JP2018124361A - Cooling device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cooling device and an image forming apparatus that can effectively use a space in the apparatus compared with a technology to attach an airflow generating device to the outside of a wall part.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus 10 comprises: a body frame 310 that is part of an apparatus body 12; an exterior part 20 that covers the body frame 310 from the outside; a fixing device 450 that is arranged inside the body frame 310; and a fourth fan device 700 that generates an airflow for cooling. The fourth fan device 700 is attached to a surface 310b inside the body frame 310.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a cooling device and an image forming apparatus.

  In Patent Document 1, a housing that houses an image forming unit for forming an image on a recording medium, a side wall of one of the housings is covered from the outside of the housing, and an exhaust port is formed. An exterior cover, a device accommodating space formed between one side wall portion of the housing and the outer cover, and an opening formed in the one side wall portion for communicating the inside of the housing and the device accommodating space. And an exhaust fan that is disposed in the device housing space, sucks air in the housing through the opening, and discharges the sucked air from an exhaust port formed in the exterior cover, and the device A heat generating device arranged in the housing space is connected to an air discharge port of the exhaust fan and an exhaust port formed in the exterior cover, and a communication portion is formed in the wall portion on the heat generating device side to communicate the inside and outside. A duct portion, and the image forming portion is a peripheral surface. An image carrier that carries the electrostatic latent image, a developing unit that develops the electrostatic latent image on the peripheral surface of the image carrier as a toner image, and a transfer that transfers the toner image on the surface of the image carrier to a recording medium And a fixing device that thermally fixes the toner image transferred to the recording medium, and the exhaust fan is attached to a portion of the one side wall adjacent to the fixing device, and the heating device is A plurality of heating devices are provided, and one of the plurality of heat generating devices is a motor for driving the image carrier, and the motor passes through the one side wall and rotates to the image carrier. An output shaft that is integrally connected, a cylindrical rotor that is rotatably connected to the output shaft in the device housing space, and a blade portion that is formed on the peripheral surface of the rotor, An image forming apparatus is described.

  Patent Document 2 discloses an image forming unit, a transfer device that transfers a visible image formed by the image forming unit to a recording medium, a fixing device that fixes the transferred visible image to a recording medium, An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit or / and a driving unit for driving the fixing device, wherein an air flow is generated in the vicinity of the fixing device and the driving unit constituting the heat generating unit from the heat generating unit. One end in the extension direction opens in the support wall that supports the exhaust heat part in the vicinity of the heat generating part, and the other end in the extension direction exhausts the collected hot air or cools air so that the generated heat is discharged. An exhaust heat duct arranged to be connected to forced intake / exhaust means for taking in air, and the fixing wall is connected to an opening at one end in the extension direction of the exhaust heat duct. Equipment A dam plate is provided along the hand direction to partition the image forming unit and the fixing device, and a space formed by the dam plate and the mechanism unit of the fixing device itself extends in the direction in which the exhaust heat duct extends. An image forming apparatus is described which is configured as a rectifying space for rectifying hot air toward an opening to which one end is connected.

  In Patent Document 3, in an electrophotographic apparatus using a heat fixing device, the structure of the main body is used to be substantially isolated from the space in which the heat fixing device is disposed in a direction crossing the recording paper conveyance direction. It has a duct constituting an air passage, fan means provided on the air intake side of the duct, electrical parts arranged in the duct, and a high-temperature member arranged on the discharge side of the duct. An image forming apparatus is described.

Japanese Patent No. 595118 Japanese Patent No. 4608332 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-27531

  If there is an unused space in the cooling device body, the cooling device tends to be large. For this reason, in the cooling device, it is desirable to effectively utilize the space in the cooling device body. Similarly, in the image forming apparatus, it is desirable to effectively utilize the space in the image forming apparatus main body.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a cooling device and an image forming apparatus that can effectively use the space in the apparatus as compared with a technique of mounting an airflow generation device on the outside of a wall portion.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a wall portion that forms a part of a cooling device main body, an exterior member that covers the wall portion from the outside, a cooling object that is disposed inside the wall portion, and cooling. An airflow generating device that generates an airflow, and the airflow generating device is a cooling device mounted on an inner surface of the wall portion.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the air flow generation device generates a flow of air by rotation, a rotating body for transmitting driving to another member, a magnetic field generation unit that generates a magnetic field for rotating the rotating body, and the like. The cooling device according to claim 1, further comprising: an air flow generator that cools at least the magnetic field generation unit with the generated air flow.

