JP2002297002A - Process cartridge and imaging device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a process cartridge which improves operability for attachment and detachment with a hand to and from an imaging device body. SOLUTION: A grip 40 is provided on the front of a cartridge frame body, in which a photosensitive drum, a cleaner, etc., are stored, and a through-hole part 41 is provided in the deep side face so as to turn an aperture toward a fixing device when being set, and the user puts two or three fingers in this through-hole part 41 to firmly hole the deep side of the cartridge frame body.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a frame constituting a process cartridge and an electrophotographic image forming apparatus provided with the process cartridge.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium using an electrophotographic image forming process includes, for example, an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer (for example, an LED printer, a laser beam printer, etc.), an electrophotographic facsimile. Device and an electrophotographic word processor.

Further, as a process cartridge, for example, a charging means for uniformly charging a photoreceptor as an image carrier, a cleaning means for removing toner remaining on the photoreceptor after transfer, and a photoreceptor are integrally formed. At least one of a charging unit, a developing unit that develops a latent image formed on a photoreceptor with a developer such as a toner, a cleaning unit, There is a type in which all and the photosensitive member are integrally formed into a cartridge and can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body.

Conventionally, the storage of the residual toner on the photoreceptor is classified into a type in which the toner is stored in the frame of the process cartridge and a type in which the toner is discharged out of the frame by a screw or the like and stored in a dedicated bottle. can do. In the latter case, the distance between the heat fixing device and the process cartridge is short, and since the distance from the heat source is inevitably short, various measures are taken to suppress the temperature rise of the photoconductor. For example, a member for shielding radiant heat from the heat fixing device is provided, and an air path configuration in consideration of the flow of the wind is implemented in order to reduce the influence of conduction and convection heat.

[0005] Further, there has been proposed a cartridge frame in which a hole or the like serving as an air passage is provided in a cartridge frame integrally formed as a cartridge.

[0006]

The type in which the storage area of the residual toner on the photoreceptor is discharged out of the frame of the process cartridge has an elongated process cartridge. Although it is necessary to hold the device at one location and attach / detach it to / from the apparatus main body, it is difficult to hold the device and the operability of attaching / detaching is poor.

Further, if the user inserts his hand under the process cartridge and holds it, there is a spur under the process cartridge, which may give a feeling of strangeness to the finger or damage the spur at the time of attachment / detachment.

When the process cartridge is replaced after the end of its durability, the toner may adhere to the lower surface of the process cartridge, and when removing the process cartridge from the apparatus main body, the toner may adhere to the hand and become dirty.

In addition, it is difficult to form a shape for obtaining the strength of the process cartridge frame due to the die-cutting relationship of the same main material constituting the frame, and there is an opening somewhere and the strength is insufficient. It is also possible to invite.

A first object of the invention according to the present application is to provide a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus which can be easily attached and detached and scanned.

A second object of the invention according to the present application is to provide a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus in which the rigidity of the frame of the process cartridge is increased.

[0012]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a process cartridge frame in which at least an image carrier and cleaning means for removing residual toner on the image carrier are integrally housed. And a mounting means for removably mounting the process cartridge to the image forming apparatus main body, wherein a through hole for hand holding is formed in a side wall portion of the cartridge frame. I do.

A second aspect of the present invention is a main component of the process cartridge frame described above, wherein the frame member made of the same material has an opening in the longitudinal direction. The opening is covered with a member different from the frame, and is formed in a substantially box shape.

[0014]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the dimensions of the components described in this embodiment,
The material, shape, relative position, and the like are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention thereto unless otherwise specified.

First, the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus main body will be described. In FIG. 11, an image forming apparatus main body A has a scanner section B as image reading means for reading image information on an image surface of a book document at an upper portion thereof, and an image forming section C as an image forming means at a lower portion thereof. Further, a transfer material deck D is attached to a lower portion thereof.

The scanner section B includes a scanning system light source 61, a platen glass 62, a document pressure plate 63 that can be opened and closed with respect to the apparatus main body A,
First mirror 64, second mirror 65, third mirror 66, lens 67,
And a light receiving element (photoelectric conversion element) 68 and an image processing unit.

The scanning system light source 61 and the first mirror 64 make up a first mirror base, and the second mirror 65 and the third mirror 66 make up a second mirror base, so that scanning is performed in the scanning direction a. The moving state of the first and second mirror bases is indicated by a dotted line.

