JPH11133836A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To repair or exchange an image forming element without bothering an operator about the holding position or the holding manner of the image forming element by providing a knob part held by the operator in the case of opening/closing and attaching/detaching the image forming element. SOLUTION: A transfer means 12 is covered with a unit case 4 excepting a transfer area S where a toner image is transferred to recording material, and the transfer area S is exposed to the outside when an opening/closing body 2 is opened. Therefore, the device is provided with a protection member 32 protecting the image forming element by covering over at least a part of the transfer means 12, that is, the image forming element which is undesired to be touched with hands in the case of turning the body 2 in an opening direction D and making it in an opened state, occupying an actuating position where the knob part 33 is positioned in an open space, and occupying a retreat position where image forming operation is not hindered when the body 2 is turned in a closing direction E and made in a closed state near the transfer area S. The member 32 is provided with the knob part 33 held by the operator when a processing unit 3 is turned or detached.

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 which can be opened and closed and attached to and detached from a base of the apparatus, and which is an image forming element which is exposed to the outside and which is not preferably touched.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming apparatus of a type configured as an electronic copying machine, a printing machine, a printer, a facsimile, or a multifunction machine having at least two of these functions includes an opening / closing body and image forming elements inside the apparatus. Some are supported so as to be openable and closable in the same direction. By opening and closing the openable body, operations such as repair and replacement of the image forming element or jam clearance can be easily performed.

[0003] However, some image forming elements are not desirable for the operator to touch. For example,
In an image forming apparatus of a type in which a toner image is formed on the surface of a latent image carrier or an image forming apparatus of a type in which the toner image is transferred to an intermediate transfer body which is one of transfer means, the latent image carrier and the intermediate transfer When the body is touched with a hand, fingerprints and oils adhere to the surface, and when a toner image is formed on the latent image carrier or the intermediate transfer body, the surface is significantly deteriorated.

For this reason, the operator has to pay attention to the position of the image forming element and how to hold the image forming element when opening and closing the image forming element. In addition, when the opening / closing member is opened and the undesirably touchable image forming element is exposed to the outside as described above, it is inevitable that the operator may accidentally touch the image forming element.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made on the basis of the above-described recognition, and has as its object to provide an image processing system that allows an operator to operate an image forming element without paying attention to the position and holding of the image forming element. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of performing operations such as repair and replacement of a forming element or a jam removal operation, and further, while achieving this, protects an undesirably touchable image forming element, It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus which can prevent the user from touching the image forming apparatus.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is provided for opening and closing and detaching the base of the apparatus so that the hand exposed to the outside can be touched. There has been proposed an image forming apparatus having an image forming element which is not provided, and a handle portion which an operator has when opening / closing and attaching / detaching the image forming element.

When the image forming apparatus has an opening / closing body which can be opened and closed with respect to the base of the apparatus, the handle is located in an open space formed between the base and the opening when the opening / closing body is opened. The opening position is occupied so as not to hinder the image forming operation when the opening / closing body is closed when the opening / closing body is closed. This is advantageous because the handle does not hinder the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing body or the image forming operation.

At this time, the opening / closing member is operated in accordance with the opening operation of the opening / closing member, and the handle portion, which has occupied the retracted position, is moved to the operating position, and is operated in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing member. It is advantageous to provide drive means for moving the part to the retracted position.

As the driving means, a driving source, a driving gear rotatably driven by the driving source, a driving gear attached to the handle and meshing with the driving gear, and the handle being actuated by rotation of the driving gear. Advantageously, there is provided a driven gear that is driven and rotated to rotate between the position and the retracted position.

When the opening / closing body is opened, the movement of the opening / closing body brings the hand-held portion to the operating position. When the opening / closing body is closed, the movement of the opening / closing body brings the handle portion to the retracted position. As described above, the regulating means for regulating the movement of the handle may be provided in place of the driving means.

The regulating means includes an urging member for urging the handle toward the operating position, and when the opening and closing member is closed, the handle is pressed by the opening and closing member. Occupy the retracted position against the urging action of the urging member, and when the pressing action of the opening / closing body on the handle is released by opening the opening / closing body, the urging action of the urging member activates the handle. Advantageously, it is configured to move to a position.

A handle portion is rotatably supported by a support member for supporting the undesirably touchable image forming element between the operating position and the retracted position. Is advantageous.

The handle is rotatably supported between the retracted position and the operating position, and the restricting means is disposed concentrically with the center of rotation of the handle and is fixed to the handle. A driven gear that is rotated by the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing body while meshing with the driven gear; and a biasing unit that rotationally biases the handle toward the operating position. It may be.

The restricting means includes a lever connected to the drive gear to rotate integrally with the drive gear, and the handle, the drive gear, and the lever are provided on a support member for supporting the image forming element. The lever is rotatably supported, and further, when the opening / closing body is closed, the lever is held at the retracted position by a pressing action from the opening / closing body.
And when the pressing action from the opening / closing body is released with the opening of the opening / closing body, the handle portion is held in the operating position by the urging action of the urging member.
May be rotatably supported so as to occupy the position.

In each of the image forming apparatuses described above, when the opening / closing body is opened, the image forming apparatus occupies an operation position for covering at least a part of the undesirably touchable image forming element and protecting the element. When the opening / closing body is closed, a protection member occupying a retracted position which does not hinder the image forming operation may be provided, and the protection member may be provided with the handle.

It is preferable that the handle portion is a U-shaped member spanned in the longitudinal direction of the protective member, since the operator of the operation can firmly hold the image forming element when opening / closing or attaching / detaching.

In the case where the protective member has a cover portion rotatably supported by a support member for supporting the image forming element between an operating position and a retracted position and extending in the width direction of the image forming element, The handle may be provided at both ends or the center of the cover so as to protrude outward from the center of rotation of the protection member.

Alternatively, the protective member is rotatably supported by the support member for supporting the image forming element between the operating position and the retracted position and extends in the width direction of the image forming element. In the case of forming a U-shaped cross section having both sides of the covering portion and side walls extending in a direction intersecting with the extending direction of the covering portion, the handle portion is provided on each of the side walls. It may be provided. In addition, it is preferable that an uneven portion is provided on the handle portion so that the uneven portion is caught by an operator's hand and can be securely held when operating the image forming element.

If the handle portion has an identification portion for identifying at least an image forming element which is exposed to the outside and is not preferably touched by the hand, the handle portion and the image forming element are separated. This is preferable because positive identification can be performed and careless contact between the image forming element and the operator's hand can be avoided.

It is preferable that the identification section is made of a different color or material from the above-mentioned handle section or image forming element.

Each of the above-described image forming apparatuses includes a latent image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed, a developing unit for visualizing the latent image carrier as a toner image, and a developing device for forming a latent image on the surface of the latent image carrier. Transfer means for transferring the toner image, first charge applying means for transferring the toner image on the surface of the latent image carrier to the transfer means, and second charge transfer means for transferring the toner image formed on the transfer means to a recording material
Charge providing means and a fixing device for fixing the toner image transferred to the recording material, when the opening and closing body is opened, the undesired image forming element exposed to the outside and touched by the hand is It becomes a transfer means.

The image forming apparatus has a front case supported so as to be capable of rotating and opening and closing with respect to the image forming apparatus main body, and at least the latent image carrier and the transfer means are configured as an integrated process unit. When the process unit is detachably supported by opening the front housing, and the opening / closing body comprises the front housing, a toner image is formed on a recording material when the front housing is opened. The transfer area of the transfer unit for transferring the image may be covered with the protection member.

Each of the above-described image forming apparatuses comprises a latent image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed, a developing means for visualizing the electrostatic latent image as a toner image, and a method for applying the toner image to a recording material. In the case of including a charge applying means for transferring and a fixing device for fixing the toner image transferred to the recording material, an undesired image forming element which is exposed to the outside and touched by hand when the opening / closing body is opened is It becomes a latent image carrier.

When the retreat position of the handle is set at a position adjacent to the fixing device, a heat-resistant resin or a metal member and a metal member are provided so that the handle is not deformed by heat from the fixing device. It may be configured by a heat insulating member covering the outer surface to take measures against heat.

