JPH0820835B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus having a residual toner collecting section for collecting residual toner from the image forming section.

[Conventional technology]

For example, a copying machine generally has an image forming unit that has a photoconductor drum, a developing device, and a cleaning device to form an image, a paper transport unit that transports paper, and a residual toner recovery container that recovers toner from the cleaning device. It has and.

In this type of copying machine, an electrostatic latent image is formed on a photosensitive drum, and the latent image is developed by a developing device to be visualized.
A toner image is transferred to a sheet to copy image information.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

In such a copying machine, a paper jam may occur during the transportation of the paper. Therefore, in order to efficiently deal with this paper jam in a short time, it is conceivable to form the paper transport unit into a unit and provide the unit so that the unit can be pulled out to the front side. However, in general, the residual toner collecting container is connected to the image forming unit and is in a posture of hanging downward from the image forming unit. Further, in order to collect the toner from the cleaning device, the opening portion of the residual toner recovery container is fitted into the residual toner discharge port of the cleaning device from below. Therefore, in this state, the residual toner collecting container is an obstacle and only the transport unit cannot be pulled out to the front side.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of easily handling a paper jam by pulling out only the transport unit to the front side without the residual toner collecting container becoming an obstacle.

[Means for solving the problem]

The image forming apparatus according to the present invention includes a sheet storage unit that stores a sheet, an image forming unit that has a residual toner discharge port and forms an image on the sheet, and an image formed on the sheet is fixed by the image forming unit. The fixing unit, the sheet conveying unit, the residual toner collecting unit, and the interlocking unit are provided.

The sheet conveying section is arranged below the image forming section so as to be able to move up and down and to be pulled out to the front side, conveys the sheet sent out from the sheet storing section to the image forming section, and transfers the sheet from the image forming section to the fixing section. Transport. The residual toner recovery unit has a residual toner recovery port, and the residual toner recovery port is provided in the paper transport unit so that it can be located at a toner recovery position connected to the residual toner discharge port and a retracted position away from the residual toner discharge port. It is held so that it can be moved up and down, and collects residual toner from the image forming unit. The interlocking device is configured such that the residual toner collecting unit is in the retracted position in association with the lowering operation of the paper conveying unit when the paper conveying unit is pulled out, and the residual toner collecting unit is associated with the rising operation of the paper conveying unit in mounting the paper conveying unit. So that the toner collecting position can be set respectively, the ascending / descending operation of the sheet conveying unit and the ascending / descending operation of the toner collecting unit are interlocked.

[Action]

In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, at the time of image formation, the residual toner collecting port of the residual toner collecting section is located at the toner collecting position connected to the residual toner discharging port. Therefore, the residual toner generated in the image forming unit is stored in the residual toner collecting unit from the residual toner discharge port.

When a paper jam occurs, the paper transport unit is lowered and pulled out to the front side, so that the paper jammed in the paper transport unit is taken out. At this time, the residual toner recovery port of the residual toner recovery unit is placed at a retracted position away from the residual toner discharge port of the image forming unit by the interlocking device in conjunction with the descending operation of the paper transport unit. Therefore, the residual toner collecting unit does not get in the way, and the paper transport unit can be easily pulled out.

〔Example〕

FIG. 5 shows the overall structure of a copying machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, a document table 2 is fixed to the upper surface of the copying machine body 1, and a document retainer 3 is mounted on the document table 2 so as to be openable and closable. On the right side and inside of the copying machine main body 1, there are a paper feed cassette 4 as a paper storage unit,
5 and 21 are detachably attached. The paper feed cassette 21 contains, for example, large-sized paper. On the left side of the copying machine body 1, a paper ejection tray 6 for ejecting copied paper is mounted.

Inside the copying machine main body 1, an optical system 7 for reading image information of a document is provided above the main body.
The optical system 7 is composed of a light source, a mirror, a lens and the like. A photoconductor drum 8 on which an electrostatic latent image is formed is arranged in the center of the inside of the copying machine main body 1. Around the photoconductor drum 8, a main charging device 9, a diode cell array 10, a developing device 11, a transfer device 12, a paper separating device 13, a cleaning device 14 for removing residual toner on the photoconductor drum 8, and a charge eliminating lamp 15. Are arranged in order.

