JP4899887B2 - Process unit and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a laser printer, and relates to a process unit detachably attached to the image forming apparatus.

A laser printer process unit has been proposed in which a toner box is detachably attached to a unit main body of the process unit (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
In the developing device described in Patent Document 1, a toner box is detachably attached to a case of the developing device. A retaining guide groove is formed in the case of the developing device. Further, the toner box is provided with a lever that protrudes laterally from the left and right sides of the toner box so as to be rotatable with respect to a support shaft that rotates the rotating blades. A mating protrusion is provided. In the developing device described in Patent Document 1, the lever and the toner box are developed by attaching the toner box to the case of the developing device, rotating the lever around the supporting shaft, and fitting the engaging protrusion into the retaining guide groove. The toner box cannot be detached from the case of the apparatus, and the mounting state of the toner box with respect to the case of the developing apparatus is maintained.
JP-A-7-225514

  In the developing device of Patent Document 1, the fitting positions of the engaging protrusion of the toner box and the retaining guide groove of the case of the developing device are located on both the left and right sides of the toner box, and the toner box Is not located downstream of the developing device case with respect to the case. In other words, there is nothing that regulates the relative movement of the toner box mounted on the developing device case in the separating direction with respect to the developing device case on the downstream side with respect to the toner box.

For this reason, when a force that moves the toner box in the detaching direction is applied to the toner box, there is a possibility that the mounting state of the toner box with respect to the case of the developing device cannot be reliably maintained.
An object of the present invention, the process unit can be maintained mounted state of the toner box for unit body reliably, a Rabbi, these processes units is to provide an image forming apparatus detachably mountable.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim 1 is a process unit, and includes a rotatable developer carrier that supplies a developer to an image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed. A unit main body detachable with respect to the forming apparatus main body, and a toner box that is detachable with respect to the unit main body in a direction perpendicular to the direction along the rotation axis of the developer carrying member and accommodates the developer; A rotating member provided rotatably on the unit main body, and an abutting member provided on the rotating member and contacting the toner box from the downstream side of the unit main body in the direction of detachment of the toner box. wherein the unit body has an accommodating portion for detachably accommodating the toner box, the housing portion includes a first wall positioned at one end in the longitudinal direction of the toner box, the A second wall located at the other end in the longitudinal direction of the toner box, and the rotating member is rotatably supported with respect to the first wall, and is disposed downstream of the toner box in the separation direction. A first arm that extends and a second arm that is rotatably supported with respect to the second wall and extends downstream in the detachment direction of the toner box, and the abutting member includes the first arm. The free end of the second arm and the free end of the second arm are connected in a direction along the rotation axis of the developer carrier, and the rotating member includes the toner having the contact member attached to the unit main body. It is possible to rotate between a contact position that contacts the box and a release position where the contact of the contact member with the toner box is released .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the release position is located below the contact position, and the rotating member includes the toner box and the unit body portion. It is characterized in that it is located at the release position by its own weight in a state where it is detached from the vehicle.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the toner box includes a toner housing in which a first opening for supplying a developer to the unit main body is formed. A toner-side blocking member that opens and closes the first opening, and the unit main body is supplied from the first opening so as to face the first opening when the toner box is mounted on the unit main body. A process housing having a second opening for receiving the developer to be developed, and a process-side blocking member that opens and closes the second opening, and the rotation operation of the rotating member and the toner-side blocking member The opening / closing operation of at least one of the process side blocking members is interlocked.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, the toner casing engages with the rotating member and is integrated with the first opening with respect to the toner-side blocking member. A first engaging portion that is pivotable and a second engaging portion that rotates integrally with the first engaging portion with respect to the toner side blocking member and engages with the process side blocking member It is characterized by having.
According to a fifth aspect of the invention, in the fourth aspect of the invention, there is provided a vibration applying means for applying vibration to at least the toner-side blocking member when the rotating member is rotated. It is a feature.

The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to claim 5 , wherein the vibration applying means is formed in a convex shape or a concave shape in the abutting member, and the rotating member is rotated during the rotating operation. A contact portion that contacts a toner box, and the toner box is formed in a concave shape when the contact portion is convex, and formed in a convex shape when the contact portion is concave, And a contacted part that comes into contact with the contact part when the rotating member rotates.

Further, the invention according to claim 7, in the invention described in any one of claims 3 stomach Shi 6, wherein the rotating member includes a first gripping portion, the toner box, the second gripping When the rotating member rotates to the contact position, the first gripping part is adjacent to the second gripping part.
According to an eighth aspect of the invention, there is provided the toner box according to the seventh aspect of the invention, wherein the toner box is provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the contact member, and the rotating member is in the contact position. An abutting portion that abuts, and a contacted portion that is provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the toner box and that abuts against the abutting portion when the rotating member is in the abutting position. It is characterized by being.

The invention according to claim 9 is the invention according to claim 8 , wherein the second gripping portion is disposed between the contacted portions disposed at both ends in the longitudinal direction. It is characterized by that.
The invention according to claim 10 is the invention according to claim 9 , wherein in the toner box, the unit body is provided between the abutted portion and the second gripping portion in the longitudinal direction. And a positioning section for positioning the toner box in the longitudinal direction by engaging with the process casing when the toner box is mounted on the section.

The invention of claim 11 is an image forming apparatus, a process unit according to any one of claims 1 a stone 10, the image forming apparatus main body in which the process unit is detachably mounted The image forming apparatus main body is formed with an opening for allowing the process unit to pass therethrough, and includes a cover that covers the opening so as to be openable and closable. In a state where the rotating member is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body, the rotating member interferes with the cover that is in the process of closing the opening, except when positioned at the contact position.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the abutting member provided on the rotating member of the unit main body abuts on the toner box from the downstream side in the detaching direction with respect to the unit main body of the toner box. Therefore, even if a force that moves the toner box in the detaching direction is applied to the toner box, the relative movement of the toner box in the detaching direction with respect to the unit main body of the toner box is restricted on the downstream side of the toner box. be able to.

As a result, the mounting state of the toner box with respect to the unit main body can be reliably maintained.
The rotating member can be rotated between a contact position where the contact member contacts the toner box mounted on the unit main body and a release position where the contact of the contact member with the toner box is released. It is. For this reason, when the rotating member is in the contact position, the toner box can be reliably attached to the unit main body by a simple operation by simply rotating the rotating member. On the other hand, when the rotating member is in the release position, the maintenance of the mounted state can be released and the toner box can be attached to and detached from the unit main body.
Moreover, since the contact member is configured to connect the free end of the first arm and the free end of the second arm, the strength of the rotating member can be improved.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the rotating member is located at the release position below the contact position by its own weight when the toner box is detached from the unit main body, the toner box When attaching to the unit main body, it is possible to save the trouble of moving the rotating member to the release position.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the toner-side blocking member is opened to open the first opening, and the process-side blocking member is opened to open the second opening. Since the two openings communicate with each other, the developer can be supplied from the toner box to the unit main body. On the other hand, the supply of the developer from the toner box to the unit main body is restricted by closing the first opening by closing the toner side blocking member and closing the second opening by closing the process side blocking member. can do.

  The pivoting operation of the pivoting member is interlocked with the opening / closing operation of at least one of the toner side blocking member and the process side blocking member. Therefore, when the rotating member is rotated, the developer is supplied from the toner box to the unit main body in addition to maintaining the toner box attached to the unit main body or releasing the maintenance. Supply can also be regulated. As a result, operability can be improved.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the first opening rotates integrally with the first engaging portion when the rotating member engages with the first engaging portion. For this reason, the toner side blocking member rotates relative to the first opening. On the other hand, the process side blocking member engages with the second engaging portion that rotates integrally with the toner side blocking member. For this reason, the process side blocking member rotates. Thereby, the toner side blocking member and the process side blocking member are reliably rotated, and the first opening and the second opening can be reliably opened and closed.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the vibration applying means applies vibration to at least the toner side blocking member when the rotating member rotates. For this reason, when the toner side blocking member interlocked with the rotating operation of the rotating member, the developer attached to the toner side blocking member can be shaken off by vibration.
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, vibration can be reliably generated while the vibration applying means is simply constituted by the convex or concave contact portion and the contacted portion.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, when the rotating member rotates to the contact position, the first gripping portion of the rotating member is adjacent to the second gripping portion of the toner box. The second grip portion can be gripped together. For this reason, the relative position between the unit main body provided with the rotating member and the toner box is stabilized, and the process unit can be moved in a stable state.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the contact portions that contact the contact portion of the toner box when the rotating member is in the contact position are provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the contact member. The contact portions are provided at both end portions in the longitudinal direction of the contact member in the toner box.
Therefore, when the rotating member is in the contact position, the contact portion contacts the contacted portion at both end portions in the longitudinal direction of the contact member. Therefore, the contact member and the rotating member including the contact member are provided. Can be prevented. Thereby, a deformation | transformation of a contact member and a rotation member can be suppressed, and these durability can be improved.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, since the second gripping part is disposed between the contacted parts disposed at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the contact member, the second gripping part is covered with the second gripping part. It can be separated from the contact portion. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the gripping hand from interfering with the contacted portion when gripping the second gripping portion.
According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, in the toner box, the positioning portion is provided between the contacted portion and the second gripping portion in the longitudinal direction of the contact member. The positioning unit engages with the process casing to position the toner box in the longitudinal direction when the toner box is mounted on the unit main body.

  For this reason, when the toner box is attached to the unit main body, the abutted portion is not displaced in the longitudinal direction, and when the rotating member is in the abutting position, the abutting portion is securely attached to the abutted portion. Can abut. Further, in the toner box, the contact portions are provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the contact member, so that the contact member is prevented from bending when the contact portion contacts the contact portion. The positioning portion provided between the contacted portions at both ends in the longitudinal direction does not shift and the toner box can be positioned reliably.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the state where the unit main body and the toner box are mounted on the image forming apparatus main body, the rotating member closes the opening except when positioned at the contact position. Interfering with the cover on the way. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the image forming apparatus from operating when the toner box is in an insufficiently mounted state (a state where the rotating member is not positioned at the contact position) with respect to the unit main body.

1. 1 is a side sectional view showing an embodiment of a laser printer as an image forming apparatus of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 1, the laser printer 1 includes a main body casing 2 as an image forming apparatus main body, a feeder unit 4 for feeding paper 3 accommodated in the main body casing 2, and a paper fed. An image forming unit 5 for forming an image on the paper 3 is provided.
(1) Main Body Casing An attachment / detachment opening 6 is formed on one side wall of the main body casing 2 as an opening for allowing the process unit 20 to pass when the process unit 20 described later is attached / detached. A front cover 7 is provided as a cover that can be opened and closed.

In the following description, in a state where the process unit 20 is mounted on the main casing 2, the side on which the front cover 7 is provided is the front side (front side), and the opposite side is the rear side (back side). The front side in the paper thickness direction in FIG. 1 is the left side, and the back side in the paper thickness direction in FIG. 1 is the right side. Also, the left-right direction may be referred to as the width direction.
The front cover 7 is rotatably supported by a cover shaft 8 provided at the lower end portion thereof. When the front cover 7 is closed using the cover shaft 8 as a fulcrum, the attachment / detachment port 6 is closed by the front cover 7. When the front cover 7 is opened using the cover shaft 8 as a fulcrum, the attachment / detachment port 6 is opened. The process unit 20 can be attached to and detached from the main body casing 2 via.

The front cover 7 is provided with an interference unit 140.
In the front cover 7 in the closed state, the interference part 140 is formed so as to protrude rearward from the rear side surface, that is, into the main body casing 2.
(2) Feeder unit The feeder unit 4 is provided at the bottom of the main body casing 2, and includes a paper feed tray 9, a separation roller 10, a separation pad 11, a paper feed roller 12, a paper dust removing roller 13, a pinch roller 14, and a registration roller. 15 is provided.

The paper feed tray 9 includes a paper pressing plate 16 inside and a lever 17 at the front end thereof. The front end of the paper pressing plate 16 is lifted upward by the lever 17.
The paper 3 placed on the paper pressing plate 16 is transported to the separation position between the separation roller 10 and the separation pad 11 by the rotation of the paper feed roller 12, and after being separated one by one at the separation position, the paper 3 It passes between the powder removal roller 13 and the pinch roller 14 and is conveyed toward the registration roller 15.

The sheet 3 conveyed to the registration roller 15 is conveyed to a transfer position between a photosensitive drum 28 as an image carrier described later and a transfer roller 31.
(3) Image Forming Unit The image forming unit 5 includes a scanner unit 19, a process unit 20, and a fixing unit 21.
(A) Scanner Unit The scanner unit 19 is provided in the upper part of the main casing 2 and includes a laser light source (not shown), a polygon mirror 22 that is driven to rotate, an fθ lens 23, a reflecting mirror 24, a lens 25, and a reflecting mirror 26. Yes. The laser beam based on the image data emitted from the laser light source is deflected by the polygon mirror 22 and passes through the fθ lens 23 as shown by a chain line, and then the optical path is turned back by the reflecting mirror 24. Then, after passing through the lens 25, this laser beam is irradiated onto the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 of the process unit 20 by further bending the optical path downward by the reflecting mirror 26.
(B) Process Unit FIG. 2 is a right perspective view of the process unit in the laser printer shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the front upper side, and FIG. 3 is a left sectional view of the process unit of FIG.

FIG. 4A shows a state in which the toner box is detached from FIG. 2 and the opening / closing lever is in the contact position and the toner inlet as the second opening is opened, and FIG. FIG. 4A shows a state in which the open / close lever is in the release position and the toner inlet is closed.
FIG. 5A is a left side perspective view of the toner box in the process unit shown in FIG. 2 as viewed from the upper rear side, showing a state in which the toner discharge port is opened, and FIG. FIG. 5A shows a state in which the toner discharge port is closed in FIG. 5A, and FIG. 5C is a left perspective view of the inner casing of the toner box shown in FIG.

6 shows a mode in which the toner box is detached and the open / close lever is in the release position in FIG. 2 together with the detached toner box, and FIG. 7 shows a mode in which the open / close lever is in the release position in FIG. Show.
8 is a left side sectional view of the process unit of FIG. 6, and FIG. 9 is a left side sectional view of the process unit of FIG. 7, showing an aspect in which the swinging portion is in the second state. FIG. 10 is a left side sectional view of the process unit of FIG. 7 and shows a mode in which the swinging portion is in the third state. FIG. 11 is a left-side cross-sectional view of the process unit at a position where the contacted portion of the toner box and the contact portion of the process unit side gripping portion can be seen. FIG. FIG. 11 (b) shows a mode in which the open / close lever is in the release position. FIG. 12 shows a modified example of the contacted part and the contact part of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the process unit 20 is provided below the scanner unit 19 in the main body casing 2, and is detachably attached to the main body casing 2 via the attachment / detachment port 6. In addition, the attachment / detachment direction of the process unit 20 with respect to the main body casing 2 is a rear-side diagonally downward (mounting direction) and a front-side diagonally upward (detachment direction) as shown by a bold arrow in the figure.
As shown in FIG. 3, the process unit 20 is integrally provided with a drum portion 27 that forms a half portion thereafter, and a developing portion 30 that serves as a unit main body portion that forms a front half portion. A toner box 40 is detachably attached to the toner box 40.
(B-1) Drum Unit The drum unit 27 includes a drum casing 76 and a photosensitive drum 28, a scorotron charger 29, a transfer roller 31, and a cleaning brush 32 provided in the drum casing 76. .

The drum casing 76 has a box shape elongated in the width direction in which the front is opened. The drum rear wall 77, the drum right wall 79 (see FIG. 2), the drum left wall 80 (see FIG. 2), and the drum top wall 81. The drum bottom wall 82 is integrally formed.
As shown in FIG. 2, the drum right wall 79 and the drum left wall 80 are disposed to face each other with a space therebetween in the width direction.

The drum bottom wall 82 is constructed between the lower end edges of the drum right side wall 79 and the drum left side wall 80. The drum top wall 81 is installed between the upper end edges of the drum right wall 79 and the drum left wall 80. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the drum rear wall 77 is provided between the front end edges of the drum right side wall 79 and the drum left side wall 80.
A laser incident port 78 for irradiating the photosensitive drum 28 with a laser beam from the scanner unit 19 is formed in the middle of the drum ceiling wall 81 in the front-rear direction. A first passage port 84 is opened between a front end edge of the drum bottom wall 82 and a rear end edge of the post-development bottom wall 68 of the developing unit 30 described later. Two passage openings 85 are opened. Both the first passage port 84 and the second passage port 85 are formed in a rectangular shape that is long in the width direction.

  In this drum casing 76, the drum rear wall 77, the drum right wall 79, the rear half portions of the drum left wall 80, the drum bottom wall 82, and the drum top wall 81 are divided into photosensitive drums. 28, a scorotron charger 29, a transfer roller 31, and a drum accommodating portion 83 that accommodates the cleaning brush 32. The drum housing portion 83 is formed in a cylindrical shape whose front side and rear side are opened.

Further, a portion defined by each front half portion of the drum right side wall 79, the drum left side wall 80, and the drum bottom wall 82 is a developing arrangement portion 86 where the developing unit 30 is arranged. The developing arrangement portion 86 is formed in a bottomed frame shape having a U-shape in a cross-sectional view with the upper side opened.
The drum accommodating portion 83 and the developing arrangement portion 86 communicate with each other.
The photosensitive drum 28 has a cylindrical shape, and a drum body 33 formed by a positively chargeable photosensitive layer whose outermost layer is made of polycarbonate or the like, and an axial center of the drum body 33 along the axial direction of the drum body 33. And a metal drum shaft 34 that extends. Both ends of the drum shaft 34 in the axial direction are supported between the drum right side wall 79 and the drum left side wall 80 of the drum casing 76 (see FIG. 2), and the drum body 33 is rotatably supported by the drum shaft 34. Thus, the photosensitive drum 28 is provided in the drum casing 76 so as to be rotatable about the drum shaft 34. Further, the photosensitive drum 28 is rotationally driven in the direction of the thick line arrow in the figure by receiving a driving force from a motor (not shown).

  The scorotron charger 29 is supported on the drum top wall 81 of the drum casing 76 on the upper oblique rear side of the photosensitive drum 28, and faces the photosensitive drum 28 with an interval so as not to contact the photosensitive drum 28. Has been placed. The scorotron charger 29 is provided between the discharge wire 35 and the photosensitive drum 28, and is disposed between the discharge wire 35 and the photosensitive drum 28. The charge amount from the discharge wire 35 to the photosensitive drum 28 is provided. And a grid 36 for controlling.

In the scorotron charger 29, a bias voltage is applied to the grid 36 and at the same time, a high voltage is applied to the discharge wire 35 to cause corona discharge of the discharge wire 35, so that the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 is uniformly positive. To charge.
The transfer roller 31 is provided below the photosensitive drum 28 in the drum casing 76, is opposed to and contacts the photosensitive drum 28 in the vertical direction, and is disposed so as to form a nip with the photosensitive drum 28. . This nip is a transfer position between the photosensitive drum 28 and the transfer roller 31 described above.

