Image formation apparatus

Abstract

To provide an image formation apparatus with easy maintenance work.SOLUTION: An image formation apparatus comprises: a plurality of photoreceptors arranged along a first direction; a plurality of flywheels provided on a rotation axis in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction of each of the plurality of photoreceptors and suppressing rotation unevenness of the plurality of photoreceptors; a plurality of driving units including a driving source for rotationally driving each of the plurality of photoreceptors; a plurality of stays arranged along the first direction and extending in a third direction orthogonal to the first direction and the second direction; a first substrate support member is attached to two stays so as to bridge two stays of the plurality of stays at a position opposite to the plurality of photoreceptors with respect to the plurality of flywheels in the second direction, and arranged so as to be overlapped with at least one of the plurality of flywheels in the first direction; and a first electric substrate which is attached to the first substrate support member and on which an electric component is mounted.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] Image forming devices such as copiers, printers, and facsimiles have various electrical components for performing image forming processes. These electrical components are mounted on electrical boards, and the electrical boards are fixed to a support member such as a frame. Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which a plurality of frames are arranged in layers, and electrical boards are attached to each frame. By arranging a plurality of frames in layers, it is possible to accommodate a plurality of electrical boards in the image forming device without occupying a large area on one surface that constitutes the main body of the image forming device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2011-253021 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] It is required for the image forming apparatus to be able to easily perform maintenance work on components (parts) such as electric boards. Maintenance work includes, for example, inspection and replacement of the components to be worked on, such as electric boards, and replacement of parts mounted on the electric boards. In order to easily perform maintenance work on the components to be worked on, it is necessary to configure the image forming apparatus so that the components can be easily accessed. Note that access to the components includes not only physical access to the components, but also making the components visible. In the configuration of Patent Document 1, it is easy to access the electric board on the front side of the image forming apparatus with multiple frames attached. However, in order to access the electric board on the back side, it is necessary to remove the electric boards from the front side in order, and it is not easy to access the electric board on the back side.

[0005] The present invention provides an image forming apparatus that allows easy maintenance work. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] According to one aspect of the present invention, an image forming apparatus includes a plurality of photoconductors arranged along a first direction, a plurality of flywheels provided on rotation axes of each of the plurality of photoconductors in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction and suppressing rotation unevenness of the plurality of photoconductors, a plurality of drive units having drive sources for rotating each of the plurality of photoconductors, a plurality of stays arranged along the first direction and extending in a third direction perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction, a first board support member attached to the two stays so as to bridge two of the plurality of stays at a position opposite the plurality of photoconductors with respect to the plurality of flywheels in the second direction and positioned overlapping at least one of the plurality of flywheels in the first direction, and a first electric board attached to the first board support member and on which electrical components are mounted. Effect of the Invention

[0007] According to the present invention, an image forming apparatus that allows easy maintenance work is provided. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an image forming system. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a first housing and a third housing. [Diagram 3] A view of the inside of the first housing from the rear side. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a drive unit and a flywheel. [Diagram 5] Exploded view of Figure 4. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the periphery of the flywheel of FIG. [Figure 7] 7 is a diagram showing a state in which an electric cable and a drive board unit in FIG. 6 are removed. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a top view of the first housing of FIG. 7. [Figure 9] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state in which the stay in FIG. 7 has been removed. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the electrical unit and its periphery in the first housing. [Figure 11] FIG. [Figure 12] Exploded view of Figure 11. [Figure 13] FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of area A in FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, the embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Although the embodiments describe a number of features, not all of these features are essential to the invention, and the features may be combined in any manner. Furthermore, in the attached drawings, the same reference numbers are used for the same or similar configurations, and duplicated descriptions are omitted.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an image forming system 100S according to this embodiment. In order to facilitate understanding of the structure shown in each of the following figures, three mutually orthogonal directions (X direction, Y direction, and Z direction) or two of these directions are shown in each figure. Of the three directions, the Z direction corresponds to the vertical direction (up-down direction). In the following description, the X direction is also referred to as the width direction, and the Y direction is also referred to as the depth direction. In addition, in each figure, the Z direction is the upward direction, and the -Z direction is the downward direction.

