CN101059682A - Processing unit, toner box and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a processing unit comprising: a unit main body detachably mounted to an image forming apparatus main body and having a developing body carrier for supplying developer to an image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed; detachable a toner cartridge that is mounted to the unit main body and accommodates the developer; a rotating member that is rotatably provided on the unit main body; and that is provided on the rotating member and contacts from the downstream side in the removal direction of the toner cartridge from the unit main Contact part of the toner cartridge.

Description

Process unit, toner cartridge and image forming device

Cross References to Related Applications

The Japanese Patent Publication No. 2006-85924 filed on March 27, 2006, the Japanese Patent Publication No. 2006-264689 filed on September 28, 2006, and the Japanese Patent Publication No. 2007 filed on January 22, 2007. -11598, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

technical field

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a laser printer, and a process unit and a toner cartridge attachable to or detachable from the image forming apparatus.

Background technique

A process unit in a laser printer has been proposed in which the toner cartridge can be detachably mounted to the unit body of the process unit (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 07-225514 and U.S. Patent No. 5,608,501 Number).

In the developing unit described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 07-225514 and US Pat. No. 5,608,501, the toner cartridge can be detachably mounted into a case of the developing unit. The housing of the developing unit is formed with a fall-off preventing guide groove. In the toner cartridge, the rod is arranged to be rotated relative to the mandrel, which protrudes laterally from the left and right sides and rotates the rotary vane, and the engagement protrusion is provided on the substrate of the rod through which the mandrel passes. )superior. In the developing unit described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 07-225514 and U.S. Patent No. 5,608,501, the toner cartridge is attached to the housing of the developing unit, and the lever is rotated around the spindle to fit the engaging protrusion into the developing unit. The fall-off prevention guide groove is provided so that the rod and the toner cartridge cannot fall off from the casing of the developing unit, and the attached state of the toner cartridge in the casing of the developing unit can be maintained.

Contents of the invention

In the developing unit described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 07-225514 and U.S. Patent No. 5,608,501, the engaging position of the engaging protrusion of the toner cartridge and the drop-off prevention guide groove of the developing unit casing is located at the toner The left and right sides of the cartridge, but not on the downstream side in the direction in which the toner cartridge is removed from the developing unit case. In other words, on the downstream side with respect to the detachment direction of the toner cartridge, the relative movement of the toner cartridge attached in the developing unit casing with respect to the developing unit casing is not restricted.

Therefore, when the toner cartridge is subjected to a force to move it in the detachment direction, the attached state of the toner cartridge in the developing unit casing cannot be reliably maintained.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a process unit that can reliably maintain an attached state in a developing unit housing, a toner cartridge that can be detachably attached to the process unit, and a process unit and a toner cartridge An image forming device to which it can be detachably attached.

One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a process unit including: a unit main body detachably mounted to an image forming apparatus main body and having a developer carrier for supplying developer to an image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed on a surface , a toner cartridge detachably mounted to the unit main body and containing developer, a rotating member rotatably provided on the unit main body, a rotating member provided on the rotating member and removed from the toner cartridge from the unit body The downstream side of the toner cartridge abuts against the engagement piece of the toner cartridge.

In addition, the image forming apparatus provided by the present invention includes: an image forming apparatus main body; and a processing unit detachably mounted to the image forming apparatus main body, wherein the processing unit includes: detachably attaching to the image forming apparatus main body and having a Unit body of a developer carrier for supplying developer to an image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface; a toner cartridge detachably attached to the unit body and containing developer; rotatably provided on the unit body a rotating member; provided on the rotating member and abutting against the engaging member of the toner cartridge from the downstream side in the direction in which the toner cartridge is removed from the unit body, the rotating member may be attached in the unit main body when the engaging member abuts against The toner cartridge is rotated between the engaged position of the toner cartridge and the disengaged position where the engagement of the engaging member and the toner cartridge is released, and the main body of the image forming apparatus is formed with an opening through which the processing unit passes and a switchable manner to cover the opening. cover, and

When the rotary member is not in the engaged position, the rotary member contacts the cover on the way of closing the opening in a state where both the unit main body and the toner cartridge are attached to the image forming apparatus main body.

Furthermore, the present invention provides a toner cartridge detachably mountable to a unit main body including a developer carrier and containing a developer, comprising: a first opening for supplying the developer to the unit main body is formed therein a toner casing on the top; a toner-side closing member for opening and closing the first opening; and a vibration action unit that applies a vibration action to the toner-side closing member when it is opened and closed.

Description of drawings

1 is a side sectional view showing an embodiment of a laser printer as an image forming apparatus of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a right side perspective view of a processing unit in the laser printer shown in FIG. 1, viewed from above the front side;

Fig. 3 is a left sectional view of the processing unit in Fig. 2;

Figures 4(a) and 4(b) show the toner cartridge removed from Figure 2, and Figure 4(a) shows the on/off lever in contact

The position makes the toner guide port open, and Figure 4(b) shows that the opening/closing lever is in the disengaged position to close the toner guide port;

5(a), 5(b) and 5(c) are left side perspective views of the toner cartridge of the process unit shown in FIG. The form in which the discharge port is opened, Fig. 5(b) shows the form in which the toner discharge port is closed, and Fig. 5(c) shows the inner shell of the toner cartridge;

Figure 6 shows the state when the toner cartridge is removed and the open/close lever is in the disengaged position shown in Figure 2, and the removed toner cartridge;

Figure 7 shows the configuration of the opening/closing lever in the disengaged position shown in Figure 2;

Fig. 8 is a left sectional view of the processing unit in Fig. 6;

Fig. 9 is a left sectional view of the processing unit in Fig. 7, wherein the swing member is in a second state;

Fig. 10 is a left sectional view of the processing unit in Fig. 7, wherein the swing member is in a third state;

Fig. 11 (a) and Fig. 11 (b) are the side sectional views showing the processing unit of the contact portion (contacting portion) of the toner cartridge by the contact portion (contact portion) and the processing unit side holding portion, wherein Fig. 11 (a) Illustrate the configuration of the on/off lever at the contact position, and Figure 11 (b) illustrates the configuration of the on/off lever at the disengagement position;

Fig. 12 shows a modified example of the contacted part and the contact part in Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 is a side sectional view of the laser printer shown in Fig. 1, showing a state where the opening/closing lever interferes with the front cover in the middle of closing the mounting port.

Detailed ways

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

<First embodiment>

1. The overall structure of the laser printer

FIG. 1 shows a side sectional view of an embodiment of a laser printer as an image forming apparatus of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1 , a laser printer 1 includes a main casing 2 as the main body of an image forming apparatus, a paper supply unit 4 accommodated in the main casing 2 for feeding paper 3 , and The image forming part 5 of the image.

(1) Main housing

On the side wall on one side of the main housing 2, an installation port 6 as an opening is formed, allowing the processing unit 20 hereinafter to pass through the installation port 6 during the installation and disassembly of the processing unit 20, and is provided with a cover as a cover. The front cover 7 covers the installation opening 6 in a switchable manner.

In the following description, in a state where the processing unit 20 is installed in the main housing 2, the side on which the front cover 7 is provided will be referred to as the "front side" (front side), and the opposite side will be referred to as "Rear side" (rear side). In FIG. 1, the near side in the paper thickness direction is called "left side", and the far side is called "right side". In some cases, the left-right direction may be referred to as the "width direction".

The front cover 7 is rotatably supported by a cover shaft 8 provided at a lower end portion thereof. When the front cover 7 is closed with the cover shaft 8 as the fulcrum, the front cover 7 closes the installation port 6, and when the front cover 7 is opened with the cover shaft 8 as the fulcrum, the installation port 6 is opened, and the processing unit 20 passes through the installation port 6 Be installed in the main casing 2 or be removed from the main casing 2.

In addition, an intervening portion 140 is provided on the front cover 7 .

The interference portion 140 is formed such that the interference portion 140 protrudes rearward from the rear side surface of the front cover 7 in a state where the front cover 7 is closed, in other words, protrudes toward the inside of the main case 2 .

(2) Paper supply section

The paper supply part 4 is arranged at the bottom inside the main casing 2, and includes: a paper supply tray 9, a separation roller 10, a separation pad 11, a paper supply roller 12, a paper dust removal roller 13, a pinch roller 14 and a resist roller (resist roller)15.

The paper supply tray 9 includes a paper pressure plate 16 and a lever 17 at the front end. The lever 17 lifts up the front end portion of the paper pressure plate 16 .

The paper 3 stacked on the paper pressure plate 16 is conveyed to the separation position between the separation roller 10 and the separation pad 11 by the rotation of the paper supply roller 12, and is separated one by one at the separation position, and then each paper 3 passes through the paper dust removal The space between the roller 13 and the pinch roller 14 is passed to the abutment roller 15 .

The sheet 3 conveyed to the abutment roller 15 is then conveyed to a transfer position between a transfer roller 31 and a photosensitive drum 28 which will be described in detail later and serves as an example of an image carrier.

(3) Image forming department

The image forming unit 5 includes a scanning unit 19 , a processing unit 20 and a fixing unit 21 .

