KR100807858B1 - Toner container and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The toner container 32Y detachably mounted to the toner container support part of the image forming apparatus main body includes a container body including an opening and discharging toner contained in the toner container from the opening, and supported by the toner container support part in a non-rotating manner. And a supported portion 34Y. The supported portion 34Y includes an opening / closing member (plug member 34d) for opening and closing the toner discharge port in synchronization with the detaching operation of the supported portion to the toner container support portion.

Description

Toner container and image forming apparatus {TONER CONTAINER AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to a toner container detachably mounted to an image forming apparatus main body for supplying toner used in an image forming apparatus and an image forming apparatus including the same.

In a typical image forming apparatus using an electrophotographic system such as a copying machine, a printer, a facsimile machine or a multifunction apparatus equipped with such a function, a cylindrical toner container for supplying toner to a developing apparatus is known (for example, Patent Document 1, See Patent Document 2 and Patent Document 3).

In Patent Document 1 and the like, a toner container (toner bottle, chemical storage container) provided so as to be replaceable to a toner container holder (bottle supporter, mounting portion) of the main body of the image forming apparatus is mainly a container body and a held portion, A cap part and a cap). The spiral protrusion is installed along the inner circumferential surface of the container body, and the toner contained in the container body is conveyed toward the opening through the rotation of the container body. The supported portion communicates with the opening of the container body and is supported by the toner container support so as not to be rotatable (ie, does not rotate with the toner container). Toner discharge from the opening of the container body is discharged from the toner discharge port provided in the supported portion. Thereafter, the toner discharged from the toner discharge port of the supported portion is supplied to the developing apparatus.

The toner containers constructed in the above manner are compared with the toner containers (see, for example, Patent Documents 5 and 6), each of which does not have a supported portion and supplies the toner directly from the opening of the container body to the developing apparatus. Toner stains can be reduced when the container is replaced. More specifically, since the toner outlet of the supported portion is opened and closed in synchronization with the attachment / detachment operation (rotation operation) portion of the toner container, problems such as contact with the toner outlet and soiling of the user's hand can be suppressed. Can be. Further, the toner discharge port is formed below the lower part of the toner container in the vertical direction, and when the toner container is empty, the amount of toner near the toner discharge port can be reduced due to drop by its own weight. In addition, toner staining at the toner discharge port is reduced when the toner container is replaced.

More specifically, in Patent Document 1 or the like, when the toner container is mounted on the toner container support part of the apparatus main body, at first, the main body cover (stack portion) is opened upward and the toner container support part is exposed. do. Thereafter, the toner container is disposed on the toner container support from above. Thereafter, the handle integrally provided on the supported portion is supported, and the supported portion rotates (rotation operation). In this operation, the position of the toner container is finally fixed to the toner container support. Further, the toner discharge port provided in the supported portion is moved downward in response to the rotation of the supported portion, and the shutter opens the toner discharge opening downward to resist the force of the spring.

On the other hand, Patent Document 4 and the like disclose a toner storage container having a bag container or a cap member. The toner discharge port of the cap member is opened and closed in synchronization with a partial operation (rotation operation of the opening and closing folder) of the toner storage container for the purpose of reducing toner spots (toner scattering) generated during the desorption operation. .

More specifically, when the toner storage container is attached to the apparatus body, initially, the open / close holder (open / close folder) rotates around the hinge, and the upper side of the open / close support is exposed. Thereafter, the toner storage container is disposed in the opening and closing support portion. Thereafter, the opening and closing support on which the toner storage container is disposed is rotated around the hinge (rotation operation). In this operation, the position of the toner storage container is finally fixed to the apparatus body. In addition, the plug member (shutter member), in order to open the toner discharge port sealed by the packing (G seal), in response to the rotation of the opening and closing support portion to resist the force of the spring (toner conveyance) Tube).

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-287404

Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-5286

Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-310901

Patent Document 4: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-161371

Patent Document 5: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-338758

Patent Document 6: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-233248

Each of the toner containers disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3, etc., has less toner stains at the toner discharge ports as compared to Patent Documents 5 and 6, and therefore, the user's hands get dirty with the toner when touching the toner discharge ports. It is anticipated to obtain an effect in which a problem such as this is prevented. However, toner containers such as Patent Documents 1 to 3 have disadvantages in terms of operability / workability upon detachment (replacement).

The first disadvantage is that the desorption operation to the toner container support is performed in a plurality of operations. More specifically, the detaching operation of the toner container includes a plurality of operations such as opening and closing the main body cover, installing / removing the toner container of the toner container support part, and rotating the supported part.

A second disadvantage is that it is difficult for the user to verify that the operation is appropriate but performed until the mounting operation is almost complete. More specifically, the user may not be sure that the operation is correct at that time when the operation of opening the main body cover and the operation of arranging the toner container on the toner container support are completed. Thereafter, by rotating the supported portion to fix the position of the supported portion, the user feels a click of the supported portion and is convinced that the operation was performed without error.

A third disadvantage is that the upper side of the toner container support is limited in terms of layout. More specifically, in order to arrange the toner container on the toner container support from above, an operation of opening and closing the main body cover in the vertical direction is required. Therefore, it is required to secure a space that requires an arrangement for opening and closing the main body cover and disposing / removing the toner container. This causes a decrease in operability / processability of desorption of the toner container when a scanner (document reader) or the like is installed on the toner container support.

On the other hand, in the toner container support portion described in Patent Document 4 and the like, the plug member is press-fitted by the nozzle in response to the opening operation of the opening and closing support portion to open the toner container sealed by the packing. Therefore, the effect of reducing the occurrence of toner spots can be expected. However, the toner storage container according to Patent Document 4 or the like also has some disadvantages in terms of operability / processability when detached.

The first disadvantage is that the toner amount of the toner storage container cannot be increased, and therefore the frequency of replacement of the toner storage container is increased. The toner storage container has a vertical bag container for storing toner. The bag container is arranged to stand vertically. Therefore, when the capacity of the bag container is increased, the height of the toner storage container needs to be increased. This increases the height of the opening and closing support and affects the arrangement in the height of the entire image forming apparatus. Therefore, the toner amount of the toner storage container cannot be increased much, and the replacement cycle is increased when compared with the toner container (the horizontal direction is set in the vertical direction) according to Patent Document 1 or the like.

A second disadvantage is that it is difficult for the user to be sure that the operation was performed without error. More specifically, since the plug member opens and closes the toner outlet in synchronization with the opening and closing operation of the opening and closing support, it is difficult for the user to detect whether the toner outlet is actually opened or closed because the user does not touch the toner storage container during the operation. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention is at least accomplished in order to solve such a conventional problem, and it is desirable to provide a toner container and an image forming apparatus including the same, which have a high operability / processability and can reliably reduce the occurrence of toner spots upon replacement. Purpose.

In order to solve the above problems and achieve the above object, according to the invention disclosed in claim 1, the toner container detachably mounted on the toner container support of the image forming apparatus main body accommodates the toner, A container body including an opening for discharging; And a toner discharge port for discharging the toner discharged from the opening, wherein the toner discharged from the opening is discharged from the toner discharge port, and includes a supported portion supported by the toner container support portion in a non-rotating manner; And an opening / closing member for opening and closing the toner discharge port in synchronization with the detaching operation of the supported portion to the support portion.

According to the invention disclosed in claim 2, in the toner container according to claim 1, the opening / closing member is provided in the toner container support in synchronization with the mounting operation to the toner container support to open the toner discharge port. And a plug member pushed by the nozzle, and pushed by the biasing member in synchronization with the disengaging operation from the toner container support to close the toner discharge port.

According to the invention disclosed in claim 3, in the toner container according to claim 2, the biasing member is provided in the toner container support, and blocks the mounting of the supported portion in synchronization with the mounting operation of the toner container. And a claw member that contracts to a position where it does not, and thus protrudes to a position engaged with the plug member, simultaneously urges the plug member in synchronization with the detachment operation of the toner container, and thus contracts to a position that does not block the detachment of the supported portion. Characterized in that.

According to the invention disclosed in claim 4, in the toner container according to claim 3, the claw member is engaged with the plug member to fix the position of the plug member together with the nozzle at the toner container support, The branch is characterized by further moving along the detachment direction at a position where the plug member is fixed to open and close the toner discharge port.

According to the invention disclosed in claim 5, in the toner container according to claim 3, the claw member is biased by the second biasing member from the contracted position to the engaged position, and the second biased member is The member is formed so that the force for applying the plug member is greater than the sliding resistance of the plug member.

According to the invention disclosed in claim 6, in the toner container according to claim 2, the plug member is configured such that the stroke when the toner discharge port is opened and closed is longer than the manually movable stroke. It is characterized by.

According to the invention disclosed in claim 7, the toner container according to claim 2 is connected by a pump for sending or feeding gas to the inside to convey the toner discharged from the toner discharge port together with the gas. It is characterized in that connected to the conveying pipe 71 through the nozzle.

According to the invention disclosed in claim 8, the toner container according to claim 1, wherein the supported portion includes a sliding portion that slides along the toner container support in synchronization with the detaching operation to the toner container support; The opening and closing member is installed at a position surrounded by the sliding portion.

According to the invention disclosed in claim 9, the toner container according to claim 1 is characterized in that it is detached along the longitudinal direction of the container body.

According to the invention disclosed in claim 10, the toner container according to claim 9 is characterized in that the toner container support is mounted on the basis that the longitudinal direction of the container body is set in the horizontal direction.

According to the invention disclosed in claim 11, the toner container according to claim 9 is characterized in that the supported portion is mounted as the toner container support so that the supported portion is set as the head of the container body.

According to the invention disclosed in claim 12, the toner container according to claim 1 is characterized in that the container body is rotatably provided and conveys the received toner toward the opening following rotation. .

According to the invention disclosed in claim 13, in the toner container according to claim 12, the container body is provided on the circumferential surface and on the opening side, and a gear for transmitting a rotational driving force to the container body. Characterized in that it comprises a.

According to the invention disclosed in claim 14, the toner container according to claim 12 is characterized in that the container body comprises a spiral protrusion along an inner circumferential surface.

According to the invention disclosed in claim 15, the toner container according to claim 12 is characterized in that the container body includes a conveying member for conveying the received toner toward an opening.

According to the invention disclosed in claim 16, the toner container according to claim 15 is characterized in that the conveying member is a coil or screw rotatably provided.

According to the invention disclosed in claim 17, the toner container according to claim 1 is characterized in that the supported portion communicates with the container body through an opening.

According to the invention disclosed in claim 18, the toner container according to claim 1 is characterized in that the container body accommodates toner therein.

According to the invention disclosed in claim 19, the toner container according to claim 18 is characterized in that the container body accommodates a carrier therein.

According to the present invention disclosed in claim 20, the image forming apparatus includes the toner container according to claim 1, which is detachably mounted to a toner container support portion provided in the image forming apparatus main body.

The present invention optimizes the configuration of the toner container installed in the toner container support. Therefore, the present invention provides a toner container and an image forming apparatus including the same, which have a high operability / processability upon replacement and can reliably reduce the occurrence of toner spots.

1 is an overall schematic view of a printer as an image forming apparatus.

2 is an enlarged view of an imaging unit of the image forming apparatus.

3 is a schematic diagram of a toner supply path of the image forming apparatus.

4 is a perspective view of a portion of the toner container support.

5 is a perspective view of a toner container.

6 is a sectional view of the head side of the toner container.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of a toner container as viewed in the M direction in FIG.

8A is a perspective view of one example of a stirring member.

FIG. 8B is a schematic diagram of an example of the stirring member when viewed in the M direction in FIG. 6.

8C is a side view of one example of the stirring member.

9 is a sectional view of another example of the head side of the toner container.

10 is a schematic view of a toner container support.

11 is a schematic view of a nozzle.

12 is a schematic diagram of how the yellow toner container when mounted in the longitudinal direction is mounted to the toner container support.

Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of how the mounting of the toner container as viewed in the longitudinal direction proceeds.

Fig. 14 is a schematic diagram of a toner container mounted on a toner container supporter when viewed in the longitudinal direction.

Fig. 15 is a schematic view of how the toner container as seen from the support is mounted on the toner container support.

16 is a schematic diagram of a toner container mounted on a toner container support part as viewed from the support part.

17 is a sectional view of the head side of the toner container according to the second embodiment.

18A is a schematic diagram of how the yellow toner container as viewed in the longitudinal direction is mounted as the toner container support.

Fig. 18B is a sectional view of the periphery of the support portion of the supported portion when the yellow toner container as viewed from the upper side is mounted as the toner container support portion.

19A is a schematic diagram of a toner container mounted as a toner container support when viewed in the vertical direction.

Fig. 19B is a sectional view of the periphery of the support when the toner container as viewed from above is mounted as the toner container support.

20 is a perspective view of a toner container according to a third embodiment.

Fig. 21 is a perspective view of an arm pair provided in the toner container supporting portion according to the fourth embodiment.

22 is an exploded perspective view of the arm pair.

Fig. 23 is a schematic diagram of the relationship between the arm pair and the supported portion when the yellow toner container as seen from above is mounted to the toner container support portion.

Fig. 24 is a schematic diagram of the relationship between the arm pair and the supported portion as the mounting of the toner container as viewed from above proceeds.

Fig. 25 is a schematic diagram of the relationship between the arm pair and the supported portion when the toner container when mounted from the top side is mounted to the toner container support portion.

Fig. 26 is a schematic diagram of an arm pair when the toner container according to the fifth embodiment is mounted on the toner container support.

Fig. 27A is a schematic diagram of how the yellow toner container when mounted in the longitudinal direction is mounted to the toner container support.

Fig. 27B is a schematic view of the portion around the support when the yellow toner container when mounted from the top is mounted on the toner container support.

Fig. 28A is a schematic diagram of how the toner container mounting proceeds when viewed in the longitudinal direction.

Fig. 28B is a schematic diagram of a circumferential portion of the support portion of the supported portion as the toner container mounting proceeds from the upper side.

Fig. 29A is a schematic diagram of a toner container mounted on the toner container support part when viewed in the longitudinal direction.

Fig. 29B is a schematic view of the portion around the support when the toner container when mounted from the top is mounted on the toner container support.

30A is a schematic diagram of how the toner container according to the seventh embodiment is mounted on the toner container support.

30B is a schematic diagram of how the toner container according to the seventh embodiment is mounted on the toner container support.

Fig. 31 is a perspective view of a toner container according to the eighth embodiment.

32 is a sectional view of a toner container according to the ninth embodiment.

33 is a sectional view of a toner container according to the tenth embodiment.

34 is a schematic view of a plate member.

35 is a schematic diagram of a toner supply path of the image forming apparatus.

36 is a perspective view of a toner container.

37 is a sectional view of the head side of the toner container.

FIG. 38 is a schematic diagram of a toner container as viewed in the M direction of FIG. 37; FIG.

Fig. 39 is a schematic diagram of how the yellow toner container when mounted in the longitudinal direction is mounted to the toner container support.

40 is a schematic diagram of how the toner container mounting proceeds when viewed in the longitudinal direction.

Fig. 41 is a schematic view of a toner container attached to the toner container support part when viewed in the vertical direction.

42 is a graph showing a relationship between the moving position of the supported portion and the load applied from the arm pair to the supported portion during the toner container mounting operation.

FIG. 43 is a perspective view of a toner container detachably mounted to a toner container supporting part according to the twelfth embodiment; FIG.

44 is a sectional view of a toner container according to a twelfth embodiment.

Fig. 45 is a perspective view of a base plate provided in the toner container support.

Fig. 46 is an enlarged partial sectional view of a base plate on which a toner container is installed.

<Description of Symbols for Major Components of Drawings>

1Y, 1M, 1C, 1K photosensitive drum

2Y Cleaning Unit

2a cleaning blade

4Y charger

5Y developing device

6Y, 6M, 6C, 6K Imaging Unit

7 exposure equipment

8 intermediate transfer belt

9Y, 9M, 9C, 9K Primary Transfer Cast Rollers

10 Intermediate Transfer Cleaning Unit

12 Secondary Transfer Backup Roller

13 Cleaning backup roller

14 tension roller

19 Secondary Transfer Roller

20 fusing unit

26 paper feed unit

27 Feed Roller

28 registration roller pair

29 paper-discharge roller pair

30 stack portion

31 Toner Container Support

31a, 31b sliding face (guide rail)

31c positioning member

31c1, 34g1 taper

31d, 31e fitting member

31g drive gear

32Y, 32M, 32C, 32K Toner Container

33Y container body

33a tip

33b turning

33c gear (bottle gear)

33d Gripper

33f, 33h stirring member

33g1 plate member

33g2 ring member

34Y Supported Part (Cap)

34a cap main part

34a1 protrusion

34a2 bearing

34b cap cover

34b1 claw

34c, 340c, 134m support

34c1, 34c2 sliding parts

34d plug member (opening member, shutter)

34e packing

34f compression spring

34g Engaging portion (groove)

34h notch

34k flat portion

34m recessed

34n convex

340m corner portion

35 ID chip

37 Sealing member (sealed body)

43Y Toner Carrier

51Y developing roller

52Y doctor blade

53Y, 54Y Developer Storage Unit

55Y return screw

56Y density sensor

59 Toner Supply

60 screw pump (powder pump)

61 rotor

62 stator

63 suction port

64 Universal Joint

66 motor

67 feed port

70 nozzles (toner return pipe, coupling member)

70a toner supply port (receptive hole)

70b positioning pin

71 tube (return tube (71))

73 holding portion

74 Communication Circuit (Terminal)

75 controller

76 claw member

76a rotary spindle

77 leaf spring (the second biased member)

80Y rotary shaft

81Y Coil (Conveying Member)

83Y threaded rod

83Ya male thread

84Y plate member (transport member)

84Ya female thread

85Y guide portion

90 female pairs (virtual unit)

91 first arm (the second tax element)

92 second arm (virtual element)

93 spindles

94 torsion springs

100 Image forming apparatus main body (device body)

A opening

B Toner Outlet (Supply Port)

G developer

L laser light

P warrior material

310a base plate

31a11 Guide Home

31a12 guide edge

340n nozzle hole

340k positioning hole

340b1 claw

340c2 opening

Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same or equivalent parts are designated by the same reference numerals or numbers, and descriptions of overlapping parts are simplified or omitted if not necessary.

(First embodiment)

A first embodiment of the present invention is described in detail below with respect to FIGS. 1 to 16.

The configuration and operation of the overall image forming apparatus are first described with reference to Figs.

Fig. 1 is an overall schematic view of a printer which is an image forming apparatus, Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of an image unit of the image forming apparatus, Fig. 3 is a schematic view of a toner supply path, and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a portion of a toner container support. to be.

As shown in Fig. 1, the four toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32K correspond to colors (yellow, magenta, cyan and black), and the toner container support portion provided on the upper side of the main body of the image forming apparatus 100. It is arrange | positioned so that detachable (replaceable) is possible with 31.

The intermediate transfer unit 15 is provided below the toner container support. The image units 6Y, 6M, 6C, 6K corresponding to the colors (yellow, magenta, cyan, black) are arranged in tandem manner so as to face the intermediate transfer belt 8 of the intermediate transfer unit 15.

2, the image unit 6Y corresponding to yellow includes a photosensitive drum 1Y, and also includes a charging device 4Y, a developing device 5Y, a developing unit, a cleaning unit 2Y, and a decharger ( decharger (not shown), which is disposed around the photosensitive drum 1Y. An image process (charge process, exposure process, development process, transfer process and cleaning process) is performed on the photosensitive drum 1Y, and a yellow image is formed on the photosensitive drum 1Y.

The other three image units 6M, 6C, and 6K have substantially the same configuration as the image unit 6Y corresponding to yellow except for the other toner colors used, and images corresponding to each toner color are formed. . In the following, the description of the other three image units 6M, 6C, 6K is omitted, and only the yellow image unit 6Y is described below.

With respect to FIG. 2, the photosensitive drum 1Y is manufactured to rotate clockwise in FIG. 2 by a drive motor (not shown). The surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y is uniformly charged at the position of the charging device 4Y (charge process).

 After that, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y reaches a position to emit the laser light L emitted from the exposure apparatus 7 (see Fig. 1), and the exposure light is scanned to form a yellow electrostatic latent image (exposure) process).

Thereafter, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y reaches a position opposite to the developing apparatus 5Y, the electrostatic latent image is developed, and a yellow toner image is formed (development process).

Thereafter, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y reaches a position opposite to the intermediate transfer belt 8 and the primary transfer biasing roller 9Y, and the toner image on the photosensitive drum 1Y is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 8. Transcription (primary transcription process). At this time, a small amount of untransferred toner remains on the photoconductive drum 1Y.

Thereafter, the surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y reaches a position opposite the cleaning unit 2Y, and the untransferred toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 1Y is mechanically accumulated by the cleaning blade 2a ( Cleaning process).

The surface of the photosensitive drum 1Y finally reaches a position opposite the decharger (not shown), and the residual potential on the photosensitive drum 1Y is removed.

The image process is performed on the other image units 6M, 6C, 6K in the same manner as that of the yellow image unit 6Y. That is, the laser light L based on the image information is radiated toward the photosensitive drums of the image units 6M, 6C, and 6K from the exposure apparatus 7 provided on the lower side of the image unit. More specifically, the exposure apparatus 7 emits laser light L from a light source, scans the laser light L with a rotating polygonal mirror, and transmits the laser light L through a plurality of optical elements. It radiates onto the photosensitive drum.

Then, each color toner image formed on the photosensitive drum through the developing process is superimposed and transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 8. In this way, a color image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 8.

1, the intermediate transfer unit 15 includes an intermediate transfer belt 8, four primary transfer biasing rollers 9Y, 9M, 9C, and 9K, a secondary transfer backup roller 12, and a cleaning backup roller 13 ), A tension roller 14 and an intermediate transfer cleaning unit 10. The intermediate transfer belt 8 is unfolded and supported by three rollers 12, 13 and 14, and constantly rotates in the allowable direction (i.e. in the direction indicated by the arrow α) in FIG. 1 by the rotation of the roller 12. Is moved.

The four primary transfer biasing rollers 9Y, 9M, 9C, and 9K are formed by the intermediate transfer belt 8 with the photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K to form respective primary transfer nips. In between. Then, the transfer bias of the polarity and the reverse polarity of the toner is applied to the primary transfer bias rollers 9Y, 9M, 9C, and 9K.

Thereafter, the intermediate transfer belt 8 moves along the arrow direction (α direction) and sequentially passes through the primary transfer nip of the primary transfer biased rollers 9Y, 9M, 9C, and 9K. In this manner, color toner images on the photosensitive drums 1Y, 1M, 1C, and 1K are sequentially superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 8 to perform primary transfer.

Thereafter, the intermediate transfer belt 8 with the superimposed color toner images reached a position opposite to the secondary transfer roller 19. At this point, the secondary transfer backup roller 12 is sandwiched by the intermediate transfer belt 8 with the secondary transfer roller 19 to form the secondary transfer nip. The four color toner images formed on the intermediate transfer belt 8 are transferred to a transfer material P such as transfer paper which is conveyed to the position of the secondary transfer nip. At this time, the non-transfer toner not transferred to the transfer material P remains on the intermediate transfer belt 8.

Thereafter, the intermediate transfer belt 8 reaches the position of the intermediate transfer cleaning unit 10, where non-transfer toner on the intermediate transfer belt 8 accumulates.

In this way, a series of transfer processes performed on the intermediate transfer belt 8 is completed.

The transfer material P conveyed to the position of the secondary transfer nip is conveyed through the paper feed roller 27 and the alignment roller pair 28 from the paper feed unit 26 provided below the apparatus body 100.

More specifically, the transfer material P such as the transfer paper is stored in the paper feeding unit 26 in large quantities. When the paper feed roller 27 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. 1, the uppermost transfer material P is injected into the roller of the alignment roller pair 28.

The transfer material P conveyed to the alignment roller pair 28 stops once at the position of the roller nip between the alignment roller pairs 28 which stopped rotation. Thereafter, the alignment roller pair 8 rotates in synchronization with the color image on the intermediate transfer belt 8, and the transfer material P is conveyed toward the secondary transfer nip. In this manner, the desired color image is transferred to the transfer material P. FIG.

The transfer material P with the color image transferred to the position of the secondary transfer nip is conveyed to the position of the fixing unit 20, where the color image transferred to the surface of the transfer material P is the fixing roller and the push roller. It is fixed on the transfer material P under heat and pressure by a push roller.

Thereafter, the transfer material P is discharged to the outside of the apparatus through the rollers of the discharge roller pair 29. The transfer material P discharged to the outside of the apparatus by the paper discharge roller pair 29 is continuously laminated on the stacking portion 30 as an output image.

In this way, a series of image forming processes are completed in the image forming apparatus.

The configuration and operation of the developing apparatus in the image unit are described in more detail below with reference to FIG. 2.

The developing apparatus 5Y has two conveying screws provided on the developing roller 51Y facing the photosensitive drum 1Y, the doctor blade 52Y facing the developing roller 51Y, and the developer storage units 53Y and 54Y. 55Y and a density detecting sensor 56Y for detecting the toner density of the developer. The developing roller 51Y includes a magnet fixed therein and a sleeve that rotates around the magnet. The two-component developer G containing the carrier and the toner is stored in the developer storage units 53Y and 54Y. The developer storage unit 54Y communicates with the toner conveyance tube 43Y through an opening formed on the upper side thereof.

The developing apparatus 5Y constructed in this manner operates as follows.

The sleeve of the developing roller 51Y rotates in the arrow direction (counterclockwise direction) of FIG. The developer G carried on the developing roller 51Y by the magnetic field formed by the magnet moves along the developing roller 51Y associated with the rotation of the sleeve.

The developer G of the developing apparatus 5Y is controlled so that the toner ratio (toner density) of the developer is in a predetermined range. More specifically, the toner contained in the toner container 32Y is supplied to the developer storage unit 54Y through the toner supply device 59 (see Fig. 3) in accordance with the toner consumption of the developing device 5Y. The configuration and operation of each of the toner supply device 59 and the toner container 32Y will be described later in detail.

Thereafter, the toner supplied to the developer storage unit 54Y is circulated in the two developer storage units 53Y and 54Y while being mixed and stirred with the developer G (in a direction perpendicular to the paper of Fig. 2). move). In the developer G, the toner is attracted to the carrier by frictional charging of the carrier, and is supported on the developer roller 51Y together with the carrier by a magnetic force formed on the developer roller 51Y.

The developer G supported on the developing roller 51Y is conveyed in the arrow direction (counterclockwise direction) in FIG. 2 to reach the position of the doctor blade 52Y. At this position, the amount of the developer becomes appropriate, and therefore, the developer G on the developing roller 51Y is conveyed to a position (developing area) facing the photosensitive drum 1Y. The toner is attracted to the latent image formed on the photosensitive drum 1Y by the electric field formed in the developing area. Therefore, the developer G remaining on the developing roller 51Y reaches the upper side of the developer storage unit 53Y associated with the rotation of the sleeve, where the developer G is the developing roller 51Y. Separated from.

The toner supply device 59 for guiding the toner contained in the toner container 32Y (the chemical storage container) to the developing device 5Y is described in detail below with reference to FIG.

For ease of understanding, FIG. 3 shows the changed arrangement of the toner container 32Y, the toner supply paths 43Y, 60, 70, 71 and the developing apparatus 5Y. In practice, in Fig. 3, the longitudinal direction of the toner container 32Y and the toner supply path portion is disposed in the direction perpendicular to the paper (see Fig. 1).

4, the toner inside the toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32K disposed on the toner container support 31 of the apparatus body 100, if necessary, in accordance with each toner consumption in the developing apparatus for color. It is supplied to each developing apparatus through a toner supply path provided for each toner color. The four toner supply paths have almost the same configuration as the other ones except for the different toner colors used in each image process.

More specifically, the toner container 32Y is installed in the toner container support part 31 of the apparatus body 100, and the nozzle 70 of the toner container support part 31 is the supported portion 34Y, of the toner container 32Y. Cap). The plug member 34d (opening and closing member) of the toner container 32Y opens the toner discharge port (supply port) of the supported portion 34Y in this state. Therefore, the toner contained in the container body 33Y of the toner container 32Y is conveyed to the nozzle 70 through the toner discharge port.

On the other hand, the other end of the nozzle 70 is connected to one end of the tube 71 as the conveying tube 71. The tube 71 is made of a flexible material excellent in toner resistance, and the other end thereof is connected by a screw pump 60 (Mohno pump, powder pump) of the toner supply device 59.

The tube 71 which is the conveyance tube 71 is formed so that internal diameter may become 4 mm-10 mm. The material of the tube 71 uses rubber materials such as polyurethane, nitrile, EPDM, and silicone and resin materials such as polyethylene and nylon. Such a flexible tube 71 is used to increase the flexibility in the arrangement of the toner supply path, thus miniaturizing the image forming apparatus.

The screw pump 60 is a suction type uniaxial eccentric screw pump and includes a rotor 61, a stator 62, a suction port 63, a universal joint 64, and a motor 66. The rotor 61, stator 62 and universal joint 64 are housed inside a casing (not shown). The stator 62 is a female screw member made of an elastic material such as rubber, and a double pitch spiral groove is formed along the inside of the stator 62. The rotor 61 is a male screw member in which a shaft made of steel such as metal is spirally formed, and is inserted into the stator 62 so as to be rotatable. One end of the rotor 61 is coupled to the motor 66 so as to be rotatable through the universal joint 64.

In the first embodiment, the spiral direction (turning direction) and the rotation direction of the rotor 61 correspond to the spiral direction and the rotation direction of the projection 33b formed in the container body 33Y of the toner container 32Y. It is installed as possible.

The screw pump 60 configured in the above manner is the inlet 63 by rotating the rotor 61 of the stator 62 by the motor 66 in a predetermined direction (counterclockwise when viewed from an upstream side in the toner conveying direction). At the suction force (air in the tube 71 is expelled to generate negative pressure inside the tube 71). Thus, the toner in the toner container 32Y is sucked into the suction port 63 through the tube 71 together with the air. The toner sucked into the suction port 63 is sent to the gap between the stator 62 and the rotor 61, and injected into the other end side as the rotor 61 rotates. The injected toner is discharged from the injection port 67 of the screw pump 60 and supplied to the developing apparatus 5Y through the toner conveying pipe 43Y (movement in the direction of the arrow indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 3).

In the first embodiment, the rotor 61 of the screw pump 60 is manufactured to rotate counterclockwise when viewed from the upstream side in the toner conveyance direction. The spiral direction (switching direction) of the rotor 61 is provided in the right direction. This installation and rotation of the rotor 61 causes a clockwise helical air flow vortex that is formed in the screw pump 60.

The toner container is described below with respect to Figs.

As described with respect to Figs. 1 to 4, four substantially cylindrical toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C, 32K, and toner bottles are provided to be detachable from the toner container support 31. Figs. Toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32K are replaced with new ones when they reach the end of their lifetime (when almost all of the toner received is exhausted and the container is empty). The toners of each color accommodated in the toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32K are transferred to the developing devices of the image units 6Y, 6M, 6C, and 6K as needed through respective toner supply paths described with reference to FIG. Supplied.

5 is a perspective view of the toner container 32Y. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the head side (side to which the supported portion 34Y is provided) of the toner container 32Y. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram of the toner container 32Y of FIG. 6 as viewed in the M direction in FIG. 6. FIG. 8A is a perspective view of one example of the stirring member, FIG. 8B is a schematic diagram of one example of the stirring member as seen in the M direction in FIG. 6, and FIG. 8C is a side view of one example of the stirring member. 9 is a sectional view of another example of the head side of the toner container 32Y.

The other three toner containers 32M, 32C, and 32K are almost the same as the toner container 32Y containing yellow toner, except for the different toner colors received and the positions of the recesses 34m and the convex portions 34n. Has a configuration. In the following, description of the other three toner containers 32M, 32C, and 32K will be omitted, and only the toner container 32Y containing yellow toner will be described below.

As shown in Fig. 5, the toner container 32Y mainly includes a container body 33Y and a supported portion 34Y (bottle cap) provided at its head.

The head of the container body 33Y includes a gear 33c and an opening A that rotate integrally with the container body 33Y (see FIG. 6). The opening A is installed in the head of the container body 33Y (a tip position when attached) and used to discharge the toner contained in the container body 33Y into the space (cavity) of the supported portion 34Y.

The gear 33c is a drive gear 31g of the drive unit provided in the toner container support part 31 of the apparatus body 100 to rotate the container body 33Y about the rotation axis (indicated by the broken line in FIG. 6). ) More specifically, the gear 33c is exposed at the notched portion 34h formed in the supported portion 34Y, and the drive gear of the apparatus body 100 in the engaged position D shown in FIGS. 6 and 7. 31g). The driving force is transmitted from the drive gear 31g to the gear 33c, and the container body 33Y is made to rotate counterclockwise in FIG. In the first embodiment, the drive gear 31g and the gear 33c are spur gears.

In the first embodiment, the toner container 32Y and the apparatus body 100 are driven when the drive gear 31g rotates in the direction of the arrow (clockwise) in Fig. 7 (mainly when toner is supplied). ), The supported portion 34Y or the container body 33Y is configured to be biased downward by the force applied from the drive gear 31g to the gear 33c.

More specifically, with reference to FIG. 7, the engagement position D between the gear 33c and the drive gear 31g is provided in a range X that rotates quarterly from the top of the gear to the downstream side (top and 1). 4 does not include the position of the rotating gear 33c).

Based on the above configuration, the component force acting downward in the vertical direction is generated by the drive gear 31g acting vertically on the gear surface of the gear 33c. Therefore, the sealing performance for the nozzle 70 in communication with the toner outlet B is maintained without large vertical fluctuations of the supported portion 34Y, thus preventing toner from scattering around the toner outlet B. As shown in FIG.

Referring to Fig. 5, the gripper 33d is provided at the rear end (bottom) of the toner body 33Y so that the user can fold for detachment of the toner container 32Y.

The spiral protrusion 33b is provided along the inner circumferential surface of the container body 33Y (helical groove as viewed from the outer circumferential side). The spiral protrusion 33b is used to discharge the toner from the opening A by rotating the container body 33Y in a predetermined direction. The container body 33Y configured in this manner and the gear 33c provided along the circumferential surface can be manufactured by blow molding.

The toner container 32Y according to the first embodiment has a stirring member 33f that rotates together with the container body 33Y provided in the opening A (see Fig. 6). The stirring member 33f is a rod-shaped member or a plate member that extends from the space of the supported portion 34Y toward the container body 33Y, and is provided at an angle to the rotation axis (indicated by the broken line in FIG. 6). The stirring member 33f is rotated together with the container body 33Y to improve the toner discharge performance from the opening A. FIG.

In particular, as shown in FIGS. 8A, 8B, and 8C, the ring member 33g2 with the pair of plate members 33g1 is such that each inclination is opposite to each other and is point symmetrical with respect to the center of rotation. Is installed in position. When such ring member 33g2 is fixed to the opening A to form the stirring member, the toner is continuously floated and discharged by the rotating action, and the discharge performance is further improved. As shown in Fig. 9, if the stirring member is extended to a vertical toner discharge path formed in a mortar shape (stirring member 33h), it is assumed that the toner discharge performance is further improved.

In the first embodiment, the container body 33Y of the toner container 32Y is manufactured to rotate counterclockwise when viewed from the upstream side in the toner conveyance direction. In addition, the spiral direction (switching direction) of the projection 33b of the container body 33Y is set to the right direction.

5 and 6, the supported portion 34Y includes a cap main portion 34a, a cap lid 34b, a support portion 34c, a plug member 34d as an opening and closing member, a packing 34e and an ID chip 35. As shown in FIG. It includes. 5 and 7, the engaging portion 34g (groove portion) to which the positioning member 31c of the toner container support portion 31 is engaged is provided on both sides of the supported portion 34Y. A recessed portion 34m into which the fitting member 31d of the toner container support portion 31 is fitted is provided on an end face of the supported portion 34Y. A convex portion 34n fitted with another fitting member (not shown) of the toner container support portion 31 is provided on the circumferential surface of the supported portion 34Y. Moreover, the notch part 34h in which the part of the gear 33c is exposed is provided on the upper side of the to-be-supported part 34Y.

The supported portion 34Y communicates with the container body 33Y through the opening A, and discharges the toner discharged from the opening A from the toner discharge port B (along the arrow direction indicated by the dotted line in Fig. 6). move).

In the first embodiment, the cavity (space) formed inside the supported portion 34Y is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape. The toner discharge path (vertical path) from the substantially cylindrical cavity formed inside the supported portion 34Y to the toner discharge port B is formed in a mortar shape. In this shape, the toner sent out through the rotation of the container body 33Y is temporarily accumulated in the mortar, and the suction force of the screw pump 60 on the apparatus body 100 side is transferred to the efficiently accumulated toner. Therefore, the toner conveyance performance of the toner discharged from the toner discharge port B and moving along the inside of the tube 71 is improved.

The supported portion 34Y does not follow the rotation of the container body 33Y, but the fixing portion 73 of the toner container support portion 31 while the engaging portion 34g is engaged with the positioning member 31c. Support in a non-rotating manner.

The cap cover 34b of the supported portion 34Y is joined to the circumferential surface of the cap main portion 34a. The claw 34b1 is provided at the front of the cap cover 34b. The claw 34b1 is engaged with the engaging member formed in the head of the container body 33Y, and the container body 33Y is supported to be rotatable relative to the supported portion 34Y. In order to smoothly rotate the container body 33Y, the claw 34b1 of the supported portion 34Y and the engaging member of the container body 33Y are coupled to each other by maintaining an appropriate gap therebetween.

The sealing member 37 is attached to the surface of the supported portion 34Y opposite to the tip 33a around the opening A of the container body 33Y. The sealing member 37 is used to seal the gap around the opening A, and is located between the surface of the container body 33Y and the supported portions 34Y opposed to each other, and made of an elastic material such as polyurethane foam. do.

