Patent Application
20250130525
This patent application is based on and claims priority pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119 (a) to Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-182439, filed on Oct. 24, 2023 and Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-081913, filed on May 20, 2024, in the Japan Patent Office, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein.
The present disclosure relates to an attachment structure allowing a functional expansion unit to be attached to an electronic device, an electronic device, and an image forming apparatus.
Some pieces of electronic equipment, such as image forming apparatuses, enable a functional expansion unit, such as a card reader that reads information on an integrated circuit (IC) card, to be attached as an option thereto.
For example, as an attachment structure allowing a scanner to be attached to the upper portion of a printer, disclosed is a configuration in which a guide pin provided to the bottom of a scanner is inserted into a fitting hole provided to the top face of a printer.
In addition, as a configuration, disclosed is an unlocking lever that unlocks a locked state.
For easy detachment of a functional expansion unit from electronic equipment, preferably, an externally operable unlocking lever is provided. However, in a case where such an unlocking lever is provided, for example, a user is likely to operate the unlocking lever, carelessly.
In order to solve such a disadvantage, as a configuration, preferably, a protective cover is attached to prevent the unlocking lever from being exposed. However, in a case where a force acts to detach the functional expansion unit forcedly even with such a protective cover attached, the locked state is likely to be unlocked due to displacement or deformation of a member included in a lock mechanism. On the other hand, use of fasteners, such as screws, for firmly attachment of a functional expansion unit causes, as a disadvantage, a troublesome operation for attachment or detachment of the functional expansion unit.
An attachment structure includes a positioning shaft of a functional expansion unit attachable to an electronic device; a lock member of the functional expansion unit; a positioning hole, into which the positioning shaft of the functional expansion unit is insertable in an attachment direction, in the electronic device; a lock-engageable part of the electronic device, the lock-engageable part engageable with the lock member; and a cover to cover the positioning shaft, the positioning hole, the lock member, and lock-engageable part. The cover includes a lock restricting part on an inner face thereof. The lock restricting part restricts movement of the lock member in an unlocking direction.
An attachment structure includes a positioning shaft of an electronic device; a lock member of the electronic device; a positioning hole into which the positioning shaft of the electronic device is insertable in an attachment direction in a functional expansion unit attachable to an electronic device; a lock-engageable part of the functional expansion unit, the lock-engageable part engageable with the lock member; and a cover to cover the positioning shaft, the positioning hole, the lock member, and lock-engageable part. The cover includes a lock restricting part on an inner surface thereof. The lock restricting part restricts movement of the lock member in an unlocking direction.
The present disclosure enables achievement of easy attachment and detachment of a functional expansion unit and prevention of improper or unintended detachment.
A more complete appreciation of embodiments of the present disclosure and many of the attendant advantages and features thereof can be readily obtained and understood from the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The accompanying drawings are intended to depict embodiments of the present disclosure and should not be interpreted to limit the scope thereof. The accompanying drawings are not to be considered as drawn to scale unless explicitly noted. Also, identical or similar reference numerals designate identical or similar components throughout the several views.
In describing embodiments illustrated in the drawings, specific terminology is employed for the sake of clarity. However, the disclosure of this specification is not intended to be limited to the specific terminology so selected and it is to be understood that each specific element includes all technical equivalents that have a similar function, operate in a similar manner, and achieve a similar result.
Referring now to the drawings, embodiments of the present disclosure are described below. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
Attachment structures according to embodiments of the present disclosure allowing a functional expansion unit to be attached to an operation panel as an exemplary electronic device in an image forming apparatus will be described below based on the accompanying drawings. Note that constituent elements, such as members or constituent components having the same functions or shapes, are denoted with the same reference signs in the drawings for use in describing the present disclosure and duplicate descriptions thereof will be omitted.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure will be described.
In response to an instruction for starting printing in the image forming apparatus 100, the image reader 2 reads image information on the original, and then the controller 7 generates image data from the read image information. Then, based on the generated image data, the image former 4 starts to operate for image formation to form a toner image on the image bearer. Image data may be generated based on image information transmitted from a terminal device. An image may be not only a meaningful image, such as a character or a figure, but also an unmeaningful image, such as a pattern.
The transfer section 5 transfers, to a sheet, the toner image formed on the image bearer. The sheet corresponds to a sheet fed from the sheet feeder 1. Note that the sheet may be paper, such as plain paper, thick paper, a postcard, an envelope, thin paper, coated paper, or tracing paper, or may be an overhead projector (OHP) sheet, a plastic film, pre-preg, or copper foil. The sheet to which the toner image is transferred is conveyed to the fixing section 6. Then, the fixing section 6 fixes the toner image to the sheet. After that, the sheet is conveyed to the sheet ejector 3. Then, the sheet ejector 3 ejects the sheet outward from the image forming apparatus 100.
As illustrated in
Next, an attachment structure allowing the functional expansion unit 20 to be attached to the operation panel 10 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure will be described.
As illustrated in
The positioning shafts 21 each serve as a straight rod having a circular cross section and protrude from a unit body 26 of the functional expansion unit 20. In order to have rigidity, preferably, the positioning shafts 21 are each formed of a metallic material, for example. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, the pair of positioning shafts 21 are integrated through a support plate 27 secured to the unit body 26. Note that the positioning shafts 21 are not limited to being integrated and thus may be separated from each other.
The lock members 22 are each held movably in the direction of a double-headed arrow A in
The guide shafts 23a each hold the corresponding spring 24. The springs 24 are each a coil spring through which the corresponding guide shaft 23a is inserted on the center line of the coil spring. Thus, the springs 24 are each held so as to lengthen or shorten in the axial direction of the corresponding guide shaft 23a.
The stoppers 25 each serve as a member that regulates movement of the corresponding lock member 22 against the pressing force of the corresponding spring 24 to prevent the corresponding lock member 22 from falling off the corresponding guide shaft 23a. That is, the lock members 22 each butt against the corresponding stopper 25 due to pressing of the corresponding spring 24 such that movements of the lock members 22 are regulated, so that the lock members 22 are each held at a predetermined position.
The positioning lock members 30 serve as members that are provided to the operation panel 10 and position and lock the functional expansion unit 20 in cooperation with the positioning shafts 21 and the lock members 22. Specifically, the positioning lock members 30 each include a positioning hole 31 in which the corresponding positioning shaft 21 can be inserted and a lock-engageable part 32 engageable with the corresponding lock member 22.
The operation panel 10 includes a rear cover 34 detachably attachable to a housing 33 of the operation panel 10. With the rear cover 34 attached to the housing 33, the housing 33 has its opening occluded, that is, each positioning lock member 30 is covered without being viewed from outside. The housing 33 is provided with a plurality of engageable recesses 33a in order to secure the rear cover 34. One-to-one correspondence engagement between a plurality of engageable protrusions 34a provided to the rear cover 34 and the plurality of engageable recesses 33a of the housing 33 causes the rear cover 34 to be secured to the housing 33.
As illustrated in
Next, a procedure for attachment of the functional expansion unit 20 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with
First, in order to attach the functional expansion unit 20 to the operation panel 10, as illustrated in
Next, as illustrated in
Then, as illustrated in
After that, as illustrated in
Then, as illustrated in
Finally, as illustrated in
In order to detach the functional expansion unit 20 from the operation panel 10, basically, detachment is performed in a procedure reverse to the procedure for attachment.
First, the cover 40 in common is detached to expose the attachment structure 9. Next, each lock member 22 is moved in the unlocking direction A2 opposite to the locking direction A1 to unlock the engagement of each lock member 22 with the corresponding lock-engageable part 32. Thus, the locked state is unlocked. In the embodiment of the present disclosure, for easy unlocking of the locked state, as illustrated in
Then, with the locked state unlocked, the functional expansion unit 20 is moved in the direction opposite to the attachment direction B (in a detachment direction C in
Issues regarding Lock Mechanism
An attachment structure allowing a functional expansion unit to be attached to an electronic device, such as an operation panel, may need a preventive measure against careless detachment of the functional expansion unit. For example, if an image forming apparatus installed in a commercial facility, such as a convenience store, enables a functional expansion unit to be easily detached, a customer is likely to detach the functional expansion unit, accidentally, or the functional expansion unit is likely to be detached improperly for theft or malicious mischief.
On the other hand, use of screws for firmly attachment of the functional expansion unit causes, as a disadvantage, a troublesome operation for attachment or detachment of the functional expansion unit. Therefore, preferably, an attachment structure for a functional expansion unit enables prevention of improper or unintended detachment and easy attachment and detachment.
On this point, since the attachment structure 9 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure includes the lock members 22 each movable in the locking and unlocking directions, the attachment structure 9 enables easy attachment of the functional expansion unit 20 for securing and easy detachment of the functional expansion unit 20, without any fasteners, such as screws. In addition, after attachment, the attachment structure 9 is kept from being viewed from outside because of being covered with the cover 40. Thus, careless detachment of the functional expansion unit 20 due to an accidental operation on the lock members 22 by a customer can be prevented or improper access to the attachment structure 9 can be inhibited, leading to a reduction in the frequency of occurrence of damage due to theft or malicious mischief.
However, in a case where a force is applied to detach the functional expansion unit 20 forcedly for theft or malicious mischief, the attachment of the cover 40 may be insufficient to keep the state where the functional expansion unit 20 is attached. For example, in response to displacement or deformation of a member included in a lock mechanism due to a force acting to detach the functional expansion unit 20 forcedly, the locked state is likely to be unlocked, leading to improper detachment of the functional expansion unit 20.
Thus, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, for achievement of easy attachment and detachment of the functional expansion unit and for prevention of improper or unintended detachment, such an unlocking prevention structure as below is adopted. An unlocking prevention structure according to the embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below.
First, a mechanism to unlock the locked state will be described with reference to
As illustrated in
As a result, the engagement of each lock member 22 with the corresponding lock-engageable part 32 is unlocked, leading to detachment of the functional expansion unit 20 from the operation panel 10.
For prevention of such detachment of the functional expansion unit 20 as above, each lock member 22 requires regulating in movement (displacement) in the unlocking direction A2. Thus, the attachment structure 9 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure includes such an unlocking prevention structure as below.
As illustrated in
As illustrated in
As above, since each unlock restricting part 40b is located on the downstream side in the unlocking direction A2 of the pair of lock members 22 and is disposed close to or in contact with the corresponding lock member 22, the engagement of each lock member 22 with the corresponding lock-engageable part 32 can be prevented from being unlocked. That is, even when each lock member 22 tries to move in the unlocking direction A2, each lock member 22 comes in contact with the corresponding unlock restricting part 40b, so that movement in the unlocking direction A2 of each lock member 22 is regulated. Thus, the engagement of each lock member 22 is prevented from being unlocked. In particular, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, each unlock restricting part 40b includes the annular projection. Thus, each unlock restricting part 40b is less likely to deform or break at the time of contact with the corresponding lock member 22 than an unlock restricting part 40b including a tabular projection.
Thus, movement in the unlocking direction A2 of each lock member 22 can be regulated reliably. Therefore, the attachment structure 9 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure enables the engagement of each lock member 22 with the corresponding lock-engageable part 32 to be kept from being unlocked even when a force is applied to detach the functional expansion unit 20 forcedly for theft or malicious mischief. Thus, the functional expansion unit 20 can be prevented from being detached improperly or unintendedly.
In the embodiment of the present disclosure, since the unlock restricting parts 40b are provided on the inner face 40c of the cover 40, the presence of the unlock restricting parts 40b is kept from getting known from outside.
Thus, it is difficult for anyone, except particular users or operators, to speculate a method of unlocking the locked state at a glance. Therefore, the attachment structure 9 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure enables a reduction in the risk of improper detachment for malicious mischief or theft, leading to an improvement in reliability. With the cover 40 attached, the unlock restricting parts 40b are not exposed outward. Thus, a favorable design can be kept without spoiling the beauty of external appearance.
With the cover 40 attached, the unlock restricting parts 40b may be each disposed in contact with the corresponding lock member 22 or in noncontact with the corresponding lock member 22. Note that, in a case where the unlock restricting parts 40b are each disposed in noncontact with the corresponding lock member 22, the unlock restricting parts 40b each require disposing so as to have contact with the corresponding lock member 22 such that movement in the unlocking direction A2 of each lock member 22 can be regulated.
As illustrated in
The wiring member 42 illustrated in
In the embodiment of the present disclosure, for prevention of unlocking, the wiring member 42 is disposed across the space between the pair of holders 23. That is, the wiring member 42 is disposed between the mutually facing extended parts 23e of the holders 23. Thus, the extended parts 23e can be inhibited from deforming to come close to each other. Thus, the lock members 22 can be each inhibited from being displaced in the unlocking direction A2 along with deformation of the corresponding extended part 23e, so that the locked state can be reliably prevented from being unlocked.
Even if either unlock restricting part 40b is broken by a load due to a pulling force, since the wiring member 42 is located between the holders 23, the wiring member 42 can function as a buffer that inhibits the holders 23 from abruptly deforming. Thus, a situation where the functional expansion unit 20 is roughly pulled out can be avoided, leading to an improvement in safety.
