JP2505657B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as an electrostatic copying machine and a facsimile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an electrostatic latent image formed on a photosensitive drum is visualized as a toner image and then transferred onto a sheet, which is extremely small as an image forming apparatus such as an electrostatic copying machine or a facsimile. A so-called portable type is provided (see, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-17453).

As an image forming apparatus of this type, there is an image forming apparatus having an original conveying section having upper and lower conveying paths so that an introduced original can be reversed and discharged by a conveying roller.

[0004]

Normally, in this type of image forming apparatus, at the time of jam processing, by opening a part of the cover of the document conveying section, the upper conveying path of the upper and lower two conveying paths is opened. A part (for example, a portion near the conveyance roller for reversal) is opened, and the end of the document is pinched and pulled out.

However, since the conveying path is not completely opened and the end portion of the original is picked up and pulled as described above, there is a problem that it is difficult to perform the jam processing.
Further, when the original is pulled out, the original may be damaged. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus in which jam processing is easy to perform and a document is not damaged during jam processing.

[0006]

As an image forming apparatus of the present invention for achieving the above object, a lower conveying path along the upper surface of a casing of a main body of the apparatus and an upper portion of the lower conveying path are arranged. And a lower cover that forms the lower conveyance path between the lower cover and the upper surface of the casing, and the upper surface of the lower cover. It is characterized in that it has an upper cover forming an upper conveyance path and at least a pair of connecting members to which the both covers are detachably attached in a state where both covers are positioned with respect to the casing.

[0007]

According to the image forming apparatus having the above structure, the pair of upper cover and lower cover forming the upper and lower conveying paths are detachably attached to the casing of the apparatus main body by the connecting member. By removing both covers, the upper and lower transport paths can be opened all at once. Therefore, a document jammed in the conveyance path can be easily taken out, and the document is not damaged when taken out. Furthermore, since both covers are positioned with respect to the casing by the connecting member, positioning is easy.

[0008]

Embodiments will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings showing embodiments. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a copying machine as an image forming apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, in this copying machine, the casing of apparatus main body 2 is composed of an upper casing 24 and a lower casing 25, and original transport section 9 is attached to upper surface 24 p of upper casing 24. The document transport unit 9 transports a document inserted into the document insertion opening 90 a from the front of the apparatus main body 2 through an upper transport path 90 d formed between the upper cover 100 and the lower cover 110, so that the document is transferred to the apparatus main body 2. After flipping at the rear, the upper surface 24
The document is conveyed through a lower conveyance path 90e along the line p, and is discharged from the document discharge port 90b toward the front of the apparatus main body 2. on the other hand,
In the lower part of the front surface of the apparatus main body 2, a paper feed port 26 for paper p is formed. The paper supplied from the paper feed port 26 is discharged to the rear of the apparatus main body 2. As described above, in the copying machine, the original and the paper are conveyed along the front-back direction.
It has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that is short in the front-rear direction and long in the left-right direction.

Further, a small container 140 made of a rectangular parallelepiped container having an open upper surface is detachably attached to the upper surface 24p. Further, a U-shaped handle 120 for carrying is provided on both end surfaces 24u of the upper casing 24.
However, by a stopper 123 as a shaft member for connecting the upper and lower casings, it is rotatably attached within a predetermined range about the stopper 123. In addition, from one end surface 24u of the upper casing 24 into the apparatus main body 2,
A plug 132 at the end of a power supply line 131 for supplying power is inserted.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view showing the internal structure of the copying machine. With reference to FIG.
The optical system 3 for illuminating and scanning the original conveyed by the conveying roller pair 91 of the original conveying section 9 and guiding the reflected light from the original to the photosensitive drum 42 is formed inside the photosensitive drum 42. After the developed electrostatic latent image is visualized by the developing device 41, an image forming unit 4 for transferring the image onto a sheet and a fixing unit 6 for fixing the toner image transferred to the sheet in the middle are arranged, and the sheet is supplied. After being introduced into the inside of the apparatus main body 2 from the paper port 26, it is provided with functional components such as a paper transport section 5 which is discharged from the paper output port 21 through the image forming section 4. An electrical component 8 (see FIG. 13) including a drive system 7 (see FIG. 13) for driving the original transport section 9, the image forming section 4 and the paper transport section 5 including the control section, and a control circuit for controlling these drives. And other functional components.

The optical system 3 includes a fluorescent lamp 31 for illuminating a document, a lens 32 for guiding reflected light from the document to the photosensitive drum 42, and the like, which are arranged inside a case 33. . The image forming unit 4 includes a photosensitive drum 4
2, a charging charger 43, a developing device 41, a transfer charger 44, and a cleaner 45 are arranged in this order, and an original image is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 42 uniformly charged by the charging charger 43. After forming an electrostatic latent image by forming an image, the electrostatic latent image is
1, a toner image is visualized into a toner image, a toner image is transferred to a sheet by a transfer charger 44, and a residual toner is collected by a cleaner 45. The developing device 41, the photoconductor drum 42, the transfer charger 44, and the cleaner 45, which are components of the image forming unit 4, are assembled into an image forming frame 46 (see FIG. 4) to form a unit. . The charging charger 43 is held by the case 33 of the optical system 3. The image forming frame 46 is made of a resin molded product, and a toner collecting container 47 for storing the toner collected by the cleaner 45 is integrally formed with the image forming frame 46.

