JP2023119796A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To remove developer remaining in a supply path.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus has: image carriers 23 that carry images on their surfaces; developing devices 40 that supply developer onto the image carriers 23; supply paths 71 for supplying developer to the developing devices 40; and developer containers 10Y, 10C, 10M, 10Bk that store developer therein and can be removably mounted on the supply paths 71. The image forming apparatus is provided with cleaning paths 75 branching from the supply paths 71, and the cleaning paths 75 have connection parts 76 to which a suction port 201 of a suction device 200 is connected.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art As an image forming apparatus such as a copier or a printer, there is known an apparatus capable of forming an image by removing a developer container containing a normal developer and replacing it with a developer container containing a different type of developer. there is

In such an image forming apparatus, when the developer container is replaced, if the developer before replacement remains in the apparatus, the different types of developer after replacement and before replacement are mixed, resulting in an abnormal image. there is a risk of

Therefore, in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent No. 6201492), before exchanging the developer container, the developer remaining in the apparatus is transported to the developing device and recovered, and then the developer container and the developing device are separated. It has been proposed to replace the

In the method described in Patent Document 1, the developer remaining in the apparatus is recovered by normal transporting operation to the developing device, but there is residual developer that cannot be recovered by normal transporting operation. For example, in the supply path connecting the developer container and the developing device, a transport screw or the like for transporting the developer is provided. The developer remaining in the vicinity of the bearing of the screw cannot be conveyed by the rotating operation of the conveying screw. For this reason, the method described in Patent Document 1 may not be able to remove the developer remaining in the supply path.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an image carrier that carries an image on its surface, a developing device that supplies developer onto the image carrier, and a supply for supplying the developer to the developing device. In an image forming apparatus comprising a path and a developer container that stores the developer inside and is detachable from the supply path, a cleaning path branching from the supply path is provided, and the cleaning path is a suction device for suction. It is characterized by having a connecting part to which the mouth is connected.

According to the present invention, the developer remaining in the supply path can be removed.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of a process unit according to the embodiment; FIG. It is a schematic block diagram of the supply apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a cleaning path according to the embodiment; FIG. It is a figure which shows an example of a cover member. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which a toner bottle to be replaced and a process unit are removed; It is a figure which shows the state which is performing cleaning work using a suction device. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which a toner bottle of a special color and a process unit are attached; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example in which an open/close detection unit that detects an open/closed state of a cover member is provided; FIG. 10 illustrates a control flow for the example shown in FIG. 9; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example in which an attachment detection unit that detects attachment states of a toner bottle and a process unit and a notification unit that notifies a user or the like of a warning or the like; FIG. 11 illustrates a control flow for the example shown in FIG. 10; It is a figure which shows an example of the warning notified by the notification part. It is a figure which shows an example of the cleaning work guidance notified by the notification part. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example in which a suction device is provided inside an image forming apparatus; FIG. 16 illustrates a control flow for the example shown in FIG. 15;

The present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in each drawing for explaining the present invention, constituent elements such as members and constituent parts having the same function or shape are given the same reference numerals as much as possible, and once explained, the explanation will be repeated. omitted.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. Here, the "image forming apparatus" in this specification includes a printer, a copier, a facsimile machine, a printing machine, or a multifunction machine combining two or more of these. Further, the term "image formation" used in the following description means not only formation of meaningful images such as characters and graphics, but also formation of meaningless images such as patterns. First, referring to FIG. 1, the overall configuration and operation of the image forming apparatus according to this embodiment will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes an image reading section 1 for reading an image on a document, a document conveying section 2 for conveying the document to the image reading section 1, and a sheet such as paper. An image forming section 3 for forming an image on a recording medium having a shape, a fixing section 4 for fixing an image on the recording medium, a recording medium supplying section 5 for supplying the recording medium to the image forming section 3, and a recording medium to the outside of the apparatus. It is provided with a recording medium discharge section 6 for discharging and a bottle housing section 7 housing a plurality of toner bottles 10Y, 10C, 10M, and 10Bk.

