Image forming apparatus

Abstract

To provide an image forming apparatus that can prevent propagation of vibration occurring with the operation of a fan and facilitates attachment of a fan duct unit.SOLUTION: A fan 53 is arranged and attached onto a mounting surface 52a of a frame member 52 by inserting screws 54 into insertion holes in a screw fixation part. A gap is provided between the shank of the screw 54 and the insertion hole to allow the movement of the fan 53 along the mounting surface 52a. A gap is provided between the head of the screw 54 and the screw fixation part to allow the movement of the fan 53 in the vertical direction. A seal member 55 is sandwiched in a compressed state between a duct 56 and the fan 53. The seal member 55 is formed of expanded foam, and even if the fan 53 vibrates, a reaction force against a displacement in a shear direction between the front and back surfaces of the seal member 55 or damping performance in a compression direction of the seal member 55 prevents propagation of the vibration. A vibration-proof member does not need to be disposed between the fan 53 and the screw 54, which facilitates attachment of a fan duct unit 50.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copier, a facsimile, or a multifunction machine. [Background technology]

[0002] An image forming apparatus is provided with a fan duct unit that passes air through the image forming apparatus in order to, for example, collect ozone generated when the photosensitive drum is charged or toner scattered inside the apparatus, or to exhaust heat generated when each part is driven to the outside of the apparatus. The fan duct unit has a fan that generates an airflow and a duct that forms an air passage through which the airflow generated by the fan passes, and the fan and the duct are formed integrally. The fan duct unit is attached to the frame body of the image forming apparatus.

[0003] Generally, fans are fixed to frame members or the like with screws. Conventionally, cooling fans for dissipating heat from plasma displays have vibration-proof materials such as rubber at each of a number of screw fastening points, and the vibration-proof materials are sandwiched between the fan and the frame member (chassis sheet metal) and fastened with screws (Patent Document 1). If this is applied to the fan duct unit and attached to the image forming apparatus, it is possible to suppress the vibrations generated by the operation of the fan from propagating from the fan duct unit to the frame body of the image forming apparatus. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 9-270975 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in the past, the fan had to be screwed in at multiple screw-fastening points by sandwiching vibration-proof materials between the fan and the frame member, which made installation of the fan duct unit complicated and time-consuming when applied to an image forming apparatus.

[0006] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE The present invention has been made in consideration of the above problems, and has an object to provide an image forming apparatus that is capable of suppressing the propagation of vibrations that occur with the operation of the fan, and in which a fan duct unit can be easily attached. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] An image forming apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that it comprises a frame main body on which process members for performing part of an image forming process that forms an image on a recording material are supported, a fan placed on a mounting surface of a frame member that constitutes part of the frame main body, a duct having a communication port that communicates with an intake port or exhaust port of the fan and fixed to the frame member, a regulating portion that is arranged with a gap in a predetermined direction along the mounting surface with respect to part of the fan and is capable of regulating movement of the fan in the predetermined direction, and an elastic member that is arranged to be sandwiched between the duct and the fan. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus capable of suppressing the propagation of vibrations caused by the operation of a fan and in which a fan duct unit can be easily attached. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram showing an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a frame main body of the image forming apparatus. [Diagram 3] 5A and 5B are perspective views showing a manner in which the exposure device is attached to the frame body, in which FIG. [Figure 4]11A and 11B are perspective views showing a first fixing member of the mounting auxiliary member for mounting the fan duct unit, in which (a) is seen from diagonally above on the left side, and (b) is seen from diagonally above on the right side. [Diagram 5] 11A and 11B are perspective views showing the second fixing member of the mounting auxiliary member, in which (a) is seen from diagonally above on the right side, and (b) is seen from diagonally above on the left side. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a third fixing member of the mounting auxiliary member. [Figure 7] 13 is a perspective view showing a manner in which the fan duct unit is attached to the attachment auxiliary member. FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a fan duct unit. [Figure 9] FIG. [Figure 10] 1A is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the fan mounting method, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the fan mounting method. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0010] The fan duct unit of this embodiment will be described below. First, the schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus suitable for using the fan duct unit of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

