JP2020177158A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide an image forming apparatus that allows re-attachment, to an apparatus body, of a driving unit removed from the apparatus body.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus comprises: a first unit; a second unit that is movable to a first position and a second position separated from the first position with respect to the first unit; a moving mechanism for moving the second unit; a driving unit that has a driving source for driving the moving mechanism and is removably provided with respect to an apparatus body; cam parts that are provided on the driving unit and in contact with the moving mechanism and act on the moving mechanism to move the second unit; a gear train that is provided in the driving unit and transmits drive from the driving source to the cam parts; a phase adjustment gear that is provided on the gear train from the driving source to the cam parts for adjusting the phase of the cam parts with respect to the moving mechanism; and an adjustment unit that is provided in the phase adjustment gear and has a shape corresponding to a tool for rotating the phase adjustment gear.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copier or a printer provided with a detachable drive unit.

As an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, it is provided with a plurality of photoconductors and process means (charging means, developing means, cleaning means, etc.) acting on the photoconductor, and has one belt capable of contacting each photoconductor, and has a color. There is an in-line image forming apparatus capable of forming an image on a recording material.

In addition, there is a contact development type image forming apparatus that develops with the developing roller in contact with the photoconductor. When the contact development method is used, the life is shortened due to the surface layer of the photoconductor being scraped by rubbing with the developing roller, and the waste of the developer due to the developer (toner) adhering to the photoconductor other than during image formation is recorded. There may be stains on the material. In addition, a phenomenon such as deformation of the developing roller may occur due to the contact and maintenance of the stopped state for a long time. For this reason, it is preferable to provide a separation position in which the developing roller is separated from the contact position by a predetermined amount with respect to the photoconductor.

In order to realize this, in Patent Document 1, a separation lever for abutting and separating the photoconductor and the developing roller is provided on the cartridge holding member that moves in conjunction with the opening and closing of the door, and the photoconductor and the developing roller are separated from each other on the apparatus main body side. A drive unit having an eccentric cam for operating the lever is provided. Then, the eccentric cam is rotated by the drive unit to operate the separation lever, so that the photoconductor and the developing roller are brought into contact with each other and separated from each other.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-301899

However, in the configuration of Patent Document 1, the separation lever for contacting and separating the photoconductor and the developing roller is supported by the movable cartridge holding member, and the eccentric cam for operating the separation lever is supported by the drive unit. It has a structure of Therefore, when returning the drive unit that was once removed from the device body during maintenance to the device body after maintenance, the eccentric cam and the separation lever interfere with each other depending on the positional relationship between the eccentric cam and the separation lever, and the drive unit is attached to the device body. May not be possible.

An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of reattaching a drive unit removed from the apparatus main body to the apparatus main body.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a first unit, a second unit that can be moved to a first position with respect to the first unit and a second position away from the first position, and the above. A moving mechanism for moving the second unit, a driving unit which has a driving source for driving the moving mechanism and is detachably provided with respect to the main body of the apparatus, and a driving unit provided in the driving unit and provided in the moving mechanism. A cam unit that abuts and acts on the moving mechanism to move the second unit, a gear train provided on the drive unit that transmits drive from the drive source to the cam unit, and the cam from the drive source. A shape corresponding to a phase adjusting gear provided in the gear train up to the portion for adjusting the phase of the cam portion with respect to the moving mechanism and a tool provided in the phase adjusting gear for rotating the phase adjusting gear. It is characterized by having an adjusting unit having a.

According to the present invention, a tool such as a Phillips screwdriver, a flat-blade screwdriver, a hexagon wrench, or a spanner brought by a serviceman is used to rotate the phase adjustment gear of the drive unit to adjust the phase of the cam unit for driving. The unit can be reattached to the device body.

Schematic configuration sectional view of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment Schematic diagram of the main drive unit according to the first embodiment (A) and (b) are schematic views of a drive unit in the main drive unit according to the first embodiment. (A) and (b) are front views of the process cartridge according to the first embodiment. Perspective view of the moving mechanism according to the first embodiment (A) and (c) are partially enlarged views of the front side of the device of the moving mechanism, and (b) and (d) are partially enlarged views of the back side of the device of the moving mechanism. (A) and (b) are top views of the back side of the device of the moving mechanism according to the first embodiment. Perspective view of the phase adjustment gear according to the first embodiment (A), (b) and (c) are perspective views of the phase adjusting gear according to the modified example of the first embodiment.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail exemplarily with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the components described in the following embodiments should be appropriately changed depending on the configuration of the apparatus to which the present invention is applied and various conditions. Therefore, unless otherwise specified, the scope of the present invention is not intended to be limited to them.

[First Example]
First, a schematic overall configuration of the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration sectional view of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. Here, a color laser printer is illustrated as an image forming apparatus.

In the image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, a cassette 11 for loading and loading a recording material is installed in the lower part of the apparatus so that it can be inserted and removed from the apparatus main body 2. The recording material loaded and stored in the cassette 11 is fed out from the highest recording material by the pickup roller 12 and the paper feed roller 13, and is conveyed to the secondary transfer roller 26 by the transfer rollers 14 and 15. Further, the transfer roller pair 15 has a function of conveying the recording material at the timing when the formed toner image reaches the secondary transfer portion which is the facing portion between the intermediate transfer belt 25 and the secondary transfer roller 26. There is.

The image forming apparatus 1 includes four process cartridges 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4K that are detachable from the apparatus main body 2. The four process cartridges have different toner colors, and are Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and K (black) in order from the left. In FIG. 1, the reference numerals Y, M, C, and K mean yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, respectively, but when it is not necessary to distinguish the colors in the following description, the reference numerals Y, M, C, and K are used. Omit.

As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the process cartridge 4 includes a photoconductor unit 70, which is a first unit having a photoconductor 22, and a developing unit 71, which is a second unit having a developing roller 23. It consists of. The developing unit 71 and the photoconductor unit 70 are integrated by a pin 4a. As a result, the developing unit 71 is rotatable with respect to the photoconductor unit 70 about the pin 4a, and is separated from the contact position (see FIG. 4A), which is the first position, and the contact position. It is possible to move to the second position, the separation position (see FIG. 4B). Here, as shown in FIG. 4A, the contact position is the first position where the developing roller 23 of the developing unit 71 comes into contact with the photoconductor 22 of the photoconductor unit 70. On the other hand, the separation position is a second position in which the developing roller 23 of the developing unit 71 is separated from the photoconductor 22 of the photoconductor unit 70, as shown in FIG. 4B.

The developing unit 71 having the developing roller 23 is in the first position with respect to the photoconductor unit 70 having the photoconductor 22 so as to be in the first position during image formation and in the second position during standby other than image formation. It is moved by a moving mechanism 6 (see FIG. 5) driven by a driving unit 50 (see FIG. 3). The drive unit 50 and the moving mechanism 6 will be described later.

Next, an image forming method will be described. First, the scanner 21 irradiates the photoconductor 22 in each process cartridge 4 with a laser to form an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor 22. The toner in the process cartridge 4 is delivered to the developing roller 23 via the supply roller. A development bias is applied to the developing roller 23, and the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor 22 is developed with toner. The toner image formed on the photoconductor 22 is primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 25 by applying a bias to the primary transfer roller 24. Then, the four-color toner images are conveyed to the secondary transfer unit in an overlapping state, and the four-color toner images on the intermediate transfer belt 25 are secondarily transferred to the recording material by the secondary transfer roller 26.

The recording material to which the toner image is secondarily transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 31 while holding the toner image, and heat and pressure are applied to fix the image on the recording material. The recording material that has been fixed is discharged to the paper ejection tray 34 outside the apparatus via the paper ejection roller 32.

In the case of printing on the second side by double-sided printing, the recording material that has been fixed is switched back by the reversing roller 33, and is conveyed again to the transfer roller pair 15 by the transfer rollers 41 and 42, and is transferred to the back surface of the recording material. An image is formed and ejected in the same procedure as the surface.

Here, the moving mechanism 6 for moving the developing unit 71 having the developing roller 23 to the first position or the second position with respect to the photoconductor unit 70 having the photoconductor 22, and the moving mechanism. The drive unit 50 for driving 6 will be described. The drive unit shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B so that the photoconductor 22 and the developing roller 23 of the process cartridge 4 are in a contact state during image formation and in a separated state during standby other than image formation. It is moved by a moving mechanism 6 (see FIG. 5) driven by 50. First, the drive unit 50 arranged in the main drive unit 5 will be described, and then the moving mechanism 6 driven by the drive unit 50 will be described.

