KR20130029793A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An image forming device is provided to improve manipulability during the inspection of the image forming device by installing an interlocking tool for interlocking the release operation of a lock unit with the release operation of another lock unit. CONSTITUTION: A return unit(42) of an image forming unit is installed in a waste toner assembly(10). The waste toner assembly is rotatably installed to a housing(1). Image forming units(2a~2d,3a~3d) are placed in the housing more innerly than the waste toner assembly. The image forming units can be withdrawn more forward than the waste toner assembly while rotating the waste toner assembly.

Description

[0001] IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS [0002]

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

A full color image forming apparatus such as a copier or a printer by an electrophotographic method is provided with a color image forming apparatus of a yellow color, A plurality of drum-shaped photoconductors are prepared. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the circumferential surface of each photoreceptor by using a laser scanning unit and a toner image of each color is formed on the circumferential surface of each photoreceptor by the supplied toner of each color Respectively. The toner images of the respective colors produced on the circumferential surfaces of the respective photoreceptors are sequentially superimposed and transferred onto the transfer belt constituted by the endless belt to be rotated, whereby a color image is synthesized on the transfer belt. Subsequently, the color image synthesized on the transfer belt is transferred onto a recording medium such as paper, and is then pressurized and heated by a fixing device to perform fixing processing.

The image forming portion constituted around the above-described photoreceptor is positioned and mounted by a positioning member (retainer) provided detachably in the housing through a locking means, and is configured to be able to be taken out from the housing at the time of maintenance and inspection . That is, the image forming portion is configured to be able to unlock the locking means of the positioning member and pull out the housing from the housing during maintenance and inspection.

In addition, the waste toner bottle is detachably installed in the housing. Since the waste toner bottle is installed using a small space in the apparatus, in relation to the waste toner assembly, the waste toner bottle is removed, And the toner assembly is configured to be opened and closed. However, if the waste toner assembly is opened before the waste toner bottle is taken out of the housing, there is a fear that the waste toner assembly will collide with the waste toner bottle and be damaged.

In the conventional image forming apparatus, since other units such as a waste toner assembly mounted on the housing are detachably installed through the lock means in addition to the position striking member of the image forming portion, The locking means of the unit must be released, and the operability at the time of maintenance and inspection is inferior.

The waste toner bottle is detachably installed in the housing. Since the waste toner bottle is installed using a small space in the apparatus, in relation to the waste toner assembly, the waste toner bottle is taken out after being taken out And the toner assembly is configured to be opened and closed. However, if the waste toner assembly is opened before the waste toner bottle is taken out of the housing, there is a fear that the waste toner assembly will collide with the waste toner bottle and be damaged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus excellent in operability during maintenance and inspection.

The present invention adopts the following constitution as means for solving the above-mentioned problems.

A first aspect of the present invention is directed to an image forming apparatus including an image forming section in which at least a part of the image forming section is detachably installed in a housing, a plurality of openable and closable members that are opened and closed to attach and detach a part of the image forming section, A configuration is employed in which the other locking means is released in conjunction with the releasing operation of any one of the locking means.

According to the present invention, since the interlocking mechanism for interlocking the releasing operation of one locking means with the releasing operation of the other locking means is provided, the operability at the time of maintenance of the image forming apparatus can be enhanced.

1 is a perspective view of a copying machine to which an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied, when viewed from the front side.
2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the front cover of the copying machine to which the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention is applied is opened and the waste toner bottle is mounted on the housing.
3 is a perspective view of the copying machine to which the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention is applied, in which the waste toner bottle is removed from the housing, the front cover is opened, and the waste toner assembly is closed.
4 is a perspective view of the copying machine to which the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention is applied, in which the waste toner bottle is detached from the housing, the front cover is opened, and the waste toner assembly is opened.
5 is a perspective view of the copying machine to which the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention is applied, in which the waste toner bottle is removed from the housing, the front cover and the waste toner assembly are opened, and the retainer is opened .
6 is a perspective view of the waste toner bottle.
FIG. 7A is a view schematically showing the state in which the water inlet of the waste toner bottle is mounted on the water-hand tool storage portion when viewed from above the apparatus. FIG.
FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view taken along line X-X of FIG. 7A.
8A is a perspective view of the waste toner assembly when viewed from the front side.
8B is a perspective view of the waste toner assembly when viewed from the back side.
FIG. 9A is a perspective view when the cover is removed from the waste toner assembly and when the release lever is fixed, as viewed from the front side. FIG.
Fig. 9B is a perspective view when the release lever is released from the front side. Fig.
10A is a perspective view of the connecting rod when the release lever is fixed.
10B is a perspective view of the connecting rod when the release lever is released.
11 is a perspective view showing a state in which the lock portion is in contact with the waste toner bottle.
12 is an enlarged perspective view showing a state in which the lock portion is in contact with the waste toner bottle.
13A is a perspective view when the retainer is viewed from the front side.
13B is a perspective view when the retainer is viewed from the back side.
14A is an enlarged perspective view of the release lever portion when the release lever is fixed.
14B is an enlarged perspective view of the release lever portion when the release lever is released.
FIG. 15A is a cross-sectional view taken along line X1-X1 of FIG. 14A.
Fig. 15B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line X2-X2 in Fig. 14B.
16A is an enlarged perspective view of the engaging member when the retainer is in the locked state;
16B is an enlarged perspective view when the lock of the retainer is released.
17 is a front view of the engaging member of Fig. 16;
Fig. 18 is an enlarged perspective view including the engaging piece when the waste toner assembly is in the locked state. Fig.
Fig. 19 is an enlarged perspective view of a copying machine to which an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention is applied, including a retaining piece when the waste toner assembly is in a locked state. Fig.
20A is a cross-sectional view showing a lock state of a retainer and a waste toner assembly in a copying machine to which an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention is applied.
FIG. 20B is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the lock state is released from the state shown in FIG. 20A.
FIG. 21A is an enlarged perspective view showing the lock state of the release lever in the copying machine to which the image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention is applied; FIG.
Fig. 21B is a cross-sectional view showing the movement in which the lock state is released from the state of Fig. 21A.
22A is an enlarged perspective view showing a lock state of the release lever, which is a modification of the copying machine to which the image forming apparatus according to the third embodiment of the present invention is applied.
FIG. 22B is a cross-sectional view showing a movement in which the lock state is released from the state of FIG. 22A.

Hereinafter, an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following drawings, the scale of each member is appropriately changed in order to make each member recognizable in size. In the following description, as an example of the image forming apparatus of the present invention, a copying machine made of an electrophotographic method will be described as an example.

(First embodiment)

1 is a perspective view of the copying machine P when viewed from the front side. A front cover 1a is provided at the front center portion of the housing 1 of the copying machine P. The front cover 1a has a lower side as a rotation center axis, So that the front central portion of the housing 1 can be exposed. An original document reading unit 1b is provided on an upper portion of the housing 1 of the copying machine P and an output tray 1c is provided below the original reading unit 1b. An operation unit 1d for inputting and operating a user is provided on the front right side and a paper feed tray 1e is provided below the housing 1. [

Hereinafter, it demonstrates using FIGS. 2-5 which showed the state in which the front cover 1a was open.

A waste toner bottle B and a waste toner assembly 10 equivalent to the " opening and closing member " of the present invention are provided at the front center portion of the housing 1 of the copying machine P abutting the inside of the front cover 1a have. A retainer R corresponding to the "opening and closing member" of the present invention is provided on the rear side of the waste toner assembly 10. The retainer R will be described later.

5, an image forming section is disposed inside the waste toner assembly 10 and the retainer R. As part of this image forming portion, the photosensitive member units 2a to 2d and the developing units 3a to 3d corresponding to the toners of each color are stored. Each of the photosensitive member units 2a to 2d and the developing units 3a to 3d can be pulled out from the housing 1 to the front side and is detachably housed. In addition, the photosensitive units 2a to 2d protrude from the shaft portions 4a to 4d of the photoconductor and the discharge ports 5a to 5d of the waste toner, and the positioning holes 6a to 3d of the developing units 3a to 3d. 6d) (only 6a is shown in FIG. 5). The retainer R is engaged with the shaft portions 4a to 4d and the positioning holes 6a to 6d, and one end side of the photosensitive member units 2a to 2d and the developing units 3a to 3d with respect to the housing 1. Positioning means for positioning with each other is provided. Moreover, although the other end side of the photosensitive member units 2a-2d and the developing units 3a-3d is not shown in figure, it engages with the engagement means formed in the inside of the housing 1, and is mutually positioned.

The waste toner bottle B has a rectangular parallelepiped shape having a predetermined capacity inside. The waste toner bottle B has a water inlet b formed at a central portion of the upper surface thereof to have a thickness that opens to the upper surface side. The waste toner bottle B is detachably attached to the waste toner bottle housing portion 1f provided on the housing 1 on one side (left side in the drawing) of the lower portion of the waste toner assembly 10 Is installed. 3 shows a state in which the waste toner bottle B is mounted on the waste toner bottle housing portion 1f and Figs. 3, 4, and 5 show a state in which the waste toner bottle B ) Is removed. 6 is a perspective view of the waste toner bottle.

7A and 7B are views schematically showing a state in which the water inlet b of the waste toner bottle B is attached to the water-hand tool storage portion 13. Fig. FIG. 7A is a plan view of the apparatus viewed from above, and FIG. 7B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line X-X of FIG. 7A. The shutter 13a covering the hand tool 43 formed on the lower surface of the transfer pipe 42 of the waste toner assembly (Fig. 9) is inserted into the waste toner bottle 13 by the compression spring 13b, B in the direction opposite to the mounting direction. The shutter portion 13a is formed of an opaque member and includes a lid portion 13c covering the hand tool 43, a contact portion 13d contacting the water inlet b of the waste toner bottle B, And a blocking portion 13e for blocking the sensor 13f. The full sensor 13f detects the light emitted from the light emitting portion by the light receiving portion.

