JP6610991B2 - Driving device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a drive device and an image forming apparatus.

  In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, or a complex machine thereof, many driving units are provided for an image forming operation, and are used for operations of a photoconductor and a transfer belt.

  Patent Document 1 describes a drive device that includes a first casing and a second casing, and is held by the first casing and the second casing so as to cover a plurality of gears that are drive transmission members. In this drive device, the drive motor is attached to the surface of the first casing opposite to the surface facing the second casing. The motor shaft of the drive motor passes through the first casing, and a motor gear provided on the motor shaft meshes with one of the plurality of gears.

  In recent years, weight reduction of machines has been demanded, and it has been demanded to reduce the thickness of the first casing and the second casing. However, if the thickness of the first casing, which is a motor attachment member to which the drive motor is attached, is reduced, the rigidity of the first casing is impaired. Usually, the drive motor is fixed to the motor mounting surface of the first casing, which is a motor mounting member, with a screw. When the drive motor is screwed, the screw is turned while pressing the screw against the second casing with a tool. . For this reason, if the thickness of the first casing is reduced, the motor mounting surface of the first casing may be deformed to the second casing side when the drive motor is mounted. When the motor mounting surface of the first casing is deformed to the second casing side, the drive motor is tilted, and the meshing between the motor gear provided on the motor shaft and the gear meshing with the motor gear is affected, and meshing vibration and tooth There was a risk of various problems such as abnormal wear.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a first drive motor, a second drive motor, a motor attachment member having a motor attachment portion to which the first drive motor and the second drive motor are attached, and the motor. In the drive device provided with the holding member that is disposed opposite to the mounting member and holds the drive transmission member, the motor mounting member is made of metal, the holding member is made of resin, and the motor mounting member of each drive motor The first restricting portion is a quadrangular shape that connects the fixed portions , is formed integrally with the holding member, contacts the motor mounting member, and restricts deformation of the motor mounting portion toward the holding member. and a second restricting portion possess, the first restricting portion, the and extended over the shape connecting the fixing portion of the second drive motor and the first drive motor Mo The mounting member abuts the second regulating portion of the at least a portion, is characterized in that in contact with the inside of the connecting fixing portion shape of the second drive motor.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the motor mounting portion from being deformed to the holding member side.

1 is a diagram illustrating an outline of an image forming apparatus. (A) is a perspective view of a process cartridge, (b) is sectional drawing of a process cartridge. The perspective view which looked at the drive device from the motor side. The perspective view which shows the inside of the drive device. The schematic sectional drawing of the drive device. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the drive device as viewed from the photosensitive member side. The motor side front view of the drive device. The perspective view of a bracket. Sectional drawing which cut the drive device with the dashed-dotted line A of FIG. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the driving device cut along a dashed line B in FIG. 6. The motor side front view of the drive device which removed the photoconductor motor and the development motor. The cross-sectional perspective view which shows the 1st modification of a drive device. The principal part perspective view which shows the 2nd modification of a drive device. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state where a developing motor 52 is inclined due to deformation of a flat surface portion. (A) is a perspective view of the drive device of the 3rd modification except the bracket 62, (b) is a cross-sectional perspective view of the drive device of the 3rd modification. FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a drive device according to a third modified example. The schematic sectional drawing of the drive device of the 3rd modification 3 which provided the developing motor screw hole in the control part of a metal shaft. The schematic sectional drawing of the drive device of the 3rd modification which provided the developing motor screw hole in the control part of a reinforcement member. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a drive device in which a development motor screw hole is provided in the development drive pin.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an outline of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
An image reading apparatus 200 is attached to the upper part of the apparatus main body 100 of the copying machine as an image forming apparatus.

A process cartridge 1 is provided inside the apparatus main body 100.
FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the process cartridge, and FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the process cartridge.
As shown in FIG. 2B, the process cartridge 1 includes a photosensitive member 10 that is a latent image carrier, a charging device 11 that is disposed around the photosensitive member 10 and that acts on the photosensitive member 10, and a developing device. 12 and a cleaning device 14. The process cartridge 1 is detachably attached to the apparatus main body 100. Since the photosensitive member 10, the charging device 11, the developing device 12, and the cleaning device 14 are unitized as the process cartridge 1, replacement and maintenance work is facilitated. Further, it is possible to maintain the positional accuracy between the members with high accuracy, and to improve the quality of the formed image.

  The charging device 11 serving as a charging unit applies a charging bias to apply a charge to the surface of the photoconductor 10 to uniformly charge the photoconductor 10, and an adhering material such as toner attached to the surface of the charging roller 11a. And a removing roller 11b to be removed.

  The developing device 12 as developing means has a first agent storage chamber V1 in which a first conveying screw 12b as developer conveying means is disposed. Further, it also has a second agent storage chamber V2 in which a second conveying screw 12c as a developer conveying means, a developing roller 12a as a developer carrying member, a doctor blade 12d as a developer regulating member, and the like are disposed. .

  In these two agent storage chambers V1 and V2, a developer which is a two-component developer including a magnetic carrier and a negatively chargeable toner is included. The first transport screw 12b is rotationally driven by a driving unit to transport the developer in the first agent storage chamber V1 to the front side in the drawing. Then, the developer transported to the front side end portion of the first agent storage chamber V1 in the drawing by the first transport screw 12b enters the second agent storage chamber V2.

  The 2nd conveyance screw 12c in the 2nd agent storage chamber V2 is rotated by a drive means, and conveys a developer to the back side in the figure. In this manner, the developing roller 12a is disposed in a posture parallel to the second conveying screw 12c above the second conveying screw 12c that conveys the developer. The developing roller 12a includes a magnet roller fixedly disposed in a developing sleeve made of a non-magnetic sleeve that is rotationally driven.

  A part of the developer conveyed by the second conveying screw 12c is pumped up to the surface of the developing roller 12a by the magnetic force generated by the magnet roller in the developing roller 12a. Then, after the layer thickness is regulated by a doctor blade 12d arranged so as to maintain a predetermined gap from the surface of the developing roller 12a, the layer thickness is regulated and conveyed to a developing region facing the photoconductor 10, and on the photoconductor 10 Toner is attached to the electrostatic latent image. By this adhesion, a toner image is formed on the photoreceptor 10. The developer that has consumed toner by development is returned to the second conveying screw 12c as the surface of the developing roller 12a moves. Then, the developer transported to the end of the second agent storage chamber V2 by the second transport screw 12c returns to the first agent storage chamber V1. In this way, the developer is circulated and conveyed in the developing device.

  Further, the developing device 12 includes a toner concentration sensor that detects the toner concentration of the developer in the first agent storage chamber V1. The toner concentration sensor measures the toner concentration of the developer from the magnetic permeability of the developer. When the toner concentration is low, the magnetic carrier is concentrated, so that the magnetic permeability is increased. When the value measured by the toner density sensor 124 exceeds the target value (threshold value), toner is supplied from the toner bottle 20 shown in FIG. 1, and the toner density is controlled to a constant density. The target value is determined based on the detection result obtained by detecting the toner adhesion amount of the toner pattern formed on the photoconductor 10 with an optical sensor.

By such an operation, control is performed so that the reference pattern density on the photosensitive member is kept constant. However, when the toner in the toner bottle 20 runs out, the density reduction cannot be suppressed. In such a situation, the detection result of the toner pattern by the optical sensor is not improved despite the operation of supplying the toner from the toner bottle 20 for a predetermined period. Therefore, if the result of detecting the toner pattern by the optical sensor is not improved despite the operation of replenishing the toner from the toner bottle 20, it is determined (or estimated) that the toner has run out (toner end). .

  In addition, after the toner end is determined, the toner bottle 20 is replaced, and when the toner end recovery for supplying the toner in the replaced toner bottle 20 to the developing device 12 is performed, the following operation is performed. That is, the developing roller 12a and the conveying screws 12b and 12c are rotated in order to satisfactorily mix the replenished toner and the developer. At this time, in order to prevent the developer on the developing roller 12a from sliding unevenly, the photosensitive member 10 is also driven to rotate.

  The cleaning device 14 serving as a cleaning unit includes a cleaning blade 14 a that contacts the surface of the photoconductor 10 and scrapes off transfer residual toner attached to the photoconductor 10. In addition, a toner collection coil 14b is provided that conveys the collected toner collected in the collection unit W and collected by the cleaning blade 14a. The collected toner conveyed by the toner collecting coil 14b is conveyed to the developing device 12 or the waste toner bottle 41 by the toner conveying device.

  A transfer device 17 as a transfer unit shown in FIG. 1 includes a transfer roller 16, and the transfer roller 16 is pressed against and brought into contact with the peripheral surface of the photoconductor 10. Further, a thermal fixing device 24 as a fixing unit is provided above the transfer device 17. The thermal fixing device 24 includes a heating roller 25 and a pressure roller 26. Further, the apparatus main body 100 is provided with a laser writing device 21 as latent image forming means. The laser writing device 21 includes a laser light source, a scanning rotary polygon mirror, a polygon motor, an fθ lens, and the like. Further, the apparatus main body is provided with a plurality of sheet cassettes 22 for storing sheets S such as transfer paper and OHP film.

  When copying using the apparatus configured as described above, the user presses the start switch. Then, first, the contents of the original set on the image reading apparatus 200 are read. At the same time, the photosensitive member 10 is rotated by the photosensitive member driving motor, and the surface of the photosensitive member 10 is uniformly charged by the charging device 11 using the charging roller 11a. Next, a writing process is executed using the laser writing device 21 by irradiating laser light according to the content of the original read by the image reading device 200. Then, after forming an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoconductor 10, toner is attached using the developing device 12 to visualize (develop) the electrostatic latent image.

  At the same time as the user presses the start switch, the selected sheet S is sent out by the calling roller 27 from the multistage sheet cassette 22. Next, the sheet is separated one by one by the supply roller 28 and the separation roller 29 and sent to the supply path R1. The sheet S sent to the supply path R <b> 1 is conveyed by the sheet conveyance roller 30 and is abutted against the registration roller 23 and stopped. The transfer roller 16 is sent to a transfer nip formed in contact with the photoconductor 10 in accordance with the rotation timing of the toner image that is visualized on the photoconductor 10.

  The toner image on the photoreceptor 10 is transferred to the sheet S fed to the transfer nip by the transfer device 17. The residual toner on the photoconductor 10 after image transfer is removed and cleaned by the cleaning device 14, and the residual potential on the photoconductor 10 from which the residual toner has been removed is removed by the static eliminator. In preparation for the next image formation starting from the charging device 11.

  On the other hand, the sheet S after the image has been transferred is guided to the heat fixing device 24, passed between the heating roller 25 and the pressure roller 26, and conveyed to these rollers while applying heat and pressure to the toner. The image is fixed. Thereafter, the sheet S on which the image has been fixed is discharged onto the discharge stack unit 32 by the discharge roller 31 and stacked.

Next, features of the present embodiment will be described.
3 is a perspective view of the driving device 50 for driving the photosensitive member 10 and the developing roller, as viewed from the motor side, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the inside of the driving device 50, and FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the device 50. FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the driving device 50 as seen from the photosensitive member side.
The driving device 50 includes a photosensitive member motor 51, a developing motor 52, and a holding unit 60 that holds a drive transmission member such as a gear for transmitting the driving force of these motors.
The holding portion 60 includes a resin housing 61 that is a holding member and a metal bracket 62 that is a motor mounting member.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the photoconductor gear 53, the development internal gear 55, the development driven gear 56, and the development idler gear 57 are accommodated in the resin housing 61. Further, a drive transmission member for driving and transmitting the waste toner that has fallen into the waste toner bottle to a waste toner conveying screw for conveying the waste toner bottle 41 to the back side of the waste toner bottle 41 is also housed. Specifically, a conveyance drive gear 71, a conveyance drive pulley 72, a conveyance timing belt 73, a conveyance driven pulley 74, and a conveyance idler gear 75 are accommodated.

  The photoconductor gear 53 is fixed to a metal photoconductor drive shaft 53 a that is rotatably supported by the holding portion 60, and meshes with the motor gear 51 a of the photoconductor motor 51. One end of the photosensitive member driving shaft 53a passes through the bracket 62 and is rotatably supported by the bracket 62. The other end of the photosensitive member driving shaft 53a is attached to the photosensitive member driving side coupling 54, and rotates to the resin housing 61. It is supported freely. The photoconductor driving side coupling 54 is connected to a photoconductor driven side coupling fixed to the end of the rotating shaft of the photoconductor 10.

  The development internal gear 55 is rotatably supported by a metal development drive pin 55 a fixed to the resin housing 61, and meshes with the motor gear 52 a of the development motor 52. The development internal gear 55 and the development driven gear 56 disposed coaxially with the development internal gear 55 are integrally molded products of resin, and the development idler gear 57 is engaged with the development driven gear 56. The tip of the development drive pin 55 a is fitted to the bracket 62, and the tip is positioned on the bracket 62.

  A developing drive side coupling 58 is provided at the center of the developing idler gear 57. The developing drive side coupling 58 penetrates through the resin housing 61 and is rotatably supported by the resin housing 61. The development driving side coupling 58 is connected to a development driven side coupling fixed to the end of the rotating shaft of the developing roller 12a. The development idler gear 57 and the development drive side coupling 58 are integrally molded products of resin.

