JPH0631477Y2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having first and second image forming units which are replaceable with respect to the apparatus main body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming unit is constituted by a photoconductor and a means for forming an image on the photoconductor, and the image forming unit is mounted on an image forming apparatus main body for use.
A configuration is known in which the image forming units are sequentially replaced with new (unused) image forming units at the end of their life. In this case, by constructing the image forming unit into replaceable first and second units, it is possible to accurately correspond to the life of each constituent member.

By the way, in such an image forming unit, an unused image forming unit is provided so as to be detached after being mounted on the main body of the image forming apparatus in order to keep the storage condition optimal during storage. , Some have a unit attachment member. For example, a protective sheet for protecting the surface of the photoconductor of an unused image forming unit or the image forming means during storage is one example.

In such a device, the protective sheet interposed between the surface of the photoconductor and the image forming means is peeled off, and then the image forming unit is mounted on the main body of the image forming apparatus for use. I have to.

Conventionally, when the image forming unit is set at a predetermined position, it is relatively easy to set the image forming unit on a drawer rail provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus and pull the protective sheet to remove it. In the case of the type in which the image forming unit is directly set in the image forming apparatus main body, the removal work of the protective sheet is often forgotten after the setting.

If the image forming unit is set in the main body of the image forming apparatus without peeling off the protective sheet, an image forming error may occur, or the protective sheet may be caught in the main body of the image forming apparatus to cause troubles. It was

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, the present invention provides an accessory member such as a protective sheet provided between a photoconductor and an image forming processing means, which is used only when an unused image forming unit is stored. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of reliably preventing an image forming error caused by forgetting to remove the sheet and a trouble caused by winding of a protective sheet.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention comprises a photoconductor and at least one of image forming processing means around the photoconductor for performing an image forming process integrally, and comprises First and second image forming units that are replaceably mounted on the first and second mounting portions, respectively, and are mounted on the first image forming unit when the first image forming unit is new. A first image forming unit is attached to the first attaching portion, and a unit storage attachment member is provided to be removed immediately before the apparatus main body is operated. An image forming apparatus configured to prioritize mounting to the first mounting portion over mounting to the second mounting portion of the second image forming unit, wherein the unit storage accessory member comprises:
When the first image forming unit is attached to the first attaching portion without being removed from the first image forming unit, the second image forming unit of the second image forming unit is attached.
It is characterized in that it has a protrusion for preventing the attachment of the.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 3 and 4 are schematic configuration diagrams showing the entire image forming apparatus including an upper body portion and a lower body portion to which the image forming unit according to the present invention is applied. The state which the part 15 closed and the open state are shown.

The photoconductor drum 1 is arranged substantially at the center of the whole and is provided with a photoconductor layer. The surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is uniformly charged by the charger 2, and then the image information exposure unit 3 performs exposure based on image information to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1. Thereafter, the developing device 4 develops the electrostatic latent image with toner.

On the other hand, the paper 7 fed by the paper feed roller 6 from the paper feed cassette 5 arranged at the lower part is conveyed by the transport roll 8
The toner image is conveyed by a standby roll 9 at the same timing as the toner-developed image formed on the photoconductor drum 1 and transferred by a transfer device 10 by a pair of upper and lower fixing rolls 11a and 11b. It is fixed and discharged onto the paper discharge tray 12. Further, after removing the residual toner on the photosensitive drum 1 by the cleaner 13, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is uniformly charged by the charger 2 to prepare for the next image formation.

The main body of the image forming apparatus is composed of an upper body 15 and a lower body 16 which are rotatably joined to each other by a hinge portion 14, and upper and lower abutment portions 17 shown by broken lines are connected to the upper body 15 and the lower body. The body part 16 contacts.

An image forming unit 18, which will be described later, including the photosensitive drum 1, a developing device 4, an image information exposing section 3, an upper fixing roll 11a and the like are housed in the upper exterior 15a. Inside the lower exterior 16a, the paper feed cassette 5, the paper feed roller 6, the transport roll 8, the standby roll 9, and the lower fixing roll 11b.
Etc. are stored.

