JP2013210540A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus in which an ejection roller does not interfere with attachment or detachment of a process cartridge.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus comprises: an apparatus body 2 having a housing 21 with an opening 21A, and a cover provided for opening or closing the opening 21A; a process cartridge 6 attachable to or detachable from the housing 21 through the opening 21A; and an ejection roller 8 provided so as to be exposed through the opening 21A when the opening 21A is opened, and provided to eject a recording sheet in the housing 21 outside the housing 21. The process cartridge 6 has a grip 64, which is gripped when the process cartridge 6 is attached or detached. The ejection roller 8 is arranged in a position different from the grip 64 in the axial direction of the ejection roller 8.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including a housing and a discharge roller that discharges a recording sheet to the outside of the housing.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus that includes a housing, a top cover, a process cartridge, and a discharge roller is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Specifically, the top cover is provided so as to open and close an opening formed in the housing, and has a discharge tray on which the recording sheet is placed on the upper surface. Further, the process cartridge can be attached to and detached from the casing through the opening of the casing.

  The discharge roller is a roller for discharging the recording sheet in the housing toward the discharge tray, and is provided at a position where the top cover is exposed from the opening when the opening of the housing is opened.

JP 2011-8286 A

  However, with the above-described technology, when the user attaches or removes the process cartridge, the hand may hit the exposed discharge roller and get in the way.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an image forming apparatus in which a discharge roller does not get in the way when a process cartridge is attached or detached.

In order to achieve the above-described object, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a device main body having a housing having an opening, a cover for opening and closing the opening, and a process cartridge that can be attached to and detached from the housing through the opening. And a discharge roller provided so as to be exposed through the opening when the opening is opened, and discharging the recording sheet in the casing to the outside of the casing.
The process cartridge has a grip portion that is gripped when being attached and detached, and the discharge roller is disposed at a position different from the grip portion in the axial direction of the discharge roller.

  According to the image forming apparatus configured as described above, when the user holds the grip portion and attaches / detaches the process cartridge to / from the casing, the discharge roller does not get in the way.

  In the above-described image forming apparatus, it is preferable that the gripping portion is provided at a central portion in the axial direction of the process cartridge.

  According to the image forming apparatus configured as described above, the user can easily hold the process cartridge as compared with the case where the gripping portions are provided at both ends in the axial direction of the process cartridge.

  In the image forming apparatus described above, the apparatus main body may include a support member, the discharge roller may be supported by the support member, and at least a part may protrude from the support member toward the mounting path of the process cartridge.

  According to the image forming apparatus configured as described above, even if the discharge roller protrudes toward the process cartridge, the discharge roller and the grip portion are arranged at different positions. Since a space for insertion can be ensured, it becomes easy to perform the operation of attaching and detaching the process cartridge while holding the grip portion.

In the image forming apparatus in which the discharge roller protrudes from the support member, the cover is a top cover provided on the top of the housing, and the recording on the top surface of the cover is discharged to the outside of the housing by the discharge roller. A discharge tray for stacking sheets may be provided.
In this case, the cover has a cover side opening at a position corresponding to the discharge roller with the opening closed, and the discharge roller protrudes from the cover side opening to the discharge tray side with the cover closed. Also good.

In the above-described image forming apparatus, the apparatus main body has a support member, and the discharge roller is provided opposite to the first roller supported by the support member and the first roller, and between the first roller and the first roller. And a second roller for sandwiching the recording sheet.
In this case, the second roller may be supported by the cover.

  According to the present invention, since the discharge roller is disposed at a position different from the grip portion of the process cartridge in the axial direction of the discharge roller, the discharge roller can be removed when the user holds the process cartridge with the grip portion. Does not get in the way.

1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a laser printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the state which opened the top cover of the laser printer and removed the process cartridge from the apparatus main body. It is the figure which looked at the laser printer which removed the top cover from the top. It is a perspective view which shows the state which opened the top cover of the laser printer. It is a perspective view which shows the state which opened the front cover of the laser printer.

  Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. In the following description, first, an overall configuration of a laser printer as an example of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described, and then a characteristic part of the present invention will be described in detail.

