JP2001171163A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device having an image producing unit storing a photosensitive member, a light source means and a driving circuit therefor, and a light irradiation means, mounted detachably, with a good recycling property. SOLUTION: An image forming device 200 has an image producing unit 205 mounted and inserted detachably such that a connector 231 of the image producing unit 205 is connected automatically with a connector 241 of the image forming device 200 according to the insertion of the image producing unit 205. The image producing unit 205 comprises a photosensitive drum 213, a charge roller 214, a polygon mirror 217, a motor roller 217, a scanning lens 215, and a printed board 222, supported between easily separatable main body upper case 210 and main body lower case 211, with a semiconductor laser and a lens holder attached on the printed board 222. A toner case 212 storing a toner 224 is mounted on the lower surface of the main body lower case 211 as well as a developing roller 223 is mounted in the state supported between the toner case 212 and the main body lower case 211 so as to improve the recycling property.

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 unit in which a photoreceptor, a light source means and a driving circuit therefor, and a light irradiating means are integrally mounted on a main body case in a detachable manner. And an image forming apparatus having good recyclability.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, a toner cartridge is detachably mounted on an image forming apparatus in order to facilitate replacement of a consumable toner. And make it easy to replace.

However, recently, a process cartridge in which a developing unit and a photoconductor unit are integrated has been used due to a demand for downsizing of the apparatus.

The developing unit of the process cartridge includes a developing roller, a supply roller, a developing blade, a toner tank, and the like, and the photosensitive unit includes a photosensitive member, a charging member, a cleaning member, and a waste toner case.

The developing unit supplies toner stored in the toner tank to the developing roller by a replenishing roller, regulates the amount of toner adhered on the surface of the developing roller to a constant amount by a developing blade, and rubs the toner. Charge.

In the photoreceptor unit, a charging member is in contact with the surface of the photoreceptor which is driven to rotate, and a voltage having the same polarity as the charging polarity of the toner is applied by the charging member to uniformly make the surface of the photoreceptor uniform. Charge. The charged photoreceptor is exposed by irradiating the surface with laser light modulated by an image from an exposure unit to form an electrostatic latent image, and a developing unit is provided on the surface of the photoreceptor on which the electrostatic latent image is formed. The charged toner on the developing roller is electrically transferred to form a toner image on the photoconductor.

The toner image transferred on the photoreceptor is applied to a transfer member which comes into contact with the surface of the photoreceptor via the recording paper, by applying a voltage having a polarity opposite to the charging polarity of the toner, and the toner is transferred onto the recording paper. Is done.

The untransferred toner remaining on the photoreceptor without being transferred onto the recording paper is scraped off from the surface of the photoreceptor by a cleaning member, and stored in a waste toner case as waste toner.

The photoreceptor from which the untransferred toner has been removed is charged again by the charging member, and is again used for image formation.

[0010] Conventionally, when the toner as the developer runs out, the all-in-one cartridge is replaced.

In recent years, recycling has been called for, and used all-in-one cartridges have been cleaned and reused by cleaning components and containers constituting the all-in-one cartridge without discarding the cartridges as they are. ing.

However, in the image forming apparatus, the toner scattered from the photosensitive member and the developing unit adheres and accumulates on a scanning lens, a polygon mirror, and the like constituting the writing optical unit as the number of recording sheets increases, and the transmittance of the light beam is increased. And the reflectance decreases, and the image quality deteriorates due to image omission over time.

The deterioration of the image quality due to the adhesion of the scattered toner in the optical system has conventionally been dealt with by providing a dustproof means in the optical system or by periodically cleaning the optical system.

Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus,
For example, as described in Japanese Patent No. 2778717, it is difficult to clean the optical system because the optical component is mounted on the motor substrate.

[0015] Also, conventionally, in Japanese Patent No. 2832056, a first substrate provided with a light source for emitting a light beam modulated in accordance with an image signal, and a rotating mirror for deflecting the light beam emitted from the light source An image forming apparatus comprising: a second substrate having a motor for rotating the motor and a motor driving circuit; and a third substrate having a control circuit for controlling an apparatus main body for forming an image on a recording material. The substrate is a flexible substrate, and the first substrate is mounted on the flexible substrate, and the second substrate is connected to the flexible substrate. The first, second, and third substrates There has been proposed an image forming apparatus in which is fixed at a predetermined position of a scanning unit having the light source and the rotating mirror.

That is, in this image forming apparatus, the drive control circuit is integrated with the scanning unit to eliminate the electric wiring.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 5-289423 discloses a laser light source, a deflecting means for deflecting a laser beam emitted from the laser light source, and electric components for controlling the laser light source and the deflecting means. Control means comprising: a scanning optical device in which the laser light source, the deflecting means, and the control means are housed in an optical housing; and a cover for shielding the optical housing. A scanning optical device having a cylindrical through hole provided so as to surround an electric component has been proposed.

That is, in this scanning optical device, the laser light source, the deflecting means and the control means are housed in the optical housing.

[0019]

However, such a conventional image forming apparatus needs to be improved in order to improve the reusability of the image forming apparatus.

That is, in the image forming apparatus described in Japanese Patent No. 2832056, the drive control circuit is integrated into the unit to merely eliminate the electrical wiring. The optical system is difficult to clean, and it is difficult to clean the optical system.To recycle the optical system, it is necessary to perform complicated dismantling work. Not only is it bad, it also requires specialized knowledge and has poor recyclability (reusability).

In the scanning optical apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-289423, a laser light source, a deflecting means and a control means are housed in an optical housing. Degradation is not supported, it is difficult to clean the optical system, and to recycle the optical system, it is necessary to perform complicated dismantling work, which is troublesome and poor workability In addition, there is a problem that specialized knowledge is required and recyclability is poor.

Therefore, the first aspect of the present invention provides at least a charging means for uniformly charging a photosensitive member, a light source means for driving a driving circuit to emit a light beam modulated in accordance with image data, A substrate on which the drive circuit is mounted, and a light irradiating unit for forming an electrostatic latent image by scanning and forming a light beam emitted from the light source unit on a uniformly charged photoconductor, By detachably mounting the image forming unit housed in the case, it is easy for the user of the image forming apparatus to replace the image forming unit including the writing optical system. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of improving the recovery rate of the toner and improving the recyclability.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the image forming unit comprises:
By forming the toner case for storing the toner integrally with the unit case, it is possible to replace the image forming unit at the same time as the toner runs out, so that the contamination of the writing optical system does not progress. The present invention provides an image forming apparatus capable of easily replacing an image forming unit, facilitating a cleaning operation at the time of reproducing the image forming unit, further improving recyclability, and reducing recycling costs. It is intended to be.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the image forming unit includes:
The image forming apparatus further includes an electric connection unit connected to the substrate, the image forming apparatus includes an electric connection unit detachably connected to the electric connection unit of the image forming unit, and the electric connection unit of the image forming unit. When the image forming unit is inserted into the image forming apparatus in a predetermined direction and mounted, the electrical connection means of the image forming apparatus and the image forming apparatus are automatically connected to each other in accordance with the mounting operation of the image forming unit. This makes it easy and easy to replace the imaging unit,
Provide an environment-friendly image forming apparatus by easily replacing an image forming unit in response to high-quality images, preventing the image forming apparatus itself from being destroyed even when image specifications become obsolete. It is intended to be.

