JPH0333761A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To miniaturize an entire image recorder and to improve facility and maintenance by conveying a paper from the upper part of the recorder toward the lower front surface thereof and making light from an optical system irradiate obliquely upward from the back of the recorder to the front surface thereof so that the light may be made incident on a photosensitive drum provided in a processing system. CONSTITUTION:A paper feeding system 27 is provided in the upper part of a main body 21a and the processing system 28 and a fixing system 33 are successively disposed in an obliquely down direction from the paper feeding system 27, then the paper 37 is conveyed from the upper part of the recorder 21 toward the lower front surface of the recorder 21. The optical system 29 is disposed on the bottom part of the recorder, so that the front surface of the recorder 21 is irradiated obliquely upward from the back of the recorder 21 with the light from the optical system 29 and is made incident on the photosensitive drum 55 provided in the processing system 28. Therefore, recording is executed while the paper 37 set on the upper part of the main body 21a is conveyed obliquely forward. Thus, the occupied area of each system is suppressed, the entire recorder is miniaturized and the facility and the maintenance are improved.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Field of Application The present invention is an electrophotographic image 11 with improved miniaturization and maintainability! It relates to a recording device.

As a part of conventional technology, recording devices are used in a wide range of fields, mainly in Om (Office Automation Run). Recently, there has been a demand for high print quality and high-definition recorded images.

In order to meet these demands, a laser beam type image recording device as shown in Fig. 12 was developed.
It is becoming popular.

In FIG. 12, 1 is an image recording device, and a main body 11L of the image recording device Jfl includes a paper feeding system 2. Process system 3 and fixing system 4. An optical system 6 and the like are provided. Paper feed system 2
The paper 7 loaded on the paper table 6 is sent one by one to the AD output process system 3. The process system 3 is a photosensitive drum 8. Charging section 9.10. Developing section 11. It touches the cleaning section 12 and the like. In such a process system 3, a negative charge is applied to the photosensitive drum 8 by the charging unit 9, and a laser beam 7 from the optical system 6 is applied. An electrostatic latent image is formed by s. Next, the developing section 11 applies toner 14 to the electrostatic latent image. A magnetic roller 16 is provided in the developing section 11.
The magnetic roller 16 is provided with a toner case 1.
The toner 14 supplied from 6) is added to a).

On the other hand, the sheet 7 fed a has four bands 10. [Thus, five positive loads are applied, and the toner 14 that has been applied to the photosensitive drum 8 is transferred onto the paper 711+l].

After the transfer, the remaining toner 14 is removed from the photosensitive drum 8 by the cleaning section 12.

The cleaning section 12 uses a plate-shaped silicone rubber 17 that comes into contact with the photosensitive drum 8 in the width direction to scrape off the residual toner 14. The scraped toner 14 is stored in a waste toner case 18. The paper 7 on which the toner 14 has been transferred is conveyed by a fixed seat system 47c, and is discharged onto a paper discharge tray 19 where it is heated.

Here, the aforementioned photosensitive drum 8. Charging part 3. Developing section 10
．． Cleaning section 12. Toner case 16F1The waste toner case 18 is integrated into a case made of resin or the like as a process unit 20.
8 yen toner 14 is normal <process unit 2o
It is designed to be replaced with a new one. This is intended to keep troublesome maintenance errors to a minimum.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, the artist recording device 1 using the conventional electrophotographic method has a problem in that it is difficult to miniaturize the device due to its configuration.

Here, as a requirement for downsizing, there is a demand for space saving, that is, a reduction in the number of installation surfaces, so it is necessary to take into consideration the fact that the image recording apparatus 1 has nine installation surfaces.

However, in the above-mentioned system, the sum of the areas occupied by the paper feed system 2 and the fixing system 4 in the negative direction is the image recording and installation size, that is, the installation area. However, there is a limit to the reduction of the dimensions of each system, and in reality, it is at the inner limit.

In addition, since the l#d recording apparatus IK is provided with a paper table 6 button and a paper discharge table 1e separately on the main body 111L, the actual installation area is the sum of these.

On the other hand, although the integrated process unit 20 as described in m above certainly has good maintainability, the service life of the entire unit is limited by the capacity of the toner 14. For this reason, even if the photosensitive drum 8 and the like have not yet reached the end of their service life and can actually be used directly, they are not required to be replaced. For this reason, there is a demand from users to make effective use of the high-quality process unit 2o. Among the process units 8, the photosensitive drum 8 and the magnetic roller 16 have the highest costs. In addition, since the process unit 20 integrates the entire process system 3, there is also a point d in that the cost as a unit increases.

