JP5862864B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including a unit device that is detachably attached to a main body, for example, a developing unit or a toner cartridge.

  For example, the developing unit needs to be assembled in a state where it is correctly positioned with respect to peripheral devices, and is loaded in a state in which it is slid and guided in a guide structure and maintained in a predetermined posture. The guide structure includes a guide groove provided in the chassis of the main body and a slide rib provided on the developing unit side. In many cases, an introduction guide surface for facilitating the insertion operation of the slide rib is formed obliquely at the entrance / exit of the guide groove. This type of guide structure is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example. There, a guide groove is provided on the upper surface of the support member, and a slide rib provided on the lower surface of the process cartridge is guided by the previous guide groove. An oblique introduction guide surface is formed on one groove side wall of the entrance / exit of the guide groove.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2009-28297 (paragraph number 0048, FIG. 11)

  As described above, according to the guide structure in which the introduction guide surface is provided at the entrance / exit of the guide groove, the loading start end of the slide rib can be guided toward the guide groove by the introduction guide surface when the unit device is loaded into the main body. Therefore, the initial positioning of the unit device can be performed easily. However, even when the loading start end of the slide rib enters the guide groove, the posture of the unit device is often inclined to the left and right with respect to the guide groove and is not in an appropriate posture. As described above, when the unit device is pushed in while the posture of the unit device is not appropriate, a large moment acts on the loading start end of the slide rib, and the slide rib may be deformed or damaged. In addition, the unit device may come into contact with the peripheral device, damage the surface of the peripheral device, or deviate the position.

An object of the present invention is to form an image that can avoid a large external force from acting on the guide structure even if the loading posture of the unit device is inappropriate, and thus can eliminate deformation and breakage of the guide structure. To provide an apparatus.
An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of correcting the posture of a unit device to an appropriate state and accurately loading the main body even if the loading posture of the unit device is inappropriate. There is.

In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, the unit device 8 is attached to and detached from the main body 1 while sliding in the front-rear direction via a guide structure provided between both the units 1 and 8. The guide structure is configured with a groove body 27 and a rib body 28 that can slide relative to each other as an engaging element, one of which is provided on the main body 1 side and the other on the unit device 8 side. Is provided. The groove body 27 is continuous with the intermediate groove 31 on the opposite side of the intermediate groove 31, the front groove 30 provided on the entrance / exit side, the intermediate groove 31 adjacent to the inner deep side of the front groove 30, and the intermediate groove 31. And a rear-stage groove portion 32 provided . The groove center lines of the groove portions 30, 31, and 32 constituting the groove body 27 are located on one straight line that runs in the front-rear direction, and the groove body 27 is formed in a straight line that runs in the front-rear direction. The rib body 28 is formed linearly in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 5, the groove width B <b> 2 of the intermediate groove portion 31 defined by the spacing between the left and right wall surfaces is set to be larger than the groove width B <b> 1 of the front groove portion 30, and the engagement start end of the rib body 28 in the intermediate groove portion 31. The portion 29 and the groove body 27 are configured to be allowed to tilt relative to each other in the groove width direction. When the engagement start end portion 29 of the rib body 28 is advanced to the rear-stage groove portion 32 beyond the front-stage groove portion 30 and the intermediate groove portion 31, the engagement start end portion 29 of the rib body 28 is engaged with the rear-stage groove portion 32 and the rib The middle part of the body 28 is engaged with the front groove part 30 so that the rib body 28 is held so as not to tilt relative to the groove body 27 in the left-right direction.

  Introducing guide surfaces 33 and 34 for guiding the engagement start end portion 29 of the rib body 28 and allowing the rib body 28 to tilt are formed on the entrance / exit side of the front groove portion 30.

  The intermediate groove portion 31 includes a tilt absorbing groove 36 that is continuous with the front groove portion 30 and a posture correction groove 37 that is continuous with the rear groove portion 32.

