Image forming apparatus

Abstract

To provide an image forming apparatus in which vibration hardly propagates to an optical scanner.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus has a housing including a vibration generation source, and an optical scanner. The optical scanner forms a latent image on an image carrier with a light beam based on an image signal. The housing has a first support member and a second support member. The first support member is in contact with lower ends of first support leg parts that project to a lower part of the optical scanner, to support the support leg parts. The second support member is in contact with lower ends of second support leg parts that project to a lower part of the optical scanner and different from the first support leg parts, to support the support leg parts. The second support member is separated from the first support member in a non-contact state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] An embodiment of the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, such as a copier or printer, installed in a workplace. [Background technology]

[0002] An image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer includes an optical scanning device that irradiates a surface of a photosensitive drum with a light beam to expose and scan the surface of the photosensitive drum, thereby forming an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum. The image forming apparatus also includes a developing unit that supplies developer to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum to develop it, a paper feed and transport unit that transports paper, and a fixing unit that fixes the developer image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum to the paper.

[0003] The motors and clutches that drive the paper feed transport unit and the developing unit are sources of vibration that vibrate the housing of the image forming device. To prevent the vibration of the housing from being transmitted to the optical scanning device, some image forming devices have a resonant frequency of a support member that supports the optical scanning device relative to the housing set to a predetermined value. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2002-23094 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, since there are multiple vibration sources, the housing does not vibrate at a specific frequency, and if vibrations of a frequency other than the resonant frequency of the support member are transmitted, the optical scanning device will vibrate, which may reduce the quality of the output image.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus in which vibrations are less likely to be transmitted to an optical scanning device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The image forming apparatus of the embodiment has a housing equipped with a vibration generating source and an optical scanning device. The optical scanning device forms a latent image on an image carrier by a light beam based on an image signal. The housing has a first support member and a second support member. The first support member supports the optical scanning device by abutting a lower end of a first support foot protruding downward. The second support member supports the optical scanning device by abutting a lower end of a second support foot different from the first support foot protruding downward. The second support member is separated from the first support member in a non-contact state. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing an image forming section for yellow of the image forming apparatus in FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a part of the optical scanning device and the housing of the image forming apparatus in FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a part of the housing from which the optical scanning device of FIG. 3 has been removed. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of a part of the housing taken along the line F5-F5 in FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the four support legs of the optical scanning device of FIG. 3 are in contact with a support base and a support stay. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing three leaf springs attached to the support stay of FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a configuration in which the support stay in FIG. 4 rotatably supports the optical scanning device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus 100 according to an embodiment (hereinafter, simply referred to as the apparatus 100) will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the scale of each part in each drawing used in the following description of the embodiment may be changed as appropriate. Also, in order to make the description easier to understand, each drawing used in the following description of the embodiment may be shown with the configuration omitted.

[0010] The device 100 is, for example, an MFP (multifunction peripheral). The device 100 has a printing function, a scanning function, a copying function, an erasing function, a facsimile function, and the like. The printing function is a function for forming an image on paper P. The scanning function is a function for reading an image from an original document on which an image has been formed. The copying function is a function for printing an image read from an original document using the scanning function, for example, on paper P using the printing function. The erasing function is a function for erasing an image formed on paper P with an erasable developer.

[0011] As shown in Fig. 1, device 100 has a housing 1 that forms the outer shell of the device. Device 100 includes a printer 10, a scanner 20, and an operation panel 30. Device 100 includes printer 10 and scanner 20 inside housing 1, and includes operation panel 30 on the front side of housing 1. In the following description, the front-rear, up-down, left-right directions are defined when device 100 is viewed from the direction shown in Fig. 1.

[0012] Printer 10 includes multiple paper feed cassettes 11, a manual feed tray 12, and multiple paper feed rollers 13. Paper feed cassette 11 stores paper P to be used for printing. Manual feed tray 12 is for manually feeding paper P. Paper feed roller 13 selectively picks up paper P from either paper feed cassette 11 or manual feed tray 12 by rotating.

[0013] The printer 10 includes four toner cartridges 141, 142, 143, and 144, four image forming units 151, 152, 153, and 154, an optical scanning device 16, a transfer belt 17, a secondary transfer roller 18, and a fixing unit 19. The printer 10 includes the optical scanning device 16 below the four image forming units 151, 152, 153, and 154. The housing 1 has an insertion port 101 (FIG. 3) on its left side surface for inserting and attaching the optical scanning device 16 into the housing 1.

[0014] Toner cartridges 141-144 contain toner to be supplied to image forming units 151-154, respectively. Toner cartridge 141 contains yellow (Y) toner. Toner cartridge 142 contains magenta (M) toner. Toner cartridge 143 contains cyan (C) toner. Toner cartridge 144 contains black (K) toner. The toner color combination is not limited to YMCK, and other color combinations may be used. Furthermore, the toner may be a toner that is erased at a temperature higher than a predetermined temperature.

[0015] The image forming units 151 to 154 receive toner from the toner cartridges 141 to 144, respectively, and form toner images of different colors. The image forming unit 151 forms a yellow (Y) toner image. The image forming unit 152 forms a magenta (M) toner image. The image forming unit 153 forms a cyan (C) toner image. The image forming unit 154 forms a black (K) toner image.

[0016] The image forming units 151 to 154 have the same configuration except for the difference in toner. Therefore, here, the image forming unit 151 for yellow will be described as a representative with reference to FIG. 2, and descriptions of the image forming units 152 to 154 for the other colors will be omitted.

[0017] The yellow image forming section 151 includes a photoconductor drum 41, a charging device 42, a developing device 43, a primary transfer roller 44, a cleaner 45, and a discharging lamp 46.

[0018] The photoconductor drum 41 has a surface that receives the light beam BY irradiated from the optical scanning device 16. The optical scanning device 16 forms an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoconductor drum 41. The charging device 42 negatively charges the surface of the photoconductor drum 41. The developing device 43 develops the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoconductor drum 41 using yellow toner D supplied from the toner cartridge 141. That is, the developing device 43 forms a yellow toner image on the surface of the photoconductor drum 41.

[0019] Image forming unit 151 includes a primary transfer roller 44 at a position facing photoconductor drum 41 with transfer belt 17 sandwiched therebetween. Primary transfer roller 44 generates a transfer voltage between photoconductor drum 41 and primary transfer roller 44. As a result, primary transfer roller 44 transfers (primary transfer) the toner image on the surface of photoconductor drum 41 onto the surface of transfer belt 17 in contact with photoconductor drum 41.

[0020] The cleaner 45 removes the toner remaining on the surface of the photoconductor drum 41. The charge removing lamp 46 removes the charge remaining on the surface of the photoconductor drum 41.

[0021] The optical scanning device 16 irradiates the surfaces of the photoconductor drums 41 of the image forming units 151, 152, 153, and 154 with light beams BY, BM, BC, and BK, respectively, in accordance with the input image data. The light beams BY, BM, BC, and BK are based on image data of each color obtained by color-separating the image data into Y, M, C, and K colors, respectively. The optical scanning device 16 emits the light beam BY in accordance with the image data of the Y component to form an electrostatic latent image for yellow on the surface of the photoconductor drum 41 of the image forming unit 151. Similarly, the optical scanning device 16 emits the light beams BM, BC, and BK in accordance with the image data of the M, C, and K components to form electrostatic latent images for each color on the surfaces of the photoconductor drums 41 of the image forming units 152, 153, and 154.

[0022] The image data input to the optical scanning device 16 is, for example, image data read from an original document by the scanner 20. Alternatively, the image data input to the optical scanning device 16 is image data transmitted to the device 100 from a device other than the device 100.

[0023] 1, the transfer belt 17 is endlessly stretched and rotates by rotating a drive roller 171 around which the transfer belt 17 is wound. As the transfer belt 17 rotates, it transports the toner images of each color formed by the image forming units 151 to 154 in layers on the surface of the transfer belt 17 to a transfer region opposed by a secondary transfer roller 18.

[0024] The secondary transfer roller 18 faces the drive roller 171 with the transfer belt 17 sandwiched therebetween. The secondary transfer roller 18 transfers (secondarily transfers) the toner image formed on the transfer belt 17 onto the paper P passing between the secondary transfer roller 18 and itself.

[0025] The fixing unit 19 heats and pressurizes the paper P. The fixing unit 19 includes a heating roller 191 and a pressure roller 192 that face each other with the transport path of the paper P sandwiched between them. The heating roller 191 includes a heat source such as a heater. The heating roller 191 heated by the heat source comes into contact with the paper P to heat the paper P. The pressure roller 192 pressurizes the paper P that passes between the pressure roller 192 and the heating roller 191. Thus, the fixing unit 19 fixes the toner image transferred onto the paper P to the paper P.

[0026] The printer 10 also includes a duplex unit 50 and a paper output tray 60. The duplex unit 50 prepares the paper P so that printing can be performed on the back side. The duplex unit 50 switches the paper P back to turn it over, and sends it to the transfer area between the transfer belt 17 and the secondary transfer roller 18. The paper output tray 60 is for discharging the paper P after printing has been completed.

[0027] The scanner 20 reads an image from a document etc. The scanner 20 includes a reading module 70 and a document feeder 80.

[0028] The reading module 70 applies illumination light to the surface of the document having the image to be read (hereinafter referred to as the document surface), receives the reflected light with an image sensor (not shown) and converts it into a digital signal. In this way, the reading module 70 reads the image from the document surface.

[0029] The document feeder 80 is, for example, an ADF (auto document feeder). The document feeder 80 transports documents placed on a document tray 81 one after another through a document glass 82. The reading module 70 reads an image from the document transported to the document glass 82. The document feeder 80 may be provided with another reading module for reading an image from the back side of the document.

[0030] The operation panel 30 is a man-machine interface that performs input and output between the device 100 and an operator of the device 100. The operation panel 30 includes, for example, a touch panel 31, an input device 32, and the like.

[0031] The touch panel 31 is, for example, a laminate of a display such as a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display and a pointing device that accepts touch input. The display of the touch panel 31 displays a screen for notifying the operator of the device 100 of various information. The touch panel 31 also accepts touch operations by the operator.

[0032] The input device 32 accepts operations by an operator of the apparatus 100. The input device 32 is, for example, a keyboard, a keypad, or a touchpad.

[0033] 3 and 4, the housing 1 includes a rear frame 91 disposed on the rear side of the device 100, a front frame 92 disposed on the front side of the device 100, a support base 93, and a support stay 94. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the image forming units 151-154 and toner cartridges 141-144 located above the optical scanning device 16 have been removed, and FIG. 4 shows a state in which the optical scanning device 16 of FIG. 3 has been further removed. Therefore, in FIG. 3, the support base 93 and the support stay 94 are hidden by the optical scanning device 16 and are barely visible.

[0034] The rear frame 91 is a member formed of a metal plate extending in the vertical and horizontal directions, and is provided with a driving mechanism such as a motor and a clutch (not shown) on the rear side. The driving mechanism drives the paper feed roller 13 and the developing device 43, and serves as a vibration generating source that vibrates the rear frame 91 (i.e., the housing 1) when the device 100 is driven.

[0035] The front frame 92 is a member formed from sheet metal and disposed parallel to the rear frame 91 at a position spaced forward from the rear frame 91. A cooling duct (not shown) is provided between the front frame 92 and the optical scanning device 16 at its rear. The cooling duct is for sending outside air between the support base 93 and the optical scanning device 16 to cool the polygon motor of the optical scanning device 16.

[0036] The support base 93 is a member made of sheet metal and disposed below the optical scanning device 16, and is a flat member disposed approximately horizontally along the front-rear and left-right directions. The rear end of the support base 93 is fixed to the front surface of the rear frame 91, and its front end is fixed to the rear surface of the front frame 92. The support base 93 is fixed to the rear frame 91 and the front frame 92 by, for example, welding. The support base 93 is an example of a first support member.

[0037] The support base 93 functions as an insertion guide that guides the lower end of a protrusion 161 (FIG. 5), which will be described later and protrudes from the underside of the optical scanning device 16, by sliding against it when the optical scanning device 16 is inserted into the housing 1 through an insertion port 101 on the left side of the housing 1 and attached. The support base 93 must be a member having a sufficient length in the left-right direction to keep the sliding surface 1611 at the lower end of the protrusion 161 in sliding contact therewith while the optical scanning device 16 is inserted into a predetermined position (the position shown in FIG. 3) in the housing 1, and is formed from a relatively large flat plate-like member.

