JP2006084814A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain an image forming apparatus capable of fixing and releasing an image carrier with simple configuration and highly accurately positioning the image carrier on a body frame. <P>SOLUTION: A color printer primarily transfers images of respective colors formed on a photoreceptor drum to an intermediate transfer belt to synthesize these images and then secondarily transfers the synthetic image on a sheet of paper. An intermediate transfer unit C is detachably held on an upper cover 7 capable of opening/closing the upper surface of the body frame 1 of the color printer, and when the upper cover 7 is in a closed state, the intermediate transfer unit C is positioned and locked on the body frame 1 by lock levers 24, 28. When the intermediate transfer unit C is exposed from the body frame 1 to the external interlocking with the opening operation of the upper cover 7, the lock levers 24, 28 are unlocked on the basis of the oscillating operation of the intermediate transfer unit C. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus configured to transfer an image formed on an image carrier onto a recording medium.

  In general, in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, an image forming unit such as a photosensitive unit, an intermediate transfer unit, and a developing unit can be detached from the apparatus main body for maintenance such as replacement of consumables and paper jam processing. It is necessary to install.

  For this reason, conventionally, as described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the transport path constituting member or the intermediate transfer member is held by the cover that opens and closes the main body frame of the apparatus, and the transport path constituting member or A mechanism for fixing / releasing the intermediate transfer member has been proposed. Patent Document 3 proposes a mechanism that exposes the paper conveyance path to the outside by opening and closing the cover to facilitate paper jam processing.

By the way, the positional accuracy of the fixed position with respect to the main body frame of the image forming unit such as an intermediate transfer member is an important factor in determining the image quality. Therefore, for example, the mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a lock unit that fixes and releases the intermediate transfer member with a lever. However, if a lever is used for locking, there is a problem that the mechanism becomes very large and complicated, the cover itself needs to have a strong structure, and the cover holding mechanism is also strong and complicated. Yes. In addition, a complicated and large-sized mechanism has a problem in that it leads to an increase in cost, a decrease in productivity, and a decrease in mechanical reliability.
JP 2000-172151 A JP 2003-186370 A JP 2003-186371 A

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can fix and release an image carrier with a simple configuration and can position the image carrier with respect to a main body frame with high accuracy. There is.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that achieves the above object and facilitates maintenance and paper jam processing.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is an image forming apparatus configured to transfer an image formed on an image carrier onto a recording medium with respect to a main body frame of the image forming apparatus. A cover member that can be partially opened and closed, and that holds the image carrier detachably, and when the cover member is in a closed state, the image carrier is positioned and locked to the main body frame, and the cover member Locking means for releasing the fixation of the image carrier based on the swinging operation of the image carrier when the image carrier is exposed to the outside from the main body frame in conjunction with the opening operation of the image carrier. And

  In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, when the cover member that can be partially opened and closed with respect to the main body frame is in the closed state, the image carrier is positioned and locked to the main body frame, and the cover member is opened. When the image carrier is exposed to the outside from the main body frame in conjunction with the operation, the image carrier is released based on the swinging motion of the image carrier, so that the image carrier is independent of the cover member. Positioning can be performed accurately with respect to the main body frame, and the locking means itself can be made small and simple.

  In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the cover member may be configured to slidably hold the image carrier. In this case, after the locking means releases the fixing of the image carrier based on the opening operation of the cover member, if the image carrier can be taken out from the cover member by sliding the image carrier, the image carrier The take-out operation is easy.

  Further, after the image carrier is attached to the cover member by sliding the image carrier, the lock means fixes the image carrier to the main body frame based on the closing operation of the cover member. The attachment operation to the cover member becomes easy, and the locking operation is automatically performed, so that workability is improved.

  In addition, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention may include a lock release unit for the main body frame of the cover member. It is possible to prevent the user from opening the cover body carelessly.

  Further, it is preferable that when the main body frame is opened, the cover member also opens the recording medium conveyance path toward the outside. Since the paper jam generated in the transport path is removed, a separate cover member for opening the transport path is not required, and maintenance and paper jam processing are facilitated.

  The image carrier may be an intermediate transfer member on which a toner image formed on a photoreceptor is primarily transferred and secondarily transferred onto a recording medium. The intermediate transfer member can be accurately positioned with respect to the main body frame with a simple configuration. In this case, it is preferable that the cover member is configured to open the photoconductor toward the outside when the main body frame is opened. The photoconductor can be easily replaced and maintained, and there is no need to provide a separate cover member.

  Embodiments of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  First, a schematic structure of an electrophotographic color printer which is an embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. This color printer generally includes a photoconductor unit A, a developing unit B, an intermediate transfer unit C, a laser scanning unit D, and a fixing unit E in a housing composed of a main body frame 1, an upper cover 7, and a front cover 9. The paper feed unit F is installed at the bottom. 1 shows a state in which the upper cover 7 and the front cover 9 are closed, FIG. 2 shows a state in which the upper cover 7 and the front cover 9 are fully opened, and FIG. 3 shows a half-open state in which the upper cover 7 is raised.

  The photoreceptor unit A includes a photoreceptor drum 3a, a charger 3b, and the like, and is detachable from the main body frame 1 as described below. The developing unit B is configured such that the developing devices 4 of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow can be integrally rotated about the support shaft 4a, and each developing device 4 is detachable individually. The intermediate transfer unit C holds the intermediate transfer belt 5 and can be accessed from the outside in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the upper cover 7 and can be positioned and locked in the main body frame 1 as described in detail below. It has become.

  The outline of the image forming operation by the color printer will be described with reference to FIG. 1. An image for each of the four colors is exposed from the laser scanning unit D to the photosensitive drum 3a (formation of an electrostatic latent image). The developing device 4 develops (toner image). This toner image is primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 5 for each color, and four color images are superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt.

  On the other hand, a sheet as a recording medium is fed one by one from the sheet feeding unit F by the sheet feeding roller 2 and is supported by the support roller 5a through the transport path 8 and the secondary transfer roller 50. The composite image is secondarily transferred from the intermediate transfer belt 5. Thereafter, the paper is heated and fixed by the fixing unit E, and is discharged from the discharge roller 51 onto the paper tray 52.

  Hereinafter, the opening / closing mechanism of the upper cover 7 and the locking mechanism of the intermediate transfer unit C, which are the main parts of the present invention, will be described in detail.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the upper cover 7 is installed so as to be rotatable in the direction of arrow a about a support shaft 16 provided in the main body frame 1. An intermediate transfer unit C is swingably held on the upper cover 7 by a mechanism described below, and the upper cover 7 and the intermediate transfer unit C can be opened upward to the state shown in FIG. .

  As shown in FIG. 1, the front cover 9 is openable and closable around a shaft portion 9a provided on the main body frame 1, and is normally pressed by the tip portion 7e of the upper cover 7, so that the upper cover 7 is opened. It is possible to open forward in the state of being.

  When the upper cover 7 is opened as shown in FIG. 2, the photoreceptor unit A can be taken out in the direction of arrow b along the guide rail 43 provided on the main body frame 1. Replacement and maintenance of the photosensitive drum 3 a can be easily performed by opening the upper cover 7. Further, when the photosensitive unit A is taken out from the main body frame 1, the conveyance path 8 is largely exposed to the outside, and the paper jam processing is facilitated.

  Further, with the upper cover 7 and the front cover 9 opened, the upper half of the developing unit B is exposed to the outside, and each developing device 4 can be taken out one by one. The replacement and maintenance of the developing device 4 can be easily performed with this.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the intermediate transfer unit C has a length formed on the holding frame 14 provided on both sides of the upper cover 7 by stepped screws 19 screwed to the bosses 22 of the frame 6 provided on both sides. The upper cover 7 is engaged by engaging with the hole 18. Therefore, by removing the stepped screw 19 from the boss portion 22, the intermediate transfer unit C can be detached from the upper cover 7, and maintenance and replacement of the intermediate transfer belt 5 can be performed.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in order to facilitate the opening operation of the upper cover 7 by the user, a lever 7a is provided between the upper cover 7 and the main body frame 1, and the lever 7a and the main body frame 1 are provided. An auxiliary spring 7d is stretched between the two. Specifically, one end of the lever 7a is connected to the upper cover 7 by a pin 7b, and the other end is slidably engaged with a guide groove 42 formed in the main body frame 1 through a pin 7c. The auxiliary spring 7d has one end connected to the pin 7c and the other end fixed to the main body frame 1. The lever 7a also functions as a stopper when the upper cover 7 is opened by the pin 7c coming into contact with the end of the guide groove 42.

