JP6701994B2 - Toner container and image forming apparatus including toner container - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a toner container capable of containing toner and an image forming apparatus including the toner container.

  Conventionally, there is known an image forming apparatus capable of forming an image on a sheet by using a developer containing toner. This type of image forming apparatus is provided with a toner container (toner container) for supplying toner to a developing device provided inside. The toner container is detachably attached to the main body of the image forming apparatus (see Patent Document 1). When the toner in the toner container is consumed and the toner container becomes empty, the toner container is removed from the image forming apparatus and is replaced with a new toner container containing unused toner.

  In addition, a conventional image forming apparatus includes a cleaning device that removes used toner (waste toner) remaining on the photoconductor drum after transfer, and a waste toner container that stores the waste toner removed by the cleaning device. And are provided.

  Further, the conventional toner container includes a toner discharge port for supplying the toner to the developing device and an opening/closing member (shutter member) for opening and closing the toner discharge port. For example, the toner outlet has a shape that opens downward. The opening/closing member is supported by the toner container so as to be movable between a closed position and an open position that close the toner discharge port. The opening/closing member is moved from the closed position to the open position in association with a mounting operation of mounting the toner container on the image forming apparatus. Further, the opening/closing member is moved from the open position to the closed position in association with a detaching operation of detaching the toner container from the image forming apparatus.

JP, 2008-170897, A

  By the way, when the image forming apparatus is transported with the toner container attached to the image forming apparatus, the position of the opening/closing member is displaced due to the vibration during transportation, and a minute gap is formed between the toner discharge port and the opening/closing member. There is a risk that the toner may leak and the toner may leak from the gap. Therefore, conventionally, when the image forming apparatus is shipped with the toner container mounted, a sheet-shaped sealing member that seals the toner discharge port is provided in the toner container. Since this sealing member completely seals the toner discharge port, even if vibration is applied during transportation, the toner does not leak from the toner discharge port. Such a sealing member is peeled off by the user when the use of the image forming apparatus is started.

  However, since the conventional sealing member is provided in close contact with the side surface of the toner container, the sealing member cannot be easily visually recognized and the sealing member cannot be easily grasped.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a toner container and an image forming apparatus in which a sealing member can be easily visually recognized in a toner container attached to an image forming apparatus and the sealing member can be easily peeled off. Is to provide.

A toner container according to one aspect of the present invention includes a container body, a toner discharge port, a first rotating member, an opening/closing member, a support plate, and a sealing member. The container body is capable of accommodating toner therein and is formed in a long shape. The toner discharge port is formed on the first wall surface of the container body, and discharges the toner contained in the container body to the outside. The support plate is provided on the container body and is arranged to face the first wall surface. The opening/closing member is provided in a gap formed between the first wall surface and the support plate, and is movable between a closed position that closes the toner discharge port and an open position that opens the toner discharge port. And is supported by the support plate. The sealing member is made of a flexible sheet member and seals the toner discharge port.
The sealing member is disposed between the toner outlet and the opening/closing member, and includes a closing portion that covers the toner outlet and closes the toner outlet, and a moving direction of the opening/closing member from the closing portion. An exposed portion that extends in a first direction toward a second wall surface intersecting the first wall surface of the container body and is exposed to the outside of the container body from the gap. The exposed portion is bent at a plate end portion of the support plate on the first direction side and extends in a second direction along the second wall surface, and the exposed portion extends from the extended end of the extension portion. And a handle portion that bends in a third direction away from the second wall surface.

An image forming apparatus according to another aspect of the present invention includes an apparatus main body, a developing device, and a toner container. The developing device is provided in the main body of the device. The toner container is provided so as to be attachable to a mounting portion included in the apparatus main body, and has a vertically long shape in a mounting posture mounted in the mounting portion.
The toner container includes a first toner storage portion, a toner discharge port, an opening/closing member, a support plate, and a sealing member. The first toner storage unit is configured to store the unused toner supplied to the developing device. The toner discharge port is formed on the lower surface of the casing of the first toner storage unit and is opened downward to supply the unused toner to the developing device. The opening/closing member is provided below the toner outlet and moves between a closed position that closes the toner outlet and an open position that opens the toner outlet to open and close the toner outlet. The support plate is provided in the first toner storage unit and supports the opening/closing member on the upper surface so as to be movable between the closed position and the open position. The sealing member is made of a flexible sheet member and seals the toner discharge port.
The sealing member is disposed between the toner discharge port and the opening/closing member, and includes a closing unit that covers the toner discharge port and closes the toner discharge port, and a moving direction of the opening/closing member from the closing unit. An exposed portion that extends in a first direction toward a side surface that intersects the lower surface of the housing and is exposed to the outside of the toner container from a gap formed between the lower surface of the housing and the support plate. Have. The exposed portion includes an extended portion that is bent at a plate end portion of the support plate on the first direction side and extends in a second direction along the side surface of the housing, and the extended portion. A handle portion that bends in a third direction away from the side surface of the housing from an extended end of the portion.

  According to the present invention, the sealing member of the toner container can be easily visually recognized, and it is possible to easily grasp and peel off the sealing member.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the image forming apparatus. FIG. 3 is a sectional view schematically showing the internal structure of the image forming unit included in the image forming apparatus. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a mounting portion of the toner container. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a configuration of toner containers for magenta and black. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the magenta and black toner containers. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the back side of the magenta toner container. FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the back side of the magenta toner container. FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the configuration on the front surface side of a magenta toner container. FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the configuration on the front surface side of a magenta toner container. 11 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XI-XI of FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XII-XII of FIG. FIG. 13 is a partially enlarged view showing the configuration of the back surface of the magenta toner container. FIG. 14 is a partially enlarged view showing the configuration of the mounting portion in which the magenta toner container is mounted. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the configuration of the first transport unit, which is an enlarged view of the main part XV in FIG. 11. FIG. 16: is a perspective view which shows the structure of a sealing sheet. FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure near the right end of the image forming apparatus.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate. The embodiments described below are merely examples embodying the present invention, and do not limit the technical scope of the present invention. For convenience of description, the vertical direction is defined as the vertical direction D1 when the image forming apparatus 10 can be used (the state shown in FIG. 1). Further, the front-rear direction D2 is defined with the surface into which the paper feed cassette 22 shown in FIG. Further, the left-right direction D3 is defined with reference to the front surface of the image forming apparatus 10 in the installed state.

  The image forming apparatus 10 according to the embodiment of the present invention has at least a printing function. The image forming apparatus 10 is, for example, a tandem type color printer.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a housing 11 (an example of the apparatus body). The housing 11 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole. Inside the housing 11, the constituent elements of the image forming apparatus 10 are provided. Note that FIG. 1 shows a state in which the cover on the right side surface of the housing 11 is removed.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a plurality of image forming units 15 (15Y, 15C, 15M, 15K), an intermediate transfer unit 16, an optical scanning device 17, a primary transfer roller 18, and a secondary transfer roller 19. The fixing device 20, the sheet tray 21, the paper feed cassette 22, the transport path 24, and a control board 26 that controls each part of the image forming apparatus 10 are provided. Further, the image forming apparatus 10 includes a toner container 3 (see FIG. 1) that is detachably attached inside the housing 11. In this embodiment, the image forming apparatus 10 includes four image forming units 15.

  FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the central portion of the image forming unit 15. The image forming unit 15 forms a toner image based on an electrophotographic method. As shown in FIG. 3, each image forming unit 15 includes a drum unit 31, a charging device 32, a developing device 33, and the like.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the image forming units 15 are arranged inside the housing 11 along the front-rear direction D2, and form a color image based on a so-called tandem system. Specifically, the image forming unit 15Y forms a yellow toner image. In each of the image forming units 15C, 15M, and 15B, a cyan toner image, a magenta toner image, and a black toner image are formed. The image forming unit 15Y for yellow, the image forming unit 15C for cyan, the image forming unit 15M for magenta, and the black are formed in this order from the downstream side of the moving direction (direction of arrow D10) of the transfer belt 35 of the intermediate transfer unit 16. Image forming units 15K are arranged in a line in that order.

  As shown in FIG. 3, each drum unit 31 includes a photosensitive drum 41, a drum cleaning device 42 (drum cleaning unit), a discharge guide unit 43 (see FIG. 17), and a housing 44 that supports these. The housing 44 has a long shape in the left-right direction D3. The photoconductor drum 41 holds the toner image developed by the developing device 33, and is a member formed in a cylindrical shape. The photosensitive drum 41 is rotatably supported by the housing 44.

  In each image forming unit 15, when the photoconductor drum 41 is uniformly charged to a predetermined potential by the charging device 32, the surface of each photoconductor drum 41 is irradiated with laser light based on the image data by the optical scanning device 17. It As a result, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of each photoconductor drum 41. Then, the electrostatic latent image is developed (visualized) as a toner image by the developing device 33. The toner images of the respective colors formed on the photoconductor drum 41 are sequentially superposed and transferred onto the transfer belt 35 by the respective primary transfer rollers 18. Next, the color image on the transfer belt 35 is transferred onto the printing paper by the secondary transfer roller 19. The color image transferred to the printing paper is fixed on the printing paper by the fixing device 20, and then discharged from the sheet discharge port 28 to the sheet tray 21.

  The drum cleaning device 42 removes the toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 41 after the transfer. The drum cleaning device 42 is arranged on the rear side of the photosensitive drum 41. The drum cleaning device 42 is provided for each photoconductor drum 41. Each drum cleaning device 42 includes a cleaning blade 45, which is a cleaning member, and a spiral member 46. The cleaning blade 45 and the spiral member 46 are long in the left-right direction D3. The cleaning blade 45 and the spiral member 46 are supported by the housing 44. The cleaning blade 45 has substantially the same length as the photosensitive drum 41. The tip of the cleaning blade 45 is arranged in contact with or close to the surface of the photosensitive drum 41. The spiral member 46 is a toner conveying member and has a spiral blade around its axis. The spiral member 46 is rotatably supported in the housing 44.

  When the rotational driving force is input to the support shaft of the spiral member 46, the spiral member 46 rotates. When the photosensitive drum 41 is rotated, the cleaning blade 45 removes the used toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 41 after the transfer by the primary transfer roller 18. Since the removed toner is a toner to be discarded, it is generally called waste toner. The waste toner is conveyed in one direction by the rotating spiral member 46. Specifically, the waste toner is conveyed to one side (the right side in the present embodiment) of the photosensitive drum 41 in the axial direction (longitudinal direction).

  FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view showing the structure near the right end portion of the image forming apparatus 10. As shown in FIG. 17, the discharge guide portion 43 is provided at the right end portion of the housing 44. The waste toner is guided downward by the discharge guide portion 43, and is discharged to the lower storage portion 72 (see FIG. 5) of the toner container 3 through a discharge port 431 described later. The discharge guide portion 43 will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the developing device 33 includes a housing 50, a first stirring member 52, a second stirring member 53, a developing roller 54, and the like. Toner (developer) is contained in the bottom of the housing 50, and the toner is conveyed while being stirred by the first stirring member 52 and the second stirring member 53. A supply port 56 is formed on the wall surface 51 of the housing 50 located above the first stirring member 52. The supply port 56 is formed at the right end of the wall surface 51. The toner discharged from the toner container 3 is supplied to the inside of the housing 50 through the supply port 56. The developing roller 54 draws toner from the second agitating member 53 by the built-in magnetic pole and holds the toner on the outer peripheral surface. The toner held on the developing roller 54 is attached to the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 41 due to the potential difference applied between the developing roller 54 and the photosensitive drum 41.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of toner containers 3 (3Y, 3C, 3M, 3K) are attached inside the housing 11. Specifically, four toner containers 3 are attached to each attachment portion 58 (see FIG. 4) inside the housing 11. Further, in the present embodiment, the plurality of toner containers 3 are mounted in a state of being aligned along the front-rear direction D2, and the black toner container 3K is disposed at the rearmost position.

  Each toner container 3 has an upper storage portion 71 (an example of a first toner storage portion) and a lower storage portion 72 (an example of a second toner storage portion). The upper accommodation portion 71 has an accommodation space 85 (see FIG. 6) capable of accommodating toner therein, and unused toner for replenishment is accommodated in the accommodation space 85. The lower storage portion 72 has a storage space 86 (see FIG. 6) capable of storing toner therein, and the waste toner discharged from the drum cleaning device 42 is stored in the storage space 86. With the toner container 3 mounted in the mounting portion 58, the unused toner is replenished into the developing device 33 from the upper storage portion 71 of each toner container 3. The waste toner discharged from each drum cleaning device 42 passes through the discharge guide portion 43 (see FIG. 17) and is stored in the lower storage portion 72 of the toner container 3. As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the four toner containers 3 are provided on the right side of the image forming unit 15 and inside the right side cover (not shown) of the housing 11. The toner containers 3 are provided on the right side of the housing 11 side by side in the front-rear direction D2. Details of the toner container 3 will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the intermediate transfer unit 16 is provided above the four image forming units 15, more specifically, above each photoconductor drum 41. The intermediate transfer unit 16 includes a transfer belt 35, a drive roller 36, a driven roller 37, a belt cleaning device 38 (belt cleaning unit), and a relay guide unit 39 (see FIG. 17). The primary transfer roller 18 is supported by a frame (not shown) of the intermediate transfer unit 16.

  The transfer belt 35 is an annular belt member, and is stretched around a drive roller 36 and a driven roller 37 so as to extend in the front-rear direction D2. The drum units 31 are arranged in the front-rear direction D2 along the transfer belt 35. The transfer belt 35 holds the toner image primarily transferred from the photosensitive drum 41 on its surface. When the transfer belt 35 is driven to rotate and moves in the direction of arrow D10, the toner images of the respective colors held on the respective photosensitive drums 41 are sequentially transferred to the transfer belt 35 so as to be superposed.

  The belt cleaning device 38 is provided near the fixing device 20. Specifically, the belt cleaning device 38 is provided on the upper side of the transfer belt 35 and on the rear side of the housing 11. An image forming unit 15K for black is arranged below the belt cleaning device 38. That is, of the plurality of image forming units 15, the belt cleaning device 38 is provided at a position closest to the black image forming unit 15K.

