JP2009192755A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus in which different connector substrates attached to the same main body frame can be handled simply by changing a connector mounting position for a corresponding process unit only by the thickness of a substrate, and damage due to connector interference can be prevented even in case where a process unit that does not correspond to the connector substrate is erroneously attached. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus has drum units (process units) 2A and 2b attachable to or detachable from the main body frame. In the image forming apparatus, connectors 26A and 26B are attachable to both sides of the substrate 25 disposed on the drum units 2A and 2B. This makes it possible to attach/detach the drum units 2A and 2B to/from the two connector substrates 24A and 24B of different types. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including a process unit that can be attached to and detached from a main body frame.

  In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer that forms an image on a sheet by electrophotography, an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrier such as a photosensitive drum is developed by a developing device to be visualized as a toner image. The toner image is transferred onto a sheet by a transfer device. The sheet onto which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed to a fixing device, and after the toner image is fixed by heat and pressure by the fixing device, it is discharged out of the apparatus, thereby completing a series of image forming operations. .

By the way, considering the convenience of maintenance, various process devices such as photosensitive drums and developing devices are unitized as process units such as drum units and developing units, and these drum units and developing units are configured to be attached to and detached from the main body frame. It has been done.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-134497 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-230619

  In such an image forming apparatus, when it is necessary to attach different connector boards to the same main body frame, it is necessary to prepare process units including connectors that are fitted to the connectors provided on the respective connector boards. There was a problem of inviting. In addition, when a process unit that does not correspond to the connector board is erroneously mounted, there is a problem that the connector of the process unit is damaged by interference with the connector provided on the connector board on the main body side.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the object of the present invention is to change the connector mounting position of the process unit by the thickness of the board with respect to different connector boards mounted on the same main body frame. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can cope with the problem and can prevent damage due to interference of a connector even if a process unit that does not correspond to a connector board is erroneously mounted.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus provided with a process unit that can be attached to and detached from the main body frame, connectors can be attached to both sides of the substrate provided in the process unit, The process unit can be attached to and detached from two types of connector boards on the main body side.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the length of the wire connected to the connector provided in the process unit is the same for each process unit, and a rib for removing the slack of the wire is provided in the process unit. It is characterized by being formed.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the connectors can be attached to both sides of the board provided in the process unit, and the process unit can be attached to and detached from the two types of connector boards on the main body side. It is possible to cope with the different connector boards mounted by simply changing the connector mounting position of the process unit by the thickness of the board. Further, even if a process unit that does not correspond to the connector board is erroneously mounted, it is possible to prevent the connector from being damaged by preventing interference with the connector board connector on the main body side of the connector of the process unit.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the length of the wire connected to the connector of the process unit is the same as a result of changing the connector mounting position of the process unit by the thickness of the substrate, the wire Although slack is generated, excess wire can be removed by using a rib formed in the process unit to remove the slack. Therefore, the same length of wire can be used for process units having different connector mounting positions, and the number of service parts can be reduced to improve assembly.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a color laser printer as an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. The illustrated color laser printer is a tandem type, and a magenta image forming unit is provided at the center of the main body 100. 1M, a cyan image forming unit 1C, a yellow image forming unit 1Y, and a black image forming unit 1K are arranged in tandem at regular intervals.

  Each of the image forming units 1M, 1C, 1Y, and 1K is provided with photosensitive drums 2a, 2b, 2c, and 2d, and charging rollers 3a, 3b, 3c, and 3d are disposed around the photosensitive drums 2a to 2d. 3d, developing devices 4a, 4b, 4c, 4d, transfer rollers 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d and drum cleaning devices 6a, 6b, 6c, 6d are arranged, respectively.

  Here, the photosensitive drums 2a to 2d are drum-shaped photosensitive members, and are rotationally driven at a predetermined process speed in a direction indicated by an arrow (clockwise) by a variable speed stepping motor (not shown). The charging rollers 3a to 3d uniformly charge the surfaces of the photosensitive drums 2a to 2d to a predetermined potential by a charging bias applied from a charging bias power source (not shown).

  Further, the developing devices 4a to 4d contain magenta (M) toner, cyan (C) toner, yellow (Y) toner, and black (K) toner, respectively, and are formed on the photosensitive drums 2a to 2d. In addition, the toner of each color is attached to each electrostatic latent image to visualize each electrostatic latent image as a toner image of each color.