With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the toner recovery container 47 has a rectangular tray shape in a plan view, and is provided above the paper transport unit 5 on the downstream side in the transport direction. The upper surface of the toner collecting container 47 is covered with a lid 47f. A plurality of vertically extending ribs 47d are provided on the inner periphery of the side wall 47k of the toner collecting container 47, and the lid 47f is attached by screwing a screw 47e into the screw hole of the rib 47d. Also,
A flange 47a extending leftward in the figure is formed so as to be continuous with the lid 47f of the toner collecting container 47.

The developing device 41 includes a toner cartridge 41c which is detachably attached to a resin-made developing housing 41a, and a toner supply which supplies the toner dropped from the toner cartridge 41c to the inside of the developing housing 41a. Roller 41d, developing housing 41a
Stirring roller 41e for stirring the toner supplied to the inside of the
And a developing roller 4 for supplying toner to the photosensitive drum 42
1f and. On the lower surface of the developing housing 41a, a number of rib-shaped upper guides 41b are provided so as to project in parallel with each other, and the upper guides 41b guide the upper surface side of the sheet to be conveyed. The upper guide 41b is formed integrally with the developing housing 41a, so that the number of parts and the number of assembling steps can be reduced as compared with a case where an upper guide is separately formed, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

The paper transport section 5 includes a pair of transport rollers 51 including a pair of upper rollers 51a and lower rollers 51b that sandwich the paper with the leading end inserted from the paper feed port 26 and introduce the paper into the apparatus main body 2; The fixing unit 6 includes the registration stopper 52 that abuts the leading end of the sheet conveyed by the pair 51 to temporarily wait the sheet.

The upper roller 5 of the transport roller pair 51
1a is rotatably supported by an upper guide 41b projecting from a developing housing 41a of the developing device 41.
That is, the upper guide 41b also serves as a support member for the upper roller 51a. The fixing unit 6 fixes the toner image transferred to the paper while nipping and transporting the paper. The heat roller 6 is heated by a built-in heater.
1 and a pressure roller 62 that is pressed against and driven by the heat roller 61. The pressure roller 62 is provided movably in the vertical and horizontal directions while being urged upward by a spring (not shown). The support shaft 62 a is introduced into the groove 63 a of the stay 63 supporting the heat roller 61. By doing so, the relative position with respect to the heat roller 61 is determined. A stay 63 is provided around the heat roller 61.
And is substantially covered by the housing 64 fixed thereto, thereby suppressing heat dissipation. At the lower end of the housing 64, a guide portion 64a for guiding the sheet to the heat roller 61 is provided together with a lower guide member 65.

Further, the resist stopper 52 is rotatably provided around a fulcrum 52a, and is normally urged clockwise by a coil spring (not shown) in the clockwise direction in FIG. The paper has advanced to the conveyance path, and in this advanced state, the leading end of the paper is abutted and the paper is put on standby. When the document is moved to a predetermined position, the registration stopper 52 is rotated counterclockwise through a rotation mechanism interlocked with the conveyance roller pair 91 and the like, and is withdrawn from the paper conveyance path, thereby causing the document to stand by. The supplied paper is supplied to the image forming unit 4.

As described above, the casing of the apparatus main body 2 is composed of the upper casing 24 and the lower casing 25 which can be separated from each other, and the optical system 3, the image forming section 4, and the paper transport as the functional components described above. Part 5, drive system 7,
The electrical component 8 is held by an upper casing 24 and a lower casing 25, respectively. FIG. 2, an exploded perspective view of the upper and lower casings and the handle 120,
More specifically, referring to FIG. 13, the case 33 of the optical system 3 is screwed to the upper casing 24 so that the entire optical system 3 is held by the upper casing 24. The image forming frame 46 of the image forming unit 4 is screwed to the upper casing 24. That is, in FIG. 2, the left end portion of the image forming frame 46 is fixed by the screw 47g to the attaching member 48 fixed to the upper casing 24 by the screw 48a, and the attaching portion at the right end portion of the image forming frame 46. 47
h is fixed to the upper casing 24 by screws 47i. As a result, the developing device 4 of the image forming unit 4
1. The photosensitive drum 42, the transfer charger 44 and the cleaner 45 are held by the upper casing 24. Further, the remaining charger 43 of the image forming section 4
Is indirectly held by the upper casing 24 via the case 33 of the optical system 3. Further, the paper transport unit 5
The upper roller 51a of the pair of conveying rollers 51 is indirectly held by the upper casing 24 via the developing housing 41a, and the lower roller 51b and the resist stopper 52 are integrally molded with the lower casing 25 and will be described later. It is held by the lower guide 25a, the heat roller 61 and the housing 64 of the fixing unit 6 are held by the upper casing 24 via the stay 63, and the pressure roller 62 and the guide member 65 are held by the lower casing 25. ing.

