JP2006113114A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus excellent in image quality, whose body is miniaturized by making space between right and left side plates as small as possible, where the right and the left side plates are prevented from being damaged by the operation mechanism of an opening/shutting type shutter member for protecting the photoreceptor drum of a toner cartridge until loading the toner cartridge in the body, in which the toner cartridge is smoothly loaded when it is loaded, and further where noise and vibration is reduced by preventing the lowering of the rigidity of the main body. <P>SOLUTION: In constitution to load the toner cartridge in the image forming apparatus, a part where the shutter member operation mechanism of the toner cartridge slides in contact with the right and the left side plates is constituted as a contact-sliding surface, and drawing and bending work is performed to the right and the left side plates at a part where the contact-sliding surface is arranged so that its height may be nearly the same as the height of the inner surfaces of the right and the left side plates. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a replaceable toner cartridge, such as a copying machine, a facsimile, a printer, and a composite device thereof.

  A conventional image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS.

  Here, the operation and configuration until the toner cartridge B is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body A will be described.

  4 and 5 are a perspective view of the image forming apparatus main body A before the toner cartridge B is mounted and a detailed sectional view after the mounting. The main body frame is configured by sandwiching a resin main frame 3 between a left metal plate 1 and a right metal plate 2. An upper guide rail 4 and a lower guide rail 5 for guiding the toner cartridge B are attached to the left side plate 1, and a concave portion formed in the main body reference position 10 by the lower guide rail 5 is a positioning portion when the toner cartridge B is mounted. is there.

  6 and 7 are perspective views of the toner cartridge B that is detachably attached to the image forming apparatus A. FIG. On the side surface of the toner cartridge B, a positioning shaft 12 and a rotation stop shaft 13 for the main body A are provided. The opposite side also has a similar axis. Further, the openable / closable drum shutter 14 is rotatably supported while being urged by the shutter spring 15 in a normally closed direction, and the shutter spring 15 is rotatably supported on the side surface of the toner cartridge B. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a state in which the drum shutter 14 is opened, and an actual operation will be described with reference to an operation sectional view shown in FIG.

  When the toner cartridge B is mounted on the image forming apparatus A, the positioning shaft 12 of the toner cartridge B is guided and mounted in the main body through the upper surface of the lower guide rail 5. At this time, the shutter spring convex portion 16 having substantially the same width as the left and right positioning shafts 12 contacts the front surface of the lower guide rail 5 (FIG. 8A). When the toner cartridge B is mounted as it is, the shutter spring 15 rotates and the drum shutter 14 opens the photosensitive drum 17 (FIG. 8B). When the shutter spring 15 is further rotated, the shutter spring convex portion 16 is located on the upper surface from the front of the lower guide rail 5 (FIG. 8C). When the toner cartridge B is mounted on the main body side positioning portion 10 as it is, the drum shutter convex portion 16 is guided so as to pass through the upper surface of the lower guide rail 5 similarly to the positioning shaft 12 (FIG. 8D). At this time, the rubbing member 7 is attached to the contact surface between the shutter spring convex portion 16 and the left and right side plates so that the shutter spring convex portion 16 does not rub against the left and right side plates.

  With the above operation, the drum shutter 14 is opened and retracted, the photosensitive drum 17 of the toner cartridge B can be brought into contact with the transfer roller 11, and the image forming apparatus A can be operated.

As a conventional example, there is Patent Document 1, for example.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 07-020762

  However, the conventional image forming apparatus has the following problems.

  The first problem is that the drum shutter is opened and closed by rotating the shutter spring of the toner cartridge by using the lower guide rail member. Therefore, the total width determined by the left and right positioning shafts on the end surface of the toner cartridge, and the projection of the shutter spring If the widths determined by the lengths of the left and right end faces of the part are not substantially equal, dropping from the lower guide rail may occur.

  However, when the rubbing members are attached to the left and right side plates as in the conventional example, the distance between the left and right side plates is determined by the total width of the toner cartridge and the width of the rubbing member. As a result, the main body of the image forming apparatus cannot be reduced in size, and the parts such as the exterior are increased, resulting in a material cost, resulting in an increase in product cost.

