JP2008076998A - Optional equipment and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide optional equipment enabling an operator to easily notice an installation error when he (she) makes the installation error, and capable of avoiding in advance failure such as paper ejection trouble with simple constitution, and an image forming apparatus equipped with the optional equipment. <P>SOLUTION: A one-step paper ejection tray unit 38 as the optional equipment is integrally provided with a U-shaped holding part 62 for positioning which interposes the upper surface part 53a of the flange part 53 of the structural body 55 of the image forming apparatus. A projection 63 is formed on the lower surface of the lower piece 62b of the holding part 62. When the holding part 62 is installed in such a state that it runs onto the flange part 53, the upper surface of the one-step paper ejection tray unit 38 interferes with the lower surface of a scanner part 50, so that the inserting operation of the one-step paper ejection tray unit 38 can not be more performed. Thus, the operator notices that the installation state is abnormal. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an optional device such as a paper discharge unit that can be arbitrarily added to an image forming apparatus, a copier, a printer, a facsimile, or a plotter that includes the optional device or that can be added to the optional device. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a multi-function peripheral having two.

As shown in FIG. 16, in order to save the space by reducing the projection area of the apparatus on the floor surface, a paper discharge space is provided between the scanner section 50 located at the upper part of the apparatus main body and the printer section 52 located therebelow. There is known a so-called in-body discharge type image forming apparatus in which H is provided and a sheet is conveyed in a substantially vertical direction and discharged to a discharge space H.
In this type of image forming apparatus, one stage (one bin) is provided on the in-body in-body sheet discharge tray 29 in order to make use of the multifunctional function of the apparatus in recent years or to respond to diversification of user's work. The paper discharge tray unit 54 can be arbitrarily added as an option. In the figure, reference numeral 54a denotes a tray body, and 37 denotes a spacer.

As shown in FIG. 17, the first-stage sheet discharge tray unit 54 is a flange portion 53 (here, which is bent so as to protrude outward at a substantially right angle as a reinforcing rib of a structure body 55 that bears the mechanical strength of the image forming apparatus. Then, positioning and fixing are performed using the flange portion of the front plate of the main body.
A U-shaped holding portion 56 is integrally formed on the rear end side (the front surface or the operation surface side of the apparatus) of the first-stage discharge tray unit 54 in the in-body discharge space H in the insertion direction. At this stage, the holding portion 56 is sandwiched between the upper surface portions 53a of the flange portion 53 so that the first-stage sheet discharge tray unit 54 is positioned in the vertical direction (arrow y direction) with respect to the apparatus main body.
In order to facilitate installation in the in-body discharge space H, the tray main body 54a and the unit main body can be separated, and the tray main body 54a is attached later.
An elongated hole 57 extending in the vertical direction is formed in the side plate 54 b on the paper discharge direction side of the holding portion 56 of the first-stage discharge tray unit 54, and screws formed at corresponding portions of the side surface portion 53 b of the flange portion 53. A screw 59 is screwed into the hole 58 and fixed.
By fixing the screws, the first-stage sheet discharge tray unit 54 is positioned in the lateral direction (paper discharge direction; arrow x direction) with respect to the apparatus main body.
In this way, the user can easily add the one-stage paper discharge tray unit 54 even if it is not a specialized service person.

Japanese Patent No. 3474385 JP 2002-308511 A JP 2002-247262 A JP 2002-137490 A JP 2005-173175 A Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-075547

When the first-stage discharge tray unit 54 is normally installed, as shown in FIG. 18A, the holding portion 56 sandwiches the flange portion 53 (strictly, the upper surface portion 53a), but the thickness of the holding portion 56 Since it is about 5 mm at most, as shown in FIG. 18B, even if the holding portion 56 rides on the upper surface of the flange portion 53 without sandwiching the flange portion 53, there is almost no sense of incongruity for the operator.
For this reason, the fixing with the screw 59 is often performed while the holding portion 56 is on the flange portion 53.
When fixed in the riding state, the extra dimension m of the holding portion 56 hinders the parallelism between the paper discharge port on the apparatus main body side and the paper receiving port of the first-stage paper discharge tray unit 54, and jams or skews. Such as paper discharge trouble may occur.
Even if such a paper discharge trouble occurs, the thickness of the holding portion 56 is extremely small as described above and can be installed without a sense of incongruity. This is difficult, and there is a problem that the loss time for solving the trouble becomes too large.