The waste toner bottle B is composed of a tank portion 80 and a cap portion 61 fixed to the head portion of the tank portion 80. The cap portion 61 is a water inlet b . The cap portion 61 is made of a material having transparency and is made of elastic material and has a neck portion 81a opposed to the lower side of the hand tool 43 of the conveying pipe 42, And a shoulder portion 81b to be fitted. Two shoulder portions 81c and 81d are provided on the shoulder portion 81b from the circumferential surface at a position facing the circumferential direction. A wedge-shaped protrusion 81e is formed in one of the handle portions 81d.

7A and 7B by the compression spring 13b in the state where the waste toner bottle B is not mounted on the hand tool storage portion 13 and the transfer pipe 42 In the state of being closed. When the waste toner bottle B is attached to the waste toner bottle storage portion 1f, the shutter portion 13a comes into contact with the water portion 81a and moves in the leftward direction against the elastic pressure of the compression spring 13b, The hand portion 81a is disposed opposite to the hand tool 43 instead. At this position, the projecting portion 81e of the handle portion 81d is engaged with the engagement portion 13g formed in the hand tool housing portion 13 to restrict the movement in the right direction.

When the waste toner bottle B in a state of being mounted on the hand tool storage portion 13 is taken out, the holding portions 81c and 81d are elastically deformed with each other so as to hold them with fingers and the protrusion 81e is engaged with the engaging portion 13g, And the engagement is released. Then, it is pushed out in the pulling direction by the elastic pressing force of the compression spring 13b.

The waste toner assembly 10 has a cover 11 on the outside and a release lever 20.

The cover body (11) forms the outer shell of the waste toner assembly (10). 2 and 3, the cover body 11 is provided so as to cover the front surface of the housing 1 inside the front cover 1a, and at the same time, The upper side portion is pivotally moved forward and the retainer R of the image forming portion is exposed with the lower side portion as the rotation center axis. As described above, the housing 1 on the inner side of the cover body 11 is provided with the image forming section including the retainer R.

8A, which is a perspective view when the waste toner assembly 10 is viewed from the front side, and FIG. 8B, which is a perspective view when viewed from the back side, Support shafts 12a and 12b for rotatably supporting the waste toner assembly 10 are respectively provided at the right and left sides of the lower side. The support shafts 12a and 12b are configured to be inserted into openings (not shown) of the housing 1, respectively.

On the lower left side (see FIG. 8A) of the cover body 11, a water tap receiving portion 13 is provided, and at the center horizontal portion of the rear surface thereof, a plurality of predetermined distances are maintained. (5 in the example of the city) are provided with import port receiving portions 14a to 14e.

The water supply storing part 13 is installed in the position corresponding to the import port b of the waste toner bottle B when the waste toner bottle B is attached to the housing 1, 14a to 14e are provided corresponding to the positions of the discharge ports 5a to 5d of the waste toner discharged from the image forming portion side when the cover body 11 is closed as shown in FIG. 2 or FIG. 3. Moreover, the accommodating part 15 which accommodates a conveyance pipe mentioned later is provided in the horizontal shape below the import port accommodating part 14a-14e on the back surface of this cover body 11. As shown in FIG.

The release lever 20 is provided on the right side of the front side of the cover body 11. The release lever 20 is provided with a rotation shaft (not shown) provided so as to penetrate through a cover on the front side of the cover body 11, and is rotatably provided on a frame to be described later.

The copying machine P of the present embodiment is provided with a pair of engaging pieces 30a and 30b (locking means) for detachably attaching the waste toner assembly 10 to each other.

The pair of latching pieces 30a and 30b are provided so as to be capable of protruding from both left and right ends of the upper side of the cover body 11. [ The latching pieces 30a and 30b are configured so as to be respectively inserted into the openings of the housing 1 (see Fig. 18). The latching pieces 30a and 30b are connected to the release lever 20 through a connecting rod to be described later.

FIGS. 9A, 9B and 10A and 10B show the internal structure of the waste toner assembly 10 in which the cover member 11 is pulled out from the waste toner assembly 10. In other words, a frame 40 is provided inside the waste toner assembly 10. In addition to the release lever 20 described above, the frame 40 is provided with import ports 41a to 41e, a conveying pipe 42 and a water tap 43.

In the frame 40, the release lever 20 is rotatably provided as described above. A connecting rod 50 elastically urged by a spring 50a is slidably connected to the upper end of the shaft center passing through the central point of the releasing lever 20 at the tip end of the engaging piece 30a have. A connecting rod 51, which is elastically pressed by a spring 50a, is rotatably connected to the lower portion of the lower portion of the holding member 30b. A connecting rod 51 formed integrally with the connecting rod 51 and having a distal end extending downward from the connecting rod 50 and extending in a direction opposite to the connecting rod 51 Are slidably connected.

An inclined surface 51b is provided on the upper surface of the connecting rod 51 on the side of the release lever 20 so as to be increased as the distance from the release lever 20 increases. On the inclined surface 51b, movement is restricted in the longitudinal direction of the connecting rod 51, that is, in the transverse direction. Further, the connecting rod 51 is movable in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the connecting rod 51, The retainer lever releasing member 51c is slidably mounted. A contact surface 51d protruding toward the inner side of the housing 1 is integrally provided at a lower portion of the retainer lever releasing member 51c as shown in Figs. 14A and 14B described later. 51d are configured so that a retainer lever, which will be described later, can abut.

9A and 10A show a state in which the release lever 20 is fixed in the counterclockwise direction, that is, when the rotation of the release lever 20 in the counterclockwise direction is blocked, Respectively. The engaging piece 30a at this time is elastically pressed outward by the springs 50a and 51a so as to be away from the position of the release lever 20, as indicated by arrow D in Fig. 10A. Also, the latching pieces 30b are elastically pressed outward by the springs 50a and 51a as indicated by the arrow E in Fig.

9B and 10B show the positions of the connecting rods 50, 51 and 53 when the releasing lever 20 is rotated in the clockwise direction by 90 degrees against the springs 50a and 51a. The engaging piece 30a at this time is moved toward the center where the release lever 20 is located, as indicated by the arrow F in Fig. 10B. Also, the engaging piece 30b is also moved toward the center as indicated by an arrow G in Fig.

The waste toner bottle B has a structure in which the waste toner B of the housing 1 and the waste toner B of the waste toner bottle B as shown in Fig. The water inlet b formed at the thickness of the waste toner bottle B is connected to the water supply tool storage portion 13 (provided on the cover body 11) ). The positional relationship between the water inlet b and the lock portion 52 of the connecting rod 53 at this time is determined so that the lock portion 52 of the connecting rod 53 can abut the side face of the water inlet b . Therefore, when the waste toner bottle B is attached to the waste toner bottle storage portion 1f, the lock portion 52 of the connecting rod 53 is fitted to the side of the water inlet b of the waste toner bottle B The movement of the connecting rod 53 toward the outer direction (the left direction in Figs. 10A and 10B) is blocked, the rotation of the release lever 20 is blocked, and the lock lever is held in the locked state.

The import ports 41a to 41e are provided corresponding to the positions of the import port receiving sections 14a to 14e provided on the cover body 11, and the conveying pipe 42 is attached to the cover body 11. It is provided corresponding to the position of the conveyance pipe accommodation part 15 provided.

The conveying pipe 42 is composed of a screw conveyor. In other words, although not shown, a spiral which is rotationally driven by a motor in the axial direction of the pipe is provided in the conveying pipe 42. And the conveyance pipe 42 comprised from this screw conveyor is comprised so that the waste toner thrown in from the import ports 41a-41e can be conveyed to the water supply port 43 side.

The conveying pipe 42 provided in the frame 40 is positioned at a predetermined distance from the position of the supporting axes 12a and 12b of the rotating shaft of the cover body 11 when the frame 40 is mounted on the cover body 11. [ (See " H " in Fig. 8B). Therefore, when the cover body 11 is opened or closed, the conveying pipe 42 can change its attitude according to its operation.

The hand tool 43 is provided in correspondence with the position of the hand tool housing portion 13 provided on the cover body 11. [ The waste toner conveyed to the conveying pipe 42 is discharged from the water handler 43 in the form of a drop so that the water inlet 43 of the waste toner bottle B The waste toner can be introduced into the waste toner collecting apparatus.

Next, a perspective view of the retainer R when the retainer R of FIG. 13A is viewed from the front side, a perspective view of the retainer R when viewed from the back side thereof, and a release lever 20 of FIG. Fig. 15B is an enlarged perspective view of the release lever portion when the release lever 20 of Fig. 14B is released, Fig. 15B is an enlarged perspective view of the release lever portion when the release lever 20 is released, Sectional view taken along the line X2-X2 in FIG.

The retainer R is provided as shown when the cover member 11 is opened (see Fig. 4). That is, the retainer R is provided in the housing 1 so as to face the back side of the cover body 11 when the cover body 11 is closed. And this retainer R is equipped with the retainer main body 60, the holding parts 62a-62d, and the retainer lever 63. As shown in FIG.

The retainer main body 60 is formed to have substantially the same size as the upper half portion of the cover member 11 of the waste toner assembly 10 and the shaft portions 61a and 61b are provided on the left and right sides of the upper portion thereof. They are rotatably mounted on the housing 1 via the shaft portions 61a and 61b. The retainer main body 60 has engaging holes 65a to 65d which engage with the shaft portions 4a to 4d of the photosensitive member units 2a to 2d, and positioning holes 6a to 6d of the developing units 3a to 3d. Engaging projections 66a to 66d to be engaged with each other, and positioning projections 67a and 67b to be engaged with the positioning portions 1g and 1h (see Fig. 5) formed in the housing 1.

