JPH0619298A - Developing device on image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To surely hold a developing part at an acting position, without making the fitting and releasing operations of a device main device difficult by providing a positioning means selectively setting an acting state where the developing part is held at the acting position and a nonacting state where the developing part actrually has an acting action. CONSTITUTION:A pressing block piece 216 provided on the pressing arm part 214 of a pressing member 206, acts on the top surface of one projection provided on the auxiliary housing the developing part, to turn the developing part in a prescribed direction, in cooperation with the gravity of the developing part and the biased force of a bias coil spring, and surely position the developing part at the acting position. Then, in the acting state of the positioning means 204, each pressing member 206 is elastically biased in the prescribed direction by the action of a biased force coil spring 220, because the developing part is elastically and surely held at the acting position by the actions of the spring 220 and the member 206.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a developing device installed in an image forming apparatus such as an electrostatic copying machine or an electrostatic printing machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As is well known in image generating apparatuses,
Form an electrostatic latent image on an image bearing member such as an electrophotographic photosensitive member,
Next, this electrostatic latent image is developed into a toner image. A developing device for developing an electrostatic latent image into a toner image is provided with a developer applying unit composed of, for example, a magnetic brush mechanism, and the developer applying unit develops the electrostatic latent image into a developer in a developing area. To develop into a toner image. The developer may be a two-component developer consisting of toner and carrier or a one-component developer consisting only of toner.

In the developing device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-229072 and Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 56-52746, the required maintenance of the main portion of the developing device can be carried out sufficiently easily, so that the selection is selected. From the standpoint of enabling development using toners of different colors, the developing device main body including the applying means is detachably attached to the image generating device. In such a developing device, the main body of the developing device can be detached from the image forming device and the required maintenance work can be performed easily. If desired, instead of the detached developing device main body, another developing device main body accommodating toner of different color can be attached to the image generating apparatus, and thus development with different color toner can be realized. .

Along the surface of the image carrier, the developed image held by the application means of the developing device body acts on the image carrier such as the electrostatic photoconductor disposed on the peripheral surface of the rotating drum. When the developing device main body is moved, as is well known, the image carrier may be damaged by the friction with the developer. Therefore, in the developing device disclosed in JP-A-60-229072, the developing device is moved in the vertical direction which is perpendicular to the central axis of the rotating drum on which the image carrier is arranged. As a result, the developing device main body can be attached to and detached from the image generating device. In the developing device disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 56-52746, the developing device main body is mounted movably along the surface of the image carrier (hence, parallel to the central axis of the rotary drum). , Is perpendicular to the central axis of the rotary drum between a working position where the developer held by the application unit of the developing device main body acts on the image carrier and a non-acting position where the developer does not substantially act on the image carrier. When the developing device main body is mounted so as to be movable in the horizontal direction, and the developing device main body is moved along the surface of the image carrier to be attached to or detached from the image generating device, the developing device main body is set to the non-acting position. Is configured.

[0005]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention Therefore, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
No. 0-229072 or the above-mentioned Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 56-527.
Like the developing device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 46-46, when the developing device main body is mounted in the image generating device so as to be linearly movable in the vertical direction or the horizontal direction, the developing device main body is allowed to move linearly. There is a problem that a relatively large space is required, which hinders downsizing of the image generating apparatus.

In view of the above problems in the conventional developing device,
In the specification and drawings of Japanese Patent Application No. 61-235929 (name of the invention: developing device) filed by the applicant of the present invention, a supporting part and a developing device mounted on the supporting part so as to be rotatable within a required range. There is proposed a developing device in which a developing device main body including a section is detachably attached to an image generating device. A switching mechanism that acts on one end side of the developing portion of the developing device body is provided on the image generating device body side. On the other end side of the developing section, spring means is interposed between the developing section and the supporting section. The developing unit equipped with the applying unit is rotated with respect to the support unit by the action of the switching mechanism, and the developing unit held by the applying unit can substantially act on the image carrier and the operating position where the developer can act on the image carrier. It is selectively positioned in the non-acting position where it cannot act. The spring member interposed between the developing section and the supporting section elastically biases the developing section to the working position. When the main body of the developing device is attached to or detached from the image generating device, the developing portion is positioned at the non-acting position, and the developing device is arranged in the central axis direction of the rotary drum having the image carrier on the peripheral surface. Move the body. In such a developing device, the space required for allowing the developing portion to move between the working position and the non-working position can be made sufficiently small, and thus the image generating device can be made sufficiently small.

However, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application No. 61-2359.
The developing device disclosed in the specification and drawings of No. 29 is not yet fully satisfactory, and it has been found that the following problems to be solved remain. That is, in the state where the developing device main body is mounted at the required position in the image generating device, the switching mechanism holds the developing part at the working position at one end side of the developing part, but does not operate at the other end side of the developing part. The developing portion is held in the operating position by the elastic biasing action of the spring member interposed between the developing portion and the supporting portion. However, if the elastic biasing action of the spring means is made excessively strong, it becomes difficult to rotate the developing portion to the non-acting position at the time of mounting and dismounting the developing device main body. The strength of the elastic biasing action of the member cannot be made sufficient. Therefore, there is a possibility that the developing section is not held in the operating position sufficiently reliably, especially on the other end side, and the developing section may be vibrated due to, for example, vibration caused by the operation of various components of the image generating apparatus. .

The present invention has been made in view of the above facts, and its technical problem is the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application No. 61-23592.
The developing device disclosed in the specification and drawings of No. 9 can be further improved so that the developing portion can be held in the working position sufficiently reliably without making the mounting and dismounting operation of the developing device main body difficult. It is necessary to do so.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above technical object, according to the present invention, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application No. 61-2359 is used.
No. 29, and the developing device disclosed in the drawings,
Positioning means that is selectively set to a working state that acts on the developing unit that is rotated to the working position to hold the developing unit at the working position and a non-working state that does not substantially act on the developing unit are provided.

That is, according to the present invention, as a developing device that achieves the above-mentioned technical problems, the developing device is detachably mounted on the main body of the image forming device, and is rotatably attached to the supporting portion and a predetermined range. A developing device main body including a supported developing part, wherein the developing part is equipped with applying means for applying a developer to the electrostatic latent image in the developing area; and a developing device main body mounted on the image generating device. In the developing portion of the developing device main body, the application position is such that the developer held by the applying means can act on the electrostatic latent image in the developing area and the developer held by the applying means is electrostatically operated in the developing area. A switching mechanism for selectively rotating to a non-acting position that cannot substantially act on the latent image, and a developing mechanism that rotates to the acting position to hold the developing unit at the acting position. Selectively between a working state and a non-working state where it does not substantially act on the developing section. A developing device in the image generation apparatus characterized by comprising a positioning means which is constant, is provided.

It is preferable that the switching mechanism acts on the developing portion at one end of the developing device, and the positioning means acts on the developing portion at a position separated from the switching mechanism. The positioning means can act on the developing section at a plurality of spaced-apart sites.
When the switching mechanism rotates the developing portion to the working position,
In response, the positioning means is set to the working state,
It is preferable that when the switching mechanism rotates the developing portion to the non-acting position, the positioning means is set to the non-acting state accordingly. Further, the switching mechanism includes a biasing means for biasing the developing section to the non-acting position and an elevating member for ascending / descending between a descending position and an ascending position, and when the elevating member is located in the descending position, The developing portion is rotated to the operating position by the biasing action of the biasing means,
When the elevating member is raised to the elevating position, it is preferable that the elevating member rotates the developing portion to the non-acting position against the biasing action of the biasing means. Preferably, the switching mechanism includes rotating cam means for moving the lifting member up and down, and when the cam means is rotated from the first angular position to the second angular position, the lifting member is lowered to the lowered position. Then, when the cam means is rotated from the second angular position to the first angular position, the lifting member is raised to the raised position. The positioning means includes a moving member that is reciprocated in response to the rotation of the cam means, a first position that holds the developing portion in the working position, and a second position that does not substantially act on the developing portion. And a pressing member that is moved in accordance with the reciprocating movement of the moving member, and when the cam means is located at the second angular position, the pressing member is located at the first position. Is located at the first angular position, the pressing member is located at the second position. Elastic biasing means is attached to the pressing member, and when the cam means is located at the second angular position, the elastic biasing action of the elastic biasing means acts on the developing portion via the pressing member. The developing portion is elastically biased to the working position.

[0012]

In the developing device constructed according to the present invention, since the developing section is not moved linearly between the operating position and the non-operating position but is rotated, it is necessary to move the developing section. The required space can be made sufficiently small and the image generating apparatus can be made sufficiently small. in addition,
When the developing device main body is mounted at a required position of the image generating device and the developing portion is positioned at the operating position by the action of the switching mechanism, the positioning means can be set to the operating state to act on the developing portion. By the action of the positioning means together with the action of, the developing portion can be held in the action position with sufficient certainty. When the developing unit is rotated to the non-acting position by the switching mechanism, the positioning unit can be set to a non-acting state in which the developing unit does not substantially act on the developing unit. Will never be difficult.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of a developing device constructed according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Outline of Developing Device First, an outline of a developing device constructed according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

The developing device shown in the figure has a developing device main body 6 including a supporting portion 2 (FIG. 2) and a developing portion 4 extending from the supporting portion 2.
It is equipped with. The developing device main body 6 is detachably attached to the device main body of an image generating device such as an electrostatic copying machine, and the developing portion 4 of the developing device main body 6 has a non-acting position shown by a solid line in FIG.
It is freely rotatable between the working position indicated by the two-dot chain line.

