JP3323648B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus to which a process cartridge can be attached and detached, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus in which a process cartridge can be attached and detached and a recording medium can be easily jammed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a latent image is formed by selectively exposing an image carrier uniformly charged by a charger to a latent image, and the latent image is developed with a developer by a developing device. At the same time, the image is formed by transferring the image formed by the developer onto a recording medium. In such a device, maintenance of each member is performed by a specialized service person.

Therefore, the image carrier, the charger, the developing device,
The cleaning unit and the like are integrated into a cartridge to form a cartridge, so that the user can load the cartridge into the apparatus main body, thereby replenishing the developer and exchanging parts of the image carrier having reached the end of its life, thereby facilitating maintenance. Has been put to practical use.

Such a process cartridge is shown in FIG.
Is attached to the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 to form an image. This image forming apparatus has a hinge 51 on an upper part of the apparatus main body 50.
A cover 52 that can be opened and closed around
Is opened to attach and detach the process cartridge 53.

For this purpose, the apparatus main body 50 is provided with a guide portion for guiding the insertion of the process cartridge 53. This guide section needs to avoid the scanning optical system 54 provided at the upper part of the apparatus main body 50 when the process cartridge 53 is inserted. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, the process cartridge 53 draws an arc-shaped trajectory. The configuration is such that the process cartridge 53 is guided.

[0006]

However, the above conventional example has the following problems. That is, since the trajectory of attachment / detachment of the process cartridge 53 is arc-shaped as described above, if the operator attempts to attach / detach the process cartridge 53 with a trajectory deviated from this arc, a sense of resistance is felt or the process cartridge 53 is disengaged. However, there is a problem that the operability is degraded due to being caught by the guide.

The recording medium is conveyed by a pair of rollers 55. When the recording medium is jammed (paper jam), the cover 52 is opened, the process cartridge 53 is removed, and jam processing is performed. However, since the scanning optical system 54 is arranged so as to cover the upper portion of the recording medium transport section, it is difficult to reach the field of view even near the fixing unit 56 even when the opening / closing cover 52 is open. Hard to reach. Therefore, there is a problem that the operability of the jam processing is poor.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus which has a good operability of attaching / detaching a process cartridge and which can easily remove a jam of a recording medium. Things.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus in which a process cartridge is detachable and an image is recorded on a recording medium. Mounting means for mounting a process cartridge having at least one process means acting on the electrophotographic photosensitive member, conveying means for conveying the recording medium, and a recording medium for transferring an image formed on the electrophotographic photosensitive member to the recording medium Transfer means for transferring the image onto the recording medium, fixing means for fixing the image transferred by the transfer means to the recording medium, and mounting and dismounting of the process cartridge provided upstream of the transfer means in the direction of conveyance of the recording medium. Opening and closing cover for opening and closing the opening and closing cover, which rotates about a fulcrum provided below the opening and closing cover to perform Is an image forming apparatus having a cover which can slide into the body of the device.

[0010]

In the above construction, when the opening / closing cover is opened, the process cartridge can be attached / detached substantially linearly.
Further, since the opening and closing cover can be slid into the main body of the image forming apparatus when the opening and closing cover is opened, it is easy for the operator to put his hand in the place where the recording medium has jammed, and the jam clearance is improved. Can be easily done.

[0011]

Next, as an embodiment according to the present invention, an image forming apparatus to which a process cartridge can be mounted will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. In the explanation,
After showing a reference example, the present embodiment will be described.

[First Reference Example] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of an image forming apparatus in which a process cartridge is mounted, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a detachable state of the process cartridge. Here, as an order of the description, the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus in which the process cartridge is mounted will be described, and then, the mounting / removing configuration of the process cartridge will be described.

<< Overall Configuration >> As shown in FIG. 1, this image forming apparatus A irradiates a light image based on image information from an optical system 1 that irradiates a laser beam in accordance with the image information. An image of a developer (hereinafter, referred to as “toner”) is formed on a certain photosensitive drum. Then, in synchronization with the formation of the toner image, the recording medium 2 is transferred from the cassette 3a to the pickup roller 3b, the conveying roller pair 3c,
In the image forming section which is conveyed by the conveying means 3 composed of 3d or the like and is made into a cartridge as the process cartridge B, a voltage is applied to the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum to a transfer roller 4 as a transfer means, thereby forming a recording medium. The recording medium 2 is transferred to a fixing unit 5 including a fixing rotator 5a having a built-in heater, and a driving roller 5b pressing the recording medium 2 to the rotator 5a and conveying the recording medium. The image is fixed on the recording medium 2. Then, the recording medium 2 is configured to be conveyed in reverse by the discharge roller pairs 3 e and 3 f and discharged to the discharge section 6.

On the other hand, the process cartridge B forming the image forming section rotates the photosensitive drum 7 having a photosensitive layer, and uniformly charges the surface thereof by applying a voltage to a charging roller 8 serving as a charging means. The light image from the optical system 1 is exposed to a photosensitive drum 7 via an exposure unit to form a latent image, and is developed by a developing unit 9.
The developing means 9 sends out the toner in the toner reservoir 9a by a toner sending member (not shown), rotates a developing roller 9b having a fixed magnet therein, and develops a developing blade 9c.
Thus, a toner layer provided with a triboelectric charge is formed on the surface of the developing roller 9b, and the toner is transferred to the photosensitive drum 7 in accordance with the latent image to form a toner image and visualize the toner image. After the toner image is transferred to the recording medium 2 by applying a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the toner image to the transfer roller 4, the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 7 is scraped off by the cleaning blade 10a, and the waste toner reservoir 10b is removed. The cleaning unit 10 collects residual toner on the photosensitive drum 7 to remove the residual toner.

The photosensitive drum 7 and the charging roller 8,
Each component such as the developing means 9 is housed in a housing to form a cartridge, and is detachably mounted on a cartridge mounting means provided in the apparatus main body 11.

The cartridge mounting means includes an opening / closing cover.
When the cartridge 12 is opened, a cartridge mounting space is provided in the apparatus main body 11, and guide portions for inserting the process cartridge B are provided on the left and right inner side surfaces of the space so as to face each other. Along this guide portion, the process cartridge B
Is inserted and the process cartridge B is mounted on the image forming apparatus A by closing the cover 12.

{Removable Configuration of Process Cartridge} The opening / closing cover 12 which forms the right side of the apparatus main body 11 has a hinge 12a below the cover 12 as a center.
It is configured to be openable and closable with respect to 11. As shown in FIG. 2, when the opening / closing cover 12 is opened, the right space of the process cartridge B is opened by the opening / closing cover 12, as shown in FIG. Is configured to be removable along the trajectory.

As shown in FIG. 3, the guide member 13 of the process cartridge B projects from right and left side portions. The guide member 13 has a cylindrical portion 13a at both ends, and comprises a rib portion 13b connecting the two cylindrical portions 13a. A drum pin 14 coaxial with a drum shaft formed integrally with the photosensitive drum 7 projects from a side surface portion of the process cartridge B.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, a rail portion 15 is formed on the apparatus main body 11 side. The rail portion 15 has a wide introduction portion 15a and a guide member of the process cartridge B having a wide width. There is a parallel portion 15b set to fit with the 13 cylindrical portions 13a. Further, a bearing 16 is formed in the apparatus main body 11. The bearing 16 has a guide portion 16a and a fitting portion 16b.

When the process cartridge B is mounted, as shown in FIG. 4, if the guide member 13 of the process cartridge B is inserted along the introduction portion 15a of the rail portion 15, the parallel portion 15b follows the taper. It is led to. Further, by pushing the process cartridge B in the direction of arrow a in FIG. 4, the process cartridge B enters the inside of the apparatus, and is finally mounted as shown in FIG. That is, process cartridge B
Is located at a position where the drum pin 14 contacts the fitting portion 16b of the bearing 16 of the apparatus main body 11. As a result, the process cartridge B is positioned with respect to the apparatus main body 11, and the photosensitive drum 7 is supported by the bearing 16.

With the above configuration, the process cartridge B
The trajectory of the attachment / detachment can be set to be approximately linear, so the guide member
The friction between the rail 13 and the rail 15 can be reduced to a minimum, a smooth operation feeling can be obtained, and the operability of attachment and detachment can be improved.

When performing the jam clearance, the open / close cover 12 is opened and the process cartridge B is removed from the apparatus main body 11, as shown in FIG. At this time, the conveyance path of the recording medium 2 is configured such that the portion from the position where the opening / closing cover 12 is opened to the back of the apparatus (particularly, from the transfer means 4 to the fixing means 5) is substantially horizontal. From the right side, it is possible to look to the inside of the apparatus main body (near the fixing unit 5). For this reason, the jammed recording medium can be easily found, and the operator can easily put his / her hand on the recording medium.

[Second Reference Example] Next, a reference example in which the detachability of the process cartridge B is further improved will be described with reference to FIG. The same members as those in the above-described first reference example are denoted by the same reference numerals, and overlapping description will be omitted.

This embodiment has all of the structure of the first embodiment described above, and further has a terrace 17 serving as a guide portion of the process cartridge B formed on the opening / closing cover 12 when the opening / closing cover 12 is opened. This terrace 17
And a process cartridge B can be loaded thereon.

When the process cartridge B is mounted, the openable cover 12 is opened and the process cartridge B is slid along the terrace 17, so that the process cartridge B is mounted on the apparatus main body 11 in the same manner as in the first embodiment. I can do it.
With this configuration, there is no need to aim and insert the guide member 13 into the introduction portion 15a of the rail portion 15, and the operator simply places the process cartridge B on the terrace 17 and then slides it along the terrace 17. Mounting becomes possible, and mounting operability is further improved.

When the process cartridge B is to be removed, even after the cartridge B comes off the rail portion 15, the operator erroneously releases the hand because the terrace 17 supports the bottom surface of the process cartridge B. Even if released, there is no possibility that the process cartridge B will fall.

[Third Reference Example] Next, a reference example obtained by further developing the second reference example will be described with reference to FIG. Also in this case, the same members as those of the above-described reference example are denoted by the same reference numerals, and overlapping description will be omitted.

In this embodiment, as in the second embodiment, a rail-shaped terrace 18 is provided on the opening / closing cover 12, but this terrace 18 projects at a predetermined distance from the opening / closing cover 12, and is provided with a process cartridge. It is configured to receive the B guide member 13.

Therefore, when the process cartridge B is mounted on the apparatus main body 11, the guide member 13 can be once mounted on the terrace 18 and inserted by sliding along the terrace 18. With this configuration, it is possible to obtain the same effects as in the above-described second reference example, and to further reduce the rubbing resistance as compared with the second reference example to further improve the mounting operation feeling.

[First Embodiment] Next, an embodiment capable of further improving the operability of the jam clearance will be described with reference to FIG. In this case, the same members as those of the above-described reference example are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

This embodiment is substantially the same as the first embodiment, except that the opening / closing cover 12 is hinged.
After the side surface of the apparatus main body 11 is opened around the center 12a, the apparatus can be slid into the apparatus.

With the above configuration, the opening / closing cover 12
Is opened (in this state, the amount by which the opening / closing cover 12 protrudes from the side of the apparatus main body is L1). L2 can be shortened.

[0033] Therefore, the operator can approach the apparatus main body 11 more in order to perform the jam processing, and the jam processing can be easily performed.

[Other Embodiments] The above-described image carrier is not limited to the photosensitive drum, but includes, for example, the following. First, a photoconductor is used as a photoconductor, and examples of the photoconductor include amorphous silicon, amorphous selenium, zinc oxide, titanium oxide, and an organic photoconductor (OPC). The shape on which the photoconductor is mounted includes, for example, a rotating body such as a drum shape and a belt shape, and a sheet shape. Generally, a drum-shaped or belt-shaped one is used. For example, in the case of a drum-type photoconductor,
The photoconductor is deposited or coated on a cylinder of aluminum alloy or the like.

As for the structure of the charging means, the so-called contact charging method is used in the first embodiment, but as another structure, a metal shield such as aluminum is provided around three sides of a conventionally used tungsten wire. It is a matter of course that a configuration may be used in which positive or negative ions generated by applying a high voltage to the tungsten wire are moved to the surface of the photosensitive drum and the surface of the drum is uniformly charged.

The charging means may be of a blade type (charging blade), a pad type, a block type, a rod type, a wire type, or the like, in addition to the roller type.

