JPH11330724A - Unit containing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate the attaching and removing works of a unit for a device body without providing the large configuration of the device and the cost increase. SOLUTION: A body side guide 20 is fixed to the front surface of an imaging- device body 26 so that the upper position in the vertical direction is made to agree with the lower-surface position of a mounting part 30 of a process unit 31 formed in the inside of the body 26. Furthermore, the fixed position of a cover-side guide 28 in an outer cover 27 in the vertical direction is determined under the condition, wherein the upper position of the cover-side guide 28 agrees with the lower position of the mounting part 30 under the state the outer cover 27 is fully opened. The lower surface of the process unit 31, which is inserted from the upper side between the body 26 and the outer cover 27, is brought into contact with the upper surface of a body side guide 29 and the upper edge of the cover-side guide 28. Thereafter, when the process unit 31 is horizontally moved to the side of the body 26 along the lower-surface direction, the process unit 31 is housed in the mounting part 30.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a unit storage device such as an image forming apparatus in which a single unit or a plurality of units are detachably mounted on an apparatus main body, and more particularly, when the unit is mounted on or removed from the apparatus main body. The present invention relates to an opening and closing cover that opens and closes.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer which forms an image by an electrophotographic system, a malfunction or deterioration of an image forming state occurs due to aging of components housed in the apparatus main body. In addition, it is necessary to replenish the toner, which is a consumable product, or to replace a component whose service life is determined, such as a photoconductor. For this reason, in the image forming apparatus, a maintenance operation for periodically inspecting, repairing, and replacing components in the apparatus main body is performed.

In order to facilitate this maintenance work,
Generally, in an image forming apparatus, a plurality of parts are unitized in the apparatus main body, an opening / closing cover for opening / closing the front of the apparatus main body is provided, and the opening / closing cover is operated to open the inside of the apparatus main body in a state where the front of the apparatus main body is opened. By attaching and detaching each unit, maintenance of each component can be easily performed.

Various proposals have conventionally been made to reduce the size of such an image forming apparatus and to improve the workability. For example, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 5-33588,
A relay board that is electrically connected to the operation board is provided in the operation section where the operation panel section and the front cover are integrated, and a guide is provided between the apparatus body and the operation section in a direction perpendicular or oblique to the main board of the apparatus body. The operation unit is mounted on the apparatus main body along the guide so that the relay board and the main board are directly electrically connected to each other, and the operation section is mounted on the apparatus main body via the relay board. There is disclosed a configuration in which the operation of electrically connecting the operation board to the main board is completed.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-67777 discloses that
A front cover for opening and closing the front surface of the device body is constituted by attaching a plurality of plates to a base material of a flexible material, and is slidable vertically in the front surface of the device body. There is disclosed a configuration in which the cover is stored in the direction so that the cover is not exposed to the outside of the apparatus main body when the front surface of the apparatus main body is opened.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 6-186791 discloses a guide means for arranging a process cartridge mounting opening on the front and back surfaces or on the left and right sides of the apparatus main body to maintain the process cartridge inserted through the mounting opening. Is provided in the apparatus main body so that the process cartridge can be attached and detached from either the front-rear direction or the left-right direction of the apparatus main body, thereby improving the workability when replacing the process cartridge. .

[0007]

However, in the configuration disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 5-33588, since the operation panel and the front cover are integrated, the operation is performed when opening and closing the front of the apparatus body. There is a problem in that the size of the member is increased, the operability at the time of opening and closing is reduced, and the relay board needs to be separately provided, which leads to an increase in cost.

In the structure disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-67777, a sufficient space is generally provided on the front surface of the apparatus main body for an operator who operates the apparatus during image formation. The effect of reducing the space on the front surface of the device when opening the front surface of the device body has little substantial effect, increasing the cost by forming the cover in a bellows shape, and providing a storage space for the cover inside the device. Therefore, there is a problem that the size of the apparatus is increased.

Further, in the configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-186791, the process cartridge can be attached and detached from two directions of the apparatus main body, but the image forming apparatus such as a copying machine is moved after being once installed. It is unlikely that the process cartridge can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body in two directions, and a drive mechanism for transmitting a rotational force to a photosensitive drum supported in the process cartridge is used. However, there is a problem that it is difficult to determine the structure and the arrangement place.

An object of the present invention is to provide an opening / closing cover for a unit storage device which can facilitate the work of attaching / detaching a unit to / from the apparatus main body without increasing the size and cost of the apparatus.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cover having at least one unit detachably provided inside a main body, and a cover for opening and closing the mounting position of the unit inside the main body with a hinge near a lower end portion. In the unit storage device provided, a main body side guide and a cover side guide projecting from each of the main body front face and the cover rear face in a predetermined range in a direction orthogonal to the mounting / detaching direction of the unit with respect to the inside of the main body are provided, The upper end of the cover-side guide when the cover is fully opened is arranged on an extension of the mounting position of the unit bottom inside the main body.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the cover is fully opened with the hinge near the lower end when the unit is attached to and detached from the main body, the upper end of the cover-side guide formed on the cover and the main body are not attached to the main body. The upper surface of the formed main body side guide is located on an extension of the mounting position of the unit bottom inside the main body. Therefore, the unit is located on an extension of the mounting direction with respect to the inside of the main body in a state where the bottom surface of the unit inserted from above between the cover and the main body is in contact with the upper end of the cover-side guide and the upper surface of the main body-side guide. That is, by moving the unit to the main body side along the bottom surface direction, the unit is mounted at an appropriate position inside the main body.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a range in which the body-side guide protrudes from the body and a range in which the cover-side guide protrudes from the cover are alternately repeated in a direction orthogonal to the unit attaching / detaching direction. It is characterized by being performed.

In the invention described in claim 2, the main body side guide and the cover side guide project at a plurality of positions in a direction orthogonal to the unit insertion direction, and the projecting portion of the main body side guide and the cover side guide are formed. The protrusions are alternately located in the direction orthogonal to the unit insertion direction. Therefore, when the cover is fully closed, the projecting portion of the main body side guide and the projecting portion of the cover side guide do not face each other in a direction orthogonal to the unit insertion direction, and the distance between the main body and the cover in the unit insertion direction is reduced. Does not expand.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the main body side guide and the cover side guide are constituted by a plurality of concave and convex portions which engage with each other in a direction orthogonal to the unit attaching / detaching direction when the cover is fully closed. Features.

In the third aspect of the present invention, when the cover is fully closed, the plurality of projections and depressions of the main body side guide and the plurality of projections and depressions of the cover side guide engage with each other. Therefore, when the cover is fully closed, the convex portion of the main body side guide and the convex portion of the cover side guide do not face each other in a direction orthogonal to the unit insertion direction, and the distance between the main body and the cover in the unit insertion direction is reduced. Does not expand.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, at least one concave portion of the main body side guide is formed as a penetrating portion of an electric signal line.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, at least one of the plurality of concaves and convexes formed on the main body side guide is formed as a penetrating portion of the electric signal line. Therefore, when it is necessary to electrically connect the main body and the cover, one end of the electric signal line is guided to the inside of the main body via the concave portion of the main body side guide, and the electric signal line is made to penetrate a part of the main body. There is no need to separately form a hole for this.

The invention described in claim 5 is characterized in that at least a part of the cover-side guide comes into contact with the unit mounted inside the main body in the insertion direction when the cover is fully closed.

In the invention described in claim 5, at least a part of the cover-side guide contacts the unit mounted inside the main body in the insertion direction when the cover is fully closed. Therefore, even when the unit is not fully inserted into the main body, at least a part of the cover-side guide presses the unit in the insertion direction by fully closing the cover, and the unit is completely inserted. At the same time, the mounting state of the unit inside the main body is reliably maintained.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an image forming apparatus will be described below as an example.

FIG. 1 is a schematic front sectional view showing the structure of an image forming apparatus which is a unit storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The document table 1 made of a transparent glass body is provided on the upper surface of the image forming apparatus main body 26. The scanner unit 2 is disposed below the document table 1 inside the image forming apparatus main body 26. The scanner unit 2 includes a light source 3, mirrors 4 to 6, a lens 7, and a photoelectric conversion element (hereinafter, referred to as a CCD) 8.

Inside the main body 26 of the image forming apparatus, on the right side below the scanner section 2, a paper discharge roller 9 and a sensor 1 are provided.
0 to 12, a heat roller 13, a pressure roller 14, a laser scanning unit (hereinafter referred to as LSU) 16,
A cleaning device 17, a charging charger 18, a transfer charger 19, a registration roller 20, a paper feeding roller 21, a photosensitive drum 22, and a developing device 23 are arranged. On the left side below the scanner unit 2, a paper discharge tray 24 is provided. Further, a sheet cassette 25 containing a plurality of sheets P is provided below the inside of the image forming apparatus main body 26.
Is installed.

At the time of image formation for copying an image of a document placed on the document table 1, the light source 3 and the mirrors 4 to 6 of the scanner unit 2 move the lower surface of the document table 1 parallel to the document table 1, The entire surface of the image of the original placed on the upper surface of the original table 1 is exposed by the light of the light source 3. The reflected light of the light of the light source 3 on the image surface of the document is reflected by the mirrors 4 to 6, passes through the lens 7, and forms an image on the light receiving surface of the CCD 8. CCD8
Sequentially outputs a voltage corresponding to the amount of light received on the light receiving surface as an image signal.

The image signal output from the CCD 8 is LS
It is input to U16. An LSU 16 that performs predetermined image processing including binarization processing on the image signal to generate image data, a semiconductor laser that irradiates a laser beam based on the image data generated by the image processing unit,
The laser beam emitted from the semiconductor laser is applied to the photosensitive drum 2
A polygon mirror for distributing light in the direction of the rotation axis 2 and a photosensitive drum 2 for laser light reflected on the polygon mirror
2 is provided with an fθ lens that deflects the irradiation angle with respect to the surface.

The LSU 16 creates image data based on the image signal input from the CCD 8 and irradiates the surface of the photosensitive drum 22 with a laser beam corresponding to the created image data. The surface of the photoreceptor drum 22 is uniformly charged with a single-polarity charge by the charging charger 18 prior to the irradiation of the laser beam. In addition, a photoconductive layer having a photoconductive effect is formed on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 22. Accordingly, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image data is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 22 that has been irradiated with the laser light.

Photosensitive drum 22 irradiated with laser light
The developing device 23 is opposed to the surface. The developing device 23
The toner stored inside is supplied to the surface of the photosensitive drum 22 via the developing roller. The toner is charged in the developing device 23 with a polarity opposite to the charge on the surface of the photosensitive drum 22 and is electrostatically attracted to an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 22. Thereby, the electrostatic latent image is visualized as a toner image.

The feed roller 21 rotates prior to the rotation of the photosensitive drum 22, and feeds the sheets P stored in the sheet cassette 25 one by one. The sheet P fed from the sheet cassette 25 stops with its front end in contact with the registration roller 20. The registration roller 20 starts rotating in synchronization with the rotation of the photosensitive drum 22, and
The paper P is guided between the printer and the transfer charger 19. Therefore, the transfer charger 19 faces the photosensitive drum 22 with the sheet P interposed therebetween.

A predetermined driving voltage is applied to the transfer charger 19 in a state where the paper P is located between the photosensitive drum 22 and the transfer charger 19. Corona discharge from the transfer charger 19 causes the transfer from the surface of the photosensitive drum 22 to the surface of the paper P. The toner moves,
The toner image carried on the surface of the photosensitive drum 22 is transferred to the surface of the paper P. Paper P on which toner image has been transferred
Is guided between the heat roller 13 and the pressure roller 14.

