JPH07160171A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To unnecessitate the cable wiring process for electrically connecting a main substrate and LEDs for display and to enhance the assembly performance by providing connection parts, electrically connecting connection terminals mounted on the substrate and the connection terminals on the FPC, on a flexible printing circuit FPC. CONSTITUTION:The flexible printing circuit FPC 25 is a kind of substrate commonly used in miniature electric apparatus such as a camera and is freely workable for twisting and bending to a certain extent. The LEDs 26 for display mounted on one end of the FPC 25 which is assembled in a process unit are positioned at the upper part of the process unit, and on the other hand, the connection parts 28 are provided on another end of the FPC 25. The connection parts 28, which are the parts to connect the other connection parts, are made of the conductive material and mounted on the FPC 25 by the soldering, etc. The connection parts 28 and the LEDs 26 for display are electrically connected to each other by the wiring patterns 29 on the FPC 25. Consequently, the assembly performance of the device is improved as a result of no wiring process required with the assembling work, and the like.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a laser beam printer or an LED printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, electrophotographic image forming apparatuses typified by laser beam printers and LED printers have been reduced in size and cost. By narrowing down the functions of the main body of the device, downsizing of the component parts for a more compact shape, optimal placement and reduction of parts, etc., we are aiming for downsizing and cost reduction in order to improve assembly.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a conventional image forming apparatus.
FIG. 6A is a sectional view when the image forming apparatus is cut in the longitudinal direction of the paper, and shows the arrangement of the main parts. FIG. 6B is a diagram showing an arrangement of a main substrate 15 and a display substrate 17, which will be described later, when the image forming apparatus is viewed from above.
Reference numeral 1 denotes an image forming apparatus main body, which represents an exterior surface. Two
Is a paper storage unit, and the paper during image formation is conveyed along the arrow shown by the solid line in FIG. 6, and is ejected to the upper part of the image forming apparatus 1. Reference numeral 3 denotes a laser unit which is an exposure unit of the image forming apparatus, which turns on and off the semiconductor laser 4 according to image data, deflects the laser light by the scanner motor 5 which is a rotating polyhedron, and electrostatically forms it on the photoconductor 7. Form a latent image.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a process unit which is a core part of the image forming apparatus and is composed of main constituent elements described below. A photosensitive member 7 forms and holds an electrostatic latent image. Reference numeral 8 denotes a charger, which applies a voltage of −several KV to charge the surface of the photoconductor 7 to a uniform potential (generally about −600V). 9 is a developing roller,
The toner contained in the process unit 6 is formed in a thin layer on the developing roller 9, a negative voltage (generally about -250 V) is applied to the developing roller 9, and the photosensitive member 7 is formed by laser beam scanning. The electrostatic latent image is visualized with toner. As described above, the process unit 7 has a core portion of image formation as one unit, can be inserted into and removed from the image forming apparatus main body 1, and has user maintainability (unit replacement without toner, removal of paper jam). Etc.) are being improved.

Reference numeral 10 denotes a transfer roller, which is a portion for applying a high voltage + potential to transfer the toner image formed on the photoconductor 7 onto the sheet conveyed from the sheet storage section 2. 1
A fixing device 1 is for fixing the toner image transferred on the paper to the paper. Generally, a method of fixing by heat and pressure is adopted, and as shown in FIG. 6, the heat roller 12 and the pressure roller 13 are arranged to face each other. Heat roller 11
Halogen lamps are often used as the heat source. Reference numeral 14 denotes a substrate arranging portion, which is a portion on which a substrate for performing electrical control for operating the image forming apparatus and forming a power source necessary for driving is arranged. If necessary, the control board and the power board are divided and arranged. Here, the main board 15 in which those functions are integrated into one board is arranged. Efficient placement of each component is essential for downsizing the device. In that respect, it is very efficient to provide the substrate placement section in a space formed between the sheet storage section 2 and the sheet transport path to the fixing device 11.

Reference numeral 16 denotes a display section, which is a section for informing the user of the state of the image forming apparatus. The display unit 16 has a display substrate 17, and a display LED is provided on the display substrate 17.
18 are implemented. The color of the display LED 18 is changed, and the state of the LED (light-out, lighting, blinking) informs the user of an error state such as paper out or paper jam in the apparatus.

[0007]

In the image forming apparatus configured as shown in FIG. 6, the main substrate 15 and the display substrate 17 are arranged separately. The main board 15 and the display board 17 must be electrically connected in order to control the lighting of the display LEDs 18 on the display board 17 and to supply power. Therefore, the main board 15 and the display board 17 are connected by the cable 19 as shown in FIG. A connector 20 for connection is provided on the main board 15 side, a connector 21 for connection is provided on the display board 17 side, and a cable 19 connects between the connectors 20 and 21. However, the connection between the boards by the cable in this way becomes a factor of deteriorating the assembling property of the device because the wiring process becomes complicated. In addition, the cable length may become long due to the positional relationship between the main board 15 and the display board 17, or a connector for connection may be required for each of the main board 15 and the display board 17, which may cause a cost increase.

The present invention solves the above problems,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus with good assemblability that does not require wiring processing using a cable for electrically connecting the main board 15 and the display LED 18.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a photoreceptor for forming and holding an electrostatic latent image,
A developing unit that visualizes the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor into a toner image is configured by one unit, and a flexible printing circuit (hereinafter, referred to as FPC) mounted on the unit is provided, and The FPC has a display LED mounted on the FPC and a connection terminal.
It is provided with a connection part for electrically connecting the connection terminal mounted on the substrate for supplying power and controlling the lighting of D and the connection terminal on the FPC.

[0010]

According to the present invention, with the above-described structure, the connection terminal on the FPC and the connection terminal on the board are connected via the connection portion without a cable, whereby the board and the display LED are electrically connected to each other for display. The lighting of the LED for use is controlled.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view when a sheet is cut in a longitudinal direction, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an FPC, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the connecting portion 27 shown in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the connection of the main board 23, the process unit 24, and the connection section 27 shown in FIG. 1. In the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1, the same parts as those of the conventional example shown in FIG. 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 22 is a board arranging portion,
This is a part where a substrate for performing electrical control for operating the image forming apparatus and forming a power source necessary for driving is arranged. If necessary, the control board, the power supply board, and the like are arranged separately, but here, the main board 23 in which those functions are integrated into one board is arranged. Efficient placement of each component is essential for downsizing the device. In that respect, it is very efficient to provide the substrate placement section 22 in a space formed between the sheet storage section 2 and the sheet transport path to the fixing device 11.

Reference numeral 24 is a process unit which is the core of the image forming apparatus, and is composed of the main constituent elements described below. A photosensitive member 7 forms and holds an electrostatic latent image. Reference numeral 8 denotes a charger, which applies a voltage of about several KV to the surface of the photoconductor 7 to have a uniform potential (generally -600 V).
It is to be charged). A developing roller 9 forms a thin layer of toner contained in the process unit 24 on the developing roller 9 and applies a negative potential (generally about -250 V) to the developing roller 9 to apply it to the photoconductor 7. The electrostatic latent image formed by laser light scanning is visualized with toner. In this way, the process unit 24 is configured such that the core of image formation is formed as one unit.
It can be inserted into and removed from the image forming apparatus main body 1, and the user maintainability (such as replacement of a unit without toner and removal of a paper jam) is improved.

