JP2005140908A - Toner supply container - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toner container, development apparatus, and an image forming apparatus with which occurrence of unforeseen noise when supplying toner is reduced, soiling is reduced, and improvement in operability is achieved. <P>SOLUTION: The toner supply container is provided with a toner bottle 200 to contain the toner, an agitating member 202 provided in the bottle 200 which can be rotated with a rotary shaft 201 as the center and a bottle opening part 203 for toner supplying provided on the peripheral surface of the bottle 200. The bottle opening part 203 is constituted to have at least one side of the rotational shaft 201 in an axial direction inclined with respect to the axial direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a toner replenishing container for replenishing toner, which is detachably provided to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine or a printer using an electrophotographic system or an electrostatic recording system.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine using an electrophotographic method is charged electrostatically and charged on an electrophotographic photosensitive member (photosensitive drum) which is a drum type as an image carrier. A latent image is formed, and the electrostatic latent image is developed as a so-called toner image by a developing device using a developer (hereinafter referred to as “toner”). Thereafter, the toner image formed on the photosensitive member is transferred and fixed on a recording material to obtain a recorded image.

  Since this toner is consumed every time the toner image is developed, it is necessary to periodically replenish the toner to the image forming apparatus. As a means for replenishing the toner, there is a cylindrical toner bottle 200 as shown in FIGS. In the cylindrical toner bottle 200, a bottle opening 203 for supplying toner to the developing device is open in the longitudinal direction. A rotating shaft is provided at the center of the cylindrical portion, and a stirring member 202 is provided on the rotating shaft. The stirring member 202 has a comb-like flexible sheet, and when the stirring member 202 rotates, the replenishment toner contained in the cylindrical toner bottle 200 is pushed out by the stirring member 202, Toner is supplied to the image forming apparatus from a bottle opening 203 opened in the longitudinal direction.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 07-199621 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 07-199617

  However, in the conventional cylindrical toner bottle 200, as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the shape of the bottle opening 203 is such that the side in the longitudinal direction (edge) is parallel to the rotation axis of the stirring member 202, and the stirring member The front end of the 202 sheet was formed so as to rub against the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder. For this reason, as the amount of toner in the toner bottle 200 becomes small, the stirring member 202 is repelled by the opening edge of the bottle opening 203, which causes periodic sudden sound and becomes a noise source.

  Further, as another problem, the cylindrical toner bottle 200 having an opening in the longitudinal direction sometimes causes toner contamination of the bottle when the bottle is replaced. As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the toner bottle 200 is attached to the image forming apparatus main body side so that the toner does not leak from the toner bottle or the developing unit when the toner bottle is attached or detached. A shutter 45 for separating the toner bottle 200 and the apparatus main body is provided. When toner collected in a gap between the shutter 45 and the attached toner bottle 200 is taken out, particularly in the direction of the center axis of the cylinder (FIG. 12). When the toner is pulled out from the image forming apparatus in the right direction (a), the toner is wiped off by the toner seal member provided in the shutter 45 and the developing device. The wiped toner loses its place and falls into the image forming apparatus and the developing apparatus. Then, the toner dropped when the toner bottle 200 mounted before the insertion is taken out adheres to the outer surface of the toner bottle inserted for the next toner replenishment. When the toner bottle 200 is taken out from the image forming apparatus, the toner adhering to the outer surface of the toner bottle 200 comes out of the apparatus together with the toner bottle 200, so that toner contamination occurs.

  Conventionally, in order to prevent the toner from being smeared, a method has been adopted in which the gap between the shutter 45 and the shutter 45 is made as small as possible, and the toner accumulated in the gap is reduced. However, it is difficult to eliminate the gap between the toner bottle 200 and the shutter 45 at all, and a gap is always generated, so this kind of toner contamination has occurred.

  Yet another problem is operability. Specifically, a cleaner blade that scrapes off toner accumulated in the step between the shutter 45 and the toner bottle 200 when the toner bottle 200 is taken out is provided on the developing device side of the image forming apparatus. Usually, the toner bottle 200 is inserted into the image forming apparatus, and after the shutter opening provided in the shutter 45 and the bottle opening 203 are combined, the toner bottle is rotated in a direction to receive the toner replenishment of the developing device, whereby the toner The shutter 45 is rotated and set together with the bottle 200.

