JPH0426111B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an electrophotographic recording device, and more particularly to improving the maintainability of electrophotographic recording devices such as copying machines and printers.

[Conventional technology]

Paper feeding problems have traditionally been a major problem in electrophotographic copiers, printers, and the like. In particular, troubles occur frequently in the paper feed section from the cassette, the fixing section after the transfer process, and the paper ejection section, and there has been a demand for improved maintainability in order to eliminate these troubles.

These maintenance operations generally involve moving the paper feed roller, paper feed guide, etc. in the paper feed section to open a gap and remove or repair the inconvenient paper. On the other hand, the fusing and paper ejecting sections apply pressure and heat to the recording paper, so the structure is complex and maintenance work is troublesome.
Emphasis is placed on improving the maintainability of this part. For this reason, in the fixing and paper ejecting sections, these are combined into a unit, and as shown in FIG. (c) Both methods have many problems. Especially as equipment becomes more compact,
Paper ejection units are also becoming more compact, and this method does not provide sufficient space for maintenance work, forcing inconvenient maintenance work and lengthening the work time.

On the other hand, the clamshell method (d), in which the entire device is divided into two in the vertical direction and rotated to open and close, provides a large space and is easy to maintain, but the weight of the moving parts increases, making it difficult to maintain accuracy. Reinforcement is required for this purpose, which poses a problem of reduced reliability.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

The present invention has been made in view of these points, and its purpose is to
The purpose is to improve maintainability.

Specifically, the objective is to improve not only the maintenance work of the above-mentioned fixing and paper discharging sections, but also the maintenance workability of the paper peeler, cleaner, and static eliminator necessary for carrying out the electrophotographic process.

[Means to solve the problem]

The present invention includes a charger, an exposure unit, a developer, a transfer device, a paper peeler, a cleaner, and a static eliminator, which are sequentially arranged opposite to each other around a photosensitive drum in a main body housing.
a fixing device to which plain paper to which an image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum has been transferred is peeled off by the paper peeling device and fed; a paper ejecting means for ejecting the fixed paper;
In an electrophotographic recording apparatus equipped with an in-machine cooling means, the paper peeler, the cleaner, and the static eliminator are arranged side by side on the paper discharge side and are arranged opposite to the photosensitive drum, and a unit panel and a unit forming a part of the top panel of the casing are arranged. An opening/closing unit configured by housing the fixing device and paper ejecting means located behind the paper stripping device inside the frame is installed behind the row of the paper stripping device, the cleaner, and the static eliminator so that it can be rotated and opened and closed. Features.

[Effect]

By rotating the opening/closing unit, the fuser and paper ejecting means inside the opening/closing unit can be pulled out and exposed to a working position where maintenance is easy. Since the stripper, cleaner, and static eliminator are largely exposed, maintenance work on them becomes easier. Moreover, since the opening/closing unit is only equipped with relatively lightweight components, only minor reinforcement is required to maintain accuracy and does not cause a decrease in reliability.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

2 and 3 are longitudinal sectional side views of the electrophotographic recording device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows the operating state,
FIG. 3 shows the state of maintenance work.

1A is the main body of the electrophotographic recording apparatus, and 2A is an opening/closing unit equipped with fixing, paper ejecting, and cooling means. The main body 1A is covered with a housing composed of a base 1, a side plate 2, a left side panel 3, a top panel 4, a rear panel 5, etc., and a photosensitive drum 6 is rotatably supported by the side plates 2 on both sides. ing. Around the photosensitive drum 6, a charger 7, an exposure unit 8, a developer 9, a hopper 10, a transfer charger 11, and a paper peeling claw 19 are installed, facing the photosensitive drum 6 in order to perform an electrophotographic process. , a cleaner 12, and a static eliminator 13 are provided in this order.

Below the photosensitive drum 6 are a cassette 14, a paper feed roller 15, a registration roller 16, and a paper feed roller 1.
7. A paper transport system is arranged, consisting of a paper transport guide 18 between rollers, the paper peeling claw 19, and the like.

Further, above the photosensitive drum 6, there is a cooling ventilation duct 20 in which the exposure unit 8 is housed, and further, above the top panel 4, an original glass 21 for transporting a copy original is arranged. .

Both ends of the opening/closing unit 2A are covered by a unit frame 22, and pins 23 formed on the unit frame 22 are inserted into engagement holes in the side plate 2 to support the opening/closing unit 2A rotatably. The unit frame 22 has a pair of fixing rollers 24 constituting a fixing device surrounded by a heat insulating case 28 in its lower part, and a paper peeling claw 25 that prevents the paper from being wrapped is in contact with the fixing roller 24. . Further, a pair of paper ejection rollers 26 and a paper ejection unit paper feed guide 27 are disposed inside the opening/closing unit 2A, and eject the fixed paper onto the tray 36.
Further, a fan duct 29 is fixedly installed in the upper part of the unit frame 22, and a fan 3 is installed inside the fan duct 29.
0 is built-in. A packing 31 is interposed between the fan duct 29 and the end of the cleaner 12 (constituting an extension of the ventilation duct 20) to prevent air leakage from the contact surface. The fan 30 sucks the air inside the ventilation duct 20 through the intake port 32 of the fan duct 29 and sends it to the exhaust port 3.
3 to cool the exposure unit 8.

