JP4107545B2 - Electrical unit and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an electrical unit and an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a structure of a power supply unit.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, or a facsimile machine, an electric board on which circuits having various electric parts such as various ICs are formed as a drive unit of an apparatus used for image forming processing and an operation control unit for the drive unit. A so-called printed circuit board is used, and a signal is transmitted from an output terminal of the printed circuit board to a necessary place via a harness.
On the other hand, the image forming apparatus includes a power supply unit as a power supply unit for various electrical components including the control unit, and is connected to each power supply point by a harness.
[0003]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a control unit and a power supply unit having an electrical board in an image forming apparatus are arranged in a housing of the image forming apparatus main body and are used by a user when forming an image at a position different from each apparatus responsible for image forming processing. Is disposed in a space provided in the housing for a side surface or a rear surface that is not related to a portion to be operated, and the space is shielded from the outside by being covered with a side wall of the housing, a so-called exterior cover. It is like that. For this reason, during maintenance of the control unit and power supply unit, the exterior cover of the housing is removed to expose the interior of the space, the harness (wiring) connection is released, and the electrical board or power supply unit that is the maintenance target is taken out Work was being done.
[0004]
When the control unit and the power supply unit are arranged in the above-described space portion, the volume of the entire image forming apparatus becomes large by the amount of special provision of the space portion. Therefore, it is considered that the control unit and the power supply unit are also incorporated in the space occupied by the image forming processing unit in the image forming apparatus main body, and so-called special space for the control unit and the power supply unit is not provided. Yes.
[0005]
As a configuration to incorporate the control unit and power supply unit in the housing of the apparatus main body, a configuration is proposed in which an electric unit in which the control unit and the power supply unit are arranged is configured, and this electric unit is detachably attached to the image forming apparatus main body. (For example, JP-A-9-292815).
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
When the power supply unit and the control unit are arranged together using the electrical unit, the electrical components used in the control unit may be adversely affected by heat generated in the power supply unit. In addition, the control unit needs to be shielded as a measure against noise caused by electromagnetic waves, and if it is arranged together with the power supply unit, it may be difficult to satisfy both heat dissipation and shielding properties at the same time. In addition, a harness is used in the control unit to connect to various electrical devices such as various motors and solenoids arranged in the image forming apparatus. The distance may become larger, and the harness becomes longer in proportion to this distance, which makes it difficult to handle.
[0007]
An object of the present invention is to provide a configuration capable of suppressing adverse effects on a control unit due to heat generated in a power supply unit and improving a shielding effect and handling of harnesses in view of problems with an electrical unit in a conventional image forming apparatus. And an image forming apparatus.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to the first aspect of the present invention, a power supply unit equipped with a transformer, a filter, and electrical boards is provided in a state where it can be inserted and removed at an installation location located near a heat source such as a fixing device, and power is supplied from the power supply unit. The electrical unit is provided to be detachable from the installation location at a position where the power supply unit and the control unit are different, and the power supply unit is provided below the fixing device. It is configured using a sheet metal member having a surface panel which constitutes a part of the outer panel of the installation location is located, removably inserted space and the control unit which are provided to be adjacent to the side near the power supply unit It is arrange | positioned and it is arrange | positioned by the attitude | position which becomes perpendicular | vertical with respect to this power supply part .
[0009]
The invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that the power supply unit is integrated with the installation unit and arranged in a state of being horizontally placed between the guide units.
[0011]
The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that a mounting portion of the control portion is provided in part at a mounting position of the power supply portion with respect to the installation portion, and the mounting portion is formed of a conductive member. It is said.
[0012]
A fourth aspect of the invention is characterized by using the electrical unit according to one of the first to third aspects.
[0013]
The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 is characterized in that the control unit in the electrical unit is detachably provided at the rear of the apparatus main body.
[0014]
In the invention according to claim 6, as the other unit, a double-sided conveyance unit that can be re-conveyed by reversing the sheet material is used, and a guide portion in the double-sided conveyance unit is made of metal, The power supply unit in the detachable electrical unit is characterized in that the guide unit is a part of the grounding unit.
[0015]
The invention according to claim 7 is characterized in that the double-sided transport unit is configured by using a metal member, and a conductive path can be configured with the image forming apparatus main body.
[0016]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus that is an example according to an embodiment of the present invention.
The image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 illustrates a photocopier that is a latent image carrier inside and a copier that is one of the apparatuses capable of executing the image forming apparatus for the photoconductor. Of course, it is possible to include a printer and a facsimile machine.
