JPH0447724Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (a) Industrial application field The present invention relates to an electrophotographic image recording device.
In particular, the present invention relates to an image recording device that is easy to jam.

(B) Conventional technology Conventional printers and electronic copying machines have a device main body divided into an upper unit and a lower unit, and a support provided on the side of the device main body, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 56-165154. There are some devices in which both units are mounted on a shaft so that they can swing relative to each other, thereby making it possible to open the conveyance path for the recording paper, thereby facilitating the removal of jammed paper and maintenance work.

Furthermore, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-194044 discloses a system in which a developing system and a paper feeding system are each made into a unit and can be pulled out from the main body of the apparatus.

(c) Problems to be solved by the invention In the case of the first prior art described above, only the paper feed section is divided, or the fixing section is left aside, and it is not possible to open the entire recording paper conveyance path. I wasn't there.

Further, in the case of the second conventional technique, a special drive system was required in the unit section and the main body of the apparatus in order to drive the paper feed roller, heat roller, etc.

This invention was created in view of the above problems.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an image recording apparatus that can open all conveyance paths for recording paper without using a special drive mechanism.

(d) Means for solving the problems The present invention includes a latent image carrier, a means for forming a latent image on the latent image carrier, a means for developing the latent image with toner, and a recording device. A paper feeding means for supplying paper, a transfer means for transferring a toner image onto the recording paper fed from the paper feeding means, a fixing means for fixing the toner image on the recording paper, and a fixing means for transferring the recording paper after fixing to the outside of the apparatus main body. In an image recording apparatus, at least the transfer means is disposed opposite to the upper side of the latent image carrier, and the main body of the image recording apparatus is provided with at least the latent image carrier along the conveyance path of the recording paper. The upper units are divided into a lower unit containing This is an image recording device characterized by being movable.

(E) Function Since the plurality of upper units can be separated from the lower unit, all the recording paper conveyance paths are opened, and jam processing, etc. can be easily performed.

(F) Embodiment Figures 1 to 4 all show an LED printer as an embodiment of the present invention, with Figure 1 showing the internal configuration and Figure 2 showing the state with the two upper units opened. FIG. 3 is an internal configuration diagram showing a state in which the upper unit on the paper feed side is opened, and FIG. 4 is an internal configuration diagram showing a state in which the upper unit on the paper discharge side is opened.

A photosensitive drum 2 as a latent image carrier is rotatably housed in the apparatus main body 1 . Below this photoreceptor drum 2 (bottom right in the drawing) is its rotating shaft 3.
A monolithic LED array 4 extending in a direction parallel to the line (perpendicular to the plane of the paper) and this monolithic
A short focus lens array 5 extending parallel to the monolithic LED array 4 is provided for projecting and forming an optical image formed by the LED array 4 onto the circumferential surface of the photoreceptor drum 2.

A charging corotron 6 for uniformly positively charging the photosensitive drum 2 (approximately 600 V) is fixedly installed on the upstream side of the short focus lens array 5, and a charging corotron 6 and an LED array 4 are installed on the downstream side. A developing device 7 is provided for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the photoreceptor drum 2 with toner using a short focus lens array 5.

Furthermore, on the upstream side of this developing device 7, the photosensitive drum 2
A transfer corotron 8 for transferring the toner image developed by the developing device 7 onto recording paper is provided above the rotating shaft 3 (top left in the figure) and facing the photosensitive drum 2.

Toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 2 that has not been completely transferred to the recording paper by the transfer corotron 8 is removed by a cleaning device 9, and residual charges are also removed by an erase lamp 10.

The recording paper is loaded and stored in a paper feed cassette 11 that is removably installed on the top of the main body 1 of the apparatus.
The recording paper is pressed by a paper feed roller 14 on a plate 13 which receives a pressing force.

The recording paper fed by the paper feed roller 14 is timed by a pair of register rollers 15 and 16, which consists of a drive roller 15 connected to a motor and a rotatable driven roller 16 that is in pressure contact with the drive roller 15. , and are transported to the transfer position via a pair of transport rollers 17 and 18.

The recording paper with the toner image transferred thereto is separated by a separation belt 1.
It is separated from the photoreceptor drum 2 by 9 and further transported to the fixing section by the pair of transport rollers 17 and 18. A conveyor belt 20 is provided between the transfer position and the fixing section, and a suction fan 21 gently sucks the recording paper from the back side of the conveyor belt 20 to prevent the unfixed toner image from being rubbed and disturbed. There is.

The fixing device has an internal halogen lamp of about 800W and a heat roller 22 that rotates.
and a pressure roller 23 that presses against this heat roller 22. Note that a felt 24 impregnated with silicone oil is pressed under the heat roller 22.

The recording paper, on which the toner image has been fixed by being heated and pressed by the pair of fixing rollers 22 and 23, is transferred to the pair of paper ejection rollers 2.
5 and 26, the paper is discharged to the paper discharge tray 27.

Now, the apparatus main body 1 includes a lower unit U 1 , first and second upper units U ₂ , and a lower unit U 1 , a first upper unit U ₂ ,
U is divided into ₃ . The lower unit U ₁ includes the photosensitive drum 2, the developing device 7, the cleaning device 9, and the drive roller 1 of the register rollers.
5. Drive side roller 17 of the transport roller pair, heat roller 22, and drive side roller 2 of the paper ejection roller pair
5, the first upper unit _U2 includes a transfer corotron 8, a pressure roller 23, and a roller 26 on the driven side of the paper transport roller pair, and the second upper unit _U3
a driven roller 16 of the register roller pair;
It includes a roller 18 on the driven side of the conveyance roller pair.

The first and second upper units U ₂ and U ₃ are separated from the lower unit U ₁ by the conveyance path as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 about the support shafts 28 and 29.

In the state shown in FIG. 2, all the recording paper conveyance paths are opened, making it easy to remove jams.

In addition, since the upper unit is divided into two parts and the supporting shafts are placed at two locations, there is less load applied to one location, making it easier to balance the rotating upper unit, and the rotating mechanism is also simple.

Also, if a jam occurs on the paper feed side, the second
It is only necessary to open the upper unit _U3 , and compared to the case where the entire unit is opened, there is no need to expose the latent image carrier, etc., and the internal protection effect is excellent.

FIG. 5 shows the locking mechanism of the second upper unit U ₃ shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, in which the release lever 34, the support shaft 31, and the spring 33 are provided in the upper unit U ₃ , and only the hook hook member 35 is attached to the lower unit. Located in _U1 . By pulling up the release lever 34 in the direction of the arrow, the lock is released and the upper unit is released.
U ₃ becomes rotatable around the support shaft 29. The locking mechanism of the first upper unit _U2 also includes a support shaft 30 and operates in the same manner.

Although the embodiment of the present invention is constructed with two upper units, it may be constructed with three or more upper units.

Effects of the invention As is clear from the above explanation, in the present invention, the transfer means is provided above the photoreceptor, so when it is divided into an upper unit and a lower unit along the conveyance path, the photoreceptor is placed on the lower unit side. Since the developing device and cleaning device disposed adjacent to the photoreceptor are also included in the lower unit, the weight of the upper unit can be reduced. Therefore, the upper unit can be swung greatly to open the conveyance path widely without destabilizing the posture of the main body of the apparatus. Therefore, jamming is easy.
Furthermore, the multiple upper units are divided near the top of the transfer means, so if the paper becomes jammed between paper feeding and transfer, the jam can be removed by simply opening the upper unit that does not include the transfer means. . In addition, since the transfer means is disposed above the photoreceptor and opposed to it, when the upper unit not including the transfer means is opened, the jam processing can be performed without irradiating the photoreceptor with almost any light. Therefore, aging of the photoreceptor due to light can be suppressed to a minimum.

Furthermore, since one of the upper units is a unit in which the transfer means and the fixing means are integrated, troubles do not occur in the transfer process and the fixing process in which position accuracy is most required in the upper unit. Therefore, good transfer and fixing can be performed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 4 each show an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is an internal configuration diagram, and FIG. 2 is an internal configuration diagram showing a state in which the two upper units are opened.
Figure 3 is an internal configuration diagram showing the upper unit on the paper feed side opened, Figure 4 is an internal configuration diagram showing the upper unit on the paper ejection side opened, and Figure 5 shows the locking mechanism of the upper unit. FIG. 1... Apparatus main body, 2... Photosensitive drum, 4...
Monolithic LED array, 5... short focus lens array, 6... charging corotron, 7... developing device,
8... Corotron for transfer, 11... Paper feed cassette, 14... Paper feed roller, 15... Drive roller,
16... Driven roller, 17, 18... Conveyance roller pair, 22... Heat roller, 23... Pressure roller, 25, 26... Paper discharge roller pair, 28, 29...
...Spindle, _U1 ...Lower unit, _U2 , _U3 ...Upper unit.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] The main body of the apparatus includes a photoreceptor, a means for forming a latent image on the photoreceptor, a means for developing the latent image with toner, a paper feeding means for supplying recording paper, and the like. The apparatus includes a transfer means for transferring the toner image onto the recording paper supplied from the paper feeding means, a fixing means for fixing the toner image on the recording paper, and a paper discharge means for discharging the fixed recording paper to the outside of the main body of the apparatus. In the image recording apparatus, the transfer means is disposed above the photoreceptor, and the main body of the apparatus is divided into a lower unit containing the photoreceptor and a plurality of upper units, along the conveyance path of the recording paper, and a plurality of upper units. Each of the upper units is rotatable in a direction away from the lower unit about a support shaft provided near each side end of the upper unit, and the plurality of upper units are arranged above the transfer means. An image recording apparatus characterized in that the image recording apparatus is divided into adjacent parts, and one of the upper units is a unit that integrates the transfer means and the fixing means.