JP2001272852A - Toner storing container and toner replenishing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toner storing container and a toner replenishing device by which toner in the toner storing container is ceaselessly supplied to a developing device even through in the container is running short for the speeding-up of an image forming apparatus and whose structure is simple so as to prevent the erroneous setting of the toner storing container for the increase of the kinds of the image forming apparatus. SOLUTION: This toner storing container 13 has a cylindrical shape having a toner discharge opening 35 at one end, and possesses a spiral groove 17 which is formed into a projected shape on the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical shape and into a recessed shape on the outer peripheral surface of it, and the number of lines pear round of the circumference of the spiral groove 17 is increased to the toner discharge opening 35.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toner container used for an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer, and a toner replenishing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, there has been a demand for a toner container and a toner replenishing device used in an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic apparatus to cope with an increase in the speed of the image forming apparatus and a variety of kinds. That is, it is required that the toner in the toner container be supplied to the developing device without interruption as the capacity of the toner container is increased for speeding up. In particular, when the amount of residual toner in the toner container decreases, it is required that the toner remaining at the bottom of the toner container be smoothly supplied into the developing device and replaced with a new toner container. . On the other hand, changing the shape of the toner storage container for each product type requires a significant increase in cost including the change of the toner replenishing device, so it is necessary to achieve commonality among the product types. . However, if they are completely shared, there is a problem that a toner storage container storing toners of different colors and types is erroneously set. Therefore, there is a need for a means for preventing erroneous setting of the toner container.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a toner container and a toner replenishing device which are supplied to a developing device without interruption even when the toner in the toner container becomes low in response to an increase in the speed of the image forming apparatus. In addition, the structure that can prevent erroneous setting of the toner container is simple and the basic structure of the toner container and the toner replenishing device is not changed. An object of the present invention is to provide a toner container and a toner replenishing device that can distinguish various types of toner.

[0005]

The object of the present invention is attained by adopting one of the following constitutions.

The present invention will be described in more detail. 1. A cylindrical toner container for supplying or replenishing toner to the developing device by engaging with a rotation transmitting member of a developing device provided in the image forming apparatus and rotating integrally with the rotation transmitting member around a center line direction. Wherein the toner container has a cylindrical shape having a toner discharge port near one end of a cylindrical central axis, and has a convex spiral groove on an inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical form and a concave spiral groove on an outer peripheral surface thereof. Wherein the number of the spiral grooves per circumference increases toward the toner discharge port.

[0007] 2. The above-mentioned 1 wherein the number of spiral grooves per circumference is two or more at the portion where the number of spiral grooves is the largest, and the two or more spiral grooves have a length of at least one circumference of the circumference. The toner container according to any one of the preceding claims.

[0008] 3. A cylindrical toner container for supplying or replenishing toner to the developing device by engaging with a rotation transmitting member of a developing device provided in the image forming apparatus and rotating integrally with the rotation transmitting member around a center line direction. Wherein the toner container has a cylindrical shape having a toner discharge port near one end of a cylindrical central axis, and has a convex spiral groove on an inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical form and a concave spiral groove on an outer peripheral surface thereof. A toner container having two or more linear grooves intersecting the spiral groove in a direction perpendicular to the outer periphery (in the direction of the cylindrical axis) with respect to the outer periphery.

4. 4. The toner container according to claim 3, wherein the number of the spiral grooves per circumference increases toward the toner discharge port.

[0010] 5. The number of spiral grooves per circumference is two or more at the portion where the number of spiral grooves is the largest, and the two or more spiral grooves have a length of at least one circumference of the circumference. The toner container according to any one of the preceding claims.

