JPH04359261A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an image forming device in which ordinary maintenance such as toner replenishment can be facilitated extremely without making a mistake and which can detect the residual quantity of toner in a developing device and the discharged quantity of waste toner in a cleaning unit by means of a simple mechanism. CONSTITUTION:Among plural electrostatic photographic processing means disposed around a photosensitive body 1, a developing device 16 and a cleaning device 23 are separately formed in units U1 and U2 respectively which can be attached to/detached from a photosensitive body 1. Also, the units U1 and U2 can rotate integrally with the photosensitive body 1. Further, a toner container and a waste-toner container are formed in the units U1 and U2 respectively. In the containers, a detecting means is provided where in the prescribed rotational movement positions of the units U1 and U2, the detecting means detects the rotation angle of the supporting body which supports floating members floating on the toner and waste toner, and detects the residual quantity of stored toner and discharge toner and storing quantity.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

FIELD OF INDUSTRIAL APPLICATION The present invention relates to a copying machine, etc., which is equipped with an electrostatographic process means divided into units that are detachable from an image carrier, and forms a desired image on recording paper according to an electrostatic process. The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional image forming apparatus, such as a copying machine, electrostatic photographic processing devices such as a charger and a developing device surround a rotating photoreceptor, taking into consideration the mutual spacing according to the process order. Each was attached to the frame of the device itself. While the number and size of the above-mentioned process devices has increased in accordance with the demand for higher functionality in copying machines, there has also been a demand for miniaturization of the entire device, making it difficult to layout the inside of the device. In addition, for copying machines, for example, daily maintenance work that is necessary for the operation of the device, such as toner replenishment and discharge of waste toner due to toner consumption, paper jams in the paper conveyance path, and dirt on each process device. , maintenance inspections, repair work, or periodic inspections are required in the event of an abnormal stop due to deterioration, etc. These operations are usually carried out by dividing and releasing the main parts of the equipment, but although such equipment is convenient for removing jammed paper in the event of an abnormal paper jam, it is not necessarily suitable for maintenance and inspection work of each process equipment. do not have. Therefore, for example, JP-A-60-140
Japanese Patent No. 264 discloses an electrophotographic copying apparatus that is provided with a process unit that holds a photoreceptor and a process device integrally, that is detachable from the main body of the device, and that the photoreceptor and the process device are mutually movable. has been done.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above-mentioned prior art, since the mounting position of the process unit to the apparatus main body is fixed, the work of installing and removing the process unit is complicated, and when performing maintenance and inspection work, etc. Toner adhering to process equipment or the like may stain the body or clothes of a worker, or the worker may accidentally touch a photoreceptor and damage it. Furthermore, even routine maintenance work such as toner replenishment involves disassembling a part of the device body, so it is necessary to rely on the on-site work of service personnel who have acquired specialized knowledge. Furthermore, in conventional simple copying machines, the developing device does not have a mechanism to detect the remaining amount of toner, so the amount of toner required for copying is estimated from the number of copying operations, and the amount of toner required for copying is estimated and replenished during toner replenishment work. The difference between the amount of toner and the amount of toner was used as a guideline for the amount of remaining toner. The above estimation will give reasonable results if many copies are made with normal density selection or on average with normal density selection, but if many copies are made with density selection darker than normal density. In such a case, there is a risk that the remaining toner will run out if the copying operation is continued according to the above guideline. Furthermore, if the appropriate volume of the toner collection tank of the cleaning unit is designed based on the above estimation, there is a possibility that the collected toner will exceed the capacity of the toner collection tank. In order to avoid this possibility, it is possible to set the toner replenishment amount and toner recovery tank capacity to be larger, but this requires a correspondingly larger toner tank and drained toner recovery tank, which makes it difficult to downsize the copying device. become an obstacle. The present invention has been made in view of such problems in the prior art, and makes maintenance work, especially daily maintenance work such as toner replenishment, extremely easy and
It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus that can detect the remaining amount of toner in a developing device or the amount of discharged toner in a cleaning unit with a simple mechanism.

