JPH08227258A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an image forming device in which an image forming magazine is loaded in a lower unit, the weight of an upper unit is reduced, and the magazine is accurately positioned to the exposure optical system of the upper unit. CONSTITUTION: In the upper unit 1, the exposure optical system 15 is provided. In the lower unit 2, the image forming magazine 18 equipped with at least a photoconductor 19 is loaded. The image forming magazine 18 and the upper unit 1 are provided with a pin-like projection 42 and a cylindrical engagement part 41, respectively, which position the exposure optical system 15 of the upper unit 1 and the image forming magazine 18 to each other when the upper unit 1 is closed.

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 in which an upper unit having at least an exposure optical system is rotatably and pivotally supported with respect to a lower unit.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus of the above type configured as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile or the like is well known in the art.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus 100 is also called a clamshell type image forming apparatus, and the upper unit 101
Is supported by the lower unit 102 by a pivot 103 so as to be rotatable and openable. Although not shown in the upper unit 101, an exposure optical system (which will be described later)
And an operation panel unit 10 for performing various operations for image formation
4 etc. are provided respectively.

On the other hand, the lower unit 102 includes a paper feeding / conveying section 105 for conveying a recording medium such as a transfer sheet, a driving section 106 as a driving source for driving various rotating bodies of the image forming apparatus, and a fixing device. 107, a power supply 108 and the like are provided respectively. As described above, the upper unit 101 is pivotally openable and closable with respect to the lower unit 102 by the pivot 103, and is pivotally biased in the opening direction by biasing means such as a torsion bar or a gas spring.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the open upper unit 101 is rotated around a pivot 103 and the unit 101 is closed, a pair of hooks 109, 109 provided on the unit are closed. 102 lock plate 11
1 and the upper unit 101 is locked in the closed position. On the other hand, when the hook 109 is removed from the lock plate 111, the upper unit 1 is operated by the function of the urging means described above.
01 is rotated and opened in the direction in which the operation panel unit 104 rises, and is held in the inclined open position shown in FIG. In this state, the image forming magazine, which will be described next, can be replaced, and the jammed paper can be processed.

In the figure, reference numeral 112 indicates an image forming magazine, but this type of image forming magazine 112 includes
Image forming process equipment such as a developing device, a charging device, and a cleaning device (not shown) including an image bearing member such as the drum-shaped photosensitive member 113 are provided.

In the clamshell type image forming apparatus, conventionally, the image forming magazine 112 is mounted on the upper unit 101. This is because the mutual positional accuracy between the image carrier provided in the image forming magazine and the exposure optical system provided in the upper unit must be set appropriately. The image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG.
In 00, the image forming magazine 112 is the upper unit 10
1 is guided by a guide rail (not shown) provided in this unit and is detachable in the direction of arrow A. Another example of an image forming apparatus in which an image forming magazine is detachably attached to the upper unit is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-63-123.
The one disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 059 has already been proposed.

When the image forming magazine is provided in the upper unit, the weight of the upper unit including the image forming unit increases, and the elastic force of the biasing member such as the torsion bar for holding the upper unit open is increased. Or upper unit 11
It is necessary to increase the strength of the structural members such as the main body frame 2 of FIG. This increases the weight of the image forming apparatus and also increases its cost.

Further, when the image forming magazine is equipped with a detachable body such as a toner supply container, the detachable body is detached from the image forming magazine attached to the upper unit, or However, when the upper unit 101 is opened, the unit is positionally unstable and easily wobbles. Therefore, a detachable body such as a toner replenishing container is attached and detached. It becomes difficult to do this, and this type of workability is poor. Detachable body,
For example, even when the image forming magazine itself is attached to or detached from the upper unit for replacement, or because of other reasons, the opened upper unit is unstable, and therefore the image forming magazine itself is attached or detached. It gets harder.

[0010]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus of the type described at the beginning which eliminates the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks.

