JP4041811B2 - Color image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a color image forming apparatus such as a color copying machine, a color printer, or a color facsimile having an intermediate transfer member.

JP-A-2-294673

  As a typical conventional color image forming apparatus, a photosensitive drum that forms a latent image and a transfer drum that holds a transfer paper and transfers a toner image on the photosensitive member, or a photosensitive drum is used. A system in which a plurality of toners are superimposed and transferred onto transfer paper has been put into practical use. In the method using a transfer drum, the transfer paper must be held electrostatically or mechanically on the transfer drum, so it is difficult to use small-size paper such as postcards or thick paper as transfer paper. It is not so-called paper-free. Also, with the method of mechanically holding the leading edge of the transfer paper, the image cannot be transferred to the entire transfer paper.

  A method of superimposing a plurality of toner images on the photosensitive drum has also been proposed and put into practical use. In this method, a latent image is formed by charging and exposing the photosensitive member again from the toner image transferred in advance. Since the process of developing is performed a plurality of times, it is difficult to maintain good charging uniformity, and the image quality is inferior to that of the conventional transfer drum system.

  In order to solve these conventional drawbacks, paper-free properties that allow postcards and cardboards to be used as transfer paper are achieved, and a toner image of each color formed on the photoreceptor is achieved as a system that can achieve high-quality images. There has been proposed a method of obtaining a full-color image by sequentially superimposing and transferring to the same position on an intermediate transfer member such as an endless belt, and transferring and fixing the transferred image onto a transfer sheet. However, there are problems in the size of the machine and the jam handling operation in terms of how to arrange the intermediate transfer belt in the apparatus main body while taking advantage of the paper-free property. In order to efficiently reduce the cross-sectional area of the apparatus main body, it is necessary to reduce as much as possible the volume of the intermediate transfer belt body having a circumferential length that once holds the entire print image area. In order to simplify the configuration of the intermediate transfer belt body as much as possible and reduce the cost, the configuration with the support by two rollers is most preferable, but conversely, it becomes longer in the direction between the roller shafts (for example, In an apparatus that can use A3 size paper as transfer paper, it becomes as large as 260 mm.) Further, when the intermediate transfer belt is arranged in the vertical direction, the apparatus main body becomes high, and when the intermediate transfer belt is laid sideways, the depth is increased, and the transfer paper conveyance path becomes long.

  In order to solve these points, in the device described in Patent Document 1, the intermediate transfer belt is used to reduce the size of the transfer paper transport path to the upper transport type. The size of the entire apparatus main body cannot always be achieved because the image forming unit and the paper discharge stack unit protrude.

  In view of the above-described conventional problems, the present invention achieves a color image forming apparatus that reduces the size of the main body of the apparatus by optimally arranging the intermediate transfer belt, improves the processing operability of the transfer paper, and maintains high image quality. The purpose is to provide.

The color image forming apparatus according to claim 1 is disposed adjacent to the apparatus main body, an open / close cover that can open the inside of the apparatus main body, an image carrier that carries an image on the surface, and the image carrier. A belt-like intermediate transfer member constructed by at least two rollers to which an image is transferred from the image carrier, and the intermediate transfer member is inclined from the lower side to the upper side of the apparatus main body. In addition, the image carrier and the intermediate transfer member form one unit. The unit opens the open / close cover , rotates it to the open side, and holds and fixes it substantially vertically, and then from the apparatus main body. a removable vertically, the open-close cover, characterized in that it is open not prevented from holding and fixing the pivot and substantially perpendicular of the unit, and so as not to interfere with the trajectory of the take-out direction of the unit To.

Preferably, the unit has a protrusion protruding from a side surface of the unit, and a restricting portion for restricting the protrusion is provided on the apparatus main body side, and the protrusion is guided to the restricting portion when the unit is attached or detached. It is.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a color image forming apparatus, the apparatus main body, an opening / closing cover capable of opening the inside of the apparatus main body, a paper feeding unit disposed below the apparatus main body, and an upper part of the apparatus main body. A paper discharge unit, a fixing unit that fixes an image on a recording medium, a developing unit that is detachable from the inside of the apparatus main body, a developer unit that has a plurality of colors of developer, and a developer applied from the developing unit to the surface. An image carrier on which an image is formed; and a belt-like intermediate transfer member provided adjacent to the image carrier and onto which an image is transferred from the image carrier, and is constructed by at least two rollers. The fixing unit is disposed adjacent to the paper discharge unit, and the intermediate transfer member is provided so as to be inclined so that a recording medium is supplied from the lower sheet feeding unit and conveyed to the upper fixing unit. The image carrier and the intermediate transfer member One unit was formed, after the unit was the open side substantially vertically held and fixed by rotating the after opening the cover, a removable from the apparatus main body in a substantially vertical direction, the cover is The unit is opened so as not to hinder the rotation of the unit and to hold and fix the unit substantially vertically, and so as not to hinder the trajectory in the take-out direction of the unit.