A drive unit of a main drive unit for driving a moving mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3 (a) and 3 (b). FIG. 2 is a schematic view of the main drive unit according to the first embodiment. 3 (a) and 3 (b) are schematic views of a drive unit in the main drive unit according to the first embodiment, in which a contact position is shown in FIG. 3 (a) and a separation position is shown in FIG. 3 (b). Shown.

As shown in FIG. 2, the drive unit 50 is a drive unit for driving the moving mechanism, and is arranged in the main drive unit 5. In the main drive unit 5, the driving force from the main drive motor 5M is transmitted to the photoconductor coupling 5a, the developing coupling 5b, and the belt coupling 5c via a gear train (not shown), and the photoconductor 22 and the developing roller 23 , The intermediate transfer belt 25 is rotationally driven. The photoconductor coupling 5a is connected to the photoconductor 22 of each process cartridge 4 to transmit the drive to the photoconductor 22. The development coupling 5b is connected to the development roller 23 of each process cartridge 4 and transmits the drive to the development roller 23. The belt coupling 5c is connected to a drive roller, which is one of the rollers for tensioning the intermediate transfer belt 25, and transmits the drive to the drive roller.

As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the drive unit 50 transmits drive from the contact separation motor 51, which is a drive source, the cam unit 57, and the contact separation motor 51 to the cam unit 57. It has a gear train to be used. The step gear 52, the worm wheel gear 54, the worm gear 55, and the cam gear 56 are gear trains that transmit drive from the contact separation motor 51 to the cam portion 57. In the contact separation motor 51, which is a drive source, the pinion gear 51a of the contact separation motor 51 meshes with the large-diameter gear 52a of the step gear 52. The large-diameter gear 52a of the step gear 52 meshes with the phase adjusting gear 58 in addition to the pinion gear 51a. The phase adjusting gear 58 will be described later. A worm wheel gear 54 is provided on the worm shaft 53 extending in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the step gear 52, and the worm wheel gear 54 meshes with the small diameter gear 52b of the step gear 52. On the worm shaft 53, in addition to the worm wheel gear 54, a worm gear 55 that meshes with a cam gear 56 for each color is provided. The worm wheel gear 54 and the worm gear 55 are stopped by a parallel pin (not shown) with respect to the worm shaft 53. Therefore, when the contact separation motor 51 rotates, the cam gear 56 of each color is rotated via the pinion gear 51a, the step gear 52, the worm wheel gear 54, the worm shaft 53, and the worm gear 55. As a result, the cam portion 57 integrally held with the cam gear 56 of each color is rotated, and the rotation phase of each cam portion 57 changes to the contact phase and the separation phase. The cam portion 57 acts on the moving mechanism 6 so as to abut on the moving mechanism 6 (see FIG. 5) to move the developing unit 71. That is, when the rotation phase of the cam portion 57 changes to the contact phase, the moving mechanism 6 operates so as to bring the developing roller 23 into contact with the photoconductor 22, and when the rotating phase changes to the separated phase, the moving mechanism 6 moves the developing roller 23. It operates so as to be separated from the photoconductor 22.

Next, the moving mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 (a) to 6 (d). FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the moving mechanism. FIG. 6A is a partially enlarged view of the front side of the device of the moving mechanism, and FIG. 6B is a partially enlarged view of the back side of the device of the moving mechanism. FIG. 6C is a partially enlarged view of the front side of the device of the moving mechanism in which the frame is shown and the slider is not shown, and FIG. 6D is a partially enlarged view of the back side of the device. Here, the back side of the device is the side opposite to the front side (front side) of the image forming device when the side on which the operator (operator) operates the attachment / detachment of the process cartridge is the front side (front side) of the device of the image forming apparatus. (Back side).

