Supporting parts, a housing structure using the same, and accessories

Abstract

To maintain a support strength with respect to a leg component for height adjustment without using a nut as a receive component for receiving the leg component regarding a support component which is used for installing an implement.SOLUTION: A support component 1 comprises: a leg component 2 including a male screw part 4 at least at an upper side of a rod 3 extending in a height direction and including a pedestal part 5 larger than the rod 3 in a lower end of the rod 3; and a receive component 6 including a burring part 7 which is provided in a plate 12a positioned at an upper side in a frame material 12 including two plates constituting a lower part of a housing 11 of an implement 10 and separated vertically and in which the male screw part 4 of the rod 3 is threaded, and a via hole 8 through which the rod 3 provided in a plate 12b positioned at a lower side of the frame material 12 can pass. A height adjustment can be performed in a state where the rod 3 of the leg component 2 is inserted through the burring part 7 and the via hole 8 of the receive component 6. A housing structure including the support component 1 and further, the implement are also defined as subjects.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a support part used for installing equipment, a housing structure using the same, and equipment.

Background Art

[0002] When installing equipment such as multifunction printers, home appliances, and furniture, support parts as legs for adjusting the height of the equipment and maintaining its level may be used. As this type of support part, for example, those described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are already known. Patent Document 1 discloses a guide mechanism for guiding a shaft that slides through a plate-like body, which is composed of a through-hole formed in the plate-like body and a cylindrical portion that integrally protrudes in the axial direction of the shaft so as to surround the periphery of the through-hole, and the inner diameter of the cylindrical portion is formed slightly larger than the outer diameter of the shaft. Patent Document 2 discloses a component mounting device including a guide portion that is protruded from a metal plate by drawing and a locking portion that is formed by drawing or burring from the tip of the guide portion and has an outer diameter portion at least partially smaller than the outer diameter of the guide portion, and a retaining portion that is at least partially larger than the locking portion is formed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Regarding conventional support parts used for installing spare parts, there are problems such as high component costs and man-hours due to welding nuts as receiving parts for height-adjusting leg parts. Also, it was difficult to maintain the support strength for the leg parts without using welding nuts. The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is, for support parts used for installing spare parts, to maintain the support strength for leg parts without using welding nuts as receiving parts for height-adjusting leg parts, as compared to the case where there is no receiving part.

Means for Solving the Problem

[0005] The invention according to claim 1 has a male screw portion on at least the upper side of a rod extending in the height direction, and a leg part having a rotatable pedestal portion with an outer diameter larger than that of the rod at the lower end of the rod, and is integrally provided on a frame frame member including two vertically spaced plate members constituting the bottom of the housing of the spare parts. a receiving component that receives and supports the leg component A burring process portion provided on the plate member located on the upper side of the frame frame member and into which the male screw portion of the rod is screwed, and a through hole provided on the plate member located on the lower side of the frame frame member and through which the rod can pass. has The support part is characterized in that the height of the rod of the leg part can be adjusted in a state where the rod passes through the burring process portion and the through hole of the receiving part.

[0006] The invention according to claim 2 is a support part, which is the support part according to claim 1, characterized in that the frame frame member has a closed cross-sectional structure with a rectangular cross-section. The invention according to claim 3 is a support part, which is the support part according to claim 2, characterized in that the frame frame member is formed by joining a flat plate-like plate member and a frame member with a U-shaped cross-section to form a closed cross-sectional structure with a rectangular cross-section. The invention according to claim 4 is a support part, which is the support part according to claim 1, characterized in that the vertical distance between the burring process portion and the through hole is selected so as to maintain a state where the rod passes through the burring process portion and the through hole in a state where the leg part has descended to the grounding position. The invention according to claim 5 is a support part according to claim 4, wherein the flanging part is formed by protruding the plate material located on the upper side downward. The invention according to claim 6 is a support part according to claim 1, wherein the through hole is selected to be larger than the diameter of the valley of the female screw part of the flanging part. The invention according to claim 7 is a support part according to claim 6, wherein the through hole is selected so as to fall within the elastic deformation range of the rod when the leg part receives the load of the spare part. The invention according to claim 8 is a support part according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the through hole is formed with a tolerance equal to or greater than the tolerance of the hole diameter of the flanging part.

[0007] The invention according to claim 9 is a housing structure comprising a support part according to any one of claims 1 to 8, a frame frame material in which a receiving part of the support part is formed, and a housing in which the frame frame material is used as a part of the bottom of the housing and framed together with other frame frame materials. The invention according to claim 10 is a housing structure according to claim 9, wherein, in the frame frame material in which the flanging part of the receiving part is formed, another frame frame material is connected and fixed to the upper part thereof. The invention according to claim 11 is a housing structure according to claim 10, wherein the other frame frame material is a closed cross-section structure having a rectangular cross-section or a columnar member extending in the height direction. The invention according to claim 12 is a housing structure according to claim 10, wherein when the leg part of the support part retracts to the unused position, a relief hole through which the rod of the leg part can be inserted is formed in the other frame frame material.

