JP-7855382-B2 - Image forming apparatus

Inventors

• 栗田 茂治

Assignees

• キヤノン株式会社

Dates

Publication Date

20260508

Application Date

20220328

Claims (7)

1. An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material, The casing and A bottle storage unit is provided on the top surface of the aforementioned housing and houses a toner bottle filled with replacement toner, The electrical unit comprises a first electrical circuit board arranged adjacent to the bottle storage unit in the left-right direction , a second electrical circuit board capable of inputting and outputting signals to and from an external device connected to an interface cable, and a connector portion to which the interface cable can be connected, and is arranged in parallel in the left-right direction adjacent to the bottle storage unit on the top surface. The second electrical circuit board is positioned further away from the bottle storage unit than the first electrical circuit board in the left- right direction, and positioned rearward from the first electrical circuit board in the front- rear direction perpendicular to the left -right direction. The connector portion is provided on the bottle housing unit side of the second electrical circuit board. An image forming apparatus characterized by the following:
2. The electrical unit has a third electrical circuit board that is stacked and positioned in a location adjacent to the first electrical circuit board in the left- right direction and overlapping with the second electrical circuit board in the front- rear direction. The image forming apparatus according to feature 1.
3. The second electrical circuit board is an interface board that controls the input and output of signals to the external device connected via the interface cable. The image forming apparatus according to feature 2.
4. The third electrical circuit board is the main control board that controls the entire image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to feature 2 or 3.
5. The electrical unit has a first holding portion for holding the first electrical circuit board, and a second holding portion formed in parallel with the first holding portion in the left- right direction for holding the second electrical circuit board and the third electrical circuit board. The second holding portion has a second opposing surface facing the bottle storage unit that, in the left- right direction, is further from the bottle storage unit than the first opposing surface of the first holding portion facing the bottle storage unit, and in the front -rear direction, protrudes further rearward than the first opposing surface, thereby forming a stepped portion with the first holding portion. The connector portion is provided in the stepped portion. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4.
6. A separate unit for operating the image forming apparatus is provided in addition to the housing, The third electrical circuit board and the operating unit are connected by a cable capable of inputting and outputting signals, The second holding portion is provided with another connector portion on the end opposite to the stepped portion that is away from the bottle storage unit in the left- right direction, to which the cable can be connected. The image forming apparatus according to feature 5.
7. The stepped portion is provided in the central part of the electrical unit in the left -right direction. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 or 6.

Description

This invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a printer, copier, facsimile, or multifunction device. An image forming apparatus has multiple units for forming images on recording material, all housed within the main body of the apparatus. The image forming apparatus includes, for example, an electrical circuit board for controlling the entire apparatus, a drive control board for controlling motors, a high-voltage circuit board for controlling various voltages for charging, developing, or transfer, and an interface circuit board for inputting and outputting signals to and from external devices. These electrical circuit boards are housed in a box-shaped electrical unit. Furthermore, the electrical unit has a connector on its side to which an interface cable can be connected for connecting external devices to the interface circuit board (Patent Document 1). In image forming apparatuses, for example, process units containing a photosensitive drum and a developer are designed to be detachable from the front of the housing for periodic replacement, cleaning, or jamming. On the other hand, the electrical unit housing the electrical circuit boards is positioned on the rear of the housing to prevent accidental access by users of the image forming apparatus and to avoid obstruction during the attachment and detachment of the process unit. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2001-347723 A perspective view showing an image forming system equipped with the image forming apparatus of this embodiment.A schematic diagram showing the image formation system.A control block diagram illustrating the electrical unit.A perspective view showing an image forming and transfer apparatus.A perspective view showing the image forming and transfer apparatus with the unit cover removed.External perspective view showing the electrical unit.A perspective view showing the electrical unit with the left and right covers removed.A perspective view showing the electrical unit with the left cover, right cover, and relay board removed. <Image Forming System> First, the image forming system equipped with the image forming apparatus of this embodiment will be described using Figures 1 and 2. As shown in Figure 1, the image forming system 1 comprises an image forming apparatus 2 and a recording material loading device 3 capable of loading recording material S discharged from the image forming apparatus 2. The image forming apparatus 2 is an electrophotographic tandem full-color printer, and in this embodiment, it is divided into an image forming transfer apparatus 500 and a fixing and transport apparatus 600. The image forming transfer apparatus 500 and the fixing and transport apparatus 600, and the fixing and transport apparatus 600 and the recording material loading device 3 are each connected in a manner that allows for the transfer of recording material (sheets). Examples of recording material include paper such as plain paper, cardboard, rough paper, textured paper, and coated paper, as well as plastic film and cloth. A bottle storage unit 20 is positioned on the top surface 1a of the image forming transfer apparatus 500. An electrical unit 70 is positioned in the remaining space on the top surface 1a where the bottle storage unit 20 is located, and an operating unit 80 is positioned in the remaining space. The electrical unit 70 is positioned adjacent to the bottle storage unit 20 in the left-right direction, and both the electrical unit 70 and the bottle storage unit 20 are covered by a unit cover 120. The operation unit 80 is positioned on the front of the electrical unit 70 such that a display (such as an LCD touch panel 82) capable of displaying various information and keys for inputting various information according to user operation are located on the front side. The operation unit 80 is connected to the electrical unit 70 via a signal cable 90, enabling power supply and signal input/output. External devices 101, such as a personal computer, are also connected via an interface cable 104, enabling signal input/output. Note that the operation unit 80 is not limited to being located to the left of the illustrated bottle storage unit 20; it may be movably positioned at other locations on the top surface 1a or on the top surface 1c of the fixing and conveying device 600. On the other hand, the top surface 1c of the fixing and transport device 600 is formed as a flat surface on which recording material can be placed, serving as a workspace for the user to check the image formed on the recording material and organize the recording material. Since the top surface 1c of the fixing and transport device 600 is wide, a document reader (not shown) capable of reading original documents may be placed on it. In this specification, the side from which the user stands when operating the control unit 80 is referred to as the "front (or front)," and the opposite side is referred to as the "rear (or rear)." Furthermore, the left side when viewed