JP5298964B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image carrier at an opening/closing part, and to protect the image carrier from exposure when the opening/closing part is opened by utilizing opening operation for the opening/closing part. <P>SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus 1 includes: a substrate part 1A holding a developing cartridge 5; the opening/closing part 1B openably/closably connected to the substrate part 1A and holding an image carrier cartridge 2; a shutter 230 covering a portion of the image carrier cartridge 2; supporting means (2011, 232, or the like) movably supporting the shutter 230 between an advancing position where the shutter covers a part of the image carrier exposed when the opening/closing part 1B is opened and a retreating position where it retreats from the advancing position; and moving mechanisms (91, 94, and 235) moving the shutter 230 from the retreating position to the advancing position interlocked with the opening operation of the opening/closing part 1B. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to facilitate jam processing, there has been known an image formability device in which a paper conveyance belt is provided on a door that can be opened and closed with respect to the apparatus body, and the conveyance path can be opened by opening the door (patent) Reference 1). In such an image forming apparatus, since the door is opened and the contact between the sheet conveying belt and the photosensitive member is cut off, it becomes easy to take out the jammed recording sheet. In addition, since the lifespan of the photoconductor and the developing device is not the same, an image forming apparatus in which the developing device and the photoconductor are detachable is known (Patent Document 2). The color image forming apparatus includes an upper lid for taking out the photosensitive unit and a horizontal lid for taking out the developing unit. The horizontal lid opens in conjunction with opening and closing of the upper lid, and the developing unit is connected to the photosensitive unit. A mechanism for automatically retracting from the take-out path is provided.

JP 2008-102298 A JP 2007-156166 A

  However, in Patent Document 1, since the photosensitive member is exposed to the outside every time jam processing is performed, there are adverse effects such as a reduction in sensitivity of the photosensitive member and a shortened life. Furthermore, since the photosensitive member and the developing device are integrated, it is uneconomical that only one of them cannot be exchanged. If it is to be configured with a separate photosensitive member cartridge and developer cartridge, the photosensitive member After removing the cartridge and placing it somewhere, the developer cartridge arranged in the back must be pulled out using a jig or the like, which is inferior in operability. Further, Patent Document 2 requires different doors for attaching / detaching the photoconductor unit and for attaching / detaching the developing unit, there is no sense of unity in operability, and the use of each extraction space increases the occupied space. There was room for improvement.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an image carrier at an opening / closing part and to protect the image carrier from being exposed when the opening / closing part is opened.

  Another object is to provide an image forming apparatus that facilitates a jam processing operation.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus for converting a latent electrostatic image formed on an image carrier into a toner image using a developing device, the apparatus main body holding at least a developing device, and the apparatus main body An opening / closing portion that is connected to be openable and closable and holds at least the image carrier, a shutter that covers a part of the image carrier, and an entry position that covers an image carrier portion that is exposed when the opening / closing portion is opened. Support means for supporting the shutter so as to be relatively movable between the retracted position retracted from the entry position, and a moving mechanism for moving the shutter from the retracted position to the entry position in conjunction with the opening operation of the opening / closing part. It is characterized by comprising.

  According to the present invention, when the opening / closing part is opened with respect to the apparatus main body, the shutter is moved from the retracted position to the entering position that covers the image carrier portion in conjunction with the opening operation. Accordingly, workability during maintenance of the image carrier and the developing device is improved, and protection against exposure of the image carrier when opened can be easily achieved. Since the movement is relative, the image carrier may move or the shutter may move.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the image carrier is configured to be detachable as an image carrier cartridge together with a cleaning unit, and the moving mechanism opens the opening / closing unit. The shutter is moved from the retracted position to the entry position by rotating the image carrier cartridge in conjunction with the operation. According to this configuration, the efficiency in operations such as attaching and detaching the image carrier cartridge from the image forming apparatus is improved.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the second aspect, the image carrier cartridge includes a handle portion on a surface thereof, and the handle portion is exposed when the shutter is in the entering position, It is provided at a position where it is not exposed when in the retracted position. According to this configuration, when the exposed portion of the image carrier is shielded from light, the image carrier cartridge can be removed from the opening / closing portion by gripping the handle.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the opening / closing unit includes a sheet conveyance path on a side opposite to the developing unit with respect to the image carrier, and the opening / closing unit opens. And a moving mechanism for relatively separating the image carrier and the paper conveyance path. According to this configuration, a gap is formed between the image carrier and the paper transport path in conjunction with the operation of opening the opening / closing unit, so that jam processing can be performed on jammed recording paper with the opening / closing unit opened. Work becomes easy.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the opening / closing portion includes a paper conveyance path on a side opposite to the developing unit with respect to the image carrier, The image carrier and the developing device are each provided with a plurality of colors along the sheet passing path so as to form a full-color toner image. According to this configuration, there is provided a full-color image forming apparatus that facilitates maintenance work and protects the image carrier of each color from being exposed when opened.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the image carrier is configured to be detachable as an image carrier cartridge together with a cleaning unit, and the support means is the image carrier cartridge. It is provided in. According to this configuration, since the support means for supporting the shutter is provided in the image carrier cartridge, the accuracy of the position of the image carrier covered by the shutter is improved, and the image carrier cartridge is also removed when the image carrier cartridge is removed from the apparatus. It can be maintained in a state where a part of the carrier is covered.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the workability during maintenance of the image carrier and the developing device, and to protect the image carrier from being exposed when opened.

