JP2006058454A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a means by which a processing unit is inserted in/pulled out from an image forming apparatus main body without damaging an LED head with simple constitution and with a small number of parts. <P>SOLUTION: A copying/facsimile compound machine 1 is equipped with the processing unit 21 having a photoreceptor drum 14 and provided to be inserted in/pulled out from the main body 4, the LED head 16 exposing the photoreceptor drum 14, a supporting member 22 supporting the LED head 16 and provided swingablly between a retreat position where the LED head 16 is separated from the photoreceptor drum 14 and a proximate position where it is made proximate to the photoreceptor drum 14, a pin receiving part 33 positioning the supporting member 22 at the proximity position, and a stopper 45 holding the supporting member 22 positioned at the proximity position by the pin receiving part 33 and releasing the holding of the supporting member 22 at the proximity position and allowing it position swingablly to the retreat position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile, or a copying machine that forms an image such as characters and graphics on a recording sheet.

  Conventionally, image forming apparatuses for recording characters and graphics on recording paper include printers, facsimiles, and multifunction machines. FIG. 10 shows an example of a conventional image forming apparatus. The surface of the photosensitive drum 102 is charged by the charging device 101 to which a predetermined bias voltage is applied, and the LED head 103 is changed according to the image information. By selectively exposing the photosensitive drum 102, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 102. The developing device 104 supplies charged toner to the electrostatic latent image to form a toner image, and the toner image is transferred onto a recording sheet by a transfer roller 105 to which a predetermined bias voltage is applied. Thereafter, heat and pressure are applied to the recording paper by the fixing device 106, and the transferred toner image is fixed. On the other hand, the surface of the photosensitive drum 102 to which the toner has been transferred is removed by the neutralization device 107, and then the toner remaining on the surface is removed by the cleaning device 108, and is again charged by the charging device 101. Yes.

  In the image forming unit as described above, for example, the charging device 101, the photosensitive drum 102, the developing device 104, the neutralizing device 107, and the cleaning device 108 are accommodated as a process unit 109 in an integral cartridge that can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body. . Thus, for example, when the maintenance is performed such that the photosensitive drum 102 is deteriorated or the toner is insufficient, the process unit 109 can be replaced as a unit, and the maintenance work is simplified.

  The LED head 103 is configured by arranging LED arrays in parallel for the number of recording pixels, but is disposed close to the surface of the photosensitive drum 102 because the focal length of the LED array is short. . Therefore, it is necessary to separate the LED head 103 from the photosensitive drum 102 in order to prevent the photosensitive drum 102 and the LED head 103 from coming into contact with and being damaged when the process unit 109 is detached from the apparatus main body.

For example, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the image forming apparatus of Patent Document 1 tilts the lever 110 in the clockwise direction so that the conveyance belt 111 is separated from the photosensitive drum 102 and holds the LED head 103. The LED holding holder 112 is moved away from the photosensitive drum 102, that is, in the direction of arrow A in the figure, so that the LED head 103 is separated from the photosensitive drum 102. More specifically, when the lever 110 that supports the conveyor belt 111 is tilted clockwise, the conveyor belt 111 rotates clockwise around the drive roller 113 and is separated from the photosensitive drum 102. Further, when the lever 110 is tilted clockwise, the wire 115 connected to the fulcrum 114 of the lever 110 is pulled in the direction of arrow B. By pulling the bracket 116 to which the wire 115 is connected via a pulley (not shown) in the direction of arrow C, the bracket 116 moves in the direction of arrow C against the urging force of the spring 117 (direction of arrow D). It has become. When the bracket 116 moves in the direction of arrow C, the pin 118 provided on the LED holding holder 112 is guided by the tapered portion 120 of the guide hole 119 provided on the bracket 116, and the LED holding holder 112 is biased by the spring 121 ( It moves in the direction of arrow A against the direction of arrow E). Then, when the pin 118 comes into contact with the locking portion 122 of the guide hole 119, the LED holding holder 112 is held at that position. In this way, the LED head 103 is separated from the photosensitive drum 102. Further, when the LED head 103 is separated from the photosensitive drum 102, a cleaner member (not shown) cleans the LED head 103.
JP 2001-175046 A

