Image forming apparatus

Abstract

To provide an image forming apparatus with which an image carrier unit and a waste toner container can be individually replaced.SOLUTION: An image forming apparatus 10 comprises a housing 11, an image carrier unit 20, and a waste toner container 30. The image carrier unit 20 is accommodated in the housing 11. The image carrier unit 20 has an image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed. The waste toner container 30 is accommodated in the housing 11. The waste toner container 30 recovers waste toner discharged from the image carrier unit 20. The image carrier unit 20 can be inserted and withdrawn from one side AB of a first direction A in the housing 11. The waste toner container 30 can be inserted and withdrawn from the other side AF of the first direction A in the housing 11.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses an image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatus in Patent Document 1 develops an electrostatic latent image formed on a photosensitive drum serving as an image carrier into a toner image using toner. The toner image on the photosensitive drum is transferred to a transfer belt, and the toner image on the transfer belt is then transferred to paper. An opening for attaching and detaching a toner cartridge is formed on the side of the image forming apparatus in Patent Document 1. A toner cartridge is placed in the opening for attaching and detaching the toner cartridge. The toner cartridge has a replenishment toner storage section and a waste toner recovery section. The waste toner recovery section recovers waste toner discharged from a drum unit having an image carrier. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2017-68211 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the image forming apparatus of Patent Document 1, the drum unit having an image carrier is located inside the image forming apparatus, further inside than the toner cartridge having a waste toner recovery unit. In the image forming apparatus of Patent Document 1, when the inner drum unit is removed from the image forming apparatus, the outer toner cartridge must first be removed from the image forming apparatus. Therefore, even when only the drum unit is replaced, the toner cartridge must first be removed from the image forming apparatus. Furthermore, when both the drum unit and the toner cartridge are replaced, the drum unit is replaced first, followed by the toner cartridge. Therefore, in the image forming apparatus of Patent Document 1, the user cannot replace the drum unit and the toner cartridge at the same time.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide an image forming apparatus in which a unit having an image carrier and a waste toner container can be replaced independently. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] An image forming apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes a housing, an image carrier unit, and a waste toner container. The image carrier unit is housed in the housing. The image carrier unit has an image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed. The waste toner container collects waste toner discharged from the image carrier unit. The image carrier unit is insertable and removable from one side of a first direction in the housing. The waste toner container is insertable and removable from the other side of the first direction in the housing. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, the image carrier unit and the waste toner container can be replaced independently of each other. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an image forming apparatus. [Figure 3] 3A and 3B are schematic side views showing a state in which an image carrier unit and a waste toner container are inserted into and removed from a housing of the image forming apparatus. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of an image carrier unit. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a waste toner container. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a discharge passage and a receiving passage. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] An embodiment of an image forming apparatus 10 according to the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are designated by the same reference characters and description thereof will not be repeated.

[0010] First, the overall configuration of an image forming apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of the image forming apparatus 10. The image forming apparatus 10 is, for example, a multifunction peripheral having a printer function, a scanner function, and a copy function. The image forming apparatus 10 may also have a facsimile function. The image forming apparatus 10 forms an image on paper. In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 10 forms an image on paper by electrophotography.

[0011] 1, in this embodiment, an image forming apparatus 10 includes a housing 11, a paper output tray 15, an image reading unit 16, and an operation unit 17. An image is formed on a sheet of paper inside the housing 11. Then, the sheet of paper on which the image has been formed is output to the paper output tray 15.

[0012] The image reading unit 16 reads a document not shown in Fig. 1 and generates image data. The image forming apparatus 10 may, for example, form an image on a sheet of paper based on the image data generated by the image reading unit 16. The image forming apparatus 10 may also form an image on a sheet of paper based on image data transmitted to the image forming apparatus 10 from an external device (such as a computer).

[0013] The operation unit 17 includes a display unit such as a liquid crystal display that notifies the user of necessary information, and an input unit such as a keypad that accepts instructions from the user. The operation unit 17 may also be a touch panel display in which the display unit and input unit are integrated.

[0014] Housing 11 houses mechanical components for forming an image on paper. A rear cover 12 is provided on one side AB of housing 11 in a first direction A. A front cover 13 is provided on the other side AF of housing 11 in the first direction A. First direction A is a direction that intersects with the direction of gravity G (vertical direction) in housing 11.

[0015] Hereinafter, in this specification, the first direction A may be referred to as the front-rear direction A, one side AB of the first direction A (front-rear direction A) as the rear AB, and the other side AF of the first direction A as the front AF. The rear cover 12 opens and closes the rear AB side of the housing 11. The front cover 13 opens and closes the front AF side of the housing 11. In the front AF of the housing 11, a paper feed cassette 14 that stores paper is provided below the front cover 13.

[0016] Next, the image forming operation of the image forming apparatus 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus 10. Fig. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the housing 11 cut along a vertical plane parallel to a first direction A. In Fig. 2, the left-right direction is the first direction A, and the up-down direction is the direction of gravity G.

[0017] The housing 11 houses the image carrier unit 20 and the waste toner container 30. The housing 11 also houses a toner supply container 38, a developing unit 42, a transfer belt 45, and a fixing device 48. Although not shown in FIG. 2, an exposure device including a laser light irradiator is also located within the housing 11. The transfer belt 45 is located within the housing 11 along a circulation path extending in the direction of gravity G. The transfer belt 45 is stretched over multiple rollers. The rotation of the multiple rollers drives the transfer belt 45 to circulate within the circulation path. The housing 11 also houses a transport path 40 for the paper S, which runs from the paper feed cassette 14 through a portion of the circulation path of the transfer belt 45 to the paper output tray 15.

[0018] The image carrier unit 20 has an image carrier 21 on which an electrostatic latent image is formed, a discharge passage 22 that guides waste toner, a charger 23 that charges the surface of the image carrier 21, and a cleaning device 24 that removes toner remaining on the image carrier 21 as waste toner. The image carrier unit 20 also has a discharge port 25 for discharging the waste toner, and a discharge port shutter 26 that opens and closes the discharge port 25. In Figure 2, the discharge passage 22 extends in the first direction A and guides the waste toner toward the other side AF (forward AF) of the first direction A to the discharge port 25. The discharge port 25 is also formed in the discharge passage 22.

[0019] The waste toner container 30 is a container that collects waste toner discharged from the image carrier unit 20. The waste toner container 30 has a receiving passage 32 that guides the waste toner, a receiving port 35 for receiving the waste toner discharged from the discharge port 25, and a receiving port shutter 36 that opens and closes the receiving port 35. In Figure 2, the receiving passage 32 extends in the first direction A, and guides the waste toner received from the receiving port 35 toward the other side AF (forward AF) of the first direction A. The receiving port 35 is also formed in the receiving passage 32.

[0020] Toner supply container 38 is a container that supplies toner used in image carrier unit 20. Toner supply container 38 has supply passage 39 that extends in first direction A. Toner supply container 38 guides toner through supply passage 39 to one side AB (rearward AB) of first direction A, and supplies toner to development unit 42. The toner supplied to development unit 42 is used in image carrier unit 20.

[0021] In FIG. 2 , toner supply container 38 is integrated with waste toner container 30. By integrating toner supply container 38 and waste toner container 30, the space required within housing 11 for supplying toner and collecting waste toner is reduced. This allows for a more compact image forming apparatus 10. Furthermore, toner supply container 38 and waste toner container 30 can be replaced at the same time, improving the operability of image forming apparatus 10. Note that toner supply container 38 does not have to be integrated with waste toner container 30, but may be a separate container from waste toner container 30. When toner supply container 38 is a separate container from waste toner container 30, the user can replace only one of toner supply container 38 and waste toner container 30 when only one needs to be replaced.

