JP2000338758A - Toner replenishing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toner replenishing device making a cap plugging for a toner container ensured, the cap plugging failure prevented, and simultaneously restraining a failure as a result of the reverse rotation, even in the case of rotating this toner container in the direction opposite to the rotary direction of the toner replenishing operation. SOLUTION: This device makes the toner in a collar part 14f vicinity fed to the deep side of the toner bottle 14, by a loosening member 15a by letting the toner bottle 14 rotated in the direction F opposite to the rotary direction of the toner replenishing operation. The device is provided with rotary drive force transmitting means constituted so as not to transmit the rotary drive force to the bottle holding member 16 when the toner bottle 14 is rotated in the F opposite direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toner replenishing device mounted on a developing device such as a copying machine, a facsimile, a printer, and the like. More specifically, the present invention relates to a method of rotating a toner container to discharge toner therein. The present invention relates to a toner replenishing device configured to replenish toner to a developing unit of a developing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, a developing device for visualizing an electrostatic latent image formed on a latent image carrier is provided for supplying toner to a developing section thereof. A toner supply device is provided. As the toner replenishing device, a toner replenishing device having a configuration in which a toner storage container storing toner is detachable is known. For example, the applicant of the present invention has proposed a mechanism in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-20705 for exchanging a cylindrical toner storage container while keeping a container mounting holder in a horizontal state. In this mechanism, a cap is placed on an opening of a cylindrical toner container, and the cap is placed on a container mounting holder, and the cap is automatically opened using a collet chuck interlocked with the mounting operation of the cylindrical toner container. Like that.

The cylindrical toner container used in this mechanism has a substantially cylindrical shape, and has an opening formed at one end surface thereof with a diameter slightly smaller than that of the cylindrical portion. The opening is open throughout the end wall. And, on the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion,
A helical projection is formed for transporting the toner contained therein to the opening by rotation of the cylindrical toner container. Also, the opposite side of the opening is closed with a bottom surface,
Outside the bottom surface, a container driving rib for rotating the cylindrical toner container is formed.

In the cylindrical toner container having the above structure, the contact area between the opening and the cap needs to be reduced in order to facilitate attachment and detachment of the cap, and the opening has a diameter smaller than that of the cylindrical body. I have to. For this reason, the fluidity of the toner near the opening deteriorates, so that the opening is closed by the toner depending on the physical properties of the toner. Therefore, when the cap is closed, there is a problem that the toner in the opening becomes a resistance and the cap may be incompletely closed.

[0005] The applicant of the present invention has disclosed Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-96959.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. H11-115, a toner replenishing device having a configuration in which the cap is provided with an elastic loosening member that enters the opening of the cylindrical toner container at the opening position is proposed. However, the cylindrical toner container configured as described above has an effect of preventing the aggregation of the toner at the opening and the like and preventing the deterioration of the fluidity, but has only the effect of loosening the toner, so that the cap is closed. The certainty has not been improved.

[0006] Further, the present applicant has disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. Hei 9-3423.
In Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 4 (1999) -1992, there is proposed a device provided with a driving unit capable of rotating the cylindrical toner container forward and backward. In this mechanism, the cylindrical toner container is rotated by the driving means to prevent the toner from adhering and remaining on the inner wall of the cylindrical toner container due to a change in the movement of the toner when the rotation direction is switched. I have. However, in this mechanism, even if the toner is prevented from adhering and remaining on the inner wall of the cylindrical toner container, the amount of toner near the opening does not change, and the reliability of closing the cap is improved. Not. Further, the toner replenishing device using the cylindrical toner container having such a configuration is provided with a toner replenishing blade as a toner conveying means for sending the toner discharged from the opening of the cylindrical toner container to the developing device. . The toner supply blade rotates with the rotation of the cylindrical toner container. However,
When the cylindrical toner container is rotated in the reverse direction, there is a possibility that a toner replenishing blade provided in the toner replenishing device may be disadvantageously bent.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a first object of the present invention is to securely close the cap of the toner container.
An object of the present invention is to provide a toner replenishing device that does not have a cap closing defect. Further, the second object is to securely close the cap of the toner container, prevent the cap from being closed improperly, and rotate the toner container in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the toner supply operation. Another object of the present invention is to provide a toner replenishing device which does not cause a problem due to the rotation in the reverse direction.

