JP2000347473A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an image forming device high in safety and reliability by constituting the image forming device so that another door cannot be closed so far as one of a plurality of opening/closing doors is not closed at the regular position to prevent such trouble that the device is actuated without closing any one door. SOLUTION: In such a state that a vertically opening/closing door 148 and a horizontally opening/closing door 154 are closed at the same time, the door 154 cannot be opened without opening the door 148. According to this link mechanism between the doors 148, 154, careless opening of only the door 154 is prevented. Meanwhile, in the closing monitors of both doors, the door 148 cannot be closed without closing the door 154. When a process unit 300 is inserted, the detachment and attachment of a developing device is prohibited to prevent the damage of a belt photoreceptor according to the ordering of these closing monitors.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus having a plurality of doors which are opened and closed for mounting and dismounting components in the apparatus, and an image forming apparatus in which a toner image is formed by an electrophotographic method. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus provided with a detachable process unit having a body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus in which an image forming body such as a photosensitive member on which a toner image is formed is detachably attachable to a unit called a process cartridge or a unit having a developing means for developing a toner image on the image forming body. The apparatus is widely used, and some of such image forming apparatuses are provided with a plurality of opening and closing doors for attaching and detaching the plurality of units as described above.

[0003]

(1) In an image forming apparatus having a plurality of opening and closing doors, it is necessary to set each door to a proper closed position before starting an image forming operation. If an image forming operation is performed without any of the open / close doors being set to the proper closed position, there is a possibility that inconvenience such as formation of a defective image due to light leakage may occur. In addition, there is a safety problem such as a user coming into contact with the inside of the apparatus to cause an accident.

In order to solve such a problem, there is a countermeasure to provide an opening / closing detecting means for each of a plurality of opening / closing doors. However, a plurality of detecting means and various parts attached to the detecting means are required, and cost is reduced. Is high.

(2) In an image forming apparatus for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on an image forming body by a developing means, when the image forming body and / or the developing means are to be attached or detached, the image forming body is removed. And separating the developing means, take out one of them, and insert any of the above to a certain position in a state where both are separated, then approach the two,
2. Description of the Related Art There is an image forming apparatus that employs an attachment / detachment mechanism that is set at a regular position.

[0006] Such an attaching and detaching mechanism requires two operations of separating and removing, inserting and approaching for each operation of taking out or mounting, so that the operation is troublesome. In addition, there is a problem that the mechanism is apt to be erroneously operated by an unskilled user.

An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus which is easy to use and has high reliability, with the object of solving the problems of the prior art in connection with the attachment and detachment of parts of the image forming apparatus as described above. With the goal.

The objects of the invention described in each claim are as follows.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when one of the plurality of doors is not closed at a regular position, the other door cannot be closed.
An inconvenience such as operation of the image forming apparatus without one of the plurality of doors being closed is prevented, and a safe and reliable image forming apparatus is realized. Moreover, such a safety mechanism is realized at low cost.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily attach and detach a plurality of components in the image forming apparatus.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the process unit having the image forming body can be easily attached and detached, and the door can be securely closed when the process unit is mounted.

According to the present invention, the process unit having the developing means can be easily attached and detached, and the door can be securely closed when the process unit is mounted.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, even when two doors are opened and closed in a plane perpendicular to each other, it is possible to prevent the disadvantage that the image forming apparatus operates without one of the doors being closed at a proper position. .

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, one of the two doors is prevented from being freely opened, and the inadvertent removal of components in the image forming apparatus is prevented.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent damage due to contact when attaching / detaching components in the image forming apparatus.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of developing means can be easily attached and detached as a unit.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to easily attach and detach a plurality of developing means individually.

According to the tenth to twelfth aspects of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the image forming body and the developing means from coming into contact with each other when they are detached.

