JP2018049059A - Image formation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image formation device with which it is possible to suppress a temperature rise in the device interior while suppressing leakage of noise, as compared with a construction that does not have a ventilation channel for guiding the air in the device interior drawn in from a suction port that opens toward a paper transport path in a reverse-conveyance unit downward of a fixation device to the upstream side in exhaust direction of exhaust means, without incurring an increase in device size as compared with a construction in which the axial direction of the exhaust means is not arranged so as to face the conveyance direction of the reverse-conveyance unit.SOLUTION: An image formation device of the present invention comprises: a fixation device for fixing an image to paper; a reverse-conveyance unit for conveying paper that is reversed during two-sided printing; exhaust means, arranged above the fixation device in such a way that its axial direction faces the paper conveyance direction of the reverse-conveyance unit, for discharging the air in the device interior to the outside; and a ventilation channel for guiding the air in the device interior drawn in from a suction port that opens toward a paper transport path in a reverse-conveyance unit downward of the fixation device to the upstream side in exhaust direction of the exhaust means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

  An image forming unit for forming an image on a recording medium, a fixing unit for fixing the image formed on the recording medium, and an image forming unit for forming an image again on the recording medium on which the image is fixed by the fixing unit. In the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus includes an in-apparatus airflow path through which the airflow can flow, and an airflow can be formed between the inside and outside of the apparatus main body via the in-apparatus airflow path. There is known an image forming apparatus in which at least a part of a re-conveying unit is arranged facing an air flow path in the apparatus (Patent Document 1).

JP 2006-184436 A

  According to the present invention, the size of the apparatus is not increased as compared with a configuration in which the axial direction of the exhaust unit is not arranged so as to face the conveyance direction of the reverse conveyance unit, and the sheet conveyance path in the reverse conveyance unit is arranged below the fixing device. Compared to a configuration that does not have a ventilation channel that guides the air inside the device sucked in from the intake opening that opens to the upstream side in the exhaust direction of the exhaust means, it suppresses noise leakage and suppresses temperature rise inside the device An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of performing the above.

In order to solve the above problem, an image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
A fixing device for fixing an image on paper;
A reversing conveyance unit for conveying the reversed paper during duplex printing;
An exhaust unit that is disposed above the fixing device so that an axial direction thereof is directed to a paper transport direction of the reversal transport unit, and exhausts air inside the device to the outside;
A ventilation channel that guides air inside the apparatus sucked from an air inlet opening toward a sheet conveyance path in the reversing conveyance unit to the upstream side in the exhaust direction of the exhaust unit below the fixing device. ,
It is characterized by that.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect,
A plurality of the air inlets are formed across the width direction of the paper in a direction intersecting with the paper conveyance direction in the reversing conveyance unit;
It is characterized by that.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect,
The ventilation channel is defined by a rib standing outside the paper conveyance path in the reverse conveyance unit and an exterior member covering the outside of the reverse conveyance unit, and the upstream side in the exhaust direction is narrower than the intake port side. Formed,
It is characterized by that.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect,
The exhaust means is an axial fan, and is provided with a deflecting plate that covers the exhaust direction downstream of the exhaust means and deflects the exhaust direction.
It is characterized by that.

The invention according to claim 5 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 4,
The deflecting plate has an R-shaped deflecting portion toward a deflecting direction at a position where the wind pressure of the exhaust means is received.
It is characterized by that.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the third to fifth aspects,
The air deflected by the deflection plate is exhausted to the outside from an opening provided in the exterior member.
It is characterized by that.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the apparatus is reversed below the fixing device without increasing the size of the apparatus as compared with the configuration in which the axial direction of the exhaust means is not arranged so as to face the conveyance direction of the reversal conveyance unit. While suppressing the leakage of noise as compared with a configuration that does not have a ventilation channel that guides the air inside the apparatus sucked from the air inlet opening toward the paper conveyance path in the conveyance section to the upstream side in the exhaust direction of the exhaust means. Temperature rise inside the apparatus can be suppressed.
According to invention of Claim 2, the temperature rise in the apparatus in the width direction can be made more uniform to an apparatus.
According to the invention described in claim 3, it is possible to suppress leakage of noise to the outside.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the exhaust direction can be changed as compared with the configuration in which the deflection plate is not provided.
According to the invention described in claim 5, pressure loss can be reduced.
According to invention of Claim 6, the leakage of the noise to the exterior can be suppressed.

1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an internal configuration of an image forming apparatus. It is a perspective view which shows the whole housing | casing containing a reverse conveyance part and an exhaust apparatus. (A) is a perspective view showing an outer surface of the reverse conveying unit, (b) is a perspective view showing a paper conveying surface of the reverse conveying unit. It is a front view which shows the flow of the air in the guide duct of a reverse conveyance part. It is a perspective view which shows the exhaust apparatus attached to the reverse conveyance part. FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view showing the air flow in the image forming apparatus.

