JP5549766B1 - Powder container and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided are a powder container and an image forming apparatus capable of suppressing a load caused by driving transmitted from a container gear while improving the powder delivery performance of the powder conveying device from the powder container.
In a powder container that can be attached to an image forming apparatus that is equipped with a powder container 32 containing powder for image formation and that has a container receiving part for receiving the powder container 32, an image is provided. An opening 33a provided at one end of the container body 33 for storing the powder for forming, a transport pipe receiving member 330 disposed in the opening and receiving the transport pipe, and the powder in the container body by rotating. A conveying means for conveying the body to the powder receiving port; and a container side gear 306 that is provided in the vicinity of the opening and meshes with a main body side gear to drive the conveying means. In the longitudinal direction of the container main body in the longitudinal direction of the container main body, the opening 33a is arranged so as to be able to mesh with the main body side gear, and the opening 33a can be fitted into the container receiving portion.
[Selection] Figure 29

Description

The present invention relates to a powder container for storing toner as powder used in an image forming apparatus such as a printer, a facsimile machine, a copier, and a multifunction machine having a plurality of functions, and an image including the powder container. The present invention relates to a forming apparatus.

  In an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, toner is supplied (supplemented) to a developing device by a powder conveying device from a toner container serving as a powder container that contains toner that is powder. The toner container described in Patent Document 1 receives a transport body having a container main body in which toner is accommodated, an opening provided at one end of the container main body, and a powder receiving port for receiving toner from the toner container. A conveying pipe receiving member formed in the opening, a conveying means that rotates and conveys the toner toward the powder inlet, and a gear that meshes with the container driving gear on the main body side and transmits the driving force to the conveying means. have. The gear is configured to mesh with the container drive gear on the opening side in the longitudinal direction of the toner container from the powder receiving port in a state where the toner container is mounted on the powder conveyance device. In this configuration, when the toner is transferred to the powder receiving port of the conveying tube, the influence of the gear arrangement is small, and the toner can be transferred more smoothly than in the past.

However, when the gear on the container side is driven, the pressure generated at the meshing position of the gear and the container drive gear on the main body side is applied to the toner container and the transport pipe. Otherwise, the load on the transport pipe and the transport pipe receiving member will increase, and these members may be damaged, or the toner may leak due to a gap between the transport pipe and the transport pipe receiving member. There is.
An object of the present invention is to provide a powder container and an image forming apparatus capable of suppressing a load caused by driving transmitted from a container driving gear while improving the powder delivery performance of the powder conveying device from the powder container. And

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is provided with a powder storage container in which powder for image formation is stored, a transport pipe for transporting the powder, and a transport pipe provided in the transport pipe. An image forming apparatus comprising a powder receiving port for receiving powder, a main body side gear for transmitting a driving force to the powder container, and a container receiving unit disposed around the transport pipe and receiving the powder container. powder in the powder container attachable, and an opening provided in one longitudinal end, are arranged in the opening, and the conveying pipe receiving member capable of receiving a conveying pipe, the powder by rotating the And a container side gear that is provided in the vicinity of the opening and that can mesh with the main body side gear and can drive the conveying means. The container side gear is disposed on the main body on the opening side in the longitudinal direction. It is arranged so that it can mesh with the side gear, and the opening can be fitted to the container receiving part It is characterized in that it.

According to the present invention, when the powder container is mounted in the image forming apparatus main body, the container-side gear is disposed to be the main body side gear engaged with the opening portion side in the long side direction, the opening of the transport tube A gear for the transfer pipe and the transfer pipe receiving member while improving the powder delivery performance from the powder storage container to the powder transfer device by being configured to be fitted to a container receiving portion disposed around. It is possible to suppress the load caused by the drive transmitted from.

Cross-sectional explanatory drawing of the powder conveying apparatus and powder container before mounting | wearing with the powder container according to the present invention. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing an embodiment of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating one configuration of an image forming unit of the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which a powder container is installed in the powder conveyance device in the image forming apparatus illustrated in FIG. 2. The schematic perspective view which shows the state by which the powder container was installed in the powder conveying apparatus. The perspective explanatory view showing the composition of the powder container concerning the present invention. The perspective view of the powder conveying apparatus and the powder container before mounting the powder container. The perspective view of the powder conveying apparatus and the powder container in a state where the powder container is mounted. Cross-sectional explanatory drawing of the powder conveyance apparatus and powder storage container of the state which mounted | wore the powder storage container. The perspective explanatory view of the powder container in the state where the cover on the front end side is removed. The perspective explanatory view of the powder container in the state where the nozzle receiving member was removed from the container body. Cross-sectional explanatory drawing of the powder container in the state which removed the nozzle receiving member from the container main body. Sectional explanatory drawing of the powder container in the state which attached the nozzle receiving member to the container main body from the state of FIG. The perspective explanatory view of the nozzle receiving member seen from the container front end side . The perspective explanatory drawing of the nozzle receiving member seen from the container rear end side. FIG. 14 is a top sectional view of the nozzle receiving member in the state shown in FIG. 13. FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the nozzle receiving member in the state shown in FIG. 13. The disassembled perspective view of a nozzle receiving member. (A)-(d) is the top view seen from the top explaining the state at the time of mounting | wearing operation | movement of an opening-and-closing member and a conveyance pipe. The perspective explanatory drawing of the powder container accommodating part used in the 1st-3rd embodiment. Partially enlarged perspective view of the powder container storage unit for black employed in the first to fifth embodiments. The perspective explanatory drawing of the upper part structure of the powder container storage part used in 1st-5th embodiment, and the upper part structure of a powder container. Front explanatory drawing which looked at the powder container storage part for black from the mounting direction side. Partially enlarged perspective view of the powder container storage portion for color other than black to be used in the first to fifth embodiments. Front explanatory drawing which looked at the powder container storage part for colors other than black from the mounting direction side. The partial expansion perspective view explaining the internal structure of a powder container storage part. Front explanatory drawing which looked at the powder container accommodating part of colors other than black and black from the mounting direction side. The elements on larger scale which show the engagement state of the guide part provided in the powder container storage part, and the guide part of the holding | maintenance part of a powder container. The perspective explanatory view of the powder container concerning a 1st embodiment. Front explanatory drawing of the powder container which concerns on 1st Embodiment. The elements on larger scale which show the structure of the guide part provided in the holding | maintenance part of the powder container. FIG. 6 is a perspective cross-sectional view showing a configuration of positioning means serving as a guide portion. The enlarged view which shows the state of the powder storage container with which the powder container storage part was mounted | worn. The enlarged view which looked at the reference line X1 part of FIG. 33 from the mounting direction. The enlarged view which looked at the reference line X2 part of FIG. 33 from upper direction. The enlarged view which shows the state of the powder storage container with which the powder container storage part was mounted | worn. The enlarged view which looked at the reference line X1 part of FIG. 36 from the mounting direction. It is a figure which shows typically the movement state and regulation state of the powder container on a powder container storage part, (a) is the state at the time of a movement start, (b) is the 1st regulation by a vertical direction regulation part. The state, (c) shows a state where the transport nozzle and the container shutter are in contact, and (d) shows a second restricted state by the radial direction restricting portion. The enlarged view which shows the state of the powder storage container with which the powder container storage part was mounted | worn. The enlarged view which looked at the reference line X1 part of FIG. 39 from the mounting direction. The enlarged view which looked at the reference line X2 part of FIG. 39 from upper direction. The enlarged view which shows the state of the powder storage container with which the powder container storage part was mounted | worn. The enlarged view which looked at the reference line X1 part of FIG. 42 from the mounting direction. It is a figure which shows typically the movement state and regulation state of a powder container on a powder container storage part, (a) is the state which the nozzle shutter collar part and the container seal contact | abutted, (b) is a periphery. The third restricted state by the direction restricting groove, (c) is the fourth restricted state in which the restriction by the radial restricting part is released, and (d) is the fifth restricted state in which the container opening has entered the container set part, (E) shows the sixth restricted state held at the final set position. The figure which shows the relationship between the state at the time of mounting | wearing operation | movement of a conveyance pipe and a conveyance pipe receiving member, and the regulation state (vertical axis) of a powder container. The enlarged view which shows the state of the powder storage container with which the powder container storage part was mounted | worn. The enlarged view which looked at the reference line X1 part of FIG. 45 from the mounting direction. The enlarged view which looked at the reference line X3 part of FIG. 45 from upper direction. The enlarged view which shows the state of the powder storage container with which the powder container storage part was mounted | worn. The enlarged view which looked at the reference line X3 part of FIG. 48 from upper direction. The perspective explanatory view of the powder container concerning a 2nd embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the structure provided with the pumping-up rib as a pumping-up part, (a) is a perspective explanatory view of a nozzle receiving member, (b) is sectional description of the state which assembled | attached the nozzle receiving member shown to (a) to the container main body. FIG. 4C is a side sectional view of the entire toner container assembled with the nozzle receiving member shown in FIG. 4A, and FIG. 4D is a perspective view of a container shutter provided in the powder container shown in FIG. The perspective explanatory drawing of the front end side edge part and container setting part of the powder container of 2nd Embodiment. (A) is perspective explanatory drawing of the front end side edge part of the powder container of 3rd Embodiment, (b) is a perspective explanatory drawing of a container setting part. The front view of an information storage device. FIG. 6 is a perspective explanatory view showing the configuration and contact state of the information storage device and the reading means. The perspective explanatory view showing the composition of the powder container storage part which has another composition of a guide member. The perspective explanatory view showing the composition of the powder container storage part which has another composition of a guide member. (A) is a figure which shows the contact state of the cover nail | claw part of a container front end side cover, and the cover claw hook part of a container main body, (b) is a fragmentary sectional view of the JJ line | wire of (a). The perspective explanatory drawing of the front end side edge part of the powder container of 4th Embodiment. The bottom view of the front end side edge part of the powder container of 4th Embodiment. The perspective explanatory view which shows the structure of the powder container accommodating part used in 4th Embodiment. The enlarged front view which shows the structure of the insertion port of a powder container storage part. Expansive perspective explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the insertion port of a powder container storage part. The enlarged view which shows the state which inserted the powder storage container in the insertion port of a powder container storage part. It is an expanded explanatory view which shows the structure of the engaging part and engaged part in 4th Embodiment, (a) is an enlarged view explaining an engagement state, (b) is an enlarged view explaining an engaged state. (C) is an enlarged view explaining another form of an engaged state. The expanded bottom view which shows Example 1 of the engaging part formed in the powder container. (A) is a front view of Example 1 of the engaging part formed in the powder container, (b) is a rear view. The expanded bottom view which shows Example 2 of the engaging part formed in the powder container. (A) is a front view of Example 2 of the engaging part formed in the powder container, (b) is a rear view. The expanded bottom view which shows Example 3 of the engaging part formed in the powder container. (A) is a front view of Example 3 of the engaging part formed in the powder container, (b) is a rear view. The expanded bottom view which shows Example 4 of the engaging part formed in the powder container. (A) is a front view of Example 4 of the engaging part formed in the powder container, (b) is a rear view. The expanded bottom view which shows Example 5 of the engaging part formed in the powder container. (A) is a front view of Example 5 of the engaging part formed in the powder container, (b) is a rear view. The enlarged view which shows the relationship and dimension of Example 1-Example 5 of the engaging part formed in the powder container, and an engaged part. The figure which shows the relationship between the presence or absence of the engaging part formed in the powder container in Example 1-Example 5, and a dimension. The expanded bottom view which shows another form of Example 1 in 5th Embodiment. The expanded bottom view which shows another form of Example 2 in 5th Embodiment. The expanded bottom view which shows another form of Example 4 in 5th Embodiment. The expanded bottom view which shows another form of Example 5 in 5th Embodiment. (A) is side surface fragmentary sectional view which shows the engagement state of the engaging part and to-be-engaged part in 5th Embodiment, (b) is the regulation rib and slide in the engaging state of an engaging part and to-be-engaged part The plane fragmentary sectional view which shows the relationship of a guide. The figure which shows the structure of the structure of the set cover in which the protrusion concerning 6th Embodiment was formed inside. The figure which shows the structure of the powder container accommodating part provided with the rotation prevention recessed part which concerns on 7th Embodiment. It is a figure which shows typically the movement state and regulation state of a powder container on a powder container storage part, (a) is the state at the time of a movement start, (b) is the 1st regulation by a perpendicular direction regulation part. The state, (c) shows a state where the transport nozzle and the container shutter are in contact, and (d) shows a second restricted state by the system direction restricting unit. It is a figure which shows typically the movement state and regulation state of a powder container on a powder container storage part, (a) is the state which the nozzle shutter collar part and the container seal contact | abutted, (b) is a periphery. The third restricted state by the direction restricting groove, (c) is the fourth restricted state in which the restriction by the radial restricting part is released, and (d) is the fifth restricted state in which the container opening has entered the container set part, (E) shows the sixth restricted state held at the final set position.

Hereinafter, a plurality of embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In each embodiment, the same member or a member having the same function is denoted by the same reference numeral, and description thereof is omitted in the subsequent embodiments. In addition, the following description is an example and does not limit a claim. It is easy for those skilled in the art to make other embodiments by making changes and modifications within the scope of the claims of the present invention, but these changes and modifications are naturally included in the scope of the claims. In the figure, Y, M, C, and K are subscripts attached to components corresponding to (yellow, magenta, cyan, and black), and will be omitted as appropriate.
FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of an electrophotographic tandem color copier (hereinafter referred to as “copier 500”) as an image forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied. The copying machine 500 may be a monochrome copying machine. The copying machine 500 includes a copying machine main body (hereinafter referred to as “printer unit 100”), a paper feed table (hereinafter referred to as “paper feed unit 200”), and a document reading unit (hereinafter referred to as “scanner unit”) mounted on the printer unit 100. 400 ”).

  A toner container storage unit 70 as a powder container storage unit provided in the upper part of the printer unit 100 has four toner containers 32 (Y as powder storage containers corresponding to each color (yellow, magenta, cyan, black)). , M, C, K) are detachably (replaceable). An intermediate transfer unit 85 is disposed below the toner container storage unit 70.

  The intermediate transfer unit 85 includes an intermediate transfer belt 48 as an intermediate transfer member, four primary transfer bias rollers 49 (Y, M, C, and K), a secondary transfer backup roller 82, a plurality of tension rollers, and intermediate transfer cleaning. It consists of devices. The intermediate transfer belt 48 is stretched and supported by a plurality of roller members, and moves endlessly in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2 by the rotational drive of the secondary transfer backup roller 82 which is one of the plurality of roller members.

  The printer unit 100 is provided with four image forming units 46 (Y, M, C, K) corresponding to the respective colors so as to face the intermediate transfer belt 48. Below the four toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K), there are four toner replenishing devices 60 (Y, M, C, K) as powder conveying devices corresponding to the toner containers of the respective colors. It is arranged. The toner, which is a powder developer contained in the toner container 32 (Y, M, C, K), corresponds to each color by the corresponding toner replenishing device 60 (Y, M, C, K). The image forming unit 46 (Y, M, C, K) is supplied (supplied) into the developing device. In the present embodiment, an image forming unit is configured by four image forming units 46 (Y, M, C, K).

As shown in FIG. 2, the printer unit 100 includes an exposure device 47 that is a latent image forming unit below the four image forming units 46. The exposure device 47 exposes and scans the surface of a photoconductor 41 (Y, M, C, K) as an image carrier, which will be described later, based on the image information of the original image read by the scanner unit 400. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface. The image information may be image information input from an external device such as a personal computer connected to the copying machine 500 instead of reading from the scanner unit 400.
In the present embodiment, the exposure device 47 uses a laser beam scanner method using a laser diode, but the exposure means may have other configurations such as an LED array.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of the image forming unit 46Y corresponding to yellow.
The image forming unit 46Y includes a drum-shaped photoconductor 41Y. The image forming unit 46Y has a configuration in which a charging roller 44Y as a charging unit, a developing device 50Y as a developing unit, a photoconductor cleaning device 42Y, a static eliminator, and the like are disposed around the photoconductor 41Y. Then, an image forming process (charging process, exposure process, development process, transfer process, cleaning process) is performed on the photoreceptor 41Y, whereby a yellow toner image is formed on the photoreceptor 41Y.

  The other three image forming units 46 (M, C, K) have substantially the same configuration as the image forming unit 46Y corresponding to yellow except that the color of the toner used is different. A toner image corresponding to each color toner is formed on the photoreceptor 41 (M, C, K). Hereinafter, description of the other three image forming units 46 (M, C, K) will be omitted as appropriate, and only the image forming unit 46Y corresponding to yellow will be described.

  The photoreceptor 41Y is rotationally driven in the clockwise direction in FIG. 3 by a drive motor. The surface of the photoreceptor 41Y is uniformly charged at the position facing the charging roller 44Y (charging process). Thereafter, the surface of the photoreceptor 41Y reaches the irradiation position of the laser beam L emitted from the exposure device 47, and an electrostatic latent image corresponding to yellow is formed by exposure scanning at this position (exposure process). Thereafter, the surface of the photoreceptor 41Y reaches a position facing the developing device 50Y, and the electrostatic latent image is developed with yellow toner at this position to form a yellow toner image (developing step).

  The four primary transfer bias rollers 49 (Y, M, C, K) of the intermediate transfer unit 85 respectively sandwich the intermediate transfer belt 48 between the photoreceptor 41 (Y, M, C, K) and perform primary transfer. A nip is formed. A transfer bias reverse to the polarity of the toner is applied to the primary transfer bias roller 49 (Y, M, C, K).

  The surface of the photoconductor 41Y on which the toner image is formed in the developing process reaches a primary transfer nip that faces the primary transfer bias roller 49Y with the intermediate transfer belt 48 interposed therebetween, and the toner image on the photoconductor 41Y at this primary transfer nip. Is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 48 (primary transfer step). At this time, a small amount of untransferred toner remains on the photoreceptor 41Y. The surface of the photoconductor 41Y that has transferred the toner image to the intermediate transfer belt 48 at the primary transfer nip reaches a position facing the photoconductor cleaning device 42Y. The untransferred toner remaining on the photoreceptor 41Y is mechanically collected by the cleaning blade 42a provided in the photoreceptor cleaning device 42Y at this facing position (cleaning process). Finally, the surface of the photoreceptor 41Y reaches a position facing the static eliminator, and the residual potential on the photoreceptor 41Y is removed at this position. Thus, a series of image forming processes performed on the photoreceptor 41Y is completed.

