JPH0362068A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attach/detach a developing device to/from an image forming device without sliding the developing device against a toner hopper by providing a coupling member connecting the toner hopper to the developing device so that a first position in which the toner hopper is connected to the developing device and a second position in which their connection is released can be taken. CONSTITUTION:To remove the developing device 1 from the device main body, a lever member 10 is rotated counterclockwise. Then the coupling member 3 goes up to move to the second position in which the connection of the developing device 1 to the toner hopper is released. On the other hand, to load the developing device 1 to the device main body, the coupling member 3 is in the second position. After the developing device 1 is loaded, the lever member 3 is rotated clockwise, whereby the coupling member 3 goes down with respect to the developing device to move to the first position in which the developing device 1 is connected. Consequently, the coupling member can move to the first and second positions without shifting the toner hopper with respect to the developing device, and therefore the developing device can be attached to or detached from the device main body.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus in which a developing device is attached to and detached from the inside of the image forming apparatus main body in the axial direction of the developing roller. be.

(Prior Art) Generally, in an image forming apparatus in which a developing device is detachably installed inside the main body of the image forming apparatus, a toner supply section that supplies toner from an upper toner hopper to a lower developing device is used to connect the developing device to the image forming apparatus. Some devices are designed to slide when attached to or removed from the main body.

However, according to this image forming apparatus, since the developing device is attached and detached by sliding, high positional accuracy is required, resulting in high cost, or the sliding part is installed to reduce the burden on the operator when attaching and detaching the developing device. If the size of the toner is made smaller, there are problems such as a complicated toner supply route.

Therefore, first, the present inventor proposed Utility Application No. 63-141421.
As shown in FIG. 3, when the developing device 1 is attached to and removed from the main body of the image forming apparatus A, the toner hopper 2 is raised and lowered in the vertical direction relative to the developing device 1, thereby converting the developing device 1 into the toner hopper 2. An image forming apparatus that can be attached to and detached from the main body of image forming apparatus A without sliding has been proposed. The broken line in the figure shows the state in which the toner hopper 2 is raised relative to the developing device 1.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) By the way, according to the above-described image forming apparatus, the developing device 1
Since the toner hopper 2 requires movement space inside the main body of the image forming apparatus 8 when moving up and down, the image forming apparatus A becomes unnecessarily large and the image forming apparatus A is unnecessarily large and the developing device does not slide with the toner hopper. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can be attached to and detached from a forming apparatus and that can prevent the image forming apparatus from increasing in size.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a developing device and a toner hopper disposed above the developing device inside the device main body,
In an image forming apparatus in which the developing device is detachable in the axial direction of the developing roller, the toner hopper is fixed inside the device main body, and the toner hopper and the developing device are arranged with a predetermined distance between them. A connecting member for connecting the toner hopper and the developing device is provided at an interval so that it can take a first position where the toner hopper and the developing device are connected and a second position where the toner hopper and the developing device are disconnected. It is something that

(Function) According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the toner hopper is fixed inside the apparatus main body, and when the developing device is attached to the apparatus main body, the connecting member takes the first position, thereby connecting the toner hopper with the toner hopper. When the developing device is connected and the developing device is removed from the main body of the device, the connecting member assumes the second position, thereby releasing the connection between the toner hopper and the developing device.

As a result, the developing device can be attached to and detached from the main body of the apparatus by the connecting member taking the first position and the second position without the toner hopper moving relative to the developing device.

(Example) An example of the image forming apparatus of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.
This will be explained based on the diagram.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view illustrating the operation of this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus A includes a developing device L that is detachably installed in the axial direction of the developing roller inside the device main body, and a developing device 1 that is spaced apart from the developing bag W1 by a predetermined distance. The toner hopper 2 has a toner hopper 2 fixed at a predetermined position above the toner hopper 2, and a connecting member 3 provided so as to be vertically movable at the above-mentioned interval.

More specifically, the connecting member 3 has a substantially hollow box shape having a front side plate 4 and a rear side plate 5, a shaft 8 is attached to the front side plate 4, a bottle 9 is attached to the rear side plate, The upper surface of the rear side plate 5 also serves as a locking part for locking the connecting member to the developing device at the second position where the connection is released, and the lower end portions of the side plates 4.5 are connected to the developing device 1. It also serves as a locking portion for locking at the first position to which the member 3 is connected.

Here, a lever member 10 for raising and lowering the connecting member 3
Specifically, the lever member 10 includes a cam body 10 that engages with the shaft 8, a lever shaft 11 that fixes the cam body 10 and is rotatably disposed within the device body, and an end portion of the lever shaft 11. By rotating the handle 12, the cam body 10 is displaced, the shaft 8 is raised and lowered, and the connecting member 3 is raised and lowered in the vertical direction.
The connecting member 3 is configured to interlock with the lever member 10. Note that a guide 13 for guiding the bottle 9 is provided inside the main body of the apparatus.

Subsequently, the operation of this embodiment based on the above configuration will be explained based on FIG. 2.

First, when removing the developing device 1 from the device main body, the second
As shown by the solid line in the figure, by rotating the lever member 10 in a counterclockwise direction, the connecting member 3 rises to take the second position where it is disconnected from the developing device 1. This allows the developing device 1 to be removed from the main body of the device. On the other hand, when attaching the developing device 1 to the main body of the device,
The connecting member 3 is in the second position (see the solid line in the figure), and after the developing device 1 is installed, the connecting member 3 is lowered relative to the developing device by rotating the lever member 3 clockwise. and takes the first position where it is connected to the developing device 1.

As a result, the developer bag Wl can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body without the toner hopper 2 moving relative to the developing device 1 and the connecting member 3 taking the first and second positions.

(Effects) According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, the toner hopper does not move relative to the developing device, and the connecting member takes the first position and the second position, thereby attaching and detaching the developing device to the main body of the device. be able to.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view illustrating the operation of this embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a conventional image forming apparatus.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In an image forming apparatus having a developing device and a toner hopper disposed above the developing device inside the device main body, the developing device is attached and detached in the axial direction of the developing roller. The hopper is fixed inside the apparatus main body, and the toner hopper and the developing device are arranged at a predetermined interval, and a connecting member for connecting the toner hopper and the developing device is connected to the toner hopper and the developing device at this interval. An image forming apparatus characterized in that it is provided so as to be able to take a first position and a second position where a connection between a toner hopper and a developing device is released.