1 is a side cross-sectional view schematically showing an embodiment in which an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a full-color image forming apparatus. It is a side view which shows the middle of opening of the opening-and-closing part 1B. It is a side view which shows the open state. It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the lower half part of FIG. It is a partial side view which shows the upper half part of FIG. A perspective view of the structure near the upper end of the rack 91 as seen from above. It is the perspective view seen from the upper direction in the state which has a shutter in an approach position. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which a shutter is in an entry position when the photosensitive member cartridge 2 is viewed from the opposite direction to FIG. It is the perspective view seen from the reverse direction of FIG. 7 in the state which has a shutter in a retracted position. It is the perspective view seen from the same direction as FIG. 9 in the state which has a shutter in an approach position. FIG. 6 is a side view showing a state in which the photosensitive cartridge 2 is supported by the opening / closing part 1B.

  FIG. 1 is a side sectional view schematically showing an embodiment in which an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a full-color image forming apparatus. An image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 has a main body having a predetermined three-dimensional shape, for example, a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is composed of toners of toners of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (BK). An image forming apparatus that forms an image and sequentially transfers each toner image onto a recording sheet as a transfer material. The image forming apparatus 1 is disposed in the vertical direction between a paper feed unit 11 provided at the lower part of the main body, a paper discharge unit 12 provided at the upper part of the main body, and the paper supply unit 11 and the paper discharge unit 12. And a paper transport unit 13.

  Further, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a plurality of sets of image carrier (photoconductor) cartridges 2Y, 2M, 2C, and 2BK disposed along the paper transport unit 13. The photoreceptor cartridge 2Y includes a cleaning unit 22Y having a photoreceptor drum 21Y and a blade 221Y. Around the photosensitive drum 21Y, a charging unit 3Y, an exposure unit 4Y, and a developing cartridge 5Y are arranged in order from the upstream side in the rotation direction. The photoreceptor cartridge 2M includes a cleaning unit 22M having a photoreceptor drum 21M and a blade 221M. Around the photosensitive drum 21M, a charging unit 3M, an exposure unit 4M, and a developing cartridge 5M are arranged in order from the upstream side in the rotation direction. The photoreceptor cartridge 2C includes a cleaning unit 22C having a photoreceptor drum 21C and a blade 221C. Around the photosensitive drum 21C, a charging unit 3C, an exposure unit 4C, and a developing cartridge 5C are arranged in order from the upstream side in the rotation direction. The photoreceptor cartridge 2BK includes a cleaning unit 22BK having a photoreceptor drum 21BK and a blade 221BK. Around the photosensitive drum 21BK, a charging unit 3BK, an exposure unit 4BK, and a developing cartridge 5BK are disposed in order from the upstream side in the rotation direction. Note that the exposure units 4Y, 4M, 4C, and 4BK are configured as a single unit, read out from an unillustrated image memory, or transferred from an unillustrated external device, and are optically modulated. The laser beam is emitted and scanned on the surfaces of the corresponding photosensitive drums 21Y, 21M, 21C, and 21BK, and electrostatic latent images of the corresponding colors are formed on the surfaces of the photosensitive drums 21Y, 21M, 21C, and 21BK. To form.

  In addition, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a transfer unit 6 provided on the side (right side in FIG. 1) facing the photoconductor cartridges 2Y, 2M, 2C, and 2BK, and a fixing unit provided at an appropriate downstream position of the sheet conveyance path 130. 7. A power supply unit 8 for supplying necessary power to each unit is disposed at an appropriate position inside the main body, and a control unit (not shown) for controlling the image forming operation is further disposed.

  The photosensitive cartridges 2Y, 2M, 2C, and 2BK, the charging units 3Y, 3M, 3C, and 3BK, and the developing cartridges 5Y, 5M, 5C, and 5BK have the same structure. Hereinafter, when there is no need to particularly explain each color, they are simply referred to as a photoreceptor cartridge 2, a charging unit 3, and a developing cartridge 5.

  The charging unit 3 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 and employs a charger or a charging roller.

  The developing cartridge 5 is scraped from the photosensitive drum 21 by a cleaning unit 22 and a developing unit 51 that supplies toner to the photosensitive drum 21 to make the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 21 appear as a toner image. And a storage can 52 for storing the residual toner. The developing unit 51 contains toner of a predetermined color, and includes at least a stirring roller that stirs the toner, a supply roller that supplies the stirred toner to the developing roller, and a developing roller. The toner is supplied to the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 through a thickness regulating member. The storage can 52 stores residual toner, and a spiral shaft is rotatably provided to uniformly store the residual toner collected from the cleaning unit 22 inside. In the present embodiment, the developing unit 51 and the storage can 52 have a laminated structure with a required gap dimension therebetween. As shown in FIG. 1, the scanned laser beam from the exposure unit 4 is guided to the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 by using the space of the gap size.

  The paper feed unit 11 can be loaded with a paper tray on which recording papers are stacked. The paper discharge unit 12 is a paper discharge tray 121 formed on the upper surface of the main body. The paper transport unit 13 includes a paper transport path 130 configured by appropriately arranging opposing guide plates from the paper supply unit 11 to the paper discharge unit 12. The paper transport path 130 is formed between the photosensitive drums 21Y, 21M, 21C, and 21BK of the respective colors and the transfer unit 6, and further to the paper discharge unit 12 through the fixing unit 7. The paper transport unit 13 includes a paper feed roller 131, a timing roller 132, and a paper discharge roller 133 that face the paper transport path 130 and feed recording sheets from the paper feed unit 11 one by one from the upstream side in the transport direction. An intermediate roller may be provided as necessary.

  The transfer unit 6 includes a pair of support frame bodies 60 (see FIG. 2) arranged in the width direction (the depth direction on the paper surface), is supported between the pair of support frame bodies 60, and is arranged in parallel in the vertical position. Rollers 61, 61, an unsupported belt 62 (see FIGS. 6 and 11) that supports conveyance of the recording paper stretched between the support rollers 61, 61, and the photosensitive drums 21 Y, 21 M across the belt 62. , 21C, 21BK and transfer rollers 63Y, 63M, 63C, 63BK disposed at positions where they abut against the belt 62. The fixing unit 7 includes a heating roller 71 and a pressure roller 72 in contact with the heating roller 71.

  The recording paper secondarily fed from the timing roller 132 is conveyed by being attracted to the belt, and sequentially passes through the photosensitive drums 21Y, 21M, 21C, 21BK by the transfer rollers 63Y, 63M, 63C, 63BK. The Y, M, C, and BK toner images are sequentially transferred to form a full-color toner image. The recording sheet on which the full-color toner image is transferred is conveyed to the fixing unit 7 at the next stage. The toner image is fixed on the recording paper by fusing the toner on the recording paper while being transported between the heating roller 71 and the pressure roller 72 by the fixing unit 7. The recording paper that has passed through the fixing unit 7 is discharged from the paper discharge roller 133 onto the paper discharge tray 121. In this way, a full-color image can be recorded by making it possible to transfer a toner image of a corresponding color onto a recording sheet using image data of any color among Y, M, C, and BK colors. It can be reproduced on paper.

  Next, a mechanism for interlocking the opening / closing of the opening / closing portion 1B of the image forming apparatus 1 and the opening / closing of the shutter of the photosensitive member will be described. Briefly, when the opening / closing part 1B is opened, the photosensitive unit 2 rotates via the rack 91 and the gear 94, and as a result, the photosensitive member is covered by the shutter. The details will be described below.

  2 to 5 are diagrams for explaining a configuration in which the image forming apparatus 1 includes a base portion 1A and an opening / closing portion 1B. 2 is a side view showing the opening of the opening / closing portion 1B, FIG. 3 is a side view showing the opened state, FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the lower half of FIG. 2, and FIG. It is a partial side view which shows a half part.

