JP2003140534A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device constituted so that the production cost and the number of components are reduced, and an air is guided to several parts to be cooled by a single cooling fan and the parts to be cooled inside the device can be efficiently cooled. SOLUTION: As for the image forming device provided with at least one cooling fan, at least one part to be cooled and an air sending duct for guiding the air from the cooling fan to the part to be cooled, the wall surface of the air duct or at least a certain duct-shaped part is constituted of an outer packaging cover for the device main body.

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 that controls a temperature inside a machine by using a cooling fan.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An example of the configuration of a conventional image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, the sheets 108 fed one by one from the feeding cassette 107 by the feeding roller 109 pass through the feeding path A, and are fed to the registration rollers 111 by the feeding roller 110. And sheet 108
Is conveyed in synchronism with the image formed on the photoconductor drum 113 by the optical unit 104 or the like, the image is transferred by the transfer roller 112, and then conveyed by the conveyor belt 114 to the fixing device 115. Then, after the image is fixed by being heated and pressurized in the fixing device 115, the image is passed through the conveyance path B and discharged to the discharging portion 117 outside the device by the discharging roller pair 116.

In the image forming apparatus having the above-described structure, the electrical equipment section 103 having a power source and the like, the optical unit 104, and the like are heated by the operation, and therefore need to be cooled. Here, various arrangement examples of these components and the cooling fan 106 are taken depending on the device.

In the conventional example shown in FIG. 7, a cooling fan is used.
106 is arranged as a suction fan in the apparatus main body so that air can be sent to both units of the electrical equipment section 103 arranged in parallel with the optical unit 104. The optical unit 104 is installed in a state in which it is floated to the extent that it can be ventilated with the main body frame in order to prevent heat from the fixing device 115, which is a high-temperature heat generating part in the device, and part of the sucked air is the optical unit
Air is exhausted through between 104 and the body frame to prevent temperature rise.

[0005]

However, the arrangement of the electrical components such as the power source, which is the portion to be cooled, the optical unit, and the cooling fan varies depending on the device. For this reason, it is usual to provide a ventilation duct in order to send air to the part to be cooled away from the cooling fan, but depending on the route, the number of members increases, resulting in an increase in production cost and image formation. There is a problem that the entire device becomes large.

When there are a plurality of members to be cooled, it is necessary to provide a large cooling fan that extends over the portion to be cooled, or to provide a cooling fan for each portion to be cooled.
In this case, if the cooled part is placed at a position where one cooling fan cannot send air, a new member for forming a ventilation duct is required, which increases the production cost and the number of parts. Increase occurs.

Further, due to the downsizing of the device, the arrangement position of the electric components such as the power source, the optical unit, the cooling fan, etc. is limited, and the cooled portion is arranged at a position where the cooling fan cannot directly send air. In this case, a new member for forming a ventilation duct is required, which increases the production cost and the number of parts.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the number of parts of the ventilation duct is reduced to reduce the production cost, and at the same time, the air is sent to a plurality of cooled portions by one cooling fan, so that the cooled portions in the apparatus can be efficiently operated. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can be cooled effectively.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a typical structure of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention comprises at least one cooling fan, at least one cooled portion, and the cooling fan. In the image forming apparatus having a ventilation duct that guides air to the cooled portion, at least a part of a wall surface or a duct shape of the ventilation duct is configured by an exterior cover of the apparatus body.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION First Embodiment A first embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a rear sectional view of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the image forming apparatus.

In FIG. 2, the sheets 8 fed one by one from the feeding cassette 7 by the feeding roller 9 pass through the feeding path A, and are fed to the registration rollers 11 by the feeding roller 10. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the photoconductor drum 13 by the optical unit 4, and a toner image is formed by a developing device (not shown). The registration roller 11 rotates in synchronism with the leading end position of the formed toner image, and the sheet 8 is conveyed to the transfer nip portion where the photosensitive drum 13 and the transfer roller 12 contact each other. The photosensitive drum 13 and the transfer roller 12
The image forming unit is configured by the above.

The sheet 8 onto which the toner image has been transferred is separated from the photosensitive drum 13 and conveyed to the fixing device 15 by the conveying belt 14. In the fixing device 15, the sheet 8 is nipped between the heating member and the pressure roller to fix the unfixed toner image transferred to the sheet 8. After that, the sheet 8 on which the toner image is fixed is discharged to the discharging portion 17 outside the apparatus by the discharging roller pair 16 through the conveying path B.

In the present embodiment, the parts to be cooled are the electrical unit 3 having a power source and the like, and the optical unit 4. Then, in order to cool them, a cooling fan 6 is provided on the exterior of the device body.
Is equipped with.

A body frame 18 is provided in the approximate center of the cooling fan 6.
The web 18a, which is a part of the
The air sucked from is branched into the electrical component section 3 and the optical unit 4. This eliminates the need for a large cooling fan spanning a plurality of parts to be cooled even though they have a plurality of parts to be cooled.

