JP2007171801A - Image forming apparatus, method of pulling out image forming unit, and method of attaching image forming unit - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus which has an image forming unit attached to and detached from an image forming apparatus body and eliminates the need of a more complicated mechanism than that in the conventional technique, and to provide a method of pulling out an image forming unit and a method of attaching the image forming unit. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus 10 has an image forming unit 48 attached to and detached from an image forming apparatus body 12. The image forming unit 48 is pressed against the side plates 88 and 88 of a transfer unit 84 by an arm spring 112 and positioned against the side plates 88 and 88, when the image forming unit 48 is used for forming an image. When the image forming unit 48 is attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus body 12, a moving mechanism 120 having a link member 122 and a crankshaft 124 moves the image forming unit 48 to an attaching and detaching position. When the image forming unit 48 is moved, a pressing mechanism 110 having the arm spring 112 guides the movement of the image forming unit 48. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, a printer, etc., mainly a method for pulling out an image forming unit used for these, and a method for mounting an image forming unit.

  There is known a technique of this type of image forming apparatus having an image forming unit including replacement parts such as an image carrier, and the image forming unit being detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus. Such a technique is known that has moving means for moving the image forming unit between an image forming position used for image formation and an attaching / detaching position where the image forming apparatus is attached / detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus. (Patent Document 1).

JP 2003-379680 A

However, in the prior art, a locking mechanism for locking the image forming unit at the image forming position, a moving mechanism for moving the image forming unit between the image forming position and the attaching / detaching position, an image forming position and the attaching / detaching position, The guide means for guiding the movement of the image forming unit between them is provided as an independent mechanism, and there is a problem that a complicated mechanism is required.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that has an image forming unit that can be attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus, and that does not require a complicated mechanism as compared with the prior art, a method for pulling out the image forming unit, and a method for mounting the image forming apparatus Is to provide.

  The first feature of the present invention is that an image forming unit that is attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body at the attaching / detaching position, and the image forming unit is positioned at an image forming position where the image forming unit is used for image formation. A positioning member that presses the image forming unit against the positioning member, and a moving unit that moves the image forming unit between the attachment / detachment position and the image forming position. The image forming apparatus has a function of guiding movement of the image forming unit between the attachment / detachment position and the image forming position.

  Preferably, the pressing means includes an elastic member that presses the positioning member of the image forming unit with an elastic force.

  Preferably, the pressing means continues to press the image forming unit in the direction of the positioning member while the image forming unit moves between the attachment / detachment position and the image forming position.

  Preferably, the image forming unit further includes a releasing unit that releases the pressing of the positioning member against the image forming unit by the pressing unit.

  Preferably, the release unit releases the pressure on the image forming unit as the image forming unit moves to the attachment / detachment position.

  Preferably, the image forming unit further includes guide means for guiding movement of the image forming unit in a direction different from a moving direction between the attachment / detachment position and the image forming position.

  Preferably, the guide unit moves with the movement of the image forming unit by the moving unit while the image forming unit is supported.

  Preferably, the image forming unit is pressed against the positioning member via the guide means.

  Further, the second feature of the present invention is that the image forming unit is used for image formation from the image forming position while guiding the image forming unit with a pressing unit that presses the image forming unit against the positioning member. The image forming unit is moved to an attaching / detaching position used for attaching / detaching the image forming unit to / from the image forming apparatus main body, and the image forming unit moved to the attaching / detaching position is pulled out from the image forming apparatus main body. Is in the way.

  According to a third feature of the present invention, the image forming unit is mounted in the image forming apparatus main body at an attaching / detaching position used for attaching / detaching the image forming unit, and the image forming unit is attached to the positioning member. In the method of mounting the image forming unit, the image forming unit is moved from the attachment / detachment position to the image forming position where the image forming unit is used for image formation while guiding using the pressing means for pressing.

According to the present invention, there are provided an image forming apparatus, a method for pulling out an image forming unit, and a method for mounting an image forming unit, which do not require a complicated mechanism as compared with the prior art.

