JP2016053692A - Fitting structure, developer container, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a fitting structure that can cause two members to firmly fit to each other and to be easily separated from each other.SOLUTION: A gear-side fitting part 52 inserted into a fitting hole 45 of a stirring member-side fitting part 41 is provided with a snap fit 54 extending in a withdrawal direction reverse to an insertion direction from the tip of the gear-side fitting part 52, such that when the gear-side fitting part 52 is inserted into the fitting hole 45 and a toner stirring member 33 and a stirring driving gear 34 fit to each other, a latch pawl 55 of the snap fit 54 is fit into a locking hole 46 communicating with the fitting hole 45 to be locked therein. This structure can prevent withdrawal of the stirring driving gear 34 from the toner stirring member 33 and maintain a firm fitting state between the toner stirring member 33 and stirring driving gear 34. Since a simple operation of only inserting a locking release operation tool 60 into the locking hole 46 to push the latch pawl 55 can release the locking of the latch pawl 55 into the locking hole 46, the toner stirring member 33 and the stirring driving gear 34 can be easily separated from each other.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 12

Description

  The present invention relates to a fitting structure, a developer container, and an image forming apparatus. For example, the present invention is suitably applied to a fitting structure in which two members are detachably fitted.

  An image forming apparatus such as a printer has a toner container as a developer container that stores toner as a developer. The toner container is provided with a toner stirring mechanism for stirring the toner. The toner agitation mechanism includes, for example, a toner agitation bar as a rotation member and a transmission gear as a rotation transmission member fitted to one end of the toner agitation bar, and is driven from a motor incorporated in the image forming apparatus main body. The force is transmitted to the transmission gear, and the toner is stirred by the rotation of the toner stirring bar as the transmission gear rotates.

  Conventionally, as this toner agitation mechanism, toner agitation is performed so that rotational force is transmitted from the transmission gear to the toner agitation bar and the transmission gear does not come off from the toner agitation bar (that is, the transmission gear and the toner agitation bar are not separated). The bar and the transmission gear are locked, and the toner agitation bar and the transmission gear are separated by an operation of releasing the locking between the toner agitation bar and the transmission gear (this is called an unlocking operation). What can be made is proposed (for example, refer patent document 1).

  Specifically, in the toner stirring mechanism, for example, a flat portion having a locking groove is formed on the outer periphery of one end portion of the toner stirring bar, while one end portion of the toner stirring bar is formed at the center portion of the transmission gear. A fitting hole to be inserted is formed. A flat portion is formed on the inner wall of the fitting hole of the transmission gear as well as one end portion of the toner stirring bar, and a snap fit extending in the thickness direction of the transmission gear is formed on the flat portion. In this toner stirring mechanism, one end of the toner stirring bar is inserted into the fitting hole from one side of the transmission gear so that the latch claw formed at the tip of the snap fit of the transmission gear is And is engaged with the locking groove. In addition, this toner agitating mechanism uses an unlocking operation tool from the other side of the transmission gear to unlock the snap fit in a direction to release the latch claw and the locking groove. By performing this, the latching between the latch claw and the latching groove can be released.

JP2013-7456A

  By the way, in the conventional toner stirring mechanism, the unlocking operation is performed using the unlocking operation tool from the other side (that is, the outside) of the transmission gear. Therefore, a release operation hole for inserting a lock release operation tool is provided in the frame. In such a structure, the release direction of the snap-fitting latch pawl is orthogonal to the depth direction of the release operation hole (that is, the rotation direction of the toner stirring bar and the thickness direction of the transmission gear). Therefore, for example, it is necessary to use a special operation tool that opens the tip, or to perform a complicated unlocking operation such as inserting a rod-shaped operation tool into the release operation hole and then moving it in the radial direction. .

  In other words, the conventional toner stirring mechanism has a problem that it can be firmly fitted so that the transmission gear does not come off from the toner stirring bar, but the fitted toner stirring bar and the transmission gear cannot be easily separated. It was.

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to propose a fitting structure, a developer container, and an image forming apparatus capable of firmly fitting two members and easily separating them. .

  In order to solve such a problem, in the present invention, the first member side fitting portion inserted into the fitting hole of the second member has a first member side fitting portion on the outer periphery of the first member side fitting portion. A first member provided with a snap fit provided with a latch claw formed on the front end side extending in a direction opposite to the insertion direction in which the fitting portion is inserted into the fitting hole and projecting outward; There is a second member side fitting portion formed with a hole, and a locking hole that is connected to the fitting hole and is engaged with the latch claw of the snap fit on the outer periphery of the second member side fitting portion. A second member formed, and when the first member side fitting portion is inserted into the fitting hole of the second member side fitting portion, the first member and the second member are fitted to each other. Then, the snap-fitting latch claw of the first member and the locking hole of the second member are locked.

  By doing so, in the present invention, the snap-fit can prevent the first member from coming off from the second member, and the latch release operation tool is inserted into the locking hole of the second member and the latch claw is simply pushed. The latch claw and the latch hole can be unlocked by a simple latch release operation.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to realize a fitting structure, a developer container, and an image forming apparatus capable of firmly fitting two members and easily separating the two fitted members.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of an image forming apparatus. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of an image forming unit. FIG. FIG. 6 is an external perspective view and a cross-sectional perspective view showing a configuration of a toner container. FIG. 4 is an external perspective view showing configurations of a toner stirring member and a stirring drive gear. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a fitting structure between a toner stirring member and a stirring drive gear. It is a schematic sectional drawing for demonstrating fitting operation | movement (1). It is a schematic sectional drawing for demonstrating the fitting operation | movement (2) following a fitting operation | movement (1). It is a schematic sectional drawing for demonstrating the fitting operation | movement (3) following a fitting operation | movement (2). It is a schematic sectional drawing for demonstrating isolation | separation operation | movement (1). It is a schematic sectional drawing for demonstrating the isolation | separation operation | movement (2) following isolation | separation operation | movement (1). It is a schematic sectional drawing for demonstrating the isolation | separation operation | movement (3) following isolation | separation operation | movement (2). It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the force which acts on a snap fit when the force to the removal direction in the fitting structure of this Embodiment is added. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the force which acts on a snap fit when the force to the removal direction in the fitting structure which is a comparison object is added. FIG. 10 is an external perspective view showing a configuration of a toner stirring member in another embodiment. It is an external appearance perspective view which shows the structure (1) of the stirring drive gear in other embodiment. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the structure (2) of the stirring drive gear in other embodiment. It is a schematic sectional drawing for demonstrating the isolation | separation operation | movement in other embodiment. It is a schematic sectional drawing which shows the fitting structure in other embodiment.

  Hereinafter, modes for carrying out the invention (hereinafter referred to as embodiments) will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

[1. Configuration of image forming apparatus]
FIG. 1 shows an outline of the configuration of the image forming apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 has a substantially box-shaped housing 2. The right side of the housing 2 in the drawing is the front surface, the left side in the drawing is the rear surface, the direction from the front surface to the rear surface of the housing 2 is the rear direction, the direction from the rear surface to the front surface is the front direction, and the lower side of the housing 2 is from the lower side. An upward direction is an upward direction, and a direction from the upper side to the lower side of the housing 2 is a downward direction.

  Inside the housing 2, a plurality of color toners (for example, four color toners of black (K), yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C)) handled by the image forming apparatus 1 are disposed on the top. Four image forming units 3 </ b> A to 3 </ b> D corresponding to each are provided side by side in the front-rear direction along the conveyance path 4 of the paper P. To the four image forming units 3A to 3D, toner containers 5A to 5D containing toners of the respective colors supplied to the image forming units 3A to 3D are detachably attached. The detailed configuration of the image forming units 3A to 3D will be described later.

  Further, an annular transfer belt 6 extending in the front-rear direction along the conveyance path 4 is provided below the four image forming units 3A to 3D. The transfer belt 6 is driven by conveyance rollers 7 and 8 to convey the paper P from the front (upstream side) to the rear (downstream side). Further, below the transfer belt 6, a paper cassette 9 for storing the paper P is provided. The paper P is fed from the paper cassette 9 to the transport path 4 one by one by the hopping roller 10, transported to the transfer belt 6 by the registration rollers 11 </ b> A and 11 </ b> B, and passes over the transfer belt 6.

  Further, four transfer rollers 12 </ b> A to 12 </ b> D are provided below the four image forming units 3 </ b> A to 3 </ b> D with the upper surface portion of the transfer belt 6 interposed therebetween. When the paper P passes over the transfer belt 6 by the four transfer rollers 12A to 12D, the toner images of the respective colors developed by the four image forming units 3A to 3D are transferred. A fixing device 13 is provided at the rear (downstream side) of the transfer belt 6. The image forming apparatus 1 fixes the toner image on the paper P by the fixing device 13, and then the paper P is placed on the stacker 16 provided on the top plate portion of the housing 2 by the discharge rollers 14 </ b> A, 14 </ b> B, 15 </ b> A, 15 </ b> B. Discharge.

[2. Configuration of image forming unit and toner container]
Next, the configuration of the image forming units 3A to 3D and the toner containers 5A to 5D will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The image forming units 3 </ b> A to 3 </ b> D have the same configuration except for the color of toner to be handled. The toner containers 5A to 5D have the same configuration except that the color of the toner to be stored is different. Therefore, here, only the configuration of the image forming unit 3A and the toner container 5A will be described in order to avoid duplication of explanation.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the image forming unit 3A and the toner container 5A. As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming unit 3 </ b> A has a photosensitive drum 20 on which an electrostatic latent image is formed and an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 20 that is disposed opposite to the photosensitive drum 20. A developing roller 21 that develops toner, a supply roller 22 that supplies toner onto the developing roller 21 and collects unused toner on the developing roller 21, a charging roller 23 that charges the photosensitive drum 20, and the developing roller 21 A regulating blade 24 for forming a thin layer of the toner on top, a cleaning blade 25 for collecting transfer residual toner on the photosensitive drum 20, and an LED for forming an electrostatic latent image pattern on the surface of the photosensitive drum 20 And an exposure unit 26.

  A toner container 5A is detachably attached to the image forming unit 3A. Here, an external perspective view and a cross-sectional perspective view of the toner container 5A are shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 </ b> A, and 3 </ b> B, the toner container 5 </ b> A includes a container body 30 having a space for storing toner therein, and a side cover 31 attached to the outside of one side surface of the container body 30. The image forming unit 3A is rotatably provided in the container body 30 and agitates the toner in the container body 30 by rotating, and the toner is supplied from the toner supply port 32 provided at the lower end of the container body 30. Driven from a motor (not shown) incorporated in the main body of the image forming apparatus 1, which is rotatably provided between the toner agitating member 33 supplied to the main body 30 and one side surface of the container main body 30 and the side cover 31. And a stirring drive gear 34 that transmits the force to the toner stirring member 33 to rotate.

[3. Configuration of toner stirring member and stirring drive gear]
Here, the configuration of the toner stirring member 33 and the stirring drive gear 34 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 3B, FIG. 4 and FIG. 4 is an external perspective view showing a state where the toner stirring member 33 and the stirring drive gear 34 are separated from each other. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a fitting structure of the toner stirring member 33 and the stirring drive gear 34. FIG. One end of the toner agitating member 33 is fitted with the agitation drive gear 34, and the other end is rotatably supported on the other side of the container body 30. It rotates with the rotation.

  The toner stirring member 33 has a thin plate-like rotating plate portion 40 extending in the rotating shaft direction, and a cylindrical shape extending in the rotating shaft direction formed at one end in the longitudinal direction of the rotating plate portion 40 (that is, the rotating shaft direction). At the other end in the longitudinal direction of the rotating plate portion 40, a fitting portion (referred to as a stirring member side fitting portion) 41 that fits with a gear side fitting portion 52 (described later in detail) of the stirring drive gear 34. It is formed in a cylindrical shape extending in the direction of the rotation axis formed, and is formed at one end in the short direction of the shaft end portion 42 supported by the bearing portion 35 formed on the other side surface of the container body 30 and the rotation plate portion 40. A sheet attaching portion 43 for attaching a flexible stirring sheet 36 (see FIG. 2), which is formed in a thin plate shape extending in the longitudinal direction along the rotating plate portion 40 and rubs against the inner wall of the container body 30 during rotation. Consists of.

  On the rotating plate portion 40, ribs 44 perpendicular to the one surface and the other surface are formed on one surface and the other surface in the thickness direction at a predetermined interval in the longitudinal direction (rotational axis direction). The agitation member side fitting portion 41 is provided with a fitting hole 45 into which the gear side fitting portion 52 is inserted in the direction of the rotation axis from the tip surface. The fitting hole 45 has different cross-sectional shapes on the inlet side and the back side, and the cross-sectional shape on the inlet side is circular, whereas the cross-sectional shape on the back side is one of the cross-sectional shapes (circular) on the inlet side. It has a D-cut shape in which the part is cut flat. Further, the outer periphery of the agitation member side fitting portion 41 is also similar to the sectional shape of the fitting hole 45, and the sectional shape of the outer periphery on the inlet side of the fitting hole 45 (referred to as the inlet side outer periphery) is circular. The cross-sectional shape of the outer periphery (this is called the inner periphery) is a D-cut shape. Further, a snap formed on the gear-side fitting portion 52 when the gear-side fitting portion 52 is inserted into the fitting hole 45 on the D-cut surface 47 on the outer peripheral side of the stirring member-side fitting portion 41. An engagement hole 46 that is engaged with a latch claw 55 of a fit 54 (described later in detail) is formed in a direction orthogonal to the rotation axis direction and connected to the inner side of the fitting hole 45.

  On the other hand, the agitation drive gear 34 has a gear-like shape in which gear teeth are formed on the outer periphery of the disk and receives a driving force from a motor (not shown), and is suspended from the center of one surface of the gear tooth portion 50. A cylindrical shaft end portion 51 supported by a bearing portion 37 formed on the side cover 31 and a center of the other surface of the gear tooth portion 50 are fitted to the stirring member side fitting portion 41. It is comprised by the substantially rod-shaped gear side fitting part 52 to do.

  The gear side fitting portion 52 is an elastic body, and is a portion supported by a bearing portion 38 formed on one side surface of the housing body 30. The gear-side fitting portion 52 is a portion that is inserted into the fitting hole 45 of the stirring member-side fitting portion 41 and fits with the stirring member-side fitting portion 41, and corresponds to the shape of the fitting hole 45. It has a shape to That is, the gear-side fitting portion 52 has a circular cross-sectional shape on the base side and a D-cut shape on the tip side. Furthermore, the insertion direction in which the gear-side fitting portion 52 is inserted into the fitting hole 45 of the stirring member-side fitting portion 41 is defined on the D-cut surface 53 that is a flat portion on the distal end side of the gear-side fitting portion 52. A snap fit 54 is formed extending in the reverse direction (the direction in which the gear side fitting portion 52 comes out from the fitting hole 45 and extending from the distal end side to the root side of the gear side fitting portion 52). The snap fit 54 can be bent in the thickness direction orthogonal to the D-cut surface 53, and a latch claw 55 is projected from the front end portion of the surface that is the same surface as the D-cut surface 53. That is, the snap fit 54 is such that only the latch claw 55 protrudes outward from the D-cut surface 53 and can be bent inward and outward from the D-cut surface 53. The latch claw 55 has a locking surface 55A that is perpendicular to the surface of the snap fit 54 and located at the tip, and an inclined surface 55B that has a sloping surface 55B that descends from the top of the locking surface 55A toward the root side of the snap fit 54. It is a right triangle.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the gear-side fitting portion 52 has a hollow on the back side of the snap fit 54 and has an outer periphery opposite to the D-cut surface 53 on which the snap fit 54 is formed. A communication hole 56 connected to the cavity (that is, the internal space) is formed. The communication hole 56 is a hole necessary for forming the snap fit 54 on the D-cut surface 53.

  In fact, as shown in FIG. 5, when the toner agitating member 33 and the agitation drive gear 34 are in the fitted state, the tip side of the gear side fitting portion 52 having a cross-sectional D-cut shape also has a cross-sectional D-cut shape. A state in which the base side of the gear side fitting portion 52 having a circular cross section is inserted into the entrance side of the fitting hole 45 having a circular cross section, which is inserted into the back side of the fitting hole 45 of the stirring member side fitting portion 41. It becomes. At this time, the rotation axis of the stirring drive gear 34 and the toner stirring member 33 is determined by the circular section (the base side of the gear side fitting portion 52 and the entrance side of the fitting hole 45), and the section having a D-shaped section ( The rotation of the stirring drive gear 34 is transmitted to the toner stirring member 33 by the front end side of the gear side fitting portion 52 and the back side of the fitting hole 45. Further, at this time, the latch claw 55 of the snap fit 54 of the gear side fitting portion 52 is fitted into the locking hole 46 of the stirring member side fitting portion 41 and is locked to the locking hole 46. As a result, the stirring drive gear 34 is prevented from coming off from the toner stirring member 33.

  Here, a fitting operation for fitting the toner stirring member 33 and the stirring drive gear 34 and a separating operation for separating them will be described. A fitting operation for fitting the stirring drive gear 34 to the toner stirring member 33 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, as shown in FIG. 6, the gear side fitting portion 52 of the stirring drive gear 34 is inserted into the fitting hole 45 of the stirring member side fitting portion 41 of the toner stirring member 33 in the direction indicated by the thick arrow in the figure. Go. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, when the gear side fitting portion 52 is inserted until the latch claw 55 of the snap fit 54 reaches the cross-section D-cut portion on the back side of the fitting hole 45, When the inclined surface comes into contact with the inner wall of the portion having the D-shaped cross section and is pushed inward, the snap fit 54 bends so that the tip side is directed inward in the direction indicated by the thick line arrow in the figure. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 8, the gear side fitting portion 52 is further inserted, and when the latch claw 55 reaches the locking hole 46 connected to the fitting hole 45, the latch claw 55 is pushed inward. When the force is lost, the snap fit 54 returns to its original shape so that the tip side is directed outward in the direction indicated by the thick line arrow in the figure, and the latch claw 55 is fitted into the locking hole 46 and is engaged with the locking hole 46. Stopped. In this way, the stirring drive gear 34 is fitted to the toner stirring member 33.

  Next, a separation operation for separating the toner stirring member 33 and the stirring drive gear 34 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 to 11. First, as shown in FIG. 9, a rod-shaped locking release operation tool 60 such as a flat-blade screwdriver is inserted into the locking hole 46 exposed on the outer periphery of the stirring member side fitting portion 41 from the outside of the locking hole 46. Then, the latch claw 55 of the snap fit 54 fitted in the locking hole 46 is pushed inward in the direction indicated by the thick line arrow in the drawing at the tip of the locking release operation tool 60. Then, as shown in FIG. 10, the snap fit 54 is bent so that the tip side where the latch claw 55 is formed bends inward in the direction indicated by the thick line arrow in the figure until the latch claw 55 is released from the locking hole 46. When bent, the latch claw 55 and the latch hole 46 are unlocked. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 11, the gear-side fitting portion 52 inserted in the fitting hole 45 of the stirring member-side fitting portion 41 in the unlocked state is indicated by a bold arrow in the drawing. Pull out in the direction opposite to the insertion direction. In this way, the toner stirring member 33 and the stirring drive gear 34 are separated.

  Next, the force acting on the snap fit 54 when a force in the pulling direction is applied to the stirring drive gear 34 while the latch claw 55 and the locking hole 46 are locked will be described with reference to FIG. . FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the fitting structure, but in order to make it easy to understand the direction in which the force acts, the hatched lines indicating the cross-sectional portion of the stirring drive gear 34 are omitted. When a force in the removal direction indicated by the arrow A is applied to the agitation drive gear 34, the engagement surface 55A of the latch claw 55 that is in contact with the inner wall of the engagement hole 46 is indicated by an arrow B opposite to the removal direction. A force is applied in the direction shown.

  At this time, the contact portion between the locking surface 55 </ b> A of the latch claw 55 and the inner wall of the locking hole 46 is outside the surface of the snap fit 54 and outside the fulcrum Q located at the root portion of the snap fit 54. In addition, the snap fit 54 extends in the direction opposite to the direction of the force indicated by the arrow B applied to the locking surface 55 </ b> A of the latch claw 55 (that is, the pulling direction). For this reason, when a force in the direction indicated by the arrow B opposite to the direction of removal is applied to the locking surface 55A of the latch claw 55, the snap fit 54 tends to bend the tip end side of the snap fit 54 further outward. The force acts in the direction indicated by the arrow C, that is, the direction in which the latch claw 55 enters deeper into the locking hole 46. As a result, when the latch claw 55 and the locking hole 46 are locked, the latch claw 55 and the locking hole 46 can be easily locked even if a pulling force is applied to the stirring drive gear 34. The stirring drive gear 34 can be prevented from coming off from the toner stirring member 33 without being released.

  Here, in order to compare with the fitting structure of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13, the gear side fitting portion 52 extends in the direction opposite to the removal direction (that is, the gear side fitting portion 52). The fitting structure in which the snap fit 70 (which extends in the direction from the root side to the tip side) is formed will be briefly described. The snap fit 70 also has a latch claw 55 formed on the tip side. Even in this fitting structure, when a force in the removal direction indicated by the arrow A is applied to the stirring drive gear 34, the engagement surface 55A of the latch claw 55 that is in contact with the inner wall of the engagement hole 46 has a removal direction. Applies a force in the direction indicated by the reverse arrow B. Also in this case, the contact portion between the locking surface 55A of the latch claw 55 and the inner wall of the locking hole 46 is outside the surface of the snap fit 70 and outside the fulcrum Q located at the root portion of the snap fit 70. . On the other hand, the difference from the fitting structure of the present embodiment is that the snap fit 70 extends in the direction opposite to the pulling direction. In the case of this fitting structure, when a force in the direction opposite to the pulling direction is applied to the locking surface 55A of the latch claw 55, the snap fit 70 has an arrow D for bending the front end side of the snap fit 70 inward. The force acts in the direction indicated by, that is, the direction in which the latch claw 55 is released from the locking hole 46. In the case of this fitting structure, as the force in the pulling direction increases, the snap fit 70 bends more and the latch pawl 55 and the latch hole 46 are unlocked and the stirring drive gear 34 is released. May fall out.

  On the other hand, in the fitting structure of the present embodiment, the engagement between the latch claw 55 and the locking hole 46 is sufficient even in the fitting structure shown in FIG. The stop is not released and the fitting state of the toner stirring member 33 and the stirring drive gear 34 can be maintained more firmly.

[4. Summary and Effect]
As described so far, in the fitting structure of the present embodiment, the gear-side fitting portion 52 inserted into the fitting hole 45 of the stirring member-side fitting portion 41 is moved from the tip of the gear-side fitting portion 52. A snap fit 54 that extends in a direction opposite to the insertion direction is provided. When the gear side fitting portion 52 is inserted into the fitting hole 45 of the stirring member side fitting portion 41 and the toner stirring member 33 and the stirring drive gear 34 are fitted, the outer side formed at the tip of the snap fit 54 The latch claw 55 projecting into the engagement hole 46 is fitted into the engagement hole 46 communicating with the engagement hole 45 in a direction orthogonal to the engagement hole 45 so as to be engaged with the engagement hole 46. Thereby, according to the fitting structure of the present embodiment, even when a force in the pulling direction is applied to the stirring drive gear 34, the latch claw 55 is caused to enter the snap fit 54 deeper into the locking hole 46 at this time. Since the force to act acts, it is possible to prevent the stirring drive gear 34 from coming off from the toner stirring member 33, and it is possible to keep the toner stirring member 33 and the stirring drive gear 34 in a more firmly fitted state.

  In the fitting structure of the present embodiment, the locking hole 46 that is locked to the latch claw 55 is exposed on the outer periphery of the stirring member side fitting portion 41, and the locking hole 46 has a rod-like shape. Since the latch claw 55 can be released from the lock hole 46 by simply inserting the lock release operation tool 60 and pushing the latch claw 55, the special engagement structure can be used. It is not necessary to use a simple operation tool or to perform complicated operations, and the toner stirring member 33 and the stirring drive gear 34 can be separated by a simpler operation compared to the conventional fitting structure.

  In addition, each of the toner containers 5A to 5D has a space for storing toner therein, and the toner stirring member 33 is provided in this space. There is a sufficiently large space for performing the unlocking operation using the operation tool 60. For this reason, in the fitting structure of the present embodiment, there is no need to separately provide a gap, a hole, or the like as a space for performing the unlocking operation in the container body 30, and the clearance, hole for the unlocking operation Compared with the fitting structure in which the above is provided separately, the housing body 30 can be easily downsized and can have sufficient strength.

  According to the above configuration, the fitting structure of the present embodiment can firmly fit the toner stirring member 33 and the stirring drive gear 34, and the toner stirring member 33 and the stirring drive gear 34 that are fitted together. Can be easily separated.

[5. Other Embodiments]
[5-1. Other Embodiment 1]
In the above-described embodiment, the shape of the fitting hole 45 of the stirring member side fitting portion 41 is made to correspond to the shape of the gear side fitting portion 52, the entrance side is circular in cross section, and the back side is cut in cross section D. Shaped. For example, as shown in FIG. 14, the maximum deflection amount of the gear-side fitting portion 52 inserted into the fitting hole 45 into the snap fit 54 on the inner wall on the back side of the fitting hole 45 as shown in FIG. 14. You may make it form the control part 100 for controlling. Specifically, it is formed in a plate shape extending in the depth direction of the fitting hole 45 along the flat portion on the side facing the flat portion of the inner wall on the back side of the fitting hole 45, and protrudes from the inner wall by a predetermined amount. The restriction part 100 is formed.

  On the other hand, in the stirring drive gear 34, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, when the gear side fitting portion 52 is inserted into the fitting hole 45, the restriction portion 100 is passed through the internal space of the gear side fitting portion 52. A groove 101 is formed on the distal end surface of the gear side fitting portion 52. The groove 101 is formed such that a part of the outer periphery of the distal end surface of the gear side fitting portion 52 far from the D cut surface 53 is cut out in a concave shape, and the inner space and the communication hole of the gear side fitting portion 52 are formed. 56. The groove 101 and the communication hole 56 are holes (referred to as restricting portion holes) for allowing the restricting portion 100 to pass through the internal space, and have a shape and size that allow the restricting portion 100 to pass therethrough. Therefore, when the gear side fitting portion 52 is inserted into the fitting hole 45, the restricting portion 100 enters from the groove 101 formed on the distal end surface of the gear side fitting portion 52 and passes through the communication hole 56. It enters into the internal space of the gear side fitting portion 52.

  And if the gear side fitting part 52 is inserted in the fitting hole 45 until the latch nail | claw 55 is latched by the latching hole 46, the control part 100 will be predetermined | prescribed between the back surface of the snap fit 54. It will be in the state which entered into the front end side of the snap fit 54 at intervals. Here, as shown in FIG. 17, in order to unlock the latch claw 55 and the latch hole 46, the latch release operation tool 60 is inserted into the latch hole 46 so that the latch claw 55 is moved inward. As the push-in is continued, the back surface of the tip of the snap fit 54 comes into contact with the opposing surface of the restricting portion 100 and the locking release operation tool 60 cannot be pushed any further. Thereby, for example, even if the force that pushes the latch claw 55 inward by the lock release operation tool 60 is too strong, the maximum deflection amount of the snap fit 54 is regulated by the regulating unit 100, so that the snap fit 54 is flexed. It is possible to avoid the situation where it is damaged too much. It is assumed that the maximum amount of bending of the snap fit 54 is at least an amount by which the latch claw 55 and the latch hole 46 can be unlocked. Furthermore, the minimum is desirable within a range where the latching of the latch claw 55 and the latching hole 46 can be released. This is because the load applied to the snap fit 54 can be reduced when the deflection amount is small.

  Further, the groove 101 and the communication hole 56 may be approximately the same size as the size of the restriction portion 100 so that the gap between the restriction portion 100 and the groove 101 and the communication hole 56 is substantially eliminated. In this way, when the stirring drive gear 34 rotates, the groove 101 of the gear side fitting portion 52 and the inner wall of the communication hole 56 come into contact with the regulating portion 100 of the stirring member side fitting portion 41 in the rotation direction. The rotation of the stirring drive gear 34 is transmitted to the toner stirring member 33. As a result, the rotation can be transmitted more reliably from the stirring drive gear 34 to the toner stirring member 33 as compared with the case where the rotation is transmitted only by the D-cut portion.

[5-2. Other Embodiment 2]
In the above-described embodiment, the agitation member side fitting portion 41 of the toner agitating member 33 is provided with the fitting hole 45 and the locking hole 46, and the snap fitting 54 is provided on the gear side fitting portion 52 of the agitation drive gear 34. By inserting the gear side fitting portion 52 into the fitting hole 45 of the stirring member side fitting portion 41, the latch claw 55 of the snap fit 54 is locked with the locking hole 46. . For example, as shown in FIG. 18, a gear side fitting portion 110 having the same structure as the stirring member side fitting portion 41 is provided in the stirring drive gear 34 instead of the gear side fitting portion 52, and the gear side The stirring member side fitting portion 111 having the same structure as the fitting portion 52 may be provided on the toner stirring member 33 instead of the stirring member side fitting portion 41. That is, the fitting structure on the toner stirring member 33 side and the fitting structure on the stirring drive gear 34 side may be replaced with the above-described embodiment.

[5-3. Other Embodiment 3]
Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the cross-sectional shape on the distal end side of the gear side fitting portion 52 is the D cut shape, and the snap fit 54 is formed on the D cut surface 53. For example, the cross-sectional shape on the distal end side of the gear-side fitting portion 52 may be a so-called H-cut shape in which the outer periphery on the opposite side of the D-cut surface 53 is also a D-cut surface. A snap fit 54 may be formed on each of these. In this case, the cross-sectional shape of the rear side of the fitting hole 45 of the stirring member side fitting portion 41 is also an H-cut shape, and another locking hole 46 is formed on the side facing the locking hole 46. To do.

[5-4. Other Embodiment 4]
The above-described embodiment and other embodiments are specific examples of the rotation transmitting member and the first member provided in the toner containers 5A to 5D of the image forming apparatus 1, and the first member side fitting portion. The stirring drive gear 34 having the gear-side fitting portion 52 or 110, which is a specific example of the above, a specific example of the rotating member and the second member, and the stirring member side fitting which is a specific example of the second member-side fitting portion Although the present invention is applied to the fitting structure with the toner agitating member 33 having the joint portion 41 or 111, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be a fitting structure that fits two members using a snap fit. Thus, it can be applied to various fitting structures. For example, the present invention can be applied to a fitting structure between a detachable male connector and a female connector.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to the toner containers 5A to 5D that are detachable from the image forming units 3A to 3D. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and is formed integrally with the image forming units 3A to 3D, for example. The present invention may be applied to the toner containers 5 </ b> A to 5 </ b> D. In other words, the present invention may be applied to an image forming unit in which a toner container is integrally formed.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the present invention is applied to the image forming apparatus 1 having a so-called LED printer configuration in which exposure is performed using LEDs. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a developer container similar to the toner containers 5A to 5D. Can be applied to an image forming apparatus such as a so-called laser printer, a facsimile, or an MFP (Multi Function Product) that performs exposure using a light emitting element other than an LED.

[5-5. Other Embodiment 5]
Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment and other embodiments. That is, the scope of application of the present invention extends to embodiments in which some or all of the above-described embodiments and other embodiments are arbitrarily combined, and embodiments in which some are extracted.

  The present invention can be widely used in an apparatus having a fitting structure for fitting two members by using a snap fit.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Image forming apparatus, 3A-3D ... Image forming unit, 5A-5D ... Toner container, 30 ... Container body, 33 ... Toner stirring member, 34 ... Stirring drive gear, 41 ... Stirring Member side fitting portion, 45... Fitting hole, 46 .. locking hole, 52 .. gear side fitting portion, 53... D cut surface, 54, 70. 56 …… Communication hole, 60 …… Unlocking operation tool, 100 …… Regulating portion, 110, 111 …… Fitting portion.

Claims (8)

The first member side fitting portion is inserted into the fitting hole of the second member, and the first member side fitting portion is inserted into the fitting hole on the outer periphery of the first member side fitting portion. A first member provided with a snap fit in which a latching claw that extends in the direction opposite to the insertion direction and projects outward is formed on the tip side;
A second member-side fitting portion having the fitting hole formed therein, and the outer periphery of the second member-side fitting portion communicates with the fitting hole and is engaged with the latch claw of the snap fit. A second member formed with a stop hole,
When the first member side fitting portion is inserted into the fitting hole of the second member side fitting portion, the first member and the second member are fitted, and the snap fit of the first member is performed. The latching claw and the locking hole of the second member are locked. A flat portion is formed on the outer periphery of the first member side fitting portion of the first member, and the snap fit is formed on the flat portion,
The fitting according to claim 1, wherein a flat portion is formed on an inner wall of the fitting hole of the second member-side fitting portion of the second member, and the locking hole is formed in the flat portion. Combined structure. The first member is one of a rotation member and a rotation transmission member that transmits rotation to the rotation member, and the second member is the other of the rotation member and the rotation transmission member. 2. The fitting structure according to 2. When one of the first member and the second member rotates, the flat portion formed on the first member and the flat portion formed on the second member come into contact with each other. The fitting structure according to claim 3, wherein rotation is transmitted from one of the member and the second member to the other. When the latch claw and the locking hole are locked, an operation for inserting the unlocking operation tool from the outside of the locking hole into the locking hole and pressing the latch claw causes the snap fit to move to the inside. The fitting structure according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the latching claw and the latching hole are released from being bent. The inner wall of the fitting hole of the second member side fitting portion is provided with a regulating portion for regulating the maximum deflection amount of the snap fit,
The first member-side fitting portion is hollow, and when the first member-side fitting portion is inserted into the fitting hole of the second member-side fitting portion, the restricting portion is made of the snap fit. It enters into a position facing the back surface opposite to the surface on which the latch claw is formed at a predetermined interval, and the maximum deflection amount of the snap fit is bent until the back surface of the snap fit comes into contact with the restricting portion. The fitting structure according to claim 5, wherein the fitting structure is regulated by an amount of bending at the time.   A developer container comprising the fitting structure according to claim 1. An image forming apparatus comprising the developer container according to claim 7.

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