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 5, the handle 12 is
0 denotes a hand-held portion 121 made of resin or the like and the hand-held portion 12
1 has a U-shaped plate-shaped frame 122 made of metal or the like attached to the central portion in the longitudinal direction. The frame 122
The main body 122a extending in the longitudinal direction of the main body 2 of the apparatus in the state of being attached to the main body 2 of the apparatus, and the main body 122a is bent at right angles from both ends of the main body 122a.
4u, which is formed of an extended portion 122b.
2b has a hole 122 through which a stopper 123 is inserted.
A ring portion 122c having d is provided. The stopper 123 includes a hand-gripable grip portion 123a,
And a support portion 123b that is inserted into the hole 122 and rotatably supports the handle 120;
It has a screw portion 123c for attachment to the device. Since the above-mentioned stopper 123 can be easily attached and detached from the outside by hand to the attachment member 28, the user can
The handle can be easily attached and detached without using a tool such as a screwdriver. Therefore, a user who does not need the handle 120 can remove the handle 120, which is convenient.

Further, since the handle 120 supports both ends in the longitudinal direction of the device body 2, when the device is carried by the handle 120, the moment of inertia of the device body 2 which swings about the stopper 123 is used. Can be made small and easy to carry. Further, since the hand-held portion 121 is located on the vertical line passing through the center of gravity of the apparatus body 2 and above the center of gravity while the handle 120 is held and the apparatus is lifted, the apparatus body 2 is placed on the desk. The device body 2 can be lifted without rotating while being placed on a surface or the like. Further, since the hand-held portion 121 of the handle 120 is arranged at the center of the handle 120 in the longitudinal direction, the device body 2 can be stably held by the handle 120.

The extending portion 122b of the frame 122
Of the upper casing 24 near the ring portion 122c.
2 integrally formed with a cylindrical seat 24v described later.
A protruding piece 124 that engages with 45 is provided. By engaging the projection piece 124 with the stopper 245, the handle 120 is positioned at a predetermined rotation position on the front side of the copying machine (see FIG. 11). 121 and main body 122a of frame 122
However, it is set so that the height is just right to assist the conveyance of the document. In order to position the handle 120 at the predetermined rotation position, without using the stopper 245 or the like,
End portion 123d of the ring portion 122c and the grip portion 123a
The frictional force between the ring portion 122c and the seat surface 247 of the cylindrical receiving seat 24v described later may be used (see FIG. 9). Further, referring to FIG. 12, the position where the document is set according to the document size is indicated at a position visible to the user with the handle 120 tilted to the front side of the copying machine and held by the stopper 245, for example, from a line or the like. Mark 121a and a display portion 121b indicating the document size corresponding to each mark 121a are attached.

Referring to FIGS. 2 and 5, the lower casing 25 is made of a resin molded product, and has a shallow container shape with an open upper portion. A plurality of rib-shaped lower guides 25a and 25k for guiding the lower surface side of the conveyed sheet are integrally formed on the inner bottom portion 252. Lower guide 2
The end of 5k forms an inclined portion 251 which is inclined downward in a direction opposite to the sheet conveying direction. This inclined part 2
Reference numeral 51 is for facilitating introduction of the paper placed on the desk surface or the like into the paper feed port 26. That is, referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 3, since the paper feed port 26 is located in the lower part of the apparatus main body 2 and the inclined portion 251 is provided, the paper placed on the desk surface or the like is fed to the paper feed tray or the like. Even if it is not used, the desk surface can be satisfactorily introduced into the apparatus main body 2 while being used as a sheet conveyance guide. A transfer charger 44, which is one of the components of the image forming unit 4, is provided on the lower guide 25k.
Is provided with a recess 25m for mounting the same. Further, the lower casing 25 is provided with a rib-like standing piece 25f extending from the peripheral side wall to both ends of the transfer charger 44. The rising piece 25f and the lower guides 25a, 25k, etc., form the rib. Lower casing 2
5 has a monocoque structure to secure desired rigidity. Further, a pair of substantially L-shaped plate-like mounting members 28 are provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the inner bottom portion 252 of the lower casing 25.
Are attached by screws 28d. The mounting member 28 is used for positioning the upper and lower casings in the vertical direction.
This is for attaching a stopper 123 as a shaft member described later. A projection 28a is formed on the opposing surfaces of both mounting members 28, and a screw hole 28b is formed through the projection 28a in the longitudinal direction. Further, one of the mounting members 28 is provided with a window 28c through which the plug 132 is inserted.

The upper casing 24 is an integrally molded product made of resin, and as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a notch 24a for forming the paper feed port 26 and the paper discharge port 21 on both front and rear surfaces. Is formed, and one end face 24
u has an opening 24b for inserting and removing the toner cartridge 41c. Upper casing 24
On both end surfaces 24u, a cylindrical receiving seat 24v is formed to protrude around a through hole 246 through which the stopper 123 is inserted. In addition, a window 24w through which the plug 132 of the power supply line 131 is inserted is provided on one end surface 24u. A slit 24c for illuminating and scanning the original is formed on the upper surface 24p, and the contact glass 11a is supported by the projecting edges 24m formed at both ends of the slit 24c. Further, the upper surface 24p is provided with holes, which will be described later in detail, for attaching the respective parts of the document conveying section 9 and the accessory case 140. Further, inside the upper casing 24, a toner cartridge 41 is provided.
A pair of strip-shaped guide portions 24d for guiding the introduction of c are formed to hang down. The guide portion 24d is formed integrally with the upper casing 24 at the same time.
It is formed along substantially the entire length of the toner cartridge 41c (see FIG. 13). Also, the upper casing 24
Since the cover 24g covering the opening 24b of the toner cartridge 41c can be removed and the toner cartridge 41c can be inserted / removed through the opening 24b, the replacement work is performed by the apparatus main body 2
Can be easily performed without opening the inside of the device.
Moreover, since the guide portion 24d for guiding the insertion and removal of the toner cartridge 41c is formed integrally with the upper casing 24, there is no need to separately form the guide, and the number of parts and the number of assembling steps can be reduced by that much. This will help reduce costs. The upper casing 24 is formed in a monocoque structure by the guides 24d and the like, thereby securing desired rigidity.

Next, how the upper casing 24 and the lower casing 25 are positioned will be described. Positioning of the two casings in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction is performed by bosses 24n extending downward provided at four corners of the upper casing 24 and concave portions 25n provided in the lower casing 25 and fitting the bosses 24n. Have been done. Further, referring to FIG. 7, a compression coil spring 27 as an elastic member is arranged in the recess 25n. The compression coil spring 27 is connected to the boss 2
The boss portion 24n is urged in the separating direction (upward direction) by being interposed between the lower end surface of 4n and the bottom surface of the recess 25n (see FIG. 8). Since the above-described positioning is performed by fitting the boss portion 24n and the concave portion 25n, the positioning is very easy. When the stopper 123 is removed, the upper casing 24 is lifted by the compression coil spring 27, so the upper and lower casings can be easily separated.

The positioning of the two casings in the vertical direction is performed by a stopper 123 as a shaft member. With reference to FIG. 9 showing the mounting state of the upper and lower casings, the stopper 12
3 is fixed to the mounting member 28 of the lower casing 15 while being fitted into the through hole 246 of the upper casing 24, so that the upper casing 24 and the lower casing 2
The relative movement of 5 in the vertical direction can be restricted. Further, in a state where the stopper 123 is fixed to the mounting member 28,
An end surface 123d of the grip portion 123a on the screw portion 123c side,
Ring portions 122a at both ends of the handle 120 are slidably held between the seat surface 247 of the cylindrical seat 24v and the handle 120, whereby the handle 120 is rotatably supported by the stopper 123. . In this way, since the stopper 123 as a member for vertically positioning the upper and lower casings is also used as a member serving as a fulcrum of the rotation of the handle 120, it is possible to reduce the number of parts, and thus the manufacturing cost. Can be reduced. Further, since the two casings can be easily separated simply by removing the stopper 123, the maintenance work of the device is greatly facilitated as compared with a case where many screws or the like are loosened using a driver. . Further, since the stopper 123 is fixed to the mounting member 28 by screwing, the positioning can be reliably performed.

The inner upper surface 248 of the upper casing 24
Hangs a hanging piece 23a.
A stay 23b extending downward and having an L-shaped cross section is attached to the lower end of 3a by a screw 23c. A plug connector 23d connected to a power transformer or the like is attached to the stay 23b. Plug 1 above
32 is a window portion 24 on the end face 24 u of the upper casing 24.
w and the window 28c of the mounting member 28, and is connected to the plug connection 23d. Thus, plug 1
32 is inserted into the window portion 24w of the upper casing 24,
Also, the window portion 28c of the mounting member 28 on the lower casing 25 side
When the plug 132 is connected to the plug connection portion 23d, the two casings cannot be separated from each other. That is, the two casings can be separated for the first time with the plug 132 removed.
Therefore, there is no need to separately provide a safety switch.
In addition, since the plug 132 of the power supply line 131 is disposed immediately below the stopper 123 that is the center of rotation of the handle 120,
The power line 131 and the plug 132 do not interfere with the rotation of the handle 120.

Upper casing 24 and lower casing 25
As shown in FIG. 10, it is preferable that the abutting portions with and are combined in an interlocking shape. This is because light can be prevented from entering the apparatus main body 2 from the abutting portion of the two, and the photosensitive drum 42 can be effectively prevented from being deteriorated by the entered light. The cutout 24a of the upper casing 24 and the cutout 25g of the lower casing 25 form the paper feed port 26 and the paper discharge port 21 at the boundary between the two casings. As shown in FIG. 3, since the photoconductor drum 42 is positioned below the horizontal plane including the rotation axis r of the photoconductor drum 42, external light and dust from the opening portions such as the paper feed port 26 and the paper discharge port 21. However, it is difficult to reach the photosensitive drum 42. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the photoconductor drum 42 from suffering light fatigue or the like and being deteriorated in durability, or the surface of the photoconductor drum 42 from being scratched by dust.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the bosses 24n at the four corners of the upper casing 24 are located at the lowermost part of the upper casing 24 with the functional parts attached thereto, and thus are separated from the lower casing 25. When the upper casing 24 is placed on a flat surface such as the top surface of a desk, it can be supported by the boss portion 24n. in this way,
Since the boss portion 24n can be used as a leg portion, the upper casing 24 removed at the time of jam clearance or the like can be placed on an upper surface of a desk or the like as it is. Therefore, the jam can be easily removed, and the functional components are not inadvertently damaged when the upper casing 24 is removed. Further, a special table or the like for mounting the removed upper casing 24 is not required.