  In the present invention, the guide device provided between the unit device 8 and the main body portion 1 can be attached to and detached from the main body portion 1 while sliding the unit device 8. In addition, a guide structure is formed by using the groove body 27 and the rib body 28 as engaging elements, and the groove body 27 is configured to include a front groove portion 30 and an intermediate groove portion 31 adjacent to the inner back side of the groove portion 30. In addition, the groove width B2 of the intermediate groove portion 31 is set to be larger than the groove width B1 of the front groove portion 30, and the intermediate groove portion 31 and the engagement start end portion 29 of the rib body 28 are allowed to tilt relatively in the groove width direction. I was able to do it. Therefore, according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, even if the loading posture of the unit device 8 is inappropriate at the initial stage of loading the unit device 8 into the main body 1, the rib body 28 and the groove in the intermediate groove portion 31. The relative tilt of the body 27 can be absorbed, and a large external force acting on the engagement start end portion 29 can be eliminated. Thereby, in the initial stage of loading the unit device 8 into the loading section, it is possible to eliminate the deformation or breakage of the guide structure due to the pushing force.

  If the rear groove portion 32 is provided continuously to the intermediate groove portion 31 on the side opposite to the entrance / exit of the intermediate groove portion 31, there is no room for the rib body 28 to tilt left and right in cooperation with the front groove portion 30 and the rear groove portion 32. The slide guide can be relatively performed in the state. Moreover, the rib body 28 is relatively held by the rear-stage groove portion 32, and the unit device 8 can be attached and detached while sliding in a stable state.

  When the introduction guide surfaces 33 and 34 are provided on the entrance / exit side of the front groove portion 30, even if the groove body 27 and the rib body 28 are laterally displaced in the initial stage of loading the unit device 8 into the main body 1, the rib body The 28 engagement start end portions 29 can be relatively guided by the introduction guide surfaces 33 and 34 and guided to the front groove portion 30. Accordingly, the unit device 8 can be easily loaded without the need to accurately position the unit device 8 with respect to the main body 1. Even when the lighting is insufficient, the unit device 8 can be properly loaded into the main body 1. When the engagement start end portion 29 of the rib body 28 is relatively tilted in the groove width direction in the intermediate groove portion 31, the rib body 28 may come into contact with the groove wall outside the front-stage groove portion 30. The introduction guide surfaces 33 and 34 are also useful for avoiding such interference of the rib bodies 28.

  When the tilt groove 31 and the posture correcting groove 37 constitute the intermediate groove 31, the unit device 8 is tilted in a state where the rib body 28 passes through the introduction guide surface 33 and enters the tilt absorbing groove 36. Even so, the tilt absorption groove 36 can absorb the relative tilt of the rib body 28. Therefore, in the process of loading the unit device 8 into the loading portion, it is possible to eliminate the deformation or breakage of the guide structure due to the pushing force. In addition, the engagement start end portion 29 of the relatively inclined rib body 28 can be relatively guided toward the rear-stage groove portion 32 by the posture correcting groove 37 so that the rib body 28 and the groove body 27 can be properly engaged. it can. Further, even if the loading posture of the unit device 8 is inappropriate, the posture of the unit device 8 is appropriately loaded by the posture correction groove 37 in the process of relatively guiding the engagement start end portion 29 by the posture correction groove 37. By correcting the posture, the loading operation for the main body 1 of the unit device 8 can be performed accurately.

It is a cross-sectional top view of the principal part of the guide structure which concerns on this invention. It is a front view of an image forming apparatus showing an application example of the present invention. It is a front view which shows the guide structure of a unit apparatus. It is a top view which shows the guide structure of a unit apparatus. It is a top view which shows the detailed structure of a groove body. It is a cross-sectional top view which shows the engagement state of a rib body and a groove body. It is a top view which shows another Example of a groove body. It is a top view which shows another Example of a groove body. It is a top view which shows another Example of a groove body. It is a cross-sectional top view which shows another Example of the guide structure of a unit apparatus.

(Embodiment) FIGS. 1 to 6 show an embodiment in which the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is applied to a multi-function machine having a copy function and a facsimile function. In the present invention, “front / rear”, “left / right”, and “up / down” follow the cross arrows shown in FIGS.

  In FIG. 2, the multifunction peripheral includes an image reading unit 2 disposed on the upper side of the main body unit 1, an image forming unit 3 disposed on one side of the main body unit 1, and a paper feed disposed below the image forming unit 3. A cassette 4 and the like are provided. The image reading unit 2 includes a fixed document reading device and an automatic document reading device that is incorporated in the platen cover 5 and continuously reads a sheet-like document.

