Device with a socket opening / closing cover and image forming device

Abstract

To provide a device that with an insertion hole opening and closing cover and the like with which, when installing, as part of an exterior cover that covers the periphery of a housing, an opening and closing cover that opens and closes a region where an insertion hole is located through which an insertion article is inserted, it is possible for other regions of the housing where the insertion hole is not located to open and close, and to improve the visual quality of the exterior cover, with no dividing lines existing in the middle of the exterior cover.MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEM: A device with an insertion hole opening and closing cover includes a housing having, as part of an exterior cover, an opening and closing cover that opens and closes while covering a region where an insertion hole is located through which an insertion article is inserted. The opening and closing cover is constituted as an integral cover that opens and closes an area that includes a region of the housing where the insertion hole is not located and extends in a direction extending from one end of the housing to the other end that faces the one end, the region where the insertion hole is not located accounting for 30% or more of the area covered by the opening and closing cover.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a device with a socket opening and closing cover and an image forming apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] The following Patent Document 1 describes an image forming device that is equipped with a wiring cover that is attached to a cover section that is perpendicular to the sheet discharge direction in the discharge section and the vertical direction of the image forming section, and that covers wiring that electrically connects the image forming device to an optional device.

[0003] The following Patent Document 2 describes an image forming device that has a surrounding portion that covers the wiring cord that electrically connects the device main body, which has a document reading unit inside, to a document feeding device, and has a wiring cover that is removably attached to the device main body together with the wiring cord. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6465637 (Claim 1, Figures 3, 4, 8) [Patent Document 2] Patent No. 5810119 (Claim 1, Figures 2, 3, 4) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] This invention provides a device with a receptacle opening and closing cover and an image forming device, in which when an opening and closing cover is provided as part of an exterior cover that covers the periphery of a housing, the opening and closing cover opens and closes the part of the housing where the receptacle is located, and the opening and closing cover also opens and closes the part of the housing where the receptacle is not located, thereby eliminating the need for a dividing line in the middle of the exterior cover and improving the appearance quality of the exterior cover. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] This invention (1) is a housing having an opening / closing cover that opens and closes to cover a portion where a socket into which a plug-in item is inserted is disposed as a part of an exterior cover; The socket is disposed at the rear of the side surface of the housing, The opening / closing cover is an integrated cover that opens and closes an area from one end of the housing in the vertical direction to the other end facing the one end, including a portion of the housing where the receptacle is arranged and a portion where the receptacle is not arranged and where opening and closing by the opening / closing cover is not necessary. a cover that has a main body that constitutes a part of the side cover of the exterior cover and a support that constitutes a part of the rear cover of the exterior cover, and is bent so that the entire cover has an L-shaped cross section It is configured as The device is equipped with a receptacle opening / closing cover, and the portion where the receptacle is not located occupies 30% or more of the area covered by the opening / closing cover.

[0007] In addition, this invention (2) is The printer includes an image forming unit that forms an image, and a housing having an opening / closing cover that opens and closes as a part of an exterior cover and covers a portion where an insertion port into which an insertion item is inserted is disposed, The socket is disposed at the rear of the side surface of the housing, The opening / closing cover is an integrated cover that opens and closes an area from one end of the housing in the vertical direction to the other end facing the one end, including a portion of the housing where the receptacle is arranged and a portion where the receptacle is not arranged and where opening and closing by the opening / closing cover is not necessary. a cover that has a main body that constitutes a part of the side cover of the exterior cover and a support that constitutes a part of the rear cover of the exterior cover, and is bent so that the entire cover has an L-shaped cross section It is configured as In the image forming apparatus, the portion where the insertion port is not disposed occupies 30% or more of the area covered by the opening / closing cover.

[0008] This invention (3) is the device with the socket opening and closing cover of the invention (1), wherein the socket is The aforementioned From one end The aforementioned This device is equipped with socket opening and closing covers that are concentrated at one or two positions on each of the end and central positions in the area extending in the direction to the other end. This invention (4) is the image forming apparatus of the invention (2), wherein the insertion port is a direction from the one end to the other endIn this case, the image forming devices are concentrated at one or two positions at the top, bottom, and center of the area extending in the direction perpendicular to the sheet.

[0009] This invention (5) is a device with a socket opening and closing cover according to the invention (3), wherein the socket is of the housing. The aforementioned From one end The aforementioned This is a device with a socket opening and closing cover, which is arranged at both end positions in the direction leading to the other end, and no other sockets are arranged between the socket arranged at the one end position and the socket arranged at the other end position. This invention (6) is an image forming apparatus in which the sockets are located at the upper and lower positions of the housing, respectively, in the image forming apparatus of invention (4), and no other sockets are located between the socket located at the upper position and the socket located at the lower position. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the above inventions (1) and (2), a socket into which a plug-in item is inserted is provided as part of the exterior cover that covers the periphery of the housing. At the rear of the side of the housing When an opening / closing cover is provided to open and close the arranged portion, the opening / closing cover opens and closes the area from one end to the other end in the vertical direction of the housing, including the portion where no socket for the housing is arranged and opening and closing by the opening / closing cover is not necessary, and the appearance quality of the exterior cover can be improved without there being a dividing line in the middle of the exterior cover.

[0011] According to the above invention (3), the socket is Up and down Compared to when the opening / closing cover is distributed over the entire area extending from one end to the other, the opening / closing cover is more likely to open and close parts of the housing where the sockets are not located, but the appearance quality of the exterior cover can be improved by not having a dividing line in the middle of the exterior cover. According to the above invention (4), the insertion port is in the vertical direction of the housing. From one end to the otherAlthough the opening and closing cover is more likely to be opened and closed at the part of the housing where no receptacle is located compared to when the receptacles are arranged dispersedly over the entire area extending from the outer cover, the appearance quality of the outer cover can be improved by eliminating the dividing line in the middle of the outer cover.

