JP2017058610A - Powder supply device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent, when a toner bottle is withdrawn during replacement of the toner bottle, a toner adhered to the periphery of an opening of the toner bottle from dropping to contaminate the inside and outside of an image forming apparatus.SOLUTION: There is provided a powder supply device that supplies a powder stored in a toner bottle to a supply target body, the powder supply device comprising air supply means that supplies the air to a connection part of the toner bottle and supply target body inside the powder supply device.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

  The present invention relates to a powder supply device and an image forming apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, or a complex machine thereof, a toner bottle (also referred to as a powder container) containing toner (also referred to as a powder container) is detachably installed. ing. 2. Description of the Related Art A toner replenishing device (also referred to as a powder replenishing device) that discharges toner from an opening (also referred to as a discharge port) of a toner bottle by rotating a substantially cylindrical toner bottle in an image forming apparatus is already known. (For example, refer to Patent Documents 1 and 2.)

  Specifically, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose that a substantially cylindrical toner bottle in which a spiral protrusion protruding from the outer peripheral surface toward the inner peripheral surface is provided.

On the other hand, in the toner replenishing device, an inner holder (also referred to as a fitting member), a chuck mechanism, a dropping path portion, and the like are provided in a holder portion that holds the head of the toner bottle.
The inner holder is a member that fits into the container body and rotates together with the container body. The chuck mechanism is a member that opens a cap attached to the opening of the container body. The drop path portion is a member from which the toner discharged from the opening of the container body falls by its own weight. The inner holder has a driven gear formed on the outer peripheral surface thereof, receives a driving force from a driving gear meshing with the driven gear, and rotates so as to be in sliding contact with the inner diameter portion of the holder portion. With these gears, in the toner replenishing device, the container main body rotates together with the inner holder, the toner in the container main body is conveyed toward the opening by the spiral protrusion, and the toner is discharged from the opening. The toner that has been discharged from the toner bottle and dropped on the dropping path portion is transported and replenished toward the developing device as the supply target.

  However, in the above-described toner replenishing device, when toner is discharged from the opening, the toner adheres to the periphery of the opening of the container body. That is, when the toner bottle is pulled out when the toner bottle is replaced, there is a problem that the adhered toner falls and contaminates the inside and outside of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a toner replenishing device which is a premise of the present invention.
The toner replenishing device shown in FIG. 1 is an image forming apparatus including a holder 14 constituting an outer wall, and a rotatable inner holder 18 disposed on the holder 14 and having a gear 18b on an outer peripheral surface. . In this image forming apparatus, the inner holder 18 rotates via the drive gear 21 and the toner bottle 20 rotates in synchronization with the inner holder 18, and the toner 5 in the toner bottle 20 is discharged from the opening 23.
Further, the inner holder 18 is provided with a seal 18a for preventing the toner 5 from scattering between the toner bottle 20 and the receiving portion of the inner holder 18 when the toner 5 is discharged. In this case, scattering of the toner 5 outside the holder 14 (left side of the seal 18a in FIG. 1) is prevented by the seal 18a, and the outer periphery of the toner bottle 20 is not soiled.

On the other hand, when the toner is discharged from the opening 23 inside the holder 14 (right side of the seal 18a in FIG. 1), the toner adheres to the periphery B of the opening and adheres when the toner bottle is pulled out when the toner bottle is replaced. The problem of toner dropping and contamination has not been solved.
7a is a cap, 7b is a knob part, 13A is a holder part, 14a is an opening part, 15 is a chuck, 15a is a rack, 15b is a claw part, 16 is a slider, 16a is a pressing part, 17 is a spring, and 23 is an opening. 24A is a motor, 33 is a protrusion, 34A is a sensor, and 44a is an opening. A indicates the moving direction of the chuck 15.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to prevent toner adhering to the periphery of a toner bottle opening from being dropped and contaminating the inside and outside of an image forming apparatus when the toner bottle is pulled out when replacing the toner bottle.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1 is a powder replenishing device for replenishing powder contained in a toner bottle toward a replenishment body, wherein the toner is contained in the powder replenishing device. An air supply means for supplying air toward a connecting portion between the bottle and the replenished body is provided.

  According to the present invention, when the toner bottle is pulled out when the toner bottle is replaced, it is possible to prevent the toner attached to the periphery of the toner bottle opening from dropping and contaminating the inside and outside of the image forming apparatus.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a toner supply device that is a premise of the present invention. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating a printer as an image forming apparatus. FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing an image forming unit of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an outline of a toner supply device. (A), (B) is explanatory drawing about the detail of a storage part. (A), (B) is explanatory drawing about the replacement method of a toner bottle. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a state where the head of the toner bottle is attached to the receiving unit. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an operation of the toner supply device illustrated in FIG. 7.

<Overview>
An embodiment of the present invention will be described. The present invention relates to a powder replenishing device that replenishes powder such as toner contained in a toner bottle toward a developing device as a replenishment body such as a developing device, and in particular, the toner bottle is rotatably and detachably installed. The powder replenishing device has the following characteristics.
The present powder replenishing device includes an air supply means, and enables the powder attached to the periphery of the opening of the toner bottle to be peeled off by the air supplied from the air supply means.
In short, the present powder replenishing device is characterized in that when the empty toner bottle is replaced, the toner adhering to the periphery of the toner bottle opening is cleaned by air from the air supply means.

<Embodiment>
Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the following drawings.
2 is a configuration diagram showing a printer as an image forming apparatus, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged view showing an image forming unit of the image forming apparatus shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, toner replenishing devices 60Y, 60M, 60C, and 60K are juxtaposed above the image forming apparatus main body 100. The toner replenishing devices 60Y, 60M, 60C, and 60K each have two substantially cylindrical toner bottles 30Y, 30M, 30C, and 30k of four colors corresponding to yellow, magenta, cyan, and black detachably installed. It is.

  Below the toner replenishing devices 60Y, 60M, 60C, and 60K, image forming units 6Y, 6M, 6C, and 6K corresponding to yellow, magenta, cyan, and black are respectively sandwiched between the exposure units 7Y, 7M, 7C, and 7K. The intermediate transfer belt device 150 is arranged in parallel so as to face the intermediate transfer belt 8.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the image forming unit 6Y corresponding to yellow includes a photoconductive drum 1Y (also referred to as an image carrier), a charging unit 4Y disposed around the photoconductive drum 1Y, a developing unit 5Y, It includes a cleaning unit 2Y, a charge removal unit (not shown), and the like. An image forming process (charging process, exposure process, developing process, transfer process, cleaning process) is performed on the photosensitive drum 1Y, and a yellow image is formed on the photosensitive drum 1Y.

The other three image forming units 6M, 6C, and 6K have substantially the same configuration as the image forming unit 6Y corresponding to yellow except that the color of the toner used is different, and correspond to the respective toner colors. An image is formed.
Hereinafter, description of the other three image forming units 6M, 6C, and 6K will be omitted as appropriate, and only the image forming unit 6Y corresponding to yellow will be described.

The photosensitive drum 1Y is rotationally driven counterclockwise by a drive motor (not shown). Then, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y is uniformly charged at the position of the charging unit 4Y (charging process).
The surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y reaches the irradiation position of the laser beam L emitted from the exposure unit 7Y of the writing device, and an electrostatic latent image corresponding to yellow is formed by exposure scanning at this position (exposure process). ).

The surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y reaches a position facing the developing device 5Y of the developing unit, and the electrostatic latent image is developed at this position to form a yellow toner image (developing process).
The surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y reaches a position facing the intermediate transfer belt 8 and the primary transfer roller 9Y, and the toner image on the photosensitive drum 1Y is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 8 at this position (primary transfer). Transfer process). At this time, a small amount of untransferred toner remains on the photosensitive drum 1Y.

The surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y reaches a position facing the cleaning unit 2Y, and untransferred toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 1Y at this position is collected in the cleaning unit 2Y by the cleaning blade 2a (cleaning step). .
Finally, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y reaches a position facing a neutralization unit (not shown), and the residual potential on the photosensitive drum 1 is removed at this position.
In this way, a series of image forming processes performed on the photosensitive drum 1Y is completed.

  The image forming process described above is performed in the same manner as the yellow image forming unit 6Y in the other image forming units 6M, 6C, and 6K.

  The intermediate transfer belt device 150 shown in FIG. 2 includes an intermediate transfer belt 8, four primary transfer rollers 9Y, a driving roller, a secondary transfer counter roller, a plurality of tension rollers, a cleaning counter roller, an intermediate transfer cleaning unit, and a secondary transfer. Consists of a roller 19 and the like. The intermediate transfer belt 8 is stretched and supported by a plurality of roller members, and is endlessly moved in the arrow direction (clockwise) in FIG. 2 by the rotational drive of a driving roller which is one roller member.

Each of the four primary transfer rollers 9Y sandwiches the intermediate transfer belt 8 with the photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K to form primary transfer nips. A primary transfer bias as a transfer voltage opposite to the polarity of the toner is applied to the primary transfer roller 9Y.
The intermediate transfer belt 8 travels in the direction of the arrow and sequentially passes through the primary transfer nip of the primary transfer roller 9Y. In this manner, the toner images of the respective colors on the photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K are primarily transferred while being superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 8.

  The intermediate transfer belt 8 on which the toner images of the respective colors are transferred in an overlapping manner reaches a position facing the secondary transfer roller 19. At this position, the secondary transfer counter roller sandwiches the intermediate transfer belt 8 with the secondary transfer roller 19 to form a secondary transfer nip. The four color toner images formed on the intermediate transfer belt 8 are transferred onto a recording medium P such as a sheet conveyed to the position of the secondary transfer nip. At this time, untransferred toner that has not been transferred to the recording medium P remains on the intermediate transfer belt 8.

The intermediate transfer belt 8 reaches a position of an intermediate transfer cleaning unit (not shown), and untransferred toner on the intermediate transfer belt 8 is removed at this position.
In this way, a series of transfer processes performed on the intermediate transfer belt 8 is completed.

The recording medium P conveyed to the position of the secondary transfer nip is conveyed from the paper supply unit 26 disposed below the apparatus main body 100 via the paper supply roller 27, the registration roller pair 28, and the like. is there.
Specifically, a plurality of recording media P are stored in the paper supply unit 26 in a stacked manner. When the paper feed roller 27 is driven to rotate counterclockwise in FIG. 2, the uppermost recording medium P is fed between the rollers of the registration roller pair 28.

  The recording medium P transported to the registration roller pair 28 (also referred to as a timing roller pair) temporarily stops at the position of the roller nip of the registration roller pair 28 that has stopped rotating. Then, the registration roller pair 28 is rotationally driven in time with the color image on the intermediate transfer belt 8, and the recording medium P is conveyed toward the secondary transfer nip. In this way, a desired color image is transferred onto the recording medium P.

The recording medium P on which the color image is transferred at the position of the secondary transfer nip is conveyed to the position of the fixing unit 20. At this position, the color image transferred to 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 is discharged out of the apparatus by a pair of paper discharge rollers. The recording medium P discharged out of the apparatus by the pair of paper discharge rollers is sequentially stacked on the stack unit as an output image.
In this way, a series of image forming processes in the image forming apparatus is completed.

Next, the configuration and operation of the developing device in the image forming unit will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.
The developing device 5Y as a supply target includes a developing roller 51Y, a doctor blade 52Y, two transport screws 55Y, a supply path 43Y, and a density detection sensor 56Y.
The developing roller 51Y faces the photosensitive drum 1Y, and the doctor blade 52Y faces the developing roller 51Y. The two conveying screws 55Y are disposed in the developer accommodating portion, the replenishment path 43Y communicates with the developer accommodating portion through the opening, and the density detection sensor 56Y detects the toner concentration in the developer.

  The developing roller 51Y includes a magnet fixed inside, a sleeve rotating around the magnet, and the like. In the developer accommodating portion, a two-component developer G composed of a carrier and toner is accommodated.

The developing device 5Y configured as described above operates as follows.
The sleeve of the developing roller 51Y rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. The developer G carried on the developing roller 51Y by the magnetic field formed by the magnet moves on the developing roller 51Y as the sleeve rotates.

  Here, the developer G in the developing device 5Y is adjusted so that the toner concentration, which is the ratio of the toner in the developer, falls within a predetermined range. Specifically, according to the consumption of toner in the developing device 5Y as a replenished body, the toner stored in the toner bottle 30Y enters the developing device 5Y via the storage portion 66 of the toner replenishing device 60Y or the replenishment path 43Y. To be replenished. The configuration and operation of the toner bottle 30Y and the toner supply device 60Y will be described in detail later.

  The toner replenished in the developing device 5Y circulates through the two developer accommodating portions partitioned by the partition member while being mixed and stirred together with the developer G by the two transport screws 55Y. That is, the movement in the longitudinal direction in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. The toner in the developer G is attracted to the carrier by frictional charging with the carrier, and is carried on the developing roller 51Y together with the carrier by the magnetic force formed on the developing roller 51Y.

  The developer G carried on the developing roller 51Y is transported along the rotational direction of the sleeve and reaches the position of the doctor blade 52Y. The developer G on the developing roller 51Y is conveyed to a position facing the photosensitive drum 1Y (development region) after the developer amount is made appropriate at this position. The toner is attracted to the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 1Y by the electric field formed in the development area. Thereafter, the developer G remaining on the developing roller 51Y reaches the upper portion of the developer accommodating portion as the sleeve rotates, and is detached from the developing roller 51Y at this position.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the outline of the toner replenishing device.
In FIG. 4, for the sake of simplicity, the orientation of the storage portion 66 relative to the toner bottle 30Y is shown rotated 90 degrees, and members constituting the storage portion 66 are shown in a simplified manner.
Further, the four toner replenishing devices 60Y, 60M, 60C, and 60K corresponding to the respective colors have almost the same structure except that the toner colors to be conveyed are different. Therefore, only the toner replenishing device 60Y that conveys yellow toner is illustrated. At the same time, in the following description of the toner replenishing device, only the yellow toner replenishing device 60Y is used as appropriate.

The toner replenishing device 60Y as a powder replenishing device is a device that replenishes toner as powder contained in the toner bottle 30Y toward the developing device 5Y as a replenished body, and is located above the image forming apparatus 100. is set up.
In the toner replenishing device 60Y, a storage unit 66 is provided below the holding unit 61 in which the toner bottle 30Y is held.

A spiral protrusion 31a is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the container body 31 of the toner bottle 30Y. Thus, when the toner bottle 30Y is appropriately rotated, the toner is conveyed from the bottom side of the toner bottle 30Y to the toner discharge port 31b as the powder discharge port on the head. The toner discharged from the toner discharge port 31b flows into the storage portion 66 from the inflow port 71 and is stored through the drop path portion 95 that is a cavity in the receiving portion 63 as a connecting portion. .
The toner stored in the storage unit 66 is appropriately discharged from the outlet 72 and supplied to the developing device 5Y via the supply path 43Y. The toner bottle 31 configured as described above can be manufactured by blow molding using a material such as PET (polyethylene terephthalate) or HDPE (high density polyethylene).

5A and 5B are explanatory diagrams illustrating details of the storage unit.
Toners falling from the drop path portion 95 (see FIG. 4) of the receiving portion 63 respectively communicating with the toner discharge ports 31b of the two toner bottles 30Y are located above the storage portion 66 shown in FIGS. 5 (A) and 5 (B). Are provided with two inflow ports 71 into which the water flows in.
Below the storage section 66, a first transport screw 67, a stirring member 68, a second transport screw 69, a toner detection sensor 70, and the like are provided.

  The first conveying screw 67 is a member that conveys the toner that has flowed in and stored from the two inlets 71 toward the center. The stirring member 68 is a member that stirs the toner stored in the storage unit 66. The second transport screw 69 is a member that transports the toner in the center toward the outflow port 72. The toner detection sensor 70 is a sensor for keeping the height (also referred to as toner amount) of toner stored in the storage unit 66 constant.

The first conveying screw 67 is formed by winding screw portions having different winding directions on one end side and the other end side on the rotating shaft portion. The first conveying screw 67 is driven to rotate in a predetermined direction to convey the toner on one end side in the rotation axis direction toward the central portion in the rotation axis direction, and the toner on the other end side in the rotation axis direction. It is conveyed toward the part.
The second conveying screw 69 is a screw portion wound around a rotating shaft portion, and is driven to rotate in a predetermined direction to convey toner from the central portion below the storage portion 66 toward the outlet 72. To do. Although illustration is omitted, the outlet 72 of the reservoir 66 communicates with the developing device 5Y via the supply path 43Y shown in FIG. By rotating the second transport screw 69, the toner flows out from the outlet 72 of the storage section 66, and the toner is supplied to the developing device 5Y via the supply path 43Y.

The stirring member 68 is an agitator in which a substantially U-shaped bar is installed on the rotating shaft portion, and a flexible member 68a such as Mylar is attached to the center of the bar. This flexible member 68a is for slidingly contacting the detection surface of the toner detection sensor 70 as the stirring member 68 rotates to clean the detection surface.
The toner detection sensor 70 is a piezoelectric sensor, an ultrasonic sensor, or the like, and detects the presence or absence of toner at the position. When the toner detection sensor 70 detects a shortage of toner in the storage unit 66, a drive motor for driving the stirring member 68 is operated along with a signal from the control unit, and toner is supplied from the toner bottle 30Y toward the storage unit 66. To be replenished. Here, the drive of the drive motor is one or both of the two drive motors that respectively drive the two toner bottles 30Y.

  In addition, when the toner detection sensor 70 continuously detects the absence of toner even after such a replenishment operation, the toner in the toner bottle 30Y is empty (also referred to as a toner end state). This is displayed on the display panel of the apparatus main body 100.

  Here, when the developing device 5Y and the density detection sensor 56Y shown in FIG. 3 detect that the toner density of the developer G in the developing device 5Y is insufficient, the first transport screw 67 and the second transport are generated by a signal from the control unit. A drive motor for driving the screw 69 and the stirring member 68 is operated.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are explanatory diagrams of a toner bottle replacement method.
The toner bottle 30Y is attached to and detached from the toner supply device 60Y of the image forming apparatus main body 100 as follows.
When attaching the toner bottle 30Y to the toner replenishing device 60Y, first, a main body door (not shown) installed above the image forming apparatus 100 is opened, and the cover member 62 of the holding unit 61 in the toner replenishing device 60Y is moved to the front surface. To expose. The toner bottle 30Y is pushed in from the insertion port 62b of the cover member 62 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. Subsequently, the toner bottle 30Y is rotatably mounted on the base portion 65 in a state in which the toner bottle 30Y is fitted to the fitting member 81 of the receiving portion 63 on the outer periphery as the toner discharge port 31b side (head). Installation of bottle 30Y is completed. At this time, the engaging claw 31c meshes with the driving claw 81g of the receiving portion 63 of the fitting member 81. Thus, the toner in the toner bottle 30Y installed in the toner replenishing device 60Y can be guided to the developing device 5Y by the toner replenishing device 60Y.
On the other hand, when the toner bottle 30Y is detached from the toner replenishing device 60, the operation is performed in the reverse procedure to the operation at the time of mounting described above. At this time, in the conventional toner replenishing device, the toner is contaminated in the range of the alternate long and short dash line shown in FIG.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a state where the head of the toner bottle is attached to the receiving unit.
The toner bottle 30Y mainly includes a container body 31 formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and a cap 32 that can open and close the toner discharge port 31b. FIG. 7 shows an opened state in which the cap 32 is removed from the container body 31.
The cap 32 that opens and closes the toner discharge port 31b of the toner bottle 30Y is held by a chuck installed in the toner supply device 60Y to open the toner discharge port 31b in conjunction with the attaching / detaching operation of the toner bottle 30Y to the toner supply device 60Y. It is configured to plug and close. That is, in a state where the toner bottle 30Y is attached to the toner replenishing device 60Y, the cap 32 is removed from the toner discharge port 31b, and the toner in the toner bottle 30Y can be discharged. On the other hand, when the toner bottle 30Y is detached from the toner replenishing device 60Y, the cap 32 is fitted to the toner discharge port 31b, and the toner discharge port 31b of the toner bottle 30Y is sealed. As the cap opening and closing mechanism 96 for opening and closing the cap 32 in this manner, a known one (for example, those disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2) can be used.

  The toner replenishing device 60Y in the present embodiment is provided with a receiving portion 63 to which the head of the toner bottle 30Y (the side on which the toner discharge port 31b is formed) is attached. The receiving portion 63 is provided with a fitting member 81 (also referred to as a holder) and a holding portion 82 (also referred to as a housing).

The fitting member 81 is configured to be fitted to the substantially cylindrical container main body 31 in the toner bottle 30Y and to be rotated together with the container main body 31.
Further, the central hole portion of the fitting member 81 is formed as an inner diameter portion penetrating in the rotation axis direction, and a G seal 81h is press-fitted into the hole portion. The hole portion of the fitting member 81 is for allowing the toner discharge port 31b and the drop path portion 95 formed in the holding portion 82 to communicate with each other through the head portion of the container main body 31. The gap between the container main body 31 and the hole is sealed by the G seal 81h installed in the hole, and the problem that the toner leaks from the gap is prevented.
Further, between the end face of the holding portion 82 and the end face of the mating member 81, a substantially donut-shaped sealing material 112 having at least a surface thereof made of a low friction material is installed. As a result, it is possible to alleviate the problem that the toner enters between the holding portion 82 and the joining member 81 and the toner is fixed at the position between the holding portion 82 and the toner leaks from the toner.

  Further, the holding portion 82 is provided with a cleaning nozzle 97. The cleaning nozzle 97 communicates with the inside and outside of the holding portion 82, and the inner end faces the toner discharge port 31b. A compressed air supply device (not shown) is connected to the outer end portion.

  Here, in the conventional toner replenishing device, when the toner is discharged from the opening, the toner adheres to the periphery of the opening. In the present application, the adhered toner can be blown off by blowing air from the cleaning nozzle 97. Further, when air is blown out, the toner can be blown over the entire circumference by rotating the container body 31 one or more times.

On the other hand, there is a problem that the blown-out toner is reattached to the opposite side (the lower side in FIG. 7), and it is necessary to rotate the toner bottle more, and cleaning takes time.
Therefore, a suction nozzle 98 is provided separately. The suction nozzle 98 also communicates with the inside and outside of the holding portion 82, and the inner end is open toward the inside of the holding portion. The outer end is connected to a dust suction device (not shown). Since the toner once blown off by operating the suction nozzle 98 while the cleaning nozzle 97 is in operation is sucked from the suction nozzle 98, the above-described problem that the toner reattaches to the opposite side can be solved. The cleaning nozzle 97 and the compressed air supply device constitute an air supply means.

  It is also possible to close the cap 32 before the cleaning mode. By doing so, the toner adhering to the cap 32 can also be cleaned.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the toner supply device shown in FIG.
In this state, the toner in the toner bottle 30Y is empty (toner end state) (step S1).
The cap 32 is closed (step S2).
The suction nozzle 98 is turned on (step S3).
The cleaning nozzle 97 is turned on (step S4).
The container main body 31 is rotated once (step S5).
The cleaning nozzle 97 is turned off (step S6).
The suction nozzle 98 is turned off (step S7).
The toner exchange display is displayed on the operation panel, and the process ends (step S8).

<Effect>
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the holder is provided with the air supply means, and the toner attached to the periphery of the toner bottle opening can be cleaned by the air supplied from the air supply means. As a result, when the toner bottle is pulled out when the toner bottle is replaced, it is possible to prevent the toner adhering to the periphery of the toner bottle opening from dropping and contaminating the inside and outside of the image forming apparatus.

  The above-described embodiment shows an example of a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. is there. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the toner bottle is connected to the developing device by the fitting member has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a screw-type screwing member or a plug-in type is used. A connecting part such as an insertion member may be used.

7a Cap 7b Knob part 8 Intermediate transfer belt 9Y Primary transfer roller 15 Chuck 15a Rack 15b Claw part 16 Slider 16a Holding part 17 Spring 19 Secondary transfer roller 23, 44a Opening 24A Motor 26 Paper feed part 27 Paper feed roller 28 Resist Roller pair 30Y, 30M, 30C, 30K Toner bottle 31 Container body 31a Protrusion 31b Toner discharge port 31c Engaging claw 32 Cap 33 Protrusion 34A Sensor 43Y Supply path 51Y Developing roller 52Y Doctor blade 56Y Concentration detection sensor 60Y, 60M, 60C, 60K Toner supply device 61 Holding unit 62 Cover member 63 Receiving unit (connecting unit)
65 Base portion 66 Storage portion 67 First transport screw 68 Stirring member 69 Second transport screw 70 Toner detection sensor 71 Inflow port 72 Outflow port 81 Fitting member (holder)
81h Seal 82 Holding section 95 Drop path section 96 Cap opening / closing mechanism 97 Cleaning nozzle 98 Suction nozzle 100 Image forming apparatus 112 Sealing material 150 Intermediate transfer belt apparatus

Japanese Patent No. 3526382 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-231630

Claims (5)

A powder replenishing device for replenishing powder contained in a toner bottle toward a replenishment body,
A powder replenishing device comprising air supply means for supplying air toward a connecting portion between the toner bottle and the replenished body in the powder replenishing device.   2. The powder supply device according to claim 1, further comprising a cap capable of opening and closing the toner bottle, wherein the powder discharge port projects from the toner bottle toward the supply body when the cap is closed. A powder replenishing device, characterized in that the air is supplied to the outer periphery of the powder. The powder replenishing device according to claim 1 or 2,
The powder replenishing apparatus, wherein the toner bottle is a substantially cylindrical container, is configured to be rotatable, and includes a rotation mechanism that rotates the toner bottle one or more times. A powder replenishing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
A powder replenishing device comprising powder sucking means for sucking the powder blown off by the air in the powder replenishing device.   An image forming apparatus comprising the powder replenishing device according to claim 1.

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