CN107479348B

CN107479348B - Toner container and image forming apparatus

Info

Publication number: CN107479348B
Application number: CN201610402798.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 永岛辉彦; 竹中秀典
Original assignee: Kyocera Document Solutions Inc
Current assignee: Kyocera Document Solutions Inc
Priority date: 2016-06-08
Filing date: 2016-06-08
Publication date: 2020-08-11
Anticipated expiration: 2036-06-08
Also published as: CN107479348A

Abstract

The invention provides a toner container and an image forming apparatus having two accommodating portions capable of accommodating toner. The toner container includes: a long strip-shaped container body; a first toner accommodating portion provided on one side of the container body in the longitudinal direction; a first rotating member rotatably provided inside the first toner accommodating portion; a second toner accommodating portion provided on the other side in the longitudinal direction of the container body; and a second rotating member rotatably provided inside the second toner accommodating portion. The container body includes a flat plate-like cover member that closes respective openings of a first case of the first toner containing portion and a second case of the second toner containing portion. A first bearing portion and a second bearing portion are provided on the inner surface of the cover member, the first bearing portion rotatably supporting a first end portion of the first rotating shaft of the first rotating member on the cover member side, and the second bearing portion rotatably supporting a second end portion of the second rotating shaft of the second rotating member on the cover member side.

Description

Toner container and image forming apparatus

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a toner container having two accommodating portions capable of accommodating toner, and an image forming apparatus.

Background

Conventionally, an image forming apparatus capable of forming an image on paper using a developer containing 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.

Further, a conventional image forming apparatus is provided with a cleaning device for removing used toner (waste toner) remaining on the photoreceptor drum after transfer, and a waste toner container for storing the waste toner removed by the cleaning device.

However, in the conventional image forming apparatus, when the downsizing and the space saving of the apparatus are prioritized, it is not desirable to provide both the toner container and the waste toner container in the image forming apparatus. Further, the toner container in which the storage portion capable of storing the unused toner and the storage portion capable of storing the waste toner are integrally configured contributes to downsizing and space saving of the apparatus, but there is a problem that a support structure of each rotating member provided inside for conveying the unused toner or the waste toner becomes complicated.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a toner container and an image forming apparatus, which can realize miniaturization and space saving of the image forming apparatus, and can reduce the number of parts by simplifying the supporting structure of a plurality of rotating members arranged inside.

One aspect of the present invention provides a toner container, including: an elongated container body; a first toner containing section capable of containing unused toner therein and provided on one side in a longitudinal direction of the container body; a first rotating member rotatably provided inside the first toner accommodating portion, extending in a depth direction of the container body perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and configured to rotate to convey the unused toner to an image forming apparatus side; a second toner accommodating portion which is provided on the other side in the longitudinal direction of the container main body and accommodates therein used toner collected from the image forming apparatus; and a second rotating member rotatably provided inside the second toner accommodating portion and extending in the depth direction, the used toner is transported to the inside of the second toner containing part by rotation, the container body includes a flat plate-shaped cover member that closes each opening formed on one side in the depth direction in each of the first casing of the first toner storage unit and the second casing of the second toner storage unit, a first bearing portion and a second bearing portion are provided on an inner surface of the cover member, the first bearing portion rotatably supporting a first end portion of a first rotating shaft of the first rotating member on the cover member side, the second bearing portion rotatably supports a second end portion of a second rotating shaft of the second rotating member on the cover member side.

Another aspect of the present invention provides an image forming apparatus, comprising: a device main body; a developing device provided in the device main body; a drum unit having a rotatable photosensitive drum for holding a toner image developed by the developing device; a cleaning unit provided in the drum unit, configured to remove used toner remaining on the photosensitive drum and convey the toner to one side in an axial direction of a rotation shaft of the photosensitive drum; and a toner container that is provided so as to be attachable to a side of the drum unit in the axial direction, and has a vertically long shape in an attachment posture of being attached to an attachment portion provided in the apparatus main body, the toner container including: a first toner container portion capable of containing unused toner supplied to the developing device and provided above the toner container in the mounting posture; a first rotating member rotatably provided inside the first toner containing portion, extending in a depth direction perpendicular to the vertical direction, and configured to rotatably convey the unused toner to the developing device; a second toner containing portion capable of containing the used toner conveyed from the cleaning portion, provided at a lower portion of the toner container in the mounting posture and located below the first toner containing portion; a second rotating member rotatably provided inside the second toner containing portion, extending in the depth direction, and configured to rotate to convey the used toner conveyed from the cleaning portion to the second toner containing portion; and a flat plate-shaped cover member that closes each opening portion formed on one side in the depth direction in each of the first casing of the first toner containing portion and the second casing of the second toner containing portion, wherein a first bearing portion and a second bearing portion are provided on an inner surface of the cover member, the first bearing portion rotatably supports a first end portion of the first rotating shaft of the first rotating member on the cover member side, and the second bearing portion rotatably supports a second end portion of the second rotating shaft of the second rotating member on the cover member side.

According to the present invention, the image forming apparatus can be reduced in size and space, and the number of components can be reduced by simplifying the support structure for the plurality of rotating members provided inside.

The present specification will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings as appropriate, in order to simplify the summary of the concepts described in the following detailed description. 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 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 the configuration of the cap member and the internal member of the toner container for magenta.

Fig. 15 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the cap member and the internal member of the toner container for magenta.

Fig. 16 is a view showing a structure of a bearing portion of the stirring member, and is an enlarged view of a main portion X1 in fig. 11.

Fig. 17 is a view showing a structure of a bearing portion of a spiral member of the first conveying portion, and is an enlarged view of a main portion X2 in fig. 10.

Fig. 18 is an enlarged view of the gear transmission mechanism.

Fig. 19 is a diagram showing a structure of a bearing portion of a spiral member of the second conveying portion, and is an enlarged view of a main portion X3 in fig. 11.

Fig. 20A is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX-XX of fig. 19, and is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the spiral member and the film member of the second conveyance section.

Fig. 20B is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX-XX in fig. 19, and is a schematic diagram for explaining the operation of the spiral member and the film member of the second conveyance section.

Fig. 21 is a cross-sectional view showing a structure in the vicinity of a right end of the image forming apparatus.

Fig. 22A is an enlarged view showing the structure around the second output joint of the mounting portion 58.

Fig. 22B is a perspective view showing the structure of the second output connector.

Fig. 23A is an enlarged view showing the configuration of the second input unit 111 of the second conveying unit 105.

Fig. 23B is a perspective view showing the configuration of the second input unit 111.

Fig. 24A is a diagram showing a state in which the second output joint and the second conveying section 105 are connected obliquely.

Fig. 24B is a diagram showing a state in which the second output joint and the second conveying section 105 are connected obliquely.

Fig. 25A is a perspective view showing a configuration of a conventional second input unit.

Fig. 25B is a perspective view showing a configuration of a conventional second output joint.

Fig. 26 is a diagram showing a connection state between a conventional second input unit and a conventional second output connector.