[0011] <Image forming device> The image forming apparatus 100 is an electrophotographic full-color printer having four image forming units Pa, Pb, Pc, and Pd provided corresponding to the four colors of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black. In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 is a tandem type in which the image forming units Pa, Pb, Pc, and Pd are arranged along the rotation direction of an intermediate transfer belt 61. The image forming apparatus 100 forms a toner image on a recording material S in response to an image signal from an external device (not shown) such as a document reading device 8 or a personal computer communicably connected to the image forming apparatus 100. Examples of the recording material S include sheet materials such as paper, plastic film, and cloth.

[0012] As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 100 includes an original reading device 8. The original reading device 8 reads an original placed on an original table glass 87, and includes a line sensor 81, a lens 82, mirrors 83, 84, 85, and a pressure plate 86. The original placed on the original table glass 87 is pressed by the pressure plate 86. When an image of the original is read, light is irradiated onto the original. The light reflected from the original is imaged on the line sensor 81 by the lens 82 via the mirrors 85, 84, 83. The line sensor 81 converts the light reflected from the original into an electrical signal. The electrical signal is input to a control unit (not shown) as image information.

[0013] The image forming apparatus 100 includes a plurality of image forming units Pa, Pb, Pc, and Pd, and each image forming unit forms an image based on the image signal described above. A control unit (not shown) controls the exposure devices 1a, 1b, 1c, and 1d in accordance with image information, and causes the exposure devices 1a to 1d to output laser light modulated in accordance with the image information.

[0014] Image forming apparatus 100 is provided with a display unit capable of displaying various information on the front side, and an operation unit (not shown) having keys and the like capable of inputting various information in response to user operations. In this specification, the side on which a user stands when operating the operation unit to operate image forming apparatus 100 is referred to as the "front (or front)" and the opposite side is referred to as the "rear (or rear)". In addition, the left side when looking at image forming apparatus 100 from the front is referred to as the "left" and the right side when looking at it from the front is referred to as the "right".

[0015] Image forming unit Pa forms a toner image of yellow (Y), image forming unit Pb forms a toner image of magenta (M), image forming unit Pc forms a toner image of cyan (C), and image forming unit Pd forms a toner image of black (Bk), which corresponds to the color of the toner image. Since these image forming units Pa to Pd have substantially the same configuration, the following description will be given taking image forming unit Pa, which forms a toner image of yellow (Y), as an example, and descriptions of the other image forming units Pb to Pd will be omitted.

[0016] The image forming section Pa includes a photosensitive drum 2a, a charging device 3a, an exposure device 1a, a developing device 5a, and a drum cleaning device 4a. In this embodiment, the photosensitive drum 2a, the charging device 3a, the exposure device 1a, and the developing device 5a correspond to process members for performing a part of the image forming process for forming an image on the recording material S.

[0017] The charging device 3a charges the surface of the rotating photosensitive drum 2a to a predetermined potential. The exposure device 1a is an optical scanning device that irradiates the uniformly charged surface of the photosensitive drum 2a with laser light modulated according to image information of each color, forming an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 2a. Specifically, the exposure device 1a has a laser driver that turns on and off the laser light emitted from, for example, a semiconductor laser, and guides the laser light from the semiconductor laser to the photosensitive drum 2a via a reflecting mirror while distributing it in the main scanning direction using a rotating polygon mirror. As a result, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image signal is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 2a. The exposure device 1a is previously adjusted using a dedicated tool to adjust the irradiation position in the rotation direction relative to the photosensitive drum 2a and the deviation from the generating line of the photosensitive drum 2a, and to adjust the focus so that the laser light is imaged on the surface of the photosensitive drum 2a.

[0018] The developing device 5a develops the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 2a with a developer (toner) of each color to form a toner image. A developer supply container 5'a that stores a toner of each color is replaceably connected to the developing device 5a. Toner is supplied from the developer supply container 5'a to the developing device 5a according to the consumption of toner.

