JP2011175139A - Truck for unit attachment and detachment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate attachment and detachment of a large-sized unit for maintenance and to prevent the unit from falling. <P>SOLUTION: A truck for unit attachment and detachment is used for attaching and detaching a unit, which is held detachably in an image forming apparatus, and is connectable to the image forming apparatus. The truck includes: a placing table on which the unit is placed; a unit fixing means for fixing the unit placed on the placing table; and a connection blocking means for blocking connection with the image forming apparatus when the unit placed on the placing table is not fixed by the unit fixing means. The unit placed on the placing table is fixed by the unit fixing means, thereby releasing the blocking state of the connection of the connection blocking means with the image forming apparatus. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a unit attaching / detaching carriage for attaching / detaching a unit to / from an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer.

  In recent years, there has been a demand for an image forming apparatus that can form higher-quality images at higher speeds. However, along with this, some units constituting the image forming apparatus have parts that require regular maintenance and replacement. is increasing. Image forming apparatuses capable of high-speed processing with high image quality tend to be used as light printing apparatuses. When the image forming apparatus is used as a light printing apparatus, the image forming apparatus may be configured to reduce downtime so that the user can easily perform periodic maintenance and replacement of parts. There is a growing tendency to be required.

  On the other hand, with the increase in speed and functionality of image forming apparatuses and the diversification of paper sizes, the size of units has increased and the mass has increased. In addition, there is a risk of dropping the unit.

  One of the units constituting the image forming apparatus is, for example, a fixing device using a heating method. A technology in which when a fixing device is attached to or detached from an image forming apparatus for maintenance or repair, a paper discharge unit equipped with a mounting table that can be moved up and down is used as a dual-purpose cart, and the fixing device is mounted on the mounting table to be attached or detached. Is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 1). The technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a configuration for quickly and safely attaching and detaching a fixing device heated to a high temperature.

JP 2008-122765 A

  However, when the unit such as the fixing device described in Patent Document 1 is increased in size and mass, it is necessary to increase the strength of the mounting table peripheral mechanism unit that moves up and down by loading paper. There is a problem that the capacity of a motor or the like that is a driving source of the motor must be increased. Further, there is a problem in that the mechanism becomes complicated because it has two functions of a paper discharge function as a paper discharge unit and a function of placing and removing the fixing device. Furthermore, in the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1, there is no description about measures against the danger of unit dropping.

  An object of the present invention is for unit attachment / detachment that solves the above-described problems, can be easily attached / detached for maintenance, and can prevent the unit from dropping. To provide a dolly.

  The object is achieved by the following invention.

1. A unit detachable carriage that can be connected to the image forming apparatus, and is used to attach and detach a unit that is detachably held in the image forming apparatus.
A mounting table for mounting the unit;
Unit fixing means for fixing the unit mounted on the mounting table;
A connection blocking means for blocking the connection with the image forming apparatus when the unit mounted on the mounting table is not fixed by the unit fixing means;
Have
The unit mounted on the mounting table is fixed by the unit fixing unit, so that the connection blocking state with the image forming apparatus by the connection blocking unit is released. Trolley.

  By using the unit detachable carriage according to the present invention, it becomes easy to detach from the image forming apparatus for maintenance with respect to a unit that becomes large and has a large mass, and avoids the risk of dropping the unit during detachment. be able to.

1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus A including a unit C to which a unit detachable carriage 10 of the present invention can be applied. 1 is an external perspective view of a unit mounting carriage 10 and an image forming apparatus A according to the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram for demonstrating the structure and operation | movement about 1st Embodiment of the truck 10 for unit attachment / detachment which concerns on this invention. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a procedure from placing the unit C on the first embodiment of the unit detachable carriage 10 according to the present invention until mounting the unit C on the image forming apparatus. It is a schematic block diagram for demonstrating the structure and operation | movement about 2nd Embodiment of the truck 10 for unit attachment / detachment which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the procedure from mounting the unit C to 2nd Embodiment of the unit detachable carriage 10 which concerns on this invention, and making it mount in an image forming apparatus.

