JP5505003B2 - Powder container, toner supply device, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a powder container, a toner replenishing device for setting the powder container, a copier provided with the toner replenishing device, a printer, a facsimile, or an image forming apparatus such as a multi-function machine having these functions. About.

  In an image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic image forming process, a developer is attached to an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of an image carrier by a developing device, and the formed toner image is directly transferred to a transfer material or an intermediate transfer. After primary transfer to the body, secondary transfer to the transfer material is performed. Then, the transfer residual toner on the surface of the image carrier after the transfer is removed by a cleaning device, and the process proceeds to the next toner image formation.

  Currently, an ID chip is often attached to a toner container as a powder container used in the image forming apparatus. When this ID chip is used, functions such as displaying the amount of toner in the toner container (toner end display when the toner has been used) and displaying an alarm when a toner container of a different color is set are provided in the image forming apparatus. Can be added to.

  On the other hand, information recording elements such as ID chips are susceptible to contamination. In particular, when the ID chip is of a contact type, toner adhesion to the ID chip becomes a serious problem. For this reason, there is a non-contact type information recording element called RFID, but the distance at which information can be exchanged is limited, and although non-contact type, dirt such as toner adhesion is a cause of false detection etc. End up.

  In recent years, the ID chip has been further reduced in size, and the position accuracy of the toner container set is required to be very high. In the future, it is expected to be an ID chip of mm square, and if so, positional accuracy far exceeding the current situation will be required. Therefore, it is necessary to arrange the ID chip at a position where information can be exchanged at all times and to prevent contamination such as toner adhesion as much as possible.

  On the other hand, in Patent Document 1, a barcode is provided to a toner container so that a barcode serving as an information recording medium can be sequentially read by a rotational movement of the toner container for toner supply, and in a direction opposite to that at the time of toner supply. Further, the barcode is read by rotating the toner container. In Patent Document 2, a cap of a toner container is rotatably attached to a container main body, and a contact type ID chip is attached to a peripheral surface of the cap.

  Although Patent Document 1 uses a barcode as an information recording element, the amount of information that can be stored with the barcode is very small, and it is impossible to store all the information necessary for the current product. Further, even if this bar code is changed to an ID chip, information can be read only once per rotation, and information exchange becomes insufficient. Further, since the barcode is read in the reverse rotation, it is necessary to add a reverse rotation configuration to the drive mechanism only for reading the information. Further, when the container is set in the image forming apparatus main body, since the setting operation is performed after the position is determined in advance, the container setting operation is complicated.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a powder container, a toner replenishing device, and an image forming apparatus including the same, which can determine the position of an information recording element with a simple configuration and stably communicate information. .

  The present invention relates to a powder container, a toner replenishing device, and an image forming apparatus including the same, which can determine the position of an information recording element with a simple configuration, stably perform information communication, and prevent contamination by toner. Its purpose is to provide.

  A powder storage container according to the present invention is provided for a container main body for storing powder, an outlet for discharging powder in the container main body to the outside of the container main body, and a container main body. A holding member for holding an information recording element that can be rotated relative to each other and communicated by contact or non-contact, and is provided on the holding member and engages with the image forming apparatus main body when set on the image forming apparatus main body. And a positioning member for determining the position.

  A powder storage container according to the present invention is provided for a container main body for storing powder, an outlet for discharging powder in the container main body to the outside of the container main body, and a container main body. A holding member for holding an information recording element that can be rotated relative to each other and communicated by contact or non-contact, and a magnetic member that is provided on the holding member and disposed on the image forming apparatus main body side when set on the image forming apparatus main body And a positioning member for determining the position.

  In the powder container according to the present invention, the positioning member also has a function of color incompatibility or model incompatibility. This incompatibility is characterized in that it is performed by a difference in the shape of the positioning member or a difference in the position of the holding member.

  In the powder container according to the present invention, the information recording element has a rotation center in a cross section perpendicular to the rotation center of the container body with the direction of gravity being downward when the container body is set in the image forming apparatus body. It is characterized by being located on the upper outer periphery with respect to the horizontal straight line that passes.

  The powder container according to the present invention is characterized in that it balances when set on the image forming apparatus main body by the weight of the positioning member.

  In the powder container according to the present invention, the positioning member is a magnetic member, and the position of the positioning member when set in the image forming apparatus main body is set to a predetermined position using the magnetic force of the magnetic member on the image forming apparatus side. It is characterized by fixing.

  The powder container according to the present invention is an information recording element in the case of a contact-type information recording element that performs communication in a state where the information recording element is in contact with the information communication means positioned on the image forming apparatus main body side. The position of the contact-type information recording element is determined by the contact resistance between the information communication means and the information communication means.

  In the powder container according to the present invention, the movement track of the information recording element accompanying the rotation of the holding member is set inside the movement track of the positioning member.

  According to the present invention, in the toner replenishing device for supplying the toner stored in powder in the powder container to the developing device, the powder container is the powder container described in any one of the above. It is characterized by that.

  Image forming apparatus comprising an image carrier, a developing device for supplying a developer to a developing area for developing a latent image formed on the image carrier, and a toner replenishing device for supplying toner to the developing device according to the present invention. The apparatus is characterized by having a toner replenishing device to which the powder container can be set as a toner replenishing device.

  According to the present invention, the holding member that holds the information recording element is rotatable relative to the container main body and includes the positioning member for the main body when set on the image forming apparatus main body. Even if it is not set in the image forming apparatus main body, by rotating the holding member or the container main body after setting, the information recording element can be easily positioned and the information can be stably read from the information recording element. it can.