[0011] The image forming system 100S includes an image forming apparatus 100 and a finisher 600. The housing 101 of the image forming apparatus 100 includes a first housing 101a, a second housing 101b, and a third housing 101c (see FIG. 2). As shown in FIG. 1, the first housing 101a and the second housing 101b are arranged along the width direction. As shown in FIG. 2, the first housing 101a and the third housing 101c are arranged along the depth direction. The first housing 101a includes an image forming engine 102, an intermediate transfer belt 106, and a storage 113. The second housing 101b includes a first fixing device 150 and a second fixing device 160. The first housing 101a and the second housing 101b also include members for transporting the sheet 1, such as a transport path for the sheet 1 and rollers for transporting the sheet 1 along the transport path. The third housing 101c has a power supply unit that generates and supplies each voltage used in the image forming system 100S based on an external AC power supply.

[0012] The image forming engine 102 has stations 120 to 123 that form toner images of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black. The stations 120 to 123 are arranged along the width direction. The stations 120 to 123 have the same configuration. During image formation, the photoconductor 105 is rotated counterclockwise in the figure, and the intermediate transfer belt 106 is rotated clockwise in the figure. The charger 111 charges the surface of the photoconductor 105. The exposure unit 107 exposes the photoconductor 105 based on image data to form an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor 105. The exposure unit 107 has a light source 108 that emits light, and a deflection unit 109 that deflects the light emitted by the light source 108 toward the photoconductor 105.

[0013] The developing device 112 develops the electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor 105 with toner using a developing voltage, thereby forming a toner image on the photoconductor 105. The toner images formed on each photoconductor 105 are transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 106. By transferring the toner images of each photoconductor 105 onto the intermediate transfer belt 106 in a superimposed manner, it is possible to reproduce colors different from yellow, magenta, cyan, and black. The toner image transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 106 is transported to a position facing the transfer roller 114 by the rotation of the intermediate transfer belt 106.

[0014] Meanwhile, the sheet 1 stored in the storage 113 is fed to the conveying path and conveyed toward a position facing the transfer roller 114. The transfer roller 114 transfers the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 106 to the sheet 1. The sheet 1 to which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed to a first fixing device 150. The first fixing device 150 performs a first fixing process for fixing the toner image to the sheet 1. The first fixing device 150 has a fixing roller 151 that heats the sheet 1, a pressure belt 152 that presses the sheet 1 against the fixing roller 151, and a first post-fixing sensor 153 that detects the completion of the first fixing process.

[0015] The second fixing device 160 is disposed downstream of the first fixing device 150 in the conveying path of the sheet 1. The second fixing device 160 performs a second fixing process to increase the glossiness of the image that has been subjected to the first fixing process and to ensure the fixability of the image on the sheet 1. The second fixing device 160 has a fixing roller 161 and a pressure roller 162 for heating and pressing the sheet 1, and a second post-fixing sensor 163 for detecting the completion of the second fixing process. Note that the second fixing process does not need to be performed depending on the type of the sheet 1. When the second fixing process does not need to be performed, the sheet 1 is conveyed through the bypass conveying path 130. The flap 131 is provided to switch between guiding the sheet 1 to the second fixing device 160 or the bypass conveying path 130.

[0016] The sheet 1 that has passed through the second fixing device 160 or the bypass conveying path 130 is guided by the flap 132 to either the discharge conveying path 139 or the reverse conveying path 135. For example, when an image is formed on only one side of the sheet 1 and the sheet 1 is discharged with the side on which the image is formed facing upward, the sheet 1 on which the image is formed on one side is guided to the discharge conveying path 139. When images are formed on both sides of the sheet 1, the sheet 1 on which the image formation on both sides is completed is guided to the discharge conveying path 139. On the other hand, when an image is formed on only one side of the sheet 1 and the sheet 1 is discharged with the side on which the image is formed facing downward, the sheet 1 on which the image is formed on one side is guided to the reverse conveying path 135. When images are formed on both sides of the sheet 1, the sheet 1 on which the image is formed on one side is guided to the reverse conveying path 135. The sheet 1 conveyed to the reverse conveying path 135 is conveyed to the reverse section 136, and the conveying direction of the sheet 1 is switched by a switchback operation performed by the reverse section 136. The timing at which the reversing unit 136 performs the switchback operation is determined based on the detection result of the sheet 1 by the sensor 137.

[0017] When printing on both sides of the sheet 1, the sheet 1 with an image formed on one side is conveyed again toward the position facing the transfer roller 114 via the re-conveying path 138. When forming an image only on one side of the sheet 1 and discharging the sheet 1 with the image formed side facing downward, the sheet 1 is conveyed to the discharge conveying path 139 via the reversing conveying path 135. The flap 133 is provided to switch whether the sheet 1 in the reversing section 136 is guided to the re-conveying path 138 or the reversing conveying path 135. The flap 134 is provided to guide the sheet 1 conveyed from the reversing section 136 to the reversing conveying path 135 to the discharge conveying path 139. The sheet 1 guided to the discharge conveying path 139 is sent to the finisher 600 by the discharge rollers 139a. The finisher 600 performs post-processing such as punching and binding according to user settings. Finally, the sheet 1 is stacked on the tray of the finisher 600 as a product. The operation unit 180 provides a user interface for the user to control the image forming system 100S.

[0018] FIG. 3 is a view of the inside of the first housing 101a seen from the third housing 101c side. Specifically, FIG. 3 shows a state in which the third housing 101c is separated from the first housing 101a and the rear cover on the third housing 101c side of the first housing 101a is removed. Hereinafter, the side of the first housing 101a on which the rear cover is located is referred to as the "rear side". The first housing 101a has a rear side plate 211 made of sheet metal constituting the frame 301 of the first housing 101. Drive units 1a to 1d for driving and rotating the photoconductors 105 of the stations 120 to 123 are fixed to the rear side plate 211. Flywheels 2a to 2d for suppressing uneven rotation of the photoconductor 105 are attached to the drive units 1a to 1d. The flywheels 2a to 2d suppress uneven rotation of the photoconductor 105 by their own inertia.

[0019] Since the drive units 1a to 1d and flywheels 2a to 2d of the stations 120 to 123 have the same configuration, the following describes the details of the configuration of the drive unit 1a and flywheel 2a of the yellow station 120 with reference to FIGS.

[0020] FIG. 4 shows a state in which the flywheel 2a is attached to the drive unit 1a, and FIG. 5 shows a state before the flywheel 2a is attached to the drive unit 1a. The drive unit 1a has a drive support 85 and a drive motor 84 supported by the drive support 85. The drive motor 84 is a drive source for rotating a rotating shaft 81 attached to a photoconductor 105. A drum gear 82 and a flange 83 are fixed to an end of the rotating shaft 81 different from the end to which the photoconductor 105 is attached. Two screw holes 83a are provided in the flange 83. In addition, two through holes 30a are provided in the flywheel 2a. The flywheel 2a is attached to the drive unit 1a by fastening two screws 86 into the respective screw holes 83a of the flange 83 through the respective through holes 30a of the flywheel 2a. A pinion gear 84a of the drive motor 84 meshes with the drum gear 82, and the rotation of the drive motor 84 causes the rotary shaft 81 to rotate, whereby the flywheel 2a and the photoconductor 105 rotate.

[0021] Returning to FIG. 3, stays 11a-11d are fixed to the left side of the flywheels 2a-2d when viewed from the rear side by a method described later. The stays 11a-11d can function as support members for the frame body 301 of the first housing 101a. The stays 11a-11d are arranged along the width direction and have a shape that extends in the vertical direction. Below the flywheels 2a-2d, an electrical unit 51, described later, is fixed to the rear side plate 211 via a support member (not shown).

[0022] FIG. 6 shows the vicinity of the flywheels 2a to 2d in FIG. 3. Between the stays 11a and 11b adjacent to each other in the width direction, a drive board unit 21 for driving the drive units 1a and 1b is disposed. Similarly, between the stays 11c and 11d adjacent to each other in the width direction, a drive board unit 21 for driving the drive units 1c and 1d is disposed. The drive board unit 21 is composed of a drive board 21a which is an electric board on which electric components such as electronic components are mounted, and a drive board support plate 21b which is a board support member for supporting the electric board. One of the two drive board support plates 21b is attached to bridge the stays 11a and 11b by screws or the like, and the other is attached to bridge the stays 11c and 11d by screws or the like. The drive board 21a is attached to the back side of the drive board support plate 21b by screws or the like. The position of the drive board support plate 21b in the depth direction when attached to the stays 11a to 11d is on the opposite side of the flywheels 2a to 2d from the position where the photoconductor 105 is provided. In other words, the attachment position of the drive board support plate 21b in the depth direction is closer to the rear side than the flywheels 2a to 2d.

[0023] The drive board 21a of the drive board unit 21 between the stays 11a and 11b is connected to the drive units 1a and 1b by electric cables 31a and 31b. The drive board 21a supplies a drive signal for driving the drive motors 84 of the drive units 1a and 1b through the electric cables 31a and 31b. Similarly, the drive board 21a of the drive board unit 21 between the stays 11c and 11d is connected to the drive units 1c and 1d by electric cables 31c and 31d. The drive board 21a supplies a drive signal for driving the drive motors 84 of the drive units 1c and 1d through the electric cables 31c and 31d. Electrical components for generating a drive signal are mounted on the drive board 21a. In this embodiment, the drive board 21a supplies a drive signal to two drive units. A cable for supplying a drive signal to one of the drive units is passed through drive board support plate 21b to which drive board 21a is attached, to one of the two stays supporting drive board support plate 21b, and a cable for supplying a drive signal to the other drive unit is passed to the other stay. Electric cables 31a to 31d are disposed and wired in the vertical direction along stays 11a to 11d, respectively.

[0024] FIG. 7 shows a state in which the electric cables 31a to 31d and the drive board unit 21 are removed from FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 7, the stays 11a to 11c have an area partially overlapping with the flywheels 2b to 2d when viewed from the rear side. FIG. 8 shows a state as viewed from the upper side of FIG. 7. In FIG. 8, the upper common supports 212a to 212c and the upper independent support 213 of FIG. 7 are not shown. In FIG. 8, the distance L1 is the moving distance in the depth direction of the flywheels 2a to 2d required to remove the flywheels 2a to 2d. In FIG. 8, the distance L2 is the distance (interval) in the depth direction between the areas of the stays 11a to 11c that overlap with the flywheels 2b to 2d in the width direction when viewed from the rear side and the flywheels 2b to 2d. In this embodiment, L2 is greater than L1. 7, when viewed from the rear side, parts of the flywheels 2b to 2d are covered by parts of the stays 11a to 11c, but the flywheels 2a to 2d can be attached and detached without removing the stays 11a to 11d. In other words, the stays 11a to 11d do not interfere with the flywheels 2a to 2d, and the flywheels 2a to 2d can be accessed without removing the stays 11a to 11d.

[0025] Fig. 9 shows a state in which the stays 11a to 11d of Fig. 7 have been removed. As shown in Fig. 9, by removing the stays 11a to 11d, it is possible to access each electric board of the electrical component unit 51, which will be described later, and thus it is possible to carry out maintenance work on the electrical component unit 51 and its components.

[0026] Next, the mounting structure of the stays 11a to 11d will be described with reference to Figs. 10 to 13. Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing an overview of the periphery of the stays 11a to 11d. Note that, in order to make the drawing easier to see, the flywheels 2a to 2d are not shown in Fig. 10. The stays 11a to 11d are mounted at their upper parts to the upper common supports 212a to 212c and the upper independent support 213. The stays 11a to 11d are mounted at their lower parts to the electrical unit 51. Note that the upper common supports 212a to 212c and the upper independent support 213 are mounted to the rear side plate 211 to form the frame body 301 of the housing 101a.

[0027] Since the attachment configurations of the stays 11a to 11d are similar, the attachment configuration of the stay 11a will be described in detail below with reference to Fig. 11. An upper stay 52 in Fig. 11 is one of the parts / members that constitute the electrical equipment unit 51.

[0028] Fig. 12 shows the state before the stay 11a is attached to the upper common support 212a and the upper stay 52. ​​As shown in Fig. 12, a screw fitting hole 15a is provided in the upper part of the stay 11a. Also, a screw hole 214a is provided in the common support 212a. As will be described later with reference to Fig. 13, first, the lower end 14a of the stay 11a is inserted into the stay attachment hole 52a of the upper stay 52, and then a screw 215 is fastened into the screw hole 212a of the common support 212a through the screw fitting hole 15a of the stay 11a. This fixes the upper part of the stay 11a to the common support 212a.

[0029] FIG. 13 is an enlarged view of region A in FIG. 12. As shown in FIG. 13, the lower end 14a of the stay 11a has two vertical parts 16a extending in the vertical direction. The width (length in the width direction) of the two vertical parts 16a is W1. The lower end 14a has a tapered shape in which the width becomes shorter from the lowermost part of the two vertical parts 16a toward the lower part in the vertical direction. The thickness, which is the length in the depth direction (Y direction) of the lower end 14a, is T1. In addition, a convex part 17a wider than the lower end 14a is provided at the upper part of the lower end 14a. In addition, a stay mounting hole 52a is provided on the upper side of the upper stay 52. ​​The width and thickness of the stay mounting hole 52a are W2 and T2, respectively. The widths W1 and T1 of the lower end 14a and the widths W2 and T2 of the stay mounting hole 52a are set so that the lower end 14a fits into the stay mounting hole 52a. 13 until the lower end of the protrusion 17a abuts against the upper surface of the upper stay 52, and the lower end 14a fits into the stay mounting hole 52a. This determines the positioning of the stay 11 in the horizontal and depth directions.

[0030] Next, the wiring paths of the electric cables 31a to 31d will be described. The wiring paths of the electric cables 31a to 31d are similar, so the wiring path of the electric cable 31a will be described below as a representative example. One end of the electric cable 31a is connected to the drive board 21a of the drive board unit 21 between the stays 11a and 11b via a connector. The electric cable 31a is arranged toward the stay 11a via the drive board support plate 21b attached between the stays 11a and 11b. In the stay 11a, the electric cable 31a is arranged along the stay 11a toward the lower side in the vertical direction. The stay 11a is provided with fasteners 12a and 13a, which are arrangement members for arranging the electric cable 31a along the stay 11a, as shown in FIG. 11. The fasteners 12a and 13a are, for example, wiring clamps, and regulate the position of the electric cable 31a within a predetermined range. At the lower end of the stay 11a, the electric cable 31a is arranged in the width direction along the upper stay 52 up to the vicinity of the position in the width direction where the drive unit 1a is provided. Then, the electric cable 31a crosses the lower part of the flywheel 2a in the depth direction and is connected to the drive unit 1a. The electric cable 31a is also regulated in position by an arrangement member or the like at a location other than the stay 11a. The electric cables 31b to 31d are arranged in the vertical direction along the stays 11b to 11d, respectively, and then arranged in the width direction along the upper stay 52 and connected to the drive units 1c to 1d. The arrangement path of the electric cables 31a to 31d is not limited to the above. For example, the electric cable 31a may be arranged downward along the stay 11a, and then arranged from the middle of the stay 11a toward the drive unit 1a.

[0031] As described above, in this embodiment, the driving board 21a is provided on the front side of the flywheels 2a to 2d when viewed from the rear side. The driving board 21a is attached to the stays 11a to 11d via the driving board support plate 21b. Furthermore, no other members are disposed between the driving board unit 21 including the driving board 21a and the driving board support plate 21b and the rear cover of the housing 101a. Therefore, the driving board 21a can be visually observed by removing the rear cover of the housing 101a. The driving board unit 21 including the driving board 21a and the driving board support plate 21b can be replaced by disconnecting the driving board 21a and the electric cables 31a to 31d and removing the driving board support plate 21b from the stays 11a to 11d. Furthermore, the driving board 21a can be replaced by disconnecting the driving board 21a and the electric cables 31a to 31d and removing the driving board 21a from the driving board support plate 21b. That is, maintenance work on the drive substrate 21a can be easily performed.

[0032] As described with reference to Fig. 8, in this embodiment, L2 is greater than L1. Therefore, by removing the rear cover of the housing 101a, the flywheels 2a and 2c and the drive units 1a and 1c can be accessed, allowing maintenance work such as visual inspection and replacement. Furthermore, by removing the drive board unit 21, the flywheels 2b and 2d and the drive units 1b and 1d can be accessed, allowing maintenance work.

[0033] The electric cables 31a-31d are connected to the drive board 21a by connectors via the drive board support plate 21b provided on the rear side of the flywheels 2a-2d. The electric cables 31a-31d are passed from the drive board support plate 21b to the stays 11a-11d, arranged downward along the stays 11a-11d, arranged horizontally along the upper stay 52, and connected to the drive units 1a-1d. In the stays 11a-11d, the positions of the electric cables 31a-31d are restricted by the fasteners 12a and 13b of the stays 11a-11d. This configuration can prevent the electric cables 31a-31d from contacting the flywheels 2a-2d and being damaged.

[0034] Furthermore, since the plane of the drive substrate 21a can be arranged parallel to the rear surface of the image forming apparatus 100 on the rear side of the flywheels 2a to 2d, the space inside the image forming apparatus 100 can be utilized effectively and the image forming apparatus 100 can be prevented from becoming large.

[0035] In this embodiment, the stays 11a to 11d having the same shape are arranged on the left side of the flywheels 2a to 2d when viewed from the rear side, and the two drive board support plates 21b are attached to two stays adjacent to each other in the width direction. However, the two stays to which the drive board support plate 21b is attached may not be adjacent to each other in the width direction. For example, a single drive board support plate 21b may be attached so as to bridge the stays 11a and 11c. In this case, for example, one or more drive boards 21a may be attached to this single drive board support plate 21b. Components for supplying drive signals to all the drive units as a whole are mounted on these one or more drive boards 21a. An electric cable connecting the drive board 21a of the drive board support plate 21b to the drive units may be arranged along the stay to which the drive board support plate 21b is attached.

[0036] The number of stays arranged along the width direction is not limited to four, and may be any number equal to or greater than two. For example, two stays may be arranged along the width direction. In this case, the drive board support plate 21b is arranged to bridge the two stays. The drive board support plate 21b is arranged to overlap at least one of the flywheels 2a to 2d in the width direction. One or more drive boards 21a for supplying drive signals to all the drive units 1a to 1d are attached to the drive board support plate 21b. The two stays may be arranged, for example, on both sides in the width direction of one of the flywheels 2a to 2d. In this way, two stays may be arranged on both sides in the width direction of at least one of the flywheels 2a to 2d, and the drive board support plate 21b may be arranged to bridge the two stays.

[0037] In addition, in this embodiment, two drive board support plates 21b are provided, each of which covers one flywheel when viewed from the rear side, but the number of drive board support plates 21b is not limited to two and can be one or more. Similarly, in this embodiment, one drive board 21a is attached to one drive board support plate 21b, but two or more drive boards 21a may be attached to one drive board support plate 21b. In this embodiment, the stays 11a to 11d have the same shape, but the shapes of the stays may be different as long as the drive board support plate 21b is attached to the two stays so as to bridge the two stays.

[0038] Next, the detailed configuration of the electrical component unit 51 will be described with reference to FIG. 10. The electrical component unit 51 has an upper stay 52 and a lower stay 53 made of inverted U-shaped sheet metal. The upper stay 52 and the lower stay 53 are support members attached to the rear side plate 211 and constituting the frame body 301 of the housing 101a. The electrical component unit 51 further has a power supply relay board unit 54, an apparatus control board unit 55, and developing high voltage board units 56-59. The power supply relay board unit 54, the apparatus control board unit 55, and the developing high voltage board units 56-59 are also collectively referred to as electric board units. These electric board units are attached to the upper stay 52 and the lower stay 53.

[0039] The power relay board unit 54 has a power relay board support plate 54b, which is a board support member, and a power relay board 54a attached to the power relay board support plate 54b. The power relay board support plate 54b is attached to the upper stay 52 and the lower stay 53. The power relay board 54a is an electric board, and is connected to the power supply unit of the third housing 101c by a power cable. The power relay board 54a has electrical components mounted thereon for supplying operating power to each component of the image forming apparatus based on the power from the power supply unit of the third housing 101c.

[0040] The device control board unit 55 has a device control board support plate 55b, which is a board support member, and a device control board 55a attached to the device control board support plate 55b. The device control board support plate 55b is attached to the upper stay 52 and the lower stay 53. Signal lines for transmitting signals to and from components such as a motor, clutch, and sensor (not shown) in the first housing 101a and signal cables for supplying power are connected to the device control board 55a. Electrical components for controlling the above components in the first housing 101a and supplying operating power to the above components are mounted on the device control board 55a.

[0041] The developing high voltage board units 56-59 are provided to apply a developing voltage to the developing devices 112 of the stations 120-123. Hereinafter, the developing high voltage board units 56-59 will be collectively referred to as the developing high voltage board unit 5K (K is an integer from 6 to 9). The developing high voltage board unit 5K has a developing high voltage board support plate 5Kb which is a board support member, and a developing high voltage board 5Ka attached to the developing high voltage board support plate 5Kb. The developing high voltage board support plate 5Kb is attached to the upper stay 52 and the lower stay 53. Components for supplying a developing voltage to the developing devices 112 of the stations 120-123 are mounted on the developing high voltage board 5Ka.

[0042] The electrical board unit is attached to the upper stay 52 and the lower stay 53 to form the electrical component unit 51. The electrical component unit 51 is reliably positioned and fixed as a structure within the image forming apparatus 100. This positions the upper stay 52 which forms the structure of the electrical component unit 51. Thus, the stays 11a to 11d which are fixed to the upper stay 52 are positioned.

[0043] It should be noted that the lower ends 14a of the stays 11a to 11d only need to be fitted into the stay mounting holes 52a of the upper stay 52, and there is no need to fasten the lower ends 14a of the stays 11a to 11d to the upper stay 52 with screws or the like. This is because the stays 11a to 11d are fastened at their upper parts to the upper common supports 212a to 212c or the upper individual support 213 with screws 215. By not fastening the lower ends 14a of the stays 11a to 11d to the upper stay 52, each of the stays 11a to 11d can be removed from the electrical component unit 51 simply by releasing the fastening of the screws 215. This configuration makes it easier to access the electrical component unit 51 and parts that cannot be accessed without removing the electrical component unit 51, and facilitates maintenance work on these parts.

[0044] The disclosure of this embodiment includes the following configuration. (Configuration 1) A plurality of photoconductors arranged along a first direction; a plurality of flywheels provided on rotation axes of the plurality of photoconductors in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, the flywheels suppressing rotation unevenness of the plurality of photoconductors; a plurality of drive units each including a drive source for rotating the plurality of photoconductors; A plurality of stays are arranged along the first direction and extend in a third direction perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction; a first substrate support member attached to two of the stays so as to bridge two of the stays at a position on the opposite side of the flywheels from the photoconductors in the second direction, and disposed so as to overlap at least one of the flywheels in the first direction; a first electric board attached to the first board support member and having electric components mounted thereon; An image forming apparatus comprising: (Configuration 2) 2. The image forming apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first substrate support member is attached to two of the plurality of stays that are adjacent in the first direction. (Configuration 3) 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electrical component mounted on the first electrical board supplies a drive signal to the drive source of at least one of the plurality of drive units. (Configuration 4) The image forming apparatus described in configuration 3, wherein a cable for supplying the drive signal from the electrical components mounted on the first electrical board to the at least one drive unit is passed from the first board support member on which the first electrical board is mounted to at least one of the two stays and is arranged along the at least one stay. (Configuration 5) 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the at least one stay is provided with a member for routing the cable. (Configuration 6) the plurality of photoreceptors is four photoreceptors, the plurality of flywheels is four flywheels; the plurality of drive units is four drive units; the plurality of stays is four stays, Each of the two first substrate support members is arranged to overlap one of the four flywheels in the first direction so as to bridge two adjacent stays of the four stays in the first direction; The first electrical board is attached to each of the two first board support members, The image forming apparatus described in configuration 2, wherein the electrical components mounted on the first electrical board attached to each of the two first board support members each supply drive signals to two of the four drive units. (Configuration 7) The image forming apparatus of configuration 6, wherein a cable for supplying the drive signal from the electrical components mounted on the first electrical board to one of the two drive units passes from the first board support member on which the first electrical board is mounted to a first stay of the two stays and is arranged along the first stay, and a cable for supplying the drive signal to the other of the two drive units passes from the first board support member on which the first electrical board is mounted to a second stay different from the first stay of the two stays and is arranged along the second stay. (Configuration 8) 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein each of the four stays is provided with a member for routing the cable. (Configuration 9) an electrical equipment unit having a first support member having a hole that fits into a first end portion of each of the stays in the third direction; the electrical component unit and second ends of the stays that are different from the first ends in the third direction are fixed to a frame of the image forming apparatus, 9. The image forming apparatus of any one of configurations 1 to 8, wherein the first end of each of the plurality of stays is fitted into the hole of the first support member. (Configuration 10) the third direction is a vertical direction, 10. The image forming apparatus of claim 9, wherein the first end is lower than the second end. (Configuration 11) The image forming apparatus of configuration 9 or 10, wherein the plurality of stays are attached to the image forming apparatus by fitting the first ends into the holes of the first support member and then fixing the second ends to the frame body of the image forming apparatus. (Configuration 12) The electrical equipment unit includes: A second support member provided at a position different from that of the first support member in the third direction; a plurality of second substrate support members arranged along the first direction, each of the plurality of second substrate support members being attached to the first support member and the second support member; a second electric board attached to each of the plurality of second board support members and having an electric component mounted thereon; 12. The image forming apparatus according to any one of configurations 9 to 11, comprising: (Configuration 13) The image forming apparatus of configuration 12, wherein the second electrical board is mounted with at least one of components for supplying operating power to the image forming apparatus, components for generating a voltage used by the image forming apparatus in image formation, and components for controlling components of the image forming apparatus. (Configuration 14) 14. The image forming apparatus of any one of configurations 1 to 13, wherein the stays have areas that partially overlap with the flywheels in the first direction, and a distance between the areas of the stays and the flywheels in the second direction is greater than a moving distance of the flywheels in the second direction that is required to attach and detach the flywheels to and from the image forming apparatus. (Configuration 15) the plurality of drive units are provided corresponding to the plurality of photoconductors, 15. The image forming apparatus of any one of configurations 1 to 14, wherein each of the plurality of drive units is disposed between a corresponding photoconductor and a flywheel provided on the rotation shaft of the corresponding photoconductor in the second direction.

