Image forming device

Abstract

To provide an image forming apparatus that reduces the occurrence of the problem where liquid enters an opening for a USB and a person or an object touches a USB device inserted into the opening for the USB.SOLUTION: In an image forming apparatus 10, a coupling housing 3 has a coupling left surface 3A and a coupling right surface 3B opposite to each other in a width direction orthogonal to a paper ejection direction, and a USB substrate 33 having a USB terminal 32 to which a USB device 4 is connected. An upper housing 1 has a projection 16 arranged above the coupling left surface 3A and the coupling right surface 3B and projecting in the width direction beyond the coupling left surface 3A. The coupling left surface 3A has an opening 34 for a USB exposing the USB terminal 32 below the projection 16. The projection 16 of the upper housing 1 present above the opening 34 for the USB reduces the influence externally imposed on the opening 34 for the USB.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a conventional image forming apparatus in Figures 1 and 2. This image forming apparatus includes an upper housing that houses an image reading unit that reads an image on a document, and a lower housing that houses an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet. The lower housing also houses a USB board having a USB terminal to which a USB device such as a USB memory is connected. A USB opening that exposes the USB terminal is formed in a side wall of the lower housing. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2020-57972 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, when a USB device is inserted into the USB opening and connected to the USB terminal, the USB device protrudes outward from the side wall of the lower housing. In the conventional image forming apparatus described above, since there is no upper housing above the USB opening, there is a risk that liquid may seep into the USB opening or that a person or object may come into contact with the USB device inserted into the USB opening.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned conventional situation, and aims to provide an image forming device that is less susceptible to problems such as liquid seeping into the USB opening or people or objects coming into contact with a USB device inserted into the USB opening. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The image forming apparatus of the present invention comprises: An image forming unit; a discharge roller that discharges the sheet on which the image is formed by the image forming unit in a sheet discharge direction; a first side wall and a second side wall facing each other in a width direction perpendicular to the paper discharge direction; a USB board having a USB terminal to which a USB device is connected; an upper housing that is disposed above the first side wall and the second side wall, has a protruding portion that protrudes beyond the first side wall in the width direction, and accommodates an image reading unit that reads an image of a document, The first side wall has a first opening below the protruding portion through which the USB terminal is exposed.

[0007] In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the protruding portion of the upper housing located above the first opening reduces the influence of the outside on the first opening.

[0008] Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus which is less susceptible to problems such as liquid seeping into the first opening which exposes the USB terminal, or people or objects coming into contact with a USB device inserted into the first opening. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, seen diagonally from the front left. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a front view of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a left side view of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a left side view of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment, showing a schematic positional relationship in the height direction between the drive roller holding board and the exposure unit held by the lower housing, and the USB holding board. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a schematic side view showing an outline of the internal configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment. [Figure 6]FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment, showing a schematic positional relationship between an upper housing, an operation panel, and a power switch, as viewed obliquely from above. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a right side view of the image forming apparatus, illustrating a schematic positional relationship between the upper housing and the power switch, according to the image forming apparatus of the embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a plan view of the image forming apparatus, illustrating a schematic positional relationship between the upper housing and the power switch, according to the image forming apparatus of the embodiment. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a partial perspective view showing the image forming apparatus of the embodiment in a schematic state in which a cover for opening and closing an opening for an additional board provided in a first side wall is opened. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0011] (Example) The image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment is a multifunction machine as an example of a specific embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. In the following description, the image forming apparatus 10 is set in a usable state as shown in Fig. 1 as a reference, the side from which the sheet tray 23 is pulled out is defined as the front, and the opposite side is defined as the rear, the left and right directions are defined as seen from the front side of the image forming apparatus 10, and further the upper housing 1 side of the image forming apparatus 10 is defined as the top, and the lower housing 2 side is defined as the bottom, and each direction is defined. The left and right direction as seen from the front side of the image forming apparatus 10 is the width direction of the image forming apparatus 10.

[0012] <Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus> 1 to 3, an image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment includes an upper housing 1, a lower housing 2, and a connecting housing 3. The upper housing 1, the lower housing 2, and the connecting housing 3 all have a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape.

[0013] The upper housing 1 is provided above the connecting housing 3 so as to cover the upper surface of the connecting housing 3. The upper housing 1 has an upper main body 11, a document holder 12, an ADF (auto document feeder) 13, and an operation panel .

[0014] The upper housing 1 has an upper front side 1A, an upper left side 1B, and an upper right side 1C. The upper front side 1A is composed of a front side located at the front end of the upper main body 11 in the front-rear direction, and a front side located at the front end of the document holder 12 in the front-rear direction. The upper left side 1B is composed of a left side located at the left end of the upper main body 11 in the left-right direction, and a left side located at the left end of the document holder 12 in the left-right direction. The upper right side 1C is composed of a right side located at the right end of the upper main body 11 in the left-right direction, and a right side located at the right end of the document holder 12 in the left-right direction. The upper front side 1A, the upper left side 1B, and the upper right side 1C all extend vertically. The upper front side 1A corresponds to a vertical wall of the present invention.

[0015] As shown in Fig. 4, the upper main body 11 houses an image reading unit 15 that reads a document. The document holder 12 is a housing having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is provided above the upper main body 11 so as to cover the upper surface of the upper main body 11. The document holder 12 is connected at its rear to the upper main body 11 so that its front can rotate up and down. The document holder 12 is provided with an ADF 13 at its upper portion. The operation panel 14 is a panel that protrudes from the upper main body 11 so as to be located forward of the upper front side surface 1A, and has a touch panel, operation buttons, etc. for operating the image forming device 10.

[0016] The lower housing 2 has a lower main body 21, an opening / closing cover 22, and a sheet tray .

[0017] The lower housing 2 has a lower left side surface 2A. The lower left side surface 2A is configured as a left side surface located at the left end in the left-right direction of the lower main body 21. The lower left side surface 2A extends vertically.

[0018] The lower body 21 has an opening 21A at the front through which the inside of the device can be accessed. The opening / closing cover 22 opens and closes the upper part of the opening 21A by rotating an upper part of the opening / closing cover 22 in the front-rear direction relative to the lower body 21. The sheet tray 23 opens and closes the lower part of the opening 21A by reciprocating in the front-rear direction relative to the lower body 21.

[0019] 4, the lower main body 21 houses an image forming unit 24 that forms an image on the sheet S. The image forming unit 24 has a drive roller 25 and an exposure unit 26. The drive roller 25 is held by a drive roller holding metal plate 27 housed in the lower main body 21. There are no particular limitations on the configuration of the image forming unit 24, and configurations of an electrophotographic type, an inkjet type, a thermal head type, or the like can be used.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 5, the lower body 21 houses a sheet conveying device 6 that conveys the sheet S from the sheet tray 23 to the outside of the lower housing 2. The sheet conveying device 6 has a paper discharge roller 61, a paper discharge tray 62, and a conveying path 63 that connects the sheet tray 23 to the paper discharge tray 62 via the image forming unit 24. The image forming device 10 has a sheet take-out port 10A as an opening between the upper surface of the lower housing 2 and the lower surface of the housing 1 at the front. The paper discharge tray 62 is formed on the upper surface of the lower housing 2 and has a shape that is inclined upward from the rear to the front. The sheet conveying device 6 has a plurality of conveying roller pairs in the conveying path 63, and has a paper discharge roller 61 at the most downstream part of the conveying path 63. The paper discharge tray 62 is located downstream of the paper discharge roller 61 in the paper discharge direction, and the paper discharge roller 61 discharges the sheet S onto the paper discharge tray 62. In this specification, the direction in which the paper discharge roller 61 discharges the sheet S toward the paper discharge tray 62 is defined as the paper discharge direction. The paper discharge direction is the direction from the rear to the front of the image forming apparatus 10 in FIGS.

[0021] The connecting housing 3 connects the upper housing 1 and the lower housing 2. The connecting housing 3 is joined to the lower housing 2 so as to cover the upper surface of the lower housing 2 from above. As shown in Fig. 4, the connecting housing 3 contains a metal plate 31 for holding a USB board. The metal plate 31 for holding a USB board holds a USB board 33 having a USB terminal 32.

