JP2001075348A - Toner replenishing device and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a toner replenishing device and an image forming device where toner replenished quantity to the developing device is stabilized and quantity of toner remaining inside a toner storing container is made a little by preventing attaching of the toner to an inner wall of the toner storing container by imparting sufficient oscillation to the toner storing container while suppressing generation of noise. SOLUTION: In this device, when a coupling 51 is rotated in a reverse direction F while toner replenishing is not carried out, an inclined surface 51e of a projecting part 51b of the coupling 51 is run onto an inclined surface 14g of a projecting part 14a of a toner storing container 14 while sliding against it. When the coupling 51 is further rotated in the reverse direction F, the inclined surface 51e of the projecting part 51b is separated from the inclined surface 14g of the projecting part 14a, the coupling 51 is moved to a right side in a diagram by energizing force of a spring 52 and oscillation is imparted to the toner storing container 14 by having a tip of the projecting part 51b of the coupling 51 collided with a bottom part of the toner storing container 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

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

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a toner replenishing device used in this type of image forming apparatus, there is known a toner replenishing device using a toner bottle 101 having a projection 101a formed on an outer peripheral surface as shown in FIG. . This toner bottle 101 is set on a receiving table 102 from the right side of the drawing, and a flange 103
And the flange portion 101b of the toner bottle 101 are inserted until they come into contact with each other.
04 is held down. In this toner replenishing device, the rotation of the toner bottle 101 causes the thrust stopper 104 to ride over the protrusion 101a, and in each case, vibrates the toner bottle 101 to sift the toner attached to the inner wall surface of the toner bottle 101. . However,
In the toner replenishing device having the above-described configuration, there is a problem that the toner bottle 101 is hit when the thrust stopper 104 gets over the protrusion 101a in accordance with the rotation of the toner bottle 101, and noise is always generated.

Accordingly, the present applicant has disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-34234.
In the publication, as shown in FIG. 13, the toner bottle 105 is rotated by a driving means capable of rotating forward and backward, and when the rotation direction is switched, the toner bottle 1 is moved by the movement of the toner.
05 without causing noise
A toner replenishing device having a configuration for sifting off toner adhered to the inner wall surface of the toner cartridge 05 has been disclosed. The toner replenishing device rotates the toner bottle 105 to rotate the toner bottle 10.
5 transports the toner contained therein and discharges the toner
From 5a, it is supplied to the developing device of the image forming apparatus. The toner supply device includes a motor 106 as a driving unit for rotating the toner bottle 105 forward and backward. The rotational driving force of the motor 106 is transmitted when a driving gear 107 provided on the motor 106 meshes with a gear 108 adhered to the toner bottle 105 side. The motor 106 generally discharges toner 105
It is configured to rotate forward and rotate temporarily and periodically to convey the sheet to a.

[0004]

However, in the toner replenishing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-34234, the toner is vibrated by reversing the toner bottle, and the toner adheres to the inner wall of the toner bottle and remains. However, simply reversing the rotation may not provide sufficient vibration, and may not sufficiently achieve the effect of preventing toner adhesion on the inner wall of the toner bottle.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and an object of the present invention is to provide a toner storage container with sufficient vibration while reducing the generation of noise, thereby adhering toner to the inner wall of the toner storage container. It is an object of the present invention to provide a toner replenishing apparatus and an image forming apparatus which prevent the toner from being supplied, stabilize the amount of toner replenishment to the developing device, and reduce the remaining amount of toner remaining in the toner container.

[0006]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a toner container for conveying a stored toner in one direction by a rotating operation;
A rotation drive unit for rotating the toner container around a central axis; and a rotation drive unit provided on the rotation drive unit, the rotation drive unit engaging with the bottom of the toner storage container when the rotation drive unit rotates in a normal rotation direction for performing a toner supply operation. When the toner supply operation is not performed in a toner supply device having an engagement portion that transmits drive, and a biasing unit that biases at least one of the engagement portion and the bottom of the toner container to the other, Switching means for switching the rotation direction of the rotation driving means in the opposite direction, and by rotating in the opposite direction, at least one of the engagement portion and the toner container bottom from the other against the urging force of the urging means. Move in the direction to separate, and after that movement,
A moving means for allowing at least one of the engaging portion and the bottom of the toner container moved by the moving means to move to the other side by the urging by the urging means. .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the toner supply device of the first aspect, the engaging portion has a convex shape, and the bottom of the toner container is engaged with the convex shape to transmit the drive. The moving means is provided on at least one of the convex shape or the engaging portion of the bottom of the toner container when the rotation driving means rotates in the opposite direction. It is characterized in that a taper is formed so as to move at least one of the shape and the engaging portion of the bottom of the toner container in a direction away from the other.

In the toner replenishing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, when the toner replenishing operation is not performed, the engaging portion and the bottom portion of the toner container are moved by the moving means against the urging force of the urging means. At least one is moved away from the other. Thereafter, at least one of the engagement portion and the bottom of the toner container is moved again to the other side by the urging force of the urging means, and collides with the toner container. This vibration prevents toner from adhering to the inner wall of the toner container, stabilizes the amount of toner supplied to the developing device, and reduces the amount of toner remaining in the toner container. Since the vibration is applied when the toner supply operation is not performed, noise due to the vibration does not always occur.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the toner supply device of the second aspect, when the rotation driving means rotates in the opposite direction, the shape of the convex portion and the engaging portion of the bottom portion of the toner storage container slide. The rotation starting torque at which the toner container starts rotating in the reverse direction is larger than the rotational torque acting to move the toner container in the reverse direction.

In this toner replenishing device, even if the shape of the convex portion is rotated in the opposite direction, the toner container is rotated together with the toner storage container and does not rotate in the opposite direction. Thus, when the rotation drive unit rotates in the opposite direction, the convex shape and the toner storage container are formed by the taper formed in at least one of the convex shape and the engagement portion of the bottom of the toner storage container. At least one of the engagement portions on the bottom can be reliably moved in a direction away from the other.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the toner supply device of the first, second, or third aspect, a container holding means for rotatably holding the toner container, and a reverse rotation preventing means for preventing reverse rotation of the container holding means. Means.

In this toner replenishing device, since the container holding means does not rotate in the reverse direction by the reverse rotation preventing means, it is possible to prevent the toner storage container held in the container holding means from rotating in the reverse direction.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus provided with a toner replenishing device, wherein the toner replenishing device according to any one of the first to fourth aspects is used.

In this image forming apparatus, the use of the toner replenishing device prevents the toner from adhering to the inner wall of the toner container, stabilizes the toner replenishment amount to the developing device, and reduces the toner remaining in the toner container. To reduce the remaining amount.

[0015]

[Embodiment 1] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 1, a photosensitive drum 1 serving as a latent image carrier is disposed in a process cartridge 40, and a photosensitive drum 1 is provided near the photosensitive drum 1. Alternatively, a charging roller 2 that contacts and uniformly charges the photoconductor drum 1, a charge eliminating light 7 that eliminates the charge on the photoconductor drum 1, and an illustration for forming an electrostatic latent image on the photoconductor drum 1 Laser light 3 from the 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 to constitute a process cartridge 40.

In the above 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, the portion (image portion) irradiated with the exposure laser beam 3 has a surface potential of 0 to -290 V. Since a bias of about -800 V is applied to the developing sleeve 4 disposed to face the photosensitive drum 1, the toner on the developing sleeve 4 adheres. Thus, a toner image is formed on the photosensitive drum 1. The toner image formed on the photoreceptor drum 1 is transferred by the transfer roller 5 to transfer paper sent at such a timing that the leading end of the sheet coincides with the leading end of the image. 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. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the toner supply device 41. The toner replenishing device 41 includes a receiving portion 18, a mechanism portion including movable parts such as a bottle holding member 16 built in a case 18 a formed integrally with the receiving portion 18, and a toner detachable from the mechanism portion. It comprises a storage container (hereinafter, referred to as a toner bottle) 14 and a drive unit 13.

