JP6975395B2 - Harness cover and image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a harness cover and an image forming apparatus.

Conventionally, a harness cover having an insertion port for inserting a harness into a storage portion and an outlet for pulling out the harness from the storage portion and protecting the harness inserted into the storage portion is known.

Patent Document 1 describes, as the harness cover, a member having a concave groove portion attached to a plate-shaped member to form a storage portion having a rectangular cross section.

If the storage unit has a part that extends in a direction different from the harness insertion direction when the harness is inserted into the insertion slot, such as when the storage unit bends 90 degrees in the middle in order to correspond to the layout of the device, the harness storage unit There was a problem that the insertion work to the was complicated.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention includes a substrate and a housing portion which the harness is housed, an insertion port for inserting the harness is provided at an upper part of the housing portion, a connector provided at the distal end of the harness in said harness provided in the lower portion of the storage unit is a vents escaping, the harness cover to protect inserted through said harness to the housing portion in order to plug into, the housing part, the exit from the insertion port has a portion extending to the mouth direction, the leading end of the harness the inner wall surface of said housing portion, and inserted toward the exit port from the insertion opening the tip of the inserted the harness from the insertion opening contacts The portion is a tapered inclined surface that guides the portion to the exit, and the harness is at a position away from the inclined surface when the connector is inserted into the substrate .

According to the present invention, the harness can be easily inserted into the storage portion.

The figure which shows the outline of the image forming apparatus. The schematic diagram which shows the appearance which the heater was attached to the lower part of a process cartridge. The figure explaining the crawling in the apparatus main body of the harness extending from a heater. Schematic cross-sectional view of the harness cover. A perspective view of a main part showing how the heater and the harness cover are attached to the main body of the device. The figure explaining the insertion of the harness when the guide part is not provided in the harness cover. The figure explaining the insertion of the harness in the harness cover of this embodiment. Schematic cross-sectional view showing the harness cover of the modification 1. The perspective view which shows the harness cover of the modification 2. The perspective view which shows the state of attaching the harness cover of the modification 2 to a rear side plate. Schematic cross-sectional view of the harness cover of Modification 2 attached to the rear side plate. The schematic block diagram which shows the harness cover of the modification 3. Schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of using a harness cover as a duct.

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

A process cartridge 1 is provided inside the apparatus main body 100. The process cartridge 1 includes a photoconductor 10 which is a latent image carrier, a charging device 11, a developing device 12, a cleaning device 14, and the like which are arranged around the photoconductor 10 and act on the photoconductor 10 as process means. .. The process cartridge 1 is detachably attached to the apparatus main body 100. By unitizing the photoconductor 10, the charging device 11, the developing device 12, and the cleaning device 14 as the process cartridge 1, the work of replacement and maintenance becomes easy. In addition, the position accuracy between the members can be maintained with high accuracy, and the quality of the formed image can be improved.

The transfer device 17 as a transfer means includes a transfer roller 16, and the transfer roller 16 is pressed against the peripheral surface of the photoconductor 10 and is in contact with the transfer roller 16. Further, above the transfer device 17, a fixing device 24 serving as a fixing means is provided. The heat fixing device 24 has a heating roller 25 and a pressure roller 26. Further, the apparatus main body 100 is provided with a laser writing apparatus 21 which is a latent image forming means. The laser writing device 21 includes a laser light source, a rotating multi-sided mirror for scanning, a polygon motor, an fθ lens, and the like. Further, the main body of the apparatus is provided with a multi-stage sheet cassette 22 for storing the sheet S such as transfer paper and OHP film.

When copying using the device with the above configuration, the user presses the start switch. Then, first, the contents of the original set in the image reading device 200 are read. At the same time, the photoconductor 10 is rotated by the photoconductor drive motor, and the surface of the photoconductor 10 is uniformly charged by the charging device 11 using the charging roller 11a. Next, a laser beam is irradiated according to the content of the document read by the image reading device 200, and the writing step is executed using the laser writing device 21. Then, after forming an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoconductor 10, toner is adhered using the developing device 12 to make (develop) the electrostatic latent image into a visible image (development).

