Image forming device

Abstract

To provide an image forming apparatus that has improved accessibility to an internal unit without providing an opening and closing member on an ejection tray.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus of the present invention has: an ejection tray that supports a recording material having an image formed thereon and ejected to the outside of an apparatus body; an internal unit that is arranged inside the apparatus body and contributes to an image forming operation or conveying operation of the recording material; and a door that forms part of exterior members of the apparatus body and is openable and closable to expose the inside of the apparatus body. When the door is opened, a fixing member fixing the ejection tray to the apparatus body is exposed. Removing the fixing member from the apparatus body allows removal of the ejection tray from the apparatus body without removing the external members other than the door. Removing the ejection tray from the apparatus body allows access to the internal unit.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having improved accessibility to an internal unit provided inside the main body of the apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as a printer, when an internal unit installed inside the device body, such as a scanner unit, breaks down or reaches the end of its life, a serviceman must replace the internal unit. At this time, the serviceman removes multiple exterior members, including the top cover of the main body, to replace the internal unit. In addition, if an additional unit, such as a document reader, is installed on the top of the printer, the serviceman must remove the additional unit before removing the top cover of the main body, which is a cumbersome task.

[0003] In the image forming device described in Patent Document 1, an electric circuit board is disposed below an ejection tray (inside the device body), which is a part of the upper cover of the main body. An opening and closing member is provided on the part of the ejection tray that corresponds to the electric circuit board so that a new board can be attached to the electric circuit board to expand its functions. The device is configured so that a user can quickly access the electric circuit board disposed inside the device body by opening the opening and closing member. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 9-106238 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, in the configuration of Patent Document 1, if the size of the newly installed board increases, the size of the opening and closing member must also be increased. As a result, a large space must be secured for opening and closing the opening and closing member, and if an additional unit such as a document reader is provided on the top of the printer, there is a possibility that the opening and closing member and the additional unit may interfere with each other.

[0006] Furthermore, in the configuration of Patent Document 1, the location where the opening and closing member is provided is recessed with respect to the recording material loading surface of the discharge tray, so that the edge of the recording material discharged to the discharge tray may get caught in this recess, causing the recording material to curl.

[0007] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT DISCLOSURE An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that improves accessibility to an internal unit without providing an opening and closing member on an ejection tray. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, the image forming apparatus of the present invention has a discharge tray that supports a recording material on which an image has been formed and that has been discharged to the outside of the apparatus main body, an internal unit that is disposed inside the apparatus main body and contributes to an image forming operation or a transport operation of the recording material, and a door that constitutes a part of an exterior member of the apparatus main body and can be opened and closed to expose the inside of the apparatus main body, wherein when the door is opened, a fixing member that fixes the discharge tray to the apparatus main body is exposed, and by removing the fixing member from the apparatus main body, the discharge tray can be removed from the apparatus main body without removing the exterior member other than the door, and the internal unit can be accessed by removing the discharge tray from the apparatus main body. The internal unit is provided below the discharge tray in the vertical direction, and when viewed from above in the vertical direction, the size of an opening formed by removing the discharge tray from the device body is larger than the size of the internal unit. It is characterized by: Effect of the Invention

[0009] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus in which the accessibility to the internal unit is improved without providing an opening / closing member on the discharge tray. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus. [Diagram 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an exterior member of an image forming apparatus; [Diagram 3] Configuration diagram of the output tray unit [Figure 4] Cross-sectional view of the ejection tray unit [Diagram 5] FIG. 1 illustrates a process cartridge being removed from an image forming apparatus. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing how to remove the discharge tray in the first embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing how the exposure device is removed in the first embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 9] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of removing the discharge tray in the second embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of removing the discharge tray in the third embodiment. [Figure 12] FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing how the discharge unit is removed in the fourth embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] <Example 1> Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail as examples. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative positions of the components described in the following embodiments may be changed as appropriate depending on the configuration of the device to which the present invention is applied and various conditions. Therefore, unless otherwise specified, it is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to only those.