In this embodiment, since the cooling fan 6 is arranged at a position substantially horizontal to the optical unit 4, the air sucked from the cooling fan 6 is simply the body frame 18.
It is configured so as to reach the optical unit 4 through the ventilation port 5 provided in the.

On the other hand, since there is a distance from the cooling fan 6 to the electrical equipment section 3, the air taken in by the ventilation duct 2 is guided. Here, as shown in the figure, the ventilation duct 2
The outer wall surface of the device is constituted by the exterior cover 1 of the device body. Therefore, the number of components for forming the ventilation duct 2 can be reduced.

As described above, one surface of the wall surface forming the ventilation duct is constituted by the exterior cover, and the air sucked from one fan is guided to a plurality of parts to be cooled. The image forming device is
The production cost and the number of parts can be reduced, and the cooled portion in the device can be efficiently cooled.

Although not shown, the side wall surface of the ventilation duct 2 may be formed by a rib or the like provided on the exterior cover 1.

[Second Embodiment] A second embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 3
4 is a rear cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus. Omit it.

In the first embodiment described above, a plurality of parts to be cooled are provided, but in the image forming apparatus according to this embodiment, only the electrical component section 3 is the part to be cooled. However, due to the relationship with other components, the cooling fan 106 is installed at a position away from the electrical component section 3 as shown in FIG.
Therefore, as shown in the figure, the web 18a, which is a part of the main body frame 18, protrudes above the cooling fan 6, and all the sucked air is configured to flow to the ventilation duct 2 that continues to the electrical equipment section 3. There is.

Here, as shown in the drawing, the ventilation duct 2
The outer cover 1 of the apparatus main body constitutes one surface of the outer wall surface of the apparatus. As a result, the number of parts for forming the ventilation duct 2 can be reduced, the configuration of the device can be simplified, and the production cost of the device can be reduced.

Although not shown, the side wall surface of the ventilation duct 2 may also be constituted by a rib or the like provided on the exterior cover 1 as in the first embodiment.

Third Embodiment A third embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Figure 5
6 is a rear cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus according to the present exemplary embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a side cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus. Omit it.

In each of the above embodiments, the ventilation duct 2
Although at least one surface of the wall surface forming the above is constituted by the main body frame 18, in the present embodiment, a part of the flow path formed by the ventilation duct 2 is integrally molded by the exterior cover 1.

As shown in FIG. 5, the exterior cover 1 of the apparatus main body
Forms the ventilation duct 2 integrally and guides the air sucked from the cooling fan 6 to the electrical equipment section 3. That is, the outer cover 1 does not constitute only one wall surface of the ventilation duct 2, but the four wall surfaces surrounding the flow path are constituted by the outer cover 1.

With the above structure, the number of parts for forming the ventilation duct 2 can be further reduced, the structure of the device can be simplified, and the production cost of the device can be reduced.

It should be noted that in the case where the electrical equipment portion 3 which is the portion to be cooled is further inside the apparatus, the duct member which is continuous to the ventilation duct 2 may be separately provided and connected, which does not deviate from the scope of the present invention. , A similar effect can be obtained.

[0028]

As described above, in the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, at least a part of the ventilation duct for guiding the air from the cooling fan to the cooled portion is constituted by the exterior cover of the apparatus main body. The number of parts for forming the ventilation duct can be reduced, and the device configuration can be simplified and the production cost can be reduced. Also,
Air can be sent to a plurality of cooled portions by one fan to efficiently cool the cooled portions in the apparatus.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a rear sectional view of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a rear cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a rear cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment.

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

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

A: Transport path B: Conveyance path 1… Exterior cover 2 ... Ventilation duct 3 ... Electrical component 4 ... Optical unit 5 ... Vent 6 ... Cooling fan 7 ... Feed cassette 8 ... Sheet 9 ... Feed roller 10… Conveyor roller 11 ... Registration roller 12… Transfer roller 13 ... Photosensitive drum 14… Conveyor belt 15… Fixing device 16… Ejection roller pair 17… Ejector 18… Body frame 18a ... Web 103… Electrical equipment department 104… Optical unit 106… Cooling fan 107… Paper cassette 108… Sheet 109… Feeding roller 110… Conveyor roller 111… Registration roller 112… Transfer roller 113… Photosensitive drum 114… Conveyor belt 115… Fixing device 116… Ejection roller pair 117… Ejector

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F term (reference) 2C061 AQ06 BB27 BB28 CN02 CN08                       CN13                 2H027 JA11 JB14 JB16 JC04 JC16                       JC18                 2H071 AA31 BA41 DA02 DA31 DA34                       EA00 EA04                 5E322 BA03

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus having at least one cooling fan, at least one cooled portion, and a ventilation duct for guiding air from the cooling fan to the cooled portion, wherein at least one of the ventilation ducts is provided. The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the part is constituted by an exterior cover of the apparatus body. 2. At least a part of the ventilation duct,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is formed integrally with an exterior cover of the apparatus body. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the part of the ventilation duct is at least one surface of a wall surface forming the ventilation duct. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the part of the ventilation duct is at least a part of a flow path formed by the ventilation duct.