JP2005266672A - Image forming apparatus and method for loading/unloading process cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus where a process cartridge is easily changed. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus 10 is provided with a small cover 122 which covers to freely open/shut an area proximate to the installation area of a paper supply tray 20 and a large cover 130 which covers to freely open/shut the periphery of the installation area of the tray 20 and the opening/shutting area by the small cover 122 on a plane where the tray 20 projects. When the small cover 122 and the large cover 130 are opened, the large aperture is secured, whereby the process cartridge 50 is easily loaded/unloaded. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus in which an exchange unit such as a process cartridge is detachably provided.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an image forming apparatus having an attachment / detachment path for attaching / detaching a process cartridge on an upper portion of a paper feed tray. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-228561 discloses an image forming apparatus in which the entire side surface of the image forming apparatus is rotated to expose the components inside the apparatus.
JP 2001-130756 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-231594

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides an image forming apparatus in which a process cartridge can be easily replaced.

[Image forming apparatus]
In order to achieve the above object, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a first image forming apparatus main body, a tray provided so as to protrude from the image forming apparatus main body, and a first area that covers an area adjacent to the tray so as to be freely opened and closed. And a second opening / closing cover that covers an area opened and closed by the first opening / closing cover and an area surrounding the tray installation area.

  Preferably, the first opening / closing cover is provided so as to be openable / closable in an area where the second opening / closing cover can contact the tray by an opening / closing operation.

  Preferably, one end portion of the first opening / closing cover enters the inside of the image forming apparatus main body.

  Preferably, the tray is a paper feed tray on which a recording medium to be supplied is stacked, and an end portion adjacent to the paper feed tray of the first opening / closing cover is supplied with the recording medium by the paper feed tray. Get in the direction.

  Preferably, the second opening / closing cover is rotatably supported on the image forming apparatus main body by a first support shaft provided at a lower end, and the tray is located above the first support shaft. The second opening / closing cover rotatably supports the second opening / closing cover.

  Preferably, the second opening / closing cover is configured to be closed on condition that the first opening / closing cover is closed.

  Preferably, the image forming apparatus main body further includes a process cartridge that is detachably accommodated inside the first opening / closing cover.

  Preferably, the second opening / closing cover forms at least a ridge line of the outer shape of the image forming apparatus.

[How to install and remove process cartridges]
The process cartridge attaching / detaching method according to the present invention includes an image forming apparatus main body, a tray provided so as to protrude from the image forming apparatus main body, and a first opening / closing method provided so that an area adjacent to the tray can be opened and closed. A cover, a second opening / closing cover provided to be openable / closable in an area opened and closed by the first opening / closing cover and an area surrounding the installation position of the tray, and a process provided detachably in the image forming apparatus main body. In the image forming apparatus having a cartridge, the second opening / closing cover is opened, the first opening / closing cover is opened, and the process cartridge is mounted or taken out.

  According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the process cartridge can be easily replaced.

[Background and outline]
FIG. 1 shows the positional relationship between an exchange unit (process cartridge) accommodated in the image forming apparatus and a small cover 122 for carrying in the exchange unit. For each configuration of the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment, the left side in FIG. 1 is “front”, the right side is “back”, the upper side is “top”, and the lower side is “bottom”. The front side of the paper is called the “right side”, and the back side of the paper is called the “left side”.
As shown in FIG. 1A, the image forming apparatus 10 has an image forming apparatus main body 12, an exchange unit is accommodated in the image forming apparatus main body 12, and protrudes from the lower front part of the image forming apparatus main body 12. The paper feed tray 20 is provided. Further, a small cover 122 that is rotatably supported by the image forming apparatus main body 12 by a small cover hinge 124 is provided on the front surface of the image forming apparatus main body 12. The small cover 122 is provided to carry in the replacement unit. In the case illustrated in FIG. 1A, the user opens the small cover 122 and takes out the replacement unit. However, when the image forming apparatus 10 is downsized, the front of the image forming apparatus main body 12 is obliquely upward. You will see from. Therefore, when the user tries to take out the replacement unit in the same posture, the user is blocked by the exterior upper part of the front surface of the image forming apparatus main body 12 (near the ridge line on the upper surface of the image forming apparatus main body 12), The exchange unit that is housed cannot be seen.

