JP2001066968A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the workability, concerning the replacement work of each process cartridge. SOLUTION: As for the image forming device with a front side plate 60 and a rear side plate for freely attachably/detachably holding a photoreceptor drum and plural process cartridges with processing means working for the photoreceptor drum 12, an opening part 61 for attaching/detaching each process cartridge 10(10Y, 10M, 10C and 10K) is formed in the front side plate 60, and also, an opening/closing cover 100 is arranged so that it may be independently opened/closed in accordance with each process cartridge 10, and then, one side part of each process cartridge 10 is held by the rear side plate, and the other side part of the process cartridge is held by each opening/closing cover 100(100Y, 100M, 100C and 100K) arranged on the front side plate 60.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a color printer,
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus capable of multicolor printing, such as a color copying machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus capable of multicolor printing such as a color copying machine and a color printer, the positions of a plurality of process cartridges having a photosensitive drum and the like are determined by front and rear side plates forming a housing of the apparatus body. It is decided.

[0003] Of these side plates, a drive portion for driving the process cartridge is provided on the rear side plate, and an opening for exchanging the process cartridge is provided on a part of the front side plate. I have. Due to the opening of the front side plate provided for replacing the process cartridge, the holding portion of one part of the process cartridge when the process cartridge is inserted is lost, but the holding portion different from this side plate is lost. It is configured to be able to be held by a plate (holding plate) or the like.

There is also a configuration in which the upper side of the apparatus main body is rotatably opened and closed by an alligator mechanism, and a process cartridge is dropped from the upper side of the apparatus so that the apparatus can be mounted on the main body side.

In the above image forming apparatus, the plurality of process cartridges are black (hereinafter abbreviated as K),
It is composed of yellow (hereinafter abbreviated as Y), magenta (hereinafter abbreviated as M), and cyan (hereinafter abbreviated as C).

[0006]

However, in the above-described conventional image forming apparatus, in order to replace a plurality of process cartridges, it is necessary to remove the holding plate, which is a holding plate, for replacement. Since the frequency of use when forming images is different, the life of replacement is naturally different, so after replacing one of the process cartridges, replace the process cartridge of a different color again, etc. The board will be removed. Since the pressing plate presses four process cartridges here, it has a large shape, and has a certain degree of rigidity in order to absorb the reaction force of the process cartridge operated by the drive mechanism. The holding plate itself becomes large, and handling is not good when replacing the process cartridge.
The work was also complicated.

Further, in order to form an image having a small displacement, it is required that these process cartridges are accurately held at regular intervals when they are mounted on the image forming apparatus main body. Of course, it is necessary to maintain the relationship even after replacing the process cartridge. However, if the holding plate becomes large as described above, it becomes difficult to guarantee the accuracy by the holding plate. Therefore, there is a problem that it is difficult to obtain a configuration for ensuring the performance and the mounting accuracy after replacing the process cartridge.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to improve the workability relating to the replacement of each process cartridge.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, a typical configuration of the present invention is a first configuration in which a plurality of process cartridges having a photoreceptor and process means acting on the photoreceptor are detachably held. In the image forming apparatus having the side plate and the second side plate, an opening for attaching and detaching each process cartridge is provided in the first side plate, and an opening / closing lid that can be independently opened / closed corresponding to each process cartridge. Wherein one portion of each process cartridge is held by the second side plate, and the other portion is held by each opening / closing lid provided on the first side plate.

According to the above configuration, each process cartridge can be easily attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus, and the workability required when each process cartridge is replaced is improved.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. The following embodiment exemplifies an electrophotographic image forming apparatus capable of forming a full-color image.

[First Embodiment] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 11,
The image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described in detail. First, a schematic configuration of a color image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing a schematic configuration of the full-color image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the present image forming apparatus
The process cartridges 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K for the respective colors are detachably attached to the corresponding image forming stations, and optical units 20Y, 20M,
20C, 20K, an intermediate transfer body unit 30, a transfer material transport unit 40, a fixing unit 50, and the like.