  However, in the image forming apparatus of Patent Document 1, since the wire 115 is stretched from the lever 110 disposed below the conveyance belt 111 to the bracket 116 disposed above the photosensitive drum 102, the wiring path of the wire 115 In addition, the wiring space must be secured, and the design and structure of the device are complicated. In addition, since the number of parts is large, there is a problem that the cost is high, and there is a problem that the accuracy of positioning the LED head 103 at a position close to the photosensitive drum 102 is poor due to an error in the dimensions of the parts, an attachment error in the parts, and the like. there were. Furthermore, since the cleaner member cleans the LED head 103 when the LED head 103 is separated from the photosensitive drum 102, there is a problem in that the LED head 103 is not sufficiently cleaned.

  The present invention has been made in view of the problems as described above, and with a simple configuration and with a small number of parts, the process unit can be inserted into and removed from the apparatus body without damaging the LED head. It is another object of the present invention to provide means that can reliably remove the dirt from the LED head.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus according to claim 1 has a photosensitive drum, a process unit provided so as to be able to be inserted into and removed from the apparatus main body, an LED head for exposing the photosensitive drum, A support member that supports the LED head and is swingable between a retracted position in which the LED head is separated from the photosensitive drum and a close position in the vicinity of the photosensitive drum; The positioning member for positioning at the proximity position and the support member positioned at the proximity position by the positioning member are held, and the holding of the support member at the proximity position is released to swing the support member to the retracted position. And a stopper capable of being provided.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the support member is biased to a retracted position by an elastic member, and the stopper is in contact with the support member. The support member is rotatably provided on the retracted position side of the support member, and rotates while contacting the support member at the retracted position, thereby swinging the support member to the close position and holding it at the close position. It is characterized by being.

  The image forming apparatus according to claim 3 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a cleaning member for cleaning the LED head is provided so as to be able to swing so as to come in contact with and separate from the LED head in the retracted position, and the stopper. An action member that rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the stopper is provided so as to rotate while abutting the cleaning member within a range in which the stopper does not abut against the support member, and to bring the cleaning member into and out of contact with the LED head. It is characterized by that.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the first or second aspect, the process unit can be inserted into and removed from the apparatus body without damaging the LED head by separating the LED head from the photosensitive drum with a simple configuration. Further, since the number of parts is small, the cost can be reduced, and furthermore, the LED head can be positioned at a predetermined position close to the photosensitive drum with high accuracy.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the third aspect, the LED head can be repeatedly cleaned by the cleaning member. Therefore, when the LED head is not sufficiently cleaned, the LED head is soiled by repeatedly cleaning the LED head. Can be surely removed.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the external appearance of a copy / facsimile multifunction peripheral 1 equipped with an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. An image reading unit 2 that functions as a bed scanner, an operation panel 3 for inputting start of image reading and recording, a main body 4 incorporating an image forming apparatus for forming an image on recording paper, and the recording paper And a paper feed cassette 5 to be supplied. The copier / facsimile multifunction machine 1 has a front cover 6 on the front surface of the main body 4, that is, the surface on which the operation panel 3 is provided, and a jam access cover 7 on the right side. By opening, the inside of the main body 4 can be accessed.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the internal configuration of the main body 4 and the paper feed cassette 5 constituting the image forming apparatus in the copy / facsimile multifunction peripheral 1. As shown in the drawing, a paper feed cassette 5 for sequentially supplying recording paper is disposed at the bottom of the apparatus, an image forming portion 8 is disposed above the paper feed cassette 5, and a paper discharge tray is disposed above it. 9 is disposed. A conveyance path 10 for conveying recording paper from the paper feed cassette 5 to the paper discharge tray 9 extends upward from one end side of the paper feed cassette 5 to the image forming unit 8 and further extends upward. Then, it is formed so as to bend in the horizontal direction and lead to the paper discharge tray 9. Although not shown in the drawing, the image reading unit 2 and the operation panel 3 are disposed above the paper discharge tray 9.

