JP5422765B2 - Toner supply device and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a toner supply device that is detachably attached to an image forming apparatus, and an image forming apparatus.

  Image forming apparatuses such as copiers and printers supply toner from a developing device toward an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of an image carrier such as a photosensitive drum, and generate a toner image corresponding to the electrostatic latent image. Form. This toner image is transferred to a sheet, and the sheet is subjected to a fixing process by heating and pressurization in a fixing device and then discharged to the outside.

  In such an image forming apparatus, a detachable toner container (toner supply device) storing a predetermined amount of toner is attached to the developing device, and the amount used for image formation from the container main body (container main body) of the toner container. An amount of toner corresponding to is supplied to the developing device. Usually, the toner container is detachably attached to the developing device by sliding forward and backward on the top plate of the developing device. Such a toner container is provided with a toner supply port on the lower surface side and a shutter structure for opening and closing the toner supply port. On the other hand, the developing device is provided with a toner receiving port at a position corresponding to the toner supply port.

  The shutter structure includes a flat shutter plate that opens and closes the toner supply port by sliding the toner container parallel to the container body when the toner container is attached to and detached from the developing device, and extends from one edge of the shutter plate. An elastic arm provided in the sliding direction is provided, and a container locking claw and a developing device locking claw formed at the tip of the elastic arm are provided.

  On the other hand, on the toner container side, a container side engagement / disengagement part that engages and disengages with the container engaging claw is provided in the vicinity of the toner supply port, and on the developing device side, the toner developing device is in the vicinity of the toner receiving port. A developing device side engaging / disengaging portion for engaging / disengaging with the locking claw is provided.

  Then, the engaging and disengaging operation of each engaging claw and each engaging / disengaging part opens the shutter plate that has closed the toner replenishing port by attaching the toner container to the developing device, The toner supply opening that has been opened by pulling out the toner container from the developing device is closed by the shutter plate. Once the toner container is removed from the developing device, the anti-container claw engages with the container side engaging / disengaging portion to be locked, and the shutter plate cannot be opened. As a result, the shutter plate is inadvertently opened and the toner is prevented from leaking from the toner supply port to the outside of the toner container.

  As a toner container provided with such a shutter structure, for example, a toner container described in Patent Document 1 (a toner cartridge in Patent Document 1) can be cited.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-142915

  By the way, in the toner container described in Patent Document 1, the container side engagement / disengagement portion is arranged in one direction of the shutter plate in a state in which the container engagement claw of the shutter plate is engaged with the container side engagement / disengagement portion. Relative movement with respect to the toner container in the direction opposite to the toner container mounting direction is prevented until the developing device locking claw is locked to the developing device side engaging / disengaging portion, but movement in the other direction is not allowed. Allow at any time. That is, the container side engaging / disengaging part is not formed in a groove shape, but is constituted by a step.

  Therefore, once the toner container mounted on the developing device is pulled out, the developing device locking claw is locked to the developing device (that is, the shutter plate does not move relative to the developing device). The shutter plate moves relative to the toner container. Thus, when the toner container is removed from the developing device, the shutter plate is in a state of closing the toner supply port.

  However, when the toner container is pulled out from the developing device, the relative movement of the shutter plate with respect to the toner container is not blocked until the developing device locking claw is removed from the developing device side engaging / disengaging portion. Although the mouth is closed, there is no stopper for locking the closed state of the shutter plate, so that the toner container is caught by something in the state in which it is removed from the main body of the image forming apparatus, or not. There is a risk that the shutter plate will open.

  It is an object of the present invention to always perform a predetermined opening / closing operation properly when the toner supply device is attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus, and the shutter is not prepared after the container body is pulled out of the image forming apparatus. It is to surely prevent being released.

  A toner supply apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention is a toner supply apparatus that is detachably mounted in the apparatus main body while being guided by a guide portion formed in the apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus, the toner supply port having a toner supply port A formed container body for storing toner, a shutter for opening and closing the toner supply port, and an opening / closing structure for causing the shutter to perform an opening / closing operation in conjunction with an attaching / detaching operation of the container body to the apparatus body; The opening / closing structure includes an arm projecting from the shutter toward the mounting direction of the container main body with respect to the apparatus main body, and a locking portion attached to the arm. A first locking claw that engages with and disengages from the first locked portion for locking formed on the guide portion side, and a second locked portion for locking formed on the container body side. A second locking claw to be removed, and the arm Serial to both sides in the width direction perpendicular to the mounting direction of the shutter, characterized in that it is provided with a pair.

  According to this configuration, when the container main body is removed from the apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus, as long as the second locking claw is fitted in the second locked portion, the shutter moves with the container main body. For this reason, the shutter can appropriately open and close the toner supply port. Further, when the container main body is detached from the apparatus main body, the shutter is prevented from moving relative to the container main body. For this reason, it is possible to effectively prevent the occurrence of inconvenience that the shutter is accidentally opened and the toner inside leaks and pollutes the surrounding environment. Furthermore, the locking portion of the arm is provided with a first locking claw that engages and disengages with the first locked portion and a second locking claw that engages and disengages with the second locked portion. For this reason, compared with the case where the 1st and 2nd latching claw is each provided in the front-end | tip of another arm, it is possible to reduce a number of parts, and contributes to the reduction in apparatus cost by that much. Further, since the arms are provided in pairs on both sides in the width direction orthogonal to the mounting direction of the shutter, the shutters are provided in pairs on both sides in the width direction when the opening / closing operation is performed. Since the arm receives the same frictional force on the left and right, it opens and closes in a stable state.

In the above-described configuration, the locking portion and the arm are prevented from moving forward and backward with respect to the container body of the shutter when the second locking claw is locked to the second locked portion. When the container main body is attached to the apparatus main body along the guide portion, the first locking claw when the locking portion reaches the first locked portion is the first locked portion. When the second locking claw is detached from the second locked portion due to the elastic displacement of the arm by being locked to, and the container main body is pulled out from the device main body along the guide portion, When the locking of the first locking claw with respect to the first locked portion is released, the second locking claw is re-locked to the second locked portion by restoration of the elastically displaced arm. It is desirable to realize the function to be performed.

  According to this configuration, when the toner supply device is not attached to the image forming apparatus, the forward / reverse movement of the shutter with respect to the container main body is prevented, and the toner replenishing port is opened by the movement of the shutter. There is no. Further, when the toner supply device is mounted on the image forming apparatus, the accompanying movement of the shutter with the container body is prevented and remains at the current position, thereby opening the toner supply port. On the other hand, when the toner storage container once mounted is pulled out from the apparatus main body, the shutter moves with the container main body with the toner supply port closed. After the first locking claw is removed from the first locked hole, the shutter cannot be moved relative to the container body as long as the second locking claw is fitted in the second locked portion. The For this reason, the problem that the toner supply device is pulled out from the image forming apparatus while the shutter remains on the apparatus main body side is prevented.

