JP2007199154A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus capable of easily grounding electric equipment. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus 10 comprises a resin frame 100, electric equipment such as a control board 106 attached to the rear side surface 100a of the resin frame 100; an earth plate 146 formed on the front side surface 100b of the resin frame 100 and held in the grounded state; and clips 140, 142, 144 for conducting the electric equipment such as the control board 106 to the earth plate 146. The clips 140, 142, 144 are respectively held on an edge part 100c by clipping the edge part 100c of the resin frame 100 by elastic force for instance. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile, and a printer.

  This type of image forming apparatus has, for example, an electrical component such as a power supply circuit, a control board, a laser driving device, and a motor, and these electrical components are used while being grounded (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 10-24621 A

  However, in the conventional technique, when an electrical component is to be arranged on both sides of a frame made of resin or the like that is a non-conductive material, grounding members that are grounded are attached to both sides of the frame, Electrical components on the same surface side as the grounding member are electrically connected to the respective grounding members, or through holes are provided in the frame, and electrical components on one surface side of the frame are used with the conductive members penetrating through the through holes. There is a problem in that the structure of the apparatus becomes complicated because the grounding member on the other surface side must be made conductive.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of easily grounding an electrical component.

  The first feature of the present invention is that a resin frame, an electrical component provided on one surface side of the resin frame, and a ground member provided on the other surface side of the resin frame and grounded. And a conducting member for conducting the grounding member and the electrical component. The conducting member is in the image forming apparatus held on the edge by sandwiching the edge of the resin frame.

  Preferably, the conducting member includes a first pressing portion pressed against one surface side of the resin frame, a second pressing portion pressed against the other surface side of the resin frame, and the first A connecting portion that connects the pressing portion and the second pressing portion.

  Preferably, the conducting member has a recess into which an edge of the resin frame is fitted.

  Preferably, the apparatus has a mounting part used for image formation and mounted on the resin frame, and the grounding member is grounded through the mounting part.

  Preferably, the apparatus has a support frame that supports the resin frame, and the grounding member is grounded through the support frame.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus capable of easily grounding an electrical component.

Next, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an outline of an image forming apparatus 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 10 includes an image forming apparatus main body 12, and for example, a one-stage recording medium supply unit 14 is disposed below the image forming apparatus main body 12. The recording medium supply unit 14 includes a recording medium supply cassette 18 in which a recording medium such as plain paper is accommodated, and a pickup that picks up the recording medium from the recording medium supply cassette 18 in the vicinity of the recording medium supply cassette 18. A roll 19, a feed roll 20 that supplies a recording medium picked up by the pickup roll 19 to a recording medium conveyance path 24 described later, and a retard roll 22 that separates the recording medium supplied by the feed roll 20 one by one. Has been placed.

  The recording medium conveyance path 24 is a recording medium path from the feed roll 20 to the discharge port 26. The recording medium conveyance path 24 is disposed on the front side (the right side in FIG. 1) of the image forming apparatus main body 12.

  The recording medium conveyance path 24 is formed substantially vertically from the recording medium supply unit 14 to a fixing device 84 described later. A secondary transfer roll 76 and a secondary transfer backup roll 68, which will be described later, are disposed on the upstream side of the fixing device 84 in the recording medium conveyance path 24, and a resist is provided on the upstream side of the secondary transfer roll 76 and the secondary transfer backup roll 68. A roll 28 is arranged. A discharge roll 30 is disposed in the vicinity of the discharge port 26 of the recording medium conveyance path 24.

  Therefore, the recording medium picked up from the recording medium supply cassette 18 of the recording medium supply unit 14 by the pickup roll 19 and sent out by the feed roll 20 is held by the retard roll 22 and only the uppermost recording medium is the recording medium conveyance path. 24, temporarily stopped by the resist roll 28, and a developer image is transferred between a secondary transfer roll 76 and a secondary transfer backup roll 68, which will be described later, at a timing, and the transferred developer The image is fixed by the fixing device 84 and is discharged from the discharge port 26 to the recording medium discharge portion 32 provided on the upper part of the image forming apparatus main body 12 by the discharge roll 30. The recording medium discharge portion 32 has a low discharge port portion and is inclined so as to gradually become higher in the back direction (left direction in FIG. 1).