1 and 2 and FIG. 14 which is an exploded perspective view.
, The document transport unit 9 includes a plurality of transport roller pairs 99, a front feed roller 92, a plurality of transport roller pairs 91, and an upper casing 24 disposed on the rear side of the upper casing 14.
Cover 110 that substantially covers the upper part of the
The upper cover 100 covers the upper rear part. Between the upper cover 100 and the lower cover 110, the document insertion port 90 is provided.
a and the upper conveying path 90d are formed, and the upper casing 2
The document discharge port 90b and the lower conveyance path 90e are formed between the upper surface 24p of the printer 4 and the lower cover 110. The upper cover 100 and the lower cover 110 serve as a document guide for guiding a document in a predetermined direction.

Each conveying roller pair 99 is composed of a lower roller 99b driven by the drive system 7 and an upper roller 99a which is rotated by being driven by the lower roller 99b. Each upper roller 99
a are arranged at predetermined intervals along the axial direction of the shaft 99c, and are rotatably supported by the lower cover 110 by the shaft 99c. Each lower roller 99b is arranged at predetermined intervals along the axial direction of the shaft 99d, and is rotatably supported by the upper casing 24 by the shaft 99d. The upper roller 99a and the lower roller 99b are in contact with each other in a state of being located vertically above and below the slit 24s of the upper casing 24. The slits 24 s are arranged in a row at predetermined intervals on the upper surface 24 p at the rear of the upper casing 24 along the longitudinal direction of the upper casing 24.

Each transport roller pair 91 is composed of a lower roller 91b driven by the drive system 7, and an upper roller 91a which rotates following the lower roller 91b. The upper rollers 91a are arranged at predetermined intervals along the axial direction of the shaft 94, and are rotatably supported by the lower cover 110 by the shaft 94. The lower rollers 91b are arranged at predetermined intervals along the axial direction of the shaft 96, and are rotatably supported by the upper casing 24 by the shaft 96. The upper roller 91a and the lower roller 91b are in contact with each other in a state of being located vertically above and below the slit 24t of the upper casing 24. The slits 24t are arranged in a row on the upper surface 24p at the front of the upper casing 24 at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction of the upper casing 24.

The forward feed roller 92 is composed of a long white roller that is in sliding contact with the contact glass 11 a at the rear side (upstream side in the document transport direction) of the apparatus main body 2 with respect to the transport roller pair 91. It is rotatably supported by the casing 100. The advance roller 92 is used to move the original d.
Is pressed downward so that the document is conveyed along the contact glass 11a without fail. At both ends of the shaft 97, transmission rollers 98 that rotate integrally with the shaft 97 are attached. At both ends of the shaft 94 of the upper roller 91a of the conveying roller pair 91 described above, a transmission roller 95 that rotates integrally with the shaft 94 is attached, and between the transmission roller 95 and the transmission roller 98. , An endless belt 93 is wound. As a result, the advance roller 92 is connected to the transmission rollers 95 and 98 and the belt 9.
3 and is driven to rotate by the roller 91a of the conveying roller pair 91.

The upper cover 100 and the lower cover 110 are detachably attached to the upper surface 24u of the upper casing 24 by a pair of resin connecting members 105. The upper cover 100 is long in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction, and has an upper surface portion 100a substantially parallel to the upper surface 24p of the upper casing 24, a rear surface portion 100j provided continuously with the upper surface portion 100a, and a pair of substantially trapezoidal shapes. Side part 100c
It has. At the lower end on the front side of each side surface 100c,
Protrusions 100g to be inserted into a pair of concave portions 241 and 242 provided on both sides of the upper surface 24p of the upper casing 24 with the slit 24c therebetween and on the vertical plane including the rotation axis r of the photosensitive drum 42 are provided respectively. (See FIG. 15). The device main body 2 is provided at the lower end of the rear surface portion 100j.
Notch 100 formed between upper surface 24p of upper casing 24 and opening 90c for inserting a document from the rear side.
h is provided (see FIG. 16). Also, the rear surface portion 10
The inner peripheral surface of 0j constitutes a curved guide surface 100k substantially along the peripheral surface of the upper roller 99a of the conveying roller pair 99 (see FIG. 2). The guide surface 100k is arranged so that the leading end portion of the document d is inserted from the front of the apparatus main body 2 through the document insertion opening 90a so that the leading end portion of the document d can be satisfactorily nipped by the conveying roller pair 99. And guides to the contact portion of the lower roller 99b.

At both ends in the longitudinal direction of the upper surface 100a,
A pair of through holes 100b through which the connecting member 105 is inserted
Is a boss 100e projecting below the upper surface 100a.
(See FIG. 15). Further, below the upper surface portion 100a, a pair of ribs 100d parallel to the respective side surface portions 100c are provided at a constant distance from the respective side surface portions 100c. As shown in FIG. 15, the height of these ribs 100d is such that, with the upper cover 100 attached to the upper surface 24p of the upper casing 24, both ends of the contact glass 11a in the longitudinal direction are pressed by the ribs 100d from above. Is set to be able to. In this way, the rib 1 of the upper cover 100
Since the contact glass 11a is pressed by 00d, there is no need to separately provide a pressing member, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Also, by removing the upper cover 100, the contact glass 11a can be easily removed.

The lower cover 110 has an upper surface 110m substantially parallel to the upper surface 24p of the upper casing 24, and a pair of substantially trapezoidal side surfaces 100a. Upper part 110
A protrusion 110j as a mark for positioning a document is provided at a position along the transport direction and corresponding to various document sizes on the upper surface of the m.
Display 110 showing which document size corresponds to
k is attached. As described above, since the positioning ridge 110j is provided on the upper surface 110m of the lower cover 110, the document can be easily positioned. Further, since the protrusion 110j of the lower cover 110 and the mark 121a provided on the hand-held portion 121 of the handle 120 described above are used for positioning, the document can be positioned very accurately.

