CN107479346B - Image forming apparatus including toner container, and toner container - Google Patents

Image forming apparatus including toner container, and toner container Download PDF

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Publication number
CN107479346B
CN107479346B CN201610402747.9A CN201610402747A CN107479346B CN 107479346 B CN107479346 B CN 107479346B CN 201610402747 A CN201610402747 A CN 201610402747A CN 107479346 B CN107479346 B CN 107479346B
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China
Prior art keywords
toner container
toner
terminal
terminals
image forming
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CN201610402747.9A
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Chinese (zh)
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CN107479346A (en
Inventor
永岛辉彦
竹中秀典
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Kyocera Document Solutions Inc
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Kyocera Document Solutions Inc
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Priority to CN201610402747.9A priority Critical patent/CN107479346B/en
Publication of CN107479346A publication Critical patent/CN107479346A/en
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    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
    • G03G15/00—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern
    • G03G15/06—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern for developing
    • G03G15/08—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern for developing using a solid developer, e.g. powder developer
    • G03G15/0822—Arrangements for preparing, mixing, supplying or dispensing developer
    • G03G15/0865—Arrangements for supplying new developer
    • G03G15/0875—Arrangements for supplying new developer cartridges having a box like shape
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
    • G03G21/00—Arrangements not provided for by groups G03G13/00 - G03G19/00, e.g. cleaning, elimination of residual charge
    • G03G21/16—Mechanical means for facilitating the maintenance of the apparatus, e.g. modular arrangements
    • G03G21/1661—Mechanical means for facilitating the maintenance of the apparatus, e.g. modular arrangements means for handling parts of the apparatus in the apparatus
    • G03G21/1676—Mechanical means for facilitating the maintenance of the apparatus, e.g. modular arrangements means for handling parts of the apparatus in the apparatus for the developer unit

Abstract

The invention provides an image forming apparatus and a toner container capable of contacting a ground terminal before other contact terminals when the toner container is mounted. The image forming apparatus includes a toner container capable of accommodating toner therein, and a mounting portion detachably supporting the toner container. The toner container has a plurality of fixing terminals provided on a side surface on one side in a direction of attaching and detaching the toner container to and from the mounting portion, and on an opposite surface facing each other when the toner container is mounted to the mounting portion. The mounting portion has: a terminal support portion; and a plurality of elastic terminals including a first ground terminal, the plurality of elastic terminals being provided on the terminal support portion and being capable of being electrically connected to the fixed terminals by being elastically contacted with the fixed terminals, respectively. The elastic terminals protrude from the terminal support portions toward the opposite surfaces, and a protruding length of the first ground terminal is longer than a protruding length of the other elastic terminals.

Description

Image forming apparatus including toner container, and toner container
Technical Field
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus including a toner container and a toner container capable of containing toner therein.
Background
Conventionally, an image forming apparatus capable of forming an image on a sheet using a developer containing a toner has been known. Such an image forming apparatus is provided with a toner container for replenishing toner to a developing device provided inside. The toner container is detachably provided in an apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus. When the toner in the toner container is consumed and the toner container becomes empty, the toner container is removed from the image forming apparatus and replaced with a new toner container containing unused toner.
In addition, when a toner container having an IC chip including a memory is mounted in a conventional image forming apparatus, data can be read from the memory of the IC chip by connecting the toner container to the IC chip.
A plurality of contact terminals that contact with the contact terminals on the image forming apparatus side are provided on the substrate such as the IC chip. The plurality of contact terminals include a ground terminal. In order to prevent damage to electronic components such as IC chips mounted on the substrate, when the toner container is mounted on the image forming apparatus, the ground terminal of the substrate needs to be brought into contact with the ground terminal on the image forming apparatus side first. Therefore, in the conventional configuration in which the toner container is attached to the image forming apparatus in a direction parallel to the contact surface of the contact terminal, the ground terminal longer than the other contact terminals in the attachment direction is provided on the substrate, or the ground terminal is provided at a position closest to the ground terminal side of the substrate in the image forming apparatus.
However, when the substrate is used in common for a plurality of toner containers, the mounting height, mounting position, and the like of the substrate are different among the toner containers, and the mounting position, and the like of the contact terminal on the image forming apparatus side are also different. Therefore, the conventional ground terminal may not be commonly used for various toner containers.
Disclosure of Invention
An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus and a toner container which are not only simple in structure but also can contact a ground terminal before other contact terminals when the toner container is mounted.
The invention provides an image forming apparatus, comprising: a toner container capable of accommodating toner therein; and a mounting portion detachably supporting the toner container, the toner container having a substrate and a plurality of fixing terminals, the substrate being mounted on a side surface located on one side of the mounting portion in a mounting and dismounting direction of the toner container, and being provided on an opposite surface of the toner container to which the toner container is mounted; the plurality of fixed terminals are mounted on a surface of the substrate so as to face the mounting portion, and the mounting portion includes: a terminal support portion; and a plurality of elastic terminals including first ground terminals, the plurality of elastic terminals being provided on the terminal support portion and being capable of being electrically connected to the fixed terminals by being elastically contacted with the fixed terminals, respectively, the elastic terminals protruding from the terminal support portion toward the opposed surface, respectively, a protruding length of the first ground terminal being longer than a protruding length of the other elastic terminals except for the first ground terminal, a first fixed terminal of the plurality of fixed terminals to which the first ground terminal is contacted being long in a width direction perpendicular to the attaching and detaching direction, the other fixed terminal to which the other elastic terminal is contacted being long in an up-down direction perpendicular to the attaching and detaching direction, the plurality of elastic terminals having contact portions protruding toward the opposed surface, and a plurality of elastic terminals which are formed in a bent shape and are brought into contact with the plurality of fixed terminals, and which are formed by bending and deforming a metal lead wire or a metal elongated plate member and which are elastically deformable toward the terminal support portion when receiving a pressing force in contact with the plurality of fixed terminals, wherein among the plurality of elastic terminals, the first ground terminal is long in the width direction, the other elastic terminals are long in the vertical direction, and the contact portion of the first ground terminal is located on the opposite surface side with respect to the contact portion of the other elastic terminals.
The present invention also provides a toner container detachably supported by a mounting portion provided in an image forming apparatus, the toner container including a plurality of fixing terminals provided on a side surface located on one side in a mounting/dismounting direction of the toner container with respect to the mounting portion and on an opposite surface with respect to the mounting portion when the toner container is mounted to the mounting portion, the mounting portion including: a terminal support portion; and a plurality of elastic terminals including a first ground terminal, the plurality of elastic terminals being provided on the terminal support portion and being capable of being electrically connected to the fixed terminals by being elastically contacted with the fixed terminals, respectively, the elastic terminals protruding from the terminal support portion toward the facing surface, respectively, a protruding length of the first ground terminal being longer than a protruding length of the other elastic terminals, and a first fixed terminal corresponding to the first ground terminal among the fixed terminals being capable of being contacted with the first ground terminal before the other fixed terminals in a process of mounting the toner container to the mounting portion.
The present invention also provides a toner container comprising: an elongated container body; a first toner containing section capable of containing toner therein and provided on one side in a longitudinal direction of the container body; a second toner accommodating portion capable of accommodating toner therein and provided on the other side in the longitudinal direction of the container body; and a plurality of fixed terminals provided on a side surface of the first toner accommodating portion on one side in a depth direction of the container body perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, wherein a first fixed terminal among the plurality of fixed terminals, which is grounded, has a shape elongated in a width direction of the container body perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and the other fixed terminals have a shape elongated in the longitudinal direction, and the first fixed terminal is disposed on the other side in the longitudinal direction than the other fixed terminals.
According to the present invention, when the toner container is mounted, not only the structure is simple, but also the ground terminal can be contacted before other contact terminals.
The present specification describes a concept summarized in the following detailed description with reference to the drawings as appropriate. The present specification is not intended to limit the important features and essential features of the subject matter described in the claims, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the subject matter described in the claims. The object of the claims is not limited to the embodiments for solving some or all of the disadvantages described in any part of the present invention.
Drawings
Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus.
Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an internal configuration of an image forming unit provided in the image forming apparatus.
Fig. 4 is a view showing a mounting portion of the toner container.
Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the toner container for magenta and black.
Fig. 6 is a perspective view showing an internal structure of a toner container for magenta and black.
Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing a structure of the rear surface side of the magenta toner container.
Fig. 8 is a perspective view showing a structure of the rear surface side of the magenta toner container.
Fig. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration of the front side of the toner container for magenta.
Fig. 10 is a sectional view taken along line X-X of fig. 9.
Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken along line XI-XI of fig. 9.
Fig. 12 is a partially enlarged view showing a rear surface structure of the magenta toner container.
Fig. 13 is a partially enlarged view showing a structure of a mounting portion to which a magenta toner container is mounted.
Fig. 14 is a perspective view showing a structure of a terminal unit provided in the mounting portion.
Fig. 15 is a perspective view showing a structure of a back surface side of the black toner container.
Fig. 16 is a perspective view showing a structure of a back surface side of the black toner container.
Fig. 17 is a partially enlarged view showing a rear surface structure of the toner container for black.
Fig. 18 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure in the vicinity of the right end of the image forming apparatus.
Detailed Description
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate. The embodiments described below are merely examples embodying the present invention, and are not intended to limit the technical scope of the present invention. For convenience of explanation, the vertical direction is defined as a vertical direction D1 in an installation state (the state shown in fig. 1) in which the image forming apparatus 10 can be used. In the set state, a front surface on which the paper feed cassette 22 shown in fig. 1 is inserted and removed is defined as a front surface D2. The left-right direction D3 is defined with reference to the front of the image forming apparatus 10 in the set state.
The image forming apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention has at least a printing function. The image forming apparatus 10 is, for example, a tandem color printer.
As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a housing 11 (an example of an apparatus main body). The case 11 is substantially rectangular in shape as a whole. The inside of the housing 11 is provided with various components constituting the image forming apparatus 10. Fig. 1 shows a state in which the cover on the right side surface of the housing 11 is removed.
As shown in fig. 2, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a plurality of image forming units 15(15Y, 15C, 15M, 15K), an intermediate transfer unit 16, an optical scanning device 17, a first transfer roller 18, a second transfer roller 19, a fixing device 20, a sheet tray 21, a sheet feed cassette 22, a conveyance path 24, a control board 26 that controls each part of the image forming apparatus 10, and the like. The image forming apparatus 10 includes a toner container 3 (see fig. 1) that is detachably mounted in a casing 11. In the present embodiment, the image forming apparatus 10 includes 4 image forming units 15.
Fig. 3 is a sectional view of a central portion of the image forming unit 15. The image forming unit 15 forms a toner image by an electrophotographic method. As shown in fig. 3, the image forming unit 15 includes a drum unit 31, a charging device 32, a developing device 33, and the like.
As shown in fig. 2, the image forming units 15 are arranged in parallel in the front-rear direction D2 inside the housing 11, and form a color image in a so-called tandem system. Specifically, the image forming unit 15Y forms a yellow toner image. The image forming units 15C, 15M, and 15B form a cyan toner image, a magenta toner image, and a black toner image, respectively. The yellow image forming unit 15Y, the cyan image forming unit 15C, the magenta image forming unit 15M, and the black image forming unit 15K are arranged in this order in a row downstream of the intermediate transfer unit 16 in the moving direction (direction of arrow D10) of the transfer belt 35.
Each drum unit 31 includes a photosensitive drum 41, a drum cleaning device 42 (an example of a drum cleaning unit), a discharge guide 43 (see fig. 18), and a housing 44 that supports the above components. The housing 44 is long in the left-right direction D3. The photosensitive drum 41 is a member formed in a cylindrical shape and holds the toner image developed by the developing device 33. The photosensitive drum 41 is rotatably supported on a casing 44.
In each image forming unit 15, after the photosensitive drum 41 is uniformly charged at a predetermined potential by the charging device 32, the surface of each photosensitive drum 41 is irradiated with laser light based on image data by the optical scanning device 17. In this way, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of each photosensitive drum 41. Then, the electrostatic latent image is developed (visualized) as a toner image by the developing device 33. The toner images of the respective colors formed on the photosensitive drums 41 are sequentially transferred onto the transfer belt 35 by the first transfer rollers 18 in an overlapping manner. Next, the color image on the transfer belt 35 is transferred onto the printing paper by the second transfer roller 19. The color image transferred onto the printing paper is fixed to the printing paper by the fixing device 20, and then discharged from the sheet discharge port 28 to the sheet tray 21.
The drum cleaning device 42 removes the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 41 after the transfer. The drum cleaning device 42 is disposed on the rear side of the photosensitive drum 41. A drum cleaning device 42 is provided on each photosensitive drum 41. Each drum cleaning device 42 includes a cleaning blade 45 as a cleaning member and a screw member 46. The cleaning blade 45 and the screw member 46 are long in the left-right direction D3. A cleaning blade 45 and a screw member 46 are supported on the housing 44. The cleaning blade 45 has almost the same length as the photosensitive drum 41. The front end of the cleaning blade 45 is disposed in contact with or close to the surface of the photosensitive drum 41. The screw member 46 is a toner conveying member having a spiral-shaped blade around a rotation shaft. A screw member 46 is rotatably supported within the housing 44.
The screw member 46 is rotated by inputting a rotational driving force to the support shaft of the screw member 46. The cleaning blade 45 removes used toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 41 after the transfer by the first transfer roller 18 when the photosensitive drum 41 rotates. The removed toner is a toner to be discarded, and is therefore generally called a waste toner. The waste toner is conveyed in one direction by the rotating screw member 46. Specifically, the waste toner is conveyed to one side (the right side in the present embodiment) in the axial direction (the longitudinal direction) of the photosensitive drum 41.
As shown in fig. 18, the discharge guide 43 is provided at the right end of the housing 44. The waste toner is guided downward by the discharge guide 43 and discharged to the lower accommodating portion 72 of the toner container 3 through a discharge port 431 (see fig. 18) described later. The discharge guide 43 will be described later.
As shown in fig. 3, the developing device 33 includes a housing 50, a first stirring member 52, a second stirring member 53, a developing roller 54, and the like. The bottom of the housing 50 contains toner (developer) that is conveyed while being stirred by the first stirring member 52 and the second stirring member 53. A replenishment port 56 is formed in the wall surface 51 of the housing 50 above the first stirring member 52. The refill port 56 is formed at the right end of the wall surface 51. The toner discharged from the toner container 3 is replenished into the housing 50 through the replenishment port 56. The developing roller 54 sucks up the toner from the second stirring member 53 by a built-in magnetic pole and holds the toner on the outer circumferential surface. The toner held on the developing roller 54 adheres to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 41 due to the potential difference applied between the developing roller 54 and the photosensitive drum 41.
As shown in fig. 1, a plurality of toner containers 3(3Y, 3C, 3M, 3K) are mounted inside the casing 11. Specifically, 4 toner containers 3 are mounted on respective mounting portions 58 (see fig. 4) inside the casing 11. In the present embodiment, the plurality of toner containers 3 are mounted in parallel in the front-rear direction D2, and the black toner container 3K is disposed at the rearmost position.
Each toner container 3 has an upper containing portion 71 (an example of a first toner containing portion) and a lower containing portion 72 (an example of a second toner containing portion). The upper housing portion 71 has a housing space 85 (see fig. 6) capable of housing therein toner, and the housing space 85 houses unused toner for replenishment. The lower accommodating portion 72 has an accommodating space 86 (see fig. 6) capable of accommodating therein the toner, and the waste toner discharged from the drum cleaning device 42 is accommodated in the accommodating space 86. In a state where the toner containers 3 are attached to the attachment portion 58, the unused toner is replenished from the upper storage portion 71 of each toner container 3 into the developing device 33. The waste toner discharged from each drum cleaning device 42 is accommodated in the lower accommodating portion 72 of the toner container 3 by the discharge guide portion 43 (see fig. 18). As shown in fig. 1, the 4 toner containers 3 in the present embodiment are provided on the right side of the image forming unit 15 and inside a right cover (not shown) of the housing 11. The toner containers 3 are arranged in parallel in the front-rear direction D2 on the right side of the housing 11. The toner container 3 will be specifically described later.
As shown in fig. 2, the intermediate transfer unit 16 is provided on the upper side of the 4 image forming units 15, more specifically, on the upper side of each photosensitive drum 41. The intermediate transfer unit 16 includes a transfer belt 35, a drive roller 36, a driven roller 37, a belt cleaning device 38 (an example of a belt cleaning unit), and a relay guide 39 (see fig. 18). In addition, the first transfer roller 18 is supported on a frame (not shown) of the intermediate transfer unit 16.
The transfer belt 35 is an endless belt member, and is stretched between the driving roller 36 and the driven roller 37 so as to extend in the front-rear direction D2. Each drum unit 31 is arranged in the front-rear direction D2 along the transfer belt 35. The transfer belt 35 holds the toner image primarily transferred from the photosensitive drum 41 on the surface. When the transfer belt 35 is driven to rotate and moves in the direction of arrow D10, the toner images of the respective colors held on the respective photosensitive drums 41 are sequentially transferred to the transfer belt 35 in an overlapping manner.
The belt cleaning device 38 is provided in the vicinity of the fixing device 20. Specifically, the belt cleaning device 38 is disposed on the upper side of the transfer belt 35 and on the rear side of the case 11. An image forming unit 15K for black is disposed below the belt cleaning device 38. That is, the belt cleaning device 38 is disposed at a position closest to the image forming unit 15K for black among the plurality of image forming units 15.
The belt cleaning device 38 removes used toner remaining on the surface of the transfer belt 35, and conveys the removed waste toner toward the lower accommodating portion 72 of the toner container 3K. The belt cleaning device 38 includes a cleaning roller 381 which is long in the left-right direction D3, a screw member 382 which is a conveying member for conveying the waste toner, and a casing 383 (see fig. 2) which accommodates the above members. The cleaning roller 381 rotates while contacting the surface of the transfer belt 35, thereby removing used toner remaining on the surface of the transfer belt 35. The removed used toner (hereinafter, referred to as "waste toner") is conveyed in one direction by the rotating screw member 382. Specifically, the waste toner is conveyed to one side (the right side in the present embodiment) in the width direction of the transfer belt 35 (the direction coinciding with the left-right direction D3).
As shown in fig. 18, the relay guide 39 is provided at the right end of the casing 383. The waste toner is guided downward by the relay guide 39, and is conveyed toward the lower accommodating portion 72 of the toner container 3K by the discharge guide 43K of the rearmost drum unit 31K. The relay guide 39 will be described later.
Fig. 18 is a partially enlarged view showing a cross-sectional structure of a right end portion of the drum unit 31 of the image forming unit 15. Fig. 18 shows the cross-sectional structures of the magenta drum unit 31M and the black drum unit 31K, respectively. For convenience of explanation, fig. 18 shows the developing device 33 corresponding to the drum unit 31K in a broken line. As shown in fig. 18, the right end portion of the housing 44 of the drum unit 31M is provided with a discharge guide portion 43M. That is, the discharge guide 43M is provided on the drum unit 31M. The drum units 31 for yellow and cyan are also provided with discharge guides 43 having the same configuration as the discharge guides 43M.
The discharge guide 43M guides the waste toner removed by the drum cleaning device 42 in the drum unit 31M and conveyed to the right end of the housing 44 toward the inlet 114 of the lower accommodating portion 72 of the toner container 3M. The inner space of the discharge guide 43M is a passage 117 through which the waste toner passes. The discharge guide 43M extends obliquely downward from the upper side of the discharge guide 43M, and a discharge port 431 connected to the introduction port 114 is formed at the lower end of the discharge guide 43M.
The right end 461 of the screw member 46 is disposed in the passage 117. The end 461 is rotatably supported on the discharge guide 43M. The screw member 46 is rotated by transmitting a rotational driving force to the end portion 461, and the waste toner is conveyed to the passage 117 of the discharge guide portion 43M.
In the passage 117, two blade portions 118 and 119 are provided in a portion from the end portion 461 to the discharge port 431. The rotation shafts of the blade portions 118 and 119 are rotatably supported by the discharge guide portion 43M. The rotational driving force of the screw member 46 is transmitted to the rotational shafts of the blade portions 118 and 119 via a gear transmission mechanism, not shown. When the screw member 46 rotates, the rotational driving force is transmitted to the blade portions 118 and 119 via the gear transmission mechanism, and the blade portions 118 and 119 are rotated. The waste toner conveyed to the passage 117 is conveyed to the discharge port 431 in the passage 117 by the paddle units 118 and 119 by rotating the paddle units 118 and 119, and further guided into the lower accommodating portion 72 of the toner container 3M through the introduction port 114 and the first conveyance guide 94 (an example of a first guide) of the toner container 3M.
As shown in fig. 18, the right end portion of the casing 44 of the drum unit 31K is provided with a discharge guide portion 43K. That is, the discharge guide 43K is provided on the drum unit 31K. The discharge guide 43K guides the waste toner removed by the drum cleaning device 42 in the drum unit 31K and conveyed to the right end portion of the housing 44 toward the inlet 114 of the lower accommodating portion 72 of the toner container 3K, and the discharge guide 43K has a configuration common to the discharge guide 43M. Therefore, the same reference numerals are given to the same components as the discharge guide 43M, and the description thereof will be omitted.
The discharge guide 43K is different from the discharge guide 43M in that a loading port 120 is formed on an upper surface of the discharge guide 43K. The charging port 120 is an opening that receives the waste toner discharged from the belt cleaning device 38. The inlet 120 is connected to an outlet 391 of the relay guide 39 described later. The waste toner entering the inlet port 120 is guided by the discharge guide 43K to the inlet port 114 of the lower accommodating portion 72 of the toner container 3K together with the waste toner discharged from the drum cleaning device 42.
As shown in fig. 18, a right end portion of the belt cleaning device 38 is provided with a relay guide portion 39. The relay guide 39 guides the waste toner conveyed toward the right end of the casing 383 by the screw member 382 in the belt cleaning device 38 toward the discharge guide 43K. The lower portion of the relay guide 39 is formed with an outlet 391, and the outlet 391 is connected to the inlet 120 of the discharge guide 43K. The waste toner discharged from the belt cleaning device 38 is moved downward by the relay guide 39 and guided from the discharge port 391 to the inlet 120. The waste toner guided to the inlet 120 passes through the discharge guide 43K, is further conveyed downward by the blade portions 118 and 119, and is guided toward the inside of the lower accommodating portion 72 of the toner container 3K through the discharge port 431, the inlet 114, and the second conveyance guide 107 (an example of a second guide) of the toner container 3K.
As shown in fig. 4, 4 mount portions 58 for detachably supporting the toner container 3 are provided at the right end portion of the housing 11. Each mounting portion 58 is fixed to a support plate 49 provided at the right end portion of the case 11. Each mount 58 has a bracket 59 for supporting each toner container 3. Each toner container 3 is supported in a state of being attachable to and detachable from the corresponding bracket 59.
Hereinafter, the structure of the magenta toner container 3M will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate. Fig. 5 and 6 show the toner container 3M and the toner container 3K adjacent thereto.
Since the toner containers 3Y, 3C and the toner container 3M have the same structure, the description of the structure is omitted. The toner container 3K has a larger outer shape and capacity than the toner container 3M in order to store a large amount of black toner, and has a common structure except for a different point described below. Therefore, in the toner container 3K, the same components as those of the toner container 3M are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the toner container 3M, and the description thereof is omitted.
In the drawings, the vertical direction D1, the front-rear direction D2, and the left-right direction D3 are shown with reference to the mounting posture when the toner containers 3M and 3K are mounted on the mounting portion 58 (see fig. 4). Hereinafter, with respect to the toner containers 3M, 3K in the attached posture, the vertical direction D1 is defined as a height direction D11 of the toner containers 3M, 3K, the front-rear direction D2 is defined as a width direction D12 of the toner containers 3M, 3K, and the left-right direction D3 is defined as a depth direction D13 of the toner containers 3M, 3K.
As shown in fig. 5 and 6, the toner container 3M has a container main body 75. The container body 75 is a resin molded article obtained by injection molding a synthetic resin. The container body 75 is formed in a shape long in the height direction D11, and is formed in a shape wide in the width direction D12 and shallow in the depth direction D13.
The container main body 75 includes an upper cover 78 (an example of a first casing) formed on an upper side, a lower cover 79 (an example of a second casing) formed on a lower side, and a lid 76 (an example of a lid member). That is, upper cover 78 is formed on one side (upper side) of container main body 75 in height direction D11 (longitudinal direction), and lower cover 79 is formed on the other side (lower side) of container main body 75 in height direction D11 (longitudinal direction). The container body 75 integrally forms an upper outer cover 78 and a lower outer cover 79. The upper cover 78 defines a storage space 85 capable of storing the unused toner therein. That is, the upper cover 78 defines the housing space 85 inside the upper housing portion 71. The lower cover 79 defines a storage space 86 for storing the waste toner. That is, the lower cover 79 defines an accommodating space 86 inside the lower accommodating portion 72.
The upper cover 78 and the lower cover 79 are separated in the up-down direction D1, and a gap 88 (see fig. 7) having a predetermined interval is formed between the upper cover 78 and the lower cover 79. Specifically, as shown in fig. 7 and 12, the upper cover 78 has a lower wall 782 in the shape of a circular arc constituting a lower wall surface thereof, and the lower cover 79 has an upper wall 792 constituting an upper wall surface thereof. Also, a gap 88 is formed between the lower wall 782 and the upper wall 792. Here, the lower wall 782 and the upper wall 792 are examples of a pair of side walls that are separated in the height direction D11.