  Further, a conveyance drive gear 71 is also engaged with the motor gear 51 a of the photoconductor motor 51. A conveyance timing belt 73 is stretched between a conveyance drive pulley 72 integrally formed with the conveyance drive gear 71 by integral molding of resin and a conveyance driven pulley 74 integral with the conveyance idler gear 75 by integral molding of resin. It is built.

  An integrally molded resin product having the transport drive gear 71 and the transport drive pulley 72 is rotatably supported by a metal transport drive pin 72 a fixed to the resin housing 61 at one end. The tip of the transport drive pin 72 a is fitted to the bracket 62, and the tip is positioned on the bracket 62. An integrally molded resin product having the transport idler gear 75 and the transport driven pulley 74 is rotatably supported by a metal transport driven pin 74 a fixed to the resin housing 61. The tip of the conveyance follower pin 74 a is fitted to the bracket 62, and the tip is positioned on the bracket 62.

  A part of the transport idler gear 75 is exposed from the side opening 61a of the resin housing 61 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the screw driving gear 76 fixed to one end of the screw shaft 77 a of the waste toner conveying screw meshes with the conveying idler gear 75 from the side opening 61 a.

  The resin housing 61 is provided with a restricting portion 85 that restricts deformation of the bracket 62 toward the resin housing. The restricting portion 85 is integrally formed with the resin housing 61 by integral molding of resin.

FIG. 7 is a front view of the driving device 50 on the motor side.
As shown in FIG. 7, the five edges of the bracket 62 are fixed to the resin housing 61 by screws 81 a to 81 e. The photoconductor motor 51 and the developing motor 52 are screwed to the flat portion 63 that is a motor mounting portion of the bracket 62 by screws 511 and 512.
Positioning protrusions 161a and 161b are provided near the left and right ends of the resin housing 61 in the drawing, and the bracket 62 is screwed to the bracket 62 after being positioned by the positioning protrusions 161a and 161b.

  One end of a ground plate 65 connected to the ground is screwed to the bracket 62 with a screw 83. One end of the ground electrode plate 64 is fixed to one end of the photosensitive member drive shaft 53 a penetrating from the bracket 62, and the other end of the ground electrode plate 64 is screwed to the bracket 62 with a screw 82. As a result, the photoconductor 10 is grounded via the photoconductor drive shaft 53a, the ground electrode plate 64, the bracket 62, and the ground plate 65.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the bracket 62.
The bracket 62 is a sheet metal, and the edge is bent 90 degrees toward the resin housing 61 side. Screw through holes 462a to 462e through which screws 81a to 81e shown in FIG. 6 pass are formed at five locations on the edge of the flat portion 63 of the bracket 62. Further, the planar portion 63 has photosensitive motor screw holes 162a to 162d into which screws for screwing the photosensitive motor 51 are screwed and development motor screw holes into which screws to screw the developing motor 52 are screwed. 262d is formed

  In addition, a photosensitive motor gear through hole 62e through which the motor gear 51a of the photosensitive motor 51 passes is formed in the approximate center of the region surrounded by the dotted line in the drawing connecting the photosensitive motor screw holes 162a to 162d of the flat portion 63. Has been. Further, a developing motor gear through hole 62f through which the motor gear 52a of the developing motor 52 passes is formed at the approximate center of a region surrounded by a dotted line in the drawing by a line connecting the developing motor screw holes 262a to 262d.

  In the vicinity of the photoreceptor motor gear through-hole 62e, a transport drive pin positioning hole 62d is formed in which the front end of the transport drive pin 72a is fitted and positioned. Further, in the vicinity of the developing motor gear through-hole 62f, a developing drive pin positioning hole 62b is formed in which the tip of the developing drive pin 55a is fitted and positioned. Further, a conveyance driven pin positioning hole 62c is formed in the upper portion of the developing motor screw hole 262c in the drawing to be positioned by fitting the tip of the conveyance driven pin 74a. A photosensitive member drive shaft through hole 62a through which the photosensitive member drive shaft 53a passes is formed on the right side of the dotted line connecting the photosensitive member motor screw holes 162c and 162d. Further, a screw hole 562a into which a screw 82 for screwing the ground electrode plate 64 is screwed is formed on the right side of the photosensitive member drive shaft through hole 62a in the drawing. Further, a screw hole 562b into which a screw 83 for screwing the ground plate is screwed is formed in the vertical center of the bracket 62 at the right end in the drawing. In addition, positioning through holes 362a and 362b through which the positioning protrusions 161a and 161b of the resin housing 61 pass are formed at substantially the center in the vertical direction at both the left and right ends in the figure.

