JP2008175941A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To allow one fan to forcibly cool not only the inside of a side plate to which one fan is attached but also the space between the side plate and the side surface portion of an outer cover facing the side plate. <P>SOLUTION: In the image forming apparatus, the side plate is erected and provided inside the outer cover 70 approximately formed like a case, the fan 3 using the inside of the side plate as a sucking side is provided in the side plate and an exhaust port 4 is provided at the place corresponding to the fan 3, of the outer cover 70. The image forming apparatus has a partition wall 8 which is provided so as to partition the space 5 between the side plate and the side surface 71 of the outer cover 70 facing the side plate into a first area 6 including the fan 3 and the exhaust port 4 and a second area 7 except the first area 6 and a second area cooling duct which is provided so that one end side is disposed so as to cover a part of the sucking side of the fan 3 and the other end side leads to an opening window 15 provided in the side plate, so as to communicate with the second area 7. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

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

In a small printer or the like, a cooling fan is generally disposed in the vicinity of a fixing device that is a heat source (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2006-71755 A

  However, with the increase in printing speed, heat generation at the power supply board has become ignorable, and there is a demand for positive cooling rather than natural heat dissipation. Therefore, it is conceivable to arrange another individual cooling fan in the vicinity of the power supply board, but this is not preferable for miniaturization. In addition to the fixing device and the power supply board, other heat source members are provided inside the image forming apparatus.

  Further, since the cooling fan is attached to the side plate provided inside the box-shaped outer cover, the exhaust easily collects in the space between the side plate and the side surface portion of the outer cover that faces the side plate. There are also challenges.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems of the prior art. A single fan is used not only for the inside of the side plate to which the fan is attached, but also for the side plate and the outer cover facing the side plate. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of forcibly cooling the space between the side portions of the image forming apparatus.

  In the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, a side plate is erected inside an outer cover formed in a substantially box shape, and a fan having a suction side on the inner side of the side plate is provided on the side plate. In the image forming apparatus in which an exhaust port is provided at a location corresponding to the fan, a space between the side plate and a side surface portion of the exterior cover facing the side plate is formed in a first region including the fan and the exhaust port. One end side is disposed so as to cover a part of the suction side of the fan and a partition wall provided so as to be divided into other second regions, and the side plate communicates with the second region. And a second area cooling duct provided by connecting the other end to the provided opening window.

  An image forming apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein one end side of the second region cooling duct and two or more individual cooling ducts arranged at one end side at different cooling locations. The other end side covers the entire area on the suction side of the fan.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the heat inside the side plate is exhausted by the fan to the outside of the apparatus through the first region. On the other hand, the heat of the second region enters the second region cooling duct through the opening window by the fan and is exhausted outside the apparatus through the first region. Therefore, with a single fan, not only the inside of the side plate to which the fan is attached, but also the space between the side plate and the side surface portion of the exterior cover facing the side plate can be forcibly cooled.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to cool each cooling part by disposing one end side of the individual cooling duct in the cooling part. Therefore, it becomes possible to cool more efficiently than the case where the inside of a side plate is cooled collectively.

  The present invention will be specifically described below.

  FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a basic configuration of a small printer to which the present invention is applied.

  The printer 50 includes a photosensitive drum 51 having a substantially cylindrical shape as an image carrier, and around the photosensitive drum 51, a charger 52, a developing device 53, a transfer roller 54, a polishing roller 55, and a cleaning blade 56. The static eliminator 57 is disposed along the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 51.

  The image forming process by the printer 50 is performed as follows. After the surface of the photosensitive drum 51 is uniformly charged by the charger 52, exposure is performed by irradiating the surface of the photosensitive drum 51 with a laser beam 58a emitted from the writing optical system 58 according to image data. As a result, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 51. In FIG. 1, 58b and 58c are mirrors.

  Thereafter, the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 51 is developed into a toner image by the developing device 53, and the toner image on the photosensitive drum 51 is transferred to a transfer material, for example, a recording sheet 59 by the transfer roller 54. . At this time, an electric current flows between the photosensitive drum 51 and the transfer roller 54 due to the movement of the charged toner. The amount of adhesion is stabilized.

  After the transfer, the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 51 adheres to the polishing roller 55 by polishing the photosensitive drum 51 by the polishing roller 55, and is then collected by the cleaning blade 56. Thereafter, the residual potential on the photosensitive drum 51 is erased by the static eliminator 57. Thereafter, it is charged again by the charger 52, and the above image forming process is repeated.

  On the other hand, the recording paper 59 is conveyed from the paper supply unit 60 along the paper conveyance line 61 and is sent between the photosensitive drum 51 and the transfer roller 54, where the toner on the photosensitive drum 51 is transferred by the transfer roller 54. The image is transferred, and then discharged to the discharge tray 64 through the fixing unit 62 and the discharge conveyance unit 63 that is a part of the sheet conveyance line 61 in this order.

  The printer 50 configured as described above is disposed inside a box-shaped outer cover 70 except for the paper feed unit 60 and the paper discharge tray 64. The small printer 50 is formed such that the side on which the paper feed unit 60 is provided is the front side.

  FIG. 2 is a left side view showing a cooling fan attached to a side plate provided inside the exterior cover, and FIG. 3 is a left side view showing an exhaust port provided on a side surface of the exterior cover.

  A side plate 1 in FIG. 2 is a left side plate, and a cooling fan 3 is provided in an opening 2 provided on the rear side (left side in FIG. 2). A left side surface 71 of the exterior cover 70 shown in FIG. 3 is provided outside the left side plate 1 in a state of being separated from the left side plate 1 by an appropriate length. An exhaust port is provided at a position corresponding to the cooling fan 3. 4 is provided. The exhaust port 4 is composed of a plurality of slits in this illustrated example.

