JP5211253B2 - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

  As an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a developing device (first unit member) is arranged around a photosensitive drum, and an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum is developed with toner by this developing device. It has been. A toner container (second unit member) is detachably attached to the developing device, and toner is supplied from the toner container to the developing device as the toner decreases. As a developing device provided with this type of toner container, for example, a device described in Patent Document 1 is known.

  The developing device described in Document 1 includes a developing roller and a plurality of conveying screws that extend in parallel to each other, and an elongated housing that encloses the developing roller and the like. On the other hand, the toner container includes an elongated case along the longitudinal direction of the developing device, and an agitation shaft and a conveying screw arranged in the case. The toner container is assembled from above with respect to the housing of the developing device in a state where the stirring shaft and the like are parallel to the developing roller. By this assembly, the input gear mounted on the stirring shaft of the toner container meshes with the output gear of the developing device, and the rotational driving force is transmitted from the developing device to the toner container, so that the stirring shaft and the like rotate.

JP 2001-235933 A

  In an image forming apparatus including a developing device described in Patent Document 1, when attaching or detaching a toner container, it is necessary to open the top of the image forming apparatus widely and access the interior of the apparatus deeply to attach or detach the toner container. there were. In recent years, from the viewpoint of improving the detachability of the toner container, it has been considered that the toner container can be detachable in the horizontal direction, for example, with the front cover opened without greatly opening the top of the image forming apparatus. .

  In this case, an output gear that can rotate around an axis extending in the horizontal direction in a direction perpendicular to the developing roller, that is, a direction in which the toner container is assembled to the developing device, that is particularly necessary due to the layout or the like, is developed. After being arranged in the apparatus, an input gear is arranged on the toner container side so as to be able to mesh with the output gear. In such a structure, if the positions of the teeth of the output gear and the input gear are not appropriate, the input gear interferes with the output gear when the toner container is assembled to the developing device, and the toner container is not assembled to the developing device. It becomes extremely difficult. In addition, both gears may be damaged. Therefore, it is required to solve this point.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, avoiding interference between the gear on the first unit member side and the gear on the second unit member side, and the second unit member to the first unit member. The purpose is to enable quick assembly.

  An image forming apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is an image forming apparatus including a first unit member including a first rotating member that includes a first axis and rotates about the first axis, and is orthogonal to the first axis. A second unit member that is detachably assembled to the first unit member along the direction with the direction as an assembly direction, and the second unit member extends in a direction parallel to the assembly direction. A second rotating member including a shaft and rotatable about the second axis; a second unit main body supporting the second rotating member; and a rotatable about an axis parallel to the assembly direction, A second gear for transmitting a rotational force to the second rotating member, and the first unit member is disposed on the first unit main body on which the first rotating member is supported, and the first unit main body. The second unit member is assembled A first position that includes a unit mounting portion to be mounted, a first gear that can rotate about an axis parallel to the assembling direction, and a first position at which the first gear can mesh with the second gear. A movable member supported by the first unit main body so as to be displaceable to a second position retracted outward from the position; and a biasing member that biases the movable member to the first position; The second unit main body and the movable member are each provided with an abutting part that abuts on each other in the process of attaching the second unit member to the unit attaching part, and each of the abutting parts includes the attaching process. As the second unit member moves in the assembling direction, the movable member is displaced from the first position to the second position against the urging force of the urging member, and the second unit member is When the specified assembly position is reached It said movable member by the biasing force of the serial biasing member is one that is formed so as to return to the first position.

  In this image forming apparatus, the rotational driving force is transmitted from the first unit member side to the second unit member side via the first gear and the second gear, thereby driving the second rotating member of the second unit member. . A 2nd unit member is assembled | attached to the unit assembly part of a 1st unit member along the direction (assembly direction) orthogonal to the rotating shaft direction of a 1st rotation member. At this time, when the second unit member is moved in the assembly direction, the abutting portion on the second unit member side abuts on the abutting portion on the movable member side, and the movable member is moved from the first position to the second position. Displacement thereby avoiding interference between the second gear and the first gear. When the second unit member is moved to a predetermined assembly position, the movable member is returned to the first position by the urging force of the urging member, and by this return, the second gear of the second unit member is moved to the first unit. It is meshed with the first gear on the member side, and the rotational driving force can be transmitted from the first unit member side to the second unit member side.

  In this image forming apparatus, the movable member is supported by the first unit main body so as to be rotatable about an axis parallel to the assembly direction, and the first position and the It is displaced over the second position.

  According to this configuration, the movable member can be displaced over the first position and the second position in a relatively small space.

  In this case, the first unit member has a rotation shaft supported by the first unit main body so as to be rotatable about an axis parallel to the assembly direction, and a rotational driving force for rotating the rotation shaft. Is provided, and an output unit for applying a rotational driving force input to the rotating shaft to the first gear as a rotational driving force from the outside, and the movable member includes The shaft member is rotatably supported on the rotation shaft.

  In this image forming apparatus, a rotational driving force is input to the shaft member of the first unit member, and the rotational driving force of the shaft member is applied to the first gear via the output unit, whereby the first gear and the second gear. A rotational driving force is transmitted from the first unit member to the second unit member via the gear. On the other hand, when the second unit member is attached to the first unit member, the movable member rotates (swings) about the shaft member (rotating shaft), and the movable member moves to the first position by this rotation. To the second position. According to this configuration, a rational configuration is achieved in which a shaft member (rotating shaft) for applying a rotational driving force to the first gear is used as a support shaft for rotatably supporting the movable member. . In addition, according to this configuration, the first gear is displaced while maintaining a constant distance from the shaft member (rotating shaft), so that the rotational driving force applied to the shaft member is transmitted to the first gear with a simple configuration. It becomes possible to do.

  In this case, the output unit includes a gear meshing with the first gear, and the shaft member and the first gear reduce the rotational speed of the rotational driving force applied to the input unit to a predetermined rotational speed, and It is preferable to transmit to the second gear.

  According to this configuration, the rotational speed of the rotational driving force input to the shaft member can be transmitted to the toner container side while being reduced to a desired rotational speed.

  According to the present invention, the second unit member can be quickly assembled to the first unit member without causing the gear on the second unit member side and the gear on the first unit member side to interfere with each other.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing an internal structure of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a developing device and a toner container incorporated in the image forming apparatus. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a developing device and a toner container shown in FIG. 2. It is a perspective view of a developing device alone. It is a top view which shows the internal structure of a developing device. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a toner container alone. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of the developing device showing the container mounting portion and the vicinity thereof (a state where the developing shutter plate is in the closed position). FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of the developing device showing a container mounting portion and the vicinity thereof (a state where the developing shutter plate is in an open position). FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part of the developing device showing a state where the gear holder is in a retracted position. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part of the developing device and the toner container showing a state in which the toner container is assembled. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of the developing device and the toner container showing a process of assembling the toner container to the developing device (displacement state of the developing shutter plate).

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an internal structure of an image forming apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Here, a monochrome printer is illustrated as the image forming apparatus 1, but the image forming apparatus may be a copying machine, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction machine having these functions, and an image forming apparatus that forms a color image. It may be.

  The image forming apparatus 1 includes a main body housing 10 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing structure, a paper feeding unit 20, an image forming unit 30, a fixing unit 40, and a toner container 50 (in the present invention) accommodated in the main body housing 10. Corresponding to the second unit member).

  A front cover 11 is provided on the front side (right side in FIG. 1) of the main body housing 10, and a rear cover 12 is provided on the rear side. By opening the front cover 11, the user can take out the toner container 50 from the front side of the main body housing 10 when the toner runs out. The rear cover 12 is a cover that is opened at the time of sheet jam or maintenance. The units of the image forming unit 30 and the fixing unit 40 can be taken out from the rear side of the main body housing 10 by opening the rear cover 12. Further, on the upper surface of the main body housing 10, a paper discharge unit 13 for discharging the sheet after image formation is provided.

  The paper feeding unit 20 includes a paper feeding cassette 21 that accommodates a sheet on which image forming processing is performed. The paper feed cassette 21 can be pulled out from the front side of the main body housing 10 in the front direction. The sheet feeding cassette 21 is provided with a sheet accommodating space for accommodating the bundle of sheets, a lift plate for lifting the bundle of sheets for feeding. A sheet feeding portion 21 </ b> A is provided at an upper portion on the rear end side of the sheet feeding cassette 21. In the sheet feeding portion 21A, a pickup roller (not shown) for feeding the uppermost sheet of the sheet bundle in the sheet feeding cassette 21 one by one is disposed.

  The image forming unit 30 performs an image forming process for forming a toner image on a sheet fed from the paper feeding unit 20. The image forming unit 30 includes a photosensitive drum 31, a charging device 32, an exposure device (not shown in FIG. 1), and a developing device 33 (first unit of the present invention) disposed around the photosensitive drum 31. A transfer roller 34 and a cleaning device 35.

  The photosensitive drum 31 rotates around its axis, and an electrostatic latent image and a toner image are formed on its peripheral surface. As the photosensitive drum 31, a photosensitive drum using an amorphous silicon (a-Si) material can be used. The charging device 32 uniformly charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 31, and includes a charging roller that contacts the photosensitive drum 31. The exposure apparatus has a laser light source and optical equipment such as a mirror and a lens, and irradiates the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 31 with light modulated based on image data given from an external device such as a personal computer. An electrostatic latent image is formed.

  The developing device 33 supplies toner to the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 31 in order to develop the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 31 to form a toner image. The developing device 33 includes a developing roller 331 carrying toner to be supplied to the photosensitive drum 31, and a developer (toner) inside the developing housing 60 (see FIGS. 2 to 5; corresponding to the first unit body of the present invention). ) Are circulated and conveyed while stirring, and a second conveying screw 333 is included. In this embodiment, the developing roller corresponds to the first rotating member of the present invention, and its axis corresponds to the first axis of the present invention. The developing device 33 will be described in detail later.

  The transfer roller 34 is a roller for transferring a toner image formed on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 31 onto a sheet, and forms a transfer nip portion with the photosensitive drum 31. The transfer roller 34 is given a transfer bias having a polarity opposite to that of the toner. The cleaning device 35 has a cleaning roller and the like, and cleans the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 31 after the toner image is transferred.

  The fixing unit 40 performs a fixing process for fixing the transferred toner image on the sheet. The fixing unit 40 includes a fixing roller 41 having a heating source therein, and a pressure roller 42 that is pressed against the fixing roller 41 and forms a fixing nip portion with the fixing roller 41. When the sheet on which the toner image has been transferred is passed through the fixing nip portion, the toner image is fixed on the sheet by heating by the fixing roller 41 and pressing by the pressure roller 42.

  The toner container 50 stores toner to be supplied to the developing device 33. The toner container 50 includes a container main body 51 (corresponding to the second unit main body of the present invention) in which toner is accommodated, and a conveying screw 52 (corresponding to the second rotating member of the present invention) for conveying the toner accommodated inside the container. Including).

  The container main body 51 includes a toner accommodating portion 51a that mainly stores toner, a cylindrical portion 51b that protrudes from a lower portion of one side surface (the rear surface in FIG. 1) of the toner accommodating portion 51a, and a toner accommodating portion 51a. And a lid member 51c covering the other side surface (see FIG. 6). The conveying screw 52 includes a shaft 521 (corresponding to the second axis of the present invention) that extends in the direction in which the toner accommodating portion 51a and the cylindrical portion 51b are arranged, and a blade portion that protrudes in a spiral shape on the outer periphery of the shaft 521. 522. The toner stored in the toner container 50 is transported from the toner accommodating portion 51a to the cylindrical portion 51b when the transport screw 52 is driven to rotate, and the toner discharge port 511 provided on the lower surface of the front end of the cylindrical portion 51b. To the developing device 33. The detailed configuration of the toner container 50 will be described in detail later.

  In the main body housing 10, a main conveyance path 22F and a reverse conveyance path 22B are provided to convey the sheet. The main conveyance path 22 </ b> F passes through the image feeding unit 21 and the fixing unit 40 from the sheet feeding unit 21 </ b> A of the paper feeding unit 20, and the paper discharge port 14 provided to face the paper discharge unit 13 on the upper surface of the main body housing 10. It extends to. The reverse conveyance path 22B is a conveyance path for returning a sheet printed on one side to the upstream side of the image forming unit 30 in the main conveyance path 22F when performing duplex printing on the sheet.

  A registration roller pair 23 is disposed in a position upstream of the transfer nip portion between the photosensitive drum 31 and the transfer roller 34 in the main transport path 22F. After the sheet is temporarily stopped by the registration roller pair 23 and skew correction is performed, the sheet is sent out to the transfer nip portion at a predetermined timing for image transfer. A plurality of transport rollers for transporting the sheet are disposed at appropriate positions on the main transport path 22F and the reverse transport path 22B. For example, a pair of paper discharge rollers 24 is disposed in the vicinity of the paper discharge port 14.

  The reverse conveyance path 22 </ b> B is formed between the outer side surface of the reverse unit 25 and the inner surface of the rear cover 12 of the main body housing 10. A transfer roller 34 and one roller of the registration roller pair 23 are mounted on the inner surface of the reversing unit 25. The rear cover 12 and the reversing unit 25 can be rotated about the axis of the fulcrum 121 provided at the lower end thereof. When a sheet jam occurs in the reverse conveyance path 22B, the rear cover 12 is opened. When a sheet jam occurs in the main conveyance path 22F, or when the unit of the photosensitive drum 31 and the developing device 33 are taken out, the reversing unit 25 is opened in addition to the rear cover 12.

  Next, the structures of the developing device 33 and the toner container 50 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 is a plan view showing the assembled state of the developing device 33 and the toner container 50, FIG. 3 is a perspective view thereof, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the developing device 33 alone, and FIG. 5 is an internal structure of the developing device 33. FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the toner container alone, FIGS. 7 to 9 are enlarged views of main parts of the developing device 33, and FIG. 10 is a developing device and a toner showing a state in which the toner container is assembled to the developing device. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of the developing device and the toner container, showing a process in which the toner container is assembled to the developing device.

  The developing device 33 includes a developing housing 60 having a box shape that is long in one direction (the axial direction of the developing roller 331). The developing housing 60 has an opening extending in the longitudinal direction, and a part of the peripheral surface of the developing roller 331 is exposed from the opening. In the present embodiment, the developing housing 60 is assembled to the main body housing 10 so that the longitudinal direction thereof coincides with the left-right direction of the main body housing 10.

  Referring to FIG. 5, the development housing 60 includes an internal space 600. In the case of the two-component development method, the internal space 600 is filled with a developer composed of toner and carrier. The carrier is agitated and mixed with the toner in the internal space 600 to charge the toner and convey the toner to the developing roller 331. The toner is sequentially supplied to the developing roller 331 and consumed, and the consumed amount is appropriately supplied from the toner container 50.

  The internal space 600 of the developing housing 60 is partitioned into a first passage 602 and a second passage 603 that are long in the left-right direction by a partition plate 601 extending in the left-right direction. The partition plate 601 is shorter than the width in the left-right direction of the developing housing 60, and the first communication portion 604 and the second communication portion that connect the first passage 602 and the second passage 603 to the right end and the left end of the partition plate 601, respectively. 605 is provided. As a result, a circulation path reaching the first passage 602, the first communication portion 604, the second passage 603, and the second communication portion 605 is formed inside the developing housing 60.

  A first conveyance screw 332 is accommodated in the first passage 602, and a second conveyance screw 333 is accommodated in the second passage 603. The first and second conveying screws 332 and 333 each include a shaft and a blade portion projecting in a spiral shape on the outer periphery of the shaft. The first conveying screw 332 is driven to rotate around the shaft to convey the developer in the direction of arrow a in FIG. On the other hand, the second conveying screw 333 is driven to rotate around the shaft, thereby conveying the developer in the direction of arrow b. Accordingly, when the first and second conveying screws 332 and 333 are driven to rotate, the developer is circulated and conveyed along the above-described circulation path.

  4 and 7, the top plate 60T of the developing housing 60 includes a container mounting portion 61 (corresponding to a unit mounting portion of the present invention) near the left end thereof. The container mounting portion 61 is provided with a toner replenishing port 60H for receiving the toner supplied from the toner container 50 into the housing, and in the state where the toner container 50 is assembled to the container mounting portion 61. The toner supply port 60H and the toner discharge port 511 of the toner container 50 coincide with each other in the vertical direction.

  The toner replenishing port 60H is located above the left end of the first passage 602 of the developing housing 60. Accordingly, the toner newly supplied from the toner supply port 60 </ b> H falls into the first passage 602, is mixed with the existing developer, and is conveyed by the first conveying screw 332 in the direction of arrow a. At this time, the toner is stirred with the carrier and charged. Next, the toner enters the second passage 603 from the downstream end of the first passage 602 through the first communication portion 604 and is conveyed in the direction of arrow b by the second conveying screw 333. During this conveyance, the toner is similarly charged, while a part is supplied to the peripheral surface of the developing roller 331. The remaining toner and carrier are returned to the upstream end of the first passage 602 via the second communication portion 605.

  On the top surface of the top plate 60T of the developing housing 60, a developing shutter plate 62 that is slidable in the left-right direction is disposed. The developing shutter plate 62 is located at the container mounting portion 61 and moves to the right from the closed position (the position shown in FIG. 7) where the toner supply opening 60H is closed by covering the toner supply opening 60H. Thus, sliding movement is possible to an open position (the position shown in FIGS. 4 and 8) where the toner supply port 60H is opened.

  The developing shutter plate 62 includes a guide protrusion 621 that protrudes downward. The guide protrusion 621 is inserted into a slit-shaped guide groove 611 formed in the top plate 60T and extending in the left-right direction. The top plate 60T is formed with ribs 623 extending in the left-right direction and covering a part of the developing shutter plate 62 from above. As a result, the developing shutter plate 62 slides stably in the left-right direction along the guide groove 611 while being pressed from above by the rib 623.

  The developing shutter plate 62 is always urged by the urging spring 625 so as to be positioned in the left direction, that is, in the closed position. The urging spring 625 is a coil spring, and each end is attached to a spring seat (not shown) provided on the right edge of the developing shutter plate 62 and the rib 624 adjacent to the developing shutter plate 62.

  On the upper surface of the developing shutter plate 62, a sloping ridge 622 is provided so as to be inclined in an oblique direction with respect to the front-rear direction. The oblique ridge 622 converts an external force applied to the oblique ridge 622 from the front side into a leftward driving force of the developing shutter plate 62.

  A guide portion 612 of the toner container 50 is disposed on the left side of the container mounting portion 61 of the developing housing 60. The guide portion 612 guides the toner container 50 when the toner container 50 is assembled to the container mounting portion 61. The guide portion 612 protrudes from the top surface of the top plate 60 </ b> T of the developing housing 60 and extends in the front-rear direction. Consists of.

  On the left side of the guide portion 612, a shaft member 63 for transmitting a rotational driving force from a motor (not shown) to the toner container 50, a gear holder 65 (corresponding to a movable member of the present invention), and an attachment not shown. A biasing spring (corresponding to the biasing member of the present invention) is arranged.

  The shaft member 63 is fixed to a rotating shaft 631 that extends in the front-rear direction and is rotatably supported by a support portion 64 disposed on the top plate 60T, and one end (the front side in FIG. 7) of the rotating shaft 631, A coupling 632 (corresponding to an input unit of the present invention) to which a rotational driving force from the motor is applied, and an intermediate gear 633 (an output unit of the present invention) formed by a spur gear fixed to the other end of the rotating shaft 631. Equivalent to).

  The gear holder 65 includes a holder main body 652 that is swingably supported by the rotating shaft 631 of the shaft member 63, and a spur gear that is rotatably supported by the holder main body 652 while meshing with the intermediate gear 633. Output gear 651 (corresponding to the first gear of the present invention). The gear holder 65 has a meshing position (position shown in FIG. 7; corresponding to the first position of the present invention) where the output gear 651 meshes with a container gear 52G, which will be described later, of the toner container 50 assembled to the container mounting portion 61. The output gear 651 can swing to a retracted position (position shown in FIG. 9; corresponding to the second position of the present invention) retracted to the outside (left side) from this position. The gear holder 65 is urged by an urging spring so as to be always in the meshing position. This urging spring is a torsion coil spring and is mounted on the rotary shaft 631 at a position between the support portion 64 and the gear holder 65, and both ends thereof are engaged with the support portion 64 and the holder main body 652.

  The transmission gear 651 of the gear holder 65 and the intermediate gear 633 of the shaft member 63 reduce the rotational speed of the rotational driving force applied from the motor to the shaft member 63 to a predetermined rotational speed to be applied to the toner container 50. To do.

  The holder main body 652 of the gear holder 65 is formed with a contact portion 653 (corresponding to the contact portion on the movable member side in the present invention) with which the toner container 50 contacts when the toner container 50 is mounted on the container mounting portion 61. Has been. The contact portion 653 generates an external force applied to the contact portion 653 from the front side by rotating the gear holder 65 counterclockwise (counterclockwise when viewed from the front), that is, the gear holder 65 from the meshing position to the retracted position. A contact surface inclined in an oblique direction with respect to the front-rear direction so as to be converted into a displacement force is provided.

  As shown by an arrow A in FIG. 2, the toner container 50 has a toner container 51a and a cylindrical portion 51b aligned in the front-rear direction, as shown by an arrow A in FIG. ) To the developing device 33 from the cylindrical portion 51b side. Accordingly, in a state where the toner container 50 is mounted on the developing device 33, the toner inside the container is supplied to the developing device 33 while being transported from the front side to the rear side as the transport screw 52 rotates.

  A first pressing plate 542 for pressing the developing shutter plate 62 of the developing housing 60 is attached to a lower portion of the leading edge of the cylindrical portion 51b of the toner container 50, and a left side slightly behind the leading end of the cylindrical portion 51b. A second pressing plate 544 (corresponding to a contact portion on the second unit main body side in the present invention) for pressing the holder main body 652 of the gear holder 65 is attached to the portion. In addition, a container gear 52G (corresponding to the second gear of the present invention) made up of a spur gear for inputting a rotational driving force to the conveying screw 52 is exposed and disposed on the distal end surface of the cylindrical portion 51b. . The container gear 52G is disposed on the same axis as the shaft 521 of the conveying screw 52, and is connected to the tip of the shaft 521 so as to be rotatable integrally with the shaft 521.

  When the toner container 50 is attached to the developing device 33, the user inserts the toner container 50 into the image forming apparatus 1 from the front and attaches it to the container mounting portion 61 of the developing housing 60. At this time, the user inserts the protruding portion 613 formed on the guide portion 612 into the groove portion 545 (see FIG. 6) formed on the side portion of the cylindrical portion 51b, and the toner container 50 is predetermined along the guide portion 612. Enter to the assembly position.

  When the cylindrical portion 51b of the toner container 50 enters from the front to the rear with respect to the container mounting portion 61, the cylindrical portion 51b interferes with the gear holder 65 disposed at the meshing position, and the gear holder 65 is moved to the retracted position. (See FIG. 9; the toner container 50 is omitted in FIG. 9). Specifically, the second pressing plate 544 comes into contact with the contact surface of the contact portion 653 from the front, so that the gear holder 65 rotates counterclockwise around the rotation shaft 631 against the urging force of the urging spring. It is turned counterclockwise (when viewed from the front). This avoids interference between the container gear 52G at the tip of the cylindrical portion 51b and the output gear 651 of the developing device 33.

  When the toner container 50 enters a predetermined assembly position, as shown in FIG. 10, the second pressing plate 544 passes through the position of the contact portion 653, so that the contact state is released, and the gear holder 65 returns to the meshing position by the biasing force of the biasing spring. As a result, the output gear 651 meshes with the container gear 52G, and the rotation driving force can be transmitted from the developing device 33 to the toner container 50.

  On the other hand, when the cylindrical portion 51b of the toner container 50 enters from the front to the rear with respect to the container mounting portion 61, the first pressing plate 542 of the toner container 50 interferes with the developing shutter plate 62 disposed at the closed position. Then, the developing shutter plate 62 is moved to the right. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, the first pressing plate 542 comes into contact with the skew projecting ridge 623 projecting from the upper surface of the developing shutter plate 62, and the biasing spring 62. The developing shutter plate 61 is pushed rightward against the urging force. When the toner container 50 enters the predetermined assembly position (FIG. 11C), the developing shutter plate 62 reaches the open position and the toner supply port 60H is opened, and the toner supply port 60H. Thus, the toner discharge port 511 of the toner container 50 is opposed to the toner container 50, so that the toner can be supplied from the toner container 50 to the developing device 33. Although not shown, the toner container 50 includes a shutter member that opens and closes the toner discharge port 511. When the toner container 50 is attached, the cylindrical portion 51b of the toner container 50 is viewed from the front. As the vehicle enters rearward, the shutter member is pushed forward by the protrusion 613 formed in the guide portion 612, and the toner discharge port 511 is thereby opened.

  On the other hand, when the toner container 50 is removed from the container mounting portion 61, the developing shutter plate 62 is returned to the closed position by the urging force of the urging spring 625, whereby the toner supply port 60H is closed.

  As described above, in the image forming apparatus 1, the toner container 50 is assembled from the front with respect to the developing device 33, and the container gear 52G on the toner container 50 side and the output gear 651 on the developing device 33 side mesh. Thus, the rotational driving force is transmitted from the developing device 33 to the toner container 50. As described above, when the toner container 50 is assembled to the developing device 33, the toner container 50 is attached to the container mounting portion 61. When the gear holder 65 moves from the meshing position to the retracted position as the vehicle enters, interference between the container gear 52G and the transmission gear 651 is avoided. When the toner container 50 reaches a predetermined assembly position, the gear holder 65 returns to the meshing position and the output gear 651 meshes with the container gear 52G, whereby the rotation driving force of the toner container 50 from the developing device 33 is increased. Communication is possible. Therefore, according to the image forming apparatus 1, the toner container 50 can be quickly assembled to the developing device 33 while avoiding the interference between the container gear 52G and the output gear 651, and both the gears 52G and 651 due to the interference can be assembled. Can be prevented in advance.

  In particular, in the image forming apparatus 1, a gear holder 65 is rotatably supported by a shaft member 63 (rotary shaft 631) that receives a rotational driving force from a motor, and the output gear 651 is rotated along with the rotation of the gear holder 65. Is displaced to a position where it can mesh with the container gear 52G and a position retracted outward from this position. That is, the image forming apparatus 1 does not require a dedicated support shaft for rotatably supporting the gear holder 65 while the output gear 651 is rotated and displaced together with the gear holder 65. A rational configuration in which the shaft member 63 is also used is achieved. In addition, since the output gear 651 is rotationally displaced while the distance between the shaft member 63 (rotating shaft 631) and the output gear 651 is kept constant, the shaft as in the above embodiment can be used while the output gear 651 is displaced. There is an advantage that the rotational driving force can be transmitted from the shaft member 63 to the output gear 651 with a simple configuration in which the intermediate gear 633 is provided on the member 63.

  The image forming apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention has been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, the following modified embodiment can be taken.

  (1) In the above embodiment, the output gear 651 is displaced along an arc centered on the shaft member 63 by rotating the gear holder 65, but the output gear 651 is linearly displaced in the left-right direction. May be. As an example, a transmission member that integrally includes components corresponding to the shaft member 63 and the gear holder 65 is disposed in the developing housing 60, and the transmission member is similar to the developing shutter plate 62 in the toner container 50. A structure that is displaced in the left-right direction with approach is conceivable.

  (2) In the above-described embodiment, the intermediate gear 633 of the shaft member 63 meshes with the output gear 651. However, the intermediate gear 633 is interposed between the intermediate gear 633 and the output gear 651, and transmits one or more rotational driving forces. The structure with which a gear is provided in the holder main body 652 may be sufficient.

  (3) In the above embodiment, the intermediate gear 633 is fixed to the shaft member 63 as the output portion of the present invention, so that the rotational driving force is transmitted from the shaft member 63 to the output gear 651 by a so-called gear transmission mechanism. The transmission mechanism of the rotational driving force is not limited to the gear transmission mechanism, and may be a belt transmission mechanism. For example, the output gear 651 is provided with a pulley, and a pulley is fixed to the shaft member 63 as an output portion of the present invention, and a transmission belt is mounted over the pulley, so that the output gear is removed from the shaft member 63. A configuration in which the rotational driving force is transmitted to 651 may be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Image forming apparatus 10 Main body housing 20 Paper feed part 30 Image forming part 40 Fixing part 50 Toner container 52 Conveying screw 52G Container gear 63 Shaft member 631 Rotating shaft 632 Coupling 633 Intermediate gear 65 Gear holder 651 Output gear

Claims (4)

In the image forming apparatus,
A first unit member including a first rotating member including a first shaft and rotating about the first shaft;
A second unit member removably assembled to the first unit member along this direction with the direction orthogonal to the first axis as the assembly direction;
The second unit member includes a second shaft that includes a second shaft extending in a direction parallel to the assembly direction and is rotatable about the second shaft, and a second unit body that supports the second rotating member. And a second gear provided so as to be rotatable about an axis parallel to the assembly direction, and for transmitting a rotational force to the second rotating member,
The first unit member is parallel to the first unit main body on which the first rotating member is supported, a unit mounting portion that is disposed on the first unit main body and on which the second unit member is assembled, and parallel to the assembling direction. A first position that includes a first gear that can rotate about an arbitrary axis and that allows the first gear to mesh with the second gear, and a second position that retreats outward from the first position. A movable member supported by the first unit main body so as to be displaceable, and a biasing member that biases the movable member to the first position,
The second unit main body and the movable member respectively include contact portions that contact each other in the process of mounting the second unit member to the unit mounting portion.
Each of the contact portions moves the movable member from the first position to the second position against the urging force of the urging member as the second unit member moves in the assembling direction in the attachment process. And the movable member is returned to the first position by the urging force of the urging member when the second unit member reaches a predetermined assembly position. apparatus. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1.
The movable member is supported by the first unit main body so as to be rotatable about an axis parallel to the assembly direction, and is moved to the first position and the second position by the rotation. An image forming apparatus, wherein the image forming apparatus is displaced. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2.
The first unit member receives a rotation shaft supported by the first unit main body so as to be rotatable about an axis parallel to the assembly direction, and a rotational driving force for rotating the rotation shaft. A shaft member, and an output unit for applying a rotational driving force input to the rotating shaft to the first gear as a rotational driving force from the outside,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the movable member is rotatably supported on a rotation shaft of the shaft member. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3.
The output part is composed of a gear meshing with the first gear,
The image forming apparatus, wherein the shaft member and the first gear reduce a rotational speed of a rotational driving force applied to the input unit to a predetermined rotational speed and transmit the speed to the second gear.

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