0004

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides that at least some of a plurality of electrostatic photographic process means arranged around a photoreceptor are detachable from the photoreceptor. The unit is rotatable integrally with the photoreceptor, and the unit is formed with a toner container or a waste toner container, in which, for example, , at a predetermined rotational movement position of the unit, detects the rotation angle of a support body that supports a floating member floating above the toner or discharged toner, and detects the remaining amount or storage amount of toner or discharged toner. It has a detection means.

[0005]

[Operation] When a series of copying operations is completed, etc., the unit moves to a predetermined rotational movement position, and at that position, the detection means detects toner or waste toner depending on the rotational angle of the support that supports the floating member. The remaining amount or stored amount of the unit is detected, and if it exceeds a predetermined limit value, a warning is issued from the control means, and the user replaces the unit based on the warning.

[0006]

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a digital copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view thereof. Figure 1
As shown in FIG. 2, a contact glass 2 is disposed on the upper surface of a case C of the main body of the copying machine, and an original O to be imaged is placed on this contact glass 2. A scanning section S is arranged below the contact glass 2. The scanning unit S includes a first scanning optical system 5 that includes a light source 3 for illuminating the document and a mirror 4 that moves along with reading scanning, and a mirror 6.
, 7, a fixed lens 9, and an image reading element 10. When a print switch on an operation panel (not shown) of the main body of the copying machine is pressed, the first and second scanning optical systems 5 and 8 move in the directions of the arrows, and the original O is read and scanned. The scanned image of the original O is read by the image reading element 10 through the first and second scanning optical systems 5 and 8 and the lens 9, converted into an image electric signal, and further digitized and image-processed. Ru. An image forming section D is arranged below the scanning section S. Image forming section D includes a laser diode (LD) 11
, LD drive plate 12, polygon mirror 13, mirror 14,
Photoreceptor belt 1, developing device 16, cleaning device 23
, an electrostatic photographic process device such as a charging charger 15, a transfer charger 18, a separation charger 19, and a conveyor belt 21.
and a fixing roller 22. Transfer paper is stored in a paper feed unit 17 disposed upstream of the transfer unit, and the transfer paper is taken out one by one by a conveying roller and transferred between the photoreceptor belt 1 and the transfer charger 18. transported to the department. On the other hand, a signal read by the image reading element 10 and subjected to image processing is input to the LD driving plate 12 as described above. A drive signal is applied to the LD 11 from the LD drive plate 12, and modulated laser light is emitted from the LD 11 in accordance with this drive signal. The laser beam is reflected by the polygon mirror 13 and the mirror 14 and is directed to the photoreceptor belt 1.
Reach the exposed part of. The surface of the photoreceptor belt 1 is uniformly charged in advance by a charger 15, and when exposed to laser light, an electrostatic latent image is formed on that portion. The electrostatic latent image is developed by a developing device 16 and becomes a visible image using toner. The obtained visible image is further conveyed as the photoreceptor belt 1 moves, and is transferred from the paper feed section 17 by the corona discharge of the transfer charger 18 at the exposed portion of the lower end where the photoreceptor belt 1 reverses its moving direction vertically. transferred to paper. The transfer paper on which the image has been transferred is neutralized by a separation charger 19 and separated from the surface of the photoreceptor belt 1. The transfer paper separated in this way is sent to the fixing roller 22 by the conveyor belt 21, and after the transfer image is fixed by the fixing roller 22, the copy paper is transferred to the case C.
Expelled outside. On the other hand, toner still remaining on the surface of the photoreceptor belt 1 after the transfer operation is removed by a cleaning device 23.

