JP3090256B2 - Ground structure for paper feed related members of printer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a grounding structure for a paper feed-related member of a printer, and more particularly, to a metal frame member having a metal elastic member mounted thereon, and a sliding member of the ground member having paper sliding members. The present invention relates to a configuration in which a conductive member on the side of a feed-related member is brought into contact to release static electricity.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in various printers such as a laser printer, a feed roller is driven to rotate by a driving mechanism having an electric motor and a plurality of gears so that paper is fed via frictional force with the feed roller. It is composed. Static electricity is generated in the feed roller due to frictional contact with paper.If the static electricity is not grounded from the feed roller, noise may occur or normal printing operation may not be obtained. Is provided with a ground structure for releasing static electricity generated in the feed roller.

A general grounding structure is to fix a metal grounding member having elasticity to a frame member such as a support plate for rotatably supporting a feed roller or a frame plate of a drive unit with bolts or screws, or Insert the end of the grounding member into the mounting hole of the frame member, crimp it with a press or the like, and assemble it. This grounding member is grounded, and the sliding contact piece of the grounding member is connected to the metal rotating shaft (conductive member) of the feed roller. The contact roller is configured to ground the static electricity generated on the feed roller from the rotating shaft via a ground member.

In this type of earth structure, if the frame member is made of metal, the base end of the frame member is connected to a grounded metal substrate or the like, and the static electricity generated on the feed roller is reduced. An earth member, a frame member, and a metal substrate are escaped from the rotating shaft to earth, while the frame member is made of a synthetic resin, and the earth member and the metal substrate are connected by a lead wire or the like, and the feed roller is connected to the feed roller. Generally, the generated static electricity is released from the rotating shaft to a ground member, a lead wire, and a metal substrate to be grounded.

[0005]

However, in the conventional earth structure, when the earth member is fixed to the frame member with bolts or screws, the number of parts increases, and much labor is required for assembling the earth member. Therefore, the cost of the ground structure becomes very expensive. When caulking the end of the grounding member and assembling it to the frame member, a crimping press is required, and a large amount of labor is required to caulk the end of the grounding member and assemble it to the frame member. , Etc., make the cost of the ground structure very expensive. Further, when the frame member is made of a synthetic resin, it is necessary to connect the ground member and the metal substrate with a lead wire or the like, and there is a problem that the ground structure is complicated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to simplify a ground structure for a paper feed-related member, to simplify an assembling operation of a ground member to a frame member, and to reduce the cost of a ground structure for a paper feed-related member. And so on.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a grounding structure for a paper feed related member of a printer, wherein the ground structure for discharging static electricity generated in the paper feed related member of the printer is provided at one end of the paper feed related member. A vertical plate portion, a horizontal plate portion formed by bending horizontally from the upper end of the vertical plate portion, and an engagement convex portion protruded horizontally at a free end of the horizontal plate portion on a metal frame member located thereon. And an engagement hole formed in the vertical plate portion, a horizontal piece abutting on the horizontal plate portion, and extending downward from the horizontal piece in contact with the vertical plate portion and extending into the engagement hole at the lower end portion. a longitudinal piece, the sliding piece rises from the horizontal plate in the vicinity of the free end of the horizontal plate portion, the engagement projection extending this sliding piece or al integrally engagement with an engagement bend piece to be engaged A metal elastic member having an engaging piece provided with an engaging hole to be provided, and a paper sliding contact piece of the earth member. Ri is obtained by contacting the relevant member side of the conductive member configured to escape static electricity from the conductive member to the metal frame member through the ground member.

The ground member has its horizontal and vertical pieces abutting against the horizontal and vertical plate portions of the frame member, respectively. The piece is assembled to the frame member while being engaged with the engagement hole of the vertical plate portion. In order to ensure that the conductive member and the sliding contact piece always contact each other, the conductive member is pressed against the sliding contact piece so that the sliding contact piece is elastically deformed and brought into contact. In this state, a turning force acts on the ground member with the engagement hole engaged with the engagement projection as a fulcrum, but the engagement bent piece is engaged with the engagement hole of the vertical plate portion. Therefore, the rotation of the ground member is prevented, and the ground member does not come off from the frame member.