  Conversely, when the toner bottle 200 is taken out, the toner bottle 200 and the shutter 45 are rotated by rotating the toner bottle 200 in the direction opposite to that when the toner bottle 200 is mounted, and the toner bottle 200 is set at the take-out position. Then, when the toner bottle 200 is rotated at the time of taking out, the toner accumulated at the step of the shutter opening is scraped off to the developing device side by a cleaner blade installed so that the end is pressed against the shutter 45, and the contamination is reduced. To do.

  However, the end of the cleaner blade fits into the shutter and the toner bottle opening, and a large load may be generated for the operation of rotating the bottle. This load can occur because the cleaner blade provided so as to be able to press uniformly on the cylindrical surface and the opening edges of the shutter opening and the toner bottle opening are parallel to each other. Due to this increase in load, the operability of the toner bottle replacement operation by the user has been deteriorated.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a toner replenishing container that can reduce the occurrence of sudden sound during toner supply, reduce contamination, and improve operability. It is.

  In order to achieve the above object, the first means in the present invention includes a container main body for storing toner, a toner discharge port provided on a peripheral surface of the container main body, and the toner main body rotatably provided in the container main body. A toner replenishing container having a conveying member configured to convey toner to the discharge port, wherein the conveyance member has a protruding portion that can freely protrude from the toner discharging port, and the protruding portion protrudes sequentially from the toner discharging port. It is characterized by comprising.

  The second means is characterized in that, in the first means, an edge which can come into contact with the protruding portion of the toner discharge port is inclined with respect to the axial direction of the conveying member.

  According to a third means, in the first means or the second means, the toner discharge port is formed in a rectangular shape which is long with respect to the axial direction of the rotation shaft, and two opposite sides in the longitudinal direction are formed. It is parallel and is inclined with respect to the axial direction.

  According to a fourth means, in the first means or the second means, the toner discharge port is formed in a rectangular shape which is long with respect to the axial direction of the rotation shaft, and two opposite sides in the longitudinal direction are formed. It is inclined so as to be symmetric with respect to the axial direction.

  In the above-mentioned means, the occurrence of sudden sound is reduced and the generation of noise is prevented by shifting the timing of sudden sound generated when the toner conveying member for conveying toner is bounced at the edge of the toner discharge port. be able to.

[First Embodiment]
First, the overall configuration and operation of the image forming apparatus of this embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus 100 of the present embodiment. In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 is a copying machine or a printer using an electrophotographic system.

{overall structure}
The image forming apparatus 100 roughly includes an image forming unit A and a document reading unit B. The image forming unit A has a photosensitive drum 1 having a photoconductive layer deposited on a drum-shaped conductive substrate as an image carrier. Around the photosensitive drum 1, a charging roller 2 as charging means for charging the photosensitive drum 1 to a predetermined polarity, an exposure device 3 as optical means for forming an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 1, photosensitive A developing device 4 that develops the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 as a visible image (toner image), and a transfer roller as a transfer unit that transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 to the recording material P 5. A cleaning blade 6 is disposed as a cleaning means for removing residual toner on the photosensitive drum 1.

  The image forming unit A also includes a fixing unit 7 for fixing the transferred toner image to the recording material P, a recording material cassette 8 for storing the recording material P, a feeding roller 9 as a conveying unit for the recording material P, a conveyance A roller 10, a registration roller 11, and a discharge roller 12 are provided. As a result, a required image is formed on the recording material P through processes such as primary charging, exposure, development, transfer, fixing, and cleaning.

  Although not shown in detail, the document reading unit B forms an image of reflected light from the document when the document placed on the document placement glass is scanned and exposed on the CCD, and outputs image information as an electrical signal to the image forming unit. To A controller (not shown).

  In this embodiment, the case where the image forming apparatus 100 forms a single color image will be described as an example. However, as is well known to those skilled in the art, for example, the photosensitive drum 1, the charging roller 2, the exposure device 3, and the like described above. There is an image forming apparatus that has a plurality of image forming units including a developing device 4 and a transfer roller 5 and sequentially transfers toner images from each image forming unit to a recording material P to obtain a full color image, for example. Alternatively, toner images of a plurality of colors are sequentially formed on a single photosensitive drum 1 by a plurality of developing devices 4 and sequentially formed on a recording material P carried on a recording material carrier (for example, a dielectric sheet or a belt). There is an image forming apparatus that transfers, for example, or sequentially transfers to an intermediate transfer member (for example, a dielectric sheet or a belt) and then transfers it to a recording material P to obtain a full color image.

  The present invention is naturally applicable to an image forming apparatus capable of forming such a color image. Further, an image forming apparatus in which the developing device 8 is unitized so as to be detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus, or an electrophotographic photosensitive member and a charging unit, a developing unit, and a cleaning unit that act on the electrophotographic photosensitive member. The present invention is also applicable to an image forming apparatus in which at least one of the process means is integrally formed as a process cartridge and is detachable from the main body of the image forming apparatus.

  In the image forming apparatus 100 configured as described above, when the image forming operation is started, first, the photosensitive drum 1 is uniformly charged by the charging roller 2 while the photosensitive drum 1 is rotated in the direction of the arrow in the drawing. Next, the exposure device 3 scans and exposes the photosensitive drum 1 with the laser beam L according to the image information, and forms an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 1. This electrostatic latent image is developed by the developing device 4.

  On the other hand, the recording material P loaded on the recording material cassette 8, for example, a recording sheet, an OHP sheet, and the like are rotated and sent out by the feeding roller 9. Then, one recording material P sent out from the recording material cassette 8 is conveyed to the registration roller 11 by the conveying roller 10 or the like. The registration roller 11 synchronizes the rotation of the photosensitive drum 1 and the scanning timing of the exposure device 3, and conveys the recording material P to a facing portion (transfer area) between the photosensitive drum 1 and the transfer roller 4.

  Thus, the toner image on the photosensitive drum 1 is transferred to the recording material P conveyed to the transfer area by the action of the transfer roller 5. Thereafter, the recording material P is separated from the photosensitive drum 1 and conveyed to the fixing unit 7. The fixing unit 7 fixes the unfixed toner image transferred onto the recording material P by heat and pressure on the recording material P. Thereafter, the recording material P on which the permanent image is formed is discharged to a discharge tray 13 outside the apparatus by a discharge roller 12 or the like.

  Further, the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 1 after the transfer of the toner image is removed by the cleaning blade 6, and the photosensitive drum 1 is repeatedly used for image formation.

{Developer}
Next, the developing device of this embodiment will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. The developing device 4 rotates with the developing device main body 41 having a toner containing portion for containing the toner T, the toner T inside the developing device main body 41 adsorbed and held on the outer peripheral surface thereof, and supplied to the photosensitive drum 1. A developing sleeve 42 serving as a toner carrying member, toner T on the developing sleeve 42 is regulated to a uniform thin layer, and toner regulating means 50 for giving a frictional charge to the toner is provided. Inside the developing sleeve 42, a magnet roller 43, which is a cylindrical magnet, is provided. The magnet roller 43 is fixedly arranged with respect to the developing device main body 41. The developing sleeve 42 is pivotally supported by the developing device main body 41 in the vicinity of both ends in the longitudinal direction at a position separated from the photosensitive drum 1 by a predetermined distance.

  The toner T attracted and held on the developing sleeve 42 by the action of the magnet roller 43 disposed inside the developing sleeve 42 moves toward the toner regulating means 50 by the rotation of the developing sleeve 42, and the toner regulating means 50 The elastic blade as a toner regulating member provided is frictionally charged and is regulated to a uniform thin layer and moves toward the photosensitive drum 1.

  The toner T moved to the photosensitive drum 1 side is applied to the developing sleeve 42 at the same timing as the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 1 reaches the developing area, and the AC voltage is changed to DC. By the developing bias voltage with the superimposed voltage, it flies to the photosensitive drum 1 side and develops the electrostatic latent image as a toner image.

{Toner cartridge}
In this embodiment, as a means for replenishing toner to the developing device, toner is replenished by attaching a toner cartridge (toner replenishing container) detachable to the developing device to a cartridge mounting means provided in the developing device. It is configured. Next, the configuration of the toner cartridge will be described.

  The toner cartridge of this embodiment uses a cylindrical toner bottle 200 that is a toner container. In the cylindrical toner bottle 200, as shown in FIG. 3, a bottle opening 203 serving as a toner discharge port is opened in the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical peripheral surface. The toner bottle 200 is provided with a toner conveying means for supplying the toner in the container to the bottle opening 203.

  The toner conveying means has a rotating shaft 201 at the center of the cylindrical portion, and a stirring member 202 is provided on the rotating shaft 201. The stirring member 202 has a comb-teeth shape as shown in FIG. 3A, and the rotation of the stirring member 202 pushes the replenishment toner T contained in the cylindrical toner bottle to the stirring member 202. Then, the toner is supplied to the developing device 4 from the bottle opening 203 opened in the longitudinal direction.

  The stirring member 202 is a flat flexible member on the both sides of the rotating shaft 201 (appropriate material can be used that has appropriate elasticity and creep resistance, such as polyacetal sheet or polyurethane. A rubber sheet or the like is preferably used), and the stirring member 202 rotates so that the tip of the stirring member 202 rubs the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion to stir the toner in the bottle and open the bottle. To the unit 203. At this time, the rotation radius of the comb-like stirring member 202 is configured to be slightly longer than the radius of the cylindrical portion so that the toner is reliably supplied from the bottle opening 203. That is, the rotating stirring member has a protruding portion whose tip can protrude from the bottle opening 203 (the length of the protruding portion in the substantially axial direction is shorter than the length of the bottle opening 203 in the longitudinal direction). doing. Thus, the toner conveyed by the elastically deformed stirring member 202 is supplied so as to be repelled when the protruding portion protrudes from the bottle opening 203, and is reliably supplied to the developing device 4.

  Note that a shutter opening 451 having a shape corresponding to the bottle opening 203 (substantially the same shape as the bottle opening) is provided between the developing device 4 and the toner bottle 200, and rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the toner bottle 200. There is a shutter 45 to perform. When the toner bottle 200 is removed from the developing device, the shutter 45 is closed so that the toner in the developing portion does not leak to the toner bottle mounting portion side.

(Sudden sound suppression)
As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the bottle opening 203 of the toner bottle 200 of the present embodiment is formed in a rectangular shape that is long in the longitudinal direction, and the (edge) in the longitudinal direction of the bottle opening 203 is the central axis of the cylinder. It forms so that it may become diagonal with respect to. In this way, by making the edge of the bottle opening 203 not parallel to the rotation axis center of the stirring member 202 but oblique, the tip side of the rotating stirring member 202 is predetermined with respect to the edge of the bottle opening 203. Contact at an angle. Then, the protrusions (tips) of the comb-like stirring member 202 protruding from the bottle opening 203 are sequentially projected from one end to the other end side in the rotation axis direction. For this reason, the timing of the sudden sound generated when the end of the stirring member 202 is bounced by the opening edge of the bottle opening 203 can be shifted, and the occurrence of the sudden sound can be reduced.

  In order to reduce the occurrence of sudden sound generation, the bottle opening is not inclined, but the end of the stirring member 202 for supplying toner is inclined with respect to the edge of the bottle opening 203. It does not matter. However, the area where the inner periphery of the bottle contacts the stirring member 202 is increased by making the end of the stirring member 202 oblique. As the contact area increases, coarse toner particles are more likely to be generated due to the friction between the stirring member 202 and the inner periphery of the toner bottle. When the coarse particles are supplied to the developing sleeve 42 of the developing device, the image is adversely affected and image defects are likely to occur. On the other hand, by making the edge of the bottle opening 203 oblique to the center of the cylinder, the contact area between the stirring member 202 and the inner peripheral surface of the bottle is not increased, so that coarse particles are not generated. Therefore, the occurrence of sudden sound can be suppressed.

