JP5360568B2 - Powder container and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a powder container for storing powder used in an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile machine, and a copying machine, and an image forming apparatus including the powder container.

  In an image forming apparatus that visualizes an electrostatic latent image formed on a latent image carrier with a developing device using toner, toner in the developing device is consumed as the image is formed. For this reason, there has been conventionally known an image forming apparatus that includes a toner replenishing device having a toner container that contains toner, and that supplies toner contained in the toner container to the developing device by the toner replenishing device.

  In the image forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1, a toner replenishing device that detachably holds a toner container containing toner in a container body is provided. A toner discharge port for discharging the toner contained in the toner container is formed on one end side of the toner container. On the other end side of the toner container, there is provided a drive connecting portion that is connected to a drive portion that is provided in the toner replenishing device and that includes a motor that rotates the toner container. A spiral groove extending in the axial direction of the toner container is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the toner container. In the toner replenishing device, the toner container is rotated by the drive unit, and the toner in the toner container is transported to the toner discharge port side along the spiral groove, and the toner is sent from the toner discharge port to the developing device side to supply the toner to the developing device. Replenish. Further, by pulling out the toner replenishing device mounted at a predetermined mounting position in the image forming apparatus main body to the outside of the image forming apparatus main body, the user can replace the toner container that has been emptied with the passage of time with a new toner container. It is configured as follows.

  The toner container that has been emptied as a result of use over time is collected from the user in recent years from the viewpoint of environmental conservation, and after being subjected to predetermined regeneration processing such as cleaning and toner filling, it is used again as a recycled product.

  The toner container also includes information storage means such as an IC chip for storing information on the toner container (toner container lot, production date, toner filling amount, filling timing, type, number of recycling times, upper limit of number of recycling times, etc.) There is known an image forming apparatus which is provided in the apparatus and reads the information of the toner container from the information storage means. The information is transmitted by radio signal to information storage means provided in the toner container by an information writing device installed in the factory when a new toner container is manufactured. The information storage means receives the radio signal transmitted from the information writing device, and stores the information in the nonvolatile memory of the information storage means. When a new toner container provided with information storage means is set in the image forming apparatus main body, the image forming apparatus wirelessly transmits the information from the information storage means provided in the toner container using the communication means of the image forming apparatus. Receive by signal. The image forming apparatus determines whether an appropriate toner container is set in the image forming apparatus main body based on the information received from the information storage unit. When the toner container that has been emptied over time and is removed from the main body of the image forming apparatus is subjected to the regeneration process, first, the information storage unit provided in the toner container by the information reading device installed in the factory that performs the regeneration process The information is read from the non-volatile memory, and it is determined whether or not the toner container is reproducible. If the toner container is recyclable, a predetermined regeneration process such as cleaning the toner container or filling the toner is performed. Then, update information (toner filling amount, filling timing, type, number of recycling, etc.) relating to the toner container that has been subjected to the regeneration processing after the regeneration processing is wirelessly transmitted to the information storage means of the toner container by the information writing device installed in the factory. Sent by signal. The information storage means receives the radio signal transmitted from the information writing device, and stores the update information in the nonvolatile memory of the information storage means. After the renewal information is stored in the information storage means of the toner container that has been subjected to the regeneration process, the toner container is again set in the image forming apparatus main body and used as a recycled product.

  When communication is performed between the communication unit of the image forming apparatus and the information storage unit of the toner container, wireless communication is used for communication between the information storage unit and the communication unit due to an electromagnetic wave generated by a motor that rotationally drives the toner container. There is a risk of communication failure due to noise on the signal. The tendency becomes more remarkable when the frequency band of the electromagnetic wave of the motor is close to the frequency band of the wireless signal.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and its purpose is to prevent a communication failure caused by electromagnetic waves emitted by a driving unit that rotationally drives the container body in communication between the information storing unit and the information transmitting / receiving unit. It is an object to provide a powder container that can be suppressed, and an image forming apparatus including the powder container.

In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention is a container main body for storing powder used for image formation, and is provided on one end side of the container main body, and is engaged with a driving means on the image forming apparatus side. A drive transmission unit for transmitting a rotational driving force from the driving means, an opening provided on the other end side of the container body, for discharging the powder in the container body to the outside of the container body, and accompanying the rotation of the container body A powder storage container having a transfer means for transferring powder in the container body to the opening side, storing at least information relating to the powder stored in the container body, and transmitting / receiving information on the image forming apparatus side And an information storage means for communicating the information in a non-contact state on the outer peripheral surface of the container main body in the vicinity of the opening , the information storage means for transmitting / receiving the information to / from at least the information transmission / reception means An antenna and a base on which the antenna is placed Has the door, the substrate is characterized in that it is fixed to the container body in a posture which rises from the container body outer peripheral surface in the vicinity of the opening.
The invention according to claim 2 is the powder container according to claim 1, wherein the container body has a maximum projected area when viewed from the direction of the rotation axis of the conveying means, and the projected area of the information storage means is The container body is within the projected area.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the powder container of the first or second aspect , the substrate is held by a rib rising from the outer peripheral surface of the container body in the vicinity of the opening. is there.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the powder container of the third aspect, the substrate has a convex portion on a surface facing the rib, and the rib has a hole or a concave portion into which the convex portion is fitted. It is characterized by being.
The invention of claim 5, claim 1, in 4 of the powder container was 3 or, which is characterized in that a stream blocking member between said information storage means and the opening It is.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the powder container according to the fifth aspect , the container from the driving means engages with the powder conveying mechanism on the image forming apparatus side between the information storing means and the opening. A second drive transmission unit that transmits the rotational driving force transmitted to the main body to the powder conveyance mechanism, and the airflow blocking member is configured by a part of the second drive transmission unit. It is a feature.
The invention of claim 7, claim 1, 2, 3, 4, in the powder container of 5 or 6, the container main body outer peripheral surface in the vicinity of the opening of at least the information storing means is arranged Is made of resin and is formed by injection molding.
The invention of claim 8 is the powder container of claim 7 , wherein the container body is formed by blow molding after injection molding.
The invention of claim 9, claim 1,2,3,4,5,6, in the powder container 7 or 8, said information storage means the container body by heat-shrinkable annular member It is characterized by being fixed to.
The invention of claim 10, in the powder container of claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 8 or 9, said conveying means, formed on the inner wall surface of the container body It is characterized by being a spiral projection.
According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, an image carrier that carries a latent image, a developing unit that develops the latent image carried on the image carrier with a powder developer, and the developer are housed. A powder supply means for detachably holding the powder container and supplying developer in the container body of the powder container to the developing means, and storing at least information relating to the container body attached to the container body In the image forming apparatus comprising: an information storage unit configured to communicate with a communication unit that is provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus and reads information stored in the information storage unit. 4,5,6,7,8, 9 or is one which comprises using the powder storage container 10.

  In the present invention, since the information storage means is disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the container body near the opening, the information storage means is farther from the driving means than when the information storage means is disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the container body near the drive transmission unit. Information storage means is arranged at the position. Thereby, the electromagnetic wave emitted by the drive means is less likely to be transmitted as noise in the communication between the information storage means and the information transmission / reception means, compared to the case where the information storage means is disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the container body near the drive transmission unit. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of communication failure due to the electromagnetic wave emitted by the drive unit in the communication between the information storage unit and the information transmission / reception unit.

