JPH0279879A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the spoiling of an image carrier by separating a separating pawl from the image carrier by changing the position of a carrying part by engaging an engaging member placed in a supporting member with an engaging member placed in a carrying part when the image carrier is to be attached/detached. CONSTITUTION:When the carrying part 1 is changed in position to a lower part, since the engaging member 14 and a pin 13 are engaged through an engagement stopping member 20, an arm 5 is rotated in a clock wise direction and the separating pawl 9 is separated from the image carrier 3. At this time, if the 'initial tension of a recovering spring 16' is made approximately equal to the 'power effected on the member 14 through the pin 13 by the power generated in a spring 6 when the separating pawl 9 is separated by a fixed distance from the image carrier 3', the arm 5 can be lowered by the member 14 without sliding, while the separating pawl 9 is separated from the image carrier 3 to a fixed distance. After that, the power effected between the member 14 and the carrying part 1 by the lowering of the carrying part 1 is absorbed by the recovering spring 16, and the arm 5 can be stopped in its rotation at an approximately fixed position. Thus the spoiling of the image carrier 3 by the separating pawl 9 can be prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (1) Object of the Invention (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus using an electrostatic recording process, such as an electrostatic copying machine and a printer thereof.

(Prior Art and Problems to be Solved) In an image forming T& device that includes a process of electrostatically transferring a toner image formed on the surface of an image carrier to a sheet-like transfer material such as paper, there is a problem in the transfer process. Since the transfer material tends to be electrostatically attracted to the image carrier, a separation claw is brought into contact with the image carrier at the post-transfer position, thereby separating the transfer material that is attracted to the image carrier. has been widely used in practice.

The separation claw has a sharp tip that contacts the image carrier, so
When assembling the relevant part of the image forming apparatus, during maintenance inspection, or when replacing the separation claw due to wear, etc., the separation claw should be installed in the transfer material conveying section to avoid damaging the surface of the image carrier by the separation claw. The engaging member disposed at an appropriate position on a support member supporting the separating claw is arranged in series, and the separating claw is separated from the image carrier in response to the displacement of the conveyance section. was common.

However, with this method, if you forget to connect both of the engaging members when installing and assembling the support member equipped with the separating claw or the transfer material conveying section, one minute separation will occur via the engaging member on the conveying section side. There is a risk that the separation claw may come into contact with the image carrier and damage it by displacing the claw support member.

The present invention has been made in order to deal with such a current situation, and during one assembly, maintenance inspection, etc., when engaging the engaging members respectively disposed on the separation pawl support member and the transfer material conveying section, It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus in which the two are engaged as expected without any special precautions, and the above-mentioned damage to the image carrier does not occur.

(2) Structure of the invention (technical means for solving the problem and its operation) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for applying a transfer material to an image bearing member having a transferable toner image formed thereon. A support member configured to transfer a toner image onto a transfer material and having a separation claw that is elastically biased in a direction of contacting the image carrier in order to separate the transferred transfer material from the image carrier; Equipped with a transport section that receives materials and transports them to the next process.

When attaching and detaching the member including the image carrier, the engagement member disposed on the support member and the engagement member disposed on the conveyance section cause the separating claw to hold the image by displacement of the conveyance section. In an image forming apparatus that is separated from the body,
The device is characterized by being provided with means for automatically engaging an engaging member disposed thereon with an engaging member on the supporting member side by displacement accompanying the mounting when the conveying portion is mounted. It is.

With this configuration, when assembling, maintaining and inspecting this type of image forming apparatus, it is possible to forget to engage the conveyance section with the support member provided with the separation claw, and damage the image carrier with the separation claw. It is possible to reliably prevent such a situation from occurring.

(Description of Embodiments) FIG. 1 is a side view of essential parts of an image forming apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention.

Reference numeral 3 denotes an image carrier formed in a rotating cylindrical shape, on the surface of which a toner image is formed. The toner image is transferred to a transfer material by the action of a transfer member such as a charger, and then the transfer material is separated from the image carrier, rides on the conveyance section 1, and advances to the left in the figure to a fixing site (not shown). shall be transported.

The conveyance section 1 is driven by an opening/closing swing shaft 2 which also serves as a drive input shaft, and swings in the vertical direction in the drawings about the shaft 2 by an opening/closing mechanism (not shown).

Reference numeral 5 denotes an arm having a minute 11141JI structure, which is rotatably supported by a shaft 7 and given the ability to rotate counterclockwise by a spring 6. Within the range regulated by a stopper pin 8, The spring 10 causes the separating claw 9 supported by the pin 11 to come into contact with the surface of the image carrier 3 .

An engaging member 14 on the side of the conveyance section 1 is provided at a suitable position on the side of the conveyance section 1.
is slidably arranged by a guide pin 15,
The member 14 is biased downwardly in the drawing by a return spring 16, and a pivoting locking member 20, which is biased to one side by a spring 19, is attached to its upper part.

The arm 5 on the separation mechanism side is provided with a pin 13 which is an engagement member on the separation side, and in a normal state, the pin 13 is attached to the arm 5 on the separation mechanism side.
3 is engaged with the elongated hole 20a formed in the swing locking member 20.

With this configuration, when the conveying section 1 is displaced downward in the drawing by activation of the opening/closing mechanism (not shown), the engaging member 14 and the bottle 13 are engaged with each other via the locking member 20. Therefore, the arm 5 rotates clockwise as shown in the figure, and the separation claw 9
is separated from the image carrier 3.

At this time, ``the initial tension of the return spring 16'' is defined as ``the force acting on the member 14 through the bottle 13 due to the force generated in the spring 6 when the separating claw 9 moves a certain distance away from the image carrier 3''.
, the arm 5 is lowered without the member 14 sliding until the separation claw 9 is separated from the image carrier 3 by a certain distance, and then the transport section 1 is lowered to separate the member 14 and the transport section 1. The force acting between them is absorbed by the return spring 16, and the rotation of the arm 5 can be stopped at an approximately constant position.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing only the engaging portion between the conveying section 1 and the arm 5 in the above-mentioned apparatus.

The upper part of the engagement member 14 is wound to hold a shaft 17, and the shaft 17 is also wound and held by the end of the locking member 20 to form a hinge; A spring 19 is provided so that the locking member 20 is deflected in the direction of the stop part 18 and stabilized.

As described above, the member 20 is formed with a long hole 20a into which the bottle 13 disposed on the arm 5 engages and disengages, and the top portion 20b of the member 20 is bent in a direction away from the bottle 13. It is formed.

Since the conveyance part and the arm side equipped with the separation claw are engaged with each other in the above-described configuration, after being disassembled for maintenance and inspection etc., and after installing the arm including the separation claw, etc. When the conveying section 1 is raised, the bent portion 20b of the member 20 comes into contact with the bottle 13, and the member 20 rotates clockwise as viewed from the left in FIG. 2 against the action of the spring 19. When the conveying section further rises, the bottle 13 fits into the elongated hole 20a, and the arm 5 side and the conveying section 1 engage with each other.

Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent a situation where the separating claw forgets to engage the two and causes the separating claw to come into contact with the image carrier and damage it.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the present invention, in which parts corresponding to the apparatus of the previous embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and explanations thereof will not be given unless particularly necessary. Omitted.

In this device, an engaging member 1 disposed on the conveying section 1 side
4 are integrally constructed from one elastic material.

Therefore, when the conveyance unit is raised during mounting, one member
When the top of the bottle 4 comes into contact with the bottle 13, it first escapes due to its own elasticity and then engages with the elongated hole formed in the member 14, so that the same effect as in the device of the above embodiment is achieved. Can be done.

Furthermore, although not shown, in the device shown in the first figure, a notch is formed in the portion of the member 14 corresponding to the hinge to reduce the rigidity of the portion and act as a hinge against external force. It is also possible to configure

(3) As described in detail, the present invention is an electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which the transfer material conveying section is displaced by the opening/closing mechanism, and in response, the separating claw is moved to the image forming apparatus. When the image carrier is separated from the carrier, the conveying part and the part provided with the separation claw can be automatically engaged during assembly, maintenance and inspection, etc., thereby ensuring that the image carrier is not damaged by the separation claw. can be prevented.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a side view of essential parts of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view showing the configuration of the engaging portion of the same as above, and FIG. 3 is a side view of the main part showing another embodiment of the present invention. 1... Conveyance unit, 3... Image carrier, 5... Fist arm,
6...Arm biasing spring, 9o...Separation claw, 13-ψ・
Bin, 14... Engaging member, 16... Return spring, 2o
・φ・Locking member. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A transfer material is brought into contact with an image carrier on which a transferable toner image is formed to transfer the toner image to the transfer material, and the transferred transfer material is separated from the image carrier. A support member having a separation claw that is elastically biased in a direction to contact the image carrier, and a conveyance unit that receives the separated transfer material and conveys it to the next step, and includes the image carrier. When attaching or detaching the member, the separation claw is separated from the image carrier by displacement of the conveyance section by engagement between an engagement member disposed on the support member and an engagement member disposed on the conveyance section. In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, there is provided a means for automatically engaging an engaging member disposed thereon with an engaging member on the supporting member side by displacement caused by the mounting when the conveying section is mounted. An image forming apparatus characterized by: