JP2010190930A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily attach/detach a required imaging cartridge without complicating an image forming apparatus that has a plurality of imaging cartridges or increasing the size of the apparatus. <P>SOLUTION: When a front door 12 is rotated clockwise around a shaft 24L so as to be opened, a connecting plate 22L is pulled to the right, as shown in Figure, by the rotation of the front door 12. Consequently, the lever 16L rotates counterclockwise around a shaft 17L, and the pin 19L of the lever 16L slides within the long hole 19L of a slide plate 14L and, at the same time, moves the slide plate 14L obliquely downward. When the slide plate 14L moves obliquely downward, the rotation shafts 13La and 13Lc of the photoreceptor drums are pushed out obliquely upward to the right by the inclined surfaces of protrusions 15La and 15lc, respectively, and the imaging cartridges 5a and 5c are hence pushed out. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus including a plurality of imaging cartridges.

  In recent years, apparatuses capable of forming color images have been widely used. Usually, four imaging cartridges are detachably incorporated in the color image forming apparatus. From the viewpoint of speeding up image formation, a so-called tandem system in which the plurality of imaging cartridges are juxtaposed is adopted, and from the viewpoint of keeping the apparatus installation area small, the juxtaposition direction of the plurality of imaging cartridges is substantially vertical. .

  In such an image forming apparatus, the interval between adjacent imaging cartridges is made as small as possible in order to suppress the height in the vertical direction. For this reason, when the imaging cartridge is replaced with a new one, such as when the toner is consumed or when the photosensitive member has reached the end of its useful life, there is no portion to grip the imaging cartridge, and there is a problem that it is difficult to pull out from the apparatus main body. .

  Therefore, for example, in Patent Document 1, as shown in FIG. 13, a pair of handle portions 9 protruding outward are formed at both ends in the axial direction of the photosensitive drum of the imaging cartridge 5, and the pair of handle portions 9 are used. A technique for enabling the imaging cartridge 5 to be detached from the apparatus main body by being held by a person is disclosed.

JP 2006-71807

  However, when the imaging cartridge 5 is provided with a pair of grip portions 9, it is necessary to use both hands for attaching and detaching the imaging cartridge 5 from the apparatus main body, resulting in poor workability. In particular, in the case of a device that attaches and detaches the imaging cartridge 5 from the side surface of the device, one hand must be inserted all the way to the side of the device, and workability is significantly deteriorated.

  Also, a technique has been proposed in which only the imaging cartridge to be exchanged is moved by operating a dedicated lever or the like so that the user can easily take it out. However, there is a risk that the apparatus becomes complicated and large.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus including a plurality of imaging cartridges without increasing the complexity and size of the apparatus. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus in which a required imaging cartridge can be easily attached and detached.

  An image forming apparatus according to the present invention that achieves the above object is an image forming apparatus in which a plurality of imaging cartridges including at least an image carrier are detachably juxtaposed to the apparatus main body, wherein the imaging cartridge is removed from the apparatus main body. It is characterized in that it has moving means for moving adjacent imaging cartridges in different directions or relative distances in the same direction when detaching.

  Here, the plurality of imaging cartridges may be juxtaposed in a substantially vertical direction.

  The moving means preferably moves the plurality of imaging cartridges simultaneously.

  Further, the moving means may be driven in conjunction with opening and closing of the door of the apparatus main body.

  The moving means moves in a direction substantially perpendicular to the attaching / detaching direction of the imaging cartridge, and is connected to the slide plate formed with a protrusion that presses in the direction in which the imaging cartridge is detached by the movement, It may have a lever for moving the slide plate. Further, the imaging cartridge may be moved by connecting the lever to an openable / closable door of the apparatus main body so that when the door is opened, the lever is operated to move the slide plate.

  Alternatively, the moving means is connected to the operating lever, a swinging plate swinging by the operating lever, and the swinging plate, and contacts the imaging cartridge by swinging of the swinging plate when the imaging cartridge is attached or detached. And an extruded plate to be moved. Here, the operation lever is connected to an openable / closable door of the apparatus main body, and when the door is opened, the operation lever is operated to swing the swing plate, and the imaging cartridge is moved by the push plate. It may be.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, a required imaging cartridge can be easily attached and detached without causing the apparatus to be complicated and large.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a front door of the image forming apparatus in FIG. 1 is opened. It is a perspective view which shows the example of a state after the movement of an imaging cartridge. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the imaging cartridge after movement in FIG. 3. It is a block diagram which shows one Example of the moving means in this invention. It is a block diagram when operating the moving means shown in FIG. It is a block diagram of the moving means provided in the symmetrical position with FIG. It is a block diagram when the moving means of FIG. 6 is operated. It is a perspective view which shows the other example of a state after the movement of an imaging cartridge. FIG. 10 is a plan view of the imaging cartridge of FIG. 9. It is a block diagram which shows the other Example of the moving means of this invention. It is a block diagram at the time of operating the moving means of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the conventional imaging cartridge.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of a printer as an example of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. The printer (image forming apparatus) in this figure is a tandem type color printer in which four imaging cartridges are inclined and stacked in a vertical direction. The imaging cartridge 5a forms a yellow image, the imaging cartridge 5b forms a magenta image, the imaging cartridge 5c forms a cyan image, and the imaging cartridge 5d forms a black image. Hereinafter, the imaging cartridge 5 is generically referred to unless it is necessary to distinguish the imaging cartridges. Further, the arrangement order of the imaging cartridges 5 is not limited to this. The imaging cartridge only needs to include at least a photosensitive drum (image carrier) D (shown in FIG. 2). For example, the imaging cartridge includes a photosensitive drum D, a developing device, and a toner storage unit. . In the printer of this figure, the exposure apparatus 10 is arranged in the apparatus main body separately from the imaging cartridge 5, but the imaging cartridge 5 may be provided with an exposure apparatus.

  In the printer of this figure, the paper drawn from the paper feed cassette 6 is guided to the paper transport path 7 and is transported by the transport belt 11 to the nip portion between each photoconductor and the transfer roller. When the sheet passes through the nip portion, the toner images of the respective colors are transferred from the respective photoreceptors to the sheet and are superimposed on each other to form a color toner image on the sheet. Then, the sheet is conveyed to the fixing unit 4 where it is heated and pressurized to melt and fix the toner image on the sheet and discharged outside the apparatus.

  In the printer having such a configuration, when the toner stored in the imaging cartridge 5 is consumed, the imaging cartridge 5 must be replaced. As shown in FIG. 2, when the imaging cartridge 5 is replaced, the front door 12 provided in the apparatus main body 1 is first opened. Since the front door 12 is provided with the transport belt 11 and its driving mechanism, the photosensitive drum D of the imaging cartridge 5 is exposed when the front door 12 is opened. The photosensitive drum D is not directly exposed because it is covered with a protective cover (not shown) that operates by opening and closing the front door 12.

  By opening the front door 12, the adjacent imaging cartridges 5 move in different directions, and a portion where the user can hold the imaging cartridge 5 is formed. Hereinafter, a mechanism for moving the imaging cartridge 5 will be described.

  3 and 4 are state diagrams after the imaging cartridge 5 has moved. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state of the imaging cartridge 5 after movement, and FIG. 4 is a plan view of the imaging cartridge 5 after movement. A position A indicated by a broken line in FIG. 4 indicates a position (normal position) when the imaging cartridge 5 is in an operating state in the apparatus main body 1.

  As can be understood from FIG. 4, the imaging cartridges 5a and 5c rotate from the normal position A by a predetermined angle counterclockwise around the center in the width direction of the imaging cartridge, and the imaging cartridges 5b and 5d rotate clockwise from the normal position A. To a predetermined angle. As a result, a portion that can be gripped by the user is simultaneously formed in each imaging cartridge 5, and the imaging cartridge 5 can be easily removed from the apparatus main body 1.

  The moving means 20L and 20R for moving the imaging cartridge 5 in this way will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 are left side views of the apparatus main body. FIG. 5 is a view when the front door 12 is closed, and FIG. 6 is a view when the front door is open. 7 and 8 are right side views of the apparatus main body. FIG. 7 is a view when the front door 12 is closed, and FIG. 8 is a view when the front door is open.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a long plate-like slide plate 14 </ b> L is provided along the side surface of the imaging cartridge 5. The upper and lower portions of the slide plate 14L are slidably held between the guide portion 16L and the guide portion 16L. The slide plate 14L is formed with projections 15La and 15Lc having inclined surfaces on the lower side. The rotating shafts 13La and 13Lc of the photosensitive drum protruding from the side surfaces of the imaging cartridges 5a and 5c are located near the bottoms of the protrusions 15La and 15Lc on the slide plate 14L.

