JPH0259779A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the splashing of the developer to the inside of the device main body and to eliminate the contamination of an original or a transfer material by arranging a developer replenishing opening and a developer receiving opening to be alway coincident, and by making the developer replenishing means able to travel with the developing means rotatable with the developer replenishing opening and the receiving opening as the center. CONSTITUTION:Regardless of any change in the relative position relationship between a hopper 5 and a developing device 3, the hopper 5 and the developing device 3 are provided so that the developer emitting opening 5a of the hopper 5 and the developer receiving opening 3b of the developing device 3 are always in a communicating condition. Further when the hopper 5 is rotated, it is rotated with the developer emitting opening 5a and the developer receiving opening 3b as the center, and when the developing device 3 is traveled, the hopper 5 is constructed to travel along with the developing device 3. Therefore, at the time of the rotation of the hopper 5, the developer T, which is replenished from the hopper 5 to the developing device 3, can be prevented from splashing to the inside of the image forming device main body. Thus contamination of the original or the transferring material can be eliminated.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention generally relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly, to an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying apparatus, a laser beam printer, a printing press, or a facsimile machine, the present invention relates to a color image forming apparatus equipped with two or more developing units. The present invention relates to a forming device.

IJj As the demand for color image forming devices has rapidly increased in recent years, the devices have become smaller and cheaper, and small and low cost color image forming devices have become popular products. It has come to be In color image forming apparatuses that are designed to be smaller and lower in cost, developing units each contain a different color of developer in a limited space around the image carrier. Since a plurality of developing devices are required, it is necessary to downsize each developing device. Therefore, in consideration of the situation where the amount of developer consumed per unit time increases, such as when high-speed recording is required, a developing device is installed in an empty space near the developing device in the image forming apparatus. Image forming apparatuses have been proposed in which a hopper is provided for replenishing the agent.

To further explain this proposal, a shutter mechanism is interposed in a connecting portion that communicates between the developing device and the hopper, and the shutter mechanism is configured such that the developing device is formed on the image carrier. The connection part is opened when the developing unit is in a state close to the image carrier in order to visualize the electrostatic latent image, and the connection part is opened when the developing device is separated from the image carrier or when replenishing developer to the hopper itself. It is designed to close.

FIG. 3, FIG. 4, and FIG. 5 show a developing device and a hopper included in the image forming apparatus according to the above proposal.

That is, in FIG. 3, FIG. 4, and FIG. A developing device 4 is disposed on the upstream side, and a developing device 3 is disposed adjacent to the developing device 4 on the downstream side of the developing device 4 in the direction of rotation of the photosensitive drum 2. (That is, the developing device 4 is provided above the developing device 3.) In a space above the developing device 3 and on the near side of the developing device 4 in the main body 1 of the image forming apparatus, the developing device 4 is provided. A hopper 5 is provided close to the container 3 and the developing device 4 for replenishing the developing device 3 with developer T. The above configuration will be described in more detail below. The developing device 3 as a whole is configured to be able to reciprocate in the left-right direction in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5, and includes a developing device housing 3d having an opening formed in a portion facing the photosensitive drum 2. , and a developing sleeve 3a rotatably supported in an opening of a developing device housing 3d, and a frequently used black developer T is housed in the developing device housing 3d. At the upper part of the developer housing 3d, there is a developer receiving port 3b and an operating member 3 for opening and closing a shutter 20, which will be described later.
C are provided respectively. The developing device 4 is also configured to be able to reciprocate in the left and right directions as shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 5 as a whole, like the aforementioned developing device 3, and has an opening in a portion facing the photosensitive drum 2. The developing device housing 4d includes a developing device housing 4d (not shown) and a developing sleeve (not shown) rotatably supported in the opening of the developing device housing 4d. , Contains color developers that are used infrequently. A hopper such as the hopper 5 for replenishing the developer T to the developing device 3 described above is not provided near the developing device number, and the developing device 4 is
In order to make it possible to replenish the color developer to the developing device 4, when the developing device 4 is separated from the photoreceptor drum 2, the developing device 4 is pulled out from the apparatus main body 1 toward the front side. It is configured so that it can be easily attached and detached. As is clear from FIGS. 4 and 5, the hopper 5 has a rectangular box shape as a whole, and has a developer discharge port 5a formed in its lower surface.
It is rotatably attached to the image forming apparatus main body 1 by rotation shafts 5b implanted in the upper and lower surfaces. A conveyance screw 18 is provided inside the hopper 5, and the conveyance screw 1B is driven by a motor 19 attached to the outside of the hopper 5, and conveys the developer T toward the developer discharge port 5a. It looks like this.

The location of the hopper 5 is as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 of the developing device 4.
Figure 5: Movement in the left/right direction and the main body 1 of the developing unit 4
It shall be set in a position that does not adversely affect the installation and removal of the equipment. A shutter 20, which is rotatably attached to the lower surface of the hopper 5 by a one-rotation shaft 21, faces into a small gap defined by the developing device 3 and the hopper 5. The shutter 20 is a plate member having a generally triangular shape as a whole, and has a protrusion 20a formed on one end thereof, and also has a developer discharge port 5a of the hopper 5 and a developing device. A hole 20b is formed that communicates with the developer receiving port 3b of No. 3 and allows the developer to pass from the inside of the hopper 5 to the developing device 3. shutter 2
The protrusion 20a of No. 0 has a predetermined force I! which is such that by urging the shutter 20 clockwise in FIG. 3, the shutter 20Q and the developer discharge port 5a are always closed. One end of the spring 22 is connected to the other end of a spring 22 attached to the lower surface of the hopper 5 in order to forcibly position it at the position '11' (indicated by the broken line in FIG. 6).

A stopper 20d is attached to the lower surface of the hopper 5 to restrict rotation of the shutter 20 by engaging with the protrusion 20a of the shutter 20.

In the above-mentioned configuration, as shown in FIG. When the electrostatic latent image is moved to a position where the electrostatic latent image is visualized, the actuating member 3C provided on the upper part of the developing device 3 is moved to the side surface 20C of the shutter 20.
The shutter 20 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 6 against the biasing force of the spring 22. The rotation of the shutter 20 as described above causes the developer discharge port 5a of the hopper 5 and the developer reception port 3b of the developer housing 3d to
The holes 20b of the shutter 20 are aligned and communicate with each other (the state FIR shown by the solid line in FIG. As the developer T decreases, a well-known developer remaining amount detection sensor (not shown) is activated and outputs a signal indicating that developer T needs to be replenished.The developer remaining amount detection sensor (
When the signal is outputted from the control circuit (not shown) and given to the control circuit (not shown), the motor 19 starts rotating based on the drive command signal output from the control circuit (not shown), and drives the conveying screw 18. do. By driving this conveying screw 18, the developer T stored in the hopper 5 freely falls from the developer discharge port 5a, passes through the hole 20b, and the developer reception port 3b, and the developer consumption in the developer device 3 is reduced. Approximately the same amount of developer T is supplied to the developing device 3.

When the developing device 3 moves from the position closest to the photoreceptor drum 2 to the position farthest from the photoreceptor drum 2,
The engagement between the operating member 3C and the side surface 20c of the shutter 20 is released, and the shutter 20 is rotated in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 6 by the biasing force of the spring 22. The rotation of the shutter 20 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 6 due to the biasing force of the spring 22 is stopped when the projection 20a of the shutter 20 engages with the stopper 20d described above. Each part indicated by a dotted line in Fig. 6 is a protrusion 20.
This shows a state in which the shutter 20 is stopped from rotating counterclockwise in FIG. 6 by engagement with the stopper 20d of a. Although the position of the developer receiving port 3b is shifted by the amount of movement of the developing device 3, the developer discharge port 5a is shifted from the position of the shutter 2.
0, and the developer receiving port 3b is closed by the shutter 20.
It is shielded from the developer discharge port 5a by.

Here, when replenishing the developer T to the hopper 5 itself from the outside, it is possible to remove the hopper 5 itself from the image forming apparatus main body l; It can also be configured to rotate in the direction of arrow B in the figure and replenish the developer T from the top of the hopper 5.

In any of the above cases, the shutter 20 is rotated in the direction of arrow A by the biasing force of the spring 22 to close the developer discharge port 5a, as described above. Note that when removing the developing device 4 from the main body 1 of the apparatus, the developing device 4 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow C in FIG. When attaching the developing device 4 to the main body 1 of the apparatus by pulling it out toward the front in the direction shown in FIG. rear,
By returning the hopper 5 to a predetermined position, the developing unit 4 is installed at a predetermined position within the apparatus main body 1, and the image forming operation of the apparatus main body 1 is enabled. The hopper 5 has a mechanism that returns to a predetermined position when a front cover (not shown) of the main body of the apparatus is fixed in a predetermined position using a known method.

The hopper 5 having the above-described configuration has greatly contributed to the miniaturization and cost reduction of color image forming apparatuses. However, in the image forming apparatus configured as described above, when the hopper 5 rotates in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 4, the shutter 20 gradually covers the developer discharge port 5a of the hopper 5. As the hopper 5 rotates in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 4, the position of the developer discharge port 5a and the position of the developer reception port 3b gradually shift.

Therefore, when the hopper 5 rotates in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 4, there is a problem in that a part of the developer T dropped from the developer discharge port 5a scatters outside the developer receiving port 3b. , As a result, the image forming device itself! contaminate the inside,
There have been problems in that the main body of the apparatus itself may malfunction, it may contaminate the original or transfer material, and sometimes even the operator's hands or the paper towel may be contaminated.

Therefore, the present invention was devised in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and the purpose is to prevent the developer from being supplied from the hopper to the developing device when the hopper rotates, from the hopper to the main body of the image forming apparatus. By preventing images from scattering inside the machine, images that do not malfunction, contaminate originals or transfer materials, or even contaminate the operator's hands or clothing can be prevented. An object of the present invention is to provide a forming device.

The above object is achieved by an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. To summarize, 1 the present invention has a developing means that has a developer receiving port and converts a formed latent image into a visible image, and a developer replenishing port that corresponds to the developer receiving port, and the developing means In the image forming apparatus, the developer replenishing means and the developing means are arranged such that the developer replenishing port and the developer receiving port always coincide with each other. , the developer replenishing means is formed in a rotary part that rotates around the developer replenishing port and the developer receiving port and is movable together with the developing means. This is an image forming apparatus.

Branch l An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 shows a color image forming apparatus capable of two-color development according to an embodiment of the present invention. The configuration of the color image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 3 is already well known, but its outline will be explained as follows. That is, in FIG. 3, the photosensitive drum 2 is disposed approximately at the center of the image forming apparatus main body 1. As shown in FIG. The photosensitive drum 2 is rotatably supported in the direction of arrow X (clockwise) in FIG. The various equipment necessary for this purpose include a cleaning device 16, a charger 6, a developing device 4. Developing means, that is, developing device 3, resist roller pair 1O1 transfer charger 11
, the separation charger 17 and the transfer material conveyance path 12 are connected to the photoreceptor drum 2.
They are arranged in order from the upstream side to the downstream side in the rotational direction. On the upstream side in the transfer material conveyance direction of the registration roller pair IO described above in the apparatus main body 1 (that is, on the right side of the apparatus main body 1), there is a transfer material overlapping feed prevention roller pair 15. A paper feed roller 9 is provided, and a paper feed cassette 8 is provided adjacent to the paper feed roller 9 and is detachably attached to the main body l of the apparatus. The device itself! On the downstream side of the transfer material conveyance path 12 in the conveyance direction, there is a paper discharge roller 14 in contact with the fixing device 13 and the left side of the apparatus main body 1.
are provided for each. At the upper part of the developing device 3 in the apparatus main body 1 and on the side surface of the developing device 4, there is a structure that is close to the developing device 3 and the developing device 4, respectively, and that prevents the movement of the developing device 4 (details will be described later). To prevent this, a developer replenishing means or hopper 5 is provided.

The above configuration will be described in more detail as follows. Is the cleaning device 16 a photosensitive drum? The developer such as one-component magnetic toner remaining on the surface is scraped off and collected. The charger 6 is configured to charge the outer circumferential surface of the photoreceptor drum 2 substantially uniformly. An image exposure section (not shown) applies image exposure 7 onto the outer circumferential surface of the photoreceptor drum 2, which is approximately uniformly charged by the charger 6.
By irradiating the photoreceptor drum 2 with irradiation, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the original image information is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the photoreceptor drum 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the developing devices 3 and 4 are configured to be able to reciprocate in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3, and when they move toward the photosensitive drum 2, the respective developing sleeves In this embodiment, the developing device 4 has a frequency of use. The developing unit 3 contains color developers whose color is not very high, and the developing device 3 contains a black developer which is frequently used. The details of the structure of the developing device 3 and the developing device 4 have already been explained with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6, so a description of the parts other than those related to the present invention will be omitted. The transfer charger 11 is configured to photosensitive the transfer material P supplied from the paper feed cassette 8 via the paper feed roller 9 and the transfer material overlapping feed prevention roller pair 15 and supplied at a predetermined timing by the registration roller pair IO. The 0-separation charger 17, which is designed to transfer the visible image formed on the photosensitive drum 2, charges the transfer material P attracted onto the photosensitive drum z during the transfer process.

It is configured to be separated from the photoreceptor drum 2. The fixing device 13 receives the transfer material P on which a visible image has been transferred, which is provided via the transfer material conveyance path 12, and performs image fixation. The paper discharge roller 14 receives the transfer material P on which the image has been fixed by the fixing device 13 and discharges it to the outside of the main body l of the apparatus.

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 show the main parts of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. Although the overall configuration is roughly the same as that explained in FIGS. 4 to 6 above, in the image forming apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, the relative positional relationship between the hoe 2 perk 5 and the developing device 3 is Regardless of changes in When the developing device 3 is moved, it rotates around the developer discharge port 5a and the developer receiving port 3b, and when the developing device 3 moves, the hopper 5
The developing device 3 is also configured to move together with the developing device 3. Components that are the same as those shown in FIGS. 4 to 6 are designated by the same reference numerals, and their descriptions will be omitted.

In FIG. 1, the hopper hinge 115 is held by a step screw or the like on the front side plate (not shown) of the image forming apparatus main body l described above so as to be slidable in the left-right direction in FIG. The hopper hinge 115 is provided to rotatably support the hopper 5 described above, and is formed so that the overall cross section is approximately U-shaped, and the protrusion 5C of the hopper 5 is fitted into the upper part. A recess 115a is formed therein, and a hole 115b is formed in the lower part into which the rotating part 103 of the hopper 5 can fit. A cut-and-raised portion 116 is vertically provided at the lower part of the hopper hinge 115 . Hopper 5
As described above, a protrusion 5C is formed above the portion supported by the hopper hinge 115, and can be fitted into the recess 115a of the hopper hinge 115.

As described above, on the lower side of the portion of the hopper 5 supported by the hopper hinge 115, the hopper rotating portion 103 is integrally attached and fixed to the hopper 5 body by screwing or gluing. hole t ts
It is possible to mate with b. To further explain the hopper rotating section 103, the hopper rotating section 103 is formed with a hole 106 that has a considerably larger diameter than the developer discharge port 5a formed on the lower surface of the hopper 5. Moving part 1
The cushion member 1 has a hole 107 with a slightly larger diameter than the hole 106 of the hopper rotating part 103 formed on the lower surface of the cushion member 03.
04 is attached with adhesive.

