JP5471040B2 - Toner container - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a toner container that is loaded in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus and supplies toner to the image forming apparatus.

  Many electrophotographic image forming apparatuses are designed so that toner is supplied by a toner storage container called a toner cartridge (hereinafter also referred to as a toner container). That is, a toner cartridge containing toner is loaded into the image forming apparatus, and the toner can be directly supplied to the image forming apparatus in the loaded state. When a predetermined number of prints are produced, the toner cartridge is replaced with a new toner cartridge. This makes it possible to continue making prints.

  In such a toner cartridge, a container main body containing toner is mounted in a rotatable state in the image forming apparatus, and the stored toner is conveyed to the discharge port side by rotating the container main body to supply toner. There is one designed so as to be able to perform (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The toner container disclosed in Patent Document 1 is provided with a plurality of spiral grooves in a cylindrical container body. After the cap that protects the toner discharge portion is removed and loaded into the image forming apparatus, the container body is mounted. It was designed to rotate and discharge the toner out of the container through the aforementioned groove. In addition, a toner container having a structure in which a toner discharge port is provided on the peripheral surface of the container main body and a cap that is rotatable relative to the container main body is provided so that the container main body and the cap can be integrally loaded in the image forming apparatus. Has also been studied (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

  The toner container disclosed in Patent Document 2 is required to have rotational slidability between the container body and the cap when loaded in the image forming apparatus. Needed to have some gap between them. However, since there was a concern about the occurrence of toner leakage from between the container body and the cap, it was not possible to provide a gap in between. Therefore, in Patent Document 2, a groove is provided on the container body side, a claw portion is provided on the cap side, and the claw portion is engaged with the groove to ensure the rotational slidability of the container body, and at the joint portion between the two. A toner container in which a seal member is disposed to prevent toner leakage has been studied.

JP 2003-316141 A JP 2006-71762 A

  In the technique of holding the container body with the claw part provided on the cap of Patent Document 2, the container body can be held more firmly by providing a plurality of claw parts as the claw part to increase the contact area of the container body. It became like. However, it has been found that as the contact area between the claw portion and the container main body increases, the slidability decreases and the container main body cannot be sufficiently rotated, making it difficult to supply a predetermined amount of toner. In addition, in order to give a larger rotational driving force, it is necessary to use a motor having a large size, leading to an increase in cost and size of the image forming apparatus. Therefore, if the number of the claw portions is reduced to ensure the slidability, it becomes difficult to stably hold the container body by the amount of the claw portions. In addition, since the load applied to the claw portion increases, the claw portion that cannot withstand the load may be damaged.

  As described above, although the toner container disclosed in Patent Document 2 has solved the problem of toner leakage, it is difficult to achieve both good rotational slidability of the container body and stable holding performance of the container body by the cap. It was thought that it was. Moreover, Patent Document 2 neither describes nor suggests that both the rotational slidability of the container body and the holding performance of the container body by the cap are compatible.

  The present invention provides a toner container in which a container main body and a cap are integrated, and the container main body can ensure good rotation and sliding properties, and the cap can firmly hold the container main body. It is for the purpose. Another object of the present invention is to provide a toner container that exhibits good rotational slidability of the container body and does not leak toner from the joint between the container body and the cap.

  The present inventor has found that the above-described problem can be solved by any one of the configurations described below after repeated studies in view of the above-mentioned problem.

The invention described in claim 1
“A toner container having at least a container main body for storing toner and a cap having a plurality of holding means for rotatably holding the container main body with respect to the cap ,
The holding means has a shape in which a portion that contacts the container main body has a shape that discontinuously contacts the container main body in the rotation direction of the container main body, and the portion that contacts the container main body of the holding means A toner container having an inclination that forms an acute angle with respect to a surface of the container body that contacts the holding means when the container body is attached to the cap. ].

The invention described in claim 2
2. The toner container according to claim 1 , wherein the cap is formed by injection molding. ].

The invention according to claim 3
The toner container according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the "one having a sealing member between the container body and the cap. ].

  According to the present invention, for a toner container that integrates a container body and a cap via a plurality of holding means provided on the cap, the container body exhibits good rotational slidability, and the cap It was possible to hold it stably. That is, with respect to the holding means provided in the cap, the shape of the portion that comes into contact with the container main body is made discontinuously in contact with the container main body, so that the rotational slidability of the container main body is expressed, and such holding means By providing a plurality of the container body, the container body can be stably held. Thus, in the present invention, by reducing the contact area between the holding means provided on the cap and the container main body, the generation of frictional force at the portion holding the container main body can be suppressed, and the container body can be rotated. Improved mobility.

  Further, in the present invention, the contact area between the holding means and the container main body is further reduced by giving the inclination so that the portion of the holding means that contacts the container main body forms an acute angle with respect to the container main body, thereby making point contact. It is possible to improve the rotational slidability by realizing a contact state close to.

  Further, in the present invention, the cap having the toner container is manufactured by injection molding so that, for example, a member having a portion requiring high accuracy, such as providing an inclination to the holding means, can be efficiently produced. did. In this way, by enabling the provision of a cap having a holding means with high accuracy by injection molding, the contact area with the container body is small, and it is difficult to generate a frictional force, thereby improving the rotational sliding property. A toner container can be provided. In addition, since a cap having a complicated shape can be efficiently produced by injection molding, it is possible to provide a toner container having an excellent appearance and a product identification function.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view and a side view of a toner container. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a toner container showing members used between the container body and a cap. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a toner container assembled by attaching a cap to a container body, and a partially enlarged view of a claw portion and a convex portion constituting the cap. It is a schematic diagram explaining integration of a container main body and a cap. It is a schematic diagram which shows the specific example of the nail | claw part front-end | tip part which has a form which can contact a container main body discontinuously.

  The present invention relates to a toner container having at least a container main body for storing toner and a cap having a plurality of holding means for rotatably holding the container main body. And in this invention, the part which contacts the container main body of the said holding | maintenance means shall have the shape which contacts the said container main body discontinuously in the rotation direction of the said container main body, The rotational slidability of a container main body is made. In addition to securing the cap, the cap can stably hold the container body.

  That is, by making the shape at the contact portion of the holding means with the container main body as described above, a contact state close to a plurality of point contacts is formed at the contact portion between the holding means and the container main body. The contact area was reduced. As a result, the friction surface at the contact portion is reduced, and the rotational slidability of the container body can be secured. In addition, the holding means makes it possible to firmly hold the container body by forming a contact state close to a plurality of point contacts at the contact portion with the container body.

  In other words, in the present invention, by forming a contact environment close to a plurality of point contacts between the holding means and the container main body, it becomes possible to reduce the friction surface and ensure rotational slidability. It is considered that the container body can be held firmly. The technical idea of specifying the shape of each holding means provided on the cap so as to realize a contact environment close to a plurality of point contacts with the container body is disclosed in the above-mentioned patent document. It is considered that it cannot be easily conceived from the description in 2.

  Hereinafter, a toner container according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows an example of a typical form of a toner container according to the present invention. FIG. 1 (a) is an external perspective view, and FIG. 1 (b) is a diagram from the left side in FIG. It is the side view seen from the direction shown by the white arrow inside. The toner container according to the present invention is not limited to the one shown in FIG. 1 as long as it has a form capable of realizing the configuration of the present invention.

  The toner container shown in FIG. 1 has a cylindrical container body 10 and a cap 20, and the container body 10 is locked by a plurality of claw portions 25 provided on the cap 20. As described above, the toner container of FIG. 1 realizes the integration of the container body 10 and the cap 20 via the plurality of claw portions 25 provided on the cap 20. Here, the plurality of claw portions 25 provided on the cap 20 correspond to the “holding means for rotatably holding the container body” in the present invention. That is, the portion of the claw portion 25 provided on the cap 20 of the toner container shown in FIG. 1 that contacts the container body 10 has a shape that discontinuously contacts the container body 10 as will be described later.

  The toner container shown in FIG. 1 is mounted on an image forming apparatus (not shown), and toner is supplied to the image forming apparatus by rotating the container body 10 in the direction of the arrow W1, for example.

