JP5348415B2 - Apparatus structure positioning method, apparatus comprising a plurality of apparatus structures using this method, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress an apparatus component from inclining, falling or dropping even when an exterior force is applied to the apparatus component without addition of exclusive parts. <P>SOLUTION: An image forming section 11 starts to incline when the exterior force F is applied to a combination of the image forming section 11 and a paper supplying table 12. Then, the bottom plate 21 can be freely moved only for a gap (D2-D3) made by the difference in diameters of a long hole 23 and a pin shaped member 32 when the bottom plate 21 is inclined to a groove 41 of the pin shaped member 32 or else since movement is not impeded, it is moved by the exterior force F and surely hooked in the groove 41 of the pin shaped member 32. The state of the pin shaped member 32 being entered into a determining hole 22 can be maintained and falling of the image forming section 11 on the paper supplying table 12 and dropping of the image forming section 11 from the paper supplying table 12 can be suppressed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus configuration positioning method for an apparatus composed of a plurality of apparatus constructs, an apparatus composed of a plurality of apparatus constructs using this method, and an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, a printer, and a composite machine thereof. About.

  Among the safety standards for devices composed of multiple device components (hereinafter referred to as units, tables, etc.), there are items related to the overturn and fall of the device components, and when an external force is applied , On a table (hereinafter, a table means a device structure in which another device structure can be installed on the upper side regardless of the presence or absence of an element having a specific function such as a paper feed mechanism). Therefore, it is defined that an apparatus component such as an image forming unit does not tilt, fall, or fall.

  In order to satisfy this safety standard, it is generally known that a screw fastening is performed between the apparatus components directly or via other members. In addition, in the case of a user-installed device such as a printer, since the user adds such device components and tables, the fastening by the fastening member may be forgotten or neglected.

  In such a case, even if the external force is relatively small, there is a possibility that the apparatus components are separated from each other and only the upper apparatus component is inclined and falls or falls from the table. In such an apparatus, a pin-like member is provided on the lower apparatus structure or table so as to perform positioning between the apparatus structures, and a portion to be fitted to the upper apparatus structure is added to the upper apparatus structure. It is generally known that a structure that catches when the body is tilted to prevent the body from falling or falling is already known.

  In Patent Document 1, a cylindrical member is attached to the bottom plate of the apparatus, and a pin-like member provided on the table enters the cylinder for the purpose of reducing the possibility that the apparatus structural body tilts due to external force and falls from the table. In addition, a configuration is disclosed in which a locking groove is provided on the pin of the table so that the cylindrical edge is easily caught. However, such a structure has a problem that the detachability is poor.

  That is, in the conventionally known apparatus, since components are added, the configuration is wasteful from the viewpoint of cost and resource saving. In addition, when adding a member that is hooked to a pin-shaped member provided on the table, the backlash at the time of attachment / detachment is extremely small, so when removing the upper device structure from the lower device structure or the table There is also a problem that the detachability is deteriorated.

  Therefore, the present invention does not add a dedicated part, and even if an external force is applied to the upper device structure, the upper device structure is inclined, falls, or falls on the lower device structure. It is an object of the present invention to provide a positioning method, an apparatus, and an image forming apparatus that can suppress the occurrence of the image.

  According to a first aspect of the device structure positioning method of the present invention, there is provided a device structure positioning method for a device comprising a plurality of device structures, the lower device structure of the plurality of device structures. Of the fixed holes and long holes provided on the bottom plate of the upper device structure that fits with the pair of pin-shaped members provided on the upper surface of the upper member, the device structure above the long hole tends to fall over and fall easily Disposed on the side far from the direction, provided with a groove on the outer peripheral surface of the pin-like member of the lower device structure, and applied with an external force to the upper device structure, the upper device structure An edge of the fixed hole of the bottom plate is caught in the groove of the pin-shaped member, and the upper device constituent body is prevented from being overturned or dropped.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus structure positioning method according to the first aspect, the diameter of the fixed hole is made slightly larger than the diameter of the pin-shaped member so that the upper apparatus structure can be inclined. The diameter of the elongated hole is larger than the diameter of the fixed hole so that the upper device structure can be tilted freely or unhindered.