  In this case, the locking portion is provided at a tip portion of the arm, and the first locking claw protrudes in one side direction with respect to an axis along the mounting direction of the arm, and the second The locking claw protrudes in the direction of the other side with respect to the axis along the mounting direction of the arm, and the first locking claw and the second locking claw are further forward in the mounting direction than the first locking claw. It is desirable that a tip interference portion that interferes with one locked portion is formed. According to this configuration, the locking portion can be formed simply.

  Further, the locking portion is formed by a triangular arrowhead member having a pointed tip in a plan view, and the first locking claw is formed at an outer corner portion of a bottom portion of the arrowhead member, and the second It is desirable that the locking claws are formed at the corners on the inside.

  According to this configuration, by forming the locking portion with a triangular arrowhead member, the locking portion provided with the first locking claw and the second locking claw can be of a simple structure, Contributes to reducing the manufacturing cost of the locking part.

  In this case, the locking part has a hypotenuse edge extending from the tip side toward the corner of the second latching claw, and the hypotenuse edge interferes with the first latched part. The arm member is preferably elastically displaced. According to this configuration, the elastic displacement of the arm member can be reliably executed.

  An image forming apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention includes an apparatus main body, an image carrier that is embedded in the apparatus main body and carries an electrostatic latent image, and an image carrier that is embedded in the apparatus main body and is attached to the image carrier. A developing device that develops the formed electrostatic latent image into a toner image, the toner supply device that is detachably attached to the device main body and supplies toner to the developing device, and a device formed on the device main body. And a guide unit for guiding the mounting operation of the toner supply device to the apparatus main body.

  According to this configuration, when the toner supply device is attached to and detached from the image forming apparatus, the shutter always performs a predetermined opening / closing operation appropriately, and the shutter is not activated after the toner storage container is pulled out from the image forming apparatus. It can be surely prevented from being opened.

  In the above configuration, the first locked portion includes an inclined portion with which the oblique side edge abuts when the toner storage container is attached to the apparatus main body along the guide portion. Preferably, the locking portion is guided in a direction in which the second locking claw of the locking portion is disengaged from the second locked portion. According to this configuration, the engagement and disengagement of the second locking claw with respect to the second locked portion can be performed smoothly.

  In this case, the guide portion has a distance between the pair of wide guide walls and the pair of narrow guide walls having a distance narrower than the distance between the pair of wide guide walls when viewed from the direction in which the toner storage container is mounted. The first locked portion is formed between the wide guide wall and the narrow guide wall, and the inclined portion is formed by the wide guide wall of the narrow guide wall. It can be set as the structure currently formed by using the edge which opposes a wall as a base end part. According to this configuration, it is possible to form the inclined portion that guides the second locking claw so as to be surely detached from the second locked portion by utilizing the difference in the gap between the narrow guide wall and the wide guide wall. it can.

  According to the present invention, the first locking claw that engages and disengages the locking portion on the guide portion side with the locking portion at the distal end of the arm, and the locking portion on the container side for locking. And a second locking claw to be removed. For this reason, compared with the case where the 1st and 2nd latching claw is each provided in the front-end | tip of another arm, it is possible to reduce a number of parts, and it can contribute to reduction of apparatus cost by that.

  Further, since the arms are provided in pairs on both sides in the width direction orthogonal to the mounting direction of the shutter, the shutters are provided in pairs on both sides in the width direction when the opening / closing operation is performed. Since the arm receives the same frictional force on the left and right, it opens and closes in a stable state.

  Further, when the container main body is removed from the apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus, as long as the inner locking claw is fitted in the locked portion on the container side, the shutter moves with the container main body. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the inconvenience that the toner supply device is pulled out from the image forming apparatus while remaining on the apparatus main body side while the toner supply device is being removed from the apparatus main body.

  Further, in a state where the container main body is removed from the apparatus main body, the shutter is prevented from moving in both the forward and reverse directions with respect to the container main body. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of inconvenience that the shutter is accidentally opened and the internal toner leaks and pollutes the surrounding environment.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an internal structure of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a perspective view showing a toner container according to an embodiment of the present invention, and (B) is a perspective view showing a developing device to which the toner container is detachably mounted. FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating a state where a toner container is mounted on a developing device. 2A and 2B are explanatory views in plan view showing the positional relationship between the toner container and the developing device, in which FIG. 3A is a state immediately before the toner container is mounted on the developing device, and FIG. Each state is shown. It is a disassembled perspective view which shows one Embodiment of an opening-closing structure. FIG. 6 is a partially cut-out assembly perspective view of the opening / closing structure shown in FIG. 5, showing a state in which the gate member is being advanced while being guided by the guide portion. FIG. 6 is a partially cutaway assembly perspective view of the opening / closing structure shown in FIG. 5, showing a state where the gate member is pushed into the innermost part of the guide part. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the effect | action of an opening-and-closing structure, Comprising: The state immediately after the gate member of the toner container was fitted between a pair of wide guide walls of a guide part is shown, (A) is sectional drawing of planar view , (B) respectively show sectional views in side view. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the effect | action of an opening-and-closing structure, Comprising: The state where the arrowhead member is being fitted in the guide part side latching groove by fitting a box-shaped case in a guide part is shown, (A) Is a sectional view in plan view, and (B) is a sectional view in side view. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the effect | action of an opening-and-closing structure, Comprising: A gate member shows the state set to the open position by mounting | wearing a guide part, (A) is sectional drawing of planar view (B) is a sectional view in side view. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the effect | action of an opening-and-closing structure, Comprising: The arrowhead member shows the state which has come off from the guide part side latching groove by having started pulling out a gate member from a guide member, (A) is planar view Sectional views and (B) show sectional views in side view. It is explanatory drawing for demonstrating the effect | action of an opening-and-closing structure, Comprising: The state where the gate member is being pulled out from a guide part is shown, (A) is sectional drawing of planar view, (B) is sectional drawing of side view Each is shown. It is sectional drawing of planar view which shows other embodiment of an opening / closing structure.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an internal structure of an image forming apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the X direction is referred to as the left-right direction, and in particular, -X is referred to as the left and + X is referred to as the right. The image forming apparatus 10 is used as a printer, and feeds a stored sheet as needed, and transfers a predetermined image onto the sheet fed from the sheet feeding unit 12. An image forming unit 13 and a fixing unit 14 for performing a fixing process on a transfer image transferred to a sheet by the image forming unit 13 are provided in the apparatus main body 11, and at the upper surface position of the apparatus main body 11 after the fixing process. It is formed by providing a paper discharge unit 15 for discharging the paper.

  The sheet feeding unit 12 feeds a stack of sheets stacked and loaded in the sheet feeding cassette 121 from the uppermost sheet to the image forming unit 13 one by one from the uppermost sheet by the rotation operation of the sheet feeding roller 122.

