Housing Structure and Image Forming Apparatus

Abstract

To provide a housing structure that can employ a structure simplifying attachment and fixation of a covering member and can improve operability in attachment and fixation of the covering member.SOLUTION: A housing structure has a lower housing 50, an upper housing 50 mounted on the lower housing 50 and having a hand-grip recess in a side face, and a covering member 70 covering at least part of the hand-grip recess 60 provided in the lower housing 50. The covering member 70 is attached and fixed to the lower housing 50 from a direction perpendicular to the side face, and at least part of temporary stop structures 75a, 64a during the attachment of the covering member 70 from the direction perpendicular to the side face are formed between the upper housing 80 and the covering member. Screws can be used to fix the covering member.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 10

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a housing structure and an image forming apparatus.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a housing structure has been known that includes a lower housing, an upper housing placed on the lower housing and having a hand-holding recess on its side surface, and a covering member that covers at least a part of the hand-holding recess provided in the lower housing. For example, Patent Document 1 describes an image forming apparatus including a main body device (upper housing) and an option device (lower housing) additionally installed in the main body device. The image forming apparatus is characterized by having a hand-holding portion (hand-holding recess) provided in the main body device and a covering member (covering member) provided in the option device that covers the hand-holding portion. This image forming apparatus is said to be able to prevent an end user from having any hand-holding portion of the image forming apparatus main body by completely covering the hand-holding portion of the image forming apparatus main body with the covering member, and to improve the operability without causing misunderstanding.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0003] However, there has been room for improvement in simplifying the attachment and fixing structure of the covering member and improving the workability of attachment and fixing.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0004] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a housing structure including a lower housing, an upper housing placed on the lower housing and having a hand-holding recess on a side surface thereof, and a covering member that covers at least a part of the hand-holding recess provided in the lower housing. The covering member is attached and fixed to the lower housing from a direction perpendicular to the side surface. At least a part of a temporary fixing structure when the covering member is attached from a direction perpendicular to the side surface is formed between the covering member and the upper housing. The temporary fixing structure includes a convex portion or a concave portion formed on an inner wall surface orthogonal to the side surface in the hand-holding recess, and an engaging portion that engages with the convex portion or Recessed portion the concave portion provided on the covering member. The inner wall surface is a ceiling portion in the hand-holding recess, and the convex portion or the concave portion forms a rib extending in the width direction.

Advantages of the Invention

[0005] According to the present invention, a simple structure can be adopted for attaching and fixing the covering member, and the workability of attaching and fixing the covering member can be improved.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0006]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0007] Hereinafter, as an image forming apparatus having the housing structure of the present invention, an electrophotographic printer (hereinafter simply referred to as a printer) that forms an image by an electrophotographic method will be described. First, an outline of the printer 100 according to the embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the printer 100 according to the embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the printer 100. The printer 100 includes a main body housing portion 1 having an image forming portion 10, and an additional paper feeding device 50 attached below the main body housing portion 1. The main body housing portion 1 corresponds to the upper housing, and the housing of the additional paper feeding device 50 corresponds to the lower housing.

[0008] As shown in FIG. 1, the main body housing portion 1 includes a main body paper feeding tray 30, a main body paper feeding roller 11, a main body paper feeding conveyance path 21, a pair of main body conveyance rollers 12, and an internal conveyance path 18 below the image forming portion 10. The additional paper feeding device 50 includes an additional paper feeding tray 52 and an additional paper feeding roller 51. The main body paper feeding tray 30 and the additional paper feeding tray 52 are arranged to be pullable to the front side of the apparatus (the right side in FIG. 1) with respect to the housings of the main body housing portion 1 and the additional paper feeding device 50. As shown in FIG. 2, a main body tray handle portion 30a and an additional tray handle portion 52a are formed for pulling out. The main body paper feeding tray 30 and the additional paper feeding device 50 in the main body housing portion 1 constitute a paper feeding device 200 as a paper feeding means.