The heat roller 13 is heated by a built-in heater lamp 15 to a predetermined temperature at which the toner can be melted. The pressure roller 14 is urged toward the heat roller 13 by an elastic force of a spring (not shown), and comes into contact with the heat roller 13 at a predetermined nip pressure. Therefore, the paper P on which the toner image has been transferred is heated and pressed by the heat roller 13 and the pressure roller 14, and the thermoplastic toner is melted and fixed on the surface of the paper P. The paper P on which the toner image has been fixed is discharged to the paper discharge tray 24 by the rotation of the paper discharge roller 9.

The surface of the photosensitive drum 22 after facing the transfer charger 19 faces the cleaning device 17. The cleaning device 17 includes a blade that comes into contact with the surface of the photoconductor drum 22, and removes toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor drum 22 from the surface of the photoconductor drum 22 without transferring the toner to the surface of the paper P. Thereafter, until the image forming process is completed, the photosensitive drum 2
2, charging of the surface by the charging charger 18, irradiation of the laser beam by the LSU 16, supply of the toner by the developing device 23, transfer of the toner image by the transfer charger 19, and removal of the residual toner by the cleaning device 17. It is repeated in order.

The sensors 10 to 12 are connected to a photosensitive drum 22 from a paper feed roller 21 inside the main body 26 of the image forming apparatus.
And the transfer charger 19, and the heat roller 13
In the sheet conveyance path extending to the paper discharge roller 9 via the space between the paper discharge roller 9 and the heat roller 1,
3 and the pressure roller 14 and the paper feed roller 21, and detects the presence or absence of the paper P at each position. The transport state of the sheet is determined based on the detection signals of the sensors 10 to 12.

In the above configuration, the charger 1
8. The transfer charger 19 and the photosensitive drum 22 are integrally detachable from the image forming apparatus main body 26 as a process unit 31. Further, the developing device 23
Is a single unit or a process unit 3
As a part of the device 1, it is detachable from the image forming apparatus main body 26. Further, the heat roller 13 and the pressure roller 14 serve as a fixing unit 32 and serve as a fixing unit 32.
6 is detachable integrally. These units are attached and detached from the front of the image forming apparatus main body 26.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a plane cross section taken along a line XX in FIG. An exterior cover 27 is provided on a front surface of the image forming apparatus main body 26. The outer cover 27 covers and protects the front surfaces of the units such as the process unit 31 and the fixing unit 32 mounted inside the image forming apparatus main body 26 so as to be openable and closable. A part of the front surface of the image forming apparatus main body 26 is opened and closed.

A cover-side guide 28 is attached to the back of the exterior cover 27, and a body-side guide 29 is attached to the front of the image forming apparatus body 26. The cover-side guide 28 and the main body-side guide 29 form the outer cover 27 and the outer cover 27 in the image forming apparatus main body 26.
Are mounted at positions opposing each other when they are closed.

FIG. 4 is an external view showing the shapes of the main body side guide and the cover side guide provided in the image forming apparatus. As shown in FIG. 4A, the main body side guide 29 is formed by protruding protrusions 29b from three places on the front side of the flat plate portion 29a. Further, as shown in FIG. 4B, the cover-side guide 28 is formed by projecting protrusions 28b from two places on the back side of the flat plate portion 28a.
Two concave portions 29c are formed in the main body side guide 29 between each of the three protrusions 29b. Further, the cover-side guide 28 has a space between the two protrusions 28 b and the two protrusions 2 b.
A total of three concave portions 28c are formed on the outside of each of 8b.

Body-side guide 29 and cover-side guide 28
Are attached in close contact with the flat portions 29a and 28a on the front surface of the image forming apparatus main body 26 and the back surface of the exterior cover 27, respectively. Therefore, the main body side guide 2
9 and the protrusion 28b of the cover-side guide 28
Are arranged at a plurality of positions in a plane position that are orthogonal to the opening / closing direction of the exterior cover 27 (the mounting / detaching direction of the process unit 31).

