JP2020160235A - Developer container storage device - Google Patents

Abstract

To suppress the influence of heat from a drive source on a developer stored in a developer container, while suppressing the increase of the size of an image forming apparatus.SOLUTION: A developer container storage device includes an attachment part 12 which can store a toner container 42 which can store the developer and can feed out the developer by rotation, a drive motor 52, and a transmission mechanism which connects the drive motor 52 and the toner container 42 stored in the attachment part 12 and can transmit motive power from the drive motor 52 to the toner container 42, so as to rotate the toner container 42 by the rotary drive of the drive motor 52. At least a part of the drive motor 52 is overlapped with the toner container 42 stored in the attachment part 12, when viewed from a gravity direction and the drive motor 52 is arranged above the toner container 42.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic system or an electrostatic recording system, and more particularly to a developing agent container accommodating device mounted on an image forming apparatus to which a developer container is detachably attached.

Conventionally, an electrophotographic image forming apparatus has been widely applied as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, and a multifunction device having a plurality of functions thereof. In these image forming apparatus, fine powder toner is used as a part of a component of a developing agent for image forming. In an image forming apparatus using toner, a developer container (hereinafter referred to as a toner container) filled with toner is widely provided so as to be detachably attached to the apparatus main body.

In such an image forming apparatus, an electric motor may be used as a drive source for driving the toner container. And, as a drive source, for example, one arranged on the side of the toner container is known (see Patent Document 1). Alternatively, as a drive source, one that is arranged outside the end of the toner container, that is, on the inner side of the main body of the apparatus is known in the longitudinal direction of the toner container (see Patent Document 2).

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-99365 JP-A-2017-40725

By the way, an electric motor usually used as a drive source may generate heat during operation. On the other hand, in recent years, the developer has improved low-temperature fixability from the viewpoint of energy saving, and is easily affected by heat. Therefore, in the image forming apparatus of Patent Document 1 described above, since the electric motor as a heat generating source is arranged on the side of the toner container, the heat of the electric motor affects the physical properties of the developer inside the toner container. If it is given, the quality of the formed image may be deteriorated. On the other hand, in order to avoid the influence of heat from the electric motor, when the electric motor is arranged outside the longitudinal end of the toner container as in the image forming apparatus of Patent Document 2, it is arranged laterally. The space efficiency is deteriorated as compared with the above, and the image forming apparatus may become large.

An object of the present invention is to provide a developer container accommodating device capable of suppressing the influence of heat from a driving source on the developer accommodating the developer container while suppressing an increase in size of the image forming apparatus. ..

The developer container accommodating device of the present invention is accommodated in an accommodating portion, a driving source, the driving source, and the accommodating portion capable of accommodating the developing agent and delivering the developing agent by rotation. The drive source comprises a transmitting means capable of transmitting power from the drive source to the developer container so as to connect the developer container and rotate the developer container by rotational drive of the drive source. It is characterized in that at least a part thereof is overlapped with the developing agent container housed in the accommodating portion and is arranged above the developing agent container when viewed from the direction of gravity.

According to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the influence of heat from the driving source on the developing agent contained in the developing agent container while suppressing the increase in size of the image forming apparatus.

It is sectional drawing which shows the outline of the image forming apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the outline of the image forming apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the control system of the image forming apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows the toner container applied to the image forming apparatus which concerns on embodiment, (a) is a perspective view, (b) is a sectional view. It is a perspective view which shows the developer container accommodating apparatus which concerns on embodiment, (a) is the state which all the toner containers are attached and the exchange door is closed, (b) is the state which opened some exchange doors and toner. The container is taken out. It is a perspective view which shows the exchange door which concerns on embodiment. It is a side view which shows the lock device which concerns on embodiment, (a) is the state which the exchange door is closed, (b) is the state which the exchange door is slightly open, (c) is the state which the exchange door is completely open. Is. It is a perspective view which shows the developer container accommodating apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the cartridge drive device which concerns on embodiment. It is a top view which shows the state which attached the toner container to the accommodating part of the image forming apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a front view which shows the state which attached the toner container to the accommodating part of the image forming apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which attached the toner container to the accommodating part of the image forming apparatus which concerns on embodiment.

[Overall image forming apparatus]
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 12. In the present embodiment, a tandem type full-color printer is described as an example of the image forming apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to the tandem type image forming apparatus, and may be an image forming apparatus of another type, and is not limited to being full color, and may be monochrome or monocolor.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 1 includes an apparatus main body 10. The apparatus main body 10 includes an image reading unit 20, a sheet feeding unit 30, an image forming unit 40, a sheet conveying unit 50, and a control unit 70. The sheet S, which is a recording material, forms a toner image, and specific examples thereof include plain paper, resin sheets that are substitutes for plain paper, thick paper, and sheets for overhead projectors. In the present embodiment, as shown in each figure, the front side toward the image forming apparatus 1 is represented as the front side F, and the back side (dorsal side) is represented as the rear side B.

The image reading unit 20 is provided in the upper part of the apparatus main body 10, and reads an image such as a document and converts it into image information which is an electric signal. The sheet feeding unit 30 is arranged in the lower part of the apparatus main body 10, includes a sheet cassette 31 for loading and accommodating the sheet S, and a feeding roller 32, and the accommodated sheet S is used in the image forming unit 40. Send.

The image forming unit 40 includes an image forming unit 80, a toner replenishing device 2, a laser scanner 43, an intermediate transfer unit 44, a secondary transfer unit 45, and a fixing device 46. The image forming unit 40 can form an image on the sheet S based on the image information. The toner replenishment device 2 includes a toner hopper 41y, 41m, 41c, 41k and a developer container container 3 (see FIG. 4) capable of accommodating a toner container (developer container) 42y, 42m, 42c, 42k. .. The image forming apparatus 1 of the present embodiment corresponds to full color, and the image forming units 80y, 80m, 80c, 80k are yellow (y), magenta (m), cyan (c), and black ( Each of the four colors in k) has the same configuration and is separately provided. Similarly, the toner hopper 41y, 41m, 41c, 41k and the toner container 42y, 42m, 42c, 42k have the same configuration for each of the four colors of yellow (y), magenta (m), cyan (c), and black (k). It is provided separately. Therefore, in FIG. 1, each configuration of the four colors is shown by adding a color identifier after the same reference numeral, but in the drawings and the specification after FIG. 2, only the reference numeral is given without adding the color identifier. In some cases.

The toner replenishment device 2 is provided on the upper portion of the apparatus main body 10 of the image forming apparatus 1 from the upper side to the lower side of the intermediate transfer belt 44b on the rear side B of the apparatus main body 10, and the lower side is connected to the developing apparatus 83. There is. The toner containers 42y, 42m, 42c, 42k can accommodate the developer, and are arranged above the image forming units 80y, 80m, 80c, 80k via the toner hoppers 41y, 41m, 41c, 41k. The toner containers 42y, 42m, 42c, 42k are detachably mounted corresponding to a plurality of hole-shaped mounting portions (accommodating portions) 12y, 12m, 12c, 12k provided in the apparatus main body 10 (FIG. 2). reference). The mounting portion 12 can accommodate the toner container 42. The toner containers 42y, 42m, 42c, and 42k are, for example, cylindrical bottles having a toner discharge port 92 (see FIG. 4B) at one end, and have a spiral convex portion on the inner peripheral surface, and by rotation. The convex portion conveys the toner to the toner discharge port 92. A drive motor 52 (see FIG. 3) is connected to each toner container 42, and the toner container 42 is rotated by the drive of the drive motor 52 to discharge toner. The toner conveyed to the toner discharge port 92 drops in the toner hopper 41 due to its own weight and is supplied to the developing device 83. The details of the developer container accommodating device 3 and the toner container 42 will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 2, replacement doors (doors, developer supply container replacement doors) 13y, 13m, 13c, and 13k are provided on the front portion of the apparatus main body 10 so as to be openable and closable, respectively, corresponding to the mounting portion 12. ing. For example, when the replacement door 13y is open, the toner container 42y can be attached to and detached from the front surface of the apparatus main body 10. Similarly, when the replacement doors 13m, 13c, and 13k are opened, the toner containers 42m, 42c, and 42k can be attached to and detached from the front surface of the apparatus main body 10, respectively. That is, the replacement door 13 can open and close the mounting portion 12 in an open state in which the toner container 42 can be attached to and detached from the mounting portion 12 and in a closed state in which the toner container 42 cannot be attached to and detached from the mounting portion 12. Further, the mounting portion 12 and the replacement door 13 are also separately provided in the same configuration for each of the four colors of yellow (y), magenta (m), cyan (c), and black (k). The detailed configuration of the replacement door 13 will be described later.

A front door 14 that can be opened and closed by swinging forward is provided at the front portion of the apparatus main body 10. The front door 14 is open so that the replacement door 13 can be opened and closed and the toner container 42 can be attached to and detached from the mounting portion 12, and the replacement door 13 is shielded and the toner container 42 cannot be attached to and detached from the mounting portion 12. It can be opened and closed in the closed state.

An operation unit 11 is provided on the front upper portion of the apparatus main body 10. In addition to the operation buttons, the operation unit 11 is provided with an operation panel 11a including a touch panel capable of displaying the state of the image forming apparatus 1 and being touch-operable. The operation panel 11a is connected to the control unit 70 (see FIG. 3), the display content is controlled by the control unit 70, and information can be input from the outside.

As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming unit 80 includes photosensitive drums 81y, 81m, 81c, 81k for forming a toner image, a charging roller 82, a developing device 83, and a cleaning blade 84. In the present embodiment, the image forming unit 80 is removable from the apparatus main body 10. The photosensitive drum 81, the developing device 83, and the developing sleeve 87, which will be described later, are also provided separately in the same configuration for each of the four colors of yellow (y), magenta (m), cyan (c), and black (k). Has been done.

The photosensitive drum 81 is rotated by a drum motor (not shown), and carries an electrostatic image formed based on image information when forming an image and moves around. The charging roller 82 comes into contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 81 to charge the surface. The developing device 83 has a developing sleeve 87 rotatably provided in the developing container, and develops an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 81 with toner. The developing device 83 contains a two-component developer which is a mixture of non-magnetic toner and a magnetic carrier, and toner is supplied from a toner container 42 filled with toner via a toner hopper 41.

The developing device 83 is provided with a toner density sensor 85 (see FIG. 3). The toner concentration sensor 85 includes, for example, an inductance sensor, can detect the toner concentration inside the developing device 83, and transmits the detection result to the control unit 70. When the toner concentration detected by the toner concentration sensor 85 is lower than the target toner concentration, the control unit 70 drives the drive motor 52 (see FIG. 3) to replenish the toner from the toner container 42 to the developing device 83. ..

The cleaning blade 84 is arranged in contact with the surface of the photosensitive drum 81, and cleans the developer remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 81 after the primary transfer. The laser scanner 43 exposes the surface of the photosensitive drum 81 charged by the charging roller 82 to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photosensitive drum 81.

The intermediate transfer unit 44 includes a plurality of rollers such as a drive roller 44a, a driven roller (not shown), a primary transfer roller 44y, 44m, 44c, 44k, and an intermediate transfer belt 44b wound around these rollers. .. By applying a positive transfer bias to the intermediate transfer belt 44b by the primary transfer rollers 44y, 44m, 44c, 44k, the toner images having negative electrodes on the photosensitive drums 81y, 81m, 81c, 81k are formed on the intermediate transfer belt. Multiplex transfer is sequentially performed on 44b. The secondary transfer unit 45 includes a secondary transfer inner roller 45a and a secondary transfer outer roller 45b. By applying a positive secondary transfer bias to the secondary transfer outer roller 45b, the full-color image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 44b is transferred to the sheet S.

The fixing device 46 includes a fixing roller 46a and a pressure roller 46b, and the sheet S is sandwiched and conveyed between the fixing roller 46a and the pressure roller 46b, so that the toner image transferred to the sheet S is heated. And is pressurized and fixed to the sheet S. The sheet transport unit 50 transports the sheet S fed from the sheet feed unit 30 from the image forming unit 40 to the discharge tray 10b via the discharge port 10a and loads the sheet S.

As shown in FIG. 3, the control unit 70 is composed of a computer, for example, a CPU 71, a ROM 72 that stores a program that controls each unit, a RAM 73 that temporarily stores data, and input / output that inputs / outputs signals to and from the outside. It includes a circuit (I / F) 74. The control unit 70 is connected to the image forming unit 40, the sheet transport unit 50, the operation unit 11, the open / close sensor 58 described later, the toner concentration sensor 85, the drive motor 52, and the like via the input / output circuit 74, and transmits signals to each unit. It interacts and controls its operation. Further, the control unit 70 can be operated and set by the user by a command from a computer (not shown) connected to the device main body 10 or an operation of the operation unit 11.

Next, the image forming operation in the image forming apparatus 1 configured in this way will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, when the image forming operation is started, the photosensitive drum 81 is first rotated and the surface is charged by the charging roller 82. Then, the laser scanner 43 emits laser light to the photosensitive drum 81 based on the image information, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 81. When toner adheres to this electrostatic latent image, it is developed, visualized as a toner image, and transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 44b.

On the other hand, the feeding roller 32 rotates in parallel with the operation of forming the toner image, and feeds while separating the uppermost sheet S of the sheet cassette 31. Then, the sheet S is transferred to the secondary transfer unit 45 via the transfer path in time with the toner image of the intermediate transfer belt 44b. Further, an image is transferred from the intermediate transfer belt 44b to the sheet S, and the sheet S is conveyed to the fixing device 46, where the unfixed toner image is heated and pressurized to be fixed on the surface of the sheet S, and the discharge port 10a. It is discharged from the discharge tray 10b and loaded on the discharge tray 10b.

[Toner container]
Here, the toner container 42 that can accommodate the developer container container 3 will be described. As shown in FIG. 4A, the toner container 42 has a toner accommodating portion 90 having a substantially cylindrical shape and accommodating toner, a cartridge frame 91 provided on the rear side B of the toner accommodating portion 90, and a toner accommodating portion 90. It has a cartridge gear 42a provided on the outer peripheral surface of the above. The toner accommodating unit (developer accommodating unit) 90 accommodates the developing agent. The cartridge frame (delivery unit) 91 rotatably supports the toner storage unit 90, and when the toner container 42 is mounted on the mounting unit 12 (see FIG. 5A), the rear side B of the mounting unit 12 The developer, which is supported and fixed by the toner, is delivered in the toner accommodating portion 90. The cartridge gear (container side gear) 42a is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the toner accommodating portion 90 in the vicinity of the cartridge frame 91, and is used to rotate the toner container 42 by the cartridge drive device 5 (see FIG. 5A) described later. It is provided. In the longitudinal direction of the toner container 42, the outer end of the cartridge frame 91 is the end 42e of the rear side B of the toner container 42 opposite to the toner accommodating portion 90.

As shown in FIG. 4B, a toner discharge port (delivery port) 92 penetrating the inside and outside of the cartridge frame 91 is provided at the bottom of the cartridge frame 91 in order to send out the toner in the toner storage portion 90 to the outside. It is provided. Further, the toner accommodating portion 90 is provided with a spiral transport rib 93 for transporting toner and a transport member 94. By rotating the toner accommodating portion 90 in response to the drive from the cartridge driving device 5, the toner inside the toner accommodating portion 90 is pushed out toward the toner discharge port 92 by the conveying rib 93, thereby pushing the toner into the conveying member 94. Transport to the vicinity. Since the transport member 94 is also fixed to the toner accommodating portion 90, it rotates integrally with the toner accommodating portion 90, thereby lifting the toner upward in the direction of gravity and sliding it down along the shape of the transport member 94. The toner is conveyed to the vicinity of the toner discharge port 92. In this embodiment, the region Ar1 (see FIG. 12) on the posterior side B of the toner discharge port 92 does not have a mechanism for actively transporting the toner toward the toner discharge port 92.

[Developer container storage device]
As shown in FIG. 5A, the developer container accommodating device 3 includes a cartridge tray 21 constituting a mounting portion 12 on which toner containers 42y, 42m, 42c, and 42k can be mounted, a replacement door 13, and a locking device 6. And a cartridge drive device 5. In the present embodiment, the replacement door 13 is arranged on the front side F (upstream side) of the mounting portion 12 and the drive motor is arranged on the rear side B (downstream side) of the mounting portion 12 in the front-rear direction, which is the accommodating direction of the toner container 42. It is located on the side). That is, in the present embodiment, the rotation axis direction of the toner container 42 housed in the mounting portion 12 is the longitudinal direction of the toner container 42 and the housed direction in the image forming device 1, and the image forming device. The front-back direction of 1 is set. The cartridge tray 21 guides the toner container 42 when it is mounted on the image forming apparatus 1, and holds the toner container 42 rotatably after the toner container 42 is mounted. The cartridge drive device 5 rotates the toner container 42. By rotating the toner container 42, the toner in the toner container 42 is conveyed to the developing device 83 and replenished. An inner cover 24 is fixedly provided on the apparatus main body 10 (see FIG. 1), and a mounting port corresponding to a toner container 42 of each color is formed on the inner cover 24.

As shown in FIG. 5B, the toner container 42 is attached to and detached from the mounting portion 12 by passing through the mounting port in the front-rear direction between the front side F and the rear side B. Note that FIG. 5B is a diagram showing a case where the black toner container 42k is attached / detached, and the same configuration is used for the toner containers 42 of other colors. The replacement door 13 is a door that opens and closes the mounting portion 12, and the toner container 42 can be attached / detached only when the replacement door 13 is open. The lock device 6 is a device having a function of locking the exchange door 13 in the closed state and a function of releasing the lock, and a driving force for unlocking is transmitted from the cartridge drive device 5.

As shown in FIG. 4B, a connection pipe 15 is provided on the rear side B of the cartridge tray 21 at a portion of the toner container 42 facing the toner discharge port 92 when the toner container 42 is mounted. Further, the rear side B of the cartridge tray 21 is provided with a cartridge mount (not shown) that supports the cartridge frame 91 and a retractable hook (not shown) that is arranged on the cartridge mount and fixes the cartridge frame 91. As shown in FIG. 5B, the toner container 42 is inserted into the mounting portion 12 toward the rear side B along the accommodating direction. As a result, when the cartridge frame 91 hits the pull-in hook and the toner container 42 is further pushed into the rear side B from there, the cartridge frame 91 is held and the pull-in hook rotates, and the toner container 42 is fixed in the mounted state. .. As a result, the toner container 42 is mounted so that the cartridge frame 91 is located on the inner side of the apparatus main body 10 and the longitudinal direction of the toner container 42 is horizontal. Further, when the toner container 42 is mounted on the mounting portion 12, the toner discharge port 92 is connected to the connecting pipe 15.

[Replacement door]
Next, the replacement door 13 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8. The replacement door 13 has a door body 33, a center hole 34, a claw portion 35, and a rotation stop portion 36. A pair of center holes 34 are provided on the left and right sides and are rotatably engaged with a rotating shaft 37 provided on the inner cover 24 (see FIG. 5), whereby the replacement door 13 is rotatably held by the inner cover 24. Has been done. In the state where the replacement door 13 is upright (see FIG. 6), the center of gravity of the replacement door 13 is located on the front side F of the center line connecting the pair of center holes 34. Therefore, the replacement door 13 is rotatably supported in the center hole 34, and when no external force is applied, the replacement door 13 is tilted to the front side F due to its own weight to open. Therefore, a dedicated spring member for opening the replacement door 13 can be eliminated.

As shown in FIGS. 7A to 7C, the locking device 6 of the replacement door 13 includes a latch 60, a base 61, a shaft 62, a latch spring 64, a shaft spring 65, and a one-way gear 66. Have. As shown in FIG. 8, the one-way gear 66 has a driven gear 66a that meshes with the drive gear 57 and a one-way clutch 66b fixed to the shaft 62. In the one-way clutch 66b, when the rotation direction of the drive gear 57 is the R1 direction, the driven gear 66a idles with respect to the shaft 62, and when the rotation direction of the drive gear 57 is the R2 direction, the driven gear 66a to the shaft The rotation drive is transmitted to 62. The one-way clutch 66b idles when the drive gear 57 rotates in the R1 direction, and transmits the rotation of the driven gear 66a to the shaft 62 when the drive gear 57 rotates in the R2 direction opposite to the R1 direction to drive the shaft 62. To do. Since the toner is supplied from the toner container 42 to the developing device 83 when the drive gear 57 is rotated in the R1 direction, the one-way gear 66 idles when the toner is supplied from the toner container 42 to the developing device 83. .. Further, when the drive gear 57 is rotated in the R2 direction opposite to the rotation direction when the toner is supplied, the rotational drive is transmitted to the shaft 62, and the lock of the replacement door 13 in the closed state is released.

As shown in FIG. 7A, when the replacement door 13 is closed, the claw portion 35 is engaged with the lock portion 60d on the front side F of the latch 60, so that the replacement door 13 is the inner cover 24. The replacement door 13 is held in the closed state without swinging with respect to (see FIG. 5A). As shown in FIG. 7B, when the latch 60 swings and the engagement between the lock portion 60d of the latch 60 and the claw portion 35 is released, the replacement door 13 can swing. At this time, since the center of gravity of the replacement door 13 is provided on the opening side, the replacement door 13 swings in the opening direction due to its own weight when the engagement between the latch 60 and the claw portion 35 is released. As shown in FIG. 7 (c), the replacement door 13 swings to a position where the rotation stopper 36 abuts on the stopper 38 provided on the inner cover 24, and the posture of the replacement door 13 is defined when the replacement door 13 abuts. The door. In this state, the replacement door 13 is completely opened.

[Cartridge drive device]
As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the cartridge drive device 5 includes a base 51, a drive motor (drive source) 52, a transmission mechanism (transmission means) 59, an open / close sensor 58, and the like. The drive motor 52 is fixed to the base 51 and has a rotary shaft 52a extending to the rear side B in the longitudinal direction of the toner container 42, that is, the side opposite to the toner accommodating portion 90. The transmission mechanism 59 includes a pinion gear 53, a reduction gear (reduction mechanism) 54, a transmission gear (reduction mechanism) 55, a transmission shaft 56, and a drive gear 57. The pinion gear 53 is press-fitted into the rotating shaft 52a of the drive motor 52. The reduction gear 54 is rotatably held with respect to the base 51, and is arranged in a positional relationship in which it meshes with the pinion gear 53 and the transmission gear 55. As a result, the transmission gear 55 is driven and transmitted from the pinion gear 53. The transmission shaft 56 is rotatably held by the base 51, and a transmission gear 55 is fixed to one end of the transmission shaft 56 and a drive gear 57 is fixed to the other end to drive the transmission gear 55. The gear 57 is connected and arranged along the front-rear direction. In this way, the transmission mechanism 59 connects the drive motor 52 and the toner container 42 housed in the mounting portion 12, and the toner container 42 is rotated from the drive motor 52 so as to rotate the toner container 42 by the rotational drive of the drive motor 52. Power can be transmitted to. That is, the rotation from the drive motor 52 is decelerated by the reduction gear 54 and the transmission gear 55 and transmitted to the transmission shaft 56.

In the present embodiment, in the front-rear direction, at least a part of the reduction mechanism, that is, at least a part of the reduction gear 54 and / or at least a part of the transmission gear 55 is opposite to the toner accommodating portion 90 in the toner container 42. It is arranged outside the side end 42e. As a result, the size of the developer container accommodating device 3 can be reduced as compared with the case where the deceleration mechanism is arranged adjacent to the toner container 42 in the radial direction.

The transmission shaft 56 extends toward the front side F, that is, the toner accommodating portion 90 in the longitudinal direction of the toner container 42. Further, the drive gear 57 is arranged on the upstream side of the transmission gear 55 and the drive motor 52, that is, on the front side F (front side) in the front-rear direction, and meshes with the cartridge gear 42a provided in the toner accommodating portion 90.

As shown in FIG. 8, the open / close sensor 58 is, for example, an optical sensor having a light emitting unit and a light receiving unit that receives light rays from the light emitting unit, and a shaft 62 described later is provided between the light emitting unit and the light receiving unit. The position of the shaft 62 can be detected depending on whether or not the light beam is blocked (see FIGS. 7A to 7C). The open / close sensor 58 is a sensor that detects the open / closed state of the replacement door 13 by detecting the axial position of the shaft 62.

The rotary drive of the drive motor 52 is transmitted to the drive gear 57 via the pinion gear 53, the reduction gear 54, the transmission gear 55, and the transmission shaft 56. When the toner container 42 is mounted on the mounting portion 12, the cartridge gear 42a provided in the toner container 42 and the drive gear 57 are arranged so as to mesh with each other, and the toner is rotated by the rotation of the drive gear 57. The container 42 rotates. Regarding the rotation direction of the drive gear 57, the drive gear 57 is rotated in the R1 direction to rotate the toner container 42, so that the toner is supplied from the toner container 42 to the developing device 83. That is, the drive gear 57 is connected to the drive motor 52, and by rotating in the R1 direction, the toner container 42 housed in the mounting portion 12 can be rotated, and the developer can be delivered from the toner container 42.

Next, the positional relationship between the drive motor 52, which is the drive source in the state where the toner container 42 is mounted on the mounting portion 12, the transmission mechanism 59, and the toner container 42 will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 12. In addition, in FIGS. 10 to 12, since the base 51 is not shown, the cartridge frame 91 is exposed.

As shown in FIGS. 10 to 12, the drive motor 52 overlaps the toner container 42 housed in the mounting portion 12 at least in part when viewed from the direction of gravity, and is arranged above the toner container 42. The drive motor 52 is arranged above the rotation axis C1 of the toner container 42 housed in the mounting portion 12. That is, as shown in FIG. 10, when the drive motor 52 and the cartridge frame 91 are viewed from above, the drive motor 52 and the cartridge frame 91 are arranged so that their contours overlap. Further, as shown in FIG. 11, when the drive motor 52 and the cartridge frame 91 are viewed from above, at least a part of the drive motor 52 has a width W1 including the rotation axis C1 of the cartridge frame 91 above the toner container 42. It is arranged so that it falls within the range. Further, in the present embodiment, the drive motor 52 is arranged above the horizontal line H1 including the upper end 91b of the cartridge frame 91. In the present embodiment, the drive motor 52 partially overlaps the toner container 42 when viewed from the direction of gravity.

Here, the toner is located on the lower side in the direction of gravity in the toner container 42 by gravity. Generally, the drive motor 52 generates heat when it is driven. Then, if the drive motor 52 is arranged on the lower side in the direction of gravity, the heat generated from the drive motor 52 is likely to be propagated to the toner container 42 and eventually to the toner inside, and the physical properties of the toner may change. .. Then, the deteriorated toner is used for image formation, which may adversely affect the image quality. Therefore, in the present embodiment, by arranging the drive motor 52 above the toner container 42, the distance between the toner and the drive motor 52 is increased as compared with the case where the drive motor 52 is arranged sideways or below the toner container 42. Can be done. As a result, the influence of heat can be reduced without adopting a configuration in which the drive motor 52 is separated from the toner container 42 in the accommodating direction or in the direction orthogonal to the accommodating direction, which causes an increase in size of the apparatus main body 10.

Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the drive motor 52 is arranged on the side opposite to the toner discharge port 92 of the toner container 42 with respect to the toner storage portion 90 with respect to the storage direction of the toner container 42. That is, the drive motor 52 is arranged in the region Ar1 on the rear side of the toner discharge port 92. Here, by arranging the drive motor 52 in the region Ar1, the heat generated by driving the drive motor 52 affects the toner existing in the region Ar1. However, as described above, the region Ar1 is not provided with a transport mechanism for positively transporting toner to the toner discharge port 92 like the transport rib 93 and the transport member 94. Therefore, the toner affected by the heat of the drive motor 52 existing in the region Ar1 is not conveyed to the toner discharge port 92, so that it is possible to prevent the toner affected by the heat from affecting the image. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, since the drive motor 52 is arranged in the toner container 42 accommodating direction in the region Ar1 and located on the upper side in the gravity direction with respect to the toner container 42, it is accommodated in the toner container 42. The influence of heat from the drive motor 52 on the developer can be suppressed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 10, the drive motor 52 is arranged at a position where at least a part of the drive motor 52 overlaps the toner container 42 with respect to the accommodation direction of the toner container 42. In the present embodiment, with respect to the accommodating direction of the toner container 42, the total length Lm of the drive motor 52 is about 38 mm, and the length of the overlapping portion is Lx = about 37 mm. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the drive motor 52 is 37 mm in the accommodating direction of the toner container 42 as compared with the case where the drive motor 52 is arranged on the rear side B of the end portion 42e of the toner container 42 (see Patent Document 2). Achieves space saving. Further, the cartridge frame 91 and the drive motor 52 are arranged close to each other in the outer diameter direction of the toner container 42, so that space can be saved in the outer diameter direction.

Here, a case where a transmission mechanism is provided and the drive is transmitted to the drive gear 57 from the position of the drive motor 52 of the present embodiment toward the front side F will be examined. In this case, the transmission mechanism needs to be provided with a reduction mechanism for forming an appropriate gear ratio in order to give the toner container 42 a desired rotation speed, and the toner container 42 protrudes in the outer diameter direction so as not to interfere with the toner container 42. It must be arranged in, which may lead to an increase in size of the device.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, at least a part of the speed reduction mechanism is arranged outside the end portion 42e of the rear side B of the toner container 42, that is, the end portion of the toner container 42 opposite to the toner accommodating portion 90. ing. Specifically, in the front-rear direction, at least a part of the reduction mechanism, that is, at least a part of the reduction gear 54 and / or at least a part of the transmission gear 55 is on the opposite side of the toner container 42 with respect to the toner accommodating portion 90. It is arranged on the rear side B, which is outside the end portion 42e of the. As a result, the driving force output from the drive motor 52 is a reduction gear that is located behind the toner container 42 in the accommodating direction of the toner container 42 and partially overlaps when the toner container 42 is viewed from the front. The drive train is folded back to the front side F by the 54 and the transmission gear 55. Further, as shown in FIG. 12, the drive train extends from the toner discharge port 92 to the front side F by the transmission shaft 56, and is transmitted to the cartridge gear 42a via the drive gear 57. As a result, the size of the developer container accommodating device 3 can be reduced as compared with the case where the deceleration mechanism is arranged adjacent to the toner container 42 in the radial direction.

As described above, according to the developer container accommodating device 3 of the present embodiment, the drive motor 52 overlaps the toner container 42 accommodated in the mounting portion 12 at least in part when viewed from the direction of gravity, and the toner container 42 It is located above. Therefore, the influence of heat from the drive motor 52 on the developer contained in the toner container 42 can be suppressed. Further, the drive motor 52 overlaps the toner container 42 housed in the mounting portion 12 at least partly when viewed from the direction of gravity, so that at least a part of the drive motor 52 overlaps the toner container 42 in the housing direction of the toner container 42. Will be placed. Therefore, space can be saved in the storage direction of the toner container 42. Therefore, according to the developer container accommodating device 3 of the present embodiment, the influence of heat from the drive motor 52 on the developer contained in the toner container 42 is suppressed while suppressing the increase in size of the image forming apparatus 1. can do. That is, it is possible to improve the space efficiency and the print quality by not transporting the heat-affected developer to the developing apparatus 83.

Further, according to the developer container accommodating device 3 of the present embodiment, the drive motor 52 is arranged on the opposite side of the toner container 42 from the toner discharge port 92 with respect to the toner accommodating portion 90 with respect to the accommodating direction of the toner container 42. ing. Therefore, the toner affected by the heat of the drive motor 52 existing in the region Ar1 is not conveyed to the toner discharge port 92, so that the influence of the heat from the drive motor 52 on the developer contained in the toner container 42 is suppressed. can do.

Further, according to the developer container accommodating device 3 of the present embodiment, at least a part of the reduction gear 54 and / or at least a part of the transmission gear 55 is on the opposite side of the toner container 42 with respect to the toner accommodating portion 90. It is arranged on the rear side B, which is outside the end portion 42e. As a result, it is possible to suppress an increase in the size of the image forming apparatus 1 as compared with the case where the deceleration mechanism is arranged adjacent to the toner container 42 in the radial direction.

In the present embodiment, the case where the drive motor 52 partially overlaps the toner container 42 when viewed from the direction of gravity has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the drive motor 52 may be entirely overlapped with the toner container 42 when viewed from the direction of gravity. Also in this case, it is possible to suppress the influence of heat from the drive motor 52 on the developing agent contained in the toner container 42 while suppressing the increase in size of the image forming apparatus 1.

Further, in the present embodiment, the member for separating the front side F and the rear side B is not provided inside the cartridge frame 91 at the upper part of the toner discharge port 92, and the toner can move from the front side F to the rear side B. Although the toner container 42 has been described, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a toner container 42 having a wall that prevents toner from moving from the front side F to the rear side B may be applied. In this case, it is possible to prevent the toner from the toner accommodating portion 90 from moving to the rear side B of the toner discharge port 92, and the toner that has moved to the rear side B of the toner discharge port 92 is discharged due to vibration, its own weight, or the like. It can also be prevented from flowing into the outlet 92.

3 ... Developer container accommodating device, 12, 12c, 12k, 12m, 12y ... Mounting part (accommodation part), 42, 42c, 42k, 42m, 42y ... Toner container (developer container), 42a ... Cartridge gear (container side) Gear), 42e ... end, 52 ... drive motor (drive source), 52a ... rotary shaft, 53 ... pinion gear, 54 ... reduction gear (reduction mechanism), 55 ... transmission gear (reduction mechanism), 56 ... transmission shaft, 57 ... Drive gear, 59 ... Transmission mechanism (transmission means), 90 ... Toner storage unit (developer storage unit), 91 ... Cartridge frame (delivery unit), 91b ... Upper end of transmission unit, 92 ... Toner discharge port (delivery port) , B ... Rear side (outside), C1 ... Rotation axis.

Claims (5)

An accommodating unit that can accommodate a developer container that can accommodate the developer and deliver the developer by rotation,
With the drive source
A transmission capable of transmitting power from the drive source to the developer container so as to connect the drive source and the developer container housed in the storage unit and rotate the developer container by rotational drive of the drive source. With means,
The drive source is arranged above the developer container while at least partially overlapping the developer container housed in the accommodating portion when viewed from the direction of gravity.
A developer container accommodating device characterized in that. The drive source is arranged above the rotation axis of the developer container housed in the housing.
The developer container accommodating device according to claim 1. The accommodating unit can accommodate a developer container having a developer accommodating unit for accommodating a developing agent and a sending unit having a sending port for transmitting the developing agent contained in the developing agent accommodating unit.
The drive source is arranged above the upper end of the delivery unit.
The developer container accommodating device according to claim 1 or 2. The accommodating unit can accommodate a developer container having a developer accommodating unit for accommodating a developing agent and a sending unit having a sending port for transmitting the developing agent contained in the developing agent accommodating unit.
The drive source is arranged on the side opposite to the developer accommodating portion from the outlet of the developer container with respect to the rotation axis direction of the developer container accommodated in the accommodating portion.
The developer container accommodating device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the developer container accommodating device. The accommodating unit can accommodate a developer container having a developer accommodating unit for accommodating a developing agent and a sending unit having a sending port for transmitting the developing agent contained in the developing agent accommodating unit.
The drive source has a rotating shaft extending on the opposite side of the developing agent container with respect to the rotation axis direction of the developing agent container housed in the developing unit.
The transmission means is connected to a pinion gear provided on the rotating shaft, a deceleration mechanism connected to the pinion gear to decelerate rotation from the drive source, and connected to the deceleration mechanism toward the developer accommodating portion. It has an extended transmission shaft and a drive gear provided on the transmission shaft and meshed with a container-side gear provided in the developer accommodating portion.
The deceleration mechanism is arranged at least partly outside the end of the developer container on the opposite side of the developer container with respect to the direction of the rotation axis of the developer container housed in the container.
The developer container accommodating device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the developer container accommodating device.

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