JPH1020642A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) Abstract: A locking member 112 is engaged with an end of a bottle holder 42 which is a part of a toner supply device 6, and the toner supply device is set in a positioning state. And the shaft 40a
When the cam portion 84b-2 of the operation lever 84 that rotates about the fulcrum activates the opening / closing means provided in the hopper portion 40 to open the stopper of the toner bottle 38, the operation portion 119 is operated by mistake. The locking member 112 is pressed down to prevent the locking from being released. A cover unit (84e) covers an operation unit (119) in accordance with a rotation position of an operation lever (84).
19 can no longer be moved.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a so-called electrostatic image forming apparatus,
The electrostatic latent image formed on the photoreceptor is visualized by toner supplied from a developing device, is transferred to a recording sheet, becomes a recorded material through a fixing process, and is discharged outside the apparatus.
Since the toner is consumed together with such development, the consumed amount is replenished by the toner replenishing device. The toner supply device is configured as a part of the image forming apparatus. Regarding an image forming apparatus including a toner supply device,
The following are the unknown prior arts.

[0003] An image forming apparatus having a toner replenishing device for detachably holding a toner bottle and a main body for reciprocatingly supporting the toner replenishing device between a predetermined draw-out position and a predetermined mounting position. The main body is provided with a locking member for locking the toner replenishing device at the predetermined mounting position, and the toner replenishing device has a toner bottle held at a predetermined position suitable for toner supply. Opening / closing means for switching the stopper to an open state or a closed state, and a position displacement between an open dynamic state and a closed dynamic state, acting on the open / close means in accordance with this positional displacement, An image forming apparatus provided with operation levers for holding the stopper in the open state and the stopper in the closed dynamic position, respectively.

A toner supply device holding a toner bottle includes an image forming apparatus main body that supports the toner supply device,
Alternatively, the toner replenishing device is held at a predetermined mounting position on a main body such as a developing unit main body (hereinafter, a device supporting the toner replenishing device is simply referred to as a main body) by a locking member. Supplies the toner in the toner bottle attached to the main body side. In the toner replenishing device positioned at the predetermined mounting position, the operation lever is set to the open dynamic position, the opening / closing means is operated, and the stopper of the toner bottle is opened. In this open state, the toner in the toner bottle is supplied to the main body.

[0005] When the toner is supplied in this manner and the toner bottle is eventually emptied, the operator switches the operation lever to the closing dynamic position to operate the opening / closing means to switch the toner bottle stopper to the closed state. With this, the stopper of the toner bottle is closed, the locking member is operated to release the locking of the toner replenishing device, and then the toner replenishing device is pulled out to a predetermined pull-out position. After replacing the toner bottle with a new toner bottle, when the replacement is completed, the toner replenishing device is pushed again to the predetermined mounting position, and the position is held by the locking member. Then, the operation lever is operated to open and close the new toner bottle by the opening / closing means. The stopper is opened, and the toner is supplied.

Conventionally, the locking member is exposed to the outside so as to be easily operated by an operator. When the toner replenishing device is at the predetermined mounting position, the toner bottle on the toner replenishing device is held at a predetermined position suitable for supplying toner, and the toner replenishing device is moved to the predetermined mounting position. When the toner bottle moves to the predetermined withdrawal position side, means for releasing the position holding of the toner bottle according to the movement is taken.

In the above-described image forming apparatus, when the toner replenishing device moves from the predetermined mounting position to the predetermined draw-out position, the toner bottle position holding means for releasing the toner bottle position holding in accordance with the movement is provided. What is provided.

[0008]

In the above-described image forming apparatus, when the operating lever is in the open dynamic position and the toner replenishing device is at a predetermined mounting position, an operator or the like erroneously engages with the locking member. When the user touches or operates the locking member, the locking member may release the locking of the toner supply device with respect to the main body. When the lock is released, the toner replenishing device is shifted from a predetermined mounting position. When the toner replenishing device is at a predetermined mounting position and the operation lever is in the open dynamic position, the stopper is open and the toner replenishing device and the main body constitute a toner supply path. Deviates from the predetermined mounting position, the toner supply path is cut off, and the toner is not supplied.

Further, the stopper of the toner bottle is in an open state, and the toner replenishing device is moved from a predetermined mounting position side to a predetermined draw-out position side by an urging means which is a means for holding the position of the toner bottle. When the locking member is unlocked, the toner replenishing device, which has been prevented by the above-described urging, moves, and the toner bottle in the open state is replenished with toner. There is also a problem that the toner in the toner bottle is spilled outside onto the toner replenishing device due to unstable movement on the device.

In the above image forming apparatus, when the toner replenishing device is not located at a predetermined mounting position, the position of the toner bottle is not fixed on the toner replenishing device.
In this state, the opening / closing means is operable in response to the operation of the operation lever, but is not in a position to grasp the stopper. Nevertheless, by accidentally operating the operating lever to the open swing position,
Even if the toner replenishing operation device can be moved to a predetermined mounting position in this state, the toner bottle cannot be brought into a normal state in which toner can be supplied because the opening / closing device is not in a state of grasping the stopper.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, to provide an image forming apparatus capable of preventing an erroneous operation of an operation lever with respect to a toner replenishing device and easily returning an erroneous operation state to a normal state. Aim.

