JPH04267263A - paper conveyance device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a paper conveyor that is capable of disassempling and removing various rotors including a sensitive body or the like from a supporter for cleaning or parts replacement. CONSTITUTION:A cover 21 with paper pressure members 39, 40, 41 being opposed to a paper conveyer passage 32 is installed in a supporter 19 installed along this paper conveyer passage 32 free of opening or closing motion, while plural pieces of notch grooves 70 holding a bearing 71 supporting each shaft part jutting out of both ends of each rotor of a paper feed roller 23, a sensitizer 24, a fixing roller 27, etc., and formed at both sides of the supporter, thus these various rotators 23, 24, 27 are very easily disassempled from the supporter 19, making them detachable as a simple.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper conveying device in an electrophotographic apparatus.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art An electrophotographic apparatus includes a plurality of paper transport rollers that transport paper, a photoreceptor on which an electrostatic latent image and a developed image are formed, and a fixing roller that fixes the transferred image transferred from the photoreceptor to the paper. The rotating bodies are rotatably held by independent supports and arranged along the paper conveyance path.

0003

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] Various types of rotating bodies have developer or paper dust attached to them, or their outer peripheral surfaces are scratched, which disturbs the paper feed pitch, which affects the printing position. . For this reason, it is necessary to clean the various rotating bodies and replace them when they have deteriorated to the point that their functions cannot be restored. However, since various conventional rotating bodies are difficult to separate from the support and each form a unit with the support, it is difficult for the user to replace only the rotating body. Therefore, the rotating body including the support must be replaced unit by unit.

On the other hand, recently there have been regulations on the disposal of garbage and industrial waste, and there is a desire to separate waste from the point of view of recycling. Units including the above have problems because they include various materials, such as the paper transport roller having a metal core whose outer periphery is coated with rubber, and the photoreceptor and fixing roller made of aluminum.

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention has a support provided along a paper conveyance path for conveying paper, and a paper pressing member facing the paper conveyance path, which can be freely opened and closed on the support. a plurality of rotating bodies including at least a paper conveyance roller, a photoreceptor, and a fixing roller; the paper conveyance path side is open and is formed on both sides of the support body; It is composed of a protruding shaft portion or a plurality of notched grooves that hold bearings that support this shaft portion.

[0006]

[Operation] By opening the cover, the paper transport path side of the support body is opened, and one end of the notch groove is open to the paper transport path side, so it is extremely easy to remove various rotating bodies from the notch groove. Furthermore, even if the materials of the support and various rotating bodies are different, each type of rotating body can be separated from the support and disposed of as a single unit, making it compatible with industrial waste disposal regulations. This makes it possible to contribute to waste recycling.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. 3 and 4 are longitudinal sectional front views. In the figure,
1 is a paper storage section. The paper storage unit 1 is held movably in the width direction of the paper 4 by a flat paper feed body 2 that is slightly larger than A4 size paper 4 and a protrusion 3 formed at the bottom of the paper feed body 2. It consists of a mounting plate 5 and a pressing plate 6 which is held on the paper feed main body 2 so as to be able to rise and fall freely. Guides 7 for supporting both side edges of the paper 4 are formed on both sides of the mounting plate 5. Further, although the pressing plate 6 holds the sheets 4 in a stacked state and is biased by a spring 8 in a direction away from the mounting plate 5, the guide 7 may be provided with a stopper 9 that contacts the top layer of sheets 4. This limits excessive upward movement. Further, an electrical equipment compartment 10 is formed at the bottom of the paper feed main body 2, and the electrical equipment compartment 10 is provided with an electrical equipment case 11 and a circuit board 12 connected to the electrical parts housed in the electrical equipment case 11. It is being Electrical equipment room 1
A plurality of legs 14 are fixed to a base plate 13 that closes the bottom of the desk. Further, a lid 15 is provided on the upper surface of the paper feed main body 2 so as to be openable and closable.

Further, a printing unit 16 is provided above the paper storage section 1. The printing unit 16 includes a case 18 that is rotatably held on both sides of the paper feed main body 2 by a fulcrum shaft 17, a support frame 19 that is a support fixedly provided on the case 18, and a mounting plate 20.
and a cover 21 rotatably held by a fulcrum shaft 21a. A developer container 22 containing developer is integrally formed on the support frame 19. Further, the support frame 19 rotatably holds a paper conveying roller 23, a photoreceptor 24, and a fixing roller 27, which are rotating bodies, respectively, and a motor (described later) for driving these rotating bodies. Fixed. The outer diameter of the photoreceptor 24 is set to approximately half the outer diameter of the paper conveyance roller 23. A developing roller 25 and a regulating roller 2 for regulating the thickness of the developer layer are disposed on both sides of the developer container 22.
6 is rotatably held.

