JP2008158217A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus capable of setting the opposed interval of a side plate, by which a discharge port does not interfere with an outside cover, even when assembling a toner bottle equipped with a discharge port having a different installing system. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus supports a toner container 101 having a replenishing part 102 for replenishing an image forming unit with toner on a front side of an image forming apparatus main body relative to a main body structural body which supports the toner container 101 having the replenishing part for replenishing the image forming unit with the toner on an inner side of the apparatus main body. The main body structural body is constituted of a front side plate 103 and a rear side plate 105 oppositely arranged while leaving space in between on the front side and the inner side of the image forming apparatus main body. The replenishing part of the toner container is supported to project from the front of the front side plate and also drawn and formed to cave in 1020 in a direction going toward the inner side of the apparatus while turning the periphery of the replenishing part 102 on the front side plate 103 to the inside of the apparatus. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a structure for supporting an image forming member provided in the apparatus.

  As image forming apparatuses, copiers and printers are known as facsimile machines or multi-function machines in which the functions of these apparatuses are appropriately combined. These apparatuses have an image forming unit for performing image forming processing. Is provided.

  The image forming unit includes a latent image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed according to image information, a developing device that visualizes the electrostatic latent image as a toner image, and a toner image as a recording paper. Are equipped with a transfer device for transferring images, a conveying device for recording paper, a fixing device for fixing the toner image after transfer, and the support structure of these devices as the front side of the image forming device on the side facing the user There is a known structure that supports a front plate and a rear plate that are opposed to each other and spaced apart from the back side corresponding to the back side of the image forming apparatus on this side (for example, Patent Document 1).

  On the other hand, various apparatuses provided in the image forming apparatus include those having different types of structures depending on the purpose of use of the user.

  For example, taking a developing device as an example, it may be used for forming a single color image for a monochrome image or used for forming a multi-color image for a full color image.

  In each of these types of developing devices, a toner bottle having a space in which new toner can be stored may be detachably attached to the developing device for the purpose of maintaining a constant developer concentration.

  As the toner bottle, for example, an inward spiral convex portion is formed on the peripheral wall of the cylindrical bottle along the longitudinal direction of the bottle, and the bottle is rotated so that the toner discharge port provided at one end in the longitudinal direction of the bottle is used. There is a configuration in which the toner is spirally moved toward the target (for example, Patent Document 2).

  As disclosed in Patent Document 2, the discharge port is provided at one end opposite to the other end in the longitudinal direction where the engaging portion with the driving means of the toner bottle is provided, separately from the bottle driving portion. There is a case where it is provided, and a case where it is provided at the end portion on the same side as the engaging portion (for example, Patent Document 3).

  The discharge ports disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3 have a configuration in which a lid for preventing inadvertent toner leakage is opened and closed by a chuck or the like, and is provided in a toner bottle loading portion to discharge. The opening and closing operation of the lid by the chuck is performed by sliding the chuck in conjunction with the swinging operation of the operating member mounted on the case to which the outlet is mounted. The installation position of the drive unit is often set on the side plate side located on the back side of the image forming apparatus so that the user's hand is not touched when the exterior cover is opened for maintenance or the like.

  The number of toner bottles to be installed is determined according to the purpose of use of the user, for example, when a single color image is formed or when a plurality of colors are formed.

  On the other hand, when the toner bottle is inserted and removed by opening the exterior cover of the image forming apparatus, the exterior cover on the front side of the apparatus main body facing the user side is opened and closed. When the toner replenishment part provided with a toner introduction part for transferring the toner discharged from the toner bottle and the toner discharge part to the storage part of the developing device is located at a position close to Since some of the toner leaked from the portion is likely to accumulate inside the exterior cover, the user's clothes and hands may be soiled due to scattering of the toner accumulated when the exterior cover is opened.

  When toner scatters, the amount of splattering is proportional to the number of toner bottles installed. Therefore, in the case of forming an image of a plurality of colors, the discharge as disclosed in Patent Document 3 is required. When the outlet is provided on the same side as the drive unit and the ejection port is positioned on the back side of the image forming apparatus and the target is single image formation, the amount of leakage is less than in the case of multiple colors. In some cases, a discharge port and a driving unit as disclosed in FIG. 2 are provided at each end in the longitudinal direction of the bottle, and the discharge port is positioned on the front side of the image forming apparatus. The driving units disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3 are provided for the side plate on the back side of the apparatus for the reason described above.

JP 2006-146142 A JP 2002-189337 A JP 2004-54280 A

By the way, a toner bottle using a discharge port installation type as disclosed in Patent Documents 2 and 3 is a front side plate configured by a frame or the like provided inside an exterior cover inside the image forming apparatus. The toner bottle having the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 3 is disclosed in Patent Document 2 because the discharge port and the drive unit are provided on the same side. The axial length of the discharged toner bottle is different from that of the outlet.
That is, in the configuration in which the discharge port and the drive unit are disposed on the same side as disclosed in Patent Document 3, the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 2 in which only the discharge port is provided on one side in the axial direction of the bottle. As a result, the axial length occupied by the discharge port and the drive unit becomes longer.

  6 and 7 are diagrams for explaining a toner replenishment mechanism having different toner replenishment positions in the toner bottle. FIG. 6 shows a case where a toner bottle having the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 2 is loaded, and FIG. The case where the toner bottle of the structure disclosed by patent document 3 is loaded is shown.

  In FIG. 6, a front side plate FP comprising a frame inside the exterior cover K1 in which the discharge port of the toner bottle TB (for convenience, the mounting portion including the discharge port is indicated by reference numeral TB1) is located on the front side of the image forming apparatus. Projecting outside, and the projecting dimension is L4. In FIG. 6, reference numeral DT denotes a toner introduction portion on the developing device side, and reference symbol DB denotes a rear plate RP that is opposed to the end portion on the opposite side to the position of the discharge port TB1 in the axial direction of the toner bottle. The drive part currently shown is shown.

  On the other hand, in FIG. 7, the discharge port of the toner bottle TB ′ (for convenience, the mounting portion including the discharge port is indicated by TB1 ′) and the drive unit protrude from the rear plate RP on the same side, and from the front plate FP. The protruding dimension is L3.

  The dimensions L3 and L4 projecting from the front plate FP toward the exterior cover K1 are the configurations shown in FIG. 6 in which the discharge port TB1 forming a part of the toner replenishing portion projects from the front plate FP. This is larger than the configuration shown in (4) (L4> L3).

In recent years, in this type of image forming apparatus, it has been required to reduce product costs such as processing costs, and common parts to be used have been executed.
Therefore, as described above, when installing a toner bottle having a different discharge port installation type, if one of the toner bottles is installed between the front side plate and the rear side plate that are set to face each other, toner replenishment is performed. Depending on the installation type of the part, the projecting dimension differs between the front side plate and the exterior cover, which may interfere with the exterior cover, and it may be difficult to share parts.

  That is, for the configuration shown in FIG. 7 (configuration in which the discharge port is provided on the rear plate RP side), the toner bottle installation of the configuration shown in FIG. 6 (configuration in which the discharge port is provided on the front plate FP side). Since the distance between the front plate FP and the exterior cover K1 is different from each other (L4> L3), the toner bottle having the configuration shown in FIG. 6 has the toner replenishing portion having the discharge port TB1 and the exterior cover K1. It will interfere.

