JP5061713B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suitably communicate an intermediate transfer unit with a tank member, when it is inserted from the side, using simple and inexpensive constitution. <P>SOLUTION: A toner recovery device includes a housing 21; a shutter member 28 that opens or closes an exhaust port 26; and an energizing member 27 that presses the shutter member 28, thereby closing the exhaust port 26. The housing 21 has a cylindrical shaft 23 that has the exhaust port 26 in its outer peripheral face. The shutter member 28 has a bearing part 29, attached to the shaft 23 of the housing 21 so as to be rotatable in the circumferential direction; a covering part 30, having a communication opening 31 formed in part of the outer peripheral face of the bearing part 29 and capable of communicating with the exhaust port 26; and a rotation-receiving part 32 formed on part of the covering part 30, which is rotated in contact with the side face of the tank member 36, when the intermediate transfer unit 35 is attached to the apparatus body 1, by being inserted from the side, covering an infiltration opening 37 of the tank member 36 with the covering part 30, and making the communication opening 31 communicate. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an image forming apparatus, a shutter member is provided in a unit that can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body, and when this shutter member is fitted to a discharge nozzle disposed at a downstream end of a collected toner transport mechanism, A device including a toner recovery device that can be operated by the action of the above is known (for example, see Patent Document 1).

As another image forming apparatus, a shutter member is provided on a unit that is detachable from the apparatus main body, and the shutter member receives an urging force in a state where the unit is detached from the apparatus main body, and the receiving port is maintained in a closed state. A device having a configuration in which the protrusion is in contact with the convex portion in an open state is known (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
JP-A-9-146432 JP-A-6-308782

  By the way, in order to easily attach and detach the unit to and from the apparatus main body, it is necessary to have a configuration that can be detached from the side of the apparatus main body.

  However, in the conventional image forming apparatus, the mechanism for opening and closing the opening by rotating the shutter member is configured such that the unit is attached to and detached from the apparatus main body from above. When the unit is attached / detached from the side of the apparatus main body, a sliding shutter member is used, and a rotary shutter structure cannot be adopted.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention provides an image forming apparatus having a rotary shutter structure that can communicate with a tank member appropriately when the intermediate transfer unit is inserted from the side with a simple and inexpensive configuration. Let it be an issue.

As a means for solving the above problems, the present invention provides:
An intermediate transfer unit that is detachable from the side of the apparatus main body and includes an intermediate transfer member and a toner recovery device for recovering toner from the intermediate transfer member;
A tank member provided in the apparatus main body and storing the toner collected in the toner collecting apparatus;
An image forming apparatus comprising:
The tank member includes an entry port that opens upward, into which the toner collected in the toner collection device enters,
The toner recovery device includes:
A recovery port for recovering toner from the intermediate transfer member, and a housing having a discharge port for discharging the recovered toner;
A shutter member for opening and closing the discharge port of the housing;
A biasing member that biases the shutter member and closes the discharge port of the housing when the intermediate transfer unit is detached from the apparatus main body;
With
The housing includes a shaft portion having a cylindrical shape at least at one end portion and having the discharge port on an outer peripheral surface;
The shutter member is
A bearing portion mounted rotatably on the shaft portion of the housing in the circumferential direction;
A communication port that is formed on a part of the outer peripheral surface that constitutes the bearing portion and that can communicate with the discharge port, and a wall portion that extends from the outer peripheral surface of the bearing portion to the outer diameter side and surrounds the communication port. a covering portion having bets,
Wherein formed on a part of the cover portion, wherein the intermediate transfer unit device is inserted from the body to the side when worn, the tank and abuts against rotation on the side surface of the member, the tank member in the wall portion of the cover portion A rotation receiving portion that covers the intrusion opening and communicates with the communication opening;
It is set as the structure provided with.

  With this configuration, when the intermediate transfer unit is removed from the apparatus main body, the shutter member rotates to a predetermined position by the biasing force of the biasing member, and the housing outlet is closed. Therefore, toner does not leak from the housing. On the other hand, when the intermediate transfer unit is attached to the apparatus main body from the side, the rotation receiving portion of the shutter member contacts the side surface of the tank member and rotates against the urging force of the urging member. As a result, the entrance of the tank member is covered by the covering portion of the shutter member, the communication port of the shutter member communicates with the entrance of the tank member, and the toner can move from the intermediate transfer unit into the tank member.

A guide member that is elastically deformable is provided around the entrance of the tank member ,
It is preferable that the guide member is integrated with a sheet member that extends in a region of the side surface of the tank member where the rotation receiving portion abuts.
Furthermore, the guide member is pressed against the wall portion formed in the covering portion by the rotation of the shutter member and is elastically deformed, and comes into contact with the entire wall portion before the housing outlet is opened. It is preferable to configure .
With this configuration, the guide member is elastically deformed when the rotation receiving portion is brought into contact with the side surface of the tank member and the shutter member is rotated, so that the force acting on the shutter member can be kept small. For this reason, it is possible to avoid adversely affecting the tension of the intermediate transfer member via the shutter member. Further, since the guide member is gradually elastically deformed as the shutter member is rotated, the guide member can be covered with the covering portion before the toner discharges by opening the discharge port of the housing. Can be prevented. Furthermore, since the sheet member covers the guide member, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of a problem that the guide member falls off from the tank member even if the shutter member contacts and rotates.

  According to the present invention, even when the intermediate transfer unit is mounted from the side of the apparatus main body, the housing and the tank are formed by rotating the shutter member with the rotation receiving portion in contact with the side surface of the tank member. The member can be in a communication state. Therefore, even in a type in which the intermediate transfer unit is mounted from the side, which could not be achieved in the past, the rotary shutter structure can communicate and block the path for discharging the toner from the intermediate transfer unit to the tank member. It becomes possible.

  Embodiments according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  1 and 2 show an image forming apparatus provided with a toner recovery device 5 according to the present embodiment. This image forming apparatus generally includes an apparatus main body 1 provided with a paper feeding unit 2, an image forming device 3, a fixing device 4, a toner collecting device 5, and the like.

  The paper feed unit 2 is composed of a plurality of cassettes 7 each containing different sizes of paper 6. A sheet 6 having a size selected on an operation panel (not shown) or automatically selected is discharged from the corresponding cassette 7.

  The image forming apparatus 3 includes an intermediate transfer belt 8 (intermediate transfer member) and four image forming units 9 arranged along the intermediate transfer belt 8. The intermediate transfer belt 8 is stretched between a driving roller 10 and a driven roller 11, and circulates in an arrow direction indicated by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 1 by driving a motor (not shown) to rotate the driving roller 10. It is supposed to move. In each image forming unit 9, the photosensitive member 12 charged by the charger 9a is selectively exposed by the exposure device 9b to form an electrostatic latent image, and the toner is attached by the developing device 9c, whereby the toner image is formed. It is formed. The formed toner image is transferred from the photoreceptor 12 to the intermediate transfer belt 8 by pressing the intermediate transfer belt 8 against the photoreceptor 12 by the primary transfer roller 13. In addition, the toner image transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 8 by the driving roller 10 and the secondary transfer roller 14 is transferred onto the sheet. The secondary transfer roller 14 is provided on a door 15 that can be opened and closed. Each image forming unit 9 is supplied with toner of each color of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (Bk) from the toner cartridge 16. The toner cartridges 16 are juxtaposed in the horizontal direction on the side of the internal space below the discharge tray 17.

  In the fixing device 4, a fixing roller 18 and a pressure roller 19 are rotatably supported by a support frame 20. The fixing roller 18 is made of a conductive material, is rotationally driven by a motor (not shown), and is induction-heated by an excitation coil (not shown). The pressure roller 19 is pressed against the fixing roller 18 and sandwiches the paper 6. Thereby, the toner transferred by the image forming device 3 can be fixed on the paper 6.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the toner collection device 5 is a housing 21 in which a conveying member 22 is accommodated, and is provided on one end side of the image forming device 3. The housing 21 is formed with a toner recovery port (not shown) that opens toward the intermediate transfer belt 8. The conveying member 22 is formed by forming a spiral blade portion 24 around the shaft portion 23. The conveying member 22 is rotated by a motor (not shown) and the like, and the toner collected in the housing 21 is sequentially conveyed in the axial direction by the blade portion 24.

  Cylindrical support shaft portions 25 are formed at both ends of the housing 21. The end surface of the support shaft portion 25 is closed, and a discharge port 26 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of one support shaft portion 25 as shown in FIG. The formation position of the discharge port 26 is a position directed downward when the image forming device 3 is attached to the apparatus main body 1 from the side. As shown in FIG. 6, a biasing member 27 is externally mounted on the support shaft portion 25, and a shutter member 28 is rotatably attached to the distal end side thereof.

  The biasing member 27 is formed of a coil spring, and one end thereof is fixed to the housing 21. The other end of the urging member 27 is a locking portion bent in a crank shape.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the shutter member 28 includes a bearing portion 29 that is rotatably supported by the support shaft portion 25. A part of the outer peripheral surface constituting the bearing portion 29 is a covering portion 30. The covering portion 30 includes an inclined wall 30a that expands in a skirt shape toward the outer diameter side of the bearing portion 29, and side walls 30b that cover both sides of the covering portion 30, and a communication port 31 is formed in a region surrounded by these wall surfaces. Yes. One side wall 30 b is further extended to the side and serves as a rotation receiving portion 32. Further, a latch receiving portion 33 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the bearing portion 29, and the latch portion 29 of the biasing member 27 is latched there. A projection 34 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the shutter member 28, and the projection 34 abuts against the opposing inner edge of the discharge port 26 of the housing 21, thereby restricting the rotation range of the shutter member 28. The shutter member 28 is urged in the rotational direction by the urging force of the urging member 27. The shutter member 28 is urged counterclockwise in FIG. 4A by the urging member 27 in a state where no external force is received, and the protrusion 34 abuts against one inner edge of the discharge port 26. Thus, the covering portion 30 (communication port 31) is positioned in the closed position opened to the side. On the other hand, as will be described later, as shown in FIG. 4B and FIG. 4C against the urging force of the urging member 27 by receiving an external force through the rotation receiving portion 32, a timepiece Rotate around. Then, the protrusion 34 contacts the other inner edge of the discharge port 26 and is positioned at an open position (a position where the communication port 31 communicates with the discharge port 26).

  The intermediate transfer belt 8, each roller (the driving roller 10, the driven roller 11, the primary transfer roller 13) inside the intermediate transfer belt 8 and the toner collecting device 5 are integrally formed to constitute an intermediate transfer unit 35. The intermediate transfer unit 35 is detachable from the apparatus main body 1.

  Inside the apparatus main body 1, a tank member 36 is formed at a portion where the toner recovery device 5 is located. A rectangular intrusion opening 37 is formed on the upper surface of the tank member 36. A rectangular frame-shaped guide member 38 made of an elastic material (for example, a foam material such as urethane is preferable) is attached and integrated around the intrusion opening 37. A sheet member 39 having the same rectangular frame shape is attached to the upper surface of the guide member 38, and its side edge is a contact piece extending downward along the side surface of the tank member 36. The rotation receiving portion 32 of the shutter member 28 contacts the contact piece, and when the shutter member 28 rotates, the covering portion 30 presses and compresses the guide member 38. For this reason, the guide member 38 is prevented from being directly pressed and peeled off from the tank member 36. Further, the covering portion 30 of the shutter member 28 can be brought into close contact with the guide member 38. As a result, the toner collected by the toner collecting device 5 smoothly enters the tank member 36 and is stored without spilling.

  Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus having the above configuration will be described.

  By operating a start button (not shown), the roller is driven, and one sheet 6 is discharged from the sheet feeding unit 2. The discharged paper 6 is transported and is attached with toner by the image forming device 3 (a toner image is formed). The paper 6 on which the toner image is formed is subsequently conveyed to the fixing device 4. In the fixing device 4, the exciting coil is energized, and the fixing roller 18 located in the generated magnetic field is induction-heated to generate heat. Then, the toner is fixed by pressing the paper 6 against the fixing roller 18 by the pressure roller 19. The sheet 6 on which the toner is fixed by the fixing device 4 is further conveyed and discharged to the discharge tray 17.

  The toner remains on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 8 that has moved the image forming device 3 and the fixing device 4, and is conveyed to the toner collecting device 5. The toner conveyed to the toner collecting device 5 is scraped off by the blade portion 22 of the housing 21 and is collected in the housing 21 through the toner collecting port.

  By the way, the intermediate transfer unit 35 is used by replacing it with a new one at any time. In the replacement, the side panel of the apparatus main body 1 is opened, and the intermediate transfer unit 35 is removed by pulling the intermediate transfer unit 35 to the side by holding the handle. At this time, in the toner recovery device 5 provided at one end of the intermediate transfer unit 35, the shutter member 28 is rotated to the closed position by the urging force of the urging member 27, and the discharge port 26 is maintained in the closed state. Therefore, even if toner remains in the housing 21, it does not scatter around.

