JP2015121594A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus configured to enable safe and easy maintenance of an exposure unit.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus 100 includes an exposure unit 1 housed in a housing 10, and a slot 41 having a front opening and arranged in the lower part of the housing 10. When a paper cassette 4 is removed from the slot 41, a rear face of the housing 10 in the image forming apparatus 100 can be viewed. On the rear face of the housing 10, an opening 101 is formed on the side of the front of the device body. An adjustment section 5A is arranged inside the opening 101. The adjustment section 5A can be turned, and is arranged in a position to be turned by a hexagonal wrench via the slot 41 and the opening 101. The adjustment section 5A includes a fixing nut 51A and an adjustment screw 52A. The adjustment screw 52A is fixed by the fixing nut 51A so that a head 521A is brought into contact with one longitudinal end of a reflection mirror 15. The adjustment screw 52A moves along its longitudinal direction as it is turned, to displace the reflection mirror 15.

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus including an exposure unit that forms an electrostatic latent image on the surface of an image carrier.

  In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, an exposure unit for forming an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive member is disposed below the photosensitive member, and a toner image that visualizes the electrostatic latent image is directly or indirectly provided. In some cases, a waste toner box for storing toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive member after being transferred to a sheet is disposed adjacent to the exposure unit. In addition, a paper feed cassette that can be pulled out to the outside of the apparatus main body is disposed immediately below the exposure unit.

  The exposure unit has a light source that emits laser light and a mirror that reflects the laser light from the light source toward the photosensitive member, and irradiates the surface of the photosensitive member with the laser light to form an electrostatic latent image. . In the exposure unit, the irradiation position and focal position of the laser beam affect the image quality. For this reason, at the time of maintenance after the exposure unit is accommodated in the apparatus main body, the irradiation position and the focal position of the laser beam are adjusted by adjusting the tilt of the mirror.

  During maintenance of the exposure unit, the paper cassette is taken out of the main body, the exterior panel is opened, the waste toner box is taken out of the main body, the exposure unit is taken out of the main body, and the mirror of the exposure unit Adjust the tilt. This is a very big task.

  Therefore, the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1 arranges the exposure unit near the exterior panel, removes the exterior panel, and then adjusts the mirror in the exposure unit from the outside of the exposure unit, thereby simplifying the operation. It has become.

JP 2002-277797 A

  However, in the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1, if the user forgets to turn off the power of the image forming apparatus and removes the exterior panel to perform maintenance work, there is a risk of electric shock.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of safely maintaining an exposure unit without turning off the power of the image forming apparatus.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes an exposure unit and a paper feed cassette. The exposure unit includes one or more mirrors that reflect the laser light from the light source toward the photosensitive member, and one or more adjustment units that adjust the inclination of each of the one or more mirrors, on the surface of the photosensitive member. Irradiation with laser light forms an electrostatic latent image. The paper feed cassette is disposed immediately below the exposure unit and is configured to be detachable from the outlet of the apparatus main body. The one or more adjustment units are configured to be operable from the take-out port in a state where the paper feed cassette is taken out.

  In this configuration, in the image forming apparatus, a paper feed cassette is disposed immediately below the exposure unit. The exposure unit reflects the laser light from the light source to the surface of the photoreceptor by one or more mirrors to form an electrostatic latent image. At the time of maintenance of the exposure unit, one or more adjustment units are operated from the outlet with the sheet cassette removed from the main body of the image forming apparatus. By operating one or more adjusting units, the exposure unit adjusts the tilt of one or more mirrors, and adjusts the irradiation position and focal position of the laser beam on the photosensitive member.

  Moreover, it is preferable that one or more adjustment parts displace one end part in the longitudinal direction of each of one or more mirrors. Thereby, the inclination of one or more mirrors can be adjusted only by adjusting the amount of displacement for displacing the inclination of one or more mirrors.

  The housing of the apparatus main body has an opening that accommodates the exposure unit and allows one or more adjustment units to be operated via the take-out port in a state where the paper feed cassette is taken out. The paper feed cassette is detachable below the housing of the apparatus main body.

  In this configuration, the housing of the apparatus main body accommodates the exposure unit, and the paper feed cassette is detachable immediately below the exposure unit. In addition, the housing has an opening formed below one or more adjustment portions. One or more adjustment parts adjust the inclination of one or more mirrors by being operated via an opening from an outlet. Thus, the tilt of one or more mirrors can be easily adjusted by simply taking out the paper feed cassette.

