JPH07299928A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To contract the occupying area of an apparatus main body and to simplify the connection of a lower integral electric element substrate and an upper scanner substrate. CONSTITUTION:A recording medium before the formation of an image is supported in a longitudinal direction to reduce the occupying area of an apparatus main body. An integral electric element substrate 81 having a power supply part, a main body control circuit or the like is arranged to the lower part of the apparatus main body and a scanner substrate 82 having a motor driving circuit 82b is arranged to the upper part thereof. A controller substrate 83 having a controller circuit 83b processing image data from the outside is mounted on the lateral side of the apparatus main body in a longitudinal direction and, simultaneously with this mounting, the longitudinal print pattern 83a on the controller substrate 83 connects the integral electric element substrate 81 and the scanner substrate 82 electrically through a connector. A bundled wire for connection can be abolished.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In electrophotographic image forming apparatuses such as copiers and laser beam printers used in offices, especially small desktop type apparatuses, higher speed and smaller size are required.

FIG. 6 shows a conventional small laser beam printer. This one has a paper feed cassette 110 for accommodating a recording material P before image formation in the lower part of the apparatus main body 101. Further, on the upper part of the apparatus main body 101, there is a paper discharge tray 120 from which the recording medium P after image formation is discharged. The paper feed cassette 110 and the paper discharge tray 120 are connected by an S-shaped transport path 130.

The recording medium P in the paper feed cassette 110 is reversed by the paper feed roller 131 and the transport roller 132 in the reverse path 1.
The paper is fed and conveyed via 33 and is supplied to the photosensitive drum 141 in the conveyance path 130. The photosensitive drum 141 is a charger,
Process cartridge 14 together with developing device and cleaner
0, the toner image corresponding to the image information is formed on the surface by each of these devices and the exposure device 150. The toner image is transferred by the transfer device 160 onto the surface of the recording medium P that has been conveyed. The recording medium P after the toner image transfer is conveyed to the fixing device 170 along the conveying path 130, and the toner image on the surface is heated and pressed and fixed there. The recording medium P after fixing is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 120 by the paper discharge roller 135 via the reversing path 134.

In the above laser beam printer,
An integrated electrical board 180 is arranged between the paper feed cassette 110 and the transport path 130. On the surface of the electrical component board 180, various electrical components such as a power input unit, a low voltage power source, a high voltage power source, and a main body control circuit are mounted, and the input voltage is transformed into a predetermined voltage or the photosensitive drum 141, Fixing device 1
It controls the operation of each part of the main body such as 70. Also,
The exposure unit drive circuit for driving the exposure unit 150 described above is arranged in the vicinity of the exposure unit 150,
It is connected to the integrated electric component board 180 by a connector wire. Furthermore, the integrated electrical board 180 is an image processing board (image information processing unit) that processes, for example, smoothing processing / typeface conversion, etc., to image information from a computer or the like.
Are connected via a bundled wire and a connector wire. In addition,
The arrangement position of the image processing board has a relatively large degree of freedom due to the configuration of the apparatus main body 101, and the S-shaped path is adopted as the recording medium conveyance path 130 for the entire apparatus main body. Installation area of 101 (occupied area)
It is possible to perform all operations of paper feeding, image formation, fixing, and paper ejection without protruding from the outside, and it is possible to take a compact configuration with little wasted space.

[0006]

However, according to the above-described image forming apparatus, the entire path length of the S-shaped conveyance path 130 including the two reversing paths 133 and 134 tends to be long, and the paper feed start signal is generated. There is a problem that the time required for the recording medium P to be completely ejected after being ejected, that is, the so-called first print time becomes long.

There is also a problem that the area occupied by the apparatus main body 101 becomes larger than the largest area of the recording medium P used, and it is difficult to further reduce the occupied area.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus in which the conveying path is shortened to shorten the first print time and the area occupied by the apparatus main body is reduced.

When the area occupied by the main body of the apparatus is reduced, the height of the entire apparatus tends to increase, which causes the integrated electrical board 180 and the exposure apparatus 150, which tend to increase the installation distance, to be connected. For connecting the image processing board and the integrated electric component board 1 in which the degree of freedom of the arrangement position is reduced.
There is a risk that the number of bundled wires and connector wires for connecting means for connecting with 80 will increase, complicating the structure related to electrical equipment, and lowering the assembly workability.

