JPH0236947B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Field The present invention relates to an electronic copying machine, specifically, a photoreceptor and a device disposed close to the photoreceptor are integrated into a unit, and the unit is mounted relative to the main body of the copying machine. This invention relates to a removable electronic copying machine.

BACKGROUND TECHNOLOGY In general, in an electronic copying machine using dry development, devices for charging, exposing, developing, transferring, cleaning, etc. are arranged around the surface of a drum-shaped photoreceptor. As the photoreceptor rotates, the surface of the photoreceptor is sequentially processed and copied onto copy paper that is conveyed in synchronization with the rotation of the photoreceptor.

The developing device, cleaning device, etc. are concerned with the efficiency of development and cleaning, and the
The photoreceptor is placed very close to the surface of the photoreceptor in order to prevent toner from being ejected from between the photoreceptors.

On the other hand, the developing device, cleaning device, etc. are configured to be removable from the copying machine main body for maintenance, inspection, etc., and the photosensitive drum itself is also configured to be able to be pulled out from the copying machine main body when jamming or replacing. There is.

When attaching or detaching such a photoconductor drum or a device placed close to it, in the past, each device could be attached and detached independently, so in some cases, the surface of the photoconductor may have to be removed. This may cause damage and shorten the life of the photoconductor.
This was a big problem in practice. In addition, during use, the distance between the developing device and the cleaning device must be maintained accurately with respect to the surface of the photoreceptor, and the attachment/detachment mechanism requires high precision and strength, resulting in high cost.

In order to eliminate this inconvenience, currently,
A photosensitive drum and a developing device, a cleaning device, etc. disposed close to the photosensitive drum are integrated into a unit, and the unit is removably attached to the main body of the copying machine. This reduces the occurrence of accidents such as damage to the photoconductor surface during maintenance, and the positional relationship between the photoconductor surface and surrounding devices is maintained accurately when it is attached or detached, making it easier to adjust the position when attaching or detaching the photoconductor. becomes unnecessary. Furthermore, it has many advantages, such as the inconvenience of rails and locking mechanisms for attaching and detaching individual devices.

However, the developing device and the cleaning device are configured to be able to be separated from the photosensitive drum within the unit for maintenance, inspection, cleaning and replacement of the photosensitive drum, and the like. In particular, for cleaning devices that scrape off toner by pressing an elastic blade against the surface of the photoreceptor, the blade should be separated from the surface of the photoreceptor at least when the unit is pulled out from the copying machine main body. This is desirable.

However, when a cleaning device or developing device is equipped with a mechanism for moving the unit in and out, the unit may be installed without being set in its normal operating position, resulting in new problems such as damage to the unit or the copying machine itself. A problem arises.

When the unit is pulled out and removed from the copying machine main body, the components of the copying machine main body come into contact with the unit, and vibrations are applied to the unit. In this case, if the unit's cleaning device, for example, is spaced apart from the photoreceptor, developer may spill into the copying machine through the gap between the photoreceptor and the device, contaminating the interior of the copying machine, and causing image deterioration or This has the problem of causing jamming.

Purpose The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to link the approaching and separating of devices within the unit and the attachment/detachment of the unit, thereby not only preventing damage to the unit and the main body of the copying machine, but also preventing damage to the unit and the main body of the copying machine. An object of the present invention is to provide an electronic copying machine in which developer is not scattered during the operation of attaching and detaching a unit to a copying machine main body.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the electronic copying machine according to the present invention has a moving optical system and a powder image transfer type, and the copying operation itself is the same as that of the conventional copying machine.

That is, the light source 12 and the first mirror 13 move at the same speed as the circumferential speed V of the photoreceptor drum 10 in the counterclockwise direction, and the second mirror 14 and the third mirror 15 move at (V/
They can both move to the left in synchronization at speed 2). The original placed on the original platen glass 11 is illuminated by the light source 12 moving to the left, and its reflected image is transmitted from the fixed fourth mirror 16 to the slit 8 of the light shielding plate 7, which is a part of the main body frame. The photoreceptor drum 10 is exposed to light through the photoreceptor drum 10. Photosensitive drum 10
is charged to a predetermined potential by the main charging charge 20 immediately before exposure, and an electrostatic latent image is formed by the exposure. This electrostatic latent image is converted into a toner image by a magnetic brush formed on the developing sleeve 31 of the developing device 30 by a well-known method.