[0025]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing the internal structure of a color image forming apparatus configured as a printer. The image forming apparatus shown here is an image forming apparatus main body 1 which is a base of an apparatus which is immovably mounted on an installation surface such as a floor surface.
And an opening / closing body 2 constituting a front housing rotatably supported by the image forming apparatus main body 1 via a support shaft 9A. The opening / closing body 2 can be freely opened and closed in an opening direction indicated by an arrow D (hereinafter referred to as “opening direction D”) and a closing direction indicated by an arrow E (hereinafter referred to as “closed direction E”) as shown in FIG. Occupying the open state shown in FIG. 1 and the closed state shown in FIG. Further, when the opening / closing body 2 is rotated in the opening direction D and placed at the open position, an open space Z between the opening / closing body 2 and the image forming apparatus main body 1 is formed.

The image forming apparatus main body 1 is provided with a process unit 3 in which a plurality of process elements are integrally attached to the image forming apparatus main body 1 so as to be detachable and rotatable. This process unit 3 is also called a process cartridge.

In FIG. 1, an endless belt-shaped photosensitive member 9 as an example of a latent image carrier is wound around belt rollers 8a and 8b rotatably supported by a unit case 4 serving as a support member of an image forming element. It is hung. As the latent image carrier, a drum-shaped photosensitive member, a dielectric drum, or a dielectric belt can be used. A charging device including a charging charger 10 is disposed at a position facing the photoconductor 9, and the charging charger 10 is also supported by the unit case 4.

The image forming apparatus main body 1 supports a laser writing unit 5 as an exposure device, and a rotary type color developing device 6 and a black developing device 7 as developing means. The laser writing unit 5 has a laser light source (not shown), reflects the laser light from the light source on a polygon mirror 5B that is driven to rotate by a motor 5A, and outputs an f · θ lens 5C and mirrors 5E and 5F.
Irradiates the surface of the photoconductor 9 through the like, and exposes the surface of the photoconductor 9.

The color developing device 6 includes a yellow developing device 6
It is configured as a unit in which the Y, magenta developing unit 6M and cyan developing unit 6C are integrally assembled, and the whole is rotatably supported by the image forming apparatus main body 1. The yellow developing device 6Y, the magenta developing device 6M, and the cyan developing device 6C contain yellow, magenta, and cyan developers, respectively. The color developing device 6 is provided with a mechanism for selecting a developing device for each color. The color developing device 6 synchronizes the developing device storing the developer of the corresponding color in synchronization with the developing timing of the corresponding color, and moves the developing device to a developing position (photoconductor). 9 (a position facing 9). As the developer, either a two-component developer having a toner and a carrier or a one-component developer having no carrier may be used.
Also, a liquid developer can be used,
In the illustrated example, a powdery developer is used.

The black developing device 7 includes a color developing device 6
It is arranged above. The black developing device 7 is provided laterally in the vicinity of the black developing device 7 and can be freely moved toward and away from the photosensitive member 9 by the rotation of a cam 29 rotated by a driving device (not shown). Contains the agent. The cam 29 and a motor (not shown) constitute contacting / separating means for the black developing device 7.

The belt roller 8b is connected to a driving device (not shown) to form a driving roller, and is driven to rotate during an image forming operation to thereby rotate the photosensitive member 9 in the direction of arrow A. . At this time, the surface of the photosensitive member 9 is subjected to a charge removing operation by a charge removing lamp 21 which is an example of a charge removing device, and then the surface of the photosensitive member 9 is uniformly charged by the charging charger 10. Modulated laser light 5D emitted from
Exposed by As a result, a first electrostatic latent image corresponding to the written information is formed on the surface of the photoconductor 9. At this time, for example, the yellow developing unit 6Y of the color developing device 6 is positioned to face the surface of the photoconductor 9, and the first electrostatic latent image is visible as a yellow toner image by the yellow developing unit 6Y. Imaged. At this time, the black developing device 7 is separated from the surface of the photoconductor 9 and does not perform the developing operation.

In the unit case 4, an appropriate number, in this example, two belt rollers 11a,
11b is rotatably supported. An endless intermediate transfer belt 12, which is an example of an intermediate transfer member in a transfer unit, is wound around these belt rollers 11a and 11b. One of the belt rollers 11a is driven by a driving device (not shown) to drive the intermediate transfer belt. The transfer belt 12 is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow B. This intermediate transfer belt 12
And the photosensitive member 9 are in contact with each other at an appropriate pressure at the intermediate transfer portion P. On the back side of the intermediate transfer belt 12 in the intermediate transfer portion P, a transfer brush 13 which is an example of a contact transfer member serving as a first charge applying means is disposed with its tip abutting. The transfer brush 13 is supported by the unit case 4.

The contact transfer member of the first charge applying means includes a transfer roller and a transfer blade, and the non-contact transfer member of the first charge application means includes a corona discharger. These can also be used. Examples of the intermediate transfer member include an intermediate transfer drum and an intermediate transfer roller, and these may be used.

When the yellow toner image thus formed on the surface of the photosensitive member 9 reaches the intermediate transfer portion P, a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the toner image is applied to the transfer brush 13,
As a result, the toner image on the surface of the photoconductor 9 is transferred to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 12.

After the transfer of the toner image, the toner remaining without being transferred adheres to the surface of the photoreceptor 9, and the transfer residual toner is supported by the unit case 4, and the leading end of the photoreceptor is Cleaning blade 15A pressed against 9
And is scraped off by a cleaning member that performs mechanical cleaning. The transfer residual toner removed from the surface of the photoreceptor 9 in this manner is transferred to the unit case 4
Falls into the cleaning case 39 integrally assembled with the cleaning case 39. As the cleaning member, other appropriate means such as a fur brush can be adopted, and a plurality of cleaning members can be used in combination. The cleaning blade 15 </ b> A and the cleaning case 39 constitute a cleaning device 40 for the photoconductor 9, and the transfer residual toner removed from the photoconductor 9 is transferred to a toner conveying screw 41 as a toner conveying member provided in the cleaning case 39.
Is discharged out of the cleaning case 39.

The surface of the photoreceptor 9 whose surface has been cleaned in this way is again subjected to a charge removing operation by the charge removing lamp 21,
The charged surface is uniformly charged by the charging charger 10, and then the charged surface is irradiated with the laser beam 5 </ b> D irradiated from the laser writing unit 5 to form a second electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoconductor 9. When this electrostatic latent image passes through the color developing device 6, the rotation of the device causes, for example, the magenta developing device 6M to face the photoreceptor 9, whereby the second electrostatic latent image can be used as a magenta toner image. It is visualized. This toner image is also superimposed on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 12 on which the yellow toner image has been previously transferred by the operation of the transfer brush 13 at the intermediate transfer portion P in the same manner as described above. Transcribed. The toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor 9 after the transfer of the magenta toner image is also removed by the cleaning blade 15A.
Is scraped off from the surface.

In exactly the same manner as described above, the surface of the photoreceptor 9 is placed on the cyan developing device 6 facing the surface of the photoreceptor.
C and the black developing device 7 sequentially form a cyan toner image and a black toner image, respectively, and these are superimposed on the toner image previously transferred on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 12 at the intermediate transfer portion P and are sequentially transferred. You. Exposure 9
The transfer residual toner image is removed from the surface by the cleaning blade 15A each time each toner image is transferred, and the surface is cleaned. Thus, a full-color toner image is formed on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 12. When a black toner image is formed, the rotation of the cam 29 causes the black developing device 7 to approach the surface of the photoconductor 9, and a predetermined developing operation is performed.

A recording material 22 composed of recording paper or an OHP sheet made of a plastic sheet is stacked on a paper supply cassette 17 serving as a paper supply unit set in the image forming apparatus main body 1. , The recording material 22
Are fed one by one in the direction of arrow C. The recording material 22 fed in this manner is supplied to a pair of transport rollers 19 rotatably supported by the opening / closing body 2 and the unit case 4, respectively.
At the same time as the pair of registration rollers 20 rotatably supported by the opening / closing body 2 and the unit case 4, respectively, are conveyed by the rotation of the pair of registration rollers 20, and are aligned with the tips of the full-color toner images formed on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 12. A nip portion N which is formed between the intermediate transfer belt 12 and a transfer roller 14 rotatably supported by the opening / closing member 2 which is an example of a second charge applying unit disposed opposite to the intermediate transfer belt 12 and serves as a transfer portion.
Sent to. At this time, a voltage having a polarity opposite to that of the toner is applied to the transfer roller 14, whereby the full-color toner image on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 12 is collectively transferred to the surface of the recording material 22. As the second charge applying means, a brush or a blade which contacts or slides on the back surface of the intermediate transfer belt 12 as a contact transfer member, and an appropriate means such as a corona discharger as a non-contact transfer member can be adopted.

