JPH07168507A - Process cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a process cartridge capable of effectively reusing a cartridge container and stored toner with a simple structure by providing the cleaning part of the process cartridge, in which the recovered-toner containing part of the cleaning part and the inside space of a development part are connected, with an opening for toner replenishing. CONSTITUTION:When storage toner 12 in the developing container 25 of the process cartridge 24 gradually decrease and the level of the storage toner is below the position of a piezoelectric sensor 35 attached to the developing container 25, a toner replenishing signal is generated to display on the display means of an operating part the necessity of toner replenishment. Following the replenishing display, the process cartridge 24 is taken out of the device, the toner replenishing cover 34 of a reserve container 28, provided next to a cleaning housing 26, is removed, and the container 28 is replenished with toner from its opening. The replenishing toner 32 set in the device again is supplied, through a space-connecting part 19 connecting the cleaning part and the developing part, to the developing container 25 by means of a carrying screw 9.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a process cartridge detachably mounted on an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile, a laser printer and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus, a specific device among all process devices for forming an image, for example, a photosensitive drum as an image bearing member, a developing device, a cleaning device, etc., is integrated in a cartridge container. It is known that a unit body is detachably attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus.

By adopting the cartridge attaching / detaching method as described above, the maintainability and serviceability of the image forming apparatus are improved. That is, for example, when the toner in the developing device is used up, or when the cleaning device is full of waste toner, it is difficult to replace the individual process cartridges by replacing the entire process cartridge. Will be relaxed and general users will be able to replace the device.

On the other hand, in recent years, there has been an increasing demand for downsizing of image forming apparatuses, and in order to respond to this, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-147479,
It has been proposed to arrange a cleaning device and a developing device in a relative upper and lower positional relationship respectively on the upper side and the lower side of the optical path toward the optical image exposure process section. However, although such an arrangement can reduce the size of the image forming apparatus in plan view, it cannot be expected to prolong the life of the product.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-3677 discloses a structure in which a fur brush is arranged upstream of a developing sleeve so that the fur brush comes into contact with and separates from each other during cleaning and during development. However, in such a developing / cleaning device, the developing process and the cleaning process need to be performed separately, and the image carrier must rotate twice for each image forming process. Hinder transformation.

According to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 61-279873, when a process cartridge is loaded in the apparatus main body, downsizing is realized, and higher number of copies can be realized without impeding the speeding up of copying.
It is disclosed that the developer accommodating container is configured so that the shape of the portion deviated from the optical path for exposure is made higher than the height of the optical path. Similarly, in Japanese Utility Model Application Laid-Open No. 62-91643, a toner container of a developing unit is disclosed. It is disclosed that an opening penetrating the side surface of this container is formed and this opening is used as the optical path of the laser beam. Although the toner capacity is increased and the number of copies is increased by these container configurations, the process cartridge must be replaced when the stored toner is used up.

[0007] For the purpose of resource saving and reduction of operating cost, it is also demanded to reuse a process cartridge that has been used and has reached the end of its life. However, the process cartridges used so far are premised on being disposable. To
When reusing the cartridge, an opening for toner supply is provided in the developing means of the process cartridge in view of the problem that toner cannot be replenished into the developing device and waste toner cannot be discharged from the cleaning device. ,
It has been proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-166951 to provide an opening for discharging waste toner in the cleaning means.
However, in the configuration in which the opening portion is provided in such a positional relationship, the toner is replenished and the waste toner is disposed when the toner in the developing device is used up or the waste toner is full in the cleaning device. It has a problem that processing is required relatively often.

[0008]

There is also a demand for collecting and treating waste toner from the viewpoints of effective use of resources, reduction of dust, and protection of the global environment. Therefore, in order to effectively reuse the waste toner cleaned / collected from the latent image forming drum, in JP-A-4-328787, a cleaning section is provided with a toner carrying roller at least the surface of which is made of a porous resin material. It is proposed to have. Since the paper powder mixed in the waste toner is mechanically entangled and removed in the pores of the toner transport roller, the waste toner can be reused while avoiding the deterioration of print quality.

However, in the mechanism for transporting waste toner from the cleaning section to the developing section, which is disclosed in the publication,
There are strong structural restrictions, and the size of the device increases.

Therefore, the present inventor firstly downsized the apparatus and attachable / detachable to / from the apparatus main body so that a large number of copies can be made, and an image carrier that is rotated or rotated. In a process cartridge for an image forming apparatus, which has at least a developing unit for developing a latent image formed on the surface of the image carrier and a cleaning unit for cleaning the surface of the image carrier after image transfer, the cleaning unit and the developing unit. Is arranged in a vertical positional relationship, and the collected toner storage section of the cleaning section and the internal space of the developing section are connected via a connecting section. It was proposed in Japanese Patent No. 45950.

With this, the waste toner can be reused with a simple structure. However, since replenishment of new toner is not taken into consideration, the formed image deteriorates due to repeated use of the toner and becomes unsuitable for practical use. The process cartridge cannot be reused due to exhaustion.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a process cartridge which can effectively reuse the cartridge container and the toner contained therein with a simple structure.

[0013]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the present invention, a developing unit which is attachable to and detachable from the apparatus main body and develops at least a latent image formed on the surface of an image carrier, A process cartridge for an image forming apparatus having a cleaning unit for cleaning the surface of the image carrier after image transfer and collecting the residual toner, wherein the cleaning unit and the developing unit are arranged in a vertical positional relationship, Further, in the process cartridge in which the collected toner storage section of the cleaning section and the internal space of the developing section are connected, the cleaning section is provided with an opening for toner supply.

An image which is detachable from the main body of the apparatus and has at least a developing unit for developing a latent image formed on the surface of the image carrier and a cleaning unit for cleaning the surface of the image carrier after image transfer. In a process cartridge for a forming apparatus, a cleaning unit and a developing unit are arranged in a vertical positional relationship, and a collected toner storage unit of the cleaning unit and an internal space of the developing unit are connected, Even if the cleaning unit is provided with the toner replenishing device, the above problem can be solved.

The toner supplied to the developing section may be a mixture of the toner collected in the cleaning section and the toner replenished in the cleaning section.

It is more preferable that the toner conveying means provided in the cleaning section or the connecting section from the cleaning section to the developing section is synchronized with the toner replenishing device.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The details of the present invention will be described based on the embodiments shown in the drawings.

First, the operation of the entire image forming apparatus equipped with the process cartridge will be described.

When a copy button (not shown) on the operation unit is pressed and a drive signal is issued, the photosensitive drum 1 and the charging roller 1 which are the image carrier of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.
0, the developing roller 16 of the developing unit, the sponge roller 15 and the agitator 13, the fur brush 5, the bias roller 6 and the conveying screw 9 of the cleaning unit are rotationally driven in the directions of the arrows. Although the charging roller 10 rotates in the forward direction at the contact portion with respect to the photosensitive drum 1 in FIG. 1, it may not rotate or may be driven to rotate in the opposite direction. A required voltage is applied to each of the charging roller 10, the developing roller 16, the sponge roller 15, the fur brush 5, and the bias roller 6.

The photosensitive drum 1 is uniformly positively or negatively charged by the charging roller 10, and a latent image is formed by the laser light 27 entering through the window portion 8 whose opening state is recognized in FIG. The latent image on the photosensitive drum 1 is the developing roller 16
Is developed as a toner image. The toner image is
Transferred onto the transfer paper 20 fed from a paper feed mechanism (not shown) between the photoconductor drum 1 and the transfer charger 22, separated from the photoconductor drum 1 by the separation charger 23, and fixed by a fixing device (not shown). ), And is discharged outside the image forming apparatus as a copy. The surface of the photosensitive drum 1 after the transfer of the toner image is simultaneously subjected to corona irradiation and light irradiation by the pre-cleaning charger 2 and the pre-cleaning lamp 3 so that the polarities of the residual toners are made uniform and the surface potential is lowered. , Comes to face the cleaning section. A voltage having a polarity opposite to the polarity of the toner is applied to the residual toner transferred to the cleaning unit, and the photosensitive drum 1
It is removed by the fur brush 5 that comes into contact with the fur brush 5. For the fur brush 5 and the bias roller 6,
An electric field that attracts toner is formed on the bias roller 6, the toner on the fur brush 5 moves to the bias roller 6, and is further scraped off onto the conveying screw 9 by the collecting blade 7. The scraped toner is
As shown in FIG. 3, a space for connecting the cleaning unit and the developing unit (connecting unit 19) by being transferred to both axial ends (one end depending on the shape of the spiral protrusion) of the screw by the conveying screw 9. Through the agitator 1
3 It falls naturally on top.

The toner dropped on the agitator 13 is agitated by the agitator 13 together with the stored toner 12 and supplied to the sponge roller 15. A voltage is applied to the sponge roller 15 so as to form an electric field between the sponge roller 15 and the developing roller 16 so that the toner is directed toward the developing roller 16. The sponge roller 15 rotates while contacting so as to bite into the developing roller 16, charges the toner, and supplies the toner. The toner transferred onto the developing roller 16 is regulated to a predetermined layer thickness by the developing blade 11, and then transferred to the photoconductor 1.

At the location A of the cleaning section, the flicker bites into the fur brush 5, and the fur brush 5 is densely compressed, and when the fur brush 5 returns to its original state after passing through the flicker, the flicker causes movement. The paper dust or the like adhering to the fur brush 5 is blown off and stored in the storage section 4. By this operation process, when the toner is reused, the paper dust or the like that causes the quality deterioration of the formed image is separated and removed.

As the image formation is repeated, the stored toner 12 contained in the developing container portion 25 of the process cartridge 24 gradually decreases, and when the stored amount falls below the position of the piezoelectric sensor 35 attached to the developing container portion 25, A toner replenishment signal is issued and a display means (not shown) of the operation unit indicates that toner replenishment is necessary. Instead of the detection by the piezoelectric sensor 35, the timing of toner replenishment may be known by a detection unit that detects whether or not the amount of toner adhered on the photosensitive drum 1 is appropriate.

In accordance with the replenishment display, the process cartridge 24 is taken out of the machine, and the reserve container section 2 attached to the cleaning case section 26 of the process cartridge 24 is attached.
The toner supply lid 34 of 8 is removed, and toner is supplied from the hole. The replenishment toner 32 in the process cartridge 24 set in the apparatus again is supplied to the developing container section 25 through the connecting section 19 by the conveying screw 9.
The supply port for replenishing toner may be provided not only in the cleaning case part but also in the developing container part.

FIG. 4 shows an example in which a counter blade 29 is used as the cleaning means instead of the fur brush. The basic structure is the same as the embodiment of FIG.
The integrally formed developing container portion 25, the cleaning housing portion 26, and the reserve container portion 28 forming the process cartridge 24, the conveying screw 9, the agitator 13 and the developing roller 16, which are housed in the cartridge, and the photosensitive member in addition to the cartridge. The pre-cleaning charger 2, the charging roller 10, the transfer charger 22 and the like arranged around the drum 1 are all similarly provided. Here, in order to avoid duplication of description, common members are represented by the same numbers, and the description of the operation will be given to the above embodiment.

In the above-mentioned two embodiments, the process cartridge is removed when the toner storage amount is insufficient, and the toner replenishment work is performed manually. However, the structure for mechanically replenishing toner is shown below.

As shown in FIG. 5, the reserve container portion 28 of the process cartridge 24 is provided with a toner supply screw 31. For other parts,
This embodiment is basically the same as the above-mentioned embodiment, and for simplification of the description, common parts are omitted from the description of the above-mentioned embodiment, and only characteristic parts of this embodiment will be described here.

As can be seen in FIG. 6, the toner supply screw 31 extends over the entire width of the reserve container portion 28, and further extends so as to project from the container portion 28. The protruding range of the screw 31 is covered by the attached toner tank portion 30 integrated with the process cartridge 24.

Developer container 2 of process cartridge 24
When the amount of stored toner 12 stored in No. 5 gradually decreases and the stored amount falls below the position of the piezoelectric sensor 35 attached to the developing container section 25, a toner replenishment signal is issued and the toner replenishment screw 31 is driven by a driving unit (not shown). And the conveying screw 9 is driven and rotated. Therefore, the conveying screw 9 in the present embodiment is not controlled so as to rotate and stop at the same time as the photosensitive drum 1 or the like which is rotationally driven by the drive signal from the operation portion, unlike the above-described two embodiments. Screw 3
With the rotation of 1, the replenishment toner 33 stored in the attached toner tank portion 30 is supplied onto the conveying screw 9 and mixed with the collected toner from which the paper dust has been scraped off by the fur brush 5 and the connecting portion. It is sent to the developing container section 25 via 19. When the stored toner 12 becomes larger than the position of the piezoelectric sensor 35 due to the replenishment of the mixed toner, the toner replenishment signal stops, the rotation of the toner replenishment screw 31 and the conveyance screw 9 stops, and the toner replenishment is completed.
Therefore, the collected toner is not supplied to the developing container portion 25 and is collected in the cleaning portion.

As in the above-described embodiment, instead of the detection by the piezoelectric sensor 35, the timing of toner replenishment may be known by the detection means for detecting the adequacy of the toner adhesion amount on the photosensitive drum 1. In this case, since the stored toner 12 is almost absent, it is preferable that a large amount of toner is continuously replenished so that the capacity of the developing unit is almost full and the toner is stopped.

FIG. 7 shows an example in which the toner replenishing device is provided and the counter blade 29 is used as the cleaning means instead of the fur brush. The basic structure is
This is the same as the embodiment of FIGS. 1, 4 and 5, and in order to avoid duplication of description, common members are represented by the same numbers,
The description of the operation will be given to the above embodiment.

[0032]

According to the process cartridge of the first aspect, since the opening for supplying toner is provided in the cleaning portion, not only the toner can be reused but also the cartridge container can be effectively reused.

According to the process cartridge of the second aspect, since the toner replenishing device is provided in the cleaning portion, not only the effect of reusing the toner and the cartridge container but also the toner replenishment can be automatically performed.

According to the process cartridge of the third aspect, the mixture of the toner collected in the cleaning section and the toner replenished in the cleaning section is supplied to the developing section. Can be reduced.

According to the process cartridge of the fourth aspect, the toner conveying means provided at the cleaning portion or the connecting portion from the cleaning portion to the developing portion is synchronized with the toner replenishing device. The effect is surely produced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a process cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the process cartridge as viewed from the left side of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partial end view taken along line BB of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention in a process cartridge using a counter blade as a cleaning unit.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a process cartridge according to another embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a partial end view taken along the line CC of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment similar to FIG. 5 in a process cartridge using a counter blade as a cleaning unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Photoreceptor Drum 5 Fur Brush 8 Window 9 Conveying Screw 13 Agitator 16 Developing Roller 19 Connecting Part 22 Transfer Charger 23 Separation Charger 24 Process Cartridge 27 Laser Light

Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Office reference number FI Technical display location G03G 15/08 507 E 21/10 G03G 21/00 312 326

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A developing unit, which is detachable from the apparatus main body, develops at least a latent image formed on the surface of an image carrier, and cleans the surface of the image carrier after image transfer to collect residual toner. A process cartridge for an image forming apparatus having a cleaning unit, wherein the cleaning unit and the developing unit are arranged in a vertical positional relationship, and the collected toner storage unit of the cleaning unit and the internal space of the developing unit are connected. In the process cartridge described above, the cleaning section is provided with an opening for toner replenishment. 2. A developing unit, which is detachable from the apparatus main body, develops a latent image formed on the surface of the image carrier, and a cleaning unit cleans the surface of the image carrier after image transfer. A process cartridge for an image forming apparatus having a cleaning unit and a developing unit arranged in a vertical positional relationship, and a collected toner storage unit of the cleaning unit and an internal space of the developing unit are connected to each other. In the process cartridge, the cleaning unit is provided with a toner replenishing device. 3. The toner according to claim 1, wherein the toner supplied to the developing unit is a mixture of toner collected in the cleaning unit and toner replenished in the cleaning unit. Process cartridge. 4. A toner carrying means provided in the cleaning section or a connecting section from the cleaning section to the developing section,
4. The process cartridge according to claim 2, wherein the process cartridge is synchronized with the toner replenishing device.