[0038] The support stay 94 is a member formed from sheet metal extending in the front-rear direction and arranged at a distance to the right of the support base 93, with its rear end fixed to the front surface of the rear frame 91 and its front end fixed to the rear surface of the front frame 92. The support stay 94 is fixed to the rear frame 91 and the front frame 92 by, for example, welding. The support stay 94 is an example of a second support member.

[0039] The support stay 94 is a component that is disposed to the right of the support base 93 with a space between them, and is laid out in such a way that vibrations from the support base 93 are not directly transmitted thereto. In other words, there is a gap S between the left end of the support stay 94 and the right end of the support base 93 that physically separates them, and the support stay 94 and the support base 93 are not in contact with each other.

[0040] As described above, by providing the gap S between the support base 93 and the support stay 94, it is possible to make it difficult for vibrations of the drive mechanism provided on the rear frame 91 to be transmitted to the support stay 94. When the drive mechanism vibrates during operation of the device 100, the rear frame 91 of the housing 1 vibrates, and the vibrations are transmitted to the support base 93 and the support stay 94. Since the support base 93 is a flat plate that functions as an insertion guide for the optical scanning device 16, it swings more than the support stay 94 when vibrations are transmitted thereto.

[0041] For this reason, if the support base 93 and the support stay 94 were connected as one unit, the vibration of the support base 93 would be transmitted directly to the support stay 94. In contrast, if the support base 93 and the support stay 94 are separated by providing a gap S between them as in this embodiment, the vibration of the support base 93 will not be transmitted directly to the support stay 94, and the vibration of the support stay 94 can be suppressed compared to the case where the gap S is not provided.

[0042] Fig. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the structure of Fig. 3 taken along F5-F5. The optical scanning device 16 has a plurality of protrusions 161 and a plurality of support legs 162 protruding from its underside. Fig. 5 illustrates only one protrusion 161 and one support leg 162 provided near the tip of the optical scanning device 16 in the insertion direction, but the number and layout of the protrusions 161 and support legs 162 can be set arbitrarily. In this embodiment, the optical scanning device 16 has at least two approximately truncated cone-shaped protrusions 161 and four approximately truncated cone-shaped support legs 162 on its underside.

[0043] The protrusion 161 has a flat sliding surface 1611 at the end (lower end) in the protruding direction, which is in sliding contact with the slide surfaces 9311, 9312 (see FIG. 4) of the support base 93 when the optical scanning device 16 is inserted and attached through the insertion port 101 of the housing 1. The protrusion 161 is a structure provided separately from the support foot 162. The support base 93 has a plurality of slide protrusions 931 each extending in the left-right direction at positions spaced apart in the front-rear direction. The slide protrusions 931 are located opposite to the movement paths of the plurality of protrusions 161 of the optical scanning device 16. The slide surfaces 9311, 9312 are located on the upper surfaces of the plurality of slide protrusions 931 and are arranged on the same horizontal plane. The optical scanning device 16 has at least two protrusions 161 at positions spaced apart in the front-rear direction on the leading end (right end) side in the insertion direction.

[0044] When the optical scanning device 16 is inserted through the insertion port 101 on the left side of the housing 1, the sliding surface 1611 of the protrusion 161 near the rear right end of the optical scanning device 16 sequentially comes into sliding contact with the slide surfaces 9311, 9312 of the multiple slide protrusions 931 arranged in a row on the left and right behind the support base 93, and the sliding surface 1611 of the protrusion 161 near the front right end of the optical scanning device 16 sequentially comes into sliding contact with the slide surfaces 9311 of the multiple slide protrusions 931 arranged in front of the support base 93.

[0045] 4, the support base 93 has a hexagonal recess 932 on its upper surface 935 side for allowing the outside air taken in by the above-mentioned ventilation duct to flow. The recess 932 is located at a position intersecting with the movement path of the protrusion 161 of the optical scanning device 16 when the optical scanning device 16 is inserted into the housing 1. In other words, the recess 932 is located at a position overlapping with the slide protrusion 931. Therefore, the slide protrusion 931 having the slide surface 9312 on its upper surface is located inside the recess 932.

[0046] The slide surface 9312 of the slide protrusion 931 disposed in the recess 932 is disposed on the same horizontal plane as the slide surfaces 9311 of the other slide protrusions 931 arranged on the left and right of this slide protrusion 931. Therefore, even when the protrusion 161 of the optical scanning device 16 approaches the recess 932, the slide surface 9312 of the slide protrusion 931 in the recess 932 comes into sliding contact with the sliding contact surface 1611 of the protrusion 161, and can continue to guide the insertion of the optical scanning device 16.

[0047] In addition, the support base 93 has two generally rectangular recesses 933 spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction at positions adjacent to the gap S between the support stay 94 and the support base 93. The two recesses 933 are located opposite the two protrusions 161 at the tip end in the insertion direction when the optical scanning device 16 is inserted and arranged at a predetermined position in the housing 1. The bottom of the recess 933 is located below the slide surfaces 9311 and 9312 of the slide protrusion 931. In other words, when the optical scanning device 16 is arranged at a predetermined position in the housing 1 and the entire weight of the optical scanning device 16 is supported by the four support legs 162, the sliding surfaces 1611 of the two protrusions 161 are slightly raised above the bottom surface of the recess 933 as shown in FIG. 5.

[0048] As shown in FIG. 6, the four support feet 162 (only the front two support feet 162 are shown in FIG. 6) are located near the four corners on the lower surface side of the optical scanning device 16. The four support feet 162 have substantially circular contact surfaces 1621 at the tips (lower ends) in the protruding direction, which contact the four circular support areas 934, 944 shown by dashed lines in FIG. 4 when the optical scanning device 16 is inserted at a predetermined position in the housing 1. Specifically, the two support feet 162 (second support feet) at the tip side in the insertion direction of the optical scanning device 16 contact the support areas 944 on the upper surface 945 of the support stay 94. The two support feet 162 (first support feet) at the rear end side in the insertion direction of the optical scanning device 16 contact the support areas 934 on the upper surface 935 of the support base 93 near the insertion opening 101. An upper surface 945 including the support area 944 of the support stay 94 is located higher than an upper surface 935 including the support area 934 of the support base 93 .

[0049] In a state where the optical scanning device 16 is inserted and arranged at a predetermined position in the housing 1 (the state shown in FIGS. 3, 5, and 6), the contact surfaces 1621 of the four support legs 162 contact the upper surface 935 of the support base 93 and the upper surface 945 of the support stay 94, and the four support legs 162 support substantially the entire weight of the optical scanning device 16. Therefore, the vertical position of the optical scanning device 16 is determined by the height positions of the support regions 934, 944 with which the four support legs 162 contact. Since the vertical mounting position of the optical scanning device 16 affects the focal lengths of the emitted light beams BY, BM, BC, and BK, it is necessary to adjust the vertical position of the optical scanning device 16 with high positional accuracy in order to form a high-quality image.

[0050] In this embodiment, since the support base 93 and the support stay 94 are fixed independently to the rear frame 91 and the front frame 92, the height position of the upper surface 935 of the support base 93 and the height position of the upper surface 945 of the support stay 94 can be determined separately with high accuracy. Then, by abutting the two support legs 162 on the far side in the insertion direction (arrow T direction in FIG. 6) of the optical scanning device 16 against the upper surface 945 of the support stay 94 and abutting the two support legs 162 on the near side in the insertion direction T of the optical scanning device 16 against the upper surface 935 of the support base 93, the vertical position of the optical scanning device 16 can be determined with high accuracy.

[0051] If the support base 93 and the support stay 94 are fixed integrally to the rear frame 91 and the front frame 92, it is difficult to adjust with high precision both the vertical position of the support area 934 on the upper surface 935 of the support base 93 and the vertical position of the support area 944 on the upper surface 945 of the support stay 94. For example, if a member in which the support base 93 and the support stay 94 are integrated is fixed to the rear frame 91 and the front frame 92 based on the vertical position of the support area 934 of the support base 93, it is practically impossible to adjust the vertical position of the support area 944 of the support stay 94. In this case, the vertical position of the support area 944 may deviate from the design value due to a dimensional error occurring between the support area 934 and the support area 944. Alternatively, if the upper surface 935 of the integrated support base 93 and the upper surface 945 of the support stay 94 are positioned and fixed, distortion may occur between the integrated support base 93 and the support stay 94.