In this embodiment, the photoreceptor belt 1 is an endless belt stretched between rollers spaced apart by a predetermined distance so that the longitudinal section has a flat oval shape. Further, main electrostatic photographic process devices for image formation such as a developing device 16 and a cleaning device 23 arranged around the photoreceptor belt 1 are divided and housed in two substantially semi-cylindrical units having substantially the same shape. ing. These two units (developing unit U1 and cleaning unit U2) are removably attached to the photoreceptor belt 1 with the parallel plane portion sandwiched therebetween, as will be described later, and the electrostatic photographic process unit composed of these units as a whole is front and back. It has a cylindrical shape with a central axis in the direction, and can rotate integrally around the central axis as a rotation axis. These units U1 and U2 are rotated together with the photoreceptor belt 1 so that they face the approximately semicircular mounting opening 25 formed on the side surface of the case C shown in FIG. It can be removed and a unit for maintenance and replacement can be attached to the main body of the device. In this copying machine, during the image forming operation, the photoreceptor belt 1 is arranged in a vertically elongated manner, and opposing moving parts that move parallel to each other and in opposite directions are sandwiched between these units U1 and U2. However, since the curved surfaces that reverse the moving direction of the upper and lower ends are exposed to serve as the photosensitive section and the transfer section, there is no need to provide openings for image formation in the units U1 and U2, and the photoconductor belt 1 is The housings of the units U1 and U2 can be completely covered with the casings of the units U1 and U2, which have an approximately semi-cylindrical outer shape except for the curved surface portions. Further, when the copying machine is not in operation or during maintenance work, the pressure contact state between the electrostatic photographic processing devices of the two units U1 and U2 and the photoreceptor belt 1 is released. For example, when the toner in the developing device is almost consumed while the copying machine is in operation, or when the recovery tank of the cleaning device is full, the copying operation is interrupted and the toner is replenished or the waste toner is discharged. Maintenance work must be carried out. In such a case, in this embodiment, an alarm display and guidance are displayed on the operation/display section (not shown) of the copying machine main body, and the developing unit U1 or the cleaning unit U2 is rotated and moved to a position opposite the mounting opening 25. do. Therefore, maintenance and replacement work can be completed by simply opening the mounting opening 25, pulling out the unit to be replaced, and loading the new unit according to the guidance, so that anyone can easily perform the maintenance and replacement work. Furthermore, since the developing unit U1 and the cleaning unit U2 are arranged rotationally symmetrically, when loading a new unit, the two units U1 and U2 can be loaded in any order from the installation opening 25 of the copying machine main body without distinguishing between the new units. It may be inserted and loaded, and even users who are unfamiliar with mechanical devices can load the unit without error. As mentioned above, replenishment of new toner and discharge of waste toner, which are necessary due to the mechanical operation of the copying machine, can be carried out through the same installation opening 25 without opening the front panel of case C as in the conventional example. Since all you have to do is pull out the two units U1 and U2 from the holder and load them, there is no need to request a service person to come and wait for maintenance work.You can perform the maintenance work yourself, and you can save on labor. The burden is light, and work efficiency is improved because the time required to stop and stand by the copying machine is saved.

