JP2003316139A - Toner supply container and toner supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify a structure in an engagement relationship between a drive transmission member and the sealing member and also simplify a disengaging method, in a toner container in which a sealing portion receives rotation as a means for rotatably transmitting the toner container. <P>SOLUTION: A sealing portion that receives rotation from a main body is provided with a projection that has a movable rigid ball in a radial direction. To engage with the main body, the projection is simply inserted into the rotation transmitting ring of the main body. In conjunction with the setting of the toner container and the closing of the main body cover, an engagement support rod is automatically inserted from the main body side, and the sealing member is engaged using the engagement support rod and the rotation transmission ring, thereby rotating it. The sealing member can be easily disengaged because the engagement support rod moves back into home position in conjunction with the opening of the main body cover. The toner supply container has the sealing member. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a toner replenishing container and a toner replenishing device which can be attached to and detached from a main body of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus.

Here, the electrophotographic image forming apparatus forms an image on a recording medium using an electrophotographic image forming system. And, as an example of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus,
For example, an electrophotographic copying machine, an electrophotographic printer (for example, a laser beam printer, an LED printer, etc.), a facsimile machine, a word processor, etc. are included.

[0003]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, fine powder toner (developer) is used as a developer in electrophotographic image forming apparatuses such as electrophotographic copying machines and printers. When the toner in the image forming apparatus main body is consumed, the toner is supplied to the image forming apparatus main body using a toner supply container (toner supply container).

Since the toner is an extremely fine powder, the toner supply container is installed inside the main body of the image forming apparatus to prevent the toner from scattering during the toner replenishment work, and the toner is discharged little by little through the small opening. The method of doing is known.

In any of these cases, the above-described toner replenishing container is configured so that the toner is discharged by receiving some drive from the image forming apparatus main body side to drive the conveying member and the container main body on the toner replenishing container side. Has become. There are several methods as such a drive transmission means. For example, as described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 05-75768, a gear portion is provided on the outer peripheral surface of a toner bottle, and a rotating drive gear connected to a drive source is provided in the gear portion. There is a configuration in which the toner bottle is rotatably driven by meshing with.

Further, as shown in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-63084, a rotation driving projection is provided on the end surface of the toner bottle, and the projection is engaged with a recess provided in a driving section from the main body of the image forming apparatus to drive it. There is a configuration for transmitting.

Another example is Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-6.
There is also a method as disclosed in 3076. This is provided with a plurality of engaging grooves on the inner diameter of the rotational force transmitting portion of the main body of the image forming apparatus, while the toner container side is provided with protrusions that engage with the engaging grooves. It is configured to transmit rotational drive.

As described above, various drive transmission methods have been proposed as a method for driving the toner supply container.

[0009]

However, the above-mentioned conventional example has some technical problems. Actual Kaihei 05-7
In the case of 5768, when the toner bottle is inserted and set in the main body of the image forming apparatus, it is necessary for the gear portion provided on the outer peripheral surface of the bottle and the drive gear portion in the main body of the image forming apparatus to be properly meshed with each other. It has to be inserted with care, which imposes a burden on the operability of the user. In addition, since the toner bottle is rotated by meshing the gears with each other, the toner bottle receives a force that tends to shift in the direction perpendicular to the axis due to the rotation moment.
There is a risk that the toner bottle will float up or slip sideways to prevent normal rotation. In order to prevent such a shift, it is necessary to surround and support the entire circumference of the toner bottle. However, if this is done, then it becomes impossible to easily attach and detach the toner bottle, and at the same time, the replenishment system itself. Will complicate the configuration and increase the cost.

Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-63084 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-30484
In the case of -63076, when the toner bottle is inserted so that the projection (or the recess) on the end surface of the toner bottle engages with the recess (or the projection) of the main body drive unit, the alignment in the rotation direction of the toner bottle is adjusted. This is necessary, and if the user does this by himself, the replenishment operability is deteriorated, and the drive may not be accurately transmitted due to a slight displacement.

In order to prevent such a poor engagement, a guide rib is provided on the outer surface of the toner bottle so that the position in the rotation direction at the time of inserting the toner bottle is always determined. It is necessary to control the rotation operation so that the unit always stops at a predetermined rotation position, and both of these cause a complicated configuration of the replenishment system and an increase in cost.

Most of the coupling drive transmissions due to the engagement of the concavities and convexities are related to the fact that when the toner bottle and the main body drive section are inserted with a phase shift, the main body drive section is retracted by a spring and the phases are matched. It may be configured to return to the combined position. With such a configuration, even if the phase of the bottle is shifted when the toner bottle is inserted, the main body drive part escapes, so that when the bottle is rotated, the phase will match and the engagement will be possible. However, since the structure of the main body drive section becomes complicated and an extra space is required for retracting the main body drive section to the inner side, it is not preferable from the viewpoint of downsizing the main body.

The present invention is a further development of the conventional toner supply container described above.

An object of the present invention is to provide a toner replenishing container and a toner replenishing device which can be reliably replenished by a simple operation without requiring the user to align the rotational direction of the toner replenishing container during the replenishing operation of the toner replenishing container. To do.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a toner replenishing container and a toner replenishing device in which the mechanism of the toner replenishing container and the main body of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus can be made simple and inexpensive.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a toner replenishing container and a toner replenishing device which can make the main body of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus compact.

[0017]

The present invention is as follows when the number of the claim is attached to the present invention to show the present invention.

A first aspect of the present invention is a toner supply container which is removable from an electrophotographic image forming apparatus main body and supplies toner to the image forming apparatus main body.
The image forming apparatus has an engaging member which is engageable with the engaged portion and receives a driving force via the engaged portion, and the engaging member is supported by the main body supporting member. It is characterized in that it is movable between an engagement position for engaging the engaged portion and a non-engagement position for releasing the engagement from the engaged portion when the main body support member releases the engagement.

In the above structure, the toner supply container is securely inserted into the main body of the image forming apparatus, and when the container is taken out, the support force receiving portion is simply unloaded so that the engagement is easily released. Therefore, it is possible to provide a toner replenishing container with high operability that can replenish the toner bottle with a very simple operation and configuration.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, an engaging member which is engageable with an engaged portion of the image forming apparatus main body and receives a driving force via the engaged portion is supported by a main body supporting member. It is characterized by having a supporting force receiving portion for receiving a force.

In the above structure, when the main body supporting member moves and comes into contact with the supporting force receiving portion, the engaging member that has moved in the radial direction can form a convex projection, so that the engaging with the main body is ensured. A highly reliable toner supply container can be provided.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, an engaging member which is engageable with an engaged portion of the image forming apparatus main body and receives a driving force via the engaged portion with respect to a rotational direction. It is characterized by having a driving force receiving portion for receiving a driving force.

In the above structure, the driving force receiving portion provided on the engaging member surely receives the driving force from the main body, so that a highly reliable toner supply container can be provided.

According to a second aspect of the present application, an engaging member which is engageable with an engaged portion of the image forming apparatus main body and receives a driving force via the engaged portion is an opening of a toner supply container. It is provided on a sealing member for sealing the.

In the above construction, since the opening / closing operation of the sealing member and the driving force transmitting operation can be performed by one sealing member, a compact and inexpensive toner supply container can be provided.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, an engaging member which is engageable with an engaged portion of the image forming apparatus main body and receives a driving force via the engaged portion is an axis line from a main body supporting member. It is characterized by having a locking portion for restricting the direction.

In the above structure, if the engaging member is provided on the sealing member that seals the opening of the toner supply container, the sealing member can be opened and closed, so that the toner can be easily supplied.

A sixth invention according to the present application is characterized in that the engaging member is made of a rigid body.

In the above structure, since the engaging member is made of a rigid body that is not elastically deformed, the driving force of the main body can be reliably transmitted.

A seventh aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the engaging member is a hard sphere.

According to the above construction, since a spherical hard sphere is used, it can be rotated in addition to being directly moved, so that there is little friction at the contact portion and it can move smoothly when the engaging protrusion is formed.
In addition, the driving force transmitting portion and the driving force receiving portion can be easily engaged / disengaged.

An eighth invention according to the present application is characterized in that the engaging member is formed of a disk-shaped flat plate having an acute outer peripheral portion.

In the above structure, since the contact portion has a circular arc shape with respect to the moving direction, the contact portion has little friction and can be moved smoothly when the engaging protrusion is formed, and the driving force transmitting portion and the driving force receiving portion are separated. At the time of engagement, since it can be received by the surface of the flat plate side, a large driving force can be transmitted more reliably.

A ninth invention according to the present application is characterized in that the driving force receiving portion, the locking portion, and the supporting force receiving portion are made of metal such as aluminum, steel and brass.

In the above structure, since the drive force transmitting portion and the drive force receiving portion are engaged and disengaged with each other, since they have appropriate rigidity,
It can be securely engaged and has sufficient durability.

A tenth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the engaging member is a prism having a tapered corner portion.

In the above structure, when the driving force transmitting portion and the driving force receiving portion are engaged, they can be received by the surface on the flat plate side, so that a large driving force can be transmitted more reliably.

An eleventh aspect of the present invention is directed to a direction in which the engaging member receives a supporting force from the image forming apparatus main body for restricting engagement with the image forming apparatus main body, that is, a toner replenishing container longitudinal direction. It is characterized by being inclined with respect to the axial direction of.

In the above structure, when the toner replenishing container is engaged with and disengaged from the drive transmission portion, the engaging projection member can be moved smoothly, so that the toner replenishing container can be detached from the container.

In a twelfth aspect of the present invention, the driving force receiving portion for receiving a driving force from the image forming apparatus main body in a state where the engaging portion of the engaging member is locked to the image forming apparatus main body is a shaft. It is characterized by being inclined with respect to the rotation direction.

In the above structure, even if the driving force transmitting portion and the driving force receiving portion are in phase with each other, the driving force receiving portion is inclined, so that the phase is relative to the rib on the driving force transmitting portion side. Since the force acts in the direction of shifting the toner supply container, the toner supply container can be securely locked to the image forming apparatus main body side.
Therefore, the user does not need to perform a troublesome operation such as phase adjustment of the toner replenishing container when inserting the toner replenishing container, and a simple and reliable toner replenishing operation can be realized.

A thirteenth invention according to the present application is the toner replenishing container according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein at least one engaging member is provided.

In the above structure, since there are many engaging protrusions, the drive transmission force can be dispersed, so that the load on the drive force receiving portion can be reduced and the durability can be improved.

In a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, the toner supply container has an opening for discharging toner at one end,
A sealing member for sealingly opening and closing the opening, the sealing member and the toner replenishing container main body being locked to each other in the rotation direction and being movable in the axial direction. Even when the opening is opened, the toner supply container main body is configured to remain engaged with the toner supply container in the rotation direction, and the driving force receiving portion, the locking portion, and the releasing portion are provided in the sealing member. It is characterized by

In the above structure, a rotary bearing mechanism is not required for transmitting the rotational drive into the toner replenishing container, and the structure is simple and the toner leaks at the bearing portion.
It is possible to provide a toner supply container that does not cause adverse effects such as increased torque and generation of coarse particles.

In a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, the toner replenishing container locks the sealing member with the main body of the image forming apparatus, and the toner is pulled out by the action of the main body of the image forming apparatus. The opening of the supply container is opened.

In the above structure, since the opening operation of the toner replenishing container is performed in synchronism with the replenishing operation in the main body of the image forming apparatus, it is not necessary for the user to perform the opening operation by himself.
Users can easily refill without getting their hands dirty.

According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in the toner replenishing container, the sealing member is locked to the main body of the image forming apparatus, and the toner replenishing container is moved by the action of the main body of the image forming apparatus. The opening of the supply container is opened.

In the above structure, since the opening operation of the toner replenishing container is performed in synchronism with the replenishing operation in the main body of the image forming apparatus, it is not necessary for the user to perform the opening operation by himself.
Users can easily refill without getting their hands dirty.

In a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, the toner supply container has a substantially cylindrical shape, and the toner is conveyed and discharged by being rotated by the rotational driving force transmitted from the driving force receiving portion. It is characterized by being configured.

In the above structure, when transmitting the rotational drive into the toner replenishing container, the rotary bearing mechanism is not required, and the structure is simple, and there are problems such as toner leakage, torque increase, and coarse particle generation in the bearing portion. It is possible to provide a toner supply container that does not occur.

The eighteenth invention of the present application is a toner replenishing container which is detachable from the main body of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus and which supplies toner to the main body of the image forming apparatus. An engaging member is provided which is engageable with the engaging portion and receives a driving force via the engaged portion, and the engaging member is engaged with the engaged portion by being supported by the main body supporting member. It is characterized in that the engagement position and the engaged position at which the engagement member is disengaged from the engaged portion by being disengaged by the main body supporting member are movable.

In the above structure, the engagement releasing operation between the image forming apparatus main body and the toner supply container can be performed only by the extremely simple sliding operation of pushing the pushing member into the releasing portion of the toner supply container. It is not necessary to have a complicated releasing mechanism in the main body of the image forming apparatus, and it is possible to provide a toner replenishing device having an inexpensive structure and excellent detachability.

[0054]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION [First Embodiment] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, the construction of an electrophotographic copying machine, which is an example of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus in which the toner supply container according to the present invention is mounted, will be described with reference to FIG.

(Electrophotographic image forming apparatus) In FIG.
Reference numeral 100 denotes an electrophotographic copying machine main body (hereinafter referred to as an apparatus main body). Further, 101 is an original, and the original table glass 102
Placed on top of. Then, an optical image corresponding to the image information is formed on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum 104 by the plurality of mirrors M and lenses Ln of the optical unit 103. 105 to 108 are cassettes. Of the recording media (hereinafter referred to as “paper”) P loaded in these cassettes 105 to 108,
The optimum paper P is selected from the paper size information of the cassettes 105 to 108 based on the information input by the user from the operation unit 100a shown in FIG. 2 or the paper size of the original 101. Here, the recording medium is not limited to paper, but may be OH, for example.
P sheet or the like can be selected as appropriate.