[0017]
In FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 is configured such that an image forming unit 1A and a duplex conveying unit 1B can be combined, and a drum-shaped photoconductor 2 is rotatably disposed in the image forming unit 1A. ing.
Around the photosensitive member 2, a charging device 3, a writing device 4, a developing device 5, a transfer device 6 and a cleaning device 7 are arranged for executing an image forming process in the rotation process.
The other devices except the transfer device 6 are installed in a process cartridge PC having a housing structure, and are detachably attached to the inside of the casing 100 that forms the main body of the image forming apparatus 1.
[0018]
In the vicinity of the transfer device 6, there is provided a recording sheet feeding path 9 that is fed from a paper feed cassette 8 </ b> A equipped in the paper feeding device 8, and a position through which the recording sheet that has passed through the transfer device 6 passes. Is provided with a fixing device 10 and a paper discharge device 11 for discharging the recording sheet that has passed through the fixing device 10.
The recording sheet that has passed through the paper discharge device 11 is discharged onto a paper discharge tray 100 </ b> A formed on the top surface of the housing 100.
[0019]
In addition to the paper feed cassette 8A, the paper feed device 8 is provided with a manual feed tray 8B, and a registration roller in which a recording sheet fed from the paper feed cassette 8A and the manual feed tray 8B is arranged in front of the transfer device 6 is provided. The transfer timing is set by 8C and the sheet is fed out toward the transfer position.
[0020]
The image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 has a configuration capable of forming an image on both sides of a recording sheet.
As a configuration for forming an image on both sides of a recording sheet, a duplex conveying unit 1B that can be attached to and detached from the casing 100 of the image forming apparatus 1 is used.
In FIG. 1, the duplex conveyance unit 1B is a switchback conveyance path 1B1 that reverses the recording sheet discharged from the fixing device 6, and a recording sheet that is continuously fed to the registration roller 8C continuously to the switchback conveyance path 1B1. A circulation conveyance path 1B2, and when forming images on both sides, the recording sheet discharged from the fixing device 10 is brought to the switchback conveyance path 1B1 and then reversed through the recirculation conveyance path 1B2. Thus, the sheet can be fed toward the registration roller 8C.
[0021]
As shown in FIG. 2, which is a view of the image forming apparatus 1 viewed from the rear left side, the duplex conveyance unit 1 </ b> B is provided on its side with respect to the casing frame 101 that forms the casing 100 of the image forming apparatus 1. It can be attached and detached through a metal guide frame 1B1. The housing frame 101 will be described later with reference to FIG.
[0022]
In FIG. 1, the conveyance path from the transfer position constituted by the photosensitive member 1 and the transfer device 6 to the discharge port of the fixing device 10 is inclined, and an electrical unit is disposed below the conveyance path enlarged by the inclination angle. 12 is arranged.
The electrical unit 12 is shown in FIG. 3, which is a diagram showing the power supply unit 13 including a power supply substrate 13 </ b> A including a transformer unit and the high voltage substrate 13 </ b> B serving as a power control unit, and the image forming apparatus 1 from the rear right side. As described above, the control unit 14 provided independently of the power supply unit 13 is provided, and the power supply unit 13 and the control unit 14 are provided to be detachable from the housing 100.
[0023]
The housing 100 of the image forming apparatus 1 includes a housing frame 101 having the configuration shown in FIG. 4 is a diagram showing only the housing frame 101 with the exterior panel removed when the image forming apparatus 1 is viewed from the front right side. In FIG. 4, the housing frame 101 includes the side wall of the housing 100 and the side walls. The horizontal frame portion connecting the two is a member integrally formed of a resin such as polyphenylene ether (PPE), and the horizontal frame portion 101A located in the lower front portion of the housing frame 101 in the horizontal frame portion is It is formed at a position having a gap S into which the duplex conveying unit 1B (see FIG. 2) can be inserted.
[0024]
4 shows a state in which the front side horizontal frame 101A of the housing frame 101 is provided at a position that does not interfere with the attachment / detachment of the double-sided transport unit 1B. The horizontal frame located on the lower side in the same manner as shown in Fig. 6 is positioned at a height corresponding to the mounting hole provided in the surface panel 13C (see Fig. 2) of the power supply unit 13 in the electrical unit 12 (not shown). Has been.
[0025]
On the front and rear surfaces of the housing frame 101, there is an opening between the upper and lower horizontal frames, and on the rear surface, the power supply unit 13 and the control unit 14 of the electrical unit 12 can be attached to the opening. 4 shows a state in which the writing device 4 is incorporated in the upper part of the housing frame 101. FIG.
