JPH05216303A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an image forming device in which the life of a developing unit is prolonged by replenishing with toner. CONSTITUTION:The device is provided with a recording body 11, an electrifying means 14, an exposing means 15, a developing unit 16 including a container 33 storing the developer 32, a recording body/developing unit 5 in which the recording body 11 and the developer container 33 are integrated and which is freely drawn out of the device main body, a sheet feed means 130, a transfer means 19, a fixing means 20, a destaticizing means 21, and a cleaning means 22. The container 33 can be replenished with the developer 32.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus suitable for a printer as a terminal device such as a computer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In an image forming apparatus utilizing an electrophotographic process, a recording body as an image carrier and a developer container for visualizing an electrostatic latent image formed on the recording body are integrated with each other. It is proposed to unitize. In this case, when the operation time of the image forming apparatus reaches a preset operation time, the developer container and the recording body unit are removed from the apparatus main body and discarded, and a new recording body and a developer container are formed. The unit is installed.

[0003]

When the set recording material replacement time comes, even if the recording material is still usable, it is replaced with a new unit in order to maintain the image quality. It has become. Therefore, even if the developer remains in the developer container, this unit is discarded. This is a waste from the viewpoint of resource saving.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to extend the life of a recording medium by extending the life of the recording medium by replenishing the developer without disposing of the unit, even if the recording medium reaches the end of its useful life. An image forming apparatus is provided.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An image forming apparatus of the present invention comprises a recording medium, a charging means for uniformly charging the recording medium, and an optical information corresponding to a recorded image on the charged recording medium. Development including exposure means for irradiating to form an electrostatic latent image, a developer container storing a developer, and a developing roller for supplying the developer to the recording medium to visualize the electrostatic latent image. A container, a paper feeding means for separating the stacked recording papers one by one in order to bring the recording papers into close contact with the recording medium on which a visible image is formed, and a recording paper in close contact with the recording media. Transfer means for transferring the visible image, fixing means for fixing the visible image on the recording paper, paper discharging means for discharging the recording paper on which the visible image has been fixed, and electric charge remaining on the recording medium after the visible image transfer. To remove the developer remaining on the surface of the recording medium after transferring the visible image Cleaning means, driving means for driving each means including the recording body, and control means for controlling the operation of each means including the driving means, and the recording body and the developer container are mutually connected. It is characterized in that the unit is integrally formed, the unit is provided so as to be freely drawn out from the apparatus main body, and the developer can be supplied to the developer container integrated with the recording body.

[0006]

The above-mentioned unit is pulled out from the main body of the apparatus, the developer container is opened, and the developer is replenished therein. The unit replenished with the developer is pushed into a predetermined position of the apparatus main body.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the appearance of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied, and reference numeral 1 shows the entire apparatus. A power switch 311 is provided on the front surface of the image forming apparatus 1, and a detachable paper feed tray 3 is attached in a direction indicated by an arrow a. The lid 4 of the tray 3 can be opened and closed in the direction of arrow c with the tray still attached to the apparatus main body.

Further, a recording body / developing unit 5 to be described later is attached to the front of the image forming apparatus 1 so as to be drawn out in the direction of arrow b. Recorder / Developer Unit 5
Can be pulled out from the apparatus main body by a certain length or can be pulled out completely from the apparatus main body, but FIG. 1 shows a position where it is completely pushed into the apparatus main body.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 6 indicates a handle portion of the recording medium / developing unit 5. In the transparent cover 7 on the front of the image forming apparatus 1, a pause button, a reset button, a display lamp and the like (all not shown) are housed. The side plate 8 of the apparatus main body and the part 9 of the upper cover can be removed from the main body. At the rear of the device body,
A recording paper receiver 10 for receiving the recording paper discharged outside the machine is provided.

The image forming apparatus 1 uses an electrophotographic dry developing visible image transfer system, and the internal structure thereof will be outlined with reference to FIG. An endless belt-shaped recording body 11 is wound around a pair of belt rollers 12 and 13 at a substantially central portion of the image forming apparatus 1. Of the belt rollers 12 and 13, the roller 12 is a driven roller, and the belt roller 13 is a drive roller, which is rotated in the direction of the arrow by a drive system described later. The recording body 11 is
An electrophotographic photoreceptor having an organic or inorganic photoconductor layer provided on a base film.

Various means for executing the electrophotographic process are arranged around the recording body 11. When they are described along the clockwise rotation direction of the recording body 11, reference numeral 1
Reference numeral 4 denotes a charging charger as a charging means for charging the recording body 11 to a predetermined polarity, and 15 denotes the charged recording body 1
Reference numeral 1 denotes an exposing means for irradiating optical information corresponding to a recorded image, 16 is a developing device for supplying a developer to the electrostatic latent image corresponding to the optical information to visualize the electrostatic latent image, and 17 is a recording paper 24. A paper feed roller for sending out the recording paper and the recording body 1
1. A pair of conveying rollers for bringing the recording paper 24 into close contact with the recording body 11 at a timing of 1. The transfer roller 19 as a transfer means for transferring the visible image onto the recording paper 24 in close contact with the recording body carrying the visible image. The charger 20 has a visible image on the recording paper 24.
The fixing device 21 serves as a fixing unit for fixing the image on the recording medium, the charge removing unit 21 serves as a charge removing unit that removes electric charges remaining on the recording medium 11 after the visible image is transferred, and the discharging unit 22 remains on the surface of the recording medium after the visible image is transferred. Cleaning means for removing the developer are shown respectively.

The operation of the image forming apparatus 1 will be briefly described. First, the surface of the recording medium 11 is uniformly charged to a predetermined polarity by the charging charger 14, and then the light containing the image information is exposed by the exposing means 15. Is irradiated. by this,
The charged charges on the recording medium 11 are selectively dissipated, and an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image to be recorded is formed there. This electrostatic latent image is then visualized by being supplied with the developer 32 from the developing device 16. This visible image is superposed at the position of the transfer charger 19 on the recording paper 24 sent from the recording paper tray 3 by the paper feed roller 17 and the conveyance roller pair 18 in synchronization with the image formation on the recording body 11. When the transfer charger 19 receives the corona discharge, it is transferred to the recording paper 24.

