JPH07295317A - Shutter device, process cartridge and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce dead space in a shutter device and to prevent the ventilation of exhaust heat inside an image forming device from being hindered by providing an arm member capable of turning in accordance with the opening/closing of an upper frame, a shutter member turnably attached to the turning side end of the arm member and an energizing member energizing the shutter member to the side of a substance to be protected. CONSTITUTION:In the shutter device where the substance to be protected supported by the upper frame capable of being opened/closed to a lower frame, for example, a fixing rotating body 5a is protected, the shutter member 14 is constituted to turn interlocking with the opening/closing of the upper frame. The shutter member 14 is a plate member by which the lower part of the rotating body 5a is covered, and is attached to the rotating end of the arm member 15 attached to a supporting plate 12a so that it can turn centering around a shaft 15a. A coil spring which is not shown in the figure is attached to the shaft 15a so as to energize the arm member 15 clockwise. Therefore, when the upper frame is opened, the arm member 15 is rotated until it abuts on a stopper 16 and the lower part of the rotating body 5a is covered by the shutter member 14.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a shutter device for protecting an object protected by a second frame which can be opened and closed with respect to a first frame, a process cartridge having the shutter device and an image forming apparatus. Is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a latent image is formed by selectively exposing an image carrier uniformly charged by a charger, and the latent image is developed by a developer by a developer. At the same time as forming an image, the image formed by the developer is transferred to a recording medium to record an image. In such an apparatus, maintenance of each member is performed by a professional service person, which may be inconvenient for the user.

Therefore, the image carrier, the charging device, the developing device,
By integrating the cleaning unit and the like into an integrated structure into a cartridge, the user can replenish the developer and replace the parts of the image carrier that have reached the end of life by loading the cartridge into the main body of the apparatus, facilitating maintenance. What has been done has been put to practical use.

Such a process cartridge generally has a drum shutter member in order to protect the image carrier during transportation and storage.

Conventionally, in order to improve workability in maintenance such as paper jam (hereinafter referred to as "jam") processing, cleaning of the inside, replacement of parts, etc., an image forming apparatus is designed so that a part of the apparatus can be opened and closed. However, in recent years, as shown in FIG. 8, the image forming apparatus has an upper frame 50.
And a lower frame body 51, the upper frame body 50 can be opened and closed by a rotary support shaft 52 provided on the upstream side in the recording medium transport direction, and the downstream side in the recording medium transport direction is opened, a so-called clamshell image. Forming equipment is often used. In order to improve the jam handling property, as shown in FIG. 8A, for example, as shown in FIG.
When the upper frame body 50 is opened by arranging it by dividing it into 50 and the lower frame body 51, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), the pressure contact portions of the fixing members 53a and 53b are divided and opened. At this time, in order to prevent the fixing member 53a provided on the upper frame 50 side from being exposed, many shutter members 54 prevent the fixing member 53a from being damaged by covering the lower surface of the fixing member 53a. There is.

[0006]

However, the apparatus having the shutter member 54 as shown in FIG. 8, for example, has the following problems.

(1) When the upper frame is opened, the shutter member
Since the member 54 is retracted from the fixing member 53a, a large space is required between the fixing unit 53 and the drum cartridge 55 forming the image forming unit, and the size of the container of the drum cartridge 55 is limited. That is, it was not possible to form the waste toner reservoir 55a overhanging to the fixing means 53 side in order to increase the waste toner capacity when the life of the drum cartridge 55 is being extended.

(2) When the upper frame 50 is closed, the shutter member 54 is provided in the space between the fixing means 53 and the drum cartridge 55.
When the recording medium is conveyed, there is a risk that the shutter member 54 may be caught by the shutter member 54 and may be jammed due to the retraction.

(3) Although the fixing means generates heat, when the shutter member 54 is retracted to the upstream side in the recording medium conveying direction as described above, the shutter member 54 interferes with ventilation of heat exhausted from the main body. As a result, the temperature inside the device easily rises, the toner in the drum cartridge 55 causes blocking, and the ozone generated by the primary charger is not sufficiently discharged, which adversely affects the image formed on the photosensitive drum. Was sometimes caused.

The above-mentioned problems were also encountered when an image was formed by mounting a process cartridge equipped with a drum shutter member.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to reduce the operating space of the shutter member to reduce the dead space and to vent the exhaust heat in the apparatus. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a shutter device that does not interfere with the above, a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus using the shutter device.

[0012]

A typical structure according to the present invention for achieving the above object protects an object to be protected which is supported by a second frame which can be opened and closed with respect to the first frame. A shutter device comprising: an arm member that is rotatable according to opening and closing of the second frame; a shutter member that is rotatably attached to an end portion of a side of the arm member that is rotatable; And a biasing unit that biases the object to be protected.

[0013]

In the above structure, when the arm member is rotated and the shutter member covering and protecting the member to be protected is retracted, the shutter member is rotatable with respect to the arm member and is covered with the arm member. Since it is biased toward the protection member side, it comes into contact with the protected member side and retreats.
Therefore, the retracting space of the shutter member becomes extremely small. Therefore, when the shutter structure is applied to a process cartridge or an image forming apparatus, it is possible to reduce the dead space and downsize the apparatus.

Further, since the shutter member retracts so as to come into close contact with the member to be protected, it does not hinder ventilation in the apparatus, for example.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, as a preferred embodiment of the present invention, an example of an image forming apparatus in which a fixing member is protected by a shutter member will be described as a first embodiment, and then a process cartridge in which an image carrier is protected by a shutter member. Example will be described as a second example, and finally other examples of each member will be described.

[First Embodiment] A first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5. 1 is an explanatory view of the structure of a copying machine as an image forming apparatus, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of the retracting structure of a shutter member for protecting a fixing member, and FIGS. 3 to 5 are explanatory views of the retracting operation of the shutter member. is there.

Here, as the order of description, the overall structure of the image forming apparatus will be described first, and then the retracting structure of the shutter member will be described.

{Overall Structure} As shown in FIG. 1, this image forming apparatus irradiates a light image based on image information from a reading unit 1 to form a latent image on a photosensitive drum, which is an image carrier,
The latent image is converted into a toner image by the developing means, and the recording medium 2
Is to be transferred to.

The reading means 1 scans the light source 1b and the scanning mirror 1c with respect to the original placed on the original glass 1a with the image surface facing downward, and the reflected light from the original is reflected by the mirror 1c and a plurality of reflections. Mirrors 1d1 to 1d5 and focusing lens 1
The latent image is formed by irradiating the photoconductor drum constituting the image forming means through e. The latent image is visualized as a toner image by the developing means.

On the other hand, in synchronism with the formation of the image, the recording medium 2 is conveyed from the cassette 3a by a pickup roller 3b, a reversing roller 3c, a conveying means 3 including a conveying roller pair 3d and a registration roller pair 3e. In addition, the transfer roller 4 as a transfer unit uses the toner image formed by the image forming unit.
A fixing roller 5a which is transferred to the recording medium 2 by applying a voltage to the recording medium 2 and is heated by the conveyor belt 3f, and a pressing roller 5b which presses and conveys the recording medium 2 to the rotating body 5a. It is conveyed to the means 5 and the transferred toner image is fixed on the recording medium 2. Then, the recording medium 2 is ejected to the ejection tray 6 by the ejection roller pair 3g. The recording medium 2 can be supplied not only from the cassette 3a but also from the manual feed tray 3h to the conveying roller pair 3d by the feeding roller 3i.