FIG. 1 shows an image forming unit 1 according to the present invention.
8 is a vertical sectional view showing an example of No. 8 of the invention. The image forming unit 18 is a first image forming unit, and is configured by integrating the photoconductor drum 1, the charger 2 and the cleaner 13 as image forming processing means arranged on the outer periphery of the photoconductor drum 1. Has been done. A separation belt (not shown) for separating the sheet 7 after passing the transfer device 10 from the photosensitive drum 1 is provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus.

The photosensitive drum 1 has a cylindrical shape, and a protective sheet 31 is provided between the charger 2 and the cleaner 13 along the outer circumference.
Is wound and protected for more than one lap. The cleaner 13 is a fur brush 20 that is rotated by a drive mechanism (not shown) provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus, and a collection roll 2 that contacts the fur brush 20 and collects toner.
1 and a scraping member 22 for scraping the toner by coming into contact with the collecting roll 21 and the like, and the entire cleaner cover 23.
Is covered by.

The cleaner cover 23 has a recess 25 in the lower portion near the opening 24 facing the photoconductor drum 1, and the other end closed portion is L-shaped in cross section and is formed in the main body of the image forming apparatus. It is supported by the support frame 26 that constitutes the first mounting portion.

The recess 25 has a U-shaped cross section, is formed over the entire width of the cleaner 13 in parallel with the rotary shaft 1a of the photosensitive drum 1, and has an opening 25a directed obliquely downward. The stay 27 is a bar having a cross section of an isosceles right triangle, and is disposed on the opposite side of the cleaner 13 with the photoconductor drum 1 in between, and the developing device 4 as the second image forming unit is connected to the photoconductor drum. It is for positioning with respect to 1.

The developing device 4 is supported at its lower portion by a supporting frame 28 forming a second mounting portion formed in the main body of the image forming apparatus. The protective sheet 31 is made of, for example, a polyethylene film to which carbon is added in order to increase the light-shielding property.
Since it is wound over one round or more, for example, one end is substantially at the lowermost part of the photosensitive drum 1, a part thereof overlaps, and the other end is attached to the vicinity of the concave portion 25 of the cleaner 13 with the adhesive tape 30. Has been done.

As shown in FIG. 2, the photosensitive drum 1 has a rectangular concave portion 32 on the outer peripheral portion of the end face, and a similar concave portion is provided on the opposite side (not shown). The protection sheet 31 is provided with a sheet peeling prevention member 33 at a position corresponding to the position of the developing device 4.

The sheet peeling prevention member 33 is made of a flexible soft synthetic resin or the like, and as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, one end side near the cleaner 13 is hingedly connected to an inner portion 34 and an outer portion 35. The protective sheet 31 is joined to the inner surface of the inner portion 34 and is integrated with the protective sheet 31.

The inner portion 34 has a convex portion 34a that conforms to the shape of the concave portion 32 of the photosensitive drum 1 and projects inward. The convex portion 34a is fitted into the concave portion 32 and the protective sheet 31 in this portion is exposed. Lock the body drum 1.

When the upper body 15 of the main body of the image forming apparatus is closed as shown in FIG. 3, the outer portion 35 has its center of gravity above the center of the photosensitive drum 1 and the entire inner surface of the protective sheet 31 due to its own weight. but contact position of the center of gravity in an open state upper body portion 15 as shown in FIG. 4 is below the center of the photosensitive drum 1, and deformed by its own weight tip photosensitive drum as shown in FIG. 1 1 It is provided at a position where it interferes when the developing device 4 is inserted into the developing device 4 by projecting away from it.

The image forming unit 18 which is the first image forming unit and the developing device 4 which is the second image forming unit according to the present invention are mounted on and removed from the image forming apparatus as shown in FIG. Only when the machine body part 15 is opened, insertion or removal can be performed along the direction of the rotation shaft 1a of the photosensitive drum 1.

The order of insertion is such that the first image forming unit has priority over the second image forming unit, and the second image forming unit has priority when extracting. Exchanging the image forming unit 18 will be described. With the upper body portion 15 of the image forming apparatus main body opened, the developing device 4 and the image forming unit 18 are pulled out in this order in the direction vertical to the paper surface and removed. After that, a new image forming unit 18 for replacement is inserted and attached at a predetermined position, the adhesive tape 30 is peeled off, the tip of the protective sheet 31 is grasped and pulled in the direction indicated by the arrow b in FIG. A one-way clutch is interposed between the drive unit (not shown) and the photosensitive drum 1 rotates along with the protective sheet 31, so that the convex portion 34a of the inner portion 34 of the protective sheet 31 does not rub the photosensitive drum 1. Is easily removed from the concave portion 32 of the photosensitive drum 1 and removed.

If you forget to remove the protective sheet 31,
The tip of the outer portion 35 of the sheet peeling forgetting prevention member 33 projects outward, and the developing device 4 inserted thereafter cannot be inserted because the outer portion 35 interferes. Therefore, the developing device 4 is always inserted after removing the protective sheet 31, and the image forming apparatus cannot be operated without forgetting to remove the protective sheet 31.

In the case of the present embodiment, the sheet peeling forgetting prevention member 33 has a tip of the outer side portion 35 protruding outward when the developing device 4 is inserted, so that the sheet 33 is easily noticeable.
It is very effective in preventing forgetting to remove 1.

The protective sheet 31 is not limited to the polyethylene film, and may be made of any other material as long as it has a light-shielding property and relaxes the physical pressure contact force. However, a material from which components such as a plasticizer volatilize is not preferable because the photosensitive drum 1 undergoes a chemical change.

[0028]

According to the present invention, the detachable auxiliary member for storing the image forming unit is provided between the surface of the photosensitive member of the first image forming unit and the image forming processing means and protects the surface of the photosensitive member. Since the protective sheet as described above is provided with a sheet peeling prevention member that prevents the developing device 4 which is the second image forming unit from being attached to the apparatus body unless it is peeled off before the start of image formation, It is possible to provide an image forming apparatus capable of surely preventing an image forming error caused by forgetting to remove the protective sheet and a trouble due to the winding of the protective sheet.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing an image forming unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged perspective view showing a relationship between the photosensitive drum and a member forgot to peel off the same as above.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating the entire image forming apparatus with the upper body section closed to the lower body section according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram showing the entire image forming apparatus with the upper body section opened with respect to the lower body section of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 photoconductor drum, 2 charger, 3 image information exposure unit, 4 developing unit, 5 paper feed cassette,
6 paper feed roller, 7 paper, 8 transport roll, 9 standby roll, 10 transfer device, 11a,
11b fixing roll, 12 paper discharge tray, 13
Cleaner, 14 hinges, 15 upper fuselage, 15a upper exterior, 16 lower fuselage, 1
6a Lower exterior, 17 Vertical contact part, 18
Image forming unit, 20 fur brush, 21
Collection roll, 22 scraping member, 23 cleaner cover, 24 opening, 25 recess, 2
6 Support frame, 27 Stay, 28 Support frame, 30 Adhesive tape, 31 Protective sheet, 32 Recessed part, 33 Sheet forgetting prevention member, 34 Inner part, 34a Convex part, 35
Outer part,

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A photosensitive member and at least one of image forming processing means for performing image forming processing in the periphery of the photosensitive member are integrally configured, and can be replaced with first and second mounting portions of an apparatus main body. First and second image forming units mounted on the first image forming unit, and the first image forming unit is attached to the first image forming unit when the first image forming unit is new, and the first image forming unit is attached to the first image forming unit. A unit storage attachment member provided to be attached to the attachment portion and to be removed immediately before the apparatus main body is operated, and the attachment of the first image forming unit to the first attachment portion is performed. An image forming apparatus configured to give priority to mounting of a second image forming unit on the second mounting portion, wherein the unit storage accessory member is removed from the first image forming unit. Without An image having a protrusion that prevents the second image forming unit from being mounted on the second mounting portion when the first image forming unit is mounted on the first mounting portion. Forming equipment.