JP3281429B2 - Electrophotographic recording device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile, etc.
The present invention relates to an electrophotographic recording apparatus that performs recording on a sheet by an electrophotographic process such as development and transfer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as shown in FIG. 9 , in an electrophotographic recording apparatus of this kind, for example, a copying machine, an apparatus main body 1 is provided to facilitate maintenance such as repair or replacement of parts.
Is divided into two parts, a lower part 1a and an upper part 1b. The upper part 1b is rotatable about the support shaft 1c with respect to the lower part 1a. In some cases, these units are unitized to constitute the process cartridge 3 so that they can be replaced, and the process cartridge 3 is provided in the apparatus main body 1 so as to be replaceable.

In such a copying machine, for example, one end 4a of the rail 4 is connected to the shaft 5 on both sides of the upper portion 1b.
It is attached so that it can rotate around the center. On the other hand, belt-shaped guide ribs 3a are provided on both sides of the process cartridge 3, respectively, and the guide ribs 3a are slidably engaged with the rails 4 to detachably attach the process cartridge 3 to the upper portion 1b.

[0004] Thus, for example, when replacing the process cartridge 3 for life arrives, as shown in FIG. 10 when opened the upper 1b angle that is rotated,
With the rotation of the upper part 1b, only one end 4a side of the rail 4 is lifted to the upper left in the figure. And further upper part 1b
When opened, it lifts halfway the other 4b of the rail 4 by a suitable means, as shown in FIG. 11, when stopping the upper 1b at a predetermined open position, the process cartridge 3 and shown detaching position. Then, the process cartridge 3 was pulled out from the rail 4 and replaced with a new one.

[0005]

However, conventionally, in such a copying machine, for example, as shown in FIG. 10 , when the upper part 1b is opened, the left end 3b side of the process cartridge 3 first moves in the upper left direction in FIG. , The right end 3c side is pulled to the left and shifted. For this reason, there has been a problem that the photosensitive member 6 and the developing roller 7 are rubbed. At the end of the closing of the upper portion 1b, the right end 3c of the process cartridge 3 is shifted rightward in the drawing, causing the same problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to prevent the above-described electrophotographic recording apparatus from causing a problem such as rubbing parts inside the apparatus main body with a process cartridge when the upper part of the apparatus main body starts opening and closing. It is in.

[0007]

Accordingly, the present invention provides
For example, as shown in the following illustrated embodiment, the apparatus body 10
The upper part 10b is openable and closable about a fulcrum with respect to the lower part 10a, and a rail 11 is provided on the upper part 10b by rotatably attaching one end 11a to the other end 11b. In an electrophotographic recording apparatus in which the process cartridge 13 is detachably attached to the main body 10, the upper part 10 b is opened and the rail 11 is lifted halfway, and the process cartridge 13 is attached or detached, the rail is opened when the upper part 10 b is opened.
11 or a member such as a guide plate 20 provided with a rail
The arm member 1 which stops and rotates the rail 11 with a delay
4 and a locking member such as a fixing pin 21 and the lower end 15a
It is rotatably supported at a fixed position in the portion 10a, and the upper end 15b is
The other end 11b of the rail 11 or a member for providing the rail
And the upper part 10b is opened.
Lift the other end 11b side of the rail 11
And a link member 15 to be lowered when 10b is closed .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the electrophotographic recording apparatus according to the first aspect, an arm member 14 and the like are provided on the upper portion 10b, as shown in the following embodiments.
And the upper part 10b is opened.
When hooked on the rail 11 or the member on which the rail is provided
Comprising Te order, characterized in that.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the electrophotographic recording apparatus according to the first or second aspect, for example, as shown in the following embodiments , the other end 11b of the rail 11 is provided.
Is provided on the link member 15,
At the end 15b, the connecting pin 17 is engaged to
To the other end 11b of the rail 11 so as to be rotatable with each other.
Characterized by being provided with a long hole 15c .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an electrophotographic recording apparatus according to the first aspect , as shown in the following embodiments, wherein a member on which the rails 11 are provided has a guide.
While the long hole 20b is provided, the upper
When the upper portion 10b is opened by engaging with the
A fixing pin 21 to be hooked on a member on which the rail 11 is provided is provided.
Only composed, characterized in that.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, as shown in the following embodiments, in the electrophotographic recording apparatus according to the first or fourth aspect , the link members 15 are connected to each other.
Multiple rides that can be freely connected and stretchable in the length direction
It is characterized by comprising links 22 and 23 .

[0012]

[Action] Then, for example when replacing the process cartridge 13, the upper open top 10b of the apparatus main body 10 about the fulcrum, the dimethyl the other end 11b of the rail 11 in conjunction with the opening operation of the upper 10b To move the process cartridge 13 away from the components in the apparatus main body 10. Thereafter, the rail 11 is lifted halfway with the rotation of the upper part 10b, and the process cartridge 13 is taken out from the apparatus main body 10 by being guided by the rail 11. After the replacement of the process cartridge 13, when the upper portion 10b is closed, the upper portion 10b is closed.
The rail 11 is lowered halfway along with the rotation of. Then, this time at the end closed, in conjunction with the closing operation of the upper portion 10b moves downward the other end 11b of the rail 11, in contact with the process cartridge 13 to the components within the apparatus main body 10 or near.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the apparatus body 10
When opened the top 10b, A is provided at its upper portion 10b
The rail 11 or the rail
The upper part 10b and rails
Lift 11

According to the third aspect, after the other end 11b of the rail 11 is moved upward to separate the process cartridge 13 from the components in the apparatus main body 10, the rail 11 is pulled up by an appropriate means from the middle. The end 11b is moved inside the elongated hole 15c of the link member 15, and the rail 11 is lifted partway with the rotation of the upper part 10b. On the other hand, the upper 10
When b is closed, first, the rail 11 is lowered by moving in the long hole 15c of the link member 15 with the rotation of the upper part 10b, and then the other end 11b side of the rail 11 is moved down to close the process cartridge 13 at the end of the closing. It comes into contact with or comes close to components in the apparatus main body 10.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the apparatus body 10
When the upper part 10b is opened, the fixing pin 21
Move inside the 20b and hang it on the rail
Stop, open the upper part 10b and move the rail 11 halfway
lift.

According to the fifth aspect, the upper portion 10b is
When opening, slide multiple links 22 and 23
Extend the lock member 15 and move the other end 11b side of the rail 11
And move the rail 11 halfway with the rotation of the upper part 10b.
lift. Conversely, when closing the upper part 10b,
Slide the links 22 and 23 to shrink the link member 15
Move the other end 11b side of the rail 11
The rail 11 is lowered with the rotation.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a laser printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Reference numeral 10 in the figure denotes an apparatus main body. The apparatus main body 10 includes a lower part 10a and an upper part 10b, and the upper part 10b is attached to the lower part 10a so as to be openable and closable around a support shaft 10c. On the upper side 10b, one end 11a side of the rail 11 is attached to the shaft 12
It is attached so that it can rotate around the center. A belt-like guide rib (not shown) provided on both sides of the process cartridge 13 is engaged with the rail 11, and the process cartridge 13 is slidably mounted. Thus, the process cartridge 13 is guided by the rail 11 so as to be detachable from the upper end 10b from the other end 11b. Further, an arm member (locking member) 14 is attached to the upper part 10b downward across the rail 11. The arm member 14 is provided with a receiving portion 14a at its tip.

On the other hand, the lower end 15a supports a lower end 15a of a link member (vertical moving means) 15 rotatably about a shaft 16. The link member 15 has an elongated hole 1 at the upper end 15b.
5c is formed. A connecting pin 17 provided on the other end 11b side of the rail 11 is movably engaged with the elongated hole 15c. Thus, the upper end 15b of the link member 15 and the other end 11b of the rail 11 are rotatably connected to each other.

Now, for example, the process cartridge 13
When the upper part 10b is opened centering on the support shaft 10c at the time of replacement, as shown in FIG. 2, the one end 11a of the rail 11 is moved with the movement of the shaft 12, and the other end 11b is pulled with the movement. The link member 15 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction in the drawing, whereby the other end 11b is moved upward to lift the rail 11, and the process cartridge 13 attached thereto is also slightly lifted.
Of the lower part 10a. After that, the rail 11 is further pulled up by hanging the receiving portion 14a of the arm member 14 from the middle of the rotation of the upper portion 10b, and the other end 11b is moved along the long hole 15c of the link member 15. And FIG.
As shown in (2), the process cartridge 13 is pulled up halfway along with the rotation of the upper portion 10b, and the detachable position shown in the drawing is reached. Then, the process cartridge 13 is taken out of the apparatus main body 10 while being guided by the rail 11.

After the replacement of the process cartridge 13, the upper portion 11b is closed by rotating clockwise in FIG. Then, at the beginning of the closing, the arm member 14 is lowered with the rotation of the upper part 10b, and the rail 11 is rotated and lowered according to gravity,
The other end 11b moves in the long hole 15c of the link member 15. Then, at the end of closing, the other end 11b of the rail 11
Side to rotate the link member 15 in the clockwise direction in the figure, whereby the other end 11b of the rail 11 is moved downward in conjunction with the closing operation of the upper part 10b to bring the process cartridge 13 close to the parts of the lower part 10a. Or contact.

By the way, the laser printer of the present invention can be further configured as shown in the following embodiment.

In another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, one end 20a of a guide plate (member on which the rail 11 is provided) 20 is provided on the upper side 10b on the opposite side plate portion 10d with the shaft 12 as the center. Attach rotatably. A rail 11 is provided on the guide plate 20, and an arc-shaped guide slot 20b is provided above the rail 11.
Thus, the fixing pin ( locking member) 21 provided on the upper portion 10b is engaged with the guide elongated hole 20b.

As shown in FIG. 5, the link member 15 includes two links 22 and 23. As shown in FIG. 6, the link member 15 has a shape in which one link 22 is used to embrace the other link 23. I do. And as shown in FIG.
A long hole 22a is provided in one link 22 and the other link 2
A pin 24 is provided at the lower end (left end in the figure) 23a of the third member 3 to engage with the elongated hole 22a, and the links 22 and 23 are slidably connected to each other. Thus, the link member 15 can be extended and contracted in the length direction indicated by the arrow in the figure. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, one link 22 is attached to the lower portion 10a of the apparatus main body 11 at its lower end 22b so as to be rotatable around the shaft 16, and the other link 23 is connected at its upper end 23b. It is rotatably connected to a guide plate 20 via a pin 17.

In the illustrated embodiment, when replacing a process cartridge (not shown), for example,
Is opened, the guide plate 20 is pulled along with the movement of the shaft 12, and the link member 15 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 7, whereby the other end 11b side of the rail 11 is moved upward to guide the guide plate 2
0, and the process cartridge is also slightly lifted away from the lower part 10a. Then, guide slot 2
The fixed pin 21 abuts on the upper side of the upper part 0b.
When 0b is rotated, the guide plate 20 is pulled up by the fixing pin 21. Then, as shown in FIG.
Extends to move upward on the other end 11b side of the rail 11, and
With the rotation of Ob, the guide plate 20 is lifted halfway. After the replacement, when the upper part 10b is closed, at the beginning of the closing, the fixing pin 21 is lowered with the rotation of the upper part 10b, the guide plate 20 is rotated and lowered according to gravity, and the link member 15 contracts. Then, at the end of the closing, as shown in FIG. 7, the link member 15 is pushed by the other end 11b side of the rail 11 to rotate clockwise in the drawing, whereby the upper part 10b
The other end 11b side of the rail 11 is moved downward in conjunction with the closing operation of the above, so that the process cartridge approaches or comes into contact with the lower part 10a.

[0026]

The While connexion according to the present invention, according to the present invention, open the top of the apparatus main body, in the electrophotographic recording apparatus for the process cartridge detachable, the end closing and beginning to open on its top, the opening and closing operation of the upper portion The other end of the rail moves up and down in conjunction with it, and the process cartridge comes into contact with and separates from the components inside the device main body. This can be prevented from occurring.

Also, since the link member is used, the connection locus of the upper end of the link member and the fulcrum position of the lower end are appropriately adjusted and provided, so that the movement trajectory of the process cartridge can be adjusted in accordance with the layout of each component in the apparatus main body. It can be adjusted appropriately.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the apparatus main body
When the upper part is opened, an arm-shaped latch is provided on the upper part
Hook the member from the middle to the rail or the member on which it is provided
Open the top and lift the rails.
According to the fourth aspect, the upper part of the apparatus body is opened.
When the fixing pin moves in the guide slot,
Hook on the member where the
Since Ru lift Le halfway, the process cartridge
With the opening angle halfway, open the top of the device widely
be able to.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a long hole is formed at the upper end of the link member so that the other end of the rail is movably engaged with the link member. The attachment / detachment position can be adjusted appropriately.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the link member is configured to be expandable and contractible,
The link member can be easily installed even in a place where the space on the layout is restricted.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a laser printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a state of the apparatus main body in the middle of opening the upper part.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a state of the apparatus main body in which an upper part is completely opened.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a main part of a laser printer according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a link member in the laser printer.

FIG. 6 is a view of the link member as viewed in the direction of arrow A.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of a state of the apparatus main body in the middle of opening the upper part in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4;

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a state of the apparatus main body whose upper part has been opened.

FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram of a conventional copying machine.

FIG. 10 shows a state of the apparatus main body in the middle of opening the upper part .
FIG.

FIG. 11 shows the state of the apparatus main body in which the upper part has been opened .
FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Device body10a lower part  10b Upper part 11 Rail 11a One end of rail 11b The other end of rail12 axes (fulcrum)  13 Process cartridge14 Arm member (hook member)  15 Link member 15a Lower end of link member 15b Upper end of link member 15c Slot16 axes 17 Connecting pin 20 Guide plate (member to provide rail) 20b Guide slot 21 Fixing pin (Hanging member)  22 ・ 23 Links

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-59-2054 (JP, A) JP-A-58-199061 (JP, A) JP-A-1-315770 (JP, A) JP-A-3-3 28862 (JP, A) JP-A-60-95552 (JP, A) JP-A-60-159474 (JP, U) JP-A-61-113886 (JP, U) JP-A-60-125642 (JP, U) Japanese Utility Model Application Hei 3-39743 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03G 15/00 550 G03G 21/16-21/18

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] An upper part of the apparatus main body is openable and closable about a fulcrum with respect to a lower part, and a rail is provided on the upper part so that one end is rotatably mounted on the upper part thereof, and the apparatus is guided by the rail to guide the apparatus from another end. In an electrophotographic recording apparatus in which a process cartridge is detachably attached to a main body, the upper portion is opened and the rail is lifted halfway, and the process cartridge is attached and detached, the rail or the rail is set when the upper portion is opened.
Hook that rotates on the rail with a delay
The member and the lower end are rotatably supported at a fixed position in the lower part.
The upper end is the other end of the rail or the member on which the rail is provided.
And pivotally connected to each other, and when the upper part is opened,
Lift the other end of the rail and close the upper part.
An electrophotographic recording device comprising a link member . 2. An arm-shaped latching member is provided on the upper portion,
Provide the rail or rail when the top is opened
The electrophotographic recording device according to claim 1, wherein the electrophotographic recording device is hung on a member . 3. A connecting pin is provided at the other end of the rail.
On the other hand, the connection pin is engaged with the upper end of the link member.
The upper end is rotatably connected to the other end of the rail.
3. The electrophotographic recording apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the electrophotographic recording apparatus is provided with a long hole . 4. A guide slot is provided in a member for providing said rail.
On the other hand, the upper portion is engaged with the guide
When the upper part is opened, it is hooked on the member on which the rail is provided.
2. The electrophotographic recording device according to claim 1 , further comprising a fixing pin . 5. The link members are slidable relative to each other.
And multiple links that can be extended and contracted in the length direction.
The electrophotographic recording device according to claim 1 , wherein the electrophotographic recording device is formed.