JPH0560099B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] <Technical Field> This invention relates to a copying machine, and more specifically,
The present invention relates to a copying machine in which an image forming unit mainly composed of a photoreceptor can be moved from a copy paper conveying section.

<Background and Prior Art> As a typical configuration of a copying machine, a photoconductor drum that rotates in one direction for each copying operation is usually provided in the center of the copying machine body. A charger, an exposure member,
It has a structure in which a developing device, a transfer charger, a separation charger, and a cleaner are arranged in sequence. In order to deal with paper jams, it is necessary to insert a means into the copy paper feeding section to remove the jammed paper. Furthermore, among the above components,
The photosensitive drum and the developing device each include consumables that have a certain lifespan, so they must be replaced one after another in order to maintain a certain copy quality.

In order to satisfy such requirements, conventionally, the main body of the copying machine was divided into upper and lower halves, with one of the upper halves being pivoted and separated from the lower half of the other.
The copy paper transport section is divided into sections to allow removal of paper jammed in the copy paper transport section, etc., and the transfer charger, etc. that transfers the toner image onto the copy paper in close proximity to the photoreceptor drum is installed on the photoreceptor drum. There was one that made it possible to remove paper jammed in the copy paper conveyance section, etc. by separating it from the copy paper transport section.

For the former, one of the upper halves of the copying machine body is pivoted and the other is separated from the lower half, dividing the copy paper conveyance path and removing jammed paper. Sometimes, it has the advantage that jammed paper can be easily removed, and each component can be removed relatively easily, but in large-scale copying machines, the upper half The support structure becomes complicated as one side is pivoted and the other is spaced apart from the lower half.
Since it is heavy, it takes a lot of effort to separate the copy paper transport section, making it difficult to perform the series of tasks of dividing the copy paper transport path, removing jammed paper, and restoring the copy paper transport section. becomes.

On the other hand, the latter method does not have the disadvantages associated with dividing the copy paper conveyance section by pivoting one of the upper halves and separating the other from the lower half, and is suitable for use in large-sized copying machines. It is possible.

However, the front part of the copying machine body does not have a very large opening, so even if the transfer charger and separation charger are separated from the photoreceptor drum, there is still enough space to insert your hand into the copy paper transport section. The paper jam is not very large, and the paper jam still cannot be visually observed or must be carried out in a state where it is difficult to see the paper jam, and further improvements are desired.

In addition, as shown in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 181058/1983,
Some copiers have a configuration in which the image forming unit is pulled out forward, but if the image forming unit is pulled out forward, it becomes more difficult to insert a hand into the copy paper transport section and to check for paper jams. If the developing device, etc. is removed while the developing device is still in place, this problem will be resolved, but it will take extra effort to attach and detach the developing device, etc., and furthermore, the developing device, etc. may not be connected to the photoreceptor drum. Since this requires extra work for accurate positioning and extra care to avoid damaging the photoreceptor drum, in practice it is not possible to clear paper jams with such effort.

<Purpose> The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and is designed to move the image forming unit backward from the rear surface of the copying machine main body, thereby removing jammed paper in the copy paper transport section, etc. It is an object of the present invention to provide a copying machine that can facilitate removal work.

<Structure> In order to achieve the above object, the structure of the copying machine of the present invention includes guiding a document image onto a photoreceptor through an optical section to form an electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor;
In a copying machine in which an electrostatic latent image is developed into a toner image by a developing device, and the toner image is further transferred by a transfer means onto a copy paper conveyed through a copy paper conveyance section, a photoreceptor is It is characterized in that an image forming unit having a main part thereof is movably attached to the rear of the copying machine main body so as to expose the copy paper conveyance section to the outside.

<Examples> Hereinafter, examples will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings showing examples.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the internal mechanism of the electrostatic copying machine.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a copying machine main body, which is provided with a document mounting table 11 having a document presser plate on the top surface, and two paper feeding cassettes 12 and 13 at the lower part of the right side.
A tray 14 is provided at a predetermined position on the left side for supporting the copy paper P that has been copied. By providing a partition plate 15 at a predetermined position inside, an upper chamber 16 and a lower chamber 17 are formed, and an optical section 2 that can reciprocate is provided within this upper chamber 16, and a lower chamber 17 is provided. A copy processing section 4 and a copy paper conveyance section 3 are provided inside.

The optical section 2 includes a light source 21, a first reflecting mirror 22 having a curved reflecting surface, a second reflecting mirror 23, a third reflecting mirror 24, a fourth reflecting mirror 25, a condenser 26 including a lens, etc. The light source 21, the first reflecting mirror 22, and the second reflecting mirror 23 move back and forth once for each copying operation. It is possible to perform sequential scanning exposure, and the reflected light from the original is
Light source 21, first reflecting mirror 22, and second reflecting mirror 23
The slits 2 are formed at predetermined positions of the third reflecting mirror 24, the fourth reflecting mirror 25, the condenser 26, the fifth reflecting mirror 27, and the partition plate 15, which move following the movement of the slits 2.
8, the surface of a photoreceptor drum 41, which will be described later, is irradiated with the light.

The copy paper conveying section 3 carries the respective cassettes 12 and 13.
paper feed rollers 31 and 32 that take out one sheet of copy paper P from the paper and feed it to registration rollers 33 and 34;
A conveying roller 35 that feeds the copy paper P from the registration roller 34 to the copy processing section 4, a belt 36 that conveys the copy paper P peeled from the copy processing section 4,
A heating fixing roller 37 heats and fixes the toner image on the copy paper P, and a tray 1 holds the copy paper P after heating and fixing.
By selectively driving the paper feed rollers 31 and 32, the paper can be delivered to the desired cassette 12 or 13.
It is possible to feed one sheet of copy paper P to another address.

The copying processing section 4 is provided with a photosensitive drum 41 that is provided approximately at the center of the lower chamber 17 and rotates in the direction of arrow A1 in the figure for each copying operation.
Around the photoreceptor 41, a charging charger 42, a developing device 43, a transfer charger 44 as a transfer means,
A separation charger 45 and a cleaner 46 are provided in this order. Therefore, the electrostatic charger 42
After the photoreceptor layer of the photoreceptor drum 41 is uniformly charged, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the document is formed by light irradiated through the slit 28, and the toner is attracted by the developing device 43 to form a toner image. Then, the transfer charger 44 transfers the toner image onto the copy paper P fed from the conveyance roller 35 , the separation charger 45 separates the copy paper P from the photosensitive drum 41 , and finally the cleaner 46 transfers the toner image to the copy paper P fed from the conveyance roller 35 . By scraping off the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 41, one copying process can be performed. The residual toner scraped off by the cleaner 46 is transferred by a screw conveyor 47, guided to the front side of the copying machine main body 1, and dropped into a toner collection container 48.

Reference numeral 5 denotes a support frame which is attached to the lower chamber 17 of the copying machine main body 1 so as to be able to be pulled out through a vertical front plate 18 (see FIGS. 1, 2, 7 and 8). Drum 41, charger 4
2. The image forming unit U is constituted by supporting the developing device 43 and the cleaner 46 while maintaining them in accurate relative positions. That is, the support frame 5 has a front support wall 51 and a rear support wall 52, and horizontal members 53, 53 are provided between the support walls 51, 52.
The guide rails 54, 54 and the horizontal member 53 are connected to each other by the guide rails 54', 54' provided in the lower chamber 17 of the copying machine main body 1 so as to be slidable forward. , 53 in a slidable manner, it is possible to draw the front cover 70 forward, attach it, and push it backward with the front cover 70 open. An opening 55 having the same shape as the front support wall 51 is formed in the vertical front plate 18, thereby allowing the image forming unit U to be pulled out to the front, mounted, and pushed out to the rear.

To explain in more detail, as shown in Figure 2,
A receiving member 50 is provided at the center of the front support wall 51 and the rear support wall 52 of the support frame 5, facing each other.
1,502 is attached by screwing or the like, and each receiving member 501, 502 has a substantially semicircular shape.
03 and 504 support shaft support members 415 and 416 attached to boss portions 413 and 414 extending in the axial direction of the photoreceptor drum 41, thereby positioning the photoreceptor drum 41 in a rotatable manner. Also,
Projecting flat plate portions 417 and 418 are formed to project from the front and rear walls of the developing device 43 in guide grooves (not shown) provided in predetermined positions of the receiving members 501 and 502 in close proximity to the receiving portions 503 and 504. By engaging these, the vertical position of the developing device 43 can be accurately regulated, and the developing device 43 can be moved closer to or further away from the photoreceptor drum 41 along a guide groove (not shown).

Then, abutted surfaces (not shown) are formed at predetermined positions of the receiving members 501 and 502, and the developing device 43 from moving toward the photosensitive drum 41 side.

Further, a gear 419 is attached to a boss portion 414 that penetrates the rear support wall 52 and protrudes rearward, and a gear 421 attached to the vertical rear plate 19 of the copying machine main body 1 and a gear 420 attached to the rear support wall 52 are interposed. The driving force is received from a motor (not shown).

The gears 420 and 421 are both connected to the shaft 422,
It is rotatably attached to 423, and
It is biased by springs 424 and 425, so that the image forming unit U can be accurately pulled out, disengaged when pushed out, and engaged when mounted.

In addition, 20 is a rear cover of the copying machine main body 1, and 5
6 is a grip provided on the front support wall 51, and 57 is a rear cover of the image forming unit U.