[0012] (Overall configuration of image forming apparatus) 1 is a cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus 1 in this embodiment. The image forming apparatus 1 in this embodiment is a monochrome laser printer using an electrophotographic system, and can form an image on a recording material such as a recording paper or an OHP sheet according to a signal sent from an external device such as a computer connected to the image forming apparatus 1 so as to be able to communicate with the image forming apparatus 1.

[0013] The image forming apparatus 1 includes a drum-type electrophotographic photosensitive member (hereinafter, photosensitive drum 8) as an image carrier. The photosensitive drum 8 is configured by providing a photosensitive material such as OPC (organic photoconductor), amorphous selenium, or amorphous silicon on a cylindrical drum base made of aluminum, nickel, or the like. The photosensitive drum 8 is rotatably supported by a main body frame (not shown) and is rotated at a predetermined speed by a drive source. Around the photosensitive drum 8, a charging member 80, a developing member 81, and a transfer roller 9 as a transfer member are arranged in this order along the rotation direction. In addition, an exposure device 7 is arranged above the photosensitive drum 8. The photosensitive drum 8, the charging member 80, and the developing member 81 constitute a process cartridge 6 that is detachably attached to the apparatus main body 100 as an integral unit. The process cartridge 6 is detachable from the apparatus main body 100 by opening a front door 13 provided on the front side of the image forming apparatus 1. The apparatus main body 100 is configured by a main body frame and an exterior member.

[0014] Other components of the image forming apparatus 1 include, in order along the conveying path of the recording material S, a feeding cassette 2 for stacking the recording material S, a feeding roller 3, a pair of conveying rollers 4, a pair of registration rollers 5, a fixing device 10, a discharge roller 11, and a discharge tray 12. A detailed description of these members will be given later.

[0015] (Operation of image forming device) The operation of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described. The photosensitive drum 8, which is driven to rotate by a drive source, is uniformly charged to a predetermined polarity and a predetermined potential by the charging member 80. After charging, the surface of the photosensitive drum 8 is exposed to image information based on the image by the exposure device 7, and the charge of the exposed portion is removed to form an electrostatic latent image. The electrostatic latent image is developed by the developing member 81 and visualized as a toner image. The toner image on the photosensitive drum 8 is transferred to the recording material S by the transfer roller 9. The transfer roller 9 is urged toward the photosensitive drum 8, and a transfer nip portion is formed between the transfer roller 9 and the photosensitive drum 8. In this way, the transfer roller 9 performs a transfer operation to transfer the toner image on the photosensitive drum 8 (on the image carrier) to the recording material S at the transfer nip portion.

[0016] The recording material S is fed from a feeding cassette 2 to a conveying path by a feeding roller 3. The recording material S is conveyed to a transfer nip portion via a pair of conveying rollers 4 and a pair of registration rollers 5. The toner image transferred from the photosensitive drum 8 to the recording material S at the transfer nip portion is heated and fixed by a fixing device 10. The recording material S that has passed through the fixing device 10 is discharged to the outside of the apparatus main body 100 by a discharge roller 11. The recording material S discharged by the discharge roller 11 is supported by a discharge tray 12.

[0017] (Configuration of exterior components) The exterior member that covers the outside of the device main body 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. In Fig. 2, the positive side in the X direction is the front side or front side, the negative side is the back side or rear side, the positive side in the Y direction is the right side, the negative side is the left side, and the positive side in the Z direction is the upper side and the negative side is the lower side. Preferably, the XY plane is parallel to the horizontal plane, and the Z direction is parallel to the vertical direction. Fig. 2(a) is a perspective view of the front side of the image forming apparatus 1 from the upper right direction. Fig. 2(b) is a perspective view of the rear side of the image forming apparatus 1 from the upper left direction.

