JP2685953B2 - Image carrier unit holding device - Google Patents

Description

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

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 5, for example, a frame 39 is provided in a lower main body of a laser printer, and V-shaped supporting portions 40 and 41 are formed on both sides of the frame 39 and pins 60 are provided upright. , A part of the lower portion of the image carrier unit 21 is supported by the pins 60, and bearings 35 provided on both sides of the image carrier unit 21 and supporting the image carrier 24 are supported by the support portions 40, and from both sides of the developing unit 22. A pin 51 protruding from both sides of the image carrier unit 21 supports a protruding support shaft 37 by a supporting portion 41 and lock levers 62, 63 which are urged by a spring 61 and rotatably attached to both sides of the frame 39. An image carrier unit holding device is considered in which the image carrier unit 21 is fixed by engaging with the bearing 35 and the bearing 35.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention In order to remove / attach the image carrier unit 21 from / to the frame 39 during jam processing or maintenance, the locking levers 62 and 63 must be rotated against the biasing force of the spring 61. Therefore, the operating force cannot be increased. Therefore, the biasing force of the spring 61 is limited. Therefore, the holding force of the image carrier unit 21 by the locking levers 62 and 63 cannot be increased. Therefore, the image carrier 24 may vibrate during operation.

Means for Solving the Problem An upper body is provided with a lower main body having an upper surface opening which is openably and closably attached, and a supporting portion for positioning and supporting an image carrier unit including an image carrier and a part of the image carrier unit are provided. A rotatable locking lever and a vertically movable lifting body that engage with each other are provided on both sides of the lower body, and the lifting body and the locking lever are interlockingly connected by a spring, and the lower surface of the upper body has the above-mentioned structure. A pressing unit that presses the lifting body is provided.

Action The image holding body unit is pressed and fixed to the support part of the lower body by the locking lever, and the lifting body can be pushed down by the pressing part when the upper body is closed. By transmitting the lock lever to the lock lever, the locking force of the lock lever with respect to the image carrier unit can be increased, and the upper and lower bodies can be released by opening the upper main body during jam processing and maintenance. Therefore, the locking lever can be removed from the image carrier unit with a light operating force.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The same parts as those described in FIG. 5 will be described using the same reference numerals. FIG. 2 is a vertical side view showing the entire structure. In the figure, 1 is a lower main body which constitutes a part of the main body of the laser printer.
And the upper cover 3 are combined to form the lower body 1
One end of a top cover 4 as an upper body is attached to the upper part of the 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 has a paper feed path 8 for feeding the paper in the paper feed cassette 7.
A paper discharge path 10 for discharging the paper toward a paper discharge tray 9 formed on the upper surface of the top cover 4 is connected to an end of the paper transport path 8. There is provided a switching unit 11 for switching the discharge path of (1) to the side surface direction of the lower main body 1 on the extension surface of the paper discharge path 10 or the paper transport path 8. Further, in the paper feed path 8, a paper feed roller 12 that comes into contact with the uppermost paper of the paper feed cassette 7, a start sensor 13 that optically detects the paper to be fed, and a detection of this start sensor 13. A registration roller 14 whose rotational movement is controlled by a signal, a transfer unit 15 that transfers a developed image on an image carrier 24, which will be described later, to a sheet, a charge eliminating unit 16 that eliminates electric charges remaining on the sheet, and a high-voltage power supply 17, A fixing unit 18 that holds the sheet that has passed through the transfer unit 15 and fixes the transferred image on the sheet is sequentially arranged from upstream to downstream.

Further, a basket 19 having a vertical opening located above the paper transport path 8 is mounted on the upper cover 3, and the image forming unit 20 detachably accommodated in the basket 19 includes an image carrier unit 21 and a developing unit. It consists of 22 and. In the image carrier unit 21, the image carrier 24 is rotatably mounted on both side surfaces of the support 23, and a charging unit for giving an electric charge to the image carrier 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 includes a toner container 30 containing toner, a developing roller 31 and a stirring blade 32 for stirring the toner. Further, on the inner surface of the top cover 4, an optical unit 33 for scanning a light beam on the photosensitive surface of the image carrier 24 is attached.