  When the toner cartridge is not used, a vinyl-like seal is ultrasonically pressure-bonded around the opening to seal the bottle opening 203. When the toner is replenished, the seal is peeled off from the toner bottle 200. At this time, pulling the seal at an angle of several degrees rather than pulling the seal straight in the longitudinal direction has a peeling force of 10 to 50%. It is known that it becomes smaller. In the present embodiment, as described above, the bottle opening itself is inclined with respect to the center of the cylinder, and two opposite sides in the longitudinal direction are parallel to each other. When the seal is peeled off, it is pulled diagonally. Therefore, the peeling force is small and the operability of peeling off the seal is improved.

(Toner stain prevention)
Further, by forming the bottle opening 203 obliquely with respect to the rotation shaft 201 as described above, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of toner contamination of the toner bottle 200 as follows.

  A conventional cylindrical toner bottle having an opening in the longitudinal direction has a toner stain on the bottle when the bottle is replaced. As a dirt mechanism, as shown in FIG. 6, when the toner collected in the gap between the shutter opening 451 and the bottle opening 203 is taken out from the cartridge mounting means, particularly in the direction of the center axis of the cylinder (in FIG. In order to prevent toner leakage from the peripheral edge of the bottle opening 203 and the shutter opening 451 when the handle 60 is pulled out from the image forming apparatus in the right direction). When the longitudinal edge of the opening is parallel to the central axis of the cylinder, the toner loses its place and falls into the image forming apparatus and the developing apparatus. The toner that has fallen to the outside of the toner bottle adheres to the outer surface of the toner bottle when it is next inserted into the cartridge mounting means, and when the bottle is taken out, the toner adhering to the outer surface comes out of the machine, thereby causing toner contamination. This is because it occurs.

  For this reason, conventionally, a method has been used in which the gap between the shutter opening 451 and the bottle opening 203 is made as small as possible to reduce the amount of toner accumulated in the gap, but the gap is always generated. On the other hand, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, since the bottle opening 203 is inclined with respect to the bottle removing direction as described above, the shutter opening 451 and the bottle opening The toner accumulated in the gap with 203 is wiped off by the toner seal member when the bottle is removed, and falls into the toner bottle 200 from the bottle opening 203. Thereby, the toner falling to the developing device 4 is reduced, and the occurrence of toner contamination can be suppressed.

(Removable load reduction)
Further, when the toner bottle of this embodiment is rotated to the cartridge mounting means and attached / detached, the rotational load can be reduced.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 8, the toner bottle 200 of the present embodiment is provided with a cleaner blade 46 on the developing device side that scrapes off toner accumulated in the shutter 45 when the toner bottle 200 is rotated and taken out. The toner bottle 200 is inserted into the image forming apparatus, and after the shutter opening 451 provided in the shutter 45 and the bottle opening 203 are combined, the toner bottle 200 is rotated in a direction to receive toner replenishment of the developing device 4. It is set by rotating the shutter 45 together with the toner bottle 200. Conversely, when taking out the toner bottle 200, the toner bottle 200 and the shutter 45 are rotated by rotating the toner bottle 200, and the toner bottle 200 is set at the take-out position. When the toner bottle 200 is rotated at the time of taking out, the toner accumulated in the step (opening edge portion) of the shutter opening 451 by the cleaner blade 46 installed so that the end thereof is pressed against the shutter 45 is on the developing device side. It is intended to reduce scratches and dirt.

  Conventionally, the longitudinal edges of the shutter opening 451 and the bottle opening 203 are parallel to the cylindrical central axis direction, and the end of the cleaner blade 46 pressed against the shutter 45 is also parallel to the edge. When 45 rotates, the cleaner blade 46 fits into the shutter opening 451 and the bottle opening 203, and a large load may be generated for the operation to rotate the toner bottle 200. On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the edge of the bottle opening 203 is inclined with respect to the central axis of the cylinder, so that the contact end (end) of the shutter 45 is The end of the cleaner blade 46 parallel to the cylindrical central axis does not fit into the opening 203. For this reason, the load when rotating the toner bottle 200 is reduced, and the detachability operability is improved.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, a toner bottle 200 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The toner bottle of the present embodiment is the same as the above-described embodiment except for the shape of the bottle opening, and the others are the same. Therefore, only the features that are characteristic of the present embodiment will be described, and redundant descriptions will be omitted.

