JPH1130942A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming device capable of exchanging plural process units, improving the operability of processing for a jam and especially, obtaining the same operational direction, so as to exchange a unit, without taking the trouble to place other units outside. SOLUTION: A front frame 8 and an intermediate frame 40 for holding a process cartridge 31 are coaxially fitted into the hub part opening part 9A of a main body frame 9 as an immobile part casing, so that the front frame 8 and the intermediate frame 40 have the same turnable supporting point. Since the interference between parts at the time of executing the operations of opening/closing the front frame 8 is eliminated, the frame 8 can be smoothly opened/ closed. When the front frame 8 is opened to turn the intermediate frame 40, the process cartridge 31 can be easily attached/ detached. When the front frame 8 and the intermediate frame 40 are integrally opened, other units such as color developing unit 6 and a black developing unit 7 can be exchanged without removing the process cartridge 31.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus having a detachable process cartridge, such as a copying machine, a printer, and a facsimile.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A typical image forming apparatus of this type, particularly a color image forming apparatus which has been put to practical use, includes a photosensitive drum for forming a latent image and a transfer paper. There is a method using a transfer drum for holding and transferring the toner image on the photoconductor, and a method using a plurality of toners superimposed on the photoconductor drum and transferring to a transfer paper. However, in the method using the transfer drum, the transfer paper must be electrostatically or mechanically held on the transfer drum, so it is difficult to use a small-size paper such as a postcard or a thick paper as the transfer paper. There is a problem that an image cannot be transferred to the entire surface of the transfer paper by a method that is not so-called paper-free and that mechanically holds the leading end of the transfer paper. A method of superposing a plurality of toner images on a photosensitive drum has also been proposed and put into practical use. However, in this method, a latent image is formed by charging and exposing the photosensitive member again from the previously transferred toner image. Since it is necessary to perform the development process a plurality of times, it is difficult to maintain good uniformity of charging, and there is a problem that the image quality is inferior to that of the conventional transfer drum system.

[0003] In order to solve these drawbacks and achieve a paper-free property in which postcards and thick paper can be used as transfer paper, a system capable of achieving high-quality images is an endless toner image of each color formed on a photoreceptor. A method has been proposed in which a full-color image is obtained by sequentially transferring images to the same position on a belt-like intermediate transfer belt, transferring the transferred image to transfer paper, and fixing the transfer image. The method of superimposing a plurality of toner images on the photosensitive drum does not require an extra transfer body.In the method using a transfer drum, the transfer drum is fixed to the apparatus main body. In addition, the intermediate transfer member must be handled as a replaceable supply because of mechanical fatigue or deterioration of surface properties.
For this reason, there are problems of unit exchangeability including other process units and operability of jam processing.

As means for solving these problems, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
In Japanese Patent No. 294673, an intermediate transfer belt is used to set the transfer paper transfer path to an upper transfer type, the intermediate transfer belt is installed on the main body frame, and a front frame capable of opening the transfer path to the main body frame is provided. A device is disclosed in which another process cartridge is drawn out from the side of the device and is replaceable. However, in this apparatus, since the operation direction of the process cartridge is perpendicular to the transfer paper conveyance path, the operation is not one-way operation for the apparatus main body, but the operability is inferior. In addition, since a space corresponding to the operation direction is required, there is a problem of an installation area and an installation place.

In the apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-368869, an intermediate transfer member is not used, but a process cartridge is installed on a main body frame on a transfer path on transfer paper, and the transfer path can be opened to the main body frame. A front frame is provided to facilitate jam clearance and to allow replacement of the process cartridge, enabling all operations in one direction on the front of the apparatus main body. However, in this apparatus, when exchanging the process cartridge, it is necessary to remove the top lid and once put it outside, and the operability is still inferior. In addition, when the process cartridge has a different structure of the photosensitive member and the developing device, there is a problem that the developing device cannot be replaced unless the photosensitive member is once disposed outside.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and has been made in consideration of the above-described problems, and has improved the operability of exchanging a plurality of process units and jam processing.
In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide an image forming apparatus in which the operation direction is the same and the unit can be replaced without having to put another unit outside.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus in which a process cartridge having an image forming means is arranged in an apparatus main body to achieve the above object. In an image forming apparatus in which a main body includes an immobile portion housing and a front housing that can be opened and closed with respect to the immobile portion housing, the process cartridge can be rotated in the same direction as the opening direction of the front housing. And a rotation center of the holding rotation member is made to coincide with a rotation center of the front housing.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, each of the holding and rotating member and the front case is provided with an opening hole serving as a center of rotation, and the holding member is held by a common shaft member passing through these opening holes. A rotating member and the front housing are rotatably held with respect to the stationary housing.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the holding and rotating members are provided on both sides in the transfer paper transport direction in the apparatus main body, and are connected by transfer paper transport guide means. .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the transfer paper transport guide means has a transfer paper transport roller.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a color image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a flexible belt-shaped photosensitive member serving as a belt-shaped image carrier, and the photosensitive belt 1 is provided between rotating rollers 2 and And 3 are conveyed clockwise in the figure. 4 is a charging charger as charging means, 5 is a laser writing system unit as image exposure means, 6 is three developing means containing yellow, magenta, and cyan color developers, that is, a rotary type color developing device. The developing unit 6 is a black developing unit that is a developing unit that stores a black developer separately provided.

In the figure, reference numeral 5 denotes a laser writing unit.
It is housed in a holding housing provided with a slit-shaped exposure opening on the upper surface and is incorporated in the lower part of the apparatus main body. Paper cassette 1
A bottom plate 60 is provided above the laser writing system unit 5 above the laser writing system unit 7, and the laser writing system unit 5 is mounted thereon, and a main body frame which forms an immovable portion housing of the apparatus main body for supporting each unit. 9 is assembled.

The charging charger 4 and the cleaning blade 15A of the photoreceptor belt 1 are
The laser beam 5A for writing from the laser writing system unit 5 is also provided on the photosensitive member by the rotating roller 2 side. The belt 1 is irradiated. Each of the color developing device 6 and the black developing device 7 includes a developing roller which comes close to or in contact with the photoreceptor belt 1 at a predetermined position, and develops a latent image on the photoreceptor belt 1 by non-contact development or contact development. Image.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes an intermediate transfer belt, which is an intermediate transfer member.
12 and is arranged in an inclined manner, and the rotating roller 1
The sheet is conveyed counterclockwise in FIG. The lower portion of the inclined belt surface of the intermediate transfer belt 10 is in contact with the rotating roller 3 of the photoreceptor belt 1, and a visible image on the photoreceptor belt 1 is used as a bias brush provided inside the intermediate transfer belt 10. The image is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 10 by the reference numeral 13. By repeating this process sequentially and in the same manner, the first and subsequent times, the second time, the third time, and the fourth time, the developed images on the photosensitive belt 1 are shifted on the intermediate transfer belt 10 respectively. The transfer is performed in an overlapping manner so as not to occur. A transfer roller 14 as a secondary transfer member is provided above the rotation roller 11 so as to be in contact with and separated from the intermediate transfer belt 10.
The distance on the intermediate transfer belt 10 from the primary transfer position to the secondary transfer position is set to be equal to or longer than the maximum image output length.

In the drawing, reference numeral 15 denotes a cleaning blade 1
A cleaning device including the intermediate transfer belt 1;
0 cleaning device. The cleaning blade 16A of the cleaning device 16 is kept at a position separated from the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 10 during image formation, and is brought into pressure contact with the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 10 as shown in FIG. In the figure, reference numeral 16B denotes an auger in the cleaning device 16.

FIG. 2 shows the internal structure of the color and black developing devices 6 and 7, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the color developing device 6. In the rotary type color developing device 6, a casing 21 as a rotating body is rotatably provided around a rotation center O.
1 can be rotated clockwise in the figure by driving a drive mechanism (not shown). The casing 21 includes yellow, magenta, and cyan developing units 22 (-Y,
M, C) are held together. Developing unit 2 for each color
2 (-Y, M, C) take the same form and the same operation as described later.

The photoreceptor belt 1 is provided with a backup roller 35 so as to push one of the two extending portions between the two rotating rollers 2 and 3 outward. The black developing device 7 is arranged at an upper portion thereof, and the color developing device 6 is arranged at a lower portion thereof. Since the intermediate transfer belt 10 is inclined and the photoreceptor belt 1 is substantially vertical, the cleaning device 15 and the waste toner collecting container 36 below the cleaning device 15 are disposed.
A certain amount of space can be secured.

At the developing position in the color developing device 6, the developing roller 23 faces the photoreceptor belt 1 and rotates in the same direction as the photoreceptor belt 1 at a predetermined linear speed ratio. A supply roller 2 made of an elastic material such as foamed polyurethane is provided below the developing roller 23.
5 rubs against the developing roller 23 in the rubbing portion, and rotates in the same direction as the developing roller 23 at a predetermined linear velocity ratio.
On the downstream side in the rotation direction of the supply roller 25, a thin plate having a spring property such as stainless steel is used.
The developing blade 26 is provided in contact with the developing blade 3. Then, the toner supplied on the supply roller 25 is supplied to the surface of the developing roller 23 by the supply roller 25, charged, and carried on the surface of the developing roller 23. The toner carried on the surface of the developing roller 23 is thinned by the developing blade 26,
The electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photoreceptor belt 1 is developed.

As shown in FIG. 3, a toner container 29 is provided in front of the developing device 6, and a screw-shaped first toner conveying member 27 is moved from the toner container 29 to the rear of the color developing device 6. Is arranged in parallel with the developing roller 23 and the supply roller 25 up to the side plate of the developing unit 22, and transports the toner from the near side to the rear side in FIG. The first toner conveying member 27 is interlocked with the developing roller 23 and the supply roller 25, and rotates at a predetermined linear speed ratio therewith.

By the way, the toner not used in the above-described developing step is transported by the first toner transporting member 27 to the rear end of the developing device 6 on the side facing the toner container 29, and is supplied to the developing roller 23 and the supply roller. The toner reaches the toner circulating portion provided outside the effective diameter portion of the roller 25 in the axial direction, and falls to the lower portion of the developing unit 22 by gravity. At the lower part of the developing unit 22, a screw-shaped second toner conveying member 28 is also provided in parallel with the developing roller 23, the supply roller 25 and the first toner conveying member 27, and the first toner It rotates so as to convey the toner in a direction opposite to the conveying member 27, and conveys the toner not used in the developing process to the toner container 29. By appropriately setting the toner transport amount of the first toner transport unit 27 and the second toner transport member 28, the supply roller 25 can be detected without performing toner amount detection and complicated toner supply amount control in the developing unit 22. The toner can be supplied to the upper side, and the color developing device 6 has a small degree of freedom in layout and a small occupation ratio of the cross section to the photosensitive belt 1. The toner cartridge 30 shown in FIG. 3 is detachable from the toner container 29, and the toner cartridge 30 is replaced when toner is supplied.

The black developing device 7 is a developing device of a type in which black toner is contained in a developing container 41. The developing device is formed integrally as a so-called developing cartridge in which the life of the developing device is replaced when the toner is exhausted. It is. Similarly to the developing unit 22 of the color developing device 7, the developing roller 23 faces the photosensitive belt 1 so that the developing roller 23 rotates in the same direction as the moving direction of the photosensitive belt 1 at a predetermined linear velocity ratio. It is arranged. Behind the developing roller 23, a supply roller 25 made of an elastic body such as foamed polyurethane rubs with the developing roller 23 in the rubbing portion, and the developing roller 23
And a developing blade 26 made of a spring-like thin plate such as stainless steel is provided so that one end thereof is in contact with the developing roller 23. In the developing container 41, a first agitator 42 and a second agitator 43 for transporting and stirring the toner toward the supply roller 25 and the developing roller 23 are provided. The black developing device 7 can be moved toward and away from the photoreceptor belt 1, separates from the photoreceptor belt 1 during non-development, and approaches or contacts the photoreceptor belt 1 during development.

The process cartridge 31 has the photoreceptor belt 1, the charging charger 4, the intermediate transfer belt 10, the cleaning device 15, and the cleaning device 16 integrated with each other. Cleaning blade 15 from above photoreceptor belt 1
The waste toner scraped in A is transported from the cleaning device 15 to the waste toner collecting container 36, and the intermediate transfer belt 1
The waste toner scraped by the cleaning blade 16A from above is removed by an auger 16 provided in the cleaning device 16.
By B, it is conveyed to the front side of the drawing, and further conveyed to the waste toner collecting container 36 by a conveying member (not shown) provided on the front side of the process cartridge 31 to be collected. As a result, the waste toner can be collected without replacing the process cartridge 31, so that the life of the process cartridge can be extended.