  The present invention according to claim 3 further includes an enclosing member that surrounds the air flow generation device so as to block heat radiated from the cooling object, and the enclosing member extends from the air flow generation device side to the cooling object. The cooling according to claim 1, wherein a discharge hole for discharging the airflow is formed and used as at least a part of a guide portion that guides the airflow from the airflow generation device to the object to be cooled. Device.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the cooling apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, further including a substrate on which an electrical component is mounted, wherein the substrate is mounted on the wall portion.

  The present invention according to claim 5 is the cooling device according to claim 4, wherein the substrate is mounted on an outer surface of the wall portion.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, a wall portion that forms a part of the main body of the image forming apparatus, an exterior member that covers the wall portion from the outside, an image forming portion that forms an image, and an inner side of the wall portion. A fixing device that fixes an image formed by the image forming unit on a recording medium using at least heat, and an airflow generation device that generates at least an airflow for cooling the fixing device. The generating device is an image forming device mounted on the inner surface of the wall portion.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to effectively use the space in the cooling device as compared with the technique of mounting the airflow generation device outside the wall portion.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the number of parts constituting the cooling device is different from the technology having the device for generating the airflow for cooling separately from the device for transmitting the drive to other members. Can be reduced.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the surrounding member is used as the entire part of the guide member, a guide member different from the surrounding member can be eliminated, and the surrounding member is used as a part of the guide member. Compared with the technique that does not use the surrounding member as a guide member, the guide member can be made smaller.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the number of components can be reduced as compared with the technique of mounting the substrate and the drive generator on different members.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the heat generated by the airflow generation device can be made difficult to be transmitted to the substrate as compared with the technique in which the substrate is mounted on the inner surface of the wall portion.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the space in the image forming and feeding apparatus can be effectively used as compared with the technique of mounting the airflow generation device outside the wall portion.

1 is an external view of an image forming apparatus used in an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a view schematically showing a cross section of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 cut along a plane A shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating a cross section of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1, which is cut along a BB plane illustrated in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 from the direction of arrow CC shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating a cross section of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1, taken along a DD plane illustrated in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically illustrating a cross section of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1, which is cut along an EE plane illustrated in FIG. 2. It is a figure which shows the structure of the airflow generator which the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 has. It is a figure explaining the airflow which arises in the airflow generator shown in FIG. It is a 1st figure which shows the structure of the surrounding part surrounding the airflow generation apparatus shown in FIG. It is a 2nd figure which shows the structure of the surrounding part surrounding the airflow generation apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows typically the cross section which fractured | ruptured the surrounding part shown in FIG.9 and FIG.10 by the FF surface shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a first diagram illustrating main airflow generated in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a second diagram for explaining a main air flow generated in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

  Next, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an image forming apparatus 10 used in the embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 10 is an example of an image forming apparatus described in the claims, and an example of a cooling apparatus described in the claims.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 10 includes an apparatus main body 12, and the apparatus main body 12 includes an exterior part 20. The exterior portion 20 is a member that covers a body frame 310 (see, for example, FIG. 2) described later from the outside.

  A first opening / closing part 30 is attached to the front surface of the exterior part 20. The first opening / closing part 30 opens and closes with respect to the exterior part 20 as indicated by an arrow a. A second opening / closing part 40 is attached below the first opening / closing part 30 on the front surface of the exterior part 20. The second opening / closing part 40 opens and closes with respect to the exterior part 20 as indicated by an arrow b.

  The second opening / closing part 40 is a so-called manual feed tray, on which a sheet on which an image is formed is placed on the surface facing upward when opened with respect to the exterior part 20.

  In addition, on the front surface of the exterior part 20 and below the second opening / closing part 40, a drawer part 50 is mounted. As shown by the arrow c, the drawer part 50 can be pulled out to the front side with respect to the exterior part 20, and can be stored in the exterior part 20 by being moved from the pulled-out state to the rear side.

  A third opening / closing part 60 is attached to the right side surface of the exterior part 20. The third opening / closing part 60 opens and closes with respect to the exterior part 20 as indicated by an arrow d.

  Further, on the upper surface of the exterior part 20, a discharge part 22 for discharging the paper on which the image is formed is formed. Here, the paper is an example of a recording medium described in the claims.

  The exterior part 20, the 1st opening / closing part 30, the 2nd opening / closing part 40, the drawer | drawing-out part 50, and the 3rd opening / closing part 60 are formed, for example with resin.

  FIG. 2 schematically shows a cross section of the image forming apparatus 10 taken along the plane A shown in FIG. In FIG. 2, for convenience of illustration, illustration of an image forming unit 100, a transfer device 130, and the like, which will be described later, is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the first opening / closing part 30 is connected to the exterior part 20 so that it can be opened and closed with respect to the exterior part 20 by hinge parts 32, 32 used as connection means. In addition, the second opening / closing part 40 has hinge parts 42 and 42 used as connecting means (see FIG. 3, only the hinge part 42 located on the right side of the hinge parts 42 arranged on the left and right sides, respectively). 3) is connected to the exterior portion 20 so that the exterior portion 20 can be opened and closed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the third opening / closing part 60 is connected to the exterior part 20 so as to be opened and closed with respect to the exterior part 20 by hinge parts 62, 62 used as a connecting means.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a fixing device 450 is disposed inside the exterior portion 20. The fixing device 450 is an example of an object to be cooled. The fixing device 450 is disposed inside a main body frame 310 to be described later. Here, the inside of the main body frame 310 refers to a side close to the center of the space surrounded by the exterior portion 20 with respect to the main body frame 310. Details of the fixing device 450 will be described later.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, toner storage containers 410Y, 410M, 410C, and 410K are disposed inside the exterior portion 20. The toner storage container 410Y stores yellow toner, the toner storage container 410M stores magenta toner, the toner storage container 410C stores cyan toner, and the toner storage container 410K includes black toner. Is housed.

  In the following description, when it is not necessary to distinguish between the toner storage containers 410Y, 410M, 410C, and 410K, these are collectively referred to as the toner storage container 410. The toner storage container 410 can be removed from the exterior portion 20 through the opening formed in the exterior portion 20 by opening the first opening / closing portion 30, and can be attached into the exterior portion 20. It has become. In other words, the first opening / closing part 30 is an opening / closing part that is opened and closed to remove the toner storage container 410 from the exterior part 20 and attach the toner storage container 410 to the exterior part 20.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a waste toner collection container 420 is disposed in the exterior portion 20. The waste toner collection container 420 collects toner removed from the photoconductive drums 112Y, M, C, and K described later and toner removed from the intermediate transfer belt 132 described later. The waste toner collecting container 420 can be removed from the exterior portion 20 through the opening formed in the exterior portion 20 by opening the third opening / closing portion 60, and can be attached into the exterior portion 20. It is like that. In other words, the third opening / closing part 60 is an opening / closing part that is opened and closed in order to remove the waste toner collection container 420 from the exterior part 20 and mount the waste toner collection container 420 in the exterior part 20.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a main body frame 310 is disposed in the exterior portion 20. The above-described apparatus includes the main body frame 310, the exterior portion 20, the first opening / closing portion 30, the second opening / closing portion 40, the plate-like portion 50a (see FIG. 1) located on the front side of the drawer portion 50, and the third opening / closing portion 60. A main body 12 is configured. Here, the apparatus main body 12 is an example of a cooling apparatus main body, and is an example of an image forming apparatus main body. For convenience of illustration, in FIG. 2 and other drawings, only a part of all the main body frames 310 of the image forming apparatus 10 is shown.

  The main body frame 310 is used as an example of a wall portion and forms a part of the apparatus main body 12 as described above. The exterior portion 20 covers the main body frame 310 from the outside. Here, the outside refers to the side opposite to the center of the space surrounded by the exterior part 20 with respect to the main body frame 310. The main body frame 310 is made of, for example, metal, and for example, sheet metal can be used.

  For example, a plurality of substrates 650 are mounted on the outer surface 310 a of the main body frame 310. Here, the outer surface 310 a of the main body frame 310 refers to a surface facing the exterior portion 20 of the main body frame 310. For example, an electrical component 652 such as a coil (not shown in FIG. 2, see FIG. 5) is mounted on the substrate 650.