As the developing method, various developing methods such as a known two-component magnetic brush developing method, a cascade developing method, a touch-down developing method, and a cloud developing method can be used.

As a method of cleaning the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum, the cleaning means may be constituted by using a blade, a fur brush, a magnetic brush or the like.

The process cartridge described above is
It is provided with, for example, an electrophotographic photosensitive member as an image carrier and at least one of processing means. Therefore, as an aspect of the process cartridge, in addition to the above-described embodiment, for example, the image carrier and the charging means are integrally formed as a cartridge so as to be detachable from the apparatus main body. A device in which the image carrier and the developing means are integrated into a cartridge so that it can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body. A device in which the image carrier and the cleaning means are integrally formed into a cartridge and can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body. Further, there is a type in which an image carrier and two or more of the above-mentioned process means are combined into a cartridge to be detachable from the apparatus main body.

That is, the above-described process cartridge is a cartridge in which a charging unit, a developing unit or a cleaning unit and an electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally formed into a cartridge, and this cartridge is detachably mountable to an image forming apparatus main body. . In addition, at least one of the charging means, the developing means, and the cleaning means and the electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally formed into a cartridge so as to be detachably mountable to the image forming apparatus main body. Further, it means that at least the developing means and the electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally formed into a cartridge so as to be detachable from the apparatus main body.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a laser beam printer is exemplified as an image forming apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an electrophotographic copying machine, a facsimile apparatus, or another image forming apparatus such as a word processor may be used. Of course, it is also possible to use.

[0042]

According to the present invention, as described above, the operability of attaching and detaching the process cartridge can be improved.

Further, according to the present invention, when the opening / closing cover is opened, the opening / closing cover is configured to be slidable into the main body of the image forming apparatus. This makes it easier for the user to put his hand in, and improves the operability of jam handling.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a locus when a process cartridge is attached to and detached from an image forming apparatus.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a guide member of the process cartridge.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a process cartridge is inserted.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a state in which a process cartridge is mounted.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram according to a second reference example in which a terrace is provided on an opening / closing cover.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram according to a third reference example in which a terrace is provided on an opening / closing cover.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view according to a first embodiment in which an opening / closing cover can be partially inserted into the apparatus main body.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Optical system, 2 ... Recording medium, 3 ... Conveying means, 3a ... Cassette, 3b ... Pickup roller, 3c, 3d ... Conveying roller pair, 3e, 3f ... Discharge roller pair, 4 ... Transfer roller,
5 fixing means, 5a fixing rotating body, 5b driving roller,
6 discharge section, 7 photosensitive drum, 8 charging roller, 9
Developing means, 10 ... Cleaning means, 11 ... Device body, 12 ...
Opening / closing cover, 12a hinge, 13 guide member, 13a cylindrical portion, 13b rib portion, 14 drum pin, 15 rail portion,
15a: introduction part, 15b: parallel part, 16: bearing, 16a: guide part, 16b: fitting part, 17, 18: terrace

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Masaaki Nishikawa 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Akihiro Asada 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon (56) References JP-A-4-133069 (JP, A) JP-A-4-107481 (JP, A) JP-A-4-184360 (JP, A) JP-A-4-147272 (JP, A) A) JP-A-3-192054 (JP, A) JP-A-6-250450 (JP, A) JP-A-6-138744 (JP, A) JP-A-6-148962 (JP, A) JP-A-6 JP-138742 (JP, A) JP-A-3-288865 (JP, A) JP-A-5-61281 (JP, A) JP-A-60-211472 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. . ^7, DB name) G03G 21/16

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An image forming apparatus in which a process cartridge is detachably mountable and which records an image on a recording medium, is provided with an electrophotographic photosensitive member and a process cartridge having at least one process means acting on the electrophotographic photosensitive member. Mounting means for transferring the recording medium, transfer means for transferring an image formed on the electrophotographic photosensitive member to a recording medium, and recording the image transferred by the transfer means. Fixing means for fixing to a medium; and an openable / closable cover provided upstream of the transfer means in the direction of conveyance of the recording medium for opening / closing the process cartridge. An opening / closing cover that rotates about a fulcrum provided at the center and is slidable into the main body of the device when the opening / closing cover is open. An image forming apparatus comprising: