JP4163094B2 - Developer storage container and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a developer (toner) storage container for storing toner used for electrophotographic image formation, and an image forming apparatus to which the developer storage container is detachably mounted.

  Conventionally, a developer storage container that is mounted on an electrophotographic image forming apparatus and stores and supplies toner has been used. For example, the following toner cartridge, toner bottle, and developer storage container are known. ing.

  FIG. 27 is a cross-sectional view showing the image forming apparatus 2 to which the toner cartridge 1 according to the first prior art is mounted. FIG. 28 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of the developing unit 3 of the toner cartridge 1 and the image forming apparatus 2. In FIGS. 27 and 28, the thickness is omitted for easy understanding. An electrophotographic recording type image forming apparatus 2 such as a printer apparatus and a copying apparatus includes a toner cartridge 1 and an image forming apparatus main body (hereinafter, simply referred to as “apparatus main body”) 2 a. The toner cartridge 1 that stores toner is detachably attached to the developing unit 3 provided in the apparatus main body 2a.

  The toner cartridge 1 includes a housing 1a, a first stirring member 4, a second stirring member 5, and a supply roller 6. The first and second stirring members 4 and 5 are disposed in a storage space 7 that is an internal space of a housing 1a in which toner (not shown) is stored. Specifically, the first stirring member 4 is disposed in the first storage region 7 a that is one region of the storage space 7, and the second stirring member 5 is disposed in the second storage region 7 b that is the other region of the storage space 7. Is done. The first agitating member 4 is rotated in the direction of the arrow U1 around its axis by a driving force from a driving unit (not shown) such as a motor provided in the apparatus main body 2a while being attached to the apparatus main body 2a. The toner stored in the first storage area 7a is agitated and the toner is applied to the second storage area 7b. The second agitating member 5 is rotated in the direction of the arrow U2 around the axis thereof by the driving force from the driving unit to agitate the toner stored in the second storage region 7b and supply roller 6 Toner.

  Moreover, the 1st stirring member 4 has the sheet | seat 4a which consists of polymer resin which can be contact | abutted partially to the inner surface of the housing 1a which faces the 1st accommodating area | region 7a. The second stirring member 5 includes a sheet 5a made of a polymer resin that can partially abut on the inner surface of the housing 1a facing the second storage area 7b. The first and second stirring members 4 and 5 rotate while the sheets 4a and 5a are in contact with the inner surface of the housing 1a. As a result, even when the remaining amount of toner stored in the storage space 7 decreases, the toner remaining in the storage space 7 without being applied to the supply roller 6 by scraping with the sheets 4a and 5a is reduced as much as possible. To do.

  The supply roller 6 is formed of a porous resin such as a sponge at its outer peripheral portion, and rotates around its axis by the driving force from the driving unit, so that the toner supplied by the second stirring member 5 is supplied to the apparatus main body 2a. To the developing unit 3 provided in The developing unit 3 agitates the toner supplied from the toner cartridge 1 and a carrier, which is a magnetic particle prepared in advance, and generates a two-component developer. Further, in order to make the toner concentration of the two-component developer in the developing unit 4 constant, the outer periphery of the supply roller 6 of the toner cartridge 1 is formed of a sponge, and the rotation thereof is controlled. Accordingly, the supply roller 6 supplies an appropriate amount of toner to the developing unit 3 in a fine powder state.

  As shown in FIG. 27, the apparatus main body 2a further includes a recording paper cassette 8, a photosensitive drum 9, a charging unit 10, a laser exposure unit 11, and a fixing unit 12. The recording paper cassette 8 holds recording paper on which an image is to be formed. The photosensitive drum 9 is a cylindrical drum provided with a photosensitive member on the outer peripheral portion, and rotates in the direction of the arrow U3 around the axis thereof by the driving force from the driving unit as shown in FIG. The charging unit 10 imparts photosensitivity by charging the photoconductor of the photoconductor drum 9. The laser exposure unit 11 exposes the charged photosensitive member of the photosensitive drum 9 with a laser light image to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member.

  The developing unit 3 stirs the two-component developer, supplies the two-component developer to the photosensitive member of the photosensitive drum 9 on which the electrostatic latent image is formed, develops the toner, and the toner corresponding to the electrostatic latent image An image is formed. The photosensitive drum 9 transfers the toner image of the photosensitive drum 9 onto the recording paper fed from the recording paper cassette 11. The fixing unit 12 fixes the toner image of the recording paper to which the toner image is transferred onto the recording paper. The recording paper on which the toner image is fixed and the image is formed is discharged to the paper discharge tray 13.

  FIG. 29A is a cross-sectional view showing the toner bottle 15 according to the second prior art, and FIG. 29B is a perspective view showing the toner bottle 15. The toner bottle 15 is generally formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape, and is provided with a storage space 16 for storing toner. The toner bottle 15 is provided with a protruding piece 17 that protrudes inward in the radial direction and extends spirally around the axis L15 from the one axial end 15a toward the other axial end 15b. The other end 15b in the axial direction of the toner bottle 15 is provided with an opening 18 in which a hole having an inner diameter smaller than the remaining portion is formed, and the storage space 16 and the outer space of the toner bottle 15 communicate with each other.

  The toner bottle 15 connects the opening 18 to a toner supply port provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus so that the axis L15 is parallel to the horizontal direction on the main body of the image forming apparatus (not shown). In this state, when the toner bottle 15 is rotated around the axis L15 by the driving force from the driving unit provided in the image forming apparatus main body, the toner stored in the storage space 16 is sent to the opening 18 by the protruding piece 17. Then, the toner is supplied from the opening 18 to the toner supply port (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  FIG. 30 is a perspective view showing a developer supply container 20 according to the third prior art. The developer supply container 20 is formed in a cylindrical shape with both ends closed, and is provided with a storage space for storing toner. The developer supply container 20 protrudes radially inward and extends in a radial direction inwardly from a first protrusion piece 21a that spirally extends around the axis L20 from the axial one end portion 20a toward the axial central portion 20c. And a second projecting piece 21b that spirally extends about the axis L20 from the axial other end 20b toward the axial central 20c. A through hole 22 that penetrates in the radial direction and communicates the storage space and the outer space of the developer supply container 20 is formed in the central portion 20 c in the axial direction of the developer supply container 20.

  The developer supply container 20 is a toner provided in the image forming apparatus main body (not shown) so that the axis L20 is parallel to the horizontal direction and the central portion 20c in the axial direction opens upward. The image forming apparatus main body is connected so as to face the supply port. In this state, the developer supply container 20 is rotated around the axis L20 by a driving force from a driving unit provided in the image forming apparatus main body. As a result, the toner stored in the storage space of the developer supply container 20 is sent to the central portion 20c in the axial direction by the protrusions 21a and 21b, and is disposed at a position where the through hole 22 faces the toner supply port. The toner is supplied to the toner supply port through the through hole 22 (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  FIG. 31 is a perspective view showing a toner cartridge 25 according to the fourth prior art. The toner cartridge 25 is formed in a cylindrical shape with both ends closed, and is provided with a storage space for storing toner. A through hole 26 is formed in the center of the toner cartridge 25 in the direction of the axis L25, extending in the direction of the axis L25 and penetrating in the radial direction so as to communicate the storage space and the outer space of the toner cartridge 25.

The toner cartridge 25 is connected to a toner supply port provided in the image forming apparatus main body (not shown) so that the axis L25 is parallel to the horizontal direction and the center in the axial direction opens upward. Then, it is connected to the image forming apparatus main body. In this state, the toner cartridge 25 is rotated around the axis L25 by a driving force from a driving unit provided in the image forming apparatus main body. As a result, when the toner stored in the storage space of the toner cartridge 25 is disposed at a position where the through hole 26 faces the toner supply port, the toner is supplied to the toner supply port via the through hole 26 (for example, (See Patent Document 3).
JP 7-20705 A (Publication date: January 24, 1995) JP-A-8-339115 (Publication date: December 24, 1996) Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-348127 (Publication date: December 22, 1994)

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, image forming apparatuses such as printers and copiers have been required to increase the amount of printing at high speed. For example, some high-speed image forming apparatuses capable of forming images on 50 or more recording sheets per minute can form images on a maximum of 999 recording sheets at a time. In such an image forming apparatus, depending on the setting of the number of prints, continuous printing exceeding 999 sheets may be performed. Such a high-speed image forming apparatus requires a toner cartridge having a very large toner storage capacity. For example, some toner cartridges can store about 1400 grams of toner.

  In order to store such a large amount of toner, the toner cartridge 1 according to the first prior art described above includes a first storage area 7a and a first storage area 7 having different storage shapes 7 as shown in FIG. The two storage areas 7b are composed of two storage areas 7a and 7b. For this reason, the toner cartridge 1 becomes very large, and it becomes difficult for the user to attach and detach the toner cartridge 1 to and from the apparatus main body 2a. The toner cartridge 1 has a first stirring member 4, a second stirring member 5 and a supply roller 6 inside thereof, and these mechanisms are not only complicated but also heavy in weight. Therefore, the toner cartridge 1 is not only heavy, but also the manufacturing cost is increased, and the toner consumption cost is also increased accordingly. Further, when the size of the toner cartridge 1 is increased, problems such as difficulty in packing and transporting the toner cartridge 1 and securing of a storage location arise, and problems also occur when the toner cartridge 1 is discarded. Further, there is a risk that the toner leaks from the clearance between the first and second stirring members 4 and 5 of the toner cartridge 1 and the bearing of the supply roller 6 due to vibration and dropping during transportation and storage, and a change in atmospheric pressure.

  Further, if the toner cartridge 1 is left in a variety of environments for a long period of time in a state where toner is present in the storage space 7, packing in which toner, which is usually powder, aggregates in the storage space 7 occurs. It may be blocked. When the toner cartridge 1 is mounted on the apparatus main body 2a in such a state, depending on the angular positions of the stirring members 4 and 5, the agglomerated toner may be rotated in a direction that further agglomerates. If the stirring members 4 and 5 are rotated in such a state, the addition to the drive unit such as a motor and a gear for applying a driving force to the stirring members 4 and 5 becomes excessive. If the addition to the drive unit becomes excessive in this way, in the worst case, the motor is locked and the sheets 4a and 5a of the agitating members 4, 5 are deformed and broken, and the gear teeth constituting the drive unit are skipped. There is a risk that the image forming apparatus 1 will break down.

  In recent years, the toner by leaving the toner cartridge 1 by reducing the particle size of the toner particles for high image quality when forming an image on recording paper and lowering the melting point by low-temperature fixing for countermeasures for environmental problems. The tendency of agglomeration is remarkable, and the above-described failure is likely to occur. In order to prevent such a failure, the user loosens the toner stored in the toner cartridge 1 before installing the new toner cartridge 1 and the toner cartridge 1 left for a long period of time in the apparatus main body 2a, and removes the toner. It must be in powder form as much as possible. For this purpose, the user has to perform a very troublesome work such as swinging the large and heavy toner cartridge 1 up and down and left and right.

  In order to solve such a problem of the toner cartridge 1, an openable and closable opening is provided in the toner cartridge to externally fill the toner, and the toner cartridge is not completely detached from the apparatus main body 2 a. Some supply toner from the opening. However, there is a problem that when toner is supplied to the toner cartridge, the toner scatters and the toner cannot be charged well.

  In addition, the toner bottle 15 of the second prior art shown in FIG. 29 described above has an advantage that the number of component parts is small and the manufacturing cost can be reduced as compared with the toner cartridge 1 of the first prior art. is there. However, the amount of toner supplied to the toner supply port by rotating the toner bottle 15 about the axis L15 varies depending on the amount of toner remaining in the toner bottle 15. For example, the supply amount when the toner bottle 15 is rotated once is larger when the upper surface of the toner layer is higher than the axis L15 than when the upper surface of the toner layer is lower than the axis L15. . Accordingly, for example, when the toner bottle 15 is rotated around the axis L15 in a state in which the toner bottle 15 is fully filled like a new toner bottle 15, excessive toner is brought near the opening 18. There is a high risk that toner concentrates and aggregates in the vicinity of the opening 18.

  In order to reduce the risk that the toner aggregates in the vicinity of the opening 18 and the supply of the toner to the toner supply port of the image forming apparatus main body is reduced, when the image forming apparatus is turned on, or at regular time intervals A method of rotating the toner bottle 15 in the opposite direction to that when the toner is sent to the opening 18 is also conceivable. However, in this method, the state of the toner stored in the toner bottle 15 differs depending on the period in which the toner bottle 15 is left without rotating and the environment in which the image forming apparatus is installed. The rotation control of the toner bottle 15 is very difficult.

  When the toner bottle 15 is mounted on the main body of the image forming apparatus and the upper surface of the toner layer is at a position higher than the axis L15, the toner bottle 15 Even if the toner does not rotate, the toner may flow out from the opening 18 to the toner supply port. When the toner bottle 15 is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body and the upper surface of the toner layer is at a position lower than the opening 18, the toner bottle 15 Even if 15 rotates, toner may not be supplied from the opening 18 to the toner supply port.

  Further, in the image forming apparatus main body to which such a toner bottle 15 is attached, generally, the developing unit which is a toner supply destination is disposed at the center between the front and back portions of the image forming apparatus main body. Yes. Further, such a toner bottle 15 is generally inserted and mounted from the front part of the main body of the image forming apparatus. Therefore, in the configuration in which the opening 18 is provided only at the end of the toner bottle 15, the axis of the toner bottle 15 is used. The dimension in the direction is limited to the dimension from the central part to the front part of the image forming apparatus main body. As a result, the toner storage capacity of the toner bottle 15 is limited.

  Further, in the developer supply container 20 of the third prior art shown in FIG. 30 described above, a through-hole 22 through which the toner flows is formed in the axial center portion 20c in order to solve the limitation of the dimension in the axial direction. ing. However, it is difficult to completely seal between the central portion 20c of the rotating developer supply container 20 and the main body of the image forming apparatus. When the developer supply container 20 is rotating, the toner from the through hole 22 However, there is a possibility of leakage from between the central portion 20c and the image forming apparatus main body and scattering into the image forming apparatus main body.

  Further, since the toner is a powder having high fluidity of 4 to 10 micrometers, when the rotation of the developer supply container 20 stops with the through hole 22 facing the toner supply port of the image forming apparatus main body. There is also a risk that a large amount of toner flows out from the through hole 22 to the toner supply port. When a large amount of toner is supplied from the toner supply port to the developing unit in this way, the toner concentration in the developing unit at that time becomes very high, and there is a risk that uneven development occurs. In order to avoid this danger, it is necessary to provide a new stirring member in the developing unit, which causes a problem that the developing unit becomes large.

  Further, the toner cartridge 25 of the fourth prior art shown in FIG. 31 has the same problem as the developer supply container 20 of the third prior art.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to stably support and rotate a container body in which a developer is stored without having a complicated mechanism. The developer contained therein is prevented from agglomerating, and the amount of developer supplied to the image forming apparatus main body per one rotation of the container main body is made as constant as possible so that the powdery developer can be added. A developer storage container that can be supplied to the image forming apparatus main body, the developer main body configured so that the container main body and the support member do not move in the axial direction, and the developer storage container mounted detachably An image forming apparatus is provided.

  In order to solve the above problems, a developer storage container according to the present invention is a developer storage container detachably mounted on an image forming apparatus. The developer storage container includes a container body and a support member. The container main body is formed in a cylindrical shape in which the developer is accommodated, and a concave portion that is recessed inward in the radial direction is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the container main body. A discharge hole for discharging is formed, and the support member surrounds the outer peripheral surface of the container body so as to include a region where the recess of the container body is formed, and rotates the container body around an axis. The support member is provided with a conduction hole for supplying the developer discharged from the discharge hole to the concave portion to the outside. Further, the support member and the container main body are provided. The container body is It is characterized in that the direction is intended to be fitted so as not to move.

  In the developer container according to the present invention, a convex support portion is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the support member so as to protrude inward in the radial direction of the support member and extend over the entire circumference. The outer circumferential surface of the container body is provided with a concave groove that extends inward in the radial direction of the container body so as to extend over the entire circumference, and when the support member holds the container body. The convex support portion provided on the support member and the concave groove provided on the container main body are fitted to each other so that the container main body is not movable in the axial direction. It is said. Moreover, it is preferable that the convex support part formed in the said support member is a waveform.

  Further, in the developer storage container according to the present invention, on the outer peripheral surface of the container main body, a convex support portion is provided extending outward in the radial direction of the container main body and extending over the entire circumferential direction. A concave groove is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the support member so as to be recessed outward in the radial direction of the support member so as to extend over the entire circumference, and when the support member holds the container body. The convex support portion provided in the container body and the concave groove provided in the support member are fitted so that the container main body is not movable in the axial direction. It is said. Moreover, it is preferable that the convex support part formed in the said container main body is a waveform.

  In the developer container according to the present invention, it is preferable that the support member can be divided into a plurality of parts.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that any one of the developer storage containers is detachably mounted.

  Since the developer storage container according to the present invention has the above-described configuration, when the container main body supported by the support member so as to be rotatable about the axis is rotated about the axis, the stored developer is stored in the container main body. It is conveyed toward the discharge hole provided in the outer peripheral portion. Thus, since the supporting member supports the container body, the container body rotating around the axis can be stably supported even when a driving force for rotating the container body is applied to the container body. Furthermore, since the container body does not move in the axial direction, the positions of the container body and the support member in the axial direction are reliably determined. If the position in the axial direction is determined, the developer discharged from the discharge hole of the container body can be guided to an accurate position, thereby avoiding the problem of misalignment with the hopper receiving port and preventing problems such as toner leakage. There is an effect.

  Further, when the convex support portion provided on the inner peripheral surface of the support member or the outer peripheral surface of the container body has a wave shape, the axial direction generated when the container main body rotates as compared with the case where the container main body does not have a wave shape. There is an effect of reducing the rotational torque due to friction or the like, and there is an effect that the container body can be rotated with a smaller rotational torque.

  In addition, since the support member can be divided into a plurality of parts in the circumferential direction, when the container body is held by the support member, the support member is divided in advance, and the inner peripheral portion of the divided support member is projected. As a result, it is possible to easily perform the work of assembling the cylindrical support portion into the concave groove recessed in the cylindrical outer peripheral portion of the container body over the entire circumference.

  In addition, according to the present invention, the image forming apparatus can mount the developer storage container that achieves the above-described effects in a detachable manner.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. First, the developer storage container according to the present invention will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a developer container 30 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view showing the developer storage container 30. FIG. 3 is a left side view showing the developer storage container 30. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the developer storage container 30 includes a container body 31 and a support member 32. The container body 31 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape and stores a developer such as toner used for electrophotographic image formation. The support member 32 supports the container main body 31 so as to be rotatable around its axis L31. The developer storage container 30 can store 1400 grams of developer, for example. Hereinafter, the axis L31 of the container body 31 may be referred to as a rotation axis L31.

  FIG. 4 is a front view showing the container main body 31. FIG. 5 is a left side view showing the container main body 31. FIG. 6 is a right side view showing the container main body 31. Hereinafter, a description will be given with reference to FIGS. The container body 31 includes a first container part 33, a second container part 34, and a third container part 35. The length A31 of the container body 31 in the direction of the axis L31 may be, for example, 458 millimeters. In addition, the outer peripheral surface of the container main body 31 is represented as the outer peripheral surface 31a.

  The first container part 33 is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape. The length dimension A33 in the axial direction of the first container portion 33 may be, for example, 160 millimeters. As shown in FIG. 4, the first container portion 33 protrudes radially inward at an inner peripheral portion thereof, and an open end portion that is the other end portion in the axial direction from the bottom portion 33 a that is one end portion in the axial direction. A first projecting piece 36 extending in a spiral shape toward 33b is provided. More specifically, the first projecting piece 36 is counterclockwise about the axis L33 of the first container part 33 as viewed from the bottom part 33a of the first container part 33 toward the opening end part 33b from the bottom part 33a. It is formed extending in a spiral extending so as to rotate. Note that “inward in the radial direction” means a direction parallel to the radial direction and from the circumferential portion toward the center of the circle.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the bottom 33a of the first container part 33 is formed with a fitting convex part 37 and a supply port part 45, which are connecting parts protruding in a direction from the opening end part 33b toward the bottom part 33a. Is done. A plurality of fitting convex portions 37 are preferably provided. In the present embodiment, two fitting convex portions 37 are formed. The replenishing port portion 45 is formed in the center portion of the bottom portion 33a of the first container portion 33 so as to penetrate in the direction of the rotation axis L31 and open in a circular shape coaxial with the axis L33 of the first container portion 33. The replenishing port portion 45 is formed corresponding to its shape, and the replenishment lid 46 detachably attached to the replenishing port portion 45 achieves a seal with the replenishing port portion 45, by rotating the container body 31. It is attached so as not to leave. By removing the supply lid 46 from the supply port 45, the inner space and the outer space of the container main body 31 communicate with each other, and the developer can be supplied to the container main body 31 in this state.

  More specifically, the fitting convex portion 37 is disposed at a position symmetric with respect to the axis L <b> 33 of the first container portion 33, radially outward from the replenishing port portion 45. More specifically, the fitting convex portion 37 is, as shown in FIG. 5, the upstream side in the rotational direction R that is the clockwise rotational direction around the rotational axis L31 as viewed from the bottom 33a of the first container portion 33. The portion 37a is formed to have a plane extending perpendicular to the circumferential direction. Moreover, the rotation direction R downstream part of the fitting convex part 37 is formed so that it may incline to the axial direction other end part side as it goes to the rotation direction R downstream. The protrusion amount A37 in the direction of the axis L33 from the remaining portion of the bottom 33a of the fitting convex portion 37 may be, for example, 8 millimeters. Such a fitting convex portion 37 can be attached to and detached from a main body side connecting portion 83 (see FIGS. 25 and 26) provided in the image forming apparatus 70 described later. Note that “radially outward” refers to a direction parallel to the radial direction and from the center of the circle toward the circumference. That is, the direction is 180 ° opposite to the radially inner side.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the surface 33 c where the outer peripheral surface and the end surface communicate with each other in the bottom 33 a of the first container portion 33 is a curved surface that inclines inward in the radial direction from the opening end 33 b toward the bottom 33 a. It is formed in a shape.

  The second container part 34 is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape. The length dimension A34 in the axial direction of the second container portion 34 may be, for example, 210 millimeters. As shown in FIG. 4, the second container portion 34 protrudes radially inward at an inner peripheral portion thereof, and an open end portion that is one end portion in the axial direction from the bottom portion 34 a that is the other end portion in the axial direction. A second projecting piece 39 extending in a spiral shape toward 34b is provided. More specifically, the second projecting piece 39 is clockwise from the bottom 34a toward the opening end 34b as viewed from the bottom 34a of the second container 34, with the axis L34 of the second container 34 as the center. It is formed to extend in a spiral extending so as to rotate. That is, the second projecting piece 39 is formed to extend in the opposite direction to the first projecting piece 36. The pitch A1 between the first protruding piece 36 of the first container portion 33 and the second protruding piece 39 of the second container portion 34 may be, for example, 30 millimeters. Further, the protruding amount A2 inward in the radial direction from the remaining portions of the inner peripheral portions of the first protrusion piece 36 and the second protrusion piece 39 may be, for example, 6 millimeters.

  In the bottom portion 34a of the second container portion 34, at least the surface where the outer peripheral surface and the end surface communicate with each other is formed in a curved shape that inclines radially inward from the opening end portion 34b toward the bottom portion 34a. Specifically, the end surface 34c of the bottom portion 34a of the second container portion 34 is formed in a partial spherical shape such that the center portion projects in a direction from the opening end portion 34b toward the bottom portion 34a. A plurality of guide projection pieces 40 projecting radially outward are provided at the outer peripheral portion at a position spaced from the end surface of the opening end portion 34b of the second container portion 34 toward the bottom portion 34a. In this embodiment, two are provided. The dimension in the axial direction of the guide projection piece 40 may be, for example, 2.5 millimeters.

  The length dimension A34 in the axial direction of the second container part 34 is set to be longer than the length dimension A33 in the axial direction of the first container part 33, for example, 30 mm or longer. As described above, the length dimension A33 in the axial direction of the first container portion 33 may be 150 millimeters, for example, and the length dimension A34 in the axial direction of the second container portion 34 is, for example, 215 millimeters. There may be. 5 and 6, the inner diameter D33 of the inner peripheral portion excluding the first projecting piece 36 of the first container portion 33 and the inner diameter of the inner peripheral portion excluding the second projecting piece 39 of the second container portion 34 are shown. D34 may be, for example, 105 millimeters.

  FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the third container portion 35. FIG. 8 is an enlarged front view showing the vicinity of the third container portion 35. FIG. 9A is a cross-sectional view taken along section line S91-S91 in FIG. 8, and FIG. 9B is a cross-sectional view seen from section line S92-S92 in FIG. The following description is mainly based on FIGS. 7 to 9, but FIG. 4 is also referred to.

  The 3rd container part 35 is a cylindrical thing formed in a substantially cylindrical shape. More specifically, the third container portion 35 is provided with a first concave portion 41 and a second concave portion 42 which are concave portions recessed inward in the radial direction at the intermediate portion in the axial direction of the outer peripheral surface 35a. A discharge hole 43 is formed in the recess 41 for discharging the developer. The length dimension A35 in the axial direction of the third container portion 35 may be, for example, 80 millimeters. The inner diameter D35 of the third container portion 35 excluding the first concave portion 41 and the second concave portion 42 is formed larger than the inner diameters D33 and D34 of the first container portion 33 and the second container portion 34 which are the remaining portions. The inner diameter D35 of the third container portion 35 excluding the first recess 41 and the second recess 42 may be, for example, 110 millimeters.

  The first recess 41 is formed to extend in the rotation direction R, and has a dimension W41 in the axial direction smaller than the dimension A41 in the rotation direction R of the first recess 41, and is formed at an end portion downstream of the rotation direction R. An end wall portion 41a intersecting with the rotation direction R is provided. The discharge hole 43 is formed in a part of the end wall portion 41 a on the downstream side in the rotation direction R in the first recess 41. The second recess 42 is formed to extend in the rotation direction R, and has a smaller dimension W42 in the axial direction than the dimension A42 in the rotation direction R of the second recess 42. The second recess 42 extends from the first recess 41 to the third container portion. 35 are provided at intervals in the circumferential direction. The dimension A41 in the rotation direction R of the first recess 41 is preferably not less than one quarter and less than one half of the outer peripheral length of the third container portion 35 excluding the first recess 41 and the second recess 42. The dimension A41 in the rotation direction R of the first recess 41 may be, for example, 120 millimeters, and the dimension W41 in the axial direction may be, for example, 30 millimeters. Further, the dimension A42 in the rotation direction R of the second recess 43 may be, for example, 30 millimeters, and the dimension W42 in the axial direction may be, for example, 120 millimeters.

  More specifically, the first recess 41 further includes a bottom wall portion 41b, a first side wall portion 41c, and a second side wall portion 41d. The bottom wall portion 41b of the first recess 41 extends in the rotational direction R, the downstream end portion in the rotational direction R communicates with the radially inner portion of the end wall portion 41a, and the upstream end portion in the rotational direction R is the first end portion. Between the first recess 41 and the second recess 42, the outer periphery 35a of the third container portion 35 excluding the first recess 41 and the second recess 42 communicates smoothly. The central portion of the rotation direction R between the rotation direction R downstream end and the rotation direction R upstream end of the bottom wall portion 41b of the first recess 41 is the third container excluding the first recess 41 and the second recess 42. It is arranged radially inward from the portion 35 and is formed in a partially cylindrical shape having the axis L35 of the third container portion 35 as an axis. For example, the radius of curvature of the outer peripheral portion of the central portion in the rotation direction R of the bottom wall portion 41b in the first recess 41 may be 49 millimeters.

  The first side wall 41c of the first recess 41 is arranged on one end side in the axial direction of the first recess 41, extends in the rotation direction R, and its downstream end in the rotation direction R is one end in the axial direction of the end wall 41a. The radially inner portion communicates with one axial end portion of the bottom wall portion 41b, and the radially outer portion communicates with the axial direction of the third container portion 35 excluding the first concave portion 41 and the second concave portion 42. It communicates with the outer peripheral surface 35a at one end. The second side wall 41d of the first recess 41 is disposed on the other end side in the axial direction of the first recess 41, extends in the rotation direction R, and the downstream end of the rotation direction R is in the axial direction of the end wall 41a and the like. The third container portion 35 is communicated with the end portion, the radially inner portion thereof communicates with the other axial end portion of the bottom wall portion 41 b, and the radially outer portion thereof excluding the first concave portion 41 and the second concave portion 42. It communicates with the outer peripheral surface 35a at the other end in the axial direction. The first sidewall portion 41c and the second sidewall portion 41d of the first recess are provided so as to stand radially outward from the bottom wall portion 41b, and the bottom wall portion 41b and the first sidewall portion 41c are perpendicular to each other. In addition, the bottom wall portion 41b and the second side wall portion 41d are perpendicular to each other.

  The discharge hole 43 is an intermediate portion in the axial direction of the end wall portion 41a of the first concave portion 41, and is formed to open in a rectangular shape with the axial direction as a longitudinal direction, closer to the outer side in the radial direction. Accordingly, the discharge hole 43 is closer to the outer side in the radial direction than the downstream end portion in the rotational direction R of the bottom wall portion 41b of the first concave portion 41 in the end wall portion 41a of the first concave portion 41, and the rotational direction of the first side wall portion 41c. The opening is closer to the other end in the axial direction than the end on the R downstream side, and closer to one end in the axial direction than the end on the downstream side in the rotation direction R of the second side wall 41d. More specifically, the radially outer surface of the discharge hole 43 is the inner periphery of the third container portion 35 excluding the first recess 41 and the second recess 42 on the downstream side in the rotation direction R of the first recess 41. Smooth communication with the surface.

  More specifically, the second recess 42 has a bottom wall portion 42b, a first side wall portion 42c, and a second side wall portion 42d. The bottom wall portion 42b of the second recess 42 extends in the rotation direction R, and the rotation direction R upstream end and the rotation direction R downstream end are between the first recess 41 and the second recess 42. Smooth communication with the outer peripheral surface 35a of the third container portion 35 excluding the first recess 41 and the second recess 42 is provided. The center portion in the rotational direction R between the downstream end portion in the rotational direction R and the upstream end portion in the rotational direction R of the bottom wall portion 42b of the second concave portion 42 is the third container excluding the first concave portion 41 and the second concave portion 42. It is arranged radially inward from the portion 35 and is formed in a partially cylindrical shape having the axis L35 of the third container portion 35 as an axis. For example, the radius of curvature of the outer peripheral portion of the center portion in the rotation direction R of the bottom wall portion 42b of the second recess 42 may be 49 millimeters.

  The first side wall portion 42c of the second recess 42 is disposed on one end side in the axial direction of the second recess 42, extends in the rotation direction R, and its radially inner portion communicates with one end in the axial direction of the bottom wall portion 42b. The radially outer portion communicates with the outer peripheral surface 35a of the one end portion in the axial direction of the third container portion 35 excluding the first concave portion 41 and the second concave portion 42. The second side wall portion 42d of the second concave portion 42 is disposed on the other axial end side of the second concave portion 42, and its radially inner portion communicates with the other axial end portion of the bottom wall portion 42b. The outer portion in the direction communicates with the outer peripheral surface 35a of the other end portion in the axial direction of the third container portion 35 excluding the first concave portion 41 and the second concave portion 42. The first sidewall portion 42c and the second sidewall portion 42d of the second recess are provided so as to stand radially outward from the bottom wall portion 42b, and the bottom wall portion 42b and the first sidewall portion 42c are perpendicular to each other. In addition, the bottom wall portion 42b and the second side wall portion 42d are perpendicular to each other.

  As shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of outer circumferential surfaces 35 a at one end in the axial direction and the other end in the axial direction excluding the first concave portion 41 and the second concave portion 42 of the third container portion 35 protrude in the radial direction. The discharge guide pieces 44 are provided at regular intervals in the circumferential direction with a space therebetween in the circumferential direction. More specifically, the discharge guide piece 44 provided at one end in the axial direction of the third container portion 35 is inclined in the rotation direction R from the other end in the axial direction toward the one end in the axial direction. Further, in detail, the discharge guide piece 44 provided at the other axial end of the third container portion 35 is inclined in the rotation direction R from the one axial end to the other axial end. The protruding amount of the discharge guide piece 44 radially outward from the outer peripheral surface 35a excluding the first concave portion 41 and the second concave portion 42 of the third container portion 35 may be, for example, 1 millimeter. The longitudinal dimension of the discharge guide piece 44 may be 24 millimeters, and the angle ψ formed by the longitudinal direction of the discharge guide piece 44 and the width direction of the third container portion 36 is, for example, 30 degrees. May be.

  The container main body 31 is connected to one end in the axial direction of the third container portion 35 and the opening end 33 b of the first container portion 33, and the other end in the axial direction of the third container portion 35 and the opening of the second container portion 34. It is integrally formed so that the end 34b is connected. Such a container body 31 may be manufactured, for example, by blow molding a synthetic resin such as polyethylene. As a result, the container body 31 can be easily manufactured, and the number of components of the developer storage container 30 can be reduced.

  The bottom portion 33 a of the first container portion 33 serves as one axial end portion 33 a of the container body 31, and the bottom portion 34 a of the second container portion 34 serves as the other axial end portion 34 a of the container body 31. Thus, the container main body 31 is formed by connecting the axes L33, L34, and L35 of the first container portion 33, the second container portion 34, and the third container portion 35 so as to be coaxial. Further, in this state, the third container portion 35 is disposed in the axially intermediate portion excluding the axial end portions 33a and 34a of the container body 31. Therefore, the first container recess 41, the second container recess 42 and the discharge hole 43 of the third container portion 35 are disposed in the axial intermediate portion excluding the axial end portions 33 a and 34 a of the container body 31. An axis L31 of the container main body 31 includes an axis L33 of the first container part 33, an axis L34 of the second container part 34, and an axis L35 of the third container part 35.

  FIG. 10 is a front view showing the support member 32. FIG. 11 is a right side view showing the support member 32. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the support member 32 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and a portion including at least the third container portion 35 of the container main body 31 configured as described above is radially outward. To an inner periphery 48 that supports the entire periphery. The inner peripheral portion 48 has a cylindrical inner peripheral surface centered on the axis L32. The support member 32 includes a support base 49 having at least three contact portions 49a on a virtual plane parallel to the axis L32. The contact portion 49a of the support base 49 may be formed on, for example, two rectangular planes whose longitudinal direction is a direction parallel to the axis L32. By bringing the contact portion 49a of the support base 49 into contact with the horizontal plane, the axis L32 of the inner peripheral portion 48 of the support member 32 can be disposed in parallel to the horizontal plane. The length dimension A32 of the support member 32 in the axial direction is set larger than the length dimension A35 of the third container portion 35 in the axial direction. The length dimension A32 in the axial direction of the support member 32 may be, for example, 100 millimeters.

  In a state where the support base 49 is installed in a horizontal plane, the support member 32 is formed with a discharge portion 50 projecting in the first horizontal direction F1 which is one horizontal direction. A conduction hole 51 that penetrates along the first horizontal direction one direction F1 and opens in an elliptical shape extending in a direction parallel to the axis L32 of the support member is formed in the intermediate portion of the support member 32 in the discharge portion 50 in the axial direction. It is formed. The inner diameter in the longitudinal direction of the conduction hole 51 is set to be equal to or larger than the axial dimension W41 of the first recess 41 and the axial dimension W42 of the second recess 42 of the container body 31.

  The discharge portion 50 of the support member 32 is provided with a shutter portion 65 that switches the opening of the conduction hole 51 downstream in the first horizontal direction F1 between the open state and the closed state. The shutter unit 65 includes a shutter 65a and a shutter guide unit 65b. The shutter guide portion 65b extends in a second horizontal direction, which is a horizontal direction perpendicular to the first horizontal direction, and a conduction hole 51 is opened at the upstream end portion in the second horizontal direction B1. The shutter 65a is supported by the shutter guide portion 65b so as to be slidably displaceable in the second horizontal direction B1 and the second horizontal direction B2 opposite to the second horizontal direction B1.

  The shutter 65a slides and displaces along the shutter guide portion 65b, thereby closing the opening P1 downstream of the conduction hole 51 in the first horizontal direction F1 indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. , And the opening in the first horizontal direction one direction F1 downstream of the conduction hole 51 can be disposed at the open position P2. Further, the shutter 65a is restricted from slidingly displaceable downstream in the second horizontal direction other direction B2 than the closed position P1, and is second from the second horizontal direction one direction B1 downstream end of the shutter guide portion 65b. Slide displacement in one horizontal direction B1 is restricted. That is, the open position P2 is downstream in the second horizontal direction B1 downstream of the closed position P1 and upstream of the second horizontal direction B1 downstream end of the shutter guide portion 65b in the second horizontal direction B1. . As described above, the shutter 65a is disposed at the open position P2 by sliding and displacing in the second horizontal direction B1 in the state where the shutter 65a is disposed at the closed position P1, and the second horizontal direction and the like while being disposed at the open position P2. It is arranged at the closed position P1 by sliding displacement in the direction B2.

  The support member 32 is provided with a lead-out member 38 that is a lead-out means and a sealing sheet 66 that is a sealing means. The lead-out member 38 is made of, for example, a polymer resin such as polyethylene terephthalate (abbreviation: PET), and is formed into a sheet shape having flexibility and elasticity. In other words, in the support member 32, The peripheral portion, specifically, the portion of the conduction hole 51 of the support member 32 is provided at the portion facing the upstream end portion in the first horizontal direction F1. The sealing sheet 66 is formed in a flexible sheet shape made of, for example, polyethylene, and is provided at a portion facing the upstream end portion in the first horizontal direction F1 of the conduction hole 51 of the support member 32 at the base end portion. It is done. The base end portion of the lead-out member 38 is stacked on the upper surface portion of the base end portion of the sealing sheet 66. Further details of the lead member 38 and the sealing sheet 66 will be described later.

  The support member 32 is formed with two connecting protrusions 52 that protrude outward in the radial direction. One connection projection 52 is disposed above the discharge portion 50 in a state where the support base 49 is installed in a horizontal plane, and the other connection projection 52 is connected to the one connection projection 52 with respect to the axis L32. Are arranged at symmetrical positions. The support member 32 is arranged below the discharge portion 50 with the support base 49 installed in a horizontal plane, protrudes in the first horizontal direction F1, and extends in parallel with the axis L32. A piece 53 is formed. Further, the support member 32 is disposed above the discharge unit 50 in a state where the support base 49 is installed in a horizontal plane, and the first horizontal other direction F2 is opposite to the first horizontal direction F1. The second guide piece 54 is formed so as to protrude in parallel with the axis L32.

  FIG. 12 is an exploded right side view showing the support member 32. The support member 32 can be divided into two on a virtual plane that passes through the axis L32 and inclines upward as it goes in the first horizontal direction F1 in a state where the support member 32 is installed on the horizontal plane. Can be divided into a first support portion 55 below and a second support portion 56 above the virtual plane. The first support part 55 is a part of the support member 32 on the first guide piece 53 side of the first guide piece 53, the discharge part 50, one part 52 a of each connecting projection part 52, the support base 49 and the inner peripheral part 48. 48a is included. The second support portion 56 includes a second guide piece 54, the other portion 52 b of each connection projection 52, and a portion 48 a on the support base 49 side of the inner peripheral portion 48 in the support member 32.

  The first support part 55 and the second support part 56 are detachably connected by a screw member 57. Specifically, one part 52 a of each connection protrusion 52 of the first support 55 and the other part 52 b of each connection protrusion 52 of the second support 56 are connected by the screw member 57. Thus, when the container body 31 is supported, the support member 32 is divided in advance, and the divided support member 32 is divided into portions including the first and second recesses 41 and 42 and the discharge hole 43 of the container body 31. By supporting from the outside in the radial direction, the container body 31 can be supported over the entire circumference, and such assembling work can be easily performed.

  13 is a cross-sectional view taken along section line S13-S13 in FIG. Reference is also made to FIG. A first support convex portion 58 that protrudes inward in the radial direction and extends over the entire circumferential direction is provided at one axial end portion of the inner peripheral portion 48 of the support member 32. At the other end of the inner peripheral portion 48 of the support member 32 in the axis L32 direction, a second support convex portion 59 that protrudes inward in the radial direction and extends over the entire circumference is provided. Further, the other end portion in the axial direction of the inner peripheral portion 48 of the support member 32 is spaced apart from the second support convex portion 59 on the other end side in the axial line L32 direction with respect to the second support convex portion 59, and has a radius. A third support protrusion 60 that protrudes inward in the direction and extends over the entire circumference is provided. The distance between the second support convex portion 59 and the third support convex portion 60 in the axis line L32 direction is set slightly larger than the axial dimension of the guide projection piece 40 of the second container portion 34 of the container body 31, for example, It may be 3 millimeters.

  Each of the first support convex portion 58 and the second support convex portion 59 has a plurality of support protrusion pieces 61 protruding inward in the radial direction at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, four in the present embodiment. Formed one by one. The distal end portion on the radially inner side of the support protrusion 61 has a support surface that is curved into a cylindrical outer peripheral surface. Each support protrusion 61 of the first support protrusion 58 and the second support protrusion 59 has a diameter of an imaginary circle passing through the tip of each guide protrusion 40 around the axis L32, and the outer periphery of the first container 33. And the outer diameter of the outer peripheral portion excluding the guide projection piece 40 of the second container portion 34 are set to be slightly larger, and may be 107 millimeters, for example. The inner diameter of the third support convex portion 60 is set slightly larger than the outer diameter of the outer peripheral portion excluding the guide projection piece 40 of the second container portion 34, and may be 107 millimeters, for example.

  The first support convex portion 58 is adjacent to the other end portion in the axial line L32 direction at one end portion in the axial line L32 direction of the inner peripheral portion 48 of the support member 32, and is depressed in the radially outward direction to extend over the entire circumferential direction. A support recess 67 is provided. A second support protrusion 59 is adjacent to one end of the inner peripheral portion 48 of the support member 32 in the direction of the axis L32 and is adjacent to one end of the second support projection 59 in the direction of the axis L32. A support recess 68 is provided. Further, the inner circumferential portion 48 of the support member 32 is depressed radially outwardly between the second support convex portion 59 and the third support convex portion 60 at the other end in the axis L32 direction and extends over the entire circumference in the circumferential direction. A third support recess 69 is provided. The axial dimension of the first support recess 67 and the second support recess 68 may be, for example, 7 millimeters. The dimension in the axial direction of the third support recess 69 is set to be slightly larger than the dimension in the axial direction of the guide projection piece 40 of the second container portion 34 of the container body 31, and may be, for example, 3 millimeters.

  FIG. 14A is a front view showing the sealing material 47, and FIG. 14B is a view showing a cross section perpendicular to the circumferential direction of the sealing material 47. The sealing material 47 serving as a sealing means is made of a synthetic resin such as silicon rubber having flexibility and elasticity. As shown in FIG. 14A, the sealing material 47 is generally formed in an annular shape. As shown in FIG. 14B, the sealing material 47 includes a base portion 47a and a contact portion 47b. The base 47a of the sealing material 47 is formed so that the cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the circumferential direction centering on the axis L35 is rectangular. The contact portion 47b of the sealing material 47 protrudes so as to incline radially outward from one end portion in the axial direction of the base portion 47a toward the one end portion in the axial direction from the radially inward portion. To do.

  The diameter of the inner peripheral portion of the base portion 47a of the sealing material 47 is set to be smaller than the outer diameter of the outer peripheral portion excluding the outer peripheral portion of the first container portion 33 of the container main body 31 and the guide protrusion piece 40 of the second container portion 34, For example, it may be 99 millimeters. The diameters of the outer peripheral portions of the base portion 47a and the contact portion 47b of the sealing material 47 are the diameters of virtual circles that pass through the outer peripheral portion of each discharge guide piece 44 of the third container portion 33 of the container main body 31 with the rotation axis L31 as the center. Or larger than the diameter of the virtual circle, and may be 115 millimeters, for example. Further, the axial dimension of the sealing material 47 is set to be equal to or smaller than the axial dimension of the first and second support recesses 67 and 68 of the support member 32, and may be, for example, 6 millimeters.

  FIG. 15 is a front view showing a state in which the developer container 30 is assembled. 16 is a cross-sectional view taken along section line S16-S16 in FIG. Before assembling the developer container 30, the support member 32 is divided into a first support portion 55 and a second support portion 56. At this time, one of the two sealing materials 47 is wound in close contact with the opening end portion 33 b of the first container portion 33, and the base portion 47 a of the sealing material 47 is wound on the third container portion 35. It is attached to the first container part 33 of the container main body 31 so as to be in close contact with the end face of one end part in the axial direction. Further, the other sealing material 47 is wound close to the opening end 34b of the second container portion 34 and closer to one end in the axial direction than the guide projection piece 40, and the base 47a of the sealing material 47 is The three container parts 35 are attached to the second container part 34 of the container main body 31 so as to be in close contact with the end surface of the other axial end part.

  The first support portion 55 and the second support portion 56 sandwich the portion including the third container portion 35 of the container body 31 from the outside in the radial direction. In this state, the first support part 55 and the second support part 56 are connected by the screw member 57.

  Further, the structure of the developer storage container 30 according to the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. Fig.32 (a) shows sectional drawing seen from cut surface line S16-S16 of FIG. FIG. 32B is a plan view of FIG. 32A viewed from above. FIG. 33 is an enlarged perspective view showing the first support portion 55. FIG. 34 is a partial cross-sectional view of the developer storage container 30 in a state where the container main body 31, the first support portion 55, and the second support portion 56 are assembled and assembled. Note that FIG. 11 is also referred to if necessary.

  As shown in FIGS. 32 to 34, a fourth support convex portion 102 that protrudes inward in the radial direction and extends over the entire circumference in the axial direction is provided at one axial end portion of the inner peripheral portion 48 of the support member 32. The fourth support convex portion 102 may be provided at one end portion in the axial direction on the first support convex portion 58 side described above, or one end in the axial direction on the second support convex portion 59 and the third support convex portion 60 side. It may be provided in the part. 32 to 34, it is provided at one end portion in the axial direction on the third support convex portion 60 side, and is on the re-external side of the end portion on the third support convex portion 60 side, that is, the second support convex portion 59, The third support convex portion 60 and the fourth support convex portion 102 are provided in this order.

  Further, the support member 32 can be divided into a first support member 55 and a second support member 56 as shown in FIGS. That is, the fourth support protrusions 102 are formed on the end portions of the first support member 55 and the second support member 56 for each half circumference. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 33, the 4th support convex part 102 is formed in the waveform. This wave shape is formed so as to wave in the axial direction. In addition, the container main body 31 shown here is an integral thing, for example, may be a thing of blow molding.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 32 (b), when the container main body 31 and the support member 32 are combined, that is, when the container main body 31 is held by the support member 32, the container main body 31 is fourth. A concave groove 101 is formed at a position corresponding to the support convex portion 102. That is, when the container main body 31 and the support member 32 are fitted and combined with the container main body 31, the container main body 31 is depressed radially outward at a position corresponding to the fourth support convex portion 102. A concave groove 101 extending therethrough is provided.

  That is, the developer storage container 30 according to the present embodiment has a fourth support convex portion that is a convex support portion on the inner peripheral surface of the support member 32 (the first support portion 55 and the second support portion 56). 102 is provided so as to protrude radially inward of the support member 32 and extend over the entire circumferential direction. A concave groove 101 is depressed in the radially inner side of the container main body 31 on the outer peripheral surface 31 a of the container main body 31. In addition, when the support member 32 holds the container main body 31, the fourth support convex portion 102 provided on the support member 32 and the concave shape provided on the container main body 31 are provided. The container body 31 is formed so as not to move in the direction of the axis L31 by fitting with the groove 101. Thus, as shown in FIG. 34, when the container main body 31 and the support member 32 are combined, the fourth support convex portion 102 of the support member 32 and the concave groove 101 formed in the container main body 31 are fitted. . At this time, the fourth support convex portion 102 enters the concave groove 101 of the container main body 31, and the container main body 31 does not move in the axial direction with the support member 32 as a base point. For this reason, toner leakage and the like can be prevented more reliably. The dimension of the concave groove 101 in the axial direction is set slightly larger than the dimension of the fourth support convex portion 102 of the support member 32 in the axial direction, and may be 3 millimeters, for example.

  In the present embodiment, the concave groove 101 is provided in the second container portion 34 of the container body 31, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the concave groove 101 provided in the container main body 31 is provided at a position corresponding to the fourth support convex portion 102 provided in the support member 32 when the container main body 31 and the support member 32 are combined. For example, it may be provided in the first container part 33 or may be provided in the third container part 35.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the concave groove 101 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the container body 31, and the fourth support convex portion is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the support member 32, but this is not a limitation. For example, even if a convex support member is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the container body 31 and a concave groove is provided in the inner peripheral surface of the support member 32, the same effect as in the above embodiment can be exhibited. . That is, on the outer peripheral surface 31 a of the container body 31, a convex support portion is provided so as to protrude outward in the radial direction of the container body 31 and extend over the entire circumference, and the support member 32 (first support portion 55). In addition, a concave groove is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the second support portion 56) so as to be depressed outward in the radial direction of the support member 32 and extend over the entire circumferential direction. When holding, the convex support portion provided in the container main body 31 and the concave groove provided in the support member 32 are fitted, so that the container main body 31 does not move in the direction of the axis L31. The developer storage container 30 having the above configuration is also included in the present invention.

  17 is a cross-sectional view taken along section line S17-S17 in FIG. In a state where the container main body 31 is supported by the support member 32, the axis L31 of the container main body 31 and the axis L32 of the inner peripheral portion 48 of the support member 32 are completely or substantially coincided with each other. The support member 32 is rotatable around the axis L31. In this state, when the support base 49 of the support member 32 is installed on a horizontal plane, the first and second container portions 33 and 34 of the container body 31 are separated from the horizontal plane, and the horizontal plane and the rotation axis L31 are parallel to each other. Become.

  In detail, in the support member 32, each support projection piece 61 of the first support convex portion 58 abuts on the outer peripheral portion of the first container portion 33, and each support projection piece 61 of the second support convex portion 59 is It abuts on the outer peripheral portion of the second container portion 34 excluding the guide projection piece 40. As described above, the outer peripheral portion of the first container portion 33 is supported by the support protrusions 61 of the first support convex portion 58 at approximately four points at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, and the second support convex portion. The support protrusions 61 of 59 are generally supported at four points at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. This resists rotation of the container body 31 between the outer peripheral portion of the first container portion 33 and the first support convex portion 58 and between the outer peripheral portion of the second container portion 34 and the second support convex portion 59. The frictional force can be made extremely small.

  The seal material 47 of the first container portion 33 is fitted into the first support recess 67 of the support member 32, and the contact portion 47 b of the seal material 47 extends to the other end surface in the axial direction of the first support convex portion 58 over the entire circumference. Abuts resiliently. The seal material 47 of the second container portion 34 is fitted into the second support recess 68 of the support member 32, and the contact portion 47 b of the seal material 47 extends over the entire circumference on one end surface in the axial direction of the second support convex portion 59. Abuts resiliently. By such two sealing materials 47, one end side in the axial direction of the container body 31 and the other end in the axial direction than the first and second recesses 41 and 42 and the discharge hole 43 of the container body 31 and the conduction hole 51 of the support member 32. Sealing is achieved over the entire circumference in the circumferential direction between the container body 31 and the support member 32 on the side.

  The guide projection piece 40 of the second container portion 34 of the container body 31 is fitted into the third support recess 69 of the support member 32 while being restricted from sliding in the axial direction with respect to the support member 32. As a result, the container body 31 is restricted from sliding in the axial direction with respect to the support member 32. The outer peripheral portion of each discharge guide piece 44 of the third container portion 35 of the container body 31 abuts on the inner peripheral portion 48 of the support member 32. In this way, the support member 32 supports the portion including at least the first concave portion 41 of the container body 31 so as to be rotatable around the rotation axis L31 from the radially outer side to the entire circumference.

  18 is a cross-sectional view taken along section line S18-S18 in FIG. FIG. 19 is an enlarged view of the section IXX in FIG. 18 and 19A are views when the container main body 31 is in an initial state with respect to the support member 32. FIG. The lead-out member 38 is provided at a portion of the base end portion 38a facing the upstream end portion in the first horizontal direction F1 of the conduction hole 51 of the support member 32 and extends upstream in the rotation direction R, and the free end portion 38b is a container. The third container portion 35 of the main body 31 can elastically contact at least the outer peripheral surfaces of the bottom wall portion 41 b of the first recess 41 and the bottom wall portion 42 b of the second recess 42. Further, the free end portion 38 b of the lead-out member 38 is 90 degrees with respect to at least the outer peripheral surface of the bottom wall portion 41 b of the first recess 41 and the bottom wall portion 42 b of the second recess 42 of the third container portion 35 of the container body 31. Abut at an angle θ exceeding Specifically, the angle θ is an angle formed between the surface of the lead-out member 38 that faces the free end portion 38b and the outer peripheral surfaces of the bottom wall portions 41b and 42b of the recesses 41 and 42.

  The sealing sheet 66 is provided at a portion facing the upstream end portion in the first horizontal direction F1 of the conduction hole 51 of the support member 32 at the base end portion 66a. When the container body 31 is in an initial state with respect to the support member 32, the portion 66b excluding the base end portion 66a of the sealing sheet 66 covers, for example, at least the end wall portion 41a of the first recess 41, for example, heat It is provided so as to be removable by welding or the like. In this way, in the initial state, the discharge hole 43 is blocked by the portion 66b excluding the base end portion 66a of the sealing sheet 66. Thus, in the initial state, even if the user mistakenly arranges the shutter 65 of the shutter portion 65 at the open position P2, the developer stored in the container body 31 is prevented from being undesirably discharged from the conduction hole 51. can do.

  When the container body 31 is rotated in the rotation direction R around the rotation axis L31 from the initial state, the portion 66b of the sealing sheet 66 excluding the base end portion 66a is detached from the end wall portion 41a of the first recess 41. The discharge hole 43 is opened. Further, the portion 66b excluding the base end portion 66a of the sealing sheet 66 detached from the end wall portion 41a of the first recess 41 has a rotation direction R of the conduction hole 51 of the support member 32 as shown in FIG. On the downstream side, it is disposed between the third container part 35 of the container body 31 and the inner peripheral part 48 of the support member 32. Accordingly, the user can easily open the discharge hole 43 by rotating the container body 31 without directly removing the sealing sheet 66.

  In a state where the support 49 of the support member 32 is installed on a horizontal plane and the developer is accommodated, the inner space of the container body 31 includes a developer layer occupied by the developer and a gas above the developer layer. Two layers are formed with a gas layer occupied by. The container main body 31 is rotated clockwise around the rotation axis L31 as seen from the first container part 33 to the second container part 34. At this time, the developer in the developer layer of the first container part 33 is conveyed in the first transport direction C1 from the first container part 33 toward the third container part 35 along the rotation axis L31 by the first protrusion 36 (see FIG. 2). ). At this time, the developer in the developer layer of the second container portion 34 is moved in the second transport direction C2 (see FIG. 5) from the second container portion 34 toward the third container portion 35 along the rotation axis L31 by the second projecting piece 39. 2). Thus, by rotating the container main body 31 around the rotation axis L <b> 31, the stored developer can be conveyed toward the discharge hole 43. Further, in the third container portion 35, the developer heading in the first transport direction C1 and the developer heading in the second transport direction C2 collide with each other, whereby the developer can be stirred.

  When the developer is conveyed, a force is applied to the developer from the inner peripheral portion of the first and second container portions 33 and 34 including the first and second projecting pieces 36 and 39 toward the third container portion 35. It is done. When the amount of the developer stored in the container main body 31 is large, the protrusion amount A2 from the inner peripheral portions of the first and second container portions 33 and 34 to the radially inner sides of the first and second projecting pieces 36 and 39. The developer disposed within is mainly agitated by the rotation of the container body 21, and the balance is maintained in the container body 21.

  20 and 21, the developer in the third container portion 35 of the container body 31 is guided to the conduction hole 51 of the support member 32 when the container body 31 is rotating in the rotation direction R around the rotation axis L31. It is a figure for demonstrating the operation | movement until it is written. Please refer to FIG. 7, FIG. 9, and FIG. In a state where the container body 31 is instructed to be rotatable about the rotation axis L31 by the support member 32, the first holding space 62a facing the first recess 41 of the third container portion 31 and the inner peripheral portion 48 of the support member 32 is provided. Is formed. The first holding space 62 a is generally a closed space except for the discharge hole 43, and is disposed on the upstream side in the rotation direction R of the discharge hole 43, and is a space in the container body 31 through the discharge hole 43. Communicating with Further, a second holding space 62 b is formed that faces the second recess 41 of the third container portion 31 and the inner peripheral portion 48 of the support member 32. The second holding space 62b is generally a closed space.

  20A, the container body 31 rotates in the rotation direction R from the state in which the discharge hole 43 and the first holding space 62a are disposed above the upper surface 63a of the developer layer 63 in the container body 31. Then, as shown in FIG. 20B, when the discharge hole 43 and the downstream portion R in the rotation direction R of the first holding space 62 a are arranged below the upper surface 63 a of the developer layer 63 in the container main body 31. The developer in the developer layer 63 in the container body 31 flows into the downstream portion in the rotation direction R of the first holding space 62a through the discharge hole 43 as indicated by an arrow G1.

  As described above, the discharge hole 43 is an intermediate portion in the axial direction of the end wall portion 41a of the first concave portion 41, and is formed to open in a rectangular shape with the axial direction as the longitudinal direction at the outer side in the radial direction. The Accordingly, the discharge hole 43 is closer to the outer side in the radial direction than the downstream end portion in the rotational direction R of the bottom wall portion 41b of the first concave portion 41 in the end wall portion 41a of the first concave portion 41, and the rotational direction of the first side wall portion 41c. The opening is closer to the other end in the axial direction than the end on the R downstream side, and closer to one end in the axial direction than the end on the downstream side in the rotation direction R of the second side wall 41d.

  For example, when the discharge hole 43 is entirely opened in the end wall portion 41a, the developer rotates the container body 31 in the rotation direction R, whereby the first recess 41 of the container body 31 and the inner periphery of the support member 32 are used. It is discharged from the discharge hole 43 to the first holding space 62 a so as to be extruded along the portion 48. In this state, the container main body 31 further rotates in the rotation direction R, so that the developer held in the first holding space 62a is in the first concave portion 41 of the container main body 31 and the inner peripheral portion 48 of the support member 32. There is a risk of being pressed and aggregated. In the present embodiment, the discharge hole 43 is formed in a part of the end wall portion 41 a of the first recess 41 as described above. In other words, since the opening area of the discharge hole 43 is smaller than the area of the end wall portion 41a, the developer diffuses in the vicinity of the discharge hole 43 in the first holding space 62a so as to diffuse. It is discharged to 62a. As a result, the developer discharged into the second holding space 62b can be made into powder, and the aggregation of the developer due to the rotation of the container body 31 as described above can be prevented as much as possible.

  Further, the radially outward surface of the discharge hole 43 smoothly communicates with the inner peripheral surface of the third container portion 35 excluding the first recess 41 and the second recess 42 on the downstream side in the rotation direction R of the first recess 41. is doing. Thus, even if the amount of the developer stored in the container body 31 is very small, the developer can easily flow into the downstream portion in the rotation direction R of the first holding space 62a through the discharge hole 43. .

  When the container main body 31 further rotates in the rotation direction R from the state shown in FIG. 20B, the developer in the developer layer 63 in the container main body 31 rotates in the first holding space 62 a through the discharge hole 43. While flowing into the downstream portion of R, the discharge hole 43 shown in FIG. 21A is disposed above the upper surface 63a of the developer layer 63 in the container body 31, and the first holding space 62a is developed in the container body 31. It will be in the state arrange | positioned below the upper surface 63a of the agent layer 63. FIG. In the state shown in FIG. 21A, a predetermined amount of developer is held in the first holding space 62a. Thus, the amount of developer held in the first holding space 62a may be, for example, 6 grams.

  When the container main body 31 further rotates in the rotation direction R from the state shown in FIG. 21A, the free end portion 38b of the lead-out member 38 of the support member 32 shown in FIG. 21B enters the first holding space 62a. Entering the outer circumferential surface while extending elastically in contact with the outer circumferential surface of the bottom wall portion 41b of the first recess 41 at an angle θ exceeding 90 degrees. It will be in the state which slides with respect to it. At this time, the developer held in the first holding space 62a on the upstream side in the rotation direction R from the lead-out member 38 flows toward the support member 32 as the container body 31 rotates in the rotation direction R.

  The lead-out member 38 guides the developer flowing in this way, in other words, the developer discharged from the discharge hole 43 of the container body 31 along the upper surface of the lead-out member 38 as indicated by an arrow G2. To the conduction hole 51. Since the lead-out member 38 scrapes the developer from the outer peripheral surface of the bottom wall portion 41b of the first recess 41 and slides with respect to the outer peripheral surface, the developer held in the first holding space 62a. Can be guided to the conduction hole 51 as much as possible. Thus, the developer guided to the conduction hole 51 is guided to the outside of the developer storage container 30 and discharged. Thus, each time the container main body 31 makes one rotation in the rotation direction R around the axis rotation axis L31, the above-mentioned predetermined amount of developer is discharged to the outside.

  As described above, the portion of the third container portion 31 excluding the first and second recesses 41 and 42 and the inner peripheral portion 48 of the support member 32 are frictions that prevent rotation of the container body 31 around the rotation axis L31. In order to reduce the force, it does not contact the entire circumference in the circumferential direction. Therefore, as described above, the developer held in the first holding space 62a is not completely free from leakage from the first holding space 62a. As described above, the discharge guide piece 44 is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the one axial end and the other axial end of the third container portion 35 excluding the first concave portion 41 and the second concave portion 42. The discharge guide piece 44 provided at one end in the axial direction of the third container portion 35 is inclined in the rotational direction R from the other end in the axial direction toward one end in the axial direction. Since the discharge guide piece 44 provided at the end portion is inclined in the rotation direction R from the one end portion in the axial direction toward the other end portion in the axial direction, the developer held in the first holding space 62a should be accommodated. When the container main body 31 rotates in the rotation direction R, when the container main body 31 rotates in the rotation direction R, the discharge guide pieces 44 cause the third container portion 35 and the support member 32 to leak. They can be gathered together in the middle in the axial direction.

  In addition, since the second holding space 62b is formed as described above, the developer held in the first holding space 62a leaks from the upstream portion in the rotation direction R of the first holding space 62a. In this case, the developer leaked in this way and the developer gathered to the middle in the axial direction by the discharge guide pieces 44 are held in the second holding space 62b. When the container body 31 rotates in the rotation direction R, the free end portion 38b of the lead-out member 38 of the support member 32 shown in FIG. 21A enters the second holding space 62b and extends upstream in the rotation direction R. Thus, it slides against the outer peripheral surface while making an elastic contact with the outer peripheral surface of the bottom wall portion 42b of the second recess 42 at an angle θ exceeding 90 degrees. At this time, the developer held in the second holding space 62b on the upstream side in the rotation direction R from the lead-out member 38 flows toward the support member 32 when the container body 31 rotates in the rotation direction R, It is led to the conduction hole 51 and led to the outside of the developer storage container 30 to be discharged. Thus, every time the container main body 31 makes one rotation in the rotation direction R around the axis rotation axis L31, even if the developer leaks from the first holding space 62a, the leaked developer is held in the second direction. Since it is held by the space 62b, the aforementioned predetermined amount of developer can be discharged to the outside as reliably as possible.

  In addition, as described above, with the support base 49 installed in a horizontal plane, the support member 32 has a discharge portion 50 protruding in the first horizontal direction one direction F1, which is one horizontal direction, on the support member 32. An electrical connection formed in the middle of the axial direction of the support member 32 in the discharge portion 50 that penetrates along the first horizontal direction F1 and opens in an oval shape extending in a direction parallel to the axis L32 of the support member. A hole 51 is formed. Accordingly, even when the full developer is stored in the container body 31, the upper surface 63a of the developer layer 63 is disposed at the same height as the conduction hole 51 or below the conduction hole 51. Can be reliably prevented from undesirably flowing out from the container body 31 into the conduction hole 51.

  FIG. 22 is a graph showing the relationship between the amount of developer discharged from the developer storage container 30 and time. In FIG. 22, a curve H1 indicates a developer storage container when the inner diameter D35 of the third container portion 35 of the container body 31 is formed to be equal to or smaller than the inner diameters D33 and D34 of the first and second container portions 33 and 34. The relationship between the amount of developer discharged from 30 and time is shown. Further, the curve H2 indicates that the inner diameter D35 of the third container portion 35 of the container main body 31 is larger than the inner diameters D33 and D34 of the first and second container portions 33 and 34, and the developer storage container 30. The relationship between the amount of developer discharged from the toner and time is shown.

  For example, even when the developer in powder form is placed like a sharp mountain on a horizontal surface, it immediately becomes a gentle mountain. For example, when the inner diameter D35 of the third container portion 35 of the container main body 31 is formed to be equal to or smaller than the inner diameters D33, D34 of the first and second container portions 33, 34, the container main body 31 rotates toward the discharge hole 43. When the rotation of the container main body 31 stops, the developer conveyed in this manner comes away from the discharge hole 43. In such a case, when the amount of the developer stored in the container main body 31 becomes very small, a sufficient amount of developer is conveyed toward the discharge hole 43 immediately after the rotation of the container main body 31 is resumed. Difficult to do.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 8 described above, the inner diameter of the third container portion 34 of the container body 31 is larger than the inner diameters D33 and D34 of the first and second container portions 33 and 34 that are the remaining portions. Since it is formed large, when the amount of developer stored in the container main body 31 becomes very small, the developer once transported to the third container part 35 is separated from the third container part 35. It can be prevented as much as possible. As a result, even when the amount of the developer stored in the container main body 31 becomes very small, a sufficient amount of developer is conveyed toward the discharge hole 43 immediately after the rotation of the container main body 31 is resumed. It becomes possible as much as possible. Furthermore, it is possible to discharge all the developer stored in the container body 31 to the outside as much as possible.

  When the inner diameter D35 of the third container portion 35 of the container body 31 is formed equal to or smaller than the inner diameters D33, D34 of the first and second container portions 33, 34 as shown by a curve H1 in FIG. As the amount of developer contained in the toner decreases, the amount of developer discharged decreases sharply correspondingly. On the other hand, when the inner diameter D35 of the third container portion 35 of the container body 31 is formed larger than the inner diameters D33, D34 of the first and second container portions 33, 34, as shown by the curve H2 in FIG. Compared to the curve H1, even if the amount of developer stored in the container main body 31 decreases, the amount of developer discharged remains substantially constant until the amount of developer approaches zero. Therefore, the developer storage container 30 of the present embodiment can discharge the developer stably for a longer time.

  As described above, according to the developer storage container 30 of the present embodiment, the container main body 31 can be rotated around the rotation axis L31 while being stably supported by the support member 32. If a cylindrical container as in the prior art in which developer is stored is left standing with its axis perpendicular to the horizontal plane, the developer under the container may agglomerate There is. Further, in order to prevent such agglomeration of the developer as much as possible, if the container is placed on a horizontal plane such that its axis is parallel to the horizontal plane, the container rolls. In the developer container 30 of the present embodiment, the axis L31 of the container body 31 can be stably arranged in parallel to the horizontal plane by installing the support base 49 of the support member 32 on the horizontal plane. Also, even if the developer stored in the developer storage container 30 is partially aggregated, for example, the user rotates the container body 31 by placing the shutter 65a of the shutter unit 65 in the closed position P1. As a result, the developer can be easily stirred to form a powder.

  Further, since the surfaces 33c and 34c where the outer peripheral surfaces and end surfaces of the both ends 33a and 34a in the axial direction of the container main body 31 communicate with each other are formed in a curved shape inclined inward in the radial direction as described above, Even if one of the end portions 33a and 34a in the axial direction of 31 is installed on the horizontal plane and the developer container 30 is erected on the horizontal plane so that the axis L31 is perpendicular to the horizontal plane, it is easy to fall down. . This prevents the user from standing and leaving the developer storage container 30 so that the axis L31 is perpendicular to the horizontal plane, thereby reducing factors that cause the stored developer to aggregate.

  Further, according to the developer storage container 30 of the present embodiment, the support member 32 supports the part including at least the third container part 35 of the container main body 31 from the outside in the radial direction over the entire circumference. Further, since two sealing members 47 are provided between the container body 31 and the support member 32 and the sealing is achieved as described above, even if the container body 31 rotates, the container body 31 and the support member 32. The developer can be prevented from leaking from between the two.

  Further, according to the developer container 30 of the present embodiment, the developer discharge amount depends on the volume of the first holding space 62 a and the rotation speed of the container body 31. In the developer storage container 30 of the present embodiment, two recesses, the first and second recesses 41 and 42, are provided, and the discharge hole 43 is provided only in the first recess 41. However, the present invention is not limited to this. There is nothing. For example, when it is desired to increase the developer discharge amount per rotation of the container body 31, the second recess 42 may have the same shape as the first recess 41 and the discharge hole 43 may be provided. Further, the number of recesses and the number of discharge holes may be further increased.

  FIG. 23 is a sectional view showing an image forming apparatus 70 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 24 is an enlarged sectional view showing the vicinity of the toner hopper 72. FIG. 25 is an enlarged plan view showing the vicinity of the toner hopper 72. FIG. 23 is a cross-sectional view of the image forming apparatus 70 viewed from the front exterior portion 71a side, and the thickness is omitted for easy understanding. The front exterior portion 71a is a portion where the user usually faces when the user uses the image forming apparatus 70. In the image forming apparatus 70, the back exterior portion 71b is a portion that hits the back side of the front exterior portion 71a when viewed from the user on the front exterior portion 71a side. Further, it is assumed that the image forming apparatus 70 is installed on a horizontal plane, and a front-back direction E that is a direction from the front exterior portion 71a toward the back exterior portion 71b is parallel to the horizontal plane.

  An electrophotographic recording type image forming apparatus 70 such as a printer apparatus and a copying apparatus includes the developer storage container 30 and the image forming apparatus main body (hereinafter simply referred to as “apparatus main body”) 71. The developer storage container 30 is detachably attached to a toner hopper 72 provided in the apparatus main body 71 via an openable / detachable container attachment / detachment opening (not shown) provided in the front exterior portion 71 a of the apparatus main body 71. Further, the image forming apparatus main body 71 is provided with a housing front portion 93 on the back exterior portion 71b side of the front exterior portion 71a, and an opening that penetrates the developer storage container 30 in the thickness direction is formed. . Further, the image forming apparatus main body 71 is provided with a housing rear surface portion 94 on the front exterior portion 71a side with respect to the rear exterior portion 71b. Various configurations of the image forming apparatus main body 71 are held by a casing (all not shown) including the casing front portion 93 and the casing back portion 94. The image forming apparatus 70 of the present embodiment has a configuration in which the toner cartridge 1 in the first conventional image forming apparatus 2 is replaced with a toner hopper 72, and the other configuration is the same as that of the first prior art image forming apparatus 2. Since they are almost the same, the same reference numerals are assigned to the same configurations.

  The toner hopper 72 includes a housing 73, a developer supply unit 74, a stirring member 75, and a supply roller 76. The inner space of the housing 73 is divided into at least a container housing space 77 and a stirring space 78 by the developer supply unit 74. The container housing space 77 is open facing the front exterior portion 71 a of the apparatus main body 71. The stirring space 78 is a substantially closed space. The developer storage container 30 is disposed in the storage container space 77.

  A second guide recess extending in the front-back direction E of the apparatus main body 71 into which the second guide piece 54 of the support member 32 of the developer storage container 30 can be fitted into the upper wall portion 73a of the housing 73 facing the container storage space 77. A location 79 is formed. The second guide recess 79 is formed so that the second guide piece 54 of the support member 32 of the developer container 30 is parallel to the longitudinal direction, in other words, the front-back direction E of the apparatus main body 71, and from the front exterior portion 71 a. The mounting direction E1 in the direction toward the rear exterior portion 71b and the detachable direction E2 that is opposite to the mounting direction E1 can be slidably fitted. In addition, the first guide piece 53 of the support member 32 of the developer storage container 30 can be fitted into the lower wall part 73 b facing the upper wall part 73 a of the housing 73 facing the container storage space 77. A first guide recess 80 extending in the front-back direction E is formed. The first guide recess 80 is fitted so that the first guide piece 53 of the support member 32 of the developer container 30 can slide in the longitudinal direction, in other words, the mounting direction E1 and the detaching direction E2 of the apparatus main body 71. Is possible.

  The developer supply unit 74 is a plate-like member that divides the inner space of the housing 73 into a container housing space 77 and a stirring space 78, and penetrates in the thickness direction so as to penetrate the container housing space 77 and the stirring space 78. And a communication hole 81 is provided. In addition, a guide member 82 that projects into the container housing space 77 is provided below the communication hole 81 of the developer supply unit 74.

  FIG. 26 is an enlarged perspective view showing the main body side connecting portion 83. A driving force for rotating the container main body 31 of the developer storage container 30 from a driving source 84 such as a motor of the apparatus main body 71 is transmitted to the main body side connecting portion 83 via a speed reducer 85 such as a gear. The main body side connecting portion 83 includes a rotating shaft 86, a joint receiving portion 87, and a spring member 88. The rotating shaft 86 has a longitudinal axis L86 parallel to the front-back direction E of the apparatus main body 71, and the casing rear surface portion 94 serving as the back wall portion of the housing 73 on the rear surface exterior portion 71b side of the apparatus main body 71 in the thickness direction. The free end portion is disposed in the container housing space 77 by being rotatably inserted into a bearing portion 89 provided therethrough.

  The joint receiving portion 87 is formed in a substantially disk shape, faces the container housing space 77, and is connected to the free end portion of the rotating shaft 86 so as to be rotatable around the axis L 86 together with the rotating shaft 86. At the center of the surface portion 87a opposite to the surface portion facing the housing rear surface portion 94 of the joint receiving portion 87, the developer receiving container is depressed toward the housing rear surface portion 94 with the axis L86 of the rotation shaft 86 as an axis. An auxiliary recess 96 into which the replenishing port 45 to which 30 replenishing lids 46 are attached can be fitted. Further, the joint receiving portion 87 is disposed radially outward from the auxiliary recess 96 of the surface portion 87a and symmetrical with respect to the axis L86 of the rotation shaft 86, and is depressed toward the housing rear surface portion 94 side. In this embodiment, two fitting recesses 90 are formed. These fitting recesses 90 have shapes corresponding to the respective fitting convex portions 37 of the container main body 31, and the fitting convex portions 37 of the container main body 31 are fitted into the fitting concave portions 90. The fitting convex part 37 and the fitting recess 90 are fitted.

  Further, the joint receiving portion 87 is displaceable in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 86 without dropping from the free end portion of the rotating shaft 86. Further, the spring member 88 realized by a compression coil spring or the like is disposed between the housing back surface portion 94 and the joint receiving portion 87, and does not hinder the rotation of the rotary shaft 86 and the joint receiving portion 87, thereby preventing the joint receiving. The portion 87 biases the spring force in the direction away from the housing back surface portion 94. A coupling structure is formed by the axial one end 33 a including the fitting convex portion 37 of the container main body 31 of the developer container 30 and the joint receiving portion 87 of the main body side connecting portion 83. Therefore, the fitting convex part 37 of the container main body 31 can be detachably connected to the joint receiving part 87 of the main body side connecting part 83.

  When the developer storage container 30 is mounted on the apparatus main body 71, the container storage space of the toner hopper 72 from the front exterior portion 71a of the apparatus main body 71 is set so that the rotation axis L31 and the mounting direction E1 are parallel to each other. 77. At this time, the first guide piece 53 of the support member 32 of the developer container 30 is fitted into the first guide recess 79 of the housing 73, and the second guide piece 54 of the support member 32 is fitted to the second guide recess of the housing 73. The support member 32 is fitted to the location 80 to prevent displacement of the support member 32 in directions other than the mounting direction E1 and the removal direction E2. In this state, the developer container 30 is displaced in the mounting direction E1, and is disposed at the mounting position where the conduction hole 51 of the discharge portion 50 of the support member 32 and the communication hole 81 of the developer supply portion 74 communicate with each other. To do. At this time, the joint receiving portion 87 of the main body side connecting portion 83 is pressed in the mounting direction E1 by the fitting convex portion 37 of the container main body 31 and retracts, and the spring member 88 is compressed.

  The toner hopper 72 is provided with a regulating member that regulates and releases the displacement of the support member 32 in the loading direction E1 and the detaching direction E2 in a state where the developer container 30 is disposed at the loading position (FIG. Not shown). When all the developer stored in the developer storage container 30 is discharged, the user releases the restriction on the support member 32 by the restriction member, and displaces the developer storage container 30 in the separation direction E2. Then, the developer container 30 is detached from the apparatus main body 71.

  A shutter displacing means for slidingly displacing the shutter 65a of the shutter portion 65 of the developer storage container 30 is provided around the communication hole 81 facing the container storage space 77 of the developer supply portion 74 of the toner hopper 72 (not shown). ) When the developer storage container 30 is inserted into the container storage space 77 of the toner hopper 72 from the front exterior portion 71a of the apparatus main body 71 with the rotation axis L31 and the mounting direction E1 parallel to each other, the shutter displacing means moves the closed position P1. When the arranged shutter 65a is slid in the second horizontal direction B1 and the developer container 30 is arranged at the mounting position, the shutter 65a is arranged at the open position P2. Further, when the developer storage container 30 mounted on the apparatus main body 71 and disposed at the mounting position is displaced in the detaching direction E2 to release the developer storage container 30 from the apparatus main body 71, the shutter displacing means opens the shutter. The shutter 65a disposed at the position P2 is slid and displaced in the second other direction B2 in the second horizontal direction, and is disposed at the closed position P1.

  Further, at least one of the periphery of the conduction hole 51 of the discharge unit 50 in the support member 32 of the developer container 30 and the communication hole 81 facing the container storage space 77 of the developer supply unit 74 of the toner hopper 72 is provided. In addition, a sealing material is provided for preventing the developer flowing down from the conduction hole 51 to the communication hole 81 from leaking outside the stirring space 78 (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 25, in the apparatus main body 71, the developing unit 3 is disposed in the middle portion in the front-back direction E. This is because the photosensitive drum 9 of the apparatus main body 71 is disposed in the middle portion in the normal direction E in the apparatus main body 71. The main body side connecting portion 83, the driving source 84 for rotating the stirring member 75 and the supply roller 76, and the driving portion such as the speed reducer 85 are provided between the housing rear surface portion 94 and the rear exterior portion 71b in the device main body 21. Placed in. Accordingly, the support member 32 of the developer storage container 30 is disposed at the middle portion in the front-back direction E of the apparatus main body 71 in a state where the developer storage container 30 is disposed at the mounting position. In the developer storage container 30, as described above, the length dimension from the support member 32 of the container body 31 to the end surface of the axial one end 33a where the fitting convex portion 37 is formed is from the support member 32 to the other end in the axial direction. It is formed smaller than the length dimension to the end face of the portion 34a.

  For example, in the case of the toner bottle 15 in which the developer is discharged to the axial one end portion 15a as shown in FIG. 29 and the opening 18 connected to the driving source is provided, the opening 18 is It is arranged in the vicinity of the developer supply port, that is, in the middle portion in the front-back direction of the image forming apparatus main body. In this case, since the dimension in the axial direction of the conventional toner bottle 15 is set based on the dimension from the middle portion in the front-back direction of the image forming apparatus main body to the front portion, it is difficult to increase the capacity of the container. .

  In the developer storage container 30 in the image forming apparatus 70 of the present embodiment, the support member 32 is disposed at the intermediate portion in the axial direction of the container main body 31, so that the support member 32 is supported in a state of being mounted at the mounting position in the image forming apparatus main body 71. The member 32 is disposed in the middle portion in the normal direction E in the apparatus main body 71. As a result, the container main body 31 extends from the middle portion of the device main body 71 in the front-back direction E to the front portion, and extends from the middle portion in the front-back direction E to the back surface, thereby making the capacity extremely larger than that of the conventional toner bottle 15. Can do. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 25, the other axial end 34 a of the developer container 30 protrudes toward the front exterior portion 71 from the housing front portion 93.

  In addition, the length of the container body 31 from the support member 32 to the end face of the axial one end 33a is made smaller than the length of the support member 32 to the end face of the other axial end 34a, whereby the apparatus main body In the back surface portion of 71, it is possible to secure an area in which a drive portion including a drive source 84 and a speed reduction device 85 connected to the fitting convex portion 37 of the axial end portion 33a of the container main body 31 can be secured. Thus, the developer storage container 30 has two unique effects of effectively using the space in the apparatus main body 71 and increasing the storage amount of the developer as much as possible.

  When the drive source 84 is driven and the joint receiving portion 87 is rotated in a state where the developer storage container 30 is arranged at the mounting position in this way, the fitting recess 90 of the joint receiving portion 87 and the developer storage container are rotated. In a state where the 30 fitting convex portions 37 are fitted, the container body 31 rotates around the rotation axis L31 as it is. In addition, in a state where the fitting recess 90 of the joint receiving portion 87 and the fitting convex portion 37 of the developer storage container 30 are not fitted, the fitting recess 90 of the joint receiving portion 87 and the developer storage container 30. Until the fitting convex portion 37 is fitted, only the joint receiving portion 87 is angularly displaced for a while, and the fitting concave portion 90 of the joint receiving portion 87 and the fitting convex portion 37 of the developer container 30 are fitted. Are engaged, the spring force of the spring member 88 is urged, and the fitting recess 90 of the joint receiving portion 87 and the fitting convex portion 37 of the developer storage container 30 are fitted in close contact with each other. The container body 31 rotates around the rotation axis L31. As the container main body 31 of the developer storage container 30 rotates about the rotation axis L31 in this way, the developer stored in the developer storage container 30 is allowed to flow into the conduction hole 51 of the discharge portion 50 of the support member 32 and the toner hopper. The developer is supplied to and stored in the stirring space 78 through the communication hole 81 of the developer supply unit 74.

  The stirring member 75 and the supply roller 76 extend in the normal direction E of the apparatus main body 71 with a space therebetween and are disposed in the stirring space 78. The stirring member 75 is rotatable around a stirring axis L75 parallel to the front-back direction E, and has a scraping member 91 that extends in the direction of the stirring axis L75 and has flexibility. Further, the stirring member 75 is rotated in the clockwise direction J1 around the stirring axis L75 when viewed from the front of the apparatus main body 71 by the driving force from the drive source 84 provided in the apparatus main body 71. The supply roller 76 is rotatable around a supply axis L76 parallel to the front-back direction E, and the outer peripheral surface portion is made of, for example, a porous resin such as sponge. Further, the supply roller 76 rotates in the counterclockwise direction J2 around the stirring axis L76 when viewed from the front of the apparatus main body 71 by the driving force from the drive source 84 provided in the apparatus main body 71.

  Facing the stirring space 78 of the toner hopper 72, communicating with the developer supply unit 74, extending in the normal direction E of the apparatus main body 21, and having a substantially U-shaped cross section perpendicular to the stirring axis L 75 of the stirring member 75. An agitating wall 92 formed in the shape of the inner circumferential surface of the partial cylinder to be opened is provided. Although the developer is supplied to the stirring space 78 from one communicating hole 81, the developer discharged from the developer storage container 30 as described above is not only stirred but also mixed with gas to form a fine powder. Since the fluidity is extremely good, even if it is supplied from the communication hole 81, it diffuses in the stirring axis L75 in the stirring space 78. The developer accommodated in the stirring space 78 is further diffused in the direction of the stirring axis L75 in the stirring space 78 by stirring by the stirring member 75.

  When the agitating member 75 rotates, the developer supplied from the communication hole 81 and agitated in the agitating space 78 is agitated, and the scraping member 91 is in contact with the agitating wall 92 while the free end thereof abuts the agitating space 78. The developer contained in the toner is scraped out and supplied to the supply roller 76. Therefore, the supply roller 76 is supplied with the fine powder developer substantially uniformly in the direction of the axis L76. Further, even when the remaining amount of the developer stored in the stirring space 78 is reduced, it is given to the supply roller 76 by being scraped off by the scraping member 91. The remaining developer can be reduced as much as possible. The developer supplied to the supply roller 76 is supplied to the developing unit 3 in a good state by the rotation of the supply roller 76.

  The apparatus main body 71 further includes a developing unit 3, a recording paper cassette 8, a photosensitive drum 9, a charging unit 10, a laser exposure unit 11, and a fixing unit 12. The developing unit 3 generates a two-component developer by stirring the toner that is the developer supplied from the toner hopper 72 and the carrier that is a magnetic particle prepared in advance.

  The recording paper cassette 8 holds recording paper on which an image is to be formed. The photoconductor drum 9 is a cylindrical drum having a photoconductor provided on the outer peripheral portion thereof, and rotates in the direction of the arrow U3 around its axis by the driving force from the driving unit. The charging unit 10 imparts photosensitivity by charging the photoconductor of the photoconductor drum 9. The laser exposure unit 11 exposes the charged photosensitive member of the photosensitive drum 9 with a laser light image to form an electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member.

  The developing unit 3 stirs the two-component developer, supplies the two-component developer to the photosensitive member of the photosensitive drum 9 on which the electrostatic latent image is formed, develops the toner, and the toner corresponding to the electrostatic latent image An image is formed. The photosensitive drum 9 transfers the toner image of the photosensitive drum 9 onto the recording paper fed from the recording paper cassette 11. The fixing unit 12 fixes the toner image of the recording paper to which the toner image is transferred onto the recording paper. The recording paper on which the toner image is fixed and the image is formed is discharged to the paper discharge tray 13. In order to make the toner concentration of the two-component developer in the developing unit 4 constant, the outer periphery of the supply roller 6 of the toner cartridge 1 is formed of a sponge, and the rotation thereof is controlled. Accordingly, the supply roller 6 supplies an appropriate amount of toner to the developing unit 3 in a fine powder state.

  Control of the container main body 31 of the developer storage container 30 and the stirring member 75 and the supply roller 76 of the toner hopper 72 will be briefly described below. When the toner remaining amount detecting unit 95 provided in the stirring wall 92 detects that the amount of developer (hereinafter, sometimes referred to as “toner”) stored in the stirring space 78 of the toner hopper 72 has decreased. The control unit (not shown) controls the drive source 84 to rotate the container main body 31 of the developer storage container 30 and supply the toner to the stirring space 78. If it is detected from the toner remaining amount detection unit 95 that the amount of toner stored in the stirring space 78 is not full even if the container body 31 is rotated for a predetermined time, the control unit rotates the container body 31. And a message indicating that the developer storage container 30 is to be replaced is displayed on a display unit (not shown) to notify the user. At this time, a considerable amount of developer is stored in the stirring space 78 of the toner hopper 72. While the developer is stored in the stirring space 78 of the toner hopper 72, the user removes the empty developer storage container 30 from the apparatus main body 71 and stores a new developer in which the developer is stored. The container 30 is attached to the apparatus main body 71. Thus, even when the image forming apparatus 70 is in the process of forming an image on the recording paper, the developer necessary for image formation is stored in the stirring space 78 of the toner hopper 72, so that the image forming operation is not interrupted. The developer can be supplied to the apparatus main body 71.

  In the first prior art shown in FIG. 28, it is necessary to replace the toner cartridge 1 that is not only very large but also heavy, but in the present embodiment, only the developer storage container 30 is replaced. For example, the user grasps the support member 32 and the second container part 34 of the developer storage container 30, and starts from the first container part 33 in which the fitting convex part 37 is formed. It is only necessary to insert into the container housing space 77 of the toner hopper 72 from the front surface portion 93 of the housing 71 toward the mounting direction E1, which is very simple. Further, when the developer storage container 30 is detached from the apparatus main body 71, the user only has to hold the second container portion 34 of the developer storage container 30 and pull it out in the separation direction E2. Convenient.

  Further, in order to stir the stored developer to prevent aggregation, the developer container 30 of the present embodiment is conventionally used, although the user has swung the heavy and large toner cartridge 1 vertically and horizontally. Then, the user only needs to rotate the container body 71 around the rotation axis L71, which is very easy. Further, the developer storage container 30 of the present embodiment has a very simple configuration for stirring the stored developer as compared with the conventional toner cartridge 1. Further, the developer storage container 30 achieves a seal between the container main body 31 and the support member 32, and when the developer storage container 30 is mounted on the apparatus main body 71 at the mounting position, Since at least one of the periphery of the communication hole 51 of the discharge unit 50 and the communication hole 81 of the developer supply unit 74 is sealed, the developer can leak in the container housing space 77 of the toner hopper 72. It can be prevented as much as possible. Therefore, when the user replaces the developer storage container 30, it is possible to prevent as much as possible that the hand is soiled by the developer.

  Further, since the developer storage container 30 is substantially cylindrical, it can be stored in an elongated rectangular parallelepiped packing box, and is extremely easy to transport and interpolate as compared with the toner cartridge 1 of the first prior art. It is.

  Further, the developer storage container 30 does not increase the rotational force for rotating the container main body 31 as described above, and the developer discharge amount per rotation of the container main body 31 is as constant as possible. Amount. As a result, it is not necessary to increase the rotation speed of the container main body 31, and the developer can be supplied to the stirring space 78 of the toner hopper 72 even at a low speed, and the developer discharge amount per rotation of the container main body 31 is made as much as possible. The developer can be supplied to the agitating space 78, the torque of the drive source 84 can be reduced, and the drive source 84 can be a small motor, for example.

  Although the developer storage container 30 and the image forming apparatus 70 according to the above-described embodiment are treated as the case of two-component development, it is needless to say that the present invention can also be applied to a toner-only development system.

  Further, the developer storage container according to the present invention is a developer storage container that is detachably mounted on the image forming apparatus, and is formed in a cylindrical shape that stores a developer used for image formation, and has an outer peripheral portion. Is provided with a recess recessed inward in the radial direction, formed in the recess, provided with a discharge hole for moving the developer and discharging the developer, and a member for supporting the container body; The concave part that is depressed in the cylindrical outer peripheral part for positioning so as not to move in the axial direction is formed without any phase shift in the axial direction, is formed on the entire circumference in the rotational direction, forms a continuous concave part without interruption, and around the axial line. A container main body that conveys developer stored by rotating toward the discharge hole, and a part including at least a concave portion of the container main body that is rotatable from the outside in the radial direction to the entire circumference, and is supported around the axis. , Introducing hole is provided for guiding the developer to be discharged from the discharge holes of the container body to the outside, also includes configuration including a support member having a convex as the positioning of the container body. At this time, it is preferable that the support member can be divided into a plurality of parts in the circumferential direction.

  The present invention also includes a configuration in which the support member is attached to the image forming apparatus such that the toner conduction hole communicates with a developer supply port that communicates with the developing portion of the image forming apparatus main body.

  The present invention also provides a developer storage container that is detachably mounted on the image forming apparatus and is formed in a cylindrical shape that stores a developer used for image formation. A container that is provided in the recess and is provided with a discharge hole for discharging the developer, and that conveys the developer stored by rotating around the axis toward the discharge hole. The main body and the container main body are rotatable around the axis, supported so as not to move in the axial direction, and can be divided around the axis to conduct the developer discharged from the discharge hole of the container main body to the outside. A developer storage container including a support member provided with a hole is also included.

  Further, the developer having a configuration in which the container body is provided with a concave portion that is recessed in the cylindrical outer peripheral portion, and the support member inner peripheral portion is provided with a convex portion that is shaped to enter the concave portion that is recessed in the cylindrical outer peripheral portion of the container main body. A storage container is also included in the present invention. Moreover, it is preferable that the convex shape of the inner peripheral portion of the support member is a wave shape.

  Further, a developer storage container having a configuration in which a concave portion is provided in the inner peripheral portion of the support member, and a convex portion is provided in the cylindrical outer peripheral portion of the container body so as to enter the concave portion in the inner peripheral portion of the support member. Are also included in the present invention.

  In addition, an image forming apparatus in which any one of the developer storage containers described above is detachably mounted is also included in the present invention.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims, and the embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the respective technical means disclosed herein are also included in the present invention. It is included in the technical scope of the invention.

  Since the developer container according to the present invention is used by being mounted on an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a copying machine, or a facsimile, it can be used in a very wide range of industries related to the image forming apparatus.

1 is a perspective view showing a developer container according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view showing a developer container according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a left side view illustrating the developer container according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view which shows the container main body of one Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a left view which shows the container main body of one Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a right view which shows the container main body of one Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the 3rd container part of one Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a front view which expands and shows the 3rd container part vicinity of one Embodiment which concerns on this invention. (A) is sectional drawing seen from cutting plane line S91-S91 of FIG. 8, (b) is sectional drawing seen from cutting plane line S92-S92 of FIG. It is a front view which shows the supporting member of one Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a right view which shows the supporting member of one Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is a decomposition | disassembly right view which shows the supporting member of one Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing seen from cut surface line S13-S13 of FIG. (A) is a front view which shows a sealing material, (b) is a figure which shows a cross section perpendicular | vertical to the circumferential direction of a sealing material. It is a front view which shows the state which assembles the developer storage container of one Embodiment which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing seen from cut surface line S16-S16 of FIG. It is sectional drawing seen from cut surface line S17-S17 of FIG. It is sectional drawing seen from cut surface line S18-S18 of FIG. It is a figure which expands and shows the section IXX of FIG. Operation until the developer in the third container portion of the container main body is guided to the conduction hole of the support member when the container main body according to the embodiment of the present invention rotates in the rotation direction R around the rotation axis L31. FIG. Operation until the developer in the third container portion of the container main body is guided to the conduction hole of the support member when the container main body according to the embodiment of the present invention rotates in the rotation direction R around the rotation axis L31. FIG. 4 is a graph showing the relationship between the amount of developer discharged from the developer storage container 30 and time. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating the vicinity of a toner hopper according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view showing the vicinity of a toner hopper according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. It is a perspective view which expands and shows the main body side connection part of one Embodiment which concerns on this invention. 1 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an image forming apparatus to which a toner cartridge according to a first conventional technique is mounted. FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view illustrating the vicinity of a developing portion of a toner cartridge and an image forming apparatus. (A) is a sectional view showing a toner bottle 15 according to the second prior art, and (b) is a perspective view showing the toner bottle 15. It is a perspective view which shows the developer supply container which is a 3rd prior art. It is a perspective view which shows the toner cartridge which is a 4th prior art. It is a figure which shows the container main body and support member of one Embodiment which concern on this invention, (a) shows sectional drawing seen from cut surface line S16-S16 of FIG. 15, (b) shows (a It is the top view which looked at from above. It is a perspective view which shows the supporting member and wavy support convex part of one Embodiment which concern on this invention. It is a figure which shows the partial cross section of the state which assembled the container main body and support member of one Embodiment which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 30 Developer container 31 Container main body 31a Outer peripheral surface of container main body 32 Support member 33 1st container part 34 2nd container part 35 3rd container part 35a Outer peripheral surface of 3rd container part 36 1st protrusion piece 37 Fitting convex part 39 Second protrusion 41 First recess (recess)
41a end wall part 42 2nd recessed part 43 discharge hole 47 sealing material 48 inner peripheral part (inner peripheral surface of a support member)
49 support base 51 conduction hole 55 first support portion 56 second support portion 70 image forming apparatus 101 concave groove 102 fourth support convex portion (convex support portion)
L31 Container body axis

Claims (7)

In the developer storage container that is detachably mounted on the image forming apparatus,
The developer storage container includes a container body and a support member,
The container main body is formed in a cylindrical shape in which a developer is accommodated, and an outer peripheral surface of the container main body is provided with a concave portion recessed inward in the radial direction, and an end wall portion on the downstream side in the rotation direction of the concave portion. Has a discharge hole for discharging the developer to the outside,
The support member surrounds the outer peripheral surface of the container main body so as to include a region where the concave portion of the container main body is formed, and holds the container main body rotatably around an axis. Is provided with a conduction hole for supplying the developer discharged from the discharge hole to the recess.
In order to hold the developer that flows in from the container body through the discharge hole and is discharged to the outside through the conduction hole each time the container body rotates by the recess in the container body and the support member. A holding space is formed,
The support member is provided with a lead-out member, and one end of the lead-out member is fixed to the downstream side in the rotational direction of the lead-out hole, extends to the upstream side in the rotational direction, and the other end serves as a free end portion. Is provided so as to be elastically contactable with the bottom wall portion of the
Further, the support member and the container body are fitted so that the container body does not move in the axial direction. A convex support portion is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the support member so as to protrude radially inward of the support member and extend over the entire circumference.
On the outer peripheral surface of the container body, a concave groove is provided to extend inward in the radial direction of the container body and extend over the entire circumference.
When the support member holds the container main body, the convex support portion provided in the support member and the concave groove provided in the container main body are fitted, so that the container main body is in the axial direction. The developer storage container according to claim 1, wherein the developer storage container is formed so as not to move.   The developer storage container according to claim 2, wherein the convex support portion formed on the support member has a wave shape. On the outer peripheral surface of the container body, a convex support portion is provided extending outward in the radial direction of the container body and extending over the entire circumference.
On the inner peripheral surface of the support member, a concave groove is provided extending in the outer circumferential direction of the support member so as to extend over the entire circumference.
When the support member holds the container main body, the convex support portion provided in the container main body and the concave groove provided in the support member are fitted, so that the container main body is in the axial direction. The developer storage container according to claim 1, wherein the developer storage container is formed so as not to move.   The developer storage container according to claim 4, wherein the convex support portion formed on the container main body has a wave shape.   The developer storage container according to claim 1, wherein the support member can be divided into a plurality of parts.   An image forming apparatus, wherein the developer storage container according to claim 1 is detachably mounted.

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