JP7396051B2 - Covering mechanism and image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a covering mechanism and an image forming apparatus.

2. Description of the Related Art In electrophotographic image forming apparatuses such as copying machines, printers, and facsimile machines, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of a photoreceptor as an image carrier. A toner image is formed on the photoreceptor by attaching toner supplied from a developing device to this electrostatic latent image. Next, this toner image is transferred onto a recording medium by a transfer device, and then fixed by heat and pressure by a fixing device, and then discharged outside the machine. On the other hand, since foreign matter such as untransferred toner remains on the surface of the photoreceptor after the toner has been transferred to the recording medium, the foreign matter is removed by a cleaning device or the like in preparation for the next image forming process.
In an image forming apparatus using such toner, replenishment toner is transported to a developing device through a developer transport path, and waste toner to be discarded is transported through a waste toner transport path to a waste toner container that stores the waste toner. .

The developing device and the waste toner container are formed with an opening that communicates with the conveyance path and serves as a supply port and a collection port. A sealing member for closing the opening is provided around the opening, and an annular sealing member is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the opening and the outer peripheral surface of the tube inserted into the opening.

In recent years, in image forming apparatuses, as the image quality of printers and copying machines has become higher, there has been a demand for smaller particle diameter toners or polymerized toners to be installed in image forming apparatuses, so that toner particles are more likely to scatter. Further, in recent years, image forming apparatuses have become increasingly personalized, and in order to be maintenance-free and easy to maintain, most image forming apparatuses are equipped with a so-called process cartridge in which an image forming system is integrated into a unit. For this reason, in many cases, the replenishment toner container, waste toner container, etc. are replaced by the user themselves, and toner scattering occurs and the user's hands become dirty with toner when replacing the unit, so it is necessary to reliably prevent this. are required to do so.

On the other hand, in Patent Document 1, in a sealing structure of a developer container to which a conveyance path through which waste toner is conveyed, an opening formed in the developer container and to which the conveyance path is connected is provided. a first sealing member formed to open and close and allowing the conveyance path to be inserted into/removed from the opening; and a first sealing member formed to closely fit the outer shape of the conveyance path and placed overlapping the first sealing member. A configuration has been proposed in which a seal portion is provided with two seal members. It is described that scattering and leakage of toner can be prevented by providing seal portions configured in different ways as described above.

In addition to the method of covering the opening disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, there is a structure in which a lid-like member or the like is brought into pressure contact with the surface on which the opening is formed to cover the opening.
In a configuration in which an opening is covered with a lid-like member, if there are parts installed or protruding structures that overlap the opening when viewed from the normal direction of the opening, these may become an obstacle. It may be difficult to cover the openings.
For example, with a lid-shaped member that is shaped to cover the entire opening, protruding parts or structures may become obstacles and make assembly extremely difficult or impossible. The lid-like member may not be able to cover the entire opening.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a configuration in which a covering member is brought into pressure contact with a surface having a covering object to cover the surface, and even if the covering member has a structure that overlaps the covering object in plan view in the normal direction, it is possible to cover the entire covering object. The purpose is to provide a covering mechanism.

In order to solve the above problems, the covering mechanism of the present invention includes: a pressure-contacting surface having a covering object; a covering member having a lid-shaped portion facing the pressure-contacting surface and covering the covering object; and the covering member. a pressing member for pressing the covering member; and a side wall defining a space for accommodating the covering member and the pressing member, the side wall being disposed substantially perpendicularly to the pressure contact surface, a first side wall that supports the pressing member; and a second side wall that faces the first side wall and supports the pressing member; The second side wall has a protruding portion that protrudes so as to overlap with the object to be covered, and the second side wall has an engagement support portion that engages with the pressing member, and the second side wall has an engagement support portion that engages and is fixed by the engagement support portion. The press member presses the covering member, and the lid-shaped portion of the pressed covering member fits between the pressure contact surface and the protrusion and comes into pressure contact with the pressure contact surface.
Further, in the covering mechanism of the present invention, a protrusion portion opposing the pressure contact surface with a gap in the pressing direction, and an elastic member provided between the pressure contact surface and the protrusion portion, the elastic member being disposed between the pressure contact surface and the projection portion. a covering member having a lid-shaped portion that presses a pressure-contact surface with elastic force; an engaging support portion located apart from the protruding portion in a direction orthogonal to the pressing direction; a pressing member that receives a reaction force including a component, and a side wall that applies a reaction force including a component in a direction perpendicular to the pressing direction to the pressing member, and the reaction force including the component in the pressing direction is applied to the covering member. includes a reaction force against the force pressing the pressing member.

According to the present invention, in a configuration in which a covering member is brought into pressure contact with a surface having a covering object to cover the surface, the entire covering object can be covered even if the covering member has a structure that overlaps the covering object in plan view in the normal direction. A covering mechanism can be provided.

It is a perspective view of a press member (A) and covering members (B) and (C) which constitute the covering mechanism concerning this embodiment. It is a top view (A), a side view (B), and (C) explaining the covering mechanism based on this embodiment. It is an explanatory view showing movement of a press member and a covering member in a covering mechanism concerning this embodiment. It is an explanatory view showing movement of a press member and a covering member in a covering mechanism concerning this embodiment. It is an explanatory view showing movement of a press member and a covering member in a covering mechanism concerning this embodiment. It is an explanatory view showing movement of a press member and a covering member in a covering mechanism concerning this embodiment. It is an explanatory view showing a state where a press member and a covering member of a covering mechanism concerning this embodiment fit. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing another aspect of the pressing member of the covering mechanism according to the present embodiment. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing another aspect of the pressing member of the covering mechanism according to the present embodiment. It is an explanatory view showing an example of arrangement of elastic members of a covering mechanism concerning this embodiment. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment.

Hereinafter, a covering mechanism and an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown below, and may be modified within the scope of those skilled in the art, such as other embodiments, additions, modifications, deletions, etc. These are also included within the scope of the present invention as long as they exhibit the functions and effects of the present invention.

[Coating mechanism]
An example of the configuration of the covering mechanism according to this embodiment is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
FIG. 1(A) is a perspective view of the pressing member, and FIG. 1(B) and FIG. 1(C) are perspective views of the covering member. Further, FIG. 2(A) is a top view of the covering mechanism, FIG. 2(B) is a side view, and FIG. 2(C) is a side view in a direction perpendicular to FIG. 2(B).
The covering mechanism of the present embodiment presses a pressure contact surface 50 having a covering object 51, a covering member 30 having a lid-shaped portion 33 facing the pressure contact surface 50 and covering the covering object 51, and the covering member 30. It includes a pressing member 40 and a side wall defining a space that accommodates the covering member 30 and the pressing member 40.
Hereinafter, an example will be described in which the pressure contact surface 50 is the surface of a tubular member, and the contact surface of the lid-like portion 33 that covers this is constituted by a curved surface having approximately the same curvature as the tubular member. The shape of the lid-shaped portion 33 is not limited to this, and can be appropriately selected as long as it can be pressed together.

The side walls include a first side wall 61 that is arranged substantially perpendicular to the pressure contact surface 50 and supports the covering member 30, and a second side wall 62 that faces the first side wall 61 and supports the pressing member 40. , the first side wall 61 has a protrusion 71 that protrudes so as to overlap the covering target 51 in a plan view in the normal direction of the pressure-contact surface 50, and the second side wall 62 has a It has an engagement support part 72 that engages with.

The protruding portion 71 of the first side wall 61 may be formed by protruding the wall surface itself.
The engagement support portion 72 of the second side wall 62 is provided at a position where the pressing member 40 can be positioned and fixed by engaging at least a portion of the pressing member 40, and the covering member 30 can be biased by the fixing. It is fine as long as it was given.
The engaged portion of the pressing member 40 that engages with the engagement support portion 72 is preferably the engaged portion 43 formed on the side surface, but may also be the top surface 44 of the pressing member 40 or the like.

The pressing member 40 that is engaged and fixed by the engagement support part 72 presses (energizes) the covering member 30, and the lid-shaped part 33 of the pressed covering member 30 is placed between the pressure contact surface 50 and the protruding part 71. It fits in and comes into pressure contact with the pressure contact surface 50.

As shown in FIG. 1(C), the lid-shaped portion 33 of the covering member 30 includes an elastic member 16 at least at a portion where it comes into contact with the pressurized surface 50.
By providing the elastic member 16, when it is pressed, it is compressed and its thickness changes, so the vertical width (height) 17 of the lid-shaped part 33 itself also changes.
The lid-shaped portion 33 is fitted between the protruding portion 71 and the pressurized surface 50 in a state in which the elastic member 16 is compressed 45, thereby coming into pressure contact with the pressurized surface 50.
Note that if the lid-shaped portion 33 itself is made of a material whose thickness changes due to compression due to pressure, or if an elastic member is provided on the pressure contact surface 50 side, the elastic member 16 may be omitted. However, as shown in FIG. 1C, it is better to provide an elastic member at the contact portion of the covering member side with the pressure-contacting surface 50 in terms of adhesion to the pressure-contacting surface 50 and setting property.

As shown in FIGS. 1(A) and 2(A), the pressing member 40 has a concave cross section in the horizontal direction. On the other hand, the covering member 30 includes a guide portion 35 that fits into the concave recess 45 of the pressing member 40 to guide movement.
Thereby, the moving direction of the pressing member 40 is regulated.

The movements of the members constituting the covering mechanism are shown in FIGS. 3 to 6.
As shown in FIG. 3A, the space S that accommodates the covering member 30 and the pressing member 40 has a protrusion 71 that overlaps the covering object 51 in a plan view in the normal direction of the pressure-contact surface 50.
As shown in FIG. 4(A), the covering member 30 is inserted into the space S along the normal direction of the pressure contact surface 50, and as shown in FIG. It is arranged so that the inner circumferential surface of the At this point, the object to be coated 51 is not completely coated.

Note that the dimension in the width direction of the lid-like portion 33 is smaller than the width of the space S indicated by W1 in FIG. 3(A), and larger than the covering object 51 indicated by W2.
Further, the height dimension H1 of the lid-shaped portion 33 shown in FIG. 3(B) is larger than the height of the space between it and the protruding portion 71 shown as H2 in FIG. 3(A).

Next, as shown in FIG. 5(A), the pressing member 40 is fitted into the guide portion 35 of the covering member 30 and inserted into the space S along the normal direction. As shown in FIG. 5(B), when the pressing member 40 is not engaged with the engagement support part 72, no biasing force acts on the covering member 30, so that the covering member 30 is prevented by the protruding part 71. Therefore, movement in the direction of the first side wall 61 is restricted.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6(A) and FIG. 6(B), which is a partially enlarged view thereof, the pressing member 40 is moved in the direction of the arrow 14 so that the engaged portion 43 engages and supports the second side wall 62. By engaging the portion 72, the covering member 30 is biased. The thickness of the pressed lid-shaped portion 33 of the covering member 30 changes as the elastic member 16 is compressed, and becomes thick enough to fit between the press-contact surface 50 and the protruding portion 71 . The lid-shaped portion 33 that has been shifted and fitted in the direction of the first side wall 61 generates a moment in the direction shown by the arrow 7, and the pressing member 40 is pressed against the second side wall 62 and the engagement support portion 72. As a result, the pressing member 40 and the covering member 30 are positioned and fixed. The lid-shaped portion 33 completely covers the object to be covered 51 and is fixed in a state in which it is in pressure contact with the pressure-contact surface 50 .

FIGS. 7A and 7B are explanatory diagrams showing a state in which the pressing member 40 and the covering member 30 are fitted.
The covering member 30 has an inclined surface 20 a extending vertically from the lid-like portion 33 on a side surface perpendicular to the first side wall 61 . Further, the surface of the lid-shaped portion 33 that faces the second side wall 62 is also the inclined surface 20b.
The pressing member 40 contacts and presses the covering member 30 at the end of the inclined surface 20a on the pressure contact surface side or at the inclined surface 20b of the side surface of the lid-shaped portion 33. In the figure, the contact point (the closest point) is indicated by the reference numeral 21.
On the other hand, the base of the inclined surface 20a becomes the contact point 6 with the protrusion 71 of the first side wall 61.

With this configuration, the load generated by the reaction force of the elastic member 16 that the lid-shaped portion 33 receives from below in the vertical direction is transmitted to the engaged portion 43 in the pressing direction.
Further, as shown in FIG. 6(A), a moment is generated in the lid-shaped portion 33 in the direction indicated by the arrow 7 around the contact point 6 due to the reaction force of the elastic member 16, and this moment is generated through the contact point with the pressing member 40. It is transmitted to the pressing member 40. As a result, the pressing member 40 is urged against the second side wall 62 and the engagement support portion 72. By providing the contact point 8 between the pressing member 40 and the covering member 30 closer to the pressure contact surface 50 than the contact point 6, lifting of the covering member 30 due to the moment can be effectively prevented. In order to prevent the position of the contact point 6 from varying, as shown in FIG. The contact point 8 may be provided near the apex of the surface 9. With the above configuration, the pressing member 40 and the covering member 30 are positioned and fixed, and the entire object to be covered 51 is covered.