[0008]

In order to achieve the first object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a toner container for conveying a stored toner in one direction by a rotating operation, and a toner container for the toner. A cap for closing an opening formed on one end side of the container body of the container, and container holding means for holding the toner container in a state where toner can be introduced from the opening into the toner introduction portion of the developing device. A rotation driving unit for rotating the toner storage container held by the container holding unit around a central axis,
A toner feeding means for feeding the toner in the opening to the inner side of the toner container is provided.

In this toner replenishing device, the toner feeding means feeds the toner in the opening to the rear side of the toner container to prevent the toner from closing the opening, and securely closes the cap. It can be carried out. As the toner feeding means, there are a means for inclining the toner container itself to send the toner to the back side, and a means for providing a member for sending the toner in the opening.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the toner supply device of the first aspect, a toner feeding member for feeding the toner in the opening to the rear side of the toner storage container when the cap is opened, and the toner storage device. Control means for controlling the rotation driving means so as to rotate the toner container in a direction opposite to the rotation direction in which the toner supply operation is performed when the container is not performing the toner supply operation with respect to the developing device; Wherein the toner feeding member rotates relative to the opening, thereby sending the toner in the opening to the rear side of the toner container.

In this toner replenishing device, when the toner replenishing operation is not performed, the toner container is rotated in a direction opposite to the rotational direction in which the toner replenishing operation is performed. When the toner container rotates in the opposite direction, the toner feeding member provided on the cap rotates relative to the opening, and the toner near the opening is moved to the toner container inner side. Can be sent to the side. This reduces the amount of toner near the opening and prevents the cap from being incompletely closed due to the resistance of the toner. The toner feeding member may have a configuration in which a loosening member for loosening the toner in the opening in the open state is provided on the cap.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the toner supply device of the second aspect, the operation of rotating the toner container in a direction opposite to the rotation direction in which the toner supply operation is performed is performed at the end of a series of image forming operations. It is characterized in that the control means is controlled so as to perform the control.

In this toner supply device, the reverse rotation operation of the toner container is not performed during a series of image forming operations, but is performed when the image forming operation is completed. Since the toner is not sent to the rear side of the toner container during the image forming operation, shortage of toner near the opening of the toner container can be prevented, and toner can be replenished without time difference when necessary. Thus, the plugging operation can be reliably performed, and the ability to follow up toner supply can be prevented from being reduced.

In order to achieve the second object,
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the toner supply device of the first, second, or third aspect, a rotational driving force transmitting unit for transmitting the rotational driving force of the toner container to the container holding unit side; And a toner conveying means for introducing the toner into the toner introduction section of the developing device using the rotational driving force transmitted by the driving force transmitting means. Only the rotational driving force in the rotational direction for performing the toner supply operation is transmitted, and the rotational driving force in the direction opposite to the rotational direction is not transmitted.

In this toner replenishing device, the rotational driving force transmitting means transmits a driving force in a rotational direction in which the toner container performs a toner replenishing operation, and does not transmit a rotational driving force in a direction opposite to the rotational direction. Therefore, when the toner container is rotated in the reverse direction, the rotational driving force in the reverse direction is not transmitted to the container holding means, and the toner conveying means is not driven to rotate. Thus, it is possible to prevent a problem caused by the rotation of the toner conveying unit in the reverse direction. This problem is, for example, a problem that the toner supply blade serving as the toner conveying means is bent or damaged in reverse.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the toner supply device of the fourth aspect, the rotational driving force transmitting means has a convex shape provided on an end wall on one end side where an opening of the toner container is formed. And an engagement portion provided on the container holding means for transmitting the drive by engaging with the convex shape, and a rotation amount for rotating the toner storage container in the opposite direction. The rotation driving means is controlled so as to make the rotation less than one rotation.

In this toner replenishing device, the convex shape and the engaging portion engage to transmit the rotational driving force of the toner container to the container holding means. When the toner container is rotated in the reverse direction and the engagement between the projection and the engaging portion is released, the toner storage container is engaged with the projection until the toner container rotates once in the opposite direction. It does not engage again with the joint. Further, the amount of rotation when the toner container rotates in the opposite direction is controlled to be less than one rotation by the rotation driving means. Thus, even if the toner container is rotated in the reverse direction, the rotation of the toner container is stopped before the rotational driving force is transmitted to the container holding means in the reverse direction. Therefore, the rotational driving force in the reverse direction is not transmitted to the container holding means, and the toner conveying means is not rotationally driven in the reverse direction.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the toner supply device of the fourth aspect, the rotational driving force transmitting means has a one-way clutch mechanism.

In this toner replenishing device, since the rotational driving force transmitting means has a one-way clutch mechanism,
The toner storage container transmits a rotational driving force in a rotational direction in which the toner supply operation is performed, and does not transmit a rotational driving force in a direction opposite to the rotational direction. Thus, it is possible to prevent a problem that occurs when the rotational driving force in the opposite direction is transmitted to the container holding unit. In addition, since the time for rotating the toner container in the reverse direction can be set arbitrarily, the toner in the vicinity of the bottle opening of the toner container can be sufficiently conveyed to the back side to more reliably perform the plugging operation. . here,
The one-way clutch mechanism can be constituted by, for example, a ratchet mechanism having a ratchet and a detent inside.

[0020]

[Embodiment 1] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a photosensitive drum 1 serving as a latent image carrier is disposed in a process cartridge 40, and the photosensitive drum 1 is arranged near or adjacent to the periphery of the photosensitive drum 1. A charging roller 2 that contacts and uniformly charges the photosensitive drum 1, a charge removing light 7 that removes electricity on the photosensitive drum 1, and a not-shown image for forming an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 1. Laser light 3 from exposure means, developing sleeve 4 for attaching toner to the electrostatic latent image on photosensitive drum 1, transfer roller 5 for transferring the toner image to transfer paper, photosensitive drum 1
A cleaning blade 6 for removing the upper residual toner, and a toner transport coil 8 for transporting the toner removed by the cleaning blade 6 to a recycle toner transport unit (not shown).
Is arranged. The developing sleeve 4 has a fixed shaft in which a five-pole magnet is disposed, and the outer peripheral surface is covered with a non-magnetic pipe material.
A doctor blade 10 for regulating the inflow amount of toner and a stirring screw 11 for circulating and stirring the developer are arranged. The photosensitive drum 1, the charging roller 2, the developing sleeve 4, and the like are housed in an integral photosensitive member surrounding case 42.

As shown in FIG. 1, a toner replenishing device 41 is mounted on the toner introducing portion 12 of the process cartridge 40. A bottle holding member 16 having a plurality of toner supply blades 17 mounted therein is supported by a cover 29 for guiding the
It is pivoted to rotate in the direction.

In this configuration, the photosensitive drum 1 is neutralized by the neutralizing light 7, and its surface potential is averaged to a reference potential of 0 to 150V. Next, it is charged by the charging roller 2 and the surface potential becomes around -1100V. Next, a portion (image portion) irradiated with the laser beam 3 for exposure has a surface potential of 0 to -290 V, and a bias of about -800 V is applied to the developing sleeve 4 in this image portion.
The toner on the developing sleeve 4 adheres. The photoreceptor drum 1 on which the toner image has been formed is rotated, and transfer paper is fed from a paper supply unit (not shown) at a timing such that the leading end of the paper coincides with the leading end of the image at the transfer roller 5. 5
The toner image on the surface of the photoreceptor drum 1 is transferred to the transfer paper in the section. The transferred transfer paper is sent to a fixing unit (not shown), and the toner is fused to the transfer paper by heat and pressure.
Ejected as a copy. On the other hand, the residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 1 is scraped off by the cleaning blade 6, and then the residual charge is removed from the photosensitive drum 1 by the charge removing light 7 to remove the toner. Move to.

Next, the toner supply device 41 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, reference numeral 13 denotes a rotation driving means,
A driving unit for driving the toner replenishing device 41, the joint 13c, the spring 13d,
3e, and a case part with a built-in shaft, and is fixed to a rear side plate 31 of a copying machine or the like (see FIG. 5). 1
Reference numeral 4 denotes a toner container (hereinafter, referred to as a toner bottle), which has protrusions 14a and 14b (projection shape) at the bottom. 14b is the concave portion 1 of the joint 13c.
3b, it has a function of holding the bottom of the toner bottle 14, and 14a is a protrusion for fitting the protrusion side surface 13a of the joint 13c to rotate the toner bottle 14. The height H of the projection 14b is
(H> h) is formed so as to be higher than the height h of a. Reference numeral 16 denotes a bottle holding member for holding the head of the toner bottle 14. Reference numeral 17 denotes a toner supply blade made of an elastic material such as mylar or rubber. The toner supply blade 17 is attached to a rib 16a, which is a kind of agitator integrally formed with the bottle holding member 16, with a double-sided tape or the like. In this embodiment, four toner supply blades 17 are provided.

As shown in FIG. 3B, the toner bottle 14 is provided with a helical projection 14e on the inner wall surface thereof.
The toner is discharged from 4d. A cap 15 for preventing toner from being discharged is fitted into the toner discharge port 14d. In addition, as shown in FIG.
6, a driving rib 16b provided on the inner wall surface engages with a driving transmission projection 14c provided on the head of the toner bottle 14,
The bottle holding member 16 and the toner bottle 14 rotate integrally in the normal rotation direction.

As shown in FIG. 2, reference numeral 20 denotes a sealing material, 21 denotes a collet chuck for picking and releasing the cap 15, and is housed in a cylindrical case 22;
4 are integrated with the shaft member 23. 25 is a seal member, 28 is a collet chuck 21, cylindrical case 2
2. A coil spring that constantly presses a series of components such as the shaft member 23 on the toner bottle 14 side.
The toner supply device 41 is held in a case 18a which is a container holding means integrally formed with the receiving table 18 of the toner supply device 41. 26
Is a handle for opening and closing the cap 15;
The shaft portion 26b enters the bearing portion 32 of the case 18a and becomes rotatable.

Reference numeral 27 denotes a hole 2 provided in the shaft member 23.
3a, which is in contact with a cam portion 26a provided on the handle 26, and the collet chuck 21, the cylindrical case 22, the shaft member 2
3 can be slid in a direction away from the toner bottle 14.

An opening for communicating the toner discharged from the toner discharge port 14d of the toner bottle 14 supported by the receiving table 18 to the toner introduction portion 12 (see FIG. 1) of the process cartridge 40. 18c
An elastic member 19 made of an elastic material such as mylar or rubber and having a slit hole 19a which is an elongated rectangular hole in a direction (horizontal direction) orthogonal to the moving direction of the toner replenishing blade 17 is attached with a double-sided tape or the like. It is attached. The manner of setting the opening area of the slit hole 19a, that is, the length (horizontal direction) and the width K (the moving direction of the toner replenishing blade 17; see FIG. 1) of the slit hole 19a are appropriately set, so that the toner replenishment amount is increased. Is appropriate. In this example,
The toner supply blade 17 is moved to the rib 16 such that the amount of protrusion of the toner supply blade 17 from the slit hole 19a is about 1 mm.
a.

Reference numeral 29 denotes the toner discharged from the slit hole 19a to the toner introduction section 12 of the process cartridge 40.
The cover 29 is provided with an opening 29a below the cover 29.
It corresponds to the position. As shown in FIG. 5, the toner replenishing device 41 having such a configuration is held by a rear plate 31 of the main body and a guide plate 36 attached to a front plate of the main body (not shown). 18b integrated with the cradle 18
Is a hole which engages with a positioning pin provided on a front side plate (not shown), and a stopper (not shown) for preventing the toner replenishing device 41 from being displaced is attached to the guide plate. Therefore, the toner replenishing device 41 of this embodiment includes a mechanism portion including the case 18a and movable parts such as the bottle holding member 16 built therein, the toner bottle 14 detachable from the mechanism portion, Part 13
It is composed of

In the above configuration, the operation of setting the toner supply device 41 will be described first. As shown in FIG. 5, the receiving table 18 is pulled out from the guide plate 36, and the steps 40 and 41 of the receiving table 18 correspond to the notches 3 of the guide plate 36.
8 and 39, the toner bottle 14 filled with the toner is set on the cradle 18 as shown by the arrow D. Next, toner bottle 1
4 is set, the toner supply device 41 is slid on the guide plate 36 in the direction of arrow E and set. As a result, the projection 14b at the bottom of the toner bottle 14 enters the positioning hole 13b of the joint 13c and is positioned, and the head of the bottle 14 engages with the bottle holding member 16, respectively. At this time, the setting of the toner replenishing device 41 is completed by the stopper being pressed against the front surface of the receiving table 18.

Then, as shown in FIG.
Is rotated in the direction of arrow A (downward), the cam portion 26a
(See FIG. 2), the slide shaft 27 is moved as shown in FIG.
As the shaft 23 is pulled in the direction of the arrow C, the shaft 23 also starts to move in the direction of the arrow C, so that the collet chuck 21 comes into contact with the projection 22a of the cylindrical case 22. Accordingly, the collet chuck 21 starts closing and the cap 15 is gripped. In this state, when the movement in the direction C further proceeds, as shown in FIG.
Is removed, and the toner in the toner bottle 14 flows out into the case 18a (if the toner in the toner bottle 14 is small, the toner does not flow out at this time). This state is a state where the setting of the toner supply device 41 is completed.

In FIG. 7, the cap 15 has a surface on the toner bottle 14 main body side, that is, the cap 1.
On the opposite surface of the knob 5, two loosening members 15 a extending in a direction to enter the toner bottle 14 main body are provided. The cap 15 and the loosening member 15a are made by integrally molding a plastic material, for example, polyethylene. Even when the cap 15 shown in FIG. 7 is held in a state where the cap 15 is opened by the advance / retreat moving means, the loosening member 15 a
And a length that penetrates through the collar portion 14f that follows. Further, the loosening member 15a is formed to have elasticity. In this case, the loosening member 15a itself can be formed of elastic plastic.
When made of plastic having some rigidity, elasticity can be given to the loosening member 15a by appropriately selecting the thickness.

The toner bottle 14 configured as described above
Is a relative relationship between the cap 15 and the toner bottle 14 fixedly held at the open position by the reciprocating means,
When the toner bottle 14 is rotated in the open state, the same effect as when the loosening member 15a is rotated with respect to the fixed toner bottle 14 is obtained, and the toner at the toner discharge port 14d and the color portion 14f is loosened. It is loosened by the member 15a and discharged from the toner discharge port 14d. By this loosening action, the toner discharge port 14d and the color portion 14f
The toner blocking in the portion is surely prevented, and even a toner having poor fluidity and physical properties can be used without any trouble.

Next, the operation during toner supply will be described. For toner replenishment, when a toner sensor (not shown) provided in the process cartridge 40 detects that there is no toner, the drive unit 13 shown in FIGS. 2 and 5 operates to rotate the joint 13c in the B direction. Then joint 1
3c fits into the protrusion 14a at the bottom of the bottle, and the toner bottle 14 rotates. When the toner bottle 14 rotates, the toner is discharged from the toner discharge port 14d and accumulates in the case 18a as shown by an arrow L in FIG. At the same time, the rotation of the toner bottle 14 is transmitted to the holding member 16 via a driving rib 16b integrated with the bottle holding member 16, and the toner supply blade 17 slides and rotates on the inner wall surface of the case 18a. As shown by the arrow M in the figure, the toner accumulated in the case 18a is scraped up. When the toner supply blade 17 passes through the slit hole 19a of the elastic member 19, the toner is
Extruded from 9a. At this time, when the toner supply blade 17 is projected from the slit hole 19a, the slit hole 1
The toner collected near the end of the opening 9a and the end of the opening 18c is pushed out. The extruded toner falls in the cover 29, passes through the opening 29a below the cover 29, and moves from the toner introduction portion 12 of the process cartridge 40 to the process cartridge 40 as shown by an arrow P in FIG.
Is supplied with toner.