[0018] As shown in Fig. 2, a rotatable front door 13 and a cassette cover 20 that covers the front of the feed cassette 2 that can be pulled out toward the front side of the main body are provided on the front of the main body 100. Here, the front door 13 extends not only to the front of the main body 100 but also to the top surface, and the area on the top surface of the front door 13 is referred to as a top surface area 13a. On the top surface of the main body 100, a discharge tray unit 21 that supports the discharged recording material S and an upper cover 22 are provided. The upper cover 22 is provided in an area different from the area where the top surface area 13a and the discharge tray unit 21 cover the main body 100. On both side surfaces and the rear surface of the main body 100, a right cover 23, a left cover 24, and a rear cover 25 are provided, respectively.

[0019] In this way, the exterior members of the apparatus main body 100 are made up of the front door 13, the cassette cover 20, the discharge tray unit 21, the top cover 22, the right cover 23, the left cover 24, and the rear cover 25. Furthermore, among the exterior members of the apparatus main body 100, the front door 13 is provided at a downstream position in the discharge direction in which the recording material S is discharged to the discharge tray unit 21.

[0020] (Configuration of the output tray unit) The discharge tray unit 21 will be described with reference to Figures 3 and 4. As shown in Figure 3(a), the discharge tray unit 21 is made up of three parts: a discharge tray 12, a left side wall 31, and a right side wall 32. The discharge tray 12 has a loading surface 29 on which the discharged recording material S is loaded, and a loading wall 28 against which the upstream end of the recording material S in the discharge direction of the recording material S abuts.

[0021] The stacking surface 29 is inclined with respect to the horizontal plane, and guides the discharged recording material S toward the stacking wall 28. The stacking wall 28 regulates the position of the upstream end in the discharge direction of the recording material S stacked on the stacking surface 29. The left side wall 31 and the right side wall 32 regulate the positions of both ends of the recording material S stacked on the stacking surface 29 in the width direction perpendicular to the discharge direction of the recording material S.

[0022] As shown in Fig. 3(a), the discharge tray 12, the left side wall 31, and the right side wall 32 are assembled into a discharge tray unit 21. On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 3(b), it can also be disassembled into the individual parts.

[0023] FIG. 3(c) is a perspective view of the discharge tray 12 and the right side wall 32 when viewed from the back side. As shown in FIG. 3(c), the discharge tray 12 is provided with two bosses 33, one engaging portion 34, and one fixing portion 35 on each of the left and right sides. The right side wall 32 shown in FIG. 3(c) is provided with a hole 36 into which the boss 33 provided on the discharge tray 12 is inserted, an engaged portion 37 that engages with the engaging portion 34, and a fixed portion 38 that is fixed by the fixing portion 35. Although the left side wall 31 is not shown in FIG. 3(c), the left side wall 31 is also provided with the hole 36, the engaged portion 37, and the fixed portion 38 in the same manner as the right side wall 32. The fixing portion 35 provided on the discharge tray 12 and the fixed portions 38 provided on the left side wall 31 and the right side wall 32 are fixed to each other by inserting a fixing member 39 such as a screw.

[0024] 3(d) is an enlarged view of the engaging portion 34 of the discharge tray 12 and the engaged portion 37 of the right side wall 32. The engaging portion 34 of the discharge tray 12 is hook-shaped, and the engaged portion 37 of the right side wall 32 is rib-shaped. The hook-shaped engaging portion 34 of the discharge tray 12 hooks onto the rib-shaped engaged portion 37 of the right side wall 32, thereby engaging the discharge tray 12 with the right side wall 32. The discharge tray 12 and the left side wall 31 engage in the same manner. Bosses 33 provided on the left and right sides of the discharge tray 12 are inserted into holes 36 provided in the left side wall 31 and right side wall 32, respectively, the engaging portion 34 and the engaged portion 37 engage with each other, and the fixing portion 35 and the fixed portion 38 are fixed by a fixing member 39, thereby forming the discharge tray unit 21.

[0025] FIG. 4(a) is a cross-sectional view of the discharge tray unit 21 in this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the angle α between the discharge tray 12 and the left side wall 31 and the right side wall 32 of the discharge tray unit 21 is approximately a right angle. The distance between the left side wall 31 and the right side wall 32 in this configuration is A. On the other hand, FIG. 4(b) is a cross-sectional view of an integrated discharge tray unit 82 in a comparative example. In the comparative example, the portions corresponding to the discharge tray 12, the left side wall 31, and the right side wall 32 are integrally formed, so that they cannot be disassembled into each member as in this embodiment. Similarly, the angle between the discharge tray 12 and the portions corresponding to the left side wall 31 and the right side wall 32 is β, and the distance between the portions corresponding to the left side wall 31 and the right side wall 32 is B.

[0026] Here, comparing angles α and β, angle β is larger. The reason for this will be explained. The discharge tray unit 21 is a resin member and is produced by injection molding. In the configuration of this embodiment, the discharge tray 12, left side wall 31, and right side wall 32 can be produced separately, but in the configuration of the comparative example, these members must be integrally molded in one mold. In the configuration of the comparative example, when the members are removed from the mold, it is necessary to give a predetermined draft angle to the left side wall 31 and the right side wall 32 in order to prevent the mold from galling, so angle β becomes larger than angle α. As a result, distance B becomes longer than distance A.

[0027] In this embodiment, the discharge tray 12 and the left side wall 31 and the right side wall 32 can be configured to be at approximately right angles to each other, so that the distance A can be made shorter than the distance B in the comparative example. This allows the size of the image forming apparatus 1 in the width direction to be reduced.

[0028] (How to remove the process cartridge) A method for removing the process cartridge 6 will be described with reference to FIG. 5. A release button (not shown) for releasing the closed state of the front door 13 is provided on the side of the image forming apparatus 1. When the user operates the release button, the engagement state between the front door 13 and the apparatus main body 100 is released, and the front door 13 rotates as shown in FIG. 5(a). When the front door 13 rotates, a part of the process cartridge 6 mounted inside the apparatus main body 100 becomes exposed to the outside. The user can remove the process cartridge 6 from the apparatus main body 100 by pulling the process cartridge 6 exposed to the outside forward, as shown in FIG. 5(b).

[0029] (How to remove the output tray) A method of removing the discharge tray 12 will be described with reference to FIG. 6. When the front door 13 is rotated as shown in FIG. 6(a), the area corresponding to the top surface area 13a of the front door 13 is also exposed. This exposes the fixing portion 35 and the fixing member 39 that fix the discharge tray 12 to the device body 100. The fixing portion 35 is fixed to the device body 100 by a fixing member 39 such as a screw together with the fixed portion 38 provided on each of the left side wall 31 and the right side wall 32. When removing the discharge tray 12 from the device body 100, the user removes the fixing member 39 as shown in FIG. 6(b), and further pulls the discharge tray 12 upward. This causes the engaging portion 34 provided on the discharge tray 12 to bend, and the engagement with the engaged portion 37 (both of which are shown in FIG. 3) is released. The user then pulls the discharge tray 12 upward to remove the boss 33 provided on the discharge tray 12 from the hole 36 (both shown in FIG. 3), thereby removing the discharge tray 12 from the device body 100. At this time, the left side wall 31 and the right side wall 32 remain on the device body 100.

[0030] (How to remove the internal unit) A method for removing the internal unit disposed below the discharge tray 12 (inside the apparatus main body 100) will be described with reference to Fig. 7. In this embodiment, the internal unit is the exposure device 7.

[0031] FIG. 7(a) is an enlarged view of the exposure device 7 and its surroundings, viewed from above the main body 100 of the apparatus, with the discharge tray 12 removed. FIG. 7(a) shows only the range of the opening 200 exposed by removing the discharge tray 12. The exposure device 7 is fixed to the upper frame 40 of the main body 100 of the apparatus by fixing members 39 at four points. When the discharge tray 12 is removed, the exposure device 7 and the fixing members 39 at four points are exposed to the outside. In addition, since the size of the exposure device 7 is smaller than the size of the opening 200, it can be confirmed that the user can access the exposure device 7. As shown in FIG. 7(b), by removing the fixing members 39 at four points, the fixed state between the exposure device 7 and the main body 100 of the apparatus is released, and the exposure device 7 can be removed from the main body 100 of the apparatus.

