JP5386405B2 - Cover member hinge structure and image forming apparatus having the same - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a hinge structure of a cover member of an electronic device such as an image forming apparatus or a cabinet in which a part of an exterior cover of the apparatus main body can be opened and closed, and an image forming apparatus including the hinge structure.

  In an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic system such as a copying machine, a printer, or a FAX, the surface of an image carrier such as a photosensitive drum is uniformly charged by a charging device, and the image is carried by exposure (light irradiation) from an exposure device. In general, a process in which an electrostatic latent image formed on a body is visualized by a developing device, the toner image is transferred onto a recording medium, and then a fixing process is performed by a fixing device.

  In such an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, for example, jammed paper is removed during jamming (paper jam) processing, replacement parts such as a waste toner recovery tank are replaced, cleaning of a charging unit, It is necessary to perform maintenance and inspection. In addition, in an ink jet image forming apparatus, it is necessary to replace the ink cartridge and perform maintenance and inspection. Therefore, a part of the exterior member of these image forming apparatuses is a cover member that can be opened and closed.

  This cover member is attached to the main body of the apparatus via a hinge portion so that the user can open and close relatively frequently, so that the cover member can be opened and closed, and has sufficient strength. For example, in Patent Document 1, a bracket having a shaft hole is provided on the apparatus main body side, a U-shaped support frame having a shaft hole is integrally formed on the cover side, and a metal support shaft having a bent portion is provided as a bracket. A cover opening / closing mechanism is disclosed in which the hinge portion is inserted into the shaft hole of the support frame and the bent portion of the support shaft is engaged with the longitudinal groove of the cover to prevent the support shaft from coming off.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, both a support member and an opening / closing cover (cover member) are integrally formed using a resin material, and the opening / closing cover is pivotably supported by fitting the hinge portions to each other. There is disclosed a support structure for an opening / closing cover in which a bent portion formed at the lower edge when opening is abutted against a hinge portion of a support member so that a load applied to the support shaft is also received by the hinge portion.

JP 7-125384 A JP 2003-103870 A

  However, in the configuration of Patent Document 1, since a large load is applied to the support shaft, a strong metal support shaft must be used, which leads to an increase in cost. In addition, since the support shaft and the cover member are formed of different materials, there is a problem that the separation work at the time of recycling becomes complicated.

  Moreover, in the structure of patent document 2, since the elasticity of a resin member is utilized when fitting a hinge part, when a big load is applied to a cover member, a fitting part may bend and a cover member may drop | omit. there were. In addition, since the support shaft (rotating shaft) of the hinge part is integrally formed with the cover member, the material is not slidable, and the support shaft may be scraped by repeatedly opening and closing the cover. There was also sex.

  Although the description has been given by taking the opening / closing cover of the image forming apparatus as an example here, the same problem occurs in other electronic devices having an opening / closing cover held via a hinge structure, and a storage device such as a cabinet. It was.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a hinge structure of a cover member that can prevent damage and scraping of the hinge portion with a simple configuration and is excellent in recyclability at the time of disposal, and an image forming apparatus including the same. For the purpose.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a hinge portion composed of a support side hinge member supported by the apparatus main body, and a rotation side hinge member rotatably supported by the support side hinge member, A cover member that is fixed to the rotation-side hinge member, and that supports the cover member so that the cover member can be opened and closed. The rotation-side hinge member is made of a flexible material. In addition, a rotating shaft projects from one of the rotating side hinge member and the supporting side hinge member, and the other side has a shaft hole with which the rotating shaft is engaged. An attachment direction of the cover member with respect to the hinge member is characterized by being substantially orthogonal to the rotation axis direction.

  Further, the present invention provides the hinge structure of the cover member having the above-described configuration, wherein the rotation-side hinge member is disposed adjacent to both sides of the support-side hinge member, and a pair of main body portions on which the rotation shaft protrudes, A connecting portion that connects the main body portions is integrally formed.

  According to the present invention, in the hinge structure of the cover member configured as described above, a curved portion having a U-shape in a side view is formed in the connecting portion.

  According to the present invention, in the hinge structure of the cover member configured as described above, the turning-side hinge member is formed of a material having a lower surface friction coefficient than the cover member.

  According to the present invention, in the hinge structure of the cover member configured as described above, the rotating side hinge member and the cover member are fitted and fixed.

  In addition, the present invention is an image forming apparatus provided with the hinge structure of the cover member configured as described above.