Therefore, it is a further object of the present invention to prevent complication of electrical equipment due to the reduction of the occupied area and to prevent deterioration of assembling workability.

[0011]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the structure of the present invention is an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium, in which a recording medium before image formation is vertically supported. Supporting means, second supporting means for ejecting the recording medium after the image formation, an image carrier provided above a conveying path of the recording medium from the first supporting means to the second supporting means, Information light emitting means provided above the image carrier to give information light according to image information to the image carrier, and a toner image formed on the image carrier, which is provided below the transport path, are recorded. Transfer means for transferring to the medium, fixing means for fixing the toner image transferred to the recording medium by the transfer means on the recording medium, a first electric substrate arranged below the conveying path, and the image carrier. Located near the information light emitting means above the Of the electrical component board, the lower end of which is arranged in the longitudinal direction at the side of the transport path to reach one end of the first electrical component substrate and the upper end of which reaches one end of the second electrical component substrate, A third electrically connecting the first electrical component board and the second electrical component board by a printed pattern.
And an electrical equipment substrate.

In this case, the first electrical component substrate and the third electrical component substrate
It is preferable to have a first connector that electrically connects the second electrical component board and a second connector that electrically connects the second electrical component board and the third electrical component board.

Regarding the first, second, and third electrical component boards, first, the first electrical component board has a power source input section, a low-voltage power source, a high-voltage power source, and a main body control circuit, and the second electrical component board. The electrical component board has an information light emitting means driving circuit,
The electrical component board having an image information processing unit, the first electrical component substrate having a power input unit, a low voltage power source, a high voltage power source, and a main body control circuit, and the third electrical component substrate, Information light emitting means driving circuit, having an image information processing unit,
Further, the first electrical component board has a power source input section, a low voltage power source, and a high voltage power source, and the third electrical component board has an information light emitting means drive circuit, a main body control circuit, and an image information processing section. Can be

The information light emitting means may emit a laser beam.

In this case, the information light emitting means has a semiconductor laser, a polygon mirror, a lens, and a reflection mirror, and the polygon mirror is on the side of the first supporting means and the reflection mirror is on the second side. The polygon mirror can be arranged on the side of the supporting means, the polygon mirror can be arranged on the lower side, and the reflecting mirror can be arranged on the upper side.

The semiconductor laser and the polygon mirror can be mounted on the second electrical equipment substrate.

The information light emitting means may have an LED array arranged so as to face the image carrier.

A feeding position for feeding the recording medium supported by the first supporting means and a transfer position by the transfer means, which are arranged in order from the upstream side to the downstream side of the conveying path;
The fixing position by the fixing unit may be sequentially arranged at a lower position in this order.

The image bearing member is a cartridge in which an electrophotographic photosensitive member as the image bearing member and at least one of a charging unit, a developing unit, and a cleaning unit are integrally formed into a cartridge and attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus. The image carrier is provided in a process cartridge which enables the image carrier, or the image carrier is an electrophotographic photosensitive member as the image carrier, a charging unit,
The developing means or the cleaning means is integrally provided in a process cartridge which can be attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus by forming a cartridge, or the image carrier is at least the developing means and the image carrier. The electrophotographic photosensitive member may be integrally provided as a cartridge and provided in a process cartridge that can be attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus.

[0020]

Since the recording medium is vertically supported by the first supporting means based on the above construction, the area occupied by the apparatus main body can be made smaller than the area of the recording medium.

Also, by connecting the first electrical component board below the transport path and the second electrical component board above the transport path by the third electrical component board having a print pattern, bundle wires and connector wires are eliminated. can do.

Further, an image control processing unit is provided on the third electric component board, and the third electric component board and the second electric component board, and the third electric component board and the first electric component board are respectively connected. When connecting by, mounting the third electric component board on the apparatus main body, the work of incorporating the image information processing unit, and the first
It is possible to simultaneously perform the work of connecting the electric component board and the second electric component board.

[0023]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. <Embodiment 1> FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a laser beam printer M using a process cartridge as an example of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. In each of the figures including this figure, the left side is the "front" of the printer body 1 and the right side is the "rear". According to this, regarding the upstream and the downstream of the recording medium P in the transport direction, the rear part is the upstream side and the front part is the downstream side. The recording medium P on which an image is to be formed is not only ordinary plain paper (copy paper), but also special paper such as thick paper and envelopes, and other than paper such as O.
Sheet material such as HP film can be used,
In this embodiment, the case of using ordinary plain paper will be described.

