JPH06242677A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate toner case replacement and to reduce the number of causes of a malfunction of an image forming device. CONSTITUTION:When toner runs out, a front door 2 is opened and an old case (not shown in the figure) fitted in the front of the device main body 1a is taken out of a toner case fitting part 5. Then, a new case A containing toner is aligned with a guide part 6 formed on the front door 2, and it is inserted as it is into the toner case fitting part 5 along the guide part 6. After the toner case A is fitted, the front door 2 is closed to finish the case replacement. On the other hand, parts that require maintenance and inspection are covered by another front door 3. Because the front door 2 can be opened/closed independently of the front door 3, those parts are not exposed at the time of the toner case replacement.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus for appropriately exchanging replacement parts consumed for image formation, but is not limited thereto. The present invention relates to a door that is suitable for use in a printer or the like, and more specifically, relates to a door that has a guide portion that is opened and closed when the replacement part is replaced and that defines the insertion direction of the replacement part.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus for forming a toner image on a transfer material, in order to replace the toner consumed by the image formation by a simple operation, a dedicated container for storing the toner. Was used as a replacement part. Figure 2
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall structure of a copying apparatus as an example thereof, and will be described below with reference to this diagram.

The copying machine 100 has an image forming section (maintenance and inspection point) 101 and a sheet feeding section (maintenance and inspection point) 10 inside.
2 is provided, and a toner image is formed on the transfer material conveyed by the paper feeding unit 102.
Further, the toner used for image formation is stored in a dedicated container A (hereinafter referred to as “toner container A”), and the toner container A is mounted in the toner container formed near the image forming unit 101. A portion (replacement component mounting portion) 105 is supported in a replaceable manner. A front door (door means) 106 that can be opened and closed is attached to the front surface of the apparatus main body 100a. When the front door 106 is open, the image forming unit 101, the paper feeding unit 102, and the toner container. Mounting part 10
5 was exposed to the outside. The opening area of the toner container mounting portion 105 is such that the toner container A can be barely inserted, whereby the toner container A is securely fixed at a predetermined position.

Then, the toner is consumed and the toner container A
2 is replaced, the front door 106 is opened to be fully opened, and the old toner container A is taken out from the toner container mounting portion 105 as shown in FIG. Next, a new toner container A
Is moved as indicated by an arrow in the figure so that its tip portion is aligned with the opening of the toner container mounting portion 105, and the toner container A is further pushed in a predetermined direction to push the toner container mounting portion 10.
I was wearing it on 5. Even when performing maintenance and inspection of the image forming unit 101 and the paper feeding unit 102, the front door 106
Was being opened.

[0005]

By the way, according to the above-mentioned prior art, since the opening area of the toner container mounting portion 105 is so small that the toner container A can be barely inserted, the toner container A is mounted in the toner container mounting portion. Even if it is slightly displaced from the opening of 105, it cannot be inserted. Therefore, in order to mount the toner container A, it is necessary to surely align the tip of the container A with the opening of the toner container mounting portion 105, which is troublesome. Further, even after the tip of the toner container A coincides with the opening of the toner container mounting portion 105, the direction in which the toner container A should be inserted is determined, and it is necessary to pay attention to the insertion direction and continue the work. There was, and it was troublesome. The above work is for the front door 10
6 is performed with the front door 106 open, but when the front door 106 is open, the front door 106 is an obstacle and the operator cannot approach the toner container mounting portion 105, which makes these operations more difficult. I was doing. In particular, the front door 106 of the above-mentioned conventional technology.
Is a large door formed over the entire surface of the apparatus main body 100a, so its influence was great. If the toner container A is forcibly inserted in a direction other than the predetermined direction, the toner container A and the apparatus main body 100a may be damaged.

Further, since the front door 106 is large as described above, there is a problem that the opening / closing operation itself is troublesome when the container is replaced. Furthermore, the copying machine 10
On the front side of 0, it is necessary to secure a space for fully opening the front door, but there is a problem that the space is large because the front door 106 is large.

On the other hand, if the front door 106 is opened when the toner container is replaced, the image forming section 101 and the sheet feeding section 1 which do not need to be exposed are exposed.
Even 02 will be exposed. Therefore, there is a possibility that a worker may touch the image forming unit 101 or the like, or foreign matter may enter the image forming unit 101 or the like, causing a failure.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and includes a replacement part consumed with image formation, and a replacement part mounting portion for supporting the replacement part in a replaceable manner. In the image forming apparatus, the door means covers the maintenance / inspection location, which is provided with a door means that is opened / closed when performing maintenance / inspection of the maintenance / inspection location inside the apparatus and when performing replacement of the replacement part. And a second door member that is supported so as to open and close independently of the first door member while covering the replacement component mounting portion. A guide part for inserting the replacement part into the replacement part mounting part is formed on the second door member, and the replacement part is moved along the guide part so that the replacement part is Inserted smoothly into the replacement part mounting part , Characterized in that.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.

In the copying apparatus 1 shown in the figure, two front doors (door means) 2 and 3 which can be opened and closed respectively are provided in the apparatus main body 1.
It is attached to the front of a. Of these, the front door (first
Door member 3) is openably and closably supported so as to cover maintenance / inspection points such as a sheet feeding portion (not shown) and an image forming portion (also not shown). Etc. are exposed so that maintenance and inspection (for example, removal of paper jam) can be performed. One front door 2 is a small door for covering the toner container mounting portion (replacement component mounting portion) 5, and is supported so as to be opened and closed independently of the front door 3. The front door 2 is opened / closed when the toner container (replacement part) A is replaced, and when the door 2 is opened, only the toner container mounting part (replacement part mounting part) 5 is exposed and other toner supply parts are replaced. The paper section is not exposed. The front door 2 is made of resin, and a guide portion 6 for inserting the toner container A into the toner container mounting portion 5 is integrally formed on the inner side surface 2a thereof. The guide portion 6 has a container placing portion 6a and side wall portions 6b and 6b provided upright on both side edges of the container placing portion 6a. The container placing portion 6a and the side wall portion 6b are provided. , 6b are formed in a substantially U shape with an upper opening. Further, the container mounting portion 6a and the lower surface inside the toner container mounting portion 5 are formed so as to be substantially continuous when the front door 2 is in a fully opened state, and when the toner container A is inserted, the vertical position and the insertion position are set. It defines the direction (especially the vertical direction). On the other hand, the side wall portions 6b, 6b are erected with a gap slightly wider than the width of the toner container A, and the side wall portions 6b, 6b and each side surface inside the toner container mounting portion 5 are in front of each other. The door 2 is formed to be substantially continuous when the door 2 is in the fully opened state. Then, these side wall portions 6b, 6
“B” defines the lateral position of the toner container A and the insertion direction (particularly, the lateral direction) when the toner container A is inserted. Therefore, when the toner container A is inserted, it is easy to align the tip of the container with the opening of the toner container mounting portion 5, and the insertion direction is defined so that the container can be easily inserted in the proper direction. Has become.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described.

When the toner is consumed up, the front door 2 is opened and the old container (not shown) mounted on the apparatus main body 1a is taken out from the toner container mounting portion 5. Next, a new toner container A containing toner is aligned with the guide portion 6 formed on the front door 2, and is inserted into the toner container mounting portion 5 along the guide portion 6 as it is. After mounting the toner container A, the front door 2 is closed and the container replacement work is completed.

Since this embodiment has the above-mentioned configuration,
When the toner container A is inserted along the guide portion 6, the front end portion of the container and the opening portion of the toner container mounting portion 5 are aligned with each other, which facilitates the alignment work. Further, since the guide portion 6 defines the proper insertion direction of the toner container A, the operator does not need to pay attention to the direction, the insertion work is facilitated, and the toner container A is mistakenly inserted in an incorrect direction. There is no damage to the container due to. Furthermore, since the front door 2 in this embodiment is small, it does not interfere with the replacement work of the toner container A and can be opened and closed easily. Further, the space for opening and closing the door, which should be secured on the front side of the copying apparatus 1, can be small.

On the other hand, when two front doors are provided and only one of the front doors 2 is opened when the toner container is replaced, only the toner container mounting portion 5 is exposed to the outside, and the other paper feeding portions and the like are exposed. Since it is not exposed, there is no possibility that an operator touches the paper feed unit or the like at the time of container replacement, or foreign matter enters the paper feed unit or the like to cause a failure.

Further, since the guide portion 6 is formed integrally with the front door 2, the number of parts and the cost are not increased.

Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. The same parts as those shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted. Here, FIG.
4 and FIG. 4 both show the copying apparatus according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 3 shows a state in which the front door 13 is opened together with the front door 12.
Further, FIG. 4 shows a state in which only the front door 12 is opened.

The copying apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment is provided with a front door 13 for opening and closing the front surface of the apparatus main body 10a. When the front door 13 is opened, a paper feeding section (not shown in the figure) and the like are provided. It is exposed so that maintenance and inspection of the paper feeding unit and the like is possible. Further, an opening is formed in the front door 13 at a position corresponding to the toner container mounting portion 15, and the front door 12 for opening and closing the opening is attached. A guide portion 6 is formed inside the front door 12. And
As shown in FIG. 4, when the front door 13 is closed and the front door 12 is opened, the guide portion 6 coincides with the toner container mounting portion 15.

When the toner is consumed up, only the front door 12 is opened and the old container (not shown) mounted on the apparatus main body 10a is taken out from the toner container mounting portion 15. Next, a new toner container A containing toner
Is aligned with the guide portion 6 formed on the front door 12, and is inserted into the toner container mounting portion 15 along the guide portion 6 as it is. After mounting the toner container A, the front door 12 is closed and the replacement work of the container A is completed.

Since this embodiment has the above-mentioned configuration,
If the toner container A is inserted along the guide portion 6, the container tip portion and the opening of the toner container mounting portion 15 are aligned,
The alignment work becomes easy. Further, since the guide portion 6 defines the proper insertion direction of the toner container A, the operator does not need to pay attention to the direction, the insertion work is facilitated, and the toner container A is mistakenly inserted in an incorrect direction. There is no damage to the container due to. Further, since the front door 12 in this embodiment is small, it does not interfere with the replacement work of the toner container A and can be opened and closed easily.

On the other hand, when two front doors are provided and only one of the front doors 12 is opened when replacing the toner container, only the toner container mounting portion 15 is exposed to the outside, and the other paper feeding portions and the like are exposed. Since it is not exposed, there is no possibility that an operator touches the paper feed unit or the like at the time of container replacement, or foreign matter enters the paper feed unit or the like to cause a failure.

On the other hand, according to this embodiment, the front door 12
Need only be attached in correspondence with the position of the toner container mounting portion 15, and therefore can be accommodated even if the position of the toner container mounting portion 15 changes depending on the model. Further, the size of the front door 12 can be set to a minimum according to the size of the toner container mounting portion 15.

Further, by integrally forming the guide portion 6 and the front door 12, there is no increase in the number of parts or cost.

By the way, in the above embodiment, the front door 1
Although 3 is opened up and down, of course, it is not limited to this, and may be opened left and right as shown in FIG.

Further, another example will be described with reference to FIG.

The copying apparatus 30 has only one front door 31, and the front door 31 is attached to the front surface of the apparatus main body 30a so as to be openable and closable. Further, a toner container mounting portion 35 is formed in a portion where the front door 31 is pivotally supported, and the front door 31 corresponds to the toner container mounting portion 35 and the front door 3
A guide device 36, which is formed separately from 1, is attached. The guide device 36 is the same as the above-mentioned guide portion 6 except that it is formed separately from the front door 31, and the container can be smoothly inserted.

As a result, even in a copying machine in which the guide portion 6 is not formed, by installing the guide device 36 later, it is possible to obtain substantially the same effects as those of the above-described embodiments. Further, it is not necessary to provide a front door dedicated to container replacement. The toner container mounting portion 35 and the guide device 36
The position alignment with and is performed by changing the shape of the guide device 36 according to the position of the toner container mounting portion 35.

In each of the above embodiments, the guide for inserting the toner container has been described, but the guide is not limited to this. For example, it may be used as a guide for these photosensitive drums in a copying machine in which the photosensitive drums, cleaning device, etc. are replaceable.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When the replacement part is moved along the guide part, the replacement part is smoothly inserted into the replacement part mounting part, so that replacement work of the replacement part is simplified. Further, since the replacement part is inserted into the proper position by the guide part, it is not damaged. Further, since the second door member is a small member for covering only the replacement component mounting portion, the opening and closing work thereof can be easily performed.

On the other hand, the second door member is opened and closed independently of the first door member so that only the replacement part mounting portion is exposed to the outside when the replacement part is replaced, and other maintenance and inspection points are exposed. Therefore, there is no possibility that an operator touches the maintenance / inspection site or foreign matter is mixed into the maintenance / inspection site when replacing the replacement parts, and causes a failure.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall structure of a copying apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the overall structure of a conventional copying apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the overall structure of a copying apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the overall structure of a copying apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the overall structure of a copying apparatus according to another example of the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the overall structure of a copying apparatus as another application example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Image Forming Apparatus (Copier) 2 Second Door Member (Front Door) 3 First Door Member (Front Door) 5 Replacement Parts Mounting Part (Toner Container Mounting Part) 6 Guide Part 10 Image Forming Device (Copier) 12 2nd door member (front door) 13 1st door member (front door) 15 replacement part mounting part (toner container mounting part) 30 image forming apparatus (copying device) 31 front door 35 replacement part mounting part (toner container) Installation part 36 Replacement part installation part (toner container installation part) 101 Maintenance inspection part (image forming part) 102 Maintenance inspection part (paper supply part) A Replacement part (toner container)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A replacement part, which is consumed by image formation, and a replacement part mounting portion, which supports the replacement part in a replaceable manner. An image forming apparatus provided with door means for opening and closing when exchanging replacement parts, wherein the door means is provided with a first door member that is openably and closably supported so as to cover the maintenance / inspection location, and the replacement part attachment. A second door member that covers the portion and is supported so as to be opened and closed independently of the first door member, and inserts the replacement component into the replacement component mounting portion in the second door member. An image forming apparatus, wherein the replacement part is smoothly inserted into the replacement part mounting part by forming a guide part for the replacement part and moving the replacement part along the guide part. . 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the replacement part is a toner container containing toner.