Further, at the same time when the user presses the start switch, the sheet S selected from the multi-stage sheet cassette 22 is sent out by the calling roller 22a. Next, the supply roller 28 and the separation roller 29 separate the sheets one by one and send them to the supply path 37. The sheet S sent to the supply path 37 is conveyed by the sheet transfer roller 30 arranged in the supply path 37, and is abutted against the resist roller 23 and stopped. Then, the transfer roller 16 is sent to the transfer nip formed in contact with the photoconductor 10 at the same rotation timing as the toner image visualized by the photoconductor 10.

The toner image on the photoconductor 10 is transferred to the sheet S sent 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 elimination device. Then, the next image formation starting from the charging device 11 is prepared. The residual toner removed by the cleaning device 14 is conveyed to the waste toner bottle 41 arranged below the process cartridge 1.

On the other hand, the sheet S after the image transfer is guided to the heat fixing device 24, passed between the heating roller 25 and the pressurizing roller 26, and while being conveyed to these rollers, heat and pressure are applied to the toner. The image is fixed. At the time of forming a single-sided image in which an image is formed on only one side of the sheet S, the branch claw 34 is in the posture shown in FIG. 1 and guides the image-fixed sheet S to the paper ejection roller 31. Then, the paper is discharged onto the paper ejection stack portion 32 by the paper ejection roller 31 and stacked.

At the time of forming the double-sided image, the branch claw 34 is rotated by a predetermined amount clockwise in the figure so that the sheet S is guided to the reversing roller 33. The image-fixed sheet S is guided to the reversing roller 33 by the branch claw 34, and is conveyed to the reversing tray 38 arranged on the paper ejection stack portion 32 by the reversing roller 33. Before the rear end of the sheet S in the transport direction passes through the reversing roller 33, the reversing roller 33 is rotated in the reverse direction to switch back the sheet S to the resupply path 35. The sheet S conveyed to the resupply path 35 is conveyed to the resist roller 23 by a plurality of transfer rollers arranged in the resupply path 35. Then, in the same manner as described above, the toner image is sent to the transfer nip, the toner image is transferred to the back surface which is the second surface of the sheet, and the toner image is discharged onto the paper ejection stack portion 32 via the fixing device 24.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a state in which the heater 50 is attached to the lower part of the process cartridge 1.
Depending on the installation location of this copier, such as when the installation environment is low temperature and high humidity, dew condensation may occur on the photoconductor 10 and problems may occur in the image. In such a case, as shown in FIG. 2, a heater 50 is optionally attached to the lower part of the process cartridge 1 and the process cartridge 1 is heated by the heater to prevent dew condensation on the photoconductor 10. The transport unit 100a provided with the transfer device 17 and the like can be opened and closed in the F direction in the drawing. By opening the transport unit 100a, the mounting portion of the heater 50 is exposed and the heater 50 can be mounted. In this embodiment, a heater operated by AC current is used.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the crawling of the harness 51 extending from the heater 50 in the apparatus main body.
As shown in FIG. 3, a harness through hole 102 for passing the harness 51 extending from the heater 50 is provided at a portion of the rear side plate 101 facing the waste toner bottle 41. Since the harness through hole 102 is arranged below the heater 50, the harness 51 crawls downward from the heater 50, bends toward the rear side plate 101, and is passed through the harness through hole 102. Then, by inserting the connector provided at the tip of the harness 51 into the connector provided on the power supply board arranged on the back side of the rear side plate 101, the heater 50 and the power supply board are electrically connected to the heater 50. Power is supplied.

Further, the harness 51 from the heater 50 to the harness through hole 102 is located on the front side of the rear side plate 101, and a waste toner bottle 41 and a process cartridge 1 detachably provided to the apparatus are arranged around the harness 51. ing. Therefore, when the waste toner bottle 41 or the process cartridge 1 is attached or detached, it may come into contact with the harness and damage the harness coating. Further, by opening the transport unit 100a, the harness 51 may be exposed and may be touched by the user. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a harness cover is provided to cover and protect the harness 51 from the heater 50 to the harness through hole 102.

