Image forming apparatus

Abstract

To provide an image forming device with electrical components arranged on portions other than the rear surface, having been enhanced in terms of assemblability, exchangeability and maintainability.SOLUTION: A frame includes: a front side plate 50 attached with a first electrical component and a second electrical component; a rear side plate 51 attached with a control board and spaced apart from the front side plate 50; and a bundle unit 60 that connects first electrical component, the second electrical component and the control board. Therein, the first electrical component includes a first connector for connection to the control board, and the second electrical component includes a second connector for connection to the control board. The bundle unit 60 includes: a first cable and a second cable connected to the control board; a first relay connector provided at the tip of the first cable, arranged on the front side plate 50, and connected with the first connector; and a second relay connector provided at the tip of the second cable, arranged on the front side plate 50, and connected with the second connector.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine having a plurality of these functions, which includes a plurality of electrical components.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in image forming apparatuses such as copying machines, printers, facsimile machines, etc., in order to control electrical components such as various motors, various sensors, and switches, a power supply, a high-voltage board, and a control board are provided. These power supply, high-voltage board, and control board are mainly arranged in the rear space of the apparatus main body. Similarly, major motors are often arranged in the rear space of the apparatus. However, it is difficult to concentrate various sensors, switches, and electrical components such as a fan for cooling on the rear of the apparatus. In an image forming apparatus, it is common that some of them have to be arranged near the places where they are required, for example, on the front side of the apparatus. Further, for the processing and maintenance when the apparatus fails, it is desired that the components can be easily replaced and assembled.

[0003] Here, an image forming apparatus having an open / close detection sensor for the front cover, an intake fan, etc. on the front side of the apparatus main body is known (see Patent Document 1). Further, a developing cartridge generally often includes a sensor for knowing the state of the internal toner, and the developing cartridge is also provided as a unit having electrical components on the front side of the apparatus main body. According to this image forming apparatus, the replacement and assembly of these open / close detection sensors for the front cover, the intake fan, and the developing cartridge can be facilitated.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] However, fans, various motors, and sensors need to be connected to cables and wire bundles through which control signals are transmitted, with respect to the electrical control board arranged on the back side of the apparatus. The same applies to fans and sensors arranged on the front side of the apparatus, and cables and wire bundles must be routed along the inside of the frame and cover of the image forming apparatus from the front side to the electrical control board on the back side. In the configuration described in Patent Document 1 mentioned above, the electrical components on the front side are dispersedly arranged in each part, and cables and wire bundles must be routed through the gaps between the components mounted on the front side, resulting in problems such as a decrease in assemblability, replaceability, and maintainability.

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can improve assemblability, replaceability, and maintainability in electrical components not arranged on the back side of the apparatus.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0007] In the One aspect of the present invention, an image forming apparatus includes a first electrical component, a second electrical component, a control board that controls the first electrical component and the second electrical component, a frame that supports the first electrical component, the second electrical component, and the control board, and connection means that connects the first electrical component, the second electrical component, and the control board. The frame includes a first frame arranged on the front side to which the first electrical component and the second electrical component are attached, and a second frame arranged on the back side to which the control board is attached and is spaced apart from the first frame. The first electrical component has a first connector for connecting to the control board, the second electrical component has a second connector for connecting to the control board, and the connection means includes a first cable and a second cable each connected to the control board, a first relay connector to which the first connector is connected at the tip of the first cable, and a second relay connector to which the second connector is connected at the tip of the second cable. Provided where the first relay connector to which the first connector is connected, and at the tip of the second cable Provided where the second relay connector to which the second connector is connected, and An image forming apparatus having, wherein the first relay connector and the second relay connector are located on the front side of the first frame . Also, one aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus including a first electrical component, a second electrical component, a control board for controlling the first electrical component and the second electrical component, a frame body for supporting the first electrical component, the second electrical component, and the control board, and connection means for connecting the first electrical component, the second electrical component, and the control board. In the image forming apparatus, the frame body includes a first frame disposed on the front side and to which the first electrical component and the second electrical component are attached, a second frame disposed on the back side, to which the control board is attached and which is disposed spaced apart from the first frame, and a third frame for connecting the first frame and the second frame. The first electrical component has a first connector for connecting to the control board, the second electrical component has a second connector for connecting to the control board, the connection means includes a first cable and a second cable each connected to the control board, a first relay connector provided at the tip of the first cable to which the first connector is connected, a second relay connector provided at the tip of the second cable to which the second connector is connected, and a case body for housing the first cable and the second cable, and the case body is attached to the third frame. An image forming apparatus characterized by that. Also, one aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus including a first electrical component, a second electrical component, a control board for controlling the first electrical component and the second electrical component, a frame for supporting the first electrical component, the second electrical component, and the control board, connection means for connecting the first electrical component, the second electrical component, and the control board, and a cover. In the image forming apparatus, the frame has a first frame disposed on the front side to which the first electrical component and the second electrical component are attached, and a second frame disposed on the back side to which the control board is attached and which is spaced apart from the first frame. The first electrical component has a first connector for connecting to the control board, and the second electrical component has a second connector for connecting to the control board. The connection means includes a first cable and a second cable each connected to the control board, a first relay connector provided at the tip of the first cable to which the first connector is connected, and a second relay connector provided at the tip of the second cable to which the second connector is connected. The cover opens and closes the first frame side of the apparatus main body, and when the cover is in the open state, the first connector and the first relay connector, and the second connector and the second relay connector are exposed. This is the image forming apparatus characterized by the above.

Advantages of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, in the electrical components not arranged on the back side of the device, the assemblability, replaceability, and maintainability can be improved.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0009]

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[0010] <First Embodiment> Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9. In this embodiment, a tandem type full-color printer is described as an example of the image forming apparatus 1. However, the present invention is not limited to the tandem type image forming apparatus 1, and other types of image forming apparatuses may be used. Further, the present invention is not limited to full-color, and may be monochrome or single-color. Alternatively, an inkjet printer may be used. Further, in the following description, the vertical, horizontal, and left-right directions, and the positional relationship between the front side (operation panel 30 side) and the back side are represented based on the state of viewing the image forming apparatus 1 from the front (viewpoint of FIG. 1).

[0011] [Image Forming Apparatus] As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 generally includes an apparatus main body 10 and an image reading unit 20 disposed above the apparatus main body 10. The apparatus main body 10 incorporates an image forming unit 6, and an image is formed on a recording material S fed from a feed cassette 27 by the image forming unit 6. Then, the recording material S on which the image is formed is discharged to a discharge tray 19. Note that examples of the recording material S include various types of sheet materials such as plain paper, thick paper, rough paper, embossed paper, coated paper, glossy paper, photographic paper, plastic film, and cloth.

[0012] On the upper part of the apparatus main body 10, an operation panel 30 for the user to operate the image forming apparatus 1 is arranged. The image reading unit 20 that reads image information from a document has a reading apparatus main body 21 provided with a platen glass and a platen cover 22 that can be opened and closed with respect to the reading apparatus main body 21. The document placed on the platen glass is scanned by a scanning optical system built in the reading apparatus main body 21, thereby extracting image information.

[0013] The image forming unit 6 forms an image based on the image information received from the image reading unit 20 or an external device (not shown) (for example, a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or a personal computer, etc.). The image forming unit 6 is housed inside the frame body 11 of the apparatus main body 10. In the case of this embodiment, the image forming unit 6 has a so-called tandem type intermediate transfer method configuration including four image forming units PY, PM, PC, and PK. The image forming units PY, PM, PC, and PK respectively form toner images of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K), and form an image on the recording material S via the intermediate transfer belt 7.

[0014] Since the respective image forming units PY, PM, PC, and PK have the same configuration except for the different colors, here, the image forming unit PY will be described by way of example with reference numerals. Around the photosensitive drum 2 made of a photosensitive member such as an organic photosensitive member (OPC) of the image forming unit PY, a charger (for example, a charging roller) not shown, a developing device 4, and a cleaner not shown are arranged. In the image forming operation, first, a latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 2 of each of the image forming units PY, PM, PC, and PK. As a preparatory operation, a high voltage is applied to the charger pressed against the photosensitive drum 2 to uniformly charge the surface of the photosensitive drum 2 as it rotates. Next, a high voltage is applied to the developing sleeve of the developing device 4 through a path different from that of the charger to uniformly coat the toner charged inside the developing device 4 on the surface of the developing sleeve. Then, by laser scanning of the exposure device 3, a latent image is formed due to the potential change on the surface of the photosensitive drum 2, and the toner on the developing sleeve develops the latent image on the photosensitive drum 2 as a toner image. The toner image developed on the photosensitive drum 2 is primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 7 by applying a primary transfer voltage to the primary transfer roller 5 facing the photosensitive drum 2 with the intermediate transfer belt 7 interposed therebetween.

[0015] The intermediate transfer belt 7 is rotationally driven along the conveyance direction of the recording material S (upward in the figure) in the secondary transfer section T2. On the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 7, a full-color toner image is formed by multiple transfer of the monochromatic toner images formed by the respective image forming units PY, PM, PC, and PK. The toner image formed on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 7 is secondarily transferred to the recording material S in the secondary transfer section T2 formed between the secondary transfer roller 13 and the counter roller 9. At that time, a secondary transfer voltage is applied to the secondary transfer roller 13.

[0016] In accordance with such an image forming process, the recording material S is supplied to the image forming section 6. The feeding section 25 provided at the lower part of the apparatus main body 10 includes a feeding cassette 27 for accommodating the recording material S and a feeding roller 26 for separating and conveying the recording material S accommodated in the feeding cassette 27 one by one.

[0017] On the right side inside the apparatus main body 10, a conveyance path is provided for conveying the recording material S from the bottom to the top along the right side surface of the apparatus main body 10. In this conveyance path, a feed roller 26, a pair of conveyance rollers 16, a secondary transfer roller 13, a fixing device 14, and a pair of discharge rollers 18 are arranged in order from the lower side. The recording material S fed out by the feed roller 26 is corrected for skew by the pair of conveyance rollers 16 and conveyed toward the secondary transfer section T2 in accordance with the transfer timing of the toner image. The recording material S on which an unfixed toner image is formed in the secondary transfer section T2 is conveyed to the fixing device 14 having a pair of rollers and a heating source or the like, and heat and pressure are applied thereto. As a result, the toner melts and adheres, and the toner image is fixed to the recording material S. The recording material S on which the toner image is thus fixed is discharged by the pair of discharge rollers 18 to a discharge tray 19 provided above the image forming section 6.

