JP2005241868A - Toner supply apparatus, developing apparatus using same, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely attain the guarantee of image quality associated with a cartridge replacing work, without complicated operation of detecting/controlling toner empty. <P>SOLUTION: The apparatus is provided with the cartridge 4 which is detachably loaded to the cartridge receiving part 3 of the image forming apparatus body, for storing toner and also having a carrying member 4a for carrying the toner inside, a reserve tank 5 arranged between the cartridge 4 and the developing apparatus 1 so as to temporarily store the toner from the cartridge 4 and also having a carrying member 5a for carrying the toner inside, a cartridge detection means 6 for detecting whether or not the cartridge 4 is attached to the cartridge receiving part 3, and a drive control means 7 for controlling the cartridge 4 and the reserve tank 5 so as to normally operate on the condition that the presence of the cartridge is detected by the cartridge detecting means 6, on the other hand, on the condition that the absence of the cartridge is detected, for stopping the drive of the cartridge 4 and controlling the reserve tank 5 so as to normally operate. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a toner replenishing device for replenishing toner to a developing device, and in particular, a toner replenishing device having a replaceable cartridge and a reserve tank for temporarily storing toner in the cartridge, and the use thereof The present invention relates to improvements in developing devices and image forming apparatuses.

In general, a developing device using a two-component developer containing a toner and a carrier has a developing housing opened to face an image carrier such as a photosensitive drum, and the two-component developer is placed in the developing housing. A developer roll is disposed facing the opening of the development housing, and a developer is carried and conveyed on the development roll, and formed on the image carrier at a development site between the image carrier and the development roll. Some electrostatic latent images are developed with toner.
In this type of developing device, toner is consumed as the electrostatic latent image is visualized, so a toner replenishing device is attached to the developing device in order to maintain good development performance. A system is employed in which toner is replenished into the developing housing at an appropriate timing according to the amount of toner consumed.

As a conventional toner replenishing device, a cartridge is detachably mounted on a cartridge receiving portion of the main body of the image forming apparatus, and the toner in the cartridge is temporarily stored in a reserve tank (toner buffer), and is also stored in a developing housing. A device that replenishes toner in a reserve tank to a developing housing according to toner consumption has already been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
In this type of toner replenishing device, the opening / closing of the cover (dispensing door) and the attachment / detachment of the cartridge are interlocked, and the attachment / detachment state of the cartridge is detected by detecting the opening / closing of the cover. When it is determined that the cartridge has been removed, a print job is executed and a warning display for prompting the cartridge is displayed.

According to such a toner replenishing device, when the cover is opened, the drive of the cartridge is stopped by shifting the cartridge from the set position in conjunction with the opening operation of the cover, for example, because the cartridge needs to be replaced. Thus, a method for preventing damage to the cartridge drive unit is employed. Even if the cartridge is removed during execution of the print job, since the print job is executed, the toner in the reserve tank is replenished to the developing housing, preventing a decrease in image density during the cartridge replacement operation. Is possible.
In this type of toner replenishing device, a toner empty detection system that detects the presence or absence of toner in the cartridge is employed in order to enable replacement of the cartridge (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
This type of toner empty detection system, for example, reads a toner presence sensor when a dispense motor that drives a reserve tank is turned on, and continuously detects the toner empty state when it detects no toner for a predetermined time, thereby warning in stages. For example, after the cartridge is set to near empty at a stage corresponding to a state where the toner is empty, and after a predetermined time, the reserve tank is also empty at a stage where the toner tank is empty. M / C (machine) is stopped.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-162925 (Embodiment of the Invention, FIG. 13) JP-A-4-251880 (Example, FIG. 3)

However, in the above-described toner replenishing device, if the cover is left open after the cartridge has been replaced, for example, if the cover is left open, a warning message prompting the user to install the cartridge is displayed. There is a technical problem that the next print job cannot be executed unless a cartridge is mounted at the position.
In addition, in a mode in which the cartridge is mounted in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the cover, the cartridge will not be set at a predetermined position unless the cover is closed. As a result, the drive of the cartridge remains stopped. In this state, for example, if the warning display is reset and the print job is continued, the toner from the cartridge to the reserve tank is not replenished even though the cartridge is replaced. As toner is consumed, erroneous toner empty detection (false detection) such as “Near Empty” and “Empty” is performed again. In such a case, there is a concern that an erroneous display prompting replacement of the cartridge is performed on the user interface.
In particular, a model equipped with a plurality of developing devices such as a color image forming apparatus needs to be provided with a toner replenishing device, but a cover (dispensing door) that opens and closes across a plurality of cartridges is provided. It may be provided.
In such an embodiment, for example, when the cover is opened when replacing the cartridge, erroneous toner empty detection (false detection) of “Near Empty” and “Empty” is performed even for the cartridge that does not need to be replaced. Therefore, there is a concern that the cartridge may be erroneously replaced.
In such a background, complicated toner empty detection control is required to appropriately perform image quality guarantee and toner empty detection.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above technical problem, and is a toner replenishing device capable of reliably realizing image quality assurance associated with cartridge replacement without performing complicated toner empty detection control. And a developing device and an image forming apparatus using the same.

  That is, according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, in a toner replenishing device for replenishing toner to the developing device 1, the toner receiving device 3 is detachably attached to the cartridge receiving portion 3 of the main body of the image forming apparatus. A cartridge 4 having a transporting member 4a that can be transported, and a transporting member 5a that is disposed between the cartridge 4 and the developing device 1 and that temporarily stores toner from the cartridge 4 and that can transport toner therein. Under the condition that the reserve tank 5, the cartridge detection means 6 for detecting whether or not the cartridge 4 is attached to the cartridge receiving portion 3, and the presence of the cartridge by the cartridge detection means 6 are detected, the cartridge 4 and the reserve tank 5 can be operated normally. On the other hand, under the condition that no cartridge is detected, the drive of the cartridge 4 is stopped and the reserve is Characterized in that it comprises a drive control unit 7 for the tank 5 and the normal operational.

In such technical means, the toner replenishing device of the present invention is not limited to a mode of replenishing toner alone. For example, the developing device 1 adopting a trickle system has a mode of replenishing a developer composed of toner and carrier. Including.
Here, the developing device 1 includes various types of devices. For example, the developing device 1 has a developing housing 1a that can store a developer, and a developer carrier 1b is disposed facing the opening of the developing housing 1a. For example, a developer carrying member 1c for stirring and conveying a developer is provided on the back side of the developer carrying member 1b.
Further, the present case is premised on an aspect including the cartridge 4 and the reserve tank 5.
In this case, both the cartridge 4 and the reserve tank 5 have conveying members 4a and 5a, and the toner can be conveyed and supplied by driving the conveying members 4a and 5a.
Further, a toner presence sensor 8 is generally provided for toner empty detection.
The toner presence / absence sensor 8 is provided in, for example, the reserve tank 5 so that the toner empty detection of the cartridge 4 can be easily realized. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the cartridge 4 and the vicinity of the replenishment port of the developing housing 1a It may be arranged in such a manner.

  Further, in the aspect having a plurality of developing devices 1, it is necessary to provide a plurality of toner replenishing devices that replenish toner corresponding to the plurality of developing devices 1, respectively, but drive control is performed for each toner replenishing device. An embodiment in which is independently carried out is preferred. In this case, the cartridge detection means 6 is provided corresponding to all the cartridges 4, and the drive control means 7 may be configured to stop the drive of the cartridge 4 only for the cartridge 4 that has detected no cartridge. .

The cartridge detection means 6 includes a wide range of modes for detecting whether or not the cartridge 4 is mounted.
As a typical aspect, a micro switch is provided on the cartridge receiving portion 3 side, and a switch operation piece is provided on the cartridge 4 portion corresponding to the micro switch, or a photo sensor is provided on the cartridge receiving portion 3 side. A mode in which a sensor operating piece is provided in the cartridge 4 portion corresponding to the photo sensor or a mode in which a non-volatile memory capable of responding is provided on the cartridge 4 side and the presence or absence of a response of the non-volatile memory is detected may be appropriately selected. it can.

Further, the drive control means 7 may be any means that controls the continuation and stop of the drive of the cartridge 4 and the reserve tank 5 according to the presence / absence of the cartridge 4 in the cartridge receiver 3. It is necessary not to depend on the state.
Further, in the aspect in which the toner presence / absence sensor 8 is provided in the reserve tank 5, as a preferable aspect of the drive control means 7 for toner empty detection, for example, an empty toner state in the cartridge 4 based on the detection signal of the toner presence / absence sensor 8 And the image forming operation with the corresponding color toner is stopped regardless of the detection result by the cartridge detection means 6 under the condition that the empty toner state is determined. This is to forcibly stop the image forming operation because the toner supply operation cannot be performed if the toner in the cartridge 4 becomes empty.
As another preferred mode of the drive control means 7, the empty toner state in the cartridge 4 is discriminated in a stepwise manner based on the detection signal of the toner presence / absence sensor 8, and a warning is displayed according to the stepwise discrimination result. An embodiment is mentioned. This is preferable in that it is possible to more accurately grasp the empty toner state of the cartridge 4 by performing toner empty detection step by step and displaying warnings step by step.

The present invention is not limited to the toner replenishing device described above, but also targets the developing device 1 incorporating these toner replenishing devices.
Furthermore, the present invention is also directed to an image forming apparatus incorporating the toner replenishing device described above.
In this case, according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, an image carrier 2 that carries an electrostatic latent image, and a developing device 1 that visualizes the electrostatic latent image on the image carrier 2 with toner. And the toner replenishing device described above may be incorporated in the developing device 1.
Here, as a preferred embodiment of the toner replenishing device incorporated in the image forming apparatus, the reserve tank 5 is provided with a toner presence / absence sensor 8 capable of detecting the presence / absence of toner, and the drive control means 7 detects the toner presence / absence sensor 8. An empty toner state in the cartridge 4 is determined based on the signal, and an image forming operation including at least the corresponding color toner is prohibited regardless of the detection result by the cartridge detection unit 6 under the condition that the empty toner state is determined. It is preferable to provide the function to perform.
As described above, the image quality can be guaranteed by prohibiting the image forming operation including at least the corresponding color toner by detecting the toner empty of the cartridge 4.

According to the toner replenishing device according to the present invention, the cartridge and the reserve tank can be normally operated under the condition that the cartridge detection unit detects the presence of the cartridge, and when the absence of the cartridge is detected, the driving of the cartridge is stopped and the reserve is performed. Since the tank can be normally operated, at least image quality guarantee, preferably image quality guarantee and preferably toner empty detection should be properly performed even in situations where it takes time to forget to close the cartridge receiver cover, etc. Can do.
Further, according to the developing device and the image forming apparatus incorporating such a toner replenishing device, it is possible to surely improve the image quality defect and the erroneous display of the cartridge replacement due to the cartridge replacement work. Improvements can be made appropriately.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.
Embodiment 1
FIG. 2 shows Embodiment 1 of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied.
In the figure, the basic configuration of the image forming apparatus is that an image reading unit 21 is disposed on the upper part of the apparatus main body 20, while an image forming unit 22 in which, for example, a tandem type image forming engine is mounted in the apparatus main body 20. The sheet supply devices 23 and 24 are disposed below the image forming unit 22, and the sheets supplied from the sheet supply devices 23 and 24 are sent to the image forming unit 22 through the sheet conveyance path 25. After the image is formed on the sheet by the image forming unit 22, the sheet on which the image is formed outside the apparatus main body 20 is discharged through the sheet conveyance path 25.

