JP6818589B2 - Exposure equipment and image forming equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an exposure apparatus and an image forming apparatus.

For example, an exposure device used in an image forming device such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction device irradiates a charged photoconductor drum with light corresponding to image information to expose an electrostatic latent image. It is what forms.

In a conventional exposure apparatus, for example, a substrate on which an LED (Light Emitting Diode) array is mounted, a holder that holds the substrate, and a holder that faces the LED array and are supported by the holder to converge the light emitted from the LED array. It is equipped with a rod lens array and a base that presses the substrate against the holder. Then, the light emitted from the LED array mounted on the substrate passes through the rod lens array, is converged, and is exposed on the surface of the photoconductor drum arranged at the imaging position of the rod lens array. The structure is such that an electrostatic latent image is formed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP-A-2009-73041

In the conventional exposure device, the slit in the clamp portion of the base is filled with a sealing material to prevent foreign matter from entering. However, the sealing material wraps around to the back side of the base and the slit has a narrow opening. There is a problem that it takes time to remove the cured sealing material and it becomes difficult to disassemble the LED head.

The present invention has been made in view of such an actual situation, and an object of the present invention is an exposure apparatus and an image capable of improving decomposition performance while ensuring sealing property for preventing foreign matter from entering. It is to provide a forming apparatus.

In order to solve the above problems, the exposure apparatus according to the present invention includes a substrate on which a plurality of light emitting elements are arranged, a holding member that holds one surface of the substrate from the outer peripheral side of the substrate, and the other of the substrate. It has between the substrate holding member for pressing a portion of the retaining member the substrate in contact with the upper surface of the substrate to the surface, and a sheet member that will be disposed between the substrate holding member and the substrate, the substrate The pressing member has a fitting portion provided on the outer edge portion of the substrate pressing member and engages with a fitting hole provided in the holding member, and a first extending along the edge portion provided with the fitting portion. possess a first opening,
A sealing agent is arranged between the holding member and the pressing member, and the sheet member is formed so as to be exposed from the first opening.

Further, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a substrate on which a plurality of light emitting elements are arranged, a holding member that holds one surface of the substrate from the outer peripheral side of the substrate, and the substrate on the other surface of the substrate. a substrate holding member from the upper surface in contact pressing said substrate in a portion of the holding member, the substrate and having a sheet member that will be disposed between the substrate holding member, the substrate holding member, the A fitting portion provided on the outer edge portion of the substrate holding member and engaging with a fitting hole provided in the holding member, and a first opening extending along the edge portion provided with the fitting portion. have a, the sealing agent is disposed between the pressing member and the holding member, and forming the exposure apparatus so that the sheet member is exposed from said first opening, said exposure apparatus It is characterized by including an image forming portion for developing an electrostatic latent image formed by the above and forming a developer image.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an exposure apparatus and an image forming apparatus capable of improving decomposition performance while ensuring sealing property for preventing foreign matter from entering.

It is a schematic block diagram explaining the structure of the printer which concerns on this embodiment. It is an exploded perspective cut view of the LED head which concerns on this embodiment. It is a cross-sectional view when the LED head of the part A in FIG. 2 is assembled. It is a cross-sectional view when the LED head of the B part in FIG. 2 is assembled. It is a vertical cross-sectional exploded view of an LED head. It is explanatory drawing which enlarged the vicinity of the clamp part in the base in order to explain the positional relationship of a base and a sheet. It is an enlarged vertical sectional view around the fitting hole of the holder when the LED head is assembled.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present invention is not limited to the following description, and can be appropriately modified without departing from the gist of the present invention.

First, a printer as an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described. The printer described in this embodiment is a color electrophotographic image forming apparatus having four image forming units and capable of forming a color image, and image data input using a developing agent (for example, toner). A color image based on the above can be formed on a paper as a recording medium. The configuration of the printer 11 having such a function will be described with reference to the schematic configuration diagram of FIG.

The printer 11 forms an image along a substantially S-shaped paper transport path starting from the paper storage cassette 21, passing through a resist roller 22, a transport belt 23, and a fixing device 24, and ending at a discharge stacker 25. Units 12Bk, 12Y, 12M, 12C are provided.