  Hereinafter, although the structure and operation | movement of embodiment which concern on the unit detachable trolley | bogie of this invention are demonstrated, this invention is not limited to this embodiment.

  FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus A provided with a unit C to which a unit mounting carriage 10 of the present invention can be applied, and FIG. 2 shows a unit mounting truck 10 according to the present invention. 2 is an external perspective view of the image forming apparatus A and FIG.

  First, an image forming apparatus A to / from which the unit C is attached / detached using the unit attaching / detaching carriage 10 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

[Image forming apparatus A]
In FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus A includes a charging unit 2, an image exposure unit (writing unit) 3, a developing unit 4, a transfer unit 5A, a charge removing unit 5B, and a cleaning unit 6 around a rotating image carrier 1. It has an arranged image forming unit. In the image formation on the image carrier 1, the surface of the image carrier 1 is uniformly charged by the charging unit 2, and then the exposure scanning based on the image data read from the original by the laser beam of the image exposure unit 3 is performed. As a result, a latent image is formed. The latent image is reversely developed by the developing means 4, whereby a toner image is formed on the surface of the image carrier 1.

  On the other hand, the recording paper S stored in the recording paper storage means 7A is fed by the paper feeding means 7B and sent to the transfer position. The toner image is transferred onto the recording paper S by the transfer means 5A at the transfer position. Thereafter, the charge on the back surface of the recording sheet S is erased by the charge eliminating means 5B, separated from the image carrier 1, conveyed by the intermediate conveying means 7C, and subsequently heated and fixed by the fixing means C as a unit according to the present invention. Then, the paper is discharged by a paper discharge means 7D to a paper discharge tray (not shown).

  When image formation is performed on both sides of the recording sheet S, the recording sheet S heated and fixed by the fixing unit C is branched from the normal sheet discharge path by the conveyance path switching plate 7E, and is switched back by the reverse conveyance unit 7F. Then, an image is formed on the back surface by reversing the front and back, and the paper is discharged by the paper discharge means 7D. The fixing unit C is configured to be removable from the front by opening the front door T of the image forming apparatus A during maintenance such as component replacement.

  On the upper front side of the image forming apparatus A, an operation unit 9 capable of inputting job information related to image formation is disposed. Based on the job information input from the operation unit 9, the image forming apparatus A forms an image. The operation unit 9 includes buttons for selecting various operation modes of the image forming apparatus A and a display indicating the state of the image forming apparatus A.

  On the upper part of the image forming apparatus A, an image reading apparatus B provided with an automatic document feeder of a document moving type reading system is installed.

[Unit detachable carriage]
In FIG. 2, a unit detachable carriage 10 according to the present invention is a carriage used when a unit C such as a detachable fixing device constituting the image forming apparatus A is attached to or detached from the image forming apparatus A. For example, with respect to the unit C that is attached / detached from the front side of the image forming apparatus A shown in FIG. Can be attached and detached.

  The unit detachable carriage 10 includes a mounting table 11 on which the unit C is mounted, guide members 17a and 17b, support columns 12, a bottom plate 13, casters 14, a fixed positioning member 25b, and the like. On the upper surface of the mounting table 11 on which the unit C is mounted, a fixed positioning member 25b, guide members 17a and 17b, and the like are disposed. The fixed positioning member 25b will be described later (see FIG. 3). A plurality of casters 14 are disposed on the bottom plate 13 that forms the bottom of the unit detachable carriage 10. The unit detachable carriage 10 moved by the caster 14 is positioned with respect to the image forming apparatus A by guide means using guide pins (not shown) and connected by connection means (not shown). By connecting the unit detachable carriage 10 and the image forming apparatus A, the unit C can be moved to the unit detachable carriage 10 and guided by the guide members 17 a and 17 b to be placed at a fixed position described later on the placement table 11. And fixed.

