JPH04123074A - Color image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To facilitate the exchange of parts, jamming processing and the supply of toner by opening an upper housing including toner supply container and moving a process cartridge to a 2nd position after opening it. CONSTITUTION:When the upper housing 26 is closed, the process cartridge 20 is at a 1st position where forming an image is possible and the leading edge parts 310 of the toner supply pipes of plural toner supply containers 25 are connected to be conducted to developing devices 27 respectively corresponding thereto through joint means 321 provided in a device main body 19. When the upper housing 26 is opened, the connected state thereof is released and the leading edge part 310 of the pipe gets in an open state. Then, a moving path between the 1st position where forming the image is possible by the process cartridge 20 and the 2nd position where the process cartridge is loaded/unloaded is opened. Thus, the toner is automatically and smoothly supplied, and when a trouble such as jamming, etc., occurs, the sure processing for the trouble is simply, easily and safely performed and soiling due to the toner is prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a color image forming apparatus such as a color printer or a color copying machine having an image carrier belt suspended substantially horizontally, and particularly relates to a color image forming apparatus such as a color printer or a color copying machine having an image carrier belt suspended approximately horizontally. The present invention relates to a color image forming apparatus that can be divided into an upper casing that can be opened to a user.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, a color image forming apparatus having an image carrier belt suspended substantially horizontally and a plurality of developing units arranged in parallel on the lower surface of the belt is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 151560/1983, and is well known. It is. According to the color image forming apparatus described in the above publication, the image carrier belt is arranged substantially horizontally and laterally, and a plurality of developing devices are arranged in parallel on the lower surface of the belt with their developing openings facing upward. Therefore, the device is compact and there is no toner scattering from the developing device.
Leaking? 11 and 3! Misakibatake of the toner between I Lunki; produces the benefits of visit six lotus noodles.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

By the way, in a practical color printer or a color copying machine, a toner replenishing device is provided in order to stably perform continuous image formation over a long period of time. However, since the color image forming apparatus described in the publication is not particularly provided with the toner replenishing device, it is necessary to take out the developing device and replenish the toner each time the toner in the developing device is consumed. It is also possible to install a toner replenishment device externally to the device and replenish toner to the developing device using a toner conveyance pipe, but in that case, the toner conveyance path becomes longer and may become clogged, making it impossible to achieve smooth toner replenishment. cause problems. There are also other problems, such as preventing the device from becoming more compact.

Furthermore, in the color image forming apparatus described in the publication, when inspecting or replacing parts within the apparatus, the image forming members are separated from each other and then pulled out to the front.

In particular, when handling jams, it is often necessary to insert one's hand into the space, which is undesirable from a safety standpoint.As a result, the space needs to be large, which increases the size of the device. be.

In addition, when such members are separated from each other, especially when the developing device and the toner supply container are separated, the connecting portions are separated and the separated connecting ports are closed to prevent contamination due to toner spillage inside the image forming apparatus. It requires something that doesn't happen.

The present invention eliminates these drawbacks and automatically and smoothly replenishes each developing device with each toner, and when troubles such as jams occur, they can be easily and safely handled. To provide a clean and compact image forming apparatus that does not cause toner stains even in such cases.

[Means to solve the problem]

The purpose of this is to insert a process cartridge consisting of at least a replaceable image bearing member and a plurality of developing devices near the circumferential surface of the image carrier into the main body of the apparatus, and toner supply containers provided corresponding to the plurality of developing devices. an image forming apparatus provided in an upper housing that can be opened upward from the apparatus main body, wherein when the upper housing is closed, the process cartridge is in a first position where eight images can be recorded; The tips of the toner replenishment pipes of the plurality of toner replenishment containers are connected to the corresponding developing devices by joint means provided in the main body of the apparatus so as to be electrically conductive with each other, and when the upper housing is opened, the toner replenishment The connection between the pipe tip and the joint means is released, at least one of the connecting ends is closed, and the process cartridge is placed in the first position where image formation is possible and when the process cartridge is inserted. This is achieved by a color image forming apparatus characterized by opening a movement path between the image forming apparatus and the second position that allows attachment and detachment.

In the color image forming apparatus of the present invention, for example, the image carrier belt stretched between the driving roller and the driven roller is arranged approximately horizontally, and a yellow (Y)
), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (BK) developers are arranged in parallel, either individually or in an integrated configuration sharing a part of the wall surface. Further, along the upper surface of the image carrier belt, a plurality of toner replenishment containers for replenishing toner to each of the developing devices via toner conveying pipes are arranged in parallel in a positional relationship corresponding to each of the developing devices.

Therefore, each image forming member in the apparatus is compactly integrated and arranged stably, and in particular, the toner replenishing mechanism of the toner replenishing container and the developing device is clearly integrated.

In other words, since each toner replenishment container is located in the device and arranged in parallel with each developing device, it is possible to replenish toner efficiently in a relatively short pass with less twisting, which prevents clogging and other problems. First, smooth toner replenishment is possible.

Further, the color image forming apparatus of the present invention preferably has a clamshell structure, in which case at least toner is supplied to the process cartridge including at least a photoreceptor and a developing device, and the apparatus main body including a paper feeding system and an optical system. The upper case containing the container can be opened, and after opening,
By moving the process cartridge toward the open opening, that is, to the second position, parts replacement and jam removal are extremely easy.

〔Example〕

EXAMPLES The present invention will be specifically explained below with reference to Examples, but the embodiments of the present invention are not limited thereto.

(Example 1) Figures 1 to 3 are diagrams for explaining this example.
The figures are a cross-sectional view of the color image forming apparatus of this embodiment when the upper case is closed, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view when the upper case is open, and FIG.
The figure is a cross section taken along line AA in FIG.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a belt-shaped photoreceptor which is stretched approximately horizontally by a driving roller 2 on the transfer device side, a driven roller 3 on the cleaning device side, a tension biasing inner plate 4, and a slack side support by a roller 5; 6 and 7 may be omitted, but a static eliminator using a pre-cleaning static eliminator lamp and a scorotron corona discharger faces the surface of the photoreceptor 1 at the position of the driven roller 3, and 8 is also located at the position of the driven roller 3. When the surface of the photoreceptor 1 is opposed to the surface of the photoreceptor 1 and the separation means 9 using an eccentric cam is not acting, the collected toner conveying screw 8b is rotated counterclockwise around its axis by the bias of the spring 8a to the position shown in the figure. The brush roller 8C moves to an operating position where it slides against the surface of the photoreceptor l, and by the action of the separating means 9, the brush roller 8C moves clockwise around the axis of the recovered toner conveying screw 8b against the bias of the spring 8a. The brush roller 8C rotates in the direction of the photoconductor l to occupy an inactive position away from the surface of the photoconductor l, and lO is a cleaning device in which the toner conveyed by the recovered toner conveying screw 8b of the cleaning device 8 is transferred to a recovered toner storage box by the same means. 12 is a charger using a scorotron corona discharger that faces the surface of the photoreceptor l at the position of the tension inner plate 4; 13 is a charger with an output section of the tension inner plate 4 a laser writing device consisting of a laser beam scanner facing the surface of the photoreceptor l at a position 14Y, 14M, 14C and 14B;
K are arranged in parallel along the surface of the tensioned inner plate 4 with the developing openings facing upward, and are integrated so as to share a part of the wall surface with each other.

Further, each of these developing devices is arranged with a gap from the surface of the photoreceptor, and develops by a non-contact reversal developing method under an alternating electric field.

15 is a transfer device using a corona discharger that faces the surface of the photoreceptor l at the position of the drive roller 2; 16 is a cassette 16a containing transfer paper P; and a delivery roll 16b for sending out the transfer paper P at the top of the cassette 16a. A paper feeding device consisting of 1
Reference numeral 7 designates a transfer paper path that guides the transfer paper P fed by the paper feeding device 16 to the heat roller fixing device 22, and 18 designates a registration roller that feeds the transfer paper P to the transfer section in accordance with the image forming timing.

As shown in FIG. 2, the color image forming apparatus of this embodiment has toner supply containers 25Y, 25 with respect to the apparatus main body 19.
The upper housing 26 containing the M, 25C, and 25BK is configured to be openable upward via a hinge 36. On the device main body 19 side, there are a belt-shaped photoreceptor l, a pre-charging static elimination lamp 6,
A static eliminating electrode 7, a cleaning device 8, an image forming device such as a charger 12, and a plurality of developing devices 14Y, 14M, and 14c.

14BK, laser beam writing device 13, paper feeding device 16,
It includes a transfer paper path 17, a transfer device 15, a fixing device 22, a paper discharge path 23, and the like. The waste toner scraped off by the leaning device 8 is collected into the collected toner collection box 11 via the collected toner conveyance path IO.