A notch 110b and a notch 110c opened downward are provided at the front of the side surface 110a.
A notch 110d opened rearward is provided at the rear end. The notch 110b loosely fits a portion of the shaft 94 between the upper roller 91a and the transmission roller 95. Notch 110c
Causes the portion of the shaft 97 between the advance roller 92 and the transmission roller 98 to be loosely fitted. The notch 110g allows the shaft 99c of the upper roller 99a of the conveying roller pair 99 to be loosely fitted. In addition,
At least a pair of plate-shaped hanging pieces 110g for supporting the shaft as shown in FIG. 17 are provided on the upper surface 110m of the lower cover 110. The hanging piece 110g includes a pair of elastically deformable protrusions 110n, a cut groove 110h formed between the protrusions 110n and opened downward, and a cut groove 110h.
A shaft support portion 110i is formed continuously at the back of 10h, and is formed of a concave portion capable of supporting the shaft 94. Shaft 94
Passes through the kerf 110h (indicated by a chain double-dashed line in FIG. 17) with the protrusions 110n elastically deformed to temporarily widen the width of the kerf 110h, and the shaft support 110i
110h of both projecting pieces after being introduced to the original state (Fig. 1).
7 (indicated by a solid line) to prevent the shaft 94 from falling off the shaft support 110h. Although not shown, the shaft 97 of the forward feed roller 92 and the transport roller pair 9
The shaft 99c of the upper roller 99a of 9 is also supported by the lower cover 110 by the same structure.

A stay portion 110e, which is in contact with the upper surface 24p of the upper casing 24, projects outward from the rear lower portion of each side surface portion 110a. The stay portion 110e has a kerf portion 110f that is opened outward. Next, referring to FIG. 14, FIG. 18 to FIG.
The positioning of the upper cover 100 and the lower cover 110 with respect to the upper casing 24 will be described. First, FIG.
9, the upper casing 24 of the upper cover 100
Positioning in the front-rear direction and left-right direction is performed by fitting the boss portion 100e of the upper cover 100 into the through hole 24r of the upper casing 24. The positioning of the upper cover 100 in the vertical direction with respect to the upper casing 24 is performed by abutting the lower end surface of the boss portion 100e on the step portion 24q in the through hole 24r.

The positioning of the lower cover 110 in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction with respect to the upper casing 24 is performed by defining the relative positional relationship with the upper cover 100 positioned with respect to the upper casing 24 as described above. Have been done. That is, as shown in FIG. 18, the notch 110 f of the stay 110 e of the lower cover 110 is fitted to the outer peripheral surface of the boss 100 e to form the upper cover 10.
0 and the lower cover 110 are positioned relative to each other in the front-rear direction E and the left-right direction F. On the other hand, with reference to FIGS. 18 and 19, a pair of pressing ribs 100f extending to the middle part in the vertical direction are provided on the outer peripheral portion of the boss portion 100e. The lower cover 110 is vertically positioned with respect to the upper casing 24 with the stay 110 e of the lower cover 110 interposed therebetween. Thus, the upper casing 24 of the upper cover 100
Boss 100e of the upper cover 100
The lower cover 110 is positioned relative to the upper casing 24 by positioning the lower cover 110 with respect to the boss 100e. That is, the upper casing 2 of the upper cover 100 and the lower cover 110
4, the boss part 100e and the through hole 24r
Since the positioning is performed based on the fitting, the positioning is very easy.

The upper cover 100 and the lower cover 110 positioned as described above are attached to the upper casing 24 by the connecting member 105 as shown in FIG. Referring to FIGS. 19 and 20, connecting member 105
Is a head portion 105d in which a pair of parallel side walls are formed so that the connecting member 105 can be turned by pinching with fingers from above, a body portion 105c formed of a column, and a reduced diameter portion 105.
b, and a substantially triangular arrowhead 105a. The head 105d has an insertion hole 1 for preventing fingers from slipping.
05e is provided. Note that a tool such as a driver may be inserted into the insertion hole 105e, and the connecting member 105 may be turned by using the above-mentioned tool in addition to hand turning.

On the other hand, the through hole 24r of the upper casing 24
Below the inner step 24q, there is provided a step 24y with which the lower end face 105f of the body 105c is abutted,
Below the step portion 24y, there is provided a pair of vertically extending groove portions 24z through which the arrowhead portion 105a can be inserted (see FIG. 21). Also, the inner upper surface 2 of the upper casing 24
Around the through hole 24r of 48, a cam surface 29 that engages with the arrowhead portion 105a of the connecting member 105 is formed.
The height of this cam surface 29 (the degree of downward projection) is as shown in FIG.
In the range G between the pair of grooves 24z shown in FIG.
As shown in. That is, the holding portion 29c having a constant height is formed at the center of the range G, and the holding portion 29c is formed.
An inclined portion 29a is formed from the groove portion 24z toward the groove portion 24z. Further, the retaining portion 29c is lower than the highest portion of the inclined portion 29a, and the highest portion constitutes the ridge portion 29b. The ridge portion 29b suppresses the movement of the arrowhead portion 105a engaged with the holding portion 29c toward the slope portion 29a. Arrowhead 105a of connecting member 105
Is projected below the upper surface 24u of the upper casing 24 through the groove 24z of the through hole 24r (indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 19).
By rotating it by 0 °, the arrow head portion 105a moves to the holding portion 29c through the inclined portion 29a and the ridge portion 29b of the cam surface 29 (see FIG. 20).

