The present invention relates to image forming apparatuses, such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile, or a multifunction apparatus.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2021-47344 proposes an image forming apparatus equipped with an exterior cover disposed in an openable and closable manner on a casing, and a separately disposed inner cover arranged on an inner side of the exterior cover in a closed state. An image forming unit including a photosensitive drum, a charging unit, and a developing unit is arranged on an inner side of the inner cover. The inner cover is provided to prevent users from erroneously touching a power supply unit or a movable unit of the image forming unit when the users open the exterior cover, for example, to remove a recording material that has been jammed in midway of a conveyance path and not discharged from the apparatus.
Further, the image forming apparatus may be equipped with a fan for taking in air from an exterior, and a large number of ducts for guiding the air taken in from the exterior by the fan toward the image forming unit including the charging units and the developing units. Air is sent toward the image forming unit so as to collect discharge products such as ozone that has been generated by charging the charging unit and to suppress rising of temperature of the developing unit accompanying a toner agitating operation within the developing unit.
Image forming apparatuses for carrying out commercial printing in which toner images are formed on a large number of recording materials in a short time are being used. In such apparatuses, since there is a large amount of discharge products generated from the charging unit and the temperature of the developing unit tends to rise, a large-scale fan capable of taking in a large amount of air is used. However, even the image forming apparatus for commercial printing is required to be downsized, such that there is not enough space for installing a large-scale fan in the vicinity of the charging unit or the developing unit within the casing, and the large-scale fan is arranged at a position distant from the charging unit or the developing unit and a long duct must be disposed. Since the duct is extended, a cross-sectional area of the flow path of the duct must be increased to reduce pressure loss in the duct. Therefore, it may be possible to form a duct on the inner cover made of resin that has a relatively wide space. The inner cover is manufactured by a machining device that performs injection molding using resin.
However, the image forming apparatuses for commercial printing include a plurality of image forming units for forming toner images on a recording material arranged in parallel, such that the inner cover is elongated in a longitudinal direction, i.e., direction along which the image forming units are arranged, and warping tends to occur to the inner cover in proportion to its size. If warping of the inner cover occurs, it becomes difficult to attach the inner cover to the casing, and even if the inner cover can be attached to the casing, the duct may not be arranged at the correct position.
According to one aspect of the present invention, an image forming apparatus includes a casing, an image forming unit disposed in the casing and configured to form a toner image on a recording material, an outer cover disposed on the casing and configured to be opened and closed with respect to the casing, a first fan; a second fan; a first inner cover arranged to face an inner side of the outer cover in a closed state, the first inner cover being made of resin, the first inner cover including a first duct configured to guide air taken in from an exterior of the image forming apparatus by rotation of the first fan to the image forming unit, and a second inner cover arranged to face the inner side of the outer cover in the closed state, the second inner cover being made of resin, the second inner cover including a second duct configured to guide air taken in from the exterior of the image forming apparatus by rotation of the second fan to the image forming unit.
Further features of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
A general configuration of an image forming system equipped with an image forming apparatus according to a present embodiment will be described with reference to
The image forming apparatus 100 is a tandem full-color printer adopting an electrophotographic system, and includes a first casing 101a and a second casing 101b. The first casing 101a includes various devices and members for realizing steps related to conveying the recording material S and transferring toner images thereto. Meanwhile, the second casing 101b includes various devices and members, such as a fixing unit 800, for realizing steps related to conveying the recording material S and fixing toner images thereto. Moreover, the second casing 101b is provided with an operation portion 200 arranged on a front side thereof that includes a display portion capable of displaying various information and keys allowing users to enter various information. The second casing 101b is arranged on a first end side of the first casing 101a in a right-left direction of the image forming apparatus 100, that is, direction along which image forming portions Pa to Pd are arranged, i.e., longitudinal direction, and the first casing 101a and the second casing 101b are connected in a manner capable of conveying the recording material S therebetween.
In the present specification, a side on which the user stands when operating the operation portion 200 is referred to as a “front side”, or front, and an opposite side thereof is referred to as a “rear side”, or back. A left side viewed from the front side is referred to as “left”, and a right side viewed from the front side is referred to as “right”.
The image forming apparatus 100 is equipped with four image forming portions Pa, Pb, Pc, and Pd for forming yellow, magenta, cyan, and black images, respectively. The image forming apparatus 100 forms a toner image on the recording material S based on image signals from a document reading apparatus 190 for reading image signals from documents or from an external apparatus such as a personal computer not shown. Paper, such as normal paper, thick paper, rough paper, uneven paper, and coated paper, plastic films, and cloth can be used as the recording material S.
As illustrated in
A plurality of (two according to the present example) cassettes 10 storing the recording material S are arranged at a lower part of the image forming apparatus 100. Recording materials S having different sizes and thicknesses are stored in the cassettes 10, and the recording material S is selectively conveyed from one of the cassettes 10. The recording material S is conveyed by a conveyance roller 16 from the cassette 10 through a conveyance path to a registration roller 12. Thereafter, the registration roller 12 rotates in synchronization with the toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 130, by which the recording material S is conveyed toward the secondary transfer portion T2. The recording material S placed on a manual sheet feed portion not shown can also be conveyed instead of the recording material S stored in the cassettes 10.
The image forming portions Pa, Pb, Pc, and Pd adopt an approximately identical configuration except for the different developer colors for the toner image. Therefore, the image forming portion Pa for developing a yellow image will be described as a representative example, and descriptions of other image forming portions Pb, Pc, and Pd are omitted.
A photosensitive drum 3a serving as a photosensitive member is arranged in the image forming portion Pa. The photosensitive drum 3a is driven to rotate by a motor not shown. A charging unit 2a, an exposing unit La, a developing unit 1a, a primary transfer roller 24a, and a drum cleaning device 4a are arranged in a circumference of the photosensitive drum 3a.
A process for forming a full-color image by the image forming apparatus 100 will be described. At first, when the image forming operation is started, the surface of the photosensitive drum 3a being rotated is charged uniformly by the charging unit 2a. The charging unit 2a can be a corona charger, for example, that irradiates charged particles through corona discharge to charge the surface of the photosensitive drum 3a to uniform potential. Next, the photosensitive drum 3a is scanned and exposed by laser light corresponding to an image signal generated from the exposing unit La. Thereby, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image signal is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 3a. The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 3a is developed into a toner image, which is a visible image, by developer containing toner and carrier stored in the developing unit 1a. In other words, the toner image is developed by having toner supplied to the photosensitive drum 3a from the developing unit 1a. Developer is conveyed in circulation while being agitated by a conveyance screw not shown within the developing units 1a to 1d.
The toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 3a is primarily transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 130 at a primary transfer portion formed between the photosensitive drum 3a and the primary transfer roller 24a opposed thereto with the intermediate transfer belt 130 interposed therebetween. In this state, primary transfer voltage is applied to the primary transfer roller 24a. Toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 3a after primary transfer is removed by the drum cleaning device 4a.
Such an operation is performed sequentially for each of the image forming portions Pa to Pd for yellow, magenta, cyan, and black image, and the toner images of four colors are superposed on the intermediate transfer belt 130. Thereafter, at a matched timing with the forming of toner image, the recording material S stored in the cassette 10 is conveyed to the secondary transfer portion T2. Then, by applying a secondary transfer voltage to the secondary transfer outer roller 11, a full-color toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 130 is secondarily transferred collectively to the recording material S. Toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 130 after secondary transfer is removed by a belt cleaning device not shown.
The recording material S to which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed to the fixing unit 800. The fixing unit 800 fixes the toner image to the recording material S by applying heat and pressure to the recording material S to which the toner image has been transferred. In the present embodiment, after applying heat and pressure to the recording material S by a first fixing device 81, additional heat and pressure can be selectively applied by a second fixing device 91. The fixing unit 800 can switch paths between a path for conveying the recording material S toward the second fixing device 91 after passing through the first fixing device 81 and a path for conveying the recording material S in a route avoiding the second fixing device 91 after passing through the first fixing device 81 by a switching flapper 95.
The second fixing device 91 is arranged downstream of the first fixing device 81 in the conveyance direction of the recording material S. The second fixing device 91 is used selectively with the aim of additionally applying glossiness, for example, to the toner image on the recording material S having been fixed by the first fixing device 81. For example, in a case where the recording material S is coated paper such as glossy paper or synthetic paper, the recording material S having passed through the first fixing device 81 is conveyed through a fixing route 30a such that fixing is performed by both the first fixing device 81 and the second fixing device 91. In contrast, if the recording material S is noncoated paper such as normal paper, the recording material S having passed through the first fixing device 81 is conveyed through a bypath route 30b that avoids the second fixing device 91 so that fixing is only performed by the first fixing device 81 and fixing is not performed by the second fixing device 91.