[0011]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus in which an upper unit having at least an exposure optical system is rotatably and rotatably supported with respect to a lower unit. An image forming magazine having a carrier is detachably provided in the lower unit, and the image forming magazine and the upper unit are engaged with each other when the upper unit is closed, and the image forming magazine mounted in the lower unit is attached to the upper unit. In the state where the engaging unit and the engaged unit for positioning with respect to the exposure optical system are provided respectively, the upper unit is closed, and the engaging unit and the engaged unit are engaged with each other, the image forming magazine is formed. An image forming apparatus having an image forming magazine urging means for urging the image forming magazine in a direction of pressing the upper unit is proposed.

At this time, in the above-mentioned structure, with the image forming magazine mounted on the lower unit, an image forming magazine position restricting means for restricting the movement of the image forming magazine in the attaching / detaching direction of the detachable body provided in the image forming magazine. It is advantageous to provide.

Further, in the above structure, the image forming magazine is immovable in the attachment / detachment direction of the detachable body attached to the image forming magazine in association with the opening operation of the upper unit.
It is advantageous to provide image forming magazine fixing means for fixing the image forming magazine and image forming magazine fixing releasing means for releasing the fixing of the image forming magazine in conjunction with the closing operation of the upper unit.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, what is indicated by reference numeral 1 is an upper unit, and what is indicated by 2 is a lower unit. The upper unit 1 is pivotally supported on the lower unit 2 by a pivot 3 so as to be rotatable and openable.

The upper unit 1 is provided with an operation panel section 4 similar to the above-mentioned operation panel section, and in the optical housing 5, a document illumination lamp 6, mirrors 7, 8, 9 are provided.
Exposure optical system 15 in which the imaging lens 11 and the mirrors 12, 13 and 14 are arranged so as to maintain predetermined optical relational positions.
Is provided. The present invention can be applied to an image forming apparatus in which the exposure optical system 15 is provided in the upper unit 1 at least.

The upper unit 1 has a function of a biasing means such as a torsion bar or a gas spring (not shown),
It is held in the inclined open position shown in FIG. When the upper unit 1 is rotated around the pivot 3 from this open position and the unit 1 is closed, the hook 16 of the upper unit 1 engages with the lock plate 17 of the lower unit 2, and the upper unit 1 Hold in closed position. When the hook 16 is rotated to be released from the lock plate 17, the upper unit 1 is rotated to the open position shown in FIG. 1 and held at this position by the function of the biasing means described above. The hook 16 and the lock plate 17 constitute an example of a locking unit that locks the upper unit 1 with the lower unit 2 when the upper unit 1 is closed.

Reference numeral 18 denotes an image forming magazine, and in the magazine case 18A of the image forming magazine 18, an image bearing member configured as a drum-shaped photosensitive member 19, a charging device 21, a developing device 22, and a cleaning device. Devices 23 and the like are provided respectively. Of these, the developing device 22 has a developing roller 24, developer agitating rollers 25 and 26,
Further, the cleaning device 23 has a cleaning blade 27.
Has a cleaning member made of.

The image forming magazine 18 includes a toner supply container 29.
Is removably mounted, and replenishment toner (not shown) is supplied from this container toward the developer stirring roller 26. When the toner in the toner supply container 29 is used up, the empty container 29 is removed from the image forming magazine 18 with the upper unit 1 opened as shown in FIG. 1, and a new toner supply container is attached to the magazine. . The toner supply container 29 is an example of a detachable body that is detachably attached to the image forming magazine 18 in this manner.

With the upper unit 1 closed, the exposure optical system 15 includes an original scanning optical system including the original illumination lamp 6 and the mirror 7, and an original scanning optical system including the mirrors 8 and 9. By moving to the right in the figure at a speed ratio of 2: 1, the original document (not shown) placed on the contact glass (not shown) located above the exposure optical system 15 is slit-illuminated and scanned. The scanning light image at this time shows the mirrors 7, 8 and 9, the lens 11, the mirrors 12, 13 and 14
1 is incident on the photoconductor 19 rotating clockwise in FIG. 1, and a predetermined electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photoconductor 19 which is already charged by the charging device 21.

The electrostatic latent image is visualized as a toner image by a developer (not shown) carried and conveyed on the developing roller 24 of the developing device 22. On the other hand, the transfer paper 32 is sent from the paper feed unit 31 provided in the lower unit 2 toward the photoconductor 19 via the paper feed transport unit 33 of the lower unit 2,
Similarly, the transfer charging device 34 provided in the lower unit 2 causes the toner image on the photoconductor 19 to be transferred onto the transfer paper. After the transfer, while the transfer paper passes through the fixing device 35 provided in the lower unit 2, the transfer toner image on the transfer paper is fixed. On the other hand, after the transfer, the photoconductor 19
The surface of is cleaned by the cleaning blade 27 of the cleaning device 23.

The pair of registration rollers 36A and 36B are
As will be described later, when the image forming magazines 18 sink below the position shown in FIG. 1, they are pressed against each other. As is well known, the registration rollers 36A and 36B rotate in pressure contact with each other so that the leading end portion of the transfer paper and the photosensitive member 19 are rotated.
The transfer paper is conveyed toward the transfer part at a good timing so that the leading end of the upper toner image meets the transfer part between the photoconductor 19 and the transfer charging device 34 at an appropriate opportunity.

The lower unit 2 is provided with the above-mentioned lower registration roller 36B in addition to the paper feeding section 31, the transfer charging device 34, the fixing device 35 and the like. Also, the image magazine 1
8, an upper registration roller 36A is provided in addition to the above-mentioned elements. The present invention can be applied to an image forming apparatus in which the image forming magazine 18 is provided with at least an image bearing member configured as a drum-shaped photosensitive member 19, for example. The present invention can also be applied to an image forming apparatus that uses an exposure optical system that performs optical writing scanning on an image carrier with a laser beam or the like as the exposure optical system.

Shafts 18b and 18b (FIG. 2) are fixedly provided on both sides of an end of a magazine case 18A which constitutes the main body of the image forming magazine 18, and are fixed to a main body frame (not shown) of the lower unit 2 as appropriate. Each bracket 20 thus formed is provided with a recessed groove 20a. On the other hand, lower unit 2
A pair of compression springs 37, 37 are provided on the front side and the back side in the figure with a space therebetween (FIG. 2). When mounting the image forming magazine 18 on the lower unit 2, with the upper unit 1 opened with respect to the lower unit 2, both shafts 18
The magazine case 18A is placed on the compression springs 37, 37 while fitting b and 18b into the concave grooves 20a of both brackets 20. Also, when removing the imaging magazine 18,
Similarly, the upper unit 1 is opened, and the image forming magazine 18 is lifted upward while pulling out the shaft portion 18b from the concave groove 20a.

The present invention is characterized in that the image forming magazine is detachably provided in the lower unit. In this example, the image forming magazine 18 is vertically detachable with respect to the lower unit 2 as described above. ing. The toner supply container 29, which is a detachable body, is also attachable to and detachable from the magazine case 18A in the vertical direction (indicated by the arrow a). On the other hand, the image forming magazine 18 may be detachable in the left-right direction in the drawing, or may be detachable in the axial direction of the photoconductor 19.

In the image forming magazine 18 and the upper unit 1, when the upper unit 1 is closed with respect to the lower unit 2,
An engaging portion that engages with each other to position the image forming magazine 18 mounted on the lower unit 2 with respect to the exposure optical system 15 of the upper unit 1 and an engaged portion are provided. In this example, the engaging portion is a pin-shaped protrusion 42 integrally provided on the upper wall of the magazine case 18A, and the engaged portion engages with the pin-shaped protrusion 42. 41
Consists of The cylindrical engaged member 41 is used in the exposure optical system 1
The optical housing 5 is integrally formed with a lower wall surface of the optical housing 5.