  In the following description, the direction will be described with reference to the user when using the laser printer. That is, in FIG. 1, the left side toward the paper surface is “front side”, the right side toward the paper surface is “rear side”, the rear side toward the paper surface is “left side”, and the front side toward the paper surface is “right side”. To do. In addition, the vertical direction toward the page is defined as the “vertical direction”.

<Schematic configuration of laser printer>
As shown in FIG. 1, the laser printer 1 includes an apparatus main body 2, a feeder unit 3 for supplying paper P as an example of a recording sheet, and an image forming unit 4 for forming an image on the paper P. I have.

  The apparatus main body 2 includes a housing 21, a top cover 22 as an example of a cover, a front cover 23, and a fixing frame 100 as an example of a support member. The casing 21 has an opening 21 </ b> A (see FIG. 2) opened upward for attaching / detaching a process cartridge 6, which will be described later, and an insertion port 21 </ b> B for inserting the paper P at the front thereof. ing.

  Specifically, the size of the opening 21A in the left-right direction is substantially the same as the size in the left-right direction of the process cartridge 6 described later, and the size in the front-rear direction is the photosensitive drum 61 and the grip portion 64 of the process cartridge 6. It is smaller than the size in the direction in which the

  The top cover 22 is formed to have a size that covers the entire upper portion of the casing 21 and is supported by the casing 21 so as to be rotatable about a rotation shaft 22A disposed at the rear end. Thereby, the top cover 22 opens and closes the opening 21 </ b> A of the housing 21 by rotating in the vertical direction.

  Further, the upper surface of the top cover 22 is a discharge tray 9 on which the paper P discharged outside the casing 21 by a discharge roller 8 described later is placed. An extension cover 10 is provided on the discharge tray 9. The extension cover 10 is supported by the top cover 22 so as to be rotatable about a rotation shaft (not shown) disposed at the front end portion of the top cover 22 and covers the upper surface of the discharge tray 9 (2 It is possible to move between a position indicated by a chain line) and a position adjacent to the discharge tray 9 supporting the front end portion of the paper P on the discharge tray 9 (position indicated by a solid line).

  The top cover 22 has a wall portion 22 </ b> B extending upward from the rear end portion of the upper surface of the discharge tray 9. The wall 22B has a discharge port 22C as an example of a cover side opening through which the paper P discharged by the discharge roller 8 passes at a position corresponding to a discharge roller 8 described later with the top cover 22 closing the opening 21A. A notch 22D is formed at a position facing the discharge roller 8 so that the discharge port 22C extends downward.

The front cover 23 is a cover that covers the front surface of the apparatus main body 2, and is supported by the housing 21 so as to be able to rotate back and forth around the lower end. Thereby, the front cover 23 opens and closes the insertion port 21B of the housing | casing 21 by rotating in the front-back direction.
The fixing frame 100 will be described later.

  The feeder unit 3 is positioned below the apparatus main body 2, and includes a paper feed tray 31 on which the paper P is placed and a paper feed mechanism that feeds the paper P on the paper feed tray 31 toward the image forming unit 4. 32.

  The paper feed tray 31 is composed of a paper placement plate 31 </ b> A disposed at the lower part of the apparatus main body 2 and the front cover 23 described above. Specifically, the front cover 23 constitutes a part of the paper feed tray 31 in a state where the front cover 23 is tilted forward. In addition, the paper placement plate 31A is configured to lift the paper P toward the paper feed roller 32A every time the paper P is fed.

  The paper feed mechanism 32 mainly includes a paper feed roller 32A, a separation roller 32B, and a separation pad 32C. The paper feed roller 32A is arranged on the upstream side in the transport direction of the paper P with respect to the separation roller 32B and on the rear end of the paper placement plate 31A. The separation roller 32B is disposed to face the separation pad 32C.

  In the feeder unit 3, the front cover 23 is tilted forward to form the paper feed tray 31, and then the paper P is placed on the paper feed tray 31. Then, when the paper feed roller 32A comes into contact with the paper P placed on the paper feed tray 31 and rotates, the paper P placed on the paper feed tray 31 is sent to the separation roller 32B and sent out. The sheets P are separated one by one between the separation roller 32B and the separation pad 32C and supplied to the image forming unit 4.

  The image forming unit 4 includes a scanner unit 5, a process cartridge 6, and a fixing device 7.

