JP2015206869A - Powder conveying device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the occurrence of an abnormal noise due to contact of a powder storage part and a powder conveying device during the rotation of the powder storage part.SOLUTION: There is provided a toner conveying device 60 that has a powder storage container 32 removably attached thereto, which is rotatably supported by a container cover 34 and includes a powder storage part 33 storing a powder, and conveys a toner in the powder storage part of the powder storage container 32 attached thereto to a developing device by rotating the powder storage part. The toner conveying device 60 includes a container cover receiving part 73 that holds a container cover, a container receiving part 72 that rotatably supports the powder storage part, and an insertion port forming part 71 that has an insertion port 71a formed therein into which the powder storage container is inserted when the powder storage container is attached to the toner conveying device 60; between an inner wall surface 71a1 of the insertion port 71a and a surface 33A of the powder storage part, a flexible member 300 is disposed, which comes into contact with the surface of the powder storage part to be deformed to the inner wall surface side at least during the rotation of the powder storage part.

Description

  The present invention relates to a powder conveying device that conveys toner as powder used in an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile machine, a copier, and a multi-function machine having a plurality of functions, and an image forming apparatus including the same. .

In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, toner is supplied (supplemented) to a developing device by a powder conveying device from a toner container serving as a powder container that contains toner that is powder. The toner container includes a container cover that is non-rotatably held by the powder conveyance device, a powder container that is rotatably supported by the container cover and that contains toner, and a powder container that rotates as the powder container rotates. Conveying means for conveying toner in the powder container toward the opening provided at the end of the body container is provided.
The powder conveying device is formed with a container cover receiving part that mainly holds the container cover, a container receiving part that rotatably supports the powder container, and an insertion port that is inserted and pulled out when the toner container is attached or detached. And an insertion port forming part. In order to attach the toner container to the powder conveyance device, the toner container is inserted into the insertion port from the container cover side, and the container cover is held in the container cover receiving portion while being pushed in the container longitudinal direction (mounting direction). It moves on the receiving part. An example of the powder carrier device to which the toner container having such a configuration is mounted is Patent Document 1.

In the powder carrier device that rotatably supports the powder container of the toner container as in the past, when the powder container rotates, the powder container interferes with the container receiving part and the insertion port forming part, It may be a cause of abnormal noise. This is because the powder container comes into contact with the periphery of the powder container due to eccentric rotation or lift due to the manufacturing warp of the powder container.
An object of the present invention is to prevent the generation of abnormal noise due to the contact between the powder container and the powder carrier device during rotation of the powder container.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a powder storage container that is rotatably supported by a container cover and includes a powder storage section in which powder is stored. A powder carrier device that rotates a body container to convey toner in the powder container to a developing device, a container cover receiving unit that holds a container cover, and a container receiver that rotatably supports the powder container. And an insertion port forming part in which an insertion port for inserting the powder container is formed when the powder container is mounted, and at least a powder is provided between the inner wall surface of the insertion port and the surface of the powder container. A flexible member is provided that contacts the surface of the powder container when the body container rotates and is displaced toward the inner wall surface.

  According to the present invention, when the powder container is mounted, the powder container is placed between the inner wall surface of the insertion port for inserting the powder container and the surface of the powder container when the powder container is rotated. When a flexible member that contacts the surface and displaces to the inner wall surface side is disposed, the powder container rotates eccentrically to contact the flexible member, and the flexible member displaces to the inner wall surface side. Since the reaction force at the time of displacement acts on the powder container, the inner wall surface and the powder container are not in direct contact, and the generation of abnormal noise due to contact can be prevented.

Cross-sectional explanatory drawing of the powder conveying apparatus and powder container before mounting | wearing with the powder container according to the present invention. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating one configuration of an image forming unit of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which a powder container is installed in the powder conveyance device in the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2. The schematic perspective view which shows the state by which the powder container was installed in the powder conveying apparatus. The perspective explanatory view showing one embodiment of the powder container concerning the present invention. The perspective view of the powder conveying apparatus and the powder container in a state where the powder container is mounted. Cross-sectional explanatory drawing of the powder conveyance apparatus and powder storage container of the state which mounted | wore the powder storage container. The perspective explanatory view of the powder container in the state where the container cover on the front end side is removed. Cross-sectional explanatory drawing of the powder container in the state which attached the nozzle receiving member to the container main body. The perspective explanatory view of the nozzle receiving member seen from the container front end side. The perspective view explaining the structure of a powder container storage part. The partial expansion perspective view explanatory drawing of a powder container storage part. (A)-(d) is the top view seen from the top explaining the state at the time of mounting | wearing operation | movement of an opening-and-closing member and a conveyance pipe. The powder container is shown in a state where it is attached to the powder carrier, wherein (a) shows the state where the container body does not rotate, and (b) shows the state when the container body rotates eccentrically. It is a figure explaining the characteristic part of the powder carrier apparatus which has the flexible member by which the both ends were fixed concerning this invention, (a) is the state before rotation of a container main body, (b) is a container main body rotating. Explanatory drawing which shows the state which the flexible member bent. The expansion perspective view explaining the attachment state of the flexible member shown in FIG. The enlarged view explaining the structure of the flexible member shown in FIG. It is a figure explaining the characteristic part of the powder carrier apparatus which has a flexible member by which one end part which concerns on this invention was fixed, (a) is the state before rotation of a container main body, (b) is a container main body. Explanatory drawing which shows the state which rotated and the flexible member bent. The expansion perspective view explaining the attachment state of the flexible member shown in FIG. The enlarged view explaining the structure of the flexible member shown in FIG. The perspective view explaining the structure of the powder container provided with the upper guide. The figure explaining the process in which the powder container shown in FIG. 22 inserts into an insertion port. It is a figure explaining the characteristic part of the powder carrier apparatus which has a flexible member by which one end part which concerns on this invention was fixed, (a) is the state before rotation of a container main body, (b) is a container main body. Explanatory drawing which shows the state which rotated and the flexible member bent. The expansion perspective view explaining the attachment state of the flexible member shown in FIG. (A) is an enlarged view explaining the structure of the flexible member shown in FIG. 24, (b) is an enlarged view which shows another structure of a flexible member. The figure explaining the structure of the flexible member which provided the sticking reference | standard. The expanded sectional view explaining the attachment state of the flexible member which provided the sticking reference | standard. The perspective view explaining the structure of the powder container provided with the projection part. The powder storage container provided with the protrusion is shown in a state where it is mounted on the powder carrier, (a) shows the state where the container body does not rotate, and (b) shows the state when the container body rotates eccentrically. Illustration. The perspective view explaining the structure of the powder container provided with the bottom cover. The state which shows the state with which the powder container which provided the bottom part cover was mounted | worn with the powder conveyance apparatus, (a) shows the state which a container main body does not rotate, (b) shows the state when a container main body rotates eccentrically Illustration. The enlarged view explaining the structure of the principal part of the powder carrier apparatus provided with the friction reduction member in the some support part. It is a figure explaining the structure of a friction reduction member and a some support part, (a) is an expansion perspective view explaining the structure of one side support part and a friction reduction member, (b) is a support part and friction on the other side. The expansion perspective view explaining the composition of a reduction member. The perspective view explaining composition of a friction reducing member. Explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the powder carrier apparatus which has a friction reduction member in an insertion port formation part. The structure of the powder carrier apparatus which has a flexible member and a friction reduction member in an insertion port formation part is shown, (a) is the state of the friction reduction member before the container main body rotation of a flexible member, (b) is a container. Explanatory drawing which shows the state which the main body rotated and the flexible member bent.

Hereinafter, a plurality of embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each embodiment, the same member or a member having the same function is basically denoted by the same reference numeral, and the description thereof is omitted in the subsequent embodiments. In the figure, Y, M, C, and K are subscripts attached to components corresponding to (yellow, magenta, cyan, and black), and will be omitted as appropriate.
FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of an electrophotographic tandem color copier (hereinafter referred to as “copier 500”) as an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied. Note that the copying machine 500 may be a monochrome copying machine. The image forming apparatus may be a printer, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine having a plurality of functions, instead of a copying machine. The copier 500 includes a copier apparatus main body (hereinafter referred to as “printer unit 100”), a paper feed table (hereinafter referred to as “paper feed unit 200”), and a document reading unit (hereinafter referred to as “scanner unit”) mounted on the printer unit 100. 400 ”).

  A toner container storage unit 70 as a powder container storage unit provided in the upper part of the printer unit 100 has four toner containers 32 (Y as powder storage containers corresponding to each color (yellow, magenta, cyan, black)). , M, C, K) are detachably (replaceable). An intermediate transfer unit 85 is disposed below the toner container storage unit 70.

  The intermediate transfer unit 85 includes an intermediate transfer belt 48 as an intermediate transfer member, four primary transfer bias rollers 49 (Y, M, C, K), a secondary transfer backup roller 82, a plurality of rollers, and an intermediate transfer cleaning device. Etc. The intermediate transfer belt 48 is stretched and supported by a plurality of rollers, and moves endlessly in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2 by the rotational drive of the secondary transfer backup roller 82 which is one of the plurality of rollers.

  In the printer unit 100, four image forming units 46 (Y, M, C, K) corresponding to the respective colors are arranged in parallel so as to face the intermediate transfer belt 48. Below the four toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K), there are four toner conveying devices 60 (Y, M, C, K) as powder conveying devices corresponding to the toner containers of the respective colors. It is arranged. Then, the toner, which is the powder developer stored in the toner container 32 (Y, M, C, K), is mounted in the toner container storage unit 70, and the corresponding toner transport device 60 (Y , M, C, K) is supplied (supplied) into the developing device of the image forming unit 46 (Y, M, C, K) corresponding to each color. In the present embodiment, an image forming unit is configured by four image forming units 46 (Y, M, C, and K).