The image reading unit 1 is provided with an image reading device for reading an image on a document. An image reading device is a device that reads an image of a document placed on a contact glass or an image of a document passing over the contact glass. Specifically, the image reading apparatus includes a light source for irradiating light onto a document placed on a contact glass, and a CCD (charge-coupled device) as image reading means for reading an image from light reflected from the document. Also, a contact image sensor (CIS) or the like may be used as the image reading means.

The document conveying unit 2 is provided with a document conveying device that separates the originals one by one from the original tray and conveys the originals toward the contact glass of the image reading unit 1 . The document conveying device includes a plurality of conveying rollers as document conveying means.

The image forming section 3 includes four process units 22Y, 22C, 22M, and 22Bk as image forming units, and an exposure unit for forming an electrostatic latent image on a photosensitive member, which will be described later, provided in each of the process units 22Y, 22C, 22M, and 22Bk. A device 8 and a transfer device 9 for transferring an image onto a recording medium are provided.

The transfer device 9 includes an intermediate transfer belt 11 , a primary transfer roller 12 and a secondary transfer roller 13 . The intermediate transfer belt 11 is an endless belt member and is stretched by a plurality of support rollers. Four primary transfer rollers 12 are provided inside the intermediate transfer belt 11 . A primary transfer nip is formed between the intermediate transfer belt 11 and each photoreceptor by contacting each of the primary transfer rollers 12 with the photoreceptors of the process units 22Y, 22C, 22M, and 22Bk via the intermediate transfer belt 11. ing. The secondary transfer roller 13 contacts the outer peripheral surface of the intermediate transfer belt 11 to form a secondary transfer nip.

A fixing device 14 is provided in the fixing section 4 . The fixing device 14 includes a pair of rotating bodies 15 and 16 that contact each other to form a fixing nip. Of the pair of rotating bodies 15 and 16, the rotating body 15 arranged on the image carrying surface side of the recording medium has a heating source 17 such as a heater inside.

The recording medium supply unit 5 is provided with a paper feed cassette 18 that stores paper P as a recording medium, and a paper feed roller 19 that feeds the paper P from the paper feed cassette 18 . Hereinafter, the "recording medium" will be described as "paper", but the "recording medium" is not limited to paper (paper). The "recording medium" includes not only paper but also OHP sheets or fabrics, metal sheets, plastic films, or prepreg sheets in which carbon fibers are previously impregnated with resin. In addition to plain paper, "paper" includes thick paper, postcards, envelopes, thin paper, coated paper (coated paper, art paper, etc.), tracing paper, and the like.

The recording medium discharge unit 6 is provided with a pair of paper discharge rollers 20 for discharging the paper P to the outside of the image forming apparatus, and a paper discharge tray 21 for placing the paper P discharged by the paper discharge rollers 20 .

The bottle containing portion 7 contains a plurality of toner bottles 10Y, 10C, 10M, and 10Bk, which are developer containers. Each of the toner bottles 10Y, 10C, 10M, and 10Bk contains toner, which is developer of different colors such as yellow, cyan, magenta, and black.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration of a process unit according to this embodiment. The plurality of process units 22Y, 22C, 22M, and 22Bk have basically the same configuration except that they contain toners of different colors. explain.

As shown in FIG. 2, the process unit 22 includes a photoreceptor 23 as an image carrier that carries an image on its surface, a charging device 30 that charges the surface of the photoreceptor 23 , and toner on the surface of the photoreceptor 23 . Developing device 40 supplies lubricant to form a toner image, cleaning device 50 cleans the surface of photoreceptor 23 , and lubricant supply device 60 supplies lubricant to the surface of photoreceptor 23 .

The charging device 30 includes a charging roller 31 as a charging member arranged to face the photoreceptor 23 and a cleaning roller 32 arranged to contact the charging roller 31 .

The developing device 40 includes a developing roller 41 as a developer carrier carrying toner on its surface, a developing blade 42 as a regulating member for regulating the amount of toner on the developing roller 41 , and a toner conveying toner to the developing roller 41 . A plurality of conveying screws 43 and 44 are provided as conveying members.

The cleaning device 50 includes a cleaning blade 51 as a cleaning member for removing residual toner on the photoreceptor 23, and a conveying coil 52 as a waste toner conveying member for conveying the removed toner to a waste toner bottle or the like.

The lubricant supply device 60 includes a lubricant 61, a supply roller 62 as a lubricant supply member for supplying the lubricant 61 to the photoreceptor 23, and smoothing the lubricant supplied to the photoreceptor 23 into a uniform thin layer. and a leveling blade 63 as a lubricant leveling member.

Next, the printing operation of the image forming apparatus 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG.

First, when a document is conveyed by the document conveying section 2 and the image of the document is read by the image reading section 1, the image forming operation is started in each of the process units 22Y, 22C, 22M, and 22Bk based on the read image information. be.

Specifically, in each of the process units 22Y, 22C, 22M, and 22Bk, as shown in FIG. be done. Next, the exposure device 8 exposes the surface (charged surface) of each photoreceptor 23 based on the read image information, and the potential of the exposed portion of each photoreceptor 23 is lowered to form an electrostatic latent image. be done. Toner is supplied from the developing roller 41 to the electrostatic latent image, and a toner image is formed on each photosensitive member 23 . The toner images formed on the photoreceptors 23 are transferred onto the rotating intermediate transfer belt 11 so as to overlap one another when they reach the primary transfer nip (the position of the primary transfer roller 12) as each photoreceptor 23 rotates. be done. Thus, a full-color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 11 . In the image forming apparatus 100, any one of the process units 22Y, 22C, 22M, and 22Bk is used to form a monochrome image, or two or three of the process units are used to form a two-color image. A three-color image can also be formed. After the toner image is transferred from each photoreceptor 23 to the intermediate transfer belt 11, the toner remaining on each photoreceptor 23 is removed by the cleaning blade 51, and the surface of each photoreceptor 23 is lubricated by the supply roller 62. Agent 61 is dispensed and ready for the next imaging.

The toner image transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 11 is conveyed to the secondary transfer nip (the position of the secondary transfer roller 13) shown in FIG. . The paper P is the paper P supplied from the paper feed cassette 18 , and the paper P is sent out from the paper feed cassette 18 by rotating the paper feed roller 19 . The sent paper P is temporarily stopped by a pair of timing rollers 24, and then conveyed by the timing rollers 24 in synchronization with the timing at which the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 11 reaches the secondary transfer nip.

The paper P onto which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed to the fixing device 14 and passes between the pair of rotating members 15 and 16 (fixing nip). At this time, the toner image on the paper P is fixed to the paper P by heating and pressurizing the paper P. FIG. Then, the paper P is discharged to the paper discharge tray 21 by the paper discharge rollers 20, and a series of image forming operations is completed.

As described above, when the printing operation is performed and the toner in the developing device 40 is consumed, the amount of toner in the developing device 40 decreases. As a result, when the amount of toner in the developing device 40 falls below the threshold value, toner is supplied from the toner bottles 10Y, 10C, 10M, and 10Bk to the developing device 40 requiring replenishment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of a supply device 70 for supplying toner from the toner bottle 10 to the developing device 40 according to this embodiment. Note that the supply device 70 is provided individually for each of the plurality of toner bottles 10Y, 10C, 10M, and 10Bk shown in FIG. The configuration will be described by taking one supply device 70 shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the supply device 70 includes a supply path 71 connecting the toner bottle 10 and the developing device 40, a sub-hopper 72 provided in the supply path 71, an agitator 73 as an agitating member, and a conveying member. It has a conveying screw 74 as. In addition, the supply device 70 may be provided with a mono pump, or may be provided with a diaphragm pump and a conveying tube.

The sub-hopper 72 is a storage unit that temporarily stores toner, and constitutes a part of the supply path 71 . The agitator 73 is an agitating member that agitates the toner inside the sub-hopper 72 . The conveying screw 74 conveys toner in the supply path 71 between the sub-hopper 72 and the developing device 40 .

As shown in FIG. 3, when the toner bottle 10 is mounted in the bottle accommodating portion 7 and is driven to rotate, the spiral projections formed on the inner peripheral surface of the toner bottle 10 cause the inside of the toner bottle 10 to rotate. of toner is delivered to the supply path 71 . The toner is accommodated in the sub-hopper 72 , agitated by the rotating agitator 73 , and then transported to the developing device 40 by the transport screw 74 .

Here, in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, in addition to toner bottles containing commonly used toners such as yellow, cyan, magenta, and black, which are color separation components of a color image, gold, silver, colorless ( (invisible) and other special color toner can be selectively attached and detached. When forming an image using spot color toner, it is necessary to replace one or a plurality of toner bottles containing normal toner with a spot color toner bottle. At this time, if the normal toner remains in the supply path 71, the special color toner supplied from the replaced toner bottle and the normal toner may be mixed with each other, resulting in an abnormal image due to color mixture.

Therefore, the image forming apparatus according to this embodiment is provided with a cleaning path for removing residual toner in the supply path 71 . The configuration of the cleaning path according to this embodiment will be described below.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a cleaning path according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 4, one cleaning path 75 is provided in each supply path 71 connecting each toner bottle 10Y, 10C, 10M, 10Bk and the developing device 40 of each process unit 22Y, 22C, 22M, 22Bk. It is provided so as to branch. Each cleaning path 75 is provided independently of each other (so as not to communicate with each other), and an end 75b opposite to the end 75a connected to the supply path 71 of each cleaning path 75 extends from the main body 101 of the image forming apparatus. It is placed in a position that can be exposed to the outside. Also, the end 75b arranged at this exposed position is provided with a connection portion 76 to which a suction port of a suction device, which will be described later, can be connected. It should be noted that the term “connection” used here means the case where the suction port of the suction device is fixed or connected to the connection portion 76 (the opening of the cleaning path 75 ), or the case where the suction port is fixed to the connection portion 76 . It also includes the case where it is simply inserted without being processed. The connecting portions 76 are provided for each cleaning path 75 (four in the case of this embodiment). Further, the image forming apparatus main body 101 is provided with a cover member 80 that covers each connection portion 76 so that it can be opened and closed, and the connection portion 76 is exposed when the cover member 80 is opened.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the cover member 80. As shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, the cover member 80 is attached rotatably in the direction of the arrow in the figure via a hinge mechanism 82 provided on the exterior of the image forming apparatus main body 101 or the like. Further, the cover member 80 may be configured to be opened and closed by being attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body 101 . In the example shown in FIG. 5, the cover member 80 has a lock member 81, and when the cover member 80 is closed, the lock member 81 is engaged with the engaging portion 102 provided on the image forming apparatus main body 101 side. The mating holds the cover member 80 closed. A seal member 103 is provided around the portion of the cleaning path 75 where the connecting portion 76 is exposed. The perimeter of portion 76 is sealed. As a result, scattering of toner from the connection portion 76 is prevented. FIG. 5 shows an example in which one cover member 80 covers one connection portion 76 , but one cover member 80 may cover a plurality of connection portions 76 .

Next, a procedure for replacing the toner bottle 10 and cleaning the supply path 71 will be described.

To replace a toner bottle containing normal toner with a toner bottle containing special color toner, first, as shown in FIG. Remove from forming apparatus 100 . In this case, the black image toner bottle 10Bk and the process unit 22Bk are removed, but the toner bottle and process unit to be replaced may be a toner bottle and process unit other than those for black images.

Next, the supply path 71 is cleaned before the toner bottle for the spot color image and the process unit are attached. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the cover member 80 is opened, and the connecting portion 76 of the cleaning path 75 branching from the black toner supply path 71 (the supply path 71 from which the toner bottle and the process unit are removed) is removed. The suction port 201 of the suction device 200 is connected to the . Then, the suction device 200 is operated to suck the toner remaining in the supply path 71 . As a result, the toner (black toner) remaining in the supply path 71 is sucked and collected into the suction device 200 . When the cleaning work by suction is finished, the suction port 201 of the suction device 200 is removed from the connecting portion 76, and the cover member 80 is closed.

Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the toner bottle 10S for the spot color image and the process unit 22S are attached to the image forming apparatus (supply path 71). As a result, the toner bottle 10S for the spot color image and the developing device 40 are connected via the supply path 71, and the spot color toner can be supplied from the toner bottle 10S to the developing device 40. FIG. As described above, the cleaning work and the replacement work are completed. When replacing toner bottles and process units for non-black images with toner bottles and process units for special color images, the same cleaning procedure is performed.

As described above, in the present embodiment, by cleaning the supply path 71 using the suction device 200, residual toner in the supply path 71 can be effectively sucked and removed. That is, in the present embodiment, cleaning is performed by sucking the residual toner in the supply path 71 using the suction device 200 instead of conveying the residual toner in the supply path by a normal transport operation such as a transport screw. Therefore, toner remaining between the conveying screw and the inner wall surface of the supply path as well as toner remaining between the agitator and the inner wall surface of the sub-hopper can be effectively removed. Therefore, according to the cleaning method according to the present embodiment, it is possible to solve the problem of color mixture caused by replacing the toner bottle to a high degree.

Further, in the method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-100000, in order to eliminate the increase in toner concentration in the developing device due to the transport of residual toner to the developing device, the toner is discharged to form an image on the photoreceptor while no paper is being passed. mode is executed to lower the toner density in the developing device, but in this embodiment, there is no need to execute such a toner discharge mode. Further, in the method described in Patent Document 1, residual toner is removed by a photoreceptor cleaning device or an intermediate transfer belt cleaning device in order to collect the toner discharged onto the photoreceptor. Also, there is a possibility that cleaning failure may occur due to an increase in the amount of toner entering the cleaning device. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, unlike the toner discharge mode, the toner is not forcibly discharged, so there is no fear of cleaning failure caused by an increase in the amount of toner entering the cleaning device. Therefore, in the present embodiment, it is possible to avoid contamination of the photoreceptor and the intermediate transfer belt due to poor cleaning, as well as image defects and contamination of the paper due to contamination of the secondary transfer roller in contact with the intermediate transfer belt.

In the present embodiment, the cover member 80 is closed after the cleaning work of the supply path 71 is completed. If the image forming apparatus starts to be driven without the cover member 80 being closed, the toner in the supply path 71 may scatter outside through the cleaning path 75 . Therefore, it is preferable not to drive the image forming apparatus while the cover member 80 is open.

In the example shown in FIG. 9, an image forming apparatus main body 101 is provided with an open/close detection unit 91 for detecting the open/closed state of the cover member 80, and the image forming operation of the image forming apparatus is driven based on the detection result of the open/close detection unit 91. This is an example of controlling the

In this case, as shown in FIG. 10, when the opening/closing detection unit 91 detects the open state of the cover member 80, the drive control unit 90 drives the image forming apparatus (image forming operation, etc.) based on the detection signal. control not to do so. As a result, the toner can be prevented from scattering when the image forming apparatus is driven with the cover member 80 opened. As the open/close detector 91, for example, a sensor or the like that detects whether or not the locking member 81 and the engaging portion 102 are engaged (locked) can be used.

In this embodiment, the cleaning work is performed in a state in which the toner bottle and the process unit (developing device) are not attached to the supply path 71 (see FIG. 7). If cleaning work is performed with at least one of the process units attached, there is a risk that the toner in the toner bottle or the process unit (developing device) will be sucked. If the toner in the toner bottle is sucked, the amount of toner in the toner bottle will decrease, and it will become impossible to secure the predetermined number of image output sheets corresponding to one toner bottle. Further, when the toner in the process unit (developing device) is sucked, there is a possibility that an abnormal image such as uneven density may occur due to insufficient toner in the process unit. Therefore, it is preferable not to perform the cleaning work while the toner bottle or process unit is attached.

The example shown in FIG. 11 includes a mounting detector 92 for detecting mounting of the toner bottle and the process unit (developing device), and a user, etc., to prevent cleaning work while the toner bottle or the process unit is mounted. This is an example in which a notification unit 93 for notifying a warning or the like is provided. In the example shown in FIG. 11, as in the example shown in FIG. 9, an open/close detector 91 detects the open/close state of the cover member 80, and image formation is performed based on the detection result of the open/close detector 91. A drive control section 90 is also provided for controlling the drive of the device. As the mounting detection unit 92, for example, an IC chip reading unit that reads information from an IC chip provided in the toner bottle and the process unit when they are mounted can be used. Whether or not the process unit is attached can also be determined by detecting a change in the voltage or current applied to the charging roller due to whether or not the process unit is attached. The notification unit 93 is, for example, a message display unit or an audio output unit provided in the image forming apparatus.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 12, when the open/close detector 91 detects the open state of the cover member 80, the attachment detector 92 detects attachment of at least one of the toner bottle and the process unit. Then, the notification unit 93 issues a warning. An example of the warning notified at this time is shown in FIG.

In this way, when at least one of the toner bottle and the process unit is attached while the cover member 80 is open, a cleaning worker such as a user is prompted to perform cleaning work by receiving a warning notification. Before starting, it can be recognized that a toner bottle or a process unit is attached to the supply path 71 to be cleaned. As a result, it is possible to prevent the cleaning operation from being started while the toner bottle or process unit is attached.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 12, when the open/close detection unit 91 detects the open state of the cover member 80 and the installation detection unit 92 does not detect the installation of the toner bottle and the process unit, the cleaning operation is started. Since it may be performed, the notification unit 93 notifies the cleaning work guidance. An example of guidance notified at this time is shown in FIG.

Regardless of whether or not the toner bottle and the process unit are attached, if the open state of the cover member 80 is detected, cleaning work may be performed. Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 12, when the open/close detector 91 detects the open state of the cover member 80, control is performed such that the image forming operation is not performed.

As described above, according to the method according to the embodiment and each example of the present invention, it is only necessary to connect the suction port 201 of the suction device 200 to the connection portion 76 (see FIG. 7) and perform suction from the outside of the image forming apparatus. , the residual toner in the supply path 71 can be removed. Therefore, the cleaning operator does not need to perform complicated cleaning work, and can simply and effectively remove the residual toner in the supply path 71 .

Further, in order to further reduce the burden on the operator, the cleaning work may be performed by a suction device 200 provided inside the image forming apparatus main body 101, as in the example shown in FIG. In this case, each cleaning path 75 (each connection portion 76 ) is connected to the suction device 200 . The suction device 200 is configured to be able to select and suction from among the cleaning paths 75 . The suction device 200 is also connected to a waste toner collection container 300 provided in the image forming apparatus main body 101, and the toner sucked by the suction device 200 is sent to the waste toner collection container 300 and collected.

By automatically performing the cleaning work by the suction device 200 in the image forming apparatus in this manner, the burden of the cleaning work can be reduced. Also in this case, in order to prevent the toner from being sucked while the toner bottle or the process unit is attached, the attachment of at least one of the toner bottle and the process unit is detected as shown in FIG. In this case, it is preferable to control so that the suction device 200 is not driven.

As described above, the embodiment of the present invention has been described by taking as an example the case of exchanging the toner bottle containing the toner that is normally used with the toner bottle of the special color. It can also be applied to the work of exchanging toner bottles containing other toners. Further, the present invention is not limited to the image forming apparatus in which a plurality of toner bottles can be attached and detached as described above, but can also be applied to an image forming apparatus having only one attachable and detachable toner bottle.

3 image forming unit 10 toner bottle (developer storage unit)
23 photoreceptor (image carrier)
40 developing device 71 supply path 75 cleaning path 76 connecting portion 80 cover member 100 image forming apparatus 101 image forming apparatus main body 200 suction device 201 suction port

Japanese Patent No. 6201492

Claims (7)

an image carrier that carries an image on its surface;
a developing device that supplies a developer onto the image carrier;
a supply path for supplying the developer to the developing device;
In an image forming apparatus including a developer container that contains the developer inside and that is attachable to and detachable from the supply path,
A cleaning route branching from the supply route is provided,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the cleaning path has a connecting portion to which a suction port of a suction device is connected. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the connecting portion is arranged at a position where the suction device can be connected from the outside of the image forming apparatus main body. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a cover member for covering said connecting portion is provided on said image forming apparatus main body so as to be openable and closable. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the image forming apparatus is not driven while the cover member is open. The developing device is detachable from the supply path,
5. The image forming method according to claim 3, wherein a warning is issued when the cover member is opened while at least one of the developing device and the developer container is attached to the supply path. Device. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the suction device is arranged inside the main body of the image forming apparatus. The developing device is detachable from the supply path,
7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the suction device is not driven while at least one of the developing device and the developer container is attached to the supply path.

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