[0019] The primary transfer device 6a applies a primary transfer bias having a polarity opposite to that of the toner, thereby performing primary transfer of the toner image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 2a onto the intermediate transfer belt 61. Residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 2a after the primary transfer is removed by the drum cleaning device 4a.

[0020] The intermediate transfer belt 61 is an endless belt that is stretched by a plurality of tension rollers and a secondary transfer inner roller 65 and moved at a speed corresponding to the rotation speed of the photosensitive drums 2a to 2d by a motor (not shown) or the like. The image forming process of each color, which is processed in parallel by the image forming units Pa to Pd of each color, is performed at a timing to sequentially superimpose the toner images of the colors that have been primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 61 upstream in the moving direction. As a result, a full-color toner image is finally formed on the intermediate transfer belt 61 and conveyed to the secondary transfer unit ST. The secondary transfer unit ST is formed by the secondary transfer inner roller 65 and the secondary transfer outer roller 66 that face each other with the intermediate transfer belt 61 in between, and is a nip portion that transfers the toner image from the intermediate transfer belt 61 to the recording material S by applying a predetermined pressure and a secondary transfer electric field. The secondary transfer residual toner that remains on the intermediate transfer belt 61 after passing through the secondary transfer unit ST is collected from the intermediate transfer belt 61 by a belt cleaner device 64.

[0021] The recording material S is stored in a manual feed tray 70 or cassettes 78, 79, and the recording material S fed from these is transported to the secondary transfer section ST by a registration roller 73 in synchronization with the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 61. The recording material S onto which the toner image has been secondarily transferred at the secondary transfer section ST is transported to the fixing device 7, where the toner image is fixed to the recording material S by applying heat and pressure. The recording material S that has passed through the fixing device 7 is discharged to a discharge tray 77.

[0022] <Frame body> The image forming apparatus 100 includes a frame body 20 (also called a housing). The frame body 20 is composed of, for example, a bottom plate disposed at the bottom, a front plate disposed on the front side, a rear plate disposed on the rear side, and a plurality of support frames such as supports connecting the front plate and the rear plate and supporting the front plate and the rear plate. The front plate, the rear plate, and the support frames are formed of, for example, sheet metal, and can support the above-mentioned photosensitive drums 2a to 2d, the charging devices 3a to 3d, the exposure devices 1a to 1d, the developing devices 5a to 5d, the drum cleaning devices 4a to 4d, the fixing device 7, and the like. In this embodiment, a fan duct unit 50 (see FIG. 7), which will be described later, is supported by the frame body 20.

[0023] The frame body 20 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. As shown in Fig. 2, the bottom plate 21 is formed by welding and joining edge members 21a, 21b, 21c, and 21d and a rectangular planar member 21e. Casters (not shown) may be provided at the four corners of the bottom of the bottom plate 21 to enable the image forming apparatus 100 to be moved.

[0024] Support columns 22a and 22b are welded to the bottom plate 21 at the two left and right corners of the front upper surface of the image forming apparatus 100. A front plate 23 is joined to the upper portions of the support columns 22a and 22b by welding so as to span the support columns 22a and 22b. On the other hand, support columns 22c and 22d are welded to the two left and right corners of the rear upper surface of the bottom plate 21. Rear plates 24a and 24b are welded to the support columns 22c and 22d. The rear plates 24a and 24b are welded to each other.

[0025] A beam member 25a is bridged over the upper part of the support pillars 22a, 22c arranged in the front and rear on the right side of the image forming apparatus 100 and joined by welding. A beam member 25b is bridged over the upper part of the support pillars 22b, 22d arranged in the front and rear on the left side of the image forming apparatus 100 and joined by welding. Furthermore, a beam member 25c is bridged over the front plate 23 and the rear plate 24a at the center of the frame main body 20 in the left-right direction and joined by welding. The above-mentioned edge members 21a, 21b, 21c, 21d, the support pillars 22a, 22b, 22c, 22d, and the beam members 25a, 25b, 25c are formed as hollow square columns with rectangular cross sections, and maintain the rigidity of the frame main body 20.

[0026] <Installation of exposure device> The frame main body 20 supports the above-mentioned photosensitive drums 2a-2d, charging devices 3a-3d, exposure devices 1a-1d, developing devices 5a-5d, drum cleaning devices 4a-4d, fixing device 7, etc. Here, as an example, the manner in which exposure device 1a is attached to frame main body 20 will be described with reference to Figures 3(a) and 3(b). Figure 3(a) is a perspective view showing the manner in which exposure device 1a is attached to frame main body 20 when viewed from the front, and Figure 3(b) is a perspective view showing the manner in which exposure device 1a is attached to frame main body 20 when viewed from the rear.

[0027] As shown in Fig. 3(a), a holding member 39a formed by, for example, aluminum die casting is attached to the inside of the rear plate 24a by screws (not shown). Similarly, as shown in Fig. 3(b), a holding member 39b formed by, for example, aluminum die casting is attached to the inside of the front plate 23 by screws (not shown) at a position facing the holding member 39a in the front-rear direction. The exposure device 1a is placed on the holding members 39a and 39b arranged at the front and rear, and fixed by screws 40. The other exposure devices 1b, 1c, and 1d are also fixed to the holding members 39a and 39b arranged at the front and rear, respectively, in the same manner.

[0028] <Fan duct unit> Next, a fan duct unit for passing air through the image forming apparatus 100 will be described. In the following, in order to make the description easier to understand, an image forming fan duct unit that passes air through the image forming apparatus 100 in order to collect ozone and scattered toner generated in the image forming process while discharging heat to the outside without retaining it in the frame body will be described as an example. By passing air through the image forming apparatus 100 using the fan duct unit 50, it is possible to prevent poor charging such as uneven charging caused by ozone and scattered toner adhering to the photosensitive drum or charging device, and poor development caused by toner overheating and deteriorating fluidity.

[0029] First, the structure for supporting the fan duct unit 50 (see FIG. 7) will be described using FIGS. 4(a) to 6 with reference to FIG. 2. The fan duct unit 50 is supported by auxiliary mounting members (31, 33, 35) that constitute the frame main body 20. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the auxiliary mounting members are formed by a first fixing member 31, a second fixing member 33, and a third fixing member 35.

[0030] As shown in Fig. 4(a) and Fig. 4(b), the first fixing member 31 is fixed to the rear plate 24a from the rear side by a screw 32a, and is fixed to the right side by a screw 32b. As shown in Fig. 5(a) and Fig. 5(b), the second fixing member 33 is fixed to the rear plate 24a from the rear side by a screw 34a, and is fixed to the left side by a screw 34b. The first fixing member 31 and the second fixing member 33 are disposed at positions facing each other in the left-right direction. As shown in Fig. 6, the third fixing member 35 is bridged between the first fixing member 31 and the second fixing member 33, and is fixed to the first fixing member 31 from above in the vertical direction and from the rear in the horizontal direction by a screw 36, and is fixed to the second fixing member 33 from above in the vertical direction by a screw 37. Furthermore, the third fixing member 35 is fixed to the rear plate 24a from the rear side by a screw 38.

[0031] <Support for fan duct unit> The manner in which the fan duct unit 50 is attached to the auxiliary attachment member will be described with reference to FIG. 7. As shown in FIG. 7, the fan duct unit 50 is fixed at two vertical positions, one above and one below, to the second fixing member 33 at one end in the left-right direction (longitudinal direction) by a screw 60a, and at the other end in the left-right direction, to the first fixing member 31 at two vertical positions, one above and one below, by a screw 60b. That is, the screw 60b, like the screw 60a, fixes the fan duct unit 50 at one position below in the vertical direction in addition to the one position shown in the figure. Also, the fan duct unit 50 is fixed at the center in the left-right direction from above in the vertical direction toward the third fixing member 35 by a screw 60c. In this way, the fan duct unit 50 is attached to the auxiliary attachment member and supported by the frame body 20.