  The present invention provides an optional device that can be easily noticed when an operator makes an installation error and that can avoid problems such as paper discharge problems with a simple configuration, and an image forming apparatus including the optional device. And its purpose.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a U-shaped holding portion that positions the image forming apparatus in one direction by being sandwiched by a part of the structure of the image forming apparatus. In an optional device fixed from a direction different from the positioning direction by the holding unit, when the holding unit rides on the structure without being sandwiched between the structures, the image forming apparatus is installed at a predetermined position. Or it has the shape which prevents fixation in a predetermined position, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the optional device according to the first aspect, a thickness of a piece of the holding portion on a side contacting the structure when riding on the structure is larger than a space interval of the predetermined position. The size of the optional device at the holding portion is set to be large.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the optional device according to the first aspect, a protrusion is provided on a piece of the holding portion that comes into contact with the structure when riding on the structure, and the protrusion has a height thereof. Is set such that the size of the optional device at the projection portion is larger than the space interval at the predetermined position.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the optional device according to the third aspect, a plurality of the protrusions are provided at intervals in the width direction of the holding portion that is substantially orthogonal to the sandwiching direction.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the optional device according to the third aspect, one protrusion is provided between the center of gravity of the optional device and the fixed position.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the optional device according to the fifth aspect, the height of the protrusion is the floating height generated when the optional device is tilted by the protrusion. It is set so that it may become larger than the difference with the space space | interval of a predetermined position.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the optional device according to any one of the third to sixth aspects, the protrusion has a hook shape at the front end in the sandwiching direction.
In the invention according to claim 8, in the optional device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, the optional device has a long hole for screwing to the image forming apparatus, and the longitudinal dimension of the long hole is The difference with the screw diameter is set to be smaller than the dimensional displacement of the optional device when the holding portion rides on the structure.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, an image forming apparatus includes the optional device according to any one of the first to eighth aspects.
The invention according to claim 10 is characterized in that the image forming apparatus has a corresponding configuration in which the optional device according to any one of claims 1 to 8 can be installed.

  According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, the image forming apparatus has a U-shaped holding portion that is positioned in one direction by being sandwiched by a part of the structure of the image forming apparatus, and the positioning direction by the holding portion. In an image forming apparatus capable of installing optional equipment fixed from a different direction, the image forming apparatus is installed at a predetermined position when the holding unit rides on the structure without being sandwiched between the structures. It has the shape which prevents.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the eleventh aspect, a space interval at a predetermined position where the optional device is installed is larger than a dimension of the optional device when the holding unit rides on the structure. Is also set to be small.
According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the eleventh aspect, a portion of the structure in which the holding portion is sandwiched is raised or has a predetermined thickness, and the height or thickness of the raised portion is large. This is characterized in that a space interval at a predetermined position where the optional device is installed is set smaller than a height of the optional device when the holding unit rides on the structure.

According to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, the image forming apparatus includes a U-shaped holding portion that positions the image forming apparatus in one direction by being sandwiched by a part of the structure of the image forming apparatus. In an image forming apparatus in which an optional device fixed from a different direction can be installed, when the holding unit rides on the structure without being sandwiched between the structures, it is visually It has the structure which notifies to.
According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the fourteenth aspect, a mark having a conspicuous color is provided in a portion of the structure sandwiched by the holding portion, and the width of the mark is determined by the optional device. The size is set so as to be hidden by the holding portion when normally installed.

According to the sixteenth aspect of the present invention, an image forming apparatus in which an optional device having a U-shaped holding portion for positioning in one direction with respect to the image forming apparatus can be installed by being sandwiched by a part of the structure of the image forming apparatus. In the device
A screw insertion hole is formed only on one side of the holding portion, and a screw hole is formed in a corresponding portion of the structure, and the holding portion is screwed after being sandwiched.
According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the ninth to sixteenth aspects, the optional device is a paper discharge tray unit, and a scanner unit positioned at an upper portion of the apparatus main body and the scanner unit It is installed in the space between the printer part located in the lower part of this.

  According to the present invention, when an optional device such as a one-stage paper discharge tray unit is installed (added) in the image forming apparatus, it can be easily recognized that the installation state is abnormal even if an operator makes an installation error. With a simple configuration, problems such as paper discharge problems can be avoided in advance.

Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The same parts as those in the conventional example are denoted by the same reference numerals.
First, a configuration of a color copying machine (hereinafter simply referred to as “copying machine”) as an image forming apparatus in the present embodiment and an outline of a printing operation will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the tandem type copying machine 1 has a scanner unit 50 in the upper part of the apparatus main body 2 as a printer unit, and paper feed cassettes 23 and 24 are attached to and detached from the lower part of the apparatus main body 2. It is provided freely.
A paper discharge space H is formed between the scanner unit 50 and the printer unit 52 that are separated vertically by the spacer 37. Reference numeral 60 denotes an operation panel. Actually, an ADF (automatic document feeder) is placed on the scanner unit 50, but is omitted in the drawing.

As shown in FIG. 2, four photosensitive drums 3Y, 3M, 3C, and 3Bk as image carriers are arranged in parallel at a substantially central portion in the apparatus main body 2 at regular intervals in the horizontal direction in the drawing in a horizontal state. It is arranged. The subscripts Y, M, C, and Bk indicate yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, respectively.
The photoreceptor drum 3Y for yellow image will be described as a representative example. The photoreceptor drum 3Y is driven to rotate in the clockwise direction. Around the periphery thereof, a charging roller 4Y as a charging unit according to an electrophotographic process, a developing roller An image forming member such as a developing device 6Y having 5Y and a cleaning member 7Y as a cleaning unit are sequentially arranged.
The magenta, cyan, and black photoconductor drums 3M, 3C, and 3Bk have the same configuration. That is, only the color of the toner used is different. It is possible to use a belt-like photoconductor.

  Below the photosensitive drums 3Y, 3M, 3C, and 3Bk, a laser beam corresponding to image data for each color is scanned and applied to the uniformly charged photosensitive drums 3Y, 3M, 3C, and 3Bk to form an electrostatic latent image. An exposure device 8 for forming is provided, and laser light irradiated by the exposure device 8 is directed between the charging rollers 4 and the developing rollers 5 toward the photosensitive drums 3Y, 3M, 3C, and 3Bk. An elongated space (slit) is secured so as to enter. Although the illustrated example is shown as a laser scanning method using a laser light source, a polygon mirror, etc., an exposure apparatus combining an LED array and an imaging means may be used.

Above the photosensitive drums 3Y, 3M, 3C, and 3Bk, an intermediate transfer belt 12 that is supported by a plurality of rollers 9, 10, and 11 and is driven to rotate counterclockwise is provided. Transfer rollers 13Y, 13M, 13C, and 13Bk as primary transfer units are provided on the inner peripheral portion of the intermediate transfer belt 12 so as to face the photosensitive drums 3Y, 3M, 3C, and 3Bk.
A cleaning device 14 for wiping off unnecessary toner remaining on the belt surface is provided at a position facing the roller 11 on the outer peripheral portion of the intermediate transfer belt 12, and at a position facing the roller 9, the intermediate transfer belt 12. A transfer roller 18 as a secondary transfer unit for transferring the upper toner image onto the transfer paper S is provided.

Below the exposure device 8, two stages of paper feed cassettes 23 and 24 are arranged so as to be drawn out. The transfer sheet S as a sheet-like recording medium housed in these sheet feeding cassettes 23 and 24 is selectively fed by the corresponding sheet feeding rollers 25 and 26, and the intermediate transfer belt 12 and the transfer roller 18. The sheet feeding / conveying path 27 is formed substantially vertically toward the transfer position.
A registration roller pair 28 is provided immediately before the transfer position in the paper feed path 27 to take the timing of paper feed to the transfer position.

A fixing device 31, a permanent paper discharge unit 35, and a one-stage paper discharge tray unit 38 as an optional device are sequentially provided above the transfer position. The paper discharge unit 35 includes a pair of discharge rollers 34 for discharging to the in-body discharge tray 29 on the upper surface of the apparatus main body, a pair of transport rollers 36 for discharging to the first-stage discharge tray unit 38, and internal discharge. A switching claw 32 or the like for switching the conveyance path is provided in either the tray 29 or the first-stage sheet discharge tray unit 38.
The first-stage paper discharge tray unit 38 is provided with a tray main body 40, a paper discharge roller pair 39, and the like.
In the apparatus main body 2, a space below the in-body discharge tray 29 stores toner of each color used in each of the photosensitive drums 3Y, 3M, 3C, and 3Bk, and can be transported and supplied to a corresponding developing device by a pump or the like. A storage portion 33 is provided.

An operation at the time of printing for forming an image on the transfer paper S in such a configuration will be described. First, a laser beam corresponding to image data for yellow emitted from a semiconductor laser by the operation of the exposure device 8 is irradiated on the surface of the uniformly charged photoreceptor drum 3Y by the charging roller 4Y, whereby an electrostatic latent image is formed. It is formed.
The electrostatic latent image is subjected to development processing by the developing roller 5Y and is developed with yellow toner, becomes a visible image, and receives a transfer action by the transfer roller 13Y on the intermediate transfer belt 12 that moves in synchronization with the photosensitive drum 3Y. Is transcribed. Such latent image formation, development, and transfer operations are similarly performed sequentially at the photosensitive drums 3M, 3C, and 3Bk. As a result, the yellow Y, magenta M, cyan C, and black Bk toner images are maintained and conveyed on the intermediate transfer belt 12 as overlapping full-color toner images.

The full-color toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 12 is transferred by the transfer roller 18 to the transfer sheet S that is conveyed to the transfer position at a timing by the registration roller pair 28.
The transfer sheet S on which the full-color toner image has been transferred undergoes a fixing process by the fixing device 31 and is discharged onto the in-body discharge tray 29 by the discharge roller pair 32 or is sent to the first-stage discharge tray unit 38 and discharged. A pair of paper rollers 39 discharges the paper to the tray main body 40 of one bin.

As shown in FIG. 3, the permanent paper discharge unit 35 is fixed as a unit to the cut and raised piece 55a of the structural body 55 with screws (not shown) via fixed pieces 35a formed at the front and rear ends in the depth direction. .
The first-stage sheet discharge tray unit 38 has a positioning pin 64 inside the depth side, and integrally has a holding portion 62 as a sandwiching member at the front side end portion. A long hole 65 extending in the vertical direction is formed in the side plate 38a closer to the paper discharge direction than the holding portion 62 of the first-stage paper discharge tray unit 38, and is fixed with screws 59 as in the conventional example. Yes.
A pin support piece 35b into which the positioning pin 64 is inserted is formed at the depth side end portion of the paper discharge unit 35. When the one-stage paper discharge tray unit 38 is installed, the first-stage discharge in the paper discharge space H is formed. After the paper tray unit 38 is inserted obliquely and the positioning pin 64 faces the pin support piece 35b, the holding portion 62 is sandwiched and pushed into the upper surface portion 53a of the flange portion 53 in a state of being substantially parallel to the paper discharge portion 35. .

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the holding portion 62 has a U-shape having an upper piece 62a and a lower piece 62b, and the lower surface of the lower piece 62b has a width of the holding portion 62 perpendicular to the sandwiching direction of the protrusion 63. Two are formed at intervals in the direction.
In the present embodiment, the unit main body, the holding portion 62, and the protrusion 63 of the first-stage paper discharge tray unit 38 are integrally formed of synthetic resin. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 66 denotes a fixing screw for the spacer 37 with respect to the structure 55.
As shown in FIG. 5, the push-side end surface (rear end) of each protrusion 63 is beveled obliquely so that it does not hurt when the corner of the operator hits the hand during push-in (when sandwiched). It may be rounded.

The protrusion 63 in the holding portion 62 is used to make the operator recognize that the state of the holding portion 62 is abnormal when the holding portion 62 rides on the flange portion 53 when the one-stage paper discharge tray unit 38 is installed. Is provided.
In order to enable the operator to quickly recognize the above, as shown in FIG. 4, the distance from the upper surface of the flange portion 53 to the lower end of the projection 63 (in other words, from the upper surface of the groove of the holding portion 62 to the lower end of the projection 63). L) and the distance B between the first-stage sheet discharge tray unit 38 and the lower surface of the scanner unit 50 are set such that L> B.
That is, when the holding portion 62 including the protrusion 63 rides on the upper surface of the flange portion 53, the total height of the first-stage paper discharge tray unit 38 at the holding portion 62 exceeds the space interval at a predetermined position of the paper discharge space H. As shown in FIG. 6, the upper end of the first-stage sheet discharge tray unit 38 comes into contact with the lower surface of the scanner unit 50, and further pressing is inhibited.
Thereby, the operator recognizes that the insertion state is abnormal, notices that the holding portion 62 is not normally sandwiched between the flange portions 53, and the installation operation is performed again.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the distance L from the upper surface of the flange portion 53 to the lower end of the protrusion 63 and the difference between the height W (longitudinal dimension) of the elongated hole 65 and the shaft diameter d of the screw 59. The relationship is set such that L> W−d.
That is, when the holding portion 62 including the protrusion 63 rides on the upper surface of the flange portion 53, the screw 59 cannot be screwed into the screw hole 58 through the long hole 65.
Therefore, the operator recognizes that the insertion state (installation state) is abnormal because the fixing with the screw 59 is not possible, and notices that the holding portion 62 is not normally sandwiched between the flange portions 53, and the installation operation is repeated. It is.