A paper feed / transport path 16 for transporting paper is provided between the paper feed cassettes 4 and 5 and the image forming unit 20 including the photoconductor drum 8 and the like. Further, a paper discharge conveyance path 17 is provided on the downstream side of the image forming unit 20. The transfer device 1
2, the paper separating device 13, the downstream side portion of the paper feed transport path 16 and the paper discharge transport path 17 are included in the transport unit 30 described later. A fixing device 18 that fixes the transferred image on the conveyed sheet is provided between the sheet discharge passage 17 and the discharged toner 6. A paper discharge roller 19 is provided on the downstream side of the fixing device 18.

The transport unit 30 has a boss 31 on its lower surface, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B corresponding to the IV-IV sectional view of FIG. A shaft 32 is supported at both ends of the boss 31.
On the other hand, below the transport unit 30, a frame 33 capable of housing the transport unit 30 is provided. A shaft 34 extending in the depth direction (left-right direction in the drawing) is rotatably supported in the frame 33. A lever 35 is fixed to one end of the shaft 34. A plurality of brackets 36 are mounted on the shaft 34 at predetermined intervals. The shaft 32 is rotatably supported at the tip of the bracket 36. A member 37 is attached to the lower surface of the frame 33. A hole is formed in the member 37 in the horizontal direction, and the projection 21a of the paper feed cassette 21 can be engaged with the hole.

A side frame member 38 extending in the vertical direction is attached to the side surface of the transport unit 30. The tip of the side frame member 38 can be engaged with the hole 41a formed in the lower surface of the frame body 41 that houses the image forming unit 20. Side frame member 38 is a member
39 is installed. The tip of this member 39 can be engaged with a hole 40a formed in the body frame 40. Further, the frame 33 and the paper feed cassette 6 are movably provided in the depth direction so that they can be pulled out to the front side (right side in the drawing) on a rail (not shown).

Next, with respect to the mounting state of the residual toner collecting container for collecting the residual toner from the image forming section 20, FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. 2A. FIG. 3 shows a state in which the front door 50 of the apparatus main body 1 is opened, and FIG. 2A shows a positional relationship between the residual toner collecting container 47 and the cleaning device 14.

The residual toner collecting container 47 is provided in front of (in front of) the transport unit 30. Also, as shown in FIG. 2A,
Inside the cleaning device 14, a toner discharge pipe 43 extending in the depth direction (left and right direction in the drawing) is provided. In the toner discharge pipe 43, a rotary shaft 42 having a spiral fin 42a around it is rotatably provided. Further, a protruding portion 44 that protrudes downward is formed at the tip of the residual toner discharge pipe 43. The protrusion 44 is adapted to be inserted into the upper opening 47 a of the toner recovery container 47. Also,
A bracket 44b is formed on a part of the protrusion 44,
The lid 48 is supported by the bracket 44b. Lid 48
Is rotatable about a pin 49 penetrating the bracket 44b and the lid 48. The lid 48 is constantly biased by a torsion spring (not shown) attached to the pin 49 in a direction of closing the opening 44a of the protrusion 44. A front cover 46 is attached to the front of the cleaning device 14 (on the right side in FIG. 2A) so as to cover the upper opening of the toner recovery container 47 and the lid 48. A cross-shaped opening 46a as shown in FIG. 2B is formed at a portion of the front cover 46 facing the lid body 48. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, a projection 51 that can be inserted into the opening 46a is provided on the back surface of the front door 50.
When the front door 50 is closed, the protrusion 51 is inserted into the opening 46a and comes into contact with the upper portion of the lid 48 so that the lid 48 can be rotated.

Next, details of the mounting portion of the residual toner collecting container 47 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1A and 1B.

The residual toner collecting container 47 is housed in the container 53.
The container 53 is provided on the front surface of the front side plate 33a of the frame body 33. Flanges 53a and 53b are formed on both sides of the container 53, and pins 54 and 55 are rotatably inserted therein, respectively. The pin 54 is attached to the front side plate 33a. The pin 55 is attached to the front side plate 30a of the transport unit 30 (Fig. 4A). An elongated hole 33b extending in the up-down direction (vertical direction) is formed in a portion of the front side plate 33a facing the flange 53b. The pin 55 is provided so as to penetrate the elongated hole 33b. Then, when the carry-out unit is pulled out, as shown in FIG. 1B, the residual toner collecting container 47 is mounted so as to be rotated downward from the horizontal position about the pin 54 by an angle α (α≈4 °). ing.

 Next, the operation will be described.

During a normal copying operation, toner adheres to the photosensitive drum 8, and this toner is transferred onto the recording paper by the transfer operation. At the time of this transfer, a part of the toner remains on the photosensitive drum 8 as residual toner. The residual toner is removed by the blade of the cleaning device 14 and is once collected in the cleaning device 14. The collected residual toner is
By the rotation of the rotary shaft 42 (FIG. 2A), it is conveyed to the residual toner collecting container 47 side through the toner discharge pipe 43. Further, during the copying operation, the projection 51 on the back surface of the front door 50 (FIG. 3) presses the upper portion of the lid body 48 through the opening 46a of the front cover 46. As a result, the lid 48 rotates around the pin 49, and the toner discharge port 44a of the protrusion 44 is in the open state. Therefore, the residual toner sent through the discharge pipe 43 is stored in the residual toner collection container 47 through the toner discharge port 44a.

Next, a case where the transport unit 30 is pulled out to the front side when a paper jam occurs will be described. In this case, first open the front door 50. As a result, the pressing of the lid 48 by the protrusion 51 is released, and the toner discharge port 44a is closed by the lid 48. Next, the lever 35 (Fig. 4A) is rotated about 90 °. Then, the bracket 36 rotates together with the shaft 34, the transport unit 30 descends, and the transport unit 30 is housed in the frame 33 (see FIG. 4B). As the transport unit 30 descends, the tip ends of the side frame member 38 and the member 39 separate from the image forming unit 20 and the main body frame 40, respectively. On the other hand, as the transport unit 30 descends, the pin 55 (Fig. 1A) is inserted into the slot 33b.
Descend inside. Then, the residual toner collecting container 47 is
It rotates downward about 54, and changes from the state shown by the solid line in FIG. 1B to the state shown by the alternate long and short dash line. As a result, the upper opening of the residual toner collecting container 47 moves to the retracted position away from the residual toner discharge port 44a (the state shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 2A). When the transport unit 30 is pulled out to the front side in this state, the transport surface of the transport unit 30 is exposed, so that the paper jammed inside the apparatus can be easily removed.

When returning to the normal copying operation, the transport unit 30
After returning the inside of the device, the lever 35 is returned to the original position. As a result, the transport unit 30 is raised and placed in a copy-enabled state.

On the other hand, in this series of paper jam clearing operations, the residual toner collecting container 47 moves up and down in conjunction with the elevation of the transport unit 30, so that the pile of toner collected in the residual toner collecting container 47 becomes flat. Therefore, it is not necessary to separately provide a vibration device or the like for the residual toner collecting container 47 in order to flatten the pile of collected toner.

Although the above-described embodiment is an example in which the present invention is applied to a copying machine, the present invention can be similarly applied to a laser printer, and has the same effect as that of the above-described embodiment.

〔The invention's effect〕

In the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, since the residual toner collecting unit is retracted in association with the elevating operation of the paper conveying unit, the residual toner collecting unit can be easily pulled out to the front side without interfering with the residual toner collecting unit. This makes it easier to handle paper jams.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view showing a mounting state of a residual toner recovery container in a copying machine according to the present invention, FIG. 1B is a front view thereof, and FIG. 2A is a vertical section showing a positional relationship between a cleaning device and a residual toner recovery container. Fig. 2B is a partial view of the copying machine viewed from the arrow II, Fig. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which the front door of the copying machine is opened, and Figs. 4A and 4B are sectional views taken along line IV-IV in Fig. 5. FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view of a corresponding vertical section, FIG. 5 is a sectional view of the copying machine, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view for explaining the operation of the embodiment.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A paper storage unit for storing paper, an image forming unit having a residual toner discharge port for forming an image on the paper, and a fixing unit for fixing the image formed on the paper by the image forming unit. And a portion that can be raised and lowered below the image forming unit and can be pulled out toward the front side, conveys the paper fed from the paper storage unit to the image forming unit, and fixes the paper from the image forming unit. A sheet transporting section for transporting the sheet to a unit, and a residual toner collecting port, and the residual toner collecting port can have a toner collecting position connected to the residual toner discharging port and a retracted position separated from the residual toner discharging port. A residual toner collecting unit that is held in the paper transport unit so as to be able to move up and down and that collects residual toner from the image forming unit; and a forward operation that is linked to the lowering operation of the paper transport unit when the paper transport unit is pulled out. Residual toner recovery unit to the retracted position,
When the paper transporting unit is mounted, an up-and-down operation of the paper transporting unit and an up-and-down operation of the toner collecting unit are performed so that the residual toner collecting unit can take each of the toner collecting positions in association with the rising operation of the paper transporting unit. An image forming apparatus comprising: interlocking means for interlocking.