JPH073405Y2 - Foreign substance removal structure of image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to a foreign matter removing structure for removing foreign matter such as paper dust adhering to a sheet conveying roller in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine. .

[Conventional technology]

In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a transfer sheet is fed, conveyed and discharged by a plurality of conveying rollers. At this time, foreign matter, mainly paper dust, adheres to the transport roller, and it is necessary to remove it.

Therefore, conventionally, a sponge or the like for removing paper dust is provided by fixing it to the main body of the apparatus with a screw or the like, and the sponge or the like is brought into contact with the registration roller in the paper transport mechanism to allow foreign matter such as paper dust to adhere to the roller. To remove.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

By the way, if the device is used for a long time, paper dust and other foreign substances will be deposited on the sponge for removing paper dust.
It needs to be cleaned or replaced. However, in the conventional method in which the sponge or the like is fixed to the apparatus body as described above, it is not possible for the user to easily perform cleaning or replacement. Since the transfer and the fixing are performed in the adhered state, there is a possibility that the image formation failure or the like may be caused. Also, during cleaning and replacement work by a service person or the like, the photosensitive drums are provided close to each other or in a narrow place inside the machine,
There was a problem that it was very difficult to remove and attach the sponge.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the need for cleaning a foreign matter removing member for removing foreign matter such as paper dust, and to prevent defective image formation on the image forming apparatus main body side.

[Means for solving problems]

Here, in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, there are things such as a developing unit and a photoconductor drum that must be replaced as consumables after being used for a certain period of time.
These can be easily removed in consideration of workability,
It may be unitized so that it can be mounted.

The present invention has been made paying attention to such a point, and a foreign matter removing member for removing foreign matter adhering to the sheet conveying roller is pulled out to the front side of the image forming apparatus and attached to a detachable consumable exchange unit. The foreign matter removing member is adapted to abut on the sheet conveying roller in a state where the consumable item replacing unit is mounted on the image forming apparatus.

Another idea is to scrape off the foreign matter adhering to the foreign matter removing member, which is disposed on the drawer side of the consumable goods exchanging unit of the image forming apparatus main body and comes into contact with the foreign matter removing member drawn out together with the consumable goods exchanging unit. It further comprises a plate and a foreign matter receiver arranged below the scraping plate to receive the foreign matter scraped off by the scraping plate.

[Action]

In the present invention, when the consumable item replacement unit such as the developing unit is mounted, the foreign matter removing member attached to the unit comes into contact with the paper transport roller to remove foreign matter such as paper dust attached to the roller. When exchanging the consumables exchanging unit, the consumables exchanging unit is pulled out from the image forming apparatus main body to the front side. When the consumable item replacement unit is pulled out, the foreign matter removing member attached to this unit is also pulled out at the same time. Then, by mounting a new unit, the foreign matter removing member is automatically replaced with a new one. Therefore, it is not necessary to clean the foreign matter removing member.

Further, since the consumable item replacement unit is pulled out to the front side of the image forming apparatus main body, the foreign matter removing member is also pulled out of the apparatus when the unit is pulled out, and falls from the foreign matter removing member into the image forming apparatus main body during the pulling operation. The amount of foreign matter is reduced.

If the scraper plate and the foreign matter receiver are further provided on the drawer side of the consumables replacement unit, the scraper plate removes the foreign matter from the foreign matter removing member during the drawing operation of the consumables replacement unit. Be recovered. Therefore, it is possible to prevent foreign matter from falling to the floor.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an example in which a foreign matter removing structure according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to a copying machine. In this figure, a developing unit and a photosensitive drum portion, which are central parts of the apparatus, are shown. ing. The developing unit 10 has the same structure as the conventional one, and has a developing roller (not shown) inside the developing housing 1. And, on the pull-out side of the front part (left side in FIG. 1) of the developing unit 10,
A supporting portion 2 for positioning and supporting the developing unit 10 with respect to the drum shaft 12 of the photosensitive drum 11 is provided so as to project.
A hole 2a into which the drum shaft 12 is inserted is formed substantially in the center of the support portion 2.
Are formed. Further, above the hole 2a of the support portion 2, there is provided a lock lever support portion 2b for rotatably supporting a lock lever described later. Development unit
A guide portion 3 serving as a guide when the developing unit 10 is attached and detached is formed on the bottom portion of the developing unit 10. The guide portion 3 is formed in a groove (not shown in FIG. 1) provided in a guide member 4 on the apparatus main body side. Not)).

Further, in the photoconductor drum 11, the drum shaft 12 is supported by the support plate of the apparatus main body via a bearing.

