JP6980519B2 - Fixing device and image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a fixing device and an image forming device, and is applied to, for example, a copying machine or a printer adopting an electrophotographic method, a facsimile, or the like.

Rollers and belts used in the fixing device have a limited durable life, so they are replaced by service personnel on a regular basis. In such a fixing device, in addition to improving productivity and image quality, it is desired to improve the workability of replacing parts by a service person.

Here, in the fixing device, a fixing inlet guide may be provided on the upstream side of the nip portion in the recording material transport direction as a guide member for introducing the recording material into the nip portion. Regarding this fixing inlet guide, in order to stably introduce the recording material into the fixing nip portion, it is preferable that the tip of the fixing inlet guide on the nip portion side is close to the nip portion.

However, if the tip of the anchoring inlet guide is close to the nip, the trajectory drawn when replacing the pressurizing roller or pressurizing unit with a new one intersects the anchoring inlet guide, and the pressurizing roller must be replaced. Hinder.

Therefore, in order to avoid interference between the fixing inlet guide and the pressurizing unit, in Patent Document 1, when the pressurizing unit is removed from the frame, the fixing inlet guide is retracted so as not to overlap in the projection region of the pressurized rotating body. Then, in order to prevent forgetting to close the fixing inlet guide (forgetting to set from the retracted position to the original installation position) when the pressurizing unit is returned, a mechanism is provided to detect the position of the fixing inlet guide with a photo sensor.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-22536

However, the above-mentioned conventional technique has a problem that the number of parts increases, the cost increases, and the adjustment becomes complicated.
An object of the present invention is to provide a fixing device and an image forming device that can easily and inexpensively prevent forgetting to return the guide member from the retracted position to the guide position.

In order to achieve the above object, the fixing device according to the present invention forms a first unit provided with a first rotating body and a nip portion for fixing a toner image on a recording material together with the first rotating body. The second unit provided with the second rotating body, the frame supporting the second unit, and the recording material are arranged upstream of the nip portion in the rotation direction of the second rotating body, and the recording material is placed in the nip portion. and an open position exposing the guide to Ruga id position, a retracted position for retracting the second unit from the space for removing from said frame, a guide member can be located, said space towards, A cover member that can be opened and closed at a closed position that closes the space, and a guide member that is located at the retracted position when the cover member is located at the open position, are opened by the cover member. in conjunction situated in the movement to the closed position and having a an interlocking mechanism for returning to the guide position.
Further, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention has an image forming portion for forming a toner image, a first unit provided with a first rotating body, and a nip portion for transporting a recording material together with the first rotating body. The second unit provided with the second rotating body to be formed, the frame supporting the second unit, and the recording material are arranged upstream of the nip portion with respect to the rotation direction of the second rotating body. A guide member that can be located at a guide position that guides toward the nip portion, a retracted position that retracts the second unit from the space for removing the second unit from the frame, and an open position that exposes the space. A cover member that can be opened and closed at a closed position that closes the space, and a guide member that is located at the retracted position when the cover member is located at the open position, are opened by the cover member. It is characterized by having an interlocking mechanism for returning to the guide position in conjunction with the movement from the position to the closed position.

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent forgetting to return the guide member from the retracted position to the guide position inexpensively and easily.

A cross-sectional view illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus equipped with a fixing apparatus according to an embodiment. Sectional drawing explaining the schematic structure of the fixing apparatus which concerns on embodiment Sectional drawing which showed the state at the time of removing the pressure roller of the fixing device which concerns on embodiment. A cross-sectional view showing an operation of replacing the pressure roller of the fixing device according to the embodiment to close the opening / closing cover.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<< First Embodiment >>
(Image forming device)
The image forming apparatus 500 in the present embodiment includes an image forming portion for forming a toner image on the recording material and a fixing portion (fixing apparatus) for fixing the toner image on the recording material, and FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view thereof. The four cartridges 7 (7a to 7d) arranged side by side in the vertical and diagonal directions are a photoconductor drum unit 26 (26a to 26d) having a photoconductor drum 1 (1a to 1d) as an electrophotographic photosensitive member, and a developing unit 4. (4a to 4d) are provided. The cartridges 7a to 7d are detachably provided with respect to the image forming apparatus main body.

The photoconductor drum 1 is rotationally driven clockwise (Q direction) in FIG. 1 by a driving member (not shown). Further, around the photoconductor drum 1, cleaning members 6 (6a to 6d), charging rollers 2 (2a to 2d), and a developing unit 4 are arranged in the order of their rotation directions.