In the process of inserting the pressing member 40, it is preferable that the surface 19 facing the inclined surface 20a of the covering member 30 be a gently inclined surface so that the rear end side in the insertion direction can have an appropriate range of motion (see FIG. 7(B). )).
In addition, when the movable range of the pressing member 40 may be large, the opposing surface 19 may be a non-inclined surface (straight surface) as shown in FIG. 7(A).

Other aspects of the pressing member 40 of the covering mechanism according to this embodiment are shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.
The pressing member shown in FIG. 8 includes an elastic member 23 on the top surface 44. Pressure can be applied by another member via this elastic member 23 to generate a pressing force.
By using a material with a high surface friction coefficient for the elastic member 23, it is possible to prevent the pressing member 40 from falling in the direction of the covering member 30, and the positional accuracy of the pressing member 40 is improved.

The pressing member 40 shown in FIG. 9 includes an elastic member 24 in an end region on the pressure contact surface 50 side.
Since the pressing member 40 can also contribute to covering the object 51, a wider area can be covered.

Another aspect of the covering member 30 of the covering mechanism according to this embodiment is shown in FIG.
In the covering member 30 shown in FIG. 10, the lid-shaped portion 33 is also provided with the elastic member 16 on the surface on the first side wall 61 side. The lid-shaped portion 33 has an elastic member 16 at the contact area with the pressurized surface 50 and the surface on the first side wall 61 side. The elastic member 16 provided on the surface may be an integrally formed member. With such a configuration, even if the second pressure contact surface is on the first side wall 61 side, it is possible to cover the second pressure contact surface.

The elastic member 16 disposed in the covering member 30 is not particularly limited as long as it has elasticity and can be compressed under pressure to change its thickness, but is preferably made of a sponge material, for example.
Examples of the sponge material include foamed polyurethane.

An example of the covering target 51 is an opening.
The opening to be covered is covered by the lid-shaped portion 33 of the covering member 30 and the pressing member 40 with the above-described configuration.
Furthermore, even if the opening to be covered has a structure in which the entire opening cannot be covered when parts are assembled from the normal direction, the covering mechanism of this embodiment can cover the entire opening. .

As described above, the covering mechanism according to the present embodiment includes a protrusion 71 that opposes the pressurized surface 50 with a gap in the pressing direction, and an elastic member 16 interposed between the pressurized surface 50 and the protrusion 71. The covering member 30 is provided with a lid-like portion 33 that presses the pressure-contact surface 50 with the elastic force of the elastic member 16, and the protruding portion 71 is an engagement support located spaced apart in a direction orthogonal to the pressing direction. part 72, a pressing member 40 that receives a reaction force including a component in the pressing direction from the engagement support part 72, and a side wall (a second side wall) 62, and the reaction force including a component in the pressing direction includes a reaction force against the force of the covering member 30 pressing the pressing member 40.
With such a configuration, in a configuration in which the covering member 30 is brought into pressure contact with a surface having the covering object 51 to cover the surface, even if the structure (projection part 71) overlaps with the covering object 51 in a plan view in the normal direction. Also, the entire object 51 to be covered can be covered.

[Image forming device]
The image forming apparatus of this embodiment includes the above-described covering mechanism according to the present invention.
Although there are no restrictions on the placement location of the covering mechanism, examples of the covering target include an opening that communicates with the internal space of the member that accommodates the toner and allows the toner to pass therethrough.
Such openings include, for example, the communication part with the toner transport relay device, the communication part with the units (cleaning device, developing device, waste toner container, new toner cartridge), and the communication part between the developing device and the new toner cartridge. Examples include those provided in communication parts, etc.

By covering the opening with the covering mechanism of this embodiment, leakage of toner from the opening can be prevented.
Note that the object to be prevented from leaking by the covering mechanism is not limited to toner, and may include granular materials in addition to powder.
In addition, image forming apparatuses (printers, copying machines, printing machines, etc.) to which the coating mechanism according to the present invention is applied include those equipped with a mechanism for conveying powder and granules, in addition to those using an electrophotographic process. Including equipment in general.

FIG. 11 shows a color printer as an example of an image forming apparatus according to this embodiment.
The image forming apparatus shown in FIG. 11 has a paper feed section 102 that stores paper 129 as a recording material at the bottom of an apparatus main body 101, and an image forming section 103 above it. The image forming section 103 includes four image forming units 108 (108Y, 108C, 108M, 108K) as a plurality of image forming means each including a photosensitive drum 110 (110Y, 110C, 110M, 110K) as an image carrier. an intermediate transfer belt 107a as an intermediate transfer body constituted by a plurality of rollers 104, 105, and 106, and a flexible endless belt wound around these rollers; A transfer unit 107 , an optical writing unit 115 as an optical writing section that performs optical writing on each image carrier, and a fixing unit 122 that fixes a toner image onto a sheet of paper 129 are provided.

The image forming unit 108 and the intermediate transfer unit 107 are detachably attached to the apparatus main body 101. A conveyance path R is formed between the paper feed section 102 and the fixing means 111 to convey the sheet 129 on which an image has been formed by the image forming section 103. A roller 106 constituting a transfer section (secondary transfer section) for the paper 129 is arranged facing the conveyance path R. The end of the conveyance path R is open toward a paper discharge tray 125 that is formed at the top of the apparatus main body 101 and serves as a stacking section. A discharge device 130 is provided at this end for discharging the conveyed paper 129 toward the paper discharge tray 125.

The area between the rollers 104 and 105 of the intermediate transfer belt 107a corresponds to the lower belt running side of this belt. A secondary transfer roller 120 serving as a secondary transfer device is disposed on the intermediate transfer belt 107a at a portion facing the roller 106 so as to face the conveyance path R. A belt cleaning device 121 that cleans the surface of the intermediate transfer belt is provided at a portion facing the roller 104. The belt cleaning device 121 includes a cleaning roller that comes into contact with the intermediate transfer belt surface to remove residual toner on the belt surface, and a conveyor that transports the toner removed by the cleaning roller as waste toner to a waste toner collection container that serves as a developer container. The toner transfer pipe includes a toner transfer pipe that constitutes a path, and a conveyance screw that is provided on the toner transfer pipe and conveys waste toner.

The image forming units 108 each include a photoreceptor drum 110, a charging device that charges each photoreceptor drum as a process means that acts on the photoreceptor drum 110, and a charging device that charges waste toner such as untransferred toner that is a developer remaining on the surface of each photoreceptor drum. A cleaning means for removing the latent images and a developing device for developing the latent images formed on each photoreceptor drum are integrally constructed as a process cartridge.

The intermediate transfer unit 107 includes an intermediate transfer belt 107a, a plurality of rollers 104, 105, and 106 that rotatably support the transfer belt 107a, and a primary transfer unit that transfers toner images formed on each photosensitive drum onto the intermediate transfer belt 107. Equipped with rollers.

The optical writing unit 115 irradiates the surface of each photoreceptor drum with a light-modulated laser beam L to form a latent image for each color on the surface of the photoreceptor. placed below.

In this image forming apparatus, when an image forming operation is started, the photoreceptor drum 110 of each image forming unit is rotationally driven clockwise by a drive device (not shown), and the surface of each photoreceptor drum is set to a predetermined polarity by a charging device. is uniformly charged. The surface of each charged photoreceptor drum is irradiated with laser light L from the optical writing unit 115, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on each surface. At this time, the image information exposed on each photoreceptor drum is monochrome image information obtained by separating a desired full-color image into yellow, cyan, magenta, and black color information. When the electrostatic latent image formed in this manner passes between the photoreceptor drum 110 and the developing device, it is visualized as a toner image by toner supplied from each developing device.

Among the plurality of rollers 104, 105, and 106 around which the intermediate transfer belt 107a is wound, one roller is rotationally driven in the counterclockwise direction by a drive device (not shown), so that the intermediate transfer belt 107a rotates in the counterclockwise direction indicated by the arrow. It is driven to run clockwise, and other rollers are driven to rotate. A yellow toner image formed by an image forming unit 108Y equipped with a developing device 12 containing yellow toner is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 107a running in this manner by a transfer roller 114. On the transferred yellow toner image, a cyan toner image formed by the image forming units 108C, 108M and 108BK, a magenta toner image and a black toner image are sequentially transferred by the transfer roller 114, and thus the intermediate transfer belt 7a carries a full color toner image on its surface.

The residual toner adhering to the surface of each photoreceptor drum after the toner image has been transferred is removed from the surface of each photoreceptor drum by a cleaning device 13, and then the surface is subjected to a static eliminating action by a static eliminator (not shown), and the surface is The potential is initialized to prepare for the next image formation.