  According to the first configuration of the present invention, the rotation-side hinge member is formed of a flexible material, and the rotation shaft is protruded from either the rotation-side hinge member or the support-side hinge member. By forming the shaft hole with which the rotation shaft is engaged, the hinge portion can be easily assembled only by bending the rotation-side hinge member and fitting the rotation shaft into the shaft hole. Also, by making the mounting direction of the cover member relative to the rotation-side hinge member substantially orthogonal to the rotation axis direction of the rotation-side hinge member, the rotation axis of the rotation-side hinge member can be applied even when a load is applied in the opening direction of the cover member. Since no load is applied in the direction, the cover member can be prevented from falling off.

  According to the second configuration of the present invention, in the hinge structure of the first configuration, the rotation-side hinge member is disposed adjacent to both sides of the support-side hinge member, and a pair of rotation shafts project. By integrally forming the main body portion and the connecting portion for connecting the main body portion, the connecting portion of the rotation-side hinge member can be bent to easily engage the rotation shaft and the shaft hole. it can. Therefore, the assembly workability of the hinge structure and the disassembly workability during recycling are improved.

  Further, according to the third configuration of the present invention, in the hinge structure of the second configuration, the connection portion is further formed by forming a U-shaped curved portion in a side view in the connection portion of the rotation side hinge member. As a result, the hinge structure can be easily assembled and disassembled.

  According to the fourth configuration of the present invention, in the hinge structure having any one of the first to third configurations, the rotation-side hinge member is formed of a material having a lower surface friction coefficient than the cover member. The slidability of the rotating shaft portion is enhanced, and the shaving of the rotating shaft can be suppressed.

  According to the fifth configuration of the present invention, in the hinge structure having any one of the first to fourth configurations, the fastening member is fixed by fitting and fixing the rotation side hinge member and the cover member. It is possible to easily attach and remove the cover member to / from the rotation-side hinge member without using it.

  According to the sixth configuration of the present invention, by mounting the hinge structure having any one of the first to fifth configurations, it is possible to effectively prevent the cover member from falling off and to perform assembly and disassembly workability. In addition, an excellent image forming apparatus can be provided easily and at low cost.

Side surface sectional view which shows the internal structure of the image forming apparatus with which the option feeder of this invention is connected Side surface sectional drawing of the option feeder provided with the hinge structure concerning one Embodiment of this invention External perspective view of optional feeder External perspective view showing the state where the open / close cover of the option feeder is opened Partial enlarged view of the hinge part of the opening / closing cover in FIG. The top view which looked at the hinge part from the upper part of FIG. AA arrow sectional view in FIG. It is a figure which shows the assembly procedure of a hinge part, and is a perspective view which shows a mode that a support side hinge member is attached to the main body base of an option feeder It is a figure which shows the assembly procedure of a hinge part, and is a perspective view which shows a mode that a rotation side hinge member is attached to a support side hinge member It is a figure which shows the assembly procedure of a hinge part, and is a perspective view which shows a mode that an opening / closing cover is attached to a rotation side hinge member

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, the configuration and operation of an image forming apparatus to which an option feeder having a hinge structure of the present invention is connected will be described. FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing the internal structure of the image forming apparatus. In FIG. 1, the option feeder 30 (see FIG. 2) is not shown. In an image forming apparatus (here, a color printer) 100, when an image forming operation is performed, the photosensitive drum 1 that rotates counterclockwise in FIG. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 1 by a laser beam from the exposure unit 3 based on document image data transmitted from a personal computer or the like.

  A rotary type developing unit 4 that supplies developer (hereinafter referred to as toner) onto the photosensitive drum 1 includes cyan, magenta, yellow, and black developing cartridges 4a and 4b in which a developing device and a toner container are integrated. 4c and 4d, and by sequentially rotating the developing cartridges 4a to 4d to positions facing the photosensitive drum 1, the toner adheres to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 1, and the toner of each color An image is formed. Toner supply to the developing cartridges 4 a to 4 d is performed from the toner cartridge 5. Four toner cartridges 5 are arranged side by side corresponding to each color in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. Further, the toner replenishing device from the toner cartridge 5 to the developing cartridges 4a to 4d is not shown in FIG.

  The intermediate transfer belt 6 onto which the toner image is primarily transferred is rotated clockwise in the drawing by a driving unit (not shown) while being in contact with the photosensitive drum 1. As the intermediate transfer belt 6, a sheet made of dielectric resin is used, and a (seamless) belt mainly having no seam is used.