The cleaning member 6 transfers the toner image formed on the photoconductor drum 1 onto the intermediate transfer belt 5, and then removes the toner agent remaining on the photoconductor drum 1. The toner agent removed by the cleaning member 6 is collected in the removal toner chamber in the photoconductor unit 26 (26a to 26d).

Further, the charging roller 2 uniformly charges the surface of the photoconductor drum 1. After the surface of the photoconductor drum 1 is charged by the charging roller 2, the laser beam is exposed to the surface of the photoconductor drum 1 from the scanner unit (exposure means) 3 through the unit openings 32 (32a to 32d). As a result, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photoconductor drum 1. In this embodiment, the scanner unit 3 is arranged below the cartridge 7.

Further, the developing unit 4 is for supplying a toner agent to the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 to develop the electrostatic latent image as a toner image. The developing unit 4 has a developing roller 25 (25a to 25d) that comes into contact with the photoconductor drum 1 and supplies a toner agent to the surface of the photoconductor drum 1, and a developing roller 25 that comes into contact with the developing roller 25 and supplies the toner agent to the developing roller 25. The supply rollers 34 (34a to 34d) to be supplied are provided.

When forming an image on the recording material (recording paper) S, the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photoconductor drum 1 by the scanner unit 3 is first developed as a toner image by the cartridge 7 and transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 5. Will be done. The intermediate transfer belt 5 is stretched on the drive roller 10 and the tension roller 11 and is driven in the direction of arrow R in FIG. Further, a primary transfer roller 12 (12a to 12d) is arranged inside the intermediate transfer belt 5 facing each photoconductor drum 1, and a transfer bias is applied by a bias applying means (not shown). It has become.

Regarding the transfer bias, for example, when a negatively charged toner agent is used, the toner image is sequentially transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 5 by applying the positive bias to the primary transfer roller 12. Then, the toner images of the four colors are transferred to the secondary transfer unit 15 in a state of being overlapped on the intermediate transfer belt 5. At this time, the toner agent remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 5 after the secondary transfer to the recording material S is removed by the transfer belt cleaning device 23, and the removed toner agent passes through a waste toner transfer path (not shown). Then, it is collected in a waste toner collection container (not shown).

On the other hand, in synchronization with the image forming operation described above, the recording material S is fed to the secondary transfer unit 15 by a transport mechanism including a feeding device 13 and a resist roller pair 17. The feeding device 13 includes a feeding cassette 24 for storing a plurality of recording materials S, a feeding roller 8 for feeding the recording materials S, and a transport roller pair 16 for transporting the fed recording materials S. Have. The feeding cassette 24 is detachably configured from the image forming apparatus 500, and the user pulls out the feeding cassette 24, removes it from the image forming apparatus 500, sets the recording material S, and sets the recording material S on the image forming apparatus 500. By inserting it, the replenishment of the recording material S can be completed.

Of the recording materials S stored in the feeding cassette 24, the feeding roller 8 is pressed against the recording material S located at the highest position, and is separated one by one by the separation pad 9 as the feeding roller 8 rotates. (Friction piece separation method) The recording material S is conveyed. Then, the recording material S conveyed from the feeding device 13 is conveyed to the secondary transfer unit 15 by the resist roller pair 17. In the secondary transfer unit 15, by applying a positive electrode bias to the secondary transfer roller 18, the four-color toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 5 can be secondarily transferred to the transferred recording material S. It is possible.

Then, the recording material S is fed from the secondary transfer unit 15 and conveyed to the fixing device 40, and heat and pressure are applied to the image transferred to the recording material S to fix the image on the recording material S. After that, the recording material S on which the toner image is fixed is discharged to the discharge tray 20 by the discharge roller pair 19.

(Fixing device)
Next, the fixing device 40 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The longitudinal direction described below is a direction orthogonal to the recording material transporting direction in a plane parallel to the recording material transporting surface. The fixing device 40 is a film heating method and has a first fixing unit (heating unit, first unit) 101 including a cylindrical fixing film 101a as a fixing member. Further, the fixing device 40 includes a second fixing unit (1) including a pressure roller 106 which is a pressure member for forming a nip portion N which faces the fixing film 101a and is heated together with the heating unit to hold and convey the recording material. It has a pressurizing unit, a second unit) 200.