  Such an image forming process is performed in the other image forming units 46 (M, C, K) similarly to the yellow image forming unit 46Y. That is, the laser beam L based on the image information from the exposure device 47 disposed below the image forming unit 46 (M, C, K) is a photoconductor of each image forming unit 46 (M, C, K). 41 (M, C, K). Specifically, the exposure device 47 emits a laser beam L from a light source, and scans the laser beam L with a polygon mirror that is rotationally driven, while each photoconductor 41 (M, C, K) via a plurality of optical elements. ) Irradiate the top. Thereafter, the toner images of the respective colors formed on the photoreceptors 41 (M, C, K) through the developing process are transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 48.

  At this time, the intermediate transfer belt 48 travels in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2 and sequentially passes through the primary transfer nip of each primary transfer bias roller 49 (Y, M, C, K). As a result, the toner images of the respective colors on the respective photoreceptors 41 (Y, M, C, K) are primarily transferred while being superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 48, and a color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 48.

  The intermediate transfer belt 48 on which the toner images of the respective colors are transferred in a superimposed manner and the color toner image is formed reaches a position facing the secondary transfer roller 89. At this position, the secondary transfer backup roller 82 sandwiches the intermediate transfer belt 48 between the secondary transfer roller 89 and forms a secondary transfer nip. The color toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 48 has a transfer bias applied to, for example, the secondary transfer backup roller 82 on the recording medium P such as transfer paper conveyed to the position of the secondary transfer nip. Transcribed by action. At this time, untransferred toner that has not been transferred to the recording medium P remains on the intermediate transfer belt 48. The intermediate transfer belt 48 that has passed through the secondary transfer nip reaches the position of the intermediate transfer cleaning device, untransferred toner on the surface thereof is collected, and a series of transfer processes performed on the intermediate transfer belt 48 is completed.

Next, the movement of the recording medium P will be described.
The recording medium P conveyed to the secondary transfer nip described above is fed from the paper feed tray 26 provided in the paper feed unit 200 disposed below the printer unit 100 to the paper feed roller 27, the registration roller pair 28, and the like. It is conveyed via. Specifically, a plurality of recording media P are stored in the paper feed tray 26 in an overlapping manner. When the paper feed roller 27 is driven to rotate counterclockwise in FIG. 2, the uppermost recording medium P is conveyed toward a roller nip formed by the two rollers of the registration roller pair 28.

  The recording medium P transported to the registration roller pair 28 temporarily stops at the position of the roller nip of the registration roller pair 28 whose rotation drive has been stopped. The registration roller pair 28 is rotationally driven in accordance with the timing at which the color toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 48 reaches the secondary transfer nip, so that the recording medium P is conveyed toward the secondary transfer nip. . As a result, a desired color toner image is transferred onto the recording medium P.

  The recording medium P on which the color toner image is transferred at the secondary transfer nip is conveyed to the position of the fixing device 86. In the fixing device 86, the color toner image transferred onto 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 that has passed through the fixing device 86 is discharged to the outside of the apparatus after passing between the rollers of the discharge roller pair 29. The recording media P discharged to the outside of the apparatus by the discharge roller pair 29 are sequentially stacked on the stack unit 30 as an output image. Thus, a series of image forming processes in the copying machine 500 is completed.

  Next, the configuration and operation of the developing device 50 in the image forming unit 46 will be described in more detail. Here, the image forming unit 46Y corresponding to yellow is described as an example, but the same configuration and operation are performed in the image forming units 46 (M, C, K) of other colors.

As shown in FIG. 3, the developing device 50Y includes a developing roller 51Y as a developer carrying member, a doctor blade 52Y as a developer regulating plate, two developer conveying screws 55Y, a toner concentration detection sensor 56Y, and the like. Has been. The developing roller 51Y faces the photoconductor 41Y, and the doctor blade 52Y faces the developing roller 51Y. The two developer conveying screws 55Y are disposed in the two developer accommodating portions (53Y, 54Y). The developing roller 51Y includes a magnet roller fixed inside, a sleeve rotating around the magnet roller, and the like. In the first developer accommodating portion 53Y and the second developer accommodating portion 54Y, a two-component developer G composed of a carrier and toner is accommodated. The second developer accommodating portion 54Y communicates with the toner dropping conveyance path 64Y through an opening formed thereabove.
The toner concentration detection sensor 56Y detects the toner concentration in the developer G in the second developer container 54Y.

  The developer G in the developing device 50Y circulates between the first developer accommodating portion 53Y and the second developer accommodating portion 54Y while being stirred by the two developer conveying screws 55Y. The developer G in the first developer accommodating portion 53Y is supplied and carried on the sleeve surface of the developing roller 51Y by the magnetic field formed by the magnet roller in the developing roller 51Y while being conveyed to one of the developer conveying screws 55Y. Is done. The sleeve of the developing roller 51Y is driven to rotate counterclockwise as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 3, and the developer G carried on the developing roller 51Y moves on the developing roller 51Y as the sleeve rotates. At this time, the toner in the developer G is charged on the potential opposite to that of the carrier due to frictional charging with the carrier in the developer G, and is electrostatically attracted to the carrier, and is formed on the developing roller 51Y. Along with the carrier attracted by the magnetic field, it is carried on the developing roller 51Y.

  The developer G carried on the developing roller 51Y is conveyed in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3, and reaches the doctor portion where the doctor blade 52Y and the developing roller 51Y face each other. The amount of the developer G on the developing roller 51Y is regulated to an appropriate amount when passing through the doctor portion, and is then conveyed to the developing region that is the position facing the photoconductor 41Y. In the development area, the toner in the developer G is attracted to the latent image formed on the photoreceptor 41Y by the development electric field formed between the development roller 51Y and the photoreceptor 41Y. The developer G remaining on the surface of the developing roller 51Y that has passed through the developing region reaches above the first developer containing portion 53Y as the sleeve rotates, and is detached from the developing roller 51Y at this position.

  The developer G in the developing device 50Y is adjusted so that the toner density is within a predetermined range. Specifically, the toner stored in the toner container 32Y passes through the toner replenishing device 60Y, which will be described later, according to the consumption amount of the toner contained in the developer G in the developing device 50Y. 54Y is replenished. The toner replenished in the second developer accommodating portion 54Y is mixed and stirred together with the developer G by the two developer conveying screws 55Y, while the first developer accommodating portion 53Y, the second developer accommodating portion 54Y, Cycle between.

Next, the toner replenishing device 60 (Y, M, C, K) will be described.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state where the toner container 32Y is mounted on the toner replenishing device 60Y, and FIG. 5 illustrates a case where four toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) are mounted in the toner container storage unit 70. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the state made.

As shown in FIG. 4, the toners stored in the toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) mounted in the toner container storage unit 70 of the printer unit 100 are developed by the developing devices 50 (Y, M, Each developing device 50 (Y, M, C, K) is appropriately replenished according to the toner consumption in C, K). At this time, the toner in the toner container 32 (Y, M, C, K) is supplied by a toner supply device 60 (Y, M, C, K) provided for each toner color.
As shown in FIG. 27, among the four toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, and K), a toner container 32K that stores black toner and a toner container 32 that stores yellow, magenta, and cyan toners. The size is different from (Y, M, C), and the toner container 32K has a larger diameter. As a result, it is possible to reduce the replacement frequency of the toner container 32K containing the black toner that is frequently used.
The toner replenishing device 60 (Y, M, C, K) corresponds to the shape of the toner container 32, and the toner replenishing device 60K to which the toner container 32K containing black toner is mounted, yellow, magenta, and cyan. The shape differs depending on the toner replenishing device 60 (Y, M, C) to which the toner container 32 (Y, M, C) containing the toner is mounted.
The structure is almost the same except that the color of the toner used in the image forming process and the diameter of the toner container 32 are different. Therefore, only the toner replenishing device 60Y and the toner container 32Y corresponding to yellow will be described below, and the toner replenishing device 60 (M, C, K) and the toner container 32 (M, C) corresponding to the other three colors will be described. , K) will be omitted as appropriate. If there is a different configuration for each color, the subscripts Y, M, C, or K that indicate a specific color are used as symbols, but if the configurations are not different for each color, or if they have a common configuration In some cases, (Y, M, C, K) is added, or the suffix is omitted as appropriate.

As shown in FIG. 4, the toner replenishing device 60 (Y, M, C, K) includes a toner container storage unit 70, a transport nozzle 611 (Y, M, C, K) as a transport tube, and transport as a transport member. A screw 614 (Y, M, C, K), a toner drop conveyance path 64 (Y, M, C, K), a drive unit (container rotation drive unit) 91 (Y, M, C, K), etc. Yes.
When the toner container 32Y is moved in the toner container storage unit 70 of the printer unit 100 by a mounting operation in which the user pushes it in the mounting direction indicated by the arrow Q in FIGS. 4 and 5, the toner container is interlocked with the mounting operation. The transport nozzle 611Y of the toner replenishing device 60Y is inserted from the front end side of the container in the mounting direction of 32Y. As a result, the inside of the toner container 32Y communicates with the inside of the transport nozzle 611Y. Details of the configuration communicating in conjunction with the mounting operation will be described later.

  As a form of the toner container, the toner container 32Y is a substantially cylindrical toner bottle. The toner container 32Y is mainly a holding part that is non-rotatably held in the toner container storage part 70, and a container front end side cover 34Y as a container cover and a container gear 301Y as a container side gear are integrally formed. And a container main body 33Y as a powder container. The container body 33Y is rotatably held with respect to the container front end side cover 34Y.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the toner container storage unit 70 mainly includes a container cover receiving unit 73, a container receiving unit 72, and an insertion port forming unit 71. The container cover receiving portion 73 is a portion that holds the container front end side cover 34Y and the container main body 33 of the toner container 32Y. The container receiving portion 72 is a portion that supports the container main body 33Y of the toner container 32Y. The insertion port forming part 71 is a part that forms the insertion port 71a during the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y. When the main body cover installed on the front side of the copier 500 (the front side in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 2) is opened, the insertion port forming portion 71 of the toner container storage portion 70 is exposed. Then, each toner container 32 (Y, M, C, K) can be attached / detached from the front side of the copier 500 in a state where the longitudinal direction of each toner container 32 (Y, M, C, K) is horizontal. An attachment / detachment operation in which the longitudinal direction of the toner container 32 is the attachment / detachment direction is performed. A set cover 608Y in FIG. 4 is a part of the container cover receiving portion 73 of the toner container storage portion 70.

  The container receiving portion 72 is formed so that the length in the longitudinal direction is substantially equal to the length in the longitudinal direction of the container body 33Y. The container cover receiving portion 73 is provided on the container front end side in the longitudinal direction (detachment direction) of the container receiving portion 72, and the insertion port forming portion 71 is provided on one end side in the longitudinal direction of the container receiving portion 72. Each of the four toner containers 32 can slide on the container receiving portion 72. For this reason, along with the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y, the container front end side cover 34Y slides on the container receiving portion 72 for a while after passing through the insertion port forming portion 71, and is then mounted on the container cover receiving portion 73. The

With the container front end side cover 34Y attached to the container cover receiving portion 73, as shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. Rotational drive is input to the container gear 301Y (FIG. 10) as the container side gear provided in the container main body 33Y via the container drive gear 601Y as the gear. Thereby, the container main body 33Y is rotationally driven in the arrow A direction in FIG. The toner contained in the container main body 33Y is rotated by the container main body 33Y itself, so that the toner contained in the container main body 33Y is accommodated in the container main body 33Y by the spiral protrusion 302Y formed in a spiral shape on the inner peripheral surface of the container main body 33Y. It is conveyed along the longitudinal direction from one end located on the left side in FIG. 4 to the other end located on the right side. That is, in this embodiment, the conveying means is the container main body 33Y in a broad sense, and the spiral protrusion 302Y in a narrow sense. Thus, the toner is supplied into the conveying nozzle 611Y through the nozzle openings 610 as a powder receiving port formed in the conveying nozzle 611Y from the container leading end side cover 34Y side provided to other end. The nozzle opening 610 communicates with the shutter support opening 335b at a position inside the container main body 33 in the longitudinal direction beyond the position where the container gear 301Y is provided. That is, the container gear 301Y meshes with the container drive gear 601Y on the opening 33a side from the position where the nozzle opening 610 and the shutter support opening 335b communicate with each other.

A transport screw 614Y is disposed in the transport nozzle 611Y. The transport screw 614Y rotates when a rotational drive is input from the drive unit (container rotation drive unit) 91Y to the transport screw gear 605Y, and transports the toner supplied into the transport nozzle 611Y. The downstream end of the transport nozzle 611Y in the transport direction is connected to the toner dropping transport path 64Y. The toner transported by the transport screw 614Y falls in its own weight on the toner drop transport path 64Y and is replenished into the developing device 50Y (second developer accommodating portion 54Y).
Each of the toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) is replaced with a new one when it reaches the end of its life (when almost all of the contained toner is consumed and emptied). A handle portion 303 is provided at the end of the toner container 32 in the longitudinal direction opposite to the container front end side cover 34. When replacing the container, the operator grasps the handle portion 303 and pulls it out. The attached toner container 32 can be removed.

  In the toner replenishing device 60Y, the amount of toner supplied to the developing device 50Y is controlled by the rotational speed of the conveying screw 614Y. Therefore, the toner that has passed through the transport nozzle 611Y is directly transported to the developing device 50Y via the toner dropping transport path 64Y without controlling the supply amount to the developing device 50Y. As in the present embodiment, the toner supply device 60Y that inserts the transport nozzle 611Y into the toner container 32Y may be provided with a primary toner storage unit such as a toner hopper.

  Next, the toner container 32 (Y, M, C, K) and the toner supply device 60 (Y, M, C, K) of this embodiment will be described in more detail. As described above, the toner container 32 (Y, M, C, K) and the toner replenishing device 60 (Y, M, C, K) have substantially the same configuration except that the colors of the toners used are different. It has become. Therefore, in the following description, the subscripts Y, M, C, and K indicating the toner color are omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of the toner replenishing device 60 before mounting the toner container 32 and the end of the toner container 32 on the front end side of the container, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of the device 60 and an end portion of the toner container 32 on the container front end side. FIG. 6 is a perspective explanatory view of the toner container 32. FIG. 7 is a perspective explanatory view of the toner replenishing device 60 before the toner container 32 is mounted and the front end side end portion of the toner container 32, and FIG. 8 is a toner replenishing device 60 with the toner container 32 mounted. FIG. 6 is a perspective explanatory view of the toner container 32 on the front end side of the container. 20 is a perspective explanatory view showing the configuration of the toner container storage portion 70 in the toner replenishing device 60, and FIG. 21 is a perspective explanatory view showing the configuration of the container cover receiving portion 73.

The toner replenishing device 60 includes a transport nozzle 611 that includes a transport screw 614 and a nozzle shutter 612. The nozzle shutter 612 closes the nozzle opening 610 when not attached (the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 7) before the toner container 32 is attached, and when the toner container 32 is attached (see FIGS. 8 and 9). In the state), the nozzle opening 610 is slidably mounted on the outer peripheral surface of the transport nozzle 611 so as to open the nozzle opening 610. The nozzle shutter 612 is provided with a nozzle shutter flange 612a as a flange on the downstream side in the mounting direction with respect to the end surface of the nozzle receiving member 330 as a transfer tube receiving member, which will be described later, in contact with the transfer nozzle 611.
On the other hand, a nozzle receiving port 331 is formed in the center of the front end surface of the toner container 32 as a tube insertion port into which the transport nozzle 611 is inserted when mounted, and serves as an opening / closing member that closes the nozzle receiving port 331 when not mounted. The container shutter 332 is provided.

  The toner container storage unit 70 includes a container receiving unit 72 that slides and moves the toner container 32 when the toner container 32 is attached to the toner supply device 60. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 20, the container receiving portion 72 is divided into four in the width direction W orthogonal to the longitudinal direction (attachment / detachment direction) of the toner container 32, and extends along the longitudinal direction of the container body 33. A groove portion 74 is formed as a container placement portion that extends from the insertion port forming portion 71 to the container cover receiving portion 73. Each color toner container 32 (Y, M, C, K) is configured to be slidable in the longitudinal direction on the groove 74. As shown in FIG. 22, two upper surface protrusions 76 a, 76 a are formed on the upper surface portion 76 facing the groove portion 74 so as to protrude from the upper surface portion 76 toward the groove portion 74 along the longitudinal direction of the groove portion. The toner container 32 (Y, M, C, K) is configured to come into contact with the upper part of the toner container 32 when sliding the toner container 32 (Y, M, C, K) on the groove 74.

Guide rails 75 and 75 serving as guide members are provided on the side surfaces 74a and 74b facing each other of the groove portion 74 located in the width direction W, respectively. Each guide rail 75 protrudes in the width direction W from the side surfaces 74 a and 74 b, extends in the longitudinal direction, and is disposed in front of the container cover receiving portion 73. When the toner container 32 is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body, the guide rails 75 and 75 are engaged with a slide guide 361 as a guide member, and the container opening 33a as an opening is set as a container receiving portion. A function of guiding to the unit 615 is provided.
Each guide rail 75 may extend in the longitudinal direction to the vicinity of the insertion opening forming portion 71 as shown in FIG. Each guide rail 75 is formed to be parallel to the rotation axis of the container main body 33 when the toner container 32 is attached to the toner replenishing device 60. 27 and 28, the guide rail 75 includes a guide rail 75K provided in a groove 74K in which the toner container 32K is mounted and a groove 74 (in which the toner container 32 (Y, M, C) is mounted. The length in the height direction differs from the guide rail 75 (Y, M, C) provided in Y, M, C), and the guide rail 75K is longer than the guide rail 75 (Y, M, C). Is formed. Since the toner container 32 (Y, M, C) has a smaller diameter than the toner container 32K, even if the toner container 32 (Y, M, C) is mistakenly inserted into the groove 74K, the toner container 32 (Y, M, C) is The load is small, and it is easy to be worn with the wrong place. However, since the guide rail 75K is formed longer in the height direction than the guide rail 75 (Y, M, C), when the toner container 32 (Y, M, C) is to be mounted in the groove 74K, the mounting is in progress. A slide guide 361 (to be described later) of the toner container 32 (Y, M, C) comes into contact with the guide rail 75K, and movement in the mounting direction is restricted. For this reason, erroneous mounting of the toner container 32 (Y, M, C) can be prevented. 20 and 56, only the guide rail 75 provided on one side surface 74a is shown.