[0025]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus comprising: a charging unit for uniformly charging a photosensitive member;
A light source driven by a driving circuit to emit a light beam modulated in accordance with image data; and scanning and imaging the light beam emitted from the light source on the uniformly charged photoconductor. Light irradiating means for forming an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member, developing means for supplying toner to the photosensitive member on which the electrostatic latent image is formed to form a toner image, and And a transfer unit for transferring the toner image on the photoconductor to the recording paper that has been received, wherein at least the photoconductor, the light irradiation unit, the light source unit, and the drive circuit are mounted. As an image forming unit in which a substrate is stored in a predetermined unit case,
The above-described object is achieved by detachably mounting the image forming apparatus on a main body case of the image forming apparatus.

According to the above arrangement, at least charging means for uniformly charging the photosensitive member, light source means for driving the driving circuit to emit a light beam modulated in accordance with image data, and the driving circuit The substrate to be mounted and the light beam emitted from the light source means are scanned on a uniformly charged photoconductor.
The light irradiating means for forming an electrostatic latent image by forming an image is detachably mounted as an image forming unit housed in a predetermined unit case. Can be easily replaced, the collection rate of the image forming unit from the market can be improved, and the recyclability can be improved.

In this case, for example, in the image forming unit, a toner case for storing the toner to be supplied to the photosensitive member may be formed integrally with the unit case. .

According to the above construction, in the invention according to the second aspect, since the toner case for storing the toner is formed integrally with the unit case, the image forming unit is formed at the same time when the toner runs out. The image unit can be replaced so that the image forming unit can be replaced before the writing optical system becomes dirty.
Since the cleaning operation at the time of reproducing the image forming unit is easy, the recyclability can be further improved, and the cost of recycling can be reduced.

Further, for example, as set forth in claim 3, the image forming unit includes electric connection means connected to the substrate, and the image forming apparatus is provided with the electric connection means of the image forming unit. An electric connection unit that is detachably connected to the image forming apparatus, wherein the image forming unit is inserted and mounted in the image forming apparatus in a predetermined direction, and an electric connection unit of the image forming unit and an electric connection unit of the image forming apparatus are provided. May be arranged in a state where they are automatically connected to each other in accordance with the mounting operation of the image forming unit.

According to the above construction, the image forming unit includes the electric connection means connected to the substrate, and the image forming apparatus is connected to the electric connection means detachably connected to the electric connection means of the image forming unit. Means for attaching the image forming unit to the image forming apparatus by inserting the image forming unit into the image forming apparatus in a predetermined direction. Are automatically connected to each other, making it easy and easy to replace the image forming unit. The unit can be easily replaced, and even when the image specifications become obsolete, the image forming apparatus itself can be prevented from being destroyed, and appropriate measures for the environment can be made.

[0031]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the embodiments described below are preferred embodiments of the present invention, and therefore, various technically preferable limitations are added. However, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the following description. The embodiments are not limited to these embodiments unless otherwise specified.

FIGS. 1 to 6 are views showing a first embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an image to which the first embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention is applied. FIG. 1 is a schematic front sectional view of a main part of a forming system 100.

Referring to FIG. 1, an image forming system 100
Are the image forming apparatus 200, the computer unit 300, the HD
The image forming apparatus 200 includes a D unit 400, a CD unit 500, a scanner unit 600, and the like.
00, HDD unit 400, CD unit 500 and scanner unit 6
00 are sequentially stacked.

The image forming apparatus 200 includes a transfer unit 201, a fixing unit 202, a sheet feeding unit 204 (not shown) for conveying the recording paper 203 one by one to the transfer unit 201, and an image forming unit 205.
The image forming unit 205 includes a transfer unit 201.
And is detachably mounted on the paper feeding unit 203. The image forming unit 205 is attached to the image forming apparatus 200 by being inserted in a direction indicated by a double arrow in FIG.
Removed as shown.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the image forming unit 205 includes a main body upper case 210 constituting a unit case.
And the main body lower case 211 are detachably connected, and a toner case 212 is detachably attached to the lower surface of the main body lower case 211. A photoconductor drum (photoconductor) 213, a charging roller (charging means) 214, a scanning lens 215, a polygon mirror 216, a motor rotor 217, and a motor unit 21 are provided in the main body upper case 210 and the main body lower case 211.
8, an LD driving section (drive circuit) 219, a semiconductor laser (light source means) 220, a lens holder 221 and a printed circuit board 222 are housed, and a developing roller (developing means) 223 and toner 224 are housed in a toner case 212. Have been.

The photosensitive drum 213, the charging roller 214, and the developing roller 223 have respective shafts 213a,
Gears (not shown) are attached to the ends of 214 a and 223 a, and are used for a transport driving unit that transports the recording paper 203 such as the paper feeding unit 204 of the image forming apparatus 200 when mounted on the image forming apparatus 200. The image forming apparatus 20 meshes with the gear.
It is rotationally driven by the 0 transport drive unit.

As shown in FIG. 3, the photosensitive drum 213 has a shaft 213a formed on a main body upper case 210 and a main body lower case 211 in bearings 210a and 2b.
11a, is rotatably supported by the charging roller 2a.
The shaft 14a is rotatably supported by inserting the shaft 214a into a bearing portion 210b and a bearing portion 211b formed in the upper body case 210 and the lower body case 211. Also,
The developing roller 223 has a shaft 223 a formed on the lower body case 211 and the toner case 212.
11c and the bearing part 212a, and are rotatably supported.

The polygon mirror 216 is a motor rotor 2
17, the motor rotor 217 has its shaft 217a inserted through a through hole 222a formed in the printed circuit board 222 and inserted into a bearing portion 210c formed in the main body upper case 210 to be rotatably supported. And the bearing portion 21 formed in the lower case 211 of the main body.
1d is rotatably inserted and supported. As shown in FIG. 4, a drive coil 225 is mounted around the bearing 210c of the printed circuit board 222, and a polygon drive circuit 254 (see FIG. 6) mounted on the printed circuit board 222 is used to drive the drive coil 225. To the polygon mirror 2 by driving the motor rotor 217 to rotate.
16 is driven to rotate. Therefore, the driving coil 22
5. The bearing portion 210c, the motor rotor 217, and the shaft 217a constitute a motor portion 218, and rotate at a predetermined rotation speed by a drive current from the polygon drive circuit 254 to rotate the polygon mirror 216.