Next, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings with reference to embodiments and specific examples. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments and specific examples.
Also, in the description using the following drawings, it should be noted that the drawings are schematic and the ratio of each dimension and the like are different from the actual ones, and are necessary for the description for easy understanding. Illustrations other than the members are omitted as appropriate.
In order to facilitate understanding of the following description, in the drawings, the front-rear direction is the X-axis direction, the left-right direction is the Y-axis direction, and the up-down direction is the Z-axis direction.

(1) Overall Configuration and Operation of Image Forming Apparatus FIG. 1 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing the internal configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 according to this embodiment.
Hereinafter, the overall configuration and operation of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to the drawings.

  The image forming apparatus 1 includes a control device 10, a paper feeding device 20, a photosensitive unit 30, a developing device 40, an exposure device 50, a paper transport unit 60, a fixing device 70, a reverse transport unit 80, and an exhaust device 90. ing.

A front cover 1 a that opens the inside of the image forming apparatus 1 forward (−X direction) is rotatably supported on the front surface of the image forming apparatus 1 when consumables or the like are replaced.
On the rear surface of the image forming apparatus 1, a rear cover 1 b that opens the reversal conveyance unit 80 is rotatably supported when a paper jam or internal inspection is performed.
On the upper surface (Z direction) of the image forming apparatus 1, an upper cover 1c serving as a discharge tray for discharging and storing a sheet on which an image is recorded is formed.

  The control device 10 includes an image forming device control unit 11 that controls the operation of the image forming device 1, a controller unit 12 that prepares image data according to a print processing request, and an exposure control unit that controls lighting of the light source of the exposure device 50. 13, power supply device 14 and the like. The power supply device 14 supplies a voltage to be applied to the charging roller 32, the developing roller 42, and the like.

  The controller unit 12 converts image data input from an image reading device (not shown) and print information input from an external information transmission device (for example, a personal computer) into image information for forming a latent image and sets the image information in advance. At this timing, a drive signal is output to the exposure control unit 13.

  A paper feeding device 20 is provided at the bottom of the image forming apparatus 1. The sheet feeding device 20 includes a sheet cassette 21, and a large number of sheets P are stacked on the upper surface of the sheet cassette 21, and the sheets P whose width direction position is determined by a regulating plate (not shown) are one by one from the upper side. After being pulled rearward (X direction) by the paper drawer 22, it is conveyed to the contact portion of the registration roller pair 23.

  The photoconductor unit 30 is provided above the paper feeding device 20 and includes a photoconductor drum 31 in the unit housing 35 that is rotationally driven via a coupling mechanism (not shown). Around the photosensitive drum 31, a charging roller 32, a developing device 40, a transfer roller 62, and a cleaning blade 34 are arranged along the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 31.

  The developing device 40 includes a developing housing 41 in which a developer is accommodated. A developing roller 42 is disposed in the developing housing 41 so as to face the photosensitive drum 31 and is rotationally driven via a coupling mechanism (not shown), and a pair of augers for stirring and conveying the developer to the developing roller 42 side. 44 and 45 are arranged.

The exposure apparatus 50 is constituted by an LED head in which a plurality of light emitting elements (LEDs) are arranged in a line along the main scanning direction, and a photoconductor with light modulated according to image data to be formed. The surface of the drum 31 is exposed.
The exposure device 50 moves relative to the apparatus main body between an exposure position for exposing the photosensitive drum 31 and a retracted position separated from the photosensitive drum 31 via the link mechanism 51 by opening and closing the front cover 1a.

  The surface of the rotating photosensitive drum 31 is charged by the charging roller 32, and an electrostatic latent image is formed by the exposure device 50. The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 31 is developed as a toner image by the developing roller 42.

  The paper transport unit 60 corrects the posture of the paper P fed out from the paper feeding device 20 and feeds the paper P to the transfer portion TR in accordance with the transfer timing, and the driven roller 23b of the registration roller pair 23 and the photosensitive drum 31. And a transfer roller 62 for transferring the toner image formed thereon onto the paper P. In addition, the sheet P on which the transferred toner image is held is guided to the fixing nip portion of the fixing device 70 via the conveyance guide 65.

  Residual toner on the surface of the photosensitive drum 31 is removed by the cleaning blade 34 and collected in a unit housing 35 that supports the photosensitive drum 31. Thereafter, the surface of the photosensitive drum 31 is recharged by the charging roller 32.

The fixing device 70 includes a pair of heating modules 71 and a pressure module 72, and a fixing nip portion (fixing area) is formed by a pressure contact area between the heating module 71 and the pressure module 72.
The sheet P on which the toner image is transferred by the transfer roller 62 is conveyed to the fixing device 70 via the conveyance guide 65 in a state where the toner image is not fixed. The toner image is fixed on the sheet P conveyed to the fixing device 70 by the action of heating and pressure bonding by a pair of heating module 71 and pressure module 72.

  The paper P on which the fixing toner image is formed is discharged from the discharge roller pair 74 to the discharge tray portion 1c on the upper surface of the image forming apparatus 1. In the case of duplex printing, the discharge roller pair 74 is driven reversely, and is conveyed from the reverse conveyance unit 80 formed in the rear cover 1b to the registration roller pair 23 to form an image on the back surface.

  The exhaust device 90 is provided above the reversing conveyance unit 80, and the air around the photoreceptor unit 30 is passed through a guide duct 85 as an example of a ventilation channel formed outside the reversing conveyance unit 80. Exhaust outside.

2 is a perspective view showing the entire casing F including the reverse transfer unit 80 and the exhaust device 90, and FIG. 3A is a perspective view showing the outer surface of the reverse transfer unit 80. 4B is a perspective view showing the sheet conveyance surface of the reverse conveyance unit 80, FIG. 4 is a front view showing the air flow in the guide duct 85 of the reverse conveyance unit 80, and FIG. 5 is an exhaust device attached to the reverse conveyance unit 80. FIG. 6 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view showing the air flow in the image forming apparatus 1.
Hereinafter, the configuration of the reverse conveyance unit 80 and the exhaust device 90 in the image forming apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

(2.1) Overall Configuration As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a rear side of a housing F that includes a left side plate F1, a right side plate F2, a rear side plate F3, an upper side plate F4, a front side plate F5, and the like. A reverse conveyance unit 80 is disposed in the (X direction in FIG. 1).

An exhaust device 90 is attached to the right side plate F2 side above the reverse conveyance unit 80. A guide duct 85 connected to the exhaust device 90 is formed on the outer side surface of the reverse conveying unit 80.
A rear cover 1b (see FIG. 1) is attached to the outer surface of the reverse conveyance unit 80 so as to close the upper surface of the guide duct 85, and the reverse conveyance unit 80 is configured to be openable and closable so as to expose the paper conveyance surface. Has been.

(2.2) Reverse Transport Unit As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the reverse transport unit 80 has an opening 81 penetrating from the paper transport surface 80a to the outer surface 80b. A plurality of openings 81 are formed across the width direction of the sheet P in the direction intersecting (orthogonal) with the sheet conveyance direction below the fixing device 70 in the sheet conveyance direction, and constitute an intake port of the guide duct 85.

In the present embodiment, 15 openings 81 are formed between the transport ribs 82 formed on the paper transport surface 80a (see FIG. 4). As a result, air can be sucked into the guide duct 85 along the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 31 mounted on the image forming apparatus 1.
In addition, since the opening 81 is formed below the fixing device 70, the amount of discharge of VOC (volatile organic compound) or UFP (ultra fine particles) that may occur in the vicinity of the fixing device 70 to the outside is reduced. Can be suppressed.

Ribs 83 </ b> A and 83 </ b> B are erected on the outer side surface 80 b of the reverse conveying unit 80 from the position covering the plurality of openings 81 to the upstream side in the exhaust direction of the exhaust fan 91 of the exhaust device 90. The ribs 83A and 83B are covered with the rear cover 1b, so that a guide duct 85 (FIG. 2, FIG. 2) serves as a ventilation channel that guides the air inside the image forming apparatus 1 to the upstream side in the exhaust direction of the exhaust device 90. 3 and FIG. 4) are partitioned.
Thus, since the opening 81 of the guide duct 85 formed in the reversing conveyance unit 80 is covered with the rear cover 1b, the sheet conveyance sound of the sheet P conveyed through the sheet conveyance unit 80 is the opening 81. From leaking directly to the outside.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the guide duct 85 is formed so that the intake port side is wide in the width direction of the paper P, and the upstream side in the exhaust direction is substantially the same as the width of the exhaust device 90 and narrower than the intake port side. Thus, the air sucked in the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 31 can be efficiently guided to the exhaust fan 91 (the arrows in FIG. 4 indicate the flow of air in the guide duct 85).

(2.3) Exhaust Device As shown in FIG. 5, the exhaust device 90 includes an exhaust fan 91 and a deflection plate 92 disposed on the downstream side of the exhaust fan 91 in the exhaust direction, and is reversely conveyed above the fixing device 70. It attaches so that the air from the guide duct 85 formed in the part 80 may be sucked.

