Image-forming apparatus

Abstract: In an electrographic printer which comprises a photoconductive drum (5), a precharger (7), an LED array (11), a developer (8), a cleaner (9), a transfer-­ charger (3) and a fuser unit (4), in which the photoconductive drum (5), the precharger (7), the developer (8) and the cleaner are built-in in a casing to form a process cartridge (2), a housing (1) of the printer is a clam-shell type consisting of a lower frame (1a) and an upper frame (1b) hinged to the lower frame at the rear end thereof so that an opening is formed between both frames (1a, 1b) when the upper frame (1b) is separated from the lower frame (1a), through which opening the process cartridge (2) is inserted to and removed from the housing (1).

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image-forming apparatus, such as an electrographic printer or a copying machine, in which an electrostatic image is formed and then reproduced as a toner image. More particularly, it relates to such an apparatus having a clam-shell type frame structure by which a process cartridge can be easily inserted and removed and a paper jam can be quickly cleared. 2. Description of the Related Arts Figure 1 is a schematic side view of an electrographic printer, wherein process cartridge 2, a transfer-charger 3, and a fuser unit 4 are accommodated in a housing 1. The process cartridge 2 consists of a photoconductive drum 5 around which a developer unit 8, a precharger 7, and a cleaner 9 are arranged; all of these elements being built-in to a case to form a cartridge. A motor M is provided in the housing 1 to drive the photoconductive drum 5, the fuser unit 4, and a plurality of rollers 6a, 6b for moving a cut sheet 25 through the printer. In the printing operation, cut sheets 25 are fed one by one from a hopper 10a or 10b, transported into an area between the transfer-charger 3 and the photoconductive drum 5, moved past the fuser unit 4, and finally, discharged to a stacker 12. More specifically, the precharger 7, an LED-array 11, the developer unit 8, the transfer-charger 3, and the cleaner 9 are sequentially arranged around the photoconductive drum 5, and accordingly, during a counter-clockwise rotation of the drum 5, the periphery thereof is uniformly charged by the precharger 7, an electrostatic latent image is then formed on the drum periphery by the LED-array 11 in accordance with input information, the latent image is reproduced as a toner image by the developer unit 8, the toner image is transferred to the surface of the cut sheet 25 by the transfer-charger 3 and fixed thereon by the fuser unit 4, and finally, the cut sheet 25 is discharged as a hard copy to the stacker 12. As the printing operation is repeated, a powdery toner 15 stored in the developer unit 8 is gradually consumed, and when the toner is exhausted, the process cartridge 2 is replaced as a whole by a new cartridge. In the conventional printer, this replacement is carried out, as shown in Fig. 2, by laterally withdrawing the exhausted cartridge in the axial direction of the photoconductive drum through a window 18 formed in the side wall of the housing l, and inserting a fresh cartridge into the housing l in the reverse order, as disclosed in Japanese Examined Patent Publication Nos.58-54392 and 61-48152. The structure of the housing 1 of the above printer, however, is weakened by the provision of the window 18, and this problem becomes more serious if the printer is small in size. In addition, a space must be ensured outside the side wall of the apparatus, to enable the lateral withdrawal and insertion of the process cartridge 2. There is also known from document EP-A-0 249 928 an image forming apparatus having a clam-shell type of housing in which a process unit including an image bearing drum is detachably mounted within a frame. The frame is fastened to the upper casing half while the drive motors are contained in the lower casing half. In another image forming apparatus disclosed in document EP-A-0 240 337, the housing has a front-opening panel giving access to a receptacle for a process cartridge. The paper sheet path passes through a pair of rollers mounted within the front panel. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to eliminate the above drawbacks of the conventional image-forming apparatus, and to provide a structure in which all the paper sheet drive rollers cease to grip on a sheet when the housing is opened, thereby facilitating sheet withdrawal when a paper jam occurs. Another object of the present invention is to provide a printer housing having a good rigidity, wherein the replacement of a process cartridge is easily carried out. These objects of the present invention are realized by an image-forming apparatus configured in accordance with claim 1. Preferably, the process cartridge is fixed in place in the lower frame by a positioning mechanism. Preferably, the image carrier is a photoconductive drum. Further, advantageously the process cartridge comprises in addition to the photoconductive drum, a precharger, a developer and a cleaner. Also advantageously, the developer comprises a toner vessel, in which a powdery toner is filled, an agitator and a magnetic roller. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following description with reference to the drawings illustrating the preferred embodiments of the present invention: wherein, Fig. 1 is a schematic side view of an electrographic printer illustrating a general structure thereof; Fig. 2 is a perspective view illustrating the replacement of a process cartridge in a prior art printer; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a printer according to the present invention, when the upper and lower frames are fitted together; Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a printer shown in Fig. 3, when the upper and lower frames are separated; Fig. 5 is a schematic side view of the printer corresponding to Fig. 3; Fig. 6 is a schematic side view of the printer corresponding to Fig. 4; Fig. 7 is a schematic side view illustrating an internal structure of a process cartridge; Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the upper frame; Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a fuser unit; Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the lower frame; Figs. 11(a) and 11(b) are perspective views, respectively, of a process cartridge; Fig. 12 is a perspective view of a gear box provided in the lower frame; Fig. 13(a) is a plan view of a mechanism ensuring an intermeshing of a gear in the gear box with a gear in the upper frame; Fig. 13(b) is a partial enlarged back view of the mechanism of Fig. 13(a); Figs. 14(a) and 14(b) are side views of the gear box, illustrating a path of a torque transmission according to the rotational direction of a motor, respectively; Fig. 15(a) is a plan view of a gear mechanism for driving rotating elements in the process cartridge; Fig. 15(b) is a side view of the gear mechanism of Fig. 17(a); Fig. 16 is a side view of a gear train provided on one side of the upper frame; Figs. 17(a) and 17(b) are enlarged views, respectively, of part of the gear train of Fig. 16, illustrating a transmission path for driving an eject roller; Fig. 18 is a side view of a gear train provided on the other side of the upper frame; Fig. 19 is a plan view illustrating a gear train for driving a regist roller and a pickup roller; Fig. 20 is a side elevational view of a hopper illustrating a gear secured to and driving the pickup roller; Figs. 21(a) and 21(b) are schematic side views, respectively, illustrating the rotational direction of the respective elements in the printer. Fig. 22 is a side view of the respective elements of a positioning mechanism for a process cartridge when the cartridge is outside of the printer housing; and Fig. 23 is a view similar to Fig. 22 but showing the cartridge positioned in the printer housing. DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The structure of a printer according to the present invention is explained in detail with reference to Figures 3 through 21. The printer comprises a clam-shell type housing 1 having an upper frame 1b and a lower frame 1a detachably connected to each other by a pin 14, as shown in Figs. 4 and 6. In the drawings, reference numeral 62 designates a control panel for controlling the operation of the printer and 12 designates a stacker for receiving a printed medium 25 (cut sheets). As apparent from Fig. 5, the upper frames 1b has a fuser unit 4, a cooling fan 40, an entry sensor 41, an exit sensor 42 and a transfer-charger 3. In addition, first and second hoppers 10a and 10b are detachably secured to the upper frame 1b. The hoppers 10a and 10b are provided, respectively, with pickup rollers 34a, 34b, which correspond, respectively, to regist rollers 6a, 6b secured to the upper frame 1b. Different kinds of cut sheets 25 can be accommodated in these hoppers, respectively. During the printing operation, either one of the hoppers is selected by the action of magnetic clutches 295a, 298a, as stated later. As shown in Figs. 5 and 9, a heat roller 37, a backup roller 38, and an eject roller 39 are all incorporated into the fuser unit 4. As illustrated in Figs. 4, 6 and 10, in the lower frame 1a are secured a process cartridge 2, an LED array 11, and a motor M, which is a drive source for the rotating elements of the printer. With reference to Figs. 7, and 11, the process cartridge 2 is a composite body in which a developer unit 8 consisting of a toner vessel 70, an agitator 13, and a magnetic roller 14; precharger 7; a cleaner 9; a residual toner withdrawal vessel 75; and a photoconductive drum 5, are integrally and compactly combined. The cartridge 2 is easily attached to and detached from the lower frame 1a by a mechanism described later. In the developer unit 8, a toner powder 15 in the vessel 70 is stirred by the agitator 13 and uniformly fed to the magnetic roller 14. The magnetic roller 14 consists of a magnetic core 76 covered by a sleeve 77. The magnetic core 76 and the sleeve 77 rotate, respectively, at different speeds, so that the sleeve 77 can convey a toner powder onto the surface of the photoconductive drum 5 by a magnetic brush formed on the surface of the sleeve 77, which toner powder forms a toner image on the drum 5 corresponding to a latent image. The cleaner 9 is adapted to clean residual toner powder from the surface of the photoconductive drum 5 after the toner is transferred to the cut sheets 25. The precharger 7 is adapted to uniformly impart an electric charge to the surface of the photoconductive drum 5, to prepare for the next image forming cycle. An upper surface 2′ of the process cartridge 2 constitutes a guide plate for the cut sheets 25. A pinch roller 60a is provided at a front edge of the upper surface 2′ and biased upward by a blade spring 52a to be resiliently in contact with a guide roller 60 secured on the upper frame 1b. The cut sheet 25 can be introduced into an image-transfer zone formed between the drum 5 and a transfer-charger 3, while nipped between the pinch roller 60a and the guide roller 60. A torque from the motor M is transmitted to the respective rotating elements in the lower frame 1a and the upper frame 1b through a gear box secured on one side of the lower frame. Figure 12 shows the gear box with the cover removed therefrom, in which various gears and pulleys are secured on a bracket 90. The torque from the motor M is transmitted to a gear 162 from a motor gear 110. A gear 163 is coaxially secured with the gear 162, with the intervention of a known spring type one-way clutch 162a, so that only the counter-clockwise rotation of the gear 162 can be transmitted to the gear 163. Also, a one-way clutch 151a of the same type as the clutch 161a is disposed between a pulley 149 and a gear 151 secured coaxially therewith, and transmits only the counter-clockwise rotation of the pulley 149 to the gear 151. In Fig. 12, the gear 151 is used for driving the photoconductive drum 5 in the process cartridge 2 and is biased about a shaft A in the arrowed direction by a spring (not shown). A gear 170 is used for driving the magnetic roller 14 and is biased about a shaft B in the arrowed direction. Further, a gear 161 is used for transmitting a torque to a gear train for driving the rollers secured in the upper frame 1b and is biased about a shaft C by a spring 80. These three gears 151, 170, and 161 are key gears for outputting a torque from the gear box. The above mechanism for biasing these gears is described in more detail with reference to Figs. 13(a) and 13(b), referring to the gear 161 as an example. Gears 161, 180 fixed coaxially with each other are rotatably secured at one end of a U-shaped member 93. The member 93, in turn, is rotatably secured at a middle portion thereof on the shaft C of a gear 179 intermeshed with the gear 180. The shaft C is rotatably secured on the bracket 90. At the other end of the member 93 opposite to the gear 91 is provided a pin 94, which extends backward through an aperture 95 of the bracket 90. The spring 80 (also see Fig. 13(b)) is hooked at one end thereof to the pin 94 and at the other end thereof to another pin 96 fixed on a lower portion of the bracket 90. According to this mechanism, the gear 161 is always resiliently biased in the arrowed direction in Fig. 12. Similar mechanisms are provided for the gears 151 and 170, and accordingly, these key wheels are firmly intermeshed with the corresponding external gear when the latter is meshed with the former. Next, an operation of the gear box will be explained below. When the motor M rotates clockwise, as shown in Fig. 14(a), a torque is transmitted by the motor gear 110 to the gear 162, which is then driven counter-clockwise. This rotation is transmitted to the gear 163 by the one-way clutch 162a, and sequentially, through a gear train 171, 172, and 173, to the gear 170, which is then driven in the arrowed direction. The rotation of the motor gear 110 also drives the gear 161 in the arrowed direction through a gear train 174, 178, 179, 180, and drives the gear 151 in the arrowed direction through a path of the gear 174, a pulley 175, a belt 49, and the pulley 149. Note, a pulley/belt mechanism is used for driving the gear 151 so that the photoconductive drum 5 can be smoothly rotated, resulting in a better printing quality. When the motor M is rotated counter-clockwise, as shown in Fig. 14(b), the gear 162 is driven clockwise and the torque is not transmitted to the gear 163 by the one-way clutch 162a, and therefore, the gear 170 downstream of the gear 163 remains stationary. Nevertheless, the rotation of the motor gear 110 is transmitted to the gear 161 through the gear train 174, 178, 179, 180 and drives the same in the arrowed direction (reverse to the case shown in Fig. 14(a)). Note, although the pulley 149 is driven in the reverse direction (clockwise) through the aforesaid path, this rotation is not transmitted by the one-way clutch 151a to the gear 151, which thus remains stationary. Accordingly, the rotating elements in the process cartridge 2 can be driven only when the motor is rotated clockwise, and are not driven when the motor is rotated counter-clockwise. A mechanism for driving the process cartridge 2 is explained in more detail with reference to Figs. 7, 11 and 15. The details of gears L through Q for driving the process cartridge 52 are shown in Figs. 15(a) and 15(b); these gears are also illustrated in Fig. 11(a) in a simplified manner. A gear L is fixedly secured at one end of the sleeve 77, and a gear Q is fixedly secured at one end of the magnetic roller 76. A gear group V consists of three gears V1, V2, V3 coaxially and integrally fixed to each other and a gear group N consists of two gears N1 and N2 also coaxially and integrally fixed to each other. The gear V1 is intermeshed with the gear 170 in the gear box and transmits the rotation thereof through the gear B2 to the gear Q, which then drives the magnetic core 76. The rotation of the gear V2 is transmitted through a gear train V3, N1, N2, P to the gear L, which then drives the sleeve 77. The gears V, N, P are rotatably secured on a side wall of the process cartridge 2. With reference to Fig. 11(b), a gear G fixed at the opposite end of the magnetic core 76 is intermeshed with a gear F fixed at one end of a shaft of the agitator 13, to drive the latter. Next, a description will be given of a gear train arranged in the upper frame 1b. With reference to Fig. 16, a gear 281 disposed at a center of the gear train is intermeshed with the gear 161 in the gear box of the lower frame 1a. First, in a path from the gear 161 to the left in Fig. 16, a torque is transmitted through a gear train 237, 282, 286 to a gear 287, which is intermeshed with a gear R (Fig. 9) fixed on a shaft of the heat roller 37 of the fuser unit 4, to drive the same. In this connection, the gears 286 and 287 are secured coaxially with a one-way clutch 287a disposed therebetween, which is adapted to transmit only the clockwise rotation of the gear 286 to the gear 287. Accordingly, the heat roller 37 can rotate only counter-clockwise, to move the cut sheets 25 forward. The gear 286 further transmits a torque to a gear 211 for driving the eject roller 39 through a gear train 283, 284, 285a or 285b, and 278. As shown on an enlarged scale in Figs. 17(a) and 17(b), the gear 285a is secured at one end of an L-shaped lever 285 which, in turn, is pivoted about an axis X coaxially with the gear 284. At the other end of the lever 285 is secured a gear 285b having the same number of teeth as the gear 285a. As shown in Fig. 17(b), when the gear 283 is rotated clockwise, the gear 284 is driven counter-clockwise and the lever 285 also pivoted in the same direction, whereby the gear 285a is intermeshed with the gear 278 while the other gear 285b is free. Consequently, the gear 211 is driven counter-clockwise as shown by an arrow, which corresponds to the running direction of the cut sheets 25. Conversely, as shown in Fig. 17(b), when the gear 283 is rotated counter-clockwise, the lever 285 is pivoted clockwise so that the gear 285b intermeshed with the gear 290, whereby the gear 211 is still driven counter-clockwise, which is the same direction as before. Namely, the eject roller 39 is always made to rotate in one direction even though the rotation of the gear 281 is reversed. The guide roller 60 is made to rotate by the gear 237. Next, a transmission path to the right in Fig. 16 will be explained with reference to Figs.16 , 18, and 19. A torque from the motor M is transmitted to a gear 215 secured at one end of a shaft of the regist roller 6a for the first hopper 10a via a one-way clutch 215a. The one-way clutch 215a is adapted to prevent a rotation of the gear 215 in the direction for driving the pickup roller 11 from being transmitted to the regist roller 6a but to permit the transmission of the opposite rotation of the gear 215 to the regist roller 6a to transport the cut sheets 25. At the opposite end of the regist roller 6a is fixed a gear 217, which is associated with a gear 294 fixed at one end of the regist roller 6b for the second hopper 10b via a gear train 291, 292 and 293. In this structure, both the regist rollers 6a, 6b are made to rotate simultaneously with each other. A press roller (not shown) for nipping the cut sheets in association with the regist roller 6a, 6b is provided adjacent to the respective regist rollers 6a, 6b and is made to rotate by the latter through a gear-engagement therewith. The gear 215 is also intermeshed with a gear 297 coaxially fixed with a gear 295 having a magnetic clutch 295a and is associated with a gear 299 coaxially fixed with a gear 298 having a magnetic clutch 298a. The gear 295 is provided for engagement with a hopper gear 296 in the first hopper 10a, as shown in Fig. 20, and transmits the rotation to the latter when the magnetic clutch 295a is actuated so that the pickup roller 34a is made to rotate. In a similar manner, the pickup roller 34b in the second hopper 10b is driven when the magnetic clutch 298a is actuated. Upon starting the operation of the above-described printer, the selection of the hopper must be made first by actuating one of the magnetic clutches. If the hopper 33a is selected, the magnetic clutch 295a is actuated so that the transmission path to the hopper 33a is formed. Note, the other magnetic clutch 298a is not activated. Then the motor M is made to rotate in the direction whereby the pickup roller 34a is driven to move the cut sheets 25 forward, as shown in Fig. 21(a). When the front edge of the cut sheet 25 is detected by the entry sensor 41, the magnet clutch 295a is made off and then the motor M is stopped. When the next command is output, the motor M is rotated in the opposite direction, whereby the rotating elements in the printer other than pickup rollers 34a 34b are driven in the arrowed direction in Fig. 21(b). The cut sheet 25 passes the upper surface of the photoconductive drum 5, and when the rear edge of the cut sheet 25 is detected by the exit sensor 42, the motor is stopped and waits for the command to commence the next printing. In this connection, although the guide roller 60 rotates with the pickup roller 34a in the reverse direction to the normal operation, as shown in Fig. 21(a), this causes no problem because no cut sheets are present in the operation zone of the guide roller 60 at this stage. Further, when the regist roller corresponding to the selected hopper is driven, the other regist roller is rotated therewith, as shown in Fig. 21(b), which also causes no problem because the cut sheet 25 is not engaged with the other regist roller at this stage. As described above, according to the printer of the present invention, the housing 1 is split into lower and upper frames 1a, 1b, pivotably hinged together at one end thereof by a pin 14. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 6, the process cartridge 2 can be easily inserted into or removed from the interior of the housing 1 through an opening formed between the lower and upper frames 1a, 1b. This eliminates the need for a space outside of the side wall of the housing 1 for lateral movement of the process cartridge 2 in the prior art shown in Fig. 2. Next, a mechanism for easily positioning and detachably locking the process cartridge 2 in the lower frame 1a is described with reference to Figs. 22 and 23. The process cartridge 2 has projections 301, 302, and 303 for the positioning thereof, each of which is provided in pairs on the respective side of the process cartridge 2. Note, the projection 303 has a recess 303a. On the bottom wall of the lower frame 1a are provided members 304, 305, and 306 corresponding to the projections 301, 302, and 303, respectively. As shown in Fig. 22, the member 304 is a vertical plate having a cavity 304a specially shaped to receive the projection 301. The member 305 is a resiliently deformable vertical pillar and has a hook 305a for engagement with the projection 302. The member 306 is a seat having an upright strut 306a thereon. A blade spring 307 is secured on the lower frame 1a between the pair of members 306, to lift up the process cartridge 2. When the process cartridge 2 is inserted into the interior of the lower frame 1a, first the projection 301 is fitted to the cavity 304a, and then the projection 302 comes into contact with the hook 305a, by which the member 305 is resiliently deformed backward by the downward displacement of the process cartridge 2. Accordingly, the recess 303a is fitted to the strut 306a, whereby the horizontal displacement of the process cartridge 2 is limited. As the process cartridge 2 is pushed up by the spring 307, the projection 302 abuts against the hook 305a to limit the displacement of the process cartridge 2 in the up-down direction. Namely, the process cartridge 2 is fixed in place in the lower frame; i.e., the photoconductive drum 5 is accurately positioned relative to the image-forming means and the transfer-charger. When the exhausted cartridge is removed to be replaced by a fresh cartridge, the cartridge 2 to be removed is pushed toward the pillar member 305 to disengage the projection 301 from the cavity 304a, and then the cartridge 2 is lifted up while releasing the projection 302 from the hook 305a. Other and further effects of the present invention are as follows: 1. When the upper frame 1b is separated from the lower frame 1a in a clam-shell manner, the motor M and the process cartridge 2 including the photoconductive drum 5 remain in the lower frame 1a, while the precharger 3, the fuser unit 4 and the rollers 6a, 6b accommodated in the upper frame 1b are lifted upward. That is, the upper and lower frames 1a, 1b are separated from each other along a sheet conveying path thereof. This structure is particularly useful when a paper jam occurs, because the rollers 6a, 6b for conveying the cut sheet 25 are completely disengaged from the motor M and are thus freely rotatable, so that the operator can manually rotate the rollers in any directions to remove the jammed sheet. 2. The photoconductive drum 5 is positioned in the lower frame 1a and the transfer-charger 3 is positioned in the upper frame 1b, and the cut sheet 25 runs therebetween. Accordingly, the toner image is transferred from the photoconductive drum 5 to the lower surface of the cut sheet 25, and thus the cut sheet 25 is sequentially discharged to the stacker 12 in a face-down manner.

Claims: An image-forming apparatus which comprises an image carrier (5), an image-forming means (3, 7, 8, 9, 11) by which an electrostatic latent image is formed on the image carrier and reproduced as a toner image, which is then transferred from the image carrier to a sheet medium (25), and a fuser unit (4) for heat-fixing the toner image on the sheet medium, while the sheet medium is conveyed along a path provided through the apparatus, the image carrier being incorporated in a process cartridge (2) together with at leat one element (8) of the image-forming means, a clam-shell type housing (1) for accommodating the element of the apparatus, comprising a lower frame (1a) and an upper frame (1b) hinged to the lower frame at a rear end thereof so that an opening is formed between both frames when the upper frame is separated from the lower frame, through which opening the process cartridge (2) is inserted to and removed from the housing; characterized in that said path for the sheet medium (25) is provided in the region above the process cartridge (2), and in that the process cartridge (2) and a motor (M) for driving all rollers for conveying the sheet medium (25) are positioned in the lower frame (1a), and in that the rollers for conveying the sheet medium are positioned in the upper frame (1b) so that all the rollers are disengaged from the motor (M) and freely rotatable when the clam-shell type housing is opened, and are engaged with the motor when it is shut. An image-forming apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the process cartridge (2) is fixed in place in the lower frame by a positioning mechanism (301, 303, 304, 305, 306, 307). An image-forming apparatus as defined in claims 1 or 2 wherein the image carrier (5) is a photoconductive drum. An image-forming apparatus as defined in claim 3, wherein the process cartridge (2) comprises, in addition to the photoconductive drum (5), a precharger (7), a developer (8) and a cleaner (9). An image-forming apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein the developer (8) comprises a toner vessel (70) in which a powdery toner is filled, an agitator (13) and a magnetic roller (14).

Inventors: KOMURO AKIHIRO, SAKAKURA SHIGEKI, KOMURO, AKIHIRO, SAKAKURA, SHIGEKI
Applicants: FUJITSU LTD, FUJITSU LIMITED
Application year: 1989
Main classification: G03G15
IPC codes: G03G21