Next, a mounting structure of the basket 19 and the image forming unit 20 is shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 4. 1 is a side view showing the support structure of the image forming unit 20, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the relationship between the lower body 1 and the basket 19, and FIG. 4 is a plan view of the basket 19 in which the image forming unit 20 is housed. It is a figure. 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, and these handles 34 are provided on both sides of the support 23. A guide groove 36 that projects from the outside and guides a bearing 35 that supports the image carrier 24 in a vertically movable manner, and a guide groove 38 that guides a support shaft 37 that projects from both sides of the toner container 30 in a vertically movable manner. Has been formed. Further, the transfer section 15 and the static elimination section 16
Is positioned on a frame 39 fixed to the upper cover 3 and fixed by a screw, and support portions 40, 41 for positioning and supporting the bearing 35 and the support shaft 37 are formed on the frame 39. There is. In addition, this frame 39
On both sides of the lock lever 44, which engages with the bearing 35 by rotating about a support shaft 43, and by engaging with a pin 51 of the image carrier unit 21, rotate about a support shaft 45. The locking lever 46 is held. Further, lifting bodies 47 are held on both sides of the frame 39 so as to be lifted and lowered. That is, these lifting bodies 47
A guide pin 49 that moves along an elongated hole 48 formed in the frame 39 in the vertical direction is provided on the inner surface of the guide pin 49.
Springs 50 are stretched on both sides of the lifting body 47 and the locking levers 44 and 45. Further, a handle 52 is integrally formed on the housing of the static eliminator 26, and handles 53 are integrally formed on both outer sides of the toner container 30. 54
Is a motor for driving the developing roller 31 and the stirring blade 32. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a pressing portion 55 that comes into contact with the elevating body 47 is formed on the lower surface of the top cover 4.

With such a configuration, when jamming or performing maintenance, the top cover 4 is rotated upward to open the upper surface of the upper cover 3, and in this state, the handle 34 is grasped to hold the basket 19 in the image carrier unit 21 and the image carrier unit 21. Development unit 22
Then, the paper transport path 8 is opened. Alternatively, the image carrier unit 21 and the developing unit 22 can be independently removed while the basket 19 is positioned inside the upper cover 3. At this time, since the top cover 4 is opened upward, the elevating body 47 can be in a free state. As a result, the force of the spring 50 is extremely weakened, and the locking levers 44 and 46 can be rotated in the locking release direction with a slight force.

When jamming or assembling after maintenance,
The bearing 35 of the image carrier unit 21 is inserted into the guide groove 36 of the basket 19 taken out of the upper cover 3, and the support shaft 37 of the developing unit 22 is inserted into the guide groove 38.
The basket 19 is stored in the upper cover 3 while fitting the support shafts 40 and 41 of the frame 39 with the support shafts 37 and 35. Alternatively, the image carrier unit 21 and the developing unit 22 are placed in the basket 19 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. Store. At this time, the bearing 35 and the pin 51 are lowered while engaging the locking levers 44 and 46, although the locking levers 44 and 46 are temporarily retracted. Then, when the top cover 4 is closed, the elevating body 47 is pressed by the pressing portion 55 and descends. This lowering operation increases the tension of the spring 50, and the pulling force of the spring 50 can urge the locking levers 44, 46 with a strong force in the locking direction.
21 can be firmly held.

As described above, the present invention is provided with the lower main body having the upper surface opening to which the upper main body is openably and closably attached, and positioning and supporting the image carrier unit including the image carrier and the image carrier unit. A rotatable locking lever that engages with a part of the lower body and a vertically movable lifting body are provided on both sides of the lower body, and the lifting body and the locking lever are linked and coupled by a spring, Since a pressing portion for pressing the elevating body is provided on the lower surface of, the image carrier unit is pressed and fixed to the supporting portion of the lower main body by the locking lever, and when the upper main body is closed, the pressing portion moves up and down. The body can be pushed down, and the lowering motion of this lifting / lowering body is transmitted to the locking lever by the spring, so that the locking force of the locking lever with respect to the image carrier unit can be increased. At the time of installation, the lifting body can be released by opening the upper main body, and therefore, the locking lever can be removed from the image carrier unit with a light operating force.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 to 4 show one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 1 is a side view showing a supporting structure of an image forming portion, FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional side view showing the entire structure, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a relationship between a lower main body and a basket, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view of a basket in which parts are stored, and FIG. 5 is a side view showing a conventional example. 1 ... lower body, 4 ... upper body, 21 ... image carrier unit, 24 ... image carrier, 40,41 ... support, 44,46 ... locking lever, 47 ... elevator, 50 …… Spring, 55 …… Pressing part

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A lower main body having an upper surface opening to which an upper main body is openably and closably attached, an image carrier unit including an image carrier, and a support provided on the lower main body for positioning and supporting the image carrier unit. A locking lever that is rotatably provided on the lower body and engages with parts of both sides of the image carrier unit, and an elevating body that is vertically movable on both sides of the lower body. An image carrier unit holding device comprising: a spring that interlocks and connects the lifting body and the locking lever; and a pressing portion that is provided on the lower surface of the upper body and presses the lifting body.