  The belt cleaning device 38 removes the used toner remaining on the surface of the transfer belt 35, and conveys the removed waste toner toward the lower container 72 of the toner container 3K. The belt cleaning device 38 includes a cleaning roller 381 that is long in the left-right direction D3, a spiral member 382 as a conveying member that conveys the waste toner, a housing 383 that stores these, and the like (see FIG. 1). The cleaning roller 381 contacts the surface of the transfer belt 35 and rotates to remove the used toner remaining on the surface of the transfer belt 35. The removed used toner (hereinafter referred to as “waste toner”) is conveyed in one direction by the rotating spiral member 382. Specifically, the waste toner is conveyed to one side (in the present embodiment, the right side) of the transfer belt 35 in the width direction (the direction corresponding to the left-right direction D3).

  As shown in FIG. 17, the relay guide portion 39 is provided at the right end portion of the housing 383. The waste toner is guided downward by the relay guide portion 39, and is conveyed to the lower storage portion 72 of the toner container 3K through the discharge guide portion 43K of the drum unit 31K located at the rearmost position. The relay guide section 39 will be described later.

  FIG. 17 is a partially enlarged view showing the sectional structure of the right end portion of the drum unit 31 of the image forming unit 15. FIG. 17 shows the cross-sectional structure of each of the magenta drum unit 31M and the black drum unit 31K. For convenience of explanation, in FIG. 17, the developing device 33 corresponding to the drum unit 31K is shown by a broken line. As shown in FIG. 17, a discharge guide portion 43M is provided at the right end of the housing 44 of the drum unit 31M. That is, the discharge guide portion 43M is provided in the drum unit 31M. It should be noted that each of the yellow and cyan drum units 31 is also provided with a discharge guide portion 43 having the same structure as the discharge guide portion 43M.

  The discharge guide portion 43M guides the waste toner removed by the drum cleaning device 42 in the drum unit 31M and conveyed to the right end portion of the housing 44 to the introduction port 114 of the lower storage portion 72 of the toner container 3M. The inner space of the discharge guide portion 43M is a passage 117 through which the waste toner passes. The discharge guide portion 43M extends obliquely downward from the upper side of the discharge guide portion 43M, and a discharge port 431 connected to the introduction port 114 is formed at the lower end thereof.

  The right end 461 of the spiral member 46 is arranged in the passage 117. The end 461 is rotatably supported by the discharge guide 43M. When the rotational driving force is transmitted to the end portion 461, the spiral member 46 rotates and the waste toner is conveyed to the passage 117 of the discharge guide portion 43M.

  In the passage 117, two paddle portions 118 and 119 are provided in a portion from the end portion 461 to the discharge port 431. The rotation shafts of the paddle portions 118 and 119 are both rotatably supported by the discharge guide portion 43M. The rotational driving force of the spiral member 46 is transmitted to each of the rotation shafts of the paddle portions 118 and 119 via a gear transmission mechanism (not shown). When the spiral member 46 is rotated, the rotational driving force is transmitted to the paddle parts 118 and 119 via the gear transmission mechanism, and the paddle parts 118 and 119 are rotated. By rotating the paddle parts 118 and 119, the waste toner carried to the passage 117 is conveyed to the discharge port 431 through the passage 117 by the paddle parts 118 and 119, and further, to the introduction port 114 and the toner container 3M. The toner is guided to the inside of the lower container 72 of the toner container 3M via the two-conveyance guide 107.

  As shown in FIG. 17, a discharge guide portion 43K is provided at the right end of the housing 44 of the drum unit 31K. That is, the discharge guide portion 43K is provided in the drum unit 31K. The discharge guide portion 43K guides the waste toner, which is removed by the drum cleaning device 42 in the drum unit 31K and is conveyed to the right end portion of the housing 44, to the introduction port 114 of the lower storage portion 72 of the toner container 3K. It has the same configuration as the discharge guide portion 43M. Therefore, the same components as those of the ejection guide portion 43M are designated by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

  The discharge guide part 43K is different from the discharge guide part 43M in that the receiving port 120 is formed on the upper surface of the discharge guide part 43K. The receiving port 120 is an opening that receives the waste toner discharged from the belt cleaning device 38. The receiving port 120 is connected to a discharge port 391 of the relay guide section 39 described later. The waste toner that has entered the receiving port 120 is guided by the discharge guide portion 43K to the introduction port 114 of the lower housing portion 72 of the toner container 3K together with the waste toner that has been discharged from the drum cleaning device 42.

  As shown in FIG. 17, a relay guide portion 39 is provided at the right end of the belt cleaning device 38. The relay guide portion 39 guides the waste toner conveyed to the right end portion of the housing 383 by the spiral member 382 in the belt cleaning device 38 to the discharge guide portion 43K. A discharge port 391 is formed in the lower portion of the relay guide unit 39, and the discharge port 391 is connected to the receiving port 120 of the discharge guide unit 43K. As a result, the waste toner discharged from the belt cleaning device 38 moves downward through the relay guide portion 39 and is guided from the discharge port 391 to the receiving port 120. The waste toner guided to the receiving port 120 is further conveyed downward by the paddle units 118 and 119 through the discharge guide unit 43K, and the discharge port 431, the introduction port 114, and the second transport guide unit of the toner container 3K. Through 107, the toner container 3K is guided to the inside of the lower housing portion 72.

  As shown in FIG. 4, four mounting portions 58 for detachably supporting the toner container 3 are provided at the right end portion of the housing 11. Each mounting portion 58 is fixed to a support plate 49 provided at the right end of the housing 11. Each mounting portion 58 has a bracket 59 for supporting each toner container 3. Each toner container 3 is detachably supported by a corresponding bracket 59.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the magenta toner container 3M will be described with reference to the drawings as appropriate. 5 and 6 show the toner container 3M and the toner container 3K adjacent thereto.

  The toner container 3K is formed to have a larger outer shape and a larger capacity than the toner container 3M in order to accommodate a large amount of black toner to be used. However, except for this point, both have substantially the same configuration. Therefore, the configuration of the toner container 3K is denoted by the same reference numeral as the configuration of the toner container 3M, and the description thereof is omitted. Further, since the toner containers 3Y and 3C have the same configuration as the toner container 3M, the description of these configurations will be omitted.

  In each drawing, the vertical direction D1, the front-rear direction D2, and the left-right direction D3 are shown based on the mounting posture when the toner container 3 is mounted on the mounting portion 58 (see FIG. 4). There is. Hereinafter, with respect to the toner container 3 in the mounting posture, the vertical direction D1 is defined as a height direction D11 of the toner container 3, the front-rear direction D2 is defined as a width direction D12 of the toner container 3, and the horizontal direction D3. Is defined as the depth direction D13 of the toner container 3.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the toner container 3M has a container body 75. The container main body 75 is a resin molded product obtained by injection molding a synthetic resin. The container body 75 is formed in a shape that is long in the height direction D11, is wide in the width direction D12, and is shallow in the depth direction D13.

  The container main body 75 includes an upper case 78 (an example of a housing of the first toner storage unit) formed on the upper side, a lower case 79 formed on a lower side, and a lid body 76 (an example of a lid member). is doing. That is, the upper case 78 is formed on one side (upper side) of the height direction D11 (longitudinal direction) of the container body 75, and on the other side (lower side) of the height direction D11 (longitudinal direction) of the container body 75. A lower case 79 is formed. In the container body 75, an upper case 78 and a lower case 79 are integrally formed. An accommodation space 85 capable of accommodating the unused toner is defined inside the upper case 78. That is, the accommodation space 85 inside the upper accommodation portion 71 is defined by the upper case 78. Further, a storage space 86 capable of storing the waste toner is defined inside the lower case 79. That is, the lower case 79 defines the storage space 86 inside the lower storage portion 72.

  An opening 81 is formed on the right side surface of the upper case 78, and an opening 82 is also formed on the right side surface of the lower case 79. The openings 81 and 82 are formed on the same surface. A flange 83 is formed on the opening edge of each opening 81, 82.

  The lid 76 is a resin molded product obtained by injection molding a synthetic resin. As shown in FIG. 5, the lid 76 covers the opening 81 and the opening 82. By covering the opening 81 and the opening 82 with the lid 76, the surface of the lid 76 (an example of the second wall surface) becomes the side surface of the container body 75. In the present embodiment, the surface of the lid 76 is orthogonal to the lower surface (an example of the first wall surface) of the later-described first transport guide portion 94. The lid 76 is a flat plate-like member, and is formed in a shape that matches the outer peripheral shape of the flange 83. The outer peripheral edge 761 and the flange 83 are welded together with the outer peripheral edge 761 of the lid 76 aligned with the flange 83.

  The opening 81 and the opening 82 are closed by the one lid 76 to configure the upper accommodation portion 71 having the upper accommodation space 85 and the lower accommodation portion 72 having the lower accommodation space 86. To be done.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 12, the lower container 72 of the toner container 3M is larger in size in the depth direction D13 than the upper container 71. That is, the size of the lower container 72 of the toner container 3M in the depth direction D13 is larger than the size of the upper container 71 in the depth direction D13. The size of the upper accommodation portion 71 in the height direction D11 is larger than the size of the lower accommodation portion 72 in the height direction D11, and the size in the width direction D12 is substantially the same.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the upper accommodation portion 71 has a stirring member 91 and a first transport portion 92. Specifically, a paddle-shaped stirring member 91 is provided inside the upper accommodation space 85. The stirring member 91 is supported by the upper case 78 so as to be rotatable inside the accommodation space 85. The first transport unit 92 is for transporting the toner inside the accommodation space 85 to the developing device 33.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the first transport unit 92 is provided below the wall surface 781 (an example of the third wall surface) on the left side of the upper case 78. The first transport portion 92 is a cylindrical first transport guide portion 94 (an example of a toner guide portion) that extends outward from the wall surface 781 of the upper case 78, and a spiral provided inside the first transport guide portion 94. And a member 95 (see FIG. 11). That is, the first transport guide portion 94 is provided below the wall surface 781. The first transport guide portion 94 is formed integrally with the upper case 78, and is formed in a cylindrical shape having the same center as the rotation center of the spiral member 95. Here, the wall surface 781 is located on one side of the toner container 3M in the depth direction D13 with respect to the mounting portion 58, and is a surface facing when the toner container 3M is mounted on the mounting portion 58. The depth direction D13 corresponds to the attachment/detachment direction of the toner container 3M with respect to the attachment portion 58.

  The spiral member 95 is rotatably provided inside the upper housing portion 71, and extends in the depth direction D13 orthogonal to the height direction D11, as shown in FIG. The spiral member 95 is a conveying member that conveys the unused toner inside the storage space 85 to the mounting portion 58 (see FIG. 4) side through the inside of the first conveying guide portion 94. The first transport guide portion 94 is a guide member that guides the unused toner transported by the spiral member 95 to the developing device 33.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the spiral member 95 has spiral blades 97 around the axis of rotation 96. An end portion 961 of the rotating shaft 96 of the spiral member 95 on the lid body 76 side is rotatably supported by a bearing portion 99 integrally formed with an inner surface 762 of the lid body 76. The spiral member 95 is rotatably supported by the first transport guide portion 94 at a portion opposite to the rotary shaft 96 while being inserted into the first transport guide portion 94. Specifically, a first input portion 98 that receives the rotation driving force input from the outside is integrally formed at the end portion 962 on the opposite side of the rotation shaft 96. Further, a through hole 941 is formed at the tip portion of the first transport guide portion 94. The end portion 962 is rotatably supported by the through hole 941 in a state in which the first input portion 98 projects to the outside from the through hole 941.

  FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of the main part XV surrounded by the alternate long and two short dashes line in FIG. As shown in FIG. 15, the end portion 961 of the rotating shaft 96 has an inner hole 178 that extends in the axial direction from the end surface of the rotating shaft 96 on the lid 76 side to the opposite side. That is, the end portion 961 is a tubular portion formed in a tubular shape having the inner hole 178 therein. The inner hole 178 is formed in a size that allows a first connecting portion 1912 of a first transmitting portion 191 to be described later to be inserted therethrough. An arc-shaped support portion 179 having an outer diameter larger than that of the inner hole 178 is formed on the end surface of the end portion 961 on the lid body 76 side. An outer peripheral surface of the end portion 961 is formed with an engagement port 9611 with which a later-described first engaging portion 197 is engaged when a later-described first connecting portion 1912 is inserted into the inner hole 178. The engagement port 9611 penetrates the inner hole 178 of the end portion 961.

  Further, as described above, the bearing portion 99 is provided on the inner surface 762 of the lid body 76. The bearing portion 99 has a boss 180 that vertically projects from an inner surface 762 of the lid body 76. The end portion 961 is supported by the boss 180 by inserting the boss 180 inside the support portion 179 of the end portion 961. At the center of the protruding end of the boss 180, an annular through hole 181 into which a first connecting portion 1912 of a first transmitting portion 191 described later can be inserted is formed.

  Since the bearing portion 99 and the end portion 961 are configured as described above, when the rotational driving force is input to the rotation shaft 96 of the spiral member 95, the spiral member 95 is rotated in one direction within the accommodation space 85. .. In the present embodiment, when the rotational driving force is input to the first input section 98, the spiral member 95 is rotated in the rotation direction D30 shown in FIG. As a result, the unused toner in the storage space 85 is transported from the storage space 85 through the inside of the first transport guide portion 94 toward the tip of the first transport guide portion 94.

  The upper case 78 has a toner discharge port 100 for discharging the toner stored in the storage space 85 to the outside. As shown in FIG. 11, the toner discharge port 100 is formed on the lower outer peripheral surface (hereinafter, abbreviated as a lower surface) of the first transport guide portion 94. The lower surface of the first transport guide portion 94 is an example of the first wall surface of the present invention. The toner discharge port 100 is a through hole that vertically penetrates the outer peripheral wall forming the lower surface of the first transport guide portion 94. The toner discharge port 100 is formed in a substantially square shape. In the present embodiment, the toner discharge port 100 is formed at the end of the lower surface of the first transport guide portion 94 closest to the first input portion 98.

  In addition, a shutter member 101 (an example of an opening/closing member) for opening/closing the toner discharge port 100 is provided on the lower surface of the first transport guide portion 94. The shutter member 101 is supported by the first transport guide portion 94 such that the lower surface of the first transport guide portion 94 is slidable in the longitudinal direction of the first transport guide portion 94 (the horizontal direction in FIG. 11).

  In this embodiment, when the toner container 3M is mounted on the mounting portion 58 (see FIG. 4), the shutter member 101 is moved from the closed position where the toner discharge port 100 is closed to the open position where the toner discharge port 100 is opened. It

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 14, the mounting portion 58 has a protruding piece 581 for pressing the end portion 1011 (see FIG. 13) of the shutter member 101 when the toner container 3M is mounted on the mounting portion 58. Is provided. When the projection piece 581 pushes the end portion 1011 of the shutter member 101 in the direction opposite to the mounting direction, the shutter member 101 moves from the closed position to the open position. Further, when the toner container 3M is detached from the mounting portion 58, the projection piece 581 is hooked on the end portion 1011 of the shutter member 101 during the detaching operation, and moves the shutter member 101 from the closed position to the open position. To move.

  Further, when the toner discharge port 100 is aligned with the replenishment port 56 (see FIG. 3) of the developing device 33 and the toner discharge port 100 and the replenishment port 56 are connected, the toner is discharged from the toner discharge port 100 to the replenishment port 56. Can be replenished. Further, the first input portion 98 is connected to the first output joint 61 (see FIG. 14) provided in the mounting portion 58, and the rotational driving force output from the drive source such as the motor is input to the first input portion 98. Transmitted. By receiving this rotational driving force, the spiral member 95 rotates, so that the toner in the accommodation space 85 is conveyed from the toner discharge port 100 to the replenishment port 56 through the first conveyance guide portion 94 and is replenished in the developing device 33. To be done.

  An engaging hole 611 (see FIG. 14) having a rectangular cross section is formed in the first output joint 61, and the first input portion 98 is inserted into the engaging hole 611, whereby the first output joint 61 is inserted. 61 and the 1st input part 98 engage in the direction around a shaft. As a result, the rotational driving force from the first output joint 61 is transmitted to the first input section 98.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the first output joint 61 is provided in the mounting portion 58. The first output joint 61 is a drive output unit for outputting the rotational drive force output from a drive source such as a motor provided in the image forming apparatus 10 to the outside. The first output joint 61 is connected to the first input portion 98 in the left-right direction D3 when the toner container 3M is attached to the attachment portion 58.

  A sponge member 582 is provided below the first output joint 61 in the mounting portion 58. The sponge member 582 has elasticity and is a porous and flexible resin member. The sponge member 582 has a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The sponge member 582 presses against the lower surface of the film member 217 (see FIG. 15) of the support plate 102, which will be described later, in the process of removing the toner container 3M from the mounting portion 58, and the sponge member 582 contracts in the second opening of the film member 217. Pass 218. That is, the sponge member 582 makes sliding contact while pressing the lower surface of the film member 217 (see FIG. 15) in the process of removing the toner container 3M from the mounting portion 58. Further, the sponge member 582 makes sliding contact while pressing the lower surface of the film member 217 (see FIG. 15) even in the process of mounting the toner container 3M on the mounting portion 58. By sliding the film member 217 while the sponge member 582 is contracted, the sponge member 582 collects the toner attached to the periphery of the second opening 218. Instead of the sponge member 582, it is possible to apply an elastic member capable of holding the toner inside.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 10, a gear transmission mechanism 103 is provided on the surface of the lid body 76. The gear transmission mechanism 103 is connected to the rotary shaft 96 of the spiral member 95 and the rotary shaft member 911 of the stirring member 91 in a state where the lid body 76 closes the openings 81 and 82. As a result, the rotational driving force transmitted from the first input section 98 to the spiral member 95 is transmitted to the stirring member 91 by the gear transmission mechanism 103. That is, since the gear transmission mechanism 103 is provided, when the rotational driving force is input to the first input unit 98, the spiral member 95 and the stirring member 91 are rotated in conjunction with each other.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the shutter member 101 of the first transport unit 92 will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the first transport section 92 is provided with a support plate 102 in addition to the above-described first transport guide section 94 and shutter member 101. The support plate 102 is formed in a long shape along the extending direction of the first transport guide portion 94, and is formed to have substantially the same length as the first transport guide portion 94. The support plate 102 supports the shutter member 101 on its upper surface so as to be movable in the depth direction D13 between the closed position and the open position (the position shown in FIG. 15). The first transport guide portion 94 has a bottom portion 943 forming the lower surface thereof and a cylindrical tubular portion 944 integrally formed above the bottom portion 943. The bottom portion 943 is formed in a plate shape extending in the depth direction D13. The support plate 102 is configured as a member separate from the first transport guide portion 94, and is detachably attached to the bottom portion 943. Since the support plate 102 is attached to the bottom portion 943, the support plate 102 faces the lower surface of the bottom portion 943. The toner outlet 100 is formed in the bottom portion 943 and penetrates the inside of the cylindrical portion 944.

  The support plate 102 is attached to the bottom 943 with a gap 210 formed between the support plate 102 and the bottom 943. The shutter member 101 is arranged in the gap 210 between the support plate 102 and the bottom portion 943 so as to be movable in the depth direction D13.

  The support plate 102 is formed with a first opening 211 having a size larger than that of the toner discharge port 100. The first opening 211 is formed in the support plate 102 near the end 1021 on the side of the first input section 98. In the present embodiment, the first opening 211 is located below the toner discharge port 100.

  A film member 217 is provided on the support plate 102. The film member 217 is, for example, a microcell polymer sheet made of high-performance urethane foam having a high density, extremely fine, and uniform cell structure, and its thickness is, for example, about 0.2 mm to 0.25 mm. Is. Of course, the film member 217 may be made of a material other than the microcell polymer sheet.

  The film member 217 is attached to the support plate 102 so as to cover the first opening 211. Specifically, the film member 217 is attached to the lower surface of the support plate 102 with an adhesive or the like. As a result, the film member 217 is fixed to the support plate 102. The film member 217 has a square second opening 218 formed at a position corresponding to the toner discharge port 100. The second opening 218 is formed to have the same size as the toner discharge port 100. That is, the toner discharge port 100 and the second opening 218 are arranged at positions facing each other in the height direction D11, and when the support plate 102 is viewed from below, the toner discharge port 100 and the second opening 218. The part 218 overlaps.

  A third opening 213 is formed in the shutter member 101. The third opening 213 is formed to have the same size as the toner discharge port 100 and the second opening 218. In the present embodiment, the third opening 213 is arranged between the toner discharge port 100 and the second opening 218 with the shutter member 101 arranged at the open position. The third opening 213 moves from the toner discharge port 100 and the second opening 218 to the end 1021 side (right side in FIG. 15) in the state where the shutter member 101 is arranged at the closed position. As a result, the toner discharge port 100 is closed by the shutter member 101.

  A frame edge portion 214 is integrally provided on the lower surface of the shutter member 101. The frame edge portion 214 is a member that protrudes below the lower surface of the shutter member 101 from the peripheral edge portion of the third opening portion 213 and surrounds the periphery of the third opening portion 213. When the shutter member 101 is moved from the open position to the closed position with the shutter member 101 arranged in the gap 210, the lower end of the frame edge portion 214 makes sliding contact with the upper surface of the film member 217. In other words, the support plate 102 supports the shutter member 101 so that the lower end of the frame edge portion 214 slides on the upper surface of the film member 217 when moving from the open position to the closed position.

  A seal member 221 is provided in the gap 210 between the bottom portion 943 and the support plate 102. The seal member 221 is made of, for example, a resin member such as elastic urethane foam having elasticity. The seal member 221 is provided on the bottom portion 943 at the periphery of the toner discharge port 100. In the present embodiment, the seal member 221 is attached to the lower surface of the bottom portion 943 with an adhesive or the like so as to surround the toner discharge port 100. As a result, the seal member 221 prevents the toner from leaking from the toner discharge port 100. Further, as described above, since the seal member 221 has elasticity, when the shutter member 101 is arranged between the toner discharge port 100 and the film member 217, the seal member 221 is The shutter member 101 is urged downward. Therefore, the frame edge portion 214 provided on the shutter member 101 is constantly pressed against the upper surface of the film member 217 when the shutter member 101 moves between the closed position and the open position. As a result, no gap is created between the frame edge 214 and the film member 217, and toner leakage from the frame edge 214 and the film member 217 is prevented.

  A sponge member 222 is provided in the gap 210. The sponge member 222 is arranged in the gap 210 in an area on the lid 76 side. An area where the shutter member 101 is not arranged is provided on the lid body side of the gap 210, and a sponge member 222 is provided in this area. The sponge member 222 is attached to the lower surface of the bottom portion 943 with an adhesive or the like. The thickness of the sponge member 222 in the height direction is larger than that of the gap 210, and the sponge member 222 is arranged in a compressed state in the gap 210. As a result, in the gap 210, the sponge member 222 stops the toner that is about to move to the lid 76 side (left side in FIG. 15) with respect to the sponge member 222.

  Further, a through opening 219 is formed on the lower surface of the support plate 102. The through opening 219 is provided in the support plate 102 at a position separated from the first opening 211 on the lid body 76 side. That is, the through opening 219 is provided on the lower surface of the support plate 102 at a position separated from the first opening 211 by a predetermined distance in the direction away from the mounting portion 58 (left side in FIG. 15 ). The through opening 219 is a through hole that penetrates the support plate 102. The shutter member 101 is arranged in the gap 210 so as to close the opening of the through opening 219 on the gap 210 side. In the present embodiment, the shutter member 101 closes the through opening 219 while the shutter member 101 moves between the closed position and the open position. As described above, the support plate 102 supports the shutter member 101 on the upper surface thereof so as to be movable between the closed position and the open position, but at the portion of the through opening 219, the shutter member 101 does not support. It does not receive friction from the top surface of plate 102 Therefore, the shutter member 101 can move smoothly on the upper surface of the support plate 102 as compared with the case where the through opening 219 is not provided.

  The through opening 219 may be formed at a position where the sponge member 582 of the mounting portion 58 enters in the mounting posture in which the toner container 3M is completely mounted in the mounting portion 58. In this case, the through opening 219 plays a role as a retracting opening for the sponge member 582 in the mounting posture. In the mounting posture, when the sponge member 582 of the mounting portion 58 enters the through opening 219, the contracted sponge member 582 expands by the depth of the through opening 219. In this embodiment, the amount by which the sponge member 582 is pressed against the film member 217 and contracts is set to the same extent as the depth of the through opening 219. As a result, the sponge member 582 that has entered the through opening 219 is restored to its original state.

  As described above, since the film member 217 is provided on the support plate 102, even if the toner adheres to the edge portion of the second opening 218 of the film member 217 at the time of replenishing the toner, the adhered amount is very small. Therefore, when the toner container 3M is removed from the mounting portion 58, the toner attached to the edge of the second opening 218 is prevented from spilling and contaminating other members. Further, as described above, since the mounting portion 58 is provided with the sponge member 582, a small amount of toner attached to the second opening 218 is sponge member 582 when the toner container 3M is removed from the mounting portion 58. Be reliably recovered by.

  Further, since the support plate 102 is provided with the through opening 219, the shutter member 101 can be smoothly moved on the upper surface of the support plate 102. Further, even if an excessive force is applied to the support plate 102 due to an impact received when the toner container 3M is attached to or detached from the attachment portion 58, the support plate 102 can bend near the through opening 219. Therefore, damage or deformation of the support plate 102 due to excessive force is prevented.

  Further, in the mounting posture in which the toner container 3M is mounted on the mounting portion 58, the sponge member 582 does not always contract and returns to the original state, so that the sponge member 582 is prevented from sticking in the contracted state. it can.

  In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the toner container 3M is provided with the sealing sheet 143 (an example of a sealing member). The sealing sheet 143 is a thin sheet member made of a flexible resin material and seals the toner discharge port 100. Generally, when the image forming apparatus 10 is transported with the toner container 3 mounted on the mounting portion 58, the position of the shutter member 101 is displaced by the vibration during transportation, and the shutter member 101 is displaced between the toner discharge port 100 and the shutter member 101. There is a possibility that a minute gap is generated in the gap and the toner leaks from the gap. For this reason, when the image forming apparatus 10 is shipped with the toner container 3 attached, the toner container 3 is provided with a sheet-shaped sealing sheet 143 for sealing the toner discharge port 100. Since the sealing sheet 143 completely seals the toner discharge port 100, the toner does not leak from the toner discharge port 100 even if vibration is applied during transportation. The sealing sheet 143 is peeled off by the user before the image forming apparatus 10 is used for the first time.

  Since the conventional sealing member is provided in close contact with the side surface of the toner container, the user cannot easily visually recognize the sealing member and cannot easily grasp the sealing member. Met. On the other hand, the encapsulating sheet 143 of the present embodiment is configured to be easily visible and to be easily grasped and peeled off.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the sealing sheet 143 will be described in detail.

  FIG. 16 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the sealing sheet 143. As shown in FIG. 16, the sealing sheet 143 is a sheet member formed in a long strip shape. The sealing sheet 143 has flexibility and is made of, for example, a thin resin sheet. The sealing sheet 143 is disposed in the gap 210, covers the toner discharge port 100, and closes the toner discharge port 100, and the direction from the gap 210 to the lid 76 side (right direction in FIG. 15, first direction). And an exposed portion 145 that is exposed to the outside from the upper accommodation portion 71.

  The encapsulating sheet 143 is formed in a narrow and long shape as a whole, but the closing portion 144 is formed slightly narrower than the exposed portion 145. Specifically, the closing portion 144 may be of a size sufficient to close the toner outlet 100, and is formed to have a size slightly larger than the diameter of the toner outlet 100. On the other hand, the exposed portion 145 is a portion exposed to the lid body 76 side and is a portion that is gripped when the sealing sheet 143 is peeled off by the user, and thus is formed wider than the closing portion 144 so that it can be easily gripped. ing.

  As shown in FIG. 15, the closing portion 144 is arranged in the gap 210 between the toner discharge port 100 and the shutter member 101. More specifically, the closing portion 144 is interposed between the seal member 221 and the shutter member 101. In the present embodiment, the end 1441 of the closing portion 144 is interposed between the seal member 221 and the shutter member 101 so as to be sandwiched therebetween.

  As shown in FIG. 11, the exposed portion 145 is bent at the end portion 1022 (an example of the plate end portion) of the support plate 102 on the lid body 76 side in a state where the closing portion 144 closes the toner discharge port 100, It extends downward (an example of the second direction) along the surface of the lid 76. A portion below the bent portion 1431 is an exposed portion 145. The exposed portion 145 is formed such that the length from the end portion 1022 to the extended end 1432 is shorter than the length from the end portion 1022 to the lower end of the container body 75.

  In the present embodiment, the exposed portion 145 has an extension portion 146 and a handle portion 147. The extending portion 146 is bent downward at the bent portion 1431 and further extends downward. The handle portion 147 is continuous with the extending portion 146, and extends outward (from the lower end (extending end) of the extending portion 146 to the surface of the lid body 76 (to the right in FIG. 11 or the third direction)). One example). In the exposed portion 145, a crease process is performed at the boundary between the extending portion 146 and the handle portion 147 in order to maintain the posture in which the handle portion 147 is bent outward with respect to the surface of the lid body 76. There is. That is, the fold line 148 is formed at the boundary between the extending portion 146 and the handle portion 147. In this way, since the handle portion 147 is bent with respect to the extending portion 146 in the direction away from the lid body 76, the user can easily visually recognize the handle portion 147 and from the surface of the lid body 76. The floating handle portion 147 can be easily grasped and pulled out.

  Further, although the handle portion 147 is bent in a direction away from the surface of the lid body 76, the handle portion 147 is attached to the lid body 76 side with the cover (not shown) on the right side surface of the image forming apparatus 10 attached. Can be suppressed to. Therefore, when the cover is removed, the handle portion 147 returns to the bent state from the restrained state. The user can easily visually recognize the handle portion 147 by confirming such a state change when the cover is removed.

  As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the encapsulating sheet 143 extends from the end 1022 toward a recess 123 described later. Therefore, the user can easily visually recognize the exposed portion 145 that is positioned so as to float in the void of the recess 123.

  In the present embodiment, the sealing sheet 143 is applied to the lower surface of the bottom portion 943 so that the closing portion 144 closes the toner outlet 100 when the support plate 102 is removed from the bottom portion 943 of the first transport guide portion 94. After that, the support plate 102 is attached to the bottom portion 943 with the shutter member 101 interposed therebetween. As a result, as shown in FIG. 16, the sealing sheet 143 is arranged in the gap 210 in a state in which the closing portion 144 is sandwiched between the shutter member 101 and the seal member 221.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the lower accommodation section 72 has a second transport section 105. Specifically, inside the lower storage space 86, a second transport unit 105 for transporting the waste toner discharged from the drum unit 31 corresponding to magenta color to the storage space 86 is provided. The second conveyance unit 105 is provided inside the second conveyance guide unit 107 and a cylindrical second conveyance guide unit 107 that extends outward from the left wall surface 791 of the lower case 79 and has a toner conveyance path inside. And a spiral member 108 (see FIG. 12). The second transport guide portion 107 is formed integrally with the lower case 79.

  The spiral member 108 is rotatably provided inside the lower housing portion 72, and extends in the depth direction D13 orthogonal to the height direction D11, as shown in FIG. The spiral member 108 is a transport member that transports the waste toner discharged from the drum unit 31 to the second transport guide unit 107 to the storage space 86 through the inside of the second transport guide unit 107. The second transport guide portion 107 is a guide member that receives the waste toner from the drum unit 31 and guides the waste toner transported by the spiral member 108 into the accommodation space 86.

  As shown in FIG. 12, the spiral member 108 has a spiral blade 110 around the rotation shaft 109. An end portion 1091 of the rotating shaft 109 of the spiral member 108 on the lid body 76 side is rotatably supported by a bearing portion 112 integrally formed with an inner surface 762 of the lid body 76. Further, the spiral member 108 is rotatably supported by the second transport guide portion 107 at a portion opposite to the rotary shaft 109 while being inserted into the second transport guide portion 107. Specifically, a second input unit 111 that receives the rotation driving force input from the outside is attached to the end 1092 on the opposite side of the rotation shaft 109.

  As shown in FIG. 12, an introduction port 114 for guiding the waste toner into the storage space 86 is formed on the upper surface of the second conveyance guide portion 107. Further, a shutter member 115 for opening and closing the introduction port 114 is provided on the upper surface of the second transport guide portion 107. The shutter member 115 is supported by the second transport guide portion 107 so as to be slidable on the upper surface of the second transport guide portion 107 in the longitudinal direction of the second transport guide portion 107 (left and right direction in FIG. 12).

  In the present embodiment, when the toner container 3M is mounted on the mounting portion 58 (see FIG. 4), the shutter member 115 is moved from the closed position that closes the introduction port 114 to the open position that opens the introduction port 114. ..

  Further, the introduction port 114 is aligned with the discharge port 431 of the discharge guide unit 43 described later, the introduction port 114 and the toner discharge port 100 are connected, and the waste toner can be conveyed from the discharge port 431 to the introduction port 114. . In addition, the second input unit 111 is connected to the second output joint 62 (see FIG. 14) provided in the mounting unit 58, and the rotational driving force output from the drive source such as the motor is input to the second input unit 111. Transmitted. When the spiral member 108 is rotated by receiving this rotational driving force, the waste toner discharged from the discharge port 431 and conveyed into the second conveyance guide portion 107 is transferred to the storage space 86 through the second conveyance guide portion 107. Be transported.

  As shown in FIG. 14, the second output joint 62 is provided in the mounting portion 58 and is provided at a position different from the first output joint 61. The second output joint 62 is a drive output unit for outputting the rotational drive force output from a drive source such as a motor provided in the image forming apparatus 10 to the outside. The second output joint 62 is connected to the second input portion 111 in the left-right direction D3 when the toner container 3M is attached to the attachment portion 58.

  As shown in FIG. 8, the first carrying section 92 and the second carrying section 105 are provided separately in the width direction D12. Specifically, the first transport unit 92 is provided close to one side portion (front side portion) of the width direction D12 on the wall surface 781 of the upper accommodation unit 71. In addition, the second transport unit 105 is provided close to the other side portion (rear side portion) in the width direction D12 on the left wall surface 791 of the lower housing portion 72.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 10, the toner container 3M includes a grip portion 122 having a recess 123. The grip portion 122 is a portion that a user carries with the toner container 3M or grips at the time of replacement. In the present embodiment, the recess 123 is formed on one side portion of the container body 75 on the one side in the width direction D12. More specifically, the recess 123 is formed between the upper housing portion 71 and the lower housing portion 72, and is formed on the front side portion in the mounting posture mounted on the mounting portion 58. The concave portion 123 penetrates the toner container 3M in the depth direction D13 and is formed in a rectangular shape when the toner container 3M is viewed from the lid body 76 side. By providing the concave portion 123, in the toner container 3M, the grip portion 122 in which the concave portion 123 is provided is thin and has a narrow constriction shape. As described above, since the gripping portion 122 is formed in a constricted shape that can be easily held by the user, the user can easily catch his/her finger on the gripping portion 122, and thus can easily carry the toner container 3M and perform the replacement work. It will be easier. The lid 76 is formed in conformity with the shape of the container body 75, and the portion corresponding to the grip portion 122 is formed in a constricted shape.

  As shown in FIG. 5, in the toner container 3K, the recesses 123 are formed on both sides in the width direction D12.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the recess 123 is provided in the upper portion (upper portion) of the lower housing portion 72. Therefore, under the constraint that the size of the toner container 3M cannot be increased, the volume of the storage space 86 of the lower storage portion 72 is reduced by the amount of the concave portion 123. However, the lower storage portion 72 is a portion for storing the waste toner, and the space above the storage space 86 is not filled unless the storage space 86 is filled with the waste toner. Therefore, the recess 123 is preferably provided in the lower housing portion 72. Since the upper storage portion 71 is a portion in which the unused toner is stored, when the recess 123 is formed in this portion, it is necessary as a storage capacity for the unused toner in the storage space 85 of the upper storage portion 71. It becomes impossible to secure the specified capacity. Therefore, it is not preferable to provide the recess 123 in the upper accommodation portion 71.

  The recess 123 is formed in the vicinity of the first transport unit 92, and more specifically, is formed immediately below the support plate 102 included in the first transport unit 92. In other words, the first transport section 92 and the first transport guide section 94 are provided above the recess 123. The attachment/detachment operation of the toner container 3M to/from the attachment portion 58 involves opening/closing of the shutter member 101, and sliding resistance is generated when opening/closing the shutter member 101. When the user replaces the toner container 3M, the user feels the sliding resistance as a load, but since the concave portion 123 is provided directly below the shutter member 101, the user grips the grip portion 122 and the toner container 3M. At the time of replacement, it becomes easy to apply a force to the grip portion 122, and the force can be directly transmitted to the shutter member 101. This improves workability during replacement.

3: toner container 10: image forming device 58: mounting unit 71: upper housing unit 72: lower housing unit 75: container body 76: lid 78: upper case 79: lower case 83: flange 85: housing space 86: housing Space 92: 1st conveyance part 94: 1st conveyance guide part 95: Spiral member 100: Toner discharge port 101: Shutter member 102: Support plate 122: Grasp part 123: Recessed part

Claims (8)

A long container body that can store toner inside,
A toner outlet formed on the first wall surface of the container body for discharging the toner contained in the container body to the outside;
A support plate provided on the container body and arranged to face the first wall surface;
The support plate is provided in a gap formed between the first wall surface and the support plate, and is movable on the support plate between a closed position that closes the toner discharge port and an open position that opens the toner discharge port. An opening/closing member supported,
A sealing member configured of a flexible sheet member for sealing the toner discharge port,
In the housing of the container body, a flat plate-like lid member that closes an opening formed on the first direction side toward the second wall surface intersecting the first wall surface of the container body in the moving direction of the opening/closing member. And
The sealing member includes a closing portion for closing the toner discharge port disposed over the toner discharge port between the closing member and the toner discharge port, extending from the closed portion to the front Symbol first direction An exposed portion exposed to the outside of the container body from the gap,
The exposed portion is bent at a plate end portion of the support plate on the first direction side and extends in a second direction along the second wall surface, and the exposed portion extends from the extended end of the extension portion. A handle portion that bends in a third direction away from the second wall surface,
The first wall surface is a lower surface of the container body when the longitudinal direction of the container body is aligned with the vertical direction,
The second wall surface is the surface of the lid member,
The exposed portion is a toner container exposed on the front surface side of the lid member. A long container body that can store toner inside,
A toner outlet formed on the first wall surface of the container body for discharging the toner contained in the container body to the outside;
A support plate provided on the container body and arranged to face the first wall surface;
The support plate is provided in a gap formed between the first wall surface and the support plate, and is movable in the support plate between a closed position that closes the toner discharge port and an open position that opens the toner discharge port. An opening/closing member supported,
A sealing member configured of a flexible sheet member for sealing the toner discharge port,
A seal member having elasticity provided on the periphery of the toner discharge port,
The sealing member is disposed between the toner discharge port and the opening/closing member, and includes a closing unit that covers the toner discharge port and closes the toner discharge port, and a moving direction of the opening/closing member from the closing unit. An exposed portion that extends in a first direction toward a second wall surface that intersects the first wall surface of the container body and that is exposed to the outside of the container body from the gap,
The exposed portion is bent at a plate end portion of the support plate on the first direction side and extends in a second direction along the second wall surface, and the exposed portion extends from the extended end of the extension portion. A handle portion that bends in a third direction away from the second wall surface,
The closing portion is interposed between the seal member and the opening/closing member,
A toner container in which the support plate supports the opening/closing member in a state in which the opening/closing member and the closing portion are urged toward the support plate by elasticity of the seal member. The container body has a cylindrical toner guide portion that extends outward from a third wall surface on the side opposite to the lid member, and guides the toner in the container body in an extending direction.
The first wall surface is the lower surface of the toner guide portion, and the toner discharge port is formed on the lower surface of the toner guide portion,
The support plate has a shape elongated in the extending direction of the toner guide portion, and is attached to the toner guide portion so as to face the lower surface of the toner guide portion,
The toner container according to claim 1, wherein the sealing member is formed in a long strip shape from the closed portion to the exposed portion. The container body is
A first toner accommodating portion having the toner guide portion and provided on an upper portion of the container body;
A second toner storage portion provided below the first toner storage portion below the container body;
At least one recess provided between the first toner storage portion and the second toner storage portion and formed on one side portion in the width direction of the container body orthogonal to the longitudinal direction in the container body. And a grip portion having
The toner guide portion is provided below the third wall surface and above the recess,
The toner container according to claim 3, wherein the exposed portion extends from the end portion of the plate toward the recess. The toner container is mounted in a mounting portion included in the image forming apparatus such that the longitudinal direction is the vertical direction.
The first toner storage unit stores unused toner inside,
The toner container according to claim 4, wherein the second toner storage unit stores therein the used toner collected from the image forming apparatus. In the exposed portion, the length from the plate end to the extended end is any claims 1-5 is shorter than the length from the plate end to the container end of the second direction side of the container body the toner container according to any. The exposed portion is between said extension portion and the handle portion, of claims 1 to 6, having a fold to hold a posture of the handle is bent to the third direction with respect to the extending portion The toner container according to any one of the above. Device body,
A developing device provided in the apparatus main body,
A toner container that is provided so as to be attachable to an attachment portion included in the apparatus main body and has a vertically long shape in an attachment posture attached to the attachment portion,
The toner container is
A first toner storage portion capable of storing unused toner supplied to the developing device;
A toner outlet formed on the lower surface of the casing of the first toner storage portion and opened downward, for supplying the unused toner to the developing device;
An opening/closing member that is provided below the toner outlet and that moves between a closed position that closes the toner outlet and an open position that opens the toner outlet to open and close the toner outlet.
A support plate that is provided in the first toner storage portion and that supports the opening/closing member on the upper surface so as to be movable between the closed position and the open position;
A sheet member having flexibility, and a sealing member for sealing the toner discharge port,
The sealing member is disposed between the toner discharge port and the opening/closing member, and includes a closing unit that covers the toner discharge port and closes the toner discharge port, and a moving direction of the opening/closing member from the closing unit. An exposed portion that extends in a first direction toward a side surface that intersects the lower surface of the housing and is exposed to the outside of the toner container from a gap formed between the lower surface of the housing and the support plate. Have
The exposed portion is an extension portion that is bent at a plate end portion of the support plate on the first direction side and extends in a second direction along the side surface of the housing, and an extension end of the extension portion. From the side surface of the housing to a third direction that bends in a third direction.