Therefore, in the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, in addition to the small cover 122, a large cover 130 that can be opened and closed around an area opened and closed by the small cover 122 is provided, as shown in FIG. More specifically, the large cover 130 is rotatably supported by a large cover hinge 132 provided below the installation position of the paper feed tray 20, and the open / close region of the small cover 122 and the installation of the paper feed tray 20 are supported. An area surrounding the area can be freely opened and closed. The small cover 122 is rotatably supported by the image forming apparatus main body 12 by a small cover hinge 124 so that an area adjacent to the upper side of the paper feed tray 20 can be opened and closed.
As shown in FIG. 1B, the user can secure a large opening on the front surface of the image forming apparatus main body 12 by opening both the large cover 130 and the small cover 122, so that the replacement unit can be viewed from an oblique direction. can do. In addition, the user can use this wide opening to perform replacement unit replacement or jom processing.
Although a mode in which only the large cover 130 is provided without providing the small cover 122 is conceivable, in this case, the large cover 130 is opened by colliding with the paper feed tray 20 protruding from the front surface of the image forming apparatus main body 12. I can't. Therefore, the small cover 122 is necessary, and it is desirable that at least the area where the large cover 130 can collide with the paper feed tray 20 can be opened and closed by the opening and closing operation.
As shown in FIG. 1C, the small cover 122 may be rotatably supported by the large cover 130 by a small cover hinge 124 provided at the upper end. Also in this case, the collision between the large cover 130 and the paper feed tray 20 is avoided by the rotation of the small cover 122 as shown in FIG.

2 shows another form of the image forming apparatus 10 provided with a small cover 122 and a large cover 130. As shown in FIG. 2A, a small cover hinge 124 may be provided inside the image forming apparatus main body 12. In this example, the small cover 122 is supported by the small cover hinge 124 at the lower end, and in the closed state, the small cover hinge 124 is low, and is inclined so as to gradually increase in the front direction (left direction in FIG. 2). To be supported. Thus, when the small cover hinge 122 is tilted so as to become higher toward the front surface, a space that becomes wider toward the front surface is formed above the paper feed tray 20, so that the operation of the paper feed tray 20 (the recording paper) Addition) becomes easy.
Further, as shown in FIG. 2B, the small cover 122 is supported by the large cover 130 at the upper end thereof by the small cover hinge 124, and in the closed state, the portion of the small cover hinge 124 is high, and the back surface direction (FIG. 2). It may be supported by being inclined so as to be gradually lowered toward the right direction. For example, the small cover 122 of this example is provided with a lower cover (that is, a small cover hinge 124) when the large cover 130 is gradually closed from the state shown by the solid line in FIG. (The end opposite to the end) is in contact with the upper surface of the paper feed tray 20 and is moved into the apparatus (rightward in FIG. 2) and tilted (state indicated by a two-dot chain line). become.

  As described above, the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment can open and close the opening over the entire side surface by providing the small cover 122 and the large cover 130 on the same side surface of the image forming apparatus main body 12.

[Embodiment]
Next, the image forming apparatus 10 in the present embodiment will be described. In the following embodiment, the embodiment shown in FIG. 2A will be described in more detail as a specific example.
FIG. 3 shows the appearance of the image forming apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention. The image forming apparatus 10 of the present embodiment has an image forming apparatus main body 12, and a paper feed tray 20 (tray) on the front surface of the image forming apparatus main body 12. Further, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a paper discharge tray 90 formed integrally with the upper surface of the image forming apparatus main body 12. The paper feed tray 20 includes a first tray plate 200a that is rotatable around a tray opening / closing hinge 202 (described later) provided at the lower end. The large cover 130 that covers the front surface of the image forming apparatus main body 12 is configured to be rotatable about a large cover hinge 132 provided at the lower end.

4 and 5, a cross section of the image forming apparatus 10 is shown. In the image forming apparatus 10, for example, a manual paper feed tray 20 is disposed below the image forming apparatus main body 12. When the sheet feeding tray 20 is opened as shown in FIG. 5, the sheet feeding tray 20 protrudes from the front surface of the image forming apparatus 10.
The front surface (left side in FIGS. 4 and 5) of the image forming apparatus main body 12 is an opening, and this opening can be freely opened and closed by a large cover 130 (second opening / closing cover) and a small cover 122 (first opening / closing cover). Covered. The large cover 130 is rotatably supported by the image forming apparatus main body 12 by a large cover hinge 132 (first support shaft) provided at the lower end. Since the large cover hinge 132 is installed below the installation position of the paper feed tray 20, the circumference of the installation area of the paper feed tray 20 can be opened and closed by the rotation of the large cover 130.