In the present embodiment, the image forming unit 22 includes, for example, an image forming engine 30 (30Y to 30K) that forms each color image of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). In addition, an intermediate transfer belt 36 is disposed below each image forming engine 30 and an image transferred on the intermediate transfer belt 36 is batch-transferred onto a sheet by a batch transfer device 40.
Here, the image forming engine 30 is configured by adopting, for example, an electrophotographic system. Around the photosensitive drum 31, a charging device 32 for charging the photosensitive drum 31 and a charged photosensitive drum 31 are provided. An unillustrated exposure device for writing an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 31, a developing device 33 for visualizing the electrostatic latent image written on the photosensitive drum 31 with a predetermined color toner, and a photosensitive drum 31. A primary transfer device 34 that primarily transfers a toner image onto the intermediate transfer belt 36 and a cleaning device 35 that cleans residual toner on the photosensitive drum 31 are sequentially arranged.
Further, the intermediate transfer belt 36 is stretched around a plurality of stretching rolls 37, and the batch transfer device 40 includes, for example, a bias roll to which a transfer bias is applied, and one of the stretching rolls 37 is opposed as a backup roll. Is arranged.
Further, a registration roll (registration roll) 41 for positioning the sheet is disposed in front of the batch transfer portion of the sheet transport path 25. After passing through the batch transfer portion, for example, a transport belt 42 is disposed and downstream thereof. A fixing device 43 for fixing an unfixed image on the sheet is disposed on the side. Reference numeral 44 is an element of the sheet conveyance path 25, and a sheet return conveyance path for returning a single-side recorded sheet to the batch transfer portion of the image forming unit 22 in order to enable double-sided recording of the sheet, and 45 is a sheet conveyance path. An appropriate number of conveying rolls 25 are provided in 25, and 46 is a feeder for feeding out the sheets of the sheet feeding devices 23 and 24.

In particular, in the present embodiment, the toner replenishing device 100 (100Y to 100K) is attached to the developing device 33 of each image forming engine 30 (30Y to 30K).
Here, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the developing device 33 includes a developing housing 61 that is open to the photosensitive drum 31, and the developing housing 61 includes toner and a carrier. A developer roll 62 is disposed at a location facing the opening of the developing housing 61, and agitating and transporting augers 63 and 64 are disposed on the back side of the developing housing 61. Further, a trimming member 65 for regulating the developer layer thickness is provided around the developing roll 62, and after the developer stirred and conveyed by the agitating and conveying augers 63 and 64 is carried on the developing roll 62, the trimming member 65 is provided. The developer is supplied to the developing portion between the developing roll 62 and the photosensitive drum 31 by regulating the layer thickness.
In FIG. 4, reference numeral 66 denotes a density sensor for detecting the toner density in the developing housing 61, 67 denotes a carrier collection roll for collecting the carrier transferred to the photosensitive drum 31, and 68 denotes a carrier collection roll 67. It is a scraper.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 6, the toner replenishing device 100 (100Y to 100K) includes a cartridge 110 containing each color toner TN and a reserve tank for temporarily storing the toner TN in the cartridge 110. 120.
Here, the number of cartridges 110 may be selected as appropriate, such as providing one for each color toner. However, in the present embodiment, two cartridges 110K1 and 110K2 (for the black toner are used depending on the toner usage frequency. 110), and one cartridge 110C (110M, 110Y) is used for the other color toners.
In the present embodiment, the cartridge 110 has an accommodation conveyance path 111 in which toner is accommodated, and an appropriate number (for example, two) of conveyance members 112 are disposed in the accommodation conveyance path 111, and this conveyance The member 112 can be driven by a cartridge motor 115, and a communication port 113 is opened at the lower part on one end side of the accommodation conveyance path 111. For example, a coil-shaped agitator and a crank-shaped paddle are used as the conveying member 112 here, but the present invention is not limited to this and may be appropriately selected. The apparatus main body 20 is provided with an opening / closing cover (dispensing door) (not shown) that is opened when the cartridge 110 is mounted.
On the other hand, a cartridge receiving frame 106 is provided on the frame 105 constituting the apparatus main body 20, and a cartridge receiving portion 107 into which a part of the cartridge 110 can be fitted is formed in the cartridge receiving frame 106. A shutter 108 that can be opened when the cartridge 110 is mounted is provided in a part of the portion 107, and the communication port 113 of the cartridge 110 is arranged facing the opening of the shutter 108.

The reserve tank 120 is disposed in the lower part of the cartridge receiving frame 106 and is formed in a container shape that opens upward and extends in a direction perpendicular to the cartridge 110. The reserve tank 120 communicates with the cartridge 110. A moving conveyance path 121 that communicates with the opening 113 and that can move the toner is provided. An appropriate number (for example, three) of conveying members are arranged in the moving conveying path 121. The conveying members include a conveying auger 122 that rotates in the predetermined direction at the center of the conveying conveying path 121. A coil-shaped agitator 123 disposed on both sides of the transfer auger 122 is used, and these transfer members 122 and 123 transmit a driving force from a reserve tank motor (corresponding to a dispense motor) 125 via a gear train 126. Can be driven. Further, a replenishment port 124 that can be opened and closed by a shutter, for example, is provided on the downstream side of the moving conveyance path 121 in the moving conveyance direction, and the replenishment port 124 and the development housing 61 are connected to each other via a communication pipe 127.
Further, a toner presence / absence sensor 130 is disposed in the vicinity of the supply port 124 of the reserve tank 120.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, for example, when the cartridge 110 is completely fitted and mounted on the cartridge receiving portion 107 of the cartridge receiving frame 106, the cartridge 110 is mounted at a predetermined set position. However, a cartridge mounting sensor 140 for detecting whether or not the cartridge 110 is mounted is provided between the cartridge 110 and the apparatus main body 20 (the cartridge receiving frame 106 or the frame 105).
As the cartridge mounting sensor 140, for example, a micro switch 141 is provided on the apparatus main body 20 side, while an attachment piece 116 is provided on a part of the cartridge 110, and a switch operation piece 143 protrudes from the attachment piece 116. In which the switch operating piece 143 pushes the switch contact piece 142 of the micro switch 141 into the conducting position in a state where is installed in the set position. The cartridge mounting sensor 140 is configured not to be interlocked with the opening / closing operation of an opening / closing cover (not shown) provided in the apparatus main body 20.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, a toner replenishment control system as shown in FIG. 8 is provided.
The toner replenishment control system includes a control device 170 formed of a microcomputer. The control device 170 includes a toner presence / absence sensor 130 of each toner replenishing device 100 (100Y to 100K), a cartridge mounting sensor 140, and each developing device 33. Each of the detection signals from the density sensor 66 (see FIG. 4) is taken in, and for example, a toner supply control process as shown in FIG. 9 is executed, and the cartridge motor 115, the reserve tank motor 125, and each of the toner supply devices 100 are executed. In addition to sending a predetermined control signal to the developing device 33, a decision signal is sent to decide whether to continue or prohibit the image forming operation by each image forming engine 30 (see FIG. 2).

Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described focusing on the toner replenishment operation process accompanying the replacement of the cartridge 110 in particular.
Assuming that the cartridge 110 is currently set at the set position of the cartridge receiving unit 107, the control device 170 receives an ON signal as a detection signal of the cartridge mounting sensor 140. The normal operation is performed on the cartridge 110 and the reserve tank 120.
For this reason, when the toner concentration on the developing device 33 side tends to decrease based on the detection signal from the density sensor 66 of each developing device 33, the toner replenishing device 100 operates to replenish a predetermined amount of toner, and the developing device 33. To compensate for a decrease in toner density.

Further, it is assumed that the yellow cartridge 110 is replaced in a situation where a predetermined print job is being performed. If the yellow cartridge 110 is removed from the set position, the detection signal of the cartridge mounting sensor 140 is turned off, and the control device 170 stops driving the cartridge 110. However, the reserve tank 120 performs normal operation. Let it be done. For this reason, the yellow toner replenishing device 100Y performs a toner replenishing operation as usual until the toner in the reserve tank 120 is consumed (actually until the yellow toner is detected to be empty).
For this reason, even when the cartridge 110 is replaced, the print job is continued without interruption. Further, even when a next print job command is issued after a predetermined print job is completed, the print job is continuously executed unless the yellow toner is detected.
Therefore, even when it takes time to replace the cartridge 110, the toner replenishment operation is continuously performed, so that the image quality guarantee and the toner empty detection are appropriately performed.

Here, paying attention to the toner replenishing operation in a state where the cartridge 110 is removed, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, when the toner in the reserve tank 120 is gradually consumed, the interior of the reserve tank 120 is finally reached. The stored toner is gone. At this time, the toner presence / absence sensor 130 detects the absence of toner in the reserve tank 120. However, the control device 170 uses the operation time of the reserve tank motor 125 during the absence of toner detection by the toner presence / absence sensor 130 as an accumulation counter. When the accumulated value reaches a predetermined value (P1), “Near Empty” (corresponding to the cartridge 110 being in an empty toner state) is determined, and the accumulation counter is further accumulated. When the value reaches a predetermined value (P2), “Empty” (corresponding to the cartridge 110 and the reserve tank 120 being in the toner empty state) is determined.
In such a determination process, the control device 170 performs “Near Empty warning display” when “Near Empty” is determined, and further determines “Empty” when “Near Empty” is displayed. After “empty (empty) warning display” is performed, the drive of the reserve tank 120 is stopped in addition to the drive of the cartridge 110 being stopped, and further, not only the toner replenishment operation but also the image forming operation prohibition processing is performed.
For this reason, even when the cartridge 110 is removed, the image forming operation is continuously performed because the image quality is guaranteed as long as the toner supply operation is performed.

Thereafter, when, for example, the yellow cartridge 110 is set at the set position of the cartridge receiving portion 107, the control device 170 recognizes that the detection signal of the cartridge mounting sensor 140 has been turned on, and the cartridge 110 and the reserve tongue 120 are Allow normal operation.
At this time, since the opening / closing operation of the opening / closing cover of the cartridge 110 is not interlocked with the on / off operation of the cartridge mounting sensor 140, even if the opening / closing cover is forgotten to be closed, if the cartridge 110 is securely set at the set position. The cartridge 110 can be reliably driven.
Further, even when the cartridge 110 is mounted, when the toner in the cartridge 110 is completely consumed and the toner in the reserve tank 120 is consumed, the toner empty detection similar to that described above (in this example, Stepwise toner empty detection) is performed.

In the present embodiment, the cartridge mounting sensor 140 has a mode using the microswitch 141, but is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. Is provided with a photocenter 151 (for example, a mode in which the light emitting element 152 and the light receiving element 153 are arranged to face each other), and a mounting piece 116 is provided on a part of the cartridge 110, and a sensor operation piece 154 is provided to project from the mounting piece 116. The sensor operation piece 154 blocks the optical path of the photosensor 151 in a state where the cartridge 110 is mounted at the set position.
Further, as another aspect of the cartridge mounting sensor 140, for example, as shown in FIG. 11, a non-volatile memory 161 capable of responding to each cartridge 110 side is disposed, while the cartridge receiving frame 106 is provided with a predetermined cartridge 110. An appropriate number of communication antennas 162 that can communicate with the nonvolatile memory 161 when installed in the set position are arranged, and the controller 170 is energized or not connected to the nonvolatile memory 161 via the communication antenna 162 or the nonvolatile memory 161. There is also an aspect in which the predetermined information is read and the presence or absence of the cartridge 110 is detected based on the presence or absence of a response from the nonvolatile memory 161.

1 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a toner replenishing device according to the present invention, a developing device using the toner replenishing device, and an image forming apparatus. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective explanatory view showing an overall configuration of a toner replenishing device used in the first embodiment. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a structure of a toner supply device used in Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a relationship between a cartridge used in Embodiment 1 and a reserve tank. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating details of a cartridge receiving unit and a reserve tank used in the first embodiment. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a cartridge mounting sensor used in Embodiment 1. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a toner supply control system used in Embodiment 1. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a toner supply control process used in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a modified form of the cartridge mounting sensor used in the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing another modified form of the cartridge mounting sensor used in the first embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Development apparatus, 1a ... Development housing, 1b ... Developer carrier, 1c ... Agitating conveyance member, 2 ... Image carrier, 3 ... Cartridge receiving part, 4 ... Cartridge, 4a ... Conveyance member, 5 ... Reserve tank, 5a ... Conveying member, 6 ... cartridge detection means, 7 ... drive control means, 8 ... toner presence / absence sensor

Claims (11)

In a toner supply device for supplying toner to a developing device,
A cartridge that is detachably attached to a cartridge receiving portion of the image forming apparatus main body, and that has a conveying member that accommodates toner and is capable of conveying toner;
A reserve tank that is disposed between the cartridge and the developing device, temporarily stores toner from the cartridge, and has a conveying member capable of conveying the toner therein;
Cartridge detecting means for detecting whether or not the cartridge is mounted on the cartridge receiving portion;
Under the condition that the presence of the cartridge is detected by the cartridge detection means, the cartridge and the reserve tank can be normally operated. On the other hand, when the absence of the cartridge is detected, the drive of the cartridge is stopped and the reserve tank can be normally operated. And a toner replenishing device. The toner replenishing device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of developing devices respectively replenish corresponding toner.
Cartridge detection means is provided for all cartridges,
A toner replenishing device characterized in that the drive control means stops the drive of the cartridge only for the cartridge which has detected the absence of the cartridge. The toner replenishing device according to claim 1 or 2,
The reserve tank comprises a toner presence / absence sensor capable of detecting the presence / absence of toner. The toner replenishing device according to claim 1 or 2,
A cartridge replenishing device, wherein the cartridge detecting means is provided with a micro switch on the cartridge receiving portion side, and a switch operation piece is provided at a cartridge portion corresponding to the micro switch. The toner replenishing device according to claim 1 or 2,
A toner replenishing device, wherein the cartridge detecting means is provided with a photo sensor on the cartridge receiving portion side, and a sensor operation piece is provided at a cartridge portion corresponding to the photo sensor. The toner replenishing device according to claim 1 or 2,
A cartridge replenishing device comprising: a non-volatile memory capable of responding to the cartridge side; and detecting the presence or absence of a response of the non-volatile memory. The toner replenishing device according to claim 3.
The drive control means discriminates an empty toner state in the cartridge based on a detection signal of the toner presence / absence sensor. Under the condition that the empty toner state is discriminated, the drive control means uses the corresponding color toner regardless of the detection result by the cartridge detection means. A toner replenishing device that stops a toner replenishing operation. The toner replenishing device according to claim 3.
The toner supply device, wherein the drive control means discriminates in a stepwise manner an empty toner state in the cartridge based on a detection signal of the toner presence / absence sensor, and displays a warning according to the stepwise discrimination result.   A developing device comprising the toner replenishing device according to claim 1.   An image forming apparatus comprising: an image carrier that carries an electrostatic latent image; and a developing device according to claim 9 that visualizes the electrostatic latent image on the image carrier with toner. . The image forming apparatus according to claim 10.
The toner replenishing device includes a toner presence / absence sensor capable of detecting the presence / absence of toner in a reserve tank,
The drive control means discriminates an empty toner state in the cartridge based on a detection signal of the toner presence / absence sensor, and at least the corresponding color toner in the condition where the empty toner state is discriminated regardless of the detection result by the cartridge detection means. An image forming apparatus for prohibiting an image forming operation including

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