The image forming means rotates a photosensitive drum 7 as an image carrier having a photosensitive layer, and uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 7 by applying a voltage to a charging roller 8 as a charging means. The optical image from the reading unit 1 is exposed on the photosensitive drum 7 through the exposure opening to form a latent image, and the latent image is developed by the developing unit 9. The developing means 9 uses the toner in the toner reservoir 9a to feed the toner to the toner feeding member 9b.
And rotates the developing roller 9c containing a fixed magnet, and forms a toner layer to which a triboelectric charge is applied by the developing blade 9d on the surface of the developing roller 9c.
By transferring the toner to the photosensitive drum 7 according to the latent image, a toner image is formed and visualized. Then, after a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the toner image is applied to the transfer roller 4 to transfer the toner image to the recording medium 2,
The cleaning blade 10a scrapes off the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 7, and the cleaning means 10 which collects the waste toner in the waste toner reservoir 10b removes the residual toner on the photosensitive drum 7.

The image forming apparatus is constructed such that the upper frame 12 is rotatable around a shaft 13 with respect to the lower frame 11 so as to be opened and closed, and the pressing roller 5b of the conveying means 3 and the fixing means 5 is The optical means 1 and the fixing means 5 are arranged on the lower frame body 11.
Of these, the fixing rotator 5a is disposed on the upper frame 12.

Further, a shutter member 14 attached to the upper frame 12 for protecting the fixing rotary member 5a is configured to rotate in conjunction with opening and closing of the upper frame 12.

{Structure of retracting shutter member} Next, the upper frame 12
The retracting structure of the shutter member 14 for protecting the fixing member attached to the will be described. Here, the fixing unit 5 of this embodiment is a so-called on-demand fixing system, and
As shown in (a), a driving roller 5c and a tension roller 5d are rotatably supported between two supporting plates 12a hung on the upper frame 12, and a linear heating element having a low heat capacity is provided on the lower surface. A holding stay 5f that holds 5e via a heat insulating member is supported. The roller 5c, 5d and the heating element 5e are wound around a film-shaped fixing rotator 5a which is wider than the recording medium 2 and is rotated by the drive roller 5c. A bearing 5d1 is movable in the tension roller 5d, and a tension is applied to the fixing rotary member 5a by an urging means (not shown).

Since the fixing rotator 5a is in the form of a thin film and is heated by the heater 5e, it is protected by the shutter member 14 so as not to be touched by the user when the upper frame 12 is opened. It is a thing.

The shutter member 14 is a plate member that covers the lower portion of the fixing rotary member 5a, and is attached to the rotating end of an arm member 15 that is attached to the support plate 12a so as to be rotatable about a shaft 15a. ing. The shutter member 14 and the arm member 15 are made of heat-resistant engineering plastic such as PPS, PBT, liquid crystal polymer, or the like.

The shaft 15a of the arm member 15 is a fixing rotary member 5.
A torsion coil spring (not shown) is attached to the shaft 15a in the cross-sectional area of "a" and urges the arm member 15 in the clockwise direction of FIG. 2A. Therefore, when the upper frame body 12 is opened, the arm member 15 is rotated by the above-mentioned bias until it comes into contact with the stopper 16, and the shutter member 14 covers the lower portion of the fixing rotary body 5a. A cam portion 15b is provided on the rotary shaft 15a of the arm member 15, and the engagement member 17 (provided on the lower frame body 11 when the cam portion 15b opens and closes the upper frame body 12 as described later). (See FIG. 1) to rotate the arm member 15.

Further, the shutter member 14 is, as shown in FIG. 2B, a shaft portion formed at the rotating end of the arm member 15.
2 (a) by the torsion coil spring 18 attached to the shaft 15c while being rotatably attached to the shaft 15c.
Is urged in the counterclockwise direction, that is, toward the fixing rotator 5a. Therefore, when the shutter member 14 covers the lower part of the fixing rotary member 5a, the upper surface of the shutter member 14 is stationary while being in contact with the fixing rotary member 5a.

Next, the operation of the shutter member 14 associated with the opening and closing of the upper frame 12 will be described. With the upper frame 12 open, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the shutter member 14 covers the lower part of the fixing rotator 5a as described above, and the rotator 5a
Protects. Next, when the upper frame 12 is closed, the tip of the engaging member 17 provided on the lower frame 11 comes into contact with the cam portion 15b of the arm member 15, as shown in FIG. When the upper frame 12 is further closed, as shown in FIG. 5, the cam portion 15b is pushed up by the engaging member 17, the arm member 15 rotates counterclockwise, and the shutter member 14 retreats from the fixing rotator 5a. Come to do. At this time, since the shutter member 14 is urged to rotate toward the fixing rotator 5a as described above, a part of the shutter member 14 is always in contact with the fixing rotator 5a and retracted so as to be in close contact.

When the upper frame 12 is completely closed, the shutter member 14 is completely retracted from the fixing rotary member 5a, and the rotary member 5a nips with the pressing roller 5b, as shown in FIG. At this time, the shutter member 14 comes into contact with the stopper 19 provided on the upper frame body 12 so that the biasing force to the fixing rotary member 5a side is restricted, and the shutter member 14 is not in contact with the rotary member 5a.

As described above, in the retracting structure of the shutter member according to the present embodiment, since the shutter member 14 is retracted so as to be in close contact with the fixing rotary member 5a as the protector, the shutter retracting space is small. Therefore, there is less dead space in the device. Therefore, the space in the apparatus can be effectively used, and for example, the capacity of the waste toner reservoir 10b of the cleaning unit 10a in the image forming unit can be reduced to the conventional one (see FIG.
It is possible to increase the size by about 1.4 times compared with the configuration (1). Therefore, when the image forming means is made into a cartridge, the replacement life of the cartridge can be extended and the maintenance period can be extended.

Further, since the rotation center of the shutter member 14 when the shutter member 14 is retracted, that is, the rotation end of the arm member 15 is located above the fixing means 5, the conveyance of the recording medium 2 is hindered. There is no such thing, and it is possible to increase the reliability of not jamming.

When the shutter member 14 is further retracted, the member 14 receives the fixing hot air once to cover the upper side of the fixing rotary member 5a, and guides it to the recording medium discharge side, and image formation is performed. Since the ventilation from the means side is not hindered, the temperature rise in the device can be effectively prevented.

Second Embodiment Next, as a second embodiment, an example of a process cartridge in which an image carrier is protected by a shutter member will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of the configuration in which the upper frame of the image forming apparatus in which the process cartridge is mounted is opened, and FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory view of the shutter member provided in the process cartridge when the upper frame is closed. Further, members having the same functions as those in the first embodiment described above are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicate description will be omitted.

In this embodiment, each member constituting the image forming means of the first embodiment described above is housed in a housing 20 and a process cartridge formed into a cartridge is mounted to form an image. That is, in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the photosensitive drum 7 having a photosensitive layer as an image carrier, the charging roller 8 as a charging unit, and the photosensitive drum 7 are formed by exposure. A developing means 9 for developing the formed latent image with toner and a cleaning means 10 for removing the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 7 after the toner image is transferred are housed in a housing 20 to form a process cartridge B. ing.

On the other hand, in the image forming apparatus A, the lower frame body 11 and the upper frame body 12 can be opened and closed as in the first embodiment, and the mounting means for mounting the process cartridge B on the upper frame body 12 is provided. It is provided. In this mounting means, two cartridge supporting side plates (not shown) are suspended from the upper frame body 12 at regular intervals, and a guide for guiding the mounting of the cartridge B on the opposing surface of the supporting side plates. A member is provided.
Therefore, by opening the upper frame 12 and inserting the process cartridge B along the guide member, the cartridge B can be attached to the image forming apparatus A, and can be taken out by pulling it out.

A transfer opening is provided in the lower part of the housing 20 of the process cartridge B so that the photosensitive drum 7 can nip with the transfer roller 4, and the photosensitive drum 7 can be exposed from the opening. Has become. The transfer opening is opened and closed by a shutter member 21 to protect the photosensitive drum 7.

