US 7,606,512 B2 · Image forming device with cover protrusions

Abstract

An image forming apparatus, such as a printer, may have a horizontally-loaded drawer containing, for example, a toner cartridge or an image forming unit having toner. The apparatus may have an opening through which the drawer is inserted, and a cover over the opening. The cover may include two or more protrusions to assist in forcing the drawer into place as the cover is closed. The cover may include a first protrusion that is closer to the cover's hinge, and a second that is farther from the hinge than the first. The first protrusion may also be longer, extending further from the cover, than the second, so that during the closing operation, the first protrusion makes contact with the drawer before the second. The points of contact on the drawer may be angled and/or curved such that the force exerted by the protrusions directs the drawer horizontally and, if desired, downwardly towards an operating position. A protrusion may be aligned such that, when the cover is in the closed position, the protrusion is offset from a point of contact on the drawer, and exerts no horizontal force on the drawer.

Claims10

Dependent claims

An image forming apparatus comprising:

a drawer disposed in an apparatus body having an opening on a side, the drawer configured to move horizontally in and out of the apparatus body through the opening, the drawer having an image forming unit;
a cover pivotally disposed on the side of the apparatus body via a hinge and configured to open and close;
a plurality of pressing devices disposed on a side of the cover which faces the drawer and configured to press the drawer in contact therewith as the cover is closed, the pressing devices including a first pressing device disposed in proximity of the hinge and a second pressing device disposed further away from the hinge than the first pressing device, the first pressing device contacting the drawer in advance of the second pressing device as the cover is closed,
wherein the first pressing device contacts an end of the drawer located in a horizontal direction substantially perpendicular to a moving direction of the drawer,
the drawer is provided with a feed chute configured to create a path where the recording sheet is fed, and
the feed chute is disposed on a side of the drawer facing the cover and in a position shifted in the horizontal direction from a position where the first pressing device contacts.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Image forming device with cover protrusions

Life of this patent

Image forming device with cover protrusions

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims10