JP6170469B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known an image forming apparatus that cools devices in the apparatus main body by introducing an air flow into the image forming apparatus main body with a blower fan or the like (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this apparatus, an air inlet is formed on one side of the image forming apparatus main body, and an air outlet is formed on the other side of the image forming apparatus main body. The blower fan is provided at the exhaust port, and when the blower fan operates, an air flow from the intake port to the exhaust port is formed. The airflow cools the devices in the image forming apparatus main body. The exhaust port and the intake port are normally closed by a louver capable of circulating air.

  In addition, a blower fan may be provided at the intake port (see, for example, Patent Document 2), and may be provided at both the intake port and the exhaust port.

JP 2003-76253 A JP 2012-173305 A

  Here, in order to reliably cool the devices in the image forming apparatus main body (housing), it is preferable to increase the rotational speed of the blower fan and increase the air volume as the temperature in the housing increases.

  However, the image forming apparatuses disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 have a problem in that the wind noise when air passes through the louver increases as the rotational speed of the blower fan increases, which is annoying to the user.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and the object of the present invention is to reliably cool the devices in the housing by the air flow induced by the blower fan while the air flow is in the housing. The object is to suppress wind noise when passing through the louver attached to the opening.

An image forming apparatus according to the present invention has an opening for circulating air and a housing that houses the image forming unit therein, and is provided on the inner side of the opening relative to the opening, and air is provided in the opening. And a louver having a plurality of slit holes arranged at intervals and mounted in the opening.

Then, the louvers, the louvers open and closed position where the air is can flow only through the plurality of slits over the entire said opening, the louver at least part of the opening the It has an open position for forming a flow path of the air between the edge of the outer edge and opening of the louver, a drive unit for moving between the closed position and the open position the louvers A temperature detection unit that detects the temperature in the housing, a fan control unit that increases the rotational speed of the blower fan as the detection temperature detected by the temperature detection unit is higher, and a detection that is detected by the temperature detection unit When the temperature is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature, the drive unit positions the louver at the closed position, while when the detected temperature exceeds the predetermined temperature, the drive unit raises the louver. And a, a louver control unit be located above the open position side from the closed position.

  According to this configuration, when the blower fan is operated, air flows through the opening, and cooling of the devices in the housing is promoted. Here, the higher the temperature in the housing detected by the temperature detection unit, the higher the rotational speed of the blower fan driven by the fan control unit. As a result, the flow rate of air passing through the opening increases, so that the devices in the housing can be reliably cooled. However, although the cooling performance of the devices in the housing is improved, there is a problem that wind noise increases when air passes through the louvers attached to the openings. In contrast, in the above configuration, when the temperature inside the casing detected by the temperature detection unit exceeds a predetermined temperature, the louver control unit controls the drive unit to move the louver from the closed position to the open position side. I did it. As a result, a part of the air flow induced by the blower fan flows directly into the opening without passing through the louver, so that it is possible to suppress wind noise when the air flow passes through the louver. . In addition, when the temperature in the housing | casing detected by a temperature detection part is below predetermined temperature, since the opening part is obstruct | occluded by the louver, a ventilation fan is exposed to the exterior of a housing | casing and an external appearance design falls. Can be prevented. Moreover, it can suppress that a foreign material penetrate | invades in a housing | casing from an opening part.

The driving unit includes an actuator and a rod member having one end connected to the louver and the other end connected to the actuator, and the actuator moves the rod member in the axial direction, The louver may be driven between the closed position and the open position.

The drive unit includes an actuator and a support shaft fixed to one end of the louver and coupled to the actuator, and the louver is rotated by the actuator together with the louver. May be driven between the closed position and the open position.

  When the detected temperature detected by the temperature detecting unit exceeds the predetermined temperature, the louver control unit increases the detected temperature when controlling the louver to the open position side than the closed position. It is preferable that the louver be configured to increase the amount of movement from the closed position.

  According to this configuration, the louver moves to the open position side as the temperature in the housing is higher, that is, as the rotational speed of the blower fan is higher. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably suppress the wind noise when the air flow induced by the blower fan passes through the louver.

  While reliably cooling the devices in the housing by the air flow induced by the blower fan, wind noise is suppressed when the air flow passes through the louvers attached to the opening of the housing.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a side view of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment viewed from the left side. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a louver attached to the intake port. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. 1 showing a state where the louver is in the closed position. FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4 showing a state in which the louver is in the open position. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system. FIG. 7 is a graph showing the relationship between the temperature detected by the temperature sensor and the rotational speed of the blower fan. FIG. 8 is a graph showing the relationship between the temperature detected by the temperature sensor and the amount of movement of the louver from the closed position. FIG. 9 is a view corresponding to FIG. FIG. 10 is a view corresponding to FIG. FIG. 11 is a view corresponding to FIG. FIG. 12 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4 showing another embodiment. FIG. 13 is a view corresponding to FIG. 4 showing another embodiment. FIG. 14 is a view corresponding to FIG. 7 showing another embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the following embodiment.

Embodiment 1
FIG. 1 shows an image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment. The image forming apparatus 100 includes a housing 10 and three paper feed cassettes 20 that are detachably attached to the lower portion of the housing 10. Each paper cassette 20 contains printing paper. In the following description, “front side” and “rear side” mean the front side and the rear side (front side and rear side in the direction perpendicular to the paper in FIG. 1), respectively, “left side” and “right side”. Means “left side” and “right side” (left side and right side in the left-right direction in FIG. 1) when viewed from the front side of the housing.

  A document setting unit 30 is provided on the upper surface of the housing 10, and a document reading unit 40 and an image forming unit 50 are provided in the housing 10. The casing 10 has a box shape as a whole, and a moving caster 15 is attached to the lower surface thereof.

  The document setting unit 30 includes a contact glass (not shown) fitted in an opening on the upper surface of the housing 10 and a document pressing cover 31 that covers the upper surface of the contact glass so as to be freely opened and closed.

  The document reading unit 40 is accommodated in the upper part of the housing 10. The document reading unit 40 has an optical system (not shown) such as a lens and a mirror. The document reading unit 40 reads an image of the document set on the contact glass by this optical system. The document image data read by the document reading unit 40 is stored in a data storage unit (not shown).

  The image forming unit 50 irradiates the surface of the photosensitive drum 51 with laser light corresponding to the document image data stored in the data storage unit or the image data received from the external terminal from the exposure device 53. Form. Next, the image forming unit 50 develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 51 as a toner image by the developing device 54. The image forming unit 50 transfers the toner image onto the sheet by nipping and conveying the sheet conveyed by the registration roller pair 61 from the sheet feeding cassette 20 between the photosensitive drum 51 and the transfer roller 56. The image forming unit 50 presses the paper on which the toner image is transferred between the fixing roller 57 and the pressure roller 58 to fix the toner image on the paper. Then, the image forming process in the image forming unit 50 ends. Reference numeral 52 in the drawing is a charger for charging the surface of the photosensitive drum 51 before exposure, and reference numeral 55 is a cleaning device for removing residual toner on the surface of the photosensitive drum 51.

  The sheet on which the image forming process has been performed by the image forming unit 50 is discharged out of the housing 10 from the discharge outlet 10f by the discharge roller pair 62.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the paper discharge port 10 f is formed in the left side wall 10 a of the housing 10. A paper discharge tray 11 for receiving the paper discharged from the paper discharge port 10f is attached to the lower side of the paper discharge port 10f.

