JPS63121877A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To pass and receive a developing device smoothly by providing intervening members which intervene between developing device delivering and receiving parts of the connection part between a device main body and a plural developing device storage device to deliver and receive a developing device. CONSTITUTION:Guide rolls (intervening members) 24 and 24' are provided to left and right slide guides 5 and 5' at the developing device carrying-in opening 2 of the device main body X' to absorb a position shift (level difference) generated between the slide guides 28 and 28' of a developing deice storage part and the slide guides 5 and 5' of the conveyance path 4. The guide rolls 24 and 24' are driven by a reversible pulse motor in the conveying direction of color developing devices to guide the delivering and reception of the color developing device into the storage case 9 or device main body X'. Those guide rolls 24 and 24' may be placed in a free state without being driven by the motor. Consequently, the developing devices are delivered and received smoothly and the supply performance of the developing devices is improved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) This invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a laser printer or a copying machine, and particularly to a plurality of developing device storage devices (
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus equipped with an automatic developing device changer.

(Technical Background) In order to address the wide range of color needs for image forming apparatuses, the applicant of the present application has previously installed a desired color developing device outside the main body of the image forming apparatus at a developing operation position inside the main body. We are proposing a multiple developing device storage device that can automatically supply multiple developing devices. This multiple developer storage device is removably attached to the outside of the image forming apparatus main body, and includes a plurality of storage sections for holding developing devices having a predetermined color developing function, and a storage section selected from one of these storage sections. The image forming apparatus is characterized by having a supply position for supplying the selected developer to the image forming apparatus main body side, and a moving mechanism for moving the selected developer to the predetermined supply position.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention provides an image forming apparatus equipped with the above-mentioned proposed multiple developer storage device, in which a vertical direction that occurs in the developer delivery area between the apparatus main body and the multiple developer storage device connected thereto is provided. Alternatively, it is an object of the present invention to provide a structure that is devised so as to absorb positional deviation in the left and right direction and smoothly transfer developing devices.

(Summary of the Invention) The image forming apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that an assistance member for assisting in the delivery of the developing units is provided in the developing unit delivery portion of the connecting portion between the main body of the apparatus and the multiple developing unit storage device. .

(Example) Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

The image forming apparatus X is capable of forming double-sided images in different colors and forming multiple images, and is equipped with a plurality of developing device housing Y outside the main body X' of the apparatus.

Inside the apparatus main body
Developing device transfer path (slide guide (rail) 5
．． 5' and the stay 6).

The multiple developing device storage device Y has a developing device supply lower and a flat base member 8 that is removably fixed to the main body X' of the device with bolts or the like, and the base member 8 is connected to the base member 8, which is not shown in the figure. It is composed of a storage case 9 that can be freely moved down by a moving mechanism.

The base member 8 connects the developing device supply 117 to the developing device entrance 2.
The main body of the device X' can be accessed by aligning it with (-).

Inside the storage case 9, a plurality of developer housings 14-17 are formed by partition plates 10-13, and the developer housings 14-17 include, for example, a red developer 18, a blue developer 19,
A green developing device 20 and a brown developing device 21 are housed. Also,
The front end side of this storage case 9 is open, and serves as the base member 8 or its closing lid.

FIG. 1 shows a state in which the green developing device 20 stored in the tester storage section 16 in the storage case 9 is currently being fed to the developing operation retreat position in the apparatus main body X'. Now, if red developer 18 is selected, first,
The green developing device 20 in the apparatus main body
) 22' is returned to the developing device storage section 16.

Thereafter, the storage case 9 is moved by the moving mechanism (in this case, f is moved downward), and the developer storage section 14 housing the red developer 18 is aligned with the developer supply 17, and then the red developer The container 18 is transferred to the developing operation retreat position within the apparatus main body X' by the transfer means 22' and 22. After transfer,
The red developing device 18 is pressurized to the left and right as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.
Steps 23, 23' are positioned in the developing operating position as shown in phantom in FIG.

As described above, when the color developing device (green developing device 20) located at the developing operation retracted position in the apparatus main body X' is returned to the storage case 9, and when the color developing device (red developing device 18) are transferred to the developing operation retracted position in the apparatus main body X', these color developing units are connected to the apparatus main body X' and the base member 8.
The delivery part of the connection part (developing unit entrance 2 and developing unit supply 1)
]7) from the device body X' side to the storage case 9 side,
Alternatively, the receiver is passed from the storage case 9 side to the device main body X' side. However, in this case, after the storage case 9 is moved by the moving mechanism as shown in FIG. scoop 1 to guy I='(rail')28.28' of the container storage section 16) and the slide guide 5 of the transfer path 4,
5', if there is a height difference in the case shown, the color developing device cannot be transported smoothly. In the case of misalignment as shown in the figure, especially if the device body X' is removed from inside the storage case 9.
The same can be said about the color developing device that is transported within the system.

In the image forming apparatus according to this example, guide rollers (
Supporting members) 24 and 24' are provided to connect the slide guides F28, 28' of the developing device housing section and the slide guides 1 to 5 of the transfer path 4.
, 5', even if a positional scratch (height difference) occurs, this can be absorbed. Guy 1-Colo 24, 24'
is adapted to be rotated by a forward/reverse pulse motor (not shown) in the conveying direction of the color developing device, and a receiver is passed between the color developing device and the storage case 9 or within the main body X' of the apparatus. Such guide rollers 24, 24' may be left in a free state without being rotationally driven by the motor.

Figure 5 shows guide roller 2 similar to kite roller 24.24'.
5 is provided on the partition plates 10 to 13 of the developer housings 14 to 17 of the storage case 9, and FIG. 6 shows the guides 1 to 24, 2t of the first embodiment Fig. 7 shows a third embodiment in which an inverted V-shaped guide plate 26 is provided in place of X'. A fourth embodiment is shown in which guide rollers 27 and 27' are provided on each side of the section '.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, the image forming apparatus according to the present invention has the following features:
An assisting member for assisting the delivery of the developer is provided at the developer delivery portion of the connection between the apparatus main body and the multiple developer storage device, so that when the developer is returned from the device main body to the multiple developer storage device, Also, when the multiple developing units are transferred from the storage device into the main body of the apparatus, the delivery at the developing unit delivery section is carried out smoothly, and the performance of supplying the developing units is improved.
It has the advantage of being able to achieve two things.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus with a plurality of developing device storage devices to which a first embodiment of the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional front view of the same essential parts, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional plane view of the same essential parts. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV-IV in FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional front view showing the second embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional front view showing the third embodiment of the invention. , FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional plan view showing the fourth embodiment, and FIG. 8 is a vertical cross-sectional front view showing the positional deviation of the developing device housing section. X...image forming device, X'...apparatus main body, Y...
Multiple developer storage device, 18-21...color developer, 24
24', 25, 27.27'...Guide roller (assistance member), 26...Guide plate (assistance member).

Claims (1)

[Claims] The image forming apparatus is provided with a plurality of developing device storage devices outside the device main body, and an assisting member for assisting the delivery of the developing devices is provided at a developer delivery portion of a connecting portion between the device main body and the plurality of developing device storage devices. An image forming apparatus characterized by being provided with.