JPH03225380A - electrophotographic equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Industrial applications The present invention relates to an electrophotographic apparatus.

In a conventional electrophotographic apparatus, an electrostatic latent image is formed by exposing an image carrier whose outer peripheral surface is charged by a charging section to light from an exposure section. Conventional exposure methods include a deflection scanning exposure method in which a beam of light emitted from a light source such as a laser diode is scanned onto an image carrier using a rotating mirror, but recently a self-scanning exposure method has been developed. There is. As this self-scanning exposure section, a large number of edge-emitting type EL devices are constructed by surrounding a thin active layer containing active elements, such as zinc sulfide, from above and below with dielectric layers, and sandwiching this between pairs of electrodes. (
A line head consisting of linearly arranged electroluminescence (electroluminescence) elements is housed in a case to form an exposure area, and by applying a voltage to each electrode, light is emitted from the end face of the active layer toward the image carrier. There is an exposure method that does this.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention Although the exposure area, which is formed by arranging a large number of light emitting elements in a straight line, can be made thinner and thinner, it is susceptible to warping and twisting, and therefore must be reinforced with a reinforcing member. First, there is a problem that the number of parts increases.

Means for Solving the Problems Around the image carrier rotatably mounted inside the main body,
A charging section and a transfer section that respectively apply charges to the image carrier, and a developing section located between these charging sections and the transfer section are disposed, and a sheet of paper is disposed between the image carrier and the transfer section. A fixing unit is provided on the downstream side of the transfer unit in the conveyance path of the paper, and a self-scanning exposure unit including a large number of light emitting elements arranged in a straight line is held. A holding section is fixedly provided on the outer casing of the charging section.

The outer casing of the charging section, which has a holding section that holds the working exposure section, has a channel-like cross-sectional shape that surrounds the discharge wire and is highly rigid, and therefore can prevent the exposure section from warping or twisting. Furthermore, a reinforcing member for the exposed portion can be omitted.

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be explained based on FIGS. 1 to 4. Figure 1 is a longitudinal side view showing the overall structure.
is the main body of the electrophotographic device, and a fulcrum 2 is attached to the rear end of the main body 1.
A paper guide plate 3 is rotatably mounted around the fulcrum 4a, and a paper receiver 4 is held at the top so as to be rotatable and removable about the fulcrum 4a. Further, the main body 1 is provided with a paper conveyance path 9 for conveying the sheets 7 and 8 in a paper feed cassette 5.6 which is a paper feed section, and behind this paper conveyance path 9, the paper guide plate 3 and the Guide plates 10 are provided facing each other to guide the sheets 7 and 8 toward the sheet receiver 4.

Further, the paper feeding path 9 includes the paper feed cassette 5.6.
paper feed rollers 12, 13 that contact the top layer of paper 7, 8;
, a transfer section 15 that transfers the developed image on the image carrier 14 to the sheets 7 and 8, a static eliminator 16 that removes the charge remaining on the sheets 7 and 8, and a transfer section 15 that pinches the sheets 7 and 8 that have passed through the transfer section 15. A fixing unit 17 that fixes the transferred images on the sheets 7 and 8, and a peeling claw 11 that contacts the fixing roller of the fixing unit 17 and peels the paper from the fixing roller are arranged sequentially from upstream to downstream. has been done. Further, the image carrier 14 is rotatably held on a support 18 attached to the inside of the main body 1, and a charging section 19 for applying an electric charge to the image carrier 14, 14, and a cleaning section 21, which
and a developing section 22 are arranged and attached around the image carrier 14.

Further, an opening 23 is formed in the upper part of the support 18 and faces the upper part of the charging section 19, and an ozone filter 24 is provided near the opening 23. As is clear from FIG. 3, the charger 19 has an outer casing 26 having a channel-shaped cross section to surround the discharge wire 25. This outer casing 26 is formed by drawing an aluminum material and has a holding section 28 that holds a self-scanning exposure section 27. This exposure section 27 includes a circuit board 29 fixed to a holding section 28, and a circuit board 29 fixed to a holding section 28.
9 and an imaging lens 32 that is fixed to the holding part 28 with screws 31. On the edge emitting substrate 30, although not shown, a large number of edge emitting type EL elements, which are light emitting elements, are arranged in a straight line. Further, a circuit board 34 connected to the circuit board 29 by a cable 33 is fixed on the upper surface of the support body 18, and this circuit board 34 includes a drive circuit component 35 for driving the exposure section 27 and a connector for connecting to an external circuit. 36 are provided. Furthermore, the holding portion 28 includes the charging portion 19 .
An insulating plate 37 that partitions between the image carrier 14 and the exposure section 27 is fixed in close proximity to the image carrier 14 . A cover 38 is held by the support 18 and covers the exposure section 27.

