CN118011760A - Image forming apparatus having a plurality of image forming units - Google Patents

Abstract

An image forming apparatus includes a first main body side plate, a second main body side plate, a driving gear train disposed between the driving side plate and the first main body side plate, and a cable guide disposed between the first main body side plate and the driving side plate. The drive gear train includes a rotation gear, and the cable guide overlaps a portion of the rotation gear when viewed in a rotation axis direction of the rotation gear.

Description

Image forming apparatus having a plurality of image forming units

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

Background

In a conventional image forming apparatus, a configuration is known in which a drive gear train is disposed on the outside of a main body side plate, and the drive side plate is attached to the main body side plate to cover the drive gear train from the outside such that the drive gear train is interposed between the main body side plate and the drive side plate.

Japanese patent application laid-open No. 2005-37706 discusses a hollow member for connecting a hole on a main body side plate with a hole on a drive side plate, and also discusses a configuration for guiding a cable via the hollow member. This configuration enables cabling to be routed through the body side plate and the drive side plate without interfering with the drive gear train. More specifically, this configuration makes it possible to connect the circuit board disposed inside the main body side plate with the circuit board disposed outside the drive side plate at the shortest distance.

However, in the configuration discussed in japanese patent application laid-open No. 2005-37706, it is necessary to lay out the hollow member while avoiding the drive gear train. In a configuration in which the driving gear trains are closely arranged without additional space, there is a problem in that the provision of the hollow member increases the size of the device. In recent years, the demand for more compact devices has grown.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention aims to prevent an increase in the size of a device.

According to one aspect of the present invention, an image forming apparatus includes: a first main body side plate; a second main body side plate, wherein the first main body side plate and the second main body side plate are arranged such that an image forming unit configured to form an image on a recording material is interposed between the first main body side plate and the second main body side plate; a drive side plate attached to the first body side plate; a drive gear train disposed on a side opposite to a side on which the image forming unit is disposed across the first main body side plate, the drive gear train being disposed between the drive side plate and the first main body side plate; and a cable guide configured to guide a cable, the cable guide being disposed between the first body side plate and the drive side plate, wherein the drive gear train includes a rotation gear configured to rotate, and the cable guide is disposed such that the cable guide overlaps a portion of the rotation gear when viewed in a rotation axis direction of the rotation gear.

Other features of the invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an internal structure of an image forming apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a left side perspective view showing an internal structure of the image forming apparatus.

Fig. 3 is a right side perspective view showing an internal structure of the image forming apparatus.

Fig. 4 is a side view showing a driving unit of the image forming apparatus.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing a driving unit of the image forming apparatus.

Fig. 6 is a side view showing a driving unit of the image forming apparatus with a driving side plate omitted.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing a cable guide to which a cable is mounted.

Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing a driving side plate to which a cable guide is attached.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing the drive side plate and the drive gear train.

Detailed Description

< General Structure of image Forming apparatus >

An outline of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described below with reference to fig. 1. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an internal structure of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, an image forming apparatus will be described specifically taking an electrophotographic monochromatic laser beam printer as an example.

In the following description, in a case where the image forming apparatus a is mounted on a horizontal plane, the height direction (vertical direction) of the image forming apparatus a is the Z direction. A direction intersecting the Z direction and parallel to an axial direction (main scanning direction) of the photosensitive drum 16 (described below) is an X direction. The direction intersecting the X direction and the Z direction is the Y direction. Desirably, the X-direction, Y-direction, and Z-direction intersect each other perpendicularly. For convenience, the positive and negative sides in the X direction are referred to as right and left sides, respectively, the positive and negative sides in the Y direction are referred to as front and rear sides, respectively, and the positive and negative sides in the Z direction are referred to as upper and lower sides, respectively.

As shown in fig. 1, an apparatus main body 1 of an image forming apparatus a includes a process cartridge 100. The process cartridge 100 includes the photosensitive drum 16, the charging roller 17, and the developing roller 18, and the process cartridge 100 is attachable to the apparatus main body 1 and detachable from the apparatus main body 1. By replacing the process cartridge 100, these members for image formation can be collectively replaced. In image formation, the photosensitive drum 16 rotates, and the surface of the photosensitive drum 16 is charged by the charging roller 17. The photosensitive drum 16 is irradiated with the laser beam L based on image information from the optical system (scanner) 14, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive layer of the photosensitive drum 16. The developing roller 18 develops the electrostatic latent image with toner to form a developer image on the photosensitive drum 16.