First, an outline of the configuration of a laser beam printer (hereinafter simply referred to as "printer") M shown in the figure will be described.

The printer M is referred to as a printer body 1 (hereinafter simply referred to as "body 1". In the following description,
The term "main body" refers to not only the frame forming the exterior of the printer M but also the frame forming the inside. ) A first supporting means 10 for supporting the recording medium P before image formation in the longitudinal direction is provided at the rear part, and a second supporting means 20 for supporting the recording medium P after image formation is provided at the front part of the main body 1. To provide. Then, these first supporting means 10
The lower end portion 10a of the main support 1 and the lower end portion 20a of the second supporting means 20 are connected by a transport path 30 extending from the rear portion to the front portion of the main body 1. The printer M also includes a process cartridge 40 in which a drum-shaped electrophotographic photosensitive member (hereinafter, referred to as “photosensitive drum”) 41 arranged immediately above the transport path 30 is integrally incorporated, and the process cartridge 40. The information light emitting means 50 arranged above and the transfer means 60 arranged opposite to the photosensitive drum 41 below the intermediate portion of the conveying path 30.
And a fixing unit 70 disposed near the lower end of the second supporting unit 20 on the downstream side of the transport path 30.

The operation of the printer M having the above configuration will be briefly described. First, a toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 41 by the information light emitting means 50 and the like. On the other hand, the recording medium P is fed downward from the first supporting means 10 to convey the recording path 30.
Is supplied to the photosensitive drum 41 via the upstream side of the above, and the above-mentioned toner image on the photosensitive drum 41 is transferred to the supplied recording medium P by the transfer means 60. The recording medium P to which the toner image is transferred is discharged onto the second supporting unit 20 after the toner image is fixed on the surface by the fixing unit 70.

The structure of the printer M shown in FIG. 1 will be described below in order from the first supporting means 10.

The first supporting means 10 is provided at the rear portion of the main body 1, and has an abutting portion 11, a leading end supporting portion 12, and a paper feed tray 13 in this order from below. The abutting portion 11 supports the front end of the recording medium P before image formation from below and supports the weight of the recording medium P. The tip support portion 12 is swingably supported in the front-rear direction by the main body 1 around the shaft 12a, and is urged forward by a spring 12b arranged on the back surface of the lower end portion. The front end support portion 12 biased forward is retracted rearward by a cam member (not shown) before feeding, and the above-mentioned cam member rotates to attach the recording medium P forward only during paper feeding. Energize. The highest recording medium P among the recording media P before feeding is fed by the abutting portion 11 and the separating claws to the feeding position A.
It is positioned at 1 and waits for feeding. When the recording medium P is fed, the next recording medium P is arranged at the feeding position A1 by the tip support portion 12 biased by the spring 12b. The paper feed tray 13 is arranged so as to vertically project from the rear end of the upper surface of the main body 1. The paper feed tray 13 supports the middle portion and the rear end portion of the recording medium P from the back side (rear surface side) of the recording medium P, and supports the entire recording medium P before image formation in a vertical plane. On the front surface side of the paper feed tray 13, a movable restriction plate 13a is arranged that restricts the position of the recording medium P in the left-right direction (refers to the left and right when viewed from the front side to the rear side). Note that the paper feed tray 1
3 is detachably attached to the upper surface of the main body 1. Here, the first support angle θ of the recording medium P before image formation
₁ , that is, an angle formed by the recording medium P supported by the first supporting means 10 including the abutting portion 11, the tip end supporting portion 12, the feeding tray 13 and the like in a plane with the horizontal plane. By setting the support angle θ ₁ to 60 ° to 90 °, it is possible to contribute to reduction of the occupied area of the main body 1, and also to realize good feeding of the recording medium P by effectively utilizing gravity. can do. The first support angle θ ₁ is preferably set to 70 ° to 75 °.

The second supporting means 20 has the above-mentioned first supporting means 10 provided at the rear portion of the main body 1, while the main body 1 has the same structure.
It is provided in the front part of the. The second supporting means 20 is the main body 1
It is also used as an openable / closable exterior cover forming a part of the above, and when used, it is opened forward with the vicinity of the lower end portion 20a as the center, and is arranged substantially horizontally (the second supporting means 20 in the figure is , Showing a closed state that is almost upright.). The second supporting means 20 has a stacking surface 20b at the position corresponding to the upper surface when opened, onto which the recording medium P after image formation is discharged.

