JPH10149004A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus which can prevent spillage of toner from a toner supplying orifice of a toner supplying deuce when the toner supplying device is detached from developing means. SOLUTION: A support member 60A fixed to a toner supplying device 50 and a support member 60B fixed to a main body of a copying apparatus are connected to each other through the intermediary of a support member 60C which is fixed to each of the members on pivots, and further a pivotal position M-M of the support member 60A and the support member 60C is made to coincide with a toner supplying orifice 50A, wherein, in a situation when the support member 60C is fixed to the main body of the copying apparatus with a mounting screw T2, the toner supplying device 50 is movable rotationally around the pivotal position M-M as a pivot with the toner supplying orifice 50A open, whereas, when in a situation without the mounting screw 12, the toner supplying device 50 is movable rotationally around a pivotal position N-N as a pivot with the toner supplying orifice 50A shut by the aid of the rotational movement of a shielding plate 70.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus in which a toner supply device connected to a developing means is built in an apparatus main body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In developing means using a two-component developer, when a latent image on a photoreceptor is developed, toner adheres to the latent image portion and is consumed. The supply / conveying means in the attached toner replenishing device is activated by the detection signal of the above, and the toner in the replenishing device is automatically replenished.

The toner replenishing device can be moved by disconnecting the developing device from the developing device, so that the toner replenishing device can be replenished with the toner replenishing device at the moving position without being detached from the main body of the toner replenishing device. And maintenance by attaching and detaching the developing means and the like.

[0004]

In such a toner replenishing apparatus, when the connection with the developing means is released, the toner replenishing port is closed by a shielding member to prevent toner leakage from the toner replenishing port. There is a problem that a small amount of toner attached to the toner supply port is scraped off and stains the inside of the apparatus main body.

The developing means and the toner replenishing device itself containing the toner have built-in rotating members such as a toner stirring member and a toner conveying member. Effective measures are also needed.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and as a result, there is no risk of toner leakage during operation and during maintenance, and an image provided with a toner replenishing device and a developing means which can be used and handled with peace of mind. It is intended to provide a forming apparatus.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus comprising: developing means for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on an image forming body with toner; and a toner replenishing device for replenishing the developing means with toner. In the apparatus, a shield member that can be opened and closed is provided at a toner supply port of the toner supply device, and the toner supply device opens the toner supply port and connects the toner supply port to a toner receiving port of the developing unit. The toner supply port can be moved from the storage position in the image forming apparatus to the first retreat position in the coupled state, and the toner supply port and the toner receiving port can be coupled with the toner supply port closed by the shielding member. Wherein the image forming apparatus is movable to a second retreat position for canceling the image forming operation.
And an image forming apparatus having a replenishing device including a rotating member that stores toner for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on an image forming body and stirs and transports the toner.
The toner container has a hole in the side wall thereof that penetrates the shaft end of the rotating member, and at least the outer wall surface around the hole has a projecting shape, and the inner surface and the outer periphery of the projecting portion are engaged. This is achieved by an image forming apparatus (the invention according to claim 4), wherein the rotating member is supported by a member.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As an example of an image forming apparatus of the present invention, the configuration and functions of an electrophotographic copying machine will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 1, a transparent original placing table 1 at the upper end is shown.
The original D placed on the original D is pressed by the original pressing cover 2, and when the copy key is pressed, the exposure lamp 3 a of the light emitting unit 3 is turned on to irradiate the original D together with the reflection mirror unit 4 in the arrow direction. Moving. Then, as shown by a dotted line, the light applied to the document D is reflected by the reflecting mirror 3b of the light projecting unit 3, the reflecting mirror unit 4,
An electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 10 which is guided to the photosensitive drum 10 as an image carrier via the imaging lens 5 and the reflection mirrors 6a, 6b and 6c and charged by the charger 11. . Then, this electrostatic latent image is developed into a toner image by a developing sleeve 13 </ b> A which is a developer carrying member of the developing unit 13 disposed near the photosensitive drum 10. Then, the toner image is transferred by the transfer unit 18 to the copy paper 17 transported by the transport rollers 16 from the paper feed cassette 15. The copy paper 17 after the transfer is separated from the photosensitive drum 10 by the separator 19 and then sent to the fixing device 21 by the transport belt 20, and the toner image is fixed to the copy paper 17 by the heating roller 22 and the pressing roller 23. You. Then, the copy paper 17 after fixing is discharged to a discharge tray 25 by a discharge roller 24. On the other hand, the photoreceptor drum 10 from which the copy paper 17 has been separated is cleaned by the cleaning device 27 to remove the toner remaining on the photoreceptor drum 10, and further subjected to charge elimination by irradiation of a pre-charge exposure lamp 28, and then to the next image copy. Charging is performed.

The photosensitive drum 10 is incorporated in a cartridge 30 together with a charger 11, a developing means 13, a transfer unit 18, a separator 19 and a cleaning device 27, and is integrally mounted on a copying machine main body.

That is, as shown in FIG. 2, the cartridge 30 has a pair of reference pins P1 with a pair of rail members 30A bridged above the cartridge 30 being guided and supported by a guide member 40 in the copying machine main body. Is fixed at a predetermined position by the engagement, and is fixed to an operation position where image formation is possible via a tightening screw T1.

The developing means 13 is provided on the front surface of the cartridge 30.
A toner replenishing device 50 is disposed above the toner receiving portion 130, and a toner replenishing device 50 is disposed above the toner receptive portion 130. The toner dropped from the toner replenishing port 50A is transferred into the developing means 13 through the toner receiving port 130A of the toner receiving portion 130. It is to be replenished.

The toner replenishing device 50 is supported so as to be movable and retracted, so that the front side of the cartridge 30 is opened. Therefore, by removing the tightening screw T1, the cartridge 30 moves along the guide member 40. Thus, it can be easily pulled out to the front side of the copying machine body.

(Embodiment 1) An embodiment of the invention according to claim 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the toner replenishing device 50, a supporting member 60C having a side surface integrated with a supporting member 60B fixed to the copying machine main body is supported by a supporting member 60C.
Is indirectly attached to and supported by the copying machine main body.

The toner replenishing device 50 includes the support member 6 described above.
While the toner supply port 50A is connected to the toner receiving port 130A of the developing means 13 with the toner cartridge 0C fixed to the copying machine main body via the mounting screw T2, the toner is supplied from the position stored in the copying material main body. It is possible to move and retreat to a possible first retreat position.

The shaft attachment position MM between the support member 60A and the support member 60C coincides with the center position of the toner supply port 50A, while the toner supply port 50A is provided on the bottom surface of the toner supply device 50. There is provided a shielding plate 70 that can be opened and closed by sliding contact with the shutter.

FIG. 4 shows a main part indicated by an arrow A in FIG. 3. The shielding plate 70 is rotatably supported on a support shaft 71 as a fulcrum, and is urged counterclockwise by a torsion spring 72. The outer peripheral surface is brought into contact with a stop pin P2 provided in the copying machine main body. At that position, the opening 70A provided in the shielding plate 70 is aligned with the toner supply port 50A (shown by a dashed line) to develop. Toner receiving section 1 of means 13
30 can be supplied with toner.

The shielding plate 70 is formed of an arc-shaped outer peripheral surface 70B centered on the opening 70A and a shielding portion 70C for shielding the toner supply port 50A, as shown in FIG.
With the support member 60C fixed to the copying machine main body as shown in FIG.
In the range in which the shield plate 70 moves to a position substantially perpendicular to the center, that is, the first retreat position, the shield plate 70 does not rotate because the outer peripheral surface 70B is in contact with the stop pin P2 provided on the copying machine body. The state in which the opening 70A of 70 is aligned with the toner supply port 50A is maintained. Therefore, even if toner leaks from the toner replenishing port 50A of the toner replenishing device 50 due to vibration or the like caused by the movement of the toner replenishing device 50 about the shaft attachment position MM as the center of rotation, the toner is supplied to the shield The toner receiving portion 130 of the developing means 13 through the opening 70A
And there is no danger of leaking out of the developing means 13.
In addition, the operation of the shielding plate 70 prevents the toner attached to the end of the toner supply port 50A from scattering. Since the upper surface of the replenishing device 50 is opened at this movement position, a toner bottle is attached to a replenishing port 50C (see FIG. 3) provided on the upper surface of the replenishing device 50, and the toner is supplied to the toner replenishing device 50 by the user. Replenishment and other simple maintenance are easily and safely performed.

As shown in FIG. 5B, the toner replenishing device 50 removes the mounting screw T2 from the above-described first retracted position to thereby center the shaft attachment position N-N between the support member 60C and the support member 60B. Can be rotated and moved to a position substantially at a right angle to the second retreat position, whereby the replenishing device 50 retreats greatly from the position of the cartridge 30 and moves the cartridge 30 from the front surface to the guide member 40. And maintenance by another serviceman can be performed without removing the toner supply device 50. When the support member 60C rotates, the above-mentioned shielding plate 70 is stopped by a stop pin P provided on the copying machine main body.
2 and the restriction is released, the torsion spring 72 rotates counterclockwise to contact the stop pin P3 of the toner supply device 50, and the toner is held by the shielding portion 70C. By closing the supply port 50A, it is possible to prevent the toner from falling into and out of the copying machine main body.

With this structure, the toner replenishing device 50 generally only needs to be moved to the first retreat position when used by a user, so that toner is not scattered during normal use, and When the toner replenishing device 50 is moved to the second retreat position during maintenance by a serviceman or the like, the toner replenishing port 50A of the toner replenishing device 50 is closed by the shielding part 70C, so that the toner is dropped into and out of the copy material. No more.

The toner replenishing device 50 operates again in the reverse order to the toner receiving portion 130 of the developing means 13.
Is returned to a so-called storage position where toner can be supplied. At this time, the shielding plate 70 is rotated clockwise by contact of the outer peripheral surface 70B with the stop pin P2 provided on the copying machine body. The opening 70A is again aligned with the toner supply port 50A, and the toner can be dropped from the toner supply device 50 to the toner receiving section 130.

(Embodiment 2) An embodiment of the invention according to claim 4 will be described with reference to FIG.

The toner replenishing device 50 includes a stirring member 51.
And the conveying member 52 are built in, and the toner accommodated by the rotation of the stirring member 51 is homogenized to prevent coagulation, and the toner is continuously conveyed toward the toner replenishing port 50A by the thrust accompanying the rotation of the screw of the conveying member 52. It is supposed to.

The agitating member 51 and the conveying member 52 are rotatably supported at both axial ends thereof on both side surfaces of the toner replenishing device 50 via respective bearing members 80.

The bearing member 80 is formed of a lubricated sintered alloy called mulite, and has a labyrinth-like flange portion 80A on the outer periphery and a sealing material on the inner periphery. The space 80B is formed.

The toner supply device 50 is made of a molded resin member, and the bearing member 80
A is press-fitted into the inner and outer peripheries of each of the annular projections 50B formed on the outer wall of the toner replenishing device 50, and is fixed in a spigot-like manner. The material S is filled by press fitting.

Therefore, even if the toner in the toner replenishing device 50 violently flows due to the rotation of the stirring member 51 and the conveying member 52, there is no possibility that the toner enters the bearing portion or leaks to the outside.
A smooth replenishing action of the toner is realized, and contamination by the toner is also prevented.

Further, in this embodiment, the toner container
Although the toner replenishing device 50 has been described, the present configuration is not limited to this and can be applied to a developing unit.

The present invention described above is not limited to the electrophotographic copying machine shown in the embodiment, but may be applied to a digital image forming apparatus in which an image is formed using a two-component developer. Applied.

[0031]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the user only needs to move the toner replenishing device to the first retreat position in a normal use state. The toner receiving port of the developing means is kept in alignment with the toner supplying port, so that it is not necessary to shield the toner supplying port. As a result, the toner is prevented from dropping and scattering due to opening and closing of the toner supplying port. As a result, the phenomenon of toner leakage from the bearing portion of the rotating member for the toner agitating means incorporated in the toner replenishing device is also eliminated, and as a result, the inside and outside of the copying machine main body and the human body may be soiled by the toner. Thus, an image forming apparatus having excellent handling characteristics has been provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional configuration diagram of an electrophotographic copying machine.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a positional relationship between a developing device and a toner supply device.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a support structure of the toner supply device.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an initial position of the toner supply device.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a first-stage retreat position of the toner supply device.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a second-stage retreat position of the toner supply device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 photoreceptor drum 11 charger 13 developing means 18 transfer device 19 separator 27 cleaning device 30 cartridge 50 toner replenishing device 50A toner replenishing port 50B protrusion 51 stirring member 52 transport members 60A, 60B, 60C support member 70 shielding plate 70A opening 70B Outer peripheral surface 70C Shielding part 80 Bearing member 80A Flange part 80B Space 130 Toner receiving part

Claims (4)

[Claims] An image forming apparatus comprising: a developing unit that develops an electrostatic latent image formed on an image forming body with toner; and a toner replenishing device that replenishes toner to the developing unit. An openable / closable shielding member is provided at the toner replenishing port, and the toner replenishing device opens the toner replenishing port and forms an image while the toner replenishing port is connected to the toner receiving port of the developing means. A second retreat position which is movable from a storage position in the apparatus to a first retreat position, and releases the coupling between the toner refill port and the toner receiving port with the toner refill port closed by the shielding member; An image forming apparatus that is movable. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first retreat position is a position where toner can be supplied to the toner supply device. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second retracted position is a position where a cartridge having at least the image forming body and the developing unit can be inserted into and removed from an image forming apparatus main body. 3. The image forming apparatus according to 2. 4. An image forming apparatus having a replenishing device containing a toner for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on an image forming body and having a rotating member for stirring and transporting the toner, wherein the toner replenishing device is The side wall has a hole penetrating the shaft end of the rotating member, at least the outer wall surface around the hole is formed in a projecting shape, and the rotating member is formed by a bearing member engaged with the inner periphery and the outer periphery of the projecting portion. An image forming apparatus, wherein the image forming apparatus is supported by a shaft.