JPH0643810Y2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus in which an image carrier and a cartridge including an image forming process device disposed around the image carrier can be easily positioned.

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of an image bearing member such as a photoconductor, the electrostatic latent image is visualized by a developing device, and the visualized image is transferred to transfer paper. After the transfer, the surface of the photoconductor is cleaned with a cleaning device.

Recently, various image forming apparatuses have been provided in which an image forming process device such as a developing device disposed around the photoconductor is integrally incorporated with the photoconductor to form a cartridge, and the cartridge is replaced. Has been done.

In such an image forming apparatus, if the cartridge is replaced because the life of a certain image forming process device is exhausted, the photoconductor that has not reached the end of its life is thrown away as the life of the photoconductor becomes longer. It was decided,
Inevitably, the cost of the cartridge becomes high, which imposes a cost burden on the user side as an expensive consumable item.

Therefore, the photoconductor is provided in the main body of the device,
It is also proposed to replace the image forming process equipment arranged around it with a cartridge, and in this image forming apparatus, in order to position the image carrier and the cartridge with respect to each other, If a conventional face plate type configuration (which will be described later) is adopted, first, the outer cover is opened, and the face plate on which the photoconductor or the cartridge is attached is removed from the front surface of the machine or the like. You have to pull out the cartridge. Further, when the cartridge is mounted on the main body of the image forming apparatus, an operation reverse to this operation is performed, but such an operation is extremely troublesome. Further, since the face plate or the equivalent thereof is required, the configuration of the image forming apparatus becomes complicated.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus which eliminates the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, facilitates cartridge replacement, and further simplifies the configuration.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides an outer cover that is openable and closable with respect to the apparatus main body, and an image carrier that exposes an end surface of the outer cover when the outer cover is open.
Incorporating at least one of a plurality of image forming process devices arranged around the image carrier in a position related to the image carrier, and exposing the outer cover-side end surface with the outer cover open. A cartridge that is inserted into and removed from the image carrier with the outer cover open, and a cartridge that is provided on the outer cover and that engages with the image carrier and the cartridge with the outer cover closed, Therefore, an image forming apparatus including a positioning member for positioning the both is proposed.

Embodiment Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, a cartridge occupying space 2 into which a cartridge described below is inserted and loaded is provided in a main body 1 of an image forming apparatus, and a drum-shaped photoconductor 3 which is an example of an image carrier is provided at the center of this space. Has been done.

An outer cover 4 is provided on the main body 1 of the apparatus so as to be openable and closable with respect to the main body 1. When the cover 4 is opened as shown in the figure, the photoconductor 3 is supported only on the back side, for example. It is in a cantilevered state. Further, in such an outer cover open state, the front side of the photoconductor 3, that is, the outer cover 4
The end face on the side is exposed to the outside.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a cartridge 5 that is inserted into and removed from the photoconductor 3 with the outer cover 4 opened, and the cartridge 5 includes a developing device 6, a cleaning device 7, a charging device 8, and the like. Imaging process equipment is integrally incorporated. The cartridge 5 configured in this manner is inserted and loaded into the cartridge occupied space 2 with the outer cover 4 opened as shown in FIG. In this state, the photoconductor 3 comes to occupy the center position in the cartridge, and the charging device 8, the developing device 6 and the cleaning device 7 are provided around the photoconductor 3.
The image forming process equipment such as the above is arranged while maintaining a predetermined relation position with the photoconductor 3. A portion indicated by reference numeral 9 in FIG. 4 is an occupied portion located on the photoconductor 3, and the inside thereof is a void when the cartridge is taken out.
Hereinafter, this portion will be referred to as a fitting hole.

With the cartridge 5 shown in FIG. 4 loaded in the apparatus main body 1 shown in FIG. 1, the surface of the photoconductor 3 is uniformly charged by the charger 8, and the charged surface is used for optical writing. As a result, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface.

This electrostatic latent image is visualized by toner (not shown) carried on the developing sleeve 12 of the developing device 6, and this visualized image is transferred to a transfer paper (not shown) sent from the paper feed tray 11. The transfer paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray 11a. After the above-mentioned transfer, the toner left on the surface of the photoconductor 3 is scraped off by the cleaning blade 13 and collected in the cleaning device 7.

The cartridge 5 shown in FIG. 4 is provided with a known photoconductor charge eliminator, transfer paper separator, transfer charger, etc., as required.

Assuming that the cartridge 5 shown in FIG. 4 is loaded in the main body of the apparatus, the developing device 6 is out of toner, or the cleaning device 7 is full of toner and its life is exhausted. At this time, the toner adhering to the cleaning blade 13 or the toner on the developing sleeve 12 may be scattered or dropped to stain the surroundings.

Further, when a new cartridge is inserted and loaded, the tip of the cleaning blade 13 or the like may not be attached to the photosensitive member 3 on the apparatus main body side.
If it hits hard against the surface, it may damage the surface of the photoconductor. In order to eliminate such a defect, the illustrated image forming apparatus is configured as follows.

As shown in FIG. 2, engagement pieces 3a are provided at three positions on the front end surface of the drum-shaped photoconductor 3.

Further, the reference numeral 14 in FIG. 3 is a guide member having the same outer peripheral shape as the photoconductor 3. That is, this guide member
14 has the same diameter as the photoconductor 3. The guide member 14 is provided with convex pieces 14a, 14a on both sides of the front end, and an engaging piece 14 for engaging with the engaging piece 3a is provided on the end surface on the rear side.
b is also provided in three places.

Here, as shown in FIG. 1, when a cartridge is not loaded in the apparatus main body 1 and a new cartridge is loaded, a guide member is provided in the fitting hole 9 of the cartridge 5 in FIG. Insert 14 and fit.

As shown in FIG. 3, concave portions 5a, 5a are provided on the front end surface of the cartridge 5, so that the convex piece 14a engages with the concave portion 5a when the guide member 14 is completely inserted. Has become. As a result, the guide member 14 and the cartridge 5 cannot rotate with each other.

With the guide member 14 fitted in the cartridge 5, the cartridge is kept at the position shown by A in FIG. 5 (solid line position), and the rear end face of the cartridge 5 is applied to the front face of the apparatus main body 1.

Next, when the cartridge 5 is turned to the B position, the cartridge 5 is placed at the position shown in FIG. Cartridge B
When turned to the position, the engagement piece 14b (Fig. 3) of the guide member 14 engages with the engagement piece 3a (Fig. 2) on the side of the photoconductor 3 so that both are integrated and both are axially moved. The axis is aligned and aligned.

The rear end portion of the guide member 14 projects somewhat from the cartridge 5, and when the cartridge 5 is placed at the position A in FIG. 5, the end surfaces of the photoconductor 3 and the guide member 14 face each other. In this state, the engagement pieces are in a state before they are engaged with each other.

For the sake of convenience, FIG. 7 omits the illustration of the engaging piece portion, but in reality, the mutual engagement causes the guide member 14 to be integrated with the photoconductor 3, and in this state, the guide member 14 serves as a guide. When the cartridge 5 is pushed in, it is stored in the position in the main body of the apparatus shown in FIG.

As described above, by the guide action of the guide member 14, the cartridge 5 is inserted in a state of being aligned with the axis of the photoconductor 3, so that the cleaning blade 13 or the like does not strongly hit the photoconductor 3 and the surface thereof is It does not hurt.

In addition, when the cartridge is inserted, the hand does not touch the photoconductor 3, and there is no fear of the life of the photoconductor being shortened due to finger grease or the like.

When the guide member 14 shown in FIG. 6 is rotated from the B position to the A position with the insertion and loading of the cartridge completed as shown in FIG. 8, the engagement between the engaging pieces described above is released, The guide member 14 can be removed from the photoconductor 3.

Next, when taking out from the used cartridge image forming apparatus main body 1 with the photoconductor 3 left, the outer cover 4 is first opened as shown in FIG. With the outer cover 4 opened in this manner, the cartridge 5 loaded in the image forming apparatus main body 1
The end surface of the outer cover 4 side, that is, the front end surface thereof is exposed to the outside. Then, as shown in FIG.
The guide member 14 is opposed to the photoconductor 3, and the engaging pieces 3a and 14b are engaged with each other as described above to integrate the guide member 14 with the photoconductor 3. In this state, the guide member 14 is used as a guide. The cartridge 5 is pulled out from the inside of the apparatus main body.

After removing the cartridge, the cartridge is discarded with the guide member 14 still attached or with the guide member 14 removed.

