KR20000000962A - Process cartridge and device for forming picture containing process cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A process cartridge is provided not to stain the hand even if a user touches the rear surface of the cartridge while replacing the process cartridge. CONSTITUTION: A process cartridge comprises: an electrostatic latent image instrument(103) forming an electronic latent image by light; a developing instrument(102) supplying a developer to the electrostatic latent image instrument; a charging instrument(105) charging evenly the electrostatic latent image instrument; an exposing opening(109) on the rear surface supplying a passage for air to flow and for light to flow in; an upper cover(106); a lower cover(110); a protecting cover(111) supplying an air flowing passage; and an elastic member giving an elastic force for protecting the electrostatic latent image instrument.

Description

Process cartridge and image forming apparatus mounting the process cartridge

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a process cartridge which is detachably mounted in order to form an image in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a laser printer, a facsimile, and an image forming apparatus to which the process cartridge is mounted.

The process cartridge method is configured so that a predetermined process means for forming an image inside the image forming apparatus is integrally mounted and detachable therein, so that the user can easily replace the process means when the life of the process means expires. It is proposed through US Patent No. 3,985,436 and the like, in such a process cartridge, the electrostatic latent image forming the latent electrical image is exposed to light and is normally closed in order to prevent the property from being changed or touched by the user. A protective cover which covers the latent image member and which is open when formed inside the image forming apparatus to form an image has been proposed through US Patent Nos. 4,462, 677, 4,470,689 and the like.

In addition, in recent years, in order to fix an image on a sheet of paper in an image forming apparatus, a fixing unit configured to radiate heat from a high temperature heating roller is configured. Therefore, heat is transferred to the process cartridge or its main surface by the high temperature generated in the fixing unit, thereby forming an image. Since a bad influence on the image forming apparatus, a fan for discharging air is provided on one side of the image forming apparatus, and a method for allowing air to flow inside the image forming apparatus is proposed. Among these methods, Korean Patent Publication No. 95-14873 discloses an image. A process cartridge for guiding an air flow direction inside the forming apparatus and an image forming apparatus for mounting such a process cartridge have been proposed.

A configuration of an image forming apparatus equipped with a conventional process cartridge will be described with reference to FIG. 1. A paper feed tray 2 or a manual feed tray is provided on the lower side or the side of the image forming apparatus 1 so that the paper P stands by. The paper P, which is in the standby state, is separated one by one by driving the paper feed rollers 10 and 11, and is transferred to the resist roller 12, and the electrostatic latent member 15 of the process cartridge 3 and the like. An image is formed while passing between the transfer members 18, and is transferred to the fixing unit 5, and the image is fixed to the paper while passing between the heating roller 20 and the pressure roller 21, and the discharge rollers 22, 23 are formed. The image formation is terminated by being discharged through the.

In the image forming process, the electrostatic latent image member 15 of the process cartridge 3 is a halogen that irradiates light according to an image while having a uniform charge on the surface by a charging member 17 made of a charging wire or a charging roller. Receives the light K by the scanning unit 4 made of a physical optical system or a laser unit using a lamp, and constitutes an optical path opening 9 so that the light K is introduced therethrough, and the top cover 31 and By forming the exposure opening 34 formed by the combination of the lower cover 33, and receives the light (K) through them to form an image as an electrical signal, the electrical latent image of the electrostatic latent image member 15 The developer is supplied by the developer storage unit 13 and is developed by the developing member 14 which provides the developer while rotating, and is then moved with the transfer member 18 made of the transfer wire or the transfer roller therebetween. Transfer the image developed on the paper (P) to move to the fixing unit (5), in this process, the paper (P) is in close contact with the electrostatic latent image member 15, so the paper may move off the moving path (P) guides the movement of the material is flexible and the bottom portion is composed of one or more pieces made of an elastic material such as a polyester film having an elastic force is fixed to the separation arc (19 ') in contact with the electrostatic latent member 15 is fixed Is provided with a separation arc fixing unit (19).

Then, the electrostatic latent image member 15 is moved to the charging member 17 again to be charged to have a uniform charge on the surface to repeatedly perform the development process to form an image, if necessary in this process And a cleaning member 16 for removing the developer remaining on the surface of the latent electrostatic image member 15 after transferring the paper P to the paper P, and in order to guarantee uniform charging. An antistatic member (not shown) for erasing electric charge remaining in the latent image member 15 may be further provided at the front end of the charging member 17.

In addition, the image transferred to the paper P passes through the fixing unit 5 constituted by the heating roller 20 and the pressure roller 21 so that the developer, which forms the image, is fixed on the paper, and then the discharge roller 22, 23) is discharged out through, and in this process it is provided with a high temperature heating roller 20 to fix the image, so that the fan 7 and the vent 8 to discharge the heat generated therefrom to the outside It is provided with air to flow to the outside to release the heat.

When the detachment is attached to the image forming apparatus 1 configured as described above, the process cartridge 3 for inducing the air flow therein will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 2. Means, i.e., a frame supporting all or part of the process means such as the developer storage portion 13, the developing member 14, the electrostatic latent member 15, the cleaning member 16, the charging member 17, and the like. It is configured by the combination of the upper cover 31 and the lower cover 33, the exposure opening that the light (K) of the scanning unit 4 is introduced by the combination of the upper cover 31 and the lower cover 33 34 is formed, and the front side is equipped with a protective cover 35 for protecting the electrostatic latent image member 15, the hinge cover (36) is formed at both ends of the lower side of the protective cover 35 to the side plate The center of rotation during fixation and opening In addition, by forming an extended extension pin 37 on one side of the protective cover 35 to close the cover 6 in a state in which the process cartridge 3 is set inside the image forming apparatus 1, the cover is closed. The lever 24 configured to be interlocked with the 6 rotates to rotate the extension pin 37 upward to open the protective cover 35 so that the electrostatic latent member 15 is exposed and separated from the cover 6. The arc 19 'and the transfer member 18 come into contact with each other to perform a developing process.

In addition, the protective cover 35 is provided with a spring (not shown) that always provides a force in a direction in which the protective cover 35 is closed, so that the electrostatic latent member is not always mounted in the image forming apparatus 1. 15 to be in a state of covering, and horizontally upward to the lower end of the protective cover 35 to induce the internal air flow generated by the drive of the fan 7 mounted in the image forming apparatus 1 By forming a protective cover opening 38 extended or elongated in the direction, between the upper cover 31 of the process cartridge 3 and the protective cover opening 38 in a state where the protective cover 38 is opened. An opening space is formed in the air gap to provide an air flow path.

In addition, the rear end of the upper cover 31 constitutes a rear end support 32 extending downward on both side ends of the exposure opening 34, so as to wrap the exposed portion such as a gear when the lower cover 33 is engaged, The process cartridge 3 is configured to support the position fixing of the position when the process cartridge 3 is attached to the image forming apparatus 1.

The air flow of the image forming apparatus equipped with the process cartridge 3 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG.

As the fan 7 located above the image forming apparatus 1 rotates and the air inside is discharged to the outside, the outside air is introduced through each gap, and the flow path of the air flowing from the outside is Since the space of the portion to be fed is large, most of the air is introduced from the manual feed zone side W1 or the feed tray side W2 attached to the cover 6, and the introduced air is largely applied to the resist roller 12. Is flowed through the place (W3) and the back of the process cartridge (3) (W4), the air passing through the place where the resist roller 12 (W3) is passed through the place where the separator (19 '). Or flows into the fusing part 5 side (W5) and then flows into the vent hole 8 through the opening space W6 formed in the protective cover opening 38 or the upper side W7 of the protective cover 35 (W8, W9). ) Is discharged to the outside of the image forming apparatus 1 by the fan 7, and the process cartridge The air flowing through the back surface W4 of (3) passes through the part having the optical path opening 9 and the exposure opening 34 and enters the vent opening 8 (W9). (1) It is discharged to the outside.

