JPH02137868A - Color image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To replenish the toner box of each developing device with prescribed toner through such a simple operation that a cartridge is merely pulled out of a device main body by providing the toner supply port of each toner box on the side surface away from the image forming body of each developing device. CONSTITUTION:The body 2 is made separable into upper and lower parts; additionally, the image forming bodies 30, the developing devices 36-38, and a cleaner 39 are fitted to a multicolor processing unit 3A, incorporated in the main body 2 so that it can be loaded on and unloaded from the body 2, in such a way that they are supported with a bearing or attached on and detached from the unit 3A. The toner supply port of each toner box is provided on the side surface away from the image forming body 30 of each developing device. Thus, the toner boxes of the developing device can be replenished with toner from the outside by pulling out the multicolor processing unit 3A forward, and then inserting a toner bottle, filled with replenishing toner, into the toner supply port with the bottle upside down.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a color image forming apparatus using electrophotography, in which toner can be easily replenished to a plurality of developing devices.

[Background of the invention]

Color image forming apparatuses using electrophotography, even in the so-called image overlapping type color image forming method, develop the image using at least three developing units each having developer of three colors: yellow, magenta, and cyan. A method of composing a color image by compositing is used.

Each of these developing units is usually housed in a cartridge together with the image forming body in a stacked state to facilitate inspection and maintenance, as well as the accuracy of image overlay. It has a structure that allows it to be installed and removed.

Therefore, the replenishment toner supplied to each developing device must also be stored in the cartridge, so the housing of each developing device is extended rearward and that portion is used as a toner box that stores the replenishing toner. , a method is adopted in which toner is replenished from the toner box to the developing device side according to the toner consumption accompanying development.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, it is difficult to make the toner box attached to the developing device large due to the capacity of the cartridge, and therefore it is not possible to expect a large amount of toner to be accommodated.

Therefore, if a large number of color copies are to be made continuously, toner must be frequently supplied to the toner box, which is difficult to do due to the structure of the cartridge.

As a result of solving this problem and improving the present invention, it is an object of the present invention to provide a color image forming apparatus that can replenish the toner box of each developing device with a predetermined toner by an extremely simple operation by simply pulling out the cartridge from the main body of the apparatus. This is the purpose.

[Means for solving problems]

The above object is to provide a color image forming apparatus in which a plurality of developing units integrated with a toner box are arranged in parallel on the side edge of an image forming body, in which a toner supply port of the toner box is connected to a side of each developing unit remote from the image forming body. This is achieved by a color image forming device characterized in that it is provided on the side.

[Example] As an example of the present invention, the present applicant disclosed Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 1986-7
A color image forming apparatus using a multicolor image forming method using a toner overlapping development method disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 5850 and the like will be described.

Figure 1 shows the main configuration of a color image forming apparatus. A is an image reading system, B is a laser writing system unit, C is an image forming section, and D is a paper feeding section. An image is now formed.

In the reading system A, 11 is a document table;
The document stored in the holder is illuminated by a halogen lamp 13 attached to a carriage 12 that slides in the horizontal direction. Mirrors 16 and 17 are attached to the movable mirror unit 15, which also slide in the horizontal direction, and in combination with the mirror 14 attached to the carriage 12 guide the optical image of the document to the image reading section 22. do.

The carriage 12 and the movable mirror unit 15 are connected to a stepping motor by wires (both not shown).
, and are slid in the same direction at speeds of V and 1/2V, respectively.

When the image reading unit 22 reads the document placed on the platen glass 11, color separation is performed via the filter 9. The filter 9 includes, for example, filter R1, filter 01, filter B, and filter 7 (Luther ND), and when reading a document, filter R, filter 61, filter B1, filter ND
Reading is performed after passing through one of the following.

Filter R1, Filter G1, Filter B1, and Filter ND are selected by selecting filter 9 first.
This is achieved by moving the filter selection device in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper in the figure.

In addition, filter R1 filter 01 filter B is as follows.
They are filters that pass red light, green light, and blue light, respectively, and filter ND is a neutral filter that passes all three color lights.

The image signal output from the image reading section 22 is subjected to signal processing in a signal processing section. In the Signal Geography Department,
Color signals separated according to the toner colors are output and input to the laser writing system unit B, which is an exposure means.

In the laser writing system unit hB, a laser beam generated by a semiconductor laser (not shown) is rotated and scanned by a polygon mirror 32 rotated by a drive motor 31, passes through an fθ lens 33, and has its optical path bent by a mirror 34. The peripheral surface of the image forming body 30 to which a charge has been applied in advance by a charger 35 serving as a charging means is scanned.

