JPH04145454A - Image forming unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a photosensitive drum from being damaged and the life thereof from becoming short in the case of carrying or storing a unit and to keep a production cost low by forming a 1st mount part for producing an image which is mounted in the casing of a photosensitive drum unit part and a 2nd mount part for protecting the photosensitive drum in the casing of an image producing process unit part. CONSTITUTION:The 1st mount part 24 of a developing unit part 20 is mounted to the developing unit mount part 36 of the photosensitive drum unit part 30. By engaging engaging pawls 26... with engaging parts 37..., the developing unit part 20 and the photosensitive drum unit part 30 are made in a mount state where working processes such as exposure, development and transfer stages are executed. Meanwhile, when the 2nd mount part 25 is mounted to the developing unit mount part 36 of the photosensitive drum unit part 30 by reversing the developing unit part 20, the wall parts 22c, 22e and 22f of the developing unit part 20 block the aperture part 35a for exposure and the aperture part 35b for transfer of the photosensitive drum unit part 30 and cover the photosensitive drum 31. Therefore, the photosensitive drum 31 is prevented from being damaged caused by the infiltration of a foreign matter and the life thereof is protected from becoming short caused by the irradiation of direct sunlight.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an image forming unit equipped with a photosensitive drum and used in an image forming apparatus such as a page printer or a copying machine to which an electrophotographic method is applied.

Photoreceptor drums, developing devices, and the like provided in image forming apparatuses such as page printers and copying machines that conventionally apply the Gongjie electrophotographic method are consumables and therefore need to be replaced periodically.

Incidentally, the work of replacing the photoreceptor drum and the like needs to be done so as not to damage the photoreceptor tram, which is a relatively difficult work.

Therefore, in recent years, some image forming apparatuses have an image forming unit including a photoreceptor drum, etc., and the entire image forming unit is replaced, thereby making the replacement work easier and more reliable. There is.

More specifically, the image forming unit is, for example, a fourth image forming unit.
As shown in the figure, it is constructed by integrating a photosensitive drum 11, a developing device 12, a cleaner 13, a casing 14, and the like.

However, the conventional image forming unit described above has the problem that foreign matter may be removed from the exposure opening 14a of the photoreceptor drum 11 formed in the casing 14 or the toner image transfer opening 14b during transportation or storage. There have been problems in that the photoreceptor drum 11 may be damaged due to intrusion of light, or the life of the photoreceptor tram II may be shortened due to direct sunlight or other irradiation on the photoreceptor drum 1.

Please note that when storing the image forming unit, do not close the protective lid (5/16).
Although it is conceivable to close the openings 14a and 14b with the openings 14a and 14b, this would increase the cost of the image forming unit.

In view of the above-mentioned points, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming unit that can prevent damage to the photoreceptor drum or shorten its lifespan during transportation or storage, and can keep manufacturing costs low.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention includes a photoreceptor drum unit having a photoreceptor drum, an image forming process unit that is detachably attached to the photoreceptor drum unit, and a The casing of the photoreceptor drum unit has a first two-piece part that is attached to the casing of the photoreceptor drum unit to form a mounting state for executing the image forming process, and a second part that is attached to the casing of the photoreceptor drum unit. A second mounting portion is formed to form a mounting state for protecting the photoreceptor tram.

According to the above configuration, the image forming unit! ! When the first mounting section of the casing of the image forming process unit section is attached to the casing of the photoconductor drum unit section, the mounting state is set for executing the image forming process, while when the second mounting section is attached, the photoconductor drum Puts on protective equipment.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b) are front views showing the configurations of the developing unit and photosensitive drum unit, respectively, which constitute the image forming unit, and FIG. 2 shows the state in which the image forming unit is installed for the actual image forming process. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which protection of the photosensitive drum is attached.

