JP2002023597A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device which enables efficiently cooling respective parts in a device main body with a simple constitution without increasing the number of fans. SOLUTION: This image forming device is provided with a reader part 69 which converts original information to electric signals, a picture processing substrate which performs the picture processing of the electric signals from the reader part 69, a shield box 67b which houses the picture processing substrate, a laser unit (laser part) 32 which forms an electrostatic latent image on a photoreceptor 10, a developing device (developing part) 11 which develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoreceptor 10 and a driving part which drives the photoreceptor 10. Therein, an opening part A for introducing the outside air is formed on one surface of the shield box 30, an opening part B for exhausting the air in the shield box 67b is formed on the other surface which is confronted with the opening part A, at the same time, a fan 67a for taking in the outside air is disposed on the position which is confronted with the opening part A on the outside of the shield box 67b and one part of the opening part of the fan 67a is made to be confronted with the opening part A of the shield box 67b.

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 laser printer, a laser copying machine, and a laser facsimile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Hitherto, in an image forming apparatus, a configuration has been adopted in which a fan for taking in outside air is arranged near each component unit as a measure against temperature rise of each component unit.

As another method, a configuration has been adopted in which a duct is arranged in a fan for introducing outside air to guide air to a plurality of constituent units.

[0004]

However, in the conventional configuration in which the fans are arranged for each component unit, the number of fans increases, and the cost increases due to the control and wiring of each fan. However, there has been a problem that the apparatus becomes large.

Further, the conventional configuration in which a duct is arranged in a fan for introducing outside air to guide air to a plurality of constituent units is suitable for blowing air to a unit that is separated from the fan. However, if the unit that raises the temperature is located near the duct, it is not suitable for lowering the ambient temperature around the duct, so multiple fans must be placed, increasing the cost of the equipment. There was a problem that it was unavoidable to enlarge.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of efficiently cooling each unit in an apparatus main body with a simple configuration without increasing the number of fans. It is to provide a device.

[0007]

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a reader unit for optically reading a document and converting document information into an electric signal, and an electric signal from the reader unit. An image processing substrate for image processing, a shield box for accommodating the image processing substrate, a laser unit for forming an electrostatic latent image on a photoconductor based on information from the image processing substrate, and In an image forming apparatus having a developing unit for developing the formed electrostatic latent image and a driving unit for driving the photoconductor, an opening A for introducing outside air to one surface of the shield box is formed. An opening B for discharging air inside the shield box is formed on the other surface facing the portion A, and a fan for taking in outside air at a position outside the shield box and facing the opening A. The emissions provided, characterized in that a part of the opening of the fan are opposed to the opening A of the shielding box.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the air supplied from the fan is about 40%.
% Is provided for cooling the image processing substrate.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, a duct having an opening is arranged at a position facing a part of the opening of the fan, and the duct is connected to the leader section by the duct. It is characterized by blowing air to the laser part.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the invention, the air supplied from the fan is about 25%.
% Is provided for cooling the leader part and the laser part.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the third or fourth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of wall surfaces are provided inside the duct, and air supplied from the fan is divided by the wall surfaces so that the leader portion and the laser are separated. It is characterized by spraying on the part.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect of the invention, the air supplied from the fan is substantially:
It is characterized by spraying at a rate of 1 to the leader section and the laser section.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the first to fifth or sixth aspects of the present invention, the drive is performed from the opening of the fan which is not opposed to the opening A of the shield box and the opening C of the duct. Along with disposing the fan so that air can be blown against the part and the developing part,
A fin for changing the air blowing direction of the fan is provided inside the shield box.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus (copier) according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus viewed obliquely from the front, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective perspective view of the image forming apparatus as viewed obliquely from the rear, FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of the main part of the image forming apparatus as viewed obliquely from the rear, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the periphery of the controller box of the apparatus as viewed obliquely from behind.
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the periphery of a front cover of the image forming apparatus as viewed obliquely from the front.

A copying machine 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes an apparatus main body 3 having an image forming section 2 composed of four paper feed cassettes 9a, 9b, 9c, 9d, a cylindrical photoreceptor 10, and the like; The light source 6, the lens system 7, the CCD unit 36, and the like are integrated into a unit 69, and the reader unit 69 is detachably connected to the apparatus main body 3.

By the way, in the vicinity of the photoreceptor 10 of the apparatus main body 3, a developing device 11, a cleaner 12, a primary charging device 13, a post-charging device 14, a transport device 17, a transfer charging device 15, A charger 16 is provided.