[0008] The invention according to claim 13 is a spare part comprising a housing structure according to any one of claims 9 to 12 and various spare part elements mounted on the housing structure. The invention according to claim 14 is an equipment according to claim 13, further comprising a plurality of casters movable at the lower part of the housing, wherein the support component is provided at a corner of the lower part of the housing on the side away from the support points of the plurality of casters.

Advantages of the Invention

[0009] According to the invention of claim 1, for the support component used in installing the equipment, without using a welding nut as the receiving component for receiving the height-adjusting leg component, the support strength for the leg component can be maintained as compared with the case where there is no receiving component. According to the invention of claim 2, the support strength for the leg component can be increased as compared with the case of using a frame member with an open cross-section structure as the frame member forming the receiving component. According to the invention of claim 3, for a frame member with a closed cross-section structure formed by joining two parts, a burring portion as the receiving component can be formed. According to the invention of claim 4, the of arrangement relationship with the through hole can be appropriately selected. According to the invention of claim 5, the distance between the burring portion and the through hole can be narrowed as compared with the case of forming the burring portion to protrude upward. According to the invention of claim 6, it is possible to facilitate the setting (assembly) of the leg component with respect to the receiving component of the frame member. According to the invention of claim 7, when the leg component receives the load of the equipment, even if the leg component is elastically deformed, the position correction of the leg component can be performed at two upper and lower points of the receiving component. According to the invention of claim 8, in order to enhance the effect of position correction, even if the aperture difference between the burring portion and the through hole is reduced, assembly can be performed without problems. According to the invention of claim 9, a housing structure including a support component capable of maintaining the support strength for the leg component as compared with the case where there is no receiving component can be provided without using a welding nut as the receiving component for receiving the height-adjusting leg component. According to the invention according to claim 10, the vertical load of the support component received by the frame member can be dispersed to other frame members. According to the invention according to claim 11, it is effective for more appropriately dispersing the vertical load of the support component received by the frame member. According to the invention according to claim 12, when the support component waits at the unused position, interference between the rod of the leg component and other frame members can be avoided. According to the invention according to claim 13, without using a welding nut as a receiving component for receiving the height-adjustable leg component, a support component capable of maintaining the support strength for the leg component as compared with the case where there is no receiving component is included, and an equipment with a housing structure can be provided. According to the invention according to claim 14, it is possible to prevent the equipment from falling when an external force is applied to the equipment.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0010]

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BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0011] ◎Overview of the Embodiment FIG. 1(a) shows an overview of an embodiment of an equipment having a housing structure including a support component to which the present invention is applied. In the figure, the equipment 10 includes a support component 1 for position adjustment during installation, a frame frame member 12 in which a receiving component 6 (see FIG. 1(b)), which is a component of the support component 1, is formed, a housing 11 in which the frame frame member 12 is part of the bottom of the housing and is framed together with other frame frame members 13, and a housing structure including various equipment elements 14 mounted on this type of housing structure.

[0012] The equipment 10 referred to here means a multifunctional machine that combines functions such as copiers, printers, scanners, and fax machines, as well as heavy products such as large household appliances and large furniture. When installing this type of heavy product, from the perspective of safety, it is necessary to stably support the heavy product. Therefore, the support part 1 is used as an element of the housing structure. The support part 1 in this example functions as a leg for the purpose of adjusting the height, maintaining the horizontal level, or preventing the equipment 10 from falling when installing the equipment 10. In addition, in order to make the equipment 10 movable during installation, some of the equipment 10 are equipped with a plurality of movable casters 15 at the lower part of the housing 11. In this type of equipment 10, the support part 1 is provided at the lower corner of the housing 11 on the side away from the support points of the plurality of casters 15.

[0013] Furthermore, in this example, as shown in FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b), the support part 1 has a male screw part 4 on at least the upper side of a rod 3 extending in the height direction, and a pedestal part 5 that is rotatable and has an outer diameter larger than that of the rod 3 at the lower end of the rod 3. The support part 1 is integrally provided on a frame member 12 including two spaced-apart plates, one above the other, that constitute the bottom of the housing 11 of the equipment 10. includes a receiving component 6 that receives and supports the leg component 2, and the receiving component 6 A burring process part 7 provided on the plate 12a located on the upper side of the frame member 12 and into which the male screw part 4 of the rod 3 is screwed, and a through hole 8 provided on the plate 12b located on the lower side of the frame member 12 and through which the rod 3 can pass. has The rod 3 of the leg part 2 can be adjusted in height in a state where it passes through the burring process part 7 and the through hole 8 of the receiving part 6.

[0014] In such technical means, the leg component 2 may have a rod 3 extending in the height direction, and it is sufficient if the male screw portion 4 is provided at least on the upper side of the rod 3. However, in order to be able to hold it in an unused state pushed into the receiving component 6 side before height adjustment, the male screw portion 4 may be formed over substantially the entire area of the rod 3, or at least on the upper side and near the pedestal portion 5. However, in the mode where the male screw portions 4 are provided separately above and below, it is necessary to narrow the diameter between the upper part of the rod 3 and near the pedestal portion 5. When the narrow portion comes to the through hole 8, it is necessary to note that the gap between the through hole 8 and the rod 3 widens, and the effect as a two-point support weakens. Further, the pedestal portion 5 preferably has a larger grounding area than the rod 3 in order to stably ground the leg component 2.

