JPH066364Y2 - Detachable structure of process unit - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial field of application) The present invention relates to a structure for attaching and detaching a process unit in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine.

(Prior Art) Some image forming apparatuses such as electrophotographic copying machines are provided with a photosensitive drum and a cleaning device, a photosensitive drum and a developing device, or a process unit in which the three are integrated. As such a process unit, many are configured to be detachable from the front surface of the image forming apparatus main body,
In this way, the user can easily replace each component with the process unit removed.

By the way, a conventional process unit attachment / detachment structure is generally one in which the process unit is attached or detached from an opening formed in the front surface of the image forming apparatus main body, as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-75661. Has become. However, in the case of such a structure in which the process unit is attached / detached in accordance with the opening, particularly in the case of a device having a small height such as a small copying machine, it is necessary to keep the eye level when the user stands upright. Is located above the opening, and this opening is blocked by the front part of the main body above the opening. However, it is inconvenient to attach and detach the process unit in such an unnatural posture.

(Object of the Invention) In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a process unit attaching / detaching structure capable of attaching / detaching a process unit of an image forming apparatus in a normal and comfortable posture.

The present invention is a process unit attaching / detaching structure for attaching and detaching a process unit from the front side of an image forming apparatus main body, which includes a bottom wall, a rear wall, and left and right side walls, and an upper part and a front part. From the pedestal with an open portion and the position where the pedestal is projected in front of the image forming apparatus main body to the position where the process unit mounted on the pedestal is set in the image forming apparatus main body. A slide mechanism that slidably supports the space between them, and a locking portion that opposes the rear wall portion of the pedestal at a predetermined interval is provided on the bottom wall of the pedestal, and the projection of the pedestal is provided. The process unit is provided with a protrusion that is fitted between the portion and the rear wall.

In such a configuration, the process unit can be mounted on the cradle with the entire cradle protruding from the front surface of the image forming apparatus main body, and the cradle with the process unit thus mounted can be mounted on the cradle. The process unit can be attached to and detached from the main body by sliding.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a small electrostatic copying machine (image forming apparatus).
The main body 1 is provided with an original placing table 3 having a contact glass 2 on the upper surface thereof. Same body 1
A transfer paper cassette 4 accommodating a transfer paper is mounted on one side, and a paper discharge tray 5 for discharging the copied transfer paper is mounted on the other side. Further, on the front portion of the upper surface of the main body 1, there is provided a display portion 6 having a numeric keypad as shown in FIG.

Inside the main body 1, there are provided a photosensitive drum 7 which rotates around a central axis 7a, and peripheral devices such as a main charging device 8, a developing device 9, a transfer device 10, a separating device 11 and a cleaning device 12. There is. The photosensitive drum 7, the main charging device 8, the developing device 9, and the cleaning device 12 are
The process unit 13 is integrally provided in the process unit 13, and as will be described later, the process unit 13 is detachably attached to the main body 1.

An optical system 14 having an exposure lamp 15 and the like is provided above the process unit 13, and below the process unit 13, a paper feed roller 16 is provided as a transfer paper transport mechanism sequentially from the transport direction. A registration roller pair 17, a fixing roller pair 19 in the fixing device 18, and a paper discharge roller pair 20 are provided.

Next, the attachment / detachment structure of the process unit 13 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 8. As shown in FIG. 2, a cover 21 is provided at the front of the image forming apparatus main body 1 below the operating portion 6 so as to be openable and closable, and a front wall that is exposed forward when the cover 21 is open. An opening 22 a having the same shape as the outer shape of the process unit 13 is provided at 22. A pedestal 23 is attached to the main body 1 so as to be slidable between the inside and the outside of the main body 1 through the opening 22a.

The pedestal 23 includes a bottom wall 23a, a rear wall 23b, and both side walls 23c, and is open upward and forward. The bottom wall 23a is formed with a protrusion (locking portion) 23d having an inclined surface at the front, and both side walls 23
A support plate 23e is formed inside c. And
Both side walls 23c are connected to the main body 1 via the slide mechanism 24.
The pedestal 23 is attached to the main body 1 by being connected to.

The slide mechanism 24 is composed of two sets of accurides (trade names) as shown in FIGS. That is, in the slide mechanism 24, the outer members 25a and 25b are arranged on both outer sides, and the inner members 26a and 26b fixed to each other are arranged between the outer members 25a and 25b.
A steel ball 29 is interposed between the outer member 25a and the inner member 26a and between the outer member 25b and the inner member 26b.
retainer 2 interposed between b and the inner member 26b
It is supported by 7a and 27b. And FIGS. 4 to 6
As shown in the figure, the outer member 25a
Side, the outer member 25b is fixed to the pedestal 23 side, thereby supporting the pedestal 23.

Further, the retainer 27b has a protruding stopper 2
8b is provided, stoppers 25c and 28a are provided on the outer member 25a side, stoppers 26c are provided on the inner member 26a side, stoppers 32b and 32d are provided on the inner member 26b side, stoppers 32c are provided on the outer member 25b side, and a pedestal 23 23f at the front end of
Are provided respectively.

In addition, the outer members 25a and 25b are provided with positioning rollers 31a and 31b via leaf springs 30a and 30b, respectively.
Is attached to the inner member 26.
Positioning holes 33a and 33b into which the above-mentioned positioning rollers 31a and 31b are fitted are provided on the a and 26b sides.

Then, with the pedestal 23 being pulled out to the maximum as shown in FIG. 6, the stopper 28a is at the front end of the retainer 27a, the stopper 26c is at the rear end of the retainer 27a, and the stopper 28b is at the stopper 32b. 32c abuts on the rear end of the retainer 27b, respectively,
The positioning rollers 31a, 31b have positioning holes 33a,
It is adapted to be fitted to the reference numeral 33b, so that the slide of the pedestal 23 can be regulated.
As shown in the figure, the cradle 23 as a whole is attached to the front wall 22 of the main body 1.
It is designed to project more forward than.

In contrast to the pedestal 23 having such a configuration, the process unit 13 has handles 34a, 34 on the front surface and the top surface, respectively.
In addition to b, the lower surface has a projection 35 as shown in FIGS. 2, 7, and 8 on the rear portion thereof, and the projection 35 is formed between the rear wall 23b of the pedestal 23 and the projection 23d. It is designed to be inserted between them. The process unit 13 also has a protrusion 36 on its side surface.
Is provided at a position where it can be brought into contact with the lower surface of the support plate 23e of the receiving table 23 with a slight gap left in the state where the projecting portion 35 is fitted to the receiving table 23.

A rear end portion of the central shaft 7a of the photosensitive drum 7 projects from the rear surface of the process unit 13, and a through hole 23g through which the rear end portion penetrates is provided in a rear wall 23b of the pedestal 23. . On the other hand, on the main body 1 side, a drive shaft 37 connected to a motor (not shown) is provided at a position where it can be coupled with the central shaft 7a.

Further, on the left and right front end portions of the process unit 13,
A positioning portion 38 that engages with the positioning pin 22b provided on the front wall 22 of the main body 1 is formed.

Next, the operation of the above structure will be described. First, with the process unit 13 attached, as shown in FIG.
The projecting portion 35 of the process unit 13 is the rear wall 2
3b and the projecting portion 23d, the projecting portion 36 is in a state of being inserted below the support plate 23e of the pedestal 23, and the slide mechanism 24 has the shortest length as shown in FIG. It is in a state.

From this mounted state, the cover 21 at the front of the main body 1 is opened, and the process unit 13 exposed to the outside through the opening 22a.
When the handle 34a is grasped and pulled toward the front, the process unit 13 is locked to the pedestal 23, so that the process unit 13 and the pedestal 23 slide integrally toward the front.

At this time, in the slide mechanism 24, the outer member 25b on the pedestal 23 side first slides with respect to the inner members 26a, 26b and the outer member 25a fixed to the main body 1 side. As such sliding movement progresses, the stopper 28b on the retainer 27b side contacts the stopper 32b on the inner member 26b side, and the stopper 32 on the outer member 25b side contacts the rear end of the retainer 27b.
When c contacts, the positioning roller 31b supported by the leaf spring 30b fits into the positioning hole 33b, thereby restricting the sliding of the outer member 25b with respect to the inner members 26a and 26b.

Therefore, when the process unit 13 and the pedestal 23 are further pulled out from this state, the inner members 26a and 26b are slid with respect to the outer member 25a on the main body 1 side. Then, when this slide movement progresses, the sixth
As shown in the figure, the stopper 26c of the inner member 26a abuts on the rear end of the retainer 27a.
The front end of a contacts the stopper 28a of the outer member 25a, and the positioning roller 31a supported by the leaf spring 30a fits into the positioning hole 33a.

At this time, the pedestal 23 projects completely forward from the front wall 22 of the main body 1 as shown in FIG. 7, and the projecting portion 35 of the process unit 13 and the rear wall 23b of the pedestal 23 project from the projecting portion 35. 23d, the protrusion 36 is attached to the pedestal 2
The supporting plate 23e of No. 3 is in a state of being supported. From this state, the process unit 13 can be easily detached from the cradle 23 by lifting the rear end of the process unit 13 and pulling out the process unit 13 while releasing the engagement between the projecting portion 35 and the cradle 23. it can.

In addition, in the state where the pedestal 23 is completely pulled out in this way,
As described above, since the positioning rollers 31a and 31b are fitted in the positioning holes 33a and 33b, the pedestal 23 does not slide to the main body 1 side without applying external force to the pedestal 23.

On the contrary, when the detached process unit 13 is attached to the main body 1 again, since the pedestal 23 is in a state of completely protruding from the front wall 22, first, below the support plate 23e of the pedestal 23. While allowing the protrusion 36 of the process unit 13 to slide in, the protrusion 35 is engaged with the pedestal 23, and the rear end of the central shaft 7a of the photosensitive drum 7 is passed through the through hole 23g. Then, it is placed on the pedestal 23.

Then, the process unit 13 is pushed toward the main body 1 while being mounted on the pedestal 23 in this manner. As a result, first, the outer member 25b on the cradle 23 side is moved to the inner member 26
When the stopper 23f of the pedestal 23 comes into contact with the front end portion of the retainer 27b as shown in FIG. 5, the inner members 26a and 26b will move relative to the outer member 25a. Starts sliding movement toward the main body 1 side, and finally the stopper 25c comes into contact with the stopper 26c, and the stopper 3d is attached to the stopper 32d.
2c abuts and the state as shown in FIG. 4 is obtained. In this state, as shown in FIG.
The rear end portion of the central shaft 7a protruding rearward from the main body 1 is coupled to the drive shaft 37 on the main body 1 side, and the positioning portion 38 of the process unit 13 is connected to the positioning pin 2 of the main body 1.
By engaging with 2b, the mounting of the process unit 13 on the main body 1 is completed.

As described above, in this structure, the process unit 1
When the 3 is attached to the main body 1, first, it is placed on the pedestal 23 at a position where it is completely projected forward from the front wall 22, and then it is pushed into the main body 1. Therefore, as shown in FIG. Even in the case where it is difficult to view the opening 22a from above due to the presence of the operation unit 6 and the like, the use of the pedestal 23 allows the process unit 13 to be mounted sufficiently even in a posture looking down from above. It can be carried out. Therefore, even when the opening 22a is at a relatively low position,
The operator does not need to take a middle waist posture, which improves workability as compared with the conventional structure. This effect is the same when the process unit 13 is detached from the main body 1.

Further, since the pedestal 23 has a shape that is open to the front, the process unit 13 can be mounted more easily than a shape having side walls that surround the four sides. Moreover, when the process unit 13 is placed on the pedestal 23, there is a gap between the projecting portion 36 and the support plate 23e, and the process unit 13 has some freedom with respect to the pedestal 23. Therefore, even if there is some error in the position of the slide mechanism 24, the process unit 13 can be mounted without any trouble.

(Effect of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, the cradle that is open to the upper side and the front side and that has the engaging portion of the process unit to be mounted is such that the whole cradle protrudes from the front surface of the main body. And the process unit locked by the locking portion is slidably attached to the main body so that the process can be performed easily even in a posture looking down from above. The unit can be attached and detached. Therefore, the process unit can be attached and detached without taking an unreasonable posture such as a middle waist as in the conventional case, and the workability can be improved. Further, since the pedestal is open to the upper side and the front side, the work of placing the process unit is easy.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an internal structural view of an electrostatic copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the copying machine main body and a process unit, and FIG. 3 is a front view of a slide mechanism provided in the copying machine. FIGS. 4 to 6 are sectional views showing the sliding state of the mechanism, FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the copying machine main body in a state in which the process unit is pulled out, and FIG. 8 is a state in which the process unit is mounted. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the same copying machine body in FIG. 1 ... Electrostatic copying machine (image forming apparatus) main body, 13 ... Process unit, 22a ... Front wall, 23 ... Stand, 23d
...... Projection part (locking part), 24 ...... Slide mechanism, 23b
…… Rear wall, 35 …… Projection.

Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-56-87056 (JP, A) JP-A-59-127073 (JP, A) JP-A-59-167424 (JP, A) Actual development Sho-59-89355 (JP , U) Jitsukai Sho 60-63845 (JP, U) Jikkyo Sho 56-32630 (JP, B2) Jijō 4-75506 (JP, B2) Jikoi 2-18025 (JP, Y2)

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A process unit attachment / detachment structure for attaching and detaching a process unit from a front surface of an image forming apparatus main body, comprising a bottom wall, a rear wall, and left and right side walls, and an upper portion and a front portion thereof are opened. And a pedestal, and slides from a position where the pedestal is protruded in front of the image forming apparatus main body to a position where the process unit mounted on the pedestal is set in the image forming apparatus main body. A slide mechanism that freely supports, and a locking portion that opposes the rear wall portion of the pedestal at a predetermined interval is provided on the bottom wall of the pedestal, and the projection portion and the rear wall of the pedestal A process unit attachment / detachment structure, characterized in that the process unit is provided with a protrusion to be fitted between the process unit and the protrusion.