  In the image forming apparatus main body 12, a rotary developing device 34 is disposed on the opposite side of an intermediate transfer body 60 described later with a photoreceptor 46 described later interposed therebetween. The rotary developing device 34 includes developing units 38a to 38d that form developer images of four colors of yellow, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black in the developing unit main body 36, respectively. Rotate counterclockwise about the rotary developing device center 40. Each of the developing units 38a to 38d has developing rolls 42a to 42d, and is pressed in the normal direction of the developing unit main body 36 by an elastic body (not shown) such as a coil spring. Each of the developing devices 38a to 38d includes developer cartridges 44a to 44d filled with a developer composed of toners of four colors of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black. The developer cartridges 44a to 44d are detachably mounted in the image forming apparatus main body 12.

  The rotary developing device 34 is disposed so that a drum-shaped photosensitive member 46 used as an image carrier is in contact with the developing roller 42a to 42d. Is projected from the outer periphery of the developing device main body 36 in the radial direction, for example, 2 mm. Further, a tracking roll (not shown) having a diameter slightly larger than the diameter of the developing rolls 42a to 42d is provided at both ends of the developing rolls 42a to 42d so as to rotate coaxially with the developing rolls 42a to 42d. Yes. That is, the tracking rolls of the developing rolls 42a to 42d are in contact with flanges (not shown) provided at both ends of the photosensitive member 46, and a predetermined gap is formed between the developing rolls 42a to 42d and the photosensitive member 46. The latent image on the photoreceptor 46 is developed with each color developer.

  Below the photoconductor 46, a charging device 48, which is used as a charging means for uniformly charging the photoconductor 46, for example, is provided with a charging roll. The photoreceptor cleaner 50 is in contact with the photoreceptor 46 on the upstream side of the charging device 48 in the rotation direction of the photoreceptor 46. The photoreceptor cleaner 50 includes, for example, a cleaning blade 52 that scrapes off the developer remaining on the photoreceptor 46 after primary transfer, and a developer recovery bottle 54 that recovers the developer scraped off by the cleaning blade 52.

  Below the rotary developing device 34, an exposure device 56 used as a latent image forming means for forming a latent image on a photosensitive member 46 charged by a charging device 48 by a light beam such as a laser beam is disposed. Further, in the front direction from the rotary developing device 34 (right direction in FIG. 1), an intermediate transfer that primarily transfers a developer image visualized by the rotary developing device 34 at a primary transfer position and conveys it to a secondary transfer position described later. A device 58 is provided.

  The intermediate transfer device 58 includes a belt-shaped intermediate transfer member 60 used as an intermediate transfer medium, a primary transfer roll 62, a wrap-in roll 64, a wrap-out roll 66, a secondary transfer backup roll 68, a scraper backup roll 70, and a brush backup roll. 72 and a support roll 74. The intermediate transfer body 60 includes a wrap-in roll 64 disposed upstream of the primary transfer roll 62 above the rear surface side (left side surface in FIG. 1) of the intermediate transfer body 60 and a wrap-out disposed downstream of the primary transfer roll 62. A primary transfer portion that contacts the photoconductor 46 in a wrap shape with the roll 66 is provided. The photoconductor 46 is wound around a predetermined range and is driven by the rotation of the photoconductor 46. As described above, the intermediate transfer member 60 is primarily transferred by the primary transfer roll 62 so that the developer image on the photoreceptor 46 is superposed in the order of, for example, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, and the developer image that has been primarily transferred is described later. Then, it is conveyed toward the secondary transfer roll 76.

  Further, a protrusion is formed by a secondary transfer backup roll 68 on the front side (right side in FIG. 1) of the intermediate transfer body 60, and this protrusion becomes a secondary transfer portion and a recording medium conveyance path. It is supposed to face 24.

  The scraper backup roll 70 assists the scraper 80 scraping off the developer remaining on the intermediate transfer body 60 after the secondary transfer, and the brush backup roll 72 removes the developer remaining on the intermediate transfer body 60 after the secondary transfer. A brush roll 82 to be described later assists in scraping.

  The secondary transfer backup roll 68 of the intermediate transfer device 58 is opposed to the secondary transfer roll 76 with the recording medium conveyance path 24 interposed therebetween. The secondary transfer position between the secondary transfer roll 76 and the secondary transfer backup roll 68 is a secondary transfer position in the secondary transfer portion. The secondary transfer roll 76 is supported by the secondary transfer backup roll 68 with the aid of the secondary transfer backup roll 68. The developer image primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer body 60 is secondarily transferred to the recording medium at the secondary transfer position.

  At the upper end of the intermediate transfer body 60, an intermediate transfer body cleaner 78 used as an intermediate transfer medium cleaning means for cleaning the intermediate transfer body 60, which is an intermediate transfer medium, is provided. The intermediate transfer body cleaner 78 is, for example, a scraper 80 that scrapes off and removes the developer remaining on the intermediate transfer body 60 after the secondary transfer, a brush roll 82 that scrapes off the developer remaining after cleaning by the scraper 80, and a scraper 80. And a developer recovery bottle (not shown) for recovering the developer scraped off by the brush roll 82. The scraper 80 is made of, for example, a stainless steel thin plate, and is applied with a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the developer. Further, while the intermediate transfer body 60 conveys the developer image for color superposition, the scraper 80 and the brush roll 82 are separated from the intermediate transfer body 60, and they are integrated as a unit at a predetermined timing. The transfer body 60 is brought into contact with the transfer body 60.

  A fixing device 84 is disposed above the secondary transfer position. The fixing device 84 includes a heating roll 88 and a pressure roll 90, and heat and pressure are applied to a developer image made of, for example, toner that has been secondarily transferred to a recording medium by the secondary transfer roll 76 and the secondary transfer backup roll 68. Then, the toner is fixed on the recording medium and conveyed toward the discharge roll 30.

  A part or all of the intermediate transfer device 58, the photosensitive member 46, the charging device 48, the photosensitive member cleaner 50, and the intermediate transfer member cleaner 78 are integrated as a process unit, and the process unit can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body 12. It may be configured.

  In the image forming apparatus 10 configured as described above, when an image formation signal is sent, the photosensitive member 46 is uniformly charged by the charging device 48, and the charged photosensitive member 46 is based on the image signal. Then, a light beam is emitted from the exposure device 56. The light beam from the exposure device 56 exposes the surface of the photoconductor 46 to form a latent image. The latent image on the photoreceptor 46 formed by the exposure device 56 is developed with yellow, magenta, cyan, and black developer images by the rotary developing device 34 and is primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer member 60. In the primary transfer, the waste developer remaining on the photoconductor 46 is scraped off and collected by the photoconductor cleaner 50.

  On the other hand, the recording medium stored in the recording medium supply cassette 18 is picked up by the pick-up roll 19 by the recording medium supply signal and the like, sent out by the feed roll 20, separated by the retard roll 22, and guided to the recording medium transport path 24. Then, it is temporarily stopped by the resist roll 28, and is guided between the secondary transfer roll 76 and the secondary transfer backup roll 68 with timing. When the recording medium is guided between the secondary transfer roll 76 and the secondary transfer backup roll 68, the developer image primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer body 60 is transferred to the secondary transfer roll 76 and the secondary transfer backup roll 68. Is secondarily transferred to the recording medium. After the secondary transfer, the waste developer remaining on the intermediate transfer member 60 is scraped off and collected by the intermediate transfer member cleaner 78.

  The recording medium to which the developer image is transferred is guided to the fixing device 84. The fixing device 84 fixes the developer image on the recording medium by heat and pressure by the heating roll 88 and the pressure roll 90, and discharges the recording medium on which the developer image is fixed via the discharge roll 30. It discharges to the part 32.

2 and 3 show the image forming apparatus main body 12.
The image forming apparatus main body 12 includes a resin frame 100 made of resin and a support frame 102 that supports the resin frame 100 from below in the direction of gravity, and the exterior of the resin frame 100 and the support frame 102 is not illustrated. Covered by a cover.

  A sheet metal 104 made of metal is mounted on the rear surface 100a (the left surface in FIGS. 2 and 3) of the resin frame 100, and a control board 106 used as an electrical component is mounted on the sheet metal 104. ing. The control board 106 is used in a grounded state. In addition to the control board 106, a plurality of electrical components (not shown) such as a power source are mounted on the sheet metal 104, and these electrical parts are also grounded in the same manner as the control board 106. A method and configuration for grounding the control board 106 and other electrical components will be described later.

  On the front surface 100b (the right surface in FIGS. 2 and 3) of the resin frame 100, the motor 108 for rotating the rotary developing device 34 described above, the motor 110 for rotating the photosensitive member 46 described above, and the like described above. A motor 112 for driving the feed roll 20 and the like, a control board 114 used for controlling these motors, and a bracket 116 on which, for example, a clutch or the like is mounted, are mounted. All of these members are used for image formation, and are also used as mounting parts to be mounted on the resin frame 100. In addition, these members are used in a state where they are grounded. A method and configuration for grounding the motor 108, the motor 110, the motor 112, the control board 114, and the bracket 116 will be described later.

