JPH09218570A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate, highly accurate assembly and to reduce the man-hours required for the assembly by integrally providing positional restricting members, which restrict mounting positions in relation to an image forming body, onto an optical support which supports image exposure means. SOLUTION: Because after the positional adjustment of the image exposure means 12, the outside diameter parts of ball bearing members 123 and 124 are integrally fixed on the same axis in the positions where the image exposure means 12 are mounted, error in relative position does not occur. Therefore, by attaching the image forming body 10 in this condition and fitting the parts together, and then by loading this mean into an image forming device as an actual machine, accuracy obtained in the positional adjustment is maintained and it can be set correctly. Thus, by directly mounting the ball bearing members 123 and 124, as positional restricting members, onto the support 120, by adjusting focusing based on the restricting members 123 and 124, and by attaching the means to the mounting reference parts of the image forming device main body in relation to the restricting members 123 and 124 after the adjustment, positional accuracy in focusing can be improved.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an electrophotographic system for forming an image in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer or a facsimile, in which a charging means, an image exposing device and a developing means are arranged around an image forming body. Image forming apparatus, in particular, an electrophotographic system for forming a color image by superposing toner images during one rotation of the image forming body by disposing a plurality of charging devices, an image exposing device and a developing device around the image forming body. The present invention relates to a color image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art The following methods (A), (B) and (C) are known as methods for forming a multicolor image.

(A) Apparatus having a same number of photoconductors, chargers, developing units, etc. as the number of colors required for an image, and superimposing a single-color toner image formed on each photoconductor on a transfer body or the like to form a color image (B) A device for forming a color image by rotating one photoconductor a plurality of times and repeating charging, image exposure and development for each color. (C) Charging and image exposure for each color within one rotation of one photoconductor. And a device for sequentially forming and forming a color image. However, the device (A) has a drawback that the volume of the device is increased because a plurality of photosensitive members and transfer members need to be moved. The device (B) has a single charging unit, an image exposing unit, and a single photoreceptor, so that the volume of the device can be reduced. . The device (C) enables high-speed image formation, but requires that a plurality of sets of a charger, an image exposing unit, and a developing unit be arranged in one circumference of a photoreceptor, and a developing system in which an optical system for performing image exposing is in close proximity. There is a risk that the image quality may be deteriorated due to contamination by toner leaking from the developing unit. To avoid this, it is necessary to increase the distance between the image exposure means and the developing unit, which inevitably increases the diameter of the photoconductor and increases the size of the apparatus. There is a problem such as inconsistency of doing.

For the purpose of avoiding the above-mentioned problems in the apparatus (C), the base body of the image forming body is formed of a transparent material, and a plurality of image exposing means are housed therein.
An apparatus (D) has been proposed in which an image is transmitted through the substrate and exposed on a photosensitive layer formed on the outer periphery of the image forming body (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-307307).

Since the image forming apparatuses (C) and (D) can form a color image while the image forming body is rotated once, it is possible to shorten the image recording time and perform high speed recording, and to improve the image quality. Is also effective.

The image forming apparatus (D) is of a type in which a line-shaped image exposing means for each color is arranged inside an image forming body composed of a transparent substrate and an optical semiconductor (hereinafter referred to as an optical system inclusion type). Device has been proposed. The image forming apparatus having the optical system-containing exposure unit has an advantage that the image forming body can be downsized and the apparatus can be configured compactly.

[0007]

In the image forming apparatus having the above-mentioned optical system-containing exposure means, the light-condensing position of each line-shaped light emitting means (light emitting element) is the peripheral surface of the image forming body. Must be exactly aligned with each other, and the respective arrangement positions of the respective linear light emitting means must be precisely arranged in parallel at predetermined intervals. For this reason, conventionally, a color image process is performed by using an image forming apparatus in which each line-shaped exposure optical system (image exposing means provided with a light emitting element) is temporarily mounted on an optical system support, and is further mounted in the image forming body. This was executed, the formed image quality was checked, and the attachment position of each line-shaped light emitting means was corrected. The adjustment work for correcting the position requires skill and time, which is a problem in assembling the device. Alternatively, each line-shaped exposure optical system is attached to an optical system support, and after position adjustment and focus adjustment are performed using an optical system assembly jig, the optical system support is fixed, and further,
After attaching the image forming body and the position regulating member, the image forming body and the position regulating member are attached at predetermined positions in the image forming apparatus. However, in the above-mentioned conventional adjustment, even if the optical system assembling jig is accurately adjusted, when the optical system is mounted on an image forming apparatus which is an actual machine, due to the accuracy of the position regulating member, the assembly error, etc. There is a problem that the positional accuracy in the main scanning direction and the positional accuracy in the sub-scanning direction are reduced, and it becomes necessary to readjust after mounting on the actual machine.