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 the vertical direction D1 in the installation state (the state shown in fig. 1) in which the image forming apparatus 10 can be used. In the set state, the front-rear direction D2 is defined by the surface of the paper feed cassette 22 shown in fig. 1 being inserted and removed. 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 case 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 based on 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 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 from the downstream side 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. 21), 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. Thereby, 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 to the transfer belt 35 by the primary transfer rollers 18 in an overlapping manner. Next, the color image on the transfer belt 35 is transferred onto the printing paper by the secondary 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 at 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 spiral member 46 are long in the left-right direction D3. The cleaning blade 45 and the spiral 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 spiral member 46 is a toner conveying member, and has a blade having a spiral shape around the shaft. The 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 the used toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 41 after the transfer by the primary transfer roller 18 when the photosensitive drum 41 rotates. The removed toner is a toner to be discarded, and is therefore generally referred to as a waste toner. The waste toner is conveyed in one direction by the rotating spiral 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. 21, the discharge guide portion 43 is provided at the right end portion 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. 21) 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. Toner (developer) is stored in the bottom of the housing 50, and the toner 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 the built-in magnetic poles, 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 attached to the respective attaching portions 58 (see fig. 4) inside the casing 11. In the present embodiment, the plurality of toner containers 3 are mounted in a state of being arranged 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. 21). As shown in fig. 1, in the present embodiment, 4 toner containers 3 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 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. 21). The primary transfer roller 18 is supported by 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 above the transfer belt 35 and on the rear side of the housing 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, a casing 383 which accommodates the above members, and the like (see fig. 2). 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 spiral 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. 21, the relay guide 39 is provided at the right end of the housing 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. 21 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. 21 shows the cross-sectional configurations of the magenta drum unit 31M and the black drum unit 31K, respectively. For convenience of explanation, fig. 21 shows the developing device 33 corresponding to the drum unit 31K in a broken line. As shown in fig. 21, a discharge guide portion 43M is provided at a right end portion of the housing 44 of the drum unit 31M. That is, the discharge guide 43M is provided on the drum unit 31M. Further, the discharge guide portion 43 having the same configuration as the discharge guide portion 43M is provided also in each of the drum units 31 for yellow and cyan.

The discharge guide portion 43M guides the waste toner removed by the drum cleaning device 42 in the drum unit 31M and conveyed to the right end portion of the housing 44 toward the introduction port 114 of the lower accommodating portion 72 of the toner container 3M. The inner space of the discharge guide portion 43M is a passage 117 through which the waste toner passes. The discharge guide 43M extends obliquely downward from above 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 spiral 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 rotating shafts of the

vane 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 by a gear transmission mechanism, not shown. When the screw member 46 rotates, the rotational driving force is transmitted to the

vane portions

118 and 119 via the gear transmission mechanism, and the

vane portions

118 and 119 are rotated. By rotating the

paddle units

118 and 119, the waste toner conveyed to the passage 117 is conveyed by the

paddle units

118 and 119 to the discharge port 431 in the passage 117, and further guided into the lower accommodating portion 72 of the toner container 3M through the introduction port 114 and the first conveyance guide portion 94 (an example of a first guide portion) of the toner container 3M.

As shown in fig. 21, a discharge guide portion 43K is provided at a right end portion of the housing 44 of the drum unit 31K. That is, the discharge guide portion 43K is provided to the drum unit 31K. The discharge guide portion 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 portion 43K has a configuration common to the discharge guide portion 43M. Therefore, the same reference numerals are given to the same structure as the discharge guide 43M, and the description thereof is omitted.

The discharge guide 43K is different from the discharge guide 43M in that a receiving opening 120 is formed in an upper surface of the discharge guide 43K. The receiving opening 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, which will be 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. 21, a relay guide 39 is provided at the right end of the belt cleaning device 38. The relay guide 39 guides the waste toner conveyed toward the right end portion of the casing 383 by the spiral member 382 in the belt cleaning device 38 toward the discharge guide 43K. A discharge port 391 is formed in a lower portion of the relay guide section 39, and the discharge port 391 is connected to the inlet port 120 of the discharge guide section 43K. Accordingly, 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 port 120. The waste toner guided to the inlet port 120 is further conveyed downward by the

blade portions

118 and 119 by the discharge guide portion 43K, and is guided toward the inside of the lower accommodating portion 72 of the toner container 3K through the discharge port 431, the introduction port 114, and the second conveyance guide portion 107 (an example of a second guide portion) of the toner container 3K.

As shown in fig. 4, 4 mounting portions 58 for detachably supporting the toner container 3 are provided at the right end portion of the casing 11. Each mounting portion 58 is fixed to a support plate 49 provided at the right end of the housing 11. Each mounting portion 58 has a bracket 59 for supporting each toner container 3. Each toner container 3 is supported detachably to 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 container 3M contains a large amount of black toner, the toner container 3K is formed to be larger in both outer shape and capacity than the toner container 3M. Therefore, the structure of the toner container 3K is denoted by the same reference numerals as the toner container 3M, and description thereof is omitted. Since the toner containers 3Y and 3C have the same structure as the toner container 3M, the description of the structure thereof will be 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 that is long in the height direction D11, and is formed in a shape that is wide in the width direction D12 and shallow in the depth direction D13.

The container main body 75 includes an upper case 78 (an example of a first box) formed on an upper side, a lower case 79 (an example of a second box) formed on a lower side, and a lid 76 (an example of a lid member). That is, upper case 78 is formed on one side (upper side) of container main body 75 in height direction D11 (longitudinal direction), and lower case 79 is formed on the other side (lower side) of container main body 75 in height direction D11 (longitudinal direction). The upper and lower

outer shells

78, 79 of the container main body 75 are integrally formed. An accommodating space 85 capable of accommodating the unused toner is defined inside the upper housing 78. That is, the upper housing 78 defines an accommodating space 85 inside the upper accommodating portion 71. A storage space 86 capable of storing the waste toner is defined in the lower housing 79. That is, the lower case 79 defines an accommodating space 86 inside the lower accommodating portion 72.

The upper case 78 and the lower case 79 are separated in the vertical direction D1, and a gap 88 (see fig. 7) having a predetermined interval is formed between the upper case 78 and the lower case 79. Specifically, as shown in fig. 7 and 12, the upper housing 78 has a lower wall 782 in the shape of a circular arc constituting a lower wall surface thereof, and the lower housing 79 has an upper wall 792 constituting an upper wall surface thereof. Further, 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 an example 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 case 78, and an opening 82 is also formed in the right side surface of the lower case 79. The

openings

81 and 82 are formed on the same surface. A flange 83 is formed at the opening edge of each of the

openings

81 and 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 (a connecting member, an example of a common flange). The peripheral flange 831 is formed in such a manner as to surround the peripheral edge of the right side surface of the container main body 75 once. 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 continuous from the lower end edge of the opening portion 81 to the 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 extend from the central flange 832 in the depth direction D13, respectively.

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.

Fig. 14 and 15 are perspective views showing the structure of the inner surface 762 side of the cover 76. Fig. 14 and 15 show the posture of the stirring member 91 and the spiral member 95 supported by the container main body 75. As shown in fig. 14 and 15, a plurality of ribs 77 are provided on an inner surface 762 of the cover 76. The rib 77 is formed integrally with the lid body. A plurality of ribs 77 are provided near the peripheral edge 761 of the cover 76 for positioning the cover 76 relative to the upper and

lower housings

78, 79. The ribs 77 enter the inside of the opening

portions

81, 82 in the process of fitting the outer peripheral edge 761 of the cover 76 onto the flange 83. Thereby, the rib 77 guides the lid 76 to the

openings

81 and 82, and the outer peripheral edge 761 of the lid 76 is completely engaged with the flange 83.