[0012] According to the above invention (5), although the opening / closing cover opens and closes the portion between the receptacle located at one end of the housing and the receptacle located at the other end where no other receptacles are located, there is no dividing line in the middle of the exterior cover, thereby improving the appearance quality of the exterior cover. According to the above invention (6), although the opening and closing cover opens and closes the portion of the housing between the receptacle located at the upper position and the receptacle located at the lower position where no other receptacles are located, there is no dividing line in the middle of the exterior cover, thereby improving the appearance quality of the exterior cover. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a device with a receptacle opening and closing cover according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of the device of FIG. 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the device of FIG. 1, seen obliquely from the rear. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the device of FIG. 3 with the opening / closing cover open. [Figure 5] 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the portion where the receptacle is arranged and the opening and closing cover. FIG. [Figure 6] 10A and 10B are schematic diagrams showing other configurations of the portion where the receptacle is arranged and the opening / closing cover. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment, as viewed obliquely from the front. [Figure 8] 8 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus of FIG. 7 as seen obliquely from behind. [Figure 9] FIG. 8 is a schematic front view of the image forming apparatus of FIG. 7. [Figure 10] FIG. 8 is a right side view of the image forming apparatus in FIG. 7. [Figure 11] 11 is a right side view of the image forming apparatus of FIG. 10 with the access cover open. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a device of a comparative example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0015] First embodiment. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a device 1A with a socket opening / closing cover according to a first embodiment of the present invention, as viewed obliquely from the front. Fig. 2 is a schematic front view of the device 1A. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the device 1A, as viewed obliquely from the rear. In each drawing, such as Fig. 1, the up / down, left / right, and front / rear directions indicated by arrows are expressed based on the front Ft of the device 1A, which is assumed to be faced by a user standing when using the device 1A.

[0016] As shown in any one of Figures 1 to 4, the device 1A with a socket opening / closing cover of the first embodiment comprises a housing 10A having an opening / closing cover 12 that opens and closes to cover the portion 15 where the socket 7 is located as part of the outer cover 11, and a functional part 2 that is arranged in the housing 10A.

[0017] The housing 10A has an internal framework and an external exterior portion (exterior portion), and is a structure having a required structure and shape made of materials such as a plurality of frames and exterior covers. As shown in FIG. 1, the housing 10A in the first embodiment is formed as a structure having an appearance of a rectangular parallelepiped that is long in the vertical direction.

[0018] The exterior of the housing 10A is composed of exterior covers 11, such as a front cover 11a, a back cover 11b, a left side cover, a right side cover 11d, and a top cover 11e. Since the exterior of the housing 10A is a rectangular parallelepiped structure, all of the exterior covers 11 are substantially rectangular in shape.

[0019] 1, 3, and 4, opening / closing cover 12 is provided in a form that fits into a part of right side cover 11d of exterior cover 11 and also fits into a part of rear cover 11b. Details of opening / closing cover 12 will be described later.

[0020] Next, the portion 15 of the housing 10A where the sockets 7 are arranged is a portion occupying a certain area where a plurality of sockets 7 are gathered together. This portion 15 can also be said to be a contact portion that allows the device 1A (functional unit 2) to make the required connection with the outside of the device via the sockets 7 and input and output information.

[0021] The plug-in items to be inserted into the socket 7 include, for example, a cable with a USB (Universal Serial Bus) terminal, a memory element, a memory card such as an SD (Secure Digital) card, an information transmission medium or information recording medium such as a CD (Compact Disc), a connection cable (connection terminal), and other items.

[0022] The socket 7 is an open connection portion formed to suit the type of plug-in device to be used. Examples of the socket 7 include a USB terminal port, an SD card socket, a socket for an information transmission medium or information recording medium, and a connector for a connecting cable. The number of sockets 7 is plural in principle, but may be one (single) if, for example, one socket 7 occupies a relatively large area. Furthermore, when there are a plurality of sockets 7, they may be of the same type, different types, or a mixture of the same and different types. 4 shows an example of a configuration in which three types of sockets 7A, 7B, and 7C are arranged. When the inserted item is a CD, for example, a slot-in type insertion attachment portion is applied as the socket 7.

[0023] The section 15 in which the sockets 7 are arranged is constructed by attaching a plurality of sockets 7 at a required interval to a support plate 16 of a required shape and size, as shown in Fig. 4, for example. The support plate 16 constituting the section 15 in which the sockets 7 are arranged may be a part of the frame 13 that forms the internal framework or internal shape of the housing 10A, or a mounting frame (bracket) or internal partition plate attached to the frame 13, etc. The number of sockets 7 arranged in this section 15 may be one.

[0024] Furthermore, one or more portions 15 in which the sockets 7 are arranged are provided at required positions on the housing 10A. In the first embodiment, the portions 15 in which the sockets 7 are arranged are concentrated in a position at the rear lower part of the right side surface of the housing 10A, as shown in Fig. 4 etc. Furthermore, the portions 15 are provided as rectangular portions that are long in the vertical direction.

[0025] The functional unit 2 is a part that is configured with devices having functions required in accordance with the use of the device 1A. This functional unit 2 may be an image forming unit (20) which will be exemplified later, but may also be any other functional unit such as the equipment unit of a personal computer, the video equipment unit of a television or the like, or the equipment unit that constitutes a home appliance such as a coffee maker.

