JP2011232703A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus having a waste toner box which is retained in the apparatus main body except for maintenance, preventing the apparatus main body or a floor from being stained with a spilled waste toner.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus comprises an engaging hook 115 that engages a waste toner box 40 to an apparatus main body 1a, engaging claws 104a and 105a that engages the waste toner box to an openable door 1b. The waste toner box 40 is engaged to the openable door 1b with engaging claws 104a and 105a in a state that the waste toner box 40 is rotatable with the openable door 1b, and the waste toner box 40 is engaged to the apparatus main body 1a with the engaging hook 115 in a state that the waste toner box 40 is retained to tho the apparatus main body 1a, resulting in switchable between the states.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine, and a composite machine of these, and in particular, a position that can be avoided while removing the waste toner box during maintenance work of a photoconductor unit and the like while remaining in the apparatus main body. It has a feature in that it has a movable mechanism.

  Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, after transferring a toner image held on an image carrier holding a toner image such as a photoreceptor or an intermediate transfer belt to a transfer medium such as a recording medium, The toner remaining on the image carrier without being transferred is removed from the image carrier by a cleaning device, and the toner thus removed is collected in a waste toner box as waste toner. When the waste toner box becomes full, the user replaces it with a new waste toner box.

  By the way, unnecessary attachment and detachment of the waste toner box may cause toner to fall from the toner discharge port on the apparatus main body side and contaminate the apparatus main body and the installation location. Therefore, in order to suppress unnecessary detachment of the waste toner box, there is known a configuration in which the waste toner box is detachable when it is detected that the waste toner is a predetermined amount or more ( For example, see Patent Document 1).

  In addition, a configuration of a waste toner box that always rotates together with the open / close door regardless of the amount of waste toner is also known (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

JP 2008-26419 A JP 2002-149025 A

  By the way, in an image forming apparatus having a configuration in which the waste toner box is located between the photosensitive unit and the opening / closing door and the photosensitive unit cannot be replaced unless the waste toner box is removed, a user or a service person can When performing maintenance work such as replacement of the body unit, it is necessary to remove the waste toner box from the apparatus main body and place it on the floor or desk.

  However, in such a case, the waste toner box may be accidentally tilted during maintenance work, and the floor or desk may be soiled due to toner spillage.

  In order to prevent the device main body and the installation location from being soiled, the above-described Patent Document 1 is configured so that the waste toner box is detachable when it is detected that the waste toner is a predetermined amount or more. . However, in a configuration in which maintenance work cannot be performed unless the waste toner box is removed, the waste toner box must be removed from the apparatus main body and placed on the floor or desk, and the above problem still remains.

  In addition, since the waste toner box is configured to always rotate together when the opening / closing door is opened, the one disclosed in Patent Document 2 can be opened / closed even when maintenance work of the photosensitive unit or the like is not required. When the cover is opened, the waste toner box is also separated from the apparatus main body, and there is a possibility that the waste toner falls into the apparatus main body and contaminates the apparatus main body and the installation location.

  In the case of performing maintenance work on the photosensitive unit or the like, the waste toner box can be moved to a position that does not interfere with the maintenance work while leaving the waste toner box in the apparatus. Another object of the present invention is to keep the waste toner box maintained in the apparatus main body and prevent the apparatus main body and the floor from being soiled by waste toner spillage.

  In the present invention, in order to solve the above-described problems, in an image forming apparatus in which a waste toner box is disposed between an opening / closing door attached to the apparatus main body so as to be openable and closable, and a photosensitive unit. The toner box is selected and supported at a first position where the photoconductor unit can be replaced and a second position maintained within the apparatus main body.

  According to the present invention, a first locking means for locking the waste toner box to the opening / closing door, a second locking means for locking the waste toner box to the apparatus main body, and the first And a means for switching the state of the second locking means. The waste toner box is locked to the opening / closing door by the first locking means, and the waste toner box is mounted together with the opening / closing door. The waste toner box is supported at the first position by being rotated, the waste toner box is locked to the apparatus main body by the second locking means, and the waste toner box is maintained on the apparatus main body. The waste toner box may be supported at the second position.

  According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus in which a waste toner box is disposed between an openable / closable door attached to the apparatus body and a photosensitive unit, and the waste toner box is associated with the open / close door. First locking means for stopping, and second locking means for locking the waste toner box to the apparatus main body, and the waste toner box is attached to the opening / closing door by the first locking means. The waste toner box can be rotated together with the opening / closing door, and the waste toner box is locked to the apparatus main body by a second locking means, and the waste toner box is maintained on the apparatus main body. It is characterized in that the state to be switched can be switched.

  According to the present invention, in the image forming apparatus in which the waste toner box is disposed between the opening / closing door and the photosensitive unit, the waste toner box can be opened together with the opening / closing door during maintenance of the photosensitive unit. There is no need to remove the toner box, and there is no risk of spilling waste toner or the like on a desk or floor.

1 is a schematic explanatory view showing an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view showing a state in which the waste toner box is moved together with the open / close door to a first position where the photoconductor unit can be replaced in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic plan view showing a state in which the waste toner box is separated from the open / close door and held in the second position where the waste toner box is maintained in the apparatus main body in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. . In the image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the waste toner box is locked in the apparatus main body during normal use or the like. In the image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, it is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a waste toner box is locked to an open / close door during maintenance work. In the image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, it is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the open / close door is opened while a waste toner box is locked to the open / close door during maintenance work. In the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, the open / close door is opened in a state where the waste toner box is locked inside the apparatus main body during normal use or the like. FIG. 4 is a block diagram for controlling a waste toner box locking operation in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a photoconductor unit replacement operation in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  An image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be repeated in order to avoid duplication of description. Further, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention is not limited to the one shown in the following embodiment, and can be implemented with appropriate modifications within a range not changing the gist thereof.

  In the image forming apparatus according to this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the photosensitive member 11, the charging device 12 for charging the photosensitive member 11, and the toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive member 11 after the transfer are removed. A photosensitive unit 10 having a cleaning device 13 and a developing unit 20 having a developing device 21 are provided. Four photosensitive units 10 and a developing unit 20 are provided in the image forming apparatus 1, and development in each developing unit is performed. The apparatus 21 accommodates toners having different colors of black, yellow, magenta, and cyan.

  In forming a full-color image by the image forming apparatus 1, the photoreceptor 11 in each photoreceptor unit 10 is rotated, and the surface of each photoreceptor 11 is charged by the charging device 12. The surface of each photoconductor 11 thus charged is exposed according to image information by the exposure device 4 provided in the image forming apparatus 1, and the surface of each photoconductor 11 is corresponding to the image information. An electrostatic latent image is formed. Then, toners having different colors are supplied from the developing devices 21 to the respective photoreceptors 11 on which the electrostatic latent images are formed in this way, and toner images having different colors are respectively formed on the surfaces of the respective photoreceptors 11. Form.

  Next, the toner images having different colors formed on the surface of each photoconductor 11 in this manner are sequentially transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 5 that is rotationally driven, and a full-color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 6. On the other hand, the toner remaining on the surface of each photoconductor 11 is removed by each cleaning device 13 provided corresponding to each photoconductor 11.

  Then, the recording medium 8 is guided between the intermediate transfer belt 5 on which the full-color toner image is formed as described above and the transfer roller 7, and the full-color toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 5 is transferred to the recording medium 8. The full-color toner image thus transferred is fixed on the recording medium 8 by the fixing device 9, while the toner remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 5 is removed by the cleaning device 13.

  Waste toner removed from each photoconductor 11 and intermediate transfer belt 5 by each cleaning device 13 is guided to a waste toner box 20 and stored therein.

  Here, in the image forming apparatus 1 in this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the waste toner box 40 is configured to be positioned between the photosensitive unit 10 and the door 1b. Yes. For this reason, the configuration is such that maintenance work such as replacement of the photoreceptor unit 10 or the like cannot be performed unless the waste toner box 40 is removed.

  Further, during normal image forming operation, the waste toner box 40 is fixed at a predetermined position by components provided inside the apparatus main body 1a, and the waste toner removed from each photoconductor 11 and the intermediate transfer belt 5 is used. Is guided to the waste toner box 20 and stored therein.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, in the image forming apparatus 1 of this embodiment, an opening / closing door 1b is attached to the apparatus main body 1a so as to be rotatable in the left-right direction. When replacing the photoreceptor unit 10, the photoreceptor unit 10 is pulled out in the direction indicated by the arrow A in FIG. 2, and when attaching the photoreceptor unit 10, the photoreceptor unit 10 is inserted in the direction indicated by the arrow A1.

  In this embodiment, when the photoreceptor unit 10 is replaced or attached, it is necessary to retract the waste toner box 40 from the direction in which the photoreceptor unit 10 moves. For this reason, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the waste toner box 40 is locked to the door 1b during maintenance work of the photosensitive unit 10, and the waste toner box 40 is discarded when the door 1b is opened. The toner box 40 rotates together with the opening / closing door 1b so that the waste toner box 40 is guided to an avoidance position (first position) that does not get in the way when the photoreceptor unit 10 is replaced or attached.

  As described above, the waste toner box 40 is configured to be engaged and locked with the open / close door 1b and to rotate together with the open / close door 1b only when the maintenance work of the photosensitive unit 10 is necessary. Yes.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the waste toner box 40 is locked by a mechanism inside the apparatus main body 1a, and the waste toner box 40 remains open even when the door 1b is opened. The state is fixed at a predetermined position (second position) where the waste toner is collected.

  The waste toner box 40 changes to a position locked inside the apparatus main body 1a and a position locked to a position that rotates together with the open / close door 1b. This locking mechanism will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a state where the waste toner box 40 is locked inside the apparatus main body 1a during normal use.

  The open / close door 1b is attached to the apparatus main body 1a so as to be openable and closable around the rotation shaft 100. The open / close door 1b has a slider device 103 that can move in the vertical direction in the figure, and a lever member 104 that is formed to extend from one end of the slider main body 103 toward the inside of the device main body 1a and has a locking claw 104a at the tip. And a moving lever 106 that extends from the other end of the slider main body 103 toward the inside of the apparatus main body 1 a and changes the lock state of the waste toner box 40.

  The waste toner box 40 is provided with a locking lever 105 having a locking claw 105a at a tip portion engageable with the locking claw 104a. The locking claw 104a and the locking claw 105a constitute first locking means, and the waste claw 104a and the locking claw 105a engage with each other, whereby the waste toner box 40 is locked to the open / close door 1b.

  Further, a locking lever 111 for locking the waste toner box 40 to the apparatus main body 1a side is provided inside the apparatus main body 1a. The locking lever 111 is swingably attached to a support shaft 110 provided inside the apparatus main body 1a. One end of the locking lever 111 is provided with a locking claw 115 that engages with the waste toner box 40 when the waste toner box 40 is locked inside the apparatus main body 1a. The engaging claw 115 constitutes a second engaging means, and the engaging claw 115 engages with the waste toner box 40, whereby the waste toner box 40 is locked to the apparatus main body 1a.

  Further, the locking lever 111 is provided with an operating member 114 having an inclined portion that comes into contact with the lever member 106.

  An urging spring 113 is provided at the other end of the locking lever 111 to urge the locking claw 115 toward the waste toner box 40. Further, the locking lever 111 is provided with a solenoid 112 for separating the locking claw 115 from the waste toner box 40 against the biasing force of the biasing spring 113.

  The slider body 105, the moving lever 106, the locking lever 111, the urging spring 113, the solenoid 113, and the operating member 114 constitute switching means for switching the state between the first locking means and the second locking means.

  In the state shown in FIG. 4, the solenoid 112 is off and the toner box 40 is locked inside the apparatus main body 1a. In this state, the latching lever 111 is rotated about the support shaft 110 in the direction in which the latching claw 115 engages with the waste toner box 40 by the biasing spring 113, and the latching claw 115 and the waste toner box 40 are moved. The engaged state is maintained and the state locked to the apparatus main body 1a is maintained.

  Next, when the user or service person wants to perform maintenance work such as replacement of the photosensitive unit 10, the waste toner box 40 changes so that it can be moved to an avoidable position while being locked to the door 1b. This will be described with reference to FIG.

  When a user or service person performs maintenance work on the photoconductor unit 10, the user or serviceman gives an instruction for making the photoconductor unit 10 replaceable. In response to this exchangeable instruction, the solenoid 11 is turned on, and the locking lever 111 rotates around the support shaft 110 in the direction of arrow D against the urging force of the urging spring 113. By the rotation of the locking lever 111, the engagement between the locking claw 115 and the waste toner box 40 is released. Then, one end of the locking lever 111 comes into contact with the moving lever 106 and pushes up the moving lever 106, whereby the slide main body 103 moves in the direction of arrow E in the figure. The lever member 104 having the locking claw 104a also moves in a direction to engage with the locking claw 105a of the locking lever 105 as the slider body 103 moves. Then, the locking claw 104a and the locking claw 105a are engaged, and the waste toner box 40 is locked on the opening / closing door 1b side.

  The waste toner box 40 is supported by a support plate 101 provided in the opening / closing door 1b or a support plate 102 provided in the apparatus main body 1a.

  When the latching claw 104a and the latching claw 105a are engaged and the door 1b is opened with the waste toner box 40 locked on the door 1b, the waste toner box 40 opens and closes as shown in FIG. By rotating together with the door 1b, the waste toner box 40 reaches an avoidance position that does not get in the way when the photoreceptor unit 10 is replaced or attached. At this time, the waste toner box 40 is supported by a support plate 101 provided on the door 1b.

  If the open / close door 1b is closed while the waste toner box 40 is locked to the open / close door 1b, the state shown in FIG. 5 is obtained. Then, when the maintenance work is instructed, the solenoid 112 is turned off. When the solenoid 112 is turned off, the locking lever 111 is rotated in the direction in which the locking claw 115 and the waste toner box 40 are engaged by the biasing force of the biasing spring 113. Further, due to the rotation of the locking lever 111, the operating member 114 and the moving lever 106 come into contact with each other. By the rotation of the latching lever 111 by the biasing spring 113, the operating member 114 pushes down the moving lever 106, the slider main body 103 moves, and the engagement of the latching claws 105a and 104a is released. And it will be in the state shown in FIG.

  When the door 1b is opened in this state, as shown in FIG. 7, the state where the waste toner box 40 is locked inside the apparatus main body 1a is maintained, and only the door 1b is opened. As described above, in cases other than the maintenance work, the open / close door 1b is opened while the waste toner box 40 is maintained in the apparatus main body 1. Therefore, there is no possibility that the apparatus main body 1a, the floor or the like is soiled due to waste toner spillage.

  Next, the operation for controlling the change of the lock state of the waste toner box 40 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The control unit 200 includes a CPU, a ROM that stores a program for operating the CPU, a RAM that temporarily stores data, and the like, and controls various operations of the image forming apparatus 1.

  The control unit 200 is provided with information from the detection unit 201 for detecting the maintenance time of the photoconductor unit 10 and the like. For example, the detection unit 201 provides the control unit 200 with information on maintenance timing such as replacement of the photosensitive unit 10 based on the number of recorded sheets.

  A display control unit 202 is connected to the control unit 200 in a controllable manner. The display operation unit 202 is controlled by the control unit 200 so that the user can perform a predetermined operation on the image forming apparatus 1. In the display operation unit 202, the display and the operation may be performed independently, or may be performed on the display screen like an LCD touch panel. The display operation unit 202 can input various settings for the image forming apparatus 1. In the display operation unit 202, a display for informing the maintenance of the photoconductor unit 10, an instruction input for instructing the replacement of the photoconductor unit 1 according to this display, and an instruction for instructing that the maintenance of the photoconductor unit 10 is completed. Input etc. are performed.

  The control unit 200 gives a control signal to the drive unit 203 that drives the solenoid 112. The drive unit 203 turns on and off the solenoid 112 based on a control signal from the control unit 200.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Normally, the waste toner box 40 is engaged by a locking claw 115 inside the apparatus main body 1a and is locked to the apparatus main body 1a so that printing is possible (step S1). In this state, the control unit 200 obtains information from the detection unit 201 (step S2). Then, the control unit 200 determines based on the information from the detection unit 201 whether or not it is the maintenance time of the photoconductor unit 10 (step S3). The above operation is repeated until the maintenance time comes.

  In this state, since the waste toner box 40 is locked inside the apparatus main body 1a, when the door 1b is opened, only the door 1b is opened as shown in FIGS.

  If the door 1b is simply opened, there is no problem in this state. However, when the maintenance operation of the photosensitive unit 10 or the replacement operation of the waste toner box 40 is performed, the operation of the apparatus main body of the waste toner box 40 must be unlocked. Can not. First, the maintenance work of the photoconductor unit 10 will be described.

  When the control unit 200 determines that it is during maintenance of the photoconductor unit 10, an operation button for unlocking is displayed on the operation display unit 202, and a display for selecting switching to the replaceable state is performed (step S4). . The user recognizes from the display on the operation display unit 202 that unlocking is necessary.

  When the user presses the replaceable button of the photoconductor unit 10 using the operation display unit 202, the control unit 200 enters the unlocking operation based on the operation (step S5).

  The control unit 200 sends a control signal to the drive unit 203 to turn on the solenoid 112, and drives the solenoid 112 on (step S6).

  When the solenoid 112 is turned on, the locking lever 111 centered on the support shaft 110 against the urging force of the urging spring 113 releases the engagement of the locking claw 115 with the waste toner box 40 (see FIG. 5 in the direction of arrow D). By the rotation of the locking lever 111, the engagement between the locking claw 115 and the waste toner box 40 is released. Then, one end of the locking lever 111 comes into contact with the moving lever 106 and pushes up the moving lever 106, whereby the slide body 103 is engaged with the locking claw 104a and the locking claw 105a (the direction of arrow E in FIG. 5). Move to. Then, the locking claw 104a and the locking claw 105a are engaged, and the waste toner box 40 is locked on the opening / closing door 1b side (step S7).

  When the door 1b is opened in this locked state, the waste toner box 40 is rotated together with the door 1b (step S8).

  In this state, maintenance work for the photosensitive unit is performed (step S9).

  After the maintenance work is finished, after closing the open / close door 1b and instructing the end of the maintenance using the display operation unit 202 or the like, the control unit 200 sends a control signal to the drive unit 203 and turns off the solenoid 112. When the solenoid 112 is turned off, the lock with the door 1b is released, the engaging claw 115 and the waste toner box 40 are engaged, and the waste toner box 40 is locked and fixed to the apparatus main body 1a.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 7, the waste toner box 40 is replaced by first opening the door 1b with the waste toner box 40 locked to the apparatus main body 1a. In this state, a button for instructing replacement of the waste toner box is pressed from the operation display unit 202. When a button for replacing the waste toner box 40 is pressed, the control unit 200 sends a control signal to the drive unit 203 to release the engagement between the locking claw 115 and the waste toner box 40 and turns on the solenoid 112. When the solenoid 112 is turned on, the locking lever 111 rotates in a direction to release the engagement of the locking claw 115 against the biasing spring 113. Then, the lock of the apparatus main body 1a and the waste toner box 40 is released. When the lock between the apparatus main body 1a and the waste toner box 40 is released, the waste toner box 40 can be detached from the apparatus main body 1a.

  Further, as another method of replacing the waste toner box 40, the waste toner box 40 is engaged with the open / close door 1b as in the maintenance work of the photoconductor unit 10. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, after opening the door 1b and the waste toner box 40 together, the slider body 103 is slid to disengage the locking claws 104a and 105a, thereby removing the waste toner box 40. Can be removed.

  In the above-described embodiment, the opening / closing door 1b is configured to rotate in the left-right direction with respect to the apparatus main body 1a. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the door 1b rotates in the vertical direction with respect to the apparatus main body 1a. It can also be configured as follows.

  Further, the mechanism for locking the waste toner box 40 to the inside of the apparatus main body 1a and the door 1b is not limited to the mechanism described above, and any mechanism that can lock the door 1b only when necessary.

  In the above-described embodiment, the maintenance work such as replacement of the photosensitive unit 10 has been described. Similarly, in the maintenance work such as replacement of the developing unit 20, the waste toner box 40 is similarly rotated together with the open / close door 1b. Just do it.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 1a Apparatus main body 1b Open / close door 10 Photoconductor unit 40 Waste toner box 40
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Rotating shaft 103 Slider main body 104 Lever member 104a Locking claw 105 Locking lever 105a Locking claw 106 Lever member 110 Support shaft 111 Locking lever 112 Solenoid 113 Energizing spring 114 Actuating member 115 Locking claw

Claims (3)

In an image forming apparatus in which a waste toner box is disposed between an opening / closing door that is attached to the apparatus main body so as to be freely opened and closed, and a photosensitive unit.
An image forming apparatus, wherein a waste toner box is selected and supported at a first position where the photoconductor unit can be replaced and a second position maintained within the apparatus main body.   First locking means for locking the waste toner box to the opening / closing door, second locking means for locking the waste toner box to the apparatus main body, the first locking means, and second And switching the state of the locking means. The waste toner box is locked to the opening / closing door by the first locking means, and the waste toner box is rotated together with the opening / closing door to rotate the waste toner box. The waste toner box is supported at a position 1, the waste toner box is locked to the apparatus main body by the second locking means, and the waste toner box is maintained in the apparatus main body to be in the second position. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the waste toner box is supported on the image forming apparatus. In an image forming apparatus in which a waste toner box is disposed between an opening / closing door that is attached to the apparatus main body so as to be freely opened and closed, and a photosensitive unit.
A first locking means for locking the waste toner box to the opening / closing door; and a second locking means for locking the waste toner box to the apparatus main body; The box is locked by the first locking means, the waste toner box is rotatable with the opening / closing door, and the waste toner box is locked to the apparatus main body by the second locking means. An image forming apparatus configured to be switchable between a state in which the waste toner box is maintained in the apparatus main body.

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