The paper feed tray 20 includes a first tray plate 200a, a second tray plate 200b, a third tray plate 200c, and a fourth tray plate 200d, and includes a tray opening / closing hinge 202 (second support shaft) and a tray. It is supported by the adjustment hinge 204. More specifically, the first tray plate 200a is rotatably supported by the large cover 130 by the tray opening / closing hinge 202, and is rotated from the closed state as shown in FIG. 4 to the opened state as shown in FIG. Move. The second tray plate 200b is supported by a tray opening / closing hinge 202 and a tray adjustment hinge 204, and connects the first tray 200 plate a and the third tray plate 200c. The third tray plate 200c is supported by the tray adjustment hinge 204 and moves up and down according to the opening and closing of the first tray plate 200a. That is, when the first tray plate 200a is opened, the third tray plate 200c and the tray adjustment hinge 204 move upward as shown in FIG. 5, and are further pressed upward by an elastic force such as a spring. . With this pressing force, the third tray plate 200 c moves up and down according to the number of recording sheets stacked on the sheet feeding tray 20 and brings the recording sheets into contact with the feed roll 24. Further, when the first tray plate 200a is closed, the third tray plate 200c and the tray adjustment hinge 204 move downward as shown in FIG. 4, and the pressure is released by a spring or the like. The fourth tray plate 200d is supported on the first tray plate 200a by a tray extendable piece 206 so as to be extendable and contractible.
A feed roll 24 that feeds recording paper from the paper feed tray 20 and a retard roll 26 that sprinkles the fed paper one by one are arranged in the upper vicinity of the rear end of the paper feed tray 20.

  The paper transport path 40 is a paper path from the feed roll 24 to the discharge roll 46, and the paper transport path 40 is near the back surface (the right side surface in FIGS. 4 and 5) of the image forming apparatus main body 12. The paper tray 20 is formed substantially vertically from a heating roll 82 and a pressure roll 84 described later. A transfer roll 44 (to be described later) is disposed on the upstream side of the heating roll 82 and the pressure roll 84 in the paper conveyance path 40, and a resist roll 42 is disposed on the upstream side of the transfer roll 44.

  Accordingly, the recording paper fed from the paper feed tray 20 by the feed roll 24 is rolled by the retard roll 26 and only the uppermost recording paper is guided to the paper transport path 40, temporarily stopped by the registration roll 42, and timed. Then, a toner image is transferred between a photoconductor 52 and a transfer roll 44, which will be described later, and the transferred toner image is fixed by a heating roll 82 and a pressure roll 84, and an image is formed from a discharge port by a discharge roll 46. The paper is discharged to a paper discharge tray 90 provided at the top of the apparatus main body 12. The discharge tray 90 has a low discharge port portion (in the vicinity of the discharge roll 46) and is inclined so as to gradually increase toward the front direction (the left direction in FIGS. 4 and 5).

In the image forming apparatus main body 12, for example, a process cartridge 50 (exchange unit) is detachably provided at a substantially central portion. The process cartridge 50 stores toner in the process cartridge main body 500, and also charges the photosensitive member 52, a charger 54 for uniformly charging the photosensitive member 52, and an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive member 52 with toner. The developing roller 56 for developing is integrated. The process cartridge 50 includes a cleaning blade that scrapes off the toner remaining on the photoconductor 52 and a toner collection bottle that collects the scraped toner (not shown) upstream of the charging roller 54 in the rotation direction of the photoconductor 52. ) Is arranged.
The process cartridge main body 500 has a substantially horizontal upper surface and bottom surface, and further includes an inclined surface 500a that is inclined so as to gradually increase toward the front surface direction (the left direction in FIGS. 4 and 5). The inclined surface 500a preferably has a larger inclination angle than the paper feed tray 20.

  Above the process cartridge 50, an exposure device 70 for writing a latent image on a charged photosensitive member 52 by laser light (LB) is disposed. The exposure device 70 is provided with a laser emitter 72 that blinks laser light according to input image data, and a folding mirror 74 that guides the laser light emitted from the laser emitter 72 in the direction of the photoconductor 52. Has been.

  Further, in front of the process cartridge 50, a small cover 122 (first opening / closing cover) that is rotatable around a small cover hinge 124 at the lower end is disposed. The small cover 122 is provided substantially parallel to the inclined surface 500a of the process cartridge main body 500 in a closed state. That is, the small cover 122 has a small portion of the small cover hinge 124 and is inclined so as to gradually increase toward the front surface direction (the left direction in FIGS. 4 and 5). The inclination angle of the small cover 122 is larger than the inclination angle of the paper feed tray 20, so that a space A that gradually widens toward the upper front is formed between the paper feed tray 20 and the small cover 122. This space A is used as an operation area of the paper feed tray 20 when the small cover 122 is closed as shown in FIG.

A large cover 130 covers the front of the small cover 122. That is, the large cover 130 has a small cover contact piece 134 that contacts the upper end of the small cover 122 in a closed state, and supports the upper end of the small cover 122. Therefore, the large cover 130 is closed on the precondition that the small cover 122 is closed. The small cover 122 is opened on the precondition that the large cover 130 is opened.
Further, an interlock switch 136 for detecting opening / closing of the large cover 130 is provided at a position facing the upper end of the large cover 130 of the image forming apparatus main body 12. The open or closed state of the large cover 130 detected by the interlock switch 136 is transmitted to a controller (not shown) and displayed on a user interface device (not shown) or the like.
Since the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment cannot open the small cover 122 unless the large cover 130 is opened as described above, the interlock switch 136 that detects opening / closing of the large cover 130 is provided. It is possible to detect the open / closed state of both the large cover 130 and the small cover 122 simply by providing them.

  A transfer roll 44 is opposed to the photosensitive member 52 of the process cartridge 50 with the paper conveyance path 40 interposed therebetween. That is, the transfer position of the toner image is between the transfer roll 44 and the photoconductor 52, and the transfer roll 44 transfers the toner image formed on the photoconductor 52 to the recording paper at this transfer position.

  Above the transfer position, a fixing unit including a heating roll 82 and a pressure roll 84 is disposed. The heating roll 82 and the pressure roll 84 fix the toner image transferred onto the recording paper by the transfer roll 44 and convey it toward the discharge roll 46.

Next, an image forming operation by the image forming apparatus 10 will be described.
When the image forming signal is sent, the photosensitive member 52 is uniformly charged by the charging roll 54, and a light beam is emitted from the exposure device 70 to the charged photosensitive member 52 based on the image signal. The light beam from the exposure device 70 exposes the surface of the photosensitive member 52 to form a latent image. The latent image of the photoreceptor 52 formed by the exposure device 70 is developed with black toner by the developing roll 56.

  On the other hand, the recording paper stored in the paper feed tray 20 by the paper feed signal or the like is sent out by the feed roll 24, is turned by the retard roll 26, is guided to the paper transport path 40, and is temporarily stopped by the registration roll 42, It is guided between the photosensitive member 52 and the transfer roll 44 with timing. When the recording paper is guided between the photoconductor 52 and the transfer roll 44, the toner image formed on the surface of the photoconductor 52 is transferred to the recording paper by the transfer roll 44. After the transfer, the residual toner remaining on the photosensitive member 52 is scraped off and collected by a cleaning blade or the like.

  The recording paper to which the toner image has been transferred is guided between the heating roll 82 and the pressure roll 84, and the toner image is fixed by thermal pressure. The recording sheet on which the toner image is fixed is discharged from the discharge port to the discharge tray 90 by the discharge roll 46.