Recording material 2 on which full-color toner image has been transferred
2, after passing through the intermediate transfer belt 12, passes between a fixing roller 24 and a heating / pressing roller 25 of a fixing device 23 provided in the image forming apparatus main body 1, and at this time, the toner image is actuated by the action of heat and pressure. Is fixed on the surface of the recording material 22. The recording material 22 that has exited the fixing device 23 is placed on a discharge stack 27 at the top of the image forming apparatus main body 1 with the image side down by a discharge roller pair 26 rotatably supported by the image forming apparatus main body 1. It is discharged for

The transfer residual toner image remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 12 after transferring the full-color toner image onto the recording material 22 is removed by the cleaning device 16 for the intermediate transfer belt 12. The cleaning device 16 includes a cleaning blade 16A whose front end is pressed against the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 12 wound around the belt roller 11a. The transfer residual toner on the intermediate transfer belt 12 is
It is scraped off by this cleaning blade 16A,
Thus, the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 12 is cleaned. The cleaning blade 16A is an example of a cleaning member for the intermediate transfer belt 12, and the cleaning blade 16A is disposed in a cleaning case 16B formed by a part of the unit case 4. As the cleaning member, a cleaning member of another appropriate form such as a fur brush can be adopted.

The cleaning blade 16A is freely movable toward and away from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 12. When a toner image is transferred to the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 12 in the transfer process of each color, the cleaning blade 16A After the full-color toner image on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 12 is transferred to the recording material 22 and separated from the surface, the intermediate transfer belt 12 is pressed against the belt surface only when cleaning the toner remaining on the surface. The transfer residual toner scraped from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 12 by the cleaning blade 16A is discharged out of the cleaning case 16B by a toner conveying screw 16C provided in the cleaning case 16B.

On the left side of the main body 1 of the image forming apparatus, an electric control unit 30 for controlling an electric drive source and various display units (not shown) of the apparatus is provided, and a fan 28 is disposed above the electric control unit 30. The fan 28 exhausts the air inside the machine to prevent the temperature inside the machine from rising excessively. In addition, a relatively small-sized sheet feeding device 31 is provided at a right side portion of the opening / closing body 2 in FIG.

The above description is about the image forming operation when forming a full-color image on the recording material 22. As a developing means, any one of the developing units constituting the color developing unit 6 and the black developing unit 7 is used. A single-color image may be formed by using only one, or a two- or three-color image may be formed by providing an appropriate number of developing units and black developing devices 7.

In the illustrated image forming apparatus, as described above, the opening / closing body 2 rotates about the support shaft 9A in the opening direction D and the closing direction E in FIG. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the opening / closing body 2 is pivoted in the opening direction D as much as possible.

The process unit 3 is supported by the image forming apparatus main body 1 so as to be rotatable around the central axis of the belt roller 11b, and opens and closes the opening / closing body 2 as shown in FIG. When the unit 3 is rotated substantially to the middle of the open space Z shown in FIG. 3 and the unit 3 is lifted upward as it is, the unit 3 can be detached from the image forming apparatus main body 1. In this manner, when the process unit 3 is detachable, when the unit 3 reaches the end of its life, it can be easily replaced with a new process unit 3.

In this image forming apparatus, the rack developing device 7
The color developing device 6 and the color developing device 6 are also provided detachably with respect to the image forming apparatus main body 1, so that they can be easily replaced even when the life of the device has expired.

In the image forming apparatus, the opening / closing body 2 is configured to be freely opened and closed with respect to the image forming apparatus main body 1. Therefore, even when a conveyance trouble of the recording material 22, that is, a jam of the recording material 22 occurs, By setting the opening / closing body 2 to the open state as shown in FIG. 2, the jam processing can be easily performed.

The basic structure and operation of the image forming apparatus have been described above. In the image forming apparatus shown here, the opening / closing member 2 is held while the operator is positioned on the front side, that is, the right area in FIG. Can be opened to perform jam clearance, or the process unit 3 can be rotated for replacement.

The intermediate transfer belt 12 has a unit case 4 except for a transfer area S where the toner image is transferred onto the recording material 22.
When the opening and closing member 2 is opened, the transfer area S is exposed to the outside. Therefore, in the vicinity of the transfer area S, when the opening / closing body 2 is rotated in the opening direction D to be in the open state, the image forming element exposed to the outside and not easily touched, that is, the intermediate transfer belt 12 When the opening / closing body 2 is turned to the closed direction by turning the opening / closing body 2 in the closing direction, the image is occupied by covering at least a part of the opening, protecting the elements, and occupying an operating position for positioning a handle portion 33 described later in an open space. A protection member 32 occupying a retracted position that does not hinder the forming operation is provided. The protection member 32 occupies the retracted position in the state of FIG. 1 and occupies the operating position in the state of FIG. The protection member 32 includes a handle portion 33 that an operator holds when turning or removing the process unit 3.
Is provided. The above-described basic configuration of the protection member 32 and the handle portion 33 is common to each specific configuration example described later.

With this structure, when the opening / closing body 2 is rotated in the opening direction D from the closed state shown in FIG. 1 to the open state as shown in FIG. 2, the intermediate transfer belt 12 exposed to the outside is opened.
Is covered by the protection member 32 occupying the operating position, so that it is possible to prevent the operator from touching here. When the protection member 32 occupies the operating position, the handle 3
3 also occupies the operating position, so that when the process unit 3 is rotated in the opening direction D and the closing direction E,
It can be rotated with the handle part 33 located inside. When removing the process unit 3, it is sufficient to hold the handle 33 and lift it. For this reason, when the operator operates the process unit 3, it is not necessary to search for a place to hold the process unit 3, and the operability at the time of turning and attaching / detaching the process unit 3 is improved.

When the opening / closing body 2 is rotated in the closing direction E from the open state shown in FIG.
Moves to the evacuation position, so that the image forming operation executed thereafter is not disturbed by the protection member 32 or the handle 33. Attachment, protection member 32 and handle 33
Retreats from the conveyance path of the recording material 22, so that the recording material 22
Movement can be tolerated.

A specific configuration example relating to the protection member 32 and the handle 33 will be described. The protection member 32 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 has a length longer than the width of the intermediate transfer belt 12, and extends in the width direction indicated by the arrow X so as to straddle the width of the intermediate transfer belt 12. Cover portion 32b and the cover portion 3
2b has a side wall 32a provided integrally at each end located in the width direction, and is turned around the unit case 4 (see FIGS. 2 to 4) by pins 35 projecting from the bases of both side walls 32a. It is movably supported. The cover portion 32b is formed in an arc shape about the rotation center of the protection member 32, that is, the center axis of the pin 35.

In the vicinity of the protection member 32, a driving means 36 is provided as shown in FIG. When the opening / closing member 2 and the handle portion 33 are rotated in the opening direction D and opened, the driving means 36 starts to operate in accordance with the opening operation.
The protection member 32 and the handle 33 occupying the retracted position shown by the solid line in FIG. 5 are moved to the operating position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. The drive means 36 stops when the handle 33 is located at the operating position.

In this manner, the transfer area S exposed to the outside of the intermediate transfer belt 12 is covered to prevent the operator from touching the transfer area S, and at the same time, the handle 33 is easily opened by the operator. Z. When the opening / closing body 2 is turned in the closing direction E to be in the closed state, the driving means 36 starts operating again with the closing operation, whereby the protection member 32 and the handle part 33 are moved to the state shown in FIG. It moves from the operating position indicated by the two-dot chain line to the retracted position indicated by the solid line. Thereby, when the opening / closing body 2 is in the closed state, the image forming operation can be executed without any trouble.