The transport path 30 connects the lower end portion 10a of the first supporting means 10 and the lower end portion 20a of the second supporting means 20,
A path for transporting the recording medium P extending from the rear part to the front part of the main body 1 is configured. The transport path 30 is separated from the rear portion (upstream side) to the front portion (downstream side) in order.
1, pre-transfer guides 32a and 32b, post-transfer guide 33
a, 33b, and a post-fixing guide 34 on the downstream side of the fixing unit 70. A paper feed roller 35 is arranged diagonally above the separation pad 31, and a transport roller 36 is arranged below the paper feed roller 35. Paper feed roller 3
Reference numeral 5 is formed in a half-moon shape, and by rotation in the direction of arrow R35, the uppermost recording medium P is fed from the first supporting means 10 and double feeding of the recording medium P with the separation pad 31 is prevented. However, the recording medium P is configured to be transported together with the transport roller 36. The upstream side and downstream side pre-transfer guides 32a and 32b are configured so as to be gently moved downward, and the lower surface 4 of the upper process cartridge 40.
0a to guide the recording medium P to the photosensitive drum 41
And the transfer roller 61 of the transfer unit 60. The post-transfer guide 33a is formed on the inclined surface which is inclined downward to the front, and the post-transfer guide 3 which is continuous with this is formed.
3b has a gentle concave surface. The recording medium P after the toner image transfer is guided to the fixing position A3 formed between the fixing film of the fixing unit 70 and the pressure roller (both will be described later) by the post-transfer guides 33a and 33b. The post-fixing guide 34 is provided with a discharge sensor 37 that detects the recording medium P and a discharge roller 38 that discharges the recording medium P onto the second supporting unit 20.

As described above, the feeding path A1, the transfer position A2, and the fixing position A are arranged in this order on the conveying path 30 from the upstream side.
3 are provided, but these positions A1, A2, A3
Are set to be sequentially arranged in this order at lower positions. Therefore, at the time of image formation, these positions A1,
The recording medium P that sequentially passes through A2 and A3 is at a high place (A1).
Therefore, the sheets are sequentially conveyed to a low place (A3), and smooth conveyance is performed according to gravity. Furthermore, since the leading end of the recording medium P at this time is supported from below by the pre-transfer guides 32a, 32b and the post-transfer guides 33a, 33b, these guides 32a, 32b, 33a, 33 are provided.
Following b, the paper is conveyed in a stable posture. For this reason, it is surely introduced into the transfer position A2 and the fixing position A3, and the conveyance failure such as paper jam is well prevented.

In the process cartridge 40, a photosensitive drum 41, a charging roller (charging means) 42, a developing device (developing means) 43, and a cleaning device (cleaning means) 44 are integrated into a cartridge container 45 to form a cartridge. It is detachable from the main body 1. The photosensitive drum 41 is a drum-shaped electrophotographic photosensitive member as described above, and is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow R41 by a drive mechanism having a motor 81e (described later) on the main body 1 side as a drive source. The charging roller 42 is disposed in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 41, and is driven to rotate as the photosensitive drum 41 rotates in the direction of arrow R41. A charging voltage in which a DC voltage and an AC voltage are superposed is applied to the charging roller 42 by a high voltage generating unit 81d on the first electrical equipment substrate 81 on the main body 1 side, and by this and the rotation of the photosensitive drum 41, the photosensitive drum 41 is exposed. The surface of the drum 41 is uniformly charged. The developing device 43 has a toner container 43a for containing toner and a developing sleeve 43b. The developing sleeve 43b has a magnet inside and carries toner on the surface by rotating. The layer thickness of the toner on the surface is regulated by the regulation blade 43c and an electric charge is applied to the toner, and the toner is attached to an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 41 by the information light emitting means 50 described later to form a toner image. To do. In the process cartridge 40 according to the present exemplary embodiment, the developing device 43 has the toner container 43a disposed above and the developing sleeve 4 disposed below.
Since 3b can be arranged, the toner in the toner container 43a naturally drops toward the developing sleeve 43b due to gravity. Therefore, it is not necessary to attach a special mechanism for conveying the toner in the toner container 43a toward the developing sleeve 43b, such as a stirring member. As a result, the structure of the process cartridge 40 can be simplified. The cleaning device 44 includes a cleaning blade 44a that rubs the surface of the photosensitive drum 41 after the toner image transfer to remove residual toner on the surface, and a cleaning container 44b that collects the removed waste toner.

The information light emitting means 50 irradiates the surface of the photosensitive drum 41 with light, and is arranged above the process cartridge 40 as a whole. Information light emitting means 50
Is a semiconductor laser 55 that oscillates a laser beam based on an image signal, a polygon mirror 51 that reflects the laser beam while rotating, a motor 52 that rotationally drives the polygon mirror 51, a lens 53, and a reflection mirror 54.
It has and. In the information light emitting means 50, the polygon mirror 51 is arranged on the first support means 10 side (rear side) and below, and the reflection mirror 54 is arranged on the second support means 20 side (front side) and above. In other words, the whole is arranged in the front upward direction, contrary to the above-mentioned transport path 30. By arranging in this way, it is possible to prevent the height dimension of the main body 1 from increasing, and with a compact configuration, the polygon mirror 51 to the reflection mirror 5 can be arranged.
It is possible to secure the required optical path length of the laser beam that reaches the photosensitive drum 41 via the optical path 4. By this irradiation of the laser beam, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image signal is formed on the photosensitive drum 41.

The process cartridge 40 and the information light emitting means 50 described above are compactly arranged between the first supporting means 10 at the rear side, the second supporting means 20 at the front closed state, and the conveying path 30 at the lower side. ing.

The transfer means 60 includes a transfer roller 61 which is in contact with the photosensitive drum 41 from below under the transport path 30.
And a transfer position A2 is formed between the photosensitive drum 41 and the photosensitive drum 41. The left and right ends of the core 61a of the transfer roller 61 are respectively held by bearings (not shown) that are biased by springs, and thereby contact the surface of the photosensitive drum 41 with a predetermined pressing force. . A transfer voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the toner image on the photosensitive drum 41 is applied to the transfer roller 61 by the high-voltage generating unit 81d on the electrical equipment substrate 81, whereby the surface of the recording medium P passing through the transfer position A2 is exposed to light. The toner image on the drum 41 is transferred.

The fixing means 70 is a ceramic heater 72.
And a fixing film 74 endlessly mounted on the outer periphery of the guide 73, and a pressure roller 75 that abuts the fixing film 74 from below to form a fixing position A3 between the fixing film 74 and the fixing film 74. Since the ceramic heater 72 and the fixing film 74 have small heat capacities, it takes a short time to heat up to a predetermined temperature required for fixing after energization.
This prevents unnecessary heat from being radiated from the fixing means 70. The fixing unit 70 has a transfer position A on the upstream side.
When the recording medium P having the toner image transferred to the surface thereof at 2 passes the transfer position A3 while carrying the unfixed toner image, the toner image is melted and fixed and fixed on the surface of the recording medium P. Is configured.

Next, with reference to FIG. 1, an image forming operation of the entire printer M having the above-mentioned configuration will be briefly described.

First, the recording medium P is set on the first supporting means 10 in the vertical direction. The photosensitive drum 41 in the process cartridge 40 is rotationally driven, and by the charging roller 42,
The surface of the photosensitive drum 41 is uniformly charged with, for example, a negative polarity.
The information light emitting means 50 exposes the uniformly charged surface of the photosensitive drum 41. Laser light based on an image signal is emitted from the information light emitting means 50 to irradiate the surface of the photosensitive drum 41. Negative charges are removed from the light-irradiated portion on the photosensitive drum 41 to form an electrostatic latent image. This electrostatic latent image becomes a toner image by so-called reversal development in which toner of negative polarity is attached by the developing device 43.
On the other hand, the recording medium P, which has waited with its leading end aligned with the sheet feeding position A1, is supplied to the transfer position A2 by the sheet feeding roller 35 so as to match the timing with the toner image on the photosensitive drum 41. At the transfer position A2, by the transfer roller 61 to which a transfer voltage having a positive polarity opposite to that of the toner is applied,
The toner image on the photosensitive drum 41 is transferred onto the recording medium P. In the fixing means 70, the unfixed toner image on the surface of the recording medium P is fixed by being heated and pressed. The recording medium P on which the toner image has been fixed is discharged by the discharge roller 38 onto the second supporting means 20 in the open state in a so-called face-up state with the toner image surface facing the information.