  As a second problem, when each guide rail and each rubbing member are attached to the left and right side plates as in the conventional example, the guide rail and the rubbing member must be provided close to each other, but a gap or a step is generated. For this reason, there has been a problem that the positioning shaft of the toner cartridge and the projection of the shutter spring are caught or difficult to install.

  As a third problem, when the rubbing member is attached to the left and right side plates, the distance between the left and right side plates becomes large. Therefore, only the left and right toner cartridge attaching / detaching portions are configured as separate members with resin-molded side wall parts, and the left and right side plate portions are An example in which the inner surface height of the rubbing member constituted by the side wall parts and the inner surface height of the left and right side plates are configured to be substantially the same by being cut and attached so that the distance between the left and right side plates does not become larger than the width of the toner cartridge. is there.

  However, in this case, since the left and right side plates and the left and right side walls of the resin molding are separate parts, the rigidity of the main body is lowered, and there is a problem that there is a concern about noise and deterioration of image quality due to vibration during operation of the main body.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a small-sized and inexpensive image forming apparatus in which the width of the main body of the image forming apparatus with respect to the toner cartridge is small.

  Second, when the toner cartridge is installed in the main body of the image forming apparatus, image formation with excellent usability can be done smoothly without scratching the left and right side plates by the shutter spring and without the toner cartridge being caught. To provide an apparatus.

  A third object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that is excellent in rigidity and has low noise and high image quality by suppressing vibration and noise by preventing deformation of the left and right side plates and distortion of the frame.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to a first aspect of the present application, a removable toner cartridge is attached to an image forming apparatus main body, and a shutter member that protects a photosensitive drum of the toner cartridge can be opened and closed. In the image forming apparatus in which the shutter member opens and closes by attaching / detaching the toner cartridge to / from the image forming apparatus main body, a guide member for guiding the toner cartridge to the image forming apparatus, and a main body side plate to which the guide member is attached The shutter member provided in the toner cartridge, an arm member that is connected to the toner cartridge while urging the shutter member, and a rubbing member that the arm member rubs in the width direction, The front surface in the width direction of the rubbing member is substantially the same as the inner surface of the main body side plate. Wherein the diaphragm bending a portion where the rubbing member of the main assembly, is attached is subjected.

  In the above configuration, the inner surface height in the body width direction of the rubbing member acts substantially the same as the inner surface height of the left and right side plates by drawing and bending the portion where the rubbing member is attached to the left and right side plates of the image forming apparatus. .

  Next, in order to achieve the above object, a second invention according to the present application is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, the rubbing member and the guide member are integrally formed. .

  In the above configuration, the rubbing member and the guide member act so that the positioning shaft and the arm member of the toner cartridge are not caught or dropped by the joint or gap between the two members when the toner cartridge is mounted.

  Next, in order to achieve the above object, according to a third invention of the present application, in the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, the molded resin component in which the rubbing member and the guide member are slidable. It is characterized by comprising.

  In the above configuration, the rubbing member and the guide member act so that the positioning shaft and the arm member of the toner cartridge can be smoothly mounted on the main body without being caught when the toner cartridge is mounted.

  As described above, according to the first aspect of the present application, when the toner cartridge is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body, the end surface of the arm member that operates the drum shutter member of the toner cartridge is rubbed with the left and right side plates. The distance between the left and right side plates is minimized with respect to the entire width of the toner cartridge by subjecting a part of the left and right side plates to drawing bending so that the inner surface height of the rubbing member is substantially the same as the inner surface height of the left and right side plates. It can be configured as follows.

  As a result, the entire width of the image forming apparatus main body can be reduced, and the size of the parts to be used can be reduced, so that the material cost can be reduced and a small and inexpensive image forming apparatus can be provided to the user.

  Next, according to the second invention of the present application, in addition to the first invention, there is no joint or gap between the rubbing member and the guide member by forming the rubbing member and the guide member as the same member. Therefore, when the toner cartridge is mounted on the main body of the image forming apparatus, the toner cartridge can be smoothly mounted without being caught by the positioning shaft or the arm member.

  As a result, the mounting property of the toner cartridge to the main body is improved, and an image forming apparatus having excellent usability can be provided.