As described above, the upper unit 1 is opened, and the magazine 18 is pushed up by the springs 37, 37 to the position shown in the figure with the image forming magazine 18 mounted and set in the position shown in FIG. . In this state, when the upper unit 1 is rotated while rotating around the pivot 3, the hole 41a of the cylindrical engaged member 41 engages with the pin-shaped protrusion 42,
Moreover, the hook 16 engages with the lock plate 17, and the upper unit 1 is locked so as not to open with respect to the lower unit 2.

When the upper unit 1 is closed, the image forming magazine 18 causes the upper unit 1 to move the upper registration roller 36.
It is pushed down against the elasticity of the spring 37 to a position where A contacts the lower registration roller 36B (hereinafter, this position is referred to as "image forming position"). At this position, the photoconductor 19 approaches the transfer charging device 34. When the cylindrical engaged member 41 engages with the pin-shaped protrusion 42, the image forming magazine 18 is pushed down to the image forming position by both of these elements, and the magazine is moved up and down in FIG. , The horizontal direction and the axial direction of the photoconductor 19 are positioned. In this way, the image forming magazine 18 is positioned with respect to the exposure optical system 15 of the upper unit 1 so that the exposure optical path corresponds to the photoconductor 19, and also with respect to the lower unit 2, the registration roller 36A. , 36B correspond to each other, and the photoconductor 19 is positioned to correspond to the transfer charging device 34. Cylindrical engaged member 41
The engaged portion configured as
The upper unit 1 is provided with an engaging portion configured as the pin-shaped protrusion 42
May be provided for each of the above.

The upper unit 1 is closed and the cylindrical member 4 is engaged.
While engaging 1 with the pin-shaped protrusion 42, the image forming magazine 1
When 8 is pushed down to the image forming position, the expansion elastic force of the spring 37 urges the magazine 18 upward.
The spring 37 urges the image forming magazine to urge the image forming magazine in a direction of pressing the image forming magazine to the upper unit in a state where the upper unit is closed and the engaging portion and the engaged portion are engaged with each other. It constitutes an example of the means. Due to the function of the biasing means, the image forming magazine 18 does not wobble in the vertical direction, and the exposure optical system 15 of the upper unit 1 is properly maintained.
Positioned with respect to. Image magazine 18 is spring 3
By being supported by 7, it becomes free to float and sink, and the movement in the horizontal direction is also free to some extent. Therefore, for example, when the cylindrical engaged member 41 engages with the pin-shaped protrusion 42, a small impact is exerted. It does not occur and its engagement is guaranteed reliably.

If the upper unit is equipped with the image forming magazine as in the conventional case, the image forming magazine and the exposure optical system of the upper unit can be accurately positioned.
On the other hand, since the weight of the upper unit including the image forming magazine increases, it is necessary to strengthen the elasticity of the biasing member such as the torsion bar and the structure of the upper unit.

In the image forming apparatus of this embodiment, the image forming magazine 18 is provided in the lower unit 2, so that the weight of the upper unit 1 can be reduced by the amount of the image forming magazine 18, and a torsion bar or the like can be attached. It is not necessary to make the elastic force of the biasing member and the structural member of the upper unit 1 stronger than in the conventional case. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the weight of the image forming apparatus and reduce its cost. Further, since the upper unit 1 is lightened as described above, the opening / closing operation thereof becomes easy.
Further, since the image forming magazine 18 is attached to the lower unit 2, the image forming magazine 18 can be stably attached and detached. In addition to these, the imaging magazine 18 is installed in the lower unit 2
The image forming magazine 18 can be positioned with respect to the exposure optical system 15 of the upper unit 1 with high accuracy.

