JP6112394B2 - Image forming apparatus and process cartridge used therefor - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer using an electrophotographic system, and a process cartridge used therefor.

  2. Description of the Related Art Image forming apparatuses such as copying machines and printers using an electrophotographic system are provided with writing means for writing an electrostatic latent image by exposing the surface of an image carrier such as a photoconductor. As such writing means, there is known a line head having a structure in which a plurality of light emitting elements are arranged in one direction as a light source and writing an electrostatic latent image in a line shape. Since the writing means using the line head can eliminate the scanning optical system, the apparatus can be downsized and the process speed can be increased.

  For example, in Patent Document 1, a writing unit including a line head using an organic EL (electroluminescence) light emitting element and a light shielding member for preventing deterioration of the light emitting element due to ultraviolet rays is integrally mounted. An image carrier cartridge has been proposed. Patent Document 2 discloses an image forming apparatus that uses a plurality of image forming units and line heads having an image carrier having a size smaller than the printable area width of a print medium, and forms an image having a sheet width to be printed. Proposed. Here, the image forming unit is configured to be detachable from the apparatus main body, and the line head is attached to an openable / closable exterior cover attached to the upper surface of the apparatus main body.

  However, in the image carrier cartridge described in Patent Document 1, an intermediate transfer belt is disposed above the image carrier, and a line head is disposed below the image carrier. For this reason, the light emitting surface of the line head is easily contaminated, for example, the toner falls from the image carrier onto the light emitting surface of the line head.

  In the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 2, since the line head is attached to the exterior cover and the line head is disposed above the image carrier, the light emitting surface of the line head is hardly contaminated with toner. However, the image forming unit cannot be attached or detached unless the exterior cover is opened to avoid the line head. By avoiding the line head, the distance between the image carrier and the line head may be shifted, and it is difficult to accurately maintain the position of the line head.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of suppressing contamination of the line head by toner and maintaining the position of the line head with high accuracy even when the image forming unit is attached or detached. It is to provide a process cartridge used for this.

In order to solve the above problems, the invention of claim 1 is directed to an image carrier, charging means for uniformly charging the image carrier, and writing for writing an electrostatic latent image in a line on the image carrier. Means, a developer carrier for carrying and conveying the developer supplied to the electrostatic latent image on the image carrier, and a transfer means for transferring the image on the image carrier to a transfer medium, and at least the image image forming unit including a bearing member is configured to be detachable, before Kishokomi means, in a position which does not interfere with the attachment and detachment of the image forming unit, the image of the member of writing an electrostatic latent image In the image forming apparatus disposed in the apparatus main body in such a posture that the surface facing the surface of the carrier is above the surface of the image carrier facing the surface , the charging unit includes the image forming unit. The direction of attachment / detachment in which the image carrier is attached / detached linearly is on the opposite side of the image carrier. Okimoto disposed in the body, and is characterized in that it has a cleaning member for cleaning said charging means.

The present invention is provided in the apparatus main body in such a posture that the surface of the member for writing an electrostatic latent image that faces the surface of the image carrier is above the surface of the image carrier that faces the surface. ing. Therefore, even if toner is dropped from the image carrier, the surface of the member that performs writing faces the surface of the image carrier, that is, the toner can be prevented from coming into contact with the light emitting surface. Is less susceptible to contamination.
Further, since the writing unit and the charging unit are installed at a position that does not hinder the attachment / detachment of the image forming unit, it is not necessary to move the writing unit or the charging unit even when the image forming unit is replaced. Thereby, the writing means and the charging means can be fixed in the apparatus main body, and the positional accuracy of the image carrier, the writing means, and the charging means can be maintained even when the image forming unit is replaced.
The image forming unit including at least one of the image carrier and the developer carrier has a support that supports at least one of the image carrier and the developer carrier, and is detachable from the apparatus main body. It can also be configured as a process cartridge.

  The present invention has an excellent effect that it can provide an image forming apparatus capable of suppressing the contamination of the line head by toner and accurately holding the position of the line head even when the image forming unit is attached and detached, and a process cartridge used therefor. There is.