[0026]
In the electrical unit 12, the power supply unit 13 and the control unit 14 are configured independently, and FIG. 3 is a view of the image forming apparatus 1 viewed from the rear right side, and FIG. 3 is a view of the image forming apparatus 1 viewed from the rear left side. As shown in FIG. 5, the surface panels 13C and 14A constituting a part of the exterior panel of the housing 100 by being abutted against the housing frame 101 and the lower portions of the surface panels 13C and 14A are integrated. The sheet metal chassis 13D (see FIG. 5) and 14B (see FIG. 3) are provided.
[0027]
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the power supply unit 13 has a posture in which the chassis 13 </ b> C can be inserted into and removed from the housing frame 101 in a horizontal state in which the chassis 13 </ b> C is attached in the horizontal direction. In this embodiment, which is different from the installation posture, in the present embodiment, the chassis 14 </ b> B is disposed in the vertical direction so as to be adjacent to the vicinity of the side of the power supply unit 13 in the vertical direction.
[0028]
As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, which is a view of the image forming apparatus 1 as viewed from the rear lower side, a guide portion for inserting and removing the power supply unit 13 at an opposing position is provided on the inner surface of the side wall of the housing frame 101. A guide rail 102 is provided.
The guide rail 102 is provided in a duplex conveying unit 1B (refer to FIG. 2) corresponding to a unit different from the electrical unit 12, and is made of metal disposed at a position where it can be fitted to a guide frame 1B1 forming a guide member. It is composed of channel members.
On the upper surface of the guide frame 102, a chassis 13 </ b> D of the power supply unit 13 in the electrical unit 12 can be mounted, and the mounted power supply unit 13 can slide on the guide frame 102.
[0029]
As shown in FIG. 3, the rear surface side of the housing frame 101 in the guide frame 102 has conductivity as an attachment portion of the control unit 14 at a position where an insertion space for the control unit 14 can be secured adjacent to the guide frame 102. A metal mounting bracket 103 is fixed, and a mounting piece 103 </ b> A bent inward is formed on the rear surface side of the housing frame 101 in the mounting bracket 103.
[0030]
The attachment piece 103A is provided at a position that can be opposed to the back side of the side edge of the front panel 13C of the power supply unit 13, and a screw hole 103A1 is provided at a position that faces the through hole 13C1 formed in the vicinity of the side edge of the front panel 13C. The power supply unit 13 can be integrated with the housing frame 101 by fastening.
[0031]
Through holes 14A1 are also formed in the vicinity of the upper and lower edges of the front panel 14A of the control unit 14, and screw holes 103A2 are formed at the upper and lower edges of the mounting bracket 103 facing the through holes 14A1. Can be installed.
The mounting bracket 103 is a member that serves as a partition with the power supply unit 13, and the mounting position of the power supply unit 13 is also used via a mounting piece 103 </ b> A provided in a part of the mounting bracket 103. A common conductive path of the power supply unit 13 and the control unit 14 is configured.
[0032]
While the common conductive path of the power supply unit 13 and the control unit 14 is configured by the mounting bracket 103, the guide frame 102 is fixed to the mounting bracket 103, so that the guide frame 102 and the mounting bracket 103 are respectively used as a common conductive path. It is configured.
[0033]
Since the control unit 14 can be installed in a different position at a position different from that of the power supply unit 13, in this embodiment, a drive motor and a paper feed clutch for driving the image forming apparatus 1 and these drive units are arranged. It can be attached to the side corresponding to the position. FIG. 8 is a view of the image forming apparatus 1 as viewed from the front right side. In FIG. 8, reference numeral 15 denotes a drive motor, 16 denotes a paper feed clutch, and 17 denotes a drive unit. The upper and lower edges are attached to the attachment racket 103 on the side where each member is arranged as shown in FIG. 2 or FIG.
As shown in FIG. 7, a guide member constituting a recording sheet feeding path 9 (see FIG. 1) is provided in the housing frame 101 at a position above the distal end on the insertion side of the power supply unit 13 (for convenience, in FIG. A guide member 18 is provided on the lower surface of the power supply unit 13 (denoted by reference symbol P), and the upper surface of the inserted power supply unit 13 is pressed and placed. As shown in FIG. 2, a recording sheet guide plate 19 fed out from the duplex conveying unit 1 is disposed above the power supply unit 13 placed in the housing frame 101. The entire upper area is substantially covered.