  As described above, according to the present invention, there is an excellent effect that it is possible to suppress the occurrence of communication failure due to the electromagnetic wave emitted by the driving unit that rotationally drives the container body in the communication between the information storage unit and the information transmission / reception unit.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a toner container in which an RFID tag is attached to an outer peripheral surface of a container body on one end side where an opening is formed. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a copier according to an embodiment. The schematic block diagram of an image creation part. (A) The longitudinal cross-sectional view of a toner container. (B) An enlarged view of the vicinity of the opening. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of each component of the toner supply device. Sectional drawing which shows the state which the container holding member vicinity decomposed | disassembled. The perspective view which shows the state which pulled out the container holder from the guide plate. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where a toner container is mounted on a toner supply device. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a state where toner in a toner container is discharged into a container holding unit. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a holding part of a toner container housing part. (A) The perspective view of the RFID tag back surface. (B) Perspective view of the front surface of the RFID tag. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of an opening of a toner container. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view near the opening of a toner container. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a toner container from the opening side in the toner container rotation axis direction when the RFID tag is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the container body on the opening side. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a toner container from the opening side in the toner container rotation axis direction when the RFID tag is attached to the opening on the outer peripheral surface of the container body. Intermediate molded product of toner container after primary processing by injection molding. Explanatory drawing at the time of making a strip-shaped RFID tag tubular. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a toner container in which an RFID tag is attached in a tubular shape on the outer peripheral surface of a container body on one end side where an opening is formed. (A) A schematic diagram showing an example of an RFID tag. (B) The schematic diagram which shows the other example of an RFID tag.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to an electrophotographic copying machine (hereinafter referred to as a copying machine) which is an image forming apparatus will be described.

  First, the configuration and operation of the entire image forming apparatus will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, four toner containers 30Y, 30M, 30C, and 30K corresponding to the respective colors (yellow, magenta, cyan, and black) are detachably attached to the toner container housing 131 in the image forming apparatus main body 100 ( It is installed freely. An intermediate transfer unit 15 is disposed below the toner container housing part 131. Image forming portions 6Y, 6M, 6C, and 6K corresponding to the respective colors (yellow, magenta, cyan, and black) are arranged in parallel so as to face the intermediate transfer belt 8 of the intermediate transfer unit 15.

  The toner containers 30Y, 30M, 30C, and 30K accommodated in the toner container accommodating portion 131 are held in the toner supply devices 70Y, 70M, 70C, and 70K, respectively. The toners stored in the toner containers 30Y, 30M, 30C, and 30K are supplied (supplemented) into the developing devices of the image forming units 6Y, 6M, 6C, and 6K by the toner replenishing devices 70Y, 70M, 70C, and 70K, respectively. )

  Referring to FIG. 3, an image forming unit 6Y corresponding to yellow includes a photosensitive drum 1Y, a charging unit 4Y disposed around the photosensitive drum 1Y, a developing device 5Y (developing unit), a cleaning unit 2Y, It is comprised by the static elimination part (not shown) etc. Then, an image forming process (charging process, exposure process, development process, transfer process, cleaning process, charge removal process, etc.) is performed on the photosensitive drum 1Y, and a yellow image is formed on the photosensitive drum 1Y. become.

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

  Referring to FIG. 3, the photosensitive drum 1Y is driven to rotate clockwise in FIG. 3 by a drive motor (not shown). Then, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y is uniformly charged at the position of the charging unit 4Y (charging process).

  Thereafter, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y reaches the irradiation position of the laser beam L emitted from the exposure device 7 (see FIG. 2), and an electrostatic latent image corresponding to yellow is formed by exposure scanning at this position. (Exposure process).

  Thereafter, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y reaches a position facing the developing device 5Y, and the electrostatic latent image is developed at this position to form a yellow toner image (developing step).

  Thereafter, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y reaches a position facing the intermediate transfer belt 8 and the primary transfer bias roller 9Y, and the toner image on the photosensitive drum 1Y is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 8 at this position. (Primary transfer process). At this time, a small amount of untransferred toner remains on the photosensitive drum 1Y.

  Thereafter, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y reaches a position facing the cleaning unit 2Y, and untransferred toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 1Y is mechanically collected by the cleaning blade 2a at this position (cleaning step). .

  Finally, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y reaches a position facing a neutralization unit (not shown), and the residual potential on the photosensitive drum 1Y is removed at this position (static elimination process).

  Thus, a series of image forming processes performed on the photosensitive drum 1Y is completed.

  The image forming process described above is performed in the other image forming units 6M, 6C, and 6K in the same manner as the yellow image forming unit 6Y. That is, the laser beam L based on the image information is emitted from the exposure device 7 disposed below the image forming unit onto the photosensitive drums of the image forming units 6M, 6C, and 6K. Specifically, the exposure device 7 emits laser light L from a light source, and irradiates each photosensitive drum 1 via a plurality of optical elements while scanning the laser light L with a polygon mirror that is rotationally driven. Thereafter, the toner images of the respective colors formed on the respective photosensitive drums 1 through the development process are transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 8 in an overlapping manner. In this way, a color image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 8.

  Here, referring to FIG. 2, the intermediate transfer unit 15 includes an intermediate transfer belt 8, four primary transfer bias rollers 9Y, 9M, 9C, and 9K, a secondary transfer backup roller 12, a plurality of tension rollers, and an intermediate transfer. It consists of a cleaning unit, etc. The intermediate transfer belt 8 is stretched and supported by a plurality of roller members, and is moved endlessly in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2 by the rotational drive of the secondary transfer backup roller 12.

  The four primary transfer bias rollers 9Y, 9M, 9C, and 9K respectively sandwich the intermediate transfer belt 8 with the photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K to form a primary transfer nip. Then, a transfer bias reverse to the polarity of the toner is applied to the primary transfer bias rollers 9Y, 9M, 9C, and 9K.

  The intermediate transfer belt 8 travels in the direction of the arrow and sequentially passes through the primary transfer nips of the primary transfer bias rollers 9Y, 9M, 9C, and 9K. In this way, the toner images of the respective colors on the photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K are primarily transferred while being superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 8.

  Thereafter, the intermediate transfer belt 8 on which the toner images of the respective colors are transferred in a superimposed manner reaches a position facing the secondary transfer roller 79. At this position, the secondary transfer backup roller 12 sandwiches the intermediate transfer belt 8 with the secondary transfer roller 79 to form a secondary transfer nip. The four-color toner images formed on the intermediate transfer belt 8 are transferred onto a recording medium P such as transfer paper conveyed to the position of the secondary transfer nip. At this time, untransferred toner that has not been transferred to the recording medium P remains on the intermediate transfer belt 8.

  Thereafter, the intermediate transfer belt 8 reaches the position of an intermediate transfer cleaning unit (not shown). At this position, the untransferred toner on the intermediate transfer belt 8 is collected.

  Thus, a series of transfer processes performed on the intermediate transfer belt 8 is completed.

  Here, the recording medium P transported to the position of the secondary transfer nip is transported from the paper feeding unit 86 disposed in the image forming apparatus main body 100 via the paper feeding roller 87 and the registration roller pair 88. It is a thing. Specifically, a plurality of recording media P such as transfer paper are stored in the paper supply unit 86 in a stacked manner. When the paper feed roller 87 is driven to rotate counterclockwise in FIG. 2, the uppermost recording medium P is fed between the rollers of the registration roller pair 88.

  The recording medium P conveyed to the registration roller pair 88 temporarily stops at the position of the roller nip of the registration roller pair 88 that has stopped rotating. Then, the registration roller pair 88 is rotationally driven in time with the color image on the intermediate transfer belt 8, and the recording medium P is conveyed toward the secondary transfer nip. In this way, a desired color image is transferred onto the recording medium P.

