JP7614740B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to image forming devices such as copying machines, laser printers, and facsimiles that use electrophotography.

Conventionally, in electrophotographic image forming devices, drive units and control boards that control the drive units are often placed on the rear side of the device because they require less frequent maintenance such as replacement and cleaning compared to the photosensitive drums and developing devices that form the images.

On the other hand, image forming products such as copiers and printers are often installed in small offices, and so there is a demand for miniaturization of the product's depth in order to minimize the installation area.

However, since the sheet size of the medium on which the image is formed is fixed and the image forming section cannot be made smaller, in order to reduce the product size in the depth direction, the components and units placed on the rear side of the device must be arranged at a high density.

In particular, a color image forming device requires four-color image forming units, and in a tandem-type image forming device in which the four-color image forming units are arranged horizontally, the stations for the four colors are lined up horizontally, so other control boards, etc. are arranged in a hierarchical structure on the rear side of the device relative to the image forming units so as to fill the remaining space. As a result, the wiring that connects the motors, sensors, and other electrical components to the control boards that control them is arranged to weave through these gaps.

Although the placement of these rear sections does not require frequent maintenance, it affects the ease of attachment and detachment during assembly and service maintenance, and also has a significant impact on product costs due to increased labor hours or increased parts costs caused by redundant wiring.

Therefore, Patent Document 1 proposes optimizing the layout of load components, including the drive unit, their control board, and the connectors on the control board to create the shortest possible wiring path, thereby reducing costs and improving quality.

JP 2015-18173 A

When wiring between drive units and control boards that are arranged in a hierarchical structure, clamp members are often attached to the curved structure of the main frame that supports the drive units, or to the supporting sheet metal that serves as the support plate for the control board. However, due to restrictions on where the clamp members can be attached, when trying to achieve the minimum wiring length, the wiring between the clamp members attached to each supporting member may be wired in the air without protection.

When such overhead wiring is used, there is a risk of the wiring breaking due to contact with the moving parts of the drive unit, and noise generation due to contact with high-frequency elements or wiring. There is also a risk of the wiring getting caught and breaking when attaching or detaching the control board unit.

On the other hand, if we try to avoid such aerial wiring, the increased length of the wiring required for detour wiring increases the risk of malfunctions and costs.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and aims to provide an image forming device that can reduce the risk of defects such as disconnection and noise generation in the wiring between circuit units when the circuit units are arranged hierarchically, while achieving ease of assembly, ease of maintenance when attaching and detaching, and cost-effectiveness.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides an image forming device having a first unit, a second unit arranged to cover the first unit when viewed in a first direction, wiring electrically connecting the first unit and the second unit, a guide member that guides the wiring between the first unit and the second unit, and a plurality of connectors, wherein the guide member includes a first support member that guides the wiring along the first direction and a second support member that guides the wiring along a second direction intersecting the first direction, the plurality of connectors being fixed to the second support member, and the wiring including a first wiring that connects the first unit and the plurality of connectors, and a second wiring that is connected to the first wiring via the plurality of connectors and is guided by the first support member and the second support member to be connected to the second unit.

The present invention provides an image forming device that can reduce the risk of defects such as disconnection and noise generation in the wiring between circuit units when the circuit units are arranged hierarchically, while achieving ease of assembly, ease of maintenance when attaching and detaching, and cost-effectiveness.

1 is a schematic front cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a perspective view of a drive unit of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, as viewed from the front side of the image forming apparatus. 3 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus from the front side, showing a state in which a photosensitive drum and a developing device are removed from the drive unit shown in FIG. 2 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus from the rear side, showing a state in which a photosensitive drum and a developing device are removed from the drive unit shown in FIG. 2 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which the drive unit shown in FIG. 2 is attached to a frame of the image forming apparatus, as viewed from the rear side of the image forming apparatus. 2 is a perspective view of a drive control board unit disposed on a rear surface of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a state in which driving wiring is wired to a driving section according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a state in which driving wiring is wired to a driving section according to the embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a perspective view showing a state of a cutout portion of a drive control board unit arranged on a rear surface of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a drive control board unit on a rear side of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Note that the components described in the following embodiments are merely examples, and various conditions of the configuration, function, dimensions, materials, shape, relative arrangement, etc. of the device to which the present invention is applied can be appropriately modified or changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention, and are not limited to the following embodiments.