Each process cartridge 10Y, 10M, 10
C and 10K have the same structure, and each has a photosensitive drum 12, which is an electrophotographic photosensitive member, and a charging means for uniformly charging the surface of the photosensitive drum as a process means acting thereon.
13. Developing means for developing the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum
14. Cleaning means 15 for removing the developer and the like remaining on the photosensitive drum is integrally formed.

The intermediate transfer member unit 30 transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 12 to a transfer belt 31, which is an endless belt, three rollers 32, 33, and 34 for rotatably supporting the transfer belt 31. Primary transfer roller for transferring to transfer belt 31
35, and a secondary transfer roller 36 for further transferring the toner image transferred on the transfer belt 31 to the transfer material P.

The transfer material transport unit 40 includes a paper feed cassette
A pickup roller 43 for transporting the transfer material P from the paper feed tray 41 to the secondary transfer area, a paper feed roller 44, a transport roller 45, a registration roller 46, and the like are provided.

The fixing unit 50 includes a fixing roller 51 and a pressure roller 52, and performs fixing by applying heat and pressure to the toner image on the transfer material P.

In the above configuration, first, in the process cartridge 10K of the first color, for example, black, after the photosensitive drum 12 is uniformly charged by the charging means 13, the latent image is formed by the laser beam 22 emitted from the optical unit 20K. The latent image is formed and developed by the developing means 14 to form a toner image.

The toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 12 is primarily transferred onto the transfer belt 31 by the action of the primary transfer roller 35. The photoconductor drum 12 after the primary transfer is cleaned by the cleaning unit 15 and is used for the next image formation.

The same image forming process is also performed in the process cartridges 10Y, 10M, and 10C for Y, M, and C to form toner images of respective colors, which are sequentially transferred and superimposed on the previously formed toner images. .

On the other hand, the transfer material P is transported from the paper feed cassette 41 or the paper feed tray 42 to the secondary transfer area by the transfer material transport unit 40, and the toner formed on the transfer belt 31 by the action of the secondary transfer roller 36. The image is transferred to the transfer material P. The transfer material P on which the toner image has been transferred is fixed to the fixing unit 50.
The toner image is fixed at the nip between the fixing roller 51 and the pressure roller 52 of the fixing unit 50,
The paper is discharged onto a paper discharge tray 56 by 55.

Next, the configuration of mounting the process cartridges 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K, which is a feature of the present invention, will be described. Since each process cartridge has the same structure as described above, each process cartridge will be described as the process cartridge 10 in the following description.

FIG. 2 shows an opening for mounting and removing the process cartridge 10 provided on the front side plate 60 and the front side plate.
The positional relationship of the opening / closing lid 100 corresponding to each process cartridge 10 attached to 60 is shown.

First, an opening 61 is provided in the front side plate 60, which is the first side plate, so that the process cartridges 10 can be detachably arranged side by side. Further, when the process cartridge 10 is inserted into the apparatus main body, an insertion guide 65 for guiding and supporting the same is provided. The process cartridge 10 is mounted on and removed from the insertion guide 65. Since the insertion interval between the process cartridges 10 is ensured by the width required for the insertion guides 65, the size of the opening 61 formed in the front side plate 60 is substantially determined by the width of each of the insertion guides 65 and each process cartridge 10. Will be decided.

On the other hand, the front side plate 60 is
The opening / closing lid 100 attached to the cartridge has a surface larger than a surface area required for insertion of each process cartridge 10. Specifically, the size of the opening / closing cover 100 is substantially the same as the interval between the adjacent process cartridges 10 in the horizontal direction, and the size of the opening / closing cover 100 It is configured to be quite large. Open / close lid 100 for the vertical direction
In the horizontal direction, unnecessary opening portions are eliminated by bringing the opening / closing lids 100 adjacent to each other in the horizontal direction. FIG. 2B shows a state when the open / close lid 100 is closed, and there is almost no gap between the adjacent open / close lids 100 except for the operation mechanism of the open / close lid 100.
The opening portion 61 of the front side plate 60 is covered with the opening / closing lid 100.

This makes it possible to prevent laser light from leaking from the optical unit 20 that emits laser light.

FIG. 3 shows an opening / closing lid 100 attached to the color image forming apparatus.

First, the opening / closing lid 100 attached to the front side plate 60 will be described. Reference numeral 100 denotes an opening / closing lid, and four opening / closing lids 100Y, 100M, 100C, and 100K (FIG. 2) correspond to the process cartridges 10, 10Y, 10M, 10C, and 10K.
Reference). As means for attaching these four opening / closing lids 100 to the front side plate 60, first, a hinge bearing 11
0 is attached to the front side plate 60. The hinge bearing 110 is provided with two reference shafts 111 for positioning when the hinge bearing 110 is mounted on the front side plate 60. The reference shaft 111 is used as a mounting reference, and the front shaft 111 is fixed to the front side by screws (not shown). The hinge bearing 110 is screwed to the side plate 60.

The hinge bearing 110 is provided with a bearing portion 112 used when the opening / closing lid 100 is mounted, and a shaft hole 112a is formed inside the bearing portion 112 for the same purpose. After the hinge shaft hole 101 of the opening / closing lid 100 is disposed in the bearing portion 112 and the hinge shaft 120 is inserted into the shaft hole 112a, the hinge shaft 110 is opened and closed around the shaft hole 112a and the hinge shaft hole 101 as the center of rotation. Lid 100 is pivotally coupled.

On the other hand, an opening / closing claw 102 is formed on the opening / closing lid 100. The opening / closing claw 102 engages with a claw locking portion 132 (see FIG. 5) of an opening / closing knob 130 attached to the front side plate 60. The opening / closing knob 130 has a knob operating section 131 on the front side plate.
It is attached to the part of the knob hole 61a of 60.
When 100 rotates with the hinge shaft 120 as a rotation reference, and the opening / closing claw 102 jumps into the part of the other knob hole 61b provided on the front side plate 60, it locks with the claw locking portion 132 of the opening / closing knob 130,
The opening / closing lid 100 is mounted on the front side plate 60. That is, the opening / closing lid 100 is closed.

Next, referring to FIG. 4 and FIG.
Will be described in detail.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show that the opening / closing lid 100 has the opening / closing knob 130.
Indicates a state of being attached to the front side plate 60. In FIG. 4, a hinge bearing 110 is attached to a front side plate 60 with reference to a reference shaft 111, and a hinge shaft hole 101 of an opening / closing lid 100 arranged to engage with a bearing portion 112.
And the hinge shaft 120 is inserted into the through hole of the shaft hole 112a. With the hinge shaft 120, the opening / closing lid 100 and the hinge bearing 110 are coupled so as to be rotatable around the hinge shaft 120 as a rotation center.

The opening / closing lid 100 rotatably attached to the front side plate 60 has two stationary positions 100a and 100b with respect to the front side plate 60. First position 10
0a will be described. First position 100a of opening / closing lid 100
As shown in FIG. 4, when the opening / closing lid 100 is open,
The process cartridge 10 is detachable from the image forming apparatus main body. The abutment surface 103 is formed on the opening / closing lid 100, and the opening / closing lid 100 is held at a predetermined position at a position where the opening / closing lid 100 comes into contact with the stopper 113 of the hinge bearing 110. At the position 100a, the rotation angle is configured to open 90 degrees or more (90 degrees or more from the position 100b) with respect to the hinge axis 120. This is to prevent the opening / closing claw 102 projecting most from the inner surface of the opening / closing lid 100 from abutting when the process cartridge 10 is inserted.

Next, the second position 100b will be described.
As shown in FIG. 4, the second position 100 b of the opening / closing lid 100 is a position where the opening / closing lid 100 is rotated about the hinge shaft 120 and is locked at a position substantially parallel to the front side plate 60. It is the position where it was done. As described above, the locking method when the opening / closing lid 100 is closed is locked by the opening / closing knob 130, and the locking means by the opening / closing knob 130 will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 5 shows a state in which the open / close lid 100 is locked by the open / close knob 130, and is a view of FIG. 5A shows the opening / closing claw 102 of the opening / closing lid 100.
Represents the state before being locked by the opening / closing knob 130,
(B) shows a state where the opening / closing lid 100 is locked by the opening / closing knob 130.