A unit panel 34 constitutes a part of the top panel 4 of the main body 1A. Also, main body 1
A lead wire 35 for electrically connecting A and the opening/closing unit 2A is disposed near the pin 23 so as not to interfere with the turning movement of the opening/closing unit 2A.

The driving force for driving the fixing roller 24 and the paper ejection roller 26 is applied from a common driving source to other rotating members via a gear mechanism (not shown). In this embodiment, the driving source is installed within the main body 1A, and transmits its driving force into the opening/closing unit 2A using a gear mechanism that meshes with the opening/closing unit 2A in a closed state.

By the way, the paper peeling claw 19, the cleaner 12, the static eliminator 13, and the opening/closing unit 2A are arranged so that the paper peeling claw 19, the cleaner 12, and the static eliminator 13 face the photosensitive drum 6 on the paper discharge side of the photosensitive drum 6. An opening/closing unit 2A is arranged facing the photosensitive drum 6 in a row, and an opening/closing unit 2A is located at the rear of the row so that it can be rotated open/closed. It is related to exposure.

In the above configuration, the electrophotographic recording device has the following features:
While rotating the photosensitive drum 6 counterclockwise, the surface of the photosensitive drum 6 is uniformly charged by a charger 7, exposed to light by an exposure unit 8 to form an electrostatic latent image, and the electrostatic latent image is transferred to a developer 9. The paper extracted from the cassette 14 was developed to form a toner image, and the transfer charger 17 was operated with the paper extracted from the cassette 14 in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum to transfer the toner image onto the paper. The paper is reliably separated from the surface of the photosensitive drum by a paper peeling claw 19, introduced into the opening/closing unit 2A, fixed by a fixing roller 24 in the opening/closing unit, and then discharged onto a tray 36 by a paper discharge roller 26.

When performing maintenance work, the cassette 14 and tray 36 are first removed, and the original glass 2 is removed.
1 in the direction of arrow A, a release latch (not shown) is operated to turn the opening/closing unit 2A into the open state as shown in FIG. In this open state, the interior of the opening/closing unit 2A is largely exposed to light at a position where maintenance work can be easily performed.

Furthermore, as the opening/closing unit 2A rotates, the housing including a part of the top panel is opened wide, and the paper peeling claw 19, cleaner 12, and static eliminator 13 are exposed to light, making maintenance work for these parts easier. .

Incidentally, maintenance work on the paper feeding system around the paper peeling claw 19 is performed from the direction of arrow B, and the fixing roller 24 and fan 30 in the opening/closing unit 2A are
Maintenance work for the cleaner 12 and static eliminator 13 is performed from the arrow D direction.

After completing the maintenance work, the opening/closing unit 2A is turned to close and latched, and the cassette 14 and tray 36 are set.

Since the opening/closing unit is only equipped with relatively lightweight components, even if the opening/closing unit 2A is repeatedly opened and closed in this manner, the corresponding positional relationship will not be disturbed, and this will not cause a decrease in reliability.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, by rotating the opening/closing unit, the fixing device and the paper ejecting means in the opening/closing unit can be pulled out to a working position where maintenance is easy and are largely exposed. Wide open paper stripper, cleaner,
Since the static eliminators are largely exposed, maintenance work on them is also facilitated. Moreover, since the opening/closing unit is only equipped with relatively lightweight components, only minor reinforcement is required to maintain accuracy and does not cause a decrease in reliability.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the direction of maintenance work in a conventional electrophotographic recording device, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are vertical side views of the electrophotographic recording device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows the state in operation. , FIG. 3 shows the state during maintenance work. 1A...Main body, 2A...Opening/closing unit, 2...
Side plate, 4...Top panel, 6...Photosensitive drum,
7... Charger, 8... Exposure unit, 9... Developer, 11... Transfer charger, 12... Cleaner,
13...Static eliminator, 19, 25...Peeling claw, 22...
... Unit frame, 23 ... Pin, 24 ... Fixing roller, 26 ... Paper ejection roller, 34 ... Unit panel.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A charger, an exposure unit, a developer, a transfer device, a paper peeler, a cleaner, and a static eliminator, which are sequentially arranged opposite to each other around the photosensitive drum in the main body housing, and a charger formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum. a fixing device into which the plain paper to which the image has been transferred is peeled off by the paper peeling device and sent;
In an electrophotographic recording apparatus including a paper ejecting means for ejecting fixed paper and an in-machine cooling means, the paper peeling device, the cleaner, and the static eliminator are arranged side by side on the paper ejecting side and facing the photosensitive drum, and the housing An opening/closing unit configured by housing the fixing device and paper ejecting means located behind the paper stripper in a unit panel and unit frame that constitute a part of the top panel of the paper stripper, the cleaner, and the static eliminator. An electrophotographic recording device characterized in that it is installed at the rear of a row of devices so that it can be rotated and opened and closed.