In FIG. 1(a), 20 is a developing unit section 21 which is a magnet roller, 22 is a cane, and 22a to 22f.
is a wall part, 23 is a toner hook, 24 is a first mounting part,
25 is a second mounting portion, and 26... are engagement claws. 1st
In figure (b), 30 is a photoreceptor drum unit section;
1 is a photosensitive drum, 32 is a main charger, 33 is a cleaner, 34 is a static elimination lamp, 35 is a casing, 35a
is an exposure opening, 35b is a transfer opening, 36 is a developing unit mounting part, and 37... are engaging parts.

The toner box 23 is formed by wall portions 22a to 22d, and is configured to accommodate toner (not shown). Further, the wall portions 22c, 22e, and 22f are adapted to cover and protect the photoreceptor drum 31 in an attached state for protecting the photoreceptor drum, which will be described later.

The photosensitive drum 31 is formed by forming a photoconductive layer on a cylindrical conductive base, and after being uniformly charged by the main charger 32, the photosensitive drum 31 is charged to an image forming device (not shown) through an exposure opening 35a. By being exposed to light by the original image projection unit and LED (light emitting diode) array,
An electrostatic latent image is formed. This electrostatic latent image is developed by the magnet roller 21 of the developer 1 tont section 20, and the formed toner image is transferred to the transfer opening 35.
b, and is transferred onto a recording medium such as transfer paper by the action of a transfer charger (not shown).

The cleaner 33 removes residual toner adhering to the photoreceptor tram 31 after the transfer process, and the static elimination lamp 34
The remaining charge is removed to prepare for the next image forming process.

In the above configuration, as shown in FIG. 2, the first mounting section 24 of the developing unit section 20 is mounted on the developing unit mounting section 36 of the photoreceptor drum unit section 30, and the engaging claw 26.
... and the engaging portion 37... S,
Developing unit section 20 and photosensitive drum unit section 30
is in an attached state in which image forming processes such as the above-mentioned exposure, development, and transfer steps are executed.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
When installed in the developing unit mounting section 36 of the developing unit section 20, the walls 22c, 22e, and 22f of the developing unit section 20 close the exposure opening 35a and the transfer opening 35b of the photoconductor drum unit section 30, and cover the photoconductor drum 31. . therefore,
The photoreceptor drum 31 is protected from damage due to intrusion of foreign matter and shortened lifespan due to irradiation with direct sunlight.

In the above embodiment, the developing unit section 20 and the photoreceptor drum unit section 30 have mutually independent casings 22 and 35, but the present invention is not limited to this.
For example, the cleaner 33 may be provided with an independent casing, and this casing may be provided with a mounting section for executing the image forming process and a mounting section for protecting the photoreceptor drum.

In addition, as explained above, according to the present invention, the photoreceptor drum is attached to the casing of the image forming process unit section and the casing of the 4° uniform node section to form an attached state for executing the image forming process. Since the first mounting part and the second mounting part are formed to form a mounting state for protecting the photoconductor tram, the photoconductor drum may be damaged or its life may be shortened when the image forming unit is transported or stored. This has the effect of preventing the occurrence of this problem and reducing manufacturing costs.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIGS. 1(a) and 1(b) are front views showing the configurations of a developing unit and a photosensitive drum unit, respectively, which constitute the image forming unit, and FIG. 2 shows the installed state for executing the image forming process in the image forming unit. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the photosensitive drum is protected for protection, and FIG. 4 is a sectional front view showing the structure of a conventional image forming unit. 20...Developing unit nod part, 22...Casing, 2
4... First mounting part, 25... Second mounting part, 26
...Engaging claw, 30...Photosensitive drum unit part, 3
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Photoreceptor tram, 35... Casing, ((6... Developing unit throat attachment part, 37... Engaging part

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A photoreceptor drum unit section having a photoreceptor drum, and an image forming process unit section that is detachably attached to the photoreceptor drum unit section, and a casing of the image forming process unit section is provided with a casing of the photoreceptor drum unit section. A first mounting part is attached to form a mounting state for executing an image forming process, and a second mounting part is also mounted to the casing of the photoreceptor drum unit part to form a mounting state for protecting the photoreceptor drum. An image forming unit characterized in that: