JP2014143336A - Cooling device, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently cool a plurality of cooling target parts in a limited space.SOLUTION: A cooling device comprises: air blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K that send out air streams used for cooling image forming units 2Y, 2M, 2C, and 2K, and are arranged in line inside an apparatus body 101 of an image forming apparatus 100; an opening 141 that is arranged opposite to the air blowing member 4M of the air blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K, and receives the inflow of the air streams from the air blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K; and a collective flow passage 140 that collects the air streams sent out by the air blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K. The air blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K send out the air streams in a pre-set direction, and the air stream with high speed of the sent out air streams is sent out without interference with inflow areas L1, L2, L3, and L4 that are different from one another at the opening 141.

Description

  The present invention relates to a cooling device and an image forming apparatus that cools the inside of the device with the cooling device.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic system such as a copying machine or a printer, a cooling device is used that generates an air flow with a blowing member such as an electric fan and reduces the temperature rise in the apparatus by this air flow. Yes.

  In Patent Document 1, in order to efficiently and surely cool a plurality of cooled parts using a limited space, air is supplied to the cooled parts. Disclosed is a cooling device that installs air means and guides air exhausted from a plurality of exhaust passages installed in each of a plurality of parts to be cooled to the gathering passage from the collecting passage to the delivery passage without interfering with each other. Has been.

  However, it has been difficult for the conventional cooling device to efficiently cool a plurality of parts to be cooled using a limited space. That is, for example, in a tandem color image forming apparatus, a plurality of image forming units are arranged in parallel, and a developing device, a charging device, and the like are arranged in these image forming units. In some cases, these image forming units are heated up due to heat received from other members such as a fixing device or heat generated by itself (for example, frictional heat generated from a rotating member) to cause a problem. In particular, when the developing device of the developing unit reaches a high temperature, the toner accommodated therein is fixed, and an abnormality occurs on the output image.

  In order to solve such a problem, air is surely supplied to each image forming unit (cooled unit) and air is sucked from each image forming unit and then merged. It is necessary to collectively send them out of the image forming apparatus. However, if the air exhausted from multiple image forming units close to each other interferes with each other, the flow of air supplied to and exhausted from the image forming unit stagnate, and the air flow efficiency of the multiple image forming units is reduced. There was a problem of reduction.

  Moreover, it is difficult for the invention of Patent Document 1 to improve the exhaust efficiency. That is, as shown in FIG. 20, when the airflows 201, 202, 203, and 204 that have cooled the image forming portion pass through the bent portion 211 of the collecting channel 210, the airflow 204 that is closest to the bent portion 211 is bent. The wall portion 212 of the portion 211 hits and becomes a resistance, resulting in a problem that exhaust efficiency is lowered.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an image forming apparatus capable of efficiently cooling a plurality of cooled parts in a limited space.

  In the cooling device according to the present invention, a plurality of blowing members that send out an air flow that cools a member to be cooled are arranged in a row in the device body, and a part of the plurality of blowing members is opposed to some of the blowing members. Provided with an opening through which airflows from the plurality of blowing members flow in, and a collecting flow path for collecting the airflows sent out by the plurality of blowing members, wherein the plurality of blowing members are set in advance. An air flow is sent in a direction, and a high-speed air flow out of the sent air flows flows in without interfering with different inflow areas set in advance in the opening.

  According to the present invention, since the direction in which the air blowing member sends the air flow is set according to the arrangement of the cooled parts, the plurality of cooled parts can be efficiently cooled in a limited space without interference of the air flow. can do.