An L-shaped lock lever 13 is rotatably attached to the support portion 2 of the developing unit 10 while being biased clockwise by a torsion spring (not shown).
In the locked state where 10 is attached, as shown in FIG.
A part of the lock lever 13 is adapted to engage with a lock groove 12a formed in the drum shaft 12. Further, below the developing unit 10, a registration roller pair including a driving side registration roller 15 and a driven side registration roller 14 is provided, and by this registration roller, an arrow A or B in the drawing is used.
The sheet conveyed from the direction is conveyed to the transfer portion at a predetermined timing. Guide members 16 to 18 for sheet conveyance are arranged in front of and behind the registration rollers.

The development housing 1 of the development unit 10 is provided with a foreign matter removing device 20 for removing foreign matter such as paper dust attached to the driven side registration roller 14 (hereinafter, simply referred to as a registration roller). The foreign matter removing device 20 is composed of an operating member 22 whose one end is rotatably attached to the developing housing 1 by a pin 21, and a sponge 23 fixed to the tip of the operating member 22. Is
The connecting plate 30 is adapted to rotate in conjunction with the lock lever 13. That is, a pin 31 is planted at one end of the connecting plate 30, the pin 31 is inserted into the elongated hole 13a formed in the lock lever 13, and the other end is attached to the operating member 22 of the foreign matter removing device 20. The operation member 22 is rotatably connected by a pin 32, and the operating member 22 is rotated by the locking operation or the unlocking operation of the lock lever 13, and the sponge 23
Touches the registration roller 14 or separates from it.

Next, the operation will be described.

In the locked state where the developing unit 10 is mounted, the lock lever 13 is driven by the biasing force of the torsion spring so that the groove 12a
And the pin 31 of the connecting plate 30 abuts on the right end of the elongated hole 13a of the lock lever 13 and is pulled forward (to the left in FIG. 1). Therefore, the operating member 22 and the sponge 23 at its tip end are in contact with the registration roller 14 as shown in FIG. Thus, the sponge 23 removes foreign matter such as paper dust attached to the registration rollers 14.

The developing unit 10 needs to be replaced with a new unit after being used for a long time and with another color unit when changing the color of toner to be developed. In this case, as shown in FIG. 3, the lock lever 13 is pushed in the direction of arrow C in the figure against the biasing force of the torsion spring to unlock the drum shaft 12. As a result, after the lock lever 13 rotates by a predetermined angle, the left end of the elongated hole 13a abuts the pin 31 of the connecting plate 30 and the connecting plate 30 moves rearward (to the right in the figure). Rotate counterclockwise around the pin 21,
The sponge 23 at the tip is separated from the registration roller 14. In this state, the developing unit 10 is pulled out to the front and replaced with another unit.

Therefore, when the developing unit 10 is replaced with a new one, the foreign matter removing device is also replaced with a new one at the same time, and when the color unit is replaced, the sponge attached to the newly installed unit should be cleaned in advance. You can

In this embodiment as described above, it is possible to replace and clean the foreign matter removing device at the same time as the developing unit is attached and detached, and it is possible to remove paper dust and foreign matter very easily without requiring difficult work as in the conventional method. It can be performed.

In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, a scraping plate 32 and a paper dust receiver 33 below the scraping plate 32 may be provided on the developing unit drawer side of the apparatus main body. According to such an embodiment, when the developing unit 10 is pulled out, the sponge is
Foreign matter such as paper dust adhered to 23 is scraped off by the scraping plate 32, and the scraped foreign matter can be received in the paper dust receiver 33, and is loaded on the sponge 23 at the same time when the developing unit 10 is pulled out. Paper dust and the like can be removed.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As is well known, the distance between the photosensitive drum and the developing roller (DS distance) in a copying machine is a very important distance. Considering the replacement of the developing unit, this can be done with high accuracy and easily. Need to be able to adjust. Therefore, as described above, the developing unit and the main body of the apparatus are provided with the guide portion 3 and the guide groove that serve as a guide at the time of attachment / detachment. When the developing unit 10 is installed along the guide and the groove, the developing roller shaft 7 is guided to the bearing portion 6 (see FIG. 7) and further locked. lever
By engaging 13 with the lock groove 12a of the drum shaft 12, the DS is positioned, and the relative distance relationship between the developing unit and the photosensitive drum, the registration roller, etc. can be controlled with high accuracy. ing.

This embodiment has been made in view of this point, and as shown in FIG. 5, a fixing rib 25 integrally formed with the developing housing 1 and a fixing rib at a predetermined position on the bottom of the developing unit 10. A foreign matter removing device including a sponge 26 fixed to 25 is provided so that the sponge 26 comes into contact with the registration roller 14 when the developing unit is mounted. Other configurations are similar to those of the conventional device.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described in detail. For convenience of description, the operation will be described here while describing the operation when the developing unit 10 is mounted. 6 and 7
As shown in the figure, the guide portion 3 is provided on the bottom of the developing housing 1.
A, 3b, 3c (see FIG. 6, two-dot chain line and solid line) are formed, and guide grooves 4a, 4b, 4c are formed by the guide rail in the main body side guide member 4. Each guide groove is formed wide on the insertion inlet side (the right side in FIG. 6) so that the guide portion can be inserted by a rough adjustment at the first alignment.