The reduced diameter portion 105 of the connecting member 105
The length of b is set so that the downward pressing force of the cam surface 29 is applied to the arrowhead portion 105a in a state where the arrowhead portion 105a is located in the middle of the inclined portion 29a.
On the other hand, since the lower end surface 105f of the body 105c is restricted from moving downward by contacting the step portion 24y, when the arrowhead portion 105a receives the pressing force as described above, the reduced diameter portion 105b is An extension force for extension is generated. On the other hand, the reduced diameter portion 105b is
It expands and contracts by receiving the above-mentioned extension force generated according to the engagement position between the cam surface 29 and the cam surface 29. The arrowhead 105a and the cam surface 29
Since a pressing force due to elasticity is generated between the arrowhead portion 105a and the cam surface 29 between the arrowhead portion 105a and the cam surface 29b.
Is more securely engaged with the holding portion 29c.

Next, the operation of the original feeding section 9 will be described. First, from the front of the apparatus body 2, the original d is
00 and the lower cover 110 are inserted through the document insertion opening 90a and conveyed along the upper conveyance path 90d. And
The original d is placed on the curved guide surface 100k of the upper cover 100.
As a result, the leading end of the document d is moved along the upper roller 99a of the transport roller pair 99 while being curved along the upper roller 99a.
The document d is set by introducing it until reaching the contact portion between the upper roller 99a and the lower roller 99b (see FIG. 23).
In this state, by turning on a copy start switch (not shown), the original d is nipped by the pair of conveying rollers 99 and is conveyed to the front feed roller 92 side in the lower conveying path 90e while being inverted (see FIG. 24). Further, the document d is transported along the contact glass 11a by the forward feed roller 92 and the transport roller pair 91, and the document discharge port 9
0b (see FIG. 25). It should be noted that thick originals that are difficult to turn over are, as shown in FIG.
0c, the document can be introduced from the rear side of the apparatus main body 2, and a thick original can be easily copied.

Note that, with reference to FIG. 14, the document conveying section 9
Is arranged on one side of the upper surface 24p of the upper casing 24, and the accessory case 140 is detachably attached to the upper surface 24p. A pair of protrusions 141 and 142 are provided on the bottom of the accessory case 140. The protrusions 141 and 142 are fitted into the pair of recesses 243 and 244 on the upper surface 24 p of the upper casing 24, so that the accessory The case 140 can be positioned with respect to the upper casing 24. It is convenient that small items such as clips can be stored in the small item container 140.
Further, since the accessory case 140 is provided on the upper surface of the apparatus main body 2, the stored accessories can be checked at a glance, which is more convenient.

By removing the accessory case 140, the upper cover 100 and the lower cover 110, the upper surface 24p of the upper casing 24 becomes substantially flat as shown in FIG. On the other hand, the upper surface 24p of the upper casing 24
A pair of recesses 241 and 242 are provided on the vertical plane including the rotation axis r of the photosensitive drum 42 and on both sides of the contact glass 11a. LE used as image forming means
When an attachment such as a D unit is attached to the upper surface 24p, if the recesses 241 and 242 are used for positioning the attachment, the upper surface 24
Coupled with the fact that p is substantially flat, the attachment can be attached in a state of being accurately positioned with respect to the photosensitive drum 42 and the like.

As shown in FIG. 13, the drive system 7 is fixed to a drive system arrangement portion 24h formed inside the upper casing 24. The drive system 7 drives the photosensitive drum 42, the toner supply roller 41d of the developing device 41, the agitating roller 41e and the developing roller 41f, the upper roller 51a of the paper transporting unit 5, and the heating roller 61 of the fixing unit 6. These driven parts are each driven by a motor 71 via a gear mechanism 72. Also,
Electrical component 8 having a circuit board or the like for controlling the drive of these
Are also attached to the upper casing 24. In this way, the drive system 7 and the electrical components 8 are connected to the upper casing 24.
By arranging them collectively on the side, wiring to the drive system 7 and wiring between electric components can be easily and efficiently performed. That is, when each of the drive system 7 and the electric component 8 is distributed and arranged on the upper casing 24 side and the lower casing 25 side, it is necessary to perform the crossover wiring between the two casings 24 and 25. At the same time, since the wiring work cannot be performed in a concentrated manner, the work is troublesome. On the other hand, if these are collectively arranged on the upper casing 24 side, the two casings 24,
Since no crossover wiring between 25 is required and the wiring work can be intensively performed on one casing side, the work can be performed easily and efficiently.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the pair of upper cover 100 and the lower cover 110, which form the conveyance path of the document, are provided in the upper casing 24 and the pair of connecting members 10.
Since it is detachably attached by 5, the upper and lower conveying paths can be opened all at once by removing both the covers 100 and 110 during the jam processing. Therefore, a document jammed in the transport path can be easily taken out, and jam processing can be easily performed. In addition, the original is not damaged during removal. Furthermore, since the two covers 100 and 110 are positioned with respect to the upper casing 24 by the pair of connecting members 105, positioning is easy.