[0052] Therefore, as in this embodiment, the support base 93 and the support stay 94 are physically separated, two of the four support legs 162 of the optical scanning device 16 are supported by the upper surface 935 of the support base 93, and the remaining two support legs 162 are supported by the upper surface 945 of the support stay 94, thereby enabling highly accurate positioning of the optical scanning device 16 in the vertical direction. Also, as described above, by physically separating the support base 93 and the support stay 94 and fixing them to the rear frame 91 and the front frame 92, it is possible to suppress vibration transmitted to the support stay 94, and therefore it is possible to suppress vibration of the optical scanning device 16. In other words, according to this embodiment, the distance between the optical scanning device 16 and the photosensitive drums 41 of each color can be adjusted with high accuracy, and changes in the focal lengths of the light beams BY, BM, BC, and BK caused by vibration of the optical scanning device 16 can also be suppressed, enabling high-quality image formation.

[0053] The structure and procedure for mounting the optical scanning device 16 to the housing 1 will be described below. When the optical scanning device 16 is inserted in the direction of arrow T in Figure 6 through the insertion port 101 of the housing 1, the sliding surfaces 9311, 9312 of the multiple sliding convex portions 931 of the support base 93 in Figure 4 sequentially slide against the sliding surfaces 1611 of the multiple protrusions 161 of the optical scanning device 16, and the optical scanning device 16 moves toward a predetermined position while being guided by the support base 93.

[0054] Just before the optical scanning device 16 is pushed into a predetermined position, the sliding surfaces 1611 of the two protrusions 161 at the rear side of the optical scanning device 16 in the insertion direction T come off the slide surface 9311 of the slide convex portion 931, and these two protrusions 161 move toward positions facing the two recesses 933 of the support base 93, respectively.

[0055] On the other hand, when the two protrusions 161 come off the slide convex portion 931, the two support feet 162 at the rear side in the insertion direction T of the optical scanning device 16 come into contact with the upper surface 945 of the support stay 94, and when the optical scanning device 16 is pushed further into the specified position, the abutment surfaces 1621 of the support feet 162 overlap the support area 944.

[0056] As described above, when the optical scanning device 16 is pushed into a predetermined position, as shown in FIG. 5, the two protrusions 161 at the rear side in the insertion direction T overlap with the recess 933, so that the sliding surface 1611 floats above the bottom of the recess 933, and instead, part of the weight of the optical scanning device 16 is supported by the support stay 94.

[0057] At this time, the contact surfaces 1621 of the two support legs 162 on the front side in the insertion direction T come into contact with the upper surface 935 of the support base 93 at the positions of the two support regions 934 of the support base 93, and the remaining weight of the optical scanning device 16 is supported by the support base 93. That is, in this state, substantially the entire weight of the optical scanning device 16 is supported by the upper surface 935 of the support base 93 and the upper surface 945 of the support stay 94 via the four support legs 162, and the optical scanning device 16 does not come into contact with any part of the support base 93 other than the support region 934. Therefore, even if the support base 93 vibrates, the vibration is not easily transmitted to the optical scanning device 16.

[0058] As shown in Fig. 7, the support stay 94 at the back side in the insertion direction T of the optical scanning device 16 includes two leaf springs 95 spaced apart from each other in the front-rear direction, and includes one leaf spring 96 in the approximate center in the front-rear direction. Also, as shown in Fig. 8, the support stay 94 includes a bearing recess 946 for receiving a rotation shaft 166 of the optical scanning device 16 near the central leaf spring 96. The rotation shaft 166 is a generally cylindrical member protruding from the lower surface side of a protrusion 1661 protruding from the tip of the optical scanning device 16 in the insertion direction T, and extends in the up-down direction.

[0059] 3, 5, and 6, the rotation shaft 166 of the optical scanning device 16 is loosely fitted into the bearing recess 946 of the support stay 94. In other words, the optical scanning device 16 is rotatable about the rotation shaft 166 when it is pushed into the predetermined position.

[0060] 5, when the optical scanning device 16 is pushed into a predetermined position, the tip of the optical scanning device 16 in the insertion direction T is inserted between the two leaf springs 95 and the upper surface 945 of the support stay 94, and the abutment surfaces 1621 of the two support legs 162 on the rear side of the optical scanning device 16 in the insertion direction T are pressed against the upper surface 945 of the support stay 94. This makes it possible to eliminate any play in the optical scanning device 16 in the up-down direction.