[0012]

The present invention has the following configuration to achieve the above object. (1) An image forming apparatus comprising: a toner replenishing device that detachably holds a toner bottle; and a main body that reciprocates the toner replenishing device between a predetermined draw-out position and a predetermined mounting position. The main body is provided with a locking member for locking the toner replenishing device at the predetermined mounting position, and the toner replenishing device has a toner bottle held at a predetermined position suitable for toner supply. Opening / closing means for switching the stopper to an open state or a closed state, and a position displacement between an open dynamic state and a closed dynamic state, acting on the open / close means in accordance with this positional displacement, An image forming apparatus provided with an operation lever for holding the stopper in the open state and the stopper in the closed dynamic state in the closed state, respectively, wherein the toner supply device is located at the predetermined mounting position. In charge The unlocking operation of the locking member are, provided with means for preventing in response to positional displacement of the operating lever from the HirakiYura dynamic position to the 閉揺 dynamic position (claim 1).

(2) In the image forming apparatus described in (1), when the toner replenishing device is located at the predetermined mounting position, the toner replenishing device acts on the toner bottle on the toner replenishing device to cause the toner bottle to become the toner. Urging means for pressing and positioning a part of the replenishing device to release the pressing in accordance with an operation of moving the toner replenishing device from the predetermined mounting position toward the predetermined withdrawal position. (Claim 2).

(3) In the image forming apparatus described in (2), the urging means is an elastic means interposed between the main body and a toner bottle placed on the toner replenishing device. .

(4) An image forming apparatus having a toner replenishing device for detachably holding a toner bottle and a main body for reciprocatingly supporting the toner replenishing device between a predetermined draw-out position and a predetermined mounting position. An apparatus, wherein the main body is provided with a locking member for locking the toner replenishing device at the predetermined mounting position, and the toner replenishing device is held at a predetermined position suitable for toner supply. Opening / closing means for switching the opened / closed state of the stopper of the toner bottle; and displacing the position between an open pivoting position and a closing pivoting position to act on the opening / closing means in response to the positional displacement. An operation lever is provided for holding the stopper in the open position in the dynamic position and the stopper in the closed position in the closed rocking position, respectively, and the toner replenishing device is configured to move the predetermined position from the predetermined mounting position to the predetermined position. In the image forming apparatus having the toner bottle position holding means for releasing the position holding of the toner bottle in response to this movement when the operation lever is moved to the drawer side, the operation lever is in the open dynamic position. When moving the toner replenishing device from an arbitrary position closer to the pull-out position than the predetermined mounting position toward the predetermined mounting position, the operation lever that moves together with the toner replenishing device includes: At the front position on the side of the predetermined pull-out position with respect to the predetermined mounting position, it collides with the locking member (claim 4).

(5) In the image forming apparatus described in (4), when the toner replenishing device is further moved from the collision state toward the predetermined mounting position, the locking member is moved in accordance with the moving operation. The operating lever in a collision state is pushed by the locking member to be displaced from the open dynamic position to the closed dynamic position (claim 5).

(6) In the image forming apparatus described in (1), (2), (3) or (4), the operation lever is pivotally connected at one end to a toner replenishing device. In addition to having a cam portion which engages with the cam follower acting as the opening / closing means and has a function of a handle for reciprocating the toner supply device (claim 6).

[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(1) Description of the Invention According to Claims 1 to 3 and Claim 6 FIG. 1 schematically shows the toner supply device and the main body in a simplified form and structure. In FIG. 1, the toner bottle 38 is detachable from a bottle receiving table 42 which is a part of the toner supply device 6. The bottle receiving table 42 is specifically as shown in FIG. 11, and has a cylindrical toner hopper section 40 at one end. The toner bottle 38 is
It has a so-called bottle shape, a new toner bottle is filled with toner, and a stopper 68 is provided at the toner discharge port 38a. In FIG. 1, a new toner bottle 3
8 is a state in which the stopper 68 is kept on the bottle holder 42,
The stopper 68 can be attached by placing the stopper 68 from above on the bottle receiving table 42 curved to match the bottle shape as shown in FIG. A convex guide as shown by reference numeral 42f in FIG. 10 is formed on the bottle receiving table 42.
Engages with a concave guide 108c formed in the main body 108, and is reciprocally movable in the direction of the arrow 1a as the pull-out direction and in the direction of the arrow J as the mounting direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, one end of a leaf spring 110 is fixed to the lower surface of the main body 108. This leaf spring 11
A locking member 112 that functions as a stopper for retaining is attached to the free end side of the zero. This locking member 112
As shown in FIG. 14, is integrally formed with the inclined surface portion 112a, the flat portion 112b, the vertical portion 112c, and the operation portion 119. A groove 42g is formed on the lower surface of the bottle holder 42 as shown in FIG. 2, and the end of the groove 42g in the direction of arrow 1a is closed by a wall 42h.

The width of the groove 42g is determined by the locking member 112.
And the width of the spring 110 is greater than the width of the locking member 112 when it is at the position of the groove 42g.
And the spring 110 can be fitted in the groove 42g.

In the state in which no external force acts on the locking member 112, as shown in FIG. 1, the intermediate portion of the inclined surface portion 112a has a positional relationship corresponding to the lower end edge of the wall portion 42h. Therefore, when the toner supply device 6 is pushed in the direction shown by the arrow 1a from the state shown in FIG. 1, the wall portion 42h comes into contact with the inclined surface portion 112a, and the locking member 112 is pushed down against the elasticity of the spring 110. 5, the vertical portion 112c is opposed to the main body 108, and the toner replenishing member 6 is locked so as not to return in the direction of arrow J as shown in FIG. The position when the toner replenishing device 6 is locked by the locking member 84 in this manner is referred to as a predetermined mounting position of the toner replenishing device 6.

