JP2006259452A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and frequently replace a depressure filter even when a rotary type toner bottle is used since attaching and detaching operation in a developing device and a toner storage section where filter members are mounted is too complicated to frequently and easily replace the members. <P>SOLUTION: In the image forming apparatus having a toner conveyance path connecting a detachable toner bottle 17 and a developing device or a toner storage section constituted as a part other than the toner bottle, the depressure filter 23 is arranged in the toner conveyance path and the depressure filter is packed together with a toner bottle for replacement. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, or a complex machine thereof. In particular, the present invention relates to a developing unit including a rotation type toner bottle or a toner cartridge in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus that forms an image on a transfer material such as a sheet or an intermediate transfer member using dry toner.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 06-332314 JP 2000-75624 A JP 2003-84634 A

  In the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, the surface of the latent image carrier is uniformly charged with a charging device as the latent image carrier rotates, and then writing is performed by irradiating writing light from the writing device to statically place the surface of the latent image carrier. An electrostatic latent image is formed, and then a powder developer is attached by a developing device, the electrostatic latent image is visualized, the toner image is transferred to a transfer material, and finally a fixing process is performed. The image forming process is completed. As the developer, a two-component developer having a toner and a carrier, a one-component developer having no carrier, or the like is used.

  In general, the developing device is composed of a developing casing whose main body is substantially sealed except for the opposing portion of the latent image carrier. Inside the developing device is a rotating member such as a developing sleeve or a paddle wheel for stirring the developer. Is provided. When these rotating members rotate, the pressure inside the developing casing rises, and airflow leakage occurs from a slight gap such as a gap between the latent image carrier and the developing casing portion facing the latent image carrier or a joint between parts. The developer or toner leaks along with the air flow, and is scattered outside the developing casing and may contaminate the inside and outside of the image forming apparatus. When a detachable toner bottle is attached to the image forming apparatus, the internal pressure of the toner conveyance path increases, and the toner may scatter from a gap such as a joint of the conveyance path.

  Therefore, conventionally, a developing device or a cleaning device is provided with a pressure relief opening, and an air filter is attached to the pressure relief opening so as to allow only air to escape. However, the air filter is clogged with toner due to the influence of floating toner, and the effect of preventing an increase in internal pressure (pressure release effect) is diminished, and the dust collection effect is diminished, causing toner scattering from the developing device and the cleaning device. There is a fear. For this reason, the location of the filter is limited, but for the pressure relief part for preventing toner scattering, the replacement of the pressure relief filter must not be forgotten, the filter member is less likely to be clogged, and the maintenance cost is reduced. Have been made in the past (see, for example, Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2, and Patent Document 3).

  However, when the toner storage container rotates, the toner inside adheres as the container rotates, so that a filter cannot be provided on the container itself.

  Conventionally, since the developing device or the toner accommodating portion to which the filter member is attached has been complicated to attach and detach, and it has been difficult to replace the member frequently and easily, the present invention is also in light of this point. It is an object of the present invention to make it possible to easily and frequently replace the pressure relief filter even when the toner bottle is used.

  According to the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus having a toner conveyance path that connects a removable toner bottle and a developing device or a toner container configured as other than the toner bottle. This is solved by placing and packing the depressurizing filter in a replacement toner bottle.

  It is preferable that the depressurizing filter is disposed at a position where it can be easily replaced when the toner bottle is replaced. It is preferable that the depressurizing filter bundled with the replacement toner bottle is a part of the packing material of the replacement toner bottle. It is convenient if the depressurizing filter bundled with the replacement toner bottle is a lid member of the replacement toner bottle. Conveniently, the pressure relief filter is disposed in the vicinity of the toner input opening of the developing device.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the pressure release filter is disposed in the toner conveyance path, and the release filter is bundled with the replacement toner bottle. Therefore, even if a toner bottle that rotates during use is used, the toner bottle The filter can be replaced at the same frequency as the replacement, and the depressurization effect can be maintained.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the depressurization filter can be easily replaced simultaneously with the replacement of the toner bottle, so that the filter can be replaced more frequently and the depressurization effect can be maintained.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the use of the toner bottle packing member for the pressure release filter can reduce the number of parts and the work for bundling.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the pressure relief filter is removed when the toner bottle is attached and the lid member which is not required is used, the number of parts is reduced, leading to cost reduction. Further, the attachment mechanism can be used as it is.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the pressure release filter is disposed in the vicinity of the toner input opening of the developing device, it can also serve as a pressure release in the developing device and reduce toner scattering from the developing device. it can. Further, since the replacement is easier than the pressure release filter disposed in the developing device, the replacement frequency is increased, and it is also effective in maintaining the pressure release effect.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described as an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a two-component monochrome copying machine which is an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. Of course, the present invention can be applied not only to such a two-component monochrome copying machine but also to a one-component developing copying machine, a monochrome printer, a fax machine, a two-component developing or one-component developing color copying machine, a color printer, and the like. . As shown in FIG. 1, the copying machine includes a charging device 2, an exposure device 3, a developing device 4, a transfer device 5, a cleaning device 6, and a charge eliminating device 7 around a drum-shaped photosensitive member 1 as an image carrier. Further, a toner replenishing device 8 is attached to the developing device 4. The mechanism of the entire copying machine is basically the same as that of the conventional one, and the description of the operation relating to the image forming process is omitted. Hereinafter, a toner replenishing unit particularly related to the present invention will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the toner replenishing device 8 includes a motor 12 fixed to the machine body side plate 11, a support base 13 that can be pulled out and pushed in the direction A with respect to the machine body, and a front side of the support base 13. A bottle holder portion 14 fixed to the end is provided. The drive motor 12 includes a joint portion that is configured by a spring 15, a rotary shaft 16, and the like and that can expand and contract in the direction A in the drawing. A toner bottle 17 is in contact with an end of the joint, and an extendable joint portion presses the toner bottle 17 toward the bottle holder portion 14. The head of the toner bottle 17 is rotatably supported in the bottle holder portion 14, and the toner bottle 17 rotates in the direction B in the drawing along with the joint portion. An operation handle 18 is attached to the front end of the bottle holder portion 14. When the operation handle 18 is operated in the direction of arrow C in the figure, a bottle cap (not shown) in the bottle holder portion 14 is removed from the toner bottle 17. The bottle opening is opened away. When the operation handle 18 is pulled forward in the figure, the toner supply device 8 can be pulled out in the direction of arrow A in the figure, and the joint portion of the drive motor 12 and the toner bottle 17 are separated. When the toner replenishing device 8 is pulled out in this way, the head of the toner bottle 17 can be taken out from the bottle holder portion 14, so that the toner bottle 17 can be replaced. A screw-like protrusion 17 a that protrudes into the container is formed on the circumferential surface of the toner bottle 17. When the toner bottle 17 is driven to rotate in the direction B in the figure, the toner accommodated in the toner bottle 17 It is conveyed toward the opening (not shown).

  Next, the toner conveyance path will be described with reference to FIG. An extruding portion having four toner extruding members 19 is engaged around the opening of the toner bottle 17, and this rotates with the toner bottle 17. As indicated by the arrow D, the toner that has fallen into the bottle holder 14 from the opening of the toner bottle 17 as the toner bottle 17 rotates (in the direction of arrow B) is rotated with the toner bottle 17. Thus, the toner bottle 17 is scooped up in the direction of the arrow B in the same manner as the rotation of the toner bottle 17. Then, the toner is pushed out in the direction of arrow E by the toner pushing member 19 so as to pass through the side opening 20 provided in the bottle holder portion 14. The toner thus pushed out is supplied into the developing device 4 through a toner supply path from the side opening 20 of the bottle holder portion 14 to the toner supply port 25.

