JP2024088385A - Supply system, supply target device, and supply cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide one aspect of an image forming apparatus or an image forming system.

SOLUTION: A supply system is provided which attaches a supply cartridge to a supply target device and can supply a content. The supply target device has an attachment part that has a cylindrical inner wall into which an insertion part of the supply cartridge is inserted, and the inner wall has a pressing part that is urged in a rotation direction coaxial with the inner wall and has a conical shape with the direction of urging as an apex. In a direction in which the supply cartridge is attached to the supply target device, the supply cartridge has, in the insertion part, an engagement part that has a conical shape with a direction opposite to the apex of the conical shape of the pressing part as an apex. When the insertion part is inserted into the attachment part, the urged pressing part is brought into contact with the engagement part and slid, and is engaged with the engagement part to hold the supply cartridge.

SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 26

COPYRIGHT: (C)2024,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a replenishment system, a replenished device, and a replenishment cartridge.

In an electrophotographic image forming device, a scanner unit forms an electrostatic latent image on the surface of a photosensitive drum, and this electrostatic latent image is developed with toner, which is a developer. Patent Document 1 describes a configuration in which a print particle replenishment device is attached to a host device, allowing printing particles including toner to be replenished from outside the host device to a container inside the host device.

International Publication No. 2020/046338

In the image forming device of Patent Document 1, if the memory device provided in the attached printing particle refill device and the electrical contacts of the host device are not securely in contact before communication begins, communication failure may occur, and the user may not be able to properly replenish the print particles.

The present invention aims to provide one embodiment of a replenishment system, a replenished device, and a replenishment cartridge.

According to one aspect of the present invention for achieving the above object, there is provided a refill system capable of refilling contents by mounting a refill cartridge on a refilled device, the refill system comprising:
The replenished device is
a mounting portion having a cylindrical inner wall into which the insertion portion of the supply cartridge is inserted;
The inner wall has a pressing portion that is biased in a rotation direction coaxial with the inner wall and has a mountain-like shape with the biased direction as a vertex,
The supply cartridge comprises:
The insertion portion has an engagement portion having a mountain shape with an apex facing a mountain shape apex of the pressing portion in a direction in which the insertion portion is attached to the supplying device,
When the insertion portion is inserted into the mounting portion, the biased pressing portion slides in contact with the engagement portion and engages with the engagement portion to hold the supply cartridge.

According to another aspect, there is provided a refillable device in which a refill cartridge can be attached to refill a content, the refillable device comprising:
a mounting portion having a cylindrical inner wall into which the insertion portion of the supply cartridge is inserted;
The inner wall has a pressing portion that is biased in a rotation direction coaxial with the inner wall and has a mountain-like shape with the biased direction as a vertex,
the supply cartridge has, in a direction in which the supply cartridge is attached to the supply receiving device, an engagement portion having a mountain-like shape with an apex facing a mountain-like apex of the pressing portion at the insertion portion,
A replenished device is provided, characterized in that when the insertion portion is inserted into the mounting portion, the biased pressing portion comes into contact with and slides against the engagement portion, engaging with the engagement portion to hold the replenishment cartridge.

According to yet another aspect, there is provided a refill cartridge that can be attached to a refilled device to refill a content, the refill cartridge comprising:
The refill device has an insertion portion that is inserted into a mounting portion having a cylindrical inner wall, and the inner wall of the mounting portion has a pressing portion that is biased in a rotational direction coaxial with the inner wall and has a mountain-shaped pressing portion with the biased direction as an apex,
the supply cartridge has, in a direction in which the supply cartridge is attached to the supply receiving device, an engagement portion having a mountain-like shape with an apex facing a mountain-like apex of the pressing portion at the insertion portion,
A supply cartridge is provided, characterized in that when the insertion portion is inserted into the mounting portion, the biased pressing portion contacts and slides against the engagement portion, engaging with the engagement portion to hold the supply cartridge.

The present invention provides one aspect of an image forming device.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus; FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the internal configuration of an image forming apparatus. FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the position of a circuit board; FIG. 1 is a front perspective view illustrating the position of a circuit board. A perspective view of a circuit board and its peripheral components Side view of the circuit board and its surrounding components Top view of the circuit board and its surrounding components FIG. 13 is a perspective view for explaining a holding configuration of a scanner unit and a drive motor; Back view of the circuit board perpendicular to the board surface Diagram for explaining electronic components on a circuit board Block diagram to explain the function of the circuit board A side view illustrating the positions of the supply unit and the scanner unit. A top view showing that the top surface forms a supply port. Top view to explain the location of the supply unit and the scanner unit FIG. Enlarged perspective view of the mounting part FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the mounting portion; FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a drive unit in the mounting unit; FIG. 1A is a perspective view showing components of a ratchet; FIG. 1B is a perspective view showing components of a ratchet; Cross-sectional view showing the relative positions of the mounting part and the top surface FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a state in which the discharge tray is open. FIG. 1A is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a supply pack; FIG. 1B is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a supply pack; FIG. 1A is an enlarged perspective view of a memory means disposed on the bottom surface of a supply cartridge; FIG. Front view of the mounting section when the supply cartridge is not mounted Front view of the cartridge loading section when the cartridge is loaded Front cross-sectional view of the mounting section when the supply cartridge is not installed Front cross-sectional view of the cartridge loading section when the cartridge is loaded FIG. 2A is a perspective view of a pressing unit; FIG. Top cross-sectional view of the pressing unit (a) is a diagram showing the operation of the pressing unit before the supply cartridge is mounted; (b) is a diagram showing the operation of the pressing unit while the supply cartridge is being mounted; (c) is a diagram showing the operation of the pressing unit while the supply cartridge is being mounted; and (d) is a diagram showing the operation of the pressing unit when the supply cartridge is completely mounted; Cross-sectional view showing a modified example FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating a restricting means. FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating a restricting means. FIG. 13 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the supply cartridge is restricted by the restricting means so as not to come out of the mounting portion. flowchart Flowchart when memory tag conduction is used as a trigger for the supply sequence FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view showing another example of a method for removing a supply cartridge; FIG. FIG. 11 is a front view showing another example of a method for removing the supply cartridge;

The following embodiments are described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the invention according to the claims. Although the embodiments describe multiple features, not all of these multiple features are necessarily essential to the invention, and multiple features may be combined in any manner. Furthermore, in the attached drawings, the same reference numbers are used for the same or similar configurations, and duplicate explanations are omitted.

In addition, the dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative arrangements of the components described in this embodiment may be changed as appropriate depending on the configuration and various conditions of the device to which the invention is applied.

Example 1
The objective of this embodiment is to ensure that the electrical connection between the device main body and the memory provided in the toner supply cartridge is firmly abutted, thereby preventing communication failure when the supply cartridge is installed.

[Overall Configuration of Image Forming Apparatus]
The overall configuration of an image forming system including an image forming apparatus 1, i.e., a replenished device, and a replenishment pack 510, i.e., a replenishment cartridge in this embodiment will be described. This image forming system is sometimes called a replenishment system, focusing on the replenishment of toner. The image forming apparatus 1 in this embodiment is a monochrome laser beam printer using an electrophotographic process, and forms an image on a recording material P using a developer (toner) according to image information transmitted from an external device such as a personal computer. Examples of the recording material P include recording paper, label paper, OHP sheets, and cloth. The replenishment pack 510 will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. 22, and is a device that is attached to a container in the image forming apparatus 1 to replenish toner from the outside when the remaining amount of toner in the container becomes low.

In the following description, the height direction (opposite to the vertical direction) of the image forming apparatus 1 when the image forming apparatus 1 is installed on a horizontal surface is referred to as the Z direction. The direction that intersects with the Z direction and is parallel to the direction of the rotation axis of the photosensitive drum 11 (main scanning direction) described later is referred to as the X direction. The direction that intersects with the X direction and the Z direction is referred to as the Y direction. The X direction, Y direction, and Z direction preferably intersect perpendicularly with each other. For convenience, the positive side in the X direction is referred to as the right side and the negative side is referred to as the left side, the positive side in the Y direction is referred to as the front side or front side and the negative side is referred to as the rear side or back side, and the positive side in the Z direction is referred to as the upper side and the negative side is referred to as the lower side.

Figure 1 shows a perspective view of the image forming apparatus 1, and Figure 2 is a diagram explaining the internal configuration of the image forming apparatus 1 as viewed from the X direction (the direction of the rotation axis of the photosensitive drum 11). Figure 2 shows only the components related to the image formation process. In Figure 1, the image forming apparatus 1 has a feed tray 4 that stores recording material P, and a discharge tray 14 on which the discharged recording material P is stacked. The feed tray 4 can be pulled out in the Y direction, allowing the user to replenish recording material P. The recording material P that has been fed from the feed tray 4 and on which an image has been formed is discharged from the discharge outlet 15 in the discharge direction (Y direction) shown in Figure 1, and is stacked on the discharge tray 14.