An opening 81 is formed in the right side surface of the upper cover 78, and an opening 82 is also formed in the right side surface of the lower cover 79. The openings 81 and 82 are formed on the same surface. A flange 83 is formed on the opening edge of each opening 81, 82. The flange 83 is formed in a plate shape having a thickness in the depth direction D13. The flange 83 has a peripheral flange 831 and a central flange 832 (an example of a connecting member, a common flange). The peripheral flange 831 forms a circle around the peripheral edge of the right side face of the container body 75. As shown in fig. 12, the central flange 832 is provided at a position corresponding to the gap 88 in such a manner as to connect the lower wall 782 of the upper housing 78 and the upper wall 792 of the lower housing 79. More specifically, the central flange 832 is connected from a lower end edge of the opening portion 81 to an upper end edge of the opening portion 82. In other words, the central flange 832 is a flange common to the opening portions 81 and 82. In this embodiment, a lower wall 782 and an upper wall 792 each extend from the central flange 832 in the depth direction D13.
The lid 76 is a resin molded article obtained by injection molding of synthetic resin. As shown in fig. 5, the lid 76 covers the opening 81 and the opening 82. The lid 76 is a flat plate-like member and is formed in a shape conforming to the outer peripheral shape of the flange 83. The outer peripheral edge 761 of the lid body 76 is welded to the flange 83 in a state where the outer peripheral edge 761 is fitted to the flange 83.
The opening 81 and the opening 82 are closed by one cover 76, thereby forming an upper receiving portion 71 having an upper receiving space 85 and a lower receiving portion 72 having a lower receiving space 86. In this way, since the upper receiving portion 71 and the lower receiving portion 72 are connected by the central flange 832 and the lid 76, the strength in the vicinity of the gap 88 of the toner container 3M is smaller than that in other portions. As a result, the toner container 3M can be easily bent in the width direction D12 and the depth direction D13 in the vicinity of the gap 88, and can be easily bent in the rotational direction about the height direction D11.
As shown in fig. 7 and 12, a plate-shaped reinforcing rib 751 is provided between a lower wall 782 of the upper housing 78 and an upper wall 792 of the lower housing 79. The reinforcing ribs 751 extend perpendicularly from the central flange 832 in the depth direction D13. As shown in fig. 12, the reinforcing rib 751 connects the lower wall 782 and the upper wall 792 and is a plate-like member having a thickness in the width direction D12. As shown in fig. 7, left end portions of the reinforcing ribs 751 are inclined rightward and obliquely upward from the upper wall 792 toward the lower wall 782, more specifically, are inclined in a curved shape. By providing the reinforcing ribs 751 in this manner, the strength between the upper receiving portion 71 and the lower receiving portion 72 in the vicinity of the gap 88 is supplemented. As a result, excessive bending in the vicinity of the gap 88, particularly excessive bending in the depth direction D13, is prevented.
As shown in fig. 8 and 11, the lower accommodating portion 72 of the toner container 3M is larger than the upper accommodating portion 71 in the depth direction D13. That is, the size of the lower accommodating portion 72 of the toner container 3M in the depth direction D13 is larger than the size of the upper accommodating portion 71 in the depth direction D13. The dimension of the upper receiving portion 71 in the height direction D11 is larger than the dimension of the lower receiving portion 72 in the height direction D11, and the dimensions thereof in the width direction D12 are substantially the same. In the configuration having the upper receiving portion 71 and the lower receiving portion 72 separated in the vertical direction D1, the receiving portions 71 and 72 may not be able to secure a sufficient capacity for receiving toner. However, by making the dimensions of the upper receiving portion 71 and the lower receiving portion 72 different from each other in the height direction D11 and the depth direction D13 as described above, it is possible to ensure sufficient volumes in the upper receiving portion 71 and the lower receiving portion 72, respectively, regardless of the restrictions imposed on the mounting portion 58.
As shown in fig. 6, the upper receiving portion 71 includes a stirring member 91 (an example of a third rotating member) and a first conveying portion 92. Specifically, the blade-shaped stirring member 91 is provided inside the upper housing space 85. The stirring member 91 is supported by the upper cover 78 so as to be rotatable inside the housing space 85. Further, a first conveying portion 92 for conveying the toner to the developing device 33 is provided inside the housing space 85.
As shown in fig. 7 and 8, the first conveying section 92 includes: a first tubular conveyance guide 94 extending outward from a wall surface 781 (an example of an opposing surface) on the left side of the upper cover 78; and a screw member 95 (an example of a first rotating member, see fig. 10) provided inside the first conveyance guide 94. The first conveyance guide 94 is formed integrally with the upper housing 78 and is formed in a cylindrical shape having the same center as the rotation center of the screw member 95. The wall surface 781 is located on the side of the toner container 3M in the depth direction D13 with respect to the attachment portion 58, and is a surface facing the attachment portion 58 when the toner container 3M is attached to the attachment portion 58. The depth direction D13 corresponds to the direction in which the toner container 3M is attached to and detached from the mounting portion 58.
The screw member 95 is rotatably provided inside the upper receiving portion 71, and extends in the depth direction D13 perpendicular to the height direction D11, as shown in fig. 10. The screw member 95 is a conveying member that conveys the unused toner in the storage space 85 toward the mounting portion 58 (see fig. 4) through the inside of the first conveyance guide 94. The first conveyance guide 94 is a guide member that guides the unused toner conveyed by the screw member 95 to the developing device 33.
As shown in fig. 10, the screw member 95 has a spiral-shaped blade 97 around the rotation shaft 96. An end portion 961 (an example of a first end portion) of the rotary shaft 96 of the screw member 95 on the lid body 76 side is rotatably supported by a bearing portion 99 (an example of a first bearing portion) formed integrally with the inner surface 762 of the lid body 76. In addition, in a state where the screw member 95 is inserted into the first conveyance guide 94, a portion on the opposite side of the rotation shaft 96 is rotatably supported by the first conveyance guide 94. Specifically, a first input portion 98 (an example of a first drive input portion and a second input joint) for receiving a rotational driving force input from the outside is integrally formed at an end portion 962 on the opposite side of the rotation shaft 96. Further, a through hole 941 is formed at a front end portion of the first conveyance guide 94. The end portion 962 is rotatably supported in the through hole 941 in a state where the first input portion 98 protrudes outward from the through hole 941.
A toner discharge port 100 for discharging the toner contained in the containing space 85 to the outside is formed in the lower surface of the first conveyance guide 94.
Further, a shutter member 101 (an example of an opening and closing member) for opening and closing the toner discharge port 100 is provided on a lower surface of the first conveyance guide 94. The gate member 101 is supported by the first conveyance guide 94 so as to be slidable in the longitudinal direction (the left-right direction in fig. 10) of the first conveyance guide 94 on the lower surface of the first conveyance guide 94.
In the present embodiment, when toner container 3M is mounted on mounting portion 58 (see fig. 4), shutter member 101 moves from the closed position closing toner discharge port 100 to the open position opening toner discharge port 100.
Further, toner discharge port 100 is aligned with replenishment port 56 of developing device 33, and toner discharge port 100 and replenishment port 56 are connected to each other, so that toner can be replenished from toner discharge port 100 to replenishment port 56. The first input portion 98 is connected to the first output joint 61 (an example of a drive output portion and a second drive connection portion, see fig. 13) provided in the mounting portion 58, and a rotational driving force output from a driving source such as a motor is transmitted to the first input portion 98. When the screw member 95 rotates by receiving the rotational driving force, the toner in the housing space 85 is transported from the toner discharge opening 100 to the replenishment opening 56 through the first transport guide 94, and is replenished into the developing device 33.
As shown in fig. 13, the first output joint 61 is provided on the mounting portion 58. The first output joint 61 is a drive output unit for outputting a rotational drive force output from a drive source such as a motor provided in the image forming apparatus 10 to the outside. The first output joint 61 is connected to the first input portion 98 in the left-right direction D3 when the toner container 3M is mounted on the mounting portion 58.
As shown in fig. 5 and 9, the cover 76 is provided with a gear transmission mechanism 103 (an example of a transmission mechanism). In a state where the lid 76 closes the openings 81 and 82, the gear transmission mechanism 103 is connected to the rotary shaft 96 of the screw member 95 and the rotary shaft 911 of the stirring member 91. In this way, the rotational driving force transmitted from the first input portion 98 to the screw member 95 is transmitted to the stirring member 91 by the gear transmission mechanism 103. That is, since the gear transmission mechanism 103 is provided, the screw member 95 and the stirring member 91 are rotated in conjunction with each other after the rotational driving force is input to the first input portion 98.
