JP2011175269A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tandem type image forming apparatus configured so that the user can simultaneously and easily view a plurality of developer storing members and information about the developer capacity of each of the developer storing members, thereby the user is effectively prevented from performing erroneous operation even when viewing unnecessary information. <P>SOLUTION: A display showing a portion to be opened (in Fig, display shown by "letter A in ○" or "figure 2 in ○") is provided so as to be positioned in an opening operation portion display pattern 66 provided on an operation panel 60, and also, so as to perform luminous display by a light emitting body, such as an LED, disposed at the inner surface side of the operation panel 60. In such a state in which it becomes necessary to open a placing part 36 functioning as a cover, because of paper jamming, the opening portion or the opening order etc., can be displayed in the pattern 66. The operator, such as serviceman or user, can perform processing for paper-jamming or the like without viewing the unnecessary information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a color printer, a color copying machine, a color facsimile, or a complex machine thereof.

In recent years, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus for forming a color image on a recording material such as paper or film has been widely spread. This type of image forming apparatus is increasingly used as a printer connected to a personal computer, and so-called personalization is progressing. From the viewpoint of convenience, the image forming apparatus should be installed close to the user's location. There are many. In such a case, considering the user's workability, it is desirable that the height of the device is low, and that the device width is small considering the installation space, and from the viewpoint of personalization and reduction of maintenance costs It is desirable that the user can easily replace and maintain consumables such as toner as a developer.

By the way, in such a color image forming apparatus, since a color image is generally formed by using toners as four color developers, the number of components is large and the size is easily increased as compared with a monochrome image forming apparatus. The number of sheets that can be discharged per hit, that is, the speed during color printing tends to be low. Therefore, a plurality of developing devices are arranged close to a plurality of photoconductors arranged in a row to form a single color toner image, and each toner image is sequentially transferred to transfer a color image onto a recording material. The tandem image forming apparatus is more advantageous.

In this tandem image forming apparatus, since the toner consumption generally increases, the developer supply unit that supplies the replenishment toner to the developing device is separated from the developing device, rather than being integrated with the developing device as a cartridge. In order to reduce the installation space, there is a case where the upper portion of the apparatus main body is used as a printed recording material discharge / loading portion in order to reduce the installation space.

Even in the tandem image forming apparatus that can solve various problems as described above, there is a further demand for improvement in various operability of the apparatus.

For example, in the case of a color image forming apparatus, developer storage members (toner bottles) are required as many as the number of toner colors, so visibility should be considered in consideration of operability. For example, in an apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 4 or the like, toner bottles are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the recording material discharge direction, and toner bottles of each color are arranged, for example, for four colors along the recording material discharge direction. Provided.

However, to the knowledge of the present inventor, there has been proposed a technique that takes into consideration the arrangement of the toner bottle and the display form on the operation panel in consideration of operation by a user who is not familiar with the device configuration, replacement operation, etc. Depending on the user, the confirmation and replacement work by the user himself / herself becomes complicated, and the work may be disliked for that purpose, and a solution has been desired.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-described problems, and an object thereof is to provide an image forming apparatus that not only facilitates parts replacement work but also further improves operability such as confirmation work. To do.

An image forming apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus in which at least a part of the apparatus main body is opened and one or a plurality of developer accommodating members can be replaced, and the operation provided in the apparatus main body. An opening instructing unit for displaying that the opening part of the apparatus main body should be opened, and that the developer in the one or more developer storage members has run out and / or the developer is almost gone. And a toner end display unit indicating that the toner end is disposed so as to be visible from the front side of the apparatus main body and in proximity to the apparatus end display unit.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus of the first aspect, the toner end display portion is provided in correspondence with the number of the developer accommodating members.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, a plurality of developer accommodating members and a plurality of toner end display portions are provided.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, the toner end display section has an elongated rectangular display content portion.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the opening instruction section includes a light emitting display for displaying that the opening section should be opened. Features.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, a plurality of developer accommodating members can be arranged so that they can be visually recognized from the outside when the upper portion of the apparatus main body is opened, and these developer accommodating members are arranged in the discharge direction of the recording material. In the image forming apparatus provided in parallel, an opening instruction unit for displaying that the opening part of the apparatus main body should be opened on the operation unit provided in the apparatus main body, and the one or more developers A toner end display unit that indicates that the developer in the storage member has run out and / or that the developer is about to run out is disposed so as to be visible from the front side of the apparatus main body and in close proximity thereto. .

The present invention has an effect that a user can easily and simultaneously visually recognize information on a plurality of developer accommodating members and the developer capacity inside them, and it is difficult for the user to see the excess information and to perform an operation. .