As shown in FIG. 20, the container cover receiving portion 73 is provided with set covers 608 (Y, M, C, K) corresponding to the respective colors. The set cover 608 includes a set cover 608K corresponding to black shown in FIGS. 21 and 23, and a set cover 608 (Y, M, C) corresponding to yellow, magenta, and cyan shown in FIGS. 24 and 25. The set cover 608K is formed larger than the set cover 608 (Y, M, C). The set cover 608 has a transport nozzle 611 disposed at the center thereof. Conveying nozzle 611, as shown in FIG. 21, so as to protrude into the toner container 32 toward the end face 615 b in the mounting direction upstream side of the container holder 615 on the downstream side container cover receiving portion 73 in the mounting direction of the Has been placed. A container setting unit 615 serving as a container receiving unit is erected in the protruding direction of the transport nozzle 611 toward the upstream side in the mounting direction of the toner container 32 so as to surround the periphery of the transport nozzle 611. That is, the container setting part 615 is a positioning part of the container opening 33a at the base of the transport nozzle 611, and the diameter of the container opening 33a is inserted by fitting the container opening 33a into the container setting part 615. The position in the direction is fixed.

As shown in FIGS. 21 and 24, a part of the inner peripheral surface 608 c (first cover inner periphery) of the set cover 608 is formed on the toner container 32 from an end surface 608 f on the upstream side in the mounting direction of the toner container 32 in the set cover 608. A groove 77 a having a depth in the mounting direction is cut out in the radial direction of the set cover 608. A container into which a container opening 33a, which will be described later, is fitted in the state where the toner container 32 is mounted on the toner supply device 60 at the base of the transport nozzle 611 located further downstream in the mounting direction than the groove 77a when viewed from the mounting direction. A set portion 615 is formed.
The container setting unit 615 is located at the root of the transport nozzle 611, and an end inner peripheral surface 615a into which the container opening 33a is inserted, and an end surface 615b positioned downstream of the end inner peripheral surface 615a in the mounting direction of the toner container 32. With. On the end surface 615b, as shown in FIG. 26, eight spring restricting portions 615c protruding from the end surface 615b toward the upstream side in the mounting direction of the toner container 32 are formed at equal intervals along the outer periphery of the conveying nozzle shutter spring 613. ing. In FIGS. 23 and 25, the nozzle shutter spring 613 is omitted in order to show the shape of the spring restricting portion 615c. The spring restricting portion 615c covers the outer periphery of the nozzle shutter spring 613, whereby the movement of the nozzle shutter spring 613 in the radial direction is restricted. Thus, the toner container 32 is set in a state where the nozzle shutter spring 613 is displaced in the radial direction, and the toner container 32 is formed by the nozzle shutter spring 613 being sandwiched between the end surface 615b and the tip end portion 33c of the container opening 33a. Can be prevented from being attached to the toner replenishing device 60.

When the toner container 32 is mounted on the toner replenishing device 60, the outer peripheral surface 33b of the container opening 33a of the toner container 32 is fitted to the end inner peripheral surface 615a of the container setting portion 615 in a slidable state. As shown in FIG. 26, the container set portion 615 has sliding protrusions 615d formed as a part of the end inner peripheral surface 615a so as to protrude radially inward from the end inner peripheral surface 615a at equal intervals. The sliding protrusion surface 615d and the outer peripheral surface 33b slide as the toner container 32 rotates. In this embodiment, the sliding projection surface 615d has a circumferential width of about 4 mm and is formed at four equal intervals. However, the sliding projection surface 615d has a circumferential width of about 6 mm, for example. The structure formed in three places at equal intervals may be sufficient. If the area of the sliding projection surface 615d that contacts the outer circumferential surface 33b of the sliding projection surface 615d is too large, the sliding resistance with the outer circumferential surface 33b will increase and a rotational load will be generated. As the sliding protrusion 615b is scraped and consumed over time as it slides on the surface 33b, accurate positioning becomes difficult. Therefore, the sliding protrusion 615d has a contact area that does not cause these problems. The width and number may be adjusted.

  When the inner peripheral surface 615a of the end portion of the container setting portion 615 and the outer peripheral surface 33b of the container opening 33a of the toner container 32 are fitted, the toner container 32 is in the longitudinal direction (detachment direction) of the toner container 32 with respect to the toner replenishing device 60. Positioning in the radial direction orthogonal to is performed. Further, when the toner container 32 is rotated, the outer peripheral surface 33b of the container opening 33a functions as a rotation shaft portion, and the end inner peripheral surface 615a of the container setting portion 615 functions as a bearing. At this time, the outer peripheral surface 33b of the container opening 33a is slidably in contact with the sliding protrusion 615d as a part of the end inner peripheral surface 615a of the container setting portion 615, and the diameter of the toner container 32 with respect to the toner replenishing device 60. The position where the direction is positioned is indicated by α in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the container setting portion 615 includes an end inner peripheral surface 615 a of the container setting portion that fits with the outer peripheral surface 33 b of the container opening 33 a of the toner container 32 when the toner container 32 is set. The inner diameter of the inner peripheral surface is D1. The diameter of the outer peripheral surface 33b of the container opening 33a of the toner container 32 is d1. Since the outer peripheral surface 33b of the container opening 33a of the toner container 32 and the end inner peripheral surface 615a of the container setting portion 615 are rotatably fitted, the diameter d1 of the outer peripheral surface 33b of the container opening 33a of the toner container 32 is The inner diameter D1 of the inner peripheral surface 615a of the end portion of the container setting portion is set to satisfy the relationship “d1 <D1”. Further, d1 and D1 are set to a fitting tolerance of “D1−d1 = 0.01 to 0.1 mm”. Thus, by having a relationship of “d1 <D1”, the container main body 33 can be rotationally driven while being held by the container setting portion 615.

As shown in FIGS. 21 and 24, openings 608d are formed so as to face each other in the width direction W of the set cover 608. The set cover 608 is provided with replenishment device side lock members 78 and 78, which will be described later, through the openings 608d and 608d so as to be movable back and forth from the outer peripheral surface of the set cover 608 toward the inner peripheral surface 608c . Auxiliary supply device side locking member 78 is biased toward the inside from the outside of the set cover 608 by a biasing means such as a torsion coil spring 782.
The shape of the set cover 608 differs between the set cover 608K to which the toner container 32K is attached and the set cover 608 (Y, M, C) to which the toner container 32 (Y, M, C) is attached. As shown in FIG. 23, the set cover 608K has three through holes 79a formed at equal intervals in a bent portion formed by a bottom surface 608a and an inner peripheral surface 608c. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 25, the set cover 608 (Y, M, C) is formed with an L-shaped recess 79b provided over a bent portion formed by the bottom surface 608a and the inner peripheral surface 608c. The hole shape is not formed in the bent portion. The set cover 608K may be configured to have a recess, or the set cover (Y, M, C) may be formed with a through hole. In order to maintain the strength of 608 (Y, M, C), the set cover 608 (Y, M, C) is formed in a concave shape.

Next, the toner container 32 will be described.
As described above, the toner container 32 is mainly composed of the container main body 33 in which toner is accommodated and the container front end side cover 34. FIG. 10 is a perspective explanatory view of the toner container 32 with the container front end cover 34 removed from the state of FIG.
FIG. 11 is an explanatory perspective view of the toner container 32 in a state where the nozzle receiving member 330 as the transport pipe receiving member is removed from the container main body 33 from the state of FIG. 10, and FIG. 12 is a nozzle receiving member 330 from the container main body 33. 4 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of the toner container 32 in a state where is removed. FIG. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of the toner container 32 with the nozzle receiving member 330 attached to the container main body 33 from the state of FIG. 12 (the toner container 32 with the container front end side cover 34 removed as in FIG. 10). is there. FIG. 29 is a perspective explanatory view of the end portion on the front end side of the toner container 32, and FIG. 30 is a front view of the end portion on the front end side of the toner container 32.

  As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the container main body 33 has a substantially cylindrical shape and is configured to rotate about the central axis of the cylinder as a rotation axis. Hereinafter, in the longitudinal direction of the toner container 32, the side of the toner container 32 where the nozzle receiving port 331 is formed (the side where the container front end side cover 34 is disposed) will be referred to as “container front end side”. The side of the toner container 32 on which the handle portion 303 is disposed (the side opposite to the container front end side) will be referred to as “container rear end side”. The longitudinal direction of the toner container 32 is the rotational axis direction, and the longitudinal direction is the horizontal direction when the toner container 32 is attached to the toner supply device 60. The container rear end side of the container main body 33 is larger in outer diameter than the container front end side, and a spiral projection 302 is formed on the inner peripheral surface thereof. When the container main body 33 rotates in the direction of arrow A in the figure, the toner in the container main body 33 is moved from one end side (container rear end side) to the other end side (container front end side) in the rotation axis direction by the action of the spiral protrusion 302. ) Is applied.

On the inner wall of the container main body 33 on the container front end side, the toner that has been conveyed to the container front end side by the spiral protrusion 302 when the container main body 33 rotates in the direction of arrow A in the figure is moved upward by the rotation of the container main body 33. A pumping unit 304 for pumping is formed. As shown in FIG. 13, the pumping portion 304 includes a convex portion 304h and a pumping wall surface 304f. The convex portion 304h is a portion that protrudes inside the container body 33 so as to form a ridge line of a mountain toward the rotation center of the container body 33 while forming a spiral. The pumping wall surface 304f is a wall surface on the downstream side when viewed from the container rotation direction among the wall surfaces of the abutting portions that connect from the convex portion 304h (ridge line) to the inner wall of the circumferential surface of the container body 33. When the pumping wall surface 304 f is below, the toner that has entered the internal space facing the pumping unit 304 by the conveying force of the spiral protrusion 302 is pumped upward by the pumping wall surface 304 f according to the rotation of the container body 33. As a result, the toner can be pumped up above the inserted transport nozzle 611.
Further, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 10 and the like, the pumping portion spiral projection formed in a spiral shape on the inner peripheral surface of the pumping portion 304 so as to convey the toner inside as well as the spiral projection 302. 304a is formed.

A container gear 301 is formed further on the tip side of the container than the pumping portion 304 of the container body 33. The container distal end cover 34 is provided with a gear exposure opening 34a so that a part (the back side in FIG. 6) of the container gear 301 is exposed when attached to the container main body 33. Then, by mounting the toner container 32 on the toner replenishing device 60, the container gear 301 exposed from the gear exposure opening 34a meshes with the container driving gear 601 on the toner replenishing device 60 side.
The container gear 301 is provided on the container opening 33 a side (in the vicinity of the container opening 33 a) in the longitudinal direction of the container main body 33 with respect to the nozzle opening 610, and is disposed so as to be able to mesh with the container driving gear 601. The container gear 301 is meshed with the container driving gear 601 so that the conveying means can be rotated.

A cylindrical container opening 33 a is formed coaxially with the container gear 301 on the container front end side of the container body 33 with respect to the container gear 301. The nozzle receiving member 330 can be fixed to the container main body 33 by press-fitting the receiving member fixing portion 337 of the nozzle receiving member 330 coaxially with the container opening 33 a into the container opening 33 a. The method for fixing the nozzle receiving member 330 is not limited to press-fitting but may be fixing by an adhesive or fixing by screws. Alternatively, the container body 33 may be provided with a recess, and a protrusion provided on the nozzle receiving member fixing portion 337 may be inserted into the recess to be hooked and fixed.
The toner container 32 is filled with toner from an opening of a container opening 33 a serving as an opening provided on one end side of the container main body 33, and then fixes the nozzle receiving member 330 to the container opening 33 a of the container main body 33. It has a configuration.

  Further, a cover claw hooking portion 306 is formed at the end of the container opening 33 a of the container body 33 on the container gear 301 side. The cover claw hooking portions 306 are provided at three positions at equal intervals in the circumferential direction, that is, at intervals of 120 degrees on the distal end portion in the mounting direction of the container distal end side cover 34. A container tip side cover 34 is attached to the toner container 32 (container body 33) in the state shown in FIG. 10 from the container tip side (lower left side in FIG. 10). Thereby, the container main body 33 penetrates the container front end side cover 34 in the longitudinal direction, and the cover claw hooking portions 306 are respectively hooked on the cover claw portions 340 provided at three locations in the circumferential direction of the container front end side cover 34. The cover claw hooking portion 306 is formed so as to make a round around the outer peripheral surface of the container opening 33a, and the container main body 33 and the container front end side cover 34 can be rotated relative to each other when the cover claw portion 340 is hooked. It becomes the attachment.

The container front end cover 34 of the toner container 32 restricts the movement of the toner container 32 being mounted in a direction other than the mounting direction when the toner container 32 is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body, thereby opening the opening 33a to the container setting unit 615. A guide unit for guiding to is provided. As shown in FIGS. 6, 7, 29, and 30, a pair of guide portions that regulate vertical movement of the container front end side cover 34 are provided on both side surfaces of the lower part of the container front end side cover 34 of the toner container 32. Is formed. The pair of guide portions as the vertical direction restricting portions are hereinafter referred to as slide guides 361 and 361. The slide guides 361 and 361 include an upper guide portion 361A and a lower guide portion 361B extending along the longitudinal direction of the container body 33, and the slide grooves 361a and 361a are provided between the upper guide portion 361A and the lower guide portion 361B. Respectively. Each slide groove 361a is formed in parallel with the rotation axis of the container main body 33, and a pair of guide rails 75, 75 formed in the groove part 74 of the container receiving part 72 described in FIGS. It is comprised so that it may pinch | interpose. In other words, the slide guides 361 and 361 are arranged such that the upper guide portion 361A and the lower guide portion 361B sandwich the guide rail 75 from above and below, respectively. Functions as a positioning unit in the vertical direction Z and the width direction W perpendicular to the attachment / detachment direction, and restricts the movement of the toner container 32 in the vertical direction Z and the width direction W.
As shown in FIG. 31, the slide groove 361a is formed such that the lower surface of the upper guide portion 361A and the upper surface of the lower guide portion 361B facing each other are stepwise different in the mounting direction. The distance between the upper surface and the lower surface is the distance H1 of the slide groove tip 361c on the downstream side in the mounting direction of the toner container 32, the distance H2 of the slide groove center 361d, and the distance H3 of the slide groove rear end 361e. It is formed such that H1 <interval H2 <interval H3. That is, the interval is a distance between the upper guide portion 361A and the lower guide portion 361B, and the interval located on the downstream side in the mounting direction of the toner container 32 is narrower than the interval located on the upstream side in the mounting direction. Is formed. Further, the groove tip portion 361c and the groove center portion 361d extend from the groove inclined portion 361f formed to incline toward the concave surface 361g of the slide groove 361a, so that the slide guide 361 is broken and broken by the groove portion 74. It is preventing. Further, as shown in FIG. 30, a reinforcing portion 362 is integrally formed on the inside of the slide guide 361 so as to prevent damage to the slide guide 361 when the toner container 32 is dropped. .

The container front end cover 34 is formed with container lock portions 339 and 339 on the outer peripheral surface thereof for axial positioning of the toner container 32 with respect to the toner replenishing device 60. When the toner container 32 is attached to the toner replenishing device 60, the replenishing device side locking members 78 and 78 provided on the set cover 608 engage with the container locking portions 339 and 339, respectively.
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 29, each container lock portion 339 includes a guide projection 339a, a guide groove 339b, a climbing portion 339c, and a locking hole 339d as an axial direction restricting portion as a set. Two sets are arranged so as to form a pair on both the left and right sides. That is, each locking hole 339d is disposed on both the left and right sides with the center of the container opening 33a interposed therebetween. Each guide projection 339 a is disposed on a vertical plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the toner container 32 on the container front end side of the container front end side cover 34 and on a horizontal plane passing through the rotation center axis of the container main body 33. The guide protrusion 339a includes an inclined surface connected to the guide groove 339b so that the replenishment device side lock member 78 is brought into contact with the toner container 32 when the toner container 32 is mounted, and can be guided toward the guide groove 339b. The guide groove 339 b is a groove that is one step lower than the side peripheral surface of the container front end side cover 34.

  The groove width of the guide groove 339b is set to be slightly larger than the width of the replenishment device side lock member 78 so that the replenishment device side lock member 78 does not fall off from the guide groove 339b. The container rear end side of the guide groove 339b has a terminal end rather than a shape directly connected to the locking hole 339d, and is the height of the side peripheral surface of the container front end side cover 34. That is, there is an outer peripheral surface of the container front end side cover 34 having a width of about 1 [mm] between the guide groove 339b and the rectangular locking hole 339d, which corresponds to the overpass portion 339c. The replenishing device side lock member 78 climbs over the overpass portion 339c and falls into the locking hole 339d, whereby the coupling between the toner container 32 and the toner replenishing device 60 is achieved. This state is the set position (set state) of the toner container 32.

  As shown in FIG. 30, the toner container 32 is configured such that a container shutter 332 is positioned at the center of a line segment connecting two container lock portions 339 on a virtual plane orthogonal to the rotation axis. If the container shutter 332 is not on the line connecting the two container lock portions 339, the following may occur. That is, due to the urging force of the container shutter spring 336 and the nozzle shutter spring 613, the moment from the line segment to the container shutter 332 is used as a moment arm, and a moment of force that rotates the toner container 32 about the line segment acts. Due to the action of this moment of force, the toner container 32 may be inclined with respect to the toner supply device 60. In this case, the mounting load of the toner container 32 increases, and a load is applied to the nozzle receiving member 330 that holds and guides the container shutter 332. In particular, when the toner container 32 is a new article sufficiently containing toner, the toner weight is also taken into account when the toner container 32 is pushed from the rear end side so that the conveying nozzle 611 protruding from the horizontal direction is inserted. A moment of force that rotates the toner container 32 acts. As a result, a load is applied to the nozzle receiving member 330 into which the transport nozzle 611 is inserted, and the nozzle receiving member 330 may be deformed or damaged in the worst case. On the other hand, in the toner container 32 of the present embodiment, the container shutter 332 is positioned on a line segment connecting the two container lock portions 339. For this reason, the toner container 32 can be prevented from being inclined with respect to the toner replenishing device 60 by the urging force of the container shutter spring 336 and the nozzle shutter spring 613 acting at the position of the container shutter 332.

