inside. The housing 110 supports the document glass 112 and the pan-reading glass 113, and the document glass 112 and the pan-reading glass 113 are exposed on the upper surface of the upper cover 111a. The document glass 112 is an example of a transparent material.

[0025] The reading unit 114 is a contact image sensor (CIS) having light-receiving elements arranged in the main scanning direction MD, a light source that illuminates the document with light, and lenses that guide light from the document to the light-receiving elements. The guide shaft 115 extends in the sub-scanning direction SD, which is perpendicular to the main scanning direction MD, and supports the reading unit 114 so that it can move in the sub-scanning direction SD. The drive belt 116 is stretched across a pulley along the guide shaft 115, and the reading unit 114 is fixed in a predetermined position on the drive belt 116. The drive belt 116 is connected to a drive motor 117, and the drive motor 117 rotates the drive belt 116, causing the reading unit 114 to move along the guide shaft 115 in the sub-scanning direction SD. In this embodiment, the main scanning direction MD is parallel to the depth direction of the image forming apparatus 100, and the sub-scanning direction SD is parallel to the left-right direction.

[0026] The image reading device 100 can read images from a document using two methods: fixed reading and continuous reading. In fixed reading mode, the user places the document on the document glass 112. At this time, the user opens the ADF 102 to expose the document glass 112, places the document on the document glass 112, and then closes the ADF 102 to fix the document in the predetermined position on the document glass 112. With the document set on the document glass 112, the reading unit 114 reads the image of the document while moving in the sub-scanning direction SD. When the document reading is complete, the user opens the ADF 102 and removes the document from the document glass 112.

[0027] On the other hand, in the case of skimming, the user places documents in the document tray 201. Multiple documents may be placed in the document tray 201. The document transport unit 202 transports the documents placed in the document tray 201 one by one toward the skimming glass 113. In skimming, the reading unit 114 stops below the skimming glass 113 and reads the image of the document through the skimming glass 113. After the image has been read, the document is discharged into the document output tray 203.

[0028] Inside the housing 110 are two size detection sensors 118a and 118b, which are used to detect the size of a document placed on the document glass 112 during fixed scanning. Size detection sensor 118a is positioned behind the guide shaft 115 and to the right of the center of the device, while size detection sensor 118b is positioned in front of the guide shaft 115 and to the left of the center of the device. In other words, the two size detection sensors 118a and 118b are positioned so as to sandwich the guide shaft 115 in the depth direction.

[0029] Figure 6 is a perspective view of the size detection sensor 118a. As shown in Figure 6, the size detection sensor 118a includes a light-emitting unit 123 that emits infrared light upwards from the sensor, and a light-receiving unit 124 that receives infrared light reflected from the document above the sensor. The size detection sensor 118a detects the presence or absence of a document at the sensor placement position based on the amount of light received by the light-receiving unit 124. The size detection sensor 118b has the same configuration as the size detection sensor 118a. The size detection sensor 118a is mainly used to determine whether the document is longer than a predetermined length in the main scanning direction MD. The size detection sensor 118b is mainly used to determine whether the document is longer than a predetermined length in the sub-scanning direction SD. The controller board 109 can determine the size of the document set on the document glass 112 based on the signals from these two size detection sensors 118a and 118b. This allows the controller board 109 to perform copying and scanning in appropriate standard sizes (such as A4 or A3 size).

[0030] [Cable arrangement inside the enclosure] Next, the arrangement of cables inside the housing 110 will be described. Figure 7 is a perspective view of the sensor cable 121 and cable guide 125. Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of the discharge section 108 and the image reading device body 101 viewed in the sub-scanning direction SD, which is the AA cross-sectional view in Figure 4. Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view of the image reading device body 101 viewed in the main scanning direction MD, which is the BB cross-sectional view in Figure 4. Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view of the image reading device body 101 viewed in the main scanning direction MD, which is the CC cross-sectional view in Figure 4.

[0031] Multiple cables are routed inside the housing 110, and these cables are connected to a controller board 109 located outside the housing 110 through multiple holes (holes 110b, 110c) formed on the side of the housing 110. One end of the flat cable 119 is connected to the reading unit 114, and the other end is connected to the controller board 109. The flat cable 119 supplies power to the reading unit 114 and transmits the image signal of the document read by the reading unit 114 to the controller board 109. The flat cable 119 has a flat surface, and is positioned inside the housing 110 so that the flat surface is in contact with the bottom surface 110a of the housing 110 (the bottom surface of the lower cover 111b), and exits the housing 110 through a hole 110b formed in the housing 110. The flat cable 119 deforms by bending inside the housing 110 as the reading unit 114 moves.

[0032] One end of the motor cable 120 is connected to the drive motor 117, and the other end is connected to the controller board 109. The motor cable 120 supplies power to the drive motor 117 and transmits control signals from the controller board 109 to the drive motor 117.

[0033] The sensor cable 121 has one end connected to the controller board 109 and splits into two branches midway, with each branched end connected to the size detection sensors 118a and 118b, respectively. The sensor cable 121 supplies power to the size detection sensors 118a and 118b and transmits signals from the size detection sensors 118a and 118b to the controller board 109. Since the size detection sensor 118b is located in front of the guide shaft 115, the sensor cable 121 is connected to the size detection sensor 118b by passing through the hole 110c and under the guide shaft 115.

[0034] As shown in Figure 7, the sensor cable 121 is positioned to pass through the inside of the cable guide 125. The cable guide 125 is an elongated resin component with a space formed inside for the cable to pass through. The cable guide 125 is fixed to the bottom surface 110a of the housing 110 at multiple points by screws 126. By providing the cable guide 125 that guides the sensor cable 121 in this way, it is possible to prevent the sensor cable 121 from coming into contact with the reading unit 114 or the drive belt 116 and breaking. The sensor cable 121 is an example of a first cable, and the flat cable 119 is an example of a second cable.

[0035] As shown in Figures 5 and 8, grooves 129 and 132 are formed on the bottom surface 110a of the housing 110, recessed below the surrounding area. When viewed from above, the grooves 129 and 132 are recessed below the surrounding area, and when viewed from below (towards the bottom surface 101a of the image reading device body 101), they protrude below the surrounding area. The groove 129 has an elongated shape that extends from the hole 110c through below the guide shaft 115 to the size detection sensor 118b. Specifically, the groove 129 is composed of a first portion 129a that extends in the main scanning direction MD (depth direction) so as to pass below the guide shaft 115, and a second portion 129b that extends along the sub-scanning direction SD (left-right direction). The second portion 129b is formed continuously from the front end of the first portion 129a. The sensor cable 121 and cable guide 125 described above are arranged to pass through the recess of the groove 129.

[0036] The groove 132 extends to the left in the sub-scanning direction SD (left-right direction) from the hole 110b and is formed further back than the guide shaft 115. The groove 132 is also formed in the area to the left of the first portion 129a of the groove 129 on the bottom surface 110a. The flat cable 119 is positioned to pass through the recess of this groove 132. The flat cable 119 is wider than the sensor cable 121 and deforms as the reading unit 114 moves, so the groove 132 has a wider groove shape than the groove 129 (see Figure 8). The groove 129 is an example of a first groove, and the groove 132 is an example of a second groove.

[0037] Furthermore, two protrusions 130 and 131, which are ribs extending in the sub-scanning direction SD (left-right direction), are formed on the bottom surface 110a of the housing 110. When viewed from above, these protrusions 130 and 131 have a shape that protrudes upward, and when viewed from below (on the bottom surface 101a side of the image reading device body 101), they have a shape that is recessed above the surrounding area. In the main scanning direction MD (depth direction), the protrusions 130 and 131 are formed in front of the grooves 129 and 132 described above. Since the housing 110 is made of resin, the strength of the housing itself is lower compared to when the housing is made of sheet metal. Therefore, in this embodiment, the strength of the housing 110 can be increased by forming the protrusions 130 and 131 on the lower cover 111b.

[0038] Furthermore, as shown in Figure 10, a recess 133 is formed in the bottom surface 110a of the housing 110, which is recessed downwards from the surrounding area. The recess 133 is formed further back than the guide shaft 115 in the depth direction and at the left end in the left-right direction, and the drive motor 117 is positioned inside this recess 133. Unlike the grooves 129 and 132 described above, the recess 133 has a rectangular shape when viewed from above.

[0039] As shown in Figure 9, when the reading unit 114 is located to the left of the center in the left-right direction of the housing 110, the flat surface of the flat cable 119 is in contact with almost the entire area of ​​the groove 132 in the left-right direction. When the reading unit 114 moves to the right from this state, the flat cable 119 curves upward from the left side. When the reading unit 114 moves to the right end, the flat cable 119 takes on a shape that straddles the top of the sensor cable 121. At this time, if the flat cable 119 and the sensor cable 121 come into contact, there is a risk of reading failure or disconnection. However, in this embodiment, the sensor cable 121 is located inside the groove 129. This increases the distance between the flat cable 119 and the sensor cable 121, making it possible to reduce contact between the flat cable 119 and the sensor cable 121.

[0040] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a cable guide 125 for guiding the sensor cable 121 is positioned inside the groove 129, and the sensor cable 121 is routed through the inside of the cable guide 125. This makes it possible to further reduce contact between the flat cable 119 and the sensor cable 121.

[0041] Furthermore, when the reading unit 114 moves, contact between the reading unit 114 and the flat cable 119 can lead to reading failures or disconnection. However, in this embodiment, the flat cable 119 is arranged to pass through the inside of the groove 132. This increases the distance between the reading unit 114 and the flat cable 119, thereby reducing contact between the reading unit 114 and the flat cable 119.

[0042] To reduce contact between the flat cable 119 and the sensor cable 121, and between the reading unit 114 and the flat cable 119, one could consider a configuration in which the entire bottom surface 110a of the housing 110 is lowered, thereby increasing the height of the housing 110. However, in such a configuration, the entire bottom surface 101a of the image reading device body 101 becomes lower, narrowing the space of the discharge section 108, making it difficult to remove the sheet P from the discharge tray 108a. Therefore, in this embodiment, instead of lowering the entire bottom surface 110a, the bottom surface 110a is partially made into grooves 129 and 132 that are recessed compared to the surrounding area, and the flat cable 119 and sensor cable 121 are routed through these grooves. This makes it possible to widen the space of the discharge section 108 compared to a configuration in which the entire bottom surface 110a is lowered, making it easier to remove the sheet P from the discharge tray 108a.