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the harness cover 60.
The harness cover 60 is a square cylinder, and has a shape that extends from the top to the bottom and bends 90 degrees toward the harness through hole 102 of the rear side plate 101 in the middle. The opening at the top of the harness cover is the insertion port 61 into which the harness 51 is inserted, and the opening at the bottom orthogonal to the horizontal direction is the exit 64 through which the harness 51 comes out. The harness cover 60 is attached to the rear side plate 101 so that the outlet 64 and the harness through hole 102 of the rear side plate 101 meet. The rear side of the insertion port 61 is closed by a support plate 103b spanned by a pair of guide rails 103 that guide the process cartridge. The harness 51 is inserted from the open portion of the insertion port 61, bends in the storage portion 62 for accommodating the harness, which is the internal space of the harness cover, passes through the exit 64 and the harness through hole 102, and passes through the rear side plate 101. Crawled on the back side of. Further, when the harness is inserted from the insertion port 61, the tip of the harness is inserted into the exit 64 at a position facing the insertion port on the inner wall surface of the storage portion 62 with which the connector, which is the tip of the harness, comes into contact. It is a guide unit 63 for guiding. The guide portion 63 has an arcuate curved surface shape that gradually approaches the exit as it goes downward. The dotted line in the figure shows the state of the harness 51 in the storage portion before connecting the connector of the harness 51 to the connector provided on the power supply board arranged on the back side of the rear side plate 101.

The harness cover 60 is made of a resin material having a flame retardancy of V-2 or higher according to the UL94 standard, and has high flame retardancy. This makes it possible to provide a device with higher safety.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a main part showing how the heater 50 and the harness cover 60 are attached to the main body of the apparatus.
As shown in FIG. 5, a pair of guide rails are arranged at predetermined intervals in the horizontal direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction of the apparatus and guide the process cartridge 1 when the process cartridge 1 is attached to and detached from the apparatus main body. 103 is provided. The two harnesses 51 extending from the heater 50 are inserted from the insertion port 61 of the harness cover 60 through the gap 103a of the pair of guide rails 103. The harness 51 is inserted from the insertion port 61, and when the connector 51a provided at the tip of the harness 51 is pulled out from the outlet 64, the connector 51a is inserted into the harness through hole 102 of the rear side plate 101, and the connector 51a is inserted into the rear side plate. Turn to the back side of 101. Then, the harness cover 60 is attached to the rear side plate 101, and the connector 51a is fitted into the connector provided on the power supply board. Further, the heater 50 is attached between the pair of guide rails 103.

In the above, the heater and the harness cover are attached by retrofitting, but if the harness guide is attached by retrofitting, it takes a lot of time to install the serviceman in the market. Therefore, the harness guide may be attached to the apparatus main body in advance. As a result, it is possible to eliminate the work of attaching the harness cover, and it is possible to shorten the installation time in the serviceman's market. On the other hand, the number of parts can be reduced and the cost of the copier can be reduced by installing the heater and the harness cover as a retrofit.