[0022] The image carrier 21 of the image carrier unit 20 is a member on which an electrostatic latent image is formed, and is, for example, a photosensitive drum. The image carrier 21 is disposed in the vicinity of the transfer belt 45 so as to rotate.

[0023] The charger 23 charges the surface of the image carrier 21. An exposure device, not shown in FIG. 2, irradiates the image carrier 21 with laser light to form an electrostatic latent image based on image data on the surface of the image carrier 21. The electrostatic latent image on the image carrier 21 is developed with toner by the developing unit 42, and a toner image is formed on the surface of the image carrier 21. The toner image on the image carrier 21 is transferred to a transfer belt 45. Note that the toner remaining on the image carrier 21 is removed as waste toner by the cleaning device 24.

[0024] A plurality of sheets of paper S are stored in the paper feed cassette 14, and the sheets of paper S from the paper feed cassette 14 are fed into the transport path 40 one by one. A toner image is transferred from the transfer belt 45 onto the sheets of paper S fed into the transport path 40. The toner image transferred onto the sheets of paper S is fixed to the sheets of paper S by the fixing device 48. The sheets of paper S with the fixed toner image are then discharged onto the paper output tray 15. In this manner, the image forming operation in the image forming apparatus 10 is performed. Note that the sheets of paper S may also be fed into the transport path 40 from the rear AB side of the housing 11 when the rear cover 12 of the housing 11 is open.

[0025] 2 and 3, the insertion and removal of the image carrier unit 20 and the waste toner container 30 into and from the housing 11 will be described. Fig. 3 is a schematic side view showing the state in which the image carrier unit 20 and the waste toner container 30 are inserted and removed into and from the housing 11 of the image forming apparatus 10.

[0026] 3, image carrier unit 20 is insertable into and removable from housing 11 from one side AB (rear AB) in first direction A. Waste toner container 30 is insertable into and removable from housing 11 from the other side AF (front AF) in first direction A. Specifically, when rear cover 12, which is provided on the surface of housing 11 on one side AB in first direction A, is in the open state, image carrier unit 20 is insertable into and removable from housing 11 from one side AB in first direction A. Furthermore, when front cover 13, which is provided on the surface of housing 11 on the other side AF in first direction A, is in the open state, waste toner container 30 is insertable into and removable from housing 11 from the other side AF in first direction A. Note that in this embodiment, waste toner container 30 is integrated with toner supply container 38, and therefore both waste toner container 30 and toner supply container 38 are insertable into and removable from housing 11 from the other side AF in first direction A.

[0027] In the image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment, the image carrier unit 20 can be inserted into and removed from the housing 11 from one side AB of the first direction A, and the waste toner container 30 can be inserted into and removed from the housing 11 from the other side AF of the first direction A, independently of each other. Therefore, according to the image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment, the image carrier unit 20 and the waste toner container 30 can be replaced independently of each other. In other words, the user can replace the image carrier unit 20 and the waste toner container 30 at the same time. This improves the operability of the image forming apparatus 10.

[0028] The image carrier unit 20 and the waste toner container 30 are inserted into the housing 11 from the rear AB and front AF of the housing 11, respectively, and are housed in the housing 11. When the image carrier unit 20 and the waste toner container 30 are housed in the housing 11, as shown in Fig. 2, the image carrier unit 20 is located inside the housing 11 closer to one side AB in the first direction A than the waste toner container 30. That is, the image carrier unit 20 inserted into or removed from the housing 11 from the rear AB is located closer to the rear AB inside the housing 11. The waste toner container 30 inserted into or removed from the housing 11 from the front AF is located closer to the front AF inside the housing 11.

[0029] Therefore, in the image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment, when the user replaces only one of the image carrier unit 20 and the waste toner container 30, only the part to be replaced can be removed from the housing 11.

[0030] It is preferable to provide a mechanism for guiding the insertion and removal of the image carrier unit 20 and the waste toner container 30 so that the image carrier unit 20 and the waste toner container 30 are positioned appropriately inside the housing 11. For example, it is preferable to provide a rail for guiding the image carrier unit 20 and a rail for guiding the waste toner container 30 on the inner surface of the housing 11.