As shown in FIG. 4, the scanning lens 215 has a positioning recess 21 formed in the scanning lens 215.
The positioning pin 210d formed on the main body upper case 210 and the positioning pin 211e formed on the main body lower case 211 are inserted into 5a to perform positioning and support. A through hole 222b through which the positioning pin 210d penetrates is formed.

As shown in FIG. 5, a semiconductor laser 220 is provided on the printed circuit board 222. The semiconductor laser 220 is covered by a lens holder 221 in which a coupling lens 226 is integrally formed. A mirror 227 is provided on the lower body case 211 at a position facing the coupling lens 226.

The semiconductor laser 220 is mounted on the printed circuit board 22.
The laser light driven and modulated by the image data by the second LD driving unit 219 is emitted, and the laser light emitted from the semiconductor laser 220 is made approximately parallel light speed by the coupling lens 226, and then printed by the mirror 227. The light is deflected in a direction substantially parallel to 222 and enters the polygon mirror 216. The polygon mirror 216 is rotationally driven as described above, scans the incident laser light while deflecting the laser light, and the scanning lens 215 converts the laser light scanned by the polygon mirror 216 into a minute spot on the photosensitive drum 213. An image is formed to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 213. The coupling lens 226, mirror 227, polygon mirror 216, and scanning lens 215 function as irradiation means as a whole.

The main body upper case 210 and the main body lower case 2
Reference numeral 11 denotes four pins 2 formed on the upper case 210 of the main body.
10e formed on the lower case 211 of the main body and
The printed circuit board 222 is provided with a through hole 222c through which only the pin 210e penetrates, by being inserted into a pin hole formed in 11f so as to be detachable.
The pin 210e passes through the through hole 222c and
11f is inserted into the pin hole of the main body case 21.
0 and the lower case 211 are supported.

In the toner case 212, the projecting end 212b opposite to the photosensitive drum 213 is
The main body lower case 211 is detachably attached to the lower surface of the main body lower case 211 by being engaged with an engaging portion 211g formed on the lower surface of the main body 1 and fixed with a fixing screw (not shown).

Photosensitive drum 21 in main body upper case 210
3, a waste toner storage unit 230 is provided. The waste toner storage unit 230 remains on the photosensitive drum 213 without being transferred to the recording paper 203 by the transfer unit 201, and is exposed by a blade (not shown). The waste toner scraped from the body drum 213 is stored.

The printed circuit board 222 shown in FIGS.
As shown in the figure, the upper surface (the surface on the main body upper case 210 side)
Is provided with a connector (electric connection means) 231.
As shown in FIG. 1, the connector 231 is attached with its terminal portion facing the direction of inserting the image forming unit 205 into the image forming apparatus 200.

The connector 231 is disposed with its terminal exposed at an opening 210f formed on the upper surface of the main body upper case 210. The connector 231 is used for transmitting and receiving various signals between the image forming apparatus 200 and the image forming unit 205 and supplying power from the image forming apparatus 200 to the image forming unit 205.

On the other hand, an I / F board 240 is provided in the image forming apparatus 200, and the terminals of the I / F board 240 are provided on the back side of the I / F board 240 by the terminals of the connector 231 of the image forming unit 205. A connector (electric connection means) 241 oriented in the direction is provided.

Therefore, when the image forming unit 205 is inserted into and attached to the image forming apparatus 200, the connector 231 of the image forming unit 205 is connected to the I / F of the image forming apparatus 200.
It is automatically connected to the connector 231 of the board 240.

An external connector 242 is provided on the upper surface of the I / F board 240 of the image forming apparatus 200. The external connector 242 connects to the computer 300 mounted on the upper part of the image forming apparatus 200. Do.

As described above, the image forming apparatus 200 is detachably mounted by inserting the image forming unit 205 in the direction indicated by the double arrow in FIG. 241 and imaging unit 20
5 is automatically connected to supply power and signals necessary for the operation of the imaging unit 205 to the imaging unit 20.
5

The image forming unit 205 includes the image forming apparatus 20.
0 based on the power and signal supplied from
The laser light modulated by the image data is emitted from the semiconductor laser 220 driven by the laser light 19, and is emitted to the polygon mirror 216 by the coupling lens 226 at a substantially parallel light speed. The polygon mirror 216 is driven to rotate at a predetermined speed by a motor unit 218, deflects and scans the incident laser light, and reflects the laser light toward the scanning lens 15. The image forming unit 205 forms this laser beam on the photosensitive drum 213 as a minute spot with the scanning lens 215 to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 213.

On the other hand, the photosensitive drum 213 is rotated clockwise in FIG. 1 via a gear of the image forming apparatus 200 connected by mounting the image forming unit 205 to the image forming apparatus 200, In the state of being uniformly charged at 214, an electrostatic latent image is formed by the irradiated laser light.

In the image forming unit 205, the developing roller 223 supplies the toner in the toner case 212 to the photosensitive drum 213 on which the electrostatic latent image is formed to form a toner image. The body drum 213 is further rotated by the transfer unit 201.

The image forming apparatus 200 transfers the toner image on the photosensitive drum 213 to the recording paper 203 conveyed from the paper feeding unit 204 by the transfer unit 201, and fixes the recording paper on which the toner image has been transferred to the fixing unit 202. To the fixing unit 20
After fixing by heating and pressing in step 2, the recording paper 203 on which the toner image is recorded is discharged onto a discharge tray (not shown).

On the other hand, the image forming unit 205 further rotates the photosensitive drum 213 to which the transfer has been completed to remove waste toner (transfer toner) remaining without being transferred by a blade (not shown). The used waste toner is stored in the waste toner storage unit 230.

The image forming unit 205 further rotates the photosensitive drum 213 from which the waste toner has been removed, uniformly charges the photosensitive drum 213 with the charging roller 214, and performs the image forming operation again.

Referring again to FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 200
As described above, the computer unit 300 is placed on the top, and the computer unit 300
And an I / F substrate 302.

An external connector 303 connected to the external connector 242 of the image forming apparatus 200 is provided on the main board 301. The external connector 303 is provided when the computer 300 is installed on the image forming apparatus 200. Automatically connect the external connector 2 of the image forming apparatus 200
42.

Computer unit 300 and image forming apparatus 20
0 exchanges various information via the external connector 303 and the external connector 242.

The I / F board 302 is provided with an external connector 304 whose terminal is directed upward. The external connector 304 is used for another external device mounted on the computer unit 300, in this embodiment. In the embodiment, connection with the HDD unit 400 is performed.

Note that the computer unit 300 has another external connector 305 on the back.