Above the left side wall 10a of the housing 10 further has an exhaust port 10h for discharging the air inlet (opening) 10 g for taking in cooling air to the casing 10, the air taken into the outside Is formed. The air inlet 10g is formed at the center in the front-rear direction at the lower end of the left side wall 10a. A louver 12 is attached to the intake port 10g. The louver 12 has a plurality of slit holes 12f that extend in the front-rear direction and are arranged at intervals in the up-down direction. An intake fan (blower fan) 14 is provided on the inner side of the housing (the right side in FIG. 1) than the intake port 10g. The exhaust port 10 h is formed near the lower side of the paper discharge port 10 f on the left side wall 10 a of the housing 10. The exhaust port 10h is formed at the center in the front-rear direction of the left side wall 10a. A louver 13 is attached to the exhaust port 10h. Since the configuration of the louver 13 is the same as that of the louver 12, its detailed description is omitted. When the intake fan 14 is driven, air outside the casing 10 flows into the casing 10 from the inlet 10g through the slit hole 12f of the louver 12 (see the white arrow in FIG. 1). The air that has flowed into the housing 10 cools the image forming unit 50 and its surroundings, and then is discharged out of the housing 10 from the exhaust port 10 h through the slit hole of the louver 13.

  The louver 12 attached to the intake port 10g has a closed position (position of the louver 12 shown by a solid line in FIG. 4) that closes the intake port 10g so that air can flow therethrough, and the outside of the apparatus (this embodiment). It has an open position (the position of the louver 12 in FIG. 5) that is spaced apart on the left side in the form and opens the intake port 10g. The louver 12 is configured to be movable between the closed position and the open position by a louver drive mechanism 70 as a drive unit. In FIG. 4, the slit hole 12f of the louver 12 is omitted for simplification.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the louver drive mechanism 70 includes a solenoid 71, a cylindrical guide 72, and a pair of rod members 73 and 74. The solenoid 71 and the cylindrical guide 72 are arranged on both sides of the intake fan 14 in plan view.

  The solenoid 71 has a bottomed cylindrical frame 71a and a movable iron core 71b inserted in the frame 71a. The frame 71a is fixed to the bottom wall of the housing 10 via a fixing bracket (not shown). The operation of the solenoid 71 is controlled by a controller 90 described later.

  The pair of rod members 73 and 74 are formed in a columnar shape extending in the left-right direction. The pair of rod members 73 and 74 are arranged at intervals in the front-rear direction. The left end portions of the pair of rod members 73 and 74 are both fixed to the louver 12. The right end portion of the rear rod member 74 of the pair of rod members 73 and 74 is fixed to the movable iron core 71 b of the solenoid 71. On the other hand, the right end of the front rod member 73 is not connected to an actuator such as a solenoid and is supported by a cylindrical guide 72 so as to be movable in the left-right direction. The cylindrical guide 72 is fixed to the bottom wall of the housing 10 via a fixing bracket (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 6, the solenoid 71 is electrically connected to the controller 90. The controller 90 is configured by a microcomputer having a memory, a CPU, and the like. In addition to the solenoid 71, the intake fan 14 and the temperature sensor 59 are electrically connected to the controller 90. The temperature sensor 59 is a sensor for measuring the temperature in the housing 10, and is disposed in the vicinity of the fixing roller 57 in the present embodiment. The controller 90 controls the operation of the intake fan 14 and the solenoid 71 based on the temperature in the housing 10 detected by the temperature sensor 59.

  First, the intake fan control by the controller 90 will be described with reference to FIG. When the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 59 is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature T ° C. (eg, 30 ° C.), the controller 90 maintains the rotational speed of the intake fan 14 at a constant rotational speed Nrpm, while the detected temperature is the predetermined temperature T Is exceeded, the rotational speed of the intake fan 14 is linearly increased as the detected temperature increases.

  Next, the operation control of the solenoid 71 by the controller 90 will be described with reference to FIG. When the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 59 is equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature T ° C., the controller 90 maintains the louver 12 in the closed position without operating the solenoid 71. When the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 59 exceeds the predetermined temperature T, the controller 90 operates the solenoid 71 to advance the rod member 74 to the moving end. Then, the controller 90 separates the louver 12 by a predetermined distance Lmm from the closed position to the outside of the housing 10.