As shown in FIG. 4, the outer casing 26 of the charging section 19 is fixed to the support body 18 with screws 39 on both sides, and the circuit board 29 of the exposure section 27 is fixed on both sides with screws 40. It is fixed to the holding part 28.

In such a configuration, the image carrier 14 is charged by the charging section 19 every cycle during rotation, and the charged portion is scanned with a light beam from the exposure section 23, so that an electrostatic latent image is formed.
This electrostatic latent image is developed by the developing section 22. On the other hand, the sheets 7 and 8 of the paper feed cassette 5°6 are pulled out between the image carrier 14 and the transfer section 15 by the paper feed roller 12 or 13, so that the developed image on the image carrier 14 is transferred. The image is transferred onto the sheets 7 and 8 by the section 15, and further transferred onto the sheets 7 and 8.
is fixed by the fixing section 17 and discharged to the paper receiver 4. As shown by the imaginary line in FIG.
When rotated downward, this paper guide plate 3 functions as a paper receptacle.

Further, although the image carrier 14 is cleaned by the cleaning section 21, the toner may not be completely wiped off. This toner is attracted to the charge on the image carrier 14, but may float away from the image carrier 14 in small amounts in areas where the charge has been removed by receiving light from the exposure section 27. This floating toner moves by taking advantage of the swirling airflow caused by the rotation of the image carrier 14, but is blocked by the insulating plate 37 and does not adhere to the imaging lens 32. Furthermore, the insulating plate 37 can prevent the corona discharge of the charging section 19 from affecting the exposure section 27 .

Furthermore, the swirling airflow generated by the rotation of the image carrier 14 is guided along with the hot air by the insulating plate 37 and is effectively exhausted from the opening 23. Since the ozone filter 24 is present in this exhaust path, the charging section 19 is Ozone generated due to discharge can be effectively decomposed by the ozone filter 24.

Therefore, the ozone-containing airflow is filtered through the ozone filter 24.
Even if a fan is provided that pulls to the side, the fan can be driven by a small motor, thereby reducing noise.

Further, the outer casing 26 of the charging section 19 including the holding section 28 that holds the exposure section 27 has a channel-like cross-sectional shape surrounding the discharge wire 25 and is highly rigid. It is possible to prevent the edge-emitting substrate 30 from warping or twisting, and also to prevent the edge-emitting substrate 29
．． A reinforcing member for reinforcing 30 can be omitted. This allows the number of parts to be reduced and the structure to be further simplified. As shown in FIG. 5, the outer casing 26 of the charging section 19 and the holding plate 41 as a holding section for holding the exposure section 27 are formed from separate members, and both are connected by a screw 42.
They may be connected by a connecting member such as.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention includes a charging section and a transfer section that respectively apply charges to the image carrier, and a charging section and a transfer section arranged around an image carrier rotatably mounted inside a main body. a developing section located between the image carrier and the transfer section, a paper feed section for supplying paper between the image carrier and the transfer section, and a paper feed section located downstream of the transfer section in the paper conveyance path. A holding section for holding a self-scanning exposure section in which a fixing section is disposed and a large number of light emitting elements arranged in a straight line is fixedly provided on the outer casing of the charging section, so that the exposure section can be held. The outer casing of the charging section that includes the holding section has a channel-like cross-sectional shape that surrounds the discharge wire and is highly rigid, so that it can prevent the exposed section from warping or twisting. The reinforcing member can be omitted, which has the effect of further downsizing the device.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional side view, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the support structure of the image carrier,
FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing the support structure for the image carrier and the exposure section, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the support structure for the exposure section, and FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing a modified example of the holding section included in the charging section. It is a diagram. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Main body, 5, 6... Paper feeding part, 7, 8... Paper, 14... Image carrier, 15... Transfer part, 17...
Fixing section, 18... Support, 19... Charging section, 22.
...Developing section, 26...Outer casing of charging section, 27...Self-scanning exposure section, 28...Holding section, 41...Holding section

Claims (1)

[Claims] an image carrier rotatably mounted inside a main body; a charging unit and a transfer unit each applying an electric charge to the image carrier;
A developing section disposed between the charging section and the transfer section,
A paper feeding section that supplies paper between the image carrier and the transfer section, a fixing section disposed on the downstream side of the transfer section in the conveyance path of the paper, and a large number of light emitting elements arranged in a straight line. An electrophotographic apparatus comprising an array of self-scanning exposure sections, and a holding section that is fixedly provided on an outer casing of the charging section and holds the exposure section.