  Thereafter, the unit attachment / detachment carriage 10 is separated from the image forming apparatus A, and maintenance work such as component replacement is performed on the unit attachment / detachment carriage 10.

  The procedure for placing the unit C on the unit attaching / detaching carriage 10 and mounting the unit C on the image forming apparatus A is opposite to the procedure for removing the unit C, but the detailed procedure will be described later.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining the configuration and operation of the first embodiment of the unit detachable carriage 10 according to the present invention. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the unit C is placed in the unit detachable carriage 10 and the unit detachable carriage 10 is connected to the image forming apparatus A.

  FIG. 3A is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining the overall configuration and operation of the unit detachable carriage 10, and FIG. 3B is a perspective view of a portion A in FIG.

  In FIG. 3, a groove cam 11a is formed on the front surface (front side of the drawing in the figure) of the mounting table 11 of the unit detachable carriage 10 to which the fixed positioning member 25b is attached. A cam pin 23 is formed on the groove cam 11a. The cam pin 23 is held so as to be movable along the groove. Further, a connection blocking plate 21, a connection blocking plate spring 22, a cam pin 23, a cam pin spring 24, and the like are attached to the mounting table 11. Reference numeral A <b> 1 is a connection blocking pin fixed to the image forming apparatus A. The connection blocking means according to the present invention includes a connection blocking plate 21 and a connection blocking pin A1.

  The connection blocking plate 21 is made of, for example, a plate-like member that bends in an L shape. It has the engaging part 21a provided with 21c. In addition, two slide pins 211 are fixed to the connection preventing plate 21, and the slide pins 211 are fitted in a long groove (not shown) formed in the mounting table 11 and extending in the vertical direction. Furthermore, one end of the connection blocking plate spring 22 is attached to the vicinity of the tip of the connection blocking surface 21b of the connection blocking plate 21, and the other end is mounted below the mounting table 11. The connection blocking plate 21 is urged downward. With this configuration, the connection blocking plate 21 is slidably disposed in the vertical direction (y direction in FIG. 3B).

  The cam pin 23 includes a groove cam fitting portion 23a that fits into the groove cam 11a, a U-shaped groove engaging portion 23b that extends at right angles from the groove cam fitting portion 23a, and a hook-like connection blocking member that pushes up the connection blocking plate 21. A plate push-up portion 23c and the like are formed. A movable positioning member 25a for fixing the unit C is attached to the tip of the U-shaped groove engaging portion 23b.

  The groove cam 11a is formed in an L-shape extending in two directions, ie, an up-down direction and a left-right direction. At each end of the groove portion, an end portion 11a1 in the up-down direction, and an end portion 11a2 in the left-right direction, The two ends are formed. The cam pin 23 inserted into the groove cam 11a is disposed so as to be movable between the two end portions of the end portion 11a1 and the end portion 11a2 along the groove cam 11a. Further, the cam pin 23 is urged diagonally to the lower right in FIG. 3 by a cam pin spring 24. By this urging, the cam pin 23 is moved along the groove portion of the groove cam 11a until it hits either the end portion 11a1 or the end portion 11a2. Further, a knob 23d (not shown) is fixed to the tip of the cam pin 23, and the operator can move the cam pin 23 to either the end portion 11a1 or the end portion 11a2 by the knob 23d.

  The movable positioning member 25a moves with the movement of the integrated cam pin 23, and when the unit C is placed at a fixed position indicated by a solid line in FIG. The unit C is fixed by engaging with the positioning groove C1. The fixed position here is a normal placement position when the unit C is placed on the placement table 11 of the unit detachable carriage 10, and the positioning grooves C1 and C2 of the unit C include the movable positioning member 25a and This is a position that is fixed in contact with the fixed positioning member 25b. At this time, the cam pin 23 is at the position of the end portion 11a2 in the left-right direction of the groove cam 11a.

