JP2000326541A - Image-forming apparatus, and its manufacture and apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image-forming apparatus which is low-cost and easy- to-use, can form high-quality images and is easy to maintain. SOLUTION: The image-forming apparatus has a developing roller 11 for holding and transferring a toner 8, a developer pass control means 4 which has a plurality of pores 23 formed in an array to pass the toner 8 and controls the toner 8 to pass the pores in accordance with image signals from outside, an image receiving member 7 to which the passing toner 8 adheres, and a back electrode 6 which supports the image receiving member 7 and forms an electric field for flying the toner 8 between the electrode and the developing roller 11 when a predetermined voltage is applied. In the apparatus, the developing roller 11 and a toner storage container 9 are united, thereby constituting a toner cartridge 5. The toner cartridge 5 is detachably mounted to a casing member 2 to which at least one end of the developer pass control means 4 is positioned and secured.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus applied to a copying machine, a facsimile, a printer, and the like.
More particularly, the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus for forming an image by ejecting a developer to a recording member, and a method and apparatus for manufacturing the image forming apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in offices, with the improvement of personal computer capabilities and the advancement of network technology,
High-performance printers that can handle large volumes of documents,
Facsimiles and copiers are becoming widespread. On the other hand, color documents are also increasing due to the rapid spread of inkjet printers and the like. However, engines capable of outputting satisfactory black-and-white or color documents, including speed, are under development and are expected to appear.

One conventional image forming apparatus uses a direct marking method of forming an image directly on a recording member. For example, an image forming apparatus disclosed in JP-B-44-26333 proposes a developer injection type apparatus which is one of direct marking methods. This is achieved by inputting an image signal to a control electrode provided in the print head to generate an accelerating electric field, passing the charged developer through a small hole near the control electrode, and applying the developer to a voltage applied to a counter electrode. The image is formed by landing on a recording member.

In this type of image forming apparatus, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. -30029 discloses a drive IC for integrally fixing a developer passage control means for controlling passage of a small hole to a support member and for driving a control electrode to the developer passage control means.
Are integrated to form a print head.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-277585 discloses a developer container having a developer carrying means.
One end of the developer passage control means is fixed, and the other end side is attached by being pulled by an elastic body, whereby the developer supply control unit is integrated with the developer supply unit, and this is made detachable with respect to the main body. Things are disclosed.

[0006]

However, in the configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-30029, the mounting tolerance between the print head and the developer carrying means is maintained with high precision in order to form a high quality image. In this case, it is necessary to assemble both parts integrally, and it is not easy to supply the developer because it is not easy to use, and the maintenance is not easy. There is a problem that the manufacturing and assembling processes are complicated and costly.

Further, in the configuration disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-277584, the developer supply unit having the integrated developer passage control means may be replaced when replenishing the developer. Since the developer passage control means is also included in the replacement unit, the cost increases, and the recycling of the replacement unit requires a high degree of care, so that handling is difficult, resulting in an increase in cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and has low cost, is easy to use, can form high-quality images, is easy to maintain, and can be manufactured with high productivity. And to provide the device.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus comprising: a developer carrying means for carrying and transporting a charged developer;
A plurality of small holes through which the developer passes through the base material are formed in rows in a direction orthogonal to the developer transport direction, and a developer passage control means for controlling the passage of the small holes of the developer according to an image signal from the outside; An image receiving means to which the developer that has passed through the small holes adheres, and a back electrode that supports the image receiving means and forms an electric field for causing the developer to fly by applying a predetermined voltage to the developer carrying means. In the forming apparatus, at least one end of the developer passage control unit is formed on a housing member that integrally forms a developer supply unit and a storage container that stores the developer and that detachably mounts the developer supply unit. Are positioned and fixed.

With this configuration, the developer can be replenished by attaching and detaching the developer supply unit to and from the housing member in which the developer passage control means is positioned and fixed.
Also, since the developer supply unit, which is a replacement supply part, is not provided with the developer passage control means, the cost is low,
In addition, by configuring the developer supply unit to be positioned by the housing member, a high-quality image can be formed.

When one end of the developer passage control means is positioned and fixed to the housing member and the other end of the developer passage control means is connected to the tension means, the developer passage control means is opposed to the tension means. It is possible to adjust the relative position with respect to the developer carrying means by displacing, and to accurately set the position of the small hole with reference to one end thereof, to prevent the slack of the developer passage control means, and to prevent the developer passage. The control means can uniformly contact the developer carrying means.

A guide shaft protrudes from both ends of the developer supply unit, and a guide groove is provided in the housing member so that the guide shaft engages when the developer supply unit is inserted, and the guide shaft engages with the guide groove. When the positioning is performed in a plane direction orthogonal to the perspective direction of the axis of the developer passage control means and the axis of the developer carrying means, the developer supply unit can be positioned in the plane direction simply by inserting the developer supply unit into the housing member. Positioning can be performed automatically.

Further, when the developer supply unit is provided with a first spacer means for abutting on the rear electrode when mounted on the housing member to regulate the distance between the developer carrying means and the rear electrode, the developer supply unit is provided. By simply inserting the unit into the housing member and bringing the first spacer means into contact with the back electrode, the distance between the developer carrying means and the back electrode can be set to a predetermined distance with high precision.

A second spacer means is provided inside the developer passage control means for contacting the developer carrying means when the developer supply unit is mounted on the housing member. When the developer passage control means is mounted on the member, the developer passage control means abuts on the developer carrying means via the second spacer means or directly, and the developer passage control means is moved and the tension means is displaced. By simply inserting the developer supply unit into the housing member and bringing the developer carrying means into contact with the second spacer means or the developer passing control means, the interval between the developer carrying means and the developer passing control means is set to a predetermined interval. It can be set with high accuracy.

Further, when the developer supply unit is mounted,
When a means for urging the developer supply unit toward the back electrode and the developer passage control means is provided, the space between the developer carrying means and the back electrode and the developer carrying means can be obtained simply by mounting the developer supply unit. And the interval between the developer passage control means and the predetermined interval can be set with high accuracy.

Further, when the developer supply unit is mounted on the housing member, the developer holding means is brought into contact with the second spacer means from a position distant from the side edge of the upper surface. 2 can be prevented from being damaged by hitting the edge of the spacer means.

When one end of the developer passage control means is detachably fixed to the housing member, replacement and maintenance of the developer passage control means can be easily performed.

Further, when the developer supply unit is provided with a protective cover for covering the exposed portion of the developer carrying means when not mounted,
Damage to the developer carrying means during transportation of the developer supply unit can be reliably prevented.

When the housing member is detachably mounted on the main body case, the housing member is detached from the main body case, thereby performing maintenance such as replacement and cleaning of the developer passage control means, and intermediate as the back electrode and the image receiving means. When the image receiving belt is used, maintenance of the intermediate image receiving belt can be easily performed.

Further, when the mounting portions of the plurality of developer supply units and the developer passage control means are arranged in parallel with each other on the housing member, the developer can be provided by a single housing member. The passage control means and the developer supply unit can be positioned in parallel with high precision, and a high-quality color image can be formed.

Further, if the developer passage control means are fixed so as to be independently positionable, the rows of small holes can be made parallel to each other with high precision by individual adjustment of each developer passage control means, and color shift can be reduced. It is possible to form a high-quality color image by reliably preventing the exchange, and to facilitate replacement and maintenance of each developer passage control unit.

Further, when a plurality of developer supply units are mounted on the housing member, the first spacer means provided on each developer supply unit abuts on the opposing back electrode, thereby providing the housing member with a plurality of developer supply units. Even if there is a slight twist or warpage, the distance between the developer carrying means and the back electrode is regulated independently and precisely for each developer supply unit with respect to the opposed back electrode. The recording conditions can be made uniform for a plurality of developer supply units, and a high-quality color image with excellent color balance can be formed.

Further, the method and apparatus for manufacturing an image forming apparatus according to the present invention include a developer carrying means and a developer passage control means, and are configured such that the developer carrying member is detachably mounted on a housing member. In a method and an apparatus for manufacturing an image forming apparatus in which one end of a developer passage control unit is fixed to a housing member and the other end is connected to a tension member, the housing member in which the developer passage control unit is temporarily mounted is fixed. The developer carrying means or its dummy is mounted at a predetermined position of the housing member, and one end of the developer passage control means is opposed to the urging force of the tension member while recognizing the position of the small hole row. Holding, adjusting the position so that the row of small holes is located at a predetermined position, and fixing one end of the developer passage control means to the housing member. High quality image formation It can be produced with good productivity performance image forming apparatus.

[0024]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS (First Embodiment) Hereinafter, a first embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

FIGS. 1 to 3 schematically show the structure of an image forming apparatus.
1, a print head 1 has a housing member 2 having an upper surface opened and a developer supply opening 3 formed at a lower end portion, and is disposed on the lower outer surface of the housing member 2 so as to cover the developer supply opening 3. And a developer supply unit (hereinafter, referred to as a toner cartridge) 5 which is detachably installed in the housing member 2. A back electrode 6 is provided with a space between the back electrode 6 and the print head 1 so that an image receiving member 7 such as a recording sheet passes between the back electrode 6 and the print head 1. The back electrode 6 is provided at a lower portion of a main body case (not shown), and the housing member 2 is removably positioned and fixed to an upper portion thereof.

The toner cartridge 5 includes a developer container 9 for storing the toner 8 as a developer, and a developer provided so as to face a developer supply port 10 which is largely opened at a lower portion of the developer container 9. Developing roller 11 as an agent carrying means
A regulating blade 12 that regulates a toner layer carried on the developing roller 11 and conveyed outside the developer supply port 10.
And a supply roller 13 that stirs the toner 8 in the developer container 9 to frictionally charge the toner 8 and supplies the toner 8 to the developing roller 11.

Outside the both ends in the axial direction of the developing roller 11, a regulating collar 14 as first spacer means for contacting the back electrode 6 and regulating the distance between the developing roller 11 and the back electrode 6 is fixed. The outer peripheral surface is in contact with the back electrode 6 and the inner peripheral surface is the outer diameter portion of the developing roller 11 or the developing roller 1.
1 is provided in contact with the outer diameter portion of a coaxial guide shaft 15 extending to both sides from
The distance between the back electrode 6 and the developing roller 11 is set to 150 to
It is configured to be set to 1000 μm, in this embodiment to 350 μm.

Further, a guide shaft 1 coaxial with the developing roller 11
5 project from both ends of the developer container 9. 16
Is the developer supply port 10 when the toner cartridge 5 is transported.
Is a protective cover for protecting the developing roller 11 by closing
It is configured to close automatically.

The toner 8 is sandwiched between the developing roller 11 and the regulating blade 12, and receives a small charge from the developing roller 11 to be charged. In the embodiment, the toner 8 has a negative charge of −10 μC / g.
A non-magnetic material having an average particle size of 8 μm was used.

The developing roller 11 is made of a metal such as aluminum or iron, or an alloy. In this embodiment, an aluminum cylinder having an outer diameter of 20 mm and a thickness of 1 mm is used. The regulating blade 12 is made of an elastic member such as urethane, and has a hardness of 40 to 80 degrees (JIS).
K6301A scale), the free end length (the length of the portion protruding from the mounting portion) is 5 to 15 mm, and the developing roller 11
The linear pressure on the developing roller 11 is suitably 5 to 40 g / cm.
One to three layers of the toner 8 are formed thereon. In this embodiment, the regulating blade 12 is electrically floated.

The supply roller 13 is a roller in which synthetic rubber such as urethane foam is provided on a metal shaft of iron or the like (diameter: 8 mm in this embodiment) in a range of about 2 to 6 mm, and has a hardness of 30 degrees (rolled shape). Is measured according to the method of the JIS K6301A scale) to control the supply of the toner 8 in addition to assisting the charging of the toner 8. The amount of biting into the developing roller 11 is preferably about 0.1 to 2 mm.

The developing roller 11 and the regulating blade 1
2. The supply roller 13 may be electrically grounded or applied with a DC or AC voltage.
2 may be in an electrically floating state.

The back electrode 6 functions as a counter electrode and forms an electric field between the back electrode 6 and the developing roller 11, and is made of a metal plate or resin in which conductive fillers are dispersed. Although a DC voltage of about 500 to 2000 V is applied to the back electrode 6, a voltage of 1000 V is applied in the present embodiment.

The housing member 2 has guide grooves 17 for positioning the toner cartridge 5 by inserting the guide shaft 15 of the toner cartridge 5 on both end walls opposed to both ends in the axial direction of the developing roller 11. Developer supply opening 3
An opening 18 through which the regulating collar 14 penetrates is formed outside the both ends of the opening. Further, the developer supply opening 3 of the housing member 2
A fixing portion 19 for fixing one end of the developer passage control means 4 is formed on one side of the developer supply opening 4, and the other end of the developer passage control means 4 faces upward on the other side of the developer supply opening 3. A stay portion 20 having an arc-shaped cross section to be bent is formed so as to protrude, and a pair of spring hooks 21 is provided at an upper end portion at an appropriate interval.

The developer passage control means 4 perforates a large number of small holes 23 at a fine pitch in the width direction of the image receiving member 7 in the insulating base material 22 to form one or a plurality of small hole rows 24. Small hole 2
3 is formed, and a control signal electrode (not shown) is formed on the back surface of the insulating base material 22 so as not to overlap the image signal electrode. ing. The insulating base material 22 is preferably made of a material such as polyimide or polyethylene terephthalate, and the thickness is suitably from 10 to 100 μm.

In this embodiment, the insulating substrate 22 has a thickness of 50 μm.
m of polyimide is used. The diameter of the small hole 23 is 145
μm, the image signal electrode has an inner diameter of 150 μm and an outer diameter of 250 μm.
The control signal electrode has an inner diameter of 250 μm in a ring shape of μm. Further, a thin resin layer of 1 to 2 μm is provided on the surface of each electrode. The image signal electrodes are made of metal foil such as copper having a thickness of about 5 to 30 μm, and are independently connected to image signal output units as image signal voltage switching means through lead wires. Normally, a voltage of 400 V or less is applied to the image signal electrode.
A voltage of 00 V and a voltage of -100 V are applied for non-dot formation.

One end of the developer passage control means 4 is fixed to a fixing portion 19 of the housing member 2 by a fixing screw 25, and the other end is bent by a stay 20 and the other end is a pair of tension springs. It is locked to the spring hook 21 via 26. Further, a spacer 27 as a second spacer means is mounted on the inner surface of the developer passage control means 4 at an upper position in the moving direction of the developing roller 11 from the small hole row 24. Toner cartridge 5
Is mounted on the housing member 2, and the regulating collar 14 provided on the developing roller 11 abuts on the back electrode 6, and when the distance between the developing roller 11 and the back electrode 6 is regulated to a predetermined size, the developing is performed. The outer peripheral surface of the roller 11 contacts the spacer 27, and the tension spring 26 suspended at the end of the developer passage control means 4 is displaced by the pressing force from the developing roller 11 to the spacer 27. As a result, the developer passage control unit 4 comes into close contact with the developing roller 11 via the spacer 27 over the entire width. The developing roller 1 is
1. The distance between the upper toner layer and the developer passage control means 4 is 0 to
The range is set with high accuracy to a range of 200 μm, in this embodiment, 50 μm. The spacer 27 is provided with the developing roller 11 in a state where the toner cartridge 5 is mounted on the housing member 2.
Are arranged so as to contact from a position away from the side edge of the upper surface of the spacer 27.

In a state where the developer passage control means 4 is mounted on the housing member 2, the small hole rows 24 are arranged in a predetermined positional relationship and parallel to the axis of the developing roller 11.
It is necessary to be positioned and fixed to the housing member 2 with high precision. Therefore, it is manufactured by a manufacturing apparatus as shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, a manufacturing device 28 includes positioning means 29 for positioning the housing member 2 at a predetermined position,
A recognition camera 30 for recognizing the position of the small hole 23, a fastening means 31 of a fixing screw 25 for fixing one end of the developer passage control means 4 to the housing member 2, and one end of the developer passage control means 4 are held. There is provided one or more position operation means 32 such as a robot hand for adjusting the position in the width direction.

When the developer passage control means 4 is mounted on the housing member 2, one end of the developer passage control means 4 is temporarily fixed to the fixing portion 19 of the housing member 2 with a fixing screw 25 in advance. Then, the other end is locked to a spring hook 21 via a tension spring 26, and the housing member 2 is positioned by a positioning means 29 and installed in a manufacturing apparatus 28. Next, the developing roller 11 or its dummy is set at a predetermined position of the housing member 2, and the developer passage control means 4 is positioned at a position where the position of the developing roller 11 is regulated when the toner cartridge 5 is mounted. Next, after one end of the developer passage control means 4 is held by the position operation means 32, the fixing screw 25 is loosened by the fastening means 31. Next, the recognition camera 30 performs image recognition of the position of the small hole 23 and operates the position operation means 32 so that the small hole 23 is located at a predetermined position. At 31, the fixing screw 25 is fastened to fix the developer passage control means 4. Thus, the developer passage control means 4 is positioned and fixed with high precision with respect to the housing member 2. Further, in this manner, the developer passage control means 4
Is mounted in a main body case (not shown) in which the back electrode 6 is installed so as to be positioned with respect to the back electrode 6.

In the image forming apparatus having the above-described structure, when the toner cartridge 5 is mounted, the guide shaft 15 is moved into the guide groove as shown in FIG. 3 with the protective cover 16 opened as shown in FIG. 17, the toner cartridge 5 is inserted into the housing member 2, and the pressing spring 33 attached to the cover (not shown) of the main body case as shown in FIG.
It is installed in a state where it is urged with a predetermined pressing force or more. Then, the engagement between the guide shaft 15 and the guide groove 17 causes the developing roller 11 and the small hole array 24 of the developer passage control means 4 to move as shown in FIG.
The gap between the developing roller 11 and the back electrode 6 is set to a predetermined value with high precision by the positioning collar 14 being positioned in parallel with the predetermined positional relationship in the horizontal direction and the regulating collar 14 being in contact with the back electrode 6. Is done. At the same time, the developing roller 11 comes into contact with the developer passage control means 4 via the spacer 27, and the developer passage control means 4 is pressed and displaced against the urging force of the tension spring 26, so that the spacer 2
At 7, the gap between the developing roller 11 and the developer passage control means 4 is set to a predetermined value with high accuracy.

At the time of image formation, when a voltage of a predetermined value or more is applied to the image signal electrode of the developer passage control means 4 in accordance with an external signal, an electric field formed between the developing roller 11 and the back electrode 6 is generated. An accelerating electric field is formed between the developing roller 11 and the image signal electrode by exposing, or the electric field causes the toner 8 to be pulled directly or indirectly toward the back electrode 6 so that the toner 8 lands on the image receiving member 7. I do. On the other hand, when a voltage lower than a predetermined value is applied to the image signal electrode, the electric field formed between the developing roller 11 and the back electrode 6 is blocked, and the toner 8 does not land on the image receiving member 7. Thus, an image is formed on the image receiving member 7 with the landed toner 8.

According to this embodiment, since the toner 8 can be supplied by attaching and detaching the toner cartridge 5 to and from the housing member 2, the usability is good.
Is not provided with the developer passage control means 4, so that a replenishment replacement part can be configured at low cost. Further, just by attaching the toner cartridge 5 to the housing member 2 as described above, the developing roller 11 and the small hole array 24 of the developer passage control means 4 and the back electrode 6 are parallel and in any direction. Since positioning can be performed with high precision and a predetermined interval can be set with high precision, a high-quality image can be formed.

Further, the toner cartridge 5 is
The developing roller 11 is arranged so as to abut from a position apart from the side edge of the upper surface of the spacer 27 in a state where the developing roller 11 is mounted, so that the developing roller 11 does not hit the edge of the spacer 27 and is not damaged. Further, since the housing member 2 in which the developer passage control means 4 is disposed is detachably provided in the main body case, the developer passage control is performed by removing the housing member 2 from the main body case. A row of 4 small holes
In this case, the workability in cleaning the image receiving means 4 and the image receiving means 7 can be remarkably improved. Further, the developer passage control means 4
Since one end is detachably fixed to the housing member 2, replacement and maintenance of the developer passage control means 4 can be easily performed. Further, since the protective cover 16 that covers the exposed portion of the developing roller 11 is automatically closed when the toner cartridge 5 is not mounted,
The developing roller 11 can be reliably prevented from being damaged during transportation of the toner cartridge 5.

(Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Note that the same components as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. Only different points will be described.

The image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment has four housing portions 4 in a main body case 41 for forming a color image.
As shown in FIG. 6, a single housing member 42 on which a single unit 3 is formed is detachably provided, and a toner cartridge containing four colors of developer for each housing unit 43 as shown in FIG. 5 is mounted. Housing member 42
Are formed so that the axes of the developing rollers 11 are parallel to each other with high precision in a state where the toner cartridges 5 are mounted on the respective housing portions 43. Further, the developer passage control means 4 is attached to each of the housing portions 43 in the same manner as in the above-described embodiment, and the developer passage control means 4 is arranged so that the small hole rows 24 are arranged in parallel with high precision. Are adjusted separately.

At the lower part of the main body case 41, a housing member 4 is provided.
The rear electrodes 6 are respectively disposed so as to be positioned below each of the housing portions 43 in a state where the positioning member 2 is positioned and installed, and the developer passage control means 4 attached to each of the housing portions 43 is provided.
An endless intermediate image receiving belt 44 as an image receiving means is disposed so as to sequentially pass and rotate between the image forming apparatus and the back electrode 6. The back electrode 6 has its axis centered on the same horizontal plane and parallel to each other.
The developing roller 11 is disposed so as to be parallel to the axis of the developing roller 11 attached to the developing roller 11.

45 and 46 are a pair of belt rollers around which the intermediate image receiving belt 44 is wound, and 47 is a guide roller.
The intermediate image receiving belt 44 faces one belt roller 45.
A transfer roller 48 for transferring the toner image formed on the surface of the recording paper 50 to the recording paper 50 is provided.

The recording paper 50 is supplied to the lower end of the main body case 41 by being stacked in a detachable paper feed tray 49, taken out one by one by a paper feed roller 51, passed through a paper feed guide 52, and transferred to a transfer roller. The recording paper 50 supplied with the toner image from the intermediate image receiving belt 44
The paper is then supplied to the fixing roller 54 and discharged onto a paper discharge tray 56 by a paper discharge roller 55.

According to the present embodiment, since the housing member 42 is detachably mounted on the main body case 41, the housing member 42 is detached from the main body case 41 to reduce the size of the developer passage control means 4. Maintenance of the hole array 24, the intermediate image receiving belt 44, and the back electrode 6 can be easily performed.
Further, a housing member 43 for mounting a plurality of toner cartridges 5 is provided on the housing member 42, and the developer passage control means 4 is arranged in each housing portion 43 so that the small hole rows 24 are arranged in parallel with each other. Accordingly, the small hole array 24 of the developer passage control means 4 and the developing roller 11 of the toner cartridge 5 can be positioned in parallel by a single housing member 42, and a high-quality color image can be formed. . Further, the developer passage control means 4
Are fixed to each housing 43 independently so as to be positionable by the manufacturing apparatus and the manufacturing method shown in FIG.
By the individual adjustment of each developer passage control means 4, the small hole array 24
Can be formed with high precision, color misregistration can be reliably prevented, a high-quality color image can be formed, and replacement / maintenance of each developer passage control means 4 is also facilitated.

When a plurality of toner cartridges 5 are mounted on the housing member 2, each toner cartridge 5
When the regulating roller 14 disposed on the developing roller 11 abuts directly on the opposing back electrode 6, even if the housing member 2 is slightly twisted or warped, it is not affected. The distance between the back electrode 6 and the back electrode 6 can be regulated with high precision and constant for each toner cartridge 5 independently of the back electrode 6 facing each other. And a high quality color image with excellent color balance can be formed.

[0051]

According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, as described above, a developer supply unit is formed by integrating the developer carrying means and the storage container storing the developer, and the developer supply unit is detachable. Since at least one end of the developer passage control means is positioned and fixed to the housing member attached to the housing, the developer supply unit is attached to and detached from the housing member to which the developer passage control means is positioned and fixed. The developer supply unit, which is a supply replacement part, is not provided with a developer passage control means, so that the cost is low, and the developer supply unit is positioned by the housing member. With this configuration, a high-quality image can be formed.

When one end of the developer passage control means is positioned and fixed to the housing member and the other end of the developer passage control means is connected to the tension means, the developer passage control means is opposed to the tension means. It is possible to adjust the relative position with respect to the developer carrying means by displacing, and to accurately set the position of the small hole with reference to one end thereof, to prevent the slack of the developer passage control means, and to prevent the developer passage. The control means can be uniformly controlled by the developer carrying means.

Guide shafts are provided at both ends of the developer supply unit, and a guide groove is provided in the housing member for engaging the guide shaft when the developer supply unit is inserted. When the positioning is performed in a plane direction orthogonal to the perspective direction of the axis of the developer passage control means and the axis of the developer carrying means, the developer supply unit can be positioned in the plane direction simply by inserting the developer supply unit into the housing member. Positioning can be performed automatically.

Further, when the developer supply unit is provided with a first spacer means which comes into contact with the back electrode when mounted on the housing member and regulates the distance between the developer carrying means and the back electrode, the developer supply unit is provided. By simply inserting the unit into the housing member and bringing the first spacer means into contact with the back electrode, the distance between the developer carrying means and the back electrode can be set to a predetermined distance with high precision.

Further, inside the developer passage control means, a second spacer means for contacting the developer carrying means when the developer supply unit is mounted on the housing member is provided. When the developer passage control means is mounted on the member, the developer passage control means abuts on the developer carrying means via the second spacer means or directly, and the developer passage control means is moved and the tension means is displaced. The developer supply unit is inserted into the housing member and the developer carrying means is brought into contact with the developer passing control means via the second spacer means or directly, so that the distance between the developer carrying means and the developer passing control means is increased. Can be set at a predetermined interval with high accuracy.