  The toner stored in the container body 10 is conveyed in the direction of the cap 20 by the propelling action of the spiral projections 11 provided on the container body 10 when the container body 10 is rotated in the W1 direction. Then, it is discharged from a discharge port (described later) provided in the cap 20 and replenished to the image forming apparatus.

  That is, the toner is stored in the cylindrical portion of the container body 10 on which the spiral protrusions 11 are formed, and the stored toner is stored in the container body 10 of FIG. It is conveyed and discharged toward a toner discharge port (not shown) provided at the right end. The protrusion 11 formed on the container main body 10 is formed in a groove shape as the appearance of the toner container, but protrudes on the inner wall of the container main body 10 and functions as a protrusion for conveying toner.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1 (b), a groove 12 is provided on the side surface of the container body 10. The groove 12 functions as a groove for receiving a driving member (not shown) of an image forming apparatus (not shown). When the driving member is fitted into the groove 12, the driving force from the driving member is transmitted to the container body 10. To enable rotation in the direction of the arrow W1. Note that the toner container shown in FIG. 1 omits the convex portions 26 provided in the toner container shown in FIGS.

  Here, a method for manufacturing a toner container according to the present invention will be briefly described. The container body 10 and the cap 20 described later can be formed of, for example, plastic or the like, and can be manufactured by a known molding method. Among these, the container body 10 is preferably produced by blow molding from the viewpoint of manufacturing cost, and can also be produced by injection molding. When the container body 10 is produced by blow molding, the end surface of the toner discharge port can be formed by taking measures such as performing a cutting process after molding. On the other hand, the cap 20 tends to take a complicated shape as compared with the container body 10 due to the provision of a plurality of claw portions 25 and the like as shown in FIGS. It is preferable to produce by injection molding (injection molding) from the viewpoint of accurately forming the shape.

  In addition, the toner container according to the present invention can improve the design performance of the toner container and provide a product identification function through the cap 20, and the injection is also performed from the viewpoint of manufacturing the cap 20 having such performance. Fabrication by molding (injection molding) is preferred. That is, the cap 20 is provided with a portion such as the convex portion 26 shown in FIG. 2, for example, to improve the aesthetic appearance of the toner container according to the present invention and to provide a product identification function. It is possible to impart performance such as improving durability. In this way, by providing a part with a unique shape such as the convex portion 26 on the cap 20, effects such as improvement of product design performance and provision of a product identification function can be obtained. From the viewpoint of forming well, it is preferable to produce by injection molding. It should be noted that providing the above-described product identification function means providing the following functions. For example, in the color toner toner container and the black toner toner container, the user can identify the color of the contained toner by changing the position where the convex portion 26 is provided, or loading the wrong toner container into the image forming apparatus. There are things to prevent.

  The cap 20 is a member that seals the toner contained in the container main body 10 and discharges the toner discharged from the container main body 10 to the developing device of the image forming apparatus. The container main body 10 rotates when the toner is replenished. On the other hand, the cap 20 does not rotate when the toner is replenished.

  The toner container according to the present invention will be described more specifically with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the toner container shown in FIG. 1 and shows members used between the container body 10 and the cap 20. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of a toner container assembled by attaching the cap 20 to the container body 10 and a partially enlarged view of the claw portion 25 and the convex portion 26 constituting the cap 20.

  The toner container shown in FIG. 2 has a toner discharge member 50 and a seal member 60 between the container body 10 and the cap 20 provided with a plurality of claw portions 25. The seal member 60 is bonded and fixed to the surface 13A provided in the annular step 13 provided in the discharge side opening of the container body 10. The surface 13A is formed at right angles to the rotation axis X of the container body 10 shown in FIG.

  Even when the container body 10 is produced by blow molding, the step portion 13 that contacts the seal member 60 can be formed by a mold, so that the accuracy of the surface 13A constituting the step portion 13 and the step portion position accuracy are pointed out. High accuracy can be ensured.

  The toner discharge member 50 controls the toner that is pushed out of the container body 10 and conveyed in the direction of the rotation axis when the container body 10 is rotated. Can be fixed.