  The pressure relief filter provided in the connecting piece 21 that connects the bottle holder 14 and the developing device 4 constituting the toner supply path will be described with reference to FIGS. A pressure release opening 22 is provided on the side surface of the connection piece 21 constituting the toner replenishment path, and a filter cartridge 24 with a pressure release filter 23 attached is attached so as to close the pressure release opening 22. It has been. The filter cartridge 24 is configured to be easily detachable in a slide insertion form as shown in FIG. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the pressure release opening 22 may be provided on the upper surface of the connection piece 21 for the toner supply path. In addition, the filter cartridge 24 is bundled with a replacement toner bottle.

  According to the above configuration, the filter cartridge 24 is included in the replacement toner bottle, and the filter cartridge 24 can be replaced when the toner bottle is replaced. The effect is reduced, and toner scattering from the unit joint can be prevented when the toner bottle 17 is mounted.

  Further, the effect of the pressure release opening 22 of the present embodiment on the toner scattering generated from the developing device 4 will be described. Under the acceleration condition using a deteriorated developer that is likely to generate toner scattering due to a decrease in charge amount, the developing device 4 was driven for 60 minutes, and the presence or absence of toner scattering was compared with the state without the pressure release opening and the filter. . As a result, toner scattering occurred from the opening of the developing device 4 facing the photosensitive drum 1 in the absence of the pressure relief opening, but in the state in which the pressure relief opening 22 and the filter cartridge 24 were provided, the toner was scattered. There was no scattering. Therefore, the effect of preventing the scattering of the toner from the developing device 4 can be confirmed by disposing the pressure release opening 22 in the vicinity of the toner supply port 25 provided in the developing device 4.

  Next, another embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 6, a part of the packing material 26 of the toner bottle 17 is used as a member of the filter cartridge 24, and when replacing the toner bottle, it is cut off as in the previous embodiment. The pressure release opening 22 provided in the route) 21 is covered. With such a configuration, the work of enclosing the filter cartridge 24 can be reduced, and the filter cartridge 24 can be manufactured with an inexpensive material similar to the enclosed member.

  In still another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, a lid member 27 of the toner bottle 17 that is unnecessary when replacing the toner is used as a member of the filter cartridge 24. That is, the filter cartridge 24 is configured by attaching the pressure relief filter 23 to the upper surface of the lid member 27. With such a configuration, unnecessary members that are originally discarded can be used. In particular, when the coupling method of the toner bottle 17 and the lid member 27 is a screw type, as shown in FIG. 8, the toner bottle is also provided in the pressure release opening 22 provided in the connection piece (toner supply path) 21. If the screw shape similar to 17 is formed, the possibility of toner scattering from the toner cartridge coupling portion can be reduced.

1 is a schematic diagram of a main part of a copying machine. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a toner supply device. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a toner conveyance path. It is the schematic which shows a pressure release filter part. It is the schematic which shows the pressure release filter part of another structure. It is a figure which shows the structural example of a filter cartridge. It is a figure which shows another structural example of a filter cartridge. It is a figure which shows the use condition of the filter cartridge of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

4 Developing Device 14 Bottle Holder 17 Toner Bottle 19 Toner Extruding Portion 20 Opening Portion 21 Connection Portion (Toner Supply Path)
22 Pressure relief opening 23 Pressure relief filter 24 Filter cartridge 25 Toner supply port

Claims (5)

  In an image forming apparatus having a toner conveyance path connecting a removable toner bottle and a developing device or a toner container configured as other than the toner bottle, a pressure release filter is disposed in the toner conveyance path, and the pressure release filter is An image forming apparatus that is packaged in a replacement toner bottle.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pressure release filter is disposed at a position where the filter can be easily replaced when the toner bottle is replaced.   3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pressure release filter bundled with the replacement toner bottle is a part of a packing material for the replacement toner bottle. 4.   3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pressure release filter bundled with the replacement toner bottle is a cover member of the replacement toner bottle. 4.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pressure release filter is disposed in the vicinity of a toner input opening of a developing device.

Images