[0026] This functional unit 2 is not limited to a configuration in which one type of functional unit is applied, but may be a configuration in which multiple types of functional units are applied and coexist. Also, the functional unit 2 is configured so that necessary information can be transmitted to and from the outside by inserting and connecting the necessary plug-in components into the socket 7 as described above.

[0027] The shape and size of the housing 10A may be changed depending on the type of the functional unit 2. For example, the overall shape of the housing 10A may be a shape other than a rectangular parallelepiped, or the housing 10A may have a shape and size in which a necessary shape portion such as an opening or a recess is provided in a part of it. Furthermore, the functional unit 2 may have an external functional part 2B, a part of which is disposed outside the housing 10A, as illustrated by the two-dot chain line in Fig. 2. The external functional part 2B may be provided above the top end of the housing 10A, or to the side of the left or right side of the housing 10A, for example. If the external functional part 2B is provided above the top end, it is preferably provided in the center in the left-right direction above that position. The external functional part 2B may also include, for example, an operation unit, a display unit, etc.

[0028] In the device 1A with the socket opening / closing cover, as shown in Figure 4, the opening / closing cover 12 is configured as an integrated cover that opens and closes an area 14 extending from one end T1 of the housing 10A to the other end T2 facing the one end T1, including portions 17A and 17B of the housing 10A where the socket 7 is not located. The integral cover refers to a cover that opens and closes as a single unit, rather than a cover that is divided into separate parts that open and close separately.

[0029] Area 14 extending from one end T1 to the other end T2 of housing 10A is the area to be covered by opening / closing cover 12. This area 14 is also the sum of area 15 where receptacles 7 are located and areas 17A and 17B where receptacles 7 are not located, as shown in parentheses in Figure 4 where the combination of multiple symbols is added together. Furthermore, area 14 is also an area that extends through and includes area 15 where receptacles 7 are located.

[0030] In the first embodiment, one end T1 of the housing 10A is the upper end of one side surface (the right side surface) of the housing 10A, and the other end T2 of the housing 10A is the lower end of the same side surface of the housing 10A. More specifically, the one end T1 of the housing 10A is the upper end of a right side cover 11d that covers one side surface (the right side surface) of the housing 10A. The other end T2 of the housing 10A is the lower end of the right side cover 11d.

[0031] The direction from one end T1 to the other end T2 of the housing 10A is the direction extending from the one end T1 to the other end T2, passing through the portion 15 where the socket 7 is arranged. In the first embodiment, the direction from the one end T1 to the other end T2 is the direction along the vertical direction of the housing 10A. Furthermore, since the direction from the one end T1 to the other end T2 extends in the vertical direction of the edge (corner portion) that forms the boundary between the right side portion and the back portion of the housing 10A, it also corresponds to the direction in which the edge extends.

[0032] Moreover, area 14 in the first embodiment is a strip-shaped (long, narrow rectangular) area that extends in a substantially straight line with a required width in the vertical direction of housing 10A. Furthermore, area 14 is an area that is close to the edge (corner) that extends in the vertical direction and is the boundary between the right side surface and the back surface of housing 10A, because part 15 where socket 7 is located is located close to that edge.

[0033] The portion 17 where no outlet 7 is arranged is, for example, the portion between the portion 15 where the outlet 7 is arranged and one end T1 of the housing 10A, the portion between the portion 15 where the outlet 7 is arranged and the other end T2 of the housing 10A, or, if there are multiple portions 15 where the outlets 7 are arranged, the portion between the portions 15 where the outlets 7 are arranged. Incidentally, the portion 17A where the socket 7 is not arranged shown in FIG. 4 is the portion between the portion 15 where the socket 7 is arranged and the other end T2 of the housing 10A. but Also, the portion 17B where the socket 7 is not arranged is a portion between the portion 15 where the socket 7 is arranged and one end T1 of the housing 10A. but Applicable. Furthermore, if the boundary between the portion where receptacles 7 are located and portion 17A where receptacles 7 are not located is unclear, it may be handled as follows, for example: That is, a transverse line (in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of region 14) passing near the outer ends of receptacles 7 located at both ends in the longitudinal direction of region 14 where opening / closing cover 12 opens and closes may be used as the boundary line (boundary).

[0034] 4 and other figures, opening / closing cover 12 of device 1A with a receptacle opening / closing cover opens and closes to cover area 14 including portions 17A and 17B where receptacles 7 are not located. Moreover, opening / closing cover 12 is configured so that portion 17 where receptacles 7 are not located (in this example, the combined portion of portions 17A and 17B) accounts for more than 30% of the entire area 14 covered by opening / closing cover 12.

[0035] If this portion 17 where no receptacles 7 are located is less than 30% of the entire area 14 covered by opening / closing cover 12, then portion 15 where receptacles 7 are located will occupy a relatively large portion of covered area 14, and the proportion of portion 17 where no receptacles 7 are located will be relatively small. Therefore, in this case, there is no need to use opening / closing cover 12 to open and close the portion of portion 17 where no receptacles 7 are located, which does not normally need to be opened or closed. In the first embodiment, the combined parts 17A and 17B where no socket 7 is arranged are configured to occupy, for example, approximately 60% of the area 14 that is covered.

[0036] In addition, the opening / closing cover 12 in the first embodiment is configured as an integrated cover as follows, which is at least a portion of the exterior cover 11 attached to the area (surface portion) of the housing 10A where the portion 15 where the socket 7 is located is located. In other words, the opening / closing cover 12 is configured as a one-piece cover that can be opened and closed to cover the entire area 14 extending from one end T1 of the housing 10A to the other end T2, including the portion 17 (17A, 17B) where the socket 7 of the housing 10A is not located.