Further, when the developer supply unit is mounted,
When a means for urging the developer supply unit toward the back electrode and the developer passage control means is provided, the gap between the developer carrying means and the back electrode and the developer carrying means can be obtained simply by being mounted on the developer supply unit. And the interval between the developer passage control means and the predetermined interval can be set with high accuracy.

Further, when the developer carrying unit is mounted on the housing member, the developer carrying unit is brought into contact with the second spacer unit from a position distant from the side edge of the upper surface. 2 can be prevented from being damaged by hitting the edge of the spacer means.

When one end of the developer passage control means is detachably fixed to the housing member, replacement and maintenance of the developer passage control means can be easily performed.

Further, when the developer supply unit is provided with a protective cover for covering the exposed portion of the developer carrying means when not mounted,
Damage to the developer carrying means during transportation of the developer supply unit can be reliably prevented.

Further, when the housing member is detachably mounted on the main body case, the intermediate member belt is used as maintenance and image receiving means by replacing the housing member from the main body case and replacing the cleaning means and cleaning. In this case, the maintenance of the intermediate image receiving belt and the back electrode can be easily performed.

Further, when the mounting portions of the plurality of developer supply units and the developer passage control means are arranged in parallel with each other on the housing member, the developer can be provided by a single housing member. The passage control means and the developer supply unit can be positioned in parallel with high precision, and a high-quality color image can be formed.

Further, if the developer passage control means is fixed so as to be independently positionable, the small hole rows can be made parallel to each other with high precision by individual adjustment of each developer passage control means, and color shift can be reduced. It is possible to form a high-quality color image by reliably preventing the exchange, and to facilitate replacement and maintenance of each developer passage control unit.

Further, when a plurality of developer supply units are mounted on the housing member, the first spacer means provided on each developer supply unit is brought into contact with the back electrode facing the housing member. Even if the body member is slightly twisted or warped, the distance between the developer carrying means and the back electrode is independent of the back electrode facing each other with high precision and constant for each developer supply unit. The recording conditions can be made uniform for a plurality of toner supply units, and a high-quality color image with excellent color balance can be formed.

Further, according to the method and apparatus for manufacturing an image forming apparatus of the present invention, the housing member to which the developer passage control means is temporarily mounted is fixedly positioned at a predetermined position, and the developer carrying means or its dummy is mounted on the housing. Attached to a predetermined position of the member, one end of the developer passage control means is held against the urging force of the tension member while recognizing the position of the small hole row, and the position is adjusted so that the small hole row is positioned at the predetermined position. Since one end of the developer passage control unit is fixed to the housing member, an image forming apparatus capable of efficiently positioning the developer passage control unit with high accuracy and forming a high quality image is provided. It can be manufactured with high productivity.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a first embodiment of an image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded longitudinal sectional view of the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a print head and a mounting process of a toner cartridge in the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view of a manufacturing process for positioning and fixing a developer passage control unit in the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a second embodiment of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a vertical cross-sectional view when the housing member is arranged in the same embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of the embodiment when a toner cartridge is mounted.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 print head 2 housing member 4 developer passage control means 5 toner cartridge (developer supply unit) 6 back electrode 7 image receiving member (image receiving means) 8 toner (developer) 9 developer container 11 developing roller (developer carrying) Means) 14 Regulatory collar (first spacer means) 15 Guide shaft 16 Protective cover 17 Guide groove 22 Insulating base material 23 Small hole 24 Small hole row 25 Fixing screw 26 Tension spring 27 Spacer (second spacer means) 28 Manufacturing device 29 Positioning Means 30 Recognition Camera 31 Fastening Means 32 Position Operating Means 33 Press Spring 41 Main Case 42 Housing Member 43 Housing Part 44 Intermediate Image Receiving Belt (Image Receiving Means)

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (71) Applicant 597063831 Announced Brygga 13 421 57 Vestro Fround a Sweden (72) Inventor Taichi Ito 1006 Odakadoma, Kadoma, Osaka Pref. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takahiro Tsujimoto 1006 Kazuma Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takuya Kitahara 1006 Kadoma Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Prefecture Inside the Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Akira Kumon 1006 Kadoma Kadoma, Osaka Prefecture Address Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Akira Fukano 1006 Oji Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka Pref. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 2C162 AE01 AE12 AE25 AE31 AE47 AE89 AH03 AH14 AJ24 CA02 CA12 CA24

