JP2013055011A - Power supply unit and image formation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a power supply unit capable of easily coping with an environment in which electronic equipment is installed, and satisfying a safety standard.SOLUTION: A power supply unit 27 of a type A supplies power to a device 1 by plugs 30, 38 adapted to an existing power supply facility. The power supply unit comprises: two power supply cords 31, 37 having the plugs 30, 38 at tips; two breakers 33, 34 provided to cable ways of the two power supply cords 31, 37 and breaking the cable ways when a current flowing through the respective cable ways exceed a predefined value; two noise filters (not shown) provided on output line sides of the two breakers 33, 34 and attenuating unwanted radiation noises overlapping the respective output line sides; two connection terminals 35, 36 for supplying the power outputted from the two noise filters to the device 1; and a unit case 32 integrally mounting the power supply cords 31, 37, the two breakers 33, 34, the two noise filters, and the two connection terminals 35, 36.

Description

  The present invention relates to a power supply unit and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to a power supply unit corresponding to a power supply facility situation that varies from country to country, and an image forming apparatus including the power supply unit.

In recent years, Japanese image forming apparatus manufacturers have been producing locally not only in Japan but also in North America and the EU. In the EU region, the shape of the plug socket, the number of terminals, and the arrangement are slightly different from country to country, so that the shape of the power plug on the device side attached to the plug socket is also different from country to country. In addition, since these power plugs are directly attached to the main body of the device via the power cord, even if the configuration of the main device is the same, installing a power plug dedicated to a specific country can can do. For this reason, when the configuration of the main unit is changed in order to satisfy the standards of other countries, the power plug and the power cord must be replaced with different ones, which is troublesome.
Also, when replacing a model with a high-speed machine after installing a device with low power consumption, the power consumption naturally increases, so the plug socket must be changed accordingly.
Further, when the image forming apparatus is used in the EU region, it is necessary to pass a safety standard test determined by each country in the EU region. In particular, in order to clear the conductive interference noise test emitted from a power supply line or the like, it is necessary to configure the primary harness from the breaker to the noise filter to be the shortest. In addition, for safety standards, it is required that the primary harness (AC system) and the secondary harness (DC system) be separated as much as possible. However, the placement of components in the equipment is not always determined in consideration of the optimal harness distribution, so many trials and errors (repetition of noise tests) are required to place the harness in the optimal position. It takes a lot of time and money to develop.

For example, FIG. 4A is a schematic view of the conventional device viewed from the back, but the power cord 130 having the power plug 129 is connected to the circuit breaker 131 via the terminal block 135 as shown in FIG. , 132 are connected to the noise filters 133, 134, respectively, and the respective outputs supply power to the device 101. However, as shown in FIG. 4A, when the apparatus rear part 138 is supported to be openable and closable with respect to the apparatus front part 137, the apparatus front part 137 and the apparatus rear part 138 are closed when the apparatus rear part 138 is closed. A gap may occur in the contact surface 136, and a harness, a noise filter, etc. are exposed from the gap, which is not preferable in terms of safety standards, and countermeasures (for example, closing the gap) are required. Further, since the primary harness is exposed in the housing, it is not necessarily a preferable configuration in terms of reducing unnecessary radiation noise.
Patent Document 1 discloses a plug-in power supply for supplying a low voltage to a consumer, and particularly, a plug-in power supply characterized in that a power plug unit can be replaced by a conversion plug system.

However, the conventional technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 can be used for power supply facilities in each country by replacing the power plug unit, but it is dedicated to plug-in type power supplies and can handle large power capacity. There is a problem that the application range is narrow.
The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, can cope with different plug socket standards for each country, can easily cope with an environment in which an electronic device is installed, and satisfies safety standards. An object is to provide a satisfactory power supply unit.

  In order to solve this problem, the present invention provides a power supply unit that is electrically attached to and detached from a device-side connector provided in an electronic device, the power supply primary-side component, and the power supply primary A unit-side connector that is electrically connected to the side component and electrically connected to and separated from the device-side connector, and is electrically connected to the power source primary side component and electrically connected to the plug socket of the external power source. And a unit-side plug to be separated.

  According to the present invention, a power supply unit including one or a plurality of power cords having a power plug having a specific current capacity is provided, and a breaker and a noise filter are optimally positioned in the power supply unit. Therefore, it is possible to easily cope with the environment in which the electronic device is installed, and to satisfy the safety standard of the electronic device.

