JP4569611B2 - Developer container - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a developer container that is mounted on an image forming apparatus that performs new article detection and specification detection.

  In general, in an image forming apparatus such as a laser printer, a developing cartridge containing toner is detachably attached to the apparatus main body. As such an image forming apparatus, there has heretofore been known an apparatus capable of determining whether a mounted developing cartridge is new (detecting a new product) and determining the specifications of the developing cartridge (specification detection). (See Patent Document 1).

  Specifically, the image forming apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a swingable arm-like actuator, a spring that biases the actuator to a neutral position, and a sensor that detects the swing of the actuator on the apparatus main body side. And a control device for detecting a new article and detecting a specification based on a signal from the sensor. The developing cartridge mounted on the image forming apparatus includes one or two contact protrusions extending radially outward from a predetermined shaft portion, and detection of rotating integrally with the contact protrusion about the shaft portion. A gear, a transmission gear meshing with the detection gear, and a gear mechanism for transmitting a driving force to the transmission gear are provided. And the detection gear has a gear tooth formed on only a part of its outer periphery, and the other part is in a missing state. Therefore, the detection gear rotates only while meshing with the transmission gear, and is stopped when the transmission gear is disengaged from the gear teeth.

  In this image forming apparatus, when the developing cartridge is mounted on the apparatus main body, the contact protrusion presses one end of the actuator to swing the actuator, and this swing is detected by the sensor. The signal detected by this sensor is transmitted to the control device as the first detection signal. When receiving the first detection signal, the control device determines that the developing cartridge is new.

  Further, in this image forming apparatus, for example, when the front cover is closed after the developing cartridge is mounted, a warming operation (rotating operation) is executed by the control device. Here, the glass turning operation refers to an operation of rotating a stirring plate (agitator) in the cartridge in order to stir the toner in the developing cartridge.

  In such a glass turning operation, the transmission force from the drive source provided on the apparatus main body side is transmitted to the agitator via the developing cartridge side gear mechanism, and is also detected via the gear mechanism and transmission gear. Transmitted to the gear. As a result, the stirring of the toner by the agitator is started, and the abutting protrusion rotates to further press one end of the actuator, and comes off from the actuator at a predetermined position. Thereafter, the actuator returns to the neutral position by the biasing force of the spring. At this time, if there are two abutting projections, the second abutting projection again presses one end of the actuator to swing the actuator, and this swing is detected by the sensor. The signal detected by this sensor is transmitted to the control device as the second detection signal. Thereafter, after the second contact protrusion is detached from the actuator at a predetermined position, the transmission gear is disengaged from the detection gear and idles, and the rotation of the detection gear is stopped.

  When receiving the second detection signal, the control device determines that the specification of the developing cartridge is the A type (for example, the maximum image forming number is 6000 types). Note that if the second detection signal is not received, the control device determines that the specification of the developing cartridge is a type B different from the type A (for example, a type having a maximum image forming number of 3000). Further, since the detection gear rotates by a predetermined amount from the initial position and then comes off from the transmission gear, in the developing cartridge that has been used once, the abutting protrusion does not abut against the actuator when the developing cartridge is mounted. Therefore, in this case, since the control device does not receive the first signal, it determines that the developing cartridge is an old product.

JP 2006-267994 A

However, the conventional developing cartridge described above has a problem that the number of specifications that can be discriminated is limited because the specification is detected by the number of protrusions formed on the detection gear.
On the other hand, in this type of developing cartridge, it is desired to inspect the print quality after the completion of manufacturing of the developing cartridge and before its shipment. In the print quality inspection process, it is necessary to keep the contact protrusion in the new position, but if the detection gear rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the agitator, the contact protrusion will be in an unintended position such as the old product position. There is a problem that it moves and causes inconvenience.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a developer container that can keep the detection gear in an appropriate position while providing variations in the number of specifications that can be discriminated.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, a developer container according to the present invention includes a housing that houses the developer, a transmission gear that is rotatably provided in the housing and transmits a driving force input from the outside, A gear that is rotatably provided in the housing and receives a driving force from the transmission gear, and has an engagement gear having a gear tooth portion and a missing tooth portion, and the housing is coaxial with the engagement gear. A rotating body that is rotatably provided and receives a driving force from the engagement gear, and a shaft that is provided on the housing and rotatably supports the engagement gear and the rotating body, The engaging gear includes a first surface facing the rotating body and an engaging portion formed on the first surface, and the rotating body is a first surface facing the first surface. 2, a third surface constituting the surface opposite to the second surface, and the second surface, An engaged portion that can be engaged with a portion, and a detection portion that is formed at a position shifted from the rotation center of the rotating body on the third surface and protrudes from the housing, and the engagement A first engagement surface facing the one surface of the engaged portion in the rotation direction of the engagement gear, and the same engagement surface as the first engagement surface. A second engagement surface provided apart from the first engagement surface in the rotation direction of the combined gear, and the transmission gear and the toothless portion of the engagement gear face each other. The first state, the second state in which the transmission gear and the gear tooth portion mesh with each other, and the third state in which the transmission gear and the missing tooth portion again face each other are displaceable, and the rotation When an urging force is applied to the body detection unit from the outside, the first engagement surface of the engagement gear is aligned with one surface of the engagement portion of the rotating body. The first engagement is displaced from the first state to the second state, and the second engagement is achieved by rotating in response to the driving force from the transmission gear in the second state. The surface is configured to move in the one direction and press the other surface of the engaged portion.

  According to the present invention, when the developer container is mounted on the image forming apparatus, the detection unit of the rotating body comes into contact with the actuator in the image forming apparatus, so that only the rotating body is rotated first. The detection unit moves in one direction. During this movement, the first engagement surface of the engagement gear is pressed in one direction by one surface of the engaged portion of the rotating body, and the engagement gear is displaced from the first state to the second state. Thereafter, when the image forming apparatus performs a rotation operation, the driving force is transmitted from the transmission gear so that the engagement gear rotates, and the first engagement surface of the engagement gear becomes the engaged portion of the rotating body. The second engagement surface moves away from the one surface so as to approach the other surface of the engaged portion. Then, after a predetermined time, the second engaging surface comes into contact with and presses the other surface of the engaged portion, whereby the rotating body rotates. Therefore, in the structure according to the present invention, by appropriately changing the distance between the first engagement surface and the second engagement surface, the second engagement surface moves to contact the engaged portion. Since the time until contact can be arbitrarily changed, if this time is associated with the specification of the developer container, the number of specifications that can be identified can be varied. Further, according to the present invention, by attaching the developer container to the image forming apparatus, the first engagement surface of the engagement gear is pressed in one direction by one surface of the engaged portion of the rotating body, and The combined gear is displaced from the first state to the second state. Therefore, in an inspection process or the like in which the developer container is not attached to the image forming apparatus, the engagement gear (detection gear) can be kept at an appropriate position because the rotating body does not rotate.

  According to the present invention, the rotating body having the detecting portion and the engaging gear are provided separately, and the second engaging surface of the engaging gear moves to press the engaged portion of the rotating body. Therefore, the detection gear can be kept in an appropriate position while providing variations in the number of specifications that can be discriminated.

  Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. In the drawings to be referred to, FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a laser printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, first, the overall configuration of the laser printer will be briefly described, and then the details of the characteristic portions of the present invention will be described. Further, in the following description, the description will be made in the direction based on the user when the laser printer 1 is used. That is, in FIG. 1, the right side is referred to as “front side”, the left side is referred to as “back side”, the back side in the vertical direction of the paper surface is referred to as “right side”, and the front side in the vertical direction of the paper surface is referred to as “left side”. Called. As for the up and down direction, the illustrated direction and the direction when used by the user coincide with each other, and therefore will be referred to as the “up and down direction” as they are.

<Overall configuration of laser printer>
As shown in FIG. 1, a laser printer 1 as an example of an image forming apparatus includes a feeder unit 4 for feeding paper 3 into a main body casing 2 as an example of a main body of an image forming apparatus, and fed paper. 3 includes an image forming section 5 for forming an image.

<Configuration of feeder section>
The feeder unit 4 includes a paper feed tray 6 that is detachably attached to the bottom of the main casing 2 and a paper pressing plate 7 provided in the paper feed tray 6. The feeder unit 4 includes a feed roller 11 provided above one end of the paper feed tray 6, a paper feed roller 8 provided on the downstream side in the transport direction of the paper 3 with respect to the feed roller 11, A pad 9, a pinch roller 10, and a paper dust removing roller 50 are provided. Further, the feeder unit 4 includes a registration roller 12 provided on the downstream side with respect to the paper dust removing roller 50.

  In the feeder unit 4 configured as described above, the paper 3 in the paper feed tray 6 is moved toward the feed roller 11 by the paper pressing plate 7, and the feed roller 11 and the paper feed pad 9 are moved by the feed roller 11. Sent in between. Further, the sheet 3 is fed one by one by the sheet feeding roller 8 and the sheet feeding pad 9, passes through the various rollers 10, 50, and 12, and is then conveyed to the image forming unit 5.

<Configuration of image forming unit>
The image forming unit 5 includes a scanner unit 16, a process cartridge 17, a fixing unit 18, and the like.

