Image forming apparatus including a plurality of doors that are opened and closed

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12416895-B2
Application number	US-202418629663-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 8, 2024
Priority date	Apr 12, 2023
Publication date	Sep 16, 2025
Grant date	Sep 16, 2025

Abstract

An image forming apparatus includes a housing to store an image forming unit that forms an image on a sheet, doors, a cover part, and holding members. Each of the doors rotates around a rotational axis to be opened and closed relative to the housing and includes a positioning shaft and a projection. When each of the doors is in an opened state, an inside of the image forming apparatus is exposed. The cover part is provided in the housing and has fitting holes into which the positioning shafts are fitted. Each of the holding members holds a different one of the doors in a closed state. When each of the doors is in the closed state, each of the positioning shafts included in the doors is fitted into a different one of the fitting holes.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An image forming apparatus including an image forming unit configured to form an image on a sheet, the image forming apparatus comprising:
a housing configured to store the image forming unit;
a plurality of doors, each of which rotates around a rotational axis so as to be opened and closed with respect to the housing and includes a positioning shaft and a projection, wherein, when each of the plurality of doors is in an opened state, an inside of the image forming apparatus is exposed;
a cover part that has a plurality of fitting holes into which the positioning shafts are fitted;
a plurality of holding members, each of which holds a different one of the plurality of doors in a closed state;
a sheet storage part configured to store the sheet; and
a sheet cassette cover attached to the sheet storage part
wherein, when each of the plurality of doors is in the closed state, each of the positioning shafts included in the plurality of doors is fitted into a different one of the plurality of fitting holes,
wherein the plurality of doors and the sheet cassette cover are arranged in a vertical direction, and
wherein the sheet cassette cover is configured to be adjustable in a horizontal direction with respect to the sheet storage part for alignment with the plurality of doors.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, among the plurality of doors, two doors adjacent to each other in the vertical direction are identical in width in the horizontal direction, and when the two doors adjacent to each other are in the closed state, end portions of the two doors in the horizontal direction are located at an identical position in the horizontal direction.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein a first door that is at least one door of the plurality of doors rotates around a rotational axis extending in the vertical direction,
wherein a second door that is at least one door of the plurality of doors rotates a rotational axis extending in the horizontal direction, and
wherein the first door and the second door are adjacent to each other in the vertical direction.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein each of the plurality of doors includes the projection, and
wherein the image forming apparatus further comprises a plurality of sensors, each of which detects that a different one of the plurality of doors is in the closed state by detecting a different one of the plurality of projections included in the plurality of doors.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of fitting holes is provided along the vertical direction.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein each of the positioning shafts included in the plurality of doors protrudes in a direction away from a different one of the plurality of doors, and each of cross section areas of the positioning shafts is reduced as a distance from the different one of the plurality of doors increases.

7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, when one of the positioning shafts included in a door of the plurality of doors is fitted into a different one fitting hole of the plurality of fitting holes, where the different one fitting hole restricts a position of the door provided with the fitted positioning shaft in the horizontal direction.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein, when one of the positioning shafts included in a door the plurality of doors is fitted into a different one fitting hole of the plurality of fitting holes, the one different fitting hole restricts a position of the door provided with the fitted positioning shaft in the vertical direction.

9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of metallic parts,
wherein each of the plurality of doors includes a magnet, and
wherein, when each of the plurality of doors is in the closed state, each of the plurality of magnets included in the plurality of doors attracts a different one of the plurality of metallic parts.

10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein, among the plurality of doors, two doors adjacent to each other are provided side by side in the vertical direction, and
wherein the two doors adjacent to each other are identical in length in the horizontal direction, and when the two doors are in the closed state, a difference between relative positions of end portions of the two doors in the horizontal direction is less than 2 millimeters (mm).

11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a plurality of sensors, each of which detects that a different one of the plurality of doors is in the closed state by detecting a different one of the plurality of projections included in the plurality of doors,
wherein, when each of the plurality of doors is in the opened state, the image forming unit is accessible, and
wherein, among the plurality of doors, two doors adjacent to each other in the vertical direction are identical in width in a horizontal direction, and when the two doors adjacent to each other are in the closed state, end portions of the two doors in the horizontal direction are located at an identical position in the horizontal direction.

12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein each of the plurality of fitting holes is elongated in the vertical direction for positioning the plurality of doors in the horizontal direction.

13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein the plurality of fitting holes is provided along the vertical direction.

14. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 ,
wherein the plurality of doors at least includes two adjacent doors which are arranged in the vertical direction to be adjacent to each other,
wherein a first door of the two adjacent doors has a first door length in the vertical direction, and a second door of the two adjacent doors has a second door length in the vertical direction, and
wherein the cover part has a cover length in the vertical direction which is longer than at least a sum of the first door length and the second door length.

Assignees

• Canon Kk

Inventors

• Doi Shigeo

Classifications

• B65H2405/115

  Cover · CPC title

• B65H2402/45

  Doors · CPC title

• G03G2221/1654

  Locks and means for positioning or alignment · CPC title

• G03G2221/169

  Structural door designs · CPC title

• G03G21/1633 Primary

  using doors or covers (G03G21/1638 takes precedence) · CPC title