JPS6314168A - Processing unit - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To hold the attitude of a process unit constant when the unit is handled by gripping its handle by arranging a cleaning device while nearly aligning the 1st and the 2nd straight lines which connects the centers of gravity of the process unit and its grip when waste toner is not recovered and when the waste toner is recovered with each other. CONSTITUTION:The process unit 8 when no used has no waste toner is the waste toner box 15 of the cleaning device. The center of gravity of the process unit in this case is at a point A and the straight line connecting the point A and the handle 14 is AH. As this process unit is used, the waste toner is recovered in the toner box 15. Consequently, the center of gravity of the process unit 8 moves to a point B and the straight line connecting the point B and grip 14 is BH. The cleaning unit 6 is arranged where the straight line AH and straight line BH are put closer to each other, and then the inclination of the process unit 8 in use is precluded as much as possible.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to image forming apparatuses such as copying machines and printers using an electrophotographic method, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus that incorporates a part of process elements to form an image. The present invention relates to the structure of a process unit that can be attached to and detached from an apparatus main body.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, there have been known photoconductors such as photoconductors, laser beam printers, L(:8 printers), and other photocopying devices using a photoreceptor formed on an electrophotographic photoreceptor through a band and a photoreceptor. .In these IgIi edge forming devices, the process tubes such as the photoreceptor drum, charger, charger, cleaning device, etc. are integrated into a unit shape (hereinafter referred to as a process unit), and the entire process unit is consumed. An image forming apparatus has been proposed and realized, which reduces the overall size of the apparatus by making it more compact and easier to interact with, and which eliminates the need for maintenance that requires specialized knowledge. 2433) In this process, when the rotation axis of the photoreceptor drum is oriented in the direction of gravity when being replaced by the user or transported, the toner in the developing device or cleaning device is unevenly distributed, resulting in copying, printing defects, and toner leakage. leakage,
In order to prevent scattering, one handle member is formed so that the rotation axis of the photoreceptor drum becomes a water droplet during handling. Generally, the process unit in which the handle member is completely blind is roughly divided into 28i in terms of the function of each handle member. One of them is.

The handle for attaching and detaching the process unit and the handle for transporting the process unit are formed as separate structures, and the handle for removing the process unit and the handle for transporting the process unit are the same. These two types of process units) K have the following characteristics. The process unit of the former structure must be handled with separate handles when it is attached, detached, and transported, making it complicated to handle. The process unit with the structure related to Karimata is further divided into two types, one of which is! ! As shown in FIGS. 4 (α-1) and (α-2), the attitude (α-1) in which the process unit 201 is supported in the operating state in the squadron forming device 200 and the attitude during transportation are schematically shown. Because of the 90' rotation (α-2), toner movement occurs within the developer and cleaning device, and there is an unavoidable risk of toner leakage outside the process unit and partial deviation. 4(b), a handle 202 for transportation is formed on the top surface of the process unit 201, but the cleaning aft is in a positional relationship that is approximately perpendicular to the handle with respect to the rotation axis of the photoreceptor drum. By using the process unit]
The amount of collected waste toner increases, and there is a problem in the ease of viewing and handling, since the initial posture of the process unit when hanging is different from that during use. On the other hand, the process unit 203 of the latter structure has the same handle 204 for attachment/detachment and handling, as shown in Figure 4 (C-i) and (C-2), so it cannot be handled ^
It is easy to operate, but like the former conventional technology, the image is shaped like I2I.
4. Since the posture of the process unit during operation in the storage (a-1) and during transportation (c-2) rotates approximately 90 degrees, there is a disadvantage that there is an unavoidable risk of toner leakage. was.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in consideration of the above drawbacks, and an object of the present invention is to provide a process unit that hardly changes its posture when handled by the handle, regardless of changes over time during use.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to solve the above object, the present invention includes an electrostatic latent image carrier and a cleaning means that are removably attached to one image forming apparatus, and the cleaning means t-S charge storage image carrier has a rotation axis centered around the t-S charge storage image carrier. The process unit is placed below the surface of the water passing through it and is handled as if it were suspended by a handle.
A first straight line connects the handle to the center of gravity of the process unit in an initial state in which no waste toner is collected in the cleaning device, and a second straight line connects the handle to the center of gravity of the process unit in a state in which waste toner is collected. cleaning device in a position that roughly matches the ? It is located in a process unit characterized by having been arranged.

[Implementation row]

One embodiment of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

The IEI diagram schematically shows the main parts of an image forming apparatus using a process unit according to the present invention.
4. When the i-carrier, which is an image-bearing member in which a photoconductive material such as OPC is formed adjacent to a photoreceptor drum and is rotatably supported by an image forming io1 main body, is rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow,
The surface of the drum is uniformly charged by the band charger 2. This charged portion is exposed to light by the optical signal generation device 3, and a brightness is formed on the drum surface. This Shizuka Hiroshi @ is the current iron device that forms the 1ila ki brush! 4, it is visualized by toner. The toner formed in this manner is transferred onto a transfer paper (not shown) by a transfer device 5, which is fed to a transfer position in synchronization with the toner from a transfer paper stacker (not shown) to a photosensitive drum. Ru. After the transfer, the transfer paper is separated from the photosensitive drum 1, fed into the fixing device 10, and discharged to a paper discharge tray (not shown).The dotted line B in FIG. 9 shows the path of the transfer paper. On the surface of the photoreceptor drum, which has been transferred as described above,
Approximately 30 to 40% of unconverted toner remains in the toilet.