  As shown in these drawings, the base unit 1 </ b> A of the image forming apparatus 1 includes at least a developing cartridge 5 and a power supply unit 8. On the other hand, the opening / closing part 1B of the image forming apparatus 1 is provided with at least the photosensitive member cartridge 2 and the transfer part 6. In these drawings, for convenience of explanation, the photosensitive cartridge 2 and the developing cartridge 5 are representatively configured for one color (here, BK), and Y, M, and C photosensitive cartridges are illustrated. 2Y, 2M, 2C and developing cartridges 5Y, 5M, 5C are omitted. The belt 62 is also omitted.

  In the present embodiment, the opening / closing part 1B corresponds to a door constituting the right side surface of the image forming apparatus 1 in the figure, and the rotating shaft 101B at the lower end of the opening part 1B of the base part 1A shown in FIG. The lower part is inserted into a bearing 101A extending horizontally and in the depth direction so as to be swingable. The opening / closing part 1B swings around the support shaft 101A to open and close the right side surface of the base part 1A. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a stopper 102B, which is an elastic material having a wedge shape, is provided inside the upper part of the opening / closing part 1B, while the stopper 102B is latched at a corresponding position on the base part 1A side. A locking portion 102A is provided. As a result, the closed state of the opening / closing part 1B can be maintained.

  Further, the opening / closing portion 1B is provided with a support mechanism portion 9 that supports each portion provided in the opening / closing portion 1B. The support mechanism portion 9 has base portions 901 and 902 provided at appropriate positions in the upper and lower portions, and the pair of support frame bodies 60 having the above-described length are attached to the base portions 901 and 902.

  A long rack 91 is disposed substantially parallel to the support frame 60 on one side of the pair of support frames 60, in FIG. A locking portion 911 is formed at the upper end of the rack 91, a plurality of (for example, two) relatively long slots 912 are formed in series in the middle in the longitudinal direction, and a long slot for engagement is formed at the lower end. 913 is drilled. One end of the upper locking portion 911 is hung on a spring 92 such as a tension coil spring engaged with the support mechanism 9 or the support frame 60. The long hole 912 is fitted into a guide pin 601 provided upright on the support frame body 60. The long hole 913 at the lower end is fitted into a pin 931 erected on the tip (upper end) of the link arm 93. A pin 932 is erected on the base end (lower end) of the link arm 93, and the pin 932 is rotatably supported on the fulcrum shaft 103A of the base body 1A. The bearing 101A and the fulcrum shaft 103A of the base 1A are provided at different positions. Therefore, as the opening / closing part 1B is opened from the base part 1A in the opening direction, the pin 931 of the link arm 93 pulls the rack 91 via the lower end of the long hole 913. The rack 91 receives the pulling force from the link arm 93 and slides downward while being guided by the guide pins 601 (see FIGS. 2 and 3). In the opposite case, that is, as the opening / closing part 1B is closed in the closing direction, the rack 91 slides upward.

  FIG. 6 is a structural view near the upper end of the rack 91, and is a perspective view seen from above. The spring 92 is omitted.

  A rack gear 914 is formed on one of the long sides of the rack 91, in this embodiment, on the upper side. On the other hand, a gear 94 that meshes with the rack gear 914 is erected at an appropriate position of the support frame 60. Yes. Therefore, when the opening / closing portion 1B changes in the opening direction, the rack gear 914 slides downward, and as a result, the gear 94 rotates clockwise. Conversely, when the opening / closing portion 1B changes in the closing direction, the gear 94 is counteracted. It will rotate clockwise.

  Further, the support frame 60 is formed with a bearing portion 95 at a position adjacent to the gear 94. The bearing portion 95 is a bottom portion 951 erected on the surface of the support frame body 60, and is upright from both ends of the bottom portion 951, that is, parallel to the surface of the support frame body 60, and extends at right angles to the sheet conveyance path 130. A pair of guide pieces 952 and a restriction piece 953 formed to face the upper ends of the pair of guide pieces 952 respectively. Further, the bearing portion 95 includes a bearing body 954 having a shape in which a bottomed cylinder is divided in half and turned sideways, and a compression coil spring 955 interposed between the bearing body 954 and the bottom portion 951. . The bearing body 954 supports the rotating shaft 211 of the photosensitive drum 21 and restricts the positional deviation in the axial direction. Further, the dimension between the opposing regulating pieces 953 corresponds to the diameter of the rotating shaft 211 of the photosensitive drum 21, and is specifically set slightly smaller than the diameter of the rotating shaft 211. By pushing 211 into the bearing portion 95 with a required force, unnecessary removal can be prevented, and extraction with a required force is possible. Thereby, the photosensitive member cartridge 2 can be attached to and detached from the opening / closing part 1B. The bearing body 954 is given a biasing force from the bottom 951 side toward the regulating piece 953 along the guide piece 952 by the compression coil spring 955. As a result, the bearing body 954 is regulated in the opened state in which the opening / closing part 1B is opened. It abuts at the upper end position that abuts on the piece 953.

