JPH0990727A - Toner supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a toner supply device which can prevent toner from staining the inside of a device main body and a floor or from fouling the body, clothes or the like of an operator since the toner falls at cartridge replacing operation time by removing the toner sticking to the opening periphery by exciting the vicinity of an opening when a shutter is closed by an exciting means or the like interlocking with closing operation of a shutter opening-closing means to open and close a toner delivery opening of a toner cartridge. SOLUTION: In a toner supply device, a toner cartridge is provided with a cylindrical toner housing part 1 having a delivery opening, a cap member 2 which is installed in an opening part of the toner housing part 1 so as to be relatively rotatable with the toner housing part 1 and has a discharge port and a shutter member 3 supported with the cap member 2 so as to be freely rotatable in order to open and close the discharge port 7, and a support member 101 is provided with a shutter opening-closing means 102 to open and close the shutter member 3 and a driving means 106 to rotate the toner housing part 1, an exciting means is arranged to excite the vicinity of the discharge port by interlocking with closing operation of the shutter opening-closing means 102.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement in a developing device and a toner cartridge used in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, and more particularly, it relates to a closing operation of a shutter opening / closing means for opening / closing a toner ejection opening of the toner cartridge. When the shutter is closed, the vibrating means vibrates near the opening to remove the toner adhering to the vicinity of the opening. The present invention relates to a toner supply device capable of preventing stains and stains on an operator's body, clothes, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An image forming section of an image forming apparatus such as an electrophotographic copying machine, a printer or a facsimile machine is equipped with a developing device for developing an electrostatic latent image on a photoconductor with toner. A toner cartridge (toner storage container) is detachably attached to the toner hopper of the developing device. Some toner cartridges have various shapes such as a cylindrical shape, and in the cylindrical cartridge, the toner ejection opening is provided on the axial end surface or the outer peripheral surface. When the toner cartridge is not installed, the opening is sealed or closed with a shutter or the like.When the toner cartridge is installed in the developing device, the seal is peeled off by hand, or the shutter opening / closing mechanism provided on the developing device side is operated. The shutter is automatically opened.

[0003]

In a conventional toner cartridge with a shutter, in which the cartridge is set horizontally in a horizontal position with respect to the developing device, the cartridge is removed for replacement of the cartridge. The opening of the cartridge is configured to be closed by a shutter. However, even if the opening is closed by the shutter, if the toner remaining near the opening before the closing flows out and adheres to the front side of the cartridge, the attached toner drops during the replacement operation and the device In some cases, the inside of the main body and the floor were stained, and toner adhered to the operator's body and clothes. As a solution to such a problem, a method has been proposed in which the toner cartridge near the opening is reduced as much as possible by rotating the toner cartridge immediately before the toner end display. The toner adsorbed by the strong force in the vicinity of the opening could not be easily removed. The present invention has been made in view of the above, and vibrates near the opening when the shutter is closed by vibrating means or the like that is interlocked with the closing operation of the shutter opening / closing means that opens / closes the toner ejection opening of the toner cartridge. By removing the toner attached around the opening, it is possible to prevent the toner from falling during the cartridge replacement operation to stain the inside of the main body of the device or the floor, or to stain the operator's body, clothes, etc. The purpose is to provide a device.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that a toner cartridge rotatably supported on a supporting member of a developing device is rotated in an image forming apparatus main body. Toner inside the toner cartridge
Is a toner supply device of a type that sends toner into a developing device, wherein the toner cartridge includes a cylindrical toner storage portion having an ejection opening, and a toner storage portion with respect to the opening portion of the toner storage portion. A cap member that is attached so as to be rotatable relative to and has a discharge port, and a shutter member that is rotatably supported by the cap member for opening and closing the discharge port, and the support member includes the shutter member. In a toner supply device having a shutter opening / closing means for opening / closing and a driving means for rotating a toner storage portion, a vibration is applied to vibrate the vicinity of the discharge port in conjunction with the closing operation of the shutter opening / closing means. Means are provided. In the toner supply device according to the first aspect, the vibrating means interlocked with the closing operation of the shutter opening / closing means vibrates near the opening when the shutter is closed, and removes the adhering toner, thereby removing the toner as described above. Prevent defects.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the cap member is provided with a vibrating means for vibrating the vicinity of the discharge port in conjunction with the closing operation of the shutter opening / closing means. Therefore, claim 1
With the same operation as described above, the above-mentioned problems can be prevented, and a new vibrating means can always perform reliable vibration for one cartridge. That is, in the image forming apparatus main body, the operation of the vibrating means becomes sluggish and the effect is weakened due to dirt such as toner, but in the present invention, the vibrating means for exchanging the entire cartridge is provided on the cartridge side. Such problems disappear. According to the invention of claim 3, since the vibrating means for vibrating the vicinity of the discharge port is provided in association with the operation when the toner cartridge is detached from the supporting member, the same operation as that of claim 1 is provided. Therefore, while preventing the above-mentioned problems, even if the cartridge does not have a shutter, as long as the attaching / detaching operation is performed by sliding,
Can be applied effectively.