The moving mechanism 6 is a developing contact separating mechanism for moving the developing unit 71 so as to bring the developing roller 23 into contact with or separated from the photoconductor 22. The moving mechanism 6 has a lever 60, a slider 61, a moving member 64, a pressure spring (compression spring) 65, and the like, and can move in the directions of arrows B1 and B2 shown in FIG. 5 with respect to the frame 3 of the apparatus main body 2. It is provided. The slider 61 is held by the slider guide 62 and the slider guide 63 fixed to the frame 3 so as to be linearly movable in the front / rear direction of the device (directions of arrows B1 and B2 shown in FIG. 5). The lever 60 has boss portions 60a and 60b. The lever 60 is connected to the slider 61 by movably holding the boss portion 60a in the oblong hole 61a of the slider 61. Further, the lever 60 is rotatably held in a hole (not shown) provided in the frame 3 with the boss portion 60b so as to be rotatable around the boss portion 60b with respect to the frame 3. Further, as shown in FIGS. 6 (c) and 6 (d), the moving member 64 and the pressure spring (compression spring) 65 are provided at two locations, one on the front side of the device and the other on the back side of the device. The moving member 64 has a boss portion 64a, and the boss portion 64a is rotatably supported by the frame 3, and the moving member 64 is rotatable with respect to the frame 3 around the boss portion 64a. A spring seat 66 is provided in the frame 3, and the pressure spring 65 is attached between the moving member 64 and the spring seat 66. The slider 61 is provided with a bend 61b so that it can come into contact with the rib 64b of the moving member 64.

The drive unit 50 is driven during standby other than image formation. The cam portion 57 of the drive unit 50 is rotated, the cam portion 57 comes into contact with the end portion 60c of the lever 60 provided on the device main body 2 side, and the contact portion from the rotation center of the cam portion 57 to the end portion 60c of the lever 60. As the cam radius up to is increased, the end portion 60c of the lever 60 is moved in the direction of arrow A1 shown in FIG. 6 (d). By moving the end 60c of the lever 60 in the direction of arrow A1, the lever 60 is rotated around the boss 60b, and the boss 60a of the lever 60 is moved from the front of the device to the back (direction of arrow B2). .. As a result, the slider 61 connected to the lever 60 via the boss portion 60a and the oblong hole 61a is linearly moved from the front surface of the device to the back surface direction (direction of arrow B2 shown in FIG. 5). When the slider 61 is moved by a certain amount or more, the bending 61b of the slider 61 comes into contact with the rib 64b of the moving member 64, and the moving member 64 rotates around the boss portion 64a in the direction of the arrow F1 shown in FIG. 7B. The pressure spring 65 is compressed in the direction of arrow B2 against the urging force in the direction of arrow B1. Then, the rib 64c of the moving member 64 that is rotated around the boss portion 64a moves the rib 71a of the developing unit 71 in the direction of arrow E shown in FIG. 7B. As a result, the developing unit 71 is rotated with respect to the photoconductor unit 70 about the pin 4a in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 4B, and the developing roller 23 of the developing unit 71 is moved from the photoconductor 22 of the photoconductor unit 70. Be separated. The drive unit 50 is stopped at the separation position (second position) shown in FIG. 4B in which the developing roller 23 is separated from the photoconductor 22.

On the other hand, at the time of image formation, the driving unit 50 is driven again. When the cam portion 57 of the drive portion 50 is rotated and the cam radius from the rotation center of the cam portion 57 to the contact portion with the end portion 60c of the lever 60 decreases, the pressure spring 65 is attached in the arrow B1 direction. The force causes the end 60c of the lever 60 to move in the direction of arrow A2 shown in FIG. 6D. That is, the urging force of the pressure spring 65 in the direction of arrow B1 causes the moving member 64 to start rotating in the direction of arrow F2 shown in FIG. 7A about the boss portion 64a. The rib 64b of the moving member 64 rotated around the boss portion 64a pushes the bending 61b of the slider 61, and the slider 61 is linearly moved from the back surface of the device in the front direction (arrow B1 direction). As a result, the lever 60 connected to the slider 61 via the boss portion 60a and the oblong hole 61a is rotated around the boss portion 60b, and the end portion of the lever 60 responds to the decrease in the cam radius of the cam portion 57. 60c is moved in the direction of arrow A2 shown in FIG. 6D. At the same time, the rib 64d of the moving member 64 rotated about the boss portion 64a by the urging force of the pressure spring 65 in the direction of the arrow B1 causes the rib 71a of the developing unit 71 to move in the direction of the arrow D shown in FIG. 7A. Move. As a result, the developing unit 71 is rotated with respect to the photoconductor unit 70 around the pin 4a in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. 4A, and the developing roller 23 of the developing unit 71 is the photoconductor 22 of the photoconductor unit 70. Is in contact with. Finally, the developing roller 23 of the developing unit 71 hits the photoconductor 22 of the photoconductor unit 70 when the rib 71a of the developing unit 71 is moved in the direction of the arrow D by the urging force of the pressure spring 65 in the arrow B1 direction. When they are in contact with each other, they are stopped at the contact position (first position) shown in FIG. 7A.