FIG. 2A is a configuration diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the printer according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 2B is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a configuration when a process cartridge is taken out from the printer. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram illustrating a main configuration of the printer. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a positional relationship between a photoconductor and a line head. (A) is a front view which shows the structure of a line head, (b) is a side view which shows the structure which looked at the line head shown to (a) from the bottom. The block diagram which shows the structure where a charging member comprises a cleaning means. FIG. 5A is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer according to a second embodiment, and FIG. 5B is a top view illustrating a state when a cartridge is taken out from a printer main body. FIG. 5A is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer according to a third embodiment, and FIG. 5B is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a configuration when a cartridge is taken out from a printer main body. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a direction in which a cartridge is attached to and detached from a printer body according to a third embodiment.

[Embodiment 1]
A first embodiment (hereinafter referred to as the first embodiment) when the present invention is applied to an electrophotographic printer as an image forming apparatus will be described below. FIG. 1A is a configuration diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the printer according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a configuration when the process cartridge 10 is taken out from the printer. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram illustrating a main configuration of the printer.

  As shown in FIGS. 1A and 2, this printer has a drum-shaped photoconductor 2 as an image carrier at the center of a printer main body 1. The surface of the photosensitive member 2 is uniformly charged by a charging member 3 as a uniform charging unit that comes into contact with the photosensitive member 2 while being driven to rotate clockwise in the drawing by a driving unit (not shown). After that, exposure scanning is performed based on the image information by the line head 4 that performs writing in a line form as a writing unit, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photoreceptor 2. The electrostatic latent image formed on the photoconductor 2 is developed by the developing device 5, and a toner image is formed on the photoconductor 2. The toner image formed on the photoconductor 2 is conveyed toward the transfer roller 6 serving as a transfer unit disposed facing the photoconductor 2 as the photoconductor 2 rotates.

  On the other hand, transfer paper as a transfer medium is fed from a paper feed cassette 7 provided at the lower part of the printer main body 1 to a transfer nip portion between the photoconductor 2 and the transfer roller 6 by a paper feed roller 7 a or a registration roller (not shown). It is conveyed toward. A transfer bias is applied to the transfer roller 6 by a transfer bias power source (not shown), and a transfer electric field is formed between the electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor 2 and the transfer roller 6. As a result, the toner image on the photoreceptor 2 is transferred onto the transfer paper. The transfer paper onto which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 8, where the toner image is fixed by applying heat and pressure, and is discharged outside the apparatus. In the first embodiment, the transfer roller 6 is used as the transfer unit, but a transfer charger, a transfer brush, or the like may be used instead.

  The developing device 5 includes a hopper unit 11 that stores toner (not shown), and a developing unit 12 that receives the supply of toner from the hopper unit 11 and develops the electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor 2. In the hopper 11, an agitator 13 that is driven to rotate by a driving unit (not shown), a toner supply roller 14 that is driven to rotate by a driving unit (not shown), and the like are disposed. The toner in the hopper 11 moves toward the toner supply roller 14 while being agitated by the rotational drive of the agitator 13. The toner supply roller 14 has a metal cored bar and a roller portion made of foamed resin or the like coated on the surface thereof, and rotates while adhering the toner in the hopper portion 11 to the surface of the roller portion. To do. Within the developing unit 12, there are a developing roller 15 as a developer carrying member that rotates while carrying the toner supply roller 14 and carries a toner, and a thinning blade 16 that has a tip abutting on the surface thereof. It is arranged.

  The toner attached to the toner supply roller 14 in the hopper 11 is supplied to the surface of the development roller 15 at the contact portion between the development roller 15 and the toner supply roller 14. When the toner supplied to the developing roller 15 passes through the contact position with the thinning blade 16 as the developing roller 15 rotates, the layer thickness on the roller surface is regulated. Then, the toner after the regulation of the layer thickness adheres to the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive member 2 in the developing region which is a contact portion between the developing roller 15 and the photosensitive member 2. By this adhesion, the electrostatic latent image is developed into a toner image.

  In the printer according to the first embodiment, the photosensitive member 2 and the developing device 5 are configured as a process cartridge 10 that is supported by a common support as one image forming unit. When the process cartridge 10 needs to be replaced due to deterioration of the photoconductor 2 or the developing device 5 with time, the process cartridge 10 can be removed from the printer main body 1 as follows. As shown in FIG. 1B, the process cartridge 10 can be taken out upward (in the direction of arrow A in the figure) by opening the paper discharge tray 9 which is an opening / closing member provided on the upper surface of the printer main body 1. It is a configuration. In the first embodiment, the process cartridge that integrally supports the photosensitive member 2 and the developing device 5 is used. However, the photosensitive member 2 and the developing device 5 may be separately detachable.

  FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the positional relationship between the photoconductor and the line head. 4A is a front view showing the configuration of the line head, and FIG. 4B is a side view showing the configuration of the line head shown in FIG. 4A as viewed from below. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the line head 4 includes light emitting elements 4 b that are members for writing an electrostatic latent image on a base member 4 a arranged in a line in the axial direction of the photoreceptor 2. . In the line head 4, a light emitting surface (hereinafter referred to as a light emitting surface of the line head 4) facing the surface of the photoreceptor 2 of the light emitting element 4 b arranged on the base member 4 a is disposed close to the surface of the photoreceptor 2. The electrostatic latent image is written in a line. The line head 4 has an advantage that the optical path length is shorter and compact than the laser scanning optical system, and the line head 4 can be disposed close to the photosensitive member 2, and the entire apparatus, that is, the printer main body 1 can be downsized.

On the other hand, since the line head 4 is disposed close to the photosensitive member 2, contamination of the light emitting surface due to toner dropping from the photosensitive member 2 becomes a problem.
Therefore, in the line head 4 according to the first embodiment, the light emitting surface of the line head 4 (the light emitting surface facing the photoconductor 2 of the light emitting element 4b that writes the electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor 2) is the light emitting surface. Is provided in the printer main body 1 in such a posture as to be higher than the surface of the photosensitive member 2 facing the surface. More specifically, each part on the surface of the light emitting element 4b that writes the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member 2 that faces the surface of the photosensitive member 2 is the surface of the photosensitive member 2 that faces each part on the surface. It is provided in the printer main body 1 in such a posture as to be above the above portions. Therefore, even if toner is dropped from the photosensitive member 2, it is possible to prevent the toner from coming into contact with the light emitting surface of the line head 4, so that the light emitting surface of the line head 4 is not easily contaminated.
Here, in order to place each part on the light emitting surface of the line head 4 above each part on the surface of the photosensitive member 2 facing each part on the light emitting surface, other parts are provided around the photosensitive member 2. In view of the layout for installing the members, the installation position of the line head 4 may be set above the transfer path of the transfer paper.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the distance x between the light emitting surface of the line head 4 and the photosensitive member 2 is important for the line head 4, and it is necessary to accurately position the line head 4 with respect to the photosensitive member 2.
Therefore, the printer according to the first embodiment is configured such that the line head 4 is installed at a position that does not hinder the attachment or detachment of the process cartridge 10. As described above, the line head 4 is installed at a position that does not hinder the attachment or detachment of the process cartridge 10, so that it is not necessary to move the line head 4 even when the process cartridge 10 needs to be replaced. Thereby, the line head 4 can be fixed in the printer main body 1, and the positional accuracy of the photosensitive member 2 and the line head 4 can be maintained even when the process cartridge 10 is replaced.
In the printer according to the first embodiment, the line head 4 is fixed to a support frame (not shown) that is a non-moving body in the printer main body 1 at a position that does not hinder attachment / detachment of the process cartridge 10.

With the configuration described above, the printer according to the first embodiment suppresses contamination of the line head 4 with toner, and can maintain the position of the line head 4 with high accuracy even when the image forming unit is attached and detached. The process cartridge 10 used for the above can be provided.
By maintaining the positional accuracy of the photosensitive member 2 and the line head 4, accurate exposure and high-quality latent images can be formed, and high-quality image formation on transfer paper is possible.

