JP2010072470A - Image forming unit and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming unit and an image forming apparatus that prevent respective housed bodies from shifting in installation position owing to a decrease in shape retention of a body of the image forming unit to prevent deterioration in image quality due to shifts of the respective housed bodies, and enable an identical device having an identical function to be replaced and maintained easily and speedily. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming unit 40 which forms an image on recording paper and is stored in a copying machine 1 includes a structure 41 formed in a housing shape, and a plurality of housed bodies including a plurality of process cartridges 11 (Y, C, M, K) and a plurality of toner bottles 13 (Y, C, M, K) housed in the structure 41. The structure 41 includes openings formed in a front side surface portion 51, a rear side surface portion 52, a right side surface portion 53, and a left side surface portion 54, and the respective housed bodies are attached and detached through openings of corresponding side surface portions among the side surfaces. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including an image forming unit accommodated therein.

  In general, an image forming apparatus includes a reading unit that reads an image of a document placed on a contact glass, an image forming unit that forms an image read by the reading unit on recording paper, and supplies the recording paper to the image forming unit. And a paper feeding unit for paper. The image forming unit includes a photoconductor, an exposure unit that forms an electrostatic latent image by exposing the surface of the photoconductor, a developing unit that forms a toner image on the photoconductor, and a toner supplied to the developing unit. A toner containing means for containing the toner, and supplying toner composed of each color component of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive member to make a visible image as a toner image. A color image is formed by transferring the toner image onto a transfer material.

  In such an image forming apparatus, an opening is formed in a side plate of the image forming apparatus from the viewpoint of maintenance, parts replacement, and the like, so that the exposure unit, the developing unit, and the toner storage unit are detachable from the image forming apparatus. .

  Conventionally, as this type of image forming apparatus, as shown in FIG. 15 (a), four developing means 102K, 102Y, which are detachably provided on the image forming apparatus main body 101 and form a toner image on a photoreceptor. 102C, 102M (hereinafter referred to as developing means 102 (K, Y, C, M)) and each developing means 102 (K, Y, C, M) are detachably provided, and each developing means 102 (K, Y, C, M) is an image forming apparatus having four toner storage means 103 for supplying toner to the image forming apparatus main body of each developing means 102 (K, Y, C, M) and each toner storage means 103. A configuration in which the attaching / detaching directions with respect to 101 are orthogonal to each other is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  Further, in the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1 described above, an opening 105 for making each developing unit 102 (K, Y, C, M) detachable from the image forming apparatus main body 101 is provided. It is formed on the left side plate 110 of the image forming apparatus main body 101. In addition, an opening 106 is formed in the front side plate 111 of the image forming apparatus main body 101 so that each toner storage unit 103 can be pulled out from the image forming apparatus main body 101. Further, in order to make the attaching / detaching directions of the developing units 102 (K, Y, C, M) and the toner storage units 103 orthogonal to each other, they are placed in the cases of the developing units 102 (K, Y, C, M). Each toner storage unit 103 is stored, and only the toner storage unit 103 can be pulled out from an opening 112 formed on the side surface of the case.

  As a result, in the image forming apparatus described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, only the toner storage means 103 can be attached and detached with each developing means 102 (K, Y, C, M) in a normal set state, and the structure is simple. Therefore, it is possible to improve operability and reliability for repeated operations.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 15B, openings 207 and 208 for attaching and detaching the exposure devices 205CK and 205YM are formed on the front side plate 202 and the left side plate 203 of the image forming apparatus, respectively, and the openings An image forming apparatus is also known in which the exposure apparatus 205YM is attached / detached along the arrow A direction through 208 and the exposure apparatus 205CK is attached / detached along the direction orthogonal to the arrow A direction through the opening 207 (for example, patents). Reference 2).

Accordingly, in the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 2 described above, the sizes of the openings 207 and 208 can be reduced with respect to the front side plate 202 and the left side plate 203, and the front side plate 202 and the left side plate 203 can be locally disposed. Can be suppressed.
JP 2002-31709 A JP 2005-148463 A

  However, in the conventional image forming apparatus described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, in order to make each developing means 102 (K, Y, C, M) detachable, for example, an opening portion with respect to the left side plate 110. Since 105 is formed large, the local rigidity of the left side plate 110 is reduced. As a result, if there is vibration in the image forming apparatus, or the installation plane of the image forming apparatus is not flat, for example, if the installation place of the image forming apparatus is out of place, the left side plate 110 is deformed and the image forming apparatus main body 101 itself. Distortion occurs, and the shape retention of the image forming apparatus main body 101 cannot be maintained.

  As a result, the installation positions of the exposure apparatus accurately positioned on the image forming apparatus main body 101 and other apparatuses necessary for image formation are shifted due to a decrease in shape retention of the image forming apparatus main body 101. For this reason, there is a problem that the image quality can be deteriorated because the influence of parallelism, linearity, perpendicularity deviation, color deviation, etc. of the image formed on the transfer material cannot be suppressed.

  In the above-described image forming apparatus, each developing means 102 (K, Y, C, M) is detachable from the left side plate 110 with respect to the toner storage means 103 that is detachable from the front side plate 111. Therefore, the developing means 102 (K, Y, C, M) and the toner storage means 103, which are frequently replaced and maintained more frequently than other apparatuses, can be attached and detached with the front side plate 111 that is easy to work together. Therefore, there has been a problem that the replacement work and the maintenance work cannot be performed easily and quickly.

  Further, in the conventional image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 2 described above, since the attaching / detaching directions of the exposure apparatus 205CK and the exposure apparatus 205YM having the same function are different, the uniformity of the attaching / detaching direction in the same apparatus is different. For example, when performing operations such as replacement and maintenance of the exposure apparatuses 205CK and 205YM, the exposure apparatuses 205CK and 205YM need to be attached and detached with different side plates, even though they have the same function. There is. Therefore, despite the devices having the same function, the replacement and maintenance work cannot be performed collectively with the same side plate, and the replacement and maintenance work by the operator becomes complicated. there were.

  Further, in the above-described image forming apparatus, the opening 208 for attaching / detaching the exposure apparatus 205YM whose replacement and maintenance frequency is low is formed in the front plate 202. Therefore, the replacement and maintenance frequency is lower than that of the exposure apparatus. For example, it is difficult to ensure a high opening in the front plate 202 for attaching / detaching a developing unit, a photoconductor, a toner storage unit, and the like. Therefore, it is necessary to attach and detach these devices, which are frequently exchanged and maintained, from the side plates other than the front side plate 202 which are easy to work, and there is a problem that the replacement and maintenance work cannot be easily and quickly performed.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the conventional problems, and prevents the displacement of the installation positions of the storage items due to the decrease in the shape retention of the main body of the image forming unit, thereby accompanying the shifts of the storage items. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming unit and an image forming apparatus that can prevent image quality from being deteriorated, and that can easily and quickly perform replacement and maintenance work of the same apparatus having the same function.

  In order to achieve the above object, an image forming unit according to the present invention is an image forming unit that forms an image read by an image reading unit that reads an image on a transfer material and is accommodated in an image forming apparatus. A main body formed in a housing shape by a head portion, a rear side surface portion, a right side surface portion, and a left side surface portion, a photosensitive member that carries a latent image, a charging portion that charges the photosensitive member, and a transfer residual toner on the photosensitive member. A plurality of process cartridges including a cleaning unit to be removed, a developing unit that supplies toner to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photoreceptor and visualizes the toner image, and the charging unit. Optical writing means for forming an electrostatic latent image by irradiating light on the surface of the charged photosensitive member, a plurality of toner containing means for containing toner to be supplied to the process cartridge, and the photosensitive member An intermediate transfer unit that primarily transfers the toner image on the intermediate transfer member, and secondary transfer of the primary transfer image on the intermediate transfer member to a transfer material; and residual toner of the intermediate transfer unit after transfer to the transfer material Intermediate transfer cleaning means to be removed, first waste toner storage means for storing transfer residual toner on the photoconductor removed by the cleaning means, and residual toner of the intermediate transfer means removed by the intermediate transfer cleaning means A second waste toner containing means for containing the toner, a driving means for driving the photoreceptor and the intermediate transfer means, and a fixing means for fixing the toner image transferred to the transfer material by the intermediate transfer means, A plurality of articles respectively accommodated in the main body, wherein the main body forms openings in the front side surface portion, the rear side surface portion, the right side surface portion and the left side surface portion. Each contained object is, the front surface portion, the rear side portion, and a detachably supported by each other via the opening of the corresponding side portion of the right side portion and the left side surface.

  With this configuration, the present invention is supported by the main body because each container is detachably supported through the opening of the corresponding side surface portion among the front side surface portion, the rear side surface portion, the right side surface portion, and the left side surface portion. The opening required for attaching and detaching each stored item can be dispersed on each side portion. Thereby, an opening part does not concentrate only on a certain side part, but the magnitude | size of each opening part in each side part can be made small with respect to a corresponding side part. For this reason, it is possible to prevent a local rigidity decrease in each side surface portion of the main body.

  Therefore, even if there is a vibration to the image forming apparatus or a floor misplacement of the image forming apparatus, the main body itself is not distorted due to a decrease in local rigidity on each side surface of the main body. It is possible to improve the shape retention.

  As a result, the installation position of each container accurately positioned on the main body does not shift due to a decrease in the shape retention of the main body, and the parallelism and linearity of the image formed on the transfer material and It is possible to prevent the deterioration of image quality by suppressing the influence due to the deviation of squareness, color deviation and the like.

  Furthermore, the present invention enables the same apparatus having the same function, such as a plurality of process cartridges and a plurality of toner storage means, to be detachable from the main body through the corresponding openings on the same side surface. Since it is supported, for example, the attaching / detaching directions of the plurality of process cartridges can be unified in the same direction. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform replacement and maintenance work on different side portions for each process cartridge, and replacement and maintenance work can be performed collectively on the same side portion. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the replacement and maintenance work by the operator from becoming complicated. In addition, the same effect as the above effect can be obtained for the toner storage means.

  In the image forming unit of the present invention, the main body is configured such that the process cartridge, the toner storage unit, and the first waste toner storage unit are detachably supported through the opening of the front side surface portion. have.

  With this configuration, since the process cartridge, the toner storage unit, and the first waste toner storage unit are detachably supported on the main body through the opening of the front side surface, the process cartridge, the toner storage unit, As in the first waste toner storage means, it is possible to attach and detach a device having a higher replacement frequency and maintenance frequency than other devices on the front side surface where it is easy to work. For this reason, the exchange work and maintenance work of these apparatuses with high exchange frequency and maintenance frequency can be performed easily and quickly.

  Therefore, there is no time and effort for maintenance and replacement, and the downtime of the image forming apparatus is shortened accordingly, so that the operating rate of the image forming apparatus can be improved and the efficiency can be improved.

  Further, in the image forming unit of the present invention, the main body includes a front side plate provided on the front side surface portion, a rear side plate provided on the rear side surface portion, a fixing unit holding member that holds the fixing unit, An intermediate transfer unit holding member for holding the intermediate transfer unit, and the front side plate and the rear side plate are arranged at a first side surface on which the fixing unit holding member is provided, and below the first side surface unit. A second side surface portion on which the intermediate transfer unit holding member is provided, and a third side surface portion formed under the second side surface portion and formed with a process cartridge support portion for supporting the process cartridge; The first side surface portion, the second side surface portion, and the third side surface portion of the front side plate and the rear side plate are spaced apart from each other by a distance between the front side plate and the rear side plate. Side surface of the second side Formed on the front side plate and the rear side plate so as to become narrower in the order of the first side portion and the third side surface portion, and the fixing means is interposed between the front side plate and the rear side plate via the fixing means holding member. The intermediate transfer unit is supported between the front side plate and the rear side plate via the intermediate transfer unit holding member, and the process cartridge is supported via the process cartridge support part. It has the structure supported between the front side board and the said rear side board.

  With this configuration, the present invention sets the interval between the front plate and the rear plate to correspond to the fixing unit, the intermediate transfer unit, and the process cartridge. Therefore, the present invention is necessary for holding the fixing unit, the intermediate transfer unit, and the process cartridge. Only the interval needs to be ensured between the front side plate and the rear side plate, and the interval between the front side plate and the rear side plate can be set to the minimum necessary interval. As a result, the size of the main body including the front side plate and the rear side plate and the image forming unit itself can be suppressed to the minimum necessary, and space saving and weight reduction of the image forming apparatus can be realized. As a result, it is possible to reduce the packaging material used when transporting the image forming apparatus and to improve the distribution efficiency accompanying the reduction in the packing size of the image forming apparatus.

  In the present invention, since the distance between the front side plate and the rear side plate is set in the order of the third side surface portion, the second side surface portion, and the first side surface portion, for example, both side plates of the front side plate and the rear side plate are provided. In the case of a sheet metal, the sheet metal can be drawn little by little so that the distance between both side sheets becomes wider in the order described above. Therefore, there is no need to perform deep drawing on both side plates, and the processing accuracy of the front side plate and the rear side plate can be improved.

  The image forming unit of the present invention has a configuration in which the front side plate and the rear side plate are formed by integrally molding the first side surface portion, the second side surface portion, and the third side surface portion, respectively. ing.

  With this configuration, according to the present invention, each side plate of the front side plate and the rear side plate is formed by integrally molding the first side surface portion, the second side surface portion, and the third side surface portion, respectively. The rigidity of the front side plate and the rear side plate can be ensured as compared with those molded from the side surface portion, the second side surface portion, and the third side surface portion. Furthermore, since there is no influence due to an assembly error that may occur when the side plate is molded from a plurality of members, the component accuracy of the front side plate and the rear side plate can be improved.

  In the image forming unit according to the aspect of the invention, in the front side plate and the rear side plate, the second side surface portion may have a wider space between the front side plate and the rear side plate than the third side surface portion. The first drawing surface is formed, and the first side surface portion has a second surface for widening the distance between the front side plate and the rear side plate with respect to the second side surface portion. A drawing surface is formed, and the third side surface portion is formed in a flat plate shape.

