JP4084825B2 - Toner cartridge and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a toner cartridge mounted on an image forming apparatus.

  Conventionally, a cylindrical toner cartridge, which is a consumable item, is mounted on an image forming apparatus so as to supply toner to the image forming apparatus. A rotation knob is attached to one end of the toner cartridge. By rotating the rotation knob, the toner that is loaded inside the opening portion flows out of the cartridge. A fixing rib for fixing the other end portion of the toner cartridge and a guide rib that engages with the rotary knob when the toner cartridge is mounted are provided on the mounting portion side of the image forming unit on which the toner cartridge is mounted. .

  When installing the toner cartridge, attach the toner cartridge to the mounting part so that the other end of the toner cartridge is inclined downward and the other end is inserted under the fixing rib first. . When the toner cartridge is in a horizontal state, the rotation knob at one end of the toner cartridge engages with the guide rib. When the rotary knob is rotated in this state, the opening is opened and the toner cartridge is locked at the same time.

JP-A-11-133713 USP 5,722,019 (see column 8, FIG. 8B)

  However, in the above conventional toner cartridge mounting structure, when the toner cartridge is mounted, the toner cartridge is mounted in an inclined state, so that the toner loaded therein is mounted in a state where it is close to the other end side. The As a result, the toner is not sufficiently supplied at one end of the toner cartridge, and printing failure may occur. To avoid this, if you try to install the toner cartridge in a horizontal state, or if you try to install one end of the toner cartridge first, the other end of the toner cartridge will abut against the fixing rib on the installation part and be fixed. There is a risk of damaging the ribs.

  Also, when removing the toner cartridge from the mounting portion, the toner cartridge rotation knob is rotated in the opposite direction to that at the time of mounting to release the lock, and then the toner cartridge is raised upward. At this time, the other end portion of the toner cartridge is caught by the fixing rib, and the impact is that the image forming apparatus is tilted and the toner in the apparatus is scattered.

The present invention in order to solve the above problems, a toner container with toner Ru is loaded, and the pivot to open and close the opening formed in the toner storage section member for supplying the toner to the image forming apparatus The toner storage portion is formed to extend in the direction of the rotation axis of the rotation member, and the rotation member is disposed at a longitudinal end of the toner storage portion that extends in the direction of the rotation axis. In a toner cartridge that supplies toner to an image forming apparatus by mounting the toner container in a horizontal state in the longitudinal direction ,
Is formed on the rotating member has an inclined against the longitudinal direction of the toner containing portion, and attached to the image forming apparatus when rotating the rotating member, those are formed in the image forming apparatus An inclined portion for moving the toner cartridge in the longitudinal direction of the toner accommodating portion by rotating while contacting the contact member is provided.

According to the present invention having the above configuration, when the longitudinal direction of the toner cartridge can be mounted horizontally in the mounting portion of the image forming apparatus and the rotating member is rotated after mounting, the inclined member contacts the contact member. The toner cartridge moves in the longitudinal direction while being in a horizontal state at the inclined portion of the inclined member. By this movement, the toner cartridge is fixed in the mounted state.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 are perspective views showing a toner cartridge according to the first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a process cartridge according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a printer to which the toner cartridge is mounted. FIG.

  First, the printer will be outlined with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the cover 2 of the printer 1 is opened. In FIG. 4, the printer 1 includes a paper cassette 3 that stores printing paper, a process cartridge 4, a toner cartridge 5, and a fixing unit 6. The toner cartridge 5 contains toner as a developer and is attached to the process cartridge 4. The process cartridge 4 is detachable from the printer 1. A print head 7 made of LEDs is provided on the lower surface side of the cover 2. The process cartridge 4, the toner cartridge 5, the fixing unit 6, the print head 7, and the like constitute an image forming apparatus.