In the present embodiment, the heating unit has a ceramic heater (hereinafter referred to as a heater) 100 as a heating member, and the heater 100 sandwiches the fixing film 101a as a backup member and forms a nip portion N between the heating unit and the pressurizing roller 106. ..

The fixing device 40 is arranged on the inner surface side of the fixing film 101a in order to secure the strength of the supporting member 103 that regulates the trajectory of the fixing film 101a, the fixing flange 104 that regulates the end portion of the fixing film 101a, and the supporting member 103. It has a pressure stay 102 to be. Further, the fixing device 40 has an inlet guide 201 as a guide member for guiding the discharged and conveyed recording material S to the nip portion N, and an opening / closing cover 203 as an openable / closable cover member. The opening / closing cover 203 is attached to the side plate 202 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

The opening / closing cover 203 is provided for the purpose of insulating the heat of the fixing film 101a at the closed position and ensuring the strength of the fixing device 40. Further, as will be described later, the space for removing the second fixing unit 200 from the side plate 202 as a frame can be exposed at the open position. The opening / closing cover 203 is provided for the fixing device 40. That is, the door 502 (second cover member) opened / closed when the cartridge 7 is attached / detached to / from the image forming apparatus main body, or the door 503 (second cover) opened / closed when the fixing device 40 is attached / detached from the image forming apparatus main body. It is provided separately from the member). The door 502 and the door 503 are provided in the image forming apparatus main body. Hereinafter, the constituent members of the fixing device 40 will be further described.

1) Heating member The heater 100 as a heating member is basically composed of an elongated thin plate-shaped ceramic substrate and an energization heat generation resistor layer provided on the substrate surface, and is steep as a whole due to energization of the heat generation resistor layer. It has a low heat capacity that raises the temperature with a smooth rising characteristic. The heater 100 is fitted and supported in a fitting groove provided along the longitudinal direction on the lower surface of the fixing film support member 103.

2) First rotating body The fixing film 101a as an endless belt, which is the first rotating body, has a heat-resistant cylindrical shape that transfers heat to the recording material S (contacts with an unfixed toner image at the nip portion). It is a member and is externally fitted to the fixing film support member 103. The fixing film 101a is a film having a four-layer composite structure of a release layer, an elastic layer, a base layer, and an inner coat layer. As the release layer, a fluororesin material having a thickness of 100 μm or less, preferably 20 to 70 μm, can be used. Examples of the fluororesin material include PTFE, PFA and the like. Further, as the elastic layer, a rubber material having a thickness of 1000 μm or less, preferably 500 μm or less can be used in order to reduce the heat capacity, and examples thereof include silicone rubber and fluororubber.

Further, as the base layer, a heat-resistant material having a thickness of 100 μm or less, preferably 50 μm or less and 20 μm or more can be used, and for example, a metal film such as SUS or nickel or a resin material such as polyimide can be used. The inner surface coat layer is a heat-resistant resin layer, and examples thereof include polyimide, polyimideamide, PEEK, PTFE, FEP, and PFA.

3) Second rotating body As the second rotating body facing the fixing film 101a, the pressure roller 106, which is a pressure member, is driven by a drive means via a gear (not shown) attached to an end portion in the longitudinal direction. , The fixing film 101a is driven to rotate, and is driven by the pressure roller 106.

The pressure roller 106 includes a core metal 106a and a heat-resistant / elastic material layer 106b such as silicone rubber, fluororubber, or fluororesin, which is concentrically molded and coated around the core metal 106a in a roller shape. A release layer is provided on the surface layer, and the release layer is a material having good releasability and heat resistance such as fluororesin, silicone resin, fluorosilicone rubber, fluororubber, silicone rubber, PFA, PTFE, and FEP. Can be selected.

Bearing members 107 made of heat-resistant resin such as PEEK, PPS, and liquid crystal polymer are mounted on both ends of the core metal 106a in the longitudinal direction and are held and arranged on the side plate 202. Then, the pressure unit provided with the pressure roller 106 can be taken out (detailed later) and is supported by the side plate 202.

4) Fixing film support member The fixing film support member 103 that supports the fixing film 101a and also functions as a pressure contact member that holds the heater 100 and presses the heater 100 to the nip portion is provided inside the fixing film 101a. It is a heat-resistant and heat-insulating member. As the material, materials having good insulation and heat resistance such as phenol resin, polyimide resin, polyamide resin, polyamideimide resin, PEEK resin, PES resin, PPS resin, PFA resin, PTFE resin and LCP resin are used.