As described above, the HDD section 400 is mounted on the upper part of the computer section 300.
00 includes an HDD 401, a substrate 402, and the like. The board 402 has an external connector 4 whose terminals face downward.
03 and an external connector 404 whose terminals are directed upward.
Is automatically connected to the external connector 304 of the computer unit 300 by being placed on the computer unit 300. The external connector 404 is connected to another external device mounted on the HDD unit 400, in this embodiment, the CD unit 5.
Connection with 00 is made.

The HDD section 400 includes a computer section 300
And stores various data in the HDD 401 under the control of the computer unit 300.

As described above, the HDD section 400 stores C
A D section 500 is mounted, and a CD section 500 is a CD section.
(Compact disk driver) 501, a substrate 502, a substrate 503, and the like. On the lower surface of the substrate 502,
An external connector 504 whose terminals face downward is provided, and an external connector 505 whose terminals face upward is provided on the upper surface of the substrate 503.

The external connector 504 has the CD 500
By being placed on the DD unit 400, it is automatically connected to the external connector 404 of the HDD unit 400, and
Transmission and reception of various data are carried out with 0.

The external connector 505 connects to another external device mounted on the CD unit 500, in this embodiment, the scanner unit 600. The CD unit 500 includes a CD 501
The data of the CD set in is read.

The scanner section 600 is mounted on the CD section 500 as described above.
Document table 601, document transport mechanism 602, image reading mechanism 60
3 and a substrate 604. An external connector 605 whose terminals face downward is provided on the lower surface of the substrate 604.
Is automatically placed on the external connector 505 of the CD section 500 by being placed on the CD section 500.

The scanner section 600 transfers the original set on the original table 601 to the image reading mechanism 6 by the original transport mechanism 602.
The document is conveyed to an image reading mechanism 603, the image of the conveyed document is read by the image reading mechanism 603, and the document whose image has been read is discharged by the document conveying mechanism 602 onto a discharge tray (not shown).

The image forming system 100 transfers the image data of the original read by the scanner unit 600 to the CD unit 500 via the external connector 605 and the external connector 505 of the CD unit 500 under the control of the computer unit 300.
D unit 500 to the HDD unit 400 via the external connector 504 and the external connector 404 of the HDD unit 400,
The image data transferred to the HDD unit 400 is
The data is stored in the DD 401 and transferred to the computer 300 via the external connector 403 and the external connector 304 of the computer 300.

The computer section 300 includes an HDD section 400
Is transferred to the image forming apparatus 200 via the external connector 303 and the external connector 242 of the image forming apparatus 200, and the image forming apparatus 200 transmits the image data based on the image data transferred from the computer unit 300. The above image formation is performed.

The image forming apparatus 200 has a circuit configuration as shown in FIG.
And a transfer control board 250 and the like. An image forming system drive unit 251 and a fixing / transport system drive unit 252 are mounted on the transport control board 250, and the LD drive unit 219 and the write control unit 2 are mounted on the printed board 222.
53 and a polygon drive circuit 254 are mounted.

The write control section 253 receives a synchronization detection signal and a control signal (request) from the computer section 300, and the LD drive section 219 receives image data corresponding to the recording density in accordance with the control signal. Input from the unit 300. The write control unit 253 controls the operation of the LD drive unit 219 according to the synchronization detection signal and the control signal, and causes the semiconductor laser 220 to emit a laser beam modulated by the LD drive unit 219 with image data. Further, the computer unit 300 calculates an optimal laser output for exposing the photosensitive drum 213 at an appropriate exposure intensity, outputs an intensity signal instructing the laser output to the LD driving unit 219, and adjusts the exposure intensity. Control.

The polygon drive circuit 254 receives the speed control signal 1 from the computer unit 300. The polygon drive circuit 254 drives the motor rotor 217 at a rotation speed corresponding to the speed control signal 1 to drive the polygon mirror 216. It is driven to rotate at the rotation speed.

The image forming system driving section 251 of the transport control board 250
Drives a motor for rotating the photosensitive drum 213 and the like. The speed control signal 2 is input to the image forming system drive unit 251 from the main board 301 of the computer unit 300. The image forming system driving unit 251 includes the computer unit 3
00 based on the speed control signal 2
3 is driven to rotate.

The fixing / transportation system drive section 252 of the conveyance control board 250 drives a motor for rotating the fixing roller of the fixing section 202, the recording paper conveyance roller, and the like. The speed control signal 3 is input from the main board 301 of the computer unit 300. The fixing / transportation system drive unit 252 rotationally drives a fixing roller, a recording paper transport roller, and the like at a rotational speed corresponding to the speed control signal 3 from the computer unit 300.

That is, the image forming apparatus 200 controls the recording paper conveyance speed independently from the speed of the image forming system so that the writing position of the image on the recording paper 203 can be finely adjusted. It is possible to increase the conveyance speed of the blank portion of the recording paper 203 after the image has been written, thereby enabling control such as improving the recording speed.

The writing control unit 253 calculates the toner consumption by counting the positive signal (the number of dots forming the toner image) of the image data, and determines the toner end from the calculated toner consumption. Discriminate and computer part 3
00 to output a toner end signal.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described. The image forming system 100 of the present embodiment performs a series of image forming process processes from charging / image forming to development to the image forming apparatus 200 and easily disassembles the image forming unit 2.
Its characteristic is that it is detachably mounted to improve the recyclability.

That is, the image forming system 100 includes a computer unit 300 and an HDD on the image forming apparatus 200.
The image forming apparatus 200 and each of the sections 300 to 600 sequentially stacked thereon are automatically connected to another apparatus by automatically stacking the image forming apparatus 200 and the sections 300 to 600. External connectors 242, 303, 304, 40 to be connected
3, 404, 504, 505, and 605. Therefore, the image forming system 100 includes the image forming apparatus 2
Computer section 300, HDD section 400, CD
The image forming system 1 can be electrically connected only by sequentially stacking the unit 500 and the scanner unit 600.
00 can be easily and easily constructed.

Further, in the image forming apparatus 200, the image forming unit 205 is removably mounted in the direction of the double arrow shown in FIG. 1, and the image forming unit 205 is attached to the image forming apparatus 200. A connector 231 whose terminals are oriented in the insertion direction is provided.
In addition, a connector 241 having a terminal facing the terminal of the connector 231 of the image forming unit 205 is provided. Therefore, when the image forming unit 205 is inserted into and attached to the image forming apparatus 200, the connector 231 of the image forming unit 205 is automatically connected to the connector 241 of the image forming apparatus 200, and the connectors 231 and 241 are respectively provided.
There is no need to connect manually.

Therefore, the connector 231 and the connector 241 can be connected at the same time when the image forming unit 205 is mounted on the image forming apparatus 200, and when the image forming unit 205 is removed from the image forming apparatus 200, the connector 231 is connected to the connector 231. The connector 241 can be automatically disconnected, and the image forming unit 205 can be easily and easily attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus 200.