An image forming process by the above-described color image forming apparatus will be described. First, a laser beam 5A generated by the laser writing system unit 5 is exposed on the circumference of the photosensitive belt 1 uniformly charged in advance by the charging charger 4 to form an electrostatic latent image. Here, the image pattern to be exposed is a single-color image pattern when a desired full-color image is separated into yellow, magenta, cyan, and black. The formed electrostatic latent images of three colors are converted into yellow, magenta,
The cyan developing unit is successively developed with being opposed to the photoreceptor belt 1, and is developed and made monochromatic to form a single-color image. Evacuated.) The black electrostatic latent image is developed by a black developing device 7, and is developed and made monochromatic to form a monochromatic image. The monochrome image formed on the photoreceptor belt 1 is sequentially superimposed and transferred onto an intermediate transfer belt 10 rotating counterclockwise while contacting the photoreceptor belt 1. The yellow, magenta, cyan, and black images superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 10 are fed from the paper feed cassette 17 to the paper feed roller 1.
8. The image is transferred by the transfer roller 14 to the transfer paper conveyed to the transfer section via the conveyance roller 19 and the registration roller 20.
After the transfer is completed, the transfer paper fixes the image by the fixing device 49 to complete a full-color image.

Next, the configuration of the apparatus main body will be described. As shown in FIG. 4, the apparatus main body structure includes a main body frame 9 as an immovable portion housing and a front frame 8 as a front housing capable of opening a transfer paper transport path. The paper feed cassette 17 is arranged at the lower part, each developing unit and the process cartridge 31 are interchangeably arranged at the center part, the fixing device 49 is arranged further above, and the sheet discharge stack part is formed at the upper part.

The front frame 8 is supported in the left and right direction (perpendicular to the plane of the drawing) so as to be rotatable about a rotation support shaft 50 provided on the main body frame 9 serving as a rotation fulcrum.
At the time of image formation output, it is held in the main body frame 9 as shown in FIG. When the jam is cleared, the holding state is released so that the opening can be opened clockwise in the drawing, and the opening state can be maintained in a well-balanced state by the power of a tension spring or the like. The front frame 8 holds a registration roller 20 which is a part of a transfer path of the transfer sheet, one of a pair of rollers which forms the transfer roller 14, and the like. As a result, when the front frame 8 is opened, the transfer paper transport path is opened as shown in FIG. 4, and the paper jam processing can be easily performed. Of course, at this time, since only the jam processing is enabled without operating the above-described image forming system unit, there is no problem such as toner drop.

Further, the process cartridge 31 has an intermediate frame 40 rotatably supported on a rotation support shaft 50 provided on the main body frame 9 which is the same as the rotation fulcrum of the front frame 8. Direction) The end is held. The intermediate frame 40 is normally used (except when the process cartridge and each developing device are replaced).
When the holding is released, it can be opened clockwise in the figure.

FIG. 5 shows the attachment / detachment position of the process cartridge 31, and FIG.
FIG. 8 shows holding means for the process cartridge 31. On both sides of the process cartridge 31,
A rail-shaped projection 32 is provided in parallel with the mounting / dismounting operation direction, and a corresponding rail-shaped groove 40A is provided in the intermediate frame 40 in parallel with the mounting / dismounting operation direction. If the process cartridge 31 is operated in the direction of the arrow while the intermediate frame 40 is supported and fixed at the position shown in FIG. 5, the process cartridge 31 can be easily attached to and detached from the intermediate frame 4. In particular, the handle 33 formed by a concave portion is provided on the left and right sides of the process cartridge 31, so that the operability is further increased. In addition, if the shape of the groove 40A is opened in a trumpet shape on the side where the process cartridge 31 is inserted, the groove 40A can be mounted without any problem even if there is some deviation. The direction in which the process cartridge 31 is attached and detached is the direction in which the process cartridge 31 is stretched over the two rollers of the intermediate transfer belt 10, and the process cartridge 31 is stretched by the backup roller 35 in contact with the rotary color developing device 6 of the photosensitive belt 1. The transferred belt surface is the intermediate transfer belt 10
Is arranged so as to be substantially parallel to the belt surface, so that the space between development and transfer is reduced, and the cross section of the apparatus body is also reduced.

The intermediate frame 40 can be further opened to a position where the process cartridge 31 is attached and detached.
As shown in FIG. 6, the front frame 8 can reach the same position as the open position. At this position, the intermediate frame 40 is supported and fixed while the process cartridge 31 is mounted, so that the process cartridge 31 can be removed without temporarily removing the process cartridge 31 from the apparatus main body.
The developing units 6 and 7 disposed on the back side of the drawing are greatly opened, so that the attaching and detaching operability of the developing units 6 and 7 in the direction of the arrow in the figure is improved. Further, the waste toner collecting container 36 also appears in the opening portion by the rotation of the process cartridge 31, so that the waste toner collecting container 36 is also removable in the direction of the arrow.

Here, the previous frame 8 and the intermediate frame 40
Since the rotation fulcrum is the same, the operation can be performed smoothly without interference of the parts. In particular, the front frame 8 can be attached to the main body frame 9 by one operation from the state of FIG. .

FIG. 7 shows an example of a mechanism for supporting and fixing the intermediate frame 40 in two stages. Two grooves 40B and 40C are provided below the rotation fulcrum of the intermediate frame 40.
4 is incorporated in the main body frame 9 so as to swing with a constant spring force in the direction of the arrow in the figure. The swinging end portion 34A of the leaf spring 34 is rotated by the rotation of the intermediate frame 40 to form the grooves 40B, 40B.
By entering C, the intermediate frame 40 is latched in two stages and supported and fixed. At this time, the position of the process cartridge 31 in the attaching / detaching rotation direction is
The process cartridge 31 is supported by supporting and fixing the center of gravity of the handle 1 at a position substantially on the vertical line of the rotation center position of the intermediate frame 40 and adjusting the position of the handle 33 so that the mounting / removing direction is substantially on the vertical line. The spring force of the leaf spring 34 for fixing is very small, and the intermediate frame 4
A sense of stability at the time of the zero rotation operation is generated, and the process cartridge 31 can be operated without falling into a gravitationally unstable state. In addition, if a part of the front frame 8 is used as a stopper member for stopping rotation at the second support fixing position of the intermediate frame 40, the groove 40C of the intermediate frame 40 can be used.
Can be eliminated.

FIG. 8 shows the entire structure of the intermediate frame 40. The left and right intermediate frames 40 are connected by a transport guide plate 61. The transport guide plate 61 also functions as a replenishing member so that left and right twists do not occur. The transport roller 19B is pressed at both ends via a bearing 63 to obtain a transport force by a spring member 64. By incorporating the bearing 63 and the spring member 64 into the groove 40E of the intermediate frame 40, The positional accuracy and pressure balance of the transport roller pair 19 are maintained.

As shown in FIG. 9, the mechanism for holding the front frame 8 and the intermediate frame 40 to the main body frame 9 is such that the front frame opening 8A and the intermediate frame opening 40D through which the rotation support shaft 50 passes are respectively located at the corresponding positions. The front frame opening 8A and the intermediate frame opening 40D are positioned and set with respect to the boss opening 9A of the main body frame 9, and the rotation support shaft 50 is inserted. Hold so as to be able to rotate integrally. It is also possible to replace the boss opening 9A of the main body frame 9 with a shaft member and integrally form it, and to support the front frame 8 and the intermediate frame 40 by fitting, so that the cost can be further reduced.

[0033]

As described above, in the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, the process cartridge having the image forming means is disposed in the mounting body, and the apparatus main body is provided with the immovable portion housing and the housing. In the image forming apparatus having a front housing that can be opened and closed, a holding and rotating member that allows the process cartridge to be rotatable in the same direction as the opening direction of the front housing is provided on the immovable housing, Since the center of rotation of the member is made to coincide with the center of rotation of the front case, there is no interference between parts when opening and closing the front case, and operation can be performed smoothly. By rotating the holding member, the process cartridge can be attached and detached, and when replacing other units such as the developing unit, the process cartridge can be exchanged without having to temporarily remove it from the apparatus main body. Ri, the operation direction of the unit exchange and jam trouble can unify without the effect of improving both the operability can be improved. In addition to stabilizing the transfer quality by shortening the transfer path of the transfer paper from the paper supply section to the paper output section, the transfer paper transfer path for jam clearance is easy to open, and the open front cover There is also the effect that the operation can be performed without worrying about the falling of the camera. Further, since only the jam processing can be performed without operating the image forming unit, there is also an effect that there is no problem such as toner drop.