Rotation drive is input to the container gear 301 of the toner container 32 from the drive unit (container rotation drive unit) 91 via the container drive gear 601. When driving is input to the container gear 301, the outer peripheral surface 33b of the container opening 33a of the container main body 33 functions as a rotating shaft portion, and the inner peripheral surface 615a of the end portion of the container setting portion 615 functions as a bearing. The container main body 33 which fixed 301 or comprised integrally is rotated. In the present embodiment, the rotation center of the container gear 301 is arranged so as to be concentric with the axis of the container opening 33a.
Further, when driving is input to the container gear 301 by the meshing of the container drive gear 601 and the container gear 301, the radial line and the tooth profile at the pressure angle (JIS: one point (pitch point) of the tooth surface) of the container gear 301. A force is applied in the direction of the angle formed by the tangent to the container gear 301 and the container gear 301 is rotated. The force applied in the direction of the pressure angle of the container gear 301 is a direction toward the center axis (rotation axis) of the container body 33 because the component force in the direction toward the rotation center of the container gear 301 is generated. A force in a direction perpendicular to the toner is applied to the toner container 32 having the container main body 33.
When a force is applied perpendicularly to the central axis of the toner container 32 as described above, the posture of the toner container 32 in the longitudinal direction becomes unstable, and the toner container 32 is inclined with respect to the central axis, and the container driving gear 601 and the container gear 301 are in contact with each other. There is a possibility that the meshing state becomes unstable, abnormal noise due to unstable meshing, and toner conveyance failure occur.
As described above, the outer peripheral surface 33b of the container opening 33a on the container front end side of the toner container 32 is supported on the inner peripheral surface 615a of the end of the container setting portion 615 as a rotation shaft portion. The abnormal noise and toner conveyance failure associated therewith are more likely to occur when the container gear 301 is disposed closer to the container rear end than the container lock portion 339. When the container gear 301 is disposed on the container rear end side with respect to the container lock portion 339, the force applied perpendicularly to the central axis of the toner container 32 around the position where the outer peripheral surface 33b is supported by the end inner peripheral surface 615a. This is because the rotation moment due to the toner increases, and the toner container 32 and the container front end side cover 34 are not stably held by the toner container storage unit 70.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 49 and 57, the container gear 301 is provided between the container lock portion 339 and the container opening 33 a in the central axis direction (longitudinal direction) of the toner container 32. It was set as the structure arranged. Therefore, the influence of the rotational moment due to the force applied perpendicularly to the central axis of the toner container 32 around the position where the outer peripheral surface 33b is supported by the end inner peripheral surface 615a is small, and the toner container housing of the toner container 32 and the container front end cover 34 is accommodated. The holding by the unit 70 is stabilized, and the posture of the toner container 32 in the longitudinal direction is stabilized.
Specifically, in a state where the toner container 32 is held in the toner container storage unit 70 (set state), the outer peripheral surface 33b of the container opening 33a on the container tip side of the toner container 32 rotates in the toner container 32. The shaft is supported on the inner peripheral surface 615 a of the end of the container setting portion 615, and the locking hole 339 d of the container locking portion 339 is engaged with the replenishing device side locking member 78. And the container gear 301 is arrange | positioned between the container lock part 339 and the container opening part 33a.
Therefore, the length of the arm of the above-described rotational moment due to the force in the direction perpendicular to the central axis applied to the toner container 32 by the meshing of the container driving gear 601 and the container gear 301 is the central axis direction ( This is the length from the position where the peripheral surface 33b is supported by the end inner peripheral surface 615a to the position where the container gear 301 is provided in the longitudinal direction). In addition, the engaging hole 339 d of the container lock portion 339 is engaged with the replenishing device side lock member 78 so that the force in the direction perpendicular to the central axis applied to the toner container 32 (referred to as holding force). The length of the arm of the rotational moment due to the above is such that the locking hole 339d of the container lock portion 339 is provided from the position where the peripheral surface 33b is supported by the end inner peripheral surface 615a in the central axis direction (longitudinal direction). It is the length to the position.

Here, since the rotational moment can be obtained by the product of the length of the arm of the rotational moment and the magnitude of the force, the configuration in which the container gear 301 is disposed on the container rear end side with respect to the container lock portion 339 is a container lock. It can be said that a larger holding force is required than the configuration in which the container gear 301 is disposed between the portion 339 and the container opening 33a.
Further, applying the lever principle, the position where the outer peripheral surface 33b is supported by the end inner peripheral surface 615a is a fulcrum, and the position where the locking hole 339d of the container lock portion 339 is engaged with the replenishing device side lock member 78 is a power point. Considering the position where the container drive gear 601 and the container gear 301 mesh with each other as the action point, the larger the linear distance from the fulcrum to the force point, the greater the effect with a smaller force. I understand that.
Therefore, if the above-described holding force is constant, the container gear 301 is disposed between the container lock portion 339 and the container opening 33a as compared with the configuration in which the container gear 301 is disposed on the container rear end side with respect to the container lock portion 339. In the configuration in which the gear 301 is disposed, the toner container 32 and the container front end side cover 34 are more stably held by the toner container storage unit 70, and the posture of the toner container 32 in the longitudinal direction is stabilized.

In a state where the toner container 32 is held in the toner container storage unit 70, the toner container 32 has a reaction force of a force that compresses the container shutter spring 336 as shown in FIGS. 58 (b) and 58 (c). F (restoring force) and a reaction force F1 for compressing the nozzle shutter spring 613 are applied. As shown in FIGS. 58 (a), 58 (b), and 58 (c), the container front end side cover 34 has a cover claw portion 340 provided at three equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the toner container 32. The resultant reaction force is received from the toner container 32 through the surface of the cover claw hooking portion 306 on the container rear end side. The resultant force of the reaction forces F and F1 described above is applied to the container front end side cover 34 at an equal distance and evenly in the radial direction with respect to the central axis O (rotary axis) of the toner container 32. Only the component of will act. That is, the component that tilts the container front end side cover 34 with respect to the central axis O (rotation axis) does not act.
Also, as shown in FIG. 57, the container lock portion 339 is also provided at a position that is horizontally symmetrical with respect to the central axis O (rotation axis), and therefore is perpendicular to the central axis O. Since the components in the right direction cancel each other, only the component in the central axis direction acts, and the component that tilts the container front end side cover 34 with respect to the central axis O does not act.
In the container front end side cover 34, the cover front end inner peripheral surface 340 b of the container front end side cover 34 is located on the container front end side with respect to the container front end surface of the cover claw portion 340, and the outer peripheral edge portion 306 a of the cover claw hook portion 306 of the toner container 32. Contact with. Thus, the toner container 32 is positioned in the radial direction with respect to the container front end cover 34.

In the container front end side cover 34, the cover front end inner peripheral surface 340 b of the container front end side cover 34 is located on the container front end side with respect to the container front end surface of the cover claw portion 340, and the outer peripheral edge portion 306 a of the cover claw hook portion 306 of the toner container 32. Contact with. Thus, the toner container 32 is positioned in the radial direction with respect to the container front end cover 34.
That is, the toner container 32 as a powder container in the present embodiment is mounted with a toner container 32 that stores toner for image formation, a transport nozzle 611 as a transport pipe for transporting the toner, and a transport nozzle. A nozzle shutter 612 as a powder receiving opening / closing member that opens and closes a nozzle opening 610 as a powder receiving opening provided, and a nozzle shutter as a biasing member that urges the nozzle shutter 612 to close the nozzle opening 610 A spring 613, a replenishing device side locking member 78 capable of holding the toner container 32 against the image forming apparatus main body by being biased from the side of the toner container 32, and a main body for transmitting driving force to the toner container 32 A container drive gear 601 as a side gear and a toner container that is coaxial with the transport nozzle 611 and disposed around the transport nozzle 611 In a toner container that can be attached to an image forming apparatus including a container setting unit 615 as a container receiving unit that receives 2, a container main body 33 that stores toner for image formation, and an opening provided at one end of the container main body 33 A part 33a, a conveying means for rotating the powder in the container main body to the container opening 33a side by rotating, and a container gear 301 as a gear that meshes with the container driving gear 601 and can drive the conveying means. A container locking portion 339 that engages with the replenishing device side locking member 78, and a container front end side cover 34 as a container cover provided coaxially with the toner container 32 on the outer periphery of the toner container 32. The center and the rotation center of the container gear 301 are provided on the same axis, and the container drive gear 601 is arranged in the longitudinal direction of the toner container 32 with the container lock portion 339 and the container opening. Is arranged between the 33a, opening 33a is characterized by the container holder 615 can be fitted.

  With the above-described configuration, the toner container 32 can be held in a stable posture in the radial direction and the axial direction with respect to the toner supply device 60. When the container gear 301 is disposed between the opening 33a and the container lock part 339 in the longitudinal direction of the toner container 32, a stable state is maintained by the balance of forces in the central axis direction. The influence of the force generated at the position where the gear 601 and the container gear 301 are engaged is reduced, and the toner container 32 can be prevented from being inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction (center axis direction). As a result, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of an unstable meshing state between the container drive gear 601Y and the container gear 301, the occurrence of abnormal noise, and the occurrence of toner conveyance failure.

As shown in FIGS. 29 and 30, three cover claws 340 are formed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction on the end surface of the container front end cover 34 on the container front end side. Protruding portions 341 a that protrude outward from the outer peripheral surface 34 b of the container front end side cover 34 are formed at the bent portions of the cover claw portion 340. These projections 341a are formed by bending along the bending portion of the container leading end side cover 34, three positions at equal intervals in the circumferential direction of the container leading end side cover 34, that is, provided at 120 degree intervals . These protrusions 341a protrude from the outer peripheral surface 34b of the container front end side cover 34 at a height of 0.9 mm, and extend from the bent portion to a length of 4 mm in the radial direction and the longitudinal direction, respectively. As shown in FIG. 32, these protrusions 341a contact the inner peripheral surface 608c of the set cover 608 when the container front end cover 34 enters the container cover receiving portion 73 as shown in FIG. Is provided with a function of guiding in the radial direction. These protrusions 341a are formed in a rounded shape so that sliding resistance is reduced by making point contact with the inner peripheral surface 608c of the set cover 608. Each protrusion 341a is disposed so as to be able to face three through holes 79a (see FIGS. 23 and 24) formed in the set cover 608. These protrusions 341a are disposed so as to contact the inner peripheral surface 608c of the set cover 608a before the container opening 33a of the container body 33 contacts the nozzle shutter collar 612a. As a result, the protrusion 341a contacts the inner peripheral surface 608c of the set cover 608a, thereby functioning as a radial positioning portion for the toner container 32 to the toner supply device 60. That is, the protruding portion 341a functions as a guide portion, a radial direction regulating portion, and a radial direction positioning portion.

On the outer peripheral surface 34b of the container front end side cover 34, as shown in FIG. 30, a plate-like circumferential direction regulating projection serving as a circumferential direction regulating portion as a guide portion is provided. Hereinafter, this circumferential direction restricting protrusion is referred to as a detent rib 342a. The rotation prevention rib 342a and the slide guide 361 are integrally formed with the container front end side cover 34. The detent rib 342a is disposed between the two protrusions 341a located below, and is formed to project outward from the outer peripheral surface of the container front end cover 34 in the radial direction. When the toner container 32 is attached to the toner replenishing device 60, the rotation prevention rib 342a is disposed so as to enter the groove portion 77a (see FIG. 21) formed in the set cover 608 described above. The detent rib 342 a protrudes from the end surface on the downstream side in the mounting direction of the slide guide 361 and is formed integrally with the slide guide 361. Since the rotation prevention rib 342a protrudes from the slide guide 361 and is disposed at substantially the same height as the slide groove 361a, when the toner container 32 is attached to the toner supply device 60, the slide guide 361 is guided by the guide rail 75. Even if the vehicle is entered with a slight shift, the influence of the change in the position of the detent rib 342a on the groove 77a is reduced, and the detent rib 342a is likely to enter the groove 77a. Positioning in the circumferential direction can be performed.
As shown in FIGS. 22, 33, and 34, the container leading end side cover 34 is provided with an upper guide 35 that protrudes upward from the outer peripheral surface 34 b in the mounted state. The upper guide 35 is formed with an upper guide top portion 35a, an upper guide side portion 35b, and an upper guide inclined surface 35c. The upper guide top portion 35a and the upper guide side portion 35b are formed so as to extend in the longitudinal direction of the toner container 32, and are shifted downward from the upper guide top portion 35a in the circumferential direction of the container front end side cover 34. Upper guide side portions 35b are formed on both sides of the guide 35a. The upper guide inclined surface 35c is formed so as to be inclined from the upper guide top portion 35a and the upper guide side portion 35b of the toner container 32 toward the container rear end side.

  The container body 33 is formed by a biaxial stretch blow molding method. This biaxial stretch blow molding method generally comprises a two-stage process including a preform molding process and a stretch blow molding process. In the preform molding step, a test tubular preform is molded by injection molding using a resin. By the injection molding at this time, the container opening 33a, the cover claw hook 306, and the container gear 301 are formed in the mouth portion of the test tube. In the stretch blow molding process, the preform cooled after the preform molding process is heated and softened, and then blow molded and stretched.

In the container main body 33, the container rear end side is formed by the stretch blow molding process with respect to the container gear 301. That is, the pumping portion 304, the portion where the spiral protrusion 302 is formed, and the handle portion 303 are formed by a stretch blow molding process.
In the container main body 33, each part on the container tip side from the container gear 301 such as the container gear 301, the container opening 33a, and the cover claw hooking part 306 has a shape as it is an injection-molded preform, so that it is accurately molded. it can. On the other hand, since the pumping portion 304, the portion where the spiral protrusion 302 is formed, and the handle portion 303 are injection-molded and then stretched and molded in a stretch blow molding process, the accuracy of molding is a preform. It is inferior to the molding part.

Next, the nozzle receiving member 330 fixed to the container main body 33 will be described.
14 is a perspective explanatory view of the nozzle receiving member 330 viewed from the container front end side, and FIG. 15 is a perspective explanatory view of the nozzle receiving member 330 viewed from the container rear end side. 16 is a top sectional view of the nozzle receiving member 330 in the state shown in FIG. 13 as viewed from above. FIG. 17 is a side view of the nozzle receiving member 330 in the state shown in FIG. 13 (the back side in FIG. 13). FIG. Further, FIG. 18 is an exploded perspective view of the nozzle receiving member 330.

The nozzle receiving member 330 includes a container shutter supporting member 334 as a supporting member, a container shutter 332, a container seal 333 as a sealing member, a container shutter spring 336 as an urging means, and a receiving member fixing portion 337. Has been. The container shutter support member 334 includes a shutter rear end support portion 335, a shutter side surface support portion 335a as a side surface portion, a shutter support opening portion 335b as a side surface opening portion, and a receiving member fixing portion 337, and the container shutter spring 336 is formed from a coil spring. Become.
The shutter side support portion 335a and the shutter support opening 335b provided in the container shutter support member 334 are disposed adjacent to each other in the toner container rotation direction, and the two shutter side support portions 335a facing each other form a part of the cylindrical shape. It is formed, and the shape of the cylindrical shape is largely cut off at the portion (two places) of the shutter support opening 335b. With such a shape, it is possible to guide the container shutter 332 to move in the longitudinal direction in the columnar space S1 (FIG. 16) formed inside the cylindrical shape.

The nozzle receiving member 330 fixed to the container main body 33 rotates together with the container main body 33 when the container main body 33 rotates. At this time, the shutter side surface support portion 335a of the nozzle receiving member 330 serves as a transport nozzle on the toner supply device 60 side. Rotate around 611. For this reason, the rotating shutter side surface support part 335 a passes through the space immediately above the nozzle opening 610 formed in the upper part of the transport nozzle 611. As a result, even if the toner is momentarily accumulated above the nozzle opening 610, the accumulated toner is broken across the shutter side support portion 335a, so that the accumulated toner is aggregated when left, and the toner is conveyed at the time of restart. It is possible to suppress the occurrence of defects. On the other hand, at the timing when the shutter side surface support portion 335a is positioned on the side of the transport nozzle 611 and the nozzle opening 610 and the shutter support opening 335b face each other, as shown by the arrow β in FIG. Is fed into the transport nozzle 611.
In a toner container in which the conventional container gear is disposed on the opposite side of the opening in the longitudinal direction of the toner container from the powder receiving port, the toner container is loaded and unloaded, and the container gear is driven and connected to the container drive gear on the main body side. Because of this, the diameter of the position where the container gear is formed is inevitably narrow compared to other parts of the container body. Was moving.
However, in the present embodiment, the container gear 301 is drivably coupled to the container drive gear 601 at a position closer to the opening 33 a provided on one end side of the container body 33 in the longitudinal direction of the toner container 32 than the nozzle opening 610. Therefore, the transport nozzle 611 can receive the toner on the inner side of the container body 33 from the position (small diameter position) where the container gear 301 is formed, so that the toner can be delivered more smoothly than in the past.

The container shutter 332 includes a distal end cylindrical portion 332c as a closing member, a sliding portion 332d, a guide lot 332e, and a shutter removal prevention claw 332a. The distal end cylindrical portion 332 c is a portion on the distal end side of the container that is in close contact with the cylindrical opening (nozzle receiving port 331) of the container seal 333. The sliding portion 332d is a cylindrical portion that is formed on the container rear end side with respect to the front end cylindrical portion 332c, has a slightly larger outer diameter than the front end cylindrical portion 332c, and slides on the inner peripheral surfaces of the pair of shutter side surface support portions 335a. is there.
The guide lot 332e is a column that rises from the inside of the front end cylindrical portion 332c toward the rear end of the container, and is a rod that guides the container shutter spring 336 so that it does not buckle when inserted into the coil of the container shutter spring 336. Part.
The guide rod sliding portion 332g is formed with a pair of flat surfaces on both sides of the central axis of the guide rod 332e from the middle of the cylindrical guide rod 332e. Further, the container rear end side of the guide rod sliding portion 332b is broken into two to form a pair of cantilever beams 332f.
The shutter slip-off preventing claws 332a are provided at the end of the cantilever 332f on the opposite side to the standing base of the guide lot 332e, and prevent the drop of the container shutter 332 from the container shutter support member 334. It is the nail part.

As shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the front end side end of the container shutter spring 336 hits the inner wall surface of the front end cylindrical portion 332 c, and the rear end side end portion of the container shutter spring 336 hits the wall surface of the shutter rear end support portion 335. At this time, since the container shutter spring 336 is in a compressed state, the container shutter 332 receives an urging force in a direction away from the shutter rear end support portion 335 (the right direction in FIGS. 16 and 17 and the container front end direction). However, the shutter slip-off preventing claw 332 a formed on the container rear end side of the container shutter 332 is caught on the outer wall surface of the shutter rear end support 335. Accordingly, the container shutter 332 is prevented from moving in a direction away from the shutter rear end support portion 335 than in the state shown in FIGS.
Positioning is performed by the hook of the shutter slip-off preventing claw 332a with respect to the shutter rear end support portion 335 and the urging force of the container shutter spring 336. Specifically, the distal end cylindrical portion 332 c that exhibits the toner leakage preventing function of the container shutter 332 and the container seal 333 are positioned with respect to the container shutter support member 334 in the longitudinal direction. Positioning is performed in such a manner that the two come into close contact with each other, and toner leakage can be prevented.