1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a printer that is an object of implementation of the present invention. It is a perspective view similarly. It is a perspective view of the state where the loading part which is also a cover was opened. It is a perspective view equivalent to FIG. 3 which shows one Example of this invention. It is the top view (A) of the operation panel shown in FIG. 4, the enlarged plan view (B) of a display part, and AA sectional drawing (C).

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. In the following, a color printer (hereinafter referred to as a printer) capable of forming a full-color image employing a tandem method will be described as the image forming apparatus. However, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the illustrated one. The present invention can be applied to various apparatuses such as a copying machine, a facsimile apparatus, and a composite apparatus.

The basic configuration and operation of the printer will be described with reference to FIGS. The printer shown in the figure has a configuration in which a paper feed unit 2 in which a paper feed cassette 45 for storing paper P as a recording material is arranged at the lower part of the apparatus main body 1 and an image forming unit 8 is arranged above the paper feed unit 45. The image forming unit 8 has four image forming units 8Y, 8C, 8M, and 8BK as a plurality of image forming means including an image carrier, and flexibility wound around the plurality of rollers 4, 5, and 6. An intermediate transfer belt 7 as an intermediate transfer member constituted by an endless belt, an optical writing unit 15 as an optical writing unit that performs optical writing on each image carrier, a fixing unit 22 that fixes a toner image on a sheet P, and the like. It is provided. A conveyance path R for conveying the paper P is formed between the paper feeding unit 2 and the fixing unit 22. The roller 6 is disposed facing the conveyance path R.

The space between the roller 4 and the roller 5 of the intermediate transfer belt 7 corresponds to the lower side belt running side of this belt. Further, the intermediate transfer belt 7 is provided with a secondary transfer roller 20 serving as a secondary transfer device facing the roller 6 at a portion facing the roller 6, and cleaning the belt surface at a portion facing the roller 4. A belt cleaning device 21 is provided.

The image forming unit 8 is disposed below the intermediate transfer belt 7 by being disposed so as to face the lower running side. Each image forming unit includes a photosensitive drum 10 as an image carrier that is in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 7. Around each photosensitive drum 10, a charging device 11, a developing device 12, and a cleaning device 13 are arranged. A transfer roller 14 as a transfer device that performs primary transfer is provided inside the intermediate transfer belt 7 at a position where each photosensitive drum 10 is in contact with the intermediate transfer belt 7.

In this example, the image forming units 8Y, 8C, 8M, and 8BK basically have the same structure. In FIG. 1, only the structure of the image forming unit 8BK is represented by a symbol. What is different in each image forming unit is that the color of toner as a developer stored in each developing device 12 is different. The developing devices 12 of the image forming units 8Y, 8C, 8M, and 8BK store yellow, cyan, magenta, and black toners, respectively.

In the figure, reference numeral 15 denotes an optical writing unit. The optical writing unit 15 irradiates the surface of each photoconductive drum with light modulated laser light L to form a latent image for each color on the surface of the photoconductive drum. It is arranged below.

When the image forming operation starts, the photosensitive drums 10 of the respective image forming units 8 are rotated in a clockwise direction by a driving device (not shown), and the surface of each photosensitive drum is uniformly charged to a predetermined polarity by the charging device 11. . The surface of each charged photosensitive drum is irradiated with laser light L from the optical writing unit 15 to form an electrostatic latent image on each surface. At this time, image information to be exposed on each photosensitive drum is single-color image information obtained by separating a desired full-color image into color information of yellow, cyan, magenta, and black. The electrostatic latent image formed in this way is visualized as a toner image by the toner of each developing device 12 as it passes between each photoconductor and the developing device 12.

In the drawing, one of a plurality of rollers 4, 5 and 6 around which the intermediate transfer belt 7 is wound is driven to rotate counterclockwise by a driving device (not shown), whereby the intermediate transfer belt 7 is indicated by an arrow. Driven in the counterclockwise direction, the other rollers are driven to rotate. The yellow toner image formed by the image forming unit 8Y including the developing device 12 having yellow toner is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 7 traveling in this way by the transfer roller 14. To the transferred yellow toner image, a cyan toner image formed by the image forming units 8C, 8M and 8BK, a magenta toner image and a black toner image are sequentially superimposed and transferred by the transfer roller 14, and are transferred onto the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 7. A full color toner image is carried.

Residual toner adhering to the surface of each photoconductor drum after the toner image is transferred is removed from the surface of each photoconductor drum by the cleaning device 13, and the surface of the photoconductor drum is discharged by a static eliminator (not shown) to reduce the surface potential. Initialization prepares for the next image formation.

On the other hand, the sheet P fed from the sheet feeding unit 2 is fed to the transport path R, and the roller 6 and the secondary transfer are taken by the pair of registration rollers 24 arranged on the sheet feeding side with respect to the secondary transfer roller 20. The sheet is fed to a portion facing the roller 20. At this time, a transfer voltage having a polarity opposite to the toner charging polarity of the toner image on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt is applied to the secondary transfer roller 20, whereby the toner images on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 7 are collectively put on the paper P. Transcript. The paper P that has received the transfer of the toner image is conveyed to the fixing unit 22, and heat and pressure are applied when passing through the fixing unit 22 to melt and fix the toner image. The sheet P on which the toner image has been fixed, that is, the printed sheet P, is conveyed to the discharge unit 23 positioned at the end of the conveyance path R provided near the upper part of the apparatus main body 1, and the stack configured on the upper part of the apparatus main body 1. It discharges to the part 36. The toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 7 after the toner image is transferred to the paper P is removed from the cleaning device 21.

The printer configured in this manner is provided with four image forming units 8Y, 8M, 8C and 8BK facing the intermediate transfer belt 7, and sequentially transfers the toner images of the respective colors on the intermediate transfer belt 7. For this reason, the image forming time is significantly shortened compared to a type in which a single image forming means has a four-color developing device, transfers a toner image on an intermediate transfer belt, and then transfers it onto a sheet. be able to. In addition, since the stacking portion 36 is formed on the upper portion of the apparatus main body 1, the stacking section 36 does not jump out from the apparatus main body 1 and the installation area and the exclusive area are reduced.

Although the above description is an image forming operation when a full-color image is formed on the paper P, a single-color image is formed using any one of the image forming units of the image forming unit 8 or two colors are used. Alternatively, a three-color image may be formed. When monochrome printing is performed using the printer of this embodiment, an electrostatic latent image is formed only on the photosensitive drum 10 of the image forming unit 8BK, developed by the unit, transferred to the paper P, and fixed. Fixing may be performed by means 22.

The discharge part 23 is formed in the upper part of the left side of the apparatus main body 1 in the figure as described above. A printer operation panel 60 and a tray 46 on which the paper P is placed are placed on the front surface of the apparatus body 1 on the exterior of the apparatus body 1, that is, on the exterior 1 </ b> A that is located on the upper right side of the discharge section 23 and covers the discharge section 23. It is arranged so that it can be operated from the right side. In this example, the right side of the apparatus main body 1 in which the discharge unit 23 is disposed is the apparatus operation side in the present example, but of course, either side may be used in the present invention.

In the figure, reference numeral 36 denotes a stacking portion for the discharged paper P. A partition plate 50 is provided inside the apparatus main body 1 below the stacking portion 36. The partition plate 50 is disposed between the stacking portion 36 and the upper side of the intermediate transfer belt 7, and forms a storage space portion 51 for a developer storage member in the apparatus main body 1. In the storage space 51, a plurality of toner bottles 37, 38, 39, and 40 as developer storage members are located below the stacking portion 36 in a direction toward and away from the discharge portion 23 indicated by arrows C1 and C2. In other words, the longitudinal direction of the toner bottle is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the discharge direction of the printed paper P, and the toner bottles of the respective colors are arranged along the discharge direction of the paper P, for example, as shown in the example of FIG. Color toner (four) toner bottles are arranged side by side. An arrow C <b> 1 in the drawing is a direction away from the discharge unit 23, and is also a discharge direction of the paper P discharged from the discharge unit 23 (hereinafter referred to as “discharge direction C <b> 1”). Arrow C <b> 2 is a direction approaching the discharge unit 23. In the toner bottles 40, 39, 38, and 37, yellow, cyan, magenta, and black toners are sequentially stored. The toner bottles 40, 39, 38, and 37 are connected to the developing devices 12 of the image forming units 8Y, 8C, 8M, and 8BK via a toner supply path (not shown), and the toner in each developing device 12 decreases. The replenishment toner is supplied to the corresponding developing device.

The toner bottles 37, 38, 39, and 40 are arranged so as to become higher from the toner bottle 37 closest to the discharge unit 23 toward the toner bottle 40 located farthest from the discharge unit 23. In this example, the developer is arranged in the developer space 51 so as to be gradually increased from the toner bottle 37 toward the toner bottle 40. The discharge unit 23 is located above the toner bottle 37 and is located at substantially the same height as the toner bottle 40.

A holder 52 for detachably holding the toner bottles 37, 38, 39, 40 is provided in the storage space 51. The holder 52 pulls up the toner bottles 37, 38, 39, and 40 upward, respectively, so that the width of the apparatus main body (hereinafter referred to as “apparatus main body width D1”) that goes straight in the same plane as the discharge direction C1. It is configured so that it can be attached and detached in the upper space in the range of The toner bottles 37, 38, 39, and 40 are positioned in the apparatus main body 1 by being attached to the holder 52.

The stacking unit 36 is formed in the apparatus main body 1 from the lower side of the discharge unit 23 toward the discharge direction C1 and covers the toner bottles stored in the storage space 51 so as to cover the toner bottle 1D. It consists of The stacking portion 36 is pivotally supported on the apparatus main body 1 so as to be openable and closable with respect to the apparatus main body 1 as a cover, and an opening / closing central portion 41 is provided in a portion 1E farther than the toner bottle 40. It is. The opening / closing center part 41 is provided at a position lower than the uppermost part 40 </ b> A of the toner bottle 40. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the opening / closing center portion 41 has its axis line positioned in the width direction of the device (hereinafter referred to as “width direction D”) indicated by an arrow D orthogonal to the discharge direction C1 in the same plane. Thus, a shaft portion 42 provided on the apparatus main body 1 side and a bearing portion 43 provided on the end portion 36B side of the stacking portion 36 and supported by the shaft portion 42 are provided. For this reason, the stacking unit 36 constituted by the exterior 1D has a direction in which the opening and closing direction thereof advances and retreats with respect to the apparatus operation side, that is, a direction in which the stacking unit 36 is closer to the discharge unit 23 indicated by arrows C1 and C2. The stacking section 36 can be opened up to the upper side of the exterior 1 </ b> A provided with the operation panel 60.

The area of the stacking unit 36 is formed to be somewhat larger than the paper size that can be fed from the sheet feeding unit 2. Further, the stacking portion 36 is formed so as to be inclined so that the end portion 36A located on the discharge portion 23 side is lower than the end portion 36B located on the side far from the discharge portion 23. The lower end 36A of the stacking portion 36 is disposed at a position lower than the discharge point of the discharge portion 23, and the upper end 36B of the stacking portion 36 is the uppermost portion 1C of the exterior 1A. The height is approximately the same as the position.

Thus, since the toner bottles 37, 38, 39, 40 can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body 1 and can be attached and detached in the upper space within the range of the apparatus main body width D1, the toner bottles 37, 38 are provided. , 39 and 40 can be performed in the upper space within the range of the apparatus main body width D1, and the operability for the apparatus and the replacement work for the replacement parts are facilitated.

Further, if the toner bottles 37, 38, 39, 40 arranged in parallel are viewed from the apparatus operation side (the discharge unit 23 side), the toner bottles 37, 38, 39, 40 arranged in parallel are arranged so as to increase from the toner bottle 37 toward the toner bottle 40. The toner bottle is shifted up and down. For this reason, the visibility to each toner bottle is improved from the apparatus operation side without being shaded by the discharge port 23, and the operability for the apparatus and the replacement work for the replacement parts are facilitated.

Further, since the stacking portion 36 can be opened and closed with respect to the apparatus main body 1 by the opening / closing center portion 41 provided in the portion 1E farther from the discharge portion 23 than the toner bottle 40, the opening / closing center portion 41 is opened when the stacking portion 36 is opened. As a result, the range in which the toner bottle located on the side is hidden is reduced, and the opening and closing direction of the stacking portion 36 is a direction to advance and retreat with respect to the apparatus operation side. For this reason, the operability when opening and closing the stacking unit 36 is good, and the visibility to each toner bottle is improved from the device operation side, so that the operability for the device and the replacement work for the replacement parts become easier. The opening / closing center portion 41 is disposed at a position lower than the uppermost portion 40A of the toner bottle 40 to suppress the height of the stacking portion 36, so that each toner bottle can be viewed from the device operation side while suppressing the height of the device. Can be ensured, and the operability with respect to the apparatus and the replacement work for the replacement parts can be further facilitated.

Furthermore, since the stacking portion 36 can be opened to the upper side of the exterior 1A where the operation panel 60 is disposed, the visibility from the device operation side to each toner bottle is improved, and the operability for the device and the replacement work for the replacement parts are performed. It becomes easy.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the same state as FIG. 3 as seen from the front side of the apparatus main body 1. FIG. 5 is a plan view (A) of the operation panel 60 alone, an enlarged plan view (B) of the display unit, and an AA sectional view (C). In FIG. 4, the stacking portion 36 as a cover is opened, and the toner bottles 38, 39, and 40 other than the frontmost toner bottle 37 are visible. As described above, the longitudinal direction of these toner bottles has been printed. The four toner bottles 37, 38, 39, and 40 are arranged along the paper P discharge direction.

