JP4723317B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a toner cartridge detachable structure that is detachably attached to a developing device provided in the image forming apparatus so as to replenish toner.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a toner cartridge that is applied to an image forming apparatus configured to form and output an image based on image information that is read or transmitted from another device is known. This toner cartridge is for supplying toner to a developing device that forms toner images by supplying toner to the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum on which the electrostatic latent image based on the image information is formed in the image forming apparatus. Yes, it can be detachably attached to the developing device.

  Such a toner cartridge has a shutter member that closes a toner replenishing port opened at the bottom of a box-shaped cartridge body so as to be freely opened and closed. Then, the toner in the cartridge body is loaded into the developing device through the toner replenishing port by opening the shutter member by an operator's manual operation with the toner cartridge mounted in the developing device.

  Such a toner cartridge is arranged at a position directly above the developing device, and is attached / detached by inserting / removing the toner cartridge in parallel with the developing device with the front door for maintenance of the apparatus main body opened. In general, the toner cartridge is arranged on the front side of the developing device depending on the layout of various devices in the apparatus main body.

  By the way, in an image forming apparatus of the type in which the toner cartridge is arranged on the front side of the developing device, the toner cartridge is attached to and detached from the developing device from above in order to ensure a reliable mounting state. Can be considered. However, in order to remove the toner cartridge from the developing device by dropping it straight from above and mounting it on the front side of the developing device, a part constituting the toner receiving port of the developing device In order to avoid interference with the image forming apparatus, a large space must be secured on the back side of the front door in the image forming apparatus, which hinders downsizing of the image forming apparatus and operation of attaching and detaching the toner cartridge. It had the problem that the property was inferior.

As to solve such a problem, an image forming apparatus as described in Patent Document 1 has been proposed. In this image forming apparatus, a folder for holding a toner cartridge in the apparatus main body is rotatable about a rotation axis provided at the bottom thereof, and the posture of the folder is set to an inclined posture inclined with respect to the apparatus main body. As a result, the toner cartridge can be attached to and detached from the folder, while the toner cartridge is attached to the apparatus main body by being set in an upright posture. According to detachable structure of the toner cartridge, thereby improving the operability of the toner cartridge detachable operation after having contributed to the downsizing of the image forming apparatus.
JP 2004-4559 A

  However, in the toner cartridge attaching / detaching structure described in Patent Document 1, the rotation shaft serving as the rotation fulcrum of the folder that holds the toner cartridge is provided on the back side of the apparatus main body at the bottom of the folder. When changing the posture of a folder set to the upright posture to the inclined posture, the rotation locus of the corner on the near side of the bottom plate of the folder becomes a large circle centering on the rotation axis. Space must be secured, and ultimately, there remains a problem in making the image forming apparatus compact.

  Therefore, it is conceivable to use the corner at the lower front side of the folder as a rotation fulcrum. The above-mentioned space must be secured, and the problem remains in making the image forming apparatus compact.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional situation, and provides an image forming apparatus having a toner cartridge attaching / detaching structure that can contribute to downsizing of the image forming apparatus more than ever. It is an object.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a developing device for supplying toner to the image carrier to form a toner image is attached to a predetermined frame provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus, and the developing device is supplied with toner. The toner cartridge is provided with a toner cartridge for replenishment, and the toner cartridge is detachably mounted to the developing device, and the posture of the frame is changed between a standing posture and an inclined posture. A cartridge support member that is capable of being inserted into and removed from the cartridge support member when the toner cartridge is not attached to the developing device and the cartridge support member is in an upright posture. The toner cartridge is mounted on the developing device in a posture set state, and the fulcrum is connected to the cartridge. Is set to substantially the center position in the horizontal direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the rotation center in the lower part of the ridge supporting member, the toner cartridge is for supplying the toner contained in the toner cartridge to the developing device The toner cartridge further includes a shutter member that opens and closes the toner supply port, and the toner cartridge is only in a state where the toner supply port is closed by the shutter member. It is possible to shift from the standing posture to the inclined posture .

  According to such a configuration, when the toner cartridge is mounted on the developing device, the cartridge support member is rotated in one direction around the fulcrum and set in an inclined posture, so that the cartridge is supported in an inclined state. It can be attached to a member. Thereafter, the toner cartridge is mounted on the developing device by rotating the cartridge support member mounted with the toner cartridge in the other direction around the fulcrum and changing the posture to the standing posture.

  When removing the toner cartridge mounted on the developing device, the cartridge support member set in the standing posture may be set in the inclined posture. Then, the toner cartridge is removed from the developing device by pulling the toner cartridge obliquely upward along the cartridge support member.

  Then, by setting the tilting direction of the cartridge support member so that the cartridge support member set in the inclined posture is inclined toward the front side of the apparatus main body, the cartridge support member is opened with the front door of the apparatus main body opened. Since the upper surface opening of the member faces the operator, the toner cartridge can be easily attached and detached while avoiding interference with various parts, and the toner cartridge is installed in the state where the toner cartridge is mounted on the developing device. Therefore, it is not necessary to secure a large space for attaching and detaching the toner cartridge in the apparatus main body, which contributes to a compact installation space for the image forming apparatus.

In addition, since the rotation fulcrum of the cartridge support member is set at a substantially central position in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the direction in which the rotation center extends in the lower part of the cartridge support member, the rotation locus of the bottom of the cartridge support member The radius of curvature is smaller than the radius of curvature of the rotation trajectory when the fulcrum is provided on the lower end side of the cartridge support member, and the space required for rotation of the cartridge support member can be reduced. This also contributes to the downsizing of the image forming apparatus.
In addition, since the toner cartridge can be shifted from the standing posture to the inclined posture only when the toner replenishing port is closed by the shutter member, the used cartridge taken out from the apparatus main body when the toner cartridge is replaced is used. Residual toner can be prevented from leaking out of the toner cartridge.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the shutter member includes an engagement member for engaging the toner cartridge with the frame, and the engagement member is When the shutter member closes the toner supply port, the toner cartridge and the frame are disengaged, and the toner cartridge is allowed to shift from the standing posture to the inclined posture, When the shutter member opens the toner supply port, the toner cartridge is engaged with the frame, and the toner cartridge is prohibited from shifting from the standing posture to the inclined posture. It is what.
According to such a configuration, when the shutter member opens the toner supply port, the engaging member engages the toner cartridge and the frame and prohibits the toner cartridge from shifting from the standing posture to the inclined posture. Can be prevented from being discharged from the toner supply port.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, a stopper protrusion protrudes from the frame toward the rear lower edge of the cartridge support member, and the cartridge support member is In the inclined posture state, the lower rear edge of the cartridge support member hits the stopper projection, thereby preventing the cartridge support member from tilting out of the rotation range beyond the inclined posture. To do.
According to this configuration, when the cartridge support member is in the tilted posture, the cartridge support member tilts out of the rotation range beyond the tilt posture by the rear lower edge portion of the cartridge support member hitting the stopper protrusion. Can be prevented.

A fourth aspect of the present invention includes the cleaning device according to any one of the first to third aspects, further comprising a cleaning device that removes toner remaining on the image carrier after the toner image is transferred to the transfer material. The developing device is provided with a toner receiving opening for receiving toner from a toner cartridge and a first shutter for opening and closing the toner receiving opening, and the cleaning device is provided with a waste for discharging stored waste toner. A toner discharge port and a second shutter for opening and closing the waste toner discharge port are provided, and one or both of the first and second shutters are provided by changing the posture of the cartridge support member from the inclined posture to the standing posture. Is configured to be opened.