Therefore, in the conventional method, since the light emitting element (for example, LED) is attached with the axial position of the optical support as a reference, it is necessary to determine the axial position very accurately for processing and assembly.

That is, the conventional mounting method and problems are shown in FIG.
11 and FIG. 11, FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a conventional method of attaching the light emitting element provided in the image exposure means to the optical support, and FIG. 11 is a diagram showing the problem of FIG. ,
For example, as shown in FIG. 10, if the shape of the optical support 520 itself is not accurate, the shaft hole 520 of the optical support 520 may be attached when the light emitting element 512a is attached to the optical support 520.
Using the exposure optical system assembling jig 500 having the reference pin 501 corresponding to a and the mounting arm 502, the mounting arm 502 moves the light emitting element 512a in the direction of the arrow so that the light emitting element is focused on the sensor S. Then, the mounting position is adjusted, and the spacer 522 having a proper thickness is mounted. Therefore, the central axis P1 of the optical support 520 and the sensor S
The distance a between and becomes constant.

After the light emitting element 512a is mounted on the optical support 520 in this manner, the position regulating member (ball bearing member) 523 and the image forming body (photosensitive drum) 10 are mounted as shown in FIG. When this happens, the actual center of rotation P2 and the center axis P1 of the optical support 520 are displaced. As a result,
Since the dimension d in FIG. 11 varies, the light emitting element 512a on the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 corresponding to the position of the sensor S is out of focus.

That is, as explained above, if the shape of the optical support is incorrect, the optical support cannot be accurately attached to the center of rotation at the time of attachment, in other words, the distance between the image forming body and the image exposing means is different. The problem of becoming
In order to solve this, as a problem of component tolerance and assembly tolerance, there is no choice but to perform more accurate machining or to ignore the variation.

According to the present invention, in an image forming apparatus having an optical system-containing exposure means, the accuracy of the position of attachment of the linear exposure optical system to the optical support is improved, and the installation adjustment work time is shortened and the work is facilitated. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus that achieves the above-mentioned conditions and can obtain a good image.

[0013]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above-mentioned object is to connect an image forming body that rotates in the sub-scanning direction and a plurality of light emitting elements that are linearly arranged in the main scanning direction to perform image exposure on the image forming body. In an image forming apparatus provided with a plurality of image exposure means composed of image elements and an optical support for supporting the plurality of image exposure means at predetermined positions, a support portion for supporting the image exposure means on the optical support. And a position regulating member that regulates the image forming position of the image exposing means on the image forming body is integrally provided at the end of the optical support. (First invention).

Further, the above-mentioned object is composed of an image forming body which rotates in the sub-scanning direction, and a plurality of light emitting elements and image forming elements which are linearly arranged in the main scanning direction to perform image exposure on the image forming body. In an image forming apparatus provided with a plurality of image exposing means and an optical support for supporting the plurality of image exposing means at predetermined positions,
A position regulating member that regulates a mounting position to the image forming body is integrally fixed to an end portion of the optical supporting body provided with a supporting portion that supports the image exposing means, and is fixed to the outside of the image exposing means. After adjusting the mounting position of the image exposure means to the optical support and fixing it by an exposure optical system assembling jig having a light detecting means arranged and a moving means for sandwiching and moving the image exposing means. An image forming apparatus is characterized in that the image exposure unit, the optical support, and the position regulating member are inserted and fixed inside the image forming body via the position regulating member (second invention). .

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As an example of the present invention, FIG. 1 shows an image forming process and each mechanism of a color image forming apparatus suitable as an image forming apparatus in the following embodiment.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional structural view of a color image forming apparatus (color printer) 1 suitable as the image forming apparatus of this embodiment.

The color image forming apparatus of the present embodiment uses a photosensitive drum having an electrically conductive layer and a photosensitive layer provided on the outer peripheral surface of a transparent substrate as an image forming body, and is provided inside the photosensitive drum. The image exposure device also has a charger, a developer, and
This is a structure in which image forming process means such as a transfer device, a static eliminator, and a cleaning device are arranged.