When the grounding member is assembled to the frame member, the grounding member is tilted and held so that the vertical piece does not interfere with the horizontal plate portion, and the engaging projection of the frame member is inserted into the engaging hole of the grounding member. After the engagement, the horizontal piece is pushed down to the horizontal plate portion side. Then, the grounding member rotates about the engagement hole engaged with the engagement projection as a fulcrum. At this time, the distal end of the engagement bending piece is framed through the elastic deformation of the vertical piece or the horizontal piece. The vertical plate portion of the member is slid in the direction of the engagement hole. Then, when the horizontal piece contacts the horizontal plate portion, the elastic deformation of the vertical piece or the horizontal piece is released, the engaging bent piece engages with the engagement hole of the vertical plate portion, and the vertical piece contacts the vertical plate portion. The ground member is assembled to the frame member in contact with the frame member.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a grounding structure for a paper feed-related member of a printer, wherein the grounding member comprises:
It is formed by stamping a stainless steel sheet material. Therefore, a metal elastic member having elasticity can be manufactured very simply and inexpensively. In addition, the same operation as the first aspect is achieved.

According to a third aspect of the invention, there is provided a ground structure for a paper feed-related member of the printer according to the first or second aspect of the invention, wherein the paper feed-related member is a roller, and the conductive member on the side of the paper feed-related member is made of metal. It is characterized by being a roller shaft. That is, by bringing the roller shaft of the roller into contact with the sliding contact piece of the ground member, the static electricity generated on the roller can be released from the roller shaft to the metal frame member via the ground member. Other effects are the same as those of the first or second aspect.

A ground structure for a paper feed-related member of a printer according to a fourth aspect is characterized in that, in the invention according to the third aspect, the roller is a feed roller. That is, static electricity generated in the feed roller due to frictional contact with the paper can be released from the roller shaft to the frame member via the ground member, so that noise can be reliably prevented from being generated by the static electricity. Other effects are the same as those of the third aspect.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a ground structure for a paper feed related member of the printer according to the first or second aspect of the present invention, wherein the paper feed related member is a process unit including a photosensitive drum, and a conductive member on the side of the paper feed related member. The member is a metal piece attached to a process unit including a photosensitive drum. That is, the metal piece of the process unit is brought into contact with the sliding contact piece of the ground member, and the static electricity generated in the rotating drum can be released from the metal piece to the frame member via the ground member. The printing operation is not blocked.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, the present invention is applied to a ground structure that discharges static electricity generated in a paper feed-related member such as a process unit that prints on paper while feeding paper by a feed roller or a sightseeing drum and a transfer roller in a laser printer. This is an example of the case. However, the ground structure for the paper feeding related members of the printer of the present embodiment is not limited to the laser printer, but can be applied to the ground structure of various other printers.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the laser printer 1 includes a main body case 2, first and second paper feed tray units 3 and 4 provided on a rear upper surface side of the main body case 2, and a main body case 2. 2, a paper transport mechanism 15, a scanner unit 20, a process unit 30, and a fixing unit 4.
5, a drive unit 50 for driving the paper transport mechanism 15, the process unit 30, the fixing unit 45, and the like. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the transport rollers 16, 17 are provided on the upper end side of the drive unit 50. And the registration roller 1
8 and 19, and paper feed related member ground structures (hereinafter referred to as ground structures) 60, 61 and 80 for releasing static electricity generated on the paper in the process unit 30 are provided.

At the front of the main body case 2, a top cover 1 for opening and closing the upper parts of the printing mechanism such as the scanner unit 20, the process unit 30, and the fixing unit 45 is provided.
1 and a discharge tray 1 which is set to receive printed paper discharged from the main body case 2 on its back surface when it is closed and overlaps the upper surface of the top cover 11 when opened.
2 are provided.

The first paper feed tray unit 3 includes a tray body 5, a tray cover 6 openably connected to the tray body 5, a paper receiving plate 7 pivotally supported by the tray body 5, It has a paper feed roller 8 rotatably supported at the lower end, a spring 9 for urging the paper receiving plate 7 toward the paper feed roller 8, and the like. When the tray cover 6 is opened, a release mechanism (not shown) is provided. As a result, the sheet receiving plate 7 is released against the urging force of the spring 9, and the sheet can be set on the sheet receiving plate 7.

An intermittent gear 8a meshing with a paper feed drive gear 55a (see FIG. 6) of the drive unit 50 is attached to the shaft end of the paper feed roller 8, and the drive is performed with the tray cover 6 closed. When the paper feed roller 8 is rotated by the unit 50 via the intermittent gear 8a, the set paper is fed. The second paper feed tray unit 4 has substantially the same structure as the first paper feed tray unit 3 except for the tray cover 10, so the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. The second paper feed tray unit 4 is detachably mounted on the case main body 2, and the paper is manually fed to the guide surface 1 of the tray cover 10.
It is configured so that paper can be fed by inserting the paper into the insertion opening 10b from 0a.

As shown in FIG. 2, the paper transport mechanism 15
This is for transporting paper fed from the first and second paper feed tray units 3 and 4 to the process unit 30.
It has a pair of conveying rollers 16 and 17 provided on the lower front side of the paper feed tray unit 3 and a pair of registration rollers 18 and 19 provided on the lower front side of the second paper feed unit 4. . The paper fed from the second paper feed tray unit 4 is directly conveyed to the registration rollers 18 and 19, while the paper fed from the first paper feed tray unit 3 is
First, the sheet is conveyed to the registration rollers 18 and 19 by the conveyance rollers 16 and 17 through the conveyance path 15a on the lower surface side of the second sheet feed tray unit 4, and thereafter, the registration rollers 18 and 19 are conveyed.
19, after the paper is bent to some extent and registered,
It is transported into the process unit 30 through the transport path 15b.

The scanner unit 20 is provided substantially below the process unit 30 and has a laser emitting unit (not shown), a polygon mirror 21, reflecting mirrors 22, 24, a lens 23, and the like. The emitted laser beam is represented by a polygon mirror 21 as indicated by a chain line.
Via the reflecting mirror 22, the lens 23, and the reflecting mirror 24, on the outer peripheral portion of the rotating photosensitive drum 32 of the process unit 30,
By irradiating and exposing by high-speed scanning, an electrostatic latent image is formed.

The process unit 30 includes a casing 31
The photosensitive drum 32, the transfer roller 33, the developing roller 3
4, cleaning roller 35, toner supply roller 36,
As shown in FIG. 3, the cartridge box has a built-in toner box 37, a scorotron-type charged body 40, and the like, and is detachable from the main body case 2, so that the toner box 37 can be replaced while being removed from the printer main body 2. A metal foil (not shown) is provided near the paper outlet of the casing 31, and a wire 32 a is provided on the left end surface of the casing 31 so as to be slightly in contact with the metal foil. ing.

The toner in the toner box 37 is agitated by the agitator 38 and released.
The toner image is supplied to the developing roller 34 via the developing roller 34, is carried by the developing roller 34 as a toner layer having a constant thickness by the blade 39, and is supplied to the photosensitive drum 32. The electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 32 is visualized by toner attached from the developing roller 34, transferred to a sheet passing between the photosensitive drum 32 and the transfer roller 33, and By 33, the transferred sheet is discharged from the process unit 30 and conveyed into the fixing unit 45. After the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 32 is temporarily collected by the cleaning roller 35, the toner is collected by the developing roller 34 via the photosensitive drum 32 at a predetermined timing.