  Moreover, it is preferable that one or more adjustment parts include the adjustment screw which adjusts the displacement amount which displaces the inclination of one or more mirrors. Accordingly, the tilt of one or more mirrors can be adjusted by a simple operation of tightening or loosening the adjustment screw.

  Moreover, it is preferable that one or more adjustment parts further have the link member arrange | positioned between one or more mirrors and an adjustment screw, and the guide member which controls the movement of a link member.

  In this configuration, the link member is moved along the guide member by an operation of tightening or loosening the adjustment screw to adjust the tilt of one or more mirrors. Thereby, even when there is a distance between the one or more mirrors and the adjusting screw, the inclination of the one or more mirrors can be adjusted.

  The one or more adjustment units further include a rotatable rotation member disposed below the housing of the apparatus main body, and a conversion member that converts the rotation direction of the rotation member and transmits the rotation member to the adjustment screw. It is preferable to have.

  In this configuration, the rotation member is disposed below the housing of the apparatus main body. By rotating this rotating member, the rotation direction of the rotating member is converted and transmitted to the adjusting screw, and the adjusting screw is tightened or loosened. Thereby, since a rotation member is easy to operate, the inclination of one or more mirrors can be adjusted easily.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the housing | casing of an apparatus main body has a guide part which guides to one or more adjustment parts. Thereby, one or more adjustment parts can be easily operated by guidance of a guide part.

  The exposure unit preferably further includes an index indicating the position of one or more adjustment units. Thereby, one or more adjustment parts can be easily operated using the index as a mark.

  According to the present invention, the maintenance of the exposure unit can be performed simply by taking out the paper feed cassette from the apparatus main body.

1 is a schematic diagram viewed from the side of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic view of an exposure unit provided in the image forming apparatus as viewed from the front. FIG. 3 is an external view of the image forming apparatus viewed from the back side with the sheet cassette removed. It is an example of the adjustment part which the exposure unit has. It is another example of the adjustment part. It is an example of the adjustment part which the exposure unit which concerns on 2nd Embodiment has. It is an example of the adjustment part which the exposure unit which concerns on 3rd Embodiment has. It is an example of the adjustment part which the exposure unit which concerns on 4th Embodiment has. It is another example of the adjustment part.

  An image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 100 forms an electrostatic latent image by irradiating the surface of the photosensitive drums 21 to 24 (see FIG. 2) with a laser beam by the exposure unit 1. Is visualized as a toner image, and the toner image is directly or indirectly transferred to a sheet. The toner remaining on the surfaces of the photosensitive drums 21 to 24 after the transfer is removed by a cleaner and stored in the waste toner box 3. The housing 10 of the image forming apparatus 100 accommodates the exposure unit 1, the photosensitive drums 21 to 24, and the waste toner box 3. An outlet 41 having an opening on the front surface of the main body of the image forming apparatus 100 (hereinafter referred to as the apparatus main body) is formed below the housing 10. The waste toner box 3 is disposed on the front side of the apparatus main body and adjacent to the exposure unit 1. The paper feed cassette 4 is configured to be detachable from the take-out port 41 and is disposed immediately below the exposure unit 1.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the exposure unit 1 includes light sources 11A to 11D, mirrors 12A to 12D, a polygon mirror 13, fΘ lenses 14A and 14B, reflection mirrors 15, 16A to 16C, 17A to 17C, and 18. Each of the laser beams for each hue irradiated from the light sources 11A to 11D is irradiated to the polygon mirror 13 through a mirror group including each of the mirrors 12A to 12D. Each of the laser beams for each hue reflected by the polygon mirror 13 is irradiated to each of the reflection mirrors 15, 16A, 17A, and 18 (corresponding to the mirror of the present invention) via the fΘ lens 14A or the fΘ lens 14B. Is done. The laser beams for each hue irradiated to the reflection mirrors 15 and 18 are irradiated to the photosensitive drums 21 and 24, respectively. The laser beams for each hue irradiated to the reflection mirrors 16A and 17A are irradiated to the photosensitive drums 22 and 23 via the reflection mirrors 16B and 16C or the reflection mirrors 17B and 17C, respectively. In this way, the exposure unit 1 irradiates the photosensitive drums 21 to 24 with laser light for each hue from the light sources 11 </ b> A to 11 </ b> D to form electrostatic latent images on the surfaces of the photosensitive drums 21 to 24.

  In the exposure unit 1, since the irradiation position and the focal position of the laser beam affect the image quality, the tilt of the reflection mirrors 15, 16A, 17A, and 18 is adjusted in the maintenance after being accommodated in the housing 10, and the laser beam The irradiation position and focus position are adjusted.