The photosensitive drum 10, which is an image forming body, is provided with a cylindrical substrate formed of a transparent member of a transparent acrylic resin inside, and a transparent conductive layer, an a-Si layer or an organic photosensitive layer (OPC). ) Is formed on the outer circumference of the substrate, and is rotated clockwise in FIG. 1 in a grounded state.

In the present embodiment, it suffices that the photoconductive layer of the photosensitive drum has an exposure light amount capable of imparting an appropriate contrast. Therefore, the light transmittance of the transparent substrate of the photosensitive drum in this embodiment does not need to be 100%, and may have a characteristic that some light is absorbed when the exposure beam is transmitted. As the material of the translucent substrate, an acrylic resin, particularly one polymerized using methyl methacrylate monomer, has transparency, strength, accuracy,
Acrylic, fluorine used for other general optical members, etc.
Various translucent resins such as polyester, polycarbonate, and polyethylene terephthalate can be used. The light-transmitting conductive layer was made of indium tin oxide (ITO), tin oxide, lead oxide, indium oxide, copper iodide, Au, Ag, Ni, Al, etc. A metal thin film is used, and as a film forming method, a vacuum vapor deposition method, an active reaction vapor deposition method, various sputtering methods, various CVs.
D method, dip coating method, spray coating method and the like are used.
Further, as the photoconductor layer, amorphous silicon (a
-Si) alloy photosensitive layer, amorphous selenium alloy photosensitive layer, and various organic photosensitive layers (OPC) can be used.

A scorotron charger 11 as a charging means
Y, 11M, 11C, and 11K are used in image forming processes of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K), respectively. A charging operation is performed by a control grid maintained at a predetermined potential and corona discharge by a discharge wire, and a uniform potential is applied to the photosensitive drum 10.

Reference numerals 12Y, 12M, 12C, and 12K denote light emitting elements 12 linearly arranged in the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 10.
It is a line-shaped image exposure means (image exposure apparatus) composed of a and a converging fiber lens array (selfoc lens) 12b as an equal-magnification imaging element. The image signals of the respective colors read by the separate image reading device are sequentially taken out from the memory, and the exposure devices 12Y, 12
The electric signals are input to M, 12C and 12K, respectively.

Developing devices 13Y, 1 which are developing means for each color
3M, 13C, and 13K respectively accommodate one-component or two-component developers of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). The developing sleeve 131 rotates in the same direction while maintaining a predetermined gap.

The developing devices 13 (Y, M, C,
K) is the scorotron charger 11 (Y, M,
C, K) and the image exposure device 12 (Y, M, C,
The electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor drum 10 by image exposure with K) is reversely developed in a non-contact state by a non-contact developing method by applying a developing bias voltage.

As the original image, an image read by an image pickup device of an image reading apparatus separate from this apparatus or an image edited by a computer is temporarily stored as an image signal for each color of Y, M, C and K. Store and store in.

At the start of image recording, a photoconductor drive motor (not shown) is rotated to rotate the photoconductor drum 10 clockwise in FIG. 1, and at the same time, a scorotron charger 11Y disposed on the left side of the photoconductor drum 10 is rotated. Application of electric potential to the photoconductor drum 10 is started by the charging action.

After the photoconductor drum 10 is applied with the electric potential, the first color signal, that is, Y in the image exposure device 12Y.
Exposure with an electric signal corresponding to the image signal is started, and an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the Y image of the original image is formed on the photosensitive layer on the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 by rotational scanning.

The latent image is reversely developed by the developing device 13Y in a state where the developer on the developing sleeve 131 is in a non-contact state, and a yellow (Y) toner image is formed according to the rotation of the photosensitive drum 10.

Then, the photosensitive drum 10 is exposed to the yellow (Y) toner image by being charged with a potential by the charging action of a scorotron charger 11M arranged on the left side of the photosensitive drum 10 and above Y. Exposure is performed by an electric signal corresponding to the second color signal of the apparatus 12M, that is, the image signal of M, and non-contact reversal development by the developing device 13M causes magenta (M) on the yellow (Y) toner image. Toner images are sequentially superposed and formed.

By the same process, the cyan (C) toner image corresponding to the third color signal is further exposed by the scorotron charger 11C, the image exposure device 12C, and the developing device 13C arranged on the photosensitive drum 10. A scorotron charger 11K, an image exposure device 12K, and a developing device 1 arranged on the right side of the body drum 10 and below the C image forming unit.
By 3K, a black (K) toner image corresponding to the fourth color signal is sequentially superimposed, and a color toner image is formed on the peripheral surface within one rotation of the photosensitive drum 10.