  1 and 2, a toner cartridge 5 according to the first embodiment is attached to a toner storage portion 10 having a substantially cylindrical shape, a rotary knob 11 rotatably attached to one end portion, and the other end portion. The cap 12 is provided. The rotary knob 11 is formed in the inside of the peripheral wall 14, the knob 13 that the operator picks to rotate, the peripheral wall 14 formed in a substantially circumferential shape, the opening 15 formed by cutting out a part of the peripheral wall 14. The guide walls 16a, 16b and the inclined ribs 17a, 17b formed inside the peripheral wall 14 are provided. The inclined ribs 17a and 17b will be described later. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the cap 12 has a substantially circular shape, and locking receiving portions 18a and 18b are formed at the slightly upper portions of both side portions.

  In FIG. 3, a toner cartridge mounting portion 20 and a print head mounting portion 21 are formed in the process cartridge 4. Side walls 22 and 23 are formed at both ends of the toner cartridge mounting unit 20, and an opening 24 for supplying toner to the developing unit is formed at the bottom of the mounting unit 20. A guide rib 25 is formed inside the side wall 22 as indicated by a dotted line. The guide rib 25 is formed to be long in the vertical direction and is fitted into the peripheral wall 14 of the rotary knob 11 when the toner cartridge 5 is mounted.

  Further, on the inner side of the side wall 23, fixing ribs 26a and 26b are formed on upper left and right sides. The toner cartridge 5 is fixed to the mounted state by the fixing ribs 26a and 26b. The fixing ribs 26a and 26b are formed such that their lower portions protrude toward the center of the mounting portion 20, and are positioned above the latch receiving portions 18a and 18b of the cap 12 when the toner cartridge 5 is mounted. In the position. The distance between the base portion 25a of the guide rib 25 and the tip end portions of the fixing ribs 26a and 26b is set to be slightly longer than the length of the toner cartridge 5.

  FIG. 5 is a side view of the toner cartridge, and is a view of the rotary knob 11 as viewed from the side. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an inclined rib. In FIG. 5, the horizontal distance between the guide wall 16 a and the guide wall 16 b is set slightly larger than the width of the guide rib 25. The inclined ribs 17a and 17b are formed in an arc shape between the guide wall 16a and the guide wall 16b. The inclined rib 17a is comprised from three parts, as shown in FIG. That is, the first portion 27a is formed to be the lowest, and the upper surface is formed uniformly, that is, without being inclined. This portion 27 a is a portion that first contacts the guide rib 25 when the toner cartridge 5 is mounted.

  The second portion 27b is formed to be the longest, and the upper surface is inclined. The inclination is such that it gradually increases toward the third portion 27c. The inclination angle is set to 45 degrees or less so that the toner cartridge 5 can be moved smoothly. The upper surface of the third portion 27c is formed uniformly. Similarly, the other inclined rib 17b includes three portions 27a, 27b, and 27c, and the first portion 27a is provided so as to first contact the guide rib 25 when the toner cartridge 5 is mounted. Yes.

  Next, the operation of mounting the toner cartridge on the process cartridge in the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an operation of mounting the toner cartridge in the first embodiment. In the first embodiment, the distance between the side wall 22 and the fixing ribs 26a and 26b in the process cartridge 4 is set larger than the length of the toner cartridge 5 in the longitudinal direction. When wearing, as shown in the figure, it is possible to wear in a horizontal state without tilting.

  In FIG. 7, the toner cartridge 5 is mounted on the mounting portion 20 from above. At this time, the rotation knob 11 of the one end portion 5a of the toner cartridge 5 has the opening portion 15 positioned at the lowermost portion, and the guide rib 25 does not interfere with the peripheral wall 14, and as shown in FIG. 14 is inserted between the guide wall 16a and the guide wall 16b. At this time, the guide rib 25 is opposed to the first portion 27a of the inclined rib 17a and the first portion 27a of the inclined rib 17b. The other end 5b of the toner cartridge 5 enters the mounting portion 20 without interfering with the fixing ribs 26a and 26b.

