JP2010085870A - Developer replenishing device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a developer replenishing device and an image forming apparatus which can use up developer inside a developer replenishing container, and which do not spoil user's operability. <P>SOLUTION: The developer replenishing container 1 has a light non-transmissive projection member 6 which projects outward in a radial direction at a part of an outer circumferential surface of the developer replenishing container 1, and a light transmissive window member 7. By detecting passing or non-passing of the projection member 6 and the window member 7 by using an optical sensor, and transmitting a signal showing the detected passing or non-passing of the projection member 6 and the window member 7 to a controller in an image forming apparatus body, presence or absence of the developer replenishing container 1 and presence or absence of the developer in the developer replenishing container are detected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a laser printer, and a facsimile. In particular, the developer supplying device for supplying the developer to the developing device installed in the image forming apparatus main body is characterized.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, a developer, that is, a toner is used in a developing device to make an electrostatic latent image formed on an electrophotographic photosensitive member a visible image. . When the toner is consumed in the image forming apparatus main body, the toner is supplied from the developer supply container, that is, the toner bottle, to the image forming apparatus main body. A method is known in which when a toner is replenished, the toner bottle is placed inside the image forming apparatus main body, and the toner is discharged little by little from the opening of the toner bottle.

  As will be described in detail later, FIG. 1 shows a schematic cross-sectional configuration of an image forming apparatus used in the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows an appearance of the image forming apparatus. In FIG. 3, the developer supply container replacement front cover 100 b (hereinafter referred to as “replacement front cover”), which is a part of the exterior cover, is opened, and the toner bottle 1 is loaded in the developer supply device 10. The mounted state is shown.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the operator opens the replacement front cover 100b, a container pedestal 15 that constitutes a developer supply container holding means that is a part of the developer supply device 10 is installed. A developer supply container (toner bottle) 1 is placed on the table 15. The operator can attach / detach the toner bottle 1 to / from the container cradle 15 (that is, the developer replenishing device 10), that is, can be inserted into or removed from the image forming apparatus main body 100 by opening and closing the replacement front cover 100b. Is done.

  15 and 16 show a schematic configuration of a conventional developer supply device 10A, and FIG. 17 shows a schematic configuration of a conventional toner bottle 1A.

  In this example, in the developer supply device 10A, the toner bottle 1A is rotated in the direction of arrow G, and the toner is discharged from the discharge port 4 at the tip of the toner bottle. The discharged toner is temporarily stored in the buffer 12 of the image forming apparatus and then supplied to the developing device 201 (FIG. 1).

  The developer supply device 10A includes a driving roller 14 as a rotation mechanism that is connected to the toner bottle 1A and rotates the toner bottle 1A. The driving roller 14 is driven by a driving source such as a motor (not shown) and rotates the toner bottle 1A in the arrow H direction.

  FIG. 17 shows a partial cross-sectional view of the toner bottle 1A. As shown in the figure, a lattice-like stirring member 5 and the like are arranged inside a cylindrical toner bottle 1A extending in the longitudinal axis direction. When the toner bottle 1A rotates in the direction of arrow B, a conveying force is applied to the toner in the toner bottle 1A in the direction of arrow F, and the toner is discharged from the discharge port 4 provided at the tip of the toner bottle 1A.

  When the toner bottle 1A is attached to the image forming apparatus, the cap 3 moves in the direction of the arrow A to form the discharge port 4.

  When the toner is consumed after being printed by the image forming apparatus main body 100, the driving roller 14 is driven for a certain period of time. As a result, the toner bottle 1A is rotated for a predetermined time, a predetermined amount of toner is discharged, and the toner is supplied to the buffer 12. This toner supply operation is repeated until the toner in the toner bottle 1A becomes empty.

  When the toner bottle 1A becomes empty and the toner in the buffer 12 decreases, the toner presence sensor 16 provided in the buffer 12, generally a piezo sensor, detects the absence of toner. As a result, a message prompting the user to replace the toner bottle 1A is displayed on the display unit of the operation unit 100a (FIG. 2), and printing is stopped. Thereafter, the toner bottle 1A is replaced with a new one, and the toner bottle 1A is rotated for a certain period of time to replenish the toner in the buffer 12. When the toner sensor 16 detects the presence of toner, the printer is ready for printing.

  As an example of the toner presence / absence detection means of the rotating toner bottle, an idea of determining the presence / absence by detecting the weight of the toner bottle can be cited, for example, described in Patent Document 1.

  In addition, a proposal has been made to detect the presence or absence of toner in a toner bottle by arranging a toner sensor in the toner bottle.

The toner bottle 1A presence / absence detection means (not shown) is generally performed by a microswitch or the like, and some inexpensive models such as a low-speed machine do not detect the presence / absence of the toner bottle 1.
JP 2004-286793 A JP 2005-331670 A

  However, even if the toner sensor 16 provided in the developer supply device 10A detects the absence of toner, the toner remaining amount in the toner bottle is not monitored. For this reason, there is a problem that, although toner remains in the toner bottle, the absence of toner is erroneously detected and the toner is wasted.

  Of course, there is a method of monitoring the presence or absence of toner in the toner bottle by providing a toner sensor in the toner bottle. However, it is very difficult to increase the cost of the toner bottle and to supply operating power and to transmit the sensor signal to the image forming apparatus main body when the sensor is arranged in the removable toner bottle. Accordingly, there are problems that the toner bottle becomes complicated and expensive, which increases the burden on the user and makes recycling difficult by providing the toner bottle made of resin with the electric parts.

  Also in the toner bottle presence / absence detection sensor, it is necessary to provide a dedicated sensor such as a micro switch, and in the case of a full-color machine, at least four sensors are necessary, which causes a cost increase.

  In addition, in the conventional configuration in which the toner bottle rotates, detection of the presence / absence of the toner bottle is complicated, and many of them do not have presence / absence detection means.

  However, it is not preferable in terms of user operability to make the image forming apparatus operable without a toner bottle.

  When the operation is performed only with the toner of the developer replenishing device inside the image forming apparatus without the toner bottle, the image forming apparatus stops when there is no toner in the developer replenishing apparatus.

  In recent image forming apparatuses, the size of the main body is reduced, and the amount of toner that can be stored in the developer supply device is very small. Therefore, even if the image forming apparatus is operated without a toner bottle, as a result, the image forming apparatus stops immediately, and the user needs to return to the image forming apparatus and check for the presence of the toner bottle. The ability was impaired.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a developer replenishing device and an image forming apparatus that allow the developer inside the developer replenishing container to be used up and that does not impair user operability.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a developer replenishing apparatus and an image forming apparatus that can reduce the cost without using an expensive toner sensor or the like.

The above object is achieved by the developer supply device and the image forming apparatus according to the present invention. In summary, according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a developer replenishing device for replenishing a developer to a developing device installed in a main body of an image forming apparatus,
A cylindrical shape extending in the longitudinal axis direction, a developer replenishing container that feeds the developer contained therein while rotating around the longitudinal axis, and a developer replenishing container holding means for holding the developer replenishing container; A developer supply device having a rotation mechanism for rotating the developer supply container held by the developer supply container holding means about a longitudinal axis,
The developer replenishing container has a light-impermeable projecting member protruding radially outward at a part of the outer peripheral surface of the developer replenishing container, and radially outward at a part of the outer peripheral surface. A light-transmitting window member protruding to the inside, the developer contained in the developer supply container is movable inside the window member,
The projecting member and the window member are disposed on the same circumference of the developer supply container so that the same rotation locus is taken when the developer supply container rotates.
The developer supply container holding means is positioned in the vicinity of the rotation trajectory of the projection member and the window member and vertically below the longitudinal axis of the developer supply container held by the developer supply container holding means. And have an optical sensor,
The optical sensor is used to detect the passage and non-passage of the projection member and the window member, and the detected signals of the passage and non-passage of the projection member and the window member are sent to the control unit of the image forming apparatus main body. Transmitting to detect the presence or absence of the developer supply container and the presence or absence of the developer in the developer supply container;
A developer supply device is provided.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the developer supply container is a cylindrical shape extending in the longitudinal axis direction, and rotates around the longitudinal axis while feeding the developer contained therein, and the developer supply A developer supply container holding means for holding the container; and a rotation mechanism for rotating the developer supply container held by the developer supply container holding means about a longitudinal axis. A developer replenishing device for replenishing;
A control unit for detecting the presence or absence of the developer supply container and the presence or absence of the developer in the developer supply container using an optical sensor, and a display unit for displaying a detection result;
In an image forming apparatus having
An image forming apparatus is provided in which the developer supply device is a developer supply device having the above-described configuration.

  According to the present invention, the presence or absence of the developer in the developer supply container is detected by one optical sensor provided in the image forming apparatus body, and the developer supply container is mounted in the image forming apparatus. It is possible to detect the presence or absence of a developer supply container. Therefore, according to the present invention, the developer in the developer supply container can be used up. In addition, user operability is not impaired. In addition, an expensive toner sensor or the like is not used for the above function, so that the cost can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, the developer supply device and the image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

Example 1
First, the configuration of an image forming apparatus provided with a developer supply device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

[Image forming apparatus]
An image forming apparatus main body (hereinafter referred to as “apparatus main body”) 100 shown in FIG. When the original 101 is placed on the original table glass 102, a light image corresponding to the image information of the original 101 is drum-like electrophotographic photosensitive member as an image carrier by a plurality of mirrors M and lenses Ln of the optical unit 103. (Hereinafter referred to as “photosensitive drum”.) The image is formed on 104.

  Recording media (hereinafter referred to as “paper”) P are loaded on the cassettes 105, 106, 107, and 108. Among the sheets P stacked in the cassettes 105 to 108, the optimum sheet P is determined from the information input by the operator (user) from the operation unit 100a shown in FIG. select. Here, the recording medium is not limited to paper, and may be selected as appropriate, such as an OHP sheet.

  Then, the single sheet P conveyed by the sheet feeding / separating devices 105A, 106A, 107A, and 108A is conveyed to the registration roller 110 via the conveying unit 109. Further, the sheet P is conveyed to the transfer unit by the registration roller 110 in synchronization with the rotation of the photosensitive drum 104 and the scanning timing of the optical unit 103. In the transfer unit, the developer image formed on the photosensitive drum 104 is transferred onto the paper P by the transfer discharger 111. Then, the sheet P on which the developer image is transferred is separated from the photosensitive drum 104 by the separation discharger 112.

  After that, the sheet P conveyed to the fixing unit 114 by the conveying unit 113 is fixed on the developer image on the sheet P by heat and pressure in the fixing unit 114. The paper passes through 115 and is discharged to a paper discharge tray 117 by a paper discharge roller 116. In the case of double-sided copying, the same path as in the case of single-sided copying after being transported to the registration roller 110 via the paper refeeding transport paths 119 and 120 under the control of the flapper 118 of the paper discharge reversing unit 115. Are discharged to the paper discharge tray 117.

  In the case of multiple copying, the paper P passes through the paper discharge reversing unit 115 and is once discharged out of the apparatus by the paper discharge roller 116. Thereafter, the end of the paper P passes through the flapper 118 and is controlled by the flapper 118 at the timing when it is still nipped by the paper discharge roller 116, and the paper discharge roller 116 is reversely rotated, so that the inside of the apparatus main body 100 again. It is conveyed to. Thereafter, the sheet is conveyed to the registration roller 110 via the re-feed conveyance units 119 and 120, and then discharged to the sheet discharge tray 117 through the same path as in the case of single-sided copying.

  Incidentally, in the apparatus main body 100 having the above-described configuration, a developing device 201 as a developing unit, a cleaner device 202, a primary charger 203, and the like are disposed around the photosensitive drum 104.

  The developing device 201 develops an electrostatic latent image formed by exposing the photosensitive drum 104 uniformly charged based on image information of the document 101 by the optical unit 103 using a developer. A developer supply container 1 for supplying toner as a developer to the developing device 201 is detachably attached to the apparatus main body 100 by an operator.

  The present invention can be applied even when only toner is supplied from the developer supply container 1 to the image forming apparatus main body side or when toner and carrier are supplied. In the present embodiment, the former example will be described.

  Further, the developing device 201 includes a developer hopper 201a and a developing device 201b as storage means. The developer hopper 201a includes a stirring member 201c for stirring the developer replenished from the developer replenishing container 1. The developer stirred by the stirring member 201c is sent to the developing device 201b by the magnet roller 201d. The developing device 201b includes a developing roller 201f and a feeding member 201e. Then, the developer sent from the developer hopper 201a by the magnet roller 201d is sent to the developing roller 201f by the feeding member 201e, and is supplied to the photosensitive drum 104 by the developing roller 201f.

  The cleaner device 202 is for removing the developer remaining on the photosensitive drum 104. The primary charger 203 is for charging the photosensitive drum 104.

  As described above, FIG. 2 shows the appearance of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the developer replenishment container replacement front cover, that is, a replacement front cover 100b, which is a part of the exterior cover, is opened and the toner bottle 1 is placed on the developer replenishment device 10. Indicates.

  As shown in FIG. 3, when the operator opens the replacement front cover 100b, a container pedestal 15 that constitutes a developer supply container holding means that is a part of the developer supply device 10 is installed. A developer supply container (toner bottle) 1 is placed on the table 15. The operator can attach / detach the toner bottle 1 to / from the container cradle 15 (that is, the developer replenishing device 10), that is, can be inserted into or removed from the image forming apparatus main body 100 by opening and closing the replacement front cover 100b. Is done.

  The replacement front cover 100b is a dedicated cover for attaching and detaching (replacing) the developer supply container 1 and is opened and closed only for attaching and detaching the developer supply container 1.

[Developer supply container]
Next, the developer supply container of the present embodiment, that is, the toner bottle 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The overall shape of the toner bottle 1 is a cylindrical shape extending in the longitudinal axis direction (Ox-Ox direction), and the developer contained inside, that is, the toner is sent out while rotating. That is, the toner bottle 1 includes a cylindrical toner storage portion 2 that stores a developer, and a cap 3 at the tip of the toner bottle.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the cap 3 moves in the direction of the arrow A in the longitudinal axis direction with respect to the toner storage portion 2 to form a toner discharge port 4. As a result, the toner accommodated therein supplies the toner to the buffer 12 (see FIG. 9) via the toner discharge port 4.

  As shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. 6, a lattice-like stirring member 5 is fixed inside the toner storage portion 2. In this embodiment, the shape is a lattice shape, but the shape may be any shape as long as the toner conveying force is provided in the direction of the toner discharge port 4.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the toner bottle 1 has a light non-transparent projecting member 6 which is located in the toner storage portion 2 and protrudes radially outward from a part of the outer peripheral surface thereof. And a light-transmissive convex window member 7 is provided. The window member 7 is hollow inside, and the toner stored in the toner storage portion 2 can be moved into the window member 7.

  Further, the protruding member 6, that is, the convex member 6 and the window member 7, are arranged on the same circumference of the toner bottle 1, that is, on the toner storage portion 2 so that the same rotation locus is taken when the toner bottle 1 rotates. Has been placed. In this embodiment, the convex member 6 and the window member 7 are arranged in a state where the phase is shifted by 180 ° on the same circumference. FIG. 7 shows details of the light-transmitting convex window member 7.

  Referring to FIG. 7, for example, a square hole 8 is formed in the outer peripheral surface of the toner bottle 1, that is, the toner storage portion 2, and a light transmissive window member 7 is welded or bonded to the square hole 8. . The inside of the window member 7 has a concave shape (hollow) 7a, and the toner stored in the toner bottle 1 can move inside the window member 7. Naturally, when the toner is filled in the window member 7, the window member 7 does not transmit light, and when there is no toner inside the window member 7, the window member 7 becomes transparent.

  The inside of the window member 7 described above may be filled with toner and may adhere to the window member 7. When the window member 7 is contaminated with toner, the window member 7 is always opaque. Therefore, the cleaning member 9 is provided to clean the inside of the window member 7 so that light can be transmitted when the toner is not inside the window member 7. Depending on the type of toner, the polymerized toner has good fluidity, so that the toner hardly adheres to the inside of the window member 7 and the cleaning member 9 may be unnecessary.

  FIG. 8 shows a detailed view of the cleaning member 9 and the window member 7.

  Referring to FIG. 8, the cleaning member 9 abuts against the inner wall surface 7b of the window member 7, scrapes off the toner adhering to the inner wall surface 7b, and a cleaning member holding shaft 9b that holds the scraping member 9a. And.

  As the scraping member 9a, a member that is generally cleaned by contacting the vicinity of the tip of a thin PET sheet (thickness of about 100 to 200 μm) is suitable.

  In this embodiment, the cleaning member holding shaft 9b is provided coaxially with the longitudinal axis of the toner bottle so as to be rotatable with respect to the toner bottle 1, and holds the scraping member 9a in the vertical direction on the cleaning member holding shaft 9b. It abuts on the inside of the window member 7.

  When the toner bottle 1 is inserted into the image forming apparatus main body 100 and the toner bottle 1 rotates, the cleaning material holding shaft 9 is fixed and does not rotate with the rotation of the toner bottle 1.

  Accordingly, since the cleaning member 9a is fixed when the toner bottle 1 rotates during toner supply, the cleaning member 9a and the window member 7 come into contact with each other once per rotation to clean the inside of the window member 7. When toner is present inside the toner bottle 1, the toner accumulates on the lower side of the toner bottle 1 according to gravity, and therefore the upper position is preferable as the cleaning position.

  9 and 10 show a schematic configuration of the developer supply device 10 installed in the image forming apparatus main body 100. FIG.

  In the developer replenishing device 15 provided in the image forming apparatus main body 100, a driving roller 14 as a rotating mechanism for rotating the toner bottle 1 is disposed on a container cradle 15 that constitutes a developer replenishing container holding unit. The bottle 1 is rotated in the direction of arrow D.

  The drive roller 14 is driven by a drive unit (not shown) configured with a gear, a motor, and the like. Of course, the toner bottle rotating mechanism is not a combination of the driving roller 14 and the driving unit installed on the container receiving base 15 as in this embodiment, but a gear is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the toner bottle 1 and meshed with this gear. Any method such as a method of driving the toner bottle 1 with a drive gear may be used.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the container receiver 15 of the developer replenishing device 15 installed in the image forming apparatus main body 100 has a toner bottle 1 along the rotation trajectory through which the convex member 6 and the window member 7 pass. The groove 13 is formed more vertically below. In this embodiment, an optical sensor 11, for example, a photo interrupter, is installed in the groove 13 near the rotation locus and below the longitudinal axis of the toner bottle 1. As shown in FIG. 9, the optical sensor 11 is disposed so that the convex member 6 and the window member 7 pass through the groove 13 when the toner bottle 1 rotates, and crosses the optical axis of the optical sensor 11 located in the groove 13. Is done. In other words, when the toner bottle 1 rotates, the optical sensor 11 may block its optical axis, and a signal is turned on and off. The signal is received by the control unit 200 and turned on. Measure the time of the OFF signal.

  For example, when the toner bottle 1 is not in the developer replenishing device 15, there is nothing that crosses the optical axis of the optical sensor 11 even if the drive unit rotates, so that the signal is OFF as shown in FIG. (Light transmission) remains unchanged.

  Next, when the toner bottle 1 with toner is attached to the developer replenishing device 15, the convex member 6 and the window member 7 that does not transmit the light filled with toner pass through the optical axis. Then, as shown in FIG. 12, the toner bottle is turned on (light-shielded) twice for each rotation of the toner bottle. By measuring and recognizing this signal by the control unit 200, it can be determined that a toner bottle with toner is contained in the image forming apparatus.

  Next, when the toner bottle 1 without toner is in the developer supply device 15, when the convex member 6 passes the optical axis per rotation of the toner bottle, as shown in FIG. 13, only once. It becomes ON (light shielding) state.

  Since there is no toner in the toner bottle 1, the window member 7 transmits light and does not turn on the optical sensor. By measuring and recognizing this signal by the control unit 200, it can be determined that the toner bottle 1 without toner is in the image forming apparatus.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, the optical sensor is used to detect the passage and non-passage of the protruding member and the window member, and the detected signal of the passage and non-passage of the protruding member and the window member is used. The presence / absence of the toner bottle (developer supply container) and the presence / absence of the developer in the toner bottle (developer supply container) are detected.

  Accordingly, when the control unit 200 detects that the toner bottle 1 is not attached to the developer replenishing device 15 and “no developer replenishing container” is detected, a toner bottle is displayed on the display unit of the operation unit 100a. A display prompting the user to put the main body 100 into the developer supply device 10 is performed.

  Further, when the control unit 200 detects “no developer” in the toner bottle 1, the display unit 100a displays a message prompting replacement of the toner bottle.

  Further, when the control unit 200 detects the presence of the developer in the toner bottle 1, it is possible to display “printable” on the display unit 100a.

  FIG. 14 shows a schematic view of the toner bottle 1 in the extraction position.

  When the toner bottle 1 is removed from the developer supply device 15, the following is required. In other words, there are two protruding portions of the convex member 6 and the window member 7 on the outer peripheral surface of the toner bottle. In addition, the optical sensor 11 is arranged in the developer supply device 15 so as to overlap the protruding portions of the convex member 6 and the window member 7 at two places. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the phase so as not to interfere with the optical sensor 11 when the toner bottle 1 is attached or detached.

  Specifically, as shown by a broken line portion in FIG. 14, the control unit 200 confirms the position where the convex member 6 of the toner bottle 1 shields the optical sensor 11 from light, and the toner bottle 1 is driven from there for a predetermined time. Rotate 90 °. Thereby, as shown by the solid line portion in FIG. 14, the two protruding portions of the convex member 6 and the window member 7 can be adjusted to a phase that does not interfere with the developer supply device 15 such as the optical sensor 11. It is easy to rotate the toner bottle 1 by 90 ° with the drive pulse and drive time of the drive means (not shown) of the drive roller 14.

  In addition, since there is no problem in attaching / detaching unless the two protruding portions on the outer peripheral surface of the toner bottle interfere with the optical sensor 11, the interference from the optical sensor 11 and the developer supply device 9 may be retracted.

  Specifically, when the toner bottle is attached / detached, in this embodiment, since the operation of opening the pre-replacement cover 100b is required at least once, the cover 100b and the optical sensor 11 and the interference are mechanically linked. When the cover is opened, the optical sensor 11 may be moved to the retracted position.

  After the replacement of the toner bottle, as described above, the optical sensor 11 detects the presence of toner in the toner bottle 1 and the toner bottle 1, supplies a predetermined amount of toner to the buffer 12, and sets the image forming apparatus in a printable state.

  In the normal printing sequence, when a certain amount of toner is consumed in the image forming apparatus as in the conventional case, the toner bottle 1 is rotated to discharge the toner and replenish the buffer 12 with the toner. When the toner is consumed and the toner bottle 1 is detected to be out of toner, the detection result is displayed on the display unit provided in the operation unit 100a (FIG. 2) of the image forming apparatus. Prompt for replacement of bottle 1 and stop printing. The toner bottle 1 is replaced with a new one, and the toner bottle 1 is rotated for a certain period of time to supply toner to the developer replenishing device 15 and make it ready for printing.

  In this embodiment, the ON / OFF interval of the optical sensor 11 is measured for each rotation of the toner bottle 1 to detect the presence / absence of the toner and the presence / absence of the toner bottle 1. It is preferable in terms of control. However, since it is possible to measure by storing the driving time and the ON-OFF signal in the control unit 200, it is not essential to be in steps of one rotation.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the presence or absence of the developer in the developer supply container is detected by one optical sensor provided in the developer supply apparatus, and the developer supply container is provided in the image forming apparatus. It is possible to detect the presence or absence of a developer supply container. Therefore, according to the present invention, the developer in the developer supply container can be used up. In addition, user operability is not impaired. In addition, an expensive toner sensor or the like is not used for the above function, so that the cost can be reduced.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an embodiment of an image forming apparatus including a developer supply device according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating an appearance of the image forming apparatus in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an external view of an image forming apparatus similar to that in FIG. 2, and is a perspective view in which a front cover for replacement is opened to show a state in which a developer supply container is attached to the developer supply apparatus. It is a schematic perspective view of one Example of a developer supply container. FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of an embodiment of a developer supply container similar to FIG. 4, with a cap opened. FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating an internal structure of an example of a developer supply container. It is a partial perspective view which shows the protrusion member and window member of one Example of a developer supply container. It is a perspective view which shows the detail of the window member of one Example of a developer supply container. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration perspective view showing a developer supply device and a developer supply container according to the present invention. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of a developer supply device according to the present invention. It is a figure which shows a signal when there is no developer supply container in a developer supply apparatus. It is a figure which shows a signal in case the developer supply container with a developer is mounted | worn with the developer supply apparatus. It is a figure which shows a signal in case the developer supply container without a developer is mounted | worn with the developer supply apparatus. It is a figure which shows that a developer supply container exists in an extraction position. It is a schematic perspective view showing a conventional developer supply device and a developer supply container. It is a schematic structure perspective view which shows an example of the conventional developer supply apparatus. It is a partial sectional view showing an internal structure of an example of a conventional developer supply container.

Explanation of symbols

1 Toner bottle (developer supply container)
6 Convex member (projection member)
7 Window member 10 Developer supply device 11 Optical sensor 14 Drive roller (rotating mechanism)
15 Container cradle (developer supply container holding means)
16 Toner sensor 100 Image forming apparatus main body 100a Operation unit (display unit)
200 Control unit

Claims (4)

A developer replenishing device for replenishing a developer to a developing device installed in an image forming apparatus main body,
A cylindrical shape extending in the longitudinal axis direction, a developer replenishing container that feeds the developer contained therein while rotating around the longitudinal axis, and a developer replenishing container holding means for holding the developer replenishing container; A developer supply device having a rotation mechanism for rotating the developer supply container held by the developer supply container holding means about a longitudinal axis,
The developer replenishing container has a light-impermeable projecting member protruding radially outward at a part of the outer peripheral surface of the developer replenishing container, and radially outward at a part of the outer peripheral surface. A light-transmitting window member protruding to the inside, the developer contained in the developer supply container is movable inside the window member,
The projecting member and the window member are disposed on the same circumference of the developer supply container so that the same rotation locus is taken when the developer supply container rotates.
The developer supply container holding means is positioned in the vicinity of the rotation trajectory of the projection member and the window member and vertically below the longitudinal axis of the developer supply container held by the developer supply container holding means. And have an optical sensor,
The optical sensor is used to detect the passage and non-passage of the projection member and the window member, and the detected signals of the passage and non-passage of the projection member and the window member are sent to the control unit of the image forming apparatus main body. Transmitting to detect the presence or absence of the developer supply container and the presence or absence of the developer in the developer supply container;
A developer replenishing device. A cylindrical shape extending in the longitudinal axis direction, a developer replenishing container that feeds the developer contained therein while rotating around the longitudinal axis, and a developer replenishing container holding means for holding the developer replenishing container; A rotation mechanism for rotating the developer supply container held by the developer supply container holding means about a longitudinal axis, and a developer supply device for supplying the developer to the developer,
A control unit for detecting the presence or absence of the developer supply container and the presence or absence of the developer in the developer supply container using an optical sensor, and a display unit for displaying a detection result;
In an image forming apparatus having
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the developer supply device is a developer supply device according to claim 1. When the control unit detects that there is no developer supply container, the display unit displays a message prompting the developer supply container to be inserted into the image forming apparatus,
When the control unit detects that there is no developer inside the developer supply container, the display unit displays a message prompting replacement of the developer supply container,
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein when the control unit detects the presence of the developer inside the developer supply container, the display unit displays printable.   4. When the control unit detects the absence of developer, the phase of the developer supply container is adjusted to the drawing position, and a display prompting replacement of the developer supply container is displayed on the display unit. The image forming apparatus described in 1.

Images