JP2001117304A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a small image forming device that a radiant noise is minimized and it is correspondent to the high speed operation. SOLUTION: Relating to this image forming device provided with the image carrier carrying a latent image, a light source means forming the latent image by exposing the image carrier, developing means forming the visual image by developing the latent image, a power source means feeding the power source to the device, and a controlling means controlling the operation of the device, and an interphase part performing input/output of image information from the outside of the device and performing a prescribed process for the information, the interphase part is directly connected to the light source means, the power source means, and the controlling means.

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 such as a copying machine, a printer, a word processor, a facsimile machine, etc., which employs an electrophotographic system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an example of a conventional image forming apparatus, a laser beam printer employing an electrophotographic system will be described with reference to the drawings. In a conventional image forming apparatus, as in a laser beam printer 100 shown in FIG. 7, a feeding unit 102, a transfer unit 104, and a fixing unit 105 are arranged substantially horizontally, and accordingly, a recording material is also conveyed substantially horizontally in the apparatus. There is something to do.
In such a configuration, a light source unit 106 such as a process cartridge 103 or a laser scanner, which is an image forming unit, is disposed above the recording material conveyance path.

A laser beam printer 10 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, there is a printer in which a feeding unit 102 is disposed at the lower end of the apparatus, a process cartridge 103 is disposed at the center, and a fixing unit 104 is disposed substantially vertically at the upper end, and the recording material is transported substantially vertically. In such a configuration, the process cartridge 103 and the light source 106 are arranged on the side of the recording material conveyance path.

Referring to FIG. 7, a power supply means for supplying AC, DC and high-voltage power to the apparatus is provided below the apparatus main body.
An electrical unit 107 integrated with control means for controlling the operation of the entire apparatus is provided. The electrical unit 107 includes an interface unit 108 for processing and creating image data and a connector 107.
a, 108a. The interface unit 108 exchanges image information with a computer or a network outside the apparatus through a cable 109.

The image data processed and created by the interface unit 108 is sent to the light source means 106 connected by the cable 110 via the electrical unit 107, and the image carrier of the process cartridge 103 is modulated by the scanning light. Body 103a
To form a latent image. This latent image is developed by developing means 103b.
The developed image is transferred to the recording material by the transfer unit 104 and fixed by the fixing unit 105 to form an image.

[0006]

However, in the above-described conventional image forming apparatus, since the electrical unit 107 and the light source 106 are connected through a long path through the cable 110, there is a possibility that radiation noise may occur. There was a problem.

In addition, there is another problem that the rise time of the signal cannot be shortened in such a long signal path, and it becomes difficult to respond to a high-speed signal when the operation speed of the apparatus is increased. Further, there is a problem that the height of the entire apparatus is increased due to the arrangement in which the electrical unit 107 and the interface unit 108 overlap.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a small-sized image forming apparatus which has low radiation noise, can cope with high-speed operation, and has a small size.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a typical configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes an image carrier for carrying a latent image, and a latent image by exposing the image carrier. Light source means for forming an image, developing means for developing the latent image to form a visible image, power supply means for supplying power to the apparatus, control means for controlling operation of the apparatus, and image information from outside the apparatus. An image forming apparatus having an interface unit for inputting / outputting and performing predetermined processing on the information, wherein the interface unit is directly connected to the light source unit, the power supply unit, and the control unit.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of the image forming apparatus, FIG.
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a transmission path of a power supply and a control signal to a light source unit, and FIGS. 5 and 6 are cross-sectional views of an image forming apparatus according to another embodiment. In the present embodiment, a laser beam printer employing an electrophotographic method as an image forming apparatus will be described as an example.

(Overall Configuration) The image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a feed tray 1 below the front of the apparatus (right side in the figure), and stores recording materials P thereon. This recording material P is in the feed tray 1
The sheet is separated and fed one by one by a feeding roller 2 disposed at an end of the sheet, and is conveyed to a transfer unit by conveying rollers 3a and 3b.

The transfer section includes a process cartridge 5 as an image forming means, a transfer roller 9 as a transfer means, and a registration sensor 4 arranged upstream of the process cartridge 5. The image carrier 6 of the process cartridge 5 carries an electrostatic latent image, and is first uniformly charged by the charging means 8. A laser scanner 7 serving as a light source modulates a laser beam in accordance with image data processed and created by an interface unit described later, and scans light from an oscillator (not shown) onto the surface of the image carrier 6 via a polygon scanner 7a and a mirror 7b. Is irradiated. As a result, an electrostatic latent image is formed, and the toner is transferred to the electrostatic latent image by the developing unit 9 so as to be developed to form a visible image.

When the recording material is conveyed and arrives at the registration sensor 4, a control means, which will be described later, starts scanning of the laser light by synchronizing the position of the leading end of the recording material P with the light emission timing of the laser scanner 7, and starts scanning the recording material P. An image is drawn from a predetermined upper position. The image carrier 6 and the transfer roller 10
The recording material P that has reached the nip is transferred with a visible image on the image carrier 6, guided by a conveyance guide 11 constituting a recording material conveyance path, reaches the fixing device 12, and is subjected to heat and pressure. The image is fixed. The discharge tray 15 formed integrally with the outer cover 14 of the apparatus by the discharge roller pair 13
And the image formation is completed.

In the lower part of the apparatus, there are arranged an electrical unit 16 comprising an AC power supply, a DC power supply, a high voltage power supply and control means for controlling the entire apparatus, and a motor 17 as a drive source. An interface unit 18 (see FIG. 2) for exchanging image information with a computer or a network external to the device and processing and creating image data is provided on the side of the device, and is directly connected to the laser scanner 7 and the electrical unit 16. I have.

(Regarding Recording Material Conveying Angle) As shown in FIG. 1, a feeding means including a feeding tray 1 and a feeding roller 2, a transfer roller 10 as a transferring means, and a visible image on the recording material P are heated and fixed. The fixing device 12 is disposed obliquely upward substantially in a straight line with the fixing device 12 being the uppermost portion. Accordingly, the recording material transport path of the recording material P is substantially straight, and the sliding noise between the recording material P and the guide member during the transport of the recording material P can be reduced, and the recording material P can be transported stably. The reliability of material conveyance can be improved.

Further, since the fixing device 12 is disposed at the uppermost portion of the recording material conveyance path, even when the image forming operation is continuously performed, heat generated from the fixing device 12 is formed in the outer cover 14. From the louver portion (not shown). Further, since the process cartridge 5 and the laser scanner 7 are disposed below or beside the fixing device 12, it is possible to always obtain a good output image without being affected by heat generated from the fixing device 12. Further, by making the recording material conveyance path substantially parallel or coincident with the diagonal line of the entire apparatus, various mechanisms can be effectively arranged, and the apparatus can be downsized.

(Arrangement of Laser Scanner) As shown in FIG. 1, a laser scanner 7 is arranged in such a manner that a polygon scanner 7a is arranged on the image carrier 6 side, and a mirror 7b disposed at the tip is moved to the image carrier 6 by a laser. It is configured to scan light. Here, in order to make the size of the image forming apparatus as small as possible, it is most effective to make the laser beam incident from a direction substantially perpendicular to the recording material conveyance path from the feeding means to the fixing device 12. With such a configuration, the depth and height of the image forming apparatus can be reduced to minimum dimensions.

In the above configuration, since the laser scanner 7 is disposed above the process cartridge 5, the process cartridge 5 is detachable in a horizontal direction which is substantially parallel to the feed tray 1. Thus, the supply and discharge of the recording material P, the replacement of the laser scanner 7 and the jam clearance in the apparatus can all be performed from the same direction, and the operability by the user can be improved.

As shown in FIG. 5, a laser scanner 7 is provided.
May be configured such that the polygon scanner 7a is separated from the fixing device 12 and the image carrier 6 is scanned with laser light from the mirror 7b arranged on the fixing device side. In this case, the mounting and dismounting of the process cartridge 5 is performed from above the apparatus. However, since the laser scanner can be moved away from the fixing device 12, there is an advantage that the influence of the temperature rise due to the heat of the fixing device 12 can be reduced. have. As described above, by setting the incident angle of the laser beam substantially perpendicular to the recording material conveyance path, a large degree of freedom is provided for the arrangement of the laser scanner 7, so that operability can be improved and temperature rise can be easily avoided. It can be carried out.

(Arrangement of Electrical System) The electrical unit 16
It is composed of power supplies such as a power supply, a DC power supply, and a high-voltage power supply, and control means for controlling the entire apparatus. Electrical components
16 is disposed at the lower part of the recording material transport path which is disposed obliquely upward substantially in a straight line with the fixing device 12 as an uppermost part,
The configuration is such that the space area in the electrical unit 16 is increased from the feeding unit to the fixing unit 12. With such a configuration, a path of an airflow generated by heat generated from the electrical unit 16 is secured.

The heat generated from the fixing device 12 disposed above the electrical component 16 is discharged to the outside of the apparatus from a louver portion (not shown) provided on the exterior cover 14. At this time, by providing a space between the rear surface of the fixing device 12 and the exterior cover 14, it is possible to generate an air flow also at this portion due to waste heat of the fixing device 12. That is, a large space is provided below the fixing device 12, the electrical component section 16 is arranged, and a space is provided on the rear surface side of the fixing device 12, so that an air flow for waste heat is generated even without a cooling fan or the like. It is possible to eliminate the accumulation of heat inside the apparatus and prevent the temperature from rising. By adopting a configuration in which no fan is provided, production cost can be reduced, and noise generated from the fan is eliminated.
A quiet image forming apparatus can be provided.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the interface section 18 is arranged vertically along the side of the apparatus, and is directly connected to the laser scanner 7 and the electrical section 16. As shown in FIG. 3, the laser scanner 7 and the interface unit 18 connect the connectors 7c and 18a, and the interface unit 18 and the electrical unit.
16 is connected directly to the connectors 16a and 18b (see FIG. 3), or connected by harnesses 19a and 19b such as very short bundled wires and flat cables (see FIG. 2) to form a U-shape as a whole. ing.

With the above configuration, the interface unit 18 can process and create image data received from an external device as image data, and then transmit the processed image information to the light source means via a short signal path. Therefore, it is possible to respond to a high-speed signal in a short time, and it is possible to respond to an increase in the operation speed of the apparatus.

On the other hand, the laser scanner 7 is configured to receive power and control means from the electrical unit 16 via the interface unit 18. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a transmission path of the power supply and the control signal to the electrical unit 16 in this configuration. The power output from the electrical unit 16 is the interface unit
After being input to 18, it is divided into two systems, one of which is an external device 21
Is supplied to an image processing unit 20 for processing and creating the image information sent from the printer, and the other is output via an interface unit 18 and supplied to the laser scanner 7. With such a configuration, it is not necessary to connect the electrical unit 16 to the laser scanner 7 with an independent long cable as described in the conventional example, and radiation noise caused by a long signal path can be minimized. .

Further, since the interface section 18 and the electrical component section 16 do not overlap each other due to such a three-dimensional arrangement, the space in the apparatus is effectively used, and the apparatus can be downsized. The interface unit 18 and the electrical unit 16
Since they do not overlap with each other, they also have the effect that they do not receive adverse effects from waste heat from each other.

(Arrangement of Drive Source) Motor 17 as drive source
As shown in FIG. 1, is mounted directly on a conductive side wall which is a part of the frame of the image forming apparatus, and is disposed below the recording material transport path. By arranging below the recording material transport path, there is a space margin, so it is possible to increase the size of the motor or change from a stepping motor to a DC motor, etc., and it is easy to increase the operation speed of the apparatus. It is. This allows, for example, 10ppm to 20p
Speeding up to pm can also be easily achieved.

Further, since the motor 17 is directly mounted on the conductive frame of the image forming apparatus, the heat generated by the motor 17 can be easily released to the frame, and the motor efficiency can be improved. Along with
It is easy to take the ground, and it is possible to reduce the production cost comprehensively. Also, both the electrical unit 16 and the motor 17 are arranged below the recording material transport path, and the motor 17
By forcing airflow by providing blades on the drive shaft, it is also possible to more efficiently waste heat of the electrical component section 16.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, by changing the angles of the feed tray 1 and the discharge tray 15, the footprint can be reduced, and the discharged recording material P can be easily seen. It is possible to take. Even with such a configuration, the effects of the present invention are not lost.

[0029]

As described above, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is configured such that the power supply means and the light source means are directly connected to the interface section, respectively, so that image data can be transmitted without using a long cable or the like. Therefore, the generation of radiation noise can be reduced, and a high-speed signal can be responded, so that the speed of the device can be increased.

Further, by providing a three-dimensional arrangement in which the interface section and the power supply means do not overlap, it is possible to reduce the size of the apparatus and to have the effect of preventing each apparatus from being adversely affected by waste heat from each. ing.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an electrical unit of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a transmission path of a power supply and a control signal to the light source means.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus according to another embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of an image forming apparatus according to another embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a conventional image forming apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of a conventional image forming apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 P: recording material 1: feeding tray 2: feeding roller 3: conveying roller 4: registration sensor 5: process cartridge 6: image carrier 7: laser scanner 7a: polygon scanner 7b: mirror 7c: connector 9: developing means 10 … Transfer roller 11… Transport guide 12… Fixer 13… Discharge roller pair 14… Outer cover 15… Discharge tray 16… Electrical part 16a… Connector 17… Motor 18… Interface 18a… Connector 19… Harnesses 20… Image processing part 21… External device

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Rikuo Kawakami 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo F-term in Canon Inc. (reference) 2C362 BA04 DA41 DA45 2H071 DA03 DA31 DA34 EA04 EA08 5C062 AB22 AB38 AB49 AD06 BA00

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An image carrier for carrying a latent image, light source means for exposing the image carrier to form a latent image, developing means for developing the latent image to form a visible image, An image forming apparatus comprising: power supply means for supplying power; control means for controlling the operation of the apparatus; and an interface section for inputting and outputting image information from outside the apparatus and performing predetermined processing on the information. An image forming apparatus which is directly connected to the light source means, the power supply means and the control means. 2. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said light source means is connected to said power supply means and control means via said interface unit. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the power source of the light source unit is supplied from the power source unit via an interface unit. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the interface unit is disposed on a plane substantially orthogonal to the light source unit, the power unit, and the control unit. 5. An image forming apparatus in which said light source means is disposed on a side opposite to said power supply means and control means with said image carrier interposed therebetween, wherein said interface unit is disposed on a side of said image carrier. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the light source unit is connected to the power supply unit and the control unit via the interface unit.