JPH0562331B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus in which a transport unit and the like move toward and away from an image carrier in conjunction with opening and closing of an opening/closing door of a main body.

Conventionally, this type of image forming apparatus, in particular,
In a copying machine, a copy sheet is transferred from a cassette or other storage unit until it is ejected from the copying machine after it has been fixed. It is made to run while being restrained by rollers or the like.

On the other hand, as is well known, the characteristics of the sheet itself are constantly changing due to changes in environmental temperature and humidity, so it is impossible to reliably transport a copy sheet throughout its entire traveling process under any circumstances. This is not always easy, and it has been difficult to completely prevent paper jams.

Moreover, this jam not only makes it impossible to copy, but also has disadvantages such as wasting valuable copying time by manipulating various parts of the apparatus to remove the jammed paper. For that reason,
It is extremely important to configure a copying machine so that it can detect a jam and easily and quickly remove the jam when it occurs.

Conventionally, for this reason, the sheet conveyance section near the transfer site where the toner image on the photoconductor is transferred to the copy sheet, which is the most difficult part to remove from the jam sheet, was constructed as an integral unit, and included a transfer charger.
The entire unit is made swingable, and a swing mechanism and an operation handle are provided at the bottom of the unit, so that by manually operating the handle, the transfer area can be freely moved toward and away from the photoreceptor, even if a jam occurs. They created a space to remove jam paper and were involved in the removal process.

However, this was an unpleasant task for the operator.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new image forming apparatus that is improved in view of these drawbacks.

Another object of the present invention is to greatly reduce the first jam processing operation, which should not occur much in the first place, and the time required for it.

In addition, the photoconductive layer of the photoreceptor, which is the image carrier, has a weak strength, so great care must be taken during maintenance to avoid damaging it. Furthermore, there is a risk that the photoconductive layer may deteriorate due to exposure to light. be.

Therefore, the second step is to protect the photoreceptor from damage to the photoreceptor or exposure to light during jam processing and maintenance by providing protection to the device itself or to a device that integrates multiple image forming means into a unit. In addition to providing a cover, when the opening/closing door of the apparatus main body is opened for maintenance, the transfer conveyance unit is automatically swung to separate the unit from the photoreceptor, and the photoreceptor protection cover enters to protect the transfer section. This will ensure sufficient space for you to move.

As described above, by automating manual operations during jam processing and maintenance, it is possible to shorten operation time and greatly improve operability, and it is also possible to protect the photoreceptor, which is the basic purpose of maintenance. It becomes possible to provide an image forming apparatus that is close to a free state.

First, an embodiment of a copying machine to which the present invention can be applied will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a side view of a copying machine to which the present invention can be applied.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a side lid provided on the main body of the copying machine that can be opened and closed, opened by folding it toward the front of the page, and further showing a partially cut away side lid. Inside the copying machine main body 100, a cylindrical photoreceptor 2 having a central axis extending perpendicular to the plane of the paper, a developing device 3, a cleaner 4, and a charger 5 arranged near the periphery thereof are integrally attached to a frame 1a. These members constitute the unit 1 as a whole. And this unit 1
are placed on support guide parts Sa and Sb formed on a support member S fixed in the copying machine main body, and after opening an opening/closing door (not shown) arranged on the front side of the copying machine main body, It can be pulled out towards the front of the page.

A transfer charger 8a, a separation roller 8b, etc. mounted on the right end of the unit 11 in the figure, which will be described below, are arranged below the unit 1 including the photoreceptor. Above the photoreceptor 2 is the supporting member S.
The lens system LE is fixed to the
Furthermore, a transparent glass plate G is attached to the top surface of the copying machine, on which a document M is placed and which moves back and forth from side to side in the figure.

To briefly explain the copying process, the document stand including the glass plate G on which the document M is placed moves to one side,
At this time, when the document surface is irradiated by the light source L, the reflected light from the document surface passes through the lens system LE and forms an image on the surface of the photoreceptor, which has been uniformly charged by the charger 5, and the electrostatic potential is image, and then the latent image is arrow A.
A toner image is formed along the photoreceptor rotating in the direction until it reaches the position of the developing device 3.

On the other hand, the transfer materials in the cassette C engaged with the main body of the copying machine are sequentially fed into the machine by paper feed rollers 6 starting from the top, and are transferred to the toner image on the surface of the photoreceptor by registration rollers 7. The position is adjusted and the toner image is transferred to the transfer material when the charger 8a is located at the transfer site, and the transfer material carrying the toner image is further separated from the photoreceptor by the separation means of the separation roller 8b and transferred to the conveyance path. 9, is fixed and fixed by a fixing device 10, and is discharged outside the machine.