[0022] The connecting housing 3 has a connecting left side surface 3A located at the left end of the connecting housing 3 in the left-right direction, and a connecting right side surface 3B located at the right end of the connecting housing 3 in the left-right direction. Both the connecting left side surface 3A and the connecting right side surface 3B extend vertically. The connecting left side surface 3A corresponds to the first side wall of the present invention, and the connecting right side surface 3B corresponds to the second side wall of the present invention. In the left-right direction of the image forming device 10, the position of the connecting left side surface 3A coincides with the position of the lower left side surface 2A. The connecting left side surface 3A is a surface that extends upward from the lower left side surface 2A. The connecting housing 3 has a connecting left first surface 3C that is a surface that continues from the connecting left side surface 3A and faces approximately downward. The connecting housing 3 further has a connecting left second surface 3D that is a surface that continues from the connecting left first surface 3C, faces approximately leftward, and connects to the lower end of the left side of the upper housing 1.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the first left connecting surface 3C and the second left connecting surface 3D of the upper housing 1 and the connecting housing 3 protrude in the width direction from the connecting left side surface 3A. The first left connecting surface 3C and the second left connecting surface 3D of the upper housing 1 and the connecting housing 3 form a protruding portion 16. As shown in FIG. 3, the first left connecting surface 3C corresponding to the lower surface 16A of the protruding portion 16 has a handle portion 17A on which the user's fingers are placed. The handle portion 17A is formed by a plurality of ribs. That is, a plurality of ribs aligned in the left-right direction at the left edge of the first left connecting surface 3C extend in the front-rear direction. The handle portion 17A is formed in the range indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 3. The handle portion 17A extends continuously from the vicinity of the rear end of the connecting housing 3 in the front-rear direction toward the front to the vicinity of the upper front side surface 1A in the front-rear direction of the image forming apparatus 10.

[0024] 2, the connecting housing 3 has a connecting right first surface 3E which is a surface continuing from the connecting right side surface 3B and facing substantially downward. The connecting housing 3 further has a connecting right second surface 3F which is a surface continuing from the connecting right first surface 3E, faces substantially to the right, and is connected to the lower end of the right side of the upper housing 1. The connecting right first surface 3E has a handle portion 17B on which the user's fingers can be placed. The handle portion 17B extends continuously forward from near the rear end of the connecting housing 3 in the front-rear direction to near the upper front side surface 1A, which is the same range in the front-rear direction as the handle portion 17A.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the left side surface 3A of the connection has a USB opening 34 into which the USB device 4 is inserted. That is, the left side surface 3A of the connection has the USB opening 34 so as to expose the USB terminal 32 on the USB board 33 located inside the left side surface 3A. The USB opening 34 corresponds to the first opening of the present invention. The USB device 4 is not particularly limited, but for example, a USB memory is assumed. The USB opening 34 is located below the protrusion 16. In the left-right direction of the image forming apparatus 10, the USB device 4 in a state where it is inserted into the USB opening 34 and connected to the USB terminal 32 is located to the right of the upper left side surface 1B. Specifically, in the left-right direction of the image forming apparatus 10, the left end of the USB device 4 in a state where it is inserted into the USB opening 34 and connected to the USB terminal 32 is separated to the right from the upper left side surface 1B by the distance indicated by the arrow B in FIG. 2. That is, the upper side of the USB device 4 in a state where it is inserted into the USB opening 34 and connected to the USB terminal 32 is covered by the protrusion 16.

[0026] 3, the USB opening 34 is located forward of the center of the connecting housing 3 and rearward of the upper front side surface 1A of the upper housing 1 in the front-rear direction of the image forming device 10. The handle 17A is located above the USB opening 34. Specifically, in the front-rear direction of the image forming device 10, the front end of the handle 17A is located forward of the rear end of the USB opening 34. A vertical gap 35 that allows fingers to be inserted and removed is formed between the handle 17A and the USB opening 34. The size of the vertical gap 35 is within the range indicated by the arrow C in FIG. 3.

[0027] A power switch 18 of the image forming apparatus 10 is disposed on the upper surface of the lower housing 2. The power switch 18 is located below the upper housing 1. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 8, the power switch 18 is located closer to the connecting right side surface 3B than the center in the left-right direction of the image forming apparatus 10, and is located to the left of the upper right side surface 1C in the left-right direction of the image forming apparatus 10. Specifically, in the left-right direction of the image forming apparatus 10, the right end of the power switch 18 is spaced to the left from the upper right side surface 1C by a distance indicated by an arrow D in FIG. 6. The power switch 18 is located at a position that does not overlap with the operation panel 14 in a plan view. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the power switch 18 is located rearward of the upper front side surface 1A in the front-rear direction of the image forming apparatus 10. Specifically, in the front-rear direction of the image forming apparatus 10, the front end of the power switch 18 is located rearward of the upper front side surface 1A by a distance indicated by an arrow E in FIG. 7.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, the lower left side surface 2A of the lower housing 2 and the connecting left side surface 3A of the connecting housing 3 have an opening 51 for an additional board into which an additional board is inserted. The opening for an additional board corresponds to a second opening of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 9, the opening 51 for an additional board is opened and closed by a cover 53 that rotates about a rotation shaft 52 disposed at the upper end of the opening 51 for an additional board. An engaged portion 51A is provided at the lower end of the opening 51 for an additional board. The cover 53 has an engaging portion 53A that can be engaged with and disengaged from the engaged portion 51A. The engaging portion 53A engages with the engaged portion 51A when the cover 53 rotates from above to below about the rotation shaft 52 due to its own weight. The engagement between the engaging portion 53A and the engaged portion 51A is released when the user pulls up the lower end of the cover 53.

