JP4164657B2 - Printing device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a printing apparatus.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, electrophotographic printers, ink jet printers, and the like are known as printers. For example, in an electrophotographic printing apparatus, components such as a photoreceptor unit, a developing unit, and a fixing unit are unitized for each function, and each of these components can be replaced or attached for maintenance. There are many things.
[0003]
As an example of the components of the electrophotographic printing apparatus, a developing unit is shown in FIG. 2, and a conventional component mounting and dismounting mechanism will be described.
[0004]
The developing unit 1 mainly includes a frame 2, a developing mechanism such as a developing roll 3 and a cleaning roll 4, a driving mechanism such as a motor, a gear, or a belt (not shown), a toner replenishing mechanism (not shown), and the like. Four rollers 5 (one of which is not shown) are installed at the bottom of the frame 2.
[0005]
The rails 6 and 7 of the printing apparatus main body for supporting and fixing the developing unit 1 are installed on the frame 8 of the printing apparatus main body, and the rollers 5 of the developing unit 1 are in contact with and supported by the rails 6 and 7 of the printing apparatus main body.
[0006]
The developing unit 1 can be easily pulled out of the printing apparatus main body at the time of maintenance and inspection, or in recent years when the developing unit is replaced due to a change in printing color. The procedure is shown below.
[0007]
The external rails 10 and 11 having the same interval as the rails 6 and 7 of the printing apparatus main body are connected and fixed at respective ends by members (not shown). The developing unit 1 is pulled out along the rails 6 and 7 and the external rails 10 and 11 of the printing apparatus main body fixedly connected.
[0008]
On the other hand, the developing unit 1 needs to be adjusted to a position where the developing roll 3 and the cleaning roll 4 are close to the surface of the photosensitive member 9 with a predetermined interval substantially in parallel. This interval is usually about 0.5 to 1.5 mm, and the allowable fluctuation range is about 0.1 mm.
[0009]
A reference provided by the pressing mechanism 12 composed of a spring or the like when the developing unit 1 is housed in the printing apparatus main body so that the distance does not change when the developing unit 1 is attached or detached. By being pressed against the member 13 having a surface, the developing unit 1 is positioned in the x direction. Thereafter, the door 14 for preventing dropout is closed. The drop-off prevention door 14 is provided with a pressing member 15, and when the drop-off prevention door 14 is closed, the pressing member 15 contacts the developing unit 1 and pushes in the developing unit 1. Then, the contact member 16 provided in the developing unit 1 is abutted against the stopper 17 provided in the printing apparatus main body, and the developing unit 1 is positioned in the y direction.
[0010]
The opening / closing door 14 for preventing the dropping prevents the developing unit 1 from falling out of the main body of the printing apparatus and serves as a cover for the developing unit 1 to prevent the operator from coming into contact with a dangerous part such as a rotating portion of the developing unit 1. There is.
[0011]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
According to the above prior art, when the developing unit 1 is housed in the printing apparatus main body, the x direction is positioned by the member 13 having the reference surface and the y direction is positioned by the stopper 17.
[0012]
However, if the position at which the developing unit 1 is pressed by the pressing member 15 is not specified, the pressing generated by the pressing member 15 against the developing unit 1 when the drop-off prevention door 14 is closed as shown in FIG. The force 18 rotates the developing unit 1 with the contact portion between the contact member 16 and the stopper 17 as a fulcrum. As a result, the parallelism between the developing unit 1 and the photosensitive member 9 is broken, and the distance between the developing roller 3 or the cleaning roller 4 of the developing unit 1 and the photosensitive member 9 is deviated from a predetermined value, or the photosensitive member 9 may be damaged by contact. There is.
[0013]
As a solution for preventing the rotation of the developing unit, there is a technique in which the contact member 16 has a wide plane as shown in FIG. 5 and contacts the stopper 17 with a certain area. However, in this configuration, the contact plane between the member 13 having the reference surface and the contact member 16 of the stopper 17 in the printing apparatus main body needs to be accurately orthogonal, and high accuracy is required for the components and adjustment.
[0014]
In addition, as shown in FIG. 6, there is a method of suppressing rotation by setting the contact member 16 that contacts the stopper 17 to a plurality of two or more points, but if the contact point increases, the number of components increases. In addition, adjustment is necessary so that the developing unit 1 and the photosensitive member 9 are parallel when all the contact points contact the stopper, and adjustment points increase as the contact points increase, making the adjustment work complicated. Invitation
[0015]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, in the present invention, in a printing apparatus in which a detachable component is detachable, the detachable component includes a roller and an abutting member that abuts a stopper of the printing apparatus , and the printing device includes a rail wherein the removable component of the rollers travels, the stopper the abutting member abuts, the orthogonal direction pressing member and the pressing force for securing pressing the removable component in the direction perpendicular to the rail comprising a member having a reference surface to receive a door to prevent the falling off of the removable component, which is provided to be openable and closable with respect to the printing apparatus, and a storage direction pressing member provided in the door, close the door The point on the detachable component pressed by the storage direction pressing member and the point that contacts the stopper by the contact member are pressed in the storage direction. Force pressing said removable component by only member is characterized in that is positioned on the extension of the direction acting.
[0016]
Further, the detachable component is any one of a developing unit , a photoreceptor unit, and a fixing unit .
[0017]
The contact member may have a pin shape.
[0019]
Further , an elastic member is disposed between the storage direction pressing member and the door .
[0020]
Furthermore, the elastic member is a spring.
[0021]
As a result, when the detachable component of the electrophotographic printing apparatus is inserted, the shape and pressing position of the contact member of the detachable component are regulated, so that stable positioning can be achieved without increasing the number of components and adjustment work. The mechanism that can be used.
[0022]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of the printing apparatus of the present invention.
[0023]
In this embodiment, an electrophotographic system is used, and the optical unit 22, the cleaning unit 23, and the printing unit 24 are positioned so as to face the developing unit 1. A sheet is located below the developing unit 1, and a toner image is formed when the sheet 26 passes the printing unit 24, and the toner image is fixed to the sheet when the sheet 26 passes the fixing unit 25. Accumulated in the stacker 21.
[0024]
Next, referring to FIG. 1, the detachable component positioning mechanism according to the present invention will be described with a developing unit as an embodiment.
[0025]
The developing unit 1 according to the present invention mainly includes a frame 2, a developing mechanism such as a developing roll 3 and a cleaning roll 4, a driving mechanism such as a motor, a gear or a belt (not shown), a toner replenishing mechanism (not shown), and the like. Composed. Four rollers (one of which is not shown) are installed below the frame 2.
[0026]
The rails 6 and 7 of the printing apparatus main body for supporting and fixing the developing unit 1 are also installed on the frame 8 of the printing apparatus main body in the same manner as before, and the rollers 5 of the developing unit 1 are in contact with and supported by the rails 6 and 7 of the printing apparatus main body. .
[0027]
When the developing unit 1 is housed in the printing apparatus main body, it is pressed against the member 13 having the reference surface by the pressing mechanism 12 as in the prior art, and the developing unit 1 is positioned in the x direction.
[0028]
Thereafter, the drop-off prevention opening / closing door 14 having the pressing member 15 is closed. The pressing member 15 is provided at an arbitrary position in contact with the developing unit 1 when the drop-off prevention opening / closing door 14 is closed, as in the prior art. On the other hand, a contact pin 19 having a small tip area is provided on the surface opposite to the surface pressed by the pressing member 15 of the developing unit 1, and the contact pin 19 is provided with a stopper 17 provided in the printing apparatus main body. The developing unit 1 is positioned in the y direction.
[0029]
As shown in FIG. 3, the contact pin is arranged on an extension line in a direction in which a pressing force 18 generated by the pressing member 15 on the developing unit 1 acts when the drop-off prevention opening / closing door 14 is closed.