The paper storage cassette 21 stores paper, which is a recording medium, in a laminated state inside, and is detachably attached to the lower part of the printer 11. Then, the hopping roller 26 provided on the upper portion of the paper storage cassette 21 takes out the paper stored in the paper storage cassette 21 one by one from the uppermost portion and feeds the paper into the paper transport path. Immediately above the paper storage cassette 21, a paper color measuring unit 27 for detecting the color of the paper stored in the paper storage cassette 21 is provided. By the way, as the paper according to the present embodiment, OHP paper, envelopes, copy paper, special paper and the like can be used in addition to plain paper.

The resist roller 22 corrects the skew of the paper unwound from the hopping roller 26 and conveys the paper to the transport belt 23.

The transport belt 23 is an endless belt member that electrostatically attracts paper and transports it in the direction of arrow e in the drawing. A drive roller 23a that rotates by a driving force transmitted from a drive unit (not shown) and the drive roller 23a. It is stretched by a tension roller 23b provided in pairs with the above.

The fuser 24 is provided on the downstream side of the paper transport path after the image forming units 12Bk, 12Y, 12M, and 12C, and includes a heat roller 24a, a backup roller 24b, a thermistor (not shown), and the like. For the heat roller 24a, for example, a hollow cylindrical core metal made of aluminum or the like is coated with a heat-resistant elastic layer of silicone rubber, and a PFA (tetrafluoroethylene-perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer) tube is coated on the heat-resistant elastic layer. Is formed by. A heater such as a halogen lamp is provided in the core metal. The backup roller 24b has, for example, a core metal made of aluminum or the like coated with a heat-resistant elastic layer of silicone rubber and coated with PFA on the core metal, and is arranged so that a pressure contact portion is formed between the backup roller 24b and the heat roller. It is installed. The thermistor is a means for detecting the surface temperature of the heat roller 24a, and is provided in the vicinity of the heat roller 24a in a non-contact manner. By controlling the heating heater based on the detection result of the surface temperature of the heat roller 24a detected by the thermistor, the surface temperature of the heat roller 24a is maintained at a predetermined temperature. The paper on which the developer image formed in the image forming units 12Bk, 12Y, 12M, and 12C is transferred passes through the pressure contact portion formed by the heat roller 24a and the backup roller 24b maintained at a predetermined temperature. Heat and pressure are applied to the developer on the paper, the developer melts, and the developer image is fixed.

The discharge stacker 25 is formed by using the outer casing of the printer 11, passes through the fixing device 24, and loads the paper discharged to the outside of the device.

As described above, the printer 11 according to the present embodiment employs a color electrophotographic method, and develops black (K), yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) inside the printer 11. An image forming unit 12Bk, 12Y, 70M, 70C corresponding to the agent color is provided. The configurations of the image forming units 12Bk, 12Y, 12M, and 12C are different only in the developing agent to be accommodated, and all other configurations can be the same.

Each image forming unit 12Bk, 12Y, 12M, 12C has an image carrier (for example, a photoconductor drum) 13Bk, 13Y, 13M, 13C that carries an electrostatic latent image, and an image carrier 13Bk, 13Y, 13M, 13C surface. A developer (for example, a charging roller) 14Bk, 14Y, 14M, 14C, and a developer not shown in the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the image carrier 13Bk, 13Y, 13M, 13C. 16Bk, 16Y, 16M, 16C and these developing devices 16Bk, 16Y, 16M, 16C, and a developing device (for example, a developing roller as a developing agent carrier) that forms a developer image of each color that is a visible image. To the developer supply rollers 18Bk, 18Y, 18M, 18C and the developer supply rollers 18Bk, 18Y, 18M, 18 as the developer supply members that supply the developer to the developing units 16Bk, 16Y, 16M, 16C. A developer cartridge 20Bk, 20Y, 20M, 20C for supplying a developing agent is provided.