The fixing film support member 103 is provided with a fitting groove so as to support the heater 100, and forms a nip portion N by pressure-contacting with the pressure roller 106 via the fixing film 101a.

5) Pressurized stay The pressure stay 102 is pressed against the back surface of the fixing film supporting member 103 to give the fixing film supporting member 103 strength in the longitudinal direction and to correct the fixing film supporting member 103.

6) Fixing flange The fixing flange 104 is fitted to both ends of the pressure stay 102 in the longitudinal direction to guide the rotation of the fixing film 101a and prevent the fixing film 101a from coming off in the longitudinal direction. Further, the fixing flange 104 is fitted and held on the side plate 202 as a frame.

(Replacement of pressure unit)
Next, the procedure for replacing the pressure unit (second unit) 200 including the pressure roller 106 in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4. In FIGS. 1 and 2, with the fixing film 101a removed in advance, the pressure roller 106 is in the direction of arrow Z along the side plate 202 (the direction in which the pressure unit is removed is closer to the position where the heating unit is provided). ) Is pulled out (removed).
At that time, the trajectories drawn when the pressure roller is replaced are the broken line Z1 and the broken line Z2. In order to stably introduce the recording material S into the fixing nip portion, the tip of the inlet guide 201 on the nip portion side is close to the nip portion, so that the locus of Z1 interferes with the inlet guide 201.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the inlet guide 201 is configured to be able to be located at a guide position for guiding the recording material and a retracting position for retracting from the space for removing the pressurizing unit 200 (guide position and retracting). Can be moved to and from the position).

By positioning the inlet guide 201 in the retracted position when the pressurizing unit 200 is removed from the side plate 202, the pressurizing unit 200 can be removed without interfering with the inlet guide 201. Further, in the present embodiment, in order to prevent the inlet guide 201 from being forgotten to be returned to the guide position when the pressurizing unit 200 is returned to the side plate 202, an interlocking mechanism linked to the closing operation of the following opening / closing cover 203 is provided.

That is, when the entrance guide 201 is located in the retracted position while the opening / closing cover 203 is in the open position, the entrance guide 201 is returned to the guide position in conjunction with the movement of the opening / closing cover 203 from the open position to the closed position. The method of locating the inlet guide 201 in the retracted position in order to remove the pressurizing unit 200 may be a method of interlocking with the opening operation of the opening / closing cover 203 by an interlocking mechanism as in the present embodiment, or as another method. May be good.

For example, the inlet guide 201 may be moved to the retracted position by the operator's hand, or the inlet guide 201 may be automatically moved to the retracted position by driving a motor or the like.

As a more preferable configuration, the present embodiment includes the following interlocking mechanism that interlocks with the opening and closing of the opening / closing cover 203. That is, the inlet guide 201 is retracted from the space for removing the pressurizing unit in conjunction with the movement of the open / close cover 203 from the closed position to the open position, and is linked with the movement of the open / close cover 203 from the open position to the closed position. The entrance guide 201 is returned to the position where the recording material is guided.

As a result, the operator does not have to move the opening / closing cover 203 and the inlet guide 201 separately in order to remove the pressure unit 200, so that the work at the time of removing the pressure unit 200 becomes easy.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state when the pressure roller 106 in the present embodiment is removed in a state where the fixing film 101a is removed in advance. In order to access the pressure roller 106, it is necessary to remove the opening / closing cover 203 that insulates the fixing device 40. The opening / closing cover 203 in the present embodiment includes a rotation shaft 203a as a first fulcrum and is rotatable in the direction of the arrow 203b.

Next, the movement of the entrance guide 201 will be described. The inlet guide 201 includes a rotation shaft 201a as a second fulcrum and is rotatable in the direction of the arrow 201b. Here, the inlet guide 201 includes a protrusion 201c as a contact portion (a part of the interlocking mechanism interlocked with the opening / closing of the opening / closing cover 203) that comes into contact with the opening / closing cover 203. The protrusion 201c is designed to come into contact with the opening / closing cover 203 at the point Y when the opening / closing cover 203 rotates.