Therefore, the position of the front side plate FR shown in FIG. 7 is moved to the rear side plate RP side by, for example, bulging a part of the rear side plate RP to the outside, and between the front side plate FP and the exterior cover K1. It is conceivable to secure the interval (L4), but in such a configuration, interference occurs within the recording paper conveyance size indicated by reference numeral L1 in FIG. There arises a new problem that the supporting positions of various devices including the first must be changed.
That is, in FIGS. 6 and 7, the position of the front plate FP shown in FIG. 6 is used as a reference, and the position of the front plate FP shown in FIG. 6 is displaced toward the rear plate RP so that the discharge port is formed between the front plate FP and the exterior cover K1. When the space that can be arranged is secured, the position of the front plate FP enters the transport size (L1) shown in FIG. 7 (the center of the transport size indicated by the symbol L2 in FIG. 6 is the rear plate RP side). ), The support positions of various devices including the image carrier supported by the front plate FP and the rear plate RP must be changed. As a result, the specification of the toner bottle, that is, the toner supply unit It is necessary to prepare a different structure for each installation type.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to solve the problem in the conventional image forming apparatus including the toner bottle support structure, and the toner replenishing portion is not attached to the outer cover even when a toner container having a different installation type of the toner replenishing portion is assembled. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus having a configuration in which the interval between the side plates that can be prevented from interfering can be set and the configuration change for each structure can be made unnecessary.

In order to achieve this object, the present invention comprises the following arrangement.
(1) With respect to a main body structure supporting a toner container having a replenishing unit for replenishing toner to the image forming unit on the back side of the image forming apparatus main body, a replenishing unit for replenishing toner to the image forming unit on the front side of the apparatus main body is provided. An image forming apparatus for supporting a toner container having
The main body structure is composed of a front side plate and a rear side plate arranged to face each other at a distance from the front side and the back side of the image forming apparatus main body,
The replenishment portion of the toner container is supported so as to protrude from the front surface of the front side plate, and the periphery of the replenishment portion of the front side plate is recessed toward the interior side of the device toward the back side of the device. An image forming apparatus having an aperture formed.

  (2) An exterior cover that can be opened and closed is provided in front of the front side plate, and the replenishing portion in the front side plate is such that the distance between the back surface of the exterior cover and the front surface of the front plate is constant regardless of the orientation of the toner container. The image forming apparatus according to (1), wherein a diaphragm is formed so as to be recessed in a direction toward the inner side of the apparatus with the periphery of the apparatus facing the inside of the apparatus.

  (3) The replenishment unit includes a toner discharge port on the toner container side and a toner introduction unit on the developing device side, and the toner discharge port is formed between the front surface of the front plate and the back surface of the exterior cover. And a toner introduction portion that receives toner from the toner discharge port is positioned in a step portion located in the portion formed to be recessed. The image forming apparatus according to (1) or (2).

According to the present invention, in contrast to the configuration in which the replenishment portion of the toner container is supported by projecting from the front surface of the front plate, the periphery of the replenishment portion on the front plate is recessed toward the back of the device toward the inside of the device. Thus, the toner replenishing portion can be arranged in the space with a wide facing distance between the front side plate and the exterior cover. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the supply portion of the toner container protruding from the front side plate from interfering with the exterior cover.
In particular, in order to increase the facing distance between the front plate and the exterior cover, the rear plate protrudes from the rear plate, unlike the configuration in which the position of the front plate is displaced toward the inside of the device by bulging outward. Thus, the toner replenishing portion protruding from the front side plate can be arranged without changing the position of the front side plate when the configuration for supporting the toner replenishing portion is used.
As a result, it is not necessary to change the center position of the conveyance width of the recording medium intended to support the toner replenishing portion by projecting from the rear side plate, regardless of the installation form of the toner replenishing portion. The installation form of the toner replenishment section is the same as that described above with the configuration of the front side plate only, without changing the structure of the structure to secure the support space for the replenishment section between the front side plate and the exterior cover. Even when they are different from each other, it is possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of a situation in which the replenishing portion and the exterior cover interfere with each other.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is an external view of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. In the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1, an image forming unit that forms an image for each color is formed by each of these image forming units. 4 is an electrophotographic color image forming apparatus of a quadruple tandem system in which the toner images are juxtaposed in the extending direction of the transfer belt on which the toner images are superimposed and transferred. The image forming apparatus referred to in the present invention is intended for a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile apparatus, and an apparatus that combines these functions.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 100 denotes an image forming apparatus main body.
An image reading device 200 is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body 100. The image reading apparatus 200 includes a contact glass on the upper surface, and an operation display unit 90 that protrudes toward the front side is provided on the front surface.
An automatic document feeder (ADF) 300 is attached to the upper part of the image reading apparatus 200 so that the front side can be opened and closed with the back side as a fulcrum.
The image forming apparatus main body 100 to which the image reading apparatus 200 and the automatic document feeder 300 are attached is placed on an additional sheet feeding apparatus 400 which is an optional apparatus to be a finished product.