  With this configuration, in the present invention, since the third side surface portions of the front side plate and the rear side plate are formed in a flat plate shape, the drawing process surfaces such as the first side surface portion and the second side surface portion are formed. Due to the absence of the third side surface portion, it is possible to accurately position the process cartridge, which requires accurate positional accuracy in image formation, with respect to the front side plate and the rear side plate.

  The image forming unit of the present invention includes an image reading unit that reads an image, a paper feeding unit that feeds a transfer material to the image forming unit, and the image forming unit according to claim 1. It has the composition provided with.

  With this configuration, the present invention is supported by the main body because each container is detachably supported through the opening of the corresponding side surface portion among the front side surface portion, the rear side surface portion, the right side surface portion, and the left side surface portion. The opening required for attaching and detaching each stored item can be dispersed on each side portion. Accordingly, the openings do not concentrate only on a certain side surface portion, and the size of each opening portion on each side surface portion can be reduced with respect to the corresponding side surface portion. A local decrease in rigidity can be prevented.

  Therefore, even if there is a vibration to the image forming apparatus or a floor error in the installation place of the image forming apparatus, the main body itself is not distorted due to a decrease in local rigidity on each side surface of the main body. It is possible to improve the shape retention.

  As a result, the installation position of each container accurately positioned on the main body does not shift due to a decrease in the shape retention of the main body, and the parallelism and linearity of the image formed on the transfer material and It is possible to provide an image forming apparatus capable of preventing the deterioration of the image quality by suppressing the influence of the perpendicularity deviation, the color deviation, and the like.

  Furthermore, the present invention enables the same apparatus having the same function, such as a plurality of process cartridges and a plurality of toner storage means, to be detachable from the main body through the corresponding openings on the same side surface. Since it is supported, for example, the attaching / detaching directions of the plurality of process cartridges can be unified in the same direction. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform replacement and maintenance work on different side portions for each process cartridge, and replacement and maintenance work can be performed collectively on the same side portion. Therefore, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus that can prevent the replacement and maintenance work by the operator from becoming complicated. In addition, the same effect as the above effect can be obtained for the toner storage means.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the displacement of the installation position of each container due to a decrease in the shape retention of the main body of the image forming unit and to prevent image quality deterioration due to the displacement of each container. It is possible to provide an image forming unit and an image forming apparatus that can prevent the replacement and maintenance work of the same apparatus having the same function from being complicated.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an outline of a full-color image forming apparatus including an image forming unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus is applied to a copying machine that employs a tandem method. In the present embodiment, a copying machine will be described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can also be applied to a printer, a facsimile, or the like.

First, the configuration will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, a copying machine 1 as an image forming apparatus includes a scanner unit 2 as an image reading unit, a paper discharge unit 3 disposed under the scanner unit 2, and a lower unit of the paper discharge unit 3. The image forming unit 4 and a sheet feeding unit 5 serving as a two-stage sheet feeding unit disposed below the image forming unit 4. Further, on the front side of the scanner unit 2, various input keys for operating various functions of the copying machine 1 including, for example, a start key, a numeric keypad, a function setting key, a reset key, a clear / stop key, and various input information. And an operation unit 6 having a display unit for displaying the state of the image forming apparatus and the like.

  On the other hand, the exterior of the apparatus main body in which the image forming unit 4 and the paper feeding unit 5 are provided is configured by members such as an exterior cover formed by resin molding using plastic, the front opening / closing door 7, and the side opening / closing door 8. Yes. The front opening / closing door 7 is provided so as to be openable and closable with respect to the exterior cover, so that toner bottle replacement, maintenance of the image forming unit 4 and maintenance work described later can be easily performed. Further, the lateral opening / closing door 8 is provided on the right side with respect to the front opening / closing door 7, and facilitates operations such as attachment / detachment of a fixing unit, which will be described later, and removal processing when a recording paper jam occurs. Further, a manual feed tray 9 is provided on the side opening / closing door 8 so as to be opened and closed. Although not shown in FIG. 1, open / close doors are also provided on the rear side and the left side as the exterior so that the apparatus necessary for image formation can be easily maintained.

  Such a copying machine 1 forms an image read by the scanner unit 2 on a recording sheet as a transfer material conveyed from the sheet feeding unit 5 by the image forming unit 4, and discharges the image-formed recording sheet. The paper is discharged onto the paper section 3.

Next, the scanner unit 2, the image forming unit 4, and the paper feeding unit 5 of the copying machine 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of a full-color image forming apparatus including the image forming unit according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the scanner unit 2 includes a contact glass 2a, a light source 2b, a first mirror member 2c, a second mirror member 2d, a third mirror member 2e, an imaging lens 2f, a CCD, and the like. The light source 2b and the first mirror member 2c are held by the first traveling body, and the second mirror member 2d and the third mirror member 2e are held by the second traveling body. It has become. Such a scanner unit 2 irradiates light on a document placed on the contact glass 2a by a light source 2b, causes reflected light from the document to be folded back by the mirror members 2c to 2e, and converts the reflected light to an imaging lens. The image is formed by 2f and read by the image sensor 2g.

  An upper portion of the scanner unit 2 is a pressure plate (not shown) that presses a document placed on the contact glass 2a, or an automatic that realizes sheet-through-type document reading by automatically conveying the document on the contact glass 2a. A document feeder (ADF) or the like is provided.

  The image forming unit 4 includes four process cartridges 11Y, 11C, 11M, and 11K (hereinafter simply referred to as process cartridges 11 (Y, C, M, and K)) arranged in parallel in the image forming apparatus main body, and optical writing means. Four toner bottles 13Y, 13C, 13M, and 13K arranged in parallel in the image forming apparatus main body as toner storage means for storing toners of different colors (yellow, cyan, magenta, black). Hereinafter, simply a toner bottle 13 (Y, C, M, K)), an intermediate transfer device 14 as an intermediate transfer unit, an intermediate transfer cleaning device 15 as an intermediate transfer cleaning unit, and a fixing device 16 as a fixing unit. It has.

Each process cartridge 11 (Y, C, M, K) has the same configuration, and each of the process drums 11 as a photoreceptor carrying a latent image and a charging unit for charging the photoreceptor drum 17. A charging device 18, a cleaning device 19 as a cleaning unit that removes transfer residual toner on the photoconductive drum 17, and an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photoconductive drum 17 is supplied with toner to form an image as a toner image. And a developing device 20 as a developing unit.
Each process cartridge 11 (Y, C, M, K) forms an image of each color of yellow, cyan, magenta, and black.