At the contact position (first position) shown in FIG. 7A, the slider 61 is moved to a position where the bend 61b is separated from the rib 64b of the moving member 64 at a predetermined interval, and is stopped. Has been done. After the developing roller 23 is brought into contact with the photoconductor 22, one of the sliders 61 is attached to the slider 61, and the other is further moved in the direction of arrow B1 by the force of a spring (not shown) attached to the frame 3. It is stopped by hitting the frame 3 at a position separated by an interval of. In this way, the reason why the gap (clearance) is created between the bending 61b of the slider 61 and the rib 64b of the moving member 64 is that the developing roller 23 is brought into contact with the photoconductor 22 by the urging force of the pressure spring 65. This is so as not to interfere with.

FIG. 7 shows a partial cross-sectional view of the periphery of the rib of the developing unit on the back side of the apparatus. FIG. 7 (a) is a diagram showing the relationship between the rib of the developing unit and the moving mechanism when the photoconductor and the developing roller are in contact with each other, and FIG. 7 (b) is a diagram showing the relationship between the rib of the developing unit when the photoconductor and the developing roller are separated from each other. It is a figure which shows the relationship between and a moving mechanism.

At the time of contact shown in FIG. 7A, as described above, the moving member 64 is rotated in the direction of arrow F2 by the urging force of the pressure spring 65 in the direction of arrow B1, and the developing unit 71 in the process cartridge 4 The rib 71a is urged in the direction of arrow D. In FIG. 7A, only the moving member 64 on the back side of the device is shown, but as shown in FIG. 5, the moving member 64 is also provided on the front side of the device, and the two moving members 64 pressurize each other. The urging force of the spring 65 is rotated in the direction of arrow F2 to urge the rib 71a in the direction of arrow D. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4A, the developing roller 23 of the developing unit 71 is brought into contact with the photoconductor 22 of the photoconductor unit 70.

On the other hand, at the time of separation (standby state) shown in FIG. 7B, the moving member 64 is in a state in which the lever 60 is pressed by the cam portion 57 and the pressure spring 65 is compressed against the direction of arrow B1. Is rotated in the direction of arrow F1. As a result, the moving member 64 presses the rib 71a of the developing unit 71 in the direction of arrow E. At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, the rib 71a of the developing unit 71 is pressed in the direction of arrow E at two points together with the moving member 64 on the front side of the apparatus. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4B, the developing roller 23 of the developing unit 71 is separated from the photoconductor 22 of the photoconductor unit 70.

As described above, when the cam portion 57 is in the contact phase shown in FIG. 3A, the moving member 64 is allowed to be positioned at the contact position by the urging force of the pressure spring 65, and the developing roller 23 is exposed to light. It comes into contact with the body 22. On the other hand, when the cam portion 57 is in the separated phase shown in FIG. 3 (b), the cam portion 57 presses the moving member 64 via the lever 60 and the slider 61 and moves against the urging force of the pressure spring 65. The member 64 is maintained at a separated position, and the developing roller 23 is separated from the photoconductor 22.

Next, the removal of the main drive unit 5 at the time of maintenance will be described. When the main drive unit 5 is removed during maintenance, it is usually performed after the power is turned off. Therefore, the cam portion 57 in the main drive unit 5 corresponds to the separated position where the developing roller is separated from the photoconductor (b). ) Is in the position shown. That is, as shown in FIG. 6B, the cam portion 57 is in a state of pressing the lever 60 provided on the apparatus main body 2. When the main drive unit 5 is removed in this state, the lever 60 is disengaged from the cam portion 57 and the moving member 64 is moved to the contact position by the urging force of the pressure spring 65 as shown in FIG. 7A. Will be done. When the moving member 64 is moved to the contact position by the urging force of the pressure spring 65, the moving member 64 moves the rib 71a of the developing unit 71 in the direction of the arrow D shown in FIG. 7A, and the developing roller 23 Is in contact with the photoconductor 22. Further, the moving member 64 is moved to the contact position by the urging force of the pressure spring 65, so that the slider 61 is moved from the back surface of the device to the front direction (direction of arrow B1 in FIG. 7A). Therefore, the lever 60 is moved to the position shown in FIG. 7A corresponding to the contact position where the developing roller 23 is in contact with the photoconductor 22.

