JP2010091888A - Toner container and image forming apparatus including the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toner container capable of preventing falling caused by drawing without holding a handle in replacement. <P>SOLUTION: The toner container 12d can be put in and out from an image forming apparatus 100, and the top thereof is provided with an erectable handle 28. The handle 28 has a projecting part (an engaging means) 30 which is engaged with a stopper 100a of the image forming apparatus body 100 when the handle 28 is laid down, and is disengaged from the stopper 100a of the image forming apparatus body 100 when the handle 28 is erected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a toner container for supplying toner to a developing device, and an image forming apparatus in which the toner container is loaded so as to be removable.

  In an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer that forms an image on a sheet by electrophotography, an electrostatic latent image formed on an image carrier such as a photosensitive drum is developed by a developing device to be visualized as a toner image. The toner image is transferred onto a sheet by a transfer device. The sheet onto which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed to a fixing device, and after the toner image is fixed by heat and pressure by the fixing device, it is discharged out of the apparatus, thereby completing a series of image forming operations. .

  Thus, when the image forming operation is continuously performed, the toner in the developing device is consumed and the remaining amount gradually decreases, so that the toner container containing the replenishing toner is placed in the image forming apparatus main body. When the toner remaining in the developing device is low, the toner is supplied from the toner container to the developing device. Here, the toner container can be taken in and out of the image forming apparatus, and when the replenishment toner contained therein is exhausted, the empty toner container is pulled out from the main body of the image forming apparatus and filled with the replenishment toner. Another toner container is loaded into the image forming apparatus.

By the way, in Patent Document 1, in an image forming apparatus provided with a safety device that stops an operation in the main body when an openable and closable exterior cover is opened, a toner container for inserting and removing the toner container to and from the main body is disclosed. A configuration has been proposed in which a toner container can be replaced without stopping an operating apparatus by providing an outlet in the exterior cover and allowing the toner container to be taken in and out of the main body with the exterior cover closed. .
JP 2005-189686 A

  When the toner container is taken in and out from the front side of the image forming apparatus and replaced, the toner container is put in and out by placing a hand on the drawer provided on the front side of the toner container.

  By the way, the recent increase in the speed of the image forming apparatus increases the amount of toner required. As a result, the toner container becomes larger and heavier and difficult to hold by hand, and it is not easy to replace it.

  In view of this, a handle is provided on the upper surface of the toner container, and a large and heavy toner container is taken in and out to replace the toner container.

  However, when the user tries to pull out the toner container by holding the handle without pulling the handle, the toner container falls off the image forming apparatus main body and the toner container and its peripheral parts are damaged. As a result, there is a problem that residual toner adhering to the toner container leaks due to the impact of dropping and contaminates the surroundings.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a toner container that can prevent a drop due to pulling out without holding a handle at the time of replacement, and an image forming apparatus including the toner container. It is in.

  In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention provides a toner container that is provided with a handle that can be inserted into and removed from the main body of the image forming apparatus and can be raised on the upper surface. Engagement means for engaging with the image forming apparatus main body and releasing the engagement with the image forming apparatus main body when the handle is raised is provided.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the toner container can be taken in and out in the axial direction of the rotation shaft of the handle, and the engaging means is configured to rotate the rotation shaft of the handle. And a convex portion formed by shifting the phase by 90 ° in the direction perpendicular to the handle.

  An image forming apparatus according to a third aspect is characterized in that the toner container according to the first or second aspect is loaded in a main body of the image forming apparatus so that the toner container can be taken in and out.

  According to the present invention, even if an attempt is made to remove the toner container from the image forming apparatus main body without holding the handle, the handle is tilted, and the engaging means cannot engage the image forming apparatus main body to pull out the toner container. Accordingly, the user holds the handle upright, and the toner container cannot be pulled out unless the engagement means releases the engagement of the toner container to the main body of the image forming apparatus. Require that you have a handle. For this reason, the toner container can be prevented from dropping by pulling out the toner container without holding the handle, the toner container and its peripheral parts are damaged due to the dropping of the toner container, and the residual toner adhering to the toner container is leaked. Occurrence of problems such as contamination of the surroundings is reliably prevented.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[Image forming apparatus]
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a color laser printer as an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. The illustrated color laser printer is a tandem type, and a magenta image forming unit is provided at the center of the main body 100. 1M, a cyan image forming unit 1C, a yellow image forming unit 1Y, and a black image forming unit 1K are arranged in tandem at regular intervals.