  Here, in the printer according to the first embodiment, the line head 4 and the developing roller 15 of the developing device 5 are disposed at positions facing each other with the photoreceptor 2 interposed therebetween. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 1B, the process cartridge 10 is moved up and down in a direction approaching or separating from the conveyance path for conveying the transfer paper while the line head 4 is fixed to the support frame in the printer main body 1. It can be attached and detached in the direction. Further, by arranging the line head 4 and the developing roller 15 of the developing device 5 so as to face each other with the photoreceptor 2 interposed therebetween, it is possible to further suppress the toner drop to the line head 4.

  However, when the line head 4 and the developing device 5 (developing roller 15) are arranged at positions facing each other with the photoconductor 2 interposed therebetween, cleaning that removes transfer residual toner on the photoconductor such as a cleaning blade conventionally used. Installation of the device becomes difficult due to layout. Therefore, in the first embodiment, simultaneous development cleaning is adopted as a cleaner-less system in which no cleaning device is installed.

  In the simultaneous development cleaning, the residual toner remaining on the photosensitive member 2 after the transfer uses the potential difference between the photosensitive member 2 as the image carrier and the developing roller 15 as the developer carrier in the development process after the next step. In this method, the toner is removed from the photoreceptor 2 and collected and reused in the developing device 5. According to this method, the untransferred toner on the photosensitive member 2 is collected in the developing device 5 by the developing roller 15 and reused after the next step, so that waste toner can be eliminated and maintenance can be facilitated. .

In addition, since a cleaning device is unnecessary, there is a great advantage in terms of space, and even if the photoreceptor 2 has a small diameter such that the outer diameter (diameter) φ is 10 mm or more and 40 mm or less, the photoreceptor 2 is sandwiched between them. The line head 4 and the developing roller 15 can be sufficiently arranged to face each other. As described above, the size of the printer can be reduced by setting the outer diameter φ of the photoreceptor 2 to 10 mm or more and 40 mm or less.
Then, the line head 4 and the charging member 3 can be installed in a narrow range of the side surface portion of the photoreceptor 2 on the opposite side to the developing roller 15.
That is, since a cleaning device including a cleaning blade or the like is not necessary, the printer main body 1 can be reduced in size, and the charging member 3 and the line head 4 can be easily installed at desired positions around the photosensitive member 2. .

  Further, as described above, when performing the simultaneous development cleaning, it is preferable to use a brush roller for the charging member 3 as shown in FIG. By using the brush roller, the transfer residual toner on the photoreceptor 2 is scraped off by the brush roller, and the transfer residual toner can be easily collected by the developing device 5.

  Furthermore, in the printer according to the first embodiment, as described above, when the line head 4 is held on the support frame, it cannot be replaced even if the charging member 3 below the line head 4 deteriorates. Therefore, in the printer according to the first embodiment, it is preferable to install a cleaning unit on the charging member 3.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram illustrating a configuration in which the charging member includes a cleaning unit. As shown in FIG. 5, by bringing the cleaning member 17 into contact with the charging member 3, the charging member 3 can be cleaned without taking out the charging member 3, and replacement of the charging member 3 becomes unnecessary. Although the cleaning member 17 may be fixed, the charging member 3 can be efficiently cleaned by rotating the cleaning member 17. When the cleaning member 17 is rotated, it is rotated by a driving unit (not shown), but the display device may instruct the user to rotate the cleaning member 17 at an appropriate timing.
Further, since the charging member 3 is not required to be replaced, the charging member 3 is fixed in the printer main body 1 even when the image forming unit including the photoconductor 2 and the like can be attached and detached in the vertical direction. It becomes possible to install it below the line head 4.