  The receiving member fixing portion 337 has a cylindrical shape in which the diameters of the outer peripheral surface and the inner peripheral surface are gradually reduced toward the container rear end side. The diameter decreases in order from the container front end side to the container rear end side. As shown in FIG. 17, the outer peripheral surface has two outer diameter portions (outer peripheral surfaces AA and BB in order from the container front end), and the inner peripheral surface has five inner diameter portions (outer peripheral surfaces CC and DD in order from the container front end. , EE, FF, GG). The boundary between the outer peripheral surface AA and the outer peripheral surface BB is connected by a tapered surface. The boundary between the fourth inner diameter portion FF and the fifth inner diameter portion GG on the inner peripheral surface is similarly connected by a tapered surface. The inner diameter portion FF of the inner peripheral surface and the tapered surface connected to the inner surface correspond to a seal member entanglement prevention space 337b described later, and a ridge line of these surfaces corresponds to a side of a pentagonal cross section described later.

  As shown in FIGS. 16 to 18, a pair of shutter side surface support portions 335 a which are opposed to each other from the receiving member fixing portion 337 to the rear end side of the container and are in the form of a piece obtained by cutting a cylinder in the longitudinal direction protrude. . The ends of the two shutter side surface support portions 335a on the container rear end side are connected to a cup-shaped shutter rear end support portion 335 having a round hole in the center of the bottom. The two shutter side surface support portions 335a are opposed to each other to form a columnar space S1 that can be recognized by the inner wall cylindrical surface and the virtual cylindrical surface extending from the inner wall cylindrical surface. The receiving member fixing portion 337 has a fifth inner diameter portion GG from the tip as a cylindrical inner peripheral surface having an inner diameter that is the same as the diameter of the columnar space S1. The sliding portion 332d of the container shutter 332 slides on the columnar space S1 and the cylindrical inner peripheral surface GG. The third inner circumferential surface EE of the receiving member fixing portion 337 is a virtual circumferential surface that passes through the longitudinal tops of the nozzle shutter abutment ribs 337a arranged at equal intervals of 45 [°] distribution. Corresponding to the inner peripheral surface EE, a cylindrical (circular tubular) container seal 333 having a rectangular cross section (the cross section in the cross sectional views of FIGS. 16 and 17) is disposed. The container seal 333 is fixed to a vertical surface connected from the third inner peripheral surface EE to the fifth inner peripheral surface FF by an adhesive or a double-sided tape. The exposed surface on the opposite side (the right side in FIGS. 16 and 17) from the attachment of the container seal 333 forms the inner bottom of the cylindrical opening of the cylindrical receiving member fixing portion 337 (container opening).

  As shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, a seal member entanglement prevention space 337 b (a pinching prevention space) is formed corresponding to the inner peripheral surface FF of the receiving member fixing portion 337 and the tapered surface connected thereto. The seal member entanglement prevention space 337b is a ring-shaped sealed space surrounded by three different members. That is, the inner peripheral surface (fourth inner peripheral surface FF and a tapered surface connected thereto) of the receiving member fixing portion 337, the vertical surface on the application side of the container seal 333, and the sliding portion 332d from the tip cylindrical portion 332c of the container shutter 332 It is a ring-shaped space surrounded by the outer peripheral surface. The section of the ring-shaped space (the section in the sectional views of FIGS. 16 and 17) has a pentagonal shape. The angle formed between the inner peripheral surface of the receiving member fixing portion 337 and the end surface of the container seal 333 and the angle formed between the outer peripheral surface of the container shutter 332 and the end surface of the container seal 333 are both 90 °.

The function of the seal member entanglement prevention space 337b will be described. When the container shutter 332 moves from the state of shielding the nozzle receiving port 331 toward the container rear end, the inner peripheral surface of the container seal 333 slides with the tip cylindrical portion 332 c of the container shutter 332. For this reason, the inner peripheral surface of the container seal 333 is elastically deformed so as to be pulled by the container shutter 332 and move toward the container rear end.
At this time, when there is no seal member entanglement prevention space 337b and the vertical surface (the attachment surface of the container seal 333) connected from the third inner peripheral surface and the fifth inner peripheral surface GG are connected so as to be orthogonal, There is a risk of such a situation. That is, the elastically deformed portion of the container seal 333 may be caught between the inner peripheral surface of the receiving member fixing portion 337 that slides with the container shutter 332 and the outer peripheral surface of the container shutter 332. There is. When the container seal 333 is caught between the portion where the receiving member fixing portion 337 and the container shutter 332 slide, that is, between the distal end cylindrical portion 332 c and the inner peripheral surface GG, the container shutter 332 with respect to the receiving member fixing portion 337. Is locked, and the nozzle receiving port 331 cannot be opened and closed.

  On the other hand, the nozzle receiving member 330 of the present embodiment has a seal member entanglement preventing space 337b formed on the inner peripheral portion thereof. Since the inner diameter of the seal member entanglement prevention space 337b (the inner diameter of each of the inner peripheral surface EE and the tapered surface connected thereto) is smaller than the outer diameter of the container seal 333, the entire container seal 333 enters the seal member entanglement prevention space 337b. Never come. In addition, there is a limit to the region of the container seal 333 that is elastically deformed by being pulled by the container shutter 332, and is restored by the elasticity of the container seal itself before reaching the inner peripheral surface GG. This action can prevent the nozzle receiving port 331 from being opened and closed due to the container shutter 332 being locked with respect to the receiving member fixing portion 337.

  As shown in FIGS. 16 to 18, a plurality of nozzle shutter abutment ribs 337 a extend radially on the inner peripheral surface of the receiving member fixing portion 337 and adjacent to the outer periphery of the container seal 333. Is formed. As shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, in the state where the container seal 333 is fixed to the receiving member fixing portion 337, the vertical surface on the container front end side of the container seal 333 is the end portion on the container front end side of the nozzle shutter abutment rib 337a. Protrudes slightly in the longitudinal direction.

  As shown in FIG. 9, when the toner container 32 is attached to the toner replenishing device 60, the nozzle shutter collar 612 a of the nozzle shutter 612 on the toner replenishing device 60 side is urged by the nozzle shutter spring 613 to Crush the protruding part. The nozzle shutter collar 612a further enters and hits the container distal end side end of the nozzle shutter abutment rib 337a, covers the distal end side end surface of the container seal 333, and blocks from the outside of the container. Accordingly, it is possible to secure the sealing around the transport nozzle 611 at the nozzle receiving port 331 at the time of mounting, and to prevent toner leakage.

  The position of the nozzle shutter 612 in the longitudinal direction relative to the toner container 32 is determined by the rear side of the nozzle shutter spring receiving surface 612f of the nozzle shutter collar 612a biased by the nozzle shutter spring 613 abutting against the nozzle shutter abutment rib 337a. Thereby, the end surface on the container front end side of the container seal 333 and the end surface on the container front end side of the front end opening 305 (internal space of a cylindrical receiving member fixing portion 337 disposed in a container opening 33a described later), The positional relationship in the longitudinal direction with the nozzle shutter 612 is determined.

  Next, operations of the container shutter 332 and the transport nozzle 611 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 9, and 19 (a) to 19 (d). Before the toner container 32 is attached to the toner replenishing device 60, the container shutter 332 is urged by the container shutter spring 336 toward the closed position for closing the nozzle receiving port 331, as shown in FIG. The external appearance of the container shutter 332 and the conveyance nozzle 611 at this time is shown in FIG. When the toner container 32 is attached to the toner replenishing device 60, the transport nozzle 611 is inserted into the nozzle receiving port 331 as shown in FIG. When the toner container 32 is further pushed into the toner replenishing device 60, the end surface 332 h (hereinafter referred to as “container shutter end surface 332 h”) serving as the end surface of the container shutter 332 is positioned in the insertion direction of the transport nozzle 611. The end surface 611a (hereinafter referred to as “the end surface 611a of the transport nozzle”) comes into contact. When the toner container 32 is further pushed in from this state, the container shutter 332 is pushed in as shown in FIG. 19C, and the conveying nozzle 611 is moved from the nozzle receiving port 331 after the shutter as shown in FIG. It is inserted into the end support 335. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 9, the transport nozzle 611 is inserted into the container main body 33 to reach the set position. At this time, as shown in FIG. 19D, the nozzle opening 610 is in a position overlapping the shutter support opening 335b.

  Thereafter, when the container body 33 rotates, the toner pumped up by the pumping unit 304 above the transport nozzle 611 is dropped and introduced into the transport nozzle 611 from the nozzle opening 610. The toner introduced into the transport nozzle 611 is transported through the transport nozzle 611 toward the toner dropping transport path 64 by the rotation of the transport screw 614, and is dropped and supplied from the toner dropping transport path 64 to the developing device 50. Is done.

In the relationship between the toner container 32 and the toner replenishing device 60 according to the present embodiment, the transport nozzle 611 is inserted to a position penetrating the inside of the container gear 301 in the longitudinal direction of the container body 33. That is, the container gear 301 meshes with the container drive gear 601 on the opening 33 a side in the longitudinal direction of the container body 33 with respect to the nozzle opening 610. Therefore, when rotational drive is input to the container gear 301 via the container drive gear 601 in the direction A shown in FIG. 4, the force generated at the meshing position between the container drive gear 601 and the container gear 301 is In addition to the transfer nozzle 611 and the nozzle receiving member 330 extending inside the container body 33. As a result, the transport nozzle 611 and the nozzle receiving member 330 may be damaged, or a gap may be generated between the transport nozzle 611 and the nozzle receiving member 330, causing toner leakage.
Further, the toner container 32 is slid in the mounting direction Q (push-in direction) on the toner container storage unit 70, so that the transport nozzle 611 of the toner replenishing device 60 is a container shutter in the nozzle receiving port 331 of the toner container 32. The 332 is pushed open to enter the container body 33. For this reason, if the positional relationship between the two is shifted during the movement, there is a concern that the toner leaks and the conveyance nozzle 611, the container shutter 332, the nozzle receiving member 330, and the like are damaged. Therefore, it is desirable to move the center positions of the transport nozzle 611, the container shutter 332, and the nozzle receiving port 331 on the same axis as much as possible.
Further, since the rotation center of the container gear 301 is collinear with the axis of the container opening 33a (container body 33), the meshing between the container gear 301 and the container drive gear 601 is performed at a correct position without deviation. It is important to fix the radial position of the toner container 32 with respect to the toner replenishing device 60 by fitting the container opening 33a to the container setting portion 615.
For example, the positional relationship between the toner container 32 and the toner replenishing device 60 can be uniformly regulated with a guide that is long in the axial direction of the toner container 32. However, if the number of regulated directions is small, sufficient regulation is difficult. . It is also conceivable to provide a plurality of restricting portions and define the positional relationship between the toner container 32 and the toner replenishing device 60 from the beginning of installation. However, in this case, since positioning (movement restriction) is performed by a plurality of restricting portions from the initial stage of movement in the mounting direction Q (push-in direction), there is a concern that the push-in resistance increases and a problem is left in terms of operability. Is done.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the container opening 33a is configured to be fitted to a container setting unit 615 around the transport nozzle 611, and the toner container 32 is positioned with respect to the toner replenishing device 60 by fitting both of them. The configuration is such that As a result, the positional relationship between the toner container 32 and the toner replenishing device 60 is stabilized so that it is difficult to be affected by the force generated at the meshing position between the container driving gear 601 and the container gear 301.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 32, the toner container 32 is provided with a positioning means (guide part) 600 as a guide part that gradually engages and disengages from the toner replenishing device 60 side in the mounting direction Q of the toner container 32. It was. As a result, the toner container 32 can be moved toward the toner replenishing device 60 in the mounting direction Q in a state where the center positions of the transport nozzle 611 and the nozzle receiving member 330 are aligned on the same axis as much as possible. Damage to the nozzle 611 and the nozzle receiving member 330 can be prevented. The positioning means 600 is composed of a plurality of positioning portions (regulating portions) arranged in the mounting direction Q. FIG. 32 is a perspective explanatory view showing the positional relationship between the plurality of positioning units and the toner replenishing device 60. In order to avoid complexity, the configuration of the plurality of positioning units is mainly described, and the other configurations are omitted. Or it is simplified.

  The positioning means 600 positions the toner container 32 using the container tip side cover 34 that is the outer portion of the toner container 32 during the movement of the toner container 32 in the mounting direction Q on the toner container storage unit 70 (restriction of movement in a predetermined direction). ) And occupy the set position on the toner replenishing device 60, the positioning is performed using the container opening 33a of the container body 33 which is the inner shape of the toner container 32. The guide unit serving as the positioning unit 600 regulates any movement of the toner container 32 in a direction other than the mounting direction Q while the toner container 32 is moving in the mounting direction Q on the toner container storage unit 70. The toner container 32 is guided to the toner supply device 60. More specifically, when the toner container 32 is mounted on the image forming apparatus main body, the movement of the toner container 32 being mounted in a direction other than the mounting direction is regulated by the guide unit, and the opening 33 a is guided to the container setting unit 615.

  The positioning means 600 as a guide part includes a pair of slide guides 361 and 361 described above, the locking holes 339d of the container lock parts 339 and 339, a plurality of protrusions 341a (three), and a rotation prevention rib. 342a and the container opening 33a function as a positioning member. Among these, when the toner container 32 is attached to the toner supply device 60 when the slide guides 361 and 361, the respective locking holes 339d of the container lock portions 339 and 339, and the toner supply device 60 are mounted, the container tip side cover 34 is moved in the radial direction. A plurality of projecting portions 341a (three) serving as a restricting guide portion and serving as a radial restricting portion and a rotation preventing rib 342a serving as a circumferential restricting portion are integrally formed on the resin container tip side cover 34. Are arranged. The container opening 33 a is formed integrally with the container body 33.

  The order of engagement and disengagement between each positioning means and the toner replenishing device 60 is as follows. First, as shown in FIG. 38A, when the toner container 32 is placed in the groove 74 of the container receiving portion 72 of the toner container storage portion 70 and the user pushes in the mounting direction Q (installation operation), the toner container 32 is placed. Slides on the groove 74. At this time, as shown in FIG. 22, the toner container 32 moves while the upper guide side portions 35 b and 35 b of the upper guide 35 of the toner container 32 abut on the upper surface protruding portion 76 a formed on the upper surface portion 76 facing the groove portion 74. Since it is slid, it can be pushed in the mounting direction Q while restricting movement in the vertical direction Z. Further, since the movement in the vertical direction is restricted by the upper guide side portions 35b and 35b formed on both sides of the top guide 35 instead of the upper guide top portion 35a, the toner container 32 is moved in the horizontal direction during the pushing operation. Even if it is shifted, it can be surely brought into contact with the upper surface 76 side.

  On the toner replenishing device 60 side, as shown in FIG. 38B, the slide groove tip 361c as the first guide portion of the slide guides 361 and 361 is the most upstream in the mounting direction Q of the guide rails 75 and 75. Enter each side. As the slide groove tip 361 c enters the guide rail 75, the toner container 32 that has been in contact with the upper surface of the groove 74 is lifted upward. The guide rails 75 and 75 are formed on the side surfaces 74 a and 74 b of the groove portion 74 at a distance from the mounting surface 74 c of the groove portion 74. Therefore, when the slide groove tip 361c of the slide groove 361a enters the guide rail 75, rough positioning in the width direction W and the vertical direction Z perpendicular to the mounting direction Q can be performed. This state is defined as a first restricted state. FIG. 33, FIG. 34, FIG. 35, and FIG. 38 (b) are views showing the first restricted state. 33 is a side view showing the first restricted state, FIG. 34 is a view as seen from the mounting direction side with reference line X1 in FIG. 33, and FIG. 35 is a view as seen from above the apparatus with reference line X2 in FIG. A reference line X1 shown in FIG. 33 indicates the position of the end face of the container front end side cover 34, and the same position is indicated in the drawings described below.

  When the toner container 32 is further pushed in from the first restricted state in the mounting direction Q, as shown in FIG. 38C, the end surface 332h of the container shutter and the end surface 611a of the transport nozzle come into contact with each other. In the first restriction state, the width direction W and the vertical direction Z are restricted by the slide guide 361 and the guide rail 75, so that the container shutter 332 faces the transport nozzle 611 as intended, and the nozzle inlet 331. The positional relationship with the transport nozzle 611 can be ensured. By securing the positional relationship between the two, it is possible to prevent the container seal 333 from being peeled off or damaged when the container shutter 332 enters the transport nozzle 611 in a state of being displaced.

When further pushed in the mounting direction Q from this state, the second restricted state shown in FIGS. 28, 29, and 38 (d) is obtained. In this second restricted state, the container front end side of the container front end side cover 34 enters the container cover receiving portion 73. Three protrusions 341a formed at equal intervals in the circumferential direction on the outer peripheral surface of the mounting direction front end portion 34c of the container front end side cover 34 by the container front end side of the container front end side cover 34 entering the container cover receiving portion 73, The inner surface 608c of the set cover 608, which is a part of the container cover receiving portion 73, contacts from the inside. The protrusions 341a are not limited to three as long as at least three protrusions 341a are formed.
The movement of the toner container 32 is guided and the movement in the radial direction is regulated by the contact between the protrusion 341a and the inner peripheral surface 608c of the set cover 608. For this reason, in the second restricted state, the movement of the container tip side cover 34 in the radial direction with respect to the container cover receiving portion 73 is restricted by the contact of the three protrusions 341a and the inner peripheral surface 608c. That is, the radial position of the container front end side cover 34 with respect to the container cover receiving portion 73 is restricted. Note that the restriction of the position in the predetermined direction also means that the movement of the toner container 32 in the predetermined direction is restricted.
When the toner container 32 is further pushed in the mounting direction Q from the second restricted state, as shown in FIGS. 44A and 44A, the container seal 333 and the nozzle shutter collar 612a come into contact with each other. In the second restriction state, in addition to the restriction in the width direction W and the vertical direction Z by the guide rail 75 and the slide groove 361, the restriction in the radial direction by the protrusion 341a and the inner peripheral surface 608c is added. The center position with the nozzle 611 matches. Therefore, the toner container 32 is not subjected to the mounting operation in a state where the toner container 32 is inclined in the width direction W or the vertical direction Z with the contact surface between the end surface 332h of the container shutter and the end surface 611a of the transport nozzle or the slide groove 361 as a fulcrum. It is possible to prevent the nozzle 611 and the container shutter 332 from being broken and the container seal 333 from being peeled off. Further, since the force applied to the slide groove 361 accompanying the mounting operation is reduced by being distributed to the protrusions 341a, it is possible to prevent the slide groove 361 from being broken and damaged.

