JP5589010B2 - Toner container and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a toner container including a container main body that stores toner, and an image forming apparatus including the toner container.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, development processing is performed by supplying toner from a developing unit to an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of a photosensitive drum or the like. In addition, toner used for such development processing is supplied to a developing device from a toner container such as a toner container or an intermediate hopper. The toner container includes a container main body that contains toner, and the container main body is provided with a discharge port for discharging the toner to the developing device.

  This discharge port is usually covered with an openable / closable shutter. For example, Patent Document 1 includes a rotatable lever (see “lever 172”) and a shutter (see “rotary shutter 80”) that rotates with the rotation of the lever to open and close the discharge port. A toner container is disclosed. Further, gears are provided on the lever side and the shutter side, respectively, and the rotation of the lever is transmitted to the shutter by engaging these gears (see FIG. 10 of Patent Document 1).

  In the toner container having such a configuration, variation occurs in the meshing position of the lever side gear and the shutter side gear due to dimensional errors and assembly errors of parts. Further, a reaction force is applied to the meshing portion of the lever side gear and the shutter side gear in a direction away from each other. For this reason, there is a possibility that the rotation of the lever and the shutter becomes heavy or the gear skips. As countermeasures, there are known configurations in which the thickness of the lever and the shutter is increased, or a cover that covers the fulcrum portion of the rotation of the lever and the shutter is separately provided.

JP 2006-309147 A

  However, in the configuration in which the thickness of the lever or shutter is increased, the material necessary for forming the lever or shutter increases, leading to an increase in cost. Further, in the configuration in which a cover that covers the fulcrum portion of the lever and shutter rotation is separately provided, the number of parts increases, and this also leads to an increase in cost.

  In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a toner container that can smoothly rotate a shutter with a light force while preventing an increase in cost.

  The toner container of the present invention is a toner container comprising a container main body provided with a discharge port for discharging toner, and a shutter that rotates with respect to the container main body to open and close the discharge port. One of the main body or the shutter is provided with a guide portion along the rotation direction of the shutter, and the other of the container main body or the shutter is provided with a protrusion that can be engaged with the guide portion. It is characterized by.

  By adopting such a configuration, the projecting portion is guided by the guide portion when the shutter is rotated, and it is possible to prevent the rotation direction of the shutter from deviating from a predetermined direction. Therefore, the shutter can be smoothly rotated with a light force. In addition, since it is not necessary to add another member or increase the thickness of a member such as a shutter, the cost can be reduced.

  The guide portion may be an arc-shaped hole provided in the shutter.

  By adopting such a configuration, the entire shutter can be made compact and space can be saved as compared with the case where an annular guide portion is formed on the shutter.

  The guide portion may be an annular groove provided in the shutter.

  By adopting such a configuration, the strength of the shutter can be improved as compared with the case where the hole-shaped guide portion is formed on the shutter.

  The container body may rotatably support a lever connected to the shutter via a gear, and the shutter may rotate in accordance with the operation of the lever.

  By adopting such a configuration, it becomes possible to easily open and close the discharge port of the toner container as the lever is operated.

  The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes any one of the above toner containers.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to smoothly rotate the shutter with a light force while preventing an increase in cost.

1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an outline of a printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective sectional view from the rear side showing the toner container in the printer according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective cross-sectional view from the left rear side showing a state in which the shutter is opened in the toner container of the printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a right side view illustrating a state in which a lever gripping portion is tilted backward in the toner container of the printer according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a right side view illustrating a state where a lever gripping portion is tilted forward in the toner container of the printer according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a toner container in the printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view from the lower right side showing the toner container in the printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective cross-sectional view from the left rear side illustrating a state where the shutter is closed in the toner container of the printer according to the first exemplary embodiment of the present invention. In the printer which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention, (a) is a right view which shows the state which the holding part of a lever inclines backward, (b) is an AA cross section of (a). FIG.