1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus including a power supply unit according to an embodiment. (A) is a figure which shows the structure of the unit mounting part with which the image forming apparatus was equipped, (b) is a perspective view which shows the general appearance structure of the type A and B of the electric power supply unit which concerns on this embodiment, (C) is a figure explaining the connection state of an electric power supply unit and an AC control board. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the AC control board of this embodiment. (A) is the schematic which looked at the conventional apparatus from the back, (b) is the figure which expanded the part of the circuit breaker.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. However, the components, types, combinations, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like described in this embodiment are merely illustrative examples and not intended to limit the scope of the present invention only unless otherwise specified. .
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus including a power supply unit according to the present embodiment. Since the power supply unit is installed on the back surface of the image forming apparatus, the illustration is omitted.
The image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is an example to which the power supply unit of the present embodiment is applied. In the vicinity of the center of the image forming apparatus 1, an endless belt-like intermediate transfer belt 2 stretched by a plurality of rollers is installed. The intermediate transfer belt 2 is configured to be wound around a plurality of support rollers and rotated and conveyed clockwise. On the intermediate transfer belt 2, a plurality of image forming units 3 (Y, M, C, K) are arranged side by side along the conveying direction to constitute a tandem image forming apparatus 4.

Two exposure devices 5 are provided in the upper portion of the tandem image forming apparatus 4 along the upper travel path of the intermediate transfer belt. Each image forming unit 3 of the tandem image forming apparatus 4 has a photosensitive drum 6 as an image carrier that carries toner images of respective colors. Further, primary transfer rollers 7 are respectively provided at the primary transfer positions where the toner images are transferred from the photosensitive drums 6 to the intermediate transfer belt 2 so as to face the photosensitive drums 6 with the intermediate transfer belt 2 interposed therebetween. Yes. Further, the support roller 8 plays a role as a drive roller that rotationally drives the intermediate transfer belt 2.
A secondary transfer device 9 is provided below the intermediate transfer belt 2. In the illustrated example, the secondary transfer device 9 transfers the image on the intermediate transfer belt 2 to a recording member (not shown) by pressing the secondary transfer roller 11 against the secondary transfer counter roller 10 and applying a transfer electric field. . In the secondary transfer device 9, the transfer current of the secondary transfer roller 11, which is a transfer condition parameter, is changed depending on the type and size of the recording member. Further, a fixing mechanism unit 12 that heat-fuses a transfer image (toner image) on the recording member is provided on the downstream side of the secondary transfer device 9. The fixing mechanism 12 includes a halogen lamp (not shown) as a heat source, and has a configuration in which a pressure roller 14 is in contact with a fixing belt 13 that is an endless belt. The fixing mechanism 12 determines the temperature of the fixing belt 13 and the pressure roller 14, which are parameters of the fixing conditions, the nip width between the fixing belt 13 and the pressure roller 14, and the speed of the pressure roller 14 depending on the type and size of the recording member. Change. The recording belt after image transfer is conveyed to the fixing mechanism 12 by the conveyance belt 15.

Next, an image forming operation will be described. When image data is sent to the image forming apparatus 1 and an image formation start signal is received, the drive roller 8 is driven to rotate by a drive motor (not shown), and the other plurality of support rollers are driven to rotate the intermediate transfer belt 2. Rotate and convey. At the same time, each single-color image is formed on each photoconductor 6 by the individual image forming means 3. Then, along with the conveyance of the intermediate transfer belt 2, the single color images are sequentially transferred by the transfer unit 7 to form a composite color image on the intermediate transfer body 2.
Further, one of the paper feed rollers 17 of the paper feed table 16 is selectively rotated, the recording member is fed out from one of the paper feed cassettes 18, transported by the transport roller 19, abutted against the registration roller 20, and stopped. The registration roller 20 is rotated in synchronization with the synthesized color image on the transfer belt 2 and transferred by the secondary transfer device 9 to record the color image on the recording member. The recording member after the image transfer is conveyed by the secondary transfer device 9 and sent to the fixing mechanism unit 12, and heat and pressure are applied to melt and weld the transfer image, and then the decurler unit 22 is discharged by the discharge roller 21. Transport to. The decurler unit 22 changes the decurler amount, which is a parameter for evaluating sheet passing, by the recording member. The decurler amount is adjusted by changing the pressure of the decurler roller 23, discharged by the decurler roller 23, and stacked on the paper discharge tray 24. The apparatus 1 has an operation unit 25, which has a function of converting the state of the apparatus 1 into a message display and transmitting information to the apparatus 1 when paper information and the like are input. When the power switch 26 is closed, the apparatus operates by receiving power supply and shifts to a state before the printing operation.

FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a unit mounting unit provided in an image forming apparatus (hereinafter simply referred to as “apparatus”), and FIG. 2B is a type A of a power supply unit according to the present embodiment. , B is a perspective view showing the general structure of FIG. 2, and FIG. 2C is a diagram for explaining a connection state between the power supply unit and the AC control board.
As shown in FIG. 2A, a unit mounting portion 39 to which the power supply unit 27 or 28 shown in FIG. Although not shown, the unit mounting portion 39 guides the power supply unit 27 or 28 with a rail or the like, and unit-side connectors 35 and 36 in FIG. 2C (the unit-side connector 36 is not shown). Is configured to be fitted with device-side connectors 50 and 51 (device-side connector 51 not shown) provided on an AC control board 54 (described later). The unit main bodies 32 and 42 of type A and type B have the same outer dimensions, and are configured by arrangement of unit side connectors and / or terminals having different shapes in order to prevent erroneous connection. Further, the unit main bodies 32 and 42 are configured to be stepless with the outer surface of the apparatus when fitted into the unit mounting portion 39.

FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating the power supply unit of the present embodiment. The type A power supply unit 27 is a power supply unit that supplies power to the apparatus 1 by unit-side plugs 30 and 38 (for example, 30A plugs) adapted to existing power supply equipment, and has unit-side plugs 30 and 38 at the ends. Are installed in the respective power paths of the two power cords 31 and 37 and the two power cords 31 and 37, respectively, and when the current flowing through each of the power paths exceeds a specified value, the circuit is cut off. Two sets of circuit breakers 33 and 34, and two sets of noise filters which are installed on the outgoing line sides of the two sets of circuit breakers 33 and 34 and attenuate unnecessary radiation noise superimposed on the respective outgoing line sides (see FIG. Not shown), two sets of unit-side connectors 35 and 36 for supplying power output from the two sets of noise filters to the apparatus 1, and power cords 31 and 37, two sets of circuit breakers 33, 34, 2 Pair of noises And a unit main body 32 for mounting two sets of unit side connectors 35 and 36, and the unit main body 32 is mounted on the unit mounting portion 39 of the apparatus 1, whereby two sets of unit side connectors 35 and 36 are provided. It is electrically connected to the device 1 via
In the figure, the unit side connectors 35 and 36 are connected via the connection harnesses 35a and 36a with the shortest distance to the AC control board 54, but the harness is connected as shown in FIG. The unit-side connectors 35 and 36 may be fixed to the unit body 32 without being interposed.

Type B is provided with one power cord 41 having a unit side plug 40 (for example, a 50A plug) at the tip, and the electric circuit of the power cord 41 is branched into at least two systems in the unit main body 42. The circuit breakers 43 and 44 were connected individually. The other configuration is the same as that of Type A, and the description is omitted. In the figure, the unit side connectors 45 and 46 are connected to the connection harnesses 45a and 46a with the shortest distance to the AC control board 54, but the harness is not interposed as shown in FIG. Further, the unit side connectors 45 and 46 may be fixed to the unit main body 42.
In Type A, the existing power supply equipment uses two sets of plug sockets with relatively small power capacity. The unit side plugs 30 and 38 use 30A type plugs, but the same two As a result, the overall power consumption can be increased. In type B, the existing power supply equipment uses one plug socket having a relatively large power capacity. The unit side plug 40 uses a 50A type plug, but uses one, Overall power consumption is less than Type A.

  The power cord of the single-phase AC200V specification device is composed of unit-side plugs 30 and 38 and cords 31 and 37. The unit-side plugs 30 and 38 have three terminals, and the power cords 31 and 37 are Lines. , Neutral, and Gnd connecting three harnesses are integrated. The unit-side plugs 30 and 38 use power plugs with a rated current of 30A, but the upper limit of current use is regulated in each country, and for North America, it is 24A or less. Also, if the printing speed is further increased and the power consumption is increased by expanding functions, the power plug capacity used in the conventional device will be exceeded, so the number of power cords with unit side plugs should be increased (type A ), Adopting a part with an increased rated current of the power cord with the unit side plug (type B).

  Here, in many customers' facilities where large electrophotographic apparatuses are installed, peripheral device finishers and large capacity paper feeders other than electrophotographic apparatuses can be installed. Since their current capacities are generally 20A, 15A, and 10A capacities, there is a high possibility that customers have multiple plug sockets, and they can be connected by diverting existing capacity unit side plugs. Can be expected. Accordingly, the unit-side plug can be selected from type A and type B at the device installation site of the customer. In this way, the unit side plug is not directly attached to the device, but the customer can select the power supply unit from Type A and Type B, making effective use of equipment and minimal equipment change. It can be.

  In addition, the following measures will be taken to clear European safety standards. That is, if the power source primary side parts are dispersed, problems are likely to occur. For example, in the case of Type A in FIG. 2B, the power cords 31, 37, two sets of circuit breakers 33, 34, and two sets And a unit main body 32 on which the two sets of unit-side connectors 35 and 36 are integrally mounted. Then, the parts are connected with the shortest harness, and the primary harness including the primary harness is housed in the unit main body 32 to form a unit. It can be isolated and can be attached without depending on the opening of the apparatus housing (such as a gap between doors). In addition, by attaching the unit main body 32 to the apparatus, the unit main body 32 can be grounded via the apparatus 1, and the influence of unnecessary radiation noise can be minimized.

Further, since the type A uses a 30A product as the unit side plug 30 in the unit main body 32, the same power cord 37 with the unit side plug 38 is additionally used. In the unit main body 32, the power cords 31 and 37 are connected to the circuit breakers 33 and 34, the noise filter, and the unit side connectors 35 and 36, respectively, and the two power cords 31 and 37 are arranged in parallel to establish a power supply path. did.
Type B is a power supply unit using a 50A product as the unit-side plug 40. In the unit main body 42, the power cord 41 is branched and connected to the circuit breakers 43 and 44, the noise filter, and the unit side connectors 45 and 46, and one power cord 41 is arranged to serve as a power supply path.
The unit-side connectors 45 and 46 use components having terminals with different arrangements and / or shapes in order to prevent erroneous connection.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the AC control board of this embodiment. When type A shown in FIG. 2B is selected (type B45 and type B46 are not connected), type A35 and type A36 are connected to device side connector 50 and device side connector 51 of AC control board 54, respectively. Thereby, power can be supplied to the fixing mechanism unit 12 and the DC power supply unit 66. By dividing the unit side plug into 30 and 38, the device can cope with an increase in power consumption to the load.
When the type A35 and type A36 are connected to the device side connector 50 and the device side connector 51, respectively, and the power switch 26 is closed, 5V and 24V are output from the DC power supply unit 66, and control of the CPU and the like mounted on the control board 65 is performed. The means operate to prepare for the printing operation. And since the zero cross signal from the detection circuit 60 cannot be detected (the AC switching means 57 is opened, the detection circuit 60 does not output the zero cross signal), the control means recognizes that the type A is connected, The AC opening / closing means 55 is closed and power is supplied from the device-side connector 50 to the fixing mechanism section 12. Thereafter, the detection circuit 58 receives a zero cross signal from the type A, and performs lighting control of each heater lamp based on the signal.
In Type A, since power can be supplied by the two power cables 31 and 37, the control unit can control lighting of all the heater lamps 63a to 63d at the same time. Further, since the control means constantly monitors the zero cross signal of the detection circuit 58, if the period changes or the zero cross signal is not detected for a predetermined time, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the power source, and the AC The opening / closing means 55 is opened to stop supplying power to the fixing unit. The state is displayed on the operation unit 25.

Next, when type B is selected (type A 35 and type A 36 are not connected), type B 45 and type B 46 are connected to device side connector 52 and device side connector 53 of AC control board 54, respectively. Thereby, power can be supplied to the fixing mechanism unit 12 and the DC power supply unit 66.
When the type B45 and type B46 are connected to the device side connector 52 and the device side connector 53, respectively, and the power switch 26 is closed, 5V and 24V are output from the DC power supply unit 66, and the control of the CPU and the like mounted on the control board 65 is performed. The means operate to prepare for the printing operation. Then, since the zero cross signal from the detection circuit 60 is detected, the control means recognizes that the type B is connected, and closes the AC opening / closing means 55 and the AC opening / closing means 57 and closes the fixing mechanism portion 12 from the device side connector 52. To supply power. Thereafter, the detection circuit 58 receives the zero cross signal from the type B, and performs lighting control of each heater lamp based on the signal.
In Type B, since power is supplied by one power cable 41, the control means selectively controls lighting from the heater lamps 63a to 63d so as not to exceed current consumption. Further, since the control means constantly monitors the zero-cross signal of the detection circuit 58 and the detection circuit 60, if the cycle changes or no zero-cross signal is detected for a predetermined time, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred in the power supply. Then, the AC opening / closing means 55 or the AC opening / closing means 57 is opened to stop supplying power to the fixing unit. The state is displayed on the operation unit 25.