[0018] Next, the arrangement of the electrical components in the image forming apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2(a) to 4. The electrical components here refer to boards 200 that perform various controls, motors 400 required for various drives, switches, sensors, etc. in the operation of the above-described image forming apparatus 1. FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b) are perspective views of the apparatus main body 10 viewed from the rear, showing the schematic arrangement of the electrical components on the rear side of the image forming apparatus 1. In FIG. 2(a), the boards 200 that control image formation are schematically shown. In FIG. 2(b), the fans 301, 302 and the motors 400 are schematically shown. The motors 400 are arranged in a space where the boards 200 are not arranged, and are laid out so as to fit on the rear surface of the apparatus main body 10 together with the boards 200. For example, although the motors 400 appear to be in the same position at first glance in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b), actually, the motors 400 are placed inside the boards 200 and arranged so as not to overlap in the depth direction of the apparatus main body 10.

[0019] The substrate group 200 includes a main control board 201 that mainly performs control, a sub-control board 202 that supplements the control, a board 203 that supplies power, and boards 204 and 205 that output high voltage to the image forming unit. The main control board 201 is an example of a control board that controls a plurality of electrical components, and is arranged at a position close to the approximate center of the apparatus main body 10, that is, at a substantially central portion in the vertical direction. Between each board, for the transmission of power and control signals, they are mutually connected by cables and wire bundles (not shown). Similarly for the fans 301 and 302 and the motors 400, cables and wire bundles (not shown) for transmitting control signals for performing various drives described above in the image forming operation are connected to the main control board 201. In addition, in the present embodiment, two boards 204 and 205 that output high voltage are provided, and two control boards are the main control board 201 and the sub-control board 202, but each may be one, or may be three or more.

[0020] In this way, in the space on the back surface of the image forming apparatus 1, the substrate group 200 and the motors 400 are intensively arranged, and the cables and wire bundles connecting them are also laid out so that their lengths are minimized. When the lengths of the cables and wire bundles become long, the cost increases and noise is likely to be mixed into the control signals, and it is likely to cause the cables and wire bundles to be caught or the film to be torn during assembly. Therefore, the route is set so that the wire bundle length is as short as possible. In addition, the electrical components arranged on the back surface of the apparatus main body 10 are not limited to these substrate group 200 and motors 400, and various sensors and switches also exist, but they are not shown in order to avoid complication of the drawing.

[0021] The assemblability, replaceability, and maintainability of these electrical components are also important. This is because the operation of the image forming apparatus 1 overlaps and deterioration over time progresses, and various conditions such as the electrical components themselves having a lifespan overlap, so there is a possibility that the electrical components need to be replaced. Therefore, in order to facilitate maintenance and perform component replacement in a short time, it is necessary to pay attention to the assemblability, replaceability, and maintainability of the electrical components. As described above, the wire bundle route of the electrical components must select a well-balanced route that achieves both assemblability and wire bundle length.

[0022] In the case of the electrical components arranged on the back surface of the apparatus main body 10, by removing the back cover (not shown in FIG. 2), the boards 200 and motors 400 arranged hierarchically as described above can be made visible. Therefore, most of the electrical components can be removed by detaching them from the units and components on the surface layer, and sufficient assemblability and replaceability are ensured. Also, in terms of the harness length, by being intensively arranged on the back surface, it will not become longer than necessary.

[0023] On the other hand, there are also electrical components that are not arranged on the back surface of the apparatus main body 10. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus 1 viewed from the front, showing a schematic arrangement of the electrical components on the front side of the apparatus main body 10. In FIG. 3, fans 303 and 304 for supplying air into the apparatus main body 10 are shown, and switches 501 and 502, and sensors 601 and 602 are schematically shown.

[0024] These are electrical components that are difficult to arrange on the back surface of the apparatus main body 10. The switch 501 is an interlock switch as an example of a first electrical component that switches signals according to the open / closed state of the front cover 15, and the switch 502 is an open / closed detection switch that detects the open / closed state of the front cover 15. Here, the front cover 15 is an example of a cover that opens and closes the front side (first frame side) of the apparatus main body 10. If the state of the front cover 15 is detected on the back side of the apparatus main body 10 without providing an electrical switch on the front side of the apparatus main body 10, a large-scale link mechanism is required, so it is necessary to arrange the switches 501 and 502 on the front side of the apparatus main body 10.

[0025] The same applies to fans 303 and 304. In order to cool the front side of the apparatus main body 10, it is natural to arrange fans 303 and 304 on the front side of the apparatus main body 10, and the cooling efficiency is higher than arranging them on other parts. Fan 303 is an example of the second electrical component, which cools the upper part of the front side of the apparatus main body 10, and fan 304 cools the lower part of the front side of the apparatus main body 10. Sensor 602 is a sensor provided in each of the four developing devices 4, and is for detecting the state of toner inside the developing device 4, and it is difficult to arrange it on the back surface of the apparatus main body 10.

[0026] FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the state cut along line A-A in FIG. 1 as viewed from the left side of the apparatus main body 10. As shown in FIG. 4, the frame body 11, which is the housing of the apparatus main body 10, has a front side plate 50, a rear side plate 51, and stays 52, 53, and 54 that connect the two in the front-rear direction. Circuit boards 200 are arranged on the back side of the rear side plate 51, which is the back surface of the apparatus main body 10, and fans 303 and 304, switches 501 and 502, sensors 601 and 602, etc. are arranged on the front side of the front side plate 50. That is, the frame body 11 supports a plurality of electrical components and circuit boards 200.