[0037] In other words, as shown in Figure 4, this opening / closing cover 12 is configured as an integrated cover that can open and close area 14 at the rear end of right side cover 11d, which is attached to the right side portion of housing 10A where portion 15 where socket 7 is located is located. In reality, the opening / closing cover 12 is a cover portion that has a main body portion 12a that covers an area 14 extending in a direction from one end T1 to the other end T2 of the housing 10A, as well as a support portion 12b that supports the main body portion 12a so that it can be opened and closed in the opening / closing directions indicated by arrows Do and Dc.

[0038] The main body 12a has a shape and dimensions that allow it to cover the area 14. In the first embodiment, the main body 12a is configured as a plate-like portion that is a long and narrow rectangle in the vertical direction. The main body 12a or the right side cover 11d may be provided with a handle such as a recess that the user can place their finger on when opening the access cover 12. One support part 12b may be any part having a shape and dimensions capable of supporting the main body part 12a so as to be able to open and close. In the first embodiment, the support part 12b is configured using a part of the rear cover 11b. More specifically, the support part 12b is configured as a plate-like part having a vertically elongated rectangle that extends continuously from the rear side of the main body part 12a to the right end part of the adjacent rear cover 11b. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, the opening / closing cover 12 in the first embodiment is an elongated plate-like member that is bent so that the entire section has an L-shape and extends linearly in the vertical direction.

[0039] Furthermore, opening / closing cover 12 is attached at support portion 12b to the rear portion of housing 10A (the inner portion covered by rear cover 11b) via a rotation support means such as a hinge or a rotation shaft. As a result, opening / closing cover 12 can be opened and closed in the opening and closing directions indicated by arrows Do and Dc, with support portion 12b (the rotation support means) as a fulcrum, as shown in Figures 3 and 4 for the respective opened and closed states.

[0040] In the device 1A with a socket opening / closing cover configured as described above, as shown in Figures 3 and 4, the entire area 14 of the housing 10A, including not only the part 15 where the socket 7 is located but also the parts 17A and 17B where the socket 7 is not located, can be covered or opened to the outside by opening and closing one opening / closing cover 12.

[0041] Therefore, in this device 1A, as shown in Figure 1 or Figure 3, the opening and closing cover 12 does not create a dividing line at a position halfway up and down on the exterior cover 11 (in this example, the right side cover 11d and the rear cover 11b), improving the quality of the appearance of the exterior cover 11 (especially the right side cover 11d and the rear cover 11b). Incidentally, if an opening / closing cover 12 is adopted that opens and closes to cover the area 14 including the portion 17 (17A, 17B) where the socket 7 is not located, the degree of freedom in the design (shape, etc.) of the opening / closing cover 12 and the degree of freedom in selecting the placement of the socket 7 are improved.

[0042] In this regard, when an opening / closing cover 120 is used that opens and closes only the part 15 where the receptacle is located (strictly speaking, the part including the part 17A where the receptacle 7 is not located), as in the device 100 with the receptacle opening / closing cover shown as a comparative example in Figure 12, the following occurs. That is, in device 100 of this comparative example, opening / closing cover 120 causes parting lines Ld extending laterally (in actuality, in the front-to-back and left-to-right directions) to exist midway through exterior cover 11 (right side cover 11d and rear cover 11b in this example). As a result, in device 100 of the comparative example, the quality of the appearance of exterior cover 11 is impaired by the presence of these extra parting lines Ld.

[0043] In addition, in the device 1A with the socket opening / closing cover, the opening / closing cover 12 is opened and closed by combining the portions 17A and 17B where the socket 7 is not disposed. Ta The portion is configured to occupy 30% or more of the entire area 14 covered by the opening / closing cover 12. Therefore, in this device 1A, the following effect is achieved compared to when the area 17 (17A, 17B) where no receptacles 7 are located is less than 30% of the area 14 covered by the opening / closing cover 12. In this device 1A, although the opening / closing cover 12 opens and closes a larger proportion of the area 17 where no receptacles 7 are located that does not normally need to be opened or closed, the quality of the appearance of the exterior cover 11 is improved by not having a parting line (Ld) between the opening / closing cover 12 and the exterior cover 11 at a position midway in the vertical direction of the exterior cover 11.

[0044] Furthermore, in device 1A with a socket opening / closing cover, as shown in Fig. 5, if the vertical portion of housing 10A is divided into, for example, thirds and divided into three positions (areas)—upper position Ev1, central position Ev2, and lower position Ev3—the result will be as follows: In other words, in this device 1A, the sockets 7 themselves or section 15 in which the sockets 7 are arranged are concentrated in one of, for example, upper position Ev1, central position Ev2, and lower position Ev3, and no other sockets are arranged in any other positions. In this case, section 15 in which the sockets 7 are arranged is a section in which multiple sockets 7 are arranged, but it may also be a section in which a single socket 7 is arranged. In the first embodiment, the receptacles 7 or the portion 15 where the receptacles 7 are arranged are, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, arranged in a concentrated manner at the lower position Ev3.

[0045] In this way, when the receptacles 7 themselves or the portions 15 where the receptacles 7 are arranged are concentrated in one of the three positions Ev1, Ev2, and Ev3, the remaining positions (any two of the three positions Ev1, Ev2, and Ev3) other than the receptacles 7 themselves or the portions 15 where the receptacles 7 are arranged in the area 14 that is covered by the opening / closing cover 12 and opened / closed become portions 17 where no receptacles 7 are arranged. In this case, the portions 17 where no receptacles 7 are arranged account for at least 60% of the area 14 that is opened and closed by the opening / closing cover 12. Even in such a case, the opening / closing cover 12 is configured to open and close the area 14 extending in the vertical direction, including the portion 17 where the receptacle 7 is not arranged.

