JPH0327065A - Rotary developing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent forgetting to close a closing lid by leading a developing device to a non-operating state in such a way that the projecting part engaging piece of the closing lid is locked in a locking piece on a main body side when the closing lid of a developer chamber is opened. CONSTITUTION:When a toner replenishing lid 102 is opened and the closing lid 91 are opened for replenishing corresponding color toner corresponding to the developer chamber 92A of the developing device, etc., the projecting part locking piece 91a of the lid 91 is projected outside the developing device and locked at the abutting part 101a of a main body cover 101. Then the developing device is not turned and led to the non-operating state. The state continues as long as the lid 91 is not closed and forgetting to close the closing lid is prevented. Accordingly, toner splash is surely prevented. Besides, the above mechanism is common to other color toner developer chambers 92B and 92C.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention is characterized in that a plurality of developer chambers containing developer are arranged in parallel, and one of the developer chambers is moved into a developing area by rotational movement. The present invention relates to a rotary developing device that selectively forges to opposing positions.

[Prior Art] Generally, in various image forming apparatuses such as copying machines and printers, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to an image is formed on a latent image carrier such as a photoreceptor, and an electrostatic latent image is formed in a developing device. A two-component or one-component type developer is held on the developer carrier, and the developer on the developer carrier is carried into the developing area by the conveying action of the developer carrier. In the development region, toner in a developer is supplied to the electrostatic latent image to perform a development operation and obtain a toner visible image. As a device,
Rotary types have been known for some time. This rotary developing device is equipped with a hollow frame-shaped developer container in which a plurality of developer chambers for storing developer are arranged side by side.
By rotating this developer container, one of the developer chambers is selectively transported to a position facing the developing area. Further, the developer container is provided with an opening for toner replenishment, and an opening/closing lid is provided so as to be openable and closable so as to open or close this opening. A conventional opening/closing lid is hinged to the developer container, and one end portion is opened by flipping upward in a radial direction.

When replenishing toner, first the toner replenishment lid on the main body force bar is opened, and the opening/closing lid of the developing device is also opened, which opens the developer chamber to the outside of the machine. A predetermined amount of toner is poured into the internal space of. When toner replenishment is completed, the opening/closing lid of the developing device is closed. Such toner replenishment operation is similarly performed for other developer chambers by rotating the developer container.

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] In such a rotary developing device, when each opening/closing lid is positioned at the lower side due to rotational operation, the developer in each developing chamber falls downward and spills onto the inner surface of the opening/closing lid. However, since the above-mentioned conventional opening/closing lid is opened by flipping up, there is a problem that the developer attached to the inner surface of the opening/closing lid is likely to scatter when opened. This often stains the workers' hands, clothes, and surrounding areas.

For this reason, it has been proposed to use a sliding lid to prevent toner from scattering. However, with a slide-type lid, it is easy to forget to close it, and if you forget to close the lid and leave the toner replenishment opening exposed, if the toner replenishment opening is located at the bottom. There is a risk that the developer may leak out and fall into the machine.

Therefore, the present invention provides a rotary developing device that can prevent forgetting to close the sliding lid after opening the sliding lid and replenishing toner, thereby reliably preventing toner contamination. The purpose is to provide.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention includes a hollow frame body in which a plurality of developer chambers for storing developer are arranged side by side, and the frame body is rotatably moved. By this, one of the developer chambers is selectively conveyed to a position facing the development area, and an opening for replenishing toner provided in the developer container is opened or opened. In a rotary developing device including an opening/closing lid installed to be openable/closable so as to close the opening/closing lid, the opening/closing lid is provided so as to protrude to an outer region of the frame body at least when the opening/closing lid is in an open state. It has a configuration including an engaging piece and a locking piece on the main body side that receives the engaging piece of the opening/closing lid and puts the developing device in an inoperable state when the opening/closing lid is opened. [Function] In the means having such a structure, when the opening/closing lid is opened to replenish toner, the engaging piece of the opening/closing lid in the open state touches the outer surface of the frame of the developer container. The protruding engagement piece is received and locked by the locking piece on the main body side, whereby the developing device is rendered inoperative. Further, the developing operation will not be executed unless the opening/closing lid is closed.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

FIG. 3 shows a color copying machine to which the present invention is applied. In this figure, an endless transfer belt 1 is stretched around a driven roller 2 and a driven roller 3 in a substantially horizontal direction, and the transfer paper S fed in the direction of the arrow by a paper feed roller 4 is The image is conveyed on a transfer belt 1.

Further, the document table 5 is provided parallel to the direction in which the transfer belt 1 is disposed, and is configured to swing back and forth in the directions indicated by arrows a and b. A document (not shown) is set on the Mv4 unit 5, and a light image corresponding to a color image of the document is transmitted to a latent image carrier via a converging light transmitting array 6, a filter 7, etc. The electrostatic latent image is formed on the photoreceptor belt 8 as an electrostatic latent image. Such an electrostatic latent image is formed for each color separation. On the other hand, corresponding to each color electrostatic latent image, a developing roller 9 for each color toner is provided as a developer carrier in the rotary developing device 9.
A, 9B, and 9C are arranged to be switched and placed in the developing area, which is the part facing the photoreceptor belt 8.
Each color electrostatic latent image is developed by each color toner supplied from each of the developing rollers 9A, 9B, and 9C, so that a toner visible image corresponding to each color is obtained. As described above, when the transfer paper S carried by the transfer belt 1 passes through the transfer section 11, the visible toner image of the first color on the photoreceptor belt 8 is transferred to the transfer paper by the transfer charger 12. Transferred to S. During this transfer, the transfer belt 1 is driven in the direction of arrow A, that is, in the opposite direction to the forward movement direction of the document table 5, and the document table 5 is moved backward after completing its forward movement. When the rear end of the transfer paper S passes through the transfer section 1, the transfer belt L is reversed, and the upper belt portion is moved in the direction of arrow B, which is opposite to the direction of arrow A, so that it is ready for the next transfer. ．． Then, by repeating the same transfer process, the visible toner image of the second color and the visible toner body of the third color are transferred onto one sheet of transfer paper in such a manner that they are superimposed on each other so that no positional deviation occurs. ．． After the final color toner visible image is transferred, the transfer paper S passes between a pair of static elimination chargers 13 and is received into a transfer paper fixing system 14 consisting of a pair of heating and pressure rollers, where it is fixed and then machined. It will be discharged outside.

Next, as shown in FIG. 1, the developing device 9 is equipped with a developing container 92 made of a cylindrical hollow frame, and this developing container 92 rotates around a rotation center 01. It is set up so that In addition, the developer container 9
The internal space of No. 2 is divided into three developer chambers 92A and 92B by a partition wall extending in a radial curve from the rotation center O0.
, 92C, and each of these developer chambers 92A,
Yellow (Y), magenta (M) in 92B, 92C,
Each color developer of cyan (C) is stored therein.

The internal configuration of the developer chamber 92A will be explained below.
A description of the internal configuration of developer chambers 92B and 92C having the same configuration as this will be omitted.

First, a developing roller 9 provided as a developer carrier
A is arranged so as to be in contact with the photoreceptor belt 8, and a developing area is formed in the opposing contact portion between the two. A toner supply roller 94 is arranged so as to be in contact with the developing roller 9A, and the yellow toner stored in the developing chamber 92A is supplied to and adhered to the developing roller 9A by the conveying action of the toner supply roller 94. It has become so. The toner adhered to the surface of the copying roller 9A is moved by the rotational conveying action of the developing roller 9A, and is moved by the metering blade 95 for regulating the toner layer, which is in pressure contact with the surface of the developing roller 9A. Formed into a uniform layer. Furthermore, this toner thin layer is conveyed to a developing area by the rotational conveying action of the developing roller 9A, where it is subjected to the above-described developing operation. The toner remaining on the developing roller 9A after development is scraped off by a toner layer peeling roller 93 that is pressed against the surface of the developing roller 9A, thereby initializing the developing roller 9A.

By such a developing operation, each developer chamber 92A, 92B
, 92C, yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) are sequentially consumed, but if the amount of stored developer falls below a certain value, illustration is omitted. The need for toner replenishment is displayed on the display section by the toner end detection device, and at the same time, the operation of the entire copying machine is stopped.

Here, the outer frame portion of the developer container 92 has the developer chamber 92A.
An opening for replenishing toner is formed in the toner replenishing opening, and an opening/closing lid 9l is attached so as to be openable and closable so as to open or close the toner replenishing opening. The opening/closing lid 91 is attached to the outer frame of the developer container 92 so that it can be slid open and closed, and is reciprocated in the circumferential direction around a rotation center 02 located approximately at the center of the developer chamber 92A. The device is configured so that it can be opened and closed between the closed state shown in FIG. 1 and the open state shown in FIG. Note that seal members 96 and 97 are inserted between the outer frame of the developer container 92 and the opening/closing lid 9l. Further, the opening/closing lid 91 has a knob portion 91 as an engaging piece.
A is integrally formed so as to protrude radially outward by a predetermined amount. This knob portion 91a is formed so as to be accommodated in the inner part of the outer frame of the developer container 92 when the opening/closing lid 91 is closed (the state shown in FIG. 1).
When the opening/closing l191 is opened (the state shown in FIG. 2), the grip portion 91a is projected toward the outer side of the outer frame of the developer container 92.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
A main body force bar 101 is disposed in the upper region shown in the figure, and a toner replenishing lid 102 of an upward flip-up type is hinged to the main body force bar 101. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the toner supply lid 102 is opened upward and the aforementioned opening/closing lid 91 is slid open.
In the state shown in FIG. 2, the developer chamber 92A
The interior space of the aircraft is opened to the outside of the aircraft. Further, a convex portion 102a serving as an engaging piece is formed on the inner surface of the toner replenishing lid 102. This convex part 1
02a, as shown by the dashed line in FIG. Even if an attempt is made to close the lid 102, the convex portion 102a of the toner replenishing lid 102 comes into contact with the knob 91a of the opening/closing IE 91 (shape S shown by a dashed line in FIG. 2).As a result, the toner replenishing lid 102 is completely closed. Further, the body force bar 101 is provided with a contact plate 101a as a locking piece. Even if an attempt is made to rotate the developer container 92 with the opening/closing lid 91 open, the knob 91a of the opening/closing lid 91 will be received and locked by the contact plate 101a ( 2), the developer container 2 cannot rotate any further.With the opening/closing lid 91 left open in this way, the developing device [I9 is rendered inactive. It happens.

When replenishing toner in the developing device of the above-described embodiment, first the toner replenishing lid 10 of the main body force bar 101 is
2 is flipped upward as shown by the solid line in FIG. 2, and the lid 91 of the developing device 9 changes from the closed state shown in FIG. 1 to the open state shown in FIG. The slide is opened. This allows the developer chamber 9
2A is opened toward the outside of the machine, and a predetermined amount of yellow toner is poured into the internal space of the developer chamber 92A. When such toner replenishment operation is completed, the opening/closing M91 of the developing device 9 is closed by sliding movement from the open state shown in FIG. 2 to the closed state shown in FIG. 1. This toner replenishment operation is carried out in another developer chamber 92.
The same process is performed for B and 92C after the developer container 92 is rotated. At this time, it is assumed that the opening/closing lid 91 of the developing device 9 is left in the open state shown in FIG. 2 at each point in time when the toner replenishment operation for each of the developer chambers 92A, 92B, and 92C is completed. First, in that case, even if you try to close the toner replenishment lid 102, the protrusion 102a of the toner replenishment lid 102 will come into contact with the knob 91a of the opening/closing lid 91 as shown by the dashed line in FIG. Therefore, the toner supply lid 102 cannot be completely closed. Further, when trying to rotate the developer container 92 while the opening/closing lid 91 is open, the opening/closing lid 91
The knob portion 91a of the developer container 2 is received and locked by the contact plate 101a (the state shown in FIG. 2), and the developer container 2 cannot rotate any further. Therefore, unless the opening/closing lid 91 is closed, no further developing operation will be performed, and it is checked whether the operator forgets to close it.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, in the present invention, when the opening/closing lid is opened to replenish toner, the developing device is placed in an inactive state, and unless the opening/closing lid is closed, the developing device is not operated. In order to prevent this from occurring, a protrusion that disables the developing device when the lid is opened is formed as a part of the lid. Therefore, after opening the lid and replenishing toner, It will be possible to prevent forgetting to close the opening/closing lid, and it will be possible to reliably prevent toner from scattering due to forgetting to close the opening/closing lid, thereby preventing the worker's hands, clothes, or the surrounding area from getting dirty.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a rotary developing device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory cross-sectional view showing the lid of the rotary developing device shown in the construction drawing in an open state. , FIG. 3 is an explanatory side view showing a color copying machine as an example of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied. 8... Photoreceptor belt, 9... Developing device, 9A, 9B
,9C...Developing roller 91...Opening/closing lid, 91a
...Knob portion, 92...Developer container, 92A, 92
B, 92C...Developer chamber, 101...Main body force bar
101a... Contact plate, 102... Toner supply lid,
l02a...Protrusion. (1 other person) Younger brother I Figure 2

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A hollow frame body is provided in which a plurality of developer chambers for storing developer are arranged side by side, and when the frame body is rotated, one of the developer chambers is opened. A developer container that is selectively conveyed to a position facing a developing area; and an opening/closing lid that is installed to be openable and closable so as to open or close an opening for toner replenishment provided in the developer container. In the rotary developing device, an engaging piece provided on the opening/closing lid so as to protrude to an outer area of the frame body at least when the opening/closing lid is opened; A rotary developing device comprising: a locking piece on the main body side that receives the locking piece of the opening/closing lid and puts the developing device in an inoperable state.