As shown in FIG. 2, the printer unit 100 includes an exposure device 47 that is a latent image forming unit below the four image forming units 46. The exposure device 47 exposes and scans the surface of a photoconductor 41 (Y, M, C, K) as an image carrier, which will be described later, based on the image information of the original image read by the scanner unit 400. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface. The image information may be image information input from an external device such as a personal computer connected to the copying machine 500 instead of reading from the scanner unit 400.
In the present embodiment, the exposure device 47 uses a laser beam scanner method using a laser diode, but the exposure means may have other configurations such as an LED array.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of the image forming unit 46Y corresponding to yellow.
The image forming unit 46Y includes a drum-shaped photoconductor 41Y. The image forming unit 46Y has a configuration in which a charging roller 44Y as a charging unit, a developing device 50Y as a developing unit, a photoconductor cleaning device 42Y, a static eliminator, and the like are disposed around the photoconductor 41Y. Then, an image forming process (charging process, exposure process, development process, transfer process, cleaning process) is performed on the photoreceptor 41Y, whereby a yellow toner image is formed on the photoreceptor 41Y.

  The other three image forming units 46 (M, C, K) have substantially the same configuration as the image forming unit 46Y corresponding to yellow except that the color of the toner used is different. A toner image corresponding to each color toner is formed on the photoreceptor 41 (M, C, K). Hereinafter, description of the other three image forming units 46 (M, C, K) will be omitted as appropriate, and only the image forming unit 46Y corresponding to yellow will be described.

  The photoreceptor 41Y is rotationally driven in the clockwise direction in FIG. 3 by a drive motor. The surface of the photoreceptor 41Y is uniformly charged at the position facing the charging roller 44Y (charging process). Thereafter, the surface of the photoreceptor 41Y reaches the irradiation position of the laser beam L emitted from the exposure device 47, and an electrostatic latent image corresponding to yellow is formed by exposure scanning at this position (exposure process). Thereafter, the surface of the photoreceptor 41Y reaches a position facing the developing device 50Y, and the electrostatic latent image is developed with yellow toner at this position to form a yellow toner image (developing step).

  The four primary transfer bias rollers 49 (Y, M, C, K) of the intermediate transfer unit 85 respectively sandwich the intermediate transfer belt 48 between the photoreceptor 41 (Y, M, C, K) and perform primary transfer. A nip is formed. A transfer bias opposite to the polarity of the toner is applied to the primary transfer bias roller 49 (Y, M, C, K).

  The surface of the photoconductor 41Y on which the toner image is formed in the developing process reaches a primary transfer nip that faces the primary transfer bias roller 49Y with the intermediate transfer belt 48 interposed therebetween, and the toner image on the photoconductor 41Y at this primary transfer nip. Is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 48 (primary transfer step). At this time, a small amount of untransferred toner remains on the photoreceptor 41Y. The surface of the photoconductor 41Y that has transferred the toner image to the intermediate transfer belt 48 at the primary transfer nip reaches a position facing the photoconductor cleaning device 42Y. The untransferred toner remaining on the photoreceptor 41Y is mechanically collected by the cleaning blade 42a provided in the photoreceptor cleaning device 42Y at this facing position (cleaning process). Finally, the surface of the photoreceptor 41Y reaches a position facing the static eliminator, and the residual potential on the photoreceptor 41Y is removed at this position. Thus, a series of image forming processes performed on the photoreceptor 41Y is completed.

  Such an image forming process is performed in the other image forming units 46 (M, C, K) similarly to the yellow image forming unit 46Y. That is, the laser light L based on the image information from the exposure device 47 disposed below the image forming unit 46 (M, C, K) is a photoconductor of each image forming unit 46 (M, C, K). 41 (M, C, K) for irradiation. Specifically, the exposure device 47 emits a laser beam L from a light source, and scans the laser beam L with a polygon mirror that is rotationally driven, while each photoconductor 41 (M, C, K) via a plurality of optical elements. ) Irradiate the top. Thereafter, the toner images of the respective colors formed on the respective photoreceptors 41 (M, C, K) through the developing process are transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 48.

  At this time, the intermediate transfer belt 48 travels in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2 and sequentially passes through the primary transfer nip of each primary transfer bias roller 49 (Y, M, C, K). As a result, the toner images of the respective colors on the respective photoreceptors 41 (Y, M, C, K) are primarily transferred while being superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 48, and a color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 48.

  The intermediate transfer belt 48 on which the toner images of the respective colors are transferred in a superimposed manner and the color toner image is formed reaches a position facing the secondary transfer roller 89. At this position, the secondary transfer backup roller 82 sandwiches the intermediate transfer belt 48 between the secondary transfer roller 89 and forms a secondary transfer nip. The color toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 48 has a transfer bias applied to, for example, the secondary transfer backup roller 82 on the recording medium P such as transfer paper conveyed to the position of the secondary transfer nip. Transcribed by action. At this time, untransferred toner that has not been transferred to the recording medium P remains on the intermediate transfer belt 48. The intermediate transfer belt 48 that has passed through the secondary transfer nip reaches the position of the intermediate transfer cleaning device, untransferred toner on the surface thereof is collected, and a series of transfer processes performed on the intermediate transfer belt 48 is completed.

Next, the movement of the recording medium P will be described.
The recording medium P conveyed to the secondary transfer nip described above is fed from the paper feed tray 26 provided in the paper feed unit 200 disposed below the printer unit 100 to the paper feed roller 27, the registration roller pair 28, and the like. It is conveyed via. Specifically, a plurality of recording media P are stored in the paper feed tray 26 in an overlapping manner. When the paper feed roller 27 is driven to rotate counterclockwise in FIG. 2, the uppermost recording medium P is conveyed toward a roller nip formed by the two rollers of the registration roller pair 28.

  The recording medium P transported to the registration roller pair 28 temporarily stops at the position of the roller nip of the registration roller pair 28 whose rotation drive has been stopped. The registration roller pair 28 is rotationally driven in accordance with the timing at which the color toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 48 reaches the secondary transfer nip, so that the recording medium P is conveyed toward the secondary transfer nip. . As a result, a desired color toner image is transferred onto the recording medium P.

  The recording medium P on which the color toner image is transferred at the secondary transfer nip is conveyed to the position of the fixing device 86. In the fixing device 86, the color toner image transferred onto the surface is fixed on the recording medium P by heat and pressure generated by the fixing belt and the pressure roller. The recording medium P that has passed through the fixing device 86 is discharged to the outside of the apparatus after passing between the rollers of the discharge roller pair 29. The recording media P discharged to the outside of the apparatus by the discharge roller pair 29 are sequentially stacked on the stack unit 30 as an output image. Thus, a series of image forming processes in the copying machine 500 is completed.

  Next, the configuration and operation of the developing device 50 in the image forming unit 46 will be described in more detail. Here, the image forming unit 46Y corresponding to yellow is described as an example, but the same configuration and operation are performed in the image forming units 46 (M, C, K) of other colors.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the developing device 50Y includes a developing roller 51Y as a developer carrying member, a doctor blade 52Y as a developer regulating plate, two developer conveying screws 55Y, a toner concentration detection sensor 56Y, and the like. Has been. The developing roller 51Y faces the photoconductor 41Y, and the doctor blade 52Y faces the developing roller 51Y. The two developer conveying screws 55Y are disposed in the two developer accommodating portions (53Y, 54Y). The developing roller 51Y includes a magnet roller fixed inside, a sleeve rotating around the magnet roller, and the like. In the first developer accommodating portion 53Y and the second developer accommodating portion 54Y, a two-component developer G composed of a carrier and toner is accommodated. The second developer accommodating portion 54Y communicates with the toner dropping conveyance path 64Y through an opening formed thereabove. The toner concentration detection sensor 56Y detects the toner concentration in the developer G in the second developer container 54Y.

  The developer G in the developing device 50Y circulates between the first developer accommodating portion 53Y and the second developer accommodating portion 54Y while being stirred by the two developer conveying screws 55Y. The developer G in the first developer accommodating portion 53Y is supplied and carried on the sleeve surface of the developing roller 51Y by the magnetic field formed by the magnet roller in the developing roller 51Y while being conveyed to one of the developer conveying screws 55Y. Is done. The sleeve of the developing roller 51Y is driven to rotate counterclockwise as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 3, and the developer G carried on the developing roller 51Y moves on the developing roller 51Y as the sleeve rotates. At this time, the toner in the developer G is charged on the potential opposite to that of the carrier due to frictional charging with the carrier in the developer G, and is electrostatically attracted to the carrier, and is formed on the developing roller 51Y. Along with the carrier attracted by the magnetic field, it is carried on the developing roller 51Y.

  The developer G carried on the developing roller 51Y is conveyed in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3, and reaches the doctor portion where the doctor blade 52Y and the developing roller 51Y face each other. The amount of the developer G on the developing roller 51Y is regulated to an appropriate amount when passing through the doctor portion, and is then conveyed to the developing region that is the position facing the photoconductor 41Y. In the development area, the toner in the developer G is attracted to the latent image formed on the photoreceptor 41Y by the development electric field formed between the development roller 51Y and the photoreceptor 41Y. The developer G remaining on the surface of the developing roller 51Y that has passed through the developing region reaches above the first developer containing portion 53Y as the sleeve rotates, and is detached from the developing roller 51Y at this position.

  The developer G in the developing device 50Y is adjusted so that the toner density is within a predetermined range. Specifically, the toner stored in the toner container 32Y is transferred to the second developer storage unit via the toner transport device 60Y described later in accordance with the consumption amount of the toner contained in the developer G in the developing device 50Y. 54Y is replenished. The toner replenished in the second developer accommodating portion 54Y is mixed and stirred together with the developer G by the two developer conveying screws 55Y, while the first developer accommodating portion 53Y, the second developer accommodating portion 54Y, Cycle between.

Next, the toner conveying device 60 (Y, M, C, K) will be described.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the toner container 32Y is mounted on the toner transport device 60Y. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing four toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) mounted in the toner container storage unit 70. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the state made.

As shown in FIG. 4, the toners stored in the toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) mounted in the toner container storage unit 70 of the printer unit 100 are developed by the developing devices 50 (Y, M, Each developing device 50 (Y, M, C, K) is appropriately replenished according to the toner consumption in C, K). At this time, the toner in the toner container 32 (Y, M, C, K) is replenished by the toner conveying device 60 (Y, M, C, K) provided for each toner color.
The toner conveying device 60 has substantially the same structure except that the color of the toner used in the image forming process is different. Therefore, only the toner conveying device 60Y and the toner container 32Y corresponding to yellow will be described below, and the toner conveying device 60 (M, C, K) and the toner container 32 (M, C) corresponding to the other three colors will be described. , K) will be omitted as appropriate. If there is a different configuration for each color, the subscripts Y, M, C, or K that indicate a specific color are used as symbols, but if the configuration is not different for each color, or if the configuration is common In some cases, (Y, M, C, K) is added, or the suffix is omitted as appropriate.

As shown in FIG. 4, the toner conveying device 60 (Y, M, C, K) includes a toner container storage unit 70, a conveying nozzle 611 (Y, M, C, K) as a conveying tube, and conveying as a conveying member. A screw 614 (Y, M, C, K), a toner drop conveyance path 64 (Y, M, C, K), a drive unit (container rotation drive unit) 91 (Y, M, C, K), and the like are provided. . In the drawing, the arrow Q indicates the mounting direction of the toner container 32Y to the toner transport device 60Y, and Q1 indicates the direction of separation of the toner container 32Y from the toner transport device 60.
4 and 5, when the toner container 32Y is moved in the toner container storage unit 70 of the printer unit 100 by a mounting operation that is pushed by the user in the mounting direction Q in FIGS. 4 and 5, the toner container 32Y moves in conjunction with the mounting operation. The transport nozzle 611Y of the toner transport device 60Y is inserted from the container front end side in the mounting direction Q. As a result, the inside of the toner container 32Y communicates with the inside of the transport nozzle 611Y. Details of the configuration communicating in conjunction with the mounting operation will be described later.

  As a form of the toner container, the toner container 32Y is a substantially cylindrical toner bottle. The toner container 32Y is mainly a holding part that is non-rotatably held in the toner container storage part 70, and a container front end side cover 34Y as a container cover and a container gear 301Y as a container side gear are integrally formed. And a container main body 33Y as a powder container. The container body 33Y is rotatably held with respect to the container front end side cover 34Y.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the toner container storage unit 70 mainly includes a container cover receiving unit 73, a container receiving unit 72, and an insertion port forming unit 71. The container cover receiving portion 73 is a portion that holds the container front end side cover 34Y and the container main body 33 of the toner container 32Y. The container receiving portion 72 is a portion that supports the container main body 33Y of the toner container 32Y. The insertion port forming part 71 is a part that forms the insertion port 71a during the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y. When the main body cover installed on the front side of the copier 500 (the front side in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 2) is opened, the insertion port forming portion 71 of the toner container storage portion 70 is exposed. Then, the toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) can be attached and detached from the front side of the copier 500 in a state where the longitudinal direction of each toner container 32 (Y, M, C, K) is horizontal. An attachment / detachment operation in which the longitudinal direction of the toner container 32 is the attachment / detachment direction is performed. A set cover 608Y in FIG. 4 is a part of the container cover receiving portion 73 of the toner container storage portion 70.

  The container receiving portion 72 is formed so that the length in the longitudinal direction is substantially equal to the length in the longitudinal direction of the container body 33Y. The container cover receiving portion 73 is provided on the front end side (mounting direction Q side) of the container receiving portion 72 in the longitudinal direction (attachment / detachment direction), and the insertion port forming portion 71 is one end side (detachment) of the container receiving portion 72 in the longitudinal direction. (Direction Q1 side). Each of the four toner containers 32 can slide on the container receiving portion 72. Therefore, along with the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y, the container front end side cover 34Y slides on the container receiving portion 72 for a while after passing through the insertion port forming portion 71, and is then mounted on the container cover receiving portion 73. The

  With the container front end side cover 34Y mounted on the container cover receiving portion 73, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 8, the drive unit (container rotation drive unit) 91Y composed of a drive motor and gears is used as the main body side gear. Rotational drive is input to the container gear 301Y as a gear provided in the container main body 33Y via the container drive gear 601Y. Thereby, the container main body 33Y is rotationally driven in the arrow A direction in FIG. The toner in the container main body 33Y is rotated by the spiral protrusion 302Y formed in a spiral shape on the inner peripheral surface of the container main body 33Y as the container main body 33Y itself rotates, and the left side in FIG. From one end to the other end located on the right side. That is, in the present embodiment, the conveying means is the spiral protrusion 302Y. Thus, the toner is supplied into the transport nozzle 611Y from the container front end side cover 34Y provided at the other end through the nozzle opening 610 as a powder receiving port formed in the transport nozzle 611Y. The nozzle opening 610 communicates with the shutter support opening 335b at a position inside the container main body 33 in the longitudinal direction beyond the position where the container gear 301Y is provided. That is, the container gear 301Y meshes with the container drive gear 601Y on the container opening 33a side as an opening provided at the other end of the container main body 33 from the position where the nozzle opening 610 and the shutter support opening 335b communicate with each other.

A transport screw 614Y is disposed in the transport nozzle 611Y. The transport screw 614Y rotates when a rotational drive is input from the drive unit (container rotation drive unit) 91Y to the transport screw gear 605Y, and transports the toner supplied into the transport nozzle 611Y. The downstream end of the transport nozzle 611Y in the transport direction is connected to the toner dropping transport path 64Y. The toner transported by the transport screw 614Y falls in its own weight on the toner drop transport path 64Y and is replenished into the developing device 50Y (second developer accommodating portion 54Y).
Each of the toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) is replaced with a new one when it reaches the end of its life (when almost all the toner to be stored is consumed and emptied). A handle portion 303 is provided in the end portion of the toner container 32 opposite to the container front end side cover 34 in the longitudinal direction, that is, in the separation direction Q1. Each toner container 32 mounted on the toner transport device 60 (Y, M, C, K) is removed from each toner transport device 60 by the operator holding and pulling the handle portion 303 when replacing the container. I can do it.
Here, it supplements about the structure of the drive part 91Y. The drive unit 91Y includes a container drive gear 601Y and a transport screw gear 605Y. As shown in FIG. 7, the container drive gear 601Y is driven to rotate by the drive motor 603 fixed to the mounting substrate 602, and the output gear 603a rotates. The transport screw gear 605Y rotates the output gear 603a. It is rotated by being transmitted through the connecting gear 604.

  In the toner conveying device 60Y, the amount of toner supplied to the developing device 50Y is controlled by the number of rotations of the conveying screw 614Y. Therefore, the toner that has passed through the transport nozzle 611Y is directly transported to the developing device 50Y via the toner dropping transport path 64Y without controlling the supply amount to the developing device 50Y. As in the present embodiment, the toner transport device 60Y that inserts the transport nozzle 611Y into the toner container 32Y may be provided with a temporary toner storage section such as a toner hopper.

  Next, the toner container 32 (Y, M, C, K) and the toner transport device 60 (Y, M, C, K) according to the present invention will be described in more detail. As described above, the toner container 32 (Y, M, C, K) and the toner transport device 60 (Y, M, C, K) have substantially the same configuration except that the colors of the toners used are different. It has become. Therefore, in the following description, the subscripts Y, M, C, and K indicating the toner color are omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of the toner conveying device 60 before the toner container 32 is mounted and the end of the toner container 32 on the leading end side of the container. FIG. 6 is a perspective explanatory view of the toner container 32, and FIG. 7 is a perspective explanatory view of the toner conveying device 60 with the toner container 32 attached and the end of the toner container 32 on the leading end side of the container. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of the toner conveying device 60 with the toner container 32 mounted and the end of the toner container 32 on the leading end side of the container. FIG. 9 is an explanatory perspective view of the powder container 33 with the container tip cover 34 on the tip side removed, and FIG. 10 shows the powder container with the nozzle receiving member 330 attached to the container body 33. FIG.

The toner transport device 60 includes a transport nozzle 611 including a transport screw 614 and a nozzle shutter 612. The nozzle shutter 612 closes the nozzle opening 610 when the toner container 32 is not attached (the state shown in FIG. 1) before the toner container 32 is attached, and when the toner container 32 is attached (the state shown in FIGS. 7 and 8). The nozzle opening 610 is slidably mounted on the outer peripheral surface of the transport nozzle 611 so as to open the nozzle opening 610. The nozzle shutter 612 is provided with a nozzle shutter flange 612a as a flange on the downstream side in the mounting direction with respect to the end surface of the nozzle receiving member 330 as a transfer tube receiving member, which will be described later, in contact with the transfer nozzle 611.
On the other hand, a nozzle receiving port 331 is formed in the center of the front end surface of the toner container 32 as a tube insertion port into which the transport nozzle 611 is inserted when mounted, and serves as an opening / closing member that closes the nozzle receiving port 331 when not mounted. The container shutter 332 is provided.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 12, the toner container storage unit 70 includes a container receiving unit 72 that slides and moves the toner container 32 when the toner container 32 is attached to the toner conveyance device 60. The container receiving portion 72 is divided into four in the width direction W orthogonal to the longitudinal direction (attachment / detachment direction) of the toner container 32, and receives the container cover from the insertion port forming portion 71 along the longitudinal direction of the container main body 33. A groove 74 (FIG. 12) is formed as a container placement portion that continues to the portion 73. Each color toner container 32 (Y, M, C, K) is configured to be slidable in the longitudinal direction on the groove 74.