  In such an image forming apparatus 10, the control substrate 106 and the like are provided on the rear surface side of the resin frame 100 made of a resin that is a non-conductive material, and the motor 108 and the like are provided on the front surface side of the resin frame 100. These are all used in a grounded state. For this reason, members on both sides of the resin frame 100 must be grounded, and the structure for that purpose may be complicated. For this reason, in this embodiment, it is comprised so that an electrical component can be earth | grounded comparatively easily by devising the structure for earth | grounding each member.

  The support frame 102 is made of metal and is grounded at a ground point 118. Further, the support frame 102 connects, for example, a mounting component mounted on the front surface 100b side of the resin frame 100 such as a motor 112 and the support frame 102, and a connection point 120 for electrically connecting the mounting component and the support frame 102, 122.

  The connection point 120 is connected to the drive board portion of the motor 112 and is in a state of being electrically connected to the motor 112. Therefore, the motor 112 is grounded via the support frame 102. The motor 112 is connected to the motor 110 by a connection member 124 made of, for example, a metal screw that is a conductive material, and is in a state of being electrically connected to the motor 110. For this reason, the motor 110 is in a state of being grounded via the connection member 124, the motor 112, and the support frame 102. The motor 108 is connected to the motor 110 by a connection member 126 made of, for example, a metal screw that is a conductive material, and is electrically connected to the motor 110. For this reason, the motor 108 is grounded via the connection member 126, the motor 110, the connection member 124, the motor 112, and the support frame 102. Further, the motor 108 is connected to the control board 114 through a connection member 128 made of, for example, a metal screw that is a conductive material, and is electrically connected to the control board 114. For this reason, the control board 114 is in a state of being grounded via the connection member 128, the motor 108, the connection member 126, the motor 110, the connection member 124, the motor 112, and the support frame 102.

The connection point 122 is connected to the bracket 116 and is in conduction with the bracket 116. Therefore, the bracket 116 is grounded via the support frame 102. The bracket 116 is connected to the motor 108 by a connecting member 130 made of, for example, a metal screw made of a conductive material, and is electrically connected to the motor 108. For this reason, the motor 108 is
In addition to being grounded via the motor 112 or the like, it is grounded via the connection member 130, the bracket 116, and the support frame 102. Since the motor 108 is electrically connected to the control board 114 by the connection member 128 as described above, the control board 114 is grounded via the motor 112 and the like, and the connection member 128 and the motor 108 are connected. , The connection member 130, the bracket 116, and the support frame 102 are grounded. With the above configuration, each member mounted on the front surface 100b of the resin frame 100 is grounded.

  Clips 140, 142, and 144 used as conductive members are provided on the edge portion 100c of the resin frame 100. The clips 140.142, 144 are used for grounding the control board 106, which is an electrical component provided on the rear surface 100a of the resin frame 100.

A clip 140 is shown in FIGS.
The clip 140 is made of metal, and includes a first pressing portion 140a pressed against the rear surface 100a of the resin frame 100, a second pressing portion 140b pressed against the front surface 100b of the resin frame 100, and a first The connecting portion 140c connects the pressing portion 140a and the second pressing portion 140b. The clip 140 is usually manufactured by bending a single metal plate having elasticity, and is attached in a direction in which the distal end portion of the first pressing portion 140a and the distal end portion of the second pressing portion 140b approach each other. It is a leaf spring that is energized. And the recessed part 140d is formed in the space enclosed by the 1st press part 140a and the 2nd press part 140b.

  The clip 140 is held by the edge portion 100c by sandwiching the edge portion 100c of the resin frame 100 with an elastic force between the inner surface of the first pressing portion 140a and the inner surface of the second pressing portion 140b. At this time, the edge portion 100 c of the resin frame 100 is fitted in the recess 140 d of the clip 140.

  The clip 140, together with the edge portion 100c of the resin frame 100, sandwiches the above-described sheet metal 104 and the ground plate 146 so that the sheet metal 104 and the ground plate 146 are disposed on both sides of the resin frame 100. The ground plate 146 is made of metal, is provided on the front surface 100b of the resin frame 100, and is used as a ground member. The ground plate 146 has a shape extending along the shape of the resin frame 100 from the portion sandwiched between the clips 140, and the end opposite to the portion sandwiched between the clips 140 is connected to the control board 114 described above. The ground plate 146 and the control board 114 are in a conductive state. Here, the control board 114 is grounded via the motor 108, the support frame 102, and the like as described above. For this reason, the ground plate 146 in a state of being conductive to the control board 114 is also grounded.

  The clip 140 is in contact with both the ground plate 146 and the sheet metal 104 that are grounded, and makes the ground plate 146 and the sheet metal 104 conductive. For this reason, the sheet metal 104 is also grounded, and the control board 106 mounted on the sheet metal 104 and other electrical parts mounted on the sheet metal 104 are also grounded.

  The clip 142 has the same shape as the clip 140 and is held at a position below the position at which the clip 140 is held at the edge 100 c of the resin frame 100. The clip 142 sandwiches the sheet metal 104, the resin frame 100, and the earth plate 146, and conducts the sheet metal 104 and the earth plate 146. The ground plate 146 is connected to the motor 108 in the vicinity of the clip 142 and is also connected to the motor 108 together with being in a state of being connected to the control board 114 as described above.

  The clip 144 has the same shape as the clips 140 and 142, and is held further below the position where the clip 142 is held on the edge 100 c of the resin frame 100. The clip 142 sandwiches the sheet metal 104, the resin frame 100, and the earth plate 146, and conducts the sheet metal 104 and the earth plate 146. The ground plate 146 is connected to the bracket 116 in the vicinity of the clip 144 and is in a conductive state with the bracket 116 in addition to being connected to the control board 114 and the motor 108 as described above.

  In this embodiment, the clips 140, 142, and 144 are formed of an elastic body, and are held by the edge portion 100c by sandwiching the edge portion 100c of the resin frame 100 with elastic force. However, the clips 140, 142, and 144 are not necessarily provided. It is not necessary to be made of an elastic body, and it may be configured to be held by the edge portion 100c by simply sandwiching the edge portion 100c of the resin frame 100 and fitting the edge portion 100c.

  In the image forming apparatus 10, as described above, the electrical components such as the control board 106 provided on the rear surface 100a of the resin frame 100 and the ground plate 146 provided on the front surface 100b of the resin frame are provided. The control board 106 and the like are grounded by conducting with the clips 140, 142, and 144. As a result, both the electrical components provided on the rear surface 100a of the resin frame 100 and the electrical components such as the motor 108 and the control board 114 provided on the front surface 100b of the resin frame 100 are relatively simple. Grounded in a simple configuration. For this reason, for example, grounded members that are grounded are attached to both sides of the resin frame 100, and the control board 106 and the like are electrically connected to the grounded member that is attached to the rear surface 100a of the resin frame. An electrical component provided on the rear surface 100a using the conductive member that allows the grounding member provided on the surface 100b to conduct the motor 108 or the like or forms a through hole in the resin frame 100 and penetrates the through hole. There is no need to take a complicated structure such as connecting the ground plate 146 on the front surface 100b to the ground plate 146. Further, it is not necessary to fix the clip using solder or the like by the biasing force of the clip itself.

  As described above, the present invention can be used for an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine having a power circuit, a control board, an exposure device including a laser driving device, and an electrical component such as a motor, a facsimile machine, and a printer.

1 is a side view illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view showing an image forming apparatus main body used in an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a side view showing an image forming apparatus main body used in an embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view which expands and shows the conduction | electrical_connection member used for embodiment of this invention, and shows the part shown with the dotted line A in FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the conduction | electrical_connection member used for embodiment of this invention, and shows the BB cross section in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 12 Image forming apparatus main body 46 Photoconductor 100 Resin frame 100a Rear side surface 100b Front side surface 100c Edge part 102 Support frame 104 Sheet metal 106 Control board 108, 110.112 Motor 114 Control board 116 Bracket 120, 122 Connection Points 124, 126, 128, 130 Connection member 140 Clip 140a First pressing portion 140b Second pressing portion 140c Connection portion 140d Recess 146 Earth plate

Claims (5)

A resin frame;
An electrical component provided on one side of the resin frame;
A grounding member provided on the other surface side of the resin frame and grounded;
A conducting member for conducting the grounding member and the electrical component;
Have
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conductive member is held by the edge of the resin frame by sandwiching the edge.   The conducting member includes a first pressing portion pressed against one surface side of the resin frame, a second pressing portion pressed against the other surface side of the resin frame, and the first pressing portion. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a connection portion that connects the second pressing portion.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the conductive member has a recess into which an edge of the resin frame is fitted. Used for image formation, having a mounting part to be mounted on the resin frame,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the grounding member is grounded through the mounting component. A support frame for supporting the resin frame;
5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the grounding member is grounded through the support frame.

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