JP3992278B2 - Developer / hopper combination / separation device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a developing device and hopper connecting / separating device provided in an image forming apparatus such as an electrostatographic copying machine, and more particularly to an apparatus configured such that a developing device can be connected to and separated from a hopper.
[0002]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In the image forming apparatus configured such that the hopper can be attached to and detached from the main body, since the developing device is integrated with the hopper, the developing device can be easily taken in and out particularly when the hopper is large. It may be difficult to configure. On the other hand, there was a problem that the main body would be enlarged if it was intended to facilitate the taking in and out.
[0003]
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a developing device and hopper coupling / separating device in which the developing device can be easily taken in and out and the main body can be made compact.
[0004]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In the present invention, means for solving the above-described problems are configured as follows.
That is, a developing device and hopper connecting / separating device provided in the image forming apparatus and configured to be able to connect / separate the developing unit to the hopper, and to develop the toner at the toner removal port of the hopper side toner conveyance path. The developer side toner transport path is slidably provided in the developing unit so that the connection port of the developer side toner transport path can be coupled and separated, and the developer side toner transport path has a feeder inside , Also, a sliding joint is provided to connect the feeder shaft to a shaft interlocked with a drive source, and when connecting with the developer side toner transport path, the connection port of the developer side toner transport path is connected to the hopper side toner. It is configured to slide toward the toner removal port of the conveyance path.
[0005]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of a developing device / hopper combination / separation device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a hopper coupling / separating device, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of an essential part thereof, and in these drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes a toner supply hopper, 2 denotes a hopper side toner conveyance path, and 3 denotes the hopper. The spiral feeder provided in the side toner conveyance path 2, 4 is a toner removal opening provided at the terminal portion of the toner conveyance path 2, 5 is an openable / closable shutter provided in the toner removal opening 4, and 6 is a hopper. A developer-side toner conveyance path that can be moved forward and backward with respect to the side toner conveyance path 2, 7 is a spiral feeder provided in the developer-side toner conveyance path 6, and 8 is a connection that can be coupled to and separated from the shutter 5. An opening 9 is a gear connected to a drive source (not shown), and its shaft 10 is connected to a shaft 71 of the spiral feeder 7 by a sliding joint 11 or the like. A toner agitation transport path 12 is provided at a fixed position in the developing unit 13 (see FIG. 4).
[0006]
The above-mentioned hopper 1 is provided in a fixed position on a drum side plate assembly 17 that opens the front door 16 of an image forming apparatus main body (hereinafter referred to as main body) 15 (see FIG. 5) and can be pulled out forward. The drum side plate assembly 17 is detachably provided. The drum side plate assembly 17 (see FIGS. 3 and 4) incorporates a photosensitive drum 18, a charging unit 19, a cleaning unit 21, and the like, and a sliding member 22 provided at the lower portion of the drum side plate assembly 17. Is guided by a guide rail 23 provided in the front-rear direction of the main body 15 so that the developing unit 13 is coupled to the hopper 1 in a state where the drum side plate assembly 17 is pulled out from the main body 15.・ It can be separated.
[0007]
3 are front and rear side plates, and 211 in FIG. 4 is a pressing device for the cleaning unit 21. A pair of support members 213 are provided on both sides of the support shaft 212 supported between the side plates 24 and 25. The pressing member 215 is guided to the guide shaft 214 fixed and screwed to the support shaft 212, and the pressing member 215 is pressed against the back portion of the cleaning unit 21 supported by swinging between the side plates 24 and 25 by the spring 216. The cleaning blade (not shown) can be urged and contacted evenly to the photosensitive drum 18.
[0008]
The details of the coupling / separation device 26 for the hopper and the cleaning unit 21 described above are shown in FIG. 2, and a downward opening 27 is formed in the terminal portion of the hopper side toner supply path 2, and is opened in a cylindrical shape directly below the opening 27. A shutter housing member 28 having a toner drop opening 4 is attached, and the shutter 5 is fitted to the shutter housing member 28 so as to be freely rotatable. The shutter 5 includes a main body 52 having an opening 51 in which a part of a cylindrical body is cut out, and an operation piece 53 attached to an end portion of the main body 52. A key groove 54 communicating with one end of the opening 51 is formed. On the other hand, an upward opening 81 corresponding to the opening 27 of the hopper-side toner conveyance path 2 is formed at the connection port 8 of the developer-side toner conveyance path 6. A key 82 is formed in the moving direction (Y direction) of the toner conveyance path 6.
[0009]
With such a configuration, when the developer-side toner conveyance path 6 is coupled to the hopper-side toner conveyance path 2, the lever 61 (see FIG. 5) is set with the operation piece 53 facing upward as illustrated. , The developer side toner transport path 6 is slid toward the toner removal port 4 of the hopper side toner transport path 2, and the key 82 is fitted into the key groove 54, thereby connecting the connection port 8 to the shutter 5. When the insertion of the connection port 8 is completed, the shutter 5 closes the opening 27 so that the toner does not leak out. Then, the operation piece 53 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 2 so that the opening 51 corresponds to both the openings 27 and 81, so that the toner can be supplied from the hopper side to the developing device side. When the key 82 abuts against the side of the opening 51 of the shutter 5 deviates from the keyway 54, connecting port 8 is completed binding is latched to the shutter 5. At this point, the developing unit 13 is fixed to the drum side plate assembly 17 by front and rear fixing levers (not shown).
[0010]
On the other hand, when the developing unit 13 is separated from the drum side plate assembly 17, first, the operation piece 53 is raised to close the hopper side opening 27 with the shutter 5, and the key groove 54 is made to correspond to the key 82. After releasing the latch, if the developer-side toner conveyance path 6 is retracted, the connection port 8 can be separated from the main body 52 of the shutter 5, and the development unit 13 is fixed to the drum side plate assembly 17. If the rear fixing lever is removed, only the developing unit 13 can be taken out.
[0011]
By the coupling / separating device 26 as described above, even when the capacity of the hopper 1 is large, the developing unit 13 can be made compact without increasing the size of the image forming apparatus while the hopper 1 is fixed to the drum side plate assembly 17. It is possible to configure so as to be detachable only easily.
[0012]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the developing device and hopper coupling / separating device of the present invention, even when the hopper is large, the image forming apparatus main body can be made compact so that only the developing unit can be easily taken out. it can.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a connecting / separating device for a hopper of a developing device according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of assembly of the shutter.
FIG. 3 is a plan view of the developing unit.
FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of the drum side plate assembly.
FIG. 5 is a perspective explanatory view showing a state where the drum side plate assembly is pulled out from the image forming apparatus main body.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Hopper, 2 ... Hopper side toner conveyance path, 4 ... Toner drop opening, 5 ... Shutter, 6 ... Developer side toner conveyance path, 7 ... Spiral feeder, 71 ... Shaft, 8 ... Connection port, 9 ... Drive source DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Shaft, 11 ... Sliding joint, 13 ... Developing unit.

Claims (1)

A developing device and hopper connecting / separating device provided in the image forming apparatus and configured such that a developing unit can be connected to and separated from the hopper, the developing device side with respect to the toner removal port of the hopper side toner conveyance path The developing unit side toner conveying path is slidably provided in the developing unit so that the connection port of the toner conveying path can be coupled and separated, and the developing unit side toner conveying path has a feeder inside, and sliding joint is provided to connect to the shaft which is interlocked with the driving source to the shaft of the feeder, when is coupled with the developing device side toner conveying path, the developing device-side toner conveying path hopper side toner conveying path connection ports A developer / hopper combination / separation device configured to slide toward the toner removal opening.

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