JP7321866B2 - image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording material.

Generally, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus develops an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of a photoreceptor into a toner image using toner, and then transfers the toner image from the photoreceptor to a recording material. form an image. A process cartridge method and a sequential replenishment method are known as a method of replenishing an image forming apparatus with toner that is consumed by repeated image formation. The process cartridge method is a method in which a photosensitive member and a developing container containing toner are integrated as a process cartridge, and the process cartridge is replaced with a new one when the remaining amount of toner in the developing container becomes empty.

On the other hand, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-100002 has a toner transport path for supplying toner to a developing roll and a developer supply box connected to the toner transport path, and the developer supply box is supplied according to the detection result of the remaining amount of toner. A sequential replenishment type developing device for replenishing toner to a toner conveying path is disclosed.

JP-A-8-30084

In recent years, users have demanded that image forming apparatuses be used in a variety of ways, not limited to the above-described process cartridge system, sequential replenishment system, and the like.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide one form of an image forming apparatus.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording material, in which a replenishing container containing toner is detachable, comprising: an image carrier; a developing container containing toner; Developing means for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the image carrier into a toner image using stored toner; a replenishment port for replenishing the developer container with toner, the replenishment port to which a plurality of types of replenishment containers filled with different amounts of toner can be connected; display means for displaying replenishment amount information indicating an appropriate amount of toner; acquisition means for acquiring information on the replenishment container connected to the replenishment port; After the toner is replenished, the display means displays a toner amount indicated by the replenishment amount information based on the information acquired by the acquisition means so that the toner amount indicated by the replenishment amount information changes according to the type of the replenishment container used for toner replenishment. and control means for determining the replenishment amount information to be supplied.

According to the present invention, one form of an image forming apparatus can be provided.

1A and 1B are a sectional view and a perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment; FIG. 1A and 1B are a sectional view and a perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment; FIG. A diagram for explaining attachment and detachment of the process cartridge according to the first embodiment. 4A to 4C are diagrams for explaining openable and closable members of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment; FIG. 4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining the configuration of the process cartridge according to the first embodiment; FIG. 3A to 3C are diagrams for explaining the configuration of the process cartridge according to the first embodiment; FIG. 1A and 1B are a perspective view and a side view of a toner pack according to the first embodiment; FIG. 1A and 1B are a perspective view and a side view, respectively, of a toner pack according to the first embodiment, and FIG. The perspective view (a), top view (b), and enlarged view (c) of the replenishment container mounting part which concerns on 1st Embodiment. 4A and 4B are diagrams for explaining the operation of the replenishment container mounting portion according to the first embodiment; FIG. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing positions of locking members according to the first embodiment; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the toner pack according to the first embodiment; FIG. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing a pressing mechanism of the lock member according to the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a panel according to the first embodiment; FIG. Perspective views (a, b), side view (c), and cross-sectional view (d) of a toner bottle unit according to a first modification. FIGS. (a to d) for explaining the internal configuration of the toner bottle unit according to the first modification, and (e and f) for explaining rotation detection of the toner bottle unit; FIG. 8A is a perspective view, a top view thereof, and a cross-sectional view thereof (c, d) of a process cartridge according to a second modification; FIG. 8A is a perspective view, a top view, and a cross-sectional view of a process cartridge according to a third modification; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the control system of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an operation section according to the first embodiment; FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an external device according to the first embodiment; FIG. 4A to 4C are diagrams for illustrating replenishment containers having different capacities according to the first embodiment; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a replenishment container according to the first embodiment; 4(a) to 4(d) show display examples of the panel according to the first embodiment; FIG. 4 is a flowchart representing a control method of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment; FIG. 5 is a diagram showing another configuration example of the replenishment container according to the first embodiment; FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the circuit configuration of an image forming apparatus and a replenishment container according to a second embodiment; 8 is a flowchart showing a control method of an image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment; The perspective view of the panel which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. 8(a) to 9(d) show display examples of the panel according to the second embodiment; FIG. Perspective views (a to c) of a panel according to the third embodiment.

Exemplary embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment>
(1) Image Forming Apparatus FIG. 1A is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. The image forming apparatus 1 is a monochrome printer that forms an image on a recording material based on image information input from an external device. Recording materials include paper such as plain paper and thick paper, plastic films such as sheets for overhead projectors, special-shaped sheets such as envelopes and index paper, and various sheet materials of different materials such as cloth.

(1-1) Overall Configuration The image forming apparatus 1, as shown in FIGS. and an operation unit 300 attached to the exterior surface of the printer body 100 . The printer body 100 has an image forming section 10 , a feeding section 60 , a fixing section 70 and a pair of discharge rollers 80 . The feeding unit 60 feeds the recording material to the image forming unit 10, and the image forming unit 10 forms a toner image on the recording material. A fixing unit 70 fixes the toner image formed by the image forming unit 10 onto a recording material, and a discharge roller pair 80 discharges the recording material that has passed through the fixing unit 70 to the outside of the apparatus. Further, the process cartridge 20 of the present embodiment adopts a direct replenishment method in which toner is directly replenished from the outside of the image forming apparatus 1 using a toner pack 40 filled with toner for replenishment.

The image forming section 10 is electrophotographic image forming means having a scanner unit 11 , a process cartridge 20 and a transfer roller 12 . The process cartridge 20 has a photosensitive drum 21 , and a charging roller 22 , a developing roller 31 and a cleaning blade 24 arranged around the photosensitive drum 21 .

The photosensitive drum 21 as an image bearing member in this embodiment is a cylindrically shaped photosensitive member. The photosensitive drum 21 of the present embodiment has a drum-shaped base made of aluminum and a photosensitive layer formed of a negatively charged organic photosensitive member on the base. Further, the photosensitive drum 21 is rotationally driven by a motor in a predetermined direction (clockwise direction in the figure) at a predetermined process speed.

The charging roller 22 contacts the photosensitive drum 21 with a predetermined pressing force to form a charging portion. Further, the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 is uniformly charged to a predetermined potential by applying a desired charging voltage from the charging high-voltage power supply. In this embodiment, the photosensitive drum 21 is negatively charged by the charging roller 22 .

The scanner unit 11 scans and exposes the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 by irradiating the photosensitive drum 21 with laser light L corresponding to image information input from an external device or reading device 200 using a polygon mirror. By this exposure, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to image information is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 . Note that the scanner unit 11 is not limited to a laser scanner device, and for example, an LED exposure device having an LED array in which a plurality of LEDs are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive drum 21 may be employed.

The developing unit 802 includes a developing roller 31 as a developer carrying member that carries developer, a developing container 32 as a frame of the developing unit 802 , and a supply roller 33 capable of supplying developer to the developing roller 31 . I have. The developing roller 31 and the supply roller 33 are rotatably supported by the developer container 32 . Further, the developing roller 31 is arranged at the opening of the developing container 32 so as to face the photosensitive drum 21 . The supply roller 33 is rotatably in contact with the development roller 31 , and the toner as the developer contained in the development container 32 is applied to the surface of the development roller 31 by the supply roller 33 .

The developing unit 802 of this embodiment uses a contact developing method as a developing method. That is, the toner layer carried on the developing roller 31 as developing means contacts the photosensitive drum 21 in the developing portion (developing area) where the photosensitive drum 21 and the developing roller 31 face each other. A developing voltage is applied to the developing roller 31 by a developing high voltage power supply. Under the developing voltage, the toner carried by the developing roller 31 is transferred from the developing roller 31 to the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 according to the potential distribution on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21, thereby developing the electrostatic latent image into a toner image. Note that the present embodiment employs a reversal development method. That is, the toner image is formed by the toner adhering to the area of the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 that has been charged in the charging process and whose charge amount has been attenuated by the exposure in the exposure process.

Further, in the present embodiment, toner having a particle size of 6 μm and a normal charge polarity of negative polarity is used. As an example of the toner of this embodiment, a polymerized toner produced by a polymerization method is used. Further, the toner of the present embodiment does not contain a magnetic component, and is a so-called non-magnetic one-component developer that is carried on the developing roller 31 mainly by an intermolecular force or an electrostatic force (mirror image force). However, a one-component developer containing a magnetic component may also be used. In addition to the toner particles, the one-component developer may contain additives (for example, wax or fine silica particles) for adjusting the fluidity and charging performance of the toner. Alternatively, a two-component developer composed of a non-magnetic toner and a magnetic carrier may be used as the developer. When a developer having magnetism is used, for example, a cylindrical developing sleeve having a magnet arranged inside is used as the developer carrier. In other words, the developing container 32 accommodates not only a one-component developer composed of a toner component but also a two-component developer composed of a toner and a carrier.

A stirring member 34 as a stirring means is provided inside the developer container 32 . The agitating member 34 is driven and rotated to agitate the toner in the developing container 32 and send the toner toward the developing roller 31 and the supply roller 33 . Further, the stirring member 34 has a role of circulating the toner stripped from the developing roller 31 that is not used for development in the developing container and uniformizing the toner in the developing container.

A developing blade 35 for regulating the amount of toner carried on the developing roller 31 is arranged at the opening of the developing container 32 where the developing roller 31 is arranged. The toner supplied to the surface of the developing roller 31 passes through the portion facing the developing blade 35 as the developing roller 31 rotates, thereby forming a uniform thin layer and being negatively charged by triboelectrification. .

The feeding section 60 has a front door 61 supported by the printer main body 100 so as to be opened and closed, a stacking tray 62 , an intermediate plate 63 , a tray spring 64 and a pickup roller 65 . The stacking tray 62 constitutes the bottom surface of the recording material storage space that appears when the front door 61 is opened. The tray spring 64 urges the intermediate plate 63 upward to press the recording material P stacked on the intermediate plate 63 against the pickup roller 65 . When the front door 61 is closed with respect to the printer main body 100, the front door 61 closes the recording material storage space. do.

A transfer roller 12 as transfer means transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 21 of the process cartridge 20 onto a recording material. In this embodiment, a direct transfer method in which a toner image formed on an image carrier is directly transferred from the image carrier to a recording material will be described. An intermediate transfer method may be used in which the toner image is transferred onto the recording material by means of the intermediate transfer method. In that case, for example, a transfer configured by an intermediate transfer belt, a primary transfer roller that primarily transfers the toner image from the photosensitive drum to the intermediate transfer belt, and a secondary transfer roller that transfers the toner image from the intermediate transfer belt to the recording material. The unit functions as transfer means.

The fixing unit 70 is of a thermal fixing type that heats and melts the toner on the recording material to fix the image. The fixing unit 70 includes a fixing film 71 , a fixing heater such as a ceramic heater that heats the fixing film 71 , a thermistor that measures the temperature of the fixing heater, and a pressure roller 72 that presses the fixing film 71 .

Next, the image forming operation of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described. When an image forming command is input to the image forming apparatus 1, the image forming process by the image forming section 10 is started based on image information input from an external computer or reading device 200 connected to the image forming apparatus 1. be done. The scanner unit 11 irradiates the photosensitive drum 21 with laser light L based on the input image information. At this time, the photosensitive drum 21 is charged in advance by the charging roller 22 , and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 21 by being irradiated with the laser light L. FIG. After that, the electrostatic latent image is developed by the developing roller 31 to form a toner image on the photosensitive drum 21 .

In parallel with the image forming process described above, the pickup roller 65 of the feeding section 60 feeds out the recording material P supported by the front door 61 , the stacking tray 62 and the intermediate plate 63 . The recording material P is fed to the registration roller pair 15 by the pickup roller 65 and hits the nip of the registration roller pair 15 to correct the skew. Then, the registration roller pair 15 is driven in accordance with the transfer timing of the toner image obtained from the exposure start time of the scanner unit 11, and the recording material P is transferred, which is a nip portion formed by the transfer roller 12 and the photosensitive drum 21. transport to the department.

A transfer voltage is applied to the transfer roller 12 from a transfer high-voltage power supply, and the toner image carried on the photosensitive drum 21 is transferred onto the recording material P conveyed by the registration roller pair 15 . After the transfer, residual toner on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 is removed by a cleaning blade 24 which is an elastic blade in contact with the photosensitive drum 21 . The recording material P to which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed to the fixing section 70, and the toner image is heated and pressed when passing through the nip portion between the fixing film 71 and the pressure roller 72 of the fixing section 70. . As a result, the toner particles are melted and then fixed, whereby the toner image is fixed on the recording material P. As shown in FIG. After passing through the fixing section 70 , the recording material P is discharged outside the image forming apparatus 1 by a pair of discharge rollers 80 and stacked on a discharge tray 81 formed at the top of the printer body 100 .

The ejection tray 81 is inclined upward toward the downstream side in the ejection direction of the recording material, and the recording material ejected to the ejection tray 81 slides down the ejection tray 81 so that the rear end thereof is aligned by the regulation surface 84 . be done.

(1-2) Portion of Image Forming Apparatus that Can Be Opened and Closed As shown in FIGS. ing. The first opening 101 is covered by the top cover 82 during use (FIG. 1B), and the process cartridge 20 is exposed by opening the top cover 82 upward (FIG. 2B). The top cover 82 is supported so as to be openable and closable with respect to the printer main body 100 about a rotating shaft 82c (FIG. 3) extending in the left-right direction. The top cover 82 is opened from the front side toward the back side while the reading device 200 is opened with respect to the printer main body 100 . Note that the reading device 200 and the top cover 82 may be configured to be held in the open state and the closed state by a holding mechanism such as a hinge mechanism.

For example, when the recording material is jammed in the conveying path CP through which the recording material fed by the pickup roller 65 passes, the user opens the top cover 82 together with the reading device 200 . Then, the user accesses the process cartridge 20 through the first opening 101 exposed by opening the top cover 82 and pulls out the process cartridge 20 along the cartridge guide 102 . The cartridge guide 102 slides and guides a projecting portion 21 a ( FIG. 5A ) provided at the end of the process cartridge 20 in the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 21 .

By pulling out the process cartridge 20 to the outside from the first opening 101, a space is created in which a hand can be put in the transport path CP. The user can remove the jammed recording material by inserting his or her hand into the interior of the printer body 100 through the first opening 101 and accessing the jammed recording material in the transport path CP.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1(b) and 4(c), the top cover 82 is provided with an opening/closing member 83 that can be opened and closed. An upper surface of the top cover 82 on which the discharge tray 81 is provided is provided with an opening 82a that opens upward, and the opening 82a is covered by closing the opening/closing member 83 . The opening/closing member 83 and the opening 82 a are provided on the right side of the top cover 82 . The opening/closing member 83 is supported by the top cover 82 so as to be openable and closable about a rotating shaft 83a extending in the front-rear direction. be The opening/closing member 83 is formed in a substantially L shape along the shape of the top cover 82 . Note that the opening/closing member 83 is not limited to the opening/closing mechanism described above. For example, it is arranged on the top cover 82 so as to cover the replenishment container mounting portion 701 and rotates about a rotation axis perpendicular to the top cover 82 so as to slide on the upper surface of the top cover 82 to open the opening. 82a may be configured to open and close. Here, sliding on the upper surface of the top cover 82 means that movement of the opening/closing member 83 in the rotation axis direction is restricted.

The opening 82a is opened so that a replenishment container mounting portion 701 for replenishing toner provided on the upper portion of the process cartridge 20 is exposed. By opening the opening/closing member 83 , the user can access the supply container mounting portion 701 without opening the top cover 82 . The user can replenish toner to the process cartridge 20 by attaching the toner pack 40 to the replenishment container attachment portion 701 .

In this embodiment, while the process cartridge 20 is attached to the image forming apparatus 1, the user inserts the refill toner into the process cartridge 20 from the toner pack 40 (FIGS. 1A and 1B). A method of replenishing toner (direct replenishment method) is adopted. Therefore, when the remaining amount of toner in the process cartridge 20 is low, it is not necessary to remove the process cartridge 20 from the printer main body 100 and replace it with a new process cartridge, thereby improving usability. The image forming apparatus 1 and the toner pack 40 constitute an image forming system.

In this embodiment, the reading device 200 is provided on the top of the image forming apparatus 1, and when opening the opening/closing member 83, it is necessary to first open the reading device 200 to expose the top cover . However, the reading device 200 may be omitted and the opening/closing member 83 may be exposed above the image forming apparatus 1 from the beginning.

(1-3) Reading Device As shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the reading device 200 is supported by a reading unit 201 containing a reading unit (not shown) and the reading unit 201 so as to be openable and closable. and a pressure plate 202 . On the upper surface of the reading unit 201, there is provided a platen glass 203 for transmitting light emitted from the reading section and on which a document is placed.

When the image of the document is to be read by the reading device 200 , the user places the document on the platen glass 203 while the pressure plate 202 is open. Then, by closing the pressure plate 202 , the positional deviation of the document on the platen glass 203 is prevented. When the reading operation is started, the reading section in the reading unit 201 reciprocates in the sub-scanning direction, that is, in the horizontal direction while facing the operation section 300 of the image forming apparatus 1 . The reading unit emits light from a light emitting unit to a document, receives light reflected by the document with a light receiving unit, and performs photoelectric conversion to read an image of the document.

In the following description, the front-rear direction, the left-right direction, and the up-down direction (the direction of gravity) of the image forming apparatus 1 are defined with reference to a state in which the operation unit 300 is viewed from the front. The positional relationship of the members detachable from the printer main body 100 including the process cartridge 20 will be described with reference to the state in which they are attached to the printer main body 100 . Further, the “longitudinal direction” of the process cartridge 20 refers to the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 21 .

(1-4) Structure of Process Cartridge Next, the structure of the process cartridge 20 will be described. 5A is a perspective view showing the process cartridge 20 and the toner pack 40, and FIG. 5B is a side view showing the process cartridge 20 and the toner pack 40. FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6A-6A in FIG. 5B, FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6B-6B in FIG. 5B, and FIG. 6C-6C cross-sectional view of 6(a) and 6(b). 5 and 6, the outer shape of the replenishment container mounting portion 701 is illustrated in a simplified manner (for the detailed shape, see FIG. 9A, for example).

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the process cartridge 20 is composed of a toner receiving unit 801, a developing unit 802 and a cleaning unit 803. As shown in FIG. The toner receiving unit 801, the cleaning unit 803, and the developing unit 802 are arranged in this order from top to bottom in the direction of gravity. Each unit will be described in order below.

The toner receiving unit 801 is arranged above the process cartridge 20 . The toner receiving unit 801 is provided with a toner containing portion 8011 constituted by a frame for containing toner, and a replenishment container mounting portion 701 that is coupled with the toner pack 40 is provided at the longitudinal end. It should be noted that the frame constituting the toner containing portion 8011 may be composed of one member, or may be composed of a combination of a plurality of members. The supply container mounting portion 701 has a supply port 8012 for receiving toner discharged from the toner pack 40 . A detailed configuration of the supply container mounting portion 701 and mounting of the toner pack 40 on the supply container mounting portion 701 will be described later.

Further, inside the toner receiving unit 801, a first conveying member 8013, a second conveying member 8014 and a third conveying member 8015 are provided. The first conveying member 8013 conveys the toner, which has fallen to the longitudinal end of the toner container 8011 through the supply port 8012, toward the center of the toner container 8011 in the direction of arrow H (FIG. 6C). transport. The second conveying member 8014 transports the toner conveyed by the first conveying member 8013 in the direction of arrow J (FIG. 6(c)) perpendicular to the longitudinal direction above the developing unit 802, that is, to the discharge port 8016. transport. The third conveying member 8015 receives the toner from the second conveying member 8014 mainly at the central portion in the longitudinal direction, and conveys the toner in one longitudinal direction and the other longitudinal direction (direction of arrow K and direction of arrow K'). Since the first to third conveying members operate to move toner, they can also be called first to third developer moving members.

When the toner from the toner pack 40 as a replenishment container flows into the toner receiving unit 801, air also flows at the same time. The toner receiving unit 801 has an air filter 8017 (see FIG. 5A) for allowing air to flow in the direction of arrow H during toner replenishment so that toner can be easily replenished. The air filter 8017 prevents the toner from blowing out from the replenishing port 8012 when the internal pressure of the toner receiving unit 801 increases during toner replenishment and part of the air flows in the direction opposite to the arrow H direction.

At both ends of the toner receiving unit 801 in the longitudinal direction, discharge ports 8016 (FIG. 6B) are provided for discharging the toner from the toner containing portion 8011 to the developing container 32 of the developing unit 802. The toner reaching the discharge port 8016 by the conveying member 8015 drops by gravity into the developer container 32. A conveying member may be further provided in the route of the discharge port 8016 to keep the toner from moving due to gravity.

The developing unit 802 positioned below the process cartridge 20 has an opening 8021 for receiving toner discharged from the discharge port 8016 (FIG. 6B). A sealing member (not shown) is provided between the discharge port 8016 and the opening 8021 to seal the gap between the discharge port 8016 and the opening 8021 so that the toner does not leak out.

Toner dropped from the toner pack 40 to the toner receiving unit 801 through the supply port 8012 is conveyed inside the toner receiving unit 801 by the first conveying member 8013 , the second conveying member 8014 and the third conveying member 8015 . Then, the toner is transferred from the toner receiving unit 801 to the developing unit 802 through the discharge ports 8016 and openings 8021 at both ends in the longitudinal direction. In this manner, the toner supplied through the replenishment port 8012 located at the end of the process cartridge 20 in the longitudinal direction and horizontally separated from the developing container 32 when viewed in the longitudinal direction is supplied to the cartridge. It is conveyed inside and reaches the developer container 32 .

In this manner, the toner containing portion 8011 of the toner receiving unit 801 and the developing container 32 of the developing unit 802 communicate with each other to form a containing container that forms a space for containing toner in the process cartridge 20 . Therefore, in this embodiment, the replenishment port 8012 for replenishing toner from the outside is provided as a part of the housing container of the process cartridge 20 . However, the printer main body may be provided with a replenishment port directly connected to the replenishment container, and the process cartridge may receive the toner through this replenishment port. In this case, the portion of the process cartridge 20 other than the replenishment port becomes detachable from the image forming apparatus 1 as shown in FIG.

The toner supplied to the developing unit 802 through the opening 8021 is accommodated in the transfer chamber 36 formed inside the developing container 32 constituted by the frame of the developing unit 802 (FIG. 6A). , (b)). It should be noted that the frame constituting the developer container 32 may be composed of one member, or may be composed of a combination of a plurality of members. Here, a stirring member 34 is provided in the transfer chamber 36 . The stirring member 34 has a shaft member 34a provided near the center of rotation of the stirring member 34, and blade portions 34b radially extending from the shaft member 34a. In the cross section, the toner within the rotational locus of the tip of the blade portion 34b is pushed and moved according to the movement of the blade portion 34b. The toner replenished through the opening 8021 is conveyed toward the developing roller 31 , the supply roller 33 and the developing blade 35 while being stirred by the stirring member 34 .

The cleaning unit 803 has a waste toner chamber 8033 composed of a fourth conveying member 8031, a fifth conveying member 8032, and a frame (FIGS. 6A and 6B). The frame constituting the waste toner chamber 8033 may be composed of one member, or may be composed of a combination of a plurality of members. The waste toner chamber 8033 is a space for storing collected materials (so-called waste toner) such as transfer residual toner collected from the photosensitive drum 21 by the cleaning blade 24, and is independent of the internal spaces of the toner receiving unit 801 and the developing unit 802. are doing. The waste toner collected by the cleaning blade 24 is conveyed in the direction of the arrow M by the fourth conveying member 8031 and the fifth conveying member 8032, and is gradually accumulated from the inner part 8033a of the waste toner chamber to the front.

Here, between the cleaning unit 803 and the developing unit 802, there is a laser passage space SP as a gap through which the laser beam L emitted from the scanner unit 11 (FIG. 1A) toward the photosensitive drum 21 can pass. is formed (FIG. 6(a)). As described above, the outlet 8016 and the opening 8021 for transferring toner from the toner receiving unit 801 to the developing unit 802 are provided at the ends of each unit in the longitudinal direction. For this reason, the process cartridge 20 as a whole has a compact structure, and the toner supplied from the outside of the image forming apparatus (particularly, through a replenishment port opened on the upper surface of the apparatus) can be supplied to the cartridge while securing the laser passage space SP. It can be transported to the developing container 32 at the bottom.

(1-5) Configuration of Toner Pack The configuration of the toner pack 40 will be described. FIG. 7(a) is a perspective view showing the toner pack 40 with the shutter member 41 closed, and FIG. 7(b) is a bottom view thereof. 8A is a perspective view showing the toner pack 40 with the shutter member 41 in an open state, FIG. 8B is a bottom view thereof, and FIG. It shows how to squeeze by hand. 12 is a bottom perspective view of the toner pack 40 with the shutter member 41 closed.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a toner pack 40, which is an example of a replenishment container, includes a bag member 43 filled with toner, a resin discharge section 42 attached to the bag member 43, and a discharge section 42. and a shutter member 41 capable of opening and closing the opening. A memory unit 45 as a storage means for storing information of the toner pack 40 is attached to the ejection portion 42 . The memory unit 45 has a plurality of metal plates (metal terminals) exposed to the outside of the toner pack 40 as a contact portion 45a that contacts a contact portion 70133 (see FIG. 9) of the replenishment container mounting portion 701, which will be described later. . As for the material of the bag member 43, PP resin (polypropylene), PET resin (polyethylene terephthalate resin), cardboard, paper, or the like can be used. Also, the thickness can be 0.01 mm to 1.2 mm. In addition, from the standpoint of user-friendliness of the bag and robustness, a thickness of 0.05 mm to 1.0 mm or less is more preferable.

As shown in FIGS. 7(b), 8(b) and 12, the shutter member 41 has a shape obtained by cutting out a portion of a disk that can rotate relative to the ejection portion 42. As shown in FIG. A side surface forming the thickness of the shutter member 41 at the notched portion functions as an engaging surface 41s. On the other hand, the discharge part 42 also has a notched shape. The discharge portion 42 has an engaging surface 42s which is a notched portion and which is parallel to the engaging surface 41s. The discharge port 42a is provided at a position approximately 180 degrees apart from the engagement surface 42s in the circumferential direction of the discharge port 42a. Details of the engaging surfaces 41s and 42s are shown in FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 7B and 12, when the positions of the cutouts of the shutter member 41 and the ejection portion 42 are aligned when viewed from the upper surface or the lower surface, the ejection port 42a is covered with the shutter member 41 ( closed). As shown in FIG. 8(b), when the shutter member 41 rotates 180 degrees with respect to the discharge portion 42, the discharge port 42a is exposed through the notch portion of the shutter member 41, and the internal space of the bag member 43 is opened. It communicates with the external space of the toner pack 40 . As shown in FIG. 12, the shutter member 41 preferably has a structure in which a sealing layer 41b made of an elastic material such as sponge is adhered to a body portion 41a having rigidity. In this case, the seal layer 41b is in close contact with the seal layer 42c covering the periphery of the discharge port 42a in the closed state, thereby preventing toner leakage. A seal layer 42c is shown in FIG. 12, and like the seal layer 41b, this seal layer 42c is also made of an elastic material such as sponge.

As will be described later, when toner is replenished from the toner pack 40 to the image forming apparatus 1 , the toner pack 40 is inserted and connected to the replenishment container mounting portion 701 with the discharge portion 42 positioned at a predetermined position. By rotating the discharge portion 42 by 180 degrees, the discharge portion 42 rotates relative to the shutter member 41 to open the discharge port 42a, and the toner in the bag member 43 flows down to the toner receiving unit 801 according to gravity. It's becoming At this time, the shutter member does not move relative to the supply container mounting portion 701 .

As shown in FIG. 8C, the user attaches the toner pack 40 to the replenishment container attachment portion 701 and rotates it 180 degrees. It can stimulate excretion.

Although the rotary shutter member 41 is illustrated here, the shutter member may be omitted, and instead of the rotary shutter member 41, a sliding shutter member may be applied. Moreover, the shutter member 41 may be destroyed by attaching the toner pack 40 to the replenishment port 8012 or rotating the toner pack in the attached state, or may be a detachable lid structure such as a seal. good.

Also, it is preferable to attach a protective cap to the discharging portion 42 of the unused toner pack 40 to prevent toner from leaking out during transportation. For example, the protection cap is configured to engage with the cutout portions of the shutter member 41 and the ejection portion 42 when attached to the ejection portion 42 to restrict the relative rotation of the shutter member 41 and the ejection portion 42 . By removing the protective cap, the user can attach the toner pack 40 to the replenishment container attachment portion 701 .

(1-6) Configuration of Replenishment Container Mounting Portion The shutter opening/closing mechanism of the toner pack 40 and the toner receiving unit 801 and the locking mechanism of the shutter member 41 will be described. FIG. 9(a) is a perspective view of the supply container mounting portion 701, and FIG. 9(b) is a top view thereof. The supply container mounting portion 701 has a supply port 8012 , a supply port shutter 7013 , a lock member 7014 and a rotation detection portion 7015 .

The replenishment port 8012 is an opening that communicates with the toner containing portion 8011 (see FIG. 6) of the toner receiving unit 801 and is fixed to the frame 8010 of the toner receiving unit 801 . The supply port shutter 7013 includes a cover portion 70131 covering the supply port 8012, a cylindrical portion 70132 for receiving the discharge portion 42 of the toner pack 40, and a contact portion 45a of the memory unit 45 of the toner pack 40 (see FIG. 8B). and a contact portion 70133 connected to the . In the drawing, the portion of the cylindrical portion 70132 covering the contact portion 70133 is indicated by a cylindrical portion 70132a. The replenishment port shutter 7013 is a member in which the lid portion 70131 , the cylindrical portion 70132 and the contact portion 70133 are integrated and rotatably attached to the frame 8010 of the toner receiving unit 801 . Each conductor exposed to the contact portion 70133 controls the image forming apparatus 1 mounted on the printer main body 100 via the wiring provided in the process cartridge 20 and the contact between the process cartridge 20 and the printer main body 100. is electrically connected to the

A rotation detection unit 7015 as a rotation detection sensor is a mechanism for detecting rotation of the supply port shutter 7013 . The rotation detector 7015 of this embodiment is composed of two conductive leaf springs 70151 and 70152 . The plate spring 70152 is biased in a clockwise direction, and when pressed by a protruding portion 70135a provided on the outer circumference of the supply port shutter 7013, the tip portion 701521 contacts the other plate spring 70151. FIG. In other words, the rotation detector 7015 is an electric circuit configured to switch between a conductive state and a disconnected state according to the rotation angle (rotational position) of the supply port shutter 7013 . As will be described later, the controller 90 (FIG. 19) of the image forming apparatus replenishes the outlet 42a of the toner pack 40 and the replenishment container mounting portion 701 based on whether the rotation detection portion 7015 is conductive or disconnected. It recognizes whether or not it is in communication with the mouth 8012 . In other words, the control unit 90 can determine that the user's replenishment operation to the toner pack 40 has been performed normally up to at least the communication between the discharge port 42a and the replenishment port 8012 .

A plurality of protruding portions 70135a and 70135b are provided on the outer peripheral portion of the cylindrical portion 70132 of the supply port shutter 7013 . A portion of the frame 8010 that supports the cylindrical portion 70132 of the supply port shutter 7013 (a cylindrical portion 7011a of 7011) is also provided with a plurality of projecting portions 70125a and 70125b. The plurality of projecting portions 70125a and 70125b are positioned below the projecting portion 70135a (on the right side in FIG. 10A) in the gravity direction. The projecting portion 70125b allows the passage of the projecting portion 70135a (right side in FIG. 10(a)) by rotational movement. On the other hand, the protrusion 70135a (left side in FIG. 10(a)) extends downward to the same height as the protrusion 70135a (right side in FIG. 10(a)) and overlaps the protrusions 70125a and 70125b. there is Therefore, the projection 70125b comes into contact with the projection 70135a (left side in FIG. 10(a)) depending on the rotational angle (rotational position) of the supply port shutter 7013, and the projection 70135a (left side in FIG. 10(a)) rotates. Regulate movement.

Further, before the replenishment port shutter 7013 rotates in the R1 direction, the projecting portion 70125a contacts the projecting portion 70135a (left side) to restrict the rotational movement of the projecting portion 70135a in the R2 direction. Also, the projecting portion 70135a (right side in FIG. 10A) abuts on the lock member 7014 to restrict the rotational movement of the lock member 7014 in the R1 direction. On the other hand, after the replenishment port shutter 7013 rotates in the R1 direction, the protruding portion 70135b comes into contact with the lock member 7014 after it has moved to the lock position, and restricts the rotational movement of the lock member 7014 in the R2 direction. Further, the projecting portion 70135a (right side in FIG. 10(a)) abuts against the projecting portion 70125b and restricts further rotational movement of the projecting portion 70135a in the R1 direction. It is assumed that the replenishment port shutter 7013 rotates in the R1 direction when the toner pack 40 is attached, and in the R2 direction when the toner pack 40 is removed.

The lock member 7014 is a member that restricts the rotation of the supply port shutter 7013 . FIG. 11(a) shows a state in which the lock member 7014 is in the locked position, and FIG. 11(b) shows a state in which the lock member 7014 is in the unlocked position. The lock member 7014 can transition between a lock position (restricted position) and an unlocked position (allowed position) by moving up and down. As shown in FIGS. 9B and 11A, when the lock member 7014 abuts against the projection 70135a of the supply port shutter 7013 in the lock position, the rotation of the supply port shutter 7013 is restricted. When the lock member 7014 moves to the unlocked position as shown in FIG. 11B, the lock member 7014 retreats from the locus of movement of the projecting portion 70135a when the supply port shutter 7013 rotates. Rotation is allowed.

(1-7) Locking Member Pressing Mechanism FIG. 13 shows a pressing mechanism 600 for moving the locking member 7014 between the locked position and the unlocked position. The pressing mechanism 600 is composed of a motor 601 , an input gear 602 , a cam gear 603 and a retracting pin 604 . Input gear 602 is a screw gear attached to the output shaft of motor 601 . The cam gear 603 includes a gear portion 6032 made of a helical gear that meshes with the input gear 602 and a cam portion 6031 for reciprocating the advancing/retreating pin 604 .

The advance/retreat pin 604 is supported by a holding member so as to be linearly movable in the gravity direction and its opposite direction (vertical direction). When the motor 601 rotates, the cam gear 603 rotates via the input gear 602, and the advance/retreat pin 604 reciprocates up and down by being pressed by the cam portion 6031, and accordingly the lock member 7014 is also locked and unlocked. move up and down between positions. FIG. 13 shows the locked state.

Although the drive transmission configuration in the pressing mechanism 600 of the present embodiment is a combination of a helical gear and a screw gear, the configuration is not limited to this as long as the rotation of the motor can be converted into linear motion. For example, a bevel gear may be used, or the input gear 602 may be eliminated and the cam gear 603 may be directly driven by the motor 601 . Further, instead of the motor 601, an actuator such as a solenoid that outputs a linear motion may be used as the drive source.

Each member constituting the pressing mechanism 600 shown in FIG. 13 is supported by a frame 609 of the printer main body. On the other hand, the rotation shaft 7014a of the lock member 7014 is held by a holding portion provided on the frame 8010 of the toner receiving unit 801 so as to be rotatable and slidable in the vertical direction. Accordingly, when the process cartridge 20 is replaced, the lock member 7014 is also replaced at the same time, and the pressing mechanism 600 remains in the printer main body. The rotating shaft 7014a and the advance/retreat pin 604 are separate members. When the lock member 7014 is at the unlocked position, the advance/retreat pin 604 is separated from the lock member, and the process cartridge 20 is removed from the main body with the advance/retreat pin 604 left in the main body. However, the configuration is not limited to this, and for example, it is also possible to support the rotation shaft 7014a of the lock member 7014 on the printer main body.

(1-8) Flow of Replenishing Operation Using Toner Pack Based on the configuration of the toner pack 40, the replenishing container mounting portion 701, and the pressing mechanism 600 described above, the toner pack 40 is mounted in the replenishing container mounting portion 701. A series of operations for removing after replenishing toner will be described. 10A is a top view of the replenishment container mounting portion 701 with the replenishment port 8012 closed, and FIG. 10B is a top view of the replenishment container mounting portion 701 with the replenishment port 8012 open. be.

As shown in FIG. 10A, the replenishment port shutter 7013 in the closed state is fixed so as not to rotate with respect to the replenishment port 8012 by abutting the lock member 7014 in the lock position in the rotational direction with the protrusion 70135a. It is At this time, the cover portion 70131 of the supply port shutter 7013 completely closes the supply port 8012 . Also, the plate springs 70151 and 70152 of the rotation detection unit 7015 are separated, and the rotation detection unit 7015 is in a disconnected state.

When inserting the toner pack 40 into the replenishment container mounting portion 701, the user inserts the discharge portion 42 of the toner pack 40 and the notch portion (FIG. 12) of the shutter member 41 into the replenishment port 8012 and the cover portion 70131 of the replenishment port shutter 7013. Align and insert. Then, the engaging surface 42s of the discharging portion 42 engages with the engaging surface 7013s (see FIG. 9C), which is the side surface of the lid portion 70131, and the engaging surface 41s of the shutter member 41 contacts the outer peripheral portion of the supply port 8012. 8012s (see FIG. 9(c)). At this time, the discharge portion 42 engaged with the cover portion 70131 of the supply port shutter 7013 cannot rotate until the lock of the supply port shutter 7013 by the lock member 7014 is released later. It becomes rotatable together with 7013. On the other hand, the shutter member 41 of the toner pack 40 is in a non-rotatable state by being engaged with the supply port 8012 fixed to the frame 8010 of the toner receiving unit 801 . As another engagement structure between the lid portion 70131 and the ejection portion 42, a projection projecting upward from the upper surface of the lid portion 70131 is provided, and the lower surface 42b of the ejection portion 42 (see FIG. 12) is engaged with this projection. A recess may be provided.

When the toner pack 40 is inserted, the contact portion 45a (FIG. 7) of the memory unit 45 contacts the contact portion 70133 of the replenishment container mounting portion 701, and the information recorded in the memory unit 45 is transmitted to the control portion 90 of the image forming apparatus. read by The memory unit 45 records information (new product flag) indicating whether or not the toner pack 40 contains toner (whether or not the toner pack has been used). When the control unit 90 reads the new product flag and determines that the currently installed toner pack 40 contains toner (is unused), it controls the pressing mechanism 600 to push up the locking member 7014 . As a result, the lock member 7014 moves from the locked position to the unlocked position (FIG. 11(b)).

When the lock member 7014 has moved to the unlocked position, the lock member 7014 is separated from the projecting portion 70135a of the supply port shutter 7013, so that the supply port shutter 7013 moves in the R1 direction in FIGS. It becomes a rotatable state (FIG. 11(b)). On the other hand, since the projecting portion 70125a provided on the frame 8010 of the toner receiving unit 801 interferes with the projecting portion 70135a (FIG. 10(a)), the rotation of the supply port shutter 7013 in the R2 direction is restricted. . That is, in FIG. 10(a), 70125a and 70125b are positioned lower than 70135a and 70135b in the direction of gravity so that 70135a and 70135b can pass through in the direction of rotation.

When the user grips the toner pack 40 and rotates the discharge section 42 or the bag member 43 in the vicinity thereof by 180 degrees in the R1 direction, the state shown in FIG. 10B is obtained. When the replenishment port shutter 7013 rotates 180 degrees together with the discharge portion 42 of the toner pack 40 , the cover portion 70131 moves from the position covering the replenishment port 8012 to expose the replenishment port 8012 . The side surface of the lid portion 70131 is pushed by the engaging surface 42s, which is a part of the rotating discharge portion 42, and rotates together with the engaging surface 42s. Further, by rotating the discharge portion 42 by 180 degrees while the shutter member 41 is fixed, the discharge port 42 a of the toner pack 40 is exposed ( FIG. 8B ) and faces the supply port 8012 . As a result, the internal space of the toner pack 40 and the internal space of the toner receiving unit 801 communicate with each other through the discharge port 42a and the replenishment port 8012, and the toner filled in the bag member 43 flows down to the toner storage portion 8011. do.

As described above, the toner that has fallen into the toner containing portion 8011 is conveyed inside the toner receiving unit 801 and reaches the developing container 32, where it is ready for use in the developing process. Even before the newly replenished toner reaches the developing container 32, the developing unit 802 continues the developing process as long as the necessary amount of toner remains in the developing container 32 to maintain the image quality. It may be an executable configuration. That is, regardless of whether or not the image forming operation in the image forming section 10 (FIG. 1A) is being executed, the toner may be replenished from the replenishing container outside the image forming apparatus to the developing container. good.

The projecting portion 70125b is arranged so as to contact the projecting portion 70135a of the supply port shutter when the supply port shutter 7013 is rotated 180 degrees in the R1 direction from the state shown in FIG. )). That is, like 70125a, the projecting portion 70125b is positioned lower than 70135a and 70135b in the direction of gravity. As a result, the supply port shutter 7013 is restricted from rotating in the R1 direction beyond 180 degrees. At the same time, the projecting portion 70135a of the supply port shutter 7013 presses the plate spring 70152 of the rotation detecting portion 7015, and the tip portion 701521 of the plate spring 70151 is brought into contact with the plate spring 70151. When the rotation detection unit 7015 becomes conductive, the control unit 90 recognizes that the supply port shutter 7013 is open, operates the pressing mechanism 600, and moves the lock member 7014 to the lock position again. Then, the lock member 7014 engages with the protruding portion 70135b of the replenishment port shutter 7013 to restrict the rotation in the R2 direction, so that the replenishment port shutter 7013 and the toner pack 40 do not rotate in any direction.

10B, in which the discharge portion 42 of the toner pack 40 and the supply port shutter 7013 are rotated 180 degrees, the cover portion 70131 of the supply port shutter 7013 covers the shutter member 41 of the toner pack 40. relationship. Therefore, even if an attempt is made to lift the toner pack 40 upward from the supply container mounting portion 701, the shutter member 41 interferes with the lid portion 70131, and movement of the toner pack 40 is restricted. Therefore, the toner pack 40 is prevented from falling off from the replenishment container mounting portion 701 unless the user removes the toner pack 40 according to a predetermined procedure described below.

After the toner has started to be discharged from the toner pack 40, when the conditions for determining the completion of toner discharge are satisfied, the controller 90 operates the pressing mechanism 600 to move the lock member 7014 to the unlocked position. In this embodiment, the completion of toner discharge is determined based on the elapsed time from the time when the rotation detection unit 7015 becomes conductive.

After the lock member 7014 has moved to the unlocked position, the user can remove the toner pack 40 by reversing the procedure for attaching the toner pack 40 . That is, the user grips the ejection portion 42 of the toner pack 40 or the bag member 43 in the vicinity thereof and rotates it 180 degrees in the R2 direction opposite to the time of attachment. Then, the supply port shutter 7013 rotates 180 degrees together with the discharge unit 42, and the supply port 8012 is covered with the cover portion 70131 of the supply port shutter 7013 as shown in FIG. 10(a). Further, the protruding portion 70135a (left side in FIG. 10A) of the replenishing port shutter 7013 abuts against the protruding portion 70125a, thereby restricting the replenishing port shutter 7013 from rotating more than 180 degrees in the R2 direction. .

When the discharge portion 42 of the toner pack 40 is rotated 180 degrees in the R2 direction, the position of the notch portion of the discharge portion 42 and the position of the notch portion of the shutter member 41 are aligned (FIG. 12). Therefore, even if the toner pack 40 moves upward, the shutter member 41 does not interfere with the cover portion 70131 of the replenishment port shutter 7013, and the user can hold the toner pack 40 and lift it to open the replenishment container mounting portion 701. can be removed from

In addition, while the replenishment port shutter 7013 rotates 180 degrees in the R2 direction, the projecting portion 70135a is separated from the plate spring 70152, and the rotation detecting portion 7015 returns to the disconnected state. Then, the control unit 90 recognizes that the supply port shutter 7013 is closed, and operates the pressing mechanism 600 to move the lock member 7014 to the lock position. As a result, the replenishment container mounting portion 701 returns to the initial state before the toner replenishment operation is performed. For example, the control unit 90 may determine that a predetermined condition for moving the lock member 7014 to the unlocked state has been satisfied when a predetermined time has passed since the rotation detection unit 7015 was turned on. A trigger for moving the locking member 7014 to the locked position is, for example, by pulling out the toner pack 40 from the replenishment container mounting portion 701, thereby connecting the contact portion 70133 of the replenishment container mounting portion and the contact portion 45a of the toner pack (see FIG. 7). It may be the loss of continuity with the

In this embodiment, the positional relationship is such that the discharge port 42a of the toner pack 40 and the replenishment port 8012 communicate with each other when rotated 180 degrees. , the rotation angle required for communication can be changed.

(1-9) Panel Next, the panel 400 will be described. The panel 400 is provided on the front surface of the housing of the printer main body 100, as shown in FIGS. The panel 400 is an example of display means for displaying replenishment amount information indicating the amount of toner replenished or replenishable to the developing container 32 . The panel 400 is a liquid crystal panel including a plurality of scales (indicators) capable of independently controlling light emission states such as lighting, extinguishing, and blinking. In addition, instead of "turning off" in the following description, it may be lit in a state in which the brightness is lower than in the normal lighting state, or may be issued in a color different from that in the normal lighting state.

In this embodiment, the panel 400 is a four-tiered indicator 401 in which four scales 4011, 4012, 4013, and 4014 are arranged from top to bottom in the vertical direction. The panel 400 represents the amount of toner that has been replenished or that can be replenished to the developing container 32 by displaying scales 4011 to 4014 that change in stages. The lowermost scale 4014 also indicates whether the toner in the developing container 32 is at Low level or Out level. However, the Low level indicates that the developing container 32 needs to be replenished with toner, but the minimum amount of toner remains to maintain the image quality, and the image forming operation can be executed at this time. . The Out level indicates that almost no toner remains in the developer container 32 and the image forming operation cannot be executed.

In the configuration example of the illustrated panel 400, when the four scales 4011 to 4014 are all off, it indicates that the toner in the developing container 32 is at the Out level. As shown in FIG. 24A, when only the lowermost scale 4014 is blinking, it indicates that the remaining amount of toner in the developing container 32 is at Low level.

As shown in FIG. 24B, when only the lowermost scale 4014 is illuminated, it indicates that the remaining amount of toner in the developing container 32 is at the first level, which is higher than the Low level. As shown in FIG. 24C, when the two lower scales 4013 and 4014 are illuminated and the upper two scales 4011 and 4012 are extinguished, the remaining amount of toner in the developing container 32 is above the first level. It indicates that it is the second level of the number. When the three lower scales 4012 to 4014 are illuminated and only the uppermost scale 4011 is extinguished, it indicates that the remaining amount of toner in the developing container 32 is at the third level, which is higher than the second level. .

As shown in FIG. 24D, when all the scales 4011 to 4014 are illuminated, it indicates that the remaining amount of toner in the developing container 32 is at the Full level, which is higher than the third level. In this state, since there is no extinguished scale, it can be seen that toner cannot be replenished from the toner pack 40, for example.

As will be described later, in this embodiment, it is possible to connect a plurality of types of replenishment containers containing different amounts of toner, and when toner is replenished from a replenishment container outside the image forming apparatus to the developing container. , the display in panel 400 is changed. At that time, the amount of increase in the scale of the panel 400 during toner replenishment is changed according to the type of replenishment container.

Note that the panel 400 shown in FIG. 14 is an example of display means for changing the display contents according to the level of the amount of toner that can be replenished to the developing container 32, and other configurations may be used. For example, instead of the liquid crystal panel, the panel may be configured by combining a light source such as an LED or an incandescent lamp and a diffusion lens. It is possible to omit the scale and use only the number panel, or omit the number panel and use only the scale. In addition, the panel 400 of the present embodiment displays the level of the toner remaining amount in the developing container 32 based on the detection result of the toner remaining amount detecting means 51 (FIG. 19), which will be described later, even during the period in which the toner is not replenished. It has a remaining amount display function. However, the display means only needs to have a function of displaying to the user the replenishment amount information indicating the amount of toner replenished or replenishable to the developing container 32, and does not have a remaining amount display function. can be anything.

(2) First Modification Next, as another example of the replenishment container, a first modification using a bottle-shaped toner bottle unit instead of the bag-shaped toner pack will be described with reference to FIG. This toner bottle unit is configured to be attachable to and detachable from the replenishment container attachment portion 701, like the toner pack 40 described above. Therefore, description of the configuration of the image forming apparatus that is common to the first embodiment will be omitted.

(2-1) Configuration of Toner Bottle Unit FIG. 15A is a perspective view showing the appearance of the toner bottle unit 900, and FIG. 15B is a perspective view showing the toner bottle unit 900 after toner is discharged. FIG. 15(c) is a view of the toner bottle unit 900 viewed from below the piston, and FIG. 15(d) is a cross-sectional view of the toner bottle unit 900 at the cross-sectional position DD shown in FIG. 15(c).

16A is a perspective view of the toner bottle unit 900 with the outer cylinder 903 (see FIG. 15A) hidden, and FIG. 16B shows the outer cylinder 903 after the toner is discharged. 3 is a perspective view of the toner bottle unit 900 with the . FIG. 16(c) is a diagram showing the state before the push-in operation of the parts involved in push-in detection of the toner bottle unit 900, and FIG. 16(d) is a diagram showing the state after the push-in operation of the parts involved in the push-in detection. is. FIG. 16(e) is a diagram showing the state before the rotation operation of the parts involved in the rotation detection of the toner bottle unit 900, and FIG. It is a figure showing the state of.

As shown in FIGS. 15A and 15D, the toner bottle unit 900 roughly includes an outer cylinder 903, an inner cylinder 901, a piston 902, a shutter member 904, and a memory unit 911. FIG. The outer cylinder 903 and the inner cylinder 901 are cylindrical, the inner cylinder 901 is fitted inside the outer cylinder 903 , and the piston 902 is fitted further inside the inner cylinder 901 and slides relative to the inner cylinder 901 . It is possible. Hereinafter, the direction in which the piston 902 moves (the axial direction of the outer cylinder 903 and the inner cylinder 901 ) is defined as the axial direction of the toner bottle unit 900 . Also, the piston 902 is an example of a pressing member.

The inner cylinder 901 has a cylindrical toner containing portion 9014 for containing toner, a bottom portion 9013 provided at one end in the axial direction, and a discharge port 9011 provided at the bottom portion 9013 . The inner cylinder 901 has a cylindrical shape in which one axial end of the toner containing portion 9014 is closed by a bottom portion 9013 . An opening 9012 is provided at the other end of the toner containing portion 9014 , and the piston 902 is inserted into the toner containing portion 9014 through the opening 9012 . In addition, the inner cylinder 901 contains a spherical weight member 905 which is freely movable within the toner containing portion 9014 .

The outer cylinder 903 includes a cylindrical inner cylinder accommodating portion 9034 that accommodates the toner accommodating portion 9014 of the inner cylinder 901 inside, a bottom portion 9033 provided at one end in the axial direction, and a discharge port 9031 provided at the bottom portion 9033 . ,have. Like the inner cylinder 901 , the outer cylinder 903 has a cylindrical shape in which one end in the axial direction of the inner cylinder accommodating portion 9034 is closed by a bottom portion 9033 , and holds the inner cylinder 901 relatively unmovable. The other end side of the inner cylinder accommodating portion 9034 is an opening portion 9032 through which the piston 902 is inserted.

A discharge port 9011 of the inner cylinder 901 has a thin cylindrical shape extending from a bottom portion 9013 to one end side in the axial direction. The discharge port 9031 of the outer cylinder 903 is provided at a position corresponding to the discharge port 9011 of the inner cylinder 901 on the bottom portion 9033 . A discharge port 9031 of the outer cylinder 903 is a discharge port for discharging the toner stored in the toner storage portion 9014 to the outside of the toner bottle unit 900 . Adjacent to the discharge port 9011 of the inner cylinder 901, a retraction space 9013a is provided in which the weight member 905 retreats so as not to block the discharge port 9011 when the piston is pushed.

Note that the bottom portion 9013 of the inner cylinder 901 has an inclined shape in which the cross-sectional area decreases toward the discharge port side in the axial direction (especially, a conical shape in which the inner diameter decreases toward the discharge port side in the axial direction). . The bottom portion 9033 of the outer cylinder 903 facing the bottom portion 9013 of the inner cylinder 901 also has a similar inclined shape. The discharge port 9011 and the evacuation space 9013a of the inner cylinder 901 are provided at the apex portion of the bottom portion 9033 having an inclined shape. The weight member 905 is spherical, is guided by this bottom portion 9013, and moves to the evacuation space 9013a by gravity.

The piston 902 is provided near an elastic member 906 attached to an end portion 9023 on one axial end side (discharge port side) and an end portion 9022 on the other end side (a portion pressed by a user when pushing the piston). and a pushing rib 9021 . The elastic member 906 is configured to be in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the toner containing portion 9014 without a gap, and has a function of preventing toner from slipping through when the piston is pushed. Further, the pushing rib 9021 has a convex shape protruding radially outward from the outer peripheral surface of the piston 902 .

The structure of the shutter member 904 is the same as that of the shutter member 41 provided in the toner pack 40 described above. That is, as shown in FIG. 15C, the shutter member 904 has a shape in which a part of a disc that is rotatable relative to the outer cylinder 903 is cut away. A side surface forming the thickness of the shutter member 904 at the notched portion functions as an engaging surface 904s. On the other hand, the outer cylinder 903 also has a notched shape. The outer cylinder 903 has an engagement surface 903s parallel to the engagement surface 904s at the notched portion. The discharge port 9031 is provided at a position separated from the engagement surface 903s by approximately 180 degrees in the circumferential direction of the outer cylinder 903 .

FIG. 15C shows a state in which the discharge port 9031 is already exposed, but the notched engagement surfaces 903s and 904s of the shutter member 904 and the outer cylinder 903 are present when the toner bottle unit 900 is shipped. are aligned. In this case, the discharge port 9031 is covered with the shutter member 904, and the sealed state of the toner containing portion 9014 is maintained (closed state). As shown in FIG. 15(c), when the shutter member 904 rotates 180 degrees with respect to the outer cylinder 903, the discharge port 9031 is exposed through the notch portion of the shutter member 904, and the toner containing portion 9014 is sealed. It is released to allow the toner to be discharged (open state). The configurations of the discharge port 9031, the engaging surface 903s, and the shutter member 904 are basically the same as those described with reference to FIGS.

A memory unit 911 as storage means for storing information of the toner bottle unit 900 is attached near the outlet 9031 of the outer cylinder 903 . The memory unit 911 includes a plurality of metal plates 9111, 9112, 9113 (FIG. 16) exposed outside the toner bottle unit 900 as a contact portion 911a that contacts the contact portion 70133 (FIG. 9A) of the supply container mounting portion 701. (a)).

(2-2) Piston Pressing Detecting Mechanism As shown in FIGS. 16(a) and 16(c), a pressing detecting mechanism for detecting the pushing action of the piston 902 is provided between the outer cylinder 903 and the inner cylinder 901. , a push detection rod 907, a first contact plate 908 and a second contact plate 909 are arranged. The push detection rod 907 is made of an insulating material such as resin, and the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are made of a conductive material such as metal. The pushing detection rod 907 has a contact release portion 9072 on one end side (discharge port side) in the axial direction, and a piston contact portion 9071 that can contact the pushing rib 9021 of the piston 902 on the other end side in the axial direction. are doing. The pushing detection rod 907 is moved in the axial direction by pressing the piston contact portion 9071 against the pushing rib 9021 in conjunction with the pushing operation of the piston 902 .

The pushing detection rod 907 is, for example, fitted into an axial groove formed in the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder 901 or the inner peripheral surface of the outer cylinder 903, thereby restricting movement in the direction perpendicular to the axial direction. It is also held axially movably with respect to the inner cylinder 901 and the outer cylinder 903 . Also, the piston contact portion 9071 is perpendicular to the axial direction, that is, has an L-shaped bent shape, and is configured so that the pushing rib 9021 comes into contact therewith more reliably. In FIG. 16(a), the pushing rib 9021 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the piston 902 over the entire circumference. good.

The first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are metal plates that switch between a conductive state and a disconnected state depending on the position of the push detection rod 907 made of insulating resin. A method for detecting a new toner bottle unit 900 using the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 will be described later.

A cylinder cover 910 (FIG. 15(a)) is attached to the end of the outer cylinder 903 on the opening side to prevent the push detection rod 907 from falling off. That is, the cylinder cover 910 forming the opening 9032 of the outer cylinder 903 is narrowed inward from the radially outer end position of the piston contact portion 9071 (FIG. 16(b)) (FIG. 15 ( d)). Therefore, even if a force is applied to move the pushing detection rod 907 toward the opening in the axial direction, the piston contact portion 9071 interferes with the cylinder cover 910 and the pushing detection rod 907 does not come off the toner bottle unit 900 .

(2-3) Judgment of whether the toner bottle unit is new or used Next, when the toner bottle unit 900 is attached to the replenishment container attachment portion 701, it is detected whether the toner bottle unit 900 is unused (new) or used. The configuration will be explained. As shown in FIGS. 16(c) and 16(d), the contact release portion 9072 of the depression detection rod 907 is positioned near the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909. As shown in FIGS.

FIG. 16(c) corresponds to the state before the piston is pushed in as shown in FIG. 16(a), in which the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are in contact with each other and are in a conducting state. At this time, it is preferable to form one of the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 made of metal into a leaf spring shape so as to press the other contact plate. Further, for example, by applying conductive grease to the contact surfaces of the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909, the conduction between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 can be made more reliable.

FIG. 16(d) corresponds to the state after the piston is pushed in as shown in FIG. 16(b), in which the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are in the disconnected state. In this state, the contact release portion 9072 of the push detection rod 907 pushed by the push rib 9021 enters between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 to physically separate them. At least the contact release portion 9072 of the push-in detection rod 907 is made of an insulating material, and in the state shown in FIG. be done.

The first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are different metal plates among the plurality of metal plates 9111 to 9113 at the end opposite to the end contacting the contact release portion 9072 of the depression detection rod 907. connected to each other. Here, it is assumed that the first contact plate 908 is connected to the metal plate 9111 and the second contact plate 909 is connected to the metal plate 9113 . In this case, by detecting the presence or absence of current when a weak voltage is applied between the metal plates 9111 and 9113, the toner bottle unit 900 is in the state (unused) before pushing in the piston or in the state after pushing in the piston. (Used) can be determined. That is, in a state in which the toner bottle unit 900 is attached to the supply container attachment portion 701, the control portion 90 of the image forming apparatus determines whether the toner bottle unit 900 is unused or in use based on the presence or absence of continuity between the metal plates 9111 and 9113. can determine whether it is done. Further, the control unit 90 can determine that the user's replenishment operation is completed when the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 become non-conductive. Based on this determination, the control unit 90 controls the display of the panel 400 described above. In addition, the controller 90 sets a new flag (new: 1, used: 0) to the memory unit 45, indicating that the toner bottle unit 900 has been used by a change in electrical connection between the metal plates 9111 and 9113. Write.

In the case of the above configuration, it is preferable to arrange the memory unit 911 on the circuit connecting the metal plates 9111 and 9112 . As a result, the controller 90 of the image forming apparatus monitors the push-in operation of the toner bottle unit 900 via the metal plates 9111 and 91113, and at the same time, controls the memory unit 911 via the metal plates 9111 and 9112. can access.

(2-4) Detection of Rotation of Toner Bottle Unit Next, a method of detecting rotation of the toner bottle unit 900 will be described with reference to FIGS. 16(e) and 16(f). It should be noted that the rotation detection method in the present embodiment is implemented using the toner pack 40 described above, except that the shutter member 904 that seals the discharge port of the replenishment container is attached to the outer cylinder 903 of the toner bottle unit 900. Similar to morphology.

As shown in FIGS. 16(e) and 16(f), two conductive leaf springs 70151 and 70152 are arranged as a rotation detector 7015 in the supply container mounting portion 701 of the process cartridge. A protruding portion 70135b is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the supply port shutter 7013 .

As shown in FIG. 16E, before the toner bottle unit 900 inserted into the replenishment container mounting portion 701 is rotated, the tip 701521 of the leaf spring 70152 is not in contact with the leaf spring 70152 and is rotated. The detection unit 7015 is in a disconnected state. That is, even if a weak voltage is applied between the leaf springs 70151 and 70152, no current flows. As shown in FIG. 16(f), when the toner bottle unit 900 is rotated 180 degrees, the plate spring 70152 is pressed by the projecting portion 70135a, and the tip portion 701521 comes into contact with the other plate spring 70151 and becomes conductive. . In this state, when a weak voltage is applied between the leaf springs 70151 and 70152, current flows. The control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus determines whether the discharge port 9031 of the toner bottle unit 900 and the supply port 8012 of the supply container mounting unit 701 are in communication based on whether the rotation detection unit 7015 is conductive or disconnected. recognize whether or not

(2-5) Flow of Replenishing Operation Using Toner Bottle Unit A series of operations for removing toner bottle unit 900 after toner is replenished by attaching toner bottle unit 900 to replenishing container mounting portion 701 will be described. Description of the same parts as in the above embodiment using the toner pack 40 will be omitted.

First, the user attaches the unused toner bottle unit 900 to the replenishment container attachment portion 701 . Specifically, the notched engagement surfaces 903s and 904s (FIG. 15(c)) of the outer cylinder 903 and the shutter member 904 are connected to the replenishment port 8012 and the cover portion 70131 (FIG. 9(a)) of the replenishment port shutter 7013 (FIG. 9(a)). Align and insert. Then, the engaging surface 903s of the outer cylinder 903 engages with the engaging surface 7013s, which is the side surface of the lid portion 70131, and the engaging surface 904s of the shutter member 904 engages with the engaging surface 8012s provided on the outer peripheral portion of the supply port 8012. engage with. At this time, the outer cylinder 903 engaged with the cover portion 70131 of the supply port shutter 7013 cannot rotate until the lock of the supply port shutter 7013 by the lock member 7014 is released later, and the supply port shutter is closed by unlocking. It becomes rotatable together with 7013. On the other hand, the shutter member 904 is in a non-rotatable state by being engaged with the supply port 8012 fixed to the frame 8010 of the toner receiving unit 801 . Further, the plate springs 70151 and 70152 of the rotation detection section 7015 are separated, and the rotation detection section 7015 is in a disconnected state (FIG. 16(e)).

When an unused toner bottle unit 900 is inserted into the replenishment container mounting portion 701, the controller 90 recognizes that the toner bottle unit 900 is new by the above-described new product detection configuration. As described above, the control unit 90 may recognize continuity between the metal plates 9111-91113, read the new product flag (new: 1, used: 0) of the memory unit 45, and make a determination. Also good. Then, the controller 90 operates the pressing mechanism 600 to move the lock member 7014 to the unlocked position, and the toner bottle unit 900 becomes rotatable.

Thereafter, when the user grips the toner bottle unit 900 and rotates it 180 degrees, the shutter member 904 and the replenishment port shutter 7013 are opened, and the discharge port 9031 of the toner bottle unit 900 and the replenishment port 8012 of the replenishment container mounting portion 701 are separated. communicate. The operation of opening the shutter member 904 and the supply port shutter 7013 as the toner bottle unit 900 rotates is the same as in the case of the toner pack 40 described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 16F, when the toner bottle unit 900 is rotated 180 degrees, the end portion 701521 of the plate spring 70152 pressed by the projecting portion 70135b of the supply port shutter 7013 contacts the other plate spring 70151. do. When the rotation detection unit 7015 becomes conductive in this way, the control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus detects that the toner bottle unit 900 has been rotated. That is, the control unit 90 recognizes that the shutter member 904 and the replenishment port shutter 7013 are unsealed and the discharge port 42a of the toner pack 40 and the replenishment port 8012 of the replenishment container mounting portion 701 are communicated with each other. Further, the control unit 90 operates the pressing mechanism 600 to move the lock member 7014 to the lock position, thereby restricting the rotation of the toner bottle unit 900 .

Next, the user presses the piston 902 of the toner bottle unit 900 to start discharging the toner. The toner that has fallen into the toner containing portion 8011 is conveyed inside the toner receiving unit 801 and reaches the developer container 32 . Also in this modified example, when the piston 902 is pushed all the way, the completion of the pushing operation of the piston 902 is detected by the above-described push detection mechanism. That is, as shown in FIG. 16B, the pushing rib 9021 of the piston 902 presses the piston contact portion 9071 of the pushing detection rod 907, so that the pushing detection rod 907 moves in conjunction with the piston 902. As shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 16(d), the contact release portion 9072 of the push detection rod 907 disconnects the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 from each other. In the control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus, even if a voltage is applied between the metal plate 9111 connected to the first contact plate 908 and the metal plate 9113 connected to the second contact plate 909, no current flows. Based on this, the completion of pushing of the piston 902 is recognized. In other words, in the case of this modification, detection of the completion of the pushing operation of the piston 902 by the pushing detection mechanism is a condition for determining the completion of toner discharge. As another configuration example, when the conduction between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 is cut off, the controller 90 rewrites the new product flag of the memory unit 911, and by rewriting the new product flag, the toner is discharged. You may make it judge that discharge|emission was completed.

Upon detecting the completion of toner discharge from toner bottle unit 900, controller 90 operates pressing mechanism 600 again to move lock member 7014 to the unlocked position, thereby making toner bottle unit 900 rotatable. The user holds the toner bottle unit 900 and rotates it 180 degrees. Then, the discharge port 9031 of the toner bottle unit 900 is covered with the shutter member 904 , and the replenishment port 8012 of the replenishment container mounting portion 701 is covered with the cover portion 70131 of the replenishment port shutter 7013 . Further, as shown in FIG. 16(e), the leaf springs 70151 and 70152 are separated, and the rotation detection section 7015 returns to the disconnected state. Then, the control unit 90 recognizes that the supply port shutter 7013 is closed, and operates the pressing mechanism 600 to move the lock member 7014 to the lock position. As a result, the replenishment container mounting portion 701 returns to the initial state before toner replenishment.

(3) Second Modification Next, a second modification having a different structure of the process cartridge will be described. Since this modified example has the same configuration as the first embodiment except for the configuration related to the process cartridge, the description of the common portion will be omitted.

(3-1) Process Cartridge FIG. 17 shows (a) a perspective view, (b) a side view, (c) a cross-sectional view, and (d) a cross-sectional view of a process cartridge 20A according to this modification. FIGS. 17(c) and (d) show cut surfaces at the cutting positions shown in FIG. 17(b).

As shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B, the process cartridge 20A of this modification includes a toner receiving unit 801, a developing unit 802 and a drum unit 803A. Compared to the first embodiment, the drum unit 803A is not provided with the cleaning blade 24 for cleaning the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 or the waste toner chamber 8033 (see FIG. 6A) for storing waste toner. This is because the present modification employs a cleanerless configuration in which transfer residual toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 without being transferred to the recording material is collected in the developing unit 802 and reused. Here, too, for example, a non-magnetic or magnetic one-component developer is used.

In the illustrated example, the developing unit 802 is positioned below the process cartridge 20A, and the toner receiving unit 801 and drum unit 803A are positioned above the developing unit 802 in the direction of gravity. As shown in FIG. 17B, the positions of the toner receiving unit 801 and the drum unit 803A do not overlap when viewed in the gravitational direction, but they may be arranged at least partially vertically. A toner receiving unit 801 is arranged in the space in which the cleaning blade 24 and the waste toner chamber 8033 were provided in the first embodiment. The structure of the replenishment container mounting portion 701 provided in the toner receiving unit 801 is common to that of the first embodiment, but FIG. 17 shows a simplified shape.

Between the developing unit 802, the drum unit 803A, and the toner receiving unit 801, there is a laser as a gap through which the laser beam L emitted from the scanner unit 11 (see FIG. 1A) toward the photosensitive drum 21 can pass. A passing space SP is formed. Further, in the drum unit 803A, a pre-exposure device for erasing an electrostatic latent image by irradiating the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 with light is arranged downstream of the transfer portion in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 21 and between the charging rollers 22. is preferred.

(3-2) Toner Behavior in Cleanerless Configuration Toner behavior in the cleanerless configuration will be described. Transfer residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 21 at the transfer portion is removed in the following steps. The transfer residual toner includes toner that is positively charged and toner that is negatively charged but not sufficiently charged. The post-transfer photosensitive drum 21 is neutralized by the pre-exposure device, and the charging roller 22 uniformly discharges the toner, thereby negatively charging the residual toner. The transfer residual toner negatively charged again in the charging section reaches the developing section as the photosensitive drum 21 rotates. Then, the surface area of the photosensitive drum 21 that has passed through the charging section is exposed by the scanner unit 11 and an electrostatic latent image is written thereon with the transfer residual toner adhering to the surface.

Here, the behavior of the transfer residual toner reaching the developing portion will be described separately for the exposed portion and the non-exposed portion of the photosensitive drum 21 . The transfer residual toner adhering to the non-exposed portion of the photosensitive drum 21 is transferred to the developing roller 31 by the potential difference between the potential (dark portion potential) of the non-exposed portion of the photosensitive drum 21 and the developing voltage in the developing portion, and is transferred to the developing container 32 . to be recovered. This is because the developing voltage applied to the developing roller 31 is relatively positive with respect to the potential of the non-exposed portion, assuming that the normal charging polarity of the toner is negative. The toner collected in the developing container 32 is dispersed by being stirred with the toner in the developing container by the stirring member 34, and is carried by the developing roller 31 to be used again in the developing process.

On the other hand, the transfer residual toner adhering to the exposure portion of the photosensitive drum 21 remains on the drum surface without being transferred from the photosensitive drum 21 to the developing roller 31 in the developing portion. This is because the developing voltage applied to the developing roller 31 is a negative potential than the potential of the exposed portion (bright portion potential), assuming that the normal charge polarity of the toner is negative. . The untransferred toner remaining on the surface of the drum is carried on the photosensitive drum 21 together with other toner transferred from the developing roller 31 to the exposure portion, moves to the transfer portion, and is transferred to the recording material at the transfer portion.

The cleaner-less configuration eliminates the need for a space for installing a collection container for collecting residual toner, etc., making it possible to make the image forming apparatus 1 even more compact. It is also possible to reduce printing costs.

(4) Third Modification Next, a description will be given of a third modification in which the configuration of the process cartridge is different from any of the above embodiments. Since this modified example has the same configuration as the first embodiment except for the configuration related to the process cartridge, the description of the common portion will be omitted.

(4-1) Third Embodiment of Process Cartridge FIGS. 18A and 18B are (a) a perspective view, (b) a side view, and (c) a sectional view of a process cartridge 20B according to this modification. FIG. 18(c) shows a cut plane at the cutting position illustrated in FIG. 18(b).

As shown in FIGS. 18A and 18B, the process cartridge 20B of this modification includes a developing unit 802 and a drum unit 803A. Compared to the third embodiment, the toner receiving unit 801 is omitted, but the supply container mounting portion 701, the first conveying member 8013 and the second conveying member 8014 are arranged in the developing unit 802. FIG. In other words, in this modification, toner is replenished by attaching a replenishment container such as the toner pack 40 or the toner bottle unit 900 to the replenishment port 8012 provided in the developing container 32 from the outside of the image forming apparatus. be. The configuration of the replenishment container mounting portion 701 is common to that of the first embodiment, but a simplified shape is illustrated.

Between the developing unit 802, the drum unit 803A, and the toner receiving unit 801, there is a laser as a gap through which the laser beam L emitted from the scanner unit 11 (see FIG. 1A) toward the photosensitive drum 21 can pass. A passing space SP is formed. Further, in the drum unit 803A, a pre-exposure device for erasing an electrostatic latent image by irradiating the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 with light is arranged downstream of the transfer portion in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 21 and between the charging rollers 22. is preferred. This modified example employs a cleanerless configuration. Since the behavior of the toner in the cleanerless configuration is the same as in the second modified example, the description is omitted.

(5) Control System of Image Forming Apparatus FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing the control system of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. A control unit 90 as control means of the image forming apparatus 1 has a CPU 91 as an arithmetic device, a RAM 92 used as a work area for the CPU 91, and a nonvolatile memory 93 storing various programs. The control unit 90 also has an I/O interface 94 as an input/output port connected to an external device, and an A/D conversion unit 95 that converts analog signals into digital signals. The CPU 91 controls each section of the image forming apparatus 1 by reading and executing a control program stored in the nonvolatile memory 93 . Therefore, the nonvolatile memory 93 is an example of a non-transitory storage medium that stores a control program for operating the image forming apparatus in a specific manner.

Also connected to the control unit 90 are a T memory 57 that is a non-volatile memory mounted in a supply container such as the toner pack 40 and the toner bottle unit 900, and a P memory 58 that is a non-volatile memory mounted in the process cartridge 20. . Examples of the T memory 57 as storage means provided in the supply container are the memory unit 45 mounted on the toner pack 40 described above and the memory unit 911 mounted on the toner bottle unit 900 described above. The T memory 57 also stores toner information indicating that the toner contained in the toner pack 40 or the toner bottle unit 900 is a toner that can be supplied to the developing container 32 . The toner information is, for example, information describing whether the toner pack 40 is in an unused state, the initial capacity of the toner, the expiration date, and the like. The P memory 58 also stores information on the remaining amount of toner contained in the developing container 32, the total amount of toner replenished so far from the replenishing container, information on the life of the photoreceptor, and information on the replacement timing of the process cartridge 20. etc. are stored.

Furthermore, the rotation lock mechanism 59 and the image forming section 10 are connected to the control section 90 . An example of the rotation lock mechanism 59 is a lock member 7014 (FIGS. 9 and 11) provided in the supply container mounting portion 701 and a pressing mechanism 600 (FIG. 13) for moving the lock member 7014. FIG. The image forming section 10 has a motor M1 as a driving source for driving the photosensitive drum 21, the developing roller 31, the supply roller 33, the stirring member 34, and the like. The driving sources for these rotating members may not necessarily be the same. For example, the photosensitive drum 21, the developing roller 31, the supply roller 33, and the stirring member 34 may be driven by separate motors. good. The image forming section 10 also includes a power supply section 211 for applying voltage to each member such as the developing roller 31 and an exposure control section 212 for controlling the scanner unit 11 .

To the input side of the controller 90 are connected the toner remaining amount detection means 51 , the waste toner full detection means 52 , the attachment detection means 53 , the open/close detection means 54 , the rotation detection means 55 and the depression detection means 56 .

The toner remaining amount detecting means 51 detects the remaining amount of toner contained in the developing container 32 . An example of the toner remaining amount detecting means 51 is an optical sensor (51a, 51b) shown in FIG. 6(a). The optical sensor includes a light-emitting portion 51a that emits detection light toward the inside of the developer container 32 and a light-receiving portion 51b that detects the detection light. In this case, the ratio (Duty) of the period during which the light path of the detection light is blocked by the toner with respect to the rotation cycle of the stirring member 34 is correlated with the remaining amount of toner in the developing container 32 . Using this, the remaining amount of toner can be obtained from the current duty value by preparing in advance the corresponding relationship between the duty value and the remaining amount of toner. Note that such an optical sensor is an example of the toner remaining amount detecting means, and a pressure sensor or a capacitance sensor may be used. The waste toner full detection unit 52 detects that the amount of waste toner accumulated in the waste toner chamber 8033 (FIG. 6A) of the cleaning unit 803 has reached a predetermined upper limit. As the waste toner full detection unit 52, for example, a pressure sensor arranged in the waste toner chamber 8033 can be used. Further, based on the expectation that a predetermined percentage of the image information will be collected as waste toner, the control unit 90 may calculate and predict the amount of waste toner from the image information.

The attachment detection means 53 detects that a supply container such as the toner pack 40 is attached to the supply container mounting portion 701 . The attachment detection unit 53 is provided in the replenishment container attachment portion 701 , for example, and is composed of a pressure-sensitive switch that outputs a detection signal when pressed by the bottom surface of the toner pack 40 . Moreover, the attachment detection means 53 may be a detection circuit that detects that the T memory 57 is electrically connected to the control section 90 via the contact portion 70133 (FIG. 9) of the supply container attachment portion 701 .

The rotation detection means 55 detects rotation of the supply container attached to the supply container attachment portion 701 . An example of the rotation detection means 55 is a rotation detection portion 7015 composed of plate springs 70151 and 70152 (FIGS. 9 and 16). The rotation detection unit 7015 is an example of the rotation detection unit 55. For example, a photoelectric sensor shielded by a protrusion provided on the supply port shutter 7013 can be used as the rotation detection sensor. Further, as another example of the rotation detection sensor, a configuration may be adopted in which the plate springs 70151 and 70152 of the rotation detection portion 7015 are electrically connected by a projecting portion provided on the discharge portion 42 of the toner pack 40 .

The pushing detection means 56 is an element added when the toner bottle unit 900 of the first modified example is used, and detects completion of pushing of the piston 902 of the toner bottle unit 900 . An example of the push detection means 56 is an image forming apparatus that detects a state change of a push detection mechanism (FIG. 16) consisting of a push detection rod 907, a first contact plate 908 and a second contact plate 909 provided in the toner bottle unit 900. 1 is a detection circuit. This detection circuit monitors the current value when a voltage is applied to the metal plates 9111 and 9113 to which the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are respectively connected, thereby determining whether the piston 902 is pushed in before or after it is pushed in. to detect

Further, the control unit 90 includes an operation unit 300 serving as a user interface of the image forming apparatus 1, and a toner remaining amount serving as notification means (reporting means) for notifying the user of information regarding the toner remaining amount in the developing container 32. A panel 400 is connected. Here, the information about the toner remaining amount is not limited to indicating the toner remaining amount itself. In addition, the information about the remaining amount of toner also includes information indicating how much toner has already been replenished using the toner pack 40 or the toner bottle unit 900 . The information on the remaining amount of toner also includes information indicating how many more toner packs 40 are left in the developing container 32 and information indicating how much toner bottle unit 900 can be used to replenish the remaining amount of toner in the developing container 32 .

The operation unit 300 has a display unit 301 capable of displaying various setting screens, as shown in FIG. The display unit 301 is composed of, for example, a liquid crystal panel. The operation unit 300 also includes an input unit 302 that receives input operations from the user. The input unit 302 is composed of, for example, physical buttons and a touch panel function unit of a liquid crystal panel. Furthermore, the control unit 90 is connected to an external device such as a desktop computer or smart phone via an I/O interface 94 .

Furthermore, the control unit 90 is connected to an external device such as a desktop computer or a smartphone via an I/O interface 94, and can display a message 561 as shown in FIG. 21 on the display 560 of the host computer. It is possible.

(6) Control according to the type of replenishment container Hereinafter, the operation when toner is replenished from the replenishment container to the image forming apparatus 1 will be described. In this embodiment, one image forming apparatus 1 can be connected to a plurality of types of replenishment containers containing different amounts of toner. By allowing the user to select the amount of toner replenished in one toner replenishment, there is an advantage that the image forming apparatus 1 can be operated more flexibly. Here, as an example of the replenishment container, a case of using a plurality of types of toner bottle units having different capacities (filling capacity) will be described.

(6-1) Kinds of Toner Bottle Unit FIG. 22 shows the kinds of the toner bottle unit 900 described above. FIG. 22A shows a small-capacity toner bottle unit 991, which stores toner for 1000 printed sheets. FIG. 22B shows a medium-capacity toner bottle unit 992, which stores toner for 2000 printed sheets. FIG. 22C shows a large-capacity toner bottle unit 993, which stores toner for 4000 printed sheets. However, the "number of printed sheets" represents an increase in the number of sheets of recording material on which images can be formed by the image forming apparatus, which is increased by replenishing toner using the toner bottle unit. The "toner amount for 1,000 printed sheets" is the amount of toner when 1,000 images are output at the standard average printing rate (the area ratio of the toner image to the effective image area of the recording material). Refers to consumption.

Each of the toner bottle units 991 to 993 has the same configuration as the toner bottle unit 900 described above, except that the capacities thereof are different. Therefore, each of the toner bottle units 991 to 993 includes a T memory 57 as a storage means exemplified by the memory unit 911, a first contact plate 908, a second contact plate 909 and a push detection rod 907 which constitute the push detection means 56. It has

(6-2) Circuit Configuration of Toner Bottle Unit FIG. 23 shows the circuit configuration of the toner bottle units 991 to 993 including the T memory 57 and the depression detection mechanism. The T memory 57 is connected to the metal plates 9111 and 9112 , the first contact plate 908 is connected to the metal plate 9111 and the second contact plate 909 is connected to the metal plate 9113 . When the toner bottle units 991 to 993 are attached to the supply container attachment portion 701, the metal plates 9111 to 9113 of the contact portion 911a are connected to the image forming apparatus via the contact portion 70133 (FIG. 9) of the supply container attachment portion 701. It is electrically connected to the control unit.

The T memory 57 stores different capacity information (toner amount information) according to the types of the toner bottle units 991-993. If the toner bottle unit 991 has a small capacity, the T memory 57 stores capacity information indicating that the amount of toner for 1000 printed sheets is stored. In the medium-capacity and large-capacity toner bottle units 992 and 993, the T memory 57 stores capacity information indicating that toner amounts for 2,000 and 4,000 printed sheets are stored, respectively. . Further, the T memory 57 stores a new product flag as information indicating whether the toner bottle unit 991 to 993 has not been used (new product) or has been used for toner replenishment.

The control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus 1 connected to the T memory 57 via the contact portion 70133 acquires the capacity information stored in the T memory 57 through the metal plates 9111 and 9112 . That is, the contact portion 70133 is an example of an acquisition unit for the image forming apparatus to acquire information representing the type of replenishment container. In this embodiment, the controller 90 reads capacity information from the T memory 57 via the contact portion 70133 to identify the types of the toner bottle units 991 to 993 . A method of communicating with the T memory 57 is a so-called two-wire transmission method that uses both the power supply line and the communication signal line, and communicates through the metal plates 9111 and 9112 . In addition, you may use another system about a communication system.

The information that the control unit 90 acquires from the T memory 57 is not limited to information that directly represents the capacity of the toner bottle unit. Any information available. In this case, the controller 90 can obtain the capacity of the toner bottle unit by referring to the correspondence relationship between the type of the toner bottle unit and its capacity stored in advance in the non-volatile memory.

As described with reference to FIGS. 16A to 16D, when the pistons 902 of the toner bottle units 991 to 993 are pushed, the insulator, which is an insulator, is placed between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909. The contact release portion 9072 of the detection rod 907 enters and the continuity is released. That is, FIG. 23 represents the circuit state after the piston 902 is pushed. However, in FIG. 23, the switch mechanism consisting of the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 is illustrated as an equivalent circuit symbol that is turned on/off by the push detection rod 907 .

When the voltage is applied between the metal plates 9111 and 9113 and the current stops flowing, the controller 90 of the image forming apparatus 1 detects that the piston 902 is pushed in and the toner stored in the toner bottle units 991 to 993 is not discharged. judged to be complete. On the other hand, when the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are electrically connected, the control unit 90 detects that the voltage is applied between the metal plates 9111 and 9113 and the current flows. It is determined that the 902 is not pushed in (new state).

(6-3) Display Control of Replenishment Amount Information During Toner Replenishment Next, the panel 400 when toner is replenished using one of the toner bottle units 991 to 993 with different capacities (FIGS. 14 and 24). will be described.

During a period in which toner is not replenished, the control section 90 of the image forming apparatus 1 changes the display on the panel 400 based on the detection result of the toner remaining amount detection means 51 (FIG. 19). Each scale corresponds to the amount of toner for one small-capacity toner bottle unit 991, that is, the amount of toner for 1000 printed sheets. In other words, when the image forming apparatus 1 repeats the image forming operation without replenishing the toner, the lit scale on the panel 400 is extinguished every time image formation is performed on approximately 1000 sheets of recording material.

For example, the state of FIG. 24B, in which one scale is lit, means that there is a free space for replenishing three bottles of toner (for 3,000 printed sheets) in the small-capacity toner bottle unit 991. represents In other words, it indicates that the small-capacity toner bottle unit 991 has already been replenished with toner for one bottle (for 1000 printed sheets). The state in FIG. 24C, in which two scales are lit, indicates that the toner bottle unit 991 with a small capacity has an empty capacity for replenishing two bottles of toner (for 2,000 printed sheets). . In other words, it indicates that two small-capacity toner bottle units 991 or one medium-capacity toner bottle unit 992 (2000 printed sheets) have already been replenished. The state in FIG. 24D, in which all the scales are lit, represents a state in which toner cannot be replenished using any toner bottle unit (the remaining amount of toner is at the Full level). In other words, it indicates that 4, 2, and 1 bottles (4000 printed sheets) of toner have already been supplied to the small, medium, and large capacity toner bottle units, respectively. Further, when the remaining amount of toner in the developing container 32 is at the Low level, the controller 90 turns off the top three scales and blinks the bottom scale, as shown in FIG. 24(a). The state of FIG. 24(a) indicates that the small-capacity toner bottle unit 991 has an empty capacity capable of replenishing four bottles of toner (for 4000 printed sheets). As described above, in the present embodiment, “the number of scales in the off state or blinking state” corresponds to replenishment amount information indicating the amount of toner that has already been replenished or can be replenished to the developing container 32 .

The operation during toner replenishment will be described with reference to FIG. In the procedure of this flowchart, S501, S508, S511, S519 and S520 represent operations performed by the user. Other steps are realized by executing a program read from the nonvolatile memory 93 by the CPU 91 ( FIG. 19 ) provided in the control section 90 of the image forming apparatus 1 .

First, the user opens the opening/closing member 83 (FIG. 4(c)) and mounts one of the small capacity, medium capacity and large capacity toner bottle units 991, 992 and 993 in the replenishment container mounting portion 701 (S501). . Since the T memory 57 is thereby connected to the control unit 90, the control unit 90 communicates with the T memory 57 and acquires the new product flag and capacity information stored in the T memory 57 (S502). Furthermore, the control unit 90 communicates with the P memory 58 to acquire the free space information of the developer container 32 stored in the P memory 58 (S503). The control unit 90 updates the free space information of the developing container 32 in the P memory 58 at any time based on the detection result of the toner remaining amount detection means 51 .

The controller 90 determines whether or not the toner bottle units 991 to 993 currently attached to the replenishment container attachment portion 701 are new based on the value of the new flag obtained from the T memory 57 (S504). Further, the control unit 90 compares the capacity information of the toner bottle units 991 to 993 acquired from the T memory 57 with the free space information of the P memory 58, and determines whether or not the developer container 32 has sufficient free space. It judges (S505). That is, when the free space of the developer container 32 is larger than the capacity of the toner bottle units 991 to 993 currently attached to the supply container mounting portion 701, it is determined that the developer container 32 has sufficient free space.

If the currently installed toner bottle units 991 to 993 are new and the developer container 32 has sufficient free space, the controller 90 operates the rotation lock mechanism 59 to unlock the replenishment port shutter 7013. (S506, see FIG. 11A).

On the other hand, if the currently attached toner bottle units 991 to 993 are not new, the controller 90 maintains the lock state of the supply port shutter 7013 (S507, see FIG. 11B). Even if the developer container 32 does not have sufficient free space, the control unit 90 maintains the locked state of the supply port shutter 7013 (S507, see FIG. 11B). Note that if the supply port shutter 7013 is not unlocked, the user cannot rotate the toner bottle units 991 to 993, so that the steps S506 to S519 do not proceed. In this case, the user pulls out the toner bottle units 991 to 993 to end the procedure (S520), and the image forming apparatus 1 returns to the state before the toner supply operation.

When the supply port shutter 7013 is unlocked (S506), the user rotates the toner bottle units 991 to 993 by 180 degrees (S508). Then, the rotation detecting means 55 detects that the supply port shutter 7013 has rotated by 180° (S509), and based on this, the control section 90 locks the rotation lock mechanism 59 (S510). As a result, the outlets of the toner bottle units 991 to 993 attached to the replenishment container attachment portion 701 are maintained in communication with the replenishment port 8012 without accepting the rotation operation of the toner bottle units 991 to 993 by the user. .

When the user pushes the pistons 902 of the toner bottle units 991 to 993 to discharge the toner (S511), the pushing detection means 56 detects that the pistons 902 have been pushed (S512). That is, in this configuration example, the push detection means 56 is used as a discharge detection means for detecting the completion of discharge of the toner from the replenishment container. When the completion of toner discharge is detected, the controller 90 lights at least one of the unlit scales on the panel 400 to notify the user that the toner has been replenished.

Here, the control unit 90 changes the increment displayed on the scale of the panel 400 according to which of the toner bottle units 991 to 993 with different capacities is supplied with toner ( S513-S516).

For example, assume that the toner is replenished in the state shown in FIG. In this case, if the capacity information representing the small-capacity toner bottle unit 991 has been acquired in S502, the controller 90 lights up one scale on the panel 400 to bring the state of FIG. 24B (S514). . If the capacity information representing the medium capacity toner bottle unit 992 has been acquired in S502, two scales on the panel 400 are lit to enter the state of FIG. 24C (S515). If the capacity information representing the large-capacity toner bottle unit 993 has been acquired in S502, the four scales on the panel 400 are lit to bring about the state of FIG. 24(d) (S516).

Further, for example, assume that toner replenishment is performed in the state shown in FIG. In this case, if the capacity information representing the small-capacity toner bottle unit 991 has been acquired in S502, the controller 90 lights up one scale on the panel 400 to bring the state of FIG. 24C (S514). . If the capacity information representing the medium capacity toner bottle unit 992 has been acquired in S502, two scales on the panel 400 are lit, and a total of three scales are lit (S515). Note that if the capacity information indicating the large-capacity toner bottle unit 993 has been acquired in S502, the lock of the rotation lock mechanism 59 is maintained in S505 and toner replenishment is not performed, so S516 is not executed. .

As described above, the unit for increasing or decreasing the scale on the display means of the present embodiment corresponds to the capacity of the supply container (first supply container) having the smallest capacity among the plurality of types of supply containers. That is, when the toner is replenished using the first replenishment container (for example, the small-capacity toner bottle unit 991) having the smallest capacity among the plurality of types of replenishment containers, the scale of the display unit changes by one step. . When toner is replenished using a second replenishment container having a larger capacity than the first replenishment container (for example, medium-capacity toner bottle unit 992) among a plurality of types of replenishment containers, a plurality of scales are displayed on the display means. step change.

After changing the display on the panel 400, the controller 90 records in the T memory 57 that the toner pack has been used (S517), and releases the rotation lock mechanism 59 (S518). The user rotates the toner bottle units 991 to 993 by 180° (S519), and removes the toner bottle units 991 to 993 from the supply container mounting portion 701 (S520). As a result, the procedure for supplying toner to the image forming apparatus 1 is completed.

Although the toner supply procedure using the toner bottle units 991 to 993 has been described here, even when using other supply containers such as the toner pack 40, the toner supply is basically performed in the same procedure. 400 display is changed. For example, in the case of an image forming system that can use three types of toner packs of small capacity, medium capacity, and large capacity, the above display control of the panel 400 can be applied as it is.

However, in the case of a toner pack, since the piston is not pushed in, the completion of toner discharge is detected by other discharge detection means instead of the procedures of S511 and S512 in FIG. Specifically, there is a method of determining completion of discharge when a predetermined time has passed since the rotation of the toner bottle was detected in S509. Further, for example, after the rotation of the toner bottle is detected in S509, a button for notifying that the toner discharge is completed is displayed on the operation unit 300, and the toner discharge is completed based on the user pressing the button. There is

As described above, in the present embodiment, in a configuration in which a plurality of types of replenishment containers containing different amounts of toner can be used, when replenishing toner, the panel 400 and the like are displayed according to the type of replenishment container used for the current toner replenishment. determines the replenishment amount information to be displayed on the display means. As a result, the user can quickly confirm changes in the amount of toner replenished or replenishable to the developing container 32 based on the display contents on the panel 400 or the like, which leads to improved convenience.

In particular, in the above configuration example, by using the panel 400 having a scale that changes stepwise according to the amount of remaining toner, the amount of toner that has been replenished or that can be replenished to the developing container 32 is visually displayed. there is As a result, the user can be notified of the type and number of replenishment containers that can replenish toner without exceeding the capacity of the developing container 32 in an intuitively understandable form. In this case, as described in the configuration example above, it is preferable to increase the number of scales to be lit after toner replenishment as the amount of toner stored in the replenishment container increases.

Further, in the present embodiment, when the completion of toner discharge from the supply container is detected by the discharge detection means, the display means displays the result regardless of the detection result of the remaining toner amount detection means arranged in the developing container 32 . Change the replenishment amount information. Therefore, the time from when the user performs an operation to discharge the toner from the replenishment container to when the result is reflected as a decrease in the replenished or replenishable toner amount indicated by the replenishment amount information on the display means is shortened. Convenience can be further improved. For example, the timing at which the scale on the panel 400 increases in this embodiment does not depend on whether or not the toner transport by the transport members (8013 to 8015, see FIG. 6) of the toner receiving unit 801 is completed.

However, it is also possible to use a configuration other than the panel 400 as display means for displaying replenishment amount information indicating the amount of toner replenished or replenishable to the developing container 32 . For example, in the display unit 301 of the operation unit 300, in a configuration in which the type and number of toner replenishment containers that can be replenished are displayed as images or numerical values, when toner replenishment is performed, the replenishment used for the current toner replenishment is displayed. It is conceivable to change the display content according to the type of container.

In addition, although FIG. 23 shows an example of the circuit configuration of the pushing detection mechanism of the toner bottle unit, other circuit configurations may be used. In this circuit configuration, the same metal plate 9111 is used as the contact connected to the memory tag 911 and the contact of the depression detection mechanism, but these contacts may be independent as shown in FIG. In this circuit configuration, the memory tag 911 is connected to metal plates 9111 and 9112 , the first contact plate 908 of the depression detection mechanism is connected to metal plate 9114 , and the second contact plate 909 is connected to metal plate 9113 . In this case as well, the controller 90 accesses the memory tag 911 through the metal plates 9111 and 9112 while the toner bottle unit is attached to the replenishment container attachment portion 701, and also controls the electrical connection between the metal plates 9113 and 9114. Pushing of the piston can be detected from the presence or absence of

<Second embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment will be described. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the manner in which the capacity identifies the type of replenishment container. Other elements having the same configurations and actions as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the first embodiment, and descriptions thereof are omitted.

(capacitance detection using a resistor)
This embodiment will also be described using small-capacity, medium-capacity, and large-capacity toner bottle units 991, 992, and 993 shown in FIG. However, in this embodiment, a resistor 912 as shown in FIG. 27 is used as storage means instead of the memory tag, which is a storage medium for storing electronic information.

A plurality of types of resistors 912 having different resistance values are prepared, and the types of resistors corresponding to the types of the toner bottle units 991 to 993 are mounted respectively. Specifically, a resistor 912 having a resistance value Ra is attached to a small-capacity toner bottle unit 991 containing toner for 1000 printed sheets. A resistor 912 having a resistance value of 2Ra is attached to a medium-capacity toner bottle unit 992 containing toner for 2000 printed sheets. A large-capacity toner bottle unit 993 containing toner for 4000 printed sheets is equipped with a resistor 912 having a resistance value of 4Ra. In either case, the resistor 912 is connected to the metal plates 9111 and 9112 of the contact portion 911a.

In this way, the resistor 912, which is the storage means of this embodiment, holds information (capacity information) on the type of replenishment container as a resistance value. That is, the resistance value Ra represents capacity information corresponding to the amount of toner for 1000 sheets, the resistance value 2Ra represents capacity information corresponding to the amount of toner for 2000 sheets, and the resistance value 4Ra represents the amount of toner for 4000 sheets. It represents the capacity information to be used.

The control section 90 of the image forming apparatus can confirm the resistance value of the resistor 712 by applying a voltage to the resistor 712 via the contact section 70133 provided in the supply container mounting section 701 . That is, voltage is applied to the metal plate 9112 via the contact 91120 of the contact portion 70133 . However, the voltage applied to the metal plate 9112 is obtained by dividing the resistance of the resistance value Ra and the voltage Vcc, and the contact 91110 in contact with the other metal plate 9111 is grounded. The control unit 90 checks the resistance value of the resistor 712 by acquiring the voltage value on the resistor 912 side via the A/D conversion unit 95 .

Here, the operation of the depression detection means 56 (FIG. 19) will also be described with reference to FIG. The structure of the pushing detection mechanism in the toner bottle unit is the same as that described in the first embodiment. That is, the first contact plate 908 is connected to the metal plate 9111 of the contact portion 911a, and the second contact plate 909 is connected to another metal plate 9113 of the contact portion 911a. When the piston 902 is pushed, the push detection rod 907 slides in conjunction with the piston 902, and the contact release portion 9072 of the push detection rod 907 disconnects the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909. (See also FIGS. 16(a)-(d)). Also, the contact 91130 of the contact portion 70133 is connected to the second contact plate 909 via the metal plate 9113 , and the contact 91110 is connected to the first contact plate 908 via the metal plate 9111 . However, in FIG. 27, the switch mechanism consisting of the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 is illustrated as an equivalent circuit symbol that is turned on/off by the push detection rod 907 .

The control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus monitors whether or not the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are electrically connected via the contact portion 70133 provided in the replenishment container mounting portion 701, thereby allowing the piston 902 to be pushed in. can be detected. That is, when the toner bottle unit is attached to the supply container attachment portion 701 and the piston 902 is not pushed in, the contact 91130 is grounded through the conductive first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909. be. Therefore, the voltage value detected by the CPU 91 is 0 [V]. On the other hand, when the piston 902 is pushed in, the electrical connection between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 is cut, so the voltage value detected by the CPU 91 changes to Vcc [V]. Based on such a change in voltage value, the control unit 90 determines whether the piston has been pushed.

(panel)
The panel 400 in this embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 29, the panel 400 is provided on the front surface of the housing of the printer main body. The panel 400 is another example of display means for displaying replenishment amount information indicating the amount of toner replenished or replenishable to the developing container. In this embodiment, an indicator 402 in which two scales 4021 and 4022 are arranged vertically is used as the panel 400 . The panel 400 indicates the amount of toner supplied or replenishable to the developer container 32 by displaying scales 4021 and 4022 that change in steps.

As shown in FIG. 30A, when all the scales 4021 and 4022 are off, it indicates that the remaining amount of toner in the developing container 32 is at Low level. As shown in FIG. 30B, when only the lowermost scale 4014 is blinking, it indicates that the remaining amount of toner in the developing container 32 is at the first level, which is higher than the Low level. In other words, it indicates that the small-capacity toner bottle unit 991 has already been replenished with toner for one bottle (for 1000 printed sheets).

As shown in FIG. 30(c), when only the lowermost scale 4022 is illuminated, it indicates that the remaining amount of toner in the developing container 32 is at the second level, which is higher than the first level. In other words, it indicates that two small-capacity toner bottle units 991 or one medium-capacity toner bottle unit 992 (2000 printed sheets) have already been replenished. As shown in FIG. 30(d), when all the scales 4021 and 4022 are illuminated, it indicates that the toner remaining amount in the developing container 32 is at the Full level, which is higher than the second level. In this state, since there is no extinguished scale, it can be seen that toner cannot be replenished from the toner pack 40, for example. In other words, it indicates that 4, 2, and 1 bottles (4000 printed sheets) of toner have already been supplied to the small, medium, and large capacity toner bottle units, respectively. Thus, in this embodiment, the number of scales in the off state and the number of scales in the blinking state correspond to replenishment amount information indicating the amount of toner replenished or replenishable to the developer container 32 .

(Display control of replenishment amount information when replenishing toner)
Next, control of panel 400 when toner is replenished using toner bottle units 991 to 993 having different capacities will be described. Hereinafter, in this section, as shown in FIG. 24, a panel 400 capable of displaying a scale in four stages is used.

The operation for replenishing the toner bottle will be described with reference to FIG. In this flowchart, steps other than user operations S601, S608, S611, S619, and S620 are performed by the CPU 91 (FIG. 19) provided in the control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus 1 executing a program read from the nonvolatile memory 93. It is realized by

First, the user opens the opening/closing member 83 (FIG. 4(c)) and mounts one of the small-capacity, medium-capacity, and large-capacity toner bottle units 991 to 993 in the supply container mounting portion 701 (S601). As a result, the resistor 912 is connected to the controller 90, so that the controller 90 obtains a voltage value from the circuit including the resistor 912 via the A/D converter 95, and controls the toner bottle based on the obtained voltage value. Acquire the capacity information of the units 991 to 993 (S602). Specifically, when the voltage value acquired by the A/D conversion unit 95 in FIG. I judge. When the voltage value is Vcc×2Ra/(2Ra+Rb), the controller 90 determines that the capacity information is the toner amount for 2000 printed sheets. If the voltage value is Vcc×4Ra/(4Ra+Rb), it is determined that the capacity information is the toner amount for 4000 printed sheets. Furthermore, the control unit 90 communicates with the P memory 58 to acquire the free space information of the developer container 32 stored in the P memory 58 (S603).

The controller 90 compares the capacity information of the toner bottle units 991 to 993 determined based on the resistance value of the resistor 912 with the free space information of the P memory 58 to determine whether the developing container 32 has sufficient free space. It is determined whether or not (S605). That is, when the free space of the developer container 32 is larger than the capacity of the toner bottle units 991 to 993 currently attached to the supply container mounting portion 701, it is determined that the developer container 32 has sufficient free space.

If the developer container 32 has sufficient free space, the controller 90 operates the rotation lock mechanism 59 to unlock the supply port shutter 7013 (S606, see FIG. 11A). On the other hand, if the developer container 32 does not have sufficient free space, the control unit 90 maintains the locked state of the supply port shutter 7013 (S607, see FIG. 11B). If the replenishment port shutter 7013 is not unlocked, the user cannot rotate the toner bottle units 991 to 993, so the steps S606 to S619 do not proceed. In this case, the user pulls out the toner bottle units 991 to 993 to end the procedure (S620), and the image forming apparatus 1 returns to the state before the toner supply operation.

Between S603 and S605, a step of confirming that the piston 902 of each of the toner bottle units 991 to 993 is not pushed by the pushing detection means 56 may be provided. At this time, when the toner bottle unit is in a state before the piston is pushed in (when the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are electrically connected), it is determined that the toner bottle unit is new, and the process proceeds to S605. shall proceed. Further, when the toner bottle unit is in the state after the piston is pushed in (when the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are disconnected), it is determined that the toner bottle unit has been used. It is assumed that the process proceeds to S607.

When the supply port shutter 7013 is unlocked (S606), the user rotates the toner bottle units 991 to 993 by 180 degrees (S608). Then, the rotation detection means 55 detects that the supply port shutter 7013 has rotated 180° (S609), and based on this, the control section 90 locks the rotation lock mechanism 59 (S610). As a result, the outlets of the toner bottle units 991 to 993 attached to the replenishment container attachment portion 701 are maintained in communication with the replenishment port 8012 without accepting the rotation operation of the toner bottle units 991 to 993 by the user. .

When the user pushes the pistons 902 of the toner bottle units 991 to 993 to discharge the toner (S611), the pushing detection means 56 detects that the pistons 902 have been pushed (S612). That is, in this configuration example, the completion of toner discharge from the replenishment container is determined based on the detection result of the pushing detection means. When the completion of toner discharge is detected, the controller 90 lights at least one of the unlit scales on the panel 400 to notify the user that the toner has been replenished.

Here, the control unit 90 changes the increment displayed on the scale of the panel 400 according to which of the toner bottle units 991 to 993 with different capacities is supplied with toner ( S613-S616). In S614 to S616, increasing the remaining amount of toner represented by the scale display on the panel 400 is described as an increase in display level ("+1", "+2", etc.).

For example, assume that the toner is replenished in the state shown in FIG. In this case, if the capacity information indicating the small capacity toner bottle unit 991 has been acquired in S602, the control unit 90 blinks the scale of the panel 400 by one to enter the state of FIG. 30B (S614). . If the capacity information representing the medium capacity toner bottle unit 992 has been acquired in S602, one scale on the panel 400 is lit to bring the state of FIG. 30C (S615). If the capacity information indicating the large-capacity toner bottle unit 993 has been acquired in S602, the two scales on the panel 400 are lit to bring the state of FIG. 30(d) (S616).

Further, for example, assume that the toner is replenished in the state shown in FIG. In this case, if the capacity information representing the small capacity toner bottle unit 991 has been acquired in S602, the controller 90 changes the scale at the bottom of the panel 400 from the blinking state to the lighting state, and changes the state of the scale shown in FIG. state (S614). If the capacity information representing the medium capacity toner bottle unit 992 has been acquired in S602, the lower scale of the panel 400 is lit and the upper scale is blinked (S615). It should be noted that if the capacity information representing the large-capacity toner bottle unit 993 has been acquired in S602, the rotation lock mechanism 59 is kept locked in S605 and toner replenishment is not performed, so S616 is not executed. .

After changing the display on the panel 400, the controller 90 releases the rotation lock mechanism 59 (S618). The user rotates the toner bottle units 991 to 993 by 180° (S619), and removes the toner bottle units 991 to 993 from the supply container mounting portion 701 (S620). As a result, the procedure for supplying toner to the image forming apparatus 1 is completed.

Although the toner supply procedure using the toner bottle units 991 to 993 has been described here, even when using other supply containers such as the toner pack 40, the toner supply is basically performed in the same procedure. 400 display is changed. For example, in the case of an image forming system that can use three types of toner packs of small capacity, medium capacity, and large capacity, the above display control of the panel 400 can be applied as it is.

However, in the case of a toner pack, since the piston is not pushed in, instead of the steps S611 and S612 in FIG. Detecting completion of discharge is the same as in the first embodiment.

As described above, in the present embodiment as well, in a configuration in which a plurality of types of replenishment containers containing different amounts of toner can be used, when toner is replenished, the panel 400 is displayed according to the type of replenishment container used for the current toner replenishment. Change the display on the display means such as. At this time, the display on the display means is changed based on the capacity information acquired by the acquisition means, regardless of the detection result of the remaining toner amount detection means arranged in the developing container 32 . As a result, the user can quickly confirm changes in the amount of toner replenished or replenishable to the developing container 32 based on the display contents on the panel 400 or the like, which leads to improved convenience.

In addition, the panel 400 of the present embodiment is composed of two scales, which are smaller than the number of types of replenishment containers. there is

<Third Embodiment>
Still another configuration example of the panel will be described as a third embodiment. The panel 400 of this embodiment is provided on the front surface of the housing of the printer main body 100, as shown in FIGS. A panel 400, which is an example of display means for displaying replenishment amount information indicating the amount of toner replenished or replenishable to the developing container, is a liquid crystal panel including a plurality of scales (indicators). In this embodiment, three scales 4001, 4002, and 4003 are arranged from top to bottom in the vertical direction. The panel 400 indicates the amount of toner supplied or replenishable to the developer container 32 by displaying scales 4001 to 4003 that change in stages. The lowermost scale 4003 also indicates whether the toner in the developing container 32 is at Low level or Out level.

In the configuration example of the illustrated panel 400, when the three scales 4001, 4002, and 4003 are all turned off, it indicates that the toner in the developing container 32 is at the Out level (fourth state).

As shown in FIG. 31A, when only the lower scale 4003 is illuminated, it indicates that the remaining amount of toner in the developing container 32 is at Low level. In this state, two scales are off, so that it can be seen that, for example, two toner packs 40 with a small capacity can be replenished with toner (third state). Also, since the "+1" and "+2" number panels adjacent to the scale are illuminated, it can be seen that the small-capacity toner pack 40 can supply two bottles of toner.

As shown in FIG. 31B, when the lower and middle scales 4002 and 4003 are illuminated and the upper scale 4001 is extinguished, the remaining amount of toner in the developing container 32 is greater than the Low level and the Full level. Indicates a level less than (full tank). In this state, since one scale is off, it can be seen that, for example, one bottle of toner can be replenished with a small-capacity toner pack 40 (second state). In addition, since the "+1" number panel adjacent to the scale is lit and the "+2" number panel is not lit, it is possible to replenish one bottle of toner with the small-capacity toner pack 40. I understand.

As shown in FIG. 31C, when all three scales 4001 to 4003 are illuminated, it indicates that the remaining amount of toner in the developing container 32 is at Full level. In this state, since there is no extinguished scale, it can be seen that, for example, toner cannot be supplied from the toner pack 40 (first state). Further, it can be seen that the toner cannot be replenished from the toner pack 40 because the "+1" and "+2" number panels adjacent to the scale are off. Thus, in the present embodiment, the "number of scales in the off state" and the "number indicated by the number panel in the lit state" are replenishment amount information indicating the amount of toner replenished or replenishable to the developing container 32. corresponds to

In this embodiment, for example, it is preferable to use a small-capacity toner pack 40 and a medium-capacity toner pack 40 (or a small-capacity toner bottle unit 991 and a medium-capacity toner bottle unit 992). In this case, when toner for 1,000 printed sheets is supplied from the small-capacity toner pack 40 in the state shown in FIG. 31(a), the display on the panel 400 changes to the state shown in FIG. 31(b). In the state shown in FIG. 31(a), when the medium-capacity toner pack 40 is replenished with toner for 2000 printed sheets, the display on the panel 400 changes to the state shown in FIG. 31(c).

Such control of the display of replenishment amount information is based on capacity information acquired by the controller 90 from the T memory 57 attached to the toner pack 40 or the toner bottle units 991 and 992 by applying the first embodiment. done based on As a result, in a configuration in which a plurality of types of replenishment containers containing different amounts of toner can be used, the type of replenishment container used for the current toner replenishment is displayed on the display means such as the panel 400 when replenishing toner. can be changed.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention supplies a program that implements one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in the computer of the system or device reads and executes the program. It can also be realized by processing to It can also be implemented by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that implements one or more functions.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 image forming apparatus/21 image carrier (photosensitive drum)/31 developing means (developing roller)/32 developing container/34 stirring member/40, 900, 991, 992, 993 supply container (toner pack , toner bottle unit)/51 --- Remaining amount of toner detecting means/56 --- Ejection detecting means (pressing-in detecting means)/90 --- Control means (control section)/400 --- Display means (panel)/45, 911 --- Storage medium (memory) Unit) / 912 Resistor / 8012 Supply port / 8013, 8014, 8015 Conveying member (first conveying member, second conveying member, third conveying member) / 70133 Acquisition means (contact portion)

Claims (10)

In an image forming apparatus in which a replenishment container containing toner is detachable and which forms an image on a recording material,
an image carrier;
a developer container containing toner;
developing means for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the image carrier into a toner image using the toner contained in the developing container;
A replenishing port for replenishing toner from the replenishing container outside the image forming apparatus to the developing container by mounting the replenishing container, the replenishing container having a plurality of types of replenishing containers filled with different amounts of toner. a supply port to which the
display means for displaying replenishment amount information indicating the amount of toner replenished or replenishable to the developing container;
Acquisition means for acquiring information on the supply container connected to the supply port;
so that when toner is replenished to the developing container, the toner amount indicated by the replenishment amount information in a state after toner replenishment changes according to the type of the replenishment container used for toner replenishment; a control means for determining the replenishment amount information to be displayed on the display means based on the information acquired by the acquisition means;
An image forming apparatus characterized by: The display means is configured to display the replenishment amount information with a scale that changes in steps,
The control means determines, based on the information acquired by the acquisition means, the number of scales to be changed when the developer container is replenished with toner.
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The display means is capable of controlling the luminous state of each scale, and is configured such that the greater the amount of toner replenished or replenishable to the developer container, the greater the number of scales in the extinguished state.
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: When toner is replenished using a first replenishment container having the smallest capacity among the plurality of types of replenishment containers, the control means changes the scale of the display means by one step to display the plurality of types of replenishment containers. when toner is replenished using a second replenishment container having a larger capacity than the first replenishment container among the replenishment containers of 1, the scale of the display means is changed in a plurality of steps;
4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: discharge detection means for detecting completion of discharge of toner from the replenishment container connected to the replenishment port;
a toner remaining amount detecting means for detecting the toner remaining amount in the developing container,
When the discharge detection means detects completion of toner discharge from the replenishment container, the control means controls the toner based on the information acquired through the acquisition means regardless of the detection result of the remaining toner amount detection means. determining the supply amount information to be displayed on the display means;
5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: The supply container is configured to discharge toner by pushing a piston,
The ejection detection means detects a pushing action of the piston,
6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein: The replenishment container has a discharge port for discharging toner and a shutter member for sealing the discharge port. is configured as
The discharge detection means detects the completion of discharging the toner from the supply container based on the elapsed time from the time when the operation of rotating the supply container is performed.
6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein: a stirring member that agitates the toner in the developing container and supplies the toner to the developing means;
When the toner is replenished from the replenishment container, the toner received from the replenishment container through the replenishment port is conveyed toward the space in the developing container where the developing means and the stirring member are arranged. a conveying member;
When the discharge detection means detects the completion of toner discharge, the replenishment is displayed on the display means based on the information acquired by the acquisition means regardless of whether or not the toner transportation by the transportation member is completed. determine quantity information,
8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, wherein: the acquisition means includes a contact portion that is electrically connected to a storage medium attached to the replenishment container when the replenishment container is connected to the replenishment port;
The control means determines the capacity of the supply container based on the information read from the storage medium via the contact portion.
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized by: The acquisition means includes a contact portion electrically connected to a resistor attached to the replenishment container when the replenishment container is connected to the replenishment port,
The control means determines the capacity of the supply container based on the resistance value of the resistor obtained through the contact portion.
The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized by:

Images