When the upper unit is equipped with the image forming magazine, the opened upper unit is only held in the open position by the elastic force of the biasing member such as the torsion bar. It is stable and can be attached to and detached from an image forming magazine with a detachable body such as a toner supply container.
The imaging magazine or upper unit must be kept stationary. Similarly, when the image forming magazine itself is attached to or detached from the upper unit, the upper unit must be held so as not to move by hand, and the operability thereof is deteriorated.

In the image forming apparatus of this example, since the image forming magazine 18 is supported by the lower unit 2 via the biasing member such as the spring 37, a detachable member such as the toner supply container 29 is attached to the image forming magazine 18. The image forming magazine 18 can be easily attached to and detached from the lower unit 2 as well.

In FIG. 2, an image forming magazine position regulating member 40 is arranged on the side of the magazine case 18A of the image forming magazine 18. The image forming magazine position restricting member 40 has its base end legs on both sides pivotally attached to a pin 43a of a hinge bracket 43 fixed to a unit frame (not shown) of the lower unit 2 so as to be rotatable. The image magazine position regulating member 40 is provided with a long hole 40a that is long in the vertical direction.

A torsion coil spring 45, which is an example of a biasing member, is wound around the pin 43a. One end of the torsion coil spring 45 is attached to the image forming magazine position regulating member 40, and the other end is a stopper pin (not shown) on the unit frame side of the lower unit 2. ) Respectively. The elastic force of the torsion coil spring 45 causes the image forming magazine position restricting member 40 to move this member to the magazine case 18.
A turning habit in the direction of approaching A is imparted, and the turning due to this habit is blocked by the stopper pin.
The configuration of the stopper pin and the like will be described later. Pins 44, 44 that are engaged with and disengaged from the elongated hole 40a are fixedly provided on the side portions of the magazine case 18A at intervals from each other, as will be described later.

Assuming that the image forming magazine 18 is now removed from the lower unit 2, the shaft portion 18b of the removed image forming magazine 18 is moved toward the lower unit 2.
While engaging with the concave groove 20a, the pins 44 and 44 push the curved upright portions 40b and 40b of the image forming magazine position restricting member 40 while pushing the member 40 and the magazine case. It is rotated around the pin 43a in the direction away from 18A. Next, when both pins 44 reach the elongated hole 40a, the image forming magazine position regulating member 40
Rotates in the direction of approaching the magazine case 18A,
The pin 44 and the long hole 40a are fitted to each other as shown.
With this fitting, the setting of the image forming magazine 18 is completed.

When the image forming magazine 18 is removed, the bent piece 40c of the image forming magazine position regulating member 40 is pinched with a finger, and the member 40 is forcibly rotated in a direction away from the magazine case 18A. After the engagement between the elongated hole 40a and the pin 44 is released, the image forming magazine 18 is lifted.

The image forming magazine 18 is swingable around the center of the shaft portion 18b within the range of the elongated hole 40a. The magazine case 18A is equipped with a detachable body that is detachably attached to the image forming magazine 18, for example, a toner supply container 29, which is vertically attached and detached as described above. If the magazine case 18A is not configured to be restricted in vertical movement when the toner supply container 29 is attached and detached as described above, for example, the toner supply container is held while keeping the magazine case 18A stationary. I have to put on and take off 29
This kind of attachment / detachment operation is troublesome.

In this embodiment, when the toner supply container 29 is attached or detached, the movement of the magazine case 18A can be restricted within the range of the long hole 40a, and when the toner supply container 29 is attached or detached, the magazine case does not move more than necessary. Therefore, the operability of attaching and detaching the toner supply container can be improved. When replacing the toner supply container, this replacement can be easily performed. The detachable body is, for example, the developing roller 2 shown in FIG.
4, the developer agitating roller 25, the other component elements, etc., can be easily replaced or attached / detached.

Even when the upper unit 1 is closed with respect to the lower unit 2, the image forming magazine 18 can be moved up and down within the range of the elongated hole 40a.
By means of 7, it is possible to urge the upper unit 1 in the pressing direction without any hindrance.

The image forming magazine position restricting member 40 and the pin 44 provided on the magazine case 18A cooperate with each other to function as a detachable body mounted on the magazine while the image forming magazine is mounted on the lower unit. An example of an image forming magazine position restricting means for restricting the movement of the image forming magazine in the attachment / detachment direction is configured.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the image forming magazine 18 is used.
However, the image forming magazine 18 may be fixed when the upper unit 1 (FIG. 1) is opened, as in the embodiment shown in FIG.

The image forming magazine fixing member 50 is rotatably attached to the pin 43a of the hinge bracket 43 on the lower unit side, like the image forming magazine position restricting member 40 shown in FIG. A torsion coil spring 45, which is an example of a biasing member, is wound around the pin 43a, one end of which is fixed to the pin 50c of the image forming magazine fixing member 50 and the other end of which is fixedly provided on the lower unit side, as shown in FIG. The stopper pins 46 are engaged with each other. Due to the elasticity of the torsion coil spring 45, the image forming magazine fixing member 50 is given a habit of turning in a direction in which this member approaches the magazine case 18A, and the stopper pin 46 prevents the turning due to this habit. Image forming magazine position regulating member 40 shown in FIG.
The rotation of is also blocked by a similar stopper pin 46.

Standing piece 50 of image forming magazine fixing member 50
In b, a hole which is not a long hole, for example, a circular hole 50a is formed,
The pin 44 of the magazine case 18A is engaged with and disengaged from the circular hole 50a as described later. Image magazine fixing member 5
The configurations of elements other than 0 are the same as those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and therefore the description of such configurations will be omitted for convenience.

As shown in FIG. 1, when the upper unit 1 is opened, as shown in FIG. 4, the hole 50a of the image forming magazine fixing member 50 and the pin 44 of the magazine case 18A are engaged with each other. They are in agreement. At this time, the hole 50a
Is not a long hole, and the pin 44 fits into the hole 50a without backlash. Therefore, in this state, the vertical movement of the magazine case 18A is completely stopped. That is, even if a force such as that for attaching and detaching a detachable body such as the toner supply container 29 acts on the magazine case 18A, the case 18A is stopped so as not to move. The shaft portion 18b of the magazine case 18A also receives the concave groove 2 with such a force.
The groove 20a is fitted in the groove 20a with a predetermined degree of fitting so as not to slip out of the groove 0a. This also applies to the embodiment shown in FIG.

The upper unit 1, for example, its unit frame (not shown) or the optical housing 5 shown in FIG.
7 is integrated and the upper unit 1 is closed from the open position, during this time, the protrusion 47 hits the upright portion 50b of the image forming magazine fixing member 50 shown in FIG. By pushing the piece 50b, the image forming magazine fixing member 50 is rotated around the pin 43a in the direction away from the magazine case 18A against the elasticity of the spring 45.

When the upper unit 1 is completely closed, as shown in FIG. 5, the image forming magazine fixing member 50 is rotated to the position where the hole 50a is completely removed from the pin 44. And
The image forming magazine fixing member 50 is held at its rotating position when the upper unit 1 is closed. At this position, the magazine case 18A is released from the restraint of the image forming magazine fixing member 50, and the magazine case 18A is released from the spring 37.
The pin-shaped protrusion 42 (FIG. 1) and the cylindrical engaged member 41 engaged with the pin-shaped protrusion 42 (FIG. 1) are urged by the force of FIG. Is positioned with respect to the exposure optical system 15.

When the upper unit which is closed is opened, the protrusion 47 shown in FIG. 5 retreats upward, so that the image forming magazine fixing member 50, which has been restricted in rotation until now, is moved by the force of the spring 45. 5, it rotates in the direction approaching the magazine case 18A, and the hole 50a is moved to the pin 44 as shown in FIG.
Engage with. As a result, the magazine case 18A is fixed again so as not to move in the vertical direction.