[0031] Next, the discharge passage 22 and discharge port 25 of the image carrier unit 20, and the receiving passage 32 and receiving port 35 of the waste toner container 30 will be described with reference to Figures 2, 4, 5, and 6. Figure 4 is a schematic perspective view of the image carrier unit 20. Figure 5 is a schematic perspective view of the waste toner container 30. Figure 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the discharge passage 22 and the receiving passage 32.

[0032] 4 has an elongated image carrier housing section 28 extending in the second direction W, and an image carrier drive section 29 provided at the end of the image carrier housing section 28. The second direction W is a direction that intersects both the direction of gravity G and the first direction A, and corresponds to the width direction of the paper S.

[0033] The image carrier accommodating section 28 accommodates the image carrier 21 (FIG. 2). A toner image to be transferred to the entire width of the paper S is formed on the surface of the image carrier 21, so the width dimension (dimension in the second direction W) of the image carrier 21 is larger than the width dimension of the paper S. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the image carrier accommodating section 28 has an elongated shape extending in the second direction W. The image carrier driving section 29 rotates the image carrier 21 during the image forming operation of the image forming apparatus 10.

[0034] Discharge passage 22 extends from image carrier drive unit 29 to the other side AF (forward AF) of first direction A. Waste toner removed from the surface of image carrier 21 is collected from image carrier storage unit 28 to image carrier drive unit 29, and then guided to discharge outlet 25 by discharge passage 22.

[0035] The discharge outlet 25 is provided on the lower surface in the direction of gravity G near the end on the front AF side of the discharge passage 22. The discharge outlet shutter 26 is provided further below the discharge outlet 25. The discharge outlet shutter 26 opens and closes the discharge outlet 25. Specifically, for example, the discharge outlet shutter 26 may open and close the discharge outlet 25 by sliding in the first direction A along the lower surface of the discharge passage 22. The discharge outlet shutter 26 may be biased in a direction to close the discharge outlet 25 by an elastic body (such as a spring) not shown.

[0036] Next, waste toner container 30 in FIG. 5 has an elongated shape extending in first direction A. Waste toner container 30 in FIG. 5 is integrated with toner supply container 38 to form integrated cartridge 33. In integrated cartridge 33 in FIG. 5, toner supply container 38 is shaped to cover the top surface and one side surface of waste toner container 30. Specifically, toner supply container 38 covers the top surface of waste toner container 30 in the direction of gravity G, and further extends downward in the direction of gravity G from the end in second direction W. In FIG. 5, toner supply container 38 has an inverted L shape when viewed from first direction A.

[0037] Receiving passage 32 of waste toner container 30 extends rearward AB from an end face of waste toner container 30 on one side AB in first direction A (rearward AB). Supply passage 39 of toner supply container 38 extends rearward AB from an end face of toner supply container 38 on the rearward AB side.

[0038] The receiving port 35 of the waste toner container 30 is provided on the upper surface in the direction of gravity G near the rear end AB of the receiving passage 32. The receiving port shutter 36 is provided further above the receiving port 35. The receiving port shutter 36 opens and closes the receiving port 35. Specifically, for example, the receiving port shutter 36 may open and close the receiving port 35 by sliding in the first direction A along the upper surface of the receiving passage 32. The receiving port shutter 36 may be biased in a direction that closes the receiving port 35 by an elastic body (such as a spring) not shown.

[0039] As shown in Figure 2, when the image carrier unit 20 and the waste toner container 30 are arranged inside the housing 11, the discharge passage 22 of the image carrier unit 20 is positioned above the receiving passage 32 of the waste toner container 30 in the direction of gravity G.

[0040] Because there is a discharge passage 22 and a receiving passage 32 that guide the waste toner in the first direction A, the parts of the image carrier unit 20 and the waste toner container 30 other than the discharge passage 22 and the receiving passage 32 can be positioned at a distance in the first direction A within the housing 11.

[0041] For example, parts that occupy a large space, such as the image carrier storage unit 28, the image carrier drive unit 29, and the portion of the waste toner container 30 that stores the waste toner, can be located in areas separated from one another. Furthermore, the presence of the discharge passage 22 and the receiving passage 32 allows the waste toner to be guided from the image carrier unit 20 to the waste toner container 30, even if the image carrier unit 20 and the waste toner container 30 are separated from one another. This increases the degree of freedom in the layout of the components of the image forming apparatus 10. Furthermore, by locating the discharge passage 22 above the receiving passage 32, the discharge passage 22 and the receiving passage 32 can be located in areas where they partially overlap in a plan view, thereby enabling the image forming apparatus 10 to be made more compact.

[0042] When the image carrier unit 20 and the waste toner container 30 are placed inside the housing 11, the discharge port 25 and the receiving port 35 are positioned opposite each other (opposite positions above and below in the direction of gravity G in FIG. 6), as shown in FIG.

[0043] When the discharge outlet 25 and the receiving port 35 are not opposite each other, the discharge outlet shutter 26 and the receiving port shutter 36 preferably close the discharge outlet 25 and the receiving port 35, respectively, using an elastic body or the like. When the discharge outlet 25 and the receiving port 35 are positioned opposite each other, the discharge outlet shutter 26 opens the discharge outlet 25. The receiving port shutter 36 opens the receiving port 35. Therefore, according to the image forming apparatus 10 of this embodiment, when the waste toner is reliably sent from the image carrier unit 20 to the waste toner container 30, the discharge outlet 25 and the receiving port 35 are opened, thereby preventing the waste toner from scattering from the discharge outlet 25 or the receiving port 35.

[0044] Specifically, the discharge port shutter 26 and the receiving port shutter 36 slide relative to each other, thereby opening the discharge port 25 and the receiving port 35. When the image carrier unit 20 is inserted into the housing 11 from one side AB of the first direction A and the waste toner container 30 is inserted into the housing 11 from the other side AF of the first direction A, the discharge passage 22 and the receiving passage 32 approach each other in the first direction A.

[0045] The discharge passage 22 is disposed higher in the direction of gravity G than the receiving passage 32. Specifically, the discharge passage 22 is disposed at a position where, when the discharge passage 22 and the receiving passage 32 approach each other, the discharge outlet shutter 26, which slides along the lower surface of the discharge passage 22, comes into contact with the receiving port shutter 36, which slides along the upper surface of the receiving passage 32. Therefore, when the image carrier unit 20 and the waste toner container 30 are inserted into the housing 11, the discharge outlet shutter 26 and the receiving port shutter 36 come into contact with each other to slide each other in the first direction A, opening the discharge outlet 25 and the receiving port 35 as shown in FIG. 6 . It is preferable that the discharge outlet shutter 26 and the receiving port shutter 36 have shapes that allow them to hook together when they come into contact with each other in the first direction A, so that they can slide each other.

[0046] It is preferable to provide a mechanism for positioning the image carrier unit 20 and the waste toner container 30 so that the discharge port 25 and the receiving port 35 are reliably opened when the image carrier unit 20 and the waste toner container 30 are placed inside the housing 11. For example, it is preferable to provide rails on the inner surface of the housing 11 to guide the image carrier unit 20 and the waste toner container 30, and stoppers to position the image carrier unit 20 and the waste toner container 30.

[0047] 6, a waste toner discharge screw 27 extending in the first direction A is provided in the discharge passage 22. A waste toner receiving screw 37 extending in the first direction A is provided in the receiving passage 32. The waste toner discharge screw 27 receives a driving force from the image carrier drive unit 29 or the like to rotate in the first direction A, and transports the waste toner in the image carrier unit 20 toward the other side AF of the first direction A to the discharge outlet 25.