The operation panel 60 includes a liquid crystal panel 61 indicating operation contents and the like, various operation buttons 62..., An LED lens 63 for power-on display, and the toners of the four toner bottles 37, 38, 39, and 40. LEDs 64Y, 64C, 64M, 64BK for indicating an end (which means that the stored toner has run out) or a toner near end (which also means that the toner is about to run out) and a display portion 65Y which is provided around the LEDs. , 65C, 65M, 65BK, and an open operation part display pattern 66 provided on the left side of the figure. The general functions and operations of the operation panel components such as the liquid crystal panel 61 and the operation buttons 62 are well known and will not be described, but the symbols of the display units 65Y, 65C, 65M, 65BK are the toner bottle 40, It is a rectangular shape with elongated corners extending in the same direction as the longitudinal direction of 39, 38, 37.

That is, in this example, as can be seen from the figure, the operation panel 60 and the toner bottles 37, 38, 39, 40 are generally visible from the front side of the apparatus main body 1 where the user is generally located, The color of the toner contained in the toner bottles 40, 39, 38, and 37 is arranged along the discharge direction of the paper P so that the LEDs 64Y, 64C, 64M, and 64BK and the display units 65Y, 65C, 65M, and 65BK indicate the same order. It is. For this reason, when any of the LEDs 64Y, 64C, 64M, and 64BK is turned on to display the toner end or toner near end, it is easy to see which toner bottle 40, 39, 38, 37 is in the toner end or toner near end state. So that users can understand. Also, it becomes difficult to make a mistake as to which toner bottle is to be replaced.

In addition, display of the part to be opened (display indicating “character A in ○” or “number 2 in ○”) 67 so as to be positioned in the design 66 for displaying the opening operation part 67 Can be emitted and displayed by a light emitter such as an LED (not shown) provided on the inner surface side of the operation panel 60. Therefore, when the paper is jammed and it is necessary to open the stacking portion 36 that is a cover, the part to be opened, the order, and the like can be displayed in the pattern 66. Accordingly, an operator such as a serviceman or a user can perform processing for handling a paper jam without looking at excessive information, and can take a smooth processing action.

JP 2002-362807 A JP 2002-214868 A JP 2003-50351 A JP 2004-317883 A

1: Device main body 2: Paper feed unit 4, 5, 6: Roller 7: Intermediate transfer belt 8: Image forming unit 8Y, 8C, 8M, 8BK: Image forming unit 10: Photoconductor drum 11: Charging device 12: Developing device 13: Cleaning device 14: Transfer roller 15: Optical writing unit 20: Secondary transfer roller 21: Belt cleaning device 22: Fixing means 23: Discharge unit 24: Registration roller pair 36: Stacking unit 37, 38, 39, 40: Toner Bottle 41: Opening / closing center part of stacking part 42: Same shaft part 43: Same bearing part 45: Paper feed cassette 46: Tray 50: Partition plate 51: Storage space part of developer storage member 52: Holder 60: Operation panel 61: Liquid crystal panel 62: Operation buttons 63: LED lens 64Y, 64C, 64M, 64BK: LED
65Y, 65C, 65M, 65BK: Display unit 66: Display for operation unit display 67: Display of a portion to be opened P: Paper

Claims (6)

In an image forming apparatus provided with at least a part of the apparatus main body so that one or a plurality of developer accommodating members can be replaced, an indication that the opening part of the apparatus main body should be opened on the operation unit provided in the apparatus main body An opening instructing section for performing the operation, and a toner end display section that indicates that the developer in the one or a plurality of developer storage members has run out and / or that the developer has run out. An image forming apparatus, wherein the image forming apparatus is disposed so as to be visible from the side and in proximity. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the toner end display portion is provided in correspondence with the number of the developer accommodating members. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of developer accommodating members and a plurality of corresponding toner end display portions. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the toner end display portion has a long and narrow rectangular display content portion. 5. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the opening instructing unit includes a light emitting display for displaying that the opening should be opened. 6. A plurality of developer accommodating members can be disposed so that they can be visually recognized from the outside when the upper portion of the apparatus main body is opened, and the plurality of developer accommodating members are arranged side by side along the discharge direction of the recording material. In the apparatus, the operating unit provided in the apparatus main body is free of the opening instruction section for displaying that the opening section of the apparatus main body should be opened, and the developer in the one or more developer accommodating members. And / or a toner end display portion indicating that the developer is almost disappearing, and is disposed so as to be visible from and close to the front surface of the apparatus main body.