A front cover 70 is provided on a portion of the end face (part of the front face) of the image forming apparatus 1 downstream in the discharge direction, covering a circuit board 100 described later. An exterior cover 71 is provided on a portion of the front face other than the portion where the front cover 70 is provided, as well as on the side and top face of the image forming apparatus 1. The front cover 70, the exterior cover 71, and the discharge tray 14 described above together form a housing 72 of the image forming apparatus 1. Here, the housing 72 is a member that covers the entire image forming apparatus 1, and contains process members such as the scanner unit 50 described later. The discharge port 15 described above is an opening formed in a portion of the housing 72, and the recording material P is discharged to the outside of the image forming apparatus 1 through this opening.

The flow of the image forming operation on the recording material P will be described with reference to FIG. 2. When image information is sent to the image forming apparatus 1, the photosensitive drum 11, which is a rotating body, is rotated in the direction of the arrow R at a predetermined peripheral speed (process speed) based on a print start signal. The scanner unit 50 irradiates the photosensitive drum 11 with laser light based on the input image information. The scanner unit 50 is a unit that includes a laser oscillator that outputs laser light, a polygon mirror and a lens for irradiating the photosensitive drum 11 with the laser light, a scanner motor for rotating the polygon mirror, and a frame that supports these members integrally. The photosensitive drum 11 is charged in advance by the charging roller 17, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 11 by irradiating it with laser light. Thereafter, the toner contained in the container 18 is carried to the photosensitive drum 11 (photosensitive body) by the developing roller 12 (developer carrier), and the electrostatic latent image is developed, forming a toner image on the photosensitive drum 11.

In parallel with the image formation process described above, recording material P is fed from the feed tray 4. A pickup roller 3, a feed roller 5a, and a pair of conveying rollers 5c are provided on the conveying path of the image forming device 1. The pickup roller 3 comes into contact with the topmost recording material P stored in the feed tray 4, and the roller itself rotates to feed the recording material P. The feed roller 5a and the separation roller 5b that presses against it form a separation nip. If multiple sheets of recording material P are fed to the separation nip due to the influence of friction between the recording materials P, the feed roller 5a and the separation roller 5b separate the multiple sheets of recording material P and feed only the topmost one downstream.

The recording material P fed from the feed tray 4 is conveyed toward the transfer roller 7 by the conveying roller pair 5c. A transfer bias is applied to the transfer roller 7, so that the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 11 is transferred to the recording material P. The recording material P onto which the toner image has been transferred by the transfer roller 7 is heated and pressurized by the fixing device 9, so that the toner image is fixed to the recording material P. The fixing device 9 is composed of a heating roller 9a incorporating a fixing heater 9c, and a pressure roller 9b which is biased toward the heating roller 9a. The recording material P onto which the toner image has been fixed is then discharged to the discharge tray 14 by the discharge roller pair 10.

When forming images on both sides of the recording material P, the pair of discharge rollers 10 switches back the recording material P with the image formed on the first side, guiding the recording material P to the double-sided conveying path 16. The recording material P guided to the double-sided conveying path 16 is conveyed again toward the transfer roller 7 by the pair of double-sided conveying rollers 5d. After the image is formed on the second side of the recording material P by the transfer roller 7, the recording material P is discharged outside the machine by the pair of discharge rollers 10. In addition, after the toner image is transferred to the recording material P, any toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 11 is cleaned by the cleaning unit 13.

As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming device 1 has a circuit board 100. The circuit board 100 is composed of a wiring board 101 made of an insulator, and electronic components 111, 121 soldered to the wiring board 101. Conductive wiring is provided on and inside the wiring board 101, so that the electronic components 111, 121 are electrically connected. The circuit board 100 has the function of converting AC current supplied from outside the image forming device 1 into DC current, and converting the input voltage to obtain a specified voltage value required for the image formation process.

As shown in FIG. 2, the circuit board 100 is oriented such that the surface of the wiring board 101 on which the electronic components 111 and 121 are mounted intersects with the ejection direction. Furthermore, the wiring board 101 is provided between the front cover 70 and the scanner unit 50 in the ejection direction. The electronic components 111 and 121 are provided on the surface of the wiring board 101 that faces the scanner unit 50.

[Circuit board layout]
The arrangement of the circuit board 100 in this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to Figures 3 to 8. Figure 3 is a perspective view of the image forming apparatus 1 for explaining the arrangement of the circuit board 100, and unlike Figure 1, the front cover 70 and the exterior member 71 are omitted. Note that Figure 3 newly illustrates a mounting section 200 for replenishing toner. In the image forming apparatus 1 of this embodiment, a user or a service person can replenishing developer from the mounting section 200, which is connected to the container 18 inside the apparatus. The mounting section 200 will be described in detail later.
3, the circuit board 100 is installed on the front side, and the scanner unit 50 and the drive motor 60 (drive source) are provided on the further back side (the negative side in the Y direction) of the circuit board 100. Note that the scanner unit 50 and the drive motor 60 are shown by dotted lines in FIG. 3 because they are not actually visible.

As shown in FIG. 3, the image forming apparatus 1 has a right side plate frame 72, a left side plate frame 73, and a base frame 74. The circuit board 100 is supported by these frame members and is mounted on the image forming apparatus 1 with its plate surface approximately parallel to the XZ plane. The right side plate frame 72 and the left side plate frame 73 each have bent portions 72a, 73a at their ends in the Y direction for reinforcement. The bent portion 72a is bent toward the positive side of the X direction so as to be approximately parallel to the XZ plane, and the bent portion 73a is bent toward the negative side of the X direction so as to be approximately parallel to the XZ plane. In this way, by bending both side plate frames toward the outside of the image forming apparatus 1, electronic components can be mounted in a larger area of the wiring board 101.

Figure 4 is a front perspective view of the image forming apparatus 1 to explain the arrangement of the circuit board 100. As shown in Figure 4, the distance L1 between the inner faces of the right side plate frame 72 and the left side plate frame 73 in the X direction is shorter than the length L2 of the circuit board 100 in the X direction. The wiring board 101 is disposed on the positive side (front side) in the Y direction of the bent portions 72a, 73a. When viewed from the front side, the circuit board 100 and the bent portions 72a, 73a overlap. In Figure 4, the bent portions 72a, 73a, the scanner unit 50, and part of the drive motor 60 are in positions that cannot actually be seen, so they are shown with dotted lines.

By providing the circuit board 100 on the front side and forming it between the right side plate frame 72 and the left side plate frame 73 in this way, the image forming device 1 does not need to provide cable ties that cross between the right side plate frame 72 and the left side plate frame 73 in the Y direction. This allows the cable ties to be shorter than before, which reduces costs. Furthermore, the area through which the cable ties are routed is also smaller than before, which reduces electrical noise.

<Positional relationship between electronic components and scanner unit>
Next, the positional relationship between the electronic component 111 and the scanner unit 50 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the circuit board 100 as seen from the rear of the main body. Electronic components 111, which are larger in size in the Y direction compared to other components, are concentrated below the wiring board 101 in order to make effective use of space, and are mounted to fit within the lower part of the scanner unit 50. A power input unit 115 is provided at the end of the wiring board 101. The power input unit 115 is connected to an inlet 116, which will be described later, and receives power from a commercial power source.

Figure 6 shows the circuit board 100 as seen from the left side of the main body. Part of the scanner unit 50 overlaps with the mounting section 200 and is in a position that is not actually visible, so this area is shown by a dashed line. The scanner unit 50 is positioned in an optimal position for irradiating the photosensitive drum 11 with laser light, shown by a dotted line. Furthermore, at the point where the scanner unit 50 and the wiring board 101 are closest in the Y direction, no components such as electronic components 111 that protrude significantly from the board surface are located. In other words, the scanner unit 50 and electronic components 111 are positioned offset in the Z direction so as not to interfere with each other.

Figure 7 is an enlarged top view of the circuit board 100 as seen from above the main body. In this view, the scanner unit 50 and electronic component 111 are positioned so that they partially overlap each other. As mentioned above, since the scanner unit 50 is located above the electronic component 111, the electronic component 111 cannot actually be seen from this direction. In Figure 7, to clearly show the positional relationship between the two components, the scanner unit 50 is shown with a dotted line, and the electronic component 111 is shown as if it were being seen through.

In this way, by arranging the electronic components 111 in the above-mentioned positions, the distance between the circuit board 100 and the scanner unit 50 in the Y direction (front-to-back direction) can be shortened, and the image forming device 1 can be made smaller.

<Positional relationship between electronic components and drive motor>
5 to 7, the positional relationship between the electronic components 111 and the drive motor 60 will be described in detail. The drive motor 60 plays a role in rotating the transport members (pickup roller 3, feed roller 5a, transport roller pair 5c, etc.) for feeding and transporting the recording material P and the photosensitive drum 11.

As shown in FIG. 5, the drive motor 60 protrudes on the negative side in the Y direction, and the wiring board 101 is disposed on the front side of the main body relative to the drive motor 60. It can be seen that the electronic component 111 is mounted avoiding the drive motor 60 so as not to interfere with it. As shown in FIG. 6, when viewed from the left side of the main body, the drive motor 60 and the electronic component 111 are disposed in positions where they partially overlap each other. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, when viewed from the top of the main body, the drive motor 60 and the electronic component 111 are disposed offset in the X direction so as not to interfere with each other.

