JP2023110639A - Drive transmission device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a drive transmission device that can prevent lubricant from entering an electromagnetic clutch and has high operational reliability.SOLUTION: A drive transmission device is removably attached to a main body device having a body to be driven mounted therein to which a driving force is transmitted, and comprises: a rotary shaft member 114 that rotates upon receiving the driving force from a driving source; a bearing member 140 into which the rotary shaft member 114 is inserted; two holding members 102, 103 that are arranged opposite to each other at an interval and each have a through hole formed therein; and an electromagnetic clutch member 108 that is disposed between the two holding members. The rotary shaft member 114 is inserted into the through hole of one holding member 103 at one end in an axial direction with the bearing member 140 therebetween, and inserted into the through hole of the other holding member 102 at the other end. The rotary shaft member 114 and the bearing member 140 have an engaging structure in which the members are engaged with each other along a circumferential direction of a rotation axis.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

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

A drive transmission device mounted on an image forming apparatus or the like has two opposing members that face each other with a gap therebetween and a gear that rotates within the gap, and has a driven body to which driving force is to be transmitted. A device is known that is configured to be detachable from a mounted main unit (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In Patent Document 1, a plurality of rotating shaft members integrated with driving parts are arranged so as to penetrate both the metal plate and the mold cover, and the metal plate and the mold cover are positioned by the rotating shaft member and the stud shaft. A drive transmission device is disclosed that realizes a reduction in size and an improvement in quality by doing so.

In a drive transmission device in which no bearing member is provided in the sliding portion of the rotating shaft member, as in the configuration of Patent Document 1, improvement in wear resistance of the sliding portion and reduction in noise are required. In order to meet these requirements, for example, a lubricant such as grease is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shaft member.

However, the applied lubricant may flow out along the rotating shaft over time, adhere to other members, or enter the interior of other members. In particular, in a mode in which an electromagnetic clutch is provided, lubricant containing oil may affect the operation of the electromagnetic clutch and cause malfunction.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a drive transmission device capable of preventing lubricant from entering an electromagnetic clutch and having high operational reliability.

In order to solve the above problems, the drive transmission device of the present invention is a drive transmission device that is detachably attached to a main unit on which a driven body to which a driving force is to be transmitted is mounted. a rotating shaft member that rotates by receiving the driving force of the rotating shaft member; a bearing member through which the rotating shaft member is inserted; an electromagnetic clutch member arranged between the holding members, wherein one axial end side of the rotary shaft member is inserted through the through hole of one of the holding members via the bearing member, One side is inserted into the through hole of the other holding member, and the rotating shaft member and the bearing member have an engaging structure in which they are engaged with each other along the circumferential direction of the rotating shaft.

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent lubricant from entering the electromagnetic clutch, and to provide a drive transmission device with high operational reliability.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an image forming unit included in the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1; FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a drive transmission device; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the drive transmission device of FIG. 3 as seen from the opposite direction; FIG. It is a perspective view showing an example of an electromagnetic clutch. It is a perspective view which shows a rotating shaft member, a bearing member, and an electromagnetic clutch. 1 is a side view schematically showing an example of a drive transmission device; FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a drive transmission device according to an embodiment of the invention; FIG. FIG. 9 is an enlarged explanatory view of a portion surrounded by a dashed line in FIG. 8; (A) is a perspective view showing an example of a rotating shaft member of a drive transmission device according to the present invention, and (B) is a conventional example. (A) is a perspective view showing an example of a bearing member of a drive transmission device according to the present invention, and (B) is a conventional example.

A drive transmission device and an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown below, and can be changed within the scope of those skilled in the art, such as other embodiments, additions, modifications, deletions, etc. is also included in the scope of the present invention as long as the functions and effects of the present invention are exhibited.

[Image forming apparatus]
An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a drive transmission device according to the present invention, which will be described later, as drive transmission means for driving a driven body.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an electrophotographic printer as an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The image forming apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes four image forming units 26K, 26C, 26M, and 26Y for forming black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y) toner images. It has
FIG. 2 is an enlarged explanatory diagram showing one of the four image forming units 26K, 26C, 26M and 26Y in an enlarged manner. In the figure, the suffixes K, C, M, and Y added to the end of the reference numerals assigned to each component are omitted.