However, the process cartridge 3 configured as described above and inducing the flow of air, and the image forming apparatus 1 equipped with the same, have a first air flow flowing in the flow path of air introduced into the resist roller 12. Since it is dispersed in the direction W3 and the second air flow direction W4 flowing to the rear side of the process cartridge 3, the amount of air flowing to the fixing unit 5 side (W5) is less than that of the introduced air, so that the heating roller 20 There is a problem that the blocking and dissipation efficiency of heat generated from the air is not high, and the fine developer powder floating in the air by the developer scattering generated during the development process by the air flow in the second air flow direction W4, namely The dust 39 enters the optical path opening 9 and accumulates in a lens or mirror (not shown) that passes or reflects the light of the scanning unit 4, thereby obstructing the light to blur the image. Such as When dust is generated, the dust 39 is particularly attached to the back of the lower cover 33 of the process cartridge 3, which is a flow path of air, so that the user may burn or replace the process cartridge 3. In the process of detaching the process cartridge from the forming apparatus 1, the hands are contaminated with black, causing discomfort. When the hands are contaminated by the dust 39 made of developer powder, they are not easily removed by a tissue or the like, and washed with soap or the like. There is an uncomfortable problem such as being removed only.

The present invention induces an air flow of the image forming apparatus equipped with a fan, but the flow of air flowing to the back of the process cartridge flows through the exposure opening on the optical path opening and the extension line, but the rear end control panel extending inclined downward By constructing a wider width of the inlet through which the air is introduced, it restricts the air flow through the exposure opening to speed up the air flow rate so that it enters the vent opening side, thereby preventing dust floating in the air from entering the optical path opening. Therefore, the lens or mirror provided on the path of the light K is minimized to be contaminated by dust, and at the same time, the flow of air flows to the fixing part side more, thereby effectively blocking the heat generated from the heating roller and To allow air to flow into the rear control panel and not to flow outside. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus for mounting the process cartridge, such that the user does not contaminate his hands even when the user grasps the rear side by hand while replacing the process cartridge.

1 is a configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus equipped with a conventional process cartridge;

2 is a configuration diagram of a conventional process cartridge;

3 is an air flow diagram of an image forming apparatus equipped with a conventional process cartridge;

4 is a configuration diagram of a process cartridge according to the present invention;

5 is an air flow diagram of an image forming apparatus equipped with a process cartridge according to the present invention;

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

1, 1 ': image forming apparatus 3, 100: process cartridge

7: fan 8: vent hole

13, 101: developer storage 14, 102: developer member

15, 103: electrostatic latent member 16, 104: cleaning member

17, 105: charging member 31, 106: top cover

32, 107: rear support 33, 110: lower cover

34, 109: exposure opening 35, 111: protective cover

36, 112: hinge pin 37, 113: extension pin

38, 114: protective cover openings 39, 115: dust

108: rear control panel K: light

P: Paper W: Airflow

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a process cartridge detachably mounted to an image forming apparatus equipped with a fan for generating air flow, comprising: an electrostatic latent means for forming an electric latent image by light; Developing means for providing a developer to the electrostatic latent means; Charging means for uniformly charging said electrostatic latent image means; An upper cover having an exposure opening configured to be inclined toward the lower side of the exposure opening and having a rear end control panel integrally formed at a lower side thereof so as to form a wide air inlet at a lower side thereof; A lower cover which is combined with the upper cover to accommodate the electrostatic latent means, the developing means and the charging means; A protective cover which is in a position to protect the electrostatic latent means and is mounted to the image forming apparatus and opened upward by an interlocking lever means as the cover is closed to provide a path of air flow; The protective cover is provided with an elastic member for providing an elastic force so that the protective cover is always in a position to protect the electrostatic latent means, the air flowing to the back of the process cartridge flows into the air inlet formed by the rear control panel when mounted to the image forming apparatus To provide a process cartridge that provides an airflow path through the exposure opening.