The fixing unit 45 includes the process unit 3
0, for fixing the toner adhering to the sheet, and provided with a heating roller 46, a pressing roller 47 pressed by the heating roller 46, and a downstream side of these rollers 46, 47. Has a pair of discharge rollers 48 and 49 for discharging the sheet to the outside.

As shown in FIG. 3 to FIG.
Reference numeral 0 denotes a metal gear mounting frame 51 having a pair of left and right side plates 52 and 53, a plurality of gears mounted on the gear mounting frame 51 to form the first to third drive systems 55 to 57, and the like. It has an electric motor 54 as a drive source for the systems 55 to 57, and the gear mounting frame 51 is fixed to the metal substrate 2a with bolts or the like, and provided at the left end portion in the main body case 2.

The first drive system 55 includes a feed gear 8a of the first feed tray unit 3 and a roller shaft 16a of the transport roller 16.
The second drive system 56 rotates the sheet feeding gear 8a of the second sheet feeding tray unit 4 and the roller gear 18b fixed to the left end of the roller shaft 18a of the registration roller 18. Rotate, and the third drive system 57
Is for driving the process unit 30 and the fixing unit 45.

Next, the ground structures 60, 61 and 80 will be described. However, since the ground structures 60 and 61 have substantially the same configuration, the ground structure 60 will be described and the description of the ground structure 61 will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 6, the grounding structure 60 has a stainless steel grounding member 70 mounted on the right side plate 53 of the gear mounting frame 51 of the drive unit 50 located on the left end side of the transport roller 16. By contacting the left end of the roller shaft 16a of the transport roller 16 with the sliding contact piece 74 of the ground member 70, the static electricity generated on the transport rollers 16, 17 is discharged from the roller shaft 16a to the ground member 70, the gear mounting frame 51, It is configured to escape to the grounded metal substrate 2a and ground.

As shown in FIG. 6 to FIG.
In the right side plate 53 of the gear mounting frame 51,
A vertical plate portion 62, a horizontal plate portion 63 bent leftward from an upper end of the vertical plate portion 62, an engaging projection 64 projecting horizontally from a free end of the horizontal plate portion 63, An engagement hole 65 formed in the portion 62 is provided. On the other hand, the earth member 7
Reference numeral 0 denotes a horizontal piece 71 which is in contact with the horizontal plate portion 63, and an engagement bent piece 73 which extends downward from this horizontal piece 71 in contact with the vertical plate portion 62 and engages with the engagement hole 65 at the lower end. , A sliding piece 74 that rises from the horizontal piece 71 near the free end of the horizontal plate 63, and extends downward from the sliding piece 74 integrally with the engaging projection 64. And an engagement piece 75 provided with an engagement hole 76 that is formed. Here, the ground member 70 is formed by stamping and forming a stainless steel sheet material. After stamping and forming as shown in FIG. 10, the portion indicated by a chain line is bent, and FIG. It is processed into the shape shown in FIG.

The grounding member 70 has a horizontal piece 7
1, the vertical piece 72 is brought into contact with the horizontal plate portion 63 and the vertical plate portion 62, respectively, so that the engaging projection 64 is engaged with the engaging hole 76 of the engaging piece 75, and the engaging bent piece 73 is Engagement hole 65 of part 62
Is assembled in a state of being engaged with. The sliding contact piece 74
A convex portion 74 that contacts the end surface of the roller shaft 16a
The sliding contact piece 74 is formed with a pair of bent portions 74b bent to the right, and the sliding contact piece 74 is formed on the upper side of the sliding contact piece 74. Part 7
4c is formed. Accordingly, when the roller shaft 16a is assembled from above, the sliding contact piece 74 is elastically deformed via the pressing portion 74c while the end of the roller shaft 16a is guided by the pair of bent portions 74b, so that the sliding contact piece 74 74 convex portion 74a
Are surely in contact with the end face of the roller shaft 16a.