[0043] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the protrusions 130 and 131, which increase the strength of the housing 110, are formed in front of the grooves 129 and 132. As shown in Figure 8, when viewed from the bottom surface 101a side (bottom side) of the image reading device body 101, the grooves 129 and 132 protrude downwards, while the protrusions 130 and 131 are recessed upwards. Therefore, the protrusions 130 and 131 do not narrow the space of the discharge section 108. If, conversely to this embodiment, the grooves 129 and 132 were formed in front of the protrusions 130 and 131, the protrusions caused by the grooves 129 and 132 would be located in front of the space of the discharge section 108, making it difficult to remove the sheet P from the discharge tray 108a. However, in this embodiment, since the protrusions 130 and 131 are formed in front of the grooves 129 and 132, the space in front of the discharge section 108 is widened, and it becomes easier to remove the sheet P from the discharge tray 108a.

[0044] Furthermore, in this embodiment, a recess 133 is formed in the bottom surface 110a of the housing 110, and the drive motor 117 is arranged inside this recess 133. When the drive motor 117 is arranged inside the housing 110, it is desirable that the drive motor 117 be positioned below the guide shaft 115 so that it can be connected to the drive belt 116. For this reason, a configuration in which the entire bottom surface 110a of the housing 110 is lowered and the drive motor 117 is arranged therein is conceivable. However, as described above, such a configuration makes it difficult to remove the sheet P from the discharge tray 108a. On the other hand, in this embodiment, instead of lowering the entire bottom surface 110a, a recess 133 is formed in a part of the bottom surface 110a that is recessed compared to the surrounding area, and the drive motor 117 is arranged therein. Therefore, compared to a configuration in which the entire bottom surface 110a is lowered, the space of the discharge section 108 can be made wider, and it is possible to make it easier to remove the sheet P from the discharge tray 108a. Furthermore, because the recess 133 is formed further back than the guide shaft 115, the space in front of the discharge section 108 is widened, making it easier to remove the sheet P from the discharge tray 108a. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0045] 100 Image forming apparatus 100a Image reading device 100b Image forming apparatus main unit 108 Discharge section 101 Image reading device main unit 102 ADF 110 cabinets 119 Flat Cable 121 Sensor Cable 129,132 grooves

Claims

1. An image forming apparatus comprising: a main body of the apparatus for forming an image on a sheet; and an image reading device positioned above the main body of the apparatus for reading an image of a document, The main body of the aforementioned device is A conveying unit that transports the sheets, An image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet conveyed by the aforementioned conveying unit, A discharge unit from which the sheet with the image formed by the image forming unit is discharged, Equipped with, The aforementioned image reading device is A transparent component on which the manuscript is placed, A reading unit that reads the image of the document placed on the transparent member, A housing that supports the transparent member and houses the reading unit, A sensor is positioned below the transparent member to detect the size of the document placed on the transparent member, A cable connected to the sensor and transmitting signals from the sensor to the control unit, Equipped with, The upper surface of the discharge section is formed by the lower surface of the housing. A groove is formed on the bottom surface of the housing, which is recessed downwards. The cable is arranged to pass through the inside of the groove. An image forming apparatus characterized by the following:

2. The housing is made of resin. The image forming apparatus according to feature 1.

3. The image reading device includes a guide shaft that extends in a left-right direction perpendicular to the depth direction of the device and movably supports the reading unit. The sensor is positioned in front of the guide shaft in the depth direction. The groove includes a first portion extending in the depth direction so as to pass below the guide shaft, and a second portion formed continuously from the first portion on a side prior to the guide shaft and extending in the left-right direction. The image forming apparatus according to feature 1.

4. The bottom surface of the housing has a projection that protrudes upward and extends in a left-right direction perpendicular to the depth direction of the device. The aforementioned protrusion is positioned in front of the groove in the depth direction. The image forming apparatus according to feature 1.

5. The cable in question is the first cable, The groove portion is the first groove portion, The image reading device has a second cable that transmits the signal of the image read by the reading unit to the control unit. A second groove, which is recessed downwards, is formed on the bottom surface of the housing. The second cable is arranged to pass through the inside of the second groove. The image forming apparatus according to feature 1.

6. The second cable is a flat cable having a flat surface, The second groove is wider than the first groove. The image forming apparatus according to feature 5.

7. The image reading device has a cable guide for guiding the cable, The cable guide is positioned inside the groove. The image forming apparatus according to feature 1.

8. The aforementioned image reading device is A guide shaft extending in the left-right direction perpendicular to the depth direction of the device, which movably supports the reading unit, A drive motor and drive belt for moving the reading unit in the left-right direction, Equipped with, On the bottom surface of the housing, a recess is formed that is recessed downwards on the side in front of the guide shaft in the depth direction. The drive motor is positioned in the recess. The image forming apparatus according to feature 1.

Images