6. One end of a cylindrical toner container having a toner discharge port at one end is engaged with a rotation transmitting member of a developing device provided in the image forming apparatus, and the center line of the toner transmitting container is integrally formed with the rotation transmitting member. In a toner replenishing device that rotates around a direction to discharge toner in the toner container from the toner discharge port and replenishes the developing device, the toner container has a cylindrical shape having a toner discharge port at one end. The cylindrical shape has a convex spiral groove on the inner peripheral surface and a concave spiral groove on the outer peripheral surface, and the number of the spiral grooves per circumference increases toward the toner discharge port. A toner replenishing device characterized by the above-mentioned.

7. A cylindrical toner container having a toner discharge port at one end is inserted into a developing device provided in an image forming apparatus having a rotation transmitting member and a toner storage container holding member. Is engaged with the rotation transmitting member, and is rotated around the center line direction of the toner container integrally with the rotation transmitting member, thereby discharging the toner in the toner container from the toner discharge port to thereby develop the developing device. In the toner replenishing device for replenishing the toner, the toner container has a cylindrical shape having a toner discharge port at one end, and has a convex spiral groove on the inner peripheral surface and a concave spiral groove on the outer peripheral surface. In addition, the helical groove intersects the spiral groove in a direction perpendicular to the outer periphery of the outer peripheral surface (in the direction of the cylindrical axis), and is formed at a different position depending on the color and type of the toner contained in the toner container. Two or more It has a linear groove,
Only the toner container having the linear groove that accommodates the toner used in the developing device at the entrance of the toner container holding member corresponds to the linear groove that guides the toner container to the toner container holding member. A toner replenishing device, wherein a projection is formed at an entrance of an inner peripheral surface of the toner container holding member.

The toner container according to the first aspect has a cylindrical shape, and a spiral groove that is convex on the inner peripheral surface and concave on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical container discharges toner with the rotation of the toner container. The function of a rib for conveying to the outlet is shown, and the toner in the toner container is conveyed to the toner discharge port simultaneously with the agitation accompanying the rotation of the toner container.

Further, since the number of the spiral grooves per circumference increases toward the toner discharge port, the transportability of the toner in the toner storage container is remarkably improved, and the toner storage container is improved. Even when the remaining amount of toner in the toner cartridge becomes small, the toner can be smoothly supplied to the developing device. In particular, at a portion near the toner discharge port where the number of spiral grooves per circumference is the largest, two or more spiral grooves are provided, and the two or more spiral grooves are formed around the circumference. When the length of the toner container is one or more, the supply of toner from the toner container to the developing device is remarkably promoted, and even when the remaining amount of toner in the toner container becomes small, the developing device can be smoothly operated. To supply toner.

The number of spiral grooves of the toner container of the present invention is preferably an even number, more preferably two or four, and particularly preferably two. It is preferable that the height of the convex portion constituting the strip is 1 to 30% with respect to the diameter of the cartridge at the position of the convex portion for measuring the height.

The shape of the spiral groove of the toner container of the present invention is not particularly limited.
A shape as shown in FIG. 5 is preferably used.
The tip of the convex portion forming the spiral groove may be rounded.

The helical pitch of the helical groove of the toner container of the present invention is preferably 5 to 100 mm in the case of one line, and 2 to 50 mm in the case of two or four lines. preferable. Here, the helical pitch indicates a distance from the center point on the convex vertex of the stripe to the center of the convex vertex of the adjacent stripe as indicated by A in FIG.

According to the third, fourth and fifth aspects of the present invention, the basic structure of the toner container having the spiral groove is used, and when this basic structure is used for a toner container of various kinds, each toner is distinguished. Therefore, the present invention is an invention of a toner container in which a simple identification structure is added without changing the basic structure. That is, in addition to the spiral groove for promoting the toner transportability, a linear groove intersecting with the spiral groove is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical toner container in a direction perpendicular to the outer periphery (in the direction of the cylindrical axis). By changing the position of the linear groove on the outer peripheral surface of the toner container, it is possible to provide a toner container capable of easily distinguishing toner types without changing the basic structure of the toner container.

