JP2007286175A - Functional unit and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform a prescribed function by using electric power even when having no drive motor without receiving power supply. <P>SOLUTION: An opening and closing unit integrates an opening and closing cover 13, a transfer device 36, a transmission gear 52 provided on one end of a rotating shaft 50 of the transfer device 36, a power generator 54 for generating power by rotation of the rotating shaft 50, and a form peeling plate 56 electrified by the electric power in which the power generator 54 generates power. The transmission gear 52 is engaged with a drive gear 60 driven by a drive motor 58 fixed on an image forming apparatus body 12 to transmit drive force to the rotating shaft 50 (power generator 54) when the opening and closing unit 15 is closed to the image forming apparatus body 12. An alternating current generator 62 generates alternating voltage in response to rotation of the rotating shaft 50 to be output to a booster 64. The booster 64 boosts while rectifying the alternating voltage input from the alternating current generator 62, and applies a prescribed voltage on a form peeling plate 56. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a functional unit and an image forming apparatus provided in an apparatus main body.

In image forming apparatuses such as printers, copiers, and facsimile machines, it is difficult to supply power to the unit from the apparatus body because the unit including consumables is attached to, detached from, or opened from, or rotated to the apparatus body. There is something.
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an image in which a driving force for rotating a developing roller of a developing device is transmitted to a generator mounted on the developing device assembly in order to supply power to a device mounted on the rotating developing device assembly. A forming apparatus is disclosed.

JP 2004-287401 A

  However, the above-described conventional example only discloses an image forming apparatus that transmits a driving force to a generator mounted on a developer assembly, and no consideration is given to a unit that does not have a driving motor.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a functional unit and an image forming apparatus that can perform a predetermined function using electric power without being supplied with power and without having a drive motor.

  In order to achieve the above object, the first feature of the present invention is that a driving force transmitting means for transmitting a driving force from the apparatus main body, a power generation unit for generating electric power by the driving force transmitted by the driving force transmitting means, The functional unit includes a functional unit that performs a predetermined function using the power generated by the power generation unit. That is, since the power generation unit generates electric power by the driving force transmitted by the driving force transmission means, the functional unit does not receive power supply and does not have a drive motor. It can be performed.

  Preferably, the power generation unit further includes a boosting unit that boosts the power generated by the power generation unit, and the functional unit performs a predetermined function using the power boosted by the boosting unit. Therefore, even if a high voltage is necessary for the functional unit to perform a predetermined function, the boosting unit boosts the power generated by the power generation unit, so that the functional unit is not supplied with power and has a drive motor. Even if it is not, a predetermined function can be performed using electric power.

  Preferably, the power generation unit includes an AC generator.

  Preferably, the power generation unit includes a friction generator.

  Preferably, the friction generator controls the amount of power generation according to at least one of parameters of a contact area where friction occurs, pressure, friction force, temperature, and humidity.

  Preferably, the power generation unit includes a direct current generator.

  Preferably, the battery further includes a power storage unit that stores electric power generated by the power generation unit. Therefore, since the power storage unit stores power even during a predetermined period when the power generation unit is not generating power, the functional unit uses power even if it does not receive power feeding and does not have a drive motor. A predetermined function can be performed.

  Preferably, the function unit performs wireless communication with the apparatus main body.

  The second feature of the present invention includes an apparatus main body and a functional unit provided in the apparatus main body, and the functional unit includes driving force transmission means for transmitting a driving force from the apparatus main body. The image forming apparatus includes a power generation unit that generates power using the driving force transmitted by the driving force transmission unit and a functional unit that performs a predetermined function using the power generated by the power generation unit.

  According to the present invention, a predetermined function can be performed using electric power without receiving power supply and without having a drive motor.

Next, embodiments 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 an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 10 includes an image forming apparatus main body 12. The upper part on the front side (left side in FIG. 1) of the image forming apparatus main body 12 is an opening / closing cover 13 that swings about a hinge 48 (see FIG. 2) provided at the lower end. An image forming unit 14 is mounted in the main body 12 of the image forming apparatus, and a part of the image forming unit 14 (see FIG. 2) and the opening / closing cover 13 constitute an opening / closing unit 15 described later.
In addition, a discharge unit 16 is provided in the upper part of the image forming apparatus main body 12, and for example, two stages of paper feeding units 18 and 18 are arranged in the lower part of the image forming apparatus main body 12.

  Each paper feed unit 18 has a paper feed cassette 20 and a paper feed roll 22 in which paper is stored, and the paper loaded in the paper feed cassette 20 is conveyed to the registration roll 24 by the rotation of the paper feed roll 22. Is done.

  Further, an image carrier 28 and a transfer device 36 of a process cartridge 46, which will be described later, are provided on the downstream side of the registration roll 24, and a fixing unit 40 is further provided on the downstream side.

  Accordingly, the sheet fed from the sheet feeding cassette 20 of the sheet feeding unit 18 by the sheet feeding roll 22 is temporarily stopped by the registration roll 24 and passes between an image carrier 28 and a transfer device 36 described later at a timing. Then, the developer image is transferred, and the transferred developer image is fixed by the fixing unit 40 and discharged to the discharge portion 16 by the discharge roll 26.

  The image forming means 14 is of an electrophotographic system, and is charged by the image carrier 28 made of a photosensitive member, a charging unit 30 made of, for example, a charging roll for uniformly charging the image carrier 28, and the charging unit 30. An optical writing unit 32 for writing a latent image on the image carrier 28 with light, a developing unit 34 for visualizing with a developer containing a latent image of the image carrier 28 formed by the optical writing unit 32, and A transfer device 36 composed of, for example, a transfer roll for transferring the developer image to the paper by the developing unit 34, a cleaning unit 38 for cleaning the developer remaining on the image carrier 28, and development on the paper transferred by the transfer device 36. The fixing unit 40 is composed of, for example, a pressure roll and a heating roll for fixing the agent image on the paper.

  The optical writing unit 32 is composed of, for example, a scanning laser exposure device, and forms a latent image on the image carrier 28 across a process cartridge 46 described later. The transfer device 36 is applied with a voltage so that a predetermined potential difference is generated with respect to the charged potential of the image carrier 28 in order to facilitate the transfer of the developer image onto the sheet. The cleaning unit 38 includes a cleaning blade 42 that comes into contact with the image carrier 32 and a developer recovery unit 44 that stores the developer scraped off by the cleaning blade 42.

  The process cartridge 46 is an exchange unit in which the image carrier 28, the charging unit 30, the developing unit 34, and the cleaning unit 38 are integrated. For example, when the amount of developer remaining in the developing unit 34 decreases, for example, When the user opens the opening / closing cover 13, it can be replaced as a unit.

  In addition, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a control unit 47 that controls each part of the image forming apparatus 10 in the image forming apparatus main body 12. The control unit 47 includes, for example, an IC such as a CPU and a memory.

  In FIG. 2, the opening / closing unit 15 and its periphery are shown. The opening / closing unit 15 includes an opening / closing cover 13, a transfer device 36, a transmission gear 52 provided at one end of the rotation shaft 50 of the transfer device 36, a power generation unit 54 that generates power by the rotation of the rotation shaft 50, and the power generation unit. Reference numeral 54 denotes a unit in which a sheet peeling plate 56 that is charged by generated electric power is integrated. For example, when the user opens the opening / closing cover 13 with the hinge 48 as an axis, the opening / closing unit 15 is integrally opened / closed with respect to the image forming apparatus main body 12.

  When the opening / closing unit 15 is closed with respect to the image forming apparatus main body 12, the transmission gear 52 is engaged with a drive gear 60 driven by a drive motor 58 fixed to the image forming apparatus main body 12, and the rotation shaft 50 (power generation). The driving force is transmitted to the part 54).

As shown in FIG. 3, the power generation unit 54 includes, for example, an AC generator 62 and a booster 64. The AC generator 62 generates an AC voltage according to the rotation of the rotating shaft 50 and outputs the AC voltage to the booster 64. The boosting unit 64 includes, for example, a plurality of boosting circuits, boosts the AC voltage input from the AC generator 62 to a predetermined voltage while rectifying the AC voltage, and applies the predetermined voltage to the sheet peeling plate 56.
Note that a voltage is applied to the sheet peeling plate 56 so that a predetermined potential difference is generated with respect to the voltage applied to the transfer device 36 in order to easily peel the sheet from the transfer device 36.

  Thus, even if the opening / closing unit 15 does not include a driving motor, the transmission gear 52 transmits the driving force of the driving motor 58 to the rotating shaft 50 via the driving gear 60, so Can be applied.

Next, a modified example of the power generation unit 54 will be described.
FIG. 4 shows a friction generator 66 that is a first modification of the power generation unit 54. The frictional power generator 66 is provided in accordance with the rotation of the fixed shaft 68, the spatula 70 made of a negatively charged material of the friction charge train such as Teflon (registered trademark) provided on the fixed shaft 68, and the rotation shaft 50, for example. And a rotating disk 72 that rotates about a fixed shaft 68. In the rotating disk 72, four contact portions 74 are arranged at equal intervals from the outer peripheral side toward the fixed shaft 68. The contact portion 74 is made of a positive series material of a triboelectric charge train such as aluminum or nylon, for example, and causes the friction to occur by contacting the spatula 70 when the rotating disk 72 rotates about the fixed shaft 68. When friction is generated by the spatula 70 and the contact portion 74, the friction generator 66 generates an electromotive force so that the positive terminal 76 becomes positive and the negative terminal 77 becomes negative, for example.

As described above, the friction generator 66 generates an electromotive force by friction between the spatula 70 and the contact portion 74, and thus can generate a high voltage without providing a booster circuit.
Further, the friction generator 66 may be configured to control the power generation amount according to at least one of the parameters of the contact area between the spatula 70 and the contact portion 74, pressure and friction force, and temperature and humidity.

  In FIG. 5, the 2nd modification of the electric power generation part 54 and its periphery are shown. The second modification (power generation unit 78) of the power generation unit 54 includes a DC generator (dynamo) 80 and a power storage unit 82. For example, a predetermined number of ICs (not shown) such as a CPU and a memory of the control unit 47 are provided. Supply DC voltage. The DC generator 80 generates a DC voltage according to, for example, rotation of the rotating shaft 50 and outputs it to the power storage unit 82. The power storage unit 82 is made of, for example, a capacitor, accepts the voltage input from the DC generator 80 and stores the voltage, and outputs the stored voltage to the control unit 47.

  Thus, the open / close unit 15 can supply the stored voltage to the control unit 47 during a predetermined period even if the DC generator 80 is not generating power.

  In FIG. 6, the 3rd modification of the electric power generation part 54 and its periphery are shown. The third modification (power generation unit 84) of the power generation unit 54 includes an AC generator 86, a rectification circuit 88, and a smoothing circuit 90, and supplies a predetermined DC voltage to an RFID (IC tag) 92, for example. The AC generator 86 generates an AC voltage according to, for example, rotation of the rotary shaft 50 and outputs the AC voltage to the rectifier circuit 88. The rectifier circuit 88 rectifies the AC voltage input from the AC generator 86 and outputs it to the smoothing circuit 90. The smoothing circuit 90 receives and smoothes the voltage rectified by the rectifying circuit 88 and outputs it to the RFID 92, for example.

  The RFID 92 is provided in the opening / closing unit 15, for example, and performs wireless communication with a wireless communication unit 94 fixed to the image forming apparatus main body 12, and transmits / receives information to / from the control unit 47 via the wireless communication unit 94. .

  As described above, the opening / closing unit 15 can supply a predetermined voltage to the RFID 92 even if it does not include a drive motor. Even if the wireless communication unit 94 and the RFID 92 are not connected, The stored information can be transmitted to the control unit 47 via the wireless communication unit 94.

  Further, the transmission gear 52, the power generation unit 84, and the RFID 92 are provided in the process cartridge 46, and the transmission gear 52 transmits the driving force on the image forming apparatus main body 12 side so that the AC generator 86 generates an AC voltage. Even if the process cartridge 46 does not include a drive motor, the information that the RFID 92 has may be transmitted to the control unit 47 via the wireless communication unit 94.

1 is a side view illustrating an outline of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows an opening / closing unit and its periphery. It is a schematic diagram which shows the structure of an electric power generation part. It is a schematic diagram which shows the friction generator which is the 1st modification of an electric power generation part. It is a schematic diagram which shows the 2nd modification of an electric power generation part, and its periphery. It is a schematic diagram which shows the 3rd modification of an electric power generation part, and its periphery.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 12 Image forming apparatus main body 13 Opening / closing cover 14 Image forming means 15 Opening / closing unit 28 Image carrier 30 Charging device 32 Optical writing device 34 Developing device 36 Transfer device 38 Cleaning device 40 Fixing device 46 Process cartridge 47 Control unit 50 Rotation Shaft 52 Transmission gear 54 Power generation unit 56 Paper stripping plate 58 Drive motor 60 Drive gear 62 AC generator 64 Boosting unit 66 Friction generator 68 Fixed shaft 70 Spatula 72 Rotating disk 74 Contact portion 76 Positive terminal 77 Negative terminal 78 Power generation unit 80 DC Generator 82 Power storage unit 84 Power generation unit 86 AC generator 88 Rectifier circuit 90 Smoothing circuit 92 RFID
94 Wireless communication unit

Claims (9)

  A driving force transmission means for transmitting a driving force from the apparatus main body, a power generation unit for generating electric power by the driving force transmitted by the driving force transmission means, and a functional unit for performing a predetermined function using the electric power generated by the power generation unit Functional unit having.   The functional unit according to claim 1, further comprising a booster that boosts the power generated by the power generator, wherein the functional unit performs a predetermined function using the power boosted by the booster.   The functional unit according to claim 1, wherein the power generation unit includes an AC generator.   The functional unit according to claim 1, wherein the power generation unit includes a friction generator.   The functional unit according to claim 4, wherein the friction generator controls a power generation amount according to at least one of parameters of a contact area where friction occurs, pressure, friction force, temperature, and humidity.   The functional unit according to claim 1, wherein the power generation unit includes a DC generator.   The functional unit according to claim 1, further comprising a power storage unit that stores electric power generated by the power generation unit.   The functional unit according to claim 1, wherein the functional unit performs wireless communication with the apparatus main body.   An apparatus main body and a functional unit provided in the apparatus main body, wherein the functional unit generates electric power by a driving force transmitting means for transmitting a driving force from the apparatus main body and a driving force transmitted by the driving force transmitting means. An image forming apparatus comprising: a power generation unit; and a functional unit that performs a predetermined function using the power generated by the power generation unit.

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