Thereafter, the recording paper 24 is separated from the recording body 11 and enters the fixing device 20, where the visible image is fixed, and the recording paper 24 is discharged to the recording paper receiver 10 by the paper discharge roller pair 25. On the other hand, after the potential remaining on the surface of the recording medium 11 is erased by the discharging unit 21, the residual developer remaining after transfer is removed by the cleaning unit 22 to prepare for the next image formation.

A specific configuration of each unit of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described. The recording body 11 and the developing device 16 are unitized and integrally assembled. As shown in FIG. 5, the recording body unit 23 includes a recording body 11, rollers 12 and 13 that support and drive the recording body 11, and a support plate 26 that rotatably supports both end portions of both rollers. .. As shown in FIGS. 4, 8 and 12, the drive roller 13 is rotatably supported at one end of the support plate 26 by a shaft 38 into which a bearing 46 is fitted. The endless belt-shaped recording medium 11 includes a driving roller 13 that rotates at a fixed position.
And a driven roller 12 described below.

The recording body 11 is formed slightly longer than the length of the recording paper, and when the main switch of the image forming apparatus 1 is turned on, the seam x thereof is shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), it is located above the transfer charger 19. When the main switch is off, the seam x of the recording body 11 is located below the charger 14 as shown in FIG.

In FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, the driven roller 1
2 is pressed outward by a spring 27 provided on the support plate 26 to apply tension to the recording body 11. FIG. 6 shows an example of a recording medium tension applying mechanism. Driven roller 12
The shaft 12a has a bearing 43 having a groove 42 on the outer circumference.
Are fitted. A receiving surface 43 a that receives one end of the spring 27 is formed on a part of the outer circumference of the bearing 43. On the other hand, the support plate 26 has a groove 42 of the bearing 43.
Is formed with a pair of support pieces 44, 44 which are fitted to each other, and a spring stopper 45 provided so as to project in a triangular shape between the support pieces. A bearing groove 42 is formed in the support plate 26 on the shaft 12a.
While being inserted into the support plate 26 while being guided by the support piece 44, the spring 27 is attached between the receiving surface 43 a and the spring stopper 45. Therefore, the recording body 11 in FIG. 5 is given the tension F via the roller 12 by the spring 27, and is given good flatness.

In FIGS. 5 and 7, the hole 26a formed in the substantially intermediate portion of the support plate 26 is set in the receiving portion 35 of the recording medium unit 23 and the recording medium / developing unit 5 (see FIG. 7).
(See) is a hole for finger hooks to put fingers when assembling.

As shown in FIG. 5, the support plate 26 has a top plate 28 on its upper portion, and supports the lower surface of the upper extending portion 11a of the recording body 11. Two protrusions 29, 30 are provided on the lower portion of the support plate 26 so as to protrude from the lower surface of the lower extending portion 11 b of the recording body 11. The developing device unit 31 has a developer container 33 with an opening / closing lid 33a that accommodates the developer 32, and a developing sleeve 34 rotatably supported in the lower portion of the container 33. Developer container 3
Both side plates and the bottom plate of the recording medium unit 23 are extended at right angles from the portion supporting the developing sleeve 34.
The receiving portion 35 for supporting the. A groove 37 is formed in the vicinity of the developing sleeve 34 on both side plates 36 of the receiving portion 35 in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the receiving portion, and a shaft 38 of the drive roller 13 of the recording unit 23 is inserted into the groove 37 for recording. The body 11 is positioned with respect to the developing sleeve 34.

The recording unit 23 is the developing unit 3
1 is simply placed on the bottom plate 39 of the receiving portion 35 and the shaft 38
Since it is only in the groove 37, the movement in the left and right directions is restricted, but it is free in the upward direction. When the recording body unit 23 is placed on the bottom plate 39 of the receiving portion 35, the lower protrusion 2 of the support plate 26 of the recording body unit 23 is placed.
Since only 9 and 30 hit the bottom plate 39, the recording body 11 is not damaged.

A groove 40 is provided at the tip of the receiving portion 35, and this groove serves as a positioning when the developing device unit 31 is attached to the apparatus main body. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the rear ends of the both side plates 36, 36 are
The stays 73 are connected to each other and reinforced.

FIG. 7 shows a recording medium / developing unit 5 in which the recording unit 23 and the developer container 33, that is, the developing unit 31 are integrally assembled. In this figure, a bearing 41 is attached to the shaft 38 of the drive roller 13, and this bearing 41 is used as the developing unit 3.
It is engaged with the groove 37 of the receiving portion of No. 1.

When the recording medium unit 23 is set in the receiving portion 35, if a finger touches the surface of the recording medium, the photosensitive characteristics of that portion are changed. Therefore, the recording unit 23
Has a finger on the hole 26a, and has a notch 36a formed in the side plate 36 for allowing the finger to escape at the time of setting.

11, 12, and 15, a first member 49 and a second member 50 are provided on both side plates 36 of the receiving portion 35 of the developing device unit 31, respectively.
The first member 49 is fixed to the side plate 36 by a screw 51 and has an L-shaped cross section as shown in FIG.
A pair of spacers 52 having restriction surfaces 52a at both ends thereof
have. The upper end of the restriction surface of the spacer 52 is cut off and serves as a guide surface 52b when the recording body unit 23 is mounted.

In the illustrated example, the second member 50 is the first member.
Has the same shape as that of the member 49, is fixed to the side plate 36 by screws 53, and has spacers 52, 5 at both ends thereof.
The guide member 54 has guide portions 54a and 54a facing each other, and an elastic member 55 fastened together with the guide member 54 and fixed to the side plate 36. Elastic member 55
In the illustrated example, a pair is provided. Then, of the first member 49, the guide member 54, and the elastic member 55,
At least the elastic member 55 is made of a conductive material and is electrically connected to the receiving portion 35. The receiving portion 35 is grounded to the apparatus main body via the guide plate 56 (see FIG. 9).

In the illustrated example, the elastic member 55 is formed of a metal leaf spring, but it may be a metal coil spring. The position of the recording body unit 23 with respect to the receiving portion 35 is determined by the width Wc of the spacer 52.
c is determined by the relative relationship with other various devices installed around the recording body 11. Then, the recording body unit 23
When the width between the support plates 26, 26 is Wa and the width between the restricting surface 52a and the free end 55a of the elastic member is Wb, Wa> Wb is satisfied so that Wa> Wb.
A protrusion amount of 5 is set. The gap between the regulation surface 52a and the guide portion 54a is set to be larger than the width Wa by the gap Wd. This gap Wd is the receiving portion 3
5 is set to a value sufficient for easily attaching and detaching the recording body unit 23.