  Thereafter, the recording medium P on which the color image is transferred at the position of the secondary transfer nip is conveyed to the position of the fixing unit 20. At this position, the color image transferred to the surface is fixed on the recording medium P by heat and pressure generated by the fixing belt and the pressure roller.

  Thereafter, the recording medium P is discharged out of the apparatus through a pair of paper discharge rollers 89. The recording medium P discharged out of the apparatus by the discharge roller pair 89 is sequentially stacked on the stack unit 130 as an output image. Thus, a series of image forming processes in the image forming apparatus is completed.

  Next, the configuration and operation of the developing device in the image forming unit will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. The developing device 5Y includes a developing roller 51Y facing the photosensitive drum 1Y, a doctor blade 52Y facing the developing roller 51Y, two conveying screws 55Y disposed in the developer accommodating portions 53Y and 54Y, and toner in the developer. Consists of a density detection sensor 56Y for detecting density. The developing roller 51Y includes a magnet fixed inside, a sleeve rotating around the magnet, and the like. In the developer accommodating portions 53Y and 54Y, a two-component developer G composed of a carrier and a toner is accommodated. The developer accommodating portion 54Y communicates with the toner dropping path 71Y through an opening formed thereabove.

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

  Here, the developer G in the developing device 5Y is adjusted so that the ratio of toner in the developer (toner concentration) is within a predetermined range. Specifically, according to the consumption of toner in the developing device 5Y, the toner stored in the toner container 30Y is supplied into the developer storage portion 54Y via the toner supply device 70Y.

  Thereafter, the toner replenished in the developer accommodating portion 54Y is circulated through the two developer accommodating portions 53Y and 54Y while being mixed and stirred together with the developer G by the two conveying screws 55Y (perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 3). Direction movement.) The toner in the developer G is attracted to the carrier by frictional charging with the carrier, and is carried on the developing roller 51Y together with the carrier by the magnetic force formed on the developing roller 51Y.

  The developer G carried on the developing roller 51Y is conveyed in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3 and reaches the position of the doctor blade 52Y. The developer G on the developing roller 51Y is conveyed to a position facing the photosensitive drum 1Y (development region) after the developer amount is made appropriate at this position. The toner is attracted to the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 1Y by the electric field formed in the development area. Thereafter, the developer G remaining on the developing roller 51Y reaches above the developer containing portion 53Y as the sleeve rotates, and is detached from the developing roller 51Y at this position.

  4A is a longitudinal sectional view showing an example of a toner container 30 made of a synthetic resin such as polyethylene, polypropylene, polyethylene terephthalate, or polyethylene + polycarbonate, and FIG. 4B is an opening of the toner container 30. It is an enlarged view of 23 vicinity.

  The toner container 30 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and an opening 23 through which the toner accommodated in the container main body 32 is discharged to the outside of the container main body 32 is formed at substantially the center of one end surface thereof. The opening 23 is formed at the tip of a cylindrical mouth portion 24 that is a part of the container body 32, and a plug 25 is provided so as to seal the opening 23. A knob 26 is formed at the center of the stopper 25. Further, on the inner peripheral surface of the container body 32, the toner stored inside is guided to the opening 23 side by rotation of the toner container 30 by a container rotation driving device (not shown) with the toner container 30 attached to the toner supply device 70. The guide groove 27 is formed in a spiral shape.

  Next, the toner replenishing device 70 will be described. As shown in FIG. 5, reference numeral 13 denotes a drive unit which is a rotation drive unit, which is a drive unit that rotationally drives the toner container 30 and the like held by the toner replenishing device 70, and includes a joint 13c and a spring 13d which are engagement units. , A motor 13e, and a case portion with a built-in shaft, which are fixed to a main body rear plate (not shown). Protrusions 32 a and 32 b (convex shape) are provided on the bottom of the toner container 30. Reference numeral 32b enters the concave portion 13b of the joint 13c and functions to hold the bottom of the toner container 30. Reference numeral 32a is also fitted to the convex side surface 13a of the joint 13c to rotate the toner container 30. It is a protrusion. The height of the protrusion 32b is formed to be higher than the height of the protrusion 32a. Reference numeral 16 denotes a container holding member for holding the head of the toner container 30. Reference numeral 117 denotes a toner replenishing blade made of an elastic material such as Mylar or rubber, and is affixed to a rib 16a which is a kind of agitator integrally formed with the container holding member 16 with a double-sided tape or the like. In this embodiment, four toner supply blades 117 are provided.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the drive rib 16 b provided on the inner peripheral surface of the container holding member 16 engages with a drive transmission protrusion 32 c provided on the head of the toner container 30, and the container holding member 16. And the toner container 30 are integrally rotated in the forward rotation direction.

  Referring to FIG. 5, reference numeral 20 denotes a sealing material, and reference numeral 21 denotes a collet chuck for picking or releasing the knob portion 26 of the plug 25, which is built in the cylindrical case 22, and is integrated with the shaft member 123 by a screw 84. Has been. Reference numeral 125 denotes a seal member, and reference numeral 28 denotes a coil spring that constantly pressurizes a series of components such as the collet chuck 21, the cylindrical case 22, and the shaft member 123 toward the toner container 30, and these components are included in the toner supply device 70. It is held in a case 18 a which is a container holding means formed integrally with the container holder 81. Reference numeral 76 denotes a handle for opening and closing the plug 25, and the shaft portion 76b enters the bearing portion 132 of the case 18a so as to be rotatable.

  Reference numeral 127 denotes a slide shaft that enters a hole 123 a provided in the shaft member 123, and is in contact with a cam portion 76 a provided in the handle 76, and the collet chuck 21, the cylindrical case 22, the shaft is rotated by the rotation of the handle 76. A series of parts of the member 123 can be slid away from the toner container 30.

  An opening 18 c provided in the case 18 a and communicating with the opening 23 of the toner container 30 supported by the container holder 81 is made of an elastic material such as Mylar or rubber and is orthogonal to the moving direction of the toner supply blade 117. An elastic member 19 having a slit hole 19a which is a long and narrow square hole (horizontal direction) is attached with a double-sided tape or the like. The method of setting the opening area of the slit hole 19a, that is, the length (horizontal direction) and width (moving direction of the toner replenishing blade 117) of the slit hole 19a is appropriately set, so that the toner replenishment amount is set to an appropriate amount. Yes. In the present embodiment, the toner supply blade 117 is attached to the rib 16a so that the amount of protrusion of the toner supply blade 117 from the slit hole 19a is about 1 mm.

  Reference numeral 29 denotes a cover for guiding the toner discharged from the slit hole 19a to the toner dropping path 71 (see FIG. 3). An opening 29a is provided on the lower side of the cover 29, and this is the toner dropping path 71. Corresponds to the position of. As shown in FIG. 7, the toner replenishing device 70 having such a configuration is held by a main body rear side plate 131a and a guide plate 136 attached to a main body front side plate (not shown). Reference numeral 18b integrated with the container holder 81 is a hole that engages with a positioning pin provided on a front plate (not shown), and a stopper (not shown) for preventing deviation of the toner replenishing device 70 serves as a guide plate. 136 is attached. Therefore, the toner replenishing device 70 according to the present embodiment includes a mechanism part including the case 18a and movable parts such as the container holding member 16 incorporated therein, a toner container 30 that can be attached to and detached from the mechanism part, and a drive. Part 13.

  In the above configuration, first, the operation when the toner replenishing device 70 is set will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, when the container holder 81 is pulled out from the guide plate 136 and the steps 40 and 41 of the container holder 81 are caught by the notches 138 and 139 of the guide plate 136, the toner is filled. The toner container 30 is put on the container holder 81 and set as indicated by an arrow D. Next, the toner replenishing device 70 is slid on the guide plate 136 in the direction of arrow E with the toner container 30 set. As a result, the protrusion 32b (see FIG. 5) at the bottom of the toner container 30 enters the positioning recess 13b of the joint 13c and is positioned, and the head of the toner container 30 is engaged with the container holding member 16, respectively. At this time, the setting of the toner replenishing device 70 is completed by the stopper pressing the front surface of the container holder 81.

  7, when the handle 76 is rotated in the direction of arrow A (downward), the cam portion 76a (see FIG. 5) causes the slide shaft 127 to move in the direction of arrow C as shown in FIG. At the same time, the shaft member 123 starts to move in the C direction, and the collet chuck 21 comes into contact with the protruding portion 22a of the cylindrical case 22. Accordingly, the collet chuck 21 starts to close and grips the knob portion 26 of the plug 25. . When the movement in the C direction further proceeds in this state, as shown in FIG. 9, the stopper 25 of the toner container 30 is removed by the collet chuck 21, and the toner in the toner container 30 flows out into the case 18a (toner If there is little toner in the container 30, it will not flow out at this time). This state is a state where the toner replenishing device 70 is completely set.

  Next, the operation at the time of toner supply will be described. In toner replenishment, when the density detection sensor 56 provided in the developing device 5 detects that there is no toner, the drive unit 13 shown in FIGS. 5 and 7 operates to rotate the joint 13c in the B direction. Then, the joint 13c is fitted into the protrusion 32a at the bottom of the container, and the toner container 30 rotates. When the toner container 30 rotates, toner is discharged from the opening 23 and collected in the case 18a. At the same time, the rotation of the toner container 30 is transmitted to the container holding member 16 through the driving rib 16b integral with the container holding member 16, and the toner replenishment blade 117 slides and rotates on the inner wall surface of the case 18a. The toner accumulated in 18a is scraped off. When the toner replenishing blade 117 passes through the slit hole 19a of the elastic member 19, the toner is pushed out from the slit hole 19a. At this time, when the toner supply blade 117 is protruded from the slit hole 19a, the toner accumulated near the end of the slit hole 19a and the end of the opening 18c is pushed out. The pushed toner falls in the cover 29, passes through the opening 29a on the lower side of the cover 29, and is supplied to the developing device 5 from the toner dropping path 71 described above.

  That is, only when the toner container 30 is rotating, the toner is pushed out from the elastic member 19 to the toner dropping path 71 to be replenished into the developing device 5 and the toner density is kept constant.

  By providing such a mechanism for removing the plug 25 in the toner replenishing device 70, the toner container 30 can be placed on the container holder 81 with the opening 23 being sealed with the plug 25. Therefore, particularly when the toner container 30 is placed on the container holder 81 in a substantially horizontal state, toner leakage from the opening 23 can be prevented.

  When the stopper 25 is attached to the opening 23 of the toner container 30, the operation opposite to the above-described operation for removing the stopper 25 from the opening 23 is performed. As described above, when the toner container 30 is taken out from the container holder 81, the stopper 25 is attached to the opening 23 of the toner container 30, and the opening 23 is sealed with the stopper 25. The toner adhering to a nearby wall surface does not leak from the opening 23 and scatter into and out of the apparatus.

  As described above, according to the toner supply device 70 of the present embodiment, the toner container 30 can be replaced without causing toner leakage from the opening 23 of the toner container 30.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, a single guide plate 136 is provided in the toner container housing portion 131 (toner supply devices 70Y, 70M, 70C, and 70K) in which the toner containers 30 are detachably arranged. The antenna substrate 122 is installed. Specifically, the antenna substrate 122 is configured to perform wireless communication with RFID tags (to be described later) installed on the peripheral surfaces of four toner containers 30Y, 30M, 30C, and 30K arranged in parallel with the guide plate 136. The two antennas 121Y, 121M, 121C, and 121K are arranged in parallel on the same plane so as to face the RFID tag of the toner container 30. More specifically, the antenna substrate 122 is disposed below the four toner containers 30Y, 30M, 30C, and 30K arranged in parallel with the guide plate 136. In this embodiment, the antenna reader 122 and the antennas 121Y, 121M, 121C, and 121K constitute the RFID reader 120 that communicates information with the RFID tag in a contactless manner.

  10 illustrates an example of a configuration in which the antenna substrate 122 is provided on the guide plate 136 so that the RFID tag of the toner container 30 and the antenna 121 face each other on the front side of the image forming apparatus main body. The position where the antenna substrate 122 is provided is not limited to this, and the antenna substrate 122 may be appropriately provided on the guide plate 136 at a location where the RFID tag of the toner container 30 and the antenna 121 face each other. In other words, it may be a location where good communication can be performed between the RFID tag of the toner container 30 and the antenna 121.

  Then, in a state where the toner container 30 is set in the toner container housing portion 131, necessary information is exchanged between the RFID tag of the toner container 30 and the image forming apparatus main body 100 in which the RFID reader 120 is installed. It is. That is, information stored in the RFID tag is transmitted to a control unit (not shown) of the image forming apparatus main body 100 via the RFID reader 120, or information on the image forming apparatus main body 100 acquired by the control unit is transmitted via the RFID reader 120. And transmitted to the RFID tag. Based on these pieces of information, the image forming apparatus main body 100 is optimally controlled. For example, when it is detected from the above information that the toner container 30 containing toner of a color different from the toner color to be installed in the toner container housing unit 131 is installed in the toner container housing unit 131, the toner The operation of the replenishing device 70 is stopped.

  Next, the characteristic part of this embodiment is demonstrated.

[Configuration example 1]
In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, an RFID tag 60 is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the mouth portion 24 on one end side where the opening 23 of the toner container 30 is formed.

  FIG. 11 shows an example of the RFID tag 60. FIG. 11 (a) is a perspective view of the back surface of the RFID tag, and FIG. 11 (b) is a perspective view of the front surface of the RFID tag. For example, the following data (1), (2), and (3) are stored in the convex spherical memory section 62 provided on the substrate 61 on the back surface of the RFID tag. The data (1) and (2) are initial data when the toner container is manufactured.

(1) Type of toner to be stored, toner characteristics, storage amount, toner production number, date of manufacture, manufacturing factory, near end timing based on storage amount (number of printing pixels until near end, container times (2) storage container Type, serial number, date of manufacture, type of body that can be set.
(3) As update data, the serial number of the set machine body, the set date (history), the total number of pixels of the formed image, the latest storage amount (= remaining amount) calculated from the consumption based on the total number of pixels, the toner end year Month / day (history).

  Further, the capacitor 63 provided on the back surface of the RFID tag is a rectifying capacitor for noise reduction, and in this embodiment, both a low-pass capacitor and a high-pass capacitor are provided.

  An antenna 64 is printed on the front surface and the back surface of the RFID tag 60. Both directions of the front surface and the back surface of the RFID tag 60 (on the front surface and the back surface of the RFID tag 60) It has a directivity of electromagnetic waves in a direction perpendicular to the surface and away from the surface. Note that the antenna 64 may be configured to have directivity only to one of the front surface and the back surface of the RFID tag 60 as long as communication with the RFID reader 120 provided in the image forming apparatus main body is possible.

  The substrate 61 of the RFID tag 60 is held by a rib pair 33 including a rib 33a and a rib 33b that stands from the outer peripheral surface of the mouth portion 24 of the container main body 32 (the outer peripheral surface of the container main body 32 in the vicinity of the opening 23). When the RFID tag 60 is held on the rib pair 33, no adhesive or heat welding is required, and the assembly operator simply inserts the substrate 61 of the RFID tag 60 between the rib pair 33 by hand or jig. The RFID tag 60 can be fixed to the main body 32. Thereby, even if the surface of the container main body 32 is hardly adhesive, the RFID tag 60 can be easily held.

  In addition, when assembling, the RFID tag 60 is not inserted into the outer peripheral surface of the container main body 32, but is set by inserting the RFID tag 60 between the rib pairs 33 from the vertical direction. The visibility between the rib pair 33 which is the attachment portion of 60 is good, and as a result, the occurrence of assembly failure can be reduced.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, the rib pair 33 is not integrated with the flange 31 so that the RFID tag 60 can be easily inserted by expanding the rib pair 33. A slit 38 (gap) is provided between the first and second electrodes 31.

  The rib 33a of the rib pair 33 is formed with a memory part 62 of the RFID tag 60 and a groove 34 through which an integrated material (for example, a capacitor 63) on the substrate 61 passes. When the RFID tag 60 is inserted and set between the rib pair 33, the memory portion 62, the capacitor 63, etc. of the RFID tag 60 are fitted into the groove 34 of the rib pair 33, and the surface of the memory portion 62 is lightly pressed. The RFID tag 60 is configured not to drop out between the rib pairs 33 by, for example, providing a slight backlash.

  Here, if the frequency band of the electromagnetic wave emitted by the motor 13e of the drive unit 13 is close to the frequency band of the wireless signal used for communication between the RFID tag 60 and the RFID reader 120, the electromagnetic wave emitted by the motor 13e is generated as noise in the wireless signal. There is a risk of climbing. Therefore, there arises a problem that communication failure due to electromagnetic waves generated by the motor occurs in communication between the RFID tag 60 and the RFID reader 120.

  In the present embodiment, since the RFID tag 60 is disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the container main body in the vicinity of the opening 23, the container main body 32 provided with the protrusion 32 and the protrusion 32b that engage the RFID tag 60 with the drive unit 13 is provided. The RFID tag 60 is disposed at a position farther from the drive unit 13 than when disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the container body near the bottom of the container. As a result, the electromagnetic wave generated by the motor 13e of the drive unit 13 is less likely to cause noise in communication between the RFID tag 60 and the RFID reader 120 than when the RFID tag 60 is disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the container body near the bottom. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of communication failure due to the electromagnetic wave generated by the motor 13e in the communication between the RFID tag 60 and the RFID reader 120.

  Further, depending on the power size of the motor 13e of the drive unit 13, in the case of a DC motor with a rated input of 2.4 [V] and 1.4 [A] level, the drive unit 13, the RFID tag 60, and the RFID reader 120 If the positional relationship is 50 [mm] or more away, it is possible to suppress noise from occurring in communication between the RFID tag 60 and the RFID reader 120.

  The RFID reader 120 is disposed below the case 18a which is a main body side mechanism located relatively near the opening 23 when the toner container 30 is set in the toner supply device 70. On the other hand, the joint 13c of the drive unit 13 which is a main body side mechanism for rotationally driving the container main body 32 is formed in the direction in which the angle of the spiral groove lying immediately upstream from the opening 23 lies in the longitudinal direction of the container main body 32, and A stepped protruding portion is formed on the inner side of the container body, and the protruding portion has a length on the upstream side of the portion where the toner is fed from the periphery of the inner wall of the container body toward the center of the opening 23). The motor 13e that is directly connected to the joint 13c is located on the outer side.

  Next, since the toner is a medium-resistance conductor, if the toner adheres to the RFID tag 60, an unexpected portion on the base 61 of the RFID tag 60 may be conducted to cause a failure of the base circuit.

  In the present embodiment, as can be seen from FIG. 9, the space in which the RFID tag 60 is located is partitioned from the opening 23 via the flange 31. The flange 31 serves as a wall that prevents the toner discharged from the opening 23 from riding on the airflow and scattering to the RFID tag 60, so that the RFID tag 60 also discharges toner dust from the opening 23. It is possible to prevent the substrate circuit from being damaged due to conduction of an unexpected portion on the base 61 of the RFID tag 60 due to toner adhering to the RFID tag 60.

  Further, the diameter of the flange 31 which is an airflow blocking member serving as a wall that prevents the toner discharged from the opening 23 from riding on the airflow and scattering to the RFID tag 60 is set to the diameter of the container holding member 16 on the toner supply device main body side. The inner wall surface and the end surface of the flange 31 are set in contact with each other so that the toner container 30 can be rotated, or a slight gap is formed between the inner wall surface of the container holding member 16 and the end surface of the flange 31.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the flange 31 is provided with a drive transmission protrusion 32 c that engages with a drive rib 16 b provided on the inner peripheral surface of the container holding member 16 of the toner replenishing device 70. With the rotation of 30, the drive transmission projection 32 c provided on the flange 31 is displaced, so that the rotational driving force is transmitted to the toner supply blade 117 via the container holding member 16. As described above, the flange 31 is also configured as a part of the drive transmission unit that transmits the rotational driving force to the toner supply blade 117 together with the drive transmission projection 32c. Therefore, the flange 31 functions as an air flow blocking member that serves as a wall that prevents the toner discharged from the opening 23 from riding on the air flow and scattering to the RFID tag 60, and transmits the rotational driving force to the toner supply blade 117. Thus, the toner replenishing device 70 can be made smaller than the case where members that perform the respective functions are provided separately. In other words, a plurality of functions (drive transmission function, airflow blocking function) can be achieved in a compact arrangement.

  Next, if the RFID tag 60 collides with the floor or the like when the toner container 30 is dropped and the RFID tag 60 is directly hit, the RFID tag 60 may be removed from the container body 32. . Even if the RFID tag 60 cannot be removed from the container main body 32, there is a possibility that the RFID tag 60 may be damaged and transmission / reception of information to / from the RFID reader 120 may be disabled.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the container main body 32 has the largest projected area when viewed from the toner container rotation axis direction (rotation axis direction of the spiral groove), and the projected area of the RFID tag 60 viewed from the toner container rotation axis direction is It is within the projected area of the container body 32. As a result, even if the outer wall surface of the container body 32 collides with the floor or the like when the toner container 30 is dropped, the RFID tag 60 disposed on the inner side of the toner container is more directly connected to the outer wall surface. It is possible to suppress the hitting.

