JP2003295732A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the visibility and operability inside an apparatus by contriving an opening and closing method of a door when a jam processing is performed or a fixing device and a process unit are replaced. <P>SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus is provided with a supporting body linking the door and an image forming apparatus main body, a rail to slide the supporting body, and the door which is provided with an oblong groove on its side surface and can be moved along a pin from the supporting body, are provided. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an opening / closing door on the side surface of an image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a jam occurs when a sheet is conveyed, a conveying path is opened to perform a jam process. When opening the transport path, the door rotates around the axis or slides on the rail.

In a copying machine having a vertical transfer-fixing process, when a fixing device or a process unit is replaced, a door is rotated around an axis or slid on a rail.

In a copying machine in which the process between transfer and fixing is in the vertical direction, when the fixing device is replaced, the fixing device moves in a direction substantially perpendicular to the transport path between the transfer and fixing, and It is a two-step rotation operation of moving in a direction substantially parallel to the conveyance path of.

In a copying machine in which the transfer-fixing process is in the vertical direction, when the image-forming unit is replaced, the image-forming unit cannot be pulled out in a direction substantially perpendicular to the transfer-fixing conveyance path.

[0006]

With the pivoting type opening / closing door (FIG. 12) as in the prior art, the downward direction (FIG. 12, A
Part) had poor visibility and operability.

In the sliding type opening / closing door (FIG. 13) as in the prior art, when the jam is removed, the fixing unit and the process unit are replaced, the door must be slid to some extent to support the slide. The operability was poor because the member touched the hand (Fig. 13, part B).

In the rotary and sliding doors as in the prior art, the space required to open the door (see FIG. 14,
Part C) was large.

In the prior art, when the fixing device was replaced, the door and the arm portion supporting the door interfered with each other, so that it was impossible to directly insert a driver for removing the fixing screw (FIG. 15). In addition, at the time of replacement, it was necessary to perform a two-step operation in which the fixing device was once moved in a direction substantially perpendicular to the conveyance path and then moved in a direction substantially parallel to the conveyance path (FIG. 16). Therefore, the operability of replacing the fixing device was poor.

In the prior art, the replacement of the image forming unit cannot be moved in a direction substantially perpendicular to the conveying path because of the hinge of the door (FIG. 17). As a result, the front door of the copying machine can be replaced only in a limited direction, and the operability is poor.

A first object of the present invention is to improve the visibility of the inside of the apparatus by devising a method for opening and closing a door when a jam is removed or a fixing unit or a process unit is replaced. It is intended to improve the operability of a worker by eliminating a work obstacle such as a hand hitting a door or a hand hitting a supporting member of the door when the fixing device and the process unit are replaced.

The object of the second invention relating to the present application is the first
When the operation is performed, the moving distance of the door in a direction substantially perpendicular to the side surface on which the image forming unit is arranged and the moving distance of the door in the gravity direction when performing the second operation are determined.

An object of a third invention relating to the present application is, during the first operation, a movement distance of the door in a direction substantially perpendicular to a side surface on which the image forming unit is arranged, and a second operation. In this case, the moving distance of the door in the gravity direction is determined and the device configuration is simplified.

A fourth object of the present invention is to open the door and at the same time make the inside of the paper conveyance path accessible to the fixing device and the process unit to improve the operability and at the same time improve the internal visibility. Is to let.

A fifth object of the present invention is to allow a driver to be directly inserted regardless of the position of a door or an arm supporting the door when replacing the fixing device or the image forming unit. The image forming unit can be replaced by a single operation of moving the image forming unit in a direction substantially perpendicular to the paper conveyance path.

[0016]

In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention relates to a door in a direction substantially perpendicular to a side surface of an image forming apparatus on which an image forming unit is arranged, and The door is movable so as to be substantially parallel to the side surface, and the door can be moved in the direction of gravity.

By thus pulling out the door once and lowering it in the direction of gravity, the door is completely opened and the visibility of the inside of the apparatus is improved, and at the same time, the jam is removed, or the fixing unit and the process unit are replaced. It is possible to improve the operability of.

A second invention according to the present application is a support for linking a door and an image forming apparatus main body, supporting the door and enabling movement in a direction substantially perpendicular to a side surface on which the image forming unit is arranged. The image forming device has a rail that slides the body and its support, and a slotted groove is formed on the side surface of the door. The groove can be moved along the pin from the support in the direction of gravity. , It has a door with a part of the paper transport path and a transfer roller.

In this way, at the time of the first operation, by holding the support that links the door and the image forming apparatus, and by determining the length of this support, the space required for opening and closing the door can be minimized. It is possible to save the work space for opening and closing. Furthermore, it has an elongated groove on the side of the door,
By determining the length of this long hole, the moving distance of the door in the gravity direction can be determined. By maximizing the length of this groove until the entire inside of the apparatus can be seen, the visibility inside the image forming apparatus is improved and the entry from the outside into the inside is facilitated.

A third invention according to the present application is a support for linking the door and the main body of the image forming apparatus, supporting the door and enabling movement in a direction substantially perpendicular to a side surface on which the image forming unit is arranged. The body is pin-fixed to the main body of the image forming apparatus as far as it can rotate, and has a slot-like groove on the side surface of the door,
It is characterized by having a door having a transfer roller and a part of the paper conveyance path that enables movement in the direction of gravity while aligning the groove with the pin from the support.

The support member that supports the door and is movable in a direction substantially perpendicular to the side surface on which the image forming unit is arranged is pin-fixed to the image forming apparatus main body as long as it is rotatable. As a result, since the moving mechanism in the substantially right-angled direction is changed from the slide mechanism to the rotating mechanism, the configuration of the rail or the like can be simplified.

A fourth invention according to the present application is to form a paper transport path by aligning a transport path on the side of an image forming apparatus that shares a part of a fixing device or a process unit with a transport path on the side of a door. Characterize.

In this way, by adopting a construction in which the transport path is formed by aligning the door side and the image forming apparatus side, it is possible to open the paper transport path at the same time when the door is opened. You can get a panoramic view, and when jamming, you can see where the jammed paper is, which improves visibility. Further, since the fixing device and the process unit can be accessed at the same time, the operability of unit replacement is improved.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the door is pulled out in a direction substantially perpendicular to the side surface of the image forming apparatus on which the image forming unit is arranged, and in a direction substantially parallel to the side surface. It is characterized in that it has a door that moves to a position where the fixing device and the image forming unit can be pulled out from the drum in a direction substantially perpendicular to the paper transport path between the fixing device.

As described above, the door is pulled out in a direction substantially perpendicular to the side surface on which the image forming unit of the image forming apparatus is arranged and substantially parallel to the side surface, and has a door that moves in the gravity direction. When replacing the fuser or image forming unit, the driver can be directly inserted regardless of the position of the door or the arm that supports the door, and the fuser and the image forming unit can be fed from the drum to the fuser. By pulling out in a direction substantially perpendicular to the road, it is possible to perform unit replacement with one operation and improve operability at the time of replacement.

[0026]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a view best showing the features of the structure of an opening / closing door in an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. Further, FIG. 2 shows a diagram focusing on the door. 1 and 2, 1 is a door on the side of the device, 2 is a rail, 3 is a support, 4 is a claw, 5 is a pin, a is a groove on the rail side, b is a slotted groove on both side surfaces of the door, c is a groove on the support side, d
Is a conveyance path, 51 is a fixing device, 52 is a paper feed table, 53 is a process unit, 58 is a developing device, 54 is a laser scanner,
55 is a transfer roller, 56 is a photosensitive drum, and 57 is a charger.

A laser beam corresponding to image information is scanned from the laser scanner 54 onto the surface of the photosensitive drum 56 which is uniformly charged by the charger 57, and a latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 56. By developing the latent image by the developing device 58, a toner image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 56. Paper is a paper tray 5
2, the photosensitive drum 56 and the transfer roller 55.
The toner image formed on the photoconductor drum 56 is transferred to the nip portion of and is transferred to a sheet, passes through the fixing device 51, and is heated and pressed to fix the toner image on the paper surface. The paper is ejected.

From FIG. 1, there are grooves b on both side surfaces of the door 1. Two support bodies 3 and two rails 2 are arranged so as to sandwich the door 1.

FIG. 2 is a detailed view of the door. Support 3 and claw 4
Are integrally formed, and the pin 5 is fixed to the support 3.
The rail 2 has a groove a and the door 1 has a groove b. Door 1 is pin 5
Is connected to the support body 3 via the claw 4 and the support body 3 is connected to the rail 2 via the claw 4.

When the jam is removed or the unit is replaced, the support 3 and the door 1 simultaneously move on the rail 2 in one direction along the groove a for a predetermined distance (FIG. 3). At that time, since the transport path d and the transfer roller 55 move together with the door 1, the transport path d is opened. Furthermore, since the door 1 moves in one direction with respect to the support 3 along the groove b for a certain distance (FIG. 4), it is possible to access the inside of the copying machine such as the fixing device 51, the process unit 53, and the jam processing. .

The claw 4 may be a separate component from the support 3 and may have a round shape (pin shape).

As shown in FIG. 5, by opening the door 1, the conveyance path d is completely opened. Therefore, when jammed, it is easy to see where the jammed paper 59 jammed. Further, even when the fixing device or the process unit is replaced, there is no hindrance to the replacement operation such as the hinge and the arm of the door, so that the driver 60 can be directly inserted, and the fixing device 51 and the process unit 53 can be replaced. It is possible from the right side of the image forming apparatus at the same time. Further, the door 1 is moved to the right side surface of the image forming apparatus as much as possible by adjusting the length of the arm.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 6 is a view showing another example of how to pull out the door (first operation). In FIG.
1 is a door on the side of the apparatus, 2 is a rail, 3 is a support, 5 is an arm side fixing pin, and 6 is a support side fixing pin. The rail-side fixing pin 4 is fixed to the rail 2, and the support-side fixing pin 5
Are fixed to the support 3. The support has a groove c and the door 1 has a groove b. The door 1 is connected to the support 3 via a support-side fixing pin 5, and the support 3 is connected to the rail 2 via a rail-side fixing pin 6. The support 3 and the door 1 can move on the rail 2 in one direction at a time along the groove c for a certain distance (FIG. 7), and the opening / closing door 1 moves in one direction with respect to the support 3 in the groove b.
It is possible to move for a certain distance along (Fig. 8).

The rail-side fixing pin 6 may be formed integrally with the rail 2.

(Third Embodiment) FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration in which the door pulling-out method corresponding to FIG. 7 is changed to a rotating method. In FIG. 9, 1 is a door on the side of the device, 8 is a device body, 3 is a support, 7 is a main body fixing pin, and 5 is a support side fixing pin. The main body fixing pin 7 and the support-side fixing pin 5 are fixed to the support 3. Support body 3 is main body fixing pin 7
And is rotatable with respect to the apparatus main body 8 and enables the door 1 to move simultaneously with the rotation of the support (FIG. 10). The door 1 has a groove b, and the door 1 is connected to the support 3 via the support-side fixing pin 5 and is movable along the groove b for a certain distance (FIG. 11).

[0036]

As described above, according to the present invention,
The door is fully opened, improving the visibility inside. At the same time, it becomes easier to enter from the outside to the inside, and operability such as jam clearance, fixing device, and process unit replacement is improved. At the same time, when the door is opened, the protrusion of the door to the outside becomes small, so that the operation space for opening the door becomes small.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall view of an image forming apparatus having an opening / closing door according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an image forming apparatus having an opening / closing door according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an image forming apparatus having an opening / closing door according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an image forming apparatus having an opening / closing door according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an image forming apparatus having an opening / closing door according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an image forming apparatus having an opening / closing door according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an image forming apparatus having an opening / closing door according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an image forming apparatus having an opening / closing door according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an image forming apparatus having a rotatable opening / closing door according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an image forming apparatus having a swingable door according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an image forming apparatus having a rotatable opening / closing door according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an image forming apparatus having a conventional opening / closing door.

FIG. 13 is an image forming apparatus having a conventional opening / closing door.

FIG. 14 is an image forming apparatus having a conventional opening / closing door.

FIG. 15 is an image forming apparatus having a conventional opening / closing door.

FIG. 16 is an image forming apparatus having a conventional opening / closing door.

FIG. 17 is an image forming apparatus having a conventional opening / closing door.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Door 2 ... Rail 3 ... Support 4 ... 5 ... Pin 6 ··· Rail side fixing pin 7 ... Main body fixing pin 8 ... Device body 51 ... Fixer 52 ... Paper cassette 53 ... Process unit 54 ... Laser unit 55 ... Transfer roller 56 ... Photosensitive drum 57 ... Charging roller 58 ... Developer 59 ... Paper 60 ... driver a ...- Rail side groove b ... Door side groove c ... Groove on the support side d ... ・ Transport path A ... Lower part inside the device B ・ ・ ・ ・ Sliding door arm C ... Operating space for opening and closing the door

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F term (reference) 2C061 AP04 AQ06 BB10 BB35                 2H072 CA01 EA16 JA02                 2H171 FA01 FA03 FA09 FA15 FA22                       FA28 GA06 HA23 JA12 JA18                       JA19 JA20 JA22 JA23 JA27                       JA29 JA31 JA36 JA38 JA39                       JA42 KA09 KA12 KA17 KA22                       KA29 QA02 QB03 QB15 QB32                       QC03 QC36 SA08 SA14 SA22                       SA26 SA37 WA08 WA12 WA21                 3F049 AA04 CA31 DA12 DB04 LA01                       LB03

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A door is pulled out (first operation) in a direction substantially perpendicular to a side surface on which an image forming unit of an image forming apparatus is arranged and substantially parallel to the side surface, and the door is in a gravity direction. An image forming apparatus having a door that moves to a second position (second operation). 2. The support according to claim 1, which links the door and the main body of the image forming apparatus, supports the door, and is movable in a direction substantially perpendicular to a side surface on which the image forming unit is arranged. The image forming device has a rail that slides the support, and a slotted groove is formed on the side surface of the door. It is possible to move in the direction of gravity while aligning the groove with the pin from the support and moving it in the direction of gravity. An image forming apparatus having a door having a part of a road and a transfer roller. 3. The support according to claim 2, wherein the support links the door and the image forming apparatus main body, supports the door, and is movable in a direction substantially perpendicular to a side surface on which the image forming unit is arranged, As long as it can be rotated, it is pin-fixed to the main body of the image forming apparatus, has a slot-shaped groove on the side surface of the door, and allows the movement in the gravity direction while aligning the groove with the pin from the support. An image forming apparatus having a door having a part of a conveyance path and a transfer roller. 4. The image according to claim 2 or 3, wherein a paper conveyance path is formed by aligning a conveyance path sharing a part of the fixing device or the process unit with a conveyance path on the door side. Forming equipment. 5. A door according to claim 1, further comprising a door having the feature of claim 1, wherein the fixing device and the image forming unit can be pulled out in a direction substantially perpendicular to a paper conveying path between the drum and the fixing device. Image forming apparatus.