In addition, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus for detachably mounting a process cartridge, comprising: a fan for generating an air flow; Scanning means for providing light according to the image of the document; Electrostatic latent image means for forming an electrical latent image by light; Developing means for providing a developer to the electrostatic latent means; Charging means for uniformly charging said electrostatic latent image means; An upper cover having an exposure opening configured to be inclined toward the lower side of the exposure opening and having a rear end control panel integrally formed at a lower side thereof so as to form a wide air inlet at a lower side thereof; A lower cover which is combined with the upper cover to accommodate the electrostatic latent means, the developing means and the charging means; A protective cover which is in a position to protect the electrostatic latent means and is mounted to the image forming apparatus and opened upward by an interlocking lever means as the cover is closed to provide a path of air flow; The protective cover is provided with an elastic member for providing an elastic force so that the protective cover is always in a position to protect the electrostatic latent means, the air flowing to the back of the process cartridge flows into the air inlet formed by the rear control panel when mounted to the image forming apparatus A process cartridge configured to provide an air flow path passing through the exposure opening; Mounting means for detachably mounting the process cartridge; Transfer means for transferring an image of the electrostatic latent image means; Fixing means for fixing the transferred image; An image forming apparatus having a conveying means for conveying paper is provided.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 to 5.

4 is a configuration diagram of the process cartridge according to the present invention, and FIG. 5 is an air flow diagram of the image forming apparatus equipped with the process cartridge according to the present invention.

In the drawing, 1 'is an image forming apparatus, 100 is a process cartridge, 101 is a developer storage, 102 is a developing member, 103 is an electrostatic latent member, 104 is a cleaning member, 105 is a charging member, 106 is an upper cover, and 107 is a rear end. The support base 108 is a rear end control panel, 109 is an exposure opening, 110 is a lower cover, 111 is a protective cover, 112 is a hinge pin, 113 is an extension pin, 114 is a protective cover opening, and 115 is dust.

In the construction of a process cartridge detachably mounted to an image forming apparatus having a fan for generating an air flow, a scanning unit for providing an image of a document as light K by a halogen lamp or a laser unit 4 To the electrostatic latent member 103 receiving light through the optical path opening 9 to form an electrical latent image, and receiving the developer from the developer storage unit 101 storing the developer. A developing member 102 providing a developer to 103 is placed in close proximity, and is formed on the main body of the image forming apparatus 1 'and forms an image by a transfer member 18 made of a transfer roller or a transfer wire. Transferring the developer of the electrostatic latent member 103 to the moving paper to pass the window portion 5 consisting of the heating roller 20 and the pressure roller 21 to fix the image, the electrostatic latent member After 103 has passed through the transfer member 18, a charging member 105 made of a charging wire or a charging roller that is uniformly charged to carry out the development process is located, and the transfer member 18 as necessary. ) May further include a cleaning member 104 to remove the developer remaining between the charging member 105 and the surface potential remaining in the electrostatic latent image member 103 for more stable charging. Antistatic means (not shown) may be provided.

In addition, the upper cover 106 and the lower cover 110 are configured to be coupled to the frame for supporting the electrostatic latent member 103, the developing member 102, and the charging member 105, but the upper cover As shown in FIG. 4, the back side of the 106 comprises an exposure opening 109 through which the light K provided from the scanning unit 4 passes, and is inclined to the lower side of the exposure opening 109 so that the bottom is wide open. By constructing the rear control panel 108, a wide inlet air inlet is formed between the lower end of the rear control panel 108 and the lower cover 110 so that air is easily introduced, the introduced air is the exposure opening 109 Configure to pass through).

At this time, the lower end of the rear control panel 108 is configured to be in close contact with the support plate provided in the image forming apparatus, so that the inflow of air is made only of the air inlet formed inside the rear control panel 108, the rear control panel It is preferable not to be made outside of 108.

In addition, the protective cover 111 is provided for the protection of the latent electrostatic member 103, the protective cover 111 is generally composed of a hinge pin (112) fixed to the frame to be rotatable at both ends, On one side, an extended extension pin 113 is formed so that the cover cartridge 6 is closed in the state in which the process cartridge 100 is mounted on the image forming apparatus 1 ′. The protective cover 111 is lifted to open so that the electrostatic latent member 103 is in contact with the transfer member 18 to perform a transfer process, and the protective cover 111 is not mounted on the image forming apparatus 1 ′. In order to cover the electrostatic latent member 103 is configured to apply an elastic force in the direction to cover the protective cover 111 using an elastic member (not shown) such as a spring.

In addition, when it is necessary to separately configure the air flow path inside the main body, the protective cover 111 may be configured by adding a cover opening 114 which is cut in the horizontal direction.

In the state in which the process cartridge 100 configured as described above is mounted in the image forming apparatus 1 ′, the protective cover 111 is positioned in an open state to provide a path of air flow, and the process cartridge 100 is provided. The airflow flowing to the rear surface is introduced into the air inlet formed between the rear control panel 108 and the lower cover 110, and the introduced air is discharged through the exposure opening 109, thereby restricting the inflow of air. Speed up the flow of air.

Hereinafter, an air flow of an image forming apparatus equipped with a process cartridge according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 5.

After attaching the process cartridge 100 according to the present invention to the image forming apparatus 1 ′, when the cover 6 is closed, the lever 24 is interlocked in response to the closing operation and rotates upward. The protective cover 111 is opened by rotating the extension piece 113 that is integrally formed to form an air flow path, and is separated from the transfer member 18 provided in the cover 6. One or more separators 19 'fixedly extended to the lower side of the supporter 19 are positioned to be in contact with the electrostatic latent image member 103 to perform a transfer process.

As described above, when the fan 7 located above the image forming apparatus 1 'starts to operate in the state in which the process cartridge 100 is mounted, there is a manual feed tray having a relatively wide space with the outside. Outside air flows in from the place W12 where the paper feed tray 2 and W11 are located, and most of the introduced air flows in the first air flow direction W13 in which the resist roller 12 is located, The process cartridge 100 flows in the second air flow direction W14 on the rear side.

Therefore, the air flowing in the first air flow direction W13 having the resist roller 12 flows into the place W15 where the fixing unit 5 is located and is formed by the protective cover 111. Along the inlet (W18) or, if the cover opening portion 114 is formed in the protective cover 111, a portion of air through the cover opening 114 (W16) inlet into the outlet (W18, W19) Is discharged out by the fan (7).

In addition, the air flowing in the second air flow direction W14 on the rear side of the process cartridge 100 flows into an air inlet formed at the lower end of the rear control panel 108 of the upper cover 106 and positioned above the rear control panel 108. Through the exposure opening 109 (W20) is introduced into the vent (W19) is discharged out by the fan (7), in this process the exposure opening 109 is smaller than the air inlet space, the flow of air Since most of the air is induced to flow in the first air flow direction W13 where the resist roller 12 is located, the heat emitted from the heating roller 20 of the fixing unit 5 It effectively releases the heat shielding effect to prevent heat transfer to the surroundings, and the air passing through the exposure opening (109) (W20) while passing through the narrow space flows in the air is scattered in the air In addition to increasing the effect of discharging the developer toward the vent opening 8 side, dust is prevented from entering the air path opening 9 located in correspondence with the exposure opening 109 for the passage of the light K. 115 is introduced into the exposure opening 109 to minimize the contamination of the lens or mirror that the light (K) is passed or reflected, so as not to interfere with the passage of light.

In addition, the path of the air flowing into the rear surface of the process cartridge 100 is passed through the air inlet formed between the rear control panel 108 and the lower cover 110, the developer generated in the process of developing the image Dust 115 floating in the air by scattering of the dust is attached to the inner wall and the lower cover 110 of the rear control panel 108, the inflow of air to the outside of the rear control panel 108 is blocked dust 115 ) Is not accumulated, even if the user grasps the back of the process cartridge by hand in the process of replacing the process cartridge, the hand is prevented from being contaminated by the dust 115, which is the developer powder. Relieves discomfort and discomfort.

The present invention configured and operated as described above integrally comprises a rear end control panel configured to be inclined downward on the rear side of the upper cover of the process cartridge in the air flow path inside the image forming apparatus generated by the fan, and the light upwardly. The exposure opening formed to pass through is integrally formed, thereby restricting the air flow to the back of the process cartridge and inducing the flow to the fixing unit side, thereby preventing the heat from being released from the heating roller and preventing heat from being transferred to the surroundings. It increases the heat shielding effect and increases the flow speed of the air passing through the exposure opening, and pushes the flying developer dust toward the vent opening, thereby preventing the bad effects on the image by contaminating the lens with the exposure opening. have.

In addition, the air flowing to the rear side of the process cartridge flows into and flows into the air inlet formed by the rear control panel, and blocks the developer dust from scattering by blocking the air from entering the outside of the rear control panel. In addition, the outer surface of the rear control panel is not contaminated by dust, so that the user does not contaminate hands during the process cartridge replacement process.

Claims (4)

A process cartridge detachably mounted to an image forming apparatus equipped with a fan for generating an air flow, comprising: an electrostatic latent image means for forming an electrical latent image by light; Developing means for providing a developer to the electrostatic latent means; Charging means for uniformly charging said electrostatic latent image means; An upper cover having an exposure opening configured to be inclined toward the lower side of the exposure opening and having a rear end control panel integrally formed at a lower side thereof so as to form a wide air inlet at a lower side thereof; A lower cover which is combined with the upper cover to accommodate the electrostatic latent means, the developing means and the charging means; A protective cover which is in a position to protect the electrostatic latent means and is mounted to the image forming apparatus and opened upward by an interlocking lever means as the cover is closed to provide a path of air flow; The protective cover is provided with an elastic member for providing an elastic force so that the protective cover is always in a position to protect the electrostatic latent means, the air flowing to the back of the process cartridge flows into the air inlet formed by the rear control panel when mounted to the image forming apparatus And provide an airflow path through the exposure opening. The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein a lower end portion of the rear end control panel is in close contact with a support plate formed inside the image forming apparatus so that no air is introduced therebetween. An image forming apparatus for detachably mounting a process cartridge, comprising: a fan for generating an air flow; Scanning means for providing light according to the image of the document; Electrostatic latent image means for forming an electrical latent image by light; Developing means for providing a developer to the electrostatic latent means; Charging means for uniformly charging said electrostatic latent image means; An upper cover having an exposure opening configured to be inclined toward the lower side of the exposure opening and having a rear end control panel integrally formed at a lower side thereof so as to form a wide air inlet at a lower side thereof; A lower cover which is combined with the upper cover to accommodate the electrostatic latent means, the developing means and the charging means; A protective cover which is in a position to protect the electrostatic latent means and is mounted to the image forming apparatus and opened upward by an interlocking lever means as the cover is closed to provide a path of air flow; The protective cover is provided with an elastic member for providing an elastic force so that the protective cover is always in a position to protect the electrostatic latent means, the air flowing to the back of the process cartridge flows into the air inlet formed by the rear control panel when mounted to the image forming apparatus A process cartridge configured to provide an air flow path passing through the exposure opening; Mounting means for detachably mounting the process cartridge; Transfer means for transferring an image of the electrostatic latent image means; Fixing means for fixing the transferred image; An image forming apparatus, comprising: conveying means for conveying paper. 4. The image forming apparatus of claim 3, wherein a lower end portion of the rear stage control panel is in close contact with a support plate formed inside the image forming apparatus so that no air is introduced therebetween.