That is, the toner container to be set in the toner replenishing device described in claim 6 contains the same type of toner as the toner used in the developing device in which replenishment is performed from the toner replenishing device. In this case, the linear groove formed on the outer peripheral surface of the toner container is engaged with the protrusion formed on the inner peripheral surface of the toner container holding member, and the toner container is The toner is supplied into the developing device. On the other hand, when the toner container to be set in the toner replenishing device does not contain the toner used in the developing device to be replenished from the toner replenishing device, the toner container is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the toner container. The linear groove and the projection formed on the inner peripheral surface of the toner container holding member do not engage with each other, thereby preventing erroneous setting of the toner container. Such a structure for preventing erroneous setting can be formed using the same shape without changing the basic structure of the toner container and the toner replenishing device. The positions of two or more linear grooves formed on the outer peripheral surface of the toner container can be adjusted. By changing the angle, the position of the protrusion formed on the inner peripheral surface of the toner container holding member, and the angle, it is possible to form a means for identifying the type of toner, thereby reducing mold costs and facilitating mold management. Become. In the present invention, the cylindrical shape or the cylindrical shape basically has a cylindrical shape, but also includes those having different cylindrical diameters before and after the cylinder.

Hereinafter, the first embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
The inventions of Nos. To 7 will be described.

[0021]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional front view (a) and a plan view (b) showing the entire structure of a plain paper copying machine 1 as an image forming apparatus in a simplified manner. A drum-shaped photoreceptor 3 is provided at a substantially central portion. Around the photoreceptor 3, a charging / exposure device 4, a developing device 5, a transfer device 6, a separator 7, a cleaning device 8, and the like are arranged. A fixing device 9 is disposed above the photoconductor 3. The developing device 5 includes a developing device 10 and a toner replenishing device 11.

Further, a cylindrical toner container holding member 12 is fixed to the developing device 10 in the toner supply device 11. The toner container holding member 12 is inserted so that the cylindrical toner container 13 containing toner can be rotated substantially horizontally and freely. This will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 is an external view of the toner container 13. FIG. 3 shows the shape of the toner supply port of the toner container 13 after the cap is removed. FIG. 4 shows the toner supply device 1.
1 is a sectional view of FIG.

First, in the toner container 13, a toner supply port 16 is formed at the center of one end of a cylindrical container main body 15, and the container main body 15 has a convex shape on the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical form. A spiral groove 17 having a concave spiral groove 17 is formed on the outer peripheral surface, and the number of the spiral groove 17 per one circumference increases toward the toner discharge port. The rear part of the cylindrical container body 15 is closed by a rear cap 24.

That is, one spiral groove is further formed on the inner peripheral surface closest to the toner supply port, and a total of two spiral grooves are formed. The two spiral grooves form a spiral groove over a length of at least one round of the inner peripheral surface.
When toner is supplied to the developing device, the toner container 13 is rotated around a cylindrical central axis by a rotation driving member to be described later. Functions as a rib for transporting the toner toward the toner discharge port 35 at the tip of the toner supply port. At this time, the spiral groove increases toward the toner supply port, so that the toner transportability is dramatically improved, and even when the remaining amount of toner in the toner storage container is reduced, the toner is smoothly transferred. The toner can be supplied to the developing device. In particular, two or more spiral grooves are provided at a portion of the inner peripheral surface of the toner container 13 where the number of spiral grooves per inner peripheral surface is close to the toner supply port. In the case where the spiral groove having at least one groove has a length of at least one circumference of the inner peripheral surface, the supply of toner from the toner container to the developing device is remarkably promoted, and the remaining amount of toner in the toner container is reduced. In this case, the toner can be smoothly supplied to the developing device.

The vicinity of the discharge port of the toner container of the present invention is
A shape in which the diameter decreases toward the discharge port with respect to the longitudinal direction of the storage container is preferable. The narrowing angle is preferably an angle from the axial direction orthogonal to the long axis direction of the outer wall of the storage container to 45 °.