The drive means 36 shown in FIG. 5 includes a drive source composed of an electric motor (not shown) supported by the unit case 4 and a rotatable unit unit 4 which is rotatably supported by the unit case 4 and is rotationally driven by the drive source. Drive gear 37
And a driven gear 38 attached to the protection member 32. The driven gear 38 includes a cover 32b as shown in FIG.
Is formed at one end of the outer surface along the arc and meshes with the drive gear 37. Handle part 33,
Outward from the rotation center of the protection member 32, that is, the cover 3
2b, projecting in the outer diameter direction from the outer peripheral surface,
One is disposed at each of both ends located at X in the longitudinal direction of 2b, that is, in the width direction of the intermediate transfer belt 12. The handle portion 33 near the driven gear 38 includes a driving gear 37.
So as not to hinder the engagement between the gear and the driven gear 38.
It is arranged outside the driven gear 38.

When the opening / closing body 2 is in the closed state, the protection member 32
Occupies the retracted position shown by the solid line in FIG.
Is started to rotate in the opening direction, a switch (not shown) is turned on, and an electric motor (not shown) of the driving means 36 starts operating to rotate the driving gear 37 in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. As a result, the protection member 32 and the handle portion 33 rotate clockwise in FIG. 5 around the pin 35 and move to the operation position indicated by the two-dot chain line, and at this time, the switch of the electric motor is turned off.

When the opening / closing body 2 starts to be closed, the switch is operated again, and the driving means 36 starts rotating in the reverse direction.
Thereby, the drive gear 37 rotates clockwise in FIG. 5, and the protection member 32 and the handle 33 rotate counterclockwise around the pin 35, move to the retracted position shown by the solid line, and move the electric motor. Operation stops.

As described above, the driven gear 38 is
The rotation of 7 causes the protection member 32 to be driven to rotate between the operating position and the retracted position. Therefore, the driving means 3
With the opening 6, the protection member 32 and the handle 33 can be automatically turned to the operating position and the retracted position as the opening / closing body 2 opens and closes.

At this time, the protective member 32 is rotated between the operating position and the retracted position by the unit case 4 serving as a support member for supporting the intermediate transfer belt 12 which is an undesired image forming element that cannot be touched. The opening / closing member 2 is opened because the drive gear 37 and the electric motor are also supported by the unit case 4 so that the process unit 3
Is rotated in the opening direction D, or when the process unit 3 is detached from the image forming apparatus main body 1,
2 and the handle 33 can be reliably held in the operating position.

Although the drive gear 37 and the electric motor are provided in the unit case 4 in this example, for example, they may be provided on the image forming apparatus main body 1 side. With this configuration, when the opening / closing body 2 is opened, the protection member 32 and the handle portion 33 are held at the operating position by the engagement of the driving gear 37 and the driven gear 38 as described above. However, when the process unit 3 is independently rotated in the opening direction D by holding the handle 33, the engagement of the two gears is released, and the protection member 32 rotates about the pin 35 with respect to the process unit 3. Be free. Therefore, when the process unit 3 is opened as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the angle of the protection member 32 with respect to the process unit 3 can be changed.
The contact between the protection member 32, the handle portion 33, or the hand holding the handle portion 33 and the open / close body 2 placed in the open state can be avoided, and the operability can be further improved.

When the process unit 3 is rotated, the drive gear 37 and the driven gear 38 are in mesh with each other. Therefore, an overload prevention mechanism such as a torque limiter is provided between the drive gear 37 and an electric motor (not shown). Thus, overload can be prevented, and breakage of the drive gear 37, the electric motor, the passive gear, and the protection member 32 provided with the same can be prevented.

In the example shown in FIG. 5, since the protection member 32 is driven by the electric motor, it can be operated reliably. However, the use of the electric motor inevitably increases the cost of the image forming apparatus. .

Therefore, in the example shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, when the opening / closing body 2 is opened, the movement of the opening / closing body 2 brings the protection member 32 and the handle portion 33 to the operating position, and when the opening / closing body 2 is closed, The movement causes the protection member 32 and the handle 33 to move.
Are provided, respectively, for restricting the movement of the protection member 32 so that is brought to the retracted position. With this configuration, the electric motor can be eliminated.

In the example shown in FIG.
The shape of is basically the same as that shown in FIG. 6, and the cover portion 32 b and the side wall 32 a integrally provided at each end in the longitudinal direction X (only one side wall in FIG. (Shown), and fixed to each side wall 32a.
(Similarly, only one pin is shown) is rotatably supported by the unit case 4. However, the driven gear 38 shown in FIG. 5 is not provided on the protection member 32 shown in FIG. Further, one end of an urging member formed of a tension spring 42 is locked to the projection 53 projecting from the side wall 32 a of the protection member 32, and the other end of the spring 42 is locked to the unit case 4. I have. The protection member 32 includes a tension spring 42.
7 is urged toward the operating position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG.

The opening / closing body 2 is provided with a pressure member 43 protruding therefrom. The pressure member 43 presses the protection member 32 when the opening / closing body 2 is in the closed state shown in FIG. For this reason, the protection member 32 and the handle portion 33 provided on the protection member 32 are in the retracted position shown by the solid line in FIG. When the opening / closing body 2 is in the open state shown in FIG. 2, the protection member 32 is released from the pressing action from the opening / closing body 2 via the pressing member 43, and the protection member 32 It pivots around 35 and moves to the operating position. Thereby, the intermediate transfer belt 12
Can be brought to the operating position while the protective member 32 is protected by the handle member 33. When the opening / closing body 2 is closed, the opening / closing body 2 is connected to the protection member 32 via the pressing member 43.
To rotate the protective member 32 and the handle 33 to the retreat position.

In the image forming apparatus having such a configuration, when the opening / closing member 2 is in the closed state and the protective member 32 occupies the retreat position against the urging action of the tension spring 42 due to the pressing action thereby, The integral handle portion 33 also occupies the retracted position, and when the opening / closing body 2 is released and the pressing action on the protection member 32 by the opening / closing body 2 is released, the protection member 32 is moved to the operating position by the urging action of the tension spring 42. Since the handle 33 is also configured to move together with the above, the restricting means 54 constitutes a restricting means for the handle 33.

In the example shown in FIG. 7, the protection member 32 is supported by the unit case 4 supporting the intermediate transfer belt 12 so as to be rotatable between an operating position and a retracted position. Since the process unit 3 is constituted by the spring 42, it is protected when the process unit 3 is rotated in the open space Z as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 and when the unit 3 is removed from the image forming apparatus main body 1. The transfer area S of the intermediate transfer belt 12 can be protected by the member 32, and the handle 33 can be held at a position where it can be easily held.

In the example shown in FIG. 8, the protection member 32 is
There is basically no difference from the protection member shown in FIG.
b, a pair of side walls 32a provided integrally at both ends in the width direction X, and pins 35 protruding from the base end sides of the side walls 32a. It is rotatably supported. Also in this example, the driven gear 38 shown in FIG. 5 is not provided, but instead, a driven gear 44 concentric with one of the pins 35 is provided integrally with the side wall 32a.

A fan-shaped drive gear 45 meshing with the driven gear 44 is rotatably supported by the unit case 4 via a pin 46, and is fixed in position. Drive gear 4
5, a base end of a lever 47 is integrally fixed to a portion of a pin 46 serving as a rotation center thereof. One end of a biasing member formed of a tension spring 48 is locked to the drive gear 45, and the other end of the tension spring 48 is locked to the unit case 4. The tension spring 48 urges the drive gear 45 to rotate in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 8, and urges the driven gear 44 meshing with the gear 45 to rotate in the clockwise direction. The hand-held part 33 is urged toward the operating position indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG.

A pressure member 48 protrudes from the opening / closing body 2. The pressing member 48 presses the lever 47 when the opening / closing body 2 is in the closed state shown in FIG. As a result, the lever 47 is held at the first position shown by the solid line in FIG. At this time, the tension spring 48 is
The protection member 32 is urged toward the operating position indicated by the two-dot chain line via the driven gear 44, and the lever 47 is held at the first position. For this reason, since the protection member 32 and the handle portion 33 provided on the protection member 32 occupy the retracted position between the unit case 4 and the fixing device 23, the image forming operation can be performed without any trouble.