Then, the recording material S placed on the cassette 3 is conveyed by the pickup roller 4, the feed roller pair 5, the conveying roller pair 6, and the registration roller pair 7 in synchronization with the formation of the developer image. When a voltage is applied to the transfer roller 15 provided in the apparatus main body 1, the developer image formed on the photosensitive drum 16 is transferred to the recording material S. Then, the recording material S to which the developer image is transferred is conveyed to the fixing unit 9. While the recording material S passes through the fixing unit 9, the fixing unit 9 applies heat and pressure to the recording material S to fix the developer image to the recording material S. Then, the recording material S to which the developer image is fixed is discharged to a discharge tray 13 outside the apparatus via a discharge roller pair 12.

When the duplex printing is performed, an image is formed on one side of the recording material S, and then the rotation direction of the discharge roller pair 12 is reversed in a state where the discharge roller pair 12 presses the recording material S, so that the recording material S is pulled back into the apparatus main body 1. Then, the recording material S is conveyed to the duplex conveying path, and then conveyed again to the conveying roller pair 6 by the duplex conveying roller pair 19 and the duplex conveying roller pair 20. Thereafter, the recording material S having the image formed on one side is conveyed by the registration roller pair 7 to the nip portion formed by the photosensitive drum 16 and the transfer roller 15, so that the image is formed on the other side of the recording material S.

The driving configuration of the image forming apparatus a will be described in detail below. Fig. 2 and 3 are perspective views illustrating the image forming apparatus a. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the image forming apparatus a when viewed from the left front side, and fig. 3 is a perspective view showing the image forming apparatus a when viewed from the right front side. In fig. 2 and 3, the external member is omitted.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, the image forming apparatus a includes a right side main body side plate 21 (first main body side plate) and a left side main body side plate 31 (second main body side plate). The right and left main body side plates 21 and 31 are arranged so as to place the process cartridge 100 between the right and left main body side plates 21 and 31 in the X direction. In other words, the process cartridge 100 is disposed between the main body side plate 21 and the main body side plate 31 in the X direction. The body side plate 21 and the body side plate 31 each constitute a part of the frame of the apparatus body 1. The body side plate 21 and the body side plate 31 are made of metal. More specifically, the body side plate 21 and the body side plate 31 are each formed of a metal sheet (SHEET METAL).

The process cartridge 100 is supported by the main body side plate 21 and the main body side plate 31. The main body side plate 21 and the main body side plate 31 each include a guide for attaching the process cartridge 100 to the apparatus main body 1 and detaching the process cartridge 100 from the apparatus main body 1.

The process cartridge 100 is an example of an image forming unit for forming an image on the recording material S. According to the present embodiment, the process cartridge 100 is an image forming unit detachable from the apparatus main body 1. However, the image forming unit according to the present invention need not be detachable from the apparatus main body 1.

As shown in fig. 2, a control board 32 is disposed on the side opposite to the side on which the process cartridge 100 is disposed across the left-side main body side plate 31, that is, the control board 32 is disposed outside the main body side plate 31. More specifically, the main body side plate 31 is disposed between the control plate 32 and the process cartridge 100. This also means that the body side plate 31 is disposed between the control plate 32 and the body side plate 21. A Central Processing Unit (CPU) 33 is mounted on the control board 32. A guide hole 38 is formed in the main body side plate 31. The cable 34 extending from the control board 32 passes through the guide hole 38 and is guided from the outside to the inside of the main body side plate 31. The CPU 33 transmits a control signal to a clutch (described below) via the cable 34 to control image formation on the recording material S and conveyance of the recording material S.

As shown in fig. 3, the drive side plate 23 is disposed on the side opposite to the side on which the process cartridge 100 is disposed across the right-side main body side plate 21, that is, the drive side plate 23 is disposed outside the main body side plate 21. More specifically, the main body side plate 21 is disposed between the drive side plate 23 and the process cartridge 100. This also means that the body side plate 21 is disposed between the drive side plate 23 and the body side plate 31. The drive side plate 23 is attached to the main body side plate 21 by screws such that a drive gear train 22 (described below) is interposed between the drive side plate 23 and the main body side plate 21. A guide hole 28 is formed in the main body side plate 21. The cable 24 connected to the cable 34 passes through the guide hole 28 and is guided from the inside to the outside of the main body side plate 21. The cable 24 is guided by a cable guide 25 (described below) and then connected to a drive unit such as a clutch. The drive side plate 23 is made of metal. More specifically, the drive side plate 23 is formed of a metal sheet.

As shown in fig. 3, the driving side plate 23 is bent to form an attachment portion 23b attached to the main body side plate 21. According to the present embodiment, the drive side plate 23 has a plurality of attachment portions 23b.