[0015] Also, regarding the receiving component 6, the frame frame member 12 bottom constituting the housing 11 must include two plate materials 12a and 12b separated vertically, and it is sufficient if the burring portion 7 is provided on the upper plate material 12a and the through hole 8 is provided on the lower plate material 12b. Here, the burring portion 7 may face upward or downward, and is usually configured to have a protruding amount depending on the thickness of the upper plate material 12a. Furthermore, the frame frame member 12 in which the receiving component 6 is formed is not limited to the case of having a closed cross-section structure. For example, the opposing walls of a U-shaped channel member may be used as the upper and lower plate materials. In this case, it is preferable to connect the openings of the U-shaped channel member with one or a plurality of connecting members in order to increase the support rigidity of the upper and lower plate materials of the frame frame member 12.

[0016] Next, a representative or preferred aspect of the support component according to the present embodiment will be described. First, from the viewpoint of enhancing the support rigidity, the frame frame member 12 preferably has a closed cross-section structure with a rectangular cross-section. Here, from the viewpoint of facilitating the formation work of the receiving component 6, an example is a structure in which a flat plate material and a frame material with a U-shaped cross-section are joined to form a closed cross-section structure with a rectangular cross-section. Also, the vertical distance between the burring portion 7 and the through-hole 8 may be selected so that the rod 3 maintains the state of passing through the burring portion 7 and the through-hole 8 with the leg part 2 lowered to the grounding position. Furthermore, the burring portion 7 is preferably formed by protruding the upper plate member 12a downward. In this example, compared with the case where the burring portion 7 is formed by protruding upward, the tip of the rod 3 is less likely to come off the burring portion 7 when adjusting the height of the rod 3 of the leg part 2 to the grounding position.

[0017] Also, the through-hole 8 may basically be any that allows the rod 3 of the leg part 2 to pass through, but from the viewpoint of facilitating the setting (assembly) of the leg part 2 with respect to the receiving part 6, it is preferably selected to be larger than the valley diameter of the female thread portion of the burring portion 7 (corresponding to the outer diameter of the male thread portion 4 of the rod 3 of the leg part 2). Furthermore, the through-hole 8 is preferably selected so as to be within the elastic deformation range of the rod 3 when the leg part 2 receives the load of the spare part 10. Furthermore, the through-hole 8 is preferably formed with a tolerance equal to or greater than the tolerance of the hole diameter of the burring portion 7.

[0018] Also, as a preferable aspect of the housing structure, as shown in FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b), an aspect in which the frame member 12 formed with the burring portion 7 among the receiving parts 6 has another frame member 13 connected and fixed to its upper part can be mentioned. In this example, the support strength can be borne by the other frame member 13, and accordingly, the support strength for the receiving part 6 can be reduced. Here, the other frame member 13 is preferably a rectangular closed cross-sectional structure or a columnar member extending in the height direction. Furthermore, from the viewpoint of smoothing the retraction operation of the leg part 2 when the leg part 2 of the support part 1 retracts to the unused position, it is preferable that the other frame member 13 is formed with a relief hole through which the rod 3 of the leg part 2 can pass.

[0019] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail based on the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. ◎Embodiment 1 -Overall Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus- FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus as equipment according to Embodiment 1. Note that the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 2 schematically shows one configuration example, and it is noted for the record that it is not directly incorporated into the apparatus housing shown in FIGS. 3 to 6. In this figure, the image forming apparatus 20 mounts an image forming engine 30 that forms images of a plurality of colors (in this embodiment, four colors: yellow, magenta, cyan, and black) inside an apparatus housing 21. Below this image forming engine 30, a recording material supply device 50 that houses recording materials such as paper is disposed, and a recording material conveyance path 55 from this recording material supply device 50 is arranged in a substantially vertical direction. In this example, the image forming engine 30 arranges image forming units 31 (specifically 31a to 31d) that form images of a plurality of colors in a substantially horizontal direction, and above it, a transfer module 40 including, for example, a belt-shaped intermediate transfer body 45 that circulates and moves along the arrangement direction of the image forming units 31 is disposed. The images of each color formed by each image forming unit 31 are transferred to a recording material via the transfer module 40.

[0020] In this embodiment, each image forming unit 31 (31a to 31b) forms toner images for, for example, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black (the arrangement is not necessarily in this order) in order from the upstream side in the circulation direction of the intermediate transfer body 45. It includes a photoreceptor 32, a charging device (in this example, a charging roll) 33 that charges this photoreceptor 32 in advance, an exposure device (in this example, an LED writing head) 34 that writes an electrostatic latent image on each photoreceptor 32 charged by this charging device 33, a developing device 35 that develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoreceptor 32 with a corresponding color component toner (in this embodiment, for example, a negative polarity), and a cleaning device 36 that cleans the residue on the photoreceptor 32. Note that reference numerals 37 (specifically 37a to 37d) are toner cartridges for supplying each color component toner to each developing device 35.

[0021] Also, in this embodiment, the transfer module 40 has a belt-shaped intermediate transfer member 45 spanned over a plurality of tension rollers 41 to 44. For example, the intermediate transfer member 45 is circulated and moved with the tension roller 41 as a driving roller. And a primary transfer device (primary transfer roller in this example) 46 is disposed on the back surface of the intermediate transfer member 45 corresponding to the photoreceptor 32 of each image forming unit 31. By applying a primary transfer voltage having a polarity opposite to the charging polarity of the toner to this primary transfer device 46, the toner image on the photoreceptor 32 is electrostatically transferred to the intermediate transfer member 45 side. Furthermore, a belt cleaning device 47 is disposed upstream of the most upstream image forming unit 31a of the intermediate transfer member 45 to remove residual toner on the intermediate transfer member 45.

[0022] Also, in this embodiment, a secondary transfer device 60 is disposed at a position corresponding to the tension roller 42 on the downstream side of the most downstream image forming unit 31d of the intermediate transfer member 45, and the primary transfer image on the intermediate transfer member 45 is secondarily transferred (batch transferred) to the recording material. In this example, the secondary transfer device 60 includes a secondary transfer roller 61 disposed in pressure contact with the toner image holding surface side of the intermediate transfer member 45, and a backup roller (using the tension roller 42 in this example) disposed on the back surface side of the intermediate transfer member 45 to form a counter electrode for the secondary transfer roller 61. And, for example, the secondary transfer roller 61 is grounded, and a secondary transfer voltage having the same polarity as the charging polarity of the toner is applied to the backup roller (tension roller 42).

[0023] Also, the recording material supply device 50 is provided with a supply roller 51 for supplying the recording material, conveyance rollers (not shown) are disposed in the recording material conveyance path 55, and a registration roller 56 for supplying the recording material to the secondary transfer site at a predetermined timing is disposed in the recording material conveyance path 55 located immediately before the secondary transfer site. Further, a fixing device 70 is provided in the recording material conveyance path 55 located on the downstream side of the secondary transfer portion. The fixing device 70 includes, for example, a heating and fixing roll 71 incorporating a heating heater (not shown) and a pressure-applying fixing roll 72 that is disposed in pressure contact therewith and rotates following it. Further, on the downstream side of the fixing device 70, a discharge roll 57 for discharging the recording material in the device housing 21 is provided. The recording material is sandwiched and conveyed for discharge, and the recording material is accommodated in a recording material accommodation receiver 58 formed at the upper part of the device housing 21. Incidentally, in this example, although illustration is omitted, it goes without saying that a manual supply device for the recording material or a duplex recording module enabling duplex recording of the recording material may be separately attached.

[0024] -Device housing structure- In the present embodiment, the device housing 21 is For example, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, it has a substantially rectangular housing bottom 81. At both corner portions on the front side (front side) of the housing bottom 81, housing column frames 82 (specifically 82a and 82b) that rise in a columnar shape along the z direction (corresponding to the vertical direction) in FIG. 3 are provided. On the back side (rear side) of the housing bottom 81, a housing back 83 that partitions the back side is provided. At the upper parts of the housing column frames 82 and the housing back 83, housing connection frames 84 (specifically 84a to 84c) that are respectively spanned on the three sides other than the housing back 83 are connected. And in this example, in the device housing 21, a housing partition frame 85 is provided above the housing bottom 81. An upper housing portion 21a that is provided above the housing partition frame 85 and houses the image forming engine 30 and the toner cartridge 37, and a lower housing portion 21b that is provided below the housing partition frame 85 and houses the recording material supply device 50 are provided. Incidentally, in this example, the housing column frames 82 are vertically integrally configured by the upper housing portion 21a and the lower housing portion 21b. In this example, for the housing column frames 82 and the housing connection frames 84, angle pipes having a closed cross-sectional structure with a rectangular cross-section may be used, or channel materials such as U-shaped cross-sections or L-shaped cross-sections that are not closed cross-sectional structures may be used. Further, for the housing back 83 and the housing partition frame 85, embossing may be performed on a part of the flat plate, or on the periphery for reinforcementYou may provide a flange or the like. In addition, between both sides of the housing column frame 82 and the housing back 83 in the device housing 21, a housing reinforcement frame 86 is appropriately bridged in order to secure the rigidity of the device housing 21 while reducing the weight of the device housing 21. Here, regarding the housing reinforcement frame 86, the cross-sectional structure is not particularly limited, and a long flat plate may be used.

[0025] <Configuration example of the housing bottom> In this example, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the housing bottom 81 has a substantially rectangular metal (for example, SUS) bottom plate 91. On the front side (front side) and back side ( rear side) of the lower surface, metal (for example, SUS) frame members 92, 93 (hereinafter referred to as left and right frame members as necessary) extending in the x direction (corresponding to the left and right directions of the device housing 21) in FIG. 3 of the device housing 21 are fixed by welding or the like. On the upper surfaces on both sides in the left and right directions of the bottom plate 91, metal (for example, SUS) frame members 94, 95 (hereinafter referred to as front and rear frame members as necessary) extending in the y direction (corresponding to the front and rear directions of the device housing 21) in FIG. 3 of the device housing 21 are fixed by welding or the like. In this example, each of the frame members 92 to 95 is made of a square pipe having a closed cross-sectional structure with a rectangular cross-section. However, for the left and right frame members 92, 93, a square pipe with a thinner thickness in the vertical direction is used compared to the front and rear frame members 94, 95. Furthermore, in this example, the housing column frame 82 (82a, 82b) and the housing back 83 are provided corresponding to the intersection portions of the front and rear frame members 94, 95 with the left and right frame members 92, 93. In addition, on the upper surface of the bottom plate 91 of the housing bottom 81, a plurality of guide rails 96 for supporting the recording material supply device 50 so as to be pullable along the front and rear directions are appropriately provided.

[0026] <Support structure of the device housing> In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the support structure of the device housing 21 includes a plurality of casters 100 that movably support the device housing 21 and an adjuster 110 as a support component for adjusting the height of the device housing 21. In this example, the casters 100 are symmetrically provided at appropriate intervals s in the front-rear direction at positions corresponding to the front-rear frame members 94 and 95 on the lower surfaces of both left and right sides in the lateral direction of the bottom plate 91 of the housing bottom 81, with a plurality (three in this example) provided on each side. Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the weight center position P of the imaging engine 30 and the like mounted on the apparatus housing 21 is assumed to be near the approximate center of the housing bottom 81 of the apparatus housing 21. Among the three rows of casters 100 in the front-rear direction (specifically 100a to 100c), two rows of casters 100 (100b and 100c in this example) are arranged on the rear side (the back side) of the weight center position P, and the first row of casters 100 (100a in this example) is arranged on the front side (the front side) of the weight center position P.

[0027] And in this example, the adjusters 110 (specifically 110a and 110b) are provided at the lower parts on both longitudinal sides of the left and right frame members 92 located on the front side of the housing bottom 81, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 6. In this example, focusing on the dimension of the apparatus housing 21 in the front-rear direction, when the distance in the front-rear direction between the weight center position P of the apparatus housing 21 and the installation position O of the front caster 100 (100a) in the first row is d1, and the distance in the front-rear direction between the installation position Q of the front caster 100 (100a) in the first row and the installation position of the adjuster 110 is d2, when withstanding the overturning load (apparatus weight) from the rear side of the image forming apparatus, a load corresponding to the ratio of d1 / d2 of the apparatus weight and the external force acting thereon in the vertical direction is applied to the adjuster 110 with the front caster 100 (100a) as the fulcrum. For this reason, it is necessary to design the adjuster 110 to have sufficient support strength against the load applied in the vertical direction. <Configuration Example of Caster> In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the caster 100 has mounting plates 101 at the bottoms of both left and right sides in the lateral direction of the bottom plate 91 of the housing bottom 81, and a wheel holder 102 is rotatably provided on the mounting plate 101 via a bearing, and the axle of the wheel 103 is rotatably held by the wheel holder 102. and FIG. 8

[0028] -Configuration Example of Adjuster (Supporting Component)- In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the basic configurations of the adjusters 110 (110a, 110b) located on the left and right are substantially the same, although the configurations of the adjusters 110 (110a, 110b) and the mounting parts are somewhat different. Specifically, the configurations of the housing columns 82 (82a, 82b) provided on the front side of the front and rear frame members 94, 95 constituting the bottom of the housing are slightly different. Therefore, in this example, the adjuster 110 (110a) located on the left side in FIG. 6 will be described in detail as an example, and the adjuster 110 (110b) located on the right side in FIG. 6 will be briefly supplemented and explained.

[0029] <Regarding One Adjuster 110a> In this example, as shown in FIGS. 6 to 13, the adjuster 110 (110a) includes an adjuster foot 111 as a leg component for height adjustment and a receiving component 120 for receiving and supporting the adjuster foot 111. Here, the adjuster foot 111 forms a male thread portion 113 over substantially the entire area of a rod 112 extending in the height direction, and a pedestal portion 115 having an outer diameter larger than that of the male thread portion 113 of the rod 112 is provided at the lower end of the rod 112. In this example, the rod 112 can be appropriately selected as long as it is a metal with high bending strength and excellent thread machining properties. For example, a SUM material having better thread machining properties than steel materials is used. Also, the pedestal portion 115 is formed, for example, using a PC resin or an ABS resin to form a disk-shaped pedestal body. A recess for accommodating the lower end of the rod 112 is formed at the center of the pedestal body, and the lower end of the rod 112 is inserted into this recess and fixed with an adhesive or the like. Further, uneven portions 116 for anti-slip during rotation operation are formed on the outer peripheral portion of the pedestal portion 115. Furthermore, a stepped portion 117 is formed around the recess of the pedestal portion 115 to increase the connection strength between the two by increasing the connection area between the recess of the pedestal portion 115 and the lower end of the rod 112. In this example, a stepped portion 117 is formed on the pedestal portion 115, but this stepped portion 117 is not necessarily required and can be appropriately selected.