  As the RFID tag 60 attached to the container body 32, a compact and inexpensive passive tag type using electromagnetic waves from the RFID reader 120 as driving energy is preferable. In the case of such a passive tag type, since the tag has a built-in antenna, the communication distance with the RFID reader 120 is limited to about several tens of millimeters. However, in this embodiment, the RFID tag 60 and the RFID reader 120 are arranged close to each other. Communication is possible without problems. In addition, the transmission of driving energy and data signal between the RFID tag 60 and the RFID reader 120 is performed by magnetically coupling the antenna 121 of the RFID reader 120 and the antenna 64 of the RFID tag 60 that are close to each other. This is done by electromagnetic induction method. As the frequency of the electromagnetic wave, 13.56 [MHz] may be used as in the case of a general non-contact IC for a cash card or the like, or another frequency may be selected. Such an electromagnetic induction method can transmit energy more efficiently than a radio wave method, and is widely used as a mainstream of current non-contact IC tags, and as a result, is inexpensive.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 15, the RFID tag 60 is placed upright on the outer peripheral surface of the mouth portion 24 of the container main body 32 so that the distance between the RFID reader 120 and the RFID tag 60 is reduced. Accordingly, even the RFID tag 60 having a short communication distance performance can communicate with the RFID reader 120. In particular, in the type in which the spiral groove is formed on the inner wall of the container body, the toner container 30 is rotated to convey the toner in the container body 32 to the opening 23 side. Rotate around. Therefore, although the distance and the communication direction with the RFID reader 120 are variable, the rotation range of the communicable container can be widened as compared with the case where the RFID tag 60 is placed on the outer peripheral surface of the container main body 32 without being erected. .

  As shown in FIG. 14, when the RFID tag 60 is attached without being erected on the outer peripheral surface of the mouth portion 24, and when the RFID tag 60 is attached while standing on the outer peripheral surface of the mouth portion 24 as shown in FIG. Communication distance (distance between the antenna 121 of the RFID reader 120 and the center of the antenna 64 of the RFID tag 60 in the communicable range of the RFID reader 120 (within the semicircle broken line in the figure)) The case where the RFID tag 60 is mounted on the outer peripheral surface is always closer than the case where the RFID tag 60 is mounted on the outer peripheral surface of the mouth 24. Therefore, when the RFID tag 60 is mounted upright on the outer peripheral surface of the mouth portion 24, a more stable communication operation can be performed than when the RFID tag 60 is mounted on the outer peripheral surface of the mouth portion 24. Is possible.

  As can be seen from FIG. 14, when the RFID tag 60 is mounted on the outer peripheral surface of the mouth portion 24 without being erected, the antenna 64 may be disposed on both the front surface and the back surface of the RFID tag 60. The position where the back surface of the RFID tag 60 faces the RFID reader 120 is not preferable because it must be positioned outside the transmission / reception range of the RFID reader 120. On the other hand, as can be seen from FIG. 15, by attaching the RFID tag 60 upright on the outer peripheral surface of the mouth portion 24, there are antennas 64 on both the front surface and the back surface of the RFID tag 60. Since the transmission / reception directivity is provided in both directions of the front surface and the back surface of the 60, the RFID tag 60 remains in the RFID even after the RFID tag 60 passes over the antenna 121 of the RFID reader 120 by the rotation of the toner container 30. Transmission / reception performance equivalent to that before passing over the antenna 121 of the reader 120 can be maintained.

  In the toner container 30 of this embodiment, the primary processing shape by injection molding appears as the final shape on the opening 23 side from the one-dot chain line shown in FIG. In FIG. 12, the bottom side of the container body 32 is formed by blow molding, which is a secondary process, with respect to the chain line. For example, using a material such as PP (polypropylene) or PET (polyethylene terephthalate), the intermediate molded product after the primary processing (injection molding) shown in FIG. A container body 32 having a groove on the inner wall is formed.

  Thus, at least the outer peripheral surface of the container main body 32 on the opening 23 side where the RFID tag 60 is disposed is made of resin and formed by injection molding. PP (polypropylene) and PET (polyethylene terephthalate), which are materials suitable for blow molding, are so-called hard-to-adhere materials, and it is difficult to fix the RFID tag 60 with a double-sided tape or the like. Even with PP, it is possible to bond the RFID tag 60 with a special adhesive for difficult adhesion or double-sided tape, but blow molding cannot increase dimensional accuracy, flatten the bonding surface, and It is difficult to obtain planar accuracy. Even when the RFID tag 60 is fixed to the container main body 32 with a rib or the like without using an adhesive, a fitting dimension for fixing the substrate 61 of the RFID tag 60 by an interference fit or the like does not appear or a protrusion for fixing is formed. It is difficult to form itself (it is difficult to form small ribs or the like by blow molding).

  As described above, in this embodiment, at least the outer peripheral surface of the container body on the opening 23 side where the RFID tag 60 is disposed is formed by injection molding using resin, so that materials other than PP and PET are used. It is possible. Even when the container body 32 is integrally molded with PP, PET, or the like, if the periphery of the opening 23 is first formed by injection molding, the accuracy of the adhesive surface such as a double-sided tape can be obtained. In addition, since the dimensional accuracy can be easily obtained, it is possible to easily form each structural portion (rib, concave portion, etc.) in the container main body 32.

  In order to fix the RFID tag 60 to the container body 32, the dimensional accuracy of the portion of the container body 32 that fixes the RFID tag 60 is required. Blow molding is used for molding PET bottles for beverages and the container can be integrally molded. Therefore, when the container body 32 is molded only by blow molding, a hole for toner leakage does not easily occur in the container body 32. Dimensions are harder than injection molding. Accordingly, the portion of the container main body 32 to which the RFID tag 60 is fixed needs dimensional accuracy on the pasting surface of the RFID tag 60, etc. Therefore, when the container main body 32 is molded only by blow molding, the outer periphery of the container main body 32 is It is usually difficult to form a portion for fixing the RFID tag 60 on the surface.

  Therefore, as described in the present embodiment, when the toner container 30 is formed by injection molding up to the outer peripheral surface of the container body on the opening 23 side where the RFID tag 60 is disposed, the RFID tag 60 of the container body 32 as described above is fixed. It becomes possible to ensure the dimensional accuracy of the portion to be performed.

  Moreover, since the container main body 32 is formed by blow molding after injection molding, the container main body 32 can be integrally molded, and the container formed by bonding a plurality of parts is due to inconsistencies in the bonding part of each part. However, there is a possibility that a toner leakage hole may occur. However, the use of blow molding can prevent the occurrence of such a leakage hole.

[Configuration example 2]
In this configuration example, as shown in FIG. 17, the RFID tag 90 (electronic substrate) having a strip-shaped RFID tag 90 (electronic substrate) is bonded to the front surface of one end and the back surface of the other end with an adhesive member 45 such as a double-sided tape. The tag 90 is tubular. When attaching the RFID tag 90 to the container main body 32, the RFID tag 90 is not attached to the rib pair 33 provided upright on the outer peripheral surface of the mouth 24, but as shown in FIG. 90 (electronic substrate) is wound along the outer peripheral surface of the mouth portion 24, and then the front surface of the one end and the back surface of the other end are bonded together by the adhesive member 45, and finally the container body 32 is attached. An RFID tag 90 is attached in a tubular shape.

  An RFID tag 90 used in this configuration example includes an electronic substrate 91 having flexibility and heat shrinkability as shown in FIG. 19A, an IC chip 92 provided on the electronic substrate 91 and storing the above information, The antenna unit 93 is connected to the IC chip 92 and provided over the entire circumference of the electronic substrate 91.

  Here, as the RFID tag, as shown in FIG. 19B, an RFID tag comprising an electronic substrate 96 provided with an IC chip 97 for storing information and an antenna portion 98 electrically connected to the IC chip 97 is provided. 95 and a holding member 99 having a tubular flexibility and heat shrinkability for holding the electronic substrate 96 of the RFID tag 95 may be used. By using such an RFID tag, a generally distributed IC chip can be used, and the cost of the RFID tag can be reduced.

  However, when an RFID tag as shown in FIG. 19B is used, depending on the mounting position of the RFID tag attached to the container main body 32, the rotation of the toner container 30 that has been rotated during the toner replenishment operation may occur. When the operation stops, the communication distance between the RFID tag 95 and the antenna 121 of the RFID reader 120 may become longer. Thus, if the communication distance is increased, there is a possibility that good communication cannot be performed between the RFID tag 95 and the RFID reader 120.

  On the other hand, the toner container rotated during the toner replenishment operation by the toner replenishing device 70 by using the RFID tag 90 in which the antenna portion 93 as shown in FIG. When the rotation of 30 is stopped, the distance between the antenna portion 93 of the RFID tag 90 of the toner container 30 and the antenna 121 of the RFID reader 120 installed in the image forming apparatus main body 100 is always equal to the RFID tag 90. This is a desired distance that allows good communication with the antenna 121. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of the problems as described above.

  As shown in FIG. 18, the RFID tag 90 attached to the outer peripheral surface of the opening 24 sandwiches the RFID tag 90 in the longitudinal direction of the toner container together with the flange 23a that forms the edge of the opening 23 and the flange 23a. In the longitudinal direction of the toner container (the axial direction of the tubular RFID tag 90) by the rib 57 at a certain position (position approximately spaced from the flange 23a in the longitudinal direction of the toner container by the same width as the RFID tag 90). Movement is regulated. That is, when the both ends of the RFID tag 90 in the toner container longitudinal direction are in contact with the end wall of the flange 23a, the end wall of the rib 57, etc., the movement of the RFID tag 90 in the toner container longitudinal direction is restricted. The RFID tag 90 is positioned with respect to the main body 32 in the longitudinal direction of the toner container.

  Note that the height dimension of the flange 23a, the rib 57, and the like (here, the direction protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the mouth 24 of the container body 32 to the outside of the toner container) and the thickness dimension of the RFID tag 90 are large. If the movement of the RFID tag 90 in the longitudinal direction of the toner container can be restricted by the flange part 23a, the rib 57, etc., the height dimension of the flange part 23a, the rib 57, etc. is relative to the thickness dimension of the RFID tag 90. Either big or small. However, if the height dimension of the flange portion 23a and the rib 57 is larger than the thickness dimension of the RFID tag 90, the RFID tag 90 moves in the longitudinal direction of the toner container over the flange portion 23a and the rib 57. This is desirable because it is possible to further reduce the risk of occurrence.

  In addition, since a tubular RFID is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical mouth portion 24, the inner surface of the RFID tag 90 and the outer peripheral surface of the mouth portion 24 come into contact with each other and are orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the toner container of the RFID tag 90. Movement in the direction (direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the tubular RFID tag 90) is restricted over the entire circumference of the mouth 24. That is, the RFID tag 90 is positioned with respect to the container main body 32 in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the toner container.

  Therefore, the RFID tag 90 can be positioned and attached to the container main body 32 without attaching the RFID tag 90 to the outer peripheral surface of the container main body 32 with an adhesive or the like. Can be prevented from coming off.

  Also in this configuration example, since the RFID tag 90 is disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the container main body in the vicinity of the opening 23, the container main body 32 provided with the protrusion 32 and the protrusion 32b for engaging the RFID tag 90 with the drive unit 13 is provided. The RFID tag 90 is disposed at a position farther from the drive unit 13 than when disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the container body near the bottom of the container. As a result, the electromagnetic wave generated by the motor 13e of the drive unit 13 is less likely to cause noise in communication between the RFID tag 90 and the RFID reader 120 than when the RFID tag 90 is disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the container body near the bottom. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of communication failure due to the electromagnetic wave generated by the motor 13e in communication between the RFID tag 90 and the RFID reader 120.

  Further, in the toner container 30 of this configuration example, the method of attaching the RFID tag to the container body 32 is different from the toner container 30 of the configuration example 1, but the configuration example 1 other than the method of attaching the RFID tag to the container body 32 will be described. The various configurations of the toner container 30 and the molding method of the toner container 30 can be applied to the toner container 30 of this configuration example, and the same effects as described in the configuration example 1 can be obtained.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the container main body 32 that stores the powder used for image formation and the drive unit 13 that is provided on one end side of the container main body 32 and that is a driving unit on the image forming apparatus side are driven. A drive transmission unit to which a rotational driving force is transmitted from the unit 13, an opening 23 provided on the other end side of the container main body 32 for discharging the powder in the container main body 32 to the outside of the container main body 32, and rotation of the container main body 32. And at least information related to the powder stored in the container main body 32 is stored in a toner container which is a powder storage container provided with a conveying means for conveying the powder in the container main body 32 to the opening 23 side. An RFID tag 60 as information storage means for communicating the information in a non-contact state with the RFID reader 120 as information transmission / reception means on the image forming apparatus side is disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the container main body in the vicinity of the opening 23. In the present embodiment, since the RFID tag 60 is disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the container body near the opening 23, the driving unit 13 is more than the case where the RFID tag 60 is disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the container body near the drive transmission unit. The RFID tag 60 is disposed at a position away from the device. Accordingly, the electromagnetic wave generated by the drive unit 13 is less likely to be transmitted as noise in communication between the RFID tag 60 and the RFID reader 120 than when the RFID tag 60 is disposed on the outer peripheral surface of the container body near the drive transmission unit. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of communication failure due to the electromagnetic wave emitted by the drive unit 13 in the communication between the RFID tag 60 and the RFID reader 120.
The RFID tag 60 includes at least an RFID reader 120 and an antenna 64 for transmitting and receiving the information, and a substrate 61 on which the antenna 64 is disposed. The substrate 61 is an outer peripheral surface of the container body in the vicinity of the opening 23. It is being fixed to the container main body 32 in the attitude | position which stands up from. As a result, communication is possible even with RFID having a short communication distance performance. In particular, in a toner container in which a spiral groove is formed on the inner wall of the container main body 32, the RFID tag 60 rotates. Therefore, the distance to the RFID reader 120 and the communication direction vary, but the outer peripheral surface of the type in which the container main body 32 rotates is changed. The rotation range of the communicable container can be widened as compared with the case where the RFID tag 60 is arranged without standing.
Further, according to the present embodiment, the container main body 32 has the maximum projected area when viewed from the rotation axis direction of the transport means, and the projected area of the RFID tag 60 is within the projected area of the container main body 32. As a result, it is possible to prevent the RFID tag 60 from being directly hit when the toner container is dropped, and the RFID tag 60 can be removed from the container body 32, or the RFID tag 60 can be damaged and information can be stored. It can be suppressed that transmission / reception becomes impossible .
Also, according to this embodiment, the substrate 61, by being held by the rib pair 33 erected from the container body outer peripheral surface in the vicinity of the opening 23, requires no adhesive or heat welding, assembly worker Can be fixed simply by inserting the substrate 61 between the rib pairs 33 with a hand or a jig. In addition, since the RFID tag 60 is not set on the outer peripheral surface of the container at the time of assembly, but is set by being inserted between the rib pair 33 from the vertical direction, the rib which is the attachment portion of the RFID tag 60 in the container main body 32 The visibility between the pair 33 is good, and as a result, the occurrence of assembly failure can be reduced.
According to the present embodiment, the substrate 61 of the RFID tag 60 has a convex portion on the surface facing the rib pair 33, and the rib pair 33 has a hole or a concave portion into which the convex portion is fitted. When the RFID tag 60 is inserted between the rib pair 33 and set, the convex portion of the RFID tag 60 fits into the concave portion of the rib pair 33, so that the RFID tag 60 can be prevented from falling off from the container body 32.
Further, according to the present embodiment, by providing the airflow blocking member between the RFID tag 60 and the opening 23, it is possible to suppress the dust from the opening 23 from falling on the RFID tag 60.
Further, according to the present embodiment, the rotational driving force transmitted from the driving unit 13 to the container main body 32 by engaging with the powder conveyance mechanism on the image forming apparatus side between the RFID tag 60 and the opening 23 is powdered. A second drive transmission unit that transmits to the transport mechanism is provided, and the airflow blocking member is configured by a part of the second drive transmission unit. Thereby, a plurality of functions (drive transmission and airflow interruption) can be achieved in a compact arrangement.
Further, according to the present embodiment, at least the outer peripheral surface of the container main body in the vicinity of the opening 23 where the RFID tag 60 is disposed is made of resin and formed by injection molding, so that materials other than PP and PET can be used. It is possible to use. Even when the container body 32 is integrally molded with PP, PET, or the like, if the periphery of the opening 23 is first formed by injection molding, the accuracy of the adhesive surface such as a double-sided tape can be obtained. In addition, since the dimensional accuracy can be easily obtained, it is possible to easily form each structural portion (rib, concave portion, etc.) in the container main body 32. In addition, since the RFID tag 60 is fixed between the opening 23 and the container main body 32, dimensional accuracy can be ensured for fixing as described above by forming from the opening 23 to the fixing position by injection molding. Is possible.
Moreover, according to this embodiment, the container main body 32 can form a container shape integrally by being formed by the blow molding after injection molding. The bonding container may cause a powder leakage hole due to mismatching of the bonding portion, etc., but it is possible to suppress the occurrence of such a defect that causes such a leakage hole by adopting blow molding.
Further, according to the present embodiment, the RFID tag is fixed to the container main body 32 with the heat-shrinkable annular member, so that even if the surface of the toner container 30 is hardly adhesive, the RFID tag can be easily attached to the toner container. Can be retained.
Further, according to the present embodiment, the conveying means is a spiral protrusion formed on the inner wall surface of the container main body 32, so that the toner in the toner container 30 is conveyed to the opening 23 side with a simple configuration. can do.
Further, according to the present embodiment, the image carrier that carries the latent image, the developing unit that develops the latent image carried on the image carrier with the powder developer, and the powder that contains the developer. Powder supply means for removably holding the body container and supplying developer in the container body 32 of the powder container to the developing means, and information for storing at least information related to the container body 32 attached to the container body 32 In an image forming apparatus including an RFID tag as a storage unit and an RFID reader as a communication unit provided in the image forming apparatus main body and reading information stored in the RFID tag, the powder container of the present embodiment is used as the powder container. It is desirable to use the toner container 30.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Photosensitive drum 2 Cleaning part 2a Cleaning blade 4 Charging part 5 Developing apparatus 6 Image forming part 7 Exposure apparatus 8 Intermediate transfer belt 9 Primary transfer bias roller 12 Secondary transfer backup roller 13 Drive part 13a Convex part side surface 13b Concave part 13c Joint 13d Spring 13e Motor 15 Intermediate transfer unit 16 Container holding member 16a Rib 16b Driving rib 18a Case 18b Hole 18c Opening 19 Elastic member 19a Slit hole 20 Fixing part 21 Collet chuck 22 Cylindrical case 22a Protruding part 23 Opening 23a Lim 24 25 Plug 26 Knob 27 Guide groove 28 Coil spring 29 Cover 29a Open 30 Toner container 32 Container body 32a Projection 32b Projection 32c Drive transmission projection 33 Rib pair 40 Step 45 Adhesive member 5 Developing roller 52 Doctor blade 53 Developer accommodating portion 54 Developer accommodating portion 55 Conveying screw 56 Concentration detection sensor 57 Rib 70 Toner replenishing device 71 Toner dropping path 76 Handle 76a Cam portion 76b Shaft portion 79 Secondary transfer roller 81 Container holder 84 Screw 86 Paper Feeding Section 87 Paper Feeding Roller 88 Registration Roller Pair 89 Paper Discharge Roller Pair 90 RFID Tag 91 Electronic Board 92 IC Chip 93 Antenna Part 95 RFID Tag 96 Electronic Board 97 Chip 98 Antenna Part 99 Holding Member 100 Image Forming Apparatus Main Body 117 Toner Replenishment blade 120 RFID reader 121 Antenna 122 Antenna substrate 123 Shaft member 123a Hole 125 Seal member 127 Slide shaft 130 Stack portion 131 Toner container housing portion 131a Main body rear plate 132 Bearing portion 136 Guide plate 138 Notch

Japanese Patent No. 3492856

Claims (11)

A container body containing powder used for image formation;
A drive transmission portion provided on one end side of the container main body, engaged with a drive unit on the image forming apparatus side and transmitting a rotational driving force from the drive unit;
An opening provided on the other end of the container body, for discharging the powder in the container body to the outside of the container body;
Conveying means for conveying the powder in the container body to the opening side as the container body rotates,
In a powder container with
An information storage means for storing at least information related to the powder contained in the container main body and communicating the information in a non-contact state with information transmitting / receiving means on the image forming apparatus side is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the container main body in the vicinity of the opening. Arranged ,
The information storage means includes at least the information transmission / reception means and an antenna for transmitting / receiving the information, and a substrate on which the antenna is disposed,
The powder container according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is fixed to the container body so as to stand upright from the outer peripheral surface of the container body near the opening . The powder container of claim 1,
The container body has a maximum projected area when viewed from the rotation axis direction of the transport means,
The powder storage container, wherein the projected area of the information storage means is within the projected area of the container body. The powder container of claim 1 or 2 ,
The powder container according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is held by a rib standing from an outer peripheral surface of the container body in the vicinity of the opening. The powder container of claim 3 ,
The substrate has a convex portion on the surface facing the rib,
The powder container according to claim 1, wherein the rib has a hole or a recess into which the convex portion is fitted. Claims 1, 3 or in the powder container 4,
An airflow blocking member is provided between the information storage means and the opening. The powder container of claim 5 ,
A second driving force is transmitted between the information storing means and the opening to engage the powder conveying mechanism on the image forming apparatus side and transmit the rotational driving force transmitted from the driving means to the container body to the powder conveying mechanism. It has a drive transmission part,
The powder container, wherein the air flow blocking member is constituted by a part of the second drive transmission unit. Claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or in the powder storage container 6,
A powder container, characterized in that at least the outer peripheral surface of the container main body in the vicinity of the opening in which the information storage means is disposed is made of resin and formed by injection molding. The powder container of claim 7 ,
The powder container, wherein the container body is formed by blow molding after injection molding. In the powder container according to claim 1,2,3,4,5,6, 7 or 8,
A powder container, wherein the information storage means is fixed to the container body by a heat-shrinkable annular member. Claim 1,2,3,4,5,6,7, in the powder storage container 9 was 8 or,
The powder container according to claim 1, wherein the conveying means is a spiral protrusion formed on the inner wall surface of the container body. An image carrier for carrying a latent image;
Developing means for developing the latent image carried on the image carrier with a powder developer;
A powder replenishing means for detachably holding a powder containing container containing the developer and replenishing the developing means with the developer in the container body of the powder containing container;
Information storage means attached to the container body and storing at least information relating to the container body;
An image forming apparatus provided with a communication unit that is provided in an image forming apparatus main body and reads information stored in the information storage unit.
As the powder storage container, according to claim 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8, an image forming apparatus, which comprises using the powder storage container 9 or 10.

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