  The image forming unit 13 is disposed at a substantially central position in the apparatus main body 11 and transfers a predetermined toner image onto a sheet by an electrophotographic process. The image forming unit 13 includes a photoconductive drum (image carrier) 131 rotatably supported by a photoconductor, and a charging device sequentially disposed around the photoconductive drum 131 in the rotation direction. 132, an exposure device 133, a developing device 20, and a cleaning device 134. The sheet discharged from the sheet feeding cassette 121 by driving the sheet feeding roller 122 is fed toward the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 131 by driving the transport belt 135.

  The developing device 20 supplies toner to the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 131 to form a toner image on the peripheral surface. The developing device 20 is provided with a detachable toner container (toner supply device) 30 (see FIG. 2 and the like) for supplying toner to the developing device 20.

  The fixing unit 14 is disposed on the downstream side of the conveyance belt 135 in the sheet conveyance direction. The fixing unit 14 includes a heating roller 141 and a pressure roller 142, and the sheet on which the toner image is transferred in the image forming unit 13 is passed between the heating roller 141 and the pressure roller 142, whereby the heating process by the heating roller 141 is performed. The toner image on the paper is fixed to the paper by the pressure applied by the rollers 141 and 142.

  The basic operation of the image forming apparatus 10 will be described. The peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 131 that rotates clockwise in FIG. 1 is first uniformly charged by the charging device 132. Next, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 131 by irradiation of light from the exposure device 133 based on image information transmitted from an external device such as a computer. By supplying toner from the developing device 20 toward the electrostatic latent image, the electrostatic latent image is developed, and a toner image is formed on the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 131.

  Then, a sheet fed from the sheet feeding cassette 121 of the sheet feeding unit 12 is supplied to the photosensitive drum 131 on which the toner image is formed by driving the conveying belt 135, and the sheet facing the photosensitive drum 131. The toner image on the circumferential surface of the photosensitive drum 131 is transferred to the sheet by the action of the transfer roller shown in the figure. The sheet on which the toner image has been transferred is separated from the photosensitive drum 131 and is conveyed toward the fixing unit 14 by driving the conveyance belt 135. The toner image is fixed on the paper by the heating and pressure processing by the heating roller 141 in the fixing unit 14. The paper after the fixing process is discharged onto a paper discharge tray 151 of the paper discharge unit 15. The peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 131 after the toner image is transferred to the sheet is subjected to a cleaning process by the cleaning device 134 and returned to the charging device 132 for the next image forming process.

  2 and 3 are perspective views showing the toner container 30 (toner supply device) and the developing device 20 to which the toner container 30 is detachably attached according to the present embodiment, and FIGS. ) Shows a state before the toner container 30 is attached to the developing device 20, and FIG. 3 shows a state where the toner container 30 is attached to the developing device 20. 4A and 4B are explanatory views showing the positional relationship between the toner container 30 and the developing device 20, and FIG. 4A shows a state immediately before the toner container 30 is mounted on the developing device 20. FIG. 4B shows a state where the toner container 30 is mounted on the developing device 20.

  2 and 3, the XX direction is referred to as the width direction, and the YY direction is referred to as the front-rear direction. In particular, the -X direction is leftward, the + X direction is rightward, the -Y direction is forward, and the + Y direction is forward. It is called the back. In FIG. 2, the front / rear direction indication of the toner container 30 is opposite to the front / rear direction indication of the developing device 20.

  As shown in FIG. 2B, the developing device 20 has an L shape in an end view (front view), and is used to stir the toner supplied from the toner container 30 into the developing device main body 21, for example. A stirring member provided with stirring blades, a developing roller for supplying the toner after stirring to the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 131 (FIG. 1), and the like are incorporated. The developing device main body 21 includes a pair of side plates 22 in the front-rear direction. In each side plate 22, the vertical dimension of the left part 221 is set to be longer than the vertical dimension of the right part 222, and an L-shaped end surface is formed by the left part 221 and the right part 222.

  A bottom plate 23 is installed between the lower edges of the pair of side plates 22, and a right plate 24 is installed between the right edges of the right portions 222 of the pair of side plates 22. A lower top plate 25 is installed between the upper edges of the pair of right portions 222, while an intermediate plate 26 is installed between the right edges of the pair of left portions 221. Further, an upper top plate 27 is installed between the pair of left portions 221, and a left plate 28 is installed between the left edges of the pair of left portions 221. The developing device main body 21 includes a toner stirring space surrounded and sealed by these plates 22 to 28. The left plate 28 is provided with a long opening 281 in the front-rear direction facing the developing roller. The toner in the developing device 20 is supplied to the peripheral surface of the photosensitive drum 131 from the developing roller facing the photosensitive drum 131 through the opening 281.

  A guide portion 50 for guiding a gate member 40 described later of the toner container 30 is provided at a position in front of the lower top plate 25. The guide portion 50 is formed with a toner receiving port 251 for receiving toner that has a rectangular shape in plan view. The gate member 40 includes a box-shaped case 41 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape provided at a position near the front of the left position of the bottom plate 33 of the container main body (container main body) 31, and a shutter described later is provided in the box-shaped case 41. It is formed by mounting various members for use. A toner supply port 49 for supplying toner in the container main body 31 to the developing device 20 is provided on the bottom plate of the box-shaped case 41.

  As shown by an arrow A in FIG. 2, the rear end side of the toner container 30 is fitted onto the lower top plate 25 of the developing device body 21 from the front end side of the lower top plate 25, so that the intermediate plate 26 and the upper plate are disposed. The developing device 20 is slid while being guided by the top plate 27. As a result, the toner from the toner container 30 is supplied into the developing device 20 through the toner supply port 49 of the gate member 40 and the toner receiving port 251 of the lower top plate 25. In the present embodiment, the lower top plate 25 of the developing device 20 is a part where the toner container 30 is detachably mounted.

  The toner container 30 has a box-shaped container main body 31 that has substantially the same length dimension (dimension in the front-rear direction) as the developing device 20 and that includes an agitating and conveying member (not shown) inside, and a bottom portion of the container main body 31. And a gate member 40 provided corresponding to the guide portion 50.

  The container body 31 includes a pair of side plates 32 in the front-rear direction, a bottom plate 33 laid between the lower edge portions of the side plates 32, a left plate 34 laid between the left edge portions of the pair of side plates 32, And a right plate 35 installed between the sections. The upper surface opening of the container body 31 is closed by a lid 36.

  The gate member 40 is provided on the left side of the bottom plate 33 and corresponding to the guide portion 50 at a position slightly ahead of the middle position in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 4A, the gate member 40 places the toner container 30 from the rear side at the mounting position of the developing device main body 21 (inner corner formed by the lower top plate 25 and the intermediate plate 26). By being fitted into the front side of 20, the toner supply port 49 on the toner container 30 side is opened as shown in FIG. 4B. With this opening, the toner in the toner container 30 is supplied to the developing device 20.

  Hereinafter, an opening / closing structure 60 that opens / closes the shutter plate (shutter) 43 in conjunction with the attaching / detaching operation of the toner container 30 with respect to the developing device 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of the opening / closing structure 60, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are partially cut-out assembled perspective views thereof. In particular, FIG. 6 shows a state in which the gate member 40 is moving while being guided by the guide portion 50, and FIG. 7 shows a state in which the gate member 40 is pushed into the innermost portion of the guide portion 50. 5 to 7 are the same as those shown in FIG. 2 (-X: leftward, + X: rightward, -Y: forward, + Y: backward).

  As shown in FIG. 5, the opening / closing structure 60 that opens and closes the shutter plate 43 is provided at a position in front of the bottom plate 33 of the container body 31 to guide the movement of the shutter plate 43, and the lower part of the developing device 20. And a guide portion 50 formed at the front position of the top plate 25.

  The gate member 40 is indicated by a solid line in FIG. 2A and a bifurcated plate 42 disposed integrally with the box-shaped case 41 at an upper position in the box-shaped case 41 indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. The shutter plate 43 is slidably in contact with the bifurcated plate 42 at the lower position so as to be movable in the front-rear direction. The shutter plate 43 protrudes from the front position toward the rear. A pair of left and right elastic arms (arms) 44 and a pair of arrowhead members (locking portions) 45 formed at the front ends (rear ends) of the respective elastic arms 44 are provided.

  The box-shaped case 41 is constructed between a bottom plate (bottom portion) 411 having a slightly long rectangular shape in the front-rear direction in plan view, and a front and rear edge portion of the bottom plate 411 and a bottom plate 33 of the container body 31. A pair of front and rear plates 412 and a pair of left and right side plates 413 interposed between the left and right edges of the bottom plate 411 of the box-shaped case 41 and the bottom plate 33 of the container body 31 are provided. A toner supply port 49 for supplying toner in the container main body 31 to the developing device 20 via the gate member 40 is provided at the center of the bottom plate 411.

  An escape window 414 is provided in the front front and rear plate 412. The escape window 414 is for allowing the shutter plate 43 to escape to the outside of the box-shaped case 41 when the shutter plate 43 moves forward relative to the box-shaped case 41. Further, each side plate 413 of the box-shaped case 41 has a long hole 415 extending in the front-rear direction for projecting an arrowhead member 45 that moves back and forth relative to the box-shaped case 41 to the outside of the box-shaped case 41. Are respectively drilled. In addition, since it will become complicated if such a box-shaped case 41 is described in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, description of the box-shaped case 41 is abbreviate | omitted in FIG.

  The bifurcated plate 42 is set to have a shorter left-right dimension than the bottom plate 411, and a front-rear dimension is set slightly shorter than an inner dimension between the pair of front-rear plates 412. On the left and right edge portions of the bifurcated plate 42, edge weirs 421 extending in the front-rear direction and projecting upward are provided. A container-side locking groove (second locked portion) 422 formed by being cut from the upper portion is recessed in the substantially central portion of these edge dams 421. These container-side locking grooves 422 are for locking inner locking claws 453 (to be described later) of the arrowhead member 45.

  Further, the bifurcated plate 42 is formed with a notch opening 423 formed by notching from the front edge portion toward the substantially central portion. A cylindrical body 48 is interposed between the bottom plate 33 and the bifurcated plate 42 of the container main body 31. The cylinder 48 is installed so as to cover the back side of the notch opening 423. The toner in the container main body 31 is supplied to the developing device 20 through the cylindrical body 48 and the cutout opening 423 in a state where the shutter plate 43 is set at the open position relative to the bifurcated plate 42.

  The front and rear dimensions of the shutter plate 43 are set to be substantially the same as that of the bifurcated plate 42, the lateral width dimension is shorter than the inner dimension between the pair of edge dams 421 of the bifurcated plate 42, and the bifurcated plate It is set to be slightly larger than the left-right width dimension of 42 notch openings 423. A passage hole 431 for allowing toner to pass therethrough is formed at a rear position of the shutter plate 43. The passage hole 431 is located behind the notch opening 423 in the bifurcated plate 42 in a state where the shutter plate 43 is set at the closed position, thereby supplying toner in the container main body 31 to the developing device 20. Is blocked.

  A support square member 432 extending in the left-right direction for supporting the base end side (front end side) of each elastic arm 44 is fixed to the upper front edge of the shutter plate 43. The support square 432 is set such that the left and right length is larger than the outer dimension between the pair of edge dams 421 of the bifurcated plate 42 and smaller than the inner dimension between a pair of wide guide walls 512 described later of the guide portion 50. Yes.

  The base ends of the pair of elastic arms 44 are fixed to the upper surfaces of the left and right ends of the support square member 432 so as to extend rearward (in the mounting direction of the toner container 30) in parallel with each other. In the present embodiment, the elastic arm 44 is set to have a length that is slightly longer than half of the longitudinal length of the shutter plate 43.

  The support square 432 is set to have the same upper and lower thickness dimension as the bifurcated plate 42. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 6, by placing the bifurcated plate 42 on the shutter plate 43, the upper surfaces of the two plates are flush with each other.

  The arrowhead member 45 extends rearward from the rear end of each elastic arm 44 (the front end in the mounting direction of the toner container 30). The arrowhead member 45 is formed in a right-angled triangle shape that is symmetrical in a plan view with respect to a center line extending in the front-rear direction of the shutter plate 43. The central portion of the bottom portion is fixed to the rear end of the elastic arm 44 so that the hypotenuse portion (slope side edge portion 451) of the right triangle in each arrowhead member 45 opposes the left and right.

  In the pair of arrowhead members 45, a sharpened portion (tip interference portion) 452 is formed at the tip (rear end) portion of the hypotenuse edge portion 451, respectively. In addition, a pair of left and right inner locking claws (second locking claws) 453 projecting from the elastic arm 44 in directions opposite to each other are respectively provided at the front end positions of the oblique edge portions 451 of the arrowhead members 45. Is formed. Further, outer locking claws (first locking claws) 454 projecting in opposite directions from the rear ends of the elastic arms 44 are located at positions corresponding to right-angled portions of the right triangle in the arrowhead member 45. Each is formed.

  The outer locking claw 454 protrudes in the outer direction (one side direction) perpendicular to the front / rear axis along the mounting direction of the toner container 30 of the elastic arm 44. On the other hand, the inner locking claw 453 protrudes in the inner direction (the other side portion direction) perpendicular to the front / rear axis.

  The outer dimension between the arrowhead members 45 is set slightly larger than the inner dimension between a pair of wide guide walls 512 described later of the guide portion 50. Therefore, in a state where the box-shaped case 41 is mounted between the pair of wide guide walls 512, the elastic arms 44 have their rear end sides approaching each other in a slightly opposite direction as shown in FIG. So that it is elastically displaced. Due to the reaction of this elastic displacement, each outer edge surface of each arrowhead member 45 is in a state of being pressed and in contact with the wide guide wall 512 (see also FIG. 8A).