The support part 34c is provided below the to-be-supported part 34Y. The plug member 34d (shutter) is provided in the support portion 34c as an opening / closing member for opening and closing the toner discharge port B in synchronization with the detaching operation of the toner container 32Y. More specifically, the plug member 34d is movable in the supporting portion 34c in the horizontal direction of FIG. 6 so as to be surrounded by the sliding surfaces 34c1 and 34c2. The claw member 76 of the device body 100 is engaged with the plug member 34d, and the space (concave) is installed on the bottom surface of the support portion 34c so that the floor member 34d moves relatively in the space. do. Packing 34e, such as a G seal, is provided on both sides of the plug member 34d to prevent toner leakage from near the plug member 34d. In addition, a packing such as an O-ring is provided at the engaging portion between the support portion 34c and the cap main portion 34a to prevent toner leakage from both gaps.

The toner container 32Y is disposed on the toner container support 31, and then the claw member 76 (see FIGS. 5 and 14) is engaged with the right side of the plug member 34d, and the claw member 76 is toner It is a biasing member which adds the plug member 34d to the direction in which the discharge port B is closed. The claw member 76 is described in detail later.

The ID chip 35 of the to-be-supported portion 34Y synchronizes with the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y to the toner container support portion 31, and the communication circuit of the toner container support portion 31 with a predetermined distance therebetween ( 74, terminal). More specifically, the ID chip 35 is formed on the protrusion 34a1 protruding in the direction in which the supported portion 34Y is mounted on the toner container support portion 31 (that is, the direction shown by the arrow β in FIG. 5). Is installed on a plane orthogonal to the mounting direction. The ID chip 35 performs contactless communication (radio communication) with the communication circuit 74 of the apparatus body while the supported portion 34Y is supported by the toner container support portion 31.

The ID chip 35 already stores various kinds of information about the toner container 31. On the other hand, the communication circuit 74 of the toner container support part 31 exchanges information with the ID chip 35 by radio waves while the toner container 32Y is disposed on the toner container support part 31. More specifically, the information stored in the ID chip 35 is transmitted to the controller 75 (see FIG. 5) of the device body 100 through the communication circuit 74 or the device body (obtained by the controller 75). Information about 100 is transmitted to the ID chip 35 and stored there.

The ID chip 35 is used for recycling the toner container 32Y such as information on the toner, such as toner color, production number of the toner (production lot), and date of manufacture of the toner, and the number of times of recycling, recycling date and recycling manufacturer. Stores information about When the toner container 32Y is disposed on the toner container support 31, the information stored in the ID chip 35 is transmitted to the controller 75 of the apparatus body 100 through the electric circuit 74. The device body 100 is optimally controlled based on this information. For example, if the toner color is different from the toner color to be placed on the toner container support, the operation of the toner supply device 59 may be stopped or the image conditions may change depending on the serial number or recycling manufacturer.

Following the desorption operation to the toner container support part 31, the slide parts 34c1 and 34c2 which slide along the toner container support part 31 are provided in the support part 34c of the to-be-supported part 34Y.

More specifically, the first sliding portion 34c1 is parallel to the sliding surface 31a of the toner container support portion 31 (a flat surface having a flat surface formed upwardly, FIGS. 10 and 45 and later). 46) is a flat portion formed, and the flat portion is provided at the bottom of the supported portion 34Y on which the detachment operation is performed. Further, the second sliding portion 34c2 is parallel to the sliding surface 31b of the toner container support portion 31 (a plane having a laterally flat surface, see FIGS. 45 and 46 described later). It is a flat part formed, and a flat part is provided in the side part of the to-be-supported part 34Y in which desorption operation | movement is performed.

5 and 7, the recessed part 34m fitted to the fitting member 31d of the toner container support part 31 is provided at the end of the supported part 34Y and in the vicinity of the protrusion 34a1. . The convex part 34m is formed to be fitted to the corresponding fitting member 31d when the mounting operation to the toner container support part 31 is correct (when the toner container support part 31 is mounted in the normal position).

More specifically, as shown in Fig. 7, the positions of the recesses 34m are arranged differently from each other in accordance with each color of the toner contained in the toner container (container body). The concave portions 34m and C of the toner container corresponding to cyan and the corresponding fitting members (not shown) of the toner container support are disposed on the uppermost side and the concave portions 34m and M of the toner container corresponding to magenta. The corresponding fitting member (not shown) of the toner container support is disposed above the intermediate stage. The concave portions 34m and Y of the toner container corresponding to yellow and the corresponding fitting members 31d of the toner container support portion are disposed below the intermediate stage, and the concave portions 34m and K of the toner container corresponding to black are provided. The corresponding fitting member (not shown) of the toner container support is disposed at the lowermost side.

This configuration prevents an error such that an inappropriate color toner container (e.g., yellow toner container) is placed on the crystal color toner container support (e.g., cyan toner container support) to form the desired color color. .

Similarly, with respect to Figs. 5 and 7, a convex portion 34n into which another fitting member (not shown) is fitted is provided on the circumferential surface of the supported portion 34Y. Similar to the concave portion 34m, the convex portion 34n is fitted with a corresponding fitting member when the toner container is properly mounted to the toner container support 31. As shown in FIG. The position of the convex part 34n is comprised so that it may differ from each other according to each color of the toner accommodated in a toner container (container body).

The above configuration prevents incorrect installation of the toner container at the toner container support, similarly to the recessed portion 34m.

In the first embodiment, as the toner contained in the toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32K, a toner formed so as to maintain the following relationship is used, and in the following, Dv (µm) is a volume average particle size. size), and Dn (μm) is the number average particle size.

3≤Dv≤8 (1)

1.00≤Dv / Dn≤1.40 (2)

Therefore, the toner particles are selected according to the image pattern of the developing process, excellent ring image quality is maintained, and satisfactory developing performance is maintained even if the toner is stirred in the developing apparatus for a long time. Also, the toner can be conveyed effectively and reliably without blocking the toner supply path such as the tube 71.

The volume average and number average particle diameters of the toner are typical such as Coulter Counter TA-II (manufactured by Coulter Electronics Limited) or Coulter Multisizer II (manufactured by Coulter Electronics Limited), a Coulter Counter type particle size distribution measuring device. It can be measured using the equipment.

Further, in the first embodiment, as the toner contained in the toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32K, substantially spherical toner is used, and the toner has a shape factor SF-1 in the range of 100 to 180 and a shape factor ( SF-2) is formed to be in the range of 100 to 180. This suppresses a decrease in cleaning performance while high transfer rates are maintained. Also, the toner can be efficiently and reliably conveyed without blocking the toner supply path such as the tube 71.

Here, the shape coefficient SF-1 represents the sphericity of the toner particles, and is determined by the following equation.

SF-1 = (M ² / S) × (100π / 4)

In the equation, M is the maximum particle diameter (largest particle diameter among nonuniform particle diameters) in the projection plane of the toner particles, and S is the projected area of the toner particles. Therefore, the toner particles having a shape coefficient SF-1 of 100 are perfectly spherical, and larger than 100 results in lower sphericity.

The shape coefficient SF-2 indicates the irregularity of the toner particles and is determined by the following equation.

SF-2 = (N ² / S) × (100 / 4π)

In the equation, N is the circumferential length of the projection plane of the toner particles, and S is the projection area of the toner particles. Therefore, the toner particles having the shape factor SF-2 of 100 do not have nonuniformity, and as the size of the toner particles exceeds 100, the nonuniformity increases.

The shape coefficient SF-1 and the shape coefficient SF-2 are photographed with toner particles by a scanning electron microscope "S-800" (manufactured by Hitachi, Ltd.), and an image analyzer ( image analyzer) Obtained by analyzing photographs of toner particles obtained by "LUSEX3" (manufactured by Nireco Corp.).

The configuration of the toner container support 31 is described below with respect to FIGS. 10 and 11.

Fig. 10 is a schematic view of the college on the toner container support, and Fig. 11 is a schematic view of the nozzle.

Referring to Fig. 10, the toner container support part 31 includes: slide surfaces 31a and 31b in which the slide part slides along each of the supported parts of the four toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32K; A fixing portion 73 for fixing the position of the supporting portion 34c of the supported portion; Nozzle 70; A drive unit (drive gear 31g is installed) for transmitting the rotational driving force to the container body 33Y; Communication circuitry 74; An arm pair 90 (virtual unit) for adding the supported portion 34Y toward the fixed portion 73 in synchronization with the mounting of the toner container 32Y; And a claw member 76 (virtual member) for biasing the plug member 34d in the direction in which the toner discharge port B of the toner container 32Y is closed.

The fixing portion 73 supports the supported portions of each of the toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32K in a non-rotating manner. The fixing portion 73 includes a sliding surface in contact with the support portion 34c and a contact surface in contact with the portion of the cap cover 34b. The positioning member 31c for positioning in synchronization with the mounting operation of the supported portion 34Y is provided on the sliding surface (side surface) of the fixing portion 73 (see Fig. 5). The positioning member 31c is a convex portion extending along the detaching direction of the toner container 32Y.

The claw member 76 is installed on the sliding surface (bottom) of the fixing portion 73 as a biasing member for adding the plug member 34d in the direction in which the toner discharge port B is closed in synchronization with the detachment of the supported portion 34Y. (See Figs. 5 and 12-14). The claw member 76 is supported to be rotatable by the toner container support 31 around the rotating spindle 76a in the direction (R direction) of the double-headed arrow of FIG. More specifically, the claw member 76 engages the plug member 34d from the retracted position by the leaf spring 77 (the second biased member) fixed to the lower side of the claw member 76 in FIGS. 3 and 5. In the direction of protruding to the position to be made, the claw member 76 is biased (loaded in the direction of the arrow R2 in FIG. 13), which does not prevent detachment of the supported portion 34Y.

In addition, the communication circuit 74 and the fitting member 31d are provided on the surface of the fixing portion 73 at the rear side.

As shown in FIG. 11, the nozzle 70 is disposed in the fixing portion 73 of each toner color. The toner supply port 70a communicating with the toner discharge port B formed in the supported portion 34Y of the toner container 32Y is provided in the nozzle 70.

Desorption operation of the toner container 32Y to the toner container support part 31 is described below with reference to FIGS. 12 to 16.

12 is a schematic view of how the yellow toner container 32Y is mounted to the toner container support 31 when viewed in the vertical direction (moving in the arrow Q direction). Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram of how the mounting of the toner container 32Y proceeds (when the toner discharge port B starts to open) when viewed in the longitudinal direction. Fig. 14 is a schematic view of the toner container 32Y mounted on the toner container support 31 in the longitudinal direction (when the opening of the toner discharge port B is completed). Fig. 15 is a schematic diagram of how the toner container 32Y is mounted to the toner container support part 31 as viewed from the support part 34c side. Fig. 16 is a schematic view of the toner container 32Y mounted to the toner container support part 31 as viewed from the support part 34c side.

When the toner container 32Y is mounted on the toner container support part 31 of the apparatus body 100, at first, a main body cover installed on the front side (near side on the paper in FIG. 1) of the main body of the image forming apparatus 100 (Not shown) is opened to expose the toner container support 31 to the front side.

Thus, with respect to Fig. 12, the toner container 32Y is pressed into the toner container support 31 (movement in the arrow Q direction). More specifically, the toner container 32Y is arranged along the longitudinal direction of the container body 33Y or the toner container 32Y so that the supported portion 34Y is the head of the container body 3Y. Is fitted with.

At this time, the first slide portion 34c1 slides along the slide surface 31a of the toner container support portion 31 on the head side of the toner container 32Y, and the second slide portion 34c2 moves on the toner container support portion 31. While sliding along the sliding surface 31b of the toner container 32Y, the toner container 32Y is kept in balance with the user holding the gripper 33d at the rear side of the toner container 32Y. It is pressed in).

Thereafter, when the support portion 34c of the toner container 32Y reaches the fixing portion 73 of the toner container support portion 31, the positioning of the supported portion 34Y starts. More specifically, the engaging portion 34g of the supported portion and the positioning member 31c of the toner container support portion 31 start to engage with each other. In the meantime, the arm pair 90 adds the to-be-supported part 34Y of the toner container 32Y toward the fixing part 73 (addition to the arrow Q direction).

In addition, the claw member 76 provided in the fixed portion 73 of the toner container support portion 31 is contracted to a position which does not prevent the mounting of the supported portion 34Y (around the rotating spindle 76a). Rotation in the direction of the arrow (R1). More specifically, the claw member 76 is pushed down by the sliding part 34c1 in a direction that resists the force of the leaf spring 77 as the second force member.

Thereafter, when the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y is further progressed, while the engaging portion 34g and the positioning member 31c are engaged with each other, the plug member 34d starts to open the toner discharge port B. FIG. (State as shown in FIG. 13). More specifically, the plug member 34d is pressed by the nozzle 70 in connection with the tip of the nozzle 70 being inserted into the hole of the support portion 34c.

At this time, just before the tip of the nozzle 70 touches the plug member 34d, the claw member 76 protrudes from the contracted position in Fig. 12 to the position where the plug member 34d is engaged (periphery of the rotating spindle 76a). Rotation in the direction of the arrow (R2). More specifically, the claw member 76 is released from being pushed by the sliding part 34c1, and is pressed to the initial position by the force of the leaf spring as the second biasing member.

In this initial position, the claw member 76 protrudes toward the space, which is on the container body 33Y side of the plug member 34d, away from the nozzle 70, and protrudes from the surface of the plug member 34d. Between the engaging portion (of plug member 34d) and the container body 33Y side, all of which are provided on both sides of the space in the horizontal direction.

Ideally, from the viewpoint of preventing toner scattering, the claw member 76 is preferably engaged with the engaging portion of the plug member 34d when the claw member 76 is pushed up, but the claw member 76 is about 0.5 It is preferably configured to be pressed to a position away from the mating surface to maintain a mechanical tolerance of mm to 3 mm. This configuration allows the claw member 76 to easily wait in advance for engagement with the engaging portion of the plug member 34d when the user presses the toner container into the toner container support.

If the tip of the nozzle 70 contacts the tip of the plug member 34d to initiate movement of the plug member 34d before the claw member 76 is pushed to its initial position, the claw member 76 is machined. Not to be engaged with the engaging portion of the plug member 34d in accordance with the setting of the normal tolerance, and when the user later retracts the toner container from the feeling of something else, such as toner may leak from the toner discharge port. An error is expected.

The state as shown in Fig. 13 is that the plug member 34d is supported by the nozzle 70 and the claw member 76, and the position thereof is fixed to the toner paper support portion 31, the fixing portion 73. . If the toner container 32Y is further moved in the mounting direction (in the arrow Q direction) from the state of Fig. 13, while the position of the plug member 34d is fixed to the fixing portion 73 (the plug member 34d is relatively Toner discharge port B is opened.

Thus, with respect to Fig. 14, the position of the supported portion 34Y is fixed at the position where the support portion 34c abuts against the fixing portion 73 (reference position for collision), and at the same time, the plug member 34d is connected to the toner discharge port ( B) is completely opened, and the gear 33c of the toner container 32Y is engaged with the drive gear 31g of the drive unit of the toner container support 31. As an electronic board, the ID chip 35 faces the communication circuit 74 at a position that enables radio wave communication. Further, in order to comply with the incompatibility of the toner container, the concave portion 34m and the convex portion 34n are fitted in the fitting members 31d and 31e of the apparatus body. The toner discharge port B of the toner container 32Y communicates with the toner supply port 70a of the nozzle 70, and the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y is also completed.

On the other hand, when the toner container 32Y is withdrawn (removed) from the toner container support 31 of the apparatus body 100, the operation is performed in the reverse order of mounting.

Initially, in order to close the toner discharge port B (movement from the state of FIG. 14 to the state of FIG. 13), the synchronizing with the separation from the fixing portion 73 of the toner container 32Y (release operation) is performed. While the position of the plug member 34d in the top portion 73 is fixed by the nozzle 70 and the claw member 76, the plug member 34d is biased by the claw member 76. At this time, the end (right end in FIG. 13) of the plug member 34d is fitted to the fitting portion formed in the supported portion 34Y, and the closing of the toner discharge port B is completed by the plug member 34d. Then, when moving further from the state of FIG. 13 in the direction in which the toner container 32Y is separated (the direction opposite to the arrow Q), the claw member 76 is moved to a position where the separation of the supported portion 34Y is not disturbed. (State of FIG. 12). After the supported portion 34Y is completely separated, the claw member 76 is released from the press by the sliding portion 34c1 to return to the initial position by the force of the leaf spring, which is the second biasing member.

Here, the leaf spring 77 is a second biased member that biases the claw member 76 from the retracted position to the engaged position. Such leaf spring 77 is such that the force that the claw member 76 applies to the plug member 34d is greater than the sliding resistance of the plug member 34d (generated by packing of the O-rings involved in the opening and closing operation), Is formed. This prevents an error such as the claw member 76 being pushed by the plug member 34d to move to the retracted position during the toner container 32Y's disengagement operation so that the toner discharge port B is not completely closed. That is, the plug member 34d completely closes the toner discharge port B in the detachment operation of the toner container 32Y.

In the first embodiment, since the position of the plug member 34d is supported by the nozzle 70 and the claw member 76 to be securely fixed to the toner container support 31, the apparatus body 100 operates. The plug member 34d is not displaced even when it is in use. Therefore, it is possible to prevent toner scattering near the toner discharge port B. FIG.

In the first embodiment, the stroke of the plug member 34d when the toner discharge port B is opened and closed is set to be longer than the stroke movable by manual operation (operation of pressing the plug member with a finger). That is, even if the user accidentally touches the plug member 34d of the toner container 32Y, the stroke of the plug member 34d is set long enough so that the toner discharge port B does not open. More specifically, the plug member 34d is formed so that its length is sufficiently long (in particular, the length from the end where the nozzle is engaged with the toner discharge port), and the inner diameter of the plug member 34d is compared with the size of the finger of the user. It is formed to be made smaller enough. Therefore, as described in the first embodiment, the biasing member (claw member 76) for biasing the plug member 34d in the direction of closing the toner discharge port B is not provided in the toner container 32Y. Also, it is possible to prevent toner scattering near the toner discharge port B caused by a user's erroneous operation. However, in the first embodiment, since the biasing member (claw member 76) for adding the plug member 34d is provided in the apparatus body 100, the number of parts in the toner container 32Y can be reduced. And thus, the part price and running cost can be reduced.

In the first embodiment, as shown in Figs. 6, 15 and 16, the plug member 34d is provided at a position surrounded by the sliding portions 34c1 and 34c2. That is, the plug member 34d is provided inside the supported portion 34Y. This configuration allows the sliding operation (removal operation) of the sliding portions 34c1 and 34c2 to be performed reliably without disturbing the opening and closing operation of the toner discharge port B by the plug member 34d. That is, the sliding parts 34c1 and 34c2 are utilized as a protective wall for the plug member 34d. In addition, the cylinder portion of the plug member 34d is covered with the support portion 34c of the supported portion 34Y, so as not to be exposed regardless of opening and closing of the plug. Thus, it is possible to maintain airtightness regardless of opening and closing of the plug. Further, the plug member 34d has two plates protruding symmetrically in the axial direction of the cylinder portion and in the direction perpendicular thereto as the engaging portion of the claw member 76. Although the two plates are exposed to engage the claw member 76, they are placed at a high position by the thickness of the support 34c. Therefore, even when the toner container 32Y is detached to the main body of the image forming apparatus 100, there is no possibility that the toner container slides on the sliding surface 31a of the toner container support part 31 and the plug is inadvertently opened. It is configured to prevent toner scattering.

As described above, in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment, the attaching operation and detaching operation of the toner container 32Y are performed by the sliding portion 34c1 of the toner container 32Y along the sliding surface 31a. In order to slide, it is completed by one operation (except opening / closing operation | movement of a main body door).

The toner container 32Y according to the first embodiment includes a supported portion 34Y having a toner discharge port B installed downward in the vertical direction. The toner discharge port B is provided below the opening A in the vertical direction, and after the plug member 34d is reliably positioned in synchronization with the mounting operation, the plug member 34d is sealed by the packing 34e. Pressed by the nozzle 70 to open the toner discharge port B. FIG. Therefore, there is less toner stain in the toner discharge port B, and inconveniences such as touching the toner discharge port B and getting the user's hand dirty with the toner are prevented.

Since the detachment operation of the toner container 32Y to the toner container support part 31 is performed by one operation in connection with the sliding of the slide part 34c1, the operability / processability at the time of replacing the toner container 32Y is improved. In particular, the slide portion 34c1 is provided at the bottom of the supported portion 34Y so that the slide portion 34c1 slides along the slide surface 31a while supporting the toner container 32Y.

In addition, the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y is such that the user starts to grip the gripper 33d directly and slides the slide portion 34c1, and the positioning of the supported portion 34Y that is added together by the arm pair 90 is performed. And the insertion of the nozzle 70 is started, and at the same time as the slide ends, the positioning of the supported portion 34Y, the insertion of the nozzle 70 and the connection to the drive unit are performed. Therefore, the user feels a click when the supported portion 34Y is positioned at the same time as the sliding (mounting by one operation) of the supported portion 34Y proceeds, and in the mounting operation, an error-free operation is performed. Receive confidence

Further, the toner container 32Y is not installed in the toner container support part 31 (device body 100) from the upper side, but desorption is performed from the front of the toner container support part 31 (device body 100), and thus, the toner The flexibility of the arrangement for the upper side of the vessel support 31 is improved. For example, even if the scanner (document reader) is disposed directly above the toner supply device 59, the operability / processability at the time of detachment of the toner container 32Y does not deteriorate. In addition, the flexibility of the arrangement for the engaging portion D between the gear 33c of the toner container 32Y and the drive gear 31g of the apparatus body 100 is also improved.

The toner container 32Y is installed in the apparatus body 100 with the longitudinal direction arranged in the horizontal direction, and thus the toner capacity of the toner container 32Y affects the arrangement in the height direction of the entire image forming apparatus 100. Increases without reaching, resulting in a reduction in replacement cycles.

As described above, in the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment, the plug member 34d of the supported portion 34Y is subjected to an operation performed when the toner container 32Y is detached from the toner container support portion 31. The toner discharge port B is opened and closed in synchronization with the desorption operation. Therefore, operability / processability is improved when the toner container 32Y is replaced, and the occurrence of toner spots is surely reduced.

In the first embodiment, the toner is contained only in the respective container bodies of the toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32K, but the image supplying the two-component developer containing the toner and the carrier to each developing apparatus. In the case of the forming apparatus, the two-component developer can also be contained in each container body of the toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32K. Even in this case, the same effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained.

In the first embodiment, the projection 33b is integrally formed on the inner distal surface of the container body 33Y, and the container body 33Y is manufactured to rotate. At the same time, the coil or screw is rotatably supported inside the container body 33Y, and the container body 33Y is not rotated, but the coil or screw can be rotated by the gear 33c. Also in this case, if the plug member 34d of the supported portion 34Y opens and closes the toner discharge port B in synchronization with the detaching operation of the toner container 32Y by one operation, the same effect as that of the first embodiment is obtained. Can be achieved.

In the first embodiment, the suction type screw pump 60 which sends air to the inside of the tube 71 is provided in the toner supply device 59. At the same time, the discharge type screw pump that sends air into the tube 71 can also be installed inside the toner supply device 59. In addition, a diaphragm-type air pump may also be used as the pump connected to the tube 71. Even in this case, when the plug member 34d of the supported portion 34Y opens and closes the toner discharge port B in synchronization with the desorption operation of the toner container 32Y by one operation, the same effect as in the first embodiment is achieved. Can be.

(Second embodiment)

A second embodiment of the present invention is described in detail below with respect to FIGS. 17 to 19.

17 is a sectional view of the head side of the toner container according to the second embodiment, corresponding to that of FIG. 6 according to the first embodiment.

Regarding FIG. 17, the toner container 32Y according to the second embodiment differs from that of the first embodiment in that the compression spring 34f is provided as a member for applying a force to the supported portion 34Y. More specifically, a compression spring 34f for adding the plug member 34d in the direction of closing the toner discharge port B is provided on the right side of the plug member 34d.

The mounting operation of the toner container 32Y to the toner container support part 31 is described below with respect to Figs.

Fig. 18A is a schematic diagram of how the yellow toner container 32Y is mounted to the toner container support portion 31 (moving in the arrow direction) when viewed in the vertical direction, and Fig. 18B is a supported portion in a state when viewed from above. It is sectional drawing about the part around the support part 34c of 34Y. Fig. 19A is a schematic view (mounting completed) of the toner container 32Y mounted to the toner container support part 31 when viewed in the longitudinal direction, and Fig. 19B is a circumference of the support portion 34c in the state as seen from the upper side. Sectional view of the part.

The toner container support 31 includes four toner container supports corresponding to the four toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32K. Each of the four toner container supports includes: slide surfaces 31a and 31b along which the slide portions 34c1 and 34c2 of the supported portion 34Y slide; A fixing portion 73 for fixing the position of the supporting portion 34c of the supported portion 34Y; A nozzle 70 (toner conveying tube); And a drive unit (not shown) for transmitting rotational drive force to the container body 33Y. The fixing portion 73 includes sliding surfaces 31a and 31b in contact with the support portion 34c and a contact surface (not shown) in contact with a portion of the cap cover 34b.

When the toner container 32Y is mounted on the toner container support part 31 of the apparatus body 100, at first, a main body cover installed on the front side (near side on the paper in FIG. 1) of the main body of the image forming apparatus 100 (Not shown) is opened to expose the toner container support 31 to the front side.

Thereafter, with respect to FIG. 18A, the toner container 32Y is pressed into the toner container support 31 (movement in the arrow direction). More specifically, the toner container support 31 is along the longitudinal direction of the container body 33Y or the toner container 32Y so that the supported portion 34Y is the head of the container body 33Y. Is fitted with.

At this time, the first slide portion 34c1 slides along the slide surface 31a of the toner container support portion 31 on the head side of the toner container 32Y, and the second slide portion 34c2 moves on the toner container support portion 31. Slide along the sliding surface 31b of the &lt; RTI ID = 0.0 &gt;), and during the slide, the toner container 32Y is press-fitted into the toner container support 31, while the user grips and balances the gripper 33d on the rear side of the toner container 32Y. do.

Therefore, when the support portion 34c of the toner container 32Y reaches the fixed portion 73 of the toner container support portion 31, the positioning of the supported portion 34Y starts.

Thereafter, the plug member 34d is pressed by the nozzle 70 in response to the tip of the nozzle 70 being inserted into the hole of the support portion 34c. The position of the supported portion 34Y is fixed to the position at which the support portion 34c abuts on the fixing portion 73, and at the same time, the plug member 34d opens the toner discharge port B completely. As shown in Figs. 19A and 19B, this opening causes the toner discharge port B of the toner container 32Y to communicate with the toner supply port 70a of the nozzle 70, and the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y. Is complete.

Movement into or out of the support part 34c of the nozzle 70 and movement into or out of the support part 34c of the plug member 34d are performed by the two members of the lip of the packing 34e of the support part 34c. lip) in slidable contact (this is the part that forms the inner diameter of the O-ring in FIG. 17 and is on the tip of a pentagon, such as the groove base used in baseball, such as the cross-section of the O-ring shown in FIG. Corresponding).

In the second embodiment, the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y is such that the sliding part 34c1 of the toner container 32Y slides along the sliding surface 31a (except for opening and closing the main body door). Completed by That is, the positioning operation of the supported portion 34Y and the toner container 32Y and the insertion operation of the nozzle 70 are the sliding operation so that the sliding portion 34c1 of the toner container 32Y slides along the sliding surface 31a. Synchronization to is performed sequentially.

When the toner container 32Y is withdrawn (removed) from the toner container support 31 of the apparatus body 100, the operation is performed in the reverse order of mounting. In this case, the toner container 32Y is synchronized with the operation so as to be separated from the fixing portion 73, so that the nozzle 70 is also separated from the support portion 34c, and the plug member 34d is formed of the compression spring 34f. It moves to the position which closes a toner discharge port B by a force.

As the image forming apparatus in which the toner container 32Y is detached, the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment including the claw member 76 as shown in FIG. 3 can be used, which is the eleventh embodiment to be described later. Is different from the image forming apparatus. In this case, the action of the claw member 76 can be superimposed on the action of the compression spring 34f as described with respect to FIGS. 12-14. Therefore, in order to improve the sealing performance of the toner discharge opening B, the airtightness between the plug member 34d and the packing 34e can be further increased. In such a case, the sliding load during the movement of the plug member 34d also increases, but the compression spring 34f together with the claw member 76 can increase the movement force of the plug member 34d, and the toner discharge port can also be opened and closed smoothly. Can be.

In this manner, the desorption operation of the toner container 32Y is performed by one operation (except opening / closing operation of the main body door) such that the sliding portion 34c1 of the toner container 32Y slides along the sliding surface 31a. Is done.

The toner container 32Y according to the second embodiment includes a supported portion 34Y having a toner discharge port B provided below in the gravity direction, and the plug member 34d includes a toner discharge port sealed by a packing 34e. In order to open (B), it is pressed by the nozzle 70 in synchronization with the mounting operation. Therefore, there are less toner stains in the toner discharge port B, and problems such as the user's hand getting dirty with the toner by touching the toner discharge port B are prevented.

The desorption operation of the toner container 32Y to the toner container support part 31 is performed by one operation relating to the sliding of the sliding part 34c1, and therefore the operability / processability is improved when the toner container 32Y is replaced. In particular, the slide portion 34c1 is provided at the bottom of the supported portion 34Y so that the slide portion 34c1 slides along the slide surface 31a while supporting the toner container 32Y.

In addition, the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y starts to slide the slide portion 34c1 while the user grips the gripper 33d directly, starts positioning the supported portion 34Y during the slide, Upon completion, the positioning of the supported portion 34Y and the insertion of the nozzle 70 are completed. Therefore, the slide (mounting operation by one operation) of the supported portion 4Y proceeds, and at the same time, the clicking portion 34Y is slowed down, and there is a certainty that the operation is performed without errors in the mounting operation. .

Further, the toner container 32Y is not installed in the toner container support part 31, the device body 100 from above, but the mounting is performed from the front of the toner container support part 31, the device body 100, and therefore, the toner The flexibility of the arrangement for the upper side of the vessel support 31 is improved. For example, even if a scanner (document reader) is placed directly on the toner container support, operability / processability does not deteriorate when the toner container 32Y is detached.

The toner container 32Y is installed in the apparatus body 100 with its longitudinal direction arranged as a horizontal direction, and therefore, the toner capacity of the toner container 32Y affects the arrangement in the height direction of the entire image forming apparatus 100. It is increased without reaching, and the replacement cycle is decreased.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the slide portions 34c1 and 34c2 are provided in the supported portion 34Y, and the slide portion is synchronized with the desorption operation to the toner container support portion 31, and the toner container support portion 31 Slide along). Therefore, operability / processability is improved when the toner container 32Y is replaced, and the occurrence of toner spots is surely reduced.

(Third embodiment)

A third embodiment of the present invention is described in detail below with respect to FIG.

20 is a perspective view of the toner container according to the third embodiment, which corresponds to FIG. 5 according to the first embodiment. In the third embodiment, the shape of the sliding portion 34c1 formed in the supported portion 34Y is different from that of the other embodiments.

As shown in FIG. 20, in the toner container 32Y according to the third embodiment, the first sliding portion 34c1 of the supported portion 34Y faces the sliding surface 31a of the toner container supporting portion 31. As shown in FIG. Two convex portions (ribs) that protrude are different from the sliding portions formed by flat portions in other embodiments. More specifically, the two convex portions 34c1 as the slide portions are formed to have a height that can contact the slide surface 31a (the height in the vertical direction is formed to be equivalent to the slide surface 31a), and the longitudinal direction It extends along (desorption direction). Therefore, when the desorption operation of the toner container 32Y is performed, the two convex portions 34c1 (sliding portions) are slid surface 31a while the posture of the supported portion 34Y or the toner container 32Y is maintained. Slide along.

The desorption operation of the toner container 32Y according to the third embodiment is also performed in such a manner that, similarly to the other embodiments, the sliding portion 34c1 of the toner container 32Y slides along the sliding surface 31a (main body door). (Except opening and closing operation of the).

As described above, in the third embodiment, similarly to the other embodiments, the configuration of the toner container provided in the toner container support portion is optimized by setting the vertical direction to the horizontal direction. Therefore, operability / processability at the time of replacement can be improved, and occurrence of toner spots can be reliably reduced.

The shape of the sliding portion 34c1 in the toner container 32Y is not limited to that of the third embodiment or that of another embodiment. Therefore, if the slide portion slides along the slide surface 31a while the posture of the supported portion 34Y is maintained, the same effect as that of the other embodiment can be obtained.

(Example 4)

A fourth embodiment of the present invention is described in detail below with respect to FIGS. 21 to 25.

21 is a perspective view of an arm pair 90 provided in the toner container support part 31 according to the fourth embodiment. 22 is an exploded perspective view of the arm pair 90. In the following description, the drawings used in the description of other embodiments are used where necessary.

4 and 10, the toner container support portion 31 includes: a slide surface 31a which slides along each slide portion at the supported portions of the four toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32K; A fixing portion 73 for fixing each position of the supporting portion 34c of the supported portion; Nozzle 70; A drive unit for transmitting a rotational driving force to each container body 33Y; Communication circuitry 74; And an arm pair 90 utilized as a biasing unit.

The fixing portion 73 supports the supported portions of each of the toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32K in a non-rotating manner. The fixing portion 73 includes a sliding surface in contact with the support portion 34c and a contact surface in contact with the portion of the cap cover 34b. A positioning member 31c for positioning in synchronization with the mounting of the supported portion 34Y is provided on the sliding surface (side surface) of the fixing portion 73 (see Fig. 5). The positioning member 31c is a convex portion extending along the detaching direction of the toner container 32Y.

The nozzle 70 shown in FIG. 11 is provided for each toner color in the fixing portion 73. FIG. The nozzle 70 has a toner supply port 70a in communication with the toner discharge port B) dhk formed in the supported portion 34Y of the toner container 32Y.

10 and 21, the arm pair 90 is provided for each toner color in the fixing portion 73 of the toner container support 31. As shown in FIG. As shown in Fig. 21, the arm pair 90 is disposed on both sides sandwiching the supported portion of the toner container.

With respect to FIG. 22, the arm pair 90 includes a first arm 91 (second biased element), a second arm 92 (visible element), a spindle 93 and a torsion spring 94. The arm pair 90 is integrally installed through the spindle 93 and influences the force in both directions in the direction of rotation about the spindle 93 by the torsion spring 94. More specifically, the first arm 91 and the second arm 92 affect the forces in both directions in the direction of rotation around the spindle 93. The greater the angle formed between the first arm 91 and the second arm 92, the greater the force.

The arm pair 90 configured in the above-described manner is supported by the support portion 34Y toward the fixing portion 73 (toward the arrow Q direction) while the toner container 32Y is installed on the toner container support portion 31. It is used as a unit to add. More specifically, the arm pair 90 adds a flat portion 34k, which is an added portion of the supported portion 34Y having the toner container provided in the toner container support portion 31. Moreover, the arm pair 90 is arrange | positioned in the two side portions of the sliding part 34c2 of the to-be-supported part 34Y, and the to-be-supported part 34Y, in order to slide in synchronization with the desorption operation | movement of the toner container 32Y. Second slide portion) is configured to contact the arm pair 90. In the fourth embodiment, the flat portion 34k, which is the portion of the supported portion 34Y that is added by the arm pair 90, is the two side portions of the supported portion 34Y on which the slide portion 34c2 is formed. It is a flat across the sides at the stage of (this connects between the stages of the two sides and is orthogonal to the detachment direction in the fourth embodiment).

Based on the above configuration, the toner container 32Y is provided in the fixing portion 73 while the two sliding portions 34c2 are supported by the two arm pairs 90, and the supported portion ( The posture of 34Y is held by the arm pair 90 (the supported portion is added to the nozzle 70 side, and its position is fixed). Therefore, operability / processability is improved when the toner container 32Y is replaced, and the occurrence of toner spots associated with the replacement operation can be reliably reduced.

Desorption operation of the toner container 32Y to the toner container support part 31 is described below with reference to FIGS. 23 to 25 and 12 to 14.

Fig. 12 is a schematic view of how the yellow toner container 32Y is mounted to the toner container support part 31 (moving in the arrow Q direction) when viewed in the vertical direction, and Fig. 23 is a female in the state seen from the upper side. It is a schematic diagram of the relationship between the pair 90 and the to-be-supported part 34Y and the support part 34c. FIG. 13 is a schematic view of how the mounting of the toner container 32Y proceeds when viewed in the longitudinal direction (the toner discharge port B starts to open), and FIG. 24 shows the arm pair 90 in the state seen from above. ) Is a schematic diagram of the relationship between the supported portion 34Y and the supported portion 34c. FIG. 14 is a schematic view of a toner container (opening of the toner discharge port B is completed) mounted on the toner container support part 31 when viewed in the longitudinal direction, and FIG. 25 is an arm pair 90 in a state when viewed from above. ) Is a schematic diagram of the relationship between the supported portion 34Y and the supported portion 34c.

When the toner container 32Y is mounted on the toner container support part 31 of the apparatus body 100, at first, a main body cover provided on the front side (near side of the difference in FIG. 1) of the main body of the image forming apparatus 100 (Not shown) is opened to expose the toner container support 31 to the front side.

12, the toner container 32Y is press-fitted to the toner container support 31 (movement in the arrow Q direction). More specifically, the toner container 32Y is mounted to the toner container support part 31 along the longitudinal direction of the container body 33Y so that the supported portion 34Y becomes the head of the container body 33Y.

At this time, the slide part 34c1 slides along the slide surface 31a of the toner container support part 31 at the head side of the toner container 32Y, and the toner container 32Y is provided by the user at the rear side of the toner container 32Y. The gripper 33d of the upper part is gripped and pressed into the toner container support 31 while maintaining balance.

Thereafter, with respect to FIG. 23, when the support portion 34c (supported portion 34Y) of the toner container 32Y reaches the position of the arm pair 90 at the toner container support portion 31, the first arm 91 is reached. Is in contact with the front edge of the support portion 34c (supported portion 34Y), and the second arm 92 is in contact with the side surface (sliding portion 34c2) of the support portion 34c (supported portion 34Y), 90 is widened in the black arrow direction (γ direction) in FIG. Thereafter, the arm pair 90 is widened in the direction of the black arrow (γ direction) so that the first arm 91 exerts a force on the support portion 34c in the direction of arrow S1 by the spring force of the torsion spring 94. , The second arm 92 exerts a force in the direction of arrow S2. In this case, the second arms 92 face each other on both sides of the support portion 34c, and the forces from both directions indicated by the arrow S2 cancel out. Therefore, the force acting from the second arm 92 on the slide portion 34c2 becomes a small amount of slide resistance between the resins, so that the force in the S1 direction by the first arm 91 is on the supported portion 34Y. It is mainly acted on. This force is the force in the direction in which the toner container 32Y is separated from the fixing portion 73.

Thereafter, the toner container 32Y is further pressed against the force in the disengaging direction, and when the support part 34c of the toner container 32Y reaches the fixing part 73 of the toner container support part 31, the sliding surface In addition to the slide of the first slide 34c1 along 31a, the positioning of the supported portion 34Y is initiated while the second slide 34c2 slides along the arm pair 90. As shown in FIG. More specifically, the engaging portion 34g of the supported portion 34Y and the positioning member 31c of the toner container support portion 31 start to engage with each other.

Thereafter, the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y proceeds further, and the plug member 34d starts to open the toner discharge port B when the engaging portion 34g and the positioning member 31c are engaged (Fig. State shown at 13). That is, the tip of the nozzle 70 is inserted into the hole of the support portion 34c, and at the same time, the plug member 34d is relatively pressed by the nozzle 70.

At this time, in addition to the slide along the first arm 91 of the second slide portion 34c2, the second arm 92 adds the supported portion 34Y toward the fixing portion 73 (in the arrow Q direction). Let's go).

More specifically, with reference to FIG. 24, the first arm 91 is widened by the front edge of the support portion 34c (supported portion 34Y) and comes into contact with the second slide portion 34c2. At the same time, the second arm 92 begins to contact the rear end of the support portion 34c (flat portion 34k). At this time, the force by the 1st arm 91 from the both directions of arrow S2 cancels. Therefore, the force acting on the sliding portion 34c2 from the first arm 91 becomes a small amount of sliding resistance between the resins, and as a result, the force by the second arm 92 from the S3 direction is mainly supported by the supported portion ( 34Y). This force is the force in the direction in which the toner container 32Y is biased toward the fixing portion 73 (arrow Q direction).

With respect to Fig. 14, the position of the supported portion 34Y is fixed at a position where the support portion 34c abuts against the fixing portion 73 (reference position for collision), and at the same time, the plug member 34d is toner discharge port B Is fully opened, and the gear 33c of the toner container 32Y is coupled to the drive gear of the drive unit of the toner container support 31. In addition, the ID chip 35 is fixed at a position in communication with the communication circuit 74. The toner discharge port B of the toner container 32Y and the toner supply port 70a communicate with each other, and the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y is completed.

At this time, with respect to FIG. 25, the first arm 91 is in contact with the second slide portion 34c2, and the second arm 92 is in contact with the flat portion 34k (rear end of the support portion 34c) as an added portion. do. In this situation, only the force by the second arm 92 acts on the supported portion 34Y in the direction of arrow S4. This force is a force (positioning force) for supporting the supported portion 34Y of the toner container 32Y at the fixing portion 73. In the fourth embodiment, the two arm pairs 90 contact two portions (both ends) of the flat portion 34k, and add the supported portion 34Y while balancing toward the mounting direction.

Even when the toner container 32Y is manually detached by the user, before or after the engaging portion 34g of the supported portion 34Y is separated from the positioning member 31c of the toner container support portion 31, the first Arm 91 and second arm 92 are in the position as shown in FIG. 23. At this time, the first arm 91 also exerts a force on the supported portion 34Y in the S1 direction in which the toner container 32Y is separated from the fixing portion 73, and this force is applied by the user to perform the withdrawal operation. To facilitate disengagement.

In addition, the operation undergoes a state as shown in FIGS. 25 and 24 until a force for supporting departure is generated by the first arm 91. However, at this time, the force indicated by the S3 and S4 arrows and adding the toner container 32Y to the fixing portion 73 is generated in the second arm 92, and this force can cause the user to perform a slow and weak release operation. This force is used to push the toner container 32Y into the fixing portion 73 which closes the toner discharge port to suppress toner scattering at the time, and the ejection requires a force, and therefore, this force is a fast ejection operation in which the toner is less scattered. Prompt to do so.

In the fourth embodiment, with respect to Fig. 6, the slide portion 34c2, which is an added portion, has a height (position in the vertical direction) that is almost equal to the height of the toner discharge port B, or the plug member 34d. It is formed to. As a result, when the slide part 34c2 slides along the arm pair 90, even if the torque (rattle) around the center axis of the nozzle 70 in the longitudinal direction is affected on the supported portion 34Y, the slide part The force acting from the first arm 91 and the second arm 92 on the 34c2 is prevented from becoming a force for promoting torque. As a result, an error such as the toner discharge port B or the plug member 34d and the nozzle 70 being displaced from each other is prevented.

In the fourth embodiment, the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y to the toner container support part 31 is such that after the sliding part 34c2 starts to slide along the arm pair 90, the nozzle 70 is connected to the plug member ( 34d) begins to press, and at the same time that the slide 34c2 finishes sliding along the arm pair 90, the arm pair 90 adds (positions) the flat portion 34K (added portion). It is constructed in the same way. That is, as shown in Fig. 6, the length of the slide portion 34c2 in the detachable direction is set to be sufficiently long. Because of this, after the supported portion 34Y starts to be smoothly mounted to the toner container support portion 31, the nozzle 70 presses the plug member 34d, and the fixing portion 73 positions the supported portion 34Y. Make sure you do the same thing.

The fourth embodiment relates to the detachment operation of the toner container 32Y to the toner container support part 31 so that the moving distance of the plug member 34d in the detachment direction is 34k from the toner discharge port B in the detachment direction. , Shorter than the distance to the added portion). Based on this configuration, the nozzle 70 and the plug member 34d are securely engaged after the supported portion 34Y is smoothly mounted to the toner container support portion 31.

In the fourth embodiment, as shown in Fig. 7, the engaging portion 34g of the supported portion 34Y has a sliding portion 34c2 (the second sliding portion) and a toner discharge portion B, or a plug member (in the vertical direction). 34d)) above. Therefore, even if the toner leaks from the toner discharge port B, most of the leaked toner falls in the direction of gravity, and thus the toner is attached to the engaging portion 34g so as to cause a poor coupling with the positioning member 31c. Errors such as this are reduced.

As described above, in the fourth embodiment, similarly to the other embodiments, the configuration of the toner container provided in the toner container support portion is optimized on the basis of being installed in the vertical direction in the horizontal direction. Therefore, operability / processability at the time of replacement is improved.

Further, in the fourth embodiment, the toner container 32Y is provided in the fixing portion 73 while the two sliding portions 34c2 supported by the two arm pairs 90 slide smoothly. The supported portion 34Y is supported by the fixing portion 73 by the force of the pair 90. Therefore, operability / processability in the replacement of the toner container 32Y is further improved, and the occurrence of toner spots associated with the replacement operation can be reliably reduced.

(Example 5)

A fifth embodiment of the present invention is described in detail below with respect to FIG.

FIG. 26 is a schematic diagram of the arm pair 90 when the toner container 32Y according to the fifth embodiment is attached to the toner container support 31, and corresponds to FIG. 25 according to the fourth embodiment. In the fifth embodiment, the corner portion 340m is used as the added portion of the supported portion 34Y in the toner container 32Y, and this point is the flat portion 34k as the added portion of the supported portion 34Y. Different from the fourth embodiment used.

With reference to FIG. 26, and also in the fifth embodiment, the arm pair 90 adds force to add the supported portion 34Y to the fixing portion 73 while the toner container 32Y is installed on the toner container support portion 31. FIG. Function as a unit More specifically, while the toner container 32Y is installed in the toner container support part 31, the arm pair 90 adds the edge part 340m (curved part) as an added part of the to-be-supported part 34Y. Further, the arm pair 90 is configured such that the second sliding portion 34c2 of the supported portion 34Y contacts the arm pair 90 for sliding in synchronization with the detaching operation of the toner container 32Y. Here, the edge portion 340m, which is the added portion of the supported portion 34Y, which is added by the arm pair 90, is the edge of each end of the two sides of the supported portion 34Y on which the slide portion 34c2 is formed. (Two corners).

Based on the above configuration, the toner container 32Y is installed in the fixing portion 73 while the two sliding portions 34c2 supported by the two arm pairs 90 are smoothly sliding, and the fixing portion 73 The posture of the supported portion 34Y at is maintained by the arm pair 90. In the fifth embodiment, the two arm pairs 90 are in contact with the two corner portions 340m in order to balance and force the supported portion 34Y in the mounting direction.

In the fifth embodiment, the edge portion 340m of the supported portion 34Y is rounded (rounded chamfer). The rounded shape of the corner portion 340m is formed to be smaller than the rounded shape of the contact portion (contact portion 92a of the second arm 92) of the arm pair 90 in contact with the corner portion 340m. Therefore, it is possible to smoothly switch from an operation such as the sliding portion 34c2 to slide along the arm pair 90 to an operation such as the arm pair 90 adding the supported portion 34Y (edge portion 340m). Is performed.

As described above, in the fifth embodiment, similarly to the other embodiments, the configuration of the toner container provided in the toner container support portion is optimized based on the longitudinal direction provided in the horizontal direction. Therefore, operability / processability at the time of replacement can be improved, and occurrence of toner spots can be reliably reduced.

Also, in the fifth embodiment, similarly to the fourth embodiment, the toner container 32Y is fixed while the two sliding portions 34c2 supported by the two arm pairs 90 are smoothly sliding. The support portion 34Y is supported by the fixing portion 73 due to the force of the arm pair 90. Thus, operability / processability is further improved when the toner container 32Y is replaced, and the occurrence of toner spots associated with the replacement operation can be reliably reduced.

(Example 6)

A sixth embodiment of the present invention is described in detail below with respect to FIGS. 27 to 29.

The toner container 32Y according to the sixth embodiment also includes sliding parts 34c1 and 34c2 provided on the support part 34c of the supported part 34Y, and the sliding part is synchronized with the detaching operation to the toner container support part 31. Slide along the toner container support 31.

More specifically, the first sliding portion 34c1 is a flat portion formed to be parallel to the sliding surface 31a (upper side, see FIG. 27A) of the toner container support portion 31, and the flat portion is a supported portion to which detachment is performed ( 34Y) is installed at the bottom. Further, the second sliding portion 34c2 is a flat portion formed to be parallel to the sliding surface 31b of the toner container support portion 31 (refer to FIG. 27B), and the flat portion is a side portion of the supported portion 34Y on which detachment is performed. Is installed on.

Desorption operation of the toner container 32Y to the toner container support part 31 is described below with reference to FIGS. 27 and 29.

FIG. 27A is a schematic diagram of how the yellow toner container 32Y is mounted on the toner container support part 31 (moving in the arrow direction) when viewed in the vertical direction, and FIG. 27B is a view of the supported portion ( It is a schematic diagram of the part around the support part 34c of 34Y. Fig. 28A is a schematic view of how the mounting of the toner container 32Y proceeds in the longitudinal direction (the positioning of the supported portion 34Y is started), and Fig. 28B is the supported portion (in the state seen from above) It is a schematic diagram of the part around the support part 34c of 34Y. Fig. 29A is a schematic view (mounting completed) of the toner container 32Y mounted on the toner container support part 31 when viewed in the longitudinal direction, and Fig. 29B is a portion around the support part 34c in the state when viewed from the upper side. Schematic diagram for.

Four toner container supports corresponding to each of the four toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32K are provided in the toner container support 31. Each of the four toner containers includes slide surfaces 31a and 31b along which slide portions 34c1 and 34c2 of the supported portion 34Y slide; A fixing portion 73 for fixing the position of the supporting portion 34c of the supported portion 34Y; And a drive unit (not shown) for transmitting the rotational driving force to the container body 33Y. The fixing portion 73 includes sliding surfaces 31a and 31b in contact with the support portion 34c and a contact surface (not shown) in contact with a portion of the cap cover 34b. In synchronization with the mounting operation of the supported portion 34Y, the positioning member 31c for positioning is provided on the slide surface 31b (side surface) of the fixing portion 73. The positioning member 31c is a convex portion extending along the detaching direction of the toner container 32Y.

When the toner container 32Y is mounted on the toner container support part 31 of the apparatus body 100, at first, a main body cover installed on the front side (near side on the paper in FIG. 1) of the main body of the image forming apparatus 100 (Not shown) is opened to expose the toner container support 31 to the front side.

Thereafter, with respect to FIG. 27A, the toner container 32Y is press-fitted to the toner container support part 31 (movement in the arrow direction). More specifically, the toner container support 31 is along the longitudinal direction of the container body 33Y or the toner container 32Y so that the supported portion 34Y is the head of the container body 33Y. Is mounted on.

At this time, the first slide portion 34c1 slides along the slide surface 31a of the toner container support portion 31 on the head side of the toner container 32Y, and the toner container 32Y is operated by the user during the slide. The gripper 33d on the rear side of 32Y) is pressed into the toner container support 31 while maintaining balance.

With respect to FIG. 28A, when the support portion 34c of the toner container 32Y reaches the fixed portion 73 of the toner container support portion 31, the slide of the first slide portion 34c1 is slid along the sliding surface 31a. In addition, while the second slide portion 34c2 slides along the slide surface 31b, positioning of the supported portion 34Y starts. More specifically, the engaging portion 34g of the supported portion 34Y and the positioning member 31c of the toner container support portion 31 start to engage with each other.

Thereafter, when the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y further proceeds, the plug member 34d starts to open the toner discharge port B while the engaging portion 34g and the positioning member 31c are engaged with each other. More specifically, the plug member 34d is pressed by the nozzle 70 in connection with insertion into the hole of the support portion 34c at the tip of the nozzle 70. Thereafter, as shown in Fig. 29A, the position of the supported portion 34Y is fixed at a position where the support portion 34c abuts against the fixing portion 73 (reference position for collision), and at the same time, the plug member ( 34d) completely opens the toner discharge port B. FIG. The toner discharge port B of the toner container 32Y and the toner supply port 70a of the nozzle 70 communicate with each other, and the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y is completed.

As described above, in the sixth embodiment, the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y to the toner container support part 31 is performed by the plug member 34d being the toner discharge port after the positioning of the supported part 34Y is started. (B) is configured to start opening. More specifically, the tip of the positioning member 31c is supported than the tip of the nozzle 70 with respect to the supported portion 34Y moving in the mounting direction (that is, in the direction shown by the arrow in FIG. 27A). It is formed so as to be disposed closer to the side of 34Y. That is, with respect to Fig. 27B, the positioning member 31c is formed so as to be made longer than the nozzle 70 by a predetermined length H in the left direction from the reference position for collision in the fixing portion 73.

More specifically, in the sixth embodiment, the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y is one operation in which the sliding portion 34c1 of the toner container 32Y slides along the sliding surface 31a (main body door). (Except opening and closing operation of the). That is, the slide portion 34c1 of the toner container 32Y slides along the slide surface 31a, and the positioning operation of the supported portion 34Y starts in synchronization with this operation, and then the nozzle 70 The insertion operation of) starts.

Therefore, the nozzle 70 reliably contacts the plug member 34d (hole) of the supported portion 34Y that is accurately positioned by the positioning member 31c. Due to this, damage to the nozzle 70 or the supported portion 34Y is prevented, and such damage occurs because the nozzle 70 misses the plug member 34d and hits the supported portion 34Y. That is, if the insertion operation of the nozzle 70 starts before the supported portion 34Y is correctly positioned, the nozzle 70 misses the plug member 34d and hits the supported portion 34Y, which causes the nozzle 70, Or causes a stress in excess of the allowable stress acting on the supported portion 34Y, and the nozzle 70, or the supported portion 34Y, may be deformed.

In the sixth embodiment, with respect to Fig. 27B, the positioning member 31c has a taper 31c1 or chamfer formed at the tip of the side on which the supported portion 34Y is mounted. Further, the engaging portion 34g of the supported portion 34Y also has a taper 34g1 or chamfer formed at the tip of the side on which the positioning member 31c is engaged. As a result, the engagement between the engaging portion 34g of the supported portion 34Y and the positioning member 31c of the toner container support portion 31 is facilitated during the detachment operation of the toner container 32Y.

In addition, the movement of the nozzle 70 toward the inside or the outside of the support 34c and the movement of the plug member 34d toward the inside or the outside of the support 34c are both caused by the packing 34e of the support 34c. It is done when the lip is slidably contacted. Therefore, an error such as toner leaking from the support portion 34c due to the insertion or removal of the nozzle 70 is prevented.

When the toner container 32Y is taken out (removed) from the toner container support part 31 of the apparatus body 100, the operation is performed in the reverse order of mounting. At this time, in synchronization with the operation of the toner container 32Y separated from the fixing portion 73, the nozzle 70 is also separated from the support portion 34c, and the plug member 34d is driven by the force of the compression spring 34f. The toner discharge port B is moved to the closed position.

In this manner, the desorption operation of the toner container 32Y is performed by one operation (except opening / closing operation of the main body door) such that the sliding portion 34c1 of the toner container 32Y slides along the sliding surface 31a. Is completed.

The toner container 32Y according to the sixth embodiment includes a supported portion 34Y having a toner discharge port B provided below in the gravity direction, and after the plug member 34d is securely positioned in synchronization with the mounting operation, The plug member 34d is pressed by the nozzle 70 to open the toner discharge port B sealed by the packing 34e. Therefore, there are fewer toner stains in the toner discharge port B, and problems such as dirtying the user's hand by touching the toner discharge port B are prevented.

The desorption operation of the toner container 32Y to the toner container support part 31 is performed by one operation in connection with the sliding of the slide part 34c1, and therefore the operability / processability when replacing the toner container 32Y is improved. In particular, by providing the slide portion 34c1 at the bottom of the supported portion 34Y, the slide portion 34c1 slides along the slide surface 31a while supporting the toner container 32Y.

In addition, the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y starts to slide the slide portion 34c1 while the user grips the gripper 33d directly, starts positioning of the supported portion 34Y associated with the slide, and slides. Is completed and positioning of the supported portion 34Y and insertion of the nozzle 70 are finished. Therefore, when the supported portion 34Y is positioned at the same time as the sliding of the supported portion 34Y (mounting operation by one operation) proceeds, the user feels a click and is sure that an error-free operation has been performed in the mounting operation. Has

In addition, the toner container 32Y is not installed in the toner container support part 31 (device body 100) from the upper side, but desorption is performed from the front of the toner container support part 31 (device body 100), and thus, the toner The flexibility of the arrangement for the upper side of the vessel support 31 is improved. For example, even if a scanner (document reader) is placed directly on the toner container support, operability / processability does not deteriorate when the toner container 32Y is detached.

The toner container 32Y is installed in the apparatus body 100 so that the longitudinal direction is in the horizontal direction, therefore, the toner capacity of the toner container 32Y affects the arrangement in the height direction of the entire image forming apparatus 100. It is increased without decreasing, which leads to a decrease in the replacement cycle.

As described above, in the sixth embodiment, when the toner container 32Y is mounted to the toner container support 31, the positioning of the supported portion 34Y starts in synchronization with the mounting operation, and thus, The plug member 34d starts to open the toner discharge port B. As shown in FIG. Therefore, the toner discharge port B opens smoothly without change. Operability / processability at the time of replacement of the toner container 32Y can be improved, and occurrence of toner spots can be reliably reduced.

(Example 7)

A seventh embodiment of the present invention is described in detail below with respect to FIGS. 30A and 30B.

30A and 30B are schematic views of how the toner container 32Y according to the seventh embodiment is mounted to the toner container support 31, which corresponds to FIGS. 27A and 27B according to the sixth embodiment. The seventh embodiment differs from the sixth embodiment mainly in the shape of the supported portion 34Y of the toner container 32Y.

The toner container 32Y according to the seventh embodiment, similarly to the sixth embodiment, also includes a container body 33Y and a supported portion 34Y (bottle cap). The plug member 34d, which is an opening / closing member, is provided in the supported portion 34Y of the toner container 32Y, and an engaging portion 34g is engaged with the positioning member 31c of the toner container support 31.

The supported portion 34Y according to the seventh embodiment is different from the sixth embodiment in the following manner. When the supported portion 34Y moves with respect to the toner container support portion 31 in the mounting direction (i.e., the direction shown by the arrow in Fig. 30A), the tip of the plug member 34d pressed by the nozzle 70 is pressed. The distal end of the engaging portion 34g engaging with the positioning member is formed so as to be disposed closer to the toner container support 31 side (right side on the surface) than the distal end. That is, the engaging portion 34g is formed to be longer by the predetermined length H on the fixing portion 73 side than the plug member 34d. In the toner container support part 31, the positioning member 31c and the nozzle 70 are formed to be substantially equal to each other with the length from the reference position for colliding with the fixing part 73.

Based on the above configuration, in the seventh embodiment, similarly to the sixth embodiment, in the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y to the toner container support part 31, positioning of the supported portion 34Y starts, Thus, the plug member 34d starts to open the toner discharge port B. FIG. Therefore, it is possible to prevent damage to the nozzle 70 (or the supported portion 34Y) caused by the case where the nozzle 70 misses the plug member 34d and strikes the supported portion 34d before occurrence.

As described above, in the seventh embodiment, similarly to the sixth embodiment, when the toner container 32Y is mounted to the toner container support part 31, the supported portion 34Y is synchronized with the mounting operation. After the positioning is started, the plug member 34d starts to open the toner discharge port B. As shown in FIG. Therefore, the toner discharge port B opens smoothly without change. Operability / processability at the time of replacement of the toner container 32Y can be improved, and occurrence of toner spots can be reliably reduced.

(Example 8)

An eighth embodiment of the present invention is described in detail below with respect to FIG.

31 is a perspective view of a toner container according to the eighth embodiment, which corresponds to FIG. 5 of the first embodiment. The eighth embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the shape of the positioning member provided in the toner container support.

Referring to Fig. 31, the positioning member 31c provided in the toner container support portion according to the eighth embodiment protrudes with the nozzle 70 toward the side of the supported portion 34Y from the rear side of the fixing portion of the toner container support portion. The positioning member 31c is different from the first embodiment in which the positioning member 31c is integrally formed on the wall surface (side surface) of the toner container support portion. Similar to the sixth embodiment, the positioning member 31c according to the eighth embodiment is also longer than the nozzle 70 by a predetermined length from the reference position for the collision of the fixing portion to the side of the supported portion 34Y. It is formed to.

Based on the above configuration, similarly to the sixth embodiment, also in the eighth embodiment, positioning of the supported portion 34Y starts when the toner container 32Y is attached to the toner container support portion 31, Thereafter, the plug member 34d starts to open the toner discharge port B. FIG. Therefore, it is possible to prevent damage to the nozzle 70 (or the supported portion 34Y) caused by the case where the nozzle 70 misses the plug member 34d and strikes the supported portion 34Y, before occurrence.

As described above, in the eighth embodiment, similarly to the sixth embodiment, when the toner container 32Y is mounted with the toner container support 31, the positioning operation of the supported portion 34Y is performed. After being started in synchronism with the plug member, the plug member 34d starts to open the toner discharge port B. FIG. Therefore, the toner discharge port B opens smoothly without change. Operability / processability can be improved when the toner container 32Y is replaced, and occurrence of toner spots can be reliably reduced.

(Example 9)

A ninth embodiment of the present invention is described in detail below with respect to FIG.

32 is a sectional view of a toner container according to a ninth embodiment. In the toner container 32Y according to the ninth embodiment, the container body 33Y is supported by the toner container support part 31 in a non-rotating manner together with the supported portion 34Y, and the coil 81Y as the conveying member is a container. It is provided in the body, which is different from other embodiments in which the container body 33Y is rotated to convey the received toner to the opening A. FIG. As shown in FIG. 32, the toner container 32Y mainly includes a container body 33Y and a supported portion 34Y.

The opening A is provided in the head of the container body 33Y, and the gear 33c is provided to be rotatable around the outer circumference of the opening A. As shown in FIG. The gear 33c is engaged with the drive gear of the apparatus body 100 to rotate the coil 81Y.

The rotating shaft 80Y is formed integrally with the gear 33c, and the spiral coil 81Y is connected to the rotating shaft 80Y. One end of the rotating shaft 80Y is supported by the bearing portion 34a2 of the supported portion 34Y. The coil 81Y extends from the opening A on the rear end (bottom) inside the container body 33Y. The gear 33c rotates around the container body 33Y to rotate the rotation shaft 80Y and the coil 81Y.

Therefore, the toner contained in the container body 33Y is conveyed toward the opening A by the toner conveying force of the coil 81Y.

Since the outer diameter of the coil 81Y is smaller than the inner diameter of the container body 33Y, the toner conveyance force can be applied to the toner near the rotational center axis away from the inner circumferential surface of the container body 33Y. In addition, the coil 81Y is quite flexible in shape and is supported only by one end, so that the position is shaken during rotation. This can act as a whole toner conveying force from the inner circumferential surface of the container body 33Y on the rotational central axis. Therefore, even if a large amount of toner is accommodated in the container body 33Y and toner agglomeration occurs due to environmental change or "long term neglect", the agglomeration state is weakened by the toner conveyance force due to the coil 81Y. And the reduction of the amount of toner discharged can be prevented.

In the ninth embodiment, similarly to the other embodiments, when the toner container 32Y is detached to the toner container support 31, the plug member of the supported portion 34Y is synchronized with the detaching operation performed by one operation. 34d opens and closes the toner discharge port B. As shown in FIG. In this case, the positioning of the supported portion 34Y starts, and after that, the plug member 34d starts to open the toner discharge port B. FIG. Further, the slide portions 34c1 and 34c2 are provided in the supported portion 34Y so as to slide along the toner container support portion 31 in synchronization with the desorption operation to the toner container support portion 31.

As described above, in the ninth embodiment, similarly to the other embodiments, the configuration of the toner container provided in the toner container support portion is optimized based on the vertical direction being set in the horizontal direction. Therefore, operability / processability at the time of replacement can be improved, and occurrence of toner spots can be reliably reduced.

The coil 81Y is used as the conveying member in the ninth embodiment, but a screw can also be used as the conveying member. Even in this case, the same effect as that of the fourth embodiment can be achieved.

(Example 10)

A tenth embodiment of the present invention is described in detail below with respect to FIGS. 33 and 34.

33 is a cross-sectional view of the toner container according to the tenth embodiment, corresponding to FIG. 32 according to the ninth embodiment. 34 is a schematic view of the plate member 84Y. The toner container according to the tenth embodiment differs from the ninth embodiment in that the plate member 84Y is used as the conveying member.

As shown in FIG. 33, the toner container 32Y mainly includes a container body 33Y and a supported portion 34Y.

The opening A is provided in the head of the container body 33Y, and the gear 33c is provided to be rotatable around the outer circumference of the opening A. As shown in FIG. The gear 33c is engaged with the drive gear of the apparatus body 100 to be rotated, similar to the ninth embodiment.

The threaded rod 83Y is formed integrally with the gear 33c, and the plate member 84Y is provided on the threaded rod 83Y. More specifically, the male screw portion 83Ya of the threaded rod 83Y rotates in engagement with the female screw portion 84Ya in the plate member 84Y (see Fig. 34). 34, the notch portion is formed on the plate member 84Y, and this notch portion is engaged with the guide portion 85Y projecting along the inner circumferential surface of the container body 33Y.

Referring to Fig. 33, the threaded rod 83Y is supported at one end by the bearing portion 34a2 of the supported portion 34Y, and is supported at the other end by a bearing portion provided on the rear side of the container body 33Y. The gear 33c is made to rotate around the container body 33Y, and the threaded rod 83Y is also integrally rotated. Therefore, the plate member 84Y engaged with the threaded rod 83Y moves along the screw dispensing direction (not rotated after the threaded rod 83Y) while being guided by the guide portion 85 (opening ( In the direction of the arrow toward A). The moving speed of the plate member 84Y is set relatively slow in accordance with the toner consumption speed of the container body 33Y.

In this manner, the toner contained in the container body 33Y is conveyed to the opening portion A side by the toner conveyance force of the plate member 84Y.

Here, the outer diameter of the plate member 84Y is formed to be slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the container body 33Y, and the toner conveyance force is applied to the toner near the rotational center axis A away from the inner circumferential surface of the container body 33Y. Can be operated. Therefore, even if a large amount of toner is accommodated in the container body 33Y and toner agglomeration due to environmental change or "long term neglect" occurs, the agglomeration state is weakened by the toner conveyance force due to the plate member 84Y. In addition, the reduction of the amount of toner discharged can be prevented.

In the tenth embodiment, similarly to the other embodiments, the toner container 32Y, upon detachment to the toner container support part 31, synchronizes with the plug member of the supported portion 34Y in synchronization with the detachment operation performed by one operation. 34d) opens and closes the toner discharge port B. FIG. In this case, the positioning of the supported portion 34Y starts, and after that, the plug member 34d starts to open the toner discharge port B. As shown in FIG. Further, the slide portions 34c1 and 34c2 are provided in the supported portion 34Y so as to slide along the toner container support portion 31 in synchronization with the desorption operation to the toner container support portion 31.

As described above, in the tenth embodiment, similarly to the other embodiments, the configuration of the toner container provided in the toner container support portion is optimized based on setting the vertical direction in the horizontal direction. Therefore, operability / processability at the time of replacement is improved, and occurrence of toner spots can be reliably reduced.

(Eleventh embodiment)

An eleventh embodiment of the present invention is described in detail below with respect to FIGS. 35 to 42. In the prior art, problems such as a small amount of toner stains on the toner outlet of the toner container, and the user's hand getting dirty with the toner by touching the toner outlet can be suppressed. However, since the position of the supported portion is not adjusted when the toner container is installed, there is a problem that operability (installation) at the time of replacing the toner container is inappropriate, and that the toner may scatter near the toner outlet when the toner container is replaced.

In order to solve the problem, the following embodiments provide a toner container support and an image forming apparatus capable of reliably preventing the occurrence of toner scattering in an easy operation when the toner container is replaced.

The configuration and operation of the overall image forming apparatus are described first.

35 is a schematic diagram of a toner supply path of the image forming apparatus according to the eleventh embodiment. The overall configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the eleventh embodiment is the same as that of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment with respect to Figs. 1, 2 and 4. However, the toner supply apparatus of the image forming apparatus according to the eleventh embodiment has some differences from the toner supply apparatus 59 of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. That is, as shown in FIG. 35, the plug member 34d does not include the claw member 76 as shown in FIG. 3, and the ID chip 35 of the toner container 32Y is supported by the supported portion 34Y. It is installed directly on the flat portion of the tip which does not provide the projection 34a1 on the head of the. The rest of the components are the same as those of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment.

The toner container is described below with respect to FIGS. 35 to 38.

Similar to the first embodiment described with respect to Figs. 1 and 4, in the eleventh embodiment, four substantially cylindrical toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C, 32K, and toner bottles are provided with toner container supports 31 ) Is installed to be removable. Almost all of the toner contained is consumed, and when the container is empty, the toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32K are replaced with new ones. Toner of each color contained in the toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32K is supplied as needed to each developing device of the image unit 6Y, 6M, 6C, 6K through the toner supply path as shown in FIG. do.

36 is a perspective view of the toner container 32Y. 37 is a cross-sectional view of the head side (side to which the supported portion 34Y is provided) of the toner container 32Y. FIG. 38 is a schematic view of the toner container 32Y of FIG. 37 when viewed in the direction of arrow M. FIG.

The other three toner containers 32M, 32C, and 32K have a configuration substantially the same as the toner container 32Y that accommodates yellow toner except for the other toner colors accommodated. In the following, description of the other three toner containers 32M, 32C, and 32K is omitted, and only the toner container 32Y containing yellow toner is described below.

With respect to the toner container according to the eleventh embodiment shown in Figs. 36 to 38, parts equivalent to those of the toner container of the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals as those in Figs. 5 to 7, and description thereof is omitted. . The toner container according to the eleventh embodiment is made up of the stirring member 33f, the claw member 76, the rotating spindle 76a, the protrusion 34a1, the recess 34m, the fitting member 31d and the convex portion 34n. It is not included, and it is installed in the toner container of the first embodiment. In addition, the drive gear 31g of FIG. 5 is not shown in FIG.

The toner container according to the eleventh embodiment includes a compression spring 34f as a biasing unit. The compression spring 34f is provided on the right side of the plug member 34d in FIG. 37 to force the plug member 34d in the direction of closing the toner discharge port B. As shown in FIG. The ID chip 35 of the eleventh embodiment is a plane of the supported portion 34Y orthogonal to the detachable direction (i.e., in the direction shown by the arrow direction in FIG. 36) with respect to the toner container support 31. It is arranged on the part facing the communication circuit 74.

The slide parts 34c1 and 34c2 are provided in the support part 34c of the supported part 34Y which slides along the toner container support part 31 in synchronization with the desorption operation to the toner container support part 31. More specifically, the first slide portion 34c1 is a base plate 310a provided on the toner container support portion 31, which is a flat surface having a flat surface formed upwardly; see FIG. 10. ) Is a flat portion formed in parallel with each other, and the flat portion is installed at the bottom of the supported portion 34Y on which the detachment is performed. Further, the second slide portion 34c2 is a flat portion formed to be parallel to the slide surface 31b of the toner container support portion 31, which is a flat surface provided in the lateral direction; see FIG. 10, and the flat portion is detachable. It is provided on the side of the supported portion 34Y to be performed.

As shown in Fig. 37, while the toner container 32Y is installed in the toner container support part 31, the toner container 32Y is lower in the vertical direction than the opening A of the container body 33Y (Fig. 37). Toner discharge port B or plug member 34d provided on the lower side).

For this reason, the toner in the toner container 32Y moves in the direction indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 37 and is discharged from the toner discharge port B opened in synchronization with the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y. That is, the toner of the container body 33Y is discharged from the opening A, and is discharged from the toner discharge port B provided below in the vertical direction.

The toner discharge port B is provided on the rear side (left side in FIG. 37) more than the container body 33Y or the opening A with respect to the mounting direction to the toner container support part 31.

For this reason, the toner discharge port B is smoothly opened and closed without change in synchronization with the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y along the longitudinal direction (axial direction). That is, when the toner container 32Y is mounted, the positioning of the supported portion 34Y starts, after which the nozzle 70 and the plug member 34d are preferably in contact with each other. Further, since the fixing portion 73 of the toner container support portion 31 including the nozzle 70 can be installed on the rear side in the mounting direction (left side in FIG. 37), the arrangement of the apparatus body 100 is simplified. .

Further, the toner discharge port B is provided on the rear side (left side in FIG. 37) in the mounting direction to the toner container support part 31 more than the gear 33c disposed around the container body 33Y, and the opening A Is near.

For this reason, the toner discharge port B is smoothly and reliably opened and closed in synchronization with the desorption operation of the toner container 32Y along the longitudinal direction. That is, when the toner container 32Y is mounted, the positioning of the supported portion 34Y starts, after which the nozzle 70 and the plug member 34d are preferably in contact with each other, after which the gear ( 33c) and the drive gear 31g are coupled to each other.

The toner container support part 31 according to the eleventh embodiment is described below. The toner container support 31 according to the eleventh embodiment is described with reference to Figs. 10 and 11 of the first embodiment and with reference to Figs. 21 and 22 of the fourth embodiment.

As shown in Fig. 10, the toner container support portion 31 includes: a slide surface 31a on which the slide portion slides along each of the supported portions of the four toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32K; A fixing portion 73 for fixing the position of the supporting portion 34c of the supported portion; A nozzle 70 that is an engagement member; A drive unit for transmitting a rotational driving force to the container body 33Y; Communication circuitry 74; And an arm pair 90 utilized as the biasing member and the second biasing member.

The fixing portion 73 supports the supported portions of each toner container 32Y, 32M, 32C, 32K in a non-rotating manner. The fixing portion 73 includes a sliding surface in contact with the support portion 34c and a contact surface in contact with the portion of the cap cover 34b. A positioning member 31c for positioning in synchronization with the mounting operation of the supported portion 34Y is provided on the sliding surface (side surface) of the fixing portion 73 (see Fig. 36). The positioning member 31c is a convex portion that extends along the detaching operation of the toner container 32Y.

A nozzle 70 as shown in FIG. 11 is provided in the fixing part 73 for each toner color. The toner supply port 70a communicating with the toner discharge port B formed in the supported portion 34Y of the toner container 32Y is provided in the nozzle 70.

10 and 21, the arm pair 90 is installed for each toner color near the fixing portion 73 of the toner container support 31 (the position just before the supported portion of the toner container is inserted into the fixing portion). ). As shown in Fig. 21, the arm pair 90 is disposed on both sides sandwiching the supported portion of the toner container.

With respect to FIG. 22, the arm pair 90 includes a first arm 91, a second arm 92, a spindle 93 and a torsion spring 94. The arm pair 90 is integrally installed via the spindle 93 and exerts a force on both directions in the rotational direction around the spindle 93 by the torsion spring 94. More specifically, the first arm 91 and the second arm 92 exert a force on both directions in the rotational direction around the spindle 93. The force increases as the angle formed between the first arm 91 and the second arm 92 increases.

The arm pair 90 configured in the above-described manner is supported by the support portion 34Y and the toner container 32Y toward the fixed portion 73 (in the direction indicated by the arrow Q in FIG. 4) in synchronization with the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y. It is used as a adding unit to add). Further, the arm pair 90 is in the direction in which the supported portion 34Y (toner container 32Y) separated from the fixing portion 73 in synchronization with the detaching operation of the toner container 32Y (arrow Q in FIG. 4). In the opposite direction) is utilized as a second biasing member for adding the supported portion 34Y (toner container 32Y).

Fig. 39 is a schematic diagram of how the yellow toner container 32Y is mounted on the toner container support portion (moving in the arrow Q direction) when viewed in the vertical direction. 40 is a schematic diagram of how the mounting of the toner container 32Y proceeds when the toner discharge port B starts to open when viewed in the longitudinal direction. Fig. 41 is a schematic view of the toner container 32Y mounted on the toner container support part 31 when viewed in the longitudinal direction (toner discharge port B is fully opened).

The desorption operation of the toner container 32Y to the toner container support part 31 is the same as that of the fourth embodiment described with reference to Figs. 12-14 and 23-25.

In the eleventh embodiment, the movement of the supported portion 34Y to the fixed portion 73 and the opening of the toner discharge port B of the toner container 32Y are performed by the force of the arm pair 90.

42 is a graph showing the relationship between the moving position of the supported portion 34Y and the toner container 32Y during the mounting operation of the toner container, and the load applied from the arm pair 90 to the supported portion 34Y.

As shown in Fig. 42, when the supported portion 34Y moves to the position of W1 (positions of Figs. 39 and 23), the supported portion 34Y exerts a force in a direction opposite to the mounting direction (arrow Q direction). Suffer. That is, a force in the direction of separating the toner container 32Y from the fixing portion 73 is applied to the toner container 32Y just before being biased toward the fixing portion 73 by the arm pair 90. This causes the user to press the toner container 32Y to the side of the fixing portion 73 with a force exceeding such force. Therefore, the force that the user presses is added to the force of the arm pair 90 applied to the supported portion 34Y, and the toner discharge port B is thereby opened at once.

The supported portion 34Y further moves to the W2 position (positions of FIGS. 40 and 24) in FIG. 42, and the supported portion 34Y moves in the mounting direction (arrow Q direction) force (forced force by the arm pair 90). ) At this time, the object sealed by the packing 34e of the supported portion 34Y is switched from the plug member 34d to the nozzle 70. The switching speed is accelerated by the arm pair 90, which makes it possible to shorten the time at which the sealing performance is degraded by switching between the objects to be sealed.

The position of the supported portion 34Y is fixed to the W3 position (the position of FIGS. 41 and 25) in FIG. 42.

In this way, in the eleventh embodiment, the speed of opening the toner discharge port B of the toner container 32Y is not determined on the basis of the operating speed of the user (speed of pressing the toner container), and is applied to the arm pair 90. Mechanically determined by the Therefore, the time at which the sealing performance of the supported portion 34Y deteriorates is not made extremely long, and the toner scattered from the vicinity of the toner discharge port B is reduced.

In the eleventh embodiment, the biasing operation by the arm pair 90 and the positioning operation of the supported portion 34Y are such that the sliding portion 34c1 of the toner container 32Y slides along the sliding surface 31a. It starts in synchronism with one operation (except opening / closing operation of the main body door), after which the insertion operation of the nozzle 70 starts, and finally, connecting the gear 33c to the drive gear is completed. This improves the operability of the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y.

When the toner container 32Y is taken out (removed) from the toner container support part 31 of the apparatus body 100, the operation is performed in the reverse order of mounting. In this case, the nozzle 70 also separates from the support portion 34c in synchronism with an operation such that the toner container 32Y separates from the fixing portion 73, and the plug member 34d is compressed by the compression spring 34f. It moves to the position which closes the toner discharge port B by the force of force.

In this way, the detaching operation of the toner container 32Y is completed by one operation (except opening / closing operation of the main body door) such that the sliding portion 34c1 of the toner container 32Y slides along the sliding surface 31a. do.

At this time, the arm pair 90 adds the supported portion 34Y and the toner container 32Y in a direction in which the supported portion 34Y is separated from the fixed portion 73 in synchronization with the detaching operation of the toner container 32Y. It is utilized as a second biased member. For this reason, the speed of closing the toner discharge port B of the toner container 32Y is not determined based on the operation speed of the user (speed of pulling out the toner container) but mechanically determined by the arm pair 90. Therefore, the time at which the sealing performance of the supported portion 34Y deteriorates is not made extremely long, but is made to be almost constant short at any time, and the toner scattered from near the toner discharge port B is thereby reduced.

The effects of the eleventh embodiment are distinguished in relation to the background art.

In the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 to 4, if the user's operation speed of manually detaching the toner container is slow, the toner scatters from near the toner discharge port.

More specifically, in the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, the user manually rotates the supported portion of the toner container on the toner container support, moves the shutter, and opens the toner discharge port. That is, the speed of opening the toner discharge port of the toner container is determined based on the user's operating speed (speed of rotating the supported portion). If the speed of opening the toner outlet of the toner container is extremely slow, there is a high possibility that the toner near the toner outlet is scattered outside the toner container and the apparatus body is dirty with toner. This is because the sealing performance near the toner discharge opening during the opening operation of the toner discharge opening (dynamic state) is lowered compared to before and after the toner discharge opening (static state). Therefore, if the opening speed of the toner discharge port of the toner container is extremely lowered, the time for sealing performance to decrease is increased, and the toner is distributed from near the toner discharge port.

Thus, in the technique described in Patent Document 4, the user manually rotates the opening and closing support portion in which the toner storage container (toner container) is installed, whereby the toner conveying pipe (nozzle) is pressed against the plug member and sealed with packing. Open the toner outlet. That is, the speed of opening the toner discharge port of the toner storage container is determined based on the user's operating speed (speed of rotating the opening and closing support). Therefore, similar to the technique of Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, if the toner outlet opening speed of the toner storage container is extremely lowered, the time for deterioration of the sealing performance due to packing is increased, and the toner is scattered from the toner outlet.

Here, to solve this problem, several methods can also be considered. In other words, the opening area of the toner discharge port is made smaller, or the adhesion of the sealing member disposed near the toner discharge port is improved. However, the former method limits the amount of toner discharged from the toner container, and the latter method reduces the operability of detaching the toner container by the sealing member with improved adhesion.

In the eleventh embodiment, the toner container support part 31 is configured to add the toner container 32Y toward the fixing part 73 of the toner container support part 31 in synchronization with the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y. . This makes it possible to reliably reduce the occurrence of toner scattering regardless of the operation during replacement of the toner container 32Y, without reducing the amount of toner discharged from the toner container 32Y and operability at the time of replacement of the toner container 32Y.

The toner container 32Y according to the eleventh embodiment includes a supported portion 34Y having a toner discharge port B installed downward in the vertical direction. The toner discharge port B is provided below the opening A in the vertical direction, and the plug member 34d is reliably positioned in synchronization with the mounting operation, thus closing the toner discharge port B sealed by the packing 34e. Pressed by the nozzle 70 to open. Therefore, problems such as less toner stain on the toner discharge port B, and the user's hand getting dirty with the toner by touching the toner discharge port B are prevented.

Since the desorption operation of the toner container 32Y to the toner container support part 31 is performed by one operation in connection with the sliding of the sliding part 34c1, operability / processability is improved at the time of replacing the toner container 32Y. In particular, the slide portion 34c1 is provided at the bottom of the supported portion 34Y so that the slide portion 34c1 slides along the slide surface 31a while supporting the toner container 32Y.

In addition, the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y starts to slide the slide portion 34c1 while the user grips the gripper 33d directly, and the support portion 34Y that is added together by the arm pair 90 is moved. The positioning is started, the insertion of the nozzle 70 is started, and the slide is completed, and at the same time the positioning of the supported portion 34Y, the insertion of the nozzle 70, and the connection to the drive unit are performed. Therefore, the user feels a click when the supported portion 34Y is positioned at the same time as the sliding of the supported portion 34Y (mounting operation by one operation) proceeds and the confidence that the operation was performed without errors during the mounting operation. Has

In addition, the toner container 32Y is not installed in the toner container support part 31 (device body 100) from the upper side, but desorption is performed from the front of the toner container support part 31 (device body 100), and thus, the toner The flexibility of the arrangement for the upper side of the vessel support 31 is improved. For example, even if a scanner (document reader) is placed directly on the toner container support 31, operability / processability is not deteriorated when the toner container 32Y is detached. In addition, the flexibility of the arrangement for the engagement position D between the gear 33c of the toner container 32Y and the drive gear of the apparatus body 100 is also improved.

The toner container 32Y is installed in the apparatus body 100 with the vertical direction arranged in the horizontal direction, therefore, the toner capacity of the toner container 32Y affects the arrangement in the height direction of the entire image forming apparatus 100. It increases without reaching, which can reduce the replacement cycle.

As described above, in the eleventh embodiment, when the toner container 32Y is replaced, the operation for replacement is easy, and the occurrence of toner scattering can be reliably reduced.

In addition, the toner container support part 31 is configured to add the toner container 32Y toward the fixing part 73 of the toner container support part 31 in synchronization with the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y. As a result, the occurrence of toner scattering is reliably reduced regardless of whether the user is operating for replacing the toner container 32Y, and the operability in replacement with the amount of toner discharged from the toner container 32Y is not reduced.

In the eleventh embodiment, the toner is contained only in each container body of the toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32K, but a two-component developer containing a carrier and toner also requires a two-component developer. Can be stored in each container body of the toner containers 32Y, 32M, 32C, and 32K for the image forming apparatus 100 to be supplied to each developing device. Even in such a case, an arm pair 90 for aligning the toner container 32Y toward the fixing portion 73 of the toner container support part 31 is provided in synchronization with the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y to generate toner scattering. This can be reduced invariably.

(Twelfth embodiment)

The twelfth embodiment is described in detail below with respect to Figs.

FIG. 43 is a perspective view of the toner container 32Y provided to be detachable from the toner container support part 31 according to the twelfth embodiment, and corresponds to FIG. 36 according to the eleventh embodiment. 44 is a sectional view of the toner container 32Y according to the twelfth embodiment. The toner container support part 31 according to the twelfth embodiment is similar to that of the eleventh embodiment in that a positioning pin 70b that is engaged with the positioning hole 340k of the toner container 32Y is provided in the nozzle 70. different.

Similar to the eleventh embodiment, the image forming apparatus 100 according to the twelfth embodiment is an attachment portion provided between the stacking portion 30 (discharge portion) and the intermediate transfer unit 15 (intermediate transfer element). A toner container support portion 31 and a set portion. The mounting portion is toner container 32Y, 32M, 32C, 32K, toner bottle, which is a chemical storage container, is detachably mounted, and each toner container is supplied to each developing device of the image unit 6Y, 6M, 6C, 6K. This part stores toner.

As shown in Figs. 43 and 44, the toner container 32Y (toner bottle) installed in the apparatus body 100 (printer) includes a cylindrical container body 33Y (bottle body) having an opening A formed at one end thereof. And a supported portion 34Y (cap) that is rotatable relative to the container body 33Y having the opening A. As shown in FIG. A protrusion 33b (a spiral body protruding toward the inside of the container), which is a conveying part for conveying the received toner to the opening A side through rotation, is formed around the periphery of the container body 33Y. The opening A is cylindrical, formed around the axis (rotational axis) of the container body 33Y, and the diameter is smaller than the diameter of the container body 33Y. In order to discharge the toner from the opening A having the smaller diameter, the second spiral body (second projection) and the suction portion for sucking the toner toward the second spiral body are provided between the projection 33b and the opening A. (Both are not shown, but are installed at a position behind the support 134m).

The supported portion 34Y (cap) is mounted to the container body 33Y through the supporting portion 134m. As shown in FIG. 44, the claw 340b1 (claw part) is provided on the cylindrical outer periphery of the to-be-supported part 34Y. The claw 340b1 is engaged in the circumferential groove 33e formed in the container body 33Y, which causes relative rotation of the supported portion 34Y and the container body 33Y. The joint portion between the container body 33Y and the supported portion 34Y is formed of a sealing member 37 (sealing body), and prevents toner leakage from the joint portion. The gear 33c (bottle gear) is integrally searched with the container body 33Y near the position where the supported portion 34Y of the container body 33Y is mounted. The gear 33c is used as an input portion for rotating the container body 33Y.

The toner discharge port B (feed port) is formed in the lower portion of the periphery of the supported portion 34Y. More specifically, the toner discharge port B is formed integrally with the funnel-shaped opening 340c2 provided in the support portion 340c (output member). The nozzle 70 (toner conveying tube), which is a coupling member, is inserted into the nozzle hole 340n provided in the support portion 340c, and the toner discharge port B and the nozzle 70 communicate with each other through the toner supply port 70a. The plug member 34d (shutter) is fitted into the nozzle hole 340n, and when the toner container 32Y is not engaged with the nozzle 70, the series of toner supply paths is blocked. Although not shown in the twelfth embodiment, the biasing unit is provided not on the toner container 32Y side but on the toner container support part 31 side, and the biasing unit resists the direction pressed by the nozzle 70. The plug member 34d is added.

As shown in FIG. 43, the positioning pins 70b are disposed on both sides of the nozzle body on the side of the apparatus body 100 in which the nozzle 70 is installed. The positioning pin 70b is inserted into the positioning hole 340k provided in the supported portion 34Y. The supply side of the nozzle 70 communicates with the intake port of the screw pump 60 of the suction type similarly to the eleventh embodiment. As the screw pump, a uniaxial eccentric screw pump (Mohno pump) capable of continuously delivering a fixed amount at a high solid / gas ratio may be used.

In the toner container 32Y constructed in the above manner, the supported portion 34Y having the fixed support portion 340c (output member) is formed from the outer circumferential surface of the container body 33Y as viewed in the arrow M direction of FIG. 43. It protrudes outward. That is, the support part 340c which is the protrusion part which protruded along the removal direction is formed in the to-be-supported part 34Y so that a protrusion plane may not overlap in the removal direction (arrow M and Q direction) of the container body 33Y.

When the toner container 32Y is correctly installed in the toner container support part 31 (setting part) in the direction of the arrow Q, the positioning pin 70b is inserted into the positioning hole 340k, and the nozzle 70 is connected to the nozzle hole ( 340n). More specifically, the toner container 32Y is moved along the axial direction (vertical direction) in which the to-be-supported part 34Y is located as a tip, and the nozzle 70 is inserted into the nozzle hole 340n. Therefore, when the nozzle 70 is inserted into the nozzle hole 340n, the plug member 34d is extruded toward the rear side from the nozzle hole 340n, and the toner supply port 70a (accommodation hole) of the nozzle 70 is provided. Communicates with the toner discharge port B (opening 340c2) to enable toner supply.

Also, in the toner container supporting portion according to the twelfth embodiment, the toner supply operation is performed in the same manner as in the eleventh embodiment. That is, the accommodated toner is sent out to the supported portion 34Y side through the rotation of the container body 33Y, and the toner discharge port B is filled with toner. If the toner discharge port B on the suction side is filled with toner, the suction type screw pump can reliably convey the toner. Therefore, the toner in the quantity according to the operation time can be supplied to the developing apparatus.

Toner supply is performed in this manner while the user installs the toner container 32Y on the toner container support 31. Therefore, when the toner container 32Y is not installed correctly or there is an installation error, the nozzle 70 is not properly inserted into the nozzle hole 340n, and an error occurs in toner supply.

FIG. 45 is a perspective view of the base plate 310a provided in the toner container support part 31 (setting part), and FIG. 46 is an enlarged partial sectional view of the base plate 310a in which the toner container 32Y is installed.

Referring to Fig. 45 (see also Fig. 10), the base plate 310a provided in the toner container support part 31 has a space in which the toner container 32Y for four colors can be mounted, and the slide surface 31a, 31b) is formed in each mounting portion of the toner container 32Y. Four toner containers 32Y are installed in one piece of the base plate 310a of the twelfth embodiment, but the base plate 310a is adapted to connect each toner container 32Y according to the number of toner containers 32Y. Can be installed independently.

As shown in FIG. 46, the sliding surfaces 31a and 31b formed in the base plate 310a form guide grooves 31a11 to which the supported portions 34Y are fitted. The slide surface 31b of the guide groove 31a11 and the top surface of the base plate 310a form a guide edge as a bend, which supports the container body 33Y. The guide groove 31a11 is configured to guide the support 340c (projection) projecting from the outer circumference of the container body 33Y when viewed in the vertical direction on the paper of FIG. 46. That is, the guide groove 31a11 is formed so that the protrusion 34c of the supported portion 34Y fits into the guide groove 31a11. The inner edge 31a12 is formed along the edge between the start point and the end point of the guide groove 31a11 and chamfered to easily support the rotation of the container body 33Y.

Since the toner container support part 31 constituted in the above manner includes the slide surfaces 31a and 31b forming the guide grooves 31a11, when the supported portion 34Y is fitted to the guide grooves 31a11, the supported portion ( The rotation around the center of the axis of 34Y) is limited. Therefore, if the toner container 32Y is disposed on the slide surface 31a while the supported portion 34Y is fitted to the guide groove 31a11 to move along the arrow Q direction, the toner container 32Y is easy and reliable. And can be installed correctly. More specifically, displacement of the nozzle hole 340n and the positioning hole 340k does not occur by fitting the supported portion 4Y to the guide groove 31a11. Therefore, when the toner container 32Y is installed in the arrow Q direction, the positioning pin 70b is reliably inserted into the positioning hole 340k, and the nozzle 70 is reliably inserted into the nozzle hole 340n. .

In the twelfth embodiment, the toner container 32Y slides along the sliding surface 31a parallel to the axis until the start and completion of the mounting operation. At the same time, the method can be changed to a method in which the to-be-supported portion 34Y as the head slides the toner container 32Y in a direction orthogonal to the arrow Q direction at the beginning of the mounting operation, and then mounts in the arrow Q direction. . Further, the method can be changed to a method of arranging the toner container 32Y on the sliding surface 31a from the upper side at the beginning of the mounting operation, and then sliding along the arrow Q direction to be mounted.

The image forming apparatus 100 according to the twelfth embodiment installs a toner discharging mechanism on the rear side as viewed from the operator (user), and the nozzle on the apparatus body 100 side on the rear side of the apparatus body 100 ( It is aqueous so as to engage the nozzle hole 340n of the toner container 32Y having the 70. Based on the above configuration, even if toner scattering occurs in the docking portion, the position is away from the operator. Therefore, the operator's hand is not easily soiled with the toner when compared with the case where the toner discharge mechanism (docking structure) is on the near side of the apparatus body 100. In addition, since the docking structure is installed on the rear side of the device body 100, the operator hardly operates while supporting the supported portion 34Y at the time of mounting. And experiments during operation confirm that the operator typically supports the container body 33Y for pushing. If the operator supports the container body 33Y, the supported portion 34Y side can be rotated in operation, which deteriorates operability, but in the twelfth embodiment, the rotation of the supported portion 34Y causes the sliding surface 31a to be rotated. Since not limited by the above, operability is improved. Therefore, even if the toner discharge mechanism (docking structure) is installed on the rear side of the apparatus body 100, the operability in replacement of the toner container 32Y is improved.

