JP5012431B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

  In recent years, with the miniaturization of an image forming apparatus, the component parts inside the apparatus have been densified. For this reason, there is an increasing need to cool the inside of the image forming apparatus, in particular, an image forming unit that forms an image on a recording medium.

As a configuration for cooling the inside of the image forming apparatus, a configuration disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known. In the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 1, an air inlet is provided in the housing of the image forming apparatus, and the inside of the apparatus is cooled by taking in air from the air inlet.
JP-A-6-188581

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can cool an image forming unit without increasing the size of the apparatus even when a component is disposed between the image forming unit and a housing. To do.

An image forming apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is provided in an apparatus housing and forms an image on a recording medium, and an image forming apparatus provided in the apparatus housing and disposed with the image forming section. A space, a lower space provided below the image forming unit in the apparatus housing and partitioned from the image forming space by a bottom wall, and a side wall provided on a side of the image forming unit in the apparatus housing. And a side space partitioned from the image forming space, a side space below the side space and on the side of the lower space, and air for cooling the image forming portion from the lower space. pull to the side, and blower means for sending the drawn-air toward the image formation space side through the lateral space, air is drawn into the side toward from the lower space by the blowing means to the bottom wall Wherein a first flow path for passing, that and a second passage passing along the air to the side wall being directed towards to the image forming space side through the lateral space by the blowing means I And

  An image forming apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the configuration of the first aspect, the lower space is an accommodating space for accommodating the recording medium.

An image forming apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect, wherein the air blowing unit sends the air to the image forming unit through a gap formed in the side wall. The part is cooled.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the image forming apparatus according to the first or second aspect, wherein the air blowing unit indirectly cools the bottom wall and the side wall with the air. It is characterized by cooling.

  According to the configuration of the first aspect of the present invention, the image forming unit can be cooled without increasing the size of the apparatus even when the components are arranged between the image forming unit and the housing.

  According to the configuration of the second aspect of the present invention, since the lower space is used as the storage space for storing the recording medium, the space can be effectively used.

  According to the configuration of the third aspect of the present invention, the cooling effect of cooling the image forming unit is higher than the configuration of cooling the image forming unit indirectly by sending cooling air to the frame of the image forming unit.

  According to the configuration of the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to cool the image forming unit while suppressing the entry of dust and the like into the image forming unit, as compared with the configuration in which the cooling air is directly applied to the image forming unit for cooling. .

  Below, an example of an embodiment concerning the present invention is described based on a drawing.

(Configuration of image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment)
First, the configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  The image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment is an apparatus that forms an image, and includes an apparatus housing 11 that houses each component as shown in FIG. In the apparatus housing 11, an image forming unit 30 that forms an image on a sheet P as a recording medium and a plurality of sheet storage units 16 that store the sheet P supplied to the image forming unit 30 are provided. Yes.

  The paper storage unit 16 is provided below the image forming unit 30, and a storage space 48 for storing the paper P is formed below the image forming unit 30. In the present embodiment, the paper storage unit 16 includes paper storage units 16A and 16B, and the paper storage unit 16A is disposed below the paper storage unit 16B.

  Formed on the upper surface of the apparatus housing 11 is a paper discharge unit 17 through which the paper P on which an image is formed by the image forming unit 30 is discharged.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming unit 30 includes photosensitive members 13Y, 13M, 13C, and 13K (hereinafter referred to as 13Y to 13K) as latent image holding members for holding a latent image, which are yellow, magenta, and cyan. , Corresponding to each color of black. The photoconductors 13Y to 13K are configured to rotate in a predetermined direction (the direction of arrow b in FIG. 1).

  Around the photoconductors 13Y to 13K, an intermediate transfer belt 14, a charging roll 36, and an LED array head 40 as an exposure device are arranged in this order along the rotation direction b of the photoconductors 13Y to 13K.

  The intermediate transfer belt 14 and the charging roll 36 are in contact with the surfaces of the photoreceptors 13Y to 13K. Further, on the downstream side of the LED array head 40 in the rotation direction of the photoreceptors 13Y to 13K and the upstream side of the intermediate transfer belt 14, the latent image is developed with developers of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black. Developing units 12Y, 12M, 12C, and 12K (hereinafter referred to as 12Y to 12K) are provided. The developing devices 12Y to 12K are provided with developing rolls 38 for supplying a developer to the electrostatic latent images formed on the photoreceptors 13C to 13K, respectively.

  Above the intermediate transfer belt 14, toner cartridges 34Y, 34M, 34C, and 34K that store toner of each color are provided. Toner is supplied from the toner cartridges 34Y, 34M, 34C, 34K to the developing units 12Y-12K as necessary.