Figure 1 is a schematic front cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus according to this embodiment is a color image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic method, and is configured using an intermediate transfer tandem method in which image forming units for four colors, which have become mainstream in recent years, are arranged side by side on an intermediate transfer body.

First, we will give an overview of the overall operation of the image forming device.

In FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 100 is provided with rotatable photoconductor drums 111Y, 111M, 111C, and 111K for forming images of the respective colors of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, which are image carriers. The photoconductor drums 111Y, 111M, 111C, and 111K are uniformly charged by primary charging devices 114Y, 114M, 114C, and 114K, respectively. The charged photoconductor drums 111Y, 111M, 111C, and 111K are then exposed by exposure devices 113Y, 113M, 113C, and 113K, such as lasers, modulated according to information signals, to form electrostatic latent images.

On the other hand, when a developing bias is applied to the yellow, magenta, cyan and black toners charged in the developing devices 115Y, 115M, 115C and 115K by the developing sleeves 115(a)Y, 115(a)M, 115(a)C and 115(a)K provided in the developing devices 115Y, 115M, 115C and 115K, the latent images on the photoconductor drums 111Y, 111M, 111C and 111K are visualized as toner images due to the potential difference with the photoconductor drums 111Y, 111M, 111C and 111K.

These visualized toner images are then transferred to the intermediate transfer body 110 by primary transfer rollers 117Y, 117M, 117C, and 117K, and are then transferred to the transfer medium, the transfer sheet S, by secondary transfer roller 118. The toner images transferred to the transfer sheet S are then fixed to the transfer sheet S by the fixing device 119.

Next, the drive unit 10, which is the first circuit unit in this embodiment, and the drive control board 21 and drive wiring 29, which are the second circuit unit and control unit, will be described in order.

2 is a perspective view of the drive unit 10 as seen from the front side of the image forming apparatus 100, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus 100 with the photosensitive drums 111Y, 111M, 111C, and 111K, which are the main rotating bodies of the image forming unit, and the developing sleeves 115(a)Y, 115(a)M, 115(a)C, and 115(a)K in the developing devices 115Y, 115M, 115C, and 115K removed from the drive unit 10 in FIG. 2. 4 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus 100 from the rear side, with the photoconductor drums 111Y, 111M, 111C, and 111K, which are the main rotating bodies of the image forming unit, and the developing sleeves 115(a)Y, 115(a)M, 115(a)C, and 115(a)K in the developing devices 115Y, 115M, 115C, and 115K removed from the drive unit 10 in FIG. 2.

Here, the drive unit 10 is a unit that drives the photoconductor drums 111Y, 111M, 111C, and 111K that perform the main rotational operations in the image forming unit, and the developing sleeves 115(a)Y, 115(a)M, 115(a)C, and 115(a)K in the developing devices 115Y, 115M, 115C, and 115K.

In Figs. 2 to 4, in the intermediate transfer tandem system of this embodiment, the drive unit 10 is broadly composed of three color drive units that are responsible for forming three-color images and one black-and-white drive unit that is responsible for forming black-and-white images. Furthermore, the color drive unit is composed of a color drum drive unit 11 that mainly drives and rotates the three color photoconductor drums 111Y, 111M, and 111C, and a color development drive unit 12 that mainly drives and rotates the development sleeves 115(a)Y, 115(a)M, and 115(a)C in the three color development devices 115Y, 115M, and 115C. Similarly, the black-and-white drive unit is composed of a black-and-white drum drive unit 13 that mainly drives and rotates the black-and-white photoconductor drum 111K, and a black-and-white development drive unit 14 that mainly drives and rotates the development sleeve 115(a)K in the black-and-white development device 115K.

Next, we'll explain each of the above configurations in detail.