  Here, the holding relationship between the upper cover 7 and the intermediate transfer unit C and the positioning / locking mechanism of the intermediate transfer unit C will be described.

  As described above, the upper cover 7 is rotatable about the support shaft 16 as a fulcrum. As shown in FIG. 9, the holding frame 14 is attached to both sides of the upper cover 7 with screws 15 a to 15 d. The holding frame 14 is rotatable integrally with the upper cover 7 with the support shaft 16 as a fulcrum.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the holding frame 14 further has a long hole 17 into which the roller shaft 21 of the support roller 5 b is slidably engaged. The intermediate transfer unit is formed by the long hole 17 and the long hole 18. Hold C movably. The range in which the intermediate transfer unit C can move is the range in which the stepped screw 19 can move within the elongated hole 18.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, a handle 10 is provided at the tip of the upper cover 7 via a shaft member 11. The shaft member 11 is connected to a lock release lever 13 that is rotatable about pins 12 provided on the holding frames 14 on both sides as fulcrums. When the user pulls up the tip of the handle 10, the lock release lever 13 rotates clockwise in FIG. 7 (counterclockwise in FIG. 10) with the pin 12 as a fulcrum, and the projecting piece 13a is a release boss described below. The lock lever 28 is operated via 30 to enable the opening operation to open the upper cover 7 upward. The lock release mechanism will be described later.

  The positioning / locking mechanism for the intermediate transfer unit C to the main body frame 1 is as follows.

  FIG. 12 shows a state in which the upper cover 7 is fully opened. The lock lever 28 that is rotatably provided on the main body frame 1 with the pin 29 as a fulcrum is always urged clockwise by a spring 31. The lock lever 28 is for locking the roller shaft 21 of the intermediate transfer unit C (see FIG. 8). Further, the lock lever 24 that is rotatably provided on the main body frame 1 with the pin 25 as a fulcrum is always urged counterclockwise by a spring 27. The lock lever 24 is for locking the roller shaft 20 of the support roller 5a of the intermediate transfer unit C (see FIG. 11).

  That is, in a state where the upper cover 7 is fully opened upward, the intermediate transfer unit C is in a state where the roller shaft 21 is held at the bottom of the long hole 17 formed in the holding frame 14 as shown in FIG. Become.

  When the upper cover 7 is closed from the fully open state, that is, when the upper cover 7 is rotated counterclockwise from the state of FIG. 12 with the support shaft 16 as a fulcrum, the intermediate transfer unit C is also interlocked. As shown in FIG. 13, the roller shaft 20 is guided by the guide groove 40 opened in the upper portion provided in the main body frame 1 and moves below the guide groove 40 as shown in FIG. 13.

  A state immediately before the upper cover 7 is closed is shown in FIG. At this time, the roller shaft 20 is guided downward by the guide groove 40 and is in a state immediately before being engaged with the lock lever 24. Further, the roller shaft 21 is located at the back of the long hole 17 and is in a state immediately before engaging with the lock lever 28.

  When the upper cover 7 is closed from this state, the roller shaft 20 comes into contact with the upper surface 24a of the lock lever 24 and stops in the guide groove 40 as shown in FIG. Further, when the roller is closed, the intermediate transfer unit C slightly swings counterclockwise in FIG. 15 with the roller shaft 20 as a fulcrum. At the same time, as shown in FIG. 16, the roller shaft 21 comes into contact with the inclined surface 41 a of the guide portion 41 fixed to the main body frame 1.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the roller shaft 21 moves obliquely downward to the right along the inclined surface 41 a of the guide portion 41 while being pressed leftward by the back portion of the elongated hole 17. At the same time, the roller shaft 20 moves slightly downward in the guide groove 40 while pressing the upper surface 24a of the lock lever 24, and comes into contact with the bottom of the guide groove 40 and stops (see FIG. 18). At this time, the rotation of the lock lever 24 is restricted by the lever 24 itself coming into contact with the release boss 23 provided on the frame 6.

  Next, the roller shaft 21 is separated from the inclined surface 41 a of the guide portion 41 and rotates the lock lever 28 in the counterclockwise direction with the pin 29 as a fulcrum. At this time, the intermediate transfer unit C rotates counterclockwise about the roller shaft 20 (see FIGS. 18 and 19). At the same time, the release boss 23 also rotates counterclockwise, and the lock lever 24 also rotates counterclockwise around the pin 25 in synchronism with the release boss 23. When the roller shaft 21 comes into contact with the recess 41b of the guide portion 41 (see FIG. 20), the roller shaft 20 comes into contact with the end surface 24b of the lock lever 24 and is locked. It is held and locked by the lock lever 28.

  Thus, the intermediate transfer unit C is accurately locked to the main body frame 1 at a predetermined position. At the same time, the upper cover 7 is also prevented from opening upward by the roller shaft 21 engaging with the elongated hole 17 and is in a locked state.

  Incidentally, in order to ensure the locking of the roller shaft 20 by the lock lever 24, as shown in FIG. 12, the length L1 from the rotation center of the lock lever 24 to the lower end of the end surface 24b and the length L2 to the upper end Needs to be set to a relationship of L1> L2.

  Next, unlocking for opening the upper cover 7, that is, unlocking of the intermediate transfer unit C will be described.

  FIG. 21 shows a state in which the upper cover 7 and the intermediate transfer unit C are locked to the main body frame 1. Here, when the handle 10 is lifted, as shown in FIG. 22, the lock release lever 13 rotates clockwise with the pin 12 as a fulcrum. As a result, the lock release lever 13 presses the release boss 30 provided on the lock lever 28, and the lock lever 28 slightly rotates counterclockwise. However, at this time, the lock lever 28 does not completely open the roller shaft 21.

  When the handle 10 is further lifted, the lock lever 28 is further rotated counterclockwise as shown in FIG. 23, and the roller shaft 21 is opened. At this time, the roller shaft 21 is engaged with the elongated hole 17, and the intermediate transfer unit C slightly rotates counterclockwise with the roller shaft 20 as a fulcrum with the upper cover 7 (holding frame 14) being lifted. Move (see FIG. 24).

  As described above, when the intermediate transfer unit C starts to rotate with the roller shaft 20 as a fulcrum, the release boss 23 fixed to the frame 6 rotates the lock lever 24 in the clockwise direction with the pin 25 as a fulcrum. The lock to the roller shaft 20 by the lever 24 is released. At the same time, while the roller shaft 21 presses the lock lever 28, the concave portion 41b of the guide portion 41 is removed, and the locked state with respect to the roller shaft 21 is released.

  When the lock on the roller shaft 21 is released, the intermediate transfer unit C in the state where the lock lever 24 is unlocked on the roller shaft 20 causes the roller shaft 21 to be long due to its own weight as shown in FIGS. The roller shaft 20 passes through the guide groove 40 while swinging while being in contact with the bottom of the hole 17, and the upper cover 7 is fully opened (see FIG. 28).

  As described above, in this embodiment, when the upper cover 7 that can be partially opened and closed with respect to the main body frame 1 is in the closed state, the intermediate transfer unit C is positioned and locked to the main body frame 1. To do. Positioning is performed by the guide groove 40 and the long hole 17 with respect to the roller shafts 20 and 21. Locking is performed by the lock levers 24 and 28. When the intermediate transfer unit C is exposed to the outside from the main body frame 1 in conjunction with the opening operation of the upper cover 7, the fixing is released based on the swinging operation of the intermediate transfer unit C.

  Therefore, the intermediate transfer unit C can be accurately positioned with respect to the main body frame 1 independently of the upper cover 7, and the lock mechanism itself can be made small and simple.

  In this embodiment, the upper cover 7 is configured to hold the intermediate transfer unit C so that the roller shaft 20 can slide in the guide groove 40. Accordingly, after the locking mechanism releases the fixing of the intermediate transfer unit C based on the opening operation of the upper cover 7, the intermediate transfer unit C can be taken out from the upper cover 7 by sliding the intermediate transfer unit C upward. Yes, the intermediate transfer unit can be taken out easily.

  Further, the intermediate transfer unit C is slid in the direction opposite to the removal, so that after the intermediate transfer unit C is attached to the upper cover 7, the lock mechanism moves the intermediate transfer unit C to the main body frame based on the closing operation of the upper cover 7. Therefore, the mounting operation to the upper cover 7 of the intermediate transfer unit C is facilitated, and the locking operation is automatically performed, so that workability is improved.

  Moreover, since the lock release means (namely, lock release lever 13) with respect to the main body frame 1 of the upper cover 7 is provided, it can prevent that a user opens the upper cover 7 carelessly.

  Further, when the main cover 1 is opened, the upper cover 7 simultaneously opens the paper conveyance path 8 toward the outside, so that it is easy to remove a paper jam generated in the conveyance path 8 and to maintain the conveyance path 8. .

  Further, when the upper cover 7 is opened, the photosensitive unit A is also opened to the outside at the same time, and the developing unit B is also opened to the outside by the front cover 9. Access to the photosensitive unit A and the developing unit B is easy.

(Other examples)
Note that the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be variously modified within the scope of the gist thereof.

  In particular, the present invention can be widely applied not only to the color printers shown in the above-described embodiments, but also to so-called copying machines, facsimiles, and complex machines of these. In the above embodiment, the upper cover 7 and the front cover 9 are configured separately, but may be configured so that the main body frame 1 can be integrally opened and closed.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a color printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the state which fully opened the upper cover. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the opening / closing assist mechanism of an upper cover. FIG. 5 is an elevation view showing a holding / fixing mechanism of the intermediate transfer unit. It is an elevation view showing a holding frame. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a main part of a holding mechanism of an intermediate transfer unit. It is an elevation view which shows a handle and a lock release lever. It is an elevation view which shows a lock lever. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a holding mechanism for an intermediate transfer unit. It is a perspective view which shows a lock release lever. It is an elevational view showing another lock lever. It is an elevation view which shows the fully open state of an upper cover. It is an elevation view which shows the state which closes an upper cover. It is an elevation view which shows the state which closes an upper cover. It is an elevation view which shows the state which closes an upper cover. It is an elevation view which shows the state which closes an upper cover. It is an elevation view which shows the state which closes an upper cover. It is an elevation view which shows the state which closes an upper cover. It is an elevation view which shows the state which closes an upper cover. It is an elevational view showing a state in which the closing of the upper cover is completed. FIG. 6 is an elevation view showing a state where the intermediate transfer unit is locked. FIG. 6 is an elevational view illustrating a state where the intermediate transfer unit is unlocked. FIG. 6 is an elevational view illustrating a state where the intermediate transfer unit is unlocked. It is an elevational view showing a state where the lock is released and the upper cover is opened. It is an elevation view which shows the state in which an upper cover is opened. It is an elevation view which shows the state in which an upper cover is opened. It is an elevation view which shows the state in which an upper cover is opened. It is an elevational view showing a state in which the opening of the upper cover is completed.

Explanation of symbols

A ... photosensitive unit B ... developing unit C ... intermediate transfer unit D ... laser scanning unit 1 ... main body frame 5 ... intermediate transfer belt 7 ... upper cover 10 ... handle 13 ... lock release lever 14 ... holding frame 16 ... support shaft 17 ... Long holes 20, 21 ... Roller shafts 24, 28 ... Lock lever 30 ... Release boss 40 ... Guide groove 41 ... Guide part

Claims (8)

In an image forming apparatus configured to transfer an image formed on an image carrier onto a recording medium,
A cover member that is openable and closable with respect to a main body frame of the image forming apparatus, and that holds the image carrier detachably;
When the cover member is in the closed state, the image carrier is positioned and locked to the main body frame, and the image carrier is exposed to the outside from the main body frame in conjunction with the opening operation of the cover member. Lock means for releasing the fixation of the image carrier based on the swinging motion of the carrier;
An image forming apparatus comprising:   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cover member slidably holds the image carrier.   The image bearing member can be removed from the cover member by sliding the image bearing member after the locking means releases the fixation of the image bearing member based on the opening operation of the cover member. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2.   2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein after the image carrying body is slid and attached to the cover member, the locking means fixes the image carrying body to the main body frame based on a closing operation of the cover member. The image forming apparatus according to 2.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an unlocking unit for the cover member with respect to the main body frame.   6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the main body frame is opened, the cover member also opens a recording medium conveyance path toward the outside.   7. The image according to claim 1, wherein the image bearing member is an intermediate transfer member on which a toner image formed on a photosensitive member is primarily transferred and secondarily transferred onto a recording medium. Forming equipment. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein when the main body frame is opened, the cover member also opens the photoconductor toward the outside.

Images