According to the present invention, in the image forming apparatus main body, the toner cartridge rotatably supported on the supporting member of the developing apparatus is rotated to feed the toner in the toner cartridge into the developing apparatus. The toner supply device according to claim 1, wherein the toner cartridge is mounted in a cylindrical toner storage portion having an ejection opening, and is rotatable relative to the toner storage portion with respect to the opening portion of the toner storage portion. A shutter member rotatably supported by the cap member for opening / closing the discharge port, wherein the support member is a shutter opening / closing means for opening / closing the shutter member. And a drive means for rotating the toner storage portion, wherein the drive means is provided with a vibrating member for vibrating the vicinity of the discharge port. To. For this reason, by providing a vibrating means in the drive means of the toner storage section, repeated vibration is performed before the cartridge is replaced, and the toner near the opening is more effectively removed, thereby eliminating the above-mentioned problems. Can be prevented. In the invention of claim 5, since the shutter opening / closing means is provided with the cleaning member for cleaning the vicinity of the opening by the closing operation,
It is possible to clean things that cannot be removed by vibration. In the invention of claim 6, since the shutter member of the toner cartridge is provided with the cleaning member for cleaning the vicinity of the opening by the closing operation, the deterioration of the effect due to the settling of the cleaning member on the main body side can be exchanged. It can be prevented by providing it on the cartridge side. Since this cleaning member is not used repeatedly, the cleaning member is always new.

[0007]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The construction of the toner supply device of the present invention will be described in detail below. 1, FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 4, and FIG.
FIG. 2 is a structural explanatory view of a toner cartridge to which the vibrating means of the present invention is applied and a developing device side supporting the cartridge, FIG. 1 is an exploded view of the toner cartridge, and FIG. 2 is a main part configuration of a cartridge supporting member on the developing device side. FIG. 3, FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a shutter opening / closing mechanism, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which a cartridge is mounted on a support member, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view of an essential part of FIG. The toner supply device is composed of a toner cartridge and a support member provided in the developing device for supporting the cartridge. This toner cartridge C
The toner storage unit 1, the cap member 2, the shutter member 3, the driven member 4, the seal members 5 and 6 and the like are roughly configured. The toner storage unit 1 has a hollow cylindrical shape,
The opening 1a is formed on the front side in the axial direction, and the back side in the axial direction is closed. Further, a spiral projection 1b (which appears as a spiral groove on the outer surface in FIG. 1) is formed on the inner surface of the toner storage portion 1, and when the toner storage portion 1 rotates about the axis, the projection 1b is formed. The internal toner
Is configured to be transferred toward the opening 1a side.
The spiral projection 1a is lower than the discharge port 7 when the toner storage unit 1 is in a horizontal position as shown in the figure, or when the discharge port 7 described later is located above the axial center position of the storage unit. It works effectively when the toner located on the side is discharged. When the discharge port 7 is located below the axial center position, the toner can be discharged by using gravity, so that it is not necessary to provide the protrusion 1b.