Also in this example, since the magazine case 18A is fixed when the upper unit is opened,
Toner replenishment container 2 for the magazine case 18A
A detachable body such as 9 can be easily attached and detached. Also, upper unit 1
Image forming magazine fixing member 50 is automatically linked with opening and closing of
Swings, and the hole 50a and the pin 44 are engaged and disengaged. Therefore, the engagement and disengagement can be performed without manually operating the image forming magazine fixing member 50. Especially, magazine case 1
There is no need to manually release the fixation of 8A. However, when the upper unit 1 is open, the image forming magazine fixing member 50 shown in FIG.
It may be configured to release the engagement between the hole 50a and the hole 50a.

Image magazine fixing member 50 and pin 44
And the spring 45 cooperates with each other in cooperation with the opening operation of the upper unit so that the image forming magazine becomes immovable in the attaching / detaching direction of the detachable body attached to the image forming magazine. Is an example of an image forming magazine fixing means for fixing the. Further, the projection 47 provided on the upper unit side constitutes an example of an image forming magazine fixing releasing means for releasing the fixing of the image forming magazine in conjunction with the closing operation of the upper unit.

[0051]

According to the image forming apparatus of the first aspect, the lower magazine is equipped with the image forming magazine,
As a result, the weight of the upper unit can be reduced, and the elasticity of the biasing member such as the torsion bar and the structure of the upper unit do not need to be strengthened as in the conventional case. Therefore, the image forming apparatus can be lightened and its cost can be reduced. be able to.
Also, since the upper unit is made lighter, the opening / closing operation thereof becomes easy. Further, since the image forming magazine is attached to the lower unit, the image forming magazine can be attached and detached stably. In addition to these, even if the image forming magazine is provided in the lower unit, the image forming magazine can be accurately positioned with respect to the exposure optical system of the upper unit.

According to the image forming apparatus of the second aspect,
Since the movable range of the image forming magazine set in the lower unit can be restricted, the attaching / detaching operability of the attaching / detaching body provided in the magazine can be improved.

According to the image forming apparatus of claim 3,
Since the image forming magazine can be fixed to the lower unit when the upper unit is opened, the attaching / detaching operability of the attaching / detaching body provided in the magazine can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an image forming magazine provided in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 together with an image forming magazine position regulating member.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an image forming magazine provided in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 together with an image forming magazine fixing member.

4 is a partially cutaway side view showing the image forming magazine fixing member shown in FIG. 3 together with a part of the image forming magazine.

5 is an operation view from FIG. 4 in which the image forming magazine fixing member shown in FIG. 4 opens the magazine case.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an outline of a conventional image forming apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Upper unit 2 Lower unit 15 Exposure optical system 18 Imaging magazine

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus in which an upper unit having at least an exposure optical system is rotatably and rotatably supported with respect to a lower unit, and an image forming magazine having at least an image carrier is detachably provided in the lower unit. An engaging portion and an engaged portion for engaging the image forming magazine and the upper unit with each other when the upper unit is closed and positioning the image forming magazine mounted on the lower unit with respect to the exposure optical system of the upper unit. With the joint portions provided, the upper unit closed, and the engaging portion and the engaged portion engaged with each other, the image forming magazine is urged in a direction to press the image forming magazine against the upper unit. An image forming apparatus comprising an image magazine urging means. 2. The image forming magazine position restricting means for restricting the movement of the image forming magazine in the attaching / detaching direction of the detachable body provided in the image forming magazine with the image forming magazine attached to the lower unit. The image forming apparatus according to item 1. 3. An image forming magazine fixing means for fixing the image forming magazine so that the image forming magazine becomes immovable in the attachment / detachment direction of the attachment / detachment body provided in the image forming magazine in association with the opening operation of the upper unit. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an image forming magazine fixing release unit that releases the fixing of the image forming magazine in association with the closing operation of the upper unit.