When the image forming unit 205 is mounted on the image forming apparatus 200, the power supply and the signals (the control signal and the speed control signal 1 shown in FIG. 6) supplied from the image forming apparatus 200 are used.
And the like, a laser beam modulated with image data is emitted from the semiconductor laser 220 based on the
At 6, the light is emitted to the polygon mirror 216 as a substantially parallel light speed. The polygon mirror 216 is driven to rotate at a predetermined speed by a motor unit 218 and deflects incident laser light.
The light is scanned and reflected in the direction of the scanning lens 15. The image forming unit 205 forms this laser beam on the photosensitive drum 213 as a minute spot with the scanning lens 215 to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 213.

The photosensitive drum 213 is provided in the image forming unit 20.
The image forming apparatus 200 is connected to the image forming apparatus 200 via a gear. The charging roller is driven by the rotation of a motor driven by the image forming system driving unit 251 shown in FIG. In the state charged uniformly at 214,
The irradiated laser beam forms an electrostatic latent image.

In the image forming unit 205, the developing roller 223 supplies the toner in the toner case 212 to the photosensitive drum 213 on which the electrostatic latent image is formed to form a toner image. The body drum 213 is further rotated by the transfer unit 201.

The image forming unit 205 calculates the toner consumption by counting the positive signal of the image data by the writing control unit 253 shown in FIG. 6, and determines the toner end from the calculated toner consumption. And outputs a toner end signal to the computer section 300. That is, the image forming unit 205 controls the toner case 212 by the writing control unit 253.
The remaining amount of toner in the toner case is monitored, and when the toner in the toner case 212 runs out, a toner end signal is output to the computer unit 300.

The image forming apparatus 200 transfers the toner image on the photosensitive drum 213 to the recording paper 203 conveyed from the paper supply unit 204 by the transfer unit 201, and fixes the recording paper on which the toner image has been transferred to the fixing unit 202. To the fixing unit 20
After fixing by heating and pressing in step 2, the recording paper 203 on which the toner image is recorded is discharged onto a discharge tray (not shown).

The image forming unit 205 further rotates the photosensitive drum 213 after the transfer to remove waste toner remaining without being transferred by a blade (not shown).
The removed waste toner is stored in the waste toner storage unit 230.

The image forming unit 205 further rotates the photosensitive drum 213 from which the waste toner has been removed, uniformly charges the photosensitive drum 213 with the charging roller 214, and performs the image forming operation again.

When the above-described image forming operation is repeatedly performed, the toner in the toner case 212 runs out, and the optical system is deteriorated.
The image forming apparatus 200 is detachably attached to the image forming apparatus 200, and can be easily and easily removed from the image forming apparatus 200 and replaced.

In the image forming unit 205 taken out from the image forming apparatus 200, the toner case 212 can be easily removed from the main body lower case 211, and new toner can be easily supplied to the toner case 212.

The image forming unit 205 includes a photosensitive drum 213, a charging roller 214, a polygon mirror 217, a motor rotor 217, and a scanning lens 215 between a main body upper case 210 and a main body lower case 211 which can be easily separated.
And a motor section 218 for rotating and driving the polygon mirror 217 and an LD driving section 219 for driving the semiconductor laser 220 are mounted on the printed circuit board 222.
The lens holder 221 is detachably attached.

Further, in the image forming unit 205, a toner case 212 is detachably attached to the lower surface of the main body lower case 211, and the toner 224 is stored in the toner case 212 and the developing roller 223
Is mounted between the toner case 212 and the main body lower case 211 in a supported state.

Therefore, it is possible to easily and easily remove the toner case 212 from the main body lower case 211, perform processing such as regeneration of the developing roller 223, and improve recyclability.

Further, the image forming unit 205 has a waste toner storage section 230 provided in the upper case 210 of the main body, and remains on the photosensitive drum 213, and the photosensitive drum 21 is
The waste toner removed from 3 can be stored in the waste toner storage unit 230 without being scattered, and can be appropriately disposed of.

As described above, in the image forming system 100 of the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 200 is driven by at least the charging roller 214 for uniformly charging the photosensitive drum 213 and the LD driving section 219. Semiconductor laser 22 for emitting a light beam modulated according to image data
0 and the printed circuit board 2 on which the LD drive unit 219 is mounted.
22, a writing mirror such as a polygon mirror 216 for forming an electrostatic latent image by scanning and forming a light beam emitted from the semiconductor laser 220 on a uniformly charged photosensitive drum 213, and a scanning lens 215. The system and the motor unit 218 are detachably mounted on the image forming apparatus 200 as an image forming unit 205 housed in a main body upper case 210 and a main body lower case 211 which are assembled to be disassembled.

Therefore, the user of the image forming apparatus 200 can easily replace the image forming unit 205 including the writing optical system, and the image forming unit 2 can be easily replaced.
05 can be improved from the market, and the recyclability can be improved.

Further, the image forming unit 205 is
4 is stored in the lower case 211 of the main body.
It is formed integrally with.

Therefore, the image forming unit 205 can be replaced at the same time as the toner 224 runs out, so that the image forming unit 205 can be replaced before the writing optical system becomes dirty. The cleaning operation at the time of reproducing the image forming unit 205 is facilitated, so that the recyclability can be further improved and the recycling cost can be reduced.

Further, the image forming unit 205 is provided with a connector 231 connected to the printed circuit board 222, and the image forming apparatus 200 is connected to the connector 241 detachably connected to the connector 231 of the image forming unit 205. When the image forming unit 205 is inserted into the image forming apparatus 200 and mounted, the connector 231 of the image forming unit 205 and the connector 241 of the image forming apparatus 200 are provided.
They are arranged so that they are automatically connected to each other in accordance with the mounting operation of the image forming unit 205.

Therefore, the replacement work of the image forming unit 205 can be made simple and easy.
The image forming unit 205 can be easily replaced in response to the high quality of the image, and even if the image specifications become obsolete, the image forming apparatus 200 is prevented from being destroyed, and is adapted to the environment. Can be appropriate.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention, and this embodiment is applied to a color image forming apparatus.

In FIG. 7, a color image forming apparatus 700
The image forming units 703Y and 703Y of respective colors are arranged along a transfer belt (transfer unit) 702 provided in the main body case 701.
03M, 703C, and 703K are in the transport direction of the recording paper (FIG.
(In the upward direction), and the transfer belt 702
Is stretched over a pair of transport rollers 704a and 704b. The transport belt 702 is provided with transport rollers 704a,
04b is driven to rotate in a counterclockwise direction in FIG. 7 by being rotationally driven by a drive motor (not shown).