Therefore, the present invention solves the above problems and
Direct installation a>
The purpose is to improve maintenance and maintainability.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a paper feed system at the top of the main body, and also sequentially arranges a process system and a fixing system diagonally downward from the paper feed system, so that the paper At the same time, the optical system is arranged at the bottom of the device so that the light from the optical system is transmitted diagonally from the rear of the device toward the +m plane of the device. The light is illuminated upward and is incident on a photosensitive drum provided in the process system.

Function According to the present invention, recording is performed while the sheet of paper placed at the top of the main body is conveyed diagonally forward.

Therefore, it is possible to reduce the area occupied by the valley system, thereby reducing the size of the entire device, and also improving ease of maintenance and changeability.

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically explained based on examples. @
1 to 8 are diagrams showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 21 denotes a one-image marking device, and a main body cover 22 is provided on the front side of a wood 21& of the II warehouse recording device 21. As shown in A, the main cover 22 is held on the lower side of the main body 21 by support parts 221L formed on both sides of the main cover 221L (one shown in the upper part of the drawing). 22 is provided so as to be freely openable and closable in the direction of arrow F2 in FIG. 4, centering on the support portion 22&. Further, a storage section 23 is provided on the dark side of the book cover 22. As shown in FIG. 3, the storage section 23 has a lid section 26 that can be opened and closed on a wire section 24 that is integrally formed on the main body cover 22.
is provided. In such a storage section 23, a maintenance kit, a spare toner cartridge, etc. can be stored, if desired. Among these, the storage section 23 can also be constructed separately from the book cover 22.

Returning to FIG. 1, the main body cover 22 is provided with an operating section 26, and the operating section 26 gives various commands to a control system 30, which will be described later.

Returning to FIG. 2 again, the main body 211L includes a paper feed system 27, a process optical system 292, a control system 30, etc.
4.

The paper feed system 27 includes a paper table 322, a paper guide 33. Roller 34・
It is provided with a separation part 36 button and a pickup □-ra 36. The No. 11 paper tray 32 can be used to place a small number of sheets 37 all at once. The paper guide 33 regulates the leading edge of the d-order paper 37 placed on the paper table 32 on the upper side, and the roller 34 guides the abutting paper 37 between the separation section 36 and the pickup roller 36 . The separating section 36 includes a guide 39 button and a pickup plate 40, as shown in FIG. Guide 3
9 also serves as a paper guide. pickup plate 40
As shown in FIG. 6, a member of a predetermined width is provided opposite the pickup roller 36, and a friction member 41 made of silicone rubber or the like is provided on the surface of the pickup plate 4o facing the pickup roller 36. It is fixed. The guide 39 and the pickup plate 40 are each swingably provided on the same shaft 42, and a plurality of springs 43 are contracted at predetermined intervals between the guide 39 and the pickup plate 40. (Actually, there are two in the case of a flattening), and as the pickup plate 40 comes into contact with the pickup roller 36 in the state shown in FIG. This applies frictional force to the paper 37 and ensures separation of the paper 37. The separating section 36 is connected to the guide 39 in the direction of arrow F in FIG.
When opened in two directions, the pickup plate 4
o is separated from the pickup roller 38. Therefore, even if a paper jam occurs during operation, it can be quickly disposed of.
Further, cleaning of the pickup roller 36 and the pickup plate 40 is also extremely easy. The pickup roller 36 pulls out the paper 3A (in this case, the paper in the feeding section) that comes into contact with it. The paper 37 fed out by the pickup roller 36 is transferred to the process system 28 by rollers 44 and 45.
transported to.

As shown in FIG. 2, the process system 28 is connected to the process unit 5.
1. Developing section 62. It is composed of the constant 1 blue part 63 and the like. The process unit 61 is a main body 6 made of resin or the like, for example.
4, a photosensitive drum 66, a band section 56. A transfer section 67 and a cleaning section 68 are provided integrally. Such a process unit 61 has a shape as shown in FIG. 6, and is removably installed at a predetermined position within the main body 211L. Among them, the process unit 61 is connected to the main body 21 &
When mounted inside, the photosensitive drum 66 is connected to an unillustrated drive means h, and the charging section 66h and the transfer section 67 are connected to unillustrated contacts. In this way, the operation of the electrophotographic process becomes possible.