The shutter member 21 is a plate member that covers the lower part of the photosensitive drum 7, and is an arm member 22 that is attached to both side surfaces of the housing 20 so as to be rotatable about a shaft 22a.
Is attached to the turning end of the so as to be rotatable about the shaft 21a. The arm member 22 is biased in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 6 by a torsion coil spring (not shown) attached to the shaft 22a, and when the upper frame 12 is opened, the shutter member 21 is The transfer opening is closed to cover the lower part of the photosensitive drum 7. And the arm member
A cam portion 22b is provided on the rotating shaft 22a of 22 and an engaging member (not shown) provided on the lower frame body 11 when the cam portion 22b opens and closes the upper frame body 12 as described later. It is configured so that the arm member 22 is rotated by engagement.

Further, the shutter member 21 includes an arm member 22.
6 is rotatably attached to a shaft portion 22c formed at the rotation end portion of the shaft, and is twisted by a torsion coil spring (not shown) attached to the shaft 22c in the counterclockwise direction of FIG. It is biased to the 7 side. Therefore, the upper frame
In the state where 12 is opened, the shutter member 21 contacts the housing 20 and closes the transfer opening to cover the photoconductor drum 7.

Next, the process cartridge B is mounted on the upper frame.
The operation of the shutter member 21 when it is mounted on the frame 12 and the frame 12 is closed will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, when the upper frame 12 is closed, an engaging member (not shown) provided on the lower frame 13 engages with the cam portion 22b to move the arm member 22 in the clockwise direction. Rotate to. This causes the shutter member 21 to be retracted from the transfer opening portion, but at this time, since the shutter member 21 is biased in the counterclockwise direction as described above, the shutter member 21 comes into close contact with the housing 20 of the process cartridge B. Evacuate while touching. Also arm member
Since the rotation center of 22 is located inside the cross section of the cartridge to be protected, the rotation end portion of the arm member 22 is protected when the photosensitive drum 7 is protected, either during the retreat or after the retreat. That is, the center of rotation of the shutter member 21 is the housing
Do not go far from 20.

As described above, even in the retracting structure of the shutter member according to the present embodiment, the shutter retracting space can be made smaller, and therefore the dead space in the apparatus can be reduced. Therefore, the fixing unit 5 can be arranged close to the process cartridge B, and the device can be downsized.

Further, when the shutter member 21 is retracted, the member 21 comes into lateral contact with the upper portion of the housing 20, so that the recording medium 2 conveyed under the cartridge is conveyed.
The jam does not easily occur, and furthermore, the temperature rise in the apparatus can be effectively prevented without obstructing the ventilation of the upper part of the cartridge.

[Other Embodiments] In the first embodiment described above,
Although an example in which the on-demand method is used as the fixing method of the fixing unit 5 is shown, the fixing method is not limited to this.
A method using a heat roller containing a heater may be used.

Further, in the first embodiment, the fixing rotary member 5
An example in which a is protected by the shutter member 14 and an example in which the photosensitive drum 7 is protected by the shutter member 21 in the second embodiment is shown. However, what is protected by the shutter member is the fixing rotary member or the photosensitive drum 7. There is no need to limit the above to other members.

Further, in the second embodiment, the fixing rotary member 5a
The structure shown in the first embodiment may be used as a shutter member for protecting the.

Further, in the above-described first and second embodiments, the case where a monochromatic image is formed is illustrated as the image forming means. The present invention can be preferably applied to the case of forming an image or a full-color image.

As the developing method, various known developing methods such as a two-component magnetic brush developing method, a cascade developing method, a touchdown developing method and a cloud developing method can be used.