Further, the image forming member on the periphery of the belt-shaped photoreceptor 11 and the developing devices 14Y to 14BK are assembled to the photoreceptor unit frame 2OA to constitute a process cartridge 20, and the process cartridge 20 and the apparatus main body 19 are assembled. The laser writing device 13 is also assembled to the writing unit frame 21A to form a writing unit.

The main body 19 of the apparatus is configured to be able to be attached to and detached from the main body 19 of the apparatus. Further, the developing devices 14Y to 14BK are integrally configured,
It is attached to and detached from the process cartridge 20.

Toner supply container 25Y incorporated in the upper housing 26~
25BK is connected to the developing device 14 of the process cartridge nozzle 20 on the side of the device main body 19 by the connection mechanism shown in FIGS. 3 to 5.
It is coupled to Y-14BK.

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view taken along the line A-A in FIG. A conveying screw 28 is connected to the container 27 and feeds the BKh toner accumulated at the bottom of the container 27 into the developing device, and is provided through the container 27 and the developing device 14BK. A toner replenishment pipe 35 for replenishing toner in the vertical direction is detachably connected by loosening the screw 33 as required. Further, in the toner supply container 25BK on the side of the upper housing 26, a delivery pipe 30 having a built-in spring coil 29 for delivering BK toner is provided so as to extend outward from the side edge of the belt-shaped photoreceptor l. A joint means 32 is provided at the distal end of the toner supply pipe 35 and is connected to the vertical toner supply pipe 35 .

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the joint means 32,
Reference numeral 321 denotes a lower casing that encloses each component of the means, and a bearing 323 extending upward from the bottom inside the lower casing 321 has a gear for rotationally driving the spring coil 36 in the vertical toner supply pipe 35. 322 is installed coaxially,
The gear 322 is rotationally driven by a motor 325 via an engagement gear 324. The upper casing 310 is connected to the apparatus main body 19 and to the lower casing 321 via the retaining portion 311 when the upper casing 26 is closed, and is connected to the lower casing 321 to transfer toner from the toner delivery pipe 30 to the vertical toner supply pipe 35. It is said that it can be supplied. The vertical toner supply pipe 35 is integrally joined to the inner wall of a bearing 323 that protrudes upward within the lower housing 321.

Further, the lower end of the toner delivery tube 30 is integrally joined to the upper inner wall of the upper housing 310. Further, the upper housing 310 is designed to prevent toner from flowing down from the toner delivery pipe 30 and contaminating the equipment when the upper housing 310 is separated from the lower housing 321 by opening the upper housing 26. A shutter means 312 is provided at. This shutter means 312 is closed and opened in conjunction with opening and closing of the upper housing 26 with respect to the apparatus main body 19.

The operation of the shutter means will be explained in more detail with reference to FIG.

In the figure, when the upper housing 26 is opened upward through the hinge 36 with respect to the device main body 19, the upper housing 310 (Y
), 310 (M”) and lower housing 321 (Y), 3
21(M) are vertically separated, toner delivery tubes 30(Y), 30(M) and vertical toner conveying tubes 35(Y), 35(M) are separated. At this time, the toner delivery tubes 30 (Y), 30
In order to prevent toner from leaking from (M) and contaminating the equipment, shutter means 312 (Y), 312 (M
) is provided, and the shutter means moves in the closing direction in conjunction with the opening operation of the upper housing by the following mechanism to cover the openings of the delivery tubes 30 (Y 2 ) and 30 (M 2 ).

That is, a shaft 190 of the hinge 36 is extended and supported by a support member 191 on the side of the device main body 19, and a sector gear 192 is fixed to the extended portion of the shaft 190. Further, a gear 263 that engages with the fan-shaped gear 192 is fixed to a shaft 262 that is rotatably supported by support members 260 and 261 on the upper housing 26 side. Further, one bevel gear 264 is fixed to an extension of the shaft 262, and the other bevel gear 264 is fixed to one end of a shaft 266 orthogonal thereto.
It is in a binding relationship with 65. The orthogonal shaft 266 is rotatably supported by support members 267 and 268 extending from the side walls of the upper casings 310 (Y 2 ) and 310 (M 2 ), and the orthogonal shaft 266 includes pinion gears 313 (Y 2 ) and 31
3 (M) is fixed and the shutter means 312 (Y
), the rack gear 314 (
y), 314(M) from the bottom side.

Thus, when the upper housing 26 is opened upward relative to the device main body 19, the gear 263 moves along the tooth surface of the fan-shaped gear 192 while meshing with it, thereby rotating together with the shaft 262. The rotation of the shaft 262 causes the bevel gear 26 to rotate.
The orthogonal axis 266 is rotated through 4.265.

Rack gears 314 (Y) are provided on the lower surfaces of shutter means 312 (Y), 312 (M) by pinion gears 313 (Y), 313 (M) fixed to the orthogonal shaft 266 by rotation of the orthogonal shaft 266.

314(M), so that the shutter means 312(Y), 312(M) are rotated while engaging with the upper housing 310(Y).

310 (M) and toner feed pipe 30 (
Y).

30 (M) openings are shielded. When the upper housing 26 is closed to the apparatus main body 19, the shutter means 312(y), 312(M) are pulled out by the reverse operation, and the openings of the toner delivery pipes 30(Y), 30(M) are pulled out. will be released.

Note that the explanation of FIG. 5 is based on the toner supply container 25 (
Y), 25(M), but 25(C)
, 25 (BK).

The lower casing 32 that constitutes the joint means 32 in this way
1Y to 321BM are fixed to each of the developing units 14Y to 148KJ fixed to the process cartridge 20, respectively, and the upper housing 310 is fixed to each of the toner supply containers 25Y to 25BK provided in the upper housing 26. Therefore,
The process cartridge 2 is placed in the first position of the apparatus main body 19.
0 is housed, the upper housing 26 is attached to the main body 19 of the device.
When the lid is closed, the lower housings 321y to 321BK of each developer
, each of the toner supply containers 25Y to 25BK of the upper housing 26
The upper casings 310Y to 310BK connected to the lower end of the toner delivery pipe 30 are automatically fitted together, and the shutters 312 in the upper casings 310Y to 310BK are also automatically opened to enable toner replenishment. becomes. Image formation can be performed in such a state. In addition, if there is a problem during the process and you want to open the upper housing 26 and pull out the process cartridge 20 from the main body 19 of the apparatus, open the upper housing 26.
When the lid 6 is opened, the joint means 32 is disengaged and the shutters 312 of the upper casings 310Y to 3]OBK are also closed, thereby preventing toner from spilling out and contaminating the inside. This greatly facilitates troubleshooting such as jams and other inspections and maintenance.

That is, when the upper housing 26 is opened, the toner delivery tube 30 is disconnected from the joint means 32, so the right door 19A shown in the figure is opened 90' horizontally, and the flow process cartridge 20 is moved to the first position. This is because it becomes possible to make a large slide from the position to the second position on the right side in FIGS. 1 and 2, and it becomes possible to widen the path of the transfer paper. This movement from the first position to the second position is necessary to open the transfer area, and in the second position, approximately one-third of the process cartridge 20 protrudes from the apparatus main body 19. . In addition, the first
It is desirable that the movement from the position to the second position be performed in conjunction with the opening of the upper housing 26. This process cartridge 2
0 from the first position to the second position and vice versa are performed automatically, and the removal of the process cartridge 20 in the second position from the apparatus main body 19 and the loading into the second position are performed manually.

Note that in this embodiment, the shutter 312 is attached to the upper housing 310Y.
I found it only on ~3108K, but the lower case 321Y~321
It is also possible to provide it in BK. However, the lower housing 32
The openings of the toner receivers of 1Y to 321BK face upwards, so there is little worry of toner spilling from there.

Although not shown, a protective cover is provided over the lower housing 321 to prevent the toner from spilling from the process cartridge 20 when the joint means 32 is removed. This is to prevent the toner from spilling out from above when the apparatus is moved with the joint means 32 released. Of course, the lower housing 32
When the shutter 1 is provided with a shutter, such a protective cover is seemingly unnecessary, but on the contrary, it prevents dust other than toner from entering.

Furthermore, if the surface of the photoreceptor belt is left exposed to external light when not in use, optical fatigue will occur and the performance will quickly deteriorate, so it is desirable to take measures to prevent this. That is, when the process cartridge is in the first position, the upper housing 26 is also closed, so there is no risk of optical fatigue, but after the upper housing 26 is opened and the process cartridge is moved to the M2 position, Since jam removal and internal inspection are performed in this state, a portion of the photoreceptor belt is exposed to outside light for a relatively long period of time.

In order to prevent this, it is possible to construct the apparatus so that, for example, a protective cover covers the area around the transfer position of the photoreceptor belt when the process cartridge moves from the first position to the second position. Since this means has recently been proposed by the applicant in a separate application, further explanation will be omitted.

To form a color image in the color image forming apparatus of the present invention as described above, the belt-shaped photoreceptor 1 rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. The static eliminating surface is cleaned by the brush row 28c with the cleaning device 8 in the illustrated operating position. A charger 12 charges the cleaned photoconductor surface, and a laser beam is applied to the charged surface based on information from an image information output means (not shown) consisting of a document reading device using a color image sensor, an image information processing device, etc. A writing device 13 projects image light from a laser beam on the Y image to form an electrostatic image in the form of dots. The obtained electrostatic image is developed by the developing device 14Y or by reversal development in which Y toner charged to the same polarity as that of the photoreceptor L is attached to the low potential spot where the laser beam is incident, thereby forming a Y toner image. Another developing device 14M in which the surface of the photoreceptor 1 having
~148K, it passes through the transfer device 15 and the static eliminator 6, static eliminator 7, and cleaning device 8 that have been placed in an inactive state by that time, and is charged again by the charger 12.
As before, the laser writing device 13 injects image light for the M image onto the charged surface to form an electrostatic image. The developing device 14M then develops the electrostatic image into an M toner image, thereby forming a two-color toner image consisting of a superimposed Y toner image and a M toner image on one surface of the photoreceptor. Similarly, a C toner image or even a BK toner image is formed on the forming surface.
By forming the toner image, a color toner image is formed. The color toner image thus obtained is transferred from the paper feeding device 16 via the register roller 18 to the transfer paper P fed into the position of the transfer device 15, and then the transfer paper P passes through the fixing device 22 to form the color image. The image is fixed and discharged from the paper discharge path 23 by the paper discharge roller 24 to form a color image. Of course, it is possible to form not only color images but also monochrome images, two-color images, and the like.

(Embodiment 2) FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining this embodiment, and is a diagram when the upper housing 26 is opened to the device main body 19, and is basically the same as the device in FIG. 1 of Embodiment 1. Although they have almost the same configuration, the configuration of the Talamusiel and the toner replenishment mechanism are different. Note that the same content as in FIGS. 1 to 5 of the first embodiment is given the same reference numeral.

The differences between this embodiment and the first embodiment are as follows.

(1) The upper housing 26 containing the toner supply containers 25Y to 258K has one side of the transfer paper conveyance path 17, one of the pair of conveyance rollers 18 and 18', the transfer pole 15, and the fixing device. 22 and an image ejection path 23,
The upper housing 26 is opened to the apparatus main body 19 via a hinge 36 provided at the base of the transfer paper conveyance path 17 .

(2) The shutter means 312Y to 3128K use electrical means instead of the mechanical means in the first embodiment.

That is, film-like shutter members 312Y to 312BK having a circular opening for opening the shutter and a non-opening part for shielding the shutter are used as the shutter means, and one end thereof is biased in the winding direction by spring pressure. Winding shaft 31
It is rolled up from 5Y to 315BK. The other end of the shutter member is connected to the solenoid 316Y through a guide roll.
Connected to 316BK.

Now, when opening the upper housing 26 upward, transfer paper conveyance path 1
The "on" and "off" protrusions 301 of the microswitch 300 provided on the device main body 19 side near the base of the microswitch 7 are moved and separated together with the upper housing 26 to turn the solenoid "off", and the solenoid is turned "off". Shutter member 312Y~3
12BK is rolled up on the winding shaft by spring pressure, and the shudder is shielded.

Of course, the shutter means used in this embodiment can also be used as the shutter means in embodiment 1, or conversely, the shutter means used in embodiment I
There is no problem in using the shutter means of Embodiment 2 as the shutter means of the second embodiment.

When the upper housing is closed, the protrusion 301 turns on the micro-sinch 300, activating the solenoid and winding back the shutter member to open the toner delivery pipe and enable toner replenishment.

Next, from the toner delivery pipe to the upper housing 310Y-3
10BK and lower housing 321(Y) to 321(B
The toner is sent to the vertical toner transport pipes 35Y to 35BK through the toner transport pipes 35Y to 35BK, and the toner receiver provided integrally with the developing device is carried into the container 27, but these mechanisms are similar to those shown in FIG. 4 of the first embodiment. It is said to be similar to that of

Further, in this case, the process cartridge 20 is moved from the first position to the second position in the same manner as in the first embodiment.
This is achieved by opening 9A horizontally by 90°.

Note that the movement from the first position to the second position is performed automatically,
Further removal of the edges of the process cartridge 2o is performed manually.

(Other Examples) In Embodiment 11 and Embodiment 2 described above, multiple toner images are formed on the photoreceptor belt, and the toner images are transferred onto the transferred transfer paper P using transfer poles.

In the third and fourth embodiments described below, a transfer drum device 150 is used in place of the transfer pole 15.

That is, in Example 3, a cross-sectional view when the lid is closed is shown in FIG.
FIG. 8 shows a cross-sectional view when the lid is opened.

The transfer drum device 150 is composed of a transfer drum 1511, a cleaning blade 152, a transfer paper winding member 153, a transfer paper peeling member 154, etc., and each toner layer of Y, M, C, and BK formed on the photoreceptor belt I. is transferred to a transfer paper P on a transfer drum for each color, and after four transfers, the transfer paper P is peeled off from the transfer drum 151 by a peeling member 154 and sent to the theorem machine 24 for recovery.

In the third embodiment, the transfer drum device 150 is installed in place of the transfer pole 15 of the first embodiment, and other functions are completely the same as those in the first embodiment, so a description thereof will be omitted.

Similarly, in the fourth embodiment, a transfer drum device 150 is installed in place of the transfer pole 15 of the second embodiment, and the other functions are exactly the same as the second embodiment. FIG. 9 shows a cross-sectional view when the lid is opened.

In addition, in all the above embodiments, the writing scanner 21
Although the scanner 21 is provided in the main body of the apparatus, the scanner 21 may be incorporated in the upper casing 267 instead of the main body 19 of the apparatus.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above description, according to the color image forming apparatus of the present invention, the developing unit group and the toner supply container group are parallel to each other in a corresponding relationship along the surface of the belt-like image forming body stretched approximately horizontally. Because of this arrangement, the device configuration is organized and compact. In addition, it has a talam shell structure, and the belt-shaped photoreceptor and its peripheral equipment constitute a process cartridge and other units, and it has a unit structure that can be inserted and removed from the device, making it easy to replace parts and clear jams. Ru. In addition, in conjunction with the above-mentioned clamshell structure, the toner replenishment mechanism is connected or disconnected, and the prevention of toner falling from the toner replenishment pipe when disconnected** operates, so toner replenishment can be easily and reliably performed on external peripheral devices. The effect is that there is no contamination.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are cross-sectional views of the color image forming apparatus of Example 1 when the lid is closed and when the lid is opened, respectively. FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the second embodiment when the lid is opened. FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 are cross-sectional views of the third embodiment when the lid is closed and when the lid is opened, respectively. FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the fourth embodiment when the lid is opened. 3 and 4 are cross-sectional views illustrating the mechanism for conveying replenishment toner from the toner replenishment container to the developing device in Embodiments 1 and 3, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the shutter mechanism of the toner replenishment path. It is a diagram. l... Belt-shaped photoreceptor 8... Cleaning device 1
2... Chargers 14 (Y) to 14 (B K )... Developer 13...
Writing device 15...Transfer device 16...Paper feeding device 17...Transfer paper conveyance path 20...Process cartridge 21...Writing system unit 19...Device main body 25 (Y) to 25 (BK )...Toner supply container 26.
・Upper casing

Claims (1)

[Claims] A process cartridge consisting of at least a replaceable image bearing member and a plurality of developing devices provided near the circumferential surface thereof is inserted into the apparatus main body, and each toner supply container provided corresponding to the plurality of developing devices is inserted into the apparatus main body. The image forming apparatus is provided in an upper housing whose lid can be opened upward from the top, wherein when the lid of the upper housing is closed, the process cartridge is in a first position where image recording is possible, and a plurality of toner supply containers are disposed. The tips of the toner supply pipes are connected to the corresponding developing devices by joint means provided on the apparatus main body, and when the upper housing is opened, the tips of the toner supply pipes are connected to the respective developing devices. When the coupling state with the joint means is released, at least one of each connecting end becomes a closed state, and the process cartridge can be inserted into and removed from a first position where the process cartridge can form an image. A color image forming apparatus characterized in that a movement path between the second position and the second position is opened.