1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of an image forming unit provided in the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a toner replenishing device provided in the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a toner introduction cover. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a toner supply device. It is a perspective view of a toner replenishing device when a powder container is attached. It is a figure which shows the structure of the powder storage container which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of the container main body of a powder container. It is the perspective view which showed both the holding member provided with the information recording element, and the bottom part of the powder container. (A) is PP sectional drawing of FIG.10 (b), (b) is a front view of a holding member. It is sectional drawing in the state which mounted | wore the container main body with the holding member. (A) is a figure which shows the state which mounted | wore the image forming apparatus main body with the powder storage container, (b) is a figure which shows the state in which the powder storage container rotated and was positioned. (A) is a partially broken view in which an information recording element is arranged in a storage space protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the holding member, and (b) is an enlarged cross-sectional view in which the information recording element is arranged in a recess formed in the outer peripheral surface of the holding member. (C), It is an expanded sectional view which has arrange | positioned the information recording element in the recessed part formed in the internal peripheral surface of a holding member. It is the enlarged view explaining the function of color incompatibility or model incompatibility by changing the shape of a positioning member. It is the enlarged view explaining the function of color incompatibility or model incompatibility by changing the number of positioning members. It is a figure which shows the form which has arrange | positioned the information recording element above the powder container. It is a figure which shows the form which installed the weight in the holding member and took center of gravity balance. (A) is a figure which shows the state which mounted | wore the image forming apparatus main body with the powder storage container using a magnetic member as a positioning member, (b) is a figure which shows the state in which the powder storage container rotated and was positioned. is there. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view for explaining a relationship between a magnetic member provided on a holding member and a magnetic pole of a magnetic member provided on an image forming apparatus main body. It is a figure which shows the form which used the some magnetic member as a positioning member. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view for explaining a relationship between a plurality of magnetic members provided on a holding member and magnetic poles of a plurality of magnetic members provided on an image forming apparatus main body. 6 is an enlarged view for explaining a relationship between magnetic poles on diagonal lines of a plurality of magnetic members provided on a holding member and a plurality of magnetic members provided on an image forming apparatus main body. FIG. (A) is the figure which shows the structure of the powder container which has a holding member provided with the contact-type information recording element, and the state mounted and positioned by the image forming apparatus main body, (b) is a contact-type information recording element, It is a figure which shows the contact state of an information communication means. It is an enlarged view explaining the color incompatible or model incompatible function of a powder container having a holding member having a contact information recording element.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each of the embodiments and modifications, components such as members and components having the same function or shape are given the same reference numerals as much as possible, and redundant description is omitted.

  First, the configuration and operation of the entire image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, a toner container storage unit 31 above the image forming apparatus main body 100 has four toner containers 38Y and 38M serving as powder storage containers corresponding to the respective colors (yellow, magenta, cyan, black). , 38C, 38K are detachably (replaceable). An intermediate transfer unit 15 is disposed below the toner container housing 31. Below the intermediate transfer belt 8 of the intermediate transfer unit 15, image forming portions 6Y, 6M, 6C, 6K corresponding to the respective colors (yellow, magenta, cyan, black) facing the intermediate transfer belt 8 are arranged in the belt moving direction. It is installed.

  The toner containers 38Y, 38M, 38C, and 38K accommodated in the toner container accommodating portion 31 are held in the toner replenishing devices 160Y, 160M, 160C, and 160K, respectively. The developers stored in the toner containers 38Y, 38M, 38C, and 38K are supplied (supplemented) into the developing devices of the image forming units 6Y, 6M, 6C, and 6K by the toner replenishing devices 160Y, 160M, 160C, and 160K, respectively. Is done.

In this embodiment, the image forming unit, the toner container, and the toner replenishing device have substantially the same configuration except for the color of the toner. Therefore, one configuration will be described below as a representative.
As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming unit 6Y corresponding to yellow includes a photosensitive drum 1Y serving as an image carrier, a charging unit 4Y disposed around the photosensitive drum 1Y, a developing device 5Y (developing unit), It is configured as a process cartridge including a cleaning unit 2Y, a neutralization unit (not shown), and the like, and is detachable from the image forming apparatus main body 100. Then, an image forming process (charging process, exposure process, developing process, transfer process, cleaning process) is performed on the photosensitive drum 1Y, and a yellow image is formed on the photosensitive drum 1Y.

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

  In FIG. 2, the photosensitive drum 1Y is driven to rotate clockwise in FIG. 2 by a drive motor (not shown). Then, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y is uniformly charged at the position of the charging unit 4Y (charging process).

  Thereafter, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y reaches the irradiation position of the laser beam L emitted from the exposure device 7 (see FIG. 1), and an electrostatic latent image corresponding to yellow is formed by exposure scanning at this position. (Exposure process). The surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y reaches a position (development area) facing the developing device 5Y, and the electrostatic latent image is developed at this position to form a yellow toner image (development process).

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

  The surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y after the primary transfer reaches a position facing the cleaning unit 2Y, and untransferred toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 1Y at this position is mechanically collected by the cleaning blade 2a ( Cleaning process). The surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y reaches a position facing a neutralization unit (not shown), and the residual potential on the photosensitive drum 1Y is removed at this position. Thus, a series of image forming processes performed on the photosensitive drum 1Y is completed.

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

  The intermediate transfer unit 15 includes an intermediate transfer belt 8, four primary transfer bias rollers 9Y, 9M, 9C, and 9K, a secondary transfer backup roller 12, a plurality of tension rollers, an intermediate transfer cleaning unit, and the like. The intermediate transfer belt 8 is stretched and supported by a plurality of roller members, and is endlessly moved in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1 by the rotational drive of the secondary transfer backup roller 12.

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

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

  The intermediate transfer belt 8 on which the toner images of the respective colors are transferred in an overlapping manner reaches a position facing the secondary transfer roller 11. At this position, the secondary transfer backup roller 12 sandwiches the intermediate transfer belt 8 with the secondary transfer roller 11 to form a secondary transfer nip. The four-color toner images formed on the intermediate transfer belt 8 are transferred onto a recording medium P such as transfer paper conveyed to the position of the secondary transfer nip. At this time, untransferred toner that has not been transferred to the recording medium P remains on the intermediate transfer belt 8. The intermediate transfer belt 8 reaches a position of an intermediate transfer cleaning unit (not shown), and untransferred toner on the intermediate transfer belt 8 is collected at this position. Thus, a series of transfer processes performed on the intermediate transfer belt 8 is completed.

  The recording medium P transported to the position of the secondary transfer nip is transported from the paper feed unit 16 disposed below the image forming apparatus main body 100 via the paper feed roller 17 and the registration roller pair 18. Is. Specifically, the paper feed unit 16 stores a plurality of recording media P such as transfer papers. When the paper feed roller 17 is driven to rotate counterclockwise in FIG. 1, the uppermost recording medium P is fed between the rollers of the registration roller pair 18.

  The recording medium P conveyed to the registration roller pair 18 is temporarily stopped at the position of the roller nip of the registration roller pair 18 that has stopped rotating. Then, the registration roller pair 18 is rotationally driven in time with the color image on the intermediate transfer belt 8, and the recording medium P is conveyed toward the secondary transfer nip. In this way, a desired color image is transferred onto the recording medium P. The recording medium P on which the color image is transferred at the position of the secondary transfer nip is conveyed to the position of the fixing unit 20. At this position, the color image transferred to the surface is fixed on the recording medium P by heat and pressure generated by the fixing belt and the pressure roller.

  The recording medium P after the fixing is discharged out of the apparatus through the rollers of the paper discharge roller pair 19. The recording medium P discharged to the outside of the apparatus by the discharge roller pair 19 is sequentially stacked on the stack unit 30 as an output image. Thus, a series of image forming processes in the image forming apparatus is completed.

  Next, the configuration and operation of the developing device in the image forming unit will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. The developing device 5Y includes a developing roller 21Y facing the photosensitive drum 1Y, a doctor blade 22Y facing the developing roller 21Y, two conveying screws 25Y disposed in the developer accommodating portions 23Y and 24Y, and toner in the developer. It is composed of a density detection sensor 26Y that detects density. The developing roller 21Y includes a magnet fixed inside, a sleeve that rotates around the magnet, and the like. In the developer accommodating portions 23Y and 24Y, a two-component developer G composed of a carrier and a toner is accommodated. The developer accommodating portion 24Y communicates with the toner dropping path 27Y through an opening formed thereabove.

  The developing device 5Y configured as described above operates as follows. The sleeve of the developing roller 21Y rotates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. The developer G carried on the developing roller 21Y by the magnetic field formed by the magnet moves on the developing roller 21Y as the sleeve rotates. The developer G in the developing device 5Y is adjusted so that the ratio of toner in the developer (toner concentration) is within a predetermined range. Specifically, according to the consumption of toner in the developing device 5Y, the toner accommodated in the toner container 38Y is replenished from the toner replenishing device 160Y into the developer accommodating portion 24Y via the toner dropping path 27Y.

  Thereafter, the toner replenished in the developer accommodating portion 24Y is circulated through the two developer accommodating portions 23Y and 24Y while being mixed and stirred together with the developer G by the two conveying screws 25Y (perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 2). Direction movement.) The toner in the developer G is attracted to the carrier by frictional charging with the carrier and is carried on the developing roller 21Y together with the carrier by the magnetic force formed on the developing roller 21Y.

  The developer G carried on the developing roller 21Y is conveyed in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2 and reaches the position of the doctor blade 22Y. The developer G on the developing roller 21Y is conveyed to a position facing the photosensitive drum 1Y (development region) after the developer amount is made appropriate at this position. The toner is attracted to the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 1Y by the electric field formed in the development area. Thereafter, the developer G remaining on the developing roller 21Y reaches above the developer containing portion 23Y as the sleeve rotates, and is detached from the developing roller 21Y at this position.

  Next, the toner replenishing devices 160Y, 160M, 160C, and 160K and the toner bolts 38Y, 38M, 38C, and 38K will be described. The toner replenishing devices and the toner containers are toners that become developers in the toner containers to be set. Therefore, the description will be made assuming that the toner replenishing device 160 and the toner bolt 38 are not provided with Y, M, C, and K symbols for identifying the color of the toner. The developer stored in the toner container is not limited to a single toner, but may be a mixture of toner and carrier, or just a carrier.

  FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a component configuration of the toner replenishing device 160. The toner container 38 is rotationally driven by a drive unit 60 fixed to the rear plate 58 (FIGS. 5 and 6) of the image forming apparatus main body 100. The drive unit 60 includes a joint 62, a spring 64, a motor and a case 66 incorporating a shaft. A concave portion 62a and convex portions 62b1 and 62b2 are formed at the tip of the joint 62 so as to be fitted to a cylinder. Yes. Correspondingly, the bottom portion 38-2 (rear end) of the toner container 38 has a center 38b formed of a cylindrical convex portion that enters the concave portion 62a of the joint 62, and a prismatic shape that engages with the side surfaces of the convex portions 62b1 and 62b2. Axial protrusions 38c1 and 38c2 made of convex portions are formed. The position of the bottom 38-2 of the toner container 38 is held by the insertion of the center 38b into the recess 62a, and the rotation of the toner container 38 is obtained by the engagement of the axial protrusions 38c1 and 38c2 with the protrusions 62b1 and 62b2. As shown in FIG. 6, when the joint 62 of the drive unit 60 rotates in the direction of arrow E, the toner container 38 also rotates in the same direction.

  The toner container 38 shown in FIG. 3 is made of a synthetic resin such as polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene, polypropylene, or polyethylene + polycarbonate, and has a spiral groove formed on the inner wall thereof from the bottom 38-2 toward the discharge port 38a. Yes. The spiral groove on the inner wall appears as a spiral groove 38d on the outer periphery. By rotating the toner container 38, the toner is guided to the spiral groove 38d and discharged from the discharge port 38a. A cap 68 for preventing the toner from being discharged when not in use is detachably provided at the discharge port 38a.

  A plurality of ribs 44a are integrally formed on the front end side of the bottle holding member 44, and an extruding member 46 is attached to the ribs 44a with a double-sided tape or the like. The pushing member 46 is made of an elastic material such as Mylar or rubber. A rib 44 b is formed on a portion of the inner wall surface of the bottle holding member 44 that faces the end surface of the intermediate portion of the toner container 38.

  On the other hand, the intermediate portion 38-3 having an intermediate diameter is connected between the container main body 38-1 which is a cylindrical large diameter portion of the toner container 38 and the discharge port 38a having a reduced diameter. Drive pawls 38q1 and 38q2 are formed on the end surface of the discharge port side of 38-3, the so-called shoulder portion. These drive claws 38q1 and 38q2 are hooked on the rib 44b, and the bottle holding member 44 is rotated by the rotation of the toner container 38.

  Reference numeral 70 denotes a collet chuck for picking and releasing the cap 68, which is built in the cylindrical case 72 and integrated with the shaft member 76 by a screw 74. Reference numeral 78 denotes a sealing material, 80 denotes a sealing member, and 82 denotes a coil spring that constantly presses a series of components such as the collet chuck 70, the cylindrical case 72, and the shaft member 76 toward the toner container 38 side. These assembly parts are held in the toner hopper 40. Reference numeral 84 denotes a handle for opening and closing the cap 68, and an integrally formed shaft portion 84 a is supported by a shaft hole 42 a formed at the front end portion of the toner receiving base 42 and is rotatable.

  Reference numeral 86 denotes a slide shaft that enters a hole 76a formed in the shaft member 76, is in contact with a cam portion 84b formed in the handle 84, and rotates the handle 84 in the direction F shown in FIG. When a series of components such as these are slid in a direction away from the toner container 38, the cap 68 is removed from the discharge port 38a, and the toner in the toner container 38 can be discharged into the toner hopper 40.

  Next, a shutter member that opens and closes the toner supply port 54 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the replenishment amount regulating member 50 provided in the opening 48 of the toner hopper 40 is formed of an elastic material such as Mylar or rubber, and has a slit hole 50a (elongated square hole). . The toner replenishment amount is made appropriate by setting the width of the slit hole 50a. The supply amount regulating member 50 is attached to the opening 48 with a double-sided tape or the like.