The cushion member 10 is provided on the lower surface of the John member 104.
A flexible sheet or plastic member 105 in which a hole 108 having a slightly larger diameter than the hole 107 in No. 4 is formed is pasted. The cushion member 104 is maintained in a certain elastic deformation state when the hopper 5 is supported by the hopper hinge l15, and is designed to prevent the developer T falling from the hopper 5 through the developer discharge port 5a from scattering. It has become. The aforementioned hopper rotating portion 103, cushion member 104, and flexible sheet or plastic member 105 are attached so that the centers of the holes 106, 107, and 108 are aligned.

The developer T falling from the developer discharge port 5a is smoothly accommodated in the developer receiving port 3b of the developer 3.The developer 3 is driven by a driving means (not shown) as shown in FIG. It is fitted and fixed onto a developer rail 112 that is movable in the left and right direction, and when the developer rail 112 moves in the left and right direction in FIG. 1, it approaches or separates from the photosensitive drum 2 accordingly. There is. Developer rail 112
In the above, a member 113 of the hook is integrally attached and fixed to the developer rail 112 by welding or screw tightening, and a through hole is formed in the member 113 of the hook, and the through hole is provided with a through hole. The cut and raised portion 116 is fitted.

The fitting position of the cut-and-raised portion 116 with respect to the hook member 113 is the position of the developer discharge port 5a of the hopper 115 supported by the hopper hinge 115 and the developer fixedly fitted onto the developer rail 112. It is assumed that the position of the developer receiving port 3b of the container 3 coincides with the position of the developer receiving port 3b of the container 3.

With the above-described configuration, the hopper 5 connects the developer outlet 5a and the developer receiving port 110 (i.e., the developer outlet 5a and the developer receiver 0) shown in FIGS.
It becomes possible to rotate in the left-right direction in FIG. 1 about a point corresponding to approximately the center of 3b. Furthermore, when the developer 3 moves as the developer rail 112 moves to the right in FIG. 1, the hopper hinge 115 also moves to the right in FIG. Therefore, the developer discharge port 5a and the developer reception port 3b are kept in communication with each other.

As described above, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the position of the developer discharge port 5a of the hopper 5 and the position of the developer reception port 3b of the developing device 3 are made to match, and the position of the developer discharge port 5a and the developer Since it was designed to rotate around the drug reception date 3b,
The developer discharge port 5a and the developer intake port 3b are always open and communicate with each other, and since there is no opening/closing operation of the shutter member as in the case of a conventional shutter mechanism, the developer is not allowed to form an image. It is possible to completely prevent the particles from scattering into the main body of the device, and by removing unnecessary mechanisms, it has become possible to reduce the cost of the device.

As described above, according to the present invention, the developer supplied from the developer supply means to the developing means when the developer supply means is moved is transferred from the developer supply means into the main body of the image forming apparatus. We provide an image forming device that prevents the device itself from malfunctioning, contaminates originals and transfer materials, and even contaminates the operator's hands and clothes by preventing the particles from scattering. can do.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing essential parts of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 2nd rgJ is a plan view showing main parts of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a partial plan view showing a developing device and a hopper included in an image forming apparatus according to the prior art. FIG. 5 is a partial front view showing a developing device and a hopper included in an image forming apparatus based on the prior art. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the functions of a developing device, a hopper, and a shutter included in an image forming apparatus according to the prior art. 3: Developing device 3b: Developer receiving port 5: Hopper 5a: Developer discharging port 5c: Protruding portion 103: Hopper rotating portion 104: Cushion member 105: Flexible sheet or plastic member 112: Developing device rail 113: Hook is member 115: Ho 2 part hinge 116: Cut and raise member Fig. 2 Fig. 3 Fig. 5

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1) A developing means having a developer receiving port and converting the formed latent image into a visible image, and a developer replenishing port corresponding to the developer receiving port, and supplying the developer to the developing means. In an image forming apparatus including a developer replenishing means, the developer replenishing means and the developing means are arranged such that the developer replenishing port and the developer receiving port always coincide with each other. The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the developer replenishing means is formed to be rotatable around the developer replenishing port and the developer receiving port and movable together with the developing means.