JP2013195898A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus with a configuration that prevents an opening for suctioning air containing a sheet odor from being blocked by edges of a plurality of stacked sheets, with a size of the opening in the vertical direction reduced.SOLUTION: A sheet stack part 19 has a surface extending vertically upwards from a position of any one side of stacked sheets and is provided with an opening 24 for suctioning air containing a sheet odor at a position above the aforementioned surface. In the opening 24, an opening plane that is a plane constituted by connecting the edges of the opening is inclined in relation to the vertical direction, with the normal of the opening plane extended therefrom externally to a chassis 50 passing in a space that allows stacking of the sheets. This configuration prevents the opening 24 from being blocked by the edge of the stacked plural sheets and enables the size of the opening 24 in the vertical direction to be reduced.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

  In Patent Document 1, air in the apparatus is exhausted through a low-density filter at one exhaust port during the fixing process of plain paper to remove ozone odor and the like, and a high density is fixed during the fixing process of glossy paper. Since an unpleasant odor is generated, an image forming apparatus is described in which air in the apparatus is exhausted through a high-density filter at the other exhaust port to remove an unpleasant odor.

JP 2009-98189 A

  The object of the present invention is to reduce the possibility that the opening for sucking the air containing the odor of the recording medium is blocked by the ends of the plurality of stacked recording media in the image forming apparatus. The purpose is to reduce the vertical size of the opening.

  The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, a housing, an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium through at least a heating step, and a stacking unit that stacks the plurality of recording media on which the images are formed in a stacked state. And an opening provided in the housing, the opening surface being a surface connecting the edges of the opening is inclined with respect to a vertical direction, and the opening surface extending from the opening surface to the outside of the housing The normal line includes an opening that passes through a space in which the recording medium can be stacked, and a discharge unit that sucks air from the opening and discharges the air outside the casing.

  The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the stacking unit has a surface extending upward in the vertical direction from the position of any one side of the recording medium to be stacked, and the opening is a position above the surface. It is provided in.

  The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the discharge unit is located at a position opposite to a surface of the opening opposite to the opening surface.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the plurality of stacked surfaces are compared to the case where the opening surfaces do not have an inclination in the vertical direction and the normal line of the opening surfaces does not pass through the space where the recording medium can be stacked. It is possible to reduce the possibility that the opening is blocked by the edge of the sheet and to reduce the size of the opening in the vertical direction.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the possibility of the opening being blocked by the ends of the plurality of stacked recording media, and to align the ends of the recording media in the vertical direction.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the air containing the odor of the recording medium can be easily sucked as compared with the case where the discharging means is not located at the position opposite to the surface opposite to the opening surface in the opening.

A perspective view of the image forming apparatus viewed from the front Sectional view when viewing the image forming apparatus from the front Plan view of the image forming apparatus viewed from the vertical direction A perspective view of the image forming apparatus from which the sheet conveying apparatus located at the top is removed as seen from the front side 1 is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus viewed from the direction of arrows II in FIG. The figure showing the opening part which concerns on an example different from embodiment The figure showing the opening part which concerns on an example different from embodiment

<Embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment as viewed from the front. The image forming apparatus 100 has a rectangular parallelepiped casing 50, and an XYZ orthogonal coordinate system is set. The origin P of the XY orthogonal coordinate system is located at one of the four corners (upper left corner in FIG. 1) on the bottom surface of the image forming apparatus 100. Here, when the image forming apparatus 100 is viewed from the front, one of the two sides including the origin P and constituting the plane of the housing 50 is the X axis (here, in the width direction of the image forming apparatus 100). The other side corresponds to the Y axis (here, the side in the depth direction of the image forming apparatus 100). A straight line perpendicular to the X axis and the Y axis is taken as a Z axis. That is, the Z axis corresponds to the vertical coordinate axis with respect to the plane represented by the X axis corresponding to the width direction and the Y axis corresponding to the depth direction. In the following description, the Y axis positive direction side of the image forming apparatus 100 is referred to as the front surface of the image forming apparatus 100. This is provided with a touch panel or the like on this surface, and the user operates the image forming apparatus 100. This is because the surface faces the image forming apparatus 100. On the other hand, in the image forming apparatus 100, the back surface refers to a surface opposite to the front surface. Here, the near side in the Y-axis direction representing the depth direction is referred to as the front side because the front side of the image forming apparatus 100 is located, and the back side in the Y-axis direction is located on the back side of the image forming apparatus 100. This is called the back side. The image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment forms a monochrome image on a sheet as a recording medium.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus 100 as seen from the front side, that is, from the Y axis positive direction. The image forming apparatus 100 includes a photosensitive drum 11, a charger 12, an exposure path 13, an exposure device 14, a developing device 15, a toner cartridge 16, a transfer roll 17, a fixing device 18, and a paper stacking unit. 19, a duct 20, an air inlet 21, a cooling fan 22, and a plate 23.