As shown in FIG. 11, when the recording medium unit 23 is dropped from above the receiving portion 35, the recording medium unit 23 is guided by the pair of support plates 26, 26 by the guide surface 52b and the guide portion 54a. As shown in FIG. 12, the elastic member 55 of the one support plate 26 elastically pushes the other support plate 26 so that the other support plate 26 abuts against the restriction surface 52a.

That is, the recording body unit 23 is dropped while bending the elastic member 55, and the projections 29, 3 at the bottom are provided.
0 (see FIG. 5) is abutted against the bottom plate 39, and one support plate 2
6 is elastically pressed against the regulation surface 52a and positioned. Therefore, in the width direction of the recording body 11, the recording body unit 23 is positioned by abutting one side surface against the regulation surface 52a and the other side surface against the conductive elastic member 55, and at the same time with the receiving portion 35. It is kept in electrical continuity. When the recording body unit 23 is removed from the receiving portion 35 of the developing device unit 31, it goes without saying that the elastic member 55 is bent, and these can be attached and detached very easily.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, a fixed spacer 52 having a restricting surface 52a,
Another spacer with a guide part (guide member 5
4) is provided and the elastic member 55 is arranged toward this guide member, but one spacer (guide member 54) is abolished,
The second member may be composed of only the elastic member 55. In this case, it is needless to say that the elastic member 55 may have conductivity, and it is desirable that the elastic member 55 is provided at a position where it comes into contact with the substantially central portion (in the moving direction of the recording body 11) of the support plate 26. Even with such a simple structure, the support plate 26 is
The two regulating surfaces 52a, 52a and the one elastic regulating portion regulate the position in the width direction of the recording medium, and at the same time, maintain the electrical connection with the receiving portion 35.

The developing device unit 31 holding such a recording medium unit 23 is attached to the main body of the apparatus so that it can be inserted and pulled out. As shown in FIG. 9, a guide plate 57 for guiding the upper part of the developer container 33 and a guide plate 56 for guiding the lower bottom plate 39 of the developing device unit 31 are attached to the apparatus main body. The developing device unit 31 is inserted into the apparatus main body along these lines. Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the apparatus main body is provided with guide plates 58 for guiding the both side surfaces of the developing device unit 31, so that the developing unit 31 in the recording medium width direction with respect to the apparatus main body. Positioning is done.

The main body of the apparatus further includes a developing unit 3
A pin 59 for positioning the No. 1 in the insertion direction is provided so as to project from the side plate 60 of the main body of the apparatus, and the pin 59 engages with the groove 40 (see FIG. 5) at the tip of the developing unit, and the developing unit 31 Positioning in the insertion direction is performed. Bearings 42 (see FIG. 6) of the rotary shaft 38 of the drive roller 13 and the rotary shaft 12a of the driven roller 12 in the recording unit are further inserted into the side plates 60 and 67 (see FIG. 8) of the apparatus main body. Brackets 61 and 62 for occasional support are provided at predetermined positions. The bracket serves to position the recording body 11 in the vertical direction via the rollers. As a result, the rollers 12, 13 and the developing sleeve 34 are arranged in a substantially straight line parallel to the insertion direction.

Since such various positioning means are provided, it is only necessary to insert the recording medium / developing unit 5 (see FIG. 7), which is composed of the recording medium unit 23 and the developing device unit 31, to a predetermined position of the apparatus main body. Thus, the mutual positional relationship with other members and devices in the main body can be reliably and easily ensured.
Further, by pulling out the developing device unit 31 from the main body of the apparatus as needed, it is extremely easy to replenish the developer container with the developer or replace the recording body 11.

13 and 14 show a drive system for the recording medium / developing unit 5. The rollers 12 and 13 for supporting and driving the recording body 11 and the developing sleeve 34 are arranged in a substantially straight line in parallel with the inserting / pulling-out direction of the developing device unit 31, and in a direction substantially perpendicular to this, a drive source of the apparatus main body. Is connected to a power transmission gear 63, and a drive gear 64 fixed to the rotary shaft 38 of the drive roller 13 meshes with the power transmission gear 63. The power transmission gear 63 shown in the drawing is meshed with the lower part of the drive gear 64, but may be meshed with the upper part of the drive gear 64. The drive gear 64 also meshes with the driven gear 66 fixed to the rotary shaft 65 of the developing sleeve 34, and therefore the drive force from the drive source of the apparatus main body is
It is transmitted from the gear 63 to the gears 64 and 66. FIG. 14 shows this state in a perspective view.

By constructing the drive system in this way,
The developing unit 31 can be easily inserted and pulled out, and the power transmission when it is inserted can be reliably performed. Since the recording body and the developing device are unitized and assembled in this manner, the recording body and the developing device can be easily attached to and detached from the apparatus main body, and the position can be surely regulated. The gap between the recording body 11 and the developing sleeve 34, the chargers and the like must be kept extremely severe, but according to the example shown in the figure, the recording body 11 and the developing device 16 can be detached from the apparatus main body. Regardless, since these gaps are easily and accurately positioned by a number of positioning means, position adjustment becomes unnecessary and there is no fear of changing relative positions.

Further, it is not necessary to provide a large opening unlike the conventional device, and only a small opening and a simple guide means are provided.
The recording body 11 can be replaced, other repairs can be performed, and the developer 32 can be replenished. Further, the recording body 11 and the developing device 1
Since 6 is unitized, the structure is small and simple, the entire recording body can be easily replaced, and the surface of the recording body is scratched at the time of replacement or the surface of the recording body is soiled with a developer. Never. Further, since the drive system is arranged so that the unit can be easily attached and detached and the power transmission can be surely performed, there is no difficulty in attaching and detaching the unit.

Further, the recording body 11 is guided by the top plate 28 of the support plate at the upper extending portion 11a thereof. Therefore, static electricity is generated by rubbing between the two. This static electricity appears as a phenomenon of sticking of the recording medium to the top plate 28, which causes a problem that the driving load increases and the recording medium feeding speed becomes uneven due to the slip between the driving roller 13 and the recording medium 11. Therefore, the support plate 26 needs to be surely grounded in order to release static electricity.