  The toner bottle 200 of the present invention can achieve the same effects as those of the above-described embodiment unless the edge of the bottle opening 203 is parallel to the rotation axis direction of the stirring member 202. For example, as shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, a shape that is rectangular in the longitudinal direction of the cylinder and that is inclined so that two opposite sides in the longitudinal direction are symmetrical with respect to the cylindrical central axis direction, that is, a bottle The shape of the opening 203 may be a trapezoid. As described above, if the trapezoidal shape is widened from the upstream side toward the downstream side in the drawing direction of the toner bottle 200, when the toner bottle 200 is taken out, the shutter that causes the toner contamination more than the shape described in the first embodiment. The toner that accumulates in the gap between the opening 451 and the bottle opening 203 can be more reliably dropped to the bottle opening 203, and toner contamination can be prevented.

[Other Embodiments]
In the above-described embodiment, the example is shown in which the two longitudinal edges of the bottle opening 203 are inclined with respect to the rotation axis direction of the stirring member. Suppression of dirt and a load reduction effect at the time of attachment / detachment can be obtained.

  Further, the edge of the bottle opening 203 may be a combination of continuous straight lines. Furthermore, the same effect can be obtained with a curved line. The effect is the same even if reinforcing ribs are provided in the openings.

  In the above-described embodiment, the edge of the bottle opening 203 is inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical member so that the edge is inclined with respect to the rotation axis of the stirring member 202. Even if the edge of the bottle opening 203 is formed parallel to the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical member and the stirring member 202 is configured to be inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of the cylindrical member, the same effect as in the above-described embodiment Can be obtained.

1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of an image forming apparatus. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of the developing device according to the first embodiment. 3 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of a toner bottle in the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of a toner bottle in the first embodiment. FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective explanatory view of a toner bottle in the first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional explanatory view when a conventional toner bottle is extracted. FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory diagram when a toner bottle is extracted in the first embodiment. It is explanatory drawing when rotating the conventional toner bottle. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram when the toner bottle in the first embodiment is rotated. FIG. 6 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a toner bottle in a second embodiment. FIG. 6 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a toner bottle in a second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of a conventional toner bottle. It is a schematic explanatory diagram of a toner bottle in a conventional example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS A ... Image formation part B ... Document reading part L ... Laser beam P ... Recording material T ... Toner 1 ... Photosensitive drum 2 ... Charging roller 3 ... Exposure apparatus 4 ... Development apparatus 5 ... Transfer roller 6 ... Cleaning blade 7 ... Fixing means 8 ... Recording material cassette 9 ... Feeding roller
10… Conveying roller
11… Registration roller
12… discharge roller
13… discharge tray
41… Developer main unit
42… Development sleeve
43… Magnet roller
45… Shutter
46… Cleaner blade
50: Developer control means
60 ... handle part
100 ... Image forming apparatus
200 ... Toner bottle
201… Rotation axis
202… stirring member
203… Bottle opening
451 ... Shutter opening

Claims (4)

A toner replenishing container comprising: a container main body for storing toner; a toner discharge port provided on a peripheral surface of the container main body; and a transport member that is rotatably provided on the container main body and conveys the toner to the toner discharge port. In
The toner replenishing container, wherein the conveying member has a protruding portion that can freely protrude from the toner discharge port, and the protruding portion protrudes sequentially from the toner discharge port. The toner replenishing container according to claim 1, wherein an edge that is in contact with the protruding portion of the toner discharge port is inclined with respect to the axial direction of the conveying member. 2. The toner discharge port according to claim 1, wherein the toner discharge port is formed in a substantially rectangular shape, and two opposing sides that can come into contact with the protrusion are substantially parallel and inclined with respect to the axial direction. Alternatively, the toner supply container according to claim 2. 2. The toner discharge port according to claim 1, wherein the toner discharge port is formed in a substantially rectangular shape, and two opposite sides that can come into contact with the protruding portion are inclined so as to be substantially symmetrical with respect to the axial direction. The toner supply container according to claim 1.

Images