As shown in fig. 6, the lower receiving portion 72 includes a second conveying portion 105. Specifically, the inside of the lower storage space 86 is provided with a second conveying portion 105, and the second conveying portion 105 is used for conveying the waste toner discharged from the drum unit 31 corresponding to magenta to the storage space 86. The second conveyance section 105 includes: a cylindrical second conveyance guide 107 extending outward from a left wall surface 791 of the lower housing 79 and having a toner conveyance path therein; and a screw member 108 (an example of the second rotating member, the rotating member, and the first conveying member, see fig. 11) provided inside the second conveying guide portion 107. The second conveyance guide 107 is integrally formed on the lower housing 79.
The screw member 108 is rotatably provided inside the lower receiving portion 72, and extends in the depth direction D13 perpendicular to the height direction D11, as shown in fig. 11. The screw member 108 is a conveying member, and conveys the waste toner discharged from the drum unit 31 to the second conveyance guide 107 to the storage space 86 through the inside of the second conveyance guide 107. Further, the second conveyance guide 107 is a guide member for receiving the waste toner from the drum unit 31 and guiding the waste toner conveyed by the screw member 108 toward the inside of the housing space 86.
As shown in fig. 11, the screw member 108 has a spiral-shaped blade 110 around the rotation shaft 109. An end 1091 (an example of a second end) of the rotary shaft 109 of the screw member 108 on the lid 76 side is rotatably supported by a bearing 112 (an example of a second bearing) formed integrally with the inner surface 762 of the lid 76. Further, in a state where the screw member 108 is inserted into the second conveyance guide 107, a portion on the opposite side of the rotation shaft 109 is rotatably supported by the second conveyance guide 107. Specifically, a second input portion 111 (an example of a second drive input portion and a first input joint) for receiving a rotational driving force input from the outside is attached to an end 1092 on the opposite side of the rotary shaft 109.
Further, a through hole 1071 (an example of a bearing hole or a bearing portion) is formed at the distal end portion of the second conveyance guide portion 107. The end 1092 is rotatably supported inside the second conveyance guide 107 in a state where the second input portion 111 protrudes from the through hole 1071 to the outside.
As shown in fig. 11, an inlet 114 for guiding the waste toner into the housing space 86 is formed on the upper surface of the second conveyance guide 107. Further, a shutter member 115 for opening and closing the introduction port 114 is provided on the upper surface of the second conveyance guide 107. The shutter member 115 is supported on the second conveyance guide 107 so as to be slidable in the longitudinal direction (the left-right direction in fig. 11) of the second conveyance guide 107 on the upper surface of the second conveyance guide 107.
In the present embodiment, when the toner container 3M is attached to the attachment portion 58 (see fig. 4), the shutter member 115 moves from the closed position closing the introduction port 114 to the open position opening the introduction port 114.
Further, when inlet port 114 is aligned with discharge port 431 of discharge guide 43 described later, inlet port 114 and toner discharge port 100 are connected, and waste toner can be conveyed from discharge port 431 to inlet port 114. The second input portion 111 is connected to a second output joint 62 (an example of a drive output portion and a first drive connection portion, see fig. 13) provided in the mounting portion 58, and transmits a rotational driving force output from a driving source such as a motor to the second input portion 111. The waste toner discharged from the discharge port 431 and conveyed into the second conveyance guide 107 is conveyed to the storage space 86 through the second conveyance guide 107 by the rotation of the screw member 108 upon receiving the rotational driving force.
As shown in fig. 13, the second output joint 62 is provided at a position different from the first output joint 61 of the mounting portion 58. The second output joint 62 is a drive output portion for outputting to the outside a rotational drive force output from a drive source such as a motor provided in the image forming apparatus 10. When the toner container 3M is mounted to the mount portion 58, the second output joint 62 is connected to the second input portion 111 in the left-right direction D3.
As described above, in the present embodiment, the center flange 832 connecting the upper cover 78 of the upper receiving portion 71 and the lower cover 79 of the lower receiving portion 72 is provided. Therefore, even if the first input portion 98 and the second input portion 111 are positionally displaced due to a manufacturing error or the like, or even if the first output connector 61 and the second output connector 62 are positionally displaced, the first input portion 98 and the first output connector 61, and the second input portion 111 and the second output connector 62 can be aligned by bending the vicinity of the gap 88 in the process of mounting the toner container 3M to the mounting portion 58. In this way, the first input portion 98 and the first output connector 61, and the second input portion 111 and the second output connector 62 are smoothly and reliably connected. Further, when the rotational driving force is transmitted in a state where the toner container 3M is mounted to the mounting portion 58, even if a load due to the positional deviation acts on each of the input portions 98 and 111 or each of the output joints 61 and 62, the load is deflected to the center flange 832 side, bending the vicinity of the gap 88. This can disperse the load on the input units 98 and 111 and the output connectors 61 and 62, and prevent the input units 98 and 111 and the output connectors 61 and 62 from being damaged.
As shown in fig. 8, the first conveying section 92 and the second conveying section 105 are provided separately in the width direction D12. Specifically, the first conveying section 92 is provided on the wall surface 781 of the upper receiving section 71 on the side toward the one side in the width direction D12 (the side toward the front). The second conveying unit 105 is provided on the wall 791 of the lower receiving unit 72 near the other side (the side on the rear side) in the width direction D12.
As shown in fig. 7 and 9, the toner container 3M includes a grip portion 122 having a recess 123. The grip portion 122 is a portion that the user grips when transporting or replacing the toner container 3M. In the present embodiment, the recess 123 is formed in a side portion of the container main body 75 on one side in the width direction D12. More specifically, the recess 123 is formed between the upper receiving portion 71 and the lower receiving portion 72, and is formed in a front side portion in the mounting posture of the mounting portion 58. The concave portion 123 penetrates the toner container 3M in the depth direction D13, and the concave portion 123 is formed in a rectangular shape when the toner container 3M is viewed from the lid 76 side. By providing the concave portion 123, the portion of the toner container 3M where the concave portion 123 is provided constitutes the narrowed, slender waist-shaped grip portion 122. Since the grip portion 122 is formed in a thin waist shape that can be easily gripped by the user, the user can easily catch the grip portion 122 with his or her fingers, and further, the toner container 3M can be easily transported, and the work at the time of replacement can be easily performed. The lid body 76 is formed in accordance with the shape of the container body 75, and a portion corresponding to the grip portion 122 is formed in a slender waist shape.
As shown in fig. 7, the recess 123 is provided in an upper portion (upper portion) of the lower receiving portion 72. Therefore, the accommodating space 86 of the lower accommodating portion 72 is reduced in volume by the portion for providing the recess 123, under the restriction that the size of the toner container 3M cannot be increased. However, the lower containing portion 72 is a portion that contains the waste toner, and as long as the containing space 86 is not filled with the waste toner, the space above the containing space 86 is not filled. Therefore, the recess 123 is preferably provided in the lower receiving portion 72. Further, since the upper housing portion 71 is a portion for housing the unused toner, if the recess 123 is formed in this portion, a predetermined capacity necessary as a housing space for the unused toner cannot be secured in the housing space 85 of the upper housing portion 71. Therefore, it is not preferable to provide the recess 123 in the upper receiving portion 71.
The recess 123 is formed in the vicinity of the first conveying unit 92, more specifically, directly below the gate member 101 provided in the first conveying unit 92. In the operation of attaching and detaching the toner container 3M to and from the mounting portion 58, sliding resistance is generated when the shutter member 101 is opened and closed in accordance with the opening and closing of the shutter member 101. Although the sliding resistance is felt as a load when the user replaces the toner container 3M, since the recess 123 is provided directly below the shutter member 101, the user can easily apply a force to the grip portion 122 when the user grips the grip portion 122 to replace the toner container 3M, and can directly transmit the force to the shutter member 101. Thus, the work efficiency at the time of replacement is improved.
As shown in fig. 5 and 9, the toner container 3M has an identification tag 126 indicating the kind of the toner container 3M (e.g., the color and model of toner, etc.). The identification tag 126 is a sheet-like member having an adhesive such as glue applied to the back side thereof, and characters and marks representing the type are described on the surface thereof. An identification label 126 is affixed to the surface of the cover 76. Specifically, an identification label 126 is affixed to the outer surface of the cover 76 and to an area corresponding to the grip portion 122. The conventional toner container can be identified by coloring the color of the container main body 75 or the lid 76 of the toner container 3M to the toner color. On the other hand, since the toner container 3 of the present embodiment can be identified by the identification tag 126, the respective toner containers 3 for color can be used in common.
