JP3268288B2 - 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 for forming an image using an electrophotographic process such as a laser printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in an image forming apparatus, an image is transferred by passing a sheet through an image transfer section of an electrophotographic process unit for performing charging, exposure, development, transfer, peeling, cleaning, and the like. Is passed between the pair of fixing rollers to fix the image onto the sheet.

Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus of this type, for example, a laser printer, a disposable replenishing device used for replenishing a developing unit (hereinafter referred to as toner) to a developing unit built in the main body of the device is used. A cartridge type cartridge is adopted, and the toner supply cartridge (supply container) is configured to be detachably and removably mounted in a developing unit incorporated in the apparatus main body.

Further, untransferred toner not transferred to the paper in the image transfer section is scraped off from the photoreceptor by a cleaning device, is further transferred to the outside of the process unit, and is stored in a disposable cartridge type container. . The toner collection cartridge (storage container) is also configured to be detachably mounted on a process unit incorporated in the apparatus main body.

The main body of the apparatus detects the empty state of the replenishment toner cartridge and the full state of the collected toner cartridge, and notifies the operator of the empty state.

Conventionally, the replenishing container and the storage container are separated from each other, or the replenishing container and the storage container are developed by a developing means, a cleaning means, And a photosensitive drum.

[0007]

However, when the supply container and the storage container are separated from each other, the user must replace each container each time the developer is supplied or the used developer is discarded, which takes time. There is a problem.

In the latter case, when integrated, the time for replacement is reduced to one, but the amount of replenishing developer and the amount of used developer are limited due to the limitation of the size of a practical integrated unit. Is limited. For this reason, there is a problem that the replacement cycle of the entire unit is shortened, and the cost of replacing the unit earlier than the service life of the relatively expensive developing means, cleaning means, and photosensitive drum increases the running cost.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances,
Integrating the replenishing means and the storing means, cleaning means,
An image forming apparatus capable of reducing the number of maintenance operations by the user and reducing running costs by being detachable from the developing means, and further simplifying the structure of a unit integrating the replenishing means and the storing means. The purpose is to provide.

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention forms a developer image on an image carrier, and a replenishing port for receiving a replenished developer. Developing means having a portion, a transferring means for transferring the developer image formed by the developing means to a transfer material, and removing the developer remaining on the image carrier after the transfer of the developer image by the transferring means. Cleaning means, and the developer removed by the cleaning means is conveyed and discharged from the opening of the discharge port .
Wherein the opening is in the direction of conveyance of the developer and gravity.
Conveying means which opens in a direction perpendicular to the direction, a replenishing means for replenishing the developing means with a developer from a replenishing port thereof, and a developer discharged from an opening of an outlet of the conveying means. Storing means for storing the developing means, and the developing means and the conveying means are integrated into a first unit,
The replenishing unit and the storing unit are integrated into a second unit, and the second unit is detachable from the first unit. The second unit is attached to one end of the first unit in the developer conveying direction. A replenishing port of the developing unit and a discharge port of the transporting unit are disposed, and a replenishing unit and a storage unit constituting the second unit are arranged with respect to the replenishing port of the developing unit and the discharge port of the transporting unit. Connect directly at the same time.

By forming the second unit by integrating the replenishing means and the storing means, the replenishing means and the storing means can be replaced with a single operation, and the second unit can be replaced by the developing means and the transporting means. The second unit can be replaced independently by making it detachable with respect to the first unit integrated with the first unit. Further, a replenishing port of the developing means is provided at one end of the first unit in the developer conveying direction. Also, by arranging the discharge port of the transporting means, the structure of the second unit can be simplified.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings.

FIG. 13 shows the appearance of a laser printer as an electrophotographic image forming apparatus using a semiconductor laser, and FIG. 14 shows the internal configuration thereof.

This laser printer is connected to a host system (not shown), which is an external output device such as a computer or a word processor, via a transmission controller such as an interface circuit, and starts printing from the host system. When a signal is received, an image recording operation is started, and the image is recorded on a sheet as a transfer material and output.

That is, the above-described image forming apparatus has the following configuration.

As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, reference numeral 1 denotes an apparatus main body, and a main control board 2 is disposed in a central portion of the apparatus main body 1. An electrophotographic process unit 3 for forming an image is arranged behind the main control board 2 (to the right in the state of FIG. 13). A control board housing part 5 for housing 4...
In this state, the paper discharge unit 6 is formed.

In the control board storage section 5, up to three control boards 4 for adding functions can be mounted in accordance with the degree of addition of functions such as addition of kanji or the like. In addition, by inserting a function addition IC card 8 into the IC card connectors 7 on the front edge side of the function addition control board 4 located at the lowest level, further functions can be added. ing. Also,
Two interfaces (not shown) are provided on the left end face of the function addition control board 4 located at the lowermost stage.
Is opposed to the opening 9 formed in the left side surface of the. In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes a cassette accommodating portion for accommodating a sheet cassette 11 formed at a lower portion in the apparatus main body 1.

As shown in FIG. 13, the paper discharge section 6 is formed of a recess formed on the upper surface of the front part of the apparatus main body 1. The paper discharge tray 12 has a solid line arrow at the front edge thereof. The sheet P is provided so as to be able to be folded and unfolded and rotated in the direction, and the size of the sheet discharge section 6 can be adjusted according to the size of the sheet P to be discharged.

Further, on the upper surface of the left frame portion 1a of the apparatus main body 1 located on the left side of the paper discharge portion 6, a display LED 13,
A control panel 16 on which a two-digit status display segment 14 and a switch 15 are disposed is disposed, while a manual feed tray 17 is disposed on the rear end face side of the apparatus main body 1.
Is installed.

Next, the configuration of the electrophotographic process unit 3 for performing electrophotographic processes such as charging, exposure, development, transfer, peeling, cleaning and fixing will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 20 denotes a drum-shaped photoconductor as an image carrier, which is disposed at a substantially central portion of a unit accommodating portion in the apparatus main body 1. Around the photoreceptor 20, a charging unit 21 composed of a scorotron, an exposure unit 22a of a laser exposure unit 22 as an electrostatic latent image forming unit, a magnetic brush type developing unit 23 for performing a developing process are provided along the rotation direction. , A transfer unit 24 composed of a scorotron, a non-transferred toner removing unit 25 composed of a rubber member, and a pre-exposure unit 26 are sequentially arranged.

In the figure, reference numeral 29 denotes a paper transport path formed in the apparatus main body 1. The paper P fed from the paper feed cassette 11 via the paper feeding means 27 and the manual feed tray 17 are provided.
The paper P manually fed from the printer 1 is guided to a paper discharge unit 6 provided on the upper surface side of the apparatus main body 1 through an image transfer unit 28 between the photoconductor 20 and the transfer unit 24, and A pair of transport rollers 30, a pair of aligning rollers 31, and a pair of transport rollers 32 are disposed on the upstream side of the image transfer section 28 of the paper transport path 29, and on the downstream side thereof, a fixing unit 33 and a discharge roller unit 34 are arranged.

In the drawing, reference numeral 35 denotes a cooling fan unit disposed above the transport roller pair 32, 36 denotes an aligning switch provided near the aligning roller pair 31, and 37 denotes a position near the image transfer unit 28. This is a transport guide provided.

When the printing start signal is received from the host system, the drum-shaped photoconductor 20 rotates and the photoconductor 20 is charged by the charging means 21. Next, the laser beam a, which has been modulated in response to the dot image data from the host system, is scanned and exposed on the photoconductor 20 using the laser exposure unit 22, whereby the image signal corresponding to the image signal is formed on the photoconductor 20. A latent electrostatic image is formed. The electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor 20 is transferred to the developing unit 23
The toner is developed by a toner in a magnetic brush (not shown) and visualized.

On the other hand, when the sheet P taken out of the sheet cassette 11 or fed manually from the manual feed tray 17 through the aligning roller pair 31 in synchronization with the toner image forming operation, Photoconductor 20
The toner image formed thereon is transferred to the sheet P by the operation of the transfer unit 24. Then, the sheet P after the transfer passes through the sheet conveying path 29 and is sent to the fixing unit 33, where the toner image is fused and fixed on the sheet P, and then the sheet is discharged from the sheet discharging unit 6 via the sheet discharging roller unit 34. In this case, the residual toner remaining on the photoreceptor 20 after the transfer of the toner image onto the paper P is removed by a cleaning blade 25 made of urethane rubber, and the conveyed spiral is transported. It is transferred outside the process unit by 42.

The fixing unit 33 includes a heat roller 41 having a built-in heater lamp, and a pressure roller 42 pressed against the heat roller 41. A paper P is provided between the rollers 41 and 42 as the fixing roller. The heat roller 41 and the pressure roller 42 are surrounded by a lower casing 43 and an upper casing 44 so that the toner image is melted and fixed on the paper P by passing through. The structure is such that heat does not escape to the outside as much as possible to ensure a good temperature atmosphere.

Further, the paper discharge roller unit 34
The upper half portion including the lower roller 34a and the upper roller 34b includes the upper roller 34b.
7, together with the transfer means 24, etc., are mounted on the lower surface side of the top cover 50 of the apparatus main body 1. This top cover 50 uses a support shaft 51 provided at the upper rear end side of the apparatus main body 1 as a rotation fulcrum. As shown in FIG. 15, the cover can be opened and closed up to a rotation range of about 120 ° at the maximum, and by opening the cover, most of the paper transport path 29 and the device facing the paper transport path 29 are exposed. It is possible to easily perform the work of removing the jam of the paper P on the paper transport path 29 and the maintenance and replacement of the equipment, and to the right inner side surface 50a of the top cover 50 as shown in FIG. Is provided with an operation projection 52. The operation projection 52 is provided with a cartridge-type cartridge (to be described later) in which toner is supplied to the developing unit 23 with opening and closing of the top cover 50. The rotary shutter of the kit 60 as a knit is opened and closed, and the kit 60 is detachably inserted from the side of the right frame 1b of the apparatus main body 1 as shown in FIG. , FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the toner supply port 23a is inserted and loaded into the toner supply port 23a at the upper part of the developing unit 23. At the same time, the toner discharge port 23b of the developing unit 23
Is inserted into the waste toner receiving port 60c of the kit 60.

That is, as shown in FIG. 1, a cartridge type kit 60 according to the present invention comprises a replenishing toner storage section 60a as a cylindrical replenishing means for storing replenishing toner, and a replenishing toner storing section 60a. It consists of a box-shaped waste toner storage section 60b as storage means integrated with the section 60a, and since both are completely separated, the supply toner and the waste toner are never mixed.

Next, the structure of the kit 60 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

First, as shown in FIG. 2, the replenishment toner storage section 60a is composed of a hopper-shaped synthetic resin container 61 such as an ABS resin for storing toner, and has a left end face 61a in the longitudinal direction. Is closed to form an insertion end into the apparatus main body 1, and the right end face 61b thereof is opened.
It has a tapered shape slightly expanding toward b.

The left closed end face 61a of the container 61
Are provided with a toner filling port 62 and a developer replenishing means 80 described later.
The shaft hole 6 into which one end 83a on the drive side of the rotation center shaft 83 of the paddle frame 82 of the developer stirring means 81 is inserted and held.
3 are formed on the inner surface side of the shaft hole 63, and double annular grooves 64 and 65 are formed.

The right opening end face 61 of the container 61
On the b side, a bearing 66 is formed for inserting and holding one end 92a of a rotating shaft 92 of a magnet swing lever 91 constituting a waste toner agitating means 90 described later. After the developer replenishing means 80 is assembled, the cover 70 is fused and hermetically sealed.
A bearing portion 71 into which the other end portion 83b of the paddle frame rotation center shaft 83 is inserted and held, and a bearing portion into which the other end portion 92b of the magnet swing lever rotating shaft 92 of the waste toner stirring means 90 is inserted and held. 72 are formed.

In the drawing, reference numeral 67 denotes a toner replenishing portion formed at a position shifted to the right side of the bottom of the container 61. The toner replenishing portion 67 is provided with a toner conveying and supplying means 100 constituting the developer replenishing means 80. The developing unit 2 is provided at the bottom of the left side.
3, a toner supply port 68 for supplying and dropping toner is opened,
A first shutter means 200 and a second shutter means 300, which will be described later, are arranged in correspondence with the toner supply port 68, respectively.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the developer agitating means 81 constituting the developer replenishing means 80 includes a plurality of paddle frames 82.
3 is made of an ABS resin frame having a diameter of, for example, 60 mm , which is helically integrated and connected around 3, and one end 83 a on the driving side thereof is formed with a shaft hole 63 formed in the closed end face 61 a of the container 61. And the other end 83b is the container 6
1 of the cover 70 for sealing the opening end face 61b side
1 and one end 83 on the drive side, which protrudes outside from the closed end face 61a of the container 61.
As shown in FIG. 3, a drive gear 802 that can mesh with a drive system gear (not shown) on the apparatus main body 1 side via a first pad 801 is attached to a, and this drive gear 802 is attached to a spring washer. It is fixed at 803. Further, an annular flange portion 84 is formed integrally with one end portion 83a on the driving side of the rotation center shaft 83, and the annular flange portion 84 is provided on the inner surface side of the shaft hole 63 of the closed end surface 61a of the container 61. Fit into the formed outer annular groove 64, and
A second pad 804 is fitted into the inner annular groove 65, and a thin disk-shaped packing 805 having a thickness of about 0.3 mm is inserted between the second pad 804 and the inner surface of the annular flange portion 84. By providing a shield structure interposed, the shielding property and lubricity of the shaft periphery due to the labyrinth effect are enhanced, toner leakage, toner intrusion into the shaft periphery, generation of frictional heat, and moisture into the container 61. The developer agitating means 81 is accommodated in the container 61 by a spiral rotation by a plurality of paddle frames 82 and a rotation center shaft 83 having a cross-shaped cross section during rotational driving. The inside of the container 61 is conveyed from the left side to the right side to the toner replenishing section 67 side while double stirring the toner (not shown).

In the figure, reference numeral 85 denotes the developer stirring means 8
1 is a toner scraping plate made of an elastic thin plate such as mylar (trade name) or rubber provided at the tip end portion 82a of one paddle frame 82 corresponding to the toner replenishing portion 67 of the plurality of paddle frames 82, The tip portion 85a is connected to the container 61
Is slidably contacted along the inner bottom surface 61c of the container 61, and by the rotation of the developer stirring means 81, the toner conveyed toward the open end surface 61b, which is one side in the longitudinal direction of the container 61, is supplied to the toner supply unit. 67 so as to be able to be supplied.

In the figure, reference numeral 86 denotes the developer stirring means 81.
The large-diameter gear 87 is integrally formed on the other end portion 83b side of the rotation center shaft 83, and the eccentric cam 87 is integrally formed outside the large-diameter gear 86. The spiral shaft 101 is rotationally driven by meshing with a small-diameter gear 102 integrally formed with a spiral shaft 101 constituting the means 100. The eccentric cam 87 has a waste toner stirring means 90 described later. , And the empty lever 91 swings up and down following the rotation of the large-diameter gear 86, that is, the rotation center shaft 83 of the developer stirring means 81. It is possible.

The waste toner stirring means 90
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the magnet swing lever 91 has a U-shape, and has one end 92 a of the rotation shaft 92.
Are inserted and held in a bearing 66 formed on the right end face 61b side of the container 61 and a bearing 72 formed on the inner surface of the cover 70, respectively, and are supported at the center thereof. Of the rotation axle 87 formed integrally with the other end 83b of the rotation center shaft 83 constituting the developer agitating means 81, and the oscillating end 9 thereof.
A permanent magnet 93 is attached to 1a. As shown in FIG. 6, the magnet swing lever 91 swings and rotates with the rotation of the eccentric cam 87, and the permanent magnet 93 moves substantially up and down.
The vertical movement of the permanent magnet 93 causes the waste toner container 60b to move.
The collected toner T sent into the inside is stirred.

Here, a mechanism for stirring the collected toner in the waste toner container 60b will be described. As shown in FIG. 6, the waste toner stirring lever 110 has an L-shape,
Are inserted into and held by bearings (not shown) formed on the inner surfaces of the container 61 and the cover 70, and are supported at the right end thereof. A magnetic body (iron) 111 is attached to the right end. The lower end has a spatula shape so that the toner can be easily stirred. Normally, the waste toner stirring lever 110 tends to rotate clockwise due to the weight of the magnetic body 111 attached to the right end, but the protrusion 114 at the bottom of the magnetic body hits a part of the surface of the container 61, and Stationary in position. In this state, when the above-described permanent magnet 93 moves upward from below, the magnetic body 111 approaching across the wall is lifted upward by the magnet of the permanent magnet 93. As a result, the waste toner stirring lever 110 rotates counterclockwise, and the lower end thereof is
The projection 113 provided on the rim will not be rotated any further. However, since the permanent magnet 93 continues to rise further, the distance between the permanent magnet 93 and the magnetic body 111 increases, and finally the magnetic force exerted on the magnetic body 111 by the permanent magnet 93 loses its own weight and the waste toner stirring lever 1
10 rotates clockwise and returns to the original position. Due to the swinging rotation of the waste toner stirring lever 110, the spatula-shaped portion at the lower end swings left and right to flatten the collected toner T accumulated near it.

The reason why such a collected toner stirring mechanism is necessary is as follows. First, the toner discharge port 23b of the developing unit 23 shown in FIG. 1 is inserted into the waste toner receiving port 60c of the container 61 on the side of the waste toner container 60b. Toner outlet 23
The opening 23c of "b" completely enters the inside of the waste toner container 60b. In this state, the collected toner can be stored. However, if the toner starts to be collected in this state, the collected toner T will soon have a shape of Mt. Fuji, as shown in FIG. 6, and the top will block the opening 23c of the toner outlet 23b. Therefore, first, the opening 23c of the toner discharge port 23b
Is provided on the side. Normally, such a drop opening is generally opened downward, but in this position, the toner is very easy to drop in the initial state and can discharge the toner without any trouble. The top of the mountain closes the opening 23c, making it difficult to discharge the toner. In time, the toner is clogged in the toner discharge port 23b and a further upstream cleaning mechanism (not shown), thereby locking the toner conveying spiral. Would. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, by providing the opening 23c on the side (right side in this embodiment), the toner can be discharged without any trouble as long as the toner discharge port 23b is not completely buried in the collected toner T. is there. The toner outlet 23
b is provided on the right side, so that the top of the collected toner T is slightly
0b, and the amount of toner stored until the opening 23c is closed by the collected toner T can be increased. Conversely, if the opening 23c is opened to the left, the advantage described above is almost lost, and the efficiency of filling the collected toner in the waste toner container 60b is reduced as in the case where the opening is opened downward. The above is clear from the experiment. However, even if such a contrivance is taken, the shape of the collected toner T still has the shape of Mt. Fuji, so there is a difference in height between the top and the bottom, and the filling efficiency of the collected toner at the time when the opening 23c is closed is low. not really good. In particular, the waste toner container 60
A cavity is formed in the lower right 115 of b, and the filling efficiency of the collected toner is adversely affected. Therefore, the spatula-shaped portion at the lower end of the waste toner stirring lever 110 moves left and right, so that the toner can be fed into the lower right 115 of the waste toner storage unit 60b. Since the amount can be reduced, the efficiency of filling the collected toner until the opening 23c is closed is greatly increased.

As described above, the movement of the permanent magnet 93 in the replenishment toner storage section 60a of the kit 60 is transmitted to the waste toner stirring lever 110 in the waste toner storage section 60b by magnetic force, whereby the wall is completely partitioned. However, there is an advantage that power can be transmitted even when the power is supplied, and the power source is not required at all on the side of the waste toner container 60b. However, even if such a mechanism is provided, the opening 23c is eventually buried in the collected toner T as the toner is further discharged. Conventionally, it has been considered impossible to discharge toner in such a state. Fact opening 23
If c faces downward, toner clogging occurs immediately in the toner outlet 23b. However, as described above, when the opening 23c faces sideways, it is
Even if buried in the toner, the toner can be discharged though there is a problem. When discharging the toner by pressing the pressure of the collected and collected toner T, the resistance is very high in the lower direction, but the resistance in the horizontal direction and the upper direction is low, and the space above the opening 23c is filled with the toner. It is possible. Moreover, as a result of an experiment on the present embodiment, the recovered toner T was able to be filled in the waste toner container 60b until it was almost full. Thus, although the space above the opening 23c, which has been unnecessary, is limited, the collected toner can be filled.

The mechanism for stirring the collected toner in the waste toner container 60b has been described above.

Returning again to the description of the replenishment toner storage section 60a.

In the toner supply section 67 formed at a position offset to the right side of the bottom of the container 61 in FIG. The supply means 100 includes a hollow spiral shaft 101 having a diameter of, for example, 12 mm formed in at least two or more multi-layers, and the spiral shaft 101.
And a small-diameter gear 102 integrally formed with the end portion 101a on the side of the cover 70. In the hollow shaft of the spiral shaft 101, a support shaft 103 is loosely fitted so as to allow the rotation of the spiral shaft 101. The one end 103 a of the support shaft 103 is pivotally supported on the closed end surface 67 a of the toner replenishing portion 67, and the one end 103 a is a stepped concave portion of the cover 70 that seals the right end surface 61 b of the container 61. The spiral shaft 101 is inserted and held in a shaft hole 74 formed in the shaft 73 so as to be supported by the shaft.
The small-diameter gear 102 formed integrally with the gear meshes with a large-diameter gear 86 integrally formed on the other end portion 83b side of the rotation center shaft 83 constituting the developer stirring means 81, and by rotation of the large-diameter gear 86, By rotating the spiral shaft 101, the toner supplied into the toner supply unit 67 is transported from the right to the left toner supply port 68. In this case, the spiral of the spiral shaft 101 has one spiral,
By preparing and exchanging various kinds of articles such as two or three articles, as the number of spiral articles increases, the toner supply amount is controlled in a delicate range without changing the rotation speed of the spiral shaft 101. It becomes possible.

Further, a first shutter means 200 is provided above the toner supply port 68 opened at the left bottom of the toner supply section 67.
Is a rotary shutter which is inserted into the hollow shaft of the spiral shaft 101 in a loosely fitted state and is rotatably provided on one end 103a of a support shaft 103 rotatably supported on the closed side end surface 67a of the toner supply portion 67. 201 and the cutout 201a of the rotary shutter 201
Of the container 61 so as to avoid from the corresponding position of
A return spring 202 for biasing the other end portion 103b of the support shaft 103, which is inserted into the shaft hole 74 formed in the stepped concave portion 73 of the cover 70 for hermetically closing and protruding outside by one step, to the BIOS rotation.
And the support shaft 10 against the urging force of the return spring 202.
3 includes an operation lever 203 for rotating the rotary shutter 201 in a direction in which the cutout 201a of the rotary shutter 201 corresponds to the toner supply port 68. The operating lever 203 is fixed when the other end portion 103b of the support shaft 103 is fixed via a pad 204 and a spring washer 205, and when the kit 60 is not yet mounted on the apparatus main body 1, or 7, 8 and 9 when the kit 60 is in the loaded state in the apparatus main body 1 and the top cover 50 of the apparatus main body 1 is in the lifted open state as shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 7, the toner supply port 68 is always closed by the rotary shutter 201 while being released from a pressing operation by an external force such as the operation protrusion 52 provided on the inner surface 50a of the top cover 50. As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the kit 60 is in a loaded state in the apparatus main body 1 and the top cover 50 of the apparatus main body 1 is
In the closed state, the operation lever 203 is pressed by the operation protrusion 52 provided on the inner side surface 50a of the top cover 50 in the direction of the solid arrow shown in FIG. (Approximately 12 °) as shown by two-dot broken lines in FIG. 6, and in response to this rotation, the support shaft 103 is positioned at the notch opening 201 a of the rotary shutter 201 corresponding to the toner supply opening 68. By synchronously rotating in the directions, the upper portion of the toner supply port 68 is opened as shown in FIG.

Further, a second shutter means 300 is provided below the toner supply port 68 of the toner supply section 67, and the second shutter means 300 is provided at the bottom of the toner supply section 67 with a toner supply port. A slide shutter 302 slidably provided through a pad 301 having an opening 301a between slide grooves 69 formed integrally with the slide shutter 68 interposed therebetween, and an opening 303 formed on one side of the slide shutter 302; The open portion 303 is constituted by a compression spring 304 for urging the slide shutter 302 in one direction so as to always avoid the one corresponding to the toner supply port 68, and the slide shutter 30
To two. A locking claw 302a that can be locked to the locking step 69a of the slide groove 69 is formed at one end on the side of the opening portion 303, so that the slide shutter 302 prevents the toner supply port 68 from slipping off when the toner supply port 68 is closed. It is what is being prevented.

That is, the second shutter means 300
As shown in FIG. 17, the device main body 1 of the kit 60 is
It is designed to be able to respond only to the insertion operation at the time of loading into or to the extraction operation at the time of replacement.
At the time of loading into the apparatus main body 1, the abutment plate 53 having a supply port 53 a corresponding to a toner supply port ( not shown) of the developing unit 23 fixedly provided on the apparatus main body 1 side. When the slide shutter 302 is pressed against the biasing force of the compression spring 304 in the opening direction shown by the solid line arrow in FIG. The lower portion of the toner supply port 68 is opened corresponding to the toner supply port 68, as shown in FIG. In this case, when the top cover 50 of the apparatus main body 1 is in the open state, even if the second shutter
Even if 0 opens the lower part of the toner supply port 68, the first shutter means 200 does not open as shown in FIG. 9, and when the kit 60 shown in FIG. Even if the operation lever 203 of the first shutter means 200 is erroneously rotated, the toner supply port 68 is kept closed by the second shutter means 300.
As long as both the loaded state of the apparatus main body 1 and the closed state of the top cover 50 of the apparatus body 1 are not satisfied, it is ensured that the toner is spilled from the toner supply port 68 even when the apparatus is carried or loaded. It is possible to prevent it.

In the drawing, reference numeral 400 denotes a cap made of rubber or the like which seals the toner filling port 62 opened on the left end face 61a of the container 61 constituting the kit 60 after filling the toner.

Next, the waste toner container 60 of the kit 60
The structure of b will be described. As shown in FIG.
The cover 1 and the cover 70 are integrally formed with the container 61 and the cover 70 of the supply toner storage section 60a, respectively, and are fused and sealed to each other. The cap 121 is pushed outward by a compression spring 122 to close the collected toner receiving port 123. A slide shutter 23d is slidably attached to the leading end of the toner discharge port 23b of the developing unit inserted into the collected toner receiving port 123. The slide shutter 23d is pushed toward the distal end of the discharge nozzle 23f by a compression spring 23e, and the opening 23c is opened. Is blocking. Next, when the kit 60 is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body 1, the toner discharge port 23b of the developing unit previously mounted on the apparatus main body 1 is connected to the waste toner receiving port 60c of the kit 60 as shown in FIG. It is inserted into the state shown in FIG. The slide shutter 23d enters the waste toner receiving port 60c, and its flange portion is compressed by the compression spring 23e.
Is pressed against. Further, the slide shutter 23d fills the gap between the container 61 and the discharge nozzle 23f, and the collected toner in the container 61 does not leak. Further, since the opening 23c of the discharge nozzle 23f is completely opened in the container 61, the collected toner sent by the transport spiral 42 is discharged without any trouble. Then, when the kit 60 is removed from the apparatus main body 1, the state shown in FIG. 11 is returned again, and the toner discharge port 23b of the developing unit and the collected toner receiving port 123 of the replenishment toner storage section 60a are respectively connected to the slide shutter 2
The toner is not leaked because it is closed by 3d and cap 121.

As described above, the collected toner receiving port 123 of the kit 60 and the toner supply port 68 shown in FIG.
When the kit 60 is attached and detached, loaded and carried, the toner is not blocked at any time and the toner does not spill. In addition, since the operation directions for opening and closing the collected toner receiving port 123 and the toner supply port 68 are the same, the kit 6
17, the toner can be supplied to the developing unit 23 and the collected toner from the developing unit 23 can be received only by inserting the “0” from the end of the right frame 1b of the apparatus main body 1 as shown in FIG. Also, as shown in FIG. 1, the toner supply port 23a and the toner discharge port 23b of the developing unit 23 are arranged at one end of the developing unit 23, so that the kit 60 has a very simple There is an advantage that the function of collecting can be integrated, and the collected toner can be stored by effectively using a small space of the right frame 1b of the apparatus main body 1 shown in FIG.

Now, as shown in FIG. 1, when the toner supply section 60d and the waste toner receiving port 60c of the kit 60 are inserted into the toner supply port 23a and the toner discharge port 23b of the developing unit 23, respectively, the following problem occurs. there were. Although the distance between the toner supply unit 60d and the waste toner receiving port 60c in the kit 60 and the distance between the toner supply port 23a and the toner discharge port 23b in the developing unit 23 are manufactured to have the same dimensions, slight errors are inevitable. . Therefore, if both insertion portions are manufactured without a gap, the kit 60 cannot be smoothly loaded. Therefore, it is necessary to provide an appropriate clearance at one of the two insertion portions. In the present embodiment, a gap is provided between the toner supply port 23a and the toner supply unit 60d. However, in this state, the positions of the toner discharge port 23b and the waste toner receiving port 60c are difficult to match. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the waste toner receiving port 60c is chamfered 124 as shown in FIG. As a result, the kit 60 can be smoothly loaded.

As described above, the following advantages are obtained by integrating both the functions of toner supply and recovery. Conventionally, the toner replenishment and collection functions are respectively provided in separate containers, and the apparatus main body 1 is generally provided with a detection switch for detecting the presence or absence of each. That is, two detection switches had to be provided. On the other hand, if the toner replenishment and collection functions are integrated, only one switch is required to detect the presence or absence of the function, and the cost of the apparatus body 1 can be reduced. Another advantage is that the number of switches for detecting whether the toner container 60b is full can be reduced. Conventionally, the apparatus main body 1 has a detection function for checking whether or not the toner storage container 60b is full, and when detecting that the toner storage container 60b is full, the apparatus main body notifies the operator through means such as voice or display. By notifying the contents, the operator has replaced the toner storage container 60b with a new one. However, in the case of the present embodiment, the apparatus main body 1 detects only the presence or absence of toner in the toner supply container 60a, and the operator replaces the kit 60 with a new one when the supply toner becomes empty. That is, the toner storage container 60
The state in b is not detected at all. As a matter of course, even when the toner storage container 60b is full of the collected toner, the apparatus main body 1 may continue the printing operation. Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG.
The ratio of the capacity of the replenishment toner storage unit 60a and the waste toner storage unit 60b at 0 is set in the following relationship.

Replenishment toner storage capacity> Waste toner effective storage capacity> Replenishment toner quantity × Non-transfer rate The waste toner effective storage capacity is desirably as large as possible for safety. Does not fill the waste toner container 60b. However, the space in the apparatus main body 1 is also limited, and the effective waste toner capacity is naturally limited to the minimum necessary. The necessary minimum is (supplemented toner amount × non-transfer rate).
That is, after all the toner in the replenishment toner storage unit 60a has been used up, the amount not transferred to the paper P must be secured to the minimum necessary amount. Usually, the transfer efficiency is about 75 to 90%, and 10 to 25% of the replenished toner is collected as untransferred toner. Therefore, the toner having a capacity of 25% of the replenishment toner must be stored in the waste toner storage unit 60b. However, in actuality, since various troubles such as charging, transfer and bias failures are assumed, the effective storage amount of the waste toner storage unit 60b is considered to be 30% of the replenishment toner capacity. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the waste toner effective storage amount is set to 150 cc while the supply toner capacity is set to 500 cc.

As a result, the printing operation can be continued without any trouble even if the detection of the full state of the waste toner in the apparatus main body 1 is deleted, and the cost of the apparatus main body can be reduced. Also,
Further, the operator is free from the trouble of replacing the waste toner container 60b.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and it is needless to say that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0054]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the second unit is constituted by integrating the developer replenishing means and the used developer storing means, the replenishing means and the storing means can be formed with a single operation. Replacement work can be performed, and workability can be improved.

Further, since the second unit can be attached to and detached from the first unit in which the developing means and the conveying means are integrated, the second unit can be replaced independently, and the developing means and the cleaning means are wasted. It is economical without having to replace it.

Further, since the replenishing port of the developing means and the discharge port of the transport means are arranged at one end of the first unit in the developer transport direction, the replenishing port of the developing means and the discharge port of the transport means are arranged. The first unit can be attached to and detached from the first unit without increasing the size and complexity of the structure of the second unit.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a developer supply and recovery device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional side view showing a developer supply section.

3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing an assembled state of an assembly of a developer stirring unit in a portion A in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional front view showing a developer supply section.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing the developer supply unit.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an internal configuration of the kit.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing the kit.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing the operation of first and second shutter means.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing the operation of the first and second shutter means.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing the operation of first and second shutter means.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where the toner discharge port of the developing unit is inserted into the waste toner storage unit.

FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the toner discharge port of the developing unit is inserted into the waste toner storage unit.

FIG. 13 is an external perspective view showing a laser printer as an image forming apparatus into which the kit according to the present invention is loaded.

FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram schematically showing an internal structure of the laser printer.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing an opened state of a top cover of the laser printer.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing the closing operation of the top cover of the laser printer.

FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing a state where a kit is loaded in the laser printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Device body 20 ... Photoconductor (image carrier) 23 ... Developing unit (1st unit) 23a ... Toner supply port (supply port) 23b ... Toner discharge port (discharge port) 24 ... Transfer means 25 ... Untransferred toner removing unit (cleaning unit) 42: conveying spiral (conveying unit) 50: top cover (open / close cover) 60: kit (second unit) 60a: replenishing toner storage unit (supplying unit) 60b: waste toner storage Part (storage means)

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-2-79876 (JP, A) JP-A-2-33169 (JP, A) JP-A-55-153969 (JP, A) JP-A-2- 79876 (JP, A) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G03G 15/08

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A developing means for forming a developer image on an image carrier, the developing means having a supply port for receiving a developer to be supplied, and transferring the developer image formed by the developing means to a transfer material; Transfer means for removing the developer remaining on the image carrier after transfer of the developer image by the transfer means; conveying the developer removed by the cleaning means to discharge the developer; It is discharged from the opening of the outlet , and the opening
The section is orthogonal to the developer conveying direction and the direction of gravity.
Conveying means that opens in a direction toward the developing means, a replenishing means for replenishing the developing means with a developer from a replenishing port thereof, and a storing means for storing the developer discharged from the opening of the discharging port of the conveying means. Wherein the developing unit and the transporting unit are integrated into a first unit, and the replenishing unit and the storing unit are integrated into a second unit, and the second unit is the first unit. A replenishing port of the developing unit and a discharge port of the transporting unit disposed at one end of the first unit in a developer transporting direction; An image forming apparatus, wherein a replenishing means and a storing means constituting the second unit are directly and simultaneously connected to a discharge port of the means.