The image carriers 13Bk, 13Y, 13M, and 13C are composed of a conductive support and a photoconducting layer. For example, a metal shaft such as aluminum as the conductive support, a charge generating layer as the photoconducting layer, and an electric charge. It is an organic photoconductor formed by sequentially laminating transport layers. Further, the image carriers 13Bk, 13Y, 13M, 13C form an electrostatic latent image based on the light emitted from the LED heads 15Bk, 15Y, 15M, 15C as an exposure device described later while rotating in a predetermined direction. ..

The chargers 14Bk, 14Y, 14M, 14C are composed of, for example, a metal shaft such as stainless steel and semi-conductive epichlorohydrin rubber. The chargers 14Bk, 14Y, 14M, 14C are in contact with the image carrier 13Bk, 13Y, 13M, 13C with a predetermined pressure, and the image carrier is based on a charging bias applied from a high voltage power source (not shown). The surfaces of 13Bk, 13Y, 13M, and 13C are uniformly and uniformly charged.

In the developing devices 16Bk, 16Y, 16M, 16C, for example, urethane rubber in which carbon black is dispersed is coated on the outer periphery of a metal shaft such as stainless steel, and the surface thereof is treated with isocyanate. The developing devices 16Bk, 16Y, 16M, 16C are arranged so as to be in pressure contact with the surface of the image carriers 13Bk, 13Y, 13M, 13C, and the electrostatic latents formed on the surfaces of the image carriers 13Bk, 13Y, 13M, 13C. A developer is supplied to the image to develop the developer image. On the surface of the developer 16Bk, 16Y, 16M, 16C, developer blades 19Bk, 19Y, 19M, 19C for thinning the developer supplied from the developer supply rollers 18Bk, 18Y, 18M, 18C are provided. ..

The developer supply rollers 18Bk, 18Y, 18M, and 18C are configured by coating the outer periphery of a metal shaft such as stainless steel with a semi-conductive foamed silicone sponge layer. The developer supply rollers 18Bk, 18Y, 18M, 18C are arranged so as to be in pressure contact with the developing devices 16Bk, 16Y, 16M, 16C, and the developing agents housed in the developing agent cartridges 20Bk, 20Y, 20M, 20C. The agent is supplied to the developing machines 16Bk, 16Y, 16M, 16C.

The developer cartridges 20Bk, 20Y, 20M, and 20C are box-shaped members having a space for accommodating an unused developer. A shutter (not shown) for supplying the developer to the developer supply rollers 18Bk, 18Y, 18M, 18C is formed at the lower part of the developer cartridges 20Bk, 20Y, 20M, 20C, and falls through the shutter. The developed developer is supplied to the developer supply rollers 18Bk, 18Y, 18M, 18C.

At a position facing the image carriers 13Bk, 13Y, 13M, 13C included in each image forming unit, a transfer roller 17Bk that transfers each developer image developed on the image carriers 13Bk, 13Y, 13M, 13C to paper. , 17Y, 17M, 17C are provided. The transfer rollers 17Bk, 17Y, 17M, 17C have a structure in which a urethane sponge layer is coated on a metal shaft, and image carriers 13Bk, 13Y, 13M, 13C are subjected to a predetermined transfer voltage applied from a transfer voltage power source (not shown). The developer image developed on the surface is transferred to paper.

Although not shown in FIG. 1, as other members constituting the printer 11, the printer 11 includes a microprocessor, a ROM (Read Only Memory), a RAM (Random Access Memory), an input / output port, a timer, and the like. A print control unit provided, an interface control unit that receives print data and control commands, controls the entire sequence of the printer 11 and executes a print operation, and temporarily stores print data input via the interface control unit. The receiving memory to be used, the image data editing memory for storing the formed image data (image data) by receiving the print data stored in the receiving memory and editing the print data, and displaying the status of the printer 11. For example, a display unit provided with a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), an operation unit provided with an input means such as a touch panel for receiving instructions from a user, and monitoring the operating state of the printer 11. For example, various sensors such as a paper position detection sensor, a temperature / humidity sensor, and a density sensor, and image data stored in an image data editing memory are sent to the LED heads 15Bk, 15Y, 15M, and 15C described later, and the LED head 15Bk, An exposure device drive control unit that controls the drive of 15Y, 15M, and 15C, a temperature control unit that controls the temperature of the fuser 24, a paper transfer motor control unit that controls a drive motor for rotating each roller that conveys paper, It is provided with a drive control unit that controls a drive motor for rotating various rollers such as an image carrier, or a high-pressure power supply that applies a voltage to each roller.

As described above, the LED heads 15Bk, 15Y, 15M, 15C as the exposure apparatus emit light based on the image data on the surfaces of the image carriers 13Bk, 13Y, 13M, 13C included in the image forming units 12Bk, 12Y, 12M, 12C. By emitting, an electrostatic latent image is formed. Such LED heads 15Bk, 15Y, 15M, 15C are arranged so that the emitted light is positioned to form an image on the surfaces of the respective image carriers 13Bk, 13Y, 13M, 13C. The configurations of the LED heads 15Bk, 15Y, 15M, and 15C will be described in detail below. Since the configurations of the LED heads 15Bk, 15Y, 15M, and 15C are all the same, the alphabetical notation for identifying the LED heads 15Bk, 15Y, 15M, and 15C will be omitted in the following description. ..

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective cut view of the LED head 15 according to the present embodiment, FIGS. 3 and 4 are cross-sectional views when the LED heads of parts A and B in FIG. 2 are assembled, and FIG. 5 is a vertical section. It is a surface exploded view. The LED head 15 includes an LED array chip 5 composed of LEDs as a plurality of light emitting elements mounted on the glass epoxy substrate 6, and serves as a condensing lens for converging the light emitted from the LED array chip 5 on the substrate 6. The rod lens array 2 of the above is held by the holder 1 as a holding member.

A holder opening 1a is formed in the central portion of the holder 1 along the longitudinal direction thereof, and the rod lens array 2 is inserted into the holder opening 1a. Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the position where the incident distance Lo between the end face on which the light is incident and the surface of the LED array chip 5 in the rod lens array 2 becomes the optimum Lo value due to the characteristics of the rod lens array 2. The rod lens array 2 is fixed to the holder 1 with an adhesive (not shown). Further, in order to prevent light and foreign matter from entering the holder 1, the gap between the holder 1 and the rod lens array 2 is sealed with the rod lens array sealant 35.

By the way, the holder 1 is manufactured by sheet metal stamping or the like, and a holder receiving portion 1b bent so as to be parallel to the rod lens array 2 is formed from the side surface portion, and a curing agent abuts on the holder receiving portion 1b. The surface 7 is formed. The curing agent contact surface 7 is formed of, for example, an ultraviolet curable resin, an epoxy adhesive, or an acrylic adhesive. As shown in FIG. 2, the holder receiving portion 1b and the curing agent contact surface 7 are formed at a plurality of positions along the longitudinal direction of the rod lens array 2.

Then, the substrate 6 is brought into contact with the curing agent contact surface 7, and a sheet 9 as a sheet member made of a resin such as PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is further laminated on the back surface of the substrate 6, and the substrate presser is pressed from above. push the base 8 of the member, it is fitted to the base of the fitting portion 8b into the fitting hole 1d of the holder 1 is fixed to the substrate 6 by fixing the base 8.

Thereafter, the boundary and the base of the opening 8d of the holder 1 and the base 8, the fitting hole 1d of the holder 1 is sealed by a sealing agent 36 such as silicone, apertured side holes for the holder receiving portion 1b formed Shielding is performed by attaching the shielding sheet 30 to 1c.

An eccentric cam mechanism 10 as shown in FIG. 5 is provided at both ends of the LED head 15 in the longitudinal direction as a height adjusting mechanism to form an image of the end face to be irradiated with light in the rod lens array 2. It is configured so that the emission distance Li from the target position O can be adjusted at a position where Li = Lo.

Next, the base 8 and the sheet 9 according to the present embodiment will be described in more detail. FIG. 6 is an enlarged explanatory view of the vicinity of the clamp portion 8a in the base 8 for explaining the positional relationship between the base 8 and the seat 9.