1 is an overall configuration diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing an image forming unit of the image forming apparatus. 2 is a perspective view showing an internal structure of the image forming apparatus. FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a front cover of the image forming apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the air supply hole of the front side cover of the image forming apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the communicating hole of the front side cover of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 2 is a front view showing an image forming unit of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 3 is a front view showing a rear unit of the image forming apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the ventilation member of the image forming apparatus. It is a front view which shows the state which removed the ventilation member in the back unit of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 3 is a front view showing a rear unit of the image forming apparatus. It is a figure which shows the simulation result of the airflow inside the image forming apparatus which concerns on a comparative example. It is a figure which shows the quick air flow in FIG. It is a figure which shows the simulation result of the air flow inside an apparatus in Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows the flow of the quick air in FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an air flow in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state of the inflow area | region to the opening part of the ventilation member of the image forming apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of the image forming apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state of the inflow area | region to the opening part of the ventilation member of the image forming apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 2 of the image forming apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the state of the inflow area | region to the opening part of the ventilation member of the image forming apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 4 of the image forming apparatus which concerns on this invention. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the air flow inside a conventional image forming apparatus.

  A cooling device and an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment for carrying out the present invention will be described. Hereinafter, an electrophotographic printer will be described as an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. First, the basic configuration of the image forming apparatus will be described. FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged view illustrating an image forming unit of the image forming apparatus.

  As shown in FIG. 1, four cartridges 32 </ b> Y, 32 </ b> M, 32 </ b> C, and 32 </ b> K corresponding to the respective colors (yellow, magenta, cyan, and black) are stored in the cartridge housing portion 31 above the apparatus main body 101 of the image forming apparatus 100. It is installed detachably (changeable). An intermediate transfer unit 15 is disposed below the cartridge housing portion 31. Image forming portions 2Y, 2M, 2C, and 2K corresponding to the respective colors (yellow, magenta, cyan, and black) are arranged in parallel so as to face the intermediate transfer belt 18 of the intermediate transfer unit 15. Photosensitive drums 21Y, 21M, 21C, and 21K, developing devices 23Y, 23M, 23C, and 23K are installed in the image forming units 2Y, 2M, 2C, and 2K.

  As shown in FIG. 2, each color image forming unit 2 includes a photosensitive drum 21, a charging device 24, a developing device 23, a cleaning device 22, and a charge eliminating device (not shown) disposed around the photosensitive drum 21. Etc.) etc. Then, an image forming process (charging process, exposure process, developing process, transfer process, cleaning process) is performed on the photosensitive drum 21, and an image of each color is formed on the photosensitive drum 21. The image forming units 2Y, 2M, 2C, and 2K for each color have substantially the same structure except that the color of the toner to be used is different. Therefore, in FIG. It is shown with (Y, C, M, K) removed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, each of the photosensitive drums 21Y, 21M, 21C, and 21K is driven to rotate counterclockwise in FIG. 1 by a drive motor (not shown). As shown in FIG. 2, the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 is uniformly charged at the position of the charging device 24 (this is a charging process). Thereafter, the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 reaches the irradiation position of the laser beam L emitted from the exposure apparatus, and an electrostatic latent image is formed by exposure scanning at this position (this is an exposure process). The charging device 24 is of a scorotron type, and is composed of a charging wire, a grid electrode, or the like.

  Thereafter, the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 reaches a position facing the developing device 23, and the electrostatic latent image is developed at this position to form a toner image (this is a developing step). Thereafter, the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 reaches a position facing the intermediate transfer belt 18 and the first transfer bias roller 17, and the toner image on the photosensitive drum 21 is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 18 at this position. (This is the primary transfer step). At this time, a small amount of untransferred toner remains on the photosensitive drum 21.

  Thereafter, the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 reaches a position facing the cleaning device 22, and untransferred toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 21 is collected at this position (this is a cleaning process). Finally, the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 reaches a position facing a static eliminator (not shown), and the residual potential on the photosensitive drum 21 is removed at this position. Thus, a series of image forming processes performed on the photosensitive drum 21 is completed.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the intermediate transfer belt 18 onto which the toner images of the respective colors formed on the photosensitive drums 21Y, 21M, 21C, and 21K are transferred in a superimposed manner through the development process is a secondary transfer roller 19. Reach the opposite position. At this position, the secondary transfer backup roller sandwiches the intermediate transfer belt 18 between the secondary transfer roller 19 and forms a secondary transfer nip. The four-color toner images formed on the intermediate transfer belt 18 are transferred onto a recording medium P such as transfer paper conveyed to the position of the secondary transfer nip. At this time, untransferred toner that has not been transferred to the recording medium P remains on the intermediate transfer belt 18. Thereafter, the intermediate transfer belt 18 reaches the position of the intermediate transfer cleaning device. At this position, the untransferred toner on the intermediate transfer belt 18 is collected. Thus, a series of transfer processes performed on the intermediate transfer belt 18 is completed.