Reference numeral 2 is a cap member which is assembled in a relatively rotatable state so as to close the opening 1a of the toner accommodating portion 1. When the cartridge C is set in the developing device, only the toner storage portion 1 needs to be rotated. Therefore, the cap member 2 is not fixed to the toner storage portion 1, but the cap member 2 cannot be rotated to the developing device side. The toner storage unit 1 is rotatably supported in the state of being supported by. As a supporting structure therefor, for example, projections (claws) (see FIG. 5) are formed on the engaging portions of the toner storage portion 1 and the cap member 2 (for example, the outer peripheral edge portion of the opening 1a and the inner peripheral edge portion of the cap member 2). 1A, 2A) is provided, and the projections are hooked together and cannot be removed.
In addition, a so-called patching method is preferable, which is a state in which relative rotation is possible. The end face of the cap member 2 having a substantially bowl shape is provided with a toner discharge port 7 which is a fan-shaped opening as shown in the drawing, and a protrusion for stopping the rotation of the cap member 2 in the device body is provided on the outer peripheral surface. A fixed part 8 is provided. Reference numeral 2a is a center hole, and the toner discharge port 7 is a fan shape that expands in the outer diameter direction around the center hole 2a. The fixing portion 8 is located at an axially symmetrical position of the toner discharge port 7 with the center hole 2a interposed therebetween.

Reference numeral 5 is a sheet which is attached to the outer periphery of the opening 1a to seal the clearance between the toner accommodating portion 1 and the cap member 2.
It is a member. In this figure, the seal member 5 is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the toner accommodating portion 1 so as to have a free relationship with the outer peripheral surface on the side of the cap member 2, but is fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the cap member 2. However, it may be free from the outer peripheral surface of the toner storage unit 1. Also, the seal member 5
As the material of, it is preferable to select a material having a low surface friction coefficient. This is to rotate with a lower load. Reference numeral 3 is a shutter member for opening and closing the discharge port 7 of the cap member 2. The shutter member 3 has a sectoral shape that is aligned with the discharge port 7, and is made rotatable by loosely fitting a projecting shaft 3a provided at the top of the shutter member 3 into the center hole 2a of the cap member 2. Open and close. The shape of the shaft 3a is a shape having a jaw for preventing the shaft 3a from falling out as shown in FIG. Code 9
Is an engaging portion that engages with the opening / closing mechanism in the apparatus body and receives the action of the opening / closing operation. This engaging portion is a shaft portion 9a coaxial with the shaft 3a, and a box-shaped engaging portion main body 9 integrated with the shaft portion 9a.
b, and the front surface of the engaging portion main body 9b is an opening concave portion.

Reference numeral 6 is a seal member that seals the gap between the cap member 2 and the shutter member 3, and has a fan shape to prevent toner leakage from between the discharge port 7 and the shutter member 3. are doing. Further, the hole 6a at the top is inserted and supported by the shaft 3a in a state of communicating with the central hole 2a of the cap member 2. The seal member 6 may be attached to either the cap member 2 side or the shutter member 3 side as in the case of the seal member 5. Moreover, it is effective to reduce the load of the opening / closing operation by selecting a material having a low surface friction coefficient. Reference numeral 4 is an annular driven member that is fitted and fixed to the outer circumference of the toner storage unit 1 in order to transmit the driving force from the drive motor (driving means) of the apparatus body to the toner storage unit 1. The driven member 4 is a separate member from the toner storage portion in this example, and is provided on the protrusion 11 on the outer periphery of the toner storage portion 1.
The driven member 4 is fixed by engaging a notch-shaped groove 12 or a hole provided in the driven member 4, and the driving force applied to the driven member 4 is transmitted to the toner storage unit 1. In the figure, the toner storage portion 1 and the driven member 4 are separate parts, but the toner
A shape (for example, a gear portion) that can receive a driving force may be integrally fixed to the outer periphery of the storage portion 1 and another surface.