In the region between the right side main body side plate 21 and the left side main body side plate 31, a guide member (not shown) for holding the cable 34 and the cable 24 and a relay substrate (not shown) connected to the cable 34 and the cable 24 may be separately provided.

Fig. 4 is a side view showing the image forming apparatus a when viewed from the right side. The drive gear train 22 includes a plurality of rotary gears 29. According to an embodiment, the drive gear train 22 need only include at least one rotary gear 29. The rotation gears 29 each rotate around the rotation shaft 26 and transmit the driving force to the other gear. The rotation shaft 26 extends in the X direction as described below. This means that the direction of the rotation axis 26 is the X direction. In other words, the rotation axis direction of the rotation gear 29 is the X direction. The drive gear train 22 is disposed between the main body side plate 21 and the drive side plate 23. Since the drive side plate 23 is attached to the main body side plate 21 to cover the drive gear train 22 from the outside, a portion hidden behind the drive side plate 23 is drawn with a broken line.

The main body side plate 31 includes a side wall 31a, which side wall 31a extends in a direction intersecting the X direction (desirably, in a direction intersecting the X direction perpendicularly). The main body side plate 21 includes a side wall 21a, the side wall 21a extending in a direction intersecting the X direction (desirably, in a direction intersecting the X direction perpendicularly). Further, the drive side plate 23 includes an opposite wall 23a extending in a direction intersecting the X direction (desirably, in a direction intersecting the X direction perpendicularly).

In the X direction, the side wall 31a and the side wall 21a face each other, and the side wall 21a and the opposite wall 23a face each other. The driving side plate 23 is attached to the side wall 21a and is supported by the side wall 21a. More specifically, the attachment portion 23b of the drive side plate 23 extends from the opposite wall 23a in the X direction, and the attachment portion 23b is fixed to the side wall 21a.

In the X direction, one end of the rotation shaft 26 is supported by the main body side plate 21, and the other end of the rotation shaft 26 is supported by the drive side plate 23. More specifically, one end of the rotation shaft 26 is supported by the side wall 21a, and the other end of the rotation shaft 26 is supported by the opposite wall 23 a.

The cable 24 guided from the inside to the outside of the main body side plate 21 via the guide hole 28 is further guided by the cable guide 25 in the region between the main body side plate 21 and the drive side plate 23. The cable guide 25 is disposed between the drive side plate 23 and the main body side plate 21. More specifically, the cable guide 25 is disposed between the opposing wall 23a and the side wall 21 a. As described in detail below, the cable guide 25 is attached to the drive side plate 23 and guides the cable 24 along the surface of the drive side plate 23.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing a part of a driving unit of the image forming apparatus a. As shown in fig. 5, the drive gear train 22, the cable 24, and the cable guide 25 are arranged between the main body side plate 21 and the drive side plate 23 in the X direction. As described above, the cable guide 25 is supported by the drive side plate 23. The image forming apparatus a further includes a cover member 27 disposed on the outer side (positive side in the X direction) of the drive side plate 23, and the cover member 27 constitutes a part of the outside of the image forming apparatus a. More specifically, the drive side plate 23 is disposed between the cover member 27 and the main body side plate 21 in the X direction.

As shown in fig. 5, the rotation gear 29 of the drive gear train 22 is disposed between the opposite wall 23a and the side wall 21 a. It can be said that a space for accommodating the rotation gear 29 of the drive gear train 22 is formed between the opposite wall 23a and the side wall 21 a. In the X direction, the distance between the opposing wall 23a and the cover member 27 is shorter than the distance between the opposing wall 23a and the side wall 21 a.

The main body side plate 21 is provided with a rotation shaft (first rotation shaft) 26 for supporting a rotation gear 29a (first rotation gear). More specifically, the drive gear train 22 is supported by the main body side plate 21. The rotation shaft 26 extends in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the main body side plate 21 (i.e., in the X direction). The cable guide 25 is disposed at a position farther from the positive side in the X direction than the rotation gear 29a, and is disposed at a position avoiding the rotation shaft 26. The dimension of the rotation shaft 26 in the X direction is larger than the dimension of the rotation gear 29a in the X direction, and the cable guide 25 is laid in the extra space. When viewed in the X direction, a part of the rotation gear 29a overlaps the cable guide 25.