The image bearing member is not limited to the above-mentioned photosensitive drum, but includes, for example, the following. First, a photoconductor is used as the photoconductor, and as the photoconductor, for example, amorphous silicon, amorphous selenium,
Zinc oxide, titanium oxide, organic photoconductor (OPC) and the like are included. The shape on which the photoconductor is mounted includes, for example, a drum-shaped, belt-shaped rotating body, a sheet-shaped body, and the like. Generally, a drum-shaped or belt-shaped one is used. For example, in the case of a drum type photoconductor, a photoconductor is vapor-deposited or coated on a cylinder of aluminum alloy or the like. Is.

As for the structure of the charging means, the so-called contact charging method was used in the above-described first embodiment, but a tungsten wire which has been conventionally used as another structure is provided with a metal shield such as aluminum around three sides. It goes without saying that a configuration may be used in which positive or negative ions generated by applying a high voltage to the tungsten wire are moved to the surface of the photosensitive drum to uniformly charge the surface of the drum.

The charging means may be of a blade type (charging blade), a pad type, a block type, a rod type, a wire type or the like, other than the roller type.

Further, as a method for cleaning the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum, the cleaning means may be constituted by using a blade, a fur brush, a magnetic brush or the like.

The process cartridge described in the second embodiment includes, for example, an electrophotographic photosensitive member as an image bearing member and at least one process means. Therefore, as the mode of the process cartridge, in addition to the embodiment described above, for example, the image carrier and the charging means are integrally made into a cartridge, which can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body. The image carrier and the developing means are integrally formed into a cartridge, which can be attached to and detached from the main body of the apparatus. The image carrier and the cleaning means are integrally made into a cartridge so that it can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body. Further, there is one in which an image carrier and two or more of the above-mentioned process means are combined into an integrated cartridge, which can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body.

That is, the above-mentioned process cartridge is one in which the charging means, the developing means or the cleaning means and the electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally made into a cartridge, and the cartridge can be attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus. . Further, at least one of the charging means, the developing means, and the cleaning means and the electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally made into a cartridge so that it can be attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus. Further, it means that at least the developing means and the electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally made into a cartridge so as to be attachable to and detachable from the apparatus main body.

Further, although the laser beam printer has been illustrated as the image forming apparatus in the above-mentioned embodiments, the present invention is not limited to this, and other image forming apparatuses such as an electrophotographic copying machine, a facsimile machine, a word processor and the like can be used. It is also possible to use for.

[0055]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the shutter member retracts, the shutter member is rotatable with respect to the arm member and is biased toward the protected member side.
The member to be evacuated comes into contact with the protected member side. Therefore, the retracting space of the shutter member becomes extremely small. Therefore, when the shutter structure is applied to a process cartridge or an image forming apparatus, it is possible to reduce the dead space and downsize the apparatus.

Further, since the shutter member is retracted so as to be in close contact with the member to be protected, for example, it does not hinder ventilation in the device and does not raise the temperature in the device.

Further, by providing the rotation center of the arm member in the cross-sectional occupied area of the protected object, the shutter member does not largely separate from the protected object during and after the retracting of the shutter member, and the retract space is reduced. It is possible.

By accommodating an image carrier, developing means, etc. in the process cartridge provided with the shutter member,
It is possible to provide a process cartridge capable of downsizing an image forming apparatus using this.

Therefore, by constructing an electrophotographic copying machine, a laser beam printer or the like using the process cartridge, it is possible to stably record an image of high quality.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a copying machine as an image forming apparatus.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an opening / closing configuration of a shutter member that protects a fixing member.

FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory diagram of the shutter member when the upper frame of the image forming apparatus is being opened.

FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory diagram of the shutter member when the upper frame of the image forming apparatus is being opened.

FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory diagram of the shutter member when the upper frame of the image forming apparatus is being opened.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a configuration in which an upper frame of the image forming apparatus in which the process cartridge is mounted is opened.

FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory view of a shutter member provided in the process cartridge when the upper frame is closed.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Reading means, 2 ... Recording medium, 3 ... Conveying means, 4 ... Transfer roller, 5 ... Fixing means, 5a ... Fixing rotating body, 5b ... Pressing roller, 5c ... Driving roller, 5d ... Tension roller,
5d1 ... Bearings, 5e ... Heating body, 5f ... Holding stay, 6 ... Ejection tray, 7 ... Photosensitive drum, 8 ... Charging roller, 9 ... Developing means, 9a ... Toner reservoir, 9b ... Toner feeding member, 9
c ... developing roller, 9d ... developing blade, 10 ... cleaning means, 10a ... cleaning blade, 10b ... waste toner reservoir, 11 ... lower frame, 12 ... upper frame, 12a ... support plate, 13 ...
Shaft, 14 ... Shutter member, 15 ... Arm member, 15a ... Shaft, 15
b ... cam part, 15c ... shaft, 16 ... stopper, 17 ... engaging member,
18 ... Coil spring, 19 ... Stopper, 20 ... Housing, 21 ...
Shutter member, 21a ... Shaft, 22 ... Arm member, 22a ... Shaft,
22b ... cam part, 22c ... shaft,

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A shutter device for protecting a protected object supported by a second frame body which can be opened and closed with respect to a first frame body, the arm device being rotatable according to opening and closing of the second frame body. A shutter, a shutter member rotatably attached to an end of the arm member on a rotation side, and a biasing unit that biases the shutter member toward the protected object. apparatus. 2. The shutter device according to claim 1, wherein a center of rotation of the arm member is provided in a cross-sectional occupied area of the protected object. 3. A process cartridge attachable to and detachable from a second frame body that can be opened and closed with respect to a first frame body, comprising: an image carrier, at least one process unit acting on the image carrier, 2 an arm member that can be rotated according to opening and closing of the frame,
Shutter means having a shutter member rotatably attached to the end of the arm member on the rotation side for protecting the image carrier, and a biasing means for biasing the shutter member toward the image carrier. A process cartridge comprising: 4. The process cartridge comprises a charging means, a developing means or a cleaning means as the process means, and an electrophotographic photosensitive member as the image carrier, which are integrally formed into a cartridge, and the cartridge is formed into an image forming apparatus main body. The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the process cartridge is removable. 5. The process cartridge is an image forming apparatus in which at least one of a charging unit, a developing unit, and a cleaning unit as the process unit and an electrophotographic photosensitive member as the image carrier are integrally formed into a cartridge. The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the process cartridge is removable from the main body. 6. The process cartridge is configured such that at least a developing unit as the process unit and an electrophotographic photosensitive member as the image carrier are integrally made into a cartridge so as to be attachable to and detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus. The process cartridge according to claim 1, which is a product. 7. An image forming apparatus in which a process cartridge is detachably mountable and which forms an image on a recording medium, comprising: (a) an image carrier and at least one process unit acting on the image carrier. An arm member rotatable according to opening and closing of the second frame,
Shutter means having a shutter member rotatably attached to the end of the arm member on the rotation side for protecting the image carrier, and a biasing means for biasing the shutter member toward the image carrier. Mounting means for mounting a process cartridge having :, (b) a transfer means for transferring an image formed on the image carrier to a recording medium, and a conveying means for conveying the recording medium. An image forming apparatus comprising: 8. An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium, comprising: a first frame body, a second frame body that can be opened and closed with respect to the first frame body, and for conveying the recording medium. Transporting means, an image forming means for forming an image on the transported recording medium, and for fixing the image formed by the image forming means,
A fixing member supported by the second frame body, and an arm member rotatable according to opening and closing of the second frame body,
A shutter unit that is rotatably attached to an end of the arm member on the rotation side and has a shutter member for protecting the fixing member, and a biasing unit that biases the shutter member toward the fixing member. An image forming apparatus comprising: 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the image forming apparatus is an electrophotographic copying machine. 10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the image forming apparatus is a laser beam printer. 11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the image forming apparatus is a facsimile apparatus.