[0032] (Effects of this embodiment) According to the configuration of this embodiment, the exposure device 7 arranged below the discharge tray 12 can be attached and detached by removing the discharge tray 12. According to this embodiment, the discharge tray 12 can be removed independently after the front door 13 is opened, so that the exposure device 7 arranged below the discharge tray 12 can be easily attached and detached.

[0033] Furthermore, with the configuration of this embodiment, the discharge tray 12 can be removed from the apparatus body 100 without removing the exterior members (the cassette cover 20, the upper cover 22, the right cover 23, the left cover 24, and the rear cover 25) other than the front door 13 from the apparatus body 100. Therefore, the exposure device 7 can be accessed more easily than with the conventional configuration.

[0034] Furthermore, even if the discharge tray 12 is removed from the apparatus body 100, the left side wall 31 and the right side wall 32 remain in the apparatus body 100, so the user can replace the exposure device 7 without touching unnecessary parts other than the exposure device 7. This reduces the possibility that the user will come into contact with other members when accessing the exposure device 7, causing damage or malfunction of the other members.

[0035] <Example 2> The configuration of an image forming apparatus 300 in this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 8. Since the configuration other than the characteristic configuration of this embodiment described below is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted.

[0036] (Overall configuration of image forming apparatus) 8, an image forming apparatus 300 of this embodiment is obtained by adding a document reading device 50 to the image forming apparatus 1 described in the first embodiment. A support portion 51 is provided on the top surface of the apparatus body 100, and the support portion 51 supports the document reading device 50. The support portion 51 is provided in an area on the top surface of the apparatus body 100 that is different from the top surface area 13a of the front door 13 and the area of ​​the discharge tray unit 21.

[0037] The document reading device 50 has an internal reading sensor, automatically conveys documents loaded on a tray, and reads text and images printed on the documents. It is possible to transmit the read image data to a computer connected to the image forming device 300, or to start image formation on a recording material S based on the read image data, and copy information written on the documents. The document reading device 50 may be configured as an optional device that is detachable from the device main body 100, or may be configured as an integral part of the device main body 100.

[0038] In the configuration of this embodiment, a space is provided between the discharge tray unit 21 and the document reading device 50 so that the user can remove the recording material S discharged to the discharge tray 12. Also, the front door 13 is configured to rotate in the same manner as in the first embodiment so that the process cartridge 6 can be attached and detached.

[0039] (How to remove the output tray and inner unit) A method for removing the internal unit disposed below the discharge tray 12 (inside the apparatus main body 100) will be described with reference to Fig. 9. In this embodiment, the internal unit is the exposure device 7.

[0040] When the front door 13 is rotated as shown in FIG. 9(a), the area corresponding to the top surface area 13a of the front door 13 is also exposed. This exposes the fixing portion 35 and the fixing member 39 that fix the discharge tray 12 to the device body 100. The fixing portion 35 is fixed to the device body 100 by a fixing member 39 such as a screw together with the fixed portion 38 provided on the left side wall 31 and the right side wall 32. When removing the discharge tray 12 from the device body 100, the user removes the fixing member 39 as shown in FIG. 9(b) and further pulls the discharge tray 12 upward. This causes the engagement portion 34 provided on the discharge tray 12 to bend and disengage from the engaged portion 37 (both shown in FIG. 3). The user continues to pull the discharge tray 12 upward, and pulls the boss 33 provided on the discharge tray 12 out of the hole 36 (both shown in FIG. 3), thereby removing the discharge tray 12 from the device body 100. By removing the discharge tray 12, the exposure device 7 arranged below the discharge tray 12 is exposed to the outside, and a user can access the exposure device 7. Note that the method for removing the exposure device 7 is the same as in the first embodiment, so a description thereof will be omitted.

[0041] Here, in the configuration of this embodiment, even if the document reading device 50 is located on the top of the device main body 100, the space for attaching and detaching the discharge tray 12 and the exposure device 7 can be done in this space, since there is space for removing the recording material S loaded on the discharge tray 12.

[0042] (Effects of this embodiment) According to the configuration of this embodiment, even if the document reading device 50 is arranged on the upper part of the device main body 100, the discharge tray 12 can be removed separately, so that the exposure device 7 arranged below the discharge tray 12 can be easily attached and detached.

[0043] In this embodiment, the document reading device 50 is provided on the upper part of the device main body 100, but the present invention is not limited to this. A post-processing device such as a sorting unit for distributing the recording material S on which an image is formed into a plurality of bins may be provided on the upper part of the device main body 100.

[0044] <Example 3> The configuration of an image forming apparatus 400 in this embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 10 and 11. Since the configuration other than the characteristic configuration of this embodiment described below is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted.

[0045] (Overall configuration of image forming apparatus) In this embodiment, the recording material S loaded in the feeding cassette 2 is fed from the left side of the main body 100 to the right side when viewed from the front of the main body 100, and the recording material S on which an image has been formed is discharged from the right side of the main body to the left side by the discharge rollers 11 and stacked on the discharge tray 12. That is, the recording material S is fed laterally relative to the main body 100. In other words, in the configuration of this embodiment, the attachment / detachment direction of the feeding cassette 2 and the discharge direction in which the recording material S is discharged to the discharge tray 12 intersect perpendicularly.

[0046] Fig. 10 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus 400 that feeds a recording material S laterally. In Fig. 10, the positive side in the Y direction is the front side or front side, the negative side is the back side or rear side, the positive side in the X direction is the left side, the negative side is the right side, the positive side in the Z direction is the top side, and the negative side is the bottom side. Preferably, the XY plane is parallel to the horizontal plane, and the Z direction is parallel to the vertical direction.

[0047] As shown in FIG. 10, the feeding cassette 2 can be pulled out to the front side of the main body, and a cassette cover 61 is provided on the front side of the main body of the feeding cassette 2. A front cover 60 fixed to the main body 100 of the apparatus is provided on the cassette cover 61. A door for attaching and detaching the process cartridge 6 is provided on the left side of the main body 100 of the apparatus, and rotates as a left door 62. Here, the left door 62 extends not only to the left side of the main body 100 of the apparatus, but also to the top surface, and the area on the top surface of the left door 62 is referred to as a top surface area 62a. A left cover 63 fixed to the main body 100 of the apparatus is provided below the left door 62. On the top surface of the main body 100 of the apparatus, a discharge tray unit 21 for supporting the discharged recording material S and an upper cover 64 are provided. The upper cover 64 is provided in an area different from the top surface area 62a and the area where the discharge tray unit 21 covers the main body 100 of the apparatus. Although not shown, a right cover and a rear cover are provided on the right side and rear side of the main body 100 of the apparatus, respectively.

[0048] The configuration of the discharge tray unit 21 is the same as in the first embodiment. That is, the discharge tray unit 21 is composed of the discharge tray 12, a left side wall 31, and a right side wall 32. However, in this embodiment, as described in Fig. 10, the front-to-back direction and the left-to-right direction are switched, so in this embodiment, the left side wall 31 will be called the rear wall and the right side wall 32 will be called the front wall.

[0049] (How to remove the output tray and inner unit) 11 is a diagram showing the removal of the discharge tray 12 from the image forming apparatus 400 in which the recording material S is fed laterally. In this embodiment, the internal unit is the exposure device 7.

