JP2007316367A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus capable of positioning a process cartridge with a simple constitution. <P>SOLUTION: Regarding the image forming apparatus to which at least one process cartridge including a processing means can be loaded, when the opening/closing cover 12 is closed, the process cartridge 3 is moved close to the prescribed operating position by an auxiliary moving member 17 that is pivotally supported by a link arm 16, one end of which is held by an opening/closing cover 12, and that moves in a direction of the depth A of the main body with the movement of the link arm 16, and the projecting part 13 of the process cartridge is positioned in the operating position with the rotation of a cam 18 pivotally supported by the main body and energized by a biasing member 19, on the other hand, when the opening/closing cover 12 is opened, the cam 18 is rotated by the link arm 16 against the biasing force of the biasing member 19, and the process cartridge is detached. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

  In an image forming apparatus to which a process cartridge is mounted, the process cartridge needs to be inserted along a guide and fixed at a predetermined use position. In general, the process cartridge fixing mechanism is interlocked with the opening / closing of the opening / closing cover, and the opening / closing cover is opened to release the fixing so that the process cartridge can be removed.

  The process cartridge in use is pressed against the transfer roller, but when a paper jam is being handled, the urging force of the transfer roller, etc. remains active. The process cartridge is pushed out of the use position by the urging force of the transfer roller. Even in such a case, it is necessary to move and fix the process cartridge to the use position by closing the open / close cover.

  Patent Document 1 describes an image forming apparatus in which a convex portion is provided on an opening / closing member (cover) and the convex portion presses a process cartridge against a transfer roller by closing the opening / closing member. However, with this configuration, a load is applied to the convex portion and the opening / closing cover, which may damage them.

  In Patent Document 2, a holder for a process cartridge is provided in an upper unit that can be rotated and opened with respect to the lower unit, and a guide that guides the process cartridge and closes the holder by the closing operation of the upper unit is provided in the lower unit. The provided image forming apparatus is described.

  In Patent Document 3, the protrusion of the process cartridge is guided by a guide, and a spring that protrudes in the movement path of the protrusion is provided near the back end of the guide. When the protrusion is pushed into the back end of the guide, or the protrusion is An image forming apparatus is described in which the positioning accuracy of the process cartridge is improved by applying a large force in the moving direction when pulling from the end so that the spring needs to be retracted against the biasing force.

  In Patent Document 4, a process cartridge can be held, and a movable guide movable between a position where the process cartridge can be easily attached and detached, and a position where the process cartridge is used inside the apparatus, and a shaft of the process cartridge can be coupled. Yes, it has a coupling that can be aligned by rotating with a twisted polygonal engagement shape, and the opening and closing cover is closed by moving the moving guide in conjunction with the first half of the closing operation from the fully opening and closing cover An image forming apparatus is described in which the coupling is moved in conjunction with the latter half of the operation.

  In Patent Document 5, a tapered protrusion is provided on a coupling that can be coupled to the shaft of the process cartridge and can be aligned by rotating with a twisted polygonal engagement shape. Describes an image forming apparatus that allows the process cartridge to be positioned and coupled.

  In order to stabilize the pressure contact force between the process cartridge and the transfer roller, etc., the deformation stroke of the elastic member that generates the pressure contact force may be increased, but the moving distance from the position where the process cartridge can be moved without resistance to the use position is increased. When the positioning is performed in conjunction with the opening / closing cover, the positioning accuracy is deteriorated.

  Therefore, as in Patent Documents 4 and 5, it is conceivable to use means for moving the process cartridge to the vicinity of the use position in conjunction with the open / close cover and a coupling having an alignment function that is coupled in the axial direction. However, such a coupling has a complicated attachment / detachment mechanism and increases the width of the image forming apparatus.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-249363 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 6-15061 JP-A-8-297452 JP 2002-278411 A JP 2000-330455 A

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of positioning a process cartridge with a simple configuration.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is attachable to a main body, has at least one process cartridge having process means, and an auxiliary movement for moving the process cartridge in the vicinity of a predetermined use position. Means and a fixing means for fixing the process cartridge moved to the vicinity of the use position at the use position.

  According to this configuration, since the process cartridge is roughly positioned by the auxiliary moving means and then fixed to the use position by the fixing means, the process cartridge can be easily positioned and the positioning is accurate.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention may have an opening / closing cover that opens and closes the main body, and the auxiliary moving means and the fixing means operate in conjunction with the opening / closing cover.

  According to this configuration, the process cartridge can be accurately positioned only by closing the opening / closing cover.

  In the image forming apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the auxiliary moving unit is pivotally supported by a link arm having one end held by the opening / closing cover, and moves the link arm when the opening / closing cover is closed. An auxiliary moving member that moves in the back direction, and the fixing means is a cam that is pivotally supported by the main body and can be rotated to position the process cartridge at the use position. When the opening / closing cover is opened, the link arm is rotated against the urging force of the urging member to remove the process cartridge. It may be possible.

  According to this configuration, since the process cartridge is fixed by the cam pivotally supported on the main body, the fixing position is accurate, and the force acting on the process cartridge is not transmitted to the opening / closing cover during use. No load is applied to the locking mechanism.

  In the image forming apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the main body may include a guide for guiding the process cartridge, and the process cartridge may be guided by the guide and may include a protruding portion on which the auxiliary moving member and the fixing member act. You may have.

  According to this configuration, when the process cartridge is positioned, the guide, the auxiliary moving member, and the fixed member act on the same protruding portion, so that there is little influence of the play and dimensional error of the process cartridge, and highly accurate positioning can be performed smoothly. Can do.

  In the image forming apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the auxiliary moving member has a tendency to rotate in a direction in which the auxiliary moving member comes into contact with the guide, and when the opening / closing cover is opened, the auxiliary moving member contacts a shaft that pivotally supports the fixing member. You may contact and separate from the guide.

  According to this configuration, the auxiliary moving member does not get in the way when removing the process cartridge.

  In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the auxiliary moving unit and the fixing unit may act on different parts of the process cartridge, respectively.

  In the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the process cartridge is a unit having at least one of a photoreceptor and an intermediate transfer belt, a unit including a developing device, a unit for turning over a recording medium, or a unit for adding a function. May be.

  According to the present invention, since the process cartridge is roughly positioned by the auxiliary moving means and then fixed to the use position by the fixing means, the positioning of the process cartridge is easy and the positioning is accurate.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows a state in use of an image forming apparatus 1 which is one embodiment of the present invention. In the image forming apparatus 1, a process cartridge 3, a paper feed cassette 4, and a fixing device 5 are mounted inside a main body 2, and a controller box 6 is mounted on a side portion of the main body 2. The process cartridge 3 has a photoconductor 7, which is a process means, a developing device 8, and an intermediate transfer belt 9, and is held at the use position shown in the figure. In the process cartridge 3, the intermediate transfer belt 9 is sandwiched between the opposing roller 10 that spans the intermediate transfer belt 9 and the secondary transfer roller 11 provided in the main body 2 at this use position. Further, the image forming apparatus 1 includes an opening / closing cover 12 that opens and closes the main body 2.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the process cartridge 3 has a protruding portion in which the roller shaft 13 of the opposing roller 10 protrudes on both sides.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the process cartridge 3 can be pulled out from the main body 2 by opening the opening / closing cover 12. At this time, the process cartridge 3 is guided by the roller shaft 13 sliding on the guide 14. The guide 14 is slightly inclined so that the back side becomes lower when viewed from the opening of the main body 2 formed by the opening / closing cover 12. As shown in the figure, the image forming apparatus 1 normally has a main body 2 as viewed from the opening formed by the opening / closing cover 12 so that the secondary transfer roller 11 is separated from the opposing roller 10 even when the process cartridge 3 is in the use position. It is designed to stop in a state of retreating to the back side.

  However, when a paper jam occurs, the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 is stopped with the secondary transfer roller 11 pressed against the intermediate transfer belt 9 on the counter roller 10. When the opening / closing cover 12 is opened in this state, the secondary transfer roller 11 is urged in the pressure contact direction, so that the process cartridge 3 is moved from the use position along the guide 14 along the guide 14 as shown in FIG. Retreat toward the opening to be formed.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a mounting mechanism 15 that pushes the process cartridge 3 into the use position shown in FIG. 1 against the urging force of the secondary transfer roller 11. The mounting mechanism 15 includes a link arm 16, an auxiliary moving member (auxiliary moving means) 17, and a fixed cam (fixing means) 18. The fixed cam 18 is rotationally biased by a fixed spring (biasing member) 19. Yes. Further, the guide 14 has an abutting portion 20 for locking and positioning the roller shaft 13 of the process cartridge 3 at the back end.

  FIG. 6 shows the mounting mechanism 15 in detail. In the link arm 16, the drive hole 21 formed at one end is held by the open / close cover 12, and the drive hole 21 moves in an arc by opening / closing the open / close cover 12. Further, the link arm 16 has a sliding long hole 22 through which a pivot shaft 23 fixed to the main body 2 is inserted. As a result, the link arm 16 slides on the pivot shaft 23 while swinging in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing cover 12.