The drive gear train 22 further includes another rotary gear 29b (second rotary gear) having a larger size than the rotary gear 29a in the X direction. When viewed in a direction intersecting perpendicularly with the X direction, a region R1 of the rotation gear 29b projected on the X axis (virtual axis) extending in the X direction partially overlaps a region R2 of the cable guide 25 projected on the X axis. In other words, in the X direction, the region (R1) where the rotation gear 29b exists at least partially overlaps the region (R2) where the cable guide 25 exists. This can prevent an increase in the size of the image forming apparatus a in the X direction. The rotation shaft 26 supporting the rotation gear 29b may also be referred to as a second rotation shaft.

Fig. 6 is a side view showing a configuration in which the driving side plate 23 is omitted from the side view of fig. 4. As shown in fig. 6, the drive gear train 22 includes two electromagnetic clutches 22a and 22b, the two electromagnetic clutches 22a and 22b being configured to transmit a driving force of a motor (not shown) to the downstream side gear when the electromagnetic clutches 22a and 22b are on, and configured not to transmit the driving force to the downstream side gear when the electromagnetic clutches 22a and 22b are off. The two electromagnetic clutches 22a and 22b include electromagnetic clutch connectors 22a1 and 22b1, respectively, to connect with the cable 24. The cable 24 includes two cables 24a and 24b, and the cables 24a and 24b are connected to the electromagnetic clutches 22a and 22b, respectively. One ends of the cables 24a and 24b are respectively provided with cable connectors 24a1 and 24b1 for connection with the electromagnetic clutch connectors 22a1 and 22b 1. The other ends of the cables 24a and 24b on the side opposite to the side on which the cable connectors 24a1 and 24b1 are provided with cable connectors 24a2 and 24b2, respectively, to be connected with the cables 34 laid on the inner side of the main body side plate 21.

As shown in fig. 4, when viewed in the X direction, a straight line connecting one end (cable connector 24 al) of the cable 24a and the other end (cable connector 24a 2) thereof and a straight line connecting one end (cable connector 24 bl) of the cable 24b and the other end (cable connector 24b 2) thereof each overlap with the opposite wall 23a of the drive side plate 23. The straight line connecting the cable connectors 24a1 and 24b1 also overlaps the opposite wall 23a of the drive side plate 23 when viewed in the X direction. The straight line connecting the cable connectors 24a1 and 24a2, the straight line connecting the cable connectors 24b1 and 24b2, and the straight line connecting the cable connectors 24a1 and 24b1 each overlap the rotation gear 29.

The cable guide 25 is disposed between the rotation shafts 26 in a direction perpendicularly intersecting the direction of the rotation shafts 26 of the rotation gears 29. The cable guide 25 is disposed between a plurality of rotation gears 29 (a plurality of gears) of the drive gear train 22 when viewed in the X direction. The cable guide 25 is laid between a plurality of rotation shafts 26 when viewed in the X direction. As shown in fig. 4, the cable connectors 24a1, 24b1, 24a2, and 24b2 are laid out at positions not covered by the driving side plate 23 so that they can be connected even after the driving side plate 23 is attached to the main body side plate 21. The cable connectors 24a1, 24b1, 24a2, and 24b2 are collectively referred to as cable connectors. The CPU 33 transmits a control signal to the electromagnetic clutches 22a and 22b via the cable 34 and the cable 24 to turn the electromagnetic clutches 22a and 22b on and off.

According to the embodiment, the electromagnetic clutch 22a is used to change the rotation direction of the discharge roller pair 12, and the electromagnetic clutch 22b is used to switch between the driven state and the non-driven state of the duplex conveying roller pair 19 and the duplex conveying roller pair 20. However, the control targets of the electromagnetic clutches 22a and 22b are not limited thereto. The members related to the image formation on the recording material S and the conveyance of the recording material S can be controlled.

In the configuration according to the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 6, the drive gear train 22 and the cable guide 25 partially overlap each other when viewed in the direction of the rotation shaft 26 of the rotation gear 29 included in the drive gear train 22 (when viewed in the X direction). However, the cable guide 25 is laid at a position avoiding the rotation shaft 26. By effectively utilizing the space between the main body side plate 21 and the drive side plate 23 in this way, an increase in the size of the image forming apparatus a can be prevented.

< Structure of Cable guide >

The construction of the cable guide 25 will be described in detail below. Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing the cable guide 25 to which the cable 24 is mounted. Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing the drive side plate 23 to which the cable guide 25 is attached. Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing the drive side plate 23 when the drive gear train 22 is superimposed on the drive side plate 23.

As shown in fig. 7, the cable guide 25 guides two cables 24a and 24b, and the cables 24a and 24b are separated from each other at a branching point 25a of the cable guide 25.

The branching point 25a of the cable guide 25 is disposed between the rotation shafts 26 of the rotation gears 29 included in the drive gear train 22. The cable 24 is held inside the cable guide 25 and guided out of contact with the drive gear train 22.

