JP5284152B2 - Color electrophotographic image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a color electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which a plurality of cartridges are detachably attached to an apparatus body to form an image on a recording medium.

  Here, the color electrophotographic image forming apparatus forms a color image on a recording medium using an electrophotographic image forming process. Examples of the color electrophotographic image forming apparatus include a color electrophotographic copying machine, a color electrophotographic printer (for example, a color laser beam printer, a color LED printer), a color facsimile apparatus, a color word processor, and the like.

  The recording medium is an image on which an image is formed by an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and includes, for example, paper, an OHP sheet, and the like.

  The cartridge is, for example, a process cartridge or a developing cartridge, which is detachably attached to the main body of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and contributes to an image forming process for forming an image on a recording medium. Here, the process cartridge is a cartridge in which at least one of a charging unit, a developing unit, and a cleaning unit as a process unit and an electrophotographic photosensitive drum are integrally formed, and is removable from the main body of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus. It is to be attached to. Accordingly, the process cartridge includes one in which the developing means as the process means and the electrophotographic photosensitive drum are integrally formed into a cartridge and detachably attached to the main body of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus. Further, the process cartridge includes a cartridge in which a charging unit, a developing unit or a cleaning unit as a process unit and the electrophotographic photosensitive drum are integrally formed and detachably mounted on the main body. A process cartridge integrally including an electrophotographic photosensitive drum and developing means is referred to as a so-called integrated type. A process cartridge that integrally includes an electrophotographic photosensitive drum and process means other than the developing means is referred to as a so-called separation type.

  Here, the process cartridge can be attached to and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus by the user himself. Therefore, maintenance of the apparatus main body can be easily performed. The process means acts on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum.

  The developing cartridge has a developing roller, and contains a developer (toner) used to develop the electrostatic latent image formed on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum by the developing roller. It is detachably attached to the main body. In the case of the developing cartridge, the electrophotographic photosensitive drum is attached to the apparatus main body or a cartridge support member described later. Alternatively, the electrophotographic photosensitive drum is provided in the so-called separation type process cartridge (in this case, the process cartridge does not have developing means). The developing cartridge can also be attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus main body by the user himself / herself. Therefore, maintenance of the apparatus main body can be easily performed.

  Therefore, the cartridge includes the so-called integral type or the so-called separation type process cartridge. The cartridge includes a case where a so-called separation type process cartridge and the developing cartridge are used as a pair. Further, as the cartridge, the electrophotographic photosensitive drum is fixedly attached to the apparatus main body or a cartridge support member described later, and the developing cartridge is detachably used so as to be able to act on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum. Includes cases.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic forming process, an electrophotographic photosensitive drum (hereinafter referred to as a photosensitive drum) and process means acting on the photosensitive drum are integrally formed into a cartridge. A process cartridge system is employed in which the cartridge can be attached to and detached from the main body of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus.

  According to this process cartridge system, maintenance of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus can be performed by the user himself / herself without depending on the service person, so that the maintainability can be remarkably improved. For this reason, this process cartridge system is widely used in electrophotographic image forming apparatuses (hereinafter referred to as image forming apparatuses).

  A conventional process cartridge includes a photosensitive drum unit having a cleaning frame for holding a photosensitive drum, a developing roller as a means for developing a latent image on the photosensitive drum, a developing blade, and a developing unit having toner as a developer. It is composed of

  An image forming apparatus known as an inline system in which a plurality of process cartridges are arranged is known. This in-line image forming apparatus includes a process cartridge having a photosensitive drum and a developing unit for each color of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, and superimposes images of the respective colors to form a full color image.

  In such an image forming apparatus, a configuration using a cartridge support member for supporting a process cartridge is known as a configuration for attaching and detaching a process cartridge, for example. The cartridge support member slides between an inner position located inside the apparatus main body and an outer position located outside the apparatus main body. Then, with the user pulling out the cartridge support member from the inner position to the outer position, the process cartridge is attached to and detached from the cartridge support member. Then, when the user pushes the cartridge support member into the inner position, the process cartridge is mounted at the image forming position.

  Further, the process cartridge is provided with a seal member for holding the developer in the developer container until the user uses it. However, when the process cartridge is used in the image forming apparatus, the seal member is removed. There is a need.

  Further, when the image forming apparatus is shipped from the assembly factory, the process cartridge may be shipped in a state where it is mounted in the image forming apparatus in advance. This is because the process cartridge is mounted in advance when the user installs the image forming apparatus, so that the process cartridge mounting method can be easily recognized, and the usability is excellent. In such a case, there is one in which the seal member can be pulled out without removing the process cartridge.

  As a configuration for removing the seal member from the process cartridge, configurations such as Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature 2 are known.

  In Patent Document 1, a process cartridge is mounted on a cartridge support member pulled out from the apparatus main body to an outer position, and in this state, a user removes the seal member from the process cartridge.

  In Patent Document 2, after the process cartridge is positioned and mounted inside the apparatus main body, a driving force is transmitted from a motor or the like on the apparatus main body side, and the winding member winds up the seal member to automatically open the process cartridge. ing.

JP2008-261910A JP 2000-235301 A

  However, in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, since the user has to remove the seal members of each process cartridge, there is a problem that it takes time to manually remove the seal members.