  The black image forming unit 1K includes a photosensitive drum 2, a charger 3 roller 3, a developing device 4, a transfer roller, and a cleaning device 6 disposed around the photosensitive drum 2. The other magenta image forming unit 1M, cyan image forming unit 1C, and yellow image forming unit 1Y are configured in the same manner as the black image forming unit 1Y.

  Here, the photosensitive drum 2 is a drum-shaped photosensitive member, and is rotationally driven at a predetermined process speed in a direction indicated by an arrow (counterclockwise) by a motor (not shown). Further, the charger 3 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 2 to a predetermined potential by a charging bias applied from a charging bias power source (not shown).

  Further, the developing device 4 contains magenta (M) toner, cyan (C) toner, yellow (Y) toner, and black (K) toner, and each electrostatic device formed on each photosensitive drum 2. Each color toner is attached to the latent image, and each electrostatic latent image is visualized as a toner image of each color.

  The transfer roller 5 is disposed so as to be in contact with each photosensitive drum 2 via an intermediate transfer belt 7 at each primary transfer portion. Here, the intermediate transfer belt 7 is stretched between the secondary transfer counter roller 8, the tension roller 9, and the drive roller 10, and is disposed on the upper surface side of each photosensitive drum 2. The counter roller 8 is disposed so as to be in contact with the secondary transfer roller 11 via the intermediate transfer belt 7 in the secondary transfer portion.

  By the way, the toner containers 12a, 12b, 12c, and 12d according to the present invention are loaded above the image forming units 1M, 1C, 1Y, and 1K in the image forming apparatus main body 100 so that the toner containers 12a, 12b, 12c, and 12d can be inserted and removed in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. Has been. These toner containers 12a to 12d are for replenishing toner to the developing devices 4, and each of them contains replenishment toners of magenta, cyan, yellow and black.

  Four laser scanner units (LSU) 13a, 13b, 13c, and 13d corresponding to the respective colors are arranged in the vicinity of the toner containers 12a, 12b, 12c, and 12d in the apparatus main body 100. In the lower part, a detachable paper feed cassette 14 is installed in two upper and lower stages. A plurality of sheets are stacked and stored in the paper feed cassette 14. In the vicinity of the paper feed cassette 14, a pickup roller 15 for picking up the paper from the paper feed cassette 14 and the taken out paper one by one. A feed roller 16 and a retard roller 17 that are separated and sent to the conveyance path L are provided.

  Further, the conveyance path L extending in the vertical direction on the side of the apparatus main body 100 includes a conveyance roller pair 18 that conveys the sheet, and the secondary transfer counter roller 8 and the second transfer opposing roller 8 at a predetermined timing after the sheet is temporarily held. A registration roller pair 19 is provided to be supplied to a secondary transfer portion which is a contact portion with the next transfer roller 11.

  Further, a conveyance belt 21, a fixing device 22, and a discharge roller pair 23 are disposed on a sheet transfer path from the secondary transfer unit to the discharge tray 20. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 24 denotes a manual feed tray.

  Next, an image forming operation by the color laser printer having the above configuration will be described.

  When an image formation start signal is issued, the photosensitive drums 2 are driven to rotate at a predetermined process speed in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1 (counterclockwise) in each of the image forming units 1M, 1C, 1Y, and 1K. 2 is uniformly charged by the charger 3a. Each laser scanner unit 13a to 13d emits a laser beam modulated by a color image signal for each color, irradiates the surface of each photosensitive drum 2 with the laser beam, and the color of each color is formed on each photosensitive drum 2. An electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image signal is formed.

  First, magenta toner is attached to the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 2 of the magenta image forming unit 1M by the developing device 4 to which a developing bias having the same polarity as the charged polarity of the photosensitive drum 2 is applied. The electrostatic latent image is visualized as a magenta toner image. This magenta toner image is transferred to the primary transfer portion (transfer nip portion) between the photosensitive drum 2 and the transfer roller 5 by the action of the transfer roller 5 to which a primary transfer bias having a polarity opposite to that of the toner is applied. Primary transfer is performed on the intermediate transfer belt 7 which is rotationally driven in the direction.

  The intermediate transfer belt 7 on which the magenta toner image has been primarily transferred as described above moves to the next cyan image forming unit 1C. In the cyan image forming unit 1C as well, the cyan toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 2 is transferred onto the magenta toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 7 at the primary transfer portion in the same manner as described above.

  Similarly, the yellow and black toner images formed on the photosensitive drums 2 of the yellow and black image forming units 1Y and 1K on the magenta and cyan toner images superimposed and transferred on the intermediate transfer belt 7 are respectively obtained. In each primary transfer portion, the images are sequentially overlapped, and a full-color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 7. Incidentally, the transfer residual toner that is not transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 7 and remains on the photosensitive drums 2 is removed by the cleaning devices 6, and the photosensitive drums 2 are prepared for the next image formation.

  The full color toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 7 is picked up from the paper feed cassette 14 in accordance with the timing at which the leading edge of the full color toner image reaches the secondary transfer portion (transfer nip portion) between the secondary transfer counter roller 8 and the secondary transfer roller 11. The sheet fed to the conveyance path L by the roller 15, the feed roller 16 and the retard roller 17 is conveyed to the secondary transfer unit by the registration roller pair 19. Then, a full color toner image is secondarily transferred collectively from the intermediate transfer belt 7 to the sheet conveyed to the secondary transfer unit by the secondary transfer roller 11 to which a secondary transfer bias having a polarity opposite to that of the toner is applied. .

  Thus, the sheet on which the full-color toner image has been transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 22 by the conveyance belt 21, and the full-color toner image is heated and pressed to be thermally fixed on the surface of the sheet, so that the toner image is fixed. The discharged sheet is discharged to a discharge tray 20 outside the apparatus by a pair of discharge rollers 23, and a series of image forming operations is completed.

[Toner container]
Next, details of the toner containers 12a to 12d according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  2 is a perspective view of the toner container according to the present invention, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the handle, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the toner container in a state where the handle is tilted, and FIG. FIG. 5B is an enlarged detail view of a portion A in FIG. 5A, and FIG. 6 is a view of the toner container showing a state in which the handle is raised. 7A is a side sectional view showing a state where the handle is raised and the toner container is pulled out from the main body of the image forming apparatus, and FIG. 7B is an enlarged detail of a portion B in FIG. 7A. .

  As shown in FIG. 2, the four toner containers 12 a to 12 d are arranged in tandem so as to be able to be taken in and out of the container retainer 25, and a bag-like drawer portion 26 whose bottom surface is opened is provided on each front surface. ing.

  A concave portion 27 is formed on the upper surface of each toner container 12a to 12d, and a handle 28 is rotatably provided in each concave portion 27. As shown in FIG. 2, the toner containers 12a to 12d are disposed in the container. In the state in which the retainer 25 is accommodated, each handle 28 is horizontally tilted and accommodated in the recess 27.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 3, the handle 28 is formed in an inverted U shape, and is rotated around the upper surface of each toner container 12 a to 12 d by support shafts 28 a and 28 b formed on the left and right sides of the base end portion. It is pivotally attached. A lever-like convex portion 30 constituting an engaging means is formed at the end portion of the shaft 29 extending horizontally from the one support shaft 28a with a phase shifted by 90 ° with respect to the handle 28 in the direction perpendicular to the axis. . Therefore, when the convex portion 30 is viewed from the axial direction of the shaft portions 28a and 28b, the convex portion 30 and the handle 28 are L-shaped. The toner containers 12a to 12d are put in and out in the axial direction of the support shafts 28a and 28b of the handle 28.

  Next, how to put in and out the toner containers 12a to 12d configured as described above will be described. Since the replacement procedure of the four toner containers 12a to 12d is the same, the replacement of the black toner container 12d will be described below.

  In the toner container 12d, the handle 28 is tilted horizontally as shown in FIG. 4, and the toner container 12d is image-formed as shown in FIG. When pulling out from the apparatus main body 100 in the direction of the arrow (front side), as shown in FIG. 5B, the convex part 30 provided on the handle 28 stands vertically and engages with the stopper part 100 a of the image forming apparatus main body 100. Therefore, the toner container 12d cannot be pulled out any further. In this state, as shown in FIG. 5A, the toner container 12d remains in the image forming apparatus main body 100, so that the toner container 12d is detached from the image forming apparatus main body 100. The toner container 12d and its peripheral parts are not damaged, and the remaining toner adhering to the toner container 12d is not leaked by the impact of dropping and contaminates the surroundings.

  Therefore, when the toner container 12d is pulled out from the image forming apparatus main body 100 when the toner container 12d is replaced, the user turns the handle 28 around the support shafts 28a and 28b as shown in FIG. It is necessary to let When the handle 28 is vertically raised in this manner, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the protrusion 30 provided on the handle 28 falls down horizontally, so that the protrusion 30 and the image forming apparatus Since the engagement with the stopper portion 100a of the main body 100 is released, the user holds the handle 100 and pulls out the toner container 12d from the image forming apparatus main body 100 in the arrow direction (front side) in FIG. Can be exchanged for a new one.

  As described above, when replacing the toner container 12d, the user is obliged to have the handle 28, so that the toner container 12d can be prevented from dropping by pulling out the toner container 12d without having the handle 28, and the toner container 12d can be removed. Occurrence of problems such as damage to the toner container 12d and its peripheral parts due to falling, and contamination of the surroundings due to leakage of residual toner adhering to the toner container 12d can be prevented reliably.

  In the above, the embodiment in which the present invention is applied to the color laser printer and the toner container loaded thereon has been described. However, the present invention relates to a monochrome image forming apparatus and a toner container loaded therein. Of course, the same applies.

1 is a cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus (color laser printer) according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a toner container according to the present invention. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a handle provided in the toner container according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a toner container showing a state where a handle is tilted. (A) is a side sectional view showing a state in which the toner container is pulled out from the main body of the image forming apparatus with the handle tilted down, and (b) is an enlarged detail view of part A in (a). FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a toner container showing a state where a handle is raised. (A) is a side sectional view showing a state in which the handle is raised and the toner container is pulled out from the main body of the image forming apparatus, and (b) is an enlarged detail view of part B of (a).

Explanation of symbols

1M Magenta image forming unit 1C Cyan image forming unit 1Y Yellow image forming unit 1K Black image forming unit 2 Photosensitive drum 3 Charger 4 Developing device 5 Transfer roller 6 Cleaning device 7 Intermediate transfer belt 8 Secondary transfer counter roller 9 Tension roller 10 Drive Roller 11 Secondary transfer roller 12a to 12d Toner container 13a to 13d Laser scanner unit (LSU)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 14 Paper feed cassette 15 Pickup roller 16 Feed roller 17 Retard roller 18 Conveying roller pair 19 Registration roller pair 20 Paper discharge tray 21 Conveying belt 22 Fixing device 23 Conveying roller pair 24 Manual feed tray 25 Container retainer 26 Toner container drawer part 27 Toner container 28 Handle 28a, 28b Handle shaft 29 Handle shaft 30 Projection (engagement means)
100 Image Forming Apparatus Main Body 100a Image Forming Apparatus Main Body Stopper L, L ′ Transport Path

Claims (3)

In a toner container that is provided with a handle that can be put in and out of the image forming apparatus main body and can stand on the upper surface,
A toner container comprising engagement means that engages with the image forming apparatus main body when the handle is tilted and that disengages from the image forming apparatus main body when the handle is raised.   The engaging means is formed so that the toner container can be inserted and removed in the axial direction of the rotation shaft of the handle, and is formed by shifting the phase of the rotation axis of the handle by 90 ° in a direction perpendicular to the handle. The toner container according to claim 1, wherein the toner container is formed of a convex portion. An image forming apparatus comprising the toner container according to claim 1, wherein the toner container is detachably loaded into the main body of the image forming apparatus.

Images