In the printer M of this embodiment, the recording medium P before image formation is vertically supported by the first supporting means 10 and the conveying path 30 is shortened to reduce the occupied area of the main body 1. ing.

Next, the electrical components of the printer M shown in FIG. 1 will be described.

The printer M of this embodiment has a first electrical component board 81 below the transport path 30 inside the main body 1, and has a second electrical component board 82 above the image carrier 41, and Third electrical component board 8 vertically arranged on the side of the transport path 30
Have three.

The first electric component board (hereinafter referred to as "integral electric component board") 81 has a plate-shaped base plate 81A arranged at the bottom of the main body 1. The upper surface of this base plate 81a has a downstream side. A main body control circuit 81a, a power supply input section 81b, a low-voltage power supply 81c, a high-voltage power supply 81d, and a motor 81e are arranged in this order from the (front side), and the height dimensions of these are sequentially increased in this order. That is, the base plate 8
As for each member on 1A, a tall member is arranged at the rear part and a short member is arranged at the front part. This is high on the rear side,
This is the same as the above-described configuration of the transport path 30 in which the front side is low.
That is, the arrangement of each member on the base plate 81A is determined according to the space below the transport path 30. This contributes to downsizing of the main body 1. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, connectors 8f and 8g are arranged on the front part and the rear part on the right side of the base plate 81A, and when the integrated electrical component board 81 is attached to the main body 1 from below. , The connectors 8f and 8g are the fixing unit 70 and the motor 8 respectively.
It is configured to be automatically connected to the floating connector 1e (not shown). In addition, the cartridge contact pin 1a provided on the main body 1 side is automatically connected to the pattern 8i on the integrated electrical equipment substrate 81 via the spring 1b, and the contact spring 1 also serving as the transfer pressure spring on the main body 1 is provided.
d is automatically connected to the pattern 8j on the integrated electric component substrate 81, and high voltage power is supplied to the above-mentioned transfer means 60 through the conductive bearing 1c. 8
Photointerruptors k and 8m are fixing means 7 respectively.
Through the movement of the lever of the paper discharge sensor 37 downstream of 0 and the lever (not shown) of the paper feed sensor downstream of the paper feed roller 35,
The ejection and feeding of the recording medium P are detected. Further, in the above-mentioned process cartridge 40, the second supporting means 20 which also serves as a cover is opened, and the upper part of the transport path 30 and the information light emitting means 50 are opened.
It is mounted at a predetermined position through a space between the lower part and the lower part.
By mounting the process cartridge 40, the contact receiving portion (not shown) provided in the cartridge container 45 automatically presses the contact pin 1a to automatically supply the high voltage power from the integrated electrical board 81. ing.

The second electrical equipment substrate (hereinafter referred to as the "scanner substrate") 82 has a base plate 82A arranged so as to penetrate the scanner frame 56 in the left-right direction, and the base plate 82A is the polygon mirror 51, A motor 52 (see FIG. 1) for rotating it and a semiconductor laser 55 are mounted. The print pattern 8 is formed on the base plate 82A.
2a, motor drive circuit (information light emission means drive circuit) 82
b is formed.

A second connector 82B is provided at the left end portion of the scanner substrate 82 (in FIG. 2, the left end portion in the transport direction of the recording medium P), and the lower integrated electrical component substrate. At the left end of 81, a first connector 81B is provided at a position corresponding to the connector 82B.

A third electrical board (hereinafter referred to as "controller board") 83 as an image processing section has a base board 83A vertically arranged on the left side of the transport path 30. That is, the base substrate 83A is vertically arranged at the left end portion of the main body 1, and has its lower end portion reaching the left end portion of the integrated electrical component board 81 and its upper end portion reaching the left end portion of the scanner substrate 82. Controller board 83
3 is roughly divided into a rear relay connector section 83B and a front controller section 83C, as shown in FIG. The relay connector portion 83B is formed with a print pattern 83a formed in the vertical direction and a connector 83B ₁ formed at the lower end portion thereof and connected to the connector 81B of the above-mentioned integrated electrical component board 81.
And a connector 83B ₂ formed on the upper end thereof and connected to the connector 82B of the scanner board 82 described above. On the other hand, the controller unit 83C has an interface connector (hereinafter referred to as "I / F connector") connected to a printer cable (not shown) from a computer.
83C ₂ , a controller circuit section 83b for developing an image signal sent through the I / F connector 83C ₂ and converting the typeface and smoothing the same, and a connector 8 of the integrated electrical component board 81.
1C, and has a connector 81C ₁ for sending a signal from the controller circuit 83b to the main body control circuit 81a.

