JP2007140144A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention makes it possible to easily attach and detach equipment mounted inside without being restricted by the installation place of the image forming apparatus, and to secure the installation space for various equipment without increasing the size of the apparatus. Provided is an image forming apparatus having a configuration capable of doing so.
In an image forming apparatus including at least a toner container and a transfer belt to which an image is transferred, a stretched surface of the transfer belt 4 is set in a horizontal direction, and an upper surface of a paper feeding unit 7 positioned below is parallel to the surface. By doing so, a large space called a rectangular parallelepiped space S1 surrounded by the two and the vertical conveyance path is formed, and the toner container 20 and the transfer belt 4 arranged in the space S1 are detachable from the apparatus main body, respectively. In addition, the attaching / detaching direction of the toner container 20 and the attaching / detaching direction of the transfer belt 4 are the same direction.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an installation structure of devices used for image formation.

An image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, and a multifunction machine or a printing machine having these functions has a configuration capable of forming a multi-color image such as a full-color image using a plurality of image forming units. There is something.
One of the configurations for forming images of a plurality of colors is a configuration in which an image formed in each image forming unit is first transferred to an intermediate transfer member and then transferred to a recording paper or the like by secondary transfer. For example, Patent Document 1).

  Patent Document 1 discloses a tandem configuration in which image forming units are juxtaposed, and a configuration using an intermediate transfer member such as a belt having a stretched surface along the juxtaposition direction of the image forming units.

As disclosed in Patent Document 1, each image forming unit is not positioned in a system in which an image primarily transferred to an intermediate transfer member using a belt is collectively transferred to a recording sheet or the like by secondary transfer. A position other than the belt extended surface is used as the secondary transfer position.
For this reason, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, the secondary transfer roller is disposed at a position facing the roller around which the belt is wound. In this case, the secondary transfer roller and the fixing position are disposed. In order to prevent conveyance unevenness caused by a speed difference generated between the fixing roller and the used fixing roller, the length of the conveyance path must be defined. Therefore, when the form of the transport path is a vertical transport path, there is a possibility that the vertical length occupied by the transport path in the image forming apparatus is increased.
For this reason, conventionally, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-228707, the belt used for the intermediate transfer member is inclined as a configuration capable of vertical conveyance while ensuring the conveyance path length.

  On the other hand, each image forming unit is often configured so that it can be detached from the image forming apparatus during maintenance inspection or replacement. In particular, one of the replacement parts is a developer container, and for example, a waste toner container for collecting waste toner from each developing device is configured to be removed when the waste toner is full (for example, Patent Document 2).

JP2003-202728A (paragraph "0015" column) Japanese Patent Publication No. 2001-296679 (paragraph “0024” column)

  In the above-described image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus includes an electrical component substrate equipped with electrical components used for various controls including control related to developer storage and image formation used in each image forming unit, and further a sheet feeding device. The installation space of each part may become a problem.

  In particular, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, when a belt is used as an intermediate transfer member, a roller around which the belt is wound is required at a plurality of locations. The occupied space becomes large, and it becomes difficult to obtain the installation space for the waste toner storage unit, the paper feeding device, or the electrical board in a satisfactory state.

  On the other hand, when attaching / detaching a member that requires maintenance inspection or replacement, for example, the attaching / detaching portion may be configured by providing a cover member that can be opened and closed such as an outer wall of the image forming apparatus. However, as described above, the installation location may become uneven depending on the installation space of each member, and there is a possibility that the installation portion of the image forming apparatus is restricted. That is, when the image forming apparatus is located in the vicinity of the wall of the installation unit, there may be a problem that the opening / closing operation is hindered by the wall and the attachment / detachment operation cannot be performed.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to make it possible to easily attach and detach equipment installed therein without being restricted by the installation place of the image forming apparatus, and to install various equipment without causing the apparatus to be enlarged. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus having a configuration capable of securing a space.

The present invention has the following configuration.
(1) In an image forming apparatus including at least a toner container and a transfer belt to which an image is transferred, the toner container and the transfer belt are detachable from the apparatus body, and the toner container is attached / detached. And an attaching / detaching direction of the transfer belt is the same direction.

  (2) In an image forming apparatus including at least a toner container and a paper feed cassette, the toner container and the paper feed cassette are each detachable in the same direction with respect to the apparatus main body. apparatus.