Copy paper is selectively fed from one of the automatic paper feed cassettes 20 and 52 or from the manual paper feed section 54.
Paper is fed by the respective paper feed rollers 51, 53, and 55 in synchronization with the rotation of the photosensitive drum 10, and is transported to the transfer section by transport rollers 56a, 56b, 57a, and 57b. In the transfer section, the toner image is transferred onto the copy paper by the corona discharge of the transfer charger 60, and the copy paper is separated from the photoreceptor drum 10 by the action of the separation charger 61 and its own strength. After that, the copy paper is transferred to suction means 6.
2 is conveyed to the right by a conveyor belt 63 equipped with
The toner image is melted and fixed in a fixing device 64 and is discharged onto a tray 66 from a discharge roller 65 .

On the other hand, residual toner is removed from the photosensitive drum 10 by an elastic blade 43, and the sub-charging charger 2
After being uniformly charged at 1, the charge is erased by an eraser lamp 22.

Next, the surrounding devices centering on the photoreceptor drum 10 and their contact/separation mechanisms will be described in detail.

The above devices and members are roughly divided into photoreceptor unit A.
and transport units B and C.

The conveyance units B and C can be separated from the photosensitive drum 10 mainly for removing paper jams.

The conveyance unit B rotatably supports a conveyance frame 70 to which a conveyance roller 57b and a guide plate 58 are attached on a support shaft 72, and a roller 75 is attached to the lower surface of a leaf spring 73.
are in contact with each other. The roller 75 is the support plate 7
6 to a shaft 77, which extends outside the main body of the copying machine and can be manually rotated by the operator.

Therefore, when the support plate 76 is in the vertical state, the conveyance frame 70 is urged upward by the roller 75 via the leaf spring 73, and as shown in FIG. The photoreceptor unit A is positioned by coming into contact with a frame 85 of the photoreceptor unit A described below. Furthermore, when the shaft 77 is rotated clockwise, the push-up force by the roller 75 is released as the roller 75 itself rotates, and the transport frame 70 is moved by its own weight to a point in FIG. 1 about the support shaft 72. Rotate downward as shown by the chain line.

Another conveyance unit C has a conveyance frame 80, to which a transfer charger 60, a separation charger 61, and a conveyance belt 63 are attached, rotatably supported on a support shaft 82, and a plate attached to the conveyance frame 70 on the underside of the conveyance frame 80. A spring 74 is brought into contact with the spring 74, and its own weight is reduced by a coil spring 83. Therefore, when the conveyance frame 70 is located close to the photosensitive drum 10, the conveyance frame 80 is also urged upward by the leaf spring 74, and the upper end of the conveyance frame 80, like the conveyance frame 70, is pushed upward. The portion 81 is positioned by coming into contact with the frame 85. Further, in response to the downward rotation (separation) of the transport frame 70, the transport frame 70 rotates downward by its own weight about the support shaft 82 as a fulcrum as shown by the dashed line in FIG.

Photoconductor unit A includes a photoconductor drum 10, a developing device 30, a cleaning device 40, chargers 20 and 21, and an eraser lamp 22 in a frame 85.
Mounting plates 90, 92 are attached to the left and right sides of the frame 85 in FIG.
The movable rails 94, 94 attached through the main body frame engage with the fixed rails 95, 95 provided on the main body frame side, and are movable in the front and rear direction, that is, the photosensitive drum 1
It can be attached and detached in the axial direction of 0.

This photoreceptor unit A is used for cleaning and replacing the photoreceptor drum 10, developing device 30, and cleaning device 4.
0, the eraser lamp 22, etc. can be pulled out to the front side for maintenance and inspection, and is provided with a stop means (not shown) for regulating the pulled out position and pushed in position. When the photoreceptor unit A is pulled out, the photoreceptor drum 1 is moved by the transport units B and C.
In order to prevent damage to the surface of the transport frame 70, 80, as shown in FIG.
A protrusion 86 is provided on the frame 85, which can abut against each other, to prevent the transport units B and C from being pulled out when they are in close proximity, and to allow them to be pulled out only when they are separated downwardly.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, the cleaning device 40 is rotatably mounted on a frame 85 via a support shaft 42, and biased clockwise by a leaf spring 96. The elastic blade 43 is rotatably attached to a support shaft 45 via a support member 44, and is always rotated counterclockwise by a coil spring 47 stretched between the shaft portion 46 fixed to the support member 44 and the casing 41. attached to the direction. This cleaning device 40 is positioned in a pressed state in close proximity to the photoreceptor drum 10 by a cam 97, and the tip of the blade 43 is pushed against the photoreceptor drum 10 by the pressing force from the cam 97 and the biasing force from the coil spring 47. press against.