Holding parts 62a-62d are provided in the lower side of the retainer main body 60 with predetermined space | interval mutually. These intervals are determined by the arrangement positions of the shaft portions of the plurality of (four in the illustrated example) photosensitive members mounted on the image forming portion. That is, the holding portions 62a to 62d have waste toner outlets 5a to 5d discharged from the image forming portion side in the state where the retainer main body 60 is closed, as shown in Fig. 4. It is configured to protrude toward. At this time, the shaft portions 4a to 4d of the photoconductor units 2a to 2d, the engaging holes 65a to 65d, the positioning holes 6a to 6d of the developing units 3a to 3d, and the engaging projections 66A to 66d, the positioning portions 1g · 1f and the positioning projections 67a, 67b of the housing 1 are engaged, respectively, and the photosensitive member units 2a to 2d and the developing units 3a to 3d are housed. Are positioned on each other. Moreover, when this retainer main body 60 is opened as shown by arrow C of FIG. 5, the holding | maintenance state of the photosensitive member units 2a-2d and the developing units 3a-3d is canceled | released, and it is comprised so that it can be taken out. .

The retainer lever 63 is provided so that a part thereof protrudes from the front face of the retainer main body 60 (see Fig. 13A), and the protruding portion can be moved up and down (see arrow H in Fig. 13A). The mounting position of the retainer lever 63 is provided in the vicinity of the position of the release lever 20 provided on the cover member 11 of the waste toner assembly 10. That is, the retainer lever 63 is fitted to the contact surface 51d of the retainer lever releasing member 51c provided on the connecting rod 51 in a state in which the retainer main body 60 is closed as shown in Fig. 4 It is decided to reach.

The copying machine P of the present embodiment is provided with retaining pieces 64a and 64b (locking means) for detachably attaching the retainer R.

The retaining members 64a and 64b are provided on both left and right sides of the lower portion of the retainer main body 60 and below the shaft portions 61a and 61b respectively and are inserted through the retainer lever 63 and the shaft 68 Respectively. When the retainer body 60 is closed, the retainer body 60 is fixed to the housing 1 side. When the retainer lever 63 is moved upward, the retaining members 64a, The lock state of the pieces 64a and 64b is released (the engagement pieces 64a and 64b are released from the engagement state) and the retainer main body 60 is configured to be able to rotate through the shaft portions 61a and 61b.

14B and Fig. 15B, when the release lever 20 is rotated in the direction of arrow J in Fig. 14B, the connecting rod 53 moves in the direction of the arrow K The inclined surface 51b also moves in the same direction so that the releasing member 51c placed on the inclined surface 51b is moved upward as indicated by the arrow L. [ When the releasing member 51c is moved upward, the contact surface 51d integrally formed with the releasing member 51c also moves upward (see arrow M in Fig. 15B), and the contact surface 51d The retained retainer lever 63 is moved upward (see arrow N in Fig. 15B). That is, the latching pieces 64a, 64b can simultaneously release the lock of the retainer R by operating the release lever 20 for releasing the lock of the waste toner assembly 10. [

16A and 16B, the engaging piece 64a will be described in more detail. 16A and 16B are enlarged perspective views including the engaging pieces 64a. As shown in Figs. 16A and 16B, the retaining piece 64a is rotated about the shaft 68 with the rotation of the shaft 68. As shown in Fig. A wall portion 69 provided on the housing 1 is provided on the front side of the engaging piece 64a toward the side of the engaging piece 64a. This retaining piece 64a is attached to the shaft 68 such that the tip end 64a1 faces the wall portion 69 as shown in Fig. 16A when the retainer R is in the locked state. Therefore, when the retainer main body 60 is rotated in the direction of the arrow Q in the locked state, the retainer main body 60 is restrained by the retaining piece 64a being caught by the wall portion 69. [

On the other hand, when the lock of the retainer R is released, that is, when the retainer lever 63 is moved upward, the tip 64a1 is lifted with the rotation of the shaft 68, 64a. The tip end 64a1 of the engaging piece 64a is lifted up to above the wall portion 69 (see Fig. 16B). As a result, the retainer main body 60 can be rotated in the direction of the arrow Q.

When the retainer main body 60 is to be returned to its original position, the retainer main body 60 is rotated in the direction opposite to the arrow Q direction. At this time, the lower surface 64a2 of the latching piece 64a comes into contact with the upper end of the wall portion 69, and the tip 64a1 of the latching piece 64a is lifted. The distal end 64a1 of the retaining piece 64a is lifted with the movement of the retainer main body 60 until it passes over the wall portion 69. [ When the distal end 64a1 exceeds the wall portion 69, the retaining piece 64a is rotated to lower the tip end 64a1 by its own weight, and the retainer R is again locked.

Here, the configuration on the side of the latching piece 64a has been described, but the latching piece 64b side has the same configuration in the left-right symmetry.

15A and 15B, the retainer main body 60 is provided with a push member 70 for pressing the cover member 11 of the waste toner assembly 10 from the back side. The push member 70 has a coil spring 70a housed therein, and pushes the waste toner assembly 10 pivoted backward from the back side in order to return to its original state in the open state. With this push member 70, the retainer main body 60 can be reliably returned to the locked state. This is for the following reasons.

As shown in Figs. 16A and 16B, the retaining pieces 64a (the retaining pieces 64b are also the same) are rotated to raise and lower the tip 64a1 with the shaft 68 as the center. For this reason, in order to return the retainer main body 60 to the locked state as described above, in order for the retaining piece 64a to pass over the wall portion 69, the maximum outer shape portion 64a3 of the retaining piece 64a The farthest distance from the center O) needs to pass over the wall portion 69. The distance L1 from the rotational center O of the maximum outer contour portion 64a3 is longer than the distance L2 from the rotational center O to the tip 64a1. Therefore, in order to return the retainer main body 60 to the locked state, it is necessary to once push the retainer main body 60 inward than the attitude in the locked state.

18, the waste toner assembly 10 is in a locked state when the engaging piece 30b (the same as the engaging piece 30a) enters the opening 71 of the housing 1 as shown in Fig. The engaging piece 30b has an inclined surface 30b1 facing the retainer R side. When the waste toner assembly 10 is returned to the locked state, the engagement piece 30b is gradually pushed in while the inclined surface 30b1 abuts against the wall portion 72 at the front of the opening 71, The tip end 30b2 of the spring 30b passes over the wall portion 72 so that the latching piece 30b enters into the opening 71 of the housing 1 by the resilient pressing force of the spring 51a. Therefore, the waste toner assembly 10 can be returned to the locked state by putting it in the locked state.

Here, when the retainer main body 60 and the waste toner assembly 10 are separately returned to the locked state, the vibration when the retaining piece 64a (the retaining piece 64b is also the same) The worker can sense that the retainer main body 60 is brought into the locked state. Therefore, the retainer main body 60 can be reliably returned to the locked state, which is not particularly problematic. However, when the operator intends to lock the waste toner assembly 10 and the retainer main body 60 at once, that is, when the operator pushes only the waste toner assembly 10 and pushes the waste toner assembly 10 through the retainer main body 60 The retaining piece 30b (the retaining piece 30a is also the same) is inserted into the opening 71 when the waste toner assembly 10 is in the locked state, The waste toner assembly 10 is locked. The operator assumes that the retainer main body 60 is also in the locked state due to the vibration when the engaging piece 30b is put in the opening 71. The retainer main body 60 is not locked, There is a possibility that image formation can not be started.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, since the push member 70 is provided, the force of pushing the waste toner assembly 10 is increased, and the worker pushes the waste toner assembly 10 by applying force. As a result, the retainer main body 60 is sufficiently pushed inward, and the retainer main body 60 can be reliably returned to the locked state.

Next, the conveyance operation of the waste toner of the copying machine P having the above-described configuration and the releasing operation of the retainer R will be described.

In the copying machine P, waste toner is generated from the image forming portion when copying is performed. The generated waste toner is discharged from the discharge ports 5a to 5d and introduced into the conveying pipe 42 through the import ports 41a to 41e. The waste toner charged into the conveying pipe 42 is conveyed to the water tool 43 through the rotation of the spiral and collected into the waste toner bottle B from the water inlet b. When the waste toner bottle B is detected by a not-shown full sensor filled with the waste toner, it is exchanged with the empty waste toner bottle B.

3, the front cover 1a is opened (see arrow A in Fig. 2) to replace the waste toner bottle B from the waste toner bottle storage portion 1f of the housing 1, (B) is taken out and replaced with a new empty waste toner bottle (B).

The front cover 1a is opened and the waste toner bottle B is taken out from the waste toner bottle storage section 1f and the release lever 20 is opened after the front cover 1a is released. As shown in Fig. That is, the rotation of the release lever 20 is released when the waste toner bottle B is pulled out from the waste toner bottle storage section 1f, so that the lock section 52 of the connection rod 53 is free and the release lever 20 Is released, and as shown in Figs. 9B, 10B, and 14B, the release lever 20 can be rotated in the clockwise direction by 90 degrees.

When the release lever 20 is rotated as described above, the engaging pieces 30a and 30b are pulled out from the unshown engaging portion provided in the housing 1 and the opening / closing operation of the waste toner assembly 10 (See arrow B in Fig. 4). Since the opening of the waste toner assembly 10 is enabled only when the waste toner bottle B is pulled out from the waste toner bottle housing portion 1f as described above, It is possible to prevent the waste toner assembly 10 from coming into contact with the waste toner bottle B and twisting it, as when the waste toner bottle 10 is unintentionally rotated.

The release lever 20 is rotated and the lock of the retainer R is also interlocked and released simultaneously. That is, when the release lever 20 is rotated, the release member 51c is moved upward and the contact surface 51d integrally formed with the release member 51c is moved upward, so that the release member 51c The retainer lever 63 placed on the contact surface 51d of the retainer R moves upward and the retaining pieces 64a and 64b are released to release the lock of the retainer R. As described above, in the copying machine P, when the release lever 20 provided in the waste toner assembly 10 is rotated, the lock of the retainer R is also released in association with the release of the waste toner assembly 10, The operability at the time of maintenance and inspection can be increased. Even if the retaining mechanism R and the retainer R are simultaneously released, the retainer R is not moved to the open position even if it is not supported by the hand, It is possible to do. Further, since the waste toner assembly 10 is configured such that the upper end thereof is opened, it is possible to easily open the waste toner assembly 10 downward while being supported by the release lever 20. It is possible to prevent the waste toner from falling out from the inlet port receiving portions 14a to 14e, the water supply port receiving portion 13, and the like, since the impact of the waste toner assembly 10 is rapidly opened.

When the waste toner assembly 10 and the retainer R are closed, the waste toner assembly 10 overlaps in front of the retainer R as seen in the closing direction, and the release lever 20 also overlaps the overlapping portion Is installed. Therefore, when the waste toner assembly 10 is pushed in when the waste toner assembly 10 and the retainer R are closed or when the release lever 20 is operated when the waste toner assembly 10 and the retainer R are opened , Such force that the waste toner assembly 10 is twisted does not act and good operability can be obtained.

In addition, in this copying machine P, since the waste toner assembly 10 is rotated, a slight impact is applied to the waste toner assembly 10 itself and the posture of the conveyance pipe 42 changes, When the waste toner assembly 10 is rotated, the transfer pipe 42 (see FIG. 8B) is located at a predetermined distance from the positions of the support shafts 12a and 12b of the cover member 11 The waste toner adhering to the inner wall surface of the conveying pipe 42 is peeled and collapsed to effectively prevent the conveying pipe 42 from being clogged. Thereby, the conveying force of the conveying pipe 42 can be maintained favorably.

(Second Embodiment)

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the description of the present embodiment, the description of the same portions as those of the first embodiment is omitted or simplified.

Fig. 19 is an enlarged perspective view of the engaging piece 30b in the present embodiment. As shown in this drawing, in this embodiment, a claw portion 73 protruding toward the front side of the copying machine is provided to the leading end 30b2 of the engaging piece 30b. The claw portion 73 is provided integrally with the engagement piece 30b on the back side of the inclined surface 30b1 which is the contact surface with the wall portion 72. [ The protrusion amount L3 of the claw portion 73 from the retaining piece 30b (the amount of protrusion toward the wall portion 72 in the locked state) is the same as that of the retaining piece 64a Is set to be equal to or greater than the difference between the distance L1 from the turning center O of the maximum outer shape portion 64a and the distance L2 from the turning center O to the tip end 64a1. 19, an inclined surface 73a is provided on the left side (release lever 20 side) of the retaining piece 30b. This inclined surface 73a can prevent the latching piece 30b from being caught by the wall portion 72 when the latching piece 30b comes out of the opening 71. [

According to such a claw portion 73, the protrusion amount L3 from the retaining piece 30b is smaller than the protrusion amount L3 of the maximum outer shape portion 64a in the retaining piece 64a (the retaining piece 64b is also the same) Since the operator sets the waste toner assembly 10 and the retainer main body 60 at a time at a distance equal to or greater than the distance L1 from the rotation center O to the distance L2 from the rotation center O to the distal end 64a1, It is possible to prevent the waste toner assembly 10 from being locked first. That is, in the present embodiment, the claw portion 73 functions as a lock timing adjusting means for locking the retainer main body 60 before the waste toner assembly 10.

According to the copying machine of this embodiment, when the waste toner assembly 10 returns to the locked state, the retainer main body 60 always returns to the locked state. Therefore, it becomes possible to reliably return the retainer main body 60 to the locked state.

In the copying machine according to the present embodiment, the retainer main body 60 can be reliably returned to the locked state by the claw portion 73. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 20, The push member 70 is fixed without the coil spring 70a. When the push member 70 is provided with the coil spring 70a, elastic urging force always acts on the waste toner assembly 10 in the locked state. According to the present embodiment, the waste toner assembly 10 The elastic pressing force is not exerted on the elastic member. Therefore, the load of the waste toner assembly 10 is reduced, and it becomes possible to prevent the waste toner assembly 10 from changing over time.

(Third Embodiment)

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the description of the present embodiment, the description of the same portions as those of the first embodiment is omitted or simplified.

21A and 21B are enlarged front views of the vicinity of the release lever 20 of the present embodiment. As shown in Fig. 21A, the copying machine of the present embodiment is provided with a toothed wheel 74 engaged with the release lever 20 and the retainer lever releasing member 51c. The connecting rod 51 is not provided with the inclined surface 51b and the connecting rod 51 and the retainer releasing member 51c are spaced apart from each other. That is, in the present embodiment, the connecting rods 50 and 51 (first transmitting member) for transmitting the power by the rotation of the releasing lever 20 to the engaging pieces 30a and 30b, And a retainer releasing member 51c (second transmitting member) for transmitting power to the engaging pieces 64a and 64b are disposed apart from each other.

The above-described embodiment is also the same, but the release lever 20 is provided with a not-shown claw portion on the back side which is engaged with the connecting rods 51 and 50 only when the release lever 20 is rotated in the direction of the arrow J. When the connecting rod 51 is moved to the left side of FIG. 21A by an external force without being engaged with the connecting rod 51 when the connecting rod 51 is moved to the right side of FIG. 21A by an external force, 50). Therefore, when the connecting rods 50, 51 are moved by an external force, the releasing lever 20 is not rotated.

The release lever 20 is always elastically pressed against the direction of the arrow J by a spring (not shown) so as to automatically return to the original posture.

According to the copying machine of this embodiment employing such a configuration, by turning the release lever 20 in the direction of the arrow J, the toothed wheel 74 rotates in the direction of arrow S as shown in Fig. 21B, The retainer lever releasing member 51c is moved upward.

On the other hand, in the case of returning the waste toner assembly 10 from which the lock has been released to the locked state, the connecting rods 50 and 51 are moved so that the locking pieces 30a and 30b are pushed in. Since the retainer releasing member 51c is spaced apart, the retainer releasing member 51c does not need to move upward. This makes it possible to reduce the load when the retainer main body 60 returns the waste toner assembly 10 to the locked state without causing resistance to the pushing action of the retaining members 30a, 30b.

In addition, as shown in Fig. 22A, it is also possible to provide a wire 75 instead of the toothed wheels 74. Fig. In Fig. 22A, the wire 75 is shown emphatically in order to improve the visibility. One end of this wire 75 is connected to the release lever 20 and is provided so as to be wound on the release lever 20 by rotating the release lever 20. In addition, protruding portions 76 and 77 are formed on the inner wall of the cover body 11 with the retainer releasing member 51c interposed therebetween. The wire 75 is wound on the protruding portion 76 provided on the side of the release lever 20 and fixed on the protruding portion 77 provided on the opposite side to the release lever 20 at the other end and is fixed between the protruding portions 76 and 77 So as to come into contact with the bottom of the retainer releasing member 51c.

22B, the wire 75 is wound on the release lever 20 by rotating the release lever 20 in the direction of the arrow J so that the wire 75 is wound in the direction indicated by the arrow T Likewise, the portion in contact with the retainer releasing member 51c is lifted. Thereby, the retainer lever releasing member 51c is moved upward.

Since the connecting rods 50 and 51 and the retainer releasing member 51c are spaced apart from each other even when such a configuration is employed, the resistance against the action of the retainer main body 60 pushing the engaging pieces 30a and 30b And the load upon returning the waste toner assembly 10 to the locked state can be reduced.

While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described with reference to the accompanying drawings, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. Various shapes, combinations, and the like of each component member shown in the above-described embodiment are merely examples, and various modifications can be made based on design requirements and the like without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

For example, in the above-described example, the retainer lever 63 adopts a mode of transmitting the movement of the release lever 20 by using the release member 51c having the contact surface 51d, 63 may be in direct contact with the inclined surface 51b of the connecting rod 51. [

In the above-described example, the waste toner assembly 10 and the retainer R are used as the opening and closing member, but other opening and closing members may be used.

In the above-described example, the image forming apparatus is a copying machine, but a printer, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction peripheral having such functions may be used.

Claims (5)

An image forming apparatus for conveying and collecting waste toner discharged from a plurality of image forming units provided in a housing to a waste toner bottle detachably installed in the housing through a conveying means,
The conveying means is provided in a waste toner assembly provided rotatably up and down with respect to the housing,
And the image forming portion is housed inside the waste toner assembly in the housing, and can be pulled out in front of the waste toner assembly while the waste toner assembly is rotated. The method according to claim 1,
The conveying means consists of a screw conveyor having a spiral blade which is driven to rotate about an axis in the conveying pipe,
The conveying pipe extends in a substantially horizontal direction, and the waste toner assembly is rotatably installed in a vertical direction around a support axis spaced apart a predetermined distance downward in parallel with the axis of the conveying pipe. Device. The method according to claim 2,
Each of the image forming units includes an outlet for discharging waste toner, and the waste toner assembly is provided with an inlet for injecting waste toner discharged from the outlet into the conveying pipe corresponding to the outlet.
The waste toner bottle is mounted below the conveying pipe. The method according to claim 3,
A retainer configured to position and hold the image forming portion relative to the housing, and to open and close the lower end side by a support shaft provided above,
Wherein the upper end side of the waste toner assembly is positioned so as to cover at least a part of the retainer in a closing direction when the waste toner assembly and the retainer are closed. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
An engagement means for holding the waste toner assembly in a state in which the waste toner assembly is held in a closed state by being engaged with the housing and a release means for releasing the engagement state of the engagement means,
Wherein the release of the engagement state of the engagement means by the release means is inhibited when the waste toner bottle is mounted on the housing.

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