Cleaning tribe! Removed by J16. After cleaning, the drum part is neutralized to a certain level by the static elimination lamp 7, and the next production is prepared for the process.The process elements of the printer forming apparatus include the photosensitive drum 1, the charger 2, and the cleaning device i16. A process unit 8 is purchased by integrating the two, and is removable from the main body of the apparatus. Figure 2 shows the front cover 9t- of the main image formation device.
This is a diagram showing how the process unit 8 is attached and detached when the front cover 9 is opened.Identical members in the figure are denoted by the same reference numerals.A transfer plate 5 and a fixing device 10 are fixedly installed inside the front cover 9.

The movable body 11 i M is formed as a whole. Movable body 11
It is supported by a support shaft 12 on a stationary body 13 of the image forming device. It is movable when attaching and detaching the process unit 8.

Rotate the body 11 in the direction of arrow C, and move the immovable body 13 @ IC
The process unit 8ft, which is guided and supported by a fixed guide member (not shown), is attached and detached in the direction of the arrow. The N release operation is performed by grasping one handle 14.

The handle 14 has a shape that is integrally formed with the process unit housing and protrudes from the housing, and is grooved by a member extending in the direction of the rotational axis of the photosensitive drum 1 .

The handle 14 is attached to the top of the photosensitive drum 1 in this embodiment, which allows the process unit 8'fr to be pulled out from the image forming apparatus and transported without changing the posture of the process unit 8 or changing its grip. It is formed like this. When attaching the Vc of the process unit 8, open the front cover 9, which is a part of the movable body 1.
When the handle 14 is grasped and pulled out in the direction shown by the arrow, the process unit moves to a movement such as transportation, but as is obvious, the handle 14 is formed so that it can be moved, and the companion process unit has the property that its posture can hardly be changed.

For this reason, the waste toner collected in the cleaning device installed at the bottom of the photoreceptor drum l is biased in one direction,
In the present invention, in order to satisfy the above properties regardless of waste toner recovery f7kK, the cleaning means 6 is arranged on a horizontal plane passing through the center of the rotation axis of the photoreceptor drum l. It is placed on the bottom side. So')) #r-thin t-use Figure 3 vhB51. In the process unit 8 according to the single implementation row shown in FIG. It becomes a straight line connecting the handle 14t and the handle 14t. On the other hand, as this process unit is used, waste toner is collected in the waste toner box 15 and the waste toner is bundled, and the center of gravity of the process unit 8 moves to a point BK and becomes a straight line μBH connecting the point B and the handle 14t. The cleaning device 6 is placed in a position where the straight line H and the straight line BHt are brought close to each other.
1, the occurrence of tilting caused by the use of the process unit 8 is prevented as much as possible.

As described above, the handle 14 and the cleaning means 6 are arranged in a position facing the water surface passing through the center of the rotation axis of the photoreceptor drum 1 in the same support posture as shown in the figure. Although the case has been described, as a modified row of the present invention, the first handle 14 and the cleaning vcIlt6 may be disposed in the water surface so as to be sandwiched between the photoreceptor drum ift and face each other,
Suspension due to deterioration over time due to use of the process unit can be freely carried out by modifying the design as long as the posture does not substantially change. The gist of the present invention is to maintain changes in the hanging shape of the process unit within a range that does not affect operability or toner leakage, regardless of the amount of toner recovered. From the perspective of toner leakage, it is undesirable to change the angle of the toner by more than the angle of repose (usually 40 to 50 degrees).Therefore, at least the difference between the process unit support posture within the LIC# and the process unit posture of the suspended process unit must be small. Must be within However, the difference between the straight line connecting the center of gravity and the handle in an unused state and the above @ line when an arbitrary toner bag is stored must be kept within an angle that does not make the operator feel uncomfortable.

Therefore, it is desirable that the angle difference be within 30 degrees.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, in the process unit according to the present invention, when the process unit is hung by the handle, regardless of waste toner collection, the process unit always maintains a stable balance by moving the center of gravity. It is possible to realize a process unit that does not have to be tilted or hang in an awkward position where waste toner leaks.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of an image forming apparatus using the process unit of the present invention, FIG. 4 are diagrams for explaining the prior art. In the figure, 1: G optical drum, 2: Charger, 3: Optical signal generator, 4: Developing device, 5: Transfer device, 6: Rinning vcIM, 7: Static elimination rung, 8: Process unit, 9
: Front cover, 10: Fixing device, 11: Movable body, 12: Support M, 13: Fixed body, 14: Handle, 15: Waste toner box. The above persons are Seiko Epson Medical Company No. 3L ((7-7) C0-21(
C-1n 4th evil

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In a process unit that includes an electrostatic latent image carrier and a cleaning means that are removably attached to an image forming apparatus and is handled as if suspended by a handle, waste toner is collected in the cleaning device. The cleaning device is arranged at a position where a first straight line connecting the handle and the center of gravity of the process unit in the initial state where the waste toner is not collected and a second straight line connecting the handle and the center of gravity of the process unit in the state where waste toner has been collected are approximately aligned. A process unit characterized by: 2. Claims characterized in that the cleaning means is disposed below a horizontal plane passing through the center of the rotational axis of the electrostatic latent image carrier in the supporting posture of the process unit in the image forming apparatus. The process unit described in item 1.