As shown in FIG. 2, the outer peripheral surface of the toner container 13 has two straight lines intersecting the spiral groove in a direction perpendicular to the outer peripheral surface (in the direction of the cylindrical axis). Grooves 14 are provided above and below the container body of the toner container. The protrusion 25 corresponding to the two grooves has the toner container holding member 1 for inserting the toner container.
Two are formed at the entrance of the inner peripheral surface 2.

The cylindrical toner container 13-2
When the two linear grooves coincide with the two protrusions formed at the entrance of the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical toner storage container holding member 12 at positions on the joining circumference, the two linear grooves are formed. The cylindrical toner container 13 can be inserted into the cylindrical toner container holding member 12 while aligning the grooves with the two protrusions.

Here, the two linear grooves of the cylindrical toner container differ depending on the color and type of the toner stored in the toner container 13, and the cylindrical toner container has the same shape. The formation position of the protrusion formed at the entrance of the inner peripheral surface of the holding member 12 also differs depending on the color and type of the toner used in the developing device 5. Only when the toner used in the developing device 5 and the toner stored in the toner storage container 13 match, two linear grooves of the cylindrical toner storage container and the cylindrical When the two projections formed at the entrance of the inner peripheral surface of the toner storage container holding member match in position and shape, the groove and the projection are aligned and guided to the position of the projection. The cylindrical toner container 13 is inserted into the cylindrical toner container holding member 12.

On the other hand, when the toner used in the developing device 5 and the toner stored in the toner storage container 13 do not match, the two linear grooves and the two protrusions 25 are not used.
Are not matched in position and shape, so that the toner container is prevented from being inserted into the cylindrical toner container holding member, and erroneous setting of the toner container is prevented.

FIG. 2 shows that the number of the linear grooves is two. However, in the present invention, it is sufficient that the number of the linear grooves is two or more, and if necessary, three or four. You may have.

The toner replenishing device 11 of the present invention is formed as a part of the developing device 5, and includes the cylindrical toner container 13, the cylindrical toner container holding member 12, and the cylindrical container. Is formed from a rotation transmitting member 18 for giving a rotation operation to the toner container of the present embodiment. The rotation transmitting member 18 includes a motor 19, a gear group 20 driven to rotate by the motor 19, a final gear 21 of the gear group 20, a junction holder 22 having a rotating shaft 33 engaged with the final gear 21, and the like. You. The toner storage container is inserted into the toner storage container holding member, and is connected to the junction holder at a replenishing port 16 of the toner storage container, and the rotation of the junction holder causes the toner storage container to rotate. . The rotation operation of the toner container is given when the amount of toner or the toner concentration in the developing device 10 becomes insufficient, and the rotation of the toner container causes the toner at the tip of the toner container to rotate. The toner in the toner container is supplied to the developing device 10 from the discharge port.

The replenishing port 16 of the toner container is provided with a fitting lid 26, a cap 27, a bellows inner lid 28, which fits with the container body 15 of the toner container at the tip of the container body 15 of the toner container. It comprises an outlet member 29 and the like. The fitting lid has a fitting groove for fitting at the tip of the container body 15 of the toner container on the inner peripheral surface of the fitting lid, on the upper part of the fitting groove, and on the outer peripheral surface of the fitting lid. Is formed with a circumferential groove 31 for engaging with the engaging claw 30 of the junction holder, and the circumferential movement of the engaging claw in the circumferential groove is 180 °. Are provided to transmit the toner to the toner container.

The junction holder comprises a rotating shaft 33 engaged with the final gear 21 and the bellows inner lid opening / closing claw 34 in addition to the engaging claw.
When the toner discharge port member 29, which is the protruding end of the toner container, is inserted into the junction holder, the bellows inner lid opening / closing claw 34 slides the bellows inner lid 28 toward the toner container main body, and the bellows By moving the lid to the opening position, the toner discharge port 35 is opened, the toner container 13 is communicated with the developing device 10 via the toner discharge port 35, and the mounting of the toner container 13 is completed.