The operation of the grounding structure 60 will be described. Static electricity generated in the transport rollers 16 and 17 due to frictional contact with paper is transferred from the roller shaft 16a of the transport roller 16 to the ground member 70, the gear mounting frame 51, and the metal substrate. 2a to earth. In a state where the end of the roller shaft 16a is in contact with the sliding contact piece 74, a turning force acts on the ground member 70 with the engagement hole 76 engaged with the engagement projection 64 as a fulcrum. Since the engaging bent piece 73 is engaged with the engaging hole 65 of the vertical plate portion 62, the rotation of the ground member 70 is prevented, and the ground member 70 is
It does not deviate from 1.

The ground member 70 is connected to the gear mounting frame 51.
In the case of assembling, the ground member 70 is tilted and held so that the vertical piece 72 does not interfere with the horizontal
After the engaging projection 64 is engaged with the 0 engaging hole 76, the horizontal piece 71 is pushed down to the horizontal plate 63 side. Then, the ground member 70 rotates about the engagement hole 76 engaged with the engagement projection 64 as a fulcrum.
The distal end portion of the engagement bending piece 73 slides in the vertical plate portion 62 in the direction of the engagement hole 65 through the elastic deformation of. And the horizontal piece 71
Abuts on the horizontal plate 63, the vertical piece 72 or the horizontal piece 71
Elastic deformation of the vertical plate portion 62 is released.
And the vertical piece 72 is engaged with the vertical plate portion 62.
, And the ground member 70 is assembled.

As described above, according to the grounding structure 60, the engaging projection 64 is engaged with the engaging hole 76 of the grounding member 70 without fixing the grounding member 70 to the gear mounting frame 51 with bolts or screws. By simply pressing the horizontal piece 71 down to the horizontal plate portion 63, the ground member 70 can be assembled in one-touch operation. Further, since the gear mounting frame 51 is made of metal, the gear mounting frame 51 and the ground member Since there is no need to separately connect the grounding member 70 with a lead wire or the like, the number of members of the grounding structure 60 can be reduced and simplified, and the work of assembling the grounding member 70 to the gear mounting frame 51 can be simplified, and the cost of the grounding structure 60 can be reduced. Can be significantly reduced. In addition, since the ground member 70 is formed by stamping a stainless steel sheet material,
The metal elastic member 70 having elasticity can be manufactured very simply and at low cost.

Next, the ground structure 80 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the ground structure 80 has a stainless steel elastic member 90 mounted on the left side plate 52 of the gear mounting frame 51 of the drive unit 50, and the process unit 30 is attached to the ground member 90. Wire 32a
Are contacted, the static electricity generated in the process unit 30, the paper discharge opening neighborhood portion metal foil and wire 32a or Raa chromatography provided to the scan member 90 of the process unit 30, a gear mounting frame 51, a grounded metal It is configured to escape to the substrate 2a and be grounded.

As shown in FIGS. 11 to 13, the left side plate 52 of the gear mounting frame 51 has a vertical plate portion 82 and a horizontal plate portion 83 which is bent rightward in the horizontal direction from the upper end of the vertical plate portion 82. An engagement projection 84 horizontally protruding from a free end of the horizontal plate 83; and an engagement hole 85 formed in the vertical plate 82.
Is provided. The grounding member 90 includes a horizontal piece 91 that is in contact with the horizontal plate portion 83, and a vertical plate portion 8 from the horizontal piece 91.
A vertical piece 92 having an engagement bent piece 93 at the lower end thereof which abuts on the lower end 2 and engages with the engagement hole 85;
A sliding piece 94 which rises from the horizontal plate near the free end of the engagement projection 84 extends integrally downward from the sliding piece 94
And an engagement piece 95 provided with an engagement hole 96 with which the engagement piece 95 engages.