  A first motor 662, a second motor 664, and a third motor 666 are mounted on the outer surface 310 a of the main body frame 310. Here, the inner surface 310 b of the main body frame 310 refers to a surface opposite to the surface facing the exterior portion 20 of the main body frame 310. Details of the first motor 662, the second motor 664, and the third motor 666 will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a first fan device 610, a second fan device 620, a third fan device 630, and a fourth fan device 700 are arranged in the exterior part 20. The first fan device 610 is disposed on the front side in the exterior part 20 and generates an air flow so as to suck air from the front side of the exterior part 20. More specifically, air flows from the outside of the exterior part 20 to the inside of the exterior part 20 through a gap 70 (see FIG. 3) formed between the first opening / closing part 30 and the second opening / closing part 40. Generate air flow to inhale.

  The second fan device 620 is disposed in the vicinity of the left side surface in the exterior part 20. More specifically, the second fan device 620 is attached to the outer surface 310 a of the main body frame 310. The second fan device 620 generates an air flow so as to suck air from the left side surface side of the exterior part 20. A gap (not shown) through which air passes is formed on the left side surface of the exterior portion 20.

  The third fan device 630 is arranged on the rear side in the exterior part 20 and on the right side in the exterior part 20. The third fan device 630 generates an air flow so as to exhaust air to the outside of the exterior part 20. More specifically, an air flow is generated so that air is discharged from the exterior portion 20 to the exterior portion 20 through a gap 24 (see FIG. 1) formed on the upper surface of the exterior portion 20. .

  The fourth fan device 700 is an example of an airflow generation device that generates an airflow for cooling. The fourth fan device 700 is attached to the inner surface 310 b of the main body frame 310. Details of the fourth fan device 700 will be described later.

  In general, on the outer surface 310a side of the main body frame, a fixing device 450, an image forming unit 100 described later, a clutch device for driving an intermediate transfer belt 132 described later, a drive transmission mechanism such as a gear member, and electrical components In many cases, a substrate such as the substrate 650 provided with 652 and a drive source such as the first motor 662, the second motor 664, and the third motor 666 are mounted.

  As described above, the reason why the substrate 650 and the like are often attached to the outer surface 310a of the main body frame 310 is that the substrate 650 and the like are compared with the case where the substrate 650 and the like are attached to the inner surface 310b of the main body frame 310. This is because it is easy to replace and repair. That is, when the board 650 or the like is mounted on the inner surface 310b of the main body frame 310, the main body frame 310 needs to be removed when the board 650 or the like is replaced or repaired. This is because if the substrate 650 or the like is attached to the surface 310a, the substrate 650 or the like can be repaired or replaced if the exterior portion 20 is removed without removing the main body frame 310.

  As described above, since the board 650 or the like is often mounted on the outer surface 310a of the main body frame 310, a fan device such as the fourth fan device 700 is provided on the outer surface 310a of the main body frame 310, for example. There is a possibility that a sufficient space for mounting cannot be secured. On the other hand, in this embodiment, by mounting the fourth fan device 700 on the inner surface 310b of the main body frame 310, the space on the inner surface side of the main body frame 310 is effectively utilized, A space for arranging the fourth fan device 700 is secured.

  As described above, when the fourth fan device 700 is attached to the inner surface 310b of the main body frame 310, a space for disposing the fourth fan device 700 in the exterior portion 20 is easily secured, but the device generates heat. A certain fixing device 450 and the fourth fan device 700 tend to be close to each other. For this reason, when the fourth fan device 700 is mounted on the inner surface 310b of the main body frame 310, the fourth fan device 700 may be easily affected by the heat generated by the fixing device 450.

  For this reason, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, a surrounding portion 770 is provided, and the surrounding portion 770 surrounds the fourth fan device 700 so as to block the heat radiated from the fixing device 450. Details of the surrounding portion 770 will be described later.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section of the image forming apparatus 10 taken along the plane BB shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the above-described fixing device 450 includes a heating roll 452 having a heat source such as a halogen lamp, and a pressing member 454 that presses the paper against the heating roll 452.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the image forming unit 100 is disposed in the exterior unit 20. The image forming unit 100 employs an electrophotographic method, and forms an image on a sheet. The image forming unit 100 includes, for example, four image forming units 110Y, 110M, 110C, and 110K. The image forming unit 110Y forms a yellow toner image, the image forming unit 110M forms a magenta image, the image forming unit 110C forms a cyan image, and the image forming unit 110K forms a black toner image.

