JP2009020311A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten time required to convey a developer uniformly and to sufficiently mix the developer in a longitudinal direction in a developing device when supplying the developer to the developing device having developer supply ports formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus includes a plurality of developing units having toner supply ports 134. A toner supply part has: a plurality of supply toner storing containers for storing the developer of respective colors corresponding to the plurality of developing units; at least one toner supply pipe 82a which is inserted in and pulled out from the toner supply ports 134 provided other than on both end sides in the longitudinal direction, and has a first discharge port discharging the developer in a storing part 131; and at least one toner supply pipe 82b which is inserted in and pulled out from the toner supply port 134 provided on at least one side of both ends in the longitudinal direction out of the toner supply ports 134, and has a second discharge port discharging the developer having higher fluidity than the developer supplied by the toner supply pipe 82a. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus capable of forming an image based on image information.

  An electrophotographic image forming apparatus is capable of forming an image carrier that can carry an electrostatic latent image formed based on image information, a developing device that supplies developer to the image carrier, and a developer image. Some include a paper transport unit that transports the paper and a discharge unit that discharges the paper transported by the paper transport unit. In this image forming apparatus, a developer is supplied from the developing device to the electrostatic latent image carried on the image carrier, and a developer image is formed on the image carrier. The developer image on the image carrier is transferred to the paper transported by the paper transport unit and discharged from the discharge unit.

  Here, there is considered an image forming apparatus including a plurality of developing devices for forming a color image, and further including a rotary developing device in which a plurality of developing devices are mounted on a rotatable frame in order to reduce the size of the entire apparatus. Yes.

  In an image forming apparatus provided with this rotary developing device, an electrostatic latent image is formed on an image carrier based on image information, and a developer is supplied to the electrostatic latent image while the rotary developing device rotates. In this way, a color image is formed on the electrostatic latent image carrier.

  Here, in the rotary developing device, in order to reduce the size, the amount of developer stored in the developing device is reduced, and a container that can store the developer is provided separately from the rotary developing device, and the developer is developed as needed from this container. There is one that replenishes the device (see Patent Document 1).

In the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1, a plurality of developing devices are provided with developer replenishing ports at different positions in the longitudinal direction along the rotation axis, and a developer replenishing member is provided from the developer replenishing port. Insert the developer inside and replenish the developer. In this image forming apparatus, all the developer supply members have the same configuration. Specifically, an elastic member having a slit is disposed at the developer supply port, and the developer supply member has an opening provided with a shutter mechanism that opens inside the developing device at the tip.
JP 2006-235360 A

  Here, in a developing device in which developer supply ports are formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction, in order to transport the supplied developer uniformly in the developing device, the developer is fed from one end in the developing device. It is necessary to convey to the other end. For this reason, when the developer is replenished from the developing device provided with the developer replenishing ports at both ends, it becomes longer than when the developer is supplied to the other developing devices. Then, the developer is not sufficiently mixed in the longitudinal direction, and image unevenness in this direction or image fogging may occur.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to supply a developer so that the developer in the developing device is uniform after replenishing the developer when the developer is replenished to the developing device having developer replenishing ports formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction. The purpose is to shorten the time and allow the developer to be sufficiently mixed in the longitudinal direction.

  An image forming apparatus according to a first aspect is an image forming apparatus capable of forming an image based on image information, and includes an image carrier, a rotary developing device, and a replenishing device. The image carrier is a member capable of carrying an electrostatic latent image formed based on image information. The rotary developing device can supply each color developer corresponding to the electrostatic latent image on the image carrier, and each of the developing devices has a developer replenishing port, and the rotation supports the plurality of developing devices. The developer supply ports of the plurality of developing devices are provided at different positions in the longitudinal direction along the rotation axis direction. The replenishment device can be inserted into and removed from a plurality of replenishment developer storage portions that store developers of respective colors corresponding to a plurality of development devices, and a developer replenishment port provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction. At least one first supply member having a first discharge port capable of discharging the developer in the developer storage portion, and development provided on at least one side of both ends in the longitudinal direction among the developer supply ports And at least one second supply member having a second discharge port that can be inserted into and removed from the agent supply port and can discharge a developer having higher fluidity than the developer supplied by the first supply member.

  In this image forming apparatus, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the image carrier based on the image information, and the developer of each color is supplied from each developing device to the electrostatic latent image while the rotary developing device rotates. . Here, when the developer amount in each developing device decreases, the developer is replenished from the replenishing device. Specifically, the second replenishing member is inserted into the developing device having the developer replenishing port provided on at least one of the two ends in the longitudinal direction among the developer replenishing ports, and replenished from the first replenishing member. A developer having higher fluidity than the developer is discharged from the second discharge port. A first supply member is inserted into the developer supply port of another developing device, and the developer is discharged from the first discharge port.

  Here, because the developer having higher fluidity than the developer replenished by the first replenishment member is replenished by the second replenishment member to the developer replenishment port provided on at least one side of both ends in the longitudinal direction. It becomes easy to transport the developer uniformly in the developing device. For this reason, it is possible to reduce the time required for transporting the developer uniformly in the developing device. As described above, the developer is sufficiently mixed in the longitudinal direction, and image unevenness and image fog can be suppressed.

  An image forming apparatus according to a second aspect is the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the height of the first discharge port of the first supply member when the developer is replenished is the second position when the developer is replenished. It is higher than the height position of the second discharge port of the supply member.

  Here, the developer replenished by the first replenishment member has poorer fluidity than the developer replenished by the second replenishment member, but is higher than the height position of the second discharge port of the second replenishment member at the time of developer replenishment. Since the height of the first discharge port of the first supply member at the time of developer supply is higher, the developer discharged from the first discharge port is loosened at the time of discharge and the fluidity is improved. For this reason, the developer transport time can be further shortened.

  The image forming apparatus according to claim 3 is the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a height position of the first supply member when the developer is supplied is a height position when the second supply member is supplied with the developer. Higher than the position.

  Here, even if the first supply member and the second supply member have the same structure, the first discharge port and the second supply member are different from each other in the position of the first supply member and the second supply member when the developer is supplied. The height position with the second discharge port can be changed. That is, the first discharge port is higher than the second discharge port when the developer is replenished.

  An image forming apparatus according to a fourth aspect is the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the developing device includes a developing roller disposed so as to face the image carrier. Neither the first nor the second discharge port is provided on the side facing the developing roller.

  Here, the developer that has been stored in the developing device for a long time and deteriorated and the developer that has been newly replenished and has not deteriorated are more likely to be charged. Therefore, when a new developer is replenished to the developing roller side, the replenished developer is well charged and the deteriorated developer is not charged. For this reason, the replenished developer is more likely to be supplied to the electrostatic latent image, and it is difficult to supply the developer uniformly during development, and the image quality may deteriorate. Therefore, by providing the first and second discharge ports at positions other than the developing roller side and making it difficult for the developer just supplied to be used in the developing operation, it becomes easier to supply the developer uniformly to the image carrier, Deterioration in image quality can be prevented.

  An image forming apparatus according to a fifth aspect is the image forming apparatus according to the fourth aspect, wherein the developing device includes a developer accommodating portion that temporarily accommodates a developer, a developing roller, and a developer accommodating portion. And a developer movement restricting member that is disposed between the developer containing portion and restricts the developer from moving from the developer containing portion toward the developing roller.

  Here, it is possible to prevent the replenished developer from moving to the developing roller side immediately after replenishment.

  In the present invention, when replenishing the developer to the developing device having the developer replenishing ports formed at both ends in the longitudinal direction, the time for transporting the developer in the developing device to be uniform after replenishing the developer is set. Therefore, the developer can be sufficiently mixed, and image unevenness and image fog can be suppressed.

1. Configuration FIG. 1 shows a color printer 1 which is an image forming apparatus in which an embodiment of the present invention is adopted. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for showing the arrangement of each component, and details of each part are omitted.

  The color printer 1 is connected to a computer (not shown) or the like, and is a device that can print a color image on paper based on image information sent from the computer or the like.

  The color printer 1 includes an image forming unit 2 that forms a toner image based on image information, an intermediate transfer belt 3 that transfers an image formed by the image forming unit 2, and a toner image formed by the image forming unit 2. A fixing unit 4 that fixes the sheet, a sheet conveying unit 5 that conveys the sheet to the image forming unit 2 and the fixing unit 4, a sheet feeding unit 6 that feeds the sheet to the sheet conveying unit 5, and a sheet on which the toner image is fixed And a toner replenishing unit 8 that replenishes the image forming unit 2 with toner. The toner supply unit 8 will be described in detail later.

  The image forming unit 2 is a portion for forming a toner image, and includes a photosensitive drum 11 on which an electrostatic latent image is formed, a rotary developing device 30 for forming a toner image, and image information. And a laser unit 12 for scanning and exposing the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 based on the above. The rotary developing device 30 will be described in detail later.

