JP2006011233A - Cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cartridge for an image forming apparatus which is easy to carry and saves the space when packed. <P>SOLUTION: An imaging cartridge 110K is provided with a toner hopper 20K rotatably on a projection part 26 provided at an end of the toner hopper as an axis of rotation. When the imaging cartridge 110K is loaded in a color printer100, it is positioned by a 1st lock member 45. When the imaging cartridge 110K is packed, on the other hand, the toner hopper 20K is rotated and moved, and the imaging cartridge is positioned by a 2nd lock member 46. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a cartridge for an image forming apparatus that integrally accommodates a process unit, a toner hopper, and the like. More specifically, the present invention relates to a U-shaped cartridge that can be easily transported and saves space during packaging.

  Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, a cartridge (hereinafter referred to as an “imaging cartridge”) in which a process unit (photosensitive member, charging device, cleaning device, etc.), a toner hopper, and the like are integrally stored. Some are detachable.

For a tandem type image forming apparatus, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which a space can be effectively used by arranging a toner hopper in a space above a process unit. In this imaging cartridge, the entire imaging cartridge is provided in a U-shape. In this U-shaped imaging cartridge, for example, the toner hopper can be disposed above the intermediate transfer unit, and the process unit can be disposed below the intermediate transfer unit.
JP-A-6-258938

  However, the conventional U-shaped imaging cartridge described above has the following problems. In other words, the U-shaped imaging cartridge certainly makes effective use of the space when it is installed in the image forming apparatus. .

  The present invention has been made to solve the problems of the conventional U-shaped cartridge. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a cartridge for an image forming apparatus that can be easily transported and saves space during packaging.

  A cartridge made for the purpose of solving this problem is a cartridge which has a pair of elements positioned substantially parallel to each other and a connecting portion connected to the longitudinal ends of both elements, and is detachable from the image forming apparatus. Thus, at least one of the elements is provided with a protruding portion that protrudes in the longitudinal direction of the element and engages with the connecting portion. The element is supported by the connecting portion so as to be rotatable and movable with the protruding portion as a rotation axis. It is what.

  That is, the cartridge of the present invention forms a U-shape by a pair of opposing elements and a connecting portion that connects the ends of both elements. At least one of the elements is supported so as to be able to rotate and move to the connecting portion with a protruding portion protruding in the longitudinal direction of the element as a rotation center axis. That is, the protruding portion (rotating shaft) is positioned near the periphery of the element in a cross section perpendicular to the rotating shaft of the element. As a result, the element rotates and the distance between the elements can be increased or decreased.

  Further, for example, a first lock portion that holds an element that can be rotated and moved at a position where the distance between both elements becomes wide, and an element that can be rotated and moved at a position where the distance between both elements becomes narrow are held. A second lock portion; When the image forming apparatus is mounted, the space in the image forming apparatus can be effectively used by holding the element with the first lock member. On the other hand, when packing and transporting, the size of the entire cartridge can be reduced by holding the element with the second lock member.

  Further, among the elements of the cartridge, it is preferable that the element provided so as to be rotatable is a developer hopper that accommodates the developer. That is, in the developer hopper, the developer may agglomerate due to vibration or the own weight of the developer during transportation. Therefore, the developer can be loosened by rotating the developer hopper before it is mounted on the image forming apparatus. Thereby, the initial starting torque of the developer hopper can be reduced.

  In addition, a developer replenishing port is provided in the protruding portion of the cartridge of the present invention. When the developer replenishing port is held by the first lock member, the replenishing port communicates with the developer conveying pipe of the connecting portion, In the state of being held by the lock member, it is better if the supply port is blocked by the wall surface of the connecting portion.

  That is, in the cartridge of the present invention, the developer is conveyed through the replenishing port of the protruding portion. The replenishing port is opened and closed in conjunction with the rotational movement of the element. For example, in a state of being held by the second lock member (during packing / conveying), the supply port on the protruding portion side is closed by the wall surface of the connecting portion. Thereby, the scattering of the developer at the time of conveyance can be prevented, and contamination by the developer can be avoided. On the other hand, in a state of being held by the first lock member (when the image forming apparatus is mounted), the replenishing port on the protruding portion side is connected to the replenishing port on the connecting portion side, that is, the developer transport pipe. As a result, the developer in the developer hopper can be supplied. That is, since the supply port is opened and closed as the element rotates, it is not necessary to provide a seal member that closes the supply port. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced.

  The cartridge of the present invention is a U-shaped cartridge, and at least one element is supported so as to be rotatable. For this reason, when mounted on the image forming apparatus, it is possible to effectively use the space in the image forming apparatus by rotating the elements so that the distance between the two elements is widened. On the other hand, at the time of packing / conveying, it is possible to reduce the size of the entire cartridge by rotating the elements so that the distance between the two elements is narrow. Therefore, there is provided a cartridge for an image forming apparatus that is easy to convey and saves space during packaging.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments embodying a cartridge according to the present invention and an image forming apparatus including the cartridge will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the present invention is applied to a cartridge mounted on a tandem color printer.

  The color printer of this embodiment is a tandem type full-color printer, and has four image forming units arranged in parallel as shown in FIG. Specifically, the color printer 100 according to this embodiment includes process units 10K, 10C, 10M, and 10Y, a transfer belt 31, and toner hoppers 20K, 20C, 20M, and 20Y. Each process unit includes a photosensitive drum, a charging device, a cleaning device, a developing unit, and the like, and forms an image on the transfer belt 31. Each toner hopper accommodates toner to be supplied to the corresponding process unit. The color printer 100 also includes a paper feed cassette 50, a fixing unit 60, a paper discharge tray 81, and the like. In the color printer 100, toner images of different colors are sequentially transferred onto the transfer belt 31 by the process units 10K, 10C, 10M, and 10Y. Then, the superimposed toner images are transferred onto the recording paper conveyed from the paper feed cassette 50. The recording sheet on which the toner image has been transferred is fixed by the fixing unit 70 and discharged to the discharge tray 81.

  Further, the process unit 10K and the toner hopper 20K are provided to face each other with the transfer belt 31 interposed therebetween. Further, the process unit 10K and the toner hopper 20K constitute a U-shaped imaging cartridge 110K in which the end portions in the longitudinal direction are joined to the connecting portion 40 as shown in FIG. The imaging cartridge 110K is detachably attached to the color printer 100, and is attached to the main body of the color printer 100 by being inserted in the depth direction in FIG. The other color process units and toner hoppers have the same configuration.

  Next, the imaging cartridge 110K will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the imaging cartridge 110K has a photosensitive drum 11 and a developing unit 50 on the process unit 10K side, and a toner tank 21 on the toner hopper 20K side. Further, the developing unit 50 includes a developing roller 51, a supply roller 52, a regulating blade 531, and a charge removal sheet 532. Further, a circulation path for circulating and transporting toner in the longitudinal direction of the development unit 50 (the depth direction in FIG. 3) is provided in the development unit 50. An upper circulation screw 55 and a lower circulation screw 56 for circulating the toner, and a guide plate 57 for constituting a circulation path are provided. Also in the toner tank 21, a conveyance path for conveying the toner in the longitudinal direction (the depth direction in FIG. 3) of the toner tank 21 is provided. A conveying screw 22 for conveying the toner and an agitating member 23 for agitating the toner in the toner tank 21 are provided. Further, a connecting pipe 40 for joining the process unit 10K and the toner hopper 20K is provided with a conveying pipe 41, and the toner in the toner hopper 20K can be conveyed into the process unit 10K via the conveying pipe 41. ing. The other color imaging cartridges have the same configuration.

  FIG. 4 shows the flow of toner in the imaging cartridge 110K. The toner in the toner tank 21 is transported to the connecting portion 40 side in the longitudinal direction by the transport screw 22. The toner transported to the connecting portion 40 is transported to the process unit 10K via the transport pipe 41. The toner transported to the process unit 10K is transported by the upper circulating screw 55 to the front end portion in the longitudinal direction and by the lower circulating screw 56 to the longitudinal connecting portion 40 side. That is, the toner conveyed into the developing unit 50 of the process unit 10K circulates in the circulation path and is appropriately conveyed to the supply roller 52. The means for conveying the toner is not limited to the screw shape, but may be any shape that can convey the toner. For example, a paddle shape, a brush shape, or a roller shape may be used.

  The developing unit 50 of the process unit 10K is provided with a developer remaining amount detecting device. Then, when empty is detected by the developer remaining amount detection device, toner is supplied from the toner tank 21.

  Next, the mechanism of the imaging cartridge 110K will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, the toner hopper 20 </ b> K has a portion in which the conveying screw 22 is accommodated protruding in the axial direction of the conveying screw 22. The projecting portion 26 has a cylindrical shape and is rotatably held by the connecting portion 40. That is, the protruding portion 26 serves as a rotation axis of the toner hopper 20K itself. Further, the conveying screw 22 is positioned near the periphery of the toner hopper 20K (below the toner hopper 20K when attached to the color printer). Therefore, the toner hopper 20K is supported so as to be rotatable and movable with the protruding portion 26 as a rotation axis.

  Specifically, there are mainly two types of imaging cartridges 110K. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the first form positioned by the first lock member 45 provided in the connecting portion 40 and the second lock member 46 also provided in the connecting portion 40 as shown in FIG. There is a second form to be positioned.

  The first form (see FIG. 2) is a form in which the distance between the process unit 10K and the toner hopper 20K is wide. The first form is mainly used when the color printer 100 is mounted. In the first embodiment, the position of the housing of the toner tank 21 is higher than the protrusion 26 as shown in FIG. Therefore, the distance between the process unit 10K and the toner hopper 20K is widened. Accordingly, the transfer belt 31 and the like can be disposed in the space between them.

  On the other hand, a state in which the first lock member 45 is released and the toner hopper 20K is rotated by about 180 degrees from the state shown in FIG. 6 is the second form. In the second embodiment (see FIG. 8), the distance between the process unit 10K and the toner hopper 20K is narrower than that in the first embodiment. The second form is mainly used at the time of packing (conveying). In the second embodiment, the position of the housing of the toner tank 21 is lower than the protrusion 26 as shown in FIG. Therefore, the overall size of the imaging cartridge 110K is smaller than that of the first embodiment. Therefore, packing and transport are facilitated.

  Next, the toner supply mechanism will be described. The protruding portion 26 of the toner hopper 20K is closed at the end by a lid 27 as shown in FIG. Further, a toner supply port 28 is provided on the wall surface of the protruding portion 26. Further, a seal member 29 that covers the edge of the toner supply port 28 is attached to the outer periphery of the toner supply port 28. In the first embodiment, the hole of the seal member 29 communicates with the transport pipe 41 so that toner can be supplied.

  On the other hand, in the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the replenishing port 28 and the seal member 29 are moved by the rotation of the protrusion 26. Therefore, the hole of the seal member 29 is closed by the cover 44 of the connecting portion 40. In addition, the opening of the transport pipe 41 is blocked by the wall surface of the protrusion 26. Therefore, toner replenishment becomes impossible in conjunction with the transition from the second form to the first form.

  As described above in detail, in the imaging cartridge 110K of the present embodiment, the protrusion 26 provided at the end of the toner hopper 20K serves as a rotation shaft, and the toner hopper 20K itself is provided to be rotatable. When the imaging cartridge 110K is attached to the color printer 100, the toner hopper 20K is locked at a position where a sufficient distance between the toner hopper 20K and the process unit 10K is secured as shown in FIG. That is, by using the first lock member 45 to lock (first form), the space can be effectively used. On the other hand, when the imaging cartridge 110K is packed, as shown in FIG. 11, the toner hopper 20K is locked at a position where the distance between the toner hopper 20K and the process unit 10K is narrower than that when the image cartridge 110K is attached to the color printer 100. That is, the imaging cartridge 110K itself can be made compact by locking with the second lock member 46 (second embodiment). As a result, packaging costs are reduced. Therefore, a cartridge for an image forming apparatus that can be easily transported and saves space during packaging is realized.

  Further, since the imaging cartridge 110K of this embodiment is packed and transported in the second embodiment, the toner hopper 20K is rotated and moved after unpacking. Therefore, when the imaging cartridge 110K is transported, even if the toner aggregates due to vibration, the weight of the toner itself, or the like, the toner hopper 20K itself rotates and moves to loosen the toner. Therefore, the initial starting torque of the toner hopper 20K can be reduced.

  Further, in the conventional imaging cartridge, since the replenishing port is blocked by the seal member, contamination due to scattering of toner is a problem when the seal member is peeled off. In the imaging cartridge 110K of the present embodiment, the toner supply port 27 is opened and closed in conjunction with the rotation operation of the toner hopper 20K. That is, when the imaging cartridge 110K is transported, the replenishing port 27 is in a closed state, and when the imaging cartridge 110K is mounted, when the toner cartridge 20K is mounted, the replenishing port 27 is opened. This eliminates the need for a sealing member that closes the supply port 27 during transportation. Therefore, the number of parts is reduced. Further, since the operator does not perform the work of peeling off the seal member, it is possible to save the operator's trouble and avoid the problem of contamination.

  Note that this embodiment is merely an example, and does not limit the present invention. Therefore, the present invention can naturally be improved and modified in various ways without departing from the gist thereof. That is, it can be applied to a copying machine, a scanner, a FAX, a word processor, or the like. Further, the present invention is not limited to a color machine, and can be applied to a monochrome machine. Furthermore, it can be applied to either a one-component development system or a two-component development system.

  In the imaging cartridge 110K of the present embodiment, the toner hopper 20K is provided so as to be rotatable, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the process unit 10K may be provided to be rotatable. If the distance between the toner hopper 20K and the process unit 10K is sufficiently wide, both units may be provided so as to be rotatable.

1 is a diagram illustrating a device configuration of a color printer according to an embodiment. It is a perspective view (1st form) which shows the external appearance of a U-shaped imaging cartridge. It is a figure which shows the apparatus structure of an imaging cartridge. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a flow of toner in an imaging cartridge. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view (first embodiment) of the vicinity of a supply port of a toner hopper. It is a side view (1st form) which shows the external appearance of an imaging cartridge. It is a side view (2nd form) which shows the external appearance of an imaging cartridge. It is a perspective view (2nd form) which shows the external appearance of a U-shaped imaging cartridge. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view (second embodiment) of the vicinity of a supply port of a toner hopper. It is a front view (1st form) which shows the external appearance of an imaging cartridge. It is a front view (2nd form) which shows the external appearance of an imaging cartridge.

Explanation of symbols

10 Process unit (element)
20 Toner hopper (element)
26 Protrusion (protrusion)
27 Projection Cover 28 Toner Supply Port (Supply Port)
29 Seal member 40 Connecting portion (connecting portion)
45 1st lock member (1st lock part)
46 2nd lock member (2nd lock part)
50 Development unit 100 Color printer (image forming apparatus)
110 Imaging cartridge (cartridge)

Claims (4)

In a cartridge having a pair of elements positioned substantially parallel to each other and a connecting portion connected to the longitudinal ends of both elements, and detachable from the image forming apparatus,
At least one of the elements is provided with a protruding portion that protrudes in the longitudinal direction of the element and engages with the connecting portion. The element is supported by the connecting portion so as to be rotatable and movable with the protruding portion as a rotation axis. The cartridge characterized by having. The cartridge according to claim 1, wherein
A first lock portion for holding an element provided to be rotatable at a position where the element provided for rotation and the other element have a predetermined interval;
A second lock portion for holding the element provided to be rotatable and movable at a position where the element provided for rotation and the other element are spaced at a distance narrower than the distance held by the first lock member; A cartridge characterized by that. The cartridge according to claim 1 or 2,
Among the elements, the element provided to be rotationally movable is a developer hopper for containing a developer. The cartridge according to claim 3,
The protrusion is provided with a developer supply port,
In the state of being held by the first lock member, the replenishing port communicates with the developer transport pipe of the connecting portion,
The cartridge, wherein the replenishing port is closed by a wall surface of the connecting portion in a state of being held by the second lock member.

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