  In recent years, weight reduction of machines has been demanded, and it has been demanded to reduce the thickness of the bracket 62 and the resin housing. However, if the thickness of the bracket 62 is reduced, the rigidity of the bracket 62 is impaired. The bracket 62 made of sheet metal is formed into a predetermined shape by drawing. Moreover, a screw hole etc. are formed by press work. If the thickness of the bracket 62 is reduced and the rigidity of the bracket 62 is lowered, the bracket 62 is distorted by these processes, and the flatness of the flat portion 63 is lowered. In addition, when the photosensitive motor screw holes 162a to 162d and the developing motor screw holes 262a to 262d are screwed into the photosensitive motor 51 and the developing motor 52, the screws are pushed into the resin housing with a tool. While rotating the screw. Therefore, the flat part 63 of the bracket 62 is deformed to the resin housing side, such as being recessed on the resin housing side, and the flatness of the flat part 63 is deteriorated. If the flatness of the flat surface portion 63 is poor, the photosensitive motor 51 attached to the flat surface portion 63 or the developing motor 52 is tilted as shown in FIG. 14, the meshing between the photosensitive material motor gear 51a and the photosensitive material gear 53, or development. There is a possibility that the meshing between the motor gear 52a of the motor 52 and the developing internal gear 55 will be affected, causing meshing vibrations and abnormal tooth wear. The vicinity of the end portion of the bracket 62 is in contact with the resin housing 61, and the edge is bent and is rigid, so that it is difficult to deform. However, since there is no such bent portion or a portion that contacts the resin housing 61 in the vicinity of the center of the flat portion 63, deformation is likely to occur. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the developing motor 52 attached near the center of the flat surface portion 63 is likely to be inclined.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the resin housing 61 is provided with a restricting portion 85 that restricts deformation of the bracket 62 toward the resin housing.
9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the chain line A in FIG. 6, and FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along the alternate long and short dash line B in FIG. FIG. 11 is a front view of the motor side from which the photoconductor motor 51 and the developing motor 52 are removed.

The restricting portion 85 is formed in the resin housing 61 by integral molding of resin and has a plate shape. As shown in FIG. 4, the regulating portion 85 is formed so as to partition the developing internal gear 55 and the conveyance timing belt 73. Is provided. By adopting such a plate shape, a wide range of the bracket 62 can be regulated, and deformation of the bracket 62 on the resin housing side can be well regulated. Even if the restricting portion 85 is made of resin, the restricting portion 85 can have a predetermined rigidity, can suppress the restricting portion 85 from being deformed, and favorably restrict the deformation of the bracket 62 on the resin housing side. be able to.
The restricting portion 85 may be in contact with the bracket 62 or may be non-contact. In the case of non-contact, the restricting portion 85 is configured such that the gap between the restricting portion 85 and the bracket 62 is within the range of elastic deformation of the bracket 62.

  In this way, by providing the restricting portion 85, in order to screw the photoconductor motor 51 and the developing motor 52 to the flat portion 63, the screw is not pushed into the resin housing side with a tool but is rotated when the screw is rotated. When the portion 63 tries to deform toward the resin housing side, the restricting portion 85 abuts against the flat portion 63. Thereby, it can suppress that the plane part 63 deform | transforms into the resin housing 61 side. Therefore, the flatness of the flat portion 63 of the bracket 62 can be prevented from deteriorating, and the photoconductor motor 51 and the developing motor 52 can be prevented from tilting. This suppresses occurrence of abnormal tooth wear, meshing vibration, and the like between the motor gear of the photoconductor motor 51 and the photoconductor gear 53 and between the motor gear of the photoconductor motor 51 and the drive gear 71 for conveyance. Can do. Further, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of abnormal tooth wear or meshing vibration between the motor gear 52a of the developing motor and the developing internal gear 55.