  The optical writing device 12 is arranged below the four process cartridges 11 (Y, C, M, K), and collimates four laser light sources, for example, laser diodes corresponding to each color, and a laser beam emitted from the light sources. An optical system, a deflector composed of a polygon mirror and a polygon motor, an optical system composed of a scanning lens such as an fθ lens disposed on the optical path of each light source, an imaging lens, a correction lens, and a mirror. It is comprised by. The optical writing device 12 distributes the laser light beams emitted from four light sources based on image information of each color into four systems by one deflector, performs polarization scanning, and charges the photosensitive drum of each color charged by the charging device 18. Irradiation is made on the surface 17, and electrostatic latent images are written on the four photosensitive drums 17.

  Each of the toner bottles 13 (Y, C, M, K) has the same configuration, and is disposed at the lower part of the paper discharge unit 3, and is filled with toner of each color of yellow, cyan, magenta, and black. ing. Each of these toner bottles 13 (Y, C, M, K) stores the toner of each color filled in the process cartridge 11 (Y, C, M, K) corresponding to each color via a supply path (not shown). It comes to supply.

  The intermediate transfer device 14 is disposed above the process cartridge 11 (Y, C, M, K), and includes a primary transfer roller 14a, an intermediate transfer belt 14b, and a secondary transfer roller 14c. The intermediate transfer device 14 primarily transfers a toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 17 onto the rotating intermediate transfer belt 14b by applying a predetermined transfer voltage to the primary transfer roller 14a. Yes. Further, when a predetermined transfer voltage is applied to the secondary transfer roller 14c, the toner image transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 14b is further transferred onto the recording paper.

The intermediate transfer cleaning device 15 is disposed on the left side of the intermediate transfer device 14 in FIG. 2, and removes residual toner on the intermediate transfer belt 14b after transfer onto the recording paper.
2, the fixing device 16 is disposed on the upper right portion of the intermediate transfer device 14 and on the right side of each toner bottle 13 (Y, C, M, K), and includes a fixing roller 16a, a heating roller 16b, and a fixing roller 16a. A fixing belt 16c supported by the heating roller 16b and a pressure roller 16d in contact with the fixing belt 16c with a predetermined pressure are provided. The fixing device 16 fixes the toner image transferred to the recording paper to the recording paper by heat and pressure.

In addition, a transport roller 21 and a paper discharge roller 22 are disposed above the fixing device 16 so that the recording paper is transported toward the paper discharge unit 3 and discharged.
Further, a switching claw 23 for switching the conveyance path at the time of duplex copying and a reverse conveyance roller 24 and a reverse conveyance path 25 for reversing the direction of the recording paper in a switchback manner are arranged above the fixing device 16. In FIG. 2, a double-sided conveyance path 28 in which a first double-sided conveyance roller 26 and a second double-sided conveyance roller 27 are provided on the conveyance path is disposed on the right side surface side of the fixing device 16. The transport path and transport roller reverse the direction of the recording paper temporarily stacked on the reverse transport path 25 by the reverse transport roller 24, and the first double-side transport roller 26 and the second double-side transport roller 27. Thus, the sheet is conveyed on the duplex conveying path 28 and is fed again to a registration roller to be described later.

  Such an image forming unit 4 writes a latent image on the photosensitive drum 17 charged by the charging device 18 by irradiating light from the optical writing device 12, and the photosensitive drum 17 on which the latent image is written. The toner is supplied to the surface by the developing device 20 to be visualized as a toner image, the visualized toner image is transferred to the recording paper by the intermediate transfer device 14, and is transferred by the fixing device 16. Is fixed on a recording sheet to form an image.

The paper feed unit 5 includes two stages of a first paper feed cassette 5a and a second paper feed cassette 5b in which recording paper is stored, and a first paper feed device 5c and a second paper feed device 5d.
A first transport roller 30 and a second transport roller 31 are arranged upstream of the first paper feed device 5c and the second paper feed device 5d in the paper feed direction. Further, a registration roller 32 is disposed further upstream in the paper feeding direction of the first transport roller 30 and the second transport roller 31 and in front of the secondary transfer roller 14c.

  Further, the paper feeding unit 5 feeds the recording paper from either the first paper feeding cassette 5a or the second paper feeding cassette 5b by the first paper feeding device 5c or the second paper feeding device 5d, and the first transport roller The paper is fed toward the registration roller 32 via 30 and the second transport roller 31. The registration roller 32 feeds the recording paper fed through the first transport roller 30 and the second transport roller 31 to the secondary transfer roller 14c at a predetermined timing.

Next, the operation of the copying machine 1 will be described.
First, in the copying machine 1, a document is placed on the contact glass 2a or a document is placed on an ADF document placement table (not shown), and a start key provided on the operation unit 6 is pressed by the user. Then, the copying operation is started.

Here, when the reading operation of the document placed on the ADF is performed, the scanner unit 2 is driven after the document is transported to the reading position on the contact glass 2a by the ADF.
On the other hand, when the reading operation of the document placed on the contact glass 2a is performed, the scanner unit 2 is immediately driven when the document is placed on the contact glass 2a.

  Next, the first traveling body that holds the light source 2b and the first mirror member 2c and the second traveling body that holds the second mirror member 2d and the third mirror member 2e travel. Then, the original on the contact glass 2a is irradiated with light from the light source 2b, and the reflected light reflected from the original is reflected by the first mirror member 2c toward the second mirror member 2d. Further, the reflected light reflected by the second mirror member 2d is reflected by the third mirror member 2e toward the imaging lens 2f. The reflected light is imaged by the imaging lens 2f and read by the image sensor 2g. Thereafter, the image forming operation is started in the full color mode or the monochrome mode according to the mode setting of the operation unit 6.

Next, in the image forming unit 4, each photosensitive drum 17 is first charged by each charging device 18. Thereafter, the surface of each charged photosensitive drum 17 is irradiated with laser light by the optical writing device 12 to form an electrostatic latent image on each photosensitive drum 17.
Thereafter, toner is supplied to the electrostatic latent images formed on the respective photoconductive drums 17 by the developing device 20 to make visible images as toner images.

  Next, a transfer voltage is applied to the primary transfer roller 14a of the intermediate transfer device 14, and the toner images formed on the respective photosensitive drums 17 are sequentially primary-transferred onto the rotating intermediate transfer belt 14b. At this time, the image forming operation for each color is executed while shifting the timing from the upstream side to the downstream side so that the toner image is transferred to the same position on the intermediate transfer belt 14b.

  Next, in accordance with the primary transfer operation described above, the recording paper is fed from either the first paper feed cassette 5a or the second paper feed cassette 5b of the paper feed unit 5 to the first paper feed device 5c or the second paper feed device. Paper is fed through 5d. In this embodiment, the recording paper is fed from either the first paper feeding cassette 5a or the second paper feeding cassette 5b. However, the recording paper is fed from the manual feed tray 9. May be.

  Thereafter, when the leading edge of the recording paper reaches the registration roller 32, it is detected by a sensor (not shown), and the recording paper is transferred between the secondary transfer roller 14c and the intermediate transfer belt 14b by the registration roller 32 according to the timing of this detection signal. It is conveyed to the next transfer nip.