Accordingly, when the toner container 13 is mounted in the plain paper copier 1, if only the cap 27 of the toner container supply port 16 is removed in advance, it is not necessary to open the bellows inner cover, and the toner The spilling of the toner from the discharge port 35 is prevented, and the spilled toner is prevented from soiling the hands and clothes of the worker. When the toner container is taken out of the toner container holding member, the bellows inner cover returns to the original closed state, so that the toner discharge port 35 is covered with the bellows inner cover, In addition to preventing the spillage due to the toner attached to the portion, the spilled toner is prevented from soiling the hands and clothes of the worker.

The method for producing a toner container according to the present invention may be any method for molding a resin material, for example, after blow molding such as natural parison blow or injection blow, injection molding, extrusion molding, or after forming a paper tube. There is a method of forming a groove by post-processing. Further, as a material for manufacturing the toner container of the present invention, a polyolefin resin, particularly, polyethylene or polypropylene is preferable.

As the toner contained in the toner container of the present invention, in addition to the commonly known pulverized toner, a polymerized toner having a relatively uniform particle size distribution and shape of individual toner particles is preferable. Here, the polymerized toner means a toner obtained by forming a binder resin for the toner and forming the toner by a polymerization of a raw material monomer of the binder resin and a subsequent chemical treatment, and more specifically, The toner means a toner obtained through a polymerization reaction such as suspension polymerization and emulsion polymerization and, if necessary, a step of fusing particles together after the polymerization reaction.

The polymer toner contained in the toner container of the present invention has a specific shape. That is, as a preferable polymerized toner applied to the present invention, a toner having a shape coefficient in the range of 1.2 to 1.6 is 65% by number or more and a coefficient of variation of the shape coefficient is 16% or less. It has been found that when such a toner is used in an image forming apparatus, the vibration of the cleaning blade in the image forming apparatus is reduced.

Further, as a preferable polymerized toner applied to the toner container of the present invention, the variation coefficient of the shape factor of the toner is 16% or less, and the number variation coefficient in the number particle size distribution of the toner is 27% or less. It is. It has been found that by using such a toner, the cleaning property of the image forming apparatus is improved, the fine line reproducibility of the obtained image is excellent, and high quality image quality can be formed for a long period of time.

Further, as a preferred polymerized toner applied to the toner container of the present invention, the number of toner particles having no corners in the toner is 50% by number or more, and the number variation coefficient in the number particle size distribution is 27% or less. By using a controlled one, it has excellent cleaning properties and fine line reproducibility,
It has been found that high quality image quality can be formed over a long period of time.

The shape factor of the polymerized toner applied to the toner container of the present invention is represented by the following equation, and indicates the degree of roundness of the toner particles. Shape factor = ((maximum diameter / 2) ² × π) / projected area Here, the maximum diameter is an interval between two parallel lines when a projected image of a toner particle on a plane is sandwiched between two parallel lines. Is the maximum width of the particles. The projection area refers to the area of the projected image of the toner particles on the plane.

The shape factor can be determined by taking a photograph of a toner particle enlarged 2000 times with a scanning electron microscope, and referring to this photograph based on “SCANNING IMAG”.
The measurement was performed by analyzing a photographic image using "EANALYZER" (manufactured by JEOL Ltd.). At this time, 100
The shape factor of the present invention was measured by using the above formula using the toner particles.

In the preferred polymerized toner of the present invention, the toner particles having a shape factor in the range of 1.2 to 1.6 are 65% by number or more, so that the triboelectrification property in a developer conveying member or the like is improved. Since the toner becomes more uniform, there is no accumulation of excessively charged toner, and the toner is more easily exchanged than the surface of the developer conveying member, problems such as development ghost and the like hardly occur.

Further, since the toner particles are less likely to be crushed, in the step of storing the toner in the toner storage container, the toner can be stored in the container without crushing the toner particles. Further, when the stored toner is supplied to the image forming apparatus, the contamination of the charging member is reduced, and the chargeability of the toner is stabilized.

The variation coefficient of the shape factor of the polymerized toner preferably used in the present invention is calculated from the following equation. Coefficient of variation = [S / K] × 100 (%) [where S represents the standard deviation of the shape factor of 100 toner particles, and K represents the average value of the shape factor. When the variation coefficient of the shape factor is 16% or less, the gap of the transferred toner layer is reduced, the fixing property is improved, and the offset is less likely to occur. Further, the charge amount distribution becomes sharp, and the image quality is improved.

The number particle size distribution and the number variation coefficient of the polymerized toner preferably used in the toner container of the present invention are as follows:
It is measured by Coulter Counter TA-II or Coulter Multisizer (manufactured by Coulter). In the present invention, a Coulter Multisizer was used and connected to an interface (manufactured by Nikkaki Co., Ltd.) for outputting a particle size distribution and a personal computer.
The particle size distribution and average particle diameter were calculated by measuring the volume and number of 2 μm or more using an aperture of 100 μm as the aperture used in the Coulter Multisizer. The number particle size distribution represents the relative frequency of the toner particles with respect to the particle size, and the number average particle size represents the median size in the number particle size distribution.

The number variation coefficient in the number particle size distribution of the toner is calculated from the following equation. Number variation coefficient = [S / Dn] × 100 (%) [where S represents a standard deviation in the number particle size distribution, and D
n indicates a number average particle size (μm). ] The number variation coefficient of the polymerized toner used in the present invention is 27%.
By the following, the gap of the transferred toner layer is reduced, the fixing property is improved, and the offset hardly occurs. Further, the charge amount distribution is sharpened, the transfer efficiency is increased, and the image quality is improved.

In the polymer toner used in the toner container according to the present invention, the toner particles having no corners are defined as toner particles having substantially no protrusions where charges are concentrated or which are easily worn by stress. That is,
As shown in FIG. 6A, when the major axis of the toner particle T is L, a circle C having a radius (L / 10) rolls the inside while being in contact with the peripheral line of the toner particle T at one point. If
The case where the circle C does not substantially protrude outside the toner T is referred to as “toner particles without corners”. “Cases that do not substantially protrude” refer to cases where there are no more than one protrusion with a protruding circle. Further, the “major axis of the toner particle” refers to the width of the particle at which the distance between the parallel lines becomes maximum when the projected image of the toner particle on the plane is sandwiched between two parallel lines. FIGS. 6B and 6C show projected images of the toner particles having corners, respectively.

The measurement of the toner having no corner was performed as follows. First, a photograph in which the toner particles are enlarged by a scanning electron microscope is taken, and further enlarged to obtain a 15,000-fold photographic image. Next, the presence or absence of the corners is measured for this photographic image. This measurement was performed for 100 toner particles.

In the toner used in the present invention, when the ratio of the toner particles having no corners is 50% by number or more, the generation of fine particles is less likely to occur due to the stress with the developer conveying member or the like. Contamination on the surface of the agent conveying member can be suppressed, the charge amount distribution becomes sharp, the chargeability is stabilized, and good image quality can be formed for a long time.

The particle diameter of the polymerized toner used in the toner container of the present invention is preferably 3 to 8 μm in number average particle diameter. When toner particles are formed by a polymerization method, the particle size can be controlled by the concentration of the coagulant, the amount of the organic solvent added, the fusing time, and the composition of the polymer itself. Further, the number average particle size is 3 to 8 μm.
m, in the fixing step, it is possible to reduce the presence of excessively adherent toner or toner having low adhesiveness to the developer transport member, and to stabilize the developability for a long time, The transfer efficiency is increased, and the image quality of halftone is improved, and the image quality of fine lines, dots, and the like is improved.

The polymerized toner preferably used in the toner container of the present invention is prepared by a suspension polymerization method or an emulsion polymerization of a monomer in a liquid to which an emulsion of necessary additives is added, using an aqueous medium. It can be produced by a method in which fine polymer particles are produced, and thereafter, an organic solvent, an aggregating agent and the like are added to associate.
A method of preparing by mixing and associating with a dispersion liquid such as a release agent or a colorant necessary for the composition of the toner at the time of association, or dispersing a toner component such as a release agent or a colorant in a monomer. And then emulsion polymerization. Here, the meeting
This means that a plurality of resin particles and colorant particles are fused together, and the aqueous medium indicates one containing at least 50% by mass or more of water. The method for producing a polymerized toner preferably used in the present invention is described in detail in Japanese Patent Application No. 11-304004.

The toner contained in the toner container of the present invention is not limited to a monochrome toner using a black colorant, but may be a color toner obtained from a chromatic colorant.

The polymerized toner used in the toner container of the present invention may be used by adding fine particles such as inorganic fine particles and organic fine particles as an external additive from the viewpoint of imparting fluidity. For example, as the inorganic fine particles, inorganic oxide particles such as silica, titania, and alumina are preferable, and these inorganic fine particles may be subjected to a hydrophobic treatment with a silane coupling agent, a titanium coupling agent, or the like.

[0055]

According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, as described above, the toner container has a cylindrical shape having a toner discharge port at one end, and a convex shape is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical shape. In addition, the outer peripheral surface has a concave spiral groove, and the number of the spiral grooves per circumference increases toward the toner discharge port. Even when the amount of toner decreases, the toner can be smoothly supplied into the developing device.

In the third, fourth and fifth aspects of the present invention, the basic structure of the toner container having the spiral groove is used, and when this basic structure is used for a toner container of various kinds, each toner is distinguished. Therefore, a simple identification structure is added without changing the basic structure, and even when the remaining amount of toner in the toner container becomes small, the toner can be smoothly supplied to the developing device. It is possible to provide a toner container having a structure in which a suitable toner container can be easily identified according to the type of toner.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the toner discharge port of the cylindrical toner container is inserted into a rotation transmitting member provided in the image forming apparatus, and is integrally rotated with the rotation transmitting member in the direction of the center line. In the toner replenishing device for discharging the toner in the toner storage container from the toner discharge port by revolving the toner storage container to supply the toner to the developing section, By having a configuration in which a concave spiral groove is provided, and the number of threads per circumference of the spiral groove increases toward the toner discharge port, the amount of remaining toner in the toner container decreases. Even in this case, the toner can be smoothly supplied into the developing device, so that a toner replenishing device can be provided.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the toner discharge port of the cylindrical toner container is inserted into a rotation transmitting member provided in the image forming apparatus, and the toner container is integrated with the rotation transmitting member. A toner replenishing device that replenishes the toner in the toner storage container from the toner discharge port and replenishes the developing unit by rotating the toner container around the center line direction.
The cylindrical shape of the toner container has a convex spiral groove on the inner peripheral surface and a concave spiral groove on the outer peripheral surface, and the number of the spiral grooves per circumference increases toward the toner discharge port. And intersects the spiral groove in a direction perpendicular to the outer periphery of the outer peripheral surface (in the direction of the cylindrical axis), and varies depending on the color and type of the toner stored in the toner storage container. It has two or more linear grooves formed at positions. When inserting the toner storage container into the toner storage container holding member, only the toner storage container having the linear groove that stores the toner used in the developing device at the entrance of the toner storage container holding member. By forming a projection corresponding to the linear groove that guides the toner container holding member at the entrance of the inner peripheral surface of the toner container holding member, various types of toner containers can be used. At this time, in order to distinguish each toner, a simple identification structure is added without changing the basic structure, and even when the remaining amount of toner in the toner container becomes small, the toner is smoothly transferred to the developing device. And can be supplied to
It is possible to provide a toner replenishing device having a structure in which such a toner container can be easily identified according to the type of toner.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a longitudinal sectional front view (a) and FIG. 1B is a plan view schematically showing the entire structure of a plain paper copier 1 as an image forming apparatus.