  A long hole 14L is formed in the lower end portion of the slide plate 14L in a direction substantially perpendicular to the slide direction. On the other hand, a substantially “<”-shaped lever 16L is provided in the vicinity of the lower end of the slide plate 14L so as to be swingable about a shaft 17L. A pin 19L is formed at one end of the lever 16L, and this pin 19L is engaged with the long hole 18L of the slide plate 14L. The other end of the lever 16L is rotatably attached to the end of the connecting plate 22L, and the other end of the connecting plate 22L is rotatably attached to the lower portion of the front door 12.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6, when the front door 12 is rotated clockwise about the shaft 24 </ b> L to open, the connecting plate 22 </ b> L is pulled rightward in the drawing by the rotation of the front door 12. As a result, the lever 16L rotates counterclockwise about the shaft 17L, and the pin 19L of the lever 16L moves while sliding in the long hole 18L of the slide plate 14L and simultaneously moves the slide plate 14L obliquely downward. When the slide plate 14L moves obliquely downward, the rotating shafts 13La and 13Lc of the photosensitive drum are pushed obliquely upward to the right by the inclined surfaces of the protrusions 15La and 15Lc, and the imaging cartridges 5a and 5c are shown in FIGS. It becomes a state.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the right side surface of the imaging cartridge 5 is also provided with moving means that is substantially the same as that on the right side surface. The difference from the moving means on the right side is that the formation positions of the protrusions 15Rd and 15Rb formed on the slide plate 14R are the side surfaces of the imaging cartridges 5d and 5b. As shown in FIG. 8, when the front door 12 is rotated counterclockwise about the shaft 24R to be in the open state, the slide plate 14R is moved obliquely downward in the same manner as described above, whereby the protrusion 15Rb , 15Rd, the rotating shafts 13Rb, 13Rd of the photosensitive drum are pushed obliquely upward to the left, and the imaging cartridges 5b, 5d are in the state shown in FIGS.

  As described above, since the imaging cartridge 5 is in the state shown in FIG. 3 by opening the front door 12, the user grasps the imaging cartridge that needs to be replaced and removes it from the apparatus main body 1 so that a new one is obtained. The imaging cartridge is attached to the apparatus main body 1. If the apparatus main body 1 or the front door 12 is provided with a biasing means such as a spring for biasing the imaging cartridge 5 inward of the apparatus main body 1, when the imaging cartridge is mounted, after the movement shown in FIG. After temporarily mounting the imaging cartridge at the position, the imaging cartridge can be moved to the normal position by closing the front door 12.

  9 to 12 show another embodiment of the moving means of the imaging cartridge. In the embodiments shown in these drawings, adjacent imaging cartridges move in different directions in the same direction. 9 and 10 are state diagrams after the imaging cartridge 5 has moved. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the state of the imaging cartridge 5 after movement, and FIG. 10 is a plan view of the imaging cartridge 5 after movement. A position A indicated by a broken line in FIG. 10 indicates a normal position when the imaging cartridge 5 is in an operating state in the apparatus main body 1.

  As can be understood from FIG. 9, each of the imaging cartridges 5 has the largest rotation angle of the imaging cartridge 5a around the corner from the normal position A (upper right corner in FIG. 10), and the imaging cartridge 5d. Are rotated in the same direction and at different angles so that the rotation angle becomes the smallest. As a result, the imaging cartridge 5 has a spiral staircase shape, and a portion that can be gripped by the user is formed in each imaging cartridge 5.

  A mechanism for rotating each of the imaging cartridges 5 as described above will be described. 11 and 12 are left side views of the apparatus main body. FIG. 11 shows a state before movement, and FIG. 12 shows a state after movement.

  A long plate-like rocking plate 26 is provided along the side surface of the imaging cartridges 5 stacked in a substantially vertical direction so as to be rockable about an axis 25. A lower end portion of the swing plate 26 is rotatably connected to a rear end portion of the operation lever 28 by a shaft 27.

  From the side surface of the imaging cartridge 5, rotating shafts 13 a, 13 b, 13 c, 13 d (hereinafter collectively referred to as “rotating shaft 13”) of the photosensitive drum protrude, and an arc-shaped protruding portion concentrically with the rotating shaft 13. The contact portions 32a, 32b, 32c, and 32d (hereinafter collectively referred to as “contact portions 32”) are formed on each side surface of the imaging cartridge 5. On the apparatus main body side, one end of the abutting portion 32 abuts on the apparatus main body, and the thin plate-like extruding plates 29a, 29b, 29c, 29d (hereinafter collectively referred to as “extruding”) are movable in the attaching / detaching direction of the imaging cartridge 5. A plate 29 "). The movement of these push-out plates 29 in the attaching / detaching direction of the imaging cartridge 5 is guided by the guide members 30a to 30d and 31a to 31d.

