JP2518914B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus used in a copying machine or a printer based on electrophotography.

2. Description of the Related Art In a copying machine or printer based on an electrophotographic method, which develops an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrier, transfers the developed image to a sheet by a transfer section, and fixes the transferred image at a fixing section. At the top of the paper transport path connecting the transfer unit and the fixing unit, a basket for detachably accommodating the image forming unit including the image carrier unit and the developing unit from above is attached. There are those in which an image carrier unit and a developing unit can be independently attached / detached by removing them together with the forming unit to open the sheet conveying path. Since such a member has a great influence on the transfer action when the relative position between the image carrier and the fixing unit of the image forming unit is deviated, a supporting unit for positioning and supporting the image forming unit in the frame holding the transfer unit. have. Further, at least the basket and the image carrier unit, which is a consumable item and needs to be replaced, have a grip for gripping.

The image forming unit is attached to the frame alone or together with the basket, but the image forming unit is caught in a part of the basket or the supporting unit on the main body side and the mounting position becomes unstable, so that an especially important image is formed. The relative position between the carrier and the transfer part may be out of alignment.

Means for Solving the Problems A developing unit provided with a support shaft which is formed by forming two guide grooves opening upward in a basket which is detachably attached to a main body, and a guide unit which is guided by the guide groove on one side and the guide on the other side. An image carrier unit having a support shaft guided by a groove is detachably attached to the basket to form an image forming portion, and the developing unit and the image carrier unit housed in the basket are formed in the main body. Of the image carrier unit, which is formed by a rotatable lever urged in one direction to the main body to form two recessed support portions for positioning and supporting the respective support shafts. Locking means for elastically holding the support shaft by pushing the support shaft from above is provided, and a handle having an upward pressing portion and a downward finger hook portion is formed on the image carrier unit. .

Action For jam processing and maintenance, remove the basket from the main body together with the image forming unit by grasping and pulling up the handle of the basket, or remove the image carrier unit from the main body by grasping and pulling up the handle. The image carrier unit is attached to the main body together with the basket or alone.At this time, an external force is applied from above to the pressing portion formed on the handle of the image carrier unit so that the image carrier unit can be attached to the main body. The relative distance to the transfer portion of the image carrier can be accurately determined by reliably locking the locking means.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional side view showing the entire structure, in which 1 is a lower body constituting a part of the main body of the electrophotographic printer, and this lower body 1 connects a base cover 2 and an upper cover 3. One end of a top cover 4 as an upper body is attached to the upper part of the lower body 1 so as to be vertically rotatable. A power supply 5 and a circuit board 6 are mounted on the base cover 2. The upper cover 3 is provided with a paper transport path 8 for transporting the paper in the paper feed cassette 7. At the end of the paper transport path 8, the paper is placed on the upper surface of the top cover 4 to receive the paper. A paper discharge path 10 for discharging toward 9 is connected, and a switching unit 11 for switching the paper discharge path in the side direction of the lower main body 1 on the extension surface of the paper discharge path 10 or the paper transport path 8 is connected to this connection portion. Is provided. The paper transport path 8 includes a paper feed roller 12 that comes into contact with the uppermost paper of the paper cassette 7, a start sensor 13 that optically detects the paper being transported, A registration roller 14 whose rotational movement is controlled by a signal, and a transfer unit 15 that transfers a developed image on an image carrier 24 described below to a sheet
A separating unit 16 for separating the sheet from the image carrier 24, a high-voltage power supply 17, and a fixing unit 18 for holding the sheet passing through the transfer unit 15 and fixing a transfer image on the sheet are arranged from upstream to downstream. They are arranged sequentially.

The upper cover 3 is provided with a vertically open basket 19 located above the paper transport path 8, and the image forming unit 20 removably housed in the basket 19 is provided with an image carrier unit 21 and a developing unit. Consists of unit 22. The image carrier unit 21 is a charging unit that rotatably mounts image carriers 24 on both sides of a support 23 and applies electric charges to the image carriers 24.
25, a static eliminator 26 for exposing the image carrier 24 to make the charge on the outer periphery uniform, and a waste toner container 27 attached to the support 23, and the waste toner adhered to the image carrier 24 in the waste toner container 27. A blade 28 for scraping off the toner and a roller 29 for transporting the scraped waste toner toward the back of the waste toner container 27 are attached. The developing unit 22 comprises a toner container 30 containing toner, a developing roller 31 and a stirring blade 32 for stirring the toner (see FIG. 5). Further, an optical section 33 for scanning a light beam on the photosensitive surface of the image carrier 24 is mounted on the inner surface of the top cover 4.