  In the toner container according to the present invention, among the members shown in FIG. 2, the members that rotate when the toner is replenished are the container body 10, the toner discharge member 50, and the seal member 60, and the cap 20 does not rotate.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the cap 20 is provided with a plurality of claw portions 25 on the circumferential surface thereof. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the distal end portion 25 </ b> P of the claw portion 25 comes into contact with the stepped portion 14 of the container body 10. The cap 20 holds the container body 10 and makes it possible to rotate the container body 10 about the rotation axis X by the abutment of the tip portion 25P. On the other hand, the cap 20 is prevented from coming off so as not to rotate.

  In this way, the container 20 is rotatably held by the abutment of the tip portion 25P of the claw portion 25 constituting the cap 20 and the stepped portion 14 of the container body 10, and the container body 10 and the cap 20 are supported. Are coupled to each other in a rotatable manner.

  Moreover, in this invention, although the site | part (tip part 25P) which contacts the container main body 10 of the nail | claw part 25 which is a holding means has a shape which contacts the container main body 10 discontinuously in the rotation direction of the container main body 10. The “rotating direction of the container main body 10” herein refers to a direction in which the container main body 10 rotates around the rotation axis X shown in FIG. Specifically, the direction indicated by W <b> 1 in FIG. 1 corresponds to the rotation direction of the container body 10.

  The claw part 25 provided in the cap 20 will be described. The “claw portion 25” corresponds to the “holding means” in the present invention. In the present invention, the contact portion of the claw portion 25 with the container main body 10 has a shape in which the container main body 10 is discontinuously contacted. I have it. Here, as a specific example of “the shape of the claw portion 25 that contacts the container body 10 discontinuously”, for example, a shape as shown in FIG.

  In the claw portion 25 shown in FIG. 3B, the tip portion 25P, which is “the contact portion of the claw portion 25 with the container body 10”, has a divided shape. As described above, the distal end portion 25P is divided with respect to the rotation direction of the container main body 10 so that a discontinuous contact state can be formed between the distal end portion 25P and the container main body 10. In addition, the specific example of the shape of the front-end | tip part 25P which enables discontinuous contact with the container main body 10 is mentioned later.

  In the present invention, the shape of the tip 25P of the claw portion 25 is discontinuously brought into contact with the container main body 10, thereby reducing the contact area between the claw portion 25 and the container main body 10 between the two. It is possible to form a contact state close to a point contact. In this way, by reducing the contact area between the claw portion 25 and the container main body 10, the friction acting between them can be reduced, and good rotation performance can be imparted to the container main body 10.

  Moreover, if the contact area in the nail | claw part 25 is reduced, the force which hold | maintains the container main body 10 of the cap 20 will also be reduced, and there exists a concern that it may become difficult to hold | maintain the container main body 10 stably. In the present invention, by providing a plurality of claw portions 25 on the peripheral surface of the cap 20, even if the holding force in one claw portion 25 is reduced, the holding performance of the container body 10 is improved by the presence of a plurality of claw portions 25. Can be maintained.

  Thus, in this invention, since the shape of the front-end | tip part 25P of the nail | claw part 25 contacts the container main body 10 discontinuously, since such a claw part 25 is provided in multiple numbers on the surrounding surface of the cap 20, The holding performance of the container body 10 is maintained, and good rotation performance is obtained. In FIG. 3B, a broken line is shown on the surface of the tip 25P of the claw 25. This broken line is the end of the step 14 that is a part in contact with the claw 25 of the container body 10. Represents a part.

  The integration of the cap 20 and the container body 10 performed through the claw portion 25 will be further described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram for explaining the integration of the container body 10 and the cap 20, FIG. 4 (a) is a schematic diagram showing a state before the container body 10 and the cap 20 are integrated, and FIG. 4 (b) is an integration. FIG. 4C is a cross-sectional view illustrating the coupling between the claw portion 25 and the step portion 14. FIG. 4C is a perspective view illustrating the coupling between the claw portion 25 and the step portion 14 (container body 10).

  When the container body 10 and the cap 20 are integrated, when the container body 10 is pushed toward the cap 20 in the direction indicated by the white arrow in FIG. 4A, the container body 10 enters the cap 20 to the position of the step portion 14. Inserted. The claw portion 25 provided on the cap 20 is adapted to enable the container body 10 to be smoothly inserted. For example, like the shape shown in FIG. 3 (b), the container body 10 can be prevented from moving, or the claw portion 25 can be made of self-lubricating resin. .