The configuration and operation of the main parts of the embodiment will be explained in detail below. FIG. 3 is a front view showing a fixed state of the electrostatic photographic process unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. A photoreceptor belt 1, which is an image carrier made of an organic photoreceptor (OPC), is supported by rollers 100 and 10 of the same diameter, which are supporting driving members.
The roller 10 is stretched between the rollers 10 and 10 as shown by the arrows.
It is designed to move around by clockwise rotation of 0 and 101. As described above, the developing unit U1 and the cleaning unit U2 are disposed close to and opposite to the opposing moving parts 1a and 1b between the rollers 100 and 101 of the photoreceptor belt 1, which run parallel to each other and in opposite directions. Both are semicircular in shape and rotationally symmetrical. Further, the photoreceptor belt 1, the developing unit U1, and the cleaning unit U2 are configured to be integrally rotatable around the rotation axis R1. This makes it possible to load the two units into the main body of the apparatus regardless of the order of the two units. In the cylindrical gap formed by the outer periphery of the developing unit U1 and the cleaning unit U2, rollers 100, 101 are provided.
A curved surface portion of the photoreceptor belt 1 supported by the photoreceptor belt 1 is exposed, and this exposed portion serves as a laser beam exposure area and a toner image transfer area. A developing device 16 is housed and supported in the housing 102 of the developing unit U1. The developing device 16 includes a developing roller 160 containing a built-in magnet and a toner tank 16.
7, and an agitator 162 for stirring the toner. An opening 167a is formed near one end of the flat surface of the toner tank 167, and the developing roller 160 is rotatably mounted with a part of its circumferential surface facing outside through the opening 167a. A static eliminating brush 1 is provided inside the toner tank 167, facing the developing roller 160, and near the opening 167a.
63, further an agitator 162 and a developing blade 16
1 are provided along the rotation direction of the developing roller 160, respectively. A float shaft 170 that supports a detection float 172 and is parallel to the rotation axis R1 is rotatably fixed near the rotation axis R1 inside the toner tank 167, and is connected to the float shaft 170 at the rear edge of the toner tank 167. A toner detection sensor 174 is attached (see FIG. 5). As will be described later, the toner detection sensor 1 detects whether or not there is a remaining amount of toner filled in the space inside the toner tank 167.
Detected at 74. In the developing device 16, an agitator 162
As a result of the rotation, the toner in the toner tank 167 is agitated and further fed into the vicinity of the developing blade 161, and the developing blade 161 forms a toner layer of a constant thickness on the circumferential surface of the developing roller 160. As the developing roller 160 rotates, this toner is supplied to the electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor belt 1 that is in contact with the developing roller 160, and is attracted to the charges on the surface of the photoreceptor belt 1 to form a visible image. The toner that has not been adsorbed onto the photoreceptor belt 1 is adhered to the developing roller 160 and transported, and after being neutralized by the static eliminating brush 163, it is returned to the toner tank 167 and regulated by the developing blade 161. The entire developing device 16 is rotatable around a positioning pin 164 that supports one end thereof, and a spring 159 is stretched between the hook portion 166 of the housing 102 and the hook portion 167b at the free end of the toner tank 167. It is done. The developing device 16 has a positioning pin 1
64 as a center, the elastic force of the spring 159 urges the developing roller 160 in a counterclockwise direction, that is, in a direction in which the developing roller 160 is separated from the photoreceptor belt 1. In the image forming state, the developing device 16 is driven by a solenoid, which will be described later, to rotate the cam 165, and its protrusion pushes the outer circumferential surface of the toner tank 167 against the photoreceptor belt 1 against the elastic force of the spring 159. The free end of the toner tank 167 is positioned by being pressed against the inwardly bent stopper piece 102a at one end of the housing 102. As a result, the developing roller 160 presses and contacts the opposing moving portion 1a of the photoreceptor belt 1 with a predetermined pressure. Also, the developing unit U
1 and the cleaning unit U2 are fixed by a fixing means (not shown) so as not to rotate about the rotation axis R1.