  The photoconductive drum 11 is a cylindrical member that rotates around an axis with a photoconductive film laminated on the surface, and is an image holding body that holds an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface. The charger 12 charges the photosensitive drum 11 to a predetermined charging potential. The exposure path 13 is a path through which light emitted from the exposure device 14 reaches the photosensitive drum 11. The exposure device 14 exposes the photosensitive drum 11 through the exposure path 13 to form an electrostatic latent image. The developing device 15 supplies toner to the electrostatic latent image to develop the electrostatic latent image and form an image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 11.

  The toner cartridge 16 stores black toner and supplies it to the developing unit 15 as necessary. The toner cartridge 16 is an example of a toner supply unit according to the present invention. The transfer roll 17 transfers an image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 onto a sheet. The photosensitive drum 11, the charger 12, the exposure path 13, the exposure device 14, the developing device 15, and the transfer roll 17 together constitute an image forming unit U. The image forming unit U includes a blade and a photosensitive drum 11 that generate heat from an electric substrate that constitutes each part, heat that is generated by driving a driving device that constitutes each part, and scraping off toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 11 after transfer. Frictional heat is generated. As a result, the image forming unit U generates heat. The fixing device 18 is positioned above the image forming unit U in the vertical direction, that is, in the positive Z-axis direction, and heats and pressurizes the image transferred to the conveyed paper, thereby applying the image to the paper. Let it settle. The fixing device 18 generates heat by driving the driving unit. The image forming unit U and the fixing device 18 function as an example of the image forming unit according to the present invention by cooperating with each other.

  The sheet stacking unit 19 is a plate-like member having a predetermined thickness, and stacks a plurality of sheets on which images are formed in a stacked state. The paper stacking unit 19 has a width longer than the length in the longitudinal direction of the maximum size of printable paper in the positive direction of the X axis. Here, the maximum size of paper that can be printed is, for example, A3. The depth of the sheet stacking unit 19 corresponds to the depth of the image forming apparatus 100 in the Y-axis direction. The sheet stacking unit 19 is positioned above the toner cartridge 16 in the vertical direction, that is, in the positive direction of the Z axis, and is positioned on the side of the fixing device 18, that is, in the positive direction of the X axis. The paper stacking unit 19 is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the horizontal plane. By stacking the sheets along this inclination, the discharged sheets are easily gathered without any variation due to their own weight. The paper stacking unit 19 is an example of a stacking unit according to the present invention.

  The duct 20 is a plate-like member having a predetermined thickness and having side walls around it except for two places serving as an air inlet and an outlet. The duct 20 forms an air flow path in a space sandwiched between the lower surface of the paper stacking portion 19 and the upper surface of the duct 20 by the upper surface of the side wall being combined with the lower surface of the paper stacking portion 19. That is, the member on which the paper is stacked in the paper stacking unit 19 forms the upper surface of the air flow path. The air outlet, which is one end of the air flow path in the duct 20, is connected to the cooling fan 22. On the other hand, there is an air inlet 21 for sucking air at the air inlet, which is the other end of the air flow path in the duct 20. The depth of the duct 20 in the Y-axis direction corresponds to the depth of the image forming apparatus 100, which will be described later. The duct 20 is positioned below the sheet stacking portion 19 in the vertical direction, that is, in the negative Z-axis direction, and above the toner cartridge 16, that is, in the positive Z-axis direction. A portion of the duct 20 facing the paper stacking portion 19 is made of, for example, resin. Further, the material of the portion of the duct 20 facing the toner cartridge 16 is a metal having a high heat reflectance, for example, aluminum. As a result, when the heat generated from the paper discharged and stacked on the paper stacking unit 19 is transmitted in the negative direction of the Z axis, the heat is reflected in the duct 20, so that the heat is transmitted to the toner cartridge 16 and the toner. The toner in the cartridge 16 is prevented from melting.

  The air inlet 21 is a hole formed at the end of the air flow path formed by the sheet stacking portion 19 and the duct 20 being combined, and air is sucked through the air inlet 21. As apparent from FIG. 2, the air inlet 21 is located closer to the image forming unit U and the fixing device 18 than the toner cartridge 16. The air inlet 21 opens toward the fixing device 18 or the image forming unit U. Here, opening toward the fixing unit 18 or the image forming unit U means that the space on the side where the duct 20 is present and the side where the duct 20 is not present on the plane including the opening surface connecting the edges of the opening of the air inlet 21. When it is assumed that the space is divided, it means that at least a part of the fixing device 18 or the image forming unit U is in the space without the duct.

  The cooling fan 22 is located on the back side of the paper stacking unit 19, that is, in the Y-axis negative direction. The cooling fan 22 cools the inside of the image forming apparatus 100 by exhaust heat by rotating the fan to suck in air inside the image forming apparatus 100 and discharging the air sucked out of the housing 50. The cooling fan 22 is an example of a discharge unit according to the present invention.

  The plate 23 is an L-shaped plate member having a predetermined thickness. The plate 23 is positioned above the image forming unit U in the vertical direction, that is, in the positive Z-axis direction, and below the fixing unit 18, that is, in the negative Z-axis direction. That is, the plate 23 is located in a space sandwiched between the fixing device 18 and the image forming unit U. The material of the plate 23 is a metal having high heat reflectivity, and more preferably, for example, aluminum. As a result, the plate 23 reflects the heat generated from the fixing device 18 and suppresses the heat from being transmitted to the toner cartridge 16 and melting of the toner.

  The depth of the plate 23 in the Y-axis direction is in accordance with the depth of the image forming apparatus 100. The depth of the plate 23 in the Y-axis direction also corresponds to the depth of the paper stacking unit 19. The plate 23 is an example of a partition member that extends from the periphery of the air inlet 21 toward a space sandwiched between the fixing device 18 and the image forming unit U and divides this space upward and downward in the vertical direction. Thus, when the cooling fan 22 rotates and sucks air, the air flow path is as shown by the arrow L1. That is, air in the vicinity of the image forming unit U passes through the vicinity of the fixing unit 18 while traveling around the image forming unit U, and is then sucked into the duct 20 through the air inlet 21 and discharged from the cooling fan 22. In this air flow path, heat generated from each part of the image forming unit U and the fixing device 18 is exhausted by intake air.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view of the image forming apparatus 100 as viewed from the vertical direction, that is, from the positive Z-axis direction. Arrow L2 represents an air flow path. In addition, the paper stacking unit 19, the duct 20, and the toner cartridge 16 are indicated by broken lines. The sheet stacking unit 19, the duct 20, and the toner cartridge 16 are positioned in the following order in the vertical direction. That is, the duct 20 exists on the toner cartridge 16, and the paper stacking unit 19 is covered on the duct 20. The air is discharged from the cooling fan 22 through a flow path formed by combining the paper stacking unit 19 and the duct 20. Further, the sheet stacking unit 19 has a recessed portion 30 that is recessed downward in the vertical direction on the front side, that is, on the Y axis positive direction side. In the recess 30, the side closer to the toner cartridge 16 in the X-axis direction is longer in depth than the side farther from the toner cartridge 16. The concave portion 30 is provided for the purpose of making it easy for the user of the image forming apparatus 100 to insert the hand into the concave portion 30 and take out the paper when the paper is discharged and stacked on the paper stacking portion 19. It is what was done.

  Since the recessed part 30 exists, the duct 20 is limited to a position where the depth does not overlap with the recessed part 30. That is, when the image forming apparatus 100 is viewed from above in the vertical direction, the duct 20 is in a position that does not overlap the recessed portion 30. Here, when the heat generated from the paper loaded on the paper stacking unit 19 is transmitted in the negative Z-axis direction, the portion of the duct 20 where the duct 20 is present is the surface facing the toner cartridge 16 of the duct 20 as described above. Is metallic with high heat reflectivity, it is possible to prevent heat from being transferred to the toner cartridge 16 and melting of the toner. On the other hand, in the portion where the dent portion 30 exists, the air layer present in the dent portion 30 serves as a buffer zone against heat, and the heat generated from the paper is transmitted to the toner cartridge 16 to melt the toner. Suppress. Therefore, even if the depth of the duct 20 is limited so that it does not overlap with the recess 30, the toner in the toner cartridge 16 is suppressed from being melted by the heat generated from the paper.

  FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus 100 from which the sheet conveying device located at the upper part of the housing 50 is removed as seen from the front side. As shown in the figure, in the housing 50, an opening 24 is provided at a position on the front side of the cooling fan 22, that is, on the Y axis positive direction side. The opening 24 is a hole through which the sucked air passes when the air around the sheet loaded on the sheet stacking unit 19 is sucked by the cooling fan 22. Since the paper loaded on the paper stacking unit 19 is heated when it passes through the fixing device 18, it has heat immediately after being discharged, and this heat generates an odor of the paper itself. The opening 24 is for discharging the odor of the paper to the outside. The opening surface, which is the surface connecting the edges of the opening 24, is inclined with respect to the vertical direction. The normal line of the opening surface extending from the opening surface of the opening 24 to the outside of the housing 50 passes through a space in which sheets can be stacked. The cooling fan 22 is in a position facing the surface of the opening 24 opposite to the opening surface.

  The opening 24 is provided at a position overlapping the cooling fan 22 in the X-axis direction. The width of the opening 24 in the X-axis direction is at least longer than the width of the cooling fan 22 in the X-axis direction so as not to obstruct the flow path of air generated by the intake of the cooling fan 22. . Also, the height of the opening 24 in the Z-axis direction is at least equal to or less than the height of the cooling fan 22 in the Z-axis direction for the same reason as the width in the X-axis direction. A louver is attached to the opening surface of the opening 24. The user can adjust the amount of air passing by adjusting the angle of the louver blade. In the image forming apparatus 100, when the cooling fan 22 rotates, air containing the odor of the paper stacked on the paper stacking unit 19 is sucked through the opening 24 and discharged outside the housing 50.

  FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus 100 as viewed from the direction of arrows II in FIG. Arrows L3 and L4 represent air flow paths generated by the intake of the cooling fan 22. Among these, the air flow path L3 is an air flow path formed in a space sandwiched between the lower surface of the sheet stacking portion 19 and the upper surface of the duct 20. On the other hand, the air flow path L4 is an air flow path when the odor of the paper loaded on the paper stacking unit 19 is sucked through the opening 24. The filter 40 filters the air sucked through the air flow paths L3 and L4 with a deodorizer inside thereof to remove odors. The paper stacking unit 19 has a side surface 191 that extends upward in the vertical direction from the position of one side of the stacked paper. The side surface portion 191 has a predetermined height h with respect to the upper surface of the paper stacking portion 19. The side surface portion 191 having the predetermined height h is provided so that the opening 24 is not filled with the stacked paper when the paper stacking portion 19 stacks the paper. Further, the sheets are aligned by being abutted against the side surface portion 191.

  In some conventional image forming apparatuses, an opening is provided so that the opening surface is perpendicular to a horizontal plane. In this case, when the paper stacking unit 19 loads paper, The opening portion is provided at a certain position higher than the sheet stacking portion 19 so as not to be blocked. However, this configuration requires a certain amount of installation space in the vertical direction for the opening, and is not suitable for downsizing the image forming apparatus 100 in the vertical direction. On the other hand, when the opening surface, which is the surface connecting the edges of the opening 24, is inclined with respect to the vertical direction as in the present embodiment, the height of the opening 24 in the vertical direction depends on this inclination. Since the installation space in the vertical direction is omitted because of lowering, the size of the image forming apparatus 100 in the vertical direction can be reduced. In addition, since the opening surface of the opening 24 is inclined with respect to the vertical direction, even when sheets are stacked on the sheet stacking unit 19, the opening surface is not blocked by the end of the stacked sheets, and air is sucked in. Is called. Further, since the opening surface of the opening 24 is not blocked by the sheet, the height h that the side surface portion 191 has with respect to the upper surface of the sheet stacking portion 19 is such that the opening surface of the opening portion 24 is relative to the water surface. Therefore, it is sufficient that the height is lower than in the conventional case where the height is vertical, and this can also reduce the vertical size. Further, since the cooling fan 22 is present behind the opening 24, that is, on the back side, the flow path of the air generated by the intake air by the cooling fan 22 communicates with the opening 24 in a straight line without extra detours. Air around the paper stacking unit 19 is easily sucked.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the opening 24 for sucking the air containing the odor of the paper provided in the housing 50, the opening surface that is the surface connecting the edges of the opening is perpendicular to the vertical direction. The normal line of the opening surface that is inclined and extends out of the housing 50 from the opening surface passes through a space in which sheets can be stacked. Thereby, the opening 24 is not blocked by the end portions of the plurality of stacked sheets, and the size of the opening 24 in the vertical direction can be reduced. As a result, the opening 24 not only discharges the odor of the stacked paper to the outside, but also contributes to downsizing of the image forming apparatus 100 in the vertical direction.

<Modification>
The present embodiment can be modified as follows. FIGS. 6A and 6B are views showing openings 24a and 24b according to an example different from the embodiment. FIGS. 6A and 6B both show a state in which the sectional view of the image forming apparatus 100 viewed from the direction of arrows II in FIG. 1 is enlarged around the openings 24a and 24b. L5 and L6 indicated by arrows are air flow paths generated by the intake of the cooling fan 22. The opening 24a is a curve that has an inclination with respect to the vertical direction and protrudes in a convex shape in the vertical direction. The shape of the opening 24b is a curve that is inclined with respect to the vertical direction and recessed in the vertical direction. By having such a shape, the openings 24 a and 24 b are not blocked by the end of the paper loaded on the paper stacking unit 19. Also, as the shape of the openings 24a and 24b, the height in the vertical direction of the openings 24a and 24b is lower than when the opening surface is perpendicular to the horizontal plane, The vertical size of the openings 24a and 24b can be reduced. Also in this modified example, since the opening surfaces of the openings 24 a and 24 b are not blocked by the paper, the height h that the side surface portion 191 has with respect to the upper surface of the paper stacking portion 19 is the opening surface of the opening 24. Compared to the conventional case in which the vertical axis is vertical to the horizontal plane, it is sufficient that it is low, and this also allows the vertical size to be reduced.

  Moreover, FIG. 7 is a figure showing the opening part 24c which concerns on an example different from embodiment. FIG. 7 illustrates a state in which the cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus 100 viewed from the arrow II in FIG. 1 is enlarged around the opening 24c. L <b> 7 indicated by an arrow is an air flow path generated by intake of the cooling fan 22. The opening 24c has an inclination with respect to the vertical direction, and the higher the position, the longer the width of the inclination in the Y-axis direction. By having such a shape, the opening 24c is not blocked by the end of the paper loaded on the paper stacking unit 19. Further, even in the shape like the opening 24c, the vertical direction of the opening 24c is lower because the height of the opening 24c is lower than the case where the opening surface is perpendicular to the horizontal plane. Can be reduced in size. Also in this modified example, since the opening surface of the opening 24c is not blocked by the paper, the height h that the side surface portion 191 has with respect to the upper surface of the paper stacking portion 19 is such that the opening surface of the opening 24 is horizontal. However, it is sufficient that the height is lower than that of the conventional case where the vertical direction is vertical. This also makes it possible to reduce the vertical size.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Photosensitive drum, 12 ... Charger, 13 ... Exposure path | route, 14 ... Exposure apparatus, 15 ... Developing device, 16 ... Toner cartridge, 17 ... Transfer roll, 18 ... Fixing device, 19 ... Paper stacking part, 191 ... Side surface , 20 ... duct, 21 ... air inlet, 22 ... cooling fan, 23 ... plate, 24, 24a, 24b ... opening, 30 ... dent, 40 ... filter, 50 ... housing, 100 ... image forming apparatus, L1 ~ L7 ... Air flow path, U ... Image forming unit

Claims (3)

A housing,
Image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium through at least a heating step;
A stacking means for stacking a plurality of the recording media on which images are formed;
An opening provided in the housing, the opening surface being a surface connecting edges of the opening is inclined with respect to the vertical direction, and the normal of the opening surface extending from the opening surface to the outside of the housing Is an opening that passes through a space in which the recording medium can be loaded;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a discharge unit that sucks air from the opening and discharges the air out of the housing. The stacking means has a surface extending upward in the vertical direction from the position of one side of the recording medium to be stacked,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the opening is provided at a position above the surface. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the discharge unit is located at a position facing a surface of the opening opposite to the opening surface.

Images