[0046] Therefore, in this device 1A, compared to when the portion 15 where the receptacles 7 are located is dispersed throughout the entire area 14 extending in the direction from one end T1 to the other end T2 of the housing 10A, the opening / closing cover 12 opens and closes a greater proportion of the portion 17 where the receptacles 7 are not located in the housing 10A, but the appearance quality of the exterior cover 11 is improved without having a dividing line (Ld) in the middle of the exterior cover 11.

[0047] <Modification of the first embodiment> In addition, in this device 1A with a socket opening / closing cover, the portion 15 where the sockets 7 are located may be configured to be biased and concentrated in any two of the three positions Ev1, Ev2, and Ev3, and no other sockets may be located in any positions other than these two.

[0048] Specifically, there are cases where the section 15 where the receptacles 7 are arranged is located at the upper position Ev1 and the central position Ev2, at the central position Ev2 and the lower position Ev3, or at the upper position Ev1 and the lower position Ev3 (which can also be said to be located at both ends). In these cases, the section 17 where no receptacles 7 are arranged accounts for at least 30% of the area 14 that is opened and closed by the opening and closing cover 12. In this case, the two sections 15 where the receptacles 7 are arranged are sections where multiple receptacles 7 are arranged, but one of the sections 15 may be a section where a single receptacle 7 is arranged. Figure 5 illustrates an example in which, in addition to the portion 15 in which the socket 7 is located at the lower position Ev3, a portion 15B shown by the dashed double-dashed line in which the socket is located at the upper position Ev1 is also located.

[0049] Even if the portion 15 where the sockets 7 are located is concentrated in two of the three positions Ev1, Ev2, and Ev3, the opening / closing cover 12 opens and closes by covering the portion 17 of the housing 10A where the sockets 7 are not located, but the appearance quality of the exterior cover 11 is improved without having a dividing line (Ld) in the middle of the exterior cover 11. Furthermore, when the portion 15 where the receptacle 7 is located is located at the upper position Ev1 and the lower position Ev3 (see Figure 5), the opening and closing cover 12 opens and closes by covering the portion (17) where the receptacle 7 is not located, which is located between the receptacle 7 on one end T1 side and the receptacle 7 on the other end T2 side, but the appearance quality of the exterior cover 11 is improved without having a dividing line (Ld) in the middle of the exterior cover 11 (in this example, the right side cover 11d and the back cover 11b).

[0050] Furthermore, in this device 1A, if the portions 15 where the outlets 7 are located are concentrated in one or two of the three positions Ev1, Ev2, and Ev3, for example, the portions (17) where the outlets 7 are not located will be as follows: In other words, the portions where the outlets 7 are not located in this case will be one or two of the three positions Ev1, Ev2, and Ev3, and therefore the portions (17) where the outlets 7 are not located will occupy more than 30% of the area 14 covered by the opening / closing cover 12.

[0051] Furthermore, in this device 1A, the openable cover 12 may be one that does not have the support portion 12b and is composed only of the main body portion 12a. An opening / closing cover 12 consisting only of such a main body portion 12a is effective when it is provided near the center in the front-to-back direction of the right side cover 11d, for example, when the portion 15C where the socket 7 is located is located near the center in the front-to-back direction of the left side portion of the housing 10A, as shown by the two-dot chain line in Figure 5.

[0052] Furthermore, in this device 1A, the portion 15 where the socket 7 is located is not limited to being located on the right side of the housing 10A, but may also be located on the front, left side, back or top of the housing 10A. In this arrangement, the opening / closing cover 12 is provided as, for example, part of the front cover 11a, part of the left side cover, part of the rear cover 11b, or part of the top cover 11e.

[0053] Furthermore, portion 15 where socket 7 is arranged may be arranged on more than one of the five surfaces of housing 10A: the front surface, left side surface, right side surface, back surface, and top surface. In this arrangement, the opening / closing cover 12 may be provided on each of the multiple surfaces on which the portion 15 where the socket 7 of the housing 10A is located is located, or it may be provided on only some of the multiple surfaces.

[0054] 6, if the portion 15 where the receptacle 7 is located is located as a portion 15D elongated in the left-right direction at the upper end (upper position Ev1) of the rear surface of the housing 10A, the device 1A may be provided with an opening / closing cover 12D as follows: The opening / closing cover 12D is an opening / closing cover that passes through and includes the portion 15D where the receptacle 7 is located, and extends in the left-right direction (to the left and right ends). This opening / closing cover 12D is a cover that is elongated in the left-right direction and is provided so as to be present at a part (upper end) of rear cover 11b. Furthermore, this opening / closing cover 12D can be attached to the rear part of housing 10A or the upper end of rear cover 11b so that it can be opened by tilting it rearward using its lower end as a fulcrum.

[0055] As shown in Figure 6, the above-mentioned left-right elongated portion 15D in which the sockets 7 are located is an example in which, when the left-right portion of the housing 10A is divided into, for example, three equal positions, namely, a right position Eh1, a central position Eh2, and a left position Eh3, the sockets 7 are concentrated and biased toward the central position Eh2. In this case, the right position Eh1 and the left position Eh3 adjacent to the left and right of the portion 15D where the socket 7 is arranged are portions 17C and 17D where the socket 7 is not arranged.

