JP2000047458A - Electrophotographic device and process unit for electrophotographic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate the electric connection of a charging means to a device body in the mounting of a photoreceptor and the charging means on the device body. SOLUTION: A fixing member 71 for fixing a charging device 12 is provided on a unit plate 15. The fixing member 71 is formed of a conductive material and it comprises an end part 71a to make contact with the scorotron shield case 12a of the charging device 12 and an end part 71b to make contact with a contact 73 provided on a device body 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrophotographic apparatus in which an apparatus main body is divided into a lower main body and an upper main body in order to facilitate attachment and detachment of a photosensitive drum, and a process unit used in the electrophotographic apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Since a photosensitive drum of an electrophotographic apparatus deteriorates with use, it needs to be replaced with a new one after use to some extent. For this reason, the photosensitive drum is attached to the apparatus main body so as to be easily detachable. In general, the apparatus main body is divided into a lower main body and an upper main body so that the photosensitive drum can be easily attached and detached, and the upper main body can be swung up with respect to the lower main body.

[0003] Other consumable parts located around the photosensitive drum are collectively used as a process unit to improve the maintainability.

As described above, there is a charger as a component constituting the process unit together with the photosensitive drum, and this charger needs to be electrically connected to the apparatus main body for grounding or the like. After the unit is mechanically mounted on the apparatus main body, it is necessary to electrically connect the unit with a connector or the like.

[0005]

As described above, in the conventional electrophotographic apparatus, it takes time and effort to electrically connect the charging means to the apparatus main body.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and has as its object to provide an electric connection between the charging means and the apparatus main body when the photosensitive member and the charging means are mounted on the apparatus main body. An object of the present invention is to provide an electrophotographic apparatus and a process unit capable of facilitating connection.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a process unit detachably mounted on a main body of an electrophotographic apparatus. A charging unit for charging the surface of the photoconductor, a support member such as a unit plate for supporting the photoconductor and the charging unit, and a first portion and a process unit that are in contact with the charging unit. A second conductive member, such as a contact, disposed on the device main body when the device is mounted on the device main body, and a first conductive member disposed on the support member. Was.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrophotographic apparatus, comprising: a photosensitive member such as a photosensitive drum; charging means for charging the surface of the photosensitive member; A supporting member such as a unit plate for supporting the photosensitive member and the charging unit, and a first portion and a process unit that are in contact with the charging unit are mounted on the apparatus main body when the apparatus is mounted on the apparatus main body. And a second portion that contacts a second conductive member, such as a contact, disposed on the support member, and a first conductive member disposed on the support member.

By taking such means, the photoreceptor and the charging means for charging the surface of the photoreceptor are supported by a supporting member which is detachably mounted to the apparatus main body of the electrophotographic apparatus. Supported. The charging means is fixed by contacting a first portion of the first conductive member disposed on the support member, and a second portion of the first conductive member is fixed to the first conductive member.
The portion is electrically connected to the device main body side by contacting the second conductive member disposed on the device main body.

Therefore, the first conductive member has both functions of fixing the charging means to the support member and electrically connecting the charging means to the apparatus main body.

[0011]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the overall configuration of a facsimile apparatus equipped with an electrophotographic apparatus.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes an apparatus main body,
It comprises a lower body 2 that forms a housing with an open upper surface and an upper body 3 that forms a housing with an open lower surface. The upper main body 3 is attached to the lower main body 2 so as to be rotatable up and down by a shaft (not shown), and opens and closes the upper surface of the lower main body 2 as shown in FIG.

The lower body 2 includes a process unit 10
0, transfer device 102, fixing device 103, paper feeding device 104
And a power supply unit 106. The upper main body 3 is provided with an exposure device 101 and a communication device 105.

The process unit 100 includes the photosensitive drum 1
1, the charging device 12, the developing device 13, and the cleaning device 14 are integrally formed, and together with the exposure device 101, a toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 11 by a so-called Carlson process. The process unit 100 is detachable from the lower main body 2.

The exposure apparatus 101 includes an elongated exposure apparatus main body 4.
5, an LED array (not shown) in which a plurality of LEDs are arranged in series, and a rod lens array (not shown). Light emitted from the LED array according to an image signal is passed through the rod lens array to the photosensitive drum. 11
To the photosensitive surface.

The exposure apparatus 101 is arranged inside the upper main body 3 in parallel with the photosensitive drum 11. That is, when the upper main body 3 is rotated downward and closed, it is arranged so as to be located above the photosensitive drum. Holding brackets 48 are respectively attached to both ends of the arrangement location inside the upper main body 3. Each holding bracket 48 has a shaft 49 extending vertically with the upper body 3 closed, and a shaft 4
9 are provided, respectively. An end of the exposure apparatus main body 45 is fitted and held on the shaft 49 so as to be movable up and down, and is constantly pressed downward by a coil spring 50.

