JP7521083B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that forms an image on a recording material.

In general, electrophotographic image forming devices develop an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of a photoconductor into a toner image using toner, and then transfer the toner image from the photoconductor to a recording material to form an image on the recording material. Known methods for replenishing the toner consumed during repeated image formation in an image forming device include the process cartridge method and the sequential replenishing method. In the process cartridge method, the photoconductor and a developing container that contains the toner are integrated into a process cartridge, and when the toner remaining in the developing container becomes empty, the process cartridge is replaced with a new one.

On the other hand, Patent Document 1 describes a developing device that includes a toner transport path that supplies toner to a developing roll and a developer supply box connected to the toner transport path, and that supplies toner from the developer supply box to the toner transport path according to the detection results of the remaining toner amount.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8-30084

In recent years, users have come to demand a variety of ways to use image forming devices, not just the process cartridge system or sequential replenishment system described above.

Therefore, the present invention aims to provide one form of image forming device.

According to one aspect of the present invention, an image forming apparatus capable of detachably mounting a plurality of types of supply containers each having a different toner capacity and forming an image on a recording material includes a developing container including a photosensitive drum , a storage section for storing toner, and a mounting section into which the supply container can be mounted and provided with an inlet communicating with the storage section , a developing roller for carrying the toner stored in the storage section of the developing container and supplying the toner to the photosensitive drum, a display means for displaying supply amount information showing the amount of toner that is being or can be replenished to the developing container, an acquisition means for acquiring information regarding the capacity of the supply container mounted to the mounting section , and a control means, the mounting section having a communication position for communicating the storage section with the inlet, and a communication position for connecting the storage section with the inlet, the supply container is attached to the mounting portion and before toner is supplied from the supply container to the receiving port through the receiving port, the control means determines whether or not to move the regulating member from the regulating position to the allowing position based on the amount of toner that is supplied or can be supplied to the developing container and information regarding the capacity of the supply container acquired by the acquisition means after the supply container is attached to the mounting portion and before toner is supplied to the developing container from the supply container through the receiving port.

The present invention provides one embodiment of an image forming device.

1A is a cross-sectional view and FIG. 1B is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. 1A is a cross-sectional view and FIG. 1B is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. 3A and 3B are diagrams for explaining attachment and detachment of a process cartridge according to the first embodiment. 3A to 3C are diagrams for explaining an openable/closable member of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. 3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating a configuration of a process cartridge according to the first embodiment. 3A to 3C are diagrams illustrating a configuration of a process cartridge according to the First Embodiment. 1A is a perspective view and FIG. 1B is a side view of a toner pack according to a first embodiment. 1A is a perspective view of a toner pack according to a first embodiment, FIG. 1B is a side view thereof, and FIG. 1A is a perspective view, FIG. 1B is a top view, and FIG. 1C is an enlarged view of a supply container attachment portion according to a first embodiment. 6A and 6B are diagrams for explaining the operation of the supply container attachment portion according to the first embodiment. 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating the position of a locking member according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a toner pack according to the first embodiment. 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating a pressing mechanism of a locking member according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a panel according to the first embodiment. 1A and 1B are perspective views, FIG. 1C is a side view, and FIG. 1D is a cross-sectional view of a toner bottle unit according to a first modified example. 5A to 5D are diagrams illustrating an internal configuration of a toner bottle unit according to a first modified example, and FIGS. 5E and 5F are diagrams illustrating rotation detection of the toner bottle unit. 13A is a perspective view, FIG. 13B is a top view, and FIG. 13D are cross-sectional views of a process cartridge according to a second modified example. 13A is a perspective view, FIG. 13B is a top view, and FIG. 13C is a cross-sectional view of a process cartridge according to a third modified example. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control system of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an operation unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an external device according to the first embodiment. 3A to 3C are diagrams illustrating refill containers of different capacities according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a supply container according to the first embodiment. 5A to 5D are diagrams illustrating display examples of a panel according to the first embodiment. 4 is a flowchart showing a control method of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating another configuration example of the supply container according to the first embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating a circuit configuration of an image forming apparatus and a supply container according to a second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a panel according to a second embodiment. 13A to 13D are diagrams illustrating examples of display on a panel according to a second embodiment. 13A to 13C are perspective views of a panel according to a third embodiment.

Below, an exemplary embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First Embodiment
(1) Image forming device Fig. 1A is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an image forming device 1 according to a first embodiment. The image forming device 1 is a monochrome printer that forms an image on a recording material based on image information input from an external device. The recording material includes various sheet materials of different materials, such as paper such as plain paper and thick paper, plastic films such as sheets for overhead projectors, sheets of special shapes such as envelopes and index paper, and cloth.

(1-1) Overall Configuration As shown in Fig. 1(a) and (b), the image forming apparatus 1 has a printer body 100 as an apparatus main body, a reading device 200 supported by the printer body 100 so as to be openable and closable, and an operation unit 300 attached to the exterior surface of the printer body 100. The printer body 100 has an image forming unit 10, a feeding unit 60, a fixing unit 70, and a pair of discharge rollers 80. The feeding unit 60 feeds a recording material to the image forming unit 10, and the image forming unit 10 forms a toner image on the recording material. The fixing unit 70 fixes the toner image formed by the image forming unit 10 to the recording material, and the pair of discharge rollers 80 discharges the recording material that has passed through the fixing unit 70 to the outside of the apparatus. In addition, the process cartridge 20 of this embodiment employs a direct supply method in which toner is directly supplied from the outside of the image forming apparatus 1 using a toner pack 40 filled with supply toner.

The image forming unit 10 is an electrophotographic image forming means having a scanner unit 11, a process cartridge 20, and a transfer roller 12. The process cartridge 20 has a photosensitive drum 21, a charging roller 22 arranged around the photosensitive drum 21, a developing roller 31, and a cleaning blade 24.

The photosensitive drum 21 serving as the image carrier in this embodiment is a cylindrically shaped photosensitive body. The photosensitive drum 21 in this embodiment has a photosensitive layer formed of a negatively charged organic photosensitive body on a drum-shaped base body formed of aluminum. The photosensitive drum 21 is rotated by a motor in a predetermined direction (clockwise direction in the figure) at a predetermined process speed.

The charging roller 22 contacts the photosensitive drum 21 with a predetermined pressure to form a charging portion. In addition, a desired charging voltage is applied by a charging high-voltage power supply, so that the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 is uniformly charged to a predetermined potential. In this embodiment, the photosensitive drum 21 is negatively charged by the charging roller 22.

The scanner unit 11 scans and exposes the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 by irradiating the photosensitive drum 21 with laser light L corresponding to image information input from an external device or the reading device 200 using a polygon mirror. This exposure forms an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image information on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21. Note that the scanner unit 11 is not limited to a laser scanner device, and may be, for example, an LED exposure device having an LED array in which multiple LEDs are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive drum 21.

The developing unit 802 includes a developing roller 31 as a developer carrier that carries a developer, a developing container 32 that forms the frame of the developing unit 802, and a supply roller 33 that can supply developer to the developing roller 31. The developing roller 31 and the supply roller 33 are rotatably supported by the developing container 32. The developing roller 31 is disposed at the opening of the developing container 32 so as to face the photosensitive drum 21. The supply roller 33 rotatably contacts the developing roller 31, and the toner contained in the developing container 32 as a developer is applied to the surface of the developing roller 31 by the supply roller 33.

The developing unit 802 of this embodiment uses a contact development method as a developing method. That is, a toner layer carried by the developing roller 31 as a developing means comes into contact with the photosensitive drum 21 in a developing section (developing area) where the photosensitive drum 21 and the developing roller 31 face each other. A developing voltage is applied to the developing roller 31 by a developing high-voltage power supply. Under the developing voltage, the toner carried by the developing roller 31 is transferred from the developing roller 31 to the drum surface according to the potential distribution on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21, and the electrostatic latent image is developed into a toner image. Note that this embodiment employs a reversal development method. That is, a toner image is formed by the toner adhering to the area of the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 that is charged in the charging process and where the charge amount is attenuated by exposure in the exposure process.

In this embodiment, a toner having a particle size of 6 μm and a normal charging polarity of negative polarity is used. As an example of the toner of this embodiment, a polymerized toner produced by a polymerization method is used. The toner of this embodiment does not contain a magnetic component, and is a so-called non-magnetic one-component developer in which the toner is carried on the developing roller 31 mainly by intermolecular forces and electrostatic forces (mirror forces). However, a one-component developer containing a magnetic component may also be used. In addition to toner particles, the one-component developer may contain additives (e.g., wax or silica particles) for adjusting the fluidity and charging performance of the toner. A two-component developer composed of a non-magnetic toner and a magnetic carrier may also be used as the developer. When a magnetic developer is used, for example, a cylindrical developing sleeve with a magnet arranged inside is used as the developer carrier. In other words, the developer contained in the developing container 32 is not limited to a one-component developer composed of a toner component, but may be a two-component developer composed of a toner and a carrier.

Inside the developing container 32, an agitating member 34 is provided as an agitating means. When driven to rotate, the agitating member 34 agitates the toner in the developing container 32 and sends the toner toward the developing roller 31 and the supply roller 33. The agitating member 34 also circulates the toner that is not used in development and is scraped off from the developing roller 31 within the developing container, and serves to homogenize the toner in the developing container.

In addition, a developing blade 35 that regulates the amount of toner carried by the developing roller 31 is disposed at the opening of the developing container 32 in which the developing roller 31 is disposed. The toner supplied to the surface of the developing roller 31 is uniformly thinned as it passes through the opposing portion with the developing blade 35 as the developing roller 31 rotates, and is negatively charged by frictional charging.

The feeding section 60 has a front door 61 supported on the printer body 100 so as to be openable and closable, a stacking tray 62, a middle plate 63, a tray spring 64, and a pickup roller 65. The stacking tray 62 forms the bottom surface of the recording material storage space that appears when the front door 61 is opened, and the middle plate 63 is supported on the stacking tray 62 so as to be movable up and down. The tray spring 64 urges the middle plate 63 upward, and presses the recording material P stacked on the middle plate 63 against the pickup roller 65. Note that the front door 61 closes the recording material storage space when closed relative to the printer body 100, and supports the recording material P together with the stacking tray 62 and middle plate 63 when open relative to the printer body 100.

The transfer roller 12 as a transfer means transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 21 of the process cartridge 20 to the recording material. Note that in this embodiment, a direct transfer method is described in which the toner image formed on the image carrier is directly transferred from the image carrier to the recording material, but an intermediate transfer method in which the toner image is transferred from the image carrier to the recording material via an intermediate transfer body such as an intermediate transfer belt may also be used. In that case, for example, a transfer unit consisting of an intermediate transfer belt, a primary transfer roller that primarily transfers the toner image from the photosensitive drum to the intermediate transfer belt, and a secondary transfer roller that transfers the toner image from the intermediate transfer belt to the recording material functions as the transfer means.

The fixing unit 70 is a thermal fixing type that fixes an image by heating and melting the toner on the recording material. The fixing unit 70 includes a fixing film 71, a fixing heater such as a ceramic heater that heats the fixing film 71, a thermistor that measures the temperature of the fixing heater, and a pressure roller 72 that presses against the fixing film 71.

Next, the image forming operation of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described. When an image formation command is input to the image forming apparatus 1, the image forming process is started by the image forming unit 10 based on image information input from an external computer or reading device 200 connected to the image forming apparatus 1. The scanner unit 11 irradiates the photosensitive drum 21 with laser light L based on the input image information. At this time, the photosensitive drum 21 is charged in advance by the charging roller 22, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 21 by irradiating it with the laser light L. Thereafter, the electrostatic latent image is developed by the developing roller 31, and a toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 21.

In parallel with the image formation process described above, the pickup roller 65 of the feeding section 60 feeds out the recording material P supported by the front door 61, the stacking tray 62, and the middle plate 63. The recording material P is fed by the pickup roller 65 to the pair of registration rollers 15, and the skew is corrected by hitting the nip of the pair of registration rollers 15. The pair of registration rollers 15 is then driven in accordance with the transfer timing of the toner image determined from the exposure start time of the scanner unit 11, and transports the recording material P toward the transfer section, which is the nip formed by the transfer roller 12 and the photosensitive drum 21.

A transfer voltage is applied to the transfer roller 12 from a transfer high voltage power supply, and the toner image carried on the photosensitive drum 21 is transferred to the recording material P transported by the registration roller pair 15. After the transfer, the photosensitive drum 21 has the residual toner removed from the surface by the cleaning blade 24, which is an elastic blade that contacts the photosensitive drum 21. The recording material P to which the toner image has been transferred is transported to the fixing section 70, and the toner image is heated and pressurized as it passes through the nip between the fixing film 71 and the pressure roller 72 of the fixing section 70. This melts the toner particles, which then become fixed, and the toner image is fixed to the recording material P. The recording material P that has passed through the fixing section 70 is discharged to the outside of the image forming apparatus 1 by the discharge roller pair 80, and is loaded onto the discharge tray 81 formed on the top of the printer main body 100.

The discharge tray 81 is inclined upward toward the downstream in the discharge direction of the recording material, and the recording material discharged to the discharge tray 81 slides down the discharge tray 81, so that the trailing edge is aligned by the regulating surface 84.

(1-2) Openable/Closable Parts of the Image Forming Apparatus As shown in FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 3, a first opening 101 that opens upward is provided at the top of the printer body 100. The first opening 101 is covered by a top cover 82 during use (FIG. 1B), and the process cartridge 20 is exposed by opening the top cover 82 upward (FIG. 2B). The top cover 82 is supported so as to be openable and closable with respect to the printer body 100 around a pivot shaft 82c (FIG. 3) that extends in the left-right direction, and an ejection tray 81 is provided on the top surface. The top cover 82 is opened from the front side toward the back side when the reading device 200 is opened relative to the printer body 100. The reading device 200 and the top cover 82 may be configured to be held in an open state and a closed state by a holding mechanism such as a hinge mechanism.

For example, if the recording material jams in the transport path CP through which the recording material fed by the pickup roller 65 passes, the user opens the top cover 82 along with the reading device 200. The user then accesses the process cartridge 20 through a first opening 101 that is exposed when the top cover 82 is opened, and pulls out the process cartridge 20 along the cartridge guide 102. The cartridge guide 102 slides and guides the protrusion 21a (FIG. 5A) provided at the end of the process cartridge 20 in the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 21.

Then, by pulling the process cartridge 20 outward from the first opening 101, a space is created where the user can reach into the transport path CP. The user can reach into the printer body 100 from the first opening 101, access the jammed recording material in the transport path CP, and remove the jammed recording material.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1B and FIG. 4C, an opening/closing member 83 is provided on the top cover 82 so as to be openable and closable. An opening 82a that opens upward is provided on the upper surface of the top cover 82 on which the discharge tray 81 is provided, and the opening 82a is covered by closing the opening/closing member 83. The opening/closing member 83 and the opening 82a are provided on the right side of the top cover 82. The opening/closing member 83 is supported on the top cover 82 so as to be openable and closable around a rotating shaft 83a extending in the front-rear direction, and is opened to the left by hooking a finger on a groove 82b provided on the top cover 82. The opening/closing member 83 is formed in a substantially L-shape along the shape of the top cover 82. Note that the opening/closing member 83 is not limited to the above-mentioned opening/closing mechanism. For example, the opening/closing member 83 may be configured to be arranged on the top cover 82 so as to cover the supply container mounting portion 701, and to be configured to open and close the opening 82a by rotating the top surface of the top cover 82 so as to slide around a rotating shaft that perpendicularly intersects with the top cover 82. Here, sliding on the top surface of the top cover 82 means that movement of the opening/closing member 83 in the direction of the rotation axis is restricted.

The opening 82a is open so as to expose the supply container mounting portion 701 for replenishing toner, which is provided at the top of the process cartridge 20. By opening the opening/closing member 83, the user can access the supply container mounting portion 701 without opening the top cover 82. The user can refill the process cartridge 20 with toner by mounting the toner pack 40 in the supply container mounting portion 701.

In this embodiment, a method (direct replenishment method) is adopted in which the user replenishes toner from a toner pack 40 (FIGS. 1(a) and (b)) filled with replenishment toner to the process cartridge 20 while the process cartridge 20 remains attached to the image forming device 1. This eliminates the need to remove the process cartridge 20 from the printer body 100 and replace it with a new process cartridge when the amount of toner remaining in the process cartridge 20 is low, thereby improving usability. The image forming device 1 and the toner pack 40 constitute an image forming system.

In this embodiment, the reading device 200 is provided on the top of the image forming device 1, and when opening the opening/closing member 83, it is necessary to first open the reading device 200 to expose the top cover 82. However, the reading device 200 may be omitted, and the opening/closing member 83 may be exposed on the top of the image forming device 1 from the beginning.

4(a) and 4(b), the reading device 200 has a reading unit 201 with a built-in reading section (not shown), and a pressure plate 202 supported so as to be openable and closable by the reading unit 201. On the upper surface of the reading unit 201, there is provided a document table glass 203 which transmits light emitted from the reading section and on which a document is placed.

When a user wants to have the image of an original read by the reading device 200, the user places the original on the glass platen 203 with the pressure platen 202 open. Then, the user closes the pressure platen 202 to prevent the original on the glass platen 203 from shifting position, and outputs a read command to the image forming device 1 by operating the operation unit 300, for example. When the reading operation is started, the reading section in the reading unit 201 moves back and forth in the sub-scanning direction, that is, in the left and right directions while facing the operation unit 300 of the image forming device 1 in front. The reading section emits light to the original from the light-emitting section, receives the light reflected by the original with the light-receiving section, and reads the image of the original by photoelectric conversion.

In the following, the front-rear direction, left-right direction, and up-down direction (direction of gravity) of the image forming apparatus 1 are defined based on the state in which the operation unit 300 is viewed from the front. The positional relationship of the process cartridge 20 and other detachable members relative to the printer body 100 is explained based on the state in which they are attached to the printer body 100. The "longitudinal direction" of the process cartridge 20 refers to the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 21.

(1-4) Structure of the Process Cartridge Next, the structure of the process cartridge 20 will be described. Fig. 5(a) is a perspective view showing the process cartridge 20 and the toner pack 40, and Fig. 5(b) is a side view showing the process cartridge 20 and the toner pack 40. Fig. 6(a) is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6A-6A of Fig. 5(b), Fig. 6(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6B-6B of Fig. 5(b), and Fig. 6(c) is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6C-6C of Figs. 6(a) and (b). Note that in Figs. 5 and 6, the external shape of the supply container mounting portion 701 is shown in a simplified form (for a detailed shape, see, for example, Fig. 9(a)).

As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the process cartridge 20 is composed of a toner receiving unit 801, a developing unit 802, and a cleaning unit 803. The toner receiving unit 801, the cleaning unit 803, and the developing unit 802 are arranged in this order from top to bottom in the direction of gravity. Each unit will be described in turn below.

The toner receiving unit 801 is disposed at the top of the process cartridge 20. Inside the toner receiving unit 801, a toner storage section 8011 consisting of a frame for storing toner is provided, and at the longitudinal end, a supply container mounting section 701 for connecting to the toner pack 40 is provided. The frame constituting the toner storage section 8011 may be composed of a single member, or may be composed of a combination of multiple members. The supply container mounting section 701 has a supply port 8012 for receiving toner discharged from the toner pack 40. The detailed configuration of the supply container mounting section 701 and the mounting of the toner pack 40 to the supply container mounting section 701 will be described later.

Furthermore, a first conveying member 8013, a second conveying member 8014, and a third conveying member 8015 are provided inside the toner receiving unit 801. The first conveying member 8013 conveys the toner that has fallen to the end of the toner storage section 8011 in the longitudinal direction through the supply port 8012 toward the center of the toner storage section 8011 in the direction of the arrow H (FIG. 6C). The second conveying member 8014 conveys the toner conveyed by the first conveying member 8013 toward the direction of the arrow J (FIG. 6C) perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, to the upper part of the developing unit 802, that is, to the discharge port 8016. The third conveying member 8015 receives the toner from the second conveying member 8014 mainly at the center in the longitudinal direction, and conveys it to one side and the other side in the longitudinal direction (the direction of the arrow K and the direction of the arrow K'). The first to third conveying members operate to move the toner, so they can also be called first to third developer moving members.

When toner flows into the toner receiving unit 801 from the toner pack 40 serving as a supply container, air also flows in at the same time. The toner receiving unit 801 has an air filter 8017 (see FIG. 5A) that allows air to flow in the direction of the arrow H when toner is replenished so that toner can be easily replenished. This air filter 8017 prevents toner from being ejected from the supply port 8012 when the internal pressure of the toner receiving unit 801 increases during toner replenishment, causing some of the air to flow in the opposite direction to the arrow H.

At both longitudinal ends of the toner receiving unit 801, there are provided discharge ports 8016 (FIG. 6B) for discharging toner from the toner storage section 8011 to the developing container 32 of the developing unit 802. The toner that reaches the discharge ports 8016 by the third transport member 8015 falls into the developing container 32 by gravity. Note that a further transport member may be provided midway along the path of the discharge port 8016 to keep the toner moving by gravity.

The developing unit 802, located at the bottom of the process cartridge 20, has an opening 8021 that receives the toner discharged from the discharge port 8016 (FIG. 6B). A seal member (not shown) is provided between the discharge port 8016 and the opening 8021 to seal the gap between the discharge port 8016 and the opening 8021 so that the toner does not leak out.

The toner that falls from the toner pack 40 into the toner receiving unit 801 through the supply port 8012 is transported inside the toner receiving unit 801 by the first transport member 8013, the second transport member 8014, and the third transport member 8015. Then, it is transferred from the toner receiving unit 801 to the developing unit 802 through the discharge port 8016 and the opening 8021 at both ends in the longitudinal direction. In this way, the toner that is replenished through the supply port 8012, which is located at the end of the process cartridge 20 in the longitudinal direction and is horizontally separated from the developing container 32 when viewed in the longitudinal direction, is transported inside the cartridge and reaches the developing container 32.

In this way, the toner storage section 8011 of the toner receiving unit 801 and the developing container 32 of the developing unit 802 communicate with each other to form a storage container that forms a space for storing toner in the process cartridge 20. Therefore, in this embodiment, a supply port 8012 for replenishing toner from the outside is provided as part of the storage container of the process cartridge 20. However, a supply port that is directly connected to the supply container may be provided in the printer body, and the process cartridge may receive toner through this supply port. In this case, the part of the process cartridge 20 excluding the supply port becomes detachable from the image forming apparatus 1 as shown in FIG. 3.

The toner supplied to the developing unit 802 through the opening 8021 is accommodated in the transport chamber 36 formed inside the developing container 32 formed by the frame of the developing unit 802 (FIGS. 6(a) and 6(b)). The frame forming the developing container 32 may be formed of one member or a combination of multiple members. Here, the transport chamber 36 is provided with the stirring member 34. The stirring member 34 has a shaft member 34a provided near the rotation center of the stirring member 34 and a blade portion 34b extending radially from the shaft member 34a. In the cross section, the toner within the rotation trajectory of the tip of the blade portion 34b is pushed and moved according to the movement of the blade portion 34b. The toner supplied through the opening 8021 is transported toward the developing roller 31, the supply roller 33, and the developing blade 35 while being stirred by the stirring member 34.

The cleaning unit 803 includes a waste toner chamber 8033 that is made up of a fourth conveying member 8031, a fifth conveying member 8032, and a frame (FIGS. 6A and 6B). The frame that constitutes the waste toner chamber 8033 may be made up of a single member, or may be made up of a combination of multiple members. The waste toner chamber 8033 is a space that contains the collected material (so-called waste toner) such as transfer residual toner collected from the photosensitive drum 21 by the cleaning blade 24, and is independent of the internal space of the toner receiving unit 801 and the developing unit 802. The waste toner collected by the cleaning blade 24 is transported in the direction of the arrow M by the fourth conveying member 8031 and the fifth conveying member 8032, and gradually accumulates from the back 8033a of the waste toner chamber to the front.

Here, between the cleaning unit 803 and the developing unit 802, a laser passing space SP is formed as a gap through which the laser light L emitted from the scanner unit 11 (FIG. 1A) toward the photosensitive drum 21 can pass (FIG. 6A). As described above, the discharge port 8016 and the opening 8021 for transferring the toner from the toner receiving unit 801 to the developing unit 802 are provided at the end of each unit in the longitudinal direction. Therefore, the process cartridge 20 as a whole has a compact configuration, and while securing the laser passing space SP, the toner supplied from outside the image forming apparatus (particularly through a supply port opening on the top surface of the apparatus) can be transported to the developing container 32 at the bottom of the cartridge.

(1-5) Configuration of Toner Pack The configuration of the toner pack 40 will be described. Fig. 7(a) is a perspective view showing the toner pack 40 with the shutter member 41 in a closed state, and Fig. 7(b) is a bottom view thereof. Fig. 8(a) is a perspective view showing the toner pack 40 with the shutter member 41 in an open state, and Fig. 8(b) is a bottom view thereof, and Fig. 8(c) shows the state in which the user squeezes the toner pack 40 by hand when replenishing toner. Fig. 12 is a perspective view of the toner pack 40 with the shutter member 41 in a closed state, as viewed from below.

As shown in Figs. 7 and 8, the toner pack 40, which is an example of a refill container, includes a bag member 43 filled with toner, a resin discharge section 42 attached to the bag member 43, and a shutter member 41 that can open and close the opening of the discharge section 42. A memory unit 45 is attached to the discharge section 42 as a storage means for storing information about the toner pack 40. The memory unit 45 has a plurality of metal plates (metal terminals) exposed on the outside of the toner pack 40 as contact sections 45a that contact contact sections 70133 (see Fig. 9) of the refill container mounting section 701, which will be described later. The bag member 43 can be made of materials such as PP resin (polypropylene), PET resin (polyethylene terephthalate resin), cardboard, and paper. The thickness can be 0.01 mm to 1.2 mm. From the viewpoints of ease of unpacking by the user and durability, a thickness of 0.05 mm to 1.0 mm or less is even more preferable.

As shown in Figures 7(b), 8(b) and 12, the shutter member 41 has a shape in which a part of a disk that can rotate relative to the discharge portion 42 is cut out. The side surface that forms the thickness of the shutter member 41 at the cut out portion functions as the engagement surface 41s. Meanwhile, the discharge portion 42 also has a shape with a cut out portion. The discharge portion 42 has an engagement surface 42s that is parallel to the engagement surface 41s at the cut out portion. The discharge port 42a is provided at a position approximately 180 degrees away from the engagement surface 42s in the circumferential direction of the discharge port 42a. The engagement surface 41s and the engagement surface 42s are shown in detail in Figure 12.

As shown in FIG. 7(b) and FIG. 12, when the positions of the notches of the shutter member 41 and the discharge portion 42 are aligned when viewed from the top or bottom, the discharge port 42a is covered by the shutter member 41 (closed state). As shown in FIG. 8(b), when the shutter member 41 rotates 180 degrees relative to the discharge portion 42, the discharge port 42a is exposed through the notch of the shutter member 41, and the internal space of the bag member 43 communicates with the external space of the toner pack 40. As shown in FIG. 12, it is preferable that the shutter member 41 has a structure in which a seal layer 41b made of an elastic material such as sponge is bonded to a main body portion 41a having rigidity. In this case, the seal layer 41b is in close contact with the seal layer 42c covering the periphery of the discharge port 42a in the closed state, thereby preventing toner leakage. The seal layer 42c is shown in FIG. 12, and this seal layer 42c is also made of an elastic material such as sponge, like the seal layer 41b.

As described below, when replenishing toner from the toner pack 40 to the image forming device 1, the discharge portion 42 is aligned to a predetermined position and the toner pack 40 is inserted and coupled to the replenishing container mounting portion 701. Then, by rotating the discharge portion 42 180 degrees, the discharge portion 42 rotates relative to the shutter member 41, opening the discharge port 42a, and the toner in the bag member 43 flows down into the toner receiving unit 801 due to gravity. At this time, the shutter member does not move relative to the replenishing container mounting portion 701.

As shown in FIG. 8(c), the user can attach the toner pack 40 to the supply container attachment portion 701, rotate it 180 degrees, and then squeeze the bag member 43 with their hands to encourage the toner to be expelled from the toner pack 40.

Note that, although a rotating shutter member 41 is exemplified here, the shutter member may be omitted, or a sliding shutter member may be used instead of the rotating shutter member 41. The shutter member 41 may be configured to be destroyed by attaching the toner pack 40 to the refill port 8012 or by rotating the toner pack while it is attached, or may have a removable lid structure such as a seal.

It is also preferable to attach a protective cap to the discharge portion 42 of an unused toner pack 40 to prevent toner from leaking out during transportation, etc. The protective cap is configured to engage with the notched portions of the shutter member 41 and the discharge portion 42 when attached to the discharge portion 42, for example, and to regulate the relative rotation of the shutter member 41 and the discharge portion 42. By removing the protective cap, the user can attach the toner pack 40 to the supply container attachment portion 701.

(1-6) Configuration of Supply Container Mounting Port The shutter opening/closing mechanism of the toner pack 40 and the toner receiving unit 801, and the locking mechanism of the shutter member 41 will be described. Fig. 9(a) is a perspective view of the supply container mounting portion 701, and Fig. 9(b) is a top view thereof. The supply container mounting portion 701 has a supply port 8012, a supply port shutter 7013, a locking member 7014, and a rotation detection portion 7015.

The supply port 8012 is an opening that communicates with the toner storage section 8011 (see FIG. 6) of the toner receiving unit 801, and is fixed to the frame 8010 of the toner receiving unit 801. The supply port shutter 7013 has a lid section 70131 that covers the supply port 8012, a cylindrical section 70132 that receives the discharge section 42 of the toner pack 40, and a contact section 70133 that connects to the contact section 45a (see FIG. 8B) of the memory unit 45 of the toner pack 40. In the figure, the part of the cylindrical section 70132 that covers the contact section 70133 is shown as a cylindrical section 70132a. The supply port shutter 7013 is a member in which the lid section 70131, the cylindrical section 70132, and the contact section 70133 are integrated and rotatably attached to the frame 8010 of the toner receiving unit 801. Each conductor exposed at the contact portion 70133 is electrically connected to the control unit of the image forming device 1 mounted in the printer body 100 via wiring provided in the process cartridge 20 and contacts between the process cartridge 20 and the printer body 100.

The rotation detection unit 7015 as a rotation detection sensor is a mechanism that detects the rotation of the supply port shutter 7013. In this embodiment, the rotation detection unit 7015 is composed of two conductive leaf springs 70151 and 70152. The leaf spring 70152 is spring-biased in the clockwise direction, and when pressed by the protrusion 70135a provided on the outer periphery of the supply port shutter 7013, the tip 701521 comes into contact with the other leaf spring 70151. In other words, the rotation detection unit 7015 is an electric circuit configured to switch between a conductive state and a disconnected state depending on the rotation angle (rotation position) of the supply port shutter 7013. As described below, the control unit 90 (FIG. 19) of the image forming apparatus recognizes whether the discharge port 42a of the toner pack 40 and the supply port 8012 of the supply container mounting unit 701 are in communication with each other based on whether the rotation detection unit 7015 is in a conductive or disconnected state. In other words, the control unit 90 can determine that the user's operation to supply the toner pack 40 has been performed normally at least up to the point where the discharge port 42a and the supply port 8012 are in communication with each other.

A plurality of protrusions 70135a, 70135b are provided on the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 70132 of the supply port shutter 7013. A plurality of protrusions 70125a, 70125b are also provided on the portion of the frame 8010 that supports the cylindrical portion 70132 of the supply port shutter 7013 (cylindrical portion 7011a of 7011). The plurality of protrusions 70125a, 70125b are located lower in the direction of gravity than the protrusion 70135a (right side in FIG. 10(a)). The protrusion 70125b allows the protrusion 70135a (right side in FIG. 10(a)) to pass by due to rotational movement. On the other hand, the protrusion 70135a (left side in FIG. 10(a)) is at the same height as the protrusion 70135a (right side in FIG. 10(a)), and extends downward to a height that overlaps with the protrusions 70125a and 70125b. Therefore, the protrusion 70125b comes into contact with the protrusion 70135a (left side in FIG. 10(a)) depending on the rotation angle (rotation position) of the supply port shutter 7013, and restricts the rotational movement of the protrusion 70135a (left side in FIG. 10(a)).

Before the supply port shutter 7013 rotates in the R1 direction, the protrusion 70125a abuts against the protrusion 70135a (left side), restricting the rotational movement of the protrusion 70135a in the R2 direction. Furthermore, the protrusion 70135a (right side in FIG. 10A) abuts against the locking member 7014, restricting the rotational movement of the locking member 7014 in the R1 direction. On the other hand, after the supply port shutter 7013 rotates in the R1 direction, the protrusion 70135b abuts against the locking member 7014 after it has moved to the locked position, restricting the rotational movement of the locking member 7014 in the R2 direction. Furthermore, the protrusion 70135a (right side in FIG. 10A) abuts against the protrusion 70125b, restricting further rotational movement of the protrusion 70135a in the R1 direction. The rotation direction of the supply port shutter 7013 is R1 direction when the toner pack 40 is installed, and R2 direction when it is removed.

The locking member 7014 is a member that restricts the rotation of the supply port shutter 7013. FIG. 11(a) shows the state in which the locking member 7014 is in the locked position, and FIG. 11(b) shows the state in which the locking member 7014 is in the unlocked position. The locking member 7014 can transition between the locked position (restricted position) and the unlocked position (permitted position) by moving up and down. As shown in FIG. 9(b) and FIG. 11(a), when the locking member 7014 abuts against the protrusion 70135a of the supply port shutter 7013 in the locked position, the rotation of the supply port shutter 7013 is restricted. When the locking member 7014 moves to the unlocked position as shown in FIG. 11(b), the locking member 7014 retreats from the movement trajectory of the protrusion 70135a when the supply port shutter 7013 rotates, thereby allowing the supply port shutter 7013 to rotate.

(1-7) Pressing Mechanism for Locking Member Fig. 13 shows a pressing mechanism 600 that moves the locking member 7014 between a locked position and an unlocked position. The pressing mechanism 600 is composed of a motor 601, an input gear 602, a cam gear 603, and an advance/retract pin 604. The input gear 602 is a screw gear attached to the output shaft of the motor 601. The cam gear 603 includes a gear portion 6032 made of a helical gear that meshes with the input gear 602, and a cam portion 6031 for reciprocating the advance/retract pin 604.

The advance/retract pin 604 is supported by a holding member so that it can move linearly in the direction of gravity and the opposite direction (vertical direction). When the motor 601 rotates, the cam gear 603 rotates via the input gear 602, and the advance/retract pin 604 reciprocates up and down when pressed by the cam portion 6031, and the lock member 7014 also moves up and down between the locked position and the unlocked position. Figure 13 shows the locked state.

In addition, the drive transmission configuration in the pressing mechanism 600 of this embodiment is a combination of a helical gear and a screw gear, but is not limited to this as long as it is a configuration that can convert the rotation of the motor into linear motion. For example, a bevel gear may be used, or the input gear 602 may be eliminated and the cam gear 603 may be directly driven by the motor 601. Also, instead of the motor 601, an actuator that outputs linear motion, such as a solenoid, may be used as the drive source.

The components constituting the pressing mechanism 600 shown in FIG. 13 are supported by the frame 609 of the printer body. On the other hand, the pivot shaft 7014a of the locking member 7014 is held by a holding portion provided on the frame 8010 of the toner receiving unit 801 so that it can rotate and slide vertically. Therefore, when replacing the process cartridge 20, the locking member 7014 is also replaced at the same time, and the pressing mechanism 600 remains in the printer body. The pivot shaft 7014a and the advance/retract pin 604 are made of separate components. When the locking member 7014 is in the unlocked position, the advance/retract pin 604 is separated from the locking member, and the process cartridge 20 is removed from the body while the advance/retract pin 604 remains in the body. However, this is not limited to the configuration, and for example, it is also possible to support the pivot shaft 7014a of the locking member 7014 on the printer body.

(1-8) Flow of Replenishment Operation Using Toner Pack Based on the above-described configurations of the toner pack 40, the replenishing container mounting part 701, and the pressing mechanism 600, a series of operations when the toner pack 40 is mounted on the replenishing container mounting part 701, replenishing toner, and then removing the toner pack 40 will be described. Fig. 10(a) is a top view of the replenishing container mounting part 701 with the replenishing port 8012 in a closed state, and Fig. 10(b) is a top view of the replenishing container mounting part 701 with the replenishing port 8012 in an open state.

As shown in FIG. 10(a), the supply port shutter 7013 in the closed state is fixed so as not to rotate with respect to the supply port 8012 by the protrusion 70135a abutting against the locking member 7014 in the locked position in the rotational direction. At this time, the lid portion 70131 of the supply port shutter 7013 completely covers the supply port 8012. In addition, the leaf springs 70151 and 70152 of the rotation detection portion 7015 are separated, and the rotation detection portion 7015 is in a disconnected state.

When inserting the toner pack 40 into the supply container mounting portion 701, the user aligns the discharge portion 42 of the toner pack 40 and the cutout portion of the shutter member 41 (FIG. 12) with the supply port 8012 and the lid portion 70131 of the supply port shutter 7013, and inserts the toner pack 40. Then, the engagement surface 42s of the discharge portion 42 engages with the engagement surface 7013s (see FIG. 9C) which is the side of the lid portion 70131, and the engagement surface 41s of the shutter member 41 engages with the engagement surface 8012s (see FIG. 9C) provided on the outer periphery of the supply port 8012. At this time, the discharge portion 42 engaged with the lid portion 70131 of the supply port shutter 7013 cannot rotate until the lock member 7014 later releases the lock on the supply port shutter 7013, and becomes rotatable together with the supply port shutter 7013 when the lock is released. Meanwhile, the shutter member 41 of the toner pack 40 is in a non-rotatable state by engaging with a supply port 8012 fixed to a frame 8010 of the toner receiving unit 801. As another engagement configuration of the lid portion 70131 and the discharge portion 42, a convex portion protruding upward from the upper surface of the lid portion 70131 and a concave portion engaging with this protrusion may be provided on the lower surface 42b of the discharge portion 42 (see FIG. 12).

In addition, by inserting the toner pack 40, the contact portion 45a (FIG. 7) of the memory unit 45 comes into contact with the contact portion 70133 of the supply container mounting portion 701, and the information recorded in the memory unit 45 is read by the control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus. The memory unit 45 records information (new product flag) indicating whether or not the toner pack 40 contains toner (whether or not it is a used toner pack). When the control unit 90 reads the new product flag and determines that the currently installed toner pack 40 contains toner (is unused), it controls the pressing mechanism 600 to push up the locking member 7014. This causes the locking member 7014 to move from the locked position to the unlocked position (FIG. 11(b)).

When the locking member 7014 is in the unlocked position, the locking member 7014 separates from the protrusion 70135a of the supply port shutter 7013, allowing the supply port shutter 7013 to rotate in the R1 direction in FIGS. 10(a) and (b) (FIG. 11(b)). In contrast, the protrusion 70125a on the frame 8010 of the toner receiving unit 801 interferes with the protrusion 70135a (FIG. 10(a)), restricting the rotation of the supply port shutter 7013 in the R2 direction. That is, in FIG. 10(a), 70125a and 70125b are positioned lower in the direction of gravity than 70135a and 70135b so that 70135a and 70135b can move and pass in the rotational direction.

When the user grasps the toner pack 40 and rotates the discharge portion 42 or the bag member 43 nearby it 180 degrees in the R1 direction, it becomes the state shown in Figure 10 (b). When the supply port shutter 7013 rotates 180 degrees together with the discharge portion 42 of the toner pack 40, the lid portion 70131 moves from the position covering the supply port 8012, exposing the supply port 8012. The side of the lid portion 70131 is pressed by the engagement surface 42s, which is part of the rotating discharge portion 42, and rotates together with the engagement surface 42s. When the discharge portion 42 rotates 180 degrees with the shutter member 41 fixed, the discharge port 42a of the toner pack 40 is exposed (Figure 8 (b)) and faces the supply port 8012. As a result, the internal space of the toner pack 40 and the internal space of the toner receiving unit 801 are connected via the discharge port 42a and the supply port 8012, and the toner filled in the bag member 43 flows down into the toner storage section 8011.

As described above, the toner that falls into the toner storage section 8011 is transported inside the toner receiving unit 801 and reaches the developing container 32, where it becomes available for use in the developing process. Note that the developing unit 802 may be configured to be able to execute the developing process even before newly replenished toner reaches the developing container 32, as long as the amount of toner required to maintain image quality remains in the developing container 32. In other words, the developing container may be configured to be able to replenish toner from a replenishment container outside the image forming apparatus, regardless of whether or not an image forming operation is being performed in the image forming section 10 (FIG. 1(a)).

In addition, the protrusion 70125b is positioned so as to come into contact with the protrusion 70135a of the supply port shutter when the supply port shutter 7013 rotates 180 degrees in the R1 direction from the state of FIG. 10(a) (FIG. 10(b)). That is, like 70125a, the protrusion 70125b is also positioned lower in the direction of gravity than 70135a and 70135b. This restricts the supply port shutter 7013 from rotating in the R1 direction beyond 180 degrees. At the same time, the protrusion 70135a of the supply port shutter 7013 presses the leaf spring 70152 of the rotation detection unit 7015, causing the tip 701521 to come into contact with the leaf spring 70151. When the rotation detector 7015 becomes conductive, the controller 90 recognizes that the refill port shutter 7013 is open and operates the pressing mechanism 600 to move the locking member 7014 back to the locked position. The locking member 7014 then engages with the protrusion 70135b of the refill port shutter 7013 to restrict rotation in the R2 direction, preventing the refill port shutter 7013 and toner pack 40 from rotating in either direction.

Furthermore, in the state shown in FIG. 10(b) where the discharge portion 42 of the toner pack 40 and the supply port shutter 7013 are rotated 180 degrees, the lid portion 70131 of the supply port shutter 7013 covers the upper side of the shutter member 41 of the toner pack 40. Therefore, even if an attempt is made to lift the toner pack 40 upward from the supply container mounting portion 701, the shutter member 41 interferes with the lid portion 70131, restricting the movement of the toner pack 40. Therefore, the toner pack 40 is prevented from falling off the supply container mounting portion 701 unless the user removes the toner pack 40 using the specified procedure described below.

After the toner starts to be discharged from the toner pack 40, when the conditions for determining whether the toner has been discharged are met, the control unit 90 operates the pressing mechanism 600 to move the locking member 7014 to the unlocked position. In this embodiment, the completion of the toner discharge is determined based on the elapsed time from the point when the rotation detection unit 7015 becomes conductive.

After the locking member 7014 has moved to the unlocked position, the user can remove the toner pack 40 by following the procedure reverse to that used when attaching the toner pack 40. That is, the user grasps the discharge portion 42 of the toner pack 40 or the bag member 43 in its vicinity and rotates it 180 degrees in the R2 direction, which is the opposite direction to that used when attaching the toner pack 40. Then, the supply port shutter 7013 rotates 180 degrees together with the discharge portion 42, and the supply port 8012 is covered by the lid portion 70131 of the supply port shutter 7013, as shown in FIG. 10(a). In addition, the protrusion 70135a (left side in FIG. 10(a)) of the supply port shutter 7013 abuts against the protrusion 70125a, thereby restricting the supply port shutter 7013 from rotating in the R2 direction beyond 180 degrees.

When the discharge portion 42 of the toner pack 40 is rotated 180 degrees in the R2 direction, the position of the notch of the discharge portion 42 and the position of the notch of the shutter member 41 are aligned (Figure 12). Therefore, even if the toner pack 40 moves upward, the shutter member 41 does not interfere with the lid portion 70131 of the supply port shutter 7013, and the user can grasp and lift the toner pack 40 to remove it from the supply container attachment portion 701.

In addition, in the process of rotating the refill port shutter 7013 180 degrees in the R2 direction, the protrusion 70135a separates from the leaf spring 70152, and the rotation detection unit 7015 returns to the disconnected state. Then, the control unit 90 recognizes that the refill port shutter 7013 has been closed, and operates the pressing mechanism 600 to move the locking member 7014 to the locked position. As a result, the refill container mounting unit 701 returns to the initial state before the toner refill operation. For example, the control unit 90 may determine that a predetermined condition for moving the locking member 7014 to the unlocked state is satisfied when a predetermined time has elapsed since the rotation detection unit 7015 became conductive. In addition, the trigger for moving the locking member 7014 to the locked position may be, for example, the loss of conductivity between the contact portion 70133 of the refill container mounting unit and the contact portion 45a of the toner pack (see FIG. 7) by pulling the toner pack 40 out of the refill container mounting unit 701.

In this embodiment, the toner pack 40 has a positional relationship in which the discharge port 42a and the supply port 8012 communicate with each other by rotating 180 degrees, but the rotation angle required for communication can be changed as long as the toner pack 40 can be attached and detached by the same operation as in this embodiment.

(1-9) Panel Next, the panel 400 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1B and FIG. 14, the panel 400 is provided on the front of the housing of the printer main body 100. The panel 400 is an example of a display means for displaying replenishment amount information indicating the amount of toner replenished or available to be replenished to the developing container 32. The panel 400 is made of a liquid crystal panel including a plurality of scales (indicators) whose light emission states, such as on, off, and blinking, can be controlled independently. Note that instead of "off" in the following description, the indicators may be lit at a lower brightness than the normal lighting state or may be emitted in a color different from the normal lighting state.

In this embodiment, a four-stage indicator 401 with four scales 4011, 4012, 4013, and 4014 arranged vertically from top to bottom is used as the panel 400. The panel 400 indicates the amount of toner that has been replenished or can be replenished to the developing container 32 by displaying the scales 4011 to 4014 that change in stages. The bottom scale 4014 also indicates whether the toner in the developing container 32 is at a Low level or an Out level. The Low level indicates that the developing container 32 needs to be replenished with toner, but a minimum amount of toner remains to maintain image quality, and image formation can be performed at the present time. The Out level indicates that almost no toner remains in the developing container 32, and image formation cannot be performed.

In the illustrated example of the panel 400, when all four scales 4011 to 4014 are off, this indicates that the toner in the developing container 32 is at the Out level. As shown in FIG. 24(a), when only the bottom scale 4014 is flashing, this indicates that the remaining amount of toner in the developing container 32 is at the Low level.

As shown in FIG. 24(b), when only the bottom scale 4014 is lit, this indicates that the amount of toner remaining in the developing container 32 is at a first level, which is greater than the Low level. As shown in FIG. 24(c), when the two bottom scales 4013 and 4014 are lit and the two top scales 4011 and 4012 are off, this indicates that the amount of toner remaining in the developing container 32 is at a second level, which is greater than the first level. When the three bottom scales 4012 to 4014 are lit and only the top scale 4011 is off, this indicates that the amount of toner remaining in the developing container 32 is at a third level, which is greater than the second level.

As shown in FIG. 24(d), when all the scales 4011 to 4014 are lit, this indicates that the amount of toner remaining in the developing container 32 is at the Full level, which is greater than the third level. In this state, since there are no scales that are off, it is clear that toner cannot be replenished from the toner pack 40, for example.

As described below, in this embodiment, multiple types of supply containers that contain different amounts of toner can be connected, and when toner is replenished from a supply container outside the image forming device to the developing container, the display on panel 400 changes. At that time, the amount by which the scale on panel 400 increases when toner is replenished changes depending on the type of supply container.

The panel 400 shown in FIG. 14 is an example of a display means whose display content changes according to the level of the toner amount that can be replenished to the developing container 32, and other configurations may be used. For example, instead of a liquid crystal panel, the panel may be configured by combining a light source such as an LED or an incandescent lamp with a diffusion lens. The scale may be omitted and only a number panel may be used, or the number panel may be omitted and only a scale may be used. In addition, the panel 400 of this embodiment has a remaining amount display function that displays the level of the remaining toner in the developing container 32 based on the detection result of the toner remaining amount detection means 51 (FIG. 19) described later, even during periods when toner is not replenished. However, the display means may have at least a function to display to the user replenishment amount information indicating the amount of toner that has been replenished or can be replenished to the developing container 32, and may not have a remaining amount display function.

(2) First Modification Next, as another example of a supply container, a first modification in which a bottle-shaped toner bottle unit is used instead of a bag-shaped toner pack will be described with reference to Fig. 15. This toner bottle unit is configured to be attachable to and detachable from the supply container mounting portion 701, similar to the above-mentioned toner pack 40. Therefore, a description of the configuration of the image forming apparatus that is common to the first embodiment will be omitted.

(2-1) Configuration of the toner bottle unit Fig. 15(a) is a perspective view showing the appearance of toner bottle unit 900, and Fig. 15(b) is a perspective view showing toner bottle unit 900 after toner has been discharged. Fig. 15(c) is a view of toner bottle unit 900 seen from below the piston, and Fig. 15(d) is a cross-sectional view of toner bottle unit 900 taken at cross-sectional position D-D shown in Fig. 15(c).

Figure 16(a) is a perspective view of the toner bottle unit 900 with the outer cylinder 903 (see Figure 15(a)) hidden, and Figure 16(b) is a perspective view of the toner bottle unit 900 with the outer cylinder 903 hidden after toner is discharged. Figure 16(c) is a diagram showing the state of the parts involved in the push-in detection of the toner bottle unit 900 before the push-in operation, and Figure 16(d) is a diagram showing the state of the parts involved in the push-in detection after the push-in operation. Figure 16(e) is a diagram showing the state of the parts involved in the rotation detection of the toner bottle unit 900 before the rotation operation, and Figure 16(f) is a diagram showing the state of the parts involved in the rotation detection of the toner bottle unit 900 after the rotation operation.

As shown in Figures 15(a) and (d), the toner bottle unit 900 roughly comprises an outer cylinder 903, an inner cylinder 901, a piston 902, a shutter member 904, and a memory unit 911. The outer cylinder 903 and the inner cylinder 901 are cylindrical, with the inner cylinder 901 fitted inside the outer cylinder 903, and the piston 902 fitted further inside the inner cylinder 901 and capable of sliding relative to the inner cylinder 901. Hereinafter, the direction in which the piston 902 moves (the direction of the axis of the outer cylinder 903 and the inner cylinder 901) will be referred to as the axial direction of the toner bottle unit 900. The piston 902 is also an example of a pressing member.

The inner cylinder 901 has a cylindrical toner storage section 9014 that stores toner, a bottom 9013 provided at one axial end, and an outlet 9011 provided at the bottom 9013. The inner cylinder 901 is cylindrical in shape with one axial end of the toner storage section 9014 closed by the bottom 9013. The other end of the toner storage section 9014 is an opening 9012, and the piston 902 is inserted into the toner storage section 9014 through the opening 9012. The inner cylinder 901 also contains a spherical weight member 905 that can move freely within the toner storage section 9014.

The outer cylinder 903 has a cylindrical inner cylinder accommodating portion 9034 that accommodates the toner accommodating portion 9014 of the inner cylinder 901 inside, a bottom 9033 provided at one axial end, and an outlet 9031 provided at the bottom 9033. Like the inner cylinder 901, the outer cylinder 903 has a cylindrical shape with one axial end of the inner cylinder accommodating portion 9034 closed by the bottom 9033, and holds the inner cylinder 901 so that it cannot move relative to it. The other end of the inner cylinder accommodating portion 9034 is an opening 9032 through which the piston 902 is inserted.

The discharge port 9011 of the inner cylinder 901 is a thin cylinder extending from the bottom 9013 to one end in the axial direction. The discharge port 9031 of the outer cylinder 903 is provided at a position on the bottom 9033 corresponding to the discharge port 9011 of the inner cylinder 901. The discharge port 9031 of the outer cylinder 903 is a discharge port that discharges the toner contained in the toner storage section 9014 to the outside of the toner bottle unit 900. In addition, adjacent to the discharge port 9011 of the inner cylinder 901, there is provided an evacuation space 9013a into which the weight member 905 retracts so as not to block the discharge port 9011 when the piston is pushed in.

The bottom 9013 of the inner cylinder 901 has an inclined shape in which the cross-sectional area decreases toward the outlet in the axial direction (particularly, a cone shape in which the inner diameter decreases toward the outlet in the axial direction). The bottom 9033 of the outer cylinder 903, which faces the bottom 9013 of the inner cylinder 901, also has a similar inclined shape. The outlet 9011 and the evacuation space 9013a of the inner cylinder 901 are provided at the apex of the inclined shape of the bottom 9033. The weight member 905 is spherical, and is guided by the bottom 9013 and moves to the evacuation space 9013a by gravity.

The piston 902 is equipped with an elastic member 906 attached to an end 9023 at one axial end (the discharge port side), and a push-in rib 9021 provided near an end 9022 at the other end (the part pressed by the user when pushing the piston). The elastic member 906 is configured to contact the inner circumferential surface of the toner storage section 9014 without any gaps, and has the function of preventing toner from slipping through when the piston is pushed. The push-in rib 9021 is a convex shape that protrudes radially outward from the outer circumferential surface of the piston 902.

The configuration of the shutter member 904 is the same as that of the shutter member 41 provided in the toner pack 40 described above. That is, as shown in FIG. 15(c), the shutter member 904 has a shape in which a part of a disk that can rotate relatively to the outer cylinder 903 is cut out. The side surface that forms the thickness of the shutter member 904 at the cut out part functions as the engagement surface 904s. On the other hand, the outer cylinder 903 also has a shape with a cut out part. The outer cylinder 903 has an engagement surface 903s that is parallel to the engagement surface 904s at the cut out part. The discharge port 9031 is provided at a position approximately 180 degrees away from the engagement surface 903s in the circumferential direction of the outer cylinder 903.

Figure 15(c) shows a state in which the discharge port 9031 is already exposed, but in the state in which the toner bottle unit 900 is shipped, the positions of the notched engagement surfaces 903s, 904s of the shutter member 904 and the outer cylinder 903 are aligned. In this case, the discharge port 9031 is covered by the shutter member 904, and the toner storage section 9014 is kept sealed (closed state). As shown in Figure 15(c), when the shutter member 904 rotates 180 degrees relative to the outer cylinder 903, the discharge port 9031 is exposed through the notched portion of the shutter member 904, and the toner storage section 9014 is released from the seal, allowing the toner to be discharged (open state). The configurations of the discharge port 9031, the engagement surface 903s, and the shutter member 904 are basically the same as those described in Figures 7, 8, and 12.

A memory unit 911 is attached near the discharge port 9031 of the outer cylinder 903 as a storage means for storing information about the toner bottle unit 900. The memory unit 911 has a number of metal plates 9111, 9112, 9113 (FIG. 16(a)) exposed to the outside of the toner bottle unit 900 as contact parts 911a that come into contact with the contact parts 70133 (FIG. 9(a)) of the supply container attachment part 701.

(2-2) Piston Push-in Detection Mechanism As shown in Figs. 16(a) and (c), a push-in detection rod 907, a first contact plate 908, and a second contact plate 909 are disposed between the outer cylinder 903 and the inner cylinder 901 as a push-in detection mechanism for detecting the push-in operation of the piston 902. The push-in detection rod 907 is made of an insulating material such as resin, and the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are made of a conductive material such as metal. The push-in detection rod 907 has a contact release portion 9072 at one end (discharge port side) in the axial direction, and has a piston contact portion 9071 at the other end in the axial direction that can come into contact with a push-in rib 9021 of the piston 902. The push-in detection rod 907 moves in the axial direction as the piston contact portion 9071 is pressed by the push-in rib 9021 in conjunction with the push-in operation of the piston 902.

The push-in detection rod 907 is fitted into an axial groove formed on the outer circumferential surface of the inner tube 901 or the inner circumferential surface of the outer tube 903, for example, so that it is restricted from moving in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction, and is held so as to be movable in the axial direction relative to the inner tube 901 and the outer tube 903. The piston contact portion 9071 is bent perpendicular to the axial direction, that is, in an L-shape, so that the push-in rib 9021 comes into contact with it more reliably. Note that in FIG. 16(a), the push-in rib 9021 is provided around the entire outer circumferential surface of the piston 902, but the push-in rib 9021 may be formed only at a circumferential position corresponding to the piston contact portion 9071.

The first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are metal plates that switch between a conductive state and a disconnected state depending on the position of the push-in detection rod 907, which is made of insulating resin. A method for detecting a new toner bottle unit 900 using the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 will be described later.

In addition, a cylinder cover 910 (Fig. 15(a)) is attached to the end of the opening side of the outer cylinder 903 to prevent the push-in detection rod 907 from falling off. In other words, the cylinder cover 910 that constitutes the opening 9032 of the outer cylinder 903 is narrowed inward (Fig. 15(d)) from the radially outer end position of the piston contact portion 9071 (Fig. 16(b)). Therefore, even if a force is applied that tries to move the push-in detection rod 907 axially toward the opening side, the piston contact portion 9071 interferes with the cylinder cover 910, and the push-in detection rod 907 does not fall off from the toner bottle unit 900.

(2-3) Determining whether the toner bottle unit is new or used Next, a description will be given of a configuration for detecting whether the toner bottle unit 900 is unused (new) or used when the toner bottle unit 900 is attached to the supply container attachment portion 701. As shown in Figures 16(c) and 16(d), the contact release portion 9072 of the push-in detection rod 907 is located near the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909.

Figure 16(c) corresponds to the state before the piston is pushed in as shown in Figure 16(a), where the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are in contact with each other and are in a conductive state. At this time, it is preferable to configure one of the metallic first contact plate 908 and second contact plate 909 to have a leaf spring shape and to be pressed against the other contact plate. In addition, for example, the conductivity between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 can be more reliably achieved by applying conductive grease to the contact surfaces of the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909.