  During maintenance of the exposure unit 1, first, the paper feed cassette 4 is taken out from the take-out port 41. As shown in FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus 100 is configured so that the back surface of the housing 10 can be visually recognized in a state where the paper feed cassette 4 is taken out from the take-out port 41. The rear surface of the housing 10 does not have to be configured so that the entire surface can be visually recognized, and it is only necessary that the vicinity of the outlet 41 (the front side of the apparatus main body) is visible from the outlet 41.

  On the back surface of the housing 10, one or more openings 101 to 103 are formed on the front surface side of the apparatus main body. The adjustment unit 5A is disposed inside the opening 101, and the adjustment units 5B and 5C are disposed inside the opening 102. In addition, an adjustment unit 5D is disposed inside the opening 103.

  The adjusters 5A to 5D are configured to be rotatable in both directions, and are arranged at positions that can be rotated with a hexagon wrench via the outlet 41 and the openings 101 to 103. In addition, a part of adjustment parts 5A-5D may be exposed from the opening parts 101-103.

  Also, “Y” is imprinted in the vicinity of the opening 101, “M” and “C” are imprinted in the vicinity of the opening 102, and “K” is imprinted in the vicinity of the opening 103. Yes. Accordingly, the image forming apparatus 100 can easily visually recognize the positions of the adjustment units 5A to 5D from the outlet 41, and the adjustment units 5A to 5D can incline the reflection mirrors 15, 16A, 17A, and 18 corresponding to which hue. It is possible to easily grasp whether the adjustment is made.

  Next, a method for adjusting the inclination of the reflection mirrors 15, 16 </ b> A, 17 </ b> A, and 18 by the adjustment units 5 </ b> A to 5 </ b> D will be described. In the following, the adjustment units 5A to 5D have the same configuration, and thus the adjustment unit 5A will be described as an example.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, the adjustment portion 5A includes a fixing nut 51A and an adjustment screw 52A. The fixing nut 51 </ b> A is fixed inside the exposure unit 1. The adjustment screw 52A includes a head portion 521A and a main body portion 522A, and is fixed by a fixing nut 51A so as to be inclined toward the reflection mirror 15 from the main body portion 522A toward the head portion 521A. The head 521A has an arcuate convex portion. The main body 522A is threaded on its peripheral surface, and a hole 523A that can be coupled to a hexagon wrench is formed on the opposite side of the head 521A. The main body 522A is screwed into the fixing nut 51A so that the head 521A abuts on one end (the front side of the apparatus main body) of the reflecting mirror 15 in the longitudinal direction.

  In the adjustment screw 52A, a hexagon wrench inserted from the opening 101 is coupled to the hole 523A, and moves along the longitudinal direction of the main body 522A as the hexagon wrench rotates. When the adjustment screw 52A moves to the head 521A side, the reflection mirror 15 is displaced to the opposite side of the adjustment screw 52A, and the inclination α of the reflection mirror 15 is increased. Further, when the adjustment screw 52A is moved to the hole 523A side, the reflection mirror 15 is displaced to the adjustment screw 52A side, and the inclination α of the reflection mirror 15 is reduced. In this way, the adjustment unit 5A adjusts the inclination of the reflection mirror 15.

  4B, the adjustment screw 52A may be fixed with a fixing nut 51A so that the longitudinal direction of the main body 522A is perpendicular to the housing 10. The adjustment screw 52A is the same when it is fixed so as to be perpendicular to the housing 10 and when it is fixed so as to be inclined toward the reflection mirror 15 from the main body 522A toward the head 521A. When moving along the longitudinal direction by a distance, the amount of displacement of the reflecting mirror 15 becomes smaller when it is fixed so as to be perpendicular to the housing 10. That is, the adjustment screw 52 </ b> A can finely adjust the inclination of the reflection mirror 15 as it becomes perpendicular to the housing 10.

  As described above, in the image forming apparatus 100, the adjustment units 5 </ b> A to 5 </ b> D can be freely operated from the take-out port 41 through the openings 101 to 103 with the hexagon wrench in a state where the paper feed cassette 4 is taken out from the take-out port 41. It is configured. As a result, the image forming apparatus 100 simply tilts the reflecting mirrors 15, 16 </ b> A, 17 </ b> A, and 18 without taking off the power supply, taking out the waste toner box 3, or the like. Can be easily adjusted.