That is, only when the toner bottle 14 is rotating, the toner is pushed out from the elastic member 19 to the toner introduction section 12, so that the toner is replenished into the process cartridge 40, and the toner density is kept constant.

Next, the features of this embodiment will be described. In the toner supply device of the present embodiment, when the toner sensor (not shown) detects that there is no toner as described above, the motor 13e of the rotation drive unit 13 is driven as shown in FIG. The developing device is driven to supply toner to the developing device. Then, when the toner sensor detects that there is toner, the normal rotation drive of the toner bottle 14 is stopped, and the toner bottle 14 is reversely rotated in the F direction. When the toner bottle 14 rotates in the reverse direction, the engagement between the drive transmitting projection 14c and the drive rib 16b provided on the inner wall surface of the bottle holding member 16 is released, and only the toner bottle 14 is stopped in a state where the bottle holding member 16 is stopped. Rotates in reverse.

When the toner bottle 14 rotates in the reverse direction, FIG.
As shown in (b), the toner in the toner bottle 14 is conveyed to the back side of the toner bottle 14 by a spiral groove 14e formed on the inner wall of the toner bottle 14. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the color portion 14f of the toner bottle 14 is opened in the opened state.
Two loosening members 15a for loosening nearby toner
Are provided on the opposite side of the knob of the cap 15.
The unraveling member 15a is made of a member having elasticity as described above, and the distal end portion is not fixed. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, when the toner bottle 14 rotates in the reverse direction, the toner is inclined in a direction to send the toner to the back due to the resistance of the toner near the toner discharge port 14d and the color portion 14f, so that the toner can be more easily conveyed to the back side. I have. In particular, since there is no spiral groove in the cap fitting portion (the inner peripheral portion of the collar portion 14f), when a cap without the loosening member 15a is used, the toner in the cap fitting portion is not conveyed to the back side even by the reverse rotation operation. However, in the configuration of the present embodiment, the toner can be transported to the back side by the deflection of the loosening member 15a.

As a result, the toner in the vicinity of the toner discharge port 14d and the color portion 14f of the toner bottle 14 is sent to the back side of the bottle, so that when the cap 15 is closed, the toner becomes a resistance and the plug 15 is securely closed without causing poor closing. ,
It is possible to prevent the cap 15 from coming off at the time of replacement, and to prevent the toner remaining between the cap 15 and the toner bottle 14 from spilling out.

When the toner bottle 14 is rotated in the reverse direction by a predetermined amount or more, the drive transmitting projection 14c and the driving rib 16 are rotated.
b is reengaged, and the bottle holding member 16 rotates integrally with the toner bottle 14 in the F direction.
However, as shown in FIG. 1, when the bottle holding member 16 rotates forward (arrow M), the toner supply blade 17 slides and rotates on the inner wall surface of the case 18a to push out the toner. Therefore, when the bottle holding member 16 rotates in the reverse direction and the toner replenishing blade 17 rotates in the reverse direction, the toner replenishing blade 17 is turned upside down or pushed out of the opening 18c and damaged in the worst case. Failure may occur.

In view of this, the toner replenishing device of the present embodiment has a configuration in which the driving projection 14c and the driving rib 16b are provided at one place. Further, the rotation amount of the drive motor 13e of the rotation drive unit 13 is controlled so that the reverse rotation amount of the toner bottle 14 is smaller than one rotation. As a result, even if the motor 13e is rotated in the reverse direction after the toner supply is completed, the toner bottle 14
Only the rotation reversely stops before the drive is transmitted to the bottle holding member 16. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the toner supply blade 17 from being damaged or the like without rotating the bottle holding member 16 in the reverse direction.

The reverse rotation operation of the toner bottle 14 is as follows.
As described above, the operation is performed every time the normal rotation operation of the toner bottle 14 is performed. However, the control can be performed such that the operation is performed at the end of a series of copy operations (jobs) in which the continuous copy ends. In this way, the toner bottle 14 is not rotated in the reverse direction during continuous copying where a large amount of toner may be consumed as compared with the case where the reverse rotation operation is performed each time after the normal rotation operation of the toner bottle 14 is completed. Since the toner near 14d is not conveyed to the back, the toner supply is performed immediately after the rotation starts even when the toner bottle 14 which has stopped once during the continuous copying is restarted, so that the followability of the toner supply is deteriorated. I will not let you.

[Second Embodiment] In the first embodiment, the driving projection 14c is provided at one location on the circumference of the head of the toner bottle 14, and the amount of reverse rotation of the toner bottle 14 is reduced from one rotation. Motor 13 so that
Although the configuration in which the amount of rotation of e is controlled and the bottle holding member 16 is not rotated in the reverse direction has been described, a one-way clutch is provided in the drive receiving portion of the bottle holding member 16 so that the bottle holding member 16 is not rotated in the reverse direction. You can also. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the bottle holding member 16 according to the present embodiment before assembly. The same members as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals.

As shown in FIG. 9, the bottle holding member 16
For example, a one-way clutch 100 having a ratchet mechanism having a ratchet and a detent is provided therein.
The one-way clutch 100 includes a toner bottle 14
Engaging portion 100 capable of engaging with the drive transmission projection 14c
a is provided.

When the toner bottle 14 rotates in the normal rotation direction, the drive transmitting projection 14c and the engaging portion 100a are engaged with each other, and the detent rotates the ratchet wheel to apply a driving force to the bottle holding member 16. And the bottle holding member 16
Is rotated in the forward direction. Conversely, when the toner bottle 14 rotates in the opposite direction, the detent stops idling without rotating the ratchet wheel even when the drive transmitting projection 14c and the engaging portion 100a are engaged. In addition, the rotational driving force is not transmitted to the bottle holding member 16. Thereby, even if the toner bottle 14 rotates in the reverse direction, the bottle holding member 16
Does not rotate in the reverse direction, and the toner replenishing blade 17 disposed on the rib 16a of the bottle holding member 16 does not rotate in the reverse direction.

With this configuration, the amount of reverse rotation of the toner bottle 14 is not limited to less than one rotation as in the first embodiment, and the time for the reverse rotation is reduced. The cap 15 can be sufficiently long, and the toner in the toner discharge port 14d (opening) can be sufficiently conveyed to the back side, so that the cap 15 can be more reliably closed.

[0045]

According to the first to sixth aspects of the present invention, the toner in the opening can be sent to the back side of the toner container by the toner sending means. This allows
An excellent effect that a toner replenishing device excellent in operability can be provided by ensuring that the cap of the toner container is securely closed, preventing the cap from being improperly closed, and reducing spillage of the toner adhered to the cap. is there.

In particular, according to the second aspect of the present invention, when the toner container rotates in the opposite direction, the toner feeding member rotates relatively to the opening, and the vicinity of the opening is changed. Can be sent to the rear side of the toner container. Thereby, there is an excellent effect that the amount of toner near the opening can be reduced and the cap can be prevented from being incompletely closed due to the resistance of the toner.

In particular, in the third aspect of the present invention, the reverse rotation operation of the toner container is performed at the end of a series of image forming operations, and the toner is always kept near the opening during the image forming operation. When replenishment is necessary, replenishment can be performed without time lag. As a result, there is an excellent effect that the plugging operation can be reliably performed, and that the followability of toner supply can be prevented from being lowered.

In particular, in the present invention, the rotational driving force transmitting means transmits a driving force in a rotational direction in which the toner container performs a toner supply operation, and a rotational driving force in a direction opposite to the rotational direction. Does not communicate. Thereby, since the rotational driving force in the reverse direction is not transmitted to the container holding means, an excellent effect that the trouble due to the reverse rotation of the toner conveying means provided in the container accommodating means can be prevented is obtained. is there.

In particular, in the fifth aspect of the present invention, the amount of reverse rotation of the toner container is smaller than one rotation. After the engagement with is released, the convex shape and the engaging portion do not engage again in the reverse rotation direction. Therefore, the rotational driving force of the toner container in the opposite direction is not transmitted to the container holding means. Thereby, there is an excellent effect that the above-mentioned problem due to reverse rotation can be prevented.

In particular, according to the invention of claim 6, since the one-way clutch mechanism is provided in the rotational driving force transmitting means, even if the toner container is rotated in the reverse direction, the driving of the toner container is performed on the side of the container holding means. And the above-mentioned problem due to reverse rotation can be prevented. In addition, since the reverse rotation time can be set arbitrarily, there is an excellent effect that the toner in the vicinity of the opening can be sufficiently conveyed to the inner side of the toner container and the closing operation can be more reliably performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall schematic configuration diagram of an image forming apparatus showing an embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of each component of the toner supply device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a top view of the toner container. (B) is the same side view. (C) is a rear view of the same.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a disassembled state near the bottle holding member.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a state where a receiving table is pulled out from a guide plate.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where the toner container is mounted on the toner supply device.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where the toner in the toner storage container is discharged into the container holding unit.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing that the loosening member is sending the bent toner to the inner side of the container when the toner container is rotated in the reverse direction.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a one-way clutch mechanism is provided in an engagement portion.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 12 Toner introduction part 13 Rotation driving means 13c Engagement part 14 Toner bottle 14a, 14b Convex shape 14c Drive transmission projection 14d Toner discharge port 14f Collar part 16 Bottle holding member 16b Driving rib 17 Toner supply blade 18a Container holding means Case 100 one-way clutch 100a engaging part

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A toner container for rotating a stored toner in one direction by a rotating operation, a cap for closing an opening formed at one end of a container body of the toner container, and a cap for closing the opening. Container holding means for holding the toner container in a state in which toner can be introduced from the unit to the toner introduction section of the developing device; and a rotational drive for rotating the toner container held by the container holding means around a central axis. And a toner feeding device for feeding the toner in the opening to the rear side of the toner container. 2. The toner replenishing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the toner feeding member for feeding the toner in the opening to the rear side of the toner storage container when the cap is opened, and the toner storage container includes the developing device. Control means for controlling the rotation driving means so as to rotate the toner container in a direction opposite to the rotation direction in which the toner supply operation is performed when the toner supply operation is not performed. A toner replenishing device, wherein a toner feeding member rotates relative to the opening to feed the toner in the opening to the rear side of the toner container. 3. The toner supply device according to claim 2, wherein the operation of rotating the toner container in a direction opposite to the rotational direction in which the toner supply operation is performed is performed at the end of a series of image forming operations. A toner supply device for controlling the means. 4. The toner replenishing device according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein a rotational driving force transmitting means for transmitting the rotational driving force of the toner container to the container holding means side;
And a toner conveying means for introducing the toner into the toner introduction portion of the developing device using the rotational driving force transmitted by the rotational driving force transmitting means. A toner replenishing apparatus characterized in that a container transmits only a rotational driving force in a rotational direction in which the container performs a toner replenishing operation, and does not transmit a rotational driving force in a direction opposite to the rotational direction. 5. The toner replenishing device according to claim 4, wherein said rotational driving force transmitting means has a convex shape provided on an end wall surface on one end side where an opening of said toner container is formed, and said convex shape. And an engagement portion provided on the container holding means for transmitting the drive by engaging with the shape, each of which is provided at one position, and the amount of rotation for rotating the toner container in the opposite direction is less than one rotation. A toner supply device that controls the rotation driving means so as to perform the rotation. 6. A toner replenishing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said rotational driving force transmitting means has a one-way clutch mechanism.