Next, the attaching / detaching mechanism and attaching / detaching operation of the process cartridge 50 will be described.
FIG. 6 shows the image forming apparatus 10 when the process cartridge 50 is attached and detached. As shown in FIG. 6, when the large cover 130 is pulled in the front direction (left side in FIG. 6), the large cover 130 rotates around the large cover hinge 132. At this time, the upper end of the small cover 122 is separated from the small cover abutting piece 134 provided on the large cover 130, so that the small cover 122 is rotatable. The small cover 122 is rotated forward about the small cover hinge 124 manually or by its own weight by the user to open the front of the process cartridge 50 (left direction in FIG. 6), and the upper surface of the small cover 122 is substantially the same. The image forming apparatus main body 12 is supported in contact with the inner bottom surface of the image forming apparatus main body 12 at a parallel position. Further, the space between the paper feed tray 20 and the process cartridge 50 is switched from the operation area of the paper feed tray 20 to the operation area of the toner cartridge 50 when the small cover 122 is opened.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the tray opening / closing hinge 202 is disposed above the large cover hinge 132 of the large cover 130 (that is, a position deviated from the rotation center of the large cover 130). As shown, when the large cover 130 rotates, it moves on the arc around the large cover hinge 132 and comes to a lower position than the closed state of the large cover 130. As a result, the positions of the first tray plate 200a and the second tray plate 200b are lowered, so that an opening for attaching and detaching the process cartridge 50 is enlarged, and the attachment and removal work is facilitated.

In FIG. 7, an expansion / contraction mechanism of the paper feed tray 20 is illustrated. As shown in FIG. 7, the second tray plate 200 b is provided with a tray elongated hole 208, and the tray adjustment hinge 204 is slidably supported by the tray elongated hole 208. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, even if the tray opening / closing hinge 202 moves in the front direction or the back direction as the large cover 130 rotates, the second tray plate 200b moves in the front direction or the back direction along with this movement. Can be moved to. In other words, since the tray adjustment hinge 204 is slidably supported by the tray elongated hole 208, the second tray plate 200b can be moved in the front direction and the back direction, whereby the tray opening / closing hinge 202 is covered with a large cover. It becomes movable according to the rotation of 130.
By adjusting the length of the tray long hole 208, the opening angle of the large cover 130, the moving range of the tray opening / closing hinge 202, and the tilt angle of the first tray plate 200a can be regulated.

  Further, the upper surface of the small cover 122 is configured so that the process cartridge 50 can slide, and the user can insert or remove the process cartridge 50 while sliding on the small cover 122. In this way, by sliding the process cartridge 50 on the small cover 122, the load for supporting the process cartridge 50 is reduced, and the vertical position of the process cartridge 50 is suitable for mounting the process cartridge. The process cartridge 50 is easily attached. This is suitable when the mounting position of the process cartridge 50 is located deep inside the image forming apparatus main body 12.

FIG. 8 shows the external appearance of the process cartridge 50 and its insertion position. In the figure, a form in which the large cover 130 is omitted is shown for convenience of explanation. The process cartridge 50 has a drum-shaped photoconductor 52 in the vicinity of the back surface of the process cartridge main body 500 (the right side surface in FIG. 8), and a photoconductor rotating shaft 522 projects from both side surfaces of the photoconductor 52. In addition, a pressed piece 502 projects from the right side surface and the left side surface of the process cartridge main body 500. Further, a bottom protrusion 504 protruding downward is provided on the bottom surface 500 b of the process cartridge main body 500.
The small cover 122 of the image forming apparatus 10 has a cartridge pressing piece 128 protruding upward from the upper surface. The cartridge pressing piece 128 is provided at a position in contact with the pressed piece 502 of the process cartridge 50 inserted into the image forming apparatus main body 12, and rotates in conjunction with the small cover 122 to bring the pressed piece 502 into the front surface. Press in the direction.
In addition, side guide portions 129 are provided on the right side surface and the left side surface inside the image forming apparatus main body 12, respectively. The side guide portion 129 has a guide groove for guiding the photosensitive member rotation shaft 522 of the process cartridge 50 to be inserted, and guides the process cartridge 50 to the mounting position. Therefore, the small cover 122 is provided so that the height of the photosensitive member rotating shaft 522 of the process cartridge 50 placed on the back end of the small cover 122 is substantially the same as the height of the guide groove of the side guide portion 129. ing.
Further, a bottom guide portion 126 is provided on the upper surface of the small cover 122 to regulate the position of the stacked process cartridges 50 in the left-right direction. The bottom guide portion 126 of this example is a groove that is recessed corresponding to the bottom protrusion 504 of the process cartridge 50 to be loaded. By fitting the bottom protrusion 504 of the process cartridge 50 into this groove, Determine the position of the direction. The bottom guide portion 126 and the bottom protrusion 504 do not regulate the position of the process cartridge 50 in the front direction and the back direction, and the process cartridge 50 can be freely placed in the front direction and the back direction while being placed on the small cover 122. Can be slid.

Next, the process cartridge attaching / detaching operation will be described.
As shown in FIG. 5, in the state where the small cover 122 is closed, the process cartridge 50 is fixed at the mounting position by fixing means constituted by a leaf spring or the like. When removing the process cartridge 50, the user first pulls the large cover 130 forward and rotates it. When the large cover 130 rotates about the large cover hinge 132, the small cover 122 becomes rotatable and, as shown in FIG. 6, a part of the paper feed tray 20 (the first tray plate 200a and the second tray plate 200a). The tray plate 200b) moves downward, and a large opening is formed in front of the small cover 122. Next, the user rotates the small cover 122 forward. When the small cover 122 is rotated forward, the cartridge pressing piece 128 provided on the small cover 122 is also rotated, abutting against the pressed piece 502 of the process cartridge 50 and pressing in the front direction (obliquely upward).
The process cartridge 50 pressed obliquely upward on the front surface via the pressed piece 502 is released from the fixed state (locked state) by the fixing means, and is transported from the mounting position toward the front surface (left side in FIG. 8). The process cartridge 50 slides on the upper surface of the small cover 122 and is taken out of the image forming apparatus 10. Further, in this case, the small cover 122 functions as a partition wall that separates the process cartridge 50 to be taken out from the paper feed tray 20, and the recording paper on which the toner falling from the process cartridge 50 in operation is stacked on the paper feed tray 20. Prevents from adhering to.

  When the process cartridge 50 is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body 12, the user opens the large cover 130 and the small cover 122 in the same manner as described above, and places the process cartridge 50 on the upper surface of the small cover 122 to process the process cartridge 50. The bottom protrusion 504 (FIG. 8) of the cartridge 50 and the bottom guide part 126 (FIG. 8) of the small cover 122 are fitted. Then, the user presses the process cartridge 50 in the back direction (back surface direction). The pressed process cartridge 50 is guided by the bottom guide portion 126 and slides on the upper surface of the small cover 122, and the photosensitive member rotating shaft 522 (FIG. 8) of the process cartridge 50 is side guide portion of the image forming apparatus main body 12. It is conveyed to a position guided by 129 (FIG. 8). When the user further presses the process cartridge 50 in the depth direction of the image forming apparatus main body, the process cartridge 50 is guided by the side guide portion 129, and the pressed piece 502 of the process cartridge 50 becomes the cartridge pressing piece 128 of the small cover 122. It is conveyed to the position where it abuts.

As described above, the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present exemplary embodiment includes the small cover 122 that covers the area adjacent to the installation area of the paper feed tray 20 on the surface from which the paper feed tray 20 protrudes, and the paper feed tray 20. By providing the installation area and the large cover 130 that covers the periphery of the opening / closing area of the small cover 122, a large opening on this surface can be freely opened and closed. Particularly, when the position of the paper feed tray 20 can be changed, the large cover 130 can be opened and closed including the movable range of the paper feed tray 20.
In addition, since the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment includes a part of the ridgeline on the upper surface of the apparatus by the large cover 130, the inside of the apparatus can be viewed from obliquely upward by opening the large cover 130.
Further, in the image forming apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the tray opening / closing hinge 202 that supports the paper feed tray 20 also moves as the large cover 130 rotates, so that the process cartridge can be used when the large cover 130 is opened. The space for exchanging 50 can be expanded downward.
Further, the image forming apparatus 10 of the present embodiment is configured so that the large cover 130 and the small cover 122 can be opened and closed only in a predetermined order, so that the large cover 130 and the small cover 122 are opened and closed by one interlock switch 136. Can be detected.