The first fixing device 81 and the second fixing device 91 described above can adopt the same configuration, so the first fixing device 81 is described here as an example. The first fixing device 81 includes a fixing roller 82, or fixing belt, that is rotatable in contact with a surface of the recording material S on which the toner image has been fixed, and a pressing belt 83, or pressure roller, that forms a fixing nip portion by being in pressure contact with the fixing roller 82. At least one of the fixing roller 82 and the pressing belt 83 is heated by a heater not shown. The first fixing device 81 applies heat and pressure to the recording material S when nipping and conveying the recording material S to which the toner image has been formed in the fixing nip portion formed by the fixing roller 82 and the pressing belt 83, and the toner image is fixed to the recording material S.
According to the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 is capable of performing duplex printing. In the case of a single-side printing, the recording material S to which the toner image has been fixed is conveyed to a sheet discharge conveyance path 150 and discharged to the exterior of the image forming apparatus 100. In the case of a duplex printing, the recording material S to which the toner image has been fixed is conveyed to a reverse conveyance path 600. The reverse conveyance path 600 is formed across the first casing 101a and the second casing 101b. In the reverse conveyance path 600, the recording material S is reversed by a switch-back operation, and the front and back sides of the recording material S are switched. The recording material S that has been reversed is conveyed toward the registration roller 12, and is conveyed by the registration roller 12 to the secondary transfer portion T2 in a state where the back side on which printing has not been performed is faced toward the intermediate transfer belt 130. In the secondary transfer portion T2, the full-color toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 130 is secondarily transferred collectively to the back side of the recording material S. Thereafter, fixing of toner image by the fixing unit 800 is performed to the recording material S, and the recording material S is discharged to the exterior of the image forming apparatus 100 in a state where the side on which image has been formed immediately prior thereto, i.e., image forming surface, is facing upward. The switching of the sheet discharge conveyance path 150 and the reverse conveyance path 600 described above is performed by a switching flapper 160.
The finisher apparatus 300 is connected to the image forming apparatus 100 in a manner capable of having the recording material S conveyed thereto, and the recording material S discharged from the image forming apparatus 100 is conveyed to the finisher apparatus 300. The recording material S conveyed to the finisher apparatus 300 is subjected to post-processing, such as a punching process in which holes are punched to the recording material S or a stapling process in which a plurality of recording materials S are bundled and stapled, in the finisher apparatus 300. In the finisher apparatus 300, the recording material S having holes punched thereto is discharged to an upper sheet discharge tray 301, and the bundle of recording materials S being stapled together is discharged to a lower sheet discharge tray 302.
Next, an airflow configuration in the first casing 101a will be described based on
As illustrated in
The blower fans 180a and 180b and the side face duct 1741 are arranged on a left side face of the left-side main duct 174. That is, a communication port communicated with the blower fans 180a and 180b is formed on the left-side main duct 174, and air taken in through the air intake port 171a by the operation of the blower fans 180a and 180b is passed through the inner side of the left-side main duct 174. Air taken in through the air intake port 171a is passed through a filter not shown where dust and the like contained in the air is removed. Ducts 181a, 181b, and 181c are formed in an interior of the side face duct 1741. The side face duct 1741 and the blower fans 180a and 180b are connected such that the air passed through the blower fans 180a and 180b flows through the ducts 181a and 181b (refer to dotted arrows).
Although not shown, four blower fans not shown are arranged on a right side face opposite to the side on which the side face duct 1741 is arranged on the left-side main duct 174. Each of the four blower fans not shown is capable of taking in external air of the image forming apparatus 100 via the air intake port 171a. The air taken in by four blower fans disposed on the right side face of the left-side main duct 174 is sent toward the air blowing destination via the duct 181c, for example. Components other than the ducts 181a to 181c have been omitted from the drawing, but the left-side air blowing unit 124 includes air blower ducts corresponding to each air blowing destination, which are the developing units 1a to 1d and the charging units 2a and 2b.
As illustrated in
The blower fans 180c and 180d and the passage duct 179 are arranged on a right side face of the right-side main duct 176. That is, a communication port communicated with the blower fans 180c and 180d is formed on the right-side main duct 176, and air taken in through the air intake port 172a is passed through the inner side of the right-side main duct 176 according to the operation of the blower fans 180c and 180d. Air taken in through the air intake port 172a is passed through a filter not shown where dust and the like contained in the air is removed. Ducts 181c and 181d are formed in an interior of the passage duct 179. The passage duct 179 and the blower fans 180c and 180d are connected such that the air passed through the blower fans 180c and 180d flows through the ducts 181c and 181d (refer to dotted arrows). The blower fans 180a to 180d can be sirocco fans, for example.
