JPH11174761A - Module connecting structure for electrophotographic device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a module connecting structure of an electro-photographic device by which the connection of a paper-feeding module and an engine module is reinforced and the relative position of them is guaranteed. SOLUTION: As for a module connecting structure of the electro-photographic device where the engine module 2 having an electro-photographic processing part to form and fix an image on a sheet fed is loaded on the paper-feeding module 1 successively separating and feeding the sheets stacked and both modules 1 and 2 are connected, a common plane nearly in parallel with the connecting direction of the paper-feeding module 1 and the engine module 2 is formed of the paper-feeding module 1 and the engine module 2, and a coupling sheet metal(tightening member) crossing over the paper-feeding module 1 and the engine module 2 is attached to the common plane, so that at least a part of the paper-feeding module 1 and the engine module 2 is connected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a module connecting structure of an electrophotographic apparatus which employs a structure in which a sheet feeding module and an engine module are vertically divided.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A laser beam printer (LBP) or the like is used as a printer adopting an electrophotographic system. In recent years, with the spread of laser beam printers, various demands have been made regarding the use thereof. As one of them, there is a demand for the variety of paper feed cassettes. That is, some users request a large-capacity cassette as a standard, and there is a demand that a large number of cassettes can be connected because the capacity of the cassette may be small.

[0003] In order to meet the above demand, the printer is divided into an engine module and a paper feed module.
There are increasing configurations in which several types of paper feed modules can be connected to one engine module.

By the way, in order to quickly respond to the needs of the market, the above-mentioned module is independently shipped with an outer package, connected and packed as close as possible to the customer, and re-shipped. The connection of the modules is performed by simply screwing the module from the bottom of the apparatus or mounting the engine module.

[0005]

However, in the conventional configuration, the connection between the engine module and the paper feed module is performed only in the vertical direction. When an impact is applied in a direction perpendicular to the direction, a strong force is applied in a direction to shift the relative position between the paper supply module and the engine module, so that there is a possibility that both modules may be disconnected or the apparatus may be deformed. . If such disconnection or deformation of the apparatus occurs, jamming or deterioration of image quality is caused, which is a fatal defect in a laser beam printer that requires high reliability and high image quality.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electrophotographic apparatus capable of reinforcing the connection between a sheet feeding module and an engine module and guaranteeing the relative positions of the two. An object of the present invention is to provide a module connection structure.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an image is formed on a fed sheet on a sheet feeding module for sequentially separating and feeding the stacked sheets. In a module connection structure of an electrophotographic apparatus in which an engine module having an electrophotographic process unit for forming and fixing is loaded and the two modules are connected,
By forming a common plane substantially parallel to the connection direction of the paper supply module and the engine module with the paper supply module and the engine module, and attaching a fastening member that straddles the paper supply module and the engine module to the common plane. The paper feed module and at least a part of the engine module are connected.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the fastening member forms at least a part of a shield member for shielding a substrate for controlling operation of the engine or image information. It is characterized by having it.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the holes are simultaneously engaged with both the upper surface of the protrusion formed on the engine module and the lower surface of the protrusion formed on the paper feed module. Is formed in the fastening member, and the holes formed in the fastening member are simultaneously fitted to both the upper surface of the protrusion formed in the engine module and the lower surface of the protrusion formed in the paper feed module, thereby providing the engine. The vertical positional relationship between the module and the paper feed module is determined.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the engine module and the paper feed module are grounded via the fastening member.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, an engine controller for controlling an operation of electrophotography is provided in the engine module, and an image signal supplied from a host is developed to generate the image signal. The image controller unit to be transmitted to the engine controller is arranged at a position straddling the engine module and the paper feed module.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the engine module has an electric circuit including a control unit and a power supply for an electrophotographic process, so that printing check can be performed by the engine alone. It is characterized by that.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, a plurality of paper feed modules can be connected to the engine module.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a module connection structure according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a laser beam printer, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the laser beam printer, and FIG. 4 is an engine module in the laser beam printer. FIG. 3 is an enlarged detailed cross-sectional view of a fastening portion of the sheet feeding module.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a paper feed module, and 2 denotes an engine module. The engine module 2 prints the paper (sheet) supplied from the paper feed module 1 in an electrophotographic process of a laser beam printer, and then prints the paper. It discharges paper. Reference numeral 3 denotes a paper cassette, 4 denotes a connecting sheet metal, 5 denotes an image controller board for converting image information sent from a computer (not shown) into a laser signal, 6 denotes a shield case, and 9 denotes a shield cover.

Here, the paper feed module 1 and the engine module 2 will be described with reference to FIG.

The sheets stacked in the sheet cassette 3 are sequentially fed from a top roller by a pickup roller 12, and separated and conveyed by a pair of retard rollers including a feed roller 13 and a retard roller 14.
The feed roller 13 is driven to rotate in the sheet conveying direction, and the retard roller 14 is driven to rotate in a direction opposite to the sheet conveying direction via a torque limiter (not shown) having a predetermined torque value.

A paper feed drive system and a clutch mechanism for transmitting the driving force supplied from the main body into the paper feed module 1 and intermittently driving the pickup roller 12, feed roller 13 and retard roller 14 to rotate. (Not shown), and a board (not shown) for operating the clutch mechanism, the cassette size detecting means, the paper presence / absence detecting means, and other electric components.

On the other hand, the engine module 2 is provided with a conveying roller 21 for conveying the sheet conveyed from the sheet feeding module 1 and a registration roller 22 for aligning the leading end of the sheet. It is guided to the transfer unit 23 by the two rollers 21 and 22.

The image information transferred from the host computer becomes laser ON / OFF information in the image controller board 5 and is sent to the laser scanner 25 via the engine controller 24 and is transferred to the photosensitive drum 26. The latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 26 by irradiating the photosensitive drum 26 with a laser beam. This latent image is visualized as a developed image by a developing process, and the developed image is transferred onto a sheet in the transfer unit 23. Then, the developed image transferred onto the sheet is fixed on the sheet in the fixing unit 27, and the sheet on which the developed image has been fixed is ejected to the sheet ejection unit 28 with its image surface down.

As is apparent from FIG. 2, the engine controller 24 is installed below the sheet conveying path in the engine module 2. The engine controller 2
Reference numeral 4 denotes an AC power supply to the fixing heater, a motor drive, a DC low-voltage power supply to an electric signal system, a high-voltage power supply used in an electrophotographic process and control functions thereof, and exchange of signals with a paper feed module. And a function of communicating with the image controller board 5.

Further, the engine controller 24 is provided below the engine controller 24 from shocks such as vibrations and drops during transportation of the engine module 2 and static electricity from a serviceman or the like when handling the engine module 2 alone.
Is provided with a shield plate 29 for protecting the.

As described above, by integrating all the parts related to the electrophotography into the engine module 2, when the engine module 2 and the paper feed module 1 are shipped independently, the check regarding the operation of the electrophotography regarding the engine module 2 is performed. For the paper feed module, the check for the paper feed mechanism can be performed independently.

More specifically, with regard to the engine module 2, a jig feeding unit for supplying a sheet to the engine module 2 and a jig controller for supplying a laser driving signal are simply connected to each other. It is possible to check the functions of the engine module 2 as an electrophotographic apparatus, such as images and curls, on a production line.

On the other hand, with respect to the sheet feeding module 1, by connecting a jig driving source for supplying a driving force to the sheet feeding module 1 and a control jig for providing a sheet feeding signal, It is possible to check functions such as paper feedability (double feed, paper feed failure, etc.) and transportability (skew, etc.) on the production line. Therefore, since the engine module 2 and the paper feed module 1 can be produced on independent production lines and their quality can be guaranteed, the degree of freedom in setting the production location of the engine module 2 and the paper feed module 1 is increased.

Further, several different paper feed modules 1 can be connected to the engine module 2. For example, a model equipped with a two-stage 250-sheet cassette, a model equipped with a one-stage 500-sheet cassette, or the type of cassette can be handled and adjusted according to the region to be sold and the needs of the user. Since the connection between the engine module 2 and the paper feed module 1 can be easily performed, the engine module 2 and the paper feed module 1 can be easily connected.
By storing them separately in a location (for example, a dealer) near the area where they are sold, it is possible to immediately respond to user requests.

When connecting the sheet feeding module 1 and the engine module 2, the engine module 2 is mounted from above the sheet feeding module 1 and the connecting sheet metal 4 is attached from the side. In this case, the shaft 2a protruding from the engine module 2 and the shaft 1a protruding from the sheet feeding module 1
The paper supply module 1 and the engine module 2 are arranged in a positional relationship so as to match with each other in a connected state to form one cylindrical shaft, and the upper surface of the shaft 2 a protruding from the engine module 2 and the paper supply module 1 Shaft 1 protruding from
The lower surface of a is fitted into a hole 4a formed in the connecting sheet metal 4 in a state where the sheet feeding module 1 and the engine module 2 are connected.

Therefore, the engine module 2 and the sheet feeding module 1 can be mounted by attaching the connecting sheet metal 4 from the side.
Is fixed vertically. In this state, the screw is tightened from the side. At this time, conventionally, it was necessary to tighten the screw while holding down the engine module 2 in order to prevent the engine module 2 from floating when tightening the screw. Since the engine module 2 and the paper feed module 1 are fixed in the vertical direction as described above, there is no need to tighten the screws while pressing the engine module 2 from above. In this embodiment, the shaft 2a
And the shaft 1a are configured to form a columnar shape in a state where the paper feed module 1 and the engine module 2 are connected.
Since the main purpose of these shafts 2a and 1a is to fix the engine module 2 and the paper feed module 1 in the vertical direction, their shapes are not limited to cylindrical shapes.

By the way, the connecting sheet metal 4 is screwed to the engine module 2 and the sheet feeding module 1 respectively, and one of the screws fixed to the engine module 2 is screwed to the sheet metal of the safety ground or the frame ground. You.
It is preferable to use a sheet metal directly grounded from the ground terminal of the AC inlet or a sheet metal directly grounded to the engine from the outside, since the grounding is reliable.

One of the screws fixed to the sheet feeding module 1 is screwed to a sheet metal member, and the entire sheet feeding module 1 is grounded via the sheet metal member. In order to suppress the deformation of the engine module 2 and the paper feed module 1 in the direction of arrow A in FIG.
It is desirable to screw (or stop with other connecting means) above the point.

The coupling sheet metal 4 electrically shields the image controller board 5, which cooperates with the shield case 6 and converts the image signal sent from the host into the control signal of the laser of the engine. It should be noted that the image controller board 5 is a unit which is attached to the shield case 6 in advance. First, the direction of the arrow B1 in FIG.
It is mounted on the device in the form of a shield case unit by inserting it in the direction. A floating connector (not shown) connected to the engine controller 24 (see FIG. 2) by wiring is provided on the engine side.
This floating connector is connected to the connector 5a on the image controller board 5 by the movement of the image controller board 5 in the direction of arrow B2. Of course, the electrical connection between the engine controller 24 and the image controller 24 may be made by directly connecting the connectors provided on the respective boards. Further, the shield case 6 is screwed to the connection sheet metal 4, and in this state, a shield for noise radiated from the image controller board 5 and a shield for protecting the image controller from external electric noise are completed.

Incidentally, the image controller board 5
As with the paper feed module 1, the capacity of the installed memory, the language used for display, and the like can be adapted to the demands of users and dealers. Therefore, the configuration of the present invention in which the image controller board 5 is assembled simultaneously with the coupling of the engine module 2 and the paper feed module 1 is desirable.

Further, as described above, the image controller board 5 is mounted after the engine module 2 and the paper feed module 1 are combined, so that the image controller board 5 can be assembled independently of the engine module 2 and the paper feed module 1. Since the installation area of the board 5 can be ensured across both the engine module 2 and the paper feed module 1, the installation area of the image controller board 5 can be ensured large. At this time, by setting the installation area of the image controller board 5 within the area of the smallest paper feed module 1, the same image controller board 5 can be used for all the paper feed modules 2.

After the shield case 6 is assembled, the shield cover 9 is attached. The shield cover 9 is configured so that it can be easily removed by the user. It is easy to perform expansion and the like.

The screws used for screwing the engine module 2 and the paper feed module 1 are not limited to the connection metal plate 4 but include a screw 7 which is tightened with the opening / closing cover 11 opened, and FIGS. 3 and 4. There is a screw 8 shown. As the screw 7, a screw having a length such that the upper end of the screw is located at a position of 100 mm or less from the accessible upper surface of the engine module 2 is used in consideration of assemblability. By using the screws 7 having such a long length, the workability of assembly or disassembly is enhanced.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the screw 8 has a flange 8a formed adjacent to the thread forming portion 8b at the tip, and the thread forming portion 8b is The flange 8a presses the frame member 32 of the engine module 2 so that the engine module 2 and the sheet feeding module 1 are screwed together.
Is concluded. As described above, since the fastening is completed only at the tip of the long screw, the fatigue of the screw due to the torsion of the rod and the loosening of the screw due to the fatigue, which is a concern when the flange is formed on the upper side, are generated. Can be prevented.

After the coupling between the engine module 2 and the paper feed module 1 is completed, a shield cover 9 that covers the shield case 6 is attached. By attaching the shield case unit in a box shape in this way, the connection reinforcement between the engine module 2 and the paper feed module 1 is further strengthened.

By adopting the above-described configuration, it is possible not only to meet the market diversification requirements regarding the paper feeding configuration, but also to meet the market requirements for the image controller board 5 at the same time. Can be.

Also, by adopting the above-described screw configuration, the engine module 2 can be mounted without removing the exterior member.
And the paper feed module 1 can be combined.

[0041]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, an image is formed and fixed on a fed sheet on a sheet feeding module for sequentially separating and feeding the stacked sheets. A module connecting structure of an electrophotographic apparatus in which an engine module having an electrophotographic process unit is mounted and the two modules are connected to each other, a common plane substantially parallel to a connecting direction of the sheet feeding module and the engine module is defined by a sheet feeding module and an engine. The sheet feed module and the engine module are formed by attaching a fastening member that straddles the sheet feed module and the engine module to the common plane, thereby connecting at least a part of the sheet feed module and the engine module. The effect is that the connection with the engine module is reinforced and the relative positions of the two can be guaranteed. It is.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a module connection structure according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a laser beam printer having a module connection structure according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a laser beam printer having a module connection structure according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged detailed sectional view of a fastening portion between an engine module and a paper feed module in a laser beam printer having a module connection structure according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 paper feed module 1 a shaft (projection) 2 engine module 2 a shaft (projection) 4 coupling sheet metal (fastening member) 4 a hole 5 image controller board 6 shield case 7, 8 screw 9 shield cover

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An engine module having an electrophotographic process unit for forming and fixing an image on a fed sheet is stacked on a sheet feeding module for sequentially separating and feeding the stacked sheets, and the both are stacked. In a module connection structure of an electrophotographic apparatus for connecting modules, a common plane substantially parallel to a connection direction of the paper supply module and the engine module is formed by the paper supply module and the engine module. A module connection structure for an electrophotographic apparatus, wherein a paper feed module and at least a part of an engine module are connected by attaching a fastening member straddling the engine module. 2. The electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said fastening member forms at least a part of a shield member for shielding a substrate for controlling operation of an engine or image information. Module connection structure of the device. 3. A hole is formed in the fastening member for simultaneously engaging both the upper surface of the protrusion formed on the engine module and the lower surface of the protrusion formed on the paper feed module, and the hole is formed on the fastening member. The upper and lower surfaces of the protrusion formed on the engine module and the paper feed module at the same time to determine the vertical positional relationship between the engine module and the paper feed module. The module connecting structure for an electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 4. The module connection structure for an electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein grounds on an engine module side and a paper feed module side are taken via the fastening member. 5. An engine controller for controlling an operation of electrophotography is provided in the engine module, and a unit of the image controller for expanding an image signal supplied from a host and transmitting the image signal to the engine controller is provided to the engine module. 2. The module connection structure for an electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the module connection structure is arranged at a position straddling the paper module. 6. The electrophotographic apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the engine module has an electric circuit including a control unit and a power supply for an electrophotographic process, and is capable of performing a print check by the engine alone. Module connection structure. 7. The module connection structure according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of paper supply modules can be connected to the engine module.