[0009] The main body paper feeding tray 30 includes a main body tray housing 32 that forms a main body stacking portion 36 for stacking the first paper bundle P1, a main body paper separating roller 34, and a main body paper guiding member 45. The main body paper feeding tray 30 also includes a main body paper feeding tray passing conveyance path 33 for passing the paper from the additional paper feeding tray 52. The additional paper feeding tray 52 includes an additional tray housing 53 that forms an additional stacking portion 56 for stacking the second paper bundle P2, an additional paper separating roller 55, an additional paper guiding member 47, and a pair of additional conveyance rollers 57. The additional paper feeding tray 52 also includes an additional paper feeding tray passing conveyance path 54, and is configured such that an additional paper feeding tray 52 having the same shape can be added below.

[0010] The main body housing part 1 includes a manual feed tray 3 and a manual feed exterior cover 3a on the front side of the apparatus front of the printer 100 (the right side in FIG. 1). When the manual feed exterior cover 3a is rotated in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1 and moved to the position indicated by the broken line in FIG. 1, in conjunction with this movement, the manual feed tray 3 moves to the position indicated by the broken line in FIG. 1, constituting a manual feed part for feeding paper by the manual feed roller 17.

[0011] The image forming unit 10 includes a photoreceptor 2 which is a latent image carrier, an image forming part 7 for forming a toner image on the surface of the photoreceptor 2, a transfer roller 14 for transferring the toner image on the surface of the photoreceptor 2 to paper, and a fixing device 5 for fixing the toner image transferred onto the transfer paper onto the transfer paper.

[0012] When forming an image with the printer 100, a latent image is formed on the surface of the photoreceptor 2 by the exposure means included in the image forming part 7, and the latent image on the surface of the photoreceptor 2 is developed by the developing device included in the image forming part 7 to form a toner image on the surface of the photoreceptor 2. On the other hand, the paper conveyed one by one by the paper feed rollers (11, 51, 17) from the stack of paper loaded on the main body paper feed tray 30, the additional paper feed tray 52 or the manual feed tray 3 is conveyed to the position where it hits the registration roller pair 13.

[0013] Then, the registration roller pair 13 is rotationally driven so as to match the timing when the toner image on the surface of the photoreceptor 2 reaches the transfer nip which is the opposing part with the transfer roller 14, and the toner image on the surface of the photoreceptor 2 is transferred onto the surface of the paper at the transfer nip. The paper onto which the toner image has been transferred has the toner image fixed by heating and pressurization in the fixing device 5, and is discharged to the paper discharge tray 19 by the paper discharge roller pair 16.

[0014] Next, the housing structure of the printer 100 according to the embodiment, such as the hand-hold recess 60, will be described. The basic configuration of the housing structure according to the embodiment includes an additional paper feeding device 50 as a lower housing, a main body housing portion 1 as an upper housing placed on the lower housing and having a hand-hold recess 60 on the side surface, and a fixing member 70 as a covering member that covers at least a part of the hand-hold recess 60 provided in the lower housing. FIG. 3 is a perspective view for explaining the hand-hold recess 60. The main body housing portion 1 is placed on the additional paper feeding device 50. The left side surface of the main body housing portion 1 forms a hand-hold recess 60 at the lowermost part. This hand-hold recess 60 is a carrying handle formed on the outer surface. The right side surface, which is the opposite side surface, also has a hand-hold recess 60 of the same shape at the corresponding position.

[0015] Mainly, the desktop machine is provided with a hand-hold recess 60 near the bottom surface of the main body housing portion 1 which is the device main body. The additional paper feeding device 50 is generally an optional device installed additionally to the image forming device of the main body. The additional paper feeding device 50 may be installed in multiple stages as shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 4 shows an example in which the additional paper feeding device 50 is provided in two stages, and the fixing member 70 is used to fix between the additional paper feeding devices 50, and at the same time, the upper additional paper feeding device 50 and the main body housing portion 1 are fixed. The fixing member 70 has the same structure as the fixing member 70 described with reference to FIG. 3. That is, the same structure of the fixing member 70 is used in the two locations described above.