The cam 97 is connected to the frame 8 as shown in FIG.
5 and 85, and is biased clockwise in FIG. The rotational position is determined by contacting the protrusion 103.

The operating lever 102 is swingably attached to a support shaft 105 provided on the back side of the photoconductor unit A in the axial direction of the photoconductor, and is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. When the photoconductor unit A is mounted on the copying machine main body, the upper end of the operating lever 102 is positioned by coming into contact with the protrusion 9 of the light shielding plate 7, that is, the cleaning device 40 is pressed, and the blade 43 comes into pressure contact with the photosensitive drum 10. On the other hand, when the photoconductor unit A is almost completely pulled out from the copying machine main body (indicated by the dashed line in FIG. The cleaning device 40 rotates together with the cam 97, and the pressing force exerted on the cleaning device 40 by the cam 97 is released. At this time, the cleaning device 40 is moved slightly upward about the support shaft 42 by the leaf spring 96, and the tip of the blade 43 is separated from the photoreceptor drum 10.

This separated position is determined by the notch 104 of the operating lever 102 coming into contact with the end 91 of the mounting plate 90 (see FIG. 5). The blade 43 itself is biased by the coil spring 47 in the direction of contacting the photosensitive drum 10 as described above, but this biasing force is generated by the shaft portion 46 contacting the member 48 inside the casing 41. Regulated.

That is, the operating lever 10, which is the swinging member,
2 is provided on the back side of the photoconductor unit A in the axial direction of the photoconductor, so when the photoconductor unit A is almost pulled out from the main body of the copying machine, the cleaning device 40 cleans the photoconductor unit A.
While it is automatically separated from the photosensitive drum 10, when it is pushed into the main body of the copying machine and the operating lever 102 comes into contact with the protruding part 9 of the light-shielding plate 7, it is automatically held in a close position.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the developing device 30, the protrusion 33 of the developer tank 32 is placed on a receiving member 93 fixed to the mounting plate 92, and the receiving member 10
Place the evacuation member 107 on the receiving member 93,1.
06 in the left and right directions in FIG. This developing device 30 has a cam portion 11 of a set lever 109 provided on a support shaft 111.
0 comes into contact with the left side of the developer tank 32,
It is positioned close to the photosensitive drum 10 against the coil spring 108 . Then, by raising the set lever 109, the pressing force by the cam portion 110 is released, and the developing device 30 is moved to the left by the biasing force of the coil spring 108, and is separated from the photosensitive drum 10. .
However, when the photoconductor unit A is installed in the copying machine main body, the set lever 109 is
The main body frame 1 is located above the main body frame 1 (see FIG. 4), and is configured such that the developing device 30 cannot be separated from the main body frame 1 (see FIG. 4).

Therefore, the developing device 30 can be separated only when the photoreceptor unit A is pulled out, and when the set lever 109 is in the upright position, the upper part of the set lever 109 comes into contact with the main body frame 1, so that the developing device 30 can be separated. The photoreceptor unit A cannot be attached if it remains separated.
This is to ensure that the driving force transmission section of the developing device 30 reliably engages with the driving section on the main body side.

As described above, the reason why the developing device 30 and the cleaning device 40 can be separated from the photoreceptor drum 10 is mainly to facilitate replacement of the photoreceptor drum 10 or to clean the developing sleeve 31 and the blade 40.
This is to prevent the toner on No. 3 from being fused by the solvent.