Reference numeral 25 denotes an FPC, which is a process unit 2
It is attached to the side of 4. The FPC is a kind of substrate that is often used in small electric devices such as cameras, and is often used because it has the advantage that it can be twisted, bent, and processed to some extent. FIG. 2 shows an example of the FPC.
Since the FPC is basically a wiring material, points A and B are electrically connected by the wiring pattern C as in the example of FIG. 2, and for example, the point A and the board A not shown in FIG. The board B (not shown in FIG. 2) is connected by solder or the like, and serves to electrically connect the board A and the board B. Two
A display LED 6 is mounted on the FPC 25. The mounting method is, for example, a surface mounting type LED
Solder to C. In the present embodiment, the FPC serves to electrically connect the connecting portion 27, which will be described later, and the display LED 26. As shown in FIG. 3, the FPC 25 is incorporated in the process unit 24. The display LED 26 mounted on one end of the FPC 25 is located above the process unit 24. A connection terminal 28 is provided at the other end of the FPC 25. The connection terminal 28 is a portion that comes into contact with a connection portion 27 described later, is made of a conductive material, and is mounted on the FPC 25 by soldering or the like. Connection terminal 28 and L for display
The ED 26 is electrically connected by a wiring pattern 29 on the FPC 25.

Reference numeral 27 denotes a connecting portion, which is connected to the main board 23 and F
This is a part for electrically connecting the PC 25. FIG. 4 shows an example of the connecting portion 27. 4A is a front view, and FIG.
(B) is a side view. A leaf spring 30 is incorporated in the connecting portion 27. The leaf spring 30 made of metal has a role of electrical connection. The leaf spring is used to secure the reliability of the connection with the main board 23 and the process unit 24 on the side of the connection portion 27. Give the degree of freedom of connection by adding curvature.

FIG. 5 shows a connection diagram of the main substrate 23, the process unit 24 and the connection portion 27. The connecting portion 27 is mounted and fixed in the image forming apparatus main body 1. The process unit 24 is attached to the image forming apparatus main body 1 from the direction shown by the arrow F (the upper portion of the image forming apparatus main body 1), and the connection terminal 287 of the process unit 24 and the leaf spring 30 of the connection portion 27 are connected. The main board 23 is positioned in the direction of the arrow G (the lower part of the image forming apparatus main body 1) from the image forming apparatus main body 1
The connection terminal 31 on the main board 23 and the leaf spring 30 of the connection portion 27 are connected to each other. The connection terminals 31 are metal terminals, springs, etc., and are mounted on the main board 23 by soldering or the like. In this way, the main board 23
When the process unit 24 and the process unit 24 are attached to the main body 1 of the image forming apparatus, the main substrate 2 is connected via the leaf spring 30 of the connecting portion 27.
3 and the LE for display arranged on the upper part of the process unit 24
D26 is electrically connected, and it is possible to control the lighting of the display LED 26 from the main board 23. Since the upper part of the process unit 24 is close to the upper exterior surface of the image forming apparatus main body 1, if the opening 32 for light transmission of the display LED 26 is also provided on the upper exterior surface of the image forming apparatus main body 1, the light can be easily imaged. It can be sent out of the forming apparatus 1 and displayed to the user.

[0017]

As described above, according to the present invention, the state of the image forming apparatus is notified to the main substrate and the user, which perform electric control for operating the image forming apparatus and power supply necessary for driving. Since the display LED can be connected without using a cable, the assembling property of the device can be improved because there is no wiring process associated with the assembly. Further, since the cable, the connector on the board, the display board and the like can be eliminated, the cost of the apparatus can be reduced because the number of assembling steps is reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 illustrates an image forming apparatus according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of FPC.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an FPC device as a process unit in an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a connecting portion that connects a connection terminal of an FPC and a connection terminal of a main board.

FIG. 5 is a diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Diagram showing the connection relationship between the main board, process unit, and connection part shown in

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a conventional image forming apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a connection between a main substrate and a display substrate in a conventional image forming apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Image Forming Apparatus Main Body 23 Main Board 24 Process Unit 25 FPC 26 Display LED 27 Connection Part 28 Connection Terminal 30 Leaf Spring 31 Connection Terminal

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A photosensitive member that forms and holds an electrostatic latent image, and a developing unit that visualizes the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive member into a toner image are constituted by one unit. A flexible printing circuit (hereinafter, referred to as FPC) mounted on the FPC, the FPC having a display LED and a connection terminal mounted on the FPC.
An image forming apparatus, comprising: a connection portion for electrically connecting a connection terminal mounted on a substrate for supplying power and controlling lighting of D and a connection terminal on the FPC.