Contrary to the above-mentioned predetermined mounting position, in FIG. 1, the position of the toner replenishing device 6 when the toner replenishing device 6 is pulled out to the maximum in the direction of arrow J is referred to as a predetermined pull-out position. In this predetermined withdrawal position, the main body 108
Is provided on the rear end side wall portion 4 of the groove portion 42g.
2j, it cannot be pulled out from this position in the direction of arrow J in FIG.

The state shown in FIG. 1 corresponds to the state shown in FIG. 15. When the toner supply device 6 is located at the predetermined draw-out position, the toner replenishing device 6 is open above the bottle mounting position. Work is possible. When replacing the toner bottle, remove the empty toner bottle 38 from the bottle receiving tray 42,
8 is placed on the bottle holder 42 so that the stopper 68 faces the toner hopper 40 side. Next, when the toner replenishing device 6 is pushed in the direction of the arrow 1a, the toner replenishing device 6 is guided and guided by the guides 42f and 108c, and the bottom of the toner bottle 38 comes into contact with the joint 62 before long. The shoulder portion of the toner bottle 38 comes into contact with the rib 44c (see FIG. 16). At this time, the stopper 68 is in contact with the spongy seal member 78 at the same time, and the position of the toner supply device 6 is held in such a state. This position corresponds to the aforementioned predetermined mounting position.

In this predetermined mounting position, the toner bottle 3
The mouth portion 8 contacts the seal member 78 as shown in FIG. 16, and the bottom of the toner bottle 38 contacts the joint 62. The joint 62 is attached to a shaft 61 supported by a case 66 as shown in FIG. In this mode of attachment, the rotation is integral with the shaft 61 by the key 61a provided in the key groove, but the movement in the axial direction is possible. A stopper 61b is provided at the shaft end of the shaft 61 to prevent the joint 62 from coming off the shaft 61.

With this configuration, when the toner supply device 6 is at a predetermined mounting position, the bottom of the toner bottle 38
As a result of the elasticity of the spring 82, the shoulder of the toner bottle 38 is held in contact with the rib 44c integral with the hopper 40, as shown in FIG. Here, the spring 82 acts on the toner bottle 38 on the toner replenishing device 6 when the toner replenishing device 6 is at a predetermined mounting position, and the toner bottle 38 is moved to the rib 4 which is a part of the toner replenishing device 6.
4c is an urging means which is an example of an elastic means for releasing the pressing in accordance with an operation of moving the toner replenishing device 6 from a predetermined mounting position toward a predetermined pulling-out position side. 2, Claim 3).

The toner hopper 40 includes a toner bottle 3
An opening / closing means for switching the stopper 68 of FIG. 8 between an open state (see FIG. 17) and a closed state (see FIG. 16) is provided. The details of the opening / closing means will be described later, but in general, in FIG. 16, the toner is in a closed state with the collet chuck 70, the cylindrical case 72, the shaft member 76, the spring 82, the slide shaft 86 and the like as main members. When the slide shaft 86 is moved in the direction of J in this state when the shoulder of the bottle 38 is pressed against the rib 44c, FIG.
The collet chuck 70 grasps the stopper 68 and pulls it out to open the stopper 68 as shown in FIG. 16, and if the slide shaft 86 is returned to the direction of 1a, the stopper 68 closes as shown in FIG. To

The movement of the slide shaft 86 is as shown in FIG.
The operation is performed by the operation lever 84 whose external shape is shown in FIG. A fulcrum 84a of the operation lever 84 is pivotally connected to the hopper 40 by a shaft 40a as shown in FIG. The operation lever 84 is a U-shaped handle and has two cam portions 84.
b, a handle portion 84c, a collision portion 84d, a cover portion 84e, and the like (claim 6). The cam 84b further includes a curved surface portion 84b-2 and clicked portions 84b-1, 84b-3 formed to sandwich the curved surface portion.

The slide shaft 86 is pressed against the cam portion 84b of the operation lever 84 by the urging force of the extensible spring 82. The operation lever 86 is rotatable around the shaft 40a. As shown in FIG. 1, in the closing movement state where the operation lever 84 is horizontal, the slide shaft 86 is held in a state of being engaged with the click portion 84 b-3. In this state, as shown in FIG. 16, the cylindrical case 72 is in contact with the rib 44c by the spring 82, the collet chuck 70 is open, and the stopper 68 of the toner bottle 38 remains closed.

When the grip portion 84c of the operating lever 84 in the closed dynamic state shown in FIG. 1 is grasped and the operating lever 84 is pressed down with the shaft 40a as a fulcrum, the slide shaft 86 is moved.
As shown in FIG. 5, the click portion 8b slides from the click portion 84b-3 through the curved surface portion 84b-2 while slidingly contacting the cam portion 84b.
4b-1, and the operation lever 84 is held in this state. At this time, the slide shaft 86 is formed by the curved surface portion 84b-2.
, The collet chuck 70 grasps the stopper 68 and moves in the direction of the arrow J to open the toner bottle 38 as shown in FIG. In this state, the toner in the toner bottle 38 can be supplied to a required portion such as a developing device via the toner hopper 40. As described above, the operation lever 84 can be changed in position between the open movement position and the close movement position, and the opening / closing means is operated in accordance with this change in position to open or close the toner bottle stopper. Can be changed. Such an operation lever 8
The operation 4 itself can be performed regardless of whether the toner bottle is set on the bottle receiving table 42 or not.

The procedure for a normal toner bottle replacement operation will be described. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, the toner replenishing device 6 is at a predetermined draw-out position. The operating lever 84 has a click portion 84b-
The slide shaft 86 is engaged with 3 so that the slide shaft 86 is held in the closed rocking dynamic position. Under this condition, the toner bottle 38 is replaced. The empty toner bottle 38 is taken out of the bottle receiving tray 42, and a new toner bottle filled with toner is removed from the bottle.
8 is placed on the bottle holder 42.

2. The user grips the handle portion 84c of the operation lever 84 and pushes and moves the toner supply device 6 in the direction of arrow 1a as shown in FIG. When the toner supply device 6 reaches the predetermined mounting position, the locking member 112 climbs over the wall 42h,
When the predetermined mounting position is reached, the joint 62 urges the toner replenishing device in the direction of arrow 1a via the toner bottle 38 by the elastic force of the spring 82. Section 112c and toner hopper 40
And the toner replenishing device 6 is held at a predetermined mounting position. At this time, the toner bottle 3
In FIG. 8, as shown in FIG. 16, the shoulder is in contact with the rib 44c and the stopper 68 is in the closed state, and the collet chuck 70 is open at a position where the stopper 68 can be grasped.

3. The operator grasps the operation lever 84,
Displacement is performed from the closed rocking dynamic position shown in FIG. 1 to the open rocking dynamic position shown in FIG. In accordance with this lever operation, the cam portion 84b pushes and moves the slide shaft 86, and the shaft member 76 moves in the direction of the arrow J. With this movement, the collet chuck 70 moves the plug 68
And pull out the stopper 68 from the toner bottle 38. In the pivoting movement position, the slide shaft 86 is engaged with the click portion 84b-1, and the rotation position in the pivoting movement position is maintained. In the open movement position, the U-shaped cover portion 84e formed as a part of the operation lever 84 is moved to the operation portion 1 as shown in FIG.
19 is inoperably surrounded from above and below (claim 1). Therefore, in this state, even if an attempt is made to push down the locking member 112 by pushing the operation portion 119, the operation portion 119 cannot be pushed down because it is guarded by the cover portion 84e. Assuming that the pressing operation can be performed, the toner replenishing device 6 on which the toner bottle 38 in the open state is placed is displaced from a predetermined mounting position by the action of the spring 82, so that toner cannot be supplied from the toner bottle 38. However, in this example, the cover 84 of the operation lever
e covers the operating portion 119 of the locking member 112,
Since the portion that covers the lower side of the locking member 112 prevents the locking member 112 from moving downward, erroneous operation is prevented. Therefore, the covering portion 84e constitutes an example of a unit for preventing the unlocking operation of the locking member. The toner is supplied from the toner bottle 38 in the open dynamic state shown in FIG.

4. When replacing the toner bottle 38, a lever operation as shown by an arrow in FIG. 6 is performed, and the operation lever 84 is displaced from the open dynamic state shown in FIG. 5 to the closed dynamic state shown in FIG. In accordance with the operation of the operation lever 84, the shaft member 76 moves from the state shown in FIG. 17 to the state shown in FIG.
The plug 68 at 8 is closed. The operation lever 8
By the operation of 4, since the operation unit 119 is not covered by the cover unit 84e, the operation of the operation unit 119 becomes possible.

5. By setting the operation lever 84 to the open dynamic position, the stopper 68 of the toner bottle 38 is closed, and then the operation unit 119 is pushed down.
The grip portion 84c of the operation lever 84 is gripped, pulled out in the direction of arrow J, and moved to a predetermined pulling position shown in FIG. 1, where the toner bottle 38 is replaced.

(2) Description of the Invention According to Claims 4 to 6 The following description is based on the contents described in (1) above. As shown in FIG. 1, when the toner replenishing device 6 is at a predetermined withdrawal position and the operation lever 84 is in the closing dynamic position, the toner bottle 38 is replaced, and the operation lever is closed immediately by mistake. Let's say it's pushed down In this case,
The position of the toner bottle 38 on the bottle receiving table 42 is unstable, and the collet chuck 70 of the opening / closing means is not at a position where the stopper 68 of the toner bottle 38 can be grasped. And has moved to the position shown in FIG.
0 is closed and not in a position to grasp the stopper 68. Therefore, in such a state, even if the toner bottle 38 is moved until the shoulder thereof comes into contact with the rib 44c, the stopper 68 cannot be opened unless the operation lever 84 is operated again.

In this embodiment, as described above, when the toner replenishing sack 6 is at a position other than the predetermined mounting position, the toner replenishing device 6 is not moved if the operation lever 84 is erroneously moved to the open dynamic position. It cannot be moved to a predetermined mounting position. As a means for this, as shown in FIG. 7, the toner replenishing device 6 is moved in a direction shown by an arrow 1a, that is, in a direction from a predetermined draw-out position to a predetermined mounting position, while the operation lever 84 is in the open dynamic position. When it moves, the mutual positional relationship is set such that the collision portion 84d of the operation lever 84 collides with the operation portion 119 formed at the tip of the locking member 112 in the middle of the movement (claim 4).

Since such a collision does not occur in a normal operation, the operator can be made aware of an erroneous operation. In addition, even if the user does not notice an erroneous operation in this state, as described below, the front cover of the main body cannot be closed, so that an abnormality can be noticed even at this stage. The device can also be kept out of operation.

