JPS60136757A - Copying machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the size of a copying machine by allowing a cartridge to be attached to and detached from the copying machine frame, and arranging a counter that has a display part which is reset when the cartridge is replaced and integrates and displays the quantity of copies and a display part for integrating and displaying the frequency of replacement of the cartridge. CONSTITUTION:The copying machine has the counter 30 which is operated when the cartridge of a photosensitive drum 5, etc., is pressed into the machine. This cartridge is attachable to and detachable from the copying machine frame; and one display part 31 of the counter 30 is reset to 0 with a reset button 32 during said pressing-in operation and the other display part 33 integrates and displays how many times the cartridge is replaced. Consequently the number of copies and the frequency of replacement of the photosensitive drum are displayed with one counter, so that the machine is reduced in size.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a copying apparatus, and particularly to a copying apparatus in which at least a photoreceptor is of a cartridge type.

(Prior Art) In general, when a copying machine is used for a long period of time, it is necessary to periodically replace the photoreceptor, clean the developer Ni charging device, and replace or adjust various consumable parts. Yes, these tasks were carried out by specialized service personnel.

However, these replacement and adjustment operations require the replenishment of developer, for example, when the photoconductor deteriorates and it is time to replace it, so copying machines have emerged that use cartridge systems for parts that require replacement and adjustment. This is intended to improve the efficiency of exchange adjustment.

This cartridge type copying apparatus is shown in FIG. That is, on the top surface of the main body 1, an original S table 2 having a document table glass 2a that can reciprocate in the horizontal direction (in the direction of the arrow) is arranged, and the top surface of this document table 2 can be opened or covered. A platen cover 3 is provided.

An exposure lamp 4 for irradiating light onto the lower surface of the document table 2 is provided in the upper part of the interior of the main body 1, and a drum-shaped photoreceptor drum 5 as an image carrier is rotatably provided in the center. , near the upper part of this photoreceptor drum 5,
A charging device 6 is provided opposite thereto, and an exposure section 7 is provided in front of the charging device 6 in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 5.
Developing device 8, transfer device 9, separating device 10, static eliminator + ¥
11 and a cleaning device 12 are disposed close to and opposite to the photoreceptor drum 5, respectively.

A cassette case 13 is removably installed in the lower right part of the main body 1, and when the cassette case 13 is inserted, it hits the top surface of the uppermost sheet of the stack of sheets in the cassette case 13. A paper feed roller 14 is provided in contact with the paper feed roller 14, and the space between the paper feed roller 14 and the transfer device 9 forms part of a paper feed path for conveying the paper in the cassette case 13 to the transfer device 9. A paper feed guide member 15 is provided, and this paper feed guide portion tt1
5 has a notch in the middle in the paper feeding direction, and a pair of upper and lower restart rollers 16 are disposed therein, and feed the paper in synchronization with the toner image on the photosensitive drum 5.

A fixing device 19 is provided on the other side of the lower part of the interior of the main body 1, and a conveyance path for transfer paper is provided between the fixing device 19 and a separating device 10 provided near the photosensitive drum 5. A conveying member 2o is provided, which forms a part of the fixing device 1.
A paper discharge section 21 is provided on the opposite side of the conveyance member 20 of 9, and a paper discharge tray 18 is provided outside of the paper discharge section 21.

Regarding the operation of such a copying machine, first place the original on the top surface of the original placing table 2, cover it with the platen cover 3, and press the copy button (not shown) on the operation panel to start the copying operation. When the photoreceptor drum 5 starts rotating, the charging device 6 is also started, and the outer peripheral surface of the photoreceptor drum 5 is charged. Subsequently, the exposure lamp 4 turns on and illuminates the lower surface of the document placement table 2.
starts moving forward, and the reflected light from the exposure lamp 4 is applied to the exposure section 7 through the optical system (the part surrounded by the broken line), and an electrostatic charge is generated on the outer circumferential surface of the photoreceptor drum 5 corresponding to the document. Form a latent image. On the other hand, as the copy button is pressed, the paper feed roller 14 also rotates, and the uppermost sheet of paper in the cassette case 13 is conveyed through the paper feed path, and this paper reaches the restart roller 16. Then, it is detected by a detection member (not shown) such as a microswitch and is temporarily stopped at that position.

Thereafter, when the paper is fed by the restart roller 16 at the timing when the toner image on the photosensitive drum 5 becomes electrically charged, the paper advances through the paper feeding member (admission guide plate 17) and reaches the circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum 5. This leads to the post-transfer region. When the paper reaches the transfer area facing the transfer device 9, the developing device 8
The toner image corresponding to the original image developed in is also transferred to the transfer device 9.
The toner image is transferred to the paper by the transfer device 9, separated by the separation device 10, and transported by a conveying member to the fixing device 11) where it is fixed. The paper is then discharged onto the paper discharge tray 1H. On the other hand, photoreceptor drum J, 5 is a static eliminator 1
1 and the cleaning device 12, the ζ-step is completed, and the printer waits until the next copying operation.