  The image forming unit 3 includes a recording unit and a fixing unit. The recording unit includes a toner cartridge 7, a developing unit (unit device) 8, and an exposure head 10 that forms a latent image on the photosensitive drum 9. And a charging device 11 and a transfer roller 12. The fixing unit includes a heating roller 13 having a heat source disposed therein, a pressure roller 14 biased toward the heating roller 13, and the like. The recording paper fed from the paper feed cassette 4 is fed to the recording unit via the conveyance path 16, and toner is transferred while passing between the photosensitive drum 9 and the transfer roller 12, and the heating roller 13. And the pressure roller 14, the toner is fixed. The recording paper on which the image is fixed is discharged to a paper discharge unit 17 below the image reading unit 2. The toner cartridge 7 and the developing unit 8 can be attached to and detached from the mounting portion provided in the main body 1 while sliding in the front-rear direction from the front of the machine body by opening the cover that covers the front surface of the image forming unit 3. .

  As shown in FIG. 3, the developing unit 8 includes a housing 19 that contains toner, a first stirrer 20 and a second stirrer 21 provided inside the housing 19, and an end of the housing 19 on the photosensitive drum 9 side. And a developing roller 23 and the like. The toner in the toner cartridge 7 is fed from the supply port 24 into the housing 19. Although not shown, a drive structure that rotationally drives both the stirring tools 20 and 21, the supply roller 22 and the developing roller 23 is provided at the rear portion of the housing 19. These driving structures can be connected to the driving structure on the main body 1 side and inherit the driving power when the developing unit 8 is properly loaded in the mounting portion of the main body 1.

  In order to load the developing unit 8 in a state of being positioned with respect to the photosensitive drum 9 and the toner cartridge 7, a guide structure is provided between the chassis 25 of the main body 1 and the housing 19. Further, an arc guide surface 26 for guiding the bottom wall of the housing 19 is provided on the left side of the guide structure. The guide structure in this embodiment is composed of a guide groove (groove body) 27 provided on the chassis 25 side and a slide rib (rib body) 28 projecting downward from the bottom surface of the housing 19. The case where the rib 28 is the insertion side and the guide groove 27 is the insertion side is shown. As shown in FIG. 4, the slide rib 28 is formed linearly from the lower surface at the rear end of the housing 19 to the lower surface near the front end. Reference numeral 29 denotes an engagement start end portion of the rear end of the slide rib 28.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the guide groove 27 includes a front groove portion 30 provided on the entrance / exit side, an intermediate groove portion 31 adjacent to the inner back side (rear side) of the front groove portion 30, and an inner portion of the intermediate groove portion 31. A linear rear-stage groove 32 is provided on the back side. In addition, an introduction guide surface 33 that is largely inclined with respect to the groove center line of the guide groove 27 is formed on one side of the entrance and exit side of the front-stage groove portion 30, and another introduction guide surface 34 is formed on the other side. . The former introduction guide surface 33 functions as a flank in a state where the slide rib 28 is tilted to the right (the engagement start end portion 29 is located on the right side of the groove center line of the guide groove 27). The latter introduction guide surface 34 functions as a flank in a state where the slide rib 28 is tilted leftward (a state where the engagement start end portion 29 is located on the left side of the groove center line of the guide groove 27). The front and rear length L1 of the front groove portion 30 is 5 mm, which is a short groove shape, whereas the front and rear length L2 of the intermediate groove portion 31 is 40 mm, which is a long groove shape. Furthermore, the longitudinal length L3 of the rear-stage groove portion 32 is set to 120 mm, which is sufficiently larger than the previous groove portions 30 and 31, and is formed so as to occupy the majority of the rear side of the guide groove 27.

  The intermediate groove portion 31 is formed in a tapered shape that is continuously tapered toward the front groove portion 30 and is tapered, and is tapered toward the rear groove portion 32 that is continuous with the tilt absorption groove 36. The posture correcting groove 37 is formed in a long rhombus shape in the front and rear direction. The inclination angle of the groove side surface on one side of the tilt absorption groove 36 with respect to the groove center line is 5 degrees, and the inclination angle of the introduction guide surface 34 described above with respect to the groove center line is also set to the same angle. The groove width B1 of the front groove portion 30 is set to a value of 5.4 mm, which is obtained by adding a margin to the lateral width of the slide rib 28, and the groove width (maximum groove width) B2 of the intermediate groove portion 31 is set to 9.4 mm. It is. The groove width B3 of the rear-stage groove portion 32 is set to 5.4 mm like the groove width B1 of the front-stage groove portion 30. The front and rear lengths of the tilt absorbing groove 36 and the posture correcting groove 37 are set to be the same.

  Next, the interaction between the guide groove 27 and the slide rib 28 when the developing unit 8 is loaded along the guide groove 27 will be described. When loading the developing unit 8 in the loading portion on the chassis 25, the rear end of the housing 19 faces the loading portion, and the engagement start end portion 29 of the slide rib 28 is sandwiched between the introduction guide surfaces 33 and 34. It is placed on the upper surface of the triangular groove portion 38. In this state, the developing unit 8 is inserted and the engagement start end portion 29 is inserted into the front groove portion 30. At this time, the slide rib 28 is often shifted laterally with respect to the groove center line of the guide groove 27 or inclined to the left and right. Therefore, in most cases, the engagement start end 29 is the introduction guide surfaces 33 and 34. To the front groove portion 30 while the lateral deviation is corrected.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the state where the engagement start end portion 29 of the slide rib 28 enters the intermediate groove portion 31 from the preceding groove portion 30, the rib center of the slide rib 28 is appropriate when the developing unit 8 is properly held. Corresponds to the groove center line as shown by the solid line. However, it is rare that the developing unit 8 is properly held, and most of the slide ribs 28 have a front groove portion 30 as a fulcrum as shown by an imaginary line, and the rib center is either left or right of the groove center line. Often leans toward Even if the slide rib 28 is inclined as described above, the tilt absorption groove 36 is provided in the intermediate groove portion 31. Therefore, the inclination of the slide rib 28 is within the range of the inclination angle of the inclination absorption groove 36 and the introduction guide surface 34. Can absorb. Accordingly, even if the slide rib 28 is pushed from the front groove portion 30 into the intermediate groove portion 31 while the developing unit 8 is tilted left and right, a large external force acts on the slide rib 28 and the engagement start end portion 29. There is no. Thereby, in the initial stage of loading the developing unit 8 into the loading section, it is possible to eliminate the deformation or breakage of the engagement start end portion 29 due to the pushing force.

  As described above, when the developing unit 8 is further pushed in with the slide rib 28 tilted, the engagement start end portion 29 comes into contact with the posture correcting groove 37 and then moves along the groove 37 to the rear groove portion 32. It is guided. In addition, the inclination of the slide rib 28 is corrected by the pushing reaction force that the engagement starting end portion 29 receives from the posture correction groove 37 in the process of being guided. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, the developing unit 8 in a state in which the engagement start end portion 29 has entered the front portion of the rear-stage groove portion 32 has a generally appropriate posture, and further, the engagement start end portion 29 and the slide rib The middle part 28 is held by the front groove part 30 and the rear groove part 32 so as not to tilt. Accordingly, there is no room for the developing unit 8 to tilt in the left-right direction after the engagement start end portion 29 has entered the front portion of the rear-stage groove portion 32, and the groove rear end of the guide groove 27 is maintained in an appropriate posture. Can be pushed in.

  FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the guide groove 27. Here, the tilt absorbing groove 36 of the intermediate groove portion 31 is formed as a parallel groove wider than the front groove portion 30, and a tapered posture correcting groove 37 is formed continuously at the rear end. Since others are the same as the previous embodiment, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same members, and descriptions thereof are omitted. The same applies to the following embodiments.

  FIG. 8 shows still another embodiment of the guide groove 27. In this case, the tilt absorption groove 36 of the intermediate groove portion 31 is formed as a tapered groove continuous to the posture correction groove 37, and the groove side surface of the tilt absorption groove 36 and the groove side surface of the posture correction groove 37 are formed to be flush with each other. In the same manner as the posture correcting groove 37, the tilt absorbing groove 36 in this embodiment can guide the engagement start end portion 29 toward the rear-stage groove portion 32, and can exert an action of correcting the posture of the slide rib 28 in the process of guiding.

  FIG. 9 shows still another embodiment of the guide groove 27. In this case, the front groove portion 30 is provided at the front end of the chassis 25, and the introduction guide surfaces 33 and 34 and the triangular groove portion 38 are omitted. In this embodiment, since the front groove portion 30 serves as an entrance / exit of the guide groove 27, when the developing unit 8 is loaded into the main body portion 1, the engagement start end portion 29 of the slide rib 28 is directly opposed to the front groove portion 30. Insert in the state.

  FIG. 10 shows another embodiment of the guide structure. Here, a rib structure 28 provided on the chassis 25 side and a groove body 27 formed on the bottom surface of the housing 19 constitute a guide structure. The groove body 27 is provided on the insertion side, and the rib body 28 is covered. The case where it is provided on the insertion side is shown. The groove body 27 is formed between a pair of frame-like protrusions 40 that protrude downward from the bottom surface of the housing 19 and that are long in the front-rear direction. Note that the longitudinal relationship of the groove bodies 27 in this embodiment is opposite to that of the groove bodies 27 described in FIG. Therefore, the front-stage groove portion 30 is provided in the rear portion of the housing 19, and the rear-stage groove portion 32 is provided in front of the intermediate groove portion 31. That is, the front groove portion 30, the intermediate groove portion 31, and the rear groove portion 32 are formed in the order described from the entrance / exit of the groove body 27 toward the front inner back side. Further, with respect to the structure of the groove body 27, introduction guide surfaces 33 and 34 that are inclined at the same angle are provided on the left and right sides of the entrance / exit. Other than that, the structure is the same as that of the guide groove 27 described with reference to FIGS.

  In the above embodiment, the case where the unit device is the developing unit 8 has been described. However, a unit device other than the developing unit 8, for example, the toner cartridge 7 can be attached and detached with the guide structure according to the present invention. The engagement start end portion 29 of the slide rib 28 can be formed in a tapered shape, or can be formed in a wedge shape by inclining only one side surface near the rear end of the slide rib 28. Good. Furthermore, the engagement start end portion 29 may be rounded into a semicircle. The front groove portion 30 does not need to be formed as a parallel groove, and can be formed, for example, as a pair of vertically long ribs formed in a semicircular cross section.

1 Main unit 8 Unit equipment (development unit)
25 Chassis 27 Groove (Guide groove)
28 Rib body (slide rib)
30 Front groove portion 31 Intermediate groove portion 32 Rear groove portion 33 Introduction guide surface 34 Introduction guide surface 36 Tilt absorption groove 37 Posture correction groove

Claims (3)

An image forming apparatus in which a unit device is attached to and detached from a main body part while sliding in the front-rear direction via a guide structure provided between the two,
The guide structure is configured with a groove body and a rib body that can slide relative to each other as engagement elements, one of which is provided on the main body side and the other is provided on the unit device side. And
The Mizotai includes a front groove provided on the side of the doorway, and an intermediate groove adjacent to the inner back side of the front groove, on the side opposite to the side of the doorway in the groove between the intermediate, in succession to the groove between the intermediate Including a rear groove portion provided ,
The groove center line of each groove part constituting the groove body is located on one straight line running in the front-rear direction, and the groove body is formed in a straight line running in the front-rear direction,
The rib body is formed linearly in the front-rear direction,
The groove width of the intermediate groove portion defined by the facing distance between the left and right wall surfaces is set to be larger than the groove width of the front groove portion, and in the intermediate groove portion, the engagement start end portion of the rib body and the groove body are left and right. It is configured to allow relative tilting in the groove width direction of
When the engagement start end portion of the rib body is advanced to the rear groove portion beyond the front groove portion and the intermediate groove portion, the engagement start end portion of the rib body engages with the rear groove portion, and the An image in which the rib body is configured to be held so as not to be tiltable relative to the groove body in the left-right direction by engaging a midway portion of the rib body with the front groove portion. Forming equipment. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein an introduction guide surface that guides an engagement start end portion of the rib body and allows the rib body to tilt is formed on an entrance / exit side of the front groove portion . 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the intermediate groove portion includes a tilt absorbing groove continuous with the front groove portion and a posture correcting groove continuous with the rear groove portion .

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