JP2012097779A - Driving device and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

A driving apparatus and an image forming apparatus capable of suppressing noise generated due to vibration in a thrust direction of a driven gear.
A drive source 51 that outputs rotational driving force, a drive gear 52a provided on an output shaft 52 of the drive source 51, and a shaft whose both ends are supported by support members 61 and 62 provided in the apparatus main body. A member 63 and a driven gear 66 that is rotatably provided on the shaft member 63 and meshes with the driving gear 52a and receives the rotational driving force from the driving gear 52a. The driving gear 52a and the driven gear 66 are helical gears. In the drive device 40 configured as described above, a vibration absorbing member 64 that absorbs vibration is provided between the driven gear 66 and the support members 61 and 62 in the axial direction of the shaft member.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a driving device used in an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile machine, and a copying machine, and an image forming apparatus provided with the driving device.

  In this type of image forming apparatus, there is known an image forming apparatus that includes a driving device that transmits a rotational driving force from a driving motor, which is a driving source, to a rotating body such as a photosensitive drum via a gear and rotationally drives the rotating body. It has been.

  In the driving device described in Patent Document 1, a helical gear is provided between a driving gear provided on an output shaft of a driving motor and a driven gear that is rotatable about a rotating shaft supported at both ends by a bracket and meshes with the driving gear. Is used. The meshing noise generated when the drive gear and the driven gear are engaged when the motor is driven than when the spur gear is used for the drive gear and the driven gear by using the helical gear for the drive gear and the driven gear. Can be reduced.

  However, when a helical gear is used for the driving gear and the driven gear, the thrust angle of the helical gear is generated each time a tooth is fed at the meshing portion of the driving gear and the driven gear when the motor is driven. The driven gear vibrates in the thrust direction under the direction force. Therefore, there arises a problem that noise is generated when the driven gear vibrates in the thrust direction.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a drive device that can suppress noise generated due to vibration in the thrust direction of the driven gear, and the drive device. An image forming apparatus is provided.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is characterized in that both ends of a drive source for outputting rotational driving force, a drive gear provided on the output shaft of the drive source, and a support member provided on the apparatus main body are provided. A shaft member that is pivotally supported, and a driven gear that is rotatably provided on the shaft member and that meshes with the driving gear and transmits a rotational driving force from the driving gear, the driving gear and the driven gear being In the drive device configured using a helical gear, a vibration absorbing member that absorbs vibration is provided between the driven gear and the support member in the axial direction of the shaft member.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the driving apparatus according to the first aspect, the support member includes a first support member that supports one end side of the shaft member and a second support member that supports the other end side of the shaft member. The vibration absorbing member is provided between at least one of the driven gear and the first support member and at least one of the driven gear and the second support member. It is.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the drive device of the second aspect, the drive source is attached to the first support member, and the vibration is at least between the driven gear and the first support member. An absorbent member is provided.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the drive device according to the first, second, or third aspect, the driven gear is driven by a force generated at a meshing portion between the drive gear and the driven gear when the drive source is driven. A drive device characterized in that the vibration absorbing member is provided on the direction side pressed in the axial direction of the shaft member.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the driving device of the first, second, third, or fourth aspect, a washer is sandwiched between the vibration absorbing member and the driven gear.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the drive device according to the first, second, third, fourth or fifth aspect, the drive source is an inner rotor type DC brushless motor.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming unit for finally transferring an image formed on an image carrier onto a recording medium to form an image on the recording medium, and a substrate provided in the apparatus main body. An image forming apparatus including a driving unit that drives a driving member includes the driving unit according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6 as the driving unit.

  In the present invention, the vibration in the thrust direction of the driven gear generated when the drive source is driven is absorbed by the vibration absorbing member provided between the driven gear and the support member in the axial direction of the shaft member. Thereby, the vibration of the driven gear in the thrust direction can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the noise generated when the driven gear vibrates in the thrust direction.

  As described above, according to the present invention, there is an excellent effect that noise generated due to vibration in the thrust direction of the driven gear can be suppressed.

The schematic block diagram of the drive device which concerns on this embodiment. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a process cartridge. Schematic diagram of the washer. The schematic diagram of an example of the drive transmission system of a drive device. The perspective view of the motor used as a drive source. The schematic block diagram of the drive device which provided the vibration isolator on the axial direction both sides of the to-be-driven gear. The figure used for description about the vibration of the thrust direction of a driven gear. The figure which shows the mode of the vibration of the thrust direction transmitted to a stud via a bracket from a motor.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.

  The image forming apparatus 100 generates four toner images that are visible images of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black (hereinafter referred to as “Y”, “M”, “C”, and “Bk”, respectively). Process cartridges 6Y, 6M, 6C, and 6Bk are provided.

  These use different colors of Y toner, M toner, C toner, and Bk toner as image forming agents, but the other configurations are the same. Each of the process cartridges 6Y, 6M, 6C, 6Bk can be attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus 100, and consumable parts can be replaced at a time. Hereinafter, the process cartridge 6Y for generating a Y toner image will be described as an example.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of the process cartridge 6Y.
The process cartridge 6Y includes a photosensitive drum 1Y as a latent image carrier, a drum cleaning device 2Y, a charge eliminating device (not shown), a charging device 4Y, a developing device 5Y, and the like.

  The charging device 4Y uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y that is rotated clockwise in the drawing by a driving device (not shown). The uniformly charged surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y is exposed and scanned by the laser beam L to carry a Y electrostatic latent image. The Y electrostatic latent image is developed into a Y toner image by the developing device 5Y using Y toner. Then, intermediate transfer is performed on the intermediate transfer belt 8.

  The drum cleaning device 2Y removes the toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y after the intermediate transfer process. The static eliminator neutralizes residual charges on the photosensitive drum 1Y after cleaning. By this charge removal, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y is initialized and prepared for the next image formation.

  In the other process cartridges 6M, 6C, and 6Bk, M toner images, C toner images, and Bk toner images are formed on the photosensitive drums 1M, 1C, and 1Bk, respectively, in the same manner as the process cartridge 6Y. Intermediate transfer is performed on the transfer belt 8.

  As shown in FIG. 2, an exposure device 7 is disposed below each process cartridge 6Y, 6M, 6C, 6Bk in the drawing.

  The exposure device 7 serving as a latent image forming unit irradiates and exposes the photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1Bk of the process cartridges 6Y, 6M, 6C, and 6Bk with the laser light L emitted based on the image information. .

  By this exposure, Y electrostatic latent images, M electrostatic latent images, C electrostatic latent images, and Bk electrostatic latent images are formed on the photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1Bk, respectively. The exposure device 7 irradiates the photosensitive drum with a laser beam L emitted from a light source through a plurality of optical lenses and mirrors while scanning with a polygon mirror rotated by a motor.

  In FIG. 2, on the lower side of the exposure apparatus 7 in the drawing, a paper feed unit having a paper feed cassette 26, a paper feed roller 27 incorporated therein, a resist roller pair 28, and the like is disposed. .

  A plurality of sheets P as recording media are stored in the sheet feeding cassette 26, and a sheet feeding roller 27 is in contact with the uppermost sheet P. When the paper feed roller 27 is rotated counterclockwise in the figure by a driving device (not shown), the uppermost paper P stored in the paper feed cassette 26 is directed between the rollers of the registration roller pair 28 by the paper feed roller 27. Are fed.

  The registration roller pair 28 rotates both rollers by a driving device (not shown) so as to sandwich the paper P. However, the registration roller pair 28 temporarily stops the rotation immediately after the front end of the paper P is sandwiched. Then, the paper P is sent out toward a secondary transfer nip described later at an appropriate timing.

  In FIG. 2, an intermediate transfer unit 15 is disposed above the process cartridges 6Y, 6M, 6C, and 6Bk. The intermediate transfer unit 15 moves endlessly while the intermediate transfer belt 8 serving as an intermediate transfer body, which is a transfer material, is stretched. It is installed.

