JP3977360B2 - Electrophotographic image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an electrophotographic image forming apparatus.

  Conventionally, in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium using an electrophotographic image forming process, the electrophotographic photosensitive member and the process means acting on the electrophotographic photosensitive member are integrally formed into a cartridge, and the cartridge Is a process cartridge system that can be attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus. According to this process cartridge system, the apparatus can be maintained by the user himself / herself without depending on the service person, so that the operability can be remarkably improved. Therefore, this process cartridge system is widely used in electrophotographic image forming apparatuses.

  In addition, the developing roller and a developing agent storage portion that stores the developing agent for developing the electrostatic latent image formed on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum by the developing roller are integrally formed into a cartridge. A developing cartridge system in which the cartridge is detachable from the main body of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus is employed.

  In such a process cartridge and a developing cartridge, the developer supply opening provided in the developer accommodating portion is sealed with a sealing member. And before using these, the developer is prevented from being supplied to the developing roller. And when using these, the said sealing member is removed and the said supply opening is opened. As a result, the developer in the developer accommodating portion is supplied to the developing roller.

  Here, conventionally, the sealing member is automatically removed from the supply opening by a driving force from a motor provided in the image forming apparatus main body. It is known that the supply opening is automatically opened (Patent Document 1).

JP-A-9-114352

  The prior art is optimal for a monochrome (monochrome) image forming apparatus. However, a color image forming apparatus having a plurality of mounting portions for mounting cartridges has a problem that the apparatus becomes large.

  An object of the present invention is to automatically remove a sealing member of each cartridge from a developer supply opening in a color electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which a plurality of cartridges (developing cartridges and process cartridges) are mounted. It is an object of the present invention to provide a color electrophotographic image forming apparatus capable of performing the above.

  Another object of the present invention is that in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which a plurality of cartridges (developing cartridges and process cartridges) are mounted, the operator has to remove the sealing member before using each cartridge. It is an object of the present invention to provide a color electrophotographic image forming apparatus that does not apply the above.

  Another object of the present invention is to automatically remove a sealing member of each cartridge from a developer supply opening in a color electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which a plurality of cartridges (developing cartridges and process cartridges) are mounted. The present invention provides a color electrophotographic image forming apparatus that can suppress the enlargement of the apparatus even though it can be performed.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a color electrophotographic image forming apparatus having a plurality of mounting portions for mounting cartridges (developing cartridges and process cartridges) with a driving force of a single motor. It is an object of the present invention to provide a color electrophotographic image forming apparatus capable of automatically removing a sealing member having a developer from a developer supply opening.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a driving force transmitting means for opening each sealing member in a color electrophotographic image forming apparatus to which a plurality of cartridges (developing cartridges and process cartridges) are mounted. It is an object of the present invention to provide a color electrophotographic image forming apparatus capable of selectively transmitting a driving force to an opening means.

A representative means in the present invention for solving the above problems is an electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which a plurality of process cartridges are detachable and forms an image on a recording medium. A developing roller for developing the electrostatic latent image formed on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum, and a developer storage unit for storing a developer used for developing the electrostatic latent image by the developing roller A developer supply opening for supplying the developer stored in the developer storage portion to the developing roller, a sealing member for sealing the developer supply opening so as to be openable, and the developer supply opening and removing the sealing member from the opening means for opening said developer supply opening, a plurality of process cartridges having a capable loaded process cartridge removably to the mounting portion center (b) and a single motor, a disc which rotates about an axis being driving force transmission from the (c) said motor, provided capable of rotating on the disc, the shaft by rotation of the disc A planetary gear for individually transmitting the driving force from the motor to the respective opening means, and a stage for rotating the shaft about the shaft and transmitting the driving force from the motor to the planetary gear. A gear, a felt provided between the disk and the step gear and transmitting the driving force to the disk by a frictional force between the step gear and the disk, and the planetary gear is provided in each opening. A plurality of protrusions provided at each position for transmitting the driving force to the means, and a trigger that is caught by one of the protrusions corresponding to each position and stops the rotation of the disk against the frictional force. It has, mounted to the mounting portion For the opening the developer supply opening sequentially individually included in each process cartridge, and characterized in that it has a driving force transmitting means for sequentially individually transmit the driving force from the motor to the respective opening means To do.

In the present invention, the driving force from a single motor can be transmitted individually and sequentially to the opening means of each cartridge. Therefore, it is possible to sequentially remove the sealing members of each cartridge sequentially with a single motor.

[First Reference Example]
Next, a color electrophotographic image forming apparatus according to a first reference example will be described with reference to the drawings. Here , a color electrophotographic image forming apparatus for forming a color image by loading four process cartridges is illustrated.

[Overall configuration of color electronic image forming apparatus]
First, the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus will be outlined. FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a color laser printer according to a first reference example .

As shown in FIG. 1 , the electrophotographic image forming apparatus 100 includes a drum-shaped electronic device that rotates at a constant speed for each of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K) colors. It has four image forming units each having a photographic photosensitive drum (hereinafter referred to as “photosensitive drum”), and a conveying unit that conveys a recording medium to the image forming unit.