[0061] Furthermore, when the optical scanning device 16 is pushed to a predetermined position, the tip of the optical scanning device 16 in the insertion direction T is pressed against the central leaf spring 96, and the leaf spring 96 is elastically deformed so as to contract toward the rear side in the insertion direction T. In this state, the restoring force of the leaf spring 96 generates a force that pushes the optical scanning device 16 back in the opposite direction to the insertion direction T, thereby eliminating any backlash in the insertion direction T of the optical scanning device 16.

[0062] As described above, after the optical scanning device 16 has been pushed into the housing 1 to a predetermined position, the rear end of the optical scanning device 16 in the insertion direction T is fixed to the support base 93 using a fixing member 98 shown in FIG. 3. The fixing member 98 has a hole (not shown) through which a pin 99 protruding from the upper surface near the center in the front-to-rear direction of the left end of the optical scanning device 16 is inserted. The pin 99 extends in the vertical direction, and the fixing member 98 is slightly rotatable with respect to the optical scanning device 16.

[0063] The fixing member 98 has a structure that allows the fixing position in the front-rear direction relative to the support base 93 to be adjustable. Therefore, the optical scanning device 16, which is pushed into a predetermined position, can be fixed to the housing 1 at a desired angle by rotating the optical scanning device 16 pushed into a predetermined position about the rotation shaft 166 at the rear side in the insertion direction T to place the fixing member 98 at a predetermined position in the front-rear direction and fixing it to the support base 93 at this position. The rotation angle and front-rear, left-right position of the optical scanning device 16 are adjusted so that the scanning direction of the light beams BY, BM, BC, and BK emitted by the optical scanning device 16 are parallel to the rotation axes of the photoconductor drums 41 of the image forming units 151 to 154, that is, so that there is no inclination of the image on the paper P.

[0064] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the above-mentioned embodiment is presented as an example and is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The above-mentioned embodiment can be implemented in various other forms, and various omissions, substitutions, and modifications can be made without departing from the gist of the invention. The detailed embodiment and its modifications are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the scope of the invention and its equivalents described in the claims.

[0065] Other embodiments will be described below. 1. The frame fixes the source of vibration. 2. The first support member has a slide protrusion having a slide surface extending in the insertion direction with which the tip of the protrusion of the optical scanning device comes into sliding contact. 3. The first support member and the second support member are fixed to the frame by welding. 4. Equipped with a developing device to develop the latent image. 5. A transfer device is provided for transferring the developer image onto an image forming medium. 6. A fixing device is provided for fixing the developer image transferred to the image forming medium onto the image forming medium. [Explanation of symbols]

[0066] 1...housing, 16...optical scanning device, 161...protrusion, 1611...sliding surface, 162...support foot, 1621...contact surface, 91...rear frame, 92...front frame, 93...support base, 931...sliding convex portion, 9311, 9312...sliding surface, 933...concave portion, 934...support area, 935...upper surface, 94...support stay, 944...support area, 945...upper surface, 100...image forming device, 101...insertion port, S...gap, T...insertion direction.

Claims

1. A housing having a vibration generating source; an optical scanning device for forming a latent image on an image carrier by using an optical beam based on an image signal; The housing includes: a first support member that abuts against and supports a lower end of a first support foot that protrudes downward from the optical scanning device; a second support member that is separated from the first support member in a non-contact state and that abuts against and supports a lower end of a second support foot that is different from the first support foot and protrudes downward from the optical scanning device; An image forming apparatus comprising:

2. the housing has an insertion opening on a side surface thereof for inserting and mounting the optical scanning device; the first support member is a plate-like member disposed substantially horizontally adjacent to the insertion opening, and functions as an insertion guide for guiding the insertion of the optical scanning device by sliding a tip of a protrusion protruding from a lower surface of the optical scanning device against the first support member when the optical scanning device is inserted into the housing through the insertion opening and attached thereto; The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 .

3. the housing has the second support member adjacent to the downstream side of the first support member along the insertion direction of the optical scanning device; The image forming apparatus according to claim 2 .

4. A second support surface against which the second support member abuts and supports the lower end of the second support foot is located at a higher position than a first support surface against which the first support member abuts and supports the lower end of the first support foot. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 .

5. The housing has a frame to which the first support member and the second support member are separately fixed. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 .

Images