In the image forming unit 26, the charging device 25 uniformly charges the surface of the photoreceptor 24 as a latent image carrier which is driven to rotate clockwise in the figure. The uniformly charged surface of the photoreceptor 24 is exposed and scanned by laser light L emitted from the optical writing unit 27 to carry an electrostatic latent image for each color. This electrostatic latent image is developed into a toner image by a developing unit 23 using toner. Then, this toner image is primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 22 .

The photoreceptor cleaning device 83 removes transfer residual toner from the surface of the photoreceptor 24 after the primary transfer process, and the charge eliminator removes residual charges on the surface of the photoreceptor 24 to prepare for the next image formation.

The illustrated developing unit 23 has a vertically long hopper portion 86 containing toner as developer, and a developing portion 87 . In the hopper portion 86, an agitator 88, a toner supply roller 80, etc., which are rotationally driven by a driving means are arranged. A developing roller 81, a thinning blade 82, and the like are arranged in the developing section 87 of the developing unit 23. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 2, an optical writing unit 27 as a latent image writing device is arranged vertically above the image forming units 26K, 26C, 26M, and 26Y.

A transfer unit 75 is arranged vertically below the image forming units 26K, 26C, 26M, and 26Y. The transfer unit 75 includes an intermediate transfer belt 22, a drive roller 76, a tension roller 20, four primary transfer rollers 74K, 74C, 74M, and 74Y, a secondary transfer roller 21, a belt cleaning device 71, a cleaning backup roller 72, and the like. there is

A paper feed cassette 41 is arranged below the transfer unit 75 in the vertical direction. In this paper feed cassette 41, a paper feed roller 42 is brought into contact with the uppermost recording paper of a stack of paper, and by rotating this in the counterclockwise direction in the figure at a predetermined timing, the recording paper is moved. Send it out toward the paper feed path.

A registration roller pair 43 comprising two registration rollers is arranged near the end of the paper feed path. The registration roller pair 43 feeds the recording paper toward the secondary transfer nip at a timing capable of synchronizing the recording paper with the four-color toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 22 within the secondary transfer nip. A relay roller 44 is also provided in the paper feed path.

The four-color toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 22, which is in close contact with the recording paper at the secondary transfer nip, is collectively secondary-transferred onto the recording paper under the influence of the secondary transfer electric field and nip pressure. When the recording paper having the full-color toner image formed on its surface passes through the secondary transfer nip, it is curvedly separated from the secondary transfer roller 21 and the intermediate transfer belt 22 and sent to a fixing device 40 as fixing means. .

The fixing device 40 fixes the unfixed toner image of the fed recording paper onto the recording paper by means of a fixing roller 45 containing a heat source 45a such as a halogen lamp and a pressure roller 47 . The recording paper ejected from the fixing device 40 is sent to the paper ejection roller pair 90 .

When the single-sided print mode is selected, the recording paper sandwiched between the paper discharge nip of the paper discharge roller pair 90 is discharged as it is to the outside of the apparatus by the forward rotation of the paper discharge roller pair 90, and is placed on top of the housing. They are stacked in a stacking section 56 provided on the upper surface of the cover.

When the double-sided print mode is selected, after the recording paper sandwiched between the paper discharge nip of the paper discharge roller pair 90 is fed out of the machine to some extent, the paper discharge roller pair 90 is reversely driven to move the recording paper inside the machine. , and enters the reverse conveying path 91 . Then, after passing through the double-sided conveying nip of the double-sided conveying roller pair 92 and being turned upside down, the sheet enters the paper feed path again and is conveyed again to the registration roller pair 43 . After that, the sheet is sent to the secondary transfer nip at a predetermined timing, and the toner image is secondarily transferred to the other side of the sheet. Stacked in section 56 .

After passing through the secondary transfer nip, the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 22 is cleaned by the belt cleaning device 71 . The cleaning backup roller 72 backs up the belt cleaning device 71 from inside the loop.

A manual feed tray 93 is provided on the side cover of the housing so that it can be opened and closed with respect to the side cover. The recording paper manually fed to the manual feed tray 93 is sent to the registration roller pair 43 of the paper feed path by the rotational drive of the manual feed roller 94 .

[Driving transmission device]
In FIG. 1, a drive transmission device 101 according to the present invention for transmitting a driving force to the paper feed roller 42 and the like is arranged on the back side of the paper feed cassette 41 in the drawing.
The drive transmission device 101 transmits driving force to the pair of registration rollers 43, the pair of double-sided conveying rollers 92, and the manual feed roller 94 in addition to the paper feed roller 42, and is detachably attached to the housing. It is configured.

An example of a drive transmission device 101 to which the present invention is applied is shown in FIGS. 3, 4 and 7. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an example of a drive transmission device. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the drive transmission device with various clutch gears, various intermediate gears, and a paper feeding system drive motor removed. FIG. 8 is a side view schematically showing the drive transmission device.

The drive transmission device 101 of the present embodiment is a drive transmission device that is detachably attached to a main body device (for example, an image forming apparatus) on which a driven body to which driving force is to be transmitted is mounted. A rotary shaft member 114 that rotates by receiving the driving force from the rotary shaft member 114, a bearing member 140 through which the rotary shaft member 114 is inserted, and two holding members 102 having through holes formed therein, which are arranged facing each other with a gap. , 103 and an electromagnetic clutch member 108 disposed between the two holding members 102 , 103 . One axial end of the rotating shaft member 114 is inserted into the through hole of the one holding member 103 . The other end is inserted through the through hole of the other holding member 102, and the rotating shaft member 114 and the bearing member 140 have an engaging structure that engages with each other along the circumferential direction of the rotating shaft. are doing.

One of the two holding members 102 and 103 is a member made of a resin material, and the other is a member made of a metal material.
In this embodiment, they are the metal bracket 102 and the resin cover 103 .
The metal bracket 102 and the resin cover 103 are non-contactingly connected to each other by three studs 121 as fixed shaft members that are non-rotatably sandwiched between them. One end of stud 121 is fixed to metal bracket 102 by being inserted into a through hole provided in metal bracket 102 . The other end of the stud 121 is provided with a female screw portion extending in the axial direction. A bolt passed through a through hole provided in the resin cover 103 is fastened to a female screw provided at the other end of the stud 121 . Thereby, the other end of the stud 121 is fixed to the resin cover 103 .

By connecting the metal bracket 102 and the resin cover 103 with the studs 121 having no toes in this manner, the size of the drive transmission device 101 can be reduced compared to the case of connecting with legs having toes. can be done.

Also, the metal bracket 102 and the resin cover 103 are arranged facing each other with a gap between them due to the interposition of the studs 121 to form a gap. In this gap, a registration clutch gear 108, a paper feed clutch gear 105, a manual clutch gear 106, and a double-sided clutch gear 107 are arranged as rotatable electromagnetic clutch members. Further, a rotatable first intermediate gear 130, second intermediate gear 131, third intermediate gear 132, and fourth intermediate gear 133 are also provided.

A metal bracket 102 and a resin cover 103 rotatably hold the registration shaft gear. The registration shaft gear comprises a rotation shaft member 114 and a registration gear 110 as a drive component fixed to one end of the rotation shaft member 114, both of which are made of resin material and rotate integrally.

Similarly, the metal bracket 102 and the resin cover 103 rotatably hold the paper feed shaft coupling, the double-sided shaft gear, and the manual feed shaft gear. The paper feed shaft coupling comprises a rotating shaft member 113 and a paper feed coupling 109 fixed to one end of the rotary shaft member 113, both of which are made of resin material and rotate integrally. Also, the double-sided shaft gear comprises a rotating shaft member 115 and a double-sided gear 111 fixed to one end thereof, both of which are made of resin material and rotate integrally. Also, the manual shaft gear comprises a rotating shaft member 116 and a manual shaft gear 112 fixed to one end thereof, both of which are made of resin material and rotate integrally.

As shown in FIG. 4, each rotating shaft member penetrates both the metal bracket 102 and the resin cover 103 and is rotatably received by both. Further, the drive component provided at one end in the axial direction is positioned outside the resin cover 103 .
For example, the drive component 110 provided at one axial end of the rotating shaft member 114 is positioned outside the resin cover 103 , and the rotating shaft member 114 is rotatably received by a bearing member (slide bearing) 140 .

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the electromagnetic clutch member 108. FIG. The electromagnetic clutch member 108 has a gear portion 108a provided on the outer peripheral edge thereof, an electromagnetic clutch portion 108b provided inside thereof, and a through hole 108c penetrating the rotational center position thereof. The shape of the gear portion 108a is a helical gear. In the drive transmission device 101, various clutch gears and various relay gears are all wing gears.
The electromagnetic clutch portion 108b rotates integrally with the gear portion 108a when energized. On the other hand, when the power is turned off, even if it rotates itself, it does not transmit its rotational force to the gear portion 108a and idles inside the gear portion 108a. The cross-sectional shape of the through hole 106c is not a perfect circle, but is shaped like the letter "D".

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the rotating shaft member 114, the bearing 140 member, and the electromagnetic clutch member 108 that constitute the registration shaft gear.
The cross-sectional shape of the rotating shaft member 114 is not a perfect circle, but is shaped like the letter "D". The electromagnetic clutch member 108 is engaged by penetrating the rotating shaft member 114 through the registration through hole 108c. When the registration shaft gear rotates, the electromagnetic clutch portion 108b engaged therewith rotates together. At this time, if the electromagnetic clutch portion 108b is energized, the gear portion 108a also rotates together. On the other hand, when the electromagnetic clutch portion 108b is not energized, the gear portion 108a does not rotate and the electromagnetic clutch portion 108b idles inside the gear portion 108a. Further, even if the gear portion 108a rotates by receiving a rotational force from the outside, the electromagnetic clutch portion 108b does not rotate and the gear portion 108a idles on the electromagnetic clutch portion 106b.

When the drive transmission device 101 is set in the main body of the image forming apparatus, the driving member (registration gear) 110 of the registration shaft gear meshes with the gear fixed to the shaft of one registration roller in the pair of registration rollers. As a result, the rotational force of the registration gear 110 is transmitted to the registration rollers.

In the drive transmission device 101, as shown in FIG. 7, one axial end side of a rotatable rotary shaft member 114 is passed through a resin cover 103, which is one opposing member, to be rotatably held. In addition to rotating the rotating shaft member 114 inside the resin cover 103 (on the side facing the metal bracket 102 ), it is also possible to rotate outside the resin cover 103 . A gear or a coupling as a drive transmission portion is provided at a portion of the rotating shaft member 114 that rotates outside the resin cover 103 .

Drive from the driving gear 130 is transmitted to the driving member (registration roller) 110 through the electromagnetic clutch member 108, and the gear 150 and the roller 151 on its shaft rotate.
In the example of a registration shaft gear, roller 151 is a registration roller. The feed clutch gear 105, the manual feed clutch gear 106, and the double-sided clutch gear 107 shown in the drawing are the corresponding conveying rollers.

In this embodiment, a bearing member 140 is provided between the rotating shaft member 114 integrated with the drive component 110 and the resin cover 103. The parts shown) are coated with a lubricant such as grease to prevent wear and noise.

However, as shown in FIG. 9B, the applied lubricant 160 may leak along the rotating shaft member 114 over time. The leaked lubricant 160 may reach the electromagnetic clutch member 108 disposed ahead in the direction of the arrow and penetrate into its interior.
The oil content of the lubricant adversely affects the operation of the electromagnetic clutch. For example, there may be a problem that the connection/disconnection of the clutch does not operate normally.

On the other hand, in the drive transmission device according to the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9A, the rotating shaft member 114 and the bearing member 140 are engaged with each other along the circumferential direction of the rotating shaft. By forming a peripheral wall shape such that the coil bearing member 140 covers the rotating shaft member 114 with the engaging structures (114a, 140a), it is possible to prevent the lubricant from adhering to or entering the electromagnetic clutch member 108. can.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an example of the rotary shaft member 114 integrated with the driving component 110. As shown in FIG. FIG. 10(A) shows a rotating shaft member 114 provided in the device according to the present embodiment having an engaging structure 114a, and FIG. 10(B) shows a conventional example without the engaging structure.
FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an example of the bearing member 140. As shown in FIG. FIG. 11(A) shows a bearing member 140 provided in a device according to this embodiment having an engaging structure 140a, and FIG. 11(B) shows a conventional example without the engaging structure.
The engagement structure 140a is formed on the end side of the bearing member 140 facing the electromagnetic clutch member 108. As shown in FIG.

The convex portion formed on the engaging structure bearing member 140 is, for example, a rib structure provided over the circumferential direction of the rotating shaft. The rib structure exists over the circumference of the rotating shaft.
Here, the term "perimeter" includes substantially 360 degrees, and includes a part that is cut off at a minute angle and a part that is divided into a plurality of protrusions. In either aspect, as long as the shape can prevent the lubricant 160 from leaking toward the electromagnetic clutch member 180, it can be appropriately designed and processed into a desired shape.

On the other hand, the concave portion formed in the rotating shaft member 114 is a groove-like structure provided along the circumferential direction of the rotating shaft.
With such a structure, it is possible to prevent the lubricant 160 from leaking out due to the presence of steps and peripheral walls on the conventionally flat application surface of the lubricant 160 .

When assembling the device, the rotating shaft member 114 and the bearing member 140 are press-fitted until they are engaged with each other, which also prevents them from coming off. Also, during maintenance such as replacement of the electromagnetic clutch member 108, since the applied lubricant stays in the concave portion of the rotating shaft member 114, maintainability is improved.

According to the drive transmission device of this embodiment, it is possible to prevent the lubricant from adhering to or entering the electromagnetic clutch member 108 . It is possible to prevent operation failures such as disengagement of the electromagnetic clutch without providing new parts, and to realize a highly reliable drive transmission device.

102 holding member (metal bracket)
103 holding member (resin cover)
108 electromagnetic clutch member 108a gear portion 108b electromagnetic clutch portion 108c through hole 110 drive component 114 rotating shaft member 114a engagement structure (convex portion)
130 Relay gear 140 Bearing member 140a Engagement structure (recess)
150 driven body (gear)
151 Roller 160 Lubricant

JP 2017-167201 A

Claims (7)

A drive transmission device that is detachably attached to a main unit that mounts a driven body to which driving force is to be transmitted,
a rotating shaft member that rotates by receiving a driving force from a driving source;
a bearing member through which the rotating shaft member is inserted;
two holding members having through-holes arranged facing each other with a space therebetween;
an electromagnetic clutch member disposed between the two holding members;
one axial end of the rotating shaft member is inserted through the through hole of one of the holding members via the bearing member, and the other end of the rotating shaft member is inserted through the through hole of the other holding member;
A drive transmission device, wherein the rotating shaft member and the bearing member have an engaging structure in which they are engaged with each other along the circumferential direction of the rotating shaft. 2. The drive transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the engagement structure is a projection formed on the bearing member and a recess formed on the rotating shaft member. 3. A drive transmission device according to claim 1, wherein said engaging structure is formed on an end portion side of said bearing member facing said electromagnetic clutch. 4. A drive transmission device according to claim 2, wherein the convex portion formed on the bearing member of the engagement structure is a rib structure provided along the circumference of the rotating shaft. 5. A drive transmission device according to claim 1, wherein said rotating shaft member is made of a resin material. 6. The drive transmission device according to claim 1, wherein one of said two holding members is a member made of a resin material and the other is a member made of a metal material. In an image forming apparatus comprising drive transmission means for driving a driven body,
An image forming apparatus comprising the drive transmission device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 as the drive transmission means.

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