A protrusion projecting from a side surface of the unit; and a restricting portion provided on the apparatus main body side so that the unit is restricted inside the apparatus. It is preferable to be guided to.

It is preferable that a support member for detachably supporting the unit is provided so as to be rotatable with respect to the apparatus main body, and the support member is rotatable while supporting the unit.

It is preferable that the unit has a handle at the top, and that the unit can be attached and detached vertically using the unit.

The color image forming apparatus according to claim 1 can easily take out and mount the unit, and can realize excellent operability .

According to the configuration of the second aspect, it can be easily attached and detached by being guided by the restricting portion when the unit is attached and detached .

In the color image forming apparatus according to the third aspect, the unit can be easily taken out and attached, and excellent operability can be realized .

According to the configuration of the fourth aspect , the unit can be easily attached and detached by being guided by the restricting unit when the unit is attached and detached .

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the unit can be easily moved to the take-out position by rotating while being supported by the support member .

According to the configuration of the sixth aspect, the unit can be easily taken out and mounted using the handle .

  An embodiment of a color image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a color image forming apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a flexible belt-like photoconductor as a belt-like image carrier, and this photoconductor belt 1 is installed between rotating rollers 2 and 3, and drives the rotating rollers 2 and 3. Is conveyed clockwise. 4 is a charging charger as a charging means, 5 is a laser writing system unit as an image exposure means, 6 is three developing means containing yellow, magenta and cyan color developers, that is, a rotary color developing device, and 7 is a color developing device. This is a black developing device that is a developing unit that contains a black developer provided separately from the developing device 6.

  The laser writing system unit 5 has a laser beam generated by a semiconductor laser (not shown) rotated and scanned by a polygon mirror 5B rotated by a drive motor 5A, an optical path is bent by a mirror through an fθ lens 5C, and charged in advance. It is exposed on the circumference of the photosensitive belt 1 uniformly charged by the charging charger 4 to form an electrostatic latent image. For this reason, the laser writing system unit 5 is housed in a holding housing having a slit-shaped exposure opening on the upper surface and is incorporated in the apparatus main body. A bottom plate (not shown) is provided on the upper side of the paper feeding cassette 17 and below the writing system unit 5. The writing system unit 5 is incorporated therein, and the side plates of the apparatus main body are placed on the left and right sides of the roller axis to support each unit. Provided and assembled to the bottom plate. In addition to the illustrated laser optical system 5, an optical system in which a light emitting unit and a convergent light transmission body are integrated is also used. The charging charger 4, the laser writing light 5D, and the photoconductor cleaning blade 15A are provided on the rotating roller 2 side on which the photoconductor belt 1 is installed.

  The color developing unit 6 and the black developing unit 7 are each provided with a developing roller that comes close to or in contact with the photosensitive belt 1 at a predetermined position, and the latent image on the photosensitive belt 1 is developed by non-contact development or contact development. It has a function of imaging. Reference numeral 10 denotes an intermediate transfer belt as an intermediate transfer member. The intermediate transfer belt 10 is disposed between the rotating rollers 11 and 12 so as to be inclined, and is conveyed counterclockwise by driving the rotating rollers 12 and 13. Is done. The lower inclined belt surface of the intermediate transfer belt 10 is in contact with the photosensitive belt 1 and the intermediate transfer belt 10 at the part of the rotating roller 3, and the first visible image on the photosensitive belt 1 is intermediate. The image is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 10 by the bias brush 13 provided in the transfer belt (primary transfer position), and by repeating the same process, the second image, the third image, The fourth visible images are superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 10 and transferred so as not to cause positional deviation. A transfer roller 14 serving as a secondary transfer member is provided on the rotation roller 11 of the intermediate transfer belt 10 so as to be in contact with and away from the intermediate transfer belt 10. The distance on the intermediate transfer belt 10 from the primary transfer position to the secondary transfer position is set to be equal to or longer than the maximum image output length. In the figure, reference numeral 15 denotes a waste toner collecting container including a cleaning blade 15A for the photosensitive belt 1, 16 is a cleaning device for the intermediate transfer belt 10, and the blade 16A of the cleaning device 16 is separated from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 10 during image formation. Held at the above-mentioned position and pressed against the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 10 as shown in the drawing only during cleaning after the secondary image transfer.