<First Embodiment>
First, the overall configuration of the electrophotographic printer 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an outline of a printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, the left side in FIG. 1 is the front side (front side) of the printer 1.

  The printer 1 includes a box-shaped printer main body 2. A paper feed cassette 3 for storing paper (not shown) is accommodated in the lower portion of the printer main body 2, and a paper discharge tray is disposed on the upper surface of the printer main body 2. 4 is provided. An upper cover 5 is attached to the upper surface of the printer main body 2 so as to be openable and closable in front of the paper discharge tray 4, and a toner container 6 is stored below the upper cover 5.

  An exposure unit 7 composed of a laser scanning unit (LSU) is disposed below the discharge tray 4 above the printer body 2, and an image forming unit 8 is provided below the exposure unit 7. Yes. The image forming unit 8 is rotatably provided with a photosensitive drum 10 as an image carrier. Around the photosensitive drum 10, a charger 11, a developing device 12, a transfer roller 13, and a cleaning device are provided. The apparatus 14 is disposed along the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 10 (see arrow X in FIG. 1).

  A paper transport path 15 is provided inside the printer main body 2. A paper feed unit 16 is provided at the upstream end of the conveyance path 15, and a transfer unit 17 configured by the photosensitive drum 10 and the transfer roller 13 is provided at a middle portion of the conveyance path 15. Is provided with a fixing device 18, and a paper discharge unit 20 is provided at the downstream end of the conveyance path 15. A reverse path 21 for double-sided printing is formed below the transport path 15.

  Next, an image forming operation of the printer 1 having such a configuration will be described.

  When the printer 1 is turned on, various parameters are initialized, and initial setting such as temperature setting of the fixing device 18 is executed. Then, when image data is input from a computer or the like connected to the printer 1 and an instruction to start printing is given, an image forming operation is executed as follows.

  First, after the surface of the photosensitive drum 10 is charged by the charger 11, exposure corresponding to the image data is performed on the photosensitive drum 10 by laser light from the exposure device 7 (see the two-dot chain line P in FIG. 1). The electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 10. Next, the electrostatic latent image is developed by the developing device 12 into a toner image with toner.

  On the other hand, the sheet taken out from the sheet cassette 3 by the sheet feeding unit 16 is conveyed to the transfer unit 17 in synchronization with the above-described image forming operation, and the toner image on the photosensitive drum 10 is transferred to the sheet by the transfer unit 17. Is transcribed. The sheet on which the toner image has been transferred is conveyed downstream in the conveyance path 15 and enters the fixing device 18 where the toner image is fixed on the sheet. The paper on which the toner image is fixed is discharged from the paper discharge unit 20 to the paper discharge tray 4. The toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 10 is collected by the cleaning device 14.

  Next, the details of the toner container 6 will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a perspective cross-sectional view from the rear side showing the toner container in the printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective cross-sectional view from the left rear side showing a state in which the shutter is opened in the toner container of the printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a right side view showing a state in which the lever gripping portion is tilted backward in the toner container of the printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a right side view illustrating a state in which the lever gripping portion is tilted forward in the toner container of the printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view showing the toner container in the printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the toner container from the lower right side in the printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a perspective sectional view from the left rear side showing a state where the shutter is closed in the toner container of the printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

  An arrow Fr attached to each drawing indicates the front side (front side) of the printer 1. Since FIG. 2 is a perspective sectional view from the rear side, the left-right relationship on the drawing and the actual left-right relationship are reversed. That is, the right side of the drawing in FIG. 2 is the left side of the toner container 6, and the left side of the drawing in FIG. 2 is the right side of the toner container 6.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the toner container 6 is disposed below the upper cover 5 of the printer body 2. The toner container 6 is detachably attached to the developing device 12, and when the toner is used up, the toner container 6 can be replaced by opening the upper cover 5 (see the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1). ).