In this way, by arranging the electronic components 111 in the above-mentioned positions, the distance between the circuit board 100 and the drive motor 60 in the Y direction (front-to-back direction) can be shortened, and the image forming device 1 can be made smaller.

<Mounting configuration to the main unit>
Next, the mounting structure of the scanner unit 50 and the drive motor 60 to the main body will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 8. Fig. 8 is a perspective view in which a right side plate frame 72 and a scanner holding member 40 are added to the perspective view of Fig. 5. Note that the left side plate frame 73 and the base frame 74 are omitted.

The scanner unit 50 is held by a scanner holding member 40. The scanner holding member 40 is fixed to a right side plate frame 72 and a left side plate frame 73 (not shown in FIG. 8 ), respectively, and passes below the mounting portion 200 to bridge between the two frames. Meanwhile, the drive motor 60 is attached to the right side plate frame 72, and a gear connected to the drive motor 60 is provided on the positive side (right side) of the right side plate frame 72 in the X direction. The drive force of the drive motor 60 is transmitted to the feed roller 5a and the photosensitive drum 11 via this gear.
[Circuit board configuration]
Next, the configuration of the circuit board 100 will be described with reference to Figures 9 and 10. Figure 9 is a rear view of the circuit board 100 as seen from the rear side of the main body. Figure 9 illustrates not only the circuit board 100, but also the scanner unit 50, the drive motor 60, and the mounting portion 200. Figure 10 illustrates only the circuit board 100.

The circuit board 100 is composed of a low-voltage power supply unit 110 that takes in AC power from an external commercial power source and converts it to DC power, and a high-voltage power supply unit 120 that supplies the high voltage required for image formation to each process component. In the circuit board 100 of this embodiment, the low-voltage power supply unit 110 and the high-voltage power supply unit 120 are mounted on the same board.

The low-voltage power supply unit 110 includes a low-voltage power supply transformer 112, a heat sink 113, and an electrolytic capacitor 114 as electronic components 111 that are large in size in the Y direction. The low-voltage power supply unit 110 also includes a power input unit 115. The high-voltage power supply unit 120 includes a charging transformer 122, a developing transformer 123, and a transfer transformer 124 as electronic components 121 that are large in size in the Y direction. As is clear from FIG. 9, all of the electronic components 111, 121 that are large in size in the Y direction are positioned to avoid the positions of the scanner unit 50, the drive motor 60, and the mounting unit 200.

The other components provided on the circuit board 100 will be described with reference to FIG. 10. A plurality of connectors 220, 221, 222, and 223 are provided at the upper and lower ends of the circuit board 100, and the circuit board 100 is connected to various components by bundled wires. The connector 220 is connected to the drive motor 60 and a sensor (not shown) that detects the recording material P being conveyed. The connector 221 is connected to the laser output section (not shown) of the scanner unit 50 and a scanner motor (not shown) that rotates the polygon mirror. The connector 222 is connected to a control panel (not shown) equipped with a power switch and an execution key operated by the user, and the video controller 140. The connector 223 is connected to the fixing heater 9c. The hatched section 224 facing the drive motor 60 is equipped with electronic components that are small in size in the Y direction among the high-voltage power supply section 120. Specifically, resistors, jumper wires, etc. are provided. The resistors installed in this position serve to adjust the various biases output from the charging transformer 122, the developing transformer 123, and the transfer transformer 124.

Next, the functions of the low-voltage power supply unit 110 and the high-voltage power supply unit 120 will be explained using Figures 9 and 11. Figure 11 is a block diagram for explaining the function of the power supply board 100.

First, the low-voltage power supply unit 110 takes in power from an external power supply through the power supply input unit 115 mounted on the end of the board, and converts the AC voltage into a stable DC voltage using a rectifying and smoothing circuit including an electrolytic capacitor 114. The low-voltage power supply unit 110 then converts the DC voltage into a high-frequency AC voltage using switching elements such as transistors, and inputs the high-frequency AC voltage into the low-voltage power supply transformer 112. The low-voltage power supply transformer 112 converts the high-frequency AC voltage, which is the input voltage, into an AC voltage (output voltage) having a desired voltage value. The low-voltage power supply unit 110 again converts the AC voltage into a DC voltage, and outputs the obtained DC voltage to the high-voltage power supply unit 121. In addition, since the loss of each circuit component appears as heat in the low-voltage power supply unit 110, a heat sink 113 made of aluminum or iron is provided to dissipate the heat.

The high-voltage power supply unit 120 converts the voltage (e.g., 24 V) supplied from the low-voltage power supply unit 110 into a high voltage required for the image formation process, such as charging, developing, and transferring. The charging transformer 122 converts the voltage supplied from the low-voltage power supply unit 110 into a charging voltage, and the converted voltage is then supplied to the charging roller 17. The developing transformer 123 converts the voltage supplied from the low-voltage power supply unit 110 into a developing voltage, and the converted voltage is then supplied to the developing roller 12. The transfer transformer 124 converts the voltage supplied from the low-voltage power supply unit 110 into a transfer voltage, and the converted voltage is then supplied to the transfer roller 7.

The low-voltage power supply unit 110 supplies voltage (e.g., 3.3 V or 5 V) not only to the high-voltage power supply unit 120 but also to the scanner unit 50, the drive motor 60, the engine controller 130, and the video controller 140. Here, the engine controller 130 serves as a control unit that controls various process members in an integrated manner. The engine controller 130 has a CPU (not shown), a RAM (not shown) used for calculations and temporary storage of data required for controlling the image forming apparatus 1, and a ROM (not shown) that stores programs and various data for controlling the image forming apparatus 1. The video controller 140 communicates with an external device such as a personal computer to receive print data, and notifies the engine controller 130 of the results of analyzing the print data. The engine controller 130 and the video controller 140 may be provided on a board separate from the circuit board 100, or may be provided on the same board. In this embodiment, the engine controller 130 is provided on the circuit board 100, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.
Furthermore, AC power received by the power input unit 115 from the commercial power supply is supplied not only to the low voltage power supply unit 110 but also to the fixing heater 9c. In the circuit board 100 shown in Fig. 10, a triac (not shown) is provided between the power input unit 115 and the connector 223, and the temperature of the fixing heater 9c can be adjusted by switching the triac on/off and changing the sine waveform. The rollers and other components in the fixing device 9 are driven by a drive motor 60.

[Resupply Section Placement]
12 to 16, the mounting unit 200 will be described. As described above, the image forming apparatus 1 is provided with the mounting unit 200 for replenishing toner from the outside when the remaining amount of toner in the container 18 becomes low, without removing the container 18 from the housing 72. The mounting unit 200 is configured to be capable of mounting a replenishing pack 510, which is a replenishing cartridge described below.

Figure 12 is a left side view of the image forming apparatus 1 as viewed from the direction of the rotation axis of the photosensitive drum 11. In Figure 12, the exterior cover 71 and the left side plate frame 73 have been removed. The mounting section 200 is composed of a top surface section 240 to which the resupply pack 510 (not shown in Figure 12) is attached, a cylindrical toner receiving section 202, and a resupply path section 203 that connects the container 18 and the toner receiving section 202. The top surface section 240 forms a resupply port 204, which is a space for inserting the resupply pack 510, and the toner moves through the resupply port 204 to the toner receiving section 202 and the resupply path section 203 in that order, and is finally supplied to the container 18.

Because part of the scanner unit 50 overlaps with the mounting section 200 and is in a position that is not actually visible, this area is indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 12. Specifically, within the mounting section 200, the toner receiving section 202 and the supply path section 203 overlap with the scanner unit 50. In other words, the toner receiving section 202 and the supply path section 203 are in a position that overlaps with the scanner unit 50 in the Y direction. Here, if the area in the Y direction (horizontal direction) where the supply port 204 is provided is R1 and the area in the Y direction where the scanner unit 50 is provided is R2, then R1 and R2 overlap.

Also, let S be an imaginary plane that passes through the upper end 18b located at the topmost position of the frame 18a of the container 18 and is parallel to the horizontal plane. The imaginary plane S is indicated by a dashed line in FIG. 12. If the imaginary plane S is used as a reference, it can be seen that a part of the mounting part 200 is located on the positive side (upper side) in the Z direction. In other words, a part of the mounting part 200 protrudes upward from the upper end 18b of the container 18. Specifically, the part of the mounting part 200 is the entire top surface part 240, a part of the toner receiving part 202, and a part of the supply path part 203. Furthermore, the parts of the toner receiving part 202 and the supply path part 203 that protrude upward from the imaginary plane S overlap with the scanner unit 50.

As shown in Figure 12, part of the container 18 overlaps with the drum frame 11a that supports the photosensitive drum 11 and is in a position that is not actually visible, so this area is shown by a dotted line. The container 18 supports the developing roller 12 that carries the developer, and this developing roller 12 is also in a position that is not actually visible, so it is shown by a dotted line in Figure 12. In addition, a communication unit 209 is provided at the bottom of the mounting section 200, at a position opposite the insertion direction of the supply container. The role of this will be described in detail later.

Figure 13 is a top view of the image forming device 1 with the exterior cover 71 removed. As mentioned above, the top surface 240 forms the supply port 204 through which the insertion portion 312 passes.

Figure 14 is a top view of the image forming apparatus 1 with the exterior cover 71 and top surface portion 240 removed. In the X direction, the brush motor 401 and the gear train portion 404 are located between the toner receiving portion 202 and the left side plate frame 73. Although the toner receiving portion 202 is not shown in Figure 14, it is located in a position overlapping with the mounting portion 200 in the top view. Details of the brush motor 401 and the gear train portion 404 will be described later.

Here, the laser light irradiated from the scanner unit 50 to the photosensitive drum 11 spreads into a trapezoidal shape shown by a mesh as shown in FIG. 14 by the action of a polygon mirror and a lens (neither of which are shown in the figure). Therefore, the width of the scanner unit 50 in the X direction is shorter than the width of the photosensitive drum 11. As a result, a space is created between the left end of the scanner unit 50 and the left side plate frame 73, and in this embodiment, the mounting section 200 is provided in that space. In other words, as shown in FIG. 14, the mounting section 200 is provided between the scanner unit 50 and the left side plate frame 73 in the X direction. Furthermore, the supply port 204 and the scanner unit 50 are provided side by side in the area where the container 18 is provided in the X direction. By providing the mounting section 200 in such a position, it is possible to reduce the impact on the size of the image forming apparatus 1.

The mounting unit 200 is provided on the opposite side of the scanner unit 50 to the drive motor 60. The drive motor 60 used in this embodiment is relatively small, so as shown in FIG. 14, the mounting unit 200 and the drive motor 60 do not overlap in the Z direction. Therefore, although it is possible to provide the mounting unit 200 and the drive motor 60 on the same side of the scanner unit 50, if a larger drive motor 60 is used, the mounting unit 200 must be shifted upward. As a result, the size of the image forming device 1 increases. By adopting the configuration of providing the motor on the opposite side as described in this embodiment, it is also possible to adopt a larger drive motor 60 without increasing the size of the image forming device 1. In other words, the degree of freedom in design can be ensured.

15 is a perspective view of the developing container 230 composed of the container 18 and the mounting portion 200. Note that the drive transmission portion of the mounting portion 200 and some of the associated members are omitted in FIG. 15. As can be seen from FIG. 15, the width of the mounting portion 200 in the X direction is shorter than the width of the container 18 in the X direction. The mounting portion 200 has a receiving opening 205 formed in the inner wall of the cylindrical toner receiving portion 202, which leads to the supply path portion 203. The receiving opening 205 is a side opening provided on the side of the inner wall of the toner receiving portion 202. The toner is guided from the toner receiving portion 202 through this receiving opening 205 to the supply path portion 203, and then passed through the supply path portion 203 to be stored in the container 18. The toner receiving portion 202 is also provided with a restricting rib 202a for restricting the removal of the mounted supply pack 510.

Figure 16 is an enlarged perspective view of the mounting portion 200. In Figure 16, the receiving opening 205 formed in the toner receiving portion 202 is blocked by the main body shutter portion 206, which is a movable member, and is shown by a dotted line because it is not actually visible. The main body shutter portion 206 is a cylindrical member concentric with the toner receiving portion 202, and is provided inside the toner receiving portion 202. The main body shutter portion 206 also has a shutter opening 207 through which the toner passes. The shutter opening 207 is a connecting opening for connecting the receiving opening 205 and the side opening 313 of the supply pack 510 (see Figure 22). The main body shutter portion 206 also has a worm wheel portion 206a on its outer periphery. The worm wheel portion 206a will be described in detail later.

The drive transmission rib 206b of the main body shutter 206 can engage with the driven transmission portion 314b of the pack shutter 314 of the supply pack 510. By attaching the supply pack 510, it engages with the driven transmission portion 314b of the pack shutter 314. Here, the driven transmission portion 314b of the pack shutter 314 is the engaged portion, and the drive transmission rib 206b of the main body shutter 206 is the engagement portion provided on the moving member.

As mentioned above, there is a brush motor 401 and a gear train 404 between the toner receiving portion 202 and the left side plate frame 73. Drive is transmitted from the brush motor 401 to the worm wheel portion 206a of the main body shutter portion 206 mentioned above via the gear train portion 404, which is made up of multiple gears, and the worm gear 403. In this way, the main body shutter portion 206 can be opened and closed, the receiving opening 205 can be opened, and toner can be replenished.

<Composition of the Supply Department>
Fig. 17 is a diagram showing the toner receiving section 202 and its surroundings when the replenishing pack 510 is inserted into the mounting section 200. As shown in Fig. 17, an attachment detection sensor 407, which is an attachment detection means for detecting the attachment of the replenishing pack 510, is arranged in parallel with the communication unit 209 on the bottom surface of the replenishing section. The attachment detection sensor 407 is a contact type sensor, but may be a non-contact type sensor. In addition, on the bottom of the mounting section 200, there are the communication unit 209 held by a holding part 421, and a detection rib 421a provided on the holding part 421. Fig. 17 also shows the brush motor 401, the gear train section 404, and the position detection sensor 409. The gear train section 404 is sometimes called a driving force transmission section.

As shown in FIG. 18, the main body shutter 206 includes a worm wheel 206a, and the driving force is transmitted from the brush motor 401 to the main body shutter 206 via the gear train 404 and the worm gear 403. The worm wheel 206a may include a spur gear or a helical gear in addition to the worm wheel. FIG. 18 illustrates an example in which a spur gear is used for the worm wheel 206a, and the thrust force of the worm wheel 206a can be reduced by using a spur gear. The toner receiving portion 202 includes a regulating rib 202a. In this embodiment, a regulating means is provided to regulate removal of the supply pack 510 when it is attempted to be removed from the mounting portion 200 in the Z direction. In this embodiment, the regulating means is constituted by the regulating rib 202a of the toner receiving portion 202 and the main body shutter 206 that moves the pack shutter 314.

In addition, to control the rotation of the brush motor 401, the gear train section 404 is equipped with an encoder 402 and a rotation detection sensor 408. The encoder 402 and the rotation detection sensor 408 constitute a second detection means for detecting the number of rotations of the brush motor 401. The number of rotations here refers to the amount of rotation including less than one rotation depending on the resolution of the encoder 402. Furthermore, a position detection sensor 409 (first detection means in this embodiment) is provided for detecting the rotational position of the main body shutter section 206. The main body shutter section 206 is equipped with a position detection rib 506b.

The gear train section 404 is also provided with a ratchet 410 upstream of the encoder 402. As shown in FIG. 19, the ratchet 410 is composed of a drive input gear 411, a drive output gear 412, and a ratchet biasing spring 413. FIG. 19(b) is a view of FIG. 19(a) from a different direction. As shown in FIG. 19, the drive input gear 411 and the drive output gear 412 have drive transmission ribs 411a and 412a, respectively. When the ratchet 410 is engaged, the drive force is transmitted via the inclined surface of the rib 411a of the drive input gear 411 and the inclined surface of the rib 412a of the drive output gear 412.

On the other hand, if an overload occurs inside the main body shutter 206 or the drive train, the ratchet 410 jumps and the drive is cut off. For example, an overload may occur in the main body shutter 206 if a user inserts a refill pack 510 of an incorrect size. When the drive is cut off at the ratchet gear 410, the downstream gear does not rotate, and the encoder 402, which is coaxial with the downstream gear, stops. The rotation detection sensor 408 then detects that the encoder 402 has stopped, and the brush motor 401 stops. Note that the ratchet operates if an overload occurs during both the opening and closing operations of the main body shutter 206.

In addition, only one of the first and second detection means described above may be used.

First, the case where only the first detection means is used will be described. In the case where only the first detection means is used, the rotation angle of the main body shutter section 206 can be managed by the preset rotation speed and rotation time of the brush motor 401. As another example, multiple position detection ribs 506b are provided on the main body shutter section 206. The home position of the main body shutter section 206 is detected by the position detection rib 506b shown in FIG. 18. At the same time, the brush motor 401 can be stopped at the timing when the position detection sensor 409 detects a rib other than the position detection rib 506b described above while the main body shutter section 206 is in operation.

In the case of only the second detection means, the method of detecting the home position of the main body shutter 206 is important. For example, the contact position between the main body shutter 206 and the regulating rib 202a of the toner receiving portion 202 in the rotation direction of the main body shutter 206 can be set as the home position. When the gear end surface 506c of the main body shutter 206 contacts the side surface 202b of the regulating rib 202a, a contact reaction force is received from the side surface 202b of the regulating rib 202a. Then, the ratchet 410 jumps, detecting an overload on the main body shutter 206. As described above, when the ratchet 410 jumps, the downstream encoder 402 stops, and the brush motor 401 stops upon detecting this. That is, when the gear end surface 506c of the main body shutter 206 contacts the side surface 202b of the regulating rib 202a, the brush motor 401 stops, so the main body shutter 206 always stops at the angle at which it contacts the regulating rib 202a. Therefore, this position can be used as the home position. Using this position as a reference, the main body shutter 206 can be moved to a specified position by the second detection means, the encoder 402 and the rotation detection sensor 408. For this reason, only one of the first detection means and the second detection means may be used.