In the image forming apparatus according to the second aspect,
As described above, the holding rotation member and the front housing are each provided with an opening hole serving as a rotation center, and the holding rotation member and the front housing are separated by a common shaft member passing through the opening holes. Since it is held rotatably with respect to the stationary part housing, in addition to the above-mentioned common effects, the number of parts can be reduced, and the cost of the machine can be reduced.

In the image forming apparatus according to the third aspect,
As described above, the holding and rotating members are provided on both sides in the transfer paper transport direction in the apparatus main body and are connected by the transfer paper transport guide means. Even if the holding member is rotated by an operation or the like, the holding member is not twisted, and the operation can be performed without falling into an unstable state. In addition, since it also serves as the transfer paper transport guide mechanism, the number of components can be reduced, and since the fulcrum with the front frame is the same, it is easy to obtain the positional accuracy of the transport path, and it can be operated without interference with the transport surface even during rotation operation. There is also the effect of becoming.

In the image forming apparatus according to the fourth aspect,
As described above, since the transfer paper conveyance guide means has the transfer paper conveyance roller, in addition to the above-described common effects,
There is an effect that the positional accuracy of the transport guide and the transport roller pair can be easily obtained, and the transport roller can be operated without interference even during the rotation operation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a color image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing an internal configuration of a color and black developing device of the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an appearance of a color developing device of the apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing the structure of the apparatus main body of the apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a detached state of a process cartridge of the apparatus of FIG.

6 is a cross-sectional view showing a state where a developing device and a waste toner collecting container of the apparatus of FIG. 1 are attached and detached.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing an intermediate frame holding the process cartridge and showing a rotating state thereof.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing an intermediate frame holding a process cartridge and a transport guide.

FIG. 9 is an exploded perspective view showing a structure for attaching an intermediate frame and a front frame to a main body frame.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 photoreceptor belt 2, 3 rotating roller 4 charging charger 5 laser writing system unit 5A laser beam 6 color developing device 7 black developing device 8 front frame 8A front frame opening 9 main body frame 9A boss opening 10 intermediate transfer belt 11 Reference numeral 12 Rotating roller 13 Bias brush 14 Transfer roller 15 Photoreceptor belt cleaning device 15A Cleaning blade 16 Intermediate transfer belt cleaning device 16A Cleaning blade 16B Auger 17 Paper feed cassette 18 Paper feed roller 19 Transport roller 20 Registration roller 21 Casing 22 Color developing unit 23 Developing roller 25 Supply roller 26 Developing blade 27 First toner transport member 28 Second toner transport member 29 Toner storage unit 30 Color toner cartridge 31 Process Cartridge 32 rail protrusion 33 handle 34 leaf spring 35 backup roller 36 waste toner collecting container 40 intermediate frame 40A, 40B, 40C groove 40D intermediate frame opening 41 developing container 42 first agitator 43 second agitator 49 fixing device 50 rotation support shaft Reference Signs List 60 bottom plate 61 transfer guide plate 63 bearing 64 spring member

Claims (4)

[Claims] A process cartridge having image forming means disposed in an apparatus main body, wherein the apparatus main body includes an immovable portion housing;
In the image forming apparatus having a front housing that can be opened and closed with respect to the stationary housing, the holding / rotating member that enables the process cartridge to rotate in the same direction as the opening direction of the front housing is provided. An image forming apparatus provided in a stationary housing, wherein a rotation center of the holding and rotating member is made to coincide with a rotation center of the front housing. 2. An opening hole serving as a center of rotation is provided in each of the holding / rotating member and the front case, and the holding / rotating member and the front portion are shared by a common shaft member passing through the opening holes. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the housing is rotatably held with respect to the stationary housing. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holding and rotating members are provided on both sides in the transfer paper transport direction in the apparatus main body, and are connected by transfer paper transport guide means.
Image forming apparatus. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said transfer paper transport guide means has a transfer paper transport roller.