  In addition, a holding hole 24 is formed in the link arm 16, and the auxiliary moving member 17 is pivotally supported by the holding hole 24 with a pin (not shown). Although the auxiliary moving member 17 tends to hang downward due to its own weight, the sliding portion 25 is supported by the pivot shaft 23 and the posture is determined. The link arm 16 is formed with a cam receiving portion 26 that receives the fixed cam 18 at the end opposite to the drive hole 21.

  The fixed cam 18 is pivotally supported by the pivot shaft 23 and is urged by the fixed spring 19 so as to rotate downward. Further, the fixed cam 18 is formed with a contact portion 27 that contacts the cam receiving portion 26 of the link arm 16 and is received from below by the cam receiving portion 26 against the urging force of the fixed spring 19. The fixed cam 18 has a cam portion 28 that contacts the roller shaft 13 of the process cartridge 3.

Next, the operation of the mounting mechanism 15 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 7 shows a state in which the opening / closing cover 12 is fully opened. As described above, the process cartridge 3 is retracted from the use position by the secondary transfer roller 11 along the guide 14 toward the opening of the main body 2 formed by the opening / closing cover 12, and the roller shaft 13 is as shown in the figure. , At a position separated from the abutting portion 20.

  At this time, the auxiliary moving member 17 has a tendency to rotate by its own weight in the direction in which the tip abuts against the guide 14, but the sliding portion 25 abuts against the pivot shaft 23 and is held away from the guide 14. ing. In addition, the fixed cam 18 is supported by the cam receiving portion 26 of the link arm 16 and is separated from the roller shaft 13 of the process cartridge 3 against the urging force of the fixed spring 19. In this state, the roller shaft 13 can freely move on the guide 14 without interfering with the auxiliary moving member 17 and the fixed cam 18.

  When the opening / closing cover 12 is closed, the link arm 16 slides in the back direction of the main body 2 indicated by the arrow A as shown in FIG. As a result, the auxiliary moving member 17 pivotally supported by the link arm 16 moves in the back direction on the pivot shaft 23, and the cam receiving portion 26 of the link arm 16 moves to the contact portion 27 of the fixed cam 18 with the arrow A. Move in the direction.

  As shown in FIG. 9, when the auxiliary moving member 17 moves in the back direction together with the link arm 16, the contact position with respect to the pivot shaft 23 changes, so that the auxiliary moving member 17 rotates downward by its own weight. As shown in FIG. 10, the auxiliary moving member 17 moves away from the pivot shaft 23 while the tip abuts against the guide 14, and moves in the back direction while the tip slides on the guide 14.

  When the opening / closing cover 12 is further closed, as shown in FIG. 11, the cam receiving portion 26 of the link arm 16 moves backward toward the guide 14, so that the fixed cam 18 rotates downward and contacts the upper portion of the roller shaft 13. .

  After that, as shown in FIG. 12, the auxiliary moving member 17 moves in the back direction together with the link arm 16, and the tip thereof is brought into contact with the roller shaft 13. As shown in FIG. 13, the auxiliary moving member 17 pushes the roller shaft 13 in the back direction along the guide 14 by further movement. As a result, the fixed cam 18 abuts the cam portion 28 against the roller shaft 13, rotates by the urging force of the fixed spring 19, and moves the roller shaft 13 in the back direction along the guide 14 by the pressure angle of the cam portion 28. And pressed against the abutting portion 20.

  As shown in FIG. 14, with the open / close cover 12 completely closed, the fixed cam 18 presses the roller shaft 13 against the abutting portion 20 to position the process cartridge 3 at the use position. The member 17 is slightly separated from the roller shaft 13.

  In this way, the mounting mechanism 15 is configured such that the auxiliary moving member 17 first moves the roller shaft 13 to the vicinity of the use position, so that the fixed cam 18 makes the roller shaft 13 abut against the abutting portion 20 and the process. The cartridge 3 can be fixed at a predetermined use position.

  When opening the opening / closing cover 12, the auxiliary moving member 17 moves backward with the sliding portion 25 coming into contact with the pivot shaft 23 while retreating away from the abutting portion 20, contrary to the above-described operation. It separates from the guide 14 by rotating. Further, the fixed cam 18 is rotated upward with the cam receiving portion 26 of the link arm 16 contacting the contact portion 27. As a result, the fixed cam 18 is separated from the roller shaft 13, the roller shaft 13 can be moved along the guide 14, and the process cartridge 3 can be taken out from the main body 2.

