KR100516170B1 - A transfer unit for printer - Google Patents

Abstract

A transfer unit for an image forming apparatus is disclosed. The transfer unit for an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is provided with an upper housing, a lower housing coupled to the upper housing, a cleaning unit installed in the lower housing to remove toner formed on the transfer belt, and installed in the lower housing. And a scattering preventing unit that prevents scattering of the toner removed from the unit. This makes it possible to easily prevent the toner from scattering when the toner formed on the transfer belt is removed by the cleaning unit, thereby preventing the failure of the image forming apparatus on which the transfer unit is mounted and improving the durability of the product.

Description

A transfer unit for printer

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transfer unit for an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to a transfer unit for an image forming apparatus including a scattering preventing unit that collects or prevents scattering of toner scattered when the toner formed on the transfer belt is removed by a cleaning unit. It's about the unit.

In general, an image forming apparatus such as a printer or a copying machine is provided with a transfer unit which receives an image to be developed and transfers it to a sheet. However, in such a transfer unit, it is an important problem to remove the remaining toner after transferring the image formed on the transfer belt installed in the transfer unit to paper, and toner is not properly collected in the storage space when removing the toner. It is a problem that the image forming apparatus breaks down or shortens the life of the apparatus.

An image forming apparatus having such a conventional transfer unit will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in the figure, the image forming apparatus including the transfer unit is largely a photosensitive unit 11 including an OPC (organic photoconductive drum) drum, a laser scanning unit 12, a developing apparatus 13, a transfer belt 14, A plurality of rollers 15 for circulating the transfer belt 14 along a path on the caterpillar, a first transfer roller 16 for transferring the image to the transfer belt 14, and a second transfer roller for transferring the image onto the recording paper ( 17) a fixing roller 18 for fixing an image. These various devices interact to sequentially perform an image forming process such as charging, exposure, developing, transferring, fixing, etc. to form a desired image on the recording paper.

One side of the transfer belt 14 is provided with a cleaning blade 21 for removing the toner formed on the transfer belt 14 and a toner storage 22 for collecting the toner removed from the cleaning blade 21. .

However, the transfer unit 20 having such a structure does not collect the toner removed from the transfer belt 14 completely into the toner storage unit 22 even when the cleaning blade 21 is completely in contact with the transfer belt 14. There is a problem, and accordingly, there is a risk that the toner which is not collected and scatters completely may cause various failures in the image forming apparatus.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a transfer unit for an image forming apparatus having an improved structure capable of preventing scattering of toner removed from a transfer belt.

The transfer unit for an image forming apparatus according to the present invention for achieving the above object comprises an upper housing surrounding a transfer belt having an image forming surface; A lower housing coupled to the upper housing; A cleaning unit installed in the lower housing to remove toner formed on the transfer belt; And a scattering prevention unit installed in the lower housing to prevent scattering of the toner removed from the cleaning unit.

In this case, the scattering prevention unit includes a scattering prevention film which is installed in the lower housing so as to face the transfer belt to block the movement of the toner removed by the cleaning unit toward the transfer belt, the lower housing and the scattering It is preferable to further include a plurality of ribs provided between the prevention films to prevent the movement of the toner.

An adsorbing portion is formed on the scattering prevention film to adsorb toner to be removed and scattered from the cleaning unit, and a rib space is formed between the ribs to collect the toner removed from the cleaning unit.

In addition, the ribs are integrally formed with the lower housing, and the anti-scattering film is formed of a transparent material so that the amount of toner collected between the rib spaces can be observed. The ribs may have an inclined surface corresponding to the posture of the belt to support the anti-scattering film, and the anti-scattering film may be coupled to the ribs by overlapping a plurality of the anti-scattering films. Further comprising a recovery unit for recovering and discharging, the cleaning unit is preferably installed between the recovery unit and the scattering prevention unit.

The cleaning unit may include a guide film for guiding the waste toner, which has not been moved to the recovery unit, to the scattering prevention unit.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 2 is a perspective view of a transfer unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view of the transfer unit shown in Figure 2, Figure 4 is a schematic side view of the transfer unit shown in FIG.

Referring to the drawings, the transfer unit 100 for an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an upper housing 101 forming an appearance and a lower housing 201 coupled to the upper housing 101.