  The photosensitive drum 11 is a member capable of carrying an electrostatic latent image formed based on image information, and is provided adjacent to the four developing units 13. The photosensitive drum 11 is provided such that the rotation axis extends perpendicularly to the paper surface of FIG. A charging roller 9 for uniformly charging the surface of the photosensitive drum 11 is provided above the photosensitive drum 11.

  The laser unit 12 is for irradiating the photosensitive drum 11 with laser light, and is disposed on the color printer 1.

  The intermediate transfer belt 3 is an annular belt-like member to which the toner images of the respective colors formed on the photosensitive drum 11 are sequentially transferred. The intermediate transfer belt 3 is formed of an elastic member whose surface on the side of the photosensitive drum 11 can be elastically deformed. The intermediate transfer belt 3 is hung between a driving roller and a driven roller biased away from the driving roller by a spring. Has been passed. Further, the portion of the intermediate transfer belt 3 facing the photosensitive drum 11 is configured to abut against the photosensitive drum 11 by a pair of primary transfer rollers 3a and 3b.

  The fixing unit 4 is a part for fixing the image formed by the image forming unit 2 to a sheet, and includes a pressure roller 4a and a heating roller 4b disposed above the pressure roller 4a. Yes.

  The paper transport unit 5 is a part for transporting paper to the image forming unit 2 and the fixing unit 4, and includes a transport path extending from the paper feed unit 6 to the discharge unit 7 and a plurality of roller pairs 5 a for paper transport. And have.

  The paper feed unit 6 includes a paper feed cassette 6 a for storing paper for printing, a roller 6 b for feeding paper to the paper transport unit 5, and the like.

  The discharge unit 7 is a part where the paper on which the image is fixed is discharged through the paper transport unit 5, and is disposed on the upper surface of the color printer 1.

2. FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view of the rotary developing device 30, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of one developing device 13. The rotary developing device 30 will be described below with reference to FIGS.

  The rotary developing device 30 is a device for supplying developers of different colors to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 11 and mainly includes yellow, cyan, magenta, black as shown in FIG. And a frame 30a that supports the four developing units 13, and includes a rotation shaft 30b (see FIG. 2) as a center of rotation. 30a rotates.

  The four developing devices 13 are portions for developing a toner image and have a shape obtained by dividing a cylinder into four equal parts in the circumferential direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the developing device 13 includes a storage portion 131, a developing roller 132, a supply roller 133, a toner supply port 134, and a pair of separation plates 135.

  The storage unit 131 is a space for storing the developer, and is provided in the vicinity of the rotating shaft 30 b of the developing device 13. The storage unit 131 is provided with a stirring screw 131a for stirring the developer inside.

  The developing roller 132 is a member for supplying the developer stored in the storage unit 131 to the photosensitive drum 11, and is rotatable about an axis extending in parallel with the rotation shaft 30b. Further, the developing roller 132 is disposed to face the photosensitive drum 11. The developing roller 132 is an elastic roller having a JIS-A hardness of 45 degrees, a resistance value of 1E + 6Ω, and a surface roughness Ra of 1.0 μm.

  The supply roller 133 is a roller for supplying the developer in the storage unit 131 to the development roller 132, and is disposed so as to contact the development roller 132 from the storage unit 131 side. The supply roller 133 is a urethane sponge roller having a resistance value of 1E + 8Ω.

The toner replenishing port 134 is a portion where toner is replenished from a toner replenishing portion 8 described later, and has an elastic seal member 134a. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the toner replenishing port 134 is provided at a different position in the longitudinal direction along the rotation shaft 30 b for each of the plurality of developing devices 13. Specifically, they are formed in the order of yellow, cyan, black, and magenta from one end in the longitudinal direction. Here, yellow, cyan and magenta toners are formed by suspension polymerization, and black toner is formed by pulverization. The fluidity (AD) is 0.460 [g / cm] for yellow toner, 0.452 [g / cm] for cyan toner, 0.385 [g / cm] for black toner, and magenta toner. 0.456 [g / cm]. Here, the fluidity (AD: loose apparent density) is the bulk measuring device (round frame, funnel, funnel stand, receiver, receiver stand) (as described in JIS K5101 (pigment test method 8. bulk)). It measured using. Specifically, about 20 g (± 5 g) of sample toner is placed on a round frame, and the entire surface of the sieve is uniformly swept with a brush and dispersed and dropped within 60 to 90 seconds. The sample is dropped on the receiver until it reaches a heap, and the portion of the mountain is quickly scraped off with a spatula within 30 seconds, and the weight of the sample toner received in the receiver is weighed. The empty capacity of the receiver is 30 cm ³ , and the toner weight in the receiver / 30 cm ³ (the empty capacity of the receiver) = AD (slack apparent density). As shown in FIG. 6, the toner replenishing port 134 of the developing unit 13 that stores yellow and magenta toners is 10 mm higher than the toner replenishing port 134 of the developing unit 13 that stores cyan and black toner. Is located at a position where the distance from the height position of the rotary shaft 30b is long. The elastic seal member 134a is a member that can be elastically deformed, in which a slit 134b into which a toner supply pipe 82 of the toner supply unit 8 described later can be inserted and removed is formed.

  The pair of separation plates 135 is a member for preventing the toner replenished in the storage unit 131 from moving toward the developing roller 132 immediately after replenishment, and is provided between the storage unit 131 and the developing roller 132. Has been placed. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, one separation plate 135 is attached to the developing device 13 so as to cover a part of the supply roller 133, and the other separation plate 135 is a toner supply port 134 of the development device 13. It is attached in the vicinity.

  As is apparent from FIGS. 1 and 2, the frame 30a is a member for supporting the four developing devices 13, and is a member that can rotate around the rotation shaft 30b. The frame 30 a includes a support member 31 and an annular gear portion 32. The support member 31 includes four flat plate portions 31a and a pair of discs 31b provided at both axial ends of the four flat plate portions 31a. The four flat plate portions 31a extend radially from the rotating shaft 30b and form four sections that are equally divided into four in the circumferential direction. In addition, disks 31b having the same size are arranged at both ends in the axial direction of the rotary shaft 30b. The annular gear portion 32 is an annular portion disposed outside the disc 31b in the direction of the rotation shaft 30b. The annular gear portion 32 is formed with gear teeth on the outer peripheral portion and can mesh with a drive gear (not shown).

3. Toner Supply Unit FIG. 4 is an overall cross-sectional view of the toner supply unit 8. As shown in FIG. 4, the toner replenishing unit 8 is a part for replenishing toner to each developing device 13, and is disposed on the upper portion of the color printer 1. Further, the toner replenishing unit 8 includes a plurality of replenishing toner storage containers 81, a plurality of toner replenishing pipes 82, a toner transport tube 83, and a toner replenishing pipe moving mechanism 84.

  The plurality of replenishment toner storage containers 81 store toners of different colors, and are arranged in four in a direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the plurality of toner supply pipes 82 are for supplying the toner stored in the supply toner storage container 81 to the developing device 13, and include an inner pipe 821, an outer pipe 822, and the like. have. Here, FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a state of the toner supply pipe 82 and the toner supply port 134 during toner supply. In FIG. 6, the four toner supply ports 134 and the toner supply pipe 82 are shown side by side so that the height position of the toner supply port 134 and the like are clear.

  The inner pipe 821 is a member disposed inside the outer pipe 822 and has a conical tip. Further, the inner pipe 821 of the toner supply pipe 82a that supplies cyan and black toner has an inner discharge port 821a formed at the tip of the conical portion. The inner discharge port 821a is formed so as to face the center in the longitudinal direction in which the developing device 13 extends. The inner pipe 821 of the toner supply pipe 82b for supplying yellow and magenta toner has two inner discharge ports 821b formed at the conical portion at the tip. One of the two inner discharge ports 821b is formed so as to face the center in the longitudinal direction in which the developing device 13 extends, and the other is formed so as to face the outside (shaft end side). Thus, the inner discharge ports 821a and 821b are not provided to face the developing roller 132.

  The outer pipe 822 is a cylindrical member having a diameter larger than that of the inner pipe 821, and the tip is formed in a conical shape. The outer pipe 822 of the toner replenishing pipe 82a has a first outer discharge port 822a that is substantially the same size as the first inner discharge port 821a in the conical portion at the tip. The outer pipe 822 of the toner replenishing pipe 82b has two outer discharge ports 822b having substantially the same size as the inner discharge port 821b at positions facing each other at the conical portion at the tip.

  The inner outlet 821a and the outer outlet 822a overlap each other as the outer pipe 822 rotates relative to the inner pipe 821, and the two outer outlets 822b corresponding to the two inner outlets 821b are the outer pipes. 822 rotates with respect to the inner pipe 821 so that they overlap each other.

  A toner supply screw 823 is disposed inside the toner supply pipe 82, and the toner is conveyed to the inner discharge ports 821a and 822b as the toner supply screw 823 rotates.

  The toner transport tube 83 is a member that connects the toner replenishment pipe 82 and the replenishment toner storage container 81, and is a member that transports the toner stored in the replenishment toner storage container 81 to the toner replenishment pipe 82.

  The toner conveying tube 83 is an elastically deformable member, and elastically deforms as the toner supply pipe 82 moves. A toner transport spiral 831 is disposed inside the toner transport tube 83, and is transported from the replenishment toner storage container 81 to the toner replenishment pipe 82 side by the toner transport spiral 831.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the toner supply pipe moving mechanism 84 is a mechanism for moving the toner supply pipe 82 toward the toner supply port 134, and includes a motor 841, a gear train 842, a pinion gear 843, and the like. And a rack 844 and a guide member 845. 5A is an overall view of the toner supply pipe moving mechanism 84, and FIG. 5B is a view showing the guide member 845. The gear train 842 is connected to the motor 841 and has two gears that rotate as the motor 841 is driven. The pinion gear 843 is a gear that is rotated in accordance with the rotation of the gear of the gear train 842 and meshes with the gear of the gear train 842 and the rack 844. The rack 844 is provided on the side surface of the outer pipe 822 of the toner supply pipe 82, and moves the toner supply pipe 82 in the direction away from the toner supply port 134 or away from the toner supply port 134 as the pinion gear 843 rotates. It is a part of. The guide member 845 is a member for rotating the outer pipe 822 relative to the inner pipe 821 as the toner supply pipe 82 moves toward the toner supply port 134, and is disposed on the outer peripheral side of the outer pipe 822. ing. The guide member 845 has a guide groove 845a formed on the inner peripheral surface for rotating the outer pipe 822 relative to the inner pipe 821, and the outer peripheral surface of the outer pipe 822 is formed in the guide groove 845a. Guide protrusions (not shown) formed on the hooks are locked. For this reason, the guide protrusion is guided by the guide groove 845 a by the downward movement of the outer pipe 822, and the outer pipe 822 rotates with respect to the inner pipe 821.

  Here, the toner supply position of the toner supply pipe 82b is higher than the toner supply position of the toner supply pipe 82a (see FIG. 6). That is, the position when the toner supply pipe 82b is moved to the lowermost position is positioned above the position when the toner supply pipe 82a is moved to the lowest position. The second inner discharge port 821b and the second outer discharge port 822b are higher than the height positions of the first inner discharge port 821a and the first outer discharge port 822a of the toner supply pipe 82a.

3. Operation In this color printer 1, image data is transmitted from an externally connected computer or the like, and a toner image is formed in the image forming unit 2 based on the image data. Specifically, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 11 based on the image data, and the rotary developing device 30 is rotated and positioned at a development position where the first color toner image can be developed. . When the first color toner image is developed on the photosensitive drum 11, the rotary developing device 30 is then positioned at a position where the second color toner image can be developed by rotating approximately 90 °. In this way, a full-color toner image is formed by sequentially developing four-color toner images. At this time, the sheet is conveyed to the image forming unit 2 by the sheet conveying unit 5, and the color image is transferred to the sheet. Thereafter, the sheet on which the color image has been transferred is conveyed to the fixing unit 4 where the color image is fixed on the sheet and is discharged from the discharge unit 7. In this manner, the sheet on which the color image based on the image data transmitted from the computer or the like is fixed is discharged.

  When such an image forming operation is repeated and the toner in the developing device 13 decreases, a toner replenishing operation is performed. Specifically, the motor 841 rotates, and the gear of the gear train 842 is rotated with the rotation of the motor 841. As the gear of the gear train 842 rotates, the pinion gear 843 rotates to move the rack 844, that is, the toner supply pipe 82 to the toner supply port 134 side. As the toner supply pipe 82 moves to the toner supply port 134, the guide protrusion of the outer pipe 822 is guided along the guide groove 845 a of the guide member 845, and the outer pipe 822 is rotated with respect to the inner pipe 821. . The first inner discharge port 821a and the first outer discharge port 822a, or the second inner discharge port 821b and the second outer discharge port 822b overlap each other, and the toner stored in the inner pipe 821 is discharged to the outside. As a result, toner is supplied to the developing device 13. At this time, the height position of the toner supply pipe 82a when the toner is supplied by the toner supply pipe 82a is different from the height position of the toner supply pipe 82b when the toner is supplied by the toner supply pipe 82b. Specifically, the height position when the toner supply pipe 82b is supplied is higher than the height position when the toner supply pipe 82a is supplied. For this reason, the height positions of the second inner outlet 821b and the second outer outlet 822b are higher than the height positions of the first inner outlet 821a and the first outer outlet 822a (see FIG. 6). .

  Here, since the toner supply port 134 of the developing device 13 is disposed on the substantially central side in the longitudinal direction, the toner transport distance can be shortened compared to the case where the toner having poor fluidity is disposed on the end portion in the longitudinal direction. it can. Further, since the height position of the toner supply pipe 82 arranged at both ends in the longitudinal direction at the time of replenishment is higher than the height position at the time of replenishment of the toner supply pipe 82 arranged at the center in the longitudinal direction. The toner discharged from the toner replenishing pipe 82 is loosened when the toner is replenished, and the fluidity is improved. For this reason, it becomes easier to carry and the toner carrying time is shortened. Of the four toner supply pipes 82, two toner supply pipes 82 located on the inner side (center side) in the longitudinal direction of the developing device 13 are provided with two discharge ports 821b and 822b, respectively. Since 821b and 822b are provided in the direction along the longitudinal direction of the developing device 13, the toner can be easily discharged and the toner can be smoothly conveyed in the longitudinal direction in the developing device 13. Accordingly, the toner becomes uniform in the longitudinal direction in the developing device 13, and sufficient mixing can be performed. Since each discharge port is not arranged so as to face the developing roller 132, the replenished toner does not move to the developing roller 132 side immediately after the replenishment and is supplied to the developing roller 132 immediately after the toner replenishment. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the image quality from deteriorating.

[Other Embodiments]
(A) In the above embodiment, the color printer 1 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be a copying machine or a multifunction machine.

  (B) In the above embodiment, the two second discharge ports are formed in the toner supply pipe 82 for black and magenta toners. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and three or more discharge ports may be used. .

  (C) In the above embodiment,

1 is an overall schematic diagram of a color printer. 1 is an overall view of a rotary developing device. The expanded sectional view of a developing device. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a toner supply device. The figure which shows a toner replenishment pipe moving mechanism. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a toner supply pipe and a toner supply port in a toner supply state.

Explanation of symbols

1 Color printer (image forming device)
8 Toner replenisher (replenisher)
11 Photosensitive drum (image carrier)
13 Developer (Developer)
30 Rotating developing device 30a Frame 81 Supply toner storage container (Supply developer storage section)
131 storage section (developer storage section)
132 Developing roller 134 Toner supply port (Developer supply port)
135 Separator (Developer movement restriction member)
82 Toner supply pipe 82a Toner supply pipe (first supply member)
82b Toner supply pipe (second supply member)
821a First inner outlet 821b Second inner outlet 822a First outer outlet 822b Second outer outlet

Claims (5)

An image forming apparatus capable of forming an image based on image information,
An image carrier capable of carrying an electrostatic latent image formed based on image information;
Developers of different colors can be supplied to the electrostatic latent image on the image carrier, and a plurality of developing devices each having a developer supply port, and a rotatable frame that supports the plurality of developing devices, A rotary developing device, wherein the developer replenishing ports of the plurality of developing devices are provided in positions in the longitudinal direction along the rotational axis direction;
A plurality of replenishment developer accommodating portions for accommodating developers of the respective colors corresponding to the plurality of developing devices, and the developer replenishing ports provided on both sides in the longitudinal direction can be inserted and removed; and At least one first supply member having a first discharge port capable of discharging the developer in the developer storage section, and the developer provided on at least one side of both ends in the longitudinal direction among the developer supply ports. At least one second supply member having at least one second discharge port that can be inserted into and removed from the supply port and can discharge a developer having higher fluidity than the developer supplied by the first supply member; A replenishment device having
An image forming apparatus.   2. The height position of the first discharge port of the first supply member at the time of developer supply is higher than the height position of the second discharge port of the second supply member at the time of developer supply. Image forming apparatus.   3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a height position of the first supply member when the developer is supplied is higher than a height position of the second supply member when the developer is supplied. 4. The developing device has a developing roller arranged to face the image carrier,
The first and second discharge ports are not provided on the side facing the developing roller,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1. The developing device includes:
A developer storage section for temporarily storing the developer;
A developer movement restricting member that is disposed between the developing roller and the developer accommodating portion and restricts the movement of the developer from the developer accommodating portion toward the developing roller;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 4.

Images