The base 8 is provided with a substrate contact portion 8e for fixing the substrate 6 by sandwiching the substrate 6 with the curing agent contact surface 7 so as to cross the base 8, and the elastic clamp portion 8a is provided on the substrate 8. It is arranged between the contact portions 8e. The opening 8d as the second opening is arranged at both ends of the base 8 and in the vicinity of the substrate contact portion 8e, on the opposite side of the slit 8c as the first opening with the substrate contact portion 8e interposed therebetween. ing.

In the sheet 9, the sheet (sealing portion) 9a, which is a portion overlapping the clamp portion 8a of the base 8, covers the side surface of the holder 1 in a bent state when the LED head 15 is assembled, and the edge portion covers the holder 1 and the base. The width of protrusion from the base 8 is the coating width of the sealant 36 so as to be sandwiched between the base 8 and the boundary between the base 8 and the holder 1 so that the boundary can be sealed at one time. It is formed so as to be (1 mm) or less. The length of the sheet (sealing portion) 9a is designed so that the end of the sheet (sealing portion) 9a is exposed to the opening 8d. As a result, when the opening 8d is sealed, the edge of the sheet (sealing portion) 9a and the portion where the corner of the substrate contact portion 8e where a gap is likely to occur and the bent portion of the sheet 9 come into contact are surely sealed. Can be done.

Further, the sheet (sealing portion) 9a includes a groove 9b. As shown in the longitudinal sectional view in FIG. 7, the groove 9b avoids the engaging portion 8b of the base 8 is for such fitting hole 1d of the holder 1 is not blocked, LED head 15 when is assembled, the outer edge portion of the fitting hole 1d and the seat (sealing portion) groove 9b of 9a are designed to match.

Next, the image forming process of the printer 11 to which the LED head 15 is applied will be described.

First, when print data is input to the printer 11 and image data based on the print data is generated, the printer 11 starts the image forming process. At the start of the image forming process, the paper stored in the paper storage cassette 21 is fed one by one into the paper transport path by the rotation of the hopping roller 26 rotated by the drive of a drive motor (not shown). After that, the paper is conveyed to the image forming units 12Bk, 12Y, 12M, 12C along the paper conveying path while the skew is corrected by the resist roller 22. Then, the image forming process shown below is started at a predetermined timing until the paper is conveyed to the image forming units 12Bk, 12Y, 12M, 12C.

When the image data is generated for the printer 11, the image carriers 13Bk, 13Y, 13M, and 13C rotate at a constant peripheral speed in a predetermined direction by a driving force transmitted from a driving unit (not shown). Then, the chargers 14Bk, 14Y, 14M, 14C provided in contact with the surfaces of the image carriers 13Bk, 13Y, 13M, 13C apply a charging bias applied from a high voltage power source (not shown) to the image carriers 13Bk, 13Y, It is applied to the surfaces of 13M and 13C to uniformly charge the surface. Next, the LED heads 15Bk, 15Y, 15M, 15C provided so as to face the surface of the image carriers 13Bk, 13Y, 13M, 13C allow light corresponding to the image data to be transmitted to the image carriers 13Bk, 13Y, 13M, 13C. When it is irradiated, the potential of the light-irradiated portion is light-attenuated to form an electrostatic latent image.

Then, the developing devices 16Bk, 16Y, 16M, 16C develop the developer image by adhering the developer to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the image carrier 13Bk, 13Y, 13M, 13C.

The developer image on the surface of the image carrier 13Bk, 13Y, 13M, 13C is transferred to the paper by a transfer roller 17Bk, 17Y, 17M, 17C to which a predetermined transfer bias is applied by a high voltage power source (not shown).

After that, the paper is conveyed to the fixing device 24 provided with the heat roller 24a and the backup roller 24b. The paper on which the developer image is transferred is controlled by a temperature control means (not shown) and is conveyed to a pressure contact portion formed by the heat roller 24a and the backup roller 24b kept at a predetermined surface temperature. Then, the developer is melted by the heat applied from the heat roller 24a, and further pressed by the pressure contact portion, so that the developer image is fixed on the paper.

The paper on which the developer image is fixed is discharged to the discharge stacker 25, and a series of image forming processes is completed.

A small amount of the developing agent may remain on the surface of the image carriers 13Bk, 13Y, 13M, 13C after the developing agent image is transferred. This residual developer is removed by a cleaning blade (not shown). When the image carriers 13Bk, 13Y, 13M, 13C rotate around the rotation axis while the cleaning blade is in contact with the surface of the image carriers 13Bk, 13Y, 13M, 13C, the image carriers 13Bk, 13Bk, are not transferred. The developer remaining on the surfaces of 13Y, 13M and 13C is removed. The cleaned image carriers 13Bk, 13Y, 13M, 13C are repeatedly used in the next image forming process.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the foreign matter mixing path from the slit of the base is established by sealing the boundary between the base and the sheet, the boundary between the base and the holder, and the opening of the base with a sealant. Since it can be closed, it is not necessary to fill the slit with a sealing agent, which makes it possible to improve the disassembly performance while ensuring the sealing property for preventing foreign matter from entering.

In the description of this embodiment, an example in which the holder is manufactured by sheet metal press working has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the holder manufactured by aluminum die casting, resin injection molding, and the composite molding holder of sheet metal + mold Applicable to exposure equipment. Further, in the description of the present embodiment, an example in which the curing agent contact surface is provided on the holder receiving surface formed by bending the sheet metal has been described, but the exposure apparatus that does not use the curing agent contact surface at the place where the substrate abuts. The present invention is also applicable.

1 holder 1a holder opening 1b holder receiving portion 1c side hole 1d fitting hole 2 rod lens array 5 LED array chip 6 substrate 7 hardener abutment surface 8 base 8a clamping portion 8b engaging portion 8c slit 8d openings 8e substrate person Contact part 9 Sheet 9a Sheet (sealing part)
9b Groove 10 Eccentric cam mechanism 11 Printer 12Bk, 12Y, 12M, 12C Image forming unit 13Bk, 13Y, 13M, 13C Image carrier 14Bk, 14Y, 14M, 14C Charger 15Bk, 15Y, 15M, 15C LED head 16Bk, 16Y, 16M, 16C Developer 17Bk, 17Y, 17M, 17C Transfer Roller 18Bk, 18Y, 18M, 18C Developer Supply Roller 19Bk, 19Y, 19M, 19C Developer Blade 20Bk, 20Y, 20M, 20C Developer Cartridge 21 Paper Storage Cassette 22 Resist roller 23 Conveyor belt 23a Drive roller 23b Tension roller 24 Fixer 24a Heat roller 24b Backup roller 25 Discharge stacker 26 Hopping roller 27 Paper color measuring unit 30 Shielding sheet 35 Rod lens array Sealing agent 36 Sealing agent

Claims (8)

A substrate on which multiple light emitting elements are arranged and
A holding member that holds one surface of the substrate from the outer peripheral side of the substrate , and
A substrate pressing member that abuts on the other surface of the substrate from the upper surface of the substrate and presses the substrate against a part of the holding member.
And a sheet member that will be disposed between the substrate holding member and the substrate,
The substrate pressing member is extended along a fitting portion provided on the outer edge portion of the substrate pressing member and engaging with a fitting hole provided in the holding member, and an edge portion provided with the fitting portion. possess a first opening that,
An exposure apparatus characterized in that a sealing agent is arranged between the holding member and the pressing member, and the sheet member is formed so as to be exposed from the first opening. The exposure apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate pressing member includes a substrate contact portion that comes into contact with the substrate. The exposure apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein a plurality of the substrate contact portions are provided, and the fitting portion is provided between the substrate contact portions. The second or third aspect of the substrate pressing member is provided with a second opening located at both ends and on the opposite side of the first opening with respect to the substrate contact portion. The exposure apparatus according to. Claims 1 to 4, wherein the sheet member covers a side surface of the holding member and has a width at which an end portion of the sheet member is sandwiched between the holding member and the substrate pressing member. The exposure apparatus according to any one of the following items. The exposure apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the sheet member has a length such that the length of the sheet member is exposed to the second opening. The exposure apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the sheet member includes a groove for avoiding a portion where the holding member and the substrate pressing member are fitted . The exposure apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7.
An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming portion for developing an electrostatic latent image formed by the exposure apparatus and forming a developer image.