Then, the paper feeding / separating devices 105A to 108
One sheet of paper P conveyed by A is conveyed to the registration rollers 110 via the conveyance unit 109, and is conveyed in synchronization with the rotation of the photosensitive drum 104 and the scanning timing of the optical unit 103. Note that 111 and 112 are a transfer discharger and a separation discharger. Here, the transfer discharger 111 transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 104 to the paper P. Then, the sheet P on which the toner image is transferred is separated from the photosensitive drum 104 by the separation discharger 112.
Separate from.

After that, the sheet P conveyed by the conveying section 113 has the toner image on the sheet P fixed by heat and pressure in the fixing section 114, and then, in the case of one-sided copying, the sheet discharge reversing section 115. After passing, the sheet is discharged to the sheet discharge tray 117 by the sheet discharge rollers 116. Further, in the case of double-sided copying, by controlling the flapper 118 of the paper discharge reversing unit 115,
After being conveyed to the registration rollers 110 via the re-feeding conveyance paths 119 and 120, the sheet is ejected to the ejection tray 117 by following the same route as in the case of single-sided copying. Further, in the case of multiple copy, the paper P passes through the paper discharge reversing unit 115 and is partially discharged by the paper discharge roller 116 to the outside of the apparatus. Then, after this, the end of the paper P is flapper 118.
The flapper 118 is controlled at a timing when the sheet passes through the sheet ejection roller 116 and is still sandwiched by the sheet ejection roller 116 and the sheet ejection roller 1
By rotating 16 in the reverse direction, it is conveyed into the apparatus main body 100 again. Further after this, the re-feeding and conveying section 119, 1
After being conveyed to the registration roller 110 via 20, the sheet is ejected to the sheet ejection tray 117 by following the same route as in the case of single-sided copying.

By the way, in the apparatus main body 100 having the above structure, the developing section 201, the cleaner section 202, the primary charger 203, etc. are arranged around the photosensitive drum 104. Here, the developing unit 201 is for developing the information of the original 101 on the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 104 by the optical unit 103 using toner. A toner replenishing container 1 for replenishing toner to the developing section 201 is provided in the apparatus main body 100 so that the user can attach and detach the toner replenishing container 1. Here, the developing unit 201 includes the toner hopper 2
01a and a developing device 201b. The toner hopper 201a has a stirring member 201c for stirring the toner supplied from the toner supply container 1. The toner agitated by the agitating member 201c is
It is sent to the developing device 201b by the magnet roller 201d. The developing device 201b has a developing roller 201f and a feeding member 201e. The toner sent from the toner hopper 201a by the magnet roller 201d is sent to the developing roller 201f by the sending member 201e, and is supplied to the photosensitive drum 104 by the developing roller 201f.

The cleaner section 202 is for removing the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 104. The primary charger 203 is for charging the photosensitive drum 104.

Toner supply container replacement cover 15 (hereinafter referred to as replacement cover) which is a part of the exterior cover shown in FIG.
When the user opens the container as shown in FIG.
Is pulled out 3 to a predetermined position by a drive system (not shown). Then, the toner supply container 1 is installed on the container receiving stand 50. When the user takes out the toner replenishing container 1 from the apparatus main body 100, the toner replenishing container 1 placed on the pulled-out container receiving table 50 is taken out. Here, the cover 15 is a dedicated cover for attaching and detaching (replacing) the toner supply container 1, and is opened and closed only for attaching and detaching the toner supply container 1. The maintenance of the apparatus main body 100 is performed by opening and closing the front cover 100c.

The toner replenishing container 1 may be directly installed in the apparatus main body 100 or removed from the apparatus main body 100 without using the container pedestal 50.

(Description of Toner Replenishing Operation) Next, the replenishing operation of the toner replenishing container in the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 (A)
6A to 6D are views showing the state of the process of inserting the toner bottle 1 in the present invention into the image forming apparatus main body 100 and replenishing the toner for each stage. In the figure, reference numeral 20 denotes a drive unit that is connected to the toner supply container to rotate the toner supply container. The drive unit is configured to be driven to rotate by a drive motor (not shown) provided in the apparatus main body 100.

(A) shows the toner bottle 1 with the apparatus main body 100
It is the figure which showed the state made to insert in. At this time, an opening 1a is provided on one end surface of the tip of the toner bottle 1, and the opening 1a is sealed by the sealing member 2.

(B) shows a state in which the toner bottle 1 has further advanced and the tip of the sealing member 2 has been inserted up to the abutting portion 20a on the drive unit 20 side of the apparatus main body side. The insertion of the sealing member into the drive unit 20 on the main body side is performed by the insertion force when the user inserts the toner bottle 1. At this time, the engagement member 3 is not yet fixed to the drive unit 20, and the abutting position in the insertion direction is only regulated. In this state, the user closes the front cover of the main body (not shown) to complete the mounting of the toner bottle on the main body.

FIG. 6C is a view showing a state in which the engagement support member 21 is pushed out toward the sealing member 2 side in conjunction with the closing operation of the main body front cover (not shown). That is, when the closing operation of the front cover of the main body is completed, a signal is emitted by the detection means (not shown) incorporated in the main body, and the engagement support member 21 is pushed out to the toner bottle side. At this time, the engagement support member 21 acts to move the engagement member 3 formed on the sealing member 2 outward in the radial direction, so that the engaging surface causes the thrust surface (axial direction) and radial direction (diameter) of the main body drive portion. Direction), the sealing member remains fixed to the main body drive unit 20 unless the locking is released, that is, unless the engagement support member is removed.

(D) shows that the slide member 300 is retracted in the direction of the arrow b after the sealing member 2 and the drive unit 20 are engaged, that is, in association with the pushing operation of the engagement support member 21 on the main body side. Then, the toner bottle 1 is also retracted, the sealing member 2 is relatively separated from the bottle 1, and the opening 1a is opened, so that the toner can be supplied. At this time, the drive shaft 1b fixed to the bottle body 1A of the toner bottle 1 is not completely disengaged from the sealing member 2, and a part of the drive shaft 1b remains in the sealing member 2. The cross-sectional shape of the drive shaft 1b is a non-circular cross-section, such as a quadrangle or a triangle, which allows rotational drive transmission.

When a motor (not shown) is driven in this state, the rotational driving force is transmitted from the main body drive unit 20 to the sealing member 2 and further from the sealing member 2 to the bottle drive shaft 1b, whereby the toner bottle 1 Is configured to rotate. That is, the sealing member 2 has two functions of sealing the toner and transmitting the rotational driving force of the toner bottle 1 at the same time. Further, the toner bottle 1 is a bottle receiving roller 2
Since it is rotatably supported by 3, it is possible to rotate smoothly even with a slight driving torque. This roller 23 is placed in a saddle position with respect to the bottle body 1A.
Arranged in one place. The bottle receiving roller 23 is rotatably provided in the toner replenishing device of the apparatus main body 100. As the toner bottle 1 rotates in this way, the toner contained in the container is sequentially discharged from the opening 1a, and the toner is supplied to the hopper 201a on the image forming apparatus main body side.

(Method of Replacing Toner Supply Container) Next, a method of replacing the toner supply container in the present invention will be described.

