JPH04115273A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatically replenish toner and simultaneously, to prevent reduction in the operating efficiency of a device with respect to the replenishment of the toner by housing plural toner cartridges, and automatically, supplying a prescribed toner cartridge inside, on a supplying device. CONSTITUTION:When the toner inside the toner cartridge 30 on the supplying device is completely used, a sealing device 33 is moved to obtain a closed state by a sealing member operating means 24, and the empty cartridge 30 is closed. Then, a cartridge housing/attaching device 40 is operated to recover the empty cartridge 30 inside the device 40, and simultaneously, supplies a new cartridge 30 on the supplying device. Then, a means 24 is operated to move the member 33 of the cartridge 30 on the supplying device to obtain the opened state of the member 33, and to supply the toner inside the cartridge 30 to the side of a developing device via the supplying device. Furthermore, the above-mentioned toner replenishing work is automatized by a control means, and the increase of the operating efficiency is attained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus in which toner is supplied to a developing means via a toner cartridge.

(Prior Art) The outline of an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine that employs an electrophotographic method will be explained with reference to FIG. Primary charger 111. Developing device 112. Process equipment such as a transfer charger 113 and a cleaning device 114 are provided.

A paper feed system including a paper feed cassette 115, a paper feed roller 116, and a registration roller 117 is arranged on the right side of the photosensitive drum element 1O, and a conveyor belt 118, a fixing device 119 .
A processing paper discharge system such as a carry-out roller 120, a paper discharge roller 121, and a sorter 122 is provided. Further, above the photosensitive tram 110 is a paper feed unit 12 for positioning the original.
3 and a scanning optical system 124 for reading images.

When the image of the document positioned by the paper feed unit 123 is exposed to the photosensitive drum 110 uniformly charged by the -order charger 111 through the scanning optical system 124, an image appears on the photosensitive drum 110. An electrostatic latent image is formed. The electrostatic latent image is transferred to the developing device 112 as the photosensitive tram 110 rotates.
Toner (developer) is supplied and developed as a toner image, and the toner image is transferred onto the transfer paper P via the transfer charger 113.

On the other hand, the transfer paper P in the paper feed cassette 115 is transferred to the paper feed roller 1.
After the sheets are taken out one by one at step 16, the registration roller 117
The toner image is transferred onto the transfer paper P by being sent to the photosensitive tram 110 with the timing adjusted by the registration roller 117. The transfer paper P on which the toner image has been transferred is sent to a fixing device 119 via a conveyance belt 118, and after the toner image is fixed by the fixing device 119, it is transferred through a conveyance roller 120, a paper ejection roller 121, etc. It is loaded onto the sorter 112.

Now, in one side of the developing device 112 and in the main body 100, there is a toner hopper 130 having an agitation conveyor 130a inside.
The developing device 1 is provided through the toner hopper 130.
Toner is supplied to 12. and 5
Toner hopper 130 located at the top of the device main body 100
An opening 130b is provided in the upper part of the opening l30.
Toner is replenished into the toner hopper 130 by attaching a toner bottle 131 (toner cartridge) to b.

Opening 1 of toner hopper 130 of toner bottle 131
30b is attached to the discharge part 1 of the toner bottle 131.
Is this done by fitting the claws provided on the opening 130b into the fitting grooves of the opening 130b?

Thereafter, by rotating the discharge section 131a, the toner in the toner bottle 131 is dropped and supplied into the toner hopper 130.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) However, when replenishing toner using the toner bottle 131 as described above, the operator must
It is necessary to attach and remove the toner to the opening 130b of the toner hopper 130 in order to replenish the toner, which is not only complicated but also inconvenient in that the leaked toner stains the operator's hands.

Further, the toner bottle 131 and the toner hopper 1
After the toner is supplied into the toner bottle 30, the toner bottle 131 is removed to operate the device.
If it takes time to replenish the toner, the operating time of the device will be shortened accordingly.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus in which toner is automatically replenished and the operating efficiency of the apparatus does not deteriorate when toner is replenished. be.