As shown in FIG. 20, the top surface 240 and drive transmission components such as the worm gear 403 are arranged to follow the angle of the discharge tray 14. By arranging the worm gear 403 at an angle to follow the top surface 240, it is possible to fit most of the drive transmission components within the height width of the mounting unit 200, which contributes to the miniaturization of the image forming apparatus. By setting the lead angles of the worm gear 403 and the worm wheel portion 206a to different angles, the worm gear 403 can be arranged at an angle relative to the worm wheel portion 206a. In this configuration, the brush motor 401 is also arranged at an angle relative to the worm wheel portion 506a.

As shown in the oblique view of FIG. 21, the right side of the mounting portion 200 of the top surface 240 is provided with an ejection button 242 that allows the user to remove the refill pack 510 from the mounting portion 200 after the user has completed refilling toner. In addition, the right side of the mounting portion 200 of the top surface 240 is provided with LED lamps 242, 243 that notify the user of the status of the refill operation. The ejection button 242 and the LED lamps 242, 243 are connected to the engine controller 130.

[Supply Pack Composition]
Next, the configuration of the supply pack 510 will be described with reference to Figures 22(a) and (b). Figure 22(b) is a view of the supply pack 510 viewed from a different angle than that of Figure 22(a). The supply pack 510 includes a pouch portion 311 containing the toner to be replenished, and a cylindrical insertion portion 312 to be inserted into the supply port 204. The pouch portion 311 is a storage portion that contains the toner. The supply pack 510 is attached to the attachment portion 200 with the insertion portion 312 at the leading end.

The refill pack 510 further includes a side opening 313 formed on the side of the insertion portion 312 as an outlet opening for discharging toner, and a pack shutter portion 314 that closes the side opening 313 to prevent toner from leaking. The pack shutter portion 314 is a first rotating member that can rotate to open and close the side opening. The pouch portion 311 has a flattened shape toward the opposite side from the insertion portion 312, and a pouch end portion 316 that extends in a predetermined direction is formed at the end. In addition, the bottom surface of the insertion portion 312 is provided with a memory tag 318 that is a memory means. Note that this bottom surface refers to the bottom surface in the Z direction when the refill pack 510 is attached to the refill port 204.

The pack shutter portion 314 is a cylindrical member concentric with the insertion portion 312 and is provided on the outside of the insertion portion 312. The pack shutter portion 314 is designed to be rotatable relative to the insertion portion 312. When the pack shutter portion 314 rotates and the opening of the pack shutter portion 314 and the side opening 313 of the insertion portion 312 are aligned, toner can be replenished from the resupply pack 510.

In FIG. 22(a), the side opening 313 formed in the insertion portion 312 is shown by a dotted line because it is covered by the pack shutter portion 314 and cannot actually be seen. In addition, the side of the pack shutter portion 314 is provided with a drive transmission portion 314b, which engages with a drive transmission rib 206b (described later) when the supply pack 510 is inserted into the supply port 204.

A positioning slit 314c is provided on the side of the pack shutter 314, and as the pack shutter 314 rotates, the regulating rib 202a provided on the toner receiving portion 202 described above enters the positioning slit 314c. In this state, the regulating rib 202a is in a state where it can come into contact with the positioning slit 314c. It also has an engagement portion 312g that engages with the pressing portion located on the bottom surface of the mounting portion 200. The method of engagement with the pressing portion will be described later.

Furthermore, the bottom surface of the supply pack 510 is provided with 312g, which is an engagement portion with the pressing part 422 (see FIG. 25) described later, and has two slopes, one above and one below. Here, the lower slope is the first slope 312d, and the upper slope is the second slope 312e. As the engagement portion 312g is shown in both FIG. 22(a) and FIG. 22(b), which show the supply pack 510 viewed from different directions, in this example, the insertion portion 312 is provided with two engagement portions 312g. The two engagement portions 312g are arranged in positions facing each other across the central axis of the cylindrical insertion portion 312. The end of the engagement portion 312g forms the abutment portion 312b that abuts against the main body when the supply pack 510 is attached to the main body.

23(a) is an enlarged perspective view of the memory tag 318 arranged on the bottom surface of the refill pack 510. FIG. 23(b) is an enlarged view of the memory tag 318 alone. The memory tag 318 is a plate-shaped member with an area of 5.5 mm x 5 mm and a thickness of 1.4 mm. The memory tag 318 is fixed to the insertion section 312 with the electrical contact portion 318a, which is the second electrical contact portion, exposed on the bottom side. The memory tag 318 has a memory element 318d on the back surface 318c opposite to the surface 318b on which the electrical contact portion 318a is provided. The memory element 318d stores information about the refill pack 510, such as the lot number of the refill pack 510, the amount and characteristic information of the toner contained therein, and characteristic information of the image forming device to which it is attached. The engine controller 130 of the image forming device 1 electrically communicates with the memory element 318d via the electrical contact portion 318a to read out the information of the memory element 318d and use it to control the image forming device 1. The bottom surface of the supply pack 510 is provided with a centering rib 312a for centering the supply pack 510 relative to the main body shutter portion 206 when the supply pack 510 is attached to the attachment portion 200.

In this embodiment, the memory tag 318 with the electrical contact portion 318a mounted thereon is disposed on the bottom surface of the insertion portion 312, but it is sufficient that the electrical contact portion 318a is disposed on the bottom surface. For example, the memory element 318d that communicates with the electrical contact portion 318a may be held in a portion other than the bottom surface of the insertion portion 312, and may be connected from there to the electrical contact portion 318a on the bottom surface by a conductive member such as a wire spring.

[Configuration of pack detection unit and memory contact unit]
24A and 24B, a communication unit 209 is provided on the bottom of the mounting section 200 at a location facing the insertion direction of the refill container. Also, an attachment detection sensor 407, which is an attachment detection means for detecting attachment of the refill pack 510, is arranged in parallel with the communication unit 209 on the bottom surface of the refill section. Also, a holding part 421 for holding the communication unit 209 is provided on the bottom surface of the refill section.

24A and 24B respectively show the state of the supply pack 510 in the mounting section 200 when it is not attached and when it is attached. In each state, as shown in Figs. 24A and 24B, the contact state between the detection rib 421a of the holding part 421 and the attachment detection sensor 407 changes, switching the attachment detection sensor 407 between ON and OFF, and detecting the attachment of the supply pack 510. The attachment detection sensor 407 is configured to be OFF (Fig. 24A) when the supply pack 510 is not attached and ON (Fig. 24B) when the supply pack 510 is attached, but the ON and OFF may be reversed. In that case, for example, the attachment detection sensor 407 may be arranged upside down and the detection rib 421a of the holding part 421 may come into contact with the attachment detection sensor 407 from above.

Figure 25 shows a cross-sectional view of the mounting part 200 as seen from the front side of the main body when the supply pack 510 is not attached. As described above, the bottom surface of the mounting part 200 has a communication unit 209 for communicating with the memory tag 318 of the supply pack 510. There is also a holding part 421 for holding the communication unit 209. The holding part 421 is located concentrically with the mounting part 200.

There is also a pressing part 422 that presses the supply pack 510 in the direction opposite to the insertion direction against the mounting part 200. The pressing part 422 is concentric with the holding part 421. The pressing part 422 is also a positioning part for determining the position in a planar direction perpendicular to the insertion direction of the supply pack 510. The communication unit 209, the holding part 421, and the pressing part 422 are included in the pressing unit 420, which is movable in the vertical direction. The pressing unit 420 is biased downward by a biasing spring 425, and is in the position shown in FIG. 25 when the supply pack 510 is not attached.

Figure 26 shows a cross-sectional view of the mounting section 200 when the supply pack 510 is mounted, as viewed from the front side of the main body. When the supply pack 510 is mounted, the pressing unit 420 including the communication unit 209, holding part 421, and pressing part 422 moves upward as shown in Figure 26. At this time, the memory tag 318 at the tip of the supply pack 510 and the communication unit 209 come into contact. The principle behind the pressing unit 420 moving upward will be described later. Between the main body shutter section 206 and the holding part 421, there is a biasing spring 425 for returning the aforementioned pressing unit 420 to the position shown in Figure 25 after the supply pack 510 is removed from the mounting section 200, and in this embodiment, it exerts a force downward.

When the supply pack 510 is attached, the top surface 240 is located above the pack shutter 314, which is the movable part of the supply pack 510. For example, if a user holds the pack shutter 314 and inserts the supply pack 510 all the way in, the supply pack 510 will suddenly move after detection, startling the user. Therefore, if the movable part is hidden by the top surface 240, the supply pack 510 is not inserted by holding the pack shutter 314, which is advantageous in terms of usability. In other words, since the movable part is covered by the top surface 240 and not exposed, the user will not be caught in the movable part or come into contact with it. The upper surface 422e of the pressing part 422 and the lower surface 421b of the holding part 421 shown in the figure will be described later with reference to FIG. 29.

Figure 27 shows a perspective view of the pressing unit 420. Figure 27 (b) is a view from a different angle than (a). The pressing unit is composed of the communication unit 209, the holding part 421, the pressing part 422, and the pressing spring 423. The inner diameter surface 422a of the pressing part 422 comes into contact with the outer surface 312c of the engagement part 312g of the supply pack 510, thereby enabling the radial positioning of the supply pack 510 relative to the mounting part 200. In addition, the pressing part 422 has a pressing rib 422b on its inner diameter surface 422a. The pressing rib 422b has a first inclined surface 422c and a second inclined surface 422d. The pressing rib 422b engages with the engagement part 312g of the supply pack 510, causing the pressing unit 420 to move upward when the supply pack 510 is mounted.

Figure 28 shows a cross-sectional view of the pressing unit 420 as seen from above. For ease of viewing, the communication unit 209 is not shown. The pressing part 422 is rotatable relative to the holding part 421. To return the pressing part 422 to its original position after it has rotated, the pressing part 422 is biased by a pressing spring 423 between the pressing part 422 and the holding part 421.

The operation of the pressing unit 420 will now be described. Figure 29 shows the operation of the pressing unit 420 when the supply pack 510 is inserted. For ease of viewing, only the insertion portion 312 of the supply pack 510 and the pressing part 422 are shown.

First, FIG. 29(a) shows a state in which the supply pack 510 is not attached. The vertical position of the pressing unit 420 at this time is the home position.

When the supply pack 510 is inserted from here in the direction of arrow P, the first inclined surface 312d of the engagement portion 312g of the supply pack 510 comes into contact with the first inclined surface 422c of the pressing rib 422b on the inner diameter surface of the pressing part 422 on the bottom surface of the mounting part 200, as shown in Figure 29 (b). With the inclined surfaces in contact, the supply pack 510 is inserted in the direction of arrow P. Then, due to the horizontal component f3a of the force f3 received from the supply pack 510, the pressing part 422 rotates in the direction D around the central axis of the mounting part 200 against the moment M (biasing force) of the pressing spring 423. The pressing part 422 rotates in the direction D until the pressing rib 422b passes the first inclined surface 312d of the engagement portion 312g of the supply pack 510. From the user's perspective, when the supply pack 510 is attached and is brought into contact with the pressing rib 422a of the pressing part 422, an upward reaction force is applied due to the elastic force of the pressing spring 423.

When the supply pack 510 is further attached, the second inclined surface 422d of the pressing rib 422b on the inner diameter surface of the pressing part 422 rides up and comes into contact with the second inclined surface 312e of the engagement part 312g of the supply pack 510, as shown in FIG. 29(c). At this time, the pressing rib 422a of the pressing part 422 abuts against the second inclined surface 312e of the engagement part 312g of the supply pack 510 due to the moment M (biasing force) of the pressing spring 423, and receives a force f4. Then, the pressing part 422 moves in the direction of arrow Q along the second inclined surface 312e of the engagement part 312g of the supply pack 510 due to the vertical component f4a of the force f4, and at the same time, it is rotated in the rotation direction E around the rotation axis A. After that, as shown in FIG. 29(d), the supply pack 510 and the pressing part 422 are completely engaged, and the attachment is completed.

In this way, the pressing part 422 has a mountain-like shape with its apex roughly in the direction of rotation, and is biased toward the apex along the direction of rotation. The engagement part 312g of the supply pack 510 and the pressing part 422 slide against each other's inclined surfaces, causing the pressing part to rotate along the inclined surface and return due to the bias of the spring. This action creates a latch mechanism between the pressing part 422 and the engagement part 312g, and the inserted supply pack 510 is held in place.

As shown in FIG. 26, when the pressing part 422 is lifted to coincide with the completion of installation of the supply pack 510, the upper surface 422e of the pressing part 422 comes into contact with the lower surface 421b of the holding part 421, and the holding part 421 also moves upward at the same time. Furthermore, the surface 421f of the holding part 421 comes into contact with the lower surface 209b of the communication unit 209, so that the communication unit 209 also moves upward in conjunction with the movement of the holding part 421. As a result, the abutment state with the memory tag 318 of the supply pack 510 can be secured.

Also, as shown in FIG. 24, the mounting detection sensor 407 switches between ON and OFF depending on whether the supply pack 510 is not mounted or mounted. This is achieved by the holding part 421 that contacts the mounting detection sensor 407 moving upward when the supply pack 510 is mounted, causing the detection rib 421a of the holding part to come into contact with the flag of the mounting detection sensor 407.

Up to this point, we have described a configuration in which the contact of the memory tag 318, the switching of the attachment detection sensor 407 between ON and OFF, and the movement of the pressing unit 420 are linked, but the contact of the memory tag 318 and the switching of the attachment detection sensor 407 do not necessarily have to be linked.

A modified example in which the abutment of the memory tag 318 and the switching of the attachment detection sensor 407 are independent is shown in Figure 30. Figure 30 is a cross-sectional view of the attachment section 200 as seen from the left side of the main body. The attachment detection sensor 407 is switched ON and OFF by an attachment detection rib 312f provided on the insertion section 312 of the refill pack 510. In addition, the abutment configuration with the memory tag 318 is a configuration in which the communication unit 209 is pressed toward the memory tag 318 by a biasing member 219. The abutment portion 209b of the communication unit 209 abuts against the abutment portion 312b of the insertion section 312 to determine the position in the Z direction, and the contact pressure between the main body electrical contact portion 209a and the electrical contact portion 318a (not shown) of the memory tag 318 is ensured.

[Operation method of the supply unit]
The toner supply operation, and the power supply and communication operation between the engine controller 130 and the memory tag 318 in this embodiment will be described with reference to the perspective views of FIGS. 31A to 31C.

Figure 31A shows the position when the resupply pack 510 is attached to the mounting portion 200, and Figure 31B shows the position when the resupply pack 510 is restricted so as not to come out of the mounting portion 200. In this embodiment, in the state shown in Figure 31B, the engine controller 130 energizes the memory tag 318 and communicates with the memory tag 318. Figure 31C shows the position where toner can be replenished from the resupply pack 510.

Before the supply pack 510 is inserted, the installation detection sensor 407 is OFF and the position detection sensor 409 is ON.

First, when the resupply pack 510 is inserted into the resupply unit 300, the resupply pack 510 is attached as shown in FIG. 29. At this time, the electrical contact 318a of the memory tag 318 on the bottom surface comes into contact with the main body electrical contact 209a of the communication unit 209, and the attachment detection sensor 407 switches from OFF to ON due to contact with the detection rib 421a of the holding part 421 (FIG. 31A).

The brush motor 401 then starts rotating in the forward direction. The drive transmission rib (first engagement portion) of the main body shutter portion 206 and the drive-receiving rib (second engagement portion) of the pack shutter portion 314 are engaged when the supply pack 510 is attached, enabling drive transmission. Therefore, the pack shutter portion 314 rotates integrally with the main body shutter portion 206.

In this embodiment, when the position detection sensor 409 is ON, the main body shutter 206 is located in the first position (initial position). In the first position, the receiving opening 205 of the mounting section 200 is closed by the main body shutter 206. The side opening 313 of the supply pack 510 is also closed by the pack shutter 314.

When the position detection sensor 409 switches from ON to OFF at a position of about 5° from the initial position, the engine controller 130 reads the signal of the rotation detection sensor 408 and stops the brush motor 401 at a position where the main body shutter part 206 has rotated about 10° (FIG. 31B). At a position rotated about 5° from the initial position, the Z-direction regulating rib 202a provided on the toner receiving part 202 enters into the positioning slit part 314c provided on the pack shutter part 314. That is, the supply pack 510 is in a state where it is regulated by the regulating means so that it does not come out of the mounting part 200. In this embodiment, the position where the main body shutter part 206 has rotated about 10° is the regulating position, which is the second position. From this relationship between regulation and being regulated, the regulating rib 202a can also be called the regulating part and the positioning slit 314c can also be called the regulated part. At the second position, the receiving opening 205 of the mounting part 200 is closed by the main body shutter part 206. The side opening 313 of the supply pack 510 is also closed by the pack shutter 314. As is clear from the explanation so far, the main body shutter 206 rotates coaxially with the inner wall of the toner receiving portion 202, and the pack shutter 314 rotates coaxially with the insertion portion 312.

In this state, the engine controller 130 starts to pass electricity to the memory tag 318 and communicates with the memory tag 318. During communication, the area in which the supply pack 510 can operate relative to the mounting section 200 is within the range in which the communication unit 209 can follow the memory tag 318 while maintaining contact therewith. Therefore, contact between the memory tag 318 and the communication unit 209 is guaranteed, enabling stable communication. Also, at this stage, the side opening 313 for toner supply is not open, so toner supply is not performed.

If the communication is successful, the engine controller 130 again drives the brush motor 401 in the forward direction and stops the main body shutter 206 at the supply position rotated approximately 90° from the initial position (Figure 31C). In this embodiment, the position at which the main body shutter 206 is rotated approximately 90° is the supply position, which is the third position. In the third position, the receiving opening 205 of the mounting unit 200 faces the opening of the main body shutter 206 and is in an open state. The side opening 313 of the supply pack 510 also faces the opening of the pack shutter 314 and is in an open state.

In the third position, the resupply pack 510, the mounting section 200, and the container 18 are connected, making it possible to replenish toner. Then, when the user has completed the replenishment operation, the user operates the removal button 242 to reverse the brush motor 401 and rotate the main body shutter section 206 to the initial position. This allows the user to remove the resupply pack 510. The above is the toner replenishment procedure and the memory tag 318 communication procedure in this embodiment.

In the state shown in FIG. 31B, the engine controller 130 communicates with the memory tag 318. If the communication fails, the engine controller 130 does not transition to the refill position (FIG. 31C) but reverses the brush motor 401. This transitions the engine controller 130 to the initial position (FIG. 31A) from which the refill pack 510 can be removed. In this embodiment, the failure of communication between the engine controller 130 and the memory tag 318 also includes a case where communication is not established due to poor contact between the electrical contact 318a of the memory tag 318 and the main body electrical contact 209a of the communication unit 209. The failure of communication between the engine controller 130 and the memory tag 318 also includes a case where the engine controller 130 is unable to authenticate the memory tag 318 in the authentication sequence.

For example, the authentication sequence is a sequence in which the engine controller 130 exchanges information with the memory tag 310 to determine whether the refill pack 510 that is expected in advance has been attached to the image forming device 1. The exchanged information is information stored in the memory tag 318, and includes, for example, information about the contents of the refill cartridge and information about the refill device to be attached (in this example, the image forming device). Authentication may be performed using such information. For example, assume that a user mistakenly attaches a refill pack containing yellow toner to an image forming device 1 that is expected to be refilled with black toner, and refills the container 18 of the image forming device 1 with yellow toner. In this case, the black toner and yellow toner may be mixed in the container 18, causing a disadvantage to the user. Therefore, in the authentication sequence, if the engine controller 130 of the image forming device 1 determines that the attached refill pack 510 is not a refill pack of the expected color, the authentication may fail and the brush motor 401 may be reversed.

Figure 32 shows a flowchart regarding the communication timing between the engine controller 130 and the memory tag 318 in this embodiment. First, when replenishing toner, the discharge tray 14 is opened to expose the mounting section 200 and the top surface section 240 provided adjacent to the mounting section 200. With the top surface section 240 exposed, the LED lamp 242 may be lit green. Then, the user attaches the replenishing pack 510 to the exposed mounting section 200 (S201).

When the attachment detection sensor 407 is switched ON by the detection rib 421a of the holding part 421 (S202), the engine controller 130 rotates the brush motor 401 in the forward direction (S203). While the brush motor 401 is rotating in the forward direction, the LED lamp 243 may be illuminated in red.

The position detection sensor 409 is switched from ON to OFF by the rotation of the main body shutter 206 (S204). After that, the engine controller 130 reads the signal of the rotation detection sensor 408 and stops the brush motor 401 at a position where the main body shutter 206 has rotated approximately 10° (S205). When the brush motor 401 has stopped rotating, the supply pack 510 is restricted so as not to come off from the mounting section 200. Since the supply pack 510 is restricted so as not to come off from the mounting section 200, the engine controller 130 starts communication with the memory tag 318. During communication between the engine controller 130 and the memory tag 318, or when the rotation of the brush motor 401 has stopped, the LED lamp 243 may be made to flash red. Furthermore, when the main body shutter 206 is rotated approximately 10°, the side opening 313 of the supply pack 510 is closed by the pack shutter 314, so toner is not replenished.

If communication from the engine controller 130 to the memory tag 318 is successful (S206), the engine controller 130 ends communication with the memory tag 318. The engine controller 130 then drives the brush motor 401 in the forward direction again, and stops the main body shutter portion 206 at the supply position rotated approximately 90° from the initial position (S207). In this state, the supply pack 510 and the container 18 are connected, making it possible to supply toner from the supply pack 510.

When the user operates the eject button 242 and the button 242 is turned on (S208), the engine controller 130 rotates the brush motor 401 in the reverse direction and rotates the main body shutter 206 to the initial position (S209). While the brush motor 401 is rotating in the reverse direction, the LED lamp 243 may be illuminated in red. Also, when the position detection sensor 409 is switched from OFF to ON due to the reverse rotation of the main body shutter 206, the LED lamp 242 may be illuminated in green. Note that, as in this embodiment, the LED lamps 242 and 243 may be illuminated or flashed in relation to the phase of the main body shutter 206, but for example, they may be illuminated or flashed in relation to the communication timing from the engine controller 130 to the memory tag 318. Thereafter, the supply pack 510 can be removed from the mounting section 200 (S210).

In this embodiment, the pack shutter unit 314 may be referred to as the first moving member, and the main body shutter unit 506 may be referred to as the second moving member.

[Modification 1]
In the above example, when the supply pack 510 is attached, the attachment detection sensor 407 switches between ON and OFF to detect the attachment of the supply pack 510. As another example of attachment detection, the electrical continuity between the memory tag 318 at the tip of the supply pack 510 and the communication unit 209 may be used as the attachment detection means for the supply pack 510 described above.

Figure 33 shows a flowchart for a case where electrical continuity between the memory tag 318 at the tip of the supply pack 510 and the communication unit 209 is used as a means for detecting the attachment of the supply pack 510.

The user mounts the resupply pack 510 on the exposed mounting portion 200 (S211). When the resupply pack 510 is mounted, the main body electrical contact 209a of the communication unit 209 and the electrical contact 318a of the memory tag 318 come into contact with each other as shown in Fig. 26. In this state, electrical continuity is established between the electrical contact 318a of the memory tag 318 and the main body electrical contact 209a of the communication unit 209 (S212). Note that, since no communication is performed between the memory tag 318 and the engine controller 130 during electrical continuity, there is no problem even if the resupply pack 510 is removed. In other words, the resupply pack 510 does not need to be restricted by the restricting means shown in Fig. 31.
Triggered by the establishment of electrical continuity between the electrical contact 318a of the memory tag 318 and the main body electrical contact 209a of the communication unit 209, the engine controller 130 then rotates the brush motor 401 in the forward direction, and then executes a sequence (S213 to S220) similar to the replenishment sequence described above.

[Modification 2]
Also, after toner replenishment is complete, there is no problem from the viewpoint of toner replenishment even if the contact state between memory tag 318 and communication unit 209 is broken, or if an attempt to remove replenishment pack 510 causes attachment detection sensor 407 to turn from ON to OFF. Therefore, these operations may be used as a trigger to remove replenishment pack 510 instead of pressing removal button 242. In this case, there is an advantage that there is no need to provide removal button 242, which reduces the number of parts and eliminates the need to provide installation space for removal button 242.
An embodiment is shown in Fig. 34 and Fig. 35. As shown in Fig. 34(a), a certain gap in the Z direction is provided between the pack shutter portion 314 and the restricting rib 202a of the toner receiving portion 202. In this case, the supply pack 510 is restricted so as not to be completely removed from the mounting portion 200 at the supply position (Fig. 31C), but due to the certain gap in the Z direction described above, the user can lift the supply pack 510 upward as shown in Fig. 34(b). Then, as shown in Fig. 35, the mounting detection sensor 407 changes from ON to OFF in accordance with the lifting of the supply pack 510. This operation is used as a trigger to reverse the brush motor 401 and transition to the initial position (Fig. 31A) from which the supply pack 510 can be removed.

Effect of this embodiment According to this embodiment, the electrical connection between the device main body and the memory provided in the supply cartridge for toner supply can be securely abutted, thereby preventing communication failure when the supply cartridge is installed.

The invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, the following claims are appended to disclose the scope of the invention.

Summary of the Examples The above examples can be summarized as follows.
(Item 1)
A supply system capable of supplying contents by mounting a supply cartridge (510) to a supply receiving device (1),
The replenished device (1) is
a mounting portion (200) having a cylindrical inner wall into which the insertion portion (312) of the supply cartridge (510) is inserted;
The inner wall has a pressing portion (422) that is biased in a rotation direction coaxial with the inner wall and has a mountain-shaped shape with the biased direction as a vertex,
The supply cartridge (510) is
The insertion portion (312) has an engagement portion (312g) having a mountain-like shape with an apex facing a mountain-like apex of the pressing portion in a direction in which the insertion portion (312) is attached to the supplying device,
A supply system characterized in that, when the insertion portion (312) is inserted into the mounting portion (200), the biased pressing portion (422) contacts and slides against the engagement portion (312g), engaging with the engagement portion (312g) to hold the supply cartridge (510).
(Item 2)
A refillable device (1) capable of refilling contents by mounting a refill cartridge (510),
a mounting portion (200) having a cylindrical inner wall into which the insertion portion (312) of the supply cartridge (510) is inserted;
The inner wall has a pressing portion (422) that is biased in a rotation direction coaxial with the inner wall and has a mountain-shaped shape with the biased direction as a vertex,
the supply cartridge (510) has, in a direction in which the supply cartridge (510) is mounted on the supply receiving device, an engagement portion (312g) having a mountain-like shape with an apex facing a mountain-like apex of the pressing portion, in the insertion portion (312);
When the insertion portion (312) is inserted into the mounting portion (200), the biased pressing portion (422) contacts and slides against the engagement portion (312g), engaging with the engagement portion (312g) to hold the supply cartridge (510).
(Item 3)
A supply-receiving device (1) according to item 2,
The replenished device (1) is characterized in that it further has an electrical contact portion (209a) that comes into contact with an electrical contact portion (318a) of the replenishment cartridge (510) when the pressing portion (422) is engaged with the engagement portion (312g).
(Item 4)
A supply device (1) according to item 2 or 3,
The supply cartridge (510) has an electrical contact portion (318a) which is an electrical contact portion for communicating with a memory (318) which the supply cartridge (510) has.
(Item 5)
A supply device (1) according to any one of items 2 to 4,
A refillable device characterized in that it further comprises a regulating portion which, when the pressing portion is engaged with the engaging portion, engages with a regulated portion of the refill cartridge to regulate removal of the mounted refill cartridge.
(Item 6)
Item 5. A supply device (1) according to item 5,
the regulated portion includes a slit in a direction perpendicular to an insertion direction of the supply cartridge,
the regulated portion is movable along a rib between a position where the slit engages with a rib included in the regulating portion and a position where the slit is disengaged,
The refilled device further comprises a driving means for driving the regulating portion to engage the rib with the slit.
(Item 7)
Item 6. A resupplied device (1) according to item 6,
a detection means (407) for detecting the supply cartridge (510) in a state in which the pressing portion (422) is engaged with the engaging portion (312g);
The supply device (1) is further characterized in that it has a control means for driving the driving means (401) to engage the regulating portion (202a) with the regulated portion (314c) when the detection means (407) detects the supply cartridge (510).
(Item 8)
Item 7 is a replenished device (1) according to the present invention,
The replenished device (1) is further characterized in that, by driving the driving means (401), an opening is opened for replenishing the contents from the replenishing cartridge (510) to the replenished device (1).
(Item 9)
A supply device (1) according to any one of items 2 to 8,
The replenished device (1) forms an image with developer replenished from the replenishment cartridge (510).
(Item 10)
A supply cartridge (510) that can be attached to a supply receiving device (1) to supply contents,
The refill device (1) has an insertion portion (312) that is inserted into a mounting portion (200) having a cylindrical inner wall, and the inner wall of the mounting portion (200) has a pressing portion (422) that is biased in a rotational direction coaxial with the inner wall and has a mountain-shaped pressing portion (422) with an apex in the biased direction,
the supply cartridge (510) has, in a direction in which the supply cartridge (510) is mounted on the supply receiving device, an engagement portion (312g) having a mountain-like shape with an apex facing a mountain-like apex of the pressing portion, in the insertion portion (312);
A supply cartridge (510) characterized in that, when the insertion portion (312) is inserted into the mounting portion (200), the biased pressing portion (422) contacts and slides against the engagement portion (312g), engaging with the engagement portion (312g) to hold the supply cartridge (510).
(Item 11)
Item 11. A refill cartridge (510) according to item 10, comprising:
A supply cartridge (510) characterized in that it further has an electrical contact portion (318a) that contacts an electrical contact portion (209a) of the supply device (1) when the pressing portion (422) is engaged with the engagement portion (312g).
(Item 12)
Item 12. A refill cartridge (510) according to item 11, comprising:
Further comprising a memory;
The electrical contact portion (318a) is an electrical contact portion for communication between the replenished device (1) and the memory (318).
(Item 13)
13. A refill cartridge (510) according to any one of claims 10 to 12, comprising:
The supply cartridge (510) is characterized in that it further has a regulated portion (314c) which engages with a regulating portion (202a) of the supply device (1) when the pressing portion (422) is engaged with the engaging portion (312g) to regulate movement of the supply cartridge (510) along the insertion direction.
(Item 14)
Item 14. A refill cartridge (510) according to any one of items 10 to 13, comprising:
The supply cartridge (510) is characterized in that the supply target device (1) is an image forming device, and supplies developer to the supply target device (1).

Image forming apparatus main body 130 engine controller, 200 mounting portion, 202a restriction rib, 205 receiving opening, 206 main body shutter portion, 209 communication unit, 401 brush motor, 407 mounting detection sensor, 408 rotation detection sensor, 409 position detection sensor, 422 pressing portion,
Cartridge 510 Supply pack, 312 Insertion portion, 312g Engagement portion, 313 Side opening, 314 Pack shutter portion, 314c Positioning slit portion, 318 Memory tag

Claims (14)

A resupply system capable of replenishing contents by mounting a resupply cartridge on a resupply target device, comprising:
The replenished device is
a mounting portion having a cylindrical inner wall into which the insertion portion of the supply cartridge is inserted;
The inner wall has a pressing portion that is biased in a rotation direction coaxial with the inner wall and has a mountain-like shape with the biased direction as a vertex,
The supply cartridge comprises:
The insertion portion has an engagement portion having a mountain shape with an apex facing a mountain shape apex of the pressing portion in a direction in which the insertion portion is attached to the supplying device,
A replenishing system characterized in that, when the insertion portion is inserted into the mounting portion, the biased pressing portion comes into contact with and slides against the engagement portion, engaging with the engagement portion to hold the replenishing cartridge. A refillable device that can be fitted with a refill cartridge to refill the contents,
a mounting portion having a cylindrical inner wall into which the insertion portion of the supply cartridge is inserted;
The inner wall has a pressing portion that is biased in a rotation direction coaxial with the inner wall and has a mountain-like shape with the biased direction as a vertex,
the supply cartridge has, in a direction in which the supply cartridge is attached to the supply receiving device, an engagement portion having a mountain-like shape with an apex facing a mountain-like apex of the pressing portion at the insertion portion,
When the insertion portion is inserted into the mounting portion, the biased pressing portion slides in contact with the engagement portion and engages with the engagement portion to hold the supply cartridge. The supply device according to claim 2,
a supply cartridge that is provided with a supply cartridge and a supply cartridge that is connected to the supply cartridge and an electrical contact portion that contacts the electrical contact portion of the supply cartridge when the pressing portion is engaged with the engaging portion; The supply device according to claim 2,
A replenished device, wherein the electrical contact portion of the replenishment cartridge is an electrical contact portion for communicating with a memory of the replenishment cartridge. The supply device according to claim 2,
A refillable device characterized in that it further comprises a regulating portion which, when the pressing portion is engaged with the engaging portion, engages with a regulated portion of the refill cartridge to regulate removal of the mounted refill cartridge. The supply device according to claim 5,
the regulated portion includes a slit in a direction perpendicular to an insertion direction of the supply cartridge,
the regulated portion is movable along a rib between a position where the slit engages with a rib included in the regulating portion and a position where the slit is disengaged,
The refilled device further comprises a driving means for driving the regulating portion to engage the rib with the slit. The refilled device according to claim 6,
a detection means for detecting the supply cartridge when the pressing portion is engaged with the engaging portion;
a control means for driving the driving means to bring the regulating portion into engagement with the regulated portion when the detecting means detects the replenishing cartridge. The refilled device according to claim 7,
The replenishing device further comprises an opening for replenishing the contents from the replenishing cartridge to the replenishing device, the opening being opened by the driving means. A refilling device according to any one of claims 2 to 8,
The refilled device forms an image with the developer refilled from the refill cartridge. A refill cartridge that can be attached to a refilled device to refill the contents,
The refill device has an insertion portion that is inserted into a mounting portion having a cylindrical inner wall, and the inner wall of the mounting portion has a pressing portion that is biased in a rotational direction coaxial with the inner wall and has a mountain-shaped pressing portion with the biased direction as an apex,
the supply cartridge has, in a direction in which the supply cartridge is attached to the supply receiving device, an engagement portion having a mountain-like shape with an apex facing a mountain-like apex of the pressing portion at the insertion portion,
A supply cartridge characterized in that, when the insertion portion is inserted into the mounting portion, the biased pressing portion contacts and slides against the engagement portion, engaging with the engagement portion to hold the supply cartridge. 11. The refill cartridge of claim 10,
a replenishing portion for replenishing the cartridge with the engaging portion, the replenishing portion being in contact with an electrical contact of the replenishing device when the pressing portion is engaged with the engaging portion; 12. The refill cartridge of claim 11,
Further comprising a memory;
A supply cartridge, wherein the electrical contact portion is an electrical contact portion for allowing the supply receiving device to communicate with the memory. 11. The refill cartridge of claim 10,
A supply cartridge characterized in that it further has a regulated portion that engages with a regulating portion of the supplying device when the pressing portion is engaged with the engaging portion, thereby regulating movement of the supply cartridge along the insertion direction. 14. A refill cartridge according to any one of claims 10 to 13,
The replenishing device is an image forming device, and the replenishing cartridge replenishing the replenishing device with developer.

Images