In the present embodiment, the storage portion for storing the harness is not linear but has a shape that bends at 90 degrees in the middle, and has a portion extending from the insertion port in a direction different from the direction in which the harness is inserted. doing. Therefore, the harness inserted from the insertion port 61 bends in the storage portion and comes out of the exit 64.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the insertion of the harness when the harness cover is not provided with the guide portion. As shown in FIG. 6A, when the harness 51 is inserted from the insertion port 161 of the harness cover 160, the harness moves downward in the storage portion. If the storage part is a straight line extending straight in the insertion direction of the harness, if it is inserted as it is, the harness will come out from the outlet. However, the storage portion is not linear, but has a shape that bends at 90 degrees in the middle, and has a portion extending in a direction different from the harness insertion direction. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6B, the connector 51a, which is the tip end portion of the harness 51, comes into contact with a portion facing the insertion port on the inner wall surface of the storage portion 62. If the harness 51 is further inserted in this contacted state, the harness 51 buckles. At this time, depending on the habit of the harness, the harness 51 buckles in the direction of the arrow D in FIG. 6B, and the buckling causes the connector 51a to rotate counterclockwise in the figure as shown by the chain line in the figure. Move. When the harness 51 is further inserted from this state, the connector 51a slides and moves on the inner wall surface of the storage portion facing the insertion port in a direction away from the exit. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6 (c), even if the harness 51 is inserted from the insertion port, the connector 51a does not come out from the exit 164. Therefore, it is necessary to pull out the harness 51 from the insertion port 161 and perform the harness insertion work again. Alternatively, the work of inserting a finger from the exit 164, hooking the harness in the storage portion with the finger, and pulling out occurs. As described above, if the harness cover does not have a guide portion, the harness insertion work may become complicated.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the insertion of the harness in the harness cover of the present embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 7A, when the harness 51 is inserted from the insertion port 161 of the harness cover 60, the connector 51a at the tip of the harness 51 hits the guide portion 63 as shown in FIG. 7B. Contact. As described above, the guide portion 63 has an arcuate curved surface shape so as to be located at the exit as it goes downward. Therefore, when the harness is further inserted, as shown by the arrow A in the figure, the connector 51a slides on the inclined guide portion 63, and as shown by the chain line in the figure, rotates clockwise in the figure while exiting. Move to 64. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7C, the harness connector 51a can be reliably pulled out from the exit 64 simply by inserting the harness 51 from the insertion port 61, and the harness insertion work can be facilitated. It can be carried out.

Next, a modified example of the harness cover will be described.

[Modification 1]
FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the harness cover of the modified example 1.
The harness cover of the modified example 1 is the entire inner wall surface of the storage portion connected to the heater side end portion (right side in the figure) of the insertion port 61 and the lower end portion of the exit 64 among the four inner wall surfaces of the storage portion. Is used as the guide unit 63. The guide portion 63 of the harness cover of the first modification has a tapered inclined surface that is located on the exit side as it goes downward. The chain wire shown in FIG. 8 shows the posture of the harness in a state where the connector 51a of the harness has come out of the outlet, and the solid line in the figure shows the upper body in which the connector of the harness is fitted into the connector of the power supply board. Shows the posture of the harness.

With such a configuration, the inclination angle of the guide portion 63 can be increased. As a result, the connector of the harness that is in contact with the guide portion can be satisfactorily moved toward the outlet, and the guide performance of the guide portion can be improved.

[Modification 2]
9 is a perspective view showing the harness cover of the modified example 2, FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing how the harness cover of the modified example 2 is attached to the rear side plate 101, and FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing how the harness cover of the modified example 2 is attached to the rear side plate 101. It is a schematic sectional view of the harness cover of the modification 2. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 9, the harness cover of the modified example 2 has a substantially concave cross-sectional shape in the horizontal direction without the rear side surface. As described above, the harness cover is made of a resin material and is molded by injection molding. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, in the case of a cylindrical shape, it is necessary to use a core for forming the storage portion 62 in addition to the pair of molds. On the other hand, in this modification 2, since the harness guide can be molded by the pair of molds, the cost of the mold can be reduced.

As shown in FIG. 10, by attaching the harness cover 60 to the rear side plate 101, as shown in FIG. 11, the harness cover 60 and the rear side plate 101 form a storage portion 62 for accommodating the harness 51, and the harness is passed through. The hole 102 is configured as a loophole.

The harness cover of the modification 2 is also provided with a guide portion 63. As a result, in a configuration in which the harness cover 60 is attached to the rear side plate in advance, when the harness 51 of the heater 50 is passed through the storage portion formed by the harness cover and the rear side plate, the connector of the harness 51 is an outlet. It can be guided to the harness through hole 102.

[Modification 3]
FIG. 12 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the harness cover of the modified example 3.
The harness cover of the modification 3 is a diagram showing a harness cover having a shape in which the storage portion 62 is bent a plurality of times so as to avoid parts in the apparatus. The chain line in the figure shows an example of the posture of the harness in the storage portion when the connector at the tip of the harness comes out of the outlet. The solid line in the figure shows an example of the posture of the harness in the storage portion after the connector at the tip of the harness that has come out from the outlet is fitted into the connector of the power supply board.