<Configuration of scanner unit>
The scanner unit 16 is provided at an upper portion in the main body casing 2 and includes a laser light emitting unit (not shown), a polygon mirror 19 that is rotationally driven, lenses 20 and 21, reflecting mirrors 22 and 23, and the like. The laser beam based on the image data emitted from the laser emission unit passes or reflects in the order of the polygon mirror 19, the lens 20, the reflection mirror 22, the lens 21, and the reflection mirror 23, as indicated by a chain line, and the process cartridge 17. The surface of the photosensitive drum 27 is irradiated with high-speed scanning.

<Configuration of process cartridge>
The process cartridge 17 is configured to be detachably attached to the main casing 2 by appropriately opening a front cover 2 a provided on the front side of the main casing 2. The process cartridge 17 is mainly composed of a developing cartridge 28 as an example of a developer container and a drum unit 51.

  The developing cartridge 28 is detachably attached to the main casing 2 via the drum unit 51, and more specifically, is detachably attached to the drum unit 51 fixed to the main casing 2. The mounting of the developing cartridge 28 to the main casing 2 may be performed with the developing cartridge 28 alone or with the process cartridge 17 in which the drum unit 51 is mounted on the developing cartridge 28.

  The developing cartridge 28 mainly includes a developing roller 31, a layer thickness regulating blade 32, a supply roller 33, and a toner hopper 34. The toner in the toner hopper 34 is stirred by the agitator 34 a and then supplied to the developing roller 31 by the supply roller 33. At this time, the toner is positively frictionally charged between the supply roller 33 and the developing roller 31. The toner supplied onto the developing roller 31 enters between the layer thickness regulating blade 32 and the developing roller 31 as the developing roller 31 rotates, and is carried on the developing roller 31 as a thin layer having a constant thickness. The Details of the developing cartridge 28 will be described later.

  The drum unit 51 mainly includes a photosensitive drum 27, a scorotron charger 29, and a transfer roller 30.

  The photosensitive drum 27 is rotatably supported by the casing of the drum unit 51. The photosensitive drum 27 has a drum body grounded and a surface portion formed of a positively chargeable photosensitive layer. An exposure window 51 a formed in the shape of a hole in the casing of the drum unit 51 is disposed above the photosensitive drum 27.

  The scorotron charger 29 is disposed diagonally above the photosensitive drum 27 (specifically, on the back side and on the upper side of the photosensitive drum 27) so as not to contact the photosensitive drum 27 with a predetermined interval therebetween. . The scorotron charger 29 is a positively charged scorotron charger that generates corona discharge from a charging wire such as tungsten, and is configured to uniformly charge the surface of the photosensitive drum 27 to a positive polarity. ing.

  The transfer roller 30 is disposed below the photosensitive drum 27 so as to face and contact the photosensitive drum 27, and is rotatably supported by the casing of the drum unit 51. The transfer roller 30 is configured by covering a metal roller shaft with a conductive rubber material. A transfer bias is applied to the transfer roller 30 by constant current control during transfer.

  The surface of the photosensitive drum 27 is uniformly positively charged by the scorotron charger 29 and then exposed by high-speed scanning of the laser beam from the scanner unit 16. Thereby, the potential of the exposed part is lowered, and an electrostatic latent image based on the image data is formed. Here, the “electrostatic latent image” refers to an exposed portion of the surface of the photosensitive drum 27 that is uniformly positively charged and exposed to a laser beam to have a lowered potential. Next, the rotation of the developing roller 31 causes the toner carried on the developing roller 31 to be supplied to an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 27 when it contacts and faces the photosensitive drum 27. The The toner is visualized by being selectively carried on the surface of the photosensitive drum 27, whereby a toner image is formed by reversal development.

  Thereafter, the photosensitive drum 27 and the transfer roller 30 are rotationally driven so as to sandwich and convey the sheet 3 between them, and the sheet 3 is conveyed between the photosensitive drum 27 and the transfer roller 30, so that the photosensitive drum 27 and the transfer roller 30 are photosensitive. The toner image carried on the surface of the drum 27 is transferred onto the paper 3.

<Configuration of fixing unit>
The fixing unit 18 is disposed on the downstream side of the process cartridge 17, and includes a heating roller 41 and a pressing roller 42 that is disposed to face the heating roller 41 and presses the heating roller 41. In the fixing unit 18 configured as described above, the toner transferred onto the sheet 3 is thermally fixed while the sheet 3 passes between the heating roller 41 and the pressing roller 42. The sheet 3 thermally fixed by the fixing unit 18 is conveyed to a paper discharge roller 45 disposed on the downstream side of the fixing unit 18, and is sent out from the paper discharge roller 45 onto a paper discharge tray 46.

<Detailed structure inside developer cartridge and main body casing>
Next, the detailed structure in the developing cartridge 28 and the main body casing 2 which is a characteristic part of the present invention will be described. In the drawings to be referred to, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a developing cartridge whose maximum image forming number is 3000, and FIG. 3 is a side view of the developing cartridge of FIG. FIG. 4 is a view of the cover body and the gear mechanism as viewed from the inside of the developing cartridge, and shows an enlarged perspective view (a) showing details of the transmission gear, the engagement gear, and the rotating body, and details of the engagement piece. It is a top view (b) and a perspective view (c) which shows the back of an engagement gear. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a gear rotator provided in a developing cartridge having a maximum image forming number of 6000 sheets, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the developing cartridge is removed from the main body casing. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing each component of the new product specification detection apparatus.

<Detailed structure of developing cartridge>
As shown in FIG. 2, the developing cartridge 28 includes the developing roller 31 and the like, and also includes a cartridge body 60 as an example of a housing body, and an example of a gear cover that is detachably attached to the left side surface of the cartridge body 60. And a cover body 70 as a structure. As shown in FIG. 3, a gear mechanism 61 for transmitting a driving force to the developing roller 31 and the like and an engagement that can be irreversibly rotated in one direction are provided between the cartridge body 60 and the cover body 70. A gear 80 and a rotating body 90 are provided. As will be described later, the rotating body 90 functions as a gear that can rotate by receiving a force from the engagement gear 80.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the gear mechanism 61 includes an input gear 62 to which a driving force is transmitted from a driving device 110 (see FIG. 6) provided on the main casing 2 side, and a developing roller driving gear that directly meshes with the input gear 62. 63, a supply roller drive gear 64, an agitator drive gear 66 that meshes with the input gear 62 via an intermediate gear 65, and a transmission gear 67 that meshes directly with the agitator drive gear 66. Here, the developing roller driving gear 63, the supply roller driving gear 64, and the agitator driving gear 66 are gears for driving the developing roller 31, the supply roller 33, and the agitator 34a shown in FIG. 33 and the agitator 34a are integrally provided at the end of each shaft.

  Further, the transmission gear 67 is a reduction gear that decelerates the engagement gear 80. As shown in FIG. A small-diameter gear portion 67b having a smaller diameter than the gear portion 67a. The transmission gear 67 is rotatably supported by a cylindrical first support shaft portion 71 formed on the inner surface of the cover body 70. Here, a part of the first support shaft portion 71 is configured as a bowl-shaped retaining piece 71a configured to be able to bend and deform in the radial direction, thereby preventing the transmission gear 67 from coming off.

  As shown in FIG. 4C, the engagement gear 80 includes a cylindrical inner cylinder portion 81, an outer cylinder portion 82 formed in a cylindrical shape that is slightly larger than the inner cylinder portion 81, and the inner cylinder portion 81. And a connecting wall 83 that connects the ends of the outer cylindrical portion 82 to each other.

  The inner cylinder portion 81 is rotatably supported by a cylindrical second support shaft portion 72 formed on the inner surface of the cover body 70. An engagement groove 81 a that engages with an engagement piece 72 a located at the tip of the second support shaft portion 72 is formed at the end of the inner cylinder portion 81 opposite to the cover body 70. Here, the engagement piece 72 a and the engagement groove 81 a correspond to a restricting member, and only one set is provided for the set of the cover body 70 and the engagement gear 80.

  The engagement piece 72a is configured to be able to bend and deform in the radial direction of the second support shaft portion 72, and is formed in a bowl shape whose tip protrudes radially outward. Then, as shown in FIG. 4 (b), the one end of the engagement piece 72a that contacts the engagement groove 81a of the engagement gear 80 in the rotation direction of the engagement gear 80 is formed. The contact surface 72b is formed as an inclined surface inclined with respect to the radial direction, and the other contact surface 72c is formed as a plane along the radial direction (perpendicular to the rotation direction). Thereby, the engagement gear 80 can be rotated only counterclockwise in FIG.

  Note that the base end side surface on the inclined contact surface 72b side of the engagement piece 72a is an orthogonal surface 72d orthogonal to the rotation direction. And the 2nd support shaft part 72 has the support surface 72e arrange | positioned so that this orthogonal surface 72d may be opposed through a slight clearance gap. Thereby, when the engagement gear 80 rotates clockwise in FIG. 4, the planar contact surface 72c is pressed by the engagement groove 81a of the engagement gear 80, and the engagement piece 72a bends in the rotation direction. In this case, the orthogonal surface 72d of the engagement piece 72a is favorably supported by the support surface 72e.

  Further, the outer cylindrical portion 82 of the engagement gear 80 is formed with a gear tooth portion 82 a in which a rotational force (driving force) is transmitted from the transmission gear 67 by meshing with the transmission gear 67 at a part of the outer periphery thereof. In addition, a missing tooth portion 82b that cannot mesh with the transmission gear 67 is formed at the other portion of the outer periphery. A slit 82c along the axial direction is formed between the gear tooth portion 82a and the missing tooth portion 82b.

  The connection wall 83 is formed so as to be orthogonal to the rotation center of the engagement gear 80. As shown in FIG. 4C, the connection wall 83 is provided at an appropriate position on the back surface 83a as an example of the first surface. As an example, a first restriction rib 84 and a second restriction rib 85 are formed at the same height as the inner cylinder part 81 and the outer cylinder part 82. Accordingly, the first regulating rib 84, the second regulating rib 85, the inner cylindrical portion 81, the outer cylindrical portion 82 on the side where the missing tooth portion 82b is formed, and the connecting wall 83, a predetermined adjustment groove 86 as an example of a concave portion. Is formed in a fan shape. Here, of the surfaces constituting the adjustment groove 86, the surface 84a of the first restriction rib 84 corresponds to the first engagement surface, and the surface 85a of the second restriction rib 85 corresponds to the second engagement surface. These surfaces 84a and 85a are provided on the same circumference and are spaced apart from each other in the rotation direction of the engagement gear 80.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4A, a substantially fan-shaped notch 83b connected to the slit 82c of the outer cylinder portion 82 is formed on a part of the connecting wall 83, and the boundary between the gear tooth portion 82a and the missing tooth portion 82b. It is formed from the portion to a predetermined position on the gear tooth portion 82a side. Thereby, a part of gear tooth part 82a can be bent and deformed in the radial direction.

  And the engaging gear 80 comprised as mentioned above is the 1st state as which the transmission gear 67 and the missing-tooth part 82b as shown to Fig.10 (a) oppose, FIG.10 (b)-(d). ), The second state in which the transmission gear 67 and the gear tooth portion 82a mesh with each other, and the third state in which the transmission gear 67 and the missing tooth portion 82b face each other again as shown in FIG. Can be displaced. Further, the engaging piece 72a and the engaging groove 81a are fitted only when the engaging gear 80 is in the first state and the third state. In other words, the gear tooth portion 82a and the missing tooth portion 82b are formed at a predetermined ratio so that the engaging piece 72a and the engaging groove 81a are fitted only in the first state and the third state. . In the first state (see FIG. 10A), the engagement piece 72a is engaged until a predetermined force is applied to the engagement gear 80 in a predetermined direction (clockwise direction in FIG. 10). It fits into the groove 81a.

  The rotating body 90 includes a substantially L-shaped rotating frame 91 in plan view as an example of a plate-like part, an extending part 92 as an example of a detecting part extending from the rotating frame 91 toward the cover body 70, and a rotating frame. An arc-shaped rib 93 extending from 91 to the opposite side of the cover body 70 is provided.

  The rotating frame 91 is formed in an arm shape having a length larger than the radius of the engagement gear 80. A circular hole 91 a that engages with the second support shaft 72 is formed at one end of the rotation frame 91, so that the rotation frame 91 can rotate around the second support shaft 72. ing. The rotating frame 91 has an arcuate end at the other end, and is an example of an engaged portion (convex portion) that protrudes toward the engaging gear 80 at an appropriate position between one end and the other end. The protrusion 91b is formed. Note that the surface of the rotating frame 91 on which the protrusion 91b is formed corresponds to a second surface.

  And this protrusion 91b rotates with respect to the 1st control rib 84 and the 2nd control rib 85 of the engagement gear 80 by arrange | positioning in the adjustment groove 86 of the engagement gear 80 shown in FIG.4 (c). It is possible to contact selectively in the direction. That is, the engagement gear 80 and the rotating body 90 are configured to be able to take a state in which the second restriction rib 85 and the protrusion 91b are spaced apart and a state in which the second restriction rib 85 and the protrusion 91b are engaged. Has been. In other words, a predetermined gap (play) is provided between the second restricting rib 85 and the protrusion 91b, so that the engagement gear 80 is moved counterclockwise in FIG. 4A by a predetermined amount. The rotating body 90 does not rotate unless it is rotated.

  The extending portion 92 is formed at a position shifted from the rotation center of the rotating frame 91, specifically at the other end of the rotating frame 91, and protrudes outward from the cover body 70. Note that the surface on which the extension 92 is formed corresponds to a third surface.

  The arc-shaped rib 93 is formed over the entire arc-shaped other end edge of the rotating frame 91. Thereby, the rigidity of the rotating body 90 is ensured.

  Here, the transmission structure for transmitting the rotational force from the transmission gear 67 to the extending portion 92 is set according to the specifications of the developing cartridge 28. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the developing cartridge 28 of the type having a maximum image forming number of 3000 includes the above-described transmission structure with two parts of an engagement gear 80 and a rotating body 90. To do. Further, in the developing cartridge 28 of the type having a maximum image forming number of 6000, the transmission structure described above is configured by only one gear rotating body 100 as shown in FIG.

  Specifically, the gear rotating body 100 includes a cylindrical shaft portion 101 that is rotatably supported by the second support shaft portion 72, an extending portion 102 formed at a position shifted from the rotation center, and the shaft portion 101. And a connecting frame 103 that connects the extending portion 102. And the gear tooth part 104 which meshes with the transmission gear 67 is formed in a part of the outer peripheral surface of the base end side (rotation center side) of the connection frame 103, and it cannot mesh with the transmission gear 67 in the other part of the outer peripheral surface. A missing tooth portion 105 is formed. A slit 106 along the axial direction and a substantially fan-shaped notch 107 are formed at the boundary portion between the gear tooth portion 104 and the missing tooth portion 105, whereby a part of the gear tooth portion 104 has a diameter. It can be bent and deformed in the direction. Although not described in detail, the gear rotating body 100 is also provided with an engagement groove 81a like the engagement gear 80 described above.

  The cover body 70 is commonly used for both types regardless of the specifications of the developing cartridge 28. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, the cover body 70 includes the first support shaft portion 71 and the second support shaft portion 72 described above, as well as the extension portion 92 (or the gear rotation body 100) of the rotation body 90. Arc-shaped long groove 73 through which the extended portion 102) is inserted is formed. As shown in FIG. 2, the cover body 70 mainly includes a groove peripheral wall 74 that protrudes from the periphery of the long groove 73 toward the left side (outside), and an opening 70 a that exposes the input gear 62 to the outside. Is formed. A protective wall 75 that surrounds the extending portion 92 of the rotating body 90 (or the extending portion 102 of the gear rotating body 100) from the back, near, and lower directions is formed at the most front side portion of the groove peripheral wall 74. Has been. Thereby, when the extension part 92 (or the extension part 102) is located at the end on the near side of the long groove 73, the extension part 92 (or the extension part) from the three directions of the back, the near side, and the lower side by the protective wall 75 The action of external forces on 102) is prevented. Further, the arcuate portion constituting the upper portion of the groove peripheral wall 74 has slidable contact walls 74a extending toward the lower side (the extending portion 92 side of the rotating body 90) at predetermined end sides of the arcuate portion. It is formed with a gap. Thereby, when the engagement gear 80 is in the second state described above (see FIGS. 10B to 10D), the extending portion 92 of the rotating body 90 is in sliding contact with the sliding contact wall 74a. In other words, the opening formed at the inner edge of the groove peripheral wall 74 including the sliding contact wall 74a is formed in a shape that is in sliding contact with the extending portion 92 of the rotating body 90 in the second state. The extension amount of the sliding contact wall 74a is such that the resistance force applied to the extension portion 92 by sliding contact with the sliding contact wall 74a is weaker than the driving force transmitted from the transmission gear 67, and the developing cartridge 28 is It is set to be stronger than the urging force applied to the extension 92 from a detection arm 122 (described later) when mounted on the main casing 2.

  Further, the groove peripheral wall 74 other than the protective wall 75 described above is formed to be lower than the tip of the extension portion 92 (or the extension portion 102). Accordingly, when the developing cartridge 28 is mounted on the main casing 2 in a state where the extending portion 92 (or the extending portion 102) is disposed at the initial position (the end on the back side of the long groove 73), the extending portion 92 extends at the mounting position. The portion 92 (or the extension portion 102) is configured to contact a part of the main casing 2 in the front-rear direction. Here, the “part of the main body casing 2” also includes components of the device attached to the main body casing 2, and in the present embodiment, the detection arm 122 of the new product specification detection device 120 described later. (See FIG. 6).

<Detailed structure inside main casing>
As shown in FIG. 6, in the portion where the developing cartridge 28 is mounted in the main casing 2, the driving device 110 that transmits the driving force to the input gear 62 of the developing cartridge 28 and whether the developing cartridge 28 is new. A new product specification detection device 120 for detecting the specification of the development cartridge 28 is provided.

  The drive device 110 includes a plurality of gears and a drive motor (not shown). Then, when the developing cartridge 28 is mounted in the main casing 2, the gear on the driving device 110 side meshes with the input gear 62, so that the driving force from the driving motor is transmitted to the input gear 62 via each gear. The In the driving device 110, a gear that meshes with the input gear 62 is configured to advance and retreat with respect to the developing cartridge 28 in conjunction with opening and closing of the front cover 2 a, for example. In this case, the gear meshing with the input gear 62 advances toward the developing cartridge 28 when the front cover 2a is closed, and meshes with the input gear 62 and retracts from the developing cartridge 28 when the front cover 2a is opened. The meshing with the input gear 62 is released.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the new product specification detection device 120 mainly includes an optical sensor 121, a detection arm 122, a coil spring 123, and a control device 124.

  The optical sensor 121 is a sensor that detects the swing of the detection arm 122, and includes a light emitting unit 121a that emits light and a light receiving unit 121b that receives the light emitted from the light emitting unit 121a. The optical sensor 121 outputs a predetermined signal to the control device 124 when the light from the light emitting unit 121a is received by the light receiving unit 121b.

  The detection arm 122 includes a cylindrical portion 122a that is rotatably mounted on a shaft portion (not shown) provided in the main body casing 2, a light shielding arm 122b that extends radially outward from the cylindrical portion 122a, and an abutment arm 122c. And is configured to be swingable about the cylindrical portion 122a. In addition, a coil spring 123 is attached to an appropriate position of the light shielding arm 122b of the detection arm 122, whereby the detection arm 122 is always urged to the neutral position by the coil spring 123. In this neutral position, the tip 122d of the light shielding arm 122b is disposed between the light emitting part 121a and the light receiving part 121b. Further, in the neutral position, the distal end portion 122 e of the contact arm 122 c is disposed at a position where it can contact the extension portion 92 (or the extension portion 102) of the developing cartridge 28 attached to the main casing 2.

  The control device 124 determines whether or not the developing cartridge 28 is new according to the presence or absence of swinging of the detection arm 122 (movement of the extending portion 92) detected by the optical sensor 121, and a driving device. A function of discriminating the specifications of the developing cartridge 28 according to the time required from the start of driving 110 to detection by the optical sensor 121 is provided. Specifically, the control device 124 executes a known glass turning operation based on a closing signal from a sensor for detecting the closing operation of the front cover 2a or a signal generated when the laser printer 1 is turned on. . Then, the control device 124 makes a new product / specification determination based on a signal from the optical sensor 121 during the period from the start to the end of the above-described glass turning operation. Details of the new product / specification determination will be described later.

  Next, operations of the engagement gear 80, the rotating body 90, and the detection arm 122 when the two types of developing cartridges 28 are mounted on the main casing 2 will be described. In the drawings to be referred to, FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the operation of a rotating body or the like when a developing cartridge of a type having a maximum image forming number of 3000 is mounted on the main body casing, and is an explanatory diagram showing a state before the mounting ( It is explanatory drawing (b) which shows the state immediately after mounting | wearing a), and the explanatory drawing (b) which shows the state which an engagement gear rotates relatively with respect to a rotary body. FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the operation following FIG. 8, an explanatory diagram (a) showing a state in which the rotating body and the engaging gear rotate together, and an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the rotating body has been irreversibly rotated. (B). 10 is a cross-sectional view (a cross-sectional view seen from the left side) of the rotating body and the like corresponding to FIGS. 8 and 9, showing a cross-sectional view (a) showing a state before mounting, and a state immediately after mounting. Sectional view (b), sectional view (c) showing a state where the engaging gear rotates relative to the rotating body, sectional view (d) showing a state where the rotating body and the engaging gear rotate integrally, and rotation It is sectional drawing (e) which shows the state which the body rotated irreversibly. FIG. 11 is a plan view showing the relationship between the engagement piece and the engagement groove, and is a plan view (a) showing a state in which the engagement piece and the engagement groove are fitted in the first state. And a plan view (b) showing a state in which the engagement piece is disengaged from the engagement groove in the second state, and a plan view showing a state in which the engagement piece is again fitted into the engagement groove in the third state. (C). FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the rotating body and the like when the developing cartridge of the type having the maximum image forming number of 6000 is mounted on the main body casing, and is an explanatory diagram (a) showing a state before mounting, It is explanatory drawing (b) which shows the state immediately after, explanatory drawing (c) which shows the operation | movement in the state of rotating, and explanatory drawing (d) which shows the state which the rotary body rotated irreversibly. 8, FIG. 9, and FIG. 12 all show a new developing cartridge. FIG. 11 is a view of the gear mechanism as viewed from the inside of the developing cartridge.

<When the maximum number of images to be formed is 3000>
First, an operation when the developing cartridge 28 having a maximum image forming number of 3000 is mounted on the main casing 2 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 8A, before the developing cartridge 28 is attached to the main casing 2, the extending portion 92 is located at the end on the far side of the long groove 73, and at this position, the gear tooth portion 82 a. Is disposed at a position away from the transmission gear 67. In this state, as shown in FIG. 10A, the protrusion 91 b of the rotating body 90 is disposed adjacent to the back side of the first regulating rib 84 of the engagement gear 80. In other words, the surface 84a of the first restricting rib 84 is opposed to one surface of the protrusion 91b of the rotating body 90 (half circumferential surface on the leading side in the rotation direction of the rotating body 90).

  Then, as shown in FIG. 8B, when the developing cartridge 28 is inserted to a predetermined mounting position in the main body casing 2, the extending portion 92 comes into contact with the contact arm 122 c of the detection arm 122. . At this time, the extension 92 presses the contact arm 122 c of the detection arm 122 that is constantly urged to the neutral position by the coil spring 123 against the urging force of the coil spring 123. As a result, the light shielding arm 122b of the detection arm 122 is swung forward. Then, the light from the light emitting unit 121a is received by the light receiving unit 121b by such swinging of the light shielding arm 122b, the optical sensor 121 is turned on, and a predetermined ON signal is output to the control device 124. At this time, the extending portion 92 is pressed by the abutting arm 122c and moved to the position shown in FIG. Here, when the extension portion 92 pressed by the contact arm 122c moves from the back side to the front side of the sliding contact wall 74a, the extension portion 92 bends and deforms inward in the radial direction. The frictional force with the sliding contact wall 74a is increased.

  Further, when the extending portion 92 moves in this way, the protrusion 91b of the rotating body 90 is located on the back side of the first regulating rib 84 of the engaging gear 80, as shown in FIGS. 10 (a) and 10 (b). By contacting the surface 84a, the first restriction rib 84 is pushed to the near side by the projection 91b, and the engagement gear 80 rotates clockwise by a predetermined amount together with the rotating body 90. As the engagement gear 80 rotates in this manner, the gear tooth portion 82a of the engagement gear 80 is pressed against the transmission gear 67 and meshes. At this time, as shown in FIGS. 11 (a) to 11 (b), the engagement gear 80 has an inclined contact piece 72a formed on the second support shaft portion 72 on the side wall of the engagement groove 81a. By pressing the contact surface 72b, the engagement piece 72a is pushed inward to rotate.

  Then, as described above, when the detection arm 122 swings and an ON signal is output from the optical sensor 121, the control device 124 performs a rattling operation based on, for example, a signal indicating the closing operation of the front cover 2a. Execute. Note that, at the time of starting the glass turning operation, the control device 124 continues to receive the above-described ON signal.

  When the control device 124 starts the rotation operation, the driving force of the driving device 110 is transmitted through the input gear 62, the intermediate gear 65, the agitator driving gear 66, and the transmission gear 67 as shown in FIG. 82a, and the engagement gear 80 is rotated clockwise. At this time, as shown in FIG. 10C, the first restricting rib 84 is positioned on the nearer side than the protrusion 91b, and the extending portion 92 is engaged with the sliding contact wall 74a with a predetermined frictional force. Accordingly, the first restricting rib 84 moves away from the protrusion 91b held at the predetermined position, and only the engagement gear 80 rotates clockwise. At this time, since the frictional force between the extending portion 92 and the sliding contact wall 74a is set so as to overcome the urging force from the abutting arm 122c, as shown in FIG. The arm 122 is maintained in that position, and the above-described ON signal continues to be output to the control device 124.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 10C, the engagement gear 80 further rotates relative to the rotating body 90, so that the second restriction rib 85 gradually approaches the protrusion 91b. When the second restriction rib 85 and the protrusion 91b are engaged, the protrusion 91b is pushed by the second restriction rib 85 and the rotating body 90 rotates together with the engagement gear 80 as shown in FIG. It will be. When the rotating body 90 rotates in this way, as shown in FIG. 9A, the extending portion 92 moves to the near side, and the detection arm 122 returns to the neutral position by the urging force of the coil spring 123. As a result, the light shielding arm 122b of the detection arm 122 returns to the original position, blocks the light from the light emitting unit 121a, the optical sensor 121 is turned off, and the ON signal is transmitted to the control device 124. Canceled.

  Thereafter, when the rotating body 90 further rotates and the extending portion 92 is located at the end on the most front side of the long groove 73 as shown in FIG. 9B, the gear teeth as shown in FIG. The part 82a is disengaged from the transmission gear 67, and the rotation of the rotating body 90 is stopped. That is, the rotating body 90 rotates irreversibly. At this time, since the extension portion 92 is removed from the sliding contact wall 74a, the extension portion 92 returns to its original position. Therefore, even if a force is applied to the extension portion 92 in the reverse rotation direction thereafter, the extension portion 92 is restored. Is restricted by the sliding contact wall 74a, and the irreversible rotation of the rotating body 90 is more reliably realized. At this time, as shown in FIG. 11C, the engaging groove 81a of the engaging gear 80 returns to the original position and engages with the engaging piece 72a again. As a result, even if a clockwise force in FIG. 11 acts on the engagement gear 80, the engagement groove 81a and the contact surface 72c are engaged with each other, and the engagement piece 72a that is bent in the rotation direction is formed. By being supported by the support surface 72e, the rotation of the engagement gear 80 is stopped, and the re-engagement with the transmission gear 67 is suppressed. And the control apparatus 124 will perform the new article and specification determination mentioned later based on the presence or absence of the ON signal from the optical sensor 121 received during the rattling operation and the reception time when the rattling operation is finished.

<When the maximum number of images to be formed is 6000>
Next, an operation when the developing cartridge 28 having a maximum image forming number of 6000 is mounted on the main casing 2 will be described. In the following description, description of operations similar to the 3000 types described above (such as the meshing state of the gear tooth portion 104 and the transmission gear 67) will be omitted as appropriate.

  As shown in FIGS. 12 (a) and 12 (b), when the developing cartridge 28 is inserted to a predetermined mounting position in the main casing 2, the detection arm 122 swings as in the above-described 3000 types. The ON signal is output from the optical sensor 121 to the control device 124.

  Thereafter, the control device 124 executes the same glass turning operation as described above. When the control device 124 thus performs the gear-turning operation, the gear rotating body 100 immediately rotates clockwise as shown in FIG. 12C, and the extending portion 102 moves to the near side. Thereby, the detection arm 122 is returned to the neutral position by the urging force of the coil spring 123, and the output of the ON signal from the optical sensor 121 is blocked. That is, in the 6000 sheet type, the time for which the control device 124 continues to receive the ON signal is shorter than in the 3000 sheet type.

  After that, as shown in FIG. 12D, the gear rotating body 100 rotates irreversibly. And the control apparatus 124 will perform the new article and specification determination mentioned later based on the presence or absence of the ON signal from the optical sensor 121 received during the rattling operation and the reception time when the rattling operation is finished.

<New article / specification judgment process>
Next, the details of the new article / specification determination will be described. First, details of the control device 124 that executes a new article / specification determination process will be described. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 13A, the control device 124 mainly includes an ASIC 201, a ROM 202, a RAM 203, an NVRAM 204, and a CPU 205.

  The ASIC 201 controls each part of the laser printer 1 and is connected to the driving device 110, the optical sensor 121, and the front cover open / close detection sensor 206 described above. Here, although not shown, the front cover open / close detection sensor 206 is a switch that is turned on when the front cover 2a abuts, and is turned on when the opened front cover 2a is closed, Input to the CPU 205 via the ASIC 201. The driving device 110 (motor) is controlled by the ASIC 201 by executing various programs of the CPU 205.

The ASIC 201 is connected to a ROM 202, a RAM 203, an NVRAM 204, and a CPU 205 as storage means via a bus 207.
The ROM 202 stores various programs executed by the CPU 205, for example, an image formation processing program for image formation processing, a new article / specification determination processing program for executing a new article / specification determination process, and the like. . In the ROM 202, the time required from the start of driving of the driving device 110 to detection by the optical sensor 121 (hereinafter referred to as “extension portion movement time”) referred to in the new article / specification determination process and the developing cartridge 28 is also stored. A table 208 in which the specifications are associated with each other is stored.

  As shown in FIG. 13B, this table 208 corresponds to “3000 types” when the extension portion movement time is “α”, and “β” is shorter than α. "Is associated with each other so as to correspond to" 6000 types ".

  The RAM 203 stores temporary numerical values when various programs are executed. Further, the NVRAM 204 stores the presence / absence of input of a light reception signal of the optical sensor 121, the measurement time of the light reception signal (see FIG. 14), and the like. In such a control system, the new article / specification determination process is executed by the CPU 205 executing a new article / specification determination processing program stored in the ROM 202, and the ASIC 201 controls each unit.

  Next, a new article / specification determination process will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, the 3000-sheet type is also referred to as a “low-capacity developer cartridge”, and the 6000-sheet type is also referred to as a “high-capacity developer cartridge”.

First, referring to FIG. 14, the on / off timing of the optical sensor 121 when a new high-capacity developing cartridge, a new low-capacity developing cartridge, and an old developing cartridge are mounted on the main casing 2 respectively. explain.
As shown in FIG. 14, when a new high-capacity developing cartridge is mounted on the main casing 2, as described above with reference to FIG. 12, when a new high-capacity developing cartridge is mounted, The extension part 102 comes into contact with the detection arm 122, the detection arm 122 swings, and the optical sensor 121 is turned on (that is, a light reception signal is input to the CPU 205).

  Next, when the driving device 110 is driven under the control of the CPU 205 and the gear-turning operation is executed, the extension portion 102 is separated from the detection arm 122 and the detection arm 122 returns to the original position. The optical sensor 121 is turned off (that is, the input of the light reception signal to the CPU 205 is stopped).

  That is, when a new high-capacity developer cartridge is mounted on the main casing 2, the extension portion moving time required from the start of driving of the driving device 110 to the turning off of the optical sensor 121 is “β (seconds)”. It becomes.

  Further, when a new low-capacity developing cartridge is mounted on the main casing 2, as described above with reference to FIG. 8, when the new low-capacity developing cartridge is mounted, the extension portion 92 is Abutting on the detection arm 122, the detection arm 122 swings and the optical sensor 121 is turned on.

  Next, when the driving device 110 is driven by the control of the CPU 205 and the gear-turning operation is executed, only the engagement gear 80 rotates for a predetermined time, so that the extending portion 92 is in an immobile state and the optical sensor 121 is moved. Remains in the ON state. When the second restriction rib 85 of the engagement gear 80 and the protrusion 91b of the rotating body 90 are engaged, the rotating body 90 rotates integrally with the engaging gear 80, and the extending portion 92 is separated from the detection arm 122. . As a result, the detection arm 122 returns to the original position, and the optical sensor 121 is turned off.

  That is, when a new low-capacity developing cartridge is mounted on the main casing 2, the extension portion moving time required from the start of driving of the driving device 110 to the turning off of the optical sensor 121 is longer than “α (Seconds) ".

  On the other hand, when an old developing cartridge (that is, an old high-capacity developing cartridge or an old low-capacity developing cartridge) is mounted on the main casing 2, the extending portions 92 and 102 are on the front side of the long groove 73. 9 (see FIGS. 9B and 12D), the extension portions 92 and 102 do not engage with the detection arm 122 when the old developer cartridge is mounted. Therefore, when an old developing cartridge is mounted on the main casing 2, the optical sensor 121 is maintained in an off state.

  Note that “X, Y (seconds)” shown in FIG. 14 is a threshold value used in a new article / specification determination process to be described later, of which “X” is a threshold value set between 0 seconds and β seconds, “Y” is a threshold value set between β seconds and α seconds.

Next, with reference to FIG. 15, a new article / specification determination process performed by the CPU 205 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 15, in this new article / specification determination process, it is first determined whether the power is turned on or whether a closing detection signal is input to the CPU 205 (S1). If neither the power is turned on nor the closing detection signal is input from the front cover open / close detection sensor 206 (S1: No), the process returns to the main routine (not shown) and the determination in step S1 is continued. On the other hand, when either the power is turned on or the closing detection signal is input to the CPU 205 (S1: Yes), the above-described glass turning operation is started (S2). In step S <b> 2, the CPU 205 starts measuring a time using a counter (not shown), that is, measuring an extension portion moving time, in addition to outputting a predetermined driving signal to the driving device 110. The measurement of the extension part moving time is started only when the optical sensor 121 is in the on state, and is not performed when the optical sensor 121 is in the off state.

  When the glass turning operation is started, it is determined whether or not the glass turning operation is completed (S3). If the glass turning operation has not ended (S3: No), that is, during the glass turning operation, it is first determined whether or not the optical sensor 121 is turned on (a light reception signal is input) (S4).

  If the optical sensor 121 is on (S4: Yes), the process directly returns to step S3 and it is determined whether or not the rotation operation has been completed again. When the optical sensor 121 is turned off (S4: No), the measurement of the extension part moving time by the counter is finished (S5). After step S5, the process returns to step S3.

  When the glass turning operation ends (S3: Yes), it is first determined whether or not the optical sensor 121 is turned on (S6). When the optical sensor 121 is turned on (S6: Yes), for example, when the extension portion 92 and the detection arm 122 are kept in contact with each other, the extension portion moving time is set. Is not measured correctly. Therefore, in such a case, it is determined that the new article / specification determination process is an error (S7), and the process returns to the main routine (not shown). If it is determined that the new article / specification determination process is an error, the error is displayed on an operation panel (not shown).

  On the other hand, when the optical sensor 121 is off (S6: No), it is determined that the extension part movement time is normally measured, and the extension part movement time is less than the threshold value X (see FIG. 14). It is determined whether or not there is (S8). If the extension portion moving time is less than X (S8: Yes), it is determined that the developing cartridge is an old product (S9), and the process returns to a main routine (not shown). When it is determined that the developing cartridge is an old product, a comparison is made between the maximum number of images formed when it is determined to be new and the actual number of images formed on the paper 3 from when it is determined that the cartridge is new. The control based on the comparison result is executed.

  Subsequently, when the extension part movement time is not less than the threshold value X (S8: No), it is determined whether or not the extension part movement time is less than the threshold value Y (see FIG. 14) (S10). If the extension part movement time is less than the threshold Y (S10: Yes), it is determined that the extension part movement time is β seconds. After that, the table 208 stored in the ROM 202 is referred to, and based on the type “6000 sheets” associated with the extension portion moving time “β”, the developer cartridge 28 is a new 6000 sheet type. The determination is made (S11), and the process returns to the main routine (not shown). When it is determined that the developing cartridge 28 is a new 6000-sheet type, the CPU 205 determines the actual number of image forming sheets detected by a paper discharge sensor (not shown) from when the developing cartridge 28 is mounted. By the time the number of sheets exceeds 6,000, a toner empty warning is displayed on an operation panel (not shown).

  Subsequently, when the extension part movement time is not less than the threshold Y (S10: No), it is determined that the extension part movement time is equal to or greater than the threshold Y, and the extension part movement time is determined to be α seconds. The Thereafter, the table 208 stored in the ROM 202 is referred to, and based on the type “3000 sheets” associated with the extension portion moving time “α”, it is determined that the developing cartridge 28 is a new 3000 sheet type. (S12) and the process returns to the main routine (not shown). If it is determined that the developing cartridge 28 is a new 3000-sheet type, the CPU 205 determines that the actual number of image forming sheets detected by a paper discharge sensor (not shown) from the mounting of the developing cartridge 28 is 3000 sheets. By the time, the toner empty warning is displayed on an operation panel (not shown) or the like.

According to the above, the following effects can be obtained in the present embodiment.
By arbitrarily changing the position of the second restricting rib 85, the time until the second restricting rib 85 of the engagement gear 80 moves and presses the protrusion 91b of the rotating body 90 can be arbitrarily changed. Variations can be made in the number of specifications. Further, the engagement gear 80 is provided with a first restriction rib 84, and the protrusion 91 b of the rotating body 90 is moved to the first restriction rib 84 of the engagement gear 80 as the developing cartridge 28 is attached to the main body casing 2. The gear tooth portion 82 a of the engagement gear 80 meshes with the transmission gear 67. That is, when the developing cartridge 28 is mounted on the main casing 2, the extension portion 92 is moved relatively to the near side with respect to the developing cartridge 28 by the abutting arm 122 c, thereby causing the gear teeth of the engaging gear 80 to move. Since the portion 82a meshes with the transmission gear 67, the gear tooth portion 82a and the transmission gear 67 are maintained in a state where they do not mesh unless a force is applied to the extending portion 92 in a state before being mounted. Therefore, even when the gears 62 to 67 of the developing cartridge 28 are rotated at the time of inspection of the print quality before product shipment, the engagement gear 80 and the rotating body 90 do not rotate together with the gears 62 to 67. The position of the extending portion 92 can be maintained at the normal position until the developing cartridge 28 is mounted on the main casing 2.

  Since the pair of engaging pieces 72a and the engaging groove 81a are configured to be fitted in the first state and the third state, the developing cartridge 28 is in a long-term state compared to the second state. In the unused state (first state) and the state once used (third state), the engagement piece 72a remains in the non-deformed state, and its permanent deformation can be prevented. If a plurality of sets of engagement pieces 72a and engagement grooves 81a are provided, one set of engagement pieces 72a fits into the other set of engagement grooves 81a when the engagement gear 80 makes one round. A state occurs, and the rotation of the engagement gear 80 becomes unstable. On the other hand, in the present application, since the engaging piece 72a and the engaging groove 81a are a set, the rotation of the engaging gear 80 is stabilized.

  In the second state, the extension portion 92 is supported by the sliding contact wall 74a with a predetermined frictional force, so that the detection arm 122 can be favorably held.

Since only the structure in which the movement timings of the extending portions 92 and 102 are made different is necessary, and it is not necessary to change the moving distance of the extending portions 92 and 102, the two contact protrusions are used as actuators as in the prior art. Therefore, it is not necessary to increase the amount of rotation (groove size) of the rotating body to make contact with the toner, and the developing cartridge can be downsized.
Here, in order to reliably detect the movement of the extension part by the detection means, it is preferable to increase the amount of movement of the extension part. In order to increase the amount of movement of the extending portion, it is conceivable to increase the diameter of the rotating body 90. However, this increases the size of the developing cartridge 28. In the present embodiment, the rotator 90 and the engagement gear 80 are configured separately, and the rotator 90 is formed in an arm shape having a length larger than the radius of the engagement gear 80. The movement amount of the extension part 92 can be ensured while keeping 28 compact.

  In addition, the engagement gear 80 has a predetermined facing state between the second support shaft portion 72 of the cover body 70 and the toothless portion 82b of the engagement gear 80 (or the toothless portion 105 of the gear rotating body 100) and the transmission gear 67. Since the engaging piece 72a is provided until the force is applied, the positions of the extending portions 92 and 102 until the developing cartridge 28 is mounted on the main casing 2 can be more reliably maintained. .

  Further, of the contact surfaces 72b and 72c of the engagement piece 72a with the engagement groove 81a, one contact surface 72b is an inclined surface that is inclined with respect to the radial direction of the second support shaft portion 72, and the other contact surface 72b. By making the contact surface 72c a plane along the radial direction of the second support shaft portion 72, the engagement gear 80 can be rotated only in one direction, so that the irreversible rotation of the engagement gear 80 is performed more reliably. be able to.

  Since the support surface 72e that supports the engagement piece 72a is formed on the second support shaft portion 72 when the engagement piece 72a is pressed by the engagement gear 80 via the flat contact surface 72c, this support is provided. The reverse rotation of the engagement gear 80 is stopped by the surface 72e, and the irreversible rotation of the engagement gear 80 can be performed more reliably.

  Since the transmission gear 67 is formed as a reduction gear that decelerates the engagement gear 80, the adjustment range of the extension portion moving time can be increased, and the specification of the developing cartridge 28 can be reliably detected. . Further, even if the other gears 62 to 66 that transmit the rotational force to the transmission gear 67 are rotated by an erroneous operation of the user, the rotation of the engagement gear 80 is suppressed by being decelerated by the transmission gear 67. Therefore, the movement of the extending portion 92 before the developing cartridge 28 is attached can be suppressed.

  Since the rotating body 90 and the engagement gear 80 are provided on the cover body 70, after the rotating body 90 and the engagement gear 80 are assembled to the cover body 70, the cover body 70 is simply attached to the cartridge body 60. The developing cartridge 28 can be easily manufactured.

  A protective wall 75 is formed at the front end of the long groove 73 so as to surround the extension portions 92 and 102 from the back, front, and lower directions, so that the extension portions 92 and 102 are at the front end of the long groove 73. When positioned, the protective wall 75 prevents the action of external forces from the back, near, and bottom three directions on the extending portions 92 and 102. Therefore, for example, when the developing cartridge 28 in use is removed from the main casing 2 (for example, when a paper jam occurs), even if the user tries to touch the extension portions 92 and 102, it is difficult to touch the protective wall 75. Therefore, it is possible to suppress erroneous detection of a new article determination caused by a user's erroneous operation.

  Since the gear tooth portions 82a and 104 are configured to be able to bend and deform radially inwardly, the engagement gear 80 and the gear rotating body 100 are rotated vigorously by temporarily mounting the developing cartridge 28 on the main body casing 2. Even if the gear teeth 82a and 104 collide with the transmission gear 67 vigorously, the impact can be reduced. Further, even when the tips of the teeth of the gear tooth portions 82a and 104 and the transmission gear 67 collide with each other, the gear tooth portions 82a and 104 are deflected so that the tip positions of the teeth are displaced. 82a, 104 and the transmission gear 67 can be meshed well.

In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It can utilize with various forms so that it may illustrate below.
In the above-described embodiment, the extending portion 92 extending in the direction of the rotation axis of the rotating body 90 is employed as the detecting portion. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the conventional technology (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-267994) Such a contact protrusion protruding in the radial direction of the rotating body may be employed as the detection unit.
Further, the shape of the rotating body 90 is not limited to the above embodiment, and may be formed in any manner. For example, as shown in FIG. 16, if the hole 91a, the protrusion 91b, and the extension 92 are the same as those in the above embodiment, the shape of the rotating frame 91 ′ of the rotating body 90 ′ is substantially rectangular. It may be plate-shaped. That is, the arc-shaped rib 93 and the like as in the above embodiment may be omitted as appropriate.

  In the above embodiment, the specification of the developing cartridge 28 is determined according to the time required from the start of driving of the driving device 110 to detection by the optical sensor 121 (extension portion movement time), but the present invention is limited to this. It is not a thing. For example, the specification of the developing cartridge 28 may be determined according to the driving amount of the driving device 110 required from the start of driving of the driving device 110 to detection by the optical sensor 121. In this case, a known rotational speed detection sensor for detecting the driving amount of the driving device 110, for example, the rotational speed of the motor, is provided in the driving device 110, and the control device 124 includes the extension portion moving times α and β during the above-described time. What is necessary is just to measure the rotation speed (rotation amount). In this case, the extension portion movement times α and β in the table shown in FIG. 13B are replaced with the rotation amounts Rα and Rβ measured during the times α and β, respectively, and the flow shown in FIG. Control may be performed according to In this flow, the extension portion moving time in the flow of FIG. 15 is replaced with the rotation amount. Specifically, instead of steps S2, S5, S8, and S10 in the flow of FIG. 15, steps S2 ', S5', S8 ', and S10' that are slightly different from these steps are provided.

  In step S2 ', the rotation operation is started and the measurement of the rotation amount is started. In step S5 ', the rotation amount measurement ends. In step S8 ', it is determined whether the rotation amount measured between steps S2' to S5 'is less than the rotation amount RX that can be measured during the X seconds. In step S10 ', it is determined whether or not the rotation amount measured between steps S2' to S5 'is less than the rotation amount RY that can be measured during the above-described Y seconds. By performing the processing as described above, the new article detection and the specification detection can be performed satisfactorily as in the embodiment.

  In addition, when detecting the extension part movement time described in FIG. 15 and the rotation amount described in FIG. 17, the elapsed time required for the extension part to move and the integrated value of the rotation amount are increased. It is desirable to periodically store in the non-volatile memory during detection of the moving time of the exit portion and the amount of rotation. According to this, even if the power of the laser printer is turned off during the rotation operation, for example, the value stored in the nonvolatile memory can be referred to when the power is turned on next time. Appropriate control can be performed in consideration of the movement of the engagement gear 80 and the rotating body 90.

  In the above embodiment, the detection arm 122 is swingable by pivotally supporting the substantially central portion of the detection arm 122. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, one end of the detection arm is pivotally supported. You may do it. In this case, for example, the other end of the detection arm is disposed at a position where the other end of the detection arm can come into contact with the extending portion of the rotating body, and the portion between the one end and the other end of the detection arm is disposed on the optical sensor. What is necessary is just to arrange | position between a light emission part and a light-receiving part.

  In the embodiment, when the developing cartridge 28 is mounted on the main casing 2, the extension portions 92 and 102 are brought into contact with the detection arm 122 so that the gear teeth 82 a and 104 and the transmission gear 67 are engaged with each other. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the counterpart with which the extending portions 92 and 102 abut may be any part as long as it is a part of the main casing 2 (part on the main casing 2 side). However, since the number of parts can be reduced if the counterpart to be contacted is the detection arm 122 as in the above-described embodiment, it is desirable to perform as in the above-described embodiment.

In the above-described embodiment, the optical sensor 121 is used as the detection unit. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a distance sensor (an ultrasonic sensor, an optical sensor, or the like) that detects the position of the tip of the detection arm is used. May be. Also, the swing of the detection arm can be detected by providing a leaf spring so as to contact the detection arm and providing a strain gauge on the leaf spring.
In the above-described embodiment, the coil spring 123 is employed as an elastic member that biases the detection arm 122. However, the present invention is not limited to this and may be a torsion spring or a leaf spring.

In the embodiment, the restricting member is configured by the engaging groove 81a of the engaging gear 80 and the engaging piece 72a of the second support shaft 72, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, an engagement piece that can be bent and deformed in the radial direction may be provided on the engagement gear side, and a groove for engaging the engagement piece of the engagement gear may be provided on the second support shaft portion side. Further, the tapered surface of the engagement piece 72a may be formed in an arc shape.
In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to the laser printer 1. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention may be applied to other image forming apparatuses such as a copying machine and a multifunction machine.

In the above-described embodiment, in the developing cartridge 28 of the type with the maximum number of image formation of 3000, the transmission structure described above is configured by two parts of the engagement gear 80 and the rotating body 90, and in the developing cartridge 28 of the 6000 type Although the transmission structure described above is configured by only one gear rotating body 100, it is not limited to this. That is, the transmission structure in the 3000-type developing cartridge may be configured with one part, and the transmission structure in the 6000-type developing cartridge may be configured with two parts.
In the embodiment shown in FIG. 17, a known rotational speed detection sensor for detecting the driving amount of the driving device 110, for example, the rotational speed of the motor, is provided in the driving device 110, and the rotation amounts Rα and Rβ are measured by the control device 124. However, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, a known rotational speed detection sensor may be provided in an intermediate gear arranged between the drive device and the extension portion, and the control device 124 may measure the rotation amounts Rα and Rβ.

  In the above embodiment, the sliding contact wall 74a and the extending portion 92 of the rotating body are configured to be in sliding contact only in the second state, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the first state, You may comprise so that it may slidably contact also in a 3rd state. Further, the means for maintaining the extending portion 92 at a predetermined position (the position shown in FIG. 10C) is not limited to the sliding contact wall 74a as in the above-described embodiment, and the extending portion protrudes outward. A portion that is in sliding contact with the rotating body may be provided at a place other than the opening for the purpose.

  Note that the shapes of the engagement gear and the rotating body are not limited to the above-described embodiment, and may be, for example, as shown in FIG. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 18A, the rotating body 200 includes a hole portion 91 a, an extension portion 92, a fan-shaped rotating frame 91, and an arc-shaped rib 93 that are substantially the same as the rotating body 90 illustrated in FIG. 4. 4 and a projection 210 and a cylindrical portion 220 different from the embodiment shown in FIG. The protrusion 210 is formed as an arc-shaped rib centered on the hole 91a, and the cross-sectional shape along the rotation direction of the rotating body 200 has a shape as shown in FIG. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 18C, the front surface 211 on the leading side in the rotation direction of the protrusion 210 is formed so as to be inclined in the rotation direction of the engagement gear 300 toward the engagement gear 300. Yes. Further, the rear surface 212 on the rear side in the rotation direction of the protrusion 210 is formed so as to incline in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the engagement gear 300 toward the engagement gear 300.

  In contrast to the protrusion 210 formed in this way, the engagement gear 300 has a protrusion at substantially the same position as the first restriction rib 84 and the second restriction rib 85 of the engagement gear 80 shown in FIG. A first restriction rib 310 and a second restriction rib 320 that are formed obliquely along the surfaces 211 and 212 of 210 are formed. As shown in FIG. 18B, the first restriction rib 310 forms a first engagement surface 311 on the back surface, and the second restriction rib 320 has a second engagement on the back surface. A surface 321 is formed. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 18 (c), the first engagement surface 311, which is the surface on the rear side in the rotation direction of the first regulating rib 310, is in the rotation direction of the engagement gear 300 as it goes to the rotating body 200. Is formed to incline in the opposite direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 18D, the second engagement surface 321 that is the surface on the leading side in the rotation direction of the second restriction rib 320 is inclined in the rotation direction of the engagement gear 300 toward the rotating body 200. It is formed to do. Therefore, when the protrusion 210 and the first restricting rib 310 are in contact with each other or when the protrusion 210 and the second restricting rib 320 are in contact with each other, the rotating body 200 and the engaging gear 300 are forced to approach each other. By being applied, the rotating body 200 and the engagement gear 300 are reliably engaged, and the integral rotation is reliably realized.

  Further, the cylindrical portion 220 of the rotating body 200 is formed thicker than the plate-like rotating frame 91. Specifically, the cylindrical portion 220 extends in the extending direction of the extending portion 92 from the plate-like rotating frame 91. Therefore, the thick cylindrical portion 220 of the rotating body 200 is less likely to rattle against the second support shaft portion 72 (see FIG. 4) of the cover body 70. Therefore, the extension part 92 does not move away from the sliding contact wall 74a, but comes into contact with each other, and the extension part 92 can obtain a frictional force from the sliding contact wall 74a as shown in FIG. it can. Further, at this time, the rotating body 200 is not easily inclined with respect to the second support shaft portion 72 even when the extending portion 92 is bent radially inward by engaging the sliding contact wall 74a. The inclination of the entire rotating body 200 can be suppressed, and the rotating body 200 and the engagement gear 300 can be rotated satisfactorily.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 18B, unlike the configuration of FIG. 4, only a fan-shaped adjustment groove 330 is formed on the back side of the engagement gear 300. This prevents erroneous assembly of the engagement gear 300 and the rotating body 200.

  In the above embodiment, the engagement piece 72a formed in the hook shape prevents the rotating body 90 and the engagement gear 80 from coming off from the second support shaft portion 72, but the present invention is limited to this. It is not a thing. For example, in addition to retaining by the engaging piece 72a, as shown in FIG. 19A, a restraining portion 68 is formed so as to protrude leftward from the left side surface 60a of the cartridge body 60, and the retaining portion 68 allows the retaining portion 68 to be removed. You may make it assist a stop. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 19B, the holding portion 68 is formed in a semi-cylindrical large-diameter portion 68a, coaxially with the large-diameter portion 68a, and smaller in diameter than the large-diameter portion 68a. A semi-cylindrical small-diameter portion 68b that is formed, and a connecting portion 68c that connects linear ends of the large-diameter portion 68a and the small-diameter portion 68b are provided. The small diameter portion 68b is formed so that the tip thereof protrudes from the large diameter portion 68a. Since the holding portion 68 is formed in this way, as shown in FIG. 19C, when the cover body 70 is attached to the cartridge main body 60, the distal end portion of the small diameter portion 68b becomes the second support shaft. The distal end surface of the large diameter portion 68 a comes into contact with the distal end surface of the inner cylindrical portion 81 of the engagement gear 80. Thereby, for example, when a large force is applied radially inward to the extending portion 92, the rotation center portion of the rotating body 90 moves in a direction to come out of the second support shaft portion 72 and engages with the engagement gear 80. Even when the engagement with the joining piece 72a is likely to be disengaged, the engagement gear 80 is restrained by the restraining portion 68, and the retaining is ensured. Further, since the holding portion 68 provided in the cartridge main body 60 abuts against the second support shaft portion 72 from the inside, the cover body 70 is prevented from bending inward, and the cartridge of the engagement gear 80 and the rotating body 90 can be prevented. The positional accuracy with respect to the main body 60 can be increased.

1 is a side sectional view showing a laser printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a developing cartridge that is a type having a maximum image forming number of 3000 sheets. FIG. 3 is a side view of the developing cartridge of FIG. 2. The cover body and the gear mechanism are viewed from the inside of the developing cartridge, and are an enlarged perspective view (a) showing details of the transmission gear, the engagement gear, and the rotating body, and a plan view (b) showing details of the engagement piece. ) And a perspective view (c) showing the back surface of the engagement gear. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a gear rotating body provided in a developing cartridge of a type having a maximum image forming number of 6000. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where the developing cartridge is removed from the main body casing. It is a perspective view which shows each component of a new article specification detection apparatus. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of a rotary body etc. at the time of mounting | wearing with a main body casing the developing cartridge of the type with the largest image formation number of 3000 sheets, The explanatory view (a) which shows the state before mounting, and the state immediately after mounting | wearing It is explanatory drawing (b) which shows, and explanatory drawing (c) which shows the state which an engagement gear rotates relatively with respect to a rotary body. It is a figure explaining the operation | movement following FIG. 8, and is explanatory drawing (a) which shows the state which a rotary body and an engagement gear rotate integrally, and explanatory drawing (b) which shows the state which the rotary body rotated irreversibly. is there. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a rotating body corresponding to FIG. 8, a cross-sectional view (a) showing a state before mounting, a cross-sectional view (b) showing a state immediately after mounting, and an engagement gear relative to the rotating body It is sectional drawing (c) which shows the state which rotates, sectional drawing (d) which shows the state in which a rotary body and an engagement gear rotate integrally, and sectional drawing (e) which shows the state which the rotary body rotated irreversibly. . It is a top view which shows the relationship between an engaging piece and an engaging groove, The top view (a) which shows the state which the engaging piece and the engaging groove fit in the 1st state, and a 2nd state FIG. 5B is a plan view showing a state in which the engagement piece is disengaged from the engagement groove, and FIG. 5C is a plan view showing a state in which the engagement piece is again fitted into the engagement groove in the third state. It is a figure explaining operation | movement of a rotary body etc. at the time of mounting | wearing a main body casing with the developing cartridge of the type with the maximum image formation number of 6000 sheets, The explanatory view (a) which shows the state before mounting | wearing, and the state immediately after mounting | wearing It is explanatory drawing (b) shown, explanatory drawing (c) which shows the operation | movement during a glass-rotating operation | movement, and explanatory drawing (d) which shows the state which the rotary body rotated irreversibly. It is the block diagram (a) which shows the structure of a control apparatus, and explanatory drawing which shows the data in a table. It is a time chart which shows the state of the optical sensor in a new article and specification judgment process. It is a flowchart which shows a new article and specification determination process. It is a perspective view which shows the other form of a rotary body. It is a flowchart which shows the form which determines a new article and specification determination process by rotation amount. The perspective view (a) which shows the engagement gear and rotary body which concern on other embodiment, The perspective view (b) which shows the back surface of an engagement gear, and the state which the front surface of a projection part contact | abuts to a 1st engagement surface FIG. 5C is a cross-sectional view showing the state where the second engagement surface is in contact with the rear surface of the protrusion. It is a figure which shows the holding | suppressing part which prevents an engagement gear and a rotator from coming off, the side view which shows the state which looked at the cartridge main body from the left side, the perspective view (b) which shows a holding | suppressing part, It is sectional drawing (c) which shows the relationship with an engagement gear and a rotary body.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Laser printer 28 Developing cartridge 60 Cartridge main body 61 Gear mechanism 67 Transmission gear 70 Cover body 80 Engagement gear 82a Gear tooth part 82b Notch part 83a Back surface 84 1st regulation rib 84a surface 85 2nd regulation rib 85a surface 86 Adjustment groove 90 Rotating body 91 Rotating frame 91b Protrusion 92 Extending portion 110 Drive device 120 New specification detection device 121 Optical sensor 122 Detection arm 124 Control device

Claims (11)

A housing for containing the developer;
A transmission gear that is rotatably provided in the housing and transmits a driving force input from the outside;
An engagement gear that is rotatably provided in the housing and receives a driving force from the transmission gear, the gear having a gear tooth portion and a missing tooth portion,
In the housing, a rotator that is rotatably provided coaxially with the engagement gear, and receives a driving force from the engagement gear;
A shaft portion provided on the housing and rotatably supporting the engagement gear and the rotating body;
The engagement gear is
A first surface facing the rotating body;
An engaging portion formed on the first surface,
The rotating body is
A second surface facing the first surface;
A third surface constituting a surface opposite to the second surface;
An engaged portion formed on the second surface and engageable with the engaging portion;
A detection portion that is formed at a position shifted from the rotation center of the rotating body in the third surface and protrudes from the housing;
The engaging portion is
A first engagement surface opposed to one surface of the engaged portion in the rotation direction of the engagement gear;
A second engagement surface provided on the same circumference as the first engagement surface, and provided opposite to the first engagement surface in a rotation direction of the engagement gear,
The engagement gear is
A first state in which the transmission gear and the missing tooth portion face each other;
A second state in which the transmission gear and the gear tooth portion mesh with each other;
A third state where the transmission gear and the missing tooth portion again face each other, and is displaceable,
When a biasing force is applied from the outside to the detection unit of the rotating body, the first engagement surface of the engagement gear is pressed in one direction by one surface of the engaged portion of the rotation body, Displacing from the first state to the second state;
The second engagement surface moves in the one direction and presses the other surface of the engaged portion by rotating in response to the driving force from the transmission gear in the second state. A developer container characterized by that. A regulating member that maintains the engagement gear in the first state until a predetermined force is applied to the engagement gear;
The regulating member is
One engagement piece formed on one of the engagement gear and the shaft portion and configured to be freely deformable in the radial direction of the shaft portion;
Formed on the other of the engagement gear and the shaft, and one engagement groove into which the engagement piece fits,
The missing tooth portion and the gear tooth portion are formed at a predetermined ratio so that the engagement piece and the engagement groove are fitted in the first state and the third state, respectively. The developer container according to claim 1.   Of the contact surfaces of the engagement pieces and the engagement grooves in the rotation direction of the engagement gear, one is an inclined surface that is inclined with respect to the radial direction of the shaft portion, and the other is the radial direction of the shaft portion. The developer container according to claim 2, wherein the engagement gear is rotatable only in a predetermined direction by being a plane along the surface. The second engagement surface is formed so as to incline in the rotation direction of the engagement gear toward the rotating body,
The other surface of the engaged portion that comes into contact with the second engagement surface is formed so as to incline in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the engagement gear toward the engagement gear. The developer container according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The first engagement surface is formed so as to incline in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the engagement gear toward the rotating body,
2. The one surface of the engaged portion that contacts the first engagement surface is formed so as to be inclined in a rotation direction of the engagement gear toward the engagement gear. The developer container according to any one of -4. The engaging portion is a fan-shaped recess formed in the first surface,
The first engagement surface and the second engagement surface are configured by side surfaces of the recess,
The developer container according to claim 1, wherein the engaged portion is a convex portion that enters the concave portion. In the case,
An opening through which the detection unit passes is formed,
The opening is
At least in the second state is formed in a shape that is in sliding contact with the detection unit,
The resistance force applied to the detection unit by sliding contact with the opening is weaker than the driving force transmitted from the transmission gear, and the image formation is performed when the developer container is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body. The developer container according to claim 1, wherein the developer container is set to be stronger than an urging force applied to the detection unit from the apparatus main body side. The rotating body is
A plate-like portion having the second surface and the third surface;
A cylindrical portion formed on the plate-like portion and rotatably engaged with the shaft portion;
The developer container according to claim 1, wherein the cylindrical portion is formed to be thicker than the plate-like portion along the axial direction of the shaft portion. The casing has a casing main body for containing the developer, and a gear cover attached to the casing main body,
The developer container according to claim 1, wherein the shaft portion is provided on the gear cover. The shaft portion is formed to extend from the rotating body side toward the engagement gear side,
In the case body,
The developer container according to claim 9, wherein a holding portion that suppresses the engagement gear from a direction opposite to an extending direction of the shaft portion is provided. The developer container according to any one of claims 1 to 10,
An image forming apparatus main body to which the developer container is mounted;
A detection arm provided so as to be swingable with respect to the image forming apparatus main body and capable of coming into contact with a detection unit of the developer container;
Detection means for detecting swinging of the detection arm;
A driving device for applying a driving force to the transmission gear of the developer container,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the detection arm is configured to be swung by being pressed by the detection unit when the developer container is mounted.

Images