  In addition to the intermediate transfer belt 8, the intermediate transfer unit 15 includes a belt cleaning device 10, four primary transfer rollers 9Y, 9M, 9C, and 9Bk, a secondary transfer backup roller 12, a cleaning backup roller 13, a tension roller 14, and the like. It also has.

  The intermediate transfer belt 8 is stretched by seven rollers including primary transfer rollers 9Y, 9M, 9C, 9Bk, and 9Bk, a secondary transfer backup roller 12, a cleaning backup roller 13, and a tension roller 14, and a driving device (not shown). Is rotated endlessly in the counterclockwise direction in the figure by the rotational drive of at least one of the rollers rotated by.

  The primary transfer rollers 9Y, 9M, 9C, and 9Bk respectively sandwich the intermediate transfer belt 8 that is moved endlessly in this manner between the photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1Bk to form primary transfer nips. ing. In these systems, a transfer bias having a polarity opposite to that of the toner (for example, plus polarity) is applied to the back surface (loop inner peripheral surface) of the intermediate transfer belt 8.

  The intermediate transfer belt 8 sequentially passes through the primary transfer nips for Y, M, C, and Bk along with the endless movement thereof, and the Y toner images on the photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1Bk, The M toner image, the C toner image, and the Bk toner image are superimposed and primarily transferred. As a result, a four-color superimposed toner image (hereinafter referred to as “four-color toner image”) is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 8.

  Further, the intermediate transfer unit 15 has a contact / separation mechanism (not shown) for contacting and separating the intermediate transfer belt 8 with respect to the photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, and 1C in a state where the intermediate transfer belt 8 is in contact with the photosensitive drum 1Bk. Is also provided.

  The secondary transfer backup roller 12 sandwiches the intermediate transfer belt 8 between the secondary transfer roller 19 and forms a secondary transfer nip. The four-color toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 8 is transferred to the paper P at the secondary transfer nip. Then, combined with the white color of the paper P, a full color toner image is obtained.

  Untransferred toner that has not been transferred to the paper P adheres to the intermediate transfer belt 8 after passing through the secondary transfer nip. This is cleaned by the belt cleaning device 10. In the secondary transfer nip, the paper P is sandwiched between the intermediate transfer belt 8 and the secondary transfer roller 19 whose surfaces move in the forward direction to each other, and conveyed in the opposite direction to the registration roller pair 28 side.

  The sheet P sent out from the secondary transfer nip is affected by heat and pressure when passing between the rollers of the fixing unit 20 as a unit that is detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus 100. The full color toner image is fixed. Thereafter, the paper P is discharged out of the apparatus through a pair of paper discharge rollers 29.

  A stack unit 30 is formed on the upper surface of the main body housing of the image forming apparatus 100, and the sheets P discharged to the outside by the discharge roller pair 29 are sequentially stacked on the stack unit 30.

  A bottle support portion 31 is disposed between the intermediate transfer unit 15 and the stack portion 30 located above the intermediate transfer unit 15. In the bottle support portion 31, toner bottles 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32Bk are set as toner containers for storing the respective color toners.

  Each color toner in each of the toner bottles 32Y, 32M, 32C, 32Bk is appropriately supplied to the developing devices of the process cartridges 6Y, 6M, 6C, 6Bk by a toner supply device (not shown). The toner bottles 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32Bk can be attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus 100 independently of the process cartridges 6Y, 6M, 6C, and 6Bk.

  Next, a driving device used in the image forming apparatus of this embodiment will be described. This driving device is employed in at least one driving device among a plurality of driving devices provided corresponding to each of a plurality of driven members such as a roller for rotating the intermediate transfer belt and the photosensitive drum 1. Is.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration diagram of a driving device 40 according to the present embodiment.
A motor 51 in which a helical gear is cut as a driving gear portion 52a to a shaft 52 that is an output shaft is attached to a bracket 62, and a driving gear portion 52a of the shaft 52 and a driven gear 66 constituted by a helical gear are engaged with each other. ing. The driven gear 66 is attached to a stud 63 that is crimped to the bracket 62 and is fixed by a vibration isolating material 64 that is a vibration absorbing member and a washer 65. By sandwiching a washer 65 as shown in FIG. 4 between the driven gear 66 and the vibration isolator 64, friction in the rotation direction of the Hasuba gear between the driven gear 66 and the vibration isolator 64 is reduced. Can do. The rotational driving force generated by the motor 51 is transmitted to a driven member provided in the image forming apparatus via a speed reduction mechanism including a driving gear portion 52a of the shaft 52 and a driven gear 66.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic diagram of an example of a drive transmission system of the drive device 40.
When the rotational driving force generated by the motor 51 is transmitted from the driving gear portion 52 a of the shaft 52 to the driven gear 66 and the driven gear 66 rotates around the stud 3, the rotational driving force is provided on the side surface of the driven gear 66. The first transmission gear 67 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the driven gear 66, and the rotational driving force is transmitted from the first transmission gear 67 to the second transmission gear 68. A rotational driving force is transmitted to a driven member such as the photosensitive drum 1 provided in the image forming apparatus via an input shaft provided coaxially and connected to the rotational shaft 69 of the second transmission gear 68. The rotational driving force is finally transmitted from the second transmission gear 68 to the driven member via one or more transmission gears (not shown).

  In this embodiment, an inner rotor type DC brushless motor is used as the motor 51 which is a driving source, and FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the motor 51. By using an inner rotor type DC brushless motor, energy efficiency is higher than when using a stepping motor, and the weight of the motor can be reduced. In addition, since inertia is reduced compared to an outer rotor type, The acceleration / deceleration time can be equivalent. Moreover, compared with a motor with a brush, since there is no brush wear, it can be made highly durable.

  The motor 51 as a drive source is configured as an inner rotor type DC brushless motor. An encoder disk 53 having a predetermined number of slits at predetermined angular intervals in the circumferential direction is fixed coaxially with the shaft 52 at the end opposite to the drive gear portion 52a of the shaft 52 that is the output shaft. The shaft 52 rotates with the rotation of the shaft 52.

  The photosensor 54, which is an optical sensor, is attached to the motor 51 with the encoder disk 53 sandwiched therebetween, and the optical path is transmitted and blocked by the slit of the encoder disk 53, so that the pulse signal is transmitted to a control circuit (not shown). It has become. A connector (not shown) on the motor 51 (not shown) is connected to a driver circuit (not shown) or a cable (not shown) that electrically connects the control circuit (not shown) and the motor 51 to a connector 55. Then, input / output of a motor operation signal and a pulse signal from the photosensor 54 is performed between the motor 51 and the control circuit through a cable connected to the connector 55.

  The control circuit generates an operation signal of the motor 51 based on a pulse signal from a target drive signal generation device and a photosensor 54 (not shown), folds the motor operation signal to the driver circuit, and then the motor operation signal from the driver circuit. Then, the drive of the motor 51 is controlled so that the driven body is rotated at a desired speed.

  Here, if the rotation detection means such as the encoder disk 53 and the photo sensor 54 is configured to detect the rotation of the driven body instead of the rotation of the shaft 52 which is the output shaft of the motor 51, the rotation of the motor 51 There arises a problem that control design must be made in consideration of the amount of movement of the driven body. In addition, there is a problem that the configuration of the transmission system or the driven body is changed, or the design of the control means must be changed when the same driving device is applied to another location. On the other hand, by adopting a configuration in which the encoder disk 53 and the photosensor 54 detect the rotation of the shaft 52 that is the output shaft of the motor 51 as in the present embodiment, the above-described problems can be avoided and the design can be facilitated. it can.

  A helical gear is cut directly on the shaft 52 which is the output shaft of the motor 51. The motor 51, which is an inner rotor type DC brushless motor, has a characteristic that it is more efficient in a high rotation range than a stepping motor, and is often used at a higher rotation than a stepping motor. In order to increase the gear ratio, the reduction ratio can be increased by reducing the number of teeth per round as compared with the case where gears are provided by press-fitting into the shaft 52 which is the output shaft of the motor 51. Therefore, the reduction to the driven body can be efficiently performed by increasing the reduction ratio of the first stage of the motor. Moreover, cost reduction and weight reduction can be achieved compared with the case where a gear is provided separately from the shaft 52 of the motor 51.

  Here, when the vibration isolator 64 is not provided between the driven gear 66 and the bracket 62, there is a problem that noise is generated due to vibration in the thrust direction transmitted between the driven gear 66 and the bracket 62. It will occur. Therefore, it has to be designed with a target value of a certain number of rotations at which the noise does not become excessive, and cannot be used in a high rotation range where the efficiency of the motor 51 which is an inner rotor type DC brushless motor is high, High efficiency drive cannot be realized.

  On the other hand, in the driving device 40 of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the vibration isolating material 64 as a vibration absorbing member is sandwiched between the driven gear 66 and the bracket 62 in the stud axial direction. The vibration in the thrust direction of the driven gear 66 generated when the motor 51 is driven is absorbed by the vibration isolator 64. Thereby, the vibration of the driven gear 66 in the thrust direction can be reduced. Therefore, the noise generated when the driven gear 66 vibrates in the thrust direction can be suppressed, and the noise can be reduced. Moreover, since the noise can be reduced in this way, even if the motor 51 is used in a high rotation range, the noise is small, so that high-efficiency driving of the motor 51 that is an inner rotor type DC brushless motor can be realized.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 7, in order to suppress vibration in the thrust direction of the driven gear 66, the vibration isolator 64 is disposed on both sides in the axial direction of the driven gear 66, that is, between the driven gear 66 and the bracket 62. And the structure provided between a helical gear and the face plate 61 is also employable. However, in the case of a driving method in which the rotation direction of the motor 51 is one direction, it is desirable to provide the vibration isolating material 64 only on one side of the driven gear 66 in the axial direction for the following reason.

  Referring to FIG. 8, when the motor is driven, the thrust gear of the driven gear 66 generated by the thrust force generated each time one tooth is fed at the meshing portion of the drive gear portion 52a of the shaft 52 and the driven gear 66 is driven. The vibration will be described.

  The vector direction of the thrust force acting on the driven gear 66 is determined by the direction of the husbar of the driven gear 66 and the driving gear portion 52 a of the shaft 52 and the rotation direction of the motor 51. For example, in the driving device 40 shown in FIG. 8, the Hasuba direction of the drive gear portion 52 a geared in the shape of the Hasuba shape on the shaft 52 of the motor 51 is the left direction when viewed from the left side in the drawing in the axial direction of the shaft 52. When the rotation direction of the shaft 52 is the clockwise direction (CW) when viewed from the left side in the drawing in the axial direction of the shaft 52, the driven gear 66 has the right side in the drawing in the axial direction of the driven gear as shown in FIG. Thrust force works in the direction (arrow A direction). The thrust direction force is generated each time one tooth is fed at the meshing portion of the drive gear portion 52a and the driven gear 66, so that the driven gear 66 vibrates in the thrust direction.

  Therefore, in the case of a driving method in which the rotation direction of the motor 51 is one direction, the vibration isolation material 64 is provided only on one side in the axial direction of the driven gear 66 that is the direction in which the driven gear 66 is pressed by the rotation of the motor 51. The vibration in the thrust direction of the driven gear 66 can be sufficiently reduced, and the cost can be reduced as compared with the case where the vibration isolating material 64 is provided on both sides in the axial direction of the driven gear 66.

Next, the case of the driving method in which the rotation direction of the motor 51 is not only one direction will be described.
When the rotation direction of the motor 51 is not one direction, that is, when the rotation direction of the shaft 52 can be switched between a clockwise (CW) direction and a counterclockwise direction when viewed from the left side in the figure in the axial direction, There is a possibility that the force is applied to both sides of the driven gear 66 in the axial direction.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, both sides in the axial direction of the driven gear 66, that is, between the bracket 62 and the driven gear 66, and between the face plate 61 to which the bracket 62 is attached and the driven gear 66 are provided. An anti-vibration material 64 is sandwiched and provided. This prevents vibrations in the thrust direction of the driven gear 66 between the driven gear 66 and the bracket 62 and vibrations in the thrust direction of the driven gear 66 between the driven gear 66 and the face plate 61. Absorbed by the vibration material 64. Therefore, vibration in the thrust direction of the driven gear 66 between the bracket 62 and the driven gear 66 and vibration in the thrust direction of the driven gear 66 between the driven gear 66 and the face plate 61 are reduced. Can do. That is, the vibration in the thrust direction of the driven gear 66 can be reduced regardless of the rotation direction of the motor 51, and the noise can be reduced.

  FIG. 9 shows a state of vibration in the thrust direction transmitted from the motor 51 to the stud 63 via the bracket 62. Since the motor 51 is attached to the bracket 62, the vibration of the motor 51 is transmitted to the bracket 62 and the bracket 62 vibrates. When the bracket 62 vibrates in this way, the vibration is transmitted to the stud 63 crimped to the bracket 62, and the vibration transmitted to the stud 63 is transmitted to the driven gear 66 provided rotatably on the stud 63. That is, the vibration of the motor 51 is transmitted from the bracket 62 to the driven gear 66 through the stud 63 in the thrust direction indicated by the arrow B in the figure. Thus, when the vibration of the motor 51 is transmitted to the driven gear 66, the driven gear 66 vibrates and generates noise.

  In the present embodiment, since the vibration isolator 64 is sandwiched between the bracket 62 and the driven gear 66 in the stud axial direction, the vibration isolator 64 transmits from the bracket 62 to the driven gear 66 via the stud 63. The vibration in the thrust direction is absorbed by the vibration isolator 64. Therefore, since the vibration in the thrust direction transmitted from the bracket 62 to the driven gear 66 is reduced, the generation of noise can be suppressed accordingly.

  Further, the vibration transmission in the thrust direction from the bracket 2 to the driven gear 66 due to the vibration of the motor 51 is reduced by the anti-vibration material 64, so that the vibration by the motor 51 is transmitted from the driven gear 66 to the first transmission gear. It is possible to suppress the transmission to the drive transmission system after the driven gear 66 such as the second transmission gear 68 via 67, and the influence on the drive transmission system can be reduced, so that the noise can be reduced. .