  A device comprising a plurality of device components according to claim 3 is a device comprising a plurality of device components, a pair of pins provided on the upper surface of the lower device component among the plurality of device components. Of the fixed holes and long holes provided in the bottom plate of the upper device structure that fits with the member, the determined holes are arranged on the side farther from the direction in which the upper device structure falls more easily than the long holes, A groove is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the pin-like member of the lower device structure, and the groove is tilted by applying an external force to the upper device structure and determining the bottom plate of the upper device structure. It is characterized in that it is provided at a position where the edge of the hole is caught and the upper device constituent body is prevented from falling and falling.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device comprising a plurality of device constituents according to the third aspect, wherein the diameter of the fixed hole is slightly smaller than the diameter of the pin-like member so that the upper device constituent member can be inclined. The diameter of the elongated hole is larger than the diameter of the fixed hole so that the upper device structure can be tilted freely or without being obstructed.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the apparatus composed of a plurality of device constituents according to the third or fourth aspect, the upper device constituent is a unit provided with a cover that is opened or closed or a cover that is opened and closed. Features.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus according to any one of the third to fifth aspects, wherein the apparatus including a plurality of apparatus constituent bodies includes a plurality of unit bodies.

  An image forming apparatus according to a seventh aspect is the image forming apparatus according to the sixth aspect, wherein the lower unit body among the unit bodies is a floor type.

  The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the image forming apparatus is any one of a copying machine, a facsimile machine, a printer, a printing machine, an ink jet recording apparatus, or a multifunction machine combining at least two functions thereof. It is characterized by.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus and a table that can prevent the apparatus main body from tilting and falling on the table even if an external force is applied to the apparatus without adding dedicated components. can do. In addition, with regard to the poor detachability, which has been a problem in the past, the detachability can be improved as compared with the conventional case.

Schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus capable of opening and closing a vertical conveyance unit that is an object of the present invention Schematic diagram showing the bottom plate of the image forming unit in FIG. 1 as viewed from above Perspective view of the top of the paper feed table Enlarged view of the pin-shaped member provided on the paper feed table Schematic cross-sectional view of the image forming unit starting to tilt when an external force is applied Sectional drawing which shows the comparative example with the Example of this invention

  In the present invention, of the fixed hole and the long hole provided in the bottom plate of the upper device structure that fits with the pin-like member provided on the upper surface of the lower device structure, the determined hole is the device above the long hole. An external force was applied to the upper device structure by combining the arrangement of the component body on the side far from the direction in which it would easily fall and fall and the provision of a groove on the outer peripheral surface of the pin-like member of the lower device structure. Even so, the edge of the fixed hole of the bottom plate is caught in the groove of the pin-shaped member in the inclined state. As a result, it is possible to maintain the state where the pin-shaped member has entered the determination hole, and thus it is possible to suppress the upper apparatus constituent body from falling over or falling on the lower apparatus constituent body. In addition, since the effect is obtained by the shape and arrangement of the existing parts, even if an external force is applied to the upper apparatus structure without adding a dedicated part, the upper part on the lower apparatus structure It is possible to provide an apparatus structure that can suppress the apparatus constituent body from being inclined and falling or falling. Further, the structure of the present invention does not deteriorate the detachability between the apparatus components.