As illustrated in
As above, the attachment structure 9 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure enables prevention of the locked state from being unlocked, leading to an improvement in reliability. Without any fasteners, such as screws, the functional expansion unit 20 can be prevented from being detached improperly or unintendedly. In addition, the functional expansion unit 20 can be attached or detached easily. That is, the attachment structure 9 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure enables, with the detachably attachable cover 40, implementation of easy attachment and detachment of the functional expansion unit 20 and prevention of improper or unintended detachment.
The attachment structure 9 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure has such features as below in order to improve the attachability of the functional expansion unit 20. Attachability in the embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below.
For accurate attachment of the functional expansion unit 20, as illustrated in
As the positioning hole 31 for the main criterion, formed is the circular hole 31A substantially identical in diameter to the corresponding positioning shaft 21. Meanwhile, as the positioning hole 31 for the secondary criterion, formed is the elongated hole 31B having a width larger than the diameter of the corresponding positioning shaft 21 in an X direction in
As above, the attachment structure 9 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure includes the pair of positioning shafts 21 each having a circular cross section, the circular hole 31A for the main criterion as one of the pair of positioning holes 31, and the elongated hole 31B for the secondary criterion as the other, leading to an improvement in the accuracy of attachment of the functional expansion unit 20. For example, in a case where the positioning shafts 21 each have a quadrangular cross section and the positioning holes 31 each have a quadrangular cross section for an attachment structure, positioning reference planes are difficult to specify, leading to a low accuracy of positioning. In contrast to this, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, due to positioning with one of the positioning shafts 21 having a circular cross section and the corresponding positioning hole 31 (circular hole 31A) having a circular cross section, a single position can be determined as the criterial (main criterial) position of the functional expansion unit 20 to the operation panel 10. Then, due to insertion of the other positioning shaft 21 in the corresponding positioning hole 31 as the elongated hole 31B, rotation of the functional expansion unit 20 around the main criterial position is regulated, so that the position of the functional expansion unit 20 can be accurately determined. Thus, an improvement can be made in the accuracy of position of the functional expansion unit 20 to the operation panel 10, so that the functional expansion unit 20 can be accurately attached. In addition, an improvement is made in the accuracy of relative position between each lock member 22 and the corresponding lock-engageable part 32. Thus, poor engagement of each lock member 22 can be reduced, leading to improvements in attachability and reliability.
For an improvement in the accuracy of positioning, preferably, the positioning shafts 21 are disposed as far away from each other as possible. Thus, in the attachment structure 9 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, the lock members 22, the holders 23, the springs 24, and the stoppers 25 included in the lock mechanism are disposed between the pair of positioning shafts 21 that are disposed one-to-one close to both ends in the longitudinal direction of the unit body 26. Thus, an improvement can be made in the accuracy of positioning, in comparison to a case where the positioning shafts 21 are disposed close to each other. Note that the arrangement of the positioning shafts 21 is not limited to the configuration according to the embodiment of the present disclosure and thus may be changed as appropriate depending on the layout of other components.
In the attachment structure 9 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, for an improvement in attachability, each holder 23 that holds the corresponding lock member 22 and the corresponding stopper 25 that regulates movement of the corresponding lock member 22 are positioned as follows. A positioning structure for a holder 23 and a stopper 25 will be described below with reference to
As illustrated in
In response to insertion of the positioning shaft 21 through the respective shaft insertion holes 23b and 25b of the holder 23 and the stopper 25, the holder 23 and the stopper 25 are positioned with respect to the positioning shaft 21. That is, in response to contact of the respective circular inner circumferential faces of the shaft insertion holes 23b and 25b of the holder 23 and the stopper 25 with the circular outer circumferential face of the positioning shaft 21, the holder 23 and the stopper 25 are positioned with respect to the positioning shaft 21.
After the positioning shaft 21 is inserted through the shaft insertion hole 23b, the holder 23 is fastened to the support plate 27 through a screw 41, so that rotation of the holder 23 around the positioning shaft 21 is regulated. Meanwhile, after the holder 23 is attached to the positioning shaft 21, the positioning shaft 21 is inserted through the shaft insertion hole 25b of the stopper 25, so that the stopper 25 is attached. In this case, the stopper 25 is inserted between a pair of support pieces 23d of the holder 23, so that rotation of the stopper 25 around the positioning shaft 21 is regulated.