Next, the installation of the main drive unit 5 after the maintenance is completed will be described. As described above, when the cam portion 57 is in the separated position before the main drive unit 5 is removed, the moving member 64 is moved to the contact position by the urging force of the pressure spring 65 when the main drive unit 5 is removed. Then, the moving member 64 is moved to the contact position by the urging force of the pressure spring 65, so that the lever 60 also corresponds to the contact position where the developing roller 23 is in contact with the photoconductor 22 via the slider 61. It is moved to the position shown in FIG. 7 (a). Therefore, when the main drive unit 5 is to be attached as it is after the maintenance is completed, the cam portion 57 on the main drive unit side at the position shown in FIG. 3B corresponding to the separated position is located at the position corresponding to the contact position. The main drive unit 5 cannot be attached to the device main body 2 because it interferes with the lever 60 on the device main body side that has been moved to.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, in the drive unit 50 in the main drive unit 5, the phase for adjusting the phase of the cam unit 57 in the gear train from the contact separation motor 51, which is the drive source, to the cam unit 57. The adjustment gear 58 is arranged. Here, as shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the phase adjusting gear 58 is arranged so as to mesh with the large diameter gear 52a of the stage gear 52 in which the pinion gear 51a of the contact separation motor 51 meshes. There is. The phase adjusting gear 58 includes an adjusting portion 58a having a shape that can be rotated by using a tool. Here, as shown in FIG. 8, the phase adjusting gear 58 includes a cross-shaped hole-shaped adjusting portion 58a corresponding to a Phillips screwdriver which is a tool. By inserting a Phillips screwdriver owned by a serviceman into the adjusting portion 58a and turning it, the phase adjusting gear 58 can be easily rotated, and the phase of the cam portion 57 is moved to the contact position through the phase adjusting gear 58. be able to.

In order to adjust the phase with the main drive unit 5 alone, a certain amount of torque is required to rotate the contact separation motor 51, so it is very difficult to rotate it by hand while holding the tooth surface of the gear. is there. However, according to the present embodiment, since the phase adjusting gear 58 includes the above-mentioned adjusting portion 58a, the serviceman can easily rotate the gear 58 by using a tool. In addition, since the tooth surface of the gear is coated with a lubricant to improve the slidability of the tooth surface, the lubricant can be put into the hands of the serviceman by rotating the gear with a tool. It can also be prevented from adhering.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the drive unit 50 is provided by turning the phase adjustment gear 58 of the drive unit 50 to adjust the phase of the cam unit 57 by using the tool brought by the serviceman. The main drive unit 5 can be reattached to the device body 2.