When the jam is cleared, the opening / closing member 2 is moved in the opening direction D.
As shown in FIG. 8, when the pressure member 49 is pivoted to the open state (see FIG. 2), it moves away from the lever 47 as shown by a two-dot chain line as shown in FIG. The pressing action is released. As a result, the lever 47 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 8 around the center axis of the pin 46 by the urging action of the tension spring 48,
It stops at a second position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. With the rotation of the lever 47, the drive gear 45 rotates in the counterclockwise direction, whereby the driven gear 44 and the protection member 32 rotate in the clockwise direction, and the protection member 32 and the hand-held portion 33 move to the operating position. Stop at Therefore, the transfer area S exposed to the outside of the intermediate transfer belt 12 is covered and protected by the protection member 32, and at the same time, the handle 33 provided on the protection member 32 is placed in the open space Z where the operator can easily operate. Is placed.

When the opening / closing body 2 is turned in the closing direction E (see FIG. 1) to be in the closed state, the pressing member 49 attached thereto presses the lever 47 and resists the action of the tension spring 48. Then, it is rotated to the first position shown by the solid line in FIG. As a result, the protection member 32 and the handle portion 33 rotate to the retreat position shown by the solid line, retreat from the conveyance path of the recording material 22, and can continue the image forming operation without any trouble.

In the image forming apparatus shown here, as shown in FIG. 8, the protection member 32 is rotatably supported between the retracted position and the operating position, and the handle 3
3 is also rotated between the retracted position and the operating position, is disposed concentrically with the rotation center of the protection member 32, and is driven by a driven gear 44 fixed to the protection member 32; 2 includes a drive gear 45 that is rotated by the opening and closing operation and a tension spring 48 that urges the protection member 32 to rotate toward the operating position. It also functions as the control means 33.

Further, the regulating means 64 has a lever 47 which is connected to the drive gear 45 and rotates integrally with the gear 45. The lever 47 is pressed by the opening / closing body 2 when the opening / closing body 2 is closed. When the protection member 32 and the handle portion 33 occupy the first position held at the retracted position and the pressing action from the opening and closing body 2 is released with the opening and closing of the opening and closing body 2, the urging action by the tension spring 48 is performed. Accordingly, the protection member 32 and the handle portion 33 are rotatably supported so as to occupy a second position where the protection member 32 and the handle portion 33 are held in the operating position.

According to such a configuration, the operating angle range of the protection member 32 can be freely set by appropriately setting the gear ratio between the driving gear 45 and the driven gear 44. Moreover,
Since the lever 47 is used, even when other elements are arranged around the protection member 32 and the handle portion 33, the protection member 32 and the handle portion 33 can be operated without being obstructed by this. Thus, the handle 33 can be placed in an operating position (in the open space Z) where the operator can easily operate.

Further, the protection member 32 and the drive gear 45
And the lever 47 are rotatably supported by the unit case 4 that supports the intermediate transfer belt 12, and the urging member urges the protective member 32 and the handle 33 to rotate toward their operating positions. Since the process unit 3 is constituted by the tension spring 48, the protective member can be protected when the process unit 3 is rotated in the open space Z as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 or when the process unit 3 is detached from the image forming apparatus main body 1. 32 and the handle 33 can be held in the operating position. In addition, since the urging members of the restricting means 54 and 64 are composed of the tension springs 42 and 48, the cost can be reduced.

The above-described protective member 32 is attached to the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. The image forming apparatus includes a latent image carrier configured as a photoconductor 8 on which an electrostatic latent image is formed, a color developing device 6 that visualizes the electrostatic latent image as a toner image, and a black developing device. Device 7
And a transfer means including an intermediate transfer belt 12 to which a toner image on the surface of the latent image carrier is transferred, and a transfer brush 13 for transferring the toner image on the surface of the latent image carrier to the transfer means. A first charge applying means, a second charge applying means including a transfer roller 14 for transferring the toner image transferred and formed on the transfer means to the recording material 22, and a fixing device for fixing the toner image transferred to the recording material 22 When the opening / closing body 2 is in an open state, the image forming element that is exposed to the outside and is not preferably touched by the hand is the transfer unit.

Further, the image forming apparatus has an opening / closing body 2 serving as a front housing rotatably supported on the image forming apparatus main body 1 so that at least the photosensitive member 8 and the intermediate transfer belt 12 are provided. The process unit 3 is configured as an integral process unit 3, and the process unit 3 is rotatably and detachably supported by opening the opening / closing body 2.
Moreover, when the opening / closing member 2 is opened, a portion of the transfer unit that transfers the toner image onto the recording material 22, that is, the transfer region S of the intermediate transfer belt 12 is covered with the protection member 32.

By providing the protective member 32 in such an image forming apparatus, it is possible to reliably prevent the operator from touching the intermediate transfer belt 12 when the opening / closing body 2 is in the open state. It is possible to prevent the image quality of the toner image formed on the belt 12 from deteriorating. Furthermore, since the protection member 32 is provided with the handle portion 33 that the operator has when rotating the process unit 3, the operability when rotating the process unit 3 is improved, and at the same time, the operator can communicate with the operator. Inadvertent contact with the process unit 3 can be prevented.

When the opening / closing member 2 is opened, the protection member 32 prevents the operator's hand from contacting the latent image carrier. In this case, the image forming apparatus includes a latent image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed, a developing unit that visualizes the electrostatic latent image as a toner image, and transfers the toner image to a recording material. A latent image forming element which is provided with a charge applying means and a fixing device for fixing the toner image transferred to the recording material, and which is undesirably exposed to the outside and touched when the opening / closing body 2 is opened. It becomes a carrier. Each of the configurations described above can be applied to such an image forming apparatus.

In each of the above-described image forming apparatuses, as illustrated in FIGS.
However, it often retreats to a position adjacent to the fixing device 23. In the illustrated example, the protective member 32 is configured to rotate from the downstream side in the rotation direction of the intermediate transfer belt 12 to the upstream side thereof and protect the transfer area S of the intermediate transfer belt 12. A part 33 is provided.

When the retreat position of the protection member 32 is set to a position adjacent to the fixing device 23, the fixing device 23 is generally heated to a high temperature. 32 and the handle portion 33 are deformed, the protection member 32 cannot perform the above-described operation, and the handle portion 3
3 may not be held by the operator. In such a case, it is desirable that the protection member 32 and the handle 33 be made of a heat-resistant resin that is not deformed by the heat from the fixing device 23. This configuration can be applied to all the configuration examples described above.

On the other hand, if the protection member 32 is made of metal so that the protection member 32 can perform a predetermined operation and its rigidity is increased, or if the formability of the handle portion 33 and the protection member 32 is also taken into consideration, both of them are considered. It is desirable to constitute with the same member. Therefore, it is conceivable that both are formed of metal. However, since the metal has high thermal conductivity, when the protective member 32 and the handle 33 are retracted near the fixing device 23, they are heated to a high temperature. Is done. For this reason, when the opening and closing body 2 is opened and the protection member 32 and the handle part 33 are rotated to the operating position, it is not preferable that the operator touches this.

When the retracted position of the protection member 32 and the handle portion 33 is set to a position adjacent to the fixing device 23, as shown in FIG. Is integrally formed with a metal member 32A, and the entire outer surfaces of the handle portion 33 and the protection member 32 are heat-insulating members 32B.
Cover with. When the protective member 32 and the handle portion 33 have a two-layer structure, the rigidity of the metal member 32A and the safety of the operator can be ensured by the heat insulating member 32B while increasing the rigidity of both members. This configuration can also be applied to all the configuration examples described above.

When the protective member 32 occupies the operating position shown by the two-dot chain line as in the examples shown in FIGS. 5, 7 and 8, this is the area where the recording material 22 is conveyed. When the opening / closing member 2 is opened when the opening / closing member 2 is located in an area on the upstream side of the fixing device 23, the conveyance path shown in FIG.
Recording material 22A that caused a conveyance trouble as shown by the broken line in FIG.
Is present, the protection member 32 may be contaminated by unfixed toner on the recording material 22.

In such a case, as shown in FIG.
A plurality of protrusions 34 are provided on the outer surface of the cover 32a of the protection member 32.
It is desirable to form With such a protrusion 34,
The contact area between the protection member 32 and the recording material 22A can be reduced, so that the unfixed toner hardly adheres to the protection member 32. If the protrusion 34 is formed as a ridge extending in the conveying direction of the recording material 22, when the protection member 32 moves to the operating position, the protrusion 34 comes into contact with the recording material 22A smoothly, and the recording is performed. There is no risk of damaging the member 22 or hindering the operation of the protection member 32. This protrusion 3
The configuration 4 can also be applied to all the configuration examples of the image forming apparatus described above.

As shown in FIG. 8, when the cleaning member 61 is in contact with the outer surface of the cover 32b of the protection member 32 when the protection member 32 occupies the retracted position shown by the solid line, the protection member 32 When toner adheres to the
The cleaning member 61 can clean the toner. In this case, the cleaning member 61 is made of a material having flexibility that does not hinder the movement of the protection member 32, and in particular, is preferably made of at least one of a felt, a foam, a flocked member, and a brush. The cleaning member 61 may be provided on the unit case 4 in addition to being provided on the image forming apparatus main body 1 side. The configuration related to the cleaning member 61 is also applicable to the configuration examples of all the image forming apparatuses described above.

Next, various forms of the handle portion 33 will be described. The handle 33 shown in FIG.
Concave portion 50 serving as a concave / convex portion concaved inward in the width direction of
(Only one is shown in the figure). It may be a through opening instead of a recess. When the recess 50 is provided in this manner, the finger of the operator's hand is inserted or bites into the recess 50, so that the process unit 3 can be firmly held when the process unit 3 is rotated or removed, thereby improving operability.

As shown in FIG. 11, a convex portion 51 serving as a concave / convex portion directed outward in the width direction of the protective member 32, like the handle portion 33 shown in FIG.
May be provided so as to protrude from each of the side surfaces 33B (only one is shown in the figure). Such a convex portion 51
Is provided, especially when the process unit 3 is detached from the image forming apparatus main body 1, the finger of the operator's hand is
Therefore, the fall of the process unit 3 can be prevented with a simple configuration.

In addition, the rugged portion may be formed by continuously forming knurls or grooves, or may be formed by roughening the surface of the handle portion 33 by appropriate means such as sandblasting or sandpaper. Alternatively, a high friction portion having a higher coefficient of friction than other portions may be provided in the handle portion 33. The high friction portion may be configured by directly roughening the surface of the handle portion 33 or by attaching a non-slip member to the surface.

The handle 33 shown in FIG.
3A is provided with an identification section 52 for individually identifying the process unit 3, the protection member 32, and the handle section 33. When the identification section 52 is provided in the handle section 33 in this manner, the operator can easily recognize the handle section 33. Identification unit 5
The location where 2 is provided is not limited to the upper surface 33A, and may be provided so as to extend from the upper surface 33A to the side surface 33B as shown in FIG.

[0092] The identification unit 52 is, for example, a unit that makes the process unit 3 and the protection member 32 different in color, material, feel, and the like.
The identification section 52 may be formed by painting, or may be provided by transferring a thin sheet of resin or metal to the handle section 33 by heating. As a color used for the identification unit 52, a color opposed to a material used for the process unit 3 or the protection member 32 or a color painted or coated is preferable. Considering the distinctiveness in the dark, luminous and luminous materials,
Alternatively, a paint or sheet material containing them may be attached to the handle 33.

The location where the handle portion is provided is not limited to both ends of the cover portion 32b as described above.
As in the case of a handle portion 56 shown in FIG. 15, the respective side walls 32a may be provided. When provided on each side wall 32a in this manner, there is no member that protrudes in the outer peripheral direction from the outer surface of the cover portion 32b, so that the space area when the protection member 32 rotates about the pin 35 can be reduced, and This is effective in reducing the size of the device.

The place where the handle portion is provided is also shown in FIG.
6, the cover portion 32b like the handle portion 55 shown in FIG.
May be provided extending in the width direction X at the center of the. When provided at the central portion of the cover 32b, the operator's hand is small, and there is no problem that it does not reach the handles 33, 56 provided at both ends of the cover 32b and the side walls 32a, so that the operator can be sure. And the handle portion 55 can be held at the same time, and stable operability for the process unit 3 can be obtained.

In addition, the handle portion is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 9, a handle portion 57 provided to straddle each side wall 32a of the protection member 32 may be used. Handle 57
Consists of a U-shaped member extending in the longitudinal direction of the protection member 32 and having both ends bent. When the protection member 32 occupies the operating position shown by the solid line in FIG. The side walls 32
a. In addition, the handle portion 57 includes the driving unit 3.
6, when it is turned between the retracted position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 19 and the operating position shown by the solid line, it is provided so as not to interfere with the drive gear 37.

When the U-shaped handle portion 57 is provided in this manner, when the operator rotates the process unit 3, the operator does not hold and hold the process unit 3 with his / her fingertips as in the case of each hand-hold portion described above. As the entire body can be grasped, the handle 57
Thus, the process unit 3 can be rotated by holding it, or it can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body 1, and the operability is good. Further, when the process unit 3 is configured by integrating a plurality of functional units, the handle unit 57 has a large weight.
Can be prevented from dropping when the process unit 3 is attached to or detached from the image forming apparatus main body 1 and inadvertent falling when the unit is rotated, and the process unit 3, the opening / closing body 2 or the image forming apparatus can be prevented. This is extremely effective in preventing damage to the main body 1 and the like.

The above-mentioned hand-held parts 33, 55, 56, 57
Is provided on the protection member 32, which occupies the operating position and the retracted position in conjunction with the opening and closing operation of the opening and closing body 2, but is not limited to this mode.

The hand-held portion 58 shown in FIG. 20 has a length longer than the width of the intermediate transfer belt 12 and
The connecting portion 58b positioned so as to straddle the entire width of the second portion 2 is formed in a U-shaped cross section by bending each end in the longitudinal direction to form a side portion 58a. A pin 59 is protruded from the base end side of each side portion 58a, and is rotatably supported by the unit case 4 similarly to the protection member 32.

In the vicinity of the hand-held portion 58, a driving means 62 is disposed. The drive means 62 includes a drive source composed of an electric motor (not shown) supported by the unit case 4, a drive gear 60 rotatably supported by the unit case 4, which is supported by a fixed position and rotated by the drive source, and a hand-held device. And a driven gear 61 attached to the portion 58. Drive means 6
2 shows that when the opening / closing body 2 is in the closed state as shown in FIG. 1, the handle portion 58 is placed in the retracted position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 21, and the opening / closing body 2 starts to be opened from the closed state. Switch is turned on, an electric motor (not shown) is operated, and the drive gear 60 is driven in a counterclockwise direction to rotate the handle 58 around the pin 59 in the clockwise direction in FIG. Position, and when the handle 58 occupies the operating position, the operation of the electric motor is stopped.

When the drive means 62 starts to close the opening / closing body 2, an electric motor (not shown) is operated to drive the drive gear 60.
Is rotated clockwise in FIG.
Is rotated counterclockwise around the pin 59 and moved to the retracted position shown by the two-dot chain line, and when the handle 58 occupies the retracted position, the operation of the electric motor is stopped.

With the driving means 62 having such a configuration, only the handle 58 can be automatically turned to the operating position and the retracted position independently of the opening and closing of the opening / closing body 2. Further, since the handle portion 58 is supported by the unit case 4 so as to be rotatable between the operating position and the retracted position, and the drive gear 60 and the electric motor are also supported by the unit case 4, the opening / closing body 2 is moved. The handle 33 is securely held in the operating position even when it is opened and the process unit 3 is rotated in the opening direction D (see FIG. 2) or when the process unit 3 is detached from the image forming apparatus main body 1. Thus, the operability when the process unit 3 rotates and when the process unit 3 is attached and detached is good.

When the drive gear 60 and the electric motor are provided on the image forming apparatus main body 1 side, the handle portion 58 is engaged with the drive gear 60 and the driven gear 61 by rotating the opening / closing body 2 in the opening direction D as described above. Is held in the actuated position. When the process unit 3 is rotated in the opening direction D by holding the handle 58, the engagement of the two gears is released, and the protection member 32 is rotatable with respect to the process unit 3 around the pin 59. Become. For this reason, the process unit 3 is shown in FIGS.
In the case of opening as shown in FIG. 5, the angle of the handle portion 58 with respect to the process unit 3 can be changed. Contact can be avoided and operability can be improved. Also in this case, by providing the overload prevention mechanism between the electric motor and the drive gear as in the above-described example, the overload on the electric motor can be reduced, and damage to each gear and the electric motor can be prevented.