[0032] <Fan duct unit configuration> Next, the configuration of the fan duct unit 50 of this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 8 and 9. Figure 8 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the fan duct unit 50, with only one part disassembled. Figure 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the manner in which the fan 53 is attached.

[0033] 8, the fan duct unit 50 of this embodiment has a frame member 52, multiple duct units 51a, 51b, 51c, and 51d, and multiple fans 53. For example, the duct units 51a, 51b, 51c, and 51d are arranged in parallel in the left-right direction on the frame member 52 so that each of them is connected to the space near the image forming units Pa, Pb, Pc, and Pd and can exhaust the air inside the image forming apparatus to the outside of the apparatus. The frame member 52 is attached to the above-mentioned attachment auxiliary members (31, 33, and 35) and constitutes a part of the frame main body 20.

[0034] Duct units 51a, 51b, 51c, and 51d have the same configuration, and two corresponding fans 53 are mounted in the same manner on mounting surface 52a of frame member 52. In the following, duct unit 51a will be described as a representative example.

[0035] The duct unit 51a has a duct 56 and a lid 57. The duct 56 has a partition 56a in the center, forming two air passages through which the air currents generated by the two fans 53 pass. The duct 56 has two communication ports 56b that connect to the air passages, and the air passing through each air passage is sucked in through the intake port 53a of the fan 53 and exhausted to the outside of the image forming apparatus 100 through the exhaust port 53b of the fan 53. In this embodiment, the fan 53 is a sirocco fan that sucks in air from the direction of the rotation axis of the blades and exhausts air in the circumferential direction of the blades, and the intake port 53a, which is an opening that opens in the direction of the rotation axis of the blades that rotate along the outer periphery, communicates with the communication port 56b of the duct 56. The lid 57 is fixed to the duct 56 with a screw 58, ensuring the airtightness of the air passage in the duct 56. The duct unit 51a is fixed to the frame member 52 with a screw 59.

[0036] The fan 53 is not limited to a sirocco fan, and may be an axial fan. A filter member (not shown) for cleaning the air may be provided in the air passage of the duct 56. Furthermore, the duct 56 and the lid 57 may be integrally formed.

[0037] When the duct unit 51a is fixed to the frame member 52, a seal member 55 is disposed between the duct 56 and the fan 53, and as the duct unit 51a is fixed with screws 59, the seal member 55 is sandwiched in a compressed state between the communication port 56b of the duct 56 and the air intake port 53a of the fan 53. The seal member 55 as an elastic member is made of foam such as rubber or urethane, and is formed in an annular shape so as to cover the periphery of the air intake port 53a of the fan 53 and the communication port 56b of the duct 56. The seal member 55 has double-sided tape disposed on one side, and may be attached to the fan 53 or the duct 56 in advance.

[0038] <Sealing material> The seal member 55 is formed of a foam material obtained by foaming synthetic rubber in a semi-closed semi-continuous state, for example. The semi-closed semi-open cell foam material has a smaller repulsive force and a softer characteristic than the closed cell foam material and the non-foamed synthetic rubber material. Therefore, it is easy to follow and maintain adhesion to a surface that is displaced due to the variation in part precision or deformation during assembly, or a surface that is dynamically displaced due to vibration. On the other hand, the semi-closed semi-open cell foam material is inferior in airtightness as it is compared with the closed cell foam material and the non-foamed synthetic rubber material. However, the semi-closed semi-open cell foam material becomes a closed cell state when compressed, and maintains high airtightness equivalent to that of the closed cell foam material and the non-foamed synthetic rubber material. Therefore, in this embodiment, the semi-closed semi-open cell foam is used as the seal member 55.

[0039] The sealing member 55 is compressed and clamped so that the compression amount is "1 / 5 to 1 / 2" of the thickness before compression. This is to prevent the sealing member 55 from being crushed too much, which makes it difficult for the front and back surfaces to shift in the shear direction and prevents the damping force in the compression direction from working. In addition, it is preferable to provide some fastening positions of the screws 59 near the fan 53. In this way, the sealing member 55 can improve the airtightness near the intake port 53a of the fan 53 and can have a higher function as a vibration-proof member that suppresses the vibration of the fan 53.

[0040] <Fan installation method> A fan 53 is placed on the mounting surface 52a of the frame member 52. As shown in Fig. 9, the fan 53 has a plurality of flange portions 531 on its outer periphery, each of which has an insertion hole 53c through which a screw 54 is inserted. The screw 54 is a stepped screw having a head portion 54a, and a shaft portion 54b and a threaded portion 54c having different diameters.

[0041] The screw 54 is inserted into the insertion hole 53c formed in the flange portion 531, and the screw portion 54c is screwed into the screw hole 52d formed in the frame member 52 and fixed. The flange portion 531 functions as a screw fastening portion used to screw the fan 53 with the screw 54. In a screwed state, the screw 54 has a first gap between the head portion 54a and the flange portion 531, and a second gap between the shaft portion 54b and the insertion hole 53c. By providing the second gap between the shaft portion 54b and the insertion hole 53c, the fan 53 is movable in a predetermined direction (including front-rear and left-right directions) along the mounting surface 52a. However, the screw 54 as a restricting portion can restrict the movement of the fan 53 in a predetermined direction. In addition, by providing the first gap between the head portion 54a and the flange portion 531, the fan 53 is movable in the vertical direction.

[0042] As described above, according to this embodiment, the fan 53 is movable within the mounting surface 52a depending on the gap with the screw 54, so that it is possible to suppress the vibration in the rotation direction of the fan 53 (a predetermined direction along the mounting surface 52a) from being propagated to the exposure device 1a supported by the frame main body 20. That is, if the fan 53 is completely fixed to the frame member 52 with normal screws or the like, the vibration of the fan 53 (particularly the vibration in the predetermined direction along the mounting surface 52a) may be propagated to the frame member 52. Then, there is a risk that the vibration propagating to the frame member 52 may be transmitted as a vibration that affects, for example, the exposure device 1a supported by the frame main body 20. If the vibration of the fan 53 is propagated to the exposure device 1a, image defects will occur, which is not preferable.

[0043] In contrast, in this embodiment, by allowing a predetermined amount of backlash without providing a vibration isolating member between the fan 53 and the screw 54, even if the fan 53 vibrates in a predetermined direction along the mounting surface 52a, the reaction force against the shear direction deviation of the front and back surfaces of the seal member 55 suppresses the vibration propagation to the frame member 52 and the frame main body 20. Even if the fan 53 vibrates in a direction perpendicular to the mounting surface 52a, the damping performance in the compression direction of the seal member 55 suppresses the vibration propagation to the duct unit 51a and the frame member 52 and the frame main body 20. In this way, even if the fan 53 vibrates, the frame member 52 is unlikely to vibrate integrally with the fan 53, so the vibration of the fan 53 cannot propagate to the exposure device 1a and the like supported by the frame main body 20.

[0044] In this embodiment, since no vibration-isolating member is disposed between the fan 53 and the screw 54, it is not necessary to fasten the screw 54 while fitting the vibration-isolating member, as was conventionally done, when assembling the fan duct unit 50. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the propagation of vibrations that occur with the operation of the fan 53, and the installation of the fan duct unit 50 is easy.

[0045] <Other embodiments> The manner in which the fan 53 is attached to the frame member 52 is not limited to the above-mentioned manner using the screws 54. Another manner in which the fan 53 is attached will be described with reference to Figures 10(a) and 10(b). In Figures 10(a) and 10(b), the same components as those in Figures 8 and 9 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be simplified or omitted.