In FIG. 7, reference numeral 108a denotes a front cover of the main body. The front cover 108a has an opening 120 required for the operation of the toner supply device 6 to enter and exit. The opening 120 can be opened and closed by a front cover (not shown), and can be closed with the front cover when the toner supply device 6 is placed at a predetermined mounting position. When the front cover is closed, the closing is confirmed by an interlock switch for confirmation, the switch is turned on, and the image forming apparatus can be put into the operating state. However, if the front cover cannot be closed, Since the interlock switch cannot be turned on, the image forming apparatus cannot be operated.

In this example, as shown in FIG.
When d collides with the operation unit 119, a part of the operation lever 84 intersects with the position of the front side plate 108a of the main body. Therefore, the front cover cannot be closed due to the presence of the operation lever 84, so that the image forming apparatus cannot be put into the operating state. Thus, the operation lever 8
In a state where the toner bottle 38 is not located in the normal state due to the erroneous operation of 4 and toner cannot be supplied,
The operation of the image forming apparatus can be stopped.

As shown in FIG. 7, when the collision portion 84d collides with the operation portion 119, the locking member 112
Since the flat portion 112b has already climbed on the wall portion 42h, by pushing a member other than the operation lever 84, for example, the shaft member 76 in the direction of arrow 1a, the toner supply device 6 can be moved in the direction of arrow 1a. it can. By such movement of the toner supply device 6, the operation lever 84 is moved to the operation unit 1
19 is pushed in the direction of arrow J. For this reason,
When the slide shaft 86 is disengaged from the click portion 84b-1, the slide shaft 86 also moves in the direction of the arrow 1a according to the movement of the shaft member 76 in the direction of the arrow 1a due to the force of the spring 82. By depressing 84b-2, the operation lever 84 automatically returns to the closing dynamic position shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG.

That is, when the collision portion 84d collides with the operation portion 119, a portion other than the operation lever 84, which is an integral portion of the toner supply device 6, is indicated by an arrow 1a.
When the lever is pushed in the direction of
4 is displaced from the open dynamic position to the closed dynamic position (claim 5). In this way, an erroneous operation state of the operation lever is easily eliminated.

(3) Example of Toner Replenishing Apparatus Hereinafter, a specific configuration of the toner replenishing apparatus 6 will be described together with various members related thereto. As shown in FIG.
The image forming apparatus 2 includes a process cartridge 4 removably mounted on an image forming apparatus main body (not shown) and a toner replenishing device 6 removably mounted on the process cartridge 4. 4, a photoconductor 8 as an image carrier and a developing device 10 are integrally accommodated. Around the photoreceptor 8, there are provided a charging roller 12, a transfer roller 14, a cleaning blade 16, and the like, and the developing device 10 includes stirring screws 18 and 20, a developing sleeve 22, a doctor blade 24.
Etc. are provided. In FIG. 9, reference numeral 26 denotes a toner recycling belt, and reference numeral 28 denotes a toner density sensor.

The image forming operation is performed as follows. The photoconductor 8 is neutralized by the neutralizing light 32 and has a surface potential of 0 to -15.
It is averaged to a reference potential of 0V. Next, it is charged by the charging roller 12, and the surface potential becomes around -1100V. Next, the portion (image portion) exposed by the exposure light 34 and irradiated with the light has a surface potential of 0 to -290 V. Since a bias voltage of about -800 V is applied to the developing sleeve 22, the toner on the developing sleeve 22 adheres to the image portion.

The photoreceptor 8 on which the toner image has been formed is rotated, and the transfer paper is fed from a paper supply unit (not shown) at a timing such that the leading end of the paper coincides with the leading end of the image at the transfer roller 14. The toner image on the surface of the photoconductor 8 is transferred to the transfer paper by the roller 14. Thereafter, the transfer paper is sent to a fixing unit (not shown), and the toner is fused to the transfer paper by heat and pressure and discharged as a copy. The residual toner remaining on the photoreceptor 8 is scraped off by the cleaning blade 16, and then the residual charge of the photoreceptor 8 is removed by the charge removing light 32, so that the photoreceptor 8 is in a flat state without toner, and the process proceeds to the next image forming step again. . The above-described photoconductor 8, the charging roller 12, the developing device 10, the cleaning blade 16, and the like are housed in a case around the photoconductor. The residual toner collected by the cleaning device having the cleaning blade 16 is conveyed by a toner conveying coil provided coaxially with the pulley 27 to a position of a toner recycling belt 26 provided at a position in a direction penetrating the paper surface. Then, the stirring screw 18,
The toner is sent to a developer agitating section having the toner recycling unit 20, and the toner is recycled.

Next, the developing device 10 will be described. The developing sleeve 22 has a fixed shaft in which five-pole magnets are arranged, and the outer peripheral surface is covered with a non-magnetic pipe material.
As the pipe material rotates, the developer is transferred to the developing sleeve 2.
2 Move up. The developer is a two-component type composed of a small iron ball called a carrier and toner. The developer circulates while being stirred by the stirring screws 18 and 20, whereby the toner has a charge, adheres to the carrier and is carried to the surface of the photoconductor 8, and can be adhered to the photoconductor 8 by the action of electrostatic force. Of the developer, the carrier circulates, but the toner is consumed because it adheres to the image portion on the photoconductor 8. Therefore, it is necessary to replenish as appropriate. If the supply amount of the developer to the photoreceptor 8 is not constant, an image density defect or density unevenness occurs. Therefore, the doctor blade 24 that regulates the flow amount of the developer is provided.

As shown in FIG. 9, the toner replenishing device 6 generally includes a toner bottle 38 as a toner container.
And the toner bottle 3
8, and a bottle holding member 44 attached to the toner hopper portion 40 and rotated integrally with the toner bottle 38. The bottle holding member 44 has a plurality of pushing members 46. I have. The toner hopper 40 has an opening 48 formed therein.
A replenishing amount regulating member 50 having an elasticity for making the toner replenishing amount appropriate is provided on the outer surface of the device. A toner introduction cover 52 is attached outside the opening 48, and a toner supply port 54 that opens horizontally is formed at the lower end of the toner introduction cover 52.

On the other hand, on the process cartridge 4 side, the upper position of the stirring screw 20 of the developing device 10 is
A toner receiving port 56 which is also opened horizontally is formed.
And the toner receiving port 56 are opposed to each other. The toner that has flowed out of the toner discharge port 38a of the toner bottle 38 into the toner hopper 40 (arrow A) is
4, is pushed up by the pushing member 46 (arrow B), enters the toner introduction cover 52 through the opening 48 (arrow C), passes through the toner supply port 54 and the toner receiving port 56 in the communicating state, and enters the inside of the developing device 10. (Arrow D).
The toner supply port 54 and the toner receiving port 56
Are each opened and closed by a shutter member described later.

Next, FIG. 10 to FIG.
5 will be described in detail. FIG. 10 is an external view of a state where the toner replenishing device 6 is mounted on the process cartridge 4, and FIG. 11 is a component configuration diagram of the toner replenishing device 6.
The toner bottle 38 is rotationally driven by a driving unit 60 fixed to the rear plate 58 of the apparatus main body. This drive unit 60
The joint 62 includes a case part 66 containing a joint 62, a spring 64, a motor and a shaft, and a concave part 62a and convex parts 62b, 62b are formed at the tip of the joint 62. Correspondingly, on the bottom (rear end) of the toner bottle 38, a columnar convex portion 38b that enters the concave portion 62a of the joint 62 and a prismatic convex portion 38c that engages with the side surface of the convex portion 62b are formed. . The bottom of the toner bottle 38 is held by fitting the cylindrical convex portion 38b into the concave portion 62a, and rotation of the toner bottle 38 is obtained by engagement of the prismatic convex portion 38c with the convex portion 62b.
When the joint 62 of the drive unit 60 rotates in the direction of arrow E, the toner bottle 38 also rotates in the same direction (FIG. 1).
0).

A spiral projection 38d is formed on the inner wall surface of the toner bottle 38, and the toner is discharged from the toner discharge port 38a by being rotated. A stopper 68 for preventing toner from being discharged when not in use is fitted in the toner discharge port 38a. A plurality of ribs 44a are integrally formed on the distal end side of the bottle holding member 44, and the pushing member 46 is attached to these ribs 44a with a double-sided tape or the like. The pushing member 46 is made of an elastic material such as mylar or rubber. A rib 44b is formed on the inner wall surface of the bottle holding member 44.
Are caught on a flat portion 38e or a convex portion provided on the head of the toner bottle 38 so that the two can rotate integrally.

In FIG. 11, reference numeral 70 denotes a collet chuck for picking and releasing the stopper 68, and a cylindrical case 72.
And is integrated with the shaft member 76 by a screw 74. Reference numeral 78 denotes a sealing material, 80 denotes a sealing member, 82
Is a collet chuck 70, a cylindrical case 72, and a shaft member 76.
2 shows a coil spring that constantly presses a series of components, such as, on the toner bottle 38 side. These assembled parts are the toner hopper section 4
It is kept within 0. Reference numeral 84 denotes an operation lever for controlling the opening and closing of the stopper 68. The integrally formed shaft 84a is rotatably supported by a shaft hole 42a formed at the tip of the bottle holder 42. Reference numeral 86 denotes a slide shaft which enters a hole 76a formed in the shaft member 76 and is in contact with a cam portion 84b formed on the operation lever 84, and rotates the operation lever 84 in the direction F shown in FIG. ,
When a series of components such as the collet chuck 70 is slid in a direction away from the toner bottle 38, the stopper 68 comes out of the toner discharge port 38a and the toner in the toner bottle 38 is discharged into the toner hopper 40 (FIGS. 16 and 16). 1
7). Details of this will be described later.

Next, a shutter member for opening and closing the toner supply port 54 will be described. As shown in FIG. 11, the supply amount regulating member 50 provided in the opening 48 of the toner hopper section 40 is formed of an elastic material such as mylar or rubber, and has a slit hole 50a (an elongated rectangular hole). By setting the width of the slit hole 50a, the toner supply amount is made appropriate. The supply amount regulating member 50 is attached to the opening 48 with a double-sided tape or the like. A shutter member 88 for opening and closing the toner supply port 54 is movable in the vertical direction inside the toner introduction cover 52 attached to the outside of the opening 48, that is, with respect to the toner supply port 54 opened horizontally. In a vertical state (intersecting state). The shutter member 88 includes a bendable elastic member 90 as a shutter body and a support member 92 for supporting the elastic member 90.
And a cylindrical projection 94 integrally formed with the support member 92. The support member 92 has a spring member 96 for urging the shutter member 88 to be always closed. In this embodiment, the elastic member 90 is formed of a polyester film such as Mylar, and is attached to the support member 92 with a double-sided tape or the like. The toner introduction cover 52 has a movement hole 52a through which the protrusion 94 moves.
Are formed.

As shown in FIG. 12, a toner supply port 54 is formed on the bottom of the toner introduction cover 52, and arc-shaped guide portions 98, 98 for guiding the elastic member 90 of the shutter member 88 are integrally formed. Is formed. Further, a sponge seal member 100 as an elastic seal member for preventing the toner from being scattered by penetrating the distal end of the elastic member 90 is provided at the end side of the guide portion 98. In FIG. 11, reference numeral 104 displayed near the opening 48 indicates a second guide rib protruding in a trapezoidal shape in the horizontal direction for driving a second shutter member described later, and reference numeral 106 indicates an elastic member. 9 shows a deformation restricting guide that supports the rear side of the 90.

As shown in FIG. 13, the bottle receiving stand 42 is detachable on the guide plate 108 in the direction of arrow G.
The guide plate 108 is fixed to the device main body rear side plate 58 and the device main body front side plate 59 with screws (not shown). A positioning pin 109 is formed on the front plate 59 of the main assembly of the apparatus.
The guide plate 108 and the toner replenishing device 6 are positioned by entering the position b. In addition, a positioning pin is formed on the front plate 59 of the apparatus main body, and the positioning pin enters the positioning hole 42c of the receiving table 42. Further, a guide plate 108 is provided at the tip of the guide plate 108.
Is provided with a retaining member 112 supported by a plate spring 110 fixed to the toner supply device 6. The toner replenishing device 6 is mounted in a state where the retaining member 112 is pressed downward, and When the locking member 112 is returned, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the retaining member 112 for retaining is
And the toner replenishing device 6 is held in a retaining state.

FIG. 15 shows a state in which the toner replenishing device 6 is pulled out to a predetermined pull-out position. Under this condition, the toner bottle 38 is attached to and detached from the toner replenishing device 6. The retaining in this case is, as shown in FIG.
The step is formed by hooking the steps 42d and 42e formed on the bottle receiving table 42 with the notches 108a and 108b formed on the guide plate 108. The process cartridge 4 includes an apparatus main body rear side plate 58 and an apparatus main body front side plate 5.
9 is positioned and held by a positioning pin (not shown) provided in the upper case 9 and is prevented from coming off by a stopper 113 formed integrally with the upper case 41 (see FIG. 15).

As described above, when the toner supply device 6 shown in FIG.
Is placed on the bottle receiving tray 42, and the toner replenishing device 6 is pushed into the main body to be set. In this case, before the toner replenishing device 6 is pushed in, the shutter member 88 closes the toner supply port 54 formed at the bottom of the toner introduction cover 52 by the urging force of the spring member 96, and the elastic member 90 has an arc shape. Along its guide portion 98, and its tip bites into the sponge seal member 100. For this reason, the gap between the opening 48 of the toner hopper section 40 and the toner supply port 54 is sealed so as not to cause toner leakage.

When the toner replenishing device 6 is pushed in from this state, the cylindrical portion of the protrusion 94 formed integrally with the support member 92 is inclined upward by the guide rib formed integrally with the upper case 43 of the developing unit. It comes into contact with the surface 114a and is pushed up against the biasing force of the spring member 96, and finally stops at the flat top of the guide rib. With this operation, the elastic member 90 also rises (retreats) along the guide portion 98, and the toner supply port 54 is opened. When the toner replenishing device 6 is pulled out, the projection 94 goes down the inclined surface 114a, so that the urging force of the spring member 96 automatically moves the shutter member 88 in the closing direction, and the elastic member 90 moves the toner member from the vertical state to the toner state. It is curved along the supply port 54 to be in a closed state.
When the toner supply device 6 is pushed, the toner supply device 6
The second projecting in the horizontal direction formed on the
The cylindrical second protrusion 118 abuts on the inclined surface of the guide rib 102, and the shutter body 116 retreats horizontally from the closed state. When the second protrusion 118 passes through the inclined surface, the toner receiving port 56 is completely opened. When the toner receiving port 56 reaches the center of the side surface of the toner introduction cover 52, the toner receiving port 5
6 and the toner supply port 54 face each other. This shutter 11
Since the opening operation of the shutter 6 and the opening operation of the shutter member 88 occur simultaneously, the developing device 10 and the toner replenishing device 6 are in communication.

FIG. 16 shows a state in which the toner supply port 54 and the toner receiving port 56 are open, that is, a state in which the toner supply device 6 and the process cartridge 4 are mounted on the image forming apparatus main body. The head of the toner bottle 38 is engaged with the spherical projection 38f and the bottle holding member 44 and the hopper 4
Positioning is performed by abutting the rib 44c of the bottle holding member 44 engaged with 0. From this state, FIG.
When the operation lever 84 is rotated downward as indicated by an arrow F at 0, the cam portion 84b pulls the slide shaft 86 in the direction of the arrow J as shown in FIG. As a result, the shaft member 76 also starts to move in the J direction, and the collet chuck 70 comes into contact with the projection 72a of the cylindrical case 72. Accordingly, the collet chuck 70 starts closing and the stopper 68 is picked up. When the movement in the J direction further proceeds in this state, as shown in FIG. 17, the stopper 68 of the toner bottle 38 is removed by the collet chuck 70, and the toner in the toner bottle 38 is moved into the toner hopper section 40 of the bottle receiving table 42. It will be in a state where it can be discharged. This state corresponds to the state shown in FIG.

The toner replenishment is performed by detecting the toner density in the developing device 10 by the toner density sensor 28. When the detected value becomes equal to or lower than the reference density, the driving unit 60 operates as shown in FIG. 10 to rotate the joint 62 in the direction of arrow E. As a result, the joint 62 is engaged with the bottom of the toner bottle 38, and the toner bottle 38 also rotates in the same direction. When the toner bottle 38 rotates, the toner is discharged from the mouth 38 g and accumulates in the toner hopper 40. On the other hand, the rotation of the toner bottle 38 is transmitted through a rib 44 b integral with the bottle holding member 44, and the pushing member 46 slides and rotates on the inner wall surface of the toner hopper section 40, and the toner accumulated in the toner hopper section 40. Scrape up. The pushing member 46 is a replenishing amount regulating member 50.
When the toner passes through the slit hole, the toner is pushed out of the slit hole. The extruded toner falls in the toner introduction cover 52, passes through a toner supply port 54 and a toner receiving port 56 which are located below and are open, and the developing device 1
It is replenished within 0.

[0059]

According to the present invention, erroneous operation of the operation lever with respect to the toner supply device can be prevented, and the erroneous operation state can be easily returned to the normal state.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view illustrating a main part of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view illustrating a bottom portion of the bottle holder.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating an operation process of attaching the toner supply device to the main body.

FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view showing the toner supply device mounted on the main body in a state before the operation lever is displaced to the open dynamic position.

FIG. 5 is a partial front view showing the toner supply device mounted on the main body after the operation lever has been displaced to the open dynamic position;

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view showing the toner supply device mounted on the main body in a state before an operation lever is displaced from an opening movement position.

FIG. 7 is a partial front view of the toner replenishing device illustrating a state in which an operation lever and an operation portion of a locking member collide.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of an operation lever.

FIG. 9 is a schematic sectional view of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the toner supply device.

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of the toner supply device.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of a toner introduction cover having a toner supply port.

FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the relationship between the toner supply device and the main body.

FIG. 14 is a partial perspective view illustrating a state in which the locking member locks the bottle holder.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view illustrating a state where the toner replenishing device is at a predetermined draw-out position.

FIG. 16 is a cross-sectional view when the opening / closing means is in a state where the stopper of the toner bottle is closed.

FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view when the opening / closing means is in a state where the stopper of the toner bottle is opened.

FIG. 18 is a sectional view of a joint portion.

[Explanation of symbols]

 84 operation lever 84e cover 112 locking member 119 operation

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Shigeru Watanabe 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo, Ricoh Company Limited (72) Inventor Toshitaka Yamaguchi 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo・ In Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takeo Suda 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo ・ Ricoh Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hiroshi Yoshinaga 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo ・ Stock Inside Ricoh Company (72) Inventor Ken Amamiya 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo / Stock Company Ricoh Company (72) Mayumi Ohori 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo Company / Ricoh Company Inside

Claims (6)

[Claims] A toner supply device for detachably holding a toner bottle; a main body for reciprocatingly supporting the toner supply device between a predetermined draw-out position and a predetermined mounting position;
An image forming apparatus comprising: a main body provided with a locking member that locks the toner replenishing device at the predetermined mounting position; An opening / closing means for switching a toner bottle stopper held at a position between an open state and a closed state, and a position displacement between an open pivoting position and a closing pivoting position, and acting on the opening / closing means in accordance with the positional displacement; An image forming apparatus provided with operation levers for holding the plug in the open state in the open movement position and closing the plug in the closed movement position, wherein the predetermined mounting position Means for preventing the unlocking operation of the locking member that locks the toner replenishing device placed in accordance with the displacement of the operation lever from the open pivot position to the close pivot position. Characterized by having Image forming apparatus. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the toner replenishing device is at the predetermined mounting position, the toner replenishing device acts on the toner bottle on the toner replenishing device to replenish the toner bottle with the toner. The image forming apparatus further includes a biasing unit that presses and positions a part of the device to release the pressing in accordance with an operation of moving the toner replenishing device from the predetermined mounting position toward the predetermined withdrawal position. Image forming apparatus. 3. An image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said urging means is an elastic means interposed between said main body and a toner bottle placed on said toner supply device. Forming equipment. 4. A toner replenishing device for detachably holding a toner bottle, a main body for reciprocatingly supporting the toner replenishing device between a predetermined draw-out position and a predetermined mounting position.
An image forming apparatus comprising: a main body provided with a locking member that locks the toner replenishing device at the predetermined mounting position; An opening / closing means for switching a toner bottle stopper held at a position between an open state and a closed state, and a position displacement between an open pivoting position and a closing pivoting position, and acting on the opening / closing means in accordance with the positional displacement; An operation lever is provided for holding the plug in the open state in the open dynamic position and in the closed state in the closed dynamic position, respectively. When moving from the mounting position to the predetermined drawer position side, in the image forming apparatus having a toner bottle position holding unit for releasing the position holding of the toner bottle according to the movement, When the toner replenishing device is moved from an arbitrary position closer to the pull-out position than the predetermined mounting position to the predetermined mounting position under a state where the lever is in the open dynamic position, The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the operation lever that moves together with the toner replenishing device collides with the locking member at a front position closer to the predetermined pull-out position than the predetermined mounting position. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein when the toner supply device is further moved from the collision state toward the predetermined mounting position, the toner supply device collides with the locking member in accordance with the moving operation. The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the operating lever in the depressed state is pushed by the locking member to be displaced from the open dynamic position to the closed dynamic position. 6. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said operation lever is pivotally connected at one end to a toner supply device, and is part of said opening / closing means. An image forming apparatus comprising: a cam portion which engages with a barrel cam follower to act on the opening / closing means; and also has a handle for reciprocating the toner supply device.