  The paper feed cassette 5 has a box shape capable of storing recording papers of various sizes, and is provided at the bottom of the apparatus so as to be able to be drawn out, so that the recording papers can be loaded as needed. A guide 11 for holding a recording paper of a predetermined size at the paper feeding position is disposed inside the paper feeding cassette 5. The guide 11 is provided so as to be able to swing within a predetermined range, and its bottom plate is biased upward by a spring or the like (not shown) to hold a plurality of recording sheets in a stacked state, One end of the uppermost paper is always positioned at the paper feed position. A paper feed roller 12 and a separation pad 13 are provided at the paper feed position, and the uppermost paper positioned at the paper feed position by the guide 11 is pressed against the paper feed roller 12. The paper feed roller 12 is rotated while being pressed against the uppermost paper so that the recording paper is fed into the transport path 10. The separation pad 13 is disposed below the paper feed roller 12 so as to be movable up and down and is urged upward by a spring (not shown), whereby the separation pad 13 is moved to the roller surface of the paper feed roller 12. The recording sheets that are pressed against each other and pass through the pressed portion are separated and supplied one by one.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the image forming unit 8 includes a charging device 15, an LED head 16, a developing device 17, a transfer roller 18, and a cleaning device 19 disposed around the photosensitive drum 14. The fixing device 20 is disposed in the conveyance path 10 on the downstream side of the body drum 14. Among these, the photosensitive drum 14, the charging device 15, the developing device 17, and the cleaning device 19 are housed in a cartridge as a process unit 21 and integrated.

  The photoconductive drum 14 has a photoconductive film formed of an organic photoconductor formed on the surface thereof, is rotated at a predetermined speed by a motor, and is charged to a constant voltage by the charging device 15. The charging device 15 is a non-contact corona charging method called a so-called scorotron charger, and although not shown in detail in the drawing, a discharge wire is disposed at substantially the center of a casing electrode forming a half space. In addition, a grid electrode is disposed on the photosensitive drum 14 side, and a predetermined voltage is applied to the discharge wire to generate corona discharge, and the amount of ions generated by the corona discharge is controlled by the grid electrode. . The charging device 15 may employ another charging device such as a contact roller charging method instead of the non-contact corona charging method.

  The LED head 16 is a so-called self-luminous printer head in which LED arrays are arranged in parallel for the number of recording pixels, and the light emitted from the LED array is imaged on the surface of the photosensitive drum 14 by a Selfoc lens array. It is supported by a support member 22 disposed on the left side of the body drum 14 and is close to the photosensitive drum 14 at a predetermined angle. The LED head 16 selectively exposes the surface of the photosensitive drum 14 to the photosensitive drum 14 based on image information to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface. The surface of the photosensitive drum 14 charged by the charging device 15 is attenuated by being exposed by the LED head 16, and an electrostatic latent image is formed by a potential difference from the unexposed portion. The image information is such that, for example, an image of a document read by the image reading unit 2 functioning as a flatbed scanner is transmitted to the LED head 16 as an electrical signal.

  The development device 17 includes a supply roller 23, a development roller 24, and a toner container 25. The toner is generated by a difference in bias voltage applied to the supply roller 23 and the development roller 24 from an electric circuit (not shown). The toner in the container 25 is supplied to the developing roller 24 through the supply roller 23, and a toner layer is formed on the surface of the developing roller 24. The developing roller 24 on which the toner layer is formed is rotated at a position close to the photosensitive drum 14, and the toner on the developing roller 24 moves to the photosensitive drum 14 due to a potential difference from the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 14. A toner image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 14 based on the electrostatic latent image. Such a developing device 17 is an example, and selection of magnetic toner or non-magnetic toner, selection of contact development method or non-contact development method, and the like are arbitrary.