  A space 5 exists between the left side plate 1 and the left side surface 71 separated by an appropriate length. The space 5 includes a first region 6 including the cooling fan 3 and the exhaust port 4, and the other second region 7. And divided by a partition wall 8. The partition wall 8 may be formed outside the left side plate 1 or inside the left side surface 71, or may be formed so as to be in contact with the outside of the left side plate 1 and the inside of the left side surface 71.

  The cooling fan 3 is attached to the left side plate 1 with the first region 6 as the exhaust side, and five ducts are provided inside the side plate 1 and on the suction side of the cooling fan 3. . One is a second area cooling duct 10 for cooling the second area 7, the other is an individual cooling duct 11 for cooling the writing optical system 58, and the other is for cooling the photosensitive drum 51 and the developing device 53. The individual cooling duct 12 that performs cooling, the other one is the individual cooling duct 13 that cools the fixing unit 62, and the other is the individual cooling duct 14 that cools the discharge conveyance unit 63.

  The second region cooling duct 10 has one end portion 10 a arranged on the suction side of the cooling fan 3, and the other end portion 10 b connected to an opening window 15 opened at a position corresponding to the second region 7 of the left side plate 1. Is provided. The individual cooling duct 11 is provided with one end 11 a disposed in the vicinity of the writing optical system 58 and the other end 11 b disposed on the suction side of the cooling fan 3. The individual cooling duct 12 is provided with one end 12 a disposed in the vicinity of the photosensitive drum 51 and the developing device 53 and the other end 12 b disposed on the suction side of the cooling fan 3. The individual cooling duct 13 is provided with one end 13 a disposed in the vicinity of the fixing unit 62 and the other end 13 b disposed on the suction side of the cooling fan 3. The individual cooling duct 14 is provided with one end portion 14 a disposed in the vicinity of the discharge conveyance unit 63 and the other end portion 14 b disposed on the suction side of the cooling fan 3.

  The suction side of the cooling fan 3 is entirely covered with the one end 10a of the second region cooling duct 10 and the other ends 11b to 14b of the four individual cooling ducts 11 to 14, respectively. It is divided into two. The sizes of the one end portion 10a and the other end portions 11b to 14b are adjusted according to the importance to be cooled. For example, the other end portion of the individual cooling duct 13 that cools the fixing unit 62 that is a cooling required portion. 13b is larger than the others.

  The second region cooling duct 10 sucks air in the second region 7 through the opening window 15, and the sucked air is discharged from the exhaust port 4 through the first region 6. Thereby, the 2nd field 7 is cooled. The four individual cooling ducts 11 to 14 are provided with one end portions 10a to 14a. The writing optical system 58, the photosensitive drum 51, the developing device 53, the fixing unit 62, the discharge conveyance unit 63, and the like, which are cooling units. The air is sucked from the vicinity of the air and the sucked air is discharged from the first region 6 through the exhaust port 4.

  Therefore, in the case of this embodiment, the heat inside the side plate 1 is exhausted to the outside of the apparatus through the first region 6 by the fan 3. On the other hand, the heat of the second region 7 enters the second region cooling duct 10 through the opening window 15 by the fan 3 and is exhausted outside the apparatus through the first region 6. Therefore, not only the inside of the side plate 1 to which the fan 3 is attached, but also the space 5 between the side plate 1 and the side surface portion 71 of the exterior cover 70 facing the same is forced by one fan 3. Cooling can be performed. In addition, by arranging the one end sides 11a to 14a of the individual cooling ducts 11 to 14 in a cooling required portion (the writing optical system 58, the photosensitive drum 51, the developing device 53, the fixing unit 62, the discharge conveyance unit 63 and the like), Cooling for each cooling unit is possible. Therefore, it becomes possible to cool more efficiently than the case where the inside of the side plate 1 is collectively cooled without using the individual cooling ducts 11 to 14.

  Note that each of the ducts 10 to 14 in the above-described embodiment does not need to be provided in a cylindrical shape over the entire length, and a stay or a plate material for a conveyance line provided so as to function as the printer 50 is provided on the ceiling surface or the bottom surface. You may use for a part or you may utilize some ducts. In short, if the size and position of the plate material for stays and transport lines differ depending on the model, if the duct can reach the cooling required section, any wall surface provided inside the printer 50 can be used. Also good.

  In the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to the printer 50. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and can be similarly applied to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a facsimile.

It is explanatory drawing of the basic composition of the small printer to which this invention is applied. It is a left view which shows the cooling fan attached to the side plate provided inside the exterior cover. It is a left view which shows the exhaust port provided in the side surface of an exterior cover.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Side plate 3 Cooling fan 4 Exhaust port 5 Space 6 1st area | region 7 2nd area | region 8 Partition wall 10 2nd area | region cooling duct 10a, 11a, 12a, 13a, 14a One end part 10b, 11b, 12b, 13b, 14b The other end Part 11, 12, 13, 14 Individual cooling duct 50 Printer (image forming apparatus)
70 Exterior cover 71 Left side

Claims (2)

A side plate is erected inside the outer cover formed in a generally box shape, and a fan is provided on the side plate with the inside of the side plate as a suction side, and an exhaust port is provided at a location corresponding to the fan of the outer cover. In the image forming apparatus,
A partition wall provided to divide a space between the side plate and the side portion of the exterior cover facing the side plate into a first region including the fan and the exhaust port and a second region other than the first region. When,
A second region cooling duct provided at one end side so as to cover a part of the suction side of the fan, and having the other end connected to an opening window provided on the side plate so as to communicate with the second region. An image forming apparatus comprising: The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.
The entire area on the suction side of the fan is covered with one end side of the second region cooling duct and each other end side of two or more individual cooling ducts arranged at one end side in different cooling locations. Image forming apparatus.

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