  When the stepped portion 14 constituting the container body 10 passes through the claw portion 25, the container body 10 and the cap 20 can be integrated. When the step portion 14 passes through the claw portion 25, the claw portion 25 is pushed by the step portion 14 and moves to the outer peripheral side of the cap 20. Then, immediately after the step portion 14 passes, the claw portion 25 returns to its original position, and a state where the tip portion 25P of the claw portion 25 abuts against the surface 14A of the step portion 14 is formed. In this manner, the cap 20 rotatably holds the container body 10 by the abutment of the front end portion 25P of the claw portion 25 constituting the cap 20 and the surface 14A of the stepped portion 14 of the container body 10 so that the toner container is integrated. It has become.

  As shown in FIG. 4B, the claw portion 25 provided on the cap 20 abuts the surface 14 </ b> A of the stepped portion 14 of the container body 10 at the tip portion 25 </ b> P. In the present invention, the shape of the tip portion 25P is such that the tip portion 25P can be discontinuously contacted with the stepped portion 14 as shown in FIG. 4B, so that the contact area between the tip portion 25P and the surface 14A of the stepped portion 14 is increased. This reduces the generation of frictional force in the claw portion 25 and improves the rotation performance of the container body 10. FIG. 4C shows a state in which the container body 10 and the cap 20 are coupled by abutting the surface 14 </ b> A of the stepped portion 14 with the tip portion 25 </ b> P of the claw portion 25. A broken line shown in the claw portion 25 in the drawing represents a gap provided so that the claw portion 25 contacts the stepped portion 14 discontinuously.

  In the present invention, it is preferable to form a contact state closer to a point contact by reducing the contact area between the tip portion 25P and the stepped portion 14 within a range that does not affect the holding performance of the container body 10 in the claw portion 25. . As a specific method thereof, for example, when the container main body 10 is attached to the cap 20, it is indicated by θ in FIG. 4C between the tip portion 25 </ b> P and the surface 14 </ b> A of the stepped portion 14 of the container main body 10. It is preferable to prepare the tip portion 25P and the surface 14A of the step portion 14 so as to form such an acute angle. The acute angle formed between the tip portion 25P of the claw portion 25 and the surface 14A of the stepped portion 14 of the container body 10 is not particularly limited, but is preferably approximately 3 ° to 60 °, preferably 5 ° to 45 °. More preferably, it is not more than °.

  As a method of forming a minute angle between the tip portion 25P of the claw portion 25 and the surface 14A of the step portion 14 of the container main body 10 when the container body 10 is attached to the cap 20, for example, the tip portion of the claw portion 25 is used. There is a method for producing a cap 20 having an inclination at 25P. As described above, in order to form a minute inclination at a specific location called the tip portion 25P of the cap 20 with high accuracy, for example, the method of manufacturing the cap 20 by the above-described injection molding is preferable. There is a method of forming an inclination in the stepped portion 14 by cutting after the container body 10 is manufactured. However, the container body 10 has to be processed again after the container body 10 is molded, and has an inclined surface by one injection molding. It can be said that the above-described method for producing the claw portion 25 is advantageous in terms of work efficiency and accuracy.

  Thus, when the container main body 10 is attached to the cap 20, the claw portion 25 and the container main body 10 are provided by providing an inclination on the surface of the front end 25P so as to form an acute angle between the front end 25P and the stepped portion 14. A contact state closer to a point contact can be realized. As a result, the contact area formed between the tip portion 25P and the stepped portion 14 can be further reduced, and the rotational slidability of the container body 10 can be further improved. Accordingly, since the container body 10 can be rotated with a lighter force when toner is supplied, it is possible to cope with a motor having a smaller rotational driving force than in the past, thereby reducing the cost and size of the image forming apparatus and reducing the energy consumption. Make it possible.

  Next, the shape of the tip portion 25P of the claw portion 25 that comes into contact with the container body 10 will be described. As described above, in the present invention, the claw portion 25 that is a holding means for holding the container body 10 has a shape in which the distal end portion 25P that is a portion in contact with the container body 10 is in contact with the container body 10 discontinuously. is there. Although the specific example of what the shape of the front-end | tip part 25P can contact the step part 14 which comprises the container main body 10 discontinuously is shown in FIG. The “having shape” is not limited to that shown in FIG. If the shape of the holding means for holding the container body can form a contact state close to point contact with the container body, it corresponds to the holding means (claw portion) referred to in the present invention. .

  The shape of the distal end portion 25P shown in FIG. 5 is obtained by viewing the distal end portion 25P from the arrow method shown in the perspective view of FIG. 5A is the same as FIG. 3B, and the broken line on the tip 25P represents the end of the step portion 14 constituting the container body 10. 5A is the same as FIG. 4B and shows a state where the tip 25P of the claw 25 is discontinuously in contact with the step 14 of the container body 10. FIG. .

  First, what is shown in FIG. 5B is the same as the shape of the tip portion 25P shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 described above, and has a shape that contacts the container body 10 at three points. The one shown in FIG. 5 (c) has a shape that comes into contact with the container body 10 at two locations, and has a higher rotational slidability due to the smaller number of contact locations than that shown in FIG. 5 (b). Expected to be obtained. The thing shown in FIG.5 (d) becomes a thing with many contact parts with the container main body 10 compared with what was shown in the above-mentioned FIG.5 (b), Therefore The holding | maintenance performance higher by one nail | claw part Is expected to be obtained.

  5 (e) is the same as that shown in FIG. 5 (b) at the point of contact with the container body 10, but the contact area is reduced by the rounded tip, so that High rotational slidability is expected. 5 (f) has many contact points with the container body 10, but the tip is sharpened to reduce the contact area. As described above, in the toner container according to the present invention, the holding performance and the rotational sliding property of the container body 10 in the claw portion 25 are controlled by selecting the shape of the tip portion 25P of the claw portion 25 that holds the container body 10. It is also possible to do.

  The toner container according to the present invention will be further described.

  First, the provision of a seal member between the container body 10 and the cap 20 of the toner container will be described. As shown in FIG. 2 described above, the toner container according to the present invention may be one in which a seal member 60 is provided between the container body 10 and the cap 20. In this way, toner leakage can be prevented by providing the seal member 60 between the container body 10 that is a member that rotates during the toner replenishment operation and the cap 20 that is a member that does not rotate. That is, with respect to the toner container according to the present invention, by providing a sealing member between the cap 20 and the container main body 10, in addition to exhibiting the above-described stable holding performance and good rotational slidability of the container main body, the container It also makes it possible to prevent toner leakage from the joint between the main body and the cap.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the seal member 60 is disposed between the surface 13 </ b> A of the step portion 13 constituting the container body 10 and the wall 27 constituting the cap 20. And the wall 27 which comprises the cap 20, and the step part 13 which comprises the container main body 10 are arrange | positioned so that it may oppose. As shown in FIG. 3, the wall 27 in contact with the seal member 60 and the surface 13 </ b> A of the step portion 13 are arranged so as to be perpendicular to the rotation axis X.

  As described above, the seal member 60 can be fixed by bonding to the surface 13A of the step portion 13 provided in the container body 10 or the like. Further, by assembling the seal member 60 in a compressed state, further improvement in sealing performance can be realized.

  Both the surface 13A of the step portion 13 constituting the container body 10 and the wall 27 constituting the cap 20 are formed using a mold in the molding process, and are formed with high accuracy with respect to position and angle.

  In addition, when producing the container main body 10 by blow molding, the end surface of the container main body 10 can be formed mainly by performing well-known processes, such as a cutting process. However, it may be difficult to meet the required level of accuracy such as the positional accuracy and flatness of the surface formed by the cutting process. For example, when producing a toner container that accommodates a small particle size toner that is compatible with digital image formation, even if the end surface of the container body produced by blow molding is subjected to a cutting process, the required level of accuracy cannot be obtained, resulting in toner leakage. There was concern about the occurrence of

  Further, even if a seal member is interposed at the end of such a container main body, if the accuracy of the end surface is low, it is difficult to sufficiently exhibit the sealing performance by the seal member. There were concerns about the progress of deterioration due to severe use.