  In addition, the image forming apparatus 100 adjusts the inclination of the reflection mirrors 15, 16 </ b> A, 17 </ b> A, and 18 in a state where the paper feed cassette 4 is taken out from the take-out port 41, paper cannot be fed, and image forming processing cannot be performed. Done. For this reason, when adjusting the inclination of the reflecting mirrors 15, 16 A, 17 A, 18, the paper feed cassette 4 is used as a substitute for an interlock function that stops driving the image forming apparatus 100.

  In the above-described embodiment, “Y”, “M”, and “C” are provided near the adjustment units 5A to 5D of the housing 10 in order to associate the adjustment units 5A to 5D with the reflection mirrors 15, 16A, 17A, and 18. “K” is engraved. However, seals printed with “Y”, “M”, “C”, and “K” may be attached in the vicinity of the adjustment units 5A to 5D of the housing 10, and the adjustment units 5A to 5D may be attached to “Y” and “M”. You may color with the paint of "C" "K". In other words, the image forming apparatus 100 may be provided with an index so that the correspondence between the adjustment units 5A to 5D and the reflection mirrors 15, 16A, 17A, and 18 can be understood.

  An image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Only differences from the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment will be described below.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the adjustment unit 6A includes a fixing nut 51A, an adjustment screw 52A, a link member 53A, and guide members 54A and 55A, and adjusts the inclination of the reflection mirror 15.

  The link member 53A has a rectangular shape obtained by obliquely cutting the longitudinal direction of the rectangular parallelepiped, and is disposed between the reflection mirror 15 and the adjustment screw 52A. The link member 53A has a first surface 531A facing the reflection mirror 15, a second surface 532A and a third surface 533A adjacent to the first surface 531A, and a fourth surface 534A opposite to the first surface 531A. On the first surface 531A, an arc-shaped convex portion 535A that is in contact with the reflecting mirror 15 is formed. The second surface 532A and the third surface 533A are formed perpendicular to the first surface 531A. The fourth surface 534A is formed to be substantially horizontal with the housing 10.

  The guide members 54A and 55A are arranged so that the longitudinal directions thereof oppose the second surface 532A and the third surface 533A, respectively, and restrict the movement of the link member 53A.

  The main body 522A of the adjustment screw 52A is screwed to the fixing nut 51A so that the head 521A abuts on the fourth surface 534A of the link member 53A.

  When the adjustment screw 52A is moved to the head 521A side, the link member 53A is moved to the reflection mirror 15 side along the guide members 54A and 54B, and the reflection mirror 15 is displaced to the opposite side of the adjustment screw 52A. The inclination α of the reflection mirror 15 is increased. Further, when the adjustment screw 52A moves to the hole 523A side, the link member 53A is moved along the guide members 54A and 54B to the opposite side of the reflection mirror 15, and the reflection mirror 15 is displaced to the adjustment screw 52A side. The inclination α of the reflection mirror 15 is reduced. The adjustment unit 6 </ b> A adjusts the inclination of the reflection mirror 15.

  As described above, even when the adjusting unit 6A is provided with the link member 53A between the reflecting mirror 15 and the adjusting screw 52A, the reflecting mirror 15 is disposed at a position away from the opening 101. The inclination of the reflection mirror 15 can be easily adjusted.

  For adjustment of the reflection mirrors 15, 16A, 17A, and 18, only the adjustment unit having the same configuration as that of the adjustment unit 6A may be used, or the adjustment unit having any configuration of the adjustment unit 5A and the adjustment unit 6A may be used. May be. For example, the adjustment of the reflection mirrors 15 and 17 disposed in the vicinity of the openings 101 and 103 is performed using an adjustment unit having the same configuration as the adjustment unit 5A, and the reflection mirrors 16A and 16A disposed at positions away from the opening 102 are used. For adjustment of 17A, an adjustment unit having the same configuration as that of the adjustment unit 6A may be used.

  An image forming apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Only differences from the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment will be described below.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the housing 10 has a cylindrical guide portion 7 </ b> A so as to surround the opening 101. The adjustment portion 5A is disposed inside the guide portion 7A. Thereby, since the hexagon wrench is inserted into the guide portion 7A and guided along the inner wall of the guide portion 7A, it can be easily coupled to the hole portion 523A of the adjustment portion 5A. In addition, not only the adjustment part 5A but the adjustment part 6A may be arrange | positioned inside the guide part 7A.

  An image forming apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Only differences from the image forming apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment will be described below.

  As shown in FIG. 7, when the image forming apparatus 100 </ b> A is viewed from the front side with the paper feed cassette 4 taken out from the outlet 41, the housing 10 includes operation surfaces 8 </ b> A to 8 </ b> D that are exposed from the back side.

  On the operation surfaces 8A to 8D, the rotation members 55A to 55D of the adjustment units 9A to 9D are exposed, and “Y”, “M”, “C”, and “K” corresponding to each of the adjustment units 9A to 9D are engraved. Yes. In addition, a seal | sticker may be affixed not only to a stamp, but the operation surfaces 8A-8D may be colored. In the following, the adjustment units 9A to 9D have the same configuration, and thus the adjustment unit 9A will be described as an example.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the adjustment unit 9A includes a fixing nut 51A, an adjustment screw 52A, a rotation member 55A, and a conversion member 56A. The rotating member 55A includes a head portion 551A and a main body portion 552A, and is configured to be rotatable in both directions. The main body 552A is rotated by rotating the screw thread of the head 551A with a screwdriver. The conversion member 56A includes a worm wheel 561A and a worm gear 562A, and converts the rotation direction of the transmitted rotational force. A main body 552A of the rotating member 55A is engaged with the center of the worm wheel 561A. The tip of the worm gear 562A is engaged with the hole 523A of the adjustment screw 52A.

  As described above, when the screw thread of the head portion 551A of the rotating member 55A is rotated by the driver, the main body portion 552A rotates and transmits the rotational force to the worm wheel 561A of the conversion member 56A. When the rotational force is transmitted, the worm wheel 561A transmits the worm wheel 561A to the worm gear 562A. Thus, the adjustment screw 52A can be rotated by converting the rotational direction of the rotational force only by rotating the screw thread of the head 551A of the rotation member 55A with a screwdriver. The adjustment unit 9A may include a fixing nut 51A, an adjustment screw 52A, a link member 53A, a guide member 54A, a rotation member 55A, and a conversion member 56A.

  As described above, the image forming apparatus 100 can operate the adjusting units 9 </ b> A to 9 </ b> D from the take-out port 41 in a state where the paper feed cassette 4 is taken out from the take-out port 41. As a result, the image forming apparatus 100A tilts the reflecting mirrors 15, 16A, 17A, and 18 only by taking out the paper feed cassette 4 from the take-out port 41 without turning off the power, taking out the waste toner box 3, and the like. Is easily adjusted.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the adjustment unit 9A may be provided with a spring 57A between the operation surface 8A and the head portion 551A of the rotating member 55A. When the inclination of the reflection mirror 15 is not adjusted, the main body portion 552A of the rotating member 55A is in a state of being separated from the worm wheel 561A. Further, when adjusting the tilt of the reflecting mirror 15, the rotating member 55A is rotated in a state where the head portion 551A is pushed toward the operation surface 8A and the main body portion 552A is engaged with the worm wheel 561A. There is a need. With this configuration, the rotation member 55A is prevented from being erroneously rotated.

  The above description of the embodiment is to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above embodiments but by the claims. Furthermore, the scope of the present invention is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Exposure unit 4 ... Paper feed cassette 5A-5D, 6A, 9A-9D ... Adjustment part 10 ... Housing | casing 11A-11D ... Light source 15, 16A, 17A, 18 ... Reflection mirrors 21-24 ... Photosensitive drum 41 ... Taking Exit 100: Image forming apparatus

Claims (8)

One or more mirrors that reflect laser light from a light source toward the photoconductor, and one or more adjustment units that adjust the inclination of each of the one or more mirrors, and the laser on the surface of the photoconductor An exposure unit that irradiates light to form an electrostatic latent image; and
A sheet feeding cassette that is disposed immediately below the exposure unit and is detachable with respect to the outlet of the apparatus main body,
The image forming apparatus is configured such that the one or more adjustment units can be operated from the take-out port in a state where the paper feed cassette is taken out.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or more adjustment units displace one end portion in the longitudinal direction of each of the one or more mirrors. The housing of the apparatus main body has an opening that accommodates the exposure unit and allows the one or more adjustment units to be operated through the outlet in a state where the paper feeding cassette is taken out.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet feeding cassette is detachable below a housing of the apparatus main body.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the one or more adjustment units include an adjustment screw that adjusts a displacement amount that displaces an inclination of the one or more mirrors.   5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the one or more adjustment units further include a link member disposed between the one or more mirrors and the adjustment screw, and a guide member that restricts movement of the link member. apparatus.   The one or more adjustment units include a rotatable rotation member disposed below a housing of the apparatus main body, a conversion member that converts the rotation direction of the rotation member and transmits the rotation direction to the adjustment screw, The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising:   The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a housing of the apparatus main body includes a guide portion that guides to the one or more adjustment portions.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the exposure unit further includes an index indicating a position of the one or more adjustment units.