[0050] When the left door 62 is rotated as shown in FIG. 11(a), the portion corresponding to the top surface area 62a of the left door 62 is also exposed. This exposes the fixing portion 35 and the fixing member 39 that fix the discharge tray 12 to the device body 100. The fixing portion 35 is fixed to the device body 100 by the fixing member 39 such as a screw together with the fixed portion 38 provided on the rear side wall and the front side wall. When removing the discharge tray 12 from the device body 100, the user removes the fixing member 39 as shown in FIG. 11(b) and further pulls the discharge tray 12 upward. This causes the engaging portion 34 provided on the discharge tray 12 to bend and to be disengaged from the engaged portion 37 (both shown in FIG. 3). The user continues to pull the discharge tray 12 upward, and pulls the boss 33 provided on the discharge tray 12 out of the hole 36 (both shown in FIG. 3), thereby removing the discharge tray 12 from the device body 100. By removing the discharge tray 12, the exposure device 7 arranged below the discharge tray 12 is exposed to the outside, and a user can access the exposure device 7. Note that the method for removing the exposure device 7 is the same as in the first embodiment, so a description thereof will be omitted.

[0051] (Effects of this embodiment) According to the configuration of this embodiment, even in the image forming apparatus 400 in which the recording material S is fed laterally, the exposure device 7 arranged below the discharge tray 12 can be detached by removing the discharge tray 12.

[0052] <Example 4> In this embodiment, the configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 is the same as that of the embodiment 1. The difference from the embodiment 1 is that the detachable internal unit is not the exposure device 7 but the discharge unit 70. Other than the characteristic configuration of this embodiment described below, the configuration is the same as that of the embodiment 1, so the description will be omitted.

[0053] (How to remove the output tray and inner unit) Fig. 12(a) is a diagram of the discharge unit 70, which is an internal unit in this embodiment, as viewed from the downstream side in the conveying direction of the recording material S. The discharge unit 70 is composed of a discharge roller 11 for discharging the recording material S that has passed through the fixing device 10 onto the discharge tray 12, and a discharge frame 71 for holding the discharge roller 11. The discharge frame 71 is provided with a fixing portion 72, and is fixed to the apparatus main body 100 by a fixing member 39 such as a screw. A frame 74 (shown in Fig. 12(c)) is provided on the apparatus main body 100 on the back side of the discharge unit 70, and the fixing member 39 penetrates the discharge unit 70 to fix the discharge unit 70 to the frame 74.

[0054] 12(a), the dotted line area 73 is an area corresponding to the stacking wall 28 (illustrated in FIG. 3(a)) of the discharge tray 12 included in the discharge tray unit 21. In other words, when the discharge tray 12 is attached to the device body 100, a part of the discharge unit 70 including the fixing portion 72 is covered by the stacking wall 28.

[0055] In the same procedure as in the first embodiment, the user can remove the discharge tray 12 from the device body 100. Then, when the discharge tray 12 is removed from the device body 100 as shown in Fig. 12(b), the fixing portion 72 of the discharge unit 70, which was covered by the stacking wall 28, is exposed to the outside. As shown in Fig. 12(c), the user can remove the discharge unit 70 from the device body 100 by removing the fixing member 39.

[0056] (Effects of this embodiment) According to the configuration of this embodiment, by removing the discharge tray 12, the discharge unit 70 arranged on the rear side of the discharge tray 12 can be attached and detached.

[0057] In this embodiment, the configuration in which the discharge unit 70 can be accessed has been described using the configuration in the first embodiment as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this. The present invention can also be applied to the configuration in the second or third embodiment.

[0058] <Modification> In the above-mentioned first to fourth embodiments, the configuration in which the front door 13 and the left door 62 are opened in order to remove the discharge tray 12 from the apparatus main body 100 has been described. The front door 13 and the left door 62 have been described as doors for replacing the process cartridge 6, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The configuration may be such that a waste toner box for collecting waste toner generated during image formation can be replaced by opening the front door 13 and the left door 62. Alternatively, the configuration may be such that a guide member forming a conveying path for the recording material S moves and the conveying path can be opened by opening the front door 13 and the left door 62. This allows the user to remove the recording material S from inside the apparatus main body 100 when a jam occurs.

[0059] In the above-described first to third embodiments, the discharge tray unit 21 is configured with three parts, the discharge tray 12 having the loading surface 29 and the loading wall 28, the left side wall 31, and the right side wall 32, and a method has been described in which the discharge tray 12 can be removed independently from the device main body 100. However, this is not limiting. The same effect can be obtained by separating the loading surface 29 and the loading wall 28 of the discharge tray 12, providing the loading wall 28 on the device main body 100, and attaching and detaching the discharge tray 12 having only the loading surface 29.