Figure 16(d) corresponds to the state after the piston is pushed in shown in Figure 16(b), where the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are in a disconnected state. In this state, the contact release portion 9072 of the push-in detection rod 907 pushed in by the push-in rib 9021 enters between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909, physically separating them. At least the contact release portion 9072 of the push-in detection rod 907 is made of an insulating material, and in the state of Figure 16(d) where the contact release portion 9072 is present, the electrical continuity between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 is cut off.

The first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are each connected to a different metal plate among the multiple metal plates 9111 to 9113 at the end opposite to the end that contacts the contact release portion 9072 of the push-in detection rod 907. Here, it is assumed that the first contact plate 908 is connected to the metal plate 9111, and the second contact plate 909 is connected to the metal plate 9113. In this case, by detecting the presence or absence of a current when a weak voltage is applied between the metal plates 9111 and 9113, it is possible to determine whether the toner bottle unit 900 is in a state before the piston is pushed in (unused) or in a state after the piston is pushed in (used). In other words, when the toner bottle unit 900 is attached to the supply container attachment portion 701, the control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus can determine whether the toner bottle unit 900 is unused or used based on the presence or absence of conduction between the metal plates 9111 and 9113. Furthermore, the control unit 90 can determine that the user's refilling operation has ended when the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 become non-conductive. Based on this determination, the control unit 90 controls the display of the panel 400 described above. Furthermore, when the conductivity between the metal plates 9111 and 9113 changes, the control unit 90 writes a new product flag (new product: 1, used product: 0) to the memory unit 45, indicating that the toner bottle unit 900 has been used.

In the above configuration, it is preferable to place the memory unit 911 on the circuit connecting the metal plates 9111 and 9112. This allows the control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus to monitor the pushing operation of the toner bottle unit 900 via the metal plates 9111 and 91113, while simultaneously accessing the memory unit 911 via the metal plates 9111 and 9112.

16(e) and 16(f), a method for detecting the rotation of toner bottle unit 900 will be described. Note that the rotation detection method in this embodiment is the same as that in the embodiment using toner pack 40 described above, except that shutter member 904 that seals the discharge port of the toner bottle unit 900 is attached to outer cylinder 903 of toner bottle unit 900.

As shown in Figures 16(e) and (f), two conductive leaf springs 70151 and 70152 are arranged as a rotation detection part 7015 in the supply container mounting part 701 of the process cartridge. In addition, a protrusion 70135b is provided on the outer periphery of the supply port shutter 7013.

As shown in FIG. 16(e), before the toner bottle unit 900 inserted into the supply container mounting portion 701 is rotated, the tip 701521 of the leaf spring 70152 is not in contact with the leaf spring 70152, and the rotation detection portion 7015 is in a disconnected state. In other words, even if a weak voltage is applied between the leaf springs 70151 and 70152, no current flows. As shown in FIG. 16(f), when the toner bottle unit 900 is rotated 180 degrees, the leaf spring 70152 is pressed by the protrusion 70135a, and the tip 701521 comes into contact with the other leaf spring 70151, resulting in a conductive state. In this state, when a weak voltage is applied between the leaf springs 70151 and 70152, a current flows. The control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus recognizes whether the discharge port 9031 of the toner bottle unit 900 and the supply port 8012 of the supply container mounting unit 701 are in communication with each other based on whether the rotation detection unit 7015 is in a conductive or disconnected state.

(2-5) Flow of Replenishment Operation Using Toner Bottle Unit A series of operations will be described for mounting the toner bottle unit 900 to the replenishing container mounting portion 701, replenishing toner, and then removing the toner bottle unit 900. Note that a description of the same parts as those in the above-described embodiment using the toner pack 40 will be omitted.

First, the user attaches an unused toner bottle unit 900 to the supply container attachment portion 701. Specifically, the notched engagement surfaces 903s, 904s (FIG. 15C) of the outer cylinder 903 and the shutter member 904 are aligned with the supply port 8012 and the lid portion 70131 (FIG. 9A) of the supply port shutter 7013, and inserted. Then, the engagement surface 903s of the outer cylinder 903 engages with the engagement surface 7013s, which is the side surface of the lid portion 70131, and the engagement surface 904s of the shutter member 904 engages with the engagement surface 8012s provided on the outer periphery of the supply port 8012. At this time, the outer cylinder 903 engaged with the lid portion 70131 of the supply port shutter 7013 cannot rotate until the locking member 7014 releases the lock on the supply port shutter 7013, at which point the outer cylinder 903 can rotate together with the supply port shutter 7013. On the other hand, the shutter member 904 is in an unrotatable state by engaging with the supply port 8012 fixed to the frame 8010 of the toner receiving unit 801. Also, the leaf springs 70151 and 70152 of the rotation detector 7015 are separated, and the rotation detector 7015 is in a disconnected state (FIG. 16(e)).

When an unused toner bottle unit 900 is inserted into the supply container attachment portion 701, the control portion 90 recognizes that the toner bottle unit 900 is new using the new product detection configuration described above. As described above, the control portion 90 may recognize the electrical continuity between the metal plates 9111-91113, or may read and determine the new product flag (new: 1, used: 0) in the memory unit 45. The control portion 90 then operates the pressing mechanism 600 to move the locking member 7014 to the unlocked position, allowing the toner bottle unit 900 to rotate.

When the user then grasps the toner bottle unit 900 and rotates it 180 degrees, the shutter member 904 and the supply port shutter 7013 are opened, and the discharge port 9031 of the toner bottle unit 900 communicates with the supply port 8012 of the supply container attachment section 701. The operation of opening the shutter member 904 and the supply port shutter 7013 as the toner bottle unit 900 rotates is the same as in the case of the toner pack 40 described using Figures 10(a) and (b).

As shown in FIG. 16(f), when the toner bottle unit 900 is rotated 180 degrees, the end 701521 of the leaf spring 70152 pressed by the protrusion 70135b of the supply port shutter 7013 comes into contact with the other leaf spring 70151. When the rotation detector 7015 is thus in a conductive state, the control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus detects that the toner bottle unit 900 has been rotated. In other words, the control unit 90 recognizes that the shutter member 904 and the supply port shutter 7013 are released from sealing, and the discharge port 42a of the toner pack 40 and the supply port 8012 of the supply container mounting unit 701 are connected to each other. The control unit 90 also operates the pressing mechanism 600 to move the locking member 7014 to the locking position, restricting the rotation of the toner bottle unit 900.

Next, the user presses the piston 902 of the toner bottle unit 900 to start discharging the toner. The toner that has fallen into the toner storage section 8011 is transported inside the toner receiving unit 801 and reaches the developing container 32. In this modified example, when the piston 902 is pushed all the way in, the above-mentioned push-in detection mechanism detects the completion of the pushing operation of the piston 902. That is, as shown in FIG. 16(b), the push-in rib 9021 of the piston 902 presses the piston contact portion 9071 of the push-in detection rod 907, so that the push-in detection rod 907 moves in conjunction with the piston 902. Then, as shown in FIG. 16(d), the contact release portion 9072 of the push-in detection rod 907 cuts off the electrical connection between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909. The control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus recognizes the completion of pushing the piston 902 based on the fact that no current flows even when a voltage is applied between the metal plate 9111 connected to the first contact plate 908 and the metal plate 9113 connected to the second contact plate 909. In other words, in the case of this modified example, the condition for determining the completion of the toner discharge is that the push-in detection mechanism detects the completion of the pushing operation of the piston 902. As another configuration example, when the electrical connection between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 is cut off, the control unit 90 may rewrite the new product flag in the memory unit 911, and determine that the discharge of the toner is completed based on the rewriting of the new product flag.

The control unit 90, which detects that the toner has been discharged from the toner bottle unit 900, operates the pressing mechanism 600 again to move the locking member 7014 to the unlocked position, making the toner bottle unit 900 rotatable. The user grips the toner bottle unit 900 and rotates it 180 degrees. Then, the discharge port 9031 of the toner bottle unit 900 is covered by the shutter member 904, and the supply port 8012 of the supply container mounting unit 701 is covered by the lid portion 70131 of the supply port shutter 7013. Also, as shown in FIG. 16(e), the leaf springs 70151 and 70152 are separated, and the rotation detection unit 7015 returns to the disconnected state. Then, the control unit 90 recognizes that the supply port shutter 7013 is in the closed state, and operates the pressing mechanism 600 to move the locking member 7014 to the locked position. This causes the supply container mounting unit 701 to return to the initial state before toner supply.

(3) Second Modification Next, a second modification in which the configuration of the process cartridge is different will be described. This modification has the same configuration as the first embodiment except for the configuration related to the process cartridge, and therefore the description of the common parts will be omitted.

(3-1) Process Cartridge Figure 17 shows (a) a perspective view, (b) a side view, (c) a sectional view, and (d) a sectional view of the process cartridge 20A according to this modification. Figures 17(c) and 17(d) each show a cut surface at the cut position shown in Figure 17(b).

As shown in each diagram of FIG. 17, the process cartridge 20A of this modified example is composed of a toner receiving unit 801, a developing unit 802, and a drum unit 803A. Compared to the first embodiment, the drum unit 803A is not provided with a cleaning blade 24 for cleaning the surface of the photosensitive drum 21, or a waste toner chamber 8033 (see FIG. 6(a)) for accommodating waste toner. This is because this modified example employs a cleanerless configuration in which residual toner that has not been transferred to a recording material and remains on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 is collected in the developing unit 802 and reused. Note that here too, for example, a non-magnetic or magnetic one-component developer is used.

In the illustrated example, the developing unit 802 is located at the bottom of the process cartridge 20A, and the toner receiving unit 801 and drum unit 803A are located above the developing unit 802 in the direction of gravity. As shown in FIG. 17(b), the toner receiving unit 801 and drum unit 803A do not overlap when viewed in the direction of gravity, but they may be at least partially aligned vertically. In addition, the toner receiving unit 801 is disposed in the space where the cleaning blade 24 and waste toner chamber 8033 were provided in the first embodiment. The configuration of the supply container mounting portion 701 provided in the toner receiving unit 801 is the same as in the first embodiment, but FIG. 17 illustrates a simplified shape.

Between the developing unit 802 and the drum unit 803A and toner receiving unit 801, a laser passing space SP is formed as a gap through which the laser light L emitted from the scanner unit 11 (see FIG. 1(a)) toward the photosensitive drum 21 can pass. In addition, it is preferable to dispose a pre-exposure device in the drum unit 803A, downstream of the transfer section in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 21 and between the charging roller 22, that irradiates the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 with light to erase the electrostatic latent image.

(3-2) Behavior of toner in cleanerless configuration The behavior of toner in a cleanerless configuration will be described. The transfer residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 21 in the transfer section is removed in the following process. The transfer residual toner includes a mixture of positively charged toner and negatively charged toner that does not have a sufficient charge. The photosensitive drum 21 after transfer is discharged by a pre-exposure device, and a uniform discharge is caused by the charging roller 22, so that the transfer residual toner is charged negatively again. The transfer residual toner that has been charged negatively again in the charging section reaches the developing section as the photosensitive drum 21 rotates. Then, the surface area of the photosensitive drum 21 that has passed through the charging section is exposed by the scanner unit 11 with the transfer residual toner still attached to the surface, and an electrostatic latent image is written thereon.

Here, the behavior of the transfer residual toner that reaches the development section will be explained separately for the exposed and non-exposed sections of the photosensitive drum 21. The transfer residual toner that adheres to the non-exposed section of the photosensitive drum 21 is transferred to the development roller 31 in the development section due to the potential difference between the potential of the non-exposed section of the photosensitive drum 21 (dark section potential) and the development voltage, and is collected in the development container 32. This is because the normal charging polarity of the toner is negative, and the development voltage applied to the development roller 31 is positive relative to the potential of the non-exposed section. The toner collected in the development container 32 is stirred and dispersed with the toner in the development container by the stirring member 34, and is carried by the development roller 31 for use again in the development process.

Meanwhile, the residual toner adhering to the exposed portion of the photosensitive drum 21 does not transfer from the photosensitive drum 21 to the developing roller 31 in the developing portion, but remains on the drum surface. This is because the normal charging polarity of the toner is negative, and the developing voltage applied to the developing roller 31 is a more negative potential than the potential of the exposed portion (bright portion potential). The residual toner remaining on the drum surface is carried by the photosensitive drum 21 together with the other toner that transfers from the developing roller 31 to the exposed portion, and moves to the transfer portion, where it is transferred to the recording material.

By adopting a cleaner-less configuration, there is no need to install space for a collection container to collect residual toner, etc., making it possible to further reduce the size of the image forming device 1, and also reducing printing costs by reusing residual toner.

(4) Third Modification Next, a third modification will be described, in which the configuration of the process cartridge is different from any of the above-mentioned embodiments. This modification has a configuration in common with the first embodiment except for the configuration related to the process cartridge, and therefore a description of the common portions will be omitted.

(4-1) Third embodiment of process cartridge Figure 18 shows (a) a perspective view, (b) a side view, and (c) a cross-sectional view of a process cartridge 20B according to this modification. Figure 18(c) shows a cross section taken along the cutting position shown in Figure 18(b).

As shown in each diagram of FIG. 18, the process cartridge 20B of this modified example is composed of a developing unit 802 and a drum unit 803A. Compared to the third embodiment, the toner receiving unit 801 is omitted, and instead, a supply container mounting section 701, a first conveying member 8013, and a second conveying member 8014 are arranged in the developing unit 802. In other words, this modified example is configured such that a supply container such as a toner pack 40 or a toner bottle unit 900 is attached from outside the image forming apparatus to a supply port 8012 provided in the developing container 32 to supply toner. The configuration of the supply container mounting section 701 is the same as in the first embodiment, but a simplified shape is shown in the figure.

Between the developing unit 802 and the drum unit 803A and toner receiving unit 801, a laser passing space SP is formed as a gap through which the laser light L emitted from the scanner unit 11 (see FIG. 1A) toward the photosensitive drum 21 can pass. In addition, it is preferable to dispose a pre-exposure device in the drum unit 803A downstream of the transfer section in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 21 and between the charging roller 22, which irradiates light onto the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 to erase the electrostatic latent image. This modification employs a cleanerless configuration. The behavior of the toner in the cleanerless configuration is the same as in the second modification, so a description thereof will be omitted.

(5) Control System of Image Forming Apparatus FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing a control system of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. The control unit 90 as a control means of the image forming apparatus 1 has a CPU 91 as a calculation device, a RAM 92 used as a work area of the CPU 91, and a non-volatile memory 93 for storing various programs. The control unit 90 also has an I/O interface 94 as an input/output port connected to an external device, and an A/D conversion unit 95 for converting an analog signal into a digital signal. The CPU 91 controls each unit of the image forming apparatus 1 by reading and executing the control program stored in the non-volatile memory 93. Therefore, the non-volatile memory 93 is an example of a non-transient storage medium that stores a control program for operating the image forming apparatus in a specific manner.

The control unit 90 is also connected to the T memory 57, which is a non-volatile memory mounted on a supply container such as the toner pack 40 or the toner bottle unit 900, and the P memory 58, which is a non-volatile memory mounted on the process cartridge 20. Examples of the T memory 57 as a storage means provided in the supply container are the memory unit 45 mounted on the toner pack 40 described above and the memory unit 911 mounted on the toner bottle unit 900 described above. The T memory 57 also stores toner information indicating that the toner contained in the supply container such as the toner pack 40 or the toner bottle unit 900 is a toner that can be replenished to the developing container 32. The toner information is, for example, information describing whether the toner pack 40 is in an unused state, the initial capacity of the toner, the expiration date, etc. The P memory 58 also stores the remaining amount of toner contained in the developing container 32, the total amount of toner replenished from the supply container that has been performed so far, information regarding the photoconductor life, and information regarding the timing of replacing the process cartridge 20.

Furthermore, the control unit 90 is connected to a rotation lock mechanism 59 and the image forming unit 10. An example of the rotation lock mechanism 59 is a lock member 7014 (FIGS. 9 and 11) provided in the supply container mounting unit 701 and a pressing mechanism 600 (FIG. 13) that moves the lock member 7014. The image forming unit 10 has a motor M1 as a drive source that drives the photosensitive drum 21, the developing roller 31, the supply roller 33, the stirring member 34, etc. Note that the drive sources of these rotating members do not necessarily have to be the same. For example, the photosensitive drum 21, the developing roller 31, the supply roller 33, and the stirring member 34 may each be driven by a separate motor. The image forming unit 10 also has a power supply unit 211 for applying voltage to each member such as the developing roller 31, and an exposure control unit 212 for controlling the scanner unit 11.

The input side of the control unit 90 is connected to a toner remaining amount detection means 51, a waste toner full tank detection means 52, an installation detection means 53, an opening/closing detection means 54, a rotation detection means 55, and a push-in detection means 56.

The toner remaining amount detection means 51 detects the remaining amount of toner contained in the developing container 32. An example of the toner remaining amount detection means 51 is an optical sensor (51a, 51b) shown in FIG. 6(a). This optical sensor includes a light emitting portion 51a that irradiates detection light toward the inside of the developing container 32 and a light receiving portion 51b that detects the detection light. In this case, the ratio (Duty) of the period during which the optical path of the detection light is blocked by toner with respect to the rotation period when the stirring member 34 rotates is correlated with the remaining amount of toner in the developing container 32. By utilizing this and preparing a correspondence between the duty value and the remaining amount of toner in advance, the remaining amount of toner can be obtained from the current duty value. Note that such an optical sensor is an example of a toner remaining amount detection means, and a pressure sensor or a capacitance sensor may also be used. The waste toner full detection means 52 detects that the amount of waste toner accumulated in the waste toner chamber 8033 (FIG. 6(a)) of the cleaning unit 803 has reached a predetermined upper limit. The waste toner full detection means 52 can be, for example, a pressure sensor disposed in the waste toner chamber 8033. In addition, the control unit 90 may calculate and predict the amount of waste toner from the image information, assuming that a certain percentage of the image information will be collected as waste toner.

The attachment detection means 53 detects that a refill container such as a toner pack 40 has been attached to the refill container attachment section 701. The attachment detection means 53 is, for example, configured as a pressure-sensitive switch that is provided in the refill container attachment section 701 and outputs a detection signal when pressed by the bottom surface of the toner pack 40. The attachment detection means 53 may also be a detection circuit that detects that the T memory 57 has been electrically connected to the control section 90 via the contact portion 70133 (Figure 9) of the refill container attachment section 701.

The rotation detection means 55 detects the rotation of the refill container attached to the refill container attachment section 701. An example of the rotation detection means 55 is a rotation detection section 7015 composed of leaf springs 70151 and 70152 (Figures 9 and 16). The rotation detection section 7015 is an example of the rotation detection means 55, and for example, a photoelectric sensor that is shielded from light by a protrusion provided on the refill port shutter 7013 can also be used as the rotation detection sensor. In addition, as another example of a rotation detection sensor, the leaf springs 70151 and 70152 of the rotation detection section 7015 may be configured to be conductive via a protrusion provided on the discharge section 42 of the toner pack 40.

The push-in detection means 56 is an element that is added when the toner bottle unit 900 of the first modified example is used, and detects the completion of pushing in the piston 902 of the toner bottle unit 900. An example of the push-in detection means 56 is a detection circuit provided in the image forming apparatus 1 that detects a change in state of the push-in detection mechanism (FIG. 16) consisting of the push-in detection rod 907, first contact plate 908, and second contact plate 909 provided in the toner bottle unit 900. This detection circuit detects whether the piston 902 has been pushed in or not by monitoring the current value when a voltage is applied to the metal plates 9111 and 9113 to which the first contact plate 908 and second contact plate 909 are respectively connected.

The control unit 90 is also connected to an operation unit 300, which serves as a user interface for the image forming apparatus 1, and a toner remaining amount panel 400, which serves as a notification means (alert means) for notifying the user of information regarding the amount of toner remaining in the developing container 32. Here, the information regarding the amount of toner remaining is not limited to indicating the amount of toner remaining itself. In addition, the information regarding the amount of toner remaining also includes information indicating how much toner has already been replenished using the toner packs 40 and the toner bottle unit 900. The information regarding the amount of toner remaining also includes information indicating how many toner packs 40 remain in the developing container 32, and the free capacity of the developing container 32 that can be replenished using the toner bottle unit 900.

As shown in FIG. 20, the operation unit 300 has a display unit 301 capable of displaying various setting screens. The display unit 301 is, for example, a liquid crystal panel. The operation unit 300 also has an input unit 302 that accepts input operations from the user. The input unit 302 is, for example, a physical button or a touch panel function unit of a liquid crystal panel. Furthermore, the control unit 90 is connected to external devices such as a desktop computer or a smartphone via an I/O interface 94.

Furthermore, the control unit 90 is connected to external devices such as a desktop computer or a smartphone via an I/O interface 94, and is capable of displaying a message 561 such as that shown in FIG. 21 on the display 560 of the host computer.

(6) Control According to Type of Supply Container The following describes the operation when toner is supplied from a supply container to the image forming device 1. In this embodiment, multiple types of supply containers containing different amounts of toner can be connected to one image forming device 1. By allowing the user to select the amount of toner to be supplied in one toner supply, there is an advantage that the image forming device 1 can be operated more flexibly. Here, a case where multiple types of toner bottle units with different capacities (fillings) are used as an example of a supply container will be described.

(6-1) Types of Toner Bottle Units FIG. 22 shows the types of the toner bottle unit 900 described above. FIG. 22(a) shows a small-capacity toner bottle unit 991, which stores toner for 1000 prints. FIG. 22(b) shows a medium-capacity toner bottle unit 992, which stores toner for 2000 prints. FIG. 22(c) shows a large-capacity toner bottle unit 993, which stores toner for 4000 prints. Note that the "number of prints" refers to the increase in the number of sheets of recording material on which the image forming apparatus can form images, which increases by using the toner bottle unit to supply toner. Also, the "amount of toner for 1000 prints" refers to the amount of toner consumed when 1000 images are output at a standard average printing rate (the area ratio of the toner image to the effective image area of the recording material).

Note that each of the toner bottle units 991-993 has the same configuration as the previously described toner bottle unit 900, except that the toner bottle units 991-993 have different capacities. Therefore, each of the toner bottle units 991-993 has a T memory 57 as a storage means, for example a memory unit 911, and a first contact plate 908, a second contact plate 909, and a push-in detection rod 907 that constitute the push-in detection means 56.

(6-2) Circuit Configuration of Toner Bottle Unit Fig. 23 shows the circuit configuration of the toner bottle units 991-993 including the T memory 57 and the push-in detection mechanism. The T memory 57 is connected to metal plates 9111 and 9112, the first contact plate 908 is connected to the metal plate 9111, and the second contact plate 909 is connected to the metal plate 9113. Furthermore, when the toner bottle units 991-993 are attached to the supply container mounting portion 701, the metal plates 9111-9113 of the contact portion 911a are electrically connected to the control portion of the image forming apparatus via the contact portion 70133 (Fig. 9) of the supply container mounting portion 701.

The T memory 57 stores different capacity information (toner amount information) depending on the type of toner bottle unit 991-993. For the small-capacity toner bottle unit 991, capacity information indicating that an amount of toner for 1000 printed pages is stored is stored in the T memory 57. For the medium- and large-capacity toner bottle units 992 and 993, capacity information indicating that an amount of toner for 2000 and 4000 printed pages is stored is stored in the T memory 57. Furthermore, the T memory 57 stores a new product flag as information indicating whether the toner bottle unit 991-993 is unused (new) or has been used to replenish toner.

The control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus 1, which is connected to the T memory 57 via the contact portion 70133, acquires the capacity information stored in the T memory 57 through the metal plates 9111 and 9112. In other words, the contact portion 70133 is an example of an acquisition means by which the image forming apparatus acquires information indicating the type of the refill container. In this embodiment, the control unit 90 identifies the type of the toner bottle units 991-993 by reading the capacity information from the T memory 57 via the contact portion 70133. The method of communicating with the T memory 57 is a so-called two-wire transmission method that uses both the power supply line and the communication signal line, and communication is performed through the metal plates 9111 and 9112. Note that a different communication method may be used.

The information that the control unit 90 obtains from the T memory 57 is not limited to information that directly indicates the capacity of the toner bottle unit, but may be information that can identify which of multiple types of toner bottle units with different capacities the toner bottle unit is. In this case, the control unit 90 can determine the capacity of the toner bottle unit by referring to the correspondence between the type of toner bottle unit and its capacity that is stored in advance in the non-volatile memory.

As explained using Figures 16(a) to (d), when the piston 902 of the toner bottle units 991 to 993 is pressed, the contact release portion 9072 of the push-in detection rod 907, which is an insulator, enters between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909, and the electrical continuity is released. In other words, Figure 23 shows the circuit state after the piston 902 is pushed in. However, in Figure 23, the switch mechanism consisting of the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 is shown as an equivalent circuit symbol that is turned on/off by the push-in detection rod 907.

When no current flows even when a voltage is applied between the metal plates 9111, 9113, the control unit 90 of the image forming device 1 determines that the piston 902 has been pushed in and that the toner stored in the toner bottle units 991-993 has been completely discharged. On the other hand, if there is electrical continuity between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909, the control unit 90 determines that the piston 902 is not pushed in (new condition) based on the fact that a current flows when a voltage is applied between the metal plates 9111, 9113.

(6-3) Display Control of Supply Amount Information When Toner is Replenished Next, the control of the panel 400 (FIGS. 14 and 24) when toner is replenished using any one of the toner bottle units 991 to 993 having different capacities will be described.

During the period when toner is not being replenished, the control unit 90 of the image forming device 1 changes the display on the panel 400 based on the detection results of the toner remaining amount detection means 51 (Figure 19). Each scale corresponds to the amount of toner in one small-capacity toner bottle unit 991, or the amount of toner for 1,000 printed sheets. In other words, if the image forming device 1 repeats image formation operations without toner replenishment, one of the lit scales on the panel 400 goes out each time image formation is performed on approximately 1,000 sheets of recording material.

For example, the state of FIG. 24(b) where one scale is lit indicates that the small capacity toner bottle unit 991 has free capacity to replenish three bottles of toner (3000 prints). In other words, this indicates that one bottle of toner (1000 prints) has already been replenished in the small capacity toner bottle unit 991. The state of FIG. 24(c) where two scales are lit indicates that the small capacity toner bottle unit 991 has free capacity to replenish two bottles of toner (2000 prints). In other words, this indicates that two bottles of toner have already been replenished in the small capacity toner bottle unit 991, or one bottle of toner (2000 prints) has already been replenished in the medium capacity toner bottle unit 992. The state of FIG. 24(d) where all scales are lit indicates that toner cannot be replenished using any of the toner bottle units (the remaining toner is at the full level). In other words, this indicates that four, two, and one bottles of toner (equivalent to 4,000 printed pages) have already been replenished in the small-capacity, medium-capacity, and large-capacity toner bottle units, respectively. When the remaining amount of toner in the developing container 32 is at a low level, the control unit 90 turns off the top three scale marks and blinks the bottom scale mark, as shown in FIG. 24(a). The state in FIG. 24(a) indicates that the small-capacity toner bottle unit 991 has free space to replenish four bottles of toner (equivalent to 4,000 printed pages). In this way, in this embodiment, the "number of scale marks that are turned off or blinking" corresponds to replenishment amount information indicating the amount of toner that has already been replenished or can be replenished in the developing container 32.

The operation during toner replenishment will be described using FIG. 25. In the procedure of this flowchart, S501, S508, S511, S519, and S520 represent operations performed by the user. The other steps are realized by the CPU 91 (FIG. 19) provided in the control unit 90 of the image forming device 1 executing a program read from the non-volatile memory 93.

First, the user opens the opening/closing member 83 (FIG. 4(c)) and mounts a small-, medium- or large-capacity toner bottle unit 991, 992, 993 in the supply container mounting section 701 (S501). This connects the T memory 57 to the control section 90, so that the control section 90 communicates with the T memory 57 and acquires the new product flag and capacity information stored in the T memory 57 (S502). Furthermore, the control section 90 communicates with the P memory 58 and acquires the free capacity information of the developing container 32 stored in the P memory 58 (S503). The free capacity information of the developing container 32 in the P memory 58 is updated by the control section 90 at any time based on the detection result of the toner remaining amount detection means 51.

The control unit 90 determines whether the toner bottle units 991-993 currently attached to the supply container mounting portion 701 are new or not based on the value of the new product flag obtained from the T memory 57 (S504). The control unit 90 also compares the capacity information of the toner bottle units 991-993 obtained from the T memory 57 with the free capacity information of the P memory 58 to determine whether the developing container 32 has sufficient free capacity (S505). In other words, when the free capacity of the developing container 32 is greater than the capacity of the toner bottle units 991-993 currently attached to the supply container mounting portion 701, it is determined that the developing container 32 has sufficient free capacity.

If the currently installed toner bottle unit 991-993 is new and there is sufficient free space in the developing container 32, the control unit 90 operates the rotation lock mechanism 59 to unlock the supply port shutter 7013 (S506, see Figure 11 (a)).

On the other hand, if the currently installed toner bottle units 991-993 are not new, the control unit 90 maintains the locked state of the supply port shutter 7013 (S507, see FIG. 11B). If there is not enough free space in the developing container 32, the control unit 90 also maintains the locked state of the supply port shutter 7013 (S507, see FIG. 11B). Note that if the supply port shutter 7013 is not unlocked, the user cannot rotate the toner bottle units 991-993, and the process does not proceed to the subsequent steps S506-S519. In that case, the user can remove the toner bottle units 991-993 to end the procedure (S520), and the image forming device 1 returns to the state it was in before the toner supply operation.

When the refill port shutter 7013 is unlocked (S506), the user rotates the toner bottle units 991-993 180 degrees (S508). The rotation detection means 55 then detects that the refill port shutter 7013 has rotated 180 degrees (S509), and based on this, the control unit 90 locks the rotation lock mechanism 59 (S510). This prevents the user from rotating the toner bottle units 991-993, and maintains the state in which the outlets of the toner bottle units 991-993 attached to the refill container attachment section 701 are connected to the refill port 8012.

When the user pushes in the pistons 902 of the toner bottle units 991-993 to discharge the toner (S511), the push-in detection means 56 detects that the pistons 902 have been pushed in (S512). That is, in this configuration example, the push-in detection means 56 is used as a discharge detection means for detecting the completion of the discharge of the toner from the supply container. When the completion of the discharge of the toner is detected, the control unit 90 lights up at least one of the unlit scales on the panel 400 to notify the user that the toner has been replenished.

Here, the control unit 90 changes the increment of the scale display on the panel 400 depending on which of the multiple types of toner bottle units 991 to 993 with different capacities the toner was replenished from (S513 to S516).

For example, suppose toner is replenished in the state shown in FIG. 24(a), which indicates that the remaining amount of toner in the developing container 32 is at a low level. In this case, if capacity information representing a small-capacity toner bottle unit 991 has been acquired in S502, the control unit 90 lights up one scale mark on the panel 400 to change to the state shown in FIG. 24(b) (S514). If capacity information representing a medium-capacity toner bottle unit 992 has been acquired in S502, two scale marks on the panel 400 are lit to change to the state shown in FIG. 24(c) (S515). If capacity information representing a large-capacity toner bottle unit 993 has been acquired in S502, four scale marks on the panel 400 are lit to change to the state shown in FIG. 24(d) (S516).

For example, suppose toner replenishment is performed in the state shown in FIG. 24(b), which indicates that the amount of toner remaining in the developing container 32 is at the first level. In this case, if capacity information representing a small-capacity toner bottle unit 991 has been acquired in S502, the control unit 90 lights up one scale on the panel 400 to bring it into the state shown in FIG. 24(c) (S514). If capacity information representing a medium-capacity toner bottle unit 992 has been acquired in S502, two scales on the panel 400 are lighted, for a total of three scales being lit (S515). Note that if capacity information representing a large-capacity toner bottle unit 993 has been acquired in S502, the rotation lock mechanism 59 remains locked in S505 and toner replenishment is not performed, so S516 is not executed.

In this way, the unit by which the scale increases or decreases on the display means of this embodiment corresponds to the capacity of the supply container (first supply container) with the smallest capacity among the multiple types of supply containers. In other words, when toner is replenished using the first supply container with the smallest capacity among the multiple types of supply containers (e.g., small-capacity toner bottle unit 991), the scale on the display means changes by one step. When toner is replenished using a second supply container (e.g., medium-capacity toner bottle unit 992) with a larger capacity than the first supply container among the multiple types of supply containers, the scale on the display means changes by multiple steps.

After changing the display on the panel 400, the control unit 90 records in the T memory 57 that the toner pack has been used (S517) and releases the rotation lock mechanism 59 (S518). The user rotates the toner bottle units 991-993 180 degrees (S519) and removes the toner bottle units 991-993 from the supply container mounting portion 701 (S520). This completes the procedure for supplying toner to the image forming device 1.

Note that, although the procedure for toner replenishment using toner bottle units 991-993 has been described above, when using other replenishment containers such as toner pack 40, toner replenishment is basically performed in the same manner, and the display on panel 400 is changed. For example, in the case of an image forming system that can use three types of toner packs, small capacity, medium capacity, and large capacity, the display control of panel 400 described above can be applied as is.

However, in the case of a toner pack, since the piston is not pushed in, the completion of toner discharge is detected by another discharge detection means instead of the steps of S511 and S512 in FIG. 25. Specifically, there is a method in which discharge is deemed complete when a predetermined time has elapsed since the rotation of the toner bottle was detected in S509. In another method, for example, after the rotation of the toner bottle is detected in S509, a button indicating that toner discharge is complete is displayed on the operation unit 300, and the completion of toner discharge is determined when the user presses the button.

In this manner, in this embodiment, in a configuration in which multiple types of refill containers containing different amounts of toner can be used, when toner is replenished, the refill amount information to be displayed on a display unit such as panel 400 is determined according to the type of refill container used for the current toner replenishment. This allows the user to quickly check the change in the amount of toner that has been replenished or can be replenished in the developing container 32 based on the display content of the panel 400, etc., leading to improved convenience.

In particular, in the above configuration example, the amount of toner that has been replenished or can be replenished to the developing container 32 is visually displayed by using a panel 400 having a scale that changes in stages according to the amount of remaining toner. This allows the user to be informed, in an intuitively easy-to-understand manner, of the types and number of replenishment containers that can replenish toner without exceeding the capacity of the developing container 32. In this case, as explained in the above configuration example, it is preferable to increase the number of scales that are lit after toner replenishment as the amount of toner contained in the replenishment container increases.

In addition, in this embodiment, when the discharge detection means detects that the toner has been discharged from the supply container, the supply amount information displayed on the display means is changed regardless of the detection result of the toner remaining amount detection means disposed in the developing container 32. This shortens the time from when the user performs an operation to discharge toner from the supply container to when the result is reflected as a decrease in the amount of toner that has been supplied or can be replenished, as indicated by the supply amount information on the display means, thereby further improving convenience. For example, in this embodiment, the timing at which the scale on the panel 400 increases does not depend on whether or not toner transport by the transport members (8013-8015, see FIG. 6) of the toner receiving unit 801 has ended.

However, it is also possible to use a configuration other than the panel 400 as a display means for displaying replenishment amount information indicating the amount of toner that has been replenished or can be replenished to the developing container 32. For example, in a configuration in which the display unit 301 of the operation unit 300 displays the types and number of replenishment containers that can be used for toner replenishment as images or numbers, it is conceivable that when toner replenishment is performed, the display content can be changed depending on the type of replenishment container used for the current toner replenishment.

23 shows an example of the circuit configuration of the push-in detection mechanism of the toner bottle unit, but other circuit configurations may be used. In this circuit configuration, the contact connected to the memory tag 911 and the contact of the push-in detection mechanism are shared by the same metal plate 9111, but as shown in FIG. 26, these contacts may be independent. In this circuit configuration, the memory tag 911 is connected to the metal plates 9111 and 9112, the first contact plate 908 of the push-in detection mechanism is connected to the metal plate 9114, and the second contact plate 909 is connected to the metal plate 9113. In this case, too, the control unit 90 can access the memory tag 911 via the metal plates 9111 and 9112 when the toner bottle unit is attached to the supply container attachment section 701, and can detect the push-in of the piston from the presence or absence of conduction between the metal plates 9113 and 9114.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment will be described. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the method of identifying the type of refill container by the capacity. Other elements having the same configuration and function as the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as the first embodiment and will not be described.

(Capacitive sensing using resistors)
In this embodiment as well, as an example of a plurality of types of replenishing containers with different capacities, a small-capacity, a medium-capacity, and a large-capacity toner bottle units 991, 992, and 993 shown in Fig. 22 will be used for explanation. However, in this embodiment, instead of a memory tag which is a storage medium for storing electronic information, a resistor 912 as shown in Fig. 27 is used as a storage means.

There are several types of resistors 912 with different resistance values, and resistors of a type corresponding to the type of toner bottle unit 991 to 993 are installed in each. Specifically, a resistor 912 with a resistance value of Ra is installed in a small-capacity toner bottle unit 991 that contains enough toner for 1000 printed pages. A resistor 912 with a resistance value of 2Ra is installed in a medium-capacity toner bottle unit 992 that contains enough toner for 2000 printed pages. A resistor 912 with a resistance value of 4Ra is installed in a large-capacity toner bottle unit 993 that contains enough toner for 4000 printed pages. In either case, the resistor 912 is connected to the metal plates 9111 and 9112 of the contact portion 911a.

In this way, the resistor 912, which is the storage means of this embodiment, holds information (capacity information) related to the type of refill container as a resistance value. That is, a resistance value Ra represents capacity information corresponding to the amount of toner for 1000 sheets, a resistance value 2Ra represents capacity information corresponding to the amount of toner for 2000 sheets, and a resistance value 4Ra represents capacity information corresponding to the amount of toner for 4000 sheets.

The control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus can confirm the resistance value of the resistor 712 by applying a voltage to the resistor 712 via the contact portion 70133 provided in the supply container mounting portion 701. That is, a voltage is applied to the metal plate 9112 via the contact 91120 of the contact portion 70133. However, the voltage applied to the metal plate 9112 is a divided voltage of the resistance of the resistance value Ra and the voltage Vcc, and the contact 91110 in contact with the other metal plate 9111 is grounded. The control unit 90 confirms the resistance value of the resistor 712 by acquiring the voltage value on the resistor 912 side via the A/D conversion unit 95.

Here, the operation of the push-in detection means 56 (FIG. 19) will also be described using FIG. 27. The configuration of the push-in detection mechanism in the toner bottle unit is the same as that described in the first embodiment. That is, the first contact plate 908 is connected to the metal plate 9111 of the contact portion 911a, and the second contact plate 909 is connected to another metal plate 9113 of the contact portion 911a. When the piston 902 is pushed in, the push-in detection rod 907 slides in conjunction with the piston 902, and the contact release portion 9072 of the push-in detection rod 907 cuts off the electrical connection between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 (see also FIGS. 16(a) to (d)). In addition, the contact 91130 of the contact portion 70133 is connected to the second contact plate 909 via the metal plate 9113, and the contact 91110 is connected to the first contact plate 908 via the metal plate 9111. However, in FIG. 27, the switch mechanism consisting of the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 is illustrated as an equivalent circuit symbol that is turned on/off by the push-in detection rod 907.

The control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus can detect the pushing of the piston 902 by monitoring the presence or absence of conduction between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 via the contact portion 70133 provided in the supply container mounting portion 701. That is, when the toner bottle unit is mounted in the supply container mounting portion 701 and the piston 902 is not pushed in, the contact 91130 is grounded via the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 in a conductive state. Therefore, the voltage value detected by the CPU 91 is 0 [V]. On the other hand, when the piston 902 is pushed in, the conduction between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 is cut off, and the voltage value detected by the CPU 91 changes to Vcc [V]. Based on such a change in the voltage value, the control unit 90 judges the pushing of the piston.

(panel)
The panel 400 in this embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 29, the panel 400 is provided on the front of the housing of the printer main body. The panel 400 is another example of a display unit that displays replenishment amount information indicating the amount of toner that has been replenished or can be replenished to the developing container 32. In this embodiment, an indicator 402 having two scales 4021 and 4022 arranged above and below in the vertical direction is used as the panel 400. The panel 400 indicates the amount of toner that has been replenished or can be replenished to the developing container 32 by displaying the scales 4021 and 4022 that change in stages.

As shown in FIG. 30(a), when all the scales 4021 and 4022 are off, this indicates that the amount of toner remaining in the developing container 32 is at a low level. As shown in FIG. 30(b), when only the bottom scale 4014 is flashing, this indicates that the amount of toner remaining in the developing container 32 is at a first level that is higher than the low level. In other words, this indicates that one bottle's worth of toner (enough for 1,000 prints) has already been replenished in the small-capacity toner bottle unit 991.

As shown in FIG. 30(c), when only the scale 4022 at the bottom is lit, it indicates that the remaining amount of toner in the developing container 32 is at the second level, which is greater than the first level. In other words, it indicates that two bottles of toner have already been replenished in the small-capacity toner bottle unit 991, or one bottle of toner (equivalent to 2000 printed pages) has already been replenished in the medium-capacity toner bottle unit 992. As shown in FIG. 30(d), when all the scales 4021 and 4022 are lit, it indicates that the remaining amount of toner in the developing container 32 is at the Full level, which is greater than the second level. In this state, since there is no scale that is turned off, it is clear that toner cannot be replenished from, for example, the toner pack 40. In other words, it indicates that four bottles, two bottles, and one bottle of toner (equivalent to 4000 printed pages) have already been replenished in the small-capacity, medium-capacity, and large-capacity toner bottle units, respectively. Thus, in this embodiment, the number of scale marks in the off state and the number of scale marks in the flashing state correspond to replenishment amount information indicating the amount of toner that has been replenished or can be replenished to the developing container 32.

(Display control of information on amount of toner replenished during toner replenishment)
Next, a description will be given of the control of panel 400 when toner is replenished using toner bottle units 991 to 993 with different capacities. In the following, the description will be given assuming that panel 400 capable of displaying a four-level scale is used, as shown in FIG.

The operation when refilling a toner bottle will be described with reference to FIG. 28. In this flowchart, steps other than S601, S608, S611, S619, and S620, which are user operations, are realized by the CPU 91 (FIG. 19) provided in the control unit 90 of the image forming device 1 executing a program read from the non-volatile memory 93.

First, the user opens the opening/closing member 83 (FIG. 4(c)) and mounts one of the small, medium, or large capacity toner bottle units 991-993 in the supply container mounting section 701 (S601). This connects the resistor 912 to the control section 90, so that the control section 90 obtains a voltage value from a circuit including the resistor 912 via the A/D conversion section 95, and obtains capacity information of the toner bottle units 991-993 based on the obtained voltage value (S602). Specifically, when the voltage value obtained by the A/D conversion section 95 in FIG. 27 is Vcc×Ra/(Ra+Rb), the control section 90 determines that the capacity information is the toner amount for 1000 printed sheets. Also, when the voltage value is Vcc×2Ra/(2Ra+Rb), the control section 90 determines that the capacity information is the toner amount for 2000 printed sheets. Furthermore, if the voltage value is Vcc x 4Ra/(4Ra + Rb), it is determined that the capacity information is the amount of toner for 4,000 printed pages. Furthermore, the control unit 90 communicates with the P memory 58 to obtain the free capacity information of the developing container 32 stored in the P memory 58 (S603).

The control unit 90 compares the capacity information of the toner bottle units 991-993 determined based on the resistance value of the resistor 912 with the free capacity information of the P memory 58 to determine whether or not there is sufficient free capacity in the developing container 32 (S605). In other words, when the free capacity of the developing container 32 is greater than the capacity of the toner bottle units 991-993 currently attached to the supply container attachment section 701, it is determined that there is sufficient free capacity in the developing container 32.

If there is sufficient free space in the developing container 32, the control unit 90 operates the rotation lock mechanism 59 to unlock the supply port shutter 7013 (S606, see FIG. 11(a)). On the other hand, if there is not enough free space in the developing container 32, the control unit 90 maintains the locked state of the supply port shutter 7013 (S607, see FIG. 11(b)). If the lock of the supply port shutter 7013 is not released, the user cannot rotate the toner bottle units 991-993, and the process does not proceed to the subsequent steps S606-S619. In that case, the user removes the toner bottle units 991-993, which ends the procedure (S620), and the image forming device 1 returns to the state it was in before the toner supply operation.

Note that between S603 and S605, a step may be provided in which the push-in detection means 56 confirms that the pistons 902 of the toner bottle units 991-993 have not been pushed in. At this time, if the toner bottle unit is in a state before the pistons are pushed in (if the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are conductive), the toner bottle unit is determined to be new and the process proceeds to S605. If the toner bottle unit is in a state after the pistons are pushed in (if the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are not conductive), the toner bottle unit is determined to be used and the process proceeds to S607.

When the lock of the supply port shutter 7013 is released (S606), the user rotates the toner bottle units 991-993 180 degrees (S608). Then, the rotation detection means 55 detects that the supply port shutter 7013 has rotated 180 degrees (S609), and based on this, the control unit 90 locks the rotation lock mechanism 59 (S610). As a result, the toner bottle units 991-993 mounted in the supply container mounting unit 701 are maintained in communication with the supply port 8012 without accepting any rotation operation of the toner bottle units 991-993 by the user.

When the user pushes in the piston 902 of the toner bottle unit 991-993 to discharge the toner (S611), the push-in detection means 56 detects that the piston 902 has been pushed in (S612). That is, in this configuration example, the completion of the discharge of the toner from the supply container is determined based on the detection result of the push-in detection means. When the completion of the discharge of the toner is detected, the control unit 90 lights up at least one of the unlit scales on the panel 400 to notify the user that the toner has been replenished.

Here, the control unit 90 changes the increment of the scale display on the panel 400 depending on which of the multiple types of toner bottle units 991-993 with different capacities the toner was replenished from (S613-S616). Note that in S614-S616, an increase in the remaining amount of toner represented by the scale display on the panel 400 is described as an increment of the display level ("+1", "+2", etc.).

For example, suppose toner is replenished in the state shown in FIG. 30(a), which indicates that the remaining amount of toner in the developing container 32 is at a low level. In this case, if capacity information representing a small-capacity toner bottle unit 991 has been acquired in S602, the control unit 90 causes one scale mark on the panel 400 to flash, resulting in the state shown in FIG. 30(b) (S614). If capacity information representing a medium-capacity toner bottle unit 992 has been acquired in S602, one scale mark on the panel 400 is lit, resulting in the state shown in FIG. 30(c) (S615). If capacity information representing a large-capacity toner bottle unit 993 has been acquired in S602, two scale marks on the panel 400 are lit, resulting in the state shown in FIG. 30(d) (S616).

For example, suppose that toner replenishment is performed in the state shown in FIG. 30(b), which indicates that the amount of toner remaining in the developing container 32 is at the first level. In this case, if capacity information representing a small-capacity toner bottle unit 991 has been acquired in S602, the control unit 90 changes the scale at the bottom of the panel 400 from a flashing state to a lit state, resulting in the state shown in FIG. 30(c) (S614). If capacity information representing a medium-capacity toner bottle unit 992 has been acquired in S602, the scale at the bottom of the panel 400 is lit and the scale at the top is made to flash (S615). Note that if capacity information representing a large-capacity toner bottle unit 993 has been acquired in S602, the rotation lock mechanism 59 remains locked in S605, and toner replenishment is not performed, so S616 is not executed.

After changing the display on the panel 400, the control unit 90 releases the rotation lock mechanism 59 (S618). The user rotates the toner bottle units 991-993 180 degrees (S619) and removes the toner bottle units 991-993 from the supply container mounting portion 701 (S620). This completes the procedure for supplying toner to the image forming device 1.

Note that, although the procedure for toner replenishment using toner bottle units 991-993 has been described above, when using other replenishment containers such as toner pack 40, toner replenishment is basically performed in the same manner, and the display on panel 400 is changed. For example, in the case of an image forming system that can use three types of toner packs, small capacity, medium capacity, and large capacity, the display control of panel 400 described above can be applied as is.

However, since the piston is not pushed in when using a toner pack, the completion of toner discharge is detected based on other conditions, such as the elapsed time from when rotation of the toner pack is detected, instead of steps S611 and S612 in FIG. 28, as in the first embodiment.

In this manner, in this embodiment as well, in a configuration in which multiple types of refill containers containing different amounts of toner can be used, when toner is replenished, the display on the display means such as panel 400 is changed according to the type of refill container used for the current toner replenishment. At this time, the display on the display means is changed based on the capacity information acquired by the acquisition means, not on the detection results of the toner remaining amount detection means arranged in the developing container 32. This allows the user to quickly check the change in the amount of toner that has been replenished or can be replenished in the developing container 32 based on the display content of the panel 400, etc., leading to improved convenience.

In addition, the panel 400 of this embodiment is configured with two scales, which is fewer than the types of refill containers, but even in this case, it is a specific example in which the display can be changed according to the type of refill container.

Third Embodiment
As the third embodiment, yet another example of the configuration of the panel will be described. The panel 400 of this embodiment is provided on the front of the housing of the printer main body 100, as shown in Figs. 31(a) to (c). The panel 400, which is an example of a display means for displaying replenishment amount information indicating the amount of toner replenished or available to be replenished to the developing container, is made of a liquid crystal panel including a plurality of scales (indicators). In this embodiment, three scales 4001, 4002, and 4003 are arranged vertically from top to bottom. The panel 400 indicates the amount of toner replenished or available to be replenished to the developing container 32 by displaying the scales 4001 to 4003 that change in stages. In addition, the scale 4003 at the bottom also indicates whether the toner in the developing container 32 is at a Low level or an Out level.

In the illustrated example configuration of the panel 400, when all three scales 4001, 4002, and 4003 are off, this indicates that the toner in the developing container 32 is at the Out level (fourth state).

As shown in FIG. 31(a), when only the lower scale 4003 is lit, it indicates that the remaining amount of toner in the developing container 32 is at a low level. In this state, since two scale marks are off, it can be seen that, for example, two bottles' worth of toner can be replenished with a small-capacity toner pack 40 (third state). In addition, since the number panels "+1" and "+2" adjacent to the scale are lit, it can also be seen that two bottles' worth of toner can be replenished with a small-capacity toner pack 40.

As shown in FIG. 31(b), when the lower and central scales 4002, 4003 are lit and the upper scale 4001 is off, this indicates that the remaining amount of toner in the developing container 32 is greater than the Low level and less than the Full level (full). In this state, since one scale is off, it can be seen that, for example, one bottle's worth of toner can be replenished with a small-capacity toner pack 40 (second state). In addition, since the number panel "+1" adjacent to the scale is lit and the number panel "+2" is off, it can be seen that one bottle's worth of toner can be replenished with a small-capacity toner pack 40.

As shown in FIG. 31C, when all three scales 4001 to 4003 are lit, this indicates that the remaining toner in the developing container 32 is at the full level. In this state, since there are no unlit scales, it is clear that toner cannot be replenished from the toner pack 40, for example (first state). In addition, it is clear that toner cannot be replenished from the toner pack 40 because the number panels "+1" and "+2" adjacent to the scales are unlit. Thus, in this embodiment, the "number of unlit scales" and the "number represented by the lit number panels" correspond to replenishment amount information indicating the amount of toner that has been replenished or can be replenished to the developing container 32.

In this embodiment, it is preferable to be able to use, for example, a small-capacity toner pack 40 and a medium-capacity toner pack 40 (or a small-capacity toner bottle unit 991 and a medium-capacity toner bottle unit 992). In this case, when toner for 1000 prints is replenished from the small-capacity toner pack 40 in the state shown in FIG. 31(a), the display on the panel 400 changes to the state shown in FIG. 31(b). Also, when toner for 2000 prints is replenished from the medium-capacity toner pack 40 in the state shown in FIG. 31(a), the display on the panel 400 changes to the state shown in FIG. 31(c).

The display of such replenishment amount information is controlled based on the capacity information acquired by the control unit 90 from the T memory 57 attached to the toner pack 40 or the toner bottle units 991, 992, applying the first embodiment. This makes it possible to change the display on the display means such as the panel 400 depending on the type of replenishment container used for the current toner replenishment, in a configuration in which multiple types of replenishment containers containing different amounts of toner can be used.

Other Embodiments
The present invention can also be realized by a process in which a program for implementing one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments is supplied to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or device read and execute the program. The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., ASIC) that implements one or more of the functions.

1...Image forming device/21...Image carrier (photosensitive drum)/31...Developing means (developing roller)/32...Developing container/34...Agitating member/40, 900, 991, 992, 993...Replenishing container (toner pack, toner bottle unit)/51...Toner remaining amount detection means/56...Discharge detection means (push-in detection means)/90...Control means (control unit)/400...Display means (panel)/45, 911...Storage medium (memory unit)/912...Resistor/8012...Replenishing port/8013, 8014, 8015...Transporting members (first transporting member, second transporting member, third transporting member)/70133...Acquisition means (contact section)

Claims (13)

An image forming apparatus capable of detachably mounting a plurality of types of supply containers each having a different toner capacity and forming an image on a recording material,
A photosensitive drum ;
a developing container including a container section for containing a toner and a mounting section to which the supply container can be mounted and having an inlet communicating with the container section;
a developing roller that carries the toner contained in the container and supplies the toner to the photosensitive drum ;
a display unit that displays information on a toner supply amount indicating an amount of toner that is supplied or can be supplied to the developing container;
an acquisition means for acquiring information regarding the capacity of the supply container attached to the attachment portion ;
A control means;
Equipped with
The mounting portion is
a main body shutter that is movable between a communication position that communicates the storage unit with the receiving port and a non-communication position that does not communicate the storage unit with the receiving port;
a restricting member that is movable between a restricting position that restricts the movement of the main body shutter from the non-communicating position to the communicating position and an allowing position that allows the movement of the main body shutter from the non-communicating position to the communicating position;
having
after the supply container is mounted to the mounting portion and before toner is supplied from the supply container to the developing container through the receiving port, the control means determines whether or not to move the regulating member from the regulating position to the allowing position based on the amount of toner supplied or capable of being supplied to the developing container and information on the capacity of the supply container acquired by the acquisition means.
1. An image forming apparatus comprising: the mounting portion has a movement detection means for detecting movement of the main body shutter between the non-communication position and the communication position,
the control means controls the regulating member to move from the permitted position to the regulating position based on the detection by the movement detection means of the body shutter moving from the non-communicating position to the communicating position.
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, the supply container includes a container that contains toner and has a discharge port, and a piston that is pushed into the container to discharge the toner from the container through the discharge port,
The mounting portion has a push-in detection means for detecting that the piston is pushed in,
the control means controls the regulating member to move from the regulating position to the allowing position based on the detection of the pushing of the piston by the push-in detection means while the main body shutter is in the communicating position.
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, the control means determines the supply amount information to be displayed on the display means based on information regarding the capacity of the supply container acquired by the acquisition means, such that, when the supply container is mounted on the mounting portion and the toner supply is performed, the toner amount indicated by the supply amount information after the toner supply is changed depending on the type of the supply container used for the toner supply.
4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first and second electrodes are arranged in a first direction. the display means is configured to display the replenishment amount information by lighting up or displaying the number of scale marks;
the control means determines the number of the scales to be lit or displayed when the toner is replenished based on information regarding the capacity of the replenishment container acquired by the acquisition means;
5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first and second electrodes are arranged in a first direction . the control means , when the toner supply is performed using a first supply container having the smallest capacity among the plurality of types of supply containers, lights up or displays one scale on the display means, and when the toner supply is performed using a second supply container having a larger capacity than the first supply container among the plurality of types of supply containers, lights up or displays multiple scales on the display means.
6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5 , a discharge detection means for detecting completion of discharge of the toner from the supply container attached to the mounting portion ;
a toner remaining amount detection means for detecting the amount of toner remaining in the developing container;
Further equipped with
when the discharge detection means detects completion of discharge of the toner from the replenishing container, the control means determines the replenishing amount information to be displayed on the display means based on information regarding the capacity of the replenishing container acquired via the acquisition means, regardless of the detection result of the toner remaining amount detection means.
5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4 . the supply container includes a container that contains toner and has a discharge port, and a piston that is pushed into the container to discharge the toner from the container through the discharge port,
The ejection detection means is configured to detect a pushing motion of the piston.
8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7 , The supply container attached to the attachment portion is rotated , whereby the main body shutter moves between the communication position and the non-communication position ,
the discharge detection means detects completion of discharge of the toner from the supply container based on an elapsed time from a point in time when an operation of rotating the supply container is performed.
8. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7 , an agitating member for agitating the toner in the toner container ;
a conveying member that conveys the toner received from the toner supply container through the receiving opening toward the storage portion when the toner supply is performed;
Further equipped with
when the discharge detection means detects completion of the discharge of the toner, regardless of whether the conveyance of the toner by the conveying member has been completed or not, the control means determines the supply amount information to be displayed on the display means based on the information regarding the capacity of the supply container acquired by the acquisition means.
10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein the first and second electrodes are arranged in a first direction. the acquiring means includes a contact portion that is electrically connected to a storage medium attached to the supply container when the supply container is attached to the attachment portion ,
the control means determines the capacity of the refill container based on information read from the storage medium via the contact portion.
11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, the recharge container includes a resistor;
the acquiring means includes a contact portion that is electrically connected to the resistor of the supply container when the supply container is attached to the attachment portion ,
The control means determines the capacity of the refill container based on the resistance value of the resistor acquired via the contact portion.
11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, the mounting portion is configured so that the supply container is mounted thereto so that the toner is supplied in a state in which a part of the supply container is exposed to the outside of the image forming apparatus.
13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming apparatus is a multi-layered image forming apparatus.

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