On the other hand, after the transfer is completed, the photoreceptor rotates further, and the developer that does not contribute to the transfer is removed by the cleaner 14, and then the same copying process as before begins again.

Next, a conventional example of the present invention will be explained.

A transfer conveyance unit 11 that is rotatable about a support shaft 12 has a copy sheet conveyance path 9 below the unit 1 including the photoreceptor 2, a separation roller 8b upstream thereof, and a transfer charger 8a. There is.

Below the unit 11, there is a shaft support plate 13 fixedly planted on the bottom of the main body of the copying machine, and a lever 15 rotatable about a shaft 14 supported by the shaft support plate 13.
holds a roller 16 that presses a leaf spring 17 attached to the lower part of the transfer conveyance unit 11. For this reason, the lever 15 is normally in a position where it can form an image as shown in the figure, but by manually rotating and displacing the lever 15 in the counterclockwise direction using an operation handle (not shown), the lever 15 can be moved to a position below the photoreceptor 2. The transfer/transport unit 11 is lowered to secure a space with the photoreceptor 2, and jam processing and maintenance can be performed.

Next, the structure of such a copying apparatus will be explained with reference to the perspective view of an embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG.

A base plate 22 for unitizing mechanical parts is provided on the bottom surface of the bottom plate 20 of the main body of the copying apparatus, which is located approximately below the photoreceptor 2, and is formed into a concave shape at the part corresponding to the dead space with the rubber feet 21. A support fitting 23 is attached to the top, and a lever 24 is swingably suspended thereon by a shaft 25.

The lever 24 has a transport unit 11 attached to the copy sheet transport path 9, separation roller 8b, and transfer charger 8a, which is attached to the bottom plate of the main body of the apparatus. reference)
A roller 26 that rotates about the shaft 12 is rotatably attached to the shaft 28.

The transfer/conveyance unit 1 is attached to the lever 24.
1 and the unit 11 at a predetermined position near the photoreceptor 2 (portions 50 and 51 shown in FIG. 3).
A tension spring 27 having a biasing force that can be pressed at all times is tensioned. Therefore, when the lever 24 is given a rotation release action, it is rotated clockwise about the shaft 25, and in the normal state, as shown in FIG. This can be a position where the image can be formed by coming into contact with the reference positions 50 and 51 of the image forming apparatus.

A front door 3 is provided on the front door 30 side of the bottom plate 20 of the main body of the copying machine.
Arm support stand 31 equipped with 0 rotation hinge 30a
is firmly planted, and an arm 32 is attached to this support stand 31.
is attached to be able to swing freely around a shaft 36.

The arm support base 31 has an arcuate long hole 31b centered around the shaft 36 position, and its displacement range is regulated by the arm 32 rotating and opening the front door 30 as shown in FIG. until the front door 30 is closed and the door catch 45 attached to the side plate 53 of the main body of the device and the front door side door catch 46 are in the specified position as shown in FIG. It's an angle.

Further, a shaft 34 is fixedly planted in the arm 32, and a part of this shaft (the back side in the figure) passes through the elongated hole 31b of the arm support base 31 and is loosely fitted. The axial direction is regulated by a flat washer (not shown) that is larger than the width of the elongated hole and an E-shaped stop ring.

Further, in front of the shaft 34, a joint lever 33 rotatable via a shaft 35 is loosely fitted to the lever 24 that raises and lowers the aforementioned transport unit 11, and this joint lever 33 also has a diameter larger than that of the shaft 34. The axial direction is regulated and installed using a flat washer and an E-shaped stop ring.

The shaft 34 fixed to the arm 32 described above penetrates and loosely fits into the elongated hole 31b of the arm support base 31, and its position in the axial direction is regulated by a flat washer and an E-shaped stop ring (not shown) on the back side of the arm support base 31. The reason for this is that the joint lever 33 is
The shaft 34 and the arm 3 are
2 strongly in the direction D (FIG. 2), move the arm 32 in the direction C (FIG. 2) centered on the fulcrum 36 of the arm 32.
A moment is generated in the direction of tilting the
This is to suppress this power.

A shaft 37 is fixed to the other end of the arm 32, and this shaft passes through an elongated hole 38a of an arm stand 38 fixed to the front door 30 and is loosely fitted therein. Furthermore, it is fixed with a screw from the back side of the figure while maintaining an appropriate gap in the axial direction that allows the slotted hole to slide using a flat washer (not shown) having a diameter larger than the width of the slotted hole and a screw.

This screw can be easily installed and removed. For example, by removing the screw and manually lifting the arm 32 in the direction of the front side plate 53 of the device body (see Figure 3), the traction force of the tension spring 27 can be applied. As a result, the transport unit 11 automatically rises and is regulated at a predetermined position.

A tension spring 39 is attached to a portion 32a at the other end of the arm 23, and the other end of the tension spring 39 is attached to an end 38c of the arm stand 38 that is fixed to the front door 30. is attached to.

The tension spring 39 is attached with almost a free length in the state shown in FIG. 2, and is tensioned in the state in which image formation is possible as shown in FIG.

This tension spring 39 is activated by the tension spring 27 for raising the transfer conveyance unit while the front door 30 is rotating from the state shown in FIG. 2 in which it is opened to the state shown in FIG. 3 in which it is closed. This is a braking spring to prevent sudden closing due to traction force.

The front door 3 shown in FIG.
The force acting in the E direction to open 0 is 45,4 in the figure.
Furthermore, when the operator rotates and opens the front door 30 in the direction E, the operator only needs to manually apply the engaging force to the door catch, and then the tension spring 39 is used to open the front door. It also performs a function of automatically assisting with the traction force of the vehicle, making it extremely easy to operate.

Next, to explain the operating procedure, in FIG. In order to move the arm 32, which is loosely fitted into the elongated hole 38a with a shaft 37 and a screw (not shown), from the open end point on the elongated hole 38a side, which is the end of movement, in the closing direction of arrow G.
When manually operated, the shaft 37 of the arm 32 described above is
It moves from the elongated hole 38a of the arm stand 38 toward the other end of the elongated hole 38b. At the same time, the arm 32 is also centered around the axis 36 of the arm support base 31.
A shaft 34, which is also fixed to the arm 32, moves from one end 31b of the long hole of the arm support 31 to the other end 31c while regulating the position of the arm 32 in the C direction.

Further, along with the above movement, the joint lever 33, which is loosely fitted to the shaft 34 fixedly attached to the arm 32, also moves in the same direction as the arm 32.

This movement causes the lever 24 at the bottom of the transport unit 11 inside the apparatus main body to move clockwise toward the shaft 25.
Start rotating around. A tension spring 27 is tensioned in this direction of rotation, and the above-mentioned transport unit 1
1 to the reference position 50 or 51 on the side plate of the main body of the device.

At this point, the front door 30 is engaged with the door catch 45 attached to the side plate of the apparatus main body and the door catch 46 attached to the front door 30 itself, and is maintained in a normal state in which image formation is possible.

In order to return the front door 30 to the open position, the front door is rotated open and the above-mentioned reverse operation is performed to enable jam removal and maintenance.

Furthermore, since the transport unit 11 can be moved toward and away from the photoreceptor 2, when the front door 30 is opened and the transport unit 11 is separated from the photoreceptor 2, the photoreceptor protection cover 18 attached to the transport unit 1 ( 1st
It is possible to protect the transfer portion of the photoreceptor 2 by entering the space obtained by moving the conveyance unit in the F direction, and it is possible to protect the transfer portion of the photoreceptor 2, and it is useful for jam processing and maintenance, or for the copying machine of this embodiment. In this case, the transport unit 1 is pulled out toward the front in the figure when replenishing developer, so it is necessary to automatically protect the transport unit 1 from external light and damage caused by handling in conjunction with the front door. I can do it.

As explained above, according to the configuration of the present invention, the transport unit is balanced and interlocked with the opening/closing door so that it can approach and separate from the image forming section, so that jamming etc. can be performed very easily and safely.

Furthermore, since it can be linked with an opening/closing door such as a protective cover, it is also possible to prevent damage and deterioration of the photoreceptor and the like.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a copying apparatus to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the transport unit in an open state, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the door in a closed state. . In the figure, 11 is a conveyance unit, 24 is a lever, 30 is a front door, 32 is an arm, 33 is a joint lever, 38 is an arm stand, and 39 is a tension spring.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. In an image forming apparatus in which a transport unit that transports a sheet is opened in a direction away from a transport position, when the transport unit is moved away from the transport position in conjunction with movement of an opening door that opens and closes the transport unit. An image forming apparatus characterized in that the opening/closing door is provided with elastic means for balancing the elastic means for swinging the transport unit. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transport unit has a transfer means.