First, in FIG. 5A, before the opening / closing claw 102 is inserted, the claw locking portion 132 of the opening / closing knob 130 comes into contact with a claw stopper 62 formed on the front side plate 60, and is shown in FIG. Since it is pulled in the direction of the arrow in the figure by a tension spring not shown, the opening / closing knob 130 is always waiting at a position as shown in FIG. Since a knob hole 61b (see FIG. 3) for inserting the opening / closing claw 102 is formed in the front side plate 60, when the opening / closing claw 102 enters the knob hole 61b, the tip of the opening / closing claw 102 The part pushes the claw locking part 132, the tip of the claw locking part 132 flexes from the root part of the claw locking part 132, and when the claw locking part 132 comes off from the claw stopper 62, the tension spring The opening / closing knob 130 moves in the direction of the arrow in FIG. By this operation, the locking portion 133 of the opening / closing knob 130 locks the opening / closing claw 102, and the opening / closing lid 100
Are locked to the front side plate 60.

To open the opening / closing lid 100 further, FIG.
(B) The knob operating section 131 indicated by the broken line in FIG. Since the knob operating portion 131 protrudes from the knob hole 61a of the front side plate 60 so as to be operable from the outside of the front side plate 60, the knob operating portion 131 is provided.
When 1 is actuated in the direction opposite to the spring biasing direction of the tension spring, the opening / closing knob 130 moves in an operation opposite to the operation when the opening / closing lid 100 is closed, and the opening / closing lid 100 moves from the front side plate 60 to the hinge shaft center. And the process cartridge 10 can be detached.

FIG. 6 shows a mechanism configured on the opening / closing lid 100 attached to the front side plate 60 and connected to the process cartridge 10. The mechanism configured on each of the opening / closing lids 100 using FIG. Will be described.

6, the opening / closing lid 100 has a cartridge holder 220 which is a spring mechanism for biasing the process cartridge 10 to the rear side plate which is the second side plate, and a photosensitive drum 12 portion of the process cartridge 10. The projection 200 serves as a rotation stop when the image forming apparatus is driven, the contact spring 230 serves as a charging contact when the photosensitive drum 12 is charged, and the process cartridge 10 is attached to and detached from the color image forming apparatus main body. A receiving guide 210 or the like that can guide the user with the information is provided.

These mechanisms are formed on the same surface of the opening / closing lid 100. Specifically, in FIG.
Reference numeral 200 denotes a projection that engages with the process cartridge 10;
Reference numeral 10 denotes a receiving guide 210 serving as a receiving surface on which the process cartridge 10 is mounted when the process cartridge 10 is attached to or detached from the apparatus main body.
11 are formed. Reference numeral 220 denotes a cartridge holder that is biased toward the rear side plate, and reference numeral 230 denotes a contact spring that charges the photosensitive drum 12. The protrusion 200 is formed integrally with the opening / closing lid 100, and the receiving guide 210 and the contact spring 230 are positioned by positioning shafts 105 and 106 formed on the opening / closing lid 100, respectively, and are screwed with screws.
The structure of the cartridge holder 220 which is a spring mechanism for biasing the process cartridge 10 toward the rear side plate is shown in FIG.
This will be described later in detail with reference to the cross-sectional view of FIG.

First, the projection 200 formed on the opening / closing lid 100 as a part of the opening / closing lid 100 indicates that the process cartridge 10 itself tends to rotate when the photosensitive drum 12 of the process cartridge 10 is operated. It is formed in a position to prevent it. FIGS. 7 and 8 are views showing where the process cartridge 10 is held as a fulcrum when the process cartridge 10 is mounted on the apparatus main body. FIG. 7 shows a driving unit required to rotate the photosensitive drum 12 in FIG. A point a on the side 16 and a point b on the non-driving side 17 are held on a straight line, and the rotation is stopped on the same side of the photosensitive drum 12 on which the driving section 16 is formed. 18 point c
Are formed.

When the opening / closing cover 100 is closed, the process cartridge 10 is held on the apparatus main body by the surface composed of the points a, b and c constituted by these three receiving surfaces 16, 17 and 18. However, in this state, as described above, the rotation and twist of the process cartridge 10 itself cannot be prevented when the photosensitive drum 12 or the like is operated.
A receiving surface 19 is provided on the same surface where the non-driving side 17 of the process cartridge 10 is formed and substantially in line with the non-driving side 17, and this receiving surface 19 engages with the projection 200 when the opening / closing lid 100 is closed. By arranging the process cartridges 10 (see FIG. 8), image displacement due to rotation or twist of the process cartridge 10 is prevented. Since the projection 200 and the receiving surface 19 of the process cartridge 10 are designed to eliminate a large stress due to rotation or twisting, the process cartridge 10 is normally held in the receiving surface 1 including the points a, b, and c.
Priority is given to the configuration constituted by 6, 17, and 18, and especially when the process cartridge 10 is not operating or is not subjected to a stress such as a large torsion, the engagement is not required.

Next, the receiving guide 210 and the key groove 211 will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, FIG. 9 shows a state in which the open / close lid 100 is opened and the process cartridge 10 is incorporated in the apparatus main body. As described above, the opening / closing lid 100 is held at a predetermined position by coming into contact with the stopper 113 of the hinge bearing 110 attached to the front side plate 60.

On the other hand, the receiving guide 210 is fixed on the opening / closing lid 100 by means such as screws, and at the position 100a of the opening / closing lid 100 rotated about the hinge shaft 120, the receiving surface 212 of the receiving guide 210 is The process cartridge 10 is mounted so as to be substantially parallel to the direction of insertion into the apparatus main body. Note that, as described above, the opening / closing lid 100 is
Is rotated 90 degrees or more (90 degrees or more from the position 100b) with reference to. At this position 100a, other components such as the contact spring 230 formed on the opening / closing lid 100 do not come into contact with the process cartridge 10. The key groove 211 is formed as a surface lower than the receiving surface 212 of the receiving guide 210, and a key 10a formed on the lower surface of the process cartridge 10 (see FIGS. 7 and 8).
Are guided when the process cartridge 10 is inserted.

Next, a state when the opening / closing lid 100 is closed will be described with reference to FIG.

First, the opening / closing lid 100 rotates clockwise about the hinge shaft 120 as a rotation center. At a position substantially parallel to the front surface of the process cartridge 10 inserted on the apparatus body,
The opening / closing lid 100 is moved to this position (the position in FIG.
100b). In addition, the rotation angle of the opening / closing lid 100 is more than 90 degrees as described above, so that the guide 210 and the projections formed on the opening / closing lid 100 are rotated.
200 and the like are arranged closer to the process cartridge 10. However, it is the cartridge retainer 220 that urges the process cartridge 10 toward the drive unit, and the front surface 10 of the hatched portion of the process cartridge 10 is
The projection 200 and the guide 210 do not abut on the front surface 10b of the hatched portion due to the cartridge holder 220 abutting on the drive unit side in contact with the b.

Next, the contact spring 230 will be described. The contact spring 230 is fixed to the opening / closing lid 100 by means of a positioning shaft 106 (see FIG. 6) and screws. The contact spring 230 is connected to an electric contact portion outside the opening / closing lid 100 by an electric connection means such as a lead wire (not shown). Since this contact spring 230 operates as a spring contact,
The electric contact part with the lead wire or the like is used as a fixed part to perform advance / retreat by spring operation. When the open / close lid 100 is open, the contact spring 230
The contact portion 231 is located at the position of the initial state of the spring, and contacts the front surface 10b of the hatched portion of the process cartridge 10 when the open / close lid 100 is closed.

The contact position is set to the process cartridge 10
The contact spring 230 is retracted so that the contact spring 230 is retracted.
Electrical connection is performed with a load applied to the 0 electrical contact portion.

Next, referring to FIG.
0 will be described.

FIG. 9 is a view for explaining the mechanism of the cartridge holder 220. In the drawing, reference numeral 221 denotes a cartridge press which comes into contact with the process cartridge 10, and is connected to a press shaft 222 which receives the cartridge press 221 by means such as screws. The abutment surface of the cartridge retainer 221 with the process cartridge 10 includes the operation of the opening / closing lid 100 that rotates and the operation of the cartridge retainer 2 that moves straight.
It is formed in an R shape (a sphere R is also possible) in order to absorb the operation deviation of 21.