Then, a book or cardboard on the platen glass 62,
A book original such as curled paper or a sheet original is placed with the original surface facing down (the platen glass 62 side), and the original is set in a stationary state in which the original back surface is pressed by the original pressure plate 63. When the start key is pressed, the scanning system light source 61 scans the lower part of the platen glass 62 in the direction of arrow a to illuminate the image surface of the original, and guides the reflected light (image information) to the first mirror 64.

The image information of the original document guided to the first mirror 64 is projected onto the light receiving element 68 by the lens 67 via the second mirror 65 and the third mirror 66, and the image information is read by the light receiving element 68. The image is processed by the image processing unit, converted into an electric signal, and transmitted to the laser scanner 69 of the image forming unit C.

Here, the image forming apparatus main body A functions as a copying machine when the processing signal of the image processing section is input to the laser scanner 69, and functions as a printer when the output signal of the personal computer is input. Also, if a transmission signal from another machine's facsimile device is input or a processing signal of the image processing unit is transmitted to another machine's facsimile device,
Functions as a facsimile machine.

On the other hand, a transfer material storage section and a sheet cassette 21 are mounted below the image forming section C. The sheet cassette 21 is composed of a lower cassette 21a and an upper cassette 21b as one feeding unit. It is configured.

The transfer material as a sheet stored in the lower and upper cassettes 21a and 21b is fed out by a pickup roller 22 serving as a feed rotating body, and is cooperated by a feed roller 23 and a retard roller 24. After being separated and fed one by one, the sheet is transported by the transport roller pair 25, 26 or 27.

The conveyed transfer material is held for a predetermined period of time while holding the transfer material so as to absorb variations in the position of the transfer material by the pre-registration roller pair 28, and then rotated and conveyed. The sheet is guided to the registration roller pair 11 by 10 and fed to the image forming section C by the registration roller pair 11 in synchronization with the image forming operation.

The image forming section C includes a photosensitive member as an image carrier.
1, an image writing optical system 2, a developing unit 3, a transfer roller 6 of a transfer unit 4, and the like. Then, on the surface of the photoconductor 1 uniformly charged by the primary charger 5, laser light corresponding to image information emitted from the laser scanner 69 is scanned by the image writing optical system 2 to form a latent image, A toner image is formed on the latent image by the developing device 3, and the first transfer material is transferred to the transfer material conveyed by the registration roller pair 11 in synchronization with the rotation of the photoconductor 1 by the transfer roller 6.
The toner image is transferred to the surface.

A transfer material guide 19 serving as guide means and a fixing device serving as fixing means are provided downstream of the image forming section C in the transport direction.
7. Equipped with a discharge roller pair 12. The transfer material on which the toner image is formed is guided by a transfer material guide 19 from a transfer unit E formed by the photoconductor 1 and the transfer roller 6, and is conveyed to the fixing device 7,
Heat and pressure are applied to fix the toner image on the surface of the transfer material.

The transfer material having been fixed is guided in the discharge direction, and is stacked by a discharge roller pair 12 on a discharge tray (upper part of the image forming section C) 13 having a function as a top cover.
The transfer material is discharged onto the discharge tray 13 with the image forming surface facing down.

When images are recorded on both sides of the transfer material, the transfer material passes through the fixing device 7 and then is transferred to the discharge rollers 14 and 12.
After the transfer material is transported, and immediately after the rear end of the transfer material passes through the flapper 15, the discharge roller pair is reversely rotated while holding the transfer material, the transfer material is reversed, and once placed on the transfer material double-sided tray 16, The transfer material conveyed by the roller pairs 28 and 10 and reaching the registration roller pair 11 and turned over is
After an image is formed on the two surfaces in the same manner as described above, the image is discharged to the discharge tray 13 and stacked.

Here, a sensor (hereinafter referred to as a “regime sensor”) lever 17 for detecting a transfer material is provided upstream of the registration roller pair 11 in the conveyance direction. Is rotated, and the fact that the sensor 18 including the photo interrupter detects the transfer material is transmitted to the CPU of the image forming apparatus main body.

Next, details of the present embodiment will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 1, the process cartridge 31 is detachable from the image forming apparatus main body by moving in the direction of the arrow. As shown in FIG. 2, the process cartridge 31 includes a charging roller 32 of a charging unit 5, a cleaning unit (cleaning blade) 33 for scraping residual toner on the photoconductor 1, and a photoconductor 1 for scraping residual toner. Screw 34 to be sent to the back side in the axial direction of
And a shutter 35 constantly urged in the closing direction (first position) to protect the photoconductor 1.

