JPH0680466B2 - A unit that can be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to a counting unit detachably attached to the image forming apparatus.

(Problems to be Solved by Prior Art) In a known image forming apparatus, an image forming member such as a charging device, an exposing member, and a developing device sleeping cleaner is arranged around a photosensitive member which is usually formed in a rotating cylindrical shape. As a result, regular maintenance and inspection were indispensable for obtaining good quality images at all times.

At the same time, however, such a situation is not preferable from the viewpoint of running cost and utilization efficiency of the device from the viewpoint of the user.

Therefore, recently, a photoconductor and a charger arranged around the photoconductor,
It is becoming increasingly common to use some image forming members such as a developing device and a cleaner, which are integrally formed into a process unit, and which are freely attached to the main body of an image forming apparatus to form an image. It has become to.

Such a process unit is based on, for example, the usage limit of the photoconductor or the time when the toner in the developing device is used up,
When a certain amount of copying is completed, it can be replaced with a new process unit as needed, which makes it virtually maintenance-free, and by using multiple units according to the characteristics of the original or transfer material, it is always optimal. An image can be obtained, and a multi-color image can be easily obtained by properly using units that respectively store toners of a plurality of colors. Thus, the range of use of the image forming apparatus can be greatly expanded.

In the case of an image forming apparatus using such a process unit, if a single counter for counting the number of image formed sheets is provided only in the main body of the image forming apparatus as in the prior art, a case in which a plurality of units are appropriately exchanged and used is required. If you think
It is easy to see that it is not enough and that each unit must have a counter.

On the other hand, from the perspective of the process unit, from the beginning of production, this product sets the number of possible standard images, such as 2000 copies, based on the life of the photoconductor and the amount of toner as described above. However, until that time, the serviceman will not intervene unless there is a special failure, so a simple counter that indicates this to the user when the life of the process unit is almost exhausted is sufficient. is there.

From this point of view, the present applicant has already filed JP-A-57-163276.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. JP-A-2003-242242, a proposal has been made to provide an approximate display section that can immediately determine when a process unit needs to be replaced by a color band, and a certain effect has been achieved.

At the same time, with the counter means having such a configuration alone,
When properly using multiple process units,
When a trouble occurs in a unit, there is a pity that it cannot be determined whether the trouble occurred when the unit was attached to the apparatus body.

The present invention has been made to cope with such a situation, and is provided with a counting mechanism using a gear for carry which is used in a normal counter mechanism, while having the approximate display section as described above. It is provided so that the instructions of this gear can be viewed from the outside if necessary, so that when trouble occurs, it is possible to easily know when and in which unit it is detachable from the image forming apparatus. It is intended to provide a unit.

(Structure of the Invention) (Technical Means for Solving the Problem and Its Action) In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention is an image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium, and an approximate display section color-coded into a predetermined range. A drive transmission means for rotating the approximate display unit in accordance with the rotation of the image forming means, a plurality of gears for carrying in conjunction with the drive of the drive transmission means, and a plurality of gears provided for each of the plurality of gears. And a second opening for visually observing the position identifying means of each of the plurality of gears. The unit is detachable from the image forming apparatus.

With this configuration, troubles occurring in the process unit can be quickly found, which contributes to improving work efficiency.

(Description of Embodiments) FIG. 1 shows a detachable process unit to which the present invention is applied, and the process unit 1 is detachably attached to an image forming apparatus main body (not shown).

In the process unit, at least one member out of the photoconductor and a charger, a developer, a cleaner and the like arranged around the photoconductor is integrally provided.

In the unit 1, it is assumed that a photosensitive member which is normally formed in a cylindrical shape is arranged in a direction shown by a chain line in the drawing, and its rotation is shown in FIG. 2 by a gear provided at an end of the photosensitive member. It shall be transmitted to the gear 4 at the end of the counter mechanism.

At the other end of the counter mechanism, there is provided a disk 5 which is color-coded in the circumferential direction such as green G, yellow Y and red R, and the counter mechanism is mounted in the unit 1. The disk 5 is arranged so as to be visible from the first opening 2a of the unit 1 to form an approximate display portion.

Between the gear 4 that interlocks with the photoconductor and the disk 5, there is provided a counting mechanism 3 in which carry gears 3b, 3d, ... When the process unit 1 is mounted as described above, the unit 1 has a second opening 2b so that the carry gear 3b and the like can be visually observed from the outside.

The counting mechanism 3 can be, for example, a mechanical one widely used in well-known copying machines, calculators, etc.,
Since it does not need to be a new one in itself, it will be briefly described below. When the gear 4 makes one revolution by the rotation of the photosensitive member, the drum 3a makes one revolution, and the one tooth provided on the drum 3a makes one revolution.
The pin etc. feeds one gear 3b (10 teeth in decimal system).

When the drum 3a rotates 10 times, the gear 3b is fed by 10 teeth (1
(Rotation) One tooth portion, a pin, etc. provided on the gear 3b rotates the adjacent drum 3c by one tooth.

In this way, if the photoconductor rotates 100 times, the gear 3b
As the drum 3c rotates, the drum 3c makes one rotation and the gear 3d is fed by one tooth.

It is well known that such a counting mechanism is often used because the drum on the left side makes one rotation every 10 rotations of the drum on the right side by repeating such operations.

An identification means 6 such as white is provided on one tooth top portion of the carry gears 3b, 3d, etc. so that it can be easily seen from the second opening 2b.

Then, for example, as shown in FIG. 2 first, if all the identifying means 6 are brought to a position where they are aligned with the top, the counting mechanism operates thereafter according to the use of the unit, and at some point, each carry gear. The discriminating means 6 such as 3b takes a position rotated by a predetermined amount.

Therefore, when the process unit is replaced and used, the life of the unit can be roughly estimated from the opening 2a, and even within the range of the life, when the unit is replaced, each position of the identification means 6 at that time can be known. .

(Effects of the Invention) With the above configuration, even when a plurality of process units are exchanged and used in a timely manner, even if a trouble occurs in the units, it is easy to determine when the trouble occurs depending on the position of the identifying means. Therefore, it greatly contributes to the improvement of the utilization efficiency of this type of image forming apparatus.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a process unit to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a counter mechanism according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing one of carry gears. 1 ... Process unit, 2a ... First opening, 2b ... Second opening, 3 ... Coefficient mechanism, 4 ... Drive transmission gear, 5 ...
… Disk for display, 6… Identification means.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-57-163276 (JP, A) Actually opened 51-156455 (JP, U) Actually opened 56-145053 (JP, U) Japanese Patent Publication 1- 41987 (JP, B2) Japanese Patent Publication 3-10942 (JP, B2) Japanese Patent Publication 1-41986 (JP, B2) Japanese Patent Publication 60-16618 (JP, B2) Actual Japanese Publication 55-21247 (JP, Y2) Actual public Sho 61-9419 (JP, Y2)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium, comprising: an approximate display section color-coded in a predetermined range; drive transmission means for rotating the approximate display section according to rotation of the image forming means; A plurality of gears for carrying gears that are interlocked with the drive of the drive transmission means, position identification means provided in each of the plurality of gears, a first opening for visually observing the approximate display portion, A second opening for visually observing the position identifying means of each of the plurality of gears, and a unit attachable to and detachable from the image forming apparatus.