[0060] In addition, in the above-mentioned first to third embodiments, the internal unit is the exposure device 7, and in the fourth embodiment, the internal unit is the discharge unit 70, but the internal unit is not limited to these. For example, a bundle of wires or an electric circuit board extending across the left side wall 31 and the right side wall 32 may be used as the internal unit. In this case, the left side wall 31 and the right side wall 32 may be configured to be removable together with the discharge tray 12.

[0061] In the above-mentioned first to fourth embodiments, the definition of the internal unit being accessible includes, for example, the viewpoint that the size of the opening 200 (shown in FIG. 7) formed by removing the discharge tray 12 from the device body 100 is larger than the size (outer shape) of the internal unit. Alternatively, the viewpoint that the fixing member 39 that fixes the internal unit to the device body 100 is exposed by removing the discharge tray 12 from the device body 100. Alternatively, the viewpoint that the entire internal unit is exposed to the outside by removing the discharge tray 12 from the device body 100. [Explanation of symbols]

[0062] 1. Image forming device 7 Exposure equipment 12 Output tray 13 Front door 100 Device body

Claims

1. In an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material, a discharge tray for supporting the recording material on which an image has been formed and discharged to the outside of the main body of the apparatus; an internal unit that is disposed inside the apparatus body and contributes to an image forming operation or a conveying operation of a recording material; a door that constitutes a part of the exterior member of the device body and that can be opened and closed to expose the inside of the device body; a fixing member that fixes the discharge tray to the device body is exposed when the door is opened, and the discharge tray can be removed from the device body by removing the fixing member from the device body without removing the exterior member other than the door, and the internal unit can be accessed by removing the discharge tray from the device body; An image forming apparatus characterized in that the internal unit is arranged vertically below the discharge tray, and when viewed from above in the vertical direction, the size of an opening formed by removing the discharge tray from the device main body is larger than the size of the internal unit.

2. a first side wall and a second side wall are provided at both ends of the discharge tray in a width direction of the recording material perpendicular to a discharge direction of the recording material discharged to the discharge tray, and the first side wall and the second side wall regulate a position of the recording material supported by the discharge tray in the width direction; 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ejection tray can be separated from the first side wall and the second side wall and removed from the apparatus body while the first side wall and the second side wall remain attached to the apparatus body.

3. The device body has a detachable cartridge, 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cartridge can be attached to and detached from the main body of the apparatus when the door is opened.

4. a guide member that forms a conveying path for the recording material; 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the door is opened, the guide member moves to open the transport path.

5. a waste toner box that is detachable from the device body; 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the waste toner box can be attached to and detached from the main body of the apparatus when the door is opened.

6. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the internal unit is a scanner unit that irradiates light onto an image carrier.

7. the discharge tray includes a stacking surface on which the discharged recording material is stacked, and a stacking wall that regulates the position of an upstream end of the recording material in a discharge direction of the recording material discharged onto the stacking surface, The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the internal unit is provided upstream of the stacking wall in the discharge direction, and a portion of the internal unit that was covered by the stacking wall is exposed by removing the discharge tray.

8. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the internal unit is a discharge unit that discharges the recording material on which the image has been formed onto the discharge tray.

9. 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a document reading device, which is provided above the discharge tray in the vertical direction and reads a document.

10. 10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the door is located downstream in a discharge direction of the recording material discharged onto the discharge tray.

11. a feeding cassette that is detachably attached to the main body of the apparatus and supports a recording material; 11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a direction in which the feeding cassette is attached and detached is parallel to a direction in which the recording material is discharged onto the discharge tray.

12. a feeding cassette that is detachably attached to the main body of the apparatus and supports a recording material; 11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a direction in which the feeding cassette is attached and detached is perpendicular to a direction in which the recording material is discharged onto the discharge tray.

Images