The relationship between the configuration and the effect of the toner container support part 31 according to the twelfth embodiment is summarized below. Most of the configurations and effects described below are common to those of the toner container support according to the eleventh embodiment.

In the twelfth embodiment, the main portion of the supported portion 34Y (cap) on the discharge side of the toner container 32Y is substantially cylindrical, and the cylindrical portion is a support portion protruding toward the space including the toner shutter mechanism ( 340c, protrusions, and protrusions). Based on this support portion 340c, the toner container 32Y is fitted with the guide groove 31a11 formed on the side of the apparatus body 100 for mounting, and with the nozzle 70 for sucking the toner. Positional relationships can also be determined accurately.

The toner container 32Y is moved along the slide surface 31a, the toner discharge port B is engaged with the nozzle 70, and prevents installation failure or erroneous setting of the toner container 32Y. According to the configuration of the twelfth embodiment, as compared with Patent Documents 1 to 4, which require a plurality of operations for the detachment operation of the toner container 32Y, the detachment operation of the toner container 32Y is performed by the toner container 32Y. Is completed by one operation (except opening / closing operation of the main body door), such as moving along the sliding surface 31a.

Guide edges 31a12 for the slide surface 31a are provided, which help to support the toner container 32Y rotatably and securely after mounting.

A guide groove 31a11 for the slide surface 31a is installed, which helps to eliminate displacement of the toner container 32Y at the time of mounting, and thus to invariably prevent installation failure or misinstallation of the toner container 32Y. do.

If the user supports only the container body 33Y and installs it on the apparatus body, the supported portion 34Y rotates unless something inhibits rotation. The moment force is generated around the rotational center of the supported portion 34Y, and the supporting portion 340c (projection portion) faces downward. Therefore, in the twelfth embodiment, the guide groove 31a11 is formed below in the vertical direction. With this arrangement, even if the user only supports the container body 33Y, the support portion 340c alone fits into the guide groove 31a11, and the erroneous prevention performance of the toner container 32Y is improved.

In the twelfth embodiment, since the toner discharge port B for docking the nozzle 70 (toner supply port 70a) is formed in the supported portion 340c (projection), the toner discharge port B is the sliding surface 31a. Moving along the side, which prevents rotational displacement of the toner discharge opening B. FIG. Therefore, the user can easily and surely combine the nozzle 70 and the toner discharge port B without special recognition. In contrast to the opening operation of the toner discharge port by the collet chuck system of Patent Documents 5 and 6, the twelfth embodiment uses a mounting operation for opening the toner discharge port B without using a lever or the like. And a mechanism for pressing the plug member 34d by the nozzle 70 in synchronization. This prevents toner scattering upon replacement of the toner container 32Y.

Since the user can easily carry out the detachment operation of the toner container 32Y by only supporting the container body 33Y, the toner discharge mechanism (the docking portion between the nozzle 70 and the toner discharge port B) is the device body. It may be installed on the rear side of the (100).

As described above, the twelfth embodiment is configured to enable easy operation, and also to reliably reduce the occurrence of toner scattering when the toner container 32Y is replaced.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments, and the embodiments may be changed as necessary within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention except for the suggestion of the embodiments. In addition, the number, position, and shape of each of the components are not limited by the embodiments, and therefore, these may be changed to those suitable for the embodiments of the present invention.

The toner container according to another embodiment is characterized in that, after the positioning is started in the mounting operation of the toner container to the toner container support, the opening and closing member starts to open the toner discharge port.

A toner container according to another embodiment has a toner container support having a nozzle in communication with the toner discharge port based on the toner container, and the opening / closing member is attached to the toner container support to start opening the toner discharge port. It is characterized in that it is installed as a plug member which is pressed by the nozzle in synchronization with the nozzle and is added by the biasing member in synchronization with the release operation to the toner container support to start closing the toner discharge port.

A toner container according to another embodiment has a positioning member coupled with a supported portion for positioning a supported portion, based on the toner container described above, wherein the supported portion in the mounting operation to the toner container support portion is provided. After starting to engage with the positioning member, the nozzle starts to press the plug member.

Another toner container according to another embodiment is characterized in that the tip of the positioning member is formed closer to the supported part side than the tip of the nozzle with respect to the supported part moving along the mounting direction based on the toner container described above. to be.

The toner container according to another embodiment is characterized in that, when the toner container moves along the mounting operation to the toner container support, the toner container support side is more than the tip of the plug member in which the tip of the supported portion engaged with the positioning member is pressed by the nozzle. It is characterized in that it is formed to be located closer to.

A toner container according to another embodiment is characterized in that the tip of the positioning member on the side where the supported portion is attached is tapered or chamfered based on the toner container.

A toner container according to another embodiment is characterized in that the tip of the supported portion on the side to which the positioning member is engaged is tapered or chamfered based on the toner container.

A toner container according to another embodiment includes a container body for discharging the toner contained in the toner container from an opening of the toner container detachably mounted to the toner container support of the image forming apparatus main body, wherein the supported portion is the container body. The toner discharged from the opening of the toner is discharged from the toner discharge port and is supported by the toner container support in a non-ignition manner, and the supported portion includes a slide portion which contacts and slides with the toner container support.

A toner container according to another embodiment is characterized in that the sliding portion of the toner container slides along the toner container support in synchronization with the detaching operation to the toner container support.

A toner container according to another embodiment is characterized in that the sliding portion of the toner container is a flat portion.

A toner container according to another embodiment is characterized in that the flat portion of the toner container is formed to be parallel to the sliding surface of the toner container support.

A toner container according to another embodiment is characterized in that the sliding portion of the toner container is a plurality of convex portions formed such that the convex portions have a height in contact with a predetermined plane.

A toner container according to another embodiment is characterized in that a predetermined plane of the toner container is provided as a sliding surface of the toner container support.

A toner container according to another embodiment is characterized in that the sliding portion of the toner container is provided at the bottom of the supported portion.

The toner container according to another embodiment is characterized in that when the desorption operation to the toner container support is performed, the bottom of the supported portion of the toner container is provided on the sliding surface of the toner container support and slides along the sliding surface. .

A toner container according to another embodiment is characterized in that the sliding portion of the toner container is provided on the side of the supported portion.

A toner container according to another embodiment is characterized in that when the desorption operation to the toner container support is performed, the toner container is slid along the sliding surface of the toner container support, which is used as a side.

A toner container according to another embodiment, wherein the supported portion of the toner container includes a biased portion that is added by the biasing unit of the toner container support in the mounting direction while the supported portion is installed in the toner container support, and the slide portion supports the toner container. It is characterized by being in contact with and sliding with the gage unit in synchronization with the detachable operation of the vice.

The toner container according to another embodiment is an arm pair in which the biasing unit is integrally installed through the spindle based on the toner container, and is characterized in that the torsion spring exerts a force in both directions in the rotational direction around the spindle by a torsion spring. to be.

A toner container according to still another embodiment is characterized in that, in the toner container, the slide portion is provided on two sides of the supported portion, and the biased portion is each corner portion at the end of both side portions.

A toner container according to still another embodiment is characterized in that in the toner container, an edge portion is formed such that the curvature of the edge portion is smaller than the curvature of the contact portion of the vaulting unit in contact with the edge portion.

A toner container according to still another embodiment is characterized in that, in the toner container, the sliding portion is provided on two sides of the supported portion, and the biased portion is a plane that intersects the side portion at the ends of both side portions.

A toner container according to another embodiment is characterized in that in the toner container, the sliding portion is formed such that its height is equal to the height of the toner discharge port.

A toner container according to another embodiment, based on the toner container, the toner container support portion includes a nozzle in communication with the toner discharge port, and the supported portion is synchronized with the mounting operation to the toner container support to open the toner discharge port. And a plug member that is pressed by the nozzle and is biased by the biasing member in synchronization with the disengagement operation from the toner container support to close the toner discharge port, wherein, in the mounting operation of the toner container support, the sliding portion slides toward the biasing unit. After being started, the toner conveying tube starts to press the plug member, the slide unit completes the slide to the biasing unit, and the biasing unit adds the biased portion.

In the toner container according to another embodiment, the moving distance of the plug member in the detachable direction in relation to the detachment operation to the toner container support in the toner container is set to be shorter than the distance from the toner discharge port to the cassette in the detachable direction. It is characteristic.

A toner container according to another embodiment, wherein in the toner container, the supported portion includes a coupling portion engaged with the positioning member in synchronization with the mounting operation to the toner container support portion, wherein the coupling portion is perpendicular to the sliding portion and the toner discharge port. It is characterized by being installed on the upper side.

An image forming apparatus according to another embodiment includes a toner container including a toner body provided to be detachably and discharging the toner contained in the toner container from the opening, and the toner discharged from the opening of the container body. A fixed portion for supporting the supported portion in a non-rotating manner, and a guide rail for guiding the supported portion toward the fixed portion while the rotation of the supported portion is suppressed during mounting of the toner container. It is characterized by including a point.

An image forming apparatus according to another embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus, the guide rail includes a guide edge for supporting the container body.

An image forming apparatus according to still another embodiment is characterized in that, in the image forming apparatus, the guide rail includes a guide groove for guiding a portion of the supported portion.

An image forming apparatus according to another embodiment, in the image forming apparatus, includes a protrusion in which the supported portion protrudes along the mounting direction so that the protrusion planes do not overlap in the detaching direction of the container body, and the protrusion is guided along the guide groove. It is characteristic.

An image forming apparatus according to another embodiment is characterized in that the projecting portion has a toner discharge port in the image forming apparatus.

An image forming apparatus according to still another embodiment is characterized in that the guide groove is provided downward in the vertical direction with respect to the supported portion in the image forming apparatus.

An image forming apparatus according to another embodiment includes a toner supply apparatus in which the image forming apparatus is installed to be detachable from a toner container, the toner container comprising: a container body for discharging toner contained in the toner container from an opening; And a support portion for discharging the toner discharged from the toner discharge port from the toner discharge port, and the image forming apparatus further includes a fixing portion for supporting the supported portion in a non-rotating manner, and a toner toward the fixing portion in synchronization with the mounting operation of the toner container. It is characterized in that it includes a biasing element for adding a container.

An image forming apparatus according to another embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus, the biasing element adds the supported portion toward the fixed portion in synchronization with the mounting operation of the toner container.

An image forming apparatus according to another embodiment, wherein in the image forming apparatus, the toner container includes an opening and closing member for opening and closing the toner discharge port in synchronization with a detaching operation, and after the biasing element starts to be added in the mounting operation of the toner container. The opening and closing member is characterized by starting to open the toner discharge port.

An image forming apparatus according to another embodiment is characterized in that the image forming apparatus is configured to exert a force on the toner container before being biased by the biasing unit toward the fixing part in a direction of separating the toner container from the fixing part. It is characteristic.

An image forming apparatus according to another embodiment is characterized in that the image forming apparatus includes a second biasing element for adding the toner container in a direction of separating the toner container from the fixing portion in synchronization with the detaching operation of the toner container. .

An image forming apparatus according to another embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus, the supported portion is added in a direction in which the second biasing element separates from the fixed portion in synchronization with the detaching operation of the toner container.

An image forming apparatus according to another embodiment, wherein in the image forming apparatus, the toner container includes an opening and closing member for opening and closing the toner discharge port in synchronization with a desorption operation, wherein the second biasing element is biased during the removal operation of the toner container. After starting, the opening and closing member is characterized in that it starts to close the toner discharge port.

An image forming apparatus according to another embodiment is configured such that the image forming apparatus exerts a force toward the fixing portion on the toner container before being biased by the second biasing unit in the direction of separating the toner container from the fixing portion. It is characteristic.

In the image forming apparatus according to another embodiment, in the image forming apparatus, the biasing element and the second biasing element are integrally installed through the spindle, and the force is applied in both directions in the rotational direction around the spindle by a torsion spring. It is characterized by the fact that it is made of an arm pair.

An image forming apparatus according to still another embodiment, wherein in the image forming apparatus, the guide rail includes a slide surface slid along the sliding portion of the supported portion in synchronization with the detaching operation of the toner container, and during the mounting operation of the toner container. After the slide starts to slide, the biasing element adds the supported portion, and at the same time the positioning of the supported portion to the fixed portion starts, and the positioning of the supported portion to the fixed portion is completed at the same time as the sliding of the slide portion is completed. It is characteristic.

An image forming apparatus according to still another embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus, the guide rail includes a slide surface which slides along the sliding portion of the supported portion in synchronization with the detaching operation of the toner container.

An image forming apparatus according to another embodiment is characterized in that the image forming apparatus includes a sliding surface which slides along the sliding portion of the supported portion in synchronization with the detaching operation of the toner container.

In the image forming apparatus according to another embodiment, in the image forming apparatus, in the mounting operation of the toner container, after the sliding of the sliding portion starts, the biasing element adds the supported portion, and at the same time, the supported portion to the fixed portion. The positioning is started, the sliding part of the sliding part is completed and the positioning of the supported part to the fixed part is completed.

An image forming apparatus according to another embodiment includes a toner container including an opening and closing member for opening and closing the toner discharge port of the supported portion, and further comprising a mounting operation of the toner container to start opening the toner discharge port. And a toner conveying tube in synchronization with the toner outlet and pressing the opening / closing member.

An image forming apparatus according to another embodiment is characterized in that, in the image forming apparatus, the toner container includes a member that exerts a force that forces the opening and closing member in a direction that resists the direction pressed by the toner conveying tube. .

An image forming apparatus according to another embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus, the toner container is detached along the longitudinal direction of the container body.

An image forming apparatus according to still another embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus, the toner container is mounted on the basis that the longitudinal direction of the container body is provided in the horizontal direction.

An image forming apparatus according to still another embodiment is characterized in that, in the image forming apparatus, the supported portion is mounted to be the head of the container body.

An image forming apparatus according to another embodiment, the image forming apparatus includes a toner container including a gear installed on the periphery of the container body and near the opening, and is coupled with a gear that transmits a rotational driving force to the gear. It is characterized in that it comprises a drive gear.

In the image forming apparatus according to another embodiment, in the image forming apparatus, the toner container nautical conveys the opening by synchronizing the toner contained in the container body with the rotation of the container body transmitted to the gear by the rotation driving force. It is characteristic.

An image forming apparatus according to another embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus, the toner container has a spiral protrusion along an inner circumferential surface of the container body.

An image forming apparatus according to another embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus, the toner container accommodates the toner in the container body.

An image forming apparatus according to another embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus, the toner container further accommodates a carrier in the container body.

An image forming apparatus according to another embodiment, wherein the image forming apparatus includes a toner container detachably mounted to a mounting portion, and the toner container includes a container body having a conveying portion for conveying the stored toner to the opening side through rotation. The image forming apparatus also includes a supported portion fixed to an opening of the container body and rotatable relative to the container body, wherein the supported portion defines a portion of a path used to supply toner contained in the container body to the image forming apparatus body. It has a toner discharge port to be formed, and the mounting portion includes a coupling member that engages with the toner discharge port when the toner container moves along the axial direction, and further includes a guide rail for suppressing rotation of the supported portion during movement.

An image forming apparatus according to another embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus, the guide rail includes a guide edge for supporting the container body and a wife groove for guiding an end of the supported portion.

An image forming apparatus according to another embodiment, wherein in the image forming apparatus, the supported portion has a protrusion protruding outward from the outer diameter of the container body in a cross section perpendicular to the axis line of the toner container, and the protrusion is a guide of the guide rail. It is characterized by being guided by a groove.

An image forming apparatus according to still another embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus, the guide groove is formed below in the direction of gravity.

An image forming apparatus according to another embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus, the toner discharge port is formed in the protrusion.

An image forming apparatus according to still another embodiment is characterized in that in the image forming apparatus, the mounting portion is disposed on the rear side of the main body when viewed from the operator.

Claims (20)

A toner container detachably attached to a toner container support part of an image forming apparatus main body, A container body for receiving toner and including an opening for discharging the toner; And A toner discharge port for discharging the toner discharged from the opening, the toner discharged from the opening is discharged from the toner discharge port, and includes a supported portion supported by the toner container support portion in a non-rotating manner; And the supported portion includes an opening and closing member for opening and closing the toner discharge port in synchronization with the detaching operation of the supported portion to the toner container support portion. The method of claim 1, The opening / closing member is pressed by a nozzle provided in the toner container support in synchronization with the mounting operation to the toner container support to open the toner discharge port, and is released from the toner container support to close the toner discharge port. And a plug member that is biased by the biasing member in synchronism with the toner container. The method of claim 2, The biasing member is provided in the toner container support portion, contracts to a position which does not block the mounting of the supported portion in synchronization with the mounting operation of the toner container, and thus protrudes into a position engaged with the plug member, and simultaneously And a claw member which adds the plug member in synchronization with the detachment operation of the toner container, and thus contracts to a position which does not block the detachment of the supported portion. The method of claim 3, wherein The claw member is engaged with the plug member to fix the position of the plug member together with the nozzle at the toner container support, And the supported portion further moves along a detachment direction at the position where the plug member is fixed to open and close the toner discharge port. The method of claim 3, wherein The claw member is biased by a second biasing member from the retracted position to the engaged position, And the second biasing member is formed such that the force that the claw member biases the plug member is greater than the sliding resistance of the plug member. The method of claim 2, And the plug member is configured such that the stroke when the toner discharge port is opened and closed is longer than the stroke movable manually. The method of claim 2, And a conveying pipe (71) connected to a pump for discharging or feeding the gas to the inside to convey the toner discharged from the toner discharge port together with gas, through the nozzle. The method of claim 1, The supported portion includes a sliding portion that slides along the toner container support in synchronization with the detaching operation to the toner container support; And the opening and closing member is provided at a position surrounded by the sliding portion. The method of claim 1, Toner container, characterized in that detachable along the longitudinal direction of the container body. The method of claim 9, And a toner container supporter based on the longitudinal direction of the container body set in the horizontal direction. The method of claim 9, And the supported portion is mounted as the toner container support portion such that the supported portion is set as a head of the container body. The method of claim 1, And the container body is rotatably provided, and conveys the received toner toward the opening following rotation. The method of claim 12, And the container body is provided on the circumferential surface and on the opening side, and includes a gear for transmitting a rotational driving force to the container body. The method of claim 12, And the container body includes a spiral protrusion along an inner circumferential surface thereof. The method of claim 12, And the container body includes a conveying member for conveying the received toner toward the opening. The method of claim 15, And the conveying member is a coil or screw rotatably provided. The method of claim 1, And the supported portion communicates with the container body through the opening. The method of claim 1, And the container body accommodates toner therein. The method of claim 18, And the container body accommodates a carrier therein. An image forming apparatus comprising the toner container according to claim 1, which is detachably mounted to a toner container support unit provided in the image forming apparatus main body.

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