[0030] Further, the receiving component 120 is provided on the plate material 92a located on the upper side among the left and right frame members 92 which are components of the bottom portion 81 of the housing, and the barring processing portion 121 into which the male screw portion 113 of the rod 112 is screwed, and is provided on the plate material 92b located on the lower side of the left and right frame members 92 and and includes a through hole 125 through which the rod 112 can pass. In this example, as shown in, for example, FIG. 10(a), a flat first frame member 921 and a second frame member 922 having a U-shaped cross section are prepared for the left and right frame members 92. As shown in FIG. 10(b), barring processing is performed on a predetermined position of the first frame member 921 to form the barring processing portion 121. On the other hand, hole processing is performed on a predetermined position of the second frame member 922 to form the through hole 125. As shown in FIG. 10(c), the first frame member 921 and the second frame member 922 are joined by a fixing means 925 such as welding to form a square pipe having a flat closed cross-sectional structure with a rectangular cross section. The barring processing portion 121 is arranged on the plate material 92a located on the upper side, and the through hole 125 is arranged directly below the barring processing portion 121 in the plate material 92b located on the lower side.

[0031] In this example, the barring processing portion 121 is formed by performing hole processing on the first frame member 921 and then performing flange processing around the hole to project the rising flange 122 downward. Further, an internal thread portion 123 into which the male screw portion 113 of the rod 112 of the adjuster foot 111 can be screwed is formed on the inner circumference of the rising flange 122. In forming the internal thread portion 123, it may be performed simultaneously with the flange processing, or may be performed after the flange processing. Further, in this example, the hole diameter D2 of the through hole 125 needs to be formed larger than the valley diameter D1 of the female thread portion 123 of the burring portion 121, and is set larger than the outer diameter D3 of the male thread portion 113 of the rod 112 of the adjuster foot 111. Note that, in this example, the through hole 125 is selected to have a size that the stepped portion 117 of the adjuster foot 111 cannot pass through.

[0032] Also, in this example, the vertical distance g between the burring portion 121 and the through hole 125 is such that when the adjuster foot 111 is in the lowered state to the grounding position (during height adjustment implementation ), the rod 112 is selected to maintain the state of passing through the burring portion 121 and the through hole 125. Here, when the adjuster foot 111 receives the load when the image forming apparatus falls, the rod 112 of the adjuster foot 111 will elastically deform, but the hole diameter D2 of the through hole 125 rod 112 is preferably selected to be within the elastic deformation range of. Further, the through hole 125 is preferably formed with a tolerance equal to or greater than the tolerance of the hole diameter of the burring portion 121.

[0033] - Method of using the adjuster - <During height adjustment> When installing the image forming apparatus, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 11, when the pedestal portion 115 of the adjuster foot 111 is rotated, the male thread portion 113 of the rod 112 of the adjuster foot 111 moves in the grounding direction along the female thread portion 123 of the burring portion 121, and for example, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 11, the adjuster foot 111 that was in the retracted position B can be lowered to the grounding position A shown by the solid line. And when the adjuster foot 111 reaches the grounding position A, the adjuster foot 111 is configured to maintain the state in which the rod 112 passes through the burring portion 121, which is the receiving component 120, and the through hole 125. At this time, the adjuster foot 111 is supported in a state of being screwed into the burring portion 121. However, for example, as shown in Fig. 12(a), instead of the burring portion 121 (see Fig. 12(b)), a hole portion 132 is provided in the support plate material 131, and a nut member 130 is fixed to the lower surface of the support plate material 131 in accordance with the position of the hole portion 132. In the mode where the nut member 130 is used as the support portion of the adjuster foot 111, since the thickness hn of the nut member 130 is usually larger than that of the burring portion 121, although the support strength of the adjuster foot 111 is sufficiently ensured, in the mode of using the burring portion 121 as in this example, since the height hb of the rising flange 122 is low, the female screw portion 123 region is small, and accordingly, the support strength of the adjuster foot 111 is reduced. However, in this example, as shown in Fig. 12(c), the receiving component 120 of the adjuster foot 111 has a burring portion 121 and a through hole 125 between the plate materials 92a and 92b at a distance g located above and below the left and right frame members 92. Therefore, for example, when a large weight load of the image forming apparatus is applied to the adjuster foot 111, the rod 112 of the adjuster foot 111 will elastically deform due to the weak support strength of the burring portion 121, but the inclination of the rod 112 is blocked by the inner edge of the through hole 125. At this stage, it is supported at two locations, namely, the burring portion 121 and the through hole 125 of the left and right frame members 92. For this reason, the elastic deformation of the rod 112 is suppressed, and the support strength of the adjuster foot 111 is maintained. In this case, if the difference between the hole diameter D1 of the burring portion 121 and the hole diameter D2 of the through hole 125 is ΔD, the rod 112 of the adjuster foot 111 will incline by θd = ΔD / g at most due to elastic deformation. In this way, even if the rod 112 of the adjuster foot 111 elastically deforms maximally, by supporting it with the through hole 125 together with the burring portion 121, the fall of the image forming apparatus is suppressed. At this time, it is preferable that θd is at most 5° and g is 6 mm or more.