Returning to FIG. 21 again, the photosensitive drum 66 is made of a conductive material such as aluminum with a photoconductive layer formed on its surface, and is rotated to a predetermined position on the main body 64 by a holding means (not shown). , provided with pressure. inside,
When the photosensitive drum δsd process unit 61 is mounted inside the book 21&, it is driven in the direction of arrow R in FIG. 2 by the aforementioned driving means. A band 4 portion 661'i, a corotron, etc. are used to uniformly apply a negative charge to the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 66 by a so-called corona charging method. Therefore, when the charged outer circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum 56 is irradiated with laser light from the optical system 29, one charge in the exposed portion disappears and e is emitted on the surface of the photosensitive drum 66.
A stable latent image is formed. The transfer section 67 uses a corotron or the like in the same manner as the sleeping section 68, and applies a positive charge to the paper 37 fed from the paper feed system 27. As a result, one portion of the toner (forming an image) deposited on the photosensitive drum 66 is attracted to the paper 37 side and transferred. The cleaning section 68 is for removing toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 65, and includes a blade 69 button and a waste toner case 80. The blade 69 is made of, for example, a plate-shaped silicone rubber, and the blade 59 is provided so that its fourteen parts are in contact with the entire surface of the photosensitive drum 66.
The other end is fixed to a predetermined position on the main body 64. As the photosensitive drum 66 rotates, the blade 59 like this D scrapes off the toner adhering to the outer peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 66. The toner 63 scraped by the blade 59 falls into the waste toner case 60 and is accumulated therein. The capacity of the waste toner case 60 is determined by the service life limit (life span) of the photosensitive drum 56.

The developing section 62 has a magnetic roller 81 rotatably provided in a predetermined case 52a, and performs development using toner 63.

That is, the magnetic roller 61 is disposed close to the photosensitive drum 66, and the magnetic roller 61 holds the toner e3 on each outer circumference, and the toner e3 is applied to the charged portion of the photosensitive drum 66 (portion of opposite polarity). 63 is attached. Among them, a toner cartridge (not shown) is connected to the case 62&, and the toner cartridge stores the toner 6 stored inside.
3 into the case 62&.

The constant purification section 63 is equipped with a roller 65jr and a heat roller east.
Finally, the paper 37 conveyed from the process unit 51 side is pressed with the cleaning VC/JO heat button to fuse the toner 63 to the paper 37. Here, the fixing section 53
The H roller 86 is arranged on the upper side, and the heat roller e6 is arranged on the lower side. Therefore, you can avoid the danger of touching hot parts with your hands.

Safety can be maintained by replacing the process unit 51, etc. The paper 37 that has been fixed is discharged to a paper discharge tray 69 by rollers 67 and 68. The paper ejection tray 69 is formed and provided in a shape along the paper feeding direction (in this case, the paper is ejected diagonally downward). This type of electrophotographic process involves continuous exposure at predetermined timings.
It will be done.

In the present embodiment, the process system 28 is buttoned to display the so-called "exclude 4 copies", but this is because the recording speed is intended to be as low as, for example, 3 sheets/min. That is, when the recording speed decreases to the above-mentioned level, the charge on the surface of the photosensitive drum 56 charged by the charging section 66 naturally attenuates. This eliminates the need for the conventional step of applying residual charge and counter-injected charge to eliminate the charge. Among them, a static eliminator can be provided as in the conventional case, and four static eliminators are provided, and 1-1. If you press the button, you can perform high-speed recording.

The optical system 29 includes a mirror 71. It includes a light source unit 72 and the like, which are arranged inside a case 73. The case 7311-t is made of, for example, resin,
It is constituted by one combination of approximately fan-shaped cases γ3&, 730 as shown in FIG.

A mirror 71 is fixed to a predetermined position of the case 73a, and this fixed JFT portion is shaped in consideration of the direction in which light is reflected by the mirror 71. Mirror 71 is case 73 &
7 degrees in the width direction (in the seventh □, direction of arrow W), the laser beam from the light source unit 72 is directed to the photosensitive drum 65.
reflect in the direction. Further, at position i of the case 3a, there is an opening 74 (not shown) for attaching the light source unit 72 to the case 731L, and a mounting member 76 for fixing the entire optical system 29 to the image recording device 21. is provided.

On the other hand, an opening 76 is provided in the case 73b.

The opening Tel"j has a rectangular shape and has a rectangular shape, and the mirror 71
The mirror 71 is placed at a position that faces the mirror 71 and allows the reflected light from the mirror 71 to pass therethrough. Incidentally, the cases 73&, 73b can be assembled with one touch, for example.

The structure allows for separation.

Here, the mirror 71 is housed in the case 73, and the opening 76 of the case 73 only has the necessary dimensions and shape to allow the reflected light from the mirror 71 to pass through. The amount of garbage that enters 73 is extremely small.

As shown in FIG. 8, the light source unit 72 includes a light source a1.1.
．． Collimator lens 82. Weird 33. fθ lens 84. It is equipped with a mirror unit 85, and these are the casing S.
6 to 11 power points are provided. The light source 81 uses, for example, a semiconductor laser Db, and the laser light from the light source 81 is passed through a collimator lens 82. The light enters the mirror unit 86 via modulation 483.

The mirror unit 85 is constituted by a 456 mirror 8 button and a drive motor a3, and the laser beam from the light source 81 is incident on the same 45° mirror 8T and is reflected in the right angle direction. The 46'' mirror 87 is rotated at a predetermined speed by a drive motor 88. As a result, the radar light from the light source 81 is horizontally scanned around the 46'' mirror 87 and enters the f.theta.V lens 84. The f.theta. lens d4 has a width larger than the scanning angle .theta. of the laser beam by the 46C' mirror 87, and is fixedly installed so as to close the window aaa'f formed in the outer peripheral cylinder of the casing 86. As a result, the inside of the optical unit T2 is sealed 9, and dust and the like do not enter into the inside 2 of the optical unit. The laser light that has passed through the fθ lens 84 is reflected by the mirror 71 described above, and after being reflected by the mirror 71, it is introduced into the photosensitive drum 66. Here, optical system 2
9 is disposed at the bottom of the wood 211L, and the laser beam from the optical system 29 is directed from the rear of the device to the front surface Vc of the device.
The light is irradiated obliquely upward and incident on the photosensitive drum 56.

Control system 3Q uses a microcomputer etc.>b
, the paper feed system 2 according to commands from the operation unit 26 or commands from an external device (not shown) connected by a cable.
7. The entire process system 28 and optical system 29 are sterilized and the input image information is reproduced on the paper 3T.

Next, the effect will be explained.

Is the image recording device on the tree source side more compact and maintainable due to the arrangement of each system? There is a slight difference.

Image recording device 21/Based on the input command 9 image data as described in 111d, the optical system 29 irradiates the photosensitive drum 66 with laser light, conveys the paper 37, and the process system 28 performs the Naruko photographic process in a continuous manner. The image is recorded on the a37. Conventionally, such an image recording device 21 performs recording while conveying the paper 37 in the horizontal direction. Therefore, the total size of the entire device is the sum of the four area areas of each system, which requires miniaturization, i.e., installation. Reducing the area became difficult. Furthermore, since the paper tray, paper ejection tray, etc. also require space, a large installation area is actually required.

However, in the image recording apparatus 21 of the present invention, the paper feed system 27 is provided at the top of the main body 21&, and the process system 2a (including the fixing section 62) is sequentially arranged from the paper feed system 27 toward the bottom of the main body 21&. Set up.

The paper 37 is configured to be conveyed from the upper side of the main body 211L toward the lower front side. Therefore, the installation area can be reduced even if the bancha tea occupancy (transport distance of 7 g required to record the artist) is the same as the conventional one. Assuming that the conveyance path of the paper 37 is one foot, a conventional image recording device (see WcQN&) in which the conveyance path is horizontal,
The installation area B is different from the picture recording device 21 (91st bacterium 4) of the present invention, which has a diagonal conveyance path. This is because if the bancha is arranged so that the conveyance path is oblique, the bancha will overlap with each other in the vertical direction.

Furthermore, in addition to these, the paper table 32 and the paper discharge tray 69 are also formed along the conveyance path, which contributes to reducing the number of occupied surfaces.

Therefore, the installation area of the entire image recording device 21 can be significantly reduced.

Further, the light source unit 72 is configured such that each necessary component is integrally provided in a casing 86, and the inside of the casing 86 is completely sealed. Therefore, the light source unit 72 can be easily replaced, and the maintainability of the light source unit 72 can be improved by minimizing functional deterioration due to adhesion of dust.

Furthermore, the image recording device 21 has a structure in which the process unit 61 can be easily replaced by opening the main book cover 22 of the room, so maintainability is extremely high.

Further, this process unit 61 includes a photosensitive drum 55.
Fi4 thirst58. Transfer section 67 1 and cleaning section 68
The waste toner case 60 of the cleaning section 68
Since the capacity of the photosensitive drum 66 is set according to the service life limit of the photosensitive drum 66, the process unit 61 can be used efficiently.

Also, in this example! #1 Elephant recording device 1. - Since maintenance kits and the like can be stored in the storage section 23 provided on the back side of the book cover 22, it is possible to improve the number of notes and maintainability.

10 and 11 are views showing the entire second embodiment of the present invention, in which the paper discharge tray and the book cover are combined one by one. In describing this embodiment, the same components as those in the first embodiment will be denoted by the same numbers and the explanation will be omitted.