  Further, as shown by a dotted line in FIG. 11, the restricting portion 85 is fitted with a shaft that rotatably supports the gear at the substantially central portion of the flat portion 63 of the bracket 62 and the tips of the pins 53a, 72a, 55a, and 74a. And the fixing points 81f and 81g to the resin housing 61 are provided so as to be in contact with portions that are not present. This is because deformation of the flat portion 63 and the pins 53a, 72a, 55a, 74a to the resin housing side is suppressed by the shafts and pins 53a, 72a, 55a, 74a. . Similarly, since the fixing locations 81f and 81g to the resin housing 61 are also in contact with the resin housing 61, deformation of these locations to the resin housing side is also suppressed. Further, as described above, since the end portion of the flat portion 63 is in contact with the edge of the resin housing, the deformation of the vicinity of the end portion of the flat portion 63 toward the resin housing is also suppressed. Accordingly, the flat portion 63 of the bracket 62 has a shaft that rotatably supports the gear at a substantially central portion, a portion where the tips of the pins 53a, 72a, 55a, 74a are fitted, and a fixing portion 81f to the resin housing 61. , 81g is not easily around. In the present embodiment, since the portion where the bracket 62 is easily deformed is restricted by the restriction portion 85, the deformation of the bracket 62 on the resin housing 61 side can be satisfactorily suppressed.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, a part of the restricting portion 85 is within a rectangular range indicated by a one-dot chain line in the drawing where the fixing portion of the developing motor 52 of the bracket 62 is connected, or a photoconductor. It is located within a rectangular range indicated by a two-dot chain line in the figure connecting the fixed portions of the motor. As a result, the deformation of the bracket 62 to the resin housing side when the photoconductor motor 51 and the developing motor 52 are screwed to the bracket 62 can be well regulated by the regulating portion 85, and the bracket 62 is moved to the resin housing side. Can be satisfactorily suppressed.

  In the present embodiment, the restricting portion 85 is formed in the resin housing 61 by integral molding of resin. Thus, by forming the restricting portion 85 in the resin housing 61 by integral molding of the resin, the restricting portion 85 can be formed at low cost and with high accuracy.

  Further, the restricting portion 85 may be separated from the resin housing 61. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, it is good also as a structure which press-fits in the resin housing 61 by using the control part 85 as a metal shaft. By making it a separate body, the restricting portion 85 can be formed of a material having rigidity higher than that of resin such as metal, and compared with the case where the restricting portion 85 is made of resin, the thickness of the bracket 62 is reduced with respect to the resin housing side. It is possible to regulate the deformation. Thereby, the restricting portion 85 can be provided in a narrow space of the resin housing. Further, by press-fitting and fixing, it is possible to dispose the restricting portion in a narrow space as compared with the case where the restricting portion is screwed. In FIG. 12, the restricting portion 85 is a metal shaft. However, the sheet metal may be press-fitted into the resin housing 61 as a sheet metal having the same shape as in FIG. 4.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 13, a restricting portion 85 may be provided on a metal reinforcing member 90 that reinforces the resin housing 61. The reinforcing member 90 is screwed to the resin housing 61. The resin housing 61 has a first storage recess 61b in which the photosensitive member driving side coupling 54 is stored, a second storage recess 61c in which the development idler gear 57 is stored, and a third storage recess 61d in which the development driven gear 56 is stored. doing. These storage recesses are connected, and a substantially central portion of the resin housing 61 is greatly recessed in the vertical direction in the figure. The greatly recessed portion is less rigid and the resin housing 61 is easily deformed by the compressive force from the direction of arrow D in the figure. For this reason, the reinforcing member 90 is fixed to the resin housing 61 and reinforced in such a manner as to bridge between the large recesses in which the three storage recesses are connected. Thereby, the reinforcing member 90 is stretched against the compressive force from the direction of arrow D in the figure, and the deformation of the resin housing 61 can be suppressed. Thereby, the resin housing 61 can be made difficult to vibrate, and the vibration of the drive device 50 can be suppressed.

  By providing the restricting portion 85 in the reinforcing member 90 that reinforces the resin housing 61, the number of parts can be reduced compared to the case where the reinforcing member 90 and the metal restricting portion 85 are provided separately. Cost can be reduced. Further, the number of assembly steps can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Further, a developing motor screw hole may be provided in the restricting portion 85.
FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a driving device of a third modification example in which a developing motor screw hole is provided in the restricting portion 85, and FIG. 15A is a perspective view of the driving device of the third modification example except for the bracket 62. It is a figure and (b) is a cross-sectional perspective view of the drive device of the 3rd modification. FIG. 16 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the drive device of the third modification 3.