As shown in fig. 15, one rib 771 (an example of a rib member) of the plurality of ribs 77 is formed to protrude from the inner surface 762 by a length longer than the other ribs 77. The rib 771 guides the lid 76 to the

openings

81 and 82 by contacting the inner surface of the upper wall 792 (see fig. 12) of the lower case 79. Here, the upper wall 792 is an example of a partition wall provided between the upper receiving portion 71 and the lower receiving portion 72. The rib 771 is constituted by a bottom plate 7711 parallel to the width direction D12 and a pair of

side plates

7712, 7713 extending downward from both ends of the width direction D12 of the bottom plate 7711. In the width direction D12, the side plate 7712 is located on the front side and the side plate 7713 is located on the rear side. The rib 771 is provided in the vicinity of a projection 185, which will be described later, provided on the inner surface 762 of the cover 76, and specifically, is provided obliquely forward and upward from the projection 185 so as to be adjacent to the projection 185 with a slight gap therebetween. The boss 185 rotatably supports an end 1091 of the screw member 108 on the cover 76 side, which will be described later. That is, the rib 771 and the spiral member 108 are adjacently disposed.

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. Thus, the upper receiving portion 71 and the lower receiving portion 72 are connected by the central flange 832 and the lid 76, and therefore the strength in the vicinity of the gap 88 of the toner container 3M becomes 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-like 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 near the gap 88 between the upper receiving portion 71 and the lower receiving portion 72 is compensated. 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. Further, 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 in the height direction D11 and the depth direction D13 different between the upper receiving portion 71 and the lower receiving portion 72 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 when the attachment portion 58 is attached.

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, a blade-shaped stirring member 91 is provided inside the upper housing space 85. The stirring member 91 is rotatably supported in the housing space 85 on the upper housing 78. Further, a first conveying portion 92 for conveying the toner to the developing device 33 is provided inside the housing space 85.

The stirring member 91 is a rotating member rotatably supported by the upper receiving portion 71. The stirring member 91 is rotated by receiving a driving force from the outside, and stirs the unused toner contained in the upper containing portion 71. As shown in fig. 11, 14 and 15, the stirring member 91 is provided in parallel with a screw member 95 described later. The stirring member 91 is generally provided with a rotating shaft member 911 (an example of a third rotating shaft and a stirring rotating shaft) and a film-like blade portion 912 (an example of a film member).

As shown in fig. 11, a rotating shaft member 911 is rotatably provided in the housing space 85 of the upper housing portion 71. The rotating shaft member 911 is a shaft member formed in a shape elongated in the depth direction D13. An end 161 (an example of a third end) on one side (the cover 76 side) in the axial direction of the rotating shaft member 911 is rotatably supported by an inner surface 762 of the cover 76 constituting a right side wall surface of the upper receiving portion 71. Specifically, the bearing 171 (an example of a third bearing, see fig. 16) and the lid 76 are integrally formed on the inner surface 762, and the end 161 is rotatably supported by the bearing 171. The end 162 of the rotating shaft member 911 on the other side (opposite side) in the axial direction is rotatably supported by the inner surface 785 of the side wall on the left side (mounting portion 58 side) of the upper housing 78. Specifically, bearing portion 172 and upper housing 78 are integrally formed on inner surface 785, and end portion 162 is rotatably supported by bearing portion 172. Thereby, the rotational shaft member 911 is rotatably supported in the housing space 85.

As shown in fig. 14 and 15, the rotating shaft member 911 has a base portion 160 as a shaft main body. The base portion 160 is a plate-shaped member extending in the depth direction D13. An end portion 161 is provided on the lid 76 side of the base portion 160, and an end portion 162 is provided on the opposite side of the base portion 160. The rotating shaft member 911 is a resin molded product, and the base portion 160, the end portion 161, and the end portion 162 are integrally formed.

Fig. 16 is an enlarged view of a main portion X1 surrounded by a two-dot chain line in fig. 11. As shown in fig. 16, the end portion 161 is an annular recessed portion recessed from the end surface on the cover 76 side toward the opposite side (the inner surface 785 side) in the axial direction of the rotating shaft member 911. Hereinafter, the end portion 161 is referred to as a recess 161. The concave portion 1611 of the recess 161 is formed in an annular shape on its inner surface. In the present embodiment, the base portion 160 is connected to an outer peripheral edge portion of the recess 161. An engagement port 1631 (an example of a second engagement port) that penetrates the rotary shaft member 911 in the axial direction is formed in the bottom 163 of the recess 161. The engagement port 1631 is formed in a rectangular shape, for example.

The bearing 171 has a boss 173 (an example of a second boss) that protrudes perpendicularly from the inner surface 762 of the cover 76. The protrusion 173 is formed in a cylindrical shape. The concave portion 161 is rotatably supported by the protrusion 173 by inserting the protrusion 173 into the concave portion 1611 of the concave portion 161. An annular through hole 174 (an example of a second through hole) through which a second connecting portion 1922 of a second transmission portion 192 described later can be inserted is formed in the center of the projecting end of the boss 173.

As shown in fig. 11, the end portion 162 is a disk-shaped member. The end portion 162 is perpendicularly coupled to the base portion 160 in a manner opposite to the recess portion 161. A circular shaft hole 1621 is formed in the center of the end portion 162 (see fig. 14). Bearing portion 172 is a projection projecting from inner surface 785 of the left side wall (attachment portion 58 side) of upper case 78. The bearing portion 172 is formed in a cylindrical shape. When the bearing portion 172 is inserted into the shaft hole 1621, the end portion 162 is rotatably supported by the bearing portion 172.

As shown in fig. 14 and 15, the base part 160 has two support pieces 165. The support blade 165 supports the blade portion 912. Each support piece 165 is disposed at an interval in the axial direction from the side surface of the base portion 160. The support piece 165 is a plate (support piece) that forms a small gap with the side surface of the base portion 160, and the end edges of the blade portions 912 are fixed so as to be sandwiched in the small gap.

The blade portion 912 is a film member formed in a thin film shape. The blade portion 912 is made of a synthetic resin material having elasticity, such as polyester or PET (polyethylene terephthalate) resin. By rotating the stirring member 91, the paddle portion 912 comes into contact with the unused toner stored in the upper storage portion 71, thereby stirring the unused toner. The blade portion 912 has a main body portion 9121 attached to the support piece 165 of the base portion 160, and a projecting portion 9122 projecting from the end portion of the main body portion 9121 on the cover 76 side toward the inner surface 762 side. Specifically, the protruding portion 9122 extends from the periphery of the bottom portion 1885 to the inner surface 762 so as to intersect with a step between the bottom portion 1885 and the inner surface 762 of the second housing portion 1882, which will be described later.

Since the stirring member 91 is configured as described above, when the rotational driving force is input to the rotational shaft member 911, the stirring member 91 rotates in one direction in the housing space 85. In the present embodiment, the stirring member 91 rotates in a rotation direction D31 shown in fig. 14. Thereby, the unused toner in the storage space 85 is stirred by the rotating blade portion 912. In particular, since the blade portion 912 is provided with the above-described projecting portion 9122, the unused toner present in a region from the bottom portion 1885 of the second housing portion 1882 to the inner surface 762 described later is reliably stirred by the projecting portion 9122.