  On the other hand, in Patent Document 2 described above, a configuration for automatically removing the seal members of all the process cartridges is necessary, although it does not take time to manually remove the seal members. Therefore, there is a problem that the configuration is complicated, the apparatus is enlarged, and the cost is increased.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can easily open a seal member of a cartridge and has improved usability.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide an inexpensive and small-sized image forming apparatus that simplifies the structure for opening the seal member.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a color electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which a plurality of cartridges are detachably attached to an apparatus main body and an image is formed on a recording medium. A cartridge support member that moves between an inner position located inside the printer and an outer position located outside the apparatus main body, and a seal that is provided in the cartridge and seals an opening for supplying a developer so as to be openable. A winding member for winding the member; a rotating member provided on the cartridge supporting member; rotating with movement of the cartridge supporting member; provided on the cartridge supporting member; A rotation transmitting member for transmitting the rotation of the cartridge support member, and by moving the cartridge support member from the outer position to the inner position. Characterized in that opening the seal member of the cartridge supported by the cartridge supporting member.

  According to the present invention, the cartridge seal member can be opened only by moving the cartridge support member to the inner position. Thereby, it is possible to easily open the seal member of the cartridge and to improve usability. Further, the configuration for opening the seal member can be simplified, and an inexpensive and small-sized image forming apparatus can be provided.

(A) The perspective view of the state which pulled out the tray of the image forming apparatus concerning 1st Embodiment. FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment in a state where the tray is pulled out. 1A is a perspective view of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. (B) Sectional drawing of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. (A) The perspective view of the state which opened the door of the image forming apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment with the door opened. The perspective view of the tray and cartridge which concern on 1st Embodiment. (A) The perspective view of the cartridge which concerns on 1st Embodiment. (B) Sectional drawing of the cartridge which concerns on 1st Embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the cartridge as viewed from the photosensitive drum axial direction according to the first embodiment. The perspective view of the drive release state of the drive transmission part in the tray which concerns on 1st Embodiment. The perspective view of the drive transmission state of the drive transmission part in the tray which concerns on 1st Embodiment. FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of a cartridge and a tray according to the first embodiment. The figure which shows distribution of the force (opening strength) which winds up the sealing member of a cartridge. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a tray, a cartridge, and a drive transmission shaft according to a second embodiment. The perspective view of the connection part of the drive transmission shaft which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. Sectional drawing of the connection part of the drive transmission shaft which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. The figure which shows distribution of the force (opening strength) which winds up the sealing member of each cartridge at the time of shifting the timing which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative arrangements of the components described in the following embodiments should be appropriately changed according to the configuration of the apparatus to which the present invention is applied and various conditions. Therefore, unless specifically stated otherwise, the scope of the present invention is not intended to be limited thereto.

[First Embodiment]
<Overall configuration of color electrophotographic image forming apparatus>
First, an overall configuration of a color electrophotographic image forming apparatus (hereinafter referred to as an image forming apparatus) according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. 1A, 2A, and 3A are perspective explanatory views of the image forming apparatus, and FIGS. 1B, 2B, and 3B are illustrations. 1 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of an image forming apparatus. 2A and 2B are explanatory views of the image forming apparatus in a state where the open / close door is closed. 3A and 3B are explanatory views of the image forming apparatus in a state where the opening / closing door is opened. FIGS. 1A and 1B are explanatory views of the image forming apparatus in a state where the cartridge tray is pulled out.

  The image forming apparatus of this embodiment is a four-color full-color laser printer using an electrophotographic process. The image forming apparatus forms an image on a recording medium (sheet) based on an image signal input from an external host device (not shown) such as a personal computer, an image reader, or a counterpart facsimile machine.

  In the following description, with respect to the image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus main body 100 is obtained by removing the configuration of each cartridge P described later from the image forming apparatus. The front side (front side) of the image forming apparatus main body 100 is the side on which the apparatus opening / closing door (opening / closing member) 31 is disposed. The rear side (back side) is the opposite side. The left and right are left or right when the image forming apparatus main body 100 is viewed from the front side.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the first to fourth cartridges P (PY, PM, PC, PK) are arranged in the image forming apparatus main body (hereinafter referred to as the apparatus main body) 100 from the rear side to the front side. ) Are arranged in the horizontal direction. The cartridges P have the same configuration except that the color of the developer t stored is different. The cartridge PY stores a yellow developer t. The cartridge PM stores a magenta developer t. Further, the cartridge PC stores a cyan developer t. The PK contains a black developer t.

  In this embodiment, an example in which a so-called integrated process cartridge is used as the cartridge P will be described. However, the present invention is not limited to the case where a process cartridge is used. The cartridge P having the above-described configuration can be applied.

  A laser scanner unit 11 is disposed above the cartridge P attached to the apparatus main body 100. The scanner unit 11 scans and exposes the surface of the photosensitive drum 1 of each cartridge P with a laser beam. As a result, electrostatic latent images are sequentially formed on the photosensitive drum 1. Subsequently, the electrostatic latent image is developed by a developing unit (developing unit) 3 to form a developer image on the photosensitive drum 1.

  An intermediate transfer belt 13 is disposed below the cartridge P attached to the apparatus main body 100. The transfer belt 13 is stretched by a driving roller 14, a driven roller 15, and a tension roller 16, and rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. The lower surface of the photosensitive drum 1 of each cartridge P is in contact with the upper surface of the transfer belt 13 (the position of each cartridge P shown in FIG. 4 is the image forming position). Four primary transfer rollers 17 are disposed inside the transfer belt 13 so as to face the photosensitive drum 1 of each cartridge P.