The mounting plate 20 includes a charger 28 that applies a voltage to the photoreceptor 24 to charge the photoreceptor 24, and a charger 28 that irradiates the charged portion of the photoreceptor 24 with a light signal corresponding to an image signal. An exposure section 29 that forms an electrostatic latent image and a photoreceptor 24
An auxiliary brush 30 that evens out the developer remaining on the outer peripheral surface of the
and a static eliminator 30a that removes charges from the photoreceptor 24. The exposure section 29 is formed by arranging a large number of edge light emitting elements in a line. and,
The aforementioned photoreceptor 24, the developing roller 25 and regulation roller 26 in the developer container 22, the fixing roller 27 and the press roller 41, the charger 28, the exposure section 29, the auxiliary brush 30, and the static eliminator 30a. , and a transfer roller 39 form an image forming section 31.

A paper conveyance path 32 is formed between the case 18 and the cover 21, and the paper conveyance path 32 and the extension surface (paper feed path) of the uppermost layer of paper 4 on the press plate 6 are different from each other. , are connected by a reversing path 33 formed by a part of the outer peripheral surface of the paper transport roller 23, and this reversing path 3
A plurality of ribs 34 are formed on the case 18 to facilitate the guiding action of the paper 4 by the casing 18. Further, a manual paper feed port 35 is formed at the end of the paper transport path 32 on the paper transport roller 23 side.

Further, a paper guide surface 37 is formed on the toner cartridge 36 mounted in the developer container 22, and a paper guide plate 38 facing the paper guide surface 37 is held by the cover 21. The transfer roller 39 is rotatably held in the cover 21 in contact with the photoreceptor 24 . The paper guide plate 38 is formed of a leaf spring, and a pinch roller 40 and the press roller 41 are rotatably held at both ends thereof while being urged toward the case 18 side. As a result, the pinch roller 40 is brought into pressure contact with the paper transport roller 23, and the press roller 41 is brought into pressure contact with the fixing roller 27. The pinch roller 40, the press roller 41, and the transfer roller 39 have a function as a paper pressing member that presses the paper 4 onto the paper transport path 32. Further, near the tip of the press plate 6 in the paper storage section 1, a lever 43 having a friction member 42 at the tip is biased clockwise by a spring 44 and is held rotatably about a support shaft 45. has been done. As a result, the friction member 42 is brought into elastic contact with the outer circumferential surface of the paper conveying roller 23. Further, a connector 46 for inputting power supply voltage, image signals, etc. is fixed to the case 18 of the printing unit 16, and a connector 47 connected to the circuit board 12 is provided in the paper storage section 1, These connectors 46,4
7 are connected by a cable 48.

Furthermore, the case 18 is provided with a stop lever 49. As shown in FIG. 5, this stop lever 49 is urged clockwise by a spring 50 and is rotatably held by a support shaft 51, and a stop shaft 52 facing the side edge of this stop lever 49 is attached to the case 18. It is erected on the side of the Further, a protrusion 53 is formed at the lower end of the stop lever 49 and comes into contact with the upper surface 2a of the paper feed main body 2. Here, FIG. 5 shows the paper feed main body 2.
2 is a side view showing the relative relationship between the upper surface 2a of the printer and the case 18 of the printing unit 16. FIG. That is, when the case 18 rotates upward about the fulcrum shaft 17, the relative position with respect to the upper surface 2a of the paper feed main body 2 changes. When the relative position of the upper surface 2a to the case 18 is L, the case 18 is located at the lower position and is in contact with the upper surface 2a of the sheet feeding main body 2. In this state, the upper surface 2a and the projection 53 contact each other. The rotational movement of the stop lever 49 is blocked, so that the upper part of the stop lever 49 projects into the manual paper feed port 35. When the relative position of the top surface 2a with respect to the case 18 is H, the case 18 is located at the upper position and is separated from the top surface 2a of the paper feed main body 2. In this state, the stop lever 49 is moved by the spring as shown by the imaginary line. It rotates clockwise due to the biasing force of 50, and its tip retreats below the manual paper feed port 35.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing the support structure of the case 18 of the printing unit 16 with respect to the paper feed main body 2. The fulcrum shaft 17 and the pin 54 are provided on the front and back sides of the case 18.
has been erected. Further, on the front and back sides of the paper feed main body 2, an L-shaped groove 55 for holding the fulcrum shaft 17 and a pin 5 are provided.
A notch 56 having an opening on the top surface into which the pin 54 is fitted is formed, and a hook 58 that is rotatably held on the support shaft 57 and latched to the pin 54 is provided. This hook 5
8 is biased in one direction by a spring 59,
Excessive rotational movement is prevented by the pin 60.