First, the color drum drive unit 11 is composed of drum motors 11(e)Y, 11(e)M, and 11(e)C, which serve as the drive sources for the photosensitive drums 111Y, 111M, and 111C, respectively, and drum gears 11(b)Y, 11(b)M, and 11(b)C that mesh with motor gears 11(a)Y, 11(a)M, and 11(a)C of the drum motors 11(e)Y, 11(e)M, and 11(e)C, respectively. It is made up of drum gear 11(b) which is connected to drum shaft 11(c)Y, 11(c)M, 11(c)C which are integral with drum gears 11(b)Y, 11(b)M, 11(b)C, respectively, drum shaft 11(c) which is made up of drum coupling 11(d)Y, 11(d)M, 11(d)C, and drum drive frame 11(f) which supports these and configures them as a unit.

Similarly, the color developing drive unit 12 is also composed of developing motors 12(e)Y, 12(e)M, and 12(e)C, which act as drive sources for developing sleeves 115(a)Y, 115(a)M, and 115(a)C, respectively, developing couplings 12(d)Y, 12(d)M, and 12(d)C, which are meshed with developing motors 12(e)Y, 12(e)M, and 12(e)C, respectively, via gear trains (not shown), and developing drive frame 12(f), which supports these and constitutes a unit.

In the above configuration, the color drum drive unit 11 has drive units in which the three colors are unitized in separate frames, while the color development drive unit 12 has a configuration in which the drive units for each color are provided in an integrated frame for the three colors. However, this configuration is not limited to this, and the drive units for all colors may be configured in individual frames, or all drive units for the drum drive unit and development drive unit may be configured in an integrated frame.

The black-and-white drive unit will be explained next, but its basic configuration is the same as that of the color drive unit for one color. It is broadly composed of a black-and-white drum drive unit 13 and a black-and-white development drive unit 14. The black-and-white drum drive unit 13 is composed of a drum motor 13(e) as a drive source, a drum gear 13(b) that meshes with a motor gear 13(a) of the drum motor 13(e), a drum shaft 13(c) and a drum coupling 13(d) that are integral with the drum gear 13(b), and a drum drive frame 13(f) that supports these and constitutes a unit.

The black-and-white developing drive unit 14 also consists of a developing motor 14(e) as a drive source, a developing coupling 14(d) that is meshed and connected to the developing motor 14(e) by a gear train (not shown), and a developing drive frame 14(f) that supports these and constitutes a unit.

In the above configuration, like the color drive unit, the black-and-white drum drive unit 13 and the black-and-white development drive unit 14 are separate units in the drum drive frame 13(f) and the development drive frame 14(f), respectively, but they may also be configured in an integrated drive frame.

The color photoconductor drums 111Y, 111M, 111C are connected to drum shafts 11(c)Y, 11(c)M, 11(c)C and drum couplings 11(d)Y, 11(d)M, 11(d)C, respectively, and the color developing sleeves 115(a)Y, 115(a)M, 115(a)C are connected to developing couplings 12(d)Y, 12(d)M, 12(d)C, respectively.

The black photoconductor drum 111K is connected to the drum shaft 13(c) and the drum coupling 13(d), and the black and white developing sleeve 115(a)K is connected to the developing coupling 14(d).

With the above configuration, the rotational driving force of the drive unit 10 is transmitted to the photosensitive drums 111Y, 111M, 111C, and 111K, which are the rotating bodies of the image forming unit, and the developing sleeves 115(a)Y, 115(a)M, 115(a)C, and 115(a)K, making it possible to rotate them during operations related to image formation.

Next, we will explain how to attach and position the drive unit 10 to the image forming device 100 in this embodiment.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the image forming device 100 in Figure 1, showing the drive unit 10 attached to the frame of the image forming device 100, viewed from the rear side of the image forming device 100.

In FIG. 5, the frame of the image forming device 100 has a rear side plate 101 on the rear side of the image forming device 100, the drive unit 10 is attached to the rear side plate 101 from the rear side of the image forming device 100, and the drive frames 11(f), 12(f), 13(f), and 14(f) shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 are fastened and fixed to the rear side plate 101.

Next, we will explain the drive control board unit 20 in this embodiment.

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the drive control board unit 20 arranged on the rear side of the image forming device 100.

Here, the drive control board unit 20 is a unit that supplies signals and power to control the aforementioned drive unit 10 so that it performs operations related to image formation at the appropriate timing and time with high precision.