[0048] The waste toner transported to the discharge port 25 falls from the discharge port 25 due to gravity and passes through the receiving port 35 opposite the discharge port 25 to be received in the receiving passage 32. The waste toner receiving screw 37 in the receiving passage 32 rotates around the first direction A to transport the waste toner received from the receiving port 35 toward the other side AF of the first direction A to the waste toner container 30. In this way, the waste toner discharged from the image carrier unit 20 is collected in the waste toner container 30.

[0049] Although one image carrier unit 20 and one waste toner container 30 are shown above for the sake of explanation, a plurality of image carrier units 20 and a plurality of waste toner containers 30 may be provided. For example, if the image forming apparatus 10 is a color printer that uses four colors of toner, four image carrier units 20 and four waste toner containers 30 may be provided, one for each of the four colors of toner. The four colors of toner may be, for example, YMCK (Y: yellow, M: magenta, C: cyan, K: black). A plurality of developing units 42 may also be provided, one for each of the image carrier units 20 and the waste toner containers 30.

[0050] The multiple image carrier units 20 may be inserted and removed from one side AB of the first direction A at different heights relative to the housing 11. The multiple image carrier units 20 are arranged inside the housing 11 in the height direction (gravity direction G) relative to the transfer belt 45.

[0051] The plurality of image carrier units 20 may transfer toner images of the respective corresponding colors onto the transfer belt 45. When the plurality of image carrier units 20 transfer toner images of the respective corresponding colors onto the transfer belt 45, a toner image of multiple colors (for example, full color) is formed on the transfer belt 45. Then, the toner images of multiple colors are transferred onto the paper S, and an image of multiple colors is formed on the paper S.

[0052] The plurality of waste toner containers 30 may be at different heights relative to the housing 11 and may be insertable and removable from the other side AF of the first direction A. The plurality of waste toner containers 30 are placed inside the housing 11 and collect waste toner discharged from the corresponding image carrier units 20.

[0053] The embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above with reference to the drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. The drawings mainly show each component in a schematic manner for ease of understanding, and the thickness, length, number, spacing, etc. of each illustrated component may differ from the actual components due to the convenience of creating the drawings. Furthermore, the materials, shapes, dimensions, etc. of each component shown in the above embodiments are merely examples and are not particularly limited, and various modifications are possible within a scope that does not substantially deviate from the configuration of the present disclosure. [Industrial Applicability]

[0054] The present invention provides an image forming apparatus and has industrial applicability. [Explanation of symbols]

[0055] 10 Image forming device 11. Housing 20 Image carrier unit 22 Discharge passage 25 Outlet 26 Discharge Shutter 30 Waste toner container 32 Receiving Passage 35 Inlet 36 Receiving entrance shutter 38 Toner supply container

Claims

1. The housing and an image carrier unit housed in the housing and having an image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed; a waste toner container accommodated in the housing and configured to collect waste toner discharged from the image carrier unit; Equipped with the image carrier unit is insertable and removable from one side of the housing in a first direction, The image forming apparatus, wherein the waste toner container is insertable and removable from the other side of the first direction in the housing.

2. a toner supply container for supplying toner used in the image carrier unit; 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the toner supply container is integrated with the waste toner container.

3. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image carrier unit is disposed inside the housing at a position closer to the one side in the first direction than the waste toner container.

4. the image carrier unit has a discharge port for discharging the waste toner and a discharge port shutter for opening and closing the discharge port, the waste toner container has a receiving port for receiving the waste toner discharged from the discharge port, and a receiving port shutter for opening and closing the receiving port, 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the discharge outlet shutter and the receiving inlet shutter open the discharge outlet and the receiving inlet when the discharge outlet and the receiving inlet are positioned to face each other.

5. the image carrier unit further includes a discharge passage that guides the waste toner toward the other of the first directions to the discharge port, the waste toner container further includes a receiving passage that guides the waste toner received through the receiving opening toward the other of the first directions, 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the discharge passage is disposed higher in the direction of gravity than the receiving passage.

Images