As shown in FIG. 1, the toner replenishing device 41 is located at a position where toner can be replenished to the toner introduction part 12 which is an opening provided in the photosensitive member surrounding case 42 near the stirring screw 11 of the process cartridge 40. It is attached to. Case 18 formed integrally with cradle 18
A cylindrical bottle holding member 16 that holds the head of the toner bottle 14 and rotates in the direction of arrow B with the rotation of the toner bottle 14 is disposed inside a. 3, a driving rib 16b is provided on the inner wall surface of the bottle holding member 16, and the driving rib 16b is provided on the head of the toner bottle 14.
c, and rotates with the rotation of the toner bottle 14. This bottle holding member 16 includes
As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of ribs 16a are integrally formed, and a toner supply blade 17 made of an elastic member such as mylar is attached to the plurality of ribs 16a with a double-sided tape or the like. In the illustrated example, four toner supply blades 17 are provided.

The case 18a contains the toner bottle 14
An opening 18c is provided for communicating the toner discharged from the toner discharge port 14d of the toner cartridge to the toner introduction section 12 of the process cartridge 40. Outside the opening 18c, an elastic member 19 made of an elastic material such as mylar or rubber and having a slit hole 19a which is a rectangular hole elongated in a direction (horizontal direction) orthogonal to the moving direction of the toner supply blade 17 is provided. Is attached with double-sided tape or the like.
How to set the opening area of the slit hole 19a, that is,
By appropriately setting the length (horizontal direction) and the width K (moving direction of the toner replenishing blade 17) of the slit hole 19a, the toner replenishment amount is made appropriate.

A cover 29 is provided for guiding the toner discharged from the slit hole 19a to the toner introduction section 12 of the process cartridge 40. This cover 29
An opening 29 a is provided below the lower side, and corresponds to the position of the toner introduction unit 12.

When the toner bottle 14 rotates, the discharge port 14d of the toner bottle 14 is
, The toner is discharged and accumulates in the case 18a. At the same time, the bottle holding member 16 rotates, and the toner supply blade 1
7 slides and rotates on the inner wall surface of the case 18a,
As shown by an arrow B in FIG. 3, the toner accumulated in the case 18a is scraped up. The toner supply blade 17 is provided with an elastic member 19 provided outside the opening 18c of the case 18a.
When the toner passes through the slit hole 19a, the toner is pushed out from the slit hole 19a as shown by an arrow M. The extruded toner falls in the cover 29, and the cover 29
As shown by the arrow N, toner is supplied from the toner introduction portion 12 of the process cartridge 40 into the process cartridge 40 through the lower opening 29a.

As shown in FIG. 2, a cap 15 for preventing toner from being discharged from the toner bottle 14 is fitted in the toner discharge port 14d. A collet chuck 21 for picking and releasing the cap 15 is housed in a cylindrical case 22 and is integrated with a shaft member 23 by screws 24. A seal member 20 is provided on the end face of the cylindrical case 22 on the cap 15 side so as to prevent the toner from entering the mechanism such as the shaft member 23 from between the cap 15 and the cylindrical case 22. Further, a seal member 25 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical case 22 to seal the toner from entering between the inner wall surface of the case 18a and the cylindrical case 22 so as not to enter the mechanism. A series of components such as the collet chuck 21, the cylindrical case 22, the shaft member 23, etc.
, The toner bottle 14 is always pressurized.

A handle 26 for opening and closing the cap 15 is provided. The shaft 26b formed on the handle 26 enters the bearing 32 of the case 18a,
It is rotatable around the shaft 26b in the downward direction in the figure. A slide shaft 27 is provided in a hole 23 a formed in the shaft member 23. The slide shaft 27 is in contact with a cam portion 26a provided on the handle 26, and slides a series of components of the collet chuck 21, the cylindrical case 22, and the shaft member 23 in a direction away from the toner bottle 14 by the rotation of the handle 26. Can be done.

FIG. 4A is a side view of the driving unit 13 and FIG.
FIG. 4B is a front view as viewed from a direction G in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4A, the drive unit 13 includes a motor 50, a coupling 51 serving as an engagement unit, a spring 52, a spline shaft 53 rotatably held by a motor case, and a stopper for preventing the coupling 51 from coming off. Mainly composed of retaining rings 54. The spline shaft 53 has, for example, six convex portions 53a formed on the outer periphery of the shaft.
Six concave portions 51a are formed in the shaft hole of the coupling 51 corresponding to 3a. Recess 51 of coupling 51
By a slidably fitting with the projection 53a of the spline shaft 53, the coupling 51 can transmit a rotational torque while performing a linear motion in the axial direction. The motor 50 is a reversible motor capable of normal rotation and reverse rotation, and for example, a DC motor can be used. FIG.
In (b), the direction of arrow B is the normal rotation direction.

The coupling 51 according to the present embodiment has a convex portion 51b having an inclined surface 51e which is higher on the distal end side (the left end surface in FIG. 4A) with respect to the normal rotation direction B on the downstream side. And a cylindrical convex portion 51d having a concave portion 51c inside. A spring 52 abuts on the other end surface of the coupling 51, and the coupling 51
Is in the state of being biased to the left in FIG.
The movement is restricted by the retaining ring 54.

FIG. 5A is a top view of the toner bottle 14.
FIG. 5B is a front view, and FIG. 5C is a side view.
On the bottom of the toner bottle 14 according to the present embodiment, a protrusion 14a (a convex shape) having an inclined surface 14g that is higher on the upstream side in the direction of arrow B (see FIG. 5C) which is the normal rotation direction. ), And a columnar projection 14b (convex shape) is provided at the axis. The protrusion 14a having the inclined surface 14g is such that the side surface 14h is
The toner bottle 14 is rotated in the normal rotation direction B by engaging with the side surface 51f of 1b. The columnar projection 14b enters the recess 51c of the coupling 51 and performs the function of holding the bottom of the toner bottle 14. The height H of the columnar projection 14b is equal to the height h of the projection 14a having the inclined surface 14g.
The height is higher (H> h). Also,
As shown in FIG. 5B, the toner bottle 14 is provided with a spiral protrusion 14e on the inner wall surface, and by rotating this, the toner is discharged from the toner discharge port 14d.

As shown in FIG. 6, the toner replenishing device 41 having the above-described 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). The hole 18b integrated with the receiving table 18 is engaged 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 shifting is provided by the guide (not shown). Mounted on board.

In the above configuration, first, the operation when the toner replenishing device 41 is set will be described. As shown in FIG. 6, when the pedestal 18 is pulled out from the guide plate 36 and the pair of steps 40 and 41 of the pedestal 18 are hooked on the pair of notches 38 and 39 of the guide plate 36, The toner bottle 14 filled with the toner is placed and set on a receiving table 18 as shown by an arrow D. Next, with the toner bottle 14 set, the toner replenishing device 41 is slid on the guide plate 36 in the direction of arrow E and set. As a result, the projection 14 at the bottom of the toner bottle 14
b enters the positioning recess 51 c of the coupling 51 and is positioned, and the head of the bottle 14 engages with the bottle holding member 16. At this time, the stopper presses the front surface of the receiving table 18 so that the toner replenishing device 41
Is completed.

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 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 formed to have elasticity by integrally molding a plastic material, for example, polyethylene. Even when the cap 15 shown in FIG. 8 is held in an open state by the advance / retreat moving means, the loosening member 15a can hold the toner discharge port 14d and the color portion 14f subsequent thereto.
Has a length that penetrates through.

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
Partial toner blocking is reliably prevented.

Next, the operation during toner supply will be described. For toner supply, when a toner sensor (not shown) provided in the process cartridge 40 detects that there is no toner, the drive unit 13 operates to rotate the coupling 51 in the direction B as shown in FIG. Then, the side surface 51f of the convex portion 51b of the coupling 51 engages with the side surface 14h of the protrusion 14a at the bottom of the toner bottle, and the toner bottle 14 rotates. When the toner bottle 14 rotates, the toner is discharged from the discharge port 14d, and the toner is supplied into the process cartridge 40.

In the toner supply device of this embodiment, when the toner sensor detects that toner is present, it is determined that a predetermined amount of toner has been supplied, and the motor 5 of the drive unit 13 is driven.
0 stops and the driving of the toner bottle 14 is stopped. Here, the motor 50 reversely rotates after stopping, and reversely rotates the coupling 51 in the direction of arrow F, for example, for 3 seconds, as shown in FIG. 9A. By performing reverse rotation for three seconds, the coupling 51 reversely rotates about two rotations. FIGS. 9B to 9D
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the movement of the engaging portion between the coupling 51 and the toner bottle 14 when the coupling 51 is rotated in the reverse direction.

As shown in FIG. 9B, the coupling 5
When 1 rotates in the reverse direction, the inclined surface 51 e of the projection 51 b of the coupling 51 comes into contact with the inclined surface 14 g of the projection 14 a of the toner bottle 14. Here, the material of the toner bottle 14 is made of polyethylene, and the material of the coupling 51 is made of polyacetal so that the surface is smooth and the friction is small. The sliding torque on the inclined surface 51g of the convex portion 51b and the inclined surface 14g of the projection portion 14a when the coupling 51 is rotated in the reverse direction is determined by the bottle holding member 16 and the pedestal 18.
Therefore, the toner bottle 14 does not rotate in the reverse direction since it is smaller than the sliding torque of the fitting portion. As described above, since the toner bottle 14 does not rotate in the reverse direction and remains stopped, if the coupling 51 further rotates in the reverse direction F in this state, the state shown in FIG.
As shown in (c), the inclined surface 51e of the convex portion 51b of the coupling 51 slides along the inclined surface 14g of the projection 14a of the toner bottle 14 and rides up. Since the coupling 51 can move linearly in the axial direction of the spline shaft 53, the coupling 51 moves in the direction away from the bottom of the toner bottle 14 (left side in the figure) against the urging force of the spring 52.

In this state, when the coupling 51 is further rotated in the reverse direction F, as shown in FIG. 9D, the inclined surface 14e of the convex portion 51b of the coupling 51 Moving away from the inclined surface 14g, the movement of the coupling 51 in the direction of separating the coupling 51 from the toner container 14 against the urging force of the spring is released. Then, the biasing force of the spring 52 causes the coupling 5
1 moves to the right in the figure, and the convex portion 51 b of the coupling 51 is moved.
Falls to the height (h) of the protrusion 14a of the toner bottle 14. At this time, the tip of the convex portion 51b of the coupling 51 hits the bottom of the toner bottle 14 and gives vibration to the toner bottle 14.

Since the toner adhering to the inner wall of the toner bottle 14 is sieved off by the vibration, it is possible to prevent the toner from adhering to the inner wall of the toner bottle 14 and to reduce the remaining amount of toner in the toner bottle 14. Further, a stable amount of toner can be supplied to the process cartridge 40. Further, since the remaining amount of the toner remaining in the toner bottle 14 can be reduced, the running cost can be reduced and the industrial waste can be reduced.

In the toner supply device of this embodiment, the motor is rotated for 3 seconds after the toner supply operation is stopped. However, the motor is set to be longer than the time when the convex portion 51b of the coupling 51 runs over and falls. Thus, vibration can be applied to the toner bottle 14.

[Second Embodiment] In the first embodiment, when the toner in the toner bottle 14 is consumed and becomes small, compared with the case where a large amount of toner is stored inside,
The weight of the toner bottle 14 is reduced. Then, the sliding torque of the fitting portion between the bottle holding member 16 holding the head of the toner bottle 14 and the receiving stand 18 becomes small, and the toner bottle 14 rotates with the reverse rotation of the coupling 51. May rotate in reverse. If the toner bottle 14 rotates in the reverse direction, no vibration is given and the toner cannot be sieved. When the bottle holding member 16 rotates in the reverse direction, the toner supply blade 17
(See FIG. 1) may be damaged. Therefore, in the toner supply device according to the present embodiment, a one-way clutch is provided at a fitting portion between the bottle holding member 16 and the cradle 18 to prevent reverse rotation.

FIG. 10 is an exploded side view of the vicinity of the bottle holding member 16. FIG. 11 shows a one-way clutch 20.
11 is a cross-sectional view as viewed from the case 18a side in FIG. 10. FIG. As shown in FIG. 11, the one-way clutch 200 includes an inner ring 203 having a detent 201 and a spring 202, and a plurality of claws 2 inside.
Outer ring 204, which is a pawl wheel formed with 04a
It is mainly composed of The outer ring 204 is fixed to the inner surface of the case 18a of the cradle 18 so as not to rotate. The detent stop 201 is movably held by an inner ring 203 with a pin 205, and is urged by a spring 202 so as to come into contact with a pawl portion 204a.

When a force rotating in the normal rotation direction B is applied to the inner ring 203, the detent 201 moves inward against the urging force of the spring 202 due to the inclination of the pawl portion 204a. It rotates in the turning direction B. In contrast, the inner ring 203
When a force in the direction opposite to the normal rotation direction B is applied to the inner ring 203, the tip of the detent 201 comes into contact with the step of the pawl portion 204a so that the inner ring 203 is not rotated in the reverse direction. Since the inner ring 203 is fixed to the bottle holding member 16, the bottle holding member 16
Only rotate in the opposite direction, not in the opposite direction.

When the toner bottle 14 rotates in the reverse direction with the reverse rotation of the coupling 51, as shown in FIG. 10, a driving rib 16b provided on the inner wall surface of the bottle holding member 16 and a toner bottle 14 Is disengaged from the drive transmitting projection 14c provided on the head. However, when the toner bottle 14 makes one rotation in the reverse direction, the driving rib 16
b engages with the drive transmitting projection 14c. Here, since the one-way clutch 200 prevents the bottle holding member 16 from rotating in the reverse direction, the rotation of the toner bottle 14 in the reverse direction is also stopped.

As described above, even if the toner bottle 14 rotates in the reverse direction, it is reliably stopped when the toner bottle 14 makes one rotation in the reverse direction. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 9C and 9D, the inclined surface 51e of the convex portion 51b of the coupling 51 slides along the inclined surface 14g of the projection 14a of the toner bottle 14 and rides up, and the spring 52 The projection 51b of the coupling 51 falls down to the height (h) of the projection 14a of the toner bottle 14 due to the urging force, so that the tip end of the projection 51b of the coupling 51 abuts on the bottom of the toner bottle 14, and the toner bottle Vibration can be reliably given to. In addition, since the bottle holding member 16 does not rotate in the reverse direction, problems due to reverse rotation such as breakage of the toner supply blade 17 shown in FIG. 1 are reliably prevented.

[0043]

According to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, the vibration is applied to the toner container when the toner is not replenished. Absent. Further, sufficient vibration can be applied as compared with a case where the toner container is simply reversed to apply vibration as in other related arts. With these features, sufficient vibration is applied to the toner container while reducing the generation of noise to prevent the toner from adhering to the inner wall of the toner container, stabilize the toner supply amount to the developing device, and stabilize the toner container. There is an excellent effect that it is possible to provide a toner replenishing device in which the remaining amount of toner remaining in the container is small.

In particular, according to the third aspect of the present invention, since the toner container does not rotate in the reverse direction, there is an excellent effect that vibration can be reliably applied to the toner container. Further, since the reverse rotation drive is not transmitted to the main body of the toner replenishing device, there is an excellent effect that it is possible to prevent damage to parts due to reverse rotation, for example, the toner replenishing blade shown in FIG.

In particular, according to the invention of claim 4, since the container holding means does not rotate in the reverse direction by the reverse rotation preventing means, it is possible to prevent the toner storage container from rotating in the reverse direction. This has an excellent effect that vibration can be reliably applied to the toner container.
Further, since the container holding means does not reverse, there is also an excellent effect that it is possible to prevent damage to components due to reverse rotation, for example, the toner supply blade shown in FIG.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to form a high quality image by preventing the toner from adhering to the inner wall of the toner container and stabilizing the toner supply amount to the developing device. There is an excellent effect.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a main part of an image forming apparatus to which a toner supply device according to an embodiment is applied.

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

FIG. 3 is an exploded side view of the vicinity of the bottle holding member for explaining the engagement between the toner bottle and the bottle holding member.

FIG. 4A is a side view of a driving unit. (B) is a front view of the drive unit.

5A is a top view of the toner bottle, FIG. 5B is a front view thereof, and FIG. 5C is a side view thereof.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a receiver of the toner container and a guide plate on the apparatus main body side.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where the toner container is mounted on the toner supply device.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state in which the toner in the toner container is discharged into the container holding unit.

FIG. 9A is a perspective view illustrating an engagement portion (coupling 51) of the rotation driving unit and a bottom portion of the toner container. (B),
FIGS. 4C and 4D are diagrams for explaining that the rotation driving unit is rotated in the reverse direction to apply vibration to the toner container.

FIG. 10 is an exploded side view of the vicinity of a bottle holding member of a toner supply device provided with a reverse rotation preventing unit according to another embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of the reverse rotation preventing means in the rotation axis direction.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing an example of a conventional toner supply device.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing another example of the conventional toner supply device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 13 Driving unit 14 Toner bottle 14a, 14b Projection (projection shape) 14c Drive transmission projection 14d Toner discharge port 14g Inclined surface of projection 14a 14h Side of projection 14a 16 Bottle holding member 16b Driving rib 17 Toner supply Blade 18 Receiving stand 18a Case of receiving stand 18 50 Motor 51 Coupling 51b Convex part 51c Concave part 51e Inclined surface of convex part 51f Side surface of convex part 52 Spring 53 Spline shaft 200 One-way clutch 203 Inner ring 204 Outer ring

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A toner container for applying a conveying action to stored toner in one direction by a rotation operation, rotation driving means for rotating the toner storage container about a central axis, and the rotation provided on the rotation driving means. An engagement portion that engages with the bottom of the toner container and transmits drive when the driving unit rotates in the normal rotation direction in which the toner supply operation is performed; and at least one of the engagement portion and the bottom of the toner container is used as the other. In the toner replenishing apparatus having a biasing means for biasing the rotation driving means, when the toner replenishing operation is not performed, a switching means for switching the rotation direction of the rotation driving means to a reverse direction, Moving at least one of the engaging portion and the toner container bottom away from the other against the urging force of the urging means; and At least one of the engaging portion and the toner accommodating container bottom is toner supply device characterized by having a moving means to allow the movement to the other side in the urging by the urging means. 2. The toner replenishing device according to claim 1, wherein said engaging portion is provided with a convex shape, and said toner container bottom is engaged with said convex shape to transmit driving force. Wherein the moving means has at least one of the convex shape and the engaging portion of the bottom of the toner container when the rotation driving means rotates in the opposite direction, and the convex shape and the toner storage A toner replenishing device characterized in that a taper is formed such that at least one of the engaging portion of the container bottom and the engaging portion is moved away from the other. 3. The toner replenishing device according to claim 2, wherein when the rotation driving means rotates in the reverse direction, the shape of the convex portion and the engaging portion of the bottom of the toner container are slid and the toner is replenished. A toner replenishing apparatus characterized in that a reverse rotation starting torque at which the toner container starts rotating in a reverse direction is larger than a rotation torque acting to reversely rotate the container. 4. The toner replenishing device according to claim 1, further comprising: container holding means for rotatably holding said toner container, and reverse rotation preventing means for preventing reverse rotation of said container holding means. A toner supply device. 5. An image forming apparatus provided with a toner replenishing device, wherein the toner replenishing device according to claim 1 is used.