With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, a mechanism that allows the image unit U to be pulled out to the front and pushed out to the rear in conjunction with the retracting operations of the transfer charger 44 and the separation charger 45 will be described.

A transfer charger 44 and a separate charger 45 are integrally attached to each other as shown in the drawings.
is removably attached to the transfer guide base 61 so that it can rotate around a predetermined position on the copying machine main body 1, and the roller 6 of the conveyance release lever 62 that rotates around a predetermined position on the copying machine main body 1
3 and the lower edge of the transfer guide base 61, the transfer charger 44 and the separation charger 4 follow the rotational operation of the conveyance release lever 62.
5 rotates to approach the photosensitive drum 41 (see FIG. 3) or retreat (see FIG. 4). At the tip of the conveyance release lever 62,
As shown in FIG. 5, an engaging groove 62a is formed at the inner depth, which has a width approximately equal to the thickness of the front support wall 51 of the image forming unit U, and whose width gradually increases toward the tip opening. Therefore, after roughly positioning the image forming unit U, the conveyance release lever 62 is rotated to release the transfer charger 44 and the separation charger 4.
5 approaches the photoreceptor drum 41, the front support wall 51 and the engagement groove 62a engage with each other, thereby enabling accurate positioning of the image forming unit U. A casing 65 for storing the toner collection container 48 is provided on a support base plate 64 provided on the left side of the conveyance release lever 62.

The screw conveyor 47 is housed in a cylindrical portion 46b that protrudes forward from the casing 46a of the cleaner 46, and has an opening (not shown) formed at the lower end of the cylindrical portion 46b for dropping toner. ing.

With the above configuration, when a paper jam occurs, the transfer charger 44 and the separation charger 45 are evacuated from the photosensitive drum 41 by rotating the conveyance release lever 62 in the direction of arrow A2, and then the image is formed. By moving the image unit U backward from the rear surface of the copying machine main body 1, a considerable portion (the upper part of the front side) of the copy paper conveying section 3 can be exposed to the outside, as shown in FIG. Therefore, it is easy to insert one's hand, and visual confirmation can be continued during the work, making it easy to clear paper jams.

Furthermore, when replacing the consumables included in the image forming unit U, the worn parts can be easily replaced by pulling the image forming unit U forward, contrary to the above-mentioned paper jam clearing process. .

Further, after performing the above operation, after setting the image forming unit U so that its front support wall 51 is substantially flush with the vertical front plate 18, the conveyance release lever 62 is moved in the opposite direction to the arrow A2. It is only necessary to rotate the image forming unit U in the correct position.
and transfer charger 44, separation charger 45
can be held in a fixed position with respect to the photoreceptor drum 41, and operability can be improved.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and for example, the image forming unit U can be pushed out only backwards, and the image forming unit U can be held in a fixed position by a member separate from the conveyance release lever 62. In addition, it is possible to provide a photoreceptor belt in place of the photoreceptor drum 41, it is also possible to move the original platen 11 instead of moving the optical section 2 for scanning exposure, and other methods. Various design changes can be made without changing the gist of the invention.

<Effects> As described above, this invention has made it possible to push the image forming unit backward, which was completely unanticipated in the past, so when a paper jam occurs, the front upper part of the copy paper transport section can be pushed out to the rear. It has the unique effect of being able to be opened to facilitate paper jam removal work.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a partially cutaway plan view of the copying machine showing the state in which paper jam removal work is performed, Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the installation state of the image forming unit U, and Figs. 3 and 4 are copy paper 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the positioning of the image forming unit U, FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the internal structure of the copying machine, and FIG.
The figure is a perspective view showing a state in which the front cover is opened, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a state in which the image forming unit U is pulled out forward. 2...Optical section, 3...Copy paper transport section, 41...
Photosensitive drum as a photosensitive member, 43...Developing device, 44...Transfer charger, 62...Conveyance release lever as positioning means, P...Copy paper, U
...Image forming unit.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A document image is guided onto a photoreceptor through an optical section to form an electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor, and the electrostatic latent image is developed into a toner image by a developing device. Further, in a copying machine in which a toner image is transferred by a transfer means onto a copy paper conveyed through a copy paper conveyance section, an image forming unit having a photoreceptor as a main part is connected to the copy paper conveyance section. A copying machine characterized in that the copying machine is movably attached to the rear of the copying machine body so as to be exposed to the outside. 2. The copying machine according to claim 1, wherein the image forming unit includes at least a photoreceptor and a developing device. 3. The copying machine according to claim 1, wherein the image forming unit is movably attached to the front of the copying machine main body. 4. A copying machine according to claim 3, further comprising positioning means for positioning the image forming unit at a set position for performing a copying operation. 5. The copying machine according to claim 4, wherein the positioning means also serves as an operating means for moving the transfer means toward and away from the photoreceptor.