When almost all the toner in the toner bottle 1 is consumed in the image forming process, the toner replenishing container empty detecting means (not shown) provided in the apparatus main body 100 detects the display means such as liquid crystal. 100b (see FIG. 2)
This informs the user that the toner in the toner supply container 1 has run out.

In the present embodiment, the user himself / herself replaces the toner supply container 1, and the procedure is as follows.

First, as shown in FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, the exchange cover 15 in the closed state is rotated about the hinge 18 as shown in FIGS. Open up to the position indicated by. The toner container main body 1A is moved in the direction of arrow a shown in FIG. 7A by the toner replenishing portion opening / closing means, which will be described later, in conjunction with the operation of opening the replacement cover 15, and is separated from the toner container body 1A until then. Toner supply opening 1
The sealing member 2 (see FIG. 7C) that was in the state of opening a is press-fitted into the toner replenishment opening 1a, and the toner replenishment opening 1a is closed (see FIG. 7C). When the closing is completed, the engagement support member 21 is moved to the position shown in FIG.
It retreats in the direction opposite to the arrow b shown in (B).

Next, the user attaches the toner bottle 1 in the apparatus main body 100, which has run out of toner, to FIG.
It is pulled out in the direction opposite to the arrow a direction shown in FIG. Thereafter, the user inserts the new toner supply container 1 into the apparatus main body 100 in the direction of arrow a shown in FIG. 7A, and then closes the replacement cover 15. Then, in conjunction with the operation of closing the replacement cover 15, the toner replenishing portion opening / closing means separates the sealing member 2 from the container body 1A, and the toner replenishing opening 1a is opened. The above is the procedure for replacing the toner supply container.

(Toner Supply Container) Next, the toner supply container according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9.

FIG. 8 is a partial sectional perspective view showing an example of the toner supply container of this embodiment. 9 (A) and 9
FIG. 6B is a partial cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the drive transmission unit of the toner container.

A toner replenishing container (hereinafter referred to as a toner bottle) 1 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and an opening 1a having a diameter smaller than that of the cylindrical portion is provided substantially at the center of one end surface thereof. The opening 1a is provided with a sealing member 2 that closes the opening, and the sealing member 2 extends in the axial direction of the toner bottle 1 (arrow a).
The opening 1a is opened and closed by sliding in the (-b direction). The sealing member 2 is provided with an engaging member 3 which is movable in the radial direction, and the engaging member 3 is a drive unit 20 provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus described later.
Is engaged with the toner bottle 1 to transmit the rotational drive to the toner bottle 1. The engagement member 3 will be described in detail later.

First, the internal structure of the toner bottle 1 will be described.

The toner bottle 1 has a substantially cylindrical shape, is arranged in the image forming apparatus main body in a substantially horizontal direction, and is rotated by being rotationally driven by the apparatus main body 100. A spiral projection 1c is provided on the inner surface of the toner bottle 1. Toner bottle 1
The toner is conveyed along the spiral projection 1c in the axial direction by the rotation of, and the toner is discharged from the opening 1a provided in the end surface of the toner bottle 1.

The internal structure of the toner bottle 1 according to the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is a bottle shape in which toner is discharged by the rotation of the toner bottle 1.

The gist of the present invention is that in the toner replenishing container for discharging the toner by driving the toner bottle 1, the drive transmission portion between the toner bottle 1 and the image forming apparatus main body is characterized. As for the internal configuration of the toner bottle 1, a generally well-known one in which a spiral protrusion 1c is formed, or another configuration may be used.

For example, the inside of the bottle as shown in FIG. 10 may be used. In FIG. 10, a plate-shaped baffle member 40 is provided inside the bottle, and a plurality of inclined projections 40a inclined with respect to the axial direction of the toner bottle are provided on the surface of the baffle, and one end of the inclined projection 40a is formed in the opening 1a. The toner is finally discharged from the inclined projection 40a through the opening 1a.

The principle of toner discharge is that the toner lifted by the baffle 40 slides down on the surface of the baffle due to the rotation of the bottle, and is eventually conveyed to the front of the toner bottle by the inclined projection 40a. By repeating this operation, the toner inside the bottle is sequentially stirred and conveyed, and the toner is discharged from the opening 1a.

Further, the type of driving in the present invention is not limited to the rotational driving as shown in this embodiment, and some kind of driving force such as vibration or swing of the toner replenishing container or other method. The type of driving is not particularly limited as long as the toner is replenished by receiving the toner. That is, as long as the toner supply container discharges the toner by receiving some driving from the image forming apparatus main body 100, any driving method may be used, whether the driving is rotation, rocking, or vibration.

8 and 9, bottle body 1A
Has an opening 1a provided at one end surface of the bottle, and a drive shaft 1b integrally provided with the bottle main body 1A projects in the opening 1a from the opening 1a. The drive shaft 1b is located substantially on the central axis of the opening 1a and is configured to engage with an engagement hole 2a provided in the sealing member 2. Since the drive shaft 1b is for transmitting the rotational drive force from the device body 100 to the bottle body 1A via the sealing member 2, the drive shaft 1b has a quadrangular cross-section capable of transmitting the rotational drive force. It has a H-cut shape, a D-cut shape, and the like. Here, the drive shaft 1b is fixed to the bottle body 1A.

The drive shaft 1b may be provided integrally with the sealing member 2 as shown in FIG. 9B without being fixed to the bottle body 1A. In that case, it is necessary to provide an engaging hole on the bottle side for transmitting the driving force from the drive shaft.

By the way, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the structure in which the drive shaft 1b is fixed to the bottle body 1A is adopted.

Next, the sealing member 2 and the engaging member 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12. Note that FIG.
(A) is a front view of a sealing member, (B) is a view of (A) taken along arrow a, and (C) is a view of (a) taken along b. 12 is shown in FIG.
It is a cc sectional view of (B).

(Sealing member) In FIGS. 11 and 12,
Reference numeral 2b is a sealing portion that seals the toner supply opening 1a of the toner supply container 1 so as to be opened. The outer diameter of the sealing portion 2b is set to be larger than the inner diameter of the opening 1a by an appropriate amount.
Then, the sealing member 2 seals the toner supply port defined as the opening 1a by press-fitting the sealing portion 2b into the opening 1a.

By the way, the drive shaft 1 is attached to the sealing member 2.
It has an engaging hole 2a for transmitting the driving force received from the apparatus main body 100 by engaging with b to the drive shaft 1b. Here, the engagement hole 2a has a shape corresponding to the cross-sectional shape of the drive shaft 1b, and is formed slightly larger than the drive shaft 1b. As a result, the drive shaft 1b is loosely fitted in the engagement hole 2a. Here, the engagement hole 2a has the same cross section as the drive shaft 1b and is polygonal. In this embodiment, a square is adopted.

Then, in this way, the drive shaft 1b is engaged with the engaging hole 2
By being loosely fitted in a, the bottle body 1A and the sealing member 2 are locked to each other in the rotation direction of the bottle body 1A, while being configured to be movable in the axial direction. Has become. As a result, when the toner replenishing container is attached to the toner replenishing device, the sealing member 2 and the bottle body 1A can be separated from each other, as will be described later, and the toner supply port can be opened (opened).

By the way, the engagement length between the engagement hole 2a and the drive shaft 1b is such that it does not come off when the sealing member 2 and the bottle body 1 are separated from each other. As a result, even if the sealing member 2 is separated from the bottle body 1, the drive shaft 1b can receive a driving force via the sealing member 2. In addition,
The sealing member 2 has a tapered surface 2e so that the sealing member 2 can be smoothly inserted into the drive unit 20 side when inserted into the drive unit of the apparatus body.

Next, the structure for internally providing the engaging member 3, which is a feature of the present invention, will be described. The sealing member 2 is provided with a slide guide 2f which is a hole penetrating from the inner peripheral surface to the outer peripheral surface in the radial direction, and the cross-sectional shape of the slide guide 2f is slightly larger than that of the engaging member 3. As a result, the engaging member 3 is movably provided inside the slide guide 2f. Here, the engaging member 3 may have the same cross section as the slide guide 2f, but it does not necessarily have to have the same cross section. The length L of the through hole of the slide guide 2f is always shorter than the moving direction length X of the engaging member 3. Thereby, the engaging member 3
It is possible to form a convex engagement protrusion when is pushed out to the radially outer peripheral surface or the inner peripheral surface of the sealing member 2. Further, the engaging members 3 are slightly closed at both ends of the slide guide 2f so as not to come off from the sealing member 2, and stoppers 2g are formed. As a result, the engaging member 3 is formed when the engaging protrusion is formed.
The maximum protruding amount of is limited and never comes off.

The cross-sectional shape of the slide guide 2f may be any polygonal prism such as a cylinder, a triangular prism, and a quadrangular prism. In the present embodiment, the cross-sectional shape of the engaging member 3 is circular, and the cross-sectional shape of the slide guide 2f is also circular.

In the structure as described above, the engaging member 3 is movable in the radial direction of the sealing member 2 within the slide guide 2f. As a result, the engagement support member 21 is inserted into the inner diameter of the sealing member 2 from the main body side, so that the engagement member 3 is supported by the action of the engagement support member 21.
An external force is applied to c to move inside the slide guide 2f to form a convex protrusion on the cylindrical portion of the sealing member 2.

(Formation of Engagement Protrusion) Next, the formation of the engagement protrusion, which is a feature of the present invention, will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS.

The engaging protrusion of the sealing member 2 is the engaging member 3.
Is formed by moving in the radial direction, and is movable so as to project in a convex shape outward in the radial direction from the cylindrical surface 2d of the sealing member 2 to support the locking with the apparatus main body. A support force receiving portion 3c for receiving a support force from the apparatus main body,
When the toner bottle 1 and the sealing member 2 are separated from each other, a locking portion 3b for locking the sealing member 2 on the main body drive unit side.
And a driving force receiving portion 3a for transmitting the driving force in the rotation direction.
And have. That is, the supporting force U11 acts on the supporting force receiving portion 3c when the engagement supporting member 21 from the apparatus main body is inserted in the axial direction. The reaction force V from the side wall of the slide guide 2f is applied to the engaging member 3 moved by the supporting force U11.
11 works. The resultant force of the supporting force U11 and the reaction force V11 is W
11, a force that pushes outward in the radial direction is generated. Since the resultant force W11 is continuously generated by the action from the engagement support member, the engagement member 3 can be moved outward in the radial direction and the stopper 2g of the slide guide 2f.
Proceed to the neighborhood. At this time, since the engagement member 3 has a radial length which is always longer than the radial length of the slide guide 2f, a convex engagement protrusion can be formed on the cylindrical portion 2d. As a result, the engagement member 3 is supported and fixed to the drive unit, the position of the bottle is regulated, and the bottle is rotationally driven.
The supporting force receiving portion 3c, the locking portion 3b, and the driving force receiving portion 3a perform three different functions, respectively.

The engagement member 3 is preferably a rigid body that does not elastically deform in order to ensure the attachment and detachment and engagement of the toner bottle. It does not matter if the projection can be formed and the drive transmission from the main body can be transmitted. The shape of the engaging member does not have to be spherical, and may be angular or cylindrical.

Incidentally, in the first embodiment of the present invention,
The engagement member 3 is shown as an example when it is provided as a spherical rigid body.

(Release of Engagement Protrusion) Next, the release of the engagement protrusion will be described. The toner bottle 1 securely fixed to the apparatus main body by inserting the engaging support member into the drive unit 20 and the sealing member 2 of the apparatus main body is easily released from the fixing by removing the engaging support member 21 on the apparatus main body side. can do. That is, the sealing member 2 engaged with the drive unit 20 by the engaging support member 21 removes the engaging support member 21 to give the supporting force U1 to the supporting force receiving portion 3c of the engaging member 3.
1 is not obtained, the engaging member 3 is the slide guide 2
It becomes possible to move freely inside f. For this reason,
The sealing member 2 can be easily inserted into and removed from the drive transmission unit 20. That is, the force acting on the engagement member 3 is the reverse of the operation at the time of forming the engagement protrusion and is not the external force from the engagement support member 21 to the outside in the radial direction, but the external force from the drive transmission portion 20 to the inside in the radial direction. Thus, the engaging member 3 is retracted from the cylindrical portion 2d of the sealing member 2. That is, in this state, since the engaging protrusion is not formed, the drive transmission portion 20 of the sealing member 2 is formed.
It can be easily inserted and removed.

(Structure of Drive Transmission Unit) Next, the structure of the drive transmission unit provided in the sealing member 2, which best shows the features of the present invention, will be described with reference to FIG.

In the present invention, the engaging member 3 of the sealing member 2 serves as the driving force receiving portion of the toner replenishing container 1, and receives the driving force from the driving force transmitting portion 20 of the toner replenishing device. .

As described above, the sealing member 2 is provided with the engaging members 3 which are movable in the radial direction so as to face each other at four positions. The engaging members 3 are the driving portions of the sealing member 2. External force is applied to the engaging protrusions and the supporting force receiving portion when the supporting member 21 is inserted into the supporting member 21 and when the supporting member 21 is inserted into the supporting member 21.

On the other hand, the driving unit 20 provided on the image forming apparatus main body side is configured to engage with the engaging member 3 of the sealing member 2 on the driving force receiving surface, and the sealing member 2 drives the driving unit. Drive unit 20 so that it can be inserted smoothly when inserted into
The inner diameter of the tip of the taper surface 2 is such that the inner diameter gradually decreases.
0b is provided. The engagement member 3 provided on the sealing member 2 by the tapered surface 20b is smoothly inserted into the drive unit 20 from the cylindrical portion 2e of the sealing member 2. The drive unit 20
Includes an engagement rib 2 for rotating the toner bottle 1.
0a is provided, and the engaging ribs 20a are formed on the sealing member 2 after the sealing member 2 is inserted.
Is for hooking on and transmitting rotational drive.

(Description of Phase Matching) Next, phase matching when the main body drive unit 20 and the toner bottle 1 in the present invention are engaged will be described with reference to FIG. In the conventional drive transmission means, for example, in the case of coupling driving by a combination of concaves and convexes, it is necessary to engage the concave portion and the convex portion in phase with each other, but in the present invention, troublesome work such as phase matching is required. No need at all. The reason will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 15 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the positional relationship between the engaging member 3 and the engaging rib 20a in the rotational direction when the sealing member 2 is inserted into the drive portion 20, and the engaging rib 20a is 1 An example of a case where four places and engagement members 3 are provided is shown.
Normally, when the user inserts the toner bottle, if the positions of the engaging rib 20a and the engaging member 3 do not overlap at the same position, when the insertion of the toner bottle 1 is completed to a predetermined position, the sealing member 2 After the bottle 1 is engaged with the main body drive unit 20 and the bottle 1 is retracted, the sealing member 2 and the toner bottle 1 are separated from each other, and the toner can be discharged.

However, depending on the direction of rotation of the bottle 1 at the time of insertion, the positions of the engaging member 3 and the engaging rib 20a overlap as shown in FIG. 15 (A), and the insertion of the bottle is completed up to a predetermined position. However, since the engaging member 3 interferes with the engaging rib 20a and is regulated, the engaging member 3 cannot move in the radial direction, so that the engaging support member 21 may not be inserted. In that state, when the bottle is retracted, the sealing member 2 is not retained in engagement with the main body drive unit 20, so that the bottle 1 and the sealing member 2 retract together and the opening 1a opens. There is a risk of disappearing.

Therefore, in order to prevent such a situation, in the present invention, the engaging member 3 is a hard sphere. That is, the problem is solved by inclining with respect to the rotation direction. It goes without saying that the engaging rib 20a is also assumed to be inclined in the rotation direction.

In the state of FIG. 15A, the engagement projection 3a certainly interferes with the engagement rib 20a and is not locked to the main body drive section 20, but in this state the apparatus is When the engaging support member 21 from the main body is inserted in the axial direction, the supporting force acts on the supporting force receiving portion 3c, and W1 that is a force pushing outward in the radial direction is generated. As described in. At this time, the engaging rib 20
Since the apex 20b of a is an isosceles triangle with a mountain-shaped cross section having an acute angle, the engaging member 3 that abuts on the apex 20b.
Is extremely unstable due to the external force from the supporting force receiving portion, cannot be balanced, and is pushed out to either W12 or W13. (FIG. 15B). As a result, the engaging member 3 can always form a convex projection on the outer peripheral surface of the sealing member 2 and can be reliably locked to the drive unit 20, so that the bottles can be separated and opened without any trouble. You can After the opening, as shown in (B), when the main body drive section 20 rotates in the direction of the arrow, the engaging rib 2
0a presses the driving force receiving portion 3a and catches it, where the rotational drive is transmitted and the bottle 1 rotates. Therefore, even when the drive unit 20 is rotationally driven, since there is the convex protrusion formed on the outer peripheral surface, the drive transmission can be reliably performed.

In the present invention, as shown in the first embodiment, the engaging members 3 are provided at four positions. However, even if the engaging members 3 are provided at four or more positions to further reduce the rotational load of the toner bottle, it goes without saying. I do not care. Further, in order to further reduce the cost, it is also possible to provide the minimum necessary one position for achieving this configuration.

Even if the engaging member 3 is not spherical like the present embodiment but angular, the same effect as the above operation can be obtained if the inclined surface is provided with respect to the rotation direction. I do not care.

As described above, in the present invention, the user can surely set the toner bottle 1 in the copying machine main body only by inserting the toner bottle. Further, when the toner bottle 1 is inserted, the direction of rotation of the bottle 1 is changed. The replacement work can be performed with simple operation without requiring troublesome work such as positioning.

(Structure of Locking Portion) Next, the manner of engagement between the drive portion 20 and the sealing member 2 in the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 14A shows a state in which the user inserts the toner bottle 1 in the direction of the arrow in order to set a new toner bottle 1 in the main body of the copying machine. The drive unit in the main body of the image forming apparatus is shown. 20 shows a state before engaging with 20.

When the insertion of the toner bottle 1 progresses, the engaging member 3 provided on the sealing member 2 comes into contact with the tapered surface 20b of the main body drive portion 20 as shown in FIG. 8B, and is gradually guided while being guided by the tapered surface 20b. Move inward in the radial direction, and drive unit 20
Is inserted along the inner wall of.

As the insertion proceeds further, the engaging member 3 which has passed the straight portion is released in the space portion without the engaging rib 20a as shown in (C). Here, the support member on the main body device side is inserted in the axial direction, whereby the engagement member 3 moves radially outward and is in a state of being engaged with the main body drive unit 20. In this state (C), the engagement member 3 is firmly engaged with the main body drive unit 20, and the position of the sealing member 2 in the thrust direction (axial direction) is fixed. Therefore, even if the toner bottle 1 is subsequently retracted in the direction of the arrow b, the sealing member 2 is firmly fixed to the main body drive unit 20 without being pulled back together with the toner bottle 1, while only the toner bottle 1 is retracted. Therefore, the sealing member 2 and the toner bottle 1 are reliably separated from each other, and the opening 1a is opened. The retreat operation of the toner bottle 1 may be configured to slide the toner bottle 1 in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the front cover 15 of the image forming apparatus main body (not shown).

Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the second embodiment, the engaging member of the first embodiment is not a hard sphere,
It is characterized in that it has a disk-shaped flat plate shape with an acutely sharp outer periphery. Therefore, the other configurations of the second embodiment are common to those of the first embodiment, and therefore, FIGS.
In FIG. 7, common parts are given the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof is omitted.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 16, the engaging member 3
2 is not a hard sphere as in the first embodiment, but a disk-shaped flat plate having an acute outer peripheral portion. In this configuration, the formation of the engaging protrusion is similar to that of the hard sphere of the first embodiment. That is, the engaging protrusion of the sealing member 2 is formed by moving the engaging member 3 in the radial direction, so that the engaging protrusion can be projected outward in the radial direction from the cylindrical surface 2d of the sealing member 2. The supporting force receiving portion 32c is movable and receives a supporting force from the device body to support the engagement with the device body.
When separating the toner bottle 1 and the sealing member 2,
Locking part 3 for locking the sealing member 2 to the main body drive part side
2b and a driving force receiving portion 32a for transmitting the driving force in the rotation direction. That is, when the engaging support member 21 from the main body of the apparatus is axially inserted, the support force receiving portion 32
Supporting force U1 acts on c. A reaction force V12 acts on the engaging member 3 moved by the supporting force U1 from the side wall of the slide guide 2f. The resultant force of the supporting force U12 and the reaction force V12 is W12, and a force that pushes outward in the radial direction is generated.
Since the resultant force W12 is continuously generated by the action from the engagement support member, the engagement member 32 can be moved outward in the radial direction and moves to the vicinity of the stopper 2g of the slide guide 2f. At this time, since the engagement member 32 has a radial length which is always longer than the radial length of the slide guide 2f, a convex engagement protrusion can be formed on the cylindrical portion 2d. As a result, the engagement member 32 has three different functions, namely, support and fixing to the drive unit, bottle position regulation, and bottle rotation drive, respectively.
c, the locking portion 32b, and the driving force receiving portion 32a. Similar effects can be obtained even with a disk-shaped flat plate whose outer peripheral portion is sharpened at an acute angle.