(3) In an image forming apparatus comprising an intermediate transfer belt capable of transferring at least a plurality of images and a secondary transfer member capable of transferring the plurality of images onto a transfer sheet at once.
The intermediate transfer belt and the secondary transfer member can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body, and the direction in which the intermediate transfer belt is attached and detached and the direction in which the secondary transfer member is attached to and detached from the apparatus main body are the same direction. An image forming apparatus.

  (4) The image forming apparatus according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein the toner container is configured to store waste toner adhered to a belt used for the transfer.

  (5) The image forming apparatus according to any one of (1) to (3), wherein an attaching / detaching direction of the toner container and a belt used for transfer is a running direction of the transfer belt.

  (6) A cartridge having at least a latent image carrier is disposed along the traveling direction of the intermediate transfer belt, and the cartridge is detachable in a direction substantially perpendicular to the traveling direction of the intermediate transfer belt. The image forming apparatus according to (3).

  (7) In the belt used for the transfer, the extending surface along the juxtaposing direction of the rollers disposed on both sides of the extending surface is set in the horizontal direction and is parallel to the upper surface of the sheet feeding unit disposed below the belt. The toner container is disposed in a rectangular parallelepiped space defined by a vertical conveyance path extending from the upper surface of the paper feed unit and the upper surface of the paper feed unit. (3) The image forming apparatus according to any one of (3).

  (8) The toner container is configured as a large-capacity waste toner bottle, and the large-capacity waste toner bottle includes a waste toner carry-in port, and the waste toner carry-in port has a toner in the gravitational direction. The image forming apparatus according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein the image forming apparatus is disposed immediately below a dropping position.

  (9) The toner container includes a waste toner carry-in port, and the carry-in port is disposed immediately below a position where the toner remaining on the latent image carrier capable of transferring an image to the belt falls in the direction of gravity. The image forming apparatus according to any one of (1) to (4), wherein:

  (10) In the belt used for the transfer, the extending surface along the juxtaposing direction of the rollers disposed on both sides of the extending surface is set in the horizontal direction and is parallel to the upper surface of the sheet feeding unit disposed below the belt. The electrical component is concentratedly arranged in a rectangular parallelepiped space surrounded by the vertical conveyance path extended from the upper surface of the paper feed unit and the upper surface of the paper feed unit (1). The image forming apparatus according to any one of (3) to (3).

  (11) In the rectangular parallelepiped space surrounded by the vertical conveyance path extended from the upper surface of the paper feeding unit and the upper surface of the paper feeding unit, the electrical component and the heat insulating member thereof are arranged (10 ).

  (12) In the rectangular parallelepiped space surrounded by the vertical conveyance path extended from the upper surface of the paper feeding unit and the upper surface of the paper feeding unit, the large-capacity waste toner bottle, the electrical parts and the heat insulating members thereof are arranged in parallel in the vertical direction. (7) The image forming apparatus according to any one of (10) and (11).

  (13) The large-capacity waste toner bottle, the portion where the electric parts are intensively arranged, and the heat insulating member are configured to be detachable in the same direction in a direction different from the belt extending direction (7) The image forming apparatus according to any one of (12) to (12).

  According to the present invention, various devices equipped in the image forming apparatus are detachably attached to the apparatus main body, and the surfaces necessary for attachment / detachment differ because the attachment / detachment direction is the same. This makes it possible to simplify the configuration by minimizing the number of surfaces used for attachment and detachment. In addition, unlike the case where attachment / detachment is performed in different directions by using the same attachment / detachment direction, the installation position of the device and the orientation of the attachment / detachment portion can be single, so that it is possible to make it difficult to be restricted by the installation location. Become.

  Further, according to the present invention, the direction of the stretched surface of the belt used for transfer is set to the horizontal direction, and the vertical transport path extending from the paper feed unit with the upper surface of the paper feed unit positioned parallel to this direction, the stretched surface, Installation of necessary members without increasing the equipment installation space in the device by arranging large-capacity waste toner bottles, electrical boards and heat insulation in a rectangular parallelepiped space surrounded by the upper surface of the paper feed unit Is possible.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described based on the embodiments shown in the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. In the image forming apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of cartridges are juxtaposed along a stretched surface of a belt used as an intermediate transfer member. An image forming unit for each color is provided.

That is, in each of the image forming cartridges Y, C, M, and K, the latent image carrier that faces the transfer belt 4 as an intermediate transfer member wound around the rollers 2 and 3 disposed on both sides in the extending direction. The photosensitive drums 5Y, 5C, 5M, and 5K are provided.
Around the photosensitive drum, although not shown, a charging device, a developing device, and a cleaning device among devices that perform image forming processing are arranged. The photosensitive drum is disposed above each image forming unit after the charging processing. An electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image information is formed by writing scanning from the writing unit 6 disposed in the area.

  The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum is subjected to a visible image processing by a developing device, and then is primarily transferred to the transfer belt 4. In the primary transfer, a member such as a transfer roller that faces the photosensitive drum with the transfer belt 4 interposed therebetween is used, and visible images formed by the respective image forming units are sequentially transferred while the transfer belt 4 moves. The

  The transfer belt 4 is wound around the driving side roller 2 and the driven roller 3, and its extending direction is a horizontal direction, and the extending surface is parallel to the upper surface of the sheet feeding unit 7 disposed below. Yes.

  The transfer belt 4 is tensioned by a compression spring 3A disposed on the driven roller 3 side so that the stretched surface between the transfer belt 4 and the drive roller 2 is maintained in the horizontal direction.

  On the side of the driving roller 2 that drives the transfer belt 4, a secondary transfer roller 8 that is used for secondary transfer is disposed oppositely across the transfer path of transfer paper fed from the paper supply unit 7. A blade 9A used in a belt cleaning device 9 for removing toner adhering to the transfer belt 4 is provided in contact therewith.

  The transfer path of the transfer paper that has been fed out from the paper feed unit 7 toward the secondary transfer position where the secondary transfer roller 8 is located starts from the feed roller 7A provided on the paper feed unit 7 side to the secondary transfer position. And the path from the secondary transfer position to the fixing device 10 for fixing the image are continuous vertical conveyance paths. Before reaching the secondary transfer position, transfer is performed while setting the paper feed resist. A registration roller 11 that conveys the paper toward the secondary transfer position is disposed.

  The transfer paper discharged from the fixing device 10 is switched in the moving direction by a swingable direction switching claw 12. One moving direction is a paper discharge formed on the upper surface of the image forming apparatus 1. This is the direction directed by the paper discharge roller 13 toward the tray 1A, and the other moving direction is the direction toward the reverse conveyance path RP. The reverse conveyance path RP is a path for reversing the transfer sheet and conveying it toward the registration roller 11 when forming an image on both sides of the transfer sheet.

In the image forming apparatus 1 having the above configuration, the extending surface of the transfer belt 4 is set in the horizontal direction and parallel to the upper surface of the paper feeding unit 7. A space S <b> 1 surrounded by the vertical conveyance path of the transfer paper fed out from 7 is configured as a rectangular parallelepiped space. In the present embodiment, this rectangular parallelepiped space S1 is effectively used. Hereinafter, this feature will be described.
FIG. 2 shows a state in which a large-capacity waste toner bottle 20 as a toner container is disposed in the rectangular parallelepiped space A1.
The large-capacity waste toner bottle 20 includes a waste toner carry-in port 20A that can communicate with a belt cleaning device 9 that removes toner adhering to the transfer belt 4, and the waste toner carry-in port 20A is provided in the belt cleaning device 9. It is arranged immediately below the position where the accumulated toner falls in the direction of gravity. That is, the waste toner carry-in port 20A in the large-capacity waste toner bottle 20 with respect to the belt cleaning device 9 is configured in a straight line without including a curved path and the like, and does not prevent free fall of the toner.

  On the other hand, the large-capacity waste toner bottle 20 is provided with a carry-in port 20B for carrying in toner removed from the photosensitive drum provided in each image forming unit. The carry-in port 20B is connected to the waste toner carry-in port 20A. Similarly, the toner collected by the cleaning device on the image forming unit side is disposed immediately below the position where the toner is dropped in the direction of gravity so as not to prevent free fall of the toner from the image forming unit side.

  Since the present embodiment is configured as described above, the longitudinal direction of the transfer belt and the extending surface are set by setting the extending direction of the transfer belt to the horizontal direction and setting the lower surface and the upper surface of the paper feeding unit opposite to the lower surface in parallel. The space above the paper feed unit can be configured as a rectangular parallelepiped space, and this large space enables installation of a member that requires a large area, and accommodates a large capacity member in one place without dividing the space. An increase in the internal space of the image forming apparatus can be prevented, and further, a waste toner collecting structure can be obtained in which a collecting path with the shortest distance is obtained and a transport mechanism is not required.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. The present embodiment is characterized in that electrical components are concentratedly arranged in a rectangular parallelepiped space S <b> 1 constituted by the lower part of the extended surface of the transfer belt 4 and the upper surface of the paper feeding unit 9.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the present embodiment. In the rectangular parallelepiped space indicated by reference numeral S1 in FIG. 3, a large-sized electrical unit 30 equipped with an electrical board, a power supply member, and the like that are equipped with various electrical components collectively. Is arranged. By adopting such a configuration, the electrical component can be configured using a large-sized electrical unit 30 having a collective structure, so that the cost of parts and assembly can be reduced by simplifying the wiring process and shortening the wiring by using one board. Processing costs such as cost can be reduced.