  FIG. 2 shows the internal configuration of the color and black developing units 6 and 7, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the color developing unit 6. The rotary type color developing device 6 is provided with a casing 21 which is a rotating body so as to be rotatable around a rotation center O, and the casing 21 can be rotated in the clockwise direction in the drawing by driving a drive mechanism (not shown). It has become. The casing 21 integrally holds yellow, magenta, and cyan developing units 22 (-Y, M, C). Each color developing unit 22 (-Y, M, C) takes the same form and the same operation.

  The photosensitive belt 1 laid between the rotating rollers 2 and 3 is disposed with the belt surface vertically or slightly inclined, and the color developing device 6 is disposed in the lower portion and the black developing device 7 is disposed in the upper portion in parallel. is there. As described above, since the intermediate transfer belt 10 is tilted and the photosensitive belt 1 is substantially vertical, the waste toner collection container 15 can secure a certain amount of space.

  At the developing position in the color developing unit 6, the developing roller 23 is disposed to face the photosensitive belt 1 so that the developing roller 23 rotates in the same direction as the moving direction of the photosensitive belt 1 with a predetermined linear velocity ratio. Is done. Below the developing roller 23, a supply roller 25 made of an elastic material such as polyurethane foam slides on the rubbing portion with the developing roller 28 and rotates in the same direction as the developing roller 23 with a predetermined linear velocity ratio. Is provided. A developing blade 26 made of a thin plate having a spring property such as stainless steel is provided on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the supply roller 25 so that one end thereof is in contact with the developing roller 23.

  As shown in FIG. 3, a toner container 29 is provided on the front side of the developing device 6, and the screw-like first toner transport member 27 is developed from the toner container 29 to the rear of the color developer 6. The unit 22 is disposed in parallel with the developing roller 23 and the supply roller 25 to reach the side plate, and conveys the toner from the front side to the rear side in the drawing. Then, it is linked with the developing roller 23 and the supply roller 25 and rotates with them at a predetermined linear velocity ratio. The development unit partition plate 24 is disposed so that a part thereof is in contact with the supply roller 25, and a toner conveyance space surrounding the first toner conveyance member 27 is formed by the development roller 23, the supply roller 25, and the like. . The toner supplied onto the supply roller 25 is supplied to the surface of the developing roller 23 by the supply roller 25 to be charged, and is carried on the surface of the developing roller 23. The toner carried on the surface of the developing roller 23 is thinned by the developing blade 26 to develop the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photoreceptor belt 1.

  By the way, the toner that has not been used in the developing process is transported by the first toner transport member 27 to the rear end portion of the developing device 6 on the side facing the toner containing portion 29, and the axial direction of the developing roller 23 and the supply roller 25. The toner reaches a toner circulation portion provided outside the effective diameter portion, and the toner falls to the lower portion of the developing unit 22 due to gravity. Below the developing unit 22, a screw-like second toner conveying member 28 is also arranged in parallel with the developing roller 23, the supply roller 25 and the first toner conveying member 27. Rotates so as to convey the toner in the reverse direction, and the toner that has not been used in the developing process is conveyed to the toner containing portion 29. By appropriately setting the toner transport amounts of the first toner transport unit 27 and the second toner transport member 28, the toner on the supply roller 25 can be detected without performing toner amount detection or complicated toner supply amount control in the developing unit 22. Thus, the small color developing device 6 can be supplied with toner, has a high degree of freedom in layout, and has a small cross-sectional occupation ratio with respect to the photosensitive belt 1. Note that the toner cartridge 30 in FIG. 3 is detachable from the toner accommodating portion 29, and the toner cartridge 30 is exchanged when the toner is replenished.