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the motor 51 that is a drive source that outputs the rotational driving force, the drive gear portion 52a that is the drive gear provided on the shaft 52 that is the output shaft of the motor 51, and the device main body are provided. A stud 63, which is a shaft member whose both ends are pivotally supported by a support member made of a face plate 61, a bracket 62, and the like, and a rotation gear provided on the stud 63 so as to be rotatable and meshed with the drive gear portion 52a. In a drive device 40 that includes a driven gear 66 to be transmitted and includes a drive gear portion 52a and a driven gear 66 using a helical gear, vibration is generated between the driven gear 66 and the support member in the stud axial direction. The vibration isolating material 64 that is a vibration absorbing member that absorbs the vibration is provided so as to sandwich the vibration in the thrust direction of the driven gear 66 that is generated when the motor 51 is driven. It is yield. Thereby, the vibration of the driven gear 66 in the thrust direction can be reduced. Therefore, the noise generated when the driven gear 66 vibrates in the thrust direction can be suppressed, and the noise can be reduced.
Further, according to this embodiment, the support member includes a bracket 62 that is a first support member that supports one end side of the stud 63 and a face plate 61 that is a second support member that supports the other end side of the stud 63. Thus, the vibration isolating material 4 is provided between at least one of the driven gear 66 and the bracket 2 and between the driven gear 66 and the face plate 61, so that the vibration isolating material is provided on both axial sides of the driven gear 66. Cost can be reduced as compared with the case where 64 is provided.
Further, according to the present embodiment, the motor 51 is attached to the bracket 62, and at least the vibration isolator 64 is provided between the bracket 62 to which the motor 51 is attached and the driven gear 66. It is possible to suppress the vibration of 51 from being transmitted to the driven gear 66 through the bracket 62, and to suppress the generation of noise.
Further, according to the present embodiment, the vibration isolating material 64 is provided only in the direction in which the driven gear 66 is pressed by the rotation of the motor 51. Thereby, by providing the vibration isolator 64 only on one side of the driven gear 66 in the axial direction, the cost can be reduced as compared with the case where the vibration isolator 64 is provided on both sides of the driven gear 66 in the axial direction.
Further, according to the present embodiment, the washer 65 is sandwiched between the vibration isolator 64 and the driven gear 66, thereby reducing the friction in the rotation direction of the Hasuba gear between the vibration isolator 64 and the driven gear 66. Can be made.
Further, according to the present embodiment, since the motor 51 is an inner rotor type DC brushless motor, energy efficiency is higher than when a stepping motor is used, the motor weight can be reduced, and the motor 51 is compared with the outer rotor type. Since the inertia is reduced, the acceleration / deceleration time equivalent to that of the stepping motor can be obtained. Moreover, compared with a motor with a brush, since there is no brush wear, it can be made highly durable.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Photosensitive drum 2 Drum cleaning apparatus 4 Charging apparatus 5 Developing apparatus 6 Process cartridge 7 Exposure apparatus 8 Intermediate transfer belt 9 Primary transfer roller 10 Belt cleaning apparatus 12 Secondary transfer backup roller 13 Cleaning backup roller 14 Tension roller 15 Intermediate transfer unit 19 Secondary transfer roller 20 Fixing unit 26 Paper feed cassette 27 Paper feed roller 28 Registration roller pair 29 Paper discharge roller pair 30 Stack part 31 Bottle support part 32 Toner bottle 40 Drive device 51 Motor 52 Shaft 53 Encoder disk 54 Photo sensor 55 Connector 61 Face plate 62 Bracket 63 Stud 64 Anti-vibration material 65 Washer 66 Driven gear 100 Image forming apparatus

JP 2006-50783 A

Claims (7)

A drive source that outputs rotational driving force;
A drive gear provided on an output shaft of the drive source;
A shaft member having both ends pivotally supported by a support member provided in the apparatus body;
A driven gear that is rotatably provided on the shaft member and meshes with the driving gear to transmit a rotational driving force from the driving gear;
In the drive device configured by using a helical gear with the drive gear and the driven gear,
A drive device comprising a vibration absorbing member that absorbs vibration between the driven gear and the support member in the axial direction of the shaft member. The drive device according to claim 1, wherein
The support member includes a first support member that supports one end side of the shaft member and a second support member that supports the other end side of the shaft member,
A drive device comprising the vibration absorbing member provided at least between the driven gear and the first support member and between the driven gear and the second support member. The drive device according to claim 2, wherein
The drive device, wherein the drive source is attached to the first support member, and the vibration absorbing member is provided at least between the driven gear and the first support member. The drive device according to claim 1, 2, or 3,
The vibration absorbing member is provided on a direction side where the driven gear is pressed in the axial direction of the shaft member from the driving gear by a force generated at a meshing portion between the driving gear and the driven gear when the driving source is driven. To drive. The drive device according to claim 1, 2, 3 or 4,
A driving device comprising a washer sandwiched between the vibration absorbing member and the driven gear. The drive device according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5,
The driving device is an inner rotor type DC brushless motor. An image forming unit for finally transferring an image formed on the image carrier onto a recording medium and forming an image on the recording medium;
In an image forming apparatus provided with a driving unit that drives a driven member provided in the apparatus main body,
An image forming apparatus comprising the driving device according to claim 1, as the driving unit.

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