As shown in fig. 7 and 8, the first conveying section 92 includes: a cylindrical first conveyance guide 94 extending outward from a wall surface 781 (an example of an opposing surface) on the left side of the upper housing 78; and a spiral 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. Here, the wall surface 781 is located on the side of the toner container 3M in the depth direction D13 with respect to the mounting portion 58, and is a surface facing the mounting portion 58 when the toner container 3M is mounted to the mounting 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 portion 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 spiral 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 rotating shaft 96 of the screw member 95 on the cover 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 cover 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 rotational shaft 96. Further, a through hole 941 is formed at a front end portion of the first conveyance guide 94. In a state where the first input portion 98 protrudes outward from the through hole 941, the end portion 962 is rotatably supported by the through hole 941.

Hereinafter, the support structure of the end portion 961 of the spiral member 95 will be specifically described with reference to fig. 17. Here, fig. 17 is an enlarged view of a main portion X2 surrounded by a two-dot chain line in fig. 10.

As shown in fig. 17, an end portion 961 of the rotating shaft 96 (an example of the first rotating shaft) has an inner hole 178 extending in the axial direction from an end surface of the rotating shaft 96 on the cover 76 side to the opposite side. That is, the end portion 961 is a cylindrical portion formed in a cylindrical shape having the inner hole 178 therein. The inner hole 178 is formed to have a size capable of passing through a first connection portion 1912 of a first transmission portion 191, which will be described later. An end surface of the end portion 961 on the cap 76 side is formed with an arc-shaped support portion 179 having a larger outer diameter than the inner hole 178. An engagement opening 9611 (an example of a first engagement opening) is formed in an outer peripheral surface of the end portion 961, and when a first connection portion 1912 (described later) is inserted into the inner hole 178, the engagement opening 9611 is engaged with a first engagement portion 197 (described later). The snap-fit port 9611 extends through the inner bore 178 of the end portion 961.

As described above, the bearing 99 is provided on the inner surface 762 of the lid body 76. The bearing portion 99 has a boss 180 (an example of a first boss) that protrudes perpendicularly from the inner surface 762 of the lid body 76. End portion 961 is supported by projection 180 by inserting projection 180 inside support portion 179 of end portion 961. An annular through hole 181 (an example of a first through hole) is formed at the center of the protruding end of the boss 180, and a first connection portion 1912 of a first transfer portion 191, which will be described later, can pass through the through hole 181.

Since the bearing 99 and the end portion 961 are configured as described above, when a rotational driving force is input to the rotational shaft 96 of the screw member 95, the screw member 95 rotates in one direction in the housing space 85. In the present embodiment, when the rotational driving force is input to the first input portion 98, the screw member 95 rotates in the rotational direction D30 shown in fig. 12. Thus, the unused toner in the storage space 85 is conveyed from the storage space 85 through the inside of the first conveyance guide 94 toward the distal end of the first conveyance guide 94.

As shown in fig. 10, a toner discharge port 100 for discharging the toner stored in the storage space 85 to the outside is formed in the lower outer peripheral surface (hereinafter, simply referred to as the lower surface) of the first conveyance guide 94. The toner discharge port 100 is a through opening that penetrates vertically downward through the outer peripheral wall that forms the lower surface of the first conveyance guide 94. Toner discharge port 100 is formed in a substantially square shape. In the present embodiment, the toner discharge port 100 is formed at the end closest to the first input portion 98 side of the lower surface of the first conveyance guide portion 94.

As shown in fig. 8, the first conveyance guide 94 is provided with an inclined guide 942. The inclined guide portion 942 is formed integrally with the first conveyance guide portion 94, and is formed on an arc-shaped outer peripheral surface (hereinafter, simply referred to as an upper surface) on the upper side of the first conveyance guide portion 94. The inclined guide portion 942 is an inclined surface that is inclined obliquely downward toward the tip in the extending direction (left side in fig. 10) of the first conveyance guide portion 94, in the upper surface of the first conveyance guide portion 94. The inclined guide portion 942 is formed at the end closest to the first input portion 98 side of the upper surface of the first conveyance guide portion 94, and is formed above the toner discharge port 100 in a side view (see fig. 10). In the present embodiment, the inclined guide portion 942 is inclined downward at an inclination angle of 10 degrees from the upper surface of the first conveyance guide portion 94.

Since the inclined guide portion 942 is provided in the first conveyance guide portion 94 as described above, the inner surface 9421 of the inclined guide portion 942 functions as a guide surface for guiding the unused toner to the toner discharge port 100 in the first conveyance guide portion 94. Therefore, when the unused toner is conveyed toward the toner discharge port 100 by the screw member 95 along arrow D32 in fig. 10, the unused toner contacts the inner surface 9421, and the traveling direction thereof is directed obliquely downward and is guided toward the toner discharge port 100. This suppresses the unused toner from remaining on the upper side of the tip end portion of the spiral member 95 without being discharged. That is, the amount of unused toner remaining as it is unused can be reduced inside the front end portion of the first conveyance guide 94. Further, since the inclination angle of the inclined guide portion 942 is 10 degrees, the unused toner is smoothly guided toward the toner discharge port 100 without being excessively accumulated.

In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 12, the inclined guide portion 942 is provided on the upper surface of the first conveyance guide portion 94 at a position spaced apart by a predetermined angle θ from a vertical surface passing through the rotation center of the spiral member 95 toward the upstream side in the rotation direction D30. In the present embodiment, the predetermined angle θ is 45 degrees. That is, the inclined guide portion 942 is provided on the upper surface of the first conveyance guide portion 94 at a position spaced 45 degrees from the vertical surface in the rotation direction D30. Since the inclined guide portion 942 is provided at such a position, the unused toner scraped off by the blade 97 comes into contact with the inner surface 9421 and moves in the width direction D12 inside the first conveyance guide portion 94. Then, if the unused toner passes over the rotation shaft 96 of the spiral member 95, the unused toner drops downward by weight and goes toward the toner discharge port 100. This allows the unused toner to be guided to the toner discharge port 100 without being subjected to excessive stress.

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 the toner container 3M is attached to the mount portion 58 (see fig. 4), the shutter member 101 moves from the closed position closing the toner discharge port 100 to the position opening the 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 connecting 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 rotational driving force is received, the screw member 95 rotates, and the toner in the housing space 85 is conveyed from the toner discharge port 100 to the replenishment port 56 through the first conveyance guide 94, and is replenished into the developing device 33.

Further, an engaging hole 611 (see fig. 13) having a rectangular cross section is formed in the first output joint 61, and the first input portion 98 is inserted into the engaging hole 611, whereby the first output joint 61 and the first input portion 98 are engaged in the axial direction. Thereby, the rotational driving force from the first output joint 61 is transmitted to the first input portion 98. The first input unit 98 in this case is an example of an engagement unit.

As shown in fig. 13, the first output joint 61 is provided to the mounting portion 58. The first output joint 61 is a drive output unit 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. 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, a gear transmission mechanism 103 (an example of a transmission mechanism) is provided on the lid body 76. The gear transmission mechanism 103 is connected to the rotating shaft 96 of the screw member 95 and the rotating shaft member 911 of the stirring member 91 in a state where the lid 76 closes the

openings

81 and 82. Thereby, the rotational driving force transmitted from the first input portion 98 to the screw member 95 is transmitted to the stirring member 91 through the gear transmission mechanism 103. That is, since the gear transmission mechanism 103 is provided, when the rotational driving force is input to the first input portion 98, the screw member 95 and the stirring member 91 rotate in conjunction with each other.

The structure of the gear transmission mechanism 103 will be described below with reference to fig. 14 to 18.

The gear transmission mechanism 103 transmits the rotational driving force input to the rotational shaft 96 of the screw member 95 from the end portion 961 of the rotational shaft 96 to the stirring member 91 through the recessed portion 161 (end portion 161) of the rotational shaft member 911 of the stirring member 91. As shown in fig. 18, the gear transmission mechanism 103 includes a first transmission portion 191, a second transmission portion 192, and an idler gear 193 provided therebetween.

The first transmitting portion 191 has a first gear 1911 and a first connecting portion 1912. The first transmission portion 191 is a resin molded product, and the first gear 1911 and the first connection portion 1912 are integrally formed.

The second transmission portion 192 has a second gear 1921 and a second connection portion 1922. The second transmission portion 192 is a resin molded product, and the second gear 1921 and the second connection portion 1922 are integrally formed.

In the present embodiment, the first gear 1911, the second gear 1921, and the idle gear 193 are disposed on the surface of the cover 76. Specifically, the first gear 1911, the second gear 1921, and the idle gear 193 are rotatably accommodated in a concave-shaped gear accommodating portion 188 (an example of a concave-shaped accommodating recess) formed in the surface of the cover 76, and are disposed in the gear accommodating portion 188 in a state in which they are engaged with each other and rotational force is transmitted. The gear receiving portion 188 is a recess that is recessed from the surface of the cover 76 toward the inner surface 762 side of the cover. The first gear 1911, the second gear 1921, and the idle gear 193 are housed in the gear housing 188 on the inside of the recess of the gear housing 188 with respect to the surface of the cover 76. That is, the first gear 1911, the second gear 1921, and the idle gear 193 are housed in the gear housing 188 in a state of being buried in the gear housing 188. Therefore, the first gear 1911, the second gear 1921, and the idle gear 193 are kept in a state of not protruding outward from the surface of the cover 76.

When performing the mounting work and the replacement work with respect to the mounting portion 58, the user grips the toner container 3M. Therefore, for example, when the toner container 3M is removed from the image forming apparatus 10, if the rotational driving force is erroneously transmitted to the first input portion 98 and the gears of the first gear 1911, the second gear 1921, and the idle gear 193 rotate, the fingers of the user may be pinched by the gears of the first gear 1911, the second gear 1921, and the idle gear 193. Further, even when the gear transmission mechanism 103 is not operated, a lubricant such as grease applied to each of the first gear 1911, the second gear 1921, and the idle gear 193 adheres to the user's finger and causes contamination. Further, since the gears of the first gear 1911, the second gear 1921, and the idle gear 193 are pressed with fingers when the toner container 3M is held, the gears of the first gear 1911, the second gear 1921, and the idle gear 193 may be displaced, and the gear transmission mechanism 103 may be damaged during driving. However, as described above, since the gears of the first gear 1911, the second gear 1921, and the idle gear 193 of the gear transmission mechanism 103 are accommodated in the gear accommodating portion 188, the user's finger is prevented from touching the gears of the first gear 1911, the second gear 1921, and the idle gear 193. In particular, the user's finger is prevented from contacting the teeth of the first gear 1911, the second gear 1921, and the idler gear 193. As a result, the toner container 3M can be safely realized with a low possibility of failure without causing the above-described problems.

As shown in fig. 17, the first gear 1911 is disposed in a first housing 1881 defined in the gear housing 188. The bearing 99 is integrally formed on the inner side surface of the first receiving portion 1881. The through hole 181 of the bearing 99 penetrates the first receiving portion 1881.

The first connection portion 1912 extends from the first gear 1911 toward the housing space 85 of the upper housing portion 71 through the through hole 181 formed in the bearing portion 99, and is connected to the screw member 95 of the first conveying portion 92. Specifically, the first connection portion 1912 includes: a first shaft portion 196 provided perpendicularly to the center of the first gear 1911; and a first engaging portion 197 provided on the front end side of the first shaft portion 196. In a state where the first gear 1911 is disposed in the first housing 1881, the first shaft 196 is inserted into the housing space 85 from the through hole 181, and then inserted into the inner hole 178 of the end portion 961. The first engaging portion 197 is a hook-shaped member, protrudes outward from the outer peripheral surface of the first shaft portion 196, and extends toward the first gear 1911. In the present embodiment, the first engagement portion 197 is connected to the engagement opening 9611 of the end portion 961 by a so-called insertion fit method.

The first engagement portion 197 has elasticity in a radial direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the first shaft portion 196. Therefore, when the first shaft 196 is inserted into the inner hole 178, the first engagement portion 197 receives the force in the radial direction from the inner wall of the end portion 961, and the first engagement portion 197 elastically deforms toward the first shaft 196. Therefore, the first shaft portion 196 can be inserted into the inner hole 178 without being affected by the first engaging portion 197. Further, if the first shaft 196 is inserted into the inner side portion of the inner hole 178 and the first engagement portion 197 reaches the engagement opening 9611, the elastic deformation of the first engagement portion 197 is released and the original posture is returned. At this time, the first engaging portion 197 protrudes from the engaging opening 9611 to the outside of the end portion 961, and the end portion of the first engaging portion 197 on the first gear 1911 side engages with the edge portion 9612 of the engaging opening 9611. Thus, the first transmission portion 191 is connected to the rotation shaft 96 of the screw member 95 via the first shaft portion 196 and the first engagement portion 197.

As shown in fig. 16, the second gear 1921 is disposed in a second housing portion 1882 (an example of a second gear housing portion) defined in the gear housing portion 188. The boss 173 of the bearing portion 171 is integrally formed on the side surface on the inner side of the second receiving portion 1882. The through hole 174 of the protrusion 173 penetrates to the second receiving portion 1882.

The second connecting portion 1922 extends from the second gear 1921 toward the housing space 85 of the upper housing portion 71 through the through hole 174 formed in the boss 173 of the bearing portion 171, and is connected to the rotating shaft member 911 of the stirring member 91. Specifically, the second connection portion 1922 includes: a second shaft portion 206 disposed perpendicularly to the center of the second gear 1921; and a second engaging portion 207 provided on the tip end side of the second shaft portion 206. In a state where the second gear 1921 is disposed in the second receiving portion 1882, the second shaft portion 206 is inserted from the through hole 174 to the receiving space 85 side, and further inserted through the engagement port 1631 of the recess 161. The second engaging portion 207 has two hooks projecting outward from the side surface of the tip of the second shaft portion 206 and extending toward the second gear 1921. In the present embodiment, the second engaging portion 207 is connected to the engaging port 1631 of the recessed portion 161 by a so-called insertion fit method.

The second engaging portion 207 is elastic in a radial direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the second shaft portion 206. Therefore, when the second shaft portion 206 passes through the through hole 174 and passes through the engagement port 1631, the edge portion 1632 of the engagement port 1631 receives the force in the radial direction, and the second engagement portion 207 is elastically deformed toward the second shaft portion 206. Therefore, the second shaft portion 206 can be inserted through the engagement opening 1631 without being obstructed by the second engagement portion 207. Further, if the second engagement portion 207 goes beyond the engagement port 1631, the elastic deformation of the second engagement portion 207 is released and the original posture is returned. At this time, the second engaging portion 207 engages with the edge portion 1632 of the engaging port 1631. Thus, the second transmission unit 192 is connected to the rotating shaft member 911 of the stirring member 91 via the second shaft unit 206 and the second engagement unit 207.

As shown in fig. 17, the idle gear 193 is disposed in a third housing 1883 defined in the gear housing 188. As shown in fig. 18, the idle gear 193 is provided between the first gear 1911 and the second gear 1921, meshes with the first gear 1911, and also meshes with the second gear 1921.

Since the gear transmission mechanism 103 is configured as described above, the rotational driving force transmitted from the first input portion 98 to the screw member 95 is transmitted to the stirring member 91 through the gear transmission mechanism 103. Thus, when the spiral member 95 rotates, the stirring member 91 also rotates in the same rotational direction as the spiral member 95.

In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 14 and 15, a first inclined guide 194 and a second inclined guide 195 (both of which are examples of inclined guides) are provided in the vicinity of the gear housing portion 188 on the inner surface 762 of the cover 76. The

inclined guide portions

194 and 195 described above are formed integrally with the cover body 76. The

inclined guide portions

194 and 195 are provided in the rotation area of the projecting portion 9122 in the inner surface 762 of the cover 76. Specifically, as shown in fig. 14, the first inclined guide portion 194 is provided in a portion from an upstream end to an inner surface 762 in the rotation direction D31 in the bottom of the gear housing 188, and has an inclined surface from the inner surface 762 to the bottom of the gear housing 188. As shown in fig. 15, the second inclined guide 195 is provided at a portion from the downstream end in the rotation direction D31 to the inner surface 762 of the bottom of the gear housing 188, and has an inclined surface from the inner surface 762 to the bottom of the gear housing 188.

Since the

inclined guide portions

194, 195 are provided on the inner surface 762, when the stirring member 91 is rotated by the rotational driving force from the gear transmission mechanism 103, the protruding portion 9122 of the stirring member 91 smoothly moves on the inclined surfaces along the inclined surface curved sides of the respective

inclined guide portions

194, 195. Even when the amount of the unused toner in the upper housing portion 71 is reduced, the projecting portion 9122 can reliably convey the unused toner near the first inclined guide portion 194 toward the spiral member 95. As a result, the unused toner is prevented from remaining uselessly in the upper storage portion 71. Further, since the first inclined guide portion 194 is provided at the lower portion of the inner surface 762, the unused toner can be suppressed from accumulating at the lower portion of the housing space 86 of the lower housing portion 72.

As shown in fig. 6, the lower receiving portion 72 includes a second conveying portion 105. Specifically, a second conveying portion 105 for conveying the waste toner discharged from the drum unit 31 corresponding to magenta to the storage space 86 is provided inside the storage space 86 on the lower side. 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 spiral member 108 (an example of a second rotating member, a rotating member, and a first conveying member, see fig. 11) provided inside the second conveyance guide 107. The second conveyance guide 107 is formed integrally with the lower casing 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 spiral member 108 is a conveying member that conveys the waste toner discharged from the drum unit 31 to the second conveyance guide 107 to the housing space 86 through the inside of the second conveyance guide 107. Further, the second conveyance guide part 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 spiral member 108 has a spiral-shaped blade 110 around a rotation shaft 109. An end 1091 (an example of a second end) of the rotary shaft 109 of the screw member 108 on the cover 76 side is rotatably supported by a bearing 112 (an example of a second bearing) formed integrally with the inner surface 762 of the cover 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 or 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 rotational 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 through hole 1071 passes an end 1092 of the rotary shaft 109 of the screw member 108 outward from the distal end of the second conveyance guide 107, and rotatably supports the rotary shaft 109. Thus, the end 1092 is rotatably supported inside the second conveyance guide 107 in a state where the rotary shaft 109 protrudes from the through hole 1071 to the outside. The end 1092 is attached with the second input unit 111. In a state where the end 1092 is inserted from the through hole 1071 to the outside, the second input portion 111 is fixed to the end 1092 from the outside.

Hereinafter, the structure for supporting the end 1091 of the spiral member 108 will be described in detail with reference to fig. 19. Here, fig. 19 is an enlarged view of a main portion X3 surrounded by a two-dot chain line in fig. 11.

As shown in fig. 19, an end 1091 of the turning shaft 109 (an example of the second turning shaft) has an inner hole 184 extending in the axial direction from an end surface of the turning shaft 109 on the cover 76 side to the opposite side.

The inner bore 184 is formed in a circular shape.

As described above, the bearing portion 112 is provided on the inner surface 762 of the cover 76. The bearing portion 112 has a projection 185 projecting perpendicularly from an inner surface 762 of the cover 76. The end 1091 is rotatably supported by the protrusion 185 by inserting the protrusion 185 into the inner hole 184 of the end 1091.

Since the bearing portion 112 and the end portion 1091 are configured as described above, when a rotational driving force is input to the rotational shaft 109 of the screw member 108, the screw member 108 rotates in one direction within the housing space 86. In the present embodiment, the screw member 108 rotates in the rotation direction D32 (see fig. 20A). Thereby, the waste toner discharged from the drum cleaning device 42 of the drum unit 31 is conveyed to the housing space 86 through the inside of the second conveyance guide 107.

Fig. 20A and 20B are sectional views taken along the line XX-XX of fig. 19. As shown in fig. 20A and 20B, the film member 127 is provided in the vicinity of the spiral member 108. The film member 127 is formed in a thin film shape, and is made of a synthetic resin material having elasticity, such as polyester or PET (polyethylene terephthalate) resin. The substantially L-shaped film member 127 is formed by bending a flat rectangular film formed of the synthetic resin material. The film member 127 has: a fixing portion 128 fixed to the inner surface of the upper wall 792 of the lower casing 79; and a contact portion 129 extending downward from the fixing portion 128. The film member 127 is formed in a substantially L-shape by the fixing portion 128 and the contact portion 129.

The film member 127 has the fixing portion 128 fixed to the upper wall 792 such that the contact portion 129 is disposed between the rib 771 and the spiral member 108. Specifically, the film member 127 is provided in the following manner: the contact portion 129 is in contact with the side plate 7713 of the rib 771, and the contact portion 129 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the spiral member 108. Thus, the contact portion 129 is supported by one side of the side plate 7713, and can contact the outer peripheral surface of the spiral member 108 with strong elasticity. As a result, even when the waste toner adheres to the spiral member 108, the waste toner is reliably peeled off by the contact of the contact portion 129.

In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 20A and 20B, the spiral member 108 is formed so that the portion in contact with the contact portion 129 has an elliptical shape in cross section. Therefore, when the screw member 108 is rotated in the rotation direction D32, the contact portion 129 changes its posture between a first posture (see fig. 20A) in which it is bent with the lower end of the side plate 7713 as a fulcrum and a second posture (see fig. 20B) in which it extends straight vertically downward from the fixing portion 128 for every quarter turn. Thus, when the spiral member 108 rotates, since the force with which the contact portion 129 presses the outer peripheral surface of the spiral member 108 changes every quarter turn, the waste toner adhering to the spiral member 108 can be reliably peeled off by the contact portion 129.