  7-10 is a figure for demonstrating the structure of the photoreceptor cartridge 2 provided with the shutter which can be opened and closed. 7 is a perspective view of the state where the shutter is in the entry position (ie, the closed state) as viewed from above. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the photosensitive member cartridge 2 viewed from the opposite direction to FIG. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the shutter in the retracted position (that is, in the opened state), as seen from the top opposite to FIG. 7, and FIG. 10 is the shutter in the entry position. It is the perspective view seen from the same direction as FIG. For convenience of explanation, a coordinate system corresponding to the coordinate system shown in FIG. 1 is shown. The X direction is the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 21 (the depth direction in FIG. 1), the Y direction is the horizontal direction (left and right direction in FIG. 1) perpendicular to the X axis, and the Z direction is the up and down direction (see FIG. 1). 1 is the recording paper conveyance direction).

  The photoconductor cartridge 2 includes side frames 201 and 202 on both sides in the axial direction (X direction), and between the side frames 201 and 202, as shown in FIG. 1, a photoconductor drum 21 and a cleaning unit 22 are provided. The shutter unit 23 and the grip unit 24 are provided. The photosensitive drum 21 is rotatably supported between the side frames 201 and 202.

  The cleaning unit 22 is attached between the side frames 201 and 202 so as to cover almost the upper half of the photosensitive drum 21. The cleaning unit 22 has a cylindrical body as a whole, and includes a blade 221 (see FIG. 1) that scrapes residual toner at a portion in contact with the photosensitive drum 21. A spiral shaft (not visible in the drawing) is rotatably supported in the cylindrical body of the cleaning unit 22 so that the residual toner scraped off by the blade 221 is conveyed to one end side in the X direction. ing. A cylindrical delivery passage body 222 oriented in the orthogonal (Y) direction is connected to one end side in the X direction. One end side of the rotating shaft 211 of the photosensitive drum 21 has a rotating force transmission mechanism 223 such as a worm gear, which transmits the rotating force to the spiral shaft of the cleaning unit 22 and is rotatably supported in the delivery passage body 222. The rotational force is also transmitted to the spiral shaft (not visible in the figure). In addition, the lower surface is opened in the middle of the front end side of the delivery passage body 222, and the conveyed residual toner is guided to the storage can 52 shown in FIG. As is well known, this transfer passage body 222 has a double structure in which a cylindrical shutter that opens when being inserted into the storage can 52 of the developing cartridge 5 and is closed when pulled out is incorporated. May be.

  The shutter portion 23 is for covering a region of the photosensitive drum 21 that faces the paper conveyance path 130. The shutter unit 23 includes a light shielding plate 230 that is long in the X direction. The light shielding plate 230 has a cross-sectional shape in which a substantially arc shape or a substantially central portion is bent at a required angle so as to efficiently cover the surface of the photosensitive drum 21. On the opposing surfaces of the side frames 201 and 202, guide grooves 20111 and 2021 are formed in a substantially arc shape around the rotational axis of the photosensitive drum 21, while the light shielding plates 230 are at both ends in the X direction and at the upper end. On the side, pin-shaped fitting protrusions (not visible in the figure) that fit into the guide grooves 2011 and 2021 are provided.

