Image reading device having openable auto document feeder and image forming apparatus provided therewith

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11611671-B2
Application number	US-202017074753-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 20, 2020
Priority date	Oct 21, 2019
Publication date	Mar 21, 2023
Grant date	Mar 21, 2023

Abstract

An image reading device installed in an image forming apparatus includes a document placing table having an image reader, and an auto document feeder (ADF) rotatably supported by the document placing table. The ADF is rotatable between a closed position where an upper surface of the document placing table is uncovered and an opened position where the upper surface is covered. The ADF includes a document tray, a document discharge tray arranged at a position below the document tray with a space, and a front wall fixed to a front side of the document tray. A cutout part is formed on the front wall with a front side of the space being opened through the cutout part. The ADF further includes a hand grip provided to an upper edge of the cutout part, and used to lift the ADF from the closed position toward the opened position.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An image forming apparatus comprising:
an image reading device including:
a document placing table including an image reader configured to read an image of a document sheet placed on the document placing table; and
an auto document feeder rotatably supported by the document placing table such that the auto document feeder is rotatable between a closed position and an opened position, the auto document feeder covering an upper surface of the document placing table when located at the closed position, and the auto document feeder uncovering the upper surface of the document placing table when located at the opened position,

wherein the auto document feeder includes:
a first tray which is one of a document tray and a document discharge tray, the document tray being configured to support the document sheet before the image is read by the image reader, and the document discharge tray being configured to support the document sheet after the image is read by the image reader;
a second tray arranged below the first tray with a space between the first tray and the second tray, the second tray being the other of the document tray and the document discharge tray;
a conveyer configured to convey the document sheet from the document tray toward the document discharge tray;
a front wall arranged on a front side with respect to the first tray, the front wall being formed with a cutout part through which a front part of the space is opened along a width direction perpendicular to both an up-down direction and a front-rear direction, wherein the first tray is arranged entirely on a rearward side of the front wall in the front-rear direction; and
a hand grip arranged on an upper periphery of the cutout part of the front wall, the hand grip configured to be gripped by a user and lifted when the auto document feeder is rotated from the closed position toward the opened position;

an operation panel arranged on the same side as the conveyer in the width direction; and
a main body arranged below the document placing table, the main body including an image forming part configured to form an image on a sheet.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the first tray is the document tray, and
wherein the second tray is the document discharge tray.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the first tray is rotatable between a first position and a second position above the first position, and
wherein, a part of the first tray which does not overlap the front wall when viewed from a front side of the first tray is located on a rear side with respect to another part of the first tray which overlaps the front wall when viewed from the front side of the first tray.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein a lower surface of the hand grip inclines downward toward a rear side in the front-rear direction.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the conveyer and the second tray are arranged at different positions in the width direction, and
wherein a lower surface of the hand grip inclines upward toward a direction from the conveyer to the second tray.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein a front surface of the auto document feeder is arranged on a same plane as a front surface of the document placing table or inward with respect to the front surface of the document placing table.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein both side surfaces of the auto document feeder in the front-rear direction are positioned in same planes as both side surfaces of the document placing table in the front-rear direction, respectively, or inward with respect to both side surfaces of the document placing table in the front-rear direction, respectively.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein a part of the second tray, which is arranged immediately below the hand grip, inclines upward toward a front side in the front-rear direction.

9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein a rear surface of the front wall, which is positioned on a front side with respect to the second tray and between the cutout part and the conveyer, inclines frontward toward the cutout part in the width direction.

10. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the operation panel is arranged on a front side with respect to the conveyer and at a front end of the document placing table, the operation panel including a touch panel,
wherein the touch panel is arranged at a position different from a position of the hand grip in the width direction, and
wherein, when viewed from a front side of the front-rear direction, a side end part of the hand grip, on a side of the conveyer, is positioned between one of side ends of the operation panel and one of side ends of the touch panel in the width direction.

11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a sheet discharge tray configured to support a sheet on which an image is formed by the image forming part,
wherein, when viewed from a front side in the front-rear direction, at least part of the hand grip is positioned to overlap the sheet discharge tray in the width direction.

12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 11 ,
wherein, when viewed from the front side in the front-rear direction, the operation panel is arranged at a position different from the sheet discharge tray in the width direction.

13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the hand grip has a recessed part formed from a front surface to a lower surface of the front wall.

14. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the hand grip is disposed between left and right surfaces of the front wall formed in the width direction.

15. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the first tray has a cutout portion at a front-right side, the cutout portion not overlapping the front wall in the front-rear direction.

16. An image forming apparatus comprising:
an image reading device including:
a document placing table including an image reader configured to read an image of a document sheet placed on the document placing table; and
an auto document feeder rotatably supported by the document placing table such that the auto document feeder is rotatable between a closed position and an opened position, the auto document feeder covering an upper surface of the document placing table when located at the closed position, and the auto document feeder uncovering the upper surface of the document placing table when located at the opened position, the auto document feeder including:
a first tray which is one of a document tray and a document discharge tray;
a second tray arranged below the first tray with a space between the first tray and the second tray, the second tray being the other of the document tray and the document discharge tray;
a conveyer configured to convey the document sheet from the document tray toward the document discharge tray;
a front wall arranged on a front side with respect to the first tray, the front wall being formed with a cutout part through which a front part of the space is opened along a width direction perpendicular to both an up-down direction and a front-rear direction, wherein the front wall includes a recessed part on an upper periphery of the cutout part, and the first tray is arranged entirely on a rearward side of the front wall in the front-rear direction; and
a hand grip arranged on an upper periphery o

Assignees

• Brother Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Okamoto Yoshihiro
• Fujiwara Takashi
• Mizuno Tomoyuki

Classifications

• H04N1/00604 Primary

  Transport trays · CPC title

• H04N1/00689

  Presence · CPC title

• H04N1/0071

  Width · CPC title

• H04N1/00694

  in an input tray · CPC title

• H04N1/12

  using the sheet-feed movement {or the medium-advance or the drum-rotation movement} as the slow scanning component, {e.g. arrangements for the main-scanning}({sheet-feed movement by translatory movement of a flat picture-bearing surface H04N1/1008; main-scanning using oscillating or rotating mirrors H04N1/113; } using multi-element arrays H04N1/19) · CPC title