  The guide portion 50 is attached to an appropriate position at the front position on the lower top plate 25 (see FIG. 2B) of the developing device 20 corresponding to the gate member 40. The guide unit 50 guides the longitudinal movement of the box-shaped case 41 of the gate member 40, the shutter plate 52 provided on the guide member 51 so as to be movable back and forth, and applies a biasing force to the shutter plate 52. And a coil spring 53 as an urging member.

  The guide member 51 includes a base plate 511, a pair of left and right wide guide walls 512, a pair of left and right narrow guide walls 513, and a stopper wall 514. The base plate 511 is fixed to the lower top plate 25 of the developing device 20 with screws. The wide guide wall 512 is erected from the left and right edges of the base plate 511 in a range from the front end position of the base plate 511 to a slightly rearward position from the center in the front-rear direction. The narrow guide wall 513 extends from the rear position of the wide guide wall 512 to the rear edge of the base plate 511 through a predetermined gap. The stopper wall 514 is provided between the rear edges of the pair of narrow guide walls 513.

  A shutter plate mounting groove 515 formed by cutting away an intermediate position in the left-right direction is provided at a rear portion of the base plate 511 from a substantially central position in the front-rear direction. A toner receiving port 251 corresponding to the toner replenishing port 49 of the toner container 30 is formed in the lower top plate 25 on the developing device 20 side corresponding to the substantially central portion of the shutter plate mounting groove 515 in the front-rear direction.

  The pair of wide guide walls 512 are provided symmetrically with respect to the center line extending in the front-rear direction of the base plate 511, and their inner dimensions are set slightly larger than the left and right outer dimensions of the box-shaped case 41. Further, when the pair of arrowhead members 45 are inserted between the pair of wide guide walls 512 in the process of attaching the toner container 30 to the developing device 20, the outer edge surfaces of the pair of arrowhead members 45 are the pair of arrowhead members 45. Each elastic arm 44 is slightly curved by being relatively pressed by the wide guide walls 512. At the front end of each wide guide wall 512, an inclined wall 512a is formed in which the inner dimension between the two gradually increases toward the front. Thus, the user can easily attach the gate member 40 into the guide portion 50 from the front opening between the pair of wide guide walls 512 when attaching the toner container 30 to the developing device 20.

  The pair of narrow guide walls 513 are provided symmetrically with respect to the center line extending in the front-rear direction of the base plate 511, and the inner dimension is set slightly larger than the outer dimension between the pair of side plates 413 of the box-shaped case 41. ing. Thus, the user can push the box-shaped case 41 between the pair of narrow guide walls 513 via the pair of wide guide walls 512 when the toner container 30 is mounted on the developing device 20. The distance between the pair of narrow guide walls 513 is set slightly smaller than the distance between the pair of wide guide walls 512.

  A gap between the rear end edge of each wide guide wall 512 and the front end edge of each narrow guide wall 513 acts as a guide portion side locking groove (first locked portion) 516. In addition, guide wings (inclined portions) 517 are provided at the front end edge of each narrow guide wall 513 so as to be inclined in the opposite directions and toward the rear.

  When the toner container 30 is mounted on the developing device 20, each guide wing 517 moves the box-shaped case 41 between the pair of wide guide walls 512 to the pair of narrow guide walls 513. As shown in FIG. 7, the arrowhead member 45 provided at the tip of 44 is guided toward the guide portion side locking groove 516. By this guide, the locking of the inner locking claw 453 to the front edge of the container side locking groove 422 is released.

  At the time of this guide, the sharpened portion 452 of the arrowhead member 45 first comes into contact with the base end portion 517A of the guide wing 517, and thereafter, the oblique side edge portion 451 comes into sliding contact with the guide wing 517. As the distance between the pair of narrow guide walls 513 is slightly smaller than the distance between the pair of wide guide walls 512, the base end portion 517A of the guide wing 517 is positioned on the inner side of the inner wall surface of the wide guide wall 512. doing. Such position setting makes it possible to realize the guide operation as described above.

  The shutter plate 52 is fitted in the shutter plate mounting groove 515 so as to be movable back and forth. When the toner container 30 is not mounted on the developing device 20, the shutter plate 52 closes the toner receiving port 251 by moving forward in the shutter plate mounting groove 515 by the urging force of the coil spring 53.

  First, the thickness of the shutter plate 52 is set to be the same as the thickness of the base plate 511, so that the upper surface of the shutter plate 52 is flush with the upper surface of the base plate 511 when fitted in the shutter plate mounting groove 515. Further, the shutter plate 52 is set to have a slightly shorter front-rear length than the front-rear length of the shutter plate mounting groove 515, and a left-right width dimension is set slightly shorter than a left-right dimension of the shutter plate mounting groove 515. Thus, the shutter plate 52 can slide in the shutter plate mounting groove 515 in the front-rear direction while being fitted in the shutter plate mounting groove 515.

  The shutter plate 52 is provided with a passage hole 521 through which the toner from the toner container 30 passes slightly ahead of the central portion in the front-rear direction. Further, at the rear position of the shutter plate 52, a pressed protrusion 522 that is pressed by the rear end edge of the shutter plate 43 protrudes upward.

Furthermore, a locking protrusion 523 that locks the hook 531 behind the coil spring 53 is provided on the rear left edge of the shutter plate 52. A locking ring 518 for locking the hook 531 in front of the coil spring 53 is provided at an appropriate position on the left side of the base plate 511. A coil spring 53 is stretched between the locking ring 518 and the locking protrusion 523 in a stretched state via front and rear hooks 531. Accordingly, the shutter plate 52 is positioned at a front position in the shutter plate mounting groove 515 as shown in FIG. 6 in a state where the biasing force of the coil spring 53 is applied. At this time, the toner receiving port 251 of the developing device 20 is
The shutter plate 52 is closed by the latter half portion.

  In this state, when the user fits the box-shaped case 41 into the guide portion 50 and pushes it backward to attach the toner container 30 to the developing device 20, the trailing edge of the bifurcated plate 42 is the pressed protrusion 522. Is pushed backward. As a result, the shutter plate 52 moves backward in the shutter plate mounting groove 515 as shown in FIG. By this movement, the toner receiving port 251 is opened as shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, based on FIGS. 8-12, the effect | action of the opening-and-closing structure 60 which concerns on this embodiment is demonstrated. FIG. 8 shows a state immediately after the gate member 40 of the toner container 30 is fitted between the pair of wide guide walls 512 of the guide unit 50, and FIG. 9 shows that the box-shaped case 41 is fitted into the guide unit 50. The hypotenuse edge portion 451 of each arrowhead member 45 of the gate member 40 interferes with the guide wing 517 of the guide portion 50 and the arrowhead member 45 is being fitted into the guide portion side locking groove 516, respectively.