As illustrated in
A heat sink 505 made of aluminum and a cooling duct 504 are provided in the developing unit 1a. Air sent from an air outlet port 2076 provided on the inner cover unit described below passes via the cooling duct 504 and through the heat sink 505 while absorbing heat, cooling the developing unit 1a. The air passed through the cooling duct 504 is discharged to the exterior of the apparatus by an air discharge fan not shown.
As illustrated in
According to the present embodiment, the image forming portions Pa and Pb are supported on the first casing 101a at a position opposed to the left front door 170a in the closed state, and the image forming portions Pc and Pd are supported on the first casing 101a at a position opposed to the right front door 170b in the closed state. In other words, the image forming portions Pa and Pb are arranged on the left side from the center when viewed from the front side, and the image forming portions Pc and Pd are arranged on the right side from the center when viewed from the front side.
Next, the inner cover unit 125 will be described based on
For example, the inner cover unit 125 is formed to have a right-left direction length of “1253 mm” and an up-down direction, i.e., short direction, length of “225 mm” to fit in the first casing 101a. In a state where the inner cover unit 125 is formed of the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202, the first inner cover 201 is formed to have a right-left direction length of “675 mm” and an up-down direction length of “225 mm”, and the second inner cover 202 is formed to have a longitudinal direction length of “578 mm” and a short direction length of “225 mm”.
The first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202 described above are integrated by a reinforcing plate 211 and a reinforcing plate 212. According to the present embodiment, the reinforcing plate 211 and the reinforcing plate 212 are both arranged across the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202, and they are integrated by being fixed to both the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202. The reinforcing plate 211 and the reinforcing plate 212 are made of metal, and they are arranged to extend in the right-left direction at separated positions above and below a center portion in the up-down direction. These reinforcing plates 211 and 212 reinforce the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202 made of resin and also suppress warping of the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202.
The first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202 each include a plurality of ducts. The plurality of ducts included in the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202 are formed into suitable shapes to allow efficient air blow in correspondence with the air blowing destination within the first casing 101a. Since the ducts are integrated with the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202, flow paths can be formed while suppressing increase in size of the ducts.
The first inner cover 201 includes a first cover surface 2011 that faces the image forming unit and that is disposed on an opposite side to a surface, facing the left front door 170a, of the first inner cover 201. Further, the first inner cover 201 includes all of a plurality of ducts 203, 204, 207, 208 and 209 and a part of a duct 210 disposed on a side, on which the first cover surface 2011 is provided, of the first inner cover 201. All of the above-mentioned plurality of ducts 203, 204, 207, 208, and 209 and the part of the duct 210 constitute a first duct that guides air taken in from the exterior by rotation of the blower fans 180a and 180b to the image forming unit. Alternatively, at least one of the blower fans 180a and 180b can constitute the first fan and the other one of the blower fans 180a and 180b can be omitted. The ducts 203, 204, 207, 208, 209, and 210 include air intake ports 203a, 204a, 207a, 208a, 209a, and 210a for taking in air and air outlet ports 203b, 204b, 2076, 208b, 209b, and 210b for discharging air, respectively. The duct 210 is formed across both the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202, as illustrated, wherein an air intake port 210a is arranged on the first inner cover 201 and an air outlet port 210b is arranged on the second inner cover 202.
Meanwhile, the second inner cover 202 includes a second cover surface 2012 that is arranged on an opposite side to the right front door 170b and that faces the image forming unit. The second inner cover 202 includes all of a plurality of ducts 205 and 206 and a part of the duct 210 disposed on a side, on which the second cover surface 2012 is provided, of the second inner cover 202. All of the above-mentioned ducts 205 and 206 and the part of the duct 210 constitute a second duct that guides air taken in from the exterior by rotation of the blower fans 180c and 180d to the image forming unit. Alternatively, at least one of the blower fans 180c and 180d can constitute the second fan and the other one of the blower fans 180c and 180d can be omitted. The ducts 205 and 206 include air intake ports 205a and 206a for taking in air and air outlet ports 205b and 206b for discharging air, respectively. In the present embodiment, the duct 203 is for guiding air to the charging unit 2a, the duct 204 is for guiding air to the charging unit 2b, the duct 207 is for guiding air to the developing unit 1a, and the ducts 208 to 210 are for guiding air respectively to the developing units 1b to 1d. Air is sent to these ducts 203, 204, 207, 208, 209, and 210 from the left-side air blowing unit 124 illustrated in
Next, a configuration of the ducts provided on the first inner cover 201 described above will be illustrated, taking the duct 203 as an example. As illustrated in
Although not shown, the ducts provided on the second inner cover 202 adopt a similar configuration. For example, the duct 205 can be composed of a pair of second ribs that protrude from the second cover surface 2012 of the second inner cover 202 (refer to
Next, a duct 210 formed across the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202 will be described. As described above, since the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202 are formed independently, the duct 210 is designed to be divided into the first inner cover 201 side and the second inner cover 202 side. A part of the duct 210 disposed on the first inner cover 201 side is referred to as a duct 210d, or first duct, and a part of the duct 210 disposed on the second inner cover 202 side is referred to as a duct 210f, or second duct. In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 includes a connecting portion 210c that connects the duct 210d and the duct 210f and that guides air from one of the ducts 210d and 210f to the other.
In the present embodiment, a fitting portion 210e protruded toward the duct 210f is formed on an end portion of the duct 210d as the connecting portion 210c, as illustrated in
As illustrated in
The first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202 described above are removably attached integrally to the first casing 101a. In the present embodiment, as illustrated in
In the present embodiment, the user or the operator can position the inner cover unit 125 having integrated the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202 via the first fixing portion 220 and the second fixing portion 221 to a predetermined position or the first casing 101a. Further, the user or the operator can fix the attached inner cover unit 125 to the first casing 101a. Now, this configuration will be described based on
As illustrated in
The lever portion 215 is disposed pivotably on the second inner cover 202. The lever portion 215 includes a shaft portion 216 that extends from the front side toward the rear side through the through hole formed on the second inner cover 202. As illustrated in
That is, when fixing the second inner cover 202 to the first casing 101a, the user positions the second inner cover 202 via the pin 214a before pivoting the lever portion 215 toward a locking direction. Then, the shaft portion 216 of the lever portion 215 pivots, and as illustrated in
As described, according to the present embodiment, the inner cover unit 125 is configured in a manner divided into the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202 made of resin. A plurality of ducts are formed on the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202. The user can attach the inner cover unit 125 having integrated the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202 to the first casing 101a. As described, by dividing the inner cover unit 125 into the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202, a length in the longitudinal direction of components of each of the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202 can be shortened. That is, by separately manufacturing the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202, which are not easily warped due to its short longitudinal length, and integrating the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202 thereafter, the inner cover unit 125 that is not easily warped can be formed. Since warping does not easily occur, the user can easily attach the inner cover unit 125 to the first casing 101a, and when the inner cover unit 125 is attached, the ducts are correctly positioned with respect to the image forming portions Pa to Pd, which are the air blowing destinations.
Further, since a small machining device can be used when manufacturing the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202 through injection molding, manufacturing costs can be suppressed. This is because when injection molding is performed to form an inner cover having an integrated rectangular shape in which the difference between longitudinal and short directions is great, molding must be performed in a large-scale machining device corresponding to the longitudinal size, but since it is difficult to arrange many large-scale components simultaneously, useless blanks are formed by molding and space efficiency is deteriorated, such that high costs related to the large-scale molding device have a great impact on the costs of each component. Furthermore, a long integrated rectangular component requires much space for storage and shipping, and the management and shipping costs are increased, such that divided components can suppress related costs.
Next, an inner cover unit 125A according to a second embodiment will be described with reference to
As illustrated in
As described, the inner cover unit 125A does not have a reinforcing plate that is arranged across the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202, unlike the inner cover unit 125 of the first embodiment. Therefore, the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202 can each be independently attached to and detached from the first casing 101a, and by fixing the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202 separately, the inner cover unit 125A is attached to the first casing 101a.
In order to fix the first inner cover 201 to the first casing 101a, in addition to providing the first fixing portion 220 described above, a mounting base portion 316 having a pin 316a is provided on the first casing 101a. Further, in order to fix the second inner cover 202 to the first casing 101a, in addition to providing the second fixing portion 221 described above, a mounting base portion 318 having a pin 318a is provided on the first casing 101a. That is, the first inner cover 201 is positioned at a predetermined position on the first casing 101a by being inserted to a pin 220a of the first fixing portion 220 and the pin 316a of the mounting base portion 316. The second inner cover 202 is positioned at a predetermined position on the first casing 101a by being inserted to the pin 214a of the second fixing portion 221 and the pin 318a of the mounting base portion 318.
As illustrated in
In that case, however, the order for removing the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202 is determined by which of the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202 the fitting portion 210e is provided to. For example, as illustrated in
Further, the ducts 210d and 210f can be connected via a relay duct 350 serving as the connecting portion 210c, as illustrated in
According to the second embodiment described above, the user can attach the inner cover unit 125A to the first casing 101a by attaching the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202 separately. That is, prior to attachment, the inner cover unit 125A is divided into the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202, and the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202 are attached separately, by which the inner cover unit 125A that has been integrated after attachment is provided. Thereby, compared to the attachment of the inner cover unit 125 (refer to
According to the second embodiment described above, an example has been illustrated in which the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202 are fixed to the first casing 101a in a closed state via the fixing portions (220, 221) and the mounting base portions (316, 318), but the present technique is not limited to this example. For example, the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202 can be disposed in an openable and closable manner with respect to the first casing 101a. Hereafter, an example in which the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202 are disposed in an openable and closable manner will be described with reference to
As illustrated in
Meanwhile, the second inner cover 202 includes a second pivot shaft 402a at an end portion, far from the first end portion, of the first inner cover 201, and the second inner cover 202 is disposed in an openable and closable manner by pivoting with respect to the first casing 101a about the second pivot shaft 402a. The second pivot shaft 402a is attached to a hinge support plate 402 fixed to the first casing 101a. The second inner cover 202 is inserted to the pin 318a of the mounting base portion 318 in a closed state and positioned at a predetermined position on the first casing 101a.
As illustrated in
The ducts 210d and 210f can be connected by the fitting portion 210e described above (refer to
In contrast, when the relay duct 350 is provided, there is no set order for opening and closing the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202, such that even only one of the covers can be opened. Thereby, for example, if only the image forming portion Pa requires maintenance, the first inner cover 201 alone can be opened to perform maintenance operation of the image forming portion Pa. According to this configuration, the workability during maintenance of the image forming portions Pa to Pd that are covered by the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202 is improved.
An example has been illustrated above of a case where the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202 are configured as a gatefold cover in which the covers are opened and closed separately in opposite right-left directions, but the opening and closing directions are not limited thereto. The first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202 can be designed to open and close in the same right or left direction, or they can be designed to open and close in the up-down direction. Further, the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202 can be designed to open and close integrally.
The above-described embodiment illustrated an example in which the first inner cover 201 covers the image forming portions Pa and Pb, and the second inner cover 202 covers the image forming portions Pc and Pd, but the present embodiment is not limited thereto. For example, among the plurality of image forming portions Pa to Pb, only the image forming portion Pa, i.e., first image forming unit, positioned closest to the first end in the longitudinal direction, that is, in the direction along which the image forming portions Pa to Pb are aligned, can be covered by the first inner cover 201, and the other image forming portions Pb, Pc, and Pk including the image forming portion Pk, i.e., second image forming unit, positioned closest to the second end in the longitudinal direction can be covered by the second inner cover 202.
According further to the above-described embodiment, the inner cover unit 125 is divided into two parts, which are the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202, but the present technique is not limited thereto. For example, the inner cover unit 125 can be divided into three parts or more. Even further, the divided inner cover does not necessarily have to include the duct.
According further to the above-described embodiment, the ducts 203, 204, 207, 208, 209, and 210 are disposed on the first cover surface 2011 side of the first inner cover 201, and the ducts 205 and 206 are disposed on the second cover surface 2012 side of the second inner cover 202, but the present technique is not limited thereto. That is, the ducts 203, 204, 207, 208, 209, and 210 can be disposed in any area of the first inner cover 201 as long as they are capable of guiding the air taken in from the exterior to the image forming unit. The ducts 205 and 206 can also be disposed in any area of the second inner cover 202 as long as they are capable of guiding the air taken in from the exterior to the image forming unit. On which of the first inner cover 201 and the second inner cover 202 each of the ducts 203, 204, 205, 206, 207, 208, 209, and 210 are arranged can be determined arbitrarily.
While the present invention has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.
This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-051433, filed Mar. 28, 2022, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2022-051433 | Mar 2022 | JP | national |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 18187979 | Mar 2023 | US |
Child | 18795435 | US |