[0034] <During retraction> When installing the image forming apparatus, if the image forming apparatus is moved with the caster 100 and a desired installation location is selected, the adjuster foot 111 may be held at the retracted position B shown by the two-dot chain line in Fig. 11 so that the adjuster 110 does not interfere with the movement operation of the image forming apparatus. In this example, when the adjuster foot 111 is located at the retracted position B, the pedestal portion 115 and the stepped portion 117 of the adjuster foot 111 are arranged at positions where they do not penetrate the through hole 125, and the rod 112 of the adjuster foot 111 penetrates the through hole 125 and the burring portion 121, and further penetrates the plate material 92a located above the left and right frame members 92. In this state, in this example, since the adjuster 110 is arranged at the longitudinal end of the left and right frame members 92 at the intersection with the front and rear frame members 94, among the plate material 94a located above the front and rear frame members 94 and the plate material 94b located below, escape holes 141 and 142 through which the rod 112 can be inserted are formed at positions corresponding to the burring portion 121. These escape holes 141 and 142 only need to have a hole diameter larger than the outer diameter of the male screw portion 113 of the rod 112 at least. Therefore, in this example, the adjuster foot 111 is held at the retracted position B without being obstructed by the presence of the front and rear frame members 94 during retraction. In addition, in this embodiment, the male screw portion 113 of the rod 112 of the adjuster foot 111 is formed over substantially the entire area of the rod 112. However, for example, the male screw portion 113 may be formed on the upper side of the rod 112 and the lower side near the pedestal portion 115, and the middle portion may be made to have a smaller diameter than the male screw portion 113.

[0035] <Regarding the direction of formation of the burring portion> In the present embodiment, as shown in Fig. 13(a), the flanging portion 121 is configured to protrude downward from the plate material 92a located above the left and right frame members 92. Therefore, when adjusting the height of the adjuster 110, with the upper end of the rod 112 of the adjuster foot 111 screwed into the flanging portion 121, the length L1 of the adjuster foot 111 protruding below the lower end position of the flanging portion 121 to reach the grounding position A becomes longer, and accordingly, the adjustment margin of the adjuster foot 111 with respect to the grounding position A can be increased. On the other hand, in the modified form shown in Fig. 13(b), the flanging portion 121 is configured to protrude upward from the plate material 92a located above the left and right frame members 92. In this case, if the length of the rod 112 of the adjuster foot 111 is selected in the same manner as in the case of Fig. 13(a), when adjusting the height of the adjuster 110, with the upper end of the rod 112 of the adjuster foot 111 screwed into the flanging portion 121, the length L2 of the adjuster foot 111 protruding below the lower end position of the flanging portion 121 to reach the grounding position A becomes shorter than L1, and accordingly, the adjustment margin of the adjuster foot 111 with respect to the grounding position A becomes smaller.

[0036] <Regarding the other adjuster 110b> In this example, as shown in Figs. 6, 14, and 15, the adjuster 110 (110b) includes an adjuster foot 111 as a leg component for height adjustment and a receiving component 120 that receives and supports it. In this example, the basic configurations of the adjuster foot 111 and the receiving component 120 are substantially the same as those of one of the adjusters 110 (110a). Fig. 14 shows the state of the adjuster foot 111 and the receiving component 120 (flanging portion 121, through hole 125) that receives the adjuster foot 111 when adjusting the height by the adjuster 110.

[0037] In the figure, the adjuster foot 111 is adjusted in height by contacting the grounding position A with the male threaded portion 113 of the rod 112 inserted through the burring portion 121 and the through hole 125. FIG. 15 shows the state of the foot 111 and the receiving component 120 (burring portion 121, through hole 125) that receives the adjuster foot 111 when the adjuster 110 is in the retracted position. adjuster Here, when the adjuster foot 111 is located at the retracted position B, the rod 112 of the adjuster foot 111 is inserted through the through hole 125 and the burring portion 121, and further, penetrates through the plate material 92a located above the left and right frame members 92 and is disposed. In this state, in this example, since the adjuster 110 is disposed at the longitudinal end of the left and right frame members 92 at the intersection with the front and rear frame members 95, among the plate material 95a located above the front and rear frame members 95 and further the plate material 95b located below, relief holes 143 and 144 through which the rod 112 can be inserted are formed at positions corresponding to the burring portion 121. These relief holes 143 and 144 only need to have a hole diameter larger than the outer diameter of the male threaded portion 113 of at least the rod 112. to It suffices to have.

