JP4798764B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus configured as an electronic copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, a printing machine, or a complex machine of these.

  Conventionally, various types of apparatuses are known as the image forming apparatus described above. As one of them, an image forming apparatus capable of adding an image forming unit for forming an image on a recording medium has been proposed (see Patent Document 1). According to such an image forming apparatus, a user who originally used the image forming apparatus including the base image forming unit obtains another image forming unit later, and uses this as a base image forming apparatus. By adding it to the unit, it is possible to upgrade the image forming apparatus. Since the image forming apparatus upgraded in this way is composed of a plurality of image forming units, it can be called a component type image forming apparatus.

  FIG. 12 is an external perspective view showing an outline of such a component type image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus shown here has two image forming units 1A and 101A arranged above and below, and a sheet feeding unit 3A is arranged below the image forming units 1A and 101A. A recording medium (not shown) sent out from the paper feeding unit 3A is formed with an image by each image forming unit while passing through each image forming unit 101A, 1A, and then the upper surface of the uppermost image forming unit 1A. The paper is discharged to the paper discharge section 9A as indicated by an arrow.

  Here, it is assumed that the image forming unit 101A located on the lower side breaks down and it is necessary to replace it with a new image forming unit. In this case, as shown in FIG. 13, first, the upper imaging unit 1A that has not failed is removed as indicated by an arrow I, and then the failed imaging unit 101A is fed as indicated by an arrow J. Remove from above unit 3A. Next, a new image forming unit 101B is placed on the paper feed unit 3A as indicated by an arrow K, and the upper image forming unit 1A is further positioned on the new image forming unit 101B as indicated by an arrow L. Placed on. Thus, in order to replace the lower image forming unit 101A, the normal upper image forming unit 1A must be lifted and removed, and the image forming unit 1A must be mounted again on the new image forming unit 101B. The work becomes very troublesome. When three or more image forming units are arranged one above the other, the replacement work of the lower image forming unit may be more complicated.

JP-A-2005-70114

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a component type image forming apparatus in which an image forming unit positioned below the uppermost image forming unit can be removed more easily than before.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an uppermost image forming unit in an image forming apparatus in which a plurality of image forming units each having a function capable of completing an image forming process on a recording medium are arranged vertically. The image forming unit located below is accommodated in the main body casing so that it can be pulled out in the front direction, and the uppermost image forming unit is the main body case accommodating the image forming unit located below the image forming unit. An image forming apparatus is proposed in which the image forming apparatus is detachably mounted in the vertical direction.
Similarly, in order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a plurality of photoconductors and an intermediate transfer belt to which a toner image formed on each photoconductor is transferred, and the overlapping toner transferred to the intermediate transfer belt In an image forming apparatus in which a plurality of image forming units are arranged above and below to transfer an image to a recording medium, fix the toner image transferred to the recording medium to the recording medium by a fixing device, and form an image on the recording medium. The image forming unit positioned below the uppermost image forming unit is accommodated in the main body casing so as to be able to be pulled out in the front direction, and the uppermost image forming unit is positioned below the image forming unit. An image forming apparatus is proposed which is detachably mounted in a vertical direction on a main body housing that houses a unit (claim 2).

  The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a cover that covers the uppermost image forming unit, wherein at least a part of the cover is rotatably supported, and at least one of the covers. It is advantageous that the uppermost image forming unit is attached and detached in the vertical direction by rotating the part to the open position.

  The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the cover includes a plurality of portions that are rotatably supported, and the plurality of portions are rotated to an open position to form an uppermost image forming unit. It is advantageous if it is configured to be attached and detached in the vertical direction (claim 4).

  Further, in the image forming apparatus according to claim 4, when the plurality of portions are rotated to the open position, the plurality of portions occupy positions that are substantially symmetrical with each other. It is advantageous (claim 5).

  Furthermore, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, it is advantageous that at least two image forming units are compatible with each other (claim 6).