Also in this modification 3, a guide portion is provided at a position where the harness connector comes into contact when the harness on the inner wall surface of the storage portion is inserted. In other words, in the harness insertion work on the inner wall surface of the storage portion, the portion facing the connector of the harness moving in the storage portion is used as the guide portion. As a result, the connector provided at the tip of the harness inserted from the insertion port 61 is guided toward the exit 64 by each guide portion. Therefore, even if the storage portion has a shape that is bent a plurality of times, the connector at the tip of the harness inserted from the insertion port 61 is guided by each guide portion and can be reliably pulled out from the exit port 64.

FIG. 13 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example in which the harness cover 60 is used as a duct.
As shown in the figure, an exhaust duct 82 is provided on the back side (left side in the figure) of the rear side plate 101, and the opening on the front side of the exhaust duct 82 is aligned with the harness through hole 102. 82 is attached to the rear side plate 101. An exhaust fan 81 is attached to the opening on the rear side of the exhaust duct. The exhaust duct 82 is provided with a harness relief hole 82a for allowing the harness 51 that has passed through the harness through hole 102 to go out of the exhaust duct 82.

The harness cover 60 is attached to the main body of the device in advance, and when the heater 50 is not attached, the harness cover 60 functions as a duct for allowing the air in the device to flow to the exhaust duct. When the heater 50 is attached as an option, the harness 51 is inserted from the insertion port (air intake port) 61 of the harness cover used as this duct. The inserted harness 51 is guided toward 102 by the harness through hole by the guide portion 63, and exits from the harness relief hole 82a of the exhaust duct 82. The connector 51a provided at the tip of the harness 51 that has come out is fitted into the connector of the power supply board arranged on the back side of the rear side plate 101. As described above, by using the harness cover 60 as a duct, the number of parts can be reduced and the cost of the device can be reduced as compared with the case where the harness cover and the duct are separately provided.

The above description is an example, and the effect peculiar to each of the following aspects is exhibited.
(Aspect 1)
The storage unit 62 includes a storage unit 62 in which the harness 51 is stored, an insertion port 61 for inserting the harness 51 into the storage unit 62, and an outlet 64 for the harness 51 to come out from the storage unit 62. In the harness cover 60 that protects the harness 51 inserted through the 62, the storage portion 62 has a portion extending in a direction different from the harness insertion direction when the harness 51 is inserted into the insertion slot 61. The tip of the harness 51 extends from the inner wall surface of the storage portion 62 to which the tip end portion of the harness such as the connector 51a inserted from the insertion port 61 comes into contact in a direction different from the harness insertion direction of the storage portion 62. It has a guide shape that guides the portion (in this embodiment, an arcuate curved surface or an inclined surface).
As shown in FIG. 6, when the storage unit 62 has a portion extending in a direction different from the harness insertion direction when the harness 51 is inserted into the insertion slot 61, such as the storage unit 62 bending 90 degrees in the middle. As shown in FIG. 6B, the tip end portion (connector 51a in this embodiment) of the harness 51 inserted from the insertion port 61 abuts on the inner wall surface of the storage portion 62. When the harness 51 is further inserted with the tip of the harness 51 abutting against the inner wall surface, the harness 51 bends, but as shown by the chain line in FIG. 6B, the storage portion 62 is bent. It may bend in the opposite direction. In this case, as shown in FIG. 6C, the tip portion of the harness 51 does not move to the portion extending in the direction different from the harness insertion direction of the storage portion 62, and the harness 51 is inserted from the insertion port. However, the tip of the harness 51 does not come out of the outlet 64. If the tip of the harness 51 does not come out from the outlet 64 even after inserting the harness 51 to some extent, insert your finger through the outlet 64 and pull out the harness 51 with your finger, or pull out the harness 51 from the insertion port 61. It becomes necessary to reinsert the harness 51 from the insertion slot 61 again, which may complicate the work of inserting the harness 51 into the storage portion 62.
On the other hand, in the first aspect, the tip of the harness 51 extends to a portion where the inner wall surface of the storage portion 62 with which the tip end portion of the harness 51 inserted from the insertion port 61 comes into contact extends in a direction different from the harness insertion direction of the storage portion 62. It has a guide shape that guides the part. Therefore, the tip of the harness 51 that abuts against the inner wall surface of the guide shape of the storage portion 62 moves to a portion that extends in a direction different from the harness insertion direction, and the tip of the harness 51 is surely pulled out from the outlet 64. Can be done. This suppresses the work of inserting a finger through the exit 64 and pulling out the harness 51 with the finger, or pulling out the harness 51 from the insertion port 61 and reinserting the harness 51 from the insertion port 61. This allows the harness 51 to be easily inserted into the storage portion 62.

(Aspect 2)
In the first aspect, the storage portion 62 is formed by a mounting member such as a rear side plate 101 to which the harness cover 60 is mounted and the concave cross-section portion, which has a concave cross-section portion.
According to this, as described in the second modification, the harness cover 60 can be molded with a pair of molds, and the cost of the mold can be reduced.

(Aspect 3)
In aspects 1 or 2, the harness cover is made of a material having a flame retardancy of V-2 or higher according to the UL94 standard.
According to this, as described in the embodiment, the safety of the device can be enhanced.

(Aspect 4)
A harness 51 that electrically connects an image forming means (consisting of a process cartridge 1, a laser writing device 21, etc.) for forming an image on a recording medium such as a sheet S, and electrical components such as a heater 50 provided in the main body of the device. In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine provided with a harness cover 60 for covering the harness 51, the harness cover 60 according to any one of aspects 1 to 3 is used as the harness cover.
According to this, as described in the embodiment, when the attachment / detachment unit such as the waste toner bottle 41 or the process cartridge 1 is attached / detached, the attachment / detachment unit comes into contact with the harness and damages the coating of the harness, or the user attaches the harness to the harness. It is possible to suppress touching.

(Aspect 5)
In the fourth aspect, the storage portion 62 of the harness cover 60 is configured to be used as a duct through which air flows.
According to this, as described with reference to FIG. 13, the number of parts can be reduced and the cost of the device can be reduced as compared with the case where the harness cover and the duct are separately provided.

1: Process cartridge 21: Laser writing device 50: Heater 51: Harness 51a: Connector 60: Harness cover 61: Insertion port 62: Storage part 63: Guide part 64: Exit 81: Exhaust fan 82: Exhaust duct 82a: Harness Relief hole 100: Device body 101: Rear plate 102: Harness through hole 103: Guide rail

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-20420

Claims (4)

The storage part where the harness is stored and
An insertion slot provided at the top of the storage unit for inserting the harness,
It is provided with an outlet provided at the bottom of the storage portion for inserting the connector provided at the tip of the harness into the board, from which the harness can be pulled out .
The harness cover for protecting the inserted through said harness to said housing portion,
The storage portion has a portion extending from the insertion port in the exit direction.
Wherein the inner wall surface of the housing part front end portion of the inserted the harness from the insertion port is in contact, the insertion opening from tapered for guiding the leading end portion of the harness is inserted toward the vents to the exit port A harness cover having an inclined surface, wherein the harness is located at a position away from the inclined surface when the connector is inserted into the substrate. In the harness cover according to claim 1,
A harness cover having a concave cross-sectional shape portion, wherein the storage portion is composed of a mounting member to which the harness cover is attached and the concave cross-sectional shape portion. An image forming means for forming an image on a recording medium,
A harness that electrically connects electrical components provided in the main body of the device,
In an image forming apparatus including a harness cover that covers the harness,
An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the harness cover according to any one of claims 1 and 2 is used as the harness cover. In the image forming apparatus according to claim 3,
An image forming apparatus characterized in that the storage portion of the harness cover is configured to be used as a duct through which air flows.

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