Next, the chargers 20, 21 and the eraser lamp 22 are fixed to a holding member 23 to form a unit as shown in FIG. 4, and the holding member 23 is rotatably supported on a support shaft 25 provided on a frame 85. , is pressed by a leaf spring 99 fixed to the cam 97 and positioned at a proximal position by a protrusion 87 of the frame 85. Then, when the photoreceptor drum 10 is pulled out, the leaf spring 99
7 in the clockwise direction, the holding member 23 is released from the pressing force by the plate spring 99 and rotates upward, that is, the photosensitive drum 10
It becomes possible to separate from the

However, if the developing device 30 is in the close position, even if the holding member 23 is moved upwardly, the corner 24 of the holding member 23 will come into contact with the protrusion 34 of the developer tank 32, as indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. When the rotation is prevented at this position and the operator releases his/her hand at this position, the holding member 2
3 is designed to return to the close position by its own weight. Only when the developing device 30 is separated from the photosensitive drum 10 can it be held in a substantially vertical position (the position shown by the dashed dotted line in FIG. 4). This is because when the photosensitive drum 10 is cleaned when the developing device 30 is in the close position, the toner is fused by the solvent as described above, so the holding member 23 is held in the separated position only when the developing device 30 is separated. I made it so that it would be done.

Effects As is clear from the above description, the present invention integrates a photoreceptor and a device disposed close to the photoreceptor into a unit, and connects the unit to the main body of the copying machine in the axial direction of the photoreceptor. In an electronic copying machine that can be attached to and detached from the photoreceptor, a holding means for holding the device forming the unit in the unit so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from the photoreceptor in a direction perpendicular to the photoreceptor axis; It is provided on the rear side in the direction, and engages with the copying machine body when the unit is installed in the copying machine body, and disengages from the copying machine body when the unit is removed from the copying machine body. The device is separated from the photoreceptor by the swinging member that swings in response to the attachment/detachment operation of the unit, and the swinging movement caused by the disengagement of the swinging member from the copying machine main body. The apparatus includes an interlocking mechanism that moves the apparatus to a normal operating position close to the photoreceptor by a rocking motion caused by engagement of the movable member with the copying machine main body.

Therefore, when the unit is almost pulled out from the copying machine main body by the interlocking mechanism, the device disposed close to the photoreceptor is separated from the surface of the photoreceptor in conjunction with the pull-out operation, and the unit is removed from the copying machine. Once it is attached to the main body, it will move in conjunction with the attachment operation,
The device will be moved to its normal operating position in close proximity to the photoreceptor surface. As described above, since the present invention includes the interlocking mechanism, the movement of the device in the unit toward and away from the photoreceptor surface and the attachment/detachment of the unit itself are interlocked, thereby preventing damage to the unit and the copying machine body.

Furthermore, if the device that makes up the unit includes a developer, such as a cleaning device, if there is a gap between the unit and the photoreceptor when the unit is pulled out of the copying machine body, the unit may The developer is scattered inside the copying machine body due to vibrations caused by contact with component parts, etc., but in the present invention, the cleaning device is in a regular position close to the photoconductor until the unit is almost pulled out from the copying machine body. The developer will not scatter. The same applies to unit equipment.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an electronic copying machine according to the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a front view showing the overall configuration, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the photoconductor unit, FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the main parts, and FIG. 4 is the photoconductor. FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view of the unit, and FIG. 5 is a partial sectional view showing the interlocking mechanism of the cleaning device. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Main body frame, 7... Light shielding plate, 10... Photosensitive drum, 40... Cleaning device, 94... Moving rail, 95... Fixed rail, 96... Leaf spring, 97...
Cam, 102...operation lever (swinging member), A...photosensitive unit.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An electronic copying machine in which a photoconductor and a device disposed close to the photoconductor are integrated into a unit, and the unit is detachable from the main body of the copying machine in the axial direction of the photoconductor. a holding means for holding the device forming the unit in the unit so as to be able to approach and separate from the photoreceptor in a direction perpendicular to the photoreceptor axis;
The unit engages with the copying machine main body when the unit is installed in the copying machine main body, and disengages from the copying machine main body when the unit is removed from the copying machine main body. The rocking member swings accordingly, and the rocking movement caused by the release of the engagement of the rocking member with the copying machine main body causes the device to be separated from the photoreceptor, and the rocking member is separated from the copying machine main body. An electronic copying machine comprising: an interlocking mechanism that moves the device to a normal operating position close to a photoreceptor by a rocking motion caused by engagement of the device.