[0027] Here, for each electrical component arranged on the front side of the apparatus main body 10, connection of cables and wire bundles that send control signals to them is also necessary. However, as shown in FIG. 3, each electrical component is widely distributed on the front side of the apparatus main body 10. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, there is at least a distance equal to or greater than the interval between the front side plate 50 and the rear side plate 51 from the front side of the front side plate 50 where the electrical components are arranged to the main control board 201 arranged on the back surface of the rear side plate 51 that is spaced apart. Therefore, in order to appropriately set the wire bundle path from the electrical components arranged on the front side of this apparatus main body 10 to the main control board 201, it is necessary to make the arrangement such that the path is shortened while bypassing various non-electrical components such as the inner cover on the front side of the apparatus main body 10. Also, similar to the electrical components on the back surface of the apparatus main body 10, the components on the front side of the apparatus main body 10 also need to pay attention to assemblability and replaceability. From this perspective as well, it is necessary to appropriately arrange the wire bundle path. Therefore, in this embodiment, the wire bundle unit 60 is used as follows to appropriately arrange the wire bundle path.

[0028] [Bundle wire unit] Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 5 to 8, the bundle wire path and configuration leading to the main control board 201 of the electrical components on the front side of the image forming apparatus 1 are shown. In FIGS. 5(a), 5(b) and 6, the frame 11 of the image forming apparatus 1 is shown. FIG. 5(a) is a perspective view from the front of the apparatus main body 10, and FIG. 5(b) is a perspective view from the rear of the apparatus main body 10.

[0029] As shown in FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b), the frame 11 has a front plate 50 disposed on the front side of the apparatus main body 10, a rear plate 51 disposed on the rear side, and stays 52 to 57 connecting them in the front-rear direction, and these form a housing structure. The front plate 50 is an example of a first frame, is disposed on the front side of the apparatus main body 10, and a plurality of electrical components are attached thereto. The rear plate 51 is an example of a second frame, is disposed on the rear side of the apparatus main body 10, and boards 200 are attached thereto and are disposed at a distance from the front plate 50. Here, in the present embodiment, a region closer to the front than the central portion in the front-rear direction of the image forming apparatus 1 is defined as the front side, and a region closer to the rear than the central portion is defined as the rear side. An opening 50a into which the image forming units PY, PM, PC, PK (see FIG. 1) including the developing device 4 can be inserted and removed is formed at the center of the front plate 50, and an opening 51a is formed in the rear plate 51.

[0030] Regarding the bundle wire path from the electrical components on the front of the apparatus main body 10, as a path to the rear of the apparatus main body 10, it is necessary to run along any one of the stays 52 to 57. Here, if only aiming to make the path the shortest, for the bundle wire of the fan 303, the path can be along the stay 52, and for the sensor 602, the path can be along the stay 53, etc., and the stay close to each electrical component can be selected. However, as described above, consideration must also be given to the assemblability, replaceability, and maintainability of the electrical components.

[0031] Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, a wire bundling unit 60 is attached along the side surface of the stay 52. As shown in FIG. 7, the wire bundling unit 60 includes a case body 61 having the longitudinal direction in the front-rear direction of the image forming apparatus 1, a plurality of cables 71 to 74 housed in the case body 61, and relay connectors 71a to 74a attached to the tips of the respective cables 71 to 74. The case body 61 houses the first cable 71, the second cable 72, the third cable 73, and the fourth cable 74 and is attached to the stay 52. A first relay connector 71a disposed on the front side plate 50 is provided at the tip of the first cable 71, and a second relay connector 72a disposed on the front side plate 50 is provided at the tip of the second cable 72. Further, a third relay connector 73a disposed on the front side plate 50 is provided at the tip of the third cable 73, and a fourth relay connector 74a disposed on the front side plate 50 is provided at the tip of the fourth cable 74. In the present embodiment, the relay connectors 71a to 74a are connectors having different shapes and sizes. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and at least some of the relay connectors 71a to 74a may have the same shape and size. Further, the number of the cables 71 to 74 is not limited to four, and at least two cables may be sufficient.

[0032] Each of the cables 71 to 74 is connected to the main control board 201. The front end portion 62 on the front side and the rear end portion 63 on the rear side of the apparatus main body 10 of the wire bundling unit 60 extend beyond the front side plate 50 and the rear side plate 51, respectively. At the front end portion 62, the relay connectors 71a to 74a of the respective cables 71 to 74 are disposed on the end surface thereof.

[0033] On one hand, the switch 501, the fan 304, and the sensor 601 (see Fig. 8(a)) have a cable 81 for connecting to the main control board 201 and a first connector 81a attached to the tip of the cable 81. The first connector 81a is connected to the first relay connector 71a of the wire bundling unit 60, and the switch 501, the fan 304, and the sensor 601 are connected to the main control board 201 via the first cable 71. The fan 303 (see Fig. 8(a)) has a cable 82 for connecting to the main control board 201 and a second connector 82a attached to the tip of the cable 82. The second connector 82a is connected to the second relay connector 72a of the wire bundling unit 60, and the fan 303 is connected to the main control board 201 via the second cable 72. The sensor 602 (see Fig. 8(a)) has a cable 83 for connecting to the main control board 201 and a third connector 83a attached to the tip of the cable 83. The third connector 83a is connected to the third relay connector 73a of the wire bundling unit 60, and the sensor 602 is connected to the main control board 201 via the third cable 73. The switch 502 (see Fig. 8(a)) has a cable 84 for connecting to the main control board 201 and a fourth connector 84a attached to the tip of the cable 84. The fourth connector 84a is connected to the fourth relay connector 74a of the wire bundling unit 60, and the switch 502 is connected to the main control board 201 via the fourth cable 74. Thus, the wire bundling unit 60 is an example of a connecting means and connects a plurality of electrical components to the main control board 201.

[0034] As shown in Fig. 4, the stay 52 is the stay closest to the main control board 201 disposed near the center of the apparatus main body 10. Therefore, the front end portion 62 of the wire bundling unit 60 is a guide that crosses the front panel 50 and the rear panel 51 from the front side and reaches the main control board 201 with the shortest wire bundling path. The stay 52 is an example of the third frame and connects the front panel 50 and the rear panel 51. Also, the main control board 201 is disposed near the connecting portion of the stay 52 and the rear panel 51.

[0035] Figures 8(a) and 8(b) schematically show the wiring path on the front side of the apparatus main body 10 considering the assemblability, replaceability, and balance of the wiring length using the wire harness unit 60 shown in FIG. 7. FIG. 8(a) shows the wiring path arrangement from the front of the apparatus main body 10, and FIG. 8(b) shows the wiring path arrangement from the back of the apparatus main body 10. In FIG. 8(a), the fans 303, 304, the switches 501, 502, and the sensors 601, 602 are shown, and the wiring path is simply represented by thick arrows. The wiring path is set so that all the wire harnesses of the electrical components on the front side converge on the front end portion 62 and are respectively connected by the relay connectors 71a to 74a (see FIG. 7) at the ends. Here, if it is limited to the path up to the front end portion 62, although it is a simple wire harness representation, it can be seen that the wire harness length is the shortest.

[0036] Also, the two-dot chain line shown in FIG. 8(a) indicates the boundary of the unit including the internal electrical components and their wire harnesses. That is, the unit 64 is a unit including the fan 304, the switch 501, the sensor 601, and their wire harnesses, and the unit 65 is a unit including the fan 303 and its wire harness. As shown in FIG. 8(a), the units 64 to 66 are arranged without overlapping when viewed from the front direction. Therefore, if the front cover 15 (see FIG. 3) and the inner cover 67 (see FIG. 9) are removed, the attachment and detachment in the front direction can be performed individually. That is, when the front cover 15 and the inner cover 67 are in the open state, the relay connectors 71a to 74a and the connectors 81a to 84a are exposed.

[0037] Also, by unitizing, the degrees of freedom of the fixing means and the fixing positions to the apparatus main body 10 increase. Therefore, by selecting the optimal fixing method for each individual unit, the unit, and thus the internal electrical components thereof, can be configured optimally for assemblability, replaceability, and maintainability. That is, the wiring paths are aggregated into the wire harness unit 60 shown in FIGS. 6 to 8(b), and the electrical components are made into units 64 to 66 integrated with the wire harnesses respectively, and are connected by the relay connectors 71a to 74a at the front end portion 62. From this, it can be seen that an optimal configuration with good assemblability, maintainability, and balance of the wire harness length can be achieved on the front of the apparatus main body 10.

[0038] On the back of the apparatus main body 10 shown in FIG. 8(b), the rear end portion 63 on the back side of the harness unit 60 with respect to the apparatus main body 10 reaches near the main control board 201 shown by the broken line via the opening 51a of the rear side plate 51. It can be seen from FIG. 8(b) that by passing through the harness unit 60, the length of the harness path from the front side to the back side can be made the shortest.

[0039] Next, regarding the attachment and detachment of the units 64 to 66, it will be described with reference to FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the apparatus main body 10 viewed from the front direction, and the periphery of the inner cover 67 can be seen with the front cover 15 removed. In FIG. 9, the openings 501a and 502a which are access ports to the switches 501 and 502 are shown. Also shown are the louvers 304a forming the air path of the fan 304 and the four opening / closing doors 4a through which the image forming units PY, PM, PC, and PK including the developing device 4 are inserted and removed. Further, the front end portion 62 is shown by the broken line and is hidden by the inner cover 67. Also, the exterior cover 68 is disposed directly above the inner cover 67.

[0040] In the attachment and detachment of the aforementioned units 64 to 66, first, by removing the inner cover 67, the unit 64 and the front end portion 62 are exposed, so that the unit 64 can be easily attached and detached. Further, by removing the exterior cover 68, the unit 65 is exposed and can be easily attached and detached. Also, since the unit 66 is integrally formed with the inner cover 67, it can be attached and detached by removing the inner cover 67 and exposing the front end portion 62.

[0041] As described above, according to the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the front electrical components and the main control board 201 on the back side are connected using the harness unit 60. Thereby, even for the electrical components not arranged on the back side of the image forming apparatus 1, the assemblability, replaceability, and maintainability are good, and an electrical component arrangement configuration can be obtained in which the length of the cables and harnesses up to the main control board 20 is not unnecessarily lengthened.

[0042] Further, according to the image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, since the wire bundling unit 60 is assembled to the stay 52, the rigidity of the wire bundling unit 60 can be ensured.

[0043] In the above-described first embodiment, the case where the wire bundling unit 60 is assembled to the stay 52 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it may be assembled to other stays. Alternatively, it may be assembled across the front side plate 50 and the rear side plate 51 without being assembled to the stay.

[0044] In the above-described embodiment, the case where the wire bundling unit 60 is arranged across the front side plate 50 and the rear side plate 51 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the wire bundling unit 60 only needs to connect the electrical components provided on the side opposite to the control board. For example, when the control board is arranged on the side portion, the wire bundling unit 60 may be arranged across the left side plate and the right side plate.

[0045] <Second Embodiment> Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 10 to 15. In this embodiment, the configuration is different from that of the first embodiment in that the relay connector 140 is provided at the lower right of the apparatus main body 10. However, since the other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are used and the detailed description is omitted.

[0046] The paper feeding operation of the recording material S of the image forming apparatus 101 of the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 10 to 12(c). FIGS. 10 and 11 are perspective views seen from the front of the right side of the image forming apparatus 1, and FIGS. 12(a) to (c) are enlarged cross-sectional views of the paper feeding unit.

[0047] First, in FIG. 1 described above, the conveyance roller 16b of the conveyance roller pair 16 that conveys the fed recording material S to the image forming unit 6 is arranged on the side of the rotation door 12 and is configured to be rotatable about the rotation shaft 24. As shown in FIG. 10, a handle 12a is provided on the outer surface side of the rotation door 12, and by pulling the handle 12a forward, it can be rotated to the state shown in FIG. 11.

[0048] Figures 12(a) to (c) show enlarged cross-sectional views of the paper feeding unit. Figure 12(a) corresponds to the state of FIG. 10 with the rotating door 12 closed, and Figure 12(b) corresponds to the state of FIG. 11 with the rotating door 12 open. In Figure 12(a), the paper feeding unit 120 is shown, and the pickup roller 23, the feeding roller 26, and the reverse roller 28 are arranged. Further, a conveying roller 16a, which is one of the pair of conveying rollers 16, is arranged on the downstream side of the feeding roller 26.

[0049] The paper feeding operation starts when a control signal is sent from a main control board 201 (not shown) to the pickup roller 23 to drive it to rotate. First, the pickup roller 23 descends onto the stack of sheets loaded in the paper feeding cassette 27 at a predetermined timing, and feeds a plurality of sheets into the nip formed by the feeding roller 26 and the reverse roller 28. Here, the reverse roller 28 is normally driven to rotate in the reverse direction (counterclockwise in FIG. 12), and when a predetermined torque is applied by a clutch mechanism (not shown) on the rotating shaft, the reverse rotation drive is disengaged, and it rotates in a driven manner with respect to the feeding roller 26. Thereby, when a plurality of recording materials S enter the nip, the torque on the reverse roller 28 shaft is reduced due to the slip between the sheets. Then, the reverse roller 28 that has been rotating in a driven manner starts to be driven to rotate in the reverse direction, and by this reverse rotation operation, the sheets except the recording material S in contact with the feeding roller 26 are returned into the paper feeding cassette 27. The recording material S in contact with the feeding roller 26 is fed as it is due to the frictional force on the surface of the feeding roller 26, and is conveyed to the downstream image forming unit 6 by the pair of conveying rollers 16.

[0050] As described above, since the paper feeding unit 120 performs complex operations, various mechanical mechanisms are installed. As the mechanical mechanisms become more complex, they are more likely to cause troubles. Therefore, a configuration that enables easy maintenance to prevent troubles, repair when troubles occur, and trouble handling is essential. In addition, paper dust adhering to the paper feeding unit 120 during the conveyance of the recording material S may reduce the operation reliability of the paper feeding unit 120, and when it accumulates in the conveyance path, it may cause image defects. Furthermore, depending on the type of the recording material S to be fed and conveyed, there may be defects in cutting or components, and it may be likely to cause jams or stagnation during conveyance. From this perspective, it can be understood that a configuration that enables easy removal of paper dust and jammed recording material S and is easy to maintain and handle troubles is necessary.

[0051] Here, the troubles that occur during the paper feeding and conveyance operations can be roughly classified into two types: the conveyance operation failure of the sheet that occurs in the conveyance path 17 and the operation failure of the paper feeding unit 120. The conveyance operation failure that occurs in the conveyance path 17 is, for example, paper jams in the conveyance path 17 of the recording material S. To easily handle this, the configuration of the aforementioned rotating door 12 is adopted. When a paper jam occurs in the conveyance path 17, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12(b), the rotating door 12 is rotated to secure the access port L1 to the conveyance path 17. At the same time, by separating the nip of the conveyance roller pair 16, the jammed recording material S can be easily pulled out without being caught.

[0052] Regarding the rotation of the rotating door 12, the rotating shafts 24 protruding from both ends of the rotating door 12 are respectively supported by the right front cover 113 and the right rear cover 112 shown in FIGS. 10 and 11. The supporting positions are arranged closer to the exterior surface with respect to the right side surface 31 of the device frame body indicated by the broken line in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 12. This means that the rotating door 12 is supported by the cover instead of the frame 11. As a hypothesis, consider the case of supporting by the frame 11 in FIG. 12(c).