As shown in fig. 8, a cable guide 25 is attached to the drive side plate 23. Since the cable 24 is covered by the cable guide 25 and the drive side plate 23, the cable 24 is guided out of contact with the drive gear train 22. Further, the cable guide 25 includes protruding portions 25b1 to 25b4, and the protruding portions 25b1 to 25b4 extend in a direction parallel to the rotation shaft 26 of the rotation gear 29 included in the drive gear train 22.

As shown in fig. 9, the protruding portions 25b1 to 25b4 of the cable guide 25 protrude in a direction parallel to the rotation shaft 26, and are disposed between the rotation gears 29 included in the drive gear train 22. When the driving side plate 23 is attached to the main body side plate 21, the protruding portions 25b1 to 25b4 are configured to be in contact with the main body side plate 21. This makes it possible to improve the rigidity of the drive side plate 23, and also to prevent the drive side plate 23 from being deformed when receiving a force from the outside of the cover member 27 at the time of shipment of the image forming apparatus a. This also makes it possible to prevent a problem that the rotation gear 29 included in the drive gear train 22 is detached from the rotation shaft 26 due to deformation of the drive side plate 23.

< Effect of the embodiment >

According to the present embodiment, the wiring configuration of the cable surrounding the drive gear train is designed so that an increase in the size of the device can be prevented.

Further, in the configuration according to the present embodiment, the cable 24 and the cable guide 25 are connected in the shortest path without detouring on the outside of the drive side plate 23. This makes it possible to minimize the size of the cable 24 and the cable guide 25, thereby providing a low-cost image forming apparatus.

According to the present embodiment, the cable guide 25 mounted on the drive side plate 23 is in contact with the main body side plate 21 via the protruding portions 25b1 to 25b4, whereby deformation of the main body side plate 21 and the drive side plate 23 can be prevented in the case where a large external force is applied to the main body side plate 21 and the drive side plate 23 at the time of shipment.

Although the above-described embodiment has been described based on the electrophotographic image forming apparatus a, the image forming apparatus a is not limited to the electrophotographic image forming apparatus. The present invention is also applicable to image forming apparatuses employing different printing methods such as inkjet and offset printing methods.

Although in the above-described embodiment, the cable 24 guided by the cable guide 25 is configured to transmit the control signal from the CPU 33, the configuration of the cable 24 is not limited thereto. The present invention is also applicable to a configuration of guiding a power cable and other cables extending from a power strip.

According to the present invention, an increase in the size of the device can be prevented.

While the invention has been described with reference to embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims (11)

1. An image forming apparatus comprising:

A first main body side plate;

A second main body side plate, the first main body side plate and the second main body side plate being arranged such that an image forming unit configured to form an image on a recording material is interposed between the first main body side plate and the second main body side plate;

a drive side plate attached to the first body side plate;

a drive gear train disposed on a side opposite to a side on which the image forming unit is disposed across the first main body side plate, the drive gear train being disposed between the drive side plate and the first main body side plate; and

A cable guide configured to guide a cable, the cable guide being routed between the first body side plate and the drive side plate,

Wherein the drive gear train includes a rotation gear configured to rotate, and the cable guide is arranged such that the cable guide overlaps a portion of the rotation gear when viewed in a rotation axis direction of the rotation gear.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drive gear train includes a plurality of gears, and the cable guide is disposed between the plurality of gears when viewed in a rotation axis direction.

3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cable guide does not overlap with a rotation axis of the rotation gear when viewed in a rotation axis direction.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,

Wherein the drive gear train includes a first rotary gear and a second rotary gear having a larger size in the rotation axis direction than the first rotary gear, and

Wherein the cable guide overlaps a portion of the first rotary gear when viewed in the rotation axis direction, and a region of the cable guide projected on a virtual axis extending in the rotation axis direction overlaps a region of the second rotary gear projected on the virtual axis when viewed in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis direction.

5. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a control board disposed on a side opposite to a side on which the image forming unit is disposed across the second main body side board,

Wherein the cable is configured to transmit control signals from the control board.

6. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a connection portion of the cable to another member is laid at a position not covered by the driving side plate when viewed in a rotation axis direction.

7. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the cable guide is supported by the drive side plate.

8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the cable guide is provided with a protruding portion extending in a rotation axis direction, and the protruding portion is in contact with the first main body side plate.

9. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first main body side plate supports a rotation shaft of the rotation gear.

10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the driving side plate supports the rotation shaft.

11. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein a straight line connecting one end and the other end of the cable overlaps the drive side plate when viewed in a rotation axis direction.