[0009] The cleaning unit U2 has a flat surface facing the opposing moving portion 1b on the opposite side of the photoreceptor belt 1;
A cleaning device 23 is accommodated and supported. The recovery tank 236 of the cleaning device 23 has an opening 236a at a position facing the opposing moving portion 1b of the photoreceptor belt 1, and a cleaning blade 230 and a rotatable fur brush are placed in contact with the photoreceptor belt 1 near the opening 236a. 231 is arranged. Further, a flicker bar 234 integrally formed with the recovery tank 236 is provided in the opening 236a and is in contact with the fur brush 231. The case 2 is placed at a position opposite the flicker bar 234 of the opening 236a.
A toner peeling plate 233 extending from 36 and a toner collecting rod 232 whose tip end is in pressure contact are rotatably provided, and these block the opening 236a. In addition, the collection tank 23
A float shaft 171 that supports a detection float 173 and is parallel to the rotation shaft R1 is rotatably fixed near the rotation shaft R1 in the recovery tank 236.
A fullness detection sensor (not shown) connected to the tank 236 is attached and issues an alarm signal when the collection tank 236 is filled with waste toner. In the cleaning device 23, the recovery tank 23 is attached to a positioning pin 235 provided at a position rotationally symmetrical to the positioning pin 164 of the developing device 16 and the rotation axis R1.
6 is rotatably supported, and a spring 237 is stretched between a hook 236b provided at the outer edge of the free end of the recovery tank 236 and the hook 158 of the housing 103. In the image forming operation state, the cam 238 rotates and its protrusion resists the elastic force of the spring 237 to close the recovery tank 236.
The back surface is pressed toward the photoreceptor belt 1 side, and the free end of the recovery tank 236 comes into contact with the stopper piece 103a formed by the internal bending of the edge of the housing 103, so that the cleaning device 23 is positioned and fixed. Due to this fixed positioning, the cleaning blade 230 and the fur brush 231 are pressed into contact with the opposing moving portion 1b of the photoreceptor belt 1 with a predetermined pressure. In the cleaning device 23, the fur brush 231 scrapes off the residual toner on the photoreceptor belt 1, and the flicker bar 234 knocks off the residual toner scraped off from the fur brush 231. The remaining toner that could not be scraped off by the fur brush 231 is removed by the cleaning blade 230. The residual toner scraped off in this manner is sequentially taken into the collection tank 236 by the rotation of the toner collection rod 232 and the inhibiting action of the toner peeling plate 233. The charger 15 and eraser 24 are installed outside the electrostatographic process unit, and the charger 15, eraser 24, and transfer charger 18 are disposed outside the rotational circumference of the electrostatographic process unit, and maintenance Rotation of the electrostatic photographic process unit can be performed without any trouble when replacing or installing a process pack. The charger 15 charges the photoreceptor belt 1 after cleaning, the eraser 24 erases the charge on unnecessary parts so that an electrostatic latent image is created only in the required image area, and the mirror 14 In preparation for a new exposure scan on the photoreceptor belt 1 by the reflected light from. In this manner, the process of forming an electrostatic latent image on the photoreceptor belt 1 by the developing device 16, cleaning device 23, charger 15, and eraser 24 is performed.

When the series of copying operations are completed, the cam 165
, 238 is de-energized, and the cams 165 and 238 are rotated clockwise by the tension of the return spring to unlock the toner tank 167 and the collection tank 236, and the developing roller 16 is turned off.
0, cleaning blade 230 and fur brush 2
31 is released from the pressurized contact state with respect to the photoreceptor belt 1. This lock release operation is also performed after a predetermined number of consecutive copying operations are performed, and at the same time as this lock release operation, the developing unit U1 and the cleaning unit U2 (together with the photoreceptor belt 1) are rotated around the rotation axis R1. Rotate 90° clockwise to open the opening 2 of the recovery tank 236.
Move it to a position where 36a faces upward. In this state, the storage state of waste toner in the collection tank 236 is detected by the fullness detection sensor. When the full detection sensor detects that the waste toner in the collection tank 236 is stored in an amount exceeding a predetermined amount, an alarm signal is generated as described above, and the operation/display section displays an alarm for waste toner discharge, and the collection tank 236 23
6 replacement guidance display is displayed, and the recovery tank 236 is rotated to a position opposite the mounting opening 25. If the detection result of the full detection sensor is less than the maximum storage amount of waste toner stored in the collection tank 236, the developing unit U1 and cleaning unit U2 are rotated again, and the rotational operation is performed again so that they are in the reversed position. In other words, it is moved to a position rotated by 180 degrees (home position). At this position, the toner detection sensor 174 detects whether there is a remaining amount of toner in the toner tank 167. 4 and 5 are respectively a perspective view of the toner tank 167 with the flat surface removed, and a sectional view taken along the cutting line XX in FIG. Detection float 172
is made of a material such as polyester or polyurethane that has a smaller specific gravity than the toner and discharged toner, so it floats on the toner staying at the cylindrical bottom of the toner tank 167, and the float shaft 170 moves according to the remaining amount of toner. Rotate clockwise. (a), (b), and (c) in FIG. 5 respectively show a state in which the remaining amount of toner in the toner tank 167 is full, a state in which the toner is slightly consumed, and a state in which the toner is almost empty. be. The toner detection sensor 174 uses a potentiometer mechanism to detect the remaining amount of toner in the toner tank 167 as a change in resistance according to the amount of rotation of the float shaft 170. The output resistance value is set to increase in proportion to the increase in rotation amount. Toner detection sensor 174
When the output resistance value from the toner tank 167 becomes less than a predetermined setting value, the control device issues a toner near-end signal and the toner tank 167
An alarm display prompting the user to replenish the amount of toner remaining in the toner tank 167 is displayed on the operation/display section, and the toner tank 167 is rotated to a position opposite the mounting opening 25. In this way, in this embodiment, the remaining amount of toner in the toner tank 167 is directly detected, and when it falls below a predetermined amount, an alarm is displayed on the operation/display section, so that accurate An alarm display can be displayed based on the remaining amount of toner. Note that the detection method of the toner detection sensor 174 is not based on the potentiometer mechanism as in this embodiment, but may also employ a detection method using a strain sensor. Further, the detection mechanism of the fullness detection sensor in the recovery tank 236 has a similar configuration to that of the toner detection sensor 174 shown in FIG. Therefore, the toner tank 16
When the toner in the collection tank 236 is running out, the toner detection sensor 174 detects this and the control device issues a toner near-end signal as described above, and when the collection tank 236 is full of exhausted toner The full detection sensor detects this and issues a detection signal indicating that the discharged toner is full.
Since a warning is displayed on the display section, the user can maintain and replace the developing unit U1 or the cleaning unit U2 based on this information, thereby performing maintenance and replacement work accurately and reliably. When the user performs this maintenance/replacement work himself/herself, the photoreceptor belt 1, developing unit U1, and cleaning unit U2 are already unfixed and rotated around the rotation axis R1, and the unit to be replaced faces the mounting opening 25. It rotates into position and waits. That is, when the drive of the solenoid (not shown) is released,
The cam 165 or the cam 238 rotates to release the lock, and the support and fixation of the developing device 16 to the housing 102 is released, or the cleaning device 23 to the housing 103 is released.
The support and fixation of the toner tank 167 or the collection tank 236 is rotated around the positioning pin 164 or 235 in the direction away from the photoreceptor belt 1 by the tension of the springs 159, 237, and the toner tank 167 or the recovery tank 236 is The recovery tank 236 can be taken out from the mounting opening 25.

The toner tank 167 or recovery tank 236 to be replaced is configured as a cartridge (hereinafter referred to as a process pack) that can be attached and detached with one touch.
After removing this, a new toner tank 167 or recovery tank 236 is inserted into the case C through the mounting opening 25, mounted on the housing 102 or the housing 103, and the button for completing mounting is pressed on the operation panel. As a result, the cam 165 or cam 238 rotates to lock the process pack, and the developing unit U1 and cleaning unit U2 rotate around the rotation axis R1 and are oriented in a predetermined vertical direction. The maintenance and replacement work is completed and the copying machine is ready for operation. Since the housings 102 and 103 of the units U1 and U2 are formed in the same shape, in the process pack loading operation, the two types of process packs are connected to the opposing moving portions 1a and 1 of the photoreceptor belt 1.
It can be attached to either side of b. As mentioned above, in this embodiment, the toner tank 167
The collection tank 236 has the same and symmetrical substantially semi-cylindrical shape, and is configured to be rotatable as a unit.
Out of toner in developing device 16 or collection tank 236
When performing maintenance and replacement work on the process pack when the discharge toner is full, all that is required is a simple installation and removal of the process pack from the installation opening 25 on the front of case C, making it easy for the user to do it himself without having to ask for help from a service person. can be processed. In addition, since the main parts of the photoreceptor belt 1 and the main electrostatic photographic processing equipment are always covered by the housings 102 and 103, the operator can, for example, inspect the equipment for abnormal paper jams or remove paper. Photoreceptor belt 1
This can prevent accidents such as touching the product and getting it dirty or damaged. Furthermore, since it is possible to unlock the electrostatic photographic processing unit and release the contact between the electrostatic photographic processing apparatus and the photoreceptor belt 1 except during image forming operation, for example,
The photoreceptor belt 1 and the cleaning blade 230 will not deteriorate due to long-term pressure, and the toner will not solidify at the contact area between them, which will not adversely affect the formed image.

In the above embodiment, when a new process pack is loaded into the main body of the copying machine, an automatic forming operation is performed to make it fit in with the photoreceptor belt 1. Further, in the embodiments, a one-component type developing device is used, but a two-component or multi-component type developing device can be used. Furthermore, if the toner in the toner tank 167 runs out or if the collection tank 236 is full of waste toner, the developing unit U1 or cleaning unit U2 is unlocked when the respective sensors issue a detection signal. The unit automatically rotates and the corresponding unit is inserted into the mounting opening 2.
5, the toner detection sensor 174 or full detection sensor detects this and issues a detection signal to display an alarm on the operation/display unit, allowing the user to By operating the operation/display section,
A method may also be used in which the process pack is unlocked and the corresponding unit is rotated to a position facing the mounting opening 25. As described above, in this embodiment, the replaceable process pack housed in the developing unit U1 or the cleaning unit U2 is removed from the housing C of the apparatus main body, maintenance and replacement operations are performed on the process pack containing the electrostatic photographic processing device, and the process pack is replaced with the housing C. There are no restrictions on the order in which the process packs housed in each unit are taken out, the order in which they are loaded, or their positions.Furthermore, the process packs can be reloaded with a semi-automated one-touch operation, leaving the operator's hands free. Maintenance and replacement of the electrostatic photographic processing device and old and new toner in a copying machine can be performed extremely easily and quickly without any trouble.

[0013]

As described above, according to the invention as set forth in claim 1, at least a part of the electrostatic photographic processing means is divided into at least two units that can be attached to and detached from the photoreceptor. In addition, the unit is rotatable integrally with the photoreceptor, and further, the detection means formed in the toner container or the discharged toner container detects the remaining amount or stored amount of the toner or discharged toner. Therefore, daily maintenance work such as toner replenishment can be performed extremely easily and without error, and the remaining amount of toner in the developing device or the amount of discharged toner in the cleaning unit can be detected with a simple mechanism. According to the invention as claimed in claim 2,
Since the detection position of the detection means is always at a fixed position, accurate detection information can be obtained. According to the third or fourth aspect of the present invention, since the detection means detects the floating position of the floating member floating on the toner or the discharged toner, the detection means can have an extremely simple configuration.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a digital copying machine that is an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the same digital copying machine.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a fixed state of the electrostatographic process unit of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the toner tank with a virtually flat surface removed.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along section line XX in FIG. 4;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Photoreceptor belt 16 Developing device 23 Cleaning device 102, 103 Housing 160 Developing roller 167 Toner tank 170,171 Float shaft 172,173 Detection float 174 Toner detection sensor 236 Recovery tank

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An image carrier, and a plurality of electrostatographic processing means disposed around the image carrier, at least some of the plurality of electrostatographic processing means are connected to the image carrier. In the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus is divided into at least two units that are attachable to and detachable from a body, and the unit is rotatable integrally with the image carrier, at least one of the units contains toner or waste toner. What is claimed is: 1. An image forming apparatus comprising: a container for accommodating a toner; and a detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of toner or discharged toner contained therein, or the amount of toner stored therein. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection operation of the detection means is performed at a predetermined rotational movement position of the unit provided with the detection means. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the detection means has a floating member floating above the toner or discharged toner, and detects a floating position of the floating member. Device. 4. The detection means includes a rotatable support supporting the floating member,
An image forming apparatus characterized in that the floating position is detected based on the rotation angle of the support.