FIG. 4 shows a modification of the main part of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, in which the heat propagation from the electrical component is performed at the installation position of the large electrical unit 30 arranged in the rectangular parallelepiped space A1. The heat insulating material 31 for avoiding is arrange | positioned.
The heat insulating material 31 is disposed above the large electrical unit 30 facing the paper feed unit 7 side, and on the front and back surfaces of the transfer paper accommodated in the paper feed unit 9 due to heat propagation from the large electrical unit 30. It is possible to prevent the moisture content from changing. As a result, it is possible to prevent curling or the like that occurs when the moisture content of the transfer paper changes.

FIG. 5 is a view showing still another example of the main part in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, and shows a configuration in which the waste toner bottle 21 is arranged in the space above the heat insulating material 31. Yes. As in the case shown in FIG. 2, the waste toner bottle 21 is provided with a carry-in port that communicates with each cleaning device (not shown).
Since the heat insulating material 31 can be arranged in this way, not only can the adverse effect on the transfer paper on the paper supply unit 7 side be avoided, but also when the waste toner bottle 21 is arranged, there is no thermal adverse effect on the bottle itself. Therefore, it is possible to arrange members having various functions in a limited space.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is characterized in that the toner container and the transfer belt can be attached and detached in the same direction.
That is, in FIG. 6, one of the wall portions 1B of the image forming apparatus 1 is provided to be openable and closable by supporting the base end by the support pin 1B1. Then, as shown by a two-dot chain line S2 in FIG. 6, the reversal transport RP including the wall portion 1B, in other words, the component equipped with the toner container 20 and the transfer belt 4 can be exposed to the outside. Therefore, a block portion that is displaced to a position that does not interfere with the movement of the constituent portions of the toner container 20 and the transfer belt 4 is configured. The block portion S2 includes not only the constituent members of the reverse conveyance path RP described above, but also the secondary transfer roller 8, the fixing device 10, the registration roller 11, and the paper discharge roller 13.

  Since the present embodiment is configured as described above, when the wall 1B is opened as shown in FIG. 6B from the closed state, as shown in FIG. The toner container 20 and the transfer belt 4 located in the book are exposed to the outside from one wall surface 1B of the apparatus. As a result, as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 6B, both apparatuses are moved and detached along the same direction, that is, the transfer belt 4 extending direction, in other words, the transfer belt 4 traveling direction. Become.

  Further, when the wall 1B is opened, the secondary transfer roller 8 together with the transfer belt 4 is displaced in the same direction, and the paper feed unit 7 is also externally connected from the wall surface where the wall 1B is located. Since it can be exposed, the sheet feeding unit 7 can be moved in the same direction as the transfer belt 4 and can be attached and detached.

  In this embodiment, since the transfer belt 4 can be attached and detached along the traveling direction of the transfer belt 4, in other words, in the direction perpendicular to the width direction of the transfer belt 4, for example, a photosensitive drum on the image forming cartridge side is provided. By making the photosensitive drum idle when it comes into contact, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of rubbing marks on the surface of the photosensitive drum.

On the other hand, as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the configuration shown in FIG. 7 can be adopted as a configuration in which a plurality of devices can be attached and detached by moving in the same direction.
In FIG. 7, one vertical wall 1C in the image forming apparatus 1 is configured to be openable and closable by a base end supported by a support pin 1C1, and is a rectangular parallelepiped space denoted by reference numeral S1 in FIG. It is a size that can cover the vertical direction.

  In such a configuration, the wall surface 1C in a closed state as shown in FIG. 7A is placed in the rectangular parallelepiped space S1 by opening the wall portion 1C as shown in FIG. 7B. Various members, that is, the large electrical unit 30, the heat insulating material 31, the toner container 20, and the transfer belt 4 positioned above the space and the paper feeding unit 7 positioned below the space can be exposed to the outside. In this state, it can be detached by moving it in the direction indicated by the arrow.