The pressing shaft 222 is configured to receive the compression spring 223 on the surface opposite to the surface where the pressing shaft 222 is connected to the cartridge pressing 221. Further, a holder 224 for holding these parts and connecting them on the opening / closing lid 100 is incorporated, and when the cartridge holder 221 is not subjected to an external force, it is urged to the right side in the figure by the compression spring 223, so that the holder Retainer 222 of holding shaft 222 on the inner surface of 224
a is in contact.

When the cartridge holder 221 receives an external force, that is, when the opening / closing lid 100 is closed, as described with reference to FIG.
As a result, the compression spring 223 is compressed, and the cartridge retainer 221 urges the process cartridge 10 toward the drive unit due to the spring force.

A U-shaped groove 104 formed on the opening / closing lid 100 in FIG. 6 is a U-shaped groove for receiving the rotation axis of the photosensitive drum 12 of the process cartridge 10.

The U-shaped groove 104 engages with the non-driving side 17 (see FIGS. 7 and 8) corresponding to the rotating shaft of the photosensitive drum 12. When the opening / closing lid 100 reaches the closed position (position 100b in FIG. 4) by rotating about the hinge shaft 120, it is fitted to the point b on the non-driving side (receiving surface) 17 of the process cartridge 10 and Is determined on the non-driving side. The opening / closing lid 100 has a claw locking portion for locking the hinge shaft 120 when opening and closing.
By the 132, the holding is performed at substantially the same position in both the vertical and horizontal directions, so that the holding can be performed with high accuracy.

As described above, the opening / closing lid 100 is rotated by 90 degrees or more so as to be opened, and the process cartridge 10 is mounted on and removed from the receiving guide 210, so that the contact spring 230 and the cartridge holder 220 formed on the opening / closing lid 100 are provided. The projections 200 can be smoothly operated without contacting the process cartridge 10.

As described above, in the present embodiment, each process cartridge 10 is provided outside the opening 61 of the front side plate 60 provided for attaching and detaching the process cartridge 10 when the process cartridge 10 is mounted. An opening / closing lid 100 that can be independently opened / closed correspondingly is formed.

When the process cartridge 10 is attached to the apparatus main body, the opening / closing lid 100 can hold the process cartridge itself and can be biased to a rear side plate having a drive system. Further, when the process cartridge is removed from the apparatus main body, the process cartridge is rotated and retracted to the outside of the locus relating to removal, and
The receiving guide 210 provided on the opening / closing lid 100 is configured to receive the guide and its own weight when the process cartridge 10 is pulled out.

Therefore, with this configuration, the process cartridge 10 can be easily attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body, and the workability required when replacing each process cartridge 10 is improved.

[Other Embodiments] In the above-described embodiment,
As a process cartridge detachably mountable to the image forming apparatus, a process cartridge having a photosensitive drum and a charging unit, a developing unit, and a cleaning unit as process units acting on the photosensitive drum is exemplified. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a process cartridge having any one of the above-mentioned process means may be used.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the process cartridge including the photosensitive drum and the like is detachable from the image forming apparatus is exemplified. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The component may be a device having a detachable configuration.

In the above-described embodiment, a printer is exemplified as an image forming apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be another image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a facsimile machine. The same effects can be obtained by applying the present invention to the image forming apparatus.

[0063]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The open / close lid attached to the opening of the front side plate provided for attaching and detaching the process cartridge to / from the apparatus main body is provided independently for each process cartridge, making it possible to replace each process cartridge. , Replacement work is simplified.

Further, for each independent opening / closing lid, there is provided an electrical contact with the process cartridge, an urging means for urging the process cartridge to the second side plate having a driving portion of the process cartridge, and a driving means for driving the process cartridge. By providing an engagement portion or the like that absorbs the twist or the like of the process cartridge when it is performed, the process cartridge can be accurately held at a predetermined position.