  In the present embodiment, the roller shaft 13 is finally positioned by the fixed cam 18 pivotally supported on the main body 2, so that the process cartridge 3 can be accurately positioned. Further, since the roller shaft 13 is moved by the auxiliary moving member 17 to the position where the roller shaft 13 is moved by the fixed cam 18, the range in which the roller shaft 13 can be positioned is wide.

  Further, when the process cartridge 3 is used, the roller shaft 13 is held by the fixed cam 18 pivotally supported on the main body 2, so that the urging force of the secondary transfer roller 11 is not applied to the auxiliary moving member 17 and the link arm 16. There is no fear that the opening / closing cover 12 is damaged or deformed due to a load.

  Further, the mounting mechanism 15 has a very simple structure and does not require the axial movement of the roller shaft 13, so that the width of the image forming apparatus 1 is not increased.

  In the present embodiment, the auxiliary moving member 17 and the fixed cam 18 act on the same roller shaft 13. For example, as shown in FIG. The protrusion 29 may be provided, the auxiliary moving member 17 may push the protrusion 29, and the fixed cam 18 may fix the roller shaft 13.

  In the above-described embodiment, the mounting mechanism 15 for positioning the process cartridge 3 having the photosensitive member 7, the developing device 8, and the intermediate transfer belt 9 has been described. The present invention can also be applied to a process cartridge provided with an intermediate transfer belt having no exposure unit or photosensitive member, or one that positions another process cartridge such as a fixing unit.

  The present invention can also be applied to positioning a double-sided unit that turns over the recording medium and an expansion unit that adds other functions.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention in use. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a process cartridge of the image forming apparatus in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram illustrating a state in which a process cartridge of the image forming apparatus in FIG. 1 is pulled out. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram illustrating a paper jam process of the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram illustrating a mounting mechanism of the image forming apparatus in FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the mounting mechanism of FIG. 5. The side view which shows operation | movement of the mounting mechanism of FIG. The side view of the mounting mechanism which shows the continuation of FIG. The side view of the mounting mechanism which shows the continuation of FIG. The side view of the mounting mechanism which shows the continuation of FIG. FIG. 11 is a side view of the mounting mechanism showing the continuation of FIG. 10. The side view of the mounting mechanism which shows the continuation of FIG. The side view of the mounting mechanism which shows the continuation of FIG. The side view of the mounting mechanism which shows the continuation of FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an alternative of the process cartridge of FIG. 2.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 2 Main body 3 Process cartridge 12 Opening / closing cover 13 Roller shaft (protrusion part)
14 guide 15 mounting mechanism 16 link arm 17 auxiliary movement member (auxiliary movement means)
18 Fixed cam (fixing means)
19 Fixed spring (biasing member)
20 Abutting portion 22 Sliding long hole 23 Pivoting shaft 25 Sliding portion 26 Cam receiving portion 27 Abutting portion 28 Cam portion 29 Protruding portion

Claims (9)

At least one process cartridge attachable to the body and having process means;
Auxiliary moving means for moving the process cartridge to the vicinity of a predetermined use position;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a fixing unit that fixes the process cartridge moved to the vicinity of the use position by the auxiliary movement unit. An open / close cover for opening and closing the main body;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary moving unit and the fixing unit operate in conjunction with the opening / closing cover. The auxiliary moving means comprises an auxiliary moving member that is pivotally supported by a link arm having one end held by the opening / closing cover, and moves in the back direction of the main body as the link arm moves when the opening / closing cover is closed. ,
The fixing means includes a cam that is pivotally supported by the main body and can rotate to position the process cartridge at the use position.
The cam is biased by a biasing member in a direction to move the process cartridge to the use position, and rotates against the biasing force of the biasing member by the link arm when the opening / closing cover is opened. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the process cartridge can be removed. The main body has a guide for guiding the process cartridge,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the process cartridge includes a protrusion guided by the guide and on which the auxiliary moving member and the fixing member act.   The auxiliary moving member has a tendency to rotate in a direction in which the auxiliary moving member comes into contact with the guide, and when the opening / closing cover is opened, the auxiliary moving member comes into contact with a shaft pivotally supporting the fixing member and is separated from the guide. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary moving unit and the fixing unit act on different parts of the process cartridge, respectively.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the process cartridge is a unit having at least one of a photoconductor and an intermediate transfer belt.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the process cartridge is a unit including a developing device.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the process cartridge is a unit for turning over a recording medium or a unit for adding a function.

Images