Means for Solving Problem 1) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus in which a latent image on an image carrier is visualized by toner from a developing means, in which toner is supplied to the developing means. A supplying device, a toner cartridge detachably disposed on the supplying device and integrally forming a toner hopper for a developing means with the supplying device, and a sealing member of the toner cartridge being opened or opened, A sealing member operation means that moves the toner in the toner cartridge to the supplying device side and seals an empty toner cartridge, and a supplying device that takes in a plurality of toner cartridges and automatically feeds a predetermined toner cartridge inside. The present invention is characterized in that it has a cartridge storage device that supplies empty toner cartridges and collects empty toner cartridges.

(Operation) When the toner in the toner cartridge on the supply device is used up, the sealing member is moved to the closed state by the sealing member operating means, and the empty toner cartridge is sealed. Then, by operating the cartridge storage device, the empty toner cartridge is collected into the cartridge storage device, and a new toner cartridge is supplied onto the supply device.

Next, the sealing member operation means is actuated to move the sealing member of the toner cartridge on the supplying device and open the sealing member, so that the toner in the cartridge is transferred to the developing means through the supplying device. will be supplied to

Incidentally, the above-mentioned toner replenishment work can be automatically performed via a control means or the like.

(Example) Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a characteristic part of the present invention, in which a cartridge storage device 40 is installed on one side of the main body l of an image forming apparatus.
or installed.

A developing device 3 is provided on one side of the photosensitive tram 2, which is an image carrier in the main body 1 of the apparatus, and a supply device lO for replenishing toner to the developing device 3.
1 mounted on the supply device 1O, this supply device 10
a toner cartridge 30 which also serves as a toner hopper for the developing device 3; and the toner cartridge 3.
A cartridge storage chamber 20 for storing 0 is provided.

The developing device 3 supplies toner to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 2 via a developing sleeve 33 and the like, and visualizes the electrostatic latent image as a toner image. It plays an important role. Incidentally, since the image forming process by the image forming apparatus has been explained in the section of the prior art, the explanation thereof will be omitted here.

The supply device 10 is disposed above the developing device 3, and #developing device 3
The toner transport system 1 is installed inside.
1, a duct 12 for supplying toner to the developing device 3 at the lower part, and a cartridge mounting part 13 for positioning and mounting a toner cartridge filled with toner at the upper part. As shown in FIG. 4, the cartridge mounting section 13 is largely open at the center, and the left side,
The toner cartridge 30 is attached to the base portion 3 at both right ends.
A channel-shaped cartridge guide 13a is provided for positioning and supporting the cartridge through the cartridge guide 13a.

Note that a toner sensor 14 is attached to the toner conveyance system 11 to detect the presence or absence of toner in the supply device 5710.

As shown in FIG. 2, the toner cartridge 30 includes a container portion 31 that is open at one end and filled with toner;
It is attached around the opening 31a of the container part 31, and the left,
The base part 32, in which racks 32a and 32a are formed on the container part 31 side at both right ends, and the opening 31a of the container part 31 are sealed, and the inner groove of the base part 32 and the upper surface of the opening 31a of the container part 31 are sealed. A sheet-shaped sealing member 33 having a cutout 33a formed therein so as to move along the opening 31a and opening the opening 31a; A take-up roller 34 is connected to one end of the sheet member 33 and winds up the sheet member 33, and a feed roller 35 (also pivotally supported by the container portion 31) is connected to the other end of the seal member 33 and feeds out the seal member 33. (see Figure 3).

This toner cartridge 30 is transported between the cartridge mounting section 13 of the supply device 10 and a cartridge storage device 40 (described later) with the container section 31 facing upward, the base section 32 facing downward, and the racks 32a, 32a facing upward. The Rukoto.

The cartridge storage chamber 20 is formed by a partition wall 21 above the cartridge mounting portion 13 of the supply device 10 so as to surround the toner cartridge 30, and prevents toner leaking from the toner cartridge 30 from scattering toward other devices in the device main body 1. In addition, the apparatus main body l has an opening 22 on the side wall la side, and the toner cartridge 30 is inserted into the cartridge mounting part 13 of the supply apparatus lO through the opening 22.
It is designed to be attached and detached from the