FIG. 2 is an external view of a toner container 13;

FIG. 3 shows a shape of a toner supply port of the toner container 13 after a cap is removed.

4 is a sectional view of the toner supply device 11. FIG.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a helical pitch convex shape of the toner container.

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cornerless toner or a cornered toner.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Plain paper copier 5 Developing device 11 Toner replenishing device 12 Toner container holding member 13 Toner container 14 Linear groove 16 Supply port part 17 Spiral groove 18 Rotation transmitting member 22 Junction holder A Spiral pitch

Claims (7)

[Claims] A toner is supplied to or supplemented to the developing device by being engaged with a rotation transmitting member of a developing device provided in the image forming apparatus and rotating integrally with the rotation transmitting member around a center line direction. In the cylindrical toner container,
The toner container has a cylindrical shape having a toner discharge port near a cylindrical central axis at one end, and has a convex spiral groove on an inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical shape and a concave spiral groove on an outer peripheral surface thereof. A toner container, wherein the number of spiral grooves per circumference increases toward the toner discharge port. 2. The method according to claim 2, wherein there are two or more spiral grooves in a portion where the number of spiral grooves per circumference is the largest, and the two or more spiral grooves have a length of one or more circumferences. The toner container according to claim 1, wherein: 3. A toner is supplied or replenished to the developing device by engaging with a rotation transmitting member of a developing device provided in the image forming apparatus and rotating integrally with the rotation transmitting member around a center line direction. In the cylindrical toner container,
The toner container has a cylindrical shape having a toner ejection port near a cylindrical central axis at one end, and has a convex spiral groove on an inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical shape and a concave spiral groove on an outer peripheral surface thereof, and A toner container having two or more linear grooves intersecting with the spiral groove in a direction perpendicular to the outer periphery (in the direction of the cylindrical axis) with respect to the outer periphery. 4. The toner container according to claim 3, wherein the number of the spiral grooves per circumference increases toward the toner discharge port. 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the number of spiral grooves per circumference is two or more at a portion where the number of spiral grooves is the largest, and the two or more spiral grooves have a length of at least one circumference of the circumference. The toner container according to claim 4, wherein: 6. One end of a cylindrical toner container having a toner discharge port at one end is engaged with a rotation transmitting member of a developing device provided in the image forming apparatus, and the toner is integrally formed with the rotation transmitting member. In a toner replenishing device that rotates around the center line direction of the container to discharge toner in the toner container from the toner discharge port and replenishes the developing device, the toner container has a toner discharge port at one end. Having a convex spiral shape on the inner peripheral surface and a concave spiral groove on the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical shape, and the number of threads per circumference of the spiral groove is directed toward the toner discharge port. And a toner replenishing device characterized by an increase in the number of toner replenishers. 7. A cylindrical toner container having a toner discharge port at one end is inserted into a developing device provided in an image forming apparatus having a rotation transmitting member and a toner container holding member. Engaging the toner discharge port with the rotation transmitting member, and rotating the toner discharge port integrally with the rotation transmitting member around the center line of the toner storage container so that the toner in the toner storage container is discharged from the toner discharge port. In a toner replenishing device for discharging and replenishing to a developing device, the toner container has a cylindrical shape having a toner discharge port at one end, and has a convex shape on an inner peripheral surface and a concave shape on an outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical shape. It has a spiral groove, and intersects the spiral groove in a direction perpendicular to the outer periphery of the outer peripheral surface (in the direction of the cylindrical axis), and varies depending on the color and type of toner stored in the toner container. Formed in position With two or more straight grooves,
Only the toner container having the linear groove that accommodates the toner used in the developing device at the entrance of the toner container holding member corresponds to the linear groove that guides the toner container to the toner container holding member. A toner replenishing device, wherein a projection is formed at an entrance of an inner peripheral surface of the toner container holding member.