  When the user inputs image formation start, a cyan toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 1 at a predetermined timing. After an electric field is applied to the intermediate transfer belt 6 at a predetermined transfer voltage, a cyan toner image on the photosensitive drum 1 is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 6 by the primary transfer roller 7a. Thereafter, the toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is removed by the cleaning unit 8, the developing unit 4 rotates by a predetermined amount, and a magenta toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 1 in the same manner as described above. The image is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 6.

  Thereafter, yellow and black toner images are transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 6 by the photosensitive drum 1 in the same manner as described above. These four color images are formed with a predetermined positional relationship predetermined for forming a predetermined full-color image. A secondary transfer roller 7b is positioned below the intermediate transfer belt 6.

  A sheet is fed from a sheet feeding mechanism 9 including a sheet feeding cassette 9a and a manual feed tray (stack bypass) 9b provided above the sheet toward the intermediate transfer belt 6 on which the toner image is formed as described above. The toner image formed on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 6 is transferred onto the sheet by the secondary transfer roller 7b. In addition, when the optional feeder 30 is used, the paper transport path 21 through which the paper fed from the option feeder 30 (see FIG. 2) passes is provided so as to vertically penetrate the front surface portion of the paper feed cassette 9a. The sheet is conveyed from the sheet conveyance path 21 to the secondary transfer roller 7 b via the paper feed roller 10 and the registration roller pair 11.

  Then, the sheet on which the toner image is transferred is conveyed along the sheet conveying path 12 to the fixing unit 13 having the fixing roller pair 13a, and the toner image is fixed on the sheet. The paper that has passed through the fixing unit 13 is distributed in the conveyance direction by a branching unit 14 that branches in a plurality of directions. When an image is formed only on one side of the sheet, the sheet is directly discharged onto the discharge tray 17 via the sheet conveyance path 15 and the sheet discharge unit 16.

  On the other hand, when images are formed on both sides of the paper, the paper that has passed through the fixing unit 13 is switched in the transport direction downward by the feed roller 18 in the paper transport path 15 and then the image surface is directed upward at the branching unit 14. Then, the sheet is distributed to the sheet re-conveying path 19 and further re-conveyed to the secondary transfer roller 7b through the reverse roller 20 and the registration roller pair 11 with the image surface facing downward. After the next image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 6 is transferred by the secondary transfer roller 7b to the surface where the image of the paper is not formed and conveyed to the fixing unit 13 and the toner image is fixed on the paper, The paper is discharged from the paper discharge unit 16 onto the discharge tray 17.

  Next, the configuration and operation of the option feeder having the hinge structure of the present invention will be described. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the option feeder having the hinge structure of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the option feeder. The option feeder 30 stores paper having a different size from the paper feed cassette 9a (see FIG. 1) provided in the main body housing of the image forming apparatus 100, and the image forming apparatus according to the paper size used by the user. 100 is configured to be detachable.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the option feeder 30 of the present embodiment has a two-stage upper and lower structure, the upper half is a paper feed unit 31 that feeds paper to the image forming apparatus 100, and the lower half is paper stock or A storage unit 33 is provided for storing a replacement toner container or the like. Positioning pins 35 that project the option feeder 30 and the image forming apparatus 100 (see FIG. 1) in the horizontal direction protrude from two positions on the upper surface of the option feeder 30.

  A paper cassette 37 for storing paper is disposed in the paper supply unit 31, and a resin cassette cover 37 a is attached to the front surface of the paper cassette 37. The cassette cover 37a is exposed to the outside and constitutes a part of the exterior surface of the option feeder 30 main body. Further, the paper cassette 37 can be pulled out and inserted into the main body of the option feeder 30, and a grip 38 is formed at the center of the cassette cover 37a to be pulled out and held during insertion operation.

  In the sheet cassette 37, a sheet stacking plate 39 on which a plurality of sheets are stacked, a lift plate 40 for raising and lowering the sheet stacking plate 39, and a sheet feeding unit 41 are arranged. The paper feed unit 41 includes a pickup roller 43 and a paper feed roller pair 45, and separates and feeds the paper on the paper stacking plate 39. After a plurality of sheets are set on the sheet stacking plate 39, when a print command is input to the image forming apparatus 100 from a host device such as a personal computer, the lift plate 40 moves the pickup roller 43 through the sheet stacking plate 39 and the sheet. By pushing up and the weight of the paper feed unit 41 including the pickup roller 43 is added to the paper, the upper surface of the paper is pressed against the pickup roller 43 with a predetermined pressure (paper feed pressure).

  Next, the pickup roller 43 and the paper feed roller pair 45 are rotationally driven by a roller drive motor (not shown). The paper set on the paper stacking plate 39 is normally fed to the nip portion of the pair of paper feed rollers 45 by the pickup roller 43. Then, only the uppermost sheet is separated by the paper feed roller pair 45 and conveyed toward the paper conveyance path 21 (see FIG. 1).

  An opening / closing cover 50 made of ABS resin or polycarbonate resin is mounted on the front surface of the storage portion 33. The open / close cover 50 constitutes a part of the exterior surface of the main body of the option feeder 30 together with the cassette cover 37a. The open / close cover 50 can be opened and closed vertically with the lower end edge as a support shaft, and a handle 51 is formed at the center of the upper end.

  FIG. 4 is an external perspective view showing a state in which the open / close cover 50 of the option feeder 30 is opened. The opening / closing cover 50 is rotatably connected to the main body base 54 of the option feeder 30 by two hinge portions 53a and 53b.

  5 is a partially enlarged view of the hinge part 53a in FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is a plan view of the hinge part as viewed from above in FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the hinge part (AA arrow in FIG. 6). FIG. Hereinafter, although the structure of the hinge part 53a is demonstrated, it is the completely same structure also about the hinge part 53b. The hinge portion 53a includes a support side hinge member 55 fixed to the main body base 54 and a rotation side hinge member 57 rotatably attached to the support side hinge member 55. The rotation side hinge member An opening / closing cover 50 is attached to 57.

  The support-side hinge member 55 is formed in a U shape when viewed from the opening / closing cover 50 side by bending a sheet metal, and a shaft hole 58 is formed in the opposite side surfaces 55a and 55b of the U-shape. Further, projections 56 that engage with the engagement holes 54a of the main body base 54 are formed at the upper ends of the side surfaces 55a and 55b. The bottom surface 55c adjacent to the side surfaces 55a and 55b is formed with a bent portion 55d that rises in the same direction (upward here) as the side surfaces 55a and 55b.

  In the rotation-side hinge member 57, a pair of main body portions 57a and 57b disposed on both sides of the support-side hinge member 55 and a connection portion 57c that connects the main body portions 57a and 57b are integrally formed of a flexible resin material. Has been. A rotation shaft 60 that engages with the shaft hole 58 of the support-side hinge member 55 projects inwardly from the main body portions 57a and 57b. The body portions 57a and 57b are formed with a positioning hole 63 for engaging the boss 61 of the opening / closing cover 50 and a slit 65 for engaging the hook 62 of the opening / closing cover 50.

  As shown in FIG. 7, an opening 67 is formed on the surface of the main body portions 57 a and 57 b facing the open / close cover 50, and the boss 61 and the hook 62 of the open / close cover 50 are connected to the main body portions 57 a and 57 b through the opening 67. And engages with the positioning hole 63 and the hook 62, respectively. On the other hand, a U-shaped curved portion 70 is formed at the center of the connecting portion 57c.

  Next, the assembly method of a hinge part is explained in full detail. First, as shown in FIG. 8, the protrusion 56 of the support-side hinge member 55 is engaged with the engagement hole 54a (see FIG. 6) of the main body base 54, and a burring (annular ring) formed at the upper end of the bent portion 55d. The projection 551 is engaged with the round hole 59a on the end surface of the main body base 54, and the through hole 552 is overlapped with the screw hole 59b and fastened with the screw 66.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 9, the rotation shaft 60 protruding from the main body portions 57 a and 57 b of the rotation side hinge member 57 is inserted into the shaft hole 58 of the support side hinge member 55 from the outside. Here, since the bending portion 70 is formed in the connecting portion 57c of the rotation-side hinge member 57, the rotation portion is formed in the shaft hole 58 by bending the bending portion 70 to widen the interval between the main body portions 57a and 57b. 60 can be easily inserted.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the boss 61 and the hook 62 of the opening / closing cover 50 are inserted from the openings 67 (see FIG. 7) of the main body portions 57a and 57b, and the boss 61 is inserted into the positioning hole 63 and the hook 62 is inserted into the slit 65. By pushing together, the hook 62 engages with the slit 65 and the opening / closing cover 50 is fixed to the rotation-side hinge member 57. The hinge part 53a shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 is assembled by the procedure as described above.