The transfer belt 702 has a paper feed roller 705
The recording paper stored in the recording paper tray 706 is transported one by one, and the transfer belt 702 transports the transported recording paper to each of the image forming units 703Y, 703M, 703C,
703K, each image forming unit 703Y,
The toner images of each color from 703M, 703C, and 703K are transferred to recording paper.

Main body case 70 above transfer belt 702
1, a fixing unit 707 is provided.
7 heats and presses the recording paper on which the toner image has been transferred by the transfer belt 702 to fix the toner image, and then discharges the recording paper onto a paper discharge tray 708 formed on the main body housing 701.

Each image forming unit 703Y, 703M, 70
3C and 703K have the same configuration, and the basic configuration is the same as that of the image forming unit 205 of the first embodiment. Therefore, only the image forming unit 703Y will be described. The image forming unit 703Y is supported by a main body upper case 710Y and a main body lower case 711Y, which are disassemblable unit cases, and a photosensitive drum (photoconductor) 712Y and a charging unit 703Y are charged. A roller (charging means) 713Y, a polygon mirror 714Y, a motor rotor 715Y, a scanning lens 716Y, a printed circuit board 717Y, and the like are attached, and although not shown, a polygon is mounted on the printed circuit board 717Y in the same manner as in the first embodiment. Mirror 714Y
Motor section and semiconductor laser (light source means)
Drive section (drive circuit) for driving semiconductor laser
Are mounted, and a lens holder is detachably attached. The imaging unit 703Y is
A toner case 718Y is detachably attached to the lower surface of the main body lower case 711Y.
8Y contains yellow (Y) toner 719Y, and the developing roller 720Y
It is mounted in a state of being supported between 18Y and the main body lower case 711Y.

The other image forming units 703M, 703C, 7
03K has the same configuration as the above-described yellow image forming unit 703Y, but each toner case 718 has the same configuration.
M, 718C, Toner 719 stored in 718K
M, 719C, and 719K are different from magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K), respectively.

The image forming units 703Y and 703
Printed circuit boards 717Y, 71 of M, 703C, 703K
7M, 717C and 717K are provided with connectors (electrical connection means) 721Y, 721M, 721C and 721K on the upper surface thereof.
Are provided, and connectors 721Y, 721M, 72
1C and 721K have terminals whose image forming units 703Y and
703M, 703C, 703K color image forming apparatus 7
It is attached in a state facing the direction of insertion into 00.

The connectors 721Y, 721M, 721C,
721K is an image forming unit 703Y, 703M, 70
Openings 722Y, 7 formed on the upper surfaces of 3C, 703K
22M, 722C, and 722K, the terminals of which are exposed so that various signals are transmitted and received between the color image forming apparatus 700 and the image forming units 703Y, 703M, 703C, and 703K. It is used to supply power to the image units 703Y, 703M, 703C, 703K.

On the other hand, in the color image forming apparatus 700, each image forming unit 703Y, 703M, 703C, 703K
Above each image forming unit 703Y, 703M, 703
I / F substrates 730Y, 730M, 73 for C and 703K
0C and 730K are provided, and each I / F board 730 is provided.
Y, 730M, 730C, and 730K have terminals on the back side of each of the imaging units 703Y, 703M, and 7K.
Connectors (electric connection means) 731Y, 731M, 731C, 731K oriented in the pull-out direction of 03C, 703K
Is provided.

Therefore, the image forming units 703Y and 703Y
3M, 703C and 703K are color image forming apparatuses 700
When the image forming units 703Y and 7
03M, 703C, 703K connectors 721Y, 72
1M, 721C and 721K are color image forming apparatuses 700
I / F substrates 730Y, 730M, 730C, 730K
Are automatically connected to the connectors 731Y, 731M, 731C, 731K.

The image forming units 703Y, 703
M, 703C, and 703K respectively have a photosensitive drum 7
12Y, 712M, 712C, waste toner storage units 723Y, 723M for storing waste toner collected from 712K,
723C and 723K are formed.

The image forming units 703Y and 703
As shown in FIG. 4, the M, 703C, and 703K have four insertion ports 724Y, 72 into which the identification plate 723 can be inserted, as shown in FIG.
4M, 724C, and 724K are provided, and the four insertion ports 724Y, 724M, 724C, and 724K are used for image forming units 703Y, 703M, 703C, and 703 of each color.
Let K be the slot 724Y, 724M, 724C, 724
This is for identification by the identification plate 723 inserted in K. Slots 724Y, 724M, 724C, 72
4K are, for example, for yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) from the lower side of FIG. 4, and for example, the yellow image forming unit 703Y has the configuration shown in FIG. The identification plate 7 is inserted into the bottom slot 724Y.
23 is inserted. These outlets 724Y, 724M,
Inserting the identification plate 723 into the 724C and 724K is performed by the image forming units 703Y, 703M, 703C, and 70C.
3K manufacturer or imaging unit 703Y, 7
03M, 703C and 703K recycling companies.

On the other hand, although not shown, the main body case 701 of the color image forming apparatus 700
Y, 703M, 703C, and 703K are inserted into the openings where the image forming units 703Y, 703M, and 703 of the color are to be inserted.
C, 703K outlets 724Y, 724M, 724C,
Only when the identification plate 723 is inserted into the 724K, the image forming units 703Y, 703M, 703
C, the insertion of 703K is allowed, and the insertion port 724 at another position is allowed.
Identification plate 72 on Y, 724M, 724C, 724K
3, image forming units 703Y, 703M,
A slit for preventing insertion of 703C and 703K is formed.

Therefore, each image forming unit 703Y, 7
03M, 703C, and 703K can be appropriately prevented from being erroneously inserted into the opening of the main body case 701 where other image forming units 703Y, 703M, 703C, and 703K should be inserted, and are originally inserted. Properly inserted into the opening to be done.

The color image forming apparatus 700 includes image forming units 703Y, 703M, 703C, and 703K for each color.
Each image forming unit 70 is attached so as to be insertable and detachable.
3Y, 703M, 703C, 703K are provided with connectors 721Y, 721M, 721C, 721K whose terminals are oriented in the direction of insertion into the color image forming apparatus 700,
An image forming unit 703Y,
703M, 703C, 703K connectors 721Y, 7
Connectors 731Y, 731M, 731C, 731 having terminals oriented in the terminal directions 21M, 721C, 721K
K is provided. Therefore, the image forming unit 703
When Y, 703M, 703C, and 703K are inserted into and mounted on the color image forming apparatus 700, the image forming unit 70
3Y, 703M, 703C, 703K connectors 721
Y, 721M, 721C, 721K are connectors 731Y, 731M, 731C, 7 of the color image forming apparatus 700.
31K automatically connected to the connector 721
Y, 721M, 721C, 721K and connector 731
There is no need to manually connect Y, 731M, 731C, 731K.

Therefore, the image forming units 703Y and 703Y
3M, 703C, 703K color image forming apparatus 700
Connector 721Y, 721M, 721
C, 721K and connectors 731Y, 731M, 731
C and 731K can be connected. When the image forming units 703Y, 703M, 703C, and 703K are removed from the color image forming apparatus 700, the connector 721 is connected.
Y, 721M, 721C, 721K and connector 731
Y, 731M, 731C, 731K can be automatically separated, and the image forming units 703Y, 703M, 703
C, 703K easily and easily a color image forming apparatus 70
0 and can be removed.

Then, the image forming units 703Y and 703
M, 703C and 703K are color image forming apparatuses 700
When mounted on a polygon mirror 714Y, 714, a laser beam modulated with image data is emitted from a semiconductor laser based on a power supply and a signal supplied from the color image forming apparatus 700, and is converted into a substantially parallel light speed by a coupling lens.
M, 714C and 714K. Polygon mirror 7
The lasers 14Y, 714M, 714C, and 714K are rotated at a predetermined speed, deflect and scan the incident laser light, and reflect the laser light in the directions of the scanning lenses 716Y, 716M, 716C, and 716K. Image forming units 703Y, 703M, 70
3C and 703K transmit this laser beam to the scanning lens 716.
Y, 716M, 716C, 716K
An image is formed as a minute spot on 2Y, 712M, 712C, and 712K, and the photosensitive drums 712Y, 712M,
An electrostatic latent image is formed on 712C and 712K.

The photosensitive drums 712Y, 712M, 712
C and 712K are image forming units 703Y, 703M, and 7
The charging rollers 713Y and 713K are driven to rotate via gears of the color image forming apparatus 700, which are connected by mounting the image forming apparatuses 03C and 703K on the color image forming apparatus 700.
In a state of being uniformly charged at M, 713C, and 713K, an electrostatic latent image is formed by the irradiated laser light.

Image forming units 703Y, 703M, 703
C and 703K are provided with the developing rollers 720Y, 720M, 720C and 720K on the photosensitive drums 712Y, 712M, 712C and 712K on which the electrostatic latent images are formed. , 719M, 719C, and 719K are supplied to form a toner image, and the photosensitive drums 712Y, 712M, 712C, and 712K on which the toner images are formed are further rotated in the direction of the transfer belt 702.

Then, the image forming units 703Y and 703
M, 703C, and 703K are not shown, but are the same as in the first embodiment.
17M, 717C, and 717K write control units count the positive signal of the image data, and the toner 719Y, 719M,
The toner consumption is calculated based on the calculated amounts of the toners 719Y, 719M, 719C, and 719K, and a toner end signal is output to the color image forming apparatus 700. That is, the image forming unit 7
03Y, 703M, 703C, and 703K are stored in the toner cases 718Y, 718M, and 718C by the writing control unit of the printed circuit boards 717Y, 717M, 717C, and 717K.
Toner 719Y, 719M, 719C, 7 in 718K
The remaining amount of 19K is monitored, and when the toner 719Y, 719M, 719C, and 719K in the toner case 212 runs out, a toner end signal is output to the color image forming apparatus 700.

As described above, the color image forming apparatus 700 sequentially transfers the recording paper conveyed to the transfer belt 702 by the paper feed roller 705 to each of the image forming units 703Y and 703.
M, 703C, and 703K, and the image forming units 703Y, 703M, 703C, and 703K.
Photosensitive drums 712Y, 712M, 712C, 712
The toner image of each color on K is transferred, and the recording paper on which the toner image has been transferred is transported to the fixing unit 707, and the fixing unit 707
Then, the recording paper on which the toner image has been recorded is discharged onto a paper discharge tray 708.

Image forming units 703Y, 703M, 703
C and 703K are photosensitive drums 712 on which transfer has been completed.
Y, 712M, 712C, and 712K are further rotated to remove waste toner remaining without being transferred by a blade (not shown) to the photosensitive drums 712Y, 712M, 712C,
The waste toner is removed from above the 712K, and the removed waste toner is stored in the waste toner storage units 723Y, 723M, 723C, and 723K.

Image forming units 703Y, 703M, 703
C and 703K are photosensitive drums 7 from which waste toner has been removed.
12Y, 712M, 712C, 712K are further rotated, and charging rollers 713Y, 713M, 713C, 713
The image is uniformly charged with K, and the image forming operation is performed again.

When the above image forming operation is repeated, the toner 719Y, 719M, 719C, 719K in the toner case 718Y, 718M, 718C, 718K is lost, and the optical system is deteriorated.
The 3Y, 703M, 703C, and 703K are detachably mounted on the color image forming apparatus 700 as described above, and can be easily and easily removed from the color image forming apparatus 700 and replaced.

The image forming units 703Y, 703M, 703 taken out of the color image forming apparatus 700
C, 703K are toner cases 718Y, 718M, 7
18C, 718K, the lower body case 711Y, 711M,
The new toner 719Y, 719M, 719C, and 719K can be easily removed from the 711C and 711K, and the new toner 719Y, 719M, 719C, and 719K can be added to the toner cases 718Y, 718M, 718C, and 718K.
Can be easily refilled.

The image forming units 703Y, 703M,
703C and 703K are located between the main body upper cases 710Y, 710M, 710C and 710K, which can be easily separated, and the main body lower cases 711Y, 711M, 711C and 711K.
Photoconductor drums 712Y, 712M, 712C, 712
K, charging rollers 713Y, 713M, 713C, 713
K, polygon mirrors 714Y, 714M, 714C, 7
14K, motor rotors 715Y, 715M, 715C,
715K, scanning lenses 716Y, 716M, 716C,
716K and printed circuit boards 717Y, 717M, 717
C, 7172K, and upper case 710Y, 710M,
710C, 710K and lower case 711Y, 711
M, 711C, and 711K, and a motor unit that rotationally drives the polygon mirrors 714Y, 714M, 714C, and 714K on the printed circuit boards 717Y, 717M, 717C, and 717K, a semiconductor laser, and an LD driving unit that drives the semiconductor laser. It is formed and a lens holder is detachably attached.

Therefore, the image forming unit 703Y, which includes the writing optical system by the user of the color image forming apparatus 700,
703M, 703C, and 703K can be easily replaced, and the image forming units 703Y and 703K can be easily replaced.
The collection rate of 3M, 703C, and 703K from the market can be improved, and the recyclability can be improved.

Further, the image forming units 703Y and 703
M, 703C and 703K are lower case 711Y and 7
Toner cases 718Y, 718M, 718C, 718K are detachably attached to the lower surfaces of 11M, 711C, 711K.
M, 718C, 718K
M, 719C, and 719K are stored, and the developing rollers 720Y, 720M, 720C, and 720K are
Toner case 718Y, 718M, 718C, 718K
And lower case 711Y, 711M, 711C, 711
It is attached in a state where it is supported between K.

Therefore, the toner cases 718Y, 71
8M, 718C, 718K to the lower case 711Y, 7
11M, 711C, and 711K, easily and easily detached from the developing rollers 720Y, 720M, 720C, and 72.
Processing such as 0K regeneration can be performed, and recyclability can be improved.

The image forming units 703Y, 703M,
703C and 703K are provided with waste toner storage units 723Y, 723M, 723C and 723K in the upper case 210 of the main body, and are provided with photosensitive drums 712Y, 712M and 712K.
C, remaining on 712K, blade 712
Y, 712M, 712C, and 712K without scattering the waste toner removed from the waste toner storage units 723Y and 723Y.
It can be stored in 3M, 723C, and 723K and appropriately disposed of.

The invention made by the inventor has been specifically described based on the preferred embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. It goes without saying that it is possible.

[0132]

According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, at least charging means for uniformly charging the photosensitive member and a light beam driven by a driving circuit and modulated in accordance with image data are provided. A light source means for emitting light, a substrate on which the drive circuit is mounted, and a light irradiating means for forming an electrostatic latent image by scanning and imaging a light beam emitted from the light source means on a uniformly charged photoconductor. Are detachably mounted as image forming units housed in a predetermined unit case, so that the user of the image forming apparatus can easily replace the image forming unit including the writing optical system. In addition, the collection rate of the imaging unit from the market can be improved, and the recyclability can be improved.

According to the image forming apparatus of the second aspect, in the second aspect, the image forming unit is such that the toner case for storing the toner is formed integrally with the unit case. The image forming unit can be replaced at the same time as the toner runs out, so that the image forming unit can be replaced before the writing optical system becomes dirty. By making the cleaning work easy, the recyclability can be further improved and the cost of recycling can be reduced.

According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the image forming unit is provided with the electric connecting means connected to the substrate, and the image forming apparatus is separated from the electric connecting means of the image forming unit. When the electric connection means of the image forming unit and the electric connection means of the image forming apparatus are inserted into the image forming apparatus in a predetermined direction and mounted, Are arranged so that they are automatically connected to each other in accordance with the mounting operation of the image forming unit, so that the operation of replacing the image forming unit can be made simple and easy, and the height of the image can be increased. The image forming unit can be easily replaced in accordance with the quality, and even if the image specifications become obsolete, the image forming apparatus itself is prevented from being destroyed, and appropriate measures for the environment are ensured. can do.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional front view of an image forming system to which an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a front sectional view of the image forming unit of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an exploded front sectional view of the image forming unit of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the inside of a main body upper case of the image forming unit of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a front sectional view of a lens holder and a mirror portion of the printed circuit board of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a main circuit block diagram of a computer unit and an image forming apparatus of the image forming system of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional front view of a color image forming apparatus to which an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention is applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 100 Image forming system 200 Image forming apparatus 201 Transfer unit 202 Fixing unit 203 Recording paper 204 Paper feed unit 205 Image forming unit 210 Main body upper case 210a to 210c, 211a to 211d Bearing unit 210d, 211e Positioning pin 210e Pin 211 Main body lower case 211f Supporting part 211g Engaging part 212 Toner case 212b Protruding end 213 Photoconductor drum 213a, 214a, 223a Shaft 214 Charging roller 215 Scanning lens 215a Positioning concave part 216 Polygon mirror 217 Motor rotor 217a Shaft 218 Motor part 219 LD drive part 220 Semiconductor laser 221 Lens holder 222 Printed circuit board 222a to 222c Through hole 223 Developing roller 224 Toner 225 Drive circuit 226 Coupling lens Lens 227 mirror 230 waste toner storage section 231 connector 240 I / F board 241 connector 242 external connector 250 transport control board 251 image forming system drive section 252 fixing / transport system drive section 253 write control section 254 polygon drive circuit 300 computer section 301 Main board 302 I / F board 303, 304, 305 External connector 400 HDD section 401 HDD 402 Board 403, 404 External connector 500 CD section 501 CD 502, 503 Board 504, 505 External connector 600 Scanner section 601 Platen 602 Document transport mechanism 603 Image reading mechanism 604 Board 605 External connector 700 Color image forming apparatus 701 Main body case 702 Transfer belt 703Y, 703M, 703C, 703K Image forming units 704a, 70 4b Conveyance roller 705 Paper feed roller 706 Recording paper tray 707 Fixing unit 708 Disused tray 710Y, 710M, 710C, 710K Upper body case 711Y, 711M, 711C, 711K Lower body case 712Y, 712M, 712C, 712K Photosensitive drum 713Y, 713Y , 713C, 713K Charge roller 714Y, 714M, 714C, 714K Polygon mirror 715Y, 715M, 715C, 715K Motor rotor 716Y, 716M, 716C, 716K Scanning lens 717Y, 717M, 717C, 717K Printed circuit board 718Y, 718K, 718K, 718K, 718K, 718K 719Y, 719M, 719C, 719K Toner 720Y, 720M, 720C, 720K Developing rollers 721Y, 721M, 721C 721K Connector 722Y, 722M, 722C, 722K Opening 723Y, 723M, 723C, 723K Waste Toner Storage 724Y, 724M, 724C, 724K Insertion Ports 730Y, 730M, 730C, 730K I / F Substrates 731Y, 731M, 731C connector

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Tatsuya Ito 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Satoru Satoru 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Share Inside Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Atsushi Omori 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo F-term in Ricoh Company (reference) 2C362 AA45 BA90 CB80 DA41 EA25

Claims (3)

[Claims] A charging means for uniformly charging the photosensitive member; a light source means driven by a driving circuit to emit a light beam modulated in accordance with image data; and the light beam emitted from the light source means A light irradiating unit that scans and forms an image on the uniformly charged photoconductor to form an electrostatic latent image, and supplies toner to the photoconductor on which the electrostatic latent image is formed to form a toner image. An image forming apparatus comprising: a developing unit for forming; and a transfer unit for transferring the toner image on the photoconductor to recording paper conveyed to the photoconductor by a paper feeding mechanism.
At least, the photoconductor, the light irradiation unit, the light source unit, and the substrate on which the drive circuit is mounted are removably mounted as an image forming unit housed in a predetermined unit case. Image forming apparatus. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming unit has a toner case for storing the toner to be supplied to the photoreceptor, integrally formed in the unit case. 3. The image forming unit includes an electric connection unit connected to the substrate, and the image forming apparatus includes an electric connection unit detachably connected to the electric connection unit of the image formation unit. The image forming unit is inserted and mounted in the image forming apparatus in a predetermined direction, and the electrical connection unit of the image forming unit and the electrical connection unit of the image forming apparatus are attached to the image forming unit in accordance with the mounting operation of the image forming unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatuses are arranged so as to be automatically connected to each other.