The sliding contact piece 94 includes a vertical piece 94a extending upward from the horizontal piece 91, and a pressing portion 94b extending downward and rightward from the upper end of the vertical piece 94a in a front-rear direction and pressed by the wire 32a.
And a bent piece portion 94c extending downward and leftward from the distal end portion of the pressing portion 94b via the bent portion 94d, and the bent portion 94d contacts the wire 32a of the process unit 30. And
The grounding member 90 causes the horizontal piece 91 and the vertical piece 92 to abut against the horizontal plate portion 83 and the vertical plate portion 82, respectively, and engages the engagement projections 84 with the engagement holes 96 of the engagement pieces 95. The engagement bending piece 93 is assembled in a state where the engagement bending piece 93 is engaged with the engagement hole 85 of the vertical plate portion 82. The ground member 90 is formed by stamping and forming a stainless steel sheet material.
After being punched and formed as described above, the portion indicated by the chain line is bent and processed into a shape that can be assembled.

The operation of the ground structure 80 will be described. As described above, the top cover 11 and the paper discharge tray 12
When the process unit 30 is mounted in the main body case 2 as shown in FIG. 3, the paper of the process unit 30 The wire 32a contacting the metal foil provided near the discharge port contacts the sliding contact piece 94 of the ground member 90, and the static electricity generated on the paper is removed from the metal foil and the wire 32a to the ground member 90 and the gear. The frame 51 is escaped to the metal substrate 2a and grounded.

According to the grounding structure 80, similarly to the work of assembling the grounding member 70 in the grounding structure 60, even if the grounding member 90 is not fixed to the gear mounting frame 51 with bolts, screws, etc. The grounding member 90 can be assembled in one-touch only by engaging the engaging projection 84 with the mating hole 96 and pushing down the horizontal piece 91 to the horizontal plate portion 83 side. Since there is no need to separately connect with a lead wire or the like, the cost of the grounding structure 90 can be significantly reduced. In addition, since the grounding member 90 is formed by stamping and forming a thin stainless steel plate, the metal elasticity is reduced. Can be manufactured very simply and inexpensively.

In the grounding structures 60, 61 and 80, not only the transport rollers 16 to 19 and the wire 32a but also
A configuration may be adopted in which static electricity generated in other paper feed-related members such as a paper feed roller is released.

[0039]

According to the grounding structure for the paper feed-related member of the printer according to the first aspect, the grounding member is tilted and held so that the vertical piece does not interfere with the horizontal plate portion, and the frame is inserted into the engaging hole of the grounding member. After engaging the engaging projection of the member, the horizontal piece is pushed down to the horizontal plate portion side, and the elastic bending of the vertical piece or the horizontal piece causes the distal end of the engaging bent piece to become the vertical plate portion of the frame member. While sliding in the direction of the engaging hole, the ground member rotates about the engaging hole engaged with the engaging convex portion, and then, when the horizontal piece contacts the horizontal plate portion, the engaging bending is performed. The piece engages with the engagement hole of the vertical plate portion and the vertical piece contacts the vertical plate portion, so that the ground member is assembled to the frame member.

As described above, the ground member is assembled to the frame member in one-touch only by engaging the engaging projection of the frame member with the engaging hole of the ground member and pushing down the horizontal piece toward the horizontal plate portion. Can be. Moreover, once the grounding member is assembled to the frame member, even if a pressing force from the conductive member acts on the sliding contact piece, the grounding member is provided with the engaging hole engaged with the engaging projection as a fulcrum. Although the rotating force acts, the rotation of the ground member is prevented by the engagement of the engagement bent piece with the engagement hole of the vertical plate portion, so that the ground member does not come off from the frame member. That is, there is no need to fix the ground member to the frame member with bolts or screws, and since the frame member is made of metal, there is no need to connect the frame member and the ground member separately with a lead wire or the like. The number of members of the ground structure for the paper feed related members can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost can be significantly reduced.

According to the grounding structure for a paper feed-related member of the printer of the second aspect, the same effect as that of the first aspect can be obtained.
Since the ground member is formed by stamping a stainless steel sheet material, a metal elastic ground member having elasticity can be manufactured very simply and at low cost.