As described above, by disposing the charging member 3 on the printer main body 1 side, the line head 4 is limited to the case of the process cartridge 10 or the like as compared with the configuration in which the charging member 3 is provided in the process cartridge 10. Can be arranged without. Therefore, in the configuration in which the process cartridge 10 is attached to and detached from the printer main body 1, the line head 4 that is to be disposed close to the charging member 3 can be easily disposed at a desired position.
Further, as shown in FIG. 1A, since the charging member 3 is disposed between the conveyance path for conveying the transfer paper and the line head 4, the charging member 3 is separated from the photosensitive member 2 included in the process cartridge 10. An object whose distance needs to be accurately managed can be arranged on the same side of the photoreceptor 2. Therefore, the configuration for positioning the process cartridge 10 with respect to the printer main body 1 can be simplified as compared with a configuration in which the charging member 3 is not disposed between the conveyance path and the line head 4.

Further, by providing the cleaning member 17 for cleaning the charging member 3 on the printer main body 1 side, the line head 4 is limited to the case of the process cartridge 10 or the like as compared with the configuration in which the cleaning member 17 is provided in the process cartridge 10. It can arrange without. Therefore, even in the configuration in which the cleaning member 17 for cleaning the charging member 3 is provided, the line head 4 to be disposed in the vicinity of the cleaning member 17 can be easily disposed at a desired position.
Further, as shown in FIG. 5, since the cleaning member 17 is disposed between the conveyance path for conveying the transfer paper and the line head 4, it is necessary to accurately control the separation distance from the process cartridge 10. The object can be disposed on the same side of the photoreceptor 2. Therefore, the configuration for positioning the process cartridge 10 with respect to the printer main body 1 can be simplified as compared with the configuration in which the cleaning member 17 is not disposed between the conveyance path and the line head 4.

[Embodiment 2]
Next, the configuration of the printer according to the second embodiment (hereinafter referred to as the second embodiment) will be described. FIG. 6A is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of the printer according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 6B is a top view for explaining a state when the cartridge is taken out from the printer main body.
In the second embodiment and the first embodiment described above, the process cartridge 21 in which the photosensitive member 2 and the developing device 5 are supported by a common support as one image forming unit is attached to and detached from the printer main body 20. Only this point is different. Therefore, the configuration and operation similar to those of the first embodiment described above, and the operation and effect thereof will be omitted as appropriate. Further, in FIG. 6, the same members as those described in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in the printer according to the second embodiment, a process cartridge 21 that integrally supports the photosensitive member 2 and the developing device 5 from the printer body 20 by opening an opening / closing member (not shown) on the front surface of the printer body 20. Can be taken out in the forward direction in FIG. That is, as shown in FIG. 6B, when the printer main body 20 is viewed from above, the process cartridge 21 can be taken out from the printer main body 20 in the direction of arrow B in the figure. As described above, when the process cartridge 21 is pulled out from the front surface of the printer main body 20 in the forward direction (arrow B direction) and taken out, a scanner having an image reading unit for reading image information from a document on the upper portion of the printer main body 20. There is an advantage that installation of 22 etc. becomes possible.

[Embodiment 3]
Next, the configuration of the printer according to the third embodiment (hereinafter referred to as the third embodiment) will be described. 7A is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of the printer according to the third embodiment, FIG. 7B is a schematic configuration diagram showing the configuration when the cartridge is taken out from the printer main body, and FIG. 8 is the third embodiment. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram in a direction in which a process cartridge 31 is attached to and detached from the printer main body 30 according to FIG.
In the third embodiment and the first and second embodiments described above, the process cartridge 31 in which the photosensitive member 2 and the developing device 5 are supported by a common support as one image forming unit is attached to and detached from the printer main body 30. The only difference is the method. Therefore, the configuration and operation similar to those of the first and second embodiments and the operation and effect thereof will be omitted as appropriate. 7 and 8, the same members as those described in the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted.