These image exposure devices 12Y, 12M, 12
The exposure of the organic photosensitive layer of the photosensitive drum 10 by C and 12K is performed from the inside of the photosensitive drum 10 through the above-mentioned transparent substrate. Therefore, the exposure of the images corresponding to the second, third, and fourth color signals is performed without any influence from the previously formed toner image, and the same exposure as the image corresponding to the first color signal is performed. It is possible to form an electrostatic latent image.

Toners for replenishing each color are provided in the toner replenishing tank 14
Developing device 1 for colors corresponding to Y, 14M, 14C and 14K
3 (Y, M, C, K). Developing device 13 (Y,
M, C, and K) are kept in non-contact with the photoconductor drum 10 with a predetermined value, for example, 100 μm to 1000 μm by an abutting roller (not shown), and the developing device 13 for each color
At the time of the developing action by (Y, M, C, K), a developing bias in which a direct current or an alternating current is applied to the developing sleeve 131 is applied, and the non-contact developing by the one-component or two-component developer accommodated in the developing device is performed. Then, non-contact reversal development is performed in which a DC bias having the same polarity as that of the toner is applied to the photoconductor drum 10 having the transparent conductive layer grounded, and the toner is attached to the exposed portion.

A transfer sheet P, which is a transfer material, is sent out from a paper feed cassette 21 which is a transfer material storage means, and is conveyed to a timing roller 22. A color toner image formed on the peripheral surface of the photoconductor drum 10 is transferred onto a transfer paper P fed in synchronization with the toner image on the photoconductor drum 10 by the driving of the timing roller 22 in the transfer device 15. Transcribed.

The transfer paper P on which the toner image has been transferred is removed from the charge by the static eliminator 16 and separated from the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum, and is then transferred to the fixing device 24 by the transfer belt 23 which is a transfer unit. It After being heated and pressed in the fixing device 24 to fuse and fix the toner on the transfer paper P,
The sheet is discharged from the fixing device 24, conveyed by a pair of sheet discharge conveyance rollers 25, and discharged onto a tray 27 at the upper portion of the apparatus via a sheet discharge roller 26 with the toner image surface facing down.

On the other hand, the photosensitive drum 1 from which the transfer paper P is separated
In the cleaning device 17, the cleaning blade 17a of the cleaning device 17 rubs the surface of the photoconductor drum 10 to remove residual toner, and the toner is cleaned to continue forming a toner image of a document image or temporarily stops and a toner image of a new document image is formed. Formation. The waste toner scraped off by the cleaning blade 17a and the cleaning roller 17b is discharged to a waste toner container 17d through a toner conveying screw 17c and a toner conveying pipe. After the cleaning, the cleaning blade 17a and the cleaning roller 17b are kept apart from the photosensitive drum 10 in order to prevent the photosensitive drum 10 from being damaged.

FIG. 2 (A) is a sectional view of the main part of the image exposure apparatus, and FIG. 2 (B) is a perspective view of FIG. 2 (A). Since the image exposure devices 12Y, 12M, 12C and 12K have the same structure, they will be referred to as the image exposure device 12 in the following description. As shown in FIG. 2, the exposure device 12 as an image exposure means for each color is composed of FLs arranged in the axial direction of the photoconductor drum 10.
(Fluorescence emission), EL (electroluminescence),
A linear exposure element in which light emitting elements such as PL (plasma discharge) and LED (light emitting diode) are arranged in an array, or LIS
A light emitting element that emits exposure light by a linear exposure element or the like in which elements having an optical shutter function such as A (magneto-optical effect shutter array), PLZT (transmissive piezoelectric element shutter array), and LCS (liquid crystal shutter) are arranged. 12a and a condensing fiber lens array (selfoc lens) 12b as an equal magnification imaging element are attached to a holding member 12c that holds the light emitting element 12a and a selfoc lens 12b as an equal magnification imaging element. Is mounted as a unit on the optical support 120 for fixing and holding the exposure device provided inside the photosensitive drum 10 by a method described later, and image signals of each color stored in the memory are stored in the memory. The signals are sequentially read out and input as electric signals to the exposure device 12 for each color. The emission wavelength of the light emitting element 12a used in this embodiment is 600 to 900 nm.
Of the range.

The light emitting element 12a is, for example, an array in which LEDs are linearly arranged, and is formed on a substrate 12d using, for example, ceramics, Pyrex glass or the like. Further, the SELFOC lens 12b is shown by a small black circle in the figure, and the substrate 12d of the light emitting element 12a is fixed to the holding member 12c by an adhesive shown by a diagonal line, whereby the image exposure device 12 is configured. The exposure device 12 for each color is held at a predetermined position by using an assembly jig to be described later, and is attached and fixed to the optical support body 120 with an adhesive or the like.

FIG. 3 shows the state before attaching the image forming body 10.
The image exposure device 12 (Y, M, C, K) is attached to the optical support 120.
3A is a view showing a state where the image exposure apparatus is attached to the image exposure apparatus, FIG. 3A is a side view of the image exposure apparatus, and FIG. 3B is a front view of FIG. In the x-axis direction (main scanning direction), the photoconductor drum 10
Shows a direction in which the linear light emitting element 12a provided in the image exposure device 12 is positioned to be orthogonal to the moving direction of the photoconductor drum 10, and the y-axis direction (sub-scanning direction) is the photoconductor drum 10. Shows the movement direction of. The z-axis direction (focus position direction) indicates the diametrical movement of the photosensitive drum 10 of the image exposure device 12, and indicates the adjustment direction of the focus position of the SELFOC lens 12b.

FIG. 4 shows an image exposure device 12 (Y, M, C,
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the image forming body 10 including K) is mounted between the apparatus main body fixed side plates 1A and 1B of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 5A shows an image exposure device 12 (Y, M, C, K).
FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view showing a state before the image forming body 10 including the above is mounted between the fixed side plates 1A and 1B, FIG. 5B is its AA cross-sectional view, and FIG. 5C is B- B sectional view, FIG.
(D) is CC sectional drawing. FIG. 6A is a sectional view showing a state of positioning and adjusting the image exposure device 12 (Y, M, C, K), and FIG. 6B is an AA sectional view thereof.

The optical support 120 is the image exposure device 12
It is divided into two left and right optical supports 120A and 120B supporting both ends of (Y, M, C, K), and both are inserted and supported by a shaft 121 which is a central axis. Both ends of the image exposure device 12 (Y, M, C, K) are attached and fixed to the outer peripheral surfaces of the optical supports 120A and 120B. Two pins 121a and 121b are planted at predetermined positions on the shaft 121, and the image exposure device 12 (Y, M, C, K) is attached to the shaft 12 by
1 and then the right pin 121b is brought into contact with the V-shaped groove on the right side of the optical support 120B on the right side in the drawing,
The optical support 120A on the left side in the drawing is attached to the pin 121a on the left side.
Are brought into contact with each other to perform axial positioning.

If the optical supports 120A and 120B and the shaft 121 are integrally formed from the beginning, this work is unnecessary.

The optical supports 120A, 120 for supporting and attaching both ends of the image exposure device 12 (Y, M, C, K).
The support portions 120a and 120b of B have regular hexagonal prism-shaped side surfaces, and the support portions 120a and 120b are set in advance so as to be coplanar on a surface plate. The image exposure device 12 (Y, M, C, K) is fixed with an adhesive through a wedge-shaped spacer 122 after performing position adjustment described later.

The other end (the end on the left side in the figure) of the optical support 120A has a cylindrical surface 120 concentric with the shaft 121.
The inner ring portion of the ball bearing member (position regulating member) 123 is press-fitted into the cylindrical surface portion 120d. The outer ring portion of the ball bearing member 123 is press-fitted into the inner diameter portion of the image forming body 10 at the left end in the figure.

The other end portion (the end portion on the right side in the figure) of the optical support 120B has a cylindrical surface portion 120 concentric with the shaft 121.
c is formed, and the inner ring portion of the ball bearing member (position regulating member) 124 is press-fitted into the cylindrical surface portion 120c. The outer ring portion of the ball bearing member 124 is press-fitted into the inner diameter portion of the image forming body driving member 125. The image forming body driving member 125 is fitted and fixed to the inner diameter portion of the image forming body 10.

At the leftmost end of the shaft 121 in the figure,
The inner diameter portion of the left side plate mounting member 126 is fitted, and the flange portion of the left side plate mounting member 126 is positioned and fixed to the left side plate 1A of the image forming apparatus. Further, the inner diameter portion of the right side plate mounting member 127 is fitted to the rightmost end portion of the shaft 121 in the drawing,
The flange portion of the right side plate mounting member 127 is brought into contact with the right side plate 1B in the image forming apparatus, and is positioned and fixed to the right side plate 1B by a screw screwed into the rightmost end of the shaft 121. The pin 121c near the right end of the shaft 121 is fitted into a mounting reference groove (not shown) provided in the inner diameter portion of the right side plate mounting member 127 to position the shaft 121 in the rotational direction.

With the above configuration, after the position adjustment of the image exposure means 12 (Y, M, C, K) shown in FIG. 6, each mounting position of the image exposure means 12 (Y, M, C, K) is adjusted. And the outer diameter portions of the ball bearing members 123 and 124 are integrally fixed and coaxial with each other, so that an error in relative position does not occur. Therefore, in this state, if the image forming body 10 is mounted and assembled as shown in FIG. 5, and further mounted to the image forming apparatus main body as an actual machine as shown in FIG. Can be installed accurately. In this way, the ball bearing member 12 which is a position restricting member directly on the optical support body 120
3, 124, and the position regulating member 12 is provided.
The focus position accuracy is greatly improved by performing focus adjustment with reference to 3,124 and by mounting the position regulating members 123 and 124 on the attachment reference portion of the image forming apparatus main body after the adjustment.

FIG. 7 shows the image exposure means 12 (Y, M, C,
K) is a plan view of the exposure optical system assembly jig 200 for adjusting the position, and FIG. 8 is a front view of the exposure optical system assembly jig 200.

The respective ends of the optical supports 120A and 120B which support the image exposing means 12 (Y, M, C and K) are supported by the support members 128A and 128A via ball bearing members 123 and 124, respectively.
It is fitted to 128B and is rotatably supported. A rotary encoder 206 is provided at one axial end of the shaft 121 penetrating the optical supports 120A and 120B, and each of the image exposure units 12Y, 12M, 12C and 12 is exposed.
Precise positioning is performed in the K rotation direction (sub-scanning direction y).

Of the image exposing means 12 (Y, M, C, K), one image exposing means (for example, 12Y shown in the drawing) near both ends thereof includes two sets of left and right fine movement stages 201A and 201B.
The gripping portions 202A and 202B are gripped. The fine movement stages 201A and 201B include the support members 128A and
It is installed on a fixed base 203 having a fixed positional relationship with 128B, and finely moves the grippers 202A and 202B in the three-dimensional directions (x, y, z directions). As described above, the fine movement stages 201A and 201B include the fixed base 203 and the support member 1
Ball bearing members 123, 1 through 28A, 128B
24 maintains a fixed positional relationship. Here, the x direction is the main scanning direction, the y direction is the sub scanning direction, and the z direction is the focus adjustment direction.

Further, at the upper end of the support column 204 fixed on the fixed table 203, on the side facing the both ends of the line-shaped SELFOC lens 12b of the image exposing means 12Y, the light detecting means (light detecting sensor) is provided. 205A and 205B are arranged. The light detecting means 205A and 205B are composed of, for example, a two-dimensional CCD sensor, and are located at an image forming position by the exposure optical system 12 using the reference image forming body 10, that is, at an image forming reference position on the outer peripheral surface of the reference image forming body 10. It is set in advance at an equal position (since the LED light passes through a transparent base made of an acrylic resin having a refractive index different from that of air) (light detection means 20).
5A and 205B are also fixed bases 203 and support members 128A and 1
28B, the ball bearing members 123 and 124 always maintain a fixed positional relationship. Then, the linear light emitting device 1
The image exposing means 1 is detected while being detected by the light detecting means 205A and 205B in a state in which specific pixels at both ends of 2a are turned on.
2 Adjust the x and y positions of Y and the focus position z. The light detection means 205A and 205B are connected to the detection circuit and display means shown in FIG. 9, and the output is displayed on the CRT monitor. When the adjustment of the x, y, z positions is completed, the image exposure means 12Y
Between the optical support members 120A and 120B and the spacer 12
2 is inserted and fixed in position, and further fixed by adhesion with an adhesive.

As described above, since the light detecting means is arranged with the ball bearing member as a reference, it always keeps a constant distance from the ball bearing member, that is, the surface of the rotating image forming body, and the surface of the image forming body is always maintained. Light emitting element (LED)
Can be moved and adjusted.

After the first adjustment of the image exposure means 12Y is completed, the rotary encoder 206 is rotated by a predetermined angle and the adjustment of the image exposure means 12M is performed in the same manner. Subsequently, adjustment of the image exposure means 12M and 12K is performed in the same manner.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the adjustment control means of the image exposure means 12. Line-shaped light emitting elements (LED arrays) corresponding to specific pixels at both ends of the image exposure means 12
With 12a turned on, the photodetector (two-dimensional CCD
Sensor) 205A and 205B turn on LE
The position and brightness (focus) of D are measured. Light detection means 2
05A and 205B are two-dimensional CCD sensors composed of, for example, 500 × 500 pixels, and the size of one pixel is 5 to 1
0 μm. The image exposure means 12 is slightly moved in the X, Y, and Z directions by the fine movement stages 201A and 201B, and the image forming position of the specific LED that is turned on is changed to the two-dimensional C.
The control unit 207 detects that the pixels match the specified pixels in the areas of the CD sensors 205A and 205B, and displays them on the display unit (CRT monitor) 208.

Next, the process of adjusting the image exposure means using the exposure optical system assembly jig 200 will be described.

(1) The optical supports 120A and 120B are inserted into the shaft 121 which is the central axis, and the optical supports 12 are inserted.
0A, 120B regular hexagonal columnar side supporting portion 120
The a and 120b are installed so as to be flush with each other on the surface plate.

(2) Pin 1 on the right side of the shaft 121
21b shows V on the right side of the optical support 120B on the right side in the figure.
The optical support 120B is attached to the shaft 1 by abutting the V-shaped groove.
Screw it to 21. Pin 12 on the left side of shaft 121
The optical support 120A on the left side in the drawing is brought into contact with 1a, and the optical support 120A is screwed to the shaft 121.

(3) A ball bearing member 123, which is a position regulating member, is fitted in the cylindrical surface portion 120d at the left end of the optical support 120A, and a ball bearing member is a position regulating member at the cylindrical surface portion 120c at the right end of the optical support 120B. Fit 124 (FIG. 6)
reference).

(4) The left ball bearing member 123 is mounted on the support member 128A, the right ball bearing member 124 is mounted on the support member 128B, and the ball bearing members 123, 124 and the shaft 121 are horizontally installed.

(5) The rotary encoder 206 is attached to the shaft end of the shaft 121.

(6) The rotational position of the optical support 120 is set so that the bottom of the image exposure means 12Y faces the support 120a of the optical support 120 directly.

(7) Both ends of the image exposure means 12Y are connected to the fine movement stages 201A, 201 of the exposure optical system assembling jig 200.
It is gripped by the gripping portions 202A and 202B of B (FIG. 7,
See FIG. 8).

(8) The fine movement stages 201A and 201B are operated to finely move the image exposure means 12Y in the x and z directions, and the means shown in FIG. 9 is used for positioning and focus adjustment.

(9) Image exposure means 12Y and optical support 12
Insert the spacer 122 between the support part 120a of 0,
Further, the image exposure means 12Y is fixed by adhering and fixing with an adhesive.

(10) Image exposure means 12M, 12C, 12
The positioning adjustment of K is also performed in the same manner as (7) to (10) above.

(11) All image exposure means 12Y, 12
After the adjustment of M, 12C, and 12K is completed, the image forming body 10 and the image forming body driving member 125 are mounted on the ball bearing members 123 and 124 in this order (see FIG. 5).

(12) Between the fixed side plates 1A and 1B of the image forming apparatus 1 which is an actual machine, the image exposure means 12 (Y, M,
The image forming body 10 including C, K) is inserted, and the left side plate mounting member 126 and the right side plate mounting member 127 are attached to the shaft 121.
Attached to the shaft and using screws, etc., the device body fixed side plates 1A, 1B
Secure to and complete the assembly.

The image forming body used in the present invention is not necessarily limited to the photoconductor drum described in the above embodiment, but a belt-like photoconductor may be used. Further, in the above-mentioned embodiments, the image exposing device is arranged inside the image forming body, but the invention is not limited to this, and the image exposing device is arranged outside the image forming body. It may be something that is done.

[0067]

According to the first to fifth aspects of the invention, the optical support for supporting the image exposing means is integrally provided with the position restricting member for restricting the mounting position to the image forming body. The reference for position adjustment and the reference for attachment to the image forming apparatus are the same, and the reference can be attached to the image forming apparatus while maintaining the position accuracy and focus accuracy at the time of adjustment. This allows
Highly accurate assembly can be performed easily, and the number of assembly steps can be shortened.