The widths of the projections 29b and 28b and the recesses 29c and 28c are made equal to each other, and the projections 29b and the recesses 29c of the main body side guide 29 are in the planar position.
8b. Therefore, in a state where the outer cover 27 is fully closed, as shown in FIG.
9 engages with each of the recess 28 c and the projection 28 b of the cover-side guide 28, and between the image forming apparatus main body 26 and the exterior cover 27 in the opening / closing direction of the exterior cover 27. Body side guide 2
9, a gap is formed that is the sum of the thickness of the flat plate portion 29a of the cover 9 and the thickness of the flat plate portion 28a of the cover-side guide 28.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the image forming apparatus with the outer cover fully opened. The main body side guide 29
The upper surface position in the vertical direction is fixed to the front surface of the image forming apparatus main body 26 so as to correspond to the bottom position of the mounting portion 30 of the process unit 31 formed inside the image forming apparatus main body 26. The vertical fixing position of the cover-side guide 28 on the exterior cover 27 is determined on condition that the upper end position of the cover-side guide 28 coincides with the bottom surface position of the mounting portion 30 when the exterior cover 27 is fully opened. You.

Accordingly, the distance L from the open / close axis position S of the outer cover 27 to the mounting position on the upper surface of the cover-side guide 28 is the vertical distance H from the open / close axis position S to the mounting position on the bottom surface of the process unit 31. Exterior cover 2
L = (H / cos θ) −Dtan θ using the opening angle θ of the cover 7 at the time of full opening and the sum D of １ ／ of the thickness of the outer cover 27 and the thickness of the cover-side guide 28 in the lateral direction. .

The process unit 31 is mounted horizontally inside the main body 26 of the image forming apparatus. For this reason, the mounting portion 30 is formed with its bottom surface horizontal inside the image forming apparatus main body 26.

With the above configuration, the image forming apparatus main body 26
When the exterior cover 27 is fully opened at the front of the
The main body side guide 29 whose upper surface position coincides with the bottom surface position of 0 is exposed, and the upper end position of the cover side guide 28 attached to the back surface of the outer cover 27 coincides with the bottom surface position of the mounting portion 30. Therefore, when mounting the process unit 31 on the mounting portion 30 in the image forming apparatus main body 26,
When the bottom surface of the process unit 31 inserted between the image forming apparatus main body 26 and the outer cover 27 from above is brought into contact with the upper surface of the main body side guide 29 and the upper end of the cover side guide 28, the bottom surface of the process unit 31 is mounted. The horizontal position is maintained at a position corresponding to the bottom surface of the unit 30, and the vertical position when the process unit 31 is mounted in the image forming apparatus main body 26 is fixedly determined.

In this state, when the process unit 31 is horizontally moved toward the image forming apparatus main body 26 along the bottom surface direction, the process unit 31 is stored in the mounting portion 30 and the process unit 31 is moved into the image forming apparatus main body 26. Can be accurately and easily mounted at the appropriate position.

Further, the main body side guide 29 and the cover side guide 28 abut on the bottom surface of the process unit 31 at a plurality of projections 29b and 28b formed in a direction perpendicular to the mounting / detaching direction of the process unit 31, so that the process unit 31 Is stably held at a position where the bottom surface coincides with the bottom surface of the mounting portion 30.

FIG. 6 is a schematic side sectional view showing a state in which a cover of an image forming apparatus as a unit storage apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention is fully closed. In the image forming apparatus, which is a unit storage device according to this embodiment, a contact portion 28d is formed above the cover-side guide 28.
When the exterior cover 27 is fully closed after the process unit 31 is mounted inside the image forming apparatus main body 26, the contact portion 28d formed on the top of the cover-side guide 28 contacts the front surface of the process unit 31. With this configuration, the movement of the process unit 31 in the image forming apparatus main body 26 can be reliably restricted.

In the image forming apparatus, for example, the transfer charger can be freely moved between the proper position and the retracted position inside the main body, and the jam of the recording medium generated between the photosensitive drum and the transfer charger can be easily removed. There is something that I tried to do. Therefore, in the case where the main body side guide 29 and the cover side guide 28 guide the mounting position of a unit movably between an appropriate position and a retracted position inside the main body such as a transfer unit, for example, The contact part 28d formed on the cover-side guide 28 and the front end of the unit are constituted by inclined surfaces that contact each other, so that when the exterior cover 27 is fully closed, the contact part 28d of the cover-side guide 28 The unit may be moved from the retracted position to an appropriate position by contacting the front end of the unit.