As shown in fig. 12, an IC board 64 including a plurality of contact terminals 67 is mounted on an upper portion of a wall surface 781 of the upper cover 78. On the upper portion of the wall surface 781, a recess 783 is formed lower than the wall surface 781. Specifically, the recessed portion 783 is provided on the wall surface 781 so as to be continuous with the upper end of the wall surface 781. The recess 783 has a step lower than the wall surface 781. In an upper portion of the wall surface 781, a recess 783 is provided throughout the width direction D12. The IC board 64 is provided on the recess 783, specifically, in the center of the recess 783 in the width direction D12.
As shown in fig. 12, two holes 65 are formed in the IC substrate 64. The two holes 65 are formed in the IC board 64 at both ends in the width direction D12. As shown in fig. 7, the upper cover 78 is integrally provided with two projections 66 extending perpendicularly from the recess 783. The two projections 66 are sized to pass through the hole 65 and are disposed at positions corresponding to the hole 65. In a state where the boss 66 is inserted into the hole 65 of the IC substrate 64, the top of the boss 66 is crushed by the pressure expansion, and the IC substrate 64 is fixed by the boss 66. As shown in fig. 11, in a state where the IC board 64 is fixed to the recess 783, the surface 641 and the wall surface 781 of the IC board 64 are flush with each other.
As shown in FIG. 12, 5 contact terminals 67(671 to 675) are provided on the surface 641 of the IC substrate 64. A storage unit (not shown) such as a chip memory and a flash memory is mounted on the rear surface of the IC board 64. The storage portion stores information about the toner contained in the toner container 3M. Examples of the information on the toner include the amount of the unused toner contained in the upper containing portion 71, the time for containing the unused toner, and conditions to which the unused toner can be applied. The memory unit may not be provided on the IC substrate 64. For example, the storage unit may be fixed to an arbitrary wall surface of the container body 75 and connected to the contact terminal 67 by a cable.
The 5 contact terminals 67 are an example of fixed terminals which are in contact with and electrically connectable to a conductive member. The contact terminal 67 is an electrode made of copper foil, for example. When the toner container 3M is mounted to the mounting portion 58, 3 contact terminals 671, 672, 675 of the 5 contact terminals 67 are brought into contact with respective contact terminals 142 (an example of an elastic terminal) of the terminal unit 140 described later.
Of the 5 contact terminals 67, only three contact terminals 671, 672 and 675 connected to the storage unit are provided, and the other contact terminals 673 and 674 are not connected to the storage unit. That is, in the image forming apparatus 10, only three contact terminals 671, 672, 675 for communication with the storage portion and the like are provided. In the present embodiment, the contact terminals 671, 672, 675 are collectively arranged at one side (rear side) in the width direction D12 on the surface 641 of the IC board 64. Since the contact terminals 671, 672, 675 are arranged in this manner, in the toner container 3M, even if the user's finger touches the contact terminal 67 of the IC substrate 64 when the user carries the toner container 3M or holds the toner container 3M during replacement work, the occurrence of the contact terminals 671, 672, 675 touched by the user's finger can be reduced as compared with the case where the contact terminals 671, 672, 675 are arranged dispersedly on the surface 641 of the IC substrate 64.
Specifically, 4 contact terminals 671 to 674 among 5 contact terminals 67 are arranged in parallel on the surface 641 in the width direction D12. The 4 contact terminals 671 to 674 are arranged on the surface 641 at the center in the width direction D12 and at equal intervals in the width direction D12. The contact terminal 671 located on the rearmost side in the width direction D12 is a ground electrode. That is, the contact terminal 671 is a ground terminal. The contact terminal 671 is connected to the memory portion. The contact terminal 672 near the contact terminal 671 is an electrode used for Power Line Communication (referred to as PLC Communication) in which a Power Line is also used as a Communication Line, and is connected to the memory unit. That is, the contact terminal 672 is an electrode to transmit signals or data and power. The contact terminals 671, 671 are an example of a second contact terminal. The remaining two contact terminals 673, 674 are unused electrodes and are not connected to the memory portion. Further, the contact terminals 673, 674 are covered with an insulating film. In other words, the contact terminals 671 and 672 are the remaining two electrodes of the 4 electrodes formed in parallel in the width direction D12 by covering the two electrodes (contact terminals 673 and 674) on the other side (front side) in the width direction D12 with an insulating film. Of the 5 contact terminals 67, only the contact terminals 673 and 674 are covered with an insulating film and do not function as electrodes, and the other contact terminals 671, 672 and 675 are not covered with an insulating film and function as electrodes. In addition, although the configuration in which 5 contact terminals 67 are provided on the IC substrate 64 is illustrated in the present embodiment, the IC substrate 64 may be provided with at least the contact terminals 671 and 675 without providing the contact terminals 673 and 674.
The contact terminals 675 (an example of the first contact terminals and the first fixed terminals) are disposed below the 4 contact terminals 671 to 674. The contact area of the contact terminal 675 is larger than that of the other contact terminals 671 to 674, and is approximately twice as large as that of the other contact terminals 671 to 674. In addition, the other contact terminals 671 to 674 are formed in a vertically long shape which is long in the height direction D11. And the contact terminal 675 is formed in a wide shape long in the width direction D12. In the present embodiment, the contact terminal 675 is arranged slightly behind the center in the width direction D12. In other words, the contact terminal 675 is disposed below the central contact terminals 672 and 673 among the 4 contact terminals 671 to 674 and at a position adjacent to the contact terminal 672. Contact terminal 675 is a ground electrode. That is, the contact terminal 675 is a ground terminal. In this embodiment, two ground terminals are provided on the surface 641 of the IC board 64. The contact terminal 675 is connected to the contact terminal 671 on the IC board 64 by a pattern wiring.
In the present embodiment, when the toner container 3M is mounted to the mount portion 58, the contact terminal 675 of the toner container 3M first contacts the contact terminal 1425 (see fig. 14) of the terminal unit 140 described later, and subsequently the contact terminals 671, 672 contact the contact terminals 1421, 1422 described later.
As shown in fig. 13, the mounting portion 58 is provided with a terminal unit 140. The terminal unit 140 is fixed to the bracket 59 of the mounting portion 58. The terminal unit 140 is provided at a position corresponding to the IC board 64 on the upper portion of the bracket 59. The terminal unit 140 is provided with a support base 141 (an example of a terminal support portion) and 3 contact terminals 142(1421, 1422, 1425).
As shown in fig. 14, the support base 141 supports 3 contact terminals 142. On the support base 141, the contact terminals 1421 and 1422 and the contact terminal 1425 of the 3 contact terminals 142 are arranged at intervals in the vertical direction D1, and the contact terminal 1425 is arranged below the contact terminals 1421 and 1422. Specifically, the support base 141 has a first support 1411, and a second support 1412 disposed at a lower side of the first support 1411. Also, the two contact terminals 1421, 1422 are supported on the first support portion 1411, and the contact terminal 1425 is supported on the second support portion 1412.
The 3 contact terminals 142 are electrically conductively connected by being in contact with the contact terminals 671, 672, 675 of the contact terminals 67 of the toner container 3M, and are an example of an elastic terminal. The 3 contact terminals 142 are in one-to-one correspondence with the respective contact terminals 671, 672, 675, and the 3 contact terminals 142 are arranged at positions opposing the contact terminals 671, 672, 675 in a state where the toner container 3M is mounted to the mounting portion 58. Each contact terminal 142 is formed by bending and deforming a conductive wire made of metal or an elongated plate member made of metal. With this configuration, the contact terminal 142 has elasticity. That is, the contact terminal 142 is formed in a shape that can be elastically deformed when receiving a pressing force.
The first support 1411 has two receiving portions 144 that receive the two contact terminals 1421 and 1422. The receiving portions 144 are arranged in parallel in the front-rear direction D2. That is, the two contact terminals 1421 and 1422 are arranged in parallel in the front-rear direction D2. The fixed ends of the contact terminals 1421 and 1422 on one side are fixed to a side wall 1441 defining the left side of each housing section 144. The contact terminals 1421 and 1422 are formed in a shape elongated in the vertical direction D1. The other side of the contact terminals 1421 and 1422 includes a contact portion 146, and the contact portion 146 protrudes rightward (toward the wall surface 781 of the toner container 3M) from the accommodating portion 144 and is formed in a curved shape. The contact portion 146 is in contact with the contact terminals 671, 672.