  The transfer roller 18 is brought into pressure contact with the photosensitive drum 14 at a position facing the conveyance path 10, and a bias voltage is applied from an electric circuit (not shown). A toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 14 is applied by applying a bias voltage by nipping the recording paper supplied from the paper feeding cassette 5 through the conveying path 10 between the photosensitive drum 14 and the transfer roller 18. Is transferred to the recording paper.

  The cleaning device 19 is a cleaning blade pressed against the photosensitive drum 14 after transfer, and removes toner and paper powder remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 14 and erases the electrostatic latent image with an eraser lamp. . As a result, the surface of the photosensitive drum 14 is cleaned and continuous use is possible. As the cleaning device 19, other contact type or non-contact type using a cleaning roller or the like can be adopted, and a cleaningless type that does not use a cleaning device can also be adopted.

  The fixing device 20 includes a heating roller 26 and a pressure roller 27 that are respectively disposed at positions opposed to the conveyance path 10, and fixes the toner image on the recording paper conveyed through the conveyance path 10 by heating and pressing. is there. The surface of the heating roller 26 is maintained at a predetermined temperature by a heater, and a pressure roller 27 is pressed against the heating roller 26 with a predetermined pressure. The recording sheet on which the toner image has been transferred is nipped between the heating roller 26 and the pressure roller 27 so that the toner on the recording sheet is melted and fixed. The image forming unit 8 configured as described above forms an image of a document read by the image reading unit 2 on a recording sheet.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the recording sheet is conveyed from the sheet feeding cassette 5 along the conveyance path 10 to the image forming unit 8 configured as described above, and an image is formed by the image forming unit 8. Is discharged to the paper discharge tray 9. The conveyance path 10 extends substantially upward from the paper feed cassette 5 to the image forming unit 8, and a pair of registration rollers 28 and 29 provided in the middle convey the recording paper to the image forming unit 8. To do. Further, a conveyance roller 30 is appropriately provided in the conveyance path 10 between the image forming unit 8 and the paper discharge tray 9, and the recording paper on which an image is formed is conveyed by the conveyance roller 30, and the paper discharge tray 9. Is discharged. By such a conveyance path 10, a reverse C path is formed from the paper feed cassette 5 to the paper discharge tray 9.

  As described above, the photosensitive drum 14, the charging device 15, the developing device 17, and the cleaning device 19 are integrated as a process unit 21 in a cartridge made of, for example, a synthetic resin. However, as shown in FIG. 3, the photosensitive drum 14 and the LED head 16 are close to each other in the state of image formation, as shown in FIG. The LED head 16 needs to be separated from the photosensitive drum 14 so as not to damage the LED head 16. Hereinafter, a structure for separating the LED head 16 from the photosensitive drum 14 will be described in detail.