[0053] In FIG. 12(c), the rotation shaft 124 is disposed on the left side of the right side surface 31 of the frame body 11, closer to the inside of the apparatus. When the rotation door 12 is rotated at the same angle about this rotation shaft 124, the width of the access port L2 to the conveyance path 17 is almost the same as L1 when rotated by the rotation shaft 24, but it can be seen that it bites into the lower right cover 114 below the rotation door 12. Therefore, in order to eliminate the biting into the lower right cover 114, the rotation angle has to be decreased or the shape of the lower right cover 114 has to be made to escape more, which results in the width of the access port to the conveyance path 17 becoming narrower, or the appearance of the exterior cover being damaged, leading to a decrease in the degree of freedom in shaping.

[0054] For this reason, the configuration in which the rotation door 12 is pivotally supported by the right front cover 113 and the right rear cover 112 is more suitable than the configuration in which it is supported at the frame body or at a position close to the frame body. The measures for troubles occurring inside the conveyance path 17 are as described above. On the other hand, although it is a rare case, when a malfunction occurs in the paper feeding unit 120, the only measure is to remove the paper feeding unit 120 from the apparatus main body 10.

[0055] Hereinafter, the configuration related to the attachment / detachment of the paper feeding unit 120 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 13(a) to 14. In order to attach / detach the paper feeding unit 120, first, it is necessary to remove the rotation door 12. Here, since the rotation door 12 is pivotally supported by the right rear cover 112 and the right front cover 113, it is necessary to remove these two covers first.

[0056] The right rear cover 112 is fixed to the apparatus main body 10 by one screw (not shown) at the position of the fixing hole 112d shown in Fig. 13(a). The fixing direction is the direction of arrow X perpendicular to the outer surface of the cover. However, since the right rear cover 112 is large in size in the depth direction of the apparatus main body 10, the end portion on the back side of the apparatus is engaged with the adjacent right rear cover 116 so as not to float or come off. Specifically, the protrusions 112a and 112b of the right rear cover 112 are inserted into the positioning holes 116a and 116b provided in the right rear cover 116 along the locus of the arrow shown by the dashed line in Fig. 13(a) so that the back end of the cover does not float or fall off. In addition, by arranging the cylinder 112c for pivotally supporting the rotating door 12 in the immediate vicinity of the fixing hole 112d, consideration is given to reducing the deviation and variation from the reference position of the rotating door 12.

[0057] Next, the right front cover 113 is fixed to the apparatus main body 10. This is done by one screw (not shown) at the position of the fixing hole 113d shown in Fig. 13(b). Since the right front cover 113 is sufficiently small in size, it has no positioning other than the fixing hole 113d, and fixing with only one screw is sufficient. The fixing direction is the same as that of the right rear cover 112, i.e., the direction of arrow X. Also, the cylinder 113c for pivotally supporting the rotating door 12 is arranged in the immediate vicinity of the fixing hole 113d in the same manner as the right rear cover 112, and consideration is given to the variation in the position of the rotating door also at the shaft end on this side.

[0058] From the above description, it can be seen that the right rear cover 112 and the right front cover 113 can be fixed from the direction of arrow X, and thus can be detached from the same direction. As a result, the rotating door 12 pivotally supported by both covers can also be removed simultaneously with the detachment operation of both covers, and the rotating door 12 can also be easily detached from the direction of arrow X perpendicular to the outer surface of the cover. Although the right rear cover 116 not shown in Fig. 13 is also easily detachable from the right rear cover 112 and the right front cover 113 by a snap fit (not shown), it does not hinder the detachability of various covers and units.

[0059] Next, regarding the detachment of the paper feeding unit 120, FIG. 14 shows a perspective view of the state where the rotating door 12, the right rear cover 112, and the right front cover 113 are removed. In this state, it is possible to detach the screws 130 that fix the paper feeding unit 120, and it is also possible to detach the relay connector 140 that relays the control signal to the paper feeding unit 120. The relay connector 140 is arranged at a position hidden by the right rear cover 112, and this position is also the position that minimizes the signal path from the main control board 201 located on the back of the apparatus. Therefore, by arranging the relay connector 140 in this way, it becomes possible to access the relay connector 140 by the operation of removing the right rear cover 112, and at the same time, it is possible to shorten the length of the wire harness. From the above, it can be seen that the screws 130 and the relay connector 140 can be detached from the direction of arrow X, that is, it can be understood that the detachment of the rotating door 12, the right rear cover 112, the right front cover 113, and the paper feeding unit 120 can all be performed with the minimum operation from the same direction.

[0060] Here, consider the case where the right rear cover 116 and the right rear cover 112 are integrated with reference to FIG. 15. The advantage of integrating the right rear cover 116 and the right rear cover 112 is that the number of parts is reduced, which is advantageous in terms of cost. However, in FIG. 15, the rear cover 115 of the apparatus main body is fastened to the right rear cover 116 via the fixing holes 115a. To remove the right rear cover 112 integrated with the right rear cover 116, it can be said that first, access from the Y direction shown in FIG. 15, which is the back of the apparatus, is required. It can be seen that the replaceability has deteriorated compared to before the integration when it was only from the X direction. Also, it is obvious that the integrated right rear cover 112 and right rear cover 116 are larger in size compared to before the integration, and it is clear that a plurality of screws are required for fixing. Therefore, from these viewpoints, it can be seen that the present embodiment in which the right rear cover 112 is fixed only by screws from the X direction is excellent in terms of the detachability and maintainability of the paper feeding unit 120.