  Further, a groove 231 extending in the X direction is formed at an appropriate position on the lower end side of the light shielding plate 230, and a support bar 232 is fitted into the groove 231 and integrated with the light shielding plate 230. Both ends of the support bar 232 are bent at a right angle, and one end side is a latch formed in the vicinity of the rotating shaft 211 of the photosensitive drum 21, which is an appropriate position on the outer surface of the side frame 202, as shown in FIG. The portion 233 is rotatably engaged. The other end of the support bar 232 is engaged with the support frame 60 of the opening / closing part 1B. As shown in FIG. 8, the support rod 232 is urged by a torsion coil spring 234 to constantly rotate in the counterclockwise direction in FIG.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a gear 235 is fixed to the outer surface of the side frame 201 at a position corresponding to the locking portion 233 of the side frame 202 in the X direction. A hole 236 is formed in the center of the gear 235, and the rotating shaft 211 of the photosensitive drum 21 is loosely fitted in the hole 236. When the gear 235 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 9, the photosensitive member cartridge 2 is rotated counterclockwise. At this time, since the support bar 232 of the light shielding plate 230 is engaged with the support frame 60 of the opening / closing part 1B, the light shielding plate 230 does not move. Accordingly, the exposed portion of the photosensitive drum 21 facing the paper conveyance path 130 of the photosensitive cartridge 2 enters (becomes) under the light shielding plate 230 and is shielded from light as shown in FIG. Approach position). On the other hand, when the gear 235 rotates clockwise in FIG. 10, the photosensitive cartridge 2 is rotated clockwise. Also at this time, since the support bar 232 of the light shielding plate 230 is engaged with the support frame 60 of the opening / closing part 1B, the light shielding plate 230 does not move. Accordingly, the portion of the photosensitive drum 2 covered by the light shielding plate 230 of the photosensitive drum 21 is removed from the light shielding plate 230, and the portion facing the paper conveyance path 130 is exposed (retracted) as shown in FIG. position).

  In the present embodiment, the grip portion 24 is formed on the upper surface of the cleaning portion 22. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 10, the gripping portion 24 includes a gripping piece 241 erected in a substantially horizontal direction from the upper surface of the cleaning portion 22, and support pieces 242 and 242 on both sides that support the gripping piece 241. It is composed of The operator can lift the photosensitive member cartridge 2 by holding the holding portion 24. The height of the grip piece 241 of the grip portion 24 is set to a dimension that does not contact the inner wall of the light shielding plate 230 of the shutter portion 23. Further, the grip portion 24 is formed at a position where the light shielding plate 230 is covered below the light shielding plate 230 when the light shielding plate 230 is in the retracted position and is exposed from the light shielding plate 230 when the light shielding plate 230 is at the entry position.

  FIG. 11 is a side view showing a state in which the photosensitive cartridge 2 is supported by the opening / closing part 1B. The photosensitive cartridge 2 is supported on the opening / closing portion 1B in a state where the rotating shaft 211 is pivotally supported by the bearing body 954 of the bearing portion 95. Although not visible in the figure, a bearing portion having the same structure as the bearing portion 95 that pivotally supports the rotating shaft 211 of the photosensitive drum 21 is provided on the other end side in the X direction. In FIG. 11, the opening / closing part 1B is in an open state, and the rack 91 is slid downward.

  By the way, in a state where the opening / closing portion 1B is closed by the base portion 1A, that is, in a state where the apparatus is operable, the photosensitive member cartridge 2 is brought into contact with a proper place of the base portion 1A or a proper place of the developing cartridge 5, thereby 954 is pushed down to a predetermined position against the compression coil spring 955. As a result, the drive system such as the photosensitive drum 21 is associated with the drive system on the developing cartridge 5 side. In this state, the gear 235 is in a position where it is pushed down somewhat from the state of FIG. In other words, the relative positional relationship between the gear 235 and the gear 94 slightly changes due to the vertical movement of the bearing body 954. However, the gears 235 and 94 have the required sizes, and the gears 235 and 94 are slightly shifted in the left-right direction in FIG. 11, that is, shifted from the relative displacement direction of the gear 235 and the gear 94. , The shift of the meshing between the gears 235 and 94 can be ignored. The vertical movement of the bearing body 954 corresponds to the dimension required for smoothly removing the jammed recording paper from between the photosensitive drum 21 and the belt 62. It is about several mm to 1 mm, and there is no particular problem in the displacement of meshing.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the developing cartridge 5 is attached in a state of being detachably fitted to, for example, the upper and lower support frames 521 and 522 provided in the base portion 1 </ b> A. The developing cartridge 5 can be pulled out to the open side with the opening / closing portion 1B being open. Alternatively, a known attachment / detachment structure can be adopted.

  Next, the operation of the rack and shutter during the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing part 1B will be described.

(1) When the Opening / Closing Unit 1B is Opened First, since the position restriction of the photosensitive member cartridge 2 is released, the bearing body 954 raises the rotating shaft 211 to a position where it contacts the restriction piece 953 by the compression coil spring 955. As a result, a required gap is ensured between the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 and the belt 62 of the transfer unit 6.