  Further, the new intermediate transfer unit 35 can be mounted by being inserted from the side of the apparatus main body 1. When the intermediate transfer unit 35 is inserted into the apparatus main body 1, the rotation receiving portion 32 of the shutter member 28 comes into contact with the side surface of the tank member 36 as shown in FIG. The contact piece 39a of the sheet member 39 adhered to the guide member 38 is located at the contact portion. When the intermediate transfer unit 35 is further inserted, the shutter member 28 is rotated by the rotation receiving portion 32 being pressed by the side surface of the tank member 36 as shown in FIG. The guide member 38 of the tank member 36 is compressed via the member 39. In this case, the shutter member 28 always abuts against the sheet member 39 and does not directly contact the guide member 38. For this reason, the malfunction that the sheet | seat member 39 peels from the tank member 36 does not generate | occur | produce. Further, the guide member 38 is deformed with the rotation of the shutter member 28, and the upper surface thereof is inclined so as to follow the covering portion 30 of the shutter member 28. For this reason, before the discharge port 26 of the housing 21 is opened, the communication port 31 and the intrusion port 37 can be communicated with each other as shown in FIG. . Therefore, the toner does not scatter around.

1 is a schematic view of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state where the door is opened from FIG. 1 and an intermediate transfer unit is removed. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view in which a part of the toner recovery device in FIG. 1 is omitted. (A) shows a tank part, a housing, and a shutter member, and is a sectional view showing a state in the middle of mounting an intermediate transfer unit on the apparatus main body, (b) is an intermediate transfer unit further in the apparatus main body from (a). It is sectional drawing which shows the state which inserted. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where the intermediate transfer unit is further inserted into the apparatus main body from FIG. It is a perspective view which shows a housing and a shutter member.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Apparatus main body 2 ... Paper feed unit 3 ... Image forming device 4 ... Fixing device 5 ... Toner collection device 6 ... Paper 7 ... Cassette 8 ... Intermediate transfer belt 9 ... Image forming unit 10 ... Drive roller 11 ... Driven roller 12 ... Photosensitive Body 13 ... Primary transfer roller 14 ... Secondary transfer roller 15 ... Door 16 ... Toner cartridge 17 ... Ejection tray 18 ... Fixing roller 19 ... Pressure roller 20 ... Support frame 21 ... Housing 22 ... Conveying member 23 ... Shaft 24 ... Blade Part 25: Supporting shaft part 26: Discharge port 27 ... Biasing member 28 ... Shutter member 29 ... Bearing part 30 ... Cover part 39a ... Side wall 31 ... Communication port 32 ... Rotation receiving part 33 ... Locking receiving part 34 ... Projection 35 ... Intermediate transfer unit 36 ... Tank member 37 ... Intrusion port 38 ... Guide member 39 ... Sheet member 39a ... Contact piece

Claims (3)

An intermediate transfer unit that is detachable from the side of the apparatus main body and includes an intermediate transfer member and a toner recovery device for recovering toner from the intermediate transfer member;
A tank member provided in the apparatus main body and storing the toner collected in the toner collecting apparatus;
An image forming apparatus comprising:
The tank member includes an entry port that opens upward, into which the toner collected in the toner collection device enters,
The toner recovery device includes:
A recovery port for recovering toner from the intermediate transfer member, and a housing having a discharge port for discharging the recovered toner;
A shutter member for opening and closing the discharge port of the housing;
A biasing member that biases the shutter member and closes the discharge port of the housing when the intermediate transfer unit is detached from the apparatus main body;
With
The housing includes a shaft portion having a cylindrical shape at least at one end portion and having the discharge port on an outer peripheral surface;
The shutter member is
A bearing portion mounted rotatably on the shaft portion of the housing in the circumferential direction;
A communication port that is formed on a part of the outer peripheral surface that constitutes the bearing portion and that can communicate with the discharge port, and a wall portion that extends from the outer peripheral surface of the bearing portion to the outer diameter side and surrounds the communication port. a covering portion having bets,
Wherein formed on a part of the cover portion, wherein the intermediate transfer unit device is inserted from the body to the side when worn, the tank and abuts against rotation on the side surface of the member, the tank member in the wall portion of the cover portion A rotation receiving portion that covers the intrusion opening and communicates with the communication opening;
An image forming apparatus comprising: A guide member that is elastically deformable is provided around the entrance of the tank member ,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a sheet member extending in a region of the side surface of the tank member that contacts the rotation receiving portion is integrated with the guide member.   The guide member is elastically deformed by being pressed against a wall portion formed in the covering portion by the rotation of the shutter member, and abuts on the entire wall portion before the discharge port of the housing is opened. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2.

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