The paper cassettes 9a, 9b, 9c,
9d portion includes paper feed rollers 19a, 19b, 19c, 1
9d are provided respectively, and each paper feed cassette 9a to 9d is provided.
The transfer sheet S accommodated in 9d is a pair of conveying rollers 20a,
The sheet is guided to the registration roller pair 22 via the transfer paths 21 b, 20 c, and 20 d.

Further, a fixing device 25 is provided at a rear end portion of the conveying device 17, and a paper discharge roller pair 26 is provided at a rear side of the fixing device 25. The paper is discharged to a tray or the like outside the apparatus main body 3 via the paper discharge unit 30 by the pair 26.

The original placed on the original placing table 5 is pressed by the pressure plate 33, and when the copying operation is started, the reflected light of the original illuminated by the moving light source 6 adjusts the optical path length. CC reflected by the moving mirror group 39 and passing through the lens system 7
An image is formed on the D unit 36, whereby the image is read.

Then, the read image is sent to the laser scanner 38 by the image processing means, and is drawn on the drum-shaped photoreceptor 10 which rotates in the direction of the arrow by scanning the laser light.

The photoconductor 10 is uniformly charged in advance by the primary charger 13, and a latent image is formed on the photoconductor 10 by forming the optical image. Then, the latent image on the photoreceptor 10 is developed using a toner by the developing device 11 to be visualized as a toner image. The potential of the toner image is adjusted by the post-charger 14 and the toner image advances to the position of the transfer charger 15.

On the other hand, the transfer sheet S sent from any of the paper feed cassettes 9a to 9d by any one of the paper feed rollers 19a to 19d passes through the transport path 21 and passes through the registration roller pair 2
Sent to 2. Then, the transfer sheet S is sent out in synchronization with the registration roller pair 22, the toner image on the photoconductor 10 is transferred onto the transfer sheet S by the transfer charger 15, and the transfer sheet S on which the toner image is transferred is The photoconductor 10 is separated from the photoconductor 10 by the separation charger 16.

The transfer sheet S separated from the photoreceptor 10 is sent to a fixing device 25 by a conveying device 17 and the fixing device 25
In, the transfer sheet S is heated and pressed between the heating roller and the pressure roller to receive the fixation of the toner image, and then is discharged from the paper discharge unit 30 to the outside by the paper discharge roller pair 26.
The toner remaining on the photoconductor 10 after the transfer of the toner image is removed by the cleaner 12, and the photoconductor 10 from which the transfer residual toner has been removed is used for the next image formation.

An opening is formed in the rear plate (not shown) of the apparatus main body 3 in the vicinity of the fixing device 25, the conveying device 17, and the image forming section 2, and the rear plate 34 covers each opening. A transport fan 18 and a duct are connected to discharge the air in the apparatus main body 3.

The primary fan 52 shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.
Is an axial fan that sucks outside air 41 from an opening 50b provided in the front cover 50, and is incorporated in a primary fan duct 52a shown in FIG. On the back side of the front cover 50, the primary fan duct 5
2a is provided with a front cover duct 50a (see FIG. 7), which is internally branched by a wall 50f, passes through an opening 50e, and has a curling fan duct 57a (FIG. 1). The outside air 41 is also guided to the outside air 41 (see FIG. 5).

An air filter 54 is arranged between the opening 50d of the front cover duct 50a shown in FIG. 7 and the primary fan duct 52a as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and the air filter 54 is a primary filter. Fan duct 52
a is connected by a screw. When the air filter 54 becomes dirty, the air filter 54 is cleaned or replaced by a service person.

The outside air 41 sucked by the primary fan 52 is guided from the intake duct 38b to the cleaner cooling duct 38, and the air guided to the cleaner cooling duct 38 flows from the plurality of openings 42 to the cleaner 12. Sprayed. Here, the plurality of openings 42 are partitioned by a boundary 43 and are arranged continuously from the center of the main body toward the back side. This is because a large number of openings 42 are arranged while securing the rigidity of the cleaner cooling duct 38 by the boundary 43.

The air 41 blown from the cleaner cooling duct 38 is efficiently blown to the cleaner 12 by the air guide 45.