  When the toner container 32 is further pushed in the mounting direction Q from the state where the container seal 333 and the nozzle shutter collar 612a shown in FIGS. 44 (A) and 44 (a) are in contact with each other, as shown in FIGS. The slide groove tip portion 361c is detached from the guide rail 75, and the vertical direction Z is regulated by the slide groove center portion 361d as the second guide portion. When the toner container 32 is further pushed in the mounting direction Q from this state, the third restricted state shown in FIGS. In the third restricted state, the detent rib 342a formed on the outer peripheral surface of the front end side of the container front end side cover 34 enters the groove 77a formed in the set cover 608 as shown in FIGS. To do. For this reason, the container front end side cover 34 and the set cover 608 (container cover receiving portion 73) are integrated, and a movement restriction state in the circumferential direction by the container front end side cover 34 is added. At this time, since the vertical direction Z is restricted by the slide groove central part 361d having a larger interval in the vertical direction Z than the slide groove tip 361c, the sliding resistance during insertion is reduced, which is preferable in terms of operability. .

  When the toner container 32 is further pushed in from the third restricted state in the mounting direction Q, the fourth restricted state shown in FIGS. 42, 43, 44A and 44C is obtained. In the fourth restricted state, the three protrusions 341a of the container front end side cover 34 occupy positions facing the through holes 79a or the recesses 79b formed in the set cover 608, respectively. For this reason, since the upper protrusion 341a enters the through hole 79a or is positioned in the recess 79b, the restriction in the radial direction of the container front end cover 34 by the protrusion 341a and the inner peripheral surface 608c is released. .

  When the toner container 32 is further pushed in from the fourth restricted state in the mounting direction Q, the fifth restricted state shown in FIGS. 45, 46, and 47 is obtained. In the fifth restricted state, the tip of the container opening 33a enters the inner peripheral surface 615a (set cover 608) of the end of the container set 615, as shown in FIGS. For this reason, the container main body 33 is rotatably supported in the end inner peripheral surface 615a which becomes the positioning part of the container setting part. At this time, since the position in the circumferential direction of the container front end side cover 34 is regulated by the rotation-preventing rib 342a and the groove 77a, the container opening 33a and the container setting part 615 are in a state where the center positions thereof are aligned. Mating. Therefore, it is possible to prevent toner leakage from the container shutter 332 caused by the container opening 33a entering the container setting unit 615 in a state of being displaced. Further, when the container opening 33a enters the inner peripheral surface 615a of the end of the container setting portion, the radial restriction by the protrusion 341a is released, and thus the interference with the circumferential restriction by the detent rib 342a. Never do.

When the toner container 32 is further pushed in the mounting direction Q from the fifth restricted state, the sixth restricted state shown in FIGS. 44 (A) (e), 48, and 49 is obtained. In the sixth restricted state, the container opening 33a enters deeper into the inner peripheral surface 615a of the end of the container setting section, and the replenisher side in each locking hole 339d of the container lock sections 339 and 339 shown in FIG. The locking members 78 and 78 enter and are locked. As a result, the toner container 32 is prevented from moving in the longitudinal direction (rotational axis direction) and held in the set position.
Note that the position where the replenishing device side lock members 78 and 78 enter into the respective locking holes 339d of the container lock portions 339 and 339 is somewhat loose in the longitudinal direction. Even if there is a variation, the replenishment device side lock members 78, 78 can be surely advanced into the respective locking holes 339d of the container lock portions 339, 339 and held in the set position, and the This is preferable because an incomplete setting state of the toner container 32 can be avoided.
FIG. 44B shows the relationship between the state during the mounting operation of the transport nozzle 611 and the nozzle receiving member 330 (horizontal axis) and the regulated state of the toner container 32 (vertical axis). The horizontal axis of FIG. 44 (B) shows the contact state of the nozzle receiving member 330 to the transport nozzle 611, and (a) is at the start of movement and before the transport nozzle 611 and the nozzle receiving member 330 contact each other. (B) is a state where the end surface 332h of the container shutter is in contact with the end surface of the transfer nozzle 611a, (c) is a state where the container seal 333 and the nozzle shutter collar 621a are in contact, and (d) is a state where the container opening 33a is in contact. Shows a state of being fitted to the container setting portion 615. The vertical axis in FIG. 44 (B) regulates the movement in the radial direction, the slide guide 361 that regulates the movement in the vertical direction as the guide portion when reaching the respective states (a) to (d) on the horizontal axis. It shows which guide part of the protrusion 341a and the detent rib 342 that restricts the movement in the circumferential direction restricts the movement of the toner container 32. For example, when the container shutter end surface 332h and the conveying nozzle 611a come into contact with each other (b), the vertical movement is regulated by the slide guide 361.

  Thus, as the toner container 32 moves in the mounting direction Q with respect to the toner replenishing device 60, the toner container 32 and the toner replenishing device 60 are engaged and disengaged in stages, so that the toner container 32 and the toner replenishing device 60 are Is determined, the central positions of the transport nozzle 611, the container shutter 332, and the nozzle receiving port 331 can be stabilized. For this reason, it is possible to suppress breakage of the transport nozzle 611, the container shutter 332, and the nozzle receiving port 331, and toner leakage while improving operability during mounting.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 50 is a perspective explanatory view of the toner container 1032 according to the second embodiment. The toner container 1032 is a substantially cylindrical toner bottle. The toner container 1032 is a powder container member integrally formed with a container front end cover 34 and a container gear 1301 that are non-rotatably held in the toner container storage unit 70. The container main body 1033 is mainly comprised. As in the first embodiment, the toner container 1032 is detachable from the toner replenishing device 60 and is slidable in the longitudinal direction on the toner container storage portion 70 of the toner replenishing device 60 (FIG. 5). , See FIG.
The toner container 1032 is different from the toner container 32 described in the first embodiment in the configuration of the container main body 1033, and the other configuration is the same as that of the toner container 32. The configuration will be mainly described.

  The container main body 1033 is a cylindrical member made of resin, and contains toner as a powder developer in the inside thereof, and has a configuration in which the conveying means and a part of the conveying means have a pumping function. . Hereinafter, this configuration will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 51A is a perspective view of the nozzle receiving member 330 integrated with a pumping rib 304g corresponding to the pumping wall surface 304f (hereinafter referred to as a nozzle receiving member 1330). FIG. 51B is a cross-sectional view illustrating the relationship with the transport nozzle 611 in which the nozzle receiving member 1330 of FIG. 51C is an explanatory side sectional view of the entire toner container 1032 on which the nozzle receiving member 1330 shown in FIG. 51A is mounted. FIG. 51D is a part of the toner container 1032. It is a perspective view of the container shutter 1332.

A nozzle receiving member 1330 shown in FIG. 51 includes a pumping rib 304g as described above, and a transport blade holding portion to which a transport blade 1302 as a transport means made of a flexible material such as a resin film is fixed. It is configured integrally with 1330b.
51 includes a container seal 1333, a nozzle receiving port 1331, a container shutter 1332, and a container shutter spring 1336. The container seal 1333 is a seal member having a contact surface that faces and contacts the nozzle shutter flange 612 a of the nozzle shutter 612 held by the transport nozzle 611 when the toner container 1032 is attached to the copying machine 500 main body. The nozzle receiving port 1331 is an opening into which the transfer nozzle 611 is inserted, and the container shutter 1332 is a shutter member that opens and closes the nozzle receiving port 1331. The container shutter spring 1336 is a biasing member that biases the container shutter 1332 toward a position where the nozzle receiving port 1331 is closed.

Further, in the configuration shown in FIG. 51, the nozzle receiving member 1330 has a nozzle receiving member outer peripheral surface 1330a that is slidably fitted to the end inner peripheral surface 615a of the container setting unit on the copier 500 main body side shown in FIG. Prepare. Further, as shown in FIG. 51D, the container shutter 1332 includes a contact portion 1332a that contacts the transport nozzle 611 and a shutter support portion 1332b. The shutter support portion 1332b extends from the contact portion 1332a in the longitudinal direction of the container body 1033, and a hook portion 1332c that prevents the container shutter 1332 from dropping from the nozzle receiving member 1330 due to the bias of the container shutter spring 1336. Have. In the toner container 1032, a separate container gear 1301 is fixed to the nozzle receiving member 1330 so that the drive can be transmitted.
In this manner, a configuration in which the toner up to the pumping inner wall surface, the bridge portion, and the shutter support opening 1335b is poured into the nozzle opening 610 can be integrated.

Next, details of the toner container 1032 provided with the pumping rib 304g will be described.
As shown in FIG. 51C, the toner container 1032 includes a container front end side cover 34, a container main body 1033, a bottom lid 1035, a nozzle receiving member 1330, and the like. The container front end cover 34 is provided on the front end side in the mounting direction Q of the toner container 1032 with respect to the copying machine 500 main body, and the container main body 1033 has a substantially cylindrical shape. The bottom lid 1035 is provided on the rear end side in the mounting direction Q of the toner container 1032, and the nozzle receiving member 1330 is rotatably held by the above-described substantially cylindrical container body 1033.

  The container front end side cover 34 is provided with an exposure opening 34a (see FIG. 48) for exposing the container gear 1301 fixed to the nozzle receiving member 1330. The substantially cylindrical container body 1033 holds the nozzle receiving member 1330 in a rotatable manner, and the container front end side cover 34 and the bottom lid 1035 are fixed (by a known method such as heat welding or adhesive). The bottom cover 1035 has a rear end side bearing 1035a that supports one end of the above-described conveyance blade holding portion 1330b, and a grip portion 1303 for a user to hold when the toner container 1032 is attached to and detached from the copying machine 500 main body. Have

Next, an assembly method for assembling the container front end side cover 34, the bottom lid 1035, and the nozzle receiving member 1330 to the container main body 1033 will be described.
First, the nozzle receiving member 1330 enters the container main body 1033 from the rear end side of the container, and the nozzle receiving member 1330 is positioned so as to rotatably support the front end side bearing 1036 on the front end side of the container main body 1033. . Next, the rear end side bearing 1035a provided on the bottom lid 1035 is aligned so as to rotatably support one end of the conveying blade holding portion 1330b of the nozzle receiving member 1330, and the bottom lid 1035 is fixed to the container body 1033. To do. Thereafter, the container gear 1301 is fixed to the nozzle receiving member 1330 from the front end side of the container. After the container gear 1301 is fixed, the container front end side cover 34 is fixed to the container main body 1033 so as to cover the container gear 1301 from the container front end side.
In addition, regarding the fixation between the container main body 1033 and the container front end side cover 34, the fixation between the container main body 1033 and the bottom lid 1035, and the fixation between the nozzle receiving member 1330 and the container gear 1301, a known method (for example, heat welding, An adhesive or the like can be used.

Next, a description is given of a configuration for conveying toner from the toner container 1032 to the nozzle opening 610.
The pumping rib 304g is projected from the downstream end 1335c in the rotation direction of the shutter side support 1335a to the vicinity of the inner peripheral surface of the container body 1033 so that the rib surface is connected. The middle of the rib surface is bent at one place to be close to a curved surface. However, this configuration is not necessarily required depending on the compatibility with the toner, and a simple flat rib without bending may be used. With such a configuration, it is not necessary to form a raised portion on the container body 1033. Further, since the pumping rib 304g is erected integrally from the shutter support opening 1335b, the effect of bridging can be exhibited as in the case where the shutter side surface support portion 335a and the convex portion 304h are brought into close contact with each other. That is, when the nozzle receiving member 1330 rotates when the toner container 1032 is mounted on the main body of the image forming apparatus, the conveying blade rotates, and the toner received in the toner container 1032 is provided with the nozzle receiving member 1330 from the rear end side. It is conveyed toward the leading end. Then, the toner conveyed by the conveying blade 1302 is received by the pumping rib 304g, and is rotated to be pumped upward from below, and the toner can be poured into the nozzle opening 610 using the rib surface as a slide.

  Further, similarly to the first embodiment, the toner container 1032 according to the present embodiment is placed in the groove 74 of the container receiving portion 72 of the toner container storage portion 70, and when the user pushes in the mounting direction Q, the toner container 32. Moves on the groove 74. As the toner container 1032 moves, the container front end side cover 34 changes from the first restricted state to the fifth restricted state, and the position of the toner container is defined stepwise according to each state. And when further pushed in the mounting direction Q from the fifth restricted state to become the sixth restricted state, the container opening 1033a enters deeply into the inner peripheral surface 615a of the end of the container set portion 615 and becomes a set position, The replenishment device side lock members 78 and 78 enter the respective locking holes 339d of the container lock portions 339 and 339 and are locked. This prevents the toner container 1032 from moving in the longitudinal direction.

  As described above, the positional relationship between the toner container 1032 and the toner replenishing device 60 is defined in stages along with the movement of the toner container 1032 relative to the toner replenishing device 60 in the mounting direction Q. 611, the center position of the container shutter 332 and the nozzle receiving port 331 can be stabilized. For this reason, it is possible to suppress toner leakage while improving operability during mounting.

(Third embodiment)
In the third embodiment shown in FIGS. 53A and 53B, an IC tag (IC chip, information storage medium) 700 as an information storage device and a holding mechanism 345 in the toner container 1032 are used as a container cover. In addition to being provided on the container front end side cover 34, the toner replenishing device 60 is provided with a connector 800 as reading means for reading information by contacting the IC tag 700.
The communication method of the IC tag 700 is a contact type. Accordingly, the connector 800 is disposed at a position facing the container front end side end surface of the container front end side cover 34 on the main body side of the toner supply device 60.

  As shown in FIG. 54, the IC tag 700 has an IC tag hole 701 at a position vertically above the center of gravity of the substrate 702 in the vertical direction of the chip. An earth terminal 703 for grounding (earth) made of a metal terminal is provided on the inner diameter part and the periphery of the IC tag hole part 701. The ground terminal 703 formed on the surface of the substrate 702 is formed such that two ground terminal projecting portions 705 extend in the left-right direction of the chip with respect to the annular portion. One rectangular metal pad 710 (first metal pad 710a) is provided at a position above the IC tag hole 701 in the vertical direction of the chip. Two metal pads 710 (second metal pad 710b and third metal pad 710c) are provided at a position below the chip in the vertical direction. A protective member 720 is provided on the back surface of the substrate 702 to cover and protect the information storage unit (not shown) made of a resin material such as hemispherical epoxy.

  As shown in FIG. 53A, the IC tag 700 having such a configuration is held by a holding mechanism 345 on a vertical surface 34d which is a surface on the downstream side in the mounting direction of the container front end side cover 34. The holding mechanism 345 includes a holding portion 343 having a base for holding the IC tag 700, and a holding member 344 as a cover member that holds the IC tag 700 and is detachably fitted to the holding portion 343. The IC tag 700 and its holding mechanism 345 are disposed in a space obliquely on the right side of the container front end side cover 34 when viewed from the container front end side along the rotation axis of the toner container 32. This is a holding mechanism 345 arranged on the container front end side cover 34 using a space on the right side which becomes a dead space when the toner container 32 of another color is provided. Accordingly, it is possible to provide a compact toner replenishing device capable of arranging cylindrical toner containers 32 close to each other. Note that a container gear 301 and a container drive gear 601 on the main body side are arranged in a space on the left side of the container front end side cover 34.

  The IC tag 700 holds the metal pads 710 a to 710 c and the ground terminal 703 toward the connector 800 by sandwiching the substrate 702 between the holding portion 343 and the holding member 344 of the holding mechanism 345 having such a configuration. The

  As shown in FIGS. 53B and 55, the connector 800 includes a positioning pin 801, three main body side terminals 804, and a grounding main body side terminal 802. The three main body side terminals 804 are arranged so as to face the metal pads 710a to 710c, respectively. When the toner container 1032 is moved on the groove 74 on the toner container storage section 70 in the mounting direction Q, each pad The information is read from the IC tag 700 by touching. The positioning pin 801 is disposed so as to face the IC tag hole 701 for positioning, and the IC tag hole 701 is being moved in the mounting direction Q after the toner container 1032 is mounted on the toner supply device 60. Inserted into. The IC tag 700 and the connector 800 are positioned by inserting the positioning pin 801 into the IC tag hole 701. The grounding main body side terminal 802 is configured such that the positioning pin 801 contacts the ground terminal 703 inserted into the IC tag hole 701.

In the present embodiment, the positioning pin 801 is inserted into the IC tag hole 701 by the movement of the toner container 1032 in the mounting direction Q between the above-described fifth restriction state and sixth restriction state.
That is, before the positioning pin 801 is inserted into the IC tag hole 701, the toner container 1032 is roughly positioned in the vertical direction Z and the width direction W according to the first restriction state. In the second restricted state, the movement of the container tip side cover 34 in the radial direction with respect to the container cover receiving portion 73 is restricted by the contact of the three protrusions 341a and the inner peripheral surface 608c. That is, in the second restricted state, the toner container 32 is positioned in the width direction W, the vertical direction Z, and the radial direction. Further, in the third restricted state, the rotation preventing rib 342a enters the groove 77a formed in the set cover 608, so that the movement of the container front end side cover 34 in the circumferential direction R is restricted. In the fourth restricted state, after the restriction in the radial direction is released, in the fifth restricted state, the container opening 1033a enters the end inner peripheral surface 615a of the container setting part, thereby Positioning of the main body 1033 with respect to the toner supply device 60 is performed.

  For this reason, when the positioning pin 801 is inserted into the IC tag hole portion 701, the vertical direction, the width direction, the circumferential direction, and the radial direction are regulated. The positional relationship of 701 is stabilized. For this reason, in the present embodiment, it is possible to suppress toner leakage while improving operability during mounting, and to prevent poor contact between the IC tag 700 and the connector 800.

(Fourth embodiment)
In the present embodiment, an identification unit for identifying compatibility between each toner container side and the toner replenishing device side will be described.
Generally, for identification of compatibility, different engaging parts and engaged parts are provided for each type on the toner container side and the toner container storage part side of the toner replenishing device. If you try to install a different type of toner container in the toner container storage part, the engaging part and the engaged part will not face each other and collate so that the toner container cannot be installed in the toner container storage part. Is preventing.
A certain gap is provided between the toner container and the toner container storage portion in consideration of easy mounting. Without this gap, the mounting posture when mounting the correct toner container becomes too severe, making it difficult to mount. However, if the gap is too large, the toner container is easy to mount, but the toner container has a high degree of freedom, and there is a case where a force to mount the toner container on the toner container storage portion may be applied even if the toner container is in a wrong position. For this reason, when a toner container is mounted with a certain load or more applied, the toner container is erroneously mounted in the toner container storage portion even in a combination of the engaging portion and the engaged portion that should not be mounted inconsistently. There is.
The identification means provided in the toner container storage portion is provided in front of the mounting direction in order to identify compatibility at the initial stage of mounting. Therefore, the insertion port forming portion provided with the identification means is molded of a soft material such as resin so that the user does not touch and injure when the toner container is mounted. For this reason, the identification means provided in the insertion opening forming portion is easily bent, and even when a different type of toner container is attached, the identification means may get over the identification means and be attached to the toner container storage portion.

  If such different types of toner containers are mounted, there is a high possibility that the toner containers cannot be removed or that the engaging portion or the engaged portion as the identification means is destroyed. Even if they are different types, from the viewpoint of sharing parts, if the same toner container is used and the types are classified into different combinations of engaging parts and engaged parts, the wrong toner container is stored in the toner container storage part. If the toner cartridge is mounted, different colors and types of toner are transported depending on the toner replenishing device, which may hinder the function of each part of the image forming apparatus such as the developing device and the process cartridge.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, there is provided a restricting means for restricting the engaging portion of the toner container from moving over the engaged portion provided in the toner container housing portion. By providing this restricting means, even when an incompatible toner container is mounted in the toner container housing portion and forcibly pushed in, the engaging portion gets over the bent engaged portion and the toner replenishing device Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the wrong type of toner container from being mounted and to prevent the engaged portion provided in the toner container storage unit from being damaged.

  Hereinafter, the incompatible relationship between the toner container and the toner container storage side will be described with reference to the drawings. 59 is a perspective explanatory view showing the front end side of the toner container 32, and FIG. 60 is a bottom view showing the front end side of the toner container 32. As shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, an engaging portion 92 is formed on the lower part 34 g of the outer periphery of the container tip side cover 34 of the toner container 32. The engaging portion 92 is disposed between the pair of slide guides 361 and 361 located in the width direction W. The location of the engaging portion 92 may be the lower portion 34g of the container front end side cover 34, and is not limited between the slide guides 361 and 361. In this embodiment, the engaging portion 92 has a concave shape below the ribs 921 between the ribs 921 or the reinforcing portions 362 and 362 formed between the pair of engaging ribs 920 and 920 protruding from the outer periphery of the container front end cover 34. It is the reinforcement part groove | channel 922 mentioned later formed in a row so that it might become. The width W1 of the inter-rib grooves 921 and 921, and the presence or absence of the inter-rib grooves 921 and the reinforcing portion groove 922 are made different depending on the color, type, and model of the toner. The engagement rib 920 is disposed on the upstream side in the mounting direction (near the rear end of the toner container) with respect to the front ends 361b and 361b of the slide guides 361 and 361. Further, each engaging rib 920 is integrated by connecting an upper portion 920a thereof to the container front end side cover 34, and both side portions 920b, 920b are connected to slide guides 361, 361 integrated with the container front end side cover 34. 362 and 362 are integrated. For this reason, the component strength is higher than that in which only the upper part is integrated with the container front end side cover 34.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 61, the toner container storage unit 70 to / from which the toner container 32 is attached / detached includes a container cover receiving unit 73, a container receiving unit 72, and an insertion port forming unit 71A. .
The insertion port forming portion 71A is formed with insertion ports 71a (Y, M, C, K) through which the toner containers 32 of the respective colors pass when being installed and removed. The shape of these insertion openings 71a is similar to the appearance of the container front end side cover 34 of each color, and as shown in FIGS. Y, M, C, and K) are formed such that a certain gap is formed when the toner container is attached or detached.
Engagement ribs 90 as engaged portions that engage with the engagement portions 92 of the toner container 32 are formed upward from the respective entrance pedestal portions 71b on the entrance pedestal portions 71b that form the lower portions of the respective insertion ports 71a. Each is formed so as to protrude. Regulating ribs 93 and 93 (Y, M, C, and K) are provided on the lower side surfaces 71c and 71c of the insertion ports 71a located in the width direction W, respectively. The regulating ribs 93 and 93 (Y, M, C, and K) are respectively provided in the slide grooves 361a and 361a (see FIG. 59) of the slide guides 361 and 361 when the toner containers 32 of the respective colors are inserted into the respective insertion openings 71a. The slide guides 361 and 361 are slidable with a width that allows insertion and a protruding amount. As a result, each sliding groove 361a enters each regulating rib 93, and each engaging portion provided on the lower portion 34g of each container tip side cover 34 in a state where the vertical movement of the container tip side cover 34 is regulated. 92 engages with each of the engaged ribs 90. Since the movement in the vertical direction is restricted at this time, the toner containers 32 are prevented from being lifted upward when the engaging portions 92 and the engaged ribs 90 are engaged, and It is possible to prevent the insertion from being continued over the rib 90.

  Note that the length (groove depth) in the width direction W (see FIG. 31) of the slide groove 361a of the slide guide 361 is 2/3 or more of the length (rib height) in the width direction W of the regulating rib 93. It is preferable that the length is set to such an extent that is inserted. The length (groove depth) in the width direction W (see FIG. 31) of the groove center portion 361d is shorter than 2/3 of the length (rib height) in the width direction W of the regulating rib 93, If the groove inclined portion 361f is formed to be long, the strength of the slide guide 361 is improved, but only the tip of the restriction rib 93 is inserted into the slide groove 361a, and the restriction in the vertical direction is moderate. As a result, the rear end side of the toner container 32 is lifted from the regulating rib 93 as a base end, and even if it is inserted by mistake, it is over the engaged rib 90 and erroneous mounting occurs.

62, the regulating rib 93 (Y, M, C) provided in the insertion port 71a (Y, M, C) into which the toner container 32 (Y, M, C) is inserted is a container cover receiving portion 73. At the same height as the guide rails 75 (Y, M, C) formed on the side, the guide rails 75 are formed so as to protrude from the lower side surfaces 71c, 71c in directions opposite to each other.
On the other hand, the regulation rib 93K provided in the insertion port 71aK into which the toner container 32K is inserted shown in FIG. 63 has the same bottom surface as the guide rail 75 (K) (see FIG. 28) formed on the container cover receiving portion 73 side. The height is different between the regulation rib 93 (K) and the guide rail 75 (K), and the guide rail 75 (K) is longer. Yes. As a result, the toner container 32 (Y, M, C) formed smaller than the toner container 32 (K) is erroneously inserted into the insertion port 71 a (K) formed larger than the insertion port 71 a (Y, M, C). The guide rail 75 (K) is inserted into the slide guide 361 (Y, M, C) of the toner container 32 (Y, M, C). ) To prevent further insertion, thereby preventing erroneous mounting.

  The restriction rib 93K is formed with a small length in the height direction with respect to the slide groove 361a, but the toner container 32 is inserted into the base end of the restriction rib 93K protruding from the lower side surfaces 71c and 71c. At this time, the groove 361a is formed so as to pass through a position closer to the lower inner surface than to the upper inner surface. As a result, the gap between the lower surface of the restriction rib 93 and the lower inner surface of the slide groove 361a is reduced in a state where the restriction rib 93 has entered the slide groove 361a, so even if the toner container 32 is inserted by mistake. Further, it is possible to prevent the toner container 32 from being lifted upward, and to further prevent the toner container 32 from continuing to be inserted over the engaged rib 90.

  In addition, an upper guide top portion 35a of the upper guide 35 provided on the container tip side cover 34 of the toner container 32 is used as another restricting portion in this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 64, the upper guide top 35a abuts against the upper surface 71e of the insertion port 71A which is the upper surface of the insertion port 71A and faces the engaged rib 90 in the vertical direction, thereby restricting the vertical movement of the toner container. Is done. As a result, the toner container 32 is prevented from being lifted upward, and the insertion of the toner container 32 over the engaged rib 90 can be further prevented. The upper guide 35 is formed with an upper guide inclined surface 35c (see FIG. 22), so that when the toner container 32 is removed from the toner container storage portion 70, the upper guide inclined surface 35c has an inclined surface. Since the insertion opening forming portion 71A is moved in the removal direction along the inclination, the operability of the removal operation is good.

  Next, the relationship between the engaged rib 90 and the engaging portion 92 will be described. In the present embodiment, in the case of a compatible toner container 32 that can be attached to the insertion port 71a, as an example, as shown in FIG. 65B, the width is larger than the width W2 of the engaged rib 90 of the insertion port 71a. In the case of the incompatible toner container 32 that has the width W1 of the inter-rib groove 921 and cannot be inserted into the insertion port 71a, the width of the engaged rib 90 of the insertion port 71a as shown in FIG. The width W1 of the inter-rib groove 921 is narrower than W2.

  For this reason, when the operator inserts the toner container 32 into the insertion port 71a, first, the regulation ribs 93 and 93 shown in FIGS. 61 to 63 are formed in the slide grooves 361a and 361a of the slide guides 361 and 361 shown in FIGS. enter in. For this reason, the movement of the toner container 32 (container tip side cover 34) in the vertical direction is restricted. At this time, the operator cannot move in the mounting direction Q unless the regulating ribs 93 and 93 enter the slide grooves 361a and 361a, so that the posture of the toner container 32 is maintained in a correct posture.

  When the toner container 32 is pushed in the mounting direction Q in this restricted state, the engaging portion 92 approaches the engaged rib 90. At this time, in the case where the mounted toner container 32 is a mountable toner container 32, the width W1 of the inter-rib groove 921 of the engaging portion 92 is equal to that of the engaged rib 90 as shown in FIG. Since it is formed wider than the width W2, the movement of the toner container 32 in the mounting direction Q is not restricted, and the container front end side cover 34 is moved to the container cover receiving portion 73 by moving on the container receiving portion 72. Set.

  On the other hand, when the mounted toner container 32 is a toner container 32 that cannot be mounted, the width W1 of the inter-rib groove 921 of the engaging portion 92 is the width of the engaged rib 90 as shown in FIG. Since it is formed narrower than W2, the engaging rib 920 of the engaging portion 92 and the engaged rib 90 on the insertion port 71a side abut. Therefore, the movement of the toner container 32 in the mounting direction Q is restricted, and it is possible to prevent the incompatible toner container 32 that cannot be mounted from being mounted.

  Even if this unmountable toner container 32 is forcibly pushed in the mounting direction Q, the movement of the toner container 32 (container tip side cover 34) in the vertical direction is restricted by the slide grooves 361a and 361a and the restriction ribs 93 and 93. ing. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the engaging portion 92 from getting over the engaged rib 90, and it is possible to more reliably prevent the incompatible toner container 32 that cannot be attached from being attached.

In this embodiment, the engagement / disengagement relationship with the engaged rib 90 is restricted by the width W1 of the inter-rib groove 921 on the toner container 32 side and the presence / absence of the reinforcing portion groove 922. That is, compatibility can be determined by adjusting the width W1 with respect to the position and number of the engaged ribs 90 and the presence or absence of the reinforcing portion groove 922. It is possible to prevent the toner container from being attached to the toner supply device side (toner container storage unit 70).

A combination of the engaging portion 92 and the engaged rib 90 will be described.
As shown in FIG. 65 (a), when the width W1 of the inter-rib groove 921 of the engaging portion 92 is narrow, it cannot pass through the engaged portion formed by the two engaged ribs 90 (attachment). Impossible).
As shown in FIG. 65 (c), the rib 821 having a narrow width W1 of the engaging portion 92 can pass through the engaged rib 90 formed by one engaged rib 90 (see FIG. 65C). Can be installed).
As shown in FIG. 65 (b), the rib 921 having a wide width W1 of the engaging portion 92 passes through the engaged rib 90 regardless of one or two engaged ribs 90. (Can be installed)

Next, the form and dimension of the engaging portion 92 and the engaged rib 90 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 66 to 77. Here, the reference numerals of the rib-to-rib groove 921 and the reinforcing portion groove 922 are different for each example. 66 to 75 are views showing the form of the inter-rib groove 921 formed in the container front end side cover 34. FIG. 66, 67 (a) and 67 (b) show an example 1 in which an inter-rib groove 9211a having a width of 3 mm is provided between engagement ribs 9201a and 9201a provided in the lower part 34g of the container front end side cover 34. FIG.
68, 69 (a), and 69 (b) show an example 2 in which an inter-rib groove 921 having a width of 7 mm is provided between the engaging ribs 9202a and 9202a provided in the lower portion 34g of the container front end side cover 34. FIG.
70, 71 (a) and 71 (b) show the widths of the side surfaces 362a and 362a of the reinforcing portions 362 and 362 connected to the mounting direction formed in the slide guides 361 and 361 without the engagement rib 920. Example 3 is shown in which the groove 9213 has a width of 11 mm.
72, 73 (a), and 73 (b), the reinforcing portion 362 connected to the mounting direction formed on the slide guide 361 located on the right side in the mounting direction Q is connected to the lower portion 34g of the container front end side cover 34. Example 4 is shown in which a reinforcing portion groove 9224a of 3 mm is formed from a position offset by 9 mm from the center, and an engaging rib 9204a is formed between the slide guides 361 and 361.
74, 75 (a) and 75 (b) show the lower portion 34g of the container front end side cover 34 on the reinforcing portion 362 connected in the mounting direction formed on the slide guide 361 located on the left side in the mounting direction Q. Example 5 is shown in which a reinforcing portion groove 9225a of 3 mm is formed from a position offset by 9 mm from the center, and an engaging rib 9205a is formed between the slide guides 361 and 361. The depth of each groove was 5 mm, and the height (projection amount) of the engaged rib 90 was 2.5 mm.
FIG. 76 is an enlarged view showing the relationship between the inter-rib groove 921 and the reinforcing portion groove 922 and the engaged rib 90 having a narrower width than these grooves. FIG. 77 shows the combined relationship between the groove width and Examples 1 to 5.

(Fifth embodiment)
Next, another embodiment of the engaging portion 92 will be described with reference to FIGS. 78 to 81. This embodiment is the same as the fourth embodiment in terms of the width W1 of the inter-rib groove 921 and the presence or absence of the reinforcing portion groove 922, but the form of the engaging portion 92 in a bottom view is different. Therefore, in FIGS. 78-81, the bottom view in this embodiment is shown, and a front view and a rear view are omitted.
78 shows another form of Example 1, FIG. 79 shows another form of Example 2, FIG. 80 shows another form of Example 4, and FIG. 81 shows another form of Example 5.
In FIG. 78, 9201b and 9201b indicate engagement ribs provided on the slide guides 361 and 361, and 9211b indicates an inter-rib groove formed between the engagement ribs 9201b and 9201b.
79, reference numerals 9202b and 9202b denote engagement ribs provided on the slide guides 361 and 361, and reference numeral 9212b denotes an inter-rib groove formed between the engagement ribs 9202b and 9202b.
In FIG. 80, 9224b indicates a reinforcing portion groove formed in the reinforcing portion 362 connected to the mounting direction formed in the slide guide 361 located on the right side in the mounting direction Q, and 9204b indicates slide guides 361 and 361. The engagement rib formed between these is shown.
In FIG. 81, 9224b indicates a reinforcing portion groove formed in the reinforcing portion 362 connected to the mounting direction formed in the slide guide 361 located on the left side in the mounting direction Q, and 9204b indicates slide guides 361 and 361. The engagement rib formed between these is shown.

In the fifth embodiment shown in FIGS. 78 to 81, the engagement ribs 9201b, 9212b, 9204b, and 9205b are mounted in the mounting direction with respect to the longitudinal direction of the slide guides 361 and 361 with respect to the fourth embodiment. It extends to a position on the downstream side (closer to the tip of the toner container). That is, each of the engagement ribs 9201b, 9212b, 9204b, and 9205b is disposed so that one end thereof is positioned in the vicinity of the distal ends 361b and 361 of the slide guides 361 and 361. The end portions of the engagement ribs 9201b, 9212b, 9204b, and 9205b are arranged in the vicinity of the tip 361b of the slide guide, so that the toner container 32 enters the insertion port 71a of the insertion port forming unit 71 and is immediately The engaging ribs 9201b, 9212b, 9204b, and 9205b are engaged with the engaged rib 90. Unlike the present embodiment, when the engaging rib is provided at a position far from the tip 361b of the slide guide and close to the rear end of the toner container of the slide guide 361, the tip 361b of the slide guide exceeds the inlet pedestal 71b. In this state, the engaging rib 920 engages with the engaged rib 90 in a state where the groove 74 has entered. Since the insertion port forming portion 71 is easy to touch the operator's hand as described above, it can be made of a material that is softer and more flexible than the container receiving portion 72 and the groove portion 74 on the rear end side in the mounting direction than the insertion port forming portion 71. ing. Therefore, when the rear end side of the toner container 32 is moved in the vertical direction and pushed in the mounting direction, the contact portion of the slide guide tip 361b with the non-flexible groove 74 serves as a fulcrum, and the inlet pedestal 71b or The engaged rib 90 protruding from here is bent. If the engaged rib 90 is bent, the engaging rib 920 easily gets over the engaged rib 90, and the toner container 32 may be mounted at an incorrect position.

On the other hand, in the case of the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 82 (a), each end of the slide guide 361b is positioned on the entrance pedestal 71b without entering the groove 74. The ribs 9201b, 9212b, 9204b, and 9205b are engaged with the engaged rib 90. Therefore, when the toner container 32 is mounted, even if the toner container 32 is pushed in the mounting direction while moving the rear end side of the toner container 32 in the vertical direction, the contact between the tip 361b of the slide guide and the inlet pedestal 71b is fixed. Since the contact position is moved as a fulcrum, the engaged rib 90 bends and follows the vertical movement of the toner container 32. Therefore, each of the engagement ribs 9201b, 9212b, 9204b, and 9205b is difficult to get over the engaged rib 90, and it is possible to reliably prevent the toner container 32 from being mounted at an incorrect position.

Further, in the present embodiment, in the state of FIG. 82A, as shown in FIG. 82B, the slide groove tip portion where the space between the upper surface and the lower surface provided in the slide groove 361a of the slide guide 361 is narrow. The arrangement is such that each of the 9201b, 9212b, 9204b, and 9205b engages with the engaged rib 90 at a position where 361c sandwiches the regulating rib 93.
Accordingly, each of the 9201b, 9212b, 9204b, and 9205b is engaged with the engaged rib 90 in a state where the vertical guides of the slide guide 361 and the restriction rib 93 are more severe. Therefore, since each of the 9201b, 9212b, 9204b, and 9205b engages with the engaged rib 90 in a state where the movement of the toner container 32 in the vertical direction is restricted, each of the 9201b, 9212b, 9204b, and 9205b is engaged with the engaged rib. It is possible to reliably prevent the toner container 32 from being mounted in an incorrect position over 90.

The location of the engaged rib 90 and the location and dimensions of the rib-to-rib grooves and the reinforcing portion groove are set for each color, component, and model of the toner, and the vertical position by the slide guides 361 and 361 and the regulating rib 93 is set. By restricting the direction, it is not incompatible by simply engaging and disengaging the protrusions, but it is possible to increase the number of incompatible variations while providing operability, and more reliably prevent mounting of a toner container that cannot be mounted. be able to.
The configuration of the engaged rib 90, the engaging rib 92, and the regulating rib 93 is not applied only to the first embodiment, but the container front end cover of the toner container described in the second and third embodiments. Even when applied to the relationship between the container 34 and the container port 71a, the same effect as in the present embodiment can be obtained.

(Sixth embodiment)
In the present embodiment, another embodiment of the radial direction regulating portion for the toner supply device 60 of the toner container 32 according to the first to fifth embodiments will be described.
As shown in FIG. 83, the set cover 608 has three projections 608e protruding from the inner peripheral surface 608c toward the inside at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. When the container front end side cover 34 enters the container cover receiving portion 73, the outer peripheral surface of the container front end side cover 34 abuts on the protrusion 608e to guide the movement of the toner container 32 and perform the positioning in the radial direction. Although not shown, the container tip side cover 34 is formed with a recess so as to be able to face the protrusion 608e. When the toner container 32 is pushed into the toner supply device 60 in the mounting direction Q to a predetermined position, the recess faces the protrusion 608e. Occupy position. Thereby, the restriction in the radial direction of the container front end cover 34 by the outer peripheral surface of the container front end cover 34 and the protrusion 608e is released.

(Seventh embodiment)
In the present embodiment, another embodiment of the circumferential direction regulating portion for the toner supply device 60 of the toner container 32 described above will be described.
As shown in FIG. 84, a circumferential direction restriction groove portion serving as a circumferential direction restriction portion is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the container front end side cover 34. The circumferential restriction groove is formed from the outer peripheral surface 34b of the container front end side cover 34 toward the inside. Hereinafter, this circumferential direction regulating groove portion is referred to as a rotation preventing concave portion 342b. When the toner container 32 is attached to the toner replenishing device 60, the rotation preventing recess 342b is disposed so as to enter a plate-like protrusion 77b that is a main body side protrusion formed on the set cover 608 shown in FIG. .
Hereinafter, the order of engagement and disengagement between the positioning members and the toner replenishing device 60 in the sixth embodiment and the seventh embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 85 and 86. It is the same as that shown in FIG. 38 and FIG. 44 (A) except for the structure of 608e, the rotation stopper recess 342b and the protrusion 77b. For this reason, description here is simplified as appropriate.
As shown in FIG. 85 (a), when the toner container 32 is placed in the groove 74 of the container receiving portion 72 of the toner container storage portion 70 and the user pushes it in the attachment direction Q (attachment operation), the toner container 32 is Slide and move on the groove 74. At this time, as shown in FIG. 22, the toner container 32 moves while the upper guide side portions 35 b and 35 b of the upper guide 35 of the toner container 32 abut on the upper surface protruding portion 76 a formed on the upper surface portion 76 facing the groove portion 74. Since it is slid, it can be pushed in the mounting direction Q while restricting movement in the vertical direction Z. Further, since the movement in the vertical direction is restricted by the upper guide side portions 35b and 35b formed on both sides of the top guide 35 instead of the upper guide top portion 35a, the toner container 32 is moved in the horizontal direction during the pushing operation. Even if it is shifted, it can be surely brought into contact with the upper surface 76 side.

  On the toner replenishing device 60 side, as shown in FIG. 85 (b), the slide groove tip portion 361c as the first guide portion of the slide guides 361 and 361 is the most upstream side in the mounting direction Q of the guide rails 75 and 75. Roughly positioned in the width direction W and the vertical direction Z, respectively entering and perpendicular to the mounting direction Q (first regulation state).

  When the toner container 32 is further pushed in from the first restricted state in the mounting direction Q, as shown in FIG. 85 (c), the end surface 332h of the container shutter and the end surface 611a of the transport nozzle come into contact with each other. When further pushed in the mounting direction Q, the second restricted state shown in FIG. 85D is reached, and the distal end side of the container distal end side cover 34 enters the container cover receiving portion 73. When the distal end side of the container distal end side cover 34 enters the container cover receiving portion 73, the outer peripheral surface 34b of the container distal end side cover 34 in the mounting direction distal end portion 34c is a projection 608e provided on the inner peripheral surface 608c of the set cover 608. Contact from the inside. The movement of the toner container 32 is guided by the contact between the inner peripheral surface 608c of the set cover 608 and the protrusion 608e, and is regulated in the radial direction.

  When the toner container 32 is further pushed in the mounting direction Q from the second restricted state, the container seal 333 and the nozzle shutter collar 612a come into contact as shown in FIG. 86 (a). Further pushing in the mounting direction Q results in the third restricted state as shown in FIG. 86 (b). In the third restriction state, the slide groove tip 361c is detached from the guide rail 75, and the restriction in the vertical direction Z is restricted by the slide groove central part 361d as the second guide part. Further, a rotation-preventing concave portion 342 b formed on the outer peripheral surface 34 b on the front end side of the container front end side cover 34 enters a protrusion 77 b formed on the set cover 608. Thereby, the container front end side cover 34 and the set cover 608 (container cover receiving portion 73) are integrated, and the movement of the container front end side cover 34 in the circumferential direction R is restricted. And will not rotate together.

  When further pushed in the mounting direction Q from the third restricted state, the fourth restricted state shown in FIG. 86 (c) is reached, and the recess formed in the container front end side cover 34 occupies a position facing the protrusion 608e. For this reason, the restriction in the radial direction of the container front end cover 34 by the outer peripheral surface of the container front end cover 34 and the protrusion 608e is released.

  When the toner container 32 is further pushed in the mounting direction Q from the fourth restricted state, the fifth restricted state is reached, and the container opening 33a has an inner peripheral surface 615a at the end of the container set portion 615 as shown in FIG. 86 (d). The container main body 33 enters the (set cover 608) and is rotatably supported within the end inner peripheral surface 615a. At this time, since the position in the circumferential direction of the container front end side cover 34 is regulated by the rotation-preventing recessed part 342b and the protrusion 77b, both the container opening part 33a and the container setting part 615 are aligned in the center position. Will fit. Therefore, it is possible to prevent toner leakage from the container shutter 332 caused by the container opening 33a entering the container setting unit 615 in a state of being displaced. Further, when the container opening 33a enters the inner peripheral surface 615a of the end of the container setting portion, the radial restriction by the protrusion 341a is released, and thus the interference with the circumferential restriction by the detent rib 342a. Never do.

  When the toner container 32 is further pushed in the mounting direction Q from the fifth restricted state, the sixth restricted state shown in FIG. In the sixth restricted state, the container opening 33a enters deeper into the inner peripheral surface 615a of the end of the container setting portion, and the replenishment device side locking member 78 is inserted into the locking holes 339d of the container locking portions 339 and 339. 78 enters and is locked (see FIG. 49). As a result, the toner container 32 is prevented from moving in the longitudinal direction (rotational axis direction) and held in the set position.

  Thus, when the rotation stopper of the container front end side cover 34 has a convex shape with respect to the outer peripheral surface 34b, if an impact or force is applied to the convex portion due to dropping or the like, the rotation stopper may be damaged due to stress concentration. . However, as in the present embodiment, the rotation stopper is a rotation prevention recess 342b that is concave with respect to the outer peripheral surface 34b of the container front end side cover 34, so that the rotation stopper does not come into contact with the floor when dropped, for example. Can be prevented from being damaged.

  As described above, the first to seventh embodiments have been specifically shown. However, the present invention is merely an example of the present invention, and for example, all configurations combining the embodiments are also included in the present invention.

32 (Y, M, C, K), 1032 Toner container (powder container)
33, 1033 Container body 33a Opening (container opening)
33b Outer peripheral surface of container opening 34 Container tip side cover (container cover)
34a Gear exposed opening 34b Outer peripheral surface of container cover 34c Front end portion in mounting direction 34d Vertical surface (surface on the downstream side in mounting direction)
41 (Y, M, C, K) Image carrier 42 (Y, M, C, K) Cleaning device (photoconductor cleaning device)
44 (Y, M, C, K) Charging roller (charging means)
46 (Y, M, C, K) Image forming unit 47 Exposure device 48 Intermediate transfer belt 49 (Y, M, C, K) Primary transfer bias roller 50 (Y, M, C, K) Developing device (developing means)
51 (Y, M, C, K) Developing roller (developer carrier)
52 (Y, M, C, K) Doctor blade (Developer regulating plate)
53 (Y, M, C, K) First developer container 54 (Y, M, C, K) Second developer container 55 (Y, M, C, K) Developer transport screw 56 (Y, M, C, K) Toner concentration sensor 60 (Y, M, C, K) Toner supply device (powder supply device)
64 (Y, M, C, K) Toner drop conveyance path 70 Toner container storage (powder container storage)
71 Insert Port Forming Unit 72 Container Receiving Unit 73 Container Cover Receiving Unit 74 Groove (Container Placement Unit)
75 Guide rail 77a Groove 77b Plate-like protrusion (main body side protrusion)
78 Lock member 90 Engaged portion 78 Supply device side lock member 82 Secondary transfer backup roller 85 Intermediate transfer unit 86 Fixing device 91 Drive unit 92 Engagement unit 100 Printer unit (copier main body)
200 Paper feed unit (paper feed table)
301, 1301 Container gear (container side gear)
302 spiral projection (conveying means)
303 Handle part 304 Pumping part 304a Pumping part spiral projection 304h Projection part 304f Pumping wall surface 306 Cover claw hooking part 330, 1330 Nozzle receiving member (conveying pipe receiving member)
331, 1331 Nozzle receiving port 332, 1332 Container shutter (container opening / closing member)
333 Container seal 334 Container shutter support member 335 Shutter rear end support part 335a Shutter side support part 335b Shutter support opening 336, 1336 Container shutter spring 337 Receiving member fixing part 337a Nozzle shutter abutment rib 339 Container lock part 339a Guide protrusion 339a1 Guide inclined surface 339b Guide groove 339c Passing over part 339d Locking hole (axial restriction part)
339e 1st contact surface 339f 2nd contact surface 340 Cover claw part 341a Protrusion part (guide part, radial direction regulation part, radial direction positioning part)
342a Non-rotating rib (guide portion, circumferential direction regulating portion, circumferential direction regulating projection)
342b Non-rotating recess (guide portion, circumferential restriction groove)
344 Holding member 361 Slide guide (guide unit, vertical direction regulating unit)
361A Upper guide part 361B Lower guide part 361c Slide groove tip part (first guide part)
351d Slide groove center part (second guide part)
400 Scanner unit (document reading unit)
500 Copying machine (image forming device)
600 Positioning means (guide section)
601 Container drive gear (Body side gear)
605 Transfer screw gear 608 Set cover 608c Set cover inner surface (inner peripheral surface of container cover receiving portion)
610 Nozzle opening (powder receiving port)
611 Conveying nozzle (conveying pipe)
612 Nozzle shutter (powder receiving opening / closing member)
612a collar (nozzle shutter collar)
612f Nozzle shutter spring receiving surface 613 Nozzle shutter spring 614 Conveying screw 615 Container set part (container receiving part)
615a End inner peripheral surface 615b End surface 700 Information storage medium 701 Hole 781 Shaft 782 Torsion coil spring 783 Pin 800 Reading means 804 Terminal H1, H2, H3 Distance between upper guide portion and lower guide portion L Laser light P Recording medium Q Mounting direction G Developer

JP 2012-133349 A

Claims (25)

A powder container containing powder for image formation is attached,
A conveying tube through which powder is conveyed;
A powder receiving port provided in the transfer pipe and receiving powder from the powder container;
A main body side gear for transmitting a driving force to the powder container;
A container receiving portion disposed around the transport pipe and receiving the powder container;
In a powder container that can be attached to an image forming apparatus comprising:
An opening provided at one end in the longitudinal direction;
A transport pipe receiving member disposed in the opening and capable of receiving the transport pipe;
Conveying means for conveying the powder to a powder receiving port by rotating;
A container-side gear provided near the opening and capable of driving the conveying means by meshing with the body-side gear;
The container side gear is arranged to be able to mesh with the main body side gear on the opening side of the powder receiving port in the longitudinal direction,
The powder container according to claim 1, wherein the opening can be fitted into the container receiving portion. In a powder container that contains powder for image formation and can be attached to an image forming apparatus,
An opening provided at one end in the longitudinal direction;
A transfer pipe receiving member disposed in the opening and capable of receiving a powder transfer pipe provided in the image forming apparatus main body;
It is provided in the vicinity of the opening for conveying the powder by rotating toward a powder receiving port for receiving the powder from the powder container disposed in the powder conveying tube, and the opening. A container side gear capable of driving the conveying means by meshing with the main body side gear for transmitting a driving force to the powder container in the opening side of the powder receiving port in the longitudinal direction;
The powder container is characterized in that the opening is fitted around the container receiving part that is disposed around the powder transport pipe and receives the powder container.   When the powder container is attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus, as a guide part that enables guidance of the opening to the container receiving part, a circumferential direction restricting part, a vertical direction restricting part, a radial direction 3. The powder container according to claim 1, further comprising at least one of a restricting portion or a longitudinal restricting portion. A container cover provided with a gear exposure opening for exposing the container side gear;
4. The powder according to claim 3, wherein the circumferential direction restricting portion enables restriction of movement of the container cover in the circumferential direction when the powder container is attached to the image forming apparatus main body. Containment container.   The powder container according to claim 4, wherein the guide portion is formed on the container cover.   The circumferential direction regulating portion is a circumferential direction regulating projection protruding from an outer peripheral surface on the opening side in the longitudinal direction of the powder container, and the circumferential direction regulating projection is provided on the image forming apparatus main body. The powder container according to claim 3, 4 or 5, wherein the container can enter the groove portion.   The powder container according to any one of claims 3 to 6, wherein the circumferential direction restricting protrusion is formed so as to protrude from an end portion of the vertical direction restricting part.   The said circumferential direction control protrusion part is protruded and formed in the said mounting direction from the mounting direction downstream end surface of the said powder container in the said vertical direction control part, The any one of Claim 3 thru | or 7 characterized by the above-mentioned. The powder container according to item.   The powder container according to any one of claims 3 to 8, wherein the circumferential-direction restricting protrusion is formed to protrude radially outward from an outer peripheral surface of the powder container. container.   The circumferential direction restriction portion is a circumferential direction restriction groove portion formed inward from an outer peripheral surface on the opening side in the longitudinal direction of the powder container, and the circumferential direction restriction groove portion is the image forming apparatus main body. The powder container according to claim 3, 4 or 5, wherein the powder container can be engaged with a main body side protruding portion provided on the body.   11. The vertical direction restricting portion enables movement restriction in a vertical direction of the powder container when the powder container is attached to the image forming apparatus main body. The powder container according to any one of the above.   When the powder container is attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus, the vertical direction restricting portion is configured to be capable of restricting movement in the vertical direction by a guide rail provided on the main body of the image forming apparatus. The powder container according to any one of claims 3 to 11, wherein: The vertical direction restricting portion has a slide guide composed of an upper guide portion and a lower guide portion extending along the longitudinal direction of the powder container.
13. The vertical movement of the powder container can be restricted by sandwiching a guide rail provided in the main body of the image forming apparatus between the upper guide portion and the lower guide portion. The powder container according to any one of the above.   The space between the upper guide portion and the lower guide portion is formed so that the downstream side in the mounting direction of the powder container is narrower than the upstream side. Powder container. The vertical direction restricting portion has an upper guide that protrudes upward from an outer peripheral surface of the powder container in the mounted state of the image forming apparatus of the powder container ,
The vertical movement can be restricted by the upper guide coming into contact with a protrusion formed to protrude downward from the main body of the image forming apparatus. , the powder container according to any one of 14.   The radial direction restricting portion enables movement of the powder containing container in a radial direction when the powder containing container is attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus. The powder container according to any one of 3 to 15.   The radial direction restricting portion is a protruding portion protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the powder container, and the protruding portion comes into contact with the inner peripheral surface of the powder container storing portion of the image forming apparatus main body. The powder container according to claim 16, wherein movement restriction in the radial direction of the body container is enabled.   18. The powder container according to claim 17, wherein at least three projecting portions projecting from the outer peripheral surface of the powder container are formed at a front end portion of the powder container in the mounting direction.   19. The powder according to claim 17, wherein three protrusions protruding from the outer peripheral surface of the powder container are formed at equal intervals at a tip portion in the mounting direction of the powder container. Containment container.   The longitudinal direction restricting portion is configured to allow movement restriction in the longitudinal direction of the powder container when the powder container is attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus. The powder container according to any one of 3 to 19.   The longitudinal direction restricting portion is a locking hole provided in an outer peripheral surface of the powder container, and the powder is formed by engaging the locking hole with a lock member provided in the image forming apparatus main body. 21. The powder container according to claim 20, wherein movement of the container in the longitudinal direction can be restricted.   The radial positioning of the powder container is performed by bringing an outer peripheral surface of the container opening of the powder container into contact with an inner peripheral surface of an end of the container receiving unit. The powder container according to any one of 1 to 21.   23. The information storage medium according to any one of claims 1 to 22, wherein an information storage medium for storing information on the powder container is provided on a surface on the downstream side in the mounting direction of the powder container. Powder container.   The information storage medium has a hole having a terminal on its inner diameter, and when the powder container is attached to the image forming apparatus main body, a positioning pin provided on the image forming apparatus main body is a hole. The powder container according to claim 23, wherein the information storage medium can be positioned by being inserted into the container. A powder container according to any one of claims 1 to 24;
An image forming unit that forms an image on an image carrier using powder conveyed from the powder container;
An image forming apparatus comprising:

Images