In FIG. 6, the drive control board unit 20 is composed of a drive control board 21 and a board support plate 22 that mounts and supports the drive control board 21. The drive control board unit 20 is disposed on the rear side of the drive unit 10 shown in FIG. 5 of the frame of the image forming device 100 in FIG. 1 so as to cover the drive unit 10, and the board support plate 22 is fastened and fixed to the rear plate 101 of the image forming device 100.

Next, we will explain the drive wiring 29 that electrically connects the drive unit 10 and the drive control board 21 and supplies signals and power.

Figures 7 and 8 are perspective views of the drive wiring 29 wired to the drive unit 10. The drive wiring 29 is broadly composed of two parts: drive unit wiring 30, 31, 32, 33 and drive main wiring 34.

In Figures 7 and 8, drive unit wiring 30, 31, 32, and 33 are wired within the drive section 10, and are wiring connected to the drum motor 11(e) and development motor 12(e), and to the drum motor 13(e) and development motor 14(e). Therefore, in terms of the unit configuration, the drum drive unit 11 and development drive unit 12, and the drum drive unit 13 and development drive unit 14 are respectively configured with drum drive unit wiring 30, development drive unit wiring 31, drum drive unit wiring 32, and development drive unit wiring 33.

The drive main wiring 34 is connected to the drive unit wiring 30, 31, 32, 33 via relay connectors 30(a), 31(a), 32(a), 33(a), and connects to the drive control board 21 described above while consolidating the wiring from each drive unit 11, 12, 13, 14.

As shown in FIG. 8, in this embodiment, the drive main wiring 34 is guided by a wiring support member 35 arranged at the bottom of the rear side of the image forming apparatus 100 in FIG. 1 of the horizontally aligned drive parts 10. The wiring support member 35 has a panel mount shape that fixes the relay connectors 30(a), 31(a), 32(a), and 33(a) near each drive unit 11, 12, 13, and 14, and is unitized with the drive main wiring 34.

The drive main wiring 34 is guided by the wiring support member 35 and is led to the lower back surface of the drive control board 21 shown in FIG. 9, which is the connection destination, so that the wiring length is shortened. Here, the wiring support member 35 is provided with a support guide portion 36, which is composed of support guide portions 36(a) and 36(b) as a guide member, at a position on the lower back surface of the drive control board 21 (a position on the front side of the image forming device 100) so as to extend toward the drive control board 21. The drive main wiring 34 is guided and held by this support guide portion 36, which is turned toward the drive control board 21 on the rear side of the image forming device 100. The support guide portion 36 is provided up to a position on the rear side of the drive control board 21 of the image forming device 100, and the guided drive main wiring 34 is led to a position on the rear side of the drive control board 21 of the image forming device 100, and then connected to the connector 21(a) provided on the drive control board 21.

In this embodiment, the support guide section 36 is formed in a U-shape, and a clamp member is provided at the tip end to fix the position of the wiring to be guided and protect the wiring by surrounding it in a U-shape. In this configuration, the support guide section 36 can protect the wiring from moving parts such as the motor gear of the drive section 10 and the board support plate 22 that supports the drive control board unit 20, as well as from parts and units that are attached and detached in the vicinity, and from tools such as screwdrivers used when attaching and detaching.

In this embodiment, the support guide portion 36 is made of resin, taking into consideration cost, ease of use, and reliability of protection, and the wiring is guided and held using a claw shape and a clamp member in combination, but it may also be made of resin and have only a claw shape, or a combination of a metal thin plate member and a clamp member.

As shown in FIG. 9, the board support plate 22 that supports the drive control board 21 has a notch 22(a) at the portion where the support guide extends. This is to shorten the distance between the board and the support guide 36 when connecting the drive main wiring 34 to the drive control board 21, thereby shortening the distance of the aerial wiring. Also, by providing this notch 22(a) at the vertical lower portion of the drive control board 21, the risk of the wiring drooping in the direction of gravity and getting caught before connection when assembling the drive control board unit 20 can be reduced.