[0029] <Action and effect> In the image forming device 10 configured as described above, since the USB opening 34 is located below the protruding portion 16 of the upper housing 1, the upper side of the USB device 4 inserted into the USB opening 34 is covered by the protruding portion 16. Therefore, the protruding portion 16 located above the USB opening 34 reduces the influence of the USB opening 34 from the outside.

[0030] Therefore, with this image forming apparatus 10, problems such as liquid entering the USB opening 34 and people or objects coming into contact with the USB device 4 inserted into the USB opening 34 are unlikely to occur.

[0031] Furthermore, even if the image forming device 10 is installed with its left end against the wall of the room, a space for attaching the USB device 4 can be secured between the USB opening 34 and the wall of the room.

[0032] In this image forming apparatus 10, a vertical gap 35 that allows insertion and removal of fingers is formed between the handle portion 17A and the USB opening 34. With this configuration, even if a USB device 4 is inserted into the USB opening 34, the user can insert his or her fingers through the vertical gap 35 and hang it on the handle portion 17A, so that the USB device 4 is less likely to get in the way when moving the image forming apparatus 10. When the user lifts the image forming apparatus 10, he or she lifts it by hanging his or her fingers on the handle portions 17A and 17B.

[0033] In this image forming device 10, the USB opening 34 is located forward of the center of the image forming device 10 in the front-to-rear direction. With this configuration, the distance from a user standing in front of the image forming device 10 to the USB opening 34 is shortened, so that the user standing in front of the image forming device 10 can easily insert the USB device 4 into the USB opening 34.

[0034] In this image forming apparatus 10, the USB opening 34 is located behind the upper front side surface 1A of the upper housing 1. With this configuration, the user can recognize that the USB opening 34 is located behind the upper front side surface 1A of the upper housing 1 based on the upper front side surface 1A, making it easy to insert the USB device 4 into the USB opening 34.

[0035] In this image forming device 10, the USB board 33 is located above the drive roller retaining metal plate 27 housed in the lower housing 2. According to this configuration, grease and foreign matter around the drive roller 25 retained by the drive roller retaining metal plate 27 is less likely to reach the USB board 33.

[0036] In this image forming device 10, the USB board holding metal plate 31 that holds the USB board 33 is housed in the connecting housing 3. According to this configuration, the USB board holding metal plate 31 is housed in the connecting housing 3 that is separate from the upper housing 1 that houses the image reading unit 15 and the lower housing 2 that houses the image forming unit 24, so that adverse effects such as vibration transmission from the image reading unit 15 and the image forming unit 24 to the USB board 33 are reduced.

[0037] In this image forming apparatus 10, the USB board 33 is located above the exposure unit 26. According to this configuration, the USB board 33 located above the exposure unit 26 is less susceptible to adverse effects of paper dust and the like.

[0038] In this image forming apparatus 10, the power switch 18 is located below the upper housing 1. The power switch 18 is located to the left of the upper right side surface 1C of the upper housing 1 in the left-right direction of the image forming apparatus 10, and is located behind the upper front side surface 1A of the upper housing 1 in the front-rear direction of the image forming apparatus 10. With this configuration, the upper side of the power switch 18 is covered by the upper housing 1, which reduces the problem of liquid getting on the power switch 18.

[0039] In this image forming device 10, the power switch 18 is located closer to the connecting right side surface 3B than the center in the left-right direction of the image forming device 10, and is located to the left of the upper right side surface 1C of the upper housing 1. Furthermore, the power switch 18 is located at a position that does not overlap with the operation panel 14 in a plan view. With this configuration, the power switch 18 is separated from the operation panel 14, which reduces the problem of the user accidentally pressing the power switch 18 when operating the operation panel 14.

[0040] In this image forming apparatus 10, the connecting left side surface 3A has an opening 51 for an additional board, and a cover 53 that opens and closes the opening 51 for an additional board by rotating about a rotation shaft 52 arranged at the upper end of the opening 51 for an additional board. According to this configuration, the cover 53 rotates about the rotation shaft 52 arranged at the upper end of the opening 51 for an additional board, so that even if the cover 53 is forgotten to be closed, the opening 51 for an additional board is closed by the cover 53 rotating under its own weight, thereby reducing the impact on the performance of the apparatus, such as a change in airflow, caused by forgetting to close the cover 53.