  The transfer rollers 5a to 5d are arranged so as to be able to contact the photosensitive drums 2a to 2d via the intermediate transfer belt 7 in the respective primary transfer portions. Here, the intermediate transfer belt 7 is stretched between the secondary transfer counter roller 8 and the tension roller 9 and is disposed on the upper surface side of each of the photosensitive drums 2a to 2d. The roller 8 is disposed so as to be in contact with the secondary transfer roller 10 via the intermediate transfer belt 7 in the secondary transfer portion. A belt cleaning device 11 is provided in the vicinity of the tension roller 9.

  Incidentally, toner containers 12a, 12b, 12c, and 12d for supplying toner to the developing devices 4a to 4d are arranged in a line above the image forming units 1M, 1C, 1Y, and 1K in the apparatus main body 100. It is installed.

  In addition, a laser scanner unit (LSU) 13 is disposed below the image forming units 1M, 1C, 1Y, and 1K in the apparatus main body 100, and a paper feed cassette 14 is detachably attached to the bottom of the main body 100 below the image forming units. is set up. A plurality of sheets (not shown) are stacked and accommodated in the paper feed cassette 14, and a pickup roller 15 for taking out the paper one by one from the paper feed cassette 14 is taken out in the vicinity of the paper feed cassette 14. A feed roller 16 and a retard roller 17 are provided for feeding the fed paper to the transport path L.

  The conveyance path L extending in the vertical direction on the side of the apparatus main body 100 includes a conveyance roller pair 18 that conveys the sheet, and the secondary transfer counter roller 8 and the second transfer opposing roller 8 at a predetermined timing after the sheet is temporarily held. A registration roller pair 19 is provided to be supplied to the secondary transfer portion which is a contact portion with the next transfer roller 10. Next to the conveyance path L, another conveyance path L ′ used for forming an image on both sides of the sheet is formed, and a plurality of conveyance roller pairs 20 are appropriate for this conveyance path L ′. Are provided at regular intervals.

  By the way, the conveyance path L arranged in the vertical direction on one side in the apparatus main body 100 extends to the paper discharge tray 21 provided on the upper surface of the apparatus main body 100, and the fixing device 22 and the discharge path are in the middle. A paper roller pair 23 is provided.

  Next, an image forming operation by the color laser printer having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIG.

  When an image formation start signal is issued, the photosensitive drums 2a to 2d are driven to rotate at a predetermined process speed in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1 (clockwise) in each of the image forming units 1M, 1C, 1Y, and 1K. The drums 2a to 2d are uniformly charged by the charging rollers 3a to 3d. The laser scanner unit 13 emits a laser beam modulated by a color image signal for each color, irradiates the surface of each photosensitive drum 2a to 2d with the laser beam, and each color is applied to each photosensitive drum 2a to 2d. An electrostatic latent image corresponding to the color image signal is formed.

  First, magenta toner is attached to the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 2a of the magenta image forming unit 1M by the developing device 4a to which a developing bias having the same polarity as the charged polarity of the photosensitive drum 2a is applied. The electrostatic latent image is visualized as a magenta toner image. This magenta toner image is transferred to the arrow shown in FIG. 1 by the action of the transfer roller 5a to which a primary transfer bias having a polarity opposite to that of the toner is applied at the primary transfer portion (transfer nip portion) between the photosensitive drum 2a and the transfer roller 5a. Primary transfer is performed on the intermediate transfer belt 7 which is rotationally driven in the direction.

  The intermediate transfer belt 7 on which the magenta toner image has been primarily transferred as described above moves to the next cyan image forming unit 1C. In the cyan image forming unit 1C as well, the cyan toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 2b is transferred to the magenta toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 7 in the primary transfer portion in the same manner as described above.

  Similarly, yellow and black toners respectively formed on the photosensitive drums 2c and 2d of the yellow and black image forming units 1Y and 1K on the magenta and cyan toner images superimposed and transferred on the intermediate transfer belt 7, respectively. The images are sequentially superimposed at each primary transfer portion, and a full-color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 7. The transfer residual toner which is not transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 7 and remains on the photosensitive drums 2a to 2d is removed by the drum cleaning devices 6a to 6d, and the photosensitive drums 2a to 2d are prepared for the next image formation. It is done.

  Then, the pickup from the paper feed cassette 14 is performed in accordance with the timing at which the front end of the full color toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 7 reaches the secondary transfer portion (transfer nip portion) between the secondary transfer counter roller 8 and the secondary transfer roller 10. The sheet fed to the conveyance path L by the roller 15, the feed roller 16 and the retard roller 17 is conveyed to the secondary transfer unit by the registration roller pair 19. Then, a full-color toner image is collectively transferred from the intermediate transfer belt 7 to the sheet conveyed to the secondary transfer unit by the secondary transfer roller 10 to which a secondary transfer bias having a polarity opposite to that of the toner is applied. .

  Thus, the sheet on which the full-color toner image has been transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 22, and the sheet on which the full-color toner image has been fixed by being heated and pressurized and thermally fixed on the surface of the sheet. Then, the paper is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 21 by the paper discharge roller pair 23 to complete a series of image forming operations. The transfer residual toner that is not transferred onto the sheet and remains on the intermediate transfer belt 7 is removed by the belt cleaning device 11, and the intermediate transfer belt 7 is prepared for the next image formation.

  Next, the gist of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  2 is a plan view of the drum unit 2, and FIGS. 3A and 3B are side views showing the connection state of the drum units 2A and 2B to the connector board (a view in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 2), FIG. ), (B) are cross-sectional views taken along the line BB of FIG. 2 showing the connection state of the drum units 2A, 2B to the connector board, FIG. 5 (a) is an enlarged detail view of a portion C of FIG. 4 (a), and FIG. 4B is an enlarged detailed view of a portion D in FIG. 4B, FIG. 5C is an enlarged detailed view of a connector portion when the drum unit 2A is incorrectly installed, FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of the drum unit 2A, FIG. 8 is a partial perspective view showing a state in which the wire rod of the drum unit 2A is routed, FIG. 9 is a partial perspective view of the drum unit 2B, and FIG. 10 is a partial perspective view showing a wire rod in the drum unit 2B.

  In the present embodiment, the drum unit 2 shown in FIG. 2 (only one is shown in FIG. 2) is configured including the photosensitive drums 2a to 2d shown in FIG. 1, and the drum unit 2 includes connectors 26A and 26B described later. There are two types, 2A and 2B, depending on the difference in the mounting position (see FIGS. 4A and 4B and FIGS. 5A and 5B).

  Thus, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the two types of drum units 2A and 2B are connected to the corresponding connector boards 24A and 24B on the apparatus main body 100 side when they are mounted on the main body frame. Is done. Here, in the drum unit 2A, as shown in FIGS. 4A, 5A, and 6 to 8, an 8-pin connector 26A is attached to one surface (right side surface in the drawing) of the substrate 25. As shown in FIGS. 4A and 5A, the connector board 24A is provided with a connector 27A into which the connector 26A is fitted.

  In the drum unit 2B, as shown in FIGS. 4B, 5B, 9 and 10, a 3-pin connector 26B is attached to the other surface (the left side surface in the figure) of the substrate 25. As shown in FIGS. 4B and 5B, the connector board 24B is provided with a connector 27B into which the connector 26B is fitted.

  Thus, two types of connector boards 24A and 24B can be mounted on the same main body frame, and when the drum unit 2A is used, when the drum unit 2A is mounted on the main body frame, FIG. As shown in FIGS. 4A and 5A, the connector 26A attached to the board 25 of the drum unit 2A is inserted into the connector 27A of the connector board 24A and connected.

  When the drum unit 2B is used, when the drum unit 2B is mounted on the main body frame, as shown in FIGS. 3B, 4B, and 5B, the substrate 25 of the drum unit 2B is used. The connector 26B attached to is inserted into the connector 27B of the connector board 24B and connected.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the two types of drum units 2A and 2B are configured so that the connectors 26A and 26B can be attached to both surfaces of the substrate 25 provided in the drum unit 2, and each drum unit 2A and 2B is configured as the apparatus main body 100. Since the two types of connector boards 24A and 24B on the side are detachable, the mounting positions of the connectors 26A and 26B of the drum unit 2 on the different connector boards 24A and 24B mounted on the same main body frame are determined. It is possible to respond by changing only that much.

  Further, even if the drum units 2B and 2A not corresponding to the connector boards 24A and 24B are mistakenly attached to the main body frame, interference with the connector boards 24B and 24A of the connectors 26A and 26B of the drum units 2A and 2B is prevented. Thus, damage to the connectors 26A, 26B, 27A, 27B can be prevented. For example, as shown in FIG. 5C, when the drum unit 2A is mistakenly attached to the connector board 24B for the drum unit 2B, the connector 26A attached to the drum unit 2A does not interfere with the connector 27B of the connector board 24B. Therefore, damage to the connectors 26A and 27B is prevented.

  By the way, as a result of changing the mounting positions of the connectors 26A and 26B in the drum units 2A and 2B by the thickness of the substrate 25 as described above, the wire rod 28 (see FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 and FIG. 10), the wire rod 28 is slackened. Specifically, a large slack is generated by the wire rod 28 in the drum unit 2B to which the 3-pin connector 26B is attached.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 10, ribs 29 and 30 are formed on the side end surfaces of the drum units 2A and 2B, and in the drum unit 2A in which the slack of the wire 28 is small, the extra wire 28 is removed. As shown in FIG. 7, the slack of the wire rod 28 is removed by hooking around the rib 29. Further, in the drum unit 2B in which the slack of the wire rod 28 is large, the slack of the wire rod 28 is removed by crossing the excess wire rod 28 on the hooks hooked on the rib 30 as shown in FIG.

  As described above, the extra wire rod 28 is wound around the drum units 2A and 2B using the ribs 29 and 30 to remove the slack, so that the attachment positions of the connectors 26A and 26B have the same length as the drum units 2A and 2B. A wire rod 28 can be used, and the number of service parts can be reduced to improve the assemblability.

  Although only the drum unit has been described above as a process unit, a similar configuration can be adopted for a developing unit configured by unitizing a developing device. In the above, the embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a color laser printer has been described. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to any other image forming apparatus including a monochrome image forming apparatus. is there.

1 is a cross-sectional view of a color laser printer according to the present invention. 3 is a plan view of the drum unit 2. FIG. (A), (b) is a side view (figure of the arrow A direction of FIG. 2) which shows the connection state to the connector board | substrate of drum unit 2A, 2B. (A), (b) is the BB sectional drawing of FIG. 2 which shows the connection state to the connector board | substrate of drum unit 2A, 2B. 4A is an enlarged detail view of a portion C in FIG. 4A, FIG. 4B is an enlarged detail view of a portion D in FIG. 4B, and FIG. 4C is an enlarged detail of a connector portion when the drum unit 2A is incorrectly installed. FIG. It is a fragmentary perspective view of drum unit 2A. It is a fragmentary perspective view which shows the drawing state of the wire of drum unit 2A. It is a fragmentary perspective view which shows the drawing state of the wire of drum unit 2A. It is a fragmentary perspective view of drum unit 2B. It is a fragmentary perspective view which shows the drawing state of the wire of drum unit 2B.

Explanation of symbols

1M Magenta image forming unit 1C Cyan image forming unit 1Y Yellow image forming unit 1K Black image forming unit 2 (2A, 2B) Drum unit 2a to 2d Photosensitive drum 3a to 3d Charging roller 4a to 4d Developing device 5a to 5d Transfer roller 6a to 6d Drum cleaning device 7 Intermediate transfer belt 8 Secondary transfer counter roller 9 Tension roller 10 Secondary transfer roller 11 Belt cleaning device 12a to 12d Toner container 13 Laser scanner unit (LSU)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 14 Paper feed cassette 15 Pickup roller 16 Feed roller 17 Retard roller 18 Conveyance roller pair 19 Registration roller pair 20 Conveyance roller pair 21 Paper discharge tray 22 Fixing device 23 Paper discharge roller pair 24A, 24B Connector board 25 Drum unit board 26A, 26B Drum unit Connector 27A, 27B Connector board connector 28 Wire material 29, 30 Drum unit rib 100 Device body L, L 'Transport path

Claims (2)

In the image forming apparatus provided with a process unit that is detachable from the main body frame,
An image forming apparatus, wherein a connector can be attached to both surfaces of a substrate provided in the process unit, and the process unit can be attached to and detached from two types of connector substrates on the main body side. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the length of the wire connected to the connector provided in the process unit is the same for each process unit, and a rib for removing the slack of the wire is formed in the process unit. .

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