[0034]
The outer surface of the housing frame 101 is an exterior cover (for convenience, the front cover (see FIG. 8) of the front and rear surfaces of the housing 100 is denoted by 104, and the side cover (see FIGS. 2 and 3) is denoted by reference numeral 104 ′. As shown in FIG. 6, the rear surface of the housing 100 is continuous with the outer surface of the outer cover 104A, in other words, the same surface as the outer cover 104A. The front panel 13C of the power supply unit 13 constitutes a part of the exterior cover.
The exterior cover 104A located on the rear surface of the housing 1200 is formed with an opening 104A1 for receiving a recording sheet fed from the duplex conveyance unit 1B. Out of the exterior covers, the exterior covers 104 and 104A positioned before and after the housing 100 can be opened and closed by a hinge mechanism (not shown), and are opened when the recording sheet is jammed or during maintenance inspection. ing.
[0035]
Since the present embodiment is configured as described above, the power supply unit 13 and the control unit 14 in the electrical unit 12 can be mounted when the constituent members of the image forming unit 1A are assembled to the housing frame 101, respectively. .
As illustrated in FIG. 6, the electrical unit 12 inserts the power supply unit 13 and the control unit 14 into predetermined positions in the housing frame 101 to bring the front panel 13C and 14A into contact with the predetermined position. In a state where 14A is configured as a part of the exterior panel of the housing 100, the housing frame 101 can be integrated.
[0036]
When the power supply unit 13 is inserted, it can be inserted by sliding the chassis 13D of the power supply unit 13 mounted on the upper surface of the guide frame 102 on the housing frame 101 side. In the power supply unit 13, the guide frame 102 on which the chassis 13 is mounted and the guide frame 1B1 of the duplex conveying unit 1B fitted to the guide frame 102 are each made of metal, and the duplex conveying unit 1B is made of a metal member. Thus, a conductive path from the power supply unit 13 to the double-sided conveyance unit 1B is configured, and this conductive path can be made a part of the ground circuit.
[0037]
The power supply unit 13 can be inserted / removed independently of the control unit 14, and is installed in a horizontal position different from the installation posture of the control unit 14. This functions as a reinforcing material that increases the lateral rigidity of the housing frame 101.
[0038]
The power supply unit 13 is different from the control unit 14 in installation posture, and is particularly set in a posture perpendicular to the installation posture of the control unit 14, so that the ambient temperature rises due to the heat generated in the power supply unit 13 and the surrounding air Even when the air temperature rises, since there is no control unit 14 in front of the air flow of the air whose temperature has risen with respect to the control unit 14, it is possible to prevent high temperature air from coming into direct contact with the entire control unit. can do. Furthermore, since the upper portion of the power supply unit 13 is covered with the guide plate 19, it is possible to suppress thermal adverse effects on the recording sheet moving on the guide plate 19. Although not shown, the guide plate 19 can be prevented from touching the power supply unit 13 by having a fastening structure.
[0039]
When the controller 14 in the electrical unit 12 is inserted into the retractable mounting bracket 103, the control unit 14 is covered with the metal mounting bracket 103. Not only is it not affected by this, but it is a shield structure.
[0040]
The mounting bracket 103 has a part of the grounding circuit because the mounting piece 103A provided in a part thereof is also used as a mounting part of the power supply unit 13 and the mounting piece 103A is made of metal. A conductive path reaching the double-sided conveyance unit 1B that is slidably guided by the guide frame 102 through the guide frame 102 integral with the guide 103 is formed.
By adopting a configuration in which the guide frame 102 is connected to a metal part in the housing 100, the control unit 14 can be grounded, and malfunction due to noise acting on the control unit 14 can be prevented.
[0041]
Since the control part 14 can be arrange | positioned near the member which needs control in the position different from the power supply part 13, the wiring length between control object members can be shortened, and the handleability of wiring is improved. Can do. In addition, the power supply unit 13 and the control unit 14 may be connected by connecting between the connectors provided on the power supply unit 13 and the control unit 14 (in FIG. 3, the connector provided on the control unit 14 is indicated by reference numeral C2D). . Further, at the time of this connection, a window portion 104P (see FIGS. 4 and 7) is provided at a corresponding position paved on the side wall of the housing frame 101 so that an operation from the outside of the housing frame 101 can be easily performed. A connecting operation is performed by inserting a finger through the window 104.
[0042]
When the power supply unit 13 is maintained, the fastening state of the front panel 13C and the chassis 103D may be eliminated. That is, the fastening between the front panel 13C, the housing frame 101, and the mounting piece 103A in the mounting bracket 103 is canceled, and in addition, the fastening between the side surface of the chassis 103D and the side wall of the housing frame 101 is released. Can be pulled from.