[0061] As described above, according to the image forming apparatus 101 of the present embodiment, even for the electrical components not arranged on the back side of the image forming apparatus 101, the assemblability, replaceability, and maintainability are good. Further, an electrical component arrangement configuration can be obtained in which the lengths of the cable harnesses up to the main control board 201 are not unnecessarily lengthened.

[0062] Also, according to the image forming apparatus 101 of the present embodiment, the detachability and maintainability of the paper feeding unit 120 can be improved.

[0063] In addition, in the above-described second embodiment, for example, the paper feeding and separating method by the paper feeding unit 120 is the roller separation method using the feeding roller 26 and the reverse roller 28, but it is not limited thereto, and various separation methods such as air paper feeding and claw separation may be used.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0064] 1, 101... image forming apparatus, 10... apparatus main body, 11... frame body, 15... front cover (cover), 50... front side plate (first frame), 51... rear side plate (second frame), 52... stay (third frame), 60... cable harness unit (connection means), 61... case body, 71... first cable, 71a... first relay connector, 72... second cable, 72a... second relay connector, 81a... first connector, 82a... second connector, 201... main control board (control board), 303... fan (second electrical component), 501... switch (first electrical component)

Claims

1. A first electrical component, a second electrical component, a control board for controlling the first electrical component and the second electrical component, a frame for supporting the first electrical component, the second electrical component, and the control board, and connection means for connecting the first electrical component, the second electrical component, and the control board. In an image forming apparatus comprising: the frame includes a first frame disposed on the front side, to which the first electrical component and the second electrical component are attached, and a second frame disposed on the back side, to which the control board is attached and which is spaced apart from the first frame. The first electrical component has a first connector for connecting to the control board. The second electrical component has a second connector for connecting to the control board. The connection means includes a first cable and a second cable each connected to the control board, a first relay connector provided at the tip of the first cable to which the first connector is connected, and a second relay connector provided at the tip of the second cable to which the second connector is connected. The first relay connector and the second relay connector are located on the front side of the first frame. An image forming apparatus characterized by the above.

2. The frame has a third frame for connecting the first frame and the second frame. The connection means has a case body for accommodating the first cable and the second cable, and the case body is attached to the third frame. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by the above.

3. The control board is disposed in the vicinity of the connection portion between the third frame and the second frame. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, characterized by the above.

4. The first frame is a front side plate. The second frame is a rear side plate. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by the above.

5. A cover for opening and closing the first frame side of the apparatus main body is provided. When the cover is in the open state, the first connector and the first relay connector, and the second connector and the second relay connector are exposed. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized by the above.

6. The first electrical component is a switch that is switched by opening and closing the cover. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, characterized by the above.

7. ​ The second electrical component is a fan that supplies air to the inside of the apparatus main body. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that.

8. A first electrical component, A second electrical component, A control board that controls the first electrical component and the second electrical component, A frame that supports the first electrical component, the second electrical component, and the control board, In an image forming apparatus including connection means for connecting the first electrical component, the second electrical component, and the control board, The frame, A first frame disposed on the front side, to which the first electrical component and the second electrical component are attached, A second frame disposed on the back side, to which the control board is attached and is spaced apart from the first frame, And a third frame that connects the first frame and the second frame. The first electrical component has a first connector for connecting to the control board. The second electrical component has a second connector for connecting to the control board. The connection means, A first cable and a second cable respectively connected to the control board, A first relay connector provided at the tip of the first cable to which the first connector is connected, A second relay connector provided at the tip of the second cable to which the second connector is connected, And a case body that houses the first cable and the second cable. The case body is attached to the third frame An image forming apparatus characterized by that.

9. The control board is disposed in the vicinity of the connecting portion between the third frame and the second frame. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8, characterized in that.

10. The first frame is a front side plate. The second frame is a rear side plate. The image forming apparatus according to claim 8 or 9, characterized in that.

11. A cover for opening and closing the first frame side of the apparatus main body is provided. When the cover is in the open state, the first connector and the first relay connector, and the second connector and the second relay connector are exposed. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 10, characterized in that.

12. The first electrical component is a switch that is switched by opening and closing the cover. The image forming apparatus according to claim 11, characterized in that.

13. The second electrical component is a fan that supplies air to the inside of the apparatus main body. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 8 to 12, characterized in that...

14. A first electrical component, a second electrical component, a control board for controlling the first electrical component and the second electrical component, a frame for supporting the first electrical component, the second electrical component, and the control board, connection means for connecting the first electrical component, the second electrical component, and the control board, and a cover. In an image forming apparatus comprising: the frame has a first frame disposed on the front side to which the first electrical component and the second electrical component are attached, and a second frame disposed on the back side to which the control board is attached and spaced apart from the first frame. The first electrical component has a first connector for connecting to the control board. The second electrical component has a second connector for connecting to the control board. The connection means includes a first cable and a second cable each connected to the control board, a first relay connector provided at the tip of the first cable to which the first connector is connected, and a second relay connector provided at the tip of the second cable to which the second connector is connected. The cover opens and closes the first frame side of the apparatus main body. When the cover is in the open state, the first connector and the first relay connector, and the second connector and the second relay connector are exposed. An image forming apparatus characterized by the above.

15. The first electrical component is a switch that is switched by opening and closing the cover. The image forming apparatus according to claim 14, characterized in that...

16. The second electrical component is a fan for supplying air to the inside of the apparatus main body. The image forming apparatus according to claim 14 or 15, characterized in that...

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