  When the toner cartridge 5 is placed on the mounting portion 20, the rotation knob 11 is then rotated. When the rotary knob 11 is rotated clockwise as shown by the arrow in FIG. 8, a toner discharge port (not shown) is opened, and the second inclined portion 27b of the inclined ribs 17a and 17b comes into contact with the guide rib 25 and further rotates. Then, the toner cartridge 5 moves in the mounting portion 20 toward the fixing ribs 26a and 26b.

  The moving distance “a” of the toner cartridge 5 at this time is determined by the length and the inclination angle of the second inclined portion 27b of the inclined ribs 17a and 17b. The inclination angle of the second inclined portion 27b of the inclined ribs 17a and 17b and the inclination of the inclined portion so that the portions 18a and 18b are larger than the distance b until the portions 18a and 18b sufficiently enter the lower side of the fixing ribs 26a and 26b (a> b). The length is set.

  When the rotary knob 11 is rotated to the position shown in FIG. 9, the latch receiving portions 18a and 18b of the cap 12 of the toner cartridge 5 enter below the fixing ribs 26a and 26b as shown in FIG. As a result, the other end 5b of the toner cartridge 5 cannot be taken upward and is locked. As shown in FIG. 9, the one end portion 5 a of the toner cartridge 5 is locked when the guide rib 25 enters the peripheral wall 14 of the rotary knob 11.

  When the toner cartridge 5 is locked, the guide rib 25 faces the third portion 27c of the inclined ribs 17a and 17b. Since the third portion 27c is not inclined as described above and has a flat upper surface, for example, even if an external force is applied to the toner cartridge 5 in the right direction in FIG. Therefore, the locked state of the toner cartridge 5 is stably maintained.

  When the toner cartridge 5 is removed, the operation opposite to that described above is performed. That is, from the locked state shown in FIG. 9, the rotary knob 11 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction so that the rotary knob 11 can be pulled upward, and the toner cartridge 5 can be moved rightward as shown in FIG. Thus, the toner cartridge 5 can be removed from the mounting portion 20.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the toner cartridge 5 can be mounted horizontally in terms of size, and the inclined ribs 17 a and 17 b that contact the guide rib 25 in the mounted state are provided on the rotary knob 11. Since the toner cartridge 5 can be mounted in a horizontal state without being tilted, the toner in the cartridge 5 can be mounted without being shifted to one side, and deterioration in print quality due to insufficient supply of toner can be prevented. In addition, it is possible to prevent parts from being damaged by an irregular mounting method.

  In the first embodiment, the inclined ribs 17a and 17b are provided inside the peripheral wall 14 of the rotary knob 11 so as to realize the movement of the toner cartridge 5 by contacting the guide rib 25. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the toner cartridge 5 may be moved by forming an inclined portion on the peripheral wall 14 itself of the rotary knob 11 and providing a member that contacts the inclined wall 14 when the toner cartridge 5 is mounted.

  Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the other end of the toner cartridge does not float when the toner cartridge is mounted. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a toner cartridge according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 12 is a side view showing a mounting portion according to the second embodiment.

  In FIG. 11, an engaging portion 30 is formed on the cap 12 of the toner cartridge 5 of the second embodiment. The engaging portion 30 is formed in the portion of the cap 12 that swells most to the side so as to further increase the thickness of the cap 12, and its upper portion is substantially planar.

  In FIG. 12, a protrusion 31 is formed on the side wall 23 side of the process cartridge 4 at a position facing the side surface of the cap 12 when the toner cartridge 5 is mounted. The protrusion 31 is formed at a position in contact with the engaging portion 30 of the cap 12 when the toner cartridge 5 is mounted. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  Next, a toner cartridge mounting operation according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14 are side views showing the mounting operation of the second embodiment. In particular, the operation of the other end of the toner cartridge will be described here.