[0016] It is preferable to fix the main body housing portion 1 and the additional paper feeding device 50 with the fixing member 70, or to fix the additional paper feeding device 50 and the additional paper feeding device 50 with the fixing member 70. According to this, it is possible to prevent the main body housing portion 1 and the additional paper feeding device 50 on which it is placed from separating and falling due to the diagonal installation of the device or the load from the side (such as contact with the main body housing portion 1 by a person or an object). It is also possible to prevent the upper additional paper feeding device 50 and the lower additional paper feeding device 50 from separating and falling.

[0017] As shown in Fig. 3, the fixing member 70 includes an insertion part 71 that enters and covers the handle recess 60, and a lower screw part 72 for screw fixation. Since the fixing member 70 has the function of covering all or part of the handle recess 60, the fixing member 70 corresponds to the covering member. This fixing member 70 is attached from a direction perpendicular to the side surface on which the handle recess 60 is formed, and is fixed to the additional paper feeding device 50 with a screw 73 which is a fastening member. A recess 61 into which the screw part 72 of the fixing member 70 enters is also formed on the side surface of the additional paper feeding device 50. Due to the simple configuration of attaching the fixing member 70 to the device exterior surface (exterior material) from a direction perpendicular to the side surface, the workability of the operation of attaching the fixing member 70 is good. For the handle recess 60 on the right side surface which is the side surface opposite to the left side surface shown in Fig. 3, a fixing member 70 having the same shape is also attached and fixed at the location.

[0018] In order for the fixing member 70 fixed to the lower housing to exert the above-described function of preventing tipping, depending on the desired degree of tipping prevention, the fixing member 70 needs to be provided with a connecting part that can engage with the upper housing and restrict the relative movement of the upper housing. The part corresponding to the connecting part does not clearly appear in Figs. 3 and 4. When the insertion part 71 of the fixing member 70 fits into the handle recess 60, the movement in the vertical and horizontal directions of the member having the handle recess 60 can be restricted. Regarding the movement in the direction perpendicular to the side surface, the movement to the outside of the side surface is restricted. The movement to the inner side of the side surface cannot be restricted. However, in the configuration in which the handle recess 60 and the fixing member 70 having the same configuration are also adopted on the side surface opposite to the side surface provided with the handle recess 60, the movement to the outside from each of the two side surfaces can be restricted, and as a result, the movement in all three directions can be restricted. Whether to restrict the movement in all directions and the degree of play in the restriction depend on the desired degree of tipping prevention. In addition, the configuration corresponding to the connecting part in other examples of the handle recess 60 and the fixing member 70, which will be described later with reference to Fig. 5 and the like, can also be adopted for the fixing member 70 shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

[0019] In addition to the function of preventing tipping, the fixing member 70, similar to Patent Document 1, exhibits the function of specifying the location to be held by hand. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, when the fixing member 70 is attached to the hand-holding recess 60 and the outer contour of the fixing member 70 occupies and covers the recessed area of the hand-holding recess 60, the hand-holding recess 60 other than the bottom housing cannot be provided. When transporting the main body housing portion 1 and the additional paper feeding device 50 fixed in a state, by holding the bottom, the risk of the additional paper feeding device 50 falling during transportation is reduced to zero. Different from this, if the intermediate hand-holding recess 60 can be held, there is a possibility of injury or damage to the additional paper feeding device 50 due to the weight of the additional paper feeding device 50, damage to the fixing member 70, or unexpected events causing the additional paper feeding device 50 to fall. In FIG. 4, the fixing structure between the main body housing portion 1 and the upper additional paper feeding device 50 and the fixing structure between the upper additional paper feeding device 50 and the lower additional paper feeding device 50 have the same configuration.

[0020] By setting the gap between the hand-holding recess 60 and the fixing member 70 (the gap between the opening of the hand-holding recess 60 and the peripheral edge of the fixing member 70) to 5 mm or less, the amount by which the tip of the UL1459 test finger enters the gap is less than 5 mm, a small finger such as that of a child cannot enter, and it is ensured that the carrying handle cannot be held. Not only the gap, but also if the outer surface of the main body housing portion 1, the additional paper feeding device 50 and the outer surface of the fixing member 70 are on the same plane or the step is 5 mm or less, due to the absence of a step, it is ensured that it cannot be held. Regarding the upper and lower additional paper feeding devices 50 in the case of two stages, the same configuration is adopted to ensure that it cannot be held.

[0021] And in the present embodiment, at least a part of the temporary fixing structure of the fixing member 70 when attached from a direction perpendicular to the side surface of the fixing member 70 is formed between the fixing member 70 and the upper housing. Regarding the configuration example of this temporary fixing structure, a fixing member 70 provided with two screw fixing portions for fixing to the lower housing and a specific example of the structure of the hand-holding recess 60 for this fixing member 70 will be used for explanation.

[0022] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the above specific example. In this fixing member 70, a pair of screw fixing portions 72 are provided at symmetric positions on both sides in the width direction. The illustrated example shows a fixing member 70 for fixing between two-stage additional paper feeding devices 50. The insertion portion 71 of the fixing member 70 is provided with a protrusion 74. In the handle recess 60 of the upper-stage additional paper feeding device 50, an opening 62 or a recess into which the protrusion 74 of the fixing member 70 enters is formed on the back surface portion 63 of the handle recess 60. In the lower-stage additional paper feeding device 50, a recess 61 into which the screw fixing portion 72 of the fixing member 70 enters and a screw engaging portion 61a are formed. The main body housing portion 1 and the upper-stage additional paper feeding device 50 have the same configuration. That is, although the figure shows the fixing between the upper-stage additional paper feeding device 50 and the lower-stage additional paper feeding device 50, the same structure can also be adopted for the fixing between the main body housing portion 1 and the upper-stage additional paper feeding device 50. Also, what is shown in the figure is the structure of the left side surface, and the opposite right side surface also has the same configuration.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 5, the fixing of the fixing member 70 to the lower-stage additional paper feeding device 50 is performed in a temporarily fixed state (see FIG. 9) in which the screw engaging portion 61a, which is a convex portion provided on the lower-stage additional paper feeding device 50, is inserted into an opening 72a provided in the screw fixing portion 72 of the fixing member 70. The fixing is performed by fastening with a screw 73 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The connection between the upper-stage additional paper feeding device 50 and the fixing member 70 is made by inserting the protrusion 74 of the fixing member 70 into an opening 62 provided in the handle recess 60 of the upper-stage additional paper feeding device 50 (see FIG. 8). The connection structure provided on the back surface portion 63 of the handle recess 60 is made into the opening 62 because a person's finger can enter this handle recess 60. A convex shape may cause pain or injury. From this viewpoint, the opening 62 and the recessed shape are desirable.

[0024] FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the back surface of the fixing member 70. An elastic piece 75 whose tip can be displaced vertically by elastic deformation is formed in the insertion portion 71 of the fixing member 70. The tip portion 75a of the elastic piece 75 is at a higher position than other portions of the insertion portion 71 in a natural state, and serves as a catching portion for the rib 64a on the ceiling portion 64 of the handle recess 60 described later. Further, a thin portion 76 that is thinner than other portions is formed at the end portion (peripheral portion) of the insertion portion 71.

[0025] The reason for providing the thin portion 76 at at least one end of the fixing member 70 is as follows. After installing and fixing the main body housing portion 1 and the additional paper feeding device 50, it is necessary to remove the fixing member 70 when attaching and detaching the additional paper feeding device 50 due to product movement, repair, etc. As described above, since the gap and step between the fixing member 70 and the main body housing portion 1 and the additional paper feeding device 50 are made small so that a finger cannot enter, it is difficult to remove the fixing member 70. The configuration of making a part of the fixing member 70 thin makes it easy to insert a claw or a minus driver through the gap to remove the fixing member 70.

[0026] FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the shape of the fixing member 70 described in FIGS. 5 and 6. It shows a cross-section along the X-X line, a cross-section along the Y-Y line, and a cross-section along the Z-Z line. FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of the cross-section along the X-X line, FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view along the Y-Y line, and FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view along the Z-Z line. As shown in FIG. 8, the protrusion 74 of the fixing member 70 has entered the opening 62 formed in the back surface portion 63 of the handle recess 60 in the wall portion of the upper additional paper feeding device 50 in the upper stage.

[0027] The portion constituting the connecting portion with the upper housing in this example is the protrusion 74 of the fixing member 70 that has entered the opening 62 formed in the back surface portion 63 of the handle recess 60 of the upper additional paper feeding device 50 shown in FIG. 8. This protrusion 74 abuts against the lower edge of the opening 62 to restrict the upward movement of the upper housing, and also abuts against the ceiling portion 64 of the handle recess 60 at the upper part to restrict the downward movement of the upper housing.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 6, the protruding portion 74 corresponding to the connecting portion has a rib portion 74a at the center in the width direction of the protruding portions 74 on both sides. As shown in FIG. 9, the rib portion 74a abuts against the back surface portion 63 of the handle recess 60, defining the movement of the upper housing outward from the side surface. Similarly, the handle recess 60 and the fixing member 70 on the opposite side surface also restrict the movement outward from the side surface. The two cooperate to restrict the left-right movement.

[0029] As shown in the cross-section of the ceiling portion 64 of the handle recess 60 in FIGS. 8, 9, and 10, a plurality of convex ribs 64a extending in the width direction are formed. The spaces between the ribs are relatively concave. And this convex rib 64a functions as an anti-slip when the fingertips are placed on the handle recess 60 for transportation. That is, the convex rib 64a on the ceiling portion 64 of the handle recess 60 exhibits the anti-slip function when holding the main body housing portion 1 or the additional paper feeding device 50 provided with this. And as shown in FIG. 10, the tip portion 75a of the elastic piece 75 of the fixing member 70 engages with this rib 64a.

[0030] The tip portion 75a of the elastic piece 75 of the fixing member 70 functions as a catching portion. When the fixing member 70 is attached perpendicularly to the side surface, it catches on the convex rib 64a on the ceiling portion 64 of the handle recess 60. karu During the progress of the insertion for attachment, the catching portion repeats catching and releasing. In the state where the insertion is completed, as shown in FIG. 10, the catching portion is caught on the convex rib 64a on the relatively back side, and the fixing member 70 is temporarily fixed. That is, the elastic piece 75 and the convex rib 64a constitute a temporary fixing structure including a convex portion or a concave portion formed on the ceiling portion 64 as an inner wall surface orthogonal to the side surface in the handle recess 60, and an engaging portion that engages with a convex portion or a concave portion provided on the covering member. The elastic piece 75 corresponds to an engaging portion that can be elastically displaced in a direction perpendicular to the inner wall surface. As long as it is an inner wall surface orthogonal to the side surface of the handle recess 60, it is not limited to the ceiling portion 64. In the illustrated example, the convex shape for anti-slip also exhibits the function of the convex portion for temporary fixing. Recessed portion And an engaging portion that engages with a concave portion.

[0031] The main body housing part 1 is placed on the two-stage additional paper feeding device 50 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and the housing structure in which the fixing at two positions is performed by the hand-holding recessed part 60 and the fixing member 70 having the same structure is such that the lower housing has the hand-holding recessed part 60 on the side surface, and is placed on another housing, and a covering member that covers at least a part of the hand-holding recessed part 60 of the lower housing is provided on the other housing. The covering member has the same structure as the covering member provided on the lower housing, and a temporary fixing structure having the same structure as the temporary fixing structure is formed between the lower housing and the other housing.

[0032] As described above, according to the embodiment, the fixing member 70 is provided with a hooking shape, and when the fixing member 70 is fixed (immediately before screwing), the hooking part of the fixing member 70 is hooked on the convex part of the hand-holding recessed part 60, and can be temporarily held, and the screwing operation can be easily performed. In the above description, the member that covers a part or all of the opening of the hand-holding recessed part 60 is the fixing member 70 provided with a connecting part with the upper housing, but a pure covering member not provided with such a connecting part may also be used.