  The surfaces of the photoreceptors 13Y to 13K are uniformly charged by the charging roll 36. The surfaces of the charged photoreceptors 13Y to 13K are exposed by the LED array head 40, and electrostatic latent images corresponding to the image data are formed on the surfaces of the photoreceptors 13Y to 13K. The electrostatic latent images formed on the photoreceptors 13Y to 13K are developed by the developing units 12Y to 12K, so that toner images are formed on the photoreceptors 13Y to 13K.

  The intermediate transfer belt 14 is formed in an endless shape, is supported by being wound around a backup roll 23 and a plurality of winding rolls 24, and rotates in a predetermined direction (the direction of arrow a in FIG. 1). It has become.

  The outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14 is a transfer surface 14A to which a toner image is transferred. The developing devices 12Y to 12K and the photoconductors 13Y to 13K are arranged in parallel so as to face the transfer surface 14A. 13Y to 13K are in contact with the transfer surface 14A.

  On the other hand, transfer rolls 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32K (hereinafter referred to as 32Y to 32K) are disposed on the opposite side of the photoreceptors 13Y to 13K with the intermediate transfer belt 14 interposed therebetween. The rollers 32Y to 32K are pressed against the photoreceptors 13Y to 13K.

  The image forming apparatus 10 is a so-called tandem full-color printer, and the four color toner images developed by the developing devices 12Y to 12K are superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 14 while the intermediate transfer belt 14 makes one round. Is done.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the paper feed roll 18 is disposed above the paper storage unit 16 so as to be in contact with the front end of the paper P set in the paper storage unit 16 in the conveyance direction. Further, the transport path 19 for transporting the paper P is formed in an S shape upward from the side of the paper storage unit 16 where the paper supply roll 18 is provided to the paper discharge unit 17 via the transfer unit 22 and the fixing unit 28. It extends. A plurality of transport rolls 20 are arranged in the transport path 19.

  The paper P is transported upward by the transport roll 20 along the transport path indicated by the two-dot chain line arrow in FIG. The paper is conveyed to the paper discharge unit 17 via the unit 22 and the fixing unit 28.

  The transfer unit 22 includes a backup roll 23 around which the intermediate transfer belt 14 is wound, and a transfer roll 26 pressed against the backup roll 23. The intermediate transfer belt 14 is sandwiched in the nip portion between the backup roll 23 and the transfer roll 26, and the toner image is transferred from the intermediate transfer belt 14 when the paper P passes through the nip portion.

  A fixing unit 28 is disposed above the transfer unit 22. The fixing unit 28 includes a heat roll 28A and a backup roll 28B pressed against the heat roll 28A. When the paper P passes through the nip portion between the heat roll 28A and the backup roll 28B, the toner melts and solidifies. The image is fixed. The paper P on which the toner image is fixed by the fixing unit 28 is discharged to the paper discharge unit 17 by a discharge roll 29 disposed on the downstream side of the fixing unit 28 in the transport direction.

  In the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, cooling air for cooling the image forming unit 30 is directed from the storage space 48 in which the paper P is stored toward the image forming unit 30. A cooling fan 50 is provided as an example of a feeding means for feeding.

(Configuration for cooling the image forming unit according to the present embodiment)
Next, a configuration for cooling the image forming unit according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the periphery of the cooling fan according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment as viewed from the back side.

  As illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cooling fan 50 is disposed below the image forming unit 30 and on the back side of the image forming unit 30, and is positioned on the back side of the image forming apparatus 10. ing.

  Between the storage space 48 of the paper storage unit 16A and the image forming unit 30, a partition plate 52 that partitions the storage space 48 of the paper storage unit 16A and the image forming unit 30 is provided. An opening 54 is formed in the partition plate 52.

  Between the opening 54 and the cooling fan 50, a duct 56 for guiding cooling air from the opening 54 to the cooling fan 50 is provided. A passage from the accommodation space 48 to the cooling fan 50 is formed by the opening 54 and the duct 56.

  The storage space 48 is disposed at a position lower than the image forming unit 30 and stores air having a temperature lower than that of the air around the image forming unit 30. Thereby, the accommodation space 48 functions as a space serving as a supply source for supplying cooling air. In the present embodiment, the accommodation space 48 is disposed directly below the image forming unit 30.

  Further, the lower space may not be the storage space 48 of the paper storage unit 16A on the lower side but the storage space 48 of the paper storage unit 16B on the upper side. Further, the lower space does not have to be a storage space in which the paper P is stored, and may be a space in which other components are stored. Further, the lower space may be a space that is hollow without being accommodated.

  On the other hand, the image forming unit 30 is accommodated in the frame 58. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a gap 60 is formed in the frame 58, and the cooling air is sent to the image forming unit 30 through the gap 60 to cool the image forming unit 30. In the image forming unit 30, in particular, the LED array head 40 and the developing devices 12Y to 12K as the exposure device easily generate heat, and these are cooled by the cooling air. In FIG. 3, only the photoreceptor 13 </ b> Y is illustrated in the image forming unit 30.