Next, the toner of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
A method of setting the cartridge C on the developing device side (toner hopper portion) will be described. Toner cartridge C shown in FIG.
Is a completed product obtained by assembling the parts shown in FIG. 1 by the above-described procedure. When setting the cartridge C, first, the fixing portion 8 of the cap member 2 is aligned with the developing device. On the developing device side, the card
A support member 101 that receives the cartridge C is provided, and the support member 101 is connected to the base portion 101a and the receiving portion 1 that is connected to the base portion 101a and receives the end portion of the cartridge C.
01b, and the fixing part 8 is provided on the upper part of the receiving part 101b.
The receiving recess 101c is formed to match the shape of the above. The receiving portion 101b is set to have a shape and size capable of receiving the end portion of the cartridge in an aligned state. At this time, the cap member 2 is positioned by fitting the fixing portion 8 having the width x into the width y of the receiving recess 101c. The relationship between the width x of the fixed portion 8 and the width y of the receiving recess 101c is that the width y is set to be slightly larger,
It becomes easy to put on and take off.

When the end portion of the cartridge is inserted into the receiving portion 101b, the engaging portion main body 9b of the engaging portion 9 of the shutter member 3 is rotatably attached to the inner rear portion of the receiving portion 101b. It engages with the shutter opening / closing means 102. Further, the gear portion on the outer periphery of the driven member 4 is also the base portion 101 of the support member 101.
It engages with a driving member (gear) 105 protruding from a slit provided on the upper surface of a. The shutter opening / closing means 102 is located inside the opening 104a of the slip-off preventing member 104 located inside the receiving portion 101b, and the receiving portion 101b.
Is a member rotatably supported by a hole 101b 'provided at the center of the inner wall of the. It is also integrated with an opening / closing lever 103 described later. A U-shaped fitting portion 102a is provided at the front of the opening / closing means 102 so as to project therefrom.
Is fitted to the outer peripheral surface of the engaging portion main body 9b to transmit the turning force from the opening / closing means 102 to the shutter member 3. Therefore, the fitting portion 102a and the engaging portion main body 9b may have any shape other than a circular shape.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the opening / closing lever 103 provided outside the receiving portion 101b is moved in the arrow direction by a manual operation. The opening / closing lever 103 is attached by the continuous plate 103A shown in FIG. 4 so as to rotate integrally with the opening / closing member 102 in FIG.
The movement of 03 causes the shutter member 3 to rotate, so that the discharge port 7 of the cap member 2 is opened. At the same time as this operation, as shown by the broken line in FIG. 3, the opening 10 of the slip-off prevention member 104 in which the engagement portion 9 of the shutter member 3 is fixed to the support member 101.
Since the inside of 4a is caught on the edge of the opening 104a, it cannot be removed even if the cartridge is pulled. By the above operation, the cover member 101 is covered.
The setting of the trench C is completed. The operation at the time of removal is the reverse of the above.

Next, the operation of the toner cartridge will be described with reference to FIGS. A toner replenishing roller 202 of a toner replenishing unit (toner hopper) 200 connected to the developing device in response to a control signal from a control unit (not shown) on the apparatus main body side.
A driving force from a drive motor (not shown) is transmitted to the reciprocating roller, and a constant amount is supplied by the replenishing roller 202 and the spring plate 204 with holes (amount corresponding to the rotation time supported by the control signal).
Toner is supplied into the developing device. At this time, Toner
The toner feed plate 203 of the replenishing unit 200 also rotates at the same time,
From the side of the toner cartridge, the toner is transferred in the direction of the replenishing roller 202, and the toner is supplied onto the toner replenishing roller 202. During the above series of operations, the toner replenishing unit 2
When the toner sensor 205 of 00 detects the presence / absence (level) of the toner inside the mounting position of the sensor, and a toner-free detection signal is output, from the main body control (not shown),
A signal is transmitted to the motor (driving means) 106 of the toner cartridge support member 101, and a driving force (rotational force) is transmitted from the output gear 106a to the driving member (gear) 105.
Further, the toner storage unit 1 is rotationally driven via a driven member (gear) 4 on the outer periphery of the toner storage unit. As a result, the toner in the storage portion is discharged from the discharge port 7. FIG. 5 shows the state.

When the toner is sent to the toner replenishing unit 200 and the toner sensor 205 detects that the toner is present, the control unit (not shown) stops the motor 106 and the toner storage unit 1
Rotation also stops. As a result, toner discharge is stopped. When the toner storage portion 1 rotates, the projection 19 of the driven member 4 is rotatably supported by the support member 101 at the axial right end portion (FIG. 5), and the left end portion is the outer peripheral surface of the toner storage portion 1. Roller 10 rotatably attached to support member 101
By 9 being rotatably supported, rotation without blurring is realized.

Next, the structure and operation of the embodiment of the vibrating means which is a feature of the present invention will be described. 6 and 7 show the first embodiment of the present invention.
6A and 6B are a perspective view and a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the vibrating means of the embodiment, wherein a vibrating lever 110 is provided inside the slip-out preventing member 104 at a position deviated from the center of the toner accommodating portion 1 by a shaft 110a. It is supported rotatably in the axial direction,
The lever 110 is the first hole 104 of the removal prevention member 104.
A first bent portion 110A that can project from A, and a second hole 1
A second bent portion 110B that can project from 04B, and an attracted end portion (made of a magnetic material) 110C that faces the magnet 111 disposed at an appropriate position inside the removal prevention member 104 and is attracted to the magnet 111 when approaching. Have. As shown in FIG. 6 or FIG. 7B (state in which the cartridge C is removed), when the cartridge C is not set, the first bent portion 110A of the lever 110 is the opening / closing member 102. Since it is pressed inward by the holding member 102A (leaded out in an L shape from one side of the U-shaped portion) as a part, the attracted end portion 110C at the other end is separated from the magnet 111. There is. When the cartridge C is completely set and the shutter opening / closing member 102 is moved in the opening direction by pushing down the opening / closing lever 103, the holding member 102A, which is a part of the opening / closing member 102, is moved as shown in FIG. 7 (a). Since the lever 110 is retracted from the first hole 104A, the other end of the lever 110 is attracted to the magnet 111.

Next, when the cartridge C is removed, the opening / closing member 102 is moved in the closing direction, so that the holding member 102A, which is a part of the opening / closing member 102, is moved to the first bent portion 110 of the lever 110.
Gradually push A to the right (inward). Since the lever 110 has elasticity, a force acts in the direction of separating the attracted end portion 110C from the magnet 11 by the above-mentioned pushing action. When this force exceeds the attraction force of the magnet 111, the lever 110 moves in a clockwise direction at a stroke, and the lever 11
The second bent end portion 110B of 0 collides with the cap member 2 of the cartridge C (FIG. 7 (b)). Due to the impact at the time of this collision, the toner attached to the discharge port 7 portion of the cap member 2
Is dropped. In this embodiment, the vibration lever-1
10, shaft 110a, magnet 111, pressing member 102
A and the like constitute the vibrating means.

Next, FIGS. 8 and 9 (a) and (b) show the second embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the structure of the vibrating means of the embodiment and an operation explanatory view of the main parts, in which a shaft 3a of a shutter member 3 is supported in a central hole 2a of the cap member 2 so as to be rotatable and non-removable.
The shaft hole 20a of the leaf spring-like vibration member 20, the spring 30, and the retaining washer 31 are attached to the shaft member 3a.
It is installed from inside. The other end of the vibrating member 20 is in a groove 13 provided at a proper position on the inner wall of the cap member 2. The disk-shaped base 3A of the shaft 3a is integrated with a short projection 15 parallel to the shaft 3a, and the projection 15 has a center hole 2a.
Protrudes from inside. The shutter member 3 is reliably supported by fitting the disc-shaped base portion 3A into the center hole 2a. The vibrating member 20 is a long shaft 3 protruding from the central hole 2a.
The spring 30 is loosely fitted in the a so as to be movable in the axial direction, and the spring 30 biases the vibrating member 20 in the arrow direction. Shaft hole 20a
Has a projection 21, and the projection 15 is in a positional relationship capable of being fitted into the projection 21. When the vibrating member 20 slides to the shutter member 3 side, the projection 15 fits into the projection 21 and is in the opposite direction. When it slides to, it is released.

As shown in FIG. 9 (a), the shutter member 3 has the discharge port 7
When the shutter is closed, the vibrating member 20 is positioned in the direction away from the shutter member and at the same time has a positional relationship in which it does not match the convex 15. Therefore, the convex 15 of the shutter member 3 has the axial hole of the vibrating member 20. It does not fit into the protrusion 21 that is continuous with 20a. When the cartridge C is set on the supporting member 101 of the developing device and the shutter member 2 is rotated in the opening direction shown by the arrow in FIG. 9A by operating the opening / closing lever 103, the vibrating member 20 is shuttered by the spring 30. Since the protrusion 15 is constantly pushed toward the member, the vibrating member 20 slides in the protrusion 21 inside the protrusion 21 in a possible positional relationship and is completely engaged. This state is almost the same as the position where the shutter member 3 is fully opened.

Next, when the cartridge is removed, the shutter member 3
9 starts to rotate in the closing direction shown by the arrow in FIG. 9B, the vibrating member 20 also tries to rotate at the same time, but since the other end is inside the groove portion 13, it elastically deforms as shown in the figure. Due to this deformation, the distance from the center of rotation to the tip of the other end is shortened, and the groove 13
Get over the wall. The force to return the deformation causes the stopper 14 inside the cap member 2 to be impacted. Due to this impact, the toner at the opening portion of the cap member 2 is dropped. In this embodiment, the cap member 2, the shaft 3a of the shutter member 3, the vibration member 20,
Shaft hole 20a, spring 30, retaining washer 31,
The protrusion 15 and the like constitute the vibration applying means.

Next, FIGS. 10 and 11 (a) and (b) are a perspective view and a cross-sectional view of a main part of another embodiment of the present invention. -112 is the axis 112a
It is rotatably supported about. Excitation lever-1
12 is an opening 104 provided at the bottom of the slip-off prevention member 104.
C, the bent portions 112A and 112B that can respectively project from the opening 104D provided in the standing wall, and the attracted end portion 112 that faces the magnet 113 and is attracted by the magnet.
C. The operating principle of the lever is the same as that of the embodiment of FIGS. 6 and 7, and when the cartridge C is set in the receiving portion 101b as shown in FIG. 11 (a), the end surface of the cap member 2 is Since the bent portion 112b pushes in the bent portion 112b, the attracted end portion 112C is attracted and held by the magnet 113.
Next, when the cartridge slides in the detaching direction (leftward) from the state shown in FIG. 11 (a), the bent portion 112A of the lever 112 is gradually pushed downward by the outer peripheral portion of the cap member 2. The attracted end 112 of the other end of the lever 112
When the force of C to separate from the magnet 113 exceeds the attraction force of the magnet 113, the bent portion 112B of the lever 112 collides with the end surface of the cap member 2 at a stretch as shown in FIG. 11 (b). The impact at the time of this collision contributes to dropping off the toner adhering to the discharge port 7. This vibrating method can be used even if the cartridge does not have a shutter, as long as the sliding operation (during detachment) is performed. In this embodiment, the vibration lever 112, the shaft 112a,
The magnet 113 and the like constitute a vibrating means.

Next, FIGS. 12 and 13 are a perspective view and an explanatory view of the main part of another embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the drive source of the drive member 105 for rotating the toner storage section 1 is shown. The characteristic feature is that the motor 106 as described above is used to rotate the roller as the vibrating member 117. That is, the vibrating means includes a drive member 105 for rotating the toner storage portion 1 at one end of one shaft S and a vibrating member 11 of the cap member 2 at the other end.
7 are arranged on the same axis, and a clutch (one-way clutch) 105 that transmits only one direction of rotation is provided at the axial center position of the drive member 105, and a one-way clutch 116 (is also provided at the axial center of the vibrating member 117). 115 and 116 are arranged to transmit the drive in the opposite direction). One shaft S is rotatably supported by the support frame 119. Its axis S
A gear 118 is fixed to the center of the motor, and the driving force from the output gear 106a of the motor 106 is transmitted to the gear 118. Worms and the like are used as the gears 118 and 116a. In this embodiment, the motor 106, the vibrating member 117, the clutch (one-way clutch) 115,
116, the support frame 119, the gear 118, etc. constitute the vibrating means.

The vibrating means having such a structure is provided in the main body as shown in FIG. In the normal state, the normal rotation of the motor 106 transmits the driving force to the driving member 105 via the clutch 115, and the toner storage unit 1 rotates to perform the toner supply operation. When the toner in the developing device is almost exhausted, the controller on the image forming main body side displays a toner end indication and prompts replacement of the cartridge, but immediately before that, the motor 106 reverses to rotate the clutch. The vibrating member 118 is driven via 116, and the outer periphery of the cap member 2 is vibrated by the unevenness of the outer peripheral surface of the vibrating member 117. This operation is performed for a certain period of time before displaying the toner end.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the present invention, in which the cleaning member 120 is preliminarily fixed or detachably attached to the front portion of the shutter opening / closing member 102 on the main body side. As shown in the figure, as the cleaning member 120, a bristle brush in which bristles are applied to all or part of the front surface is used. The discharge port 7 of the cap member 2 is cleaned by the cleaning member 120 each time the shutter opening / closing member 102 is opened / closed (rotated). For this reason, the toner attached to the discharge port 7 does not drop during replacement. The cleaning member may be a bristle brush, felt, mylar, or the like, but is not limited to these. In this embodiment, since the shutter opening / closing means is provided with the cleaning member for cleaning the vicinity of the opening by the closing operation, it is possible to clean even those that cannot be removed by vibration or the like. This embodiment does not prevent application in combination with each of the above embodiments.

FIG. 15 shows another embodiment, in which a cleaning member 16 such as a brush, felt, mylar or the like is provided on the surface of the shutter member 3 on the side of the cap member 2, and the discharge port 7 associated with the opening / closing operation of the shutter member 3 is provided. I try to clean it. In this embodiment, since the cleaning member for cleaning the vicinity of the opening by the closing operation is provided on the shutter member (replaced cartridge) side of the toner cartridge, the effect of the settling of the cleaning member on the main body side is provided. Can be prevented. Since this cleaning member is not used repeatedly, the cleaning member is always new.
The present invention can be applied not only to the structure of the cartridge and the cartridge supporting portion of the developing device, but also to a device using powder and a container having a similar configuration in general. It should be noted that this embodiment does not prevent application in combination with each of the above embodiments.

[0026]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the vibrating means interlocking with the closing operation of the shutter opening / closing means 102 vibrates the vicinity of the opening when closing the shutter, the toner that adheres is removed, and the cover is removed. -It becomes possible to prevent dirt when replacing the ridge. According to the invention of claim 2, the cap member of the toner cartridge is provided with the vibrating means which is interlocked with the operation of the opening / closing means of the shutter. With this, reliable vibration can be performed. According to the invention of claim 3, by vibrating means interlocking with the sliding operation when the cartridge is removed, the same effect as in claim 1 is exhibited, and the sliding operation is performed even with the cartridge having no shutter. It can be effectively used for what you have. According to the invention of claim 4, by providing the drive means of the toner storage portion with the vibrating means, the vibrating can be repeatedly performed before the replacement of the cartridge, and the toner near the opening can be more effectively provided. By removing it, it becomes possible to prevent the above problems. In the invention of claim 5, the shutter opening / closing means is provided with a cleaning member, and the toner near the opening (which cannot be completely removed by vibration) is cleaned by the closing operation, so that the above-mentioned problem can be prevented more effectively. According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, since the cleaning member is provided on the shutter member of the cartridge, it is possible to prevent the deterioration of the effect caused by the set member of the cleaning member.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded view of a toner cartridge according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a main part of a cartridge supporting member on the developing device side of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a shutter opening / closing mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a state in which the cartridge is mounted on the support member.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view of a main part of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a main part of an embodiment of a toner supply device including a vibrating unit of the present invention.