  The transfer roller 31 includes a metal roller shaft that is rotatably supported between the drum right side wall 79 and the drum left side wall 80 of the drum casing 76, and a conductive rubber material that covers the roller shaft. The rubber roller which consists of. A transfer bias is applied to the transfer roller 31 during transfer. The transfer roller 31 is rotationally driven by the input of a driving force from a motor (not shown).

The cleaning brush 32 is assembled to the drum rear wall 77 of the drum casing 76 so as to face and contact the photosensitive drum 28 at an upper oblique rear side of the photosensitive drum 28 and an oblique lower rear side of the scorotron charger 29. Are arranged.
(B-2) Developing Unit The developing unit 30 is provided integrally with the drum unit 27 in the developing arrangement unit 86 of the drum casing 76.

The developing unit 30 includes a developing case 62 as a process case, a supply roller 101, a developing roller 104 as a developer carrier, and a layer thickness regulating blade 107 provided in the developing case 62. Yes.
The developing case 62 is integrally formed of a box-shaped rear case 38 that is long in the width direction where the rear side is opened, and a front case 39 that is open at the top and front sides and wider than the rear case 38. In preparation.

The rear housing 38 is integrally formed from a development front wall 64, a development right wall 65 (see FIG. 2), a development left wall 66 (see FIG. 2), a development ceiling wall 67, and a development bottom wall 68. .
The development right side wall 65 and the development left side wall 66 have a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the side, and are disposed to face each other with a space therebetween in the width direction.
The post-development bottom wall 68 is constructed between the lower end edges of the development right side wall 65 and the development left side wall 66, and the first bottom wall 73 and the second bottom wall 74 are integrated with each other in order from the rear in the front-rear direction. In preparation.

The first bottom wall 73 is disposed on the rear side of the post-development bottom wall 68 and is formed in a tongue plate shape that is inclined downward from the front side to the rear side.
The second bottom wall 74 extends continuously from the front edge of the first bottom wall 73 and is formed in a substantially semicircular shape in a side section along the supply roller 101.
The development ceiling wall 67 is provided between the upper end edges of the development right side wall 65 and the development left side wall 66, and includes a first ceiling wall 115 and a second ceiling wall 116 integrally.

The first ceiling wall 115 is disposed on the front side of the development ceiling wall 67 and extends obliquely upward on the front side.
The second top wall 116 is formed in a substantially inverted L shape when viewed from the left side cross section, extending downward from the rear edge of the first top wall 115 and bending and extending rearward.
The development front wall 64 is provided between the development right side wall 65 and the development left side wall 66. Further, the upper end edge of the development front wall 64 is connected to the bent portion of the second top wall 116 described above, and the lower end edge thereof is connected to the front end edge of the second bottom wall 74. Specifically, the front development wall 64 is a vertical wall 120 that extends upward from the front edge of the second bottom wall 74, is bent backward from the upper edge of the vertical wall 120, is bent again, and extends upward to extend to the second ceiling wall. 116 is integrally provided with a bent wall 121 connected to the bent portion 116, and is formed in a substantially L shape in a left sectional view.

Further, an insertion port 87 opened to the rear side of the rear housing 38 is formed by the rear end edges of the development top wall 67, the development left side wall 65, the development right side wall 66, and the development bottom wall 68. The insertion port 87 is formed in a rectangular shape that is long in the width direction.
In such a rear case 38, the portions defined by the development front wall 64, the development right side wall 65, the development left side wall 66, the development top wall 67 and the development bottom wall 68 are divided into the supply roller 101, the development roller 104, and the development roller 104. The developing chamber 72 accommodates the layer thickness regulating blade 107.

The front housing 39 is integrally formed from a right side wall 69 (see FIG. 2) as a first wall, a left side wall 70 (see FIG. 2) as a second wall, and a development front bottom wall 75.
The development front bottom wall 75 is formed in a substantially C shape in a side sectional view, and integrally includes a curved wall 122 that forms the latter half portion thereof and an L-shaped wall 123 that forms the front half portion thereof.
The curved wall 122 is formed so that its side cross section is substantially inferior arc, and the front edge is connected to the rear edge of the L-shaped wall 123.

  The L-shaped wall 123 is formed in a substantially L shape in a side sectional view that extends forward from the rear edge, bends, and extends upward. In addition, an engaged portion 124 having a side cross-sectional view shape that is bent at the upper end edge and slightly extends forward is integrally formed at the front end portion of the L-shaped wall 123 and the central portion in the width direction of the upper end portion. Yes. As shown in FIG. 6, the front end portion of the L-shaped wall 123 is separated from the center in the width direction by a distance corresponding to about a quarter of the width dimension of the L-shaped wall 123 from the width direction center. , Positioning grooves 138 that are recessed downward from the upper end edge of the front end portion of the L-shaped wall 123 are respectively formed.

As shown in FIG. 2, the right side wall 69 and the left side wall 70 are opposed to each other so as to sandwich the development bottom wall 75 in the width direction, and are formed in a substantially rectangular shape in side view. In FIG. 2, the right side wall 69 has its upper oblique front portion cut away for convenience of explanation.
The right side wall 69 and the left side wall 70 are respectively formed with first insertion holes 97 penetrating the right side wall 69 and the left side wall 70 in the width direction at positions substantially in the center in the front-rear and vertical directions. Further, as shown in FIG. 4A, a rectangular column 89 is integrally provided at the rear end portions of the inner surfaces in the width direction of the right side wall 69 and the left side wall 70.

  The rectangular column 89 is formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that is long in the vertical direction, and a guide groove 119 having a front end surface recessed rearward is formed at an upper end portion thereof. A rib 90 is integrally provided below the guide groove 119 on the inner side surface in the width direction of the prism 89. The rib 90 is formed so as to protrude inward in the width direction so that its side cross section is substantially inferior arc, and as shown in FIG. 8, substantially along the curved wall 122 of the bottom wall 75 before development, In addition, the curved wall 122 is arranged with a slight gap in the radial direction.

  In such a front case 39, a portion defined by the right side wall 69, the left side wall 70, and the front bottom wall 75 is a toner box storage chamber 71 as a storage unit for storing the toner box 40. The toner box housing chamber 71 is formed in a bottomed frame shape whose upper side and front side are opened. Here, in the toner box storage chamber 71, the right side wall 69 is positioned at the right end of the stored toner box 40, and the left side wall 70 is positioned at the left end of the stored toner box 40.

  The rear casing 38 and the front casing 39 are connected to each other via the front side surface of the vertical wall 120 of the development front wall 64 and the rear side surface of the curved wall 122 of the development bottom wall 75. A toner introduction port 88 as a second opening penetrating the vertical wall 120 and the curved wall 122 in the thickness direction is formed at the center position in the width direction of the connecting portion with the curved wall 122. The toner introduction port 88 has a rectangular shape that is long in the width direction, and the toner box accommodation chamber 71 and the development chamber 72 communicate with each other through the toner introduction port 88.

The toner box housing chamber 71 is provided with a shutter 111 as a process side blocking member and an opening / closing lever 113 as a rotating member.
As shown in FIG. 3, the shutter 111 is a thin plate that is formed as an inferior arc having a slightly shorter circumference than the curved wall 122 in a side sectional view. As shown in FIG. 4B, a through hole 112 that is rectangular in front view and penetrates the shutter 111 in the thickness direction is formed. Further, at the upper end and the lower end of the shutter 111 at both ends in the width direction, cutout portions 136 that are cut out in a substantially L shape in front view are formed. In addition, at the upper end portion of the shutter 111, the inner portion in the width direction from the notches 136 is engaged with the second radial protrusions 57 of the toner box 40 when the toner box 40 is attached to the process unit 20. The engaged portions 139 are provided respectively.

Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the shutter 111 has ribs by inserting both end portions in the width direction of the shutter 111 between the curved wall 122 and the ribs 90 of the prisms 89 inside the toner box housing chamber 71. It is supported so as to be rotatable along a side sectional shape of 90.
Further, the shutter 111 has a development closed position (see FIG. 8) where the toner introduction port 88 is closed at a portion where the through hole 112 is not formed in the shutter 111, and the through hole 112 and the toner introduction port 88 are opposed to each other. The toner introduction port 88 can be moved to a development opening position (see FIG. 3) that opens forward.

In addition, a seal member 125 is interposed between the curved wall 122 and the shutter 111. The seal member 125 is formed in a sheet shape made of felt or the like, for example, and is attached to the front side surface of the curved wall 122 so as not to block the toner introduction port 88.
As shown in FIG. 4A, the open / close lever 113 is formed in a substantially U shape in plan view, and includes a right support portion 108 as a first arm, a left support portion 109 as a second arm, and an abutment. A process unit side grip 110 as a member is integrally provided.

The right support portion 108 and the left support portion 109 are formed in a thin plate shape that is substantially P-shaped when viewed from the right side, and the right support portion 108 is positioned substantially at the center of the rear half of the right support portion 108 and the left support portion 109. And the round hole 114 which penetrates the left support part 109 in the thickness direction is formed, respectively.
Support cylinders 135 having the same inner diameter as the round holes 114 and projecting outward in the width direction are provided at positions corresponding to the round holes 114 on the respective width direction outer surfaces of the right support portion 108 and the left support portion 109. ing. The outer diameter of the support cylinder 135 is slightly smaller than the inner diameters of the first insertion holes 97 of the right side wall 69 and the left side wall 70 described above.

In addition, in the upper part of the round hole 114 of the right support part 108 and the left support part 109, a receiving part 117 whose upper end edge is recessed in a substantially U shape in a side view toward the round hole 114 is formed. .
The process unit side grip 110 is formed between a right end 108 and a front end (free end) of the left support 109, and is formed in a thin plate shape that is long in the width direction and substantially rectangular in front view. At the center position in the width direction, a grip portion 118 is formed as a first grip portion whose lower end edge is recessed upward. In the process unit side holding part 110, contact protrusions 141 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape as contact parts protruding toward the round hole 114 are provided at both ends in the width direction of the side surface on the round hole 114 side. . As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, a contact portion 143 formed in a convex shape toward the round hole 114 side (rear side) is provided on the side surface (rear side surface) of the contact protrusion 141 on the round hole 114 side. It has been. Specifically, the contact portion 143 is formed in a hemispherical shape.

  As shown in FIG. 4A, in the opening / closing lever 113, the support cylinders 135 of the right support portion 108 and the left support portion 109 are fitted in the first insertion holes 97 of the right side wall 69 and the left side wall 70, respectively. Thus, the right side wall 69 and the left side wall 70 are rotatably supported. In this state, as with the opening / closing lever 113, the right support portion 108 and the left support portion 109 that are rotatably supported by the corresponding right side wall 69 and left side wall 70 are located downstream of the toner box 40 in the detaching direction. Specifically, it extends to the front side. The opening / closing lever 113 includes a release position (see FIG. 4B) where the process unit side holding portion 110 of the opening / closing lever 113 is positioned below the round hole 114, and the process unit side holding portion 110 and the round hole 114. It is possible to rotate between the contact positions (see FIG. 4A) arranged at the same position. The release position (see FIG. 11B) is located below the contact position (see FIG. 11A). Further, in the state shown in FIG. 4B, that is, in a state where the toner box 40 is not attached to the developing unit 30, the open / close lever 113 is in the release position by its own weight.

Regardless of the position of the opening / closing lever 113, the grip portion 118 is always exposed to the outside from the toner box housing chamber 71 in a side view as shown in FIG.
As described above, the supply roller 101, the developing roller 104, and the layer thickness regulating blade 107 are accommodated in the developing chamber 72 of the rear housing 38.
The supply roller 101 is disposed obliquely below the rear side of the toner introduction port 88. The supply roller 101 includes a metal supply roller shaft 102 and a sponge roller 103 made of a conductive foam material that covers the supply roller shaft 102. The supply roller shaft 102 is rotatably supported at both ends in the axial direction at positions corresponding to the second bottom wall 74 in the front-rear direction of the development right side wall 65 and the development left side wall 66. The supply roller 101 is rotationally driven when a driving force from a motor (not shown) is input to the supply roller shaft 102.

The developing roller 104 is disposed on the rear side of the supply roller 101 in contact with the supply roller 101 so as to be compressed. The developing roller 104 is long in the width direction and includes a metal developing roller shaft 105 (rotating shaft) and a rubber roller 106 made of a conductive rubber material that covers the developing roller shaft 105.
The developing roller shaft 105 is rotatably supported at both ends in the axial direction at positions corresponding to the first bottom wall 73 in the front-rear direction of the development right side wall 65 and the development left side wall 66. The rubber roller 106 is made of conductive urethane rubber or silicone rubber containing carbon fine particles, and the surface thereof is coated with a coating layer of resin having excellent wear resistance such as urethane rubber or polyimide containing fluorine. Has been. The developing roller 104 is rotationally driven when a driving force from a motor (not shown) is input to the developing roller shaft 105. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a developing bias is applied to the developing roller 104 at the time of development through one end portion in the width direction of the developing roller shaft 105 exposed from the developing right side wall 65.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the layer thickness regulating blade 107 is made of a metal leaf spring material, and the free end thereof has a substantially semi-circular cross section made of insulating or conductive silicone rubber or urethane rubber. Part 148. The layer thickness regulating blade 107 is supported by the second top wall 116 of the developing ceiling wall 67 above the developing roller 104 at the base end portion, so that the pressing portion 148 is developed by the elastic force of the layer thickness regulating blade 107. 104 is in pressure contact.

In the drum unit 27 and the developing unit 30, the front end portion of the drum top wall 81 of the drum unit 27 is fitted to the above-described bent portion of the second top wall 116 of the developing unit 30. Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the developing unit 30 is brought into contact with the front end edges of the right side wall 79 and the left side wall 80 of the developing unit 30 by bringing the rear end edges of the developing right side wall 65 and the developing left side wall 66 into contact with the respective front end edges. 30 is assembled to the drum portion 27. In the state where the developing unit 30 is assembled to the drum unit 27, the first passage port 84 described above is formed between the post-development bottom wall 68 and the drum bottom wall 82 as shown in FIG.
(B-3) Toner Box As described above, the toner box 40 is detachably attached to the toner box storage chamber 71 of the developing unit 30. The toner box 40 can be attached to and detached from the main body casing 2 by attaching and detaching the process unit 20 to and from the main body casing 2 through the attachment / detachment port 6 while being attached to the process unit 20. The attaching / detaching direction of the toner box 40 with respect to the toner box housing chamber 71 of the process unit 20 is the same as the attaching / detaching direction of the process unit 20 with respect to the main body casing 2. ). Further, the direction perpendicular to the attaching / detaching direction of the toner box 40 with respect to the toner box housing chamber 71 is the width direction.

Since the toner box housing chamber 71 is located on the front side of the process unit 20, as shown in FIG. 1, when the front cover 7 is opened and the attachment / detachment opening 6 is opened, the toner box 40 is exposed from the attachment / detachment opening 6.
As shown in FIG. 3, the toner box 40 includes an outer casing 41 and an inner casing 42 as a toner casing that are substantially σ-shaped in cross section on the left side and are long in the width direction, and are formed of resin or the like. ing.
(B-3-i) Outer Housing The outer housing 41 has a substantially σ shape when viewed from the left side of the toner box 40 and is integrally provided with a cylindrical portion 43 and a guide lever 44.

As shown in FIG. 5A, the cylindrical portion 43 is formed as a hollow cylindrical body that is long in the width direction and substantially rectangular in a side view, and includes an outer peripheral wall 45 as a toner-side blocking member, And a pair of outer side end walls 46 formed as both end faces in the width direction of the peripheral wall 45.
A first toner discharge port 49 penetrating the outer peripheral wall 45 in the thickness direction is formed at the center position in the vertical and horizontal directions on the rear side surface of the outer peripheral wall 45. The first toner discharge port 49 is formed in a rectangular shape that is long in the width direction.

  Further, upper guide grooves 129 penetrating the outer peripheral wall 45 in the thickness direction are formed at both ends in the width direction on the rear side surface of the outer peripheral wall 45 at positions above the first toner discharge port 49. ing. In the both ends of the outer peripheral wall 45 in the width direction, lower guide grooves 130 that penetrate the outer peripheral wall 45 in the thickness direction are formed at positions below the first toner discharge port 49, respectively. . The upper guide groove 129 and the lower guide groove 130 have a rectangular shape when viewed from the back in the circumferential direction, and the circumferential length is about twice the circumferential length of the first toner discharge port 49. Is set to be about a half of the circumferential length of the first toner discharge port 49.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the lower part of the front side surface of the outer peripheral wall 45 is separated from the center in the width direction by a distance corresponding to about one quarter of the width dimension of the outer peripheral wall 45 from the center in the width direction. Positioning ribs 137 as positioning portions are respectively provided at the positions. Each positioning rib 137 is provided between the contacted member 142 and the guide lever 44 described later in the width direction. The positioning rib 137 extends downward continuously from the upper half portion of the front side surface of the outer peripheral wall 45, then bends and extends obliquely downward to the rear, bends again and extends rearward, and extends below the outer peripheral wall 45. It is formed in a thin plate shape having a substantially isosceles trapezoidal shape in a side view continuous to the rear half portion of the side surface. Note that the dimension in the width direction of the positioning rib 137 is slightly smaller than the groove width of the positioning groove 138 described above.

Further, a protrusion exposing hole 149 is formed in a portion sandwiched in the width direction by each positioning rib 137 at the lower portion of the front side surface of the outer peripheral wall 45. The protrusion exposure hole 149 is formed in a rectangular shape and penetrates the outer peripheral wall 45 in the thickness direction.
Further, a contacted member 142 as a contacted part is provided at both ends in the width direction of the lower part of the front side surface of the outer peripheral wall 45. The contacted member 142 is formed in a substantially arc shape in left side view that protrudes from the front side surface of the outer peripheral wall 45 toward the front side, and the width direction dimension is the width of the contact protrusion 141 of the opening / closing lever 113 described above. It is almost equal to the direction dimension. As shown in FIG. 11, the front side surface of the contacted member 142 includes a guide surface 146 and a contacted surface 147. In the left side view, the guide surface 146 is formed so as to extend flatly toward the upper front side obliquely and to be convexly curved toward the front side in the middle. The abutted surface 147 is formed so as to continue from the upper end edge of the guide surface 146 and to protrude forward from the convex curved portion of the guide surface 146. The contacted surface 147 is provided with a plurality of contacted portions 144 formed in a concave shape toward the rear along the circumferential direction (vertical direction). Specifically, the contacted portion 144 is formed to be recessed in a hemispherical shape. In addition, although the contacted part 144 is provided with two or more in FIG. 11, only one may be provided as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 5A, second insertion holes 126 penetrating each outer side end wall 46 in the width direction are formed at substantially central positions in the front and rear vertical directions of the respective outer side end walls 46. . Further, each outer side end wall 46 has a concentric inferiority to the second insertion hole 126 in the radially outer position of the second insertion hole 126, specifically, in the range from the 12 o'clock position to the 2 o'clock position in the left side view. An insertion groove 127 that is an arc and penetrates each outer side end wall 46 in the width direction is formed.

  Each outer side end wall 46 is integrally formed with a positioning projection 131 that extends rearward at a position corresponding to the upper end edge of the upper guide groove 129, bends and protrudes outward in the width direction. A portion of the positioning protrusion 131 that protrudes outward in the width direction is formed in a columnar shape having an outer diameter smaller than the groove width of the guide groove 119 (see FIG. 4A) of the front housing 39 of the process unit 20 described above. ing.

The guide lever 44 is disposed between the left and right contacted members 142, specifically, the upper end portion of the front side surface of the outer peripheral wall 45 and the center position in the width direction. As shown in FIG. As a toner box side gripping portion 91 and a swinging portion 92.
The toner box-side grip 91 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape in plan view that is long in the width direction, and its rear end is fixed to the outer peripheral wall 45 as shown in FIG.

The swinging part 92 is formed in a substantially rectangular shape in plan view and in a substantially T shape in a side sectional view, and integrally includes a grip part 93, a first restricting part 94, and a second restricting part 95.
The grip part 93 and the second restricting part 95 are formed in a substantially rectangular shape in plan view.
The first restricting portion 94 is formed in a rectangular shape in a front view and a substantially J shape in a left sectional view, and a first engagement portion 132 and a second engagement portion 133 are formed at the lower end portion in order from the top. Is formed. The first engaging portion 132 is formed as a groove extending in the width direction so that the rear side surface of the lower end portion of the first restricting portion 94 is recessed to the front side. The second engaging portion 133 is formed in a substantially bowl shape in the left sectional view, with the lowermost end portion of the first restricting portion 94 slightly bent to the rear side below the first engaging portion 132.

Further, the rear end portion of the grip portion 93, the upper end portion of the first restricting portion 94, and the front end portion of the second restricting portion 95 are connected. A shaft insertion hole 96 that penetrates the grip portion 93 and the first restricting portion 94 in the width direction is formed at a connection position between the rear end portion of the grip portion 93 and the upper end portion of the first restricting portion 94.
A pair of shaft support portions 98 projecting forward so as to sandwich the grip portion 93 of the swinging portion 92 in the width direction are integrally provided on the front side surface of the outer peripheral wall 45, and a pair of shaft supports The oscillating portion 92 is swingably supported by the outer peripheral wall 45 by inserting the insertion shaft 37 installed between the portions 98 into the shaft insertion hole 96 of the oscillating portion 92.

Further, the rear end portion of the toner box side gripping portion 91 and the second restricting portion 95 of the swinging portion 92 are connected by an elastic body 128. Specifically, the elastic body 128 is a leaf spring or the like, one end of which is screwed to the rear end of the toner box side grip 91 by a screw 134, and the other end is locked to the second restricting portion 95. Yes. As a result, the swinging portion 92 is always biased in the clockwise direction around the insertion shaft 37 so that the second restricting portion 95 approaches the toner box side gripping portion 91 by the biasing force of the elastic body 128. Has been.
(B-3-ii) Inner Housing As shown in FIG. 5C, the inner housing 42 has a hollow cylindrical shape that is long in the width direction and smaller than the cylindrical portion 43 of the outer housing 41. A cylindrical inner peripheral wall 51 and a pair of flat-plate-shaped inner end walls 52 that block both side surfaces in the width direction of the inner peripheral wall 51 are integrally provided. As shown in FIG. 3, an agitator rotation shaft 53 is installed at the center of the circle of each inner side end wall 52 facing in the width direction. The agitator rotation shaft 53 is rotatable by each inner side end wall 52. It is supported by. The agitator rotating shaft 53 is provided with an agitator 56. The agitator 56 is provided with a wiper 50. The wiper 50 is made of rubber or the like, and is attached to both ends of the agitator rotating shaft 53 in the axial direction (width direction).

Further, as shown in FIG. 5C, both end portions in the width direction of the agitator rotating shaft 53 protrude from the inner side end walls 52 outward in the width direction. A collar 100 having an outer diameter slightly smaller than the hole diameter of the second insertion hole 126 (see FIG. 5A) of the outer casing 41 is externally fitted to each protruding portion of the agitator rotating shaft 53.
Each inner side end wall 52 is provided with a width direction projection 54 as a first engaging portion that protrudes outward in the width direction at a position radially outside the agitator rotation shaft 53 and facing each other in the width direction. Yes. Each width direction protrusion 54 is formed in a substantially inferior arc shape in a side view, and its circumferential length is about one half of the circumferential length of the insertion groove 127 of the outer casing 41 described above. The radial length is slightly smaller than the groove width of the insertion groove 127.

  Further, the inner peripheral wall 51 is thickened at one position on the circumference in the center in the width direction of the inner peripheral wall 51, specifically, at a position shifted by about 90 ° in the counterclockwise direction with respect to the widthwise protrusion 54 in the left side view. A second toner discharge port 55 is formed as a first opening penetrating in the vertical direction. The second toner discharge port 55 is formed in a rectangular shape having substantially the same dimensions as the first toner discharge port 49 of the outer casing 41 when viewed from the outside in the radial direction.

The inner peripheral wall 51 is provided with a first radial protrusion 48 that protrudes radially outward along the periphery of the second toner discharge port 55. The first radial protrusion 48 has a rectangular frame shape when viewed from the outside in the radial direction, and is formed of an elastic material such as rubber or a sponge sheet.
Further, at both ends in the width direction of the inner peripheral wall 51, second radial projections as second engaging portions projecting radially outward at positions slightly above the upper end edge of the first radial projection 48. 57 are integrally provided. Then, at both ends in the width direction of the inner peripheral wall 51, third radial protrusions 63 as second engaging portions protruding outward in the radial direction are provided at positions below the lower end edge of the first radial protrusion 48. Each is provided integrally. The second radial protrusion 57 and the third radial protrusion 63 are formed with the same dimensions, and the width direction length is smaller than the groove widths of the upper guide groove 129 and the lower guide groove 130 of the outer casing 41. Is set to

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the inner peripheral wall 51 protrudes radially outward at a position opposite to the second toner discharge port 55 with respect to the axial center of the inner casing 42 and extends along the width direction. A provided fourth radial protrusion 99 is formed. The width direction dimension of the fourth radial protrusion 99 is set to be smaller than the width direction dimension of the protrusion exposing hole 149 of the outer casing 41.
(B-3-iii) Assembly of inner casing to outer casing In such a toner box 40, the inner casing 42 is accommodated in the outer casing 41, and as shown in FIG. Both ends in the width direction of the agitator rotation shaft 53 of the housing 42 are fitted into the second insertion holes 126 of the outer housing 41 together with the collar 100 described above. And each width direction protrusion 54 of the inner side housing | casing 42 is protruded from the insertion groove 127 of the outer side housing | casing 41 to the width direction outer side. Further, the second radial protrusions 57 of the inner casing 42 are protruded radially outward of the inner casing 42 from the upper guide grooves 129 of the outer casing 41, and the respective third radial protrusions of the inner casing 42 are projected. 63 is projected from each lower guide groove 130 of the outer casing 41 to the radially outer side of the inner casing 42. Further, the fourth radial protrusion 99 of the inner casing 42 is exposed in the protrusion exposure hole 149 of the outer casing 41 (see FIG. 8).

  Thereby, the inner casing 42 is assembled to the outer casing 41, and the inner casing 42 is rotatably supported on each outer side end wall 46 of the outer casing 41. Accordingly, each widthwise projection 54 is slidable along each insertion groove 127, each second radial projection 57 is slidable along each upper guide groove 129, and each third radial projection 63 is It becomes slidable along each lower guide groove 130. Further, the width direction protrusion 54, the second radial direction protrusion 57, and the third radial direction protrusion 63 can be rotated together with the second toner discharge port 55 with respect to the outer peripheral wall 45.

When the toner box 40 assembled in this way is not attached to the process unit 20 as shown in FIG. 8, the first engaging portion 132 in the first restricting portion 94 of the outer housing 41 is the inner housing 42. Is engaged with the fourth radial protrusion 99, and the rotation of the inner casing 42 relative to the outer casing 41 is restricted. The state of the swinging part 92 at this time is referred to as a first state.
In the first state described above, when the toner box side gripping portion 91 and the swinging portion 92 are gripped together, the swinging portion 92 resists the biasing force of the elastic body 128 and the counterclockwise shown in the drawing with the insertion shaft 37 as the center. Swings around. After a while after grasping the toner box side gripping portion 91 and the swinging portion 92 together, the swinging portion 92 stops swinging. The state of the swinging part 92 at this time is referred to as a second state.

In the second state, as shown in FIG. 9, the first engaging portion 132 of the first restricting portion 94 described above is separated from the fourth radial protrusion 99 of the inner housing 42, and the first engaging portion 132 is separated from the first engaging portion 132. Although the engagement with the fourth radial protrusion 99 is released, the rear end portion of the second restricting portion 95 abuts on the inner peripheral wall 51 of the inner housing 42, so The rotation is restricted.
Therefore, when the swinging portion 92 is in the third state between the first state and the second state, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 10, the first engaging portion 132 and the fourth radial protrusion 99 And the rear end portion of the second restricting portion 95 is not in contact with the inner peripheral wall 51 of the inner casing 42, so that the restriction of the rotation of the inner casing 42 relative to the outer casing 41 is released. The In this case, when the inner casing 42 is rotated with respect to the outer casing 41, as shown in FIG. 5B, each widthwise projection 54 is guided by each insertion groove 127, and each second radial projection. 57 is guided in each upper guide groove 129, and each third radial protrusion 63 is guided in each lower guide groove 130. When the inner casing 42 is rotated with respect to the outer casing 41, the first radial protrusion 48 of the inner casing 42 slides on the inner side surface of the outer peripheral wall 45 of the outer casing 41 as shown in FIG. By being in contact, the outer casing 41 and the inner casing 42 are kept airtight and liquid-tight.

  Further, when the swinging portion 92 is in the third state, the inner casing 42 is configured so that the second toner discharge port 55 of the inner peripheral wall 51 is connected to the outer casing 41 as shown in FIGS. The outer peripheral wall 45 of the outer peripheral wall 45 is closed by a portion other than the first toner discharge port 49, and can be rotated to a toner closing position that seals the inside of the outer casing 41 and the inner casing 42. At this time, each second radial protrusion 57 contacts the upper edge of each upper guide groove 129, each third radial protrusion 63 contacts the upper edge of each lower guide groove 130, and each width protrusion 54 is It abuts on the front end edge of each insertion groove 127. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 5A, the inner casing 42 has the inside of the outer casing 41 and the inner casing 42 with the first toner discharge port 49 and the second toner discharge port 55 facing each other. It can be rotated to the toner release position to be opened. At this time, each second radial protrusion 57 contacts the lower end edge of each upper guide groove 129, each third radial protrusion 63 contacts the lower end edge of each lower guide groove 130, and each width direction protrusion 54 is It abuts on the rear edge of each insertion groove 127.

  In the inner casing 42, positively charged nonmagnetic one-component toner is accommodated as a developer. In the toner, a polymerizable monomer, for example, a styrene monomer such as styrene, an acrylic monomer such as acrylic acid, alkyl (C1 to C4) acrylate, alkyl (C1 to C4) methacrylate, A polymerized toner obtained by copolymerization by suspension polymerization or the like is used. This polymerized toner has a substantially spherical shape, has extremely good fluidity, and can achieve high-quality image formation.

Such a toner is blended with a colorant such as carbon black, wax, and the like, and an external additive such as silica is added to improve fluidity. The average particle size of the toner is about 6 to 10 μm.
(B-4) Attaching / detaching the toner box to / from the process unit (b-4-i) Attaching the toner box to the process unit As shown in FIG. 8, the open / close lever 113 is in the release position and the shutter 111 is in the developing closed position. A toner box 40 in which the inner casing 42 is in a toner closed position is mounted on the toner box storage chamber 71 of the process unit 20 in a certain state from the upper front side to the lower rear side. At this time, as shown in FIG. 6, each positioning protrusion 131 of the toner box 40 is guided to each guide groove 119 in the toner box housing chamber 71 of the process unit 20. Further, the swinging portion 92 of the toner box 40 is in the first state, and the rotation of the inner casing 42 with respect to the outer casing 41 is restricted.

  When each positioning projection 131 reaches the deepest portion of each guide groove 119 and abuts on the deepest portion, as shown in FIG. 7, each widthwise projection 54 of the toner box 40 is an open / close lever in the release position. 113 is engaged with each receiving portion 117. At this time, as shown in FIG. 9, the second radial protrusions 57 of the toner box 40 engage with the engaged portions 139 of the shutter 111 of the toner box housing chamber 71, and the shutter 111 rotates in the rotation direction. , The second radial projections 57 and the third radial projections 63 are sandwiched. Here, each third radial protrusion 63 is also engaged with the shutter 111 in the same manner as the second radial protrusion 57. The swinging part 92 is in the third state (see FIG. 10) when the second engaging part 133 engages with the engaged part 124.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the positioning rib 137 of the toner box 40 is fitted into the positioning groove 138 of the process unit 20 and is engaged with the developing case 62. As a result, in the toner box 40, the outer casing 41 is positioned in the width direction with respect to the toner box housing chamber 71, and the mounting of the toner box 40 to the process unit 20 is completed. In this state, as shown in FIG. 9, the grip portion 118 of the opening / closing lever 113 in the release position is spaced apart from the toner box side grip portion 91 of the toner box 40 by a predetermined interval. Yes. Further, as shown in FIG. 11B, the contact portions 143 of the contact protrusions 141 of the process unit side holding unit 110 face the guide surfaces 146 of the corresponding contacted members 142 in the toner box 40. Touch slightly.

  As shown in FIG. 7, in the state where the mounting of the toner box 40 to the process unit 20 is completed, the swinging portion 92 is in the third state as described above. It becomes rotatable with respect to. Therefore, when the opening / closing lever 113 is rotated from the release position to the contact position (see FIG. 2), the inner housing 42 is moved to the toner in conjunction with the rotation of the opening / closing lever 113 (the process unit side grip 110). It rotates from the closed position (see FIG. 10) to the toner release position (see FIG. 3). As a result, as shown in FIG. 3, the first toner discharge port 49 and the second toner discharge port 55 face each other. In conjunction with the rotation of the inner casing 42, the shutter 111 held between the second radial protrusions 57 and the third radial protrusions 63 of the inner casing 42 is also moved from the development closed position (see FIG. 9). The developing hole is rotated to the development opening position so that the through hole 112 of the shutter 111 and the toner introduction port 88 of the toner box housing chamber 71 face each other. Further, as the opening / closing lever 113 is rotated from the release position to the contact position, the process unit side grip 110 is rotated upward, so that the grip 118 is adjacent to the toner box side grip 91.

  In the toner box housing chamber 71 in which the shutter 111 is in the development opening position and the toner box 40 in which the inner housing 42 is in the toner opening position, the through hole 112 and the toner introduction port in the toner box housing chamber 71 that are opposed to each other. 88 is opposed to the first toner discharge port 49 and the second toner discharge port 55 of the toner box 40 which are opposed to each other. Therefore, the inside of the inner casing 42 of the toner box 40 and the inside of the developing chamber 72 of the developing unit 30 are connected via the toner introduction port 88, the through hole 112, the first toner discharge port 49, and the second toner discharge port 55. Communicate.

  Note that, as described above, the first radial protrusion 48 provides airtightness between the outer casing 41 where the first toner discharge port 49 is formed and the inner casing 42 where the second toner discharge port 55 is formed. The seal member 125 is interposed between the shutter 111 in which the through hole 112 is formed and the curved wall 122 in which the toner introduction port 88 is formed. Therefore, leakage of toner from the toner introduction port 88, the through hole 112, the first toner discharge port 49, and the second toner discharge port 55 to the outside is prevented.

  Further, as described above, when the process unit side gripping portion 110 is rotated with the rotation of the opening / closing lever 113 from the release position to the contact position, as shown in FIG. 110 abutment portions 143 of the abutment projections 141 pass through the guide surface 146 of the abutted member 142, and then rotate upward along the abutted surface 147 to form a plurality of abutted portions 144. Get over.

Here, since the contact portion 143 is formed in a convex shape and the contacted portion 144 is formed in a concave shape, vibration occurs when the contact portion 143 gets over the contacted portion 144. This vibration is applied to the inner peripheral wall 51 and the shutter 111. That is, the contact portion 143 and the contacted portion 144 function as vibration applying means.
Then, when the rotation of the opening / closing lever 113 to the contact position is completed, the contact portion 143 of the process unit side gripping portion 110 is fitted into the contacted portion 144 at the uppermost position. At this time, the contact portion 143 contacts the contacted members 142 from the front side (release position) with a higher contact pressure than when the open / close lever 113 is in the release position (see FIG. 11B). This is referred to as “contact” in distinction from “contact” in FIG. Similarly, the contact protrusion 141 is also in contact with the contacted member 142.

FIG. 13 is a side sectional view of the laser printer shown in FIG. 1 and shows a state where the opening / closing lever interferes with the front cover in the middle of closing the attachment / detachment opening.
As shown in FIG. 1, when the process unit 20 is mounted on the main casing 2 and the opening / closing lever 113 is in the contact position, a space is formed below the process unit side grip 110. In this state, when the front cover 7 is closed and the attachment / detachment opening 6 is closed, the interference portion 140 of the front cover 7 is accommodated in the above-described lower space. On the other hand, when the open / close lever 113 is in a position other than the contact position, as shown in FIG. 13, the process unit side grip 110 is disposed in the above-described lower space. Therefore, when the front cover 7 is to be closed, the interference unit 140 comes into contact with the process unit side holding unit 110 on the way. That is, the open / close lever 113 interferes with the front cover 7 in the middle of closing the attachment / detachment opening 6 except when it is positioned at the contact position.
(B-4-ii) Removal of the toner box from the process unit When the shutter 111 is in the development opening position and the inner casing 42 is in the toner opening position, the opening / closing lever 113 in the contact position is shown in FIG. As shown, it is rotated to the release position. As a result, the inner casing 42 rotates from the toner release position to the toner closing position in conjunction with the rotation of the opening / closing lever 113 (the process unit side grip 110), and the second toner discharge port of the inner peripheral wall 51 is rotated. 55 is blocked by a portion of the outer peripheral wall 45 of the outer casing 41 other than the first toner discharge port 49, and the inside of the outer casing 41 and the inside of the inner casing 42 are sealed. In addition, the second radial protrusions 57 and the third radial protrusions 63 are also rotated in conjunction with the rotation of the inner casing 42, so that the second radial protrusions 57 and the third radial protrusions 63 are rotated. The shutter 111 sandwiched between the two also rotates from the development opening position to the development closing position. As a result, the toner introduction port 88 of the toner box housing chamber 71 is blocked by a portion other than the through hole 112 in the shutter 111.

  Further, as the opening / closing lever 113 pivots to the release position, the process unit side gripping part 110 pivots downward, so that the process unit side gripping part 110 abuts as shown in FIG. The portion 143 rotates downward along the abutted surface 147 while getting over the plurality of abutted portions 144. When the contact portion 143 gets over the contacted portion 144, the vibration described above occurs. When the rotation of the open / close lever 113 to the release position is completed, the contact portion 143 faces the guide surface 146 and slightly contacts it. That is, when the open / close lever 113 is in the release position, the contact state of the contact portion 143 with respect to the contacted member 142 is released.

  In the state where the opening / closing lever 113 is rotated to the release position, as shown in FIG. 10, the first restricting portion 94 is in the third state, and the second engaging portion 133 is engaged with the engaged portion 124. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, the swinging portion 92 is swung to the second state, and the engagement between the second engaging portion 133 and the engaged portion 124 is released. Then, while the swinging portion 92 remains in the second state (while the swinging portion 92 is gripped), the toner box 40 is pulled out from the toner box housing chamber 71 obliquely upward to the front side. At this time, each positioning protrusion 131 (see FIG. 6) of the toner box 40 is guided to each guide groove 119 (see FIG. 6) in the toner box housing chamber 71. Then, when the hand is released from the pulled out toner box 40, the swinging portion 92 is in the first state (see FIG. 8).

Then, as shown in FIG. 8, each positioning projection 131 is disengaged from each guide groove 119, and the engagement (see FIG. 7) between each widthwise projection 54 and each receiving portion 117 is released, and each second radial projection. When the engagement between the engaged portion 57 and each engaged portion 139 is released, the separation of the toner box 40 from the process unit 20 is completed.
(B-5) Development Transfer Operation As described in the above (b-4-i) and as shown in FIG. 3, the toner box 40 is mounted on the process unit 20 and stored in the toner box storage chamber 71. After that, when an image is formed by the laser printer 1, a driving force from a motor (not shown) is input to the agitator rotating shaft 53. Then, the agitator rotation shaft 53 is rotated clockwise in the left side view, and the agitator 56 moves in the circumferential direction inside the inner casing 42 of the toner box 40 around the agitator rotation shaft 53. Then, the toner in the toner box 40 is agitated by the agitator 56, supplied to the developing unit 30 through the second toner discharge port 55 and the first toner discharge port 49, and received by the through hole 112 and the toner introduction port 88. And released into the developing chamber 72. Each wiper 50 of the agitator 56 wipes a toner detection window (not shown) provided on each inner side end wall 52 of the inner casing 42 as the agitator rotating shaft 53 rotates. As a result, each toner detection window (not shown) is cleaned by each wiper 50.

  The toner discharged from the toner introduction port 88 into the developing chamber 72 is supplied to the developing roller 104 by the rotation of the supply roller 101. At this time, the toner is frictionally charged to the positive polarity between the supply roller 101 and the developing roller 104. The As the developing roller 104 rotates, the toner supplied onto the developing roller 104 enters between the pressing portion 148 of the layer thickness regulating blade 107 and the rubber roller 106 of the developing roller 104 to form a thin layer having a constant thickness. It is carried on the developing roller 104.

As the photosensitive drum 28 rotates, the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 is first uniformly charged to a positive polarity by the scorotron charger 29 and then exposed by high-speed scanning of the laser beam from the scanner unit 19. An electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image to be formed on the paper 3 is formed.
Next, the toner carried on the developing roller 104 and charged positively by the rotation of the developing roller 104 is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 when it contacts and faces the photosensitive drum 28. It is supplied to the electrostatic latent image. As a result, the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 28 is visualized, and a toner image by reversal development is carried on the surface of the photosensitive drum 28.

Thereafter, the toner image carried on the surface of the photosensitive drum 28 is conveyed by the registration roller 15 (see FIG. 1), and the sheet 3 entering the drum casing 76 from the first passage port 84 is transferred to the photosensitive drum 28. While passing through the transfer position with the roller 31, the image is transferred onto the paper 3 by the transfer bias applied to the transfer roller 31.
Then, the sheet 3 on which the toner image is transferred is discharged from the second passage port 85 to the outside of the drum casing 76 and conveyed to the fixing unit 21.

The transfer residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 28 after the transfer is collected by the developing roller 104.
(C) Fixing Unit As shown in FIG. 1, the fixing unit 21 is provided on the rear side of the process unit 20, and is disposed at a distance from the photosensitive drum 28 of the process unit 20 in a substantially front-rear direction. The fixing unit 21 includes a fixing frame 59 and a heating roller 60 and a pressure roller 61 in the fixing frame 59.

In the fixing unit 21, the toner image transferred onto the paper 3 at the transfer position is thermally fixed while the paper 3 passes between the heating roller 60 and the pressure roller 61. The sheet 3 on which the toner image has been fixed is conveyed to the sheet discharge side conveyance path, conveyed to the sheet discharge roller 47 by the conveyance roller 63, and then discharged onto the sheet discharge tray 58 by the sheet discharge roller 47. The paper discharge tray 58 is formed on the upper surface of the main casing 2.
2. As described above, in the process unit 20, the process unit side grip 110 provided on the opening / closing lever 113 of the developing unit 30 has a front side (development of the toner box 40) as shown in FIG. It contacts the toner box 40 from the downstream side of the part 30 in the direction of separation. Therefore, even if a force that moves the toner box 40 forward (withdrawal direction) is applied to the toner box 40, the forward movement of the toner box 40 relative to the developing unit 30 is restricted on the front side of the toner box 40. can do.

As a result, the mounting state of the toner box 40 with respect to the developing unit 30 can be reliably maintained.
As shown in FIG. 11, the opening / closing lever 113 has a contact position (see FIG. 11A) at which the process unit side grip 110 abuts on the toner box 40 attached to the developing unit 30, and the process unit side. It can be rotated between a release position (see FIG. 11B) where the contact of the grip 110 with the toner box 40 is released. Therefore, when the opening / closing lever 113 is in the contact position, the mounting state of the toner box 40 with respect to the developing unit 30 (see FIG. 2) can be reliably maintained by a simple operation by simply rotating the opening / closing lever 113. . On the other hand, when the open / close lever 113 is in the release position, the maintenance of the mounted state can be released and the toner box 40 can be attached to and detached from the developing unit 30 (see FIG. 6).

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, the open / close lever 113 is positioned by its own weight at a release position below the contact position in a state where the toner box 40 is detached from the developing unit 30. When attaching to the developing unit 30, it is possible to save the trouble of moving the open / close lever 113 to the release position.
Further, in the toner box 40, the inner housing 42 is rotated to the toner release position to open the outer peripheral wall 45, thereby opening the second toner discharge port 55 (see FIG. 5A), and the developing unit. At 30, the toner introduction port 88 is opened by moving the shutter 111 to the development opening position and opening it (see FIG. 4A), and as shown in FIG. The toner introduction port 88 communicates. Thereby, toner can be supplied from the toner box 40 to the developing unit 30. On the other hand, in the toner box 40, the second housing outlet 55 is closed by rotating the inner casing 42 to the toner closing position and closing the outer peripheral wall 45 (see FIG. 10). By closing the toner introduction port 88 by moving the shutter 111 to the development closing position and closing it (see FIG. 4B), the toner from the toner box 40 to the developing unit 30 is shown in FIG. Can be regulated.

  The opening / closing operation of the outer peripheral wall 45 and the shutter 111, that is, the rotation of the inner casing 42 and the movement of the shutter 111, and the rotation operation of the opening / closing lever 113 are interlocked. Therefore, when the opening / closing lever 113 is rotated, in addition to maintaining the mounting state of the toner box 40 with respect to the developing unit 30 (see FIG. 2) or releasing the maintenance (see FIG. 7), the toner box 40 to the developing unit 30 Toner can be supplied (see FIG. 3) or toner supply can be regulated (see FIG. 10). As a result, operability can be improved.

Further, the contact portion 143 and the contacted portion 144 shown in FIG. 11 impart vibration to at least the outer peripheral wall 45 when the opening / closing lever 113 is rotated. Therefore, when the outer peripheral wall 45 is opened / closed in conjunction with the pivoting operation of the opening / closing lever 113, the toner attached to the outer peripheral wall 45 can be shaken off by vibration.
Specifically, when the opening / closing lever 113 is rotated, the contact portion 143 formed in a convex shape comes into contact with the contacted portion 144 formed in a concave shape, thereby generating vibration. The contact portion 143 may be formed in a concave shape, and the contacted portion 144 may be formed in a convex shape. Vibration can be reliably generated while the vibration applying means is simply configured by the convex or concave contact portion 143 and the contacted portion 144. In FIG. 11, a plurality of contacted portions 144 are provided, whereas in FIG. 12, only one contacted portion 144 is provided. Here, the vibration provided between the contacted part 144 and the contact part 143 can be increased by providing a plurality of the contacted parts 144.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the opening / closing lever 113 rotates to the contact position, the grip portion 118 of the opening / closing lever 113 is adjacent to the toner box side grip portion 91 of the toner box 40. The box-side grip 91 can be gripped together. For this reason, the relative position between the developing unit 30 provided with the opening / closing lever 113 and the toner box 40 is stabilized, so that the process unit 20 can be moved in a stable state.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 13, in a state where the developing unit 30 and the toner box 40 are mounted on the main casing 2, the opening / closing lever 113 is attached except for the case where the opening / closing lever 113 is positioned at the contact position (see FIG. 1). It interferes with the front cover 7 in the middle of closing the outlet 6. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the laser printer 1 from operating when the toner box 40 is in an insufficiently mounted state with respect to the developing unit 30 (a state in which the opening / closing lever 113 is not positioned at the contact position).

  As shown in FIG. 7, the contact protrusion 141 that contacts the contacted member 142 of the toner box 40 when the open / close lever 113 is in the contact position (see FIG. 3) , Provided at both ends in the width direction which is the longitudinal direction. The abutted member 142 is provided at both ends in the width direction of the toner box 40.

  For this reason, when the opening / closing lever 113 is in the contact position, the contact protrusion 141 contacts the contacted member 142 at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the process unit side grip 110, so that the process unit side grip 110 and the open / close The bending of the lever 113 can be prevented. Thereby, deformation of the process unit side holding part 110 and the opening / closing lever 113 can be suppressed, and the durability of these can be improved.

Further, since the toner box side grip 91 is disposed between the contacted members 142 disposed at both ends in the width direction of the toner box 40, the toner box side grip 91 is separated from the contacted member 142. be able to. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the gripping hand from interfering with the contacted member 142 when gripping the toner box side gripping portion 91.
Further, in the toner box 40, a positioning rib 137 is provided between the contacted member 142 and the toner box side grip 91 in the width direction. The positioning rib 137 engages with the developing housing 62 to position the toner box 40 in the width direction when the toner box 40 is attached to the developing unit 30.

  Therefore, when the toner box 40 is attached to the developing unit 30, the contacted member 142 is not displaced in the width direction, and the contact protrusion 141 is not contacted when the open / close lever 113 is in the contact position. The member 142 can be reliably abutted. Further, as described above, the contact member 142 is provided at both ends in the width direction of the toner box 40, so that the process unit side grip 110 when the contact protrusion 141 contacts the contact member 142. Deflection is prevented. Therefore, the positioning rib 137 provided between the contacted members 142 in the width direction is not displaced, and the toner box 40 can be positioned reliably.

Further, in the opening / closing lever 113, the process unit side gripping portion 110 is configured to connect the free end (front end portion) of the right support portion 108 and the free end (front end portion) of the left support portion 109. The strength of 113 can be improved.
Further, the second toner discharge port 55 rotates integrally with the width direction protrusion 54 when the opening / closing lever 113 is engaged with the width direction protrusion 54. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the outer peripheral wall 45 rotates relative to the second toner discharge port 55. On the other hand, the shutter 111 engages with the second radial protrusion 57 and the third radial protrusion 63 that rotate integrally with the widthwise protrusion 54 with respect to the outer peripheral wall 45. For this reason, the shutter 111 rotates. Accordingly, the outer peripheral wall 45 and the shutter 111 are reliably rotated, and the second toner discharge port 55 and the toner introduction port 88 can be reliably opened and closed.
3. In the above-described embodiment, the process unit 20 is integrally provided with the drum unit 27 and the developing unit 30, and the process unit 20 is detachably attached to the main body casing 2. In addition to this, for example, the developing unit 30 may be detachably provided on the drum unit 27.

1 is a side sectional view showing an embodiment of a laser printer as an image forming apparatus of the present invention. It is the right perspective view which looked at the process unit in the laser printer shown in FIG. 1 from the front upper side. FIG. 3 is a left sectional view of the process unit of FIG. 2. 2A and 2B show a state in which the toner box is detached, in which FIG. 2A shows a state in which the opening / closing lever is in the contact position and the toner inlet is opened, and FIG. 2B shows a state in which the opening / closing lever is in the release position. In this embodiment, the toner introduction port is closed. FIGS. 3A and 3B are left side perspective views of the toner box in the process unit shown in FIG. 2 as viewed from the upper rear side, in which FIG. 2A shows a state in which the toner discharge port is opened, and FIG. (C) shows the inner casing in the toner box. FIG. 2 shows an aspect in which the toner box is detached and the open / close lever is in the release position, together with the detached toner box. FIG. 2 shows a mode in which the open / close lever is in the release position. FIG. 7 is a left sectional view of the process unit of FIG. 6. FIG. 8 is a left side cross-sectional view of the process unit of FIG. 7 and shows a mode in which the swinging portion is in the second state. FIG. 8 is a left side cross-sectional view of the process unit of FIG. FIG. 4 is a left side cross-sectional view of the process unit at a position where the contacted portion of the toner box and the contact portion of the process unit side gripping portion can be seen, wherein FIG. (B) shows a mode in which the open / close lever is in the release position. The modification of the to-be-contacted part and contact part of FIG. 11 is shown. FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of the laser printer shown in FIG. 1, showing a state where the open / close lever interferes with the front cover in the middle of closing the attachment / detachment opening.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Laser printer 2 Main body casing 6 Removable opening 7 Front cover 20 Process unit 28 Photosensitive drum 30 Developing part 40 Toner box 42 Inner housing 45 Outer peripheral wall 54 Width direction protrusion 55 Second toner discharge port 57 Second radial direction protrusion 62 Development Case 63 Third radial protrusion 69 Right side wall 70 Left side wall 71 Toner box storage chamber 88 Toner introduction port 91 Toner box side gripping part 104 Developing roller 108 Right support part 109 Left support part 110 Process unit side grip part 111 Shutter 113 Open / close Lever 118 Grasping part 137 Positioning rib 141 Contact protrusion 142 Contacted member 143 Contacted part 144 Contacted part

Claims (11)

A unit main body part that includes a rotatable developer carrier for supplying a developer to an image carrier on which an electrostatic latent image is formed, and is detachable from the image forming apparatus main body;
A toner box that is detachable from the unit main body in a direction perpendicular to the direction along the rotation axis of the developer carrier , and that stores the developer;
A rotating member rotatably provided on the unit main body,
An abutting member provided on the rotating member and abutting on the toner box from a downstream side of the unit main body of the toner box in a direction of detachment;
The unit main body has an accommodating portion for detachably accommodating the toner box,
The storage portion includes a first wall located at one end in the longitudinal direction of the toner box, and a second wall located at the other end in the longitudinal direction of the toner box,
The rotating member is supported to be rotatable with respect to the first wall, and is supported to be rotatable with respect to the second wall and a first arm extending downstream in the detaching direction of the toner box, A second arm extending downstream of the toner box in the separation direction,
The contact member connects the free end of the first arm and the free end of the second arm in a direction along the rotation axis of the developer carrier,
The rotating member is between a contact position where the contact member contacts the toner box mounted on the unit main body and a release position where the contact of the contact member with the toner box is released. A process unit characterized in that it can be rotated by a . The release position is located below the contact position,
2. The process unit according to claim 1, wherein the rotating member is located at the release position by its own weight in a state where the toner box is detached from the unit main body. 3. The toner box includes a toner housing in which a first opening for supplying developer to the unit main body is formed, and a toner side blocking member that opens and closes the first opening,
The unit main body is formed with a second opening for receiving the developer supplied from the first opening opposite the first opening when the toner box is mounted on the unit main body. A housing and a process-side blocking member that opens and closes the second opening;
3. The process unit according to claim 1, wherein a rotation operation of the rotation member is interlocked with an opening / closing operation of at least one of the toner side blocking member and the process side blocking member. The toner casing is
A first engagement portion that engages with the rotation member and is rotatable integrally with the first opening with respect to the toner side blocking member;
A second engaging portion that rotates integrally with the first engaging portion with respect to the toner side blocking member and engages with the process side blocking member;
The process unit according to claim 3 , characterized by comprising: 5. The process unit according to claim 4, further comprising a vibration applying unit that applies vibration to at least the toner side blocking member during the rotation of the rotating member. The vibration applying means includes
A contact portion that is formed in a convex shape or a concave shape in the contact member, and is in contact with the toner box during a rotation operation of the rotation member;
In the toner box, when the abutting portion is convex, the toner box is formed in a concave shape. When the abutting portion is concave, the toner box is formed in a convex shape. The process unit according to claim 5, further comprising: a contacted portion that is in contact with the contact portion. The rotating member includes a first grip portion,
The toner box includes a second grip portion,
When the rotating member is rotated to said abutting position, said first gripping unit is characterized in that adjacent to the second grip portion, according to any one of claims 3 stomach Shi 6 Process unit. A contact portion that is provided at both longitudinal ends of the contact member, and contacts the toner box when the rotating member is in the contact position;
And a contacted portion that is provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the toner box and that contacts the contact portion when the rotating member is in the contact position. The process unit according to claim 7 . The process unit according to claim 8, wherein the second grip portion is disposed between the contacted portions disposed at both ends in the longitudinal direction. The toner box is provided between the contacted portion and the second gripping portion in the longitudinal direction, and engages with the process casing when the toner box is attached to the unit main body. The process unit according to claim 9, further comprising a positioning portion for positioning the toner box in the longitudinal direction. And the process unit according to any one of claims 1 a stone 10,
An image forming apparatus main body on which the process unit is detachably mounted,
The image forming apparatus main body has an opening for allowing the process unit to pass therethrough, and includes a cover that covers the opening so as to be opened and closed.
In a state where the unit main body portion and the toner box are mounted on the image forming apparatus main body, the rotating member includes the cover that is in the process of closing the opening portion, except when positioned at the contact position. An image forming apparatus that interferes.

Images