The primary fan 52 not only cools the cleaner 12, but also guides the outside air 41 branched in the primary fan duct 52 a to the primary charger 13. That is, the outside air 41 sucked by the primary fan 52 is
Primary duct 5 for blowing fresh air to 3
5 (see FIGS. 1 and 2), a fin 55a (see FIG. 1) is provided in the primary duct 55 to eliminate the unevenness of the wind speed in front of the primary charger 13, and the air volume is adjusted. ing.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cleaner cooling duct 38 is disposed between the cleaner 12 and the fixing device 25, and a cleaner exhaust duct 38a is provided above the cleaner cooling duct 38.
Is provided. And the cleaner exhaust duct 38a
Are formed with a plurality of exhaust ports 46 for sucking and exhausting the stagnant air between the cleaner 12 and the fixing device 25, and the air sucked by the cleaner exhaust duct 38a is used as the exhaust heat shown in FIG. Connecting duct 5 through duct 79
It is led to 6.

On the other hand, the curl removing fan 57 shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 is connected to the outside cover 4 through the front cover duct 50a (see FIG. 7).
The front cover duct 50a is in contact with an inner cover 58a of a fixing and conveying unit 58 in which a curl removing fan 57 is built (see FIG. 2). Further, a curl removing fan suction duct 60 for guiding the outside air 41 to the curl removing fan 57 is provided in the inner cover 58a (see FIG. 5), and is fixed by the outside air 41 flowing through the curl removing fan suction duct 60. It is possible to prevent the temperature of the fixing motor 59 from rising due to the hot air in the container 25. The fixing motor 59 is a motor for driving the fixing device 25.

Further, the outside air 4 is
1 is also guided through a curl removing fan suction duct 60 to a curl removing fan duct 57a provided below the paper discharge section. Here, a plurality of openings (not shown) are provided in the decurling fan duct 57a so that the wind speed becomes evenly distributed in the front-rear direction. Note that the plurality of openings of the decurling fan duct 57a also correspond to the cleaner cooling duct 3.
8 are configured in the same manner as the plurality of openings 42.

The outside air 41 sucked and blown out by the curl removing fan 57 cools the fixed transfer sheet S, and prevents the transfer sheet S from curling due to the heat of the fixing device 25.

As shown in FIG. 5, the final rear end of the curl removing fan duct 57a (fixing and conveying unit 5)
An opening 47 is also formed in the rear plate 58b (8 side), and the outside air 41 blown out from the opening 47 cools the rear plate 58b of the fixing and conveying unit 58 and the paper discharge motor 61. Further, the curl removing fan duct 57a is branched on the way, and the outside air 41 flowing in the curl removing fan duct 57a is branched on the way and also cools the internal sheet discharge sensor 62.

In FIG. 2, 63 is a double-sided fan,
This is because the three motors 64a, 64
b, 64c and an axial fan for cooling the control board 64d of these motors 64a to 64c. The double-sided fan 63 sucks air in the apparatus body 3 from a louver 64e provided on the right side and a louver 64f provided on the left side in the double-sided unit unit 64.

The control board 64 is directly behind the louver 64e.
d is disposed, and the air sucked by the double-sided fan 63 passes through the control board 64d to the rightmost motor 64.
The control board 64d and the motor 64a are cooled by passing through a. Then, the air blown by the double-sided fan 63 is supplied to the remaining two motors 64b,
64c is also cooled.

The transport fan 18 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 is a sirocco fan for improving the transportability of the transfer sheet S by sucking air from the transport device 17 and is mounted on the rear side plate 34 of the main body. ing. The transport fan 18 sucks air in the vicinity of the transfer charger 15 and the separation charger 16, and transfers the charging products generated in the transfer charger 15 and the separation charger 16 via the connection duct 56. The photosensitive drum 10 of the transfer sheet S is evacuated to the outside and the air in the transfer charger 15 and the separation charger 16 is sucked.
Performs the function of increasing the separation from

By the way, the air blown to the cleaner 12 cools the cleaner 12,
And exhausted to the outside of the machine via the connection duct 56. In addition, mist air containing silicon oil and the like generated in the fixing device 25 is exhausted to the outside of the apparatus via the connecting duct 56 by the transfer fan 18, and the air and mist air after cooling the cleaner 12 are also transferred from the transfer device 17. It is sucked and discharged by the fan 18.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 65 denotes an HDD cooling fan for cooling a hard disk drive (hereinafter abbreviated as HDD) 65a for recording and storing image data and the like. And an HDD disposed at the upper left rear of the apparatus body 3
It blows outside air to 65a, and is incorporated in the HDD fan duct 65b. Then, the HDD 65
The air having cooled a is exhausted from the connection duct 56 to the outside of the machine.

In the case of a product without the HDD 65a, the HDD cooling fan 65 and the HDD fan duct 65b are not attached. Therefore, considering the case where the HDD 65a is mounted later, the HDD cooling fan 6
5 and the HDD fan duct 65b can be mounted.