According to the earth structure for the paper feed related member of the printer of the third aspect, the same effect as in the first or second aspect can be obtained, but the paper feed related member is a roller and the paper feed related member side Since the conductive member is a metal roller shaft, the roller shaft of the roller is brought into contact with the sliding contact piece of the ground member, and static electricity generated on the roller is released from the roller shaft to the metal frame member via the ground member. Can be.

According to the grounding structure for the paper feeding related member of the printer of the fourth aspect, the same effect as that of the third aspect can be obtained.
Since the roller is a feed roller, static electricity generated by the feed roller due to frictional contact with the paper can be released from the roller shaft to the frame member via the ground member, so that noise due to static electricity is reliably prevented. it can.

According to the grounding structure for a paper feed-related member of the printer according to the fifth aspect, the same effect as that of the first or second aspect is obtained, but the paper feed-related member is a process unit including a photosensitive drum, and Since the conductive member on the feed-related member side is a metal piece attached to the process unit including the photosensitive drum, the metal piece is brought into contact with the sliding contact piece of the ground member, and the static electricity generated on the paper in the process unit is reduced by the metal. Since the piece can escape to the frame member via the ground member, normal printing operation is not prevented due to static electricity.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a laser printer having a ground structure for a paper feed-related member of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the laser printer of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a left side view of a drive unit of the laser printer.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the drive unit of FIG.

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a ground structure.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the ground structure shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a front view of the ground structure shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a left side view of the ground structure shown in FIG. 6;

FIG. 10 is a side view of the ground member immediately after stamping.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of another ground structure.

FIG. 12 is a front view of the ground structure of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a right side view of the ground structure shown in FIG. 11;

FIG. 14 is a side view of the ground member immediately after stamping and forming.

[Explanation of symbols]

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 laser printer 16, 17 transport roller 18, 19 registration roller 16 a, 18 a roller shaft 30 process unit 32 photosensitive drum 32 a wire 51 gear mounting frame (frame member) 60, 61, 80 printer paper feed-related member ground structure 62, 82 Vertical plate portion 63,83 Horizontal plate portion 64,84 Engagement convex portion 65,85 Engagement hole 70,90 Ground member 71,91 Horizontal piece 72,92 Vertical piece 73,93 Engagement bent piece 74,94 Sliding contact Piece 75,95 engagement piece 76,96 engagement hole

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A grounding structure for releasing static electricity generated in a paper feed related member of a printer, wherein a metal frame member located at one end side of the paper feed related member has a vertical plate portion, and a vertical plate portion. A horizontal plate portion bent in a horizontal direction from an upper end of the horizontal plate portion, an engagement protrusion formed to protrude horizontally at a free end of the horizontal plate portion, and an engagement hole formed in a vertical plate portion. A horizontal piece contacting the plate portion, a vertical piece having an engagement bent piece extending downward from the horizontal piece to abut against the vertical plate portion and engaging the engagement hole at a lower end portion; a sliding piece rises from the horizontal plate near the free end, a metallic elasticity the engagement projection extending this sliding piece or al integrally has an engagement piece provided with an engaging hole which engages A conductive member on the paper feed related member side is brought into contact with a sliding contact piece of the ground member, and the conductive member is An earth structure for a paper feed-related member of a printer, wherein static electricity is released to a metal frame member via an earth member. 2. The grounding structure for a paper feed-related member of a printer according to claim 1, wherein said grounding member is formed by stamping and forming a thin stainless steel plate. Wherein a said paper feed associated member roller, paper printer according to claim 1 or claim 2 conductive member of the paper feed associated member side is characterized by a metal roller shaft Ground structure for feed-related members. 4. The grounding structure for a paper feed-related member of a printer according to claim 3, wherein said roller is a feed roller for feeding paper. 5. The paper feed-related member is a process unit including a photosensitive drum, and the conductive member on the paper feed-related member side is a metal piece attached to the process unit including the photosensitive drum. An earth structure for a paper feed-related member of a printer according to claim 1 or 3.