The mounting and dismounting of the process cartridge with respect to the image forming apparatus main body is performed by a left rail 36 provided on the upper left side of the exterior member of the process cartridge 31 and a right rail 37 provided on the upper right side. As shown in FIG. 3, a left rail is provided on the image forming apparatus main body side corresponding to these left and right rails 36 and 37 on the process cartridge side.
A right rail 39 and a right rail 39 are provided. The left and right rails 36 and 37 on the process cartridge side are mounted on and removed from the rails 38 and 39.

When actually performing the attaching / detaching operation, since the process cartridge 31 is elongated as shown in FIG. 1, it is necessary to hold the handle 40 on the front side of the process cartridge 31 with the right hand and hold the process cartridge 31 somewhere with the left hand. It is difficult to insert.

For this reason, in the present embodiment, a hole 41 is formed in the side surface on the back side of the process cartridge frame, and this hole 41 is formed.
The left hand is inserted into 41 and the left and right rails 36 and 37 of the process cartridge are guided into the rails of the image forming apparatus main body to facilitate insertion.

In this embodiment, the width of the hole 41 is
The hole has a size of 95 mm and a height of 15 mm. When holding the hole 41 without putting a hand, as shown in FIG.
As a result, a finger is hooked on the lower surface of the left rail 36, which makes it unstable and easy to drop. Also, as shown in FIG. I will.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, if the user holds the process cartridge by holding the upper and lower surfaces of the process cartridge by hand, the spur 42 provided on the lower surface of the process cartridge may hit a finger, giving a sense of incongruity, or by any chance. It could hurt 42. Here, if the distance between the process cartridge and the fixing device is short, the spur 42 indicates that the distortion of the transfer material gradually accumulated in the fixing portion (nip) of the fixing device immediately after the rear end of the transfer material has passed the transfer roller 6. May be released, and may rise upward due to the type and size of the transfer material, environmental conditions, and the like. At this time, the spur 42 rotates due to the contact force, and the unfixed toner image carried on the transfer material is Not to disturb.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the air flow around the process cartridge is controlled so that the heat of the fixing unit 7 as a heat source and the heat of the pre-exposure lamp 43 for removing the residual charge do not affect the process cartridge. And a discharge fan 44 at the back of the image forming apparatus (at the rear of the fixing device).
And a suction fan 45 on the right side of the image forming apparatus.
(FIG. 11) is provided.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the shutter 35 of the process cartridge 31 rotates the lever 100 counterclockwise with the support shaft 100a as a fulcrum, for example, to rotate the spring-operated intermediate lever 101 during jam clearance. In the direction
As a result, in conjunction with the operation of lowering the transfer material guide 19, the position shown in FIG.
9 is retracted to the position shown in FIG. 9, but is located between the fixing device 7 and the process cartridge at the position shown in FIG. 7, thereby avoiding the influence of radiant heat of the fixing device. Each space and hole are provided around the area 1 so as to allow the flow in the direction of the arrow, but in particular, the hole 41 on the back side of the process cartridge frame
It is strongly influenced by 44 and forms an efficient airflow as shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a view of the fixing device 7 as viewed from the front. FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a main part of the image forming apparatus. The airflow in the left-right direction and the airflow in the front-rear direction (from the front to the back of the page) are merged by the upstream suction fan 45 and exhausted outside the machine.

As shown in FIG. 7, the heat of the pre-exposure lamp 43 does not affect the periphery of the photosensitive member 1 due to the flow in the direction of the arrow. Since it covers the opening 48 of the body, an airflow which does not affect the photoreceptor 1 is formed. Also,
Needless to say, the present embodiment is only one example regarding the size, position, and number of the holes 41.

Regarding the strength of the process cartridge 31,
It is difficult to increase the strength by forming the main frame of the same material that forms the process cartridge frame into a box shape, and it is difficult to remove the die when forming the main frame of the same material that forms the process cartridge frame. Above, an opening was formed and the strength surface was sacrificed. The hatched portion shown in FIG. 9 is a cross section of the main frame of the same material constituting the process cartridge frame,
It has a substantially U-shape whose upper side is open.
As shown in the figure, the torsional rigidity in the direction of arrow b was weak. 9 and 10, a member 47 indicated by a two-dot chain line,
The rigidity is increased by adding screws to fix the frame to the frame at four points.