  Also in the second embodiment, similarly to the first embodiment, the toner cartridge 5 is mounted on the process cartridge mounting portion 20 in a horizontal state without being inclined. When the other end portion 5 b of the toner cartridge 5 is inserted into the mounting portion 20, the engaging portion 30 formed on the cap 12 comes into pressure contact with the protrusion 31 formed on the mounting portion 20 as shown in FIG. 13. . When the toner cartridge 5 is further pushed in, the engaging portion 30 gets over the protrusion 31 and the toner cartridge 5 is mounted at the mounting position as shown in FIG. Since the press-fitted state is released when the engaging portion 30 gets over the protrusion 31, the operator receives a click feeling and can recognize that it is in the mounted state.

  In the mounted state shown in FIG. 14, since the engaging portion 30 has passed over the protrusion 31, the mounting portion 20 and the toner cartridge 5 are not in a pressure contact state, and the toner cartridge 5 can move in the longitudinal direction. In this state, if the toner cartridge 5 is lifted upward, the engaging portion 30 is caught by the protrusion 31 and the toner cartridge 5 cannot be lifted upward with a small force. However, the toner cartridge 5 can be extracted from the mounting portion 20 by lifting it with a greater force.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, the engaging portion 30 and the protrusion 31 that are pressed against each other when the toner cartridge 5 is mounted are provided. As described in the first embodiment, after the toner cartridge 5 is mounted on the mounting portion 20, the rotary knob 11 is rotated. At this time, a force is applied only to one end portion 5a of the toner cartridge 5 from above, so that the other end portion 5b may be lifted. In the second embodiment, the other end portion 5b can be prevented from being lifted, and the operator can perform the rotation operation of the rotary knob 11 with one hand, which makes the operation easier. Note that the engaging portion 30 and the protrusion 31 may be provided on both sides of the toner cartridge 5.

  Next, a third embodiment will be described. FIG. 15 is a front view showing a main part of the third embodiment. The third embodiment is provided with an urging member that moves the toner cartridge in the direction opposite to that when the toner cartridge is mounted when the toner cartridge is removed from the process cartridge.

  In FIG. 15, an urging member 35 is provided at the other end 20 b of the mounting portion 20 of the process cartridge 4. The urging member 35 includes a compression spring 36 attached to the side wall 23 and a pressing member 37 attached to one end of the compression spring 36. The pressing member 37 is movable in the left-right direction (the longitudinal direction of the toner cartridge) in the drawing. The urging member 35 is positioned on the end side (left side in the drawing) from the insertion position of the toner cartridge 5 when the toner cartridge 5 is mounted, and does not interfere with the mounting. Other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

  As described in the first embodiment, the toner cartridge 5 is moved in the left direction in FIG. 15 by rotating the rotary knob 11 after the toner cartridge 5 is mounted. At this time, the urging member 35 is pressed by the toner cartridge 5 and pressed leftward. This state is maintained when the printer is used, and a force for urging the toner cartridge 5 to the right in FIG.

  When the toner cartridge 5 is to be removed, the toner cartridge 5 can be removed by rotating the rotary knob 11 to the unlocked position, that is, the toner cartridge 5 can be moved rightward in FIG. At this time, the toner cartridge 5 moves rightward by the urging force of the urging member 35. By this movement, the other end portion 5b of the toner cartridge 5 is moved to a position where it is not caught by the fixing ribs 26a, 26b, and the toner cartridge 5 can be pulled out upward.

  As described above, according to the third embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, when the toner knob is removed, the toner cartridge is moved by the biasing member 35 when the rotary knob 11 is rotated. Since 5 is returned to the initial mounting position and removed from below the fixing rib, the toner cartridge 5 can be taken out without hitting the fixing rib. Therefore, the toner in the process cartridge 4 is not scattered. In addition to the above-described biasing member, for example, a leaf spring may be used to move the toner cartridge 5.

  Next, a fourth embodiment will be described. In the fourth embodiment, similar to the third embodiment, when the toner cartridge is removed from the process cartridge, the toner cartridge is moved in the direction opposite to that when the toner cartridge is mounted. FIG. 16 is a cutaway perspective view showing the main part of the toner cartridge of the fourth embodiment, and FIG. 17 is a cutaway perspective view showing the main part of the process cartridge of the fourth embodiment.