Claims (17)

[Claims] A developer carrying means for carrying and transporting a charged developer, and a plurality of small holes through which the developer passes through the base are formed in a row in a direction orthogonal to the developer transport direction, and an image from the outside is formed. A developer passage control means for controlling the passage of the developer in accordance with the signal, an image receiving means to which the developer having passed through the small hole adheres, and a predetermined voltage applied to the image receiving means to fly the developer An image forming apparatus provided with a back electrode for forming an electric field to be generated between the developer carrying means and the developer carrying means; An image forming apparatus wherein at least one end of a developer passage control means is positioned and fixed to a housing member on which a unit is detachably mounted. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one end of the developer passage control means is positioned and fixed to the housing member, and the other end of the developer passage control means is connected to a tension means. . 3. A guide shaft protruding from both ends of the developer supply unit, a guide groove is provided in the housing member so that the guide shaft engages when the developer supply unit is inserted, and the guide shaft engages with the guide groove. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the positioning is performed in a plane direction orthogonal to the perspective direction of the small hole array of the developer passage control means and the axis of the developer carrying means. 4. The developer supply unit further comprises a first spacer for abutting on the back electrode when mounted on the housing member to regulate a distance between the developer carrying means and the back electrode. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: a second spacer provided inside the developer passage controller, the second spacer being in contact with the developer carrier when the developer supply unit is mounted on the housing member. The image forming apparatus as described in the above. 6. When the developer supply unit is mounted on the housing member, the developer passage control means connects the developer carrying means to the second carrier.
6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the developer passing control means is moved and the tension means is displaced by directly contacting with the spacer means. 7. The device according to claim 4, further comprising means for urging the developer supply unit toward the back electrode and the developer passage control means when the developer supply unit is mounted. Image forming device. 8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the developer supply unit is mounted on the housing member, the developer carrying means comes into contact with the second spacer means from a position distant from a side edge of an upper surface of the second spacer means. 6. The image forming apparatus according to 5. 9. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein one end of the developer passage control means is detachably fixed to the housing member. 10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the developer supply unit has a protective cover that covers an exposed portion of the developer carrying unit when the developer supply unit is not mounted. 11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the housing member is detachably mounted on the main body case. 12. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein mounting portions of a plurality of developer supply units and developer passage control means are arranged in parallel with each other on the housing member. An image forming apparatus according to any one of the above. 13. An image forming apparatus according to claim 12, wherein said developer passage control means is fixed so as to be positioned independently of each other. 14. The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the developer passage control means is positioned on the housing member such that the rows of small holes of the developer passage control means are parallel to each other. 15. When a plurality of developer supply units are mounted on a housing member, a first spacer provided on each of the developer supply units comes into contact with a back electrode facing the developer supply unit. 13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 12, wherein a distance between the back electrode and each of the developer supply units is independently regulated with respect to the back electrode. 16. A developer carrying means for carrying and transporting a charged developer, and a plurality of small holes through which the developer passes through the substrate are formed in a row in a direction perpendicular to the developer transport direction to form an image from outside. Developer passage control means for controlling the passage of the developer in accordance with the signal, wherein the developer carrier is detachably mounted on the housing member, and one end of the developer passage control means is provided on the housing. A method of manufacturing an image forming apparatus fixed to a body member and having the other end connected to a tension member, wherein a step of positioning and fixing a housing member temporarily mounted with a developer passage control means at a predetermined position, Mounting the support means or its dummy at a predetermined position on the housing member; and holding one end of the developer passage control means against the urging force of the tension member while recognizing the position of the small hole row. Adjusting the position so that is positioned at a predetermined position; Fixing one end of the agent passage control means to the housing member. 17. A developer carrying means for carrying and transporting a charged developer, and a plurality of small holes through which the developer passes through the base material are formed in a row in a direction perpendicular to the developer transport direction to form an image from outside. Developer passage control means for controlling the passage of the developer in accordance with the signal, wherein the developer carrier is detachably mounted on the housing member, and one end of the developer passage control means is provided on the housing. An apparatus for manufacturing an image forming apparatus fixed to a body member and having the other end connected to a tension member, comprising: means for positioning and fixing a housing member at a predetermined position; Means for mounting in a predetermined position of
An image comprising: means for recognizing the position of a row of small holes; means for adjusting the position by holding one end of a passage control means; and means for fixing one end of a developer passage control means to a housing member. Manufacturing equipment for forming equipment.