At the innermost part of the cartridge storage chamber 20, as shown in FIG. 3, there is a gear 23 that meshes with a gear 34a attached to the take-up roller 34 of the toner cartridge 30, and a take-up motor 24 that rotates the gear 23. or installed. The rotation of the take-up motor 24 moves the seal member 33 toward the take-up roller 34 via the gear 23.34a, the take-up roller 34, and the edge roller 35, and the cutout portion 33a is inserted into the container portion 3.
1, align the toner cartridge 3 with the opening 31a of
While moving the toner in 0 toward the supply device 1O,
When the toner in the toner cartridge 30 is used up, the take-up motor 24 is rotated again to cause the take-up roller 34 to take up the cutout portion 33a of the seal member 33, and the seal member 33 is used again to close the container portion 31. The opening 31a is sealed, and when the toner cartridge 30 is taken out from the cartridge storage chamber 20, the container part 3 is sealed.
1. Toner attached to the inner wall is prevented from scattering to the outside.

Note that the empty toner cartridge 30 is sealed by the sealing member 33.
It is sufficient that the seal is sufficient to prevent the toner adhered within the toner cartridge 30 from falling and scattering, and the sealing performance does not need to be so strict.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cartridge storage device 40 is constructed by inserting screws 4 into the #wall 1a provided with the opening 22 of the cartridge storage chamber 20 of the main body 1 of the device.
4, a storage main body 41 attached via...;
It is pivotally supported in the central part of the storage main body 41, and a 90 mm
A holder support shaft 42 extending to the left and right has four cartridge holders 43 attached at each time, and a gear 44 fixed to the end of the holder support shaft 42 meshes with the gear 44, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the rotation drive system of the holder support shaft 42 includes a drive gear 45 and a motor 46 that rotates the drive gear 45, and the toner cartridge 30 is moved through its racks 32a and 32a. It is composed of a cartridge storage device 40, a cartridge movement system 50 for moving the cartridge between the cartridge storage chambers 20 of the main body I, and the like.

As shown in FIG.
A channel-shaped cartridge guide 4 that engages with the end of the
3a is provided, and the toner cartridge 30 is supported by this cartridge holder 43 by engaging with its base portion 32 or cartridge guide 43a. Note that the toner cartridge 30 is locked to the cartridge holder 43 by a locking mechanism (not shown).

Also, when positioning the cartridge holder 43, one of them is the supply device! This is done by rotating the holder support shaft 42 so that it is on the same level as the cartridge mounting part 3 of 110, or in this case, as shown in the fourth section, the cartridge guide 13a of the cartridge mounting part 13 and the cartridge holder 43 The cartridge guides 43a are in a straight line, and the toner cartridge 30 is guided and supported by the cartridge guides 13a, 43a, and the nine cartridge holders 43 and the cartridge mounting portion 1 of the supply device 10
Move between 3.

As shown in FIG. 4, the cartridge moving system 50, before engaging the racks 32a, - of the toner cartridge 30,
The rear gear 51.52, the front and rear gear shafts 53.54 that support the front and rear gears 51.52 and are pivotally supported by the swing plate 55, and the swing plate 55 are moved clockwise or counterclockwise in the figure. The supporting shaft 56 to be moved
and a driving device (not shown) that rotates the front and rear gear shafts 53.54. One of the toner cartridges 30 is engaged with the rack 32a of the toner cartridge 30, and the toner cartridge 30 is moved between the cartridge attachment@13 and the cartridge holder 43.

Furthermore, when the cartridge holder 43 rotates due to the rotation of the holder support shaft 42 of the cartridge storage device 40,
The front and rear gear shafts 51, 52 are moved in the direction shown in FIG. 4 and retracted.

Note that the front and rear gears 51, 52 . Front and rear gear shafts 53.5
No. 4, etc., there is another set that engages with the rack 32a on the other side of the toner cartridge, or the other set will be omitted for convenience of explanation below.

Here, inside the apparatus main body 1, there is a rotation drive system of the holder support shaft 42 of the cartridge storage device 40 and a cartridge movement system 5.
0, and the winding motor 24.0 on the device main body l side.
A control device (not shown) is provided to control the toner conveyance system 11 and the like of the supply device 10, so that toner is supplied to the developing device 3 by the toner cartridge 30 fully automatically. It is assumed that the cartridge storage device 40, including the power supply and signal lines, is arranged to be easily attached to and detached from the device main body 1.