As described above, when the cartridge is pulled out, the inside of the cartridge 5 is closed by the guide member 14, so that there is no possibility that the toner will drop or scatter from the developing device 6 or the cleaning device 7. Further, when the cartridge is pulled out, the finger does not touch the photoconductor 3. That is, the finger never touches the photoconductor 3 when the cartridge is replaced.

In this embodiment, the image forming process equipment such as the developing device 6 and the cleaning device 7 is integrally incorporated to form the cartridge, but one of these may be incorporated to form the cartridge. Further, a cartridge in which a plurality of other image forming process devices are appropriately combined may be used, or a single cartridge may be used. In this way, a cartridge may be constructed by incorporating at least one of a plurality of image forming process devices arranged around an image carrier such as the photoconductor 3 while maintaining a predetermined relation position with the image carrier. Of.

In the examples described so far, the guide member 14 is integrated with the photoconductor 3 by engaging the engaging pieces with each other.
Instead of providing such an engaging piece, the cartridge may be inserted in a state where both end faces are joined, or the guide member may be held by hand in the joined state and the cartridge may be pulled out.

Here, in FIG. 1, with the outer cover 4 opened,
When the cartridge 5 shown in FIG. 4 is completely inserted into the photoconductor 3 whose end face is exposed, it is necessary to position the cartridge 5 and the photoconductor 3 relative to each other.

That is, it is necessary to position the cartridge and the photoconductor so that the relative positions of the photoconductor 3 and the image forming process devices arranged around the photoconductor 3 are accurately maintained. For example, if the position of the cartridge goes wrong,
The developing sleeve 12 and the cleaning blade 13 shown in FIG.
This is because the positional relationship with respect to the photoconductor 3 such as is messed up.

As shown in FIG. 1, a positioning member 18 is provided on the surface of the outer cover 4 on the photoconductor side. Such positioning member
The pin 18 has a pin-shaped protrusion 18a formed at the center and angular protrusions 18b formed on both sides inside the disc.

Here, assuming that the cartridge 5 shown in FIG. 3 is loaded in the apparatus main body 1, when the outer cover 4 is closed in this state, the pin-shaped projection 18a is formed in the recess or the hole 3b of the photoconductor 3. It fits and engages, and the angular protrusions 18
b engages with both recesses 5a of the cartridge 5. By this series of engagements, the front end portion of the photoconductor 3 is positioned, and the cartridge 5 is positioned while maintaining the above-described relational position with the photoconductor 3.

Thus, the positioning member 18 provided on the outer cover 4
Is engaged with the photoconductor 3 and the cartridge 5 with the outer cover 4 closed, so that the photoconductor 3 and the photoconductor 3 are maintained so that a predetermined positional relationship between the image forming process device of the cartridge 5 and the photoconductor 3 is maintained. Both of the cartridges 5 are positioned.

The pin-shaped protrusion 18a also has a bearing function for the photoconductor 3,
The pin-shaped protrusions 18 have the outer cover 4 closed,
The front end of the photoconductor 3 is rotatably supported. Therefore, it is preferable to use a wear resistant material for the pin-shaped projections 18a.

The recess or hole 3b may be used as a means for connecting the guide member 14 and the photoconductor 3 in place of the above-mentioned engaging piece 3a.

The angular protrusion 18b is formed in the same shape as the convex piece 14a of the guide member 14 shown in FIG. 3, and the angular protrusion 18b or the convex piece 14a is fitted into the concave portion 5a of the cartridge 5.

By the way, in the description relating to the positioning member 18, the engaging piece as shown in FIG. 2 is provided on the end surface of the photoconductor 3 (FIG. 1).
Assuming that there is no 3a, the pin-shaped projection 18a is provided in the hole 3b of the photoconductor 3.
However, when the engaging piece 3a is provided, the shape of the positioning member 18 may be determined in consideration of this protruding amount.

Further, when the engaging piece 3a is freely inserted into and removed from the photoconductor 3, the pin-shaped projection 18a is engaged with the hole 3b of the photoconductor 3 in a state where the engagement piece 3a is removed, as in the above-described embodiment. be able to.

The positioning member 18 is provided in advance on the outer cover 4 at a position where the photoconductor 3 and the cartridge 5 can be accurately positioned, and the positional relationship required when the outer cover is closed (in operation). Answered to increase precision.