Also, in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, 67a
Is a controller cooling fan, which is an axial fan that cools a controller 67 (see FIG. 6) disposed on the right side of the apparatus main body 3. This controller cooling fan 6
As shown in FIG. 2, the air 7a directly sucks the outside air from the louver 68a provided on the right rear upper cover 68 and blows the outside air into the machine. Although not shown, an air filter is provided between the upper right rear cover 68 and the controller cooling fan 67a to prevent intrusion of dust and the like.

The controller cooling fan 67
a is for multiple cooling purposes. That is, the supply rate of air by the controller cooling fan 67a is 40% for cooling the controller 67, 6% for cooling the developing unit 11, 12% for cooling the leader unit 69, 12% for cooling the laser unit 32, and main driving. Part 74 / waste toner pipe 76
20% is used for cooling (see FIG. 6), and 10% is used for cooling the transport motor 82 (see FIG. 6). Here, one controller duct 67 is provided in the leader unit 69 and the laser unit cooling duct 32b of the laser unit 32 (see FIG. 5).
At d (see FIG. 5), outside air is guided through the respective flow paths.

The outside air guided to the leader section 69 passes through the controller duct 67d, and then is blown into a gap between the leader section 69 and the apparatus main body 3 through a separate duct 67e (see FIG. 5). In addition, separate duct 67e
Is not attached to a product without the leader section 69.

The air guided to the leader section 69 cools the bottom plate section 69a (see FIGS. 1 and 5) of the leader section 69 so that the internal CCD unit 36 is cooled.
Cool etc. This is because direct exposure of the CCD unit 36 to outside air may cause contamination of the CCD due to adhesion of dust and the like.

Also, louvers 73a are provided on both sides of the upper right cover 73 for the purpose of cooling the leader 69 (see FIGS. 2 and 5), and the air and natural convection are generated through these louvers 73a. It emits air.

Further, the air guided to the laser unit 32 cools the laser chip 32a (see FIG. 1), whereby a stable image is always obtained.

The controller 67 is housed in a shield box 67b formed of a metal box.
Air for cooling the developing device 11 is guided between the controller duct 67d and the elements and the like in the shield 67b are cooled by a part of the air.

Here, an opening A (not shown) for introducing outside air is formed on one surface of the shield box 67b.
The shield box 67b is provided on the other surface facing the opening A.
An opening B for discharging the air inside is formed. The opening A outside the shield box 67b
The controller cooling fan 67a is disposed at a position opposite to the controller cooling fan 67a, and a part of the opening of the controller cooling fan 67a faces the opening A of the shield box 67b.

On the other hand, FIG.
The fin 67c for efficiently blowing the outside air to the developing device 11 is provided as shown in FIG. Further, the shield box 67b is provided with fins 67f for cooling the transport motor 82 provided in the apparatus.

The reason for the above configuration is that if air for cooling the developing device 11 is directly applied to the developing device 11, the harmful effect such as toner scattering is large. Therefore, it is necessary to blow the air to the rear side plate located near the developing device 11. This is to cool the developing device 11 indirectly.

The other air is designed to be blown into the main drive unit 74. Also, by blowing air to the drum gear 75 shown in FIG. 6 to cool the drum gear 75, thermal expansion of the drum gear 75 is prevented, and troubles such as image shift due to rotation unevenness and the like are prevented. Further, by cooling the waste toner pipe 76, fusion of the waste toner is prevented.

The discharge fan 77 shown in FIG. 4 is an axial fan disposed on the bottom plate 70 on the rear side of the apparatus body 3, and an ozone filter 78 is provided downstream of the discharge fan 77 in the air flow direction. Respiratory fan 7
The connection duct 56 is disposed upstream of the connection duct 7.

The connection duct 56 has three openings 56a, 56b and 56c as shown in FIG. Here, the opening 56a is for receiving the air discharged from the transport fan 18, and the opening 56b is connected to the heat exhaust duct 79, and the opening 56c
Is for discharging the air guided to the rear side from the rear side plate of the apparatus main body 3 by the discharge fan 77.
The air guided to the rear side from the rear side plate of the apparatus main body 3 includes the air after cooling the HDD 65a, the air after cooling the elements in the shield box 67b, and the developing device 1
1. Air after cooling the main drive unit 74, the waste toner pipe 76, and the transport motor 82, respectively.