  Next, the toner image primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 14b is moved to the position of the secondary transfer roller 14c by the driving of the intermediate transfer belt 14b, and is secondarily transferred collectively onto the recording paper. The recording sheet on which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 16, where the toner image is fixed by heat and pressure, conveyed toward the conveying roller 21, and then discharged to the discharge unit 3 by the discharge roller 22. Paper. Thereby, the copying machine 1 can form a color image on the recording paper.

Next, the image forming unit accommodated in the copying machine 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the image forming unit in which each item is accommodated. 4 to 7 are perspective views showing the structure of the image forming unit according to the present embodiment and each container accommodated on each side surface of the structure. FIG. 8 to FIG. 11 are perspective views showing the image forming units in which the corresponding objects are accommodated for the respective side surfaces of the structure. 3, 4, and 8, only the process cartridge 11 </ b> K and the toner bottle 13 </ b> K are illustrated, and the other process cartridges 11 (Y, C, M) and the toner bottles 13 (Y, C, M) are illustrated. The illustration is omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 7, the image forming unit 40 is provided inside an apparatus main body (see FIG. 1) in which the image forming unit 4 and the paper feeding unit 5 of the copying machine 1 are provided, and a structure as a main body. 41, the process cartridge 11 (Y, C, M, K), the toner bottle 13 (Y, C, M, K), and the process as the first waste toner storage means. Cartridge waste toner tank 35, intermediate transfer device 14, fixing device 16, optical writing device 12, intermediate transfer cleaning device 15, intermediate transfer waste toner tank 36 as second waste toner storage means, drive as drive means Device 37. In other words, each container necessary for image formation is detachably supported by the structure 41, whereby an image forming unit 40 as shown in FIG. 3 is configured.

  The structure 41 is provided inside an apparatus main body (see FIG. 1) in which the image forming unit 4 and the paper feeding unit 5 of the copying machine 1 are provided, and includes a metal base 42 and frames 43a to 43d, and a steel plate front. A side plate 44, a rear side plate 45, a fixing device accommodating plate 46, and reinforcing plates 47 a to 47 c are provided, and the side surface indicated by the arrow A in FIG. The side surface indicated by the middle B and provided with the rear side plate 45 is the rear side surface portion 52, the side surface indicated by the arrow C and provided with the fixing device accommodating plate 46 and the reinforcing plate 47a is the right side surface portion 53, and the arrow in the drawing. A side surface on which the reinforcing plates 47b and 47c are provided, which is indicated by D, is formed in a housing shape having a left side surface portion 54. The structure 41 also includes a stay member, which will be described later.

  For example, both ends of the front side plate 44 are fixed to the frame 43 a and the frame 43 b with fastening members such as screws, and constitute a part of the front side surface portion 51 of the structure 41. The front side plate 44 includes a first side surface portion 44a at the upper right portion, a second side surface portion 44b at the lower portion of the first side surface portion 44a, and a third side surface at the lower portion of the second side surface portion 44b. A portion 44c is formed, and the first to third side portions 44a to 44c are integrally formed by drawing or the like to constitute the front side plate 44.

  On the other hand, the rear side plate 45 is fixed to the frame 43c and the frame 43d with fastening members such as screws, for example, and constitutes a part of the rear side surface portion of the structure 41. The front side plate 45 includes a first side face 45a at the upper right part, a second side face 45b at the lower part of the first side face 45a, and a third side face at the lower part of the second side face 45b. The first to third side surface portions 45a to 45c are integrally formed by drawing or the like to constitute the rear side plate 45.

  For example, both ends of the fixing device accommodating plate 46 are fixed to the first side surface portion 44 a and the first side surface portion 45 a with fastening members such as screws, and constitute a part of the right side surface portion 53 of the structure 41. It has become.

  For example, both ends of the reinforcing plate 47a are fixed to the third side surface portion 44c and the third side surface portion 45c by fastening members such as screws, and constitute a part of the right side surface portion 53 of the structure 41. ing. In the present exemplary embodiment, the fixing device housing plate 46, the reinforcing plate 47a, the front side plate 44, and the rear side plate 45 form an opening in the right side surface portion 53.

  For example, both ends of the reinforcing plate 47b are fixed to the second side surface portion 44b and the second side surface portion 45b with a fastening member such as a screw, and constitute a part of the left side surface portion 54 of the structure 41. ing.

  The reinforcing plate 47c is fixed to the third side surface portion 44c and the third side surface portion 45c with fastening members such as screws, for example, and constitutes a part of the left side surface portion 54 of the structure 41. It has become. In the present embodiment, the above-mentioned reinforcing plate 47b, reinforcing plate 47c, front side plate 44, and rear side plate 45 form an opening in the left side surface portion 54.

  As shown in FIG. 4, toner bottle openings 56Y to 56K (hereinafter simply referred to as toner bottle openings 56 (Y, C) are arranged in parallel with the second side surface 44b of the front side plate 44 in the horizontal direction. , M, K)) is formed, and the toner bottle 13 (Y, C, M, K) is accommodated inside the structure 41 and is detachably supported.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a substantially rectangular process cartridge opening 57 extending in the horizontal direction is formed in the third side surface portion 44c of the front side plate 44, and the process cartridge 11 (Y, C , M, K) are accommodated inside the structure 41 and are detachably supported. The process cartridge opening 57 is formed when the process cartridge 11 (Y, C, M, K) is detachably supported in the structure body 41. The process cartridge 11 (Y, C, M, K) is positioned with respect to the front plate 44 by supporting the end on the front plate 44 side. In the present embodiment, the above-described opening 57 constitutes the process cartridge support in the present invention.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the third side surface portion 44 c of the front side plate 44 has a positioning portion 58 for positioning the optical writing device 12 in parallel in the horizontal direction immediately below the process cartridge opening 57. Are formed.

On the other hand, on the third side surface portion 45c of the rear side plate 45, a drive device opening 59 into which a drive roller 37a (see FIG. 8) of the drive device 37 is fitted is provided in each process cartridge 11 (Y, C, M, K). ) Provided at a location corresponding to the photosensitive drum 17.
Further, two stay members 60 are provided between the third side surface portion 44c and the third side surface portion 45c, respectively.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, fixing guide members 61 and 62 are provided on the first side surface portions 44a and 45a of the front side plate 44 and the rear side plate 45, respectively, so that the fixing device 16 is detachably supported. It is supposed to be.

  Further, intermediate transfer guide members 63 and 64 are provided on the second side surfaces 44b and 45b of the front side plate 44 and the rear side plate 45, respectively, so as to detachably support the intermediate transfer device 14. Yes.

Next, assembling of the items accommodated in the image forming unit 40 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 4, the process cartridge 11 </ b> K is detachably supported with respect to the structure 41 through the process cartridge opening 57 of the front side plate 44 in the thick arrow direction in the drawing, that is, in the main scanning direction. It has become.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, in the process cartridge 11K, the fitting portion 65 formed at the end portion on the rear plate 45 side is fitted to the driving roller 37a protruding from the driving device opening 59 of the rear plate 45. By doing so, while positioning with respect to the rear side board 45, it is supported with respect to the structure 41 so that attachment or detachment is possible. In the present embodiment, the drive device opening 59 and the drive roller 37a described above constitute the process cartridge support in the present invention.
Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the toner bottle 13K is detachably supported with respect to the structure 41 through the toner bottle opening 56K of the front side plate 44 in the thick arrow direction in the drawing, that is, in the main scanning direction. It is like that.