  The image forming apparatus 100 includes four photosensitive drums 1 (1a, 1b, 1c, 1d) arranged in parallel in the vertical direction. The photosensitive drum 1 is driven to rotate counterclockwise in the drawing by a driving means (not shown). Around the photosensitive drum 1 is one of process means in order according to the rotation direction, charging means 2 (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d) for uniformly charging the surface of the photosensitive drum 1, and image information. Is a scanner unit 3 (3a, 3b, 3c, 3d) for forming an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 1 by irradiating a laser beam on the basis thereof, and is one of the process means, and a developer is attached to the electrostatic latent image The developing unit 4 (4a, 4b, 4c, 4d) having developing means for developing the latent image, and the developer image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 are transferred onto the recording medium S conveyed by the transfer belt 11. An electrostatic transfer device 5 is provided, and cleaning means 6 (6a, 6b, 6c, 6d) for removing the transfer residual developer remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 after transfer is disposed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 100 is provided with a transfer belt 11 that circulates and moves so as to face and contact all the photosensitive drums 1. The transfer belt 11 is supported by rollers 13, 14a, 14b, and 15 on four axes in the vertical direction. Then, the transfer belt 11 circulates and moves so that the recording medium S is electrostatically attracted to the outer peripheral surface on the left side in FIG. 1 and the recording medium S is brought into contact with the photosensitive drum 1. As a result, the recording medium S is conveyed to the transfer position by the transfer belt 11. Then, the developer image on the photosensitive drum 1 is transferred to the recording medium S at the transfer position.

  Transfer rollers 12 (12a, 12b, 12c, 12d) are juxtaposed at positions facing the inside of the transfer belt 11 and facing the four photosensitive drums 1. Positive charges are applied from the transfer roller 12 to the recording medium S via the transfer belt 11. The negative developer image on the photosensitive drum 1 is transferred to the recording medium S in contact with the photosensitive drum 1 by the electric field due to the electric charge.

  The feeding unit 16 conveys the recording medium S to the image forming unit. A plurality of recording media S are stored in the cassette 17. At the time of image formation, the feeding roller 18 (half-moon roller) and the registration roller pair 19 are driven and rotated according to the image forming operation. Then, the recording media S in the cassette 17 are separated and fed one by one. The leading edge of the recording medium S abuts against the registration roller pair 19 and stops temporarily. The rotation of the transfer belt 11 and the image formation start position are synchronized. Thereafter, the recording medium S is fed to the transfer belt 11 by the registration roller pair 19.

  The fixing unit 20 fixes the developer images of a plurality of colors transferred to the recording medium S. The recording medium S to which the developer image on the photosensitive drum 1 is transferred is given heat and pressure when passing through the fixing unit 20. As a result, the developer images of a plurality of colors are fixed on the surface of the recording medium S. Then, the recording medium S on which the developer image is fixed by the fixing unit 20 is discharged from the discharge unit 24 to the outside of the apparatus main body by the discharge roller pair 23.

[Overall configuration of process cartridge]
Next, the process cartridge will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 shows a main cross section and a perspective view of the process cartridge 7 containing the developer. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the process cartridge. The yellow, magenta, cyan, and black process cartridges 7a, 7b, 7c, and 7d have the same configuration.

  The photosensitive drum 1, the charging unit 2, the developing unit 4 including the developing unit, and the cleaning unit 6 are integrally formed into a cartridge to form a process cartridge 7 (7a, 7b, 7c, 7d).

  The process cartridge 7 includes a photosensitive drum 1, a photosensitive drum unit 50 including a charging unit 2 and a cleaning unit 6, and a developing unit 4 having a developing unit that develops an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 1. Have

  In the drum unit 50, the photosensitive drum 1 is rotatably attached to a cleaning frame 51 via a bearing 31. A primary charging unit 2 for uniformly charging the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 and a cleaning blade 60 for removing the developer remaining on the photosensitive drum 1 are disposed on the periphery of the photosensitive drum 1. Further, the residual developer removed from the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 by the blade 60 is sequentially sent to a developer chamber 51a provided behind the cleaning frame by the developer feeding mechanism 52.

  The photosensitive drum 1 is configured by applying an organic photoconductive layer (OPC photosensitive member) to the outer peripheral surface of an aluminum cylinder. Both ends of the photosensitive drum 1 are rotatably supported by support members. Then, a driving force from a driving motor (not shown) is transmitted to one end. As a result, the photosensitive drum 1 is driven to rotate counterclockwise in FIG.

As the charging means 2, a contact charging type as shown in FIG. 2 is used. The charging means 2 is a conductive roller 2r formed in a roller shape. The charging roller 2r is brought into contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 1, and a charging bias voltage is applied to the charging roller 2r from the apparatus main body 100a. As a result, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 is uniformly charged by the charging roller 2r.