In the present embodiment, an example is described in which 3 contact terminals 142 are provided in the terminal unit 140 at positions contactable with the contact terminals 671, 672 and 675 provided in the toner container 3M, but for example, contact terminals (not shown) having the same shape as the contact terminals 1421 may be provided in the first support portion 1411 at positions corresponding to the contact terminals 673 and 674.
The contact terminal 1421 is in contact with the contact terminal 671, and is disposed on the rearmost side of the first support portion 1411. The contact terminal 1422 is in contact with the contact terminal 672, and is disposed in the first support portion 1411 at a position further forward than the contact terminal 1421. The contact terminal 1421 (an example of a second ground terminal) is a ground electrode, i.e., a ground terminal. Further, the contact terminal 1422 is an electrode for the power line communication.
The contact terminal 1425 (an example of a first ground terminal) is a ground electrode, i.e., a ground terminal. The second support 1412 has a receiving portion 145 for receiving the contact terminal 1425. The contact terminal 1425 is formed in a shape elongated in the front-rear direction D2. Specifically, on the front side of the receiving portion 145, a fixing projection 148 for fixing the front side end portion of the contact terminal 1425 is provided. In a state where the front end of the contact terminal 1425 is fixed, the contact terminal 1425 protrudes rearward in the front-rear direction D2. The contact terminal 1425 has a contact portion 149 on the rear side, and the contact portion 149 protrudes rightward (toward the wall surface 781 of the toner container 3M) from the accommodating portion 145 and is formed in a curved shape. The contact portion 149 is in contact with a contact terminal 675.
In the present embodiment, the overhang length of the contact terminal 1425 is longer than the overhang length of the contact terminals 1421 and 1422. That is, the contact portion 149 of the contact terminal 1425 is located on the right side (the side of the wall surface 781 of the toner container 3M) of the contact portion 146 of each of the contact terminals 1421 and 1422.
Since the contact terminal 1425 is thus provided, the contact terminal 675 of the contact terminals 671, 672, 675 is brought into contact with the contact portion 149 of the contact terminal 1425 prior to the other contact terminals 671, 672 in the process of mounting the toner container 3M to the mounting portion 58. As a result, noise is less likely to be generated when the contact terminals come into contact with each other, and it is possible to prevent data in the memory portion of the IC board 64 from being destroyed and the IC board 64 itself from being damaged.
Further, according to the terminal unit 140 of the present embodiment, as long as the toner container 3 includes the contact terminal 675 having the contact surface perpendicular to the mounting direction of the mounting portion 58, the contact terminal 675 first contacts the contact portion 149 of the contact terminal 1425 during the mounting process, regardless of the type.
The structure of the black toner container 3K will be described below with reference to fig. 5, 6, and 15 to 17. As described above, the same reference numerals as those of the toner container 3M are given to the same structure as that of the toner container 3M, and the description thereof is omitted. Hereinafter, structural members of the toner container 3M are denoted by "M" and structural members of the toner container 3K are denoted by "K" as necessary.
The toner container 3K and the toner container 3M are common in that the IC board 64 is mounted on the upper portion of the wall surface 781 of the upper cover 78. However, the toner container 3K is different from the toner container 3M in that a recessed portion 784 (see fig. 17) different from the recessed portion 783 is provided in an upper portion of the wall surface 781, and the IC substrate 64 is provided in the recessed portion 784. The recess 784 is one level below the wall 781 of the upper housing 78. As shown in fig. 17, the recess 784 is provided in the wall surface 781 so as to be continuous with the upper end of the wall surface 781. The recess 784 is provided on the upper portion of the wall surface 781, on one side in the width direction D12, specifically, on the front side. The IC board 64 is disposed in the recess 784, specifically, in the recess 784 at the center in the width direction D12.
Since the contact terminals 671, 672, 675 are arranged in this manner, in the toner container 3K, when the user carries the toner container 3K or holds the toner container 3K during the replacement work, even if the user's finger contacts the contact terminal 67 of the IC substrate 64, the chance of the user's finger touching the contact terminals 671, 672, 675 can be reduced as compared with the case where the contact terminals 671, 672, 675 are arranged dispersedly on the surface 641 of the IC substrate 64. In particular, since the recessed portion 784 of the toner container 3K is provided on the side (front side) closer to the width direction D12, when the user grips the toner container 3K, the user's fingers easily touch the IC board 64. When the recess 784 is provided at such a position, the contact terminals 671, 672 and 675 are preferably arranged on the front surface 641 of the IC board 64 at positions on the rear side opposite to the front side where the recess 784 is provided. In this way, the contact terminals 671, 672, 675 are further made less likely to be touched by the user's fingers.
As described above, in the toner container 3K, not only the waste toner discharged from the drum cleaning device 42 but also the waste toner discharged from the belt cleaning device 38 is stored in the lower storage portion 72K. Therefore, as described later, the lower receiving portion 72K has a larger volume than the upper receiving portion 71K. In the present embodiment, the recess 784 for mounting the IC board 64 is provided in the upper housing 78. This is to avoid the accommodation space 86K from being narrowed by the recess 784 to be smaller than the volume of the lower accommodation portion 72K when the recess 784 is provided in the lower cover 79.
Further, the toner container 3K is different from the above-described toner container 3M in that: the toner container 3K is larger than the outer shape and capacity of the toner container 3M; a grip portion 132 in place of the grip portion 122; and the lower receiving portion 72K has two stepped portions 151 and 152 formed thereon.
As shown in fig. 5 and 6, the upper receiving portion 71K of the toner container 3K has a dimension in the width direction D12 larger than the dimension of the upper receiving portion 71M of the toner container 3M. The height direction D11 and the depth direction D13 have the same size. Therefore, the capacity of the storage space 85K inside the upper storage portion 71K is larger than the capacity of the storage space 85M of the upper storage portion 71M, and more unused toner can be stored.
The dimensions of the lower accommodating portion 72K of the toner container 3K in the height direction D11, the width direction D12, and the depth direction D13 are larger than the dimensions of the lower accommodating portion 72M of the toner container 3M. Therefore, the capacity of the housing space 86K inside the lower housing portion 72K is larger than the capacity of the housing space 86M of the lower housing portion 72M, and more waste toner can be housed. In particular, since the dimensions of the lower receiving portion 72K in all of the three directions D1, D12, and D13 are larger than the dimensions of the lower receiving portion 72M, the volume of the receiving space 86K of the lower receiving portion 72K is larger than the volume of the receiving space 86M of the lower receiving portion 72M, and is also larger than the volume of the receiving space 85K of the upper receiving portion 71K. That is, in the toner container 3K, the volume of the lower accommodating portion 72K is larger than the volume of the upper accommodating portion 71K.
Specifically, as shown in fig. 16, the size of the lower accommodating portion 72K of the toner container 3K in the depth direction D13 is larger than the size of the upper accommodating portion 71K. That is, the dimension of the toner container 3K in the depth direction D13 of the lower accommodating portion 72K is larger than the dimension of the upper accommodating portion 71K in the depth direction D13. The dimensions of the upper receiving portion 71K and the lower receiving portion 72K in the height direction D11 are substantially the same, and the dimensions of the width direction D12 are also substantially the same.
With the above configuration, sufficient volumes can be secured in the upper receiving portion 71K and the lower receiving portion 72K, respectively. Further, since the capacity of the lower housing portion 72K is larger than the capacity of the housing space 85K of the upper housing portion 71K, the housing space 86K can house not only the waste toner from the drum cleaning device 42 but also the waste toner from the belt cleaning device 38 sufficiently.
As shown in fig. 15 to 17, the toner container 3K includes a grip 132 having a concave portion 133 (an example of a first concave portion) and a concave portion 134 (an example of a second concave portion). The grip portion 132 is a portion that a user grips when transporting or replacing the toner container 3K. In the present embodiment, the recess 133 is formed in a side portion of the container main body 75 on one side in the width direction D12. More specifically, the recess 133 is formed between the upper receiving portion 71 and the lower receiving portion 72, and is formed in a front side portion in the mounting posture of the mounting portion 58. Further, the recess 134 is formed on the other side of the container main body 75 in the width direction D12. More specifically, the recess 134 is formed between the upper receiving portion 71 and the lower receiving portion 72, and is formed on a rear side portion in the mounting posture of the mounting portion 58. That is, the toner container 3K has recesses 133 and 134 (an example of a pair of recesses) formed in pairs on both sides in the width direction D12.