  The process cartridge waste toner tank 35 is a toner tank that stores, as waste toner, transfer residual toner on the photosensitive drum 17 removed by the cleaning device 33 provided in each process cartridge 11 (Y, C, M, K). The toner bottle 13K and the process cartridge 11K are covered so as to be detachably supported by the front side plate 44 from the direction of the thick arrow in the figure, that is, from the main scanning direction.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the process cartridge 11 </ b> K, the toner bottle 13 </ b> K, and the process cartridge waste toner tank 35 are detachably supported on the structure 41 at the front side surface 51 of the structure 41. Thus, a part of the image forming unit 40 is configured.

  As described above, the process cartridge 11K, the toner bottle 13K, and the process cartridge waste toner tank 35 are detachably supported on the structure 41 on the front side plate 44, whereby the process cartridge 11K, the toner bottle 13K, and the process cartridge are supported. As in the waste toner tank 35, a device having a higher replacement frequency and maintenance frequency than other devices can be attached and detached at the front side surface 51 where the operator can easily work. For this reason, the exchange work and maintenance work of these apparatuses with high exchange frequency and maintenance frequency can be performed easily and quickly.

  Therefore, there is no time and effort for maintenance and replacement, and the downtime of the image forming apparatus is shortened accordingly, so that the operating rate of the image forming apparatus can be improved and the efficiency can be improved.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the fixing device 16 has a thick arrow direction in the drawing, that is, a sub-scanning direction with respect to the structure 41 between the front side plate 44 and the rear side plate 45 via the fixing guide members 61 and 62. Is detachably supported.

  The intermediate transfer device 14 is detachably supported with respect to the structure 41 between the front plate 44 and the rear plate 45 via the intermediate transfer guide members 63 and 64 in the thick arrow direction in the drawing, that is, in the main scanning direction. It is like that.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, the fixing device 16 and the intermediate transfer device 14 described above are detachably supported with respect to the structure body 41 on the right side surface portion 53 of the structure body 41, whereby the image forming unit 40. Part of it.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the optical writing device 12 is detachably supported with respect to the structure 41 between the front side plate 44 and the rear side plate 45 in the thick arrow direction in the drawing, that is, in the sub-scanning direction. It has become. In other words, the optical writing device 12 is sandwiched between the front side plate 44 and the rear side plate 45, and is held by each stay member 60 so as to be detachably supported by the structure 41. Further, the upper part of the right side surface of the optical writing device 12, that is, the upper portion of the surface facing the inside of the front side plate 44 when the optical writing device 12 is accommodated in the structure 41, is horizontally spaced at a predetermined interval. Four protrusions 12a are formed. The optical writing device 12 is positioned with respect to the structure 41 by fitting the projections 12a described above to the positioning portions 58 of the front side plate 44.

  The intermediate transfer waste toner tank 36 is a toner tank that stores residual toner on the intermediate transfer belt 14b removed by the intermediate transfer cleaning device 15 as waste toner, and the intermediate transfer cleaning device 15 is attached to the upper portion thereof. It has become. The intermediate transfer waste toner tank 36 and the intermediate transfer cleaning device 15 are integrally attached to the optical writing device 12 so as to be attachable to and detachable from the structure 41 from the direction of the thick arrow in FIG. It has come to be supported.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, the optical writing device 12, the intermediate transfer waste toner tank 36, and the intermediate transfer cleaning device 15 are detachably supported on the left side surface portion 54 of the structure 41. Thus, a part of the image forming unit 40 is configured.

As shown in FIG. 7, the driving device 37 is a driving device including a motor and a driving roller for rotating the photosensitive drum 17 included in each process cartridge 11 (Y, C, M, K). It is detachably supported by the third side face 45c of the rear side plate 45 from the thick arrow direction, that is, the main scanning direction. That is, the driving device 37 is detachably supported by the third side surface portion 45c so that each driving roller and the like protrudes to the inside of the structure 41 through each of the driving device openings 59 described above. .
The drive device 37 may drive the intermediate transfer device 14 together with the photosensitive drum 17, for example.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11, the driving device 37 described above constitutes a part of the image forming unit 40 by being detachably supported on the structure 41 at the rear side surface portion 52 of the structure 41. is doing.

Next, the front side plate 44 and the rear side plate 45 of the structure 41 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 12 is a front view showing the right side surface portion 53 of the structure 41 of the image forming unit 40 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 13A and 13B are partial enlarged cross-sectional views of the portion indicated by (a) and (b) in FIG. FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the front side plate 44 of the structure 41 in which the process cartridge 11K, the intermediate transfer device 14, and the fixing device 16 are accommodated.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the distance between the front side plate 44 and the rear side plate 45 is such that the distance between the first side surface portion 44a and the first side surface portion 45a of the both side plates is A, the second side surface portion 44b and the second side surface plate 45a. The distance between the third side surface portion 45c and the third side surface portion 45c is set to be C, which is narrower than the distance A. That is, the distance between the front side plate 44 and the rear side plate 45 is gradually increased from the upstream side of the image forming process in the image forming unit in the order of the third side surface portion, the second side surface portion, and the first side surface portion. It is set to be.

  Note that the distance between the first side surface portion 44a and the first side surface portion 45a of the both side plates is such that the installation positions of the fixing guide members 61 and 62 (see FIG. 4) and the heater and pressure release mechanism provided in the fixing device 16 are secured. Therefore, the interval A is as described above. Further, the distance between the second side surface portion 44b and the second side surface portion 45b is such that the intermediate transfer guide members 63 and 64 (see FIG. 5) and the belt transfer regulating member (not shown) provided in the intermediate transfer device 14 or position detection. The above-described distance B is used to secure the installation position of the mark or the like.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 13A, the first side surface portion 44a of the front side plate 44 has a drawing surface by drawing because the distance between the front side plate 44 and the rear side plate 45 is A as described above. 44d is formed.

Further, a drawing surface 44e is formed on the second side surface portion 44b of the front side plate 44 by drawing so that the distance between the front side plate 44 and the rear side plate 45 is set to B described above.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 13B, the first side surface portion 45a and the second side surface portion 45b of the rear side plate 45 are also connected to the first side surface portion 44a and the second side surface portion 44b of the front side plate 44. Similarly, the drawing surfaces 45d and 45e are formed by drawing, respectively. In the present embodiment, the drawing surfaces 44d and 45d described above constitute the second drawing surface, and the drawing surfaces 44e and 45e constitute the first drawing surface.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B, the third side surface portions 44c and 45c of the front side plate 44 and the rear side plate 45 are both formed in a flat plate shape and are drawn by drawing. The surface is not formed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 14, there are four on the third side surface portion 44c of the front side plate 44 between the process cartridge opening 57 and the drawing surface 44e at a predetermined interval in the horizontal direction. A stud 66 is provided.