[0045] The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, the following claims are appended to apprise the public of the scope of the invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0046] 105: photoconductor, 2a to 2d: flywheel, 1a to 1d: drive unit, 11a to 11d: stay, 21b: drive board support plate, 21a: drive board

Claims

1. a plurality of stations aligned along a first direction; a plurality of stays arranged along the first direction; a first electrical board on which electrical components are mounted; a first board support member that supports the first electric board, Each of the plurality of stations a rotation axis extending in a second direction intersecting the first direction; a photosensitive member that rotates together with the rotation shaft; a flywheel provided on the rotating shaft; a drive motor for driving the rotary shaft to rotate, each of the stays extends in a third direction intersecting the first direction and the second direction; the first substrate support member is attached to two of the plurality of stays so as to bridge two of the stays at a position on the opposite side of the flywheel from the photosensitive body in the second direction, and is positioned so as to overlap with the flywheel of at least one of the plurality of stations when viewed from a viewpoint along the second direction.

2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first substrate support member is attached to two of the stays that are adjacent to each other in the first direction.

3. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the electrical components mounted on the first electrical board supply drive signals to the drive motors of one or more of the plurality of stations.

4. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a cable for supplying the drive signal from the electrical components mounted on the first electrical board to the drive motor of the at least one station is passed from the first board support member that supports the first electrical board to at least one of the two stays and is arranged along the at least one stay.

5. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the at least one stay is provided with a member for routing the cable.

6. the plurality of stations is four stations; the plurality of stays is four stays, each of the two first substrate support members is attached to bridge two adjacent stays in the first direction among the four stays so as to overlap one of the four flywheels of the four stations when viewed from a viewpoint along the second direction; 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the electrical components mounted on the first electrical boards supported by the two first board support members respectively supply drive signals to the drive motors of two of the four stations.

7. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a cable for supplying the drive signal from the electrical components mounted on the first electric board to the drive motor of one of the two stations is passed from the first board support member supporting the first electric board to a first stay of the two stays and arranged along the first stay, and a cable for supplying the drive signal to the drive motor of the other of the two stations is passed from the first board support member supporting the first electric board to a second stay different from the first stay of the two stays and arranged along the second stay.

8. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein each of the four stays is provided with a member for routing the cable.

9. an electrical unit having a first support member provided with a hole that fits into a first end portion of each of the stays in the third direction, the electrical unit and second ends of the stays different from the first ends in the third direction are fixed to a frame of the image forming apparatus, The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first end of each of the plurality of stays is fitted into the hole of the first support member.

10. the third direction is a vertical direction, The image forming apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein the first end is located below the second end.

11. 10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the plurality of stays are attached to the image forming apparatus by fitting the first ends into the holes of the first support member and then fixing the second ends to the frame body of the image forming apparatus.

12. The electrical unit includes: a second support member provided at a position different from that of the first support member in the third direction; a plurality of second substrate support members arranged along the first direction, each of the plurality of second substrate support members attached to the first support member and the second support member; a second electric board supported by each of the plurality of second board support members and having electric components mounted thereon; The image forming apparatus according to claim 9 , further comprising:

13. 13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the second electrical board is mounted with at least one of components for supplying operating power to the image forming apparatus, components for generating voltages used by the image forming apparatus in image formation, and components for controlling members of the image forming apparatus.

14. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the stays has an area that partially overlaps with the flywheel when viewed from a viewpoint along the second direction, and a distance in the second direction between the area of ​​the at least one stay and the flywheel is greater than a moving distance of the flywheel in the second direction that is required to attach and detach the flywheel to and from the image forming apparatus.

15. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drive motor is disposed between the photoconductor of the same station and the flywheel of the same station in the second direction.

Images