Both the concave portions 133 and 134 penetrate the toner container 3K in the depth direction D13, and when the toner container 3K is viewed from the lid 76 side, the concave portions 133 and 134 are formed in a rectangular shape. By providing the concave portions 133 and 134, the toner container 3K has a narrowed waist shape in a portion sandwiched between the concave portion 133 and the concave portion 134. The thin waist-shaped portion is a grip portion 132. Since the grip portion 132 is formed in a thin waist shape that can be easily gripped by the user, the user can easily catch the grip portion 132 with his or her fingers, and further, the toner container 3K can be easily transported and the work for replacement can be easily performed. In particular, since the toner container 3K is wider than the toner container 3M, the container main body 75 is narrowed from both side portions in the width direction D12, so that the grip portion 132 is formed to have a size that is easy to grip. The lid body 76 is formed to match the shape of the container body 75, and is formed in a slender waist shape at a portion corresponding to the grip portion 132.
In the present embodiment, the size of the recess 133 is larger than the size of the recess 134. Specifically, the length of the height direction D11 of the recess 133 is greater than the length of the height direction D11 of the recess 134, and the length of the width direction D12 of the recess 133 is greater than the length of the width direction D12 of the recess 134. Therefore, the user can easily catch the thumb on the concave portion 133, and the toner container 3K can be easily conveyed, and the work at the time of replacement can be easily performed.
As shown in fig. 6, in the toner container 3K, the concave portions 133 and 134 are provided in the upper portion (upper portion) of the lower accommodating portion 72 for the same reason as the concave portion 123 of the toner container 3M.
Further, for the same reason as the concave portion 123 of the toner container 3M, in the toner container 3K, the concave portion 133 is formed in the vicinity of the first conveying portion 92, more specifically, directly below the shutter member 101 provided in the first conveying portion 92. Therefore, when the user grips the grip portion 132 and replaces the toner container 3K, the force is easily applied to the grip portion 132, and the force can be directly transmitted to the shutter member 101. Thus, the work efficiency at the time of replacement is improved.
The grip 132 of the toner container 3K is not limited to the concave portions 133 and 134. For example, the grip portion 132 may be constituted by only one of the concave portion 133 and the concave portion 134. The grip portion 122 of the toner container 3M may be formed of a pair of concave portions.
As shown in fig. 15 and 16, the lower receiving portion 72K has two stepped portions 151 and 152 formed thereon. The stepped portions 151 and 152 are formed on the wall surface 791 of the lower cover 79 of the lower receiving portion 72K. On the wall surface 791, a stepped portion 151 (an example of a first stepped portion) is formed at an end portion on one side (rear side) in the width direction D12. Specifically, on the wall surface 791, the stepped portion 151 is formed at a position on the opposite side to the position where the recess 133 is provided, and is formed at an end portion on the recess 134 side. The step 151 is formed in a shape recessed from the wall surface 791 further toward the inside of the lower receiving portion 72K. Further, the bottom surface (the surface lower than the wall surface 791) of the stepped portion 151 reaches a side surface (the side surface on the recess 134 side) perpendicular to the wall surface 791 in the lower cover 79. That is, the stepped portion 151 is formed on the wall surface 791 so as to be lowered from the wall surface 791 toward the inside, and the depth dimension of the stepped portion 151 with respect to the wall surface 791 is, for example, about 2 to 3 mm.
Further, on the wall surface 791, a stepped portion 152 (an example of a second stepped portion) is formed at the end portion on the other side (front side) in the width direction D12. Specifically, on the wall surface 791, the step portion 152 is formed at an end portion on one side (lower side) in the height direction D11. The step portion 152 is formed in a shape recessed from the wall surface 791 further toward the inside of the lower receiving portion 72K. Further, the bottom surface (the surface lower than the wall surface 791) of the stepped portion 152 reaches a side surface (the side surface on the side of the recess 133) perpendicular to the wall surface 791 in the lower cover 79. That is, the step portion 152 is formed on the wall surface 791 so as to be lowered from the wall surface 791 toward the inside. The step portion 152 has a depth dimension larger than that of the step portion 151 with respect to the wall surface 791, and the depth dimension is, for example, about 3.5 to 4.5 mm.
Since the stepped portions 151 and 152 are formed in the lower accommodating portion 72K in this manner, when the user carries or grips the toner container 3K, the user can easily catch the toner container 3K by easily putting his or her hand on the stepped portions 151 or 152. Since the IC board 64 is not provided in the lower receiving portion 72K, the user tends to hold the lower receiving portion 72K, and therefore, it is preferable that the stepped portions 151 and 152 are provided in the lower receiving portion 72K for the user's convenience. In particular, since the dimension of the lower receiving portion 72K in the depth direction D13 is large, the lower receiving portion can be more easily gripped by providing the stepped portions 151 and 152 having an appropriate depth. Further, by providing the stepped portions 151 and 152, the user can visually and easily grasp that the stepped portions 151 and 152 are gripped as handles.
In particular, the toner container 3K is provided with the above-described stepped portions 151 and 152 in addition to the grip portion 132 having the recessed portions 133 and 134. Therefore, when the user performs the replacement work of the toner container 3K, the user can firmly hold the toner container 3K by gripping the grip portion 132, and the replacement work can be reliably performed. Further, when the toner container 3K is conveyed, particularly when the toner container 3K is exchanged or removed, the user can stably convey the toner container 3K by holding the step portions 151 and 152 of the lower accommodating portion 72K in which the waste toner is accommodated.
The lower receiving portion 72K does not have to have both the step portions 151 and 152, and either of the step portions 151 and 152 may be formed in the lower receiving portion 72K. The lower accommodating portion 72M of the toner container 3M may be formed with stepped portions 151 and 152.
The scope of the present invention is not limited to the above description, but is defined by the claims, and therefore the embodiments described in the present specification are only illustrative and not restrictive. Therefore, all changes that do not depart from the scope and boundary of the claims and that are equivalent to the scope and boundary of the claims are intended to be embraced therein.

Claims (6)

1. An image forming apparatus, characterized by comprising:
a toner container capable of accommodating toner therein; and
a mounting part for detachably supporting the toner container,
the toner container has a substrate mounted on a side surface located on one side of the toner container in a mounting/dismounting direction with respect to the mounting portion, and provided on an opposite surface to which the toner container is mounted when the toner container is mounted on the mounting portion; the plurality of fixed terminals are mounted on the surface of the substrate so as to face the mounting portion,
the mounting portion has:
a terminal support portion; and
a plurality of elastic terminals including a first ground terminal, the plurality of elastic terminals being provided on the terminal support portion and being capable of being electrically connected to the fixed terminals by being elastically contacted with the fixed terminals, respectively,
the elastic terminals respectively project from the terminal support portions toward the opposite surfaces,
the protruding length of the first ground terminal is longer than the protruding length of the other elastic terminals except for the first ground terminal,
among the plurality of fixed terminals, a first fixed terminal to which the first ground terminal is brought into contact has a shape elongated in a width direction perpendicular to the attaching/detaching direction, and another fixed terminal to which the other elastic terminal is brought into contact has a shape elongated in an up-down direction perpendicular to the attaching/detaching direction,
the plurality of elastic terminals have contact portions that protrude toward the facing surface side, are formed in a curved shape, and are brought into contact with the plurality of fixed terminals, are formed by bending and deforming a metal lead wire or a metal elongated plate member, and are capable of elastically deforming toward the terminal support portion side when contacting the plurality of fixed terminals and receiving a pressing force,
among the plurality of elastic terminals, the first ground terminal has a shape elongated in the width direction, and the other elastic terminals have a shape elongated in the vertical direction,
the contact portion of the first ground terminal is located closer to the opposite surface side than the contact portions of the other elastic terminals.
2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
the first fixed terminal and the other fixed terminals are separated in the vertical direction on the facing surface of the toner container,
the first fixed terminal is disposed in a region below the other fixed terminals.
3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
the first ground terminal and the other elastic terminals are separated in the terminal support portion in the up-down direction,
the first ground terminal is disposed below the other elastic terminals.
4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
the sprung terminal includes a second ground terminal different from the first ground terminal,
the second ground terminal and the other elastic terminals are arranged in parallel in a width direction perpendicular to the attaching/detaching direction.
5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the other elastic terminals include a signal terminal or a power supply terminal provided adjacent to the second ground terminal in a width direction perpendicular to the attaching/detaching direction.
6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
the toner container has: a first toner container provided in an upper portion of the toner container; and a second toner containing part provided below the first toner containing part and below the toner container,
the fixed terminal is provided in the first toner accommodating portion.
CN201610402747.9A 2016-06-08 2016-06-08 Image forming apparatus including toner container, and toner container Active CN107479346B (en)

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