  According to the above configuration, the rotation shaft 60 of the rotation-side hinge member 57 is removed from the shaft hole 58 of the support-side hinge member 55 (the left-right direction in FIG. 7), and the opening / closing cover 50 is connected to the rotation-side hinge member 57. The insertion direction of the boss 61 and the hook 62 (vertical direction in FIG. 7) is orthogonal. As a result, even if a load is applied in the opening direction of the opening / closing cover 50, the rotation-side hinge member 57 does not move in the direction in which the rotating shaft 60 comes out, so there is a possibility that the rotating shaft 60 comes out of the shaft hole and the opening / closing cover 50 falls off. Absent.

  Further, since the opening / closing cover 50 and the rotation-side hinge member 57 are fixed only by engaging the hook 62 with the slit 65, a fastening member such as a screw is not required for mounting the opening / closing cover 50, and the number of parts is reduced. As well as improving the assembly workability. Moreover, since it can be disassembled only by disengaging the hook 62 and the slit 65, the recyclability is also improved.

  Furthermore, by forming the rotation-side hinge member 57 with a material having a higher slidability (lower surface friction coefficient) than the opening / closing cover 50, the friction between the shaft hole 58 and the rotary shaft 60 can be reduced. Occurrence of an open / close failure due to shaving of the rotating shaft 60 can be prevented. As the resin material for forming the rotation-side hinge member 57, polyacetal, polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), fluorine resin, etc. having both slidability and elasticity are preferable, and polyacetal, which is an inexpensive general-purpose resin, is particularly preferable.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, A various change is possible in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the shaft hole 58 is provided in the support side hinge member 55 and the rotation shaft 60 is formed in the rotation side hinge member 57. However, the rotation side 60 is provided in the support side hinge member 55 and the rotation side hinge is provided. A shaft hole 58 may be formed in the member 57.

  Further, here, an example in which the hinge structure of the present invention is applied to the opening / closing cover 50 of the option feeder 30 has been described. However, the invention is not limited to the option feeder, and is not limited to the color feeder, monochrome printer, color and monochrome copying machine as shown in FIG. The present invention can also be applied to various image forming apparatuses having an opening / closing cover, such as facsimiles, and other electronic devices having an opening / closing cover, and storage devices such as a cabinet.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be used for an electronic device such as an image forming apparatus provided with an opening / closing cover, and a storage tool such as a cabinet. The rotating side hinge member is formed of a flexible material, and the rotating side hinge member or A rotating shaft projects from one of the support-side hinge members, and a shaft hole that engages the rotating shaft is formed on the other. The direction of attachment of the cover member to the rotating-side hinge member depends on the rotation of the rotating-side hinge member. It is substantially orthogonal to the axial direction.

  As a result, the hinge part can be easily assembled by simply bending the rotating hinge member and fitting the rotation shaft into the shaft hole. Even if a load is applied to the cover member, the load is applied in the direction of the rotation axis of the hinge part. Since it is not hung, it is possible to provide a hinge structure that is easy to assemble and can effectively prevent the cover member from falling off.

30 Option feeder 50 Open / close cover (cover member)
53a, 53b Hinge part 54 Main body base 55 Support side hinge member 57 Rotation side hinge member 57a, 57b Main body part 57c Connecting part 58 Shaft hole 60 Rotating shaft 61 Boss 62 Hook 63 Positioning hole 65 Slit 67 Opening 70 Bending part 100 Image formation apparatus

Claims (6)

A hinge portion constituted by a support-side hinge member supported by the apparatus main body, and a rotation-side hinge member rotatably supported by the support-side hinge member;
A cover member fixed to the rotating side hinge member;
A hinge structure that supports the cover member to be openable and closable with respect to the apparatus body,
The rotation-side hinge member is made of a flexible material, and a rotation shaft projects from one of the rotation-side hinge member and the support-side hinge member, and the other is the rotation shaft. A matching shaft hole is formed,
An attachment direction of the cover member with respect to the rotation-side hinge member is substantially orthogonal to the rotation axis direction , and bending deformation of the rotation-side hinge member is restricted by the attachment of the cover member. The hinge structure of the cover member.   The rotation-side hinge member is formed by integrally forming a pair of main body portions disposed adjacent to both sides of the support-side hinge member and projecting the rotation shaft, and a connecting portion connecting the main body portions. The hinge structure of the cover member according to claim 1.   The hinge structure of a cover member according to claim 2, wherein the connecting portion is formed with a U-shaped curved portion in a side view.   4. The cover member according to claim 1, wherein the rotation-side hinge member is formed of a material having a lower surface friction coefficient than the support-side hinge member and the cover member. Hinge structure.   The hinge structure of a cover member according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the rotation-side hinge member and the cover member are fitted and fixed.   An image forming apparatus comprising the cover member hinge structure according to claim 1.

Images