JPH11327235A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device capable of restraining temperature rise and noise inside a body. SOLUTION: In this image forming device provided with a fan 8 between a body frame (1st wall) 1 and a right cover (2nd wall); ribs 1a and 4a formed in an air port formed on the frame 1 and the cover 4 are made to be tapered in the flow direction of air by the fan 8. Since the ribs 1a and 4a and the cover 4 are formed in such a way, the air resistance of the ribs 1a and 4a is restrained to be small, the flow of the air is excellent, ventilation efficiency is enhanced, the temperature rise inside the body is restrained, and the noise is made low.

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 such as a printer or a copier equipped with a fan for suppressing a rise in temperature of the apparatus main body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus such as a printer or a copying machine is provided with a fan for suppressing a temperature rise in a main body. This fan is mounted on a frame of the main body so as to be located on an air path. It is mounted, and its outline is shown in FIG.

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a laser beam printer. In the printer, a drive unit 5, a controller, a power supply unit 6 and the like are mounted on a main frame 1 as a frame.
The fixing device 9 is mounted on the back side of the printer.

Further, a paper feed cassette 7 is detachably mounted on the lower part of the main body, and mounted parts and units are covered by an upper cover 2, a left cover 3 and a right cover 4. A fan 8 is attached to the main body frame 1 to prevent the inside of the main body from being heated by the fixing device 9 and the power supply, and the fan 8 forms an air path as indicated by an arrow.

FIG. 9 shows details of the configuration of the fan 8 on the inner side of the main body.

As shown in FIG. 9, a rib 1a of the main body frame 1 is formed inside the main body of the fan 8, and the wind flows around the rib 1a as shown by the arrow in the figure.

[0007]

However, since the conventional image forming apparatus employs a structure in which the fan is attached to the main body frame, a hole is formed in an outer cover that covers the main body frame and the fan and the like to form an air passage. Must. If a large hole is formed in the main body frame or the outer cover, a foreign substance may enter through the hole, so that it has to be formed in a rib shape as described above.

However, when the holes are formed in a rib shape as described above, the ribs have an air resistance and the flow of wind is deteriorated, which may increase the temperature inside the main body or generate noise due to the air resistance. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide an image forming apparatus capable of raising the temperature inside a main body and reducing noise.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus having a fan between a first wall and a second wall. And a rib formed at an air port of the second wall is formed in a tapered shape in a flow direction of a wind formed by a fan.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus having a fan between the first wall and the second wall, a rib formed at an air vent of the first wall and the second wall. Is formed in a wing shape.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, at least one of the first wall and the second wall has a mortar shape.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, a wall for eliminating a gap between the first wall and the fan is formed.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first or the second aspect of the present invention, the corners in the air passage inside the first wall and the second wall are rounded. .

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the distance R between the fan and the downstream wall in the flow direction of the wind formed by the fan is determined by the distance between the fan and the wind formed by the fan. Is set smaller (R <L) than the distance L from the upstream wall in the flow direction.

Thus, according to the invention, the first wall and the second
The ribs formed at the wind opening of the wall are tapered in the direction of flow of the wind formed by the fan, or the ribs are formed in the shape of a wing, so that the air resistance at the ribs is kept small and the flow of the wind is good. As a result, the ventilation efficiency is increased, the temperature rise inside the main body is suppressed, and the noise is also reduced.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<First Embodiment> FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a laser beam printer according to the present invention. In the printer, a drive unit 5, a controller, a power supply unit 6 and the like are mounted on a main body frame 1 as a frame. Further, a fixing device 9 is mounted on the back side in FIG.

Further, a paper cassette 7 is detachably mounted on the lower part of the main body, and the mounted components and units are covered by an upper cover 2, a left cover 3 and a right cover 4. A fan 8 is attached to the main body frame 1 to prevent the inside of the main body from being heated by the fixing device 9 and the power supply, and the fan 8 forms an air path as indicated by an arrow.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of ribs 1a, 4a formed in the air vents of the main body frame 1 and the right cover 4 are used to remove the wind formed by the fan 8. The ribs are formed in a tapered shape in the flow direction. With this configuration, the air resistance at each of the ribs 1a and 4a is suppressed to be small, so that the flow of the wind is good, and as a result, the ventilation efficiency is increased and the main body is improved. The internal temperature rise is suppressed and noise is reduced.

Here, the specific structure and operation of the laser beam printer will be outlined with reference to FIG.

As shown in the figure, a photosensitive drum 11 as a latent image carrier rotates in the direction of arrow A, and its surface is
Is charged uniformly, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 by the laser beam 13 that writes the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 11.

The electrostatic latent image is developed by the developing device 14 and is visualized as a toner image. The developing device 14 is disposed close to the photosensitive drum 11 and is detachable from the main assembly of the image forming apparatus as a process cartridge. Is configured.