  A secondary transfer roller 22 is in contact with the drive roller 14 via the transfer belt 13. A fixing device 23 and a discharge roller pair 24 are disposed on the upper rear side in the apparatus main body 100. A discharge tray 25 is disposed on the upper surface of the apparatus main body 100. The fixing device 23 has a fixing film 23a and a pressure roller 23b.

  At the time of image formation, the developer images formed on the respective photosensitive drums 1 are sequentially transferred onto the transfer belt 13, and a color image is formed on the transfer belt 13. In synchronization with this image forming operation, the recording medium S stacked and stored in a feeding tray 19 disposed at the lower part of the apparatus main body 100 is fed by a feeding roller 20 that rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. . The fed recording medium S is sent to the nip portion between the drive roller 14 and the secondary transfer roller 22.

  Next, the developer image formed on the transfer belt 13 is transferred to the recording medium S sent to the nip portion between the drive roller 14 and the secondary transfer roller 22. Further, the recording medium S on which the developer image has been transferred is sent to the nip portion between the fixing film 23a and the pressure roller 23b, where it is heated and pressed. As a result, the developer image is fixed on the recording medium S. The recording medium S on which the developer image is fixed is discharged to the discharge tray 25 by the discharge roller pair 24.

<Overview of cartridge replacement method>
In the present embodiment, in order to improve usability, the tray 35 is pulled out to the front side of the apparatus main body 100 while the cartridge P is supported (accommodated) on the cartridge tray 35 (cartridge support member). Thus, the user can exchange the cartridge P from the front side (the side where the door 31 is provided) of the apparatus main body 100 (so-called front access). The tray 35 is supported by the rail member 34 with respect to the apparatus main body 100. The tray 35 is provided so that the user can slide in the front-rear direction with the handle portion 35a. The door 31 is provided so as to be rotatable about a shaft (hinge portion) 32 with respect to the apparatus main body 100. FIG. 3B shows a state in which the door 31 is opened.

  By opening the door 31, the handle portion 35 a of the tray 35 can be accessed. The door 31 and the rail member 34 are connected by a connecting arm 37. Thereby, by opening the door 31, the rail member 34 is pulled out by the arm 37, and the rail member 34 is further moved to a position on the upper left side of the position in FIG. 2B (position in FIG. 3B). Is done. By the movement of the rail member 34, the tray 35 is also moved upward, the photosensitive drum 1 of each cartridge P is lifted from the intermediate transfer belt 13, and the tray 35 can be pulled out from the apparatus main body 100. By pulling the handle portion 35a of the tray 35, the cartridge tray 35 can be pulled out.

  FIGS. 1A and 1B show a state in which the tray 35 is pulled out from an inner position I located inside the apparatus main body 100 to an outer position O located outside the apparatus main body 100. In this state, the upper surface of the cartridge P (PY, PM, PC, PK) is opened, and each cartridge P can be removed upward as shown in FIG.

  When the cartridge P is mounted on the apparatus main body 100, the cartridge P is placed on the tray 35 pulled out to the above-described outer position in the reverse procedure, and the tray 35 is stored inside the apparatus main body 100. When the door 31 is closed, the rail member 34 is pushed down in the lower left direction in FIG. 3B through the arm 37, and the tray 35 is also moved downward. As shown in FIG. The P photosensitive drum 1 contacts the transfer belt 13.

  As described above, the tray (cartridge support member) 35 supports the cartridge P and moves between the inner position I located inside the apparatus main body 100 and the outer position O located outside the apparatus main body 100. To do.

  The outer position O is a position where the user attaches / detaches the cartridge P to / from the tray 35.

  Note that the cartridge P supported (mounted) on the tray 35 at the outer position O moves to the inner position I when the user pushes the tray 35 into the apparatus main body 100. The cartridge P is located at an image forming position (position of each cartridge P shown in FIG. 2B) that contributes to image formation. According to the present embodiment, the image forming position is a state where a part of the photosensitive drum 1 is in contact with the transfer belt 13. According to the present embodiment, when the door 31 is closed with the tray 35 positioned at the inner position I, the tray 35 is lowered and the cartridge P is positioned at the image forming position. When the door 31 is opened, the cartridge P rises as the tray 35 rises. As a result, the photosensitive drum 1 is separated from the transfer belt 13 as shown in FIG. In this state, the user pulls out the tray 35 toward the outer position O of the apparatus main body 100 (in the direction of arrow E). According to the present embodiment, when the cartridge PK located on the most downstream side in the pulling direction E is attached to or detached from the tray 35, the tray 35 may not be located at the outer position O. Even in such a case, the tray 35 is pulled out more outward than when the cartridge P is positioned at the image forming position. Therefore, since the cartridge P is pulled out to the front side of the apparatus main body 100 as compared with the case where it is located at the image forming position, the user can easily replace the cartridge P.

  FIG. 5A is an external perspective view of the cartridge P (PY, PM, PC, PK). As described above, the cartridges P have the same configuration except that the colors of the stored developer t are different.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, the cartridge P is a horizontally long box-shaped assembly whose longitudinal direction is the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 1. The photosensitive drum 1 is rotatably supported between bearings (not shown) provided on the right side and left side of the cartridge frame. In each cartridge P, the right side surface portion is the driving side, and the opposite left side surface portion is the non-driving side. A coupling fitting portion (not shown) as a drive input portion of the photosensitive drum 1 is provided on the bearing portion of the right side surface portion that is the drive side. An electrical contact (not shown) of the cartridge P is arranged on the left side surface which is the non-driving side. On the left side surface portion and the right side surface portion, the ceiling plate portions of the cartridge frame are extended in the left-right direction so as to be provided with a flange portion 51. The flange 51 plays a role of preventing the drop when the cartridge P is inserted into the cartridge tray 35.

  When the coupling fitting portion of the cartridge P and the drive coupling (not shown) of the apparatus main body 100 are fitted, the drive is transmitted to the photosensitive drum 1.

  FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view of the cartridge P viewed from a direction perpendicular to the drum axis direction of the cartridge P. 10A and 10B are cross-sectional views of the cartridge P viewed from the drum axis direction of the cartridge P. FIG. Driving force from the driving coupling of the image forming apparatus main body 100 is transmitted to the coupling fitting portion of the cartridge P, and the photosensitive drum 1 is rotationally driven in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 6 at a predetermined speed. The charger 2 as a charging means is a contact charging type charging member that contacts and rotates with the photosensitive drum 1. The cleaning blade 50 as a cleaning means is an elastic rubber blade, and is disposed in contact with the photosensitive drum 1 with its tip portion in a counter direction with respect to the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 1. The cleaning blade 50 serves to remove the developer remaining on the photosensitive drum 1. The residual transfer developer removed by the cleaning blade 50 is accommodated in the cleaning container 4.

  The developing unit 3 as a developing unit includes a developing roller 3a, a developing blade 52, a developing chamber 3b, and a developer accommodating portion 3c. As shown in FIG. 6, the developing roller 3a is disposed in the developing chamber 3b, and the developing blade 52 is placed on the developing roller 3a with the tip portion in the counter direction with respect to the rotation direction of the developing roller 3a (the arrow G direction in FIG. 6). They are in contact with each other. The developing blade 52 serves to regulate the developer t into a thin layer on the peripheral surface of the developing roller 3a. Between the developer accommodating portion 3c and the developing chamber 3b, there is provided a developing opening 53 for supplying a developer that regulates and supplies the developer amount from the developer accommodating portion 3c to the developing chamber 3b. As shown in FIG. 5B, the opening 53 extends in the longitudinal direction. In the new cartridge P, a film-like seal member 47 is attached to the opening 53 by a method such as heat welding as shown in FIGS. 5B and 10A. The developer container 3c and the developing chamber 3b are separated by the seal member 47. The developer container 3c is filled with the developer t.

  That is, the opening 53 is blocked by the seal member 47 so that the developer t does not come out from the container 3c into the developing chamber 3b until the new cartridge P is used by the user. ing. Here, the seal member 47 is fixed to the outer edge of the opening 53 by heat welding, seals from the non-driving side to the driving side of the opening 53, and then folded back at the end on the driving side, so that the developing unit 3 is not The toner is pulled out to the outside of the developing unit through the driving-side seal member outlet 54. The distal end portion of the seal member 47 pulled out from the drawer port 54 is fixed to a winding shaft 48 constituting a seal member opening mechanism described later by a method such as thermal welding.

<Unsealing mechanism of sealing member>
Next, the opening mechanism (opening means) of the seal member 47 will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the tray 35 on which each cartridge P is mounted. As shown in FIG. 4, the opening mechanism of the seal member 47 includes a winding shaft 48, a drive input roller 40, and a rotation transmission member that transmits the rotation of the drive input roller 40 to the winding shaft 48.

  The take-up shaft 48 is a take-up member for taking up the seal member 47 that seals the opening 53 for supplying the developer so as to be openable. The winding shaft 48 is provided on the side surface of each cartridge P on the non-driving side, as shown in FIGS. The take-up shaft 48 is provided with a drive input gear (rotation input unit) 46. The take-up shaft 48 is rotated integrally with the drive input gear 46 when the drive is transmitted thereto.

  As shown in FIG. 4, one drive input roller 40 is provided on the non-drive side of the tray 35 and on the rear side in the mounting direction of the tray 35 (downstream in the movement direction from the outer position of the apparatus main body to the inner position). Is provided. The roller 40 is provided with a drive transmission gear 41. The roller 40 is a rotating member that slides and rotates on the apparatus main body 100 as the tray 35 moves. As the roller 40 rotates, the gear 41 rotates together.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the rotation transmission member includes a drive transmission gear 42, a drive transmission shaft 44, and a drive output gear (rotation output unit) 45, and is provided on the non-drive side surface of the tray 35. ing. The rotation transmitting member transmits the rotation of the roller 40 to the take-up shaft 48 of all the cartridges P.

  The gear 42 is provided at the end of the shaft 44 (the end on the back side of the apparatus main body) and meshes with the gear 41 included in the roller 40. The gear 45 is provided on the shaft 44 so as to mesh with a drive input gear 46 provided on the side surface of each cartridge P on the non-drive side. When the drive is transmitted to the gear 42, the shaft 44 and the gears 45 rotate together, and the drive is transmitted to all the winding shafts 48 via the gear 46.

  By moving the tray 35 from the outer position to the inner position of the apparatus main body 100 by the opening mechanism, the seal member 47 of each cartridge P supported by the tray 35 can be wound and opened.

  Specifically, first, the tray 35 is moved from the outer position to the inner position of the apparatus main body 100, so that the roller 40 provided on the tray 35 slides and rotates with the rail member 34 provided on the apparatus main body 100. . The driving force obtained by sliding with the rail member 34 is transmitted to each gear 45 through the gears 41 and 42 and the drive transmission shaft 44. Further, the driving force is transmitted to the gear 46 of each cartridge P meshing with each gear 45, and simultaneously drives the winding shaft 48 to which the seal member 47 pulled out from the outlet 54 is fixed. By this rotational driving, the seal member 47 extending over the opening 53 can be wound up to open the opening 53.

<Configuration of drive release member>
Next, the drive release member 60 provided in the tray 35 is demonstrated using FIG.7 and FIG.8. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state in which the rotation transmission is released by the drive release member. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a state in which the restriction of the drive release member is released and rotation can be transmitted.

  When the image forming apparatus is shipped from the assembly factory, the cartridge P may be shipped in a state where it is mounted on the apparatus main body 100 in advance. In such a case, it is necessary to prevent the seal member 47 of the cartridge P from being wound by the moving operation of the tray 35 at the time of shipment from the assembly factory of the image forming apparatus.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the gear 42 provided on the tray 35 is held so as to be movable in the axial direction of the shaft 44. The gear 42 is pressed to the drive transmission position by the elastic force of the pressing spring (elastic member) 43. Here, the drive transmission position is a position where the gear 42 and the gear 41 are engaged with each other.

  The drive release member 60 is a rotation transmission release member that acts on the gear 42 to release the transmission of rotation from the roller 40 to the winding shaft 48. The drive release member 60 has a restricting portion 60 d that engages with the shaft 44 and acts on the gear 42 to restrict the axial position of the drive transmission gear 42. The drive release member 60 has a guide hole 60a and a guide hole 60b for guiding the drive release position of the drive release member 60 shown in FIG. 8 and the movement of the drive release position shown in FIG. The guide hole 60 a is regulated by a guide shaft 35 c fixed to the cartridge tray 35 and guides the movement of the drive release member 60. The guide hole 60b is regulated by the holding shaft 35b fixed to the cartridge tray 35 and guides the movement of the drive release member 60 together with the guide hole 60a. Further, the guide hole 60b has a holding hole 60c for holding the drive release member 60 in a state where the transmission of rotation is released. By holding the holding shaft 35b in the holding hole 60c, the gear 42 is held at the drive release position shown in FIG. That is, the release member 60 acts on the gear 42 to release the rotation transmission from the roller 40 to the take-up shaft 48.

  As shown in FIG. 7, by releasing the drive, the seal member 47 of each cartridge P is prevented from being wound by the operation of storing the tray 35 in the image forming apparatus main body 100.

  Thereby, the developer P can be shipped in a state in which the cartridge P is mounted on the apparatus main body 100 in advance without the developer t coming out of the developer accommodating portion 3c. However, the present embodiment is not limited to this, and the cartridge P may be shipped only by the cartridge P separately from the apparatus main body 100. Even in such a case, according to the present embodiment, the seal member 47 can be prevented from being wound carelessly.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7A, the rail member 34 of the apparatus main body 100 is provided with a convex portion (force applying portion) 34a that acts on the drive release member 60 and switches the rotation to a state in which the rotation can be transmitted. It has been. Accordingly, in the operation of pulling out the cartridge tray 35 from the apparatus main body 100 (arrow A direction), the drive release member 60 is engaged with the convex portion 34a provided on the rail member 34, and the holding hole 60c and the holding shaft 35b are engaged ( Hold) is released. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8, the drive release member 60 is switched to a state where the rotation can be transmitted, and the gear 42 is pressed to the drive transmission position by the elastic force of the pressing spring 43 and attached to the roller 40 integrally. Mesh with the gear 46. In other words, the rotational force can be transmitted from the roller 40 to the take-up shaft 48.

  In this way, the operation of pulling out the tray 35 from the image forming apparatus main body 100 is performed once, and thereafter, the gear 42 is always held at the drive transmission position.

<Cartridge holding mechanism>
Next, a holding mechanism for the cartridge P when the cartridge P is mounted on the tray 35 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of the cartridge holding mechanism, FIG. 9A is a view showing a state before holding the cartridge, and FIG. 9B is a view showing a state where the cartridge is held.

  The sealing member 47 provided on the new cartridge P is opened by receiving the driving force (rotational force) of the gear 45 provided on the tray 35 by the gear 46 and rotating the winding shaft 48 to wind the sealing member 47. It is the composition which takes. Therefore, in order to reliably transmit the driving force of the gear 45 to the gear 46, it is necessary to regulate the positions of the tray 35 and the cartridge P at the time of driving transmission. Therefore, the position of each drive output gear 45 provided on the tray 35 and the drive input gear 46 included in each cartridge P is regulated to a position (meshing position) where rotation is transmitted by the cartridge holding member 61 as a regulating member. I have to. As shown in FIG. 9, the cartridge holding member 61 is rotatably attached to the drive output gear shaft (drive transmission shaft 44) of the tray 35 so that the gears 45 and 46 correspond to each other.

  As shown in FIG. 9A, when the cartridge P is not mounted on the tray 35, the cartridge holding member 61 abuts against the abutting portion 64 provided on the tray 35 by the elastic force of the applying spring (elastic member) 62. Located in the position. The spring 62 is held by the cartridge holding member 61 and an applying spring holding portion 63 provided on the tray 35.

  When the cartridge P is inserted into the tray 35, the cartridge P and the drive input gear shaft 49 that rotatably holds the gear 46 provided on the cartridge P move in the direction of arrow B in the figure. The drive input gear shaft 49 provided on the cartridge P moved in the arrow B direction engages with the cartridge holding member 61. As a result, the cartridge holding member 61 rotates in the direction of arrow C in the figure against the force of the spring 62.

  As shown in FIG. 9B, the flange 51 provided on the cartridge P is engaged with the tray 35, and the position of the cartridge P in the vertical direction in the drawing is determined. Further, the gear shaft 49 of each cartridge is fitted into a groove 61 a provided in each cartridge holding member 61 of the tray 35, and the drive input gear 46 and the drive output gear 45 are engaged with each other. Accordingly, the cartridge P is held on the tray 35 in a state where the distance between the shafts where the gear 46 and the gear 45 are engaged with each other, and the movement of the cartridge P due to the drive when the seal member 47 is opened is restricted.

  Here, the configuration in which the cartridge holding member 61 as the regulating member is rotatably attached to the tray 35 is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the cartridge holding member 61 may be rotatably attached to the gear shaft 49 of each cartridge P. Alternatively, the cartridge holding member 61 is provided separately from the tray 35 and the cartridge P. Then, after the cartridge P is mounted on the tray 35, the user may engage the cartridge holding member 61 with the shafts of the gears 41 and 42 to restrict the movement of the cartridge P.

<Opening configuration of seal member when replacing cartridge>
Next, an opening configuration of the seal member 47 when the new cartridge P with the opening 53 sealed is replaced will be described. As described above, a new cartridge P is also transported as a single product with the seal member 47 sealing the opening 53 attached thereto, and is transported under the user.

  First, in order to take out the used cartridge P, the tray 35 housed in the image forming apparatus main body is pulled out. The roller 40 is rotated by the drawing operation of the tray 35, and the winding shaft 48 rotates the seal member 47 in the direction opposite to the winding direction. At this time, the seal member 47 remains in the cartridge P. Therefore, the user can take out the seal member 47 from the tray 35 without touching it.

  Next, a new cartridge P with the opening 53 sealed by the seal member 47 is mounted on the tray 35 from which the used cartridge P has been taken out. Then, as shown in FIG. 9B, a new cartridge P is mounted on the tray 35 in a state where the cartridge-side gear 46 and the tray-side gear 45 are engaged with each other by the cartridge holding member 61.

  Then, in order to store the new cartridge P in the apparatus main body 100, the tray 35 on which the new cartridge P is mounted is slid from the outer position toward the inner position. As the tray 35 moves, the roller 40 slides on the rail member 34 in the apparatus main body 100 and rotates. The rotation of the roller 40 is transmitted to the gear 45 corresponding to each cartridge P through the gears 41 and 42 and the shaft 44. Then, it is transmitted to the gear 46 of each cartridge P meshing with each gear 45. As a result, the take-up shaft 48 of each cartridge P rotates, the seal member 47 is taken up, and the opening 53 of each cartridge P is opened.

  As described above, the seal member 47 of each cartridge P can be opened simply by moving the tray 35 loaded with each cartridge P from the outer position to the inner position of the apparatus main body 100. Thereby, it is possible to easily open the seal member 47 of each cartridge P, and to improve usability. Further, the structure for opening the seal member 47 can be simplified, and an inexpensive and small image forming apparatus can be provided.

  Further, when the cartridge P is shipped in a state where it is mounted on the apparatus main body 100 in advance, the rotation release from the roller 40 to the take-up shaft 48 can be released by the drive release member 60. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the seal member 47 of the cartridge P from being wound by the moving operation of the tray 35 when shipping the image forming apparatus assembly factory with the cartridge P mounted in the apparatus main body 100 in advance. . The developer t can be stored in the storage portion 3c until the user uses the image forming apparatus. In addition, when the image forming apparatus is initially used, the drive release member 60 is switched to a state in which the rotation can be transmitted by engaging the convex portion (force applying portion) 34a by the operation of pulling out the tray 35 from the apparatus main body. As a result, the gear 42 meshes with the gear 46 integral with the roller 40, and the rotational force can be transmitted from the roller 40 to the take-up shaft 48. For this reason, the seal members 47 of all the cartridges P can be taken up and the openings 53 can be opened by the operation of storing the pulled-out tray 35 inside the apparatus main body.

  Further, in the replacement operation of the cartridge P, the seal member provided on the new cartridge P is merely a series of replacement operations in which the tray 35 is pulled out from the apparatus main body, the cartridge P is replaced, and the tray 35 is accommodated in the apparatus main body. 47 can be opened.

  Further, the cartridge holding member 61 regulates the positions of the gears 45 provided on the tray 35 and the gears 46 of the cartridges P at positions where rotation is transmitted. Thereby, the position of each cartridge P with respect to the tray 35 can be regulated, and the driving force of each gear 45 can be reliably transmitted to each gear 46. Then, the seal member 47 of all the cartridges P can be simultaneously wound up and the opening 53 can be opened by the operation of storing the tray 35 in the apparatus main body 100.

[Second Embodiment]
In the present embodiment, a configuration in which the opening timing of the seal member 47 of each cartridge is shifted when the tray 35 loaded with the cartridge P is stored in the apparatus main body 100 is shown. In the present embodiment, the description will be focused on the configuration different from that of the first embodiment.

  The force required for opening the seal member 47 provided in the cartridge P differs in the range from the initial opening of the seal member 47 to the end of opening as shown in FIG. Specifically, at the initial opening and end of opening of the seal member 47, the area of the welded portion of the seal member 47 is larger than the intermediate portion of the seal member 47, and the welded portion of the seal member 47 intersects the winding direction. Welded in the direction. On the other hand, in the intermediate portion of the seal member 47, the area of the welded portion of the seal member 47 is narrower than that at the initial stage of opening of the seal member 47 and the end of opening, and the welded portion of the seal member 47 is welded in the winding direction. Yes. For this reason, compared with the intermediate part of the sealing member 47, a large force is required for winding the sealing member 47 at the initial stage of opening the sealing member 47 and at the end of opening. Therefore, a larger force is required to start winding the four seal members 47 of the cartridges P mounted on the tray 35 simultaneously.

  Here, a mechanism for shifting the opening timing of the seal member when the tray 35 is stored in the image forming apparatus main body 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 to 14.

  As shown in FIG. 11, in this embodiment, the drive transmission shafts constituting the rotation transmission member are drive transmission shafts 70, 71, 72, 73 that are divided in the axial direction so as to correspond to the respective cartridges P. Yes. The shafts 70, 71, 72, and 73 are provided so as to be rotatable about the same axis. The shafts 70, 71, 72, and 73 are configured such that the joints of the shafts shift the timing at which the rotation of the roller 40 is transmitted to the take-up shaft 48 of each cartridge P as shown in FIG. Yes.

  At the joint portion of the shafts 70 and 71, a drive transmission rib 70a for transmitting a rotational force, and an engagement portion 71d that engages with the space portion 71c that does not transmit the rotation of the rib 70a and the rib 70a to transmit the rotation. A drive receiving portion 71b is provided. Similarly, at the joint between the shafts 71 and 72, a drive transmission rib 71a for transmitting rotation, a space 72c that does not transmit the rotational force of the rib 71a, and the rib 71a are engaged to transmit the rotation. A drive receiving portion 72b having a joint portion 72d is provided. Similarly, the joint between the shafts 72 and 73 is engaged with the drive transmission rib 72a for transmitting the rotational force, the space 73c that does not transmit the rotational force of the rib 72a, and the rib 72a. A drive receiving portion 73b having an engaging portion 73d for transmission is provided.

  Here, the operation of shifting the timing of starting the winding of each seal member will be described with reference to FIG. The ribs 70a, 71a, 72a provided on the shafts 70, 71, 72, 73 and the receiving portions 71b, 72b, 73b are joined to each other in the state shown in FIG. Here, the operation of the joint portions of the shafts 70 and 71 will be described as an example, but the operations of the joint portions of the shafts 71 and 72 and the shafts 72 and 73 are the same.

  First, the innermost shaft 70 is rotated in the direction of arrow D in the figure by the driving force obtained by the operation of storing the tray 35 in the image forming apparatus main body 100. The rib 70a of the rotating shaft 70 is in a state in which the rotational force is not transmitted to the next shaft 71 by the space portion 71c (1/4 rotation) of the receiving portion 71b. Therefore, the shaft 70 rotates alone. Thereby, the winding of the seal member 47 of only the cartridge PY is started.

  When the tray 35 is further inserted into the image forming apparatus main body 100, as shown in FIG. 13B, the shaft 70 continues to rotate, and the rib 70a of the shaft 70 engages with the engaging portion 71d of the receiving portion 71b. Match. As a result, as shown in FIG. 13C, the driving force of the shaft 70 is transmitted to the shaft 71, and the shaft 71 rotates in the direction of arrow D in the drawing together with the shaft 70. Thereby, the winding of the seal member 47 of the cartridge PM is started. At this time, as shown in FIG. 14, the cartridge PY whose winding has been started has passed the peak of the opening strength in the initial stage of opening. Therefore, it is possible to start winding with a light force as compared with the case where winding of the seal member 47 of the cartridge PM is started simultaneously. That is, the operation force for storing the tray 35 in the apparatus main body 100 can be reduced.

  Similarly, at the joint portions of the shafts 71 and 72 and the shafts 72 and 73, the timing is shifted by a predetermined amount (1/4 rotation) by the amount of the space portions 72c and 73c of the receiving portions 72b and 73b. Communicated. As a result, the winding of the seal member 47 of the cartridges PC and PK is also started with a predetermined timing delay. By thus shifting the timing of starting the winding of the seal member of each cartridge P by a predetermined timing (see FIG. 14), the winding of the sealing member 47 starts to be wound with a lighter force than when the winding of the sealing member 47 is started simultaneously. be able to. That is, it is possible to reduce the operation force for storing the cartridge tray 35 in which the new cartridge is mounted in the apparatus main body 100.

  When the used cartridge P is replaced with a new cartridge P having the seal member 47, the tray 35 is first pulled out from the image forming apparatus main body 100. By pulling out the tray 35 at this time, the shaft 70 is independently driven to rotate in the direction opposite to the arrow D direction shown in FIG. Further, when the tray 35 is pulled out, as shown in FIG. 13A, the rib 70 a and the receiving portion 71 b are engaged, and the rotational force of the shaft 70 is transmitted to the shaft 71. Further, when the tray 35 is pulled out, the ribs 71a and 72a of the shafts 72 and 73 and the receiving portions 72b and 73b are also sequentially returned to the initial state as shown in FIG.

  When the shafts 70, 71, 72, 73 thus returned to the initial state (the state shown in FIG. 13A) are housed in the image forming apparatus main body 100 again, as described above, the predetermined timing (1 The rotational force is transmitted with a delay of / 4 rotation.

  As described above, the timing of starting the winding of the seal member 47 of each cartridge P can be shifted by a predetermined timing. Thereby, in addition to the effect by embodiment mentioned above, the storage operation force in the apparatus main body 100 of the tray 35 which mounted | worn each cartridge P can be reduced.

  Further, the shafts 70, 71, 72, 73 are always returned to the initial state by the operation of pulling out the tray 35 from the apparatus main body 100. Therefore, even when a plurality of new cartridges P are replaced at the same time, it is possible to reduce the operation force for storing the tray 35 in the image forming apparatus main body 100.

  Here, as an example of the shift amount of the timing at which the rotation of the roller 40 is transmitted to the take-up shaft 48 of each cartridge P, ¼ rotation is illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it is necessary if necessary. May be set as appropriate.

[Other Embodiments]
In each embodiment described above, the tray 35 moves in the horizontal direction with respect to the installation surface (not shown) of the apparatus main body 100. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the tray 35 may move linearly, for example, obliquely upward or obliquely downward with respect to the installation surface (not shown) of the apparatus main body 100. Further, the tray 35 may be moved linearly in the vertical direction with respect to the installation surface (not shown) of the apparatus main body. The tray 35 linearly moves in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the cartridge P to be supported (accommodated and mounted). The longitudinal direction of the cartridge P is the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive drum 1 or the longitudinal direction of the developing roller 3a.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, the cartridge attachment / detachment position is a position where the cartridge P is attached / detached to / from the tray (cartridge support member) 35. The cartridge attaching / detaching position is located on the downstream side in the pulling direction E of the tray (cartridge supporting member) 35 than when each cartridge P is located at the image forming position. According to each embodiment, the cartridge attaching / detaching position is a position where the user can take out the cartridge P supported by the tray 35 from the outside of the apparatus main body 100, and the user can use the apparatus main body 100. It is a position where the cartridge P can be supported on the tray 35 from the outside. Therefore, the cartridge attaching / detaching position is not limited to the outside of the apparatus main body 100, and may be a position where the cartridge P can be attached to and detached from the tray 35 even inside the apparatus main body 100.

  Further, according to each of the embodiments described above, the tray 35 is linearly movable in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the cartridge with respect to the apparatus main body. However, the tray 35 may be linearly movable in a direction parallel to the longitudinal direction of the cartridge with respect to the apparatus main body. In this case, the roller 40 as a rotating member is provided on the back side in the mounting direction and on the side surface in the moving direction of the tray 35, and the rotation transmitting member and the winding member to which this rotation is transmitted are provided in the mounting direction back side, etc. It is necessary to provide at a position where drive transmission from the roller 40 is possible.

I: inner position, O: outer position, P, PY, PM, PC, PK ... cartridge, S ... recording medium, t ... developer, 1 ... photosensitive drum, 34 ... rail member, 34a ... convex portion,
35 ... cartridge tray, 35b ... holding shaft, 35c ... guide shaft, 40 ... drive input roller, 41, 42 ... drive transmission gear, 43 ... pressing spring, 44 ... drive transmission shaft, 45 ... drive output gear, 46 ... drive input Gear: 47: Seal member, 48: Winding shaft, 53: Development opening, 60: Drive release member, 60a, 60b: Guide hole, 60c: Holding hole, 60d: Restricting portion, 61: Cartridge holding member, 70, 71 , 72, 73 ... drive transmission shafts, 70a, 71a, 72a ... drive transmission ribs, 71b, 72b, 73b ... drive receiving parts, 71c, 72c, 73c ... space parts, 71d, 72d, 73d ... engagement parts, 100 ... Main unit

Claims (4)

In a color electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which a plurality of cartridges are detachably attached to an apparatus main body and an image is formed on a recording medium.
A cartridge support member that supports the cartridge and moves between an inner position located inside the apparatus main body and an outer position located outside the apparatus main body;
A winding member for winding a seal member provided in the cartridge and sealingly openable the opening for supplying the developer;
A rotating member provided on the cartridge support member and rotating as the cartridge support member moves;
A rotation transmitting member provided on the cartridge support member and transmitting the rotation of the rotating member to the winding member;
A color electrophotographic image forming apparatus comprising: opening a cartridge seal member supported by the cartridge support member by moving the cartridge support member from an outer position to an inner position.   A rotation transmission release member that acts on the rotation member or the rotation transmission member to release the rotation transmission from the rotation member to the winding member, and acts on the rotation transmission release member to transmit the rotation. The color electrophotographic image forming apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a force applying unit that switches to a possible state.   2. A restricting member for restricting a position of a rotation output portion of the rotation transmission member of the cartridge support member and a rotation input portion of the winding member of the cartridge to a position to transmit the rotation. Or a color electrophotographic image forming apparatus according to 2;   4. The color electrophotographic image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotation transmitting member shifts a timing at which the rotation of the rotating member is transmitted to a winding member of a plurality of cartridges. 5.

Images