In order to position the handle portion 58 between the operating position and the retracted position in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing body 2 without using an electric motor, the regulating means 54 may be used as shown in FIG. . This is achieved by projecting a projection 53 on the side 58a of the handle 58, locking one end of an urging member formed of a tension spring 42, and connecting the other end of the spring 42 to the unit case 4.
To lock. The handle portion 58 is urged by the tension spring 42 toward an operating position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG.
Further, the opening / closing body 2 is provided with a pressing member 43 that presses the handle 58 when the opening / closing body 2 is in the closed state.

With such a structure, the handle 58
When the opening / closing body 2 is in the closed state, it occupies the retracted position shown by the solid line in FIG. 22 independently against the urging action of the tension spring 42. When the opening / closing body 2 is opened as shown in FIG.
Since the pressing action from is released, the pin is rotated around the pin 59 by the pulling action of the pulling spring 42 and moves alone to the operating position.

If the handle portion 58 is independently rotated in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing body 2, a drive source such as an electric motor and the above-described protection member 32 become unnecessary, and the operability of the apparatus is taken into consideration. However, it is advantageous for cost reduction and energy saving.

As shown in FIG. 23, a regulating means 64 may be used instead of the regulating means 54. In this case, the driven gear 44 concentric with the pin 59 is provided integrally with the side portion 58a. The unit case 4 supports a fan-shaped drive gear 45 that meshes with the driven gear 44 via a pin 46 so as to be rotatable and positionless. The base end of the lever 47 is integrally fixed to the drive gear 45 at the position of the pin 46 serving as the rotation center thereof. One end of a biasing member formed of a tension spring 48 is locked to the drive gear 45, and the other end of the spring 48 is locked to the unit case 4. As a result, the driving gear 45 is urged to rotate in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 23, and the driven gear 44 meshing with the gear 45 urges to rotate in the clockwise direction to move the handle 58 to the two-dot chain line in FIG. Bias toward the operating position indicated by.

Further, when the opening / closing body 2 is in the closed state, the lever 47 is pushed to the first opening / closing body 2 shown by a solid line in FIG.
And a pressure member 49 for releasing the pressing on the lever 47 when the opening / closing body 2 is in the open state is provided.

According to such a configuration, when the opening / closing body 2 is in the closed state, the tension spring 48 attaches the handle 58 via the drive gear 45 and the driven gear 44 toward the operating position indicated by the two-dot chain line. However, since the lever 47 is held at the first position, the handle 58 is attached to the unit case 4.
And the fixing device 23 alone occupy the retreat position, so that the image forming operation can be performed without any trouble.

When the opening / closing body 2 is opened during jam clearance or the like, the pressing member 49 moving with the opening / closing member 2 separates from the lever 47 as shown by a two-dot chain line as shown in FIG.
Since the pressing action on the lever 47 is released, the lever 47 is rotated counterclockwise around the central axis of the pin 46 by the urging action of the tension spring 48, and hits a stopper (not shown). It stops at the second position shown by the dotted line. With the rotation of the lever 47, the drive gear 45 rotates in the counterclockwise direction, whereby the driven gear 44 and the handle 58 rotate in the clockwise direction. Stop. Therefore, the handle portion 58
Is placed at a position where the operator can easily operate.

When the opening / closing body 2 is closed, the pressing member 49 attached thereto presses the lever 47, which opposes the action of the tension spring 48, and the first pressing member 49 shown by a solid line in FIG. Rotate to position. As a result, the handle portion 58 is independently rotated to the retreat position indicated by the solid line, and retreats from the conveyance path of the recording material 22. Thus, the image forming operation can be continued without any trouble.

As described above, even if the handle portion 58 is independently rotated in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing body 2, the driving source such as an electric motor and the above-described protection member 32 become unnecessary.
This is advantageous for cost reduction and energy saving while considering the operability of the device.

[0112] The hand-held part 55,
As shown in FIG. 9, heat insulating members 32 are provided at 56, 57 and 58.
A may be coated, or the identification unit 52 shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 may be provided. By doing so, the safety and recognizability of the operator can be ensured, and the operability is further improved.

Although the image forming apparatus in which the opening / closing body 2 is configured as a front case has been described above, the present invention is also applicable to an image forming apparatus in which the opening / closing body is configured as a front door or an upper door of the image forming apparatus main body. The invention can be applied. Further, in an image forming apparatus in which the main body of the image forming apparatus is divided into an upper main body and a lower main body, and the upper main body can be opened and closed with respect to the lower main body, the upper main body is configured as an opening / closing body. The invention can be applied. Further, the present invention can be applied without any trouble even when the image forming element which is not preferably touched when the opening / closing body is opened is other than the transfer means and the latent image carrier.

[0114]

According to the image forming apparatus of the first aspect,
Since it has a handle portion that the operator has when opening / closing and attaching / detaching an image forming element that is not preferable to be touched,
The operator can perform operations such as repair or replacement of the image forming element or jam clearance without paying attention to the position and holding method of the image forming element.

According to the image forming apparatus of the second aspect, when the opening / closing body is opened, the handle portion takes an operating position in an open space formed between the opening / closing body and the main body of the image forming apparatus. The hand portion is easy to hold, and operations such as repair and replacement of the image forming element or jam clearance can be performed more efficiently.

According to the image forming apparatus of the third and fourth aspects, the handle is moved between the retracted position and the operating position by the driving means, so that the protective member can be surely moved. The working efficiency is further improved.

According to the image forming apparatus of the fifth aspect, the handle can be brought to the operating position and the retracted position without using a driving source such as a motor, and the image forming element can be repaired or replaced, or jamming can be performed. Work such as processing can be performed efficiently, and the cost of the image forming apparatus can be reduced.

According to the image forming apparatus of the sixth aspect, the operation and effect of the image forming apparatus of the fifth aspect can be achieved with a simple configuration.

According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, even when the support member can be detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus, the handle portion can be reliably held at the operating position, and the image forming element can be held. Work such as repair, replacement, and jam clearance can be performed efficiently, and the cost of the urging member can be reduced.

According to the image forming apparatus of the eighth aspect, by appropriately setting the gear ratio between the driving gear and the driven gear,
The operating range of the handle portion can be freely selected, and operations such as repair and replacement of the image forming element or jam clearance can be performed more efficiently.

According to the image forming apparatus of the ninth aspect, since the lever is provided, even when there is another element in the vicinity of the handle, the handle is securely moved to the operating position and the retracted position. Repair or replacement of imaging elements, which can bring
Alternatively, operations such as jam processing can be performed more efficiently.

According to the image forming apparatus of the tenth aspect,
When the opening / closing body is opened, the image forming element that is not easily touched is covered with the protective member provided with the handle portion, so that work such as repairing or replacing the image forming element or performing a jam clearing operation can be efficiently performed. However, it is possible to protect an image forming element that is not preferably touched by a hand, and prevent a trouble caused by an operator touching the image forming element.

According to the image forming apparatus of the eleventh aspect,
Since the shape of the handle portion is easy to hold by the operator, the operability when operating the image forming element is enhanced, and operations such as repair or replacement of the image forming element or jam clearance can be performed more efficiently.

According to the image forming apparatus of the twelfth aspect,
Since the handle portion can be easily held by the operator, operability when operating the image forming element is enhanced, and operations such as repair and replacement of the image forming element or jam clearance can be performed more efficiently.

According to the image forming apparatus of the thirteenth aspect,
Since the handle does not protrude from the cover of the protection member, the space required for rotating the protection member and the handle can be reduced, and the image forming element can be repaired or replaced or jammed while miniaturizing the apparatus. Work such as processing can be performed efficiently.

According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention,
The concave and convex portions provided on the handle allow the operator to hold the handle more reliably, reduce problems such as dropping of the image forming element, and repair or replace the image forming element, or perform operations such as jam clearance. It can be done efficiently and safely.

According to the image forming apparatus according to the fifteenth and sixteenth aspects, the operator can visually and tactilely confirm the position and shape of the handle by the recognition unit, so that the operator securely holds the handle. Thus, operations such as repair or replacement of the image forming element or jam clearance can be performed more efficiently and reliably.

