JP3242770B2 - Electrophotographic equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an exhaust fan provided in an electrophotographic apparatus main body, and a duct for guiding an air flow from the exhaust fan to an exhaust port formed in an exterior member of the apparatus main body.
The present invention relates to an electrophotographic apparatus, such as a copying machine, a facsimile, and a printer, including an exhaust device having a dustproof filter for removing dust and the like in the air exhausted by the exhaust fan.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the above-mentioned electrophotographic apparatus, an exhaust fan is provided for cooling to prevent the internal temperature from rising. Further, in the electrophotographic apparatus, there are paper dust generated as the paper moves and dust such as toner scattering in a dry electrophotographic process. In many cases, an exhaust device provided with a dustproof filter is provided so that the dust is not exhausted from the exhaust fan.

As shown in FIG. 7 (a), the dustproof filter in the above-described conventional exhaust device has a dustproof filter 50 put in a case 51, and this case 51 is attached to an outer member such as an outer casing or FIG. 7 (b). As shown, the duct 52
Is fitted and attached to a locking portion 52a formed at the end of the first member.
As a conventional exhaust device, as shown in FIG. 8, a dustproof filter 50 is sandwiched by a pressing plate 54 attached to a locking portion 53a provided in an exhaust port 55 of an exterior member 53, so that the filter is attached to the exterior member 53. It is also known to be attached to. Further, as a conventional exhaust device, as shown in FIG. 9, it is also known that a dustproof filter 50 is inserted into a projection 56 provided on an exterior member 53 to attach the filter to the exterior member 53. Further, as shown in FIG. 14, an exhaust device in which the dustproof filter 50 is directly attached to the exterior member 53 with a double-sided tape 57 is also known.

[0004]

However, in the above-described conventional exhaust device, the exchangeability of the dustproof filter 50 is relatively good except for a device in which the dustproof filter 50 is attached to the exterior member 53 with the double-sided tape 57. Exterior member 5
There is a gap between the duct 3 and the duct 52, which makes it difficult to obtain efficient exhaust. Further, if the case 51 and the holding plate 54 are used, there is a problem that the cost increases accordingly. In addition, even if the attachment of the dustproof filter 50 is good in terms of cost and exhaust efficiency, the exchangeability of the dustproof filter 50 is too poor.

[0005] The present invention solves the conventional problems described above,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an electrophotographic apparatus in which a dust-proof filter can be easily replaced and an efficient exhaust can be obtained.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an exhaust fan provided in an electrophotographic apparatus main body and an exhaust port formed in an exterior member of the apparatus main body by using an air flow from the exhaust fan. An electrophotographic apparatus provided with an exhaust device having a duct leading to a dust filter and a dust filter for removing dust and the like in the air exhausted by the exhaust fan, wherein the dust filter has elasticity and the thickness of the dust filter is reduced. On the other hand, the distance between the duct and the exterior member is set short, and the dustproof filter is sandwiched and held between the duct and the exterior member.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an exhaust fan provided in an electrophotographic apparatus main body, and a duct for guiding an air flow from the exhaust fan to an exhaust port formed in an exterior member of the apparatus main body. An electrophotographic apparatus including an exhaust device having a dustproof filter for removing dust and the like in the air exhausted by the exhaust fan, wherein the dustproof filter has elasticity, and the dustproof filter is provided on an exterior member side of the duct. A louver part is formed at two or more opposite ends, and the exhaust port is formed with a louver part protruding toward the duct side. It is characterized by reaching the entry position.

[0008]

According to the above construction, the interval between the duct and the exterior member is set shorter than the thickness of the dust filter, and the dust filter is sandwiched and held between the duct and the exterior member.
The dustproof filter is fixed by its own elasticity, so that the exchange workability is good and efficient exhaust is obtained.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, an exhaust device 1 includes a fan 2 for exhausting the electrophotographic apparatus main body (not shown), a duct 3 provided downstream of the fan 2 in the airflow direction, and a distal end of the duct 3. Edges, that is, an exterior plate 5 as an exterior member
And a dustproof filter 4 provided at the end on the side of the side, and the duct 3 reaches a position close to the exterior plate 5. Exterior plate 5
Is formed with an exhaust port 6 for exhausting exhaust air from the fan 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the duct 3 is a cylindrical member having a square opening in cross section, and a protrusion 7 for hooking the dustproof filter 4 is formed at an upper end of the duct 3. The dustproof filter 4 is an elastic body such as urethane foam, and has a shape larger than the outer peripheral shape of the duct 3 so that the opening 9 of the duct 3 can be completely covered. A hole 8 is formed for engaging with the projection 7 of the duct 3.

As shown in FIG. 2, the dustproof filter 4 is mounted between the duct 3 and the exterior plate 5. In this case, the distance d between the duct 3 and the outer plate 5 is a predetermined distance formed beforehand when the outer plate 5 is attached to the main body of the electrophotographic apparatus, and the thickness t of the dustproof filter 4 is: Those having a relation of t> d are used.

The exhaust device 1 having the above-described structure includes the dustproof filter 4.
At the time of mounting, the hole 8 formed in the upper part of the dustproof filter 4 is hooked on the projection 7 of the duct 3 and the exterior plate 5 is fixed at a predetermined position. At this time, since the thickness t of the dustproof filter 4 is larger than the distance d between the duct 3 and the exterior plate 5, the dustproof filter 4 is pressed against the duct 3 and the exterior plate 5 by its own elasticity. Therefore, an efficient exhaust can be obtained without a gap being generated between the duct 3 and the exterior plate 5 by the press-fitting of the dustproof filter 4. Further, the dustproof filter 4 can be easily replaced by removing the exterior plate 5. Note that the dustproof filter 4 can be fixed by attaching the duct 3 on which the dustproof filter 4 is hooked to the exterior plate 5.

Even if a notch 13 is provided for passing the harness of the fan 2 through the end of the duct 3 or for forming the duct, if the dustproof filter 4 is sandwiched between the exterior plate 5 and the duct 3, Since the substantially notched portion 13 is closed by the dustproof filter 4, no problem occurs.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention, in which a distal end of the duct 3 is provided with, for example, two or more projecting portions 10 which are vertically opposed to each other. On the other hand, a hole 11 is formed in the dustproof filter 4 so as to be engaged with the projection 10. In addition, the exterior plate 5 is provided with a louver 12 protruding toward the inside of the apparatus main body along the exhaust port 6.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the dustproof filter 4 is mounted, the exhaust device 1 having the above structure
The dustproof filter 4 is temporarily fixed by hooking the holes 11 on the protrusions 10 provided above and below the duct 3. When the exterior plate 5 from which the louver 12 projects toward the inside of the apparatus main body is attached, the louver 12 enters the inside of the duct 3 as shown in FIG. Fixed. Therefore, since the space between the duct 3 and the dustproof filter 4 is crimped, the dustproof filter 4 can be easily replaced by removing the exterior plate 5 without any gap.

[0015]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the distance between the duct and the exterior member is set shorter than the thickness of the dust filter, and the dust filter is sandwiched and held between the duct and the exterior member. Is tightly fixed to the duct and the exterior member by its own elasticity, so that the exchange efficiency is good and the exhaust is efficiently performed.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the tip of the louver reaches the position where the dust filter is attached to the inside of the duct from the mounting position, so that the dust filter is tightly fixed to the duct by its own elasticity. As a result, the efficiency of the exhaust can be improved with good replacement workability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional side view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory front view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional side view showing a state before the exterior plate of FIG. 4 is attached.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional side view showing a state after the exterior plate of FIG. 4 is attached.

7 is a perspective view of the device shown in FIG. (A) is an exploded perspective view showing a dustproof filter showing a conventional exhaust device,
(B) is an explanatory view showing an attached state of the dustproof filter.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view showing another conventional exhaust device.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing another conventional exhaust device.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing still another conventional exhaust device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Exhaust apparatus 2 Fan 3 Duct 4 Dustproof filter 5 Exterior plate 6 Exhaust port 11 Projection 12 Louver d Distance between duct and exterior plate t Thickness of dustproof filter

Continuation of the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03G 21/00 G03G 21/16 G03G 21/20 B41J 29/377 B01D 46/00-46/54

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An exhaust fan provided in an electrophotographic apparatus main body, a duct for guiding an airflow from the exhaust fan to an exhaust port formed in an exterior member of the apparatus main body, and an air exhausted by the exhaust fan. An electrophotographic apparatus provided with an exhaust device having a dustproof filter that removes dust and the like, wherein the dustproof filter has elasticity, and a gap between the duct and the exterior member is set to be shorter than a thickness of the dustproof filter. An electrophotographic apparatus, wherein the dust filter is sandwiched and held between the duct and the exterior member. 2. An exhaust fan provided in an electrophotographic apparatus main body, a duct for guiding an airflow from the exhaust fan to an exhaust port formed in an exterior member of the apparatus main body, and an air exhausted by the exhaust fan. An electrophotographic apparatus comprising an exhaust device having a dustproof filter for removing dust and the like, wherein the dustproof filter has elasticity, and the dustproof filter is attached at two or more opposing ends of the exterior member side of the duct. A louver portion protruding toward the duct side is formed in the exhaust port, and a tip of the louver portion reaches a position inside the duct from a mounting position of the dustproof filter. Electrophotographic apparatus.