FIG. 7 is a partially sectional side view showing the support structure for the paper transport roller 23. As shown in FIG. That is, a drive shaft 61 is provided that is connected to a motor via a spring clutch (not shown). And this drive shaft 61
a hub 63 that is prevented from rotating by a pin 62; a hub 64 that is rotatably and slidably fitted to the drive shaft 61; and a hub 64 that is rotatably fitted to one hub 63 and slidably axially slidable; The paper conveyance roller 23 is formed by an elastic roller 65 fixedly fitted to the roller 64 . The hub 64 is biased in one direction by a spring 66, and rotation transmitting portions 67 are formed on opposing surfaces of the hubs 63 and 64, and are removably engaged with each other through the relationship between protrusions and grooves. There is. Further, the drive shaft 61 is provided with the paper conveyance roller 2.
A pair of rings 68 disposed on both sides of 3 are fixedly fitted. These rings 68 are connected to the paper transport roller 2.
Although the outer diameter is set to be smaller than the outer diameter of the paper transport roller 23, a protrusion 69 that protrudes with a radius larger than the radius of the paper conveying roller 23 is integrally formed on a part of the outer periphery. These protrusions 69 function to press the top layer of paper 4 on the press plate 6 and release the paper 4 from the paper transport roller 23 when the paper transport roller 23 is stopped. The spacing between the sides is set to match the width of the postcard.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a plurality of U-shaped notch grooves 70 with open upper ends are formed on both sides of the support frame 19, and bearings 71 are inserted into these notch grooves 70. are removably fitted. These bearings 71 include a fitting hole 72 that rotatably holds the shaft portions of the paper conveying roller 23, the photoreceptor 24, and the fixing roller 27, and an annular groove having a radius approximately equal to the width of the notch groove 70. 7
3 and an elastic piece 74 protruding from a part of the outer periphery, and a protrusion 75 is formed on the inner surface of the tip of this elastic piece 74. A locking hole 76 that engages with this projection 75 is formed in the support frame 19.

In such a configuration, when printing using the paper 4 in the paper storage section 1, as shown in FIG. Maintain the state in which it is in contact with 2a. In this state, as described above, the tip of the stop lever 49 protrudes upward from the manual paper feed port 35, so that the paper feeding operation from the manual paper feed port 35 is prohibited. Then, when the paper transport roller 23 is driven clockwise, the paper 4 stacked on the pressing plate 6 is separated one by one by the friction member 42 and pulled out, and is reversed toward the paper transport path 32 by the reversing path 33. . The developed image on the photoreceptor 24 is transferred to the paper 4 transported along the paper transport path 32 by a transfer roller 39, and the transferred image is fixed by a fixing roller 27. The paper 4 on which the image has been transferred in this way is placed in the lid 1 of the paper storage section 1.
The paper is ejected onto the top surface of 5.

In FIG. 5, the stop lever 49 is biased by a spring 50, and its protrusion 53 presses against the upper surface 2a of the paper feed main body 2, and the reaction force of the pressing force acts as an upward rotational force on the printing unit 16. However, when feeding paper from the paper storage section 1, as shown in FIG. Rotational movements are prevented.

Therefore, in FIG. 6, the spring 5
When the hook 58 is rotated counterclockwise against the biasing force of the spring 50 and removed from the pin 54, the stop lever 49 is rotated clockwise due to the biasing force of the spring 50, as shown by the imaginary line in FIG. Since the projection 53 presses the upper surface 2a of the paper feed main body 2, the reaction force causes the printing unit 16 to rotate upward about the fulcrum shaft 17. As a result, as shown in FIG. 4, a gap s is formed between the left upper surface of the paper feed main body 2 and the left lower surface of the case 18. In this state, the upper end of the stop lever 49 is retracted below the manual paper feed port 35, so that paper can be fed from the manual paper feed port 35.

As described above, the printing unit 16 is arranged within the range of approximately the upper surface of the paper storage section 1. Further, it becomes possible to transport the paper 4 in the paper storage section 1 and the paper inserted from the manual paper feed port 35 using only one paper transport roller 23. Furthermore, since the photoreceptor 24 is disposed below the paper transport path 32, the mounting position of the printing unit 16 can be lowered, and the photoreceptor 24 is located below the paper transport roller 32.
3, the distance between the paper storage section 1 and the paper conveyance path 32 can be reduced, and the distance between the paper storage section 1 and the paper conveyance path 32 can be reduced. Each process unit can be easily arranged within a small space. Furthermore, paper 4 after printing
Also, the paper can be discharged onto the lid 15 of the paper feed main body 2. Therefore, the printing device can be extremely miniaturized.

In this embodiment, the paper transport roller 23
The outer diameter of the photoreceptor 24 is set to about 20 mm, and the outer diameter of the photoreceptor 24 is set to about 10 mm. As a result, the length of the printing unit 16 in the paper feeding direction is about 70 mm, the height is about 30 mm, and the width corresponds to the width of A4 size paper 4, making it compact enough to be owned by an individual. Also, the paper 4 to be used
Even if the size of the printing unit 16 changes, only the width dimension of the printing unit 16 changes somewhat, and the height and length of the printing unit 16 are maintained within certain dimensions.

Furthermore, the paper conveying roller 23 and the photoreceptor 24
Although paper powder and developer adhere to the outer peripheral surface of the fixing roller 27, by opening the cover 21 around the fulcrum shaft 21a, the paper conveyance path 32 side of the support frame 19 is opened.
Further, since one end of the notch groove 70 is open to the paper conveyance path 32 side, rotating bodies such as the paper conveyance roller 23 , photoreceptor 24 , and fixing roller 27 can be removed from the notch groove 70 together with the bearing 71 very easily. can. Also, the paper conveyance roller 23, the photoreceptor 24, the fixing roller 27, and the support frame 19
Even if they are made of different materials, these rotating bodies can be separated from the support frame 19 and disposed of as a single unit, making it possible to comply with industrial waste disposal regulations and contributing to waste recycling. becomes possible.

Next, the paper conveying roller 23, the photoreceptor 24,
Modifications of the support structure of the bearing that supports the shaft portion of the fixing roller 27 are shown in FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. In FIG. 8, a boss 78 with different vertical and horizontal widths is formed on the side surface of a bearing 77 having a fitting hole 72, an insertion part 79 corresponding to the minor axis of the boss 78, and a circular hole 80 with a radius corresponding to the major axis of the boss 78. A cutout groove 81 having a shape of
9, the bearing 77 is rotated 90 degrees to prevent the bearing 77 from moving upward. Note that by positioning the flange portion 82 of the bearing 77 between the end surfaces of the paper conveyance roller 23, photoreceptor 24, and fixing roller 27 and the inner surface of the support frame 19,
Movement of the bearing 77 in the axial direction can be prevented.

FIG. 9 shows a bearing 83 having an annular groove 73 and a fitting hole 72 that are fitted into the notched groove 70 of the support frame 19.
A locking body 85 having a pair of locking claws 84 that presses the outer peripheral surface of the bearing 83 from above with its own elasticity is fixed to the support frame 19, thereby preventing upward movement of the bearing 83. This is what I did. In addition, the locking claw 84
may be formed integrally with the support frame 19.

[0024]

Effects of the Invention The present invention has a support provided along a paper conveyance path for conveying paper, and a paper pressing member facing the paper conveyance path, and is held by the support so as to be openable and closable. a cover, a plurality of rotating bodies including at least a paper conveyance roller, a photoreceptor, and a fixing roller; and a shaft portion that is open on the paper conveyance path side and formed on both sides of the support body and protrudes from both ends of the rotary body. Alternatively, since the shaft portion is configured with a plurality of notched grooves that hold bearings that support the shaft portion, the paper conveyance path side of the support body is opened by opening the cover, and one end of the notched groove is opened to the paper conveyance path side. Therefore, various rotating bodies can be removed from the notch grooves extremely easily, and even if the materials of the supporting body and various rotating bodies are different, various rotating bodies can be separated from the supporting body and used as a single unit. Since it can be disposed of, it has the advantage of being able to comply with industrial waste treatment regulations and contributing to waste recycling.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal side view showing a support structure for a paper conveyance roller, a photoreceptor, and a fixing roller.

FIG. 2 is a partially exploded perspective view showing a bearing support structure.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional front view showing a state in which paper is fed from the paper storage unit.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional front view showing a state of paper being fed from a manual paper feed slot.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing the opening/closing operation of the manual paper feed slot by the stop lever.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing the support structure of the printing unit with respect to the paper storage section.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal side view of the paper feed roller.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing a modification of the bearing support structure.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing a modification of the bearing support structure.

[Explanation of symbols]

19 Support 21 Cover 23 Paper feed roller 24 Photoreceptor 27 Fixing roller 32 Paper conveyance path 39 Paper holding member 40 Paper holding member 41 Paper holding member 70 Notch groove 71 Bearing 77 Bearing 81 Notch groove 83 Bearing

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A support provided along a paper transport path for transporting paper; a cover having a paper pressing member facing the paper transport path and held on the support in an openable and closable manner; A plurality of rotating bodies including a paper conveyance roller, a photoreceptor, and a fixing roller, and a shaft portion that is open on the paper conveyance path side and formed on both sides of the support body and protrudes from both ends of the rotary body, or this shaft portion. A paper conveyance device comprising a plurality of notched grooves that hold bearings that support the paper conveyance device.