Then, each guide portion of the developing unit 10 is aligned with the guide groove on the main body side, and the developing unit 10 is mounted on the apparatus main body.First, the guide portion 3a and the tip of the guide groove 4a,
The tips of the guide portion 3b and the guide groove 4b, and the foreign matter removing device and the groove 4d.
Align. When the developing unit 10 is pushed in in this state, the guide portions 3a and 3b advance along the guide grooves 4a and 4b, respectively. At this intermediate stage, the developing roller (developing unit) and the photoconductor drum 11 are positioned at a distance distance larger than the predetermined DS distance, and the state shown in FIG. 8 is obtained. That is, at this point, the sponge 26 and the registration roller 14 are
It is a predetermined distance away.

When the developing unit 10 is further pushed from this state, the guide portion 3c is fitted into the guide groove 4c (see FIG. 6), and at the same time, the guide members 3b and 3c are guided along the guide grooves 4b and 4c. As a result, the developing unit 10 is brought closer to the photosensitive drum side. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the shaft 7 of the developing roller is inserted into the bearing portion 6 fixed to the supporting plate 5 of the apparatus main body, and the shaft 8 is inserted into the hole 9 of the supporting plate 5 so as to be predetermined. The developing unit 10 is set to the regular position while maintaining the DS distance. In this state, as shown in FIG.
The sponge 26 comes into contact with the registration roller 14, and therefore foreign matter such as paper dust attached to the registration roller 14 is absorbed by the sponge 26.
Are removed by.

It goes without saying that the same effects as those of the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 can be obtained by such an embodiment as well, and further, the operating member and the like are unnecessary, and the structure becomes simpler.

In each of the above embodiments, the case in which the foreign matter removing device is attached to the developing unit has been described, but the foreign substance removing device may be attached to any unit as long as it is a consumables exchanging unit. Even if it is attached to a so-called process unit where the photosensitive drum and peripheral devices are integrated and replaceable,
The same effect as that of each of the above-described embodiments is obtained.

[Effect of device]

As described above, according to the present invention, the foreign matter removing member is automatically replaced at the same time when the consumable item replacing unit is replaced. Therefore, it is not necessary to clean the foreign matter removing member.

Further, since the consumable goods replacement unit is pulled out to the front side of the image forming apparatus main body, less foreign matter drops from the foreign matter removing member into the image forming apparatus main body during the pulling operation.

If a scraping plate and a foreign matter receiver are further provided on the pull-out side of the consumable goods replacement unit, it is possible to prevent foreign matter from falling onto the floor during the work of drawing out the consumable goods replacement unit.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example in which a foreign matter removing structure according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied to a copying machine, FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a description of the operation of the apparatus of FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 6, FIG.
8 and 9 are views for explaining the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Developing housing, 3 ... Guide part, 4a, 4b, 4c ... Guide groove, 10 ... Developing unit, 13 ... Lock lever, 14,15 ... Registration roller, 20 ... Foreign matter removing device, 22 ... Operating member, 23, 2
6 ... sponge, 30 ... connecting plate. The same reference numerals in the drawings indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-56-102864 (JP, A) Actual application No. Sho 61-122317 (Actual break No. Sho 63-29165) Micro film (JP, U) Micro film (JP, U) taken from the specifications and drawings attached to the application of Japanese Patent Application No. 58-123132 (Japanese Utility Model No. 60-30136)

Claims (2)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A foreign matter adhering to a paper feed roller provided in an image forming apparatus having a consumable supply exchange unit that can be pulled out to the front side from the image forming apparatus main body and is removable. And a foreign matter removing member for removing foreign matter of the paper transport roller is attached to the consumable goods exchange unit, and the consumable goods exchange unit is attached to the image forming apparatus main body. Then, the foreign matter removing structure of the image forming apparatus, wherein the foreign matter removing member is in contact with the sheet conveying roller. 2. A scraper for scraping off the foreign matter adhering to the foreign matter removing member, which is disposed on the drawer side of the consumable goods exchanging unit of the main body of the image forming apparatus and comes into contact with the foreign matter removing member drawn out together with the consumable goods exchanging unit. The foreign matter removing structure of the image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a scraping plate, and a foreign matter receiver disposed below the scraping plate and receiving the foreign matter scraped off by the scraping plate.