As above, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, since the holder 23 and the stopper 25 are positioned with respect to the same positioning shaft 21, an improvement is made in the accuracy of relative position between the holder 23 and the stopper 25. The improvement in the accuracy of relative position between the holder 23 and the stopper 25 causes an improvement in the accuracy of position of the lock member 22. Thus, the lock member 22 can operate favorably and have a favorable locked state, leading to an improvement in attachability.
Furthermore, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, for an improvement in attachability, the positioning lock member 30 to which each positioning hole 31 is provided and the positioning lock member 30 to which the corresponding lock-engageable part 32 is provided in the operation panel 10 are the same, instead of being different from each other. Thus, an assembly error between members can be eliminated in comparison to a case where each positioning hole 31 and the corresponding lock-engageable part 32 are achieved with different members. Thus, each positioning hole 31 and the corresponding lock-engageable part 32 can be protected against relative positional misalignment due to an assembly error between members. As above, according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, an improvement is made in the accuracy of relative position between each positioning hole 31 and the corresponding lock-engageable part 32. Thus, each positioning shaft 21 can be smoothly inserted in the corresponding positioning hole 31 and additionally each lock member 22 can be reliably engaged with the corresponding lock-engageable part 32, leading to an improvement in attachability.
Furthermore, in the embodiment of the present disclosure, the lock-engageable parts 32 are each formed as a groove U-shaped in cross section (refer to
As above, the attachment structure 9 according to the embodiment of the present disclosure enables an improvement in the attachability of the functional expansion unit 20, leading to easy attachment of the functional expansion unit 20. The improved attachability enables a reduction in the frequency of occurrence of poor attachment. Thus, the functional expansion unit 20 can be reliably attached, leading to an improvement in reliability.
For an improvement in attachability, as in the embodiment of the present disclosure, respective portions through which each lock member 22 and the corresponding positioning lock member 30 come in contact may be provided with the slopes 220 and 300 and respective portions through which each stopper 25 and the corresponding positioning lock member 30 come in contact may be provided with the slops 250 and 300 (refer to
Next, attachment structures according to modifications of the present disclosure will be described. Note that, in the following modifications, descriptions of constituents the same as constituents in the above embodiment of the present disclosure will be omitted as appropriate and differences will be mainly described.
In Modification 1 in
As above, a single lock member 22 and a single lock-engageable part 32 may be provided. Even in such a case, due to engagement of the single lock member 22 with the single lock-engageable part 32, the functional expansion unit 20 can be prevented from being detached from the operation panel 10.
For the single lock-engageable part 32, as in
Note that, in Modification 1 illustrated in
In Modification 2 in
In this case, even when a force acts to detach the functional expansion unit 20 forcedly, the wiring member 42 can inhibit the extended parts 23e from deforming to come close to each other. Thus, the locked state is unlikely to be unlocked. Note that the holder 23 not provided with the lock member 22 does not need to hold such a lock member 22. Thus, as in
In Modification 3 in
In this case, in response to approach of the functional expansion unit 20 to the operation panel 10, the pair of positioning shafts 21 provided to the operation panel 10 are inserted one-to-one in the pair of positioning holes 31 provided to the functional expansion unit 20 and additionally the pair of lock members 22 provided to the operation panel 10 engage one-to-one with the pair of lock-engageable parts 32 provided to the functional expansion unit 20 to achieve a locked state. As above, such members to be provided to a functional expansion unit 20 and an operation panel 10 may be reverse in arrangement to the members in the above embodiment of the present disclosure. Note that, although the pair of lock members 22 and the pair of lock-engageable parts 32 are provided, instead of this, a single lock member 22 and a single lock-engageable part 32 may be provided on the main criterial side or secondary criterial side, like Modification 1 above (refer to
As in
Thus, the functional expansion unit 20 can be prevented from being detached improperly or unintendedly.
As in
In Modification 4 in
In this case, even when the wiring member 42 is pulled together with the functional expansion unit 20 in response to pulling in the detachment direction of the functional expansion unit 20, the bent part 42a of the wiring member 42 is held by the cover 40 so as not to be taken out from a wiring path member 36. Thus, resistance can be reliably generated due to contact between the bent part 42a and the wiring path member 36 responsive to pulling of the wiring member 42, so that the functional expansion unit 20 can be prevented from being roughly pulled out. The configuration of such a cover 40 can be applied to such a configuration in which the members provided to the functional expansion unit 20 and the members provided to the operation panel 10 are replaced with each other as in
Embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above with exemplary attachment structures that allow a functional expansion unit to be attached to an operation panel. An attachment structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure can be applied to the attachment structure of a functional expansion unit to an electronic device, such as a personal computer (PC) or a tablet terminal, different from an operation panel. Application of an attachment structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure to the attachment structure of a functional expansion unit to such an electronic device as above enables achievement of easy attachment and detachment of the functional expansion unit and prevention of improper or unintended detachment.