According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, even in an image forming apparatus which performs development by the non-contact developing method in which the distance between the image forming body and the developing means is extremely small, when the image forming body or the developing means is attached or detached, the mutual contact between the two. To reliably prevent

[0020]

The object of the present invention is as follows.
(1) In an image forming apparatus having a first door that can be opened and closed and a second door that can be opened and closed, when the second door is open, the first door is opened. A related position that moves in conjunction with the opening and closing of the second door so as to be in a position that prevents the closing and that, when the second door is closed, is in a position that allows the first door to be closed. An image forming apparatus having an application unit, (2) a second component that can be attached and detached by opening the first door, and a second component that can be attached and detached by opening the second door. (3) The image forming apparatus according to the above (1), comprising:
The image forming apparatus according to (2), wherein the first component is a first process unit having an image forming body on which an electrostatic latent image and a toner image are formed. The image forming apparatus according to (3), wherein the second component is a second process unit having a developing unit that develops an electrostatic latent image on the image forming body. The image forming apparatus according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein the first door and the second door open and close in a plane perpendicular to each other. (1) to (5) wherein the first door is provided with a blocking means for blocking the opening of the second door when the first door and the second door are closed. The image forming apparatus according to any one of (1) to (7), wherein the first component and the first component are opened by opening the first door. The image forming apparatus according to any one of (2) to (6), further including a separating unit that separates the two components, (8) the second process unit includes a plurality of developing units. (9) The image forming apparatus according to (4), wherein the second process unit has a plurality of developing units, and each of the developing units is detachable. Image forming apparatus described in (1)
0) a process unit having an image forming body on which an electrostatic latent image and a toner image are formed; a developing unit for developing the electrostatic latent image on the image forming body; (1) An image forming apparatus having a door, comprising: a separating unit that separates the image forming body and the developing unit in conjunction with opening of the door.
1) The image forming apparatus according to item (10), wherein the separating unit moves the process unit to separate the image forming body from the developing unit.
(12) The image forming apparatus according to (10), wherein the separating unit moves the developing unit to separate the image forming body from the developing unit.
(3) The image forming apparatus according to any one of (10) to (12), wherein the developing unit develops the electrostatic latent image by a non-contact developing method to form a toner image on the image forming body. Image forming apparatus.

[0021]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a color image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Belt-shaped photoconductor 10 (hereinafter, belt photoconductor 10) as an image forming body of color image forming apparatus 100 (hereinafter, image forming apparatus 100)
) Is the driving roller 1, the first driven roller 2 and the second
Is tensioned by the action of the tension roller 4 and is rotated clockwise as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 1 while locally abutting against the backup members 41 and 42 provided on the inner peripheral surface. I do. The belt photoreceptor 10 is provided with a thin metal film such as tin oxide, lead oxide, or indium oxide as a conductive layer on a flexible substrate such as polyimide or polyethylene terephthalate, and various organic photosensitive layers (OPC) are applied on the upper surface thereof. The conductive layer is grounded. The belt photoreceptor 10 used in the present embodiment has a base of 80 μm-thick polyethylene terephthalate and is coated with OPC.
It is formed to have a uniform thickness of m. The drive roller 1, the driven rollers 2, 3, the tension roller 4, and the backup members 41, 42 constitute support means for supporting the belt photoreceptor 10.

The belt photoreceptor 10 includes a cleaning device 1
9 and the waste toner collecting container 190 and the resin casing 14
0, and is configured as a process unit 300.

A charger 1 as a charging means described below.
1. An exposure device 14 as an exposure device and a developing device 13 as a developing device are provided for each color of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K), respectively. Used in the forming process, four sets of image forming process units are formed, and in the present embodiment, on the outer surface of the stretched belt photoconductor 10, in the rotation direction of the belt photoconductor 10 indicated by an arrow in FIG. 1. On the other hand, these image forming process units are arranged in the order of Y, M, C, and K.

A charger 11 as a charging means for each color has a discharge electrode for performing corona discharge and a grid, and is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the belt photoreceptor 10 as an image forming body (perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1). ), And is attached to the belt photoconductor 10 so as to face the photoconductor 10. Skotroton charger 1
1 performs a charging action (in the present embodiment, negative charging) by corona discharge having the same polarity as the toner, and gives a uniform potential to the belt photoconductor 10. As the corona discharge electrode, a wire electrode or a needle electrode may be used.

The exposure device 14 scans the laser beam emitted from the semiconductor laser by a polygon mirror rotated by a driving motor, performs a scanning exposure on the belt photoconductor 10 through an fθ lens, and performs a scanning exposure on the belt photoconductor 10. To form an electrostatic latent image.

The exposure device 14 for each color includes the belt photoreceptor 1
The scanning position on 0 is arranged outside the belt photoconductor 10 so that the scanning light scans the belt photoconductor 10 between the charger 11 and the developing device 13.

The developing device 13 as a developing means for each color includes
Inside yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C)
Alternatively, a two-component (or one-component) developer of black (K) may be accommodated, and the belt surface may be perpendicular to the moving direction of the belt photoconductor 10 on one side of the vertically arranged belt photoconductor 10. The developer is a cylindrical developer carrier formed of a non-magnetic stainless steel or aluminum material having a thickness of, for example, 0.5 mm to 1 mm and an outer diameter of 15 to 25 mm, respectively. A sleeve 131 is provided.

In the developing area, the developing sleeve 131 is kept out of contact with the belt photoreceptor 10 with a predetermined gap, for example, 100 μm to 1000 μm, by abutting rollers (not shown). And a DC voltage of the same polarity as the toner (in this embodiment, a negative polarity) or a voltage that superimposes the AC voltage AC on the DC voltage is applied to the developing sleeve 131 as a developing bias. As a result, the electrostatic latent image formed on the belt photoreceptor 10 is developed by non-contact reversal development to form a toner image. In order to prevent image unevenness at this time, it is necessary to set the development interval accuracy to about 20 μm or less.

To the developing device 13 for each of the colors Y, M, C, and K, a developer for replenishing each of the colors Y, M, C, and K supplies toner corresponding to Y, M, C, and K. It is supplied from the tank 24.

As described above, the developing device 13 applies the electrostatic latent image formed on the belt photoconductor 10 by the charging by the charger 11 and the scanning light by the exposure device 14 to the belt photoconductor 10 in a non-contact state. The reversal development is performed with toner having the same polarity as the charging polarity (in the present embodiment, the belt photoconductor is negatively charged, and the toner has a negative polarity).

At the start of image recording, the drive motor rotates to rotate the belt photoreceptor 10 via the drive roller 1 as shown by the arrow. Is started to be applied. After the belt photoreceptor 10 is applied with a potential, scanning exposure with an electric signal corresponding to a first color signal, that is, an image signal of yellow (Y) is started in the Y exposing device 14 to rotate the belt (sub-scanning). ), An electrostatic latent image corresponding to the yellow (Y) image of the developed image is formed on the photosensitive layer on the surface. This latent image is developed by a developing device 13 of Y
The yellow (Y) developer adhered and conveyed onto the first photoreceptor 1 is reversely developed in a non-contact state, and a yellow (Y) toner image is formed on the belt photoconductor 10 according to the rotation of the belt photoconductor 10. .

Next, a potential is applied to the belt photoreceptor 10 on the yellow (Y) toner image by the charging operation of the M charger 11, and the second color signal of the M exposure device 14, that is, magenta ( Scanning exposure is performed by an electric signal corresponding to the image data of M), and the magenta (M) toner image is superimposed on the yellow (Y) toner image by non-contact reversal development by the M developing unit 13. It is formed together.

By the same process, the charger 11 of C,
The cyan (C) toner image corresponding to the third color signal by the exposure device 14 and the developing device 13 further corresponds to the fourth color signal by the K charger 11, the exposure device 14 and the developing device 13. Black (K) toner images are sequentially superimposed, and a color toner image is formed on the peripheral surface of the belt photoconductor 10 within one rotation.

The color toner image formed on the peripheral surface of the belt photoreceptor 10 is charged by the charger 11 and the charge is removed by the pre-transfer exposure unit 16a.

On the other hand, the recording paper P is sent out from one of the paper feed cassettes 15A and 15B as recording paper storage means by the corresponding feed-out rollers 15a and 15b, and is conveyed to the timing roller 15c.

The recording paper P is fed to the transfer area in synchronization with the color toner image carried on the belt photoreceptor 10 by driving the timing roller 15c, and is driven in the transfer area. A transfer roller 16b as a transfer unit to which a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the toner (positive polarity in the present embodiment) is applied opposite to the lower portion of the driving roller 1 for transfer, and the peripheral surface of the belt photoreceptor 10 Are collectively transferred to the recording paper P.