If the toner sensor 14 of the supply device 10 detects a shortage of toner, this signal is sent to the control device, and the take-up motor 24 is driven. Then, the cutout portion 33a of the sealing member 33 is taken up by the take-up roller 34 via the gears 23, 34a, etc., and the opening 31a of the toner cartridge is again sealed by the sealing member 33. When this sealing state is confirmed, the front gear 51 of the cartridge moving system 50 or the rack 3 of the toner cartridge 30
2a and rotates, as shown in FIG.
The empty toner cartridge 30 is moved from the cartridge mounting portion 13 of the supply device IO to the cartridge holder 43 of the cartridge storage device M40.

In this case, when the toner cartridge 30 moves into the cartridge holter 43 to some extent, the swing plate 55 rotates and engages with the rear gear 52 or the rack 32a of the toner cartridge 30, and then the gear 52 moves the toner cartridge 30
0 is housed in a cartridge holder 43 and locked to the cartridge holder 43, as shown in FIG.

Next, the front and rear gear shafts 53.5 of the cartridge moving system 50
When the holder support shaft 4 is pulled in the direction A in Fig. 4, the holder support shaft 4
2 is rotated 90 degrees clockwise in FIG. 6, and the cartridge holder 43 holding the next toner cartridge 30 is positioned in front of the opening 22 of the cartridge storage chamber 20, as shown in FIG. Along with this toner cartridge unloader, the cartridge moving system 50
The front and rear gear shafts 53 and 54 move toward the rack 32a of the toner cartridge 30, and the rotation of the swing plate 55 causes the rear gear 52 to mesh with this rack 32a.
By the rotation (rotation in the opposite direction to that described above), the toner cartridge 30 is moved toward the cartridge storage chamber 20 of the main body l.

During this period, the toner cartridge 30 swings and rotates, meshes with the front gear 51 or the rack 32a instead of the rear gear 52, and finally, the front gear 51 moves the toner cartridge 30 onto the supply device IO of the cartridge storage chamber 20. Cartridge mounting part 1
3.

Then, when the toner cartridge holder 30 is positioned in the cartridge mounting portion 13, the toner cartridge 30
The gear 34a attached to the take-up roller 34 of the seal member 33 meshes with the gear 23 of the take-up motor 24. Subsequently, when it is detected that the toner cartridge 30 has been positioned at a predetermined position in the cartridge mounting section 13, the take-up motor 24 is driven, and the sealing member 3
3 cutout fA 33 a or toner cartridge 30
The sealing member 33 is wound up by the winding roller 34 until it overlaps with the opening 31a of the sealing member 33.

In this way, the toner in the toner cartridge 30 falls into the supply device 10 due to its own weight, and the toner in the supply device 10 is transferred by the toner conveyance system 11 to the developing unit 3 via the tact 12.
supplied within. In this case, the toner sensor 14 detects the toner, and a new toner cartridge 30
The fact that toner has been replenished to the imager 3 is notified to the control device on the apparatus main body l side, and the toner replenishment work is completed.

Here, as shown in No. 87, the operator opens and closes the opening/closing 1i provided on the upper part of the storage main body 41 of the cartridge storage device 40.
By opening the toner cartridge 41a and replacing the empty toner cartridge 1-ridge 30 with a new one, the toner supply to the developing unit 3 can be permanently performed. Furthermore, even if the empty toner cartridge 30 is left in the storage main body 41, one toner cartridge of this embodiment can form images on about 40,000 to 50,000 sheets of transfer paper, so it will take about 4 to 50 minutes per month. Even if the device has a high copy volume of 10,000 copies, no manual work is required for four months. Furthermore, in this image forming apparatus, even during toner replenishment work, the developing device 3 and the supply device 10
Since a small amount of toner remains in the image forming apparatus, the image forming operation can be continued, and there is no need to stop the apparatus for toner replenishment as in conventional image forming apparatuses.

As described above, toner can be automatically replenished to the developing device 3, and the operator is freed from the troublesome task of replenishing toner, and the device also has the cartridge storage device 40 and predetermined functions. Since it can be configured with relatively simple equipment such as the toner cartridge 30, there is no large increase in cost.

Further, since the opening 31a of the empty toner cartridge 30 is sealed by the sealing member 33, there is less toner scattering from the toner cartridge 30, and the inside of the cartridge storage chamber 20 and the cartridge storage M40 is not contaminated with toner. In addition, handling of this empty L-narker tray 30 becomes easy.

Furthermore, since toner replenishment work only requires removing the empty toner cartridge 30 from the supply device 10 and installing a new toner cartridge 30, the toner replenishment work takes a relatively short time and can be done easily during the toner replenishment work. It is possible to increase the operating efficiency of the equipment without having to stop the equipment.

In this case, even if the toner cartridge 30 becomes larger or the toner particle size becomes smaller, there is no major change in toner replenishment time, so toner replenishment is possible even for devices that require high copy volume and high image quality. There is no need to stop the equipment.

Here, as shown in FIG. 9, even if the cartridge storage device 40 is not attached to the main body l, the sealing member 33 of the toner cartridge 30 in the cartridge storage chamber 20 is automatically wound up and the toner inside is removed. is supplied to the developing device 3, and when the toner cartridge 30 becomes empty, the sealing member 33 is further automatically wound up to seal the empty toner cartridge 30. Therefore, even in this case, the operator can replenish toner to the developing device 3 by simply installing and removing the toner cartridge 30 into the cartridge storage chamber 20 of the apparatus main body 1.

That is, for users who do not make a large number of copies, the present invention can function satisfactorily by making the cartridge storage device 40 detachable from the main body 1 an option.

In this case, it is assumed that an opening/closing door 25 is attached to the opening 22 of the cartridge storage chamber 20 of the main body 1 of the apparatus.

In addition, as shown in Fig. 1O, a cartridge storage device M
A holder support shaft 42' of 40' is disposed in the front and rear directions toward the supplying device 10 side, and a 2-foot cartridge holder 43' attached to this holder support shaft 42' is shown in the first embodiment. Two larger toner cartridges 30° may be mounted facing each other.

In such a case, since a large toner cartridge 30'' is attached to the cartridge storage device 40', the interval between toner replenishment of the device becomes longer, and the interval between replacing an empty toner cartridge 30'' becomes longer, which reduces the burden on the operator. Decrease.

(Effects of the Invention) As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, toner can be automatically replenished to the developing means, and the operator is freed from the troublesome work of replenishing toner, and the apparatus Since it can be configured with relatively simple equipment such as a cartridge storage device, a toner cartridge with predetermined functions, etc., there is no large increase in cost.

Further, since the toner replenishment work can be performed quickly, there is no need to stop the operation of the apparatus during the toner replenishment work, and the operating efficiency of the apparatus can be improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a sectional view of the area around the developing device of the apparatus main body and the cartridge storage device attached to the apparatus main body, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the toner cartridge, and Fig. 3 is a detailed sectional view of the area around the cartridge storage chamber of the apparatus main body. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a supply device and a cartridge holder etc. positioned on the cartridge mounting surface of the supply device, and FIGS. 5 to 8 are diagrams of a cartridge storage device etc. when replenishing toner to a developing device. Fig. 9 is a sectional view of the main body of the apparatus around the developing device when the cartridge storage device is removed from the main body of the apparatus;
0 is a diagram showing a cartridge storage device according to a modified embodiment attached to the main body of the device, and FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the prior art. 62...Photosensitive tram (image carrier), 10-...
- Supply means, 24... Winding motor (sealing member operating means), 30... Toner cartridge, 33... Sealing member (sealing member), 40... Cartridge storage device. Patent applicant Canon Co., Ltd.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In an image forming apparatus in which a latent image on an image carrier is visualized by toner from a developing means, a supplying device for supplying toner to the developing means, and a removably disposed on the supplying device, A toner cartridge that integrally forms a toner hopper for the developing means together with this supply device and a sealing member of the toner cartridge are opened or closed to move the toner in this toner cartridge toward the supply device and empty the toner cartridge. a sealing member operating means for sealing a toner cartridge; and a cartridge storage device that stores a plurality of toner cartridges and automatically supplies a predetermined internal toner cartridge onto a supply device and collects an empty toner cartridge. An image forming apparatus comprising: (2) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cartridge storage device is removably installed in the main body of the image forming apparatus.