  The unit fixing means according to the present invention includes a movable positioning member 25a, a fixed positioning member 25b, and the like, and fixes the unit C mounted on the mounting table 11 at a fixed position.

  The movable positioning member 25a is guided by guide means (not shown), and is configured so that the vertical direction is always constant even when the cam pin 23 moves in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction of the groove portion of the groove cam 11a. Yes.

  When the cam pin 23 is moved to the position of the end portion 11a2 shown in FIG. 3, the connection blocking plate push-up portion 23c contacts the lower surface of the engagement portion 21a in which the U-shaped groove 21c of the connection blocking plate 21 is formed, The downward movement of the connection blocking plate 21 due to the urging of the connection blocking plate spring 22 is blocked. At this time, the connection blocking surface 21b of the connection blocking plate 21 is at a position higher than the connection blocking pin A1 of the image forming apparatus A, and does not prevent the unit mounting carriage 10 from being connected to the image forming apparatus A. When connected in this state, the connecting surface between the unit mounting carriage 10 and the image forming apparatus A matches at the position R1. That is, when the cam pin 23 is moved to the end portion 11a2, the unit C is fixed at a fixed position on the mounting table 11, and the connection blocking plate 21 is positioned higher than the connection blocking pin A1, so that the unit can be attached and detached. The carriage 10 and the image forming apparatus A can be connected.

  In other words, when the unit C is fixed at a fixed position of the mounting table 11 by the movable positioning member 25a, the connection blocking plate 21 is operated and the connection blocking state between the unit mounting carriage 10 and the image forming apparatus A is released. Is done.

  On the other hand, when the cam pin 23 is in the position of the end 11a1 shown in FIG. 3A, the position of the connection blocking plate push-up portion 23c moves downward, so that the connection blocking plate 21 also moves downward accordingly. It stops at the position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. This position is a position where the connection blocking plate 21 and the connection blocking pin A1 of the image forming apparatus A interfere with each other, and the connection is blocked. The connection blocking pin A1 and the connection blocking surface 21b of the connection blocking plate 21 are in this position. Since it abuts, it cannot be connected. At this time, the connection surface of the image forming apparatus A is at a position R2 indicated by a two-dot chain line, and is a position separated from the connection surface R1 of the unit mounting carriage 10.

  That is, when the unit C is mounted on the mounting table 11 of the unit detachable carriage 10 and the movable positioning member 25a is not engaged with the positioning groove C1 of the unit C, the cam pin 23 is biased by the cam pin spring 24. It will be located at the position of the end 11a1 of the groove cam 11a. When the cam pin 23 is at the end 11a1, the connection blocking surface 21b of the connection blocking plate 21 and the connection blocking pin A1 of the image forming apparatus A interfere with each other. Cannot be connected to A. Therefore, when the unit C is not fixed to the unit attachment / detachment carriage 10, the connection blocking state is not released, and the unit attachment / detachment carriage 10 and the image forming apparatus A cannot be connected.

  After the unit mounting carriage 10 is connected to the image forming apparatus A, when the operator moves the cam pin 23 to the position of the end portion 11a1 with the knob 23d, the movable positioning member 25a moves downward from the placement surface 11b, and the unit C can be attached to the image forming apparatus A. At this time, the lower end of the connection blocking surface 21b of the connection blocking plate 21 contacts the connection blocking pin A1, but the positions of the U-shaped groove engaging portion 23b of the cam pin 23 and the U-shaped groove 21c of the connection blocking plate 21 are Since they slide and shift, they do not interfere with each other.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining a procedure from placing the unit C on the first embodiment of the unit detachable carriage 10 according to the present invention to mounting the unit C on the image forming apparatus.

  In FIG. 4, first, the operator places the unit C on the unit attaching / detaching carriage 10 and fixes the unit C at a fixed position on the placing table 11. That is, by operating the knob 23d upward, the cam pin 23 is moved from the vertical groove to the horizontal groove, reaches the position of the end 11a2, and the movable positioning member 25a is engaged with the positioning groove C1 of the unit C. Together, the unit C is fixed at a fixed position on the mounting table 11. At this time, the connection blocking plate 21 is in the position of the broken line shown in FIG. 3A, and can be connected to the image forming apparatus A (step S11). If the cam pin 23 is not located at the end 11a2 of the groove cam 11a, the unit C is not fixed, and the connection blocking plate 21 is in the position of the two-dot chain line shown in FIG. The plate 21 and the connection blocking pin A1 interfere with each other and the connection with the image forming apparatus A becomes impossible.

  Next, the unit detachable carriage 10 is connected to the image forming apparatus A (step S12). After the connection, the operator operates the knob 23d to the left to move the cam pin 23 to the position of the end portion 11a1 of the groove cam 11a, and releases the fixing of the unit C by the movable positioning member 25a (step S13). Next, the operator moves the unit C to the image forming apparatus A and attaches it (step S14). The unit detaching carriage 10 is pulled away from the image forming apparatus A (step S15).

  According to the present embodiment, the unit C mounted on the unit attaching / detaching carriage 10 is fixed, whereby the unit attaching / detaching carriage 10 and the image forming apparatus A can be connected, and the unit C is not fixed. In this case, there is no danger of the unit C falling during connection.

  FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining the configuration and operation of the second embodiment of the unit detachable carriage 10 according to the present invention.

  The configuration and operation of the second embodiment in FIG. 5 are similar to those of the first embodiment, and the members having the same functions are denoted by the same reference numerals, so that the description thereof is omitted and different configurations are provided. Only the operation will be described.

  In FIG. 5, the first embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the link mechanism is operated by spring pressure in the first embodiment, but in the second embodiment, the drive is electrically performed by a motor. It is a point. The second embodiment is also different in that a sensor is used.

  That is, in the second embodiment, the configuration for blocking the connection by the connection blocking plate 21 and the connection blocking pin A1 is the same as that of the first embodiment, but there is no cam pin 23 or groove cam 11a, and a movable positioning member. There is a difference in configuration that 25a is driven by the motor M.

  Hereinafter, mainly different configurations and operations from the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

  Similar to the first embodiment, the connection blocking plate 21 is made of a plate-like member that bends into an L shape. Further, a bent portion is formed on the longer side of the L shape, and an arm 25 (to be described later) is engaged with the bent portion. A groove-like engagement portion 21 a that engages with the pin 252 is formed. A relief portion for releasing the engaging pin 252 from the engaged state is formed below the groove-like engaging portion 21a. The connection blocking plate 21 has a connection blocking surface 21b, is slidably held in the vertical direction (y direction in FIG. 3B) by the slide pin 211, and is urged downward by the connection blocking plate spring 22. The configuration is the same as in the first embodiment.

  The configuration in which the movable positioning member 25a moves from the position below the placement surface 11b to the position above and engages with the positioning groove C1 of the unit C to position the unit C is the same as in the first embodiment. The driving is performed by the swinging arm 25. A movable positioning member 25 a is fixed to one end of the arm 25, and the swinging rotation of the arm 25 is performed by rotation of a rotating shaft 251 fixed to the other end of the arm 25. The rotary shaft 251 is rotatably held on the mounting table 11 and is connected to a drive motor M that can rotate forward and reverse via a drive gear G and the like, and is rotated by driving. The position of the broken line shown in FIG. Swings between the positions of the dotted line. Further, an engagement pin 252 that engages with the engaging portion 21a of the connection blocking plate 21 and moves the connection blocking plate 21 up and down is fixed at a substantially center of the arm 25.

  The sensors S1 and S2 are sensors that detect the position of the connection blocking plate 21 moving in the vertical direction. The sensor S1 detects that the connection blocking plate 21 is in a position where it does not engage with the connection blocking pin A1 of the image forming apparatus A (the position of the broken line in the drawing), and the sensor S2 detects that the connection blocking plate 21 is not connected to the connection blocking pin A1. It is detected that it is in a position where it engages with (a position of a two-dot chain line in the figure). The sensors S3 and S4 are sensors that detect the position of the movable positioning member 25a. The sensor S3 detects that the movable positioning member 25a is in a position where the unit C is not positioned (the position of the two-dot chain line in the figure), and the sensor S4 is a position where the movable positioning member 25a positions the unit C (the solid line in the figure). ) Is detected. The sensor S5 is a sensor that detects that the unit C is placed at a fixed position, and the sensor S6 is a sensor that detects that the unit mounting carriage 10 is connected to the image forming apparatus A.

  When the unit C is mounted on the unit detachable carriage 10 and the operator places the unit C at a fixed position on the mounting table 11, the sensor S5 detects the arrival of the unit C at the fixed position. By this detection, the drive motor M is driven, the arm 25 is rotated clockwise, the movable positioning member 25a is moved, and the unit C is fixed at a fixed position. The sensor S4 detects that the movable positioning member 25a has reached the position where the unit C is fixed. By this detection, the completion of the unit C fixing operation is displayed on the display unit (not shown) of the unit detachable carriage 10.

  On the other hand, by the clockwise rotation of the arm 25, the engaging pin 252 pushes up the engaging portion 21a, the connection blocking plate 21 is moved upward and moved to a position where it does not engage with the connection blocking pin A1, and the sensor S1. It reaches the position where it is detected. In this state, since the connection blocking plate 21 does not engage with the connection blocking pin A1, the unit mounting carriage 10 and the image forming apparatus A can be connected, and the operator can perform the connection.

  That is, according to the present embodiment, when the unit C is fixed at a fixed position, the drive motor M is driven, the connection blocking plate 21 is moved upward, and the unit mounting carriage 10 and the image forming apparatus A The connection blocking state is released, and the connection becomes possible.

  When the connection between the unit mounting carriage 10 and the image forming apparatus A is completed, the drive motor M is driven by the detection of the sensor S6, and the arm 25 is rotated counterclockwise to move the movable positioning member 25a from the position where the unit C is fixed. It is moved to a position below the placement surface 11b. As the arm 25 rotates, the position of the engagement pin 252 fixed to the arm 25 also moves downward, so that the engagement portion 21a of the connection blocking plate 21 engaged therewith also biases the spring 22 for the connection blocking plate. To move down. The connection blocking plate 21 that moves downward stops when the lower end of the connection blocking surface 21b contacts the connection blocking pin A1. The arm 25 further continues to rotate in the counterclockwise direction. However, since the engagement pin 252 moves downward from the escape portion of the groove-like engagement portion 21a, the engagement pin 252 and the engagement portion 21a are separated from each other. In this state, the operator can move the unit C into the image forming apparatus A and mount it.

  When the unit C is not placed at a fixed position on the mounting table 11, the sensor S5 does not detect the arrival of the unit C at the fixed position, so the drive motor M is not driven and the arm 25 does not rotate. The connection blocking plate 21 remains positioned below. This position is a position where the connection blocking plate 21 engages with the connection blocking pin A1 and the connection is blocked, and the unit mounting carriage 10 and the image forming apparatus A cannot be connected.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a procedure from placing the unit C on the second embodiment of the unit detachable carriage 10 according to the present invention until the unit C is mounted on the image forming apparatus.

  In FIG. 6, first, the operator places the unit C on the mounting table 11 of the unit detachable carriage 10 and places the unit C at a position where the positioning groove C2 of the unit C contacts the fixed positioning member 25b. At this time, the motor M is operated by the detection of the sensor S5, and the movable positioning member 25a moves with the rotation of the arm 25 to fix the unit C (step S21).

  When the unit C is correctly fixed at the fixed position of the mounting table 11, the sensor S4 detects the position of the moved movable positioning member 25a, and the completion of the fixing of the unit C is displayed on the display unit (not shown) of the unit mounting carriage 10. Is done. The operator confirms whether or not the unit C is correctly fixed at the fixed position of the mounting table 11 by displaying on the display unit (step S22). If it is not fixed in the fixed position (completion of unit C fixing is not displayed) (No in step S22), the process returns to step S21 and is correctly fixed in the fixed position (completion of unit C fixing is displayed). If so (Yes at Step S22), the process proceeds to Step S23.

  In step S <b> 23, the operator connects the unit mounting carriage 10 to the image forming apparatus A. Next, whether or not the unit detachable carriage 10 is correctly connected to the image forming apparatus A is detected by the sensor S6, and is displayed on a display unit (not shown) of the unit detachable carriage 10 based on the detection. The operator confirms the display on the display unit and determines whether or not the unit mounting carriage 10 is correctly connected to the image forming apparatus A (step S24). When it is correctly connected (Yes at Step S24), the process automatically proceeds to Step S25. When not correctly connected (No at Step S24), the display is made on the display unit and the operation of the image forming apparatus A is stopped. Therefore, the operator confirms the display, and returns to Step S23 to return the unit detachable carriage. 10 and the image forming apparatus A are correctly connected.

  When it is correctly connected, the process proceeds to step S25, where the drive motor M is driven by the detection signal from the sensor S6, the arm 25 rotates counterclockwise, and the movable positioning member 25a moves from the position where the unit C is fixed to the mounting surface. It moves down 11b. By this operation, the unit C is released (step S25). The operator moves the unit C to the image forming apparatus A and attaches it (step S26). The unit mounting carriage 10 is pulled away from the image forming apparatus A (step S27).

  According to the second embodiment, when the unit C is not fixed at a fixed position on the mounting table 11 of the unit attaching / detaching carriage 10, the connection blocking state is not released, and the unit attaching / detaching carriage 10 is connected to the image forming apparatus A. Cannot be linked to. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the unit C from being dropped due to the connection of the unit detachable carriage 10 with the unit C unfixed to the image forming apparatus A.

  In the present embodiment, the unit attaching / detaching cart 10 has the functions of displaying the completion of fixing the unit C and displaying the completion of the connection between the unit attaching / detaching cart 10 and the image forming apparatus A. These functions may be provided to the operation unit 9 of the image forming apparatus A.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Unit detachable carriage 11 Mounting base 11a Groove cam 11b Mounting surface 11a1, 11a2 End 21 Connection prevention plate (connection prevention means)
211 Slide pin 21a Engagement part 21b Connection prevention surface 21c U-shaped groove 22 Connection prevention plate spring 23 Cam pin 23a Groove cam fitting part 23b U-shaped groove engagement part 23c Connection prevention plate push-up part 23d Knob 24 Cam pin spring 25 Arm 251 Rotating shaft 252 Engaging pin 25a Movable positioning member (unit fixing means)
25b Fixed positioning member (unit fixing means)
A Image forming apparatus A1 Connection blocking pin (connection blocking means)
C unit C1, C2 Positioning groove M Drive motor S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, S6 Sensor

Claims (1)

A unit detachable carriage that can be connected to the image forming apparatus, and is used to attach and detach a unit that is detachably held in the image forming apparatus.
A mounting table for mounting the unit;
Unit fixing means for fixing the unit mounted on the mounting table;
A connection blocking means for blocking the connection with the image forming apparatus when the unit mounted on the mounting table is not fixed by the unit fixing means;
Have
The unit mounted on the mounting table is fixed by the unit fixing unit, so that the connection blocking state with the image forming apparatus by the connection blocking unit is released. Trolley.

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