To summarize the aspects of the present disclosure described above, the present disclosure includes at least the following aspects.
According to Aspect 1, provided is an attachment structure allowing a functional expansion unit to be attached to an electronic device, the attachment structure including: a pair of positioning shafts provided to the functional expansion unit; a pair of positioning holes provided to the electronic device, the pair of positioning holes allowing the pair of positioning shafts to be inserted in the pair of positioning holes; a lock provided to the functional expansion unit; a lock-engageable part provided to the electronic device, the lock-engageable part being engageable with the lock; a cover to cover the pair of positioning shafts, the pair of positioning holes, the lock, and the lock-engageable part; and an unlock restricting part provided on an inner face of the cover, the unlock restricting part being to regulate movement in an unlocking direction of the lock.
According to Aspect 2, provided is an attachment structure allowing a functional expansion unit to be attached to an electronic device, the attachment structure including: a pair of positioning shafts provided to the electronic device; a pair of positioning holes provided to the functional expansion unit, the pair of positioning holes allowing the pair of positioning shafts to be inserted in the pair of positioning holes; a lock provided to the electronic device; a lock-engageable part provided to the functional expansion unit, the lock-engageable part being engageable with the lock; a cover to cover the pair of positioning shafts, the pair of positioning holes, the lock, and the lock-engageable part; and an unlock restricting part provided on an inner face of the cover, the unlock restricting part being to regulate movement in an unlocking direction of the lock.
According to Aspect 3, the attachment structure of Aspect 1 or 2 further includes: a pair of holders holding a pair of locks movably in a locking direction and the unlocking direction crossing an axial direction of the pair of positioning shafts; and a wiring member to electrically connect the electronic device and the functional expansion unit, in which the lock includes the pair of locks, and the wiring member is disposed between the pair of holders such that the wiring member has contact with the pair of holders in a case where the pair of holders come close to each other to deform.
According to Aspect 4, in the attachment structure of Aspect 3, the wiring member includes a bent part along a wiring path member provided to a housing of the electronic device.
According to Aspect 5, in the attachment structure of any one of Aspects 1 to 4, the lock-engageable part includes a groove to engage with the lock at least in a detachment direction of the functional expansion unit.
According to Aspect 6, the attachment structure of any one of Aspects 1 to 5 further includes: a holder holding the lock movably in a locking direction and the unlocking direction; a spring pressing the lock in the locking direction; and a stopper regulating movement in the locking direction of the lock, in which the holder and the stopper each have a shaft insertion hole through which one of the pair of positioning shafts is inserted, and the shaft insertion hole has an inner circumferential face in contact with an outer circumferential face of the one of the pair of positioning shafts.
According to Aspect 7, in the attachment structure of any one of Aspects 1 to 6, the lock and the lock-engageable part have respective portions that come in contact with each other in response to attachment of the functional expansion unit to the electronic device, the stopper and the lock-engageable part have respective portions that come in contact with each other in response to attachment of the functional expansion unit to the electronic device, at least one of the respective portions of the lock and the lock-engageable part or one of the respective portions of the stopper and the lock-engageable part is provided with a slope inclined with respect to an attachment direction of the functional expansion unit.
According to Aspect 8, in the attachment structure of any one of Aspects 1 to 7, the lock includes a protruding knob.
According to Aspect 9, in the attachment structure of any one of Aspects 1 to 8, the unlock restricting part protrudes from the inner face of the cover and is annular in shape.
According to Aspect 10, in the attachment structure of Aspect 4, the cover covers at least the bent part of the wiring member.
According to Aspect 11, an electronic device includes the attachment structure of any one of Aspects 1 to 10 for attachment of a functional expansion unit.
According to Aspect 12, an image forming apparatus includes the attachment structure of any one of Aspects 1 to 10 for attachment of a functional expansion unit.
The above-described embodiments are illustrative and do not limit the present disclosure. Thus, numerous additional modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. For example, elements and/or features of different illustrative embodiments may be combined with each other and/or substituted for each other within the scope of the present disclosure.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-182439 | Oct 2023 | JP | national |
| 2024-081913 | May 2024 | JP | national |