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 by 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 toward the open position opening the introduction port 114.

Further, by aligning inlet port 114 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. By receiving the rotational driving force, the screw member 108 rotates, and the waste toner discharged from the discharge port 431 and conveyed into the second conveyance guide 107 is conveyed to the housing space 86 through the second conveyance guide 107.

As shown in fig. 13, the second output joint 62 is provided at the mounting portion 58 and is located at a position different from the first output joint 61. 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 shown in fig. 22A and 22B, the second output connector 62 has a base portion 621 and 4 engaging pieces 623. The base portion 621 is a portion attached to the mounting portion 58, and is, for example, a disk-shaped member having a circular shaft hole 624 at the center. At least two engaging pieces 623 are integrally formed on the base portion 621. In the present embodiment, 4 engaging pieces 623 are formed on the base portion 621. The 4 engaging pieces 623 protrude from the surface of the base portion 621. A shaft hole 624 is formed in the center of the base 621, and 4 engaging pieces 623 are arranged at equal intervals around the shaft hole 624. The number of the engaging pieces 623 is not limited to 4, and two engaging pieces 623 may be arranged at equal intervals around the shaft hole 624.

As shown in fig. 22B, each of the 4 engagement pieces 623 includes: a first inclined surface 625 inclined from the protruding end of the engaging piece 623 toward the base 621; and a vertical surface 626 formed on the opposite side of the first inclined surface 625 from the protruding end. The vertical surface 626 is a surface perpendicular to the surface of the base portion 621.

Further, the protruding ends of the 4 engaging pieces 623 are formed in a pointed shape. A second inclined surface 627 is formed at the projecting end of each of the 4 engaging pieces 623. The second inclined surface 627 is formed by chamfering an edge (a protruding end of the engagement piece 623) formed by the first inclined surface 625 and the vertical surface 626. The second inclined surface 627 is a surface inclined with respect to the first inclined surface 625 and the vertical surface 626, respectively. When the second input part 111 is inserted into the second output connector 62, the second inclined surface 627 functions to guide each of the projecting pieces 1113 of the second input part 111 into the gap 628 between the adjacent engaging pieces 623. For example, when the protruding piece 1113 and the second inclined surface 627 are in contact, the protruding piece 1113 enters the gap 628 in such a manner as to slide on the second inclined surface 627.

On the other hand, as described above, the second input portion 111 is provided at the end 1092 of the rotating shaft 109 of the screw member 108. As shown in fig. 23A and 23B, the second input portion 111 includes a base portion 1111, a protruding shaft 1112, and two protruding pieces 113. The base portion 1111 is formed in a disk shape. The projecting shaft 1112 is a projecting member projecting perpendicularly from the center of the base portion 1111. A through hole reaching the inside of the protruding shaft 1112 is formed at the center of the back surface of the base portion 1111. That is, the inside of the protruding shaft 1112 is hollow. A pair of notches 1114 is formed on the circumferential surface of the protruding shaft 1112. A pair of arms extending in the axial direction are formed at an end 1092 of the rotating shaft 109, and a hook is formed at the tip of the arms. When the pair of arms are inserted inside the protruding shaft 1112, the hook for insertion fitting enters the notch 1114. Thereby, the second input portion 111 is attached to the end portion 1092 by a so-called insertion fit.

The projecting piece 113 is formed in a pointed shape facing the projecting direction of the projecting shaft 1112. Each of the projecting pieces 113 is engageable with two of the 4 engagement pieces 623. In the present embodiment, one projection 1131 (an example of a first piece) of the two projections 113 has an abutment surface 1133 (an example of a first abutment surface) that comes into contact with the vertical surface of the engagement piece 623. The abutment surface 1133 is a vertical surface perpendicular to the surface of the base portion 1111. The other projection 1132 (an example of a second piece) of the two projections 113 is formed at a position spaced apart by 180 degrees from the projection 1131 around the axis. The projecting piece 1132 has an abutment surface 1134 (an example of a second abutment surface) that comes into contact with a vertical surface of the other engaging piece 623. The abutment surface 1134 is a vertical surface perpendicular to the surface of the base portion 1111. The abutment surfaces 1133, 1134 are both portions that receive the rotational driving force from the second output joint 62.

In the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 23B, one projection 1131 is formed in a shape longer than the other projection 1132 in the projection direction of the projection shaft 1112. Therefore, when the toner container 3M is mounted on the mount portion 58, the second input portion 111 can be smoothly and reliably connected to the second output connector 62 even in the case where the toner container 3M is moved toward the mount portion 58 in an inclined state. That is, if the second input portion 111 approaches the second output connector 62, as shown in fig. 24A, the longer protruding piece 1131 enters the gap 628. If the projection 1131 contacts a portion other than the gap 628, such as the first inclined surface 625, the projection 1131 is guided to the gap 628 by the first inclined surface 625. Further, even in the case where the projecting piece 1131 is in contact with the second inclined surface 627, the projecting piece 1131 is guided toward the gap 628 by the second inclined surface 627. At this time, the shorter protrusion piece 1132 is not in contact with the engagement piece 623, and therefore the guide of the protrusion piece 1131 to the gap 628 is not hindered by the protrusion piece 1132. When the protrusion 1131 is guided in contact with the first inclined surface 625 and the second inclined surface 627, the second input portion 111 pivots, and the shorter protrusion 1132 is disposed at a position facing the gap 628. Further, if the second input portion 111 further approaches the second output connector 62, as shown in fig. 24B, the shorter protrusion piece 1132 enters the gap 628.

Here, fig. 25A is a perspective view showing the second input unit 111A of the conventional configuration, and fig. 25B is a perspective view showing the second output connector 62A of the conventional configuration. Fig. 26 is a plan view of the second output connector 62A configured conventionally. In the drawings, the same components as those of the present embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the present embodiment. The conventional second input unit 111A shown in fig. 25A has two projecting pieces 113, and the two projecting pieces 113 are formed to have the same length. Therefore, as described above, if the toner container 3M moves toward the mounting portion 58 in an inclined state, although the tip 113A (the portion indicated by the broken line in fig. 26) of one of the two projecting pieces 113 enters the gap 628, the tip 113B (the portion indicated by the broken line in fig. 26) of the other projecting piece may catch on the tip of the first inclined surface 625. However, in the present embodiment, such a state of being caught does not occur, and as a result, when the toner container 3M is mounted on the mounting portion 58, the second input portion 111 can be reliably connected to the second output connector 62.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the center flange 832 of the lower housing 79 connecting the upper housing 78 of the upper housing 71 and the lower housing 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. This allows the first input portion 98 and the first output connector 61, and the second input portion 111 and the second output connector 62 to be 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, 111 or each of the output joints 61, 62, the load is deflected to the center flange 832 side and bends 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 a side portion (a front side portion) on one side in the width direction D12 on the wall surface 781 of the upper housing section 71. The second conveying unit 105 is provided on the left wall surface 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 conveyed, 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.

In addition, as shown in fig. 5, in the toner container 3K, concave portions 123 are formed at side portions on both sides in the width direction D12, respectively.

