JP3472408B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile. 2. Description of the Related Art A conventional image forming apparatus is disclosed in JP-A-7-844.
As Ru 19 JP near, disassembly of the unit, and,
An image forming apparatus for easily reusing and reusing units, a unit detachably mounted in the main body of the image forming apparatus, or a mounting member including components detachably mounted in the unit; A support member for supporting the mounting member at a predetermined position, a guide portion provided on a side portion of the mounting member, and a guide portion engaged with the side portion of the support member to guide the mounting member to the predetermined position. Guide groove is provided,
The guide groove is configured to guide each of the plurality of mounting members to a predetermined position depending on a difference in shape and size of the guide portion. [0003] In the above-described image forming apparatus, in order to disassemble the unit and disassemble and assemble the unit components, and to reuse and reuse the unit more easily and accurately, structurally, Very complex structure,
Moreover, the number of parts has increased. [0004] Further, in the case where a mounting component provided to be mountable to the image forming apparatus is divided into a resin material and a metal material, the resin material and the metal material are conventionally mixed. So it takes time to classify, and
Accuracy. The image forming apparatus of the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and the mounting unit is composed of a plurality of replacement parts each having a different replacement time, and the parts having the same replacement time are integrally removably attached. Thus, an object of the present invention is to make it easy to remove a replacement part at the time of replacement. According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus, comprising: a mounting unit detachably mounted in the image forming apparatus; capable and a replacement part comprising an aggregate of a single component or the components to be mounted, the mounting unit is composed of a plurality of the replacement part having different respective prescribed life,
Removably attached integrally to the same parts of the prescribed life, each replacement part, display the specified life by the color displayed by coloring the color provided by provisions life, and of the mounting unit, defines life same Can be removed integrally
If possible, a character with the specified life is engraved. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus according to the present invention. Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the overall structure of an image forming apparatus having an automatic document feed function according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, in the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment, a document feeder 2 is installed above an image forming apparatus main body 1. At the center of the inside of the image forming apparatus main body 1,
A photoreceptor drum 3 is rotatably installed, and a charging charger 4, an eraser lamp 5, a developing device 6, a transfer charger 7, a cleaning device 8, and a static elimination lamp are arranged on the outer periphery thereof, and constitute a copying process unit. ing. Further, a fixing device 9 is provided on the paper discharge side of the photosensitive drum 3. A paper feed cassette 10 is detachably mounted at a lower portion of the main body 1 of the image forming apparatus. Paper cassette 10
A paper feed roller 11 is provided at the upper part of the printer, and the paper feed roller 11 is driven to rotate by a paper feed drive motor (not shown). The paper accommodated in the paper feed cassette 10 is sequentially fed from the top by a paper feed roller 11,
Are selectively sent out one by one. A plurality of paper transport rollers 13 are provided in the transport path 12, and these transport rollers 13 are driven to rotate in conjunction with the paper feed rollers 11 by a transport drive motor (not shown). . A registration roller 14 is provided in front of the photosensitive drum 3. Transport path 12
The paper detection sensor 1 is located on the front side of the registration roller 14 of FIG.
5 are installed. A paper discharge roller 16 is provided on the paper discharge side of the fixing device 9, and a paper discharge tray 17 is provided in front of the paper discharge roller 16. At the top of the image forming apparatus main body 1, a document placing contact glass 18 is provided so as to face the document transporting device 2. The optical system unit 19 includes a copy lamp 20 for exposing a document on the contact glass 18, a plurality of mirrors 21, and a lens 22.
The mirror 21 is operable by a motor (not shown). In particular, the copy lamp 20 can be moved a specific distance by a stepping motor. A document cover 24 is provided above the contact glass 18 so as to be openable and closable about the shaft 23 of the image forming apparatus main body 1. A document holding mat 25 is attached below the document cover 24. . The document cover 24 is provided with an open / close switch 26 for detecting the open / close state. The document feeder 2 is mounted on a document cover 24. A document tray 27 using the upper surface of the document cover 24, a feed roller 28 and a paper feed roller 29 for feeding documents from the document tray 27, A guide plate 30 for guiding to an exposure section A on one side of the contact glass 18, a platen roller 31 for transporting a document on the exposure section A, and a discharge roller 33 for discharging the exposed document to a discharge tray 32 are provided. ing. Except for the exposure part A of the contact glass 18 of the exposure part, the exposure part B is capable of exposing a document placed on the contact glass 18. Above the contact glass 18, a temperature detecting sensor 34 for detecting the temperature of the contact glass 18 is provided. The platen roller 31 is rotatably supported on one end surface of the contact glass 18 and can be rotated forward and backward by a stepping motor. Then, the driven roller 35 is installed in contact with the platen roller 31. A regulating guide 36 is provided below the platen roller 31 so as to be vertically movable. The feeding roller 28 is located on the upper paper feed roller 2.
A solenoid 37 is provided in the vicinity of the rotatable roller 9 so as to move the attracting roller 28 toward and away from the document tray 27. Then, when the solenoid 37 is turned on, the attraction roller 28 comes into contact with the document, and the document can be fed. A document feed sensor 38 for detecting the passage of a document is provided in the middle of the guide plate 30, and a document discharge sensor 39 for detecting the passage of the document is provided in front of the discharge roller 33. As shown in FIG. 2, the front cab 40 on the front side of the image forming apparatus main body 1 is disengaged by operating the front cab open button 41 in the direction of the arrow C in the figure to release the engagement in the direction of the arrow D in the figure. By rotating the main body opening / closing lever 42 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 in the direction of arrow E in FIG. 3, the main body 1 of the image forming apparatus is passed through the upper unit 43 and the lower unit 44 as shown in FIG. It is divided at the transfer path 12). FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing a main part of an application example 1 of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, which is detachably mounted in the image forming apparatus main body 1 and transmits drive to a process section which is a rotating section. Gear box section 45 composed of a group of gears and the like
FIG. An image forming apparatus has a specified life of 15
The prescribed life of the gear box unit 45 is 50,000 sheets, and the prescribed life of the image forming apparatus is three times the prescribed life of the gear box unit 45. A box 45a, which is a frame of the gear box portion 45, and a plurality of first gears 46a, second gears 46b,
The third gear 46c, the fourth gear 46d, and the fifth gear 46e are made of only the same resin material, are housed in the box 45a, and cover the box 45a with the box cover 47 so that the first gear 46a and the 2 gear 46b,
The third gear 46c, the fourth gear 46d, and the fifth gear 46e are integrally formed as a gear box 45 in a state where they are rotatably meshed with each other without fastening parts, and are used as mounting members made of only the same material. The gear 48, which has been directly driven by a main drive motor (not shown) for transmitting the drive to the process section of the image forming apparatus, is driven by a gear 49 which is rotatable in a direction indicated by an arrow F in FIG. The driving force is transmitted to the first gear 46a of the box portion 45. The first gear 46a is provided with the cleaning device 8
The driving force is transmitted to the second gear 46b interlocking with the third gear 46c, and at the same time, the driving is transmitted to the third gear 46c. Third gear 46
c, the drive shaft 3a of the photosensitive drum 3 is inserted and fitted with the same rotation direction via the fourth gear 46d, and the photosensitive drum 3
The driving force is transmitted to the fifth gear 46e that rotates the. The photosensitive drum 3 rotates in the direction of arrow G in the figure, and the cleaning blade 50 scrapes off residual toner that cannot be transferred to the sheet. The scraped-off toner is collected in a waste toner box 51 by a cleaning device 8 rotating in the direction of arrow H in the figure. The arrow I in the figure is the direction in which the paper is transported. Each of the first gear 46a, the second gear 46b,
The third gear 46c, the fourth gear 46d, and the fifth gear 46e are
After the gear box 45a is temporarily fixed to the mounting plate 52 provided on the side of the photosensitive drum 3 and the cleaning device 8 by a locking claw 45b molded or formed integrally with the gear box 45a, the gear box 45a is fixed to the gear box 45a. A screw 54 is inserted into a certain screw hole 53 and fixed to the mounting plate 52 with the screw 54. The first gear 46a, third gear 46c, and fourth gear 46d that do not rotate with the support shaft are rotatably inserted into a circular support shaft 55 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the second gear 46
The b and the fifth gear 46e are temporarily inserted in a circular groove 56 formed on the back surface thereof into a circular rib 57 integrally molded or integrally formed with the gear box 45a so as to be rotatable. Is attached to the box 45a. Then, the support shaft and the drive shaft 3a of the photosensitive drum 3 are inserted into the fifth gear 46e (the second gear 46b).
As a result, the fifth gear 46e is separated from the rib 57 and fits with the drive shaft 3a. As shown in FIG. 9, the fifth gear 46e is formed with a fitting claw 59 having elasticity so as to project into a fitting hole 58 into which the drive shaft 3a is inserted and fitted. The fitting claw 59 is fitted in the fitting groove 3b formed in the axial direction, and the rotation of the fifth gear 46e is transmitted to the photosensitive drum 3. As described above, the first gear 46a, the second gear 46b, the third gear 46c, the fourth gear 46d, and the fifth gear 4a
6e are housed in the box 45a, and the box cover 47 is integrally formed with the box cover 47 or attached to the box 45a by the hook 47a integrally formed to form the gear box portion 45. Then, the gear box portion 45 is attached to the mounting plate. 52. In this way, the gear box 45 can be easily attached to and detached from the mounting plate 52, and the second gear 46b and the fifth gear 46e can be fitted and removed from the support shaft very easily. The gear group made of the same material is easily detachable from the image forming apparatus. Therefore, when the gear box 45 having a specified life shorter than the specified life of the image forming apparatus is used for disassembly and disposal after use of the specified life, the screw 54 shown in FIG.
, And disengage the lock claw 45b.
The gear groups can be integrally separated by simply removing the gear box section 45, and when installing a new gear group, the gear groups are replaced by a very simple operation of simply attaching the gear box section 45. be able to. The process section is also detachable from the image forming apparatus main body 1. The specified life of the process section (replacement cartridge) is 100,000 sheets, twice the specified life of the gear box section 45. Has become the prescribed life. 4 is a process unit (process unit), which can be taken out in the direction of arrow J in the figure. As shown in FIG.
Are detachably attached to the mounting plate 52 of the process section by screws 54, so that the gear box section 45 is integrally detachable so that the gear box section 45 can be easily replaced. [0036] FIGS. 11 to 16 are views showing an example of an image forming apparatus of the present invention, the components of the image forming apparatus comprises a plurality of materials, it is composed of a plurality of replacement parts having different respective replacement time Reference numeral 61 denotes a sheet feeding unit detachably attached to the image forming apparatus main body 1. The removal of the paper feed unit 61 is described in FIG.
As shown in FIG.
0 is operated by operating the front cab open button 41 in the direction of arrow C in the figure to release the engagement, thereby turning the main body opening / closing lever 42 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 to the arrow E in FIG. The image forming apparatus main body 1 is tilted in the direction shown in FIG.
As shown in (1), the upper unit 43 and the lower unit 44 are divided on the paper passing surface as a boundary. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 12, by removing the screw 62, the sheet feeding unit 61 can be detached from the image forming apparatus main body 1 (lower unit 44). FIG. 13 is a plan view of the paper feed unit 61. The paper feed unit 61 is roughly composed of a paper transport roller 13, a registration roller 14, a roller receiving member 63, an auxiliary member 64 and the like, which are roughly indicated by diagonal lines in the figure. Roller unit, a sensor unit including the sheet detection sensors 15a and 15b, a gear unit including gears 65, 66, 67, a solenoid 68, a clutch unit 69, and a frame of the sheet feeding unit 61. And a paper feed frame 70. FIG. 14 is a detailed view of the roller section. The roller unit is fixed to the paper feed unit 61 with screws 62 and the like. The paper transport roller 13 and the registration roller 14 are rotatably fixed to a roller receiving member 63 via a bearing 71. In FIG. 13, a driving force is transmitted to the sheet conveying roller 13 by a gear 65 which is interlocked with the support shaft 13a. The registration roller 14 turns on the solenoid 68
Thus, the support shaft 14a of the registration roller 14 and the clutch 6
The driving force is transmitted by the gear 66 interlocked via the gear 9. The gear 65 and the gear 66 are connected to a gear 6 to which a driving force is directly transmitted by a conveyance driving motor (not shown).
7, the driving force is obtained. The paper transport roller 13 (specified life 5)
0000 sheets), registration roller 14 (specified life 5
000), and the bearing 71 (specified life of 50,000)
(00 sheets) are removed after the use of their prescribed life, the screws 62 are removed, and 20 to 30 in the direction of arrow K shown in FIG.
mm, the support shafts 13a and 14a of the sheet transport roller 13 and the registration roller 14 are moved to gears 65 and 66, respectively.
By further extracting, the paper transport roller 13, the registration roller 14, and the bearing 71 having the same defined (replacement) life can be integrally removed as a roller. In FIG. 13, an area indicated by a dotted line is a sensor section 72 composed of the sheet detection sensor 15a, the sheet detection sensor 15b, and the like. By removing the screw 73, the sensor unit 72 is integrally detachable from the rear surface in the figure. FIG. 15 is a detailed view of the sensor section 72. The paper detection sensors 15a and 15b are installed in front of the registration rollers 14 on the transport path 12 in FIG.