Explanation of Signs

[0033] 1: Main body housing part 2: Photoconductor 3: Manual paper feed tray 3a: Manual paper feed exterior cover 5: Fixing device 7: Image forming part 10: Image forming unit 11: Main body paper feed roller 12: Pair of main body conveyance rollers 13: Pair of registration rollers 14: Transfer roller 16: Pair of paper discharge rollers 17: Manual paper feed roller 18: Internal conveyance path in main body 19: Paper discharge tray 21: Main body paper feed conveyance path 30: Main body paper feed tray 30a: Main body tray handle part 32: Main body tray housing 33: Conveyance path passing through main body paper feed tray 34: Main body paper feed separation roller 36: Main Loading Section 45: Main Paper Feeding Guide Member 47: Additional Paper Feeding Guide Member 50: Additional Paper Feeding Device 51: Additional Paper Feeding Roller 52: Additional Paper Feeding Tray 52a: Additional Tray Handling Portion 53: Additional Tray Housing 54: Conveyor Path for Passing through the Additional Paper Feeding Tray 55: Additional Paper Feeding Separation Roller 56: Additional Loading Section 57: Pair of Additional Conveyor Rollers 60: Hand-Holding Recess 61: Recess 61a: Threaded Engagement Portion 62: Opening 63: Rear Surface Portion 64: Ceiling Portion 64a: Rib 70: Fixing Member 71: Insertion Portion 72: Screwing Portion 72a: Opening Portion 73: Screw 74: Protrusion 74a: Rib Portion 75: Elastic Piece 75a: Tip Portion 76: Thin-Walled Portion 100: Printer 200: Paper Feeding Device A: Arrow P1: First Stack of Papers P2: Second Stack of Papers

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0034]

Patent Document 1

Claims

1. In a housing structure including a lower housing, an upper housing placed on the lower housing and having a hand-hold recess on a side surface thereof, and a covering member that covers at least a part of the hand-hold recess provided in the lower housing, the covering member is attached and fixed to the lower housing from a direction perpendicular to the side surface, at least a part of a temporary fixing structure when the covering member is attached from a direction perpendicular to the side surface is formed between the covering member and the upper housing, the temporary fixing structure includes a convex portion or a concave portion formed on an inner wall surface orthogonal to the side surface in the hand-hold recess, and an engaging portion that engages with the convex portion or the concave portion provided on the covering member, the inner wall surface is a ceiling portion in the hand-hold recess, and the convex portion or the concave portion forms a rib extending in a width direction, characterized in that the housing structure is as described above.

2. In the housing structure according to Claim 1, a plurality of ribs extending in the width direction are formed side by side in a direction perpendicular to the side surface, characterized in that the housing structure is as described above.

3. In the housing structure according to Claim 1 or 2, the engaging portion is elastically displaceable in a direction perpendicular to the inner wall surface, characterized in that the housing structure is as described above.

4. In the housing structure according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, a part of a peripheral edge portion of the covering member is formed to be thinner than other portions, characterized in that the housing structure is as described above.

5. In the housing structure according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, the covering member has a connecting portion with the upper housing, characterized in that the housing structure is as described above.

6. In the housing structure according to any one of Claims 1 to 5, a screw is used for fixing the covering member, characterized in that the housing structure is as described above.

7. In the housing structure according to any one of Claims 1 to 6, the lower housing has a hand-hold recess on a side surface and is placed on another housing, and the other housing is provided with a covering member that covers at least a part of the hand-hold recess of the lower housing. The covering member has the same structure as the covering member provided in the lower housing, and a temporary fixing structure having the same structure as the temporary fixing structure is formed between the covering member and the lower housing, characterized in that the housing structure is as described above.

8. An image forming apparatus including the housing structure according to any one of Claims 1 to 7.

9. In the image forming apparatus according to Claim 8, the upper housing is an image forming apparatus main body incorporating a paper feed tray, and the lower housing is an additional paper feed device, characterized in that the image forming apparatus is as described above.

Images