Incidentally, the air 44 sucked from the cleaner exhaust duct 38a (see FIG. 3) for sucking the stagnant air between the cleaner 12 and the fixing device 25 described above.
Is discharged by a discharge fan 77 (FIG. 4).
) And exhausted to the outside through the exhaust heat duct 79 and the connection duct 56. Here, the exhaust heat duct 79 is used for sucking dirty air around the cleaner 12 and for discharging the paper.
In addition to the cooling of 1 and the suction of the air from the paper discharge unit 30, the air blown by the curl removing fan 57 is also suctioned.

In FIG. 4, reference numeral 80 denotes a power supply fan, which is an axial fan disposed on the back side and on the upper side of the power supply 81 disposed on the lower left of the apparatus main body 3, and is provided inside the power supply unit. It has the function of discharging hot air out of the unit.

In this embodiment, the controller 67, the developing unit 11, the leader unit 69, the laser unit 32, the main drive unit 74 / the waste toner pipe 76, and the conveyance motor 82 are cooled by a single controller cooling fan. 67
Since the process is performed according to a, each part can be efficiently cooled with a simple configuration without increasing the cost.

That is, in the present invention, for cooling of each part,
A method of directly blowing outside air, a method of guiding air to a cooled part using a duct, etc., and a method of indirectly sending air to a cooled part using fins are adopted, without increasing the number of fans. By controlling the air from a single fan, each unit can be efficiently cooled, and the cost and size of the apparatus do not increase.

[0059]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, a reader section for optically reading a document and converting document information into an electric signal, and image processing the electric signal from the reader section. An image processing substrate, a shield box that houses the image processing substrate, a laser unit that forms an electrostatic latent image on a photoconductor based on information from the image processing substrate, and a static unit formed on the photoconductor. In an image forming apparatus having a developing unit for developing an electrostatic latent image and a driving unit for driving the photoconductor, an opening A for introducing outside air is formed on one surface of the shield box, and the opening A is opposed to the opening A. An opening B for discharging air in the shield box is formed on the other surface, and a fan for taking in outside air is provided at a position facing the opening A outside the shield box. Since a part of the opening of the image forming apparatus is opposed to the opening A of the shield box, each part in the image forming apparatus main body can be efficiently cooled with a simple configuration without increasing the number of fans. can get.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus (copier) according to the present invention as viewed obliquely from the front.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration around a photosensitive member of the image forming apparatus (copier) according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus (copier) according to the present invention as viewed obliquely from behind.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of the image forming apparatus (copier) according to the present invention as viewed obliquely from behind.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the periphery of the controller box of the image forming apparatus (copier) according to the present invention as viewed obliquely from behind.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view of the periphery of a front cover of the image forming apparatus (copier) according to the present invention, as viewed obliquely from the front.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Copier (image forming apparatus) 3 Main body 10 Photoconductor 11 Developing unit (developing part) 32 Laser unit (laser part) 67 Controller (image processing board) 67a Controller cooling fan (fan) 67b Shield box 67c Fin 67d, 67e Duct 67f Fin 74 Main drive unit (drive unit)

Claims (7)

[Claims] A reader for optically reading a document and converting document information into an electric signal; an image processing board for image-processing the electric signal from the reader; and a shield box for accommodating the image processing board. A laser unit for forming an electrostatic latent image on a photoconductor based on information from the image processing substrate, a developing unit for developing the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor, and driving the photoconductor In the image forming apparatus having a driving unit, an opening A for introducing outside air is formed on one surface of the shield box, and the air inside the shield box is discharged on the other surface facing the opening A. An opening B is formed and the opening A outside the shield box is formed.
A fan for taking in outside air is provided at a position facing the opening, and a part of the opening of the fan is made to face the opening A of the shield box. 2. The air supply from the fan is about 4 times.
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein 0% is provided for cooling the image processing substrate. 3. A duct having an opening at a position facing a part of the opening of the fan, and the duct blows air to the reader section and the laser section. The image forming apparatus as described in the above. 4. The air supply from the fan is about 2 times.
4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein 5% of the image is provided for cooling the reader unit and the laser unit. 5. A plurality of wall surfaces are provided inside the duct,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein air supplied from the fan is distributed to the leader unit and the laser unit by the wall surface. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein air supplied from the fan is blown to the reader section and the laser section at a ratio of about 1: 1. 7. The fan is arranged such that air can be blown to the drive unit and the developing unit from an opening of the fan that is not opposed to the opening A of the shield box and the opening C of the duct. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a fin is provided inside the shield box for changing a direction in which the fan blows air.