  In the configuration shown in FIG. 6, the vertical conveyance path side can be exposed to the outside, so that it is possible to clear a paper jam in the conveyance path. In the configuration shown in FIG. 7, maintenance other than a paper jam is performed. Inspection or replacement work can be performed, and which configuration is selected can depend on the conditions of the installation place of the image forming apparatus 1. Thereby, even when the installation location is limited, the attachment / detachment work collected on one wall surface side can be performed, so that maintenance inspection and replacement work can be performed with little interference with other members.

1 is a schematic diagram for explaining a configuration of a main part of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining a state in which a large-capacity waste toner bottle is installed for the main configuration shown in FIG. 1. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the state which installed the large sized electrical equipment unit aiming at the principal part structure shown in FIG. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the state which installed the heat insulating material for the structure shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining a state in which a waste toner bottle is installed for the main configuration shown in FIG. 4. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the structure which exposes the space part in the principal part structure shown in FIG. 2 outside. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the other example of the structure which exposes the space part in the principal part structure shown in FIG. 2 outside.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 1B, 1C Wall surface 4 Transfer belt 20 Large-capacity waste toner bottle 21 Waste toner bottle 30 Large-sized electrical unit 31 Heat insulating material S1 Rectangular space

Claims (13)

In an image forming apparatus including at least a toner container and a transfer belt to which an image is transferred,
An image forming apparatus, wherein the toner container and the transfer belt are detachable from the apparatus main body, and the attaching / detaching direction of the toner container and the attaching / detaching direction of the transfer belt are the same direction. In an image forming apparatus including at least a toner container and a paper feed cassette,
An image forming apparatus, wherein the toner container and the paper feed cassette are detachable in the same direction with respect to the apparatus main body. In an image forming apparatus comprising an intermediate transfer belt capable of transferring at least a plurality of images, and a secondary transfer member capable of transferring the plurality of images onto a transfer sheet at once.
The intermediate transfer belt and the secondary transfer member can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body, and the direction in which the intermediate transfer belt is attached and detached and the direction in which the secondary transfer member is attached to and detached from the apparatus main body are the same direction. An image forming apparatus.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the toner container is configured to store waste toner attached to a belt used for the transfer.   4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a direction in which the toner container and a belt used for transfer are attached and detached is a running direction of the transfer belt.   The cartridge having at least a latent image carrier is disposed along the traveling direction of the intermediate transfer belt, and the cartridge is detachable in a direction substantially perpendicular to the traveling direction of the intermediate transfer belt. The image forming apparatus according to 3.   The belt used for the transfer is configured such that the extending surface along the juxtaposing direction of the rollers disposed on both sides of the extending surface is set in the horizontal direction and is parallel to the upper surface of the paper feeding unit disposed below the belt. 4. The toner container according to claim 1, wherein the toner container is disposed in a rectangular parallelepiped space surrounded by a vertical conveyance path extending from the upper surface of the paper feeding unit and the upper surface of the paper feeding unit. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1.   The toner container is configured as a large-capacity waste toner bottle, the large-capacity waste toner bottle includes a waste toner carry-in port, and the waste toner carry-in port is a position where the toner attached to the belt falls in the direction of gravity. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is disposed immediately below the image forming apparatus.   The toner container includes a waste toner carry-in port, and the carry-in port is disposed immediately below a position where the toner remaining on the latent image carrier capable of transferring an image to the belt falls in the direction of gravity. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus.   The belt used for the transfer is configured such that the extending surface along the juxtaposing direction of the rollers disposed on both sides of the extending surface is set in the horizontal direction and is parallel to the upper surface of the paper feeding unit disposed below the belt. The electrical components are intensively arranged in a rectangular parallelepiped space surrounded by a vertical conveyance path extending from the upper surface of the paper feed unit and the upper surface of the paper feed unit. The image forming apparatus according to any one of the above.   11. The electrical component and a heat insulating member thereof are arranged in a rectangular parallelepiped space surrounded by a vertical conveyance path extended from the upper surface of the paper feed unit and the upper surface of the paper feed unit. Image forming apparatus.   In the rectangular parallelepiped space surrounded by the vertical conveyance path extended from the upper surface of the paper feed unit and the upper surface of the paper feed unit, the large-capacity waste toner bottle, the electrical parts, and the heat insulating members thereof are arranged in parallel in the vertical direction. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. 13. The high-capacity waste toner bottle, a portion where electric parts are concentrated, and a heat insulating member are configured to be detachable in the same direction in a direction different from the direction in which the belt is stretched. The image forming apparatus according to any one of the above.

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