The recording paper P to which the toner image has been transferred is separated from the peripheral surface of the belt photoreceptor 10 along the curvature of the driving roller 1 and then conveyed to a fixing device 17 where a heater (not shown) is provided. ) And the pressure roller 1
7b, the toner adhered to the recording paper P is fixed by applying heat and pressure to the recording paper P.
The sheet is conveyed by the sheet discharge roller 18b and sent by the sheet discharge roller 18. For taking out the process unit 300, a paper output tray 20 is provided integrally with an upper / lower opening / closing lid 148 which is a first door provided at an upper portion of the image forming apparatus 100. The recording paper P sent by the paper discharge roller 18 is discharged with the toner image surface facing downward. Further, a leaf spring 20 </ b> A that presses the process unit 300 is provided below the sheet discharge tray 20.

The toner remaining on the peripheral surface of the belt photoreceptor 10 after the transfer is removed from the surface of the belt photoreceptor 10 by a cleaning blade 19a which is a cleaning member provided in a cleaning device 19 as a belt-shaped image forming body cleaning means. The rubbing is performed, the residual toner is removed and cleaned, and the formation of the toner image of the next original image is continued, or
Alternatively, stop temporarily and wait. The waste toner removed from the belt photoreceptor 10 by the cleaning blade 19a is collected from the cleaning device 19 to a waste toner collection container 190 through, for example, a conveying screw (not shown). When the formation of the toner image of the next original image is subsequently performed, the belt photoreceptor 1
Exposure is performed on the surface of the photosensitive member 0 to remove the previous history.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a first component which is detachably attached to the image forming apparatus main body, that is, a process unit 300 as a first process unit and a process unit mounting portion of the main body of the image forming apparatus 100. .

A space in which the process unit 300 is inserted is formed by side plates 101A and 101B parallel to a pair of support frames 1001 provided in the image forming apparatus 100. The groove 10 that guides the insertion of the process unit 300 into the side plate 101A and determines the position of the process unit 300
2A and 103A have a similar groove 102 in the side plate 101B.
B and 103B are provided. Also, the side plate 101
Gears 110 and 112 are pivotally supported on B. Gear 11
Numeral 0 is connected to the motor 104 by the reduction transmission systems 105 to 109.

The process unit 300 is made of an insulating resin, and the drive roller 1, the driven rollers 2, 3 and the tension roller 4 are supported by side plates 140A and 140B having handles 141A and 141B formed thereon. And a belt photoreceptor 10 is stretched over. The side plates 140A and 140B have a substantially rectangular shape as shown in the figure, and the side edges 140AW and 140BW which are curved to have a large radius of curvature close to the straight line of the long side and to be loosely convex.
Has a charger 1 for Y, M, C, K and for pre-transfer charging.
The five grids 12 constituting 1 are attached. These grids 12 are arranged so as to oppose the photoreceptor 10 at a predetermined interval accurately so that the side edges 1 of the side plates 140A and 140B
40AW and 140BW are formed.

As described above, the side edges 140AW and 140BW define the position of the grid 12 with respect to the belt photoreceptor 10, and constitute a position defining member. The grid 12 is composed of a large number of wire electrodes stretched in the width direction of the belt photoreceptor 10, but may be composed of a screen electrode formed by an etching method.

A gear 144 serving as a first gear is fixed to the rotating shaft of the drive roller 1, and the gear 144 serves as a second gear 112 when the process unit 300 is mounted.
The driving roller 1 is connected to the motor 104.

The process unit 300 is mounted on the image forming apparatus 100 by dropping the process unit 300 in the direction of arrow D. Pins 142A, 143A,
142B and 143B are the side plates 10 in the image forming apparatus 100.
Grooves 102A, 103A, 102 provided in 1A, 101B
B and 103B, respectively, and process unit 3
00 in the image forming apparatus 100. Further, projections 145A and 145B (described in FIGS. 3 and 4) for lifting the process unit 300 in conjunction with opening and closing of the upper and lower opening / closing lid 148 are provided outside the side plates 140A and 140B.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper / lower opening / closing lid 1
A leaf spring 20a, which is a pressing means, is provided on the lower surface of the discharge tray 20 provided integrally with the tray 48.
8 and can also be opened and closed, and also serves as a lid for a storage section of the process unit 300. When the paper discharge tray 20 is closed together with the upper and lower opening / closing lid 148 as shown in FIG. 1, the leaf spring 20a presses the process unit 300 to accurately position it.

Numeral 113 denotes a density sensor 114 for detecting the density of the toner image formed on the photoreceptor 10, and formed on the photoreceptor for registration of the yellow, magenta, cyan, and black toner images. A support member that supports the registration sensor 115 that detects the registered registration mark. The density sensor 114 and the resist sensor 115 have almost the same structure, have an LED light emitting element and a phototransistor light receiving element, and these light emitting element and the light receiving element are protected by conductive transparent glass as a light transmitting window. It has a structure.

11 represented by a dashed line represents Y, M,
The positions of scorotron chargers for C and K and for pre-transfer charging are shown.

The process unit 300 is connected to the image forming apparatus 1
00 and take the grid 12 down,
Even when the photosensitive member 10 is placed on the floor or the like, the photosensitive member 10 is protected by the grid 12 and is not damaged.

Next, the upper and lower doors 148 as the first door and the horizontal doors 154 as the second door are opened and closed, and the process unit 300 as the first part and the developing unit 13 as the second part are opened and closed. The removal will be described with reference to FIGS.

In this embodiment, the upper and lower doors 14
8 and the opening and closing of the horizontal opening / closing door 154 are related as follows.

First, in the opening operation, when both the upper and lower doors 148 and the horizontal door 154 are closed, the horizontal door 154 cannot be opened unless the upper and lower doors 148 are opened. Such a top and bottom door 1
The related mechanism between 48 and the horizontal door 154 prevents the horizontal door 154 alone from being opened carelessly.
If the developing device 13 is pulled out in a state where the belt photoconductor 10 and the developing sleeve 131 are close to each other, the developer on the developing sleeve 131 may rub the belt photoconductor 10 and damage the surface of the belt photoconductor 10. However, such related accidents are prevented by the related mechanism as described above.

When the doors are closed, the horizontal door 154 cannot be closed unless the horizontal door 154 is closed. By such a sequence of the closing operation, it is prohibited to take out and mount the developing unit 13 with the process unit 300 inserted, and the belt photoconductor 1
0 damage is prevented.

Even if the developing unit 13 is not mounted, if the opening and closing of the upper and lower doors 148 and the opening and closing of the horizontal door 154 are performed correctly, both doors can be set to the normal closed positions. Only the developing unit 13
In the state where the image forming apparatus is not mounted, a detection unit (not shown) that detects the mounting of the developing unit 13 prevents the image forming apparatus from malfunctioning such that the image forming apparatus operates in the state where the developing unit 13 is not mounted.

The opening / closing operation in which the upper / lower door 148 and the horizontal door are related will be specifically described below. FIG. 3 is a front view in which the process unit 300 is accommodated in the image forming apparatus 100, and FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, grooves 102A and 103A provided on side plates 101A and 101B of image forming apparatus 100, respectively.
Pin 1 of the process unit 300 is connected to 102B and 103B.
42A, 143A, 142B, and 143B are fitted to each other so that the process unit 300
And an image can be formed on the belt photoreceptor 10 as shown in FIG.

A paper output tray 20 is provided above the image forming apparatus 100.
At the same time, the upper and lower opening / closing lid 148, which is the first door for attaching and detaching the process unit 300, which is the first component, is provided with a support shaft 149A,
149B so that it can be opened and closed. The upper and lower lids 148 are provided on both sides of the sheet discharge tray 20 as shown in FIG.
48A and 148B are formed downward. On the side of the covering portion 148A, a horizontal unit as a second door is provided so that a developing unit 13 (Y, M, C, K) as a developing unit as a second component can be pulled out in the front direction of the image forming apparatus. An opening / closing lid 154 is provided, and a protruding portion 155 is formed so that a part of the horizontal opening / closing lid 154 is arranged inside the covering portion 148A. A first protrusion 157 is formed inside the protrusion 155, and a stopper 156 serving as an association providing means rotatably provided inside the support frame 1001 is pushed against the elastic member S, and the stopper 156 is provided. Since the distal end 1560 of 156 is located at a position retracted from the trajectory of the movement of the second protrusion 158 provided inside the upper / lower cover 148, the upper / lower cover 148 as shown in FIG.
Can be closed.

Further, one ends of the wires 151A and 151B are fixed inside the upper and lower cover 148. The other ends of the wires 151A, 151B are vertically movably provided on guides 1002, 1003 provided inside the support frame 1001, and the projections 145A, 14
5B is fixed to each of the process unit operating members 152A and 152B arranged so as to be at a lower position with respect to 5B.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a state in which the upper / lower cover 148 is opened, the process unit 300 is separated from the developing unit 13 (Y, M, C, K), and the horizontal cover 154 can be removed.

FIG. 6 is a partial sectional view showing a state where the upper and lower opening / closing lid 148 is opened and the horizontal opening / closing lid 154 is opened.

As shown in FIG. 5, the support shafts 149A, 149
By opening the upper / lower cover 148 in the direction of the arrow about B, the wires 151A and 151B
The process unit operating members 152A and 152B are lifted upward while being guided by 53A and 153B, and move upward. Next, the process unit operating member 152A,
As shown in FIG.
By hitting the projections 145A and 145B of the “00”, the process unit 300 is pulled up in accordance with the opening operation (in the direction of the arrow) of the upper and lower opening / closing lid 148.

This pulling operation causes the pins 142A, 143A, 142B, 143B of the process unit 300 to move.
Are grooves 102A, 103 provided in side plates 101A, 101B.
Move according to A, 102B, 103B. Groove 102
A, 103A, 102B, and 103B are the developing units 13 (Y,
M, C, and K), the belt photoconductor 10 of the process unit 300 is separated from the developing sleeve 131 of the developing device 13 as shown in FIG. As described above, the wires 151A,
At 51B, the process unit 300 is raised, and the pin 1
42A, 143A, 142B, 143B and the groove 102A,
By the action of 103A, 102B, 103B, the belt photoreceptor 10 is separated from the developing device 13, and the wires 151A,
151B and pins 142A, 143A, 142B, 14
3B and the grooves 102A, 103A, 102B, 103B constitute a separating means. It is also possible to move the developing device 13 by opening the upper / lower cover 148 to separate the belt photoconductor 10 from the developing device 13.

Also, as shown in FIG.
Is separated from the protrusion 155 of the horizontal opening / closing lid 154, so that the horizontal opening / closing lid 154 as the second door can be removed from the support frame 1001 of the image forming apparatus 100. Thus, the covering portion 148A is
A blocking means for preventing the horizontal opening / closing lid 154 from opening when the upper / lower opening / closing lid 148 is closed. Note that a horizontal opening / closing lid 154 for taking out the developing device 13 (Y, M, C, K) to the outside is provided in a part of the outer frame 1001. The horizontal opening / closing lid 154 as the second door is opened and closed by rotating the support frame 1001 of the image forming apparatus 100 around a shaft (not shown) at the right edge of FIG. 154 open and close in mutually perpendicular planes.

As described above, the developing unit 13 is taken out by moving the horizontal opening / closing cover 154 in a horizontal plane and opening it, and the developing unit 13 (Y, M, C, K) is replaced or maintenance is performed. be able to. The developing device 13 is an example of a second component that is attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body, that is, a second process unit, and includes a yellow developing device, a magenta developing device,
The cyan developing device and the black developing device are formed as one unit, and are attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body by opening the horizontal opening / closing lid 154. Each of the four developing devices is formed as a unit, and each of the developing devices 13 can be individually attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body. The second process unit is taken out from the main body of the image forming apparatus by pulling out the second process unit in a front direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIGS.

Note that the horizontal opening / closing lid 154 is attached to the image forming apparatus 10.
In a state where the stopper 156 is detached from the horizontal opening / closing lid 154, the stopper 156 is released by the first protrusion 157 of the horizontal opening / closing lid 154 by the elastic member S, and the tip 1560 of the stopper 156 moves to the position of the second projection 158 of the upper / lower opening / closing lid 148. ing. Therefore, if the upper / lower opening / closing lid 148 is closed in the direction indicated by the dotted arrow in FIG. 6 before the horizontal opening / closing lid 154 is attached to the support frame 1001, the second projection 158 cannot abut against the tip end 1560 and cannot be closed.

Again, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG.
(Y, M, C, K) in the image forming apparatus 100,
By attaching the horizontal opening / closing lid 154 to the support frame 1001 as shown in FIG.
6 is removed from the position of the second protrusion 158, so that the upper and lower opening / closing lid 148 can be closed at the correct position.