[0041] Although the present invention has been described above based on the examples, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above examples and can be appropriately modified and applied within the scope of the present invention. For example, the USB opening 34, the expansion board opening 51, and the cover 53 may be arranged in positions symmetrical to those in the above embodiment in the connecting housing 3. Also, the first side wall may not be present in the connecting housing 3. For example, the lower housing 2 may have the first side wall, the upper housing 1 may have a protruding portion 16 protruding in the width direction beyond the first side wall, and the USB opening 34 may be present in the first side wall below the protruding portion 16. [Industrial Applicability]

[0042] The present invention can be used in, for example, image reading devices, multifunction peripherals, and the like in addition to image forming devices. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 1. Upper case 2. Lower case 3…Connected housing 4. USB Device 3A…Connection left side (first side wall) 3B…Connection right side (second side wall) 10...Image forming device 14...Operation panel 15...Image reading section 16...Protruding part 17…Handle 18…Power switch 24...Image forming section 25...Drive roller 26…Exposure device 27...Drive roller retaining metal plate 31…Metal plate for holding USB board 32...USB port 33…USB board 34…USB opening (1st opening) 35…Vertical gap 51...Opening for additional board (second opening) 52...Pivot shaft 53…Cover

Claims

1. An image forming unit having a drive roller; a discharge roller that discharges the sheet on which the image is formed by the image forming unit in a sheet discharge direction; a first side wall and a second side wall opposed to each other in a width direction perpendicular to the paper discharge direction; a USB board having a USB terminal to which a USB device is connected; an upper housing that is disposed above the first side wall and the second side wall, has a protruding portion that protrudes beyond the first side wall in the width direction, and accommodates an image reading unit that reads an image of a document; a lower housing that is disposed below the upper housing and that houses the image forming unit; a connecting housing that connects the upper housing and the lower housing, the first side wall has a first opening below the protruding portion through which the USB terminal is exposed; the lower housing accommodates a driving roller holding metal plate that holds the driving roller, the connecting housing accommodates a USB board holding metal plate that holds the USB board, The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the USB board is located above the drive roller holding metal plate.

2. An image forming device as described in claim 1, wherein the first side wall has a second opening into which an expansion board is inserted, and a cover which opens and closes the second opening by rotating about a pivot axis located at the upper end of the second opening.

3. An image forming unit, a discharge roller that discharges the sheet on which the image is formed by the image forming unit in a sheet discharge direction; a first side wall and a second side wall opposed to each other in a width direction perpendicular to the paper discharge direction; a USB board having a USB terminal to which a USB device is connected; an upper housing that is disposed above the first side wall and the second side wall, has a protruding portion that protrudes beyond the first side wall in the width direction, and accommodates an image reading unit that reads an image of a document, an image forming apparatus characterized in that the first side wall has a first opening below the protrusion that exposes the USB terminal, a second opening into which an expansion board is inserted, and a cover that opens and closes the second opening by rotating around a pivot axis located at the upper end of the second opening.

4. The image forming unit has a drive roller, a lower housing that is disposed below the upper housing and that houses the image forming unit; the lower housing accommodates a driving roller holding metal plate that holds the driving roller, 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the USB board is located above the drive roller holding metal plate.

5. Further comprising a connecting housing that connects the upper housing and the lower housing, 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the connecting housing accommodates a USB board holding metal plate for holding the USB board.

6. The protrusion has a handle portion on which a user's fingers can be placed, The handle portion is located above the first opening, 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a vertical gap is formed between the handhold and the first opening, allowing insertion and removal of the hand and fingers.

7. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first opening is located downstream in the paper discharge direction from a center of the first side wall in the paper discharge direction.

8. the upper housing has a vertical wall extending in a vertical direction and facing downstream in the paper discharge direction, 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first opening is located upstream of the vertical wall in the paper ejection direction of the first side wall.

9. The image forming unit has an exposure device, 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the USB board is located above the exposure unit.

10. The image forming apparatus further includes a power switch.

10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the power switch is located below the upper housing.

11. The image forming apparatus further includes a power switch. the upper housing has an operation panel for operating the image forming apparatus, 11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the power switch is located closer to the second side wall than the center in the width direction and at a position not overlapping with the operation panel in a plan view.

Images