The transfer device 102 has a cylindrical transfer roller 60 disposed in parallel with the photosensitive drum 11, and the paper feed device 104 of the recording paper P stored in the recording paper tray 107. Transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 11 to the recording paper supplied by the printer.

The fixing device 103 fixes the toner image transferred onto the recording paper.

The communication device 105 optically reads a transmission original and performs photoelectric conversion to generate an image signal.

The power supply unit 106 supplies power to the charging device 12, the developing device 13 and the transfer device 102, and is formed by mounting a high-voltage power supply circuit 62 on a high-voltage power supply substrate 61. At the end of the high-voltage power supply board 61 on the front side of the device, an output variable volume 63 for changing the output to each device is provided.

Next, the process unit 100 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, the same parts as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

The process unit 100 includes the photosensitive drum 1
A charging device 12, a developing device 13, and a cooling device 14 are provided along the periphery of the device 1. These photosensitive drums 1
1, the charging device 12, the developing device 13, and the cooling device 14 are supported and integrated by unit plates 15 located on both right and left sides of the process unit 100, respectively.

The photosensitive drum 11 is formed of a conductor such as aluminum, for example, and has a photosensitive layer made of a photosensitive conductive material formed on an outer peripheral surface thereof. The photosensitive drum 11
A cylindrical body having a length greater than the maximum width of the recording paper on which an image is to be recorded, and is supported by a drum shaft 16 inserted therein. The photosensitive drum 11 is mounted on the unit plate 15 by supporting the drum shaft 16 on the unit plate 15.

As the charging device 12, a scorotron charging device having a well-known configuration is used. This charging device 12
Is provided with a discharge wire inside the elongated scorotron shield case 12a, and is provided in parallel with the photosensitive drum 11. The charging device 12 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 to a predetermined potential.

The developing device 13 includes an apparatus case 21, a toner pack 28, a supply roller 30, a developing roller 31, a developing blade 32, a receiving blade 33, a holding rod 36, a spring member 37, and an auxiliary member 38.

The device case 21 has substantially the same length as the length of the photosensitive drum 11 and is arranged in parallel with the photosensitive drum 11. Inside the device case 21, a toner reservoir 22, the toner reservoir 22 and the photosensitive drum 11
And a roller arrangement portion 23 located between the two. The toner storage section 22 and the roller arrangement section 23 are in communication with each other.

The apparatus case 21 is formed with a rectangular toner inlet 24 having an upper surface opened along the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 11. A flange 25 is provided at a portion of the apparatus case 21 surrounding the toner inlet 24, and a seal member 27 made of sponge or the like is provided on the upper surface of the flange 25 so as to surround the toner inlet 24. Further, the toner input port 24 of the flange 25
Ribs 26 are formed on both sides along the longitudinal direction.

The toner pack 28 is formed by forming a synthetic resin into a rectangular parallelepiped having a plane substantially the same size as the toner input port 24, and has a toner discharging port 29 formed along the longitudinal direction on the lower surface. . The inside of the toner pack 28 is filled with toner (not shown), and the toner outlet 29 is sealed with a seal sheet (not shown) made of a resin film.

The toner pack 28 is mounted on the apparatus case 21 so as to be detachably mounted on the toner input port 24 of the apparatus case 21. In order to detachably attach the toner pack 28 to the apparatus case 21, although not shown, for example, a nail is formed on the toner pack 28,
There is a configuration in which an engagement portion is formed in the device case 21 such that the pawl is removably engaged.

On the other hand, the roller arrangement portion 23 of the device case 21
Is provided with a supply roller 30, a developing roller 31, a developing blade 32, and a receiving blade 33.

The supply roller 30 is made of a synthetic resin and is fixed to a roller shaft 34. The developing roller 31 is made of a synthetic resin, and is fixed to a roller shaft 35. The roller shafts 34 and 35 are rotatably supported on the side walls of the device case 21, respectively. The developing roller 31
It is in contact with the supply roller 30 and the photosensitive drum 11.

The supply roller 30 and the developing roller 31
It is rotated in a direction indicated by an arrow by a rotation driving mechanism (not shown). The supply roller 30 carries the toner stored in the toner storage section 22 of the apparatus case 21 and
Convey to 1. The developing roller 31 carries the toner supplied from the supply roller 30 and transports the toner to the photosensitive drum 11.

The developing blade 32 is formed of a synthetic resin, and is fixed to a holding rod 36. The holding rod 36
With the developing blade 32 down, the developing roller 31
Is arranged in parallel with this on the upper side. Holding rod 36
Are supported on the side wall of the device case 21 so as to be vertically displaceable.

The holding rod 36 is applied with a downward force by a spring member 37. Therefore, the developing blade 32 comes into contact with the surface of the developing roller 31 and the developing roller 3
In addition to thinning the toner carried and transported on 1,
The toner is triboelectrically charged.

The receiving blade 33 is made of, for example, an elastic resin. The receiving blade 33 is provided parallel to the developing roller 31 at a position below the developing roller 31 and close to the photosensitive drum 11. Receiving blade 3
3 has one end attached to the bottom wall of the device case 21 and the other end in contact with the peripheral surface of the developing roller 31.
The receiving blade 33 serves to prevent the toner located in the roller disposition portion 23 from leaking from below the developing roller 31 to the outside of the device case 21 and to serve to prevent the toner dropped below the developing roller 31 from developing roller 31. Has a role of guiding the inside of the device case 21 by the rotation of.

The auxiliary member 38 is disposed between the exposure device 101 and the developing roller 31 along the longitudinal direction of the roller, and is attached to the unit plate 15. That is, the auxiliary member 38 partitions the exposure device 101 and the developing roller 31 from each other. Further, the auxiliary member 38 is grounded when the process unit 100 is mounted on the lower main body 2, and causes the toner escaping from the developing roller 31 to the outside of the developing device 13 by the electrostatic force of the toner. It is adsorbed to.

The cleaning device 14 includes a cleaning blade 39, a waste toner storage tank 40,
1, check valve 42, receiving blade 43 and rib 44
It has. The cleaning blade 39 keeps the photosensitive drum 11 even after the transfer process by the transfer device 102.
Scraping off the remaining toner. Waste toner storage tank 40
Contains the waste toner scraped off by the cleaning blade 39. The waste toner storage tank 40 has an opening formed on the upper surface, and the opening is covered by a lid 40a. The transport roller 41 transfers the waste toner scraped off by the cleaning blade 39 to the waste toner storage tank 40.
Transport to The check valve 42 is connected to the waste toner storage tank 4.
0 prevents the toner inside the photoreceptor drum 11 from flowing back. The receiving blade 43 receives the waste toner scraped off by the cleaning blade 39 and guides the waste toner into the waste toner storage tank 40. The rib 44
The bottom of the waste toner storage tank 40 and the lid 40a are supported. As a result, the rib 44 warps toward the bottom and the lid 40 a of the waste toner storage tank 40 when the bottom and the lid 40 a of the waste toner storage tank 40 receive the rotational force of the photosensitive drum 11 via the cleaning blade 39 and the receiving blade 43. Is prevented from occurring. The rib 44 is thus provided at the bottom of the waste toner storage tank 40 and the lid 40.
a, the amount of the cleaning blade 39 biting into the photosensitive drum 11 can be reduced.
Factors such as the distance between the cleaning blade 39 and the receiving blade 43 are stably maintained, and the cleaning performance is improved.

Here, the transport roller 41 is connected to the photosensitive drum 11
And is rotated about its central axis. The backflow prevention valve 42 is attached to the lid 40 a along the longitudinal direction of the transport roller 41, and the lower edge is located above the central axis of the transport roller 41. This is because the transport roller 41 stores the waste toner in the waste toner storage tank 4.
This is to prevent the check valve 42 from obstructing the transfer to zero.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a fixed state of the charging device 12 and a grounded state of the scorotron shield case 12a of the charging device 12, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a fixed state of the charging device 12.

As shown in FIG. 4, the charging device 12 has a scorotron shield case 12a, a discharge wire 12b, and a grid 12c. The scorotron shield case 12a is an elongated box-shaped case formed of a conductive material, and has a discharge wire 12b stretched along the inside thereof in the longitudinal direction. The surface of the scorotron shield case 12a on the side facing the photosensitive drum 11 is open, and the grid 12c is mounted here. The grid 12c is formed of a conductive material, and is electrically connected to the scorotron shield case 12a.

The scorotron shield case 12a is placed on the charging device installation section 70 formed on the unit plate 15, and is pressed against the charging device installation section 70 by the fixing member 71 at the end.

The fixing member 71 is a plate made of a conductive material, and is fixed to the unit plate 15 by screws 72. The end 71a of the fixing member 71 is bent, and this end 71a is bent by the elasticity of the fixing member 71.
Press. The scorotron shield case 12a and the fixing member 71 are in contact with each other in an electrically connected state.

The fixing member 71 has an end 71b opposite to the end 71a extending from the upper surface of the unit plate 15 to the side surface. The lower body 2 includes a process unit 1
00 is attached to the end 71 of the fixing member 71.
The contact 73 is attached at a position corresponding to b. The contact 73 is formed by bending a plate-shaped member made of a conductive material into a spring contact shape, and comes into contact with the end 71 b of the fixed member 71 when the process unit 100 is mounted on the lower main body 2. Further, the contact 73 is grounded via a Zener diode 74.