The recording body 11 comprises a base layer made of a flexible rubber or a synthetic resin, a conductive layer made of an aluminum thin film layer vapor-deposited on the base layer, and a recording layer formed on the conductive layer. And a photoconductive layer. An insulating layer that covers the photoconductive layer may be provided. In order to obtain a clear image, an accurate electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image information must be formed. For that purpose, on the surface of the recording medium uniformly charged by the corona discharge of the charger 14 (see FIG. 2), conductivity is generated only at the exposed portion, and the potential of the exposed portion is set to the ground potential (zero volt) as much as possible. It is necessary to bring them closer. Therefore, one side edge in the width direction of the recording body 11 is peeled off to expose the conductive layer, and a grounding brush is brought into contact with this portion.

In FIG. 8, one side edge of the recording body 11 is
An exposed portion 68 exposing the conductive layer is formed. The exposed end 68 is in contact with the free end of a grounding brush 69 made of a conductive fiber. The grounding brush 69 is
It is conductively supported by the side plate 67 via the bracket 70. In the moving direction of the recording body 11, as shown in FIG. 2, the grounding brush 69 is provided on the tension side of the recording body 11 and in a portion that moves linearly near the drive roller 13.

The background behind the selection of the installation position has the following problems. When a grounding brush is brought into contact with the slack side of the endless belt-shaped recording body 11, the contact state changes with time due to the waviness of the rotating belt, and the conductive path impedance fluctuates due to fluctuations in contact resistance. The recording medium is most stable at the winding part around the roller, but when the grounding brush is brought into contact with the curved portion, the contact angle between each brush fiber and the recording medium is different. , Electrically effective contact cannot be obtained stably.

If the recording body unit 23 is detachable from the main body of the apparatus and is integrated with the developing device unit 31, the portion wound around the driven roller 12 must be used. However, the roller 12 is
Since it is displaceable in order to apply tension to the recording medium, the relative distance between the grounding brush and the recording medium is not constant, and a stable conductive path cannot be formed. Therefore, the recording medium 11 in the endless belt is stable. The position where the shaft 38 is located is the so-called tension side where the shaft 38 is near the driving roller 13 that rotates at the fixed position and is under tension. Tension side 1
In 1a, the recording body 11 has a linear shape, and the vibration accompanying the rotation is also minimized. Therefore, the relative position between the recording body 11 and the grounding brush is always kept constant, and an extremely stable conductive path can be maintained.

Further, in FIG. 8, a sub-scanning synchronization mark 71 is provided on the other side edge of the recording body 11. A sub-scanning synchronization detector 72 for reading the sub-scanning synchronization mark 17 is provided fixed to the side plate 60 so as to face the sub-scanning synchronization mark 17.
The sub-scanning synchronization mark 71 is used for detecting the rotational position of the recording body 11 and for sequence control of image formation.

Referring to FIG. 16, the developing device 16 adopting the magnetic brush developing method will be described. The developing device 16 includes a non-magnetic cylindrical developing sleeve 34 that rotates counterclockwise,
Magnets 111, 112, 11 provided in the sleeve
3, 114, 115, and 116. The developing sleeve 34 is arranged at the opening of the developer container 33 that stores the developer. As the developer, a one-component developer composed of only magnetic toner is used. Developer container 3
3, the developer regulating member 11 is provided on the developer discharging side wall 33b.
7 is attached. The developer regulating member 117 is in a positional relationship facing the magnet 116.

The magnet 111 is the main developing pole, but is a concave magnet with the central portion partially cut. Further, the magnet 111 is arranged so as to face slightly upstream from the closest position between the recording body 11 and the developing sleeve 34 in the rotation direction of the developing sleeve 34. The other magnets are arranged so that the N poles and the S poles alternate. When the developing sleeve 34 rotates, the developer is carried out of the developer container 33 in the rotating direction of the developing sleeve 34. However, since the developer regulating member 117 is arranged at the developer outlet,
Excess developer on the developing sleeve is removed, and a developer layer having a constant thickness is formed. As a result, a magnetic brush having a constant height is formed on the sleeve.

The central portion of the developing main pole 111 is partially cut as described above. For example, looking at the magnetic force on the surface of the developing sleeve 34, the portions corresponding to both ends of the magnet are about 1200 gauss, but the portion corresponding to the central portion is about 800 gauss. When such a magnet is used, when the rotation of the developing sleeve 34 is stopped, it is possible to prevent the developer from existing in the portion corresponding to the central portion of the magnet. That is, as shown in FIG. 17, on the surface of the developing sleeve 34, a portion 118 where the developer does not exist is formed along the generatrix. Moreover, the portion 118 must be within the range R shown in FIG. That is, the developer must be present between the portion where the developer is supplied to the developing sleeve 34 and the developing portion. As can be seen from FIG. 17, the portion 118 where no developer is present is located slightly upstream of the developing portion indicated by the symbol T in the drawing when viewed in the rotational direction of the sleeve.

If foreign matter is clogged between the developer regulating member 117 and the developing sleeve 34, the developer cannot be supplied only to this portion as described above. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 17, the unsupplyed portion 119 to which the developer is not supplied is formed on the developing sleeve 34. However, if there is a portion 118 where the developer does not exist before the developer reaches the developing section T, a portion where the developer does not exist in the width direction is once formed, and the supply shortage caused by the developer regulating member 117 is almost eliminated. To be done. This is because the developer can easily move to the most stable position. As a result, as shown in FIG.
Then, the supply shortage to the extent that it can be seen that the developer is remarkably insufficient over the entire width is solved.

When the electrostatic latent image on the recording medium 11 is visualized by using such a developing device, the generation of white streaks due to insufficient supply of the developer is almost eliminated, and even if the influence is exerted, the white streaks are generated. The degree was slight.

2 and 16, the developer container 33
Inside the first stirring member 190 provided on the stirring shaft 189.
And a second stirring member 191 that is not in contact with the developing sleeve 34 and is provided in parallel therewith. The second stirring member 191 is made of a shaft-shaped magnetic body, and has a spiral mountain-shaped protrusion 192 as shown in FIG. In addition, the second stirring member 191 is reciprocally rotated,
A mechanism 193 for reciprocating the second stirring member 191 relative to the developing sleeve 34 is provided between the second stirring member 191 and the stirring shaft 189.

The mechanism 193, as shown in FIG.
A circular flange 194 fixed to the end of the stirring shaft 189.
A pin 195 planted on the flange 194, and a fork-shaped lever 196 slidably fitted to the pin 195 and having a base fixed to the end of the second stirring member 191. Therefore, when the stirring shaft 189 rotates in a certain direction,
The lever 196 converts the rotational movement into the reciprocating rotational movement of the second stirring member 191, so that the second stirring member 191 rotates forward and backward at an equal angle.

In the developing device 16 described above, the magnetic lines of force of the second stirring member 191 are concentrated in the narrow gap portion between the mountain-shaped protruding portion 192 and the developing sleeve 34, and the developer 32 partially develops at that portion. Retained between the sleeve 34,
Some of the developer coming later is moved laterally a little as shown by the arrow d direction in FIG. 22, so that lateral stirring is performed.

Further, since the second stirring member 191 is rotated, the developer moves in the direction of arrow e, and the developer held between the developing sleeve 34 and the developing sleeve 34 is gradually changed to another developer. The residual developer on the developing sleeve 34 is removed and agitated.

When the second agitating member 191 rotates only in one direction, the developer will move to one side in the developer container 33 and adversely affect the development, and the rotation will apply pressure to the developer to agglomerate the developer. There is a situation that is promoted, but the second
Since the stirring member 191 is reciprocally rotated, the same developer is not always held between the second stirring member 191 and the developing sleeve 34, and the developer agglomeration is caused by the low speed rotation of several rpm or less. The developer on the developing sleeve 34 is stirred without being generated.

According to the developing device 16 as described above,
Since the second stirring member 191 is provided in the vicinity of the developing sleeve 34 in a non-contact state, and the mechanism 193 for reciprocating the stirring member 191 relative to the developing sleeve 34 is provided, the developing sleeve is provided. It is possible to stir while removing the residual developer from this without contacting 34, prevent damage to the developing sleeve and aggregation of the developer, and always obtain a good and stable image.

As described above, the recording material / developing unit 5 includes the developing unit 31 including the developer container 33.
The recording body unit 23 is supported by and the both units are integrated, but the unit needs to be pulled out from the main body of the apparatus regularly or irregularly. For example, replenishment of the developer and replacement of the endless belt-shaped recording medium are daily maintenance work, although there are differences in frequency. The developer replenishment interval is short and its frequency is high as compared with the normal recording body replacement interval.

When the recording medium is replaced, the work cannot be performed unless the recording medium / developing unit is completely pulled out from the main body of the apparatus. However, when replenishing the developer, the lid of the developer container 33 is closed. It is sufficient to pull out the unit enough to open 33a.

On the other hand, unnecessarily pulling the recording medium 11 out of the apparatus to expose the photoconductive layer causes deterioration of photosensitive characteristics due to illumination light in the room and adhesion of scratches and dust. Therefore, it is avoided as much as possible. Better.

Therefore, in the example shown in the figure, the drawing amount of the recording medium / developing unit 5 can be selected according to the contents of the maintenance operation. In FIG. 18, a hole 56a is formed in the substantially central portion of the guide plate 56, and the locking piece 121a of the stopper 121 is exposed in this hole. The stopper 121, as shown in FIG.
It is fixed to a support shaft 122 supported between 0 and 67.
Further, a spring 123 is hooked on one end of the stopper 121, and the locking piece 121a of the spring 123 is given a swinging habit in a direction in which it projects into the hole 56a.

An operating arm 124 is provided at one end of the support shaft 122.
One end 124a of is fixed. An operation knob 125 is fixed to the other end of the operation arm, and the operation knob 125 is projected to the outside of the front of the device as shown in FIG. On the other hand, the bottom plate 39 of the unit is formed with an engagement hole 39a (see FIG. 15).

Then, as shown in FIG. 18, the stopper 121 is in contact with the lower surface of the bottom plate 39 when the recording body / developing unit 5 is mounted in the apparatus main body. When the recording body / developing unit 5 is pulled out from this position in the direction of the arrow, the locking piece 121a rubs against the lower surface of the bottom plate 39, and as shown in FIG.
The pulling-out operation is restricted at the position where it is engaged with a, so that it cannot be pulled out any more. The position shown in this FIG.
3a is a position where it can be opened as shown by a broken line,
This is a developer replenishing position for replenishing the developer container 33 with the developer. In this case, the recording body unit 23 is located inside the apparatus main body. Therefore, the recording body 11 is not affected by the indoor illumination lamp, and the deterioration of the characteristics can be prevented.

When replacing the recording body 11, after pulling out the recording body / developing unit 5 to the position shown in FIG. 19, the operation knob 125 is pushed down and the operation arm 124 is swung to engage the stopper 121. Insert the stopper 121a into the engaging hole 3
The unit may be retracted from 9a and pulled out of the machine. When the recording body / developing device unit 5 whose recording body has been exchanged is mounted on the main body, the stopper 121 is rotated by pressing the tapered portion of the stopper 121 with the leading edge 39b (see FIG. 18) of the bottom plate 39. Can be mounted without resistance.

Although FIG. 18 shows an example in which the stopper 121 is engaged with and disengaged from the bottom plate 39 of the recording body / developing unit 5, the side plate 36 may be provided with a stopper. This example is shown in FIG. 20, and a stopper 127 supported by the support shaft 126 is provided near the side plate 36. This stopper 1
27 is urged by a spring 128, and has a locking piece 127a.
Is abutted against the side plate 36. One end 1 of stopper 127
27b abuts on one end of the operation slider 129.
This slider 129 has a guide hole 129a and a fixing pin 13
It is slidable by loosely fitting it in 0. On the other hand, the side plate 36 has
Engagement holes 36b (see FIG. 21) are formed. When the recording body / developing unit 5 is pulled out in the direction of the arrow (see FIG. 20) and the locking piece 127a is fitted into the engaging hole 36b,
At this position (see FIG. 21), the withdrawal of the recording medium / developing unit 5 is restricted. The position of the unit 5 at this time is the developer supply position shown in FIG. The stopper 127 that locks the unit at the developer replenishment position simultaneously pushes the operation slider 129 to move the operation knob 129b.
Is projected outside the machine.