When the paper is transported by the paper transport roller 13 in the direction, the paper detection sensor 15
And the paper detection sensors 75a and 75b are turned ON. When the paper detection sensors 15a and 15b (specified life 100,000 sheets) and the sensors 75a and 75b (specified life 100,000 sheets) are replaced after using the specified life, the screws 73 are removed. The sensor unit 72 can be integrally removed. As described above, the paper feed unit 61 has a replacement time of 5
Replacement parts (paper transport roller 1)
3, the registration roller 14, and the bearing 71) are replaced by rollers (sheet detection sensors 15a, 15b, and sensor 7) whose replacement time is matched for 100,000 sheets.
5a and 75b) can be detached integrally as sensor units. In the above-described application example 1 , the paper transport roller 13, the registration roller 14, the bearing 71, and the paper detection sensor 15, which are replacement parts among the components of the image forming apparatus.
As shown in FIG. 16, the paper conveying roller 13 has a specified life of 50K (50 K) as shown in FIG. 16 so that the specified life (replacement) can be visually recognized. (2,000 sheets) of characters 76 are displayed by engraving and the like, the registration rollers 14 are similarly displayed, and the bearings 71 are similarly displayed by engraving of the characters 76 as shown in FIG. Similarly, other replacement parts such as the paper detection sensors 15a and 15b and the sensors 75a and 75b have their specified lives indicated by letters or the like. Also, the specified life may be displayed by color display by coloring a color such as red, blue, yellow or the like provided for each specified (exchange) life on each replacement part. The sheet conveying roller 1 is Oite in the above examples, the same provisions life in the sheet feeding unit (50K)
3, the registration roller 14 and the bearing 71 are integrally detachable as a roller, and are part of the roller by engraving a 50K character which is the specified life of the roller as shown in FIG. One or more are displayed on the roller receiving member 63. Similarly, one or a plurality of the specified lives of the replacement parts having the same specified life are displayed by engraving or the like on the replacement parts group which can be integrally attached and detached. Further, the specified life may be displayed by coloring each of the replacement parts groups with a color such as red, blue, yellow or the like provided for each replacement life. As described above, by displaying the specified life, it is possible to visually recognize the life easily when replacing the specified life. Further, since the visual recognition of the specified life of the replacement parts group can be easily and integrally performed, the recycling efficiency of the replacement cartridge can be improved. In FIG. 1, the components of the image forming apparatus are composed of a plurality of materials. Polycarbonate (outer wall 77 of the fixing member), which is a resin material, is red, polystyrene (paper feed cassette 10) is blue, and ABS (paper discharge). Tray 17) is yellow, PRE (the inner wall of image forming apparatus main body 1) is gray, PO
M (gear) is white, nylon (gear) is translucent, PE
(The frame of the opening / closing cover 27) may be green, the metal stainless steel may be silver, and the steel may be black. [0054] Further, in the application example 1 shown in FIG. 5, defines life 50K gearbox portion 45 of the mounted by screws 54 to the process unit, the <br/> Oite embodiment shown in FIG. 13, the defined life 50K The roller unit is attached to the sheet feeding unit with a screw 62. The screws 54 and the screws 62 for attaching the replacement parts having the same specified life are the same type and the same shape or the same color. Replacement parts having a specified life of 50K other than the gear box 45 and the roller are also provided by screws 54 and 62.
Uses screws of the same type and shape or the same color. By loosening the screws of the same kind (color, shape, etc.), only the replacement parts of the same specified life can be removed, and the replacement parts of the other specified life are only unified screws of the same type. , And the replacement parts with unified screws according to the specified life can be removed, so that the parts attached with the same kind of screw at the time of replacement work have the same specified life, so the work efficiency at the time of replacement is improved be able to. FIG. 19 shows an application example 2 of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a process unit detachable from the image forming apparatus by the photosensitive drum 3, charging charger 4, eraser lamp 5, developing device 6, and cleaning device 8 in FIG. The removal of the process unit is described in FIG.
As shown in FIG.
0 is operated by operating the front cab open button 41 in the direction of arrow C in the figure to release the engagement, thereby turning the main body opening / closing lever 42 shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 to the arrow E in FIG. The image forming apparatus main body 1 is tilted in the direction shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 4, the upper unit 43 and the lower unit 44 are divided on the paper passing surface as a boundary, and a portion 60 indicated by oblique lines in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 19, the photosensitive drum 3 and the developing sleeve 77 of the process unit are integrally formed of a conductive material, and each of them obtains a driving force by different driving means. A gear 78 of a conductive material fixed to the photosensitive drum 3 obtains a driving force by a gear 48 existing in another unit below the photosensitive drum 3 or the image forming apparatus main body 1 in FIG. Similarly, the gear 79 of the conductive material fixed to the developing sleeve 77 receives the driving force by the gear 80 directly formed on another unit below the developing sleeve 77 or the image forming apparatus main body 1. The driving force is obtained by a gear 80 different from the gear 48 that applies the driving force to the body drum 3. The photosensitive drum 3 and the developing sleeve 77 are held by an insulating support member 81. The support member 81 is hinged about a rotation support portion 82 as a rotation fulcrum, and is rotated to a position shown by a two-dot chain line in the drawing. It is possible to Support member 81
The rotation of the photosensitive drum 3 is restricted by a locking member 84 which can be moved in the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 3, and the photosensitive drum 3 and the developing sleeve 77 are guided to a predetermined position. I will The photosensitive drum 3 in the process unit
Parts other than the developing sleeve 77 are made of the same insulating resin material. After the process unit has been used for a prescribed (replacement) life, when the disposal or disassembly is performed, the supporting member 8 is used.
By pivoting the hinge 1 on a conductive material group, a conductive material group composed of the photosensitive drum 3 and the developing sleeve 77 easily,
It can be classified into other insulating material groups. As described above, in the process unit that can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus, it can be easily classified into the conductive material group and the other insulating material group, and the efficiency of sorting and disposal can be improved. it can. [0065] [Effect of the Invention] The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 wherein, the provisions la
Since the same parts of the IF are integrally detachably attached, the parts having the same prescribed life can be easily removed integrally from the parts constituted by a plurality of replacement parts, thereby improving work efficiency. be able to. In addition, as described above, by displaying the specified life, it is possible to easily visually recognize the replacement when the specified life is used. Further, since the visual recognition of the specified life of the replacement parts group can be easily and integrally performed, the recycling efficiency of the replacement cartridge can be improved. [0069]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which a front mold in FIG. 1 is opened. FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view showing a state after a front mold is opened in FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state where an upper unit and a lower unit in FIG. 1 are opened. FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of a first application example of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing attachment of a first gear 46a of FIG. 5; FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a box 45a of the gear box unit 45 of FIG. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing attachment of a fifth gear 46e of FIG. 5; FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where the drive shaft 3a of the photosensitive drum 3 is inserted and fitted into the fitting hole 58 of the fifth gear 46e of FIG. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a process unit portion showing another example of the application example 1 of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. 11 is a perspective view showing a state in which opening the upper unit and a lower unit in Example of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing a state where the sheet feeding unit of FIG. 11 is removed. FIG. 13 is a plan view showing the sheet feeding unit of FIG. 11; FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing a roller unit of FIG. 11; FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing the sensor unit of FIG. 11; FIG. 16 is a perspective view illustrating another example of the roller unit of the application example 1 of the image forming apparatus according to the invention. FIG. 17 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 16; FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing another example of the roller unit of the embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 19 is a perspective view illustrating a process unit of Application Example 2 of the image forming apparatus of the present invention. [Description of Signs] 1 Image forming apparatus main body 2 Document feeder 3 Photoconductor drum 45 Gear box unit 45a Box 45b Lock claw 46 Gear 47 Box cover 52 Mounting plate 53 Screw hole 54 Screw

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Kazuo Nakamura 22-22 Nagaikecho, Abeno-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Inside Sharp Corporation (72) Inventor Hiroaki Dori 22-22 Nagaikecho, Abeno-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Inside Sharp Corporation (72) Inventor Yoshiyuki Shiraishi 22-22 Nagaike-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Sharp Corporation (72) Inventor Takashi Dori 22-22 Nagaike-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka city, Osaka Sharp Corporation (72) Inventor Tomi Minoru 22-22, Nagaike-cho, Abeno-ku, Osaka-shi, Sharp Corporation (56) References JP-A-3-125059 (JP, A) JP-A-3-200980 (JP, A) JP-A-4-151173 ( JP, A) JP-A-5-19613 (JP, A) JP-A-6-130738 (JP, A) JP-A-7-174214 (JP, A) JP-A-7-181797 (JP, A) JP Hei 8-9078 (JP, A) JP-A Hei 8-123296 (JP, A) Japanese Utility Model Hei 5-94851 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G0 3G 15/00 550 G03G 21/16-21/18 F16H 1/06

Claims (1)

(57) and the mounting unit All Claims to claim 1] is detachably mounted in the image forming apparatus, comprising an aggregate of a single component or the components to be detachably attached to the mounting unit replacement and a component, the mounting unit is composed of a plurality of the <br/> replacement parts having different respective prescribed life, integrally attached removably to the same parts of the prescribed life, each replacement part, the provisions Life The specified life is displayed by coloring the color provided separately, and the specified life is the same among the above-mentioned mounting units and can be integrally removed.
An image forming apparatus for displaying one character of a specified life.