According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, repair or replacement of an image forming element or jamming of the image forming element is prevented while reliably preventing the transfer unit from deteriorating in image quality when touched by the hand. Work such as processing can be performed efficiently.

According to the image forming apparatus of the nineteenth aspect,
The operation such as repair or replacement of an image forming element or jam clearance can be efficiently performed while reliably preventing the hand from touching the latent image carrier whose image quality deteriorates when the hand is touched.

According to the image forming apparatus of the twentieth aspect,
Prevents the handle from being deformed due to heat from the fixing device and preventing the specified operation from being performed, and increases the rigidity of the handle to ensure safety even if the operator touches the handle. Therefore, operations such as repair or replacement of the image forming element or jam clearance can be performed more efficiently, reliably and safely.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1 when an opening / closing body is opened.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view when a process unit of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 2 is rotated.

4 is a cross-sectional view when the process unit of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 3 is further rotated.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a specific example of a handle part and a protection member which are main parts of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating an example of a protection member provided with a handle portion.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of an evacuation position, an operation position, and a regulating unit of a protection member provided with a handle unit.

FIG. 8 is a view showing another embodiment of the retracted position, the actuated position, and the regulating means of the protection member provided with the handle portion.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a protection member provided with a handle portion.

FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing a handle provided with an uneven portion.

FIG. 11 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing a handle portion provided with another type of uneven portion.

FIG. 12 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing a handle provided with a recognition unit.

FIG. 13 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing a handle provided with a recognition unit of another form.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing another example of arrangement of a handle portion.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a state where an operator holds the handle shown in FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing still another arrangement example of the handle portion.

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing a state where an operator holds the handle shown in FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing a protection member provided with another form of a handle portion.

19 is an operation diagram showing a retracted position and an operating position of the protection member provided with the handle shown in FIG. 18;

FIG. 20 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a single handle portion and its driving means.

FIG. 21 is an operation diagram showing a retracted position and an operating position of the handle shown in FIG. 20;

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating an example of a retracted position, an actuated position, and a regulating unit of the handle unit.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating another example of the retracted position, the operating position, and the regulating means of the handle portion.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus main body (base) 2 Opening / closing body 3 Process unit 4 Support member (unit case) 6, 7 Developing means 8 Latent image carrier (Image forming element) 12 Transfer means (Image forming element) 13 First charge application Means 14 Second charge applying means 22 Recording material 23 Fixing device 32 Protective member 32b Cover 32a Side wall 32A Metal member 32B Heat insulating member 33 Handle 36,62 Driving means 37,60 Driving gear 38,61 Followed gear 42 , 48 biasing member 44 driven gear 45 drive gear 47 lever 50, 51 uneven part 52 identification part 54, 64 regulating means 55, 56, 57, 58 handle part S transfer area X width direction of image forming element Z open space

Claims (20)

[Claims] An image forming element, which is provided for opening and closing and attaching and detaching with respect to a base of the apparatus and which is undesirably touched to the outside and exposed to a hand, is used when opening and closing and attaching and detaching this image forming element. An image forming apparatus comprising a handle portion of the image forming apparatus. 2. An actuating device having an opening / closing body which can be opened and closed with respect to a base of the apparatus, wherein the handle is located in an open space formed between the base and the opening when the opening / closing body is opened. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is configured to occupy a retracted position that does not hinder an image forming operation when the opening / closing body is closed. 3. The apparatus operates in accordance with the opening operation of the opening / closing body, moves the handle portion occupying the evacuation position to the operating position, and operates in accordance with the closing operation of the opening / closing body. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a driving unit that moves the hand unit to the retreat position. 4. The drive unit according to claim 1, wherein the handle is rotatably supported by a support member for supporting the image forming element between the operating position and the retracted position. A driving gear that is rotationally driven by the driving gear, and is driven by the rotation of the driving gear so as to rotate the handle between an operating position and a retracted position while being engaged with the driving gear attached to the handle. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a driven gear. 5. When the opening / closing body opens, the movement of the opening / closing body brings the handle portion to the operating position, and when the opening / closing body closes, the movement of the opening / closing body causes the handle portion to move. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a regulating unit that regulates a movement of the handle so as to be brought to the retracted position. 6. The regulating means includes an urging member for urging the handle toward the operating position, and when the opening / closing body is closed, the urging member is pressed by the opening / closing body. When the handle part occupies the retracted position against the urging action of the urging member, and when the pressing action on the handle part by the opening / closing body is released by opening the opening / closing body, the urging member The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the handle is moved to the operating position by the urging action of the image forming apparatus. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the handle is rotatably supported by a support member for supporting the image forming element between the operating position and the retracted position, and the biasing member is a spring. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6. 8. The handle portion is rotatably supported between the retracted position and the operating position, and the restricting means is disposed concentrically with the center of rotation of the handle portion. A driven gear fixed to the handle, a drive gear rotated by the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing body while meshing with the driven gear, and a bias for rotating and biasing the handle toward the operating position The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising: 9. The image forming element according to claim 9, wherein said regulating means includes a lever connected to said drive gear and rotated integrally with said drive gear, said handle portion, said drive gear and said lever supporting said image forming element. The lever is rotatably supported by a support member, and the lever occupies a first position where the handle portion is held at the retracted position by a pressing action from the opening / closing body when the opening / closing body is closed. When the pressing action from the opening / closing body is released with the opening of the handle, the handle is rotated by the urging action of the urging member so as to occupy the second position where the handle is held at the operating position. 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the image forming apparatus is supported as possible. 10. When the opening / closing body is opened, it occupies an operating position for covering at least a part of the image forming element which is not preferably touched and protecting the image forming element, and closing the opening / closing body. The image according to any one of claims 2 to 9, further comprising a protection member occupying a retreat position which does not hinder the image forming operation, and wherein the handle is provided on the protection member. Forming equipment. 11. An image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein said handle portion is formed of a U-shaped member extending in a longitudinal direction of said protection member. 12. A cover member rotatably supported between the operating position and the retracted position by a support member for supporting the image forming element, and a cover extending in a width direction of the image forming element. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the handle portion is provided at both ends or a center portion of the cover portion so as to protrude outward from a center of rotation of the protection member. apparatus. 13. A cover member rotatably supported between the operating position and the retracted position by a support member for supporting the image forming element, and a cover extending in a width direction of the image forming element. Part, and a side wall provided at both ends of the cover part in a direction intersecting with the extending direction of the cover part to form a U-shaped cross section. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the image forming apparatus is provided with the image forming apparatus. 14. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the handle has an uneven portion. 15. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the handle has an identification portion for identifying at least an image forming element which is exposed to the outside and is not preferably touched by a hand. The image forming apparatus according to any one of the above. 16. An image forming apparatus according to claim 15, wherein said identification section is made of a different color or material from said handle section and said image forming element. 17. A latent image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed, developing means for visualizing the latent image carrier as a toner image, and a toner image on the surface of the latent image carrier is transferred. Transfer means, first charge applying means for transferring the toner image on the latent image carrier surface to the transfer means, second charge applying means for transferring the toner image formed on the transfer means to a recording material, A fixing device for fixing the toner image transferred to the recording material, wherein the undesired image forming element which is exposed to the outside and is not touchable when the opening / closing body is opened is the transfer means. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 18. An image forming apparatus comprising: a front housing rotatably supported on a main body of the image forming apparatus, wherein at least the latent image carrier and transfer means are configured as an integral process unit; The process unit is detachably supported by opening the front housing,
The opening / closing body comprises the front housing, and when the front housing is opened, a transfer area of the transfer means for transferring a toner image onto a recording material is covered by the protection member. Item 18. The image forming apparatus according to Item 17. 19. A latent image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed, and developing means for visualizing the electrostatic latent image as a toner image,
A charging device for transferring the toner image to a recording material; and a fixing device for fixing the toner image transferred to the recording material. 17. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the undesired image forming element is a latent image carrier. 20. A retractable position of the handle portion, which is set at a position adjacent to the fixing device, wherein the handle portion is not deformed by heat from the fixing device, or a metal member and an outer surface thereof. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 17 to 19, wherein the image forming apparatus is configured by a heat insulating member that covers the image forming apparatus.