In the copying apparatus constructed as described above, the portion surrounded by the one-dot chain line is removable from the main body for the reason mentioned above. The part surrounded by the dash-dotted line is a cartridge type, and when the copying device has been used for a predetermined period of time, the part surrounded by the dash-dotted line is pulled out and replaced with a new one.

In the copying machine as described above, there is a copy number counter that displays the number of copies to notify the outside of the replacement time, and a photoreceptor drum replacement counter that displays the number of times the photoreceptor drum has been replaced. However, since both counters are provided separately, there is a drawback that a large counter space must be taken up inside the copying machine, resulting in a large overall size, and since two counters are used, it is expensive. It had the disadvantage of becoming

[Object of the Invention] The present invention eliminates the drawbacks of the conventional ones as described above and displays the number of copies and the number of times the photosensitive drum is replaced on one counter, thereby reducing the counter space. It is an object of the present invention to provide a copying apparatus which can be used also as a counter and can be made inexpensive as a whole.

[Structure of the invention]

According to the present invention, an image carrier and a part or all of an image forming means disposed on the circumferential surface of the image carrier are integrated into a cartridge, and the cartridge is removably attached to a main body of a copying apparatus. and a counter that is reset when the cartridge is replaced and has a display section that cumulatively displays the number of copies, and a display section that cumulatively displays the number of times the cartridge has been replaced. are doing.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Embodiments of the invention shown in the drawings will be described below.

The drawing shows the main parts of a copying apparatus according to the present invention, and is provided with a counter 30 that is activated by the pushing operation when a part of a cartridge such as a photosensitive drum 5 is pushed into the copying apparatus. (Second
), one display section 31 of this counter 30 returns to 0 when the reset button 32 is pressed 1111, and the other display section 33 shows how many times the reset button 32 has been pressed, in other words, how many times the cartridge has been loaded. It is designed to display the total number of items that have been replaced.

Further, FIG. 3 shows a mechanism for pressing the reset button 32 of the counter 30 when the cartridge 34 is pressed, and is slidable on the bottom plate 40 of the insertion portion of the cartridge 34. A pushing member 41 is provided on the sliding plate 50 so as to be able to swing between an upper position and a lower position, and a rear end locking portion 42 of this pushing member 41 swings to the lower position. It engages with the lock screw 43 and is held in that state.

Above the pushing member 41 is a movable member 46 that is pressed when the pushing member 41 slides and swings about a shaft 44, and is normally held in the state shown in FIG. 3 by a biasing member 45. Bin 4 at the upper end of this movable member 46
A movable member 51 is provided which has an elongated hole 48 in which the number 7 is located and which is held in the state shown in FIG. are doing.

Note that 52 is a regulating member that comes into contact with the tip of the pushing member 41 and swings it downward.

When operating the device configured in this way, that is, when the cartridge 34 having the photosensitive drum 5 etc. is pushed in from the right to the left in FIG. 3, the pushing member 4 slides due to this pushing operation. It moves to the left together with the board 50.

Then, the tip of the pushing member 41 pushes the movable member 46, so the movable member 46 swings about the shaft 44 against the biasing force of the biasing member 45. This swing causes the movable member 46
Since the pin 47 at the upper end is located in the inner part 48 of the movable member 51, the movable member 51 is pivoted in the opposite direction to the movable part 4A46, that is, in the direction in which the upper end of the movable member 51 pushes the reset button 32 of the counter 30. 52 and against the urging force of the urging member 49, the upper end of the movable member 51 presses the reset button 32 of the counter 30. By this pressing, one display section 31 of the counter 30 is reset, and the pressing operation of the reset button 32 is integrated on the other display section 33.

When the cartridge 34 is pushed all the way to the back, that is, to an appropriate position relative to the copying machine, the sliding plate 50 and the pushing member 41 are pushed further, and during this pushing operation, the pushing member 41 and the movable member 46 are contact,
That is, the pressing operation of the reset button 32 by the movable member 51 is released, and the movable member 46 and the movable member 51 return to the state shown in FIG. 3. When the pushing member 41 moves further, its tip comes into contact with the regulating plate 52, and the inclined surface 53 of the regulating plate 52 causes the pushing member 41 to move as shown in FIG.
That is, it is swung from the upper position to the lower position, and the rear end locking portion 42 is held in a state of being swung to the lower position by abutting against the lock screw 43.

When the copying machine performs a copying operation in such a state, one display section 31 of the counter 30 displays the number of copies, indicating how many copies have been made, and the other display section 33 displays the number of copies.
represents the number of photosensitive drums currently in use.

For example, if it is time to replace the cartridge 34 after 10,000 sheets, one display section 31 of the counter 30 will display 1.
When the value reaches 0.000, the cartridge 34 will be pulled out and replaced.

Therefore, if the one display section 31 displays, for example, 200, and the other display section 33 displays 2, the total number of copies will be 20,200.

Furthermore, even if the cartridge is pulled out for maintenance or the like before the replacement period and then pushed in, the pushing member 41 is locked with the lock screw 43 so that it does not come into contact with the movable member 46, as shown in FIG. The numerical values do not change, and when replacing a new cartridge, the lock screw 43 is moved by a mechanism not shown to return the rear end locking portion 42 to its original state.

In addition, as another means to prevent the numerical value of the counter 30 from being changed when replacing the cartridge, for example, a claw-like protrusion is provided on a part of the cartridge, as shown in FIG. 6, so that the claw stands up when a new cartridge is inserted. Then, when the cartridge was inserted and set, the claw broke, and when it was later pulled out and set again for repairs, etc., if the claw did not have the force to press the reset button 32, a new cartridge could be inserted. In some cases, the counter 30 can be configured to be automatically reset.

In addition, in the above embodiment, in addition to the photoreceptor drum 5, a charging device 6, a developing device 8, etc. are arranged in a cartridge type together with the photoreceptor drum 5, and can be inserted and removed, but the present invention is not limited to this. , it is sufficient if a device that needs to be replaced at approximately the same time as the photoreceptor drum 5 can be replaced together with the photoreceptor drum.

〔Effect of the invention〕

By configuring this invention as described above, one counter can display the number of copies and the number of replacements of the photoreceptor drum, which is an image carrier, so the number of counters can be reduced and the entire apparatus can be made smaller. In addition to being able to
This has excellent effects such as the ability to reduce the cost of the entire device.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an overall schematic diagram showing the electrophotographic copying device, Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the counter, Fig. 3.4.5 shows the mechanism for operating the counter, and Fig. 3 shows the state before pressing the counter. 4 is a diagram showing a state in which the counter is reset, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which the pushing member is locked and the reset button cannot be pressed, and FIG. 6 is a diagram showing another embodiment. It is. 1・・−・One body 2−・−・−・Document table 3−・−
-Platen cover 4--Exposure lamp 5--
---One photosensitive drum 6-----One charging device 7--
--1-- Exposure section 8.・---Developing device 9----
---Transfer device 10-----One separation device 11--
---Static eliminator 12--Cleaning device 13--Static case 1. t------・-
Paper feed roller 15 - - - Paper feed guide plate 16 - - - Restart roller 17 - - Entry guide plate 18 - - Paper discharge tray 19 - - -・Fixing device 20...---m-Transporting member 2t-------Paper discharge section 30---Counter 31.33-1---Display section 32-------
---Reset button 34...-Cartridge 40
・−・−・−Bottom plate 41−−−−1・Pushing member 42−
11--Locking part 43--1 Lock screw 4
4.52-・-Axis 45.49--Biasing member
46.51...-1--Movable member 47--
Pin 411t-...-Elongated hole 50-----1 Sliding plate 53--1--...Slanted surface Fig. 1 Fig. 2 Fig. 1 Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig. 9 Do':) U'+ )'+procedure 10 rft Masashi Mawa (voluntary) 11 Sae February 6, 1160 Manabu Shiga, Commissioner of the Patent Office 1, Indication of the case Patent Application No. 221153 of 1988 2
, Title of the invention Copying device 3, Person making the amendment 4 ■ Relationship with cattle Patent applicant address 1-26-2 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Name (Name) (127) Konishiroku Photo Industry Co., Ltd. 4, Agent Man
■102 Tht (t* 262-47 (il) Address
6, 8-13, Kudanminami 3-chome, Chiyoguchi, Tokyo, subject of amendment + 11 "Detailed description of the invention" column of the specification (1) After page 11, line 15 of the specification, "the above implementation" In the example, the pushing member 41, the lock screw 43, the locking part 42, and the slider 50 are shown separately from the cartridge 34, but they can also be provided integrally with the cartridge. that's all

Claims (1)

[Claims] The image carrier and part or all of the image forming means disposed on the circumferential surface of the image carrier are integrated into a cartridge, and the cartridge is removably attached to the main body of the copying apparatus, and further, A copying apparatus characterized in that a counter is provided, which is reset when the cartridge is replaced, and has a display section that cumulatively displays the number of copies to be made, and a display section that cumulatively displays the number of times the cartridge has been replaced.