JP5977662B2 - Developer container, developing device, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a developer container that contains a developer, a developing device including the developer container, and an image forming apparatus.

  A conventional developer container is detachable from the developer unit, and has a shutter that opens and closes a toner supply port provided on the lower surface of an outer cartridge for accommodating toner as a developer. The shutter is composed of a main body portion provided in the outer cartridge and a lever mounting portion protruding from the outer cartridge. A seal sponge is disposed in the vicinity of the lever mounting portion of the main body portion and contacts the inner peripheral surface of the outer cartridge. There is one that shields between the outer cartridge and the shutter by contact (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2011-118121 A

However, in the prior art, when a strong impact due to dropping or the like is applied to the shutter member, the shutter member is deformed, and the shielding between the seal sponge disposed on the shutter member and the outer cartridge as the developer container is blocked. There is a problem that the toner becomes weak and the toner leaks to the outside from between the outer cartridge and the shutter member.
An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to suppress leakage of toner from between a developer container and a shutter member.

Therefore, the present invention includes a developer container having a first opening for accommodating the developer inside and discharging the developer to the outside and a second opening formed on a side surface, and the first opening. A developer container having an openable and closable shutter member, wherein the shutter member passes through the second opening and is housed in the developer container, and from the second opening to the outside. A protruding portion that protrudes, a connecting portion between the main body portion and the protruding portion, a seal member provided over the entire circumference of the main body portion on the connecting portion side, and an operation member attached to the protruding portion. An outer peripheral surface of the seal member is in contact with an inner inner peripheral surface of the second opening of the developer container, and a plurality of ribs extending from the end portion to the connection portion are provided around the protrusion . One end of the rib is connected to the connecting portion and protrudes to the other end. The operation member has a recess that fits into the protrusion of the rib, and the recess and the protrusion are engaged to perform positioning in the circumferential direction and contact the connection portion. Thus, positioning in the insertion direction is performed .

  According to the present invention, the toner leakage from between the developer container and the shutter member can be suppressed.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing the configuration of the toner cartridge in the first embodiment. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of a toner cartridge in the first embodiment. 1 is a schematic side sectional view showing a configuration of a printer in a first embodiment. Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the image drum unit in 1st Example Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the lever attachment part in 1st Example Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the lever attachment part in 1st Example Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the lever attachment part in 1st Example The side view which shows the structure of the toner cartridge in a 2nd Example. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a configuration of a toner cartridge according to a second embodiment. Sectional drawing which shows the structure of the lever attachment part in 2nd Example

  Embodiments of a developer container, a developing device, and an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional side view showing the configuration of the printer in the first embodiment.
In FIG. 3, a printer 100 as an image forming apparatus includes an image drum unit 10 as an image forming unit that is detachably disposed, an LED (Light Emitting Diode) head 17 as an exposure apparatus, and a medium storage that stores paper. A cassette 18 as a part, a hopping roller 19 as a feeding member, a transfer belt unit 14 as a transfer part, a fixing unit 15 as a fixing device, and a discharge roller 16 as a discharge member.

  As the hopping roller 19 rotates, the paper is fed out from the cassette 18 and conveyed. The paper is sent between the image drum unit 10 and the transfer belt unit 14, and a toner image as a developer image developed in the image drum unit 10 is obtained. The toner image is transferred to the paper by the transfer belt unit 14 and the toner image is fixed to the paper by the fixing unit 15. The sheet on which the toner image is fixed is discharged out of the printer 100 by the discharge roller 16.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the image drum unit in the first embodiment.
In FIG. 4, an image drum unit 10 includes a toner cartridge 1, a developing device 9, a photosensitive drum 2 as an image carrier, a charging roller 3, a developing roller 4, a supply roller 5, a developing blade 6, A toner storage chamber 7 as a developer storage chamber and a cleaning blade 8 are included.
A toner cartridge 1 as a developer container is detachably attached to the developer 9 and accommodates toner as a developer therein.

A charging roller 3 as a charging member uniformly charges the entire surface of the photosensitive drum 2. The uniformly charged photosensitive drum 2 is exposed by the LED head 17 shown in FIG. 3 to form an electrostatic latent image.
The toner storage chamber 7 stores toner supplied from the toner cartridge 1.
The supply roller 5 as a developer supply member supplies the toner stored in the toner storage chamber 7 to the development roller 4.

The developing roller 4 as a developer carrying member develops the toner supplied by the supply roller 5 into an electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 2.
The developing blade 6 as a developer regulating member is for uniformly thinning the toner on the developing roller 4.
The cleaning blade 8 as a developer removing member removes transfer residual toner that is not transferred onto the sheet and remains on the surface of the photosensitive drum 2.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing the configuration of the toner cartridge in the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the toner cartridge in the first embodiment.
1 and 2, a toner cartridge 1 as a developer container forms a main body of the toner cartridge 1, and opens and closes an outer cartridge 21 as a developer container that contains toner therein and a toner supply port 25. A shutter 22 as a shutter member to be enabled, a lever 23 as a shutter operation member, a cap 24, a toner supply port 25 as a first opening, a shutter insertion port 26 as a second opening, and toner release The opening 28, the toner blocking portion 29, a sealing material 30 as a first opening sealing member, a sealing sponge 31 as a second opening sealing member, and a rib 32 are included.

The outer cartridge 21 forms a main body portion of the toner cartridge 1 that contains toner therein, and has a bottom portion 21 a as a cylindrical portion formed in a cylindrical shape around the toner supply port 25.
The toner supply port 25 is provided in the bottom 21a of the outer cartridge 21 and is an opening for discharging the toner to the outside.
The shutter 22 is a cylindrical toner supply port opening / closing member that opens and closes the toner supply port 25. The shutter 22 includes a main body portion 22a and a lever mounting portion 22b as a projecting portion. The main body portion 22a and the lever mounting portion 22b are They are connected by a stepped portion 27 as a connecting portion.

The lever 23 is an operation member that is attached to the lever attachment portion 22b and performs an opening / closing operation of the shutter 22, and includes a cylindrical portion 23a and a handle portion 23b.
The shutter insertion opening 26 is provided on the end surface (side surface) in the longitudinal direction of the outer cartridge 21 and is an opening for inserting the shutter 22. The shutter 22 is configured to be rotatable around the rotation shaft 41 in the outer cartridge 21 when inserted from the shutter insertion opening 26. Further, when the shutter 22 is inserted into the outer cartridge 21 through the shutter insertion opening 26, the main body portion 22 a of the shutter 22 is accommodated in the outer cartridge 21, and the lever attachment portion 22 b is the shutter insertion opening 26 of the outer cartridge 21. Protrudes outside and is exposed.

The toner opening 28 is an opening that opens the toner supply port 25 of the outer cartridge 21.
The toner blocking portion 29 is a wall portion that is formed adjacent to the toner opening 28 and closes the toner supply port 25 of the outer cartridge 21.
The sealing material 30 is a shielding member that is bonded and fixed to the toner blocking portion 29 with a double-sided adhesive tape or the like.

The seal sponge 31 is in the vicinity of the stepped portion 27, is provided over the entire circumference of the main body portion 22a of the shutter 22, and is bonded and fixed by a double-sided adhesive tape or the like, and prevents leakage of toner in the toner cartridge 1. To prevent.
The ribs 32 are provided around the entire circumference of the surface of the base surface 22bs of the lever mounting portion 22b at a predetermined interval, and a plurality of ribs 32 are provided at equal intervals and connected to the stepped portion 27. On the rib 32, a projection 33 for fixing the lever 23 is formed.

A fixing hole 35 is provided inside the cylindrical portion 23 a of the lever 23 at a position facing the protrusion 33 of the lever mounting portion 22 b of the shutter 22.
The cap 24 is a sealing member that closes the toner filling port 34 provided at the end of the shutter 22.
In the toner cartridge 1 configured as described above, when the lever 23 is operated, the shutter 22 rotates in the outer cartridge 21, and the toner supply port 25 is opened and closed by the sealing material 30 and the toner release port 28.

  5 and 6 are cross-sectional views showing the structure of the lever mounting portion in the first embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the lever mounting portion when cut along a plane extending in the direction of the rotating shaft 41 in FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the lever mounting portion when cut along a plane orthogonal to the rotation shaft 41 in FIG. 2 is arranged in the direction indicated by the arrow B in the drawing of the lever mounting portion 22b shown in FIGS.

5 and 6, the cylindrical lever mounting portion 22 b is connected to the main body portion 22 a at the step portion 27. A plurality of base surfaces 22bs on the outer peripheral surface of the lever mounting portion 22b protrude from the base surface 22bs and extend from the end of the lever mounting portion 22b to the stepped portion 27 in the direction of the rotation shaft 41 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 6, the ribs 32 are formed at equal intervals while maintaining a predetermined interval in the circumferential direction of the lever attachment portion 22b.
In the present embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 6, eight ribs 32 are formed on the base surface 22bs of the lever mounting portion 22b, and as shown in FIG. 5, the base surface of each rib 32 is formed. It is assumed that the protrusion amount T from 22bs is 2 mm.

The operation of the above configuration will be described.
The operation of the toner cartridge will be described with reference to FIG.
When the shutter 22 is attached to the outer cartridge 21 from the shutter insertion port 26 in the direction indicated by the arrow A in the figure, the main body portion 22a of the shutter 22 is installed in the outer cartridge 21, and the lever mounting portion 22b is the shutter insertion port of the outer cartridge 21. 26 is disposed at a position protruding from 26.

At this time, the toner supply port 25 of the outer cartridge 21 is sealed by the sealing material 30 disposed in the toner blocking portion 29 of the shutter 22. Further, in the vicinity of the stepped portion 27 of the shutter 22, the outer peripheral surface of the seal sponge 31 disposed in the main body portion 22 a and the inner peripheral surface of the inner side of the shutter insertion port 26 of the outer cartridge 21 abut, and the shutter insertion port 26 is sealed.
The positions of the lever 23 and the shutter 22 in the circumferential direction are such that the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 23 a of the lever 23 and the outer peripheral surfaces of the plurality of ribs 32 provided around the lever mounting portion 22 b of the shutter 22 contact each other. It is determined. The axial positions of the lever 23 and the shutter 22 are determined by abutting the lever 23 against the stepped portion 27 of the shutter 22.

Further, the fixing hole 35 of the lever 23 and the protrusion 33 disposed on the rib 32 of the shutter 22 are fitted, and the lever 23 and the shutter 22 are fixed. The toner filling port 34 of the shutter 22 is sealed by fitting the cap 24.
In the toner cartridge 1, since the plurality of ribs 32 are provided around the lever attachment portion 22b of the shutter 22 at equal intervals, the rigidity of the lever attachment portion 22b is increased. Further, since the plurality of ribs 32 are connected to the stepped portion 27, the rigidity in the vicinity of the stepped portion 27 is also increased.

Therefore, when a strong impact due to dropping or the like is applied to the shutter 22 of the toner cartridge 1, deformation near the stepped portion 27 of the shutter 22 is suppressed by the plurality of ribs 32 that are circumferentially arranged at the lever mounting portion 22 b of the shutter 22. be able to.
Since the lever mounting portion 22b of the shutter 22 of the toner cartridge 1 protrudes from the outer cartridge 21, an impact from the outside is easily applied. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a plurality of ribs 32 are arranged at equal intervals on the lever mounting portion 22b. Circumference is provided to increase the rigidity of the lever mounting portion 22b.

  As shown in FIG. 7, when an impact is applied to the lever mounting portion 22b of the shutter 22 of the toner cartridge 1 from the direction indicated by the arrow α in the drawing, the rigidity of the lever mounting portion 22b of the shutter 22 without the rib 32 is low. For this reason, it is deformed in the vicinity of the stepped portion 27, and a gap is generated between the cylindrical shutter 22 and the outer cartridge 21, and the toner in the toner cartridge 1 leaks to the outside. In this embodiment, By providing a plurality of ribs 32 around the lever mounting portion 22b of the shutter 22 at equal intervals, deformation of the shutter 22 can be suppressed, and leakage of toner in the toner cartridge 1 can be prevented.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, by providing a plurality of ribs at equal intervals around the lever mounting portion of the shutter in the toner cartridge, the rigidity of the lever mounting portion can be uniformly increased in all circumferential directions. In addition, by connecting a plurality of ribs to the stepped portion, the rigidity of the lever mounting portion in the vicinity of the stepped portion can be increased, and even when a strong impact is applied to the shutter, deformation of the shutter is suppressed. The seal sponge disposed on the shutter can be shielded without reducing the contact force of the inner peripheral surface of the inner side of the shutter insertion port of the outer cartridge, and the leakage of toner from between the outer cartridge and the shutter can be suppressed. The effect that it can be obtained.

  The configuration of the second embodiment is different from that of the first embodiment in the configuration of the lever mounting portion of the shutter. The configuration of the second embodiment will be described based on the side view showing the configuration of the toner cartridge in the second embodiment of FIG. 8, and the exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the toner cartridge in the second embodiment of FIG. . Note that parts similar to those of the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

8 and 9, the toner cartridge 101 includes an outer cartridge 21 as a main body of the toner cartridge 101, a shutter 122 as an opening / closing member, a lever 23, a cap 24, and a toner supply port as a first opening. 25, a shutter insertion opening 26 as a second opening, a toner opening 28, a toner blocking part 29, a sealing material 30, a sealing sponge 31, and a rib 132.
The shutter 122 is a cylindrical toner supply port opening / closing member that opens and closes the toner supply port 25, and includes a main body portion 122 a and a lever mounting portion 122 b, and is connected by a stepped portion 27.

  The ribs 132 are provided around the entire circumference of the lever mounting portion 122 b with a predetermined interval, and are connected to the stepped portion 27. A protrusion 33 for fixing the lever 23 is formed on the rib 132. In the rib 132 of the present embodiment, in the region facing the cylindrical bottom 21a of the outer cartridge 21 at the position where the shutter 122 closes the toner supply port 25, the interval between the plurality of adjacent ribs 132 is the region facing the bottom 21a. It arrange | positions so that it may become narrower than the space | interval of the several adjacent rib 132 in area | regions other than.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the lever mounting portion in the second embodiment, and is a cross-sectional view of the lever mounting portion when cut along a plane orthogonal to the rotation shaft 41 in FIG. In addition, the sealing material 30 shown in FIG. 9 is arrange | positioned in the direction which the arrow B in the figure of the lever attaching part 122b shown in FIG. 10 shows.
In FIG. 10, the cylindrical lever attachment portion 122 b is connected to the main body portion 122 a shown in FIG. A plurality of ribs 132 projecting from the base surface 122bs and extending in the direction of the rotary shaft 41 shown in FIG. 9 so as to continue from the end of the lever mounting portion 122b to the stepped portion 27 are formed on the base surface 122bs on the outer peripheral surface of the lever mounting portion 122b. However, a predetermined interval is formed in the circumferential direction of the lever mounting portion 122b.

  In the rib 132, the density in the direction indicated by the arrow B in the drawing, that is, the region 122d in the direction in which the toner supply port 25 and the sealing material 30 shown in FIG. It is arranged to be higher than the density in the region 122c in the opposite direction).

  In this embodiment, for example, as shown in FIG. 10, twelve ribs 132 are formed on the base surface 122bs of the lever mounting portion 122b, and the direction indicated by the arrow B in the drawing, that is, the toner supply port 25 and the seal shown in FIG. The density in the region 122d in the direction in which the material 30 is arranged (the region facing the cylindrical bottom 21a of the outer cartridge 21) is opposed to the region 122c in the direction indicated by the arrow C (the cylindrical bottom 21a in the outer cartridge 21). It is assumed that it is formed to be higher (about twice) than the density in the region other than the region), and the protruding amount T from the base surface 122bs of each rib 132 is the same as in the first embodiment. Is formed to be 2 mm.

The operation of the above configuration will be described.
The operation of the toner cartridge will be described with reference to FIG.
When the shutter 122 is attached to the outer cartridge 21 from the shutter insertion opening 26 in the direction indicated by the arrow A in the figure, the main body portion 122a of the shutter 122 is installed inside the outer cartridge 21, and the lever mounting portion 122b is the shutter insertion opening of the outer cartridge 21. 26 is disposed at a position protruding from 26.

At this time, the toner supply port 25 of the outer cartridge 21 is sealed by the sealing material 30 disposed in the toner blocking portion 29 of the shutter 122. Further, in the vicinity of the stepped portion 27 of the shutter 122, the outer peripheral surface of the seal sponge 31 disposed in the main body portion 122a abuts on the inner peripheral surface of the inner side of the shutter insertion port 26 of the outer cartridge 21, and the shutter insertion port. 26 is sealed.
The positions of the lever 23 and the shutter 122 in the circumferential direction are such that the inner peripheral surface of the cylindrical portion 23a of the lever 23 and the outer peripheral surfaces of the plurality of ribs 132 provided around the lever mounting portion 122b of the shutter 122 are in contact with each other. It is determined. The axial positions of the lever 23 and the shutter 122 are determined by abutting the lever 23 against the stepped portion 27 of the shutter 122.

Further, the fixing hole 35 of the lever 23 and the protrusion 33 disposed on the rib 132 of the shutter 122 are fitted, and the lever 23 and the shutter 122 are fixed. The toner filling port 34 of the shutter 122 is sealed by fitting the cap 24.
In the toner cartridge 101, since the plurality of ribs 132 are provided around the lever mounting portion 122b of the shutter 122 at a predetermined interval, the rigidity of the lever mounting portion 122b is increased. Further, since the plurality of ribs 132 are connected to the stepped portion 27, the rigidity in the vicinity of the stepped portion 27 is also increased.

  Further, in a region facing the cylindrical bottom portion 21a of the outer cartridge 21, that is, a region corresponding to the toner supply port 25, a plurality of ribs 132 are arranged with a narrow interval, whereby a lever mounting portion 122b on the bottom portion 21a side is provided. The rigidity is further increased. Further, the rigidity in the vicinity of the stepped portion 27 on the bottom 21a side is further increased.

  Therefore, when a strong impact due to dropping or the like is applied to the toner cartridge 101 and falls obliquely from the top of the toner cartridge 101 and from the lever 23 side, the corner of the outer cartridge 21 or the tip of the handle 23b of the lever 23 is obtained. However, the impact is first absorbed and the impact applied to the shutter 122 is reduced, and deformation in the vicinity of the stepped portion 27 of the shutter 122 is suppressed by the plurality of ribs 132 provided around the lever mounting portion 122b.

  Further, when the toner cartridge 101 falls obliquely from the lever 23 side, the bottom 21a side of the lever mounting portion 122b of the shutter 122 receives a strong impact via the lever 23. In this embodiment, the lever mounting portion Since the gap between the ribs 132 on the bottom 21a side is narrowed, deformation in the vicinity of the stepped portion 27 of the shutter 122 can be suppressed.

As described above, in the second embodiment, in addition to the effects of the first embodiment, the interval between the ribs on the bottom side of the outer cartridge in the lever mounting portion of the shutter that may receive a stronger impact is narrowed. However, by arranging with increased density, the rigidity of the entire lever mounting part and the rigidity in the vicinity of the step part can be further increased, and even when a stronger impact is applied to the lever mounting part of the shutter, The deformation of the shutter is suppressed, and the seal sponge disposed on the shutter can be shielded without reducing the contact force of the inner peripheral surface of the inner side of the shutter insertion port of the outer cartridge. An effect that toner leakage can be suppressed is obtained.
In the first and second embodiments, the image forming apparatus has been described as a printer. However, the image forming apparatus is not limited thereto, and the image forming apparatus can be a copying machine, a facsimile machine, or a combination machine (MFP) combining these. ) Etc.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,101 Toner cartridge 2 Photosensitive drum 3 Charging roller 4 Developing roller 5 Supply roller 6 Developing blade 7 Toner storage chamber 8 Cleaning blade 10 Image drum unit 21 Outer cartridge 22, 122 Shutter 22a, 122a Main part 22b, 122b Lever attaching part 23 Lever 23a Cylindrical portion 23b Handle portion 24 Cap 25 Toner supply port 26 Shutter insertion port 27 Stepped portion 28 Toner release port 29 Toner blocking portion 30 Sealing material 31 Seal sponge 32, 132 Rib 33 Projection 34 Toner filling port 35 Fixed hole 100 Printer

Claims (6)

A developer container having a first opening for accommodating the developer inside and discharging the developer to the outside and a second opening formed on a side surface; and a shutter member capable of opening and closing the first opening; A developer container comprising:
The shutter member is
A main body accommodated in the developer accommodating body through the second opening;
A protrusion protruding outward from the second opening;
A connecting portion between the main body and the protruding portion ;
A seal member provided over the entire circumference of the main body on the connection side;
An operation member attached to the protrusion ,
The outer peripheral surface of the seal member is in contact with the inner inner peripheral surface of the second opening of the developer container,
A plurality of ribs extending from the end portion to the connection portion are provided around the protrusion ,
One end of the rib is connected to the connecting portion, and a protrusion is formed on the other end.
The operating member has a concave portion that fits into the protrusion of the rib, and the concave portion and the protrusion are fitted to perform circumferential positioning, and contact with the connecting portion in the insertion direction. A developer container characterized by being positioned . The developer container according to claim 1.
The developer container, wherein the plurality of ribs provided around the projecting portion are arranged at equal intervals. The developer container according to claim 1.
The developer container includes a cylindrical portion that forms a bottom around the first opening,
The plurality of ribs provided around the projecting portion has an interval between the ribs in a region facing the bottom portion which is a part of the cylindrical portion at a position where the shutter member closes the first opening. A developer container, wherein the developer container is arranged to be narrower than the interval between the ribs outside the region. The developer container according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The protrusion is attached with a shutter operation member for rotating the shutter member,
A developer container, wherein the shutter member rotates to open and close the first opening.   A developing device comprising the developer container according to any one of claims 1 to 4.   An image forming apparatus comprising the developer container according to claim 1.

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