FIG. 7 is an external view showing a shape of a main body side guide of an image forming apparatus which is a unit storage apparatus according to still another embodiment of the present invention. A main body side guide 29 of the image forming apparatus which is the unit storage device according to this embodiment.
Is such that at least a part of the recess 29c is not closed by the projection 28b of the cover-side guide 28, and this part is used as a through hole of the electric signal line 33. With this configuration, for example,
When the operation panel is formed integrally with the exterior cover 27, it is necessary to separately form a through hole for wiring an electric signal line connecting the exterior cover 27 and the image forming apparatus main body 26 to the image forming apparatus main body 26. Therefore, the structure of the image forming apparatus main body 26 can be simplified.

In the above example, the gap formed between the image forming apparatus main body 26 and the outer cover 27 when the outer cover 27 is fully closed is reduced to prevent the image forming apparatus from being enlarged. The main body-side guide 29 and the cover-side guide 28 are formed in a comb-like shape by protrusions and recesses that engage with each other on a horizontal plane. However, when the outer cover 27 is fully opened, the upper surface of the main body side guide 29 and the cover side guide 28
When the outer cover 27 is fully closed, the protrusion of the cover-side guide 28 is located above the protrusion of the main body-side guide 29 when the outer cover 27 is fully closed. Therefore, at least the cover-side guide 28 is connected to the process unit 3 such as a metal flat plate.
1 is made of a thin material having sufficient strength to support the outer cover 27 even when the main body side guide 29 and the cover side guide 28 are arranged at positions facing each other in a planar position. The projections can be prevented from contacting each other when fully closed, so that the body-side guide 29 and the cover-side guide 28 can have simpler shapes.

The main unit side guide 29 and the cover side guide 28 are formed on the bottom surface of the process unit 31 in the detachable direction in which the main unit side guide 29 and the cover side guide 28 slide, or the main unit side guide 29 and the cover side guide are formed on the upper surface of the process unit 31. 2
By indicating the mark of the position where 8 should oppose, the horizontal position when the process unit 31 is inserted from above into between the image forming apparatus main body 26 and the exterior cover 27 can be easily determined. Good.

Further, in the above example, the case where the process unit 31 is mounted so that the bottom surface thereof is horizontal in the image forming apparatus main body 26 has been described, but the bottom surface of the process unit 31 is inclined with respect to the horizontal position. In the case of being mounted in the image forming apparatus main body 26 in a state where
By arranging the upper surface of the main body side guide 29 and the upper end of the cover side guide 28 on the extension of the bottom surface of the mounting portion in the side direction, the process unit 31 can be accurately and properly positioned in the image forming apparatus 26. Can be easily mounted.

[0051]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the unit is attached to and detached from the main body, the upper end of the cover-side guide formed on the cover is provided in a state where the cover is fully opened with the vicinity of the lower end as a hinge. The upper surface of the main body side guide formed on the main body is configured so as to be located on an extension of the mounting position of the unit bottom surface inside the main body, so that the bottom surface of the unit is located between the upper end of the cover side guide and the upper surface of the main body side guide. The unit can be positioned on the extension of the mounting direction with respect to the inside of the main unit while in contact with the unit, and by simply moving the unit to the main unit along the bottom direction, it can be easily and accurately positioned at the appropriate position inside the main unit. Can be installed.
In addition, since the upper surface of the main body side guide and the upper end of the cover side guide abut on the bottom surface of the unit in a predetermined range in a direction orthogonal to the unit attaching / detaching direction, the upper surface of the main body side guide and the upper end of the cover side guide abut. The unit does not become unstable in this state, and the unit can be mounted inside the main body in a stable state.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the cover is fully closed, the plurality of protrusions of the main body side guide and the plurality of protrusions of the cover side guide alternately in a direction orthogonal to the unit insertion direction. With this configuration, when the cover is fully closed, the projecting portion of the body-side guide and the projecting portion of the cover-side guide can be prevented from facing each other in a direction orthogonal to the unit insertion direction. By providing the main body side guide and the cover side guide between the cover and the cover, the space between the main body and the cover in the unit insertion direction does not significantly increase, and the apparatus can be prevented from being enlarged.