The visualized toner image on the photosensitive drum 11 is transferred to a transfer material P as a recording heat medium by a transfer roller 19, and the untransferred toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 11 without being transferred is a cleaning blade. The photosensitive drum 11, which is scraped off by the cleaning unit 20 and stored in the waste toner container of the cleaning device 21, and cleaned, repeats the above-described operation to form an image.

On the other hand, the transfer material P on which the toner image has been transferred
Is subjected to a fixing process by the fixing device 22, discharged to the outside of the device, and the printing operation ends.

<Second Embodiment> Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the periphery of the fan of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. In this figure, the same elements as those shown in FIG. 2 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the main body frame 1 and the right cover 4
A plurality of ribs 1a, 4a formed in the wind opening of the fan 8 are formed in a tapered shape in the flow direction of the wind formed by the fan 8, and the main body frame 1 inside the main body of the fan 8 is formed.
By making the shape of the periphery 1b of the air passage into a mortar shape, the flow of the air is further improved than in the first embodiment, and the temperature rise and noise inside the main body are effectively reduced.

Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the periphery of the fan of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. In this figure, the same elements as those shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, a wall 1c for eliminating a gap between the air passage of the main body frame 1 inside the main body of the fan 8 and the fan 8 is formed. The air flow is further improved than in the case of 2, and the temperature rise and noise inside the main body are reduced more effectively.

<Fourth Embodiment> Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the periphery of the fan of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. In this figure, the same elements as those shown in FIG.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, the end of the rib 1a constituting the air passage of the main body frame 1 on the inner side of the main body of the fan 8 is formed into a wing shape. Also, the air flow is further improved, and the temperature rise and noise inside the main body are effectively reduced.

<Fifth Embodiment> Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the periphery of the fan of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. In this figure, the same elements as those shown in FIG.

In the present embodiment, a plurality of ribs 1a, 4a formed in the air vents of the main body frame 1 and the right cover 4 are tapered in the direction of the flow of the wind formed by the fan 8 as in the first embodiment. The flow of the wind is improved by making the corners of the protrusions 1d such as ribs protruding into the air passage of the main body frame 1 on the inner side of the main body of the fan 8 into an R shape. To reduce the temperature rise and noise.

<Sixth Embodiment> Next, a sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the periphery of the fan of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. In this figure, the same elements as those shown in FIG.

In the present embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, a plurality of ribs 1a, 4a formed in the air vent of the main body frame 1 and the right cover 4 are tapered in the direction of flow of the wind formed by the fan 8. The fan 8 is arranged near the right cover 4. That is, the fan 8
The distance R between the fan 8 and the right cover 4 is set smaller than the distance L between the fan 8 and the main body frame 1 (R <L).

Thus, according to the present embodiment, the fan 8
Is moved away from the main body frame 1 so that the resistance of the air passing through the air passage of the main body frame 1 is further reduced, so that the flow of the wind becomes good. As a result, the temperature rise inside the main body and the noise can be reduced.

[0037]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the ribs formed at the air vents of the first wall and the second wall are tapered in the flow direction of the wind formed by the fan. Or the ribs are formed in a wing shape, so that the air resistance at the ribs is kept small and the air flow is good, the ventilation efficiency is raised, the temperature rise inside the main body is suppressed, and the noise is also reduced. The effect is obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an image forming apparatus (laser beam printer) according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view around a fan of the image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a specific configuration of an image forming apparatus (laser beam printer) according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view around a fan of the image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view around a fan of the image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view around a fan of an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view around a fan of an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 5 of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view around a fan of an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of a fan of a conventional image forming apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main body frame (1st wall) 1a Rib 1b Around air passage 1c Wall to eliminate the gap between the 1st wall and the fan 1d Projection 4 Right cover (2nd wall) 4a Rib 8 Fan

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Akihiro Higashima 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Inside Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Fumio Asano 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Incorporated (72) Inventor Kazuhiko Yahashi 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon Inc. (72) Inventor Yutaka Kubo 3-30-2 Shimomaruko, Ota-ku, Tokyo Canon stock In company

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus having a fan between a first wall and a second wall, wherein a rib formed at a wind opening of the first wall and the second wall is formed by the fan. An image forming apparatus characterized by being formed in a tapered shape in a flow direction of wind. 2. An image forming apparatus having a fan between a first wall and a second wall, wherein a rib formed at a wind opening of the first wall and the second wall is formed in a wing shape. An image forming apparatus comprising: 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first wall and the second wall has a mortar shape. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a wall that eliminates a gap between the first wall and the fan is formed. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein corners in an air path inside the first wall and the second wall are rounded. 6. A distance R between the fan and a wall formed on the downstream side in the flow direction of the wind formed by the fan is smaller than a distance L between the fan and the wall formed on the upstream side in the flow direction of the wind formed by the fan (R <L) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the setting is performed.