  Here, when the front side plate 44 and the rear side plate 45 are formed by drawing, the process cartridges 11 (Y, C, M, K) are formed on the first side surface portions 44a and 45a and the second side surface portions 44b and 45b. ), The process cartridge 11 (Y, C, M) is required because the drawn surface is formed by secondary processing such as drawing processing, so that tolerances due to processing increase and accurate positioning is required in image formation. , K) is difficult to accurately position with respect to the structure 41. In this regard, in the present embodiment, the process cartridges 11 (Y, C, M, K) are positioned and detachably supported by the third side surfaces 44c, 45c that are not drawn. Therefore, it is possible to accurately position the structure 41.

In addition, the opening part in this invention is an opening formed in the state which each member which comprises the structure 41, for example other than the opening part formed in member itself, such as the front side board 44 and the rear side board 45, for example. Part.
Further, in the present invention, the phrase “detachable through the opening” includes, for example, that some members such as a device constituting a part of the image forming unit 40 are removable through the opening.

  As described above, the image forming unit 40 according to the present embodiment includes the process cartridge 11 (Y, C, M, K), the toner bottle 13 (Y, C, M, K), and the process cartridge as the respective containers. Waste toner tank 35, intermediate transfer device 14, fixing device 16, optical writing device 12, intermediate transfer cleaning device 15, intermediate transfer waste toner tank 36 and drive device 37 are provided as front side 51, rear side 52, Since the right side portion 53 and the left side portion 54 are detachably supported through the opening portions of the corresponding side portions, the opening portions required for attaching and detaching the objects supported by the structure 41 are distributed to the side portions. Can be made. Thereby, an opening part does not concentrate only on a certain side part, but the magnitude | size of each opening part in each side part can be made small with respect to a corresponding side part. For this reason, it is possible to prevent a local decrease in rigidity in each side surface portion of the structure 41.

  Therefore, even if there is a vibration to the copying machine 1 or a floor error in the place where the copying machine 1 is installed, the structure 41 itself is distorted due to a decrease in local rigidity at each side surface of the structure 41. Therefore, the shape retention of the structure 41 can be improved.

  As a result, the installation position of each container accurately positioned on the structure 41 is not shifted due to a decrease in the shape retention of the structure 41, and the parallelism of the image formed on the recording paper Further, it is possible to prevent the deterioration of the image quality by suppressing the influence of linearity, perpendicularity deviation, color deviation and the like.

  Further, the image forming unit 40 according to the present embodiment is configured so that, for example, the same apparatus having the same function, such as a plurality of process cartridges 11 (Y, C, M, K), corresponds to the front side surface portion 51 corresponding thereto. The process cartridges 11 (Y, C, M, and K) can be unified in the same direction in the same direction. For this reason, it is not necessary to replace or perform maintenance work on different side portions for each process cartridge 11 (Y, C, M, K), and it is possible to perform replacement and maintenance operations collectively on the same front side portion 51. it can. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the replacement and maintenance work by the operator from becoming complicated. The plurality of toner bottles 13 (Y, C, M, K) are also detachably supported by the structure 41 through the openings 56 (Y, C, M, K) of the same front side surface 51. Therefore, the same effect as the process cartridge 11 (Y, C, M, K) can be obtained.

  In the image forming unit 40 according to the present embodiment, the distance between the front side plate 44 and the rear side plate 45 is the distance corresponding to the fixing device 16, the intermediate transfer device 14, and the process cartridge 11 (Y, C, M, K). Therefore, it is only necessary to secure a space between the front plate 44 and the rear plate 45 necessary for holding the fixing device 16, the intermediate transfer device 14, and the process cartridge 11 (Y, C, M, K). The interval between the front side plate 44 and the rear side plate 45 can be set to the minimum necessary interval. As a result, the size of the structure 41 including the front side plate 44 and the rear side plate 45 and the image forming unit 40 itself can be minimized, and the copying machine 1 can be reduced in space and weight. . As a result, it is possible to reduce the packaging material used when the copying machine 1 is transported and to improve the distribution efficiency accompanying the reduction in the packaging size of the copying machine 1.

  The image forming unit 40 according to the present embodiment includes a front side plate 44 and a rear side plate 45 in the order of the third side surface portions 44c and 45c, the second side surface portions 44b and 45b, and the first side surface portions 44a and 45a. For example, when the both side plates of the front side plate 44 and the rear side plate 45 are sheet metal, the sheet metal can be drawn by a small amount so that the distance between both side plates becomes wider in the above-described order. Therefore, since it is not necessary to perform deep drawing on both side plates, the processing accuracy of the front side plate 44 and the rear side plate 45 can be improved.

  In the image forming unit 40 according to the present embodiment, the front side plate 44 integrally molds the first side surface portion 44a, the second side surface portion 44b, and the third side surface portion 44c, and the rear side plate 45 has the first side surface portion 44a. Since the one side surface portion 45a, the second side surface portion 45b, and the third side surface portion 45c are integrally molded, the front side plate 44 and the rear side plate 45 are respectively provided as separate first side surface portion and second side surface portion. Rigidity can be ensured as compared with those molded from the portion and the third side surface portion. Furthermore, since there is no influence due to assembly errors that may occur when the side plate is molded from a plurality of members, the component accuracy of the front side plate 44 and the rear side plate 45 can be improved.

  Further, in the image forming unit 40 according to the present embodiment, since the third side surface portions 44c and 45c of the front side plate 44 and the rear side plate 45 are formed in a flat plate shape, the first side surface portions 44a and 45a The process cartridge openings 57 and the studs 66 of the third side surfaces 44c and 45c in which the drawing surfaces 44d, 44e, 45d and 45e such as the second side surfaces 44b and 45b are not formed are accurate in image formation. Each process cartridge 11 (Y, C, M, K) for which positional accuracy is required can be accurately positioned with respect to the front side plate 44 and the rear side plate 45.

  Further, the image forming unit 40 according to the present embodiment includes an intermediate transfer device and a fixing device, an intermediate transfer waste toner tank, and a process cartridge waste toner that are necessary for image formation that has not been considered in the conventional image forming apparatus. Since the image forming unit has a structure that also takes into account the openings necessary for the attachment and detachment of the tank and the driving device, it is possible to suppress a local rigidity reduction of each side surface when these openings are formed.

  Further, in the above-described conventional image forming apparatus, laser beams emitted from four light sources are divided into four systems by one deflector based on image information of each color, are subjected to polarization scanning, and are irradiated on the surface of the photosensitive member. When using a single-unit exposure apparatus capable of writing an electrostatic latent image on each of the two photoconductors, an opening cannot be formed in the side plate for each of the plurality of exposure apparatuses. There is a problem that it is not possible to suppress a significant decrease in rigidity. On the other hand, the image forming unit 40 according to the present embodiment can suppress a decrease in local rigidity of the side plate of the structure even when the optical writing device that is made into one unit is adopted. it can.

  In the present embodiment, the fitting portion 65 of the process cartridge 11K is fitted to the driving roller 37a protruding from the driving device opening 59 of the rear plate 45, thereby positioning with respect to the rear plate 45. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an engaging portion is provided at the end of the rear plate 45 on the process cartridge 11K, and the engaging portion is interposed through the engaging portion. In addition to positioning on the rear side plate 45, the structure may be detachably supported with respect to the structure 41.

  As described above, the present invention prevents the displacement of the installation position of each container due to a decrease in the shape retention of the main body of the image forming unit and prevents the image quality from being deteriorated due to the displacement of each container. This is useful as an image forming unit and an image forming apparatus that can prevent the replacement and maintenance work of the same apparatus having the same function from being complicated.

1 is an external perspective view illustrating an outline of a full-color image forming apparatus including an image forming unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of a full-color image forming apparatus including an image forming unit according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view showing the external appearance of the image forming unit in which each accommodation was accommodated. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the structure of the image forming unit according to the embodiment of the present invention and each container accommodated on each side surface of the structure. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the structure of the image forming unit according to the embodiment of the present invention and each container accommodated on each side surface of the structure. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the structure of the image forming unit according to the embodiment of the present invention and each container accommodated on each side surface of the structure. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the structure of the image forming unit according to the embodiment of the present invention and each container accommodated on each side surface of the structure. It is a perspective view which shows the image forming unit in which each accommodation corresponding to each side of a structure was accommodated. It is a perspective view which shows the image forming unit in which each accommodation corresponding to each side of a structure was accommodated. It is a perspective view which shows the image forming unit in which each accommodation corresponding to each side of a structure was accommodated. It is a perspective view which shows the image forming unit in which each accommodation corresponding to each side of a structure was accommodated. It is a front view which shows the right side part of the structure of the image forming unit which concerns on embodiment of this invention. (A) is the elements on larger scale of the part shown by (a) in FIG. (B) is the elements on larger scale of the part shown by (b) in FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a front side plate of a structure in which a process cartridge, an intermediate transfer device, and a fixing device are accommodated. (A) And (b) is a figure which shows the conventional image forming apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

1 Copying machine (image forming device)
2 Scanner unit (image reading unit)
4 Image forming unit 5 Paper feeding unit (paper feeding unit)
11 (Y, C, M, K) Process cartridge 12 Optical writing device (optical writing means)
13 (Y, C, M, K) Toner bottle (toner storage means)
14 Intermediate transfer device (intermediate transfer means)
15 Intermediate transfer cleaning device (intermediate transfer cleaning means)
16 Fixing device (fixing means)
17 Photosensitive drum (photosensitive member)
18 Charging device (charging unit)
19 Cleaning device (cleaning part)
20 Developer (Developer)
35 Waste toner tank for process cartridge (first waste toner storage means)
36 Intermediate transfer waste toner tank (second waste toner storage means)
37 Drive device (drive means)
40 Image forming unit 41 Structure (main body)
44 front side plate 44a first side surface portion 44b second side surface portion 44c third side surface portion 45 rear side plate 45a first side surface portion 45b second side surface portion 45c third side surface portion 51 front side surface portion 52 rear side surface portion 53 Right side portion 54 Left side portion 56 (Y, C, M, K) Toner bottle opening (opening)
57 Process cartridge opening (opening)
59 Driving device opening 61, 62 Fixing guide member 63, 64 Intermediate transfer guide member 66 Stud

Claims (6)

An image forming unit that forms an image read by an image reading unit that reads an image on a transfer material and is housed inside the image forming apparatus,
A main body formed into a housing shape by a front side surface portion, a rear side surface portion, a right side surface portion and a left side surface portion;
A toner is supplied to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive member, a photosensitive member that carries the latent image, a charging unit that charges the photosensitive member, a cleaning unit that removes transfer residual toner on the photosensitive member, and the like. A plurality of process cartridges including a developing unit that visualizes the toner image, and optical writing that forms an electrostatic latent image by irradiating light onto the surface of the photosensitive member charged by the charging unit. Means, a plurality of toner containing means for containing toner to be supplied to the process cartridge, and a toner image on the photosensitive member are primarily transferred onto an intermediate transfer member, and the primary transfer image on the intermediate transfer member is used as a transfer material. An intermediate transfer unit for secondary transfer, an intermediate transfer cleaning unit for removing residual toner of the intermediate transfer unit after transfer to the transfer material, and a transfer residual toner on the photoconductor removed by the cleaning unit are accommodated. A first waste toner storage unit; a second waste toner storage unit that stores residual toner of the intermediate transfer unit removed by the intermediate transfer cleaning unit; and a driving unit that drives the photoreceptor and the intermediate transfer unit. And a fixing unit that fixes the toner image transferred to the transfer material by the intermediate transfer unit, and a plurality of containers respectively accommodated in the main body,
With
The main body is formed with openings in the front side surface portion, the rear side surface portion, the right side surface portion, and the left side surface portion, and the respective contents are the front side surface portion, the rear side surface portion, the right side surface portion, and the left side portion. An image forming unit, wherein the image forming unit is detachably supported through the opening of a corresponding side surface portion of the surface portion.   2. The main body according to claim 1, wherein the process cartridge, the toner storage unit, and the first waste toner storage unit are detachably supported through the opening of the front side surface portion. Image forming unit. The main body includes a front side plate provided on the front side surface portion, a rear side plate provided on the rear side surface portion, a fixing unit holding member that holds the fixing unit, and an intermediate transfer unit that holds the intermediate transfer unit. A holding member,
The front side plate and the rear side plate are arranged at a first side surface portion on which the fixing unit holding member is provided, and a second side surface unit on which the intermediate transfer unit holding member is provided. And a third side surface portion disposed at a lower portion of the second side surface portion and formed with a process cartridge support portion for supporting the process cartridge,
The first side surface portion, the second side surface portion, and the third side surface portion of the front side plate and the rear side plate are spaced apart from each other by a distance between the front side plate and the rear side plate, Formed on the front side plate and the rear side plate so as to become narrower in the order of the second side surface portion and the third side surface portion,
The fixing unit is supported between the front side plate and the rear side plate via the fixing unit holding member,
The intermediate transfer unit is supported between the front plate and the rear plate via the intermediate transfer unit holding member,
The image forming unit according to claim 1, wherein the process cartridge is supported between the front side plate and the rear side plate via the process cartridge support portion.   The image forming unit according to claim 3, wherein the front side plate and the rear side plate are formed by integrally molding the first side surface portion, the second side surface portion, and the third side surface portion, respectively. . In the front side plate and the rear side plate, the second side surface portion is formed with a first drawing surface for widening a distance between the front side plate and the rear side plate with respect to the third side surface portion. And the second side surface portion is formed with a second drawing surface for widening the distance between the front side plate and the rear side plate relative to the second side surface portion,
The image forming unit according to claim 3, wherein the third side surface portion is formed in a flat plate shape.   An image reading unit that reads an image, a paper feed unit that feeds a transfer material to the image forming unit, and the image forming unit according to claim 1. Image forming apparatus.

Images