  Pins 34 a, 34 b, 34 c, 34 d (hereinafter collectively referred to as “pins 34”) are formed on the extruded plate 29 so as to project, and the pins 34 are provided with elongated holes 33 a, 33b, 33c, 33d (hereinafter collectively referred to as “long hole 33”). As a result, the movement of the operation lever 28 is transmitted to the extrusion plate 29.

  The swing plate 26, the operation lever 28, and the push plate 29 constitute the moving means 20 in the present embodiment. These are attached to the apparatus main body 1 and are provided on the left inner surface of the apparatus main body as viewed from the front door 12. Of course, you may provide in the right inner surface of an apparatus main body.

  In the apparatus having such a configuration, when the imaging cartridge 5 is replaced, the user opens the front door 12 and moves the operation lever 28 provided on the lower side of the apparatus main body to the front side (upper right in FIG. 11). Pull on. Then, as shown in FIG. 12, the swing plate 26 swings to the near side (rightward in FIG. 11) about the shaft 25 and is moved by the pin 34 engaged with the long hole 33 of the swing plate 26. The extrusion plate 29 also moves to the near side. The abutting portion 32 is pushed by the end of the moving push plate 29, and the imaging cartridge 5 is pushed out of the apparatus main body. At this time, since the length from the shaft 25 of the swing plate 26 to each pin 34 of the push plate 29, that is, the swing radius, is different, the extrusion amount of the imaging cartridge 5a having the longest swing radius is the longest, The extrusion amount of the shortest imaging cartridge 5d is the shortest. Further, since the moving means 20 is provided only on one side of the apparatus main body 1, the imaging cartridge 5 is pushed out in a spiral step shape as shown in FIG. Will be formed.

  A dotted line B shown in FIG. 12 indicates the front end position of the imaging cartridge 5 at the normal position A, and it can be seen that the imaging cartridge 5 is pushed out from the apparatus main body by a different amount in the same direction.

  After the new imaging cartridge is attached to the apparatus main body, for example, the front door 12 may be closed so that each imaging cartridge is pressed inward in the apparatus main body so as to be mounted at the normal position.

  In the embodiment shown above, the imaging cartridge is operated by the operation lever as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 without interlocking the opening / closing of the front door 12 and the moving means 20L, 20R in the embodiment examples of FIGS. You may make it pull out. 11 and 12, the imaging cartridge may be pulled out in conjunction with opening and closing of the front door 12 without using the operation lever 28.

  The present invention can be applied not only to a device in which a plurality of imaging cartridges are juxtaposed in a substantially vertical direction but also to a device in which a plurality of imaging cartridges are juxtaposed in a substantially horizontal direction.

  The image forming apparatus according to the present invention is useful because a desired imaging cartridge can be easily attached and detached without increasing the complexity and size of the apparatus.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Apparatus main body 5,5a, 5b, 5c, 5d Imaging cartridge 6 Paper feed cassette D Photosensitive drum (image carrier)
12 Front door 14L, 14R Slide plate 15La, 15Rb, 15Lc, 15Rd Protrusion 16L, 16R Lever 20, 20L, 20R Moving means 26 Oscillating plate 28 Operation lever 29a, 29b, 29c, 29d Extrusion plate

Claims (8)

In an image forming apparatus in which a plurality of imaging cartridges having at least an image carrier are detachably juxtaposed to the apparatus main body,
An image forming apparatus comprising: a moving unit that moves adjacent imaging cartridges in different directions or relative distances in the same direction when the imaging cartridges are detached from the apparatus main body.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of imaging cartridges are juxtaposed in a substantially vertical direction.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the moving unit moves the plurality of imaging cartridges simultaneously.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the moving unit is driven in conjunction with opening / closing of a door provided in the apparatus main body.   The moving means moves in a direction substantially perpendicular to the attaching / detaching direction of the imaging cartridge, and is connected to the slide plate formed with a protrusion that presses in the direction in which the imaging cartridge is detached by the movement, The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a lever that moves the slide plate.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the lever is connected to an openable / closable door of the apparatus main body, and when the door is opened, the lever is operated to move the slide plate to be pressed in a direction in which the imaging cartridge is detached. apparatus.   The moving means is connected to the operating lever, a swinging plate swinging by the operating lever, and the swinging plate, and contacts the imaging cartridge by swinging of the swinging plate when the imaging cartridge is detached. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an extruded plate to be moved.   The operation lever is connected to an openable / closable door of the apparatus main body, and when the door is opened, the operation lever operates to swing the swinging plate, and the imaging cartridge is moved by the pusher plate. Image forming apparatus.