(a) Scanner

The scanning unit 19 is disposed on the upper part of the main housing 2 and includes a laser beam source (not shown), a rotatably driven polygon mirror 22 , an fθ lens 23 , a mirror 24 , a lens 25 and a mirror 26 . Based on the image data, a laser beam light source emits a laser beam. The light beam is refracted by the polygon mirror 22 and passes through the fθ lens 23, as shown by the dotted line in the figure. The beam passage is then reflected by mirror 24 , passes through lens 25 , and is further reflected downwards by mirror 26 onto the surface of photosensitive drum 28 in processing unit 20 .

(b) Processing unit

2 is a right side perspective view of the processing unit in the laser printer shown in FIG. 1 viewed from the upper front side, and FIG. 3 is a left sectional view of the processing unit in FIG. 2 .

Figure 4(a) shows the toner box of the processing unit in Figure 2 is removed, the opening/closing lever is in the contact position and the toner guide port as the second opening is opened, Figure 4(b) shows the opening/closing lever The closing lever is at the disengaged position, and the toner guide port in Fig. 4(a) is closed.

5(a) is a perspective view of the toner cartridge of the process unit shown in FIG. ) in which the toner discharge port is closed, and FIG. 5(c) is a left side perspective view of the inner shell of the toner cartridge shown in FIG. 5(a) viewed from the upper rear side.

Figure 6 shows that the toner cartridge is removed, and the on/off lever is in the disengaged position in Figure 2, and the toner cartridge is also shown, and Figure 7 shows that the on/off lever is in the The form of the disengaged position in 2.

8 is a left sectional view of the processing unit in FIG. 6, and FIG. 9 is a left sectional view of the processing unit in FIG. 7, wherein the swing member is in a second state. Fig. 10 is a left sectional view of the processing unit in Fig. 7, wherein the swing member is in a third state. 11(a) and 11(b) are side sectional views of the processing unit showing the contact portion of the toner cartridge contacted portion and the processing unit side grip portion, wherein FIG. 11(a) illustrates that the open/close lever is in the contact position Figure 11(b) illustrates the form in which the on/off lever is in the disengaged position. FIG. 12 shows a modified example of the contacted portion and the contact portion in FIG. 11 .

The processing unit 20 is arranged at the lower part of the scanning part 19 in the main housing 2, and is detachably installed on the main housing 2 through the installation opening 6, as shown in FIG. 1 . The processing unit 20 is installed or removed from the main housing 2 in the oblique underground rear (installation direction) and oblique above-the-ground front (removal direction), respectively, as shown by the bold arrows in the figure.

The processing unit 20 as a whole includes: a drum part 27 formed in the rear half of the processing unit 20, and a developing part 30 formed in the front half of the processing unit 20 as a unit main body, and further includes a toner cartridge 40 detachably installed to the processing unit 20, as shown in FIG. 3 .

(b-1) Drums

The drum section 27 includes a drum casing 76 , and includes a photosensitive drum 28 , a scorotron charger 29 , a transfer roller 31 , and a cleaning brush 32 , which are installed in the drum casing 76 .

Drum shell 76 is box-shaped, and its width direction is longitudinal, and front part is opened, and integrally comprises drum rear wall 77, drum right wall 79 (seeing Fig. 2), drum left wall 80 (seeing Fig. 2), drum top wall 81 and drum bottom wall 82.

As shown in FIG. 2 , the drum right wall 79 and the drum left wall 80 are provided spaced apart from each other in the width direction.

A drum bottom wall 82 extends between the lower edge of the drum right wall 79 and the drum left wall 80 . A drum top wall 81 extends between the upper edge of the drum right wall 79 and the drum left wall 80 . Drum rear wall 77 extends between the rear edge of drum right wall 79 and drum left wall 80 as shown in FIG. 3 .

In the middle of the drum top wall 81 in an anteroposterior direction, a laser inlet 78 is formed so that the laser beam emitted from the scanning section 19 is irradiated onto the photosensitive drum 28 . The first passage port 84 is opened between the front end edge of the drum bottom wall 82 and the rear end edge of the developing body rear bottom wall 68 of the developing section 30 described later. The second passage port 85 is opened in the middle of the drum rear wall 77 in the vertical direction. Both the first passage port 84 and the second passage port 85 are formed in a longitudinal rectangle in the width direction.

In the drum casing 76, a space defined by the drum rear wall 77, the drum right wall 79, the drum left wall 80, the rear half of the drum bottom wall 82, and the drum top wall 81 forms a drum accommodating portion 83, and the drum accommodating portion 83 Accommodates photosensitive drum 28 , corona charger 29 , transfer roller 31 and cleaning brush 32 . The drum accommodating portion 83 has a cylindrical shape, and its front and rear sides are opened.

Further, a space defined by the drum right wall 79 , the drum left wall 80 , and the front half of the drum bottom wall 82 forms a developing body seating portion 86 in which the developing portion 30 is disposed. The developing body seating portion 86 is formed as a bottom frame in a flat-bottomed U-shape, the upper side of which is open when viewed in front section.

The drum accommodating portion 83 and the developing body accommodating portion 86 communicate with each other.

The photosensitive drum 28 is cylindrical and includes: a drum body 33 whose outermost layer is a positively charged photosensitive layer formed of polycarbonate or the like, and a metal drum shaft 34 along the axial direction of the drum body 33 Extends through the center of the axis of the drum body 33 . Both end portions in the axial direction of the drum shaft 34 are supported between the drum right wall 79 and the drum left wall 80 of the drum casing 76 (see FIG. 2 ). Regarding the drum shaft 34 , the drum body 33 is rotatably supported, and as a result, the photosensitive drum 28 is rotatable about the drum shaft 34 within the drum casing 76 . A rotational driving force from a motor (not shown) rotationally drives the photosensitive drum 28 in a direction indicated by a bold arrow in the drawing.

The scorotron charger 29 is supported on the drum top wall 81 of the drum casing 76 , located obliquely behind and above the photosensitive drum 28 and facing the photosensitive drum 28 at a distance so as not to contact it. The corotron charger 29 includes: a discharge wire 35 opposite to the photosensitive drum 28 at a distance, and a grid 36 arranged between the discharge wire 35 and the photosensitive drum 28 for controlling the electric quantity from the discharge wire 35 to the photosensitive drum 28 .

In this scorotron charger 29, a bias voltage is applied to the grid 36 while a high voltage is applied to the discharge wire 35 to generate a corona discharge, thereby uniformly positively charging the surface of the photosensitive drum 28.

The transfer roller 31 is provided below the photosensitive drum 28 in the drum casing 76, and is in opposite contact with the photosensitive drum 28 in the vertical direction to form a nip between itself and the photosensitive drum 28 as a nip. The above-mentioned transfer position between the photosensitive drum 28 and the transfer roller 31 .

Further, the transfer roller 31 includes a metal roller shaft rotatably supported between the drum right wall 79 and the drum left wall 80 of the drum casing 76 , and a rubber roller formed of a conductive rubber material and covering the roller shaft. When performing transfer, a transfer bias is applied to the transfer roller 31 . The driving force from a motor (not shown) rotationally drives the transfer roller 31 .

The cleaning brush 32 is fitted on the drum rear wall 77 of the drum casing 76 and is arranged to be in opposite contact with the photosensitive drum 28 at an obliquely upper rear portion of the photosensitive drum 28 and an obliquely lower rear portion of the scorotron charger 29 .

(b-2) Developing section

The developing unit 30 is integrally formed with the drum unit 27 in the developing body accommodating portion 86 of the drum casing 76 .

The developing unit 30 includes a developer housing 62 as a second housing, a supply roller 101 , a developer roller 104 as a developer carrier, and a layer thickness regulating blade 107 provided in the developer housing 62 .

The developing body casing 62 integrally includes: a box-shaped rear casing 38 which is longitudinal in the width direction and whose rear side is opened, and a front side casing 39 whose upper and front sides are opened and whose width is larger than that of the rear side casing 38.

The rear casing 38 as a whole includes: a developing body front wall 64, a developing body right wall 65 (see FIG. 2), a developing body left wall 66 (see FIG. 2), a developing body top wall 67 and a developing body rear bottom wall 68.

The developing body right wall 65 and the developing body left wall 66 are generally rectangular when viewed from the side, and face each other with a distance in the width direction.

The rear bottom wall 68 of the developing body extends between the lower edge of the right wall 65 and the left wall 66 of the developing body, and integrally includes a first bottom wall 73 and a second bottom wall 74 arranged from rear to front.

The first bottom wall 73 is provided on the rear side of the rear bottom wall 68 of the developing body, and is formed in a tongue shape inclined downward from the front side to the rear side.

Viewed from the side, the second bottom wall 74 is generally semicircular and extends continuously from the front edge of the first bottom wall 73 along the supply roller 101 .

The developing body top wall 67 extends between the upper end edges of the developing body right wall 65 and the developing body left wall 66 , and integrally includes the first top wall 115 and the second top wall 116 .

The first top wall 115 is provided in front of the developer top wall 67 and extends obliquely upward and forward.

Viewed from the left side, the second top wall 116 is generally formed in an inverted L shape, extends downward from the rear end edge of the first top wall 115 , and then bends and extends backward.