  As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, a developing motor screw hole 85a as a fixing portion is formed at the tip of the restricting portion 85, and as shown in FIG. One place is screwed into the developing motor screw hole 85a of the restricting portion 85 with a screw 512. Thus, by providing the screw hole in the restricting portion 85, the portion screwed to the restricting portion 85 of the developing motor 52 is accurately fixed at a predetermined position in the axial direction regardless of the flatness of the flat portion 63. can do. Further, when the screw 512 is screwed into the developing motor screw hole 85 provided in the restricting portion 85, the flat portion 63 is restricted from being deformed to the resin housing side by the restricting portion 85, and the deformation of the flat portion 63 is surely suppressed. can do.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 17, a developing motor screw hole 85a may be provided in the restricting portion 85 of the metal shaft press-fitted into the resin housing 61 described with reference to FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 18, a restricting portion 85 is provided in the metal reinforcing member 90 that reinforces the resin housing 61 described with reference to FIG. 13, and a developing motor screw hole 85 a is provided in the restricting portion 85. May be.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 19, a development motor screw hole 55a1 may be provided in the development drive pin 55a that rotatably supports the development internal gear 55. Accordingly, when the developing motor 52 is screwed to the developing drive pin 55a, the flat surface portion 63 of the bracket 62 can be prevented from being deformed to the resin housing side by the developing drive pin 55a. Further, the position of the developing motor screwed to the developing driving pin 55a can be fixed at a specified position in the axial direction with high accuracy regardless of the flatness of the flat portion 63.

  In the above description, the restricting portion 85 is provided in the resin housing 61, but the restricting portion may be provided in the bracket 62. In this case, a restricting portion is formed so as to protrude from the surface of the bracket 62 facing the resin housing, and is brought into contact with the resin housing 61. Thereby, when the restricting portion 85 abuts against the resin housing 61, deformation of the flat portion 63 of the bracket 62 toward the resin housing 61 can be suppressed, and deterioration of flatness can be suppressed.

What has been described above is an example, and the present invention has a specific effect for each of the following aspects.
(Aspect 1)
A drive motor (in this embodiment, the photoreceptor motor 51, the development motor 52), a motor attachment member such as a bracket 62 having a motor attachment portion such as a flat surface portion 63 to which the drive motor is attached, and an attachment member; In the drive device 50 having a holding member such as a resin housing 61 that holds a drive transmission member such as a gear, the motor is provided on at least one of the motor mounting member and the holding member, and abuts against the other member. A restricting portion 85 that restricts deformation of the attachment portion toward the holding member is provided.
According to this, as described in the embodiment, since the deformation of the motor attachment portion toward the holding member is restricted by the restriction portion, the motor attachment portion can be prevented from being deformed toward the holding member. Thereby, it can suppress that the drive motor attached to the motor attachment part inclines, and it can suppress affecting the meshing of the motor gear provided in the motor shaft, and the gear which meshes with this motor gear.

(Aspect 2)
In (Aspect 1), the drive motor is screwed to a motor mounting portion such as the plane portion 63 at least at three or more locations, and at least the restriction portion 85 is formed inside the polygon formed by connecting the screwed fixing portion. Or a part of the restricting portion 85 abuts.
According to this, as described with reference to FIG. 11, when the drive motor is screwed to the motor mounting portion such as the flat portion 63 of the bracket 62, the holding member side such as the resin housing 61 of the motor mounting portion. Can be satisfactorily restricted by the restricting portion 85, and the deformation of the motor mounting portion toward the holding member can be satisfactorily suppressed.

(Aspect 3)
In (Aspect 1) or (Aspect 2), the restricting portion 85 is an integrally molded product made of the same material as that of one member (in this embodiment, the resin housing 61).
According to this, as described in the embodiment, the number of parts can be reduced as compared with the case where the restricting portion 85 is separated from one member (in this embodiment, the resin housing 61), and the device Cost reduction. In addition, the assembling error of the restricting portion 85 does not occur, and the restricting portion 85 is provided with higher accuracy than when the restricting portion 85 is separated from one member (in this embodiment, the resin housing 61). be able to.

(Aspect 4)
In (Aspect 1) or (Aspect 2), the restriction portion 85 is press-fitted and fixed to one member (in this embodiment, the resin housing 61).
According to this, as described with reference to FIG. 12, the restricting portion 85 can be formed of a material having rigidity higher than that of one member (the resin housing 61 in the present embodiment). The wall thickness of the restricting portion can be made thinner than in the case of an integrally molded product made of the same material as the one member. Thereby, the restricting portion 85 can be provided even in a narrow space. Further, by adopting the press-fitting and fixing, it is not necessary to provide a fixing portion having a flat shape having a screw hole through which the screw penetrates the restricting portion 85, and the size of the restricting portion 85 is not increased. . Moreover, it is not necessary to secure a space for accessing the screw. Therefore, it becomes possible to arrange | position a control part in a narrow space compared with screwing etc.

(Aspect 5)
In (Aspect 1) or (Aspect 2), the restricting portion 85 is provided in a component such as the reinforcing member 90 fixed to one member (in this embodiment, the resin housing 61).
According to this, as described with reference to FIG. 13, the number of parts can be reduced and the cost of the apparatus can be reduced as compared with the case where the reinforcing member 90 and the restricting portion 85 are provided separately. .

(Aspect 6)
In any one of (Aspect 1) to (Aspect 5), a fixing portion such as a developing motor screw hole 85a to which a driving motor such as the developing motor 52 is fixed is provided in the restriction portion 85.
According to this, as described with reference to FIGS. 15 to 18, the portion fixed to the restricting portion 85 of the drive motor such as the developing motor 52 is not dependent on the flatness of the motor mounting portion such as the flat portion 63. It can be accurately fixed at a specified position in the axial direction.

(Aspect 7)
In any one of (Aspect 1) to (Aspect 6), development in which a drive motor such as a development motor 52 is fixed to a support shaft such as a development drive pin 55a that rotatably supports a drive transmission member such as a development internal gear 55. A fixing portion such as a motor screw hole 55a1 is provided.
According to this, as described with reference to FIG. 19, the portion fixed to the support shaft such as the development drive pin 55 a of the drive motor such as the development motor 52 is set to the flatness of the motor attachment portion such as the flat portion 63. Regardless, it can be accurately fixed at a specified position in the axial direction.

(Aspect 8)
In any one of (Aspect 1) to (Aspect 7), a drive transmission member such as a gear is engaged with a drive transmission member such as a motor gear of a drive motor, and drive is transmitted from the drive transmission member of the drive motor.
According to this, there is no influence on the engagement such as the meshing of the gear between the drive transmission member and the drive transmission member such as the motor gear of the drive motor.

(Aspect 9)
The image forming apparatus includes the driving device 50 of any one of (Aspect 1) to (Aspect 8).
According to this, the apparatus can be reduced in weight and noise.

1: Process cartridge 10: Photoconductor 12a: Development roller 41: Waste toner bottle 50: Drive device 51: Photoconductor motor 52: Development motor 53: Photoconductor gear 53a: Photoconductor drive shaft 54: Photoconductor drive side coupling 55 : Development internal gear 55a Development drive pin 55a1: Development motor screw hole 56: Development driven gear 57: Development idler gear 58: Development drive side coupling 60: Holding portion 61: Resin housing 61a: Side opening 61b: First storage recess 61c : Second storage recess 61d: third storage recess 62: bracket 62a: photoconductor drive shaft through hole 62b: drive pin positioning hole 62c: transport driven pin positioning hole 62d: transport drive pin positioning hole 62e: photoconductor motor gear through hole 62f : Development motor gear through hole 63: Plane portion 64: Earth electrode plate 65: Earth plate 71: Transport Drive gear 72: transport drive pulley 72a: transport drive pin 73: transport timing belt 74: transport driven pulley 74a: transport driven pin 75: transport idler gear 76: screw drive gear 77a: screw shaft 85: restricting portion 85a : Development motor screw hole 90: Reinforcing member 161a: Positioning protrusion 162a to 162d: Photoconductor motor screw hole 262a to 262d: Development motor screw hole

Japanese Patent No. 3407257

Claims (6)

A first drive motor;
A second drive motor;
A motor attachment member having a motor attachment portion to which the first drive motor and the second drive motor are attached;
In a drive device provided with a holding member that is disposed opposite to the motor mounting member and holds a drive transmission member,
The motor mounting member is made of metal, the holding member is made of resin,
The shape connecting the fixed parts to the motor mounting members of each drive motor is a quadrangle,
The holding member is integrally formed, the motor mounting member abuts the, have a first regulating portion and a second restricting portion to restrict deformation to the holding member side of the motor mounting section,
The first restricting portion abuts on the motor mounting member so as to straddle a shape connecting the fixed portions of the first drive motor and the second drive motor, and at least a part of the second restricting portion is The drive device according to claim 1, wherein the drive device is in contact with an inner side of a shape connecting the fixed portions of the second drive motor . The drive device according to claim 1,
The first drive motor is a photosensitive member drive motor, and the second drive motor is a development drive motor . The drive device according to claim 1 or 2,
The driving device according to claim 1 , wherein a fixing portion to which the second driving motor is fixed is provided on the second restricting portion. The drive device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A driving device comprising: a support shaft that rotatably supports the drive transmission member; and a fixing portion to which the second drive motor is fixed. The drive device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The drive transmission member is engaged with the drive transmission member of the first drive motor or the second drive motor, and the drive is transmitted from the drive transmission member of the first drive motor or the second drive motor. A drive device.   An image forming apparatus comprising the driving device according to claim 1.

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