  Next, when the opening operation proceeds, the rack 91 is pulled by the link arm 93 and slides downward. The rack gear 914 moves downward by the downward sliding of the rack 91, and the gear 94 is rotated clockwise in FIG. When the gear 94 rotates clockwise, the gear 235 that meshes with the gear 94 rotates counterclockwise, that is, the photosensitive cartridge 2 integrated with the gear 235 rotates counterclockwise. On the other hand, the light shielding plate 230 is maintained at the same position because the support bar 232 of the light shielding plate 230 is engaged with the support frame 60 of the opening / closing part 1B. Accordingly, as the photosensitive cartridge 2 rotates, the portion facing the paper transport path 130 moves and is covered with the light shielding plate 230. Further, as the photosensitive cartridge 2 rotates, the portion facing the developing cartridge 5 moves and faces the paper conveyance path 130, so that the portion facing the developing cartridge 5 is not exposed. . Further, the grip portion 24 formed on the upper surface of the cleaning portion 22 is exposed from the light shielding plate 230. Therefore, when the opening / closing portion 1B is completely opened as shown in FIG. 3, the photosensitive cartridge 2 is in the state shown in FIG. 10, and the recording paper jammed between the photosensitive drum 21 and the belt 62 is removed. Further, the gripping portion 24 enables the removal work from the opening / closing portion 1B.

(2) When the Opening / Closing Unit 1B is Closed First, the replaced or inspected photoconductor cartridge 2 is supported on the rotating shaft 211 of the photoconductor drum 21 through the regulating piece 953 of the bearing unit 95. In this state, the photosensitive cartridge 2 is not subjected to position restriction from the base portion 1 </ b> A, so that there is a required gap between the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 21 and the belt 62 of the transfer portion 6.

  Next, when the closing operation proceeds, the rack 91 is pushed back by the link arm 93 and slides upward. The rack gear 914 moves upward by the upward sliding of the rack 91, and the gear 94 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. When the gear 94 rotates counterclockwise, the gear 235 that meshes with the gear 94 rotates clockwise, that is, the photosensitive cartridge 2 integrated with the gear 235 rotates clockwise. On the other hand, the light shielding plate 230 is maintained at the same position because the support bar 232 of the light shielding plate 230 is engaged with the support frame 60 of the opening / closing part 1B. Accordingly, the portion of the photosensitive drum 21 covered with the light shielding plate 230 is detached from the light shielding plate 230 (exposed gradually). Further, the grip portion 24 formed on the upper surface of the cleaning portion 22 is covered with the light shielding plate 230. When the opening / closing portion 1B reaches a position where it is closed (see FIG. 9), the exposed portion on the lower side of the photosensitive drum 21 is detached from the light shielding plate 230, and the photosensitive drum 21 faces the developing portion 51 and the belt 62, An image forming operation is possible. Further, the position of the photosensitive member cartridge 2 is restricted by contacting the proper position on the base portion 1A side, and the rotating shaft 211 of the photosensitive member drum 21 pushes the bearing member 954 slightly against the compression coil spring 955, thereby causing the photosensitive member drum 21 to move. The peripheral surface of the developing unit 51 and the belt 62 of the developing unit 51 and the transfer unit 6 are substantially close to or in contact with each other, so that the developing operation and conveyance of the recording paper are ensured. Further, the grip portion 24 is covered with the light shielding plate 230.

  The following aspects can be employed in the present invention.

(1) In this embodiment, the photosensitive cartridge 2 is rotated to realize the entry position and the retracted position, but conversely, the light shielding plate 230 side may be rotated. In short, any mode in which the surface of the photoconductive drum 21 is relatively moved (rotated) between both the entry position and the retreat position with respect to the position facing the developing cartridge 5 at the time of image formation. In this case, the gear 235 can be rotated with respect to the photosensitive member cartridge 2, and the support rod 232 and the light shielding plate 230 are configured to rotate with the gear 235 so that the engagement portion with the torsion coil spring 234 on the other end side can be eliminated. That's fine. Also, instead of a plate material such as the light shielding plate 230, a deformable configuration such as a bellows structure is adopted, and the proximal end side in the moving direction is fixed, and the distal end side is moved to be expanded or closed. The light shielding state at the entry position and the exposure state at the retreat position may be obtained.

(2) Further, in (1), in a mode in which the light shielding portion 23 is rotated to shield and expose, the light shielding plate 230 is divided into two, one side is fixed, and the other side is movable. When the other side is moved to the entry position, a gripping structure may be formed on the fixed side and the moving side at the same time.