Here, the member 47 is a steel material in the present embodiment,
The one with a thickness of 1.2mm is used, which increases the torsional rigidity and reduces the amount of torsion by about 60%. Further, the natural vibration of the entire process cartridge is also improved, and the vibration by the driving source is suppressed, so that a good image can be provided. As can be seen in FIGS.
Without it, the frame can be grasped and the operability of attaching and detaching is not so bad, but the torsional rigidity is reduced as described above.

[0042]

As described above, according to the present invention, the process cartridge has a through hole adjacent to, for example, the fixing device in the process cartridge frame, and the through hole can insert a plurality of fingers, for example. The handle is detachable from the main body of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus. Since the detachable operation can be performed and the operability is improved, it is possible to prevent an expensive photosensitive drum from being damaged.

Further, the attachment / detachment operation can be performed without inadvertently holding the lower surface of the process cartridge, damaging the spur, or giving a feeling of strangeness to the hand.

Further, the process cartridge frame has an opening, and the opening is covered with a member different from the frame to form a substantially box shape.
The required accuracy can be ensured even in the case of an unintentional attachment / detachment operation, and furthermore, there is an effect that a good image can be provided because it is hardly affected by vibration.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a process cartridge according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the process cartridge of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram around a detachable rail of an apparatus main body to which the process cartridge of FIG. 1 is mounted.

FIG. 4 is a view showing a hand-held state when the process cartridge of FIG. 1 is attached and detached;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an inconvenient hand-held state of the process cartridge of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a view showing another inconvenient hand-held state of the process cartridge of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an airflow diagram around the process cartridge in a state where the process cartridge of FIG. 1 is mounted on the apparatus main body.

FIG. 8 is an airflow diagram of the area around the process cartridge as viewed from above.

FIG. 9 is a view showing a main frame of the same material of the process cartridge.

FIG. 10 is an external perspective view of a process cartridge.

FIG. 11 is a schematic sectional view of the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus main body.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Photoreceptor 2 Image writing optical system 3 Developing device 4 Transfer means 5 Primary charging device 6 Transfer roller 7 Fixing device 10 Transport roller pair 11 Registration roller pair 12, 14 Discharge roller pair 13 Discharge tray 15 Flapper 16 Double-sided tray 17 Regimae Sensor lever 18 Sensor 19 Transfer material guide 21 Cassette 22 Pickup roller 23 Feed roller 24 Retard roller 25, 26, 27 Transfer roller pair 28 Pre-registration roller 31 Process cartridge 32 Charging roller 33 Cleaning unit 34 Screw 35 Shutter 36 Left rail (Process cartridge) 37 Right rail (process cartridge) 38 Left rail (device body) 39 Right rail (device body) 40 Handle 41 Hole 42 Spur 43 Pre-exposure lamp 44, 45 Fan 46 Lamp support 47 Member 48 Opening 61 Scanning light source 62 Platen glass 63 Original pressure plate 64, 65, 66 Mirror 67 Lens 68 Light receiving Element 69 laser scanner

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2H027 JA11 JB13 JB16 JC01 JC08 JC15 ZA07 2H035 CA07 CB01 CD01 CD14 CD15 CE06 2H071 AA26 BA04 BA13 BA19 BA23 BA24 BA27 DA12 DA13 DA15 EA04 EA10

Claims (7)

[Claims] A process cartridge frame integrally housing at least an image carrier and a cleaning unit for scraping off residual toner on the image carrier; and a process cartridge for detachably mounting the process cartridge to an image forming apparatus main body. A mounting means, wherein a through hole for hand holding is formed in a side wall of the cartridge frame. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hole has an opening formed in a fixing unit for heating and pressing and fixing an unfixed toner image carried on a recording medium in a state of being attached to the image forming apparatus main body. The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein: 3. The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the hole is formed on a back side in a longitudinal direction. 4. A main component of the process cartridge frame, wherein the frame member made of the same material has an opening in a longitudinal direction, and the opening is covered and fixed by a member different from the frame. 4. The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the process cartridge is formed in a substantially box shape. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an openable and closable shutter for protecting the image carrier, wherein the shutter is located between the fixing unit and the cleaning unit in an open position. The process cartridge according to any one of the above. 6. A transport unit for transporting a recording medium, wherein the process cartridge according to claim 1 is detachable, and an unfixed toner image provided in a path of the transport unit is recorded. An image forming apparatus, comprising: a fixing unit configured to heat and pressure-fix a medium. 7. A discharge fan is provided in the vicinity of the through hole of the process cartridge, behind the fixing means, and a suction fan is provided on the opposite side of the discharge cartridge with respect to the process cartridge. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein an airflow from the suction fan to the discharge fan is formed through the hole.