  According to the present invention, the image forming unit positioned below the uppermost image forming unit can be easily removed.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view of an image forming unit 1 serving as a base. The image forming unit 1 is covered with a cover 2, and a paper feeding unit 3 is disposed below the cover 2. The image forming unit 1 includes first to fourth plurality of photoconductors 5Y, 5M, 5C, and 5BK, an intermediate transfer belt 6, and a fixing device 7, which are disposed inside the unit case 4. The transfer belt 6 is wound around a plurality of support rollers and rotated in the direction of arrow A. The first to fourth photoconductors 5Y to 5BK are each driven to rotate in the clockwise direction in FIG. 1, and at this time, as well known per se, each of the photoconductors is charged by a charging device, an exposure device, and a developing device (not shown). A yellow toner image, a magenta toner image, a cyan toner image, and a black toner image are formed on 5Y to 5BK, and the toner images are transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 6 in an overlapping manner. On the other hand, when a recording medium (not shown) made of transfer paper or a resin film is fed from the paper feeding unit 3 as indicated by an arrow B, and the recording medium passes between the intermediate transfer belt 6 and the transfer roller 8. Then, the superimposed toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 6 is transferred to the recording medium. The recording medium to which the toner image has been transferred is further conveyed upward and passes through the fixing device 7. At this time, the toner image is fixed to the recording medium by the action of heat and pressure. The recording medium that has passed through the fixing device 7 is discharged onto a paper discharge unit 9 constituted by the upper wall of the cover 2. As described above, the image forming unit 1 is a unit having a function capable of completing the image forming process on the recording medium by itself.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a component type image forming apparatus in which an image forming unit 1 serving as a base and other image forming units 101 are vertically arranged in two stages. FIG. It is a general | schematic external appearance perspective view. Here, the image forming unit 1 serving as a base is located on the upper side, and an additional image forming unit 101 is disposed below the image forming unit 1. The upper image forming unit 1 is covered with the cover 2 also shown in FIG. 1, and the lower image forming unit 101 is accommodated in the main body housing 10 and below the paper feeding unit shown in FIG. 3 is arranged. 3 is a diagram in which some of the components shown in FIG. 2 are omitted and the image forming unit and the like are simplified (the same applies to FIGS. 4 to 11).

  The configuration of the lower image forming unit 101 in the unit case 104 is the same as that of the upper image forming unit 1, and toner images of the respective colors formed on the plurality of photoconductors 105Y, 105M, 105C, and 105BK are subjected to intermediate transfer. The belt 106 is configured to be transferred onto the belt 106.

  Here, the recording medium sent out from the paper feeding unit 3 first passes through the lower image forming unit 101 as indicated by an arrow C, and at this time, the superimposed toner image transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 106 is recorded. When the recording medium is transferred to one surface of the medium and the recording medium passes through the fixing device 107, the toner image is fixed to the recording medium. This recording medium is once ejected to the reversing device 11 arranged outside the main body housing 10 as indicated by an arrow D, and then this recording medium is again imaged from the reversing device 11 as shown by the arrow E. The superimposed toner image transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 6 is transferred to the other surface of the recording medium and transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 6. When the recording medium passes through the fixing device 7, the toner image is transferred to the recording medium. It is fixed. The recording medium having the images formed on both sides in this manner is discharged to a paper discharge unit 9 formed by the upper wall of the cover 2 as indicated by an arrow F. Since the reversing device 11 has a configuration known per se, its detailed description is omitted here.

  The recording medium fed from the paper feeding unit 3 is passed through the lower image forming unit 101 and the upper image forming unit 1 as it is without being sent to the reversing device 11, and the recording medium is recorded by any one of the image forming units. An image can also be formed on one side. In this case, since the recording medium is continuously fed and a toner image can be alternately formed on each recording medium by the upper image forming unit 1 and the lower image forming unit 101, the image forming as the base shown in FIG. Compared with an image forming apparatus including only the unit 1, the image forming speed can be increased. As described above, according to the image forming apparatus in which a plurality of image forming units for forming an image on the recording medium are arranged in the upper and lower directions, high performance is exhibited as compared with an image forming apparatus having only a base image forming unit. be able to.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cover 2 covering the upper image forming unit 1 includes a bottom plate 12, a side plate 13 integrated with the bottom plate 12, and a hinge 14 on the bottom plate 12 in the directions of arrows G and H. The upper image forming unit 1 is placed on the bottom plate 12 of the movable plate 15 that is rotatably connected. Normally, the movable plate 15 occupies the closed position shown in FIG. 3, and the upper image forming unit 1 is covered with the movable plate 15, the side plate 13, and the bottom plate 12.

  On the other hand, the main body housing 10 that houses the lower image forming unit 101 is formed in a box shape in which the bottom plate 16, the side plates 17 and 18, and the upper plate 19 are integrated, and the front side portion thereof is open. The opening 20 is made.

  Here, when it is necessary to remove the lower image forming unit 101 due to a failure or the like, the image forming unit 101 is pulled out through the opening 20 of the main housing 10 as shown in FIG. A new image forming unit (not shown) can be pushed through the opening 20 and set inside the main body casing 10. As described above, the image forming unit 101 positioned below the uppermost image forming unit 1 is accommodated in the main body housing 10 so as to be able to be pulled out toward the front, so that the upper image forming unit 1 is not removed. Therefore, the lower image forming unit 101 can be easily replaced.

  Further, when the upper image forming unit 1 is replaced, the movable plate 15 of the cover 2 is rotated in the direction of arrow G about the hinge 14 to bring the movable plate 15 to the open position shown in FIG. Thereby, the upper image forming unit 1 can be lifted upward and removed. Next, a new image forming unit (not shown) is placed on the bottom plate 12 of the cover 2, and the movable plate 15 is rotated in the direction of arrow H to bring it to the closed position shown in FIG.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the movable plate 15 is rotated to the open position, the upper image forming unit 1 is removed, and the lower image forming unit 101 is pulled out to the front side. It can also be removed.

  In the example described above, only the movable plate 15 of the cover 2 that covers the uppermost image forming unit 1 can be turned. However, for example, the bottom plate 12 of the cover 2 is omitted, and the movable plate 15 is placed below the main body casing 10. It is also possible to connect the side plate 13 and the movable plate 15 together to form a cover, and to rotate and open the entire cover. In this case, the upper image forming unit 1 is placed directly on the upper plate 19 of the main body housing 10. As described above, at least a part of the cover covering the uppermost image forming unit is rotatably supported, and the uppermost image forming unit is rotated by rotating at least a part of the cover to the open position. Is attached and detached.

  Further, in the illustrated example, the uppermost image forming unit 1 is vertically moved via a bottom plate 12 of the cover 2 on a main body housing 10 that houses an image forming unit 101 positioned below the image forming unit 1. As described above, the bottom plate 12 of the cover 2 is omitted, and the uppermost image forming unit 1 is placed directly on the main body housing 10 or the cover itself is removed. It is possible to omit and place the uppermost image forming unit 1 on the main body housing 10 so as to be detachable in the vertical direction.

  By the way, not only the lower image forming unit 101 but also the upper image forming unit 1 can be pulled out to the near side, the lower image forming unit 101 can be removed without removing the upper image forming unit 1. Can be exchanged, and the lower image forming unit 101 can be exchanged easily. However, when configured in this way, as shown in FIG. 14, when the upper image forming unit 1 and the lower image forming unit 101 are both pulled out to the near side, the entire center of gravity largely moves toward the near side. If an operator accidentally puts a hand on the image forming unit 1 and exerts a load on the image forming unit 1, the image forming units 1 and 101 may fall down together with the main body housing.

  On the other hand, according to the image forming apparatus of the present example shown in FIGS. 2 to 6, the upper image forming unit 1 is not pulled out to the near side, so the lower image forming unit 101 is pulled out to the near side. The center of gravity does not move greatly to the near side. For this reason, the image forming units 1 and 101 can be prevented from falling together with the main body housing 10 and the cover 2 to the near side.

  As shown in FIG. 6, when both the upper image forming unit 1 and the lower image forming unit 101 are removed, either of these image forming units 1 and 101 may be removed first. If the upper image forming unit 1 is lifted upward and the image forming unit 1 is removed while the lower image forming unit 101 is pulled out to the near side, the center of gravity of the remaining image forming apparatus is lowered downward. Even when the lower image forming unit 101 is pulled out, it is possible to prevent the image forming apparatus from tipping forward. Further, when the lower image forming unit 101 is first pulled out to the front side and extracted from the main body housing 10, the center of gravity of the remaining image forming apparatus moves upward, but the upper image forming unit 1 is pulled out to the front side. Therefore, the remaining image forming apparatus does not fall to the near side.

  In the component type image forming apparatus shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, a cover 2 covering an upper image forming unit 1 is connected to a bottom plate 12 and the bottom plate 12 through hinges 14 and 114 so as to be rotatable. And two movable plates 15 and 115. Other configurations are the same as those of the image forming apparatus shown in FIGS.

  To remove the upper image forming unit 1, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, both movable plates 15, 115 are rotated in opposite directions around the hinges 14, 114, so that these movable plates 15, 115 is brought to the open position, the image forming unit 1 is opened upward and the image forming unit 1 is lifted upward. In reverse order, a new upper image forming unit can be mounted. To remove the lower image forming unit 101, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, as in the case of the image forming apparatus shown in FIGS. The image forming unit 101 may be pulled out to the side and removed from the main body housing 10.

  As described above, in the image forming apparatus shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, the cover 2 covering the uppermost image forming unit 1 has a plurality of movable plates 15 and 115 that are independently rotated. The uppermost image forming unit 1 can be attached and detached in the vertical direction by rotating the plurality of portions to the open position. Moreover, as can be seen from FIG. 8 and FIG. 10, when the plurality of portions made of the movable plates 15 and 115 are rotated to the open position, the plurality of portions occupy positions that are substantially symmetrical with each other. In the example, when the image forming apparatus is viewed from the front, a plurality of portions that occupy the open position are positioned substantially symmetrically. For this reason, since the movement of the center of gravity accompanying the rotation of the movable plates 15 and 115 is canceled, the center of gravity of the entire image forming apparatus hardly moves, so that the image forming apparatus can be kept in a stable state and its fall can be prevented. it can.

  In the image forming apparatus described above, the upper image forming unit 1 and the lower image forming unit 101 can be interchangeably mounted. For example, as shown on the left side of FIG. 11, the image forming unit 1 located on the upper side is accommodated on the lower side as shown on the right side of FIG. 11, and conversely, the image forming unit 101 located on the lower side. Can be arranged on the upper side as shown on the right side of FIG. With this configuration, when the image forming units 1 and 101 are mounted, each image forming unit may be mounted on the upper stage or the lower stage, so that the work can be easily performed. When there are three or more image forming units, it can be configured in the same manner, and at least two image forming units may be configured to be compatible with each other.

It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows an example of the image forming unit used as a base. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a component type image forming apparatus in which two image forming units are arranged vertically. FIG. 3 is a schematic external perspective view of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus when the lower image forming unit is pulled out to the near side. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus when a movable plate of the cover is rotated to an open position. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus when a lower image forming unit is pulled out toward the front side and a movable plate is rotated to an open position. 1 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus having two movable plates. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus when both movable plates of the cover are rotated to the open position. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus when the lower image forming unit is pulled out to the near side. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus when a lower image forming unit is pulled out toward the front side and a movable plate is rotated to an open position. It is a perspective view explaining that two image forming units have compatibility mutually. It is an external perspective view of a conventional component type image forming apparatus. It is a perspective view explaining the fault of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view for explaining a defect of the image forming apparatus in which both the upper and lower image forming units can be pulled out to the near side.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,101 Image forming unit 2 Cover 5Y, 5M, 5C, 5BK, 105Y, 105M, 105C, 105BK Photoconductor 6,106 Intermediate transfer belt 7,107 Fixing device 10 Main body case

Claims (6)

In an image forming apparatus in which a plurality of image forming units each having a function capable of completing an image forming process on a recording medium alone are arranged above and below, an image forming unit positioned below the uppermost image forming unit is: The uppermost image forming unit is housed in the main body housing so that it can be pulled out in the forward direction, and the uppermost image forming unit is detachably mounted on the main body housing containing the image forming unit located below the image forming unit. An image forming apparatus. A plurality of photoconductors and an intermediate transfer belt to which a toner image formed on each photoconductor is transferred. The superimposed toner images transferred to the intermediate transfer belt are transferred to a recording medium and transferred to the recording medium. In an image forming apparatus in which a plurality of image forming units for fixing the formed toner image on a recording medium by a fixing device to form an image on the recording medium are arranged above and below, the image forming unit is positioned below the uppermost image forming unit. The image forming unit is housed in the main body casing so that the image forming unit can be pulled out in the front direction, and the uppermost image forming unit is vertically arranged on the main body housing containing the image forming unit located below the image forming unit. An image forming apparatus, wherein the image forming apparatus is detachably mounted. An uppermost image forming unit having a cover that covers the uppermost image forming unit, wherein at least a part of the cover is rotatably supported, and at least a part of the cover is rotated to an open position. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is configured to be attached and detached in a vertical direction. The cover is configured so that a plurality of parts are rotatably supported, and the plurality of parts are rotated to an open position so that the uppermost image forming unit is attached and detached in the vertical direction. The image forming apparatus according to 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein when the plurality of portions are rotated to the open position, the plurality of portions occupy substantially symmetrical positions. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least two image forming units are compatible with each other.

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