The developing body front wall 64 extends between the front end edges of the developing body right wall 65 and the developing body left wall 66, and the developing body front wall 64 has an upper end edge connected to the curved portion of the above-mentioned second top wall 116 and connected to the second bottom wall. The lower end edge that the front end edge of 74 connects, and integrally comprises: vertical wall 120, it extends upwards from the front end edge of second bottom wall 74, and curved wall 121, it bends backward from the upper end edge of vertical wall 120, and then bends again And it extends upward and connects with the curved part of the second top wall 116, forming a generally L-shape viewed from the left side.

The rear end edges of the developing body top wall 67 , the developing body right wall 65 , the developing body left wall 66 and the developing body rear bottom wall 68 define an insertion hole 87 , and the insertion hole is opened at the rear side of the rear housing 38 . The insertion hole 87 is formed in a rectangular shape longitudinally in the width direction.

In the rear housing 38, the space defined by the developing body front wall 64, the developing body right wall 65, the developing body left wall 66, the developing body top wall 67 and the developing body rear bottom wall 68 serves as the developing chamber 72, and the developing chamber 72 The supply roller 101, the developing roller 104, and the layer thickness adjustment blade 107 are accommodated.

The front case 39 is integrally formed of a right wall 69 as a first wall (see FIG. 2 ), a left wall 70 as a second wall (see FIG. 2 ), and a developing body front bottom wall 75 .

Viewed from the side, the front bottom wall 75 of the developing body is generally formed in a C shape, and integrally includes a curved wall 122 forming its rear half, and an L-shaped wall 123 forming its front half.

Viewed from the side, the curved wall 122 is generally formed as a minor arc, the front edge of which is connected to the rear end edge of the L-shaped wall 123 .

From the side, the L-shaped wall 123 is generally formed in an L shape extending forward from its rear end edge and bent to extend upward. In the widthwise central portion of the front end portion and upper end portion of the L-shaped wall 123, an engaging portion 124 is integrally formed, which is hook-shaped when viewed from the side and whose upper end edge is curved and slightly extended forward. As shown in Figure 6, at the front end portion of the L-shaped wall 123, the positioning groove 138 recessed downward from the upper end edge of the front end portion of the L-shaped wall 123 is formed at an interval of approximately L-shaped outwards from the midpoint in the width direction. every quarter of the width of the wall 123 .

The right wall 69 and the left wall 70 are disposed opposite to each other in the width direction so as to sandwich the developing body front bottom wall 75 between them, and are generally formed in a rectangular shape as viewed from the side, as shown in FIG. 2 . For ease of description in FIG. 2, the oblique front upper portion of the right wall 69 is cut away.

On the right wall 69 and the left wall 70 , first insertion holes 97 extending through the right wall 69 and the left wall 70 in the width direction are formed at their centers in the front-rear direction and the up-down direction, respectively. The right wall 69 and the left wall 70 integrally include a square column 89 at the rear end portion of each laterally inner surface, as shown in FIG. 4(a).

The square column 89 is generally formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape, longitudinal in the vertical direction, and a guide groove 119 is formed at the upper end, and the front end surface is recessed toward the rear side. The square post 89 integrally includes a rib 90 on the laterally inside surface of the square post 89 below the guide groove 119 . The rib 90 is formed to extend inward in the lateral direction, and thus generally forms a minor arc at the side portion, and is arranged to bend generally along the curved wall 122 of the front bottom wall 75 of the developing body while keeping a slight distance from the curved wall 122 in the radial direction. As shown in Figure 8.

In the front side casing 39 , a portion defined by the right wall 69 , the left wall 70 , and the developing body front bottom wall 75 forms a toner cartridge accommodating chamber 71 as an accommodating portion for accommodating the toner cartridge 40 . The toner cartridge accommodating chamber 71 is formed as a bottom frame whose upper and front sides are opened. In the toner cartridge accommodating chamber 71 , the right wall 69 is located at the right end of the accommodated toner cartridge 40 , and the left wall 70 is located at the left end of the accommodated toner cartridge 40 .

The rear case 38 and the front case 39 are connected through the front side surface of the vertical wall 120 of the developing body front wall 64 and the rear side surface of the curved wall 122 of the developing body front bottom wall 75 . A toner guide port 88 extending through the vertical wall 120 and the curved wall 122 in the thickness direction and serving as a second opening is formed at the central position of the side of the connecting portion of the vertical wall 120 and the curved wall 122 . The toner guide port 88 is longitudinally rectangular in the width direction, and the toner guide port 88 communicates the toner cartridge accommodating chamber 71 and the developing chamber 72 .

The toner cartridge accommodating chamber 71 includes a shutter 111 as a second blocking member and an open/close lever 113 as a rotating member.

The flashboard 111 is a thin plate, which is formed as a minor arc with a circumference slightly shorter than that of the curved wall 122 when viewed from a cross section, as shown in FIG. 3 . A through hole 112 that is rectangular in front view and extends through the shutter 111 in the thickness direction as shown in FIG. 4( b ) is formed at the lateral center position of the upper half of the shutter 111 . In each of upper and lower end portions of both side end portions of the shutter 111 , a notch portion 136 cut into a generally L-shape as seen from the front is formed. Engaged portions 139 are respectively provided at upper end portions of the shutter plate 111 laterally inward from the respective notch portions 136 . The engaged portions 139 are engaged by respective second radial projections 57 of the toner cartridge 40 when the toner cartridge 40 is in a mounted state in the process unit 20 .

In the toner cartridge accommodating chamber 71, the lateral end portions of the shutter 111 are inserted between the curved wall 122 and the rib 90 of the square column 89, and thus the shutter 111 is rotatably supported along the side shape of the rib 90. , as shown in Figure 8.

The shutter 111 can move between the developing body closing position (see FIG. 8 ) and the developing body opening position (see FIG. 3 ). The body opening position is at a position where the through hole 112 is disposed opposite to the toner guide port 88, thereby allowing the toner guide port 88 to be disengaged forward.

The sealing member 125 is inserted between the curved wall 122 and the shutter 111 . The sealing member 125 is formed in a sheet shape such as felt or the like, and is mounted on the front side surface of the curved wall 122 so as not to block the toner guide port 88 .

As shown in Fig. 4, the opening/closing lever 113 is generally formed in a U-shape when viewed from the top, and integrally includes: a right support portion 108 as a first arm, a left support portion 109 as a second arm, and a contact member as a contact member. Handling unit side holding part 110 .

Viewed from the right side, the right support portion 108 and the left support portion 109 are generally formed as P-shaped thin plates. At the usual central positions of the rear half portions of the right support portion 108 and the left support portion 109, a circular hole 114 is formed respectively, and penetrates the right support portion 108 and the left support portion 109 in the thickness direction.

On each laterally outer surface of the right support portion 108 and the left support portion 109 , a support column 135 is provided at a position corresponding to the circular hole 114 . The support cylinder 135 has the same inner diameter as the circular hole 114 and extends outward in the width direction. The outer diameter of the support cylinder 135 is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the first insertion hole 97 of the above-mentioned right wall 69 and left wall 70 .

In upper portions of the circular holes 114 of the right support portion 108 and the left support portion 109 , receiving portions 117 are formed, respectively. Each receiving portion 117 has an upper edge concave toward the circular hole 114 and is generally U-shaped when viewed from the side.

Seen from the front side, the handling unit side holding portion 110 is a generally rectangular thin plate extending laterally, and extends between the front ends (free ends) of the right support portion 108 and the left support portion 109 . The handling unit-side grip 110 has a grip 118 as a first grip, the lower end edge of which is recessed upward at the center position in the width direction. In the handling unit side holding portion 110, on the two lateral ends of the circular hole 114 side surfaces, a contact protrusion 141 is respectively provided, and the contact protrusion 141 is generally rectangular parallelepiped, and serves as the first part protruding to the circular hole 114 . As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the side surface (rear side surface) of the contact protrusion 141 on the side of the round hole 114 is provided with a contact portion 143 (as a first portion), which is formed to face the round hole 114 side ( The convex shape of the rear side). Specifically, the contact portion 143 is semicircular.

As shown in Figure 4 (a), the respective supporting cylinders 135 of the right supporting part 108 and the left supporting part 109 are installed in the first insertion hole 97 of the right wall 69 and the left wall 70, so that the opening/closing lever 113 is rotated Supported on the right wall 69 and the left wall 70 . In this state, when there is the opening/closing lever 113, the right support portion 108 and the left support portion 109 rotatably supported on the corresponding right wall 69 and left wall 70 extend to the direction of detachment of the above-mentioned toner cartridge 40. Downstream, or specifically extending to the front side. The opening/closing lever 113 is allowed to rotate between the disengaged position (see Figure 4(b)) and the contact position (see Figure 4(a)). 110 is located below the round hole 114 , and at the contact position, the handle 110 on the processing unit side is at the same position as the round hole 114 in the vertical direction. The disengagement position (see Figure 11(b)) is located below the contact position (see Figure 11(a)). Further, in the state shown in FIG. 4( b ), that is, in the state where the toner cartridge 40 is not attached to the developing portion 30 , the opening/closing lever 113 is in the disengaged position by its own weight.

As shown in FIG. 3 , regardless of the position of the opening/closing lever 113 , the grip portion 118 is always exposed outward from the toner cartridge accommodating chamber 71 as viewed from the side.

In the developing chamber 72 of the rear side housing 38, the supply roller 101, the developing roller 104, and the layer thickness regulating blade 107 are housed, as described above.