  The additional sheet feeding device 400 is provided with sheet feeding cassettes 91 in two upper and lower stages, each of which can be inserted and removed from the front side of the image forming apparatus main body 1. Further, a double-sided unit 92 is attached to the right side surface of the image forming apparatus main body 100 as an open / close unit so as to be freely opened and closed.

  FIG. 2 shows the overall schematic configuration of the internal mechanism of the image forming apparatus main body 100.

In FIG. 2, reference numerals 10c, 10m, 10y, and 10b denote four image forming units of cyan, magenta, yellow, and black, respectively, which are arranged in tandem.
Each image forming unit is provided with a drum-shaped image carrier 11c, 11m, 11y, 11b. As the clockwise rotation of the image forming units 11a, 11m, 11y, 11b in the figure, first, the surface of each charging device 12c, 12m, 12y, 12b Then, writing is performed with the laser beams Lc, Lm, Ly, and Lb from the common writing device 13, and then the image carriers 11c, 11m, and 11m are supplied by toner supply by the developing devices 14c, 14m, 14y, and 14b. A monochrome image for each color is formed on 11y and 11b.

  An image for each color formed in each image forming unit is transferred to each intermediate transfer body 15 composed of an endless belt having a stretched surface facing each image carrier 11c, 11m, 11y, 11b. A full-color image is formed by a primary transfer process in which images are sequentially transferred and superimposed by transfer biases from 16c, 16m, 16y, and 16b.

On the other hand, one of the feeding rollers 20 is selectively rotated at an appropriate timing, and a predetermined sheet (recording medium) is supplied from the sheet feeding cassette 21 in the image forming apparatus main body 100 or the sheet feeding cassette 91 in the additional sheet feeding apparatus 400 described above. 22 is to be paid out.
The fed-out predetermined sheet (recording medium) is conveyed through a sheet conveying path (recording medium conveying path) 23 and is abutted between a pair of registration rollers 24, thereby matching with a full-color image on the intermediate transfer member 15. The registration timing for taking the image is set and fed toward the position of the secondary transfer device 25, and the superimposed images are collectively transferred via a transfer bias by the secondary transfer device 25.

  The predetermined paper (recording medium) 22 that has completed the secondary transfer process by batch transfer passes through the paper conveyance path 23 and is sent to the fixing nip portion of the fixing device 30. The toner is fixed by being melted and permeated by the pressure, and is discharged to a discharge tray 27 on the image forming apparatus main body 100 by a discharge roller 26.

  The image carriers 11c, 11m, 11y, and 11b after completion of the primary transfer are cleaned by the primary cleaning devices 17c, 17m, 17y, and 17b, thereby removing foreign matters such as residual toner and paper dust. The intermediate transfer body 15 after the secondary transfer is finished is cleaned by the secondary cleaning device 18 to remove the remaining toner.

  On the other hand, when images on both the front and back sides are formed on the predetermined paper (recording medium) 22 that has finished the secondary transfer process, the predetermined paper (recording medium) 22 that has passed through the fixing device 30 is moved to the transport path switching claw 33. The direction of conveyance is switched by this and the sheet is conveyed toward the duplex unit 92.

  In the duplex unit 92, a predetermined sheet (recording medium) 22 is switched back in the switchback path 93 and turned upside down, then passed through the refeed path 94 and again fed toward the registration roller 24 on the image forming apparatus main body 100 side. The predetermined sheet (recording medium) 22 is subjected to the secondary transfer process again by the registration timing setting by the registration roller 24. The duplex unit 92 is provided so as to be openable and closable with the support shaft 35 as a fulcrum (in the direction indicated by reference numeral R). When a jam of a predetermined sheet (recording medium) 22 occurs, the conveyance path and the sheet feed are provided. The part 36 can be opened to a state where it can be exposed to the outside.

Next, the characteristic part of a present Example is demonstrated.
The feature of this embodiment is the same as the case of supporting the toner replenishing portion protruding from the rear side plate regardless of the type of toner container containing the replenishing toner for the developing device, particularly regardless of the installation type of the toner replenishing portion. It is to be able to widen the facing distance between the front side plate and the exterior cover while maintaining the conveyance width of the predetermined sheet (recording medium), particularly the center of the conveyance width.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the principle structure of the above feature, and FIG. 3A is a perspective view showing the relationship between the front side plate and the discharge portion of the toner container used in the toner replenishing portion. 3 (B) is a plan view showing the front side plate and the rear side plate.
The toner container 101 shown in FIG. 3 is intended for a case where only black toner is used instead of a container containing toners of a plurality of colors indicated by reference numerals 28c, 28m, 28y, and 28k in FIG. This corresponds to the type in which the toner replenishing portion is provided on the front plate side as described in FIG.

  The toner replenishing portion provided on the near side of the apparatus main body 100 in the toner container 101 is a toner discharge port 101A provided near the end of the toner container 101 (in FIG. 3A, the discharge port is provided for convenience. The cover member into which the end of the toner container in which the toner container is provided is indicated by reference numeral 101A), and the toner introduction portion 102 on the developing device side disposed in the vicinity thereof. The discharge port 101 </ b> A and the toner introduction unit 102 used for the toner replenishing unit are arranged outside the front plate 103 that forms the housing structure of the image forming apparatus main body 100 and on the inner side of the exterior cover 104 of the image forming apparatus main body 100. Has been.

As the structure of the structure for supporting the toner container 101, as shown in FIG. 3B, the above-described front side plate 103 and rear side plate 105 used as the structure constituting the housing of the image forming apparatus main body 100 are used. Is used.
The front side plate 103 is positioned on the front side of the image forming apparatus main body 100, and the rear side plate 105 is a frame body positioned on the back side of the image forming apparatus main body 100. On each of these side plates, a part of the devices used in the image forming unit, for example, the writing device 13 is supported together with the toner container 101.

  As shown in FIG. 3B, the toner container 101 has a drive unit 101B that can be engaged with the drive unit 106 supported by the rear side plate 105 in the longitudinal direction, as in the case shown in FIG. And is loaded from the front plate 103 located on the front side of the image forming apparatus main body 100 in the longitudinal direction opposite to the drive unit 101B.

  As described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, the toner container 101 may have a different amount of protrusion from the front side plate 103 to the end portion where the toner discharge port 101 </ b> A is located due to a different installation type of the toner supply unit.

In the case of a toner container that uses an installation format in which the end part interferes with the exterior cover 104, the configuration of the front side plate 103 shown in FIG. 3 is used.
That is, the aperture is formed so that the periphery of the front plate 103 where the discharge port 101A of the toner container 101 is located is recessed toward the back of the main body toward the inside of the image forming apparatus main body 100 (for convenience, FIG. 3B). The portion where the aperture is formed is referred to as a recessed portion and is indicated by reference numeral 1020).