In FIG. 10, reference numeral 91 denotes an image recording skin holder, and a paper ejecting section 93 is formed in the book cover 92 of the image recording device 211. The paper ejection section 93 has a width slightly larger than the paper 37 to be used, and has a shape that is inclined toward an opening 94 formed from the upper side of the main body cover 92 to the lower side, as shown in FIG. .

On the other hand, a guide 95196 is provided for ejecting the fixing section 63, and the guides 95 and 96 guide the paper 37 ejected from the constant M section 53 to the opening 94.

Here, the sheet 37 on which the electrophotographic process has been completed has a surface 1' recorded on its lower surface, and the sheet 37 is discharged onto the sheet discharge section 93 with both recording cylinders facing upward.

In this way, the g1
Since the tray is integrated with the book cover, the space previously required for the paper output tray can be saved, and the paper output tray, which is a relatively large and expensive component, can be eliminated.

In addition, since the 1a37 is ejected from the front of the device with both recorded images facing up, the recorded content of the sound used can be immediately confirmed.

Therefore, in this case, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, it is possible to make the image recording apparatus l more compact, reduce costs, and improve convenience.

Effects of the Invention According to the present invention, the paper feed system is provided at the top of the main body, and the process system and fixing system are sequentially arranged diagonally downward from the paper feed system, so that the paper is transported from the top of the device to the front of the bottom of the device. In addition, the optical system is placed at the bottom of the device and the laser beam is irradiated diagonally below the photosensitive drum, which greatly suppresses the product of black tea. be able to.

As a result, it is possible to reduce the number of devices required for one device, and to reduce the size of the combined device.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 8 show a first embodiment of the image recording device of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the entire device, FIG. 2 is a d-side view of the main part thereof, and FIG. 3 is a main body of the device. A perspective view showing the storage section provided in the cover, FIG. 4 is a plan view of the main parts of the paper feeding system,
Figure 6 is a view from the paper table 41IJ of the paper feed system.
Figure 7 is an overall perspective view showing the configuration of the optical system, Figure 8 is a cross-sectional view of the main parts of the optical system, and Figure 9 is the paper sheet of the image recording device. Diagram showing the relationship between search distance and occupied area (installation area), 10th bacterium, 1st
1 is a diagram showing the second implementation row of the image recording apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the whole, and FIG. 11 is a main part thereof.
It is a fr side view. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing important parts of a conventional image recording apparatus. 21.91...I! Ii consideration recording device, 22.
92...Book book cover (cover), 27...
・Paper feeding system, 28...Process system, 29...
...Hikari 4 system, 37...Paper, 61...
Process unit, 53...
system), 66... photosensitive drum, 56...
Charging part (first charging part), 6a... Screening part (second
Charging, CSA...Cleaning section, 60.
...Waste toner case, 93...Paper discharge section.

Claims (8)

[Claims] (1) The paper feeding system is provided at the top of the main body, and the processing system and fixing system are sequentially arranged diagonally downward from the paper feeding system,
The paper is conveyed from the top of the device toward the front of the bottom of the device, and an optical system is arranged at the bottom of the device,
An image recording apparatus characterized in that light from the optical system is irradiated diagonally upward from the rear of the apparatus toward the front of the apparatus and is incident on a photosensitive drum provided in the process system. (2) The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the process system is provided so that the photosensitive drum is disposed on the lower surface of the sheet being transported. (3) The image recording apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that a cover that can be opened and closed is provided on the front surface of the main body, and a storage section is provided on the back side of the cover. (4) The image recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a paper ejection section formed integrally with the main body on the front surface of the main body. (5) A light source that emits a specific light, a mirror unit that allows the light from the light source to enter on the same axis and reflects and scans the incident light in a direction perpendicular to the direction of incidence, and a mirror unit that transmits the light from the mirror unit. 1. A light source unit comprising an f.theta. lens, wherein the light source, the mirror unit, and the f.theta. lens are integrally provided in a casing, and the inside of the casing is in a sealed state. (6) A photosensitive drum having a photoconductive layer formed on the surface of a base formed of a conductive material, a first charging unit that applies an electric charge to the surface of the photosensitive drum, and a back surface of the fed paper. A second charging section that applies a charge and a cleaning section that removes toner remaining on the photosensitive drum during the electrophotographic process and stores the removed toner are integrated into one case. process unit. (7) Claim 6, characterized in that the capacity of the discharge toner case is set according to the service life limit of the photosensitive drum.
Process unit as described in section. (8) Claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the process unit is removable from the front side of the apparatus;
The image recording device according to any one of Items 3, 4, 6, and 7.