[0056] Furthermore, this elongated area 14D and opening / closing cover 12D may be provided at a central position Ev2 or a lower position Ev3 in the vertical direction of the housing 10A, as shown by the two-dot chain line in Figure 6, including a portion 15D where the socket 7 is located.

[0057] Second embodiment. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus 1B, which is an example of an apparatus with an opening / closing cover for a socket according to a second embodiment of the present invention, as seen obliquely from the front. Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus 1B as seen obliquely from the rear. Fig. 9 is a schematic front view of the image forming apparatus 1B.

[0058] Image forming apparatus 1B according to the second embodiment has the same configuration as apparatus 1A according to the first embodiment, except for the following changes: As shown in any of Figures 7 to 9, the image forming apparatus 1B has a housing 10B provided with a medium discharge unit 4, a portion 15B in which an insertion port 7 is arranged, and an image forming unit 20, a medium supply unit 30, and an external reading unit 60 as functional units 2. Therefore, in the following description, the same reference numerals as those used in the first embodiment are used for the common components, and the description thereof will be omitted unless necessary.

[0059] The housing 10B differs most notably in that it does not have an upper end cover 11e due to the presence of the external reading unit 60 and in that it has a shape that includes a media discharge unit 4 consisting of an internal space into which a recording medium 39 on which an image has been formed by the image forming unit 20 is discharged, but otherwise it is configured in almost the same way as the housing 10A in the first embodiment. For this reason, as shown in Fig. 7 etc., the overall appearance of the housing 10B is formed as a structure having a rectangular parallelepiped shape that is long in the vertical direction, similar to the case of the housing 10A in the first embodiment. Furthermore, the housing 10B uses a front cover 11h and a right side cover 11g in which the shape of the portion of the exterior cover where the medium ejection portion 4 is provided is slightly different (the portion is cut out) from the front cover 11a and the right side cover 11d in the first embodiment.

[0060] The front cover 11h is configured as an opening / closing cover that can open and close the portion of the housing 10B excluding the medium ejection portion 4 and the portion of the external reading portion 60 (base portion 61), for example. The front cover 11h serving as this opening / closing cover may be an opening / closing cover shaped so as to exclude the portion of the housing 10B where the medium supply unit 30 is located. In this case, the front cover 11h becomes an opening / closing cover that opens and closes the portion of the housing 10B where the image forming unit 20 is located.

[0061] The medium discharge section 4 is a section where the recording medium 39 on which the image has been formed by the image forming section 20 is discharged. The medium discharge unit 4 is disposed at a position diagonally above and to the right of the image forming unit 20. The medium ejection unit 4 is provided as a storage space 40 located at the top of the front face Ft side of the housing 10B. Furthermore, the medium discharge unit 4 has a discharge port 41 for the recording media 39 on the inner wall surface on the left side of the storage space 40, and a stacking surface 42 for stacking and storing the recording media 39 discharged from the discharge port 41 on the bottom surface of the storage space 40. The stacking surface 42 is formed, for example, as a surface that slopes upward as it moves away from the discharge port 41 to the right, that is, a so-called right-shouldered slope.

[0062] The image forming section 20 in the functional section 2 is a section having equipment for forming an image corresponding to image information on a recording medium 39. The image forming section 20 is configured using an electrophotographic imaging device that finally forms an image made of developer on a recording medium 39 .

[0063] The image forming unit 20, which is an electrophotographic imaging device, includes an image carrier such as a photoconductor, devices such as a charging device, an exposure device, a developing device, and a transfer device that are arranged around the image carrier, and a fixing device that is arranged at a position distant from the image carrier, all of which are not shown. The image forming unit 20 also includes devices such as a developer supply device, an image processing device, and a control device. Of these, the transfer device may be a direct transfer type device that directly transfers an image made of developer formed on an image carrier to a recording medium 39, or an intermediate transfer type device that transfers the image from the image carrier to a recording medium 39 via an intermediate transfer body.

[0064] This image forming unit 20 has the function of forming an image corresponding to image information input from an external device such as an information terminal connected to the image forming apparatus 1B, and the function of using the read information of the reading target area read by the external reading unit 60 as image information to form an image corresponding to that image information. For this reason, in the image forming unit 20, the above-mentioned image creating device performs a charging operation centered on the image carrier, an exposure operation corresponding to the image information, a development operation, and a transfer operation in this order. As a result, in the image forming unit 20, an image made of developer is created on the image carrier, and then the image is transferred from the image carrier to the recording medium 39. In addition, in the image forming unit 20, a fixing operation is performed on the recording medium 39 onto which the image has been transferred, thereby fixing the image to the recording medium 39. The recording medium 39 on which the image has been formed by this fixing is finally discharged to the medium discharge unit 4.

[0065] The medium supply unit 30 is a part that stores the recording medium 39 and supplies it to the image forming unit 20 . The medium supply unit 30 is disposed below the image forming unit 20 . The medium supply unit 30 also includes a container such as a tray for storing the recording medium 39, and a device such as a feeder for feeding the recording medium 39 from the container, both of which are not shown. The container is attached so that it can be pulled out from inside to outside the housing 10B to allow for operations such as storing the recording medium 39. The number of containers is not limited to one, but may be multiple. The same number of delivery devices as the number of containers are arranged. As the recording medium 39, for example, a sheet-shaped medium such as plain paper, coated paper, or cardboard of a predetermined size is used.

[0066] In this medium supply unit 30, the required recording medium 39 is sent out toward the image forming unit 20 in accordance with the transfer operation in the image forming unit 20. Reference numeral 37 indicated by a dashed dotted line in Fig. 9 is a main medium transport path along which the recording medium 39 is transported from the medium supply unit 30, passing through a part of the image forming unit 20 (the part where an image is transferred onto the recording medium 39), and reaching an outlet 41 in the medium discharge unit 4.

[0067] The external reading unit 60 in the functional unit 2 is a reading unit that reads an object to be read outside the housing 10B. As shown in Figure 7, this external reading unit 60 is composed of structural parts and equipment such as a base 61 on which the object to be read is placed and a reading equipment unit 65 that reads the object to be read placed on the base 61.

[0068] The base 61 is made of a plate-like member having a flat upper surface 61a on which a reading object can be placed and kept stationary. The base 61 is attached to the upper end of the housing 10B so that the upper surface 61a is the uppermost surface of the housing 10B. The object to be read may be anything that can be placed on the base 61 and read from above the base 61 by the reading device unit 65, and includes, for example, sheet-like documents on which image information is recorded, as well as three-dimensional objects such as books, magazines, food, plants, etc.

[0069] The reading device unit 65 is composed of a reading device 65a capable of optically reading an object to be read placed on the base 61, and a member for supporting and attaching the reading device 65a. In the second embodiment, the reading device unit 65 is attached in a position where the reading device 65a is supported by a support part 67 in a state where it stands upward from the rear end side of the base 61 by a required length and can read the base 61. The reading device 65a may be, for example, a camera configured by combining an imaging element such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) and optical elements such as a lens. A camera serving as the reading device 65a may also be called a document camera. The reading device unit 65 may also include an illumination device that illuminates the object to be read placed on the base unit 61 during reading.

[0070] 9 and other figures, the reading device unit 65 is provided with an operation panel 91 for operating the image forming apparatus 1B at a position on the base side and near the front side of the member supporting the reading device 65a. From the viewpoint of improving operability, the operation panel 91 is arranged at a position above and away from the base unit 61. This operation panel 91 mainly has a display unit such as a touch-type LCD panel that can display and operate an operation screen, but may also have a mechanical operation unit such as buttons.

[0071] In this image forming device 1B, as shown in Figures 10 and 11, two portions 15A and 15B in which the sockets 7 are arranged are provided, with the portions 15 in which the sockets 7 are arranged concentrated at the lower end and upper end of the rear of the right side of the housing 10B, respectively.

[0072] In the portion 15A located at the lower end, three types of sockets 7A, 7B, and 7C are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction. There are two sockets 7C, which are arranged next to each other in the vertical direction. In addition, in the portion 15B located at the upper end, two sockets 7D of the same type are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction. However, the portion 15 in which the sockets 7 are arranged may be either the portion 15A located at the lower end or the portion 15B located at the upper end.

[0073] 11, in this image forming apparatus 1B, an opening / closing cover 12E that opens and closes two portions 15A and 15B where the insertion port 7 is located is provided as part of exterior cover 11 on the rear end side of right side cover 11g. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 10 and other figures, opening / closing cover 12E is configured as an integrated cover that opens and closes area 14B that extends in the direction from one end T1 (upper side) to the other end T2 (lower side) in the up-down direction of housing 10B, including portion 17F of housing 10B where insertion port 7 is not located.

[0074] 10, one end T1 (upper side) of this image forming apparatus 1B is not the top end of the housing 10B, but the upper end on the rear side of the right side cover 11g, which is the exterior cover 11. In other words, one end T1 in the second embodiment is the upper end T1a on the rear side of the right side cover 11g, excluding the base 61 of the external reading unit 60 arranged at the top end of the housing 10B.

[0075] Also, in this image forming device 1B, as shown in Figure 11, the opening / closing cover 12E opens and closes the area 14B including the portion 17F where the socket 7 is not located, and the portion 17F where the socket 7 is not located is configured to occupy more than 30% of the entire area 14B covered by the opening / closing cover 12E. In the second embodiment, the portion 17F where the socket 7 is not arranged is configured to occupy, for example, about 50% of the area 14B that it covers.

[0076] The opening / closing cover 12E is almost similar to the opening / closing cover 12 in the first embodiment, and is a cover portion having a main body portion 12a that covers the area 14B extending in the direction from one end T1 to the other end T2 of the housing 10B, as well as a support portion 12b that supports the main body portion 12a so that it can be opened and closed in the opening / closing directions indicated by arrows Do and Dc.

[0077] The detailed configurations of the sockets 7A to 7D, etc., the portions 15A and 15B in which the sockets 7D, etc. are arranged, the opening / closing cover 12E, etc. are almost the same as the detailed configurations of the sockets 7A, etc., the portion 15 in which the sockets 7A, etc. are arranged, the opening / closing cover 12, etc. in the first embodiment.

[0078] In the image forming device 1B configured as described above, as shown in FIG. 11, the entire area 14B including not only the portions 15A and 15B in which the sockets 7A and the like are located in the housing 10B but also the portion 17F in which the sockets 7A and the like are not located can be covered or opened to the outside by opening and closing one opening / closing cover 12E.

[0079] Therefore, in this image forming device 1B, as shown in Figures 7, 8, 10 and 11, the opening / closing cover 12E does not cause a dividing line Ld (see Figure 12) to exist in the middle of the exterior cover 11 (in this example, the right side cover 11g and the rear cover 11b), improving the quality of the appearance of the exterior cover 11 (especially the right side cover 11g and the rear cover 11b).