  As described above, the LED head 16 is supported by the support member 22 at a position close to the photosensitive drum 14. The support member 22 is disposed on the left side of the photosensitive drum 14 and swings between a proximity position where the LED head 16 is close to the photosensitive drum 14 and a retracted position where the LED head 16 is separated from the photosensitive drum 14. Is. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing the vicinity of the support member 22, but the support member 22 is located between the proximity position and the retraction position on the retreat position side of the support member 22, that is, on the left side of the support member 22 in the drawing. An operation member 31 for swinging between them is disposed, and an LED head cleaning portion (cleaning member) 32 for cleaning the LED head 16 is disposed below the operation member 31. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, pin receiving portions (positioning members) 33 for positioning the support member 22 at close positions are provided near both ends of the photosensitive drum 14 in the axial direction.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the support member 22 is provided on a substantially U-shaped arm 34 and a surface of the arm 34 facing the photosensitive drum 14, that is, below the right side surface in FIG. 4. The support portion 35, the surface of the support portion 35 facing the photosensitive drum 14, that is, the pins 36 provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the right side surface in FIG. And a rotary shaft 37 provided on the rear side surface, and a surface on the retracted position side of the arm 34, that is, a concave portion 38 provided on the left side surface in FIG. The support portion 35 is for supporting the LED head 16, and the LED head 16 is attached to the support portion 35 at a predetermined angle by means such as an e-ring, and further, although not shown, receives image information. Signal lines and the like are connected. In addition, in order to wire a signal line or the like to the LED head 16, a hole for wiring or the like may be appropriately provided in the support member 22. The pin 36 is inserted into a locking portion 40 (not shown) of the pin receiving portion 33 to position the LED head 16 at a predetermined position with respect to the photosensitive drum 14. The pin 36 may be integrally assembled with the LED head 16. The rotary shaft 37 is for attaching the support member 22 to the main body 4, and the rotary shaft 37 is attached to a bearing (not shown) provided on a frame or the like of the main body 4. 4 is swingably attached. The recess 38 is for holding the support member 22 in the proximity of the stopper 45 of the operation member 31, and the support member 22 is engaged with the recess 38 and the tip of the stopper 45 of the operation member 31. Thus, it is held at the close position. Further, the support member 22 is connected to a spring (elastic member) 39 from the frame or the like of the main body 4 and is urged clockwise.

  The pin receiving portion 33 is formed integrally with the frame of the drum unit. As shown in FIG. 5, a concave locking portion 40 is provided on the surface facing the support member 22, that is, on the left side in the drawing. It has been. The locking portion 40 is inserted with a pin 36 and positions the support member 22 at a predetermined position with respect to the photosensitive drum 14. As will be described later, the support member 22 is positioned at a predetermined position with respect to the photosensitive drum 14 by inserting the pin 36 through the engaging portion 40 when swinging to the close position. The support member 22 is held in the proximity position by engaging the recess 38 with the tip of the stopper 45 of the operation member 31. This prevents an error in the position of the LED head 16 with respect to the photosensitive drum 14 due to an error in the dimensions of each part of the support member 22 and the operation member 31 affecting the proximity position of the support member 22. The LED head 16 can be positioned at an accurate position.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 7, the LED head cleaning unit 32 includes a box-shaped toner receiving unit 41 for receiving toner, and a brush 42 provided at one end of the toner receiving unit 41 in the longitudinal direction. And a rotating shaft 43 provided on the front side surface and the rear side surface of the main body 4 of the toner receiving portion 41. The rotary shaft 43 is for attaching the LED head cleaning unit 32 to the main body 4. The rotary shaft 43 is attached to a bearing (not shown) provided on the frame of the main body 4 to clean the LED head. The part 32 is swingably attached to the main body 4. The brush 42 is for cleaning the LED head 16 and can be brought into and out of contact with the LED head 16 in the retracted position. An acrylic moquette can be suitably used for the brush 42.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 8, the operation member 31 has a shaft 44, a stopper 45 provided so as to extend in the radial direction of the shaft 44, and extends in the radial direction of the shaft 44. The operation member 46 is provided at a position different from the stopper 45 in the circumferential direction, and the operation lever 47 is provided on the front side of the main body 4 of the operation member 46. The shaft 44 is for attaching the operation member 31 to the main body 4. The shaft 44 is attached to a bearing (not shown) provided on a frame or the like of the main body 4, and the operation member 31 is attached to the main body 4. It can be mounted freely. The operation lever 47 is for rotating the operation member 31 and is located on the front side of the main body 4. The user can rotate the operation member 31 using the operation lever 47. The stopper 45 is for holding the support member 22 in the proximity position, and the support member 22 is in the proximity position by engaging the tip of the stopper 45 with the recess 38 of the support member 22 in the proximity position. Retained. The support member 22 in the close position does not swing unless it receives an external force due to the engagement between the tip of the stopper 45 and the recess 38. Note that the operation lever 47 may be appropriately fixed when the support member 22 is positioned in the proximity position, and may not swing unless the support member 22 receives an external force. Further, the stopper 45 releases the holding of the support member 22 in the proximity position and enables the support member 22 to swing to the retracted position. In detail, when the user rotates the operation lever 47 in the counterclockwise direction with the support member 22 positioned at the close position, the stopper 45 rotates in the counterclockwise direction, and the tip of the stopper 45 is moved. By coming out of the recess 38, the support member 22 is released from being held by the stopper 45 and can swing to the retracted position. When the operation lever 47 is further rotated in the counterclockwise direction, the support member 22 is moved in the clockwise direction, that is, retracted while the surface of the arm 34 on the retracted position side is brought into contact with the stopper 45 by the biasing force of the spring 39. The arm 34 swings toward the position, and the surface on the retracted position side of the arm 34 comes into contact with the shaft 44 to be held at the retracted position. The support member 22 in the retracted position does not swing unless it receives external force due to the biasing force of the spring 39 and the contact between the arm 34 and the shaft 44. In addition, when the support member 22 is in the retracted position, the stopper 45 and the arm 34 are in contact with each other, but when the operation lever 47 is rotated counterclockwise, the stopper 45 is separated from the arm 34. The support member 22 swinging toward the retracted position is brought into contact with an exhaust duct 48 (see FIG. 2) disposed between the paper discharge tray 9 and the operation member 31 so that the support member 22 is retracted. You may make it hold | maintain.

  On the other hand, when the user rotates the operation lever 47 in the clockwise direction while the support member 22 is in the retracted position, the stopper 45 rotates in the clockwise direction while contacting the surface of the arm 34 on the retracted position side. Thus, the support member 22 swings counterclockwise, that is, toward the proximity position against the biasing force of the spring 39. Then, when the pin 36 and the locking portion 40 of the pin receiving portion 33 abut (see FIG. 5A), the support member 22 is positioned in the proximity position, and the tip of the stopper 45 and the recess 38 are engaged. By doing so, it is held at the close position.

  The action member 46 is for bringing the brush 42 of the LED head cleaning unit 32 into contact with and separating from the LED head 16. In detail, the action member 46 is in contact with the toner receiving portion 41 of the LED head cleaning portion 32 in a state where the support member 22 is in the retracted position. When the user rotates the operation lever 47 in the counterclockwise direction from this state, the action member 46 rotates while contacting the toner receiving portion 41 to swing the LED head cleaning portion 32 in the counterclockwise direction. . The brush 42 oscillating counterclockwise oscillates while contacting the LED head 16, and wipes off the toner adhering to the LED head 16. The removed toner is stored in the toner receiving portion 41. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the inside of the main body 4 from being stained with the toner that the brush 41 has removed. Further, the action member 46 rotates while contacting the toner receiving portion 41 within a range where the stopper 45 and the arm 34 of the support member 22 do not contact. Thereby, since the operation of the support member 22 and the operation of the LED head cleaning unit 32 are not interlocked, when the LED head 16 is not sufficiently cleaned, the operation lever 47 is operated to repeatedly clean the LED head 16. The dirt of the LED head 16 can be surely removed.

  In the support member 22 and the operation member 31 configured as described above, as shown in FIG. 9A, the user pushes the operation lever 47 in the counterclockwise direction, that is, in a state where the support member 22 is located at the close position, that is, In the figure, when rotating counterclockwise, the stopper 45 rotates counterclockwise, so that the tip of the stopper 45 comes out of the recess 38 of the support member 22, and the holding of the support member 22 in the proximity position is released. . As shown in FIG. 9B, the support member 22 swings in the clockwise direction, that is, toward the retracted position by the urging force of the spring 39 (not shown), and the surface of the arm 34 on the retracted position side. Is brought into contact with the shaft 44 of the operating member 31 and is positioned at the retracted position. As described above, the user can separate the LED head 16 from the photosensitive drum 14, and thus can insert and remove the process unit 21 from the main body 4 without damaging the LED head 16. Further, the support member 22 in the retracted position does not swing unless it receives external force due to the biasing force of the spring 39 and the contact between the arm 34 and the shaft 44. As shown in FIG. 9C, when the user further rotates the operation lever 47 in the counterclockwise direction, the action member 46 rotates in the counterclockwise direction while contacting the toner receiving portion 41 of the LED head cleaning unit 32. As a result, the LED head cleaning unit 32 swings counterclockwise, and the brush 42 of the LED head cleaning unit 32 cleans the LED head 16. When the LED head 16 is not sufficiently cleaned, the LED lever 16 can be repeatedly cleaned with the brush 42 by operating the operation lever 47.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9B, when the user rotates the operation lever 47 in the clockwise direction, that is, in the clockwise direction in the figure, with the support member 22 positioned at the retracted position, FIG. ), The stopper 45 of the operation member 31 rotates clockwise while contacting the surface of the support member 22 on the retracted position side of the arm 34, so that the support member 22 has a spring 39 (not shown). It oscillates counterclockwise, that is, toward the proximity position against the urging force. The support member 22 is positioned at a predetermined position with respect to the photosensitive drum 14 by a locking portion 40 (not shown) of the pin 36 and the pin receiving portion 33, and the recess 38 of the support member 22 and the stopper of the operation member 31. By being engaged with 45, it is held at the close position. Therefore, in a state where the support member 22 is located at the close position, the support member 22 does not swing unless it receives external force due to the engagement between the recess 38 and the tip of the stopper 45.

  As described above, according to the copy / facsimile multifunction peripheral 1 according to the present embodiment, the process unit 21 is inserted into and removed from the main body 4 with a simple configuration and a small number of parts without damaging the LED head 16. In addition, contamination of the LED head 16 can be surely removed.

1 is a schematic perspective view showing an external configuration of a copy / facsimile multifunction peripheral 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration within a main body 4 of a copy / facsimile multifunction peripheral 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is an enlarged view showing the vicinity of a process unit 21. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing the vicinity of a support member 22. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing an external configuration of a pin receiving portion 33. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing an external configuration of a support member 22. FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing an external configuration of an LED head cleaning unit 32. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing an external configuration of an operation member 31. FIG. It is a figure for demonstrating operation | movement at the time of the support member 22 rocking | fluctuating between a proximity position and a retracted position. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the conventional image forming apparatus. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration in which an LED head 103 is brought close to a photosensitive drum 102 in a conventional image forming apparatus. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration in which an LED head 103 is separated from a photosensitive drum 102 in a conventional image forming apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

1 Copy / facsimile multifunction peripheral (image forming device)
4 Body (device body)
14 Photosensitive drum 16 LED head 21 Process unit 22 Support member 32 LED head cleaning part (cleaning member)
39 Spring (elastic member)
45 Stopper 46 Working member

Claims (3)

  A process unit having a photosensitive drum and provided so as to be able to be inserted into and removed from the apparatus main body, an LED head for exposing the photosensitive drum, the LED head is supported, and the LED head is separated from the photosensitive drum. A support member provided to be swingable between a retracted position and a proximity position close to the photosensitive drum, a positioning member for positioning the support member at the proximity position, and the positioning member to the proximity position. A stopper for holding the positioned support member and releasing the holding of the support member at the close position so that the support member can swing to the retracted position. Image forming apparatus.   The support member is urged to a retracted position by an elastic member, and the stopper is rotatably provided on the retracted position side of the support member so as to contact the support member, The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the support member is swung to the close position and held at the close position by rotating while abutting the support member at the retracted position.   A cleaning member for cleaning the LED head is provided so as to be swingable so as to come in contact with and away from the LED head in the retracted position, and an action member that rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the stopper is configured such that the stopper contacts the support member. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image forming apparatus is provided so as to rotate while abutting on the cleaning member in a range where it does not come into contact with the LED head.

Images