[0030]
According to this configuration, since the point pressed against the pressing member 15 on the developing unit 1 and the point on the contact pin 19 that contacts the stopper 17 are on a straight line in the direction in which the pressing force works, the developing unit 1 includes Unnecessary rotational force does not occur at all, and positioning in the y direction is possible without breaking the parallelism of the developing unit 1 and the photosensitive member 9.
[0031]
By the way, if only the rigid body of the pressing member 15 and the drop-off prevention door 14 is configured, the drop-off prevention door 14 is deformed by the reaction force of the pressing force 18 against the developing unit 1 when the drop-off prevention door 14 is closed. Further, the pressing force 18 against the developing unit 1 needs to take into account the deflection of the rigid pressing member 15 and the drop-off prevention opening / closing door 14, and it is difficult to appropriately manage the pressing force. is there. Therefore, if an elastic member 20 such as a spring is provided between the pressing member 15 and the drop-off prevention opening / closing door 14, the reaction force of the pressing force 18 against the developing unit 1 is not directly transmitted to the drop-off prevention opening / closing door 14. The deformation of the prevention opening / closing door 14 can be prevented, and an appropriate pressing force can be easily obtained by adjusting the amount of contraction of the elastic member 20 when the developing unit 1 is pressed.
[0032]
Although the present embodiment has been described with reference to an electrophotographic printing apparatus, the present invention can also be applied to a printing apparatus in which a detachable component part needs to be accurately positioned and stored in the apparatus main body.
[0033]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, a mechanism for positioning without causing a change in the distance between a detachable component and a neighboring component or damage caused by contact, which has been a problem in the prior art, can be used for increasing the number of components and adjusting the work. This can be realized without incurring complications.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a developing unit attaching / detaching mechanism of an electrophotographic printing apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a developing unit attaching / detaching mechanism of a conventional electrophotographic printing apparatus.
FIG. 3 is a top view showing a developing unit positioning state in the positioning mechanism according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a top view illustrating an example of a developing unit positioning state in a positioning mechanism according to a conventional technique.
FIG. 5 is a top view illustrating an example of a developing unit positioning state in a positioning mechanism according to a conventional technique.
FIG. 6 is a top view illustrating an example of a developing unit positioning state in a positioning mechanism according to a conventional technique.
FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of a printing apparatus according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 is a developing unit, 2 is a frame, 3 is a developing roll, 4 is a cleaning roll, 5 is a roller, 6 and 7 are rails of the printing apparatus main body, 8 is a frame of the printing apparatus main body, 9 is a photoreceptor, and 10 and 11 are External rail, 12 is a pressing mechanism, 13 is a member having a reference surface, 14 is a door for preventing dropping, 15 is a pressing member, 16 is a contact member, 17 is a stopper, 18 is a pressing force, 19 is a contact pin , 20 is an elastic member, 21 is a stacker, 22 is an optical unit, 23 is a cleaning unit, 24 is a printing unit, 25 is a fixing unit, 26 is paper, and 27 is a power source.

Claims (5)

In a printing device in which a detachable component is removable,
The removable component includes a roller and an abutting member that abuts against a stopper of the printing apparatus,
The printing apparatus includes a rail wherein the removable component of the rollers travels, the stopper the abutting member abuts, orthogonal direction pressing member and the pressing to fix pressing the removable component in the direction perpendicular to the rail comprising a member having a reference surface for receiving the force, and the door to prevent the falling off of the removable component, which is provided to be openable and closable with respect to the printing apparatus, and a storage direction pressing member provided in the door,
When the door is closed, a point on the detachable component that is pressed by the storing direction pressing member and a point that contacts the stopper by the abutting member are combined with the detachable configuration by the storing direction pressing member. A printing apparatus, wherein the printing apparatus is positioned on an extension line in a direction in which a force pressing a component acts . The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detachable component is one of a developing unit , a photosensitive unit, and a fixing unit .   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the contact member has a pin shape. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an elastic member is disposed between the storage direction pressing member and the door. The printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the elastic member is a spring.

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