As shown in FIG. 7, in the conventional configuration having no protrusion 63, when the holding portion 56 rides on the flange portion 53, the discharge port on the apparatus body side and the sheet receiving port of the first-stage discharge tray unit 54 are parallel. The degree is disturbed.
In other words, the parallelism of the axis of the pair of transport rollers on the apparatus main body side and the pair of discharge rollers of the first-stage sheet discharge tray unit 54 is disturbed, and the first-stage sheet discharge tray with respect to the sheet discharge direction E1 on the apparatus body side. The paper discharge direction of the unit 54 is E2, and paper discharge troubles such as jams and skews, and poor entry into the paper receiving port of the one-stage paper discharge tray unit 54 are likely to occur.
On the other hand, in the configuration according to the present embodiment, even if there is an installation mistake in which the holding portion 62 rides on the flange portion 53, the operator can immediately notice and be in a normal installation state. It is always possible to obtain a state in which there is no paper discharge trouble in which the conveying roller pair 36 on the apparatus main body side and the axis of the paper discharge roller pair 39 of the first-stage paper discharge tray unit 38 are parallel.
As described above, it is possible to prevent a paper discharge trouble due to the holding portion riding on the flange portion 53 by merely providing the slight protrusion 63 that does not deteriorate the appearance or adversely affect other members.

In the present embodiment, the configuration for recognizing an abnormality in the inserted state by the protrusion 63 and the configuration for recognizing the abnormal state in the inserted state due to the inability to fix with the screw 59 (hereinafter also referred to as “screw fixing impossible method”) are used. Either one is acceptable.
When only the screw fixing method is employed, L is a distance not including the protrusion 63 (similar to the prior art). In this case, if the thickness of the piece of the holding portion 62 is too small to be reflected in the dimensional change of the long hole 65, at least the thickness of the lower piece 62b may be increased.

In the assembly process of the image forming apparatus in a factory or the like, when the one-stage sheet discharge tray unit 38 is installed at a stage where the scanner section 50 is not installed, or in the image forming apparatus having only the printer configuration without the scanner section, When the paper tray unit 38 is added, there is no interference member above the installation space, so the configuration of providing the protrusion 63 is meaningless.
Even in such a case, if the screw fixing impossibility method is adopted, it is possible to make an operator recognize an abnormal installation state, and it is possible to prevent a paper discharge trouble due to the holding portion riding on the flange portion 53 in advance.

A second embodiment will be described based on FIGS. 10 and 11. In addition, the same part as the said embodiment is shown with the same code | symbol, The description on the structure and function which were already demonstrated is abbreviate | omitted as long as there is no special need, and only the principal part is demonstrated (same in other following embodiment).
In the first embodiment, two protrusions 63 are provided. However, in the present embodiment, one protrusion is provided, and the position thereof is the center of gravity G of the one-stage sheet discharge tray unit 38 in the width direction of the holding portion 62. And a position fixed by the screw 59.
As shown in FIG. 10, L is a floating height D generated when the holding portion 62 rides on the flange portion 53 and tilts, and a distance B between the first-stage paper discharge tray unit 38 and the lower surface of the scanner portion 50. The relationship is set so that D> B.
When the holding unit 62 rides on the flange unit 53, the first-stage sheet discharge tray unit 38 is inclined and the upper surface interferes with the lower surface of the scanner unit 50, so that the operator is abnormally inserted into the sheet discharge space H. Recognize Also in the present embodiment, the above-described screw fixing method may be used in combination.
In each of the above embodiments having the protrusion 63, as shown in FIG. 11, if the protrusion 63 has a hook-shaped shape in the sandwiching direction, the wire rod such as the harness 70 can be used. The function to hold | maintain can be acquired and the added value of the member which recognizes that an insertion state is abnormal can be raised (3rd Embodiment).