The developing section 4 includes a developing housing 8, and the developing housing 8 defines a developing chamber 10. An opening 11 is formed on the left surface of the developing housing 8 in FIG. Development room 1
A magnetic brush mechanism 12 constituting a developer applying means is arranged on the left side of 0, and a stirring means 1 is arranged on the right side of the developing chamber 10.
4 are provided. The magnetic brush mechanism 12 is composed of a combination of a hollow sleeve member 18 rotated in a direction indicated by an arrow 16 and a stationary permanent magnet 20 arranged in the hollow sleeve member 18, and is developed on the peripheral surface of the hollow sleeve member 18. The agent is held and conveyed in the direction indicated by arrow 16. The stirring means 14 includes a support shaft 22 and a stirring member 24 attached to the support shaft 22, and a peripheral surface of the stirring member 24 is provided with a blade 26 protruding outward. The stirring means 14 is rotated in the direction shown by the arrow 28 to stir and mix the developer in the developing chamber 10 and frictionally charge the toner in the developer.
A guide member 30 is arranged above the hollow sleeve member 18 and the stirring member 24. A toner transfer chamber 32 is defined above the guide member 30, and a toner transfer means 34 is disposed in the toner transfer chamber 32. Toner transfer chamber 3
A toner supply opening 36 is formed at the bottom of 2.

In the developing device as described above, the toner supplied from the toner cartridge described later is transferred in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. And is made to flow down onto the stirring member 24 along the upper surface of the guide member 30. The stirring member 24 mixes the developer flowing down from the guide member 30 (including the new toner supplied as described above) and the developer existing in the developing chamber 10 and sends the mixture to the magnetic brush mechanism 12. The magnetic brush mechanism 12 stores the mixed developer in the hollow sleeve member 18
It is magnetically held on the peripheral surface of and is conveyed in the direction indicated by arrow 16. On the other hand, the developing housing 8 has a hollow sleeve member 1
8 is integrally provided with a bristle-cutting portion 38 protruding toward the peripheral surface of 8, and the excess developer held by the hollow sleeve member 18 is removed from the hollow sleeve member 18 by the action of the bristle-cutting portion 38. The removed developer is guided upward, and then flown down on the upper surface of the guide member 30 toward the stirring member 24. A toner concentration detector 40 is disposed in the vicinity of the bristle cutting portion 38, and the toner concentration detector 40 detects the toner concentration of the developer removed from the hollow sleeve member 18 and guided upward. The developer having the length of the spikes adjusted by the action of the spike-cutting portion 38 is further conveyed in the direction indicated by the arrow 16 by the rotation of the hollow sleeve member 18, and the developing drum of the rotary drum 42 having the photosensitive member arranged on the peripheral surface thereof. Acts on the surface. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photoconductor of the rotary drum 42 by means known per se, and the developer held by the magnetic brush mechanism 12 in the developing area indicated by numeral 44 is the surface of the photoconductor of the rotary drum 42. And the electrostatic latent image is developed into a toner image.

Structure of Developing Device Body Next, the structure of the developing device body 6 will be described with reference to FIGS. In the developing device main body 6 shown,
The support portion 2 exists at one end portion (left end portion in FIG. 4), and the developing portion extends from the support portion 2 toward the other end (right end portion in FIG. 4). The support portion 2 includes a support body 46, and a grip member 48 is integrally provided on the front surface of the support body 46. A pair of protrusions 50 is provided on the rear surface of the support body 46 at intervals in the left-right direction, and each protrusion 50 has a cylindrical receiving recess 52 (FIG. 4). Support body 46
A support wall 54 extending substantially vertically upward is also provided on the support wall 54, and an electrical connection terminal 56 is mounted on the support wall 54. Further, an engaging member 60 having a claw portion 58 is also mounted on the support body 46 so as to be rotatable. Engaging member 60
A bias spring 62 is attached to the engaging member 60. By pressing the operating portion 64 of the engaging member 60, the engaging member 60 can be swung against the biasing force of the bias spring 62.

The developing housing 8 of the developing section 4 has a pair of end walls 66 and 6 arranged at intervals in the width direction (direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 1, left-right direction in FIG. 4).
8 (FIG. 2) having a bottom wall 70, a side wall 72 and a top wall 74 (FIG. 1) disposed between the end walls 66 and 68 at one end, by these walls 66, 68, 70, 72 and 74. The developing chamber 10 is defined. As understood from FIGS. 1 and 2, shaft portions (not shown) provided at both ends of the hollow sleeve member 18 of the magnetic brush mechanism 12 are rotatably supported by the end walls 66 and 68, A support member 76 is interposed between 66 and the shaft portion. One end of a wire 78 for applying a developing bias voltage to the hollow sleeve member 18 is connected by a screw member 79 of the supporting member 76, and the other end of the wire 78 is connected to the connecting terminal 5 of the supporting portion 2.
Connected to 6. The support shaft 22 of the stirring means 14 is also rotatably supported by the end walls 66 and 68.

Continuing the description with reference to FIG. 2, an auxiliary housing 80 is mounted on the upper wall 74 of the developing housing 8, and the auxiliary housing 80 includes a cartridge mounting portion 82 and a toner transfer portion 84. . The cartridge mounting portion 82 defines a toner discharge chamber 86, the upper surface of which is open. On the other hand, a toner cartridge 88 (FIG. 10) is detachably mounted above the toner discharge chamber 86, and the toner in the toner cartridge 88 is discharged to the toner discharge chamber 86. Details of the toner cartridge 88 and the cartridge mounting portion 82 in which the toner cartridge 88 is mounted will be described later. The toner transfer portion 84 is composed of a hollow cylindrical wall 90, and extends from the cartridge mounting portion 82 to the upper left in FIG. Protrusions 92 extending in the width direction are provided on both sides of the cylindrical wall 90. By attaching the protrusions 92 to the upper wall 74 of the developing housing 8 with mounting screws 94, the auxiliary housing 80 is mounted on the developing housing 8. ing. The toner transfer chamber 32 defined by the cylindrical wall 90 is connected to the toner discharge chamber 86.
The toner supply opening 36 is formed in the bottom portion of the cylindrical wall 90, and the width of the toner supply opening 36 is gradually made toward the toner transfer direction indicated by an arrow 96. Further, a spiral member 98 constituting the toner transfer means 34 is rotatably mounted in the toner transfer chamber 32. One end of the spiral member 98 extends from the toner transfer chamber 32 to the toner discharge chamber 86, and the main part thereof extends in the developing chamber 10 in the width direction. Toner cartridge 88 (see FIG. 1)
The toner discharged from (0) to the toner discharge chamber 86 flows through the toner transfer chamber 32 by the action of the spiral member 98 as indicated by an arrow 96.
It is transferred in the direction indicated by. At the upstream side of the toner transfer chamber 32 in the transfer direction indicated by the arrow 96, the width of the toner supply opening 36 is relatively small. Therefore, although the toner transfer amount is relatively large, the toner supply opening 36 supplies toner. The ratio is relatively small, while the width of the toner supply opening 36 is relatively large at the downstream side of the toner transfer chamber 32 in the transfer direction indicated by the arrow 96, and therefore the toner supply amount is relatively small despite the toner transfer amount being relatively small. Opening 3
The toner supply rate through 6 is relatively large, and thus the toner is supplied from the toner discharge chamber 86 through the toner supply opening 36 substantially uniformly over the entire width direction of the developing chamber 10.

The supporting section 2 and the developing section 4 described above are connected as follows. Describing mainly with reference to FIG. 2, in the support portion 2, the circular hole 1 is formed in the support wall 54.
00 and arc-shaped guide hole 102 are formed. On the other hand, in the developing unit 4, a support shaft portion 104 and a guided shaft portion 106 are provided on the outer surface of the end wall 66. Then, the support shaft portion 104 is inserted into the hole 100, and the guided shaft portion 106 is inserted.
Is inserted into the guide hole 102, the developing unit 4 is mounted on the supporting unit 2. The support shaft portion 104 and the guided shaft portion 106 project through the support wall 54 of the support portion 2, and the connecting plate piece 110 is attached to the projecting end faces of the support shaft portion 104 and the guided shaft portion 106 by the mounting screw 108. Is mounted, and thus the developing unit 4 is reliably prevented from coming off the supporting unit 2. A biasing coil spring 112 (constituting biasing means) is attached by fitting the support shaft portion 104. One end of the biasing spring 112 is locked to the support wall 54, and the other end is locked to the guided shaft portion 106. The biasing coil spring 112 acts on the developing unit 4 by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. It is elastically biased toward the position in the direction indicated by arrow 114 (FIG. 1).