Further, by providing a receiving guide having a key groove for engaging a key provided on the process cartridge on the opening / closing lid, the receiving guide and the receiving guide can be removed when the process cartridge is attached to or detached from the image forming apparatus main body. The key groove makes it possible to simplify the operation for attachment and detachment.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between an opening of a front side plate, an opening / closing lid, and a process cartridge.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a relationship between an opening / closing lid and a hinge bearing.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an open / close state of an open / close lid;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a relationship between an opening / closing lid and an opening / closing knob.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a mechanism provided on an opening / closing lid.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a support point of the process cartridge and a state of preventing rotation and twist when driven.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a support point of the process cartridge and a state of preventing rotation and twist when driven.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a relationship between a process cartridge and a mechanism provided on an opening / closing lid.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a relationship between a process cartridge and a mechanism provided on an opening / closing lid.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view of a cartridge holder.

[Explanation of symbols]

 a, b, c ... point P ... transfer material 10, 10Y, 10M, 10C, 10K ... process cartridge 10a ... key 10b ... front surface of hatched portion 12 ... photosensitive drum 13 ... charging means 14 ... developing means 15 ... cleaning means 16 ... Drive unit side 17 Non-drive side 18 Rotation stop 19 Receiving surface 20, 20Y, 20M, 20C, 20K Optical unit 22 Laser beam 30 Intermediate transfer unit 31 Transfer belt 32, 33, 34 Roller 35 … Primary transfer roller 36… Secondary transfer roller 40… Transfer material transport unit 41… Paper cassette 42… Paper tray 45… Transport roller 50… Fixing unit 51… Fixing roller 52… Pressurizing roller 55… Discharge roller 56… Paper ejection tray 60 Side plate 61 Opening 61a, 61b Knob hole 62 Claw stopper 65 Insertion guide 100, 100Y, 100M, 100C, 100K Open / close lid 100a, 100b Position 101 Hinge shaft hole 102 Open / close nail 103… butting surface 104 U-groove 105, 106… Shaft 110… Hinge bearing 111… Reference shaft 112… Bearing part 113… Stopper part 120… Hinge shaft 130… Opening / closing knob 131… Knob operating part 132… Claw locking part 133… Lock part 200… Protrusion 210 … Receiving guide 211… Key groove 212… Receiving surface 220… Cartridge holding 221… Cartridge holding 222… Holding shaft 222a… Retaining stop 223… Compression spring 224… Holder 230… Contact spring 231… Contact part

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus comprising: a first side plate and a second side plate for detachably holding a plurality of process cartridges each having a photosensitive member and a process means acting on the photosensitive member; An opening for attaching and detaching each process cartridge is provided, and an opening / closing lid that can be opened and closed independently for each process cartridge is provided, and one part of each process cartridge is held by the second side plate. An image forming apparatus, wherein the other part is held by respective opening / closing lids provided on the first side plate. 2. A drive unit for driving the process cartridge is provided on the second side plate, and a biasing means such as a spring for biasing the process cartridge is provided on the open / close lid. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the urging unit presses the process cartridge toward a driving unit of the second side plate when closed. 3. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing lid has an electrical contact with the process cartridge.
An image forming apparatus according to claim 1. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing lid has an engaging portion that engages with the process cartridge, and regulates the process cartridge from rotating when the process cartridge is driven. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1. 5. The open / close lid is rotatably held by a hinge formed on the first side plate, and holds a closed position for holding the process cartridge and an open position rotated by 90 degrees or more from the closed position. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is configured to be held. 6. An opening provided in the first side plate,
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the opening is larger than an outer diameter of the process cartridge. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing lid is configured to substantially cover an opening provided in the first side plate. 8. The opening / closing lid, when the opening / closing lid is opened,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a receiving guide capable of mounting and guiding a process cartridge to be detached. 9. A receiving guide of the opening / closing lid has a receiving surface protruding from a surface of the opening / closing lid, on which a process cartridge to be attached / detached can be mounted, and a key groove engaged with a key provided on the process cartridge. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising: 10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a receiving guide of the opening / closing lid is detachably attached to the opening / closing lid. 11. The process cartridge, wherein: the photosensitive member; and charging means for uniformly charging the photosensitive member as a process means acting on the photosensitive member, and develops a latent image formed on the photosensitive member. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of a developing unit and a cleaning unit for removing a developer remaining on the photoconductor is integrally provided and detachable from an apparatus main body. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10.