  Inside the toner introduction cover 52 (FIG. 4) attached to the outside of the opening 48, a shutter member 88 for opening and closing the toner supply port 54 is movable in the vertical direction, that is, the toner opened horizontally. It is provided in a vertical state (crossing state) with respect to the supply port 54. The shutter member 88 includes a bendable elastic member 90 as a shutter body, a support member 92 that supports the elastic member 90, and a columnar protrusion 94 that is integrally formed with the support member 92. Reference numeral 92 has a spring member 96 that urges the shutter member 88 to be always closed. In this embodiment, the elastic member 90 is formed of a polyester film such as Mylar and is attached to the support member 92 with a double-sided tape or the like. The toner introduction cover 52 is formed with a movement hole 52a for the protrusion 94 to move.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the toner introduction cover 52 has a toner supply port 54 formed on the bottom surface and arcuate guide portions 98 and 98 that guide the elastic member 90 of the shutter member 88. ing. A sponge seal member 99 serving as an elastic seal member is provided on the terminal end side of the guide portion 98 to bite the tip of the elastic member 90 to prevent toner scattering. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 104 displayed in the vicinity of the opening 48 indicates a second guide rib projecting in a trapezoidal shape in the horizontal direction for driving the second shutter member, and reference numeral 106 indicates the back surface of the elastic member 90. The deformation | transformation control guide which supports the side is shown.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the toner receiving base 42 is guided by a guide plate 108 and is detachable in the direction of arrow H. The guide plate 108 includes a main body rear plate 58 of the image forming apparatus main body and a main body of the image forming apparatus main body. The front plate 59 is fixed with screws (not shown). At the tip of the guide plate 108, a stopper 112 for retaining is supported, which is supported by a leaf spring 110 fixed to the guide plate 108, and the toner replenishing device 160 is mounted while the stopper 112 is pushed down. Then, when the stopper 112 is returned after being mounted, the stopper 112 engages with the tip end portion of the cradle 42, and the toner replenishing device 160 is held in a retaining state as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 5 shows a state where the toner replenishing device 160 is extracted from the guide plate 108. In the assembled state, the side portions 42m and 42n are fitted in the guides 108m and 108n of the guide plate 108. The toner container 38 is attached to and detached from the toner replenishing device 160 with the toner receiving base 42 pulled out to a state close to the state shown in FIG. In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the stopper 42 is formed by the stepped portion 42e formed on the toner receiving base 42 being caught by the notch 108a formed on the guide plate 108. The step 42d is caught in the notch of the guide 108n, but this notch is hidden behind the apparatus main body front side plate 59 and cannot be seen.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the toner container 38 is placed on the toner receiving table 42, and the toner replenishing device 160 is pushed into the apparatus main body and set. In this case, before the toner supply device 160 is pushed in, the shutter member 88 is in a state in which the toner supply port 54 formed at the bottom of the toner introduction cover 52 is closed by the urging force of the spring member 96, and the elastic member 90 has an arc shape. The guide portion 98 is bent along the guide portion 98, and the tip thereof bites into the sponge seal member 99. For this reason, the gap between the opening 48 of the toner hopper 40 and the toner supply port 54 is sealed so as not to cause toner leakage.

  When the toner replenishing device 160 is pushed in from this state, the cylindrical portion of the protrusion 94 integrally formed with the support member 92 comes into contact with the guide rib provided on the main body of the image forming unit 6 and the spring member. It is pushed up against the biasing force of 96 and finally rests at the flat top of the guide rib. With this operation, the elastic member 90 also rises (withdraws) along the guide portion 98, the toner supply port 54 is opened, and the developing device 5 and the toner replenishing device 160 are in communication. When the toner replenishing device 160 is pulled out, the protrusion 94 is lowered, so that the shutter member 88 automatically moves in the closing direction by the urging force of the spring member 96, and the elastic member 90 moves from the vertical state to the toner supply port 54. It curves so that it follows, and it will be in a closed state.

  When the toner supply port 54 and a toner receiving port (not shown) are opened, that is, when the toner replenishing device 160 and the process cartridge (image forming unit 5) are attached to the image forming apparatus main body 100, the toner container 38 is in the middle. In the portion 38-3, the spherical small protrusion 38f, the bottle holding member 44 and the inner diameter portion of the bottle holding member 44 are brought into engagement with each other and the rib 44b of the bottle holding member 44 engaged with the hopper portion 40 is provided. It is positioned by contact.

  In this state, as shown in FIG. 6, when the handle 84 is rotated downward as indicated by an arrow F, the cam portion 84b (FIG. 3) pulls the slide shaft 86 toward the front side of the apparatus. As a result, the shaft member 76 also starts to move, the collet chuck 70 comes into contact with a projection (not shown) of the cylindrical case 72, and the collet chuck 70 starts to close and the cap 68 is picked. When the movement in the H direction further proceeds in this state, the cap 68 of the toner container 38 is removed by the collet chuck 70, and the toner in the toner container 38 can flow out into the toner hopper 40 assembled on the toner receiving base 42. It becomes a state.

  The toner is replenished by detecting the toner density in the developing device 5 by the toner density sensor 26. When the detected value is equal to or lower than the reference concentration, the drive unit 60 is operated to rotate the joint 62 in the direction of arrow E as shown in FIG. As a result, the joint 62 engages with the bottom of the toner container 38, and the toner container 38 also rotates in the same direction. When the toner container 38 is rotated, the toner is discharged from the discharge port 38 a and collected in the toner hopper 40. On the other hand, the driving claws 38q1 and 38q2 formed on the end surface on the discharge port side of the intermediate portion 38-3 of the toner container 38 are engaged with the rib 44b integral with the bottle holding member 44 by the rotation of the toner container 38 and push it. Move. As a result, the pushing member 46 integrated with the bottle holding member 44 slides and rotates on the inner wall surface of the toner hopper 40. Due to the rotation of the push-out member 46, the toner accumulated in the toner hopper 40 is scraped up.

  When the pushing member 46 passes through the slit hole of the supply amount regulating member 50, the toner is pushed out from the slit hole. The pushed toner falls in the toner introduction cover 52 and is replenished into the developing device 5 through the toner supply port 54 and the toner receiving port (not shown) that are positioned below and open.

  As described above, according to the toner supply device 160 of the present embodiment, the toner container 38 can be replaced without causing toner leakage from the discharge 38a of the toner container 38.

  Next, the configuration of the toner container 38 will be described. As shown in FIG. 7, as described above, the toner container 38 is provided with a cylindrical container main body 38-1 for storing toner and one end side of the container main body 38-1, and the toner inside the container main body 38-1. A discharge port 38a that discharges the outside of the container main body, a holding member that holds the RFID 122 serving as an information recording element that can rotate relative to the container main body 38-1 and can communicate in a non-contact manner, and a ring member 120; A positioning member 121 is provided which engages with the image forming apparatus main body side (toner replenishing apparatus 160) to determine the position when set on the toner replenishing apparatus 160 disposed in the image forming apparatus main body 100. The RFID 122 includes information on toner such as toner color, toner capacity, toner manufacturing number (manufacturing lot), toner manufacturing date, recycling number, recycling date, and recycling of the toner container 38 such as a recycling manufacturer. Information related to is stored.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the other end side of the container main body 38-1 is sealed, and this sealed portion is the bottom 38-2. The discharge port 38a is narrowed and formed in the container main body 38-1 opposite to the bottom 38-2. 7 and 8, for convenience, the toner container 38 is shown with the discharge port 38a facing up. In use, for example, as shown in FIGS. 3, 5, and 6, the discharge port 38a is horizontal. It is used by being mounted on the toner replenishing device 160 so as to face the direction. Therefore, the toner in the toner container 38 is guided to the spiral groove 38d according to the rotation of the toner container 38, and is sent to the outside through the discharge port 38a.

  As shown in FIG. 8, at the position outside the bottom 38-2 and away from the cylindrical central axis OO, there is a prismatic convex portion, and an axial projection for transmitting rotational force to the toner container. 38c1 and 38c2 are formed. In this example, the axial protrusions 38c1 and 38c2 are configured as prismatic protrusions, but the invention is not limited to this, and the protrusions 62b1 and 62b2 that are driving sources of the rotational force included in the toner replenishing device 160Y are easily engaged. Any shape is acceptable.

  Thus, since the axial projections 38c1 and 38c2 for transmitting the rotational force are formed on the bottom side 38-2, not on the one end side where the toner is discharged, the shake on the discharge port 38a side can be minimized. . In addition, two axial protrusions 38c1 and 38c2 that are separated from the central axis OO with the central axis OO as the center are provided so that a rotational force close to a couple acts. Since the toner container 38 does not receive the force that protrudes in the radial direction, and therefore, measures for preventing the protrusion are unnecessary or reduced, the configuration can be simplified and stable toner supply can be achieved.

  As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the ring member 120 is rotatable to the bottom 38-2 of the toner container 38, which is different from the toner discharge port 38a. Thus, it can be fitted so as not to be displaced in the longitudinal direction of the shaft. Fig.10 (a) is PP sectional drawing of FIG.10 (b). In FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the fitting means for fitting so as not to cause the deviation is formed on the convex outer diameter portion 38-2 a formed on the bottom portion 38-2 and the inner diameter portion of the ring member 120. These are three formed elastic claw members 120-1a, 120-1b, 120-1c and three stoppers 120-1A, 120-1B, 120-1C formed on the inner diameter portion of the ring member 120. A groove is formed between the convex outer diameter portion 38-2a and the container main body 38-1 as indicated by reference numeral 38-4 in FIG.

  The three elastic claw members 120-1a, 120-1b, and 120-1c are located at positions equally divided into three on the inner circumference of the ring member 120, and are cantilevered at one end side of the ring body. It consists of an elastic member. Between each of these adjacent elastic claw members 120-1a, 120-1b, 120-1c, a cantilevered stopper holding member is located, and these three stopper holding members include stoppers 120-1A, 120-1B and 120-1C are formed. Although these three elastic claw members 120-1a, 120-1b, 120-1c and the three stopper holding members are divided on the base end side through a slit portion, a circular inner peripheral surface as a whole When the outer diameter of the convex outer diameter portion 38-2a is fitted to the outer diameter of the convex outer diameter portion 38-2a, the size is formed so as to be slidable and rotatable without causing rotational runout.

  The free ends of the three elastic claw members 120-1a, 120-1b, and 120-1c have a bowl-like shape bent inward. As indicated by an arrow Q in FIG. 9, the ring member 120 can be rotatably mounted on the toner container 38 by pushing the ring member 120 into the convex outer diameter portion 38-2a. At the time of mounting, the free end sides of the three elastic claw members 120-1a, 120-1b, and 120-1c are bent, and the claw portions get over the convex outer diameter portion 38-2a and enter the groove 38-4. At this time, the three elastic claw members 120-1a, 120-1b, 120-1c and the stoppers 120-1A, 120-1B, 120-1C have a slidable clearance in the convex outer diameter portion 38-2a. I will be jealous. Thus, once the ring member 120 is fitted, it cannot be easily removed. This is a means for fulfilling the function of the ring member 120. In order to make disassembly impossible, the three elastic claw members 120-1a, 120-1b, 120-1c have right-angled bent portions in accordance with the right-angle portions of the corners of the convex outer diameter portion 38-2a. The bent portion follows the right angle portion of the corner of the convex outer diameter portion 38-2a, and functions as an axial stopper and an undissolvable function.

  Since the convex outer diameter portion 38-2a is sandwiched by three elastic claw members 120-1a, 120-1b, 120-1c and stoppers 120-1A, 120-1B, 120-1C, the toner container 38 is a ring. Although it can rotate with respect to the member 120, it does not shift in the axial direction.

  In FIG. 11, one end side of the ring member 120 is opposed to the edge of the container main body 38-1 of the toner container 38, and the convex outer diameter portion 38-2 a is formed on the container main body 38-1. An end surface portion of the toner container 38 formed to have a diameter smaller than the diameter and formed by the difference in diameter covers the elastic claws 120-1a, 120-1b, and 120-1c. In addition, as described above, since the toner container 38 cannot move in the axial direction with respect to the ring member 120, the three elastic claw members 120-1a, 120-1b, and 120-1c are externally provided. The ring member 120 cannot be actually disassembled. If the external force is applied to attempt to disassemble it, the convex outer diameter portion 38-2a of the toner container 38 will be damaged.

  In this way, the ring member 120 cannot be disassembled from the toner container 38. As will be described later, the ring member 120 has one or all of incompatibility, a stand function, and a rotation preventing function. For this reason, it is important to make the toner container 38 an integral relationship.

  The ring member 120 has a predetermined width W in the longitudinal direction of the shaft. 11 shows a state in which the ring member 120 is fitted to the convex outer diameter portion 38-2a of the toner container 38, and the ring is cut along a line corresponding to the cross section taken along the line POP in FIG. 10B. It is sectional drawing represented supposing the case where it did. As can be seen from FIG. 11, in the assembled state, the predetermined width W is such that one end side is in contact with the end surface of the container main body 38-1 of the toner container 38 and the other end side is more outward than the center 38b. It is set to be located. That is, the surface on the other end side of the ring member 120 is higher than the surface of the center 38b. Therefore, not only the center 38b but also the axial projections 38c1 and 38c2 are inside the other end side of the ring member 120.

  Therefore, the toner container 38 with the ring member 120 can stand on a plane such as the table 130 as shown in FIG. Without such a ring member 120, the toner container 38 cannot stand as shown in FIG. 7 because the center 38 b protrudes from the bottom of the toner container 38. Therefore, the toner container 38 having a cylindrical shape easily rolls when the toner container is replaced. However, when the toner container is replaced, the toner container 38 falls from the table or the like to the floor surface. Sometimes. In that respect, if the ring member 120 is combined as in this example, it is possible to stably stand upright, so that it is possible to reduce the number of fall accidents.

  9, the ring member 120 protrudes in the radial direction on the outer peripheral surface 120a, is a stationary member, and is a stopper shown in FIG. 12 formed on the toner receiving base 42 of the toner replenishing device on the image forming apparatus main body side. A positioning member 121 having a shape and a size determined so as to engage with 200 is formed. In this example, the positioning member 121 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape. On the other hand, the stopper 200 formed on the toner receiving base 42 has a rectangular shape that is sized and shaped to be fitted to the positioning member 121.

  In the ring member 120, a storage space 120 b for inserting the RFID 122 is provided on the outer peripheral surface 120 a so as to protrude outward from the outer peripheral surface 120 a. The RFID 122 can be attached to the ring member 120 by any method as long as the operation of the RFID 122 is not affected. For example, it is conceivable to cover the storage space 120b in which the RFID 122 is inserted with an adhesive (not shown) or the like that is bonded with an adhesive. Alternatively, a method of fixing the outside of the RFID 122 using a heat seal may be used.

  As shown in FIG. 12A, the movement track R <b> 1 at the outermost peripheral portion of the storage space 120 b is set inside the movement track R <b> 2 at the re-outer peripheral portion of the positioning member 121. That is, the amount of protrusion from the outer peripheral surface 120 a of the storage space 120 b is formed so that the amount of protrusion from the outer peripheral surface 120 a of the positioning member 121 is low. For this reason, even if the storage space 120b is protruded from the outer peripheral surface 120a, the amount of protrusion is arranged on the inner side of the positioning member 121. Therefore, the storage space 120b is a member disposed in the vicinity of the ring member 120. Interference can be prevented and it does not become large because it is located in the necessary space.

  As shown in FIG. 12B, the RFID 122 faces the antenna 124 that is an information communication unit formed on the image forming apparatus main body 100 side when the positioning member 121 comes into contact with the stopper 200. It is arranged to occupy a position where it can communicate with. The antenna 124 is connected to the control means 140.

  With such a configuration, the ring member 120 that holds the RFID 122 can rotate relative to the container main body 38-1, and when the toner container 38 is set in the image forming apparatus main body 100, a positioning member for the main body. 121, the container main body 38-1 is set by the drive unit 60 shown in FIGS. 3, 5, and 6 after the setting, even if the toner container 38 is not positioned and set in the image forming apparatus main body 100. When rotationally driven in the direction, the ring member 120 also rotates integrally due to frictional resistance with the container main body 38-1. When the positioning member 121 comes into contact with the stopper 200, the rotation of the ring member 120 is prevented, but the container main body 38-1 rotates to the position, and the drive unit 60 stops, so that the rotation stops. The RFID 122 can be easily positioned at a position where it can communicate with the antenna 124, and the antenna 124 can stably read information from the RFID 122.

  That is, when the user mounts the toner container 38 on the toner receiving base 42 of the toner replenishing device 160, the user can mount the toner container 38 without worrying about the position of the RFID 122. After the mounting, the toner container 38 discharges the toner. Accordingly, the RFID 122 can be configured to be in an optimum position where necessary information can be exchanged. As a result, the toner container 38 can always be positioned at an optimal position where information can be exchanged with the RFID 122 regardless of the operation of discharging the toner, so that the toner container 38 is hardly affected by toner contamination.

  The attachment shape of the ring member 120 to the toner container 38 may be any method that does not affect the operation of the RFID 122. In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 13A, the storage space 120b is formed to protrude on the outer peripheral surface 120a of the ring member 120, and the RFID 122 is installed on the inside thereof. In this case, since the RFID 122 can be inserted into the storage space 120b from the outside, it is very easy to mount the RFID 122 during manufacturing.

  As another form, instead of projecting from the outer peripheral surface 120a, as shown in FIG. 13B, a recess 120c is formed on the outer peripheral surface 120a of the ring member 120, and the RFID 122 is installed inside thereof. It is done.

  If comprised in this way, while the outer peripheral surface 120a of the ring member 120 can be made smooth, a diameter can be made small and it can contribute to size reduction. In the form shown in FIG. 13C, the recess 120c is formed on the inner surface of the ring member 120, and the RFID 122 is installed in the recess 120c from the inside of the ring. With such a configuration, the outer peripheral surface 120 a of the ring member 120 functions as a protective wall against the RFID 122, so that dirt such as toner from the outside hardly adheres to the RFID 122, and the antenna 124 becomes more stable. Can read information from.

  The positioning member 121 can also have functions that are incompatible with the color of the toner container 38 and incompatible with the model. One example is shown in FIG. In FIG. 14, the shape of the positioning member 121 is formed to be different for each color of the toner, and the shape of the stopper 200 formed on the image forming apparatus main body 100 side is also a shape that follows the shape of the positioning member 121 of each color. .

  With such a configuration, as long as the shape of the positioning member 121 of the ring member 120 mounted on the toner bottle 38 for each color does not match the shape of the stopper 200 corresponding to the toner container 38 for each color, the toner container 38 is In addition to being unable to be mounted on the toner receiving base 42 of each toner replenishing device 160, it is possible to easily confirm that the toner container 38 is set by mistake even by simple visual inspection. In other words, color incompatibility or model incompatibility can be achieved by the difference in the shape of the positioning member 121.

  Further, since the positioning member 121 may be formed in a different shape for each color, the number of parts can be reduced by manufacturing the positioning member 121 in accordance with the color of the toner when the ring member 120 is manufactured. In addition, the manufacturing process can be facilitated.

  As the shape of the positioning member 121, for example, as shown in FIG. 15, a plurality of positioning members 121a and 121b are arranged in the rotation direction of the toner container 38, and the positioning members 121a and 121b are arranged offset in the container axial direction. To do. Then, color incompatibility can be achieved by changing the interval (position) between the positioning members 121a and 121b in accordance with the color of the toner. Further, by increasing the number of positioning members 121a and 121b to three or more instead of two, the number of patterns increases, and it becomes possible to add model incompatible functions.

  With such a configuration, the ring member 120 and the positioning member 121 that hold the RFID 122 also have incompatible functions, so that the number of parts can be reduced. Furthermore, the manufacturing method can be facilitated by having the function incompatible with the ring member 120 in the shape.

  FIG. 16 shows that when the toner container 38 is set on the toner receiving base 42 of the toner replenishing device 160, the RFID 122 is set to the rotation center of the container main body 38-1 of the container main body 38-1 with the direction of gravity being downward. In a vertical cross section, it is arranged so as to be positioned on the upper outer periphery with respect to the horizontal straight line L1 passing through the center of rotation. This is because when the toner container 38 is set on the toner receiving base 42 and rotated in the setting direction by the driving unit 60 (see FIG. 2) and the positioning member 121 contacts the stopper 200, the RFID 122 in FIG. It is arranged so as to be located immediately above 38. That is, the RFID 122 is disposed in the space above the toner container 38. In this case, the antenna 124 is disposed above the RFID 122 so as to face the RFID 122 occupying the set position.

  With such a configuration, the RFID 122 can be positioned and held in the space above the toner receiving base 42 that is far away from the lower side where it is easy to get dirty when the toner container 38 is attached / detached. be able to. That is, when the toner container 38 is mounted on the toner receiving base 42 of the toner replenishing device 160, the RFID 122 is always positioned on the upper side when divided in the horizontal direction. I can do things. For this reason, more stable information communication can be performed.

  FIG. 17 is characterized in that the weight of the positioning member 121 is balanced when the toner supply device 160 is set on the toner receiving base 42. In this embodiment, a weight 125 is attached to the positioning member 121.

  As described above, the positioning member 121 is provided at the position opposite to the RFID 122, and when the positioning member 121 has an arbitrary weight, the ring member 120 is inevitably placed on the container main body 38-1 due to the influence of gravity. And the positioning member 121 comes to the lowest point. For this reason, the arrangement of the RFID 122 comes to the highest point. Further, by arranging the antenna 124 at a position facing the RFID 122 when the highest point is reached, more stable information communication can be performed. Further, the action of the weight 125 makes it possible to move the RFID 122 to a desired position before or without the toner container 38 discharging the toner. Here, the RFID 122 is positioned at the highest point, but may occupy other positions. In this embodiment, the positioning member 121 is formed at a position facing the installation location of the RFID 122, and the weight 125 is disposed on the positioning member to lower the center of gravity of the ring member 120. Instead of changing, the positioning member 121 may be formed on the ring member 120 with a material having a specific gravity greater than that of the ring member 120.

FIGS. 18-22 demonstrates the form which uses magnetic force for a positioning member.
In the ring member 120 shown in FIG. 18, a magnet 201, which is one of magnetic members, is provided as a positioning member so as to protrude outward from the outer peripheral surface 120a of the ring. In this embodiment, the projection amount of the magnet 201 is set to be located outside the moving track R1 of the storage space 120b, but may be arranged inside the moving track R1. A magnet 202 which is one of magnetic members serving as a receiving member is disposed on the toner receiving base 42 of the toner supply device 160 on the image forming apparatus main body 100 side. The positional relationship between the magnet 201 and the magnet 202 is such that the RFID 122 occupies a position facing the antenna 124 when the rotation of the ring member 120 is stopped by the magnetic force of the magnet 201 and the magnet 202. As shown in FIG. 19, the magnetic poles of the magnet 201 and the magnet 202 are arranged so that the surfaces facing each other have opposite polarities.

  In FIG. 18, the magnet 201 is disposed so as to protrude from the outer peripheral surface 120 a of the ring member 120. However, a concave portion similar to the concave portion 120 c shown in FIG. 13 is formed on the outer peripheral surface 120 a and the inner peripheral surface of the ring member 120. You may arrange | position in a recessed part. The magnet 202 may be arranged not to protrude from the image forming apparatus main body 100 toward the toner container 38 but to protrude from the toner receiving base 42 of the toner supply device 160.

  As described above, when the magnet 201 is arranged as a positioning member on the ring member 120 of the toner container 38 and the magnet 202 is also arranged on the toner receiving base 42 of the toner supply device 160 for setting the toner container 38, the container main body 38-1. When the toner container 38 is set on the toner receiving base 42 (image forming apparatus main body 100) of the toner replenishing device 160, the ring member 120 that holds the RFID 122 that can rotate relative to the magnet serves as a positioning member for the main body. 201 will be provided. Therefore, even if the toner container 38 is not positioned and set on the toner receiving table 42 of the toner replenishing device 160, the container main body 38-1 is set by the driving unit 60 shown in FIGS. 3, 5, and 6 after setting. When rotationally driven in the direction, the ring member 120 also rotates integrally due to frictional resistance with the container main body 38-1. When the magnet 201 occupies a position facing the magnet 202, the ring member 120 is prevented from rotating, but the container main body 38-1 rotates to a predetermined position where the toner can be discharged, and the driving unit 60 stops. As a result, the rotation stops. Therefore, the RFID 122 can be easily positioned at a position where it can communicate with the antenna 124, and the antenna 124 can stably read information from the RFID 122.

  That is, since the detection position of the RFID 122 can be determined by the magnet 201 and the magnet 202, when the user mounts the toner container 38 on the image forming apparatus main body side, it can be inserted without worrying about the orientation at all. The RFID 122 can be moved to a position where necessary information can be exchanged according to the operation of the toner container 38 discharging the toner. Accordingly, the toner container 38 can always exchange information with the RFID 122 regardless of the operation of discharging the toner, and can be configured to be hardly affected by toner contamination. Further, if the positioning member is configured by using the magnetic force of the magnet serving as the magnetic member, no contact noise is generated, so that it is more advantageous than the positioning means using the positioning member 121 and the protruding portion 200 in terms of quietness.

  In FIG. 20, magnets 201 a and 201 b are arranged on the ring member 120 as a plurality of positioning members at intervals in the moving direction of the ring member, and the magnets 202 a and 202 b serving as receiving members for the magnets 201 a and 201 b are arranged on the toner supply device 160. The toner receiver 42 is disposed on the image forming apparatus main body side. The magnetic poles of the magnets 201a and 201b and the magnets 202a and 202b are arranged so that the surfaces facing each other have opposite polarities as shown in FIG.

  When a plurality of positioning magnets are arranged in this way, the magnetic force, that is, the braking force for stopping the rotational force of the ring member 120 can be increased as compared with the case of one set. The ring member 120 can be stably fixed at a position where information is exchanged between the RFID 122 and the antenna 124 even when the inertia force is large or when the rotational speed during driving is high. For this reason, it can be set as the structure which hardly receives the influence of a toner stain | pollution | contamination. The antenna 124 can stably read information from the RFID 122.

  In the example shown in FIG. 21, the magnetic poles of the magnet 201a and the magnet 201b and the magnetic poles of the magnet 202a and the magnet 202b are set in the same direction. However, as shown in FIG. 22, the directions of the magnet 201a and the magnetic pole are reversed. You may arrange | position the magnet 202c which reversed the direction of the magnet 201c and the magnet 202a and the magnetic pole. In other words, in this embodiment, the magnets 201a and 202c that are disposed opposite to each other and located on the diagonal lines are arranged so that the same magnetic poles face each other.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent positioning due to adsorption between magnets different from the aim, which is considered as a problem when a plurality of magnets are arranged. For example, in the case shown in FIG. 21, since the magnet 201a and the magnet 202b located on the diagonal line are different magnetic poles on the opposite surface side, if an attractive force acts between them, the ring member The stop position of 120 will shift. However, as shown in FIG. 22, the magnets 201a and 202c located on the diagonal line and the magnets 201c and 202a have the same magnetic pole on the opposite surface side, so that an attractive force is generated between the diagonal magnetic poles. Therefore, the stop position of the ring member 120 can be reliably stopped at the target position set by design.

  In the above embodiment, the non-contact type RFID 122 is described as an example of the information recording element, but the information recording element is not limited to the non-contact type. For example, as shown in FIGS. 23 and 24, a contact-type information recording element 126 is disposed in a storage space 120 b instead of the RFID 122 of each form, and the ring member 120 is stopped by the positioning member 121 and the protrusion 200. Sometimes, the contact terminal 127 that communicates by contacting the contact-type information recording element 126 may be arranged on the image forming apparatus main body side. The contact terminal 127 is connected to the control means 140. The tip of the contact terminal 127 is formed like a torsion coil spring, and is configured to contact the outer peripheral surface 120a of the ring member 120 with an appropriate pressure. For this reason, the contact-type information recording element 126 is also brought into contact with elasticity, and even when the mounting accuracy of the information recording element 126 varies, the deviation can be allowed.

  Further, even when such a contact-type information recording element 126 is mounted on the ring member 120, the positioning member 121 has a different shape for each toner color as shown in FIG. Even when the toner container 38 having the color toner is mounted on the toner receiving table 42 of the toner replenishing device 160, the shapes of the positioning member 121 and the protrusion 200 do not match. For this reason, since the ring member 120 stops at a position where the contact type information recording element 126 and the contact terminal 127 do not contact, the control unit 140 can detect a set error.

  The contact-type information recording element 126 is configured by the contact terminal 127 having elasticity. However, an elastic member such as a leaf spring may be used to contact the information recording element 126. In this way, when using another component such as a leaf spring, the other component such as a leaf spring may be provided on the toner receiving base 42 of the toner supply device 160 on the image forming apparatus main body side or on the toner container 38 side. It may be provided on either side. Further, the position of the information recording element 126 may be determined by adjusting the elastic force of the contact terminal 127 and the contact resistance between the information recording element 126 and the contact terminal 127. In this case, the positioning member 121 and the magnet described above are not necessary, and the information recording element 126 and the contact terminal 127 function as a positioning member, so that the configuration can be simplified.

  Although it is the form which positions using the magnetic force shown in FIGS. 18-22, in this form, although magnet 201, 201a-201c was directly attached to the ring member 120, even if it is a form side by side with the positioning member 121, Good. For example, instead of the weight 125 shown in FIG. 17, the magnet 201 shown in FIG. 18 is attached, and the magnet 202 is arranged upstream of the stopper 200 in the rotation direction of the ring member 120. With such a configuration, different types of positioning members can be combined. The merit in this case is that when the rotation of the ring member 120 is stopped by the contact between the positioning member 121 and the stopper 200, the attractive force of the magnet 201 and the magnet 202 is applied before the positioning member 121 and the stopper 200 contact each other. Thus, since a braking force can be applied to the rotation of the ring member 120, the contact noise between the positioning member 121 and the stopper 200 can be reduced while reliably stopping the rotation of the ring member 120.

  In the image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 1, it is required for high image quality that toner is supplied to each developing device as necessary when necessary, while the frequency of use of the user and the type of output image are completely unknown. It is done. For this reason, the toner container 38 described in this embodiment is used for the toner replenishing devices 160Y to 160K corresponding to the toners of the respective colors, so that the toner can be stably supplied from the toner containers 38 to the developing devices of the respective colors. And a high-quality image can be obtained.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 (Y, M, C, K) Image carrier 5 (Y, M, C, K) Developing device 38 Powder container 38-1 Container body 38-3 One end side of container body 38a Discharge port 100 Image forming apparatus Main body side 120 (a, b) holding member 120a outer peripheral surface of holding member 121 positioning member 122 information recording element 126 contact type information recording element 127 information communication means 160 (Y, M, C, K) toner replenishing device 201, 201a -201c Magnetic member L1 Horizontal straight line R1 Moving track of information recording element R2 Moving track of positioning member

JP 2005-345773 A JP 2006-267992 A

Claims (12)

A container body for storing powder;
Provided on one end side of the container body, and a discharge port for discharging the powder in the container body to the outside of the container body;
A holding member holding an information recording element that is rotatable relative to the container body and capable of communicating by contact or non-contact;
A powder container, comprising: a positioning member that is provided in the holding member and engages with the image forming apparatus main body side to determine a position when the holding member is set on the image forming apparatus main body. A container body for storing powder;
Provided on one end side of the container body, and a discharge port for discharging the powder in the container body to the outside of the container body;
A holding member holding an information recording element that is rotatable relative to the container body and capable of communicating by contact or non-contact;
A powder container, comprising: a positioning member that is provided in the holding member and determines a position by a magnetic member disposed on the image forming apparatus main body side when set in the image forming apparatus main body. The positioning member is a magnetic member, and the position of the positioning member when set in the image forming apparatus main body is fixed to a predetermined position using the magnetic force of the magnetic member on the image forming apparatus side. The powder container according to claim 2 . The powder container according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the positioning member also has a function of color incompatibility or model incompatibility . The powder container according to claim 4 , wherein the incompatibility is performed by a difference in shape of the positioning member . The powder container according to claim 4 , wherein the incompatibility is performed by a difference in position of the holding member . Before SL information recording element, when the container body is set in the image forming apparatus main body, in a cross section perpendicular to the rotational center of the container body in the direction of gravity as the lower, with respect to a horizontal straight line passing through the center of rotation The powder container according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the powder container is located on an upper outer periphery . The powder container according to any one of claims 1 to 7 , wherein the weight of the positioning member balances when set on the image forming apparatus main body . In the case of a contact-type information recording element that performs communication in a state where the information recording element is in contact with an information communication unit positioned on the image forming apparatus main body side,
9. The powder container according to claim 1, wherein the position of the contact type information recording element is determined by a contact resistance between the information recording element and the information communication means.   The powder storage according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the movement track of the information recording element accompanying the rotation of the holding member is set inside the movement track of the positioning member. container. In a toner replenishing device that supplies toner stored in powder in a powder container to a developing device,
A toner replenishing device, wherein the powder container is the powder container according to any one of claims 1 to 10. An image forming apparatus comprising: an image carrier; a developing device that supplies a developer to a development region that develops a latent image formed on the image carrier; and a toner replenishing device that replenishes the developing device with toner.
12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the toner replenishing device is the toner replenishing device according to claim 11.

Images