Structure of Image Generating Apparatus Main Body Next, the structure of the image generating apparatus main body to which the developing device main body 6 is detachably mounted will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. An image generating apparatus main body such as an electrostatic copying machine main body includes a front substrate 116 and a rear substrate 118 (FIG. 4) which are arranged at intervals in the front-rear direction (left-right direction in FIG. 4).
An opening (not shown) that substantially corresponds to the shape of the developing portion 4 of the developing device main body 6 is formed in the front substrate 116.
Is positioned between the front substrate 116 and the rear substrate 118 through such an opening as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG.
A plate-shaped support guide 284 having a shape corresponding to the shape of the lower portion of the developing unit 4 is provided at the portion defining the lower edge of the opening. This support guide 284 is shown in FIG. 11 and FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, one side portion protrudes slightly outward from the front substrate 116 and the other side portion protrudes slightly inward from the front substrate 116. The support guide 284 guides and supports the developing unit 4 when the developing device main body 6 is attached and detached. Front board 11
A pair of support pins 120 (only one of which is shown in FIG. 4) is planted on the front surface (outer surface) of 6 at intervals in the left-right direction. The pair of support pins 120 are arranged corresponding to the receiving recesses 52 defined in the support portion 2. Corresponding to the connection terminals 56 of the support portion 2, connection terminals (not shown) on the image generating apparatus main body side are also provided on the front surface of the front substrate 116.
Therefore, when the developing device main body 6 is attached to the image generating device main body as shown in FIG. 4, the support pins 120 of the front substrate 116 are received in the receiving recesses 52 of the support portion 2, and thus the support portion 2 is attached to the front substrate 116. In addition, the connection terminals 56 of the support portion 2 and the connection terminals (not shown) of the front substrate 116 are electrically connected. One (upper right in FIG. 2) protrusion 50
A sleeve member 121 made of a metal material is provided inside the
Is installed. In addition, the front substrate 116 and the support pin 1
20 is formed of a metal material. Then, a ground wire 124 of the electric motor 122 for rotating the spiral member 98 is attached to one of the protrusions 50 by a fixing screw, and the ground wire 124 is connected to the sleeve member 121 via the fixing screw. There is. Therefore, the developing device main body 6
Is installed as required, the ground wire 124 of the electric motor 122 is fixed to the fixing screw, the sleeve member 121, and the support pin 1.
It is grounded through 20 and the front substrate 116.

Continuing the description mainly with reference to FIG.
A support plate 126 extending in the front-rear direction is arranged between the front substrate 116 and the rear substrate 118. A channel-shaped guide portion 128 that is open upward is provided at the upper end of the support plate 126.
Extend from one end of the support plate 126 toward the rear end. Most of the guide portion 128 extends substantially horizontally, and only the other end 128a is the other end (right side in FIG. 4).
It extends downwardly and obliquely (see also FIG. 4). On the other hand, a supported protrusion 130 protruding rightward is provided at the upper right end of the developing housing 8 in FIG.
On the lower surface of the supported projection 130, an actuated projection 132 that projects further downward is integrally provided. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the protrusion 13 is formed on the outer surface of the end wall 68 of the developing unit 4.
4 is provided, and a shaft member 136 is attached to the rear substrate 118. A receiving recess 140 extending leftward in FIG. 4 is defined on the end surface of the protrusion 134. On the other hand, a fixing portion 142 is provided at one end of the shaft member 136, and the other end thereof penetrates the rear substrate 118 and projects inward.
A gear 144 is mounted on the protruding portion of the shaft member 136 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction indicated by an arrow 138. Gear 14
A biasing spring member 146 for elastically biasing the gear 144 inward is interposed between the gear 4 and the rear substrate 118. Gear 144 is drivingly connected to a drive source (not shown), which may be an electric motor, through suitable connecting means (not shown). When the developing device main body 6 is attached to the image generating device main body, the operated projection 132 provided on the developing housing 8 is attached.
Is guided by the guide portion 128 of the support plate 126 and moved in the mounting direction indicated by the arrow 148. Then, when the developing device main body 6 is mounted at a required position, the shaft member 1 is inserted into the receiving concave portion 140 of the protrusion 134 provided on the end wall 68 of the developing portion 4.
36 protruding ends are positioned. Therefore, one end of the developing unit 4 is rotatably supported by the support unit 2 via the support shaft 104, and the other end of the developing unit 4 is rotatably supported by the rear substrate 118 via the shaft member 136. The developing unit 4 has the support shaft portion 104 and the shaft member 136 as a center (that is, the support shaft portion 104 and the shaft member 136 that form a rotation center axis extending in the width direction of the developing device body 6 as a center). It is rotatable between operating positions. Although not shown, when the developing device body 6 is mounted at a required position, the gear for rotating the hollow sleeve member 18 of the magnetic brush mechanism 12 and the gear for rotating the support shaft 22 of the stirring means 14 are the gears 144. Is drivingly connected to.

In the illustrated embodiment of the switching mechanism , the developing section 4 is placed in the non-acting position shown by the solid line in FIG. 1 and the working position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. A switching mechanism 150 for selectively swaging is provided. Referring to FIG. 5 together with FIG. 3, the switching mechanism 150 is the cam means 1.
An elevating member 154 that is moved up and down by the action of 52 and the cam means 152 is provided. The lifting member 154 is the main body 1
56, the action part 15 provided in the middle part of the main body part 156
8, a bending portion 160 provided on the upper end of the main body portion 156, and a cam driven portion 162 hanging downward from the bending portion 160.
have. The body portion 156 is formed with an elongated hole 164 extending in the vertical direction. Such lifting member 154
Is attached to the rear end of the support plate 126 so as to be vertically movable as follows. The guide protrusion 166 a of the guide member 166 is fitted into the hole 164 of the main body 156 of the elevating member 154. On the other hand, mounting pins 170 are provided on the mounting member 168 at intervals in the vertical direction,
By inserting each mounting pin 170 into a hole 172 formed in the guide member 166 and inserting it into an opening 174 provided in the support plate 126, the support plate 12
The elevating member 154 is attached to the guide member 166 attached to the guide 6. A fixing screw 176 is screwed to the support plate 126 through the mounting member 168 and the guide member 166. Therefore, in the elevating member 154, the lifted position (the position shown in FIG. 6) where the lower end of the hole 164 abuts the lower end of the guide protrusion 166a of the guide member 166, and the upper end of the hole 164 is the guide member 16.
6 is in the lower position (see FIG. 5) where it abuts the upper end of the guide protrusion 166a.
And the position shown in FIG. 6). The operating portion 158 of the elevating member 154 is configured so as to be able to act on the operated projection 132 provided on the developing housing 8, and the elevating member 154 is provided with a biasing spring 178. One end of the bias spring 178 is locked to a locking projection 156a provided on the main body 156 of the elevating member 154, and the other end is locked to a locking piece 179 provided at the lower end of the support plate 126. ing. The biasing spring 178 elastically biases the elevating member 154 downward toward the lowered position.

The cam means 152 is a fan-shaped first cam 18
0 and a disk-shaped second cam 182. An auxiliary plate 186 is attached to the upper rear end of the support plate 126 with a fixing screw 184. An electric motor 188 is attached to the auxiliary plate 186, and an output shaft 190 of the electric motor 188 penetrates the auxiliary plate 186 to project, and the first cam 180 and the second cam 182 are attached to the projecting end of the output shaft 190. Is installed. First
The first cam 180 and the second cam 182 are integrally formed, and the first cam 180 is arranged so that the peripheral surface acts on the lower edge of the cam follower 162 of the elevating member 154, and the second cam 182 is formed. The cam 182 is arranged so as to be located between the main body portion 156 of the elevating member 154 and the cam driven portion 162. The second cam 182 has a switch means 1 such as a micro switch.
92 is attached. The switch means 192 has a detection arm 192a, and when the large diameter portion 194 of the second cam 182 acts on the detection arm 192a, the switch means 1 is provided.
92 is closed (ON), and the small diameter portion 1 of the second cam 182 is
When 96 is located opposite the detection arm 192a, the switch means 192 is opened (OFF).

When a changeover switch (not shown) provided on the operation panel of the image forming apparatus is operated in order to put the developing unit 4 into the operating state, the electric motor 188 causes the arrow 1 to move.
98 (FIGS. 6 and 7), the first cam 180 and the second cam 182 are also rotated accordingly. When the large diameter portion 194 of the second cam 182 acts on the detection arm 192a of the switch means 192, the electric motor 18 is detected based on the detection signal from the switch means 192.
8 is de-energized and thus the lifting member 154 and its associated elements are retained in the condition shown in FIGS. Figure 6
In the state shown in (1), the first cam 180 is rotated substantially 180 degrees from the first angular position and is positioned at the second angular position. When in the second angular position, the small diameter portion 200 of the first cam 180 acts on the lower edge of the cam follower 162 of the lift member 154, thus causing the lift member 154 to move to the lowered position by the action of the biasing spring 178. To be When the elevating member 154 is brought to such a lowered position, the arrow 114 (FIG. 1) of the developing unit 4 with respect to the supporting unit 2 is easily understood by referring to FIG. 1 and comparing FIG. 6 and FIG. 7. The rotation in the direction indicated by is allowed, and thus the developing unit 4 is brought to the operating position shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 1 due to the weight of the developing unit 4 itself and the biasing action of the biasing coil spring 112 attached to the developing unit 4. . In such an operating position, a part of the developing housing 8 contacts a supporting means (not shown) for supporting the rotary drum 42, and the rotation of the developing section 4 beyond the operating position is reliably prevented. When the developing unit 4 is positioned at the operating position, the magnetic brush mechanism 12 is positioned close to the peripheral surface of the rotating drum 42, and the developer held in the hollow sleeve member 18 is exposed to the photosensitive drum of the rotating drum 42 in the developing area 44. It acts on the body surface, thus making it possible to develop the electrostatic latent image formed on the photoreceptor surface into a toner image. As shown in FIG. 6, the lifting member 154
Is in the lowered position, the acting portion 158 is located slightly below the lower surface of the actuated projection piece 132 of the developing housing 8, and therefore the acting portion 158 does not act on the actuated projection piece 132. On the other hand, if the changeover switch (not shown) provided on the operation panel is operated in order to bring the developing unit 4 into the inactive state, the electric motor 188 is similarly operated.
Is rotated in the direction indicated by arrow 198, and the first
The cam 180 and the second cam 182 are also rotated. Then, instead of the large diameter portion 194 of the second cam 182, the small diameter portion 1
When 96 is located opposite to the detection arm 192a of the switch means 192, the electric motor 188 is deenergized based on the detection signal from the switch means 192, and thus the lifting member 154 and its related elements are in the state shown in FIG. Held in. In the state shown in FIG. 7, the first cam 180
Are positioned in the first angular position, rotated substantially 180 degrees from the second angular position. When in the first angular position, the large diameter portion 202 of the first cam 180 acts on the lower edge of the cam follower 162 of the lift member 154, thus raising and lowering member 1
54 is in the raised position against the action of the biasing spring 178. When the raising / lowering member 154 is moved to the raised position, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 7, the acting portion 158 of the raising / lowering member 154 acts on the actuated projection 132 of the developing housing 8 to raise it, and thus the developing portion 4 Is rotated in the direction opposite to the direction indicated by the arrow 114 and brought to the non-acting position shown by the solid line in FIG. In such a non-acting position,
Since the magnetic brush mechanism 12 is located away from the peripheral surface of the rotary drum 42, the developer held by the hollow sleeve member 18 does not act on the surface of the photoconductor of the rotary drum.

The construction of the developing device main body 6, the image generating device main body, and the switching mechanism 150 described above is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 61-235929 (name: developing device) filed by the applicant on October 2, 1986. It is substantially the same as that disclosed in the specification and the drawings, and therefore, for the details thereof, refer to the specification and the drawing of Japanese Patent Application No. 61-235929.

Positioning Means The developing device shown in the figure is equipped with positioning means for securely holding the developing portion 4 of the developing device main body 6 in the working position. To describe with reference to FIGS. 3 and 5, the positioning means 204 is a pair of pressing members 206 arranged at intervals in the width direction of the developing device main body 6 (left and right direction in FIG. 5).
Is equipped with. The support plate 126 is provided at one end thereof with a protrusion 208a protruding upward.
One pressing member 206 is rotatably attached to the pin 210 planted in 8a. In addition, the support plate 126
A projecting portion 208b protruding upward is also provided at the other end of the above, and the other pressing member 206 is rotatably attached to the pin 210 planted in this projecting portion 208b. Furthermore,
A locking member 211 is attached to the tip of each pin 210 to prevent the pressing member 206 from coming off. Each pressing member 206
Is a substantially inverted L shape, and the actuated arm portion 21 extending downward.
2 and a pressing arm portion 214 extending leftward in FIG. 5, a pressing block piece 216 having a substantially triangular shape is attached to the tip of the pressing arm portion 214 by a fixing screw 218. Each of the pressing members 206 is a first member shown in FIGS.
Is pivotable between the position and the second position shown in FIG. A bias coil spring 220 that constitutes an elastic bias means is attached to each pressing member 206. The bias coil spring 220 is fitted on the pin 210, one end of which is locked in a hole 222 (FIG. 3) formed in the support plate 126, and the other end of which is pressed by the pressing arm portion 21 of the pressing member 206.
4, the pressing member is elastically biased toward the first position, that is, counterclockwise in FIG.

The positioning means 204 further includes a pressing member 2
A moving member 224 for turning 06 is provided. The moving member 224 has a relatively long first member 226 and a relatively short second member 228, and the first member 226 is movable in the width direction of the developing device main body 6 to support plate 12.
It is attached to 6. More specifically, the support plate 1
A pair of supporting screws 230 are screwed to the developing device main body 6 at intervals in the width direction of the developing device main body 6, and a sleeve member 232 is rotatably attached to each supporting screw 230. On the other hand, a pair of elongated slots 234 are formed at both ends of the first member 226 corresponding to the pair of support screws 230,
By positioning the sleeve member 232 within the slot 234, the first member 226 is moved to the support plate 126.
Is attached to. Therefore, the first member 226 is shown in FIG.
Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the support screw 230 is movable between a position where the support screw 230 is located at one end of the elongated hole 234 and a position where the support screw 230 is located at the other end of the elongated hole 234. Action sleeve members 236 are further attached to the pressing member 206 at both ends of the first member 226. Support screws 238 are screwed onto both ends of the first member 226, and the action sleeve member 236 is rotatably attached to the support screws 238. Therefore, the actuated arm portion 212 comes into contact with the acting sleeve member 236, so that
Also, in FIG. 7, the pressing member 206 is reliably prevented from rotating counterclockwise. To allow the above-described movement of the first member 226, the support plate 126 is formed with a slot 240 for the working sleeve member 236, and to allow the mounting of the first member 226, A large diameter portion 240a for allowing the insertion of the working sleeve member 236 is formed at one end of the long hole 240 of the support plate 126. The second member 228 is interposed between the cam means 152 and the first member 226. That is, one end of the second member 228 has a connecting screw 242 screwed to the left end of the first member 226 in FIG.
It is rotatably connected to the first member 226 via the sleeve member 244 mounted on the device 42. Further, the second cam 182 is integrally provided with a disc-shaped portion 246,
The other end of the second member 228 is connected to the second cam 18 via a connecting screw 248 eccentrically screwed to the disc-shaped portion 246 and a sleeve member 250 attached to the connecting screw 248.
It is rotatably connected to 2.

The operation of the positioning means 204 will be described below. When the first cam 180 is in the second angular position, the positioning means 204 is held in the working state shown in FIG. That is, the connecting screw 248 attached to the second cam 182 is located at a position close to the first member 226, and thus the first member 226 is attached to the second member 228.
6 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow 252 (FIG. 6) through the position of the support screw 230 to the position shown in FIG. 6 (the position where the support screw 230 is located at one end of the elongated hole 234 of the first member 226).
In this way, the support screw 238 is also moved along with the movement of the first member 226, and the arrow 25 of each pressing member 206 is moved.
4 (FIG. 6) is allowed to turn, and each pressing member 2
06 is an arrow 254 due to the action of the biasing coil spring 220.
It is turned in the direction shown by. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6, the pressing block piece 216 provided on the pressing arm portion 214 of the pressing member 206 is the upper surface of the right end portion of the developing section 4 in FIG. 1, more specifically, one projection provided on the auxiliary housing 80. 92 (acting on the right side projection 92 in FIG. 1) acts on the upper surface of the developing unit 4 and the biasing coil spring 112.
The developing portion 4 is rotated in the direction shown by the arrow 114 (FIG. 1) in cooperation with the biasing force of (1), and thus the developing portion 4 is reliably positioned at the above-mentioned operating position. In this operating state of the positioning means 204, since the pressing members 206 are elastically biased in the direction indicated by the arrow 254 (FIG. 6) by the action of the biasing coil spring 220, the developing unit 4 is biased by the biasing coil spring. By the action of 220 and the pressing member 206, it is elastically and securely held in the above-mentioned operating position (thus, the pressing member 206 is also elastically held in the above-mentioned first position). On the other hand, when the first cam 180 is in the first angular position, the positioning means 204 is held in the inactive state shown in FIG. That is, the connecting screw 248 attached to the second cam 182 is located at a position separated from the first member 226, and thus the first member 226 is moved through the second member 228 and indicated by the arrow 256 (FIG. 7). 7 is moved in the direction shown, and the position shown in FIG.
4 is located at the other end). As a result, the support screw 238 is moved along with the movement of the first member 226.
Is also moved so that the support screw 238 causes the working sleeve member 236 to
And acts on the actuated arm portion 212 of the pressing member 206 to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow 258 (FIG. 7), and thus the pressing member 206 is held at the second position shown in FIG. Therefore, in connection with the first cam 180 being in the first angular position, the developing section 4 of the developing device main body 6 is set to the non-acting position, and each pressing member 206 is set to the second position. Due to the urging, the pressing block piece 216 is located slightly above the developing unit 4, and the pressing member 206 does not substantially act on the developing unit 4, and thus the developing unit 4 does not move. The action ensures that the non-acting position is held.

With respect to the above operation of the positioning means 204,
First, after the first member 226 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow 256 to release the pressing by the pressing member 206,
It is preferable that the elevating member 154 be raised by the cam 180 of the above, and by doing so, the elevating member 154 can be easily raised.

Referring to FIGS. 8 and 9 together with FIGS. 6 and 7, when the elevating member 154 is in the raised position, the action portion 158 of the elevating member 154 and the guide portion provided on the support plate 126 are provided. 128 is substantially at the same height (see FIGS. 7 and 8). Therefore, the developing device main body 6
The lifting / lowering member 15 when detaching the camera from the main body of the image generating apparatus.
4 is moved to the raised position, the developing unit 4 is moved to the non-acting position, and thereby the pressing member 206 of the positioning unit 204 is held at the second position.
In addition, the operating portion 158 of the lifting member 154 and the support plate 12
6 and the guide part 128 are at the same level. Therefore, by moving the developing device body 6 in the detaching direction indicated by the arrow 260 (FIG. 4), the developing device body 6 can be detached from the image generating device body. Then, at the time of such detachment, the operated projection 132 provided on the developing housing 8 causes the acting portion 1 of the elevating member 154 in the raised position.
Since the developing unit 4 is guided and moved by the guide portion 128 of the support plate 126 and the supporting plate 126, the developing unit 4 is kept in the non-acting position, so that the developer held by the magnetic brush mechanism 12 is transferred to the surface of the photoconductor of the rotating drum 42. With virtually no effect
It is possible to prevent damage to the photoconductor at the time of separation, and in addition, it is possible to reliably prevent the scattering of the developer caused by the action on the photoconductor. In addition, the pressing member 20
6 is held in the second position and does not substantially act on the developing portion 4, and the acting portion 158 and the guide portion 128 are kept at the same level. Therefore, the developing device main body 6 is moved in the detaching direction indicated by the arrow 260. It can be easily moved. Regarding the detachment of the developing device main body 6 described above, also refer to FIGS. 11 and 12.

On the other hand, when the elevating member 154 is moved to the lowered position, the operating portion 158 of the elevating member 154 has the other end portion 128 of the guide portion 128 provided on the support plate 126.
The height is substantially the same as the lower end of a (see FIGS. 6, 9, and 1).
0). Then, the developing unit 4 is securely held in the above-mentioned operating position by the positioning means 204 being in the operating state. When the positioning means 204 is in operation,
Although each pressing member 206 is biased toward the first position by the bias coil spring 220, it can be swung to the second position against the biasing action of the bias coil spring 220. Therefore, the developing device main body 6 can be separated from the image generating device main body even when the elevating member 154 is in the lowered position. Referring to FIGS. 6, 9 and 10, the developing device main body 6 is moved in the detaching direction indicated by the arrow 252 when the elevating member 154 is in the lowered position, and thus the developing unit 4 is in the operating position. After that, the actuated projection 132 provided on the developing housing 8 is first connected to the guide portion 1 of the support plate 126.
28 is guided by the inclined surface of the other end portion 128a of the 28 and moves upward while inclining (FIG. 9), and then guided to a substantially horizontal portion of the guide portion 128 (FIG. 10) (actuated projection 132).
In order to smooth the above-mentioned upward movement of the above, it is preferable to incline the portion of the actuated projection 132 that comes into contact with the other end 128a of the guide portion 128 so as to correspond to the other end 128a). When the developing device body 6 is moved in this way,
Due to the actuated projection 132 being moved upward, the developing section 4 is rotated from the acting position to the non-acting position along with the movement in the direction indicated by the arrow 252. Each pressing member 206 is swung in the direction indicated by arrow 258 from the first position to the second position. Then, as shown in FIG.
When it is moved along a substantially horizontal portion of 8, the developing portion 4 of the developing device main body 6 is held in the non-acting position,
Further, each pressing member 206 is held substantially at the second position (when the developing device main body 6 is detached, each pressing member 206 is held).
Is moved to the first position shown by the solid line in FIG. 10 by the restoring force of the bias coil spring 220). As described above, since the pressing member 206 can pivot between the first position and the second position even when the positioning unit 204 is in the operating state, the developing device main body 6 is indicated by the arrow 260.
It can be detached from the main body of the image generating apparatus by moving it in the detaching direction indicated by. Also, the developing unit 4
When the developing device main body 6 is held in the working position.
Is moved in the detaching direction indicated by the arrow 260, the inclined other end portion 128a of the guide portion 128 and the developing housing 8 are moved.
By the action of the actuated projection 132 provided on the developing section 4
Is moved to the non-acting position and is moved while being held in the non-acting position. Therefore, even in this case, the developer held by the magnetic brush mechanism 12 substantially acts on the surface of the photoconductor of the rotating drum 42. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent damage to the photoconductor at the time of removal, and in addition, it is possible to reliably prevent the scattering of the developer. Lifting member 1
See also FIGS. 13 and 14 for the detachment of the developing device main body 6 in the state where 54 is in the lowered position.

As shown in FIG. 8, the operated projection 132 of the developing housing 8 is preferably constructed so as to substantially straddle the substantially horizontal portion of the guide portion 128 and the operating portion 158 of the elevating member 154. By doing so, the easier mounting and dismounting of the developing device main body 6 is achieved.

Non-acting Position Holding Means The developing device shown in the figure further includes non-acting position holding means for holding the developing section 4 in the non-acting position. Mainly referring to FIGS. 2 and 4, the illustrated non-acting position holding means 262 includes a holding member 264 that is movable in the mounting and dismounting directions of the developing device main body 6. The holding member 264 is a main body portion 266 extending in the mounting direction indicated by an arrow 148 (FIG. 4), a hanging piece 268 provided at the right end portion (front end portion in the mounting direction indicated by the arrow 148) of the main body portion 266 in FIG. In FIG. 4, the main body portion 266 has a rotation blocking portion 270 provided at the left end portion (the rear end portion in the mounting direction indicated by the arrow 148). On the other hand, the protruding portion 272 protruding outward from the end wall 66 of the developing housing 8 is provided with a guide groove 274 (FIG. 2) having a substantially T-shaped vertical section. The main body 266 of the holding member 264 is mounted in the guide groove 274 so as to be movable in the directions indicated by arrows 148 and 260. As shown in FIG. 4, the holding member 26
The hanging piece 268 and the rotation blocking portion 270 of the guide groove 27 of FIG.
4 is projected downward through an opening opening downward.

The rotation preventing portion 270 of the holding member 264 is provided in the supporting portion 2 when it is in the engaging position shown in FIGS. 11 and 13.
Is configured to engage with. Specifically, the lower surface of the rotation blocking portion 270 defines a substantially horizontal blocking surface 270a, while the upper surface of the support body 46 of the support portion 2 cooperates with the blocking surface 270a in a substantially horizontal engagement. The surface 276 is formed, and when it is in the engagement position, the rotation blocking portion 2
The blocking surface 270a of 70 and the engagement surface 276 of the support portion 2 are engaged with each other. The holding member 264 is provided with a biasing means composed of a biasing spring 278. One end of the bias spring 278 is locked to a locking piece 280 provided on the developing housing 8, and the other end is locked to a hanging piece 268 of the holding member 264 (see FIGS. 11 and 13). The biasing spring 278 biases the holding member 264 toward the engaging position. Further, in relation to the holding member 264, the developing housing 8 is provided with a blocking member 282. The blocking member 282 comes into contact with the hanging piece 268 of the holding member 264 to reliably block the movement of the holding member 264 beyond the engagement position.

The action and effect of the non-action position holding means 262 described above will be described below. Developing device body 6
In the state where the is separated from the main body of the image generating device,
Usually, the holding member 264 is held at the above-mentioned engagement position. That is, the hanging piece 268 of the holding member 264 abuts on the blocking member 282 provided in the developing housing 8, and the blocking surface 270a of the rotation blocking portion 270 has an engaging surface defined by the support body 46 of the supporting portion 2. 276 is engaged. Therefore, irrespective of the biasing action of the biasing coil spring 278, the rotation of the developing unit 4 with respect to the supporting unit 2 in the direction indicated by the arrow 114 (FIG. 1) is reliably prevented by the action of the blocking surface 270a and the engaging surface 276, As can be understood from FIGS. 11 and 13, the developing unit 4 and the supporting unit 2 are held in the non-acting position.

When the developing device main body 6 in such a state is detachably attached to the image generating device main body, the engagement of the holding member 264 is released as follows. 11 and 12
(In these figures, the lifting member 154 is located in the raised position) and FIGS. 13 and 14 (in these figures, the lifting member 154 is located in the lowered position). The device body 6 is attached to the front substrate 11
6 is inserted through an opening formed in the developing housing 6 and the operated projection 132 provided on the developing housing 8 is inserted into the supporting plate 1.
When it is positioned in the guide portion 128 of 26 and then moved in the mounting direction indicated by the arrow 148, at the time when most of the developing portion 4 is inserted, first, as shown in FIGS. The tip end portion of the support pin 120 is received in the pair of receiving recesses 52 defined in the support portion 2. At this point in time, as shown in the figure, it is preferable that the actuated projection 132 of the developing housing 8 is located at a portion of the guide portion 128 that extends substantially horizontally, and the holding member 264 is held at the engaging position. By doing so, the pair of support pins 120 are easily inserted into the receiving recesses 52 of the support portion 2. When the developing device main body 6 is further moved in the direction indicated by arrow 148, the hanging piece 2 of the holding member 264 is moved.
68 contacts the contact surface defined by the outer surface of the support guide 284 provided in the opening formed in the front substrate 116 (FIGS. 11 and 13), and moves in the direction indicated by the arrow 148. The holding member 264 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow 260 relative to the developing unit 4 against the biasing force of the biasing spring 278, whereby the blocking surface 2 of the holding member 264 is moved.
The engagement state of the engagement surface 276 of the support portion 2 with the engagement portion 70a is released, and thus the rotation of the developing portion 4 toward the working position is allowed. Even when the engagement state of the blocking surface 270a and the engagement surface 276 is released, the actuated projection 132 of the developing housing 8 is located at the substantially horizontal portion of the guide portion 128, and from this state, an arrow is added. It is preferable that the lower end of the actuated projection 132 be separated from the substantially horizontal portion of the guide portion 128 by moving in the direction indicated by 148. When the developing device body 6 is moved further,
The tip of the shaft member 136 mounted on the rear substrate 118 is received in the receiving recess 140 of the projection 134 provided on the end wall 68 (FIG. 2) of the developing housing 8, and thus the developing device main body 6 is transferred to the image generating device. It is attached to the main body. In such a mounted state, one end of the developing device main body 6 is supported by the front substrate 116 by the support pin 120 being positioned in the receiving recess 52, and the other end of the developing device main body 6 is supported in the receiving recess 140. The front end of the member 136 is positioned to support the rear substrate 118. Further, the developing housing 8
The operated projection 132 of the above is located above the operating portion 158 of the elevating member 154 substantially apart from the substantially horizontal portion of the guide portion 128. Further, the engaging member 6 mounted on the support portion 2
The claw portion 58 of 0 engages with a part of the front substrate 116, and thus the movement of the developing device main body 6 in the detaching direction indicated by the arrow 260 is prevented. As can be easily understood by comparing FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 with FIG. 13 and FIG.
Although the developing device main body 6 can be attached to the image generating device main body when the developing device main body 4 is in either the raised position or the lowered position, if the developing device main body 6 is attached when the elevating member 154 is in the raised position. The developing section 4 is held in the non-acting position, and when the developing device main body 6 is mounted while the elevating member 154 is in the lowering position, the developing section 4 and the developing section 4 are held in the acting position. That is, when the raising / lowering member 154 is in the raised position, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the operating portion 158 of the raising / lowering member 154 is at the same level as the substantially horizontal portion of the guide portion 128, and therefore, the developing device main body. When 6 is attached, the developing unit 4 continues to be held in the non-acting position by the action of the action unit 158. Therefore, in order to move the developing unit 4 to the working position, the elevating member 154 is operated as described above.
Must be in the lowered position. On the other hand, when the elevating member 154 is in the lowered position, as shown in FIGS.
4, the operating portion 158 of the elevating member 154 is substantially at the same level as the lower end of the inclined other end portion 128a of the guide portion 128, and therefore, immediately before the mounting of the developing device main body 6 is completed, the developing housing 8 The operated projection 132 is moved downward along the other end 128a of the guide portion 128, and the developing portion 4 is moved to the operating position. Regardless of whether the elevating member 154 is in the ascending position or the descending position, when the developing device main body 6 is mounted, more specifically, when the actuated projecting piece 132 moves in the substantially horizontal portion of the guide portion 128, the development is performed. The part 4 is held in the non-acting position. Therefore, the developer held by the magnetic brush mechanism 12 does not substantially act on the photoconductor of the rotary drum 42, and damage to the photoconductor when the developing device main body 6 is attached can be reliably prevented.

When the developing device main body 6 is separated from the image generating device main body, the holding member 264 is held at the engaging position as follows. When the developing device main body 6 is moved in the detaching direction indicated by the arrow 260 by releasing the engagement by the engaging member 60, the holding member 264 is moved relative to the developing housing 8 by the action of the biasing spring 278 along with the movement. Is moved in the direction indicated by arrow 148. And arrow 2
When it is moved a little in the direction indicated by 60, the developing unit 4 is in the non-acting position (as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the developing unit 4 is held in the non-acting position when the elevating member 154 is in the raised position). While continuing, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, when the elevating member 154 is in the lowered position, the developing unit 4 is moved from the operating position to the non-operating position as the developing unit 4 moves in the direction indicated by the arrow 260). Due to
The blocking surface 270a of the holding member 264 and the engaging surface 2 of the support portion 2
76 engages. When the holding member 264 is moved a little further from such a state, the holding member 264 abuts on the blocking member 282 provided on the developing housing 8, and as a result, the holding member 264 of FIG.
As shown in 3), the holding member 264 is held at the engaging position. Therefore, even when the developing device main body 6 is separated from the image generating device main body, the holding member 264 is held at the engaging position, whereby the developing portion 4 is continuously held at the non-acting position with respect to the support portion 2. When the developing device main body 6 is further moved, the pair of support pins 120 are disengaged from the receiving recesses 52 of the support portion 2. After the electrical connection terminal 56 mounted on the support portion 2 is disengaged from the electrical connection terminal (not shown) mounted on the front substrate 116, the support pin 120 is disengaged from the receiving recess 52. Thus, the electric motor 122 is grounded after the developing device main body 6 is powered off. After that, when it is further moved in the direction indicated by arrow 260, the developing device main body 6 is separated from the image generating device main body.

Toner Cartridge and Related Items
Containing Next, with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16 in conjunction with FIG. 2, it will be described the toner cartridge and related elements to its illustrated.

The illustrated toner cartridge 88 includes a cartridge body 288 having a substantially hollow quadrangular prism shape. The toner supply port 29 is provided on the upper wall 290 of the cartridge body 288.
2 (FIGS. 19 to 21) is defined, and the toner supply port 292 is closed by the lid 294 after the toner is filled. The lower end of the cartridge body 288 has a funnel shape, and the toner discharge port 296 (FIGS. 19 to 21) is formed at the lower end thereof. A rectangular flange 298 is integrally provided at the lower end of the cartridge main body 288 (that is, the opening end of the toner discharge port 296), and the flexible sheet member 300 is attached to the lower surface of the flange 298, The toner discharge port 296 of the cartridge body 288 is sealed. Seat member 30
In order to facilitate the removal of 0, one end thereof is bent upward and attached to the upper surface of the flange 298. Therefore, the sheet member 300 can be easily peeled from the flange 298 by peeling off the one end portion attached to the upper surface of the flange 298 and pulling the one end portion in the direction indicated by the arrow 302.

The toner cartridge 88 shown in FIG.
It includes a cover member 304 for closing the toner discharge port 296 when the cartridge main body 288 is detached from the developing device main body 6. The cover member 304 is the flange 2
It has a substantially rectangular shape corresponding to the shape of 98, and recesses 306 for receiving the both end portions of the flange 298 are defined at both end portions thereof. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 21, the cover member 3
Position both side ends of the flange 298 in the concave portion 306 of 04 to position the cover member 304 relative to the arrow 308 (see FIG.
The toner discharge port 296 of the cartridge body 288 can be closed by moving it in the direction indicated by 0). As shown in FIGS. 15 and 21, the cover member 30
4 is mounted on the flange 298 as required, and the stop piece 31 that surely blocks the movement in the direction indicated by the arrow 308.
It is preferable that 0 is provided on the cover member 304.

Further, once the cover member 304 is mounted on the flange 298 of the cartridge body 288, a cover member restraining means 312 for restraining the cover member 304 from moving away from the cartridge body 288 is provided. There is. Referring to FIGS. 15 and 21, the cover member restraining means 312 in the illustrated embodiment is provided in a hole 314 (which constitutes a receiving portion) formed in the flange 298 of the cartridge body 288 and the cover member 304. It is composed of a combination of the engaging portions 316. The front side surface of the engaging portion 316, which is the front side in the mounting direction indicated by the arrow 308, is an inclined surface that inclines rearward, and the rear side surface located on the rear side in the mounting direction is a wedge-shaped projection that is a steep inclined surface. . Therefore, when the cover member 304 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow 308, the hole 314 and the engaging portion 316 are elastically deformed by the flange 298 and the engaging portion 316.
However, once the hole 314 and the engaging protrusion 316 are engaged with each other, the engaging portion 316, and thus the cover member 304, is opposed to the direction indicated by the arrow 308. The movement is prevented sufficiently effectively. If desired, the flange 298 may be provided with an engaging portion to cover member 30.
It is also possible to provide a receiving part at 4.

The cover member 304 in the illustrated embodiment
Is a side wall 31 of the cartridge body 288 when not in use.
8 (cartridge body 288 indicated by arrow 320 in FIG. 19)
The side wall on the rear side when viewed in the mounting direction is preferable). That is, the side wall 318 of the cartridge body 288 is provided with a pair of L-shaped support protrusions 322 spaced apart from each other. Each of the support protrusions 322 extends in the vertical direction and has a protrusion that is received in the recess 306 of the cover member 304. A stop piece 324 is provided at the lower end of the side wall 318. 15 and 19
As shown in FIG. 6, the cover member 304 is detachably attached to the side wall 318 of the cartridge body 288 by positioning the protrusion of the support protrusion 322 in the recess 306 of the cover member 304 and moving the cover member 304 downward. In FIG. 19, the lower edge of the cover member 304 contacts the stop piece 324, and the cover member 304 is held in the state shown in FIG. In such a mounted state, the upper end portion of the cover member 304 projects somewhat above the upper wall 290 of the cartridge body 288. Therefore, by grasping this projected upper end portion and moving it upward, the cover member 30 is moved.
4 can be easily separated from the side wall 318.
The cover member 304 may be attached to the flange 298 of the cartridge body 288 instead of the side wall 318. In such a case, the cover member 304 needs to be stored separately when the cartridge 88 is used (also. In the unused state of the toner cartridge 88, the hole 314 of the flange 298 and the engaging portion 31 of the cover member 304.
Flange 2 to prevent substantial engagement with
The sheet member 300 is attached to the lower surface of 98 to form the hole 314.
Is preferably substantially covered.

Continuing the description mainly with reference to FIGS. 2 and 16, the cartridge mounting portion 82 of the developing device main body 6 to which the cartridge main body 288 is detachably mounted has a substantially cylindrical shape having four side walls. A substantially rectangular flange 326 is provided at the upper end. A seal member 328, such as a sponge, which is elastically deformable, is attached to the inner peripheral portion of the flange 326, and the outer peripheral portion of the flange 326 is
The guide cover 332 is attached by the mounting screw 330. The guide cover 332 defines a pair of guide grooves 334 that extend in the mounting direction of the cartridge main body 288 in cooperation with the flanges 326 on both sides of the guide cover 332. An open substantially semicircular opening 336 is formed. In order to facilitate the mounting of the cartridge body 288, one end portions on both sides of the guide cover 332 are inclined upward in a direction opposite to the mounting direction of the cartridge body 288 indicated by the arrow 320, and the guide groove 334 is provided. It is preferred that the opening of is slightly enlarged. A rotary shaft 340 is rotatably mounted on one side wall 338 (the side wall located on the lower right side in FIG. 2) of the cartridge mounting portion 82. One end of the rotary shaft 340 penetrates the side wall 338 and projects outward, and the projecting end is drivingly connected to the output shaft 342 of the electric motor 122. A receiving recess 344 is provided at one end of the rotating shaft 340, while an engaging pin 346 is attached to the output shaft 342, and the receiving pin 3 receives the engaging pin 346.
By inserting it into the rotary shaft 340 and the output shaft 3
42 is drivingly connected. The other end of the rotary shaft 340 penetrates the side wall 338 and projects inward, and the spiral member 98 of the toner transfer means 34 is connected to the inward projecting end (see FIGS. 17 and 18). Further, in association with the rotary shaft 340, a discharge promoting means 348 for enhancing the discharge property of the toner in the cartridge body 288 is additionally provided.
Referring also to FIG. 17, the discharge promoting means 348 includes a support shaft 350 rotatably supported between opposing side walls of the cartridge mounting portion 82 (the support shaft 350 is substantially perpendicular to the rotary shaft 340). Extended). An action piece 352 is attached to an intermediate portion of the support shaft 350 by a mounting screw 354, and the toner discharge chamber 8 is attached.
A swinging member 356 is attached to one end portion located inside 6. The swinging member 356 is provided with the opening 3 formed in the side wall 338.
A projecting portion 356 a projecting outward through 57 and protruding above the rotary shaft 340 at a free end portion of the swinging member 356.
Is provided. On the other hand, an action protrusion 358 is provided on the circumferential surface of the rotary shaft 340 so as to protrude outward in the radial direction, and this action protrusion 358 acts on the protrusion 356 a of the swing member 356. Further, a bias spring 360 is attached to the swing member 356. One end of the bias spring 360 is locked to the swing member 356, and the other end is locked to a part of the cartridge mounting portion 82.
60 biases the swinging member 356 in the direction indicated by the arrow 362 (FIG. 17).
Normally, it is held at the angular position shown in FIG. 17, that is, at the position where the tip of the action piece 352 contacts the lower surface of the flange 298 of the cartridge body 288). When the electric motor 122 is rotated in a predetermined direction, the spiral member 98 is also rotated via the rotary shaft 340, and thus the toner discharged to the toner discharge chamber 86 is stored in the spiral member 98 as described later. By the action, the toner is transferred in the toner transfer chamber 32 (FIG. 1) in the direction indicated by the arrow 96 (FIG. 2). When the rotating shaft 340 rotates, as shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, the rotating shaft 340 rotates.
The action protrusion 358 provided on the ridge acts on the projecting portion 356a of the swinging member 356, and the swinging member 356 causes the swinging members 356 and
It is swung in the direction indicated by 64. That is, the rotating shaft 34
0 rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow 366 (FIG. 2) and the action projection 358 acts on the projecting portion 356a to raise it, whereby the swinging member 356 resists the biasing force of the biasing spring 360. Turning in the direction indicated by arrow 364 (see FIG.
8). Then, the rotating shaft 340 further rotates and the working protrusion 3
When 58 is disengaged from the protruding portion 356a, the swinging member 356 is swung in the direction indicated by the arrow 362 by the biasing action of the biasing spring 360, and the action piece 352 provided on the support shaft 350.
The front end of the cartridge collides with the flange 298 of the cartridge body 288 (FIG. 17). When the action piece 352 collides, an impact is applied to the cartridge body 288, whereby the blocking of the toner in the cartridge body 288 is erased and the toner drops sufficiently well, and the toner remains attached to the inner surface of the cartridge body 288. The toner is also separated and dropped, thus promoting the discharge of the toner in the cartridge body 288.

The developing device further includes a cartridge body 28.
If the cover member 304 is not at least partially attached to the cartridge 8, the cartridge main body 288 can be practically not detached from the cartridge mounting portion 82 of the developing device main body 6. Referring again to FIGS. 2 and 16, in the illustrated embodiment, a pair of support protrusions 368 projecting downward are provided on the lower surface of the flange 326 provided on the cartridge mounting portion 82, and the pair of support protrusions 368 are provided. An engaging member 370 is mounted between the protrusions 368 so as to be vertically movable. The engagement member 370 has a main body 372 movably attached to the pair of support protrusions 368 and a pair of engagement claws 374 provided at both ends of the main body 372, and is attached to the lower ends of the respective support protrusions 368. Locking member 3
A biasing spring member 378 is interposed between 76 and the main body 372 of the engaging member 370. This bias spring member 37
8 elastically biases the engaging member 370 upward. On the other hand, the pair of engaging claws 374 of the engaging member 370 are provided at both ends of the flange 298 of the cartridge body 288.
Corresponding to, all notches 380 are provided. The pair of notches 380 extend inwardly from both ends of the flange 298 and define receiving portions for receiving the engaging claw portions 374 of the engaging member 370. The notch 380 that defines a receiving portion that receives the engaging member 370 and the engaging claw portion 374.
And constitutes a cartridge body detachment preventing means for preventing the cartridge body 288 attached to the cartridge attaching portion 82 from being detached. As shown in FIG. 2, the flange 326 of the cartridge mounting portion 82 is formed with a notch 382 through which the engaging claw portion 374 of the engaging member 370 can pass.

The mounting operation and the detaching operation of the cartridge body 288 will be described with reference to FIGS. 19 to 21. The cartridge body 288 is attached to the cartridge mounting portion 82.
To mount the cartridge main body 288, first, the both ends of the flange 298 of the cartridge main body 288 are positioned in the pair of guide grooves 334 defined in the cartridge mounting portion 82 and moved in the mounting direction indicated by the arrow 320 (FIG. 19). In this way, both side ends of the flange 298 are guided by the pair of guide grooves 334, and the cartridge body 288 is positioned at the mounting position shown in FIG. 19 (the left end of the flange 298 in FIG. 19 contacts the end wall 332a of the guide cover 332. By touching, movement beyond the mounting position is prevented). Thus, as shown in FIG. 19, the pair of engaging claw portions 374 of the engaging member 370 are provided with the notches 382 formed in the flange 326.
Through the notch 380 formed in the flange 298 of the cartridge body 288, and securely engages with the notch 380. As shown in FIG. 19, the front side surface of the engaging claw portion 374 is substantially vertical when viewed in the mounting direction indicated by arrow 320, and the rear side surface is inclined upward in the mounting direction when viewed in the mounting direction. There is. Therefore, when the engaging claw portion 374 engages with the notch 380, the movement of the cartridge body 288 in the disengagement direction indicated by the arrow 384 (FIG. 20) is reliably prevented, and at least a part of the cover member 304 is removed as described later. If it is not attached to the cartridge main body 288, it becomes substantially impossible to disengage the cartridge main body 288.

Next, a part of the sheet member 300 adhered to the flange 298 of the cartridge body 288 is peeled off, and this is pulled to be completely separated from the flange 298. As a result, as shown in FIG. 19, the toner discharge port 296 of the cartridge body 288 is opened, and the toner in the cartridge body 288 is discharged to the toner discharge chamber 86 through the toner discharge port 296.

On the other hand, in order to detach the cartridge body 288 from the cartridge mounting portion 82, first, as shown in FIG. 20, the side wall 318 of the cartridge body 288 (see FIG.
5) The cover member 304 detached from the cartridge mounting portion 82 is attached to the flange 326 and the cartridge main body 288.
And is moved in the direction indicated by arrow 308. When the cover member 304 is moved to a position where the front edge of the cover member 304 passes through the pair of engaging claw portions 374 of the engaging member 370, the cover member 3 is moved.
The front edge of 04 acts on the inclined surface of the engaging claw portion 374 to move the engaging member 370 downward against the biasing action of the biasing spring member 378. Thus, the engaging claw portion 374 of the engaging member 370 is disengaged from the notch 380 formed in the flange 298 of the cartridge body 288, and the cartridge body 288 can be disengaged from the cartridge mounting portion 82. The position of the cover member 304 shown in FIG. 13-B (at this position, the stop piece 310 provided on the cover member 304 contacts the right end of the flange 298,
The cover member 304 is moved until the cover member 304 is prevented from moving beyond such a position (or, alternatively, the cartridge body 288 is moved in the detaching direction indicated by the arrow 384, and the cover member 304 is moved to the state shown in FIG. And the toner outlet 29 of the cartridge body 288.
6 is closed by the cover member 304, and the engaging portion 316 of the cover member 304 is located in the hole 314 formed in the flange 298, and thus the cartridge body 288.
The cover member 304 is prevented from moving in the detaching direction.

Thereafter, the cartridge body 288 is moved together with the cover member 304 in the detaching direction indicated by the arrow 384. Thus, as shown in FIG. 21, the cartridge body 288 can be detached from the cartridge mounting portion 82 while the toner discharge port 296 of the cartridge body 288 is covered with the cover member 304, and some toner is present in the cartridge body 288. Even if it does, such toner does not scatter to the outside.

Modifications An embodiment of the developing device constructed according to the present invention has been described above, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Can be modified.

For example, the mechanism relating to the cover member 304 has been described as being applied to the one in which the cartridge body 288 is mounted on one end of the developing section 4 of the developing apparatus body 6.
The present invention is not limited to this, and can be similarly applied to, for example, a cartridge body in which the cartridge body is detachably mounted in the toner storage chamber of the developing device body.

Further, the construction in which one developing device main body 6 is detachably mounted around the rotary drum 42 has been described, but for multicolor monocolor copying or the like, for example, Japanese Patent Application No.
As disclosed in the specification and drawings of 1-235929, the present invention can be similarly applied to a configuration in which two or more developing device main bodies are detachably mounted around the rotary drum 42.

[0054]

In the developing device of the present invention, the space for moving the developing portion, which is rotated between the operating position and the non-operating position, is sufficiently small, and the image generating device is sufficiently miniaturized. In addition, the developing unit can be held in the working position sufficiently reliably without making the mounting and dismounting operation of the developing device main body difficult.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a preferred embodiment of a developing device constructed according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a developing device main body of the developing device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the configuration of the image generating apparatus main body side on which the developing apparatus main body of FIG. 2 is detachably mounted.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a state in which the developing device main body of FIG. 2 is detachably attached to the image generating device main body in a partial cross section.

5 is a front view showing a switching mechanism and a positioning means in the developing device of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing a state in which the first cam of the switching mechanism of FIG. 5 is at the second angular position.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing a state in which the first cam of the switching mechanism of FIG. 5 is at the first angular position.

FIG. 8 is a simplified diagram showing a state of a pressing member of the positioning means when the elevating member of the switching mechanism of FIG. 5 is in the raised position.

9 is a simplified diagram showing the state of the pressing member of the positioning means when the elevating member of the switching mechanism of FIG. 5 is in the lowered position.

10 is a simplified diagram for explaining the movement of the pressing member of the positioning means when the developing device main body is detached from the image generating apparatus main body when the elevating member of the switching mechanism of FIG. 5 is in the lowered position.

11 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the behavior when the developing device is attached to or detached from the image forming apparatus main body when the elevating member of the switching mechanism in FIG. 5 is in the raised position.

12 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 11 for explaining the behavior when the developing device is attached to or detached from the image generating apparatus main body when the elevating member of the switching mechanism of FIG. 5 is in the raised position.

13 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the behavior when the developing device is attached to or detached from the image forming apparatus main body when the elevating member of the switching mechanism in FIG. 5 is in the lowered position.

14 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 13, for explaining the behavior when the developing device is attached to or detached from the image forming apparatus main body when the elevating member of the switching mechanism in FIG. 5 is in the lowered position.

15 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a toner cartridge used in the developing device of FIG.

16 is a partial front view showing a state in which the toner cartridge of FIG. 15 is mounted in the cartridge mounting portion of the developing device main body of FIG.

FIG. 17 is a simplified diagram for explaining the operation of the discharge promoting means provided in the developing device main body of FIG.

FIG. 18 is a simplified diagram similar to FIG. 17 for explaining the operation of the discharge promoting means provided in the developing device main body of FIG.

19 is a simplified cross-sectional view for explaining an operation of mounting the toner cartridge of FIG. 15 on the developing device main body of FIG.

20 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining an operation of separating the toner cartridge of FIG. 15 from the developing device main body of FIG.

21 is a simplified cross-sectional view showing a state after the toner cartridge of FIG. 15 is detached from the developing device main body of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2: Support part 4: Developing part 6: Developing device main body 8: Developing housing 12: Magnetic brush mechanism 82: Cartridge mounting part 88: Toner cartridge 126: Support plate 128: Guide part 132: Actuated projection 150: Switching mechanism 154 : Elevating member 180: First cam 182: Second cam 204: Positioning means 206: Pressing member 224: Moving member 262: Non-acting position holding means 264: Holding member 288: Cartridge body 304: Cover member

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Takeshi Tsuda 1-2-2 Tamatsukuri, Chuo-ku, Osaka Mita Industrial Co., Ltd. (72) Yosuke Ohata 1-2-2 Tamatsukuri, Chuo-ku, Osaka Mita Within Kogyo Co., Ltd.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A developing unit, which is detachably attached to the main body of the image generating apparatus, and includes a supporting unit and a developing unit which is rotatably supported by the supporting unit over a predetermined range. A developing device main body equipped with an applying unit for applying a developer to an electrostatic latent image, and the developing unit of the developing device main body mounted on the image generating apparatus, the developing unit being held by the applying unit. Selectively between a working position where the agent can act on the electrostatic latent image in the developing area and a non-working position where the developer held by the applying means cannot substantially act on the electrostatic latent image in the developing area. A switching mechanism for rotating the structure, an operating state for acting on the developing portion rotated to the operating position to hold the developing portion in the operating position, and a non-operating state for substantially not acting on the developing portion. Image generation characterized by comprising positioning means that is selectively set Development device in the device. 2. The image generating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the switching mechanism acts on the developing portion at one end side of the developing device, and the positioning means acts on the developing portion at a position separated from the switching mechanism. Developing device. 3. The developing device in the image generating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the positioning means acts on the developing portion at a plurality of portions located at intervals. 4. When the switching mechanism rotates the developing portion to the operating position, the positioning means is set to the operating state in response to this, and the switching mechanism rotates the developing portion to the non-operating position. 4. The developing device in an image generator according to claim 1, wherein when moved, the positioning means is set to the non-acting state accordingly. 5. The switching mechanism includes a biasing means for biasing the developing unit to the non-acting position and a lifting member for lifting and lowering between a descending position and a rising position, and the lifting member is positioned at the descending position. Then, the developing portion is rotated to the operating position by the biasing action of the biasing means, and when the elevating member is raised to the elevating position, the elevating member resists the biasing action of the biasing means. The developing device in the image generating apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the developing device is rotated to the non-acting position. 6. The switching mechanism includes rotating cam means for moving the lifting member up and down, and when the cam means is rotated from a first angular position to a second angular position, the lifting member moves to the lowered position. 6. The developing device in the image generating apparatus according to claim 5, wherein when the cam means is lowered and the cam means is rotated from the second angular position to the first angular position, the elevating member is raised to the raised position. 7. The positioning means is configured to reciprocate in response to the rotation of the cam means, a first position for holding the developing section in the working position, and a first position which does not substantially act on the developing section. A pressing member that is moved between the second position and the second position in response to the reciprocating movement of the moving member, and the pressing member is located at the first position when the cam means is located at the second angular position. 7. The developing device in the image generating apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the pressing member is located at the second position when the cam means is located at the first angular position. 8. The pressing member is provided with an elastic biasing means, and when the cam means is located at the second angular position, the elastic biasing action of the elastic biasing means causes the developing member to act through the pressing member. 8. The developing device in the image generating apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the developing unit is elastically biased to the operating position by acting on the developing unit.