Figure 10 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the drive control board unit 20 on the rear side of the image forming apparatus 100 in Figure 1.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, the image control board (not shown), which is a noise source, the housing 40 that houses the image control board, and the connected wiring (not shown) are arranged on the rear side of the image forming apparatus 100 of the drive control board unit 20. The support guide portion 36 holds and defines the position of the drive main wiring 34, thereby suppressing contact with these noise sources and reducing the risk of noise generation. In other words, the hierarchical wiring of the drive unit 10 and the drive control board 21 in the front-rear direction of the image forming apparatus 100, which was previously difficult to hold in position and insufficiently protected, can be held in position and protected by the support guide portion 36, thereby reducing the risk of disconnection and noise generation.

In addition, the support guide portion 36 in this embodiment guides the wiring between the drive unit 10 and the drive control board 21, but the drive control board 21 may also have the control function of other electrical equipment (not shown) and guide the wiring to these additional electrical equipment (not shown).

In this embodiment, the support guide portion 36 is provided in two locations on the lower part of the drive control board 21. This is intended to improve workability by distributing the wiring guided by the support guide portion to the respective connector 21(a) positions on the drive control board 21 and preventing erroneous insertion. As mentioned above, when adding wiring for other devices, it is desirable to increase or decrease the number of support guide portions depending on the type and number of wiring.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the support guide portion 36 is provided on the drive unit 10 side, but it may also be provided on the drive control board unit 20 side, or on both the drive unit 10 and the drive control board unit 20.

In addition, the support guide portion 36 in the above embodiment is designed to guide the wiring between the drive unit 10 and the drive control board 21, but the support guide portion 36 can also be applied between other types of circuit units, such as between control boards, as long as the circuit units are arranged hierarchically.

10: Drive section 11: Color drum drive unit 11(a): Motor gear 11(b): Drum gear 11(c): Drum shaft 11(d): Drum coupling 11(e): Drum motor 11(f): Drum drive frame 12: Color developing drive unit 12(d): Development coupling 12(e): Development motor 12(f): Development drive frame 13: Black and white drum drive unit 13(a): Motor gear 13(b): Drum gear 13(c): Drum shaft 13(d): Drum coupling 13(e): Drum motor 13(f): Drum drive frame 14: Black and white developing drive unit 14(d): Development coupling 14(e): Development motor 14(f): Development drive frame 20: Drive control board unit 21: Drive control board 22: Board support plate 22(a): Cutout 29: Drive wiring Description of the drawings: 30... Drum drive unit wiring 31... Development drive unit wiring 32... Drum drive unit wiring 33... Development drive unit wiring 34... Drive main wiring 35... Wiring support member 36... Support guide portion 40... Housing for accommodating image control board 100... Image forming device 101... Rear side plate 110... Intermediate transfer body 111Y, 111M, 111C, 111K... Photoconductor drum 113Y, 113M, 113C, 113K... Exposure device 115Y, 115M, 115C, 115K... Development device 115(a)Y, 115(a)M, 115(a)C, 115(a)K... Development sleeve 117Y, 117M, 117C, 117K... Primary transfer roller 118... Secondary transfer roller 118
119... Fixing device S... Transfer sheet

Claims (9)

A first unit;
a second unit disposed so as to cover the first unit when viewed in a first direction;
Wiring electrically connecting the first unit and the second unit;
a guide member that guides the wiring between the first unit and the second unit;
Multiple connectors and
having
the guide member includes a first support member that guides the wiring along the first direction and a second support member that guides the wiring along a second direction that intersects with the first direction,
the plurality of connectors are fixed to the second support member;
The wiring is
a first wiring that connects the first unit and the plurality of connectors;
a second wiring connected to the first wiring via the plurality of connectors, and guided by the first support member and the second support member to be connected to the second unit;
1. An image forming apparatus comprising: The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the first unit is a drive unit that drives an image forming section for forming an image, and the second unit is a control unit that controls the drive unit. The image forming device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the guide member is provided in at least one of the first unit and the second unit. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the guide member extends from the first unit to the second unit along the first direction. The image forming device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the guide member includes a portion that extends along the first direction and is formed so as to surround the wiring in a U-shape in a cross section that intersects with the first direction. The image forming device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the guide member is provided vertically below the second unit. The image forming device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the second unit has a notch at a position where the guide member is extended. The image forming device according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that a plurality of the wirings are provided, and the guide members guide the plurality of wirings with corresponding guide members. 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first support member extends along the first direction, and the second support member extends along the second direction .

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