Therefore, the inlet guide 201 rotates in the direction of the arrow 201b with the rotation shaft 201a as the fulcrum in conjunction with the movement of the opening / closing cover 203 rotating in the direction of the arrow 203b with the rotation shaft 203a as the fulcrum (from the original first position). Evacuate to the second position). At the first position, the inlet guide 201 overlaps (overlaps) the downstream side region of the inlet guide 201 in the recording material transport direction in the projection region (projection surface) seen from the removal direction of the pressure roller 106. In the second position, they do not overlap.

In this way, the inlet guide 201 is rotated (retracted) by the movement of rotating the opening / closing cover 203 that must be opened / closed in order to access the pressure roller 106. As will be described later, the inlet guide 201 is urged toward the guide position by the guide urging member 204. However, in the state where the opening / closing cover 203 is in the open position, the entrance guide 201 is configured to be maintained in the retracted position against the urging force of the guide urging member 204 due to the weight of the opening / closing cover 203.

As a result, it is possible to avoid interference between the inlet guide 201 and the pressure roller 106 on the broken line Z1 which is a locus drawn when the pressure roller 106 is replaced.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing an operation of closing the open / close cover 203 in a state where the pressure roller 106 in the present embodiment is replaced and a heating unit is further installed. The inlet guide 201 is constantly receiving a force by a guide urging member (return member, spring member) 204 as a part of the interlocking mechanism interlocking with the opening / closing of the opening / closing cover 203. The guide urging member 204 is a component that applies a force to determine the posture of the entrance guide 201, and the entrance guide 201 that receives the force abuts against a positioning portion (not shown) provided on the side plate 202 to determine the posture. In this embodiment, such a guide urging member 204 is made of a thin plate of SUS.

When the opening / closing cover 203 is closed, the contact force of the entrance guide 201 with the protrusion 201c by the opening / closing cover 203 is released at the above-mentioned point Y. Therefore, the guide urging member 204 is deformed from the state 204d to the state 204e, and the inlet guide 201 that receives the force automatically returns (returns) to the normal position (first position), and the posture is fixed. ..

In the present embodiment, the inlet guide 201 is retracted from the normal position (first position) according to the change from the closed position to the open position of the open / close cover 203 that must be opened before the pressure roller 106 is removed as described above. It is provided with a configuration for moving to a position (second position). Then, when the opening / closing cover 203 returns to the normal position (closed position), the guide urging member 204 applies a force in the rotational direction so that the entrance guide 201 automatically returns to the normal position (first position). It has a configuration.

This eliminates the need to provide a photo sensor as in Patent Document 1. Forgetting to close the entrance guide can be achieved inexpensively and easily.

The reason for using the interlocking mechanism instead of fixing the inlet guide 201 to the opening / closing cover 203 by screwing or the like in the present embodiment is as follows. This is because the entrance guide 201 can be moved by itself, not limited to the interlocking with the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing cover 203. That is, even if the open / close cover 203 is not moved, the inlet guide 201 can move between the guide position and the retracted position. For example, with the open / close cover 203 closed, the operator can move the entrance guide 201 against the urging force of the guide urging member 204.

Thereby, for example, when there is a jam paper that is difficult to remove in the fixing device, the operator can move only the entrance guide 201 to remove the jam paper.

(Modification example)
Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments, and various modifications and modifications can be made within the scope of the gist thereof. Then, the configuration and arrangement of the above-described embodiments may be appropriately selected and combined. Further, the dimensions, materials, shapes of the components described in the above-described embodiment and their relative arrangements should be appropriately changed depending on the configuration of the apparatus to which the invention is applied and various conditions.

(Modification 1)
In the above-described embodiment, the endless belt is used as the rotating body in the first fixing unit, but a fixing roller may be used. Further, although the pressure roller is used as the facing body in the second fixing unit, an endless belt may be used. Further, the endless belt may be used for both the rotating body and the opposing body.

Then, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the endless belt as a rotating body is pressurized from the pressure roller as an opposing body is shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and conversely, the present invention can be similarly applied to the case where the opposing body is pressurized from the endless belt as the fixing rotating body.

(Modification 2)
In the above-described embodiment, the fixing device for fixing the unfixed toner image to the sheet has been described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the toner image presumed to be attached to the sheet is used to improve the gloss of the image. It can also be applied to a device for heating and pressurizing (also referred to as a fixing device in this case).