  Further, by forming the rubbing member and the guide member as the same member, it is possible to reduce the part processing cost and the mounting time, and thus it is possible to provide an inexpensive image forming apparatus to the user.

  Next, according to the third invention of the present application, in addition to the first to second inventions, the sliding member and the guide member are made of a resin material having excellent slidability. When the toner cartridge is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body, the toner cartridge can be mounted smoothly without being caught by the positioning shaft or the arm member.

  As a result, the mounting property of the toner cartridge to the main body is improved, and an image forming apparatus having excellent usability can be provided.

Example 1
FIGS. 1 to 3 and FIGS. 9 to 11 are a sectional view and a perspective view for explaining a laser beam printer A and a toner cartridge B which are image forming apparatuses according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  In the laser beam printer A of FIGS. 1 to 3, 1 is a left side plate, 2 is a right side plate, 3 is a main body frame, 4 is an upper guide rail, 5 is a lower guide rail, 6 is a clamp spring, 7 is a rubbing surface, Reference numeral 8 denotes a side plate diaphragm, 9 an exterior door, 10 a main body reference position, and 11 a transfer roller.

  Next, in the toner cartridge B shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, 12 is a positioning shaft, 13 is a rotation stop shaft, 14 is a drum shutter, 15 is a shutter spring, 16 is a shutter spring convex portion, and 17 is a photosensitive drum.

  Here, the laser beam printer A forms a frame body by sandwiching a main body frame 3 which is a resin molded part between a left-side plate 1 and a right-side plate 2 made of sheet metal whose outer periphery is bent to increase rigidity. . When the detachable toner cartridge B is mounted, the exterior door 9 is rotated in the front direction of the main body and opened as shown in FIG.

  An upper guide rail 4 and a lower guide rail 5 made of sliding resin are attached to the left side plate 1, and a main body reference position 10 formed by a concave portion is provided on the lower guide rail 5. A clamp spring 6 is attached above the main body reference position 10 and urges the clamp spring 6 to always press against the main body reference position 10.

  Further, the side plate narrowing portion 8 which is the most characteristic in the present invention is formed integrally by subjecting the left and right side plates 1 and 2 to bend bending, and is formed by the lower guide rail 5 in the recess formed by the side plate narrowing portion 8. By disposing the rubbed surface 7, the sliding surface height and the left and right side plate inner surface heights are configured to be substantially the same.

  Next, the toner cartridge B has a positioning shaft 12 and a rotation-preventing shaft 13 for positioning with the main body on the left side surface. There is also a similar rotation stop shaft on the right side surface, and a coaxial drive transmission shaft (not shown) on the opposite side of the positioning shaft 12, and positioning and drive transmission are achieved by connecting to the main body.

  A drum shutter 14 for protecting the photosensitive drum 17 provided coaxially with the positioning shaft 12 is provided so as to be openable and closable. The drum shutter 14 is always urged by a shutter spring 15 in the closing direction, and the side surface of the toner cartridge B. It is connected to. The shutter spring 15 is integrally formed with left and right shutter spring convex portions 16 having substantially the same width as the positioning shaft 12.

  The operation and action until the toner cartridge B is mounted on the main body A in the above configuration will be described.

  When the toner cartridge B is attached to the laser beam printer A, the positioning shaft 12 passes between the upper guide rail 4 and the lower guide rail 5 and the rotation stop shaft 13 is guided to the upper surface of the upper guide rail 4 as shown in FIG. To be installed. At this time, the shutter spring convex portion 16 having substantially the same width as the left and right positioning shafts 12 contacts the front surface of the lower guide rail 5 (FIG. 11A). When the toner cartridge B is mounted as it is, the drum shutter spring 15 rotates and the drum shutter 14 opens the photosensitive drum 17 (FIG. 11B). When the drum shutter spring 15 is further rotated, the drum shutter spring convex portion 16 is positioned so as to run from the front surface of the lower guide rail 5 to the upper surface. Communicate as a feeling. (FIG. 11 (c)).

  When the toner cartridge B is mounted in the main body reference position 10 as it is, the drum shutter spring convex portion 16 is guided so as to pass through the upper surface of the lower guide rail 5 similarly to the positioning shaft 12 (FIG. 11D).

  At this time, the sliding surface 7 is configured to be disposed on the contact surface between the shutter spring convex portion 16 and the left and right side plates so that the shutter spring convex portion 16 does not rub against the left and right side plates. Yes.

  When the toner cartridge B is pushed in as it is, the positioning shaft 10 falls to the main body reference position 10 shown in FIG. 5, and the drum shutter spring convex portion 16 is guided through the upper surface of the lower guide rail 5 in the same manner as the positioning shaft 12 ( FIG. 11 (d)). At this time, the pressing load resistance from the clamp spring 6 and the feeling of depression to the main body reference position 10 are transmitted to the toner cartridge B as an appropriate click feeling, and the user is informed that the toner cartridge B is normally mounted on the main body A. Recognize.

  At this position, the photosensitive drum 17 of the toner cartridge B comes into contact with the transfer roller 11, and the image forming apparatus main body A becomes operable.

  As described above, the left and right side plates are subjected to a drawing bending process, and the sliding surface on which the shutter spring convex portion of the toner cartridge rubs is disposed on the drawing processing portion, thereby preventing the shutter springs from damaging the left and right side plates. A toner cartridge can be smoothly attached and detached, and a main body excellent in usability can be provided.

  Also, by making the rubbing surface on which the shutter spring convex part rubs substantially the same height as the inner surface of the left and right side plates, the left and right side plate spacing of the main body can be set to the minimum with respect to the toner cartridge, so that the entire main body width can be minimized, The main body can be configured with a small size and at low cost.

  Further, since the rubbing surface and the guide rail can be arranged without cutting out the left and right side plates, the main body frame rigidity is not lowered, and a low noise and high image quality main body can be provided.

  In this embodiment, the rubbing surface and the guide rail are configured as an integral member, but the same effect can be obtained even if the member having the rubbing surface and the guide rail are configured as separate members.

1 is a perspective view illustrating an inner side portion of a left side plate of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view illustrating an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a detailed cross-sectional view illustrating an image forming apparatus and a toner cartridge according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view explaining the image forming apparatus of a prior art example. FIG. 10 is a detailed cross-sectional view illustrating a conventional image forming apparatus and a toner cartridge. FIG. 10 is a perspective view for explaining a conventional toner cartridge before installation. FIG. 7 is a perspective view for explaining a conventional toner cartridge after being mounted. FIG. 10 is a detailed cross-sectional view illustrating an operation of mounting a conventional toner cartridge on an image forming apparatus. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a state before the toner cartridge according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention is mounted. FIG. 5 is a perspective view for explaining after the toner cartridge according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention is mounted. 6 is a detailed cross-sectional view illustrating an operation of mounting the toner cartridge according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention in the image forming apparatus. FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Left side plate 2 Right side plate 3 Main body frame 4 Upper guide rail 5 Lower guide rail 6 Clamp spring 7 Sliding surface (sliding member)
8 Side plate diaphragm portion 9 Exterior door 10 Main body reference position 11 Transfer roller 12 Positioning shaft 13 Anti-rotation shaft 14 Drum shutter 15 Shutter spring 16 Shutter spring convex portion 17 Photosensitive drum A Laser beam printer main body B Toner cartridge

Claims (3)

A detachable replaceable toner cartridge is attached to the image forming apparatus main body, and a shutter member that protects the photosensitive drum of the toner cartridge can be opened and closed, and the toner cartridge is attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body. In the image forming apparatus in which the shutter member opens and closes,
A guide member for guiding the toner cartridge to the image forming apparatus, a main body side plate to which the guide member is attached, the shutter member provided in the toner cartridge, and the toner cartridge coupled to the toner cartridge while urging the shutter member The main body so that the inner surface height of the rubbing member is substantially flush with the inner surface height of the main body side plate. An image forming apparatus, wherein a portion of the side plate to which the rubbing member is attached is subjected to drawing bending.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rubbing member and the guide member are integrally formed.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rubbing member and the guide member are formed of a slidable molded resin part.

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