With the above structure, after the integrated electric component board 81 and the scanner board 82 are assembled to the main body 1, the controller board 83 is assembled from the side of the main body 1 so that these boards 81 can be connected through the above-mentioned connectors. , 8
2, 83 can be electrically connected. That is,
As described above, the installation position of the controller board 83 whose degree of freedom in the installation position is reduced as the occupied area of the main body 1 is reduced is set to the side of the main body 1. At the same time as mounting on the main body 1, the controller substrate 83 and the integrated electrical component substrate 81 can be easily mounted on the controller roller substrate 8 without any special electrical connection work.
It is possible to electrically connect the integrated electric component substrate 81 and the scanner substrate 82 via the connector 3.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the controller board 83 is finally incorporated, but by appropriately changing the projecting direction of each connector, for example, the controller board 83 is incorporated first and then the scanner board 83 is incorporated. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which 82 is incorporated from above and the integrated electric component board 81 is incorporated from below. <Second Embodiment> FIG. 4 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, the motor drive circuit 82b provided on the scanner board 82 in the above-described first embodiment is replaced with the controller board 8 in the second embodiment.
3 in the print pattern 83a. Thereby, the polygon mirror 51, the motor 52, the semiconductor laser 5
The scanner substrate 82 on which the components 5 and the like are mounted is simplified, and the main body 1 can be downsized, the cost can be reduced, and the quality control can be simplified. <Third Embodiment> FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, in addition to the second embodiment, two types of circuits are provided on the controller board 83, that is, a controller circuit portion 83b and a main body control circuit attached to the integrated electrical board 81 in the first and second embodiments. It is integrated. The connectors may be _two connectors 83B ₂ and 82B for scanner control signals and connectors 83C ₁ and 81C for power supply / high-voltage electrical component control signals, and the number of connectors can be reduced to achieve cost reduction. Further, since the main body control circuit is not provided on the integrated electric component board 81, the integrated electric component board 81 can be downsized, and the main body control circuit can be separated from the power source section in which temperature rise and noise are a problem. <Fourth Embodiment> In the above embodiments, the information light emitting means 5 is used.
As 0, instead of emitting a laser beam, L
It is also possible to use an ED array. Photosensitive drum 41
By arranging a large number of LEDs along the generatrix of the surface of the photosensitive drum 41 and rotating the charged photosensitive drum 41, ON / OFF of each LED is selected on the basis of an image signal. It forms an electrostatic latent image on it. According to this, the configuration can be further downsized and simplified. <Embodiment 5> The embodiment of the members constituting the process cartridge 40 described above is not limited to that shown in FIG. For example, an electrophotographic photosensitive member as an image carrier and at least one of a charging unit, a developing unit, and a cleaning unit as a process unit are integrally made into a cartridge and detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus. May be.

Further, the electrophotographic photosensitive member as the image carrier and the charging means, the developing means, or the cleaning means as the process means are integrally made into a cartridge, and the cartridge can be attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus. Alternatively, at least the developing means and the electrophotographic photosensitive member as the image bearing member may be integrally formed into a cartridge so as to be detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus. <Embodiment 6> The first supporting means 10 of the above embodiments may be configured mainly by a paper feed cassette. A vertical cassette mounting portion is provided at the rear portion of the main body 1, and a paper feed cassette containing the recording medium P is mounted from above the cassette mounting portion to support the recording medium P in the vertical direction. is there. In this case, the cassette mounting portion and the paper feed cassette constitute the first supporting means.

[0049]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By supporting the recording medium before image formation in the vertical direction by the first supporting means, the area occupied by the apparatus main body can be reduced.