By the way, in the prior art, with the outer cover 4 open, a face plate (not shown) attached to the front surface of the apparatus main body 1 or the equivalent thereof is removed, and the front end of the photoconductor is free. In this embodiment, since the positioning member 18 is provided on the outer cover 4, the conventional face plate is not necessary. Therefore, when the outer cover 4 is opened, the photoconductor 3 can be directly used.
The end surface on the outer cover side and the end surface on the outer cover 4 side of the cartridge 5 are exposed to the outside. That is, the portions of the photoconductor 3 and the cartridge 5 on the operator side are released in a free state, and there is no member in the region on the front side of the photoconductor 3 and the cartridge 5 that obstructs the insertion and removal of the cartridge 5. For this reason, if the outer cover 4 is opened, the cartridge 5 can be taken out at a stretch, and its insertion / removal property is improved. On the other hand, even when the outer cover 4 is closed, the photoconductor and the newly loaded cartridge can be immediately positioned by simply closing the outer cover 4. Further, since the face plate is unnecessary, the structure can be further simplified.

Note that, in FIG. 1, the pin-shaped projection 18a may be tapered so that the tip is gradually thinned, and this makes it possible to position the photoconductor more smoothly.

In addition to this, if the pin-shaped protrusion 18a is made slidable and a habit of moving to the photoconductor 3 side is imparted to the pin-shaped protrusion 18a by means of a spring or the like, engagement and connection with the drive unit on the back side of the photoconductor is performed. Can be done well.

Further, the outer cover 4 is made of, for example, a synthetic resin,
If the positioning member 18 is formed integrally with the outer cover 4, it can be positioned with higher accuracy than by fixing with a screw or the like. In this case, if the back portion of the pin-shaped protrusion 18a is made empty so that the pin-shaped protrusion 18a can be elastically displaced in this axial direction, the front end of the photoconductor 3 is pushed. Therefore, it is possible to satisfactorily perform the coupling engagement with the drive unit on the back side.

Effect According to the present invention, since the positioning member is provided on the outer cover, the mutual positioning of the image carrier and the cartridge and the release thereof can be immediately performed only by opening and closing the outer cover, and this kind of work can be performed. It can be further simplified. In addition, when the outer cover is opened, the operator-side portion of the image carrier and the cartridge is released in a free state, and there is no member in the region of the image carrier and the outer cover side of the cartridge that obstructs the insertion and removal of the cartridge. Therefore, the insertion / removal property of the cartridge can be enhanced. Moreover, if the outer cover is closed, the image carrier and the cartridge can be reliably positioned by themselves. In this way, the cartridge can be replaced extremely easily. Further, since the face plate is not necessary, the structure can be further simplified.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus main body in which a cartridge is loaded, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an end surface portion of a photoconductor, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing external shapes of a cartridge and a guide member.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the cartridge, FIG. 5 is a view for explaining insertion and loading of the cartridge, FIG. 6 is a view for explaining a method of taking out the guide member after loading the cartridge, and FIG. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing a state before insertion / loading to the apparatus main body, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional explanatory view showing a state after insertion / loading of the cartridge. 1 ... Device body, 4 ... Outer cover 5 ... Cartridge, 18 ... Positioning member

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── --- Continuation of the front page (56) References JP 62-272290 (JP, A) JP 61-110168 (JP, A) JP 62-265671 (JP, A) JP 55- 105275 (JP, A) JP 59-58447 (JP, A) Actually opened 61-88154 (JP, U) Actually opened 62-116256 (JP, U) Actually opened 57-105647 (JP, U) Actual public Sho 62-41330 (JP, Y2)

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. An outer cover provided to be openable and closable with respect to an apparatus main body, an image carrier having an end surface on the outer cover side exposed when the outer cover is open, and a periphery of the image carrier. Incorporating at least one of a plurality of image forming process devices arranged in a position related to the image carrier, exposing the outer cover side end face with the outer cover open, and opening the outer cover. A cartridge that is inserted into and removed from the image carrier in a state, and that is provided on the outer cover and that engages with the image carrier and the cartridge in a state where the outer cover is closed so that the related position is maintained. An image forming apparatus comprising a positioning member for positioning the.