[0046] 10(a) and 10(b), the frame member 52 is provided with a protruding portion 541 that protrudes from the mounting surface 52a. The protruding portion 541 is formed at a position that matches an insertion hole 53c formed in the flange portion 531 of the fan 53, and the fan 53 is disposed with a gap between the protruding portion 541 and the insertion hole 53c. The protruding portion 541 guides the fan 53 when it is mounted on the mounting surface 52a, and can also function as a restricting portion to restrict movement of the fan 53 in a predetermined direction.

[0047] With this configuration, the fan 53 is movable in a predetermined direction along the mounting surface 52a according to the gap between the insertion hole 53c and the protruding portion 541. The fan 53 is also movable in the insertion direction into the protruding portion 541 (direction perpendicular to the mounting surface 52a), and is prevented from coming off by the sealing member 55.

[0048] Such a manner of mounting the fan 53 using the protrusion 541 can improve the ease of assembly of the fan duct unit 50, as compared to the manner of mounting the fan 53 using the screws 54 described above. That is, when the screws 54 are used, a fastening operation must be performed when assembling the fan 53 to the frame member 52, but in the case of the protrusion 541, since the protrusion 541 is formed integrally with the frame member 52 in advance, it is sufficient to simply insert the fan 53. Thereafter, by assembling the duct unit 51, the fan 53 is disposed without coming off the protrusion 541.

[0049] In this way, by guiding and positioning the fan 53 with the protrusion 541 and then biasing it with the sealing member 55, there is no need to install a vibration-proof member in advance, and there is also no need to screw the fan 53 in place, further simplifying the assembly of the fan duct unit 50.

[0050] Note that protrusion 541 is not limited to being inserted into insertion hole 53c formed in flange portion 531, and may be disposed along the outer periphery with a gap provided between it and the outer periphery of fan 53. In this case, when fan 53 vibrates and moves in a predetermined direction along mounting surface 52a, the outer periphery of fan 53 comes into contact with protrusion 541, thereby restricting the movement of fan 53 in the predetermined direction.

[0051] In the above-described embodiments, the fan duct unit 50 is described as having a plurality of duct units 51a-51d arranged on the frame member 52. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be a fan duct unit having one duct unit. In addition, the fan duct unit is not limited to the one in which the intake port 53a of the fan 53 communicates with the communication port 56b of the duct 56, and may be the one in which the exhaust port 53b of the fan 53 communicates with the communication port 56b of the duct 56.

[0052] The above-described embodiment is not limited to the imaging fan duct unit, but can also be applied to other fan duct units for passing air through the inside of the image forming apparatus, such as a power supply fan duct unit and a fixing fan duct unit.

[0053] The power supply fan duct unit discharges heat generated in the power supply that supplies power to operate each part to the outside of the image forming apparatus. As the power supply fan duct unit draws in air, outside air for cooling is supplied from outside the frame body, and the power supply can be cooled. This prevents malfunctions and breakdowns of each part caused by the power supply overheating and output reduction. The fixing fan duct unit collects VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) and UFPs (Ultra Fine Particles) generated in the fixing process, while discharging heat and moisture to the outside of the frame body without allowing them to remain inside the image forming apparatus. This prevents fixing failures and malfunctions caused by heat remaining inside the image forming apparatus and causing the toner and parts to heat up.