[0038] -Relationship between the adjuster and the housing structure- In the present embodiment, the adjuster 110 includes an adjuster foot 111 and a receiving component 120 (burring portion 121, through hole 125), and moreover, uses the left and right frame members 92 having a closed cross-section structure to maintain the support strength of the receiving component 120. Here, the left and right frame members 92 having a closed cross-section structure constitute a part of the housing bottom 81. In this example, further, since the front and rear frame members 94 and 95 intersect at both longitudinal ends of the left and right frame members 92, the left and right frame members 92 are also firmly supported by the front and rear frame members 94 and 95 of the housing bottom 81. Furthermore, in the present embodiment, housing column frames 82 (82a, 82b) are provided at positions corresponding to the portions where the adjusters 110 are provided at both longitudinal ends of the left and right frame members 92. Even when a large load of heavy equipment is applied to the adjuster foot 111 during height adjustment by the adjuster 110, it is further dispersed by the housing column frames 82 (82a, 82b) having high support rigidity, and the tilting of the adjuster foot 111 is effectively suppressed.

[0039] ◎ Comparative Form 1 FIG. 16(a) shows an adjuster 110' according to Comparative Form 1. In this example, the adjuster 110' includes an adjuster foot 111 similar to that in Embodiment 1. Further, a hole (not shown) through which the adjuster foot 111 is inserted is formed in a square pipe 150 as a frame, and a downward nut member 151 is welded to the lower surface of a plate member located above the square pipe 150. The male screw portion 113 of adjuster the foot 111 rod 112 is screwed into this nut member 151. In this example, although the support strength of the nut member 151 for the adjuster foot 111 is sufficiently ensured, the operation of welding the nut member 151 inside the square pipe 150 is difficult.

[0040] ◎ Comparative Form 2 In this example, the adjuster 110' includes an adjuster foot 111 similar to that in Embodiment 1. Further, an upward burring portion 161 is provided on a flat plate 160 as a frame member, and the male screw portion 113 of the rod of A the adjuster foot 111 is screwed into this burring portion 161. In this example, when the load of the equipment of the image forming apparatus etc is small (for example, 150 kg or less), the support strength of the adjuster foot 111 by the burring portion 161 can be endured. However, when the equipment load increases, there is a concern that the support strength may be insufficient.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0041] 1...Support part, 2...Foot part, 3...Rod, 4...Male screw part, 5...Base part, 6...Receiving part, 7...Burring process part, 8...Through hole, 10...Spare parts, 11...Housing, 12...Frame frame material, 12a, 12b...Sheet material, 13...Other frame frame material, 14...Spare part element, 15...Caster

Claims

1. A leg part having a male thread part on at least the upper side of a rod extending in the height direction, and having a rotatable pedestal part with an outer diameter larger than that of the rod at the lower end of the rod; A receiving part integrally provided on a frame frame member including two spaced-apart plate members that constitute the bottom of the housing of the equipment, for receiving and supporting the leg part; The receiving part has a burring part provided on the plate member located on the upper side of the frame frame member and into which the male thread part of the rod is screwed, and a through hole provided on the plate member located on the lower side of the frame frame member and through which the rod can pass; A support part characterized in that the height of the rod of the leg part can be adjusted in a state where it passes through the burring part and the through hole of the receiving part.

2. In the support part according to Claim 1, The frame frame member has a closed cross-section structure with a rectangular cross-section, characterized as a support part.

3. In the support part according to Claim 2, The frame frame member is formed by joining a flat plate-shaped plate member and a frame member with a U-shaped cross-section to form a closed cross-section structure with a rectangular cross-section, characterized as a support part.

4. In the support part according to Claim 1, The vertical distance between the burring part and the through hole is selected so that the rod maintains a state of passing through the burring part and the through hole in a state where the leg part has descended to the grounding position, characterized as a support part.

5. In the support part according to Claim 4, The burring part is formed by protruding the plate member located on the upper side downward, characterized as a support part.

6. In the support part according to Claim 1, The through hole is selected to be larger than the diameter of the valley of the female thread part of the burring part, characterized as a support part.

7. In the support part according to Claim 6, The through hole is selected to be within the elastic deformation range of the rod when the leg part receives the load of the equipment, characterized as a support part.

8. In the support part according to Claim 6 or 7, The through hole is formed with a tolerance equal to or greater than the tolerance of the hole diameter of the burring part, characterized as a support part.

9. The support part according to any one of Claims 1 to 8; The frame frame member on which the receiving part of the support part is formed; A housing in which the frame frame member is part of the bottom of the housing and is framed together with other frame frame members; A housing structure characterized by comprising

10. In the housing structure according to Claim 9, the frame member of the receiving part where the burring process part is formed has another frame member connected and fixed to its upper part, the housing structure being characterized thereby.

11. In the housing structure according to Claim 10, the other frame member is a closed cross-section structure having a rectangular cross-section or a columnar member extending in the height direction, the housing structure being characterized thereby.

12. In the housing structure according to Claim 10, when the leg part of the support part retracts to the unused position, the other frame member is formed with a relief hole through which the rod of the leg part can be inserted, the housing structure being characterized thereby.

13. A housing structure according to any one of Claims 9 to 12, and various spare parts elements mounted on the housing structure, a spare part comprising the same.

14. In the spare part according to Claim 13, a plurality of casters movable are provided at the lower part of the housing, the support part is provided at a corner of the lower part of the housing on the side away from the support points of the plurality of casters, the spare part being characterized thereby.

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