[0080] Furthermore, in this image forming apparatus 1B, a portion 17F where slot 7A and the like that opens and closes with opening / closing cover 12E are not disposed occupies more than 30% of area 14B covered by opening / closing cover 12E. Therefore, in this image forming device 1B, the following effect is achieved compared to when the area 17 (17F) where the receptacle 7A and the like are not located is less than 30% of the area 14B covered by the opening / closing cover 12E: In other words, in the image forming device 1B, as shown in Fig. 11, the opening / closing cover 12E opens and closes a larger portion of the area 17F where the receptacle 7A and the like are not located, which does not actually need to be opened or closed, but the appearance quality of the opening / closing cover 12E is improved without having a dividing line (Ld: see Fig. 12) between the opening / closing cover 12E and the exterior cover 11 at a position midway in the vertical direction of the exterior cover 11. In addition, the image forming apparatus 1B also achieves the same other advantageous effects as those achieved by the apparatus 1A according to the first embodiment.

[0081] Variant. The present invention is not limited to the contents exemplified in the first and second embodiments, but also includes, for example, the following modified examples.

[0082] The configurations relating to the portion 15B where the socket 7 is located in the second embodiment, the portion 17F where the socket 7 is not located, the opening / closing cover 12E, etc. can also be similar to the other configuration examples described in the first embodiment.

[0083] For example, in the image forming device 1B, as shown in FIG. 10, if there is a portion 15E where a socket is located on the right side of the housing 10B, an opening / closing cover 12F for opening and closing that portion 15E can be provided as part of the exterior cover 11 at the front end of the right side cover 11g.

[0084] In this case, the opening / closing cover 12F is configured as an integrated cover that opens and closes the area extending from one end T1 (upper side) to the other end T2 (lower side) in the vertical direction of the housing 10B, including the portions 17G and 17H where the insertion ports of the housing 10B are not located. 10, the one end T1 (upper side) is not the top end of the housing 10B, but the top end on the front side of the right side cover 11g, which is the exterior cover 11. In other words, the one end T1 in this case is the top end T1b on the front side of the right side cover 11g, which is the boundary with the medium ejection unit 4 provided at the top end of the housing 10B.

[0085] The housing 10 is not limited to a structure having a rectangular parallelepiped shape that is elongated in the vertical direction, such as the housings 10A and 10B exemplified in the first and second embodiments, but may also be, for example, a housing 10 having a shape with curved side surfaces.

[0086] The image forming apparatus may be an image forming apparatus configured such that the external reading unit 60 is omitted from the image forming apparatus 1B according to the second embodiment. In this case, for example, an upper end cover 11e (see FIG. 1, etc.) may be provided as the exterior cover 11 at the upper end of the housing 10B where the external reading unit 60 was located.

[0087] In addition, the image forming device is not limited to an image forming unit 20 being an electrophotographic image forming unit using a developer, and may also have an image forming unit 20 using another image forming method (for example, an ink ejection method, etc.). Furthermore, in the image forming device, when the image forming unit 20 and the medium supply unit 30 are arranged side by side in the left-right direction, the outer cover 11 may have an opening / closing cover that opens and closes both the image forming unit 20 and the medium supply unit 30 arranged side by side. [Explanation of symbols]

[0088] 1A...Device with outlet opening and closing cover 1B...Image forming device (an example of a device with an opening / closing cover for the insertion port) 7...Outlet 10A, 10B...Housing 11...Exterior cover 11d, 11g...Right side cover (example of exterior cover) 12...Opening and closing cover 14...covered area 15...The part where the outlet is located 17...Areas where no outlets are located 20...Image forming unit T1...One end (upper side in the vertical direction) T2: Other end (upper side in the vertical direction)

Claims

1. a housing having an opening / closing cover that opens and closes to cover a portion where a socket into which a plug-in item is inserted is disposed as a part of an exterior cover; The socket is disposed at the rear of the side surface of the housing, The opening / closing cover is an integrated cover that opens and closes an area from one end of the housing in the vertical direction to the other end facing the one end, including a portion of the housing where the receptacle is located and a portion where the receptacle is not located and opening and closing by the opening / closing cover is not necessary, and has a main body portion that constitutes a portion of the side cover of the exterior cover and a support portion that constitutes a portion of the back cover of the exterior cover, and is configured as a cover that is bent so that the entire cross section has an L-shaped shape, A device with a receptacle opening and closing cover in which the portion where the receptacle is not located occupies 30% or more of the area covered by the opening and closing cover.

2. The printer includes an image forming unit that forms an image, and a housing having an opening / closing cover that opens and closes as a part of an exterior cover and covers a portion where an insertion port into which an insertion item is inserted is disposed, The socket is disposed at the rear of the side surface of the housing, The opening / closing cover is an integrated cover that opens and closes an area from one end of the housing in the vertical direction to the other end facing the one end, including a portion of the housing where the receptacle is located and a portion where the receptacle is not located and opening and closing by the opening / closing cover is not necessary, and has a main body portion that constitutes a portion of the side cover of the exterior cover and a support portion that constitutes a portion of the back cover of the exterior cover, and is configured as a cover that is bent so that the entire cross section has an L-shaped shape, In an image forming apparatus, the portion where the insertion port is not disposed occupies 30% or more of the area covered by the opening / closing cover.

3. A device with a socket opening and closing cover as described in claim 1, wherein the sockets are concentrated at one or two positions on the end side and in the center in an area extending in a direction from one end to the other end of the housing.

4. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the insertion ports are concentrated at one or two positions at the top, bottom, and center in an area extending from the one end of the housing to the other end.

5. A device with a socket opening and closing cover as described in claim 3, wherein the sockets are located at both end positions of the housing in the direction from the one end to the other end, and no other sockets are located between the socket located at the one end position and the socket located at the other end position.

6. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the sockets are respectively located at the upper and lower positions of the housing, and no other sockets are located between the socket located at the upper position and the socket located at the lower position.

Images