In the image forming apparatus 100 configured as described above, when the intake fan 14 is operated, air flows into the housing 10 from the air inlet 10g, and cooling of the devices in the housing 10 is promoted.
Here, the controller 90, when the temperature in the housing 10 to be detected from the temperature sensor 59 exceeds Jo Tokoro temperature T increases the rotational speed of the more suction fan 14 temperature is high in the housing 10 It is configured as follows. Therefore, compared with the case where the rotation speed of the intake fan 14 is kept constant regardless of the temperature in the housing 10, the devices in the housing 10 can be reliably cooled.

  Here, when the temperature in the housing 10 exceeds the predetermined temperature T, the rotational speed of the intake fan 14 increases, and the air flow rate passing through the louver 12 attached to the intake port 10g also increases. For this reason, there is a possibility that the wind noise when the air flow passes through the louver 12 is increased, which may be annoying to the user.

  On the other hand, in the above embodiment, when the temperature in the housing 10 detected by the temperature sensor 59 exceeds the predetermined temperature T, the controller 90 controls the solenoid 71 to release the louver 12 from the closed position. Moved to. As a result, as shown by the white arrow in FIG. 5, a part of the air flow induced by the intake fan 14 directly flows into the housing 10 from the intake port 10 g without passing through the louver 12. . Therefore, wind noise when the air flow passes through the louver 12 can be suppressed.

  When the temperature inside the casing 10 detected by the temperature sensor 59 is equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature T, the intake port 10g is closed by the louver 12, so that the intake fan 14 is exposed to the outside of the casing. The appearance design is not impaired. Further, it is possible to prevent foreign matter from directly entering the housing 10 from the air inlet 10g.

<< Embodiment 2 >>
9 and 10 show the second embodiment. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the method for controlling the position of the louver 12. That is, in this embodiment, when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 59 is lower than the first predetermined temperature T1 (= the predetermined temperature T), the louver 12 is maintained at the closed position, and the detected temperature is the first predetermined temperature. If the temperature exceeds T1 and is equal to or lower than the second predetermined temperature T2, the louver 12 is separated from the closed position by the first predetermined distance Lmm toward the outside of the housing, and the detected temperature exceeds the second predetermined temperature T2. The louver 12 is separated from the closed position by Kmm toward the outside of the housing. In this case, the louver drive mechanism 70 preferably includes two solenoids, for example, a solenoid having a stroke amount of L mm and a solenoid having a stroke amount of K mm. Thereby, the position of the louver 12 can be controlled in two stages as described above.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, as the temperature in the casing 10 detected by the temperature sensor 59 increases, that is, as the rotational speed of the intake fan 14 increases, the louver 12 starts from the closed position. The amount of movement to the open position side was increased step by step. Thereby, the wind noise when an airflow passes the louver 12 can be suppressed more reliably. In addition, since only two solenoids having different strokes need to be prepared, the structure of the louver drive mechanism 70 is not complicated.

<< Embodiment 3 >>
FIG. 10 shows a third embodiment. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the method for controlling the position of the louver 12. That is, in this embodiment, when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 59 is lower than the predetermined temperature T, the louver 12 is maintained at the closed position, and when the temperature detected is equal to or higher than the predetermined temperature, the detected temperature As the distance increases, the amount of movement of the louver 12 from the closed position is increased linearly. In order to realize such control, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, a rack portion 74a is formed on the peripheral surface of the rod member 74, a pinion gear 82 is engaged with the rack portion 74a, and the pinion gear 82 is connected to a motor. It may be driven by 81. Thereby, the position of the louver 12 can be increased linearly in accordance with an increase in the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 59.

  As described above, in the third embodiment, the louver 12 is released from the closed position as the temperature in the housing 10 detected by the temperature sensor 59 increases, that is, as the rotational speed of the intake fan 14 increases. Since the amount of movement to the position side is linearly increased, the position of the louver can be adjusted more finely than in the second embodiment. Therefore, the wind noise when the air flow passes through the louver 12 can be more reliably suppressed.

<< Other embodiments >>
In each of the above embodiments, the louver 12 is moved in a direction perpendicular to the left side wall 10a of the housing 10, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. You may make it move between a closed position and an open position by rotating around the support shaft 76. In this case, the louver 12 may be fixed to the support shaft 76 and the support shaft 76 may be rotationally driven by the motor 83. Further, as shown in FIG. 13, the louver 13 may be moved between the closed position and the open position by sliding in the front-rear direction along the left side wall 10 a of the housing 10. In this case, for example, the stroke direction of the solenoid 71 may be matched with the moving direction of the louver 12, and the louver 12 and the movable iron core 71 b may be connected via the connecting member 75.

  In the above embodiments, when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 59 is equal to or higher than the predetermined temperature T, the rotational speed of the intake fan 14 is linearly increased as the detected temperature increases. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG.

  In each of the above embodiments, the intake fan 14 is provided at the intake port 10g. However, an exhaust fan may be provided at the exhaust port 10h in addition thereto. In this case, the louver drive mechanism 70 may be applied to the louver 13 attached to the exhaust port 10h. Needless to say, the louver drive mechanism 70 may be provided only at the exhaust port 10h. Further, it is not always necessary to form the intake port 10g and the exhaust port 10h in the housing 10, and only one of them may be formed.

  In the above embodiment, when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 59 is equal to or lower than the predetermined temperature, the rotational speed of the intake fan 14 is kept constant. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the detected temperature is Even when the temperature is lower than the predetermined temperature, the rotational speed of the intake fan 14 may be increased as the detected temperature increases.

  Further, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and the present invention includes a configuration in which these embodiments are appropriately combined.

  As described above, the present invention is useful for an image forming apparatus.

10 Housing 10g Air intake (opening)
12 louvers 14 Intake fan (fan)
50 Image forming unit 59 Temperature sensor 70 Louver drive mechanism (drive unit)
71 Solenoid (actuator)
83 Motor (actuator)
90 Controller (fan control unit, louver control unit)
100 Image forming apparatus

Claims (4)

A housing for accommodating the image forming unit therein and having an opening for circulating air, and blower fan than the opening provided in the housing side in circulating air to the opening, spacing from one another A louver having a plurality of slit holes arranged in a row and mounted in the opening, and an image forming apparatus comprising:
The louvers, the louvers and a closed position where the air is can flow only through the plurality of slits over the entire said opening, the louvers of the louver is opened at least a portion of the opening An open position that forms an air flow path between the outer edge and the edge of the opening;
A drive unit for moving between the closed position and the open position the louvers,
A temperature detector for detecting the temperature in the housing;
A fan controller that increases the rotational speed of the blower fan as the detected temperature detected by the temperature detector increases;
When the detected temperature detected by the temperature detecting unit is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature, the driving unit positions the louver at the closed position, and when the detected temperature exceeds the predetermined temperature, the driving unit An image forming apparatus comprising: a louver controller that positions a louver closer to the open position than the closed position. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.
The driving unit includes an actuator and a rod member having one end connected to the louver and the other end connected to the actuator, and the actuator moves the rod member in the axial direction, An image forming apparatus that moves a louver between the closed position and the open position. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.
The drive unit includes an actuator and a support shaft fixed to one end of the louver and coupled to the actuator, and the louver is rotated by the actuator together with the louver. An image forming apparatus that moves the camera between the closed position and the open position. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
When the detected temperature detected by the temperature detecting unit exceeds the predetermined temperature, the louver control unit increases the detected temperature when controlling the louver to the open position side than the closed position. An image forming apparatus configured to increase a moving amount of the louver from the closed position.

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