FIG. 12 shows a fourth embodiment.
In the present embodiment, the thickness of the lower piece 62b of the holding portion 62 is set to a thickness including the height of the protrusion 63, thereby ensuring the dimension L. Since the thickness of the lower piece 62b is simply increased, the manufacturing becomes easier as compared with the case where the protrusion 63 is formed.
FIG. 13 shows a fifth embodiment.
The present embodiment is characterized in that the protrusion 63 or a portion exhibiting the same function is provided in addition to the holding portion 62. That is, instead of the protrusion 63, a convex portion 67 is formed on the upper surface of the unit main body of the one-stage paper discharge tray unit 38. Therefore, the holding portion 62 has the same shape as the conventional one without the protrusion 63. However, when the holding portion 62 rides on the flange portion 53, the distance L1 from the upper surface of the flange portion 53 to the lower end of the lower piece 62b. And the sum of the heights L2 of the projections 67 becomes L, causing interference.
In this case, the convex portion 67 does not necessarily have to be provided on the first-stage paper discharge tray unit 38 side, and may be provided on the scanner portion 50 side as indicated by a two-dot chain line. Although the convex portion 67 is illustrated here, it is sufficient that interference occurs when the holding portion 62 rides on the flange portion 53, and the present invention is not limited to this configuration.

As shown in FIG. 14, the portion sandwiching the holding portion 62 of the upper surface portion 53a of the flange portion 53 may be raised to secure L2 (sixth embodiment).
In each of the above-described embodiments, the first-stage discharge tray unit 38 or the first-stage discharge tray unit 38 cannot be installed at a predetermined position or cannot be fixed with a screw due to the mutual shape characteristics of the apparatus main body. However, in this embodiment, it is also possible to visually notify that it is not normally installed (seventh embodiment).
As shown in FIG. 15A, a mark 68 of a conspicuous color (for example, red, orange, pink, yellow, fluorescent material, etc.) is applied to the portion sandwiched by the holding portion 62 in the upper surface portion 53a of the flange portion 53. Or it is provided by techniques, such as sticking a sticker. The width M of the mark 68 is set to be equal to or smaller than the width of the holding portion 62.
When the holding portion 62 rides on the flange portion 53, the mark 68 is visually recognized from the outside, so that the operator can recognize that the insertion state is abnormal at that time or at the time of checking, and the holding portion 62 is in the flange portion 53. You will notice that it is not normally pinched.
When normally sandwiched, the mark 68 is covered with the holding portion 62 as shown in FIG.

1 is a perspective view of a color copying machine as an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view from the front (front) side of an image forming apparatus. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a mounting state of a sheet discharge unit of the image forming apparatus and a positional relationship between the first-stage sheet discharge tray unit. It is a principal part front view of the state which installed the 1 step | paragraph sheet discharge tray unit normally. It is a principal part side view which shows a 1 step | paragraph paper discharge tray unit fixing | fixed part. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a contact state with a scanner unit when the first-stage sheet discharge tray unit is not properly installed. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating parallelism between the image forming apparatus side and the one-stage sheet discharge tray unit side when installed normally. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a shift in parallelism between the image forming apparatus side and the one-stage sheet discharge tray unit side when a holding unit rides on a flange portion in the related art. FIG. 10 is a front view of a main part in a state where a first-stage sheet discharge tray unit is normally installed in the second embodiment. In 2nd Embodiment, it is a principal part front view of the state in which the holding | maintenance part got on the flange part. It is a figure which shows the shape of the processus | protrusion in 3rd Embodiment. FIG. 10 is a front view of a main part in a state where a first-stage sheet discharge tray unit is normally installed in a fourth embodiment. FIG. 10 is a front view of main parts in a state in which a first-stage sheet discharge tray unit is normally installed in a fifth embodiment. FIG. 10 is a front view of main parts in a state where a first-stage sheet discharge tray unit is not normally installed in a sixth embodiment. FIG. 9A is a front view of a main part in a state where a first-stage paper discharge tray unit is not normally installed, and FIG. 9B is a front view of a main part in a state where the first-stage discharge tray unit is normally installed. It is a general | schematic front view of the image forming apparatus in the past. It is a principal part perspective view which shows the installation state of a 1 step | paragraph paper discharge tray unit. Conventionally, the principal part sectional view which shows the state where the holding part is normally inserted in the flange part, (b) is the principal part sectional view showing the state where the holding part got on the flange part.

Explanation of symbols

G Center of gravity position

Claims (17)

It has a U-shaped holding part that positions the image forming apparatus in one direction by being sandwiched by a part of the structure of the image forming apparatus, and is fixed from a direction different from the positioning direction by the holding part. In optional equipment,
An option having a shape that prevents installation of the image forming apparatus at a predetermined position or fixation at a predetermined position when the holding portion rides on the structure without being sandwiched between the structures. machine. The optional device according to claim 1,
The thickness of the piece of the holding portion on the side that contacts the structure when riding on the structure is set so that the size of the optional device at the portion of the holding portion is larger than the space interval of the predetermined position. Optional equipment characterized by The optional device according to claim 1,
A protrusion is provided on a piece of the holding portion that comes into contact with the structure when riding on the structure, and the height of the protrusion is higher than that of the space at the predetermined position. Optional equipment characterized in that the dimensions are set to be large. The optional device according to claim 3,
An optional device characterized in that a plurality of the protrusions are provided at intervals in the width direction of the holding portion substantially orthogonal to the sandwiching direction. The optional device according to claim 3,
One optional projection is provided between the center of gravity of the optional device and the fixed position. The optional device according to claim 5,
The height of the protrusion is set so that the floating height generated when the optional device is tilted by the protrusion is larger than the difference from the space interval of the predetermined position when the optional device is normally installed. Optional equipment characterized by In the optional equipment as described in any one of Claims 3-6,
An optional device characterized in that the protrusion has a hook shape at the front end in the sandwiching direction. The optional device according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
There is a long hole for fixing the screw to the image forming apparatus, and the dimension in the longitudinal direction of the long hole is the difference between the screw diameter and the dimensional displacement of the optional device when the holding portion rides on the structure. Optional equipment characterized by being set smaller than   An image forming apparatus comprising the optional device according to claim 1.   An image forming apparatus having a corresponding configuration capable of installing the optional device according to claim 1. It has a U-shaped holding part that positions the image forming apparatus in one direction by being sandwiched by a part of the structure of the image forming apparatus, and is fixed from a direction different from the positioning direction by the holding part. In an image forming apparatus in which optional equipment can be installed,
An image forming apparatus having a shape that prevents installation of the image forming apparatus at a predetermined position when the holding unit rides on the structure without being sandwiched between the structures. The image forming apparatus according to claim 11.
An image forming apparatus, wherein a space interval at a predetermined position where the optional device is installed is set to be smaller than a dimension of the optional device when the holding unit rides on the structure. The image forming apparatus according to claim 11.
The portion of the structure where the holding part is sandwiched is raised or has a predetermined thickness, and the height or thickness of the raised part is the optional device when the holding part rides on the structure. An image forming apparatus, wherein a space interval at a predetermined position where the optional device is installed is set to be smaller than a height of the image forming apparatus. It has a U-shaped holding part that positions the image forming apparatus in one direction by being sandwiched by a part of the structure of the image forming apparatus, and is fixed from a direction different from the positioning direction by the holding part. In an image forming apparatus in which optional equipment can be installed,
An image forming apparatus characterized by having a configuration for visually informing that the holding portion is not properly installed when the holding portion rides on the structure without being sandwiched between the structures. The image forming apparatus according to claim 14.
A mark of a conspicuous color is provided in a portion of the structure sandwiched by the holding portion, and the width of the mark is set to a size hidden by the holding portion when the optional device is normally installed. An image forming apparatus. In an image forming apparatus in which an optional device having a U-shaped holding portion that performs positioning in one direction with respect to the image forming apparatus by being sandwiched between a part of the structure of the image forming apparatus,
An image forming apparatus, wherein a screw insertion hole is formed only on one side of the holding portion, a screw hole is formed in a corresponding portion of the structure, and the holding portion is screwed after being sandwiched. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 9 to 16,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the optional device is a paper discharge tray unit, and is installed in a space between a scanner unit located at an upper part of the apparatus main body and a printer unit located at a lower part of the scanner unit.

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