(Modification 3)
In the above-described embodiment, the recording paper has been described as the recording material, but the recording material in the present invention is not limited to paper. Generally, the recording material is a sheet-like member on which a toner image is formed by an image forming apparatus, for example, standard or irregular plain paper, thick paper, thin paper, envelopes, postcards, stickers, resin sheets, transparencies, etc. Glossy paper etc. are included.

101 ... Heating unit, 101a ... Fixing film, 106 ... Pressurized roller, 201 ... Entrance guide, 202 ... Side plate, 203 ... Opening and closing cover, 204 ... Guide urging member, S ... Recording material

Claims (20)

The first unit with the first rotating body and
A second unit provided with a second rotating body that forms a nip portion for fixing the toner image on the recording material together with the first rotating body.
A frame that supports the second unit and
Wherein disposed upstream of said nip portion with respect to the rotational direction of the second rotating body, the space for removing the guide to Ruga Ido position of the recording material toward the nip portion, the second unit from the frame A guide member that can be located at the retracted position and the retracted position,
A cover member that can be opened and closed at an open position that exposes the space and a closed position that closes the space.
The guide member positioned in said retracted position when said cover member is positioned at the open position, the interlock mechanism to return from the open position of the cover member to the guide position in conjunction with movement to the closed position A fixing device characterized by having. The interlocking mechanism, in conjunction from the closed position of the cover member to move to the open position, the fixing device according to the guide member to claim 1, characterized in that to position to the retracted position. The interlocking mechanism has a contact portion that comes into contact with the cover member as the cover member moves from the closed position to the open position.
The fixing device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the contact portion is provided on the guide member. One of claims 1 to 3, wherein the removal direction of the second unit from the frame is a direction in which the second unit approaches the mounting position where the first unit is removed . The fixing device according to item 1. The fixing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the space is exposed by removing the first unit. The guide member located at the guide position is viewed from the removal direction of the second unit, and a part of the guide member and a part of the second rotating body overlap each other. The fixing device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The fixing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the guide member can move between the guide position and the retracted position without moving the cover member. The fixing device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the interlocking mechanism has a spring member that urges the cover member from the open position to the closed position. The fixing device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the frame removably supports the first unit. The cover member is rotatable about a first fulcrum between the closed position and the open position, and the interlocking mechanism responds to the change of the cover member from the closed position to the open position. The fixing device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the guide member is retracted. The guide member is rotatable around a second fulcrum different from the first fulcrum, and is retracted by rotating around the second fulcrum by the interlocking mechanism. The fixing device according to claim 10. The fixing device according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the first rotating body comes into contact with an unfixed toner image at the nip portion. An image forming part that forms a toner image and
The first unit with the first rotating body and
A second unit having a second rotating body forming a nip portion for transporting the recording material together with the first rotating body, and a second unit.
A frame that supports the second unit and
Wherein disposed upstream of said nip portion with respect to the rotational direction of the second rotating body, the space for removing the guide to Ruga Ido position of the recording material toward the nip portion, the second unit from the frame A guide member that can be located at the retracted position and the retracted position,
A cover member that can be opened and closed at an open position that exposes the space and a closed position that closes the space.
The guide member positioned in said retracted position when said cover member is positioned at the open position, the interlock mechanism to return from the open position of the cover member to the guide position in conjunction with movement to the closed position An image forming apparatus characterized by having. An open position for exposing a space for taking out the second unit, the frame, the guide member, the cover member, and the interlocking mechanism from the main body of the image forming apparatus, and a closed position for closing the space. the image forming apparatus according to claim 13, characterized in that it comprises a second cover member which can be openably positioned. It has an open position for exposing a space for taking out the image forming unit from the main body of the image forming apparatus, and a closed position for closing the space, the second cover member that can be positioned so as to be opened and closed, and
The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the first rotating body and the second rotating body fix a toner image on a recording material at the nip portion. The interlocking mechanism, in conjunction from the closed position of the cover member to move to the open position, said guide member in any one of claims 13 to 15, characterized in that to position to the retracted position The image forming apparatus according to the description. One of claims 13 to 16, wherein the removal direction of the second unit from the frame is a direction in which the second unit approaches the mounting position where the first unit is removed. The image forming apparatus according to item 1. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 17, wherein the space for removing the second unit from the frame is exposed by removing the first unit. The guide member located at the guide position is viewed from the removal direction of the second unit, and a part of the guide member and a part of the second rotating body overlap each other. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 18. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 13 to 19, wherein the frame removably supports the first unit.

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