Since the wires 151A and 151B are loosened by the closing operation of the upper and lower cover 148, the process unit operating members 152A and 152B move downward. Therefore, the pushing force of the protrusions 145A and 145B of the process unit 300 is released, and the process unit 300 descends by its own weight, and the pins 142A and 1
43A, 142B, 143B are grooves 102A, 103A,
102B and 103B stop at the lowermost position, and the belt photoconductor 1
0 stops the movement of the developing device 13 (Y, M, C, K) at a predetermined position.

[0067]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when one of the plurality of doors is not closed at a proper position, the other door cannot be closed, so that the plurality of doors can be closed. Inconvenience such as operation of the image forming apparatus without one of them being closed is prevented, and a safe and reliable image forming apparatus is realized. Moreover, there is no need to provide an open / close detecting means for each of the plurality of open / close doors, and it is sufficient to provide the open / close detecting means only for one, so that the cost is reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a plurality of components in the image forming apparatus can be easily attached and detached.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the process unit having the image forming body can be easily attached and detached, and the door can be securely closed when the process unit is mounted.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the process unit having the developing means can be easily attached and detached, and the door can be securely closed when the process unit is mounted.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, even when two doors are opened and closed in a plane perpendicular to each other, it is possible to prevent an inconvenience such that the image forming apparatus operates without one of the doors being closed at a proper position. You.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, one of the two doors is prevented from being freely opened, and the inadvertent removal of components in the image forming apparatus is prevented.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, damage or the like due to contact at the time of attachment / detachment of components in the image forming apparatus is prevented.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of developing means can be easily attached and detached as a unit.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of document means can be easily attached and detached individually.

According to the tenth to twelfth aspects of the present invention, the image forming body and the developing means are prevented from coming into contact with each other when they are attached and detached.

According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, even in an image forming apparatus in which development is performed by a non-contact developing method in which the distance between the image forming body and the developing means is extremely small, when the image forming body or the developing means is attached or detached, the mutual contact therebetween. Is reliably prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a process unit and a process unit mounting portion when the process unit is mounted on an image forming apparatus main body in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a horizontal opening / closing door of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along a line A- in FIG. 3 of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1;
It is sectional drawing along A.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a state where upper and lower opening / closing lids of the portion shown in FIG. 3 are opened;

FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view of the upper and lower opening / closing lid and the horizontal opening / closing lid of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Drive roller 2, 3 Follower roller 4 Tension roller 10 Belt photoreceptor 11Y, 11M, 11C, 11K, 11E Scorotron charger 12Y, 12M, 12C, 12K, 12E Grid 13 Developing device 16b Transfer roller 100 Image forming device 104 Motor 112 , 144 Gear 114 Concentration sensor 115 Registration sensor 148 Upper / lower opening / closing lid 148A, 148B Covering part 151A 151B Wire 154 Horizontal opening / closing lid 156 Stopper 300 Process unit

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus having a first door that can be opened and closed and a second door that can be opened and closed, wherein when the second door is open, the first door is closed. And providing association means which moves in conjunction with opening and closing of the second door so that the second door is closed when the second door is closed. Characteristic image forming apparatus. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a first component detachable by opening said first door, and a second component detachable by opening said second door. 2. The image forming apparatus according to 1. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first component is a first process unit having an image forming body on which an electrostatic latent image and a toner image are formed. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the second component is a second process unit having a developing unit that develops an electrostatic latent image on the image forming body. 5. The door according to claim 1, wherein the first door and the second door open and close in a plane perpendicular to each other.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. 6. The first door is provided with blocking means for preventing the opening of the second door when the first door and the second door are closed. Claim 1
6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5. 7. The first door is opened by opening the first door.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a separating unit that separates the second component from the second component. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said second process unit has a plurality of developing units. 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the second process unit has a plurality of developing units, and each of the developing units is detachable. 10. A process unit having an image forming body on which an electrostatic latent image and a toner image are formed, a developing unit for developing the electrostatic latent image on the image forming body, and a unit for attaching and detaching the process unit. An image forming apparatus having a door that can be opened and closed, further comprising a separating unit that separates the image forming body and the developing unit in conjunction with opening of the door. 11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the separating unit moves the process unit to separate the image forming body from the developing unit. 12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the separating unit moves the developing unit to separate the image forming body from the developing unit. 13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the developing unit develops the electrostatic latent image by a non-contact developing method to form a toner image on the image forming body. Image forming apparatus.