7 (a) and (b) are sectional views of the essential part of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of essential parts of another embodiment of the toner supply device including the vibrating means of the present invention.

9 (a) and 9 (b) are operation explanatory views of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of another embodiment of the toner supply device including the vibrating means of the present invention.

11 (a) and 11 (b) are operation explanatory views of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of essential parts of another embodiment of the toner supply device including the vibrating means of the present invention.

13 (a) and 13 (b) are explanatory views of the main configuration of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of essential parts of an embodiment of a toner supply device including a cleaning member of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of essential parts of another embodiment of the toner supply device including the cleaning member of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

C toner cartridge, 1 toner storage portion, 1a opening, 1b spiral protrusion, 2 cap member, 2a center hole, 3 shutter member, 4 driven member, 5, 6 sealing member, 7 discharge port, 8 fixing portion, 9 engagement Part, 11 projections, 12 grooves, 19 projections, 20 vibration member, 101
Support member, 101a base portion, 101b receiving portion, 101
c receiving recess, 102 shutter opening / closing means, 102a
Fitting part, 102A pressing member, 103 opening / closing lever,
104 removal prevention member, 104a opening, 104A, 1
04B hole, 105 driving member (gear), 106 motor (driving means), 109 roller, 110 vibration lever, 110a axis, 110A, 110B bending portion, 11
1 magnet, 112 excitation lever, 112a axis, 1
15, 116 clutch, 117 vibrating member,

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[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] January 12, 1996

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] FIG.

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of a main part configuration of the embodiment of FIG. 12;

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A method of feeding a toner in a toner cartridge into a developing device by rotating a toner cartridge rotatably supported on a supporting member of the developing device in an electrophotographic image forming apparatus main body. A toner supply device, wherein the toner cartridge has a cylindrical toner storage portion having an ejection opening, and a toner storage portion attached to the opening portion of the toner storage portion so as to be rotatable relative to the toner storage portion. A cap member having an outlet, and a shutter member rotatably supported by the cap member for opening and closing the discharge port, the support member being a shutter opening and closing means for opening and closing the shutter member. In a toner supply device having a drive means for rotating the toner storage portion, a vibrating means for vibrating the vicinity of the discharge port is provided in association with the closing operation of the shutter opening / closing means. A toner supply device characterized by the above. 2. The toner supply device according to claim 1, wherein the cap member is provided with a vibrating means for vibrating the vicinity of the discharge port in conjunction with the closing operation of the shutter opening / closing means. 3. The toner according to claim 1, further comprising vibrating means for vibrating the vicinity of the discharge port in conjunction with an operation of separating the toner cartridge from the supporting member. Supply device. 4. A method of feeding a toner in a toner cartridge into a developing device by rotating a toner cartridge rotatably supported on a supporting member of the developing device in a main body of an electrophotographic image forming apparatus. A toner supply device, wherein the toner cartridge has a cylindrical toner storage portion having an ejection opening, and a toner storage portion attached to the opening portion of the toner storage portion so as to be rotatable relative to the toner storage portion. A cap member having an outlet, and a shutter member rotatably supported by the cap member for opening and closing the discharge port, the support member being a shutter opening and closing means for opening and closing the shutter member. A toner supply device having a drive means for rotating the toner storage portion, wherein a vibrating member for vibrating the vicinity of the discharge port is arranged in the drive means. Toner supply device. 5. The toner supply device according to claim 1, wherein the shutter opening / closing means is provided with a cleaning member for cleaning the vicinity of the opening by a closing operation. 6. The toner supply according to claim 1, wherein the shutter member of the toner cartridge is provided with a cleaning member for cleaning the vicinity of the opening by a closing operation. apparatus.