When the recording medium / developing unit is to be completely pulled out of the machine, the operation knob 129b shown in FIG. 21 is pushed in to retract the stopper 127 from the engagement hole 36b, thereby stopping at the intermediate position. If you release the state,
The withdrawal becomes possible.

When an endless belt-shaped recording medium is used, phenomena such as slack and waviness occur on the recording medium between the belt rollers. Therefore, it is necessary to sufficiently consider the arrangement position of each device arranged around the recording body.

For the developing device 16, the developing device unit 3
By integrating 1 and the recording body unit 23, the developing gap can be kept constant. This is as described above.

The accuracy of the relative positional relationship with the recording medium 11 is
The exposure device 15 is required for the developing device 16 and above. The best means for keeping the positions of the recording body 11 and the exposure device 15 constant is to perform the exposure at the portion wound around the belt roller, that is, the so-called curvature region. However, in this case, the precondition that the scanning line of the scanning beam is parallel to the axis of the belt roller must be satisfied. If the diameter of the belt roller is small and the two are not parallel,
Exposure unevenness occurs in the axial direction of the roller, in other words, in the width direction of the recording body 11.

Further, the charging charger 14 is also required to be provided at a position where the relative position to the recording body 11 does not fluctuate as much as possible. In particular, in the case of the scorotron type charger 14, it is necessary for all the grid wires to have the same distance from the recording body 11.

In the illustrated image forming apparatus, the above requirements are satisfied when setting the exposure position and the charging position. In FIG. 25, the recording body 11 is divided into four areas due to differences in flatness, speed characteristics and the like. Among these four areas, the area on the recording surface where the positional variation with other constituent units is small is the tension side linear area G ₁ and the driving side curvature area E ₁ . Further, the area where the feeding speed of the recording medium is stable is the driving side curvature area E ₁ and the tension side linear area G _{1 in the} vicinity thereof.
In the slack side linear region G, the position and the feed rate are likely to change due to a phenomenon such as waviness on the recording surface, and in the driven side curvature region E, the feed rate is likely to change.

In consideration of the characteristics of each area of the endless belt-shaped recording body 11 described above, the charging, exposing and developing processes important for image formation are performed by the recording body 11 from the tension side linear area G ₁ to the driving side curvature area E. It turns out that it is preferable to do it while moving to ₁ .

More specifically, as the exposure device 15, the tension side linear area G ₁ just before the recording body 11 is in contact with the driving roller 13 as a linear area with little fluctuation of the recording surface and little speed fluctuation. And the developing device 16 is arranged in the curvature region E ₁ where the recording body 11 and the driving roller 13 having the smallest development gap variation and speed variation are in contact with each other, and
It is suitable for the above-mentioned purpose to provide the charger 14 in the linear region of the recording medium 11 and in the tension side linear region G ₁ where the surface of the recording medium is less varied.

That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the charging charger 14 is placed in the linear area on the tension side of the recording body 11 in the exposure device 15.
The respective positions are set so that the recording medium 11 irradiates the exposure light toward the linear region immediately before the change from the linear region to the curvature region.

The charging charger 14 is a scorotron type charger. The exposure device 15 uses He-N as a light source.
A gas laser such as e or a semiconductor laser is used to modulate and deflect a light source beam to scan (width scan) a minute beam spot on a recording medium while changing its light intensity to expose. The image forming apparatus is not limited to this exposure type.

Thus, the endless belt-shaped recording body 1
By providing the incident position of the exposure device in the plane area near the portion where 1 changes from a flat surface to a curved surface, the adjustment accuracy of the parallelism of the scanning beam in the width direction of the recording medium becomes easy.

Next, the paper feeding device for feeding the recording paper toward the recording medium will be described. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 130 generally indicates a paper feeding device. The recording papers 24 stored in the paper feeding device 130 are fed one by one by the synergistic action of the paper feeding roller 17 and the friction pad 131 from the uppermost paper, and are guided by the guide plate 132 to be conveyed by the conveying roller pair 18. It is designed to be sent to. Paper feeder 1
The presence or absence of recording paper in 30 is determined by the paper end sensor 1
It is detected by 33.

The paper feeding device 130 has a box-shaped paper feeding tray 3 having an open top. The rear part of the bottom part of the paper feed tray 3 is composed of a fixed bottom plate 134, and the front part is composed of a movable bottom plate 135. The movable bottom plate 135 is substantially pivotally supported on the paper feed tray 3 at its rear end 136,
A front end portion can be tilted in the vertical direction around the pivot portion. The movable bottom plate 135 is biased upward by the spring force of the compression coil spring 137 in the figure. The paper feed tray 3 is provided with an upper lid 4 which has one end pivotally supported by a pivot 138 and which opens and closes the upper portion of the paper feed tray 3.

When the upper lid 4 is closed, the friction pad 131 is in pressure contact with the paper feed roller 17, and the compression coil spring 137 pushes up the movable bottom plate 135 and presses it against the lower peripheral surface of the paper feed roller 17. In this case, when the recording sheets are stacked on the bottom plate 135, the uppermost recording sheet is fed by the paper feed roller 1.
It is pressed against the lower peripheral surface of 7.

To set the recording paper 24, the closed top cover 4 is swung counterclockwise about the pivot 138 to open it, and the movable bottom plate 135 causes the coil spring 137 to move through the interlocking member (not shown). It is pushed down against the elasticity. After this, the upper lid 4 and the movable bottom plate 1 with the bundle of recording papers opened
35 and the tip edge thereof is abutted against the tray front plate 156. Next, when the upper lid 4 is closed, the movable bottom plate 13
5 rises due to the elasticity of the coil spring 137 and presses the uppermost one of the stacked recording papers against the peripheral surface of the paper feed roller 17.

The paper end sensor 133 is fixed to the main body of the apparatus via the bracket 160, and the detection filler 163 is opposed to the opening (not shown) of the movable bottom plate 135. If there is even one sheet of recording paper on the movable bottom plate 135, the detection filler 163 outputs a signal indicating that the paper is present by riding on the recording paper, and if there is no recording paper, the detection filler 163 falls into the opening and no paper is present. Output a signal.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the paper feed roller 17 is provided above the front plate 156 of the paper feed tray 3 and is located substantially at the center in the width direction of the tray. As is clear from FIG. 4, this paper feed roller 17 is provided with a pair of conveyance rollers 1.
8 is arranged so as to alternate with the peripheral surface of the upper roller 18a. The upper roller 18a and the lower roller 18b are pressed against each other. The driving of these rollers will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 2, a registration sensor 179 is arranged downstream of the pair of transport rollers 18 in the transport direction of the recording paper 24. Registration sensor 179
Is for detecting the recording paper sent from the tray 3 and held by the conveying roller pair 18, and when detecting the recording paper, outputs a signal for cutting off the rotational drive of the conveying roller pair 18 and the paper feed roller 17. To do.