  In the printer according to the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7A, the photosensitive member 2 and the developing device 5 are configured as a process cartridge 31 that is supported by a common support as one image forming unit. Yes. When the process cartridge 31 needs to be replaced due to deterioration with time of the photoreceptor 2 or the developing device 5, the process cartridge 31 can be removed from the printer main body 1 as follows. As shown in FIG. 7B, the process cartridge 31 is taken out in the right direction (arrow C direction in the figure) by opening the opening / closing member 35 provided on the right-hand side of the printer main body 1 in the figure. It is the structure which can do. As described above, when the process cartridge 31 is pulled out from the side surface of the printer body 30 in the right direction (arrow C direction) in the drawing, an image reading unit that reads image information from a document is provided on the upper portion of the printer body 30. There is an advantage that the scanner 32 can be installed.

  In the printer according to the third embodiment, the process cartridge 31 including at least the photosensitive member 2 is moved toward or away from the line head 4 in the direction opposite to the line head 4 with the photosensitive member 2 interposed therebetween. The printer main body 30 is configured to be attached and detached. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the line head 4 is disposed at a position substantially opposite to the developing roller 15 of the developing device 5 with the photoreceptor 2 interposed therebetween. Then, a straight line perpendicular to S: a plane of symmetry passing through the rotation axis of the photosensitive member 2 in which the center of the developing region facing the developing roller 15 on the surface of the photosensitive member 2 and the center of the writing region facing the line head 4 are symmetric. : The process cartridge 31 is attached and detached in a direction substantially parallel to Ls. That is, the center of the developing area on the surface of the photoreceptor 2 facing the developing roller 15 and the center of the writing area facing the line head 4 are symmetric. The process cartridge 31 is detachably attached in the direction. Here, in the third embodiment, the transfer roller 6 is disposed below the photoconductor 2, and a paper conveyance path through which the transfer paper passes is provided between the photoconductor 2 and the transfer roller 6. Symmetry plane: A direction substantially perpendicular to S is a substantially horizontal direction in the drawings as shown in FIGS. 7B and 8.

When the process cartridge 31 is mounted on the printer main body 30 by attaching and detaching in the above-described direction, a spacer member or the like that can accurately control the gap between the line head 4 and the photoconductor 2 is used as the line head 4 and the photoconductor 2. It becomes possible to arrange | position between. Accordingly, when the process cartridge 31 is mounted on the printer main body 30, the position of the photosensitive member 2 in the attaching / detaching direction with respect to the line head 4 can be positioned with high accuracy, and the accuracy of the gap between the line head 4 and the photosensitive member 2 can be determined. Management can be performed with high accuracy. As described above, the accuracy control of the gap is performed with high accuracy, so that the line head 4 is markedly disposed in a position substantially opposite to the developing roller 15 of the developing device 5 with the photoreceptor 2 interposed therebetween. It is possible to increase the accuracy of the accuracy management of the gap between the line head 4 and the photosensitive member 2.
Even when the process cartridge 31 is attached or detached, it is possible to form a high-precision electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoconductor 2 by keeping the gap between the line head 4 and the photoconductor 2 with high accuracy. Therefore, stable and high-quality image formation is possible over a long period of time.

In the first to third embodiments described above, an example in which the present invention is applied to a printer as a monochrome image forming apparatus having one photosensitive member 2 and one developing device 5 has been described. The invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, the present invention can be applied to a color image forming apparatus including a plurality of photoconductors and a plurality of developing devices.
Further, an example in which the present invention is applied to a printer that is an image forming apparatus of a direct transfer method in which a transfer medium is a transfer sheet that is a recording medium on which an image is finally formed has been described. It is not limited to a simple configuration. For example, the present invention can also be applied to an intermediate transfer type image forming apparatus that transfers to a recording medium such as transfer paper as a final transfer medium via an intermediate transfer member such as an intermediate transfer belt. However, the direct transfer type printer described in each of the above embodiments can directly transfer the toner image on the photoconductor 2 as an image carrier onto a transfer sheet as a recording medium, and can be used as an intermediate transfer belt or other intermediate transfer belt. The body and the like can be removed, and the size of the image forming apparatus such as a printer can be reduced.

What has been described above is merely an example, and the present invention has a specific effect for each of the following modes.
(Aspect A)
An image carrier such as the photosensitive member 2, a charging means such as a charging member 3 for uniformly charging the image carrier, and a line head 4 or the like for writing an electrostatic latent image on the image carrier in a line. Transfer means, a developer carrier such as a developing roller 15 that carries and conveys the developer supplied to the electrostatic latent image on the image carrier, and an image on the image carrier to a transfer medium such as transfer paper and a transfer means such as a transfer roller 6 which is configured to image forming units such as a process cartridge 10 including at least the image bearing member is detachable, the writing means, attachment and detachment of the image forming unit The printer main body is in such a position that the surface facing the surface of the image carrier of the member for writing the electrostatic latent image is above the surface of the image carrier facing the surface. image type to be disposed in the apparatus main body, such as a 1 In the apparatus, the charging means such as the charging member 3 is disposed in the apparatus main body on the opposite side of the image carrier from the attaching / detaching direction in which the image forming unit is linearly attached / detached, and the charging unit It has the cleaning member 17 which cleans a means, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.
According to this, as described in the first to third embodiments, the following image forming apparatus and a process cartridge used therefor can be provided. Since the charging means has a cleaning member, it is not necessary to replace the charging means, so that the charging means can be fixed in the apparatus body. When the image forming unit is mounted on the apparatus main body, the image forming unit is mounted linearly with respect to the fixed writing means and charging means, and the positions of the image forming unit, writing means and charging means are relative to each other. Can be accurately maintained.

(Aspect B)
In (Aspect A), the writing means such as the line head 4 is disposed at a position substantially opposite to the developer carrier such as the developing roller 15 with the image carrier such as the photosensitive member 2 interposed therebetween. It is characterized by.
According to this, as described in the first to third embodiments, the toner drop to the writing unit can be further suppressed.
Further, even if the writing means is attached to a non-moving body such as a support frame in the apparatus main body such as the printer main body 1, an image forming unit that integrally supports the image carrier or the developer carrier is provided as follows. It becomes detachable. The image forming unit can be attached and detached in a direction approaching or separating from a conveyance path for conveying a transfer medium such as transfer paper, or a direction substantially parallel to the conveyance path for conveying the transfer medium. In addition, when the transfer direction of the transfer medium is substantially horizontal, the transfer medium can be attached and detached in the vertical direction.

(Aspect C)
In (Aspect B), the image forming unit such as the process cartridge 31 includes at least the image carrier such as the photosensitive member 2, and is opposite to the writing unit such as the line head 4 with the image carrier interposed therebetween. It is characterized by being attached to and detached from the apparatus main body such as the printer main body 30 so as to approach or separate from the writing means in the direction.
According to this, as described in the third embodiment, the positioning of the image carrier with respect to the writing means fixed to the apparatus main body can be performed with higher accuracy than (Aspect B). A stable electrostatic latent image can be formed while maintaining the gap with high accuracy.

(Aspect D)
In any one of (Aspect A) to (Aspect C), the writing unit such as the line head 4 is provided between a conveyance path for conveying the transfer medium such as transfer paper and the image forming unit such as the process cartridge 10. It is arrange | positioned by this.
According to this, as described in the first and second embodiments, even if the writing unit is attached to a non-moving body such as a support frame in an apparatus main body such as the printer main body 1, the image forming unit is It becomes removable. The image forming unit can be attached and detached in a direction in which the image forming unit approaches or separates from the conveyance path for conveying the transfer medium, or in a direction in which the image forming unit moves back and forth along the rotation axis of the image carrier. When the transfer path for transferring the transfer medium is substantially horizontal, the transfer medium can be attached and detached in the vertical direction.

(Aspect E )
In any one of (Aspect A) to (Aspect D), the charging unit such as the charging member 3 is provided between a conveyance path for conveying the transfer medium such as transfer paper and the writing unit such as the line head 4. It is characterized by being arranged.
According to this, as described in the first to third embodiments, the following effects can be achieved. The configuration for positioning the image forming unit such as the process cartridge 10 with respect to the image forming apparatus main body such as the printer main body 1 is simplified as compared with the configuration in which the charging unit is not disposed between the conveyance path and the writing unit. It is an effect that can be done.

(Aspect F )
In any one of (aspect A) to (embodiment E), cleanup member 17 is characterized in that disposed in the apparatus body, such as a printer main body 1 of the image forming apparatus such as a printer.
With this configuration, as described above in connection with the first embodiment (1-3), easily disposed writing means such as a line head 4 to a desired position.

(Aspect G )
In (Aspect A) to (Aspect F) , the cleaning member 17 is disposed between a conveyance path for conveying the transfer medium such as transfer paper and the writing means such as the line head 4. It is what.
According to this, as described in the first to third embodiments, the following effects can be achieved. The configuration for positioning the image forming unit such as the process cartridge 10 with respect to the image forming apparatus main body such as the printer main body 1 is simplified as compared with the configuration in which the cleaning unit is not provided between the conveyance path and the writing unit. It is an effect that can be done.

(Aspect H )
In a process cartridge such as a process cartridge 10 that is detachably attached to an image forming apparatus main body such as the printer main body 1, the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus such as a printer according to any one of (Aspect A) to (Aspect G 1 ). It is characterized by being.
According to this, as described in the first to third embodiments, it is possible to provide a process cartridge that can achieve the same effects as the image forming apparatus of any one of the (Aspect A) to (Aspect G ).

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer main body 2 Photoconductor 3 Charging member 4 Line head 4a Base member 4b Light emitting element 5 Developing device 6 Transfer roller 7 Paper feed cassette 7a Paper feed roller 8 Fixing device 9 Paper discharge tray 10 Process cartridge (Embodiment 1)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Hopper part 12 Developing part 13 Agitator 14 Toner supply roller 15 Developing roller 16 Thin layer blade 17 Cleaning member 20 Printer main body (Embodiment 2)
21 Process cartridge (Embodiment 2)
22 Scanner (Embodiment 2)
30 Printer body (Embodiment 3)
31 cartridge (Embodiment 3)
31 Process cartridge (Embodiment 3)
32 Scanner (Embodiment 3)
35 Opening and closing member (Embodiment 3)

Japanese Patent No. 4214368 JP 2004-145285 A

Claims (8)

An image carrier, charging means for uniformly charging the image carrier, writing means for writing an electrostatic latent image in a line on the image carrier, and an electrostatic latent image on the image carrier. A developer carrying member for carrying and conveying the developer to be supplied; and transfer means for transferring an image on the image carrying member to a transfer medium, so that at least an image forming unit including the image carrying member can be attached and detached. The writing means is located at a position that does not hinder the attachment or detachment of the image forming unit, and a surface of the member that performs writing of an electrostatic latent image is opposed to the surface of the image carrier. In the image forming apparatus disposed in the apparatus main body in a posture that is above the surface of the image carrier,
The charging unit is disposed in the apparatus main body on the opposite side to the mounting direction in which the image forming unit is mounted and removed linearly, and has a cleaning member that cleans the charging unit. An image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.
The image forming apparatus, wherein the writing unit is disposed at a position substantially opposite to the developer carrier with the image carrier interposed therebetween. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 .
The image forming unit includes at least the image carrier,
An image forming apparatus, wherein the image forming apparatus is attached to and detached from the apparatus main body so as to approach or separate from the writing unit in a direction opposite to the writing unit across the image carrier. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the writing unit is disposed between a conveyance path for conveying the transfer medium and the image forming unit . The image forming apparatus according to any one of billed items 1 to 4,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the charging unit is disposed between a conveyance path for conveying the transfer medium and the writing unit. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5 ,
Before SL cleaning member, an image forming apparatus characterized by being arranged in the apparatus body of the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6 ,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the cleaning member is disposed between a conveyance path for conveying the transfer medium and the writing unit. In the process cartridge configured to be detachable from the image forming apparatus main body,
Wherein the image forming apparatus, a process cartridge, wherein an image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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