  The scanner unit 5 is provided above the front feeder unit 3 in the apparatus main body 2 and includes a laser light emitting unit, a polygon mirror, a lens, and the like (not shown). In this scanner unit 5, laser light is irradiated on the surface of a photosensitive drum 61 described later by high-speed scanning.

  The process cartridge 6 is provided above the feeder unit 3 on the rear side of the apparatus main body 2 and is attached to and detached from the housing 21 through the opening 21A by being guided by a guide 21G provided in the housing 21. This is possible (see FIG. 2).

  The process cartridge 6 is provided with a photosensitive drum 61, a transfer roller 62, a charger not shown in the reference numeral, and the like at a rear end portion, and a grip portion 64 at a front end portion. As shown in FIG. 3, the grip portion 64 is a portion that is gripped by the user when the process cartridge 6 is attached and detached, and is a left-right direction that is an axial direction of a discharge roller 8 described later so that the user can easily hold the process cartridge 6. Is provided at the center. In addition, the grip portion 64 has an opening 64A that opens to the rear, and the user can grip the grip portion 64 by inserting a finger into the opening 64A. That is, the user inserts his / her hand from the rear end side of the opening 21 </ b> A of the housing 21 and grips the grip portion 64.

  In the process cartridge 6, the surface of the rotating photosensitive drum 61 is uniformly charged by a charger and then exposed by high-speed scanning of laser light from the scanner unit 5. As a result, the potential of the exposed portion is lowered, and an electrostatic latent image based on the image data is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 61.

  Next, the toner stored in the toner storage chamber is supplied to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 61 by the developing roller 63, and a toner image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 61. Thereafter, the paper P is transported between the photosensitive drum 61 and the transfer roller 62, whereby the toner image carried on the surface of the photosensitive drum 61 is transferred onto the paper P.

  The fixing device 7 is disposed behind the device main body 2 and above the process cartridge 6, and mainly includes a heating roller 71 and a pressure roller 72.

The heating roller 71 is a member that heats the paper P, and a heat source (not shown) such as a halogen lamp is provided inside the heating roller 71.
The pressure roller 72 is a member that sandwiches and conveys the paper P with the heating roller 71 and is provided obliquely above the heating roller 71.

  In the fixing device 7 configured as described above, the toner transferred onto the paper P is thermally fixed while the paper P passes between the heating roller 71 and the pressure roller 72. The paper P thermally fixed by the fixing device 7 is conveyed to a discharge roller 8 disposed on the downstream side of the fixing device 7, and is discharged from the discharge roller 8 to a discharge tray 9 through a discharge port 22C. The

<Detailed configuration around the discharge roller>
Next, a detailed configuration around the discharge roller 8 which is a characteristic part of the present invention will be described.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the discharge roller 8 includes a first roller 81 and a second roller 82.

  Each of the first rollers 81 is located at a position that does not overlap the gripping portion 64 in the axial direction of the discharge roller 8 away from the gripping portions 64 on both sides in the left-right direction of the gripping portion 64 of the process cartridge 6 attached to the housing 21. These are provided one by one (see FIG. 3) and are rotatably supported by the fixing frame 100. The first roller 81 is exposed through the opening 21A when the top cover 22 is opened and the opening 21A is opened.

  Specifically, the fixing frame 100 is a frame that holds the heating roller 71 and the pressure roller 72. The fixing frame 100 is provided above the process cartridge 6 attached to the housing 21. The front wall 110 of the fixing frame 100 faces the wall portion 22B of the top cover 22 when the top cover 22 closes the opening 21A, and the edge of the opening 21A when the top cover 22 opens the opening 21A. It has become.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the fixing frame 100 has a roller support portion 120 that supports the first roller 81 on the front wall 110. The roller support 120 extends in a flat plate shape from the front wall 110 toward the front, and is provided corresponding to both ends of the shaft of each first roller 81. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, when the top cover 22 closes the opening 21A, the roller support portion 120 has a part of the first roller 81 protruding from the discharge port 22C and the notch 22D to the discharge tray 9 side. It protrudes from the front wall 110 to such an extent that it does.

  Then, the first roller 81 is rotatably supported by the roller support portion 120, so that the front wall 110 of the fixing frame 100 is opened when the top cover 22 opens the opening 21A as shown in FIG. Projecting toward the mounting path of the process cartridge 6.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the second roller 82 is rotatably supported by the top cover 22, faces the first roller 81 with the top cover 22 closed, The paper P is sandwiched between them.

  The second roller 82 has a roller shaft 82A and two rubber rollers 82B arranged on the left and right in the paper width direction of the roller shaft 82A. The rubber roller 82B is provided at a position facing the first roller 81. The roller shaft 82A is rotationally driven in response to a driving force from a motor (not shown) provided in the apparatus main body 2.

According to the above, the following effects can be obtained in the present embodiment.
When attaching / detaching the process cartridge 6 to / from the housing 21, the user holds and operates the holding portion 64. At this time, as shown in FIG. 2, the gripping portion 64 passes in the vicinity of the first roller 81 exposed through the opening 21A.

  At this time, since the first roller 81 is disposed at a position different from the grip portion 64 of the process cartridge 6 in the left-right direction, the user holds the grip portion 64 and attaches / detaches the process cartridge 6 to / from the casing 21. When doing so, the first roller 81 does not get in the way.

  The first roller 81 protrudes from the front wall 110 of the fixing frame 100 toward the mounting path of the process cartridge 6, but the first roller 81 is disposed at a position different from the grip portion 64 in the left-right direction. Therefore, the user can put a hand between the two first rollers 81. Thereby, when the process cartridge 6 is attached / detached with the grip portion 64, the space for the user's hand is widened, so that the operation becomes easy.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the paper P passing through the discharge roller 8 is conveyed with the printing surface facing downward, but the second roller 82 having the rubber roller 82B is supported by the top cover 22. The rubber roller 82B can be prevented from hitting the printing surface.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment. About a concrete structure, it can change suitably in the range which does not deviate from the meaning of this invention.

  In the above-described embodiment, the grip portion 64 is provided at the center portion in the left-right direction of the process cartridge 6, and the first roller 81 is disposed outside the grip portion 64 in the left-right direction. It is not limited. For example, the first roller may be disposed in the center portion in the left-right direction, and the grip portion may be provided on the outer side in the left-right direction than the first roller.

  In the above embodiment, two first rollers 81 are provided. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the number of first rollers 81 may be one, or three or more. It may be.

  In the above embodiment, the first roller 81 is provided so that a part of the first roller 81 protrudes from the front wall 110 of the fixing frame 100. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the first roller 81 may be provided so as to protrude entirely from the front wall 110 of the fixing frame 100.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the top cover 22 provided in the upper part of the housing | casing 21 was illustrated as a cover, this invention is not limited to this. For example, the cover may be a cover that is provided on a side surface of the housing and opens and closes an opening formed on the side surface.

  In the embodiment, the paper P such as a thick paper, a postcard, and a thin paper is used as an example of the recording sheet. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be an OHP sheet, for example.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Laser printer 2 Apparatus main body 6 Process cartridge 8 Discharge roller 9 Discharge tray 21 Case 21A Opening 22 Top cover 22C Discharge port 64 Grasping part 81 1st roller 82 2nd roller 100 Fixing frame P Paper

Claims (5)

An apparatus main body having a housing having an opening and a cover for opening and closing the opening;
A process cartridge detachable from the housing through the opening;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a discharge roller provided so as to be exposed through the opening when the opening is opened, and discharging a recording sheet in the housing to the outside of the housing;
The process cartridge has a grip portion to be gripped when attaching and detaching,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the discharge roller is disposed at a position different from the grip portion in the axial direction of the discharge roller.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the grip portion is provided at a central portion in the axial direction of the process cartridge. The apparatus main body has a support member,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the discharge roller is supported by the support member, and at least a part of the discharge roller protrudes from the support member toward the mounting path of the process cartridge. The cover is a top cover provided on an upper portion of the housing;
On the upper surface of the cover, a discharge tray for stacking recording sheets discharged out of the housing by the discharge roller is provided,
The cover has a cover side opening at a position corresponding to the discharge roller in a state where the opening is closed,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the discharge roller protrudes from the cover side opening toward the discharge tray in a state where the cover closes the opening. The apparatus main body has a support member,
The discharge roller includes a first roller supported by the support member, and a second roller provided opposite to the first roller and sandwiching a recording sheet between the first roller,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second roller is supported by the cover.

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