JP2934260B2 - Image recording device - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus having a toner storage section for supplying toner stored in a developing unit, and supplies the toner from a transfer paper loading section provided at a lower portion of the apparatus main body. The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus such as a laser printer, a copying machine, or the like, having a transport path for transporting a transferred transfer paper upside down and transporting the transfer paper to an upper portion of the apparatus main body.

2. Description of the Related Art In an image recording apparatus using an electrostatographic process such as a laser printer and a copying machine, a user can easily and reliably perform a jam reduction and a replacement work of a replacement part by reducing the size of the apparatus and reducing the cost. In order to improve the performance, it is known that the transfer paper is disposed above the optical writing unit and the transfer paper is transported upward. Further, it has been proposed that a toner cartridge of a developing device and a cleaning unit including collected waste toner are integrally formed to form a replaceable kit.

The above-described image recording apparatus for upper transport and lower writing transports the transfer paper fed from the paper feed unit disposed at the lower side of the apparatus to the upper side of the apparatus by inverting the transfer paper. A road component, that is, a paper guide member is provided.

However, providing the paper guide member has a problem that the cost increases accordingly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide an inexpensive image recording apparatus capable of removing a part of a transfer paper transport path component.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above problems, the present invention relates to an apparatus having a toner storage section for supplying toner stored in a developing unit, and a transfer paper loading section provided at a lower portion of the apparatus main body. An image recording apparatus having a transport path for transporting the transfer paper fed from the printer upside down and transporting the transfer paper to the upper portion of the apparatus main body, wherein the toner storing section is formed separately from the developing unit, and the toner storing section is Is used as an inner peripheral side guide in a reversing portion of the transport path.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall schematic view of a laser printer shown as an example of an image recording apparatus.

In FIG. 1, a charger 2, a developing unit 3, a transfer charger 4, and a cleaning unit 5 are arranged around the photoreceptor drum 1 in the rotation direction indicated by an arrow. A writing optical unit 7 is provided so that a writing light beam enters the photosensitive drum 1 and is exposed at a position 6 between them.

The charger 2 and the optical writing position 6 are arranged below the photosensitive drum 1, and the writing optical unit 7 is provided below the photosensitive drum 1, the developing unit 3 and the cleaning unit 5. The transfer charger 4 is arranged above the photosensitive drum 1. The paper feed cassette 8 is provided further below the writing optical unit 7, and the transfer paper in the paper feed cassette 8 is separated and sent out one by one by a feed roller 9 and a corner claw 10. The toner is guided to an upper surface portion 18a on the toner cartridge 18 side to be described in detail, and is sent above the developing unit 3. Then, the transfer paper is fed to the transfer unit by the registration roller pair 12 at a proper timing so as to align with the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 1. In the path of the transfer paper after the transfer, the static elimination brush 13, the suction fan 14, the fixing unit 15, and the discharge tray 16 are provided.
Is provided.

The electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 by the charger 2 and the writing optical unit 7 is developed by the developing unit 3 to form a toner image, and is transferred to the transfer paper fed by the registration roller pair 12. It is transferred by the charger 4. After the transfer, the transfer paper separated from the photosensitive drum 1 by the discharging brush 13 is sent to the fixing unit 15 while being suction-held by the suction fan 14, and is fixed and discharged by the discharge tray 16.
Is discharged.

On the other hand, after the transfer, the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 1 is cleaned by the cleaning unit 5, and the charge on the photosensitive drum 1 is eliminated by the neutralizer 17 to prepare for the next image forming process.

The cleaning unit 5, the charger 2, and the toner cartridge 18 are connected by unit arms 22 on both sides as shown in FIG. This exchange kit 20 is attached to the unit holder 21 provided on the laser printer body side.
The unit arm 22 is inserted and held.

In the laser printer according to the present invention, the transfer paper fed from a paper feed cassette, which is a transfer paper loading unit provided at the lower part of the laser printer main body, is turned upside down and transported to a transfer position at the upper part of the printer main body. The transfer paper is guided by using the upper surface portion 18a of the toner cartridge 18 at the reversal portion of the transport path. Therefore, unlike the conventional image recording apparatus shown in FIG. 3, a part of the transfer paper transport guide member 30 is not required, and the transfer paper can be provided at a lower cost. Further, with such a configuration, the size of the toner cartridge 18 becomes larger as shown by a chain line from the size shown by the solid line in FIG.

Effect According to the above configuration, the present invention replaces the toner stored in the toner storage unit when the toner is exhausted, so that the transport path that is contaminated with paper dust of the transfer paper or scattered toner is also periodically replaced. In addition, it is possible to always ensure that the transfer paper can be transported in a substantially favorable state. In addition, since the toner storing section stores the powder, the shape of the toner storing section has a degree of freedom, and a dead space does not occur in the reversing section of the transfer paper transport path.

[Brief description of the drawings]

1 is an overall schematic view of a laser printer shown as an example of an image recording apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view showing a state in which a replacement kit is removed, and FIG. 3 is an image recording apparatus already proposed. 1 is an overall schematic view of a laser printer shown as an example of FIG. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Photoreceptor drum 2 ... Charger 3 ... Developing unit 5 ... Cleaning unit 18 ... Toner cartridge 18a ... Top surface part 20 ... Replacement kit

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-63-193161 (JP, A) JP-A-63-304272 (JP, A) JP-A-1-306866 (JP, A) JP-A-2-257148 (JP) JP-A-63-85760 (JP, A) JP-A-63-214785 (JP, A) JP-A-63-11640 (JP, U) Patent 2729500 (JP, B2) Patent 2805201 (JP, B2) (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G03G 15/00 510-550 G03G 21/16-21/18

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. An apparatus having a toner storage section for supplying toner stored in a developing unit, wherein a transfer sheet fed from a transfer sheet loading section provided at a lower portion of the apparatus body is turned upside down. An image recording apparatus having a transport path for transporting an upper portion of an apparatus main body, wherein the toner storage section is formed separately from the developing unit, and a housing of the toner storage section is formed on an inner periphery of a reverse section of the transport path. An image recording apparatus used as a side guide.