[0054] The present technology can also be configured as follows. (1) a frame body on which a process member for performing a part of an image forming process for forming an image on a recording material is supported; a fan mounted on a mounting surface of a frame member constituting a part of the frame main body; a duct having a communication port communicating with an intake port or an exhaust port of the fan and fixed to the frame member; a restricting portion that is disposed on a part of the fan with a gap therebetween in a predetermined direction along the mounting surface and that is capable of restricting movement of the fan in the predetermined direction; an elastic member disposed so as to be sandwiched between the duct and the fan; 1. An image forming apparatus comprising: (2) the elastic member is a sealing member that seals between an intake port or an exhaust port of the fan and a communication port of the duct, 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, (3) The sealing member is made of expanded foam, and is compressed and sandwiched between the duct and the fan so that the compression amount is 1 / 5 to 1 / 2 of the thickness before compression. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, (4) the restricting portion is a screw that is screwed and fixed to the mounting surface, The screw has a head, a shaft, and a threaded portion, the fan has a screw fastening portion having an insertion hole through which the screw is inserted, The screw is fixed by being screwed into the screw hole of the frame member with a first gap between the head and the screw fastening portion and a second gap between the shaft portion and the insertion hole. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus comprises: (5) The restriction portion is a protrusion protruding from the placement surface, the fan has a screw fastening portion having an insertion hole through which the protrusion is inserted, The fan is disposed with a gap between the protrusion and the insertion hole. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus comprises: (6) The fan is a sirocco fan, and an opening portion that opens in the direction of the rotation axis of the blades is in communication with the communication port of the duct. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus comprises: (7) the process member is an exposure device that irradiates a laser beam onto a surface of a charged photosensitive drum to form an electrostatic latent image; 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the image forming apparatus comprises: [Explanation of symbols]

[0055] 1a (1b, 1c, 1d)...process member (exposure device), 20...frame body, 52...frame member, 52a...mounting surface, 53...fan (sirocco fan), 53a...intake port (opening), 53b...exhaust port, 53c...insertion hole, 54...regulating portion (screw), 54a...head, 54b...shaft, 54c...screw, 55...elastic member (sealing member), 56...duct, 56b...communication port, 531...screw fastening portion (flange), 541...regulating portion (protruding portion), S...recording material

Claims

1. a frame supporting a process member for performing a part of an image forming process on a recording material; a fan mounted on a mounting surface of the frame so as to be movable relative to the frame; a duct attached to the frame, the duct having a communication port communicating with an intake port or an exhaust port of the fan; a restricting portion that restricts the range of movement of the fan; an elastic member disposed so as to be sandwiched between the duct and the fan; An image forming apparatus characterized by:

2. the elastic member is a sealing member that seals between the intake port or the exhaust port of the fan and the communication port of the duct.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is a recording medium.

3. the sealing member is made of expanded foam and is sandwiched between the duct and the fan while being compressed to a thickness of 1 / 5 to 1 / 2 of the thickness before compression; 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the image forming apparatus is a recording medium.

4. the restricting portion is a screw fixed to the mounting surface by a screw; The screw has a head, a shaft, and a threaded portion, the fan has a screw fastening portion having an insertion hole through which the screw is inserted, The screw is fixed by being threaded into the screw hole of the frame with a first gap between the head and the screw fastening portion and a second gap between the shaft and the insertion hole.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is a recording medium.

5. the restricting portion is a protruding portion protruding from the placement surface, the fan has a screw fastening portion having an insertion hole through which the protrusion is inserted, The fan is disposed with a gap between the protrusion and the insertion hole.

4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is a recording medium.

6. The fan is a sirocco fan, and an opening portion of the blades that opens in the rotation axis direction communicates with the communication port of the duct.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is a recording medium.

7. the process member is an exposure device that irradiates a laser beam onto the surface of a charged photosensitive drum to form an electrostatic latent image; 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is a recording medium.

8. The fan is a first fan, the communication port is a first communication port, the elastic member is a first elastic member, a second fan mounted on a mounting surface of the frame so as to be movable relative to the frame; a second elastic member; the duct has a second communication port communicating with an intake port or an exhaust port of the second fan, and a partition portion; the duct is detachably attached to the frame, and a portion of the duct is disposed apart from the mounting surface of the frame; the first and second fans are disposed between a portion of the duct and the placement surface, the partition portion forms a first air passage through which the airflow generated by the first fan passes and a second air passage through which the airflow generated by the second fan passes, the restricting unit is configured to restrict a movement range of the first fan and a movement range of the second fan, the first elastic member is disposed so as to be sandwiched between a part of the duct and the first fan, the second elastic member is disposed so as to be sandwiched between a part of the duct and the second fan; 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is a recording medium.

Images