On the other hand, when scanning is started, the beam is detected by the index sensor, modulation of the beam by the first color signal is started, and the modulated beam scans the circumferential surface of the image forming body 30. Therefore, a latent image corresponding to the first color is formed on the circumferential surface of the image forming body 30 by the main scanning by the laser beam and the sub scanning by the rotation of the image forming body 30. This latent image is developed by a developing device 36 loaded with yellow (Y) toner (developing medium) of the developing means, and a toner image is formed on the drum surface. The obtained toner image, while being held on the drum surface, passes under a cleaning device 39, which is a cleaning means, which is separated from the peripheral surface of the image forming body 30, and enters the next copy cycle.

That is, the image forming body 30 is charged again by the charger 35, and then the second color signal output from the signal processing section is input to the writing system unit B, and the second color signal is inputted to the writing system unit B, and the second color signal is inputted to the writing system unit B. Similarly, writing is performed on the drum surface to form a latent image. The latent image is developed by a developer 37 loaded with magenta (M) toner as a second color.

This magenta (M) toner image is formed in the presence of the previously formed yellow (Y) toner image.

A developing device 38 has cyan (C) toner, and forms a cyan (C) toner image on the drum surface based on an image signal generated by a signal processing section. Each of these developing devices 36.
AC and DC biases are applied to the sleeves 37 and 38, and development is performed without contacting the image forming body 30 with a two-component developer serving as a developing means.

The color image thus formed on the circumferential surface of the image forming body 30 is transferred from the paper feed section to the paper feed belt 41. at the transfer pole 40 provided as a transfer means. The image is transferred onto recording paper, which is a recording medium, fed by the feeding roller 42. The recording paper onto which the toner image has been transferred is separated from the drum surface by a separation pole 43 and conveyed to a fixing device 45 via a conveyor belt 44, where the image is fixed.

On the other hand, the blade 39A of the cleaning device 39 comes into contact with the image forming body 30 from which the recording paper has been separated from the drum circumferential surface to remove the remaining toner, and after that, it is separated from the drum circumferential surface again. A new color image formation process begins.

Next, the layout of each of the main components mentioned above will be explained. As shown in FIG. There is.

The main body 2 incorporates an image recording system consisting of the writing system 81, image forming section C1, paper feeding section, etc. It is designed to receive color signals.

In the main body 2, the image forming body 30 is located approximately in the middle, and the developing units 36, 37° 38 are arranged in a horizontal state facing the right circumferential surface thereof, while the charging unit 30 is disposed on the left side. A container 35 and the cleaning device 39 are arranged.

Further, the main body 2 has a so-called Talam shell structure that can be divided into upper and lower halves, and furthermore, the image forming body 30, each developing unit 36, 37, 38, and the cleaning device 39 are all formed on a pair of front and rear substrates fixed to the main body 2. The multi-color process unit 3AJm is not directly attached to the main body 2, but is supported by bearings or is detachably attached to the main body 2, making it convenient for jam removal and maintenance and inspection.

As shown in FIG. 4, the multicolor process unit 3A is composed of a cartridge that can house the image forming body 30, each developing device 36, 37, 38, a cleaning device 39, etc. A pair of guide members 4 allows for easy removal and installation.

That is, a rail 4A is fixed to the left and right side edges of the multicolor process unit 3A, and a guide rail 4B is fixed to the position of the main body 2 corresponding to the rail 4A, as shown in FIG. 5, and the rail 4A is a guide rail. By engaging with 4B, a sliding and removable pair is formed.

In addition, a pair of left and right reference pins P are provided on the top surface of the cartridge.
is attached to the suspension part Q provided inside the main body 2 by engaging with a hole provided in the suspension part Q, and in this state is attached to the multicolor process unit 1-3A. The image forming body 30, each developing device 36, 37, 38
In addition, the relative position of the cleaning device 39 with respect to the main body 2 is set.

Therefore, when the multicolor process unit 3A is pulled on the handle 5 on the front surface of the panel, it is guided by the rail 4B and pulled out to a stopping position in front of the main body 2, and when the handle 5 is pushed in, the reference bin P is pulled out. The multicolor process unit 3A is engaged with the hole of the hanging part Q, and is stored in the main body 2 in a suspended state again.

By holding the multicolor process unit 3A in a suspended state with respect to the substrate of the main body 2, the image forming body 3A can be controlled from the motor etc. attached to the main body 2.
However, even if the vibrations and shocks transmitted to each developing device or cleaning device are greatly alleviated and absorbed, and slightly transmitted to each other, each equipment will be subject to different vibrations and shocks, so for example, if multiple developing devices are used, Since it is held in a relatively negative state with respect to the image forming body, there is no major problem in image formation.

In particular, by integrally holding the image forming body 30 and the cleaning device 39 in the multicolor process unit 3A, the cleaning device 39A1 is used to process the toner remaining on the cleaning blade. The negative effects of vibrations, shocks, etc. on the delicate way of pressing, pressing condition, loading conditions, etc. when the cleaning roller 3QB, etc. approaches or separates or presses are greatly alleviated and absorbed.

When the image forming body 30 uses the above-mentioned overlapping image forming process, the circumferential length of the image forming body 30 is required to be the length of one page of 84 size or A3 size, which is the maximum recording medium, plus a slight margin. and its outer diameter is at least 125mm
The size of the photoreceptor drum is approximately 1 to 145 mm, and the size of the photosensitive drum is 75 to 105 mm for a transfer paper equivalent to A4 size. In this example, a drum-type image forming body with a diameter of 10 mm was used.

On the other hand, as for the developing units 36, 37, and 38, as will be described in detail later, the outer diameter of the developing sleeve was reduced to 14 mm without deteriorating image performance, and the thickness (height) of each developing unit was reduced to approximately 30 mm or less. As a result, a plurality of three to four developing devices are used for one color, that is, developing devices 36, 37, . . . in this embodiment.
38 can be arranged in a horizontal manner in an integrated manner within a space corresponding to the range of the outer diameter of the image forming body 30.

Therefore, the multicolor process unit 3A affects the layout of each member of the conveyance system, including the members directly attached or fixed to the main body 2, especially the laser writing system B1 in the upper part, the transfer pole 40 and the separation pole 43 in the lower part. Even if the vertical height is limited to a minimum size sufficient to cover the image forming body 30, the cleaning device 39 will needless to say, if all of the plurality of developing devices 36.degree. 37.38 are attached. , it is possible to accommodate the recording paper in a substantially linear manner, which is effective in preventing jams, and even if jams occur, they can be easily disposed of. ing.

Each of the developing units 36, 37, and 38 has the following configuration.

Since the developing devices 36, 37, and 38 in this embodiment all have the same function, the developing devices 37 and 38 shown in FIG.
The developing device used in the present invention will be explained with reference to the cross-sectional view.

In the figure, 30 is an image forming body, 3702 is a housing,
3703 is a developing sleeve, 3704 is a magnetic roller, 3705 is a rigid and magnetic rod-like body (cylindrical rod) that regulates the amount of developer, 3715 is a holder that holds the cylindrical rod 3705, and 3706 is the cylindrical rod 3705 and the developing sleeve 3703. The cylindrical rod 3705 is a spring material that allows the developer to be conveyed by the pressure of the developing sleeve 370.
3, it is pressed with a constant load without the presence of developer. 3707 and 3708 are first and second stirring members, 3709 is a supply roller, 3710 is a scraper, 37
11 is a stirring partition plate.

Further, 3721 is a toner box that is incorporated into the housing 3702 and integrated with the developing device, and 3723 is a sponge roller that conveys the toner in the toner box 3721 to the developing device. The toner in the toner supply section 3721 is supplied to the developer stirring section by a rotating toner supply rotor 3722 and a sponge roller 3723.

The toner supplied to the stirring section is thoroughly stirred and mixed with the carrier by a first stirring member 3707 rotating in the direction of the arrow and a second stirring member 3708 rotating in the opposite direction so as to overlap with each other. Supply roller 3709 as agent
is sent to the developing sleeve 3703 via.

The first stirring member 3707 and the second stirring member 3708
is a screw-shaped member with a left-handed helical angle that rotates in mutually opposite arrow directions, and the second stirring member 3708
The toner and carrier are transported to the back side by the thrust of
The stirring partition plate 3 whose upper edge slopes low toward the back of the drawing
711, and is conveyed to the front side of the drawing by its thrust, and is triboelectrically charged by the mixing action of the toner and carrier between them, and becomes a homogeneous developer in the form of a sponge. The developing sleeve 3 is supplied by the supply roller 3709 rotating in the direction of the arrow.
It adheres in a layered manner on the circumferential surface of 703.

In this embodiment, a fixed magnet row 23704 and a developing sleeve 3 rotating in the direction of the arrow (clockwise) on the outside thereof
This thin developer layer adhered to the circumferential surface of 703 develops the latent image on the image forming body 30 rotating once in the direction of the arrow in a developing area 3712 without contacting it at a distance, forming a toner image. It was configured to do so.

During this non-contact development, a developing bias containing an AC component is applied to the developing sleeve 3703 from a power source (not shown), and only the toner in the developer is selectively transferred to the surface of the latent image on the image forming sleeve 3703. attached.

The developer that has consumed toner components has a high carrier ratio, is transported by the developing sleeve 3703, is peeled off and collected by the scraper 371O, and is mixed again with the developer that has a high toner ratio.

The toner box 3721 of the developing device 37 is connected to the image forming body 3.
An opening hole 3721A is provided on the side opposite to the opening hole 3721A, and the opening hole 3721A is opened and closed by a shielding member 3730 that rotates around a hinge 3730A as shown in FIG.

As shown in the figure, the shielding member 3730 has an angular cross section, side walls 3731 are formed at both ends, a handle 3732 and a protrusion 3733 are integrally formed on the top surface, and a toner toner (described later) is provided approximately in the center of the top surface. A toner supply port 3734 is provided with a bayonet claw for attaching a bottle.

When the shielding member 3730 closes the opening hole 3721A of the toner box 3721, it is held in that position by a click device or the like, but when the handle 3732 is pulled and rotated clockwise, the shielding member 3730 closes the opening hole 3721A of the toner box 3721. The toner supply port 3734 is moved to the outside of the toner box 3721. At this time, the protrusion 3733 is inserted into the opening hole 3721A.
It comes into contact with the inner wall of the upper part and acts as a stopper.

The shielding members 3730 of the same type are also provided in the developing units 36 and 38 and the toner boxes 3630 and 383o, respectively, but the toner supply ports are located at positions offset to the left and right so that they do not overlap vertically. Be taken.

FIG. 5 shows how toner is supplied from the outside to the toner box 3721 of the developing device 37, and toner is supplied to the toner boxes of the other developing devices 36 and 38 in the same manner.

The main body 2 is rotated counterclockwise as shown in FIG. 1(b), opened and stopped, and the multicolor process unit 3A is then stopped via the handle 5 as shown in FIG. Keep it pulled out forward.

Next, the shielding member 3730 is rotated clockwise to open the toner supply port 3734 and a toner bottle 375 filled with replenishing toner, in this case magenta toner, is supplied to the toner supply port 3734.
0 in an inverted position and rotate to engage and secure the bayonet claw. The front toner bottle 3750 is simultaneously opened by the bayonet claw and discharges replenishment toner by its own weight, falling into the toner box 3721 and being supplied.

When the toner bottle 3750 is removed from the toner supply port 3734 after replenishing a predetermined amount of toner, the discharge port is automatically closed as soon as the bayonet claw is released, so the toner bottle 375o leaks toner. It can be separated from the developing device 37 without any problems. Further, after the toner bottle 3750 is removed, the shielding member 3730 is stored in the toner box 3721 and the toner supply port 3730 is retracted.
34 is closed.

As is clear from Fig. 5, toner replenishment can be carried out for all developing units at once, so if copying has to be interrupted for toner replenishment, it can be quickly dealt with. This is extremely convenient.

In this manner, in the color image forming apparatus of the present invention, toner of a designated color can be replenished to each developing device at any time by an extremely simple operation while each developing device remains housed in the cartridge of the process unit. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the capacity of the toner box integrated with each developing device, and it is therefore possible to realize a compact structure of the process unit and, by extension, the apparatus itself.

〔Effect of the invention〕

The present invention has a structure in which the apparatus main body can be divided into upper and lower halves, and furthermore, the main image forming members are housed in a single cartridge that can be attached to and removed from the apparatus main body as a process unit. This invention not only facilitates maintenance and inspection work, but also enables the process unit to be configured compactly by developing an extremely simple toner replenishment method for each developing device housed in the process unit. As a result, a compact and useful color image forming apparatus with excellent handling and maintenance has been provided.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIGS. 1(a) and (b) are cross-sectional views of a color image forming apparatus according to the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are cross-sectional views of a developing device used in the apparatus, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a multicolor process unit of the apparatus, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the unit. 3A...Multicolor process unit 4A...Rail 4
B... Guide rail 5... Handle 30...
・Image forming body 36, 37.38...Developer 3621.3721.3821...Toner box 3630.3730.3830...Shielding member 3734
...Toner supply port 3750...Toner bottle P...Reference bottle Q...Hanging section applicant Konica Corporation

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a color image forming apparatus in which a plurality of developing devices integrated with a toner box are arranged in parallel on a side edge of an image forming body, a toner supply port of the toner box is provided on a side surface of each developing device on a side facing away from the image forming body. A color image forming apparatus characterized by: