JPS6281651A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent completely an optical system from being stained when a main body part is opened by providing an image forming device with a shutter member for a laser beam and closing a beam exit when the main body part is opened. CONSTITUTION:A rotating member 21 is supported pivotally on the pin 22 of the image forming device body rotatably as shown by an arrow D and the shutter member 20 engages the hole 23 in the flat part 21b at the tip and energized by a tension spring 24. In this constitution, when the upper main body part is opened, the rotating member 21 is drawn by the spring 24 to the right and the shutter member 20 rotates counterclockwise to close the laser beam exit 12. Further, when the upper main body part is closed, the tongue part 21c of the member 21 abuts on a case 26 and the shutter member 20 is drawn to the left to open the beam exit 12. Consequently, the beam exit 12 is blocked in the opening state to prevent the optical system from being stained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides an image forming apparatus that is equipped with a laser optical system and whose main body is divided into a plurality of parts that can be opened and closed.
do.

The image forming device of the above type has been known for a long time, and the main body of this device is divided into multiple parts that can be opened and closed. Removal work etc. can be easily performed by opening the main body part. However, in conventional devices of this type, when the main body is opened, the exit of the laser beam from the laser optical system is exposed to the outside. For this reason, external dust and the like may adhere to the optical element of the laser optical system and contaminate the element.

1. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus of the type described at the beginning, in which the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks are eliminated by a simple construction.

Thief In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a shutter member for opening and closing the exit of the laser beam from the laser optical system in the main body portion of the image forming apparatus in which the laser optical system is provided, and
A biasing means is provided for biasing the shutter member so that the shutter member closes the laser beam exit when the main body portion of the image forming device is opened.1 When the main body portion of the image forming device is closed, the shutter member is not provided. A configuration is proposed in which a portion of the main body part operates the shutter member against the action of the biasing means to open the laser beam exit.

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

FIG. 1 shows an example of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, and in order to understand the present invention, the overall structure thereof will first be briefly explained.

2 indicates a paper feeding device, from which the recording paper 2 is fed in the direction of arrow A and is conveyed to a drum-shaped photoreceptor 4 at the appropriate timing by a pair of registration rollers 3. The photoconductor 4 is rotated clockwise, and its surface is charged by the rIA charger 5. The charged photoconductor surface is exposed to light by a laser beam emitted from the exit 12 of the laser optical system 6, and a light beam is deposited on the photoconductor. An electrostatic latent image is formed. This latent image is made visible by the toner when it passes through the developer JAAl1, and this visible image is transferred to the recording paper fed to the photoreceptor 4 by the transfer charger 8, and the visible image on the transferred recording paper is The image is fixed by the fixing device 9. The recording paper that has left the fixing device 9 is discharged to a paper discharge section 11 formed by the upper wall surface of the apparatus main body 10, as shown by arrow B. After the visible image has been transferred, residual toner is removed from the photoreceptor portion by the cleaning device 13, and the charge is removed by the charge removing device.

The image forming device main body 10 is divided into a plurality of parts, in the illustrated example, an upper main body 10a and a lower main body lOb, separated by a chain line C. Upper part 1. Oa is relative to the lower part 10b of the main body,
It is rotatably supported, and the upper part 10a of the main body can be opened to the lower part 10b as schematically shown in FIG. Therefore, maintenance and inspection inside the apparatus main body 10, removal of jammed paper, etc. can be easily performed.

The laser optical system 6 shown as an example in the figure is located at the upper part of the main body 10a.
A laser device and a rotating polygon mirror 14, which are not shown and belong to
, a reflecting mirror 15, a cylindrical lens 16, and other optical elements, and the laser beam L is transmitted through these elements 14, 15 .
16 and exits from the outlet 12. A laser device, a multifaceted FI 14, and a warped mirror 15 are housed in an optical system housing 17.

The cylindrical lens 16 is held by a holding portion 18a formed by a part of the main body frame 18 in the main body upper part 10a. A seal is formed between the holding portion 18a and the housing 17, and the lens 16 also functions as a dustproof member that prevents dust from entering the housing 17. The holding portion 18a that holds the cylindrical lens 16 may be formed from a part of the housing 17 of the optical system.

The above-described configuration itself is no different from conventional image forming apparatuses. In this case, in the conventional device, when the upper part 10a of the main body is opened as shown in FIG.
The exit 12 of the laser beam is exposed to the outside, and there is a risk that external dust may adhere to the elements of the laser optical system, ie, the cylindrical lens 16 in the illustrated example. There is also a risk that the operator may accidentally touch the lens 16 and leave fingerprints thereon. Furthermore, when the upper part 10a of the main body is opened, the light source of the laser device is automatically turned off and the laser beam is not emitted from the exit 12. Therefore, it cannot be said that there is no possibility that the laser beam L may be emitted.

Therefore, in the illustrated image forming apparatus according to the present invention, when the main body upper part 10a is opened, the outlet 12 is as shown in FIG.
It is configured to be closed by a shutter member 20 clearly shown in FIG. 4 (b) and FIG. 4, and the related structure will be described in detail below.

The shutter member 20 is supported so as to be slidable in the horizontal direction in the figure between a position where the outlet 12 is opened as shown in FIG. 3(a) and a position where the exit 12 is closed as shown in FIG. 3(b). has been done. On the other hand, the rotating member 21 shown in FIG. 4 is supported by the main body frame 18 of the upper main body 10a by pins 22 provided on the rising portions 21a at both ends of the rotating member 21 so as to be rotatable in the direction of the arrow. Flat part 21 of member 21
A suitable number of holes 23 are bored in b, and rising engagement portions 20a formed on the shutter member 20 are engaged with these holes 23. Further, each end of a biasing means consisting of a tension spring 24 is respectively locked to the fixed part of the main body upper part 10a (for example, the mooring part 18b of the main body frame 18) and the rotating member 2I, so that the rotating member 21 is given the counterclockwise rotational behavior in FIG. Furthermore, a tongue portion 21c is provided on the flat portion 21b of the rotating member 21, and this tongue portion 21c passes through a hole 25 bored in the main frame 18 of the upper main body 10a and projects below the frame 18. .

When the upper part 10a of the main body is closed as shown in FIG.
c is abutted as shown in FIG. 3(a), so that the rotating member 21 is held in the position shown in FIG. 3(a) against the action of the spring 24. At this time, the shutter member 20 is pulled to the leftmost position shown in FIG. . Therefore, the laser beam L can be emitted through the exit 12 without any trouble.

When the main body upper part 20a is rotated with respect to the main body lower part Ob as shown in FIG. 2 and the upper part is opened, the laser optical system 6, the main body frame 18. The shutter member 20 and the rotating member 21 are also lifted upward, and the tongue portion 21c of the rotating member 21 is separated from the case 26 of the lower body portion 10b that was in contact with the tongue portion 21c. Therefore, the rotation member 21 is moved to the third position by the tensile action of the spring 24.
Rotate counterclockwise to the position shown in Figure (b). As a result, the shutter member 20 is also pushed to the rightmost position shown in FIG. 3(b), and the shutter member 20 closes the outlet 12.

In this way, the shutter member 20 operates in conjunction with the opening of the upper part 10a of the main body and closes the outlet 12, so that dust does not enter through the outlet 12 and adhere to the cylindrical lens 16, and also prevents the lens 16 from being exposed to work. It also prevents people from touching it.

Further, even if the laser beam L is emitted from the laser device, there is no fear that it will leak out from the exit 12, and safety is ensured.

When the main body upper part 10a is closed again as shown in FIG.
1c hits the case 26 on the lower side of the main body, the rotating member 21 rotates as shown in FIG. 3(a), the shutter member 20 retreats from the outlet 12, and the outlet I2 is opened.

In the above embodiment, the tension spring 24 causes the shutter member 20 to
Although the means for biasing the shutter member 21 has been constructed, it is obvious that this means can be constructed using other types of springs. 20, or the shutter member 20 may be biased by the rotating member itself or its own weight. In addition, in the example shown in the figure, since the rotating member 21 and the shutter member 20 are separate members, the shutter member 20 does not move in an arc but moves linearly in the horizontal direction, which has the advantage that the space in which the shutter member is arranged can be reduced. However, it goes without saying that the shutter member and the rotating member may be constructed integrally, and the shutter member 20 may be constructed to move in an arc.

The present invention is not limited to an image forming apparatus in which the main body of the image forming apparatus is divided into upper and lower halves and the upper part of the main body is rotatably supported, but also a device in which the image forming apparatus can be separated horizontally, or an apparatus in which the upper part of the main body is separated from the lower part. It can also be applied to an image forming device etc. that can be slid horizontally.

In addition, the laser optical system is not limited to the case where the laser optical system is installed on a movable main body part (the upper part 10a of the main body in the example of FIG. It goes without saying that the invention can also be applied.

According to the present invention, it is possible to close the exit of the laser beam when the main body is opened with a simple configuration, prevent the elements of the optical system from becoming dirty, and completely prevent leakage of the laser beam in case of an accident. can.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an example of an image forming device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic left side view of FIG. 1 when the top of the main body of the image forming device is opened, FIG. 3(a), (b) is a sectional view illustrating the shutter member, its related structure, and its operating condition, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the shutter member and the rotating member.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] An imaging device including a laser optical system and having an imaging device main body divided into a plurality of openable and closable parts, wherein the imaging device main body portion provided with the laser optical system has a laser optical system. A shutter member is provided for opening and closing the exit of the laser beam from the system, and a biasing means is provided for biasing the shutter member so that the shutter member closes the laser beam exit when the main body portion of the imaging device is opened. Imaging characterized in that when the main body part is closed, a part of the main body part other than the one provided with the shutter member operates the shutter member against the action of the biasing means to open the laser beam exit. Device.