As shown in FIG. 12, guide rails 75 and 75 are provided on the side surfaces 74a and 74b facing each other of the groove portion 74 located in the width direction W so as to face each other. Each guide rail 75 protrudes in the width direction W from the side surfaces 74 a and 74 b, extends in the longitudinal direction, and is disposed in front of the container cover receiving portion 73. The guide rails 75 and 75 are engaged with a slide guide 361 serving as a guide member on the toner container 32 side when the toner container 32 is attached to the printer unit 100 (toner container storage unit 70), thereby opening the container opening 33a. A function of guiding to a container setting unit 615 as a container receiving unit is provided. Each guide rail 75 is formed to be parallel to the rotation axis of the container main body 33 when the toner container 32 is attached to the toner conveying device 60.
When the toner container 32 is mounted on the printer unit 100 (toner transport device 60 / toner container storage unit 70) on the side surfaces 74a and 74b of the respective color groove portions 74 located on the opposite side to the guide rail 75, the containers A plurality of support portions 77A and 77B are formed in contact with the surface 33A of the main body 33 to rotatably support the container main body 33, respectively. The plurality of support portions 77A and 77B are closer to the toner container 32 side than the side surfaces 74a and 74b which are the surfaces of the container receiving portion located in the mounting direction Q of the toner container 32 and the separation direction Q1 opposite to the mounting direction. It protrudes and contacts the rear end side surface 33A of the container main body 33 which becomes the surface of the rear end side of the container from the lower side and is rotatably supported.

  The container cover receiving portion 73 is provided with a set cover 608 (Y, M, C, K) corresponding to each color. The set cover 608 has a transport nozzle 611 disposed at the center thereof. As shown in FIG. 13, the transport nozzle 611 is disposed in the container cover receiving portion 73 from the end surface 615b which is the back side in the mounting direction in the container setting unit 615 on the downstream side in the mounting direction of the toner container 32 toward the upstream side in the mounting direction. It is arranged to protrude. A container setting unit 615 serving as a container receiving unit is erected in the protruding direction of the transport nozzle 611 toward the upstream side in the mounting direction of the toner container 32 so as to surround the periphery of the transport nozzle 611. That is, the container setting unit 615 is disposed at the root of the conveyance nozzle 611 and functions as a rotation axis when the conveyance unit in the toner container 32 rotates to convey the toner in the toner container 32. This is a positioning portion for the toner container storage portion 33a. That is, the container opening 33a is inserted into and fitted into the container setting portion 615, whereby the radial position of the container opening 33a is determined. Also,

  The toner container 32 is fitted in the toner conveying device 60 in a state where the outer peripheral surface 33b of the container opening 33a of the toner container 32 is slidable with the container setting unit 615. In the end inner peripheral surface 615a of the container setting portion 615, four sliding protrusion surfaces 615d formed as a part of the end inner peripheral surface 615a projecting radially inward from the end inner peripheral surface 615a are provided at equal intervals. The sliding projecting surface 615d and the outer peripheral surface 33b slide with the rotation of the toner container 32.

The end inner peripheral surface 615a of the container setting portion 615 and the outer peripheral surface 33b of the container opening 33a of the toner container 32 are fitted to each other, whereby the longitudinal direction (detachment direction) of the toner container 32 with respect to the toner conveying device 60 of the toner container 32. Positioning in the radial direction orthogonal to is performed. Further, when the toner container 32 is rotated, the outer peripheral surface 33b of the container opening 33a functions as a rotation shaft portion, and the end inner peripheral surface 615a of the container setting portion 615 functions as a bearing. At this time, the outer peripheral surface 33b of the container opening 33a is slidably in contact with a sliding protrusion 615d as a part of the end inner peripheral surface 615a of the container setting portion 615, and the diameter of the toner container 32 with respect to the toner conveying device 60 is reached. The position where the direction is positioned is indicated by α in FIG.
In the following description, it is frequently described that the container opening 33b of the toner container 32 is fitted to the container setting portion 615 in a slidable state. Strictly speaking, the outer peripheral surface 33b of the container opening 33b of the toner container 32 is in contact with the sliding protrusion 615d formed on the inner peripheral surface 615a of the end of the container set 615. Means. For the sake of readability, the sliding projecting surface 615d is omitted from here on, and the description that the outer peripheral surface 33b of the container opening 33b is fitted to the inner peripheral surface 615a of the end of the container setting portion 615 will be kept.

  As shown in FIG. 13, openings 608 d are formed so as to face each other in the width direction W of the set cover 608. The set cover 608 is provided with replenishment device side lock members 78 and 78, which will be described later, through the openings 608d and 608d so as to be movable back and forth from the outer peripheral surface of the set cover 608 to the inner peripheral surface 608c side. The replenishing device side locking members 78 and 78 are biased from the outside to the inside of the set cover 608 by biasing means such as a torsion coil spring 782.

Next, the toner container 32 will be described.
As described above, the toner container 32 is mainly composed of the container main body 33 in which the toner is accommodated and the container front end side cover 34 as shown in FIG. FIG. 9 is a perspective explanatory view of the toner container 32 with the container front end cover 34 removed from the state of FIG. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of the container main body 33 on the container opening 33a side, and FIG. 11 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating the configuration of the nozzle receiving member 330.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the container main body 33 has a substantially cylindrical shape and is configured to rotate with the central axis of the cylinder as the rotation center line O. Hereinafter, in the longitudinal direction of the toner container 32, the side of the toner container 32 where the nozzle receiving port 331 is formed (the side where the container front end side cover 34 is disposed) will be referred to as “container front end side”. The side of the toner container 32 on which the handle portion 303 is disposed (the side opposite to the container front end side) will be referred to as “container rear end side”. Note that the longitudinal direction of the toner container 32 is the rotational axis direction, and the longitudinal direction is the horizontal direction when the toner container 32 is mounted on the toner conveying device 60. The container rear end side of the container main body 33 is larger in outer diameter than the container front end side, and a spiral projection 302 is formed on the inner peripheral surface thereof. When the container main body 33 rotates in the direction of arrow A in the figure, the toner in the container main body 33 is moved from one end side (container rear end side) to the other end side (container front end side) in the rotation axis direction by the action of the spiral protrusion 302. ) Is applied.

  On the inner wall of the container main body 33 on the container front end side, the toner that has been conveyed to the container front end side by the spiral protrusion 302 when the container main body 33 rotates in the direction of arrow A in the figure is moved upward by the rotation of the container main body 33. A pumping unit 304 for pumping is formed. The pumping unit 304 pumps up the toner transported by the transporting force of the spiral protrusion 302 upward by the pumping wall surface 304f according to the rotation of the container body 33. As a result, the toner can be pumped up above the inserted transport nozzle 611. Further, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 9 and the like, the pumping portion spiral projection formed in a spiral shape so as to convey toner inside the pumping portion 304 as well as the spiral projection 302 on the inner peripheral surface of the pumping portion 304. 304a is formed.

  A container gear 301 is formed further on the tip side of the container than the pumping portion 304 of the container body 33. The container distal end cover 34 is provided with a gear exposure opening 34a so that a part (the back side in FIG. 6) of the container gear 301 is exposed when attached to the container main body 33. Then, by mounting the toner container 32 on the toner conveying device 60, the container gear 301 exposed from the gear exposing opening 34a is engaged with the container driving gear 601 on the toner conveying device 60 side. The container gear 301 is provided on the container opening 33 a side (in the vicinity of the container opening 33 a) in the longitudinal direction of the container main body 33 with respect to the nozzle opening 610, and is disposed so as to be able to mesh with the container driving gear 601. The container gear 301 is meshed with the container driving gear 601 so that the conveying means can be rotated.

  A cylindrical container opening 33 a is formed coaxially with the container gear 301 on the container front end side of the container body 33 with respect to the container gear 301. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 8, a nozzle receiving member is inserted into the container body 33 by press-fitting a receiving member fixing portion 337 of the nozzle receiving member 330 coaxially with the container opening 33a into the container opening 33a. 330 can be fixed. The toner container 32 is filled with toner from an opening of a container opening 33 a serving as an opening provided on one end side of the container main body 33, and then fixes the nozzle receiving member 330 to the container opening 33 a of the container main body 33. It has a configuration.

Between the container opening 33a of the container main body 33 and the container gear 301, a cover claw hooking portion 306 as a hooking portion is formed. The cover claw hooking portion 306 has a ring shape that extends in the rotational direction (circumferential direction) at the distal end in the mounting direction of the container distal end side cover 34. The cover claw hooking portion 306 is formed so as to go around the outer peripheral surface of the container opening 33a.
The container front end cover 34 is assembled from the toner container 32 (from the container front end side (lower left side in FIG. 8) with respect to the container main body 33. As a result, the container main body 33 penetrates the container front end cover 34 in the longitudinal direction and protrudes. The cover claw portion 340 as a hook is hooked on the cover claw hook portion 306 as a hook portion.The container main body 33 and the container front end side cover 34 are relative to each other when the cover claw portion 340 is hooked on the cover claw hook portion 306. Mounted rotatably.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the container front end cover 34 of the toner container 32 is used when the toner container 32 is attached to the printer unit 100 (toner transport device 60 / toner container storage unit 70). Slide guides 361 and 361 serving as guide portions for guiding the opening 33 a to the container setting portion 615 by restricting the movement of the 32 in a direction other than the mounting direction are provided. The slide guides 361 and 361 include a groove extending along the longitudinal direction of the container body 33. The slide guides 361 and 361 are inserted into the groove by inserting a pair of guide rails 75 and 75 formed in the groove portion 74 of the container receiving portion 72 described with reference to FIG. When the container 32 is attached to the printer unit 100 (toner conveying device 60), it functions as a positioning unit in the vertical direction Z and the width direction W perpendicular to the attaching / detaching direction of the container front end side cover 34.

Rotation drive is input to the container gear 301 of the toner container 32 from the drive unit (container rotation drive unit) 91 via the container drive gear 601. When driving is input to the container gear 301, the outer peripheral surface 33b of the container opening 33a of the container main body 33 functions as a rotating shaft portion, and the inner peripheral surface 615a of the end portion of the container setting portion 615 functions as a bearing. The container main body 33 which fixed 301 or comprised integrally is rotated. In the present embodiment, the rotation center of the container gear 301 is arranged so as to be concentric with the axis of the container opening 33a.
In a state (set state) in which the toner container 32 is held in the toner container storage unit 70, the toner container 32 has a container setting unit in which the outer peripheral surface 33 b of the container opening 33 a on the tip side of the toner container 32 is the rotation shaft. 615 is supported by the end inner peripheral surface 615a.

Next, the nozzle receiving member 330 fixed to the container main body 33 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 1, 8, 10, and 11, the nozzle receiving member 330 includes a container shutter supporting member 334 as a supporting member, a container shutter 332, a container seal 333 as a sealing member, and an urging force. The container shutter spring 336 as a means and a receiving member fixing portion 337 are configured. The container shutter support member 334 includes a shutter rear end support portion 335, a shutter side surface support portion 335a as a side surface portion, a shutter support opening 335b as a side surface opening portion, and a receiving member fixing portion 337, and the container shutter spring 336 includes a coil spring. . The shutter side support portion 335a and the shutter support opening 335b provided in the container shutter support member 334 are disposed adjacent to each other in the toner container rotation direction, and the two shutter side support portions 335a facing each other form a part of the cylindrical shape. It is formed, and the shape of the cylindrical shape is largely cut off at the portion (two places) of the shutter support opening 335b. With such a shape, the container shutter 332 can be guided so as to move in the longitudinal direction in a columnar space formed inside the cylindrical shape.

  The nozzle receiving member 330 fixed to the container main body 33 rotates together with the container main body 33 when the container main body 33 rotates. At this time, the shutter side surface support portion 335a of the nozzle receiving member 330 serves as a conveying nozzle on the toner conveying device 60 side. Rotate around 611. For this reason, the rotating shutter side surface support part 335 a passes through the space immediately above the nozzle opening 610 formed in the upper part of the transport nozzle 611. As a result, even if the toner is momentarily accumulated above the nozzle opening 610, the accumulated toner is broken across the shutter side support portion 335a, so that the accumulated toner is aggregated when left, and the toner is conveyed at the time of restart. It is possible to suppress the occurrence of defects. On the other hand, at the timing when the shutter side surface support portion 335a is located on the side of the transport nozzle 611 and the nozzle opening 610 and the shutter support opening 335b face each other, as shown by the arrow β in FIG. Is fed into the transport nozzle 611.

The container shutter 332 includes a distal end cylindrical portion 332c as a closing member, a sliding portion 332d, a guide rod 332e, and a shutter removal preventing claw 332a. The distal end cylindrical portion 332c is a portion on the distal end side of the container that is in close contact with the cylindrical opening (nozzle receiving port 331) of the container seal 333. The sliding portion 332d is a cylindrical portion that is formed on the container rear end side with respect to the front end cylindrical portion 332c, has a slightly larger outer diameter than the front end cylindrical portion 332c, and slides on the inner peripheral surfaces of the pair of shutter side surface support portions 335a. is there.
The guide rod 332e is a column that stands up from the inside of the front end cylindrical portion 332c toward the rear end of the container, and is a rod that guides the container shutter spring 336 so that it does not buckle when inserted into the coil of the container shutter spring 336. Part. The shutter slip-off preventing claws 332a are provided at the end of the cantilever 332f on the opposite side to the standing base of the guide lot 332e, and prevent the drop of the container shutter 332 from the container shutter support member 334. It is the nail part.

  The front end side end of the container shutter spring 336 hits the inner wall surface of the front end cylindrical portion 332c, and the rear end side end portion of the container shutter spring 336 hits the wall surface of the shutter rear end support portion 335. At this time, since the container shutter spring 336 is in a compressed state, the container shutter 332 receives an urging force in a direction away from the shutter rear end support portion 335 (the container front end direction). However, the shutter slip-off preventing claw 332 a formed on the container rear end side of the container shutter 332 is caught on the outer wall surface of the shutter rear end support 335. Thus, the container shutter 332 is prevented from moving in a direction away from the shutter rear end support portion 335. Positioning is performed by the hook of the shutter slip-off preventing claw 332a with respect to the shutter rear end support portion 335 and the urging force of the container shutter spring 336.

  As shown in FIG. 8, when the toner container 32 is mounted on the toner transport device 60, the nozzle shutter collar 612 a of the nozzle shutter 612 on the toner transport device 60 side is urged by the nozzle shutter spring 613 to Crush the protruding part. The nozzle shutter collar 612a further enters and hits the container distal end side end of the nozzle shutter abutment rib 337a, covers the distal end side end surface of the container seal 333, and blocks from the outside of the container. Accordingly, it is possible to secure the sealing around the transport nozzle 611 at the nozzle receiving port 331 at the time of mounting, and to prevent toner leakage.

The position of the nozzle shutter 612 in the longitudinal direction with respect to the toner container 32 is determined by the rear side of the nozzle shutter spring receiving surface 612f of the nozzle shutter collar 612a biased by the nozzle shutter spring 613 abutting against the nozzle shutter abutment rib 337a. Thereby, the end surface on the container front end side of the container seal 333 and the end surface on the container front end side of the front end opening 305 (internal space of a cylindrical receiving member fixing portion 337 disposed in a container opening 33a described later), The positional relationship in the longitudinal direction with the nozzle shutter 612 is determined.
The container body 33 is formed by a biaxial stretch blow molding method. This biaxial stretch blow molding method generally comprises a two-stage process including a preform molding process and a stretch blow molding process. In the preform molding step, a test tubular preform is molded by injection molding using a resin. By the injection molding at this time, the container opening 33a, the cover claw hook 306, and the container gear 301 are formed in the mouth portion of the test tube. In the stretch blow molding process, the preform cooled after the preform molding process is heated and softened, and then blow molded and stretched.

  In the container main body 33, the container rear end side is formed by the stretch blow molding process with respect to the container gear 301. That is, the portion where the spiral protrusion 302 is formed and the handle portion 303 are formed by a stretch blow molding process. In the container main body 33, each part on the container tip side from the container gear 301 such as the container gear 301, the container opening 33a, and the cover claw hooking part 306 has a shape as it is an injection-molded preform, so that it is accurately molded. it can. On the other hand, since the portion where the spiral protrusion 302 is formed and the handle portion 303 are injection-molded and then stretched and molded in a stretch blow molding process, the molding accuracy is higher than that of the preform molding portion. Inferior.

  Next, operations of the container shutter 332 and the transfer nozzle 611 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 8, and 14A to 14D. Before the toner container 32 is mounted on the toner conveying device 60, the container shutter 332 is urged by the container shutter spring 336 toward the closed position for closing the nozzle receiving port 331, as shown in FIG. The external appearance of the container shutter 332 and the conveyance nozzle 611 at this time is shown in FIG. When the toner container 32 is attached to the toner conveying device 60, the conveying nozzle 611 is inserted into the nozzle receiving port 331 as shown in FIG. When the toner container 32 is further pushed into the toner conveyance device 60, it is positioned in the insertion direction of the conveyance nozzle 611 with the end surface 332 h (hereinafter referred to as “container shutter end surface 332 h”) of the tip cylindrical portion 332 c serving as the end surface of the container shutter 332. The end surface 611a (hereinafter referred to as “the end surface 611a of the transport nozzle”) comes into contact. When the toner container 32 is further pushed from this state, the container shutter 332 is pushed as shown in FIG. 14C, and the conveying nozzle 611 is moved from the nozzle receiving port 331 after the shutter as shown in FIG. 14D. It is inserted into the end support 335. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 8, the transport nozzle 611 is inserted into the container main body 33 to become the set position. At this time, as shown in FIG. 14D, the nozzle opening 610 is in a position overlapping the shutter support opening 335b.

  Thereafter, when the container body 33 rotates, the toner pumped up by the pumping unit 304 above the transport nozzle 611 is dropped and introduced into the transport nozzle 611 from the nozzle opening 610. The toner introduced into the transport nozzle 611 is transported through the transport nozzle 611 toward the toner dropping transport path 64 by the rotation of the transport screw 614, and is dropped and supplied from the toner dropping transport path 64 to the developing device 50. Is done.

In the toner transport device 60 that rotatably supports the container main body 33 of the toner container 32 in the toner container storage section 70, as shown in FIG. 15A, the container main body 33 does not contact when it does not rotate. When the container main body 33 rotates as shown in FIG. 5B, the container main body 33 interferes with the container receiving portion 72 and the insertion port forming portion 71, which may cause abnormal noise. This is due to contact with members around the container body 33 due to eccentric rotation due to warpage in manufacturing the container body 33 or lifting of the container body 33.
More specifically, since the container main body 33 is formed by blowing air from the container opening 33a side which is the container front end side toward the container rear end side in the blow molding process, the container main body 33 is formed. A difference occurs in the thickness of the container main body 33 between the rear end side and the rear end side. For this reason, the cooling / solidification rate varies depending on the thickness difference, and the molding shrinkage rate also varies, causing warpage. Of course, this warpage is designed to be within an appropriate range, but manufacturing variations will occur. When this warpage exists, as shown in FIG. 15B, the rotation centers O1 and O2 on the container front end side and the container rear end side are not positioned on the same rotation center line O.
The toner container 32 is rotatably supported by the container receiving portion 72 via the container front end side cover 34, that is, the container opening 33a is rotatably supported by the container receiving portion 72. It is located in the insertion port 71a of the forming portion 71, and is only supported by the plurality of supporting portions 77A and 77B under its own weight and from below. For this reason, it is assumed that the container main body 33 has a large eccentricity on the container rear end side and comes into contact with the inner wall surface 71a1 of the insertion port 71a.

Of course, it is also conceivable to increase the clearance between the surface 33A of the container body 33 and the inner wall surface 71a1 by increasing the opening area of the insertion port 71a so that it does not contact even if the rear end side of the container is eccentric. However, if this clearance is too large, the toner container 32 will be loose when the toner container 32 is attached to the toner conveying device 60 from the container front end side cover 34 side, and there will be a problem with the ease of attachment.
Further, the toner accommodated in the container main body 33 is conveyed from the container rear end side toward the container front end side. For this reason, when the internal volume decreases, the container rear end side becomes lighter than the container front end side, and easily floats when the container main body 33 rotates, and the container rear end side is placed on the inner wall surface 71a1 of the insertion port 71. It is presumed that the surface 33A is easy to contact.
Further, when the toner container 32 is mounted in the toner transport device 60 / toner container storage unit 70, the transport nozzle 611 is inserted into the container main body 33, so that the front end side of the container is pressed by the transport nozzle 611. However, it rides on the plurality of support portions 77A and 77B by its own weight and is only supported from below. For this reason, the container main body 33 is more likely to float on the rear end side of the container than the front end side of the container, and the surface 33A of the rear end side of the container (the surface of the main body 33) is likely to come into contact with the inner wall surface 71a1 of the insertion port 71. The

In order to prevent the generation of abnormal noise caused by such contact between the surface 33A of the container main body 33 and the inner wall surface 71a1 of the insertion port 71, the toner conveying device 60 according to the present invention is as shown in FIG. Furthermore, the flexible member 300 that contacts the surface 33A of the container body 33 and rotates toward the inner wall surface 71a1 when the container body 33 rotates between the inner wall surface 71a1 of the insertion port 71a and the surface 33A of the container body 33. It is arranged.
As shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, the flexible member 300 is a resin sheet-like member extending in the width direction W and the mounting direction Q. As shown in FIG. 16A, the flexible member 300 has an upstream side and a downstream side in the rotation direction A of the container body 33 with a virtual straight line L passing through the rotation center line O of the powder body 33 as a vertical line. The end portion 300A located on the upstream side and the end portion 300B located on the downstream side are fixed to the upstream wall surface 71a1A and the downstream wall surface 71a1B of the inner wall surface 71a1, for example, with double-sided tape. A central portion 300C of the flexible member 300 located between the fixed end portion 300A and the end portion 300B is formed from an arcuate wall surface 71a1C formed between the upstream wall surface 71a1A and the downstream wall surface 71a1B of the inner wall surface 71a1. They are spaced apart.
The flexible member 300 is formed by chamfering each of the four corners connected to one edge 300a and the other edge 300b in each of the end portions 300D and 300E located in the mounting direction Q and the separation direction Q1 at about 45 degrees. The inclined surfaces 3001, 3002, 3003, and 3004 are inclined with respect to the mounting direction Q and the detaching direction Q1. The length D in the mounting direction Q of the flexible member 300 is set to be within the width D1 of the insertion port 71a in the mounting direction Q.

Thus, between the inner wall surface 71a1 of the insertion port 71 into which the toner container 32 is inserted and the surface 33A of the container main body 33, the container main body 33 is brought into contact with the surface 33A of the container main body 33 and rotated toward the inner wall surface 71a1. When the displacing flexible member 300 is disposed, the container main body 33 comes into contact with the flexible member 300 when it rotates eccentrically. Then, as shown in FIG. 16B, the flexible member 300 is displaced toward the arc wall surface 71a1c of the inner wall surface 71a1, and a reaction force at the time of displacement acts on the container body 33. For this reason, the inner wall surface 71a1 and the surface 33A of the container main body 33 are not in direct contact with each other, and generation of abnormal noise due to contact can be prevented.
Since the corners of the end portions 300D and 300E of the flexible member 300 are chamfered to form inclined surfaces 3001 to 3004, the contact area between the flexible member 300 and the toner container 32 when the toner container 32 is attached or detached, that is, The contact area with the container tip side cover 34 having an uneven appearance is reduced. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the flexible member 300 from being damaged or deformed by being caught with the container front end side cover 34.
Further, the flexible member 300 is located on the upstream side and the downstream side in the rotation direction A of the container body 33 with a virtual straight line L passing through the rotation center line O of the container body 33 perpendicularly as a boundary. Since the end portion 300A and the end portion 300B positioned on the downstream side are attached and fixed to the upstream wall surface 71a1A and the downstream wall surface 71a1 of the inner wall surface 71a1, respectively, even if the container body 33 is in contact with the container body 33 in a rotating state. The adhesive surface is difficult to peel off and has good durability.

As a structure for attaching the flexible member 300 to the inner wall surface 71 a 1, both ends 300 </ b> A and 300 </ b> B positioned in the width direction W are connected to the upstream side and the downstream side in the rotation direction A of the container body 33 with the virtual straight line L as a boundary. It is not limited to the thing of the both-ends support structure affixed so that it might straddle the side.
For example, as shown in FIG. 19A and FIG. 20, it extends across the upstream side and the downstream side in the rotation direction A of the container body 33 with a virtual straight line L passing through the rotation center line O as a boundary. The end portion 300A located on the upper wall surface 71a1A of the inner wall surface 71a1 is fixed with double-sided tape, and the end portion 300B opposite to the fixed end portion 300A in the rotation direction A is connected to the downstream wall surface 73a1B and the arc wall surface. It may be arranged away from 71a1c. Even in this case, the length D of the flexible member 300 in the mounting direction Q is set to be within the width D1 of the insertion port 71a in the mounting direction Q.

Even in such a mounting structure of the flexible member 300, when the container main body 33 rotates eccentrically, as shown in FIG. 19B, the flexible member 300 is surely contacted to the arc wall surface 71a1c side. The flexible member 300 is displaced toward the container body, and a reaction force at the time of displacement acts on the container body 33. For this reason, the inner wall surface 71a1 and the surface 33A of the container main body 33 are not in direct contact with each other, and generation of abnormal noise due to contact can be prevented. Moreover, since the contact range of the flexible member 300 and the container main body 33 is also reduced, it is possible to further prevent damage or deformation due to being caught by the container front end side cover 34.
Even in such a case, as shown in FIG. 21, the flexible member 300 has a corner portion connected to the other edge portion 300b in each of the end portions 300D and 300E located in the attachment direction Q and the separation direction Q1 at about 45 degrees. Chamfered to form inclined surfaces 3003 and 3004 that are inclined with respect to the mounting direction Q and the detaching direction Q1. Therefore, when the toner container 32 is attached or detached, the contact area between the flexible member 300 and the toner container 32, that is, the contact area with the container tip side cover 34 having an uneven appearance is reduced. It is preferable because breakage and deformation due to catching can be further prevented.

As a configuration of the toner container, as shown in FIG. 22, there is also a toner container 1032 in which an upper guide 35 is formed on the outer peripheral surface 34 b of the container front end side cover 34. As shown in FIG. 23, the upper guide 35 is inserted into the insertion port 71a of the insertion port forming unit 71 and abuts against the arc wall surface 71a1C when the toner container 1032 is pushed and slid by the user in the mounting direction Q. It is formed as follows. In this case, since the toner container 1032 can be pushed in the mounting direction Q while restricting the movement of the toner container 1032 in the vertical direction Z when the toner container 1032 is mounted, there is an advantage that the insertion operation can be performed smoothly.
However, the toner container 1032 is rotatably supported by the container receiving portion 72 via the container front end side cover 34, but the container rear end side where the handle portion 303 is located is in the insertion port 71 a of the insertion port forming unit 71. It is positioned and is only supported by a plurality of supporting portions 77A and 77B under its own weight from below. For this reason, it is assumed that the container main body 33 has a large eccentricity on the container rear end side and comes into contact with the inner wall surface 71a1 of the insertion port 71a. For this reason, it is preferable to arrange the flexible member 300 on the inner wall surface 71a1 of the insertion port 71a. However, if the installation range overlaps with the upper guide 35, the upper portion 35 is attached when the toner container 320 is attached and detached. It is assumed that the flexible member 300 is positioned between the guide 35 and the arc wall surface 71a1C, causing damage or turning up.

In such a case, as shown in FIGS. 24A and 25, the container main body 33 is located upstream of the rotation direction A of the container main body 33 with a virtual straight line L passing through the rotation center line O perpendicularly. The flexible member 300 is disposed, and the end portion 300A located on the upstream side is fixed to the upstream wall surface 71a1A constituting the inner wall surface with a double-sided tape. Then, the fixed end portion 300A and the end portion 300B on the opposite side in the rotation direction A are arranged apart from the downstream wall surface 73a1B and the arc wall surface 71a1c. As the container body 33 rotates, a force acts in the rotational tangent direction of the container body 33, so that the entire flexible member 300 is arranged upstream of the virtual tangent L that is directly above the container body 33 in the rotational direction A. Even when the container main body 33 rotates eccentrically, the flexible member 300 and the surface 33A of the container main body 33 can be reliably contacted.
Even in such an attachment structure, when the container body 33 rotates eccentrically, the surface 33A of the container body 33 reliably contacts the flexible member 300 as shown in FIG. Since the flexible member 300 is displaced toward, the reaction force at the time of displacement acts on the container body 33. For this reason, the inner wall surface 71a1 and the surface 33A of the container main body 33 are not in direct contact with each other, and generation of abnormal noise due to contact can be prevented. Since the end portion 300B of the flexible member 300 is disposed on the upstream side in the rotation direction A with respect to the upper guide portion 35 formed so as to be positioned on the imaginary straight line L, the end portion 300B is located between the upper guide 35 and the arc wall surface 71a1C. The flexible member 300 is not sandwiched between the two members, and the flexible member 300 can be prevented from being broken or turned up. The length D of the flexible member 300 in the mounting direction Q is set to be within the width D1 of the insertion port 71a in the mounting direction Q.

Further, as shown in FIG. 26 (a), the flexible member 300 has a corner portion connected to the other edge portion 300b in each of the end portions 300D and 300E located in the mounting direction Q and the separation direction Q1 at about 45 degrees. And forming the inclined surfaces 3003 and 3004 inclined with respect to the mounting direction Q and the detaching direction Q1, so that the contact area between the flexible member 300 and the toner container 1032 when the toner container 1032 is attached or detached, that is, The contact area with the container tip side cover 34 having an uneven appearance is reduced. For this reason, it is preferable because breakage and deformation due to catching between the container front end side cover 34 and the flexible member 300 can be further prevented.
As shown in FIG. 26 (b), the inclined surfaces 3003 and 3004 described above are inclined with respect to the mounting direction Q and the detaching direction Q1 from a position inside the end portions 300D and 300E of the flexible member 300. It can also be formed.

When the flexible member 300 is attached in the insertion opening 71a1, it is easier to apply the sticking reference and the attaching position is stable. For this reason, in the flexible member 300 shown in FIG. 18, FIG. 21, FIG. 26 (a), and FIG. 26 (b), the attachment direction of the insertion port 71a1 is set with the end portion 300D on the attachment direction Q side as the reference. The end portion 300E is attached to the end portion on the Q side. If the position where the inner wall surface 71a1 of the insertion port 71a and the surface 33A of the container body 33 are in contact with each other is narrowed to some extent by experiments or the like, the flexible member 300 shown in FIG. And good. In the flexible member 300 shown in FIG. 26 (b), the end portion 300D, which is a sticking reference, is calculated backward based on the distance from the contact position at the insertion port 71a1 to the end portion on the mounting direction Q side. This is because it is possible to adjust how much the inclined surface 3003 is formed from the inner position.
Further, as another method of providing the sticking reference, as shown in FIG. 27, the extension 300F projects from the end 300D in the mounting direction Q to the end 300D of the flexible member 300 located on the mounting direction Q side. To form. Then, a crease is formed at the boundary between the extension part 300F and the end part 300D, and the crease is used as a sticking standard E. Then, as shown in FIG. 28, the flexible member 300 is bent according to the sticking reference E, and the extension part 300F is attached to the surface 71d located on the mounting direction Q side of the insertion port forming part 71, and the remaining part is inserted. Put in the mouth 71a1 and paste.
By providing the sticking reference to the flexible member 300 as described above, the sticking position when sticking the flexible member 300 into the insertion port 71a1 is stabilized, so that workability at the time of sticking is improved. In addition, since the attachment position is stabilized, the contact position between the surface 33A of the container body 33 and the flexible member 300 is also stabilized, so that the contact between the surface 33A of the container body 33 and the inner wall surface 71a1 can be prevented more reliably. The generation of abnormal noise can be prevented more reliably.

As shown in FIGS. 24 to 26 (a) and 26 (b), the present inventors attach the flexible member 300 composed of sheet-like members having different thicknesses to the inner wall surface 71a1 as a cantilever support structure. Table 1 shows the results of testing the occurrence of abnormal noise during the test. Examples of the material of the flexible member 300 include Luminer S10 (trade name) manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc.
The thickness of the flexible member 300 was changed in the range of 0.05 mm to 0.2 mm or less, and the length d was changed in the range of 16 mm to 19 mm. The length d here is a length in a range including the adhesive surface from one edge 300a located in the width direction W of the flexible member 300 to the other edge 300b (FIG. 26A). FIG. 26B and FIG. 27). 18, FIG. 21, FIG. 26 (a), FIG. 26 (b), and FIG. 27, the hatched portion with dotted lines indicates an adhesion region (adhesion surface).

According to the test result, even if the thickness t of the flexible member 300 is increased, if the length d is insufficient, the noise reduction effect is low, and the thickness of the flexible member 300 is long even if the length d is long. If t is insufficient, the noise reduction effect tends to be low. This is presumed that if the flexible member 300 is thin or long, the spring property of the flexible member 300 is weak and the action of pushing back the container body 33 is weak, so that the noise reduction effect is small.
The thickness t of the flexible member 300 is preferably 0.1 mm to less than 0.188, and when the length d of the flexible member 300 is in the range of 17-19 mm, the effect of reducing abnormal noise is effectively exhibited. Is preferable. That is, by using the thick flexible member 300, when the container main body 33 is lifted, the force of pushing back downward becomes strong, and the container main body 33 can be reliably prevented from colliding with the inner wall surface 71a1. The thickness t of the flexible member 300 is preferably 0.1 mm or more and less than 0.2 mm.

  FIG. 29 shows another embodiment of a toner container as a powder container, and a toner container 2032 includes a container front end side cover 34 and a container main body 1033 rotatably supported by the container front end side cover 34. The difference between the container main body 33 and the container main body 1033 is that a protrusion 1040 protruding from the surface 1033A is formed on the surface 1033A of the container main body 1033. The protrusion 1040 is provided at a position where it interferes with the plurality of support portions 77A and 77B when the container body 1033 rotates. As shown in FIGS. 30A and 30B, the protrusion 1040 is formed in a triangular shape that becomes an inclined surface in the rotation direction A. There is one protrusion 1040, and when passing over the plurality of support parts 77A, 77A in the rotation direction A, the container body 33 is lifted and dropped by the protrusion amount of the protrusion 1040, and an impact is given to the container body 33. ing. There may be a plurality of protrusions 1040 instead of one. In the toner container 2032, the toner adhering to the inner surface of the container main body 1033 or the agglomerated toner is easily broken and transported by vibration due to impact, and the amount of toner remaining in the container main body 1033 is reduced. .

The amount by which the container body 33 is lifted by the protrusion 1040 is set so that the inner wall surface 71a1 of the insertion port 71a and the surface 1033A of the container body 1033 do not contact each other. If it is large, it is assumed that when it is lifted, it comes into contact with the inner wall surface 71a1 of the insertion slot 71a and becomes an abnormal noise generation factor.
Therefore, even when such a toner container 2032 is used, as shown in FIG. 30A, the container body 1033 is rotated between the inner wall surface 71a1 of the insertion port and the 10 surface 33A of the container body 1033. A flexible member 300 that displaces toward the inner wall surface 71a1 is disposed in contact with the 10 surface 33A of the container body. In this case, as shown in FIG. 30 (b), even when the protruding portion 1040 passes over the plurality of supporting portions 77A and 77B and the container body 1033 is lifted, the flexible member 300 remains in the arc of the inner wall surface 71a1. Displacement toward the wall surface 71a1c. For this reason, the reaction force at the time of displacement acts on the container main body 1033, and the inner wall surface 71a1 and the surface 1033A of the container main body 1033 are in direct contact with each other.

FIG. 31 shows another embodiment of a toner container as a powder container. A toner container 3032 shown in FIG. 31 includes a container front end side cover 34, a container main body 33 rotatably supported by the container, and a container main body. 33 has a bottom cover 3132 attached to 33. The bottom cover 3132 attached to the bottom of the container main body 33 located on the container rear end side constitutes an identification part for identifying the toner color and a handle cover that covers the handle part 303 formed on the container main body 33. It is molded from a resin having higher rigidity than the container body 33. For example, when the container body 33 is made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), the bottom cover 3132 is made of polycarbonate (PC) and ABS resin.
When the toner container 3032 having the hard bottom cover 3132 mounted thereon is mounted on the toner conveying device 60 (toner container storage section 70) and the container main body 33 rotates, the bottom cover is caused by the eccentric rotation or floating of the container main body 33. It is assumed that a larger noise is generated than when the surface 3132A of the 3132 is in contact with the inner wall surface 71a1 of the insertion port 71a and the surface 33A of the container body 33 is in contact with the inner wall surface 71a1.
Therefore, even when such a toner container 3032 is used, as shown in FIG. 32A, it is between the inner wall surface 71a1 of the insertion port and the surface 3132A of the bottom cover 3132 attached to the surface 33A of the container body 33. The flexible member 300 that displaces to the inner wall surface 71a1 side is disposed in contact with the surface 3132A of the bottom cover 3132 that is the substantial surface of the container body 33 when the container body 33 rotates. In this case, as shown in FIG. 32B, even if the container body 33 is eccentric, the flexible member 300 is displaced toward the arc wall surface 71a1c of the inner wall surface 71a1. For this reason, since the reaction force at the time of displacement acts on the container main body 33 via the bottom cover 3132, the inner wall surface 71a1 and the surface 3132A of the bottom cover 3132 are in direct contact with each other, and generation of abnormal noise due to contact is prevented. This is preferable.

  The container main bodies 33 and 1033 of the toner containers described above rotate while being in contact with the plurality of support portions 77A and 77B shown in FIGS. For this reason, the contact surfaces 77A1 and 77B1 of the support portions 77A and 77B that are in contact with the surfaces 33A and 1033A of the container main bodies are always in sliding contact with the surfaces 33A and 1033A while the container main body is rotating. It wears over time and its surface becomes rough. Such wear or rough surface causes the container main bodies 33 and 1033 to be caught during the rotation, and the toner containers 32, 1032, 2032, and 3032 (container main bodies 33 and 1033) jump up. It is assumed that this is a cause of generation of vibration noise such as resonance. In the following description, it is assumed that the container body 33 of the toner container 32 is supported by the support portions 77A and 77B.

Therefore, in the embodiment according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 33, FIG. 34 (a), and FIG. 34 (b), the contact surfaces 77A1, 77B1 with the surface 33A of the container body 33 in the plurality of support portions 77A, 77B. Are provided with friction reducing members 4300, respectively. The friction reducing member 4300 is a sheet-like member, and is attached to the contact surfaces 77A1 and 77B1 and the periphery thereof with a double-sided tape or the like. As shown in FIGS. 33 and 35, the friction reducing member 4300 extends in the mounting direction Q of the toner container 32 and has a substantially T-shape having an end portion 4300c extending in the width direction W orthogonal to the mounting direction Q. It is formed into a shape. In the friction reducing member 4300, the end 4300a located in the mounting direction Q and the end 4300b located in the detaching direction Q1 cover the contact surfaces 77A1 and 77B1 in the attaching / detaching direction, and the upper portions 77A2 and 77A2 of the contact surfaces 77A1 and 77B1 77B2 is bonded so as to cover the end portion 4300c. That is, the friction reducing member 4300 is affixed along the shape of the contact surfaces 77A1 and 77B1. For this reason, it is preferable that the thickness of the sheet-like friction reducing member 4300 is small so that the sheet-like friction reducing member 4300 becomes familiar with the contact surfaces 77A1 and 77B1 at the time of application.
When the present inventors conducted a pasting test on the contact surfaces 77A1 and 77B1 of the sheet-like friction reducing member 4300 having different thicknesses, a thin one having a thickness of 0.05 mm or less can be satisfactorily pasted without turning over. It was. On the other hand, when a thick object of 0.1 mm or more is pasted so as to cover the contact surfaces 77A1 and 77B1, a force (restoring force) to return to the original shape of the friction reducing member 4300 acts, so that it is easily peeled and peeled off. Oops. For this reason, the thickness of the friction reducing member 4300 is preferably 0.09 mm or less, and more preferably 0.05 mm or less.

  Further, each friction reducing member 4300 is not disposed in the lower portions 77A3 and 77B3 of the contact surfaces 77A1 and 77B1. This is because the lower surfaces 77A3 and 77B3 of the contact surfaces 77A1 and 77B1 do not come into contact with the surface 33A of the container main body 33, so only a weak force due to the rotation of the container main body 33 acts. It is because it does not reach. Further, since the operator performs the attaching and detaching operation of the toner container 32, the force is stronger than that when the container body 33 is rotated. It is desirable to arrange the friction reducing member 4300.

  The friction reducing member 4300 is made of a material having a friction coefficient smaller than that of at least the contact surfaces 77A1 and 77B1 and having good slidability. The container body 33 is made of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and the contact surfaces 77A1 and 77B1 are made of polycarbonate (PC) and ABS resin. On the other hand, as the friction reducing member 4300, for example, Luminer S10 (trade name) manufactured by Toray Industries, Inc. can be cited.

Thus, by providing the friction reducing members 4300 on the contact surfaces 77A1 and 77B1 of the plurality of support portions 77A and 77B that support the container body 33 from below, the container body 33 is rotated as shown in FIG. The slidability of the contact surfaces 77A1 and 77B1 can be improved, and wear and catching can be reduced. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the container main body 33 from jumping up or generating abnormal noise due to resonance or the like with a simple configuration.
In the friction reducing member 4300, the end 4300a positioned in the mounting direction Q and the end 4300b positioned in the detaching direction Q1 cover the contact surfaces 77A1 and 77B1 over the entire attachment / detachment direction, so the contact surfaces 77A1 and 77B1. The toner container 32 can be prevented from being caught by the edge of the friction reducing member 4300 and being peeled off during the attaching / detaching operation of the toner container 32 rather than the case where the toner container 32 is attached only to the toner container 32.
By setting the thickness of the friction reducing member 4300 to 0.09 mm or less, preferably 0.05 mm or less, it is possible to easily adhere to the support portions 77A and 77B, and it becomes difficult to peel off, thereby reducing friction. The durability of the member 4300 is improved.

  In the embodiment described above, the flexible member 300 and the friction reducing member 4300 have been described as separate embodiments. However, as shown in FIG. 37, both the flexible member 300 and the friction reducing member 4300 are used as toner containers. It is good also as a form provided in the insertion port formation part 71 and the container receiving part 72 of the accommodating part 70, respectively. Such a configuration is preferable because generation of abnormal noise can be further prevented.

The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments, and the present invention described in the claims is not specifically limited by the above description. Various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the above.
The effects described in the embodiments of the present invention are only the most preferable effects resulting from the present invention, and the effects of the present invention are limited to those described in the embodiments of the present invention. is not.

32 (Y, M, C, K) toner container (powder container)
33, 1033 Container body (powder container)
33a Opening (container opening)
33A, 1033A Container body surface 34 Container tip side cover (container cover)
60 (Y, M, C, K) Powder conveying device (powder replenishing device)
70 Toner container storage (powder container storage)
71 Insertion Port Formation 71a Insertion Port 71a1 Inner Wall 71a1A Upstream Wall (Inner Wall)
71a1B Downstream wall surface (inner wall surface)
71a1C Circular wall surface (inner wall surface)
72 Container receiving portion 73 Container cover receiving portion 77A, 77B Plural support portions 77A1, 77B1 Contact surface 100 Printer portion (copier apparatus main body, image forming apparatus main body)
300 Flexible member 300A Upstream end 300B Downstream end 300D Mounting direction end 300E Removal direction end 302 Spiral protrusion (conveying means)
500 Copying machine (image forming device)
1040 Protruding portion 4300 Friction reducing member A Rotating direction d Thickness of friction reducing member G Developer L Virtual straight line O Rotating center line Q Mounting direction Q1 Detach direction t Thickness of flexible member

JP 2009-276659 A

Claims (13)

A powder storage container that is rotatably supported by the container cover and includes a powder storage section for storing powder is detachable, and the powder storage section of the mounted powder storage container is rotated to store the powder. A powder conveying device for conveying the toner in the section to a developing device,
A container cover receiving part for holding the container cover;
A container receiver that rotatably supports the powder container;
When the powder container is mounted, an insertion port forming portion in which an insertion port for inserting the powder container is formed,
Flexibility between the inner wall surface of the insertion port and the surface of the powder container to be displaced toward the inner wall surface at least in contact with the surface of the powder container when the powder container rotates. A powder conveying device provided with members. In the powder conveying apparatus according to claim 1,
The flexible member is in the form of a sheet, straddling the upstream side and the downstream side in the rotation direction of the powder container part, with a virtual straight line passing through the rotation center line of the powder container part perpendicularly, and A powder body in which an end portion located on the upstream side and an end portion located on the downstream side are respectively fixed to the inner wall surface, and a portion located between the fixed end portions is arranged apart from the inner wall surface Conveying device. In the powder conveying apparatus according to claim 1,
The flexible member is in the form of a sheet, straddling the upstream side and the downstream side in the rotation direction of the powder container part, with a virtual straight line passing through the rotation center line of the powder container part perpendicularly, and The powder conveying apparatus in which an end located on the upstream side is fixed to the inner wall surface, and an end opposite to the fixed end in the rotation direction is arranged away from the inner wall surface. In the powder conveying apparatus according to claim 1,
The flexible member has a sheet shape, and is disposed on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the powder container with a virtual straight line passing through the rotation center line of the powder container vertically, and on the upstream side An end portion located on the inner wall surface is fixed to the inner wall surface, and an end portion that is opposite to the fixed end portion in the rotation direction is disposed away from the inner wall surface. In the powder carrier apparatus according to claim 2, 3 or 4,
The flexible member extends in the mounting direction of the powder container, and each end located in the mounting direction and the detaching direction opposite to the mounting direction is inclined with respect to the mounting direction and the detaching direction, respectively. Powder conveying device formed on an inclined surface.   The flexible member is a powder carrier having a thickness of 0.1 mm or more and less than 0.2 mm. The powder carrier device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The container receiving portion has a plurality of support portions that contact the surface of the powder storage portion and rotatably support the powder storage portion,
The powder conveying apparatus which provided the friction reduction member in the contact surface with the surface of the said powder accommodating part in these support parts. In the powder conveying apparatus according to claim 7,
The plurality of support parts protrude toward the powder container side from the surface of the container receiving part located in the mounting direction of the powder container and the separation direction opposite to the mounting direction,
The friction reducing member extends in the mounting direction of the powder container, and is provided so as to straddle the surface of the container receiving portion located in the mounting direction and the detaching direction from the contact surfaces of the plurality of support portions. Conveying device. A powder storage container that is rotatably supported by the container cover and includes a powder storage section for storing powder is detachable, and the powder storage section of the mounted powder storage container is rotated to store the powder. A powder conveying device for conveying the toner in the section to a developing device,
A container cover receiving part for holding the container cover;
A container receiver that rotatably supports the powder container;
When the powder container is mounted, an insertion port forming portion in which an insertion port for inserting the powder container is formed,
The container receiving portion is in contact with the surface of the powder accommodating portion, and a plurality of supporting portions that rotatably support the powder accommodating portion;
The powder conveying apparatus which provided the friction reduction member in the contact surface with the surface of the said powder accommodating part in these support parts. In the powder conveying apparatus according to claim 9,
The plurality of support parts protrude toward the powder container side from the surface of the container receiving part located in the mounting direction of the powder container and the separation direction opposite to the mounting direction,
The friction reducing member extends in the mounting direction of the powder container, and is provided so as to straddle the surface of the container receiving portion located in the mounting direction and the detaching direction from the contact surfaces of the plurality of support portions. Conveying device. In the powder conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 10,
The friction reducing member is a powder conveyance device that is a sheet material having a thickness of 0.05 mm or less. The powder carrier device according to any one of claims 7 to 11,
The plurality of support parts are powder conveying devices in which protrusions formed to protrude from the surface of the powder container are provided at positions that interfere with the protrusions when the powder container rotates.   An image forming apparatus comprising the powder container according to any one of claims 1 to 12.

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