JP3225364B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus in which a toner image is formed on an image carrier by an electrophotographic method and is transferred onto a transfer material to obtain an image.

In particular, the present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile, etc., in which a process cartridge in which an image carrier and an image forming apparatus such as a developing unit and a cleaning unit are unitized is detachably provided.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art As image forming apparatuses such as printers and copiers have become smaller, lighter, and more sophisticated, the density and complexity of image forming apparatuses have been increasing.

On the other hand, an image forming apparatus having a process cartridge in which an image carrier and image forming means such as a developing means and a cleaning means are united has been developed so that an operator as a general user can easily perform maintenance and management. Was.

In an image forming apparatus such as a printer or a copying machine having the process cartridge, when an image carrier or the like in the process cartridge is worn out or deteriorated, the operator replaces the process cartridge itself, so that an operator who does not have specialized knowledge can replace the image carrier. The user can easily maintain and manage the image forming apparatus. For this purpose, a guide member for the process cartridge is provided in the apparatus main body, and the apparatus can be loaded so that an optimum image can be obtained only by inserting the process cartridge along the guide member. In such a case, in the conventional apparatus, the direction in which the process cartridge is inserted is orthogonal to the direction in which the transfer material is loaded. Therefore, the handling direction of the process cartridge is different from the handling direction of the transfer material, and these operations are troublesome. In addition, the spatial restriction for installing the image forming apparatus has to be increased. Further, in the case of maintenance, it was necessary to increase the work space.

In order to solve these disadvantages, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-279870 has been proposed.
Publication was proposed. That is, by making the loading direction of the transfer material coincide with the attaching / detaching direction of the process cartridge provided in the upper housing, the handling and operation of the consumables can be facilitated, and the restriction of the working space can be reduced. A device has been proposed.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION However, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-279
In the image forming apparatus disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 870, when exchanging a process cartridge, the operator must open the upper housing, pull out the process cartridge from the upper housing, and further take out the process cartridge. Therefore, the operation is not only very troublesome, but also requires a great deal of power when the process cartridge is heavy or large.

[0008] Further, in the paper transport path in the image forming apparatus,
When a paper jam occurs, it is necessary to remove the transfer material by hand in a narrow space inside the device, and no matter how much the upper housing is opened, sufficient working space cannot be secured. Jam handling becomes difficult,
In addition, the user sometimes directly touches the toner-stained portion or the image carrier. Further, even if the process cartridge is moved or removed in order to secure the work space, it is necessary for the operator himself to pull out the process cartridge from the upper housing greatly, and these operations are cumbersome, and the jam clearance is easily performed. It has the disadvantage of not being able to do so.

Further, when the process cartridge is inserted into and removed from the developing device main body, there is no fear of leakage of toner or developer from the developing device, scumming and the like. A compact printer having a process cartridge free from the above problem has not been proposed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks, and an object of the present invention is to move and replace a process cartridge without fail by a simple operation without fail. Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that does not cause leakage of a developer or the like, or occurrence of bleeding.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus capable of easily and safely performing a processing operation for a sheet jam or the like generated in a sheet conveying path in the image forming apparatus and an inspection and repair in the apparatus. It is intended for.

[0012]

The above object is at least achieved by the following.
Process cart having image carrier, cleaner and developer
The ridge is detachable from the main unit,
Are required when forming an image and when attaching or detaching a process cartridge.
Has a toner replenishing section that allows the
A transfer pipe for transferring toner from the toner supply unit
Is connected to the opening provided in the upper connecting member, and
Is a lower unit with an opening to receive the supplied toner.
A connection member, the upper connection member and the lower connection member
Are in a vertical position facing each other during image formation.
The opening and closing of the opening provided in each connecting member
The printer is opened to allow toner to be supplied, and the
As the cartridge moves, the shutter closes and the shutter closes.
Toner supply is not possible, and the toner
When the replenishing unit is located at the position for image formation,
The upper and lower positional relationship between the member and the lower connecting member is engaged.
And the toner supply section attaches the process cartridge.
When in the disengaged position, the engagement is released
This is achieved by an image forming apparatus characterized in that:

[0013]

[0014]

[0015]

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a left side view showing a main cross section of a color printer to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the color printer. The apparatus main body 10 is surrounded by an openable and closable operation panel 11 and a panel lower part 111 on the front surface thereof, an openable and closable upper cover (upper lid member) 12, a toner supply cover 13, and the like. And a paper feed cassette 16 are provided.

In FIG. 1, a photosensitive belt 17 serving as an image bearing member has a flexible belt surface coated with a photosensitive layer such as an organic photoconductive layer, and is provided between a driving roller 18 and a driven roller 19. It is stretched. The drive roller 18 rotates via a drive gear meshing with a gear provided on the apparatus main body 10, and conveys the photoreceptor belt 17 clockwise. Further, the distance between each of the developing sleeves 231a, 231b, 231c and 231d of each of the plurality of developing units 23a, 23b, 23c and 23d and the photoreceptor belt 17 is kept constant by the spacing member 20, and the distance is stable and good. It is possible to form an image. In the present embodiment, the photoreceptor belt 17 is used as an image carrier, but the present invention is not limited to this, and can be applied to other image carriers having a photoconductive layer such as a photoreceptor drum.

Around the photoreceptor belt 17, there are provided charging means, exposure means, developing means, transfer means and cleaning means.

The charging means is provided to uniformly charge the photosensitive layer on the surface of the photoreceptor belt 17 with a predetermined polarity, and is an existing charger 21 such as a corona charger and a scorotron charger. For a conductive layer (OPC) photoreceptor, a scorotron charger is preferably used.

The exposing means is a semiconductor laser writing system unit 22, and the photosensitive belt 17 charged by the charger 21.
Is exposed to form an electrostatic latent image.

The developing means includes a developer of a different color, for example, a toner of each color of yellow, magenta, cyan and black.
(Developer) containing a plurality of developing devices 23a and 23, respectively.
b, 23c and 23d. Each of these developing units 23a to 23d
Developing sleeve 231a maintaining a predetermined gap with photoreceptor belt 17
231d and a stirring screw 232a for stirring each color toner
232d, and has a function of visualizing an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive belt 17 into a toner image by a non-contact developing method. This non-contact development method differs from the contact development method in that the photoreceptor belt
A good color image can be obtained because the previous toner image formed on 17 is not damaged and the movement of the photoreceptor belt 17 is not hindered. The developing means is not limited to color development using four different color toners as in this embodiment,
Two-color or three-color toner may be used. In this case, the developing means may be provided around the photoreceptor belt 17 with developing devices corresponding to the number of toner colors.

The transfer unit transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive belt 17 onto the transfer material P by a transfer unit 24 such as a transfer corona discharger. As a transfer means, a transfer device 24
Instead, an existing transfer member such as a transfer drum may be used.

The cleaning means 25 has a cleaning blade 251 which is kept at a position separated from the surface of the photoreceptor belt 17 during the image forming process, and is used only when cleaning after transferring the toner image onto the transfer material. The photosensitive member belt 17 is provided so as to be pressed against the surface of the belt 17 to clean the photosensitive member belt 17.

The toner collecting box 26 is for collecting and storing the residual toner on the photoreceptor belt 17 removed by the cleaning means 25 via the toner collecting pipe 262 by the waste toner screw 261.

In this embodiment, the photoreceptor belt 17, the charging device 21, the developing devices 23a to 23d containing the toners of the respective colors, which constitute the image forming section of the printer described above, the cleaning means
25 and the respective process units of the toner collection box 26 are housed in an integrated process cartridge 15 to form a unit,
It can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body 10 at a time. However, the process unit to be unitized in the process cartridge 15 is not limited to this, as long as at least the photosensitive belt 17 and the developing units 23a to 23d or the photosensitive belt 17 and the cleaning unit 25 are unitized. Alternatively, other process units may be unitized together.

The process of forming a color image by the color image forming apparatus having the above configuration is performed as follows.

First, the process cartridge 15 is mounted on the apparatus main body.
10 and ready for image formation.
When an image signal of a first color output from an image reading device separate from the apparatus main body 10 is input to the laser writing system unit 22, the laser writing system unit 22
A laser beam is generated by a semiconductor laser (not shown). The laser beam is rotationally scanned by a polygon mirror 221 rotated by a drive motor (not shown), passes through an fθ lens 222, a cylindrical lens 224, and three mirrors 223, and is uniformly charged to a predetermined charge by the charger 21 in advance. The light is projected onto the peripheral surface of the charged photoreceptor belt 17 to form a bright line.

On the other hand, in the sub-scanning direction, a belt index (not shown) corresponding to a specific position of the photosensitive belt 17 is detected or a print command signal is received, and the detection or the command signal is used as a reference. Thus, the main scanning line at which the modulation of the semiconductor laser by the image signal is started is determined. When the scanning is started, a laser beam is detected by an index sensor (not shown) in the main scanning direction, and the modulation of the semiconductor laser by the image signal of the first color is started based on the detected signal. The modulated laser beam scans the surface of the photoreceptor belt 17. Therefore,
A latent image corresponding to the first color is formed on the surface of the photosensitive belt 17 uniformly charged by the main scanning by the laser beam and the sub-scanning by the conveyance of the photosensitive belt 17. This latent image is developed by a developing unit 23a containing yellow toner corresponding to the first color among the developing means, and the photosensitive belt
A yellow toner image is formed on the surface of 17. Thereafter, the photosensitive belt 17 passes by a cleaning blade 251 that is separated from the surface of the photosensitive belt 17 while holding the yellow toner image on the surface thereof, and then starts image formation of the second color.

That is, the photoreceptor belt 17 on which the yellow toner image is formed is uniformly charged again by the charger 21.
Next, a second color image signal is input to the laser writing system unit 22, and writing on the surface of the photoreceptor belt 17 is performed as in the case of the first color image signal described above, and a latent image is formed. It is formed. The latent image is developed by a developing device 23b containing magenta toner as the second color. The magenta toner image is formed in the presence of the already formed yellow toner image.

Similarly, after the latent image is formed by the third color image signal, a cyan toner image is formed by the developing device 23c containing the cyan toner, and further, after the latent image is formed by the fourth color image signal, the black toner is formed. A black toner image is superimposed on the surface of the photoreceptor belt 17 by a developing device 23d that contains toner,
A color toner image is formed on the surface of the photoreceptor belt 17.

The developing sleeves of these developing units 23a to 23d
A DC or AC bias is applied to 231a to 231d, and reversal development (jumping phenomenon) is performed in a non-contact manner on the photosensitive belt 17 whose base is grounded. In the non-contact development, either a one-component developer or a two-component developer can be used. When a one-component developer is used, there is no need to provide a toner hopper separately from the developing unit, and the size can be reduced. However, the development method using a two-component developer is superior in terms of development stability. Therefore, it is preferable in color reproduction.

The color toner image formed on the surface of the photoreceptor belt 17 as described above is supplied from a paper supply cassette 16 by a paper supply roller 27 to a transfer material synchronized with the color toner image by a timing roller 28. Transcribed. The transfer unit 24 performs transfer by applying a high-voltage power output having a polarity opposite to that of the toner.

The transfer material P on which the color toner image has been transferred in this manner is surely separated by the photoreceptor belt 17 which changes direction rapidly (small diameter curvature) along the driving roller 18, and
It is transported upward by the transport belt 29. Note that the transport belt 29 is provided with a suction unit 291 to reliably transport the belt upward while sucking. Then, the transfer material P is transferred to the fixing roller 30.
After the toner is melted and fixed, the paper is discharged by the paper discharge roller 31 onto the upper surface of the upper cover 12 which also serves as a paper discharge tray.

On the other hand, the photoreceptor belt 17 after the transfer of the color toner image onto the transfer material P is further conveyed clockwise,
The remaining toner is removed and cleaned by the cleaning unit 25 in which the cleaning blade 251 is pressed. After cleaning is completed, clean the blade again.
251 separates from the photoreceptor belt 17 and enters a new image forming process.

[0036]

FIG. 3 shows a main part of the process cartridge of the image forming apparatus of the present invention.

In FIG. 3, the process cartridge 15 is provided with projecting members 36 for movement on both side surfaces thereof. On the other hand, in the process cartridge storage chamber of the apparatus main body 10, a guide member 37 for suspending the process cartridge 15 by fitting the projecting member 36 of the process cartridge 15 is attached to an internal structural member of the apparatus main body 10, and the process cartridge 15 Is suspended. A solenoid SOL2 is attached to an internal structural member of the apparatus main body 10. When the process cartridge 15 is mounted at a position where an image can be formed (see FIG. 1), the plunger P2 of the solenoid SOL2 projects the process cartridge 15. Element
It can be inserted and removed through holes provided in 36. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the process cartridge 15 is loaded at a position where an image can be formed, the plunger P2 of the solenoid SOL2 is inserted into a hole provided in the projecting member 36 of the process cartridge 15, and the process cartridge 15 is locked. Is shown. FIG. 1 also shows the process cartridge 15
3 shows the left side surface in the locked state.

In FIG. 1, a micro switch SW2 is a switch for operating a solenoid SOL2. A cam 112 for actuating an actuator of the micro switch SW2 is provided on a rotation shaft of a lower panel portion 111 below the operation panel 11.
Is provided. When the operation panel 11 is closed as shown in FIG.
Actuator is activated and the micro switch SW2 is
When it is turned ON, the solenoid SOL2 operates, and the process cartridge 15 is locked as shown in the figure. Therefore, when the operation panel 11 is opened to pull out or remove the process cartridge 15 from the apparatus main body 10, the micro switch SW2 is turned off and the plunger of the solenoid SOL2 moves upward to unlock the process cartridge 15. Is done. In FIG. 1, a solenoid SOL1 is provided as a lock member for locking and releasing the opening and closing of the operation panel 11. An operation panel 11 is integrally provided on an upper portion of the panel lower part 111, and a tip of the operation panel 11 is in contact with an end surface of the toner supply cover 13 as shown in the drawing, so that the operation panel 11 is closed. The solenoid SOL1 is attached to an internal structural member (not shown) of the apparatus main body 10, and the solenoid S
When the OL1 is actuated, the plunger P1 locks the tip of the operation panel 11 as shown in the figure, and thus locks the operation panel 11 in a closed state.

SW1 is a power switch of the present image forming apparatus.
・ It operates and stops when it is turned OFF. Therefore, when the power switch of the image forming apparatus is turned on and the apparatus operates as a color printer, the operation panel 11
Cannot be opened. Of course process cartridge
15 is also locked at the position where the image can be formed on the apparatus main body 10, so that stable image formation is possible.

Next, referring to FIG.
The attachment and detachment will be described.

In the paper transport path in the image forming apparatus,
When a paper jam or the like occurs or when the process cartridge is replaced, the process cartridge 15 is pulled out or removed from the apparatus main body 10. For that purpose, first, the power switch SW1 attached to the operation panel 11 is turned off. When the power switch SW1 is turned off, the operation of the solenoid SOL1 is stopped, and the plunger P1 moves downward as shown to unlock the tip of the operation panel 11. Therefore the operation panel
11 can be opened as shown, and the process cartridge
It will be in a state that does not prevent 15 drawers or removal. Then, the rotation of the operation panel 11 causes the cam 112 of the rotating shaft to stop pressing the actuator of the microswitch SW2, so that the microswitch SW2 is turned off, the operation of the solenoid SOL2 is stopped, and the plunger P
2 moves upward to release the lock of the process cartridge 15. Therefore, the process cartridge 15 can be pulled out as shown. The upper cover 12 can be opened as shown in the figure, for example, in the case of paper jam,
When it is necessary to insert the hand from above, the hand can be inserted in this manner, and the jam can be easily removed. At this time, since the power switch SW1 is already turned off, there is no fear of electric shock, and the operation can be performed with confidence.

When removing the process cartridge 15 from the apparatus main body 10, the process cartridge 15 is
The projecting member 36 provided on the side surface of the fifteen is pulled out until the projecting member 36 comes off. In this case, however, the work can be carried out with ease as described above.

The apparatus main body 10 of the process cartridge 15
Since the loading procedure is the reverse of the above procedure, the description is omitted.

Next, when attaching / detaching the process cartridge,
Another embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

The operation panel 11 is locked or released by turning ON / OFF the power switch SW1 and activating / deactivating the solenoid SOL1 by the ON / OFF operation as in the case of the above embodiment.

When the operation panel 11 is in a closed state, an arc-shaped leaf spring 113 for pressing the process cartridge 15 to a position where an image can be formed and positioning the process cartridge 15 at the position is provided at a lower portion 111 of the operation panel 11. Process cartridge 15
It is attached at the position where it abuts.

Therefore, if the power switch SW1 is turned off to open the operation panel 11, the process cartridge 15
Can be pulled out or taken out. Also, if the process cartridge 15 is inserted to a position where an image can be formed in the apparatus main body, the operation panel 11 is pressed to a completely closed state against the reaction force of the leaf spring 113 and the power switch SW1 is turned on, the solenoid SOL1 is turned on. Upon operation, the operation panel 11 is locked in the closed state as shown. Therefore, the process cartridge 15 is stably loaded in the image forming position in the apparatus main body by the spring force of the leaf spring 113, and stable image formation is possible.

Next, an example of images forming apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings of FIGS. 6 to 10 of the accompanying drawings. In the description of the present invention, the same reference numerals are given to the components having the same functions as the components of the above-described explanatory diagram.

In FIG. 6, reference numeral 35 denotes a toner replenishing hopper which is a toner replenishing unit, and is constituted by four toner replenishing hoppers for replenishing toner to each developing unit.

The above-mentioned toner supply hoppers are arranged in parallel in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper and are integrally connected. Each toner supply hopper is connected to each developing unit with a toner supply pipe having a built-in transport screw to reduce image density. The supply of toner is performed in response to.

The four toner supply hoppers are integrated as described above, and are guided by the guide frames 351 and 352 so as to be able to move integrally in the vertical direction. And guide frame 351
A spring member 354, which always has a lock pin 353 capable of locking the toner supply hopper 35 at the lower and upper positions thereof, and constantly presses the toner supply hopper 35 toward the toner supply hopper 35, is provided. Hopper 35 is locked. The illustrated lock position indicates a state in which the toner supply hopper 35 is locked at a lower position.

On the other hand, at the position of the toner supply hopper 35, the microswitch S
The actuator of W3 is operated by the side surface of the toner supply hopper 35, and the micro switch SW3 is turned ON. When the micro switch SW3 is turned on, the solenoid SOL2 and the solenoid SOL3 shown in FIG.
By the operation of OL2, the process cartridge 15 is locked at the position where an image can be formed as shown in the figure. In FIG. 9, the upper connecting plate PA, which is a detachable connecting portion for connecting the toner replenishing hopper 35 and the developing device of the process cartridge, and the lower connecting plate PB are not separated by the operation of SOL3 as shown in FIG. Will be locked. That is, in this state, the image forming apparatus can stably form an image as a color printer.
(The connection and disconnection of the toner supply hopper and the developing unit will be described later in detail.) In such a state, the process cartridge 15 cannot be pulled out of the apparatus main body 10 only by opening the operation panel 11 in the direction of the arrow. It will be different.

Next, referring to FIG.
The attachment and detachment will be described.

In the paper transport path in the image forming apparatus,
When a paper jam or the like occurs or when the process cartridge is replaced, the process cartridge 15 is pulled out or removed from the apparatus main body 10. For that purpose, first, the operation panel 11 and the toner supply cover 13 are opened as shown in the figure. Next, pull out the lock pin 353 that locks the toner supply hopper 35,
The toner supply hopper 35 can be moved upward. The toner supply hopper 35 is provided with a hole in which a lock pin 353 can be inserted so that the toner supply hopper 35 can be locked at an upper position of the toner supply hopper 35 which does not hinder the drawing out of the process cartridge 15. Since the spring member 354 always presses the lock pin 353 in the direction of the toner supply hopper 35 as described above, when the toner supply hopper 35 is raised to the position shown, the lock pin 353 moves the toner supply hopper 35 to the upper position. This will lock into the hole to be locked.

The toner replenishing pipe having a built-in transport screw connected to each toner replenishing hopper is flexible, and the toner replenishing hopper 35 is located at a position higher than that shown in FIG. Even if the toner supply hopper 35 is locked at the upper position, there is no trouble in moving the toner supply hopper 35 even if the toner supply hopper 35 is moved. Since the actuator of the micro switch SW3 is not pushed by the side surface of the toner supply hopper 35, the micro switch SW3 is turned off.
Becomes When the micro switch SW3 is turned off, the plungers of the solenoids SOL2 and SOL3 move upward as shown. Therefore, the lock of the process cartridge 15 is released, and at the same time, the lock of the connection between the upper connecting plate PA and the lower connecting plate PB in FIG. 9 which is a detachable connecting portion for connecting the toner supply hopper 35 and the developing device of the process cartridge 15. Will also be released. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, the process cartridge 15 can be pulled out from the apparatus main body 10. Further, in the case of paper jam, the upper cover 12 is opened as shown in the figure, so that the hand can be inserted from above to easily perform the jam processing.

When removing the process cartridge 15 from the apparatus main body 10, the process cartridge 15 is
The protrusions provided on the 15 side surfaces are pulled out until they come off. The operation in this case is the same as that of the embodiment described above . Further, the loading of the process cartridge 15 into the apparatus main body 10 is the same as in the embodiment described above .

Next, the connection and disconnection of the toner supply hopper and the developing device will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings of FIGS.

FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 show the developing units 23a and 23a.
FIG. 8 shows the arrangement of the toner supply hoppers 35a, 35b, 35c and 35d corresponding to b, 23c and 23d and the structure of the connecting portion. FIG. 8 shows the process cartridge 15 and the toner supply viewed from the direction of arrow C in FIG. FIG. 9 is a plan view of the hopper 35, and FIG.

[0060] Toner supply pipes 234a, 234b, and 234 each having a built-in transport screw connected to each of the toner supply hoppers.
c and 234d are arranged in a plane at the upper part of the process cartridge 15, and arranged horizontally in a vertical side surface at the side part. The toner is conveyed and replenished.

Each supply pipe is further connected to a supply pipe 235a, 235b, 235c and 235d in the vertical direction, the lower end of each of which being fixed to the apparatus main body.
A, and the toner outlets 236a, 236b, 236c and 2
36d are each open.

On the other hand, on the side surface of the process cartridge 15, there are protruded developer conveying pipes 233a, 233b, 233c and 233d containing a conveying screw extending from the inside of each developing unit. It is connected to a lower connecting plate PB arranged opposite to the lower surface of the plate PA, and opens toner receiving ports 237a, 237b, 237c and 237d, respectively.

The above-mentioned toner drop openings are provided on the guide rails 1001.
, And a shutter plate 1000 slidably supported by 1002A and 1002B.

The shutter plate 1000 has four shutter holes 10 at equal intervals corresponding to the toner drop openings.
00A is open, but each of the toner drop ports is always closed without being matched with the toner drop port by the urging of the tension spring 1003 in the direction opposite to the arrow.

On the other hand, each of the toner receiving ports is provided with a guide rail.
It is covered by a shutter plate 2000 slidably supported by 2001, 2002A, and 2002B.

Four shutter holes 2000A are opened in the shutter plate 2000 at equal intervals corresponding to the respective toner receiving ports. Each toner receiving port is always closed without performing the operation.

When the process cartridge 15 is at the position where image formation is possible as shown in FIG. 6, the lower connecting plate PB is slid in the direction of the arrow and is located immediately below the upper connecting plate PA. The spring pin 2004 on the connection plate PB side presses the rising portion 1004 of the shutter plate 1000 on the upper connection plate PA side, slides the shutter plate 1000, and aligns the shutter hole 1000A with each toner drop opening to open the shutter. Then, on the other hand, the shutter plate on the lower connecting plate PB side
2000 rising part 2005 is a spring pin on upper connecting plate PA side
The shutter plate 2000 is slid by being pressed by 1005, and the above-mentioned shutter hole 2000A is aligned with each toner receiving port so as to be in an open state so that toner can be supplied.

When the process cartridge 15 is moved to the position shown in FIG. 7, the lower connecting plate PB is slid together with the process cartridge 15 in the direction opposite to the arrow at the beginning of the movement, so that the upper connecting plate The shutter plate 1000 on the PA side returns to the illustrated position to cover each toner drop opening and closes, and then the shutter plate 2000 on the lower connecting plate PB side returns to the illustrated position to shield each toner receiving port. And the toner is closed to prevent the toner from flowing out, scattering, or mixing foreign matter.

Further, a tray-shaped receiving member 3000 is provided below the upper connecting plate PA, and receives and collects a small amount of toner that falls due to the operation of each shutter plate. As shown in FIG. 9, the developing unit is obliquely arranged with the end in the pull-out direction as the upper side, and has a pool at the other end at the lower end. To prevent

The supply of toner to each of the toner supply hoppers is manually performed by opening the toner supply cover 13 above the toner supply hopper. In this way, when pulling out or inserting, removing, or loading a process cartridge when clearing or replacing a jam, make sure that the process is performed without fail and without toner leakage or scumming. Can be done.

Next, another embodiment of the second invention will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

The fact that the toner supply hopper 35 is guided by the guide frames 351 and 352, and the toner supply hopper 35 can be locked at the lower or upper position by the lock pin 353 and the spring member 354 is described above. Same as in the example.

FIG. 11 shows a state in which the toner supply hopper 35 is locked at its lower position, and the image forming apparatus operates or can operate as a color printer.

In FIG. 11, a lever A 51 is pivotally supported by an internal structural member (not shown) of the apparatus main body 10 by a rotating shaft A 52 thereof. The lever A.51 is urged clockwise by the operation spring A.53, and one arm of the lever A.51 is in contact with a projection on the lower surface of the toner supply hopper.

Also, like lever A.51, lever B.
55 is also supported by an internal structural member (not shown) of the apparatus main body 10 by its rotating shaft B · 56. Each arm of the lever B 55 is connected to the other arm of the lever A 51 by a connecting rod 54 as shown.

The lock rod 58 has a shape as shown in FIG.
One end thereof locks the process cartridge 15 by penetrating the guide member 37 for suspending and guiding the projecting member 36 of the process cartridge 15 as shown in the drawing.

The other end of the lock bar 58 is connected to an upper connecting plate PA and a lower connecting plate PB which are detachable connecting portions for connecting the toner supply hopper 35 and the developing device of the process cartridge 15 as shown in the figure. Are locked so that the connecting plates PA and PB cannot be separated.

An operating spring B · 57 is attached to the lock bar 58 as shown in the figure, and urges the lock bar 58 upward. However, since the other arm of the lever B · 55 locks the pin implanted in the lock bar 58 as shown in the figure,
Reference numeral 58 indicates that the locked state of the process cartridge 15 and the locked state of the two connecting plates PA and PB are maintained as described above. That is, as described above, the state of the image forming apparatus is in a state of operating or operable as a color printer.

Next, as shown in FIG. 12, in order to pull out or remove the process cartridge 15, the operation panel 11 and the toner supply cover 13 are opened, and the toner supply hopper 35 is moved to its upper position. The state when the toner supply hopper 35 is locked at the upper position by the lock pin 353 will be described.

By moving the toner supply hopper 35 to its upper position, the projection on the lower surface of the toner supply hopper 35 that has held down the lever A 51 moves upward.
51 rotates clockwise by the spring force of the operating spring A53. Accordingly, the connecting rod 54 connected to the lever A 51 causes the lever B 55 to rotate counterclockwise. Lock stick
As described above, an operation spring B · 57 for urging the lock bar 58 upward is attached to the 58, but since the lever B · 55 rotates counterclockwise, it is implanted in the lock bar 58. The moved pin also moves upward following the lever B · 55. That is,
The lock bar 58 moves upward as shown. Then, the lock of the process cartridge 15 and both connecting plates PA, P
The lock of B is released as shown in the figure. Therefore,
The process cartridge 15 can be pulled out or removed.

[0081] described in the above SL invention, although the movement force of the process cartridge when the process cartridge detachably not specifically described, for example, a rack attached to the side of the process cartridge, of the electric motor fitted with a pinion meshing with the rack power And a signal from a sensor for detecting the position of the process cartridge.
By driving and stopping the motor with the signal of W2 or SW3, the process cartridge can be moved automatically or semi-automatically, and a more convenient image forming apparatus can be obtained.

[0082]

According to the present invention, the movement and replacement of the process cartridge can be performed safely and undoubtedly by a simple operation.
An image forming apparatus free from occurrence of erosion and the like has been provided. Further, since the process cartridge moves in the same direction as the operation unit and can perform the replacement operation, one-side operability (one-way operability) important for a printer is achieved.

Further, there is provided an image forming apparatus capable of easily and safely performing a processing operation for a sheet jam or the like generated in a sheet conveying path in the image forming apparatus and an inspection and repair of the inside of the apparatus. Furthermore, the operator can automatically disconnect the connection between the parts requiring replacement and maintenance (photoconductors, developing units, cleaners, etc.) and the unnecessary parts (toner hoppers, etc.). Is gone.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view showing a main cross section of a color printer as an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied , viewed from the left side.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the color printer.

[Figure 3] of the color printer to which this onset bright is applied, drawing showing the essential components of the process cartridge.

In Figure 4 color printer to which the present onset bright is applied, the operation panel to open the top cover, showing the process cartridge detachable FIG.

FIG. 5 is a view showing another embodiment of opening the cover .

[6] The present onset bright an image forming apparatus according to a color printer, a side sectional view showing the main section from the left side.

In [7] this onset bright color printer, the operation panel, the top cover to open the toner supply cover, showing the process cartridge detachable FIG.

[8] of the onset bright color printers, plan view of the process cartridge and the toner replenishment hopper as viewed from an arrow C direction definitive FIG.

[9] of the onset bright color printers, sectional view of the arrow D in FIG.

[Figure 10] of this onset bright color printers, perspective view top was centered around the lower connecting plate in FIG.

[11] The color printer showing another embodiment of the present onset bright, side cross-sectional view showing the main section from the left side.

[12] The color printer showing another embodiment this onset Ming in FIG. 11, the operation panel, the top cover to open the toner supply cover, showing the process cartridge detachable FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Main unit 1000, 2000 Shutter plate 1000A, 2000A Shutter hole 11 Operation panel 112 Cam 113 Leaf spring 12 Upper cover 13 Toner supply cover 15 Process cartridge 17 Photoreceptor belt 23a, 23b, 23c, 23d Developing device 233a, 233b, 233c, 233d Transport pipe 234a, 234b, 234c, 234d, 235a, 235b, 235c, 235d Supply pipe 236a, 236b, 236c, 236d Toner drop port 237a, 237b, 237c, 237d Toner receiving port 3000 Receiving member 35 Toner supply hopper 351,352 Guide frame 353 Lock pin 354 Spring member 36 Projection member 37 Guide member 51 Lever A 53 Operation spring A 54 Connecting rod 55 Lever B 57 Operation spring B 58 Lock rod SOL1, SOL2, SOL3 solenoid SW1 Power switch SW2, SW3 Micro switch m Motor PA Upper part Connecting plate PB Lower connecting plate

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Tadayoshi Ikeda 2970 Ishikawacho, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo Konica Co., Ltd. Examiner, Masahisa Kunida (56) References JP-A-3-243962 (JP, A) JP-A-2-183285 (JP, A) JP-A-3-255464 (JP, A) JP-A-4-84156 (JP, A) JP-A-57-72436 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷⁾ G03G 15/00 550 G03G 21/16-21/18 G03G 15/08 G03G 21/00 510-512

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] At least an image carrier, a cleaner and a developing device.
Process cartridge with
The process cartridge is attached to the main body of the
Toner replenishing section that allows the placement position to be moved when it is removed
And a transport pipe for transporting toner from the toner supply unit
The developing unit is connected to an opening provided in the unit connecting member, and the developing unit has an opening for receiving supplied toner.
A lower connecting member provided, wherein the upper connecting member and the lower connecting member are
Has a vertical position facing each other, and each connecting part
Open the shutter that opens and closes the opening provided in the material
The toner can be replenished, and the shutter is moved with the movement of the process cartridge.
When the toner supply unit is closed and the toner supply unit cannot be supplied, and the toner supply unit is at the disposition position during image formation.
Is the vertical position where the upper connecting member and the lower connecting member face each other.
When the relationship is set to the engaged state, and the toner supply unit
The image forming apparatus is in a state where the engagement is released when the image forming apparatus is at the position.