JPH01237672A - Image forming device provided with process cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To set a developing device to a user state without troubling a user by providing an unsealing means for unsealing a seal by interlocking with a driving member. CONSTITUTION:When a user installs a process cartridge C in a body 20, a projection 3 abuts on a stopper 7 of the body 20 side. When the process cartridge C is further pushed into the body 20 from this state, movement of the projection 3 is stopped by the stopper 7 and a peeling rod 3' is stopped, therefore, a toner seal 1 is peeled off successively from an opening part 6a edge of a toner container 6 and a toner 2 is moved from the toner container 6 to a developing container 17 by gravity, and the process cartridge C becomes a usable state before it becomes an installed state to the body 20. Also, simultaneously, the toner seal 1 after unsealing and the peeling rod 3' go into a root of a spring 15 and the return is prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] "Industrial Application Field" The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus equipped with a process cartridge having at least a toner container and a developing means.

"Prior art" Conventional process car 1- In IJ Tsuji, when using an unused cartridge, the user has to apply a sticker that covers the toner supply port of the toner container to seal the toner inside the toner container. After performing operations such as pulling it out or winding it up, I started using it.

"Problem to be Solved by the Invention" As shown in the above conventional example, the user of the image forming apparatus has to perform a cumbersome operation before use, and the sticker has to be pulled out or rolled up. Contamination caused by toner becomes a problem, and there is also the problem that the unopened seal is accidentally transferred to the main body of the image forming apparatus (process car). Ta.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems and to provide an image forming apparatus equipped with a process cartridge that enables a developing device to be put into use without the user's intervention. do.

"Means for Solving the Problems" The present invention includes at least a toner container and a developing means, the toner supply port of the toner container is sealed with a seal, and the toner is supplied to the developing means connected to the toner container before use. In an image forming apparatus equipped with a process cartridge which is prevented from moving, the process cartridge is made movable by applying a force in the direction of insertion of the cartridge to both sides of the cartridge that intersect with the direction of insertion into the main body of the image forming apparatus. The present invention is an image forming apparatus equipped with a process cartridge, characterized in that the image forming apparatus includes a driving member that opens the seal, and an unsealing means that opens the seal in conjunction with the driving member.

"Example" Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a partially sectional front view of the process cartridge. The photosensitive drum 4 and the developing sleeve 5 are rotatably supported by a process cartridge, and when the process cartridge is installed in the main body of an image forming apparatus (not shown), they are connected to a driving side member of the main body and driven. It looks like this. Around the photosensitive drum 4, there is a primary charger 10, a window 24 for introducing the original image 23 sent from the optical system, a developing sleeve 5 in the developing container 17, and a toner container 6 inserted into the developing container 17 through the seal 1. A cleaner container 11 including a developing device 25 and a cleaner 11& which are arranged in series is provided. When the process cartridge is installed in the main body of the image forming apparatus, the drum shutter 13 provided in the process cartridge opens and the transfer charger 26 provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus is placed in a position where it acts on the photosensitive drum 4. Toner 2 is transferred to the developer container 17 from the toner container 6 as described later when the process cartridge C is started to be used.

When the photoreceptor drum 4 is rotated in the direction of the arrow shown in the figure, the outer circumference of the photoreceptor drum 4 is uniformly charged by the primary charger 10, and the document image 2S entering through the window 24 is transferred to the photoreceptor drum 4.
to form a latent image. When the photoreceptor drum 4 further rotates, the toner in the developer container 17 is sent out toward the photoreceptor drum 4 by the developer sleeve 5, and the latent image becomes a toner image. The toner image is transferred by the transfer charger 26 to a transfer material fed through a paper feed path 27 of the main body of the image forming apparatus, and the transfer material separated from the photosensitive drum 4 by a separating means (not shown) is transferred to the main body side of the image forming apparatus. The image is sent to a fixing device (not shown) through the feeding path 28, fixed, and sent out of the machine. After the transfer, the photoreceptor drum 4 is further rotated and cleaned by the cleaner 11a.
The remaining toner is removed.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, the toner 2 contained in a toner container 6 connected to a developer container 17 is sealed by a toner seal 1 made of, for example, a polyurethane sheet several tens of μm thick. One end of the toner seal 1 is attached to the upper edge of the opening 6a of the toner container 6 with an adhesive 14, and the portion of the toner seal 1 that continues to the above-mentioned end is attached to both left and right edges and the lower edge of the opening 6a. The toner seal 1 attached and folded back at the lower edge of the opening 6a is overlapped with the portion covering the opening 6a, and is overlapped with the upper corner 6b of the toner container 6, the cover 9 of the process cartridge C, and the top plate of the toner container 6. 6
A peeling rod 3 movable in the direction of arrow A in the figure between C and
The toner seal 1 is wound around a semicircular first class I, and the other end is fixed to a portion A of the developer container 17, and the toner seal 1 is combined with an opening device. A fixed spring 15, which is a plate spring whose one end is fixed to the cover 9, is provided at the movement limit position of the peeling rod 3°. The leak prevention member 12 fixed to the developer container 17 is made of a material with excellent elasticity, such as polyurethane foam or Moltoprene, and presses the toner seal 1 toward the toner container 6.

As shown in FIG. 4, the peeling rod 3° extends in both directions from the toner container 6, and as shown in FIG. Insert the long hole guide rail a parallel to 6C and attach the cover 9.
It protrudes from the side plate 9a of the toner seal 1, and its end portion serves as a protrusion 6 serving as a driving member of an opening device for the toner seal 1.

A stopper for moving the protrusion 3 within the guide rail 8 by hitting the protrusion 3 and stopping the protrusion 3 when the process cartridge is inserted into the main body 20 of the image forming apparatus from the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. The main body 20 includes 7.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the user attaches the process cartridge C to the main body 20, the protrusion 3 comes into contact with the stopper 7 on the main body 20 side (FIG. 6).

When the process cart 'ridge C is further pushed into the main body 20 from this state, the movement of the protrusion 3 is stopped by the stopper 7 and the peeling rod 6' is stopped, so the protrusion 3 is moved to the guide rail 8 as shown in FIG. On the other hand, since it moves in the direction of the arrow opening, the peeling rod 3I moves in the direction of arrow A in FIG. As a result, the toner seal 1 is sequentially peeled off from the edge of the opening 6a of the toner container 6 (FIG. 2), and the toner 2 moves by gravity from the toner container 6 to the developer container 17, and is attached to the main body 2o in FIG. By this time, the process cartridge C is ready for use. Moreover, at the same time, the toner seal 1 and the peeling rod 31 after being opened resist the spring force of the fixed spring 15 and touch the tip of the spring 15 and the top plate 6.
The peeling rod 5+ expands between C and enters the base of the spring 15.
, the toner seal 1 is prevented from returning.

"Other Embodiments" FIGS. 8 and 9 are modifications of the first embodiment. These embodiments have protrusions 6 protruding from both ends of the peeling rod 3° through the guide rails 8 of the cover 9 so as to come into contact with the stopper 7 of the main body 20, and the opening 6 of the toner container 6.
The method of sealing the toner seal a is the same as in the first embodiment, but in FIG. corner 6b
It is fixed to part B of the top plate 6c immediately adjacent to the top plate 6c. Even in this case, the toner seal 1 is opened in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 9, the end of the toner seal 1 is directly fixed to a peeling rod 6'', thereby opening the toner seal 1 in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

10 to 15 show the second embodiment. The toner 2 in the toner container 6 shown in FIG. 10 is sealed by a toner seal 1 attached to the edge of the opening 6a. The cutter 19 has a shaft 21 that slides into a hole (not shown) provided in the process cartridge.
, and is rotatable around an axis 21. Further, the cutter 19 is provided with a protrusion 3, and as the cutter 19 rotates, the protrusion 3 is movable within an arc-shaped elongated hole 22 centered on a shaft 21 formed in the developer container 17 and the cover 9. and protrudes from the side surface of the cover 9. As shown in FIG. 15, between the elongated hole 22 of the developer container 17 and the cutter 19, there is a leak prevention material 18 made of an elastic member such as felt, which prevents toner from leaking from the elongated hole 22. cutter 19
A cutting blade 19a is attached to the desired side of the toner seal 1 for cutting the toner seal 1 when the cutter 19 moves in the direction of the arrow E in FIG.

As shown in Fig. 12, insert the process cartridge C into the main body 2.
0, since a protrusion 6 protrudes from the IJ screw C in a direction perpendicular to the device direction, this protrusion 3 comes into contact with a stopper 7 provided on the main body 20 side (the first S
figure). At this time, by further pushing the cartridge C into the main body 20, the protrusion 3 moves within the elongated hole 22 to the position shown in FIG. 14. As shown in FIG. 10, the protrusion 3 is fixed to a cutter 19, and the cutter 19 rotates in the direction of FIG. Open it.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The present invention allows the process cartridge to be installed into the main body of the image forming apparatus, which is a process cartridge that is not in use.
This allows the IJ Tsuji to be used, eliminating the need for the user to peel off the sticker, and eliminating the need to touch the sticker with toner on it before or after peeling it off. Process cartridges can be replaced hygienically without contamination.

Further, there is an effect that there is no possibility of misuse due to the device being inserted into the main body unopened.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 are side sectional views of the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the seal portion, and FIGS. 5 and 6. Figure 7 is a perspective view when installed, Figure 8,
Figure 9 is a partial sectional view of a modification of Figure 1;
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the second embodiment, FIGS. 12, 13, and 14 are side views when installed, and FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the protrusion. 1. Self-toner seal 3. Protrusion 31. Peeling rod
6. Toner container 7. Stopper 19. Cutter 20. Main body C. Process cartridge. Patent applicant Canon Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A process cartridge that has at least a toner container and a developing means, and the toner supply port of the toner container is sealed with a seal to prevent the supply of toner to the developing means connected to the toner container before use. In the image forming apparatus, the cartridge is provided with a drive member that is movable by applying a force in the direction of insertion of the cartridge to a plane intersecting the direction of insertion into the main body of the image forming apparatus, An image forming apparatus equipped with a process cartridge, characterized in that the image forming apparatus includes an unsealing means for unsealing the seal in conjunction with the driving member.