  The exhaust fan 91 is an axial fan, and is disposed substantially horizontally toward the upper side of the image forming apparatus 1 so that the axial direction of the exhaust fan 91 faces the sheet conveyance direction of the reverse conveyance unit 80. That is, the exhaust fan 91 is disposed horizontally toward the exhaust port of the guide duct 85 formed in the reverse conveyance unit 80, and sucks the air flowing through the guide duct 85 and exhausts it upward. The height direction of 1 is kept low.

On the downstream side of the exhaust fan 91 in the exhaust direction, a deflection plate 92 that covers the downstream side of the exhaust fan 91 in the exhaust direction and deflects the exhaust direction is provided.
As shown in FIG. 6, the deflecting plate 92 has an R-shaped deflecting portion 92 a in the deflecting direction (−X direction) at a position where the wind pressure of the exhaust fan 91 is received. Therefore, the pressure loss of the air exhausted from the exhaust fan 91 is reduced, and the decrease in the exhaust amount of the air exhausted from the opening 93 provided in the rear cover 1b is suppressed.

(2.4) Action of Exhaust Device Air in the vicinity of the photosensitive drum 31 of the image forming apparatus 1 is sucked from the opening 81 of the guide duct 85 provided in the reverse conveyance unit 80 and flows through the guide duct 85. Then, the exhaust device 90 provided above the fixing device 70 deflects the exhaust direction to the rear (−X direction) of the image forming apparatus 1 and exhausts it to the outside (see the arrow in FIG. 6).

A plurality of openings 81 of the guide duct 85 are formed across the width direction of the sheet in the direction intersecting (orthogonal) with the sheet conveyance direction below the fixing device 70 to form an intake port. The intake air 31 is uniformly cooled in the axial direction.
Further, since the opening 81 is formed below the fixing device 70, VOC (volatile organic compound) and UFP (ultra fine particles) that may be generated in the vicinity of the fixing device 70 are difficult to be sucked. , Emission to the outside is suppressed.

  The guide duct 85 is defined by ribs 83 </ b> A and 83 </ b> B standing outside the paper conveyance path in the reverse conveyance unit 80 and a rear cover 1 b that covers the outside of the reverse conveyance unit 80, and an exhaust port is located above the reverse conveyance unit 80. Are connected to an exhaust device 90 arranged in Thereby, the opening 81 of the guide duct 85 formed in the reverse conveying unit 80 is covered with the rear cover 1b, and the sheet conveying sound of the sheet P conveyed through the sheet conveying unit 80 leaks directly from the opening 81 to the outside. There is no.

  The exhaust fan 91 of the exhaust device 90 is an axial fan and is disposed substantially horizontally toward the upper side of the image forming apparatus 1. A downstream side of the exhaust direction is a deflection plate 92 having an R-shaped deflection unit 92 a toward the deflection direction. The exhaust direction is deflected toward the rear of the image forming apparatus 1. Therefore, a reduction in the amount of exhausted air is suppressed without increasing the size of the apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image forming apparatus 1b ... Rear cover 10 ... Control device 20 ... Paper feeding device 30 ... Photoconductor unit 40 ... Developing device 50 ... Exposure device 60 ... Paper Conveying unit 70 ... fixing device 80 ... reverse conveying unit 81 ... opening 83A, B ... rib 85 ... guide duct 90 ... exhaust device 91 ... exhaust fan 92 ... deflection Plate F ... Case

Claims (6)

A fixing device for fixing an image on paper;
A reversing conveyance unit for conveying the reversed paper during duplex printing;
An exhaust unit that is disposed above the fixing device so that an axial direction thereof is directed to a paper transport direction of the reversal transport unit, and exhausts air inside the device to the outside;
A ventilation channel that guides air inside the apparatus sucked from an air inlet opening toward a sheet conveyance path in the reversing conveyance unit to the upstream side in the exhaust direction of the exhaust unit below the fixing device. ,
An image forming apparatus. A plurality of the air inlets are formed across the width direction of the paper in a direction intersecting with the paper conveyance direction in the reversing conveyance unit;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The ventilation channel is defined by a rib standing outside the paper conveyance path in the reverse conveyance unit and an exterior member covering the outside of the reverse conveyance unit, and the upstream side in the exhaust direction is narrower than the intake port side. Formed,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The exhaust means is an axial fan, and is provided with a deflecting plate that covers the exhaust direction downstream of the exhaust means and deflects the exhaust direction.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The deflecting plate has an R-shaped deflecting portion toward a deflecting direction at a position where the wind pressure of the exhaust means is received.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 4. The air deflected by the deflection plate is exhausted to the outside from an opening provided in the exterior member.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus.

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