  According to such a configuration, one or both of the first shutter of the toner cartridge and the second shutter of the cleaning device are opened by changing the posture of the cartridge support member from the inclined posture to the standing posture. There is no need to perform a separate opening operation, and the toner cartridge can be easily attached and detached including the opening and closing operation of the shutter.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the invention according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, a waste toner collection bottle that receives waste toner from the cleaning device is integrally connected to the toner cartridge. It is characterized by.

  According to such a configuration, the waste toner collection bottle is also attached and detached at the same time when the toner cartridge is attached to and detached from the apparatus main body. Therefore, compared with the case where the waste toner collection bottle is provided separately from the toner cartridge, the toner cartridge and the waste toner collection are performed. Easy to attach and detach the bottle.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the fifth aspect of the present invention, the waste toner collection bottle is configured such that the waste toner stored in the cleaning device is passed through the waste toner discharge port when the second shutter is opened. The installation position is set so as to be collected.

  According to this configuration, when the toner cartridge is attached to the developing device, the second shutter of the waste toner collection bottle attached to the main body of the device is opened at the same time, so that the waste toner stored in the cleaning device is discharged from the waste toner. The toner is immediately collected into a waste toner collecting bottle through the outlet.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, by setting the tilting direction of the cartridge support member so that the cartridge support member set in the inclined posture is tilted toward the front side of the device main body, the front door of the device main body is set. With the cartridge open, the cartridge support member is in a state where the upper surface opening faces the operator, so that the toner cartridge can be easily attached and detached while interference with various parts is avoided, It is no longer necessary to secure a large space for attaching and detaching the toner cartridge, which can contribute to a compact installation space for the image forming apparatus.

Further, since the rotation fulcrum of the cartridge support member is set at a substantially central position in the horizontal direction perpendicular to the direction in which the rotation center extends in the lower part of the cartridge support member, the curvature of the rotation locus of the bottom of the cartridge support member is set. The diameter dimension is smaller than the radius of curvature of the rotation trajectory when the fulcrum is provided at the lower end of the cartridge support member, and the space required for the rotation of the cartridge support member can be reduced. This also contributes to the downsizing of the image forming apparatus.
In addition, since the toner cartridge can be shifted from the standing posture to the inclined posture only when the toner replenishing port is closed by the shutter member, the used cartridge taken out from the apparatus main body when the toner cartridge is replaced is used. Residual toner can be prevented from leaking out of the toner cartridge.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the shutter member opens the toner supply port, the engaging member engages the toner cartridge and the frame and prohibits the toner cartridge from shifting from the standing posture to the inclined posture. Therefore, the toner can be prevented from being discharged from the toner supply port.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the cartridge support member is in the inclined posture, the rear lower edge portion of the cartridge support member hits the stopper projection, so that the cartridge support member exceeds the inclined posture and rotates. It is possible to prevent tilting outward.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, either or both of the first shutter of the toner cartridge and the second shutter of the cleaning device are opened by changing the posture of the cartridge support member from the inclined posture to the standing posture. not need to separately open operation for the shutter, it is possible to perform attachment and detachment manipulation of the toner cartridge, including the opening and closing operation of that amount shutter easily.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the waste toner collection bottle for receiving the waste toner from the cleaning device is integrally connected to the toner cartridge, the waste toner collection bottle can be removed by attaching / detaching the toner cartridge to / from the apparatus main body. At the same time, the toner cartridge and the waste toner collection bottle can be easily attached and detached as compared with the case where the waste toner collection bottle is provided separately from the toner cartridge.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, when the toner cartridge is mounted on the developing device, the second shutter of the waste toner collecting bottle mounted on the main body of the device is opened at the same time, thereby the waste toner stored in the cleaning device. Can be immediately recovered through a waste toner discharge port into a waste toner recovery bottle.

  First, an image forming apparatus to which the attaching / detaching structure of the toner cartridge 20 according to the present invention is applied will be described. FIG. 1 is a front cross-sectional view illustrating an embodiment of the internal structure of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment is used as a copying machine, and has an apparatus main body 11 having a box shape called an in-body discharge type, and the apparatus main body. 11 has a basic configuration including an image reading unit 16 provided on the upper portion of 11 for reading a document image. In the apparatus main body 11, an image forming unit 12 that forms an image based on image information of a document read by the image reading unit 16, and an image formed on the image forming unit 12 and transferred to a sheet is subjected to a fixing process. A fixing unit 13 to be applied and a paper storage unit 14 for storing a transfer paper are provided.

  The image reading unit 16 includes a document retainer 161 provided on the upper surface of the apparatus main body 11 so as to be openable and closable, and an optical system unit disposed opposite to the document retainer 161 via a contact glass 163 in the upper housing of the apparatus body 11. 162. The contact glass 163 is dimensioned to a planar shape slightly smaller than the document presser 161 in order to read the document surface of the placed document. The document retainer 161 can be opened and closed by rotating forward and backward about a predetermined axis provided on one side of the upper surface of the apparatus main body.

  At an appropriate position of the image reading unit 16, an operation panel (not shown) for inputting processing conditions relating to document reading, copying processing, and the like is provided. The operation panel is provided with a display panel (not shown), a numeric keypad, a start button, a mode switching key, and the like.

  The optical system unit 162 includes a light source (not shown), a plurality of mirrors, a lens unit, and a CCD (charge coupled device). The light from the light source is reflected by the original surface, and the reflected light is input to the CCD as original information through the mirror and the lens unit. Document information as an analog amount input to the CCD is converted into a digital signal and stored in a predetermined storage device.

  The image forming unit 12 forms a toner image on a sheet fed from the sheet storage unit 14, and in the present embodiment, the image forming unit 12 sequentially arranges from the upstream side (the right side of the paper surface in FIG. 1) to the downstream side. A magenta unit 12M, a cyan unit 12C, a yellow unit 12Y, and a black unit 12K are provided. Each unit 12M, 12C, 12Y, 12K is provided with a photosensitive drum (image carrier) 121 and a developing device 122, respectively. Each photosensitive drum 121 is supplied with toner from a corresponding developing device 122 while rotating counterclockwise in FIG.

  Four toner cartridges are disposed at positions corresponding to the developing devices 122 of the units 12M, 12C, 12Y, and 12K so as to face the front side of the apparatus main body 11 (the front side of the paper surface of FIG. 1). 20 is provided, and toner of a predetermined color is supplied from the toner cartridge 20 to the developing devices 122 of the corresponding units 12M, 12C, 12Y, and 12K.

  A charger 123 is provided immediately below each of the photosensitive drums 121, and an exposure device 124 is provided further below the charger 123. Each photosensitive drum 121 is charged uniformly by the charger 123, and laser light corresponding to each color based on the image data input by the image reading unit 16 is charged from each exposure device 124. By irradiating the peripheral surface of each photoconductive drum 121, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the peripheral surface of each photoconductive drum 121. By supplying toner from the developing device 122 to the electrostatic latent image, a toner image is formed on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 121.

  A transfer belt 125 stretched between the driving roller 125 a and the driven roller 125 b is provided at a position above the photosensitive drum 121 so as to contact the photosensitive drum 121. The transfer belt 125 is driven against a peripheral surface of the photoconductive drum 121 by a transfer roller 125c provided corresponding to each photoconductive drum 121, while being synchronized with each photoconductive drum 121, a driving roller and a driven roller. It is designed to go around.

  Accordingly, when the transfer belt 125 rotates, the magenta toner image is electrostatically transferred onto the surface of the transfer belt 125 by the photosensitive drum 121 of the magenta unit 12M, and then the cyan unit 12C is placed at the same position on the transfer belt 125. The transfer of the cyan toner image by the photosensitive drum 121 is performed in the overcoating state, and then the transfer of the yellow toner image by the photosensitive drum 121 of the yellow unit 12Y is performed in the overcoating state at the same position of the transfer belt 125. Then, the transfer of the black toner image by the photosensitive drum 121 of the last black unit 12K is performed in an overcoated state, whereby a color toner image is formed on the surface of the transfer belt 125. The color toner image formed on the surface of the transfer belt 125 is transferred to the paper (transfer material) P conveyed from the paper storage unit 14.

  A cleaning device 126 that removes and cleans residual toner on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 121 is provided at the left position of each photosensitive drum 121 in FIG. The peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 121 cleaned by the cleaning device 126 goes to the charger 123 for a new charging process.

  Waste toner removed from the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 121 by the cleaning device 126 is collected and stored in a waste toner collection bottle 90 through a predetermined path.

  At the left position of the image forming unit 12 in FIG. 1, a paper conveyance path 111 extending in the vertical direction is formed. The sheet conveying path 111 is provided with a pair of conveying rollers 112 at appropriate positions, and the sheet from the sheet storage unit 14 is conveyed toward the transfer belt 125 that is wound around the driving roller 125a by the driving of the conveying roller pair 112. It has come to be. In the sheet conveyance path 111, a second transfer roller 113 that is in contact with the surface of the transfer belt 125 is provided at a position facing the driving roller 125 a, and the sheet P being conveyed along the sheet conveyance path 111 is separated from the transfer belt 125. The toner image on the transfer belt 125 is electrostatically adsorbed to the paper P by the second transfer roller 113 while being pressed between the second transfer roller 113 and the transfer process to the paper P is performed. ing.

  A transfer belt cleaning device 127 that removes residual toner remaining on the surface of the transfer belt 125 is provided at the right end of the transfer belt 125 in FIG. 1, and the transfer belt 125 that has completed the transfer process to the paper P is provided. In this case, the residual toner on the surface is removed by the transfer belt cleaning device 127 and cleaned, and is circulated toward the next transfer process. An unillustrated waste toner collection bottle 90 ′ dedicated to the transfer belt cleaning device 127 is provided below the transfer belt cleaning device 127.

  The fixing unit 13 performs a fixing process on the toner image on the paper transferred by the image forming unit 12, and includes a fixing roller 131 including an energization heating element serving as a heating source, and a left side in FIG. On the other hand, the fixing roller 131 and the pressure roller 132 arranged to face each other are provided. Then, the transfer-processed paper P derived from the image forming unit 12 via the second transfer roller 113 is subjected to a heat treatment that is heated by the fixing roller 131 while being pressed between the fixing roller 131 and the pressure roller 132. The toner image is fixed, and a stable color image is formed on the paper.

  The sheet P with the color image for which the fixing process has been completed is discharged toward the in-body discharge tray 115 provided in the apparatus main body 11 through the discharge conveyance path 114 extended from the upper part of the fixing unit 13. It will be.

  The paper storage unit 14 has a paper tray 141 that is detachably mounted at a position below the exposure device 124 in the apparatus main body 11. A sheet bundle is stored in the sheet tray 141. The sheet P is fed out from the sheet bundle stored in the sheet tray 141 one by one by driving the pickup roller 142, and is introduced into the image forming unit 12 through the sheet conveyance path 111.

  Hereinafter, the toner storage unit 17 in which the toner cartridge 20 and the waste toner collection bottle 90 are integrated will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 is a perspective view of the toner storage unit 17 as seen obliquely from the front side (the front side of the paper surface of FIG. 1). FIG. 3 shows the toner storage unit 17 shown in FIG. 2 on the back side (the paper surface of FIG. 1). It is the perspective view seen from the back surface side.

  First, as shown in FIG. 2, the toner storage unit 17 is formed in a substantially lower half of the toner cartridge 20 formed in a substantially upper half of a frame plate 171 having a substantially rectangular shape that is long in the vertical direction. And a waste toner collection bottle 90.

  The toner cartridge 20 includes a cartridge main body 30 formed at a substantially upper half position of the frame plate 171, a shutter member 40 provided on the right side in FIG. 2 below the cartridge main body 30, and the shutter member 40. An operation lever 50 for performing the opening / closing operation, a posture change restricting structure 60 for restricting a posture change between the opening posture and the closing posture of the shutter member 40 by locking the movement of the operation lever 50, and the inside of the cartridge main body 30. And a driving force transmission mechanism 80 for transmitting a driving force of a driving motor (not shown) to the spiral feeder 70.

  The waste toner collection bottle 90 is formed at a position substantially in the lower half of the frame plate 171. The waste toner collecting bottle 90 includes a front bottle container 91 formed by being bulged forward from the frame plate 171 and a rear bottle container 92 attached to the back side of the frame plate 171. ing. There is no partition between the bottle containers 91 and 92 on the frame plate 171, so that the waste toner collecting bottle 90 has waste toner composed of the front bottle container 91 and the rear bottle container 92. A storage space is formed.

  A waste toner collection hole 921 corresponding to the waste toner collection tube 126a of the cleaning device 126 is provided on the upper right side in FIG. 3 on the rear surface of the rear bottle container 92, and the toner cartridge 20 is set in the inclined posture V1. In this state, the waste toner collection pipe 126a is inserted into the waste toner collection hole 921. The waste toner accumulated in the cleaning device 126 is collected into the rear bottle container 92 through the waste toner collection hole 921 from the front end opening of the waste toner collection pipe 126a.

  The waste toner collection bottle 90 is integrally formed with the cartridge main body 30 via the frame plate 171. The amount of toner consumed from the cartridge main body 30 and the toner collected in the waste toner collection bottle 90 are as follows. By preliminarily setting the capacities of both in consideration of the balance with the collected amount, the waste toner collecting bottle 90 can be filled with the cartridge body 30 empty. This is because exchanging the two at the same time is advantageous in terms of workability of the exchange work.

  The cartridge body 30 includes a front side cartridge container 31 bulged on the front side of the frame plate 171 and a rear side cartridge container 32 bulged on the rear side. There is no partition between the front-side cartridge container 31 and the back-side cartridge container 32 on the frame plate 171, so that a toner storage space is formed between the front-side cartridge container 31 and the back-side cartridge container 32. Is formed.

  The front side cartridge container 31 is formed with an operation lever mounting portion 311 having a fan shape in a front view at the lower right portion in FIG. The operation lever mounting portion 311 is formed in an arc shape with the center of curvature at a predetermined position of the lower right corner in FIG. 2 of the front side cartridge container 31 and is directed from the front of the front side cartridge container 31 to the back side by a predetermined dimension. It has been submerged. The thickness of the operation lever 50 is set so as not to protrude forward from the front surface of the front side cartridge container 31 when the operation lever 50 is mounted on the operation lever mounting portion 311, thereby reducing the size of the toner cartridge 20. It has helped.

  The back side cartridge container 32 is provided with a toner loading port 321 for loading toner into the cartridge main body 30 on the upper surface, and a toner replenishing port 322 (for replenishing toner to the developing device 122 on the bottom surface). FIG. 5) is opened. The driving force transmission mechanism 80 is provided on the back surface of the back side cartridge container 32.

  The toner loading port 321 is configured to be closed in a state where it is difficult to open the toner loading port 321 by a lid (not shown) in a state where a predetermined amount of toner is loaded in the cartridge body 30. This is because the toner cartridge 20 is replaced with a new toner cartridge 20 without being replenished when the toner is consumed, so that the toner loading opening 321 is inadvertently opened on the user side. This is to prevent it from being done.

  Hereinafter, the shutter member 40, the operation lever 50, and the posture change restriction structure 60 will be described based on FIGS. 4 to 6 and with reference to FIGS. 4 is a partially enlarged perspective view of a main part of the toner cartridge 20, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway skeleton perspective view for explaining the mutual operation of the shutter member 40, the operation lever 50, and the posture change restricting structure 60. FIG. 6A shows the shutter member 40 in the closing phase. The state in which the phase is set, (B) shows the state in which the shutter member 40 is set in the open phase.

  As shown in these drawings, the shutter member 40 is formed of a cylindrical body, and penetrates the front plate of the front side cartridge container 31 and the rear plate of the back side cartridge container 32 in the lower right part of the cartridge body 30 in FIG. In this state, the cartridge body 30 is attached. In order to allow the shutter member 40 to pass through the cartridge body 30 in a sliding state, the front plate of the front side cartridge container 31 is provided with a through hole 312 (FIG. 5) and the back side of the back side cartridge container 32. The face plate is also provided with a through hole 323 (FIG. 5).

  The shutter member 40 is provided with a toner passage opening 41 facing rightward on the front end side in a state where the shutter member 40 is set to the closing phase S1, as shown in FIG. In addition, a toner discharge opening 42 facing leftward is provided on the rear end side. That is, the toner passage opening 41 and the toner discharge opening 42 are provided at diagonal positions (that is, positions shifted by 180 °) in the shutter member 40. The operation lever 50 is formed integrally with the front end portion of the shutter member 40.

  Accordingly, in the state where the shutter member 40 is set to the closing phase S1, the toner passage opening 41 is oriented sideways as shown in FIG. In addition to being not introduced into the toner supply opening 42, the toner discharge opening 42 is also laterally removed from the toner supply opening 322 (FIG. 5), so that the toner is not discharged to the outside through the toner supply opening 322.

  Then, in a state where the shutter member 40 is set to the closing phase S1 ((A) in FIG. 6), the operation lever 50 that is set to the standing posture T1 is moved counterclockwise around the cylinder center of the shutter member 40. When the orientation of the shutter member 40 is changed to the sideways posture T2 by turning about 90 ° toward the side, the shutter member 40 is turned about 90 ° around the cylinder center and is released from the closing phase S1, as shown in FIG. The phase is changed to the phase S2, whereby the toner passage opening 41 is directed upward and the toner discharge opening 42 is directed downward, whereby the toner in the cartridge main body 30 passes through the shutter member 40 from the toner discharge opening 42. It is ready to be discharged.

  7 and 8 are perspective views showing an embodiment of the box-shaped frame 100. FIG. 7 shows a state in which the cartridge side tray 105 is not attached to the main body side tray 102, and FIG. The state where the toner storage unit 17 is mounted on the cartridge side tray 105 mounted on is shown. 7 and 8, the XX direction is referred to as the left-right direction (width direction), the Y-Y direction is referred to as the front-rear direction, and in particular, the -X direction is leftward, the + X direction is rightward, the -Y direction is forward, The + Y direction is referred to as the rear.

  As shown in FIG. 7, in the apparatus main body 11 (FIG. 1), various devices (photosensitive drum 121, developing device 122, charger 123, exposure device 124, and transfer device) constituting the image forming unit 12 at the center. And a box-shaped frame (frame) 100 for mounting the toner storage unit 17 is provided on the front side.

  The box-shaped frame 100 includes a frame main body 101 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape and a main body side tray 102 fixed to the front surface of the frame main body 101. The frame body 101 includes a flat bottom plate 101a, a pair of left and right side plates 101b erected from both sides in the width direction of the bottom plate 101a, and a top plate 101c installed between the upper edges of the pair of side plates 101b. And. The photosensitive drum 121, the developing device 122, the charger 123, and the exposure device that constitute the units 12M, 12C, 12Y, and 12K of the image forming unit 12 in a space surrounded by the bottom plate 101a, the side plate 101b, and the top plate 101c. 124, a transfer belt 125, and the like (FIG. 1) are incorporated.

  The main body side tray 102 is used for mounting the toner storage unit 17 via a cartridge side tray (cartridge support member) 105, which will be described later, and is installed between the front upper edges of the pair of side plates 101b. It consists of a material 102a and a plurality of partition plates 102b suspended from the beam material 102a so as to protrude forward.

  In the present embodiment, six partition plates 102b are provided, and the toner storage units 17 and transfer belts corresponding to the units 12M, 12C, 12Y, and 12K via the cartridge side tray 105 between the partition plates 102b. The toner storage unit 17 corresponding to the cleaning device 127 is detachably mounted. Specifically, the toner storage unit 17 of the transfer belt cleaning device 127 is mounted between the rightmost main body side tray 102 and the left partition plate 102b, and thereafter the partition plates facing each other toward the left side. The toner storage unit 17 of the magenta unit 12M, the toner storage unit 17 of the cyan unit 12C, the toner storage unit 17 of the yellow unit 12Y, and the toner storage unit 17 of the black unit 12K are respectively mounted between 102b. ing.

  In this embodiment, the gap size between the partition plates 102b for the black unit 12K is larger than the gap size between the partition plates 102b for other colors and the gap size between the partition plates 102b for the transfer belt cleaning device 127. Largely dimensioned. This is because the capacity of the toner storage unit 17 that stores black toner that is used more than other colors is larger than the capacity of the toner storage unit 17 that stores toner of other colors. In order to accommodate such a large-capacity black toner storage unit 17, the gap between the partition plates 102b for the black unit 12K is set larger than the others. Incidentally, the other gap dimensions are set to be the same.

  Each partition plate 102b is provided with a rectangular projecting plate 102c projecting forward from the vertical center of the front edge surface, and the presence of the projecting plate 102c is shown in FIG. In addition, the posture of each cartridge-side tray 105 set in the standing posture is favorably maintained. In addition, a short projecting shaft (fulcrum) 103 facing each other in the left-right direction, which is the rotation center of the toner storage unit 17, is provided at the lower end of each main body side tray 102. Further, a plate-like stopper 104 for setting one side of the rotation range of the toner storage unit 17 is provided between the front lower end portions of the right and left end partition plates 102b.

  FIGS. 9A and 9B are perspective views showing an embodiment of the cartridge side tray 105. FIG. 9A shows a state where the toner storage unit 17 is removed, and FIG. 9B shows a state where the toner storage unit 17 is mounted. Show. FIG. 10 is a side view of the cartridge side tray 105. FIG. 10A is a state where the cartridge side tray 105 is set in the inclined posture V1, and FIG. 10B is a state where the cartridge side tray 105 is raised. Each of the states set to the posture V2 is shown. 9 and 10 are the same as those shown in FIG. 7 (X is the left-right direction (-X: leftward, + X rightward), Y is the front-rear direction (-Y: forward, + Y). : Back)).

  First, as shown in FIG. 9, the cartridge side tray 105 includes a rectangular bottom plate 105a, a rectangular front plate 105b erected from the front edge of the bottom plate 105a, and left and right sides of the front plate 105b. And a pair of odd-shaped side plates 105c erected from the edge in the front-rear width direction.

  The bottom plate 105 a is set slightly larger than the size of the bottom plate of the toner storage unit 17. Further, the front plate 105 b is formed to be inclined so that the upper side is directed forward in accordance with the inclination of the front plate of the front side bottle container 91 of the toner storage unit 17. The front plate 105b has a vertical dimension slightly longer than the upper edge of the front bottle container 91.

  Each of the side plates 105c is set in accordance with the shape of the lower half of the toner storage unit 17 (that is, the toner collection bottle 90) as viewed from the side, the lower part is set to have a wide dimension, and the taper is tapered toward the upper side. ing. A pair of opposed guide ridges 106 extending in the vertical direction are bulged outwardly at a substantially central portion in the front-rear direction of each side plate 105c, and the opposing surfaces of the guide ridges 106 are arranged in the vertical direction. A guide groove 106a extending in the direction is recessed. These guide grooves 106 a guide the left and right edges of the frame plate 171 provided in the toner storage unit 17 when the toner storage unit 17 is attached to and detached from the cartridge side tray 105.

  Further, circular projections 107 projecting in opposite directions are provided at the corners in front of the lower portions of the side plates 105c. These circular protrusions 107 are provided at positions corresponding to the protruding shafts 103 provided on the partition plate 102 b of the main body side tray 102. Each circular protrusion 107 is provided with an external fitting groove 107a formed by being cut from the lower edge portion toward the center.

  The cartridge-side tray 105 is mounted between the partition plates 102b facing each other so as to rotate forward and backward around the projecting shaft 103 by fitting these outer fitting grooves 107a into the corresponding projecting shafts 103. The posture can be changed between a tilted posture V1 tilted forward as shown in FIG. 10A and a standing posture V2 standing from the plate-like stopper 104 of the main body side tray 102. A fulcrum according to the present invention provided at a substantially central position in a direction orthogonal to the rotational direction of the bottom of the cartridge side tray 105 is formed by the axis of the protruding shaft 103.

  Incidentally, in the state where the cartridge side tray 105 is set to the inclined position V1, the front lower edge portion of the side plate 105c of the cartridge side tray 105 is positioned at the front edge of the plate stopper 104 as shown in FIG. At the same time, the lower rear edge of the same comes into contact with a stopper projection 102e projecting forward from the back plate 102d of the main body side tray 102, whereby the cartridge side tray 105 exceeds the inclined posture V1. To prevent it from tilting out of the rotation range.

  On the other hand, at the rear end of the shutter member 40 of the toner cartridge 20 (the end opposite to the side where the operation lever 50 is provided), the toner cartridge 20 as shown in FIGS. An engaging member 44 for engaging with the tray 102 (FIG. 7) is provided. The engaging member 44 includes an outer fitting cylinder 441 that is integrally fitted to a small diameter small diameter cylinder 43 (FIG. 5) that is concentrically provided from the rear end of the shutter member 40, and the outer fitting cylinder. And a fan-shaped hook 442 that protrudes radially outward from the outer peripheral surface of the body 441 and has a fan shape in a rear view.

  The fan-shaped hook 442 has a cross-sectional shape in a plane parallel to the cylinder core passing through the cylinder core of the shutter member 40, as shown in FIG. It is formed in a shape.

  The engaging member 44 is set in the horizontal direction as shown in FIG. 6A with the shutter member 40 set to the closing phase S1, while the shutter member 40 is set to the opening phase S2. In the set state, the installation position is set so that the direction is set obliquely upward as shown in FIG.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 10A, the cartridge side tray 105 is rotated clockwise around the protruding shaft 103 with the toner cartridge 20 mounted on the cartridge side tray 105 set in the inclined position V1 as shown in FIG. As a result, the cartridge side tray 105 is tilted with the operation lever 50 set in the standing posture T1 in the state where the cartridge side tray 105 is set in the standing posture V2 as shown in FIG. By changing the posture to the sideways posture T2, the engaging member 44 is fitted into the arc-shaped engaging groove 102f provided on the back plate 102d of the main body side tray 102, whereby the toner cartridge 20 is inserted into the main body side tray 102. It comes to be prevented from coming off.

  That is, the engagement member 44 is an engagement in which the fan-shaped hook 442 protrudes laterally from the external fitting cylinder 441 as shown in FIG. 6A in a state where the operation lever 50 is set in the standing posture T1. While the release posture U1 is set, the fan-shaped hook 442 protrudes obliquely upward from the outer fitting cylinder 441 along the arcuate engagement groove 102f in a state where the operating lever 50 is set to the horizontal posture T2. The posture is set to the engaged posture U2.

  Then, after the toner cartridge 20 is mounted on the cartridge side tray 105 set in the inclined posture V1, the operation lever 50 is temporarily changed from the standing posture T1 to the posture T2 in the posture changed to the standing posture V2. Then, the fan-shaped hook 442 is set in the engagement posture U2 and is prevented from being detached from the apparatus main body 11. Therefore, when the toner cartridge 20 is replaced, the engagement posture U2 is set unless the operation lever 50 is returned to the standing posture T1. The state in which the fan-shaped hook 442 is prevented from coming off with respect to the apparatus main body 11 is not solved.

  Therefore, when the toner cartridge 20 is replaced, the operation lever 50 is always laid down and returned from the standing posture T2 to the standing posture T1, so that the shutter member 40 is changed in phase from the opening phase S2 to the closing phase S1 and the toner supply port 322 is closed. The As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent inconvenience that residual toner leaks from the used toner cartridge 20 taken out from the apparatus main body 11 when the toner cartridge 20 is replaced.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the operation lever 50 includes a lever main body 51 projecting radially from the front end of the shutter member 40 and a flange projecting outward from the edge of the lever main body 51. And a plate 52. At the right side of the lever main body 51 in the flange plate 52, a U-shaped lock groove 53 formed by being cut from the edge surface toward the lever main body 51 is recessed. The lock groove 53 is for restricting the phase change toward the opening phase S2 of the shutter member 40 set to the closing phase S1 in cooperation with the posture change restricting structure 60.

  The posture change restricting structure 60 restricts the phase change toward the opening phase S2 of the shutter member 40 set to the closing phase S1 in a state where the toner cartridge 20 is not attached to the developing device 122 (that is, the operation change operation). On the other hand, when the toner cartridge 20 is attached to the developing device 122, the restriction is released.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the posture change restricting structure 60 includes an elongated restricting arm 61 suspended downward from the upper end position of the operation lever mounting portion 311 on the right side wall of the front side cartridge container 31 and a lower end of the restricting arm 61. 4 is protruded forward from the lower end portion of the restriction arm 61 toward the right side in FIG. 4 and the restriction piece 62 protruded forward toward the lock groove 53 of the operation lever 50 set to the standing posture T1. The guide piece 63 is provided.

  The restricting arm 61 has a thickness dimension so that it can be elastically deformed by bending in the front-rear direction with respect to the operating lever 50, and the restricting piece 62 is locked in a state where the operating lever 50 is set in the standing posture T1. The dimensions are set so as to fit into the groove 53 ((A) in FIG. 6). Then, when the restricting piece 62 is fitted into the lock groove 53, the rotation of the shutter member 40 around the cylinder center of the operation lever 50 in the counterclockwise direction is prevented, while the restricting arm 61 is curved backward. Thus, the engagement of the restricting piece 62 with the lock groove 53 is released, so that the operation lever 50 can change its posture from the standing posture T1 toward the posture T2.

  On the other hand, an interference member 108 corresponding to the guided piece 63 as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 is provided on the upper edge portion of the right side plate 105c of the cartridge side tray 105, and the toner storage unit 17 is connected to the cartridge side. By mounting on the tray 105, the guided piece 63 interferes with the interference member 108, and as a result, the restriction arm 61 moves in a direction in which the lower end portion thereof is separated from the operation lever 50 as shown in FIG. The restricting piece 62 is bent away from the lock groove 53. When the restricting piece 62 is disengaged from the lock groove 53, the operation lever 50 that has been set to the standing posture T1 can be laid down and changed to the posture T2.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the spiral feeder 70 includes a feeder shaft 71 that is concentric with the cylinder center in the cartridge body 30 and extends in the lateral direction, and a spiral fin 72 that is integrally formed on the peripheral surface of the feeder shaft 71. It has. The feeder shaft 71 is mounted in a mounting hole 54 formed on the back side of the lever body 51 so that the front end (left side in FIG. 5) can rotate about the axis, and the rear end is The small diameter cylindrical body 43 of the shutter member 40 is slidably contacted with the shutter member 40 so that the shutter member 40 can rotate about the axis independently of the shutter member 40.

  Accordingly, the toner introduced into the shutter member 40 via the toner passage opening 41 is obtained when the spiral feeder 70 is integrally rotated around the feeder shaft 71 in a state where the shutter member 40 is set to the closing phase S1. Then, it is guided by the rotation of the spiral fin 72 and moves rearward, and is supplied to the developing device 122 through the toner supply opening 322 through the toner discharge opening 42.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 10, the developing device 122 has a cylindrical toner receiving cylinder 122a that protrudes forward from the front end face. The toner receiving cylinder 122 a relays the toner supplied from the toner cartridge 20 into the developing device 122, and protrudes forward through the back plate 102 d of the main body side tray 102. A toner receiving port (toner receiving opening) 122b is provided at a position facing the toner replenishing port 322 of the toner cartridge 20 above the toner receiving tube 122a, and a shutter (opening / closing the toner receiving port 122b). A first shutter 122c is provided.

  The shutter 122c rotates forward and backward about a support shaft 122d extending in the left-right direction (a direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 10), and a closed posture in which the toner receiving port 122b shown in FIG. FIG. 10 (b) shows a state in which the posture can be changed between the toner receiving port 122b shown in FIG. 10 (b) and the cartridge side tray 105 is set to the inclined posture V1 (FIG. 10 (b)). The closing posture is maintained by the urging force of the substantially urging means.

  The shutter 122c is provided with an operation piece 122e protruding upward. The operation piece 122e interferes with the lower edge of the back side cartridge container 32 of the toner storage unit 17 mounted on the cartridge side tray 105 in a state where the cartridge side tray 105 is set in the standing position V2. The installation position is set.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10A, after the toner storage unit 17 is mounted on the cartridge side tray 105 set in the inclined posture V1, the posture of the cartridge side tray 105 is changed to the standing posture V2. As a result, the lower end edge portion of the back side cartridge container 32 of the toner storage unit 17 presses the operation piece 122e of the shutter 122c rearward, so that the toner rotates by the clockwise rotation around the support shaft 122d of the shutter 122c. The receiving port 122b is opened as shown in FIG. 10B, and the toner in the cartridge main body 30 is supplied into the developing device 122 through the toner receiving port 122b.

  On the contrary, when the posture of the cartridge side tray 105 set to the standing posture V2 is changed to the inclined posture V1, the interference with the operation piece 122e of the back side cartridge container 32 is eliminated, and thereby the shutter 122c is biased by the biasing means. Thus, the toner is rotated counterclockwise around the support shaft 122d, and the toner receiving port 122b is closed by the shutter 122c.

  Incidentally, although not shown, the toner collection bottle 90 also employs a similar opening / closing structure for the waste toner receiving port, and the waste toner receiving opening 17 has the toner storage unit 17 to which the toner storage unit 17 is attached. Is automatically released by changing the posture from the inclined posture V1 to the standing posture V2, and is automatically closed by changing the posture from the standing posture V2 to the inclined posture V1.

  In the present embodiment, both the shutter 122c and the second shutter are opened by changing the posture of the cartridge-side tray 105 from the inclined posture V1 to the standing posture V2. Accordingly, only one of the shutter 122c and the second shutter may be opened.

  Next, the driving force transmission mechanism 80 provided in the toner cartridge 20 will be described. The driving force transmission mechanism 80 transmits the driving force of a driving motor 86 (FIG. 6) provided at an appropriate position on the main body side tray 102 to the spiral feeder 70. As shown in FIG. The back plate 324 is attached. The driving force transmission mechanism 80 includes a coupling gear 81 provided slightly above the center of the back plate 324 of the back side cartridge container 32, and a coupling gear 81 that meshes with the coupling gear 81 below the coupling gear 81. The first idle gear 82 having a substantially larger diameter, the second idle gear 83 provided at the lower left in FIG. 3 of the first idle gear 82, and the third idle gear that rotates integrally with the second idle gear 83. 84 and a feeder gear 85 concentrically and integrally attached to a portion of the feeder shaft 71 protruding from the back plate 324 to the back side.

  A pair of coupling pieces 811 are provided on the back surface of the coupling gear 81 in FIG. 3 at point target positions with respect to the axis, and the coupling gear 81 is attached to the developing device 122 when the toner cartridge 20 is mounted. The drive rotation of the drive motor 86 is transmitted to the coupling gear 81 by being concentrically connected to the drive shaft of the drive motor 86 via the coupling piece 811.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the feeder gear 85 is concentrically extended from the feeder gear main body 851 to the right side in FIG. 5 and a feeder gear main body 851 concentrically fitted to the small-diameter cylindrical body 43 of the shutter member 40. The feeder gear body 851 has an outer insertion cylinder body 852 having a smaller diameter, and a flange 853 concentrically interposed between the feeder gear body 851 and the outer insertion cylinder body 852. Then, the outer insertion cylinder 852 is integrally fitted to the feeder shaft 71 so as to be integrally rotatable, whereby the rotation of the feeder gear 85 is transmitted to the spiral feeder 70.

  According to the configuration of the driving force transmission mechanism 80, by driving the driving motor 86 with the toner cartridge 20 mounted on the developing device 122, this driving is transmitted to the coupling gear 81 via the coupling piece 811. Thereafter, the rotation of the coupling gear 81 is transmitted to the feeder gear 85 via the first idle gear 82, the second idle gear 83, and the third idle gear 84 that are sequentially meshed with each other. The spiral feeder 70 in the shutter member 40 is rotated by the rotation.

  Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 6B, the drive motor 86 is driven in a state in which the shutter member 40 is set to the open phase S2 by the tilting operation of the operation lever 50, so that the upward movement of the shutter member 40 is performed. The toner introduced into the shutter member 40 from the cartridge main body 30 through the toner passage opening 41 is guided by the rotation of the spiral fin 72 around the feeder shaft 71 and is transferred to the right in FIG. Then, the toner is supplied into the developing device 122 (FIG. 1) through the toner discharge opening 42 and the toner supply port 322.

  Next, the operation of the posture change restricting structure 60 will be described based on FIG. 11 with reference to FIGS. FIG. 11 is a partial explanatory view in side view of the toner storage unit 17 for explaining the operation of the posture change restricting structure 60. FIG. 11A shows a state immediately before the toner storage unit 17 is mounted on the cartridge side tray 105. FIG. The state (b) shows a state where the toner storage unit 17 is being attached to the cartridge side tray 105, and (c) shows the state where the toner storage unit 17 is attached to the cartridge side tray 105.

  First, as shown in FIG. 11A, when the toner storage unit 17 is not attached to the cartridge-side tray 105 (that is, not attached to the developing device 122), it is formed in the cartridge main body 30. The restriction piece 62 at the lower end of the restriction arm 61 is fitted in the lock groove 53 of the operation lever 50. In this state, even if the operation lever 50 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 4, the lower edge portion of the lock groove 53 interferes with the restricting piece 62, so that the operation lever 50 cannot be tilted. Accordingly, since the shutter member 40 ((A) in FIG. 6) set to the closing phase S1 does not change the phase to the opening phase S2, the cartridge main body 30 can be moved by carelessly operating the operation lever 50. It is possible to prevent inconveniences such as toner scattering.

  Next, when the toner storage unit 17 is mounted on the cartridge side tray 105, as shown in FIG. 11B, a guided piece 63 formed at the lower end of the regulating arm 61 is provided at an appropriate position of the apparatus main body 11. The interference member 108 is contacted. In this state, when the toner storage unit 17 is further pushed toward the cartridge side tray 105, the guided piece 63 is pressed toward the right in FIG. 11 by the interference member 108, whereby the restriction arm 61 is elastically deformed into a bow shape. To do. Due to this elastic deformation, the restriction piece 62 at the lower end of the restriction arm 61 is disengaged from the lock groove 53, so that the operation lever 50 can be turned.

  As described above in detail, the attachment / detachment structure of the toner cartridge 20 according to the present invention (in this embodiment, the attachment / detachment structure of the toner storage unit 17) is provided in the box-shaped frame 100 provided in the apparatus main body 11 of the image forming apparatus 10. A developing device 122 that supplies toner to the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 121 to form a toner image, and cleaning that removes residual toner remaining on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 121 after the toner image is transferred to the transfer material. And a toner cartridge 20 for replenishing toner to the developing device 122. The toner cartridge 20 is detachably attached to the developing device 122. The main body of the box-shaped frame 100 The side tray 102 has a cartridge as a cartridge support member that can change its posture between a standing posture V2 and an inclined posture V1. A side tray 105 is provided, and the toner cartridge 20 can be inserted into and removed from the cartridge side tray 105 in the inclined posture V1 while the toner cartridge 20 is in the standing posture V2 in the developing device. 122 to be mounted.

  According to this configuration, when the toner cartridge 20 is mounted on the developing device 122, the cartridge-side tray 105 is set to the tilted posture V1, so that the toner cartridge 20 is mounted on the cartridge-side tray 105 in an inclined state. be able to. Then, by changing the posture of the cartridge-side tray 105 to which the toner cartridge 20 is attached to the standing posture V2, the toner cartridge 20 is attached to the developing device 122.

  When removing the toner cartridge 20 attached to the developing device 122, the cartridge-side tray 105 that is set in the standing posture V2 may be set in the inclined posture V1. Then, the toner cartridge 20 is removed from the developing device 122 by pulling the toner cartridge 20 obliquely upward along the cartridge-side tray 105.

  Then, by setting the tilting direction of the cartridge side tray 105 so that the cartridge side tray 105 set in the inclined posture V1 is inclined toward the front side of the apparatus main body 11, the front door of the apparatus main body 11 is opened. In this state, the cartridge side tray 105 is in a state in which the upper surface opening faces the operator, so that the toner cartridge 20 can be easily attached and detached while avoiding interference with various places, and can be placed in the apparatus main body 11. It is not necessary to secure a large space for attaching and detaching the toner cartridge 20, and the installation space for the image forming apparatus 10 can be reduced accordingly.

  Further, the developing device 122 is provided with a toner receiving port 122b for receiving toner from the toner cartridge 20, and a shutter 122c for opening and closing the toner receiving port 122b. The cleaning device 126 discharges the stored waste toner. And a second shutter that opens and closes the waste toner discharge port, and the cartridge-side tray 105 is changed from the tilted posture V1 to the standing posture V2 to change the shutter 122c and the second shutter. Since either one or both of the cartridges are opened, the shutter 122c of the toner cartridge 20 and the second shutter of the cleaning device 126 are changed by changing the posture of the cartridge-side tray 105 from the inclined posture V1 to the standing posture V2. One or both of the To be, it is not necessary to perform a separate opening operation for the shutter, it is possible to perform attachment and detachment manipulation of the toner cartridge 20, including the opening and closing operation of that amount shutter easily.

  In this embodiment, a toner collection bottle 90 that receives waste toner from the cleaning device 126 is integrally connected to the toner cartridge 20, and the toner storage unit 17 is configured by the toner cartridge 20 and the toner collection bottle 90. Since the toner storage unit 17 is detachably attached to the main body side tray 102 via the cartridge side tray 105, the toner cartridge 20 and the toner collection bottle 90 can be removed by the attachment / detachment operation of the toner storage unit 17 with respect to the apparatus main body 11. Can be attached and detached at the same time, so that the operability of toner replenishment and waste toner collection can be improved as compared with the case where the toner collection bottle 90 is provided separately from the toner cartridge 20.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and includes the following contents.

  (1) In the above embodiment, the attachment / detachment structure of the toner storage unit 17 in which the toner cartridge 20 and the toner collection bottle 90 are integrally coupled via the frame plate 171 with respect to the main body side tray 102 has been described. The attachment / detachment structure of the present invention is not limited to the toner storage unit 17, and may be an attachment / detachment structure for only the toner cartridge 20 that is not integrated with the toner recovery bottle 90.

  (2) In the above-described embodiment, the toner cartridge 20 is configured such that the engaging member 44 is moved via the shutter member 40 when the operation lever 50 is operated to the sideways position T2 while being mounted on the developing device 122. The toner cartridge 20 is engaged with the arcuate engagement groove 102f of the main body side tray 102, and thereby the toner cartridge 20 is prevented from coming off from the main body side tray 102. For example, when the cartridge-side tray 105 is pressed and clamped between the partition plates 102b facing each other, the standing posture V2 is reliably maintained by a frictional force. The engaging member 44 may not be provided.

  (3) In the above embodiment, the posture change restricting structure 60 is provided with a rod-like restricting arm 61 that can be elastically deformed, and a restricting piece 62 and a guide piece 63 formed at the lower end of the restricting arm 61. However, instead of this, the restriction piece 62 may be fitted into the lock groove 53 by pressing the restriction piece 62 with a biasing force of a coil spring, for example.

  (4) FIG. 12 is a perspective view for explaining an embodiment of the connection structure of the waste toner collection pipe 126a of the cleaning device 126 to the rear bottle container 92 of the waste toner collection bottle 90. A state in which the toner cartridge 20 is set in the inclined posture V1, and (B) indicates a state in which the toner cartridge 20 is set in the standing posture V2.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the connection structure of this embodiment includes an annular shutter (second shutter) 122b externally fitted in a slidable contact state with a waste toner collecting pipe 126a, and the annular shutter 126b connected to the rear side bottle container 92. A coil spring 126c that is externally fitted to the waste toner collecting pipe 126a and that is biased toward the waste toner collecting hole 921 is provided.

  The waste toner collecting pipe 126a is closed at the front end surface, and is provided with a waste toner discharge port (not shown) for discharging the waste toner on the lower surface side of the portion slightly closer to the base end side than the front end. . The waste toner discharge port is set so that the annular shutter 126b is closed by the annular shutter 126b in a state where the annular shutter 126b is positioned on the front end side of the waste toner collecting pipe 126a by the biasing force of the coil spring 126c. .

  A flange 126d having a diameter larger than the diameter of the waste toner collection hole 921 is provided at a position slightly closer to the base end side than the front end of the annular shutter 126b, and the front end of the annular shutter 126b is disposed at the waste toner collection hole. The flange 126 d interferes with the peripheral edge of the waste toner collection hole 921 in a state where the flange 126 d is fitted.

  According to the connection structure having such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 12A, the cartridge side tray 105 is rotated in the clockwise direction in FIG. The toner cartridge 20 is rotated counterclockwise around the projecting shaft 103 with the starting state (that is, the state in which the toner cartridge 20 is also set to the inclined posture V1) as a starting point, so that the tip of the waste toner collecting pipe 126a is discarded. After being fitted into the toner recovery hole 921, the flange 126d interferes with the peripheral edge of the waste toner recovery hole 921.

  When the rotation operation of the toner cartridge 20 is continued in this state, the flange 126d is pressed relatively to the peripheral edge of the waste toner collection hole 921, thereby causing the annular shutter 126b to resist the biasing force of the coil spring 126c. As a result, the waste toner discharge port of the waste toner collecting pipe 126a is opened.

  An engaging member (the engaging member 44 (see FIGS. 2 to 6)) that can be operated from the outside for maintaining the standing posture V2 in a state where the toner cartridge 20 is set to the standing posture V2. Thus, the standing posture V <b> 2 of the toner cartridge 20 is held against the urging force of the coil spring 126 c by the locking by the engaging member 44. Therefore, when the engagement is released by operating the engaging member 44 in a state where the toner cartridge 20 is set in the standing posture V2, the toner cartridge 20 is inclined from the standing posture V2 to the inclined posture V1 by the biasing force of the coil spring 126c. Therefore, the workability when the toner cartridge 20 is replaced with a new one can be improved.

  In the present embodiment, both the shutter 122c and the annular shutter 126b are opened by changing the posture of the toner cartridge 20 from the inclined posture V1 to the standing posture V2. Instead of this, the shutter is released. Any one of 122c and annular shutter 126b may be opened.

1 is an explanatory diagram of a front sectional view for explaining an embodiment of an internal structure of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the toner storage unit as seen obliquely from the front side (the front side of the paper surface of FIG. 1). FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the toner storage unit shown in FIG. 2 as viewed from the back side (the back side of the paper surface of FIG. 1). FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged perspective view of a main part of a toner cartridge. It is the sectional view on the AA line of FIG. FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway skeleton perspective view for explaining the mutual operation of the shutter member, the operation lever, and the posture change restricting structure, where (a) is a state in which the shutter member is set to the closing phase, and (b) is The state where the shutter member is set to the open phase is shown. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a box-shaped frame for mounting a toner storage unit provided in the apparatus main body, and shows a state where a cartridge side tray is removed from the main body side tray. FIG. 8 is a perspective view illustrating a state where a cartridge side tray in which a toner storage unit is mounted on the box-shaped frame illustrated in FIG. 7 is mounted on a main body side tray. 4A and 4B are perspective views showing an embodiment of a cartridge-side tray, where FIG. 5A shows a state where the toner storage unit is removed, and FIG. 4B shows a state where the toner storage unit is mounted. It is explanatory drawing of the side view of a cartridge side tray, (A) shows the state in which the cartridge side tray is set in the inclined posture, and (B) shows the state in which the cartridge side tray is set in the standing posture. ing. FIG. 7 is a partial explanatory view in side view of the toner storage unit for explaining the operation of the posture change restricting structure 60. (a) is a state immediately before the toner storage unit 17 is mounted on the cartridge side tray, and (b) is a diagram. The state in which the toner storage unit is being attached to the cartridge side tray, and (C) show the state in which the toner storage unit is attached to the cartridge side tray. FIG. 5 is a perspective view for explaining an embodiment of a connection structure of a waste toner collection pipe to a rear bottle container of a waste toner collection bottle, wherein (a) is a state in which the toner cartridge is set in an inclined posture; ) Shows a state in which the toner cartridge is set to the standing posture.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 11 Main body 111 Paper conveyance path 112 Conveyance roller pair 113 Second transfer roller 114 Discharge conveyance path 115 In-body discharge tray 12 Image forming unit 12M Magenta unit 12C Cyan unit 12Y Yellow unit 12K For black Unit 121 Photosensitive drum (image carrier)
122 Developing device 122a Toner receiving tube 122b Toner receiving port 122c Shutter (first shutter)
122d Support shaft 122e Operation piece 123 Charger 124 Exposure device 125 Transfer belt 125a Drive roller 125b Driven roller 125c Transfer roller 126 Cleaning device 126a Waste toner collection tube 126b Annular shutter (second shutter)
126c Coil spring 126d Flange 127 Cleaning device for transfer belt 13 Fixing unit 131 Fixing roller 132 Pressure roller 14 Paper storage unit 141 Paper tray 142 Pickup roller 16 Image reading unit 161 Document presser 162 Optical system unit 163 Contact glass 17 Toner storage unit 171 Frame plate 20 Toner cartridge 30 Cartridge body 31 Front side cartridge container 311 Operation lever mounting portion 312 Through hole 32 Rear side cartridge container 321 Toner loading port 322 Toner supply port 323 Through hole 324 Rear plate 40 Shutter member 41 Toner passage opening 42 Toner delivery Opening 43 Small-diameter cylindrical body 44 Engaging member 50 Operation lever 51 Lever body 52 Flange plate 53 Lock groove 54 Mounting hole 60 Posture change regulation structure 61 Control arm 62 restricting piece 63 guided piece
70 Spiral feeder (toner transfer means)
71 Feeder shaft 72 Spiral fin 80 Driving force transmission mechanism 81 Coupling gear 811 Coupling piece 82 1st idle gear 83 2nd idle gear 84 3rd idle gear 85 Feeder gear 87 Drive motor 90 Toner collection bottle 91 Front side bottle container 92 Rear side Bottle container 100 Box-shaped frame 101 Frame main body 102 Main body side tray 102a Beam material 102b Partition plate 102c Projection plate 102d Back plate 102e Stopper projection 102f Arc-shaped engagement groove 103 Projection shaft (fulcrum) 104 Plate-shaped stopper 105 Cartridge side tray (Cartridge support member)
105a Bottom plate 105b Front plate 105c Side plate 106 Guide protrusion 106a Guide groove 107 Circular protrusion 107a Outer fitting groove 108 Interference member P Paper (material to be transferred) S1 Closing posture S2 Opening posture T1 Standing posture T2 Lying posture U1 Disengagement posture U2 Engagement Combined posture V1 Inclined posture V2 Standing posture

Claims (6)

A developing device for supplying toner to the image carrier to form a toner image is mounted on a predetermined frame provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus, and a toner cartridge for supplying toner to the developing device is provided. An image forming apparatus comprising a toner cartridge attachment / detachment structure for detachably attaching the toner cartridge to the developing device,
The frame is provided with a cartridge support member capable of changing the posture between a standing posture and an inclined posture,
The cartridge support member is set in an inclined posture by rotating in one direction around a predetermined fulcrum, and the toner cartridge can be inserted and removed in a state where the toner cartridge is not attached to the developing device . The toner cartridge is configured to be mounted on the developing device in a state in which the posture is set to a standing posture by turning in the other direction around the fulcrum,
The fulcrum is set at a substantially central position in the horizontal direction orthogonal to the direction in which the rotation center extends in the lower part of the cartridge support member ,
The toner cartridge is formed with a toner supply port for supplying the toner contained in the toner cartridge to the developing device,
Further, the toner cartridge includes a shutter member that opens and closes the toner supply port,
The toner cartridge can shift from the standing posture to the inclined posture only when the toner supply port is closed by the shutter member.
An image forming apparatus.   The shutter member includes an engaging member for engaging the toner cartridge with the frame;
  When the shutter member closes the toner supply port, the engaging member is in a state in which the engagement between the toner cartridge and the frame is released, and the toner cartridge moves from the standing posture to the inclined posture. On the other hand, when the shutter member opens the toner supply port, the toner cartridge and the frame are engaged with each other, and the toner cartridge moves from the standing posture to the inclined posture. Prohibit migration,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.   The frame has a stopper projection protruding toward the lower rear edge of the cartridge support member,
  When the cartridge support member is in the tilted posture, the rear lower edge portion of the cartridge support member hits the stopper projection, whereby the cartridge support member is tilted out of the rotation range beyond the tilt posture. To prevent,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus. Comprising a cleaning device for removing the toner which the toner image is remaining on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum after being transferred onto a transfer material,
Wherein the developing device, a toner receiving opening for receiving toner from the toner cartridge, a first shutter for opening and closing the toner receiving opening is provided,
Wherein the cleaning apparatus includes a waste toner discharge port for discharging the waste toner reservoir, a second shutter for opening and closing the waste toner discharge port is provided,
It claims 1 to 3, characterized in that said cartridge support member is configured to either or both of the first and second shutter is opened by being posture changed to the standing posture from the inclined posture The image forming apparatus according to any one of the above.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a waste toner collection bottle that receives waste toner from the cleaning device is integrally connected to the toner cartridge. The waste toner collection bottle is set at an installation position so that the waste toner stored in the cleaning device is collected through the waste toner discharge port when the second shutter is opened. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 .

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