The supply roller 101 is provided obliquely below the toner guide port 88 on the rear side. The supply roller 101 includes a metal supply roller shaft 102 , and a sponge roller 103 formed of a conductive foam material and covering the supply roller shaft 102 . Both axial end portions of the supply roller shaft 102 are rotatably supported on the developing body right wall 65 and the developing body left wall 66 at positions corresponding to the second bottom wall 74 in the front-rear direction. Driving force from a motor (not shown) is input to the supply roller shaft 102, and the supply roller 101 is rotationally driven.

The developing roller 104 is provided on the rear side of the supply roller 101 so as to be in compression contact with the supply roller 101 . The developing roller 104 is longitudinal in the width direction, and includes a metal developing roller shaft 105 , and a rubber roller 106 formed of a conductive rubber material and covering the developing roller shaft 105 .

Both axial end portions of the developing roller shaft 105 are rotatably supported on the developing body right wall 65 and the developing body left wall 66 at positions corresponding to the first bottom wall 73 in the front-rear direction. The rubber roller 106 is formed of conductive polyurethane rubber or silicone rubber containing fine carbon particles or the like, and its surface is covered with a resin having excellent abrasion resistance such as polyurethane rubber or fluorine-containing polyimide . A driving force from a motor (not shown) is input to the developing roller shaft 105 to rotationally drive the developing roller 104 . During development, a developing bias is applied to the developing roller 104 through a lateral end portion of the developing roller shaft 105 exposed from the developing body right wall 65, as shown in FIG.

The layer thickness adjusting blade 107 is formed of sheet metal elastic material, and its free end includes a pressure member 148 whose cross-section is generally semicircular when viewed from the side and is formed of electrically insulating or conductive silicone rubber or polyurethane rubber ,As shown in Figure 3. In the layer thickness regulating blade 107, its near edge is supported on the second top wall 116 of the developing body top wall 67 above the developing roller 104, whereby the pressure member 148 can be connected to the developing body by the elastic force of the layer thickness regulating blade 107. The rollers 104 are in press contact.

In the drum section 27 and the developing section 30 , the front end portion of the drum top wall 81 of the drum section 27 is fitted onto the above-mentioned curved portion of the second top wall 116 of the developing section 30 , and the developing body right wall 65 of the developing section 30 The respective rear end edges of the developing body left wall 66 and the developing body left wall 66 are in contact with the front end edges of the drum right wall 79 and the drum left wall 80 respectively, as shown in FIG. 2 . Thus, the developing section 30 is assembled to the drum section 27 . In a state where the developing portion 30 is assembled to the drum portion 27 , the above-mentioned first passage port 84 is formed between the developing body rear bottom wall 68 and the drum bottom wall 82 as shown in FIG. 3 .

As described above, the toner cartridge 40 is detachably mounted to the toner cartridge accommodating chamber 71 of the developing section 30 . When the toner cartridge 40 is in the installed state in the processing unit 20, the toner cartridge 40 can be installed to the In the main housing 2 or removed from the main housing 2. The direction in which the toner cartridge 40 is attached to or removed from the toner cartridge accommodating chamber 71 of the processing unit 20 is the same as the direction in which the processing unit 20 is attached to or removed from the main casing 2 The direction of removal in 2 is the same, that is, the oblique downward and backward direction (installation direction) and the oblique forward and upward direction (removal direction). A direction perpendicular to the direction in which the toner cartridge 40 is attached to or removed from the toner cartridge accommodating chamber 71 is the width direction.

Since the toner cartridge accommodating chamber 71 is located in front of the process unit 20, when the front cover 7 is opened and the installation port 6 is released, the toner cartridge 40 will be exposed from the installation port 6, as shown in FIG. 1 .

The toner cartridge 40 is generally σ-shaped in cross-section from the left side, and is longitudinal in the width direction, as shown in FIG. Resins and similar materials are formed.

(b-3-i) Outer shell

Seen in cross section from the left side, the outer casing 41 is generally σ-shaped like the toner cartridge 40 , and includes a cylinder 43 and a guide rod 44 as a whole.

As shown in Figure 5 (a), the cylinder 43 is formed as a hollow cylinder, which is generally rectangular when viewed from the side, and is longitudinal in the width direction, and includes an outer circular wall 45 as a first blocking member, and a pair of outer circular walls 45 in the width direction. The outer edge wall 46 which is the both side end surfaces of the outer circular wall 45 in the direction.

At the center position of the rear side surface of the outer circular wall 45 in the left and right and up and down directions, a first toner discharge port 49 is formed extending through the outer circular wall 45 in the thickness direction. The first toner discharge port 49 is formed in a rectangular shape, which is longitudinal in the width direction.

At both lateral end portions of the rear side surface of the outer circular wall 45, upper guide grooves 129 are respectively formed at positions above the first toner discharge port 49, the upper guide grooves 129 extending through the outer circular wall 45 in the thickness direction, and lower guide grooves 130 are respectively formed at positions below the first toner discharge port 49 , and the lower guide grooves 130 extend through the outer circular wall 45 in the thickness direction. Viewed from the rear, each guide groove 129 and guide groove 130 is rectangular, and the circumferential direction is longitudinal, and its circumferential length is about twice that of the first toner discharge port 49, and its width is approximately the first toner discharge port 49. 49 half of the length of the circumference.

In the lower part of the front side surface of the outer circular wall 45, the positioning ribs 137 as the positioning portion are respectively arranged on the positions of a quarter of the outer circular wall 45 width distance outwards in the width direction from the center, as shown in FIG. 6 Show. Each positioning rib 137 is provided between a contacted member 142 described later and the guide rod 44 in the width direction. The positioning rib 137 extends downward continuously from the upper half of the front side surface of the outer circular wall 45 , is bent and extends obliquely downward, and then is bent again and extends backward, and continues to the lower part of the front side surface of the outer circular wall 45 half, thus forming a generally isosceles trapezoidal sheet viewed from the side. The width of the positioning rib 137 is slightly narrower than the width of the aforementioned positioning groove 138 .

Protruding exposure holes 149 are formed at portions sandwiched in the width direction by the positioning ribs 137 on the lower portion of the front surface of the outer circular wall 45 . The protruding exposure hole 149 is rectangular and extends through the outer circular wall 45 in the thickness direction.

On both lateral end portions of the lower portion of the front side surface of the outer circular wall 45 , contacted members 142 are provided as the second portion. Viewed from the left side, the contacted part 142 is generally formed in an arc shape, and protrudes forward from the front side surface of the outer circular wall 45 , and the dimension in the width direction is almost the same as the contact protrusion 141 on the above-mentioned opening/closing lever 113 . As shown in FIG. 11 , the front side surface of the contacted member 142 includes a guide surface 146 and a contacted surface 147 . Seen from the left side, the guide surface 146 is formed so as to extend obliquely forward and upward in a straight manner, and then curve convexly to the front side halfway. The contacted surface 147 is formed so as to continue from the upper end edge of the guide surface 146 , and to protrude more forward than the convex curvature of the guide surface 146 . On the contacted surface 147, a plurality of contacted portions 144 (as second portions) recessed backward are provided in the circumferential direction (upper and lower directions). Specifically, the contacted portion 144 is formed to be recessed in a semicircle. Although a plurality of contacted portions 144 are provided in FIG. 11 , only one contacted portion is provided in FIG. 12 .

A second insertion hole 126 is formed extending through each outer edge wall 46 in the width direction at a generally central position of each outer edge wall 46 in the front-rear and up-down directions, as shown in FIG. 5( a ). In addition, on each outer edge wall 46 , an insertion groove 127 is formed extending through each outer edge wall 46 in the width direction, and the insertion groove 127 is concentric with the second insertion hole 126 and located in the radial direction of the second insertion hole 126 . The inferior arc on the outside, specifically, is in the range from 12 o'clock to 2 o'clock when viewed from the left.

In addition, each outer edge wall 46 is integrally formed with a positioning protrusion 131 extending rearward from a position corresponding to the upper end edge of the upper guide groove 129 and bent to protrude outward in the width direction. The portion of the positioning protrusion 131 protruding outward in the width direction is formed in a columnar shape whose outer diameter is smaller than the groove width of the guide groove 119 (see FIG. 4( a )) of the front case 39 of the processing unit 20 described above.

The guide rod 44 is provided between the left and right contacted members 142, more specifically, it is provided at the upper end portion and the lateral center position of the front surface of the outer circular wall 45, and includes a toner cartridge side holding portion 91 as a second holding portion, And the swing member 92, as shown in FIG. 6 .

Viewed from the top, the toner cartridge side holding portion 91 is generally formed in a rectangular shape with a width direction of the longitudinal direction, and its rear end portion is fixed to the outer circular wall 45, as shown in FIG. 8 .

Viewed from the top, the swinging member 92 is generally rectangular, and viewed from a side section, is generally T-shaped, including a handle portion 93 , a first restricting portion 94 and a second restricting portion 95 as a whole.

Viewed from the top, the grip portion 93 and the second restricting portion 95 are generally formed in a rectangle.

The first restricting portion 94 is formed in a rectangular shape when viewed from the front, and generally J-shaped when viewed in cross-section from the left side. Its lower end portion includes a first engaging portion 132 and a second engaging portion 133 sequentially from top to bottom. The first engaging portion 132 is formed as a groove extending in the width direction such that the rear side surface of the lower end portion of the first restricting portion 94 is recessed forward. Viewed in cross-section from the left side, the second engaging portion 133 is generally formed in a hook shape in which the lowermost end portion of the first restricting portion 94 is slightly bent backward under the first engaging portion 132 .

In addition, the rear end portion of the grip portion 93 , the upper end portion of the first restricting portion 94 , and the front end portion of the second restricting portion 95 are connected to each other. At the connection position between the rear end portion of the grip portion 93 and the upper end portion of the first restricting portion 94 , a shaft insertion hole 96 is formed extending through the grip portion 93 and the first restricting portion 94 in the width direction.

On the front side surface of the outer circular wall 45 , a pair of shaft support portions 98 are integrally formed so as to protrude forward and laterally sandwich the grip portion 93 of the swing member 92 . The insertion shaft 37 extending between the two shaft support portions 98 is inserted through the shaft insertion hole 96 of the swing member 92 , thereby causing the swing member 92 to be swingably supported on the outer circular wall 45 .

Further, the rear end portion of the toner cartridge side grip portion 91 is connected to the second restricting portion 95 of the swing member 92 through the elastic member 128 . Specifically, the elastic member 128 may be a leaf spring, one end of which is connected to the rear end of the toner cartridge side holding portion 91 by a bolt 134 , and the other end is engaged with the second restricting portion 95 . Accordingly, the swing member 92 is continuously urged to rotate clockwise about the insertion shaft 37 , thereby bringing the second restricting portion 95 close to the toner cartridge side grip portion 91 by the elastic force of the elastic member 128 .

(b-3-ii) Inner shell

The inner casing 42 is longitudinal in the width direction, forming a hollow cylinder, whose size is smaller than the cylinder 43 of the outer casing 41, and as a whole includes a cylindrical inner circular wall 51 and a pair of oblate flats that block two lateral surfaces of the inner circular wall 51. The disc-shaped inner edge wall 52 is shown in Fig. 5(c). Between the centers of the respective inner side edge walls 52 facing in the width direction, an agitator rotation shaft 53 extends, as shown in FIG. 3 . The stirrer rotating shaft 53 is rotatably supported on the inner edge wall 52 and is provided with a stirrer 56 . The wiper 50 is provided on the stirrer 56 . The wiper 50 is formed of a material such as rubber, and is mounted on both axial (lateral) end portions of the agitator rotating shaft 53 .

Both lateral end portions of the agitator rotating shaft 53 protrude outward in the width direction from the respective inner side edge walls 52, as shown in FIG. 5(c). A ring 100 is attached to each protrusion of the agitator rotation shaft 53 . The outer diameter of the ring 100 is slightly smaller than the diameter of the second insertion hole 126 (see FIG. 5( a )) of the outer casing 41 .

On the inner side edge walls 52, there are respectively provided lateral projections 54 as first engaging portions, which protrude outward in the width direction at positions radially outward from the agitator rotation shaft 53, and laterally The protrusions 54 face each other in the width direction at this position. Viewed from the side, each lateral projection 54 is generally formed into a minor arc, and the circumferential length is about 1/2 of the insertion groove 127 of the outer casing 41 (mentioned above), and the radial length is slightly smaller than the groove of the insertion groove 127. Width.

Further, a part on the circumference of the lateral center of the inner circular wall 51, specifically, at a position rotated by 90° in the counterclockwise direction relative to the lateral protrusion 54 as viewed from the left side, forms the second toner discharge port 55, And as a first opening, it extends through the inner circular wall 51 in the thickness direction. Seen from the radially outer side, the second toner discharge port 55 is formed in a rectangle having a size generally equal to that of the first toner discharge port 49 of the outer casing 41 .

On the inner circular wall 51 , the first radial protrusion 48 is provided along the peripheral edge of the second toner discharge port 55 and protrudes outward in the radial direction. The first radial protrusion 48 is formed in a rectangular shape as viewed from the radially outer side, and is formed of an elastic material such as rubber or a sponge sheet.

On both lateral end portions of the inner peripheral wall 51, second radial protrusions 57 as second engaging portions are respectively integrally provided at positions slightly higher than the upper edges of the first radial protrusions 48, and radially Protrude outward. In addition, on both lateral end portions of the inner circular wall 51, third radial protrusions 63 as second engaging portions are integrally provided respectively at positions lower than the lower edges of the first radial protrusions 48, and at the project radially outward. The second radial protrusion 57 and the third radial protrusion 63 have the same size. Their transverse lengths are designed to be smaller than the groove widths of the upper guide groove 129 and the lower guide groove 130 of the outer casing 41 .

Further, on the inner circular wall 51, a fourth radial protrusion 99 is formed at a position opposite to the second toner discharge port 55 with respect to the center of the inner housing 42, protrudes outward in the radial direction, and extends in the width direction. extension, as shown in Figure 3. The size of the fourth radial protrusion 99 in the width direction is set to be smaller than the size of the protrusion exposure hole 149 of the outer case 41 in the width direction.

(b-3-iii) Assembly of inner shell to outer shell

In the toner cartridge 40 described above, the inner case 42 is accommodated in the outer case 41, and both lateral ends of the agitator rotating shaft 53 of the inner case 42 are inserted into the second end of the outer case 41 together with the above-mentioned ring 100, respectively. Hole 126 engages, as shown in Figure 5(a). After that, each lateral protrusion 54 of the inner housing 42 protrudes outward from each insertion groove 127 of the outer housing 41 in the width direction, and each second radial protrusion 57 of the inner housing 42 In the radial direction of the outer casing 41, each upper guide groove 129 protrudes outward, and each third radial protrusion 63 of the inner casing 42 protrudes from the outer casing 41 in the radial direction of the inner casing 42. Each of the lower guide grooves 130 protrudes outward. In addition, the fourth radial protrusion 99 of the inner housing 42 is exposed in the protrusion exposure hole 149 of the outer housing 41 (see FIG. 8 ).

Thus, the inner case 42 is fitted into the outer case 41 , and the inner case 42 is rotatably supported on both outer side edge walls 46 of the outer case 41 . As a result, each lateral protrusion 54 is allowed to slide along the corresponding insertion groove 127, each second radial protrusion 57 is allowed to slide in the corresponding upper guide groove 129, and each third radial protrusion 63 is allowed to slide in the corresponding upper guide groove 129. The corresponding lower guide groove 130 slides. The lateral protrusion 54 , the second radial protrusion 57 , and the third radial protrusion 63 are rotatable together with the second toner discharge port 55 relative to the outer circular wall 45 .

When the thus assembled toner cartridge 40 is in a state of being not installed in the process unit 20 as shown in FIG. The radial projections 99 are engaged, and the rotation of the inner housing 42 relative to the outer housing 41 is restricted. This state of the swing member 92 is hereinafter referred to as a first state.

In the first state described above, when the toner cartridge side grip 91 and the swing member 92 are held together, the swing member 92 rotates counterclockwise around the insertion shaft 37 against the elastic force of the elastic member 128 . After the toner cartridge side grip 91 and the swing member 92 are held together for a certain period of time, the swing of the swing member 92 stops. This state of the swing member 92 is hereinafter referred to as a second state.

In the second state, as shown in FIG. 9 , the first engaging portion 132 of the aforementioned first restricting portion 94 is separated from the fourth radially protruding portion 99 of the inner housing 42 , and the first engaging portion 132 is separated from the fourth radially protruding portion 99 . Part 99 is disengaged. However, the rear end portion of the second limiting portion 95 is in contact with the inner circular wall 51 of the inner housing 42 , so that the rotation of the inner housing 42 relative to the outer housing 41 is restricted.

Therefore, when the swing member 92 is in the third state between the first state and the second state, the engagement of the first engaging portion 132 and the fourth radially protruding portion 99 is disengaged, and the rear of the second restricting portion 95 also The end portion is not in contact with the inner circular wall 51 of the inner housing 42, and the restriction of rotation of the inner housing 42 relative to the outer housing 41 is released, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 10 . In this case, when the inner housing 42 is rotated relative to the outer housing 41, each lateral protrusion 54 is guided to a corresponding insertion groove 127, and each second radial protrusion 57 is guided to a corresponding upper guide groove. 129 , each third radial protrusion 63 is guided to the corresponding lower guide groove 130 , as shown in FIG. 5( b ). When the inner housing 42 rotates relative to the outer housing 41, the first radial protrusion 48 of the inner housing 42 is in sliding contact with the inner side surface of the outer circular wall 45 of the outer housing 41, thereby making the outer housing 41 and the inner housing 42 is kept airtight and watertight, as shown in FIG. 3 .

Moreover, as shown in Figures 5(b) and 8, when the swing member 92 is in the third state, the inner casing 42 can be rotated to the toner closing position, at this time, the second toner row of the inner circular wall 51 The outlet 55 is blocked by a part of the outer circular wall 45 of the outer case 41 , differently from the first toner discharge port 49 , and the inner parts of the outer case 41 and the inner case 42 are sealed. At this time, each second radial protrusion 57 is in contact with the upper edge of the corresponding upper guide groove 129, each third radial protrusion 63 is in contact with the upper end edge of the corresponding lower guide groove 130, and each transverse protrusion 63 is in contact with the upper edge of the corresponding lower guide groove 130. 54 is in contact with the front edge of the corresponding insertion groove 127 . In addition, the inner housing 42 can be rotated to the toner release position. At this time, the outer housing 41 and the inner housing 41 are connected by rotating the first toner discharge port 49 and the second toner discharge port 55 to face each other. The inner portion of the housing 42 is released, as shown in Figure 5(a). At this time, each second radial protrusion 57 is in contact with the lower edge of the corresponding upper guide groove 129, each third radial protrusion 63 is in contact with the lower edge of the corresponding lower guide groove 130, and each lateral protrusion 54 is in contact with the rear edge of the corresponding insertion groove 127 .

In the inner case 42, positively chargeable, non-magnetic one-component toner is contained as a developer. As the toner, polymerized toner is used. Polymerized toners can be polymerized monomers such as styrene monomers such as styrene, acrylic monomers such as acrylic acid, alkyl (C1-C4) acrylate, and alkyl (C1-C4) isobutylene by suspension polymerization and other methods. Acid salts are obtained by copolymerization. Polymerized toners are generally spherical and have excellent fluidity, enabling high-quality image formation.

In this toner, pigments such as carbon black or wax are mixed. In addition, in order to increase fluidity, additives such as silica are added. The toner has an average particle size of about 6-10 μm.

(b-4) Attaching and removing the toner cartridge to the process unit

(b-4-i) Attachment of the toner cartridge to the process unit

For the toner cartridge accommodating chamber 71 of the processing unit 20 in which the opening/closing lever 113 is at the disengaged position and the shutter 111 is at the developer closing position, as shown in FIG. 8 , the inner housing 42 is at the toner blocking position. The toner cartridge 40 is mounted obliquely from the obliquely upper front side to the obliquely lower rear side. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6 , each positioning protrusion 131 of the toner cartridge 40 is guided into a corresponding guide groove 119 of the toner cartridge accommodating chamber 71 of the process unit 20 . Furthermore, the swing member 92 of the toner cartridge 40 is in the first state, and the rotation of the inner casing 42 relative to the outer casing 41 is restricted.

When each positioning protrusion 131 reaches the deepest portion of the corresponding guide groove 119 and contacts with the deepest portion, each lateral protrusion 54 of the toner cartridge 40 is in the disengaged position with the corresponding receiving portion 117 of the opening/closing lever 113 joint, as shown in Figure 7. At this time, as shown in FIG. 9 , each second radial protrusion 57 of the toner cartridge 40 is engaged with the corresponding engaged portion 139 of the shutter 111 of the toner cartridge accommodating chamber 71, and the shutter 111 is locked. The respective second radial projection 57 and third radial projection 63 clamp in the direction of rotation. At this time, each third radial protrusion 63 is engaged with the shutter 111 when there is the second radial protrusion 57 . When the second engagement portion 133 is engaged with the engagement portion 124, the swing member 92 is in the third state (see FIG. 10).

The positioning rib 137 of the toner cartridge 40 is fitted into the positioning groove 138 of the process unit 20 and engaged with the developing body housing 62 as shown in FIG. 7 . In this way, in the toner cartridge 40 , the outer casing 41 is positioned in the width direction relative to the toner cartridge accommodating chamber 71 , and the installation of the toner cartridge 40 to the process unit 20 is completed. In this state, the grip portion 118 of the opening/closing lever 113 at the disengaged position is separated from the toner cartridge side grip portion 91 of the toner cartridge 40 by a predetermined distance, and is positioned at the side of the toner cartridge side grip portion 91. Below, as shown in Figure 9. In addition, as shown in FIG. 11( b ), the contact portion 143 of each contact protrusion 141 of the process unit side grip portion 110 faces and slightly guides each corresponding contacted portion 142 in the toner cartridge 40 . Surface 146 is in contact.

As shown in FIG. 7 , when the toner cartridge 40 is fully installed in the processing unit 20 , the swing member 92 is in the above-mentioned third state, so the inner housing 42 rotates relative to the outer housing 41 . Therefore, when the opening/closing lever 113 is turned from the disengaged position to the contact position (see FIG. 2), the inner housing 42 rotates together with the opening/closing lever 113 (handling portion 110 on the processing unit side), from the toner off position ( See Figure 10) turn to the toner open position (see Figure 3). Therefore, the first toner discharge port 49 and the second toner discharge port 55 face each other, as shown in FIG. 3 . In addition, the shutter 111 sandwiched by the second radial protrusion 57 and the third radial protrusion 63 of the inner housing 42 rotates together with the inner housing 42 from the developing body closed position (see FIG. 9 ) to the developing body. The body opening position, and the through hole 112 of the shutter 111 and the toner guide port 88 of the toner cartridge housing chamber 71 face each other. Further, as the opening/closing lever 113 is rotated from the disengaged position to the contact position, the process unit side grip 110 is rotated upward, thereby bringing the grip 118 close to the toner cartridge side grip 91 .

In the toner cartridge accommodating chamber 71, the shutter 111 is at the developing body opening position, and in the toner cartridge 40, the inner housing 42 is at the toner opening position, facing each other in the toner cartridge accommodating chamber 71. The pair of through holes 112 and the toner guide port 88 and the first toner discharge port 49 and the second toner discharge port 55 facing each other in the toner cartridge 40 face each other and communicate with each other. As a result, through the toner guide port 88 , the through hole 112 , the first toner discharge port 49 and the second toner discharge port 55 , the inner part of the inner casing 42 of the toner cartridge 40 and the part of the developing unit 30 are connected. The inner parts of the developing chamber 72 communicate with each other.

As described above, since the space between the outer case 41 on which the first toner discharge port 49 is formed and the inner case 42 on which the second toner discharge port 55 is formed is covered by the first radial protrusion. 48 is maintained in an airtight and watertight state, and since the sealing member 125 protrudes into the space between the shutter 111 on which the through hole 112 is formed and the curved wall 122 on which the toner guide port 88 is formed, it can Toner is prevented from leaking to the outside from the toner guide port 88 , the through hole 112 , the first toner discharge port 49 and the second toner discharge port 55 .

As described above, when the processing unit side grip part 110 rotates with the rotation of the opening/closing lever 113 from the disengagement position to the contact position, the contact part 143 of each contact protrusion 141 of the processing unit side grip part 110 passes through being contacted. The guide surface 146 of the member 142 then turns upward along the contacted surface 147, passing a plurality of contacted portions 144, as shown in FIG. 11(a).

Since the contact portion 143 is convex and the contacted portion 144 is concave, when the contact portion 143 passes the contacted portion 144 , it will swing, and then the swing will be transmitted to the inner circular wall 51 of the shutter 111 . In other words, the contact portion 143 and the contacted portion 144 serve as a swing applying unit.

When the rotation of the opening/closing lever 113 to the contact position is completed, the contact portion 143 of the processing unit side grip portion 110 contacts the engagement portion 144 at its uppermost position. At this time, the contact portion 143 abuts against each contacted member 142 from the front side by a contact pressure higher than when the opening/closing lever 113 is in the disengaged position (see FIG. 11( b )). "Abutment" is not the same as "contact" in the disengaged position. Likewise, the contact protrusion 141 (contacted with high pressure) also abuts against the contacted member 142 .

Fig. 13 is a side sectional view of the laser printer in Fig. 1, showing a state where the opening/closing lever interferes with the front cover on the way of closing the installation port.

When the processing unit 20 is mounted to the main housing 2 and the opening/closing lever 113 is in the contact position, as shown in FIG. 1 , a space is formed below the processing unit side grip 110 . When the front cover 7 is closed so that the mounting opening 6 is closed, the interference portion 140 of the front cover 7 is accommodated in the above-mentioned space. In other words, when the opening/closing lever 113 is not in the contact position, as shown in FIG. The grip part 110 is in contact. In other words, the opening/closing lever 113 interferes with the front cover 7 on the way of closing the mounting port 6 , not in the case where the opening/closing lever 113 is in the contact position.

(b-4-ii) Removal of the toner cartridge from the process unit

In a state where the shutter 111 is at the developer release position and the inner housing 42 is at the toner release position, the open/close lever 113 at the contact position is turned to the disengagement position as shown in FIG. 10 . Together with the rotation of the opening/closing lever 113 (processing unit side grip 110), the inner housing 42 is turned from the toner opening position to the toner closing position, and the second toner discharge port 55 of the inner circular wall 51 It is blocked by a portion of the outer circular wall 45 on the outer casing 41 , other than the first toner discharge port 49 , to seal the inner portions of the outer casing 41 and the inner casing 42 . In other words, together with the rotation of the inner housing 42 , the second radial protrusion 57 and the third radial protrusion 63 rotate, and what is sandwiched by the second radial protrusion 57 and the third radial protrusion 63 The shutter 111 rotates from the developer open position to the closed position. In this way, the toner guide port 88 of the toner cartridge accommodating chamber 71 is blocked by a part of the shutter 111 , and is different from the through hole 112 .

In addition, as the opening/closing lever 113 is rotated to the disengaged position, the processing unit side grip part 110 is rotated downward, and therefore, the contact part 143 of the processing unit side grip part 110 passes through a plurality of contacted parts 144 while moving along the contacted surface. 147 rotates downward, as shown in Figure 11(b). When the contact portion 143 passes the contacted portion 144 , the vibration described above is generated. When the rotation of the opening/closing lever 113 to the disengaged position is completed, the contact portion 143 faces and lightly contacts the guide surface 146 . In other words, when the opening/closing lever 113 is at the disengaging position, the abutment state (high pressure contact) of the contact portion 143 to the contacted member 142 is disengaged.

When the opening/closing lever 113 is rotated to the disengaged position, since the first restricting portion 94 is in the third state and the second engaging portion 133 is engaged with the engaged portion 124, as shown in FIG. state, and the engagement between the second engaging portion 133 and the engaged portion 124 is disengaged, as shown in FIG. 9 . When the swing member 92 is held in the second state (the swing member 92 is held), the toner cartridge 40 is pulled out from the toner cartridge accommodating chamber 71 obliquely upward and forward. At this time, each positioning protrusion 131 (see FIG. 6 ) of the toner cartridge 40 is guided into a corresponding guide groove 119 (see FIG. 6 ) in the toner cartridge accommodating chamber 71 . When the pulled out toner cartridge 40 is disengaged, the swing member 92 turns to the first state (see FIG. 8 ).

When each positioning projection 131 is disengaged from the corresponding guide groove 119, the engagement between each lateral projection 54 and the corresponding receiving portion 117 is disengaged (see FIG. 7 ), and each second radial projection The engagement between the portion 57 and the corresponding engaging portion 139 is disengaged, and the detachment of the toner cartridge 40 from the process unit is completed.

(b-5) Developing and transfer operations

As described in (b-4-i) above and shown in FIG. Driving force from a motor (not shown) is input to the agitator rotation shaft 53 . Then, the agitator rotation shaft 53 rotates clockwise when viewed from the left, and within the inner space of the inner housing 42 of the toner cartridge 40 , the agitator 56 moves in the circumferential direction around the agitator rotation shaft 53 . Therefore, the toner in the toner cartridge 40 is agitated by the agitator 56, supplied to the developing unit 30 through the second toner discharge port 55 and the first toner discharge port 49, and passed through the hole 112 and the toner. The pilot port 88 receives and then releases into the developing chamber 72 . According to the rotation of the agitator rotating shaft 53, each of the aforementioned wipers 50 of the agitator 56 wipes the toner detection window (not shown) provided on the corresponding inner side edge wall 52 of the inner casing 42, thereby toner 50 to clean the toner detection window (not shown).

The toner released from the toner guide port 88 to the developing chamber 72 is supplied to the developing roller 104 by the rotation of the supply roller 101 . At this time, the toner is tribopositively charged between the supply roller 101 and the developing roller 104 . According to the rotation of the developing roller 104, the toner supplied on the developing roller 104 enters between the pressure member 148 of the layer thickness regulating blade 107 and the rubber roller 106 of the developing roller 104, and is developed by the developing roller in a layer having a uniform thickness. 104 carries.

According to the rotation of the photosensitive drum 28, the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 is uniformly positively charged by the corotron charger 29, and then exposed to the laser beam scanned at a high speed from the scanning part 19, and finally corresponds to the static electricity of the image formed on the paper 3. A latent image is formed.

Thereafter, by the rotation of the developing roller 104 , the positively charged toner carried by the developing roller 104 comes into face-to-face contact with the photosensitive drum 28 . At this time, the toner is supplied to the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 , that is, the portion exposed to the laser beam, and has a lower potential on the surface of the uniformly positively charged photosensitive drum 28 . Accordingly, the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 28 is developed, and the reverse-developed toner image is carried on the photosensitive drum 28 surface.

Then, the toner image carried on the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 is transferred to the paper 3 , which is conveyed against the roller 15 (see FIG. 1 ) and enters the drum casing 76 from the first passage port 84 . While the paper 3 passes through the transfer position between the photosensitive drum 28 and the transfer roller 31 , the toner image is transferred onto the paper 3 by a transfer bias applied to the transfer roller 31 .

The paper 3 with the transferred toner image is output from the second passage port 85 to the outside of the drum casing 76 and conveyed to the fixing section 21 .

The toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 28 after transfer is recovered by the developing roller 104 .

(c) Fixing section

The fixing section 21 is provided at the rear of the process unit 20, and is generally provided at a position spaced from the front and rear of the photosensitive drum 28 of the process unit 20, as shown in FIG. 1 . The fixing section 21 includes a fixing frame 59 , and a heating roller 60 and a pressure roller 61 inside the fixing frame 59 .

In the fixing section 21 , at the transfer position, the toner image transferred onto the paper 3 is thermally fixed on the paper 3 as the paper 3 passes through the heat roller 60 and the pressure roller 61 . The paper 3 on which the toner image is fixed is conveyed to the paper discharge conveyance path by the conveyance roller 63 and then to the paper discharge roller 47 , and finally discharged onto the paper discharge tray 58 by the paper discharge roller 47 . A paper discharge tray 58 is formed on the upper surface of the main casing 2 .

2. Operation and effect of the embodiment

As described above, in the process unit 20, the process unit side grip 110 provided on the open/close lever 113 of the developing section 30 abuts from the front side (downstream side in the direction in which the toner cartridge 40 is detached from the developing section 30). On the toner cartridge 40, as shown in FIG. 2 . Therefore, even when a force to move the toner cartridge 40 forward (removal direction) is applied to the toner cartridge 40, the relative forward movement of the toner cartridge 40 with respect to the developing portion 30 can be restricted.

As a result, the installed state of the toner cartridge 40 in the developing section 30 can be reliably maintained.

As shown in Figure 11, the opening/closing lever 113 can be rotated between the contact position (see Figure 11(a)) and the disengagement position (see Figure 11(b)), and the contact position is that the handle 110 on the processing unit side abuts against The disengaged position is a position where the abutment between the process unit side grip portion 110 and the toner cartridge 40 is released, relative to the position of the toner cartridge 40 mounted in the developing unit 30 . Therefore, when the opening/closing lever 113 is in the contact position, the simple operation of turning the opening/closing lever 113 can reliably maintain the mounted state of the toner cartridge 40 in the developing portion 30 (see FIG. 2 ). In other words, the maintained mounted state can be released and the toner cartridge 40 can be mounted to or detached from the developing portion 30 (see FIG. 6 ).

Moreover, since the opening/closing lever 113 is in the disengaged position below the contact position by its own weight in the state where the toner cartridge 40 is removed from the developing portion 30, when the toner cartridge 40 is mounted to the developing portion 30 , the process of moving the opening/closing lever 113 to the disengaged position can be omitted, as shown in FIG. 8 .

Also, in the toner cartridge 40, when the outer circular wall 45 is opened by turning the inner housing 42 to the toner opening position, the second toner discharge port 55 is opened (see FIG. 5(a)), And in the developing section 30, the shutter 111 is moved to the developing body opening position and is opened to release the toner guide port 88 (see FIG. 4(a)), so the second toner discharge port 55 and the toner The guide ports 88 communicate with each other, as shown in FIG. 3 , whereby toner can be supplied from the toner cartridge 40 to the developing portion 30 . In other words, in the toner cartridge 40, the inner housing 42 is turned to the toner closing position and closed to close the outer circular wall 45 (see FIG. 10), so the second toner discharge port 55 is closed , while in the developing section 30, the shutter 111 is moved to the developing body closing position (see FIG. The supply to the developing section 30 is limited.

In addition, the switching operations of the outer circular wall 45 and the shutter 111 , that is, the rotation of the inner housing 42 and the movement of the shutter 111 are linked with the rotation of the opening/closing lever 113 . Therefore, the rotation of the opening/closing lever 113 can maintain (see FIG. 2 ) or release (see FIG. 7 ) the installed state of the toner cartridge 40 in the developing portion 30, and thus the toner can be supplied from the toner cartridge 40. The supply of toner to the developing section 30 (see FIG. 3 ) is restricted (see FIG. 10 ), thereby enhancing its operability.

In addition, the contact portion 143 and the contacted portion 144 shown in FIG. 11 can transmit vibration to at least the outer circular wall 45 when the opening/closing lever 113 is rotationally moved. This vibration shakes off the toner stuck to the outer circular wall 45 when the outer circular wall 45 is opened and closed in conjunction with the rotation of the opening/closing lever 113 .

Specifically, when the convex-shaped contact portion 143 is in contact with the concave-shaped contacted portion 144 , vibration is generated simultaneously with the rotational movement of the opening/closing lever 113 . Alternatively, the contact portion 143 may be concave and the contacted portion 144 may be convex. The convex or concave shape of the contact portion 143 and the contacted portion 144 enables the vibration acting unit to reliably generate vibration while simplifying the structure. In FIG. 11 , a plurality of contacted portions 144 are provided, but in FIG. 12 only one contacted portion is provided. When a plurality of contacted parts 144 are provided, greater vibration occurs between the contacted part 144 and the contact part 143 .

In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, when the open/close lever 113 is turned to the contact position, the grip portion 118 of the open/close lever 113 is close to the toner cartridge side grip portion 91 of the toner cartridge 40, so the grip portion 118 and The toner cartridge side grip 91 can be held together. This stabilizes the relative position between the developing portion 30 provided with the opening/closing lever 113 and the toner cartridge 40 , thereby stabilizing the movement of the process unit 20 .

In addition, when the developing section 30 and the toner cartridge 40 in the main casing 2 are in the installed state, the opening/closing lever 113 is in contact with the front cover 7 during the closing of the installation port 6 , unlike the opening/closing lever 113. The situation in the contact position (see Figure 1) is shown in Figure 13. Therefore, when the toner cartridge 40 is not properly installed into the developing section 30 (or when the open/close lever 113 is not in the contact position), unintended operation of the laser printer 1 can be prevented.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, when the opening/closing lever 113 is in the contact position (see FIG. 3), the contact protrusion 141 abuts against (high pressure contact) the contacted member 142 of the toner cartridge 40 in the width direction, that is, It is provided at both ends of the handling unit side holding portion 110 in the longitudinal direction. The contacted members 142 are provided at both ends of the toner cartridge 40 in the width direction.

Therefore, when the opening/closing lever 113 is in the engaged position, the engaging protrusions 141 abut against the contacted members 142 provided at both longitudinal ends of the handling unit side grip 110, thereby preventing the handling unit side grip 110 from opening/closing the opening/closing lever 113. The deflection of the closing lever 113 further avoids the deformation of the processing unit side handle 110 and the opening/closing lever 113 and improves the durability thereof.

Since the toner cartridge side gripping portion 91 is provided between the two contacted members 142 located at both ends in the width direction of the toner cartridge 40, the toner cartridge side gripping portion 91 can be separated from the contacted member 142, thereby Interference between the hand and the contacted member 142 can be avoided when the toner cartridge side grip portion 91 is held by hand.

The positioning rib 137 is provided between the contacted member 142 in the width direction in the toner cartridge 40 and the toner cartridge side grip portion 91 . When the toner cartridge 40 is mounted to the developing portion 30 , the positioning rib 137 is engaged with the developing body housing 62 to position the toner cartridge 40 in the width direction.

Therefore, when the toner cartridge 40 is mounted to the developing portion 30, the contacted member 142 does not move in the width direction, and therefore when the opening/closing lever 113 is in the contact position, the contact protrusion 141 can reliably abut against (high pressure contact) the contacted part 142. Also, as described above, the contacted member 142 is provided at both end portions of the toner cartridge 40 in the width direction, so when the contact protrusion 141 abuts against the contacted member 142, deviation of the process unit side grip 110 can be avoided. incline. Therefore, the positioning rib 137 provided between the contacted members 142 in the width direction does not move, and the toner cartridge 40 can be reliably positioned.

In addition, in the opening/closing lever 113, the processing unit side grip part 110 is configured such that it is connected with the free end (front end part) of the right support part 108 and the free end (front end part) of the left support part 109, thereby reinforcing The strength of the on/off lever 113.

The opening/closing lever 113 is engaged with the lateral protrusion 54 , thus rotating the second toner discharge port 55 together with the lateral protrusion 54 . Accordingly, the outer circular wall 45 is relatively rotated with respect to the second toner discharge port 55 as shown in FIG. 3 . In other words, the shutter 111 is engaged with the second radial projection 57 and the third radial projection 63 that rotate relative to the outer circular wall 45 , whereby the shutter 111 rotates. In this way, the outer circular wall 45 and the shutter 111 can be reliably rotated, thereby reliably opening and closing the second toner discharge port 55 and the toner guide port 88 .

<Second Embodiment>

In the first embodiment described above, the processing unit 20 integrally includes the drum portion 27 and the developing portion 30 , and the processing unit 20 is detachably attached to the main casing 2 . In addition, for example, the developing section 30 is detachably attached to the drum section 27 .

In the foregoing, two separate embodiments to which the present invention is applied, ie, the first embodiment and the second embodiment, have been described in detail. However, it should be noted that those skilled in the art can optionally combine the gist of the two embodiments and provide a process unit, a toner cartridge, and an image forming apparatus having the advantages associated with the above two embodiments.

The above-mentioned embodiments are for illustration and description of the present invention, and it is not necessary to restrict the present invention by following the foregoing disclosure precisely. Various changes and substitutions can be made according to the previous description, and can also be obtained by implementing the present invention. The embodiments herein are selected and described to illustrate the essence and implementation of the present invention, allowing those skilled in the art to adopt the present invention in various embodiments and variations for expected specific applications. The scope of the invention is to be defined in the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims (15)

1. A processing unit, characterized in that, comprising: a unit main body detachably mounted on the image forming apparatus main body and having a developing body carrier for supplying a developer to an image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed; a toner cartridge detachably mounted to the unit main body and containing a developer; a rotating part; the rotating part is rotatably provided on the unit main body; A contact member provided on the rotating member and contacts the toner cartridge from a downstream side in a removal direction of the toner cartridge from the unit main body. 2. The processing unit according to claim 1, wherein the rotating member is rotatable between a contact position and a disengagement position, and the contact position is between the contact member and the device mounted on the unit body. The position where the toner cartridge is in contact, the release position is a position where the contact member is released from contact with the toner cartridge. 3. The processing unit of claim 2, wherein the disengagement location is located below the contact location, and In a state where the toner cartridge is removed from the unit main body, the rotating member is located at the disengaged position by its own weight. 4. The processing unit of claim 2, wherein The unit main body includes an accommodating portion for accommodating the toner cartridge in a detachably mountable manner, The accommodating portion includes a first wall located at one end of the toner cartridge in the longitudinal direction and a second wall located at the other end of the toner cartridge in the longitudinal direction, The rotating member includes a first arm that is rotatably supported on the first wall and extends toward a downstream side in a detaching direction of the toner cartridge, and a second arm that is rotatably supported on the first wall. an arm is rotatably supported on the second wall and extends toward a downstream side in a detachment direction of the toner cartridge, and The contact member connects the free end of the first arm and the free end of the second arm. 5. The processing unit of claim 2, wherein The toner cartridge includes a first housing formed with a first opening for supplying developer to the unit main body and a first blocking member for opening and closing the toner cartridge. closing the first opening, The unit main body includes a second housing and a second blocking member, the second housing is formed with a second opening, and when the toner cartridge is mounted to the unit main body, the second opening and the first opening faces to receive developer supplied from the first opening, the second blocking member opens and closes the second opening, And the rotation of the rotating part is linked with the switching movement of at least one of the first blocking part and the second blocking part. 6. The processing unit of claim 5, wherein the first housing comprises: a first engaging portion that engages with the rotating member and rotates with the first opening relative to the first blocking member; and A second engaging portion, the second engaging portion is engaged with the second blocking member, and rotates together with the first engaging portion relative to the first blocking member. 7. The processing unit according to claim 6, further comprising a vibration applying unit configured to apply vibration to at least the first blocking member when the rotating member rotates. 8. The processing unit according to claim 7, wherein the vibration applying unit comprises: a first portion formed in a convex shape or a concave shape on the contact member, and comes into contact with the toner cartridge when the rotating member rotates; and The second part, the second part is formed on the toner cartridge, when the first part is formed in a convex shape, the second part is formed in a concave shape, and when the first part is formed in a concave When in-shape, the second part is convex in shape, and when the rotating member rotates, the second part contacts the first part. 9. The processing unit of claim 5, wherein The rotating part includes a first gripping part and the toner cartridge includes a second grip portion, and When the rotating member rotates to the contact position, the first holding portion is located close to the second holding portion. 10. The processing unit of claim 9, comprising: a first portion provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the contact member, and contacts the toner cartridge when the rotating member is located at the contact position, and A second portion provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the toner cartridge and contacted by the first portion when the rotating member is located at the contact position. 11 . The processing unit according to claim 10 , wherein the second holding portion is disposed between the second portions located at both ends of the longitudinal direction. 12. The processing unit according to claim 11 , further comprising a positioning portion disposed between the second gripping portion of the second portion in the longitudinal direction of the toner cartridge. space, and when the toner cartridge is attached to the unit main body, the toner cartridge is positioned in the longitudinal direction by engagement with the second housing. 13. An image forming apparatus, comprising: the main body of the image forming device; and a processing unit detachably mounted to the image forming apparatus main body, wherein: The processing unit includes: a unit main body detachably mounted to the image forming apparatus main body and having a developing body carrier for supplying a developer to an image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed; a toner cartridge detachably mounted to the unit main body and containing a developer; a rotating member rotatably provided on the unit main body; and a contact member provided on the rotating member and contacting the toner cartridge from a downstream side in a removal direction of the toner cartridge from the unit main body, The rotating member is rotatable between a contact position where the contact member is in contact with the toner cartridge mounted in the unit main body and a disengagement position where a position where the contact of the contact member with the toner cartridge is disengaged, the image forming apparatus main body is formed with an opening for passing the processing unit therethrough, and has a cover for switchably covering the opening, and When in the state where the unit main body and the toner cartridge are mounted to the image forming apparatus main body, different from the state where the rotating member is in the contact position, when the opening is covered by the cover When closed, the pivoting member interferes with the lid. 14. A toner cartridge detachably mounted to a unit main body, the unit main body including a developing body carrier and containing a developer, characterized in that the toner cartridge comprises: a first case formed with a first opening for supplying developer to the unit main body; a first blocking member for opening and closing the first opening; and A vibration applying unit configured to apply vibration to the first blocking member when the first blocking member is opened and closed. 15. The toner cartridge according to claim 14, wherein the vibration applying unit includes a contacted portion having a concave shape or a convex shape.

Images