The upper housing 101 is provided with an endless orbital transfer belt 103 having an image forming surface, and the handle 150 is rotatably installed on the upper surface of the upper housing 101.

The upper housing 101 is closed at an upper portion thereof and is opened at a lower portion thereof such that the transfer belt 103 faces the photosensitive unit 283 installed at the lower portion of the transfer unit 100 as shown in FIG. 4. do.

The lower housing 201 is coupled to the upper housing 101 and disposed to face the image forming surface of the transfer belt 103.

First, the description will be made based on the upper housing 101, and then the lower housing 201 coupled to the upper housing 101 will be described.

A plurality of guide members 121 and 122 and a plurality of tension members 167 are installed at both side surfaces of the transfer unit 100.

The plurality of guide members 121 and 122 serve to guide the transfer unit 100 when the transfer unit 100 is coupled to or separated from the image forming apparatus, and the plurality of tension members 167 transfer the transfer unit 100. The tension is provided to the belt 103, and includes a first tension member 165 and a second tension member 163.

A plurality of rollers are installed in the transfer belt 103 of the upper housing 101, and more specifically, the tension roller 119, the first transfer roller 113, and the second transfer roller 111. The nip roller 115 and the cleaning backup roller 117 are installed.

The tension roller 119 adjusts the tension of the transfer belt 103. Both ends of the tension roller 119 are provided with a tension ring 120 and an elastic member 135 to be coupled to the upper housing 101. The first transfer roller 113 transfers an image of the photosensitive unit 283 to the transfer belt 103, and tension rings 141 and elastic members 137 are installed on both sides of the first transfer roller 113. do. In addition, the second transfer roller 111 provides a driving force to the transfer belt 103 and transfers the image formed on the image forming surface of the transfer belt 103 to a paper, and on both ends of the second transfer roller 111. The first guide protrusion 121 is installed.

The cleaning backup roller 117 is driven by the transfer belt 103 in accordance with the driving force of the second transfer roller 111. The second guide protrusion 124 is installed in the cleaning backup roller 117 to guide when coupled to the image forming apparatus. The nip roller 115 rotates idle due to friction when the transfer belt 103 travels.

The transfer belt 103 supported by the plurality of rollers 111, 113, 115, 117 and 119 receives the image formed by the photosensitive unit 283 and transfers the image to the paper again.

Inside the transfer belt 103, the belt guide 143 is provided so that the transfer belt 103 does not deviate from the orbit when combined with the plurality of rollers 111, 113, 115, 117 and 119. Is formed.

The cleaning backup roller 117, the nip roller 115, the tension roller 119, the first transfer roller 113 and the second transfer roller 111 are installed on both sides of the upper housing 101, respectively. A plurality of slots 161, 159, 157, 153 and 151 corresponding to each roller are formed.

Referring to FIG. 4, the lower housing 201 is detachably coupled to the upper housing 101. At this time, the photosensitive unit 283 is installed below the transfer unit 100.

Hereinafter, the lower housing 201 including the scattering preventing unit for preventing the scattering of the toner removed from the transfer belt 103 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 5.

The lower housing 201 is largely provided with a cleaning unit 209, a shatterproof unit 257, a lever member 247, and a recovery unit 229.

The cleaning unit 209 is rotatably installed in the lower housing 201 between the recovery unit 229 and the scattering prevention unit 257 and has a bracket 202 and a sealing member 203 formed with a large collection opening 204. And blade 205.

Hinge members 206 are formed at both sides of the bracket 202, and the hinge members 206 are rotated in the lower housing 201 in combination with the holes 262 of the lower housing 201. The hinge 206 and the hinge hole 262 is coupled by the coupling means 260.

The blade 205 is installed to contact the transfer belt 103 at one side of the collection opening 204 of the bracket 202 to remove the toner on the transfer belt 103.

The sealing member 203 is installed upstream of the blade 205 on the other side of the collection opening 204 to prevent the toner removed from the blade 205 from scattering. The blade 205 and the sealing member 203 is preferably formed of an elastic member. In addition, the bracket 202 is provided with a guide film 207 for guiding the waste toner that is not moved to the recovery unit 229 through the collection opening 204 to the scattering prevention unit 257.

The scattering prevention unit 257 is installed in the lower housing 201, the waste toner removed from the transfer belt 103 is not collected in the recovery unit 229 in the lower housing 201 Prevents waste toner from scattering.

The scattering prevention unit 257 includes a scattering prevention film 253, a plurality of ribs 251, and an adsorption part 255 formed on the scattering prevention film 253.

The scattering prevention film 253 is installed in the lower housing 201 so as to face the transfer belt 103, and prevents toner removed by the cleaning unit 209 from moving toward the transfer belt 103. do. An adsorption part 255 is formed on the anti-scattering film 253 to remove the toner that is removed and scattered from the cleaning unit 209. The adsorption part 255 may be provided by attaching a double-sided tape to the scattering prevention film 253, or may be provided by applying an adhesive to the scattering prevention foil 253.

The plurality of ribs 251 may be installed between the lower housing 201 and the scattering prevention film 253 to prevent toner from moving, and the ribs 251 may be integrally formed with the lower housing 201. It may be formed as a separate rib member may be installed in the lower housing 201.

A rib space 252 is formed between the ribs 251 to collect the toner removed from the cleaning unit 209. The ribs 251 have an inclined surface corresponding to the posture of the transfer belt 103 to support the scattering prevention film 253. In addition, the anti-scattering film 253 is formed of a transparent material so that the amount of toner collected in the rib space 252 and the adsorption part 255 can be observed.

The scattering prevention film 253 may be coupled to the rib 251 by overlapping a plurality of scattering prevention films 253, and may be formed as a single film as necessary to be coupled to the rib 251.

The lever member 247 is hinged to the upper portion of the lower housing 201 so that the lever member 247 is pivotally coupled to the lever unit 243 and the cleaning unit at one side of the lever body 243. The lever protrusion 245 formed toward the 209 and the cam protrusion 241 formed on the other side of the lever body 243 are included.

The recovery unit 229 is installed in the lower housing 201 and collects the waste toner removed from the cleaning unit 209, and is largely disposed in the toner carrying unit 221 and the toner carrying unit 221. 223, and a toner discharge member 225.

The toner carrier 221 is installed in the lower housing 201, and the ogre 223 is rotatably installed in the toner carrier 221. And the toner discharge member 225 for discharging the waste toner to be transported as the ogre 223 is rotated is installed on one side of the lower housing 201. The gear unit 263 is installed at the other side of the lower housing 201 to provide rotational force to the ogre 223.

The toner discharge member 225 discharges the waste toner transferred through the ogre 223 to a toner storage unit (not shown) provided in the image forming apparatus, and the toner discharge member 225 is the transfer unit 100. When not coupled to the image forming apparatus, a closed structure is formed, and when the transfer unit 100 is coupled to the image forming apparatus, it is opened to be connected to the toner storage unit (not shown).

In addition, a first buffer member 275 is installed in the lower housing 201. The first buffer member 275 is formed to face the second buffer member 208 installed in the cleaning unit 209, and the first and second buffer members 275 and 208 are the cleaning unit 209. ) To provide elastic force or absorb shock to facilitate the rotation of the cleaning unit 209 in the lower housing 201.

Hereinafter, a process of preventing the toner from scattering by the transfer unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 through 6A and B.

As shown in the figure, an eccentric cam 269 is connected to the lever member 247. The eccentric cam 269 is driven by receiving power from a driving source (not shown) of the image forming apparatus main body. As the eccentric cam 269 rotates, the lever member 247 is rotated at a constant cycle. The lever protrusion 245 is in contact with the bracket 202 of the cleaning unit 209 to transmit the rotational force that the lever member 247 rotates to the cleaning unit 209. Therefore, the lever member 247 rotates periodically as the eccentric cam 269 rotates, and the bracket 202 rotates according to the rotation of the lever member 247 so that the blade installed in the bracket 209 ( 205 and the sealing member 203 periodically reciprocate toward the transfer belt 103.

6A illustrates a process in which the bracket 202 is in contact with the transfer belt 103 and cleaned. Referring to the drawings, when the blade 205 and the sealing member 203 installed in the bracket 202 contact the transfer belt 103, the toner on the transfer belt 103 is removed by the blade 205.

The waste toner thus removed is prevented from being scattered into the transfer belt 103 by the sealing member 203 and falls to the toner carrying part 221 through the collection opening 204. However, when the scattered toner is not completely collected by the toner carrying part 221 through the collection opening 204, the scattered toner is scattered by the guide film 207 installed in the bracket 202 (the scattering prevention unit) 257).

At this time, the scattering prevention film 253 of the scattering prevention unit 257 guides the waste toner between the ribs 251 and prevents it from being discharged to the outside of the transfer unit 100. In addition, the adsorption part 255 formed on the scattering prevention film 253 adsorbs and collects waste toner that may be discharged to the outside.

That is, the toner removed by the cleaning unit 209 is collected by the toner carrying part 221, where the uncollected toner is the rib space 252 or the scattering prevention film between the ribs 251 of the scattering prevention unit 257. It is collected again by the adsorption part 255 of 253.

After the cleaning process is completed, as shown in FIG. 6B, the lever member 247 and the cleaning member 209 are driven away from the transfer belt 103 as the eccentric cam 269 rotates. In this case, the image is transferred from the photosensitive unit 283 installed at the lower portion of the transfer unit 100 and transferred to paper again. When this process is finished, the cleaning operation as shown in FIG. 6A is again performed. Will be done.

Therefore, in the transfer unit 100, the possibility of the toner scattering out of the transfer unit 100 during the cleaning operation in the transfer unit 100 or the toner scattering in the transfer unit 100 is minimized, The image forming apparatus including the transfer unit 100 is improved in durability and reduced in failure.

 The toner removed from the cleaning unit is collected in the recovery unit, where the uncollected toner is collected again by the scattering preventing unit, preventing scattering of the toner in the transfer unit, thereby reducing the possibility of image contamination. Accordingly, as the possibility of toner scattering in the chemical forming apparatus is reduced, durability of the image forming apparatus is improved, and as the trouble is reduced, the consumer can conveniently use the image forming apparatus.

In the above, certain preferred embodiments of the present invention have been illustrated and described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and variations can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and the spirit of the invention as claimed in the claims. Implementation will be possible.

1 is a schematic diagram of an image forming apparatus employing a conventional transfer unit;

2 is a perspective view of a transfer unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is an exploded perspective view of the transfer unit shown in FIG. 2;

4 is a schematic side view of the transfer unit shown in FIG. 2;

5 is an exploded perspective view of the lower housing shown in FIG. 3;

6a and 6b are schematic views for explaining the operation of the transfer unit according to the present invention.

<Description of Symbols for Major Parts of Drawings>

100; transfer unit 101; upper housing

201; lower housing 257; shatterproof unit

209; cleaning unit 227; recovery unit

247; lever member 251; rib

253; shatterproof film 255; adsorption

Claims (10)

An upper housing surrounding the transfer belt having an image forming surface; A lower housing coupled to the upper housing; A cleaning unit installed in the lower housing to remove toner formed on the transfer belt; And And a scattering prevention unit installed in the lower housing to prevent scattering of the toner removed from the cleaning unit. According to claim 1, wherein the scattering prevention unit, And a scattering prevention film disposed on the lower housing so as to face the transfer belt and preventing the toner removed by the cleaning unit from moving toward the transfer belt. According to claim 2, wherein the scattering prevention unit, And a plurality of ribs disposed between the lower housing and the scattering prevention film to prevent movement of the toner. The method of claim 3, wherein And an adsorption portion is formed on the scattering prevention film to adsorb toner to be removed and scattered from the cleaning unit. The method of claim 3, wherein A ribbed space is formed between the ribs, and the toner removed from the cleaning unit is collected. The method of claim 5, And the ribs are formed integrally with the lower housing. The method of claim 2, The scattering prevention film is formed of a transparent material, the transfer unit for an image forming apparatus, characterized in that the amount of toner collected between the rib space can be observed. The method of claim 3, wherein And the ribs have an inclined surface corresponding to the posture of the belt to support the scattering prevention film, and the scattering prevention film overlaps the plurality of ribs to couple to the ribs. The method of claim 1, The lower housing further includes a recovery unit for collecting and discharging the toner removed by the cleaning unit, wherein the cleaning unit is provided between the recovery unit and the scattering prevention unit. . The method of claim 9, And the cleaning unit includes a guide film for guiding the waste toner that has not been moved to the recovery unit to the scattering prevention unit.