Thus, when the process unit 100 is mounted on the lower main body 2, the grid 2c of the charging device 2 is grounded via the scorotron shield case 12a, the fixing member 71, the contact 73, and the zener diode 74. . That is, the fixing member 71 is
It also functions as an electrode for grounding the 2c and the scorotron shield case 12a. For this reason, it is not necessary to separately provide an electrode, and the number of parts can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0046]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a process unit detachably provided to an apparatus main body of an electrophotographic apparatus is used to charge a photosensitive member such as a photosensitive drum and a surface of the photosensitive member. Charging means, a support member such as a unit plate for supporting the photosensitive member and the charging means, and a first portion and a process unit which are in contact with the charging means are mounted on the apparatus main body. A second portion that contacts a second conductive member such as a contact disposed on the apparatus main body, and a first conductive member disposed on the support member. This is a process unit that can facilitate electrical connection between the charging unit and the apparatus main body when mounted on the main body.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a photosensitive member such as a photosensitive drum, a charging means for charging the surface of the photosensitive member, and a detachable unit with respect to the apparatus main body of the electrophotographic device are provided. A supporting member such as a unit plate for supporting the photosensitive member and the charging unit, and a first portion and a process unit that are in contact with the charging unit are mounted on the apparatus main body when the apparatus is mounted on the apparatus main body. And a second portion that contacts a second conductive member, such as a contact, disposed on the support member, and the first conductive member disposed on the support member. An electrophotographic apparatus that can facilitate electrical connection between the charging unit and the apparatus main body when mounted.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing the overall configuration of a facsimile apparatus equipped with an electrophotographic apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a state where the upper main body 3 of the facsimile apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is swung up.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a detailed configuration of a process unit 100 in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a fixed state of the charging device 12 and a grounded state of a scorotron shield case 12a of the charging device 12.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a fixed state of the charging device 12.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Device main body 2 ... Lower main body 3 ... Upper main body 100 ... Process unit 101 ... Exposure device 11 ... Photosensitive drum 12 ... Charging device 12a ... Scorotron shield case 15 ... Unit plate 70 ... Charging device installation part 71 ... Fixing member 71a, 71b: End 73: Contact 74: Zener diode

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Seiji Arai 3-1-1 Asahigaoka, Hino-shi, Tokyo Inside the Toshiba Hino Plant Co., Ltd. (1) Inside the Toshiba Hino Plant (72) Inventor Takahito Kabai 3-1-1 Asahigaoka, Hino-shi, Tokyo Inside the Toshiba Hino Plant (72) Inventor Satoshi Katakata 3-1-1 Asahigaoka, Hino-shi, Tokyo No. 1 Toshiba Hino Plant

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. An electrophotographic apparatus, comprising:
A process unit detachably provided to an apparatus main body of the electrophotographic apparatus; a photoconductor; a charging unit for charging a surface of the photoconductor; and a support unit for supporting the photoconductor and the charging unit. A first portion that contacts the charging unit, and a second portion that contacts a second conductive member disposed on the apparatus main body when the process unit is mounted on the apparatus main body. ,
A process unit comprising: a first conductive member disposed on the support member. 2. The process unit according to claim 1, wherein the first portion of the first conductive member contacts a shield case of the charging unit. 3. The device according to claim 1, wherein the support member has a concave portion for receiving the charging means, and a first portion of the first conductive member engages the charging means toward the concave portion. Process unit. 4. The charging means is a scorotron charger,
The process unit according to claim 1, wherein the second portion of the first conductive member is grounded via a constant voltage element. 5. The process unit according to claim 1, wherein the charging unit is a corotron charger, and the second portion of the first conductive member is grounded. 6. A photoreceptor, charging means for charging the surface of the photoreceptor, and removably disposed with respect to an apparatus main body of the electrophotographic apparatus;
A support member for supporting the photoconductor and the charging unit; a first portion that contacts the charging unit; and a second conductive member disposed on the apparatus main body when the process unit is mounted on the apparatus main body. A second portion that contacts the member,
An electrophotographic apparatus comprising: a first conductive member disposed on the support member. 7. The electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the first portion of the first conductive member contacts a shield case of the charging unit. 8. The device according to claim 6, wherein the support member has a recess for receiving the charging means, and a first portion of the first conductive member engages the charging means toward the recess. Electrophotographic equipment. 9. The charging means is a scorotron charger,
The electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the second portion of the first conductive member is grounded via a constant voltage element. 10. The charging means is a corotron charger,
The electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the second portion of the first conductive member is grounded.