  The toner container shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 has a configuration in which the seal member 60 is interposed between the step portion 13 of the container body 10 and the wall 27 provided on the cap 20. The sealing performance due to 60 is improved, and the occurrence of toner leakage is prevented. Further, since a large load is not applied to the seal member 60 in order to prevent toner leakage, the seal member 60 is not deteriorated excessively.

  The toner container shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 has high sealing performance and prevents the seal member 60 from deteriorating. However, when the toner is replenished, smooth relative rotation between the container body 10 and the cap 20 is required. . 2 and 3, the seal member 60 is bonded to the step portion 13 of the container body 10, and the seal member 60 and the wall 27 constituting the cap 20 slide when the toner is replenished. However, the above-described configuration of the present invention achieves good rotational slidability. That is, the contact area between the claw portion 25 and the container body 10 is reduced by discontinuously contacting the container body 10 with the shape of the portion of the claw portion 25 provided on the cap that contacts the container body 10. Smooth friction is achieved by reducing the frictional force between the two. As described above, the toner container according to the present invention is free from toner leakage by providing the seal member 60 between the surface 13A of the step 13 constituting the container body 10 and the wall 27 of the cap 20. The container body 10 can be smoothly rotated when toner is supplied.

  Next, the cap 20 will be further described. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cap 20 is provided with a toner discharge portion 23 that discharges toner from the cap 20, a shutter 21 that opens and closes the toner discharge portion 23, and a knob 22 that is operated by an operator. It has been. The shutter 21 is attached to the toner discharge portion 23 so as to be slidable in the rotation direction of the toner container.

  In an unused toner container that is not mounted on the image forming apparatus or a toner container that is mounted on the image forming apparatus, the shutter 21 covers the toner discharge portion 23. That is, when the toner container is mounted on the image forming apparatus, the shutter 21 is fixed to the image forming apparatus.

  Then, when the operator operates the knob 22 to rotate the cap 20, the cap 20 rotates with respect to the shutter 21, and the shutter 21 opens the discharge unit 23. In other words, the toner container in which the toner container is mounted on the image forming apparatus is in a state where the toner can be supplied from the discharge unit 23 by rotating the knob 22. Note that reference numeral 28 shown in FIG. 3 denotes a seal member that prevents toner leakage from the toner discharge portion 23.

  The toner accommodated in the toner container according to the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it can be used for electrophotographic image formation, but a toner having a small particle diameter with a volume-based median diameter of 3 μm to 9 μm. Can be preferably used as a toner container for containing the toner.

  In other words, the seal member 60 is interposed between the step portion 13 provided in the container body 10 and the wall 27 provided in the cap 20, so that toner leakage does not occur even when such a small particle size toner is stored. It can be sufficiently prevented.

  In recent years, in the field of image forming technology based on electrophotography, with the advancement of digital technology, it has become possible to form high-quality and high-definition images such as photographs. Such a high-definition image is realized by faithfully reproducing a minute dot image of, for example, 1200 dpi (dpi; number of dots per inch (2.54 cm)) formed by digital exposure. As one of means for accurately reproducing a fine dot image by digital exposure, a reduction in the diameter of the toner is studied, and a toner having the above-described particle diameter range is produced.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Toner container 10 Container main body 11 Protrusion 12 Groove 13 The step part which adhere | attaches the sealing member 60 14 The step part which the nail | claw part 25 contacts 14A The surface (site | part which contacts a nail | claw part front-end | tip part)
20 Cap 25 Claw (holding means)
The tip of the 25P claw (site that comes into contact with the container body)
26 convex part 60 sealing member

Claims (3)

A toner container having at least a container main body for storing toner and a cap having a plurality of holding means for rotatably holding the container main body with respect to the cap ;
The holding means has a shape in which a portion that contacts the container main body has a shape that discontinuously contacts the container main body in the rotation direction of the container main body, and the portion that contacts the container main body of the holding means A toner container having an inclination that forms an acute angle with respect to a surface of the container body that contacts the holding means when the container body is attached to the cap.   The toner container according to claim 1, wherein the cap is formed by injection molding.   The toner container according to claim 1, wherein a seal member is provided between the container main body and the cap.

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