  Here, the recording medium P transported to the position of the secondary transfer nip is transported from a paper feed unit 26 disposed below the apparatus main body 101 via a paper feed roller 27, a registration roller pair 28, and the like. It is a thing. Specifically, a plurality of recording media P such as transfer paper are stored in the paper supply unit 26 in a stacked manner. When the paper feed roller 27 is driven to rotate counterclockwise in FIG. 1, the uppermost recording medium P is fed toward the registration roller pair 28.

  The recording medium P transported to the registration roller pair 28 temporarily stops at the position of the roller nip of the registration roller pair 28 whose rotation drive has been stopped. Then, the registration roller pair 28 is rotationally driven in time with the color image on the intermediate transfer belt 18, and the recording medium P is conveyed toward the secondary transfer nip. In this way, a desired color image is transferred onto the recording medium P.

  Thereafter, the recording medium P on which the color image is transferred at the position of the secondary transfer nip is conveyed to the position of the fixing device 20. At this position, the color image transferred to the surface is fixed on the recording medium P by heat and pressure generated by the fixing belt and the pressure roller. Thereafter, the recording medium P is sent out of the apparatus as an output image. Thus, a series of image forming processes in the image forming apparatus is completed.

  Next, the configuration and operation of the developing device 23 will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 2, the developing device 23 includes a first developing roller 23a1, a second developing roller 23a2, transport screws 23b1 to 23b3 (auger screws), and a doctor blade 23c. Further, the developing device 23 includes a carrier collecting roller 23k, a scraper 23m, a fourth transport screw 23n, and the like. In addition, in the developing device 23, three developer transport portions B1 to B3 that transport the developer to form a circulation path are formed.

  Each of the first developing roller 23a1 and the second developing roller 23a2 has a sleeve formed of a nonmagnetic material such as aluminum, brass, stainless steel, or conductive resin in a cylindrical shape, and is rotated clockwise by a rotation driving mechanism (not shown). It is configured to be rotated. In the sleeves of the developing rollers 23a1 and 23a2, a magnet for forming a magnetic field is fixed so as to cause the developer to rise on the peripheral surface of the sleeve. The carrier in the developer spikes in a chain shape on the sleeve so as to follow the normal magnetic field lines emitted from the magnet.

  The charged toner is attached to the carrier spiked in a chain shape to form a magnetic brush. The magnetic brush is transferred in the same direction (clockwise) as the sleeve by the rotation of the sleeve. In the first developing area where the first developing roller 23a1 and the photosensitive drum 21 face each other and in the second developing area where the second developing roller 23a2 and the photosensitive drum 21 face each other, The toner adheres to the latent image on the photosensitive drum 21 to form a toner image.

  The doctor blade 23c is installed on the upstream side of the developing area, and regulates the developer carried on the first developing roller 23a1 to an appropriate amount. The doctor blade 23c in the present embodiment is a plate-like member having a thickness of about 2 mm formed of a nonmagnetic metal material (including a weak magnetic metal material) such as SUS316 or XM7.

  In addition, a carrier collecting roller 23k is installed below the second developing roller 23a2 (on the downstream side in the rotation direction) and at a position facing the photosensitive drum 21. Further, a scraper 23m is installed at a position where it abuts on the carrier collecting roller 23k. The carrier collecting roller 23k is a cylindrical body made of stainless steel or the like in which a magnet for forming a predetermined magnetic field is fixed, and the carrier that moves (flys) from the inside of the developing device 23 and adheres to the photosensitive drum 21. It is for collecting. The carrier collecting roller 23k is driven to rotate counterclockwise in FIG.

  The three transport screws 23b1 to 23b3 are each formed with a screw portion in a spiral shape on the shaft portion, and the developer accommodated in the developing device 23 is in the longitudinal direction (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 2). ) While stirring, mix and mix. The first transport screw 23b1 is disposed in a position facing the first developing roller 23a1 in the first developer transporting section B1, and transports the developer in the horizontal direction, and on the first developing roller 23a1. Supply developer.

  The second transport screw 23b2 is installed in the second developer transport unit B2. The second transport screw 23b2 is disposed below the first transport screw 23b1 and at a position facing the second developing roller 23a2. Then, the developer separated from the second developing roller 23a2 (the developer forcibly separated from the second developing roller 23a2 by the agent separation pole after the developing process) is conveyed in the horizontal direction. The first transport screw 23b1 and the second transport screw 23b2 are arranged so that the rotation axis is substantially horizontal, like the developing rollers 23a1 and 23a2 and the photosensitive drum 21.

  The third transport screw 23b3 is installed in the third developer transport unit B3. The third conveyance screw 23b3 is disposed obliquely with respect to the horizontal direction so as to linearly connect the downstream side of the conveyance path by the second conveyance screw 23b2 and the upstream side of the conveyance path by the first conveyance screw 23b1. Has been. The third transport screw 23b3 transports the developer transported by the second transport screw 23b2 to the upstream side of the transport path by the first transport screw 23b1. The second transport screw 23b2 transports the developer circulated from the downstream side of the transport path by the first transport screw 23b1 via the drop path to the upstream side of the transport path by the first transport screw 23b1.

A transport path (first developer transport section B1) by the first transport screw 23b1, a transport path by the second transport screw 23b2 (second developer transport section B2), and a transport path (first transport by the third transport screw 23b3). 3 developer transport section B3) is isolated from the wall.
Although illustration is omitted, the downstream side of the second developer transport unit B2 and the upstream side of the third developer transport unit B3 communicate with each other via the first relay unit. In addition, the downstream side of the third developer transport unit B3 and the upstream side of the first developer transport unit B1 communicate with each other via the second relay unit. In addition, the downstream side of the first developer transport unit B1 and the upstream side of the third developer transport unit B3 communicate with each other via a dropping path.

  With such a configuration, a circulation path for circulating the developer in the longitudinal direction in the developing device 23 is formed by the three developer conveying portions B1 to B3 (conveying screws 23b1 to 23b3). Note that a magnetic sensor (not shown) is installed in the third developer conveyance section B3. Based on the toner density information detected by the magnetic sensor, a developer having a predetermined toner density is supplied from the cartridges 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32K into the developing device 23.

  Here, the developing device 23 in the present embodiment is configured to discharge a part of the developer contained in the developing device 23 to the outside (agent storage container) on the wall portion of the first developer conveying portion B1. A discharge port (not shown) is provided. At the discharge port, the developer is supplied from the cartridges 32Y, 32M, 32C, 32K into the developing device 23, the amount of developer in the developing device 23 increases, and the developer surface (upper surface) of the developer conveyed is predetermined. When the height is exceeded, surplus developer is sent out toward the agent storage container (not shown). Then, the excess developer sent out from the discharge port is transported to the agent storage container after being transported by the fourth transport screw 23n. As described above, the carrier that has been contaminated and deteriorated by the toner base resin or the external additive is automatically sent to the outside of the developing unit, so that it is possible to reduce the deterioration of the image quality over time.

<Embodiment 1>
Next, a cooling device provided in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the image forming apparatus. The apparatus main body 101 of the image forming apparatus 100 includes a rear unit 110 and a front cover 120 and is configured in a rectangular parallelepiped box shape. In FIG. 3, the front side on which the operator is located is indicated by F, and the back side (back side) opposite to the front side is indicated by R.

  In the apparatus main body 101 of the image forming apparatus 100, the image forming units 2 </ b> Y, 2 </ b> M, 2 </ b> C, and 2 </ b> K that are four members to be cooled are disposed between the back unit 110 and the front cover 120. In the image forming apparatus 100, air is sucked from the front cover 120 side, air is sent from the rear unit 110 side to cool the image forming units 2Y, 2M, 2C, 2K, and the image forming units 2Y, 2M, 2C. 2K temperature rise is reduced.

  First, the front cover 120 that sucks air will be described. 4 is a perspective view showing a front cover of the image forming apparatus, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an air supply hole of the front cover of the image forming apparatus, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a communication hole of the front cover of the image forming apparatus. FIG. The front cover 120 includes a fixed panel portion 121 and open / close panel portions 122 and 123. The open / close panel portions 122 and 123 can be opened and closed. By opening the open / close panel portions 122 and 123, the inside of the image forming apparatus 100 can be accessed to replace consumables or remove jammed paper. it can.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a large number of air supply openings 124 are formed at the lower end of the fixed panel portion 121. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, vent holes 126 </ b> Y, 126 </ b> M, 126 </ b> C, 126 </ b> K, vent holes 127 </ b> Y, 127 </ b> M, 127 </ b> C communicating with the air supply port 124 inside the fixed panel portion 121 are provided on the inner surface of the fixed panel portion 121. 127K has been established. The vent holes 126Y, 126M, 126C, and 126K and the vent holes 127Y, 127M, 127C, and 127K are air intake ports 131Y, 131M, 131C, 131K, 132Y, 132M, and 132C of the image forming units 2Y, 2M, 2C, and 2K, respectively. , 132K. As a result, air is taken into the image forming units 2Y, 2M, 2C, and 2K. The structures of the image forming units 2Y, 2M, 2C, and 2K are the same. In addition, reference numerals 128Y, 128M, 128C, and 128K in FIG. 6 indicate concave portions formed on the inner surface of the fixed panel portion 121 so that the image forming portions 2Y, 2M, 2C, and 2K do not interfere with each other.

  Next, the back unit 110 will be described. 8 is a front view showing a state in which the image forming unit and the relay flow path are removed from the rear unit of the image forming apparatus, FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a blowing member of the image forming apparatus, and FIG. It is a front view which shows the state which removed the ventilation member in the back unit.

  The image forming units 2Y, 2M, 2C, and 2K are connected to the relay flow paths 3Y, 3M, 3C, and 3K and the blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K disposed in the relay flow paths 3Y, 3M, 3C, and 3K. Has been. The blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K are disposed inside the back unit 110.

  Outside air for cooling the image forming units 2Y, 2M, 2C, 2K and the like is taken in from the fixed panel unit 121 as described above. The air deprived of heat from the image forming units 2Y, 2M, 2C, and 2K is sent out by the blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K via the relay flow paths 3Y, 3M, 3C, and 3K. The communication ports of the blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K and the relay flow paths 3Y, 3M, 3C, and 3K have the same shape (circular shape in this example) regardless of the arrangement of the developing unit. Use a common one.

  The blower members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K are configured by a holding member 10 and a blower device 11, as shown in FIG. The airflow from the blower device 11 is sent out in the direction of the arrow in FIG. As the blower device 11, various blowers such as a centrifugal blower such as a sirocco fan can be used.

  In the back unit 110, the blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K are arranged in a row along the width direction (arrow W in the drawing), and the blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, A collective flow path 140 that collects the air flow sent by 4K is formed. The upper end portion of the collective flow path 140 is provided with an opening 141 through which the air flow sent from the blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K flows. The peripheral shape of the opening 141 is a rectangle, and is arranged to face only a part of the blowing members 4Y among the blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K. Moreover, the air flow guide part 150 provided with the slope part 151 is provided in the ventilation member arrangement | positioning part 130 and the opening part 141 of the assembly flow path 140 so that it may taper downward.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the air blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K are arranged in the attachment ports 12Y, 12M, 12C, and 12K formed in the air blowing member arrangement portion 130. The mounting ports 12Y, 12M, 12C, and 12K are inclined by a predetermined angle (for example, Y: 90 °, M: 60 °, C: 45 °, K: 35 °) from the horizontal direction downward, and the blowing member 4Y. 4M, 4C, 4K can be attached. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 11, the airflow from each blowing device 11 of the blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K depends on the distance from the opening 141 of the image forming units 2Y, 2M, 2C, and 2K. It flows into the opening 141 at a predetermined angle. At this time, the high-speed air flow among the air flows sent from the blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K is sent without interfering with different inflow regions of the opening.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the air flow sent from the opening 141 to the collective flow path 140 through the air flow guide section 150 is a filter member 142 that adsorbs ozone, odor, VOC, and the like from the collective flow path 140. Pass through. The air flow is sent out of the image forming apparatus 100 from the bottom surface of the image forming apparatus 100. In FIG. 11, a plane including the opening edge of the opening 141 is indicated by a two-dot chain line.

  Hereinafter, the flow of the air flow sent from the blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K will be described. First, as a comparative example, the case where the airflows sent from the blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K are directed in the same horizontal direction will be described. 12 is a diagram showing a simulation result of the air flow inside the image forming apparatus according to the comparative example, and FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a fast air flow in FIG. In each figure, the dark line shows the trajectory line of the slow air flow, and the thin line shows the trajectory line of the fastest air flow.

  In this example, the airflows from the blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K interfere with each other, the flow is stagnated, and the airflow efficiency is reduced. In the example shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the trajectory lines indicated by thin lines interfere with each other for the following reason.

  The airflow from the blower member 4Y collides with the plate member 131 immediately after being exhausted, causing a pressure loss and reducing the airflow efficiency. Moreover, since it is sent out in a direction different from the opening 141 located below, energy loss occurs due to the direction change, and airflow efficiency is reduced. Further, the air flow in the lateral direction (right direction) of the air blowing members 4M, 4C, and 4K and the direction toward the opening 141 are different. For this reason, the airflow from the air blowing member 4Y interferes with the airflow from the air blowing members 4M, 4C, and 4K.

  In addition, the air flow from the air blowing member 4M loses pressure by hitting the air blowing member 4Y, and the air flow efficiency is reduced. Further, since the air flow is sent in a direction different from the direction toward the opening 141 located below, energy loss occurs due to the direction change, and the air flow efficiency is reduced. Further, the air flow has the air flow from the blowing member 4C and the blowing member 4K in the lateral direction (right direction), the air flow in the lateral direction (left direction) of the blowing member 4Y, and the direction toward the opening 141. Interference because it is different. When the air flow from the blowing member 4Y hits the plate member 131, a leftward air flow is generated.

  Furthermore, the air flow from the air blowing member 4C loses pressure by hitting the air blowing member 4M, and the air flow efficiency is reduced. Further, since the air flow is sent in a direction different from the opening 141 located below, energy loss occurs due to the direction change, and air flow efficiency is reduced. Further, the air flow has an air flow in the lateral direction (right direction) from the blowing member 4K, an air flow in the lateral direction (left direction) of the blowing member 4Y and the blowing member 4M, and a direction to the opening 141. Interference because it is different. Here, when the air flow from the blowing member 4Y hits the plate member 131, and the air flow from the blowing member 4M hits the blowing member 4Y, a leftward air flow is generated.

  And the airflow from the air blowing member 4K loses pressure by hitting the air blowing member 4C, and the airflow efficiency is reduced. Moreover, since it is sent out in a direction different from the opening 141 located below, energy loss occurs, and airflow efficiency is reduced. Further, interference occurs because the air flow in the lateral direction (leftward direction) from the blowing members 4Y, 4M, and 4C and the direction toward the opening 141 are different. Here, the air flow from the air blowing member 4Y hits the plate member 131, and the air flow from the air blowing members 4M and 4C hits the air blowing member adjacent to the right to generate a left air flow.

  And the slow-velocity airflow among the airflows of the air blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K collides with the inclined surface portion 151 of the airflow guide portion 150 to generate a vortex as shown in FIG. This vortex loses energy and reduces airflow efficiency.

  Next, in the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment, high airflow efficiency can be obtained as follows. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a simulation result of the air flow inside the apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a fast air flow in FIG. In this example, the sending angle of the air flow of the blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K is 4Y: 90 °, 4M: 60 °, 4C: 45 °, and 4K: 35 °.

  In the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the airflows do not interfere with each other, and therefore it is possible to prevent the flow from being stagnated and the airflow efficiency from being reduced. The reason is as follows.

  The air flow from each blowing member 4Y, 4M, 4C, 4K does not hit the plate member 131 and the blowing member arranged on the right side. In addition, each air flow is directed to the opening 141 located below to reduce mutual interference.

  Next, the aim which set the ventilation members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K to the said angle is demonstrated. FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram showing an air flow in the image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. The rear unit 110 guides to the opening 141 of the collective flow path 140 so as to taper the air flow from the blower member placement portion 130 where the blower members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K are placed. And an air flow guide unit 150. The collecting channel 140 has a rectangular cross section, and the cross sectional area does not change in the vertical direction.

  In the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment, the high-speed airflow out of the airflows from the blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K enters without interfering with the opening 141 of the collective flow path 140. The exhaust angle is set to. In particular, in this example, since the opening 141 is disposed below the air blowing member 4Y, the air flow toward the opening 141 according to the distance from the filter member 142 to the air blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K. Sending direction is set.

  The airflow of each blowing member 4Y, 4M, 4C, 4K is set as follows. FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state of an inflow region into the opening of the air blowing member of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. The dimensions in the width direction (arrow W in the drawing) of the inflow regions L1, L2, L3, and L4 in the opening 141 aimed by the airflow of the blowing members 4K, 4C, 4M, and 4Y are in a relationship of L1> L2> L3> L4. To do. That is, the size of the inflow regions L1, L2, L3, and L4 along the direction of the rows of the different regions into which the airflow from the air blowing member 4K that flows into the opening 141 flows is the same as that of the air blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K. The larger the distance from the portion 141, the larger the setting. Note that the inflow regions L1, L2, L3, and L4 of the opening 141 are not strictly separated, and the air flow from the air blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K is in the inflow regions L1, L2, and L3. It is sufficient if it is blown toward L4.

<Embodiment 2>
In the embodiment, an example in which the opening 141 of the collective flow path 140 is arranged at the end of the four air blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K has been described. In the image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, it is disposed near the central portion of the blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K of the opening 141, that is, immediately below the blowing member 4M and the blowing member 4C. ing. FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state of an inflow region into the opening of the air blowing member of the image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. In the second embodiment, the air flow guide unit 150 includes slope portions 152 and 153 that are symmetrically tapered with the air flow path directed downward. Then, the dimensions of the inflow areas L2 and L3 into which the airflow from the blowing members 4M and 4C close to the opening 141 flows are reduced (L2 = L3), and the dimensions of the inflow areas L1 and L4 corresponding to the blowing members 4Y and 4K. Is made larger than the dimensions of the inflow regions L2 and L3 (L1 = L4).

<Embodiment 3>
Next, an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described. In the third embodiment, the air blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K are different along a direction (front-rear direction) that is parallel to the plane including the opening edge of the opening 141 and is orthogonal to the row direction. Place in position. And the length dimension of the direction orthogonal to the direction of the row | line | column of the inflow area | region of the opening part into which the airflow from each ventilation member 4Y, 4M, 4C, 4K flows in is set equally. As in the first embodiment, the opening 141 of the collective flow path 140 is disposed at the ends of the four air blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K. FIG. 19 is a schematic diagram showing a state of an inflow region into the opening of the air blowing member of the image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG. 19, the upper side is the front side (F) and the lower side is the back side (R).

  In the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 19, the air blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K are shifted and arranged at different positions from the front surface to the back surface. The air flow from the blower member 4Y is directed to the inflow region L5, the airflow from the blower member 4M is directed to the inflow region L6, the airflow from the blower member 4C is directed to the inflow region L7, and the airflow from the blower member 4K is An air flow having a high velocity in each air flow is sent toward the inflow region L8. Here, it is assumed that the dimensions of the inflow regions L5, L6, L7, and L8 from the front to the back of the device are all equal.

  According to the third embodiment, the blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K may exhaust the air flow with the aim of the width w of the opening 141. Therefore, the installation angles of the blowing members 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K The degree of freedom of setting increases. That is, it is not necessary to consider the interference between the adjacent air blowing member and the air flow.

2Y, 2M, 2C, 2K: Image forming sections 3Y, 3M, 3C, 3K: Relay flow paths 4Y, 4M, 4C, 4K: Blower members 12Y, 12M, 12C, 12K: Mounting port 15: Intermediate transfer unit 17: First 1 transfer bias roller 18: intermediate transfer belt 19: secondary transfer roller 20: fixing device 21: photosensitive drums 21Y, 21M, 21C, 21K: photosensitive drum 22: cleaning device 23: developing devices 23Y, 23M, 23C, 23K : Developing device 23a1: first developing roller 23a2: second developing roller 23b1: first conveying screw 23b2: second conveying screw 23b3: third conveying screw 23c: doctor blade 23k: carrier collecting roller 23m: scraper 23n: fourth Conveying screw 24: charging device 26: paper feeding unit 27: paper feeding roller 28: registration roller pair 31: car Ridge accommodating portions 32Y, 32M, 32C, 32K: cartridge 100: image forming apparatus 101: apparatus main body 110: rear unit 120: front cover 121: fixed panel portion 122, 123: open / close panel portion 124: air supply ports 126Y, 126M, 126C, 126K: Ventilation holes 127Y, 127M, 127C, 127K: Ventilation holes 128Y, 128M, 128C, 128K: Recess 130: Blower member arrangement part 131: Plate members 131Y, 131M, 131C, 131K: Air intake ports 132Y, 132M, 132C, 132K: Air intake port 140: Collecting flow path 141: Opening portion 142: Filter member 150: Air flow guide portion 151: Slope portion 152, 153: Slope portions L1, L2, L3, L4: Inflow regions L5, L6, L7, L8: Inflow area

JP 2010-32577 A

Claims (6)

A plurality of blowing members that send out an air flow that cools the member to be cooled are arranged in a row in the apparatus body,
A collective flow that is disposed facing a part of the plurality of blowing members among the plurality of blowing members, includes an opening through which an air flow from the plurality of blowing members flows, and collects the air flows sent by the plurality of blowing members With a road,
The plurality of air blowing members send out an air flow in a preset direction,
A cooling device, wherein a high-speed air flow out of the sent air flow flows in without interfering with different inflow regions preset in the opening. A tapered air flow guide for guiding air from the plurality of blowing members to the opening;
The cooling device according to claim 1, wherein a direction of an air flow to be sent is set in the blowing member in accordance with a distance from the opening to the blowing member. The opening edge of the opening is formed as a rectangle having sides parallel to the direction of the row where the blowing members are arranged,
The length dimension along the direction of the row of the different inflow regions into which the airflow from each blowing member flowing into the opening portion flows is set to be larger as the blowing member is separated from the opening portion. The cooling device according to claim 1. The opening edge of the opening is formed as a rectangle having sides parallel to the direction of the row where the blowing members are arranged,
The plurality of air blowing members are arranged at different positions on a plane parallel to a plane including the opening edge and along a direction orthogonal to the direction of the row. Cooling system.   The length dimension of the direction orthogonal to the direction of the said row | line | column of the said different inflow area | region where the airflow from the said several ventilation member which flows in into the said opening flows in is set equally. Cooling system. An image forming apparatus comprising: the cooling device according to claim 1; and an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium that is cooled by the cooling device.