By the way, the recording material / developing unit 5 is arranged above the paper feeding device 130, and the cleaning device 22 is arranged above it. The cleaning device 22 collects and removes the developer remaining on the surface of the recording body 11 after transfer. Therefore, when the recording apparatus is replaced or the developer is replenished with the unit 5 when all or part of the unit 5 is pulled out from the apparatus main body, the cleaning device 2
The developer collected in step 2 causes the developer to vibrate or impact, and thus the paper feeding device 1
There is a fear of falling on the conveyance roller pair 18, the paper feed roller 17, and the friction pad 131. The friction coefficient of the surface of each roller or pad to which the developer adheres changes, and normal recording paper feeding operation cannot be performed. Further, an unwanted developer is attached to the recording paper to make a dirty copy. Furthermore, with the movement of the recording body 11, a part of the powder image formed on the surface of the recording body 11 is released and becomes a floating toner, and the recording paper 24
And rollers may be contaminated.

Incidentally, the recording paper 24 is delivered from the paper feed tray and then brought into close contact with the recording body 11. However, the recording paper 24 needs to be delivered in a predetermined direction while maintaining its posture. Therefore, the recording body / developing unit 5
A recording paper guide cover 180 is detachably provided below the recording paper 24 and the conveyance path of the recording paper 24 to prevent the developer from falling toward the recording paper 24. Recording paper guide cover 180
When the recording body / developing unit 5 is attached to the main body of the apparatus after mounting, the bottom plate 39 of the receiving portion 35 restricts the upward movement of the cover.

As shown in FIG. 2, the recording paper guide cover 1
When 80 is attached to the main body of the apparatus, the guide portion 180a at the front end thereof is provided with a guide plate 185 fixed to the main body.
The recording paper path 186 is configured in cooperation with the above and serves to maintain the posture of the recording paper conveyed to the transfer area. The effects obtained by not fixing the recording paper guide cover 180 are as follows. The paper feed roller 17 is
If the frictional resistance of the peripheral surface is reduced, normal paper feeding cannot be performed, so it is necessary to clean the paper regularly. In such cleaning and maintenance work, if the recording medium / developing unit 5 is pulled out and then the recording paper guide cover 180 is removed,
Maintenance work can be performed very easily from the opening formed on the front face of the apparatus main body.

Fixing device 2 applied to the illustrated image forming apparatus
0 is a roller fixing method. A fixing roller 197 and a pressure roller 198 are provided in the fixing device 20 so as to face each other and form a fixing roller pair. The fixing method by this pair of fixing rollers may be either a heating method or a pressure method. For example, in the case of the heating method, the pressing force required for fixing is applied between both rollers only during the fixing operation in which the recording paper 24 passes. A one-rotation clutch, a sliding friction mechanism, etc. are appropriately attached so as to work.

The tip of the separation claw 201, which is biased by a spring (not shown), is brought into contact with the peripheral surface of the fixing roller 197. A cleaning pad 209 made of a heat-resistant felt that wipes off the developer adhering to the peripheral surface of the fixing roller 197 is pressed against the peripheral surface of the fixing roller 197 with an appropriate pressing force.

The roller 20 is provided on the paper discharge side of the fixing roller pair.
A paper discharge roller pair 25 composed of 4, 205 is arranged. The paper discharge roller pair 25 sends the fixed recording paper to the recording paper receiver 10. A part 9 of the upper cover of the apparatus main body is provided so as to be openable and closable so as to conveniently remove the recording paper jammed in the fixing device 20 portion including the paper discharge roller pair 25.

The transfer charger 19 is composed of a discharge electrode 247 connected to a high voltage power source (not shown) and a shield case 248 of the discharge electrode 247. The transfer charger 19 can be pulled out in the direction of the arrow by opening the side plate 8 (see FIG. 1) of the apparatus body.

The charging charger 14 is of the scorotron type, and is composed of a discharge electrode 249, a grid 250, and their shield case 251, each of which is connected to a power source (not shown). The charging charger 14 is also detachably attached to the apparatus main body in the same direction as the transfer charger 19. Then, the charging charger 14 and the transfer charger 19 radiate corona discharges having the same polarity toward the front surface of the recording body 11 and the back surface of the recording paper.

In the case of the example shown in FIG. 2, the static eliminator 21 includes a discharge electrode 252 that discharges an AC corona or an AC corona whose polarity is opposite to the charging polarity of the recording medium, and the static elimination lamp 2.
53 and these shield cases 254. In the case of this example, the charger is arranged near the left side in the figure in order to not only charge the recording medium but also charge the recording paper after the toner image is transferred, and the left side plate of the shield case 254 is used for recording. The paper is open to prevent jams. By disposing the static eliminator at a portion of the recording body 11 wound around the roller 12, that is, a so-called curvature portion, the separability between the recording body and the recording paper is improved in addition to the curvature separation.

The structure of the cleaning device 22 will be described with reference to FIG. The cleaning device 22 can be pulled out from the main body of the device in the same direction as each charger, and has a casing 255 and cleaning rollers 25 rotatably supported by the casing and provided in parallel with each other.
6, a magnetic roller 257, and a recovery shaft 258. The cleaning roller 256 is composed of a non-magnetic sleeve in which short fibers are planted on the surface and three magnets 260, 261, 262 arranged inside the non-magnetic sleeve. The cleaning roller 256 is rotated clockwise by a drive system described later.

The drive system of the image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. Pulleys 274 and 275 are integrally attached to the rotation shaft of the drive motor 273. An endless timing belt 280 wound around pulleys 276, 277, 278 and a tension pulley 279 is wound around the pulley 274. Pulley 276,
277 and 278 are respectively shafts 281, 282 and 28.
3 is rotatably attached to the side plate 67 (see FIGS. 4 and 8).

A gear 63 is fixed to the shaft 281 of the pulley 276, and meshes with a gear 64 which is substantially integral with the drive belt roller 13 as shown in FIGS. 8 and 13. A gear 66 of the developing sleeve 34 meshes with the gear 64. The shaft 282 of the pulley 277 has a gear 2
84 is fixed, and this gear 284 meshes with a gear 86 fixed to the shaft 285 of the cleaning roller 256.

The shaft 283 of the pulley 278 has a gear 287.
Is fixed to the fixing roller 197.
It meshes with a gear 289 fixed to the shaft 288.
A gear 290 integral with the shaft 291 of the pressure roller 198 meshes with the gear 289. Therefore, the rollers 197, 1
The 98 rotate without slipping on each other. A gear 235 is fixed to the shaft 234 of the paper discharge roller 204. The gear 235 is interlocked with the fixing roller gear 289 via an intermediate gear. A one-way clutch 294 is provided between the gear 289 and the shaft 288 so that the driving force is transmitted only from the gear 289 to the shaft 288. Therefore, when the drive system is stopped, the fixing roller 197 can freely rotate in the recording paper conveyance direction.

Another pulley 2 of the drive motor 273
75 has a timing belt 29 between it and the pulley 295.
6 is wrapped around. As shown in FIG. 4, the pulley 2
Reference numeral 95 denotes a shaft 297 of the lower roller 18b of the conveying roller pair 18.
It is mounted via a transport clutch 299 which is an electromagnetic clutch. When the transport clutch 299 is electrically connected, the pulley 295 and the shaft 297 are integrally rotated with each other. This state is defined as the clutch being turned on.

A gear 29 is attached to the shaft 297 of the lower roller 18b.
8 is fixed to the gear 298, the upper roller 1
A gear 301 fixed to one end of a shaft 300 of 8a is meshed. As shown in FIG. 4, a gear 302 is fixed to the other end of the shaft 300, and the gear 302 is fixed to the gear 302.
03 is meshing. The gear 303 is provided with a shaft 30 of the paper feed roller 17 via a paper feed clutch 304 which is an electromagnetic clutch.
It is attached to 5. When the paper feed clutch 304 is energized, the rotation of the gear 303 is transmitted to the shaft 305 to rotate the paper feed roller 17 in the paper feed direction. The paper feed roller 17 is attached to the shaft 305 via a one-way rotation clutch (not shown), and when the shaft 305 is not rotating, the roller can freely rotate.

To replenish the developer, as shown in FIG. 19, the recording medium / developing unit 5 is pulled out to the developer replenishing position, and the lid 33a is shown by a broken line (see a chain line in FIG. 2). And the developer container 33 is replenished with the developer. The replenished unit 5 is pushed into the apparatus main body as shown in FIGS.

[0095]

As described above, according to the present invention, the recording body and the developer container are integrated as a unit, and the developer can be supplied to the developer container. Disappear.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing an internal structure of the above.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing the drive system of the above.

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of the above.

FIG. 5 is an exploded side view showing a recording body / developing unit including a recording body unit and a developing unit.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an essential part showing an example of means for applying tension to a recording medium.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a recording body / developing unit.

FIG. 8 is a front view showing the recording unit mounted on the apparatus main body.

FIG. 9 is a schematic side view showing a state in which the recording body / developing unit is vertically positioned with respect to the apparatus main body.

FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view showing a main part of the same.

FIG. 11 is a front view showing a positioning mechanism of the recording body unit in the recording body width direction.

FIG. 12 is a plan view of the above.

FIG. 13 is a schematic side view showing an example of a driving unit of a recording body / developing unit.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of an essential part of the above.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of a main part showing a receiving part provided with a positioning unit of the recording body unit.

FIG. 16 is a side sectional view showing an example of a developing device.

FIG. 17 is a partial rear view showing the developing sleeve having a portion where no developer is present.

FIG. 18 is a side view showing an example of a maintenance operation mechanism of the recording body / developing unit.

FIG. 19 is an operation diagram showing the same state in which the recording body / developing unit is pulled out to the developer replenishing position and positioned.

FIG. 20 is a main-portion plan view showing another example of the maintenance operation mechanism.

FIG. 21 is an operation diagram of the above.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view showing a second stirring member.

FIG. 23 is a side view showing a mechanism for reciprocating the second stirring member.

FIG. 24 is a side view of the recording body showing stop positions when power supply is stopped and when recording is possible.

FIG. 25 is a side view showing a curvature region and a linear region of the endless belt-shaped recording medium.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 ... Paper feeding tray 5 ... Recording medium / developing device unit 11 ... Recording medium 14 ... Charging charger 15 ... Exposure device 16 ... Developing device 17 ... Paper feeding roller 19. ..Transfer charger 20 ... Fixer 21 ... Electrification eliminator 22 ... Cleaning device 23 ... Recording unit 24 ... Recording paper 25 ... Discharging roller pair 31 ... Developer unit 32 ... developer 33 ... developer container 33a ... lid

Front page continuation (72) Inventor Shigeru Yamazaki 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo ・ Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masaichi Tanji 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo In stock company Ricoh (72) Inventor Satoru Tomita 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo ・ In stock company Ricoh (72) In Kunihiko Ikeda 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo In Ricoh (72) Inventor Shigeru Suzuki 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo ・ In Ricoh Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A recording medium, a charging means for uniformly charging the recording medium, and an exposing means for irradiating the charged recording medium with optical information corresponding to a recorded image to form an electrostatic latent image. A developer container that stores a developer; a developing device that includes a developing roller that supplies the developer to the recording medium to visualize the electrostatic latent image; and a recording medium on which a visible image is formed. To make the recording paper stick to
Paper feeding means for separating the stacked recording papers one by one and sending it out, transfer means for transferring a visible image to the recording papers in close contact with the recording medium, and fixing means for fixing the visible image to the recording papers A discharge device for discharging the recording paper on which the visible image has been fixed, a charge removing unit for removing the electric charge remaining on the recording material after the visible image transfer, and a contact surface for contacting the surface of the recording material after the visible image transfer. The unit comprises a cleaning unit for removing the developer remaining on the surface and a driving unit for driving each unit including the recording body, and the recording body and the developer container are integrated with each other. The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the unit is provided so as to be drawn out from the apparatus main body and the developer can be replenished to a developer container integrated with the recording body.