  The developing unit 4 includes a developing roller 40 that contacts the photosensitive drum 1 and rotates in the direction of the arrow Y, and a developer container 41 and a developing device frame 45 that serve as a developer storage unit that stores the developer. The developing roller 40 is rotatably supported by the developing frame body 45 via bearing members 47 and 48. On the circumference of the developing roller 40, a developer supply roller 43 and a developing blade 44 that are in contact with the developing roller 40 and rotate in the direction of arrow Z are arranged. Furthermore, a developer transport mechanism 42 for stirring the developer stored in the developer container 41 and transporting the developer to the developer supply roller 43 is provided.

  The developing roller 40 is applied with a developing bias from the apparatus main body 100a while being in contact with the photosensitive drum 1. As a result, the developing roller 40 develops the electrostatic latent image. The developing blade 44 regulates the amount of developer on the developing roller 40.

Here, in the contact development method in which development is performed by contact between the photosensitive drum 1 and the developing roller 40, the photosensitive drum 1 is preferably a rigid body, and the developing roller 40 is preferably a roller having an elastic body. As this elastic body, a solid rubber single layer or a solid rubber layer coated with a resin coating in consideration of charge imparting property to the developer is used.

Further, as described above, the cartridge 7 includes the photosensitive drum 1, the photosensitive drum unit 50 including the charging unit and the cleaning unit, and the developing unit including the developing unit that develops the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 1. Divided into four. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the developing unit 4 is attached to the photosensitive drum unit 50 by the support shaft 49 around the support shafts 47d and 48d respectively provided on the bearing members 47 and 48 attached to both ends thereof. On the other hand, it is structured to be swingably supported. Here, as described above, in the contact development method, the developing roller 40 and the photosensitive drum 1 need to be in contact with each other during development. Therefore, a biasing force by a pressure spring 53 is applied to the developing unit 4 so as to generate a rotational moment about the support shaft 49 so that the developing roller 40 and the photosensitive drum 1 are in contact with each other.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a side cover 72 is provided outside the bearing member 48 of the developing unit 4. The side surface of the cartridge 7 is constituted by the side surface of the photosensitive drum unit 50 and the side cover 72 of the developing unit 4.

[Configuration of process cartridge mounting part]
The apparatus main body is provided with a plurality of mounting portions for detachably mounting the plurality of cartridges 7 described above. Next, the mounting configuration of the cartridge 7 to the apparatus main body 100a will be described. Here, the longitudinal direction refers to the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 1, and the cross-sectional direction refers to a direction orthogonal to the rotational axis of the photosensitive drum.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the cartridge 7 is attached to the apparatus main body 100a, the cartridge 7 is inserted into the main body along the cartridge guide 25 provided in the apparatus main body from the direction of the arrow. Thereafter, a bearing 31 that supports the photosensitive drum 1 is inserted into the guide groove 34. As shown in FIG. 5, the bearing 31 is pressed against the abutting surfaces 37 and 38 of the guide groove 34. This determines the position of the cartridge 7 relative to the apparatus main body 100a. On the other hand, the longitudinal direction of the cartridge 7 is roughly guided on the side surface of the cartridge 7 by the guide member 25. Thereafter, the positioning unit on the side surface of the drum unit 50 is pressed to a predetermined position on the apparatus main body 100a by pressing means (not shown) from the side surface of the apparatus main body 100a. This completes the positioning of the cartridge 7 in the longitudinal direction.

  The holding of the cartridge 7 in the cross-sectional direction in the apparatus main body 100a is configured as shown in FIG. A shaft 39 is caulked to the left right plate 32. A torsion coil spring 30 is supported on the shaft 39. Further, the end 30 a of the spring 30 is fitted and fixed in the hole 32 a of the left and right side plates 32. In the state where the cartridge 7 is not present, the spring 30 is restricted in the rotational direction by the bending and raising 32 b from the left and right side plates 32. When the cartridge 7 is inserted, the coil spring 30 rotates counterclockwise against the force. Then, when the spring 30 gets over the bearing 31, it is positioned as shown in FIG. The spring 30 presses the side surface of the cartridge 7 with a force of about 1 kgf in the direction of the arrow to position the longitudinal direction of the cartridge 7 on the apparatus main body 100a.

[Developer seal opening means]
In the cartridge 7, the developer supply port is closed by a developer seal 46 as a sealing member so that the developer stored in the developer container 41 does not leak during distribution. This seal 46 is removed at the beginning using the cartridge 7, the cartridge 7 is configured to be automatically winding removed by opening means described below.

  FIG. 7 is a view showing the developer container 41 and the developing frame 45. As shown in FIG. 7, an opening 41 a which is a developer supply opening for sending the developer from the developer container 41 to the developing frame 45 is provided at the joint between the developer container 41 and the developing frame 45. Yes. Around the opening 41a, a welding surface 41b of a seal 46 as a sealing member described later is provided.

  FIG. 8 is a view in which a seal 46 is attached to the developing device frame 45 and the opening 41 a of the developer container 41. Here, the seal 46 is formed in a sheet shape, and the opening 41a is sealed by being attached to the welding surface 41b by means of welding or adhesion so as to close the opening 41a of the developer container 41 in FIG. It has stopped.

  The seal 46 is attached to a take-up shaft 54 that is folded back at one end 46a in the longitudinal direction of the opening 41a to constitute an opening means. A hole (not shown) is opened at the tip of the seal 46, and the seal 46 and the take-up shaft 54 are fixed by hooking the hole to the claw of the take-up shaft 54. The seal 46 is opened or peeled from the opening 41a of the developer container 41 by pulling the end in the direction of the arrow X1. The seal 46 is opened or peeled off by rotating the winding shaft 54 in the direction of the arrow X2. The take-up shaft 54 is rotated by transmission of drive from a drive source provided in the image forming apparatus main body.

[Notification means and notification information processing means]
The cartridge 7 is provided with notifying means for notifying the apparatus main body whether the opening 41a is sealed by the seal 46 or opened. Here , a memory unit is mounted on the cartridge 7 as notifying means, and a memory control circuit is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body as notifying information processing means.

  The memory unit incorporates a nonvolatile storage element, and can perform data writing and data reading by performing data communication between the image forming apparatuses.

  Data communication is performed in a non-contact manner by magnetic coupling between an antenna provided in the memory unit and a read / write device provided in the image forming apparatus main body. When the process cartridge is attached to the image forming apparatus, the antenna unit of the memory unit and the read / write device provided in the image forming apparatus come close to each other and communication is possible.

  Further, a power supply circuit is provided inside the memory unit, and all DC power used inside is supplied from this power supply circuit. In the power supply circuit, a DC voltage is generated by rectifying a current generated in the antenna by magnetic coupling of the two antennas. Information about the cartridge is stored in the memory unit.

  If the memory unit has information that the opening 41a of the developer container 41 of the process cartridge is sealed by the seal 46, the opening 41a of the developer container 41 is opened using the drive from the image forming apparatus main body. Thus, the seal 46 is wound up and removed from the position where the opening 41a is sealed. Further, when the seal 46 is removed from the position where the opening 41a is sealed and the opening 41a is opened, information that the opening 41a is opened is stored in the memory unit.

[Developer seal opening drive transmission means]
The image forming apparatus is configured so that the seal 46 can be removed by selectively transmitting a driving force to the winding shaft 54 of the process cartridge in which the process cartridge is mounted and the seal 46 is not removed from the above-described notification means. Yes.

  The drive transmission means for that purpose is configured as shown in FIG. That is, the gears 82a and 82b in which the driving force from the driving motor 81, which is one driving source provided on the one side frame of the image forming apparatus main body, becomes a gear train on one side, and the gear train on the other side. Through the gears 82c and 82d, the four clutches 83a, 83b, 83c and 83d corresponding to the four process cartridges can be transmitted.

  Each of the clutches 83a, 83b, 83c, and 83d is, for example, an electromagnetic clutch, and transmits the drive to the downstream gears 84a, 84b, 84c, and 84d by the engine controller 61 of the image forming apparatus 100, which will be described later, or drives the clutch. It is controlled to idle without transmitting. Each of the gears 84a, 84b, 84c, and 84d further uses a worm gear and a worm wheel, or a bevel gear, etc., aligns the rotation axis direction with the winding shaft 54 of each process cartridge, and drives to each winding shaft 54. It can communicate.

  Then, by selectively operating the four clutches 83a, 83b, 83c, 83d, the four process cartridges 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d corresponding thereto are selectively operated with respect to the respective winding shafts 54. The driving force can be transmitted to

[Developer seal winding system]
Here, a system configuration for enabling the selective winding of the seal 46 will be described with reference to a system block diagram of FIG.

  In FIG. 10, an engine controller 61 performs system control of the entire image forming apparatus. The engine controller 61 includes a central processing unit (CPU) (not shown), and a series of system processing of the image forming apparatus is performed according to a program stored in advance in the central processing.

The engine controller 61 controls driving of the high-voltage power supply 62 and the driving unit 66 based on detection signals and input signals from the sensor units 63, and displays predetermined information on the display unit 64, thereby controlling the image forming operation. . Here, when the cartridge 7 is mounted, the operation such as the removal of the developer seal of the cartridge 7 is controlled by the notification information processing means 65 that can communicate with the notification means of the cartridge.

Then, the developer seal removal procedure is performed as shown in the flowchart of FIG. That is, after the cartridge 7 is mounted on the image forming apparatus (step S1), the notification information processing means 65 as a detection means for detecting that the opening is sealed with the developer seal 46 is attached to the cartridge 7. Information is read from the means (step S2).

  When the opening 41a of the developer container 41 is sealed by the seal 46 and there is a process cartridge that requires opening of the opening 41a (step S3), the image formation is performed by looking at the take-up shaft 54 of the cartridge. A drive transmission path is selected via the engine controller 61 so as to transmit the drive of the apparatus main body (step S4).

  For example, of the four cartridges 7a, 7b, 7c, and 7d in FIG. 1, when only one cartridge 7a is sealed with the seal 46, the drive motor 81 shown in FIG. Of the clutches 83a, 83b, 83c, 83d, the clutch 83a corresponding to the cartridge 7a is operated (ON), and the driving force is transmitted to the winding shaft 54 of the cartridge 7a. As a result, the seal 46 of the cartridge 7a is wound up and removed. At this time, the other clutches 83b, 83c, 83d are not operated (OFF), and the driving force of the drive motor 81 is not transmitted to the winding shaft 54 of the other cartridges 7b, 7c, 7d.

  As a result, the opening 41a of the selected cartridge 7a is opened (step S5), and the opened information is stored in the notification means (step S6). Then, the image forming apparatus enters a ready state in which image formation is possible (step S7).

Here, when there are a plurality of process cartridges from which the seal 46 is not removed, the driving force of the drive motor 81 is not transmitted to the winding shafts 54 of the plurality of process cartridges at the same time, but one by one. It is communicated individually.

  For example, when it is detected from the information from the notification means that the developer seals of the two cartridges 7a, 7b among the four cartridges 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d in FIG. First, the clutch 83a corresponding to the cartridge 7a is turned on to transmit the drive to the seal take-up shaft 54 of the cartridge 7a. Thereby, the developer seal of the cartridge 7a is wound up and removed. At this time, no drive is transmitted to the take-up shaft 54 of the cartridge 7b.

  When the developer seal removal of the cartridge 7a is completed, the clutch 83a is turned off and the clutch 83b corresponding to the cartridge 7b is turned on to transmit the driving force to the take-up shaft 54 of the cartridge 7b to wind the seal 46. Remove.

  Therefore, when all of the four cartridges 7a, 7b, 7c, and 7d are sealed by the developer seal, the driving force of the drive motor 81 is sequentially transmitted to each seal winding shaft 54, and all The developer seals are sequentially wound up and removed.

As described above, the opening of the developer container can be automatically opened using the drive source of the image forming apparatus main body. In particular, the notifying means and the notifying information processing means can selectively transmit the drive only to the cartridge in which the opening of the developer container inserted into the image forming apparatus main body is sealed by the sealing member.

  Even when the developer seals of a plurality of process cartridges are removed, the drive motor 81 can be small and the cost is increased because the developer seals are selectively removed one by one by one drive motor 81. And increase in size of the apparatus.

[Second Reference Example ]
Next, an apparatus according to a second reference example will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the basic configuration of the apparatus of the second reference example is the same as that of the first reference example described above, and therefore redundant description is omitted. Here, a configuration different from that of the first reference example will be described. Members having the same functions as those of the reference example described above are denoted by the same reference numerals.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of drive transmission to the seal take-up shaft according to the second reference example . Drive from the drive motor 81 of the apparatus main body 100a is transmitted to the clutches 83a and 83c through the gear 82a and the gear 82c. The clutches 83a and 83c are, for example, electromagnetic clutches, and transmit the drive to the further downstream gears 85a and 85c (clutch ON) by the engine controller 61 of the image forming apparatus 100 as in the first reference example described above. Alternatively, it is controlled so as to rotate idly without transmitting drive (clutch OFF).

  In order to transmit the drive to the take-up shaft 54 of only the cartridge in which the opening 41a of the developer container 41 inserted in the image forming apparatus main body is sealed by the developer seal 46, the engine controller 61 is used as follows. Control.

  For example, in order to transmit the drive only to the take-up shaft of the process cartridge 7a in FIG. 1, the drive of the drive motor 81 may be transmitted only to the gear 84a in FIG.

  That is, the drive motor 81 is rotated in the direction of arrow B1 in FIG. The engine controller 61 controls the clutch 83a so as to transmit the drive downstream, and the clutch 83c does not transmit the drive downstream. Then, the clutch 83a rotates in the direction of the arrow B2, and the swing gear 85a downstream is further engaged with the downstream gear 84a to transmit drive. The oscillating gear 85a can oscillate around the center of rotation of the clutch 83a in a state engaged with the clutch 83a according to the rotation direction of the drive motor 81, and is selectively engaged with the gear 84a and the gear 84b. obtain.

  Accordingly, when the swinging gear 85a meshes with the gear 84a, the swinging gear 85a is retracted from the gear 84b and the drive to the gear 84b is cut off. Further, the gears 84c and 84d do not rotate because the drive is interrupted by the clutch 83c upstream of the gears 84c and 84d.

  On the other hand, when meshing the swing gear 85a with the gear 84b, the drive motor 81 may be rotated in the direction opposite to the arrow B1 while the clutch 83c is kept OFF.

  The same applies to the case where the drive is selectively transmitted to the gears 84c and 84d. That is, the swing gear 85c is swingable about the rotation center of the clutch 83c in a state of being engaged with the clutch 83c, and is provided so as to be selectively meshed with the gear 84c and the gear 84d. Accordingly, the clutch 83a is turned off, the clutch 83c is turned on, and the rotation direction of the drive motor 81 is changed, so that either of the gears 84c and 84d can be selected to transmit the driving force.

As described above, the engine controller 61 controls the rotation direction of the drive motor 81 and the drive transmission control of the clutch, so that the drive can be transmitted only to any one of the plurality of cartridges. As a result, the same effects as those of the first reference example described above can be obtained, and the number of clutches can be reduced to two to facilitate the device configuration.

[Third reference example ]
Next, an apparatus according to a third reference example will be described with reference to FIG. Note that the basic configuration of the apparatus of the third reference example is also the same as that of the first reference example described above, and thus redundant description is omitted. Here, a configuration different from the first reference example will be described. Further, members having the same functions as those of the reference example described above are denoted by the same reference numerals.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of drive transmission to the seal take-up shaft according to the third reference example . Here , an example in which two drive motors are used is shown.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the driving forces from the two driving motors 81a and 81b of the image forming apparatus main body are transmitted to the gears 82a and 82c to the swinging gears 85a and 85c, respectively. The swing gears 85a and 85c swing around the rotation centers of the gears 82a and 82c while meshing with the gears 82a and 82c according to the rotation direction of the drive motors 81a and 81b, and the gears 84a and 84b or the gear 84c, It selectively meshes with 84d.

  In order to transmit the drive only to the cartridge in which the opening 41a of the developer container 41 of the process cartridge inserted in the image forming apparatus main body is sealed by the developer seal 46, the engine controller 61 controls as follows. .

  For example, in order to transmit the drive only to the take-up shaft of the cartridge 7a in FIG. 1, it is only necessary to transmit the drive of the drive motor 81a only to the gear 84a in FIG. For this purpose, the drive motor 81a is rotated in the direction of arrow C1 in FIG. Then, the gear 82a rotates in the direction of the arrow C2, and the downstream swing gear 85a is further engaged with the downstream gear 84a to transmit the drive. At this time, the oscillating gear 85a is retracted from the gear 84b, and the drive to the gear 84b is cut off. At this time, the drive motor 81b is not driven.

  Further, when the driving force is transmitted to either of the gears 84c and 84d, the driving motor 81b may be driven in the same manner as described above.

As described above, the engine controller 61 controls the rotation, stop, and rotation direction of the drive motors 81a and 81b, so that the drive can be transmitted to only one of the plurality of cartridges. As a result, the same effects as those of the first reference example described above can be obtained. Further, although the number of motors is two, there is an advantage that the control configuration is facilitated because a clutch is unnecessary.

First Embodiment
Next, an apparatus according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Note that the basic configuration of the apparatus of the present embodiment is also the same as that of the first reference example described above, and thus redundant description is omitted. Here, a configuration different from the first reference example will be described. Further, members having the same functions as those of the reference example described above are denoted by the same reference numerals.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of drive transmission to the seal take-up shaft according to the first embodiment. In the present embodiment, the drive from the drive motor 81 included in the image forming apparatus main body is transmitted to a later-described mechanical clutch 86 through the gear 82. One of the gears 84a, 84b, 84c, 84d to which the drive is to be transmitted is selected by the planetary gear 86a of the mechanical clutch 86, and the drive is transmitted.

  Here, the mechanical clutch 86 of the present embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. The mechanical clutch 86 mainly comprises a planetary gear 86a, a disk 86b, a felt 86d, a step gear 86e, a trigger 86i, and the like. The planetary gear 86a rotates around the axis provided on the disk 86b and revolves around the axis 86n. The disk 86b, the planetary gear retaining 86c, the felt 86d, and the step gear 86e rotate around the shaft 86n. The felt 86d is fixed to the planetary gear retaining 86c. The planetary gear retaining ring 86c is fixed so as to rotate in synchronization with the disk 86b while maintaining the same degree of coaxiality.

  One gear of the step gear 86e always meshes with the gear 82, and the other gear meshes with the planetary gear 86a. Pressure is applied by a pressure adjusting spring 86g in the direction of arrow P in FIG. 15 so that the step gear 86e is always pressed against the felt 86d that rotates in synchronization with the disk 86b. Therefore, when the drive from the drive motor is transmitted to the step gear 86e through the gear 82, the disk 86b, the planetary gear retaining 86c, the planetary gear 86a, etc. are caused by the frictional force generated between the step gear 86e and the felt 86d. It rotates around the shaft 86n in synchronism with 86e. On the other hand, when the disk 86b or the like is forced to stop rotation from the outside, the step gear 86e rotates while sliding on the felt 86d. At this time, the planetary gear 86a does not revolve around the axis 86n, but rotates around the axis provided on the disk 86b.

  The trigger end 86o is provided with a roller 86k that is slidable in the axial direction of the shaft 86n, and pressure is always applied in the direction of the arrow P1, that is, in the direction of the disk 86b by the spring 86j. The trigger 86i is biased by a spring 86m so as to rotate in the direction of arrow Q in FIG. 15 about the trigger shaft 86l, so that the trigger surface 86p is always pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the disk 86b. It has become.

  In FIG. 16, when the drive motor 81 is rotated in the direction of arrow R1 in the figure, the step gear 86e is rotated in the direction of arrow R2. In synchronization with the rotation of the step gear 86e, the disk 86b also rotates in the R2 direction. Here, when any one of the projections 86ba, 86bb, 86bc, 86bd provided on the outer peripheral surface of the disk 86b is caught by the trigger end 86q, the disk 86b does not rotate and the planetary gear 86a rotates. At this time, driving can be transmitted downstream by arranging any one of the gears 84a, 84b, 84c, and 84d so that the planetary gear 86n rotates and meshes with the planetary gear 86n at the same time. The disc protrusions 86ba, 86bb, 86bc, and 86bd can be selected by controlling the rotation angle of the step gear 86e from the home position described later, that is, the rotation angle of the drive motor 81.

  When the drive motor 81 is rotated in the direction opposite to the arrow R1 direction, the disk 86b rotates in the direction opposite to the arrow R2 direction. When this rotation continues, the disc protrusion 86be is caught by the trigger end 86r. This position is the home position of the disk 86b. At this time, even if the drive motor 81 is continuously rotated in the direction opposite to the arrow R1 direction, the position of the disk 86b does not change. FIG. 17 shows a view of the clutch 86 at this time as seen from the back side direction of FIG.

  The drive path is selected from this state (home position) as follows. When the drive motor 81 is rotated in the direction of arrow R1, the disk 86b rotates in the direction of arrow R2 in FIG. 16 and in the direction of arrow S in FIG. When the rotation in the direction of arrow S continues, the trigger 86i swings to the position shown in FIG. 18 against the urging force of the spring 86m about the shaft 86l in the direction of arrow Q.

  This is because a roller 86k (see FIG. 15) provided at the trigger end 86o moves along grooves (86s, 86t, 86u, 86v, 86w, 86x) provided on the back surface of the disk 86b as shown in FIG. It is to do. The groove depths of the grooves 86s and 86v are the deepest, while the grooves 86u and 86x are the shallowest, and the grooves 86t and 86w are both sloped to smoothly connect the height differences of the grooves. It is out.

  At the home position (FIG. 17), the roller 86k is positioned in the groove 86s. As the disk 86b rotates in the direction of arrow S, the roller 86k follows the groove cam and sequentially follows the groove 86t, the groove 86u, and the groove 86v while drawing the locus T.

  From the state of FIG. 18, until any projection 86ba, 86bb, 86bc, 86bd is caught by the trigger end 86q, that is, until the planetary gear 86a meshes with any desired gear 84a, 84b, 84c, 84d. Is rotated in the direction opposite to the arrow S direction. In this way, the planetary gear 86a can select any one of the gears 84a, 84b, 84c, and 84d and transmit the driving force of the driving motor 81, and can select the seal selected from the four process cartridges. The developer seal can be taken up and removed by rotating the take-up shaft.

  As described above, the engine controller 61 controls the rotation, stop, rotation direction, and rotation angle of the drive motor 81, so that the drive can be transmitted to only one of the plurality of cartridges. The drive can be selectively transmitted only to the cartridge in which the opening of the developer container inserted into the image forming apparatus main body is sealed by the sealing member.

[Other Embodiments]
In the above description, the example in which the memory unit is mounted as the notification unit mounted on the process cartridge has been described . However, the notification unit may be configured by a protrusion provided on the outer surface of the cartridge. For example, when the notification information processing means detects the presence of the protrusion, it recognizes information that the opening of the developer container is sealed by the sealing member. On the other hand, after the developer seal is removed by driving from the main body of the image forming apparatus and the opening of the developer container is opened, the protrusion breaks, and the notification information processing means does not detect the protrusion so that the developer container You may enable it to recognize the information that the opening part is open | released.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the example in which the developer seal is removed from the process cartridge having the photosensitive drum and the developing unit has been described. However, as a cartridge to be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body, a cartridge having no photosensitive drum, For example, the present invention can be similarly applied to a developing cartridge in which the developing means and the developer container are integrated and the opening of the developer container is sealed with a developer seal.

Furthermore, the image forming apparatus may be such that only the developer container having no developing means is detachable from the apparatus main body. That is, in the apparatus for multiple mounting to the image forming developer container having an opening sealed by a developer sealing, the case where the removal of the developer seal was performed by a drive transmission described in the above-described embodiments described above The same effects as those of the embodiment described above can be obtained.

  Furthermore, although the developer seal is exemplified as the sealing member in the above-described embodiment, the sealing member is an easy peel method in which one sheet is folded and used, and a cover film and a cover for sealing the opening of the developer container. There is also a combination of tear tapes for tearing the film, but it is of course applicable to such a developer seal. Further, the sealing member for sealing the opening of the developer container need not be limited to a sheet-like member, and the sealing member is plate-shaped, which slides in the longitudinal direction or the short direction of the cartridge. Thus, the opening 41a of the developer container 41 may be opened.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows schematic structure of the image forming apparatus of a 1st reference example . It is sectional drawing which shows the process cartridge of a 1st reference example . It is a disassembled perspective view which shows the process cartridge of a 1st reference example . FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view illustrating a mounting state of the process cartridge of the first reference example to the image forming apparatus. It is a fragmentary sectional view showing a positioning part to an image forming device of a process cartridge of the 1st reference example . It is sectional drawing which shows the positioning part to the image forming apparatus of the process cartridge of a 1st reference example . FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing a developer container opening of a first reference example . It is state explanatory drawing which winds and removes the developer seal | sticker of a 1st reference example . It is drive transmission explanatory drawing to the developer seal winding shaft of the 1st reference example . It is a block diagram of the control system of the 1st reference example . It is a flowchart which shows the winding-up removal procedure of the developer seal | sticker of a 1st reference example . It is drive transmission explanatory drawing to the developer seal winding shaft of the 2nd reference example . It is drive transmission explanatory drawing to the developer seal winding shaft of the 3rd reference example . It is drive transmission explanatory drawing to the developer seal winding shaft of 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the mechanical clutch of 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the mechanical clutch of 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the mechanical clutch of 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the mechanical clutch of 1st Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Photosensitive drum 2 ... Charging means 3 ... Scanner unit 4 ... Developing unit 5 ... Electrostatic transfer apparatus 6 ... Cleaning means 7 ... Process cartridge
16… Feeding department
17… Feed cassette
18… feed roller
19… Registration roller pair
20… Fixing part
23… discharge roller pair
24… discharge section
40… Development roller
41 ... Developer container
41a ... opening
41b ... welding surface
45… Development frame
46… Developer seal
49… support shaft
50… Photoreceptor drum unit
51… Cleaning frame
54… Rewinding shaft
61… Engine controller
63… Sensor part
64… Display section
65 ... Information processing means
66… Actuator
72… Side cover
81, 81a, 81b ... drive motor
82, 82a, 82b, 82c, 82d, 84a, 84b, 84c, 84d ... Gear
83a, 83b, 83c, 83d ... clutch
85a, 85c ... Oscillating gear
86… Mechanical clutch

Claims (4)

In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which a plurality of process cartridges are detachable and forms an image on a recording medium.
(a) an electrophotographic photosensitive drum;
A developing roller for developing the electrostatic latent image formed on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum;
A developer accommodating portion for accommodating a developer used for developing the electrostatic latent image by the developing roller;
A developer supply opening for supplying the developer stored in the developer storage section to the developing roller;
A sealing member for sealing the developer supply opening in an openable manner;
An opening means for removing the sealing member from the developer supply opening and opening the developer supply opening;
A process cartridge comprising a plurality of process cartridges, which is detachably mounted to the mounting portion having,
(b) a single motor;
(c) a disk that rotates about an axis when the driving force from the motor is transmitted;
A planetary gear provided on the disk so as to be capable of rotating, revolving around the axis by rotation of the disk, and a planetary gear for individually transmitting a driving force from the motor to the opening means;
A step gear that rotates about the shaft and transmits the driving force from the motor to the planetary gear;
A felt that is provided between the disk and the step gear, and that transmits the driving force to the disk by a frictional force between the step gear;
A plurality of protrusions provided at each position provided on the disk, wherein the planetary gear transmits the driving force to the opening means;
A trigger that catches one of the protrusions corresponding to each position and stops the rotation of the disk against the frictional force;
Wherein in order to unseal the developer supply opening sequentially individually included in each process cartridge mounted to said mounting portion, a driving force transmitting means for sequentially individually transmit the driving force from the motor to the respective opening means,
An electrophotographic image forming apparatus comprising: In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which a plurality of developing cartridges are detachable and an image is formed on a recording medium.
(a) a developing roller for developing the electrostatic latent image formed on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum;
A developer accommodating portion for accommodating a developer used for developing the electrostatic latent image by the developing roller;
A developer supply opening for supplying the developer stored in the developer storage section to the developing roller;
A sealing member for sealing the developer supply opening in an openable manner;
An opening means for removing the sealing member from the developer supply opening and opening the developer supply opening;
A developing cartridge to a plurality of developing cartridges, which are mounted removably to the mounting portion having,
(b) a single motor;
(c) a disk that rotates about an axis when the driving force from the motor is transmitted;
A planetary gear provided on the disk so as to be capable of rotating, revolving around the axis by rotation of the disk, and a planetary gear for individually transmitting a driving force from the motor to the opening means;
A step gear that rotates about the shaft and transmits the driving force from the motor to the planetary gear;
A felt that is provided between the disk and the step gear, and that transmits the driving force to the disk by a frictional force between the step gear;
A plurality of protrusions provided at each position provided on the disk, wherein the planetary gear transmits the driving force to the opening means;
A trigger that catches one of the protrusions corresponding to each position and stops the rotation of the disk against the frictional force;
Driving force transmitting means for sequentially and individually transmitting the driving force from the motor to each unsealing means in order to sequentially unseal the developer supply opening of each developing cartridge mounted on the mounting portion ;
An electrophotographic image forming apparatus comprising: Furthermore, it has a detecting means for detecting that the developer supply opening of the process cartridge mounted on each mounting portion is sealed by the sealing member,
The driving force transmitting means transmits the driving force to the opening means of the process cartridge, which is detected by the detecting means to seal the developer supply opening, to drive the opening means. The electrophotographic image forming apparatus according to claim 1. Furthermore, it has a detecting means for detecting that the developer supply opening of the developing cartridge mounted on each mounting portion is sealed by the sealing member,
The driving force transmitting means transmits the driving force to the opening means of the developing cartridge that is detected by the detecting means to seal the developer supply opening, thereby driving the opening means. The electrophotographic image forming apparatus according to claim 2.

Images