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JP-7856175-B2 - Image forming apparatus

JP7856175B2JP 7856175 B2JP7856175 B2JP 7856175B2JP-7856175-B2

Inventors

  • 西山 英志

Assignees

  • ブラザー工業株式会社

Dates

Publication Date
20260511
Application Date
20250122

Claims (13)

  1. A main body housing having an opening , the main body housing having a slot extending in a first direction toward the interior of the main body housing, the main body housing including the inner surface located at the innermost part of the slot, A drum cartridge having a photosensitive drum rotatable about an axis extending in a first direction, the drum cartridge being removablely insertable into the main body housing through the opening in the first direction, A developing cartridge having a developing roller, comprising a developing cartridge that can be removably inserted into the main body housing through the opening in the first direction, With the drum cartridge and the developing cartridge mounted in the main housing, the photosensitive drum and the developing roller are arranged side by side in a second direction intersecting the first direction. The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the main housing has a drum guide groove extending in the first direction for guiding the movement of the drum cartridge, the drum guide groove has a first inclined surface, and the first inclined surface is inclined in a direction away from the developing roller in the second direction as it moves from the opening toward the inner surface of the main housing.
  2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drum cartridge has a second inclined surface in the portion that is guided by the drum guide groove, and the second inclined surface is inclined in a direction away from the developing roller in the second direction as it moves toward the interior of the main body housing when the drum cartridge is mounted in the main body housing .
  3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the drum guide groove has a shape that narrows in width towards the inside of the main body housing.
  4. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the drum guide groove has a surface that connects to the first inclined surface and extends along the first direction, located inside the main housing, rather than the first inclined surface.
  5. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the drum guide groove has a first opposing surface facing the first inclined surface, and the first inclined surface and the first opposing surface have a tapered shape in which the distance between them decreases as they move toward the interior of the main housing.
  6. The drum cartridge has a first drum side wall and a second drum side wall that faces the first drum side wall in the first direction when the drum cartridge is mounted in the main housing, and the second drum side wall is further from the opening than the first drum side wall. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the drum cartridge has a drum projection that fits into the drum guide groove, and the drum projection has a tapered shape that narrows from the first drum side wall toward the second drum side wall.
  7. The developing cartridge has a first developing side wall and a second developing side wall that faces the first developing side wall in the first direction when the developing cartridge is mounted in the main housing, The inner surface of the main housing and the second developing side wall of the developing cartridge have a second hole. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that the inner surface of the main housing and the other of the second developing side wall of the developing cartridge have a second projection that engages with the second hole when the developing cartridge is mounted in the main housing.
  8. The second developing side wall of the developing cartridge has the second hole, The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that the inner surface of the main housing has the second projection.
  9. The main housing has a developing guide groove for guiding the movement of the developing cartridge, The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the developing guide groove extends in the first direction.
  10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that the developing guide groove has a tapered shape.
  11. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, characterized in that the drum cartridge can be removed separately from the developing cartridge.
  12. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising an intermediate transfer belt located above the drum cartridge and the developing cartridge when the drum cartridge and the developing cartridge are mounted in the main housing.
  13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 12, further comprising a paper discharge section including a paper discharge roller configured to transport a sheet, wherein the paper discharge section is located above the intermediate transfer belt.

Description

This disclosure relates to an image forming apparatus comprising a drum cartridge and a developing cartridge that are detachable from the main housing. Conventionally, an image forming apparatus is known in which a drum cartridge and a developer cartridge can be individually attached to and detached from the main housing (see Patent Document 1). In this technology, the drum cartridge and the developer cartridge are detachable in the axial direction of the photosensitive drum. The main housing has an opening that allows the drum cartridge and the developer cartridge to be inserted, and slots into which the drum cartridge and the developer cartridge are mounted. Furthermore, the slot is equipped with a guide section that guides the drum cartridge during insertion and removal, and a guide section that guides the developing cartridge during insertion and removal. Japanese Patent Publication No. 2017-173805 This is a cross-sectional view showing the schematic configuration of a color printer according to one embodiment of the present invention.This is a perspective view showing the main unit with the cover open, and the drum cartridge and developer cartridge removed from their slots.These are perspective views (a) of the drum cartridge, front views (b) of the drum cartridge, and bottom views (c) of the drum cartridge.These are perspective views (a) of the developing cartridge, front views (b) of the developing cartridge, and bottom views (c) of the developing cartridge.This is an explanatory diagram illustrating the relationship between the drum guide groove and development guide projection of the slot, the drum projection of the drum cartridge, and the development groove of the development cartridge.This is an explanatory diagram showing how to insert the drum cartridge into the slot on the main unit's casing.This is an explanatory diagram showing how to insert the developing cartridge into the slot on the main unit.This is an explanatory diagram relating to a first modified example illustrating the relationship between the drum guide groove and the developing guide projection, and the drum projection and the developing groove.These are explanatory diagrams illustrating the relationship between the drum guide groove and the developing guide projection, and the drum projection and the developing groove. They are explanatory diagram (a) relating to the second modification, explanatory diagram (b) relating to the third modification, and explanatory diagram (c) relating to the fourth modification.These are explanatory diagrams illustrating the relationship between the drum guide groove and the developing guide projection, and the drum projection and the developing groove, and are explanatory diagram (a) relating to the fifth modified example and explanatory diagram (b) relating to the sixth modified example. Next, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. In the following description, the overall configuration of a color printer 1 as an example of an image forming apparatus will be described first. In the following explanation, directions will be described as those shown in Figure 1. That is, the left side of Figure 1 will be referred to as "front," the right side as "back," the front of the page as "right," and the back of the page as "left." The top and bottom of Figure 1 will be referred to as "top and bottom." As shown in Figure 1, the color printer 1 comprises a main body casing 2, a paper feeding unit 3, an image forming unit 4, and a paper discharge unit 5. The paper feeding unit 3 supplies paper P to the image forming unit 4. The image forming unit 4 forms an image on the paper P. The paper discharge unit 5 discharges the paper P. The paper feeding unit 3 is located at the bottom of the main body housing 2. The paper feeding unit 3 comprises a paper tray 31 and a paper feeding mechanism 32. The paper tray 31 is detachable from the main body housing 2. The paper feeding mechanism 32 transports the paper P from the paper tray 31 to the image forming unit 4. The image forming unit 4 comprises four drum cartridges 40, four developing cartridges 50, an exposure device SU, a transfer unit 60, and a fixing unit 70. The image forming unit 4 consists of four drum cartridges 40, four developing cartridges 50, an exposure unit SU, and a transfer unit 60, all of which are arranged at an angle so that they are positioned downwards as you move from the front to the rear of the main housing 2. Each drum cartridge 40 has a photosensitive drum 41, a charger (not shown), and a drum frame PF. The photosensitive drum 41 is rotatable about a first axis X1 extending in a first direction. The four drum cartridges 40 are arranged in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction when mounted in the main body housing 2. In this embodiment, the image forming unit 4 is equipped with four drum cartridges 40. The four drum cartridges 40 correspond to tone