[0043]
Similarly, the control unit 14 can be pulled out by releasing the fastening. For example, when a connector indicated by C1 in FIG. 3 is prepared in advance, the connector C1 is used for function expansion. Alternatively, it is possible to perform an operation of attaching a member for memory expansion (for convenience, in FIG. 3, the expansion memory is indicated by a symbol M).
[0044]
According to the present embodiment, since the conductive path can be configured simply by mounting the double-sided conveyance unit 1B in the housing frame 101, it is not necessary to configure a ground circuit using wirings, thereby reducing the number of work steps. It becomes possible to do.
[0045]
【The invention's effect】
According to the first to third aspects of the present invention, the power supply unit and the control unit in the electrical unit are both configured to be a part of the exterior panel of the installation location of the surface panel, and the installation posture of the two parts is Since it is arranged in different postures, the size of the grounding location should not be unnecessarily increased, and it should be avoided that ambient air that has risen in temperature due to heat generated from the power supply unit directly hits the control unit. Thus, it can be prevented from adverse effects. As a result, it is possible to reduce the size of the electrical unit and to prevent the malfunction of the control unit.
[0047]
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, both the mounting portion of the power supply portion is also used as the mounting portion of the control unit, and since the mounting portion is constituted by a conductive member, the mounting portion of one to be attached to the installation location It can be used as a conductive path. This makes it possible to configure the ground circuit that improves the shielding action in the control unit with a small number of members.
[0048]
According to the invention described in claim 5 , since the control unit is provided so as to be detachable at the rear of the apparatus main body, it is necessary to add a new function by pulling out at the rear of the apparatus main body regardless of the presence of the power supply unit. It is possible to perform it accordingly.
[0049]
According to the sixth and seventh aspects of the present invention, the grounding circuit is provided between the metal duplex conveyance unit and the power supply unit via the guide unit used for insertion / removal of the duplex conveyance unit which is a unit other than the electrical unit. Therefore, it is possible to ground the control unit in a conductive relationship via the power supply unit and the attachment unit, and the shield of the control unit can be achieved with an existing configuration without using special wiring.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an external view of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 viewed from the front right side.
3 is an external view of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 viewed from the rear left side.
4 is an external view showing a configuration of a casing frame used in the casing of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG.
5 is an external view showing a housing structure of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the rear left side of the image forming apparatus.
6 is an external view showing a state in which a front panel and an exterior cover of a power supply unit in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 5 are attached. FIG.
7 is an external view of the image forming apparatus in a state shown in FIG.
8 is an external view of the image forming apparatus as viewed from the front right side with a part of the exterior panel removed from the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1;
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 12 Electrical component unit 13 Power supply part 13C Front panel 13D Chassis 14 Control part 14A Front panel 100 Case 101 of image forming apparatus Housing frame 102 Guide frame 103 Mounting bracket 103A Mounting piece

Claims (7)

Electrical equipment provided with a power supply unit equipped with a transformer, a filter, and electrical boards, and a control unit fed with power from the power supply unit, which is provided in a removable state at an installation location located near a heat source such as a fixing device In the unit
The electrical unit is provided so that the power supply unit and the control unit can be inserted into and removed from the installation location at different positions.
The power supply unit is configured by using a sheet metal member having a surface panel that constitutes a part of the exterior panel of the installation site located below the fixing device, and the control unit is adjacent to the vicinity of the side of the power supply unit. An electrical unit that is disposed so as to be detachable in an insertion space provided in a vertical orientation with respect to the power supply unit. The electrical unit according to claim 1,
The electric power unit, wherein the power supply unit is integrated with the installation unit and arranged in a state of being horizontally mounted between the guide units. The electrical unit according to claim 1 or 2 ,
An electrical unit comprising: a mounting portion of the control unit provided in part at a mounting position of the power supply unit with respect to the installation unit, wherein the mounting unit is formed of a conductive member . An image forming apparatus using the electrical unit according to claim 1. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4 .
An image forming apparatus, wherein a control unit in the electrical unit is detachably provided at the rear of the apparatus main body, and a power supply unit is disposed below the fixing device . The image forming apparatus according to claim 4 or 5 ,
As the other unit, a double-sided conveyance unit that can be re-conveyed by reversing the sheet material is used, and the guide unit in the double-sided conveyance unit is made of metal, and the power supply in the electrical unit that can be inserted and removed through the guide unit An image forming apparatus characterized in that the guide part makes the guide part a part of the grounding part . The image forming apparatus according to claim 6 .
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the double-sided conveyance unit is configured by using a metal member, and can form a conductive path with the image forming apparatus main body .

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