Here, the driving force receiving portion 32a provided on the engaging member 32 forms one surface of the portion sharply sharpened toward the outer peripheral portion, and the driving force can be received by this surface. ing. Therefore, the driving force can be reliably transmitted even when the rotation load is large, and the wear during rotation is small, so that the durability is excellent.

Further, as shown in FIG. 17, since the engaging member 32 has a portion which is sharply pointed toward the outer peripheral portion, interference with the engaging rib 20a on the driving portion 20 side is surely performed when the toner bottle is inserted. It goes without saying that phase matching is unnecessary because it can be avoided.

As described above, according to the present invention, the reliability can be more surely improved by forming the disk-shaped flat plate shape having the acute outer peripheral portion.

[Third Embodiment] Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 18 and 19.

The third and third embodiments are characterized in that the engaging member of the first embodiment is not a hard sphere but a prism having a tapered corner portion. Therefore, the other configuration of the second embodiment is common to that of the first embodiment, and therefore, FIG.
8 and FIG. 19, common parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 18, the engaging member 3
No. 3 is not a rigid sphere as in the first embodiment, but a prism having a tapered corner. In this configuration, the formation of the engaging protrusion is similar to that of the hard sphere of the first embodiment.
That is, the engaging protrusion of the sealing member 2 is formed by the radial movement of the engaging member 3, and the cylindrical surface 2 of the sealing member 2 is formed.
a support force receiving portion 33c that is movable so as to project outward in the radial direction from d and that receives a support force from the device body to support the engagement with the device body;
When the toner bottle 1 and the sealing member 2 are separated from each other, a locking portion 33b for locking the sealing member 2 on the main body drive unit side.
And a driving force receiving portion 33 for transmitting the driving force in the rotation direction.
a. That is, the supporting force U13 acts on the supporting force receiving portion 33c when the engagement supporting member 21 from the apparatus main body is inserted in the axial direction. A reaction force V13 acts on the engaging member 33 moved by the supporting force U13 from the side wall of the slide guide 2f. The resultant force of the supporting force U13 and the reaction force V13 is W13, and a force that pushes outward in the radial direction is generated. Since the resultant force W13 is continuously generated by the action from the engagement support member, the engagement member 33 can move radially outward, and moves to the vicinity of the stopper 2g of the slide guide 2f. At this time, since the engagement member 33 has a radial length which is always longer than the radial length of the slide guide 2f, a convex engagement protrusion can be formed on the cylindrical portion 2d. As a result, the engagement member 33 performs three different functions of supporting and fixing to the drive unit, restricting the position of the bottle, and rotationally driving the bottle, respectively. It plays with 33a. Similar effects can be obtained with a prism having a tapered corner portion.

Here, the driving force receiving portion 33a provided on the engaging member 33 forms one surface of the portion sharply sharpened toward the outer peripheral portion, and the driving force can be received by this surface. ing. Therefore, the driving force can be reliably transmitted even when the rotation load is large, and the wear during rotation is small, so that the durability is excellent.

Further, as shown in FIG. 19, since the engaging member 33 has a portion sharpened toward the outer peripheral portion at an acute angle, interference with the engaging rib 20a on the drive unit 20 side is surely caused when the toner bottle is inserted. It goes without saying that phase matching is unnecessary because it can be avoided.

As described above, according to the present invention, the reliability can be more surely improved by forming the prisms whose corners are tapered.

[Other Embodiments] The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various embodiments are possible.

For example, in the case of a toner replenishing container in which the cylindrical surface of the toner bottle has an opening, the engaging member 3 is not provided on the sealing member 2 but the toner bottle as shown in FIGS. It may be provided directly at the end of the cylindrical surface of the main body 111. In this case, the opening is sealed with a sealing member (not shown) covered with a film or the like, and the user peels off the sealing member to form the opening 111d for discharging the toner. The stirring blade 111e is formed of a thin elastically deformable member such as a polyester film.

The toner is discharged by the drive shaft 111b by the engagement member 3 engaged with the drive unit 40 of the main body image forming apparatus.
By rotating the stirring blade 111e fixed to the drive shaft 111b by adhesion or welding, the toner is discharged from the opening 111d.

As described above, in the present invention, it is not necessary to open and close the sealing member on the apparatus side, and the control system of the main body can be reduced, so that a cheaper toner replenishing apparatus can be provided. Further, since the stirring blade fixed to the drive shaft is an elastically deformable member, it is less affected by the fluidity of the toner, and the load on the drive unit 40 on the main body side can be reduced, so that the durability can be improved.

[0130]

As described above, according to the present invention, the following effects are exhibited.

When replacing the toner replenishing container as in the prior art, it is not necessary to perform phase alignment in the direction of rotation of the toner replenishing container, and the user simply inserts the toner replenishing container into the main body of the image forming apparatus. By simply closing the front cover, the toner replenishing container engages with the drive unit of the image forming apparatus main body and is set in the toner replenishable state, so that the toner replenishing work with extremely excellent operability can be realized.

Since the driving force receiving portion of the toner replenishing container has a very simple structure, it does not require a complicated structure such as the conventional coupling portion due to the engagement of the concave and convex portions.
This can greatly contribute to cost reduction of the drive transmission unit.

Since the strong engaging force with the drive transmitting portion of the image forming apparatus main body can be easily and reliably maintained only by inserting the toner replenishing container, there is no defective engagement as in the prior art, and the toner can be securely attached. It is possible to realize a highly reliable toner supply container that can be supplied.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional view of an image forming apparatus main body (copier) according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the electrophotographic copying machine.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a state in which a toner container replacement cover of the electrophotographic copying machine is opened and a toner supply container is attached to the electrophotographic copying machine.

FIG. 4 is a front view of an electrophotographic copying machine.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the electrophotographic copying machine.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an electrophotographic copying machine with a toner container replacement cover opened.

FIG. 7A is a side view showing the mounting operation of the toner supply container according to the embodiment of the present invention (starting mounting). FIG. 6B is a side view showing the mounting operation of the toner supply container according to the embodiment of the present invention (during mounting). FIG. 6C is a side view showing the mounting operation of the toner supply container according to the embodiment of the present invention (mounting completed). FIG. 6D is a side view illustrating the mounting operation of the toner supply container according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention (when the toner is discharged).

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the toner container according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9A is an enlarged partial cross-sectional view of the drive transmission portion, showing a drive shaft provided on the toner container main body side. (B) It is a partial cross-sectional enlarged view of a drive transmission part, and is a figure when a drive shaft is provided in the sealing member side.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing another example of the toner container according to the exemplary embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 11A is a front view of the sealing member. (B) It is an arrow view of (A). (C) It is a b arrow figure of (A).

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along line cc of FIG.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a drive transmission unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a state where the drive transmission portion according to the first embodiment of the present invention is engaged, (A) before inserting the toner bottle (B) during inserting the toner bottle (C) toner bottle Insertion complete (D) It is a diagram showing the insertion completion of the engagement support member.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram related to the phase alignment at the time of inserting the toner bottle according to the first embodiment of the present invention, in which (A) the engagement rib and the engagement projection are in phase with each other (B) the engagement support member; FIG. 7C is a diagram showing a state in which the phases are not overlapped by the insertion (C), the rotation further proceeds, and the engagement rib is caught by the engagement protrusion and the drive is transmitted.

FIG. 16 is a sectional view of a sealing member according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram related to a phase alignment at the time of inserting the toner bottle according to the second embodiment of the present invention, in which (A) the engagement rib and the engagement projection are in phase with each other (B) the engagement support member; FIG. 7C is a diagram showing a state in which the phases are not overlapped by the insertion (C), the rotation further proceeds, and the engagement rib is caught by the engagement protrusion and the drive is transmitted.

FIG. 18 is a sectional view of a sealing member according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram related to the phase alignment at the time of inserting the toner bottle according to the third embodiment of the present invention, in which (A) the engagement rib and the engagement projection are in phase with each other (B) the engagement support member; FIG. 7C is a diagram showing a state in which the phases are not overlapped by the insertion (C), the rotation further proceeds, and the engagement rib is caught by the engagement protrusion and the drive is transmitted.

FIG. 20 is a perspective view of a drive transmission unit according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view of an engaging portion according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Toner supply container (toner bottle) 1a opening 1b Drive shaft 1c spiral protrusion 1d outlet 1A toner container body 2 Sealing member 2a Engagement hole 2b Sealing part 2c Coupling engagement part 2d cylindrical part 3 Engagement member 3a Driving force receiving part 3b Locking part 3c Supporting part 4 Transfer roller 5 fixing means 5a drive roller 5b heater 5c fixing roller 6 discharge part 7 Photosensitive drum 8 charging roller 9 Exposure opening 10 developing means 10a Toner storage section 10b feeding member 10c fixed magnet 10d developing roller 10e Development blade 11 Cleaning means 11a cleaning blade 11b squishy sheet 11c Removal toner reservoir 12a toner container 12b Development frame 12c cleaning frame 13 Device body 14 Open / close cover 14a axis 15 Toner supply container replacement cover 16 drum flange 18 hinge 19 motor 20 Drive 21 Extruded member 22 Holding member 23 Bottle receiving roller 30a center 31 transportation means 31a Paper feed cassette 31b Pickup roller 31c Feeding roller pair 31d Transport roller pair 31e Registration roller pair 31f guide plate 31g Ejection roller pair 31h Ejection roller pair 31i bypass tray 31j Laura 32 Left and right guide members 32a guide part 33 Pinion Gear 34 transmission gear 35 Release member 35a cam part 36 walls 50 container pedestal 100 Image forming apparatus main body 100a operation unit 100b liquid crystal display means 100c front cover 101 manuscript 102 Platen glass 103 Optics 104 photoconductor drum 105-108 cassettes 105A-108A Paper feeding / separating device 109 transport section 110 Registration roller 111 Transfer Discharger 112 Separated Discharger 113 Transport section 114 fixing unit 115 Paper output reversing unit 116 paper ejection roller 117 Output tray 118 flapper 119 to 120 Refeeding and conveying path 201 Development Department 201a toner hopper 201b Developing device 201c stirring member 201d magnet roller 201e Sending member 201f developing roller 202 Cleaner part 203 Primary charger 300 slide member M mirror Ln lens P paper A image forming apparatus

Claims (18)

[Claims] 1. A toner replenishing container, which is removable from an electrophotographic image forming apparatus main body and is used to replenish toner to the image forming apparatus main body, is engageable with an engaged portion of the image forming apparatus main body. And an engaging position for engaging the engaged portion by being supported by the main body supporting member and a main body supporting member. A toner replenishing container, which is movable to and from a disengaged position where the member is disengaged from the engaged portion to be disengaged. 2. An engagement member that is engageable with an engaged portion of the image forming apparatus main body and receives a driving force via the engaged portion is a supporting force receiving portion that receives a supporting force from a main body supporting member. The toner replenishing container according to claim 1, characterized in that it has. 3. An engagement member which is engageable with an engaged portion of the image forming apparatus main body and receives a driving force via the engaged portion, and a driving force receiving portion which receives a driving force in a rotational direction. The toner supply container according to claim 1, further comprising: 4. An engagement member which is engageable with an engaged portion of the image forming apparatus main body and receives a driving force through the engaged portion is a sealing member which seals an opening of the toner supply container. The toner supply container according to claim 1, wherein the toner supply container is provided. 5. An engagement member that is engageable with an engaged portion of the main body of the image forming apparatus and receives a driving force via the engaged portion is locked for axially regulating the main body supporting member. The toner supply container according to claim 4, wherein the toner supply container has a portion. 6. The toner supply container according to claim 1, wherein the engaging member is made of a rigid body. 7. The toner replenishing container according to claim 6, wherein the engagement member is a hard sphere. 8. The toner replenishing container according to claim 6, wherein the engaging member is formed of a disk-shaped flat plate having an acute outer peripheral portion. 9. The toner supply container according to claim 6, wherein the driving force receiving portion, the locking portion, and the supporting force receiving portion are made of metal such as aluminum, steel and brass. 10. The toner supply container according to claim 1, wherein the engaging member is a prism having a tapered corner. 11. The engagement member is inclined with respect to a direction in which a supporting force is received from the image forming apparatus main body in order to restrict engagement with the image forming apparatus main body, that is, an axial direction of a toner supply container longitudinal direction. 11. The toner supply container according to claim 10, wherein 12. A driving force receiving portion that receives a driving force from the image forming apparatus main body in a state where the engaging portion of the engaging member is locked to the image forming apparatus main body is inclined with respect to the axial rotation direction. The toner supply container according to claim 10, wherein the toner supply container is provided. 13. The toner supply container according to claim 1, wherein at least one engagement member is provided. 14. The toner replenishing container has an opening for discharging toner at one end, and a sealing member for opening and closing the opening so that the sealing member is the toner replenishing container. The main body and the main body are locked to each other in the rotational direction, and are movable in the axial direction, so that even when the opening portion is opened, the toner supply container main body is kept in the rotationally engaged state. 14. The toner supply container according to claim 1, wherein the locking portion, the driving force receiving portion, and the supporting force receiving portion that are configured are provided on the sealing member. 15. The opening of the toner supply container is opened by locking the sealing member of the toner supply container to the main body of the image forming apparatus and pulling out the sealing member by the action of the main body of the image forming apparatus. The toner supply container according to claim 14, wherein 16. The toner replenishing container locks the sealing member to the main body of the image forming apparatus, and the opening of the toner replenishing container is opened by the movement of the toner replenishing container by the action of the main body of the image forming apparatus. The toner supply container according to claim 14, wherein 17. The toner replenishing container has a substantially cylindrical shape, and is configured to convey and discharge toner by being rotated by the rotational driving force transmitted from the driving force receiving portion. The toner supply container according to any one of claims 15 to 16. 18. A toner replenishing container, which is detachable from the main body of the electrophotographic image forming apparatus and replenishes toner to the main body of the image forming apparatus, is engageable with an engaged portion of the main body of the image forming apparatus. And an engaging position that engages with the engaged portion by being supported by the main body supporting member, and the engaging member that receives the driving force via the engaged portion. A toner replenishing device, wherein the member is movable to and from an engaged position in which the member is disengaged from the engaged portion by being unsupported by the main body supporting member.