US-12625459-B2 - Image forming apparatus

US12625459B2US 12625459 B2US12625459 B2US 12625459B2US-12625459-B2

Abstract

An image forming apparatus including: an apparatus main body having an opening; a moving member holding a cartridge and movable through the opening between a housed position and an exposed position; an opening/closing portion configured to be rotatable between an open position and a closed position, and includes a first support portion and a second support portion that support the moving member located at the exposed position; and a metal member that is attached to the opening/closing portion and faces the moving member in a state in which the moving member is located at the exposed position and supported by the first support portion and the second support portion. The metal member is placed between the first support portion and the second support portion in a rotation axis direction of the opening/closing portion.

Inventors

Kohei Okayasu
Shuma Hiasa
Masaki Tanaka
Satoshi Nishida

Assignees

CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20241216
Priority Date: 20231219

Claims (15)

1 . An image forming apparatus configured to form an image on a recording medium, the image forming apparatus comprising: an apparatus main body having an opening; a moving member to which a cartridge is removably attached, the moving member configured to hold the cartridge and be movable through the opening between a housed position at which the cartridge is housed inside the apparatus main body and an exposed position at which the cartridge is exposed to outside of the apparatus main body; an opening/closing portion configured to be rotatable between an open position that opens the opening and a closed position that closes the opening, the opening/closing portion including a first support portion and a second support portion that support the moving member located at the exposed position; and a metal member attached to the opening/closing portion, the metal member configured to face the moving member in a state in which the moving member is located at the exposed position and supported by the first support portion and the second support portion, wherein the metal member is placed between the first support portion and the second support portion in a rotation axis direction of the opening/closing portion.
2 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein, in the rotation axis direction, the metal member has one end and an other end opposite to the one end, and, in the rotation axis direction, the one end is closer to the first support portion than a center point between the first support portion and the second support portion, and the other end is closer to the second support portion than the center point between the first support portion and the second support portion.
3 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the first support portion is provided at a first end portion of the opening/closing portion in the rotation axis direction, and wherein the second support portion is provided at a second end portion opposite to the first end portion of the opening/closing portion in the rotation axis direction.
4 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first support portion includes a plurality of first projection portions arranged spaced apart in a direction intersecting the rotation axis direction of the opening/closing portion, and the plurality of first projection portions are located between the metal member and the moving member in the state in which the moving member is located at the exposed position and supported by the first support portion and the second support portion, and wherein the second support portion includes a plurality of second projection portions arranged spaced apart in a direction intersecting the rotation axis direction of the opening/closing portion, and the plurality of second projection portions are located between the metal member and the moving member in the state in which the moving member is located at the exposed position and supported by the first support portion and the second support portion.
5 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the opening/closing portion has an upper surface, the upper surface faces upward in a case where the opening/closing portion is in the open position, and wherein the metal member includes a first extension portion extending in an extension direction along the upper surface of the opening/closing portion, a second extension portion extending from one end of the first extension portion toward the upper surface, and a third extension portion extending from an other end of the first extension portion in the extension direction toward the upper surface.
6 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein in a case where the opening/closing portion is in the open position, the extension direction of the first extension portion of the metal member is parallel to a moving direction in which the moving member moves from the housed position to the exposed position.
7 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the first extension portion is in contact with the first support portion and the second support portion.
8 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein the first extension portion is opposed to the first support portion and the second support portion.
9 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the metal member is fixed to the opening/closing portion.
10 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the metal member is exposed to the outside of the apparatus main body in a case where the opening/closing portion is in the open position.
11 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the metal member is electrically grounded.
12 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the metal member covers at least a part of the opening in a case where the opening/closing portion is in the closed position.
13 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein in a case where the opening/closing portion is in the closed position and viewed in a moving direction of the moving member, a proportion of an area of the metal member to an area of the opening is 30% or more.
14 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the image forming apparatus includes a photosensitive drum provided in the moving member or the cartridge, and wherein in a case where the moving member is located at the exposed position, the photosensitive drum is exposed downward, and the metal member faces the photosensitive drum.
15 . The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the metal member is a metal plate.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an image forming apparatus is known that has a configuration in which multiple cartridges are arranged on a moving member such as a movable tray, and the moving member is pulled out to the outside of the apparatus main body so that the cartridges can be attached or detached. Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-128506 discloses a support portion that supports a moving member, which holds cartridges, when the moving member is pulled out to the outside of the apparatus main body. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION When the moving member pulled out outside the apparatus main body is stably supported, the user can stably attach and detach a cartridge to and from the moving member. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus in which a moving member is stably supported when pulled out from the apparatus main body. To achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes: an apparatus main body having an opening;a moving member to which a cartridge is removably attached, the moving member configured to hold the cartridge and be movable through the opening between a housed position at which the cartridge is housed inside the apparatus main body and an exposed position at which the cartridge is exposed to outside of the apparatus main body;an opening/closing portion configured to be rotatable between an open position that opens the opening and a closed position that closes the opening, the opening/closing portion including a first support portion and a second support portion that support the moving member located at the exposed position; anda metal member attached to the opening/closing portion, the metal member configured to face the moving member in a state in which the moving member is located at the exposed position and supported by the first support portion and the second support portion,wherein the metal member is placed between the first support portion and the second support portion in a rotation axis direction of the opening/closing portion. According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus in which a moving member is stably supported when pulled out from the apparatus main body. Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the appearance of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment; FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment; FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the appearance of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment with the main body door open; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment with the main body door open; FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a metal member according to the first embodiment; FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the main body door on which the metal member according to the first embodiment is set; FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a tray according to the first embodiment; FIG. 8 is a perspective view of holding members of the tray according to the first embodiment; FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the appearance of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment with the tray pulled out; FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment with the tray pulled out; FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a main body door on which a metal member according to a second embodiment is set; and FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment with the tray pulled out. DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a description will be given, with reference to the drawings, of various exemplary embodiments (examples), features, and aspects of the present disclosure. However, the sizes, materials, shapes, their relative arrangements, or the like of constituents described in the embodiments may be appropriately changed according to the configurations, various conditions, or the like of apparatuses to which the disclosure is applied. Therefore, the sizes, materials, shapes, their relative arrangements, or the like of the constituents described in the embodiments do not intend to limit the scope of the disclosure to the following embodiments. First Embodiment Image Forming Apparatus An image forming apparatus including a cartridge according to the present invention is first described. Image forming apparatuses generally refer to apparatuses that form images on recording media using various known image forming principles and methods such as an electrophotographic process, an electrostatic recording process, an