[Other Embodiments]
In the above-described embodiment, the phase adjusting gear 58 has a configuration in which the cross-shaped hole-shaped adjusting portion 58a corresponding to the Phillips screwdriver, which is a tool, is provided (see FIG. 8), but the present invention is not limited to this. The adjustment unit may have a shape corresponding to the tool of. For example, as shown in FIG. 9A, the phase adjustment gear 58 may have a straight hole-shaped adjusting portion 58a corresponding to a flat-blade screwdriver as another tool. The phase adjusting gear 58 can be easily rotated by inserting a flat-blade screwdriver into the straight hole-shaped adjusting portion 58a and turning it. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 9B, the phase adjustment gear 58 may have a polygonal hole-shaped adjusting portion 58a corresponding to another tool having a polygonal convex portion. Here, since the case where the tool is a hexagon wrench is illustrated, the shape of the adjusting portion 58a corresponding to the tool is a hexagonal hole shape. The phase adjusting gear 58 can be easily rotated by inserting a hexagon wrench into the hexagonal hole-shaped adjusting portion 58a and turning it. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 9C, the phase adjustment gear 58 may have a polygonal convex adjusting portion 58a corresponding to another tool having a polygonal concave portion. Here, since the case where the tool is a spanner is illustrated, the shape of the adjusting portion 58a corresponding to the tool is a hexagonal convex shape. The phase adjusting gear 58 can be easily rotated by fitting a spanner into the hexagonal convex adjusting portion 58a and rotating the spanner.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a configuration in which a phase adjusting gear that meshes with any one gear in the gear train from the drive source to the cam portion is provided and the adjusting portion is provided in the phase adjusting gear is illustrated. It is not limited to this. An adjustment unit may be provided in any one of the gears in the gear train. For example, an adjusting unit may be provided in the stage gear of the gear train from the drive source to the cam unit. Even with this configuration, the same effect as in the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration applied to the gear train in the drive unit for abutting and separating the developing roller from the photoconductor is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this. The same effect can be obtained by applying the present invention to other configurations in which the photoconductor and the developing roller are in a contact state during image formation and in a standby state during standby other than image formation. Can be obtained.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, in the process cartridge that can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body, the present invention is applied to a configuration in which the second unit having a developing roller is movable with respect to the first unit having a photoconductor. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be described in a configuration in which the first unit having a photoconductor and the second unit having a developing roller are detachably attached to and detach from the main body of the apparatus, and the second unit can be moved with respect to the first unit. It is valid. Further, the first unit having the photoconductor is fixed to the main body of the apparatus, the second unit having the developing roller is movably provided in the main body of the apparatus, and the second unit is movable with respect to the first unit. The present invention is also valid.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, four process cartridges that can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus are used, but the number of used process cartridges is not limited and may be appropriately set as necessary.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the printer is exemplified as the image forming apparatus, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, it may be another image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a facsimile apparatus, or another image forming apparatus such as a multifunction device combining these functions. Alternatively, it may be an image forming apparatus that uses a recording material carrier and sequentially superimposes and transfers toner images of each color on the recording material supported on the recording material carrier. Similar effects can be obtained by applying the present invention to the driving unit of the moving mechanism that moves the second unit with respect to the first unit in these image forming devices.

1 ... Image forming device 2 ... Device main body 3 ... Frame 4 ... Process cartridge 5 ... Main drive unit 6 ... Moving mechanism 22 ... Photoconductor 23 ... Developing roller 50 ... Drive section 51 ... Contact separation motor 52 ... Stage gear 53 ... Worm Shaft 54 ... Worm wheel gear 55 ... Worm gear 56 ... Cam gear 57 ... Cam part 58 ... Phase adjustment gear 58a ... Adjustment part 60 ... Lever 61 ... Slider 62, 63 ... Slider guide 64 ... Moving member 65 ... Pressurized spring 70 ... Photoconductor Unit 71 ... Development unit 71a ... Rib

Claims (6)

With the first unit
A second unit that can move to a first position with respect to the first unit and a second position away from the first position,
A moving mechanism for moving the second unit and
A drive unit that has a drive source for driving the moving mechanism and is detachably provided with respect to the main body of the device.
A cam unit provided on the drive unit and acting on the movement mechanism so as to contact the movement mechanism and move the second unit.
A gear train provided in the drive unit and transmitting drive from the drive source to the cam unit.
A phase adjusting gear provided in the gear train from the drive source to the cam portion and for adjusting the phase of the cam portion with respect to the moving mechanism.
An adjusting unit provided on the phase adjusting gear and having a shape corresponding to a tool for rotating the phase adjusting gear,
An image forming apparatus characterized by having. The image forming according to claim 1, wherein the phase adjusting gear is a gear provided so as to mesh with any one gear of a gear train that transmits drive from the drive source to the cam portion. apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the phase adjusting gear is any one gear of a gear train that transmits drive from the drive source to the cam portion. The adjustment portion according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the adjusting portion has any one of a cross hole shape, a straight hole shape, a polygonal hole shape, and a polygonal convex shape. Image forming device. The first unit having a photoconductor and
The second unit having a developing roller and
Have,
The second unit is characterized in that it can move to the first position where the developing roller abuts on the photoconductor and the second position where the developing roller separates from the photoconductor with respect to the first unit. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The image forming according to claim 5, further comprising the first unit having a photoconductor and the second unit having a developing roller, and including a process cartridge that can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body. apparatus.

Images