  The black developing device 6 is a developing device of a type in which black toner is contained in the developing container 41, and is a developing device integrally formed as a so-called developing cartridge in which the life of the developing device is replaced when the toner ends. As with the developing unit 22 of the color developing unit 7, the developing roller 23 faces the photosensitive belt 1 so that the developing roller 23 rotates in the same direction as the moving direction of the photosensitive belt 1 with a predetermined linear velocity ratio. Arranged. Above the developing roller 23, a supply roller 25 made of an elastic material such as polyurethane foam slides on the rubbing portion with the developing roller 23 and rotates in the same direction as the developing roller 23 with a predetermined linear velocity ratio. Further, a developing blade 26 made of a thin plate having a spring property such as stainless steel is provided so that one end thereof is in contact with the developing roller 23. A paddle 42 having a plurality of blade-like portions for stirring the toner in the vicinity of the developing blade 26 is provided in the developing container 41, and a first agitator for transporting and stirring the toner to the supply roller 25 and the developing roller 23 side. 43 and a second agitator 44 are provided. Although the developing cartridge of the type including the toner is used here, it is a matter of course that a developing device that replaces and replenishes the toner cartridge like a color developing device may be used. Further, the black developing device 7 can swing in the horizontal direction with respect to the photosensitive belt 1, and moves away from the photosensitive belt 1 when not developing, and approaches or contacts the photosensitive belt 1 when developing.

  As the process cartridge 31, the photosensitive belt 1, the charging charger 4, the intermediate transfer belt 10, the cleaning device 16, and the registration roller 20 </ b> B are integrated, and the waste toner collection container 15 is incorporated in the process cartridge 31 in a replaceable manner. It is. The surface of the registration roller 20B in the case exterior portion of the process cartridge 31 also has a function as a conveyance guide.

  Here, the waste toner scraped off from the intermediate transfer belt 10 by the cleaning blade 16A is conveyed toward the front side of the cross section by the auger 16B provided in the cleaning device 16, and is further provided on the front side surface of the process cartridge 31. It is conveyed to a waste toner collecting container 15 by a conveying member (not shown) and collected. As a result, the waste toner can be collected without replacing the process cartridge 31, so that the life of the process cartridge can be extended.

  The conveyance path to the conveyance roller 19, the registration roller 20, the transfer roller 14, and the fixing device 50 is arranged substantially parallel to the inclined belt surface of the intermediate transfer belt 10 to reduce the size of the apparatus main body.

  The image forming process by the color image forming apparatus described above is performed as follows. First, formation of a multicolor image is performed according to an image forming system described below. In other words, the image data processing unit calculates the data obtained by the color image data input unit that scans the original image with the image sensor, and the image data is temporarily stored in the image memory. Next, the image memory is taken out at the time of recording and input to a color image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 as a recording unit. That is, when a color signal output from an image reading apparatus separate from the printer is input to the laser writing system unit 5, the laser beam generated by a semiconductor laser (not shown) in the laser writing system 5 is On the circumference of the photoreceptor belt 1 which is rotated and scanned by a polygon mirror 5B rotated by a drive motor 5A, bent by a mirror through an fθ lens 5C, and uniformly charged in advance by a charging charger 4 as charging means. And an electrostatic latent image is formed.

  Here, the image pattern to be exposed is a single-color image pattern when a desired full-color image is color-separated into yellow, magenta, cyan, and black. The formed three-color electrostatic latent image is developed by rotating the rotary color developing device 6 with the yellow, magenta, and cyan developing units sequentially facing the photosensitive belt 1, and is developed and made monochromatic. A single color image is formed (at this time, the black developing device 7 is retracted to the non-developing position with respect to the photosensitive belt 1), and the black electrostatic latent image is developed by the black developing device 7 and becomes visible. Colorization and monochromation form a monochromatic image. The single-color image formed on the photosensitive belt 1 is sequentially superimposed and transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 10 that rotates counterclockwise while being in contact with the photosensitive belt 1. The yellow, magenta, cyan, and black images superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 10 are conveyed from the sheet feeding cassette 17 through the sheet feeding roller 18, the conveying roller 19, and the registration roller 20 to the transfer unit, and the transfer roller 14 is in the middle. The image is transferred by contact with the rotating roller 11 of the transfer belt via transfer paper. At this time, when the transfer roller 14 comes into contact, the image rear end primary transfer portion on the intermediate transfer belt has passed through as described above. After the transfer is completed, the transfer paper is fixed by the fixing device 50 to complete a full color image.

  Next, the configuration of the apparatus main body will be described with reference to FIGS. The apparatus main body structure is composed of a main body frame 9 which is a stationary housing and a front frame 8 which is a front housing which can open the transfer paper conveyance path, and a paper feed cassette 17 is disposed below the main body frame 9. Each developing device and process cartridge are replaceably disposed in the central portion, and further, a fixing device 50 is disposed above the developing device and the process cartridge, thereby forming a paper discharge stack portion.