  As described above, the configuration is not limited to the configuration in which the cooling air is sent to the image forming unit 30 to directly cool the image forming unit 30, but the cooling air is sent to the frame 58 in which the image forming unit 30 is accommodated. The image forming unit 30 may be indirectly cooled by cooling the.

  The cooling fan 50 may be configured to send cooling air for cooling the image forming unit 30 from the accommodation space 48 toward the image forming unit 30. For example, the cooling fan 50 may be arranged on the image forming unit 30 side and the image forming unit 30 side may be set to a negative pressure so that the cooling air is sucked from the storage space 48 of the paper storage unit 16A. The cooling fan 50 is arranged on the storage space 48 side of the paper storage portion 16A, and the cooling space 50 is sent from the storage space 48 of the paper storage portion 16A by pressurizing the storage space 48 side of the paper storage portion 16A. There may be.

(Operation of this embodiment)
Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described.

  According to the present embodiment, when the cooling fan 50 is driven, cooling air is sucked from the storage space 48 of the paper storage portion 16A. The cooling air sucked from the accommodation space 48 passes through the opening 54 and the duct 56, reaches the frame 58 of the image forming unit 30, and is supplied to the image forming unit 30 from the gap 60 formed in the frame 58. As a result, the image forming unit 30 is cooled. 2 and 3, the flow of the cooling air is indicated by arrows.

  According to the configuration of the present embodiment, the cooling air is sucked from the accommodation space 48 below the image forming unit 30, so that even when components are arranged between the image forming unit 30 and the apparatus housing 11. However, the components do not block the cooling air passage. For this reason, it is not necessary to enlarge the apparatus housing 11 in order to separately secure a passage for cooling air, which is compared with a configuration in which air is taken in from an opening formed in the apparatus housing 11 and the image forming unit 30 is cooled. Thus, the image forming unit 30 can be cooled without increasing the size of the image forming apparatus 10.

  Moreover, since the lower space which is a supply source of cooling air is used as the storage space 48 for storing the paper P, the space can be effectively used.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications, changes, and improvements can be made.

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the periphery of the cooling fan according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment as viewed from the back side.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 11 Apparatus housing 30 Image forming part 48 Accommodating space (lower space)
50 Cooling fan (feeding means)
52 Partition plate 54 Opening 58 Frame 60 Clearance P Paper (Recording medium)

Claims (7)

An image forming unit provided in the apparatus casing and forming an image on a recording medium;
An image forming space provided in the apparatus housing and in which the image forming unit is disposed;
A lower space provided below the image forming unit in the apparatus housing and partitioned from the image forming space by a bottom wall ;
A side space provided on a side of the image forming unit in the apparatus casing and partitioned from the image forming space by a side wall;
Air that is disposed below the side space and on the side of the lower space and cools the image forming unit is drawn from the lower space to the side, and the drawn air is drawn into the side space. Air blowing means for sending toward the image forming space through ,
A first flow path through which air drawn from the lower space to the side by the air blowing means passes along the bottom wall;
A second flow path through which air sent toward the image forming space side through the side space by the blowing means passes along the side wall;
An image forming apparatus comprising:   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lower space is a storage space for storing the recording medium. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the blowing unit sends the air to the image forming unit through a gap formed on the side wall to cool the image forming unit. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the air blowing unit cools the image forming unit indirectly by cooling the bottom wall and the side wall with the air .   An image forming unit provided in the apparatus casing and forming an image on a recording medium;
  A space provided in the apparatus housing and in which the image forming unit is disposed;
  A lower space provided below the image forming unit in the apparatus housing and partitioned from the space;
  A recording medium accommodating portion that is disposed in the lower space and accommodates the recording medium;
  A feeding member disposed in the feeding direction side of the recording medium housing unit, rotating in contact with the recording medium contained in the recording medium housing unit and rotating the recording medium from the recording medium housing unit to the side thereof;
  Air for cooling the image forming unit is disposed in a side of the recording medium storage unit that is orthogonal to the feeding direction and opposite to the feeding direction of the recording medium storage unit. A blowing means that draws in the side from the side opposite to the delivery direction and sends the drawn air toward the space;
  An image forming apparatus comprising:   The image forming unit according to claim 5, wherein the air blowing unit sends the air to the image forming unit through a gap formed in a frame in which the image forming unit is accommodated to cool the image forming unit. apparatus.   The image forming unit according to claim 5, wherein the air blowing unit indirectly cools the image forming unit by sending the air to a frame in which the image forming unit is accommodated to cool the frame. apparatus.

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