Next, FIGS. 1, 3 and 4 show the mounting structure of the basket 19 and the image forming section 20. FIG. FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing a supporting structure for the basket 19 and the image forming section 20, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the relationship between the lower body 1 and the basket 19, and FIG. FIG. As shown in these figures, a pair of handles 34 located above both ends of the image carrier 24 are integrally formed at both ends of the basket 19.
The image carrier that projects from both outer sides of the support 23.
A guide groove 36 for vertically moving a bearing 35 acting as a shaft for supporting 24 and a guide groove 38 for vertically moving a shaft 37 protruding from both sides of the toner container 30 are formed. There is. The transfer portion 15 and the peeling portion 16 are positioned on a frame 39 fixed to the upper cover 3 and fixed by screws, and the bearing 35 and the support shaft 37 are positioned on the frame 39. Supports 40,41
And a stopper 42 that abuts the lower end of the support 23 of the image carrier unit 21 is provided upright. These supporting portions 40 and 41 are concave portions having an upper opening and have a shape that widens toward the upper portion. Further, the frame 39 is provided with locking means 43 which resiliently engages with the image carrier unit 21. The locking means 43 is a support shaft 44.
It is composed of a lever 45 which rotates around a center and a lever 47 which rotates around a support shaft 46. These levers 45, 47 are springs 4
The upper part is urged in opposite directions by the urging force of 8. The bearing 35 is attached to the upper portion of one lever 45 by the frame 39.
Downward slope 49 that presses against the bottom of the support portion 40 of the
A slope 50 that changes the inclination direction upward from 49 is formed,
The other lever 47 includes a support member for the image carrier unit 21.
Downward slope that presses the pin 51 protruding from the outer surface of 23
52 and a slope 53 in which the slope direction is changed upward from this slope 52
And are formed. Further, the image carrier unit 21
A handle is provided on the housing of the static elimination unit 26, which is one of the components.
54 are integrally formed, and handles 56 are integrally formed on both outer sides of the toner container 30. These handles 54,56
Is so close to the handle 34 that the fingers of the same hand are hooked when the handle 34 of the basket 19 is held. Further, these grips 54, 56 are formed with upward pressing portions 55, 57 and downward finger hanging portions 55a, 57a for hanging fingers. Further, a motor 58 for driving the developing roller 31 and the stirring blade 32 is fixed to the developing unit 22, and a power input terminal 59 connected to the motor 58 is provided so as to project downward. These power input terminals
A knife-shaped connector 60 that elastically clamps 59 is fixed to the inner surface of the frame 39. This connector 60 is connected to the power supply. Further, on the lower surface of the housing of the optical section 33, as shown in FIG.
Proximity portions 61 are formed at the upper edges of the support bodies 23 of 21 to face each other with a predetermined gap therebetween. As shown in FIG. 6, protrusions 62 are formed on the handles 54 and 56, and finger hooks 55a and 57a are formed on the lower surface of the protrusions 62.

In such a configuration, during jam processing and maintenance, the top cover 4 is pivoted upward to open the upper surface of the upper cover 3, and in this state, the handle 34 is gripped and the basket 19 is moved to the image carrier unit 21. Developing unit 22
Then, the paper transport path 8 is opened. Alternatively, the image carrier unit 21 and the developing unit are placed in a state in which the basket 19 is positioned inside the upper cover 3 by placing a finger on the finger holders 55a, 57a of the handles 54, 56 and pulling up.
22 can be removed alone.

When assembling after jam processing or maintenance,
Insert the bearing 35 of the image carrier unit 21 into the guide groove 36 of the basket 19 taken out of the upper cover 3, insert the support shaft 37 of the developing unit 22 into the guide groove 38, and insert the handle 34 of the basket 19 into place. Frame the gripping bearing 35 and support shaft 37
The basket 19 is housed in the upper cover 3 while being fitted in the support portions 40 and 41 of 39. Alternatively, while the bearing 35 or the support shaft 37 is fitted into the guide grooves 36, 38 and the supporting portions 40, 41 of the basket 19 housed in the upper cover 3, the image carrier unit 21
The developing unit 22 and the developing unit 22 are stored in the basket 19. At this time, the bearing 35 whose movement is restricted by the guide groove 36 except the vertical direction is supported by the upward slope 50 of the lever 45, and
The lever 51 is supported by the upward slope 53 of the lever 47, and the pressing portion 55 of the handle 54 can be pressed by the finger that is playing while holding the handle 34 of the basket 19. By this operation, the lever 45 rotates counterclockwise against the force of the spring 48 by the component force generated by the contact between the bearing 35 and the slope 50, and the bearing 35
Allow downward movement of. Similarly, pin 51 is also lever 47
The lever 47 is supported by the inclined surface 53 of the handle 54, and the pressing portion 55 of the handle 54 is pushed down, whereby the lever 47 is rotated clockwise against the force of the spring 48 by the component force generated by the contact between the pin 51 and the inclined surface 53. However, the pin 51 is allowed to move downward. Then, the lever 45 returned by the restoring force of the spring 48 has a downward slope.
Press the bearing 35 against the bottom of the support 40 with 49, and
47 pushes the pin 51 downward with its downward slope 52, and presses the lower edges of both sides of the support 23 against the stopper 42.

The developing unit 22 is supported by the supporting shaft 41 positioned and supported by the supporting portion 41 by its own weight. By positioning the supporting shaft 37 above the developing roller 31 and closer to the image carrier 24 side than the center of gravity of the developing unit 22. The developing unit 22 rotates clockwise around the support shaft 37, and the flanges provided at both ends of the developing roller 31 come into contact with the outer periphery of the end portion of the image carrier 24. This allows
The developing unit 22 is attached to the frame 39 in a stable state with a constant gear gap between the image carrier 24 and the developing roller 31.

As described above, the image carrier unit 21 and the developing unit 22
Is stably attached to the frame 39 for positioning and fixing the transfer section 15 and the peeling section 16, so that the relative position of the image carrier 24 with respect to the transfer section 15 and the peeling section 16 can be accurately determined.

As described above, the basket 19 is pulled up during the jam treatment and maintenance, but in this process, the bearing 35 presses the downward slope 49 of the lever 45, and the lever 45 causes the spring 48 to move by the component force generated by the contact between them. Counterclockwise to allow upward movement of the bearing 35, and similarly, the pin 51 presses the downward slope 52 of the lever 47, which is caused by the contact between them. Lever 47 spring 48 by component force
The pin 51 is rotated clockwise against the force of to allow the pin 51 to move upward.

Next, modified examples of the handles 54 and 56 are shown in FIGS. 7 to 11. In FIG. 7, a recess 63 is formed on the side surface of the handles 54 and 56, and finger hooks 55a and 57a are formed on the downward surface of the recess 63. In FIG. 8, a through hole 64 is formed in the handles 54 and 56. , The finger hooks 55a and 57a formed on the downward surface of the through hole 64,
9 and 10 show finger hooks 55a and 57a formed in a curved shape so that fingers can be easily hooked, and FIG. 11 shows pressing portion 5
5,57 and the finger hooks 55a, 57a are formed in a corrugated shape to prevent finger slippage. In addition, by changing the color of the handles 54, 56 to the surrounding parts, it is possible to avoid the situation of gripping an unstable part, and thus it is possible to prevent both units 21, 22 from falling during handling. it can.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION Since the present invention is configured as described above, at the time of jam treatment or maintenance, the basket is detached from the main body together with the image forming unit by grasping and pulling up the handle of the basket, or the image carrier unit is grasped. The image carrier unit is attached to the main body together with the basket or alone at the time of assembly.At this time, external force is applied to the pressing portion formed on the handle of the image carrier unit from above. By providing the above, there is an effect that the image carrier unit can be reliably locked to the locking means of the main body, and the relative distance of the image carrier to the transfer portion can be accurately determined.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional side view showing a supporting structure of a basket and an image forming section.
FIG. 4 is a vertical side view showing the overall structure, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the relationship between the lower main body and the basket, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the basket in which the image forming portion is housed, and FIG. 5 is a developing unit. Fig. 6 is a side view of the handle, Fig. 6 is a side view of the handle, and Figs. 7 to 11 show modified examples of the handle.
The figure is a vertical side view, and FIGS. 9 to 11 are front views of the handle. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Main body, 19 ... Basket, 20 ... Image forming part, 21 ... Image carrier unit, 22 ... Development unit, 35 ... Support shaft, 36 ... Guide groove, 37 ... Support shaft, 38 ... Guide groove, 40, 41 ... Supporting part, 43 ... Locking means, 45 ... Lever, 54 ... Handle, 55 ... Pressing part, 55a ... Finger hanging part

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Akira Sato 570 Ohito, Ohito, Ohito-cho, Takata-gun, Shizuoka Tokyo Electric Co., Ltd. Ohito factory (56) References JP-A-62-192771 (JP, A) JP-A-63 -247765 (JP, A) JP 63-213855 (JP, A) JP 62-280770 (JP, A) Actually opened 63-11638 (JP, U) Actually opened 63-45556 (JP, U) ) Actually open 63-11639 (JP, U) Actually open 62-193241 (JP, U)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A basket which is detachably mounted on a main body is provided with two guide grooves open upward, and a developing unit having a support shaft guided by one of the guide grooves and the other guide groove. An image carrier unit having a guide shaft is detachably attached to the basket to form an image forming unit, and the developing unit and the image carrier unit housed in the basket are formed in the main body. Is formed by a rotatable lever that is urged in one direction to the main body to form the two supporting portions in the shape of a concave portion of the upper opening for positioning and supporting the supporting shaft of the image carrier unit. Locking means for elastically holding the support shaft by pushing the shaft from above is provided, and the image carrier unit is formed with a handle formed with an upward pressing portion and a downward finger hook portion. When That the image forming apparatus.