  The front frame 8 is supported so as to be rotatable about a rotation support shaft 9A provided on the main body frame 9 serving as a rotation fulcrum. At the time of image formation output, the front frame 8 is supported on the main body frame 9 as shown in FIG. Is retained. By releasing the holding during the jam processing, it can be released in the clockwise direction, and the open state can be maintained by the power of a tension spring or the like. The front frame 8 holds a registration roller 20 </ b> A, a transfer roller 14, and the like that are part of the conveyance path. As a result, when the front frame 8 is opened, the conveyance path is opened as shown in FIG. 4, and paper jam processing is performed. At this time, only the jam processing can be performed without operating the image forming unit, so there is no problem such as toner dropping.

  The main body frame 9 further includes an intermediate frame 40 that holds the process cartridge 31 in a configuration that will be described later, and is supported so as to be rotatable about a rotation support shaft 9B provided on the main body frame 9 serving as a rotation fulcrum. As shown in FIG. The intermediate frame 40 is held by the main body frame 9 during normal times (except when the process cartridge and each developing device are replaced), and can be opened clockwise by releasing the holding.

  FIG. 6 shows the attachment / detachment position of the process cartridge 31, and FIG. 7 shows the attachment / detachment state of the process cartridge 31. Rail-like projections 32 are provided on both side surfaces of the process cartridge 31 so as to be parallel to the attaching / detaching operation direction. Correspondingly, the intermediate frame 40 is similarly provided with rail-like projections parallel to the attaching / detaching operation direction. A groove 40A is provided. For this reason, the process cartridge 31 is held by the intermediate frame 40 during mounting. Further, if the process cartridge 31 is operated in the direction of the arrow with the intermediate frame 40 supported and fixed at the position of FIG. 6, the process cartridge 31 can be easily attached and detached from the intermediate frame 40. In particular, if the handle 33 is provided at the front of the process cartridge 31, the operability is further increased. Further, the groove 40A can be mounted without any problem if the process cartridge 31 insertion side is opened in a trumpet shape.

  Here, the operation direction of the process cartridge 31 is a direction stretched between two rollers of the intermediate transfer belt 10, and the belt surface on which the photosensitive belt 1 is stretched is substantially parallel to the intermediate transfer belt surface. Therefore, the space between development and transfer can be reduced, and the cross section of the apparatus main body can be reduced.

  The intermediate frame 40 can be further opened with respect to the attachment / detachment position of the process cartridge 31 and reaches the same position as the opening position of the front frame as shown in FIG. By supporting and fixing the intermediate frame 40 while the process cartridge is mounted at this position, the developing units 6 and 7 disposed on the back side of the process cartridge are made large without having to retract the process cartridge to the outside of the apparatus main body. Since it is opened, the detachability operability of the developing units 6 and 7 is good.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 7 as an example of a mechanism for supporting and fixing the intermediate frame 40 in two stages, two grooves are provided below the rotation fulcrum of the intermediate frame 40, and the leaf spring 34 is an arrow in the figure. It is incorporated in the main body frame so as to swing in a direction with a constant spring force. The swinging tip 34A of the leaf spring 34 is rotated by the intermediate frame 40 so as to correspond to the grooves 40B and 40C, thereby latching and supporting and fixing the intermediate frame 40 in two stages. At this time, the position of the process cartridge 31 in the attaching / detaching rotation direction is supported and fixed so that the center of gravity G of the process cartridge is on the substantially vertical line of the rotation center position of the intermediate frame 40, and the attaching / detaching movement direction is on the substantially vertical line. By aligning the handle positions, the spring force of the leaf spring 34 for supporting and fixing the process cartridge is very small, so that a sense of stability can be obtained when the intermediate frame 40 is rotated, and the process cartridge is not gravity-induced. It can be operated without falling into a stable state. Further, if the intermediate frame 40 is used as a stopper member for preventing rotation at a second support and fixing position of the intermediate frame 40, the groove 40C of the intermediate frame 40 can be eliminated.

  FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the color image forming apparatus according to the present invention. This embodiment is different from the previous embodiment in that a photosensitive drum 1 'is used in place of the photosensitive belt, and the developing units are integrated into an integral rotary developing device 6' for all four colors. Since the photosensitive drum 1 ′ is used, the development space is narrower than in the previous embodiment. Therefore, the development position is set at one place using the four-color rotary developing device 6 ′. As shown in the drawing, even when toner is scattered from the developing roller 23 due to the contact / separation operation of the developing roller 23, the developing position is set at a position where the photosensitive member surface does not exist below. The toner cartridges for the respective colors of the rotary developing device 6 ′ are arranged outside the transfer paper conveyance path so that the toner cartridge can be replaced regardless of the process cartridge. Since other configurations and operations are substantially the same as those of the previous embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

It is sectional drawing which shows one Embodiment of the color image forming apparatus of this invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an internal configuration of a color and black developing device of the color image forming apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a color developer of the color image forming apparatus in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the color image forming apparatus of FIG. 1 with a front frame opened. It is a perspective view of a process cartridge and an intermediate frame for supporting the process cartridge. It is sectional drawing which shows the attachment or detachment position of a process cartridge. It is a side view which shows the attachment or detachment state of a process cartridge. It is sectional drawing of the open state of an intermediate | middle frame. It is sectional drawing which shows other embodiment of the color image forming apparatus of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Photosensitive belt 1 'Photosensitive drum 2, 3 Rotating roller 4 Charging charger 5 Laser writing system unit 6 Color developing device 6' Rotating developing device 7 Black developing device 8 Front frame 9 Main body frame 10 Intermediate transfer belts 11, 12 Rotating roller 13 Bias brush 14 Transfer roller 15 Waste toner collection container 16 Intermediate transfer belt cleaning device 17 Paper feed cassette 18 Paper feed roller 19 Transport roller 20 Registration roller 21 Casing 22 Color development unit 23 Development roller 24 Partition plate 25 Supply roller 26 Developing blade 27 First toner conveying member 28 Second toner conveying member 29 Toner container 30 Color toner cartridge 31 Process cartridge 32 Rail protrusion 33 Handle 34 Leaf spring 40 Intermediate frame 41 Developer container 42 Paddle 43 First agitator 4 Second agitator 50 fixing device

Claims (6)

The device body;
An opening / closing cover capable of opening the inside of the apparatus body;
An image carrier for carrying an image on the surface;
A belt-like intermediate transfer member, which is arranged adjacent to the image carrier and to which an image is transferred from the image carrier, and is constructed by at least two rollers;
The intermediate transfer member is disposed to be inclined from the lower side to the upper side of the apparatus main body,
The image carrier and the intermediate transfer member form one unit, and after the opening / closing cover is opened, the unit is rotated to the opening side and held and fixed in a substantially vertical direction, and then the vertical direction from the apparatus main body. Can be taken out and
The color image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing cover is opened so as not to prevent the unit from rotating and being held and fixed substantially vertically, and so as not to obstruct the track in the take-out direction of the unit. The unit has a protrusion protruding from the side of the unit;
A restricting portion for restricting the protrusion is provided on the apparatus main body side,
The color image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the protrusion is guided to the restricting portion when the unit is attached or detached . The device body;
An opening / closing cover capable of opening the inside of the apparatus body;
A paper feeder disposed below the apparatus body;
A paper discharge unit disposed above the apparatus body;
A fixing unit for fixing an image on a recording medium;
A developing unit provided detachably from the inside of the apparatus main body, and having a developer of a plurality of colors;
An image carrier on which a developer is applied from the developing unit to form an image on the surface;
A belt-like intermediate transfer member provided adjacent to the image carrier, to which an image is transferred from the image carrier, and is constructed by at least two rollers
The fixing unit is disposed adjacent to the paper discharge unit,
The intermediate transfer member is provided so as to be inclined so that a recording medium is supplied from the lower sheet feeding unit and conveyed to the upper fixing unit.
The image carrier and the intermediate transfer member form one unit, and the unit is rotated to the opening side after the opening / closing cover is opened, and is held and fixed substantially vertically, and then is substantially perpendicular to the apparatus main body. Can be taken out and
The color image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing cover is opened so as not to prevent the unit from rotating and being held and fixed substantially vertically, and so as not to disturb a track in the take-out direction of the unit. A protrusion protruding from the side surface of the unit;
A regulation portion provided on the apparatus main body side so that the unit is regulated inside the apparatus,
The color image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the protrusion is guided to the restricting portion when the unit is attached or detached . The support member for detachably supporting the unit is provided so as to be rotatable with respect to the apparatus main body, and the support member is rotatable while supporting the unit. The color image forming apparatus described . The color image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the unit has a handle at an upper portion, and the unit is detachable in the vertical direction using the unit .

Images