Examples of the present invention will be described below.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus that is an object of the present invention. This apparatus can open and close a vertical conveyance unit. In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes an automatic paper feeder, 11 denotes an image forming unit, 12 denotes a paper feed table, and 13 denotes a vertical conveyance unit, which are combined as a unit to constitute an apparatus. In general, when the vertical conveyance unit 13 is at a position indicated by reference numeral 13a in the figure, the center of gravity of the vertical conveyance unit 13 is near the center of the image forming apparatus, and a very large external force is required to cause the vertical conveyance unit 13 to fall. However, when a paper jam or the like occurs, the vertical conveyance unit 13 may be opened to the position of 13b. In this state, the center of gravity moves away from the center of the image forming apparatus as compared to the closed state, in the illustrated example, to the right in the figure. In such a state, even if a relatively small external force F is applied, it may fall over.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of the image forming apparatus. In addition, the external force from the back when the door or drawer of the large refrigerator is opened, the side facing the drawer direction when the cabinet box or desk drawer is opened. The same applies to the external force from. Moreover, the direction which opens and closes the unit etc. which are apparatus structures is not the form as FIG. 1, but may be an up-down direction as shown in FIG. The present invention is not limited to an example used for an image forming apparatus.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the bottom plate 21 of the image forming unit 11 of FIG. 1 as viewed from above. The bottom plate 21 is provided with a determination hole 22 and a long hole 23 for positioning the rotation direction around the determination hole 22. The determination hole 22 is arranged on the side farther from the right side than the long hole 23, which is more likely to fall down by opening the vertical conveyance unit 13 of FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the upper surface of the paper feed table 12. Two pin-shaped members 32 are installed on the upper surface 31 of the paper feed table 12 in accordance with the positions of the holes 22 and 23 on the image forming unit 11 side. In this embodiment, grooves are provided in both of the two pin-shaped members 32. However, in the present invention, only the pins corresponding to the decision holes 22 need to be provided with grooves.

  FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the pin-like member 32 provided on the paper feed table 12. A groove 41 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate portion of the pin-shaped member 32.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state in which the image forming unit 11 starts to tilt when an external force F is applied to the combination of the image forming unit 11 and the paper feed table 12 of FIG. Due to the external force F, the image forming unit 11 is tilted (arc trajectory 51), and the bottom plate 21 is lifted to the position indicated by reference numeral 21b since indicated by reference numeral 21a, but provided at the position of the height h of the pin-like member 32. The edge of the long hole 23 is caught in the groove 41. For this reason, the inclination of the image forming unit 11 is restricted by the height h.

  More specifically, the determination hole 22 is slightly larger than the diameter D1 of the pin-shaped member 32 so that the image forming unit 11 can tilt. When the bottom plate 21 is tilted to the groove 41 of the pin-shaped member 32 by the external force F, only the gap (D2-D3) due to the difference in diameter between the long hole 23 and the pin-shaped member 32 can be freely moved, or the movement is not hindered. Therefore, it is pushed by the external force F, moves rightward in the figure, and is reliably caught in the groove 41. As a result, it is possible to maintain the state where the pin-shaped member 32 enters the determination hole 22, so that the image forming unit 11 falls over the paper feed table 12 or the image forming unit 11 falls from the paper feed table 12. Can be suppressed.

  FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a comparative example with the embodiment of the present invention. In this example, a hole on the right side of the bottom plate 21 of the image forming unit 11 in the drawing is a determining hole 63, and a left hole is a long hole 62. The diameter of the determination hole 63 is slightly larger than the diameter D1 of the pin-shaped member 32 so that the image forming unit 11 can be inclined, like the determination hole 22 of the first embodiment.

  That is, in this embodiment, when the groove 41 of the pin-shaped member 32 is to be hooked on the edge of the decision hole 63, if the decision hole 63 is inclined to the height h, it can be hooked on the edge of the groove 41. In the case of a device or a device having a height, it cannot be avoided that not only the feeling of quality of the mounted state is deteriorated but also the risk of falling is increased due to an increase in inclination. Even if the height h up to the groove 41 is reduced, a large apparatus or the like has a pin-like shape as compared with the case where the left side in the drawing in which a force F is applied to the upper image forming unit 11 due to the lever ratio is a determined hole. A very large load is applied to the member 32 and the bottom plate 21, and the risk of deformation and breakage of the pin-shaped member 32 as indicated by an arrow 64 in the drawing increases.

  Further, when trying to hook the long hole 62 provided on the side far from the falling direction into the groove 41 of the pin-shaped member 32, the right-side hole in the figure is the determining hole 63 (slightly larger than the pin-shaped diameter D1). Therefore, there is almost no gap with the pin-shaped member 32, and therefore the movement of the image forming unit 11 is restricted.

  As a result, the trajectory of the elongated hole 62 when the upper image forming portion 11 is tilted becomes an arc trajectory 61 centered on the fixed hole portion 63, and even if the groove 41 is provided at the position of the height h in the drawing, it is not caught. I understand. That is, by increasing the height h to the groove 41, it can be set to a position that is caught by the arc locus, but the image forming unit 11 is inclined more than in the case of the embodiment of the present invention, so Not only is the quality feeling bad, but the risk of falling cannot be avoided. Further, it can be seen that the pin-shaped member becomes longer, and the possibility of affecting the configuration inside the apparatus increases. In other words, according to the present invention, it is understood that the inclination due to the external force can be reduced, and the quality feeling of the mounted state can be improved.

10: Automatic paper feeder 11: Image forming unit 12: Paper feed table 13: Vertical transport unit F: External force 21: Bottom plate 22: Determination hole 23: Long hole 31: Upper surface 32 of paper feed table 32: Pin-shaped member 41: Pin Groove of pin-shaped member: height of groove of pin-shaped member D1: diameter of pin-shaped member D2: diameter of long hole D3: diameter of pin-shaped member 63: fixed hole 62: long hole

JP 2002-326424 A JP 2009-157042 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-015225

Claims (8)

A device component positioning method for a device comprising a plurality of device components,
Of the plurality of device structural bodies, the fixed hole is the longest of the fixed holes and long holes provided in the bottom plate of the upper device structural body that fits with the pair of pin-shaped members provided on the upper surface of the lower device structural body. Place the device structure above the hole on the side far from the direction where it falls and falls easily,
A groove is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the pin-shaped member of the lower apparatus structure,
An edge of the fixed hole of the bottom plate of the upper device structure is caught in the groove of the pin-shaped member in a state where an external force is applied to the upper device structure, and the upper device structure is overturned. Suppress the fall,
The apparatus structure positioning method characterized by the above-mentioned. In the apparatus structure positioning method according to claim 1,
The diameter of the fixed hole is made slightly larger than the diameter of the pin-shaped member so that the upper device structure can be inclined,
The diameter of the elongated hole is larger than the diameter of the fixed hole so that the upper device structure can be tilted freely or unobstructed.
The apparatus structure positioning method characterized by the above-mentioned. A device comprising a plurality of device components,
Of the plurality of device structural bodies, the fixed hole is the longest of the fixed holes and long holes provided in the bottom plate of the upper device structural body that fits with the pair of pin-shaped members provided on the upper surface of the lower device structural body. Place the device structure above the hole on the side far from the direction where it falls and falls easily,
A groove is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the pin-shaped member of the lower apparatus structure,
The edge of the fixed hole of the bottom plate of the upper device structure is caught while the groove is inclined with an external force applied to the upper device structure, thereby preventing the upper device structure from being overturned or dropped. In the position,
A device comprising a plurality of device structures. In the apparatus which consists of a plurality of device constituents according to claim 3,
The diameter of the fixed hole is slightly larger than the diameter of the pin-shaped member so that the upper device structure can be inclined,
The diameter of the elongated hole is larger than the diameter of the determined hole so that the upper device structure can be tilted freely or unhindered.
A device comprising a plurality of device structures. In the apparatus which consists of a plurality of device constituents according to claim 3 or 4,
The upper apparatus component is a unit that includes a cover that is opened or closed or a cover that is opened and closed.
A device comprising a plurality of device structures.   6. An image forming apparatus comprising: a plurality of device bodies according to claim 3; and a plurality of unit bodies.   7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a lower unit body among the unit bodies is placed on the floor. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the image forming apparatus is any one of a copying machine, a facsimile, a printer, a printing machine, an ink jet recording apparatus, or a combination of at least two functions thereof. An image forming apparatus.