The paper 129 fed from the paper feed unit 102 is fed into the conveyance path R, and the paper feeding timing is measured by a pair of registration rollers 124 arranged on the paper feeding side than the secondary transfer roller 120, and then the paper 129 is transferred to the roller 106. and the secondary transfer roller 120 are fed to the opposing secondary transfer section.
At this time, a transfer voltage having a polarity opposite to the toner charging polarity of the toner image on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt is applied to the secondary transfer roller 120, so that the toner image on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 107a is transferred all at once onto the paper 129. transcribed. The paper 129 with the toner image transferred thereon is conveyed to the fixing means 122, and as it passes through the fixing means 122, heat and pressure are applied to the paper 129 so that the toner image is melted and fixed. The paper 129 on which the toner image has been fixed is conveyed to a discharge device 130 disposed at the end of the conveyance path R, and discharged to a paper discharge tray 125. After the toner image has been transferred to the paper 129, the toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 107a is removed by the belt cleaning device 121.

The waste toner in the cleaning device 13 is conveyed to the waste toner collection container through the inside of the toner transfer pipe by rotating the conveyance screw, and is collected. By rotating the conveyance screw, the waste toner from the belt cleaning device 121 is conveyed to the waste toner recovery container through the inside of the toner transfer pipe and collected.

The above description is about the image forming operation when forming a full color image on the paper 129, but this image forming apparatus forms a monochrome image using any one of the image forming units of the image forming section 80. It is also possible to form a two-color or three-color image. Furthermore, when performing monochrome printing using the image forming apparatus of this embodiment, an electrostatic latent image is formed only on the photoreceptor drum 110K of the image forming unit 108K, developed by the same unit, and transferred to the paper 129. Then, the image may be fixed by the fixing means 122.

16 Elastic member 30 Covering member 33 Lid-shaped portion 35 Guide portion 40 Pressing member 43 Engaged portion 44 Top surface 45 Recessed portion 50 Pressure contact surface 51 Covering target 61 First side wall 62 Second side wall 71 Projection portion 72 Engagement support Department

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-145873

Claims (11)

a pressurized contact surface having a coating target;
a covering member having a lid-shaped portion facing the pressurized surface and covering the covering target;
a pressing member that presses the covering member;
A side wall defining a space that accommodates the covering member and the pressing member,
The side wall includes a first side wall that is arranged substantially perpendicular to the pressure contact surface and supports the covering member, and a second side wall that faces the first side wall and supports the pressing member. has
The first side wall has a protrusion that protrudes so as to overlap the covering target in a plan view in the normal direction of the pressure contact surface,
The second side wall has an engagement support portion that engages with the pressing member,
The pressing member, which is engaged and fixed by the engagement support portion, presses the covering member, and the lid-shaped portion of the pressed covering member fits between the pressure contact surface and the protrusion, and the A covering mechanism characterized by being in pressure contact with a pressure-contact surface. 2. The covering mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the lid-shaped portion of the covering member includes an elastic member at least at a portion that contacts the pressurized surface. The covering member has an inclined surface extending vertically from the lid-shaped portion on a side surface perpendicular to the first side wall,
The covering mechanism according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the covering mechanism is pressed by coming into contact with the pressing member at an end portion of the inclined surface on the pressure contact surface side or a side surface of the lid-shaped portion. The pressing member has a concave cross section in the horizontal direction,
4. The covering mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the covering member includes a guide portion that fits into a concave recess of the pressing member and guides movement. 5. The covering mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the lid-shaped portion of the covering member includes an elastic member on a surface facing the first side wall. The covering according to claim 1, wherein the lid-shaped portion of the covering member includes an elastic member integrally formed at a contact portion with the pressurized surface and a surface on the first side wall side. mechanism. 7. The covering mechanism according to claim 2, 5 or 6, wherein the elastic member is made of a sponge material. The object to be coated on the pressurized surface is an opening,
8. The covering mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the opening is covered by the covering member and the pressing member. a protrusion that opposes the pressurized surface with a gap in the pressing direction;
a covering member that is provided between the pressurized surface and the protruding portion via an elastic member, and has a lid-shaped portion that presses the pressurized surface with the elastic force of the elastic member;
The protruding portion includes an engagement support portion spaced apart in a direction perpendicular to the pressing direction;
a pressing member that receives a reaction force including a pressing direction component from the engagement support portion;
a side wall that applies a reaction force including a component in a direction perpendicular to the pressing direction to the pressing member,
A covering mechanism, wherein the reaction force including a component in a pressing direction includes a reaction force against a force of the covering member pressing the pressing member. An image forming apparatus comprising the covering mechanism according to claim 1. 11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the object to be covered on the pressure-contact surface is an opening that communicates with an internal space of a member that accommodates toner and allows the toner to pass through.

Images