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the recessed amount indicated by reference numeral S <b> 1 in FIG. 3B is different in the facing distance between the front side plate 103 and the exterior cover 104 due to the difference in the toner replenishment portion position. In addition, the facing distance (L4) between the front surface of the front side plate 103 and the front surface of the exterior cover 104 for the toner replenishment installation mode shown in FIG.
Accordingly, the front side plate 103 is recessed only in the periphery of the toner container 101 toward the rear side plate 105, so that the member supported at a position different from the installation position of the toner container 101 is denoted by reference numerals in FIG. Since the facing distance between the side plates indicated by L1 is maintained, the facing distance between the front surface of the front side plate 103 and the inner surface of the exterior cover 104 is constant regardless of the installation type of the toner replenishing portion. For this reason, it is not necessary to change the support structure in accordance with the difference in the installation form of the toner replenishing portion. For example, the facing interval (L1) between the side plates targeting the installation form of the toner replenishing portion shown in FIG. The various devices described above, that is, the writing device can be supported as they are. For this reason, even when the front side plate 103 having the recessed portion 1020 is used, the transport width center of the apparatus based on the facing interval between the side plates indicated by reference numeral L1 in FIG. 7 does not change. There is no need to change the support structure of the device.

  On the other hand, the recessed portion 1020 has a step portion that is continuous with the flat surface of the front plate 103. In this embodiment, the toner is transferred from the discharge port 101A to the toner introduction portion 102 in the space where the step portion is located. The position to be performed (the range indicated by the symbol FT in FIG. 3B). That is, the position of the toner introduction portion of the developing device having a support portion interval on the premise of the facing interval (L1) between the side plates for the installation form of the toner replenishment portion shown in FIG. It can be made to correspond to the position of a certain discharge port. Accordingly, as described above, when the installation form of the toner supply unit shown in FIG. 6 is used, the support structure of the apparatus based on the installation form of the toner supply unit shown in FIG. 7 is used without change. Will be able to.

  With this configuration, the toner delivery position is aligned, so that the toner can be prevented from being spilled or scattered due to the positional deviation, and the toner can be directly delivered without requiring a toner conveying means.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a housing structure using the front plate 103 and the rear plate 105 described above. In FIG. 4, the front plate 103 and the rear plate 105 do not obstruct the laser beam path shown in FIG. The stay 106 and the bottom plate 107 provided with openings are horizontally mounted to be integrated with each other.
The front side plate 103 is provided with an opening 103A for inserting the toner container 101 having the toner replenishing portion installation format described in FIG. 3, and the periphery of the opening 103A is the interior of the image forming apparatus main body 100. A recessed portion 1020 is formed that is recessed to the back side toward the back. An opening 103 </ b> A for loading the toner container 101 and the writing device 13 is provided at the bottom of the recessed portion 1020.

When forming the recessed portion 1020, an upper edge portion 1020 </ b> A is provided at a portion excluding the conveyance path so as not to interfere with the conveyance path of the predetermined sheet (recording medium) indicated by an arrow SP in FIG. The lower edge portion 1020B is formed in a range including the vicinity of the lower portion of the occupied range. This makes it unnecessary to change the member used for transporting the predetermined sheet (recording medium) so that the passage width of the predetermined sheet (recording medium) is not narrowed by the recessed portion.
Further, as described above, the recess forming range is set for the recessed portion 1020 for an apparatus that does not affect the size of the conveyance path of a predetermined sheet (recording medium) to be conveyed. That is, the writing apparatus 13 is an apparatus that does not affect the conveyance path size. For this reason, the recessed portion 1020 has a shape in which the edge portion 1020 </ b> B is positioned below the writing device 13.

The reason why the edge can be positioned below the writing device 13 is that the scanning range from the writing device 13, particularly the scanning range in the main scanning direction, is shorter than the axial length of the image carrier.
That is, the main scanning range on the carrier is shorter than the axial length of the image carrier, and the sheet passing width of a predetermined sheet is set accordingly, so the support position interval in the lateral direction of the writing device 13 is the main scanning. The support position interval in the same direction outside the main scanning range can be shortened toward the inside of the apparatus. In particular, in a configuration in which scanning light is distributed in the main scanning direction using a polygon mirror located at the center of the conveyance path, there is almost no scanning function on the outermost side in the main scanning direction, so side plates located near the outermost side in the main scanning direction It is also possible to narrow the interval.

  For this reason, the lower edge portion 1020B is positioned at a position where the aperture forming range of the recessed portion 1020 includes the occupied range of the writing device 13, so that the front surface of the front plate 103 positioned at the end portion in the main scanning direction of the writing device 13 The space between the outer cover 104 and the inner surface of the outer cover 104 is relatively freely widened, so that it is easy to secure an installation space for the toner replenishing portion. In addition, since the stay 106 is provided with an opening for securing a scanning optical path from the writing device 13, there is no need to divide a part to provide the scanning optical path. Can be prevented.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5, the recessed portion 1020 has an opening portion 103A provided in the front side plate 103, a toner container loading portion 103A1, and a loading portion of the writing device 13 in a rectangular shape located below the toner container loading portion 103A1. 103A2. The recessed portion 1020 of this embodiment has an edge shape in which the upper edge portion descends from the toner container loading portion 103A1 toward the side end portion of the loading portion 103A2 of the writing device 13 corresponding to the shape of the opening 103A. The diaphragm is formed as follows.

  As a result, the edge portion of the recessed portion 1020 is formed so as to be along the combined direction of the horizontal direction and the vertical direction (inclined in the direction indicated by reference sign CL in FIG. 5), so that the front side plate 103 can be longitudinally and laterally It is possible to prevent the front side plate 103 from being twisted by increasing the cross-sectional rigidity.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as a configuration for increasing the rigidity of the front side plate 103, not only the recess insertion direction of the recess insertion portion 1020 but also the recess insertion direction with the draw forming portion 1021 located in the vicinity of the recess insertion portion 1020 is contradictory. The direction. That is, as shown in FIG. 5 (B), the directions in which the concave portions 1020 and 1021 are formed opposite to each other are opposite to each other (in FIG. 5 (B), the directions opposite to each other are indicated as positive and negative directions with respect to the flat surface. A flat surface is provided between the concave portions 1020 and 1021.

  Thereby, while being able to improve the cross-sectional rigidity with respect to the front and back both surfaces of the front side board 103, when forming such a recessed part 1020, since the flat surface is continued unlike adjacent, the recessed part is continuous. In this case, it is possible to prevent the plate thickness from becoming extremely thin due to an increase in the amount of stretching of the plate material due to press working and prevent breakage easily. The front plate 103 can be a resin molded product instead of the sheet metal member that can be pressed as described above, and a flat surface is provided between the recessed portions even when the resin molded product is used. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the deterioration of the resin flow during molding and the insufficient filling amount at the recessed portion due to this.

  In addition, a positioning stud 108 is provided on a flat surface in the vicinity of the upper edge of the recessed portion 1020 on the surface of the front side plate 103 facing the exterior cover 104, and the toner cartridge 101 and a process cartridge indicated by reference numeral PCU in FIG. That is, the positioning at the time of mounting the image forming unit is facilitated. As a result, the positioning stud 108 is positioned in the vicinity of the recessed portion 1020 having a function of increasing the cross-sectional rigidity of the front side plate 103, thereby enhancing durability against external forces acting on the front side plate 103 and the positioning stat 108 during positioning. it can.

  Further, in this embodiment, as a support structure for the stay 106 used for integrating the front side plate 103 and the rear side plate 105, one end in the longitudinal direction of the stay 106 is located at the inner bottom portion of the recessed portion 1020, and the other end in the longitudinal direction. Is fixed to the rear side plate 105, and the supporting position is a position that isolates the loading portion of the toner container 101 from the conveyance path of the predetermined sheet (recording medium) indicated by reference numeral SP in FIG. Yes. As a result, the amount of material used in the stay 106 can be reduced and the weight can be reduced, and the toner scattered from the toner container 101 is prevented from adhering to a predetermined sheet (recording medium) moving along the conveyance path. can do.

Since the present embodiment is configured as described above, the front side plate 103 and the rear side plate 105 forming the structure are integrated using the stay 106 and the bottom plate 107.
The front side plate 103 is selected according to the installation type of the toner container 101, that is, the installation position of the toner replenishing unit, and when the toner container 101 shown in FIG. 3 is used, the opening having the loading port 103A1 of the toner container 101. A configuration including a recessed portion 1020 formed by drawing so as to be recessed toward the inside of the apparatus main body 100 around 103A is used. As a result, only the front plate 103 is selected according to the specifications of the toner container, and no other members need to be changed, so that the facing distance between the front plate and the exterior cover differs for each specification of the toner container. There is no need to change the overall structure of the structure.

  Therefore, even when a toner container having a different installation form of the toner replenishing unit is used, the facing distance between the front plate 103 and the inner surface of the outer cover 104 can be secured so as not to interfere with the outer cover 104. In particular, since the facing distance can be increased, the margin can be used for reducing the size of the structure in the width direction, and the apparatus can be downsized.

  In this embodiment, since it can be recognized that the concave portion 1020 is provided in the front side plate 103, the relevance with the toner container to be used for the front side plate 103 becomes clear, and the components are attached when the structure is assembled. Mistakes can be prevented. In addition, when the front plate 103 having the recessed portion 1020 is used, the facing distance between the front plate 103 and the exterior cover 104 is widened. For example, the toner container 103 is disposed below the front side plate 103. Unlike the case of a narrow space, the assembling workability and the exchange workability can be improved by providing a large space for inserting a hand when attaching / detaching the writing device 13.

  Further, regarding the enlargement of the facing interval, the toner replenishing portion is located in a space within the widened facing interval, so that the installation operation of the toner replenishing portion is facilitated, and the toner replenishing portion is disposed outside the front plate 103. Is positioned so that the transport path of the predetermined paper (recording medium) and the toner replenishing section are blocked, and the scattered toner can be prevented from entering the transport path of the predetermined paper (recording medium).

1 is an external view of an image forming apparatus according to the best mode for carrying out the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining a configuration of an image forming unit in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the principle structure of the present invention for a toner replenishing unit used in the image forming unit shown in FIG. 2, and (A) shows the relationship between the toner replenishing unit and the front plate of the toner container. The perspective view shown and (B) are top views. It is a perspective view which shows the principal part structure of the structure using the principle structure shown in FIG. It is a front view of the structure shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an example of a toner supply mechanism having different toner supply positions. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining another example of a toner supply mechanism having different toner supply positions.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 13 Writing apparatus 100 Image forming apparatus 101 Toner container 101A Ejection port 101B Drive part 102 Toner introduction part 103 Front side plate 103A Opening part 103A1 Toner container loading part 103A2 Writing apparatus loading part 104 Exterior cover 105 Rear side plate 1020 Indentation part 1020A Upper edge 1020B Lower edge L3, L4 Opposite distance between front plate and exterior cover

Claims (3)

A toner container having a replenishment portion for replenishing toner to the image forming unit on the front side of the main body of the image forming apparatus main body with respect to a main body structure supporting a toner container having a replenishment portion for replenishing toner to the image forming unit An image forming apparatus that supports
The main body structure is composed of a front side plate and a rear side plate arranged to face each other at a distance from the front side and the back side of the image forming apparatus main body,
The replenishment portion of the toner container is supported so as to protrude from the front surface of the front side plate, and the periphery of the replenishment portion of the front side plate is recessed toward the interior side of the device toward the back side of the device. An image forming apparatus having an aperture formed.   An exterior cover that can be opened and closed is provided in front of the front side plate, and the periphery of the replenishment portion on the front side plate is set so that the distance between the back surface of the exterior cover and the front surface of the front side plate is constant regardless of the orientation of the toner container. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the aperture is formed so as to be recessed in a direction toward the inner side of the apparatus toward the inside of the apparatus.   The replenishment unit includes a toner discharge port on the toner container side and a toner introduction unit on the developing device side, and the toner discharge port is recessed between the front surface of the front plate and the back surface of the exterior cover. A toner introduction portion that is disposed in a portion formed with a diaphragm and receives toner from the toner discharge port is located in a step portion located in the portion formed with a diaphragm so as to be recessed. Item 3. The image forming apparatus according to Item 1 or 2.

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