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an image forming apparatus 10 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 10 includes an image forming apparatus main body 12, and an intermediate transfer belt 14 is disposed in the image forming apparatus main body 12. For example, four image forming units 16 are arranged in parallel to the intermediate transfer belt 14, and the image forming apparatus 10 is a so-called tandem system. The image forming unit 16 forms toner images of respective colors of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black on the intermediate transfer belt 14.

  A sheet supply device 18 is provided below the image forming apparatus main body 12. The sheet supply device 18 includes a sheet supply cassette 20 on which sheets are stacked, a pickup roll 22 that picks up the sheets stacked on the sheet supply cassette 20, and a feed roll 24 and a retard roll 26 that send out the sheets while rolling them. . The sheet supply cassette 20 is detachably attached to the image forming apparatus main body 12 so that the sheet supply cassette 20 can be pulled out in the front direction in the figure. Sheets such as plain paper and OHP sheets are stacked and stored. ing.

  Near one end of the image forming apparatus main body 12 (near the left end in the figure), a sheet supply path 28 is provided along a substantially vertical direction. In the sheet supply path 28, a transport roll 29, a resist roll 30, a secondary transfer roll 32, a fixing device 34 and a discharge roll 36 are provided. The registration roll 30 temporarily stops the sheet sent to the sheet supply path 28 and sends it to the secondary transfer roll 32 at a timing. The fixing device 34 includes a heating roll 34a and a pressure roll 34b, and fixes the toner image on the sheet by applying heat and pressure to the sheet passing between the heating roll 34a and the pressure roll 34b. ing.

  A discharge tray section 38 is provided on the upper part of the image forming apparatus main body 12. The sheet on which the toner image is fixed is discharged onto the discharge tray portion 38 by the discharge roll 36 described above, and is stacked on the discharge tray portion 38. Accordingly, the sheets in the sheet supply cassette 20 are sequentially discharged to the discharge tray unit 38 through a C-shaped path.

  For example, four toner bottles 40 are provided on the other end side (right end side in the figure) of the image forming apparatus main body 12. The toner bottle 40 contains yellow, magenta, cyan, and black toners, and supplies the toner to the image forming unit 16 via a toner supply path (not shown).

  The image forming unit 16 includes an image forming unit 48 provided on one surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14 and a primary transfer roll 50 provided on the back surface of the intermediate transfer belt 14. The image forming unit 48 can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body 12, and once moved downward, it can be pulled out in the front direction in FIG. Details of the image forming means 16 will be described later.

  The intermediate transfer belt 14 is supported by a plurality of conveying rolls 42, and the belt surface on which the above-described image forming unit 16 is provided is inclined with respect to the horizontal direction. One of the transport rolls 42 constitutes a backup roll for the secondary transfer roll 32. Further, an intermediate transfer belt cleaning device 44 is disposed near the upper end of the intermediate transfer belt 14, and the other one of the transport rolls 42 constitutes a backup roll of the cleaning device 44. Further, a tension roll 46 is disposed above the intermediate transfer belt 14, and an appropriate tension is applied to the intermediate transfer belt 14 by the tension roll 46.

  The intermediate transfer belt 14, the plurality of transport rolls 42, the primary transfer roll 50, the intermediate transfer belt cleaning device 44, and the tension roll 46 are integrated as a transfer unit 84 (see FIG. 3). The transfer unit 84 can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body 12, and can be pulled out in the front direction in FIG. The secondary transfer roll 32 is configured as a secondary transfer unit 33. The secondary transfer unit is detachable from the image forming apparatus main body 12 and can be pulled out in the front direction in FIG. Details of the transfer unit 84 will be described later.

  FIG. 2 shows details of the image forming means 16. The image forming unit 48 includes a photosensitive member 52 facing the intermediate transfer belt 14, a charging device 54 configured to charge the photosensitive member 52, for example, a roll, and an LED (light emitting diode), for example. An exposure device 56 that forms a latent image on the photoconductor 52, a developing device 58 that develops the latent image on the photoconductor 52 formed by the exposure device 56 with toner, and the photoconductor 52 remaining on the photoconductor 52 after transfer. And a cleaning device 60 for cleaning the toner. In this embodiment, the image forming unit 48 is configured by combining a separable photoconductor unit 62 and a developing unit 64. The photoconductor unit 62 includes a photoconductor 52, a charging device 54, an exposure device 56, and a cleaning device 60 in a first housing 66. In the developing unit 64, the developing device 58 is accommodated in the second housing 68. The first housing 66 and the second housing 68 are detachably coupled to form the image forming unit 48.

  Bearings 53 that rotatably support the photosensitive member 52 are mounted on both ends of the photosensitive member 52. A part of the bearing 53 is exposed from the first casing 66 and the second casing 68 together with a part of the photosensitive member 52.

  The developing device 58 is, for example, a two-component system, and a developer composed of toner and carrier is used. For example, the two augers 70 and 72 arranged in parallel in the horizontal direction and the discharge auger 72 are arranged obliquely above. The developer is stirred by the augers 70 and 72 and supplied to the developing roll 74. In the developing roll 74, a magnetic brush is formed by a carrier, the toner attached to the carrier is conveyed by the magnetic brush, and the latent image on the photosensitive member 52 is developed by the toner. As in this embodiment, in the two-component developing device 58, the developing roll 74 is disposed above the augers 70 and 72, so that the developer is prevented from accumulating and the developer is uniformly stirred. Development performance can be maintained.

  The cleaning device 60 includes a toner scraping unit 76 formed of, for example, a blade, and a collecting unit 78 that collects the toner scraped off by the toner scraping unit 76.

  FIG. 3 shows details of the transfer unit 84. The transfer unit 84 has a transfer unit housing 86, and the transfer roll 42, the primary transfer roll 50, and the tension roll 46 are rotatably mounted on the transfer unit housing 86, and the intermediate transfer belt 14 is attached to the transport roll 42. It is stretched. The transfer unit 84 is detachably mounted with an intermediate transfer belt cleaning device 44.

  The transfer unit housing 86 has a side plate 88 on the front side in the drawing and a side plate on the back side in the drawing (not shown in FIG. 3, a side plate 88 on the back side in FIG. 5), and these side plates are the top plate 87. It is connected. The transfer unit housing 86 is formed with an open portion facing downward, and the intermediate transfer belt 14 is exposed from the open portion. The side plate 88 and the back side plate in the drawing are used as positioning members for positioning the image forming unit 48. Four notches 90 are formed in the lower edge of the side plate 88 and the side plate on the back side in the drawing in the direction of gravity. The image forming unit 48 is positioned at a position used for image formation when the bearing 53 attached to the end of the photosensitive member 52 contacts the notch 90.

  In the above configuration, the intermediate transfer belt 14 and the photoconductor 52 rotate in opposite directions in synchronization with each other, the surface of the photoconductor 52 is charged by the charging device 54, and a latent image is formed by the exposure device 56. The latent image on the photoreceptor 52 formed by the exposure device 56 is developed by the developing device 58. The toner image developed by the developing device 58 is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 14 by the primary transfer roll 50. The toner images of the respective colors formed by the image forming units 16 are superimposed as the intermediate transfer belt 14 moves.

  On the other hand, the sheets stacked on the sheet supply cassette 20 of the sheet supply apparatus 18 are fed one by one to the sheet supply path 28 by the pickup roll 22, the feed roll 24, the retard roll 26, and the like. The sheet sent to the sheet supply path 28 comes into contact with the registration roll 30, is temporarily stopped, and is sent to the secondary transfer roll 32 at a timing. The toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 14 is transferred to the sheet by the secondary transfer roll 32. The sheet on which the toner image has been transferred is further sent to the fixing device 34, where the toner image is fixed to the sheet by heat and pressure. The sheet on which the toner image is fixed by the fixing device 34 is discharged to the discharge tray portion 38 by the discharge roll 36.

  In such an image forming apparatus 10, when the image forming unit 48 is attached or detached in the front direction in FIG. 3, if the image forming unit 48 is in a position used for image formation, the photosensitive member 52 included in the image forming unit. And the intermediate transfer belt 14 may be rubbed against each other, and the photoreceptor 52 and the intermediate transfer belt may be damaged or worn. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the image forming unit 48 is attached / detached, the image forming unit 48 is moved from the image forming position used for the image forming position to the attaching / detaching position used for attaching / detaching. On the other hand, when the image forming unit 48 is moved in this way, image formation is performed when the image forming unit 48 is attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body 12 together with a positioning member for positioning the image forming unit 48. A guide member for guiding the unit 48, a pressing mechanism for pressing the image forming unit against the positioning member, a moving mechanism for moving the image forming unit, and a guide for guiding the movement of the image forming unit between the image forming position and the attachment / detachment position Means or the like are required, and the structure of the image forming apparatus 10 may be complicated, or the image forming apparatus 10 may be increased in size. In view of this, in this embodiment, these mechanisms are devised so as to prevent the mechanism from becoming complicated and the image forming apparatus 10 from becoming larger than the conventional image forming apparatus. .

  4 and 5, a guide member 130, a pressing mechanism 110, and a moving mechanism 120 are shown. The guide member 130 is used as guide means for moving the image forming unit 48 in a direction different from the moving direction between the image forming position and the attachment / detachment position. When the image forming unit 48 is attached to or detached from the image forming apparatus main body 12, the guide member 130 moves toward the front side in FIG. 4A (the image forming unit 48 is moved from the image forming apparatus main body 12). The movement of drawing out) and the movement toward the back side (movement of the image forming unit 48 mounted in the image forming apparatus main body 12) are guided. The guide member 130 has a shape in which the image forming unit 48 is wrapped from the right side and the front side is opened, and an end portion 130a of the guide member 130 is fitted into a recess 48a formed in the image forming unit 48. .

The pressing mechanism 110 is used as a pressing unit that presses the image forming unit 48 against the side plates 88 and 88 of the transfer unit 84 that is a positioning member for positioning the image forming unit 48. The pressing mechanism 110 includes an arm spring 112 that is an elastic member and has an arm shape. The lower part of the arm spring 112 is fixed to the upper surface of the connecting plate 102 that connects the main body side plate 98 located on the near side and the rear side 98 in FIG. The upper portion of the arm spring 112 is fixed to the guide member 130. The pressing mechanism 110 presses the image forming unit 48 against the side plates 88 and 88 by the elastic force of the arm spring 112. The pressing mechanism 110 presses the image forming unit 48 against the side plates 88 and 88 via the guide member 130.

The moving mechanism 120 is used as a moving unit that moves the image forming unit 48 between the image forming position and the attachment / detachment position. The image forming position is a position where the image forming unit 48 is used for image formation. In this embodiment, the image forming position is the position of the image forming unit 48 shown in FIGS. The attaching / detaching position is a position of the image forming unit 48 when the image forming unit 48 is attached to or detached from the image forming apparatus main body 12. In this embodiment, the position of the image forming unit 48 is when the guide member 130 with the image forming unit 48 inserted is moved in the vicinity of the stepped portions 100, 100 formed on the side plates 88, 88.

The moving mechanism 120 includes a link member 122 connected to the arm spring 112, a crankshaft 124 further connected to the link member 122, and a handle 126 attached to the crankshaft 124. One end of the link member 122 is connected to a position where the arm portions of the arm spring 112 intersect, and the link member 122 is supported by the guide member 130 and the guide member 130 by moving downward against the elasticity of the arm spring 112. The image forming unit 48 in the position is moved downward. The link member 122 moves upward to move the guide member 130 and the image forming unit 48 supported by the guide member 130 upward.

  The end of the link member 122 opposite to the side connected to the arm spring 112 is connected to the crank portion 124 a of the crankshaft 124. Each end of the crankshaft 124 is rotatably supported by the main body side plates 98 and 98. And the link member 122 connected with the crank part 124a is moved up and down by rotating. A handle 126 used as an operation portion is provided at a portion of the crankshaft 124 protruding from the main body frame 96 toward the front side. When the operator rotates the handle 126, the crankshaft 124 rotates, and when the crankshaft 124 rotates, the link member 122 moves up and down, and when the link member 122 moves up and down, the image forming unit 48 moves. Together with the guide member 130, it moves between the image forming position and the attaching / detaching position.

  FIG. 6 shows a locking member 142 used as a release unit that releases the pressing of the image forming unit 48 by the pressing mechanism 110. The locking member 142 is positioned in the vicinity of the crank portion 124a of the crankshaft 124 described above, and is fixed to the main body side plate 98, for example. When the operator rotates the handle 126 described above clockwise (in the clockwise direction) indicated by an arrow in FIG. 5, the crank portion 124a also starts to rotate in the clockwise direction as shown in FIG. 6 (a). At this time, the crank portion 124 a receives a substantially upward force by the elastic force of the arm spring 112 via the link member 122. When the operator further rotates the handle from the state shown in FIG. 6 (a), the crank portion 124a is engaged with the locking member as shown in FIG. 6 (c) through the state shown in FIG. 6 (b). 142 abuts. In this state, the crank portion 124a receives a substantially upward force from the link member 122, and the substantially upward force causes the crank portion 124a to receive a force rotating in the clockwise direction in the figure, but is in contact with the locking member 142. Thus, the crankshaft 124 and the link member 122 are stopped at the positions shown in FIG. When the crankshaft 124 is stopped at the position shown in FIG. 6C, the image forming unit 48 connected to the crankshaft 124 via the arm spring 112 and the guide member 130 is provided with a positioning member. The transfer unit 84 is used as the side plate 88, 88 is separated from the side plates 88. That is, the pressing to the side plates 88 and 88 of the image forming unit 48 by the pressing mechanism 110 is released. The release of the pressing is performed as the image forming unit 48 moves to the attaching / detaching position by rotating the handle 126 to the right in FIG. In the attachment / detachment position, the guide 130 is in contact with the step portions 100, 100 of the side plates 88, 88. For this reason, the position of the guide member at the time of attachment / detachment can be accurately fixed.

  In the image forming apparatus 10 configured as described above, in order to pull out the image forming unit 48 from the image forming apparatus main body 12, first, the image forming unit 48 at the image forming position is moved to the attachment / detachment position, and then The image forming unit 48 moved to the attachment / detachment position is pulled out from the image forming apparatus main body 12.

In order to move the image forming unit 48 to the attachment / detachment position, the handle 126 is rotated to the right in FIG. When the handle 126 is rotated to the right, the crank portion 124a of the crankshaft 124 is rotated to the right, and the crank portion 124a is rotated to the right, so that the link member 122 moves downward against the elasticity of the arm spring 112. To do. When the link member 122 moves downward, the guide member 130 connected to the link member 122 and the image forming unit 48 attached to the guide member 130 move downward from the image locking position to the attachment / detachment position. Moving. When the image forming unit 48 moves, the pressing mechanism 110 guides the image forming unit 48 from the image forming position to the attachment / detachment position. That is, during the movement of the image forming unit 48, the image forming unit 48 is continuously pressed in the direction of the side plate 88 by the pressing mechanism 110, and the image forming unit 48 is guided by this pressing and the gravity applied to the image forming unit 48. . As described above, since the pressing mechanism 110 has a function of guiding the movement of the image forming unit 48 between the image forming position and the attaching / detaching position, the attaching / detaching is performed from the image forming position 48 of the image forming unit separately from the pressing mechanism 110. There is no need to provide guide means for guiding the movement to the position.

  In order to attach the image forming unit 48 to the image forming apparatus main body 12, the image forming unit 48 is attached to the image forming apparatus main body 12 at the attachment / detachment position. Thereafter, the image forming unit 48 is moved to the image forming position.

  In order to move the image forming unit 48 to the image forming position, the handle 126 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 5, and the crankshaft 124 and the link member 122 in the state shown in FIG. 6C are moved upward. By moving the link member 122 upward, the guide member 130 connected to the link member and the image forming unit 48 supported by the guide member 130 are moved upward. When the image forming unit 48 moves from the attachment / detachment position to the image formation position, guidance is provided by the pressing mechanism 110 as in the case of moving from the image formation position to the attachment / detachment position.

  FIG. 7 shows a positioning member for positioning the image forming unit 48 at a position where image formation is performed, which is included in the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment, the side plates 88 and 88 of the transfer unit housing 86 are used as positioning members for positioning the image forming unit 48. In this embodiment, the side plates of the main body frame 96 are used as the positioning members. 98, 98 are used. That is, notches 98a and 98a are formed in the main body side plates 98 and 98, respectively, and the bearings 53 and 53 mounted on both ends of the above-described photoconductor 52 are pressed into the notches 98a and 98a. In addition, about the same part as 1st Embodiment, the same number is attached | subjected and the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 8 shows a pressing mechanism 110 included in an image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment, the pressing mechanism 110 has the arm spring 112, whereas in this embodiment, the pressing mechanism 110 has two coil springs 114 and 114 made of an elastic member. The lower side of the coil springs 114 and 114 is fixed to the connecting plate 102, and the upper side of the coil springs 114 and 114 is fixed to the guide member 130. In addition, about the part same as 1st Embodiment, the same number is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  FIG. 9 shows a pressing unit included in an image forming apparatus according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. In the first embodiment, the pressing mechanism 110 has the arm spring 112. In this embodiment, the pressing mechanism 110 has two leaf springs 116 and 116 made of an elastic member. . The lower side of the leaf springs 116 and 116 is fixed to the connecting plate 102, and the upper side of the leaf springs 116 and 116 is fixed to the guide member 130. In addition, about the part same as 1st Embodiment, the same number is attached | subjected and description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As described above, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus in which the image forming unit can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body, a method for pulling out the image forming unit from the image forming apparatus, and an image forming unit mounted on the image forming apparatus. It can be applied to the mounting method of the image forming unit.

1 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a front view illustrating a configuration of an image forming unit used in an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a front view showing a transfer unit provided in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4A is an enlarged view of a pressing mechanism included in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4A is a front view, and FIG. 4B is a right side view. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a moving unit that moves the image forming unit included in the image forming apparatus according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the effect | action of the cancellation | release means which cancels the press of the image formation unit by a press means which the image forming apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention has. It is a perspective view which shows the positioning member which the image forming apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention has. FIG. 8A is an enlarged front view of a pressing mechanism included in an image forming apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8B is a right side view thereof. FIG. 9A is an enlarged view of a pressing mechanism included in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 9A is a front view, and FIG. 9B is a right side view.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 12 Image forming apparatus main body 16 Image forming means 48 Image forming unit 52 Photoconductor 53 Bearing 84 Transfer unit 86 Transfer unit housing 88 Side plate 90 Notch 96 Main body frame 98 Main body side plate 98a Notch 100 Step part 110 Pressing mechanism 112 Arm spring 114 Coil spring 116 Leaf spring 120 Moving mechanism 122 Link member 124 Crankshaft 124a Crank portion 126 Handle 130 Guide member 140 Release means 142 Locking member

Claims (10)

An image forming unit to be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body at the attachment / detachment position;
A positioning member that positions the image forming unit at an image forming position where the image forming unit is used for image formation;
Pressing means for pressing the image forming unit against the positioning member;
Moving means for moving the image forming unit between the attachment / detachment position and the image forming position;
Have
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pressing unit has a function of guiding movement of the image forming unit between the attachment / detachment position and the image forming position.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pressing unit includes an elastic member that presses the positioning member of the image forming unit with an elastic force.   3. The pressing unit according to claim 1, wherein the pressing unit continues to press the image forming unit toward the positioning member while the image forming unit moves between the attachment / detachment position and the image forming position. Image forming apparatus.   4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a releasing unit that releases the pressing of the positioning member against the image forming unit by the pressing unit. 5.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the release unit releases the pressure on the image forming unit as the image forming unit moves to the attachment / detachment position.   6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising guide means for guiding movement of the image forming unit in a direction different from a moving direction between the attachment / detachment position and the image forming position.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the guide unit moves along with the movement of the image forming unit by the moving unit in a state where the image forming unit is supported.   8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the image forming unit is pressed against the positioning member through the guide means. The image forming unit is attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body from an image forming position where the image forming unit is used for image formation while guiding the image forming unit against the positioning member using a pressing means. Move the image forming unit to the attachment / detachment position used for
A method of pulling out the image forming unit, wherein the image forming unit moved to the attachment / detachment position is pulled out from the main body of the image forming apparatus. The image forming unit is mounted in the main body of the image forming apparatus at an attaching / detaching position used for attaching / detaching the image forming unit,
The image forming unit is moved from the attach / detach position to an image forming position where the image forming unit is used for image formation while guiding using a pressing means for pressing the image forming unit against the positioning member. An image forming unit mounting method as a feature.

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