JP4803826B2 - Toner container, process cartridge, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a toner container that is detachably installed in a main body of an image forming apparatus in order to replenish toner consumed in an image forming process, and a process cartridge and an image forming apparatus including the toner container.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic method such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile, or a composite machine thereof, a cylindrical toner container for supplying toner to a developing device is known (for example, , See Patent Document 1).

  In Patent Document 1, etc., a toner container (toner bottle) installed in a replaceable manner in a toner container housing part (bottle container) of the image forming apparatus main body mainly includes a container body and a held part (cap part). Has been. A spiral protrusion is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the container body, and the toner contained in the container body is conveyed toward the opening when the container body is driven to rotate. The held portion communicates with the opening of the container body, and is held in the toner container housing portion in a non-rotating manner without being interlocked with the rotational drive of the container body. The toner discharged from the opening of the container body is discharged from a toner discharge port provided in the held portion. Thereafter, the toner discharged from the toner discharge port of the held portion is supplied to the developing device. Note that the rotation of the container body is performed by transmission of a rotation driving force by a gear portion formed integrally with the container body.

  The toner container configured as described above is not provided with a held portion, and is compared with a toner container that supplies toner directly from the opening of the container body toward the developing device (see, for example, Patent Document 2). Thus, the toner contamination when the toner container is replaced can be reduced. In other words, since the toner discharge port of the held portion is opened and closed in conjunction with a part of the toner container attaching / detaching operation (rotating operation), the problem that the user touches the toner discharge port and is contaminated with toner is suppressed. The Further, since the direction of the toner discharge port in the toner container is arranged downward in the vertical direction and the toner amount near the toner discharge port at the end of the toner can be reduced by the falling of the toner by its own weight, the toner discharge port when the toner container is replaced Toner contamination is reduced.

  Specifically, in Patent Document 1 and the like, when the toner container is mounted in the toner container housing portion of the apparatus main body, first, the main body cover (stack portion) is opened upward to expose the toner container housing portion. Thereafter, the toner container is placed on the toner container housing portion from above. Thereafter, the handle integrally installed on the held portion is held, and the held portion is rotated (rotated). As a result, the position of the toner container in the toner container housing portion is finally determined. Further, as the held portion rotates, the shutter opens the toner discharge port downward so as to resist the urging force of the spring.

On the other hand, in Patent Document 3 and the like, there is a toner storage container composed of a bag container and a cap member, and for the purpose of reducing the occurrence of toner contamination (toner scattering) due to the attaching / detaching operation, A technique is disclosed in which the toner discharge port of the base member is opened and closed in conjunction with a part of the attaching / detaching operation (rotating operation of the opening / closing folder).
Specifically, when the toner container is attached to the apparatus main body, first, the open / close holder (open / close folder) is rotated around the hinge to expose the upper part of the open / close holder. Thereafter, the toner container is set in the open / close holder. Thereafter, the open / close holder in which the toner container is set is rotated (rotated) around the hinge. As a result, the position of the toner container in the apparatus main body is finally determined. Further, as the opening / closing holder rotates, the plug member (shutter member) is pushed by the nozzle so as to resist the urging force of the spring, and the toner discharge port sealed by the packing (G seal) is opened.

JP 2004-287404 A JP 2000-338758 A JP 2004-161371 A

  The toner container of Patent Document 1 and the like described above is less likely to be contaminated with toner at the toner discharge port than that of Patent Document 2 and the like, and is expected to suppress the problem that the user touches the toner discharge port and is stained with toner. it can. However, the toner container disclosed in Patent Document 1 also has some disadvantages in terms of operability and workability at the time of attachment / detachment (at the time of replacement).

  The first demerit is that the attaching / detaching operation with respect to the toner container housing portion involves a plurality of operations. That is, the attaching / detaching operation of the toner container includes a plurality of operations such as an operation of opening and closing the main body cover, an operation of placing and removing the toner container on the toner container housing portion, and a rotating operation of rotating the held portion. there were.

  The second demerit is that it is difficult to be sure that the user has not made an erroneous operation until just before the mounting operation is completed. That is, at the time when the operation of opening the main body cover and the operation of placing the toner container on the toner container housing portion are completed, the user cannot be sure that no erroneous operation has been performed. Then, by rotating the held portion after that, the position of the held portion is determined, so that the user can feel the click feeling of the held portion and be confident that there is no erroneous operation.

  A third disadvantage is that a layout restriction is imposed above the toner container housing portion. That is, in order to place the toner container on the toner container housing portion from above, an operation of opening and closing the main body cover in the vertical direction is required. Accordingly, it is necessary to secure a space for opening / closing the main body cover and placing / removing the toner container in the layout above the toner container housing portion. As a result, when a scanner (document reading portion) or the like is disposed above the toner container housing portion, the operability and workability in attaching and detaching the toner container are lowered.

  Further, the toner container disclosed in Patent Document 1 transmits a rotational driving force to the container main body by a gear portion that is integrally formed of the same material as the container main body. Specifically, the gear part is often formed together with the container body from a material such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) suitable for blow molding. Such a material generally does not have high mechanical strength, and therefore, when the toner capacity becomes large and the weight of the container body increases (for example, in a toner container having a longitudinal length of 500 mm or more). However, there is a possibility that the load on the gear portion increases and the gear portion is greatly worn or damaged. Moreover, since the container main body in which the gear part is worn and damaged in this way cannot be reused even if there is no problem other than the gear part, the efficiency of recycling deteriorates.

  On the other hand, in the toner storage container of Patent Document 3 or the like, toner contamination occurs because the plug member is pushed by the nozzle to open the toner discharge port sealed with packing in conjunction with the opening operation of the opening / closing holder. The effect which reduces can be expected. However, the toner storage container disclosed in Patent Document 3 also has some disadvantages in terms of operability and workability during attachment / detachment.

  The first demerit is that the toner capacity of the toner storage container cannot be increased and the replacement frequency of the toner storage container increases. That is, since the toner storage container stores toner in a bag container whose longitudinal direction is the longitudinal direction, when the toner capacity is increased, the height of the toner storage container increases. As a result, the height of the opening / closing holder also increases, which affects the layout in the height direction of the entire image forming apparatus. Therefore, the toner capacity of the toner storage container cannot be increased so much, and the replacement frequency becomes higher than that of the toner container of Patent Document 1 (the horizontal direction is the longitudinal direction).

  The second demerit is that it is difficult to be sure that the user has not made an erroneous operation. That is, since the plug member opens and closes the toner discharge port in conjunction with the opening / closing operation of the open / close holder, it is difficult for the user to feel the open / close feeling of the toner discharge port by removing his / her hand from the toner storage container.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problems. The operability and workability at the time of replacement are high, the occurrence of toner contamination is surely reduced, and the toner capacity is increased. It is another object of the present invention to provide a toner container, a process cartridge, and an image forming apparatus that are less likely to cause wear and damage to the gear portion and have high recyclability.

A toner container according to a first aspect of the present invention is a toner container that is detachably installed in a toner container housing portion of an image forming apparatus body, the container body housing toner therein, and the toner container And a held portion having a toner discharge port for discharging the toner contained in the container body, and the container body transmits a rotational driving force to the container body. Is detachably installed, and the gear portion includes a screw portion that is screwed into a screw portion formed in the container body .

The toner container according to a second aspect of the present invention is the toner container according to the first aspect, wherein the screw portion is a direction in which the container main body and the gear portion are screwed together, and the container main body is rotationally driven. It is formed so that the direction to be matched.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the toner container according to the first or second aspect, the threaded portion has two or more threaded threads.

A toner container according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the toner container according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the container main body and the gear portion are formed of different materials. is there.

The toner container according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is the toner container according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein the held portion is interlocked with an attaching / detaching operation with respect to the toner container housing portion. An opening / closing member for opening / closing the toner discharge port is provided.

A toner container according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the toner container according to the fifth aspect , wherein the toner container housing portion includes a nozzle communicating with the toner discharge port, and the opening / closing member is provided with the toner container. The toner discharge port is pushed by the nozzle in conjunction with the mounting operation to the storage portion to open the toner discharge port and is urged by the biasing member in conjunction with the detachment operation from the toner container storage portion. Is a plug member for closing.

The toner container according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is the toner container according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein the held portion is configured to store the toner discharged from the opening of the container main body. The toner is discharged from the toner discharge port and is held in the toner container housing portion in a non-rotating manner.

A toner container according to an eighth aspect of the present invention is the toner container according to any one of the first to seventh aspects, wherein the length in the longitudinal direction is 500 mm or more.

A toner container according to a ninth aspect of the present invention is the toner container according to any one of the first to eighth aspects .

A toner container according to a tenth aspect of the present invention is the toner container according to the ninth aspect, further containing a carrier.

A process cartridge according to an eleventh aspect of the present invention is a process cartridge that is detachably installed on the main body of the image forming apparatus, and the toner container according to any one of the first to tenth aspects is integrated. And a portion corresponding to the toner container is detachably installed in the main body of the image forming apparatus in a state where the portion is detachably installed in the toner container housing portion.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the twelfth aspect, the toner container according to any one of the first to tenth aspects is detachably installed in the toner container housing portion of the main body of the image forming apparatus. It has been done.

  In the present application, the “process cartridge” refers to a charging unit that charges the image carrier, a developing unit (developing device) that develops a latent image formed on the image carrier, and a cleaning on the image carrier. It is defined as a unit in which at least one of the cleaning unit (cleaning device) and the image carrier are integrated and detachably installed on the image forming apparatus main body.

  The present invention optimizes the configuration of the toner container installed in the toner container housing portion, and the gear portion is detachably installed with respect to the container body, so that the operability and workability at the time of replacement are high. Providing toner containers, process cartridges, and image forming devices that reliably reduce the occurrence of toner stains and are less likely to wear or damage the gear even when the toner capacity becomes large. can do.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each figure, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the part which is the same or it corresponds, The duplication description is simplified or abbreviate | omitted suitably.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
The first embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
First, the configuration and operation of the entire image forming apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a printer as an image forming apparatus, FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing an image forming unit thereof, FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a toner supply path thereof, and FIG. It is a perspective view which shows a part of apparatus.
As shown in FIG. 1, four toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32K corresponding to the respective colors (yellow, magenta, cyan, and black) are attached to and detached from the toner container accommodating portion 31 above the image forming apparatus main body 100. It is installed freely (changeable) (see also the perspective view of FIG. 9).
An intermediate transfer unit 15 is disposed below the toner container housing 31. Image forming portions 6Y, 6M, 6C, and 6K corresponding to the respective colors (yellow, magenta, cyan, and black) are arranged in parallel so as to face the intermediate transfer belt 8 of the intermediate transfer unit 15.

  Referring to FIG. 2, an image forming unit 6Y corresponding to yellow includes a photosensitive drum 1Y, a charging unit 4Y disposed around the photosensitive drum 1Y, a developing device 5Y (developing unit), a cleaning unit 2Y, It is composed of a static eliminator (not shown). Then, an image forming process (charging process, exposure process, developing process, transfer process, cleaning process) is performed on the photosensitive drum 1Y, and a yellow image is formed on the photosensitive drum 1Y.

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

Referring to FIG. 2, the photosensitive drum 1Y is driven to rotate clockwise in FIG. 2 by a drive motor (not shown). Then, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y is uniformly charged at the position of the charging unit 4Y (a charging process).
After that, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y reaches the irradiation position of the laser beam L emitted from the exposure device 7 (see FIG. 1), and the electrostatic latent image corresponding to yellow by exposure scanning at this position. Is formed (this is an exposure step).

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

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

The image forming process described above is performed in the other image forming units 6M, 6C, and 6K in the same manner as the yellow image forming unit 6Y. That is, the laser beam L based on the image information is emitted from the exposure unit 7 disposed below the image forming unit onto the photosensitive drums of the image forming units 6M, 6C, and 6K. Specifically, the exposure unit 7 emits a laser beam L from a light source, and irradiates the photosensitive drum through a plurality of optical elements while scanning the laser beam L with a polygon mirror that is rotationally driven.
Thereafter, the toner images of the respective colors formed on the respective photosensitive drums through the developing process are transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 8 in an overlapping manner. In this way, a color image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 8.

  Here, referring to FIG. 1, the intermediate transfer unit 15 includes an intermediate transfer belt 8, four primary transfer bias rollers 9Y, 9M, 9C, and 9K, a secondary transfer backup roller 12, a cleaning backup roller 13, and a tension roller. 14 and the intermediate transfer cleaning unit 10. The intermediate transfer belt 8 is stretched and supported by the three rollers 12 to 14 and is endlessly moved in the direction of the arrow in FIG.

The four primary transfer bias rollers 9Y, 9M, 9C, and 9K respectively sandwich the intermediate transfer belt 8 with the photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K to form a primary transfer nip. Then, a transfer bias reverse to the polarity of the toner is applied to the primary transfer bias rollers 9Y, 9M, 9C, and 9K.
The intermediate transfer belt 8 travels in the direction of the arrow and sequentially passes through the primary transfer nips of the primary transfer bias rollers 9Y, 9M, 9C, and 9K. In this way, the toner images of the respective colors on the photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K are primarily transferred while being superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 8.

  Thereafter, the intermediate transfer belt 8 on which the toner images of the respective colors are transferred in a superimposed manner reaches a position facing the secondary transfer roller 19. At this position, the secondary transfer backup roller 12 sandwiches the intermediate transfer belt 8 with the secondary transfer roller 19 to form a secondary transfer nip. The four-color toner images formed on the intermediate transfer belt 8 are transferred onto a transfer material P such as transfer paper conveyed to the position of the secondary transfer nip. At this time, the untransferred toner that has not been transferred to the transfer material P remains on the intermediate transfer belt 8.

Thereafter, the intermediate transfer belt 8 reaches the position of the intermediate transfer cleaning unit 10. At this position, the untransferred toner on the intermediate transfer belt 8 is collected.
Thus, a series of transfer processes performed on the intermediate transfer belt 8 is completed.

Here, the transfer material P transported to the position of the secondary transfer nip is transported from a paper feed unit 26 disposed below the apparatus main body 100 via a paper feed roller 27, a registration roller pair 28, and the like. It has been done.
Specifically, a plurality of transfer materials P such as transfer paper are stored in the paper supply unit 26 in a stacked manner. When the paper feed roller 27 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 1, the uppermost transfer material P is fed between the rollers of the registration roller pair 28.

  The transfer material P conveyed to the registration roller pair 28 is temporarily stopped at the position of the roller nip of the registration roller pair 28 that has stopped rotating. Then, the registration roller pair 28 is rotationally driven in synchronization with the color image on the intermediate transfer belt 8, and the transfer material P is conveyed toward the secondary transfer nip. In this way, a desired color image is transferred onto the transfer material P.

Thereafter, the transfer material P on which the color image has been transferred at the position of the secondary transfer nip is conveyed to the position of the fixing unit 20. At this position, the color image transferred to the surface is fixed on the transfer material P by heat and pressure generated by the fixing roller and the pressure roller.
Thereafter, the transfer material P is discharged out of the apparatus through the rollers of the discharge roller pair 29. The transferred P discharged from the apparatus by the discharge roller pair 29 is sequentially stacked on the stack unit 30 as an output image.
Thus, a series of image forming processes in the image forming apparatus is completed.

Next, the configuration and operation of the developing device in the image forming unit will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.
The developing device 5Y includes a developing roller 51Y facing the photosensitive drum 1Y, a doctor blade 52Y facing the developing roller 51Y, two conveying screws 55Y disposed in the developer accommodating portions 53Y and 54Y, and toner in the developer. A density detection sensor 56Y for detecting the density, etc. The developing roller 51Y includes a magnet fixed inside, a sleeve rotating around the magnet, and the like. In the developer accommodating portions 53Y and 54Y, a two-component developer G composed of a carrier and a toner is accommodated. The developer accommodating portion 54Y communicates with the toner transport pipe 43Y through an opening formed thereabove.

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

  Here, the developer G in the developing device 5Y is adjusted so that the ratio of toner in the developer (toner concentration) is within a predetermined range. Specifically, according to the consumption of toner in the developing device 5Y, the toner stored in the toner container 32Y is supplied into the developer storage portion 54Y via the toner supply device 59 (see FIG. 3). . The configurations and operations of the toner supply device 59 and the toner container 32Y will be described in detail later.

  Thereafter, the toner replenished in the developer accommodating portion 54Y is circulated through the two developer accommodating portions 53Y and 54Y while being mixed and stirred together with the developer G by the two conveying screws 55Y (perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 2). Direction movement.) The toner in the developer G is attracted to the carrier by frictional charging with the carrier, and is carried on the developing roller 51Y together with the carrier by the magnetic force formed on the developing roller 51Y.

  The developer G carried on the developing roller 51Y is conveyed in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2 and reaches the position of the doctor blade 52Y. The developer G on the developing roller 51Y is conveyed to a position facing the photosensitive drum 1Y (development region) after the developer amount is made appropriate at this position. The toner is attracted to the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 1Y by the electric field formed in the development area. Thereafter, the developer G remaining on the developing roller 51Y reaches above the developer containing portion 53Y as the sleeve rotates, and is detached from the developing roller 51Y at this position.

Next, referring to FIG. 3, the toner replenishing device 59 that guides the toner stored in the toner container 32Y to the developing device 5Y will be described in detail.
FIG. 3 shows the toner container 32Y, the toner supply paths 43Y, 60, 70, 71, and the developing device 5Y in different directions for easy understanding. In practice, in FIG. 3, the longitudinal direction of the toner container 32Y and a part of the toner replenishment path is arranged so as to be perpendicular to the paper surface (see FIG. 1).
4 and 9, the toner in each of the toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32K installed in the toner container housing portion 31 of the apparatus main body 100 is in accordance with the toner consumption in each color developing device. Each developing device is appropriately replenished through a toner replenishment path provided for each toner color. The four toner supply paths have substantially the same structure except that the color of the toner used in the image forming process is different.

  Specifically, referring to FIG. 3, when the toner container 32Y is set in the toner container housing portion 31 of the apparatus main body 100, the nozzle 70 of the toner container housing portion 31 is connected to the held portion 34Y of the toner container 32Y. . At this time, the plug member 34d (opening / closing member) of the toner container 32Y is sandwiched between the nozzle 70 and the claw member 76 (biased by the leaf spring 77), and the toner discharged from the held portion 34Y. Open the exit. Thereby, the toner accommodated in the container main body 33Y of the toner container 32Y is conveyed into the nozzle 70 via the toner discharge port.

On the other hand, the other end of the nozzle 70 is connected to one end of a tube 71 as a transport pipe. The tube 71 is made of a flexible material excellent in toner resistance, and the other end is connected to a screw pump 60 (Mono pump) of the toner replenishing device.
The tube 71 as the transport tube is formed so that its inner diameter is 4 to 10 mm. As the material of the tube 71, a rubber material such as polyurethane, nitrile, EPDM, or silicon, or a resin material such as polyethylene or nylon can be used. By using such a flexible tube 71, the degree of freedom in the layout of the toner supply path is increased, and the image forming apparatus is downsized.

  The screw pump 60 is a suction type uniaxial eccentric screw pump, and includes a rotor 61, a stator 62, a suction port 63, a universal joint 64, a motor 66, and the like. The rotor 61, the stator 62, the universal joint 64, etc. are accommodated in a case (not shown). The stator 62 is an internally threaded member made of an elastic material such as rubber, and a double pitch spiral groove is formed in the stator 62. The rotor 61 is a male screw-like member formed by spirally twisting a shaft made of a rigid material such as metal, and is fitted into the stator 62 so as to be freely rotatable. One end of the rotor 61 is rotatably connected to a motor 66 via a universal joint 64.

  The screw pump 60 configured as described above is sucked into the suction port 36 by rotating the rotor 61 in the stator 62 in a predetermined direction (counterclockwise as viewed from the upstream side in the toner conveyance direction) by the motor 66. Force is generated (air in the tube 31 is sent out to generate a negative pressure in the tube 31). As a result, the toner in the toner container 32Y is sucked into the suction port 63 through the tube 71 together with air. The toner sucked up to the suction port 63 is fed into the gap between the stator 62 and the rotor 61, and is sent to the other end side along the rotation of the rotor 61. The delivered toner is discharged from the delivery port 67 of the screw pump 60 and replenished into the developing device 5Y via the toner transport pipe 43Y (movement in the direction of the broken line arrow in FIG. 3).

Next, the toner container will be described with reference to FIGS.
As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4, four substantially cylindrical toner containers 32 </ b> Y, 32 </ b> M, 32 </ b> C, and 32 </ b> K (toner bottles) are detachably installed in the toner container housing portion 31 ( (See also FIG. 9). Each of the toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32K is replaced with a new one when it reaches the end of its life (when the toner to be accommodated is almost exhausted). Then, the toner of each color stored in the toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32K passes through the toner replenishment path described with reference to FIG. 3 to the developing devices of the image forming units 6Y, 6M, 6C, and 6K as appropriate. To be replenished.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view showing the toner container 32Y. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing the head side of the toner container 32Y (the side on which the held portion 34Y is installed).
The other three toner containers 32M, 32C, and 32K have substantially the same configuration as the toner container 32Y that contains yellow toner, except that the color of the stored toner is different and the positions of the concave portion 34m and the convex portion 34n. It has become. Hereinafter, description of the other three toner containers 32M, 32C, and 32K will be omitted as appropriate, and only the toner container 32Y containing yellow toner will be described.

As shown in FIG. 5, the toner container 32Y mainly includes a container main body 33Y and a held portion 34Y (bottle cap) provided on the head.
A gear portion 33c that rotates integrally with the container main body 33Y and an opening A are provided on the head of the container main body 33Y (see FIG. 6). The opening A is provided at the head of the container main body 33Y (the position that is the front in the mounting operation), and the toner accommodated in the container main body 33Y is placed in a space (cavity) in the held portion 34Y. It is for discharging towards.

  The gear portion 33c (gear) meshes with a driving gear 31g of a driving portion provided in the toner container housing portion 31 of the apparatus main body 100, transmits a rotational driving force to the container main body 33Y, and causes the container main body 33Y to rotate. It is for rotationally driving around the center. Specifically, a part of the gear part 33c is exposed from the notch part 34h formed in the held part 34Y, and meshes with the drive gear 31g of the apparatus main body 100. Then, the rotational driving force is transmitted from the drive gear 31g to the gear portion 33c, and the container body 33Y rotates in a predetermined direction. In the first embodiment, the drive gear 31g and the gear portion 33c are spur gears.

Referring to FIG. 5, a gripping portion 33 d is provided at the rear end (bottom) of the container main body 33 </ b> Y for the user to grip when attaching / detaching the toner container 32 </ b> Y.
Further, a spiral protrusion 33b is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the container body 33Y (a spiral groove when viewed from the outer peripheral surface side). The spiral projection 33b is for rotating and driving the container body 33Y in a predetermined direction to discharge the toner from the opening A. The container body 33Y (excluding the gear portion 33c) configured in this way can be manufactured by blow molding.
In the toner container 32Y according to the first embodiment, the stirring member 33f that rotates together with the container body 33Y is provided in the opening A. The stirring member 33f is a rod-shaped member that extends from the space in the held portion 34Y into the container main body 33Y and is disposed obliquely with respect to the rotation axis of the container main body 33Y. By rotating the stirring member 33 together with the container main body 33Y, the toner dischargeability from the opening A is improved.

  In the first embodiment, the container body 33Y of the toner container 32Y is rotated counterclockwise when viewed from the upstream side in the toner conveyance direction. Further, the spiral direction (winding direction) of the protrusion 33b in the container body 33Y is set to the right direction. Thus, a clockwise vortex is formed in the toner container 32Y by the rotation of the container body 33Y (the same direction as the rotation direction of the vortex formed in the screw pump 60).

  5 and 6, a holder 34c, a plug member 34d (shutter) as an opening / closing member, a packing 34e, an IC chip 35 as an electronic component, and the like are installed in the held portion 34Y. Referring to FIG. 5, engaging portions 34g (groove portions) with which the positioning members 31c of the toner container housing portion 31 are engaged are provided on both side surfaces of the held portion 34Y. Further, a recessed portion 34m into which the fitting member 31d of the toner container housing portion 31 is fitted is provided on the end surface of the held portion 34Y. Further, a convex portion 34n into which another fitting member (not shown) of the toner container housing portion 31 is fitted is provided on the peripheral surface of the held portion 34Y. Further, a notch portion 34h where a part of the gear portion 33c is exposed is provided above the held portion 34Y.

The held portion 34Y communicates with the container main body 33Y through the opening A, and discharges the toner discharged from the opening A from the toner discharge port B.
Here, in this Embodiment 1, the cavity (space) formed in the to-be-held part 34Y is formed in the substantially cylindrical shape. Further, a toner discharge path (vertical path) from the substantially cylindrical cavity formed in the held portion 34Y to the toner discharge port B is formed in a mortar shape. Thus, the vortex airflow formed in the container main body 33Y is maintained without being lost by the rotation of the container main body 33Y, and is efficiently delivered toward the toner discharge port B. Therefore, the toner transportability of the toner discharged from the toner discharge port B and moving in the tube 71 is improved.

The held portion 34Y is not interlocked with the rotation of the container main body 33Y, and is held by the holding portion 73 (see FIG. 4) of the toner container housing portion 31 with the engaging portion 34g engaged with the positioning member 31c. Holds non-rotating.
The held portion 34Y is provided with a claw 34b1, and the claw 34b1 engages with an engaging member formed on the head of the container main body 33Y (gear portion 33c), so that the container main body 33Y is held by the held portion. It is held rotatably relative to 34Y. Here, in order to smoothly rotate the container main body 33Y, the claw 34b1 of the held portion 34Y and the engaging member of the container main body 33Y are engaged with each other with an appropriate clearance.

Further, a holder 34c is provided below the held portion 34Y. The holder 34c is provided with a plug member 34d (shutter) as an opening / closing member that opens and closes the toner discharge port B in conjunction with the attaching / detaching operation of the toner container 32Y.
Specifically, referring to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, a holder 34c that is detachably installed on the held portion 34Y includes a holder main portion 34c10, a holder cover 341, a plug member 34d, and a compression as an urging member. A spring 340 and the like are included. The holder main portion 34c1 is formed with a toner discharge port and a through hole (nozzle 70 is inserted) communicating therewith, and a plug member 34d is inserted into the through hole. Further, the holder main portion 34c10, the plug member 34d, and the compression spring 340 are held by the held portion 34Y by the holder cover 341 in a state where the compression spring 340 is installed from the rear portion of the plug member 34d. Since the holder main portion 34c10 is installed on the held portion 34Y via the O-ring 342, toner scattering from the outer peripheral surface of the holder main portion 34c10 can be suppressed. Here, referring to FIG. 6, the plug member 34d is formed with a hole for guiding a part of the compression spring 341, so that buckling of the compression spring 341 is suppressed.
As described above, the toner container 32Y according to the first embodiment is installed in the apparatus main body 100 because the compression spring 340 that biases the plug member 34d in the closing direction is installed on the toner container 32Y side. Even if the toner container 32Y is not used alone, the toner discharge port is reliably closed by the plug member 34d, so that the occurrence of toner scattering can be reliably suppressed.

  Referring to FIG. 6, the toner container 32Y according to the first embodiment has a G seal in order to seal the gap between the opposing surfaces of the container main body 33Y and the held part 34Y around the opening A. Two packings 370, such as, are arranged side by side. Here, the packing 370 such as a G seal has a lip portion (rubber portion) that moves the container main body 33Y even when the container main body 33Y is eccentrically assembled to the held portion 34Y or is eccentrically rotated. In addition, the sealing performance between the members 33Y and 34Y is stably improved. In particular, in Embodiment 1, since a plurality of packings 370 are installed, the above-described effects are further improved.

In the first embodiment, referring to FIG. 6, packing 370 has a lip portion whose tip (which is a portion in sliding contact with the peripheral surface of container main body 33 </ b> Y) is on the opening A side of container main body 33 </ b> Y ( (It is the left side of FIG. 6). That is, the tip of the lip portion is inclined to the side where the toner is stored (the tip of the lip portion is inclined to the side opposite to the side where the toner is not desired to be scattered). Thereby, the sealing performance between the members 33Y and 34Y by the packing 370 is improved.
Furthermore, in this Embodiment 1, it arrange | positions so that all the front-end | tips of the lip | rip part of the several packing 370 may incline in the same direction. Thereby, when attaching the to-be-held part 34Y with respect to the container main body 33Y, it becomes difficult to produce malfunctions, such as turning over of a lip | rip part.

6 and 8, the toner container 32Y according to the first embodiment includes a gear portion 33c that transmits a rotational driving force to the container main body 33Y so as to be detachable from the container main body 33Y. Yes. That is, the gear portion 33c is not formed integrally with the container body 33Y, but is formed separately from the container body 33Y and installed in the container body 33Y by screwing.
Specifically, with reference to FIG. 8, a spur gear is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the gear portion 33c. Further, on the inner peripheral surface of the gear portion 33c, a screw portion 33c10 that is screwed into a screw portion 33Y10 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the opening of the container body 33Y is formed. Then, the stirring member 33f is fitted to the inner peripheral surface of the gear portion 33c, and the screw portion 33c10 of the gear portion 33c is screwed to the screw portion 33Y10 of the container body 33Y. At this time, after the convex portion 33c11 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the gear portion 33c gets over the convex portion 33Y11 formed on the container main body 33Y, the position of the gear portion 33c in the container main body 33Y is determined. By providing the convex portions 33c11 and 33Y11 as described above, it is possible to suppress a problem that the gear portion 33c is detached from the container main body 33Y after the gear portion 33c is assembled.

  In the first embodiment, the screw portions 33c10 and 33Y10 are formed so that the direction in which the container main body 33Y and the gear portion 33c are screwed and the direction in which the container main body is rotationally driven 33Y coincide. . That is, the screwing direction of the screw portions 33c10 and 33Y10 matches the rotation direction of the container body 33Y. As a result, drive transmission is reliably transmitted from the gear portion 33c to the container main body 33Y, and the problem that the screw portions 33c10 and 33Y10 are loosened and the gear portion 33c is detached from the container main body 33Y when the container main body 33Y is rotationally driven is suppressed. can do.

  In the first embodiment, the container body 33Y and the gear portion 33c are formed of different materials. Specifically, the container body 33Y is formed of a plastic material such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) suitable for blow molding, and the gear portion 33c is formed of an engineering plastic material such as polyacetal (POM) that can sufficiently secure the mechanical strength of the gear. Has been. As a result, even if the toner capacity becomes large and the weight of the container main body 33Y increases and the load applied to the gear portion 33c increases, the tooth surface of the gear portion 33c is greatly worn or damaged. The trouble can be reduced.

  In addition, it is preferable that the screw thread number of the thread parts 33c10 and 33Y10 is two or more. In the first embodiment, the number of screw threads of the screw portions 33c10 and 33Y10 is set to two. Thereby, when the gear part 33c is installed in the container main body 33Y by screwing, the problem that the gear part 33c is installed inclining with respect to the container main body 33Y can be reduced. That is, when the number of screw threads of the screw portions 33c10 and 33Y10 is one, the gear portion 33c may be inclined with respect to the container body 33Y depending on the screw pitch. On the other hand, in the first embodiment, since the number of screw threads of the screw portions 33c10 and 33Y10 is set to 2 or more, there is a problem that the gear portion 33c is installed inclined with respect to the container body 33Y. It is reduced.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, the gear portion 33c can be formed separately from the container body 33Y. Therefore, when the gear portion 33c is desired to be manufactured with high accuracy relative to the accuracy of the container body 33Y. Alternatively, when only the gear portion 33c having a high mechanical wear level is to be replaced and the container main body 33Y is to be reused (recycled), or the gear portion 33c having a high mechanical wear level is more mechanical than the material of the container main body 33Y. Even when it is desired to have a high strength, these requirements can be satisfied.

  Referring to FIG. 5, the IC chip 35 of the held portion 34 </ b> Y is separated from the communication circuit 74 of the toner container housing portion 31 by a predetermined distance in conjunction with the mounting operation of the toner container 32 </ b> Y with respect to the toner container housing portion 31. It is comprised so that it may oppose. Specifically, the IC chip 35 as an electronic component is on the held portion 34Y (projecting portion 34a1) protruding in the mounting direction (the arrow direction in FIG. 5) to the toner container housing portion 31 and in the mounting direction. It is arrange | positioned on the orthogonal surface. The IC chip 35 performs non-contact communication (wireless communication) with the communication circuit 74 of the apparatus main body in a state where the held portion 34Y is held in the toner container housing portion 31.

  The IC chip 35 (electronic component) stores in advance various information related to the toner container 32Y and the toner contained therein. On the other hand, the communication circuit 74 of the toner container housing unit 31 wirelessly exchanges information with the IC chip 35 in a state where the toner container 32Y is set in the toner container housing unit 31. That is, information stored in the IC chip 35 is transmitted to the control unit 75 (see FIG. 5) of the apparatus main body 100 via the communication circuit 74, or information on the apparatus main body 100 acquired by the control unit 75 is communicated. The data is transmitted to and stored in the IC chip 35 via the circuit 74.

  The IC chip 35 has information on the toner such as the toner color, toner production number (manufacturing lot), toner production date, the number of times of recycling, the date of recycling, the toner container 32Y of the recycling manufacturer, etc. Information related to recycling is stored. When the toner container 32 </ b> Y is installed in the toner container storage unit 31, information stored in the IC chip 35 is transmitted to the control unit 75 of the apparatus main body 100 via the electronic circuit 74. Based on these pieces of information, the apparatus main body 100 is optimally controlled. For example, when the toner color is different from the toner color to be installed in the toner container housing portion, the operation of the toner replenishing device can be stopped, or the image forming conditions can be changed according to the manufacturing number or the recycling manufacturer.

Here, in the first embodiment, a protective cap 38 as a protective member that covers the IC chip 35 is installed in the held portion 34Y of the toner container 32Y. Specifically, the protective cap 38 (protective member) is configured to cover the entire facing surface of the IC chip 35 facing the image forming apparatus main body (communication circuit 74). The protective cap 38 has a certain degree of strength and is formed of a resin material thinned to such an extent that communication between the IC chip 35 and the communication circuit 74 is not hindered.
With this configuration, even if the user who replaces the toner container 32Y inadvertently hits the toner container 32Y against the apparatus main body 100 or the like while maintaining the communication function of the IC chip 35, the IC chip 35 is damaged. Can be prevented.

The holder 34c of the held portion 34Y is provided with sliding portions 34c1 and 34c2 that slide on the toner container housing portion 31 in conjunction with the attaching / detaching operation with respect to the toner container housing portion 31.
Specifically, the first sliding portion 34c1 is a flat portion formed so as to be parallel to the sliding surface of the toner container housing portion 31, and is arranged on the bottom portion of the held portion 34Y where the attaching / detaching operation is performed. It is installed. Further, the second sliding portion 34c2 is a flat portion formed so as to be parallel to the sliding surface (side surface) of the toner container housing portion 31, and is a held portion where the attaching / detaching operation is performed. It is arranged on the side of 34Y.

Referring to FIG. 5, a recess 34 m that is fitted to the fitting member 31 d of the toner container housing portion 31 is provided on the end surface of the held portion 34 </ b> Y and in the vicinity of the protruding portion 34 a 1. The concave portion 34m is configured to be fitted into the corresponding fitting member 31d when the mounting operation to the toner container housing portion 31 is correct (when the toner container housing portion 31 is mounted at the normal position). Yes.
With such a configuration, a toner container of a different color (for example, a yellow toner container) is set in a toner container storage section of a predetermined color (for example, a cyan toner container storage section), and A problem that a desired color image cannot be formed is suppressed.

Similarly, referring to FIG. 5, a convex portion 34 n into which another fitting member (not shown) is fitted is provided on the peripheral surface of the held portion 34 </ b> Y. Similar to the above-described concave portion 34m, the convex portion 34n is configured to be fitted to a corresponding fitting member when the mounting operation to the toner container housing portion 31 is correct. Although not shown in the drawing, the position of the convex portion 34n is arranged at a different position depending on the color of the toner stored in the toner container (container body).
With such a configuration, erroneous setting of the toner container in the toner container housing portion is suppressed, similarly to the above-described recess 34m.

  When the toner container 32Y is set in the toner container accommodating portion 31, a claw member 76 (see FIG. 5) as an urging member that urges the plug member 34d at the right end of the plug member 34d in a direction to close the toner discharge port B. 5 can be referred to). The claw member 76 functions as an urging member upon receiving an urging force from the leaf spring 77 (second urging member).

Here, in the first embodiment, when the volume average particle diameter is Dv (μm) and the number average particle diameter is Dn (μm) as the toner accommodated in the toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32K,
3 ≦ Dv ≦ 8 (1)
1.00 ≦ Dv / Dn ≦ 1.40 (2)
The one formed so that the relationship is established is used. As a result, the toner particles are selected according to the image pattern during the development process to maintain good image quality, and good developability is maintained even if the developing device is stirred for a long time. Furthermore, the toner is efficiently and reliably conveyed without blocking the toner supply path such as the tube 71.
The volume average particle diameter and number average particle diameter of the toner are typically measured by a coal counter type particle size distribution measuring device “Coulter Counter TA-2” (manufactured by Coulter Co.) or “Coulter Multisizer 2” (Coulter). Can be used.

Further, in the first embodiment, the toner contained in the toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32K has a shape factor SF-1 in the range of 100 to 180 and a shape factor SF-2 in the range of 100 to 180. A substantially spherical toner formed so as to be in the range is used. As a result, it is possible to suppress a decrease in cleaning performance while maintaining high transfer efficiency. Furthermore, the toner is efficiently and reliably conveyed without blocking the toner supply path such as the tube 71.
Here, the shape factor SF-1 indicates the sphericity of the toner particles, and is obtained by the following equation.
SF-1 = (M ² / S) × (100π / 4)
In the above equation, M is the maximum particle size (the largest particle size among sparse particle sizes) on the toner particle projection surface, and S is the area of the toner particle projection surface. Therefore, toner particles having a shape factor SF-1 of 100 are true spheres, and the sphericity decreases as the value increases from 100.

The shape factor SF-2 indicates the degree of unevenness of the toner particles, and is obtained by the following equation.
SF-2 = (N ² / S) × (100 / 4π)
In the above equation, N is the circumference of the toner particle projection surface, and S is the area of the toner particle projection surface. Therefore, the toner particles having the shape factor SF-2 of 100 have no irregularities, and the irregularities increase as the value increases from 100.
The shape factor SF-1 and the shape factor SF-2 are obtained by analyzing a toner particle photograph taken with a scanning electron microscope “S-800” (manufactured by Hitachi, Ltd.) and an image analyzer “LUSEX3” (manufactured by Nireco). )

Hereinafter, the attaching / detaching operation (attaching / detaching operation) of the toner container 32Y to the toner container accommodating portion 31 will be briefly described.
Referring to FIG. 9, when the toner container 32 </ b> Y is attached to the toner container housing portion 31 of the apparatus main body 100, first, the main body cover 110 provided on the front surface of the image forming apparatus main body 100 is opened to open the toner container housing portion. 31 is exposed forward.
Thereafter, the toner container 32 </ b> Y is pushed into the toner container housing portion 31. That is, the toner container 32Y is attached to the toner container housing portion 31 along the longitudinal direction of the container main body 33Y (or the toner container 32Y) so that the held portion 34Y is ahead of the container main body 33Y.

  At this time, the toner container 32Y is moved to the toner container by the user who holds the gripping part 33d on the rear end side of the toner container 32Y while the sliding part 34c1 slides on the sliding surface of the toner container housing part 31 on the front side of the toner container 32Y. It will be pushed into the accommodating part 31 with good balance.

Thereafter, when the holder 34c of the toner container 33Y reaches the holding portion 73 of the toner container housing portion 31, in addition to the sliding of the first sliding portion 34c1, the second sliding portion 34c2 slides on the sliding surface (side surface). Positioning of the held portion 34Y is started. Specifically, engagement between the engaging portion 34g of the held portion 34Y and the positioning member 31c of the toner container housing portion 31 is started. At this time, the held portion 34Y of the toner container 32Y is urged toward the holding portion 73 by an arm pair (not shown).
Further, at this time, the claw member 76 installed in the holding portion 73 of the toner container housing portion 31 is retracted to a position that does not hinder the mounting of the held portion 34Y (by rotation in the direction of the arrow about the rotation support shaft 76a). is there.). In other words, the claw member 76 is pushed down in the direction against the urging force of the leaf spring 77 by the sliding portion 34c1.

Thereafter, when the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y is further advanced, the opening of the toner discharge port B by the plug member 34d is started while the engaging portion 34g and the positioning member 31c are engaged. That is, the plug member 34d is pushed by the nozzle 70 as the tip of the nozzle 70 is inserted into the hole of the holder 34c.
At this time, the claw member 76 protrudes from the retracted position described above to a position that engages with the plug member 34d (rotation about the rotation support shaft 76a). In other words, the claw member 76 is released from being pushed by the sliding portion 34 c 1 and is pushed up to the default position by the urging force of the leaf spring 77.

  At this time, the plug member 34d is sandwiched between the nozzle 70 and the claw member 76, and the position in the toner container housing portion 31 (holding portion 73) is fixed. Then, when the toner container 32Y further moves in the mounting direction from that state, the toner discharge port B is opened with the position of the plug member 34d fixed (the plug member 34d relatively moves). .)

  Then, the position of the held portion 34Y is determined at the position where the holder 34c abuts against the holding portion 73 (abutting reference position). At the same time, the plug member 34d completely opens the toner discharge port B, and at the same time the toner container housing portion 31. The gear portion 33c of the toner container 32Y meshes with the drive gear 31g of the drive portion. Further, the IC chip 35 faces the communication circuit 74 at a position where wireless communication is possible. Further, the concave portion 34m and the convex portion 34n for ensuring incompatibility of the toner container are fitted with the fitting member of the apparatus main body. Then, the toner discharge port B of the toner container 32Y communicates with the toner supply port 70a of the nozzle 70, and the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y is completed.

On the other hand, when the toner container 32Y is taken out (detached) from the toner container housing portion 31 of the apparatus main body 100, the operation is performed in a procedure reverse to the procedure at the time of mounting.
First, in conjunction with an operation (detachment operation) in which the toner container 32Y moves away from the holding portion 73, the plug member 34d is moved in a state where the position of the plug member 34d in the holding portion 73 is fixed by the nozzle 70 and the claw member 76. The toner discharge port B is closed by being urged by the claw member 76. At this time, the end surface of the plug member 34d is fitted into the fitting portion formed in the held portion 34Y, and the closing of the toner discharge port B by the plug member 34d is completed. Thereafter, when the toner container 32Y further moves in the detaching direction, the claw member 76 moves to a position where the detachment of the held portion 34Y is not hindered. Then, after the held portion 34Y is completely detached, the claw member 76 is released from the pushing by the sliding portion 34c1 and returns to the default position by the urging force of the leaf spring 77.

As described above, in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment, the toner is moved by one action (except for the opening / closing operation of the main body door 110) in which the sliding portion 34c1 of the toner container 32Y slides on the sliding surface 31a. The mounting operation and the detaching operation of the container 32Y are completed.
The toner container 32Y according to the first embodiment includes a held portion 34Y in which the toner discharge port B is disposed downward in the vertical direction, and the toner discharge port B is disposed below the opening A in the vertical direction. In addition, in order to open the toner discharge port B, which is pushed by the nozzle 70 and sealed with the packing 34e after the plug member 34d is reliably positioned in conjunction with the mounting operation, the toner discharge port B There is little toner contamination, and the problem that the user touches the toner outlet B and is contaminated with toner is suppressed.

In addition, since the attaching / detaching operation of the toner container 32Y with respect to the toner container housing part 31 becomes one action accompanying the sliding of the sliding part 34c1, the operability and workability at the time of replacement of the toner container 32Y are improved. In particular, by providing the sliding portion 34c1 on the bottom surface of the held portion 34Y, the sliding portion 34c1 slides on the sliding surface 31a while supporting the toner container 32Y.
Further, in the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y, the sliding portion 34c1 starts sliding while the user directly grips the gripping portion 33d, and then the positioning of the held portion 34Y is started together with the urging of the arm pair. After that, the insertion of the nozzle 70 is started, and the positioning of the held portion 34Y, the insertion of the nozzle 70, and the connection of the driving portion are completed with the end of the sliding. As a result, the user feels the click feeling due to the positioning of the held portion 34Y as the sliding of the held portion 34Y (one action mounting operation) proceeds, and is convinced that no erroneous operation has occurred in the mounting operation. It will be.

The toner container 32Y is not placed from above the toner container housing part 31 (device main body 100), but is attached and detached from the front surface of the toner container housing part 31 (device main body 100). The degree of freedom of the layout above the portion 31 is increased. For example, even when a scanner (original reading unit) is disposed directly above the toner replenishing device, the operability and workability in attaching and detaching the toner container 32Y do not deteriorate. Furthermore, the degree of freedom in layout with respect to the meshing position D between the gear portion 33c of the toner container 32Y and the drive gear 31g of the apparatus main body 100 is also increased.
Further, since the toner container 32Y is installed in the apparatus main body 100 with the longitudinal direction as the horizontal direction, the toner capacity of the toner container 32Y is increased without affecting the layout in the height direction of the entire image forming apparatus 100. Thus, the replacement frequency can be reduced.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, the configuration of the toner container 32Y installed in the toner container storage unit 31 is optimized, and the gear unit 33c is installed in a detachable manner with respect to the container main body 33Y. Therefore, the operability and workability at the time of replacement of the toner container 32Y are high, the occurrence of toner contamination is surely reduced, and the gear portion 33c is worn or damaged even when the toner capacity of the toner container 32Y becomes large. Is less likely to occur, and the recyclability of the toner container 32Y can be improved.

  In the first embodiment, only the toner is accommodated in the toner container 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32K, but image formation is performed by appropriately supplying a two-component developer composed of toner and carrier to the developing device. For the apparatus, the two-component developer can be accommodated in the container bodies of the toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32K. Even in that case, the same effects as those of the first embodiment described above can be obtained.

  In the first embodiment, the suction screw pump 60 for sending air to the inside of the tube 71 is installed in the toner supply device. On the other hand, a discharge screw pump that feeds air into the tube 71 can be installed in the toner supply device. Furthermore, a diaphragm type air pump can be used as a pump connected to the tube 71. In these cases, the same effects as those of the first embodiment described above can be obtained.

  In the first embodiment, some or all of the image forming units 6Y, 6M, 6C, and 6K can be used as process cartridges. Further, the above-described toner container can be installed integrally with the process cartridge. That is, the toner container can be a constituent member of the process cartridge. Even in that case, the same effects as those of the first embodiment described above can be obtained.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
A second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the toner container in the second embodiment.
Similarly to the first embodiment, the toner container 32Y in the second embodiment is mainly composed of a container main body 33Y and a held portion 34Y. And the gear part 33c is detachably installed in the container main body 33Y (it is comprised similarly to FIGS. 6-8 in the said Embodiment 1).

However, the toner container 32Y according to the second embodiment is set to have a length in the longitudinal direction of 500 mm or more. Specifically, the length in the longitudinal direction of the toner container 32Y in the second embodiment is set to 621 mm. The outer diameter of the bottle-shaped toner container 32Y is set to 115 mm (the diameter of the opening A is set to 53.5 mm).
Therefore, the toner container 32Y according to the second embodiment has a larger toner capacity in the container main body 33Y and a load applied to the gear portion 33c than a toner container having a short length in the longitudinal direction. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the gear portion 33c is detachably formed of a material having sufficient mechanical strength separately from the container body 33Y. It is possible to reduce a problem that the gear portion 33c is greatly worn or damaged.

FIG. 10 shows the toner container 32Y. FIG. 11A shows a front view of the toner container 32Y of FIG. 10 on the held portion 34Y side, FIG. 11B shows a rear view of the toner container 32Y on the gripping portion 33d side, and FIG. FIG. 11D shows a right side view of the toner container 32Y, FIG. 11E shows a top view of the toner container 32Y, and FIG. 11F shows a toner container 32Y. FIG. 11G shows a left side view of the toner container 32Y.
As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the toner container 32 </ b> Y according to the second embodiment is not provided with a protective cap 38 that covers the IC chip 35.

In addition, referring to FIG. 11B, the toner container 32Y according to the second embodiment has a grip portion 33d having a substantially elliptical head and a neck for hooking a finger (with a smaller diameter than the head). Are formed). In this way, by forming the head portion of the gripping portion 33d to be substantially elliptical, the gripping portion 33d can easily fit in the user's hand regardless of the size of the user's hand. Operability is improved.
Moreover, the holding part 33d is integrally formed with the container main body 33Y with a transparent resin material. Thereby, the cost of the toner container 32Y can be reduced, and the color of the toner in the container body 33Y can be easily visually confirmed.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing the image forming apparatus 100 in which the toner container according to the second embodiment is installed.
As shown in FIG. 12, the image forming apparatus 100 according to the second embodiment is different from that according to the first embodiment in that a toner container housing portion 31 is disposed at the top of the image forming apparatus main body. Then, the container cover 31A of the toner container container 31 is opened and closed, and the toner container is attached and detached.

Hereinafter, the attaching / detaching operation (attaching / detaching operation) of the toner container 32Y with respect to the toner container accommodating portion 31 will be briefly described with reference to FIGS.
Referring to FIGS. 13A and 13B, when the toner container 32Y is mounted in the toner container housing portion 31 of the apparatus main body 100, first, the housing portion provided in front of the toner container housing portion 31 is used. The cover 31A is opened to expose the sliding surface 31a of the toner container housing 31.
Then, the toner container 32Y (held portion 34Y) is placed on the exposed sliding surface 31a (the movement in the direction of the white arrow in FIG. 13B). As described above, in the second embodiment, by opening the accommodating portion cover 31A, a part of the sliding surface 31a is completely exposed, so that the toner container 32Y can be easily set on the sliding surface 31a. become. That is, the toner container 32Y can be mounted in the toner container housing portion 31 without performing an operation of looking into and confirming the position of the sliding surface 31a.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 13C, the toner container 32Y is pushed into the toner container accommodating portion 31 while sliding on the sliding surface 31a (the movement in the direction of the white arrow in FIG. 13C). .) That is, the toner container 32Y is attached to the toner container housing portion 31 along the longitudinal direction of the container main body 33Y (or the toner container 32Y) so that the held portion 34Y is ahead of the container main body 33Y.
Thereafter, referring to FIG. 13D, through the same procedure as in the first embodiment, after the mounting operation of toner container 32Y to holding portion 73 of toner container storage portion 31 is completed, storage portion cover 31A is provided. Will be closed.

  As described above, also in the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the configuration of the toner container 32Y installed in the toner container housing portion 31 is optimized, and the gear for the container main body 33Y is optimized. Since the portion 33c is detachably installed, the operability and workability at the time of replacement of the toner container 32Y are high, occurrence of toner contamination is surely reduced, and the toner capacity of the toner container 32Y is increased. Even so, the gear portion 33c is less likely to be worn or damaged, and the recyclability of the toner container 32Y can be improved.

Embodiment 3 FIG.
A third embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
14 to 23 are a perspective view and a cross-sectional view showing a state in which the toner container 32Y according to the third embodiment is mounted on the toner container housing part 31 (holding part 73).

Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15, the toner container 32Y according to the third embodiment is also composed of a container main body 33Y and a held portion 34Y, and the held portion 34Y is similar to those of the respective embodiments. Is provided with a toner discharge port B and a plug member 34d (opening / closing member). As a result, there is little toner contamination at the toner discharge port B, and there is no problem that the user touches the toner discharge port B and is contaminated with toner, and the operability and workability at the time of replacement of the toner container 32Y are improved.
The toner container 32Y according to the third embodiment is also set to have a length in the longitudinal direction of about 621 mm and an outer diameter of about 115 mm as in the second embodiment (the opening A). The diameter is set to about 53.5 mm).

  Referring to FIG. 15, the toner container 32Y in the third embodiment is also around the opening A of the container main body 33Y in the same manner as in the second embodiment, and the container main body 33Y and the held portion. A plurality of packings 370 (G seals) are arranged side by side with 34Y.

Here, the toner container 32Y according to the third embodiment has a tubular sealing material 37 formed of an elastic material such as foamed polyurethane in a gap (about 1 mm) between the held portion 34Y and the container main body 33Y. (The original thickness is about 2 mm) is further provided. Specifically, the sealing material 37 is attached to the end surface of the held portion 34Y that faces the front end surface 33a (end surface) around the opening A of the container body 33Y.
If the sealing material is provided on the peripheral surface of the container main body 33Y (held portion 34Y), a gap is formed between the sealing material and the toner main body 33Y over time, and toner scattering occurs from there. This is because the container main body 33Y is rotationally driven in a state where the rotation center of the container main body 33Y is eccentric downward due to the weight of the toner (in a state where the sealing performance with the sealing material is lowered above the container main body 33Y). is there.
On the other hand, in the third embodiment, since the sealing material 37 is provided on the end surface of the container main body 33Y (held portion 34Y), even if the rotation center of the container main body 33Y is eccentric downward due to the weight of the toner, There is no gap between the sealing material 37 and the container main body 33Y (held portion 34Y).

Further, in the toner container 32Y according to the third embodiment, the gear portion 33c is not integrally formed with the container main body 33Y, and the gear portion 33c is not formed integrally with the container main body 33Y, as in the above embodiments. It is formed separately from 33Y and installed by screwing.
Specifically, referring to FIG. 8, a screw portion 33c10 that is screwed into a screw portion 33Y10 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the opening of container body 33Y is formed on the inner peripheral surface of gear portion 33c. Then, the stirring member 33f is fitted to the inner peripheral surface of the gear portion 33c, and the screw portion 33c10 of the gear portion 33c is screwed to the screw portion 33Y10 of the container body 33Y. At this time, after the convex portion 33c11 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the gear portion 33c gets over the convex portion 33Y11 formed on the container main body 33Y, the position of the gear portion 33c in the container main body 33Y is determined. By providing the convex portions 33c11 and 33Y11 as described above, it is possible to suppress a problem that the gear portion 33c is detached from the container main body 33Y after the gear portion 33c is assembled.
In addition, it is preferable to make the screwing direction of the screw parts 33c10 and 33Y10 coincide with the rotation direction of the container body 33Y. As a result, drive transmission is reliably transmitted from the gear portion 33c to the container main body 33Y, and the problem that the screw portions 33c10 and 33Y10 are loosened and the gear portion 33c is detached from the container main body 33Y when the container main body 33Y is rotationally driven is suppressed. can do.
As described above, also in the third embodiment, since the gear portion 33c can be formed separately from the container body 33Y, the gear portion 33c can be manufactured with high accuracy with respect to the accuracy of the container body 33Y. If the user wants to recycle the container body 33Y by replacing only the gear part 33c having a high mechanical wear level, or the material of the gear part 33c having a high mechanical wear level is higher than the material of the container body 33Y. Even if you want to make it expensive, you can satisfy those requirements.

Hereinafter, the attaching / detaching operation of the toner container 32Y in the third embodiment will be described in detail.
Referring to FIGS. 14 and 15, the toner container housing portion 31 (holding portion 73) in the third embodiment is also provided with a nozzle 70, a claw member 76, and a second attachment, as in the above-described embodiments. A plate spring 77 as a biasing member, a positioning member 31c, and the like are installed.
Further, the held portion 34Y of the toner container 32Y is provided with a groove 34c100 and an upright portion 34c110 at the bottom thereof. The groove 34c100 is a position corresponding to two protrusions (claws) of the claw member 76, and is formed so as not to interfere with the claw member 76 even when the toner container 32Y is attached or detached (or extremely weak force). It is formed to interfere with.) The standing portion 34c110 is formed at a position where the claw member 76 that has passed through the groove portion 34c100 interferes (contacts) with the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y.

The claw member 76 first moves relative to the bottom portion (groove portion 34c100) of the held portion 34Y in conjunction with the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y, and is then pushed by the standing portion 34c110 formed at the bottom portion. It retracts to a position that does not hinder the mounting of the held portion 34Y, and then protrudes to a position that engages with the plug member 34d. In addition, the claw member 76 urges the plug member 34d in conjunction with the detaching operation of the toner container 32Y, and then retreats to a position where the claw member 76 is pushed by the standing portion 34c110 and does not hinder the detachment of the held portion 34Y. Then, the bottom part (groove part 34c100) of the held part 34Y is relatively moved.
Here, in the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y in the toner container housing portion 31, after the engagement of the held portion 34Y with the positioning member 31c is started, the claw member 76 is pushed by the standing portion 34c110 to be held. It is configured to retract to a position that does not hinder the mounting of the portion 34Y.

Hereinafter, the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y will be specifically described.
When the toner container 32Y is attached to the toner container housing portion 31 of the apparatus main body 100, first, the housing portion cover 31A (or the main body cover 110) is opened to expose the toner container housing portion 31 forward.
Thereafter, referring to FIGS. 14 and 15, the toner container 32 </ b> Y is pushed into the toner container housing portion 31. That is, the toner container 32Y is attached to the toner container housing portion 31 along the longitudinal direction of the container main body 33Y (or the toner container 32Y) so that the held portion 34Y is ahead of the container main body 33Y.

Thereafter, when the held portion 34Y of the toner container 33Y reaches the holding portion of the toner container housing portion 31, in addition to the sliding of the sliding surface 31a of the first sliding portion 34c1, the second sliding portion 34c2 becomes the sliding surface. Positioning of the held portion 34Y is started while sliding (side surface). Specifically, referring to FIGS. 16 and 17, the engagement between the engaging portion 34g of the held portion 34Y and the positioning member 31c of the toner container housing portion 31 is started. At this time, the claw member 76 relatively moves on the bottom portion (groove portion 34c100) of the held portion 34Y without interfering with the held portion 34Y (without changing the posture).
Thus, the engagement between the engaging portion 34g of the held portion 34Y and the positioning member 31c of the toner container housing portion 31 is reliably started without being biased by the claw member 76. That is, it is possible to prevent a problem that the urging force of the claw member 76 acts to push up the engaging portion 34g and the engagement with the positioning member 31c is not performed.

  Thereafter, when the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y is further advanced, with reference to FIGS. 18 and 19, the claw member 76 is brought into contact with the held portion 34Y while the engaging portion 34g and the positioning member 31c are engaged. It is pushed by the formed upright portion 34c110 and retracts to a position that does not hinder the mounting of the held portion 34Y (rotates in the clockwise direction in the figure around the rotation support shaft). That is, the claw member 76 is pushed by the upright portion 34c110 and is pushed down in a direction against the urging force of the plate spring 77 as the second urging member.

Thereafter, when the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y is further advanced, with reference to FIGS. 20 and 21, the claw member 76 is engaged with the plug member 34d in a state where the engaging portion 34g and the positioning member 31c are engaged. Projects to the mating position (rotates counterclockwise around the rotation spindle). That is, the claw member 76 is released from the pushing motion by the standing portion 34c110 and is pushed up to the default position by the biasing force of the plate spring 77 as the second biasing member.
20 and 21 is a state in which the plug member 34d is sandwiched between the nozzle 70 and the claw member 76 and the position in the toner container housing portion 31 is fixed.
Then, when the toner container 32Y is further moved in the mounting direction (the left direction in the figure) from the state of FIGS. 20 and 21, the position of the plug member 34d in the toner container housing portion 31 is fixed. The toner discharge port B is opened (the plug member 34d relatively moves). Specifically, as the tip of the nozzle 70 is inserted into the hole of the holder 34c in a state where the engaging portion 34g and the positioning member 31c are engaged, the plug member 34d is used as an urging member by the nozzle 70. It is pushed in a direction against the urging force of the compression spring 340.

  22 and FIG. 23, the position of the held portion 34Y is determined at the position where the holder 34c abuts the holding portion (abutting reference position), and at the same time, the plug member 34d completely opens the toner discharge port B. While being opened, the gear portion 33c of the toner container 32Y is engaged with the drive gear 31 of the drive portion of the toner container housing portion 31. Then, the toner discharge port B of the toner container 32Y communicates with the toner supply port 70a of the nozzle 70, and the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y is completed.

On the other hand, when the toner container 32Y is taken out (detached) from the toner container housing portion 31 of the apparatus main body 100, the operation is performed in a procedure reverse to the procedure at the time of mounting.
First, in conjunction with the operation (detachment operation) in which the toner container 32Y is separated from the toner container housing portion 31, the plug member in a state where the position of the plug member 34d in the holding portion 73 is fixed by the nozzle 70 and the claw member 76. 34d is urged by the claw member 76 and the compression spring 340, and the toner discharge port B is closed. At this time, the end surface (the right end surface in FIG. 21) of the plug member 34d is fitted into the fitting portion formed in the held portion 34Y, and the toner discharge port B is closed by the plug member 34d. Complete. Thereafter, when the toner container 32Y further moves in the separation direction, the claw member 76 moves to a position that does not prevent the separation of the held portion 34Y (the state shown in FIGS. 18 and 19). Then, the claw member 76 is released from the pushing by the standing portion 34c110, returns to the default position by the urging force of the leaf spring 77, and relatively passes through the groove portion 34c100.
Note that the above-described attaching / detaching operation of the toner container 32Y in the third embodiment can be naturally applied to the above-described embodiments.

  As described above, also in the third embodiment, the configuration of the toner container 32Y installed in the toner container housing portion 31 is optimized and the gear with respect to the container main body 33Y is provided, as in the above embodiments. Since the portion 33c is detachably installed, the operability and workability at the time of replacement of the toner container 32Y are high, occurrence of toner contamination is surely reduced, and the toner capacity of the toner container 32Y is increased. Even so, the gear portion 33c is less likely to be worn or damaged, and the recyclability of the toner container 32Y can be improved.

  It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention, the embodiments can be modified as appropriate in addition to those suggested in the embodiments. Is clear. In addition, the number, position, shape, and the like of the constituent members are not limited to the above embodiments, and can be set to a number, position, shape, and the like that are suitable for carrying out the present invention.

1 is an overall configuration diagram illustrating an image forming apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an image forming unit in the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a toner supply path in the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a perspective view illustrating a toner container housing portion in a state where the toner container is installed. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a toner container installed in a toner container storage unit. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a head side of the toner container in FIG. 5. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a held portion in a toner container. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a container body in a toner container. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which a main body door of the image forming apparatus is opened. FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the toner container in Embodiment 2 of this invention. FIG. 11 is a diagram of the toner container of FIG. 10 viewed from various directions. 1 is a perspective view showing an image forming apparatus. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state where a toner container is mounted on the image forming apparatus of FIG. 12. FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a state in which a toner container according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention is mounted in a toner container housing portion. It is sectional drawing which shows the state of FIG. FIG. 15 is a perspective view illustrating a mounted state of the toner container following FIG. 14. It is sectional drawing which shows the state of FIG. FIG. 17 is a perspective view illustrating a mounted state of the toner container following FIG. 16. It is sectional drawing which shows the state of FIG. FIG. 19 is a perspective view illustrating a mounted state of the toner container following FIG. 18. It is sectional drawing which shows the state of FIG. FIG. 21 is a perspective view showing a mounted state of the toner container following FIG. 20. It is sectional drawing which shows the state of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

5Y developing device,
31 Toner container container,
32Y, 32M, 32C, 32K toner containers,
33Y container body,
33Y10 thread part,
33c gear section,
33c10 screw part,
34Y to-be-held part,
34d plug member (opening / closing member),
59 Toner supply device,
60 screw pump, 61 rotor, 62 stator,
70 nozzles, 70a toner supply port,
71 tube (conveying tube),
73 holding part,
100 Image forming apparatus body (apparatus body),
A opening, B toner discharge port.

Claims (12)

A toner container detachably installed in a toner container housing portion of the image forming apparatus main body,
A container body that contains toner therein;
A held portion that is held in the toner container storage portion and includes a toner discharge port for discharging the toner stored in the container body;
With
The container body is detachably installed with a gear portion that transmits a rotational driving force to the container body .
The toner container according to claim 1, wherein the gear portion includes a screw portion that is screwed into a screw portion formed in the container main body . 2. The toner according to claim 1, wherein the screw portion is formed so that a direction in which the container main body and the gear portion are screwed and a direction in which the container main body is rotationally driven coincide with each other. container. The toner container according to claim 1, wherein the screw portion has two or more screw threads. The toner container according to claim 1, wherein the container body and the gear portion are formed of different materials. The toner container according to claim 1, wherein the held portion includes an opening / closing member that opens and closes the toner discharge port in conjunction with an attaching / detaching operation with respect to the toner container housing portion. . The toner container housing portion includes a nozzle communicating with the toner discharge port;
The opening / closing member is pushed by the nozzle in conjunction with the mounting operation to the toner container housing portion to open the toner discharge port, and also serves as a biasing member in conjunction with the detachment operation from the toner container housing portion. The toner container according to claim 5, wherein the toner container is a plug member that is energized to close the toner discharge port. The said held part discharges the toner discharged from the opening of the container main body from the toner discharge port, and is held in the toner container housing part in a non-rotating manner. The toner container according to any one of 6. The toner container according to claim 1, wherein the length in the longitudinal direction is 500 mm or more. The toner container according to claim 1, wherein the toner container is contained. The toner container according to claim 9, further containing a carrier. A process cartridge that is detachably attached to the image forming apparatus main body,
The toner container according to any one of claims 1 to 10, is integrated,
A process cartridge, wherein a part corresponding to the toner container is detachably installed in the main body of the image forming apparatus in a state where the part is detachably installed in the toner container housing portion. 11. An image forming apparatus, wherein the toner container according to claim 1 is detachably installed in the toner container housing portion of the image forming apparatus main body.

Images