(3) In this embodiment, a reciprocating displacement such as the bearing portion 95 is used as the separation mechanism portion. On the other hand, a swing arm provided in the radial direction of the gear 94 is provided. A bearing may be provided at the tip of the swing arm, and the clearance distance between the photosensitive drum 21 and the belt 62 may be varied by the swing operation of the swing arm as the gear 94 rotates. Further, instead of the mechanism for moving the photosensitive cartridge 2 as the separation mechanism unit, the paper conveyance path, that is, the belt 62 may be moved.

(4) In the present embodiment, a full-color tandem image forming apparatus has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a single-color image forming apparatus can be similarly provided.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 1A Base | substrate part (apparatus main body)
101A Bearing 1B Open / close part 130 Conveyance path (paper path)
2,2Y, 2M, 2C, 2BK Photosensitive cartridge (image carrier cartridge)
21, 21Y, 21M, 21C, 21BK Photosensitive drum (image carrier)
211 Rotating shaft 22 Cleaning unit 23 Shutter unit (shutter)
230 Light-shielding plate 2011 Guide groove (part of support means)
2012 Guide groove (part of support means)
232 Support rod (part of support means)
235 gear (part of moving mechanism)
24 Grip part (handle part)
5, 5Y, 5M, 5C, 5BK Developing cartridge 51 Developing section 52 Storage can 6 Transfer section 62 Belt 9 Support mechanism section 91 Rack (part of moving mechanism)
92 Spring 93 Crank arm 94 Gear (part of moving mechanism)
95 Bearing (separation mechanism)
952 Guide piece (guide member)
954 Bearing body 955 Compression coil spring (biasing member)

Claims (5)

An image forming apparatus that converts an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrier into a toner image using a developing device,
An apparatus main body for holding at least the developing device;
An opening / closing part connected to the apparatus main body so as to be openable and closable, and holding at least the image carrier;
A shutter covering a part of the image carrier;
Support means for supporting the shutter so as to be relatively movable between an entry position that covers the image carrier portion exposed when the opening / closing part is opened and a retracted position that is retracted from the entry position;
A moving mechanism for moving the shutter from the retracted position to the entering position in conjunction with the opening operation of the opening and closing unit;
With
The image carrier is configured to be detachable as an image carrier cartridge, and the moving mechanism includes a rack provided at the opening / closing portion coupled to each other and a gear provided fixed to the image carrier. becomes, in conjunction with the opening operation of the opening and closing part and the image carrier cartridge is rotated relative to the shutter by the rack is moved, the said shutter from said retracted position relatively moving to the approach position An image forming apparatus. The image carrier cartridge includes a handle portion on a surface thereof, and the handle portion is provided at a position that is exposed when the shutter is in the entry position and is not exposed when the shutter is in the retracted position. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 . An image forming apparatus that converts an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrier into a toner image using a developing device,
An apparatus main body for holding at least the developing device;
An opening / closing part connected to the apparatus main body so as to be openable and closable, and holding at least the image carrier;
A shutter covering a part of the image carrier;
Support means for supporting the shutter so as to be relatively movable between an entry position that covers the image carrier portion exposed when the opening / closing part is opened and a retracted position that is retracted from the entry position;
A moving mechanism for moving the shutter from the retracted position to the entering position in conjunction with the opening operation of the opening and closing unit;
With
The opening / closing unit includes a sheet conveyance path on a side opposite to the developing unit with respect to the image carrier, and the image carrier and the sheet conveyance path are relatively separated in conjunction with an opening operation of the opening / closing section. images forming device you comprising the moving mechanism for. An image forming apparatus that converts an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrier into a toner image using a developing device,
An apparatus main body for holding at least the developing device;
An opening / closing part connected to the apparatus main body so as to be openable and closable, and holding at least the image carrier;
A shutter covering a part of the image carrier;
Support means for supporting the shutter so as to be relatively movable between an entry position that covers the image carrier portion exposed when the opening / closing part is opened and a retracted position that is retracted from the entry position;
A moving mechanism for moving the shutter from the retracted position to the entering position in conjunction with the opening operation of the opening and closing unit;
With
The image bearing member is detachably attached to an image bearing member cartridge with the cleaning unit, said supporting means, images forming device characterized in that provided on the image bearing member cartridge. The open / close section includes a paper conveyance path on the opposite side of the image bearing member from the developing device, and the image carrier and the developing device have a plurality of colors corresponding to the paper to form a full-color toner image. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is disposed along the transport path .