  As best shown in FIG. 2, the toner container 6 includes a box-shaped container main body 22 having an open upper surface, a transport screw 23 accommodated in a rear lower portion of the container main body 22, and a substantially center of the container main body 22. A stirring paddle 24 accommodated in the container body, a lid 25 covering the upper surface of the container body 22, a lever 26 attached to the right end of the container body 22, and a transmission member disposed at the right end of the container body 22 together with the lever 26. 27 and a shutter 28 attached to the lower right end of the container body 22. The transmission member 27 is not shown except for FIGS.

  The container body 22 contains toner and has a shape that is long in the left-right direction. A toner filling port 31 is formed in the left end wall 30 of the container body 22, and the toner filling port 31 is closed by a cap 32. A main body side flange portion 33 is provided on the outer periphery of the upper end of the container main body 22.

  A cylindrical discharge duct 34 protrudes rightward from the lower right end of the container body 22, and an opening 36 is formed at the right end of the discharge duct 34. As best shown in FIG. 3, a discharge port 35 for discharging the toner is formed at the bottom of the discharge duct 34. A seal member 37 is attached to the lower outer periphery of the discharge duct 34, and a communication port 38 is formed in the seal member 37 at a position corresponding to the discharge port 35.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a cylindrical boss 42 having a communication hole 41 projects from the center of the right end wall 40 of the container body 22 toward the right side (outside). On the right surface (outer surface) of the right end wall 40 of the container main body 22, a first restriction rib 43 protrudes above the boss 42. On the right surface of the right end wall 40 of the container body 22, a second restriction rib 44 projects from the front upper side of the boss 42. A concave portion 45 is provided on the upper portion of the second restriction rib 44. A cylindrical projection 46 is provided below the first regulating rib 43 on the right surface of the right end wall 40 of the container body 22.

  As best shown in FIG. 2, the conveying screw 23 has a long shape in the left-right direction. The conveying screw 23 includes a rod-shaped rotating shaft 47 and a spiral fin 48 provided concentrically on the outer periphery of the rotating shaft 47. The left end portion of the rotation shaft 47 is pivotally supported on the left end wall 30 of the container body 22. The right side portions of the rotating shaft 47 and the spiral fin 48 are inserted into the discharge duct 34. The right end portion of the rotating shaft 47 protrudes to the right from the discharge duct 34 through the opening 36, and a conveying gear 50 is fixed to the protruding portion.

  The stirring paddle 24 is disposed on the upper front side of the conveying screw 23 and has a shape that is long in the left-right direction. The stirring paddle 24 includes a support frame 51 having a frame plate shape, and a sheet-like stirring blade 52 supported by the support frame 51. The left and right ends of the support frame 51 are pivotally supported on the left end wall 30 and the right end wall 40 of the container main body 22 via bearings 49 (refer to FIG. 3, hereinafter referred to as “bearings 49 of the stirring paddle 24”). Yes. As shown in FIG. 4 and the like, the bearing 49 of the stirring paddle 24 attached to the right end wall 40 is provided with an engagement receiving portion 53 at a position corresponding to the communication hole 41 of the boss 42.

  The stirring blade 52 is made of a synthetic resin sheet such as Lumirror (trade name), for example. As shown in FIG. 2 and the like, one side of the stirring blade 52 is fixed to the support frame 51 along the left-right direction. The stirring blade 52 is provided with a plurality of cut grooves 54.

  A lid body side flange portion 55 having a shape corresponding to the body side flange portion 33 of the container body 22 is provided at the lower end of the lid body 25, and the body side flange portion 33 and the lid body side flange portion 55 are ultrasonically welded. Thus, the container body 22 and the lid body 25 are integrated. A recess 56 is formed in the center of the lid 25 in the left-right direction.

  As shown in FIG. 4 and the like, the lever 26 includes a lever body 57 having a circular outline in a side view. The lever main body 57 includes a cylindrical small-diameter cylindrical portion 58, a cylindrical large-diameter cylindrical portion 60 provided on the outer periphery of the small-diameter cylindrical portion 58, and extends radially to connect the small-diameter cylindrical portion 58 and the large-diameter cylindrical portion 60. And four connecting portions 61. The small-diameter cylindrical portion 58 is attached to the outer periphery of a boss 42 provided on the right end wall 40 of the container body 22, whereby the lever 26 is rotatably supported by the container body 22.

  A gripping part 62 projects from the upper part of the large-diameter cylindrical part 60. The upper end of the grip portion 62 extends to the right side of the lid body 25. The gripping part 62 is regulated in the backward inclination angle by the first restriction rib 43 (see FIG. 4), and in the forward inclination angle by the second restriction rib 44 (see FIG. 5). A protruding piece 63 is provided on the upper portion of the large-diameter cylindrical portion 60 in front of the grip portion 62. As shown in FIG. 4, the protruding piece 63 is engaged with the concave portion 45 of the second regulating rib 44 in a state where the gripping portion 62 is tilted backward. A lever side gear 64 is provided on the outer periphery of the rear lower portion of the large diameter cylindrical portion 60.

  As best shown in FIG. 6, the transmission member 27 includes a disk-shaped transmission member main body 65. On the right surface (outer surface) of the transmission member main body 65, a transmission coupling 66 having a triangular prism shape in a side view is projected. An engagement piece 67 projects from the left surface (inner surface) of the transmission member main body 65. The engagement piece 67 is inserted into the communication hole 41 provided in the boss 42 of the container body 22 and is engaged with an engagement receiving portion 53 (see FIG. 4 and the like) provided in the bearing 49 of the stirring paddle 24. . As a result, the transmission member 27 and the stirring paddle 24 are connected to rotate integrally. As shown in FIG. 6, a transmission gear 68 is provided on the outer periphery of the transmission member main body 65. The transmission gear 68 meshes with the transport gear 50.

  The shutter 28 has a substantially cylindrical shape, and is rotatably mounted on the outer periphery of the discharge duct 34 of the container body 22. A discharge opening 70 is formed on the lower surface of the shutter 28. As best shown in FIG. 3, the discharge opening 70 is provided at a position corresponding to the discharge port 35 of the container body 22 and the communication port 38 of the seal member 37.

  As shown in FIG. 4 and the like, the shutter 28 has a substantially fan-shaped guide piece 71 protruding forward. The guide piece 71 is provided with an arc-shaped hole 72 (hereinafter referred to as “guide hole 72”) as a guide portion, and the protruding portion 46 of the container body 22 is engaged with the guide hole 72. Yes. The guide hole 72 is provided along the rotation direction of the shutter 28 (see arrow Y in FIG. 4).

  As best shown in FIG. 2, the shutter 28 is provided with a cylindrical bearing portion 73, and the right end portion of the rotation shaft 47 of the conveying screw 23 is pivotally supported on the bearing portion 73. A gear storage portion 74 is provided on the right side of the bearing portion 73, and the transport gear 50 is stored in the gear storage portion 74. As best shown in FIG. 7, a communication opening 75 is formed in the gear storage portion 74, and the conveyance gear 50 can be stored in the gear storage portion 74 via this communication opening 75. Yes.

  The shutter 28 is provided with a shutter side gear 76. The shutter side gear 76 meshes with the lever side gear 64 of the lever 26, and the shutter 28 rotates in the direction opposite to the lever 26 as the lever 26 rotates. An oval lock piece 77 is provided at the right end of the shutter 28. A pressing projection 78 is provided on the lower side of the shutter 28 to the right of the discharge opening 70, and a window 79 is provided above the pressing projection 78.

  When the toner container 6 is mounted on the developing device 12 and the gripping portion 62 of the lever 26 is tilted rearward (see FIG. 4), as shown in FIG. The discharge opening 70 of the shutter 28 is positioned directly below the discharge port 35 of the container body 22 and the communication port 38 of the seal member 37. That is, the shutter 28 opens the discharge port 35 of the container body 22. Therefore, the inside of the container body 22 and the developing device 12 are connected via the discharge port 35 of the container body 22, the communication port 38 of the seal member 37, the discharge opening 70 of the shutter 28, and the replenishment port 80 provided in the developing device 12. The inside is in communication.

  Further, in a state where the toner container 6 is mounted on the developing device 12 and the gripping portion 62 of the lever 26 is tilted backward (see FIG. 4), the drive connected to a driving means (not shown) such as a motor. A transmission coupling 66 of the transmission member 27 is connected to the coupling (not shown). Therefore, when the drive means (not shown) rotates, this rotation is transmitted to the transmission member 27 via the drive coupling and transmission coupling 66, and the transmission member 27 rotates. When the transmission member 27 rotates in this way, the agitation paddle 24 connected to the transmission member 27 rotates, and the toner in the container body 22 is conveyed toward the conveyance screw 23 while being agitated. Further, when the transmission member 27 rotates as described above, this rotation is transmitted to the rotation shaft 47 of the conveyance screw 23 via the transmission gear 68 and the conveyance gear 50, and the conveyance screw 23 rotates. As a result, the toner in the container body 22 is discharged from the discharge port 35 and introduced into the developing device 12.

  On the other hand, from the state where the gripping portion 62 of the lever 26 is tilted backward as described above, an operator such as a user or a serviceman tilts the gripping portion 62 of the lever 26 forward as indicated by an arrow Z in FIG. Then, the lever 26 rotates in one direction (counterclockwise in the drawing) around the boss 42 of the container body 22 (see FIG. 5). With this rotation, as indicated by an arrow Y in FIG. 4, the shutter 28 connected to the lever 26 rotates in one direction (clockwise in the drawing) with respect to the container body 22 (see FIG. 5). Along with the rotation of the shutter 28, the guide piece 71 of the shutter 28 rotates with the protrusion 46 of the container body 22 in contact with the outer periphery of the guide hole 72. Further, by the rotation of the shutter 28 described above, as shown in FIG. 8, the discharge opening 70 of the shutter 28 moves forward from directly below the discharge port 35 of the container body 22 and the communication port 38 of the seal member 37, Communication between the inside of the container body 22 and the inside of the developing device 12 is blocked. That is, the shutter 28 closes the discharge port 35 of the container body 22.

  In the present embodiment, a guide hole 72 is provided in the shutter 28, and a protrusion 46 that can be engaged with the guide hole 72 is provided in the container body 22. Therefore, the protrusion 46 is guided by the guide hole 72 during the rotation of the shutter 28 described above, and it is possible to prevent the rotation direction of the shutter 28 from deviating from a predetermined direction. Therefore, the shutter 28 can be smoothly rotated with a light force. Further, since it is not necessary to add another member or increase the thickness of the lever 26 or the shutter 28, the cost can be reduced.

  Further, since the arcuate guide hole 72 is formed in the shutter 28, the entire shutter 28 is made compact compared to the case where an annular guide groove (see the second embodiment) is formed in the shutter 28. This makes it possible to save space.

  Further, since the lever 26 connected to the shutter 28 via a gear is provided in the toner container 6, the discharge port 35 of the container body 22 can be easily opened and closed by operating the lever 26. On the other hand, since the lever side gear 64 of the lever 26 and the shutter side gear 76 of the shutter 28 are engaged with each other, there is a variation in the engagement position of the lever side gear 64 and the shutter side gear 76 due to dimensional errors and assembly errors of parts. May occur, or a reaction force in the separation direction (see arrow A in FIG. 5) may be generated at the meshing portion of the lever side gear 64 and the shutter side gear 76 when the lever 26 and the shutter 28 are rotated. Along with this, there is a risk that the rotation of the lever 26 and the shutter 28 will become heavy, and tooth skipping may occur in the lever side gear 64 and the shutter side gear 76. However, in the present embodiment, as described above, since the projection 46 is guided by the guide hole 72 when the shutter 28 rotates, the above-described problems can be reliably prevented.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the lever 26 and the shutter 28 are formed separately has been described. However, in another different embodiment, the lever 26 and the shutter 28 may be formed integrally.