According to the third aspect of the invention, when the cover is fully closed, the plurality of projections and depressions of the main body side guide and the plurality of projections and depressions of the cover side guide are configured to engage with each other. When the cover is fully closed, the convex portion of the main body side guide and the convex portion of the cover side guide can be prevented from facing each other in a direction orthogonal to the unit insertion direction,
By providing the main body side guide and the cover side guide between the main body and the cover, the space between the main body and the cover in the unit insertion direction does not significantly increase, and the apparatus can be prevented from being enlarged. Further, when defining the mounting position of the unit with respect to the inside of the main body, since a plurality of convex portions of the main body side guide and the cover side guide abut on the bottom surface of the unit in a direction orthogonal to the mounting / detaching direction of the unit,
The unit in contact with the main body side guide and the cover side guide does not become unstable, and the unit can be inserted into the main body in a stable state.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, at least one of the plurality of irregularities formed on the main body side guide is provided.
By making the two recesses a penetration part of the electric signal line,
When it is necessary to electrically connect the main unit and the cover,
One end of the electric signal line can be guided to the inside of the main body via the concave portion of the main body side guide, and it is not necessary to separately form a hole for penetrating the electric signal line in a part of the main body,
The configuration of the device can be simplified.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, at least a part of the cover-side guide is configured to abut on the unit mounted inside the main body in the insertion direction when the cover is fully closed. Even when the unit is not fully inserted into the main body, the unit can be pressed in the insertion direction by at least a part of the cover-side guide when the cover is fully closed, and the unit is completely inserted into the main body. And the cover-side guide can also function as a member for preventing the unit from being pulled out.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front sectional view illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus which is a unit storage device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a plane cross section taken along a line XX in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an external view illustrating shapes of a main body side guide and a cover side guide provided in the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the image forming apparatus in a fully opened state of an exterior cover.

FIG. 6 is a schematic side sectional view showing a state in which a cover of an image forming apparatus which is a unit storage device according to another embodiment of the present invention is fully closed.

FIG. 7 is an external view showing a shape of a main body side guide of an image forming apparatus which is a unit storage device according to still another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 13-Heat Roller 14-Pressure Roller 15-Heater Lamp 16-LSU 17-Cleaning Device 18-Charging Charger 19-Transfer Charger 22-Photoconductor Drum 23-Developing Device 26-Image Forming Apparatus Main Body 31-Process Unit 32-Fixing unit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Takashi Kubo 22-22 Nagaikecho, Abeno-ku, Osaka-shi, Osaka Inside Sharp Corporation

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A unit storage device comprising: a cover in which at least one unit is detachably provided inside a main body, and a cover for opening / closing a mounting position of the unit inside the main body with a hinge near a lower end portion is provided. A main body side guide and a cover side guide projecting from the front side of the main body and the back side of the cover in a predetermined range in a direction orthogonal to the direction are provided. A unit storage device characterized by being disposed on an extension of a mounting position of a unit bottom surface in (1). 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a range in which the body-side guide protrudes from the main body and a range in which the cover-side guide protrudes from the cover are alternately repeated in a direction orthogonal to the mounting / removing direction of the unit. Unit storage device. 3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the main body side guide and the cover side guide are
3. The unit storage device according to claim 2, comprising a plurality of concave and convex portions which engage with each other in a direction orthogonal to the unit attaching / detaching direction when the cover is fully closed. 4. The unit storage device according to claim 3, wherein at least one concave portion of the main body side guide is a penetrating portion of an electric signal line. 5. At least a part of the cover-side guide is
5. The unit storage device according to claim 1, wherein when the cover is fully closed, the unit comes into contact with the unit mounted inside the main body in the insertion direction.