As shown in fig. 7, the recess 123 is provided in an upper portion (upper portion) of the lower receiving portion 72. Therefore, the capacity of the housing space 86 of the lower housing portion 72 is reduced 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 capacity of 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, when the user grips the grip portion 122 to replace the toner container 3M, a force is easily applied to the grip portion 122, and the force can be directly transmitted to the shutter member 101. This improves the work efficiency at the time of replacement.

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, the identification label 126 is attached to an area on the outer surface of the cover 76 corresponding to the grip portion 122. In the conventional toner container, the color of the container main body 75 or the lid 76 of the toner container 3M is colored to a toner color, thereby enabling type recognition. In contrast, since the toner container 3 of the present embodiment can identify the type 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 having a plurality of contact terminals 67 is mounted on an upper portion of a wall surface 781 of the upper case 78. On the upper portion of the wall surface 781, a recess 783 is provided which is one step lower than the wall surface 781. Specifically, the recess 783 is provided in 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 over the entire width direction D12. The IC board 64 is provided in the recess 783, and specifically, the IC board 64 is disposed in the recess 783 at the center in the width direction D12.

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 to be considered as 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

1. A toner container characterized in that,

the toner container includes:

an elongated container body;

a first toner containing section capable of containing unused toner therein and provided on one side in a longitudinal direction of the container body;

a first rotating member rotatably provided inside the first toner accommodating portion, extending in a depth direction of the container body perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and configured to rotate to convey the unused toner to an image forming apparatus side;

a second toner accommodating portion which is provided on the other side in the longitudinal direction of the container main body and accommodates therein used toner collected from the image forming apparatus; and

a second rotating member rotatably provided inside the second toner containing portion, extending in the depth direction, and configured to rotate to convey the used toner to the inside of the second toner containing portion,

the container body includes a flat plate-shaped cover member that closes each opening formed on one side in the depth direction in each of the first casing of the first toner storage unit and the second casing of the second toner storage unit,

a first bearing portion and a second bearing portion are provided on an inner surface of the cover member, the first bearing portion rotatably supporting a first end portion of a first rotating shaft of the first rotating member on the cover member side, and the second bearing portion rotatably supporting a second end portion of a second rotating shaft of the second rotating member on the cover member side.

2. The toner container according to claim 1,

the first case has a tubular first guide portion extending outward from a side surface on the other side in the depth direction, and a portion of the first rotating member on the other side in the depth direction is supported by the first guide portion,

the second case has a cylindrical second guide portion extending outward from the other side surface in the depth direction, and the other side portion in the depth direction of the second rotating member is supported by the second guide portion.

3. The toner container according to claim 2,

the second guide portion has a bearing hole at an end portion on the other side in the depth direction,

the second rotating member has an end portion on the other side in the depth direction of the second rotating shaft rotatably supported in the bearing hole.

4. The toner container according to claim 1 or 2,

the toner container further includes a third rotating member rotatably provided inside the first toner containing portion and parallel to the first rotating member,

the third bearing portion is provided on an inner surface of the cover member, and rotatably supports a third end portion of a third rotation shaft of the third rotation member on the cover member side.

5. The toner container according to claim 4, further comprising a transmission mechanism provided on a surface of the lid member and capable of transmitting the rotation of the first rotation shaft from the first end portion to the third rotation shaft through the third end portion.

6. The toner container according to claim 5,

the transfer mechanism includes:

a first transmission unit having: a first gear disposed on the surface of the cover member; and a first connecting portion that extends from the first gear toward the inside of the first toner containing portion through a first through hole formed in the center of the first bearing portion, and is connectable to the first rotating shaft; and

a second transmission unit having: a second gear disposed on the surface of the cover member and engaged with the first gear; and a second connecting portion that extends from the second gear toward the inside of the first toner accommodating portion through a second through hole formed in the center of the third bearing portion, and is connectable to the third rotating shaft.

7. The toner container according to claim 6,

the first end portion is a tube portion having an inner hole extending in an axial direction of the first rotation shaft from an end surface of the first rotation shaft on the cover member side, a first engagement opening penetrating the inner hole is formed in an outer peripheral surface of the tube portion,

the first bearing portion has a first projection formed with the first through-hole at the center, the first projection supporting the cylinder portion by being inserted into the inner hole of the cylinder portion,

the first connection portion has: a first shaft portion that passes through the first through hole and penetrates the inner hole of the cylinder portion when connected to the first rotating member; and a first engaging portion provided on the first shaft portion and engaged with an edge portion of the first engaging opening at the time of the connection.

8. The toner container according to claim 6,

the third rotating shaft has a plate-like base portion extending in the axial direction,

the third end portion is an annular recessed portion, an outer peripheral edge portion of the recessed portion is connected to the end portion of the base portion on the cover member side, the recessed portion is recessed from an end surface of the cover member side in the axial direction of the third rotation shaft, a second engagement opening penetrating the base portion side is formed in a bottom portion of the recessed portion,

the third bearing part has a second protrusion centrally formed with the second through hole, the second protrusion supporting the recess by being inserted into the inside of the recess,

the second connection portion has: a second shaft portion passing through the second through hole and penetrating through an inside of the recess portion when connected with the third rotating member; and a second engaging portion provided at the second shaft portion and engaged with an edge portion of the second engaging opening at the time of the connection.

9. The toner container according to claim 1 or 2,

the toner container is attached to an attachment portion provided in the image forming apparatus such that the longitudinal direction is in the vertical direction,

the first toner accommodating portion is provided at an upper portion of the container main body in an installation posture in which the toner container is installed to the installation portion,

the second toner containing portion is provided at a lower portion of the container body in the mounting posture and is located below the first toner containing portion.

10. The toner container according to claim 1 or 2,

the first rotating member has a first drive input portion at an end portion on the other side in the depth direction of the first rotating shaft, and a driving force for rotating the first rotating member is input to the first drive input portion,

the second rotating member has a second drive input portion at an end portion on the other side in the depth direction of the second rotating shaft, and a driving force for rotating the second rotating member is input to the second drive input portion.

11. An image forming apparatus is characterized in that,

the image forming apparatus includes:

a device main body;

a developing device provided in the device main body;

a drum unit having a rotatable photosensitive drum for holding a toner image developed by the developing device;

a cleaning unit provided in the drum unit, configured to remove used toner remaining on the photosensitive drum and convey the toner to one side in an axial direction of a rotation shaft of the photosensitive drum; and

a toner container that is provided so as to be attachable to a side of the drum unit in the axial direction, and has a vertically long shape in an attachment posture of being attached to an attachment portion provided in the apparatus main body,

the toner container includes:

a first toner container portion capable of containing unused toner supplied to the developing device and provided above the toner container in the mounting posture;

a first rotating member rotatably provided inside the first toner containing portion, extending in a depth direction perpendicular to the vertical direction, and configured to rotatably convey the unused toner to the developing device;

a second toner containing portion capable of containing the used toner conveyed from the cleaning portion, provided at a lower portion of the toner container in the mounting posture and located below the first toner containing portion;

a second rotating member rotatably provided inside the second toner containing portion, extending in the depth direction, and configured to rotate to convey the used toner conveyed from the cleaning portion to the second toner containing portion; and

a flat plate-shaped cover member that closes each opening formed on one side in the depth direction in each of the first casing of the first toner containing portion and the second casing of the second toner containing portion,