  In FIG. 16, the rotation knob 11 of the toner cartridge 5 of the fourth embodiment is provided with a release rib 40 on a part of its peripheral surface. Further, in FIG. 17, a groove portion 41 for entering the release rib 40 is formed in the vicinity of the side wall 22 at one end portion of the process cartridge 4. The groove portion 41 is formed by the peripheral wall 42 of the process cartridge 4, the side wall 22, and an inclined portion 43 formed inside the peripheral wall 42.

  The groove 41 is provided at a position where the release rib 40 is inserted when the toner cartridge 5 is mounted. When the toner cartridge 5 is mounted, the release rib 40 is positioned below the groove 41 and the rotary knob 11 is locked to lock. When rotated, the release rib 40 is positioned above the groove 41. When the rotary knob 11 is rotated, the toner cartridge 4 moves rightward in FIG. 17, so that the release rib 40 is in a position where it substantially contacts the upper portion 43 a of the inclined portion 43.

  When removing the toner cartridge 5, the rotary knob 11 is rotated in the opposite direction. At this time, the release rib 40 moves downward with respect to the inclined portion 43 while contacting the inclined portion 43. At the same time, the toner cartridge 5 moves leftward in FIG. The moving distance c of the toner cartridge 5 from the start of rotation of the rotary knob 11 to the stop thereof is the distance from when the toner cartridge 5 is pulled out of the fixing ribs 26a and 26b from the mounted lock state (b shown in FIG. 10). The inclination angle of the inclined portion 43 and the length of the inclined portion 43 are set to be larger (c> b).

  FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the movement amount of the toner cartridge. In FIG. 18, the release rib 40 moves from the position A to the position B by the rotation of the rotary knob 11 when releasing the lock. At this time, a horizontal movement distance c is generated. As described above, the moving distance c is set to be larger than the distance b from when the toner cartridge 5 is pulled out of the fixing ribs 26a and 26b from the mounting locked state.

  When the toner cartridge 5 is removed from the mounted state, as described in the first embodiment, the rotation knob 11 is rotated in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. At this time, the release rib 40 moves downward with respect to the inclined portion 43 while contacting the inclined portion 43. At the same time, the toner cartridge 5 moves leftward in FIG. When the rotation of the rotary knob 11 is completed, the toner cartridge 5 has moved by the distance c toward the side wall 22, so that the toner cartridge 5 can be taken out without being caught by the fixing ribs 26a and 26b. .

  As described above, according to the fourth embodiment, the toner cartridge 5 can be taken out only by processing the rotary knob 11 and the toner cartridge mounting portion, without requiring separate parts and without hitting the fixing rib. .

  As described above in detail, the inclined member formed on the rotating member of the toner cartridge and inclined in a predetermined direction of the toner cartridge and the inclined member formed on the image forming apparatus side when the toner cartridge is mounted. The toner cartridge is moved in a predetermined direction by rotating the rotation member after the toner cartridge is mounted, so that the toner cartridge 5 can be mounted in a horizontal state without being inclined, The toner in the cartridge 5 can be mounted without moving to one side, and it is possible to prevent a decrease in print quality due to insufficient supply of toner.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a toner cartridge according to the first embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a toner cartridge according to the first embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the process cartridge in 1st Embodiment. FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a printer to which a toner cartridge is mounted. FIG. 6 is a side view of the toner cartridge. It is a perspective view which shows an inclination rib. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a toner cartridge mounting operation according to the first embodiment. It is a side view which shows operation | movement of 1st Embodiment. It is a side view which shows operation | movement of 1st Embodiment. It is a front view which shows operation | movement of 1st Embodiment. FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a toner cartridge according to a second embodiment. It is a side view which shows the mounting part of 2nd Embodiment. It is a side view which shows mounting | wearing operation | movement of 2nd Embodiment. It is a side view which shows mounting | wearing operation | movement of 2nd Embodiment. It is a front view which shows the principal part of 3rd Embodiment. FIG. 10 is a cutaway perspective view illustrating a main part of a toner cartridge according to a fourth embodiment. It is a notch perspective view which shows the principal part of the process cartridge of 4th Embodiment. FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating a movement amount of a toner cartridge according to a fourth embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer 4 Process cartridge 5 Toner cartridge 11 Rotation knob 17a, 17b Inclination rib 25 Guide rib 26a, 26b Fixing rib 30 Engagement part 31 Projection 35 Energizing member 40 Release rib 43 Inclination part

Claims (19)

Comprising a toner container with toner Ru loaded, and a rotating member for the opening and closing of the opening formed in the toner accommodating portion for supplying the toner to the image forming apparatus, the toner accommodating portion is the turning The member is formed to extend in the direction of the rotation axis of the member, and the rotation member is disposed at a longitudinal end portion of the toner storage portion extending in the direction of the rotation axis, and the longitudinal direction of the toner storage portion is set in a horizontal state. In a toner cartridge that supplies toner to the image forming apparatus by mounting
Is formed on the rotating member has an inclined against the longitudinal direction of the toner containing portion, and attached to the image forming apparatus when rotating the rotating member, those are formed in the image forming apparatus A toner cartridge comprising an inclined portion for moving the toner cartridge in the longitudinal direction of the toner accommodating portion by rotating while contacting the contact member. A toner storage section in which toner is loaded; and a rotation member rotatably provided in the toner storage section, wherein the toner storage section is formed to extend in the rotation axis direction of the rotation member, The rotating member is disposed at a longitudinal end portion of the toner containing portion extending long in the rotating shaft direction, and supplies the toner to the image forming apparatus by mounting the toner containing portion with the longitudinal direction of the toner containing portion being in a horizontal state. In the toner cartridge,
Is formed on the rotating member has an inclined against the longitudinal direction of the toner containing portion, and attached to the image forming apparatus when rotating the rotating member, those are formed in the image forming apparatus An inclined part that moves the toner cartridge in the longitudinal direction of the toner container by rotating while contacting the contact member;
A toner cartridge comprising: a latch receiving portion latched by a latch portion formed on the image forming apparatus side by the movement.   3. An engaging portion is provided that engages with protrusions formed on the image forming apparatus side when mounted on the image forming apparatus, and presses each other to prevent the toner cartridge from being lifted. The toner cartridge according to any one of the above.   The toner cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the inclined portion is formed in an arc shape along a rotation direction of the rotation member.   In the rotating member, a circumferential wall formed to extend substantially larger than the inclined part in the end direction in the longitudinal direction of the toner cartridge is provided on the outer periphery of the inclined part having an arc shape.
  The peripheral wall is formed with a notch communicating with the lower portion of the inclined portion,
  When the toner cartridge is attached to the image forming apparatus, the contact member formed on the image forming apparatus side is inserted into the bottom side of the inclined portion through the notch, and the rotating member is 5. The toner cartridge according to claim 4, wherein, by rotating, the inclined portion rotates while contacting the contact portion, and the contact portion enters the inside of the peripheral wall.   The toner cartridge according to claim 5, wherein the rotating member is formed with a knob on an outer periphery opposite to the notch with respect to a rotation center of the rotating member. Includes a toner storing portion in which the toner is accommodated, and an opening for discharging the toner from the toner accommodating portion, rotatably provided in the toner accommodating portion, and a rotating member for opening said opening, wherein In the toner cartridge, the toner accommodating portion is formed to extend in the rotation axis direction of the rotation member, and the rotation member is disposed at a longitudinal end portion of the toner storage portion extending in the rotation axis direction .
Wherein formed on the rotating member has an inclined portion inclined against the longitudinal direction of the toner storage section,
By rotating the rotating member with the longitudinal direction of the toner cartridge being in a horizontal state, the opening is opened and the toner is discharged, and the opposite end of the toner container from the inclined portion on a predetermined horizontal line A toner cartridge, wherein the length of the toner cartridge is changed so as to increase .   The toner cartridge according to claim 7, wherein the inclined portion is formed in an arc shape along a rotation direction of the rotation member.   In the rotating member, a circumferential wall formed to extend substantially larger than the inclined part in the end direction in the longitudinal direction of the toner cartridge is provided on the outer periphery of the inclined part having an arc shape.
  The toner cartridge according to claim 8, wherein the peripheral wall is formed with a notch that communicates with a lower portion of the inclined portion.   The toner cartridge according to claim 9, wherein the rotating member has a knob portion formed on an outer periphery opposite to the notch portion with respect to a rotation center of the rotating member. The inclined portion, the toner cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 10 formed as a symmetrical pair of ribs around the center of the rotation member. The toner cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 10, wherein the inclination angle of the inclined portion is being below 45 °, characterized in Rukoto.   In an image forming apparatus comprising: a toner cartridge loaded with toner; and an image forming apparatus in which the toner cartridge is detachably mounted and receives toner supply from the toner cartridge to form an image.
  The toner cartridge is
  A toner container in which toner is loaded;
  A rotating member that opens and closes an opening formed in the toner accommodating portion for supplying the toner to the image forming apparatus;
  The toner container is formed to extend in the direction of the rotation axis of the rotation member,
  The rotating member is disposed at a longitudinal end portion of the toner containing portion that extends long in the rotating shaft direction;
  The image forming unit includes:
  A mounting portion to which the toner cartridge is mounted;
  A contact portion formed in the mounting portion so as to face the rotating member of the toner cartridge to be mounted, and abutting the rotation member when the toner cartridge is locked to the mounting portion;
  The mounting portion includes a locking member formed to protrude toward a locking receiving portion formed at the opposite end portion of the rotating member of the toner cartridge to be mounted,
  The rotating member of the toner cartridge is formed with an inclined portion that is inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of the toner accommodating portion and faces the contact portion when the toner cartridge is mounted on the image forming apparatus. ,
  The toner cartridge is inserted in a horizontal state between the contact portion and the protruding portion with respect to the mounting portion of the image forming portion with the opening portion closed, and after the insertion, the toner cartridge is rotated. When the moving member is rotated in the direction in which the opening is opened, the inclined portion formed on the rotating member is rotated while being in contact with the abutting portion, whereby the latch receiving portion of the toner cartridge is formed. The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the toner cartridge moves in the longitudinal direction of the toner cartridge to a position where the toner cartridge is locked by the locking portion.     An engagement portion is provided that engages with a protrusion formed on the image forming portion side when the toner cartridge is attached to the image forming portion and prevents the toner cartridge from being lifted by being pressed against each other. The image forming apparatus according to claim 13.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the inclined portion is formed such that the rotation member has an arc shape along a rotation direction.   In the rotating member, a circumferential wall formed to extend substantially larger than the inclined part in the end direction in the longitudinal direction of the toner cartridge is provided on the outer periphery of the inclined part having an arc shape.
  The peripheral wall is formed with a notch communicating with the lower portion of the inclined portion,
  When the toner cartridge is attached to the image forming unit, the contact member formed on the image forming unit side is inserted into the bottom side of the inclined portion through the notch, and the rotation is performed. The image forming according to claim 15, wherein the inclined portion rotates while contacting the contact portion by rotating the moving member, and the contact portion enters the inside of the peripheral wall. apparatus.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the rotating member has a knob formed on an outer periphery opposite to the notch with respect to a rotation center of the rotating member.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the inclined portion is formed as a pair of ribs that are symmetric about the rotation center of the rotation member.   The image forming apparatus according to claim 13, wherein an inclination angle of the inclined portion is 45 degrees or less.

Images