As described above, when the control unit recognizes what type of power supply unit is connected to the device-side connector, for example, when it recognizes that a type A power supply unit is connected, 1 Since the upper limit of current use is set to 24 A or less with the power cords of the two cords, power can be supplied up to 4.8 KW in the case of 200 VAC, respectively, and power can be supplied up to 9.6 KW with two cords. Accordingly, it is possible to control the lighting by selecting a heater lamp corresponding to the driving lamp 59. When it is recognized that a type B power supply unit is connected, the upper limit of current use is set to 40 A or less with a single power cord. Therefore, in the case of AC 200 V, power can be supplied up to 8 KW. Accordingly, it is possible to control the lighting by selecting a heater lamp corresponding to the driving lamp 59.
As described above, the power supply unit according to the present embodiment is not limited to an image forming apparatus, and can be applied to any electronic device such as a multifunction peripheral or a facsimile machine.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus, 2 Intermediate transfer belt, 3 Image forming means, 4 Tandem image forming apparatus, 5 Exposure apparatus, 6 Photosensitive drum, 7 Primary transfer roller, 8 Support roller, 9 Secondary transfer apparatus, 10 Secondary transfer opposing Roller, 11 Secondary transfer roller, 12 Fixing mechanism, 13 Fixing belt, 14 Pressure roller, 15 Transport belt, 16 Paper feed table, 17 Paper feed roller, 18 Paper feed cassette, 19 Transport roller, 20 Registration roller, 21 Discharge roller 22, 22 decurler unit, 23 decurler roller, 24 discharge tray, 25 operation unit, 26 power switch, 27 power supply unit (type A), 28 power supply unit (type B), 30, 38 unit side plug, 31, 37 Power cord, 32 Unit body, 33, 34 Circuit breaker, 35, 36 Unit Side connector, 39 unit mounting part, 40 unit side plug, 41 power cord, 42 unit body, 43, 44 circuit breaker, 45, 46 unit side connector, 50-53 equipment side connector, 54 AC control board, 55, 57 AC Open / close means, 58 detection circuit, 59 drive circuit, 60 detection circuit, 65 control board, 66 DC power supply, 68 DC load, 69 optional unit

Special table 2008-512848 gazette

Claims (7)

A power supply unit that is electrically attached to and detached from a device-side connector mounted on an electronic device,
A power source primary part, a unit side connector that is electrically connected to the power source primary part and electrically connected to and separated from the device side connector, and an external power source that is electrically connected to the power source primary part A power supply unit comprising a unit-side plug electrically connected to and separated from the plug socket. The power source primary side component is installed on the output side of the circuit breaker that interrupts the electric circuit when the current flowing in the electric circuit of the unit side plug exceeds a specified value, and the output side Is a noise filter that attenuates unwanted radiation noise superimposed on
2. The power supply circuit according to claim 1, further comprising: a power supply circuit that includes at least two sets of the power source primary parts and supplies power to different loads in the electronic device via the power source primary parts. Power supply unit.   3. When the unit side plug is provided, the electric circuit of the unit side plug is branched into at least two systems, and the power source primary side component is connected to each electric circuit. The power supply unit described in 1.   3. The power supply unit according to claim 1, wherein, when two or more unit side plugs are provided, the power source primary side component is connected to an electric path of each of the unit side plugs.   5. The power supply unit according to claim 1, wherein the unit-side connector includes terminals having different arrangements and / or shapes to prevent erroneous connection. 6.   An image forming apparatus comprising the power supply unit according to claim 1. A plurality of device-side connectors connected to the unit-side connector, a plurality of detection means for detecting a zero-cross signal of an AC voltage received from the device-side connector, and when the abnormality is detected based on the zero-cross signal, the device An AC control board having an electric circuit opening / closing means for opening an electric circuit from the side connector, and a driving means for driving the load based on the zero cross signal;
A control means for controlling the electric circuit opening and closing means and the drive means by identifying the type of the unit side plug connected to the equipment side connector by a combination of zero cross signals detected by the plurality of detection means,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising:

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