  In this embodiment, the case where the shutter 28 is rotated by manually rotating the lever 26 has been described. However, in another different embodiment, the shutter 28 is moved as the toner container 6 is attached to the printer main body 2. You may comprise so that it may rotate automatically.

  In the present embodiment, the guide hole 72 is provided in the shutter 28 and the protrusion 46 is provided in the container body 22. However, in other embodiments, the protrusion 46 is provided in the shutter 28. In addition, guide portions such as guide holes 72 may be provided in the container body 22.

  In the present embodiment, the configuration of the present invention is applied to the toner container 6. However, in another different embodiment, the toner container (so-called “intermediate hopper”) interposed between the toner container 6 and the developing device 12 is used. You may apply the structure of invention.

  In the present embodiment, the case where the configuration of the present invention is applied to the printer 1 has been described. However, in another different embodiment, the configuration of the present invention is applied to an image forming apparatus other than the printer 1 such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, or a multifunction peripheral. It may be applied.

<Second Embodiment>
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 9A is a right side view showing a state in which the gripping portion of the lever is tilted backward in the printer according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. It is AA sectional drawing. Since the configuration other than the shutter 28 is the same as that of the first embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

  In the first embodiment of the present invention, the arc guide hole 72 is provided in the shutter 28. However, in the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, the shutter 28 has an annular groove as a guide portion. (Hereinafter referred to as “guide groove 81”) is provided, and the protrusion 46 provided on the right end wall 40 of the container body 22 is engaged with the guide groove 81. That is, the guide groove 81 is provided not only in the direction in which the reaction force is applied to the lever side gear 64 and the shutter side gear 76 when the lever 26 and the shutter 28 are rotated, but also on the entire circumference of the shutter 28.

  By adopting such a configuration, the strength of the shutter 28 can be improved as compared with the case where the guide hole (see the first embodiment) is formed in the shutter 28. In particular, in this embodiment, since the four annular bent portions 82 are formed in the shutter 28 along with the formation of the guide groove 81, the strength of the shutter 28 can be further improved.

1 Printer (image forming device)
6 Toner container (toner container)
22 Container Body 26 Lever 28 Shutter 35 Discharge Port 46 Projection 64 Lever Side Gear 72 Guide Hole (Guide Port)
76 Shutter side gear 81 Guide groove (guide part)

Claims (5)

A toner container provided with a container body provided with a discharge port for discharging toner, a lever rotatably supported by the container body, and a shutter that rotates with respect to the container body to open and close the discharge port Because
One of the container body or the shutter is provided with a guide portion along the rotation direction of the shutter,
The other of the container body or the shutter is provided with a protrusion that can be engaged with the guide portion ,
The container body includes a cylindrical discharge duct having the discharge port,
The lever includes a lever side gear,
The toner container according to claim 1, wherein the shutter has a shutter-side gear that meshes with the lever-side gear, has a cylindrical shape, and is rotatably mounted on the outer periphery of the discharge duct . A fan-shaped guide piece protrudes from the shutter,
The toner container according to claim 1, wherein the guide portion is an arc-shaped hole provided in the guide piece .   The toner container according to claim 1, wherein the guide portion is an annular groove provided in the shutter. The container body, the rotatably supporting said lever being connected through the shutter and the gear, any one of the preceding claims, wherein the shutter with the operating of the lever, characterized in that the rotating The toner container according to Item.   An image forming apparatus comprising the toner container according to claim 1.