[Modification]
Next, a modification of the above embodiment will be described.
In FIG. 9, a small cover 122 that rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the large cover 130 is shown. As shown in FIG. 9A, the large cover 130 is provided with a cover interlocking long hole 138. A slide shaft 127 is provided to be slidable with respect to the cover interlocking long hole 138, and the small cover 122 is supported on the slide shaft 127 at a position different from the small cover hinge 124 (in the vicinity of the upper end in this example). ing.
When the large cover 130 is gradually rotated forward, as shown in FIG. 9B, the slide shaft 127 slides within the cover interlocking long hole 138 and is centered on the small cover hinge 124. Move downward while drawing an arc. When the slide shaft 127 moves downward, the small cover 122 also rotates forward.
As described above, the image forming apparatus 10 according to the present modification facilitates the opening / closing operation of the large cover 130 and the small cover 122 by interlocking the opening / closing operation of the large cover 130 and the opening / closing operation of the small cover 122.

In the above-described embodiment, the process cartridge 50 has been described as an example of the replacement unit. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention may be applied to, for example, a toner cartridge that stores toner.
The image forming apparatus 10 is a printer apparatus that forms an image with a single color toner. For example, the image forming apparatus 10 is a full-color copying machine that forms an image with four color toners of C, M, Y, and K colors. There may be.
In the above embodiment, the manual paper feed tray 20 is described as an example of the tray. However, a cassette type paper feed tray or a paper discharge tray may be used.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a positional relationship between an exchange unit accommodated in the image forming apparatus and a small cover 122 for carrying in the exchange unit. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating another embodiment of an image forming apparatus provided with a small cover 122 and a large cover 130. 1 is an external view of an image forming apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a diagram illustrating a cross section of the image forming apparatus 10 with a paper feed tray 20 closed. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a cross section of the image forming apparatus 10 in which a paper feed tray 20 is opened. 2 is a diagram illustrating the image forming apparatus 10 when a process cartridge 50 is attached or detached (a state where a large cover and a small cover are opened). FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an expansion / contraction mechanism of a paper feed tray 20. FIG. It is a figure which shows the external appearance of the process cartridge 50 and its insertion position. It is a figure which illustrates the small cover 122 rotated in response to rotation of the large cover.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Image forming apparatus 12 ... Image forming apparatus main body 122 ... Small cover 124 ... Small cover hinge 126 ... Bottom part guide part 127 ... Slide shaft 128 ... Cartridge pressing piece 129 ..Side guide part 130... Large cover 132... Large cover hinge 134. Small cover contact piece 136. Interlock switch 20. ... Tray adjustment hinge 206 ... Tray telescopic piece 208 ... Tray oblong hole 40 ... Paper transport path 50 ... Process cartridge 500 ... Process cartridge main body 502 ... Pressed piece 504 ... -Bottom projection 52 ... Photoconductor 522 ... Photoconductor rotating shaft 54 ... Charging roll 56 ... Developing roll 70 ... Exposure device 9 ... paper output tray

Claims (9)

An image forming apparatus main body;
A tray provided protruding from the main body of the image forming apparatus,
A first opening / closing cover for freely opening and closing an area adjacent to the tray;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a second opening / closing cover that opens and closes an area opened and closed by the first opening / closing cover and an area surrounding the tray installation area. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first opening / closing cover is provided so as to freely open and close a region where the second opening / closing cover can contact the tray by an opening / closing operation. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one end portion of the first opening / closing cover enters an inner direction of the image forming apparatus main body. The tray is a paper feed tray on which a recording medium to be supplied is stacked,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein an end portion of the first opening / closing cover adjacent to the paper feed tray enters a direction in which a recording medium is supplied by the paper feed tray. The second opening / closing cover is rotatably supported on the image forming apparatus main body by a first support shaft provided at the lower end,
The image according to claim 1, wherein the tray is rotatably supported by the second opening / closing cover by a second support shaft provided above the first support shaft. Forming equipment. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second opening / closing cover is configured to be closed on condition that the first opening / closing cover is closed. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a process cartridge that is detachably accommodated in the main body of the image forming apparatus inside the first opening / closing cover. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second opening / closing cover forms at least a part of a ridge line of an outer shape of the image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus main body, a tray provided so as to protrude from the image forming apparatus main body, a first opening / closing cover provided so that an area adjacent to the tray can be opened and closed, and the first opening / closing cover. An image forming apparatus comprising: a second opening / closing cover that is detachably provided in an area and an area surrounding the tray installation position; and a process cartridge that is detachably provided in the image forming apparatus main body.
Open the second opening / closing cover,
Open the first opening / closing cover,
A method for attaching or removing the process cartridge.

Images