According to the sixth to seventh aspects, a position regulating member for regulating the mounting position to the image forming body is integrally fixed to the end of the optical supporting body provided with the supporting portion for supporting the image exposing means,
The image exposure means is fixed to the optical support by an exposure optical system assembling jig having a light detection means fixedly arranged outside the image exposure means and a moving means for sandwiching and moving the image exposure means. After the mounting position is adjusted and fixed, the image exposing means is provided inward of the image forming body via the position regulating member.
By inserting and fixing the optical support and the position regulating member, positioning of the image exposure device with respect to the image forming body in the main scanning direction, the sub scanning direction, and the focus position direction is performed. Further, relative positions in the main scanning direction, the sub scanning direction, and the focus position direction between the exposure devices are also determined, and highly accurate assembly is facilitated and a good image is obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram of a color image forming apparatus suitable as an image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view and a perspective view of a main part of the image exposure apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a side view and a front view showing a state where the image exposure device is attached to an optical support.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which an image forming body including an image exposure device is mounted between fixed side plates of the image forming device.

5A is a cross-sectional view showing a state before an image forming body including an image exposure device is mounted between fixed side plates, and FIG.
-A sectional view, (C) is a BB sectional view, and (D) is a CC sectional view.

FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view showing a state during positioning adjustment of the image exposure apparatus, and FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of an exposure optical system assembling jig for adjusting the position of the image exposing means.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the exposure optical system assembly jig.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing an adjustment control unit of an image exposure unit.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a conventional method for attaching a light emitting element provided in an image exposure unit to an optical support.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a problem of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 1A, 1B Mounting main body fixed side plate 10 Image forming body (photosensitive drum) 12, 12Y, 12M, 12C, 12K Image exposing means (image exposing device) 12a Light emitting element 12b Equal-magnification image forming element (light condensing property) Fiber lens array, SELFOC lens) 120, 120A, 120B Optical support 120a, 120b Support 120d Cylindrical surface 121 Shaft 122 Spacer 123, 124 Position regulating member (ball bearing member) 125 Image forming member driving member 126 Left side plate mounting member 127 right side plate mounting member 128A, 128B support member 200 exposure optical system assembly jig 201, 201A, 201B fine movement stage 202A, 202B gripping part 205A, 205B light detection means (light detection sensor, two-dimensional CCD sensor) 206 rotary encoder 207 control Means 2 8 display means (CRT monitor)

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Hiroyuki Tokimatsu 2970 Ishikawacho, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo Konica Corporation (72) Inventor Masayasu Onodera 2970 Ishikawacho, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo Konica Corporation (72) Invention Person Toshihide Miura 5-14-14 Midoricho, Koganei-shi, Tokyo

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An image forming body which rotates in the sub-scanning direction, a plurality of image exposing means which are linearly arranged in the main scanning direction to expose the image forming body, and the plurality of image exposing means are predetermined. In an image forming apparatus provided with an optical support that supports a position, a support portion that supports the image exposure unit is provided on the optical support, and an end portion of the optical support is provided on the image forming body. An image forming apparatus, wherein a position regulating member that regulates an image forming position of the image exposing unit is integrally provided. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image exposing unit, the optical support, and the position regulating member are provided inside the image forming body. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position regulating member is provided near both ends of the image forming body that rotates in the sub-scanning direction. 4. At least one member of the position regulating members is a rotatable ball bearing member, and an inner ring portion of the ball bearing member is fixed to an end portion of the optical support, and the ball bearing member. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the outer ring portion is fixed to an end portion of the rotatable image forming body. 5. At least one of the position regulating members is a rotatable ball bearing member, and an inner ring portion of the ball bearing member is fixed to an end portion of the optical support, and the ball bearing member. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the outer ring portion is fixed to an end portion of an image forming body driving member that is integral with the rotatable image forming body. 6. An image forming body which rotates in the sub-scanning direction, a plurality of image exposing means which are linearly arranged in the main scanning direction and perform image exposure on the image forming body, and the plurality of image exposing means are predetermined. In an image forming apparatus provided with an optical support body that supports the image exposure means, a position regulation that regulates a mounting position of the image formation body at an end portion of the optical support body that has a support portion that supports the image exposure unit. With an exposure optical system assembling jig, the members are integrally fixed, and the light detecting means is fixedly arranged outside the image exposing means, and the moving means holds the image exposing means so as to be movable. After the image exposure means is attached to the optical support by adjusting its position and fixed, the image exposure means, the optical support, and the position control member are inserted and fixed inside the image forming body via the position control member. A characteristic image forming apparatus. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the light detecting means is a two-dimensional CCD sensor.