  The image forming unit 110K includes a photosensitive drum 112K used as an image carrier, a charging device 114K that charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 112K, and a latent image forming device 116K that forms a latent image on the photosensitive drum 112K. A developing device 118K that develops a latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 112K, and a cleaning device 122K that cleans the surface of the photosensitive drum 112K after transferring a black toner image to an intermediate transfer belt 132, which will be described later. .

  Similarly, the image forming unit 110Y includes a photosensitive drum 112Y, a charging device 114Y, a latent image forming device 116Y, a developing device 118Y, and a cleaning device 122Y. Similarly, the image forming unit 110M includes a photosensitive drum 112M, a charging device 114M, a latent image forming device 116M, a developing device 118M, and a cleaning device 122M. Similarly, the image forming unit 110C includes a photosensitive drum 112C, a charging device 114C, a latent image forming device 116C, a developing device 118C, and a cleaning device 122C.

  A transfer device 130 is further disposed inside the exterior portion 20. The transfer device 130 includes an intermediate transfer belt 132 that is an example of an intermediate transfer member. The intermediate transfer belt 132 is suspended by a plurality of roller members, and the drive is transmitted from a drive roll 134 that is one of the plurality of roller members that suspend the intermediate transfer belt 132. Rotate in the direction of the arrow.

  The transfer device 130 further includes primary transfer devices 136Y, 136M, 136C, and 136K. The primary transfer device 136Y transfers the yellow toner image formed on the surface of the photoreceptor drum 112Y to the intermediate transfer belt 132, and the primary transfer device 136M performs magenta toner formed on the surface of the photoreceptor drum 112M. The image is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 132, and the primary transfer device 136C transfers the cyan toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 112C to the intermediate transfer belt 132. The primary transfer device 136K The black toner image formed on the surface of 112K is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 132.

  The transfer device 130 further includes a secondary transfer device 138. The secondary transfer device 138 further transfers the toner image transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 132 onto a sheet.

  The transfer device 130 further includes a cleaning device 142 that cleans the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 132 and removes toner and the like remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 132 from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 132.

  A paper feeding device 500 is further arranged in the exterior unit 20. The paper feeding device 500 includes a paper storage unit 502 that stores paper. The paper storage unit 502 is attached to the drawer 50 and can be pulled out of the exterior 20 as an integral part of the drawer 50 and can be attached to the exterior 20 as an integral part of the drawer 50.

  The sheet feeding device 500 further includes a main delivery roll 504. The main delivery roll 504 sends out the paper stored in the paper storage unit 502 toward the secondary transfer device 138 side.

  The paper feeding device 500 further includes an auxiliary delivery roll 506. The auxiliary sending roll 506 sends out a sheet placed on the upper side of the second opening / closing part 40 toward a registration roll 536 described later in a state where the second opening / closing part 40 is opened with respect to the exterior part 20.

  A transport path 530 for transporting paper is formed in the exterior unit 20, and the transport path 530 includes a main transport path 532 and an auxiliary transport path 534. The main transport path 532 is used for transporting paper from the paper storage unit 502 toward the discharge unit 22. Along the main conveyance path 532, in order from the upstream side in the sheet conveyance direction, the main delivery roll 504, the conveyance roll 540, the registration roll 536, the secondary transfer device 138, and the fixing device 450 described above. A discharge roll 538 is disposed.

  The transport roll 540 transports the paper toward the registration roll 536.

  The registration roll 536 corrects the skew of the paper and sends the paper with the corrected skew to the secondary transfer device 138 at a predetermined timing.

  The discharge roll 538 discharges the sheet on which the toner image is fixed by the fixing device 450 to the discharge unit 22.

  The auxiliary conveyance path 534 is used for conveying a sheet from the auxiliary delivery roll 506 to the registration roll 536.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing the image forming apparatus 10 in a state where the third opening / closing part 60 is removed from the exterior part 20 from the arrow CC direction shown in FIG. As described above, the waste toner collection container 420 can be removed from the exterior portion 20 through the opening formed in the exterior portion 20 by opening the third opening / closing portion 60, and into the exterior portion 20. It can be installed.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section of the image forming apparatus 10 taken along the DD plane shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, on the outer surface 310a of the main body frame 310, the third fan device 620, the substrate 650, the first motor 662, the second motor 664, and the third motor 666 are as described above. It is attached to.

  Here, the first motor 662 is connected to the photosensitive drums 112Y, 112M, and 112C via a drive transmission mechanism (not shown) having a gear or the like, for example, and drives the photosensitive drums 112Y, 112M, and 112C. . The second motor 664 is connected to the developing devices 118Y, 118M, and 118C via a drive transmission mechanism (not shown) having, for example, gears, and drives the developing devices 118Y, 118M, and 118C. The third motor 666 is connected to the developing device 118K via a drive transmission mechanism (not shown) having a gear or the like, for example, and drives the developing device 118K.

  6 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section of the image forming apparatus 10 taken along the line EE shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the fourth fan device 700 and the surrounding portion 770 are mounted on the inner surface 310b of the main body frame 310 as described above. As shown in FIG. 6, a storage body 790 that stores a drive transmission mechanism 810 (see FIG. 11) to be described later is attached to the inner surface 310 a of the main body frame 310. Details of the storage body 790 will be described later.

  FIG. 7 shows a fourth fan device 700. As shown in FIG. 7, the fourth fan device 700 has a rotation shaft 702. The rotating shaft 702 is an example of a rotating body that rotates to transmit driving to other members. Examples of other members that transmit the drive by the rotating shaft 702 include a fixing device 450, a developing device 118K, and a driving roll 134 (see FIG. 11). The rotating shaft 702 is attached to the motor housing 706 using bearings 704 and 704.

  The fourth fan device 700 further includes an iron core member 710 and a winding part 712. The iron core member 710 is a so-called stator and is fixed to the motor housing 706. Winding portion 712 is a so-called coil, and is formed of a conductive thin wire wound around iron core member 710.

  The fourth fan device 700 further includes a rotor member 716. The rotor member 716 is fixed to the rotating shaft 702, and rotates at the same time as the rotating shaft 702. A magnet member 718 is mounted at a position facing the iron core member 710 and the winding portion 712 of the rotor member 716. Yes. Further, a vent hole 716a for allowing airflow to pass therethrough is formed at a position of the rotor member 716 facing a fan member 730, which will be described later. For example, a plurality of the vent holes 716a are arranged radially around the rotation shaft 702, for example.

  The iron core member 710, the winding portion 712, and the magnet member 718 constitute a magnetic field generation portion 724 that generates a magnetic field for rotating the rotating shaft 702.

  The fourth fan device 700 further includes a fan member 730. The fan member 730 is an example of an airflow generator, generates an airflow by rotation, and cools at least the magnetic field generation unit 724 by the generated airflow. Further, the fan member 730 is formed with a vent hole 730a for allowing airflow to pass therethrough. For example, a plurality of the vent holes 730a are arranged radially about the rotation shaft 702, for example. The fan member 730 has a blade portion 730b that generates an airflow. For example, a plurality of blade portions 730b are arranged radially about the rotation shaft 702, for example.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the fourth fan device 700 further includes a substrate 708 to which the motor housing 706 is fixed.

  FIG. 8 illustrates the flow of air in the fourth fan device 700. As indicated by arrows in FIG. 8, when the fan member 730 rotates and the blade portion 730 b generates an air current, the air passes through the air hole 730 a and the air hole 716 a to the space inside the rotor member 716. And air flows in. The air flowing into the rotor member 716 passes between the magnet member 718 and the iron core member 710, and further passes between the rotor member 716 and the magnet member 718 and the substrate 708. It is discharged from the space inside the rotor member 716.

  The fourth fan device 700 described above is, for example, a device that transmits driving to other members such as the fixing device 450, and is also a device that generates an airflow for cooling the fixing device 450 as described later. . For this reason, in this embodiment, when the image forming apparatus 10 is configured to include a device that generates an airflow for cooling the fixing device 450, in addition to a device that transmits driving to other members such as the fixing device 450. Compared to the above, the number of parts of the image forming apparatus 10 can be reduced.

  FIG. 9 shows an enclosure 770 and a storage body 790. As shown in FIG. 9, the surrounding portion 770 includes a side wall portion 772 and a lid portion 774. The side wall portion 772 covers a part of the side surface of the fourth fan device 700 from the side surface side. The lid portion 774 is a member that is attached to the side wall portion 772 so as to cover the side wall portion 772, and has, for example, a plurality of intake holes 774a. Further, the surrounding portion 770 is formed with a discharge hole 776 for discharging the airflow toward the fixing device 450 in a state where the lid portion 774 is attached to the side wall portion 772.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9, the storage body 790 has a side wall portion 792. The side wall portion 792 covers a portion of the side surface side of the fourth fan device 700 so as to block a portion of the side wall portion 772 that does not cover the fourth fan device 700.

  FIG. 10 shows the storage body 790 and the surrounding portion 770 from which the lid portion 774 is removed.

  As described above, since the surrounding portion 770 surrounds the fourth fan device 700, the heat radiated from the fixing device 450 can be blocked, and the heat radiated from the fixing device 450 is applied to the fourth fan member. The influence given can be reduced. Further, the surrounding portion 770 and the storage body 790 function as a guide portion that discharges the airflow generated by the fourth fan device 700 from the discharge hole 776 and guides it to the fixing device 450.

  That is, the surrounding portion 770 is used as a part of a guide portion that guides airflow from the fourth fan device 700 to the fixing device 450. For this reason, in the present embodiment, in comparison with the technique having a guide unit that guides the airflow from the fourth fan device to the fixing device 450, in addition to the surrounding portion 770 for blocking heat radiation from the fixing device 450. The number of parts can be reduced.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically showing a cross section of the surrounding portion 770 and the storage body 790 taken along the plane FF shown in FIG. 9. The fourth fan device 700 is surrounded by the enclosure 770 and the storage body 790 as described above. Further, the rotating shaft 702 of the fourth fan device 700 is connected to the fixing device 450, the developing device 118K, and the driving roll 134 via a drive transmission mechanism 750 having, for example, gears, a clutch device, and the like. Drive is transmitted to the device 118K and the drive roll 134.

  The storage body 790 includes, for example, a gear and a clutch, and stores a drive transmission mechanism 810 that transmits drive from the motor 812 to the discharge roll 538.

  12 and 13 illustrate the flow of air in the image forming apparatus 10. As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the first fan device 610 and the second fan device 620 generate an air current so that air flows into the exterior portion 20. In addition, the fourth fan device 700 generates an air flow from the front side to the rear side of the image forming apparatus 10 at a position above the intermediate transfer belt 132.

  Further, the fourth fan device 700 generates an air flow toward the fixing device 450. In addition, the third fan device generates an air flow from the left side to the right side at a position above the fixing device 450 and an air flow that discharges air to the outside of the exterior unit 20.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Image forming apparatus 20 ... Exterior part 100 ... Image forming part 310 ... Main body frame 310a ... Outer surface 310b ... Inner surface 450 ... Fixing device 650 ... Board 652 ... Electrical component 700 ... Fourth fan device 702 ... Rotating shaft 724 ... Magnetic field generator 730 ... Fan member 770 ... Enclosure 776 ... Discharge hole

Claims (6)

A wall that forms part of the cooling device body;
An exterior member covering the wall from the outside;
A cooling object disposed inside the wall;
An airflow generator for generating an airflow for cooling;
Have
The airflow generation device is a cooling device mounted on an inner surface of the wall portion. The airflow generator is
A rotating body for transmitting drive to other members;
A magnetic field generator for generating a magnetic field for rotating the rotating body;
An airflow generator that generates an airflow by rotation and cools at least the magnetic field generator by the generated airflow;
The cooling device according to claim 1. A surrounding member that surrounds the airflow generation device so as to block heat radiated from the cooling object;
The surrounding member has a discharge hole for discharging airflow from the airflow generation device side toward the cooling target, and a guide portion that guides the airflow from the airflow generation device to the cooling target. The cooling device according to claim 1 or 2, which is used as at least a part. It further has a substrate on which electrical components are mounted,
The cooling device according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is attached to the wall portion.   The cooling device according to claim 4, wherein the substrate is mounted on an outer surface of the wall portion. A wall that forms part of the main body of the image forming apparatus;
An exterior member covering the wall from the outside;
An image forming unit for forming an image;
A fixing device that is disposed inside the wall and fixes the image formed by the image forming unit to a recording medium using at least heat;
An airflow generator for generating an airflow for cooling at least the fixing device;
Have
The airflow generation device is an image forming apparatus mounted on an inner surface of the wall portion.

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