Further, since the first electrical equipment substrate below the recording medium transport path and the second electrical equipment substrate above the image carrier can be electrically connected by the third electrical equipment substrate, the bundled line is provided. Since the third electrical component board has an image processing section, the third electrical component board has an image processing section, so that at the same time as mounting the image processing section on the apparatus main body, the first electrical component board and the first electrical board can be connected without any special connection work. It is possible to easily connect the second electric component board.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of first, second, and third electrical component boards of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing the configuration of a third electrical component board of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a third electrical board according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a third electrical component board of the third embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a conventional image forming apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Image Forming Apparatus Main Body (Printer Main Body) 10 First Supporting Means 20 Second Supporting Means 30 Conveying Path 40 Process Cartridge 41 Image Carrier (Photosensitive Drum) 42 Charging Means (Transfer Roller) 43 Developing Means (Developing Device) 44 Cleaning Means (Cleaning Device) 45 Cartridge Container 50 Information Light Emitting Means 51 Polygon Mirror 52 Motor 55 Semiconductor Laser 60 Transfer Means 61 Transfer Roller 70 Fixing Means 75 Pressure Roller 81 First Electrical Board (Integrated Electrical Board) 81A, 82A, 83A Substrate 81B, 81C, 82B, 83B ₁ , 83B ₂ , 83C
₁ , 83C ₂ connector 82 2nd electrical equipment board (scanner board) 82a, 83a print pattern 82b motor drive circuit 83B relay connector section 83C controller section 83b controller circuit section P recording medium θ ₁ first support angle

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display location G03G 15/00 554

Claims (13)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium, comprising: first supporting means for vertically supporting the recording medium before image formation; and second supporting means for discharging the recording medium after image formation. An image carrier provided above the conveying path of the recording medium from the first supporting means to the second supporting means; and an image carrier provided above the image carrying body and adapted to the image carrier according to image information. Information light emitting means for giving information light, transfer means provided below the conveying path for transferring the toner image formed on the image carrier to a recording medium, and toner transferred to the recording medium by the transfer means. A fixing unit for fixing the image on the recording medium; a first electric component substrate arranged below the transport path; and a second electric component substrate arranged near the information light emitting unit above the image carrier. , Placed vertically on the side of the transport path The end portion is made to reach one end portion of the first electric component board and the upper end portion is made to reach one end portion of the second electric component board, and the first electric component board and the second electric component board are electrically connected by a print pattern. An image forming apparatus, comprising: a third electrical component substrate that is electrically connected. 2. A first connector for electrically connecting the first electrical component board and the third electrical component board, and the second connector.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second connector that electrically connects the electrical component board of (3) and the third electrical component substrate. 3. The first electrical component board has a power source input section, a low voltage power source, a high voltage power source, and a main body control circuit, and the second electrical component board has an information light emitting means drive circuit, The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the third electrical component board includes an image information processing unit. 4. The first electrical component board has a power supply input section, a low voltage power source, a high voltage power source, and a main body control circuit, and the third electrical component board has an information light emitting means drive circuit and image information processing. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a section. 5. The first electrical component board has a power source input section, a low voltage power source, and a high voltage power source, and the third electrical component board has an information light emitting means drive circuit, a main body control circuit, and an image information processing section. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising: 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information light emitting unit emits a laser beam. 7. The information light emitting means includes a semiconductor laser, a polygon mirror, a lens, and a reflection mirror, and the polygon mirror is supported on the first support means side and the reflection mirror is supported on the second support side. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the image forming apparatus is arranged on the device side, and the polygon mirror is arranged below and the reflection mirror is arranged above. 8. The second electronic component substrate is the semiconductor laser,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a polygon mirror. 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the information light emitting unit has an LED array arranged so as to face the image carrier. 10. A feeding position for feeding the recording medium supported by the first supporting means, a feeding position for feeding the recording medium supported by the first supporting means, a transfer position by the transferring means, and the fixing means, which are arranged in order from the upstream side to the downstream side of the conveying path. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the fixing position by the means is arranged at a lower position in this order. 11. The image carrier comprises an electrophotographic photosensitive member as the image carrier, and at least one of a charging unit, a developing unit, and a cleaning unit, which are integrally formed into a cartridge to form a main body of the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is provided in a process cartridge that is detachable. 12. The image carrier can be attached to and detached from an image forming apparatus main body by integrally forming an electrophotographic photosensitive member as the image carrier and a charging unit, a developing unit, or a cleaning unit into a cartridge. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is provided in the process cartridge. 13. The image carrier is provided in a process cartridge in which at least a developing 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 an image forming apparatus main body. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: