JPS63216067A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent a toner from falling by providing a seal member which closes the opening part of a cleaning unit when separated from an image carrier to a process kit. CONSTITUTION:The process kit 8 is provided with the seal member 11. The seal member 11 is made of a thin elastic plate such as a leaf spring, and seal member pins 12 are fitted to one end of the member 11 while projecting to both sides. This seal member 12 moves down to the left along a guide member 13 and when its lower end of the seal member abuts on a stopper 14, it is pressed up to the right with the energizing force of a spring; and the seal member 11 deforms elastically to swell upward where there is no guide and then enters the position where the photosensitive drum 1 occupies normally, and reaches nearly the same curvature as the curvature of the outer periphery of the photosensitive drum 1, thereby closing the opening part of a development unit 4 and the cleaning unit 4. Consequently, the inside and outside of the machine are prevented from being contaminated owing to the leak of toner.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus in which a group of image forming process units are arranged surrounding a photosensitive drum.

BACKGROUND ART With the spread of electrostatic recording devices such as electrophotographic copying machines, laser printers, and facsimile machines, recording devices have recently appeared in which not only toner replenishment but also photoconductor cleaning units can be replaced manually by the user. It's starting. Therefore,
The photoconductor drum and image forming process units such as the developing device and cleaning unit placed around it are integrated into one unit, and either a preset period elapses, one of the parts breaks down, or the developer runs out. Another known method is to remove the entire integrated unit and replace it with a new one when the cleaning unit becomes full of collected toner.

However, in this method, since the photoreceptor drum has a longer lifespan than other image forming process units, it is wasteful to dispose of the photoreceptor drum as a whole, resulting in high costs.

From this point of view, an image forming apparatus has been proposed in which the main process units other than the photoreceptor are separated from the photoreceptor as one kit and can be removed from the apparatus main body, so that they can be replaced separately.

However, in this case, when the opening of the toner storage section provided opposite to the photoreceptor of the cleaning unit is separated from the photoreceptor, the collected toner stored in the cleaning unit may spill out and contaminate the inside of the device. A problem arises.

Purpose The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems of an image forming apparatus in which the photoreceptor and other process unit kits can be separately removed from the apparatus, and the process kit and photoreceptor are separated. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus in which an opening of a cleaning unit is closed and toner is prevented from spilling.

Structure In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus in which a process kit including at least a cleaning unit can be separated from an image carrier and removed from the main body of the apparatus. A sealing member is provided that closes the opening of the cleaning unit when separated from the body, and the sealing member is formed of a flexible thin plate member that can be elastically deformed to a curvature equal to the outer peripheral surface of the image carrier when sealed. It is characterized by being

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of an image forming section of an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a copying machine. In the figure, a photoreceptor drum 10
A charger 2, a charger 2, and a charger 2 are arranged on the circumferential surface in the order of the direction of rotation indicated by the arrow.
An exposure system 3, a developing unit 4, a transfer charger 5, and a cleaning unit 6 are provided, and a latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 by a predetermined electrostatic photographic process is developed by the developing unit 4. A toner image is formed, which is transferred by the transfer charger 5 onto a transfer paper fed through the transfer paper transport section 9, and developed by the developer 7 to complete the copy. After the transfer, the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 1 is collected by the cleaning unit B and stored therein. Among the image forming process units, the developing unit 4, the cleaning unit 6, and the charger 2 are integrated to form a process kit 8.

On the other hand, the photosensitive drum 1 constitutes a transfer unit 10 integrally with a transfer charger 5 and a transfer paper conveyance member 9,
It is rotatably supported around an axis A provided on the machine frame parallel to the axis of the photosensitive drum 1 to a position shown by a solid line (C) in FIG. In FIG. 2, the transfer unit 7) 10 is
When the photosensitive drum 1 is rotated to the position t (a) shown by the dashed line, it is removed from between the developing unit 4 and the cleaning unit 6 of the process kit 8, and the openings of the developing unit 4 and cleaning unit 6 are removed. Since it is now open, it is necessary to seal it immediately. The process kit 8 is provided with a seal member 11 for this purpose. The seal member 11 is made of an elastic thin plate such as a leaf spring, and a seal member pin 12 is attached to one end of the seal member 11 so as to protrude from both sides. The pin 12 is slidable together with the lower end of the seal member 11 along a guide rail 13 provided on both sides of the machine frame, and the guide rail 13 has a seal member stopper 14 at the bottom of the opening of the cleaning unit 6. It is provided. The sealing member pin 12 is biased from the upper right to the lower left in the figure by a spring or the like (not shown), and is rotatably supported at a point B on the side plate of the transfer unit 10. The left surface of the pin 12 engages with the upper end of the seal lift/lower opening/closing lever 16 whose left side abuts a stopper pin 15 fixed to the frame, and the seal member 11 is lowered in the normal set state shown in FIG. It is regulated to do so.

Now, in order to replace the process kit 8 or the photosensitive drum 1, when the transfer unit 10 is rotated around the axis A to the position (c) shown by the solid line as shown in FIG. While rotating to the position indicated by the one-dot chain line (,), the part of the seal lifting/lowering opening/closing lever 16 that engages with the stone/ξ pin 15 is a circumferential part centered on the axis A, and the seal member pin 12 Although the engaging end portions do not move, the photosensitive drum 1 is pulled out from between the developing unit 4 and the cleaning unit 60 of the process kit 8. continue,
The transfer unit 10 is shown by a broken line from the position of (a) (b)
While the seal member opening/closing lever 16 rotates to the position shown in FIG. Move to the lower left along the guide member 13, and the lower end of the seal member will move! ! 14, the sealing member 11 is pressed from the upper right side by the biasing force of a spring (not shown), and the sealing member 11 is elastically deformed so as to bulge upward without a guide as shown in the drawing, and the sealing member 11 is elastically deformed so as to bulge upward without a guide. The openings of the developing unit 4 and the cleaning unit B are closed with a curvature that is approximately the same as the curvature of the outer periphery of the photoreceptor drum 1. If the transfer unit 10 is set in the mounting position using the reverse route, the sealing member returns to the position shown in FIG. Since this sealing member is a thin plate-like member, it requires almost no space within the device, and is particularly advantageous for small-sized devices.

Note that the position of the sealing member, the operating mode, and the shape and configuration of the process kit can be modified in various ways other than those of the above embodiments. Further, the present invention is applicable to various image forming apparatuses that utilize electrostatic photographic processes other than the electrophotographic copying machine shown in the embodiments.

Effects As described above, according to the present invention, the openings of the cleaning unit, etc. of the process kit are closed without delay in conjunction with the separation of the process kit and the photoreceptor, so that contamination inside and outside the machine due to toner leakage can be prevented. Effects can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing the configuration of an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an explanatory view explaining its operation. 1... Photosensitive drum (image carrier) 4... Developing unit 5... Transfer charger 6
...Cleaning unit 8°゛・Process kit 10...Transfer unit 1
1... Seal member 12... Seal member pin 1
3...Seal member guide 14...Stopper

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A cleaning unit having an opening for a collected toner accommodating portion facing the image carrier in a predetermined mounted state and other image forming process units are provided around the image carrier, and the process includes at least the above-mentioned cleaning unit. In an image forming apparatus in which the kit is separated from the image carrier and can be removed from the apparatus main body, the process kit is provided with a sealing member that closes the opening of the cleaning unit when the kit is separated from the image carrier, An image forming apparatus characterized in that the sealing member is formed of a flexible thin plate member that can be elastically deformed into a material with a curvature substantially equal to the outer circumferential surface of the image carrier during sealing. (2) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sealing member opens and closes the opening of the process kit in conjunction with the coupling/separating operation between the image carrier and the process kit.