JP4981507B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus provided with a detachable supply container for supplying developer to a developing device and a cooling device for cooling the developing device.

  In a developing device used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, or a facsimile, generally, a powder developer stored in a developing container is converted into an electrostatic latent image on a photoreceptor by a developing roller. Development is performed by adhering. At this time, the developer is agitated by the agitating member in the developing container and frictionally charged. When the developer is carried on the surface of the developing roller, the layer thickness is regulated by the layer thickness regulating member and is frictionally charged. The The developer carried on the surface of the developing roller in this way is transported to a developing position facing the surface of the photosensitive member by the rotation of the developing roller, and a developing bias is applied to the developing roller, so that the surface of the photosensitive member is statically exposed. It is electrically attached to the electrostatic latent image. As described above, the developer in the developing container is agitated by the agitating member, and frictional heat is generated by friction when the layer thickness is regulated by the layer thickness regulating member. When the temperature of the developer increases, the fluidity deteriorates or the charge amount at the time of frictional charging changes, so that there is a possibility that good development cannot be performed.

  Such a tendency becomes stronger as the speed of image formation increases. This is because the developing roller and the stirring member are rotated at a high speed as the image forming speed is increased. For this reason, the developer is directly heated by the cooling fan, or a cooling duct is provided adjacent to the developing container, and the cooling fan is used to flow the wind into the cooling duct to raise the temperature of the developer. Suppression techniques are known.

  On the other hand, as a developer replenishing technique, a technique for replenishing a developer to a developing device from a detachable replenishing container mounted on a developing container is known. An upward developer receiving port is formed on the developing container side, while a downward developer supplying port is formed on the replenishing container side at a position corresponding thereto. When the replenishing container is attached to the developing device, the developer is replenished from the replenishing container side to the developing container side through the developer receiving port and developer supplying port. By the way, when the replenishing container is removed from the developing container, if the developer receiving port and the developer supplying port are left open, the developer leaks out and scatters. In order to prevent this, the developing container and the replenishing container are each provided with a shutter, and when the replenishing container is removed, these shutters block the developer receiving port and the developer supplying port. . However, even when such a shutter is provided, the developer may leak and scatter when the supply container is attached or detached.

As a technique for preventing the scattering of the developer, Patent Document 1 discloses that toner leaking from between a toner (developer) bottle and a toner hopper is sucked from a suction port into a suction duct by a suction fan. The content which prevents that scatters around is disclosed.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-278267

  As described above, in order to prevent the temperature of the developer in the developing container from rising, it is preferable to provide a cooling device having a cooling duct, a cooling fan, and the like. In order to prevent the developer from scattering, it is preferable to provide a scattering prevention device such as a suction duct or a suction fan.

  However, since both the cooling device and the scattering prevention device require appropriate space and facilities, it is sometimes difficult to provide both of them due to space restrictions and cost restrictions. In particular, for example, when the image forming apparatus is a small machine, space and cost restrictions are very large.

  Therefore, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus that has a simple configuration, does not require a large space, and is advantageous in terms of cost as compared with the case where both the cooling device and the scattering prevention device are provided separately. Is intended to provide.

The invention according to claim 1 relates to an image forming apparatus for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of an image carrier with a developer and transferring the developer image to another member to form an image. An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a developing container for storing a developer, an agitating member for agitating the developer in the developing container, and the agitated developer supported on the surface to be on the surface of the image bearing member. A replenishing device having a developing roller that conveys it to an opposite developing position; a cooling duct that is disposed adjacent to the developing container; and a cooling device that forms a flow of air in the cooling duct; and replenishment And a detachable supply container that is mounted at a supply position provided in the developer container and replenishes the developer container with the developer . Then, the cooling duct, with communicating the inside and outside of the cooling duct is open toward the supplying position, and have a scattered developer suction port is closed by the refill container mounted in the supply position . The replenishment container is attached to and detached from the replenishment position in the vertical direction, and when the replenishment container is attached to the replenishment position at the bottom, the scattering developer suction port is closed to form a part of the cooling duct. A lid member is protruded .

The invention according to claim 2 relates to an image forming apparatus that forms an image by developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of an image carrier with a developer and transferring the developer image to another member. An image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a developing container for storing a developer, an agitating member for agitating the developer in the developing container, and the agitated developer supported on the surface to be on the surface of the image bearing member. A replenishing device having a developing roller that conveys it to an opposite developing position; a cooling duct that is disposed adjacent to the developing container; and a cooling device that forms a flow of air in the cooling duct; and replenishment And a detachable replenishment container that is mounted at a replenishment position provided in the developer container and replenishes the developer container with the developer, and detects the detachment of the replenishment container with respect to the replenishment position. Detection means; and control means for rotating the cooling fan when the detection means detects that the supply container is removed from the supply position. The cooling duct is opened toward the replenishment position to communicate the inside and outside of the cooling duct, and has a scattering developer suction port that is closed by the replenishment container attached to the replenishment position. .

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the second aspect, the replenishment container is attached to and detached from the replenishment position in the vertical direction .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the third aspect , the replenishing container closes the scattered developer suction port when the replenishing container is mounted at the replenishing position at the bottom of the cooling duct. The lid member which comprises a part is protrudingly provided, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the supply container is disposed at the supply position, the scattered developer suction port is closed by the supply container, so that the cooling fan forms an air flow in the cooling duct. As a result, the developer inside can be cooled via the developing container. On the other hand, in a state where the replenishing container is not arranged at the replenishment position, for example, during or after the detaching operation, the scattered developer suction port is opened, so using a cooling fan and a cooling duct used during cooling, It is possible to suck the scattering developer from the scattering developer suction port so that the scattering developer does not splash outside.

Further, according to the invention of claim 1, by lifting the been supply container attached to the supply position above, it is possible to open the scattered developer suction port, also a supply container from above supplying position By mounting so as to be placed, the scattering developer suction port can be closed by the supply container.

Further, according to the invention of claim 1, the auxiliary supply container is plate-shaped cover member is protruded from the bottom, the lid member, when the auxiliary supply container is mounted to the supply position, scattered developer Since the suction port is closed to form a part of the cooling duct, air can smoothly flow through the cooling duct when the developing device is cooled.

According to the invention of claim 2 to 4, when the auxiliary supply container is opened is scattered developer suction port is removed from the supplying position, the detecting means detects the control means that complement supply container is removed Since the cooling fan is rotated, the scattered developer can be automatically sucked.

  Hereinafter, the best embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each drawing, the member etc. which attached | subjected the same code | symbol are the same structures, The duplication description about these shall be abbreviate | omitted suitably. Moreover, in each drawing, members and the like that are not necessary for the description are omitted as appropriate.

<Embodiment 1>
The image forming apparatus 1 according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Among these, FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an inner configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 as viewed from the left side. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the developing unit 28 as viewed from the lower left side of the front side. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a longitudinal section when the developing unit 28 is cut along a plane orthogonal to the left-right direction. FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically showing a state in which the toner container (supply container) 30 is lifted upward from the state shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the developing device with the toner container 30 removed as viewed obliquely from the upper left on the front side. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the toner container 30 as viewed obliquely from the lower left front side. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus 1 with the exterior panel and the like removed as seen from diagonally upward on the front left side.

  Here, examples of the image forming apparatus 1 include a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile machine, and a multifunction machine of these. In the following description, a case where the image forming apparatus 1 is a monochrome printer will be described as an example. As an example of the developer, a case where a magnetic monocomponent powder toner is used will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the image forming apparatus 1, a sheet feeding unit 3, an image forming unit 4, a fixing unit 5, and a sheet discharging unit 6 are provided in an image forming apparatus main body 2.

  The sheet feeding unit 3 includes a sheet feeding cassette 10, a pickup roller 11, a feeding roller 12, a retard roller 13, and a conveying roller pair 14 in order from the upstream side to the downstream side along the sheet conveying direction (arrow K direction). A registration roller pair 15 and the like are provided. A plurality of sheets (other members) P are stored in the sheet feeding cassette 10 in a stacked state, and the uppermost sheet P is fed by the pickup roller 11, and further includes a feeding roller 12 and a retard roller. 13 prevents the double feed and conveys only one sheet downstream. Further, the toner is supplied to an image forming unit 4 described below by a pair of conveying rollers 14 and a pair of registration rollers 15.

The image forming unit 4 is provided with a photosensitive drum (photosensitive member) 16 as an image carrier. Around the photosensitive drum 16, a charger 17, an exposure device 18, a developing device 20, a transfer roller 21, a cleaning device 22, and the like are arranged almost sequentially from the upstream along the rotation direction (arrow R 16 direction). . The developing device 20 constitutes a developing unit 28 together with a toner container 30 described later. During image formation, the surface (outer peripheral surface) of the photosensitive drum 16 is uniformly (uniformly) charged to a predetermined polarity and potential by the charger 17. The surface of the photosensitive drum 16 after charging is irradiated with laser light L based on image information by an exposure device 18 (for example, a laser scanner), and the charge of the exposed portion is removed to form an electrostatic latent image. The electrostatic latent image is developed as a toner image with toner attached thereto by the developing device 20. The developing device 20 will be described in detail later.

  The toner image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 16 as described above is conveyed to the transfer nip T formed between the photosensitive drum 16 and the transfer roller 21 by the rotation of the photosensitive drum 16. The toner image conveyed to the transfer nip T is transferred by the transfer roller 21 to the sheet P supplied by the registration roller pair 15 of the sheet feeding unit 3 described above. After the transfer of the toner image is completed, the toner remaining on the surface (transfer residual toner) is removed by the cleaning device 22 and used for the next image formation. On the other hand, the sheet P on which the toner image is transferred is conveyed to the fixing unit 5 described below.

  The fixing unit 5 is provided with a fixing roller 23 in which a heater (not shown) is incorporated, and a pressure roller 24 that is in pressure contact with the fixing roller 5 and constitutes a fixing nip portion N. The sheet P on which the toner image has been transferred in the image forming unit 4 is heated and pressurized when passing through the fixing nip N, and the toner image is fixed on the surface.

  The sheet discharge unit 6 is provided with a conveyance roller pair 25, a discharge roller pair 26, a discharge tray 27, and the like. The sheet P on which the toner image is fixed by the fixing unit 5 described above is conveyed by the conveying roller pair 25 and is discharged and stacked on the discharge tray 27 by the discharge roller pair 26. Thereby, the image formation on one side of one sheet P is completed.

  This is the end of the description of the overall configuration of the image forming apparatus 1.

  Next, the developing device 20, the toner container (supplement container) 30, and the cooling device 31 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

  The developing device 20 includes a developing container 32 composed of a frame, a first stirring blade (stirring member) 33 and a second stirring blade (stirring member) 34 for stirring toner, and a developing roller 35 for developing with toner. It has.

  The developing container 32 has a container main body 36 for storing toner, and a container receiving portion 37 provided on the front end side of the upper portion of the container main body 36. A duct 87 of the cooling device 31 described later is disposed on the front side of the container body 36 and below the container receiving portion 37.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the container main body 36 has a left side wall 38, a right side wall 40, and a front side wall 41. As shown in FIG. 3, a developing roller 35 described later is disposed on the rear side. An opening 42 is provided for this purpose. Inside the container main body 36, a first stirring chamber 43, a second stirring chamber 44, and a developing roller mounting portion 45 are provided in order from the front side, and in this order, first stirring blades (stirring members) 33 described later are provided. The second stirring blade (stirring member) 34 and the developing roller 35 are rotatably disposed. The bottom portions 46 and 47 of the first stirring chamber 43 and the second stirring chamber 44 are formed in a semicircular shape corresponding to the trajectory when the first stirring blade 33 and the second stirring blade 34 are rotated. In addition, a partition wall 48 is provided between the first stirring chamber 33 and the second stirring chamber 34, and the first stirring chamber 43, the second stirring chamber 44, and the right end side of the partition wall 48 are A communication port (not shown) that communicates with each other is formed. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, on the front side of the upper part of the first stirring chamber 43, a toner inlet 50 that is long in the left-right direction is opened to the upper side on the left side of the center in the left-right direction. Toner supplied from a toner container 30 to be described later to the developing device 20 is replenished through the toner inlet 50. The toner inlet 50 is opened and closed by a first shutter 60 described later.

  The container receiving portion 37 is formed in a concave shape upward at the upper portion and the front end side of the container main body 36 described above. That is, as shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the container receiving portion 37 includes a left side wall 51, a right side wall 52, a rear side wall 53, and a front side wall that is inclined so that the upper end side is positioned forward. 54, and the mounting recess 55 surrounded by these is greatly opened upward. As shown in FIG. 5, a guide groove 56 for guiding the attaching / detaching operation of the toner container 30 is formed on the inner surface side of the right side wall 52 in the vertical direction. A similar guide groove (not shown) is also provided on the inner surface side of the left side wall 51. Further, a frame-shaped positioning recess 58 is provided on the right end side of the rear end side of the bottom 57 of the container receiving portion 37, and when the toner container 30 is mounted at the replenishment position P1 shown in FIG. The toner container is positioned by engaging the positioning projection 84 on the 30 side. On the left end side of the rear end side of the bottom portion 57, the above-described toner insertion port 50 is provided. A first shutter 60 that opens and closes the toner charging port 50 is disposed slightly behind the toner charging port 50.

  The first shutter 60 includes a flat shutter body 61 and inclined portions 62 provided on the left end side and the right end side of the shutter body 61. The inclined portion 62 is formed so as to face obliquely upward on the front side, and a part of the toner container 30 is engaged when a toner container 30 described later is mounted on the replenishment position P1 from above. Thus, the first shutter 60 is disposed at the rearward retracted position P2 (see FIGS. 3 to 5). The first shutter 60 is actually urged by a spring member, which will be described later, in the state where the toner container 30 is removed from the replenishment position P1 shown in FIGS. Although it is arranged at the closed position P3 indicated by the chain line, FIGS. 4 and 5 show a state where it is arranged at the retracted position P2 for convenience of explanation. On the left end side and the right end side of the first shutter 60, a guide portion 63 that guides the sliding operation in the front-rear direction of the first shutter 60 and a stopper 64 that restricts the closing position P3 that is a forward movement limit are formed. However, in FIG. 5, only the guide portion 63 and the stopper 64 on the right end side are shown. The first shutter 60 is biased forward by a biasing member (not shown) such as a spring. When the toner container 30 is removed from the replenishment position P1, the first shutter 60 is abutted against the stopper 64 and biased. In the state, it is arranged at the closed position P3.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the front end side of the bottom 57 of the container receiving portion 37 is formed in a curved surface that gently curves downward and has a toner suction port ( A scattering developer suction port) 65 is provided. The toner suction port 65 is formed so that the position in the left-right direction with respect to the bottom portion 57 is substantially the same as the above-described toner insertion port 50, and the width in the left-right direction is also substantially the same, and penetrates the bottom portion 57 vertically. Opening toward the mounting recess 55 of the toner container receiving portion 37.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the first stirring blade 33 as a stirring member has a rotating shaft 66 and a plurality of blade members 67 attached to the rotating shaft 66, and rotates in the first stirring chamber 43. Arranged freely. The first stirring blade 33 is rotationally driven by a driving means (not shown) disposed on the image forming apparatus main body 2 side. Accordingly, the toner in the first stirring chamber 43 moves from the left side to the right side while being stirred, and moves to the second stirring chamber 44 through the right communication port. Similar to the first stirring blade 33 described above, the second stirring blade 34 has a rotating shaft 68 and a large number of blade members 70, and the rotation causes the toner in the second stirring chamber 44 to move to the right side (right side). Transport from the communication port side to the left side (left communication port side) while stirring. The toner is frictionally charged by the agitation and conveyance of the first agitation blade 33 and the second agitation blade 34 described above, and is further adhered to the surface of the developing roller 35 by the movement of the second agitation blade 34.

  The developing roller 35 is rotatably disposed in the opening 42 on the rear end side of the container main body 36 and is rotationally driven by a driving unit (not shown) of the image forming apparatus main body 2. A layer thickness regulating member 71 is disposed above the developing roller 35. In the layer thickness regulating member 71, a base end portion (upper end portion) 72 bent forward is supported by the container main body 36, and a front end portion (lower end portion) 73 is a minute gap G with respect to the surface of the developing roller 35. It is made to face through. When the toner carried on the surface of the developing roller 35 passes through the gap G due to the rotation of the developing roller 35, the layer thickness is regulated, and further, the developing position D (FIG. 1) faces the surface of the photosensitive drum 16. To be referred to). The toner conveyed to the developing position D is applied to the electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 36 by applying a developing bias by a developing bias applying power source (not shown), and the electrostatic latent image is converted into a toner image. Develop as.

  As shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 6, the toner container 30 is configured in a box shape as a whole by combining the container main body 74 and the lid member 75 with the flange portions 76 and 77. The container main body 74 is a portion that fits into the mounting recess 55 of the container receiving portion 37 described above, and is formed substantially in the same shape as the mounting recess 55. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the bottom portion of the toner container 30 is formed in a semicircular shape in which a front bottom portion 78, which is a portion located on the front side, is located on the rear side with respect to the shape viewed from the left side. A certain rear bottom 80 is formed in a small semicircular shape. A conveying member (not shown) having a rotation center in the left-right direction is disposed above the front bottom 78 and above the rear bottom 80 inside the toner container 30, and the front conveying member is The toner in the container 30 is conveyed toward the rear conveyance member, and the rear conveyance member conveys the toner from the right side to the left side. As shown in FIG. 6, a toner supply port 81 that is long in the left-right direction is formed in the rear bottom 80. The toner replenishing port 81 is formed at a position that coincides with the toner inlet 50 on the developing device 20 side when the toner container 30 is mounted at the replenishment position P1, and the shape thereof is also the toner inlet. 50 and substantially the same shape. The toner supply port 81 is opened and closed by a cylindrical second shutter 82. The second shutter 82 is rotatably disposed inside the rear bottom 80, and the left end is engaged with the inner side of the left side wall 51 of the container receiving portion 37 by the attaching / detaching operation of the toner container 30 with respect to the supply position P1. An engaging portion 83 that engages with and disengages from a stop portion (not shown) is formed. Further, the toner container 30 is provided with a biasing member (not shown) that biases the second shutter 82 toward a closed position (not shown). That is, the second shutter 82 rotates against the urging force of the urging member when the engaging portion 83 engages with the engaging portion when the toner container 30 is mounted at the replenishment position P1, and the toner is rotated. When the toner container 30 is removed from the replenishment position P1 when the toner container 30 is removed from the replenishment position P1, the toner is urged by the biasing member. It is arranged at a closed position (not shown) for closing the supply port 81. On the right end side of the rear bottom portion 80, a positioning convex portion 84 protrudes downward. The positioning convex portion 84 is engaged with the positioning concave portion 58 of the container receiving portion 37 to position the toner container 30 with respect to the mounting concave portion 55.

A lid member 85 projects from the front bottom 78 of the toner container 30 on the left end side of the lower surface. The lid member 85 is formed at a position corresponding to the toner supply port 65 of the container receiving portion 37 in the front bottom portion 78. The lid member 85 is formed to be slightly smaller than the toner suction port 65, and when the toner container 30 is mounted at the replenishment position P <b> 1, the toner suction port 65 is closed and a duct (cooling duct) 87 is formed. Part of it. At this time, the front surface (lower surface) 86 of the lid member 85 does not protrude from the lower surface of the bottom portion 57 of the container receiving portion 37 constituting a part of the duct 87 to the inside of the duct 87. This prevents the air flowing in the duct 87 from being obstructed. Further, when the toner container 30 is removed from the replenishment position P1, the lid member 85 opens the toner suction port 65 to allow the inside of the duct 87 and the mounting recess 55 inside the container receiving portion 37 to communicate with each other.

  The cooling device 31 includes a duct 87 and a cooling fan 88 (see FIG. 7) that generates an air flow in the duct 87. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the duct 87 is disposed on the front side of the container main body 36 of the developing container 32 and below the container receiving portion 37. The duct 87 is constituted by the front side wall 41 of the container main body 36, a part 90 of the bottom 57 of the container receiving portion 37, and a plate member 91 having a bent shape that is long in the left-right direction and is attached therebetween. An air flow path 92 that is long in the left-right direction is formed inside. As shown in FIG. 7, the duct 87 is formed over almost the entire length of the image forming apparatus main body 2 in a state adjacent to the first stirring chamber 43 of the container main body 36 of the developing container 23. A cooling fan 88 is attached to the left end side of the duct 87. The cooling fan 88 is provided with a filter 93 for capturing the toner sucked from the toner suction port 65. The duct 87 is provided with a louver (not shown) on the right end side thereof, and communicates with the outside through a gap of the louver. The cooling device 31 rotates the cooling fan 88 to discharge the air in the duct 87 to the outside so that the inside of the duct 87 has a negative pressure, and introduces outside air into the duct 87 from the louver on the right end side. As a result, an air flow from the right end louver toward the left end cooling fan 88 is formed in the duct 87.

  In the developing device 20 described above, frictional heat is generated by friction between the first stirring blade 33, the second stirring blade 34, the layer thickness regulating member 71, and the toner, and the temperature of the toner rises. If this temperature rise is left as it is, as described above, the fluidity of the toner deteriorates and development failure occurs.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, the developing device 20 is cooled by the cooling device 31 as described above. Further, in this embodiment, the cooling device 31 is used to suck scattered toner generated when the toner container 30 is attached and detached.

  As described above, when the toner container 30 is mounted at the replenishment position P1 with respect to the positioning recess 55 of the container receiving portion 37 of the developing device 20, the first shutter 60 on the developing device 20 side is opened and the toner is charged. The opening 50 is opened, the second shutter 82 on the toner container 30 side is opened, and the toner supply port 81 is opened. That is, the toner supply port 50 and the toner supply port 81 communicate with each other, so that toner can be supplied from the toner container 30 to the developing device 20. Here, as shown in FIG. 4, when the toner container 30 is removed from the replenishment position P <b> 1, the toner insertion port 50 is closed by the first shutter 60, and the toner supply port 81 is closed by the second shutter 82. . However, it is difficult to close the toner inlet 50 and the toner supply port 81 by the first shutter 60 and the second shutter 82 instantaneously at the same time as the start of the operation of removing the toner container 30, and a time lag occurs. Splashing occurs.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, as described above, a part of the duct 87 is configured by the lid member 85 protruding from the front bottom portion 78 of the toner container 30. The lid member 85 closes the toner suction port 65 when the toner container 30 is mounted at the replenishment position P1 of the developing device 20. Therefore, in this case, the air flowing in the duct 87 is not obstructed when the developing device 20 is cooled. On the other hand, when the toner container 30 is removed from the supply position P1, the lid member 85 opens the toner suction port 65. If the cooling fan 88 is rotated in conjunction with the removal operation of the toner container 30, the toner suction port 65 is opened and the cooling fan 88 is rotated, so that the right end is placed in the duct 87. As a result, an air flow from the side toward the left end side is generated, so that the toner scattered from the toner inlet 50 and the toner replenishment port 81 is sucked into the duct 87 from the toner suction port 65 and is further carried on the air flow. The inside of the duct 87 is conveyed toward the cooling fan 88 and is removed by the filter 93. Therefore, scattering toner can be prevented and toner can be prevented from being discharged to the outside.

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, the duct 87 and the cooling fan 88 of the cooling device 31 can be diverted without separately providing a dedicated duct and a fan for removing scattered toner. The apparatus configuration can be simplified as compared with the case where the apparatus is provided separately.

  Further, since the toner suction port 65 is provided in the vicinity of the toner insertion port 50, the scattered toner can be efficiently removed.

  Further, the lid member 85 is formed so as to protrude downward at the bottom 57 of the toner container 30, and the engagement / disengagement direction of the lid member 85 with respect to the toner suction port 65 and the attaching / detaching direction of the toner container 30 are substantially matched. Therefore, the lid member 85 can be smoothly engaged and disengaged with respect to the toner suction port 65 by the attaching / detaching operation of the toner container 30 with respect to the replenishment position P1 of the developing device 20.

  Further, in this embodiment, the mounting recess 55 of the container receiving portion 37 is formed in a concave shape facing upward, and when the toner container 30 is removed upward, as shown in FIG. Between the toner container 30, gaps G1 and G2 are formed on the front end side and the rear end side. When the cooling fan 88 is rotated to generate an air flow in the duct 87, an air flow from the gaps G1 and G2 toward the toner suction port 65 is formed. It is possible to effectively prevent the scattered toner from leaking out.

  In the present embodiment, a detection sensor and a control unit that detect that the toner container 30 mounted at the replenishment position P1 of the developing device 20 is removed are provided. When the detection sensor detects removal, the control means rotates the cooling fan 88.

  In the above description, the case where a one-component magnetic developer made of powder is used as the developer has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the developer may be nonmagnetic. The present invention can also be applied to the case of using a two-component developer mainly composed of a toner and a magnetic carrier. However, in this case, the two-component developer is stored in the container main body 36 of the developing device 20, and the toner is stored in the toner container 30. The surface of the developing roller 35 is coated with a thin layer of a developer having toner and a carrier, and the toner in the developer adheres to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 16 to develop it. Become.

  Although the case where the present invention is applied to an image forming apparatus has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention is an apparatus that handles powder, and needs to cool the powder and prevent scattering. The present invention can be applied to a general apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically illustrating an inner configuration of the image forming apparatus viewed from the left side. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the developing unit as viewed from the lower left diagonal on the front side. It is a figure which shows typically the longitudinal cross-section when a developing unit is cut with the plane orthogonal to the left-right direction. FIG. 4 is a diagram schematically illustrating a state where a toner container is lifted upward from the state illustrated in FIG. 3. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the developing device with the toner container removed, as viewed from the upper front left side. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the toner container as viewed from the front left and obliquely below. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus with an exterior panel and the like removed as viewed from the upper left diagonally upper side.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image forming apparatus, 2 ... Image forming apparatus main body, 16 ... Photosensitive drum (image carrier), 20 ... Developing device, 30 ... Toner container (supplement container), 31 ... Cooling device, 32 ... ... Developing container, 33 ... first stirring blade (stirring member), 34 ... second stirring blade (stirring member), 35 ... developing roller, 36 ... container body, 37 ... container receiving portion, 57 ... Bottom of toner container (bottom of supply container), 65... Toner suction port (scattering developer suction port), 85 .. lid member, 87... Duct (cooling duct), 88. Position, P1 ... Supply position

Claims (4)

In an image forming apparatus that forms an image by developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of an image carrier with a developer and transferring the developer image to another member.
A developing container for storing the developer, an agitating member for agitating the developer in the developing container, and a developing roller that carries the agitated developer on the surface and conveys it to a developing position facing the surface of the image carrier. A developing device having
A cooling device having a cooling duct disposed adjacent to the developer container, and a cooling fan for forming an air flow in the cooling duct;
A replenishable replenishment container that stores a replenishment developer and is mounted at a replenishment position provided in the developer container and replenishes the developer container with a developer;
The cooling duct, the causes communication between the interior and the exterior of the cooling duct is open toward the supplying position, have a scattered developer suction port is closed by the refill container mounted in the supply position,
The replenishing container is attached to and detached from the replenishing position in a vertical direction, and a lid member that configures a part of the cooling duct by closing the scattering developer suction port when the replenishing container is attached to the bottom at the replenishing position. Is protruding,
An image forming apparatus. In an image forming apparatus that forms an image by developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of an image carrier with a developer and transferring the developer image to another member.
A developing container for storing the developer, an agitating member for agitating the developer in the developing container, and a developing roller that carries the agitated developer on the surface and conveys it to a developing position facing the surface of the image carrier. A developing device having
A cooling device having a cooling duct disposed adjacent to the developer container, and a cooling fan for forming an air flow in the cooling duct;
A detachable replenishment container that houses a replenishment developer and is mounted at a replenishment position provided in the developer container to replenish the developer to the developer container;
Detecting means for detecting attachment and detachment of the supply container with respect to the supply position;
Control means for rotating the cooling fan when the detection means detects that the supply container is removed from the supply position;
The cooling duct is opened toward the replenishment position to communicate the inside and outside of the cooling duct, and has a scattering developer suction port that is closed by the replenishment container attached to the replenishment position.
An image forming apparatus. The replenishing container is attached and detached in the vertical direction with respect to the replenishment position.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2. The replenishing container is provided with a lid member that projects from the bottom of the replenishing container and closes the scattering developer suction port when the replenishing container is mounted at the replenishing position.
The image forming apparatus according to claim 3 .

Images