Moreover, since the connecting member 105 is made of resin and the elastic force of the connecting member 105 is used to attach the upper cover 100 and the lower cover 110 to the upper casing 24, when a spring member is separately provided. Compared with, the structure can be simplified and the manufacturing cost can be reduced by reducing the number of parts. Further, since the reinforcing frame for attaching the functional component is eliminated, the number of components is reduced accordingly, and the size and weight can be reduced and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Further, the number of steps for assembling the reinforcing frame is not required, and the manufacturing cost can be further reduced. Further, in a conventional copying machine with a reinforcing frame, there is a possibility that breakage or plastic deformation may occur at the joint between the casing and the reinforcing frame due to the difference in material and strength between the two. In the embodiment, there is no such fear.

In the conventional copying machine with the reinforcing frame, if the reinforcing frame is simply abolished, there is a concern that the external components may affect the functional parts due to the decrease in the rigidity of the apparatus main body. In the example, since the functional parts are held by the casings 24 and 25 whose rigidity is ensured by the monocoque structure, it is possible to suppress the influence of the external force acting on the apparatus main body 2 on the functional parts. Particularly, important functional components such as the image forming unit 4 are attached to the casings 24 and 25 without largely changing the form, so that the original rigidity of the functional components themselves can be sufficiently exhibited. As a result, it is possible to strongly endure an excessive external force. Therefore, even if a general user who is not familiar with the internal structure and the like of the copying machine and tends to handle it roughly, it can exhibit excellent durability even if it is handled roughly. As described above, it is possible to achieve a copying machine suitable for being widely used for home use and personal use, because it is possible to achieve small size, light weight, low manufacturing cost, and sufficient durability against rough handling. Can be.

In the above embodiment, the upper cover 1
Although the contact glass 11a is pressed by 00, the contact glass 11a can be pressed by the ribs formed on the lower cover 110 instead. Also,
Instead of the protrusion 110j on the upper surface 110m of the lower cover 110, a groove may be used. Further, various accessory cases 140 may be provided and exchanged according to the preference of the user. In addition, various design changes can be made without changing the gist of the present invention.

[0049]

As described above, according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the pair of upper and lower covers forming the upper and lower conveying paths are detachably attached to the casing of the apparatus main body, so that the jam is removed. At the same time, by removing both the covers, the upper and lower transport paths can be completely opened at once. Therefore, a document jammed in the transport path can be easily taken out, and jam processing can be easily performed. In addition, the original is not damaged during removal. Furthermore, since both covers are positioned with respect to the casing by the connecting member, positioning is easy.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a copying machine as an image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded sectional view of the copying machine.

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view showing an internal configuration of the copying machine.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an image forming unit frame and a toner collecting container.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing upper and lower casings and a handle.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an upper casing.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state before and after the connecting portions of the upper and lower casings are connected.

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state after connecting the connecting portions of the upper and lower casings.

FIG. 9 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view showing a mounted state of upper and lower casings.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a butted state of the upper casing and the lower casing.

FIG. 11 is a side view of the apparatus main body showing an introduction state of a document.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of a handle.

FIG. 13 is a bottom view showing a state where the functional component is held by the upper casing.

FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view showing a document transport unit, a small container and an upper casing.

FIG. 15 is a partial cross-sectional front view showing a state where the upper cover is attached to the upper casing.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of an upper cover.

FIG. 17 is a schematic sectional view of a lower cover.

FIG. 18 is a partial sectional plan view showing an engaged state between an upper cover and a lower cover.

FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view showing a state before the upper cover and the lower cover are connected by a connecting member.

FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the upper cover and the lower cover are connected by a connecting member.

FIG. 21 is a bottom view of the upper surface of the upper casing showing a cam surface.

FIG. 22 is a diagram showing the relationship between the circumferential position of the cam surface and the height of the cam surface.

FIG. 23 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a document feeder showing a setting state of a document.

FIG. 24 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a document transport unit showing a state in which a document is being transported.

FIG. 25 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a document conveying unit showing a state where a document is discharged.

FIG. 26 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a document feeder showing a state in which a thick document is introduced.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Device Main Body 9 Original Conveying Section 24 Upper Casing 24p Upper Surface 25 Lower Casing 90d Upper Conveying Path 90e Lower Conveying Path 100 Upper Cover 105 Connecting Member 110 Lower Cover d Original

Front Page Continuation (72) Inventor Yukihiro Aikawa 1-228 Tamatsukuri, Chuo-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture Mita Industry Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Satoshi Ishii 1-228 Tamatsukuri, Chuo-ku, Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture (56) Reference JP-A-1-307356 (JP, A) JP-A-3-231259 (JP, A) JP-A-3-107170 (JP, A)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A document transport section for transporting a document through a lower transport path along the upper surface of the casing and an upper transport path disposed above the lower transport path, at the upper part of the casing of the apparatus main body. Is a state in which the lower cover that forms the lower conveyance path with the upper surface of the casing, the upper cover that forms the upper conveyance path with the upper surface of the lower cover, and both covers are positioned with respect to the casing. And an image forming apparatus having at least a pair of connecting members for detachably attaching the both covers.