  FIG. 10 shows a state in which the shutter plate 43 is set to the open position by mounting the gate member 40 on the guide portion 50. 11 shows a state in which the arrowhead member 45 is being detached from the guide portion side locking groove 516 due to the start of pulling out the gate member 40 from the guide member 51, and FIG. 12 shows that the gate member 40 is being pulled out from the guide portion 50. Each state is shown.

  8 to 12, (A) is a sectional view in plan view of the opening / closing structure 60, and (B) is a sectional view in side view of the opening / closing structure 60. Moreover, in FIGS. 8-12, the arrowhead member 45 is exaggerated and shown compared with the other member. Incidentally, in FIG. 8 to FIG. 12, the illustration of the cylinder 48 shown in FIG. 5 is omitted because the illustration becomes complicated and difficult to see. The direction indications by X and Y in these figures are the same as in FIG. 2 (−X: leftward, + X: rightward, −Y: forward, + Y: backward).

  When the toner container 30 is attached to the developing device 20, first, as shown in FIG. 8, the gate member 40 is fitted from the rear end into the guide portion 50 formed on the lower top plate 25 of the developing device 20. Done. Then, the edge members facing the outer sides of the pair of arrowhead members 45 are in sliding contact with the corresponding inner surfaces of the pair of wide guide walls 512, and the gate member 40 is directed toward the back (backward) of the guide portion 50. It is pushed in.

  At this time, the shutter plate 52 is urged forward by the urging force of the coil spring 53. As a result, the shutter plate 52 is positioned in front of the shutter plate mounting groove 515 and closes the toner receiving port 251 of the developing device 20.

  And if pushing operation to the guide part 50 back part (back) of the gate member 40 is continued, the box-shaped case 41 of the gate member 40 will be between a pair of narrow guide walls 513 between a pair of wide guide walls 512. To be introduced.

  At this time, the bifurcated plate 42 integrated with the box-shaped case 41 is also guided by the guide portion 50 and moves rearward. At this time, the inner locking claws 453 of the arrowhead members 45 provided at the front ends (rear ends) of the pair of elastic arms 44 integrated with the shutter plate 43 are formed on the pair of edge dams 421 of the bifurcated plate 42. It is locked in each container-side locking groove 422 provided. Therefore, until each arrowhead member 45 reaches a pair of left and right guide portion side locking grooves 516 formed between the wide guide wall 512 and the narrow guide wall 513, the shutter plate 43 has a bifurcated plate 42. Move with you.

  When the arrowhead member 45 reaches the guide portion side locking groove 516, the base end portion 517A of the guide wing 517 interferes with the sharpened portion 452 of the arrowhead member 45 as shown in FIG. Therefore, when the pushing operation of the box-shaped case 41 is continued, the hypotenuse edge portion 451 of the arrowhead member 45 is guided along the guide wing 517, and the elastic arms 44 are elastic so that they warp in opposite directions. Will be displaced.

  In this state, when the pushing operation of the box-shaped case 41 into the guide portion 50 is continued, the elastic displacement amount of the elastic arm 44 increases, and finally the inner locking claw 453 of each arrowhead member 45 is moved to the container. The side locking groove 422 is released. As a result, the bifurcated plate 42 is pushed into the back part (rear part) between the narrow guide walls 513 while leaving the shutter plate 43. As a result, the notch opening 423 of the bifurcated plate 42 approaches the toner receiving port 251 provided in the lower top plate 25 of the developing device 20.

  At this time, the passage hole 431 provided at the rear end of the shutter plate 43 approaches the toner receiving port 251 until it overlaps the toner receiving port 251. Further, at this time, the rear edge portion of the bifurcated plate 42 presses the pressed protrusion 522 of the shutter plate 52 backward against the urging force of the coil spring 53, so that the shutter plate 52 moves rearward. Moving. As a result, the passage hole 521 provided in the shutter plate 52 approaches the toner receiving port 251 provided in the lower top plate 25 of the developing device 20.

  Then, when the box-shaped case 41 is pushed into the inner part of the guide portion 50, that is, when the toner container 30 is mounted on the developing device 20, as shown in FIG. At a position immediately above the toner receiving port 251 provided in the, there are a passage hole 521 of the shutter plate 52, a toner supply port 49 of the box-shaped case 41, a passage hole 431 of the shutter plate 43 and a notch opening 423 of the bifurcated plate 42. It will be in the state which overlapped one by one. In this state, the agitating / conveying member (not shown) provided in the container main body 31 is driven, so that the toner in the toner container 30 is developed through the notch opening 423, the passage hole 431, the toner supply port 49 and the passage hole 521. It will be supplied to the device 20.

  It should be noted that a position maintaining unit for maintaining the state in which the box-shaped case 41 is located at the back of the guide unit 50 is provided at an appropriate position of the box-shaped case 41. This position maintaining part uses a frictional force or a predetermined retaining structure, for example, and is a member that maintains the mounting state of the box-shaped case 41 with respect to the guide part 50 with a force larger than the urging force of the coil spring 53. Therefore, the state in which the box-shaped case 41 is pushed into the back part of the guide part 50 is stably maintained in the back part of the guide part 50 by the position maintaining part. Further, the box-shaped case 41 is pulled forward from the guide portion 50 by pulling the toner container 30 forward with a force larger than the maintenance force of the position maintaining portion.

  In addition, a stopper (not shown) is provided in the vicinity of each guide wing 517. When each arrowhead member 45 abuts against a stopper corresponding to each arrowhead member 45, the arrowhead member 45 is prevented from over-expanding and the shutter plate 43 is restricted from moving excessively.

  Next, a case where the toner container 30 once attached to the developing device 20 is pulled out from the developing device 20 will be described. First, in the state shown in FIG. 10, even if the shutter plate 43 tries to move together with the forked plate 42, the outer locking claw 454 of the arrowhead member 45 does not move the rear end edge of the wide guide wall 512 (guide portion side locking groove 516. To the side edge). For this reason, the movement toward the front of the shutter plate 43 is prevented. Therefore, the passage hole 521 of the shutter plate 52 is closed by the forked plate 42 because only the forked plate 42 moves forward.

  When the box-shaped case 41 is further pulled forward from the guide portion 50, the passage hole 431 of the shutter plate 43 is closed by the bifurcated plate 42 as shown in FIG. Further, the inner locking claw 453 of the arrowhead member 45 is fitted into the container side locking groove 422 of the bifurcated plate 42 in a state where the outer locking claw 454 is in contact with the rear end edge of the wide guide wall 512.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 12, the elastic arm 44 that has been displaced by bending returns to the original straight state by the elastic force, and thereby the arrowhead member 45 is disengaged from the guide portion side locking groove 516. As a result, the shutter plate 43 can be moved together with the bifurcated plate 42 (box-shaped case 41). In this state, the toner receiving port 251 of the developing device 20 is closed by the shutter plate 52, and the toner supply port 49 of the toner container 30 is closed by the shutter plate 43. Therefore, in a state where the toner container 30 is removed from the developing device 20, foreign matters can be effectively prevented from entering the developing device 20 via the toner receiving port 251, and the toner via the toner supply port 49 can be prevented. Leakage of toner in the container 30 can also be prevented.

  When the toner container 30 is removed from the developing device 20, the inner locking claw 453 of the arrowhead member 45 fits into the container-side locking groove 422 of the bifurcated plate 42. For this reason, the shutter plate 43 cannot move forward, and even if the user mistakenly moves the shutter plate 43 backward, the support square member 432 of the shutter plate 43 has the front edge of the bifurcated plate 42. Since it stops at 424 (see FIG. 12), it cannot be moved. That is, the shutter plate 43 moves forward and backward with respect to the container main body 31 when the toner container 30 is being pulled out from the developing device 20 with the toner supply port 49 of the toner container 30 closed, and after being pulled out. I can't. For this reason, the toner replenishment port 49 is opened, so that the inconvenience of toner leakage and scattering can be prevented.

  As described in detail above, the toner container 30 according to the present embodiment is formed in the developing device 20 in order to supply toner to the developing device 20 built in the apparatus main body 11 of the image forming apparatus 10. It is detachably mounted in the developing device 20 while being guided by the guide unit 50. The toner container 30 includes a container main body 31 for storing toner, a toner supply port 49 formed in the bottom plate 411 of the box-shaped case 41, a shutter plate 43 for opening and closing the toner supply port 49, and the container main body 31. An opening / closing structure 60 that causes the shutter plate 43 to perform an opening / closing operation in conjunction with an attaching / detaching operation to the apparatus main body 11 is provided.

  The open / close structure 60 includes an elastic arm 44 projecting from the shutter plate 43 toward the mounting direction of the container main body 31 with respect to the apparatus main body 11, an arrowhead member 45 attached to the tip of the elastic arm 44, and the arrowhead member 45, a guide portion side locking groove 516 formed on the guide portion 50 side and a container side locking groove 422 formed on the container main body 31 side. It has an outer locking claw 454 that engages and disengages with the retaining groove 516 and an inner locking claw 453 that engages and disengages with the container side locking groove 422.

  The shutter plate 43 is prevented from moving forward and backward with respect to the container body 31 of the shutter plate 43 with respect to the container body 31 because the inner locking claws 453 are fitted into the container side locking grooves 422. Further, when the container main body 31 is attached to the apparatus main body 11 along the guide portion 50, the outer locking claw 454 is moved to the guide portion side locking groove when the arrowhead member 45 reaches the guide portion side locking groove 516. Fit into 516. At this time, the elastic arm 44 is elastically displaced, and the inner locking claw 453 is detached from the container side locking groove 422. On the other hand, when the container main body 31 is pulled out, the locking of the outer locking claw 454 with respect to the guiding portion side locking groove 516 is released. At this time, the elastic arm 44 that has been elastically restored is restored to the state before the elastic displacement, and the inner locking claw 453 is re-locked to the container-side locking groove 422.

  Therefore, when the toner container 30 is not attached to the apparatus main body 11, the toner supply port 49 is not opened by the movement of the shutter plate 43. When the toner container 30 is mounted along the guide portion 50 of the apparatus main body 11, the inner locking claw 453 is disengaged from the container side locking groove 422 due to the elastic displacement of the elastic arm 44, and the shutter plate 43 is moved to the container main body. The accompanying movement with 31 is prevented. By this operation, the toner supply port 49 is opened.

  Next, when the container main body 31 once mounted is pulled out from the apparatus main body 11, the inner locking claw 453 is re-locked to the container-side locking groove 422 as described above. It moves with the container main body 31 being pulled out in a state in which 49 is closed. Thereafter, the shutter plate 43 cannot be moved with respect to the container main body 31 by the inner locking claws 453, so that the shutter plate 43 cannot move while the toner container 30 is being removed from the apparatus main body 11.

  In the present embodiment, an arrowhead member 45 having an arrowhead shape is employed as a locking portion formed at the tip of the elastic arm 44. In such arrowhead member 45, the outer locking claw 454 is formed at the outer corner of the bottom portion of the arrowhead member 45, and the inner locking claw 453 is formed at the inner corner. By forming the locking portion with the triangular arrowhead member 45 in this way, the locking portion including the outer locking claw 454 and the inner locking claw 453 can be made into a simple structure, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. Can contribute to the reduction of energy consumption.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, a pair of elastic arms 44 are provided on both sides in the width direction (left-right direction) orthogonal to the mounting direction of the shutter plate 43. For this reason, when the opening / closing operation is performed, the shutter plate 43 can receive the same frictional force on the left and right by the pair of elastic arms 44 and is in a so-called dual-effect state, so that the shutter plate 43 is in a stable state. The opening / closing operation can be performed with.

  In addition, the guide unit 50 is provided on the lower top plate 25 of the developing device 20. For this reason, the toner replenishment path from the toner container 30 to the developing device 20 can be set to the shortest, and proper and rapid replenishment of toner to the developing device 20 can be realized.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to this, For example, the following content is also included.

  (1) In the above-described embodiment, the image forming apparatus 10 has been described by taking a printer as an example. The image forming apparatus is not limited to being a printer, and may be a copying machine or a facsimile apparatus.

  (2) In the above embodiment, the elastic arm 44 and the arrowhead member 45 are provided on the shutter plate 43 as a pair on the left and right, but may be provided only on either the left or right side of the shutter plate 43.

  (3) In the above-described embodiment, the support square member 432 of the shutter plate 43 is stopped against the front end edge 424 of the bifurcated plate 42, thereby making it impossible to move the shutter plate 43 rearward, so that the shutter The movement of the plate 43 prevents the toner supply port 49 from being opened. However, depending on the vertical positional relationship between the bifurcated plate 42 and the shutter plate 43, the three-dimensional shape, and the like, the front end edge 424 of the bifurcated plate 42 and the support square 432 may not be brought into contact with each other.

  Even in this case, in the above-described embodiment, the inner locking claw 453 of the arrowhead member 45 is fitted in the container-side locking groove 422 provided in the edge dam 421 of the bifurcated plate 42, so that the shutter plate 43 Is moved rearward, the rear edge portion (slope side edge portion 451) of the inner locking claw 453 comes into contact with the rear edge of the container side locking groove 422. Therefore, the rearward movement of the shutter plate 43 is restricted, and the toner supply port 49 is not opened.

  (4) In the above embodiment, the example in which the toner container 30 is directly attached to and detached from the developing device 20 has been described. Depending on the type of the image forming apparatus 10, there may be a structure in which the toner container 30 cannot be directly attached to and detached from the developing device 20. In such a case, a platform for attaching and detaching the toner container 30 is disposed at an appropriate position in the apparatus main body 11 of the image forming apparatus 10, and a communication duct for conveying toner is provided between the platform and the developing device. Good. In this case, the platform plays a role of the lower top plate 25 of the developing device 20 in the above embodiment.

  (5) In the above embodiment, the shutter plate 43 is laminated on the lower surface side of the bifurcated plate 42. However, the shutter plate 43 may be laminated on the upper surface side of the bifurcated plate 42 instead. By doing so, it is possible to cause the bifurcated plate 42 to play the role of the box-shaped case 41, and it is possible to contribute to the reduction in the number of parts because the box-shaped case 41 need not be provided.

  (6) FIG. 13 is a sectional view in plan view showing an opening / closing structure 60 ′ according to a modified embodiment. The direction display by X and Y in FIG. 13 is the same as in FIG. 2 (−X: leftward, + X: rightward, −Y: forward, + Y: backward). The opening / closing structure 60 'of this embodiment includes a gate member 40' having a slightly different configuration from that of the previous embodiment and a guide portion 50 similar to that of the previous embodiment.

  In this modified embodiment, one of the arrowhead members 45 (the left arrowhead member 45 in the example shown in FIG. 13) which is a component of the gate member 40 ′ has the same inner locking claw 453 as described above. However, the other arrowhead member 45 ′ (the right arrowhead member in the example shown in FIG. 13) is not provided with the inner locking claw 453. For this reason, one edge dam 421 is provided with a container-side locking groove 422 into which the inner locking claw 453 is fitted, whereas the other edge dam 421 ′ is unnecessary and has no container. The side locking groove 422 is not provided.

  This is done for the following reason. That is, the sharpened portions 452 of the left and right arrowhead members 45, 45 ′ interfere with the left and right guide wings 517 when the box-shaped case 41 is pushed toward the back of the guide portion 50. Thereafter, the left and right arrowhead members 45, 45 ′ are fitted into the respective guide portion side locking grooves 516, whereby the shutter plate 43 is prevented from moving with the bifurcated plate 42. When the same force is not applied to the left and right of the shutter plate 43 during this blockage, the right and left balance is lost in the movement of the bifurcated plate 42 and the box-shaped case 41 cannot move smoothly. Specifically, for example, the box-shaped case 41 tilts to the left and right to cause a malfunction such as a rear edge portion of the box-shaped case 41 colliding with the front end of the guide wing 517. Therefore, in order to eliminate such a problem, the left and right arrowhead members 45 and 45 'are respectively provided with sharpened portions 452.

  On the other hand, the inner locking claws 453 formed on the arrowhead member 45 are only while the left and right arrowhead members 45, 45 'are positioned between the pair of wide guide walls 512 in the guide portion 50 (the toner container 30 is While not attached to the developing device 20, the shutter plate 43 is fitted into the notch opening 423 of the bifurcated plate 42, and the shutter plate 43 is moved toward the back of the bifurcated plate 42 and the guide unit 50 (rear part). It is installed for the purpose of Therefore, the shutter plate 43 can be smoothly moved along with the bifurcated plate 42 with a lock that does not apply such a large load to the inner locking claw 453. For this reason, the inner locking claw 453 is provided only on one arrowhead member 45, and the inner locking claw 453 is not provided on the other arrowhead member 45 ′. By doing so, it is possible to contribute to the reduction of material cost and processing cost while ensuring the function of the opening / closing structure 60 'appropriately.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Image forming apparatus 11 Apparatus main body 12 Paper feed part 121 Paper feed cassette 122 Paper feed roller 13 Image forming part 131 Photosensitive drum 132 Charging device 133 Exposure device 134 Cleaning device 135 Conveying belt 14 Fixing part 141 Heating roller 142 Pressure roller 15 Paper discharge portion 151 Paper discharge tray 20 Developing device 21 Developing device main body 22 Side plate 221 Left portion 222 Right portion 23 Bottom plate 24 Right plate 25 Lower top plate 251 Toner receiving port 26 Intermediate plate 27 Upper top plate 28 Left plate 281 Toner supply Port 30 Toner container (toner supply device)
31 Container body (container body)
32 Side plate 33 Bottom plate 34 Left plate 35 Right plate 36 Lid 60, 60 'Open / close structure 40, 40' Gate member 41 Box-shaped case 411 Bottom plate 412 Front and rear plates 413 Side plate 414 Escape window 415 Long hole 42 Bifurcated plates 421, 421 ' Edge dam 422 Container side locking groove (locked portion for locking on container side) 423 Notch opening 43 Shutter plate (shutter)
431 Passing hole 432 Support square member 44 Elastic arm (arm) 45 Arrowhead member (locking portion)
451 Hook edge portion 452 Sharp portion 453 Inner locking claw (second locking claw) 454 Outer locking claw (first locking claw)
48 cylinder 49 toner supply port 50 guide part 51 guide member 511 base plate 511a inclined wall 512 wide guide wall 513 narrow width guide wall 514 stopper wall 515 shutter plate mounting groove 516 guide part side locking groove (for locking on the guide part side) Locked part)
517 Guide wing 518 Locking ring 52 Shutter plate 521 Passing hole 522 Pressed protrusion 523 Locking protrusion 53 Coil spring 531 Hook

Claims (3)

A toner supply device that is detachably mounted in the apparatus main body while being guided by a guide portion formed in the apparatus main body of the image forming apparatus,
A container body for storing toner, in which a toner supply port is formed;
A shutter for opening and closing the toner supply port;
An opening / closing structure that causes the shutter to perform an opening / closing operation in conjunction with an attachment / detachment operation of the container body with respect to the apparatus body,
The opening / closing structure includes an arm projecting from the shutter toward the mounting direction of the container main body with respect to the apparatus main body, and an engaging portion attached to the arm.
The locking portion includes a first locking claw that engages with and disengages from a locking first locking portion formed on the guide portion side, and a locking second cover formed on the container body side. A second locking claw that engages and disengages from the locking portion;
The toner supply device according to claim 1, wherein a pair of the arms are provided on both sides in the width direction orthogonal to the mounting direction of the shutter. The toner supply device according to claim 1.
The locking portion and the arm are
When the second locking claw is locked to the second locked portion, forward and reverse movement of the shutter with respect to the container body is prevented,
When the container main body is attached to the apparatus main body along the guide portion, the first locking claw when the locking portion reaches the first locked portion is the first locked Due to the elastic displacement of the arm by being locked to the part, the second locking claw is detached from the second locked part,
When the container main body is pulled out from the apparatus main body along the guide portion, the elastically displaced arm is restored when the locking of the first locking claw with respect to the first locked portion is released. , The second locking claw is re-locked to the second locked portion,
A toner supply device that realizes a function. The device body;
An image carrier that is built in the apparatus body and carries an electrostatic latent image;
A developing device built in the apparatus main body and developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the image carrier into a toner image;
The toner supply device according to claim 1 , wherein the toner supply device is detachably attached to the device main body and supplies toner to the developing device.
A guide part formed on the apparatus main body for guiding the mounting operation of the toner supply device to the apparatus main body;
An image forming apparatus comprising:

Images