CN112596357B - Toner container and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Toner container and image forming apparatus Download PDF

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Publication number
CN112596357B
CN112596357B CN202011385732.9A CN202011385732A CN112596357B CN 112596357 B CN112596357 B CN 112596357B CN 202011385732 A CN202011385732 A CN 202011385732A CN 112596357 B CN112596357 B CN 112596357B
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CN
China
Prior art keywords
toner
container body
container
cover member
main body
Prior art date
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Active
Application number
CN202011385732.9A
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Chinese (zh)
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CN112596357A (en
Inventor
村田耕治
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Kyocera Document Solutions Inc
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Kyocera Document Solutions Inc
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Publication date
Application filed by Kyocera Document Solutions Inc filed Critical Kyocera Document Solutions Inc
Priority to CN202011385732.9A priority Critical patent/CN112596357B/en
Publication of CN112596357A publication Critical patent/CN112596357A/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of CN112596357B publication Critical patent/CN112596357B/en
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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
    • G03G15/00—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern
    • G03G15/06—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern for developing
    • G03G15/08—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern for developing using a solid developer, e.g. powder developer
    • G03G15/0822—Arrangements for preparing, mixing, supplying or dispensing developer
    • G03G15/0865—Arrangements for supplying new developer
    • G03G15/0867—Arrangements for supplying new developer cylindrical developer cartridges, e.g. toner bottles for the developer replenishing opening
    • G03G15/087—Developer cartridges having a longitudinal rotational axis, around which at least one part is rotated when mounting or using the cartridge
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
    • G03G15/00—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern
    • G03G15/06—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern for developing
    • G03G15/08—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern for developing using a solid developer, e.g. powder developer
    • G03G15/0822—Arrangements for preparing, mixing, supplying or dispensing developer
    • G03G15/0865—Arrangements for supplying new developer
    • G03G15/0867—Arrangements for supplying new developer cylindrical developer cartridges, e.g. toner bottles for the developer replenishing opening
    • G03G15/087—Developer cartridges having a longitudinal rotational axis, around which at least one part is rotated when mounting or using the cartridge
    • G03G15/0872—Developer cartridges having a longitudinal rotational axis, around which at least one part is rotated when mounting or using the cartridge the developer cartridges being generally horizontally mounted parallel to its longitudinal rotational axis
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
    • G03G15/00—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern
    • G03G15/06—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern for developing
    • G03G15/08—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern for developing using a solid developer, e.g. powder developer
    • G03G15/0822—Arrangements for preparing, mixing, supplying or dispensing developer
    • G03G15/0877—Arrangements for metering and dispensing developer from a developer cartridge into the development unit
    • G03G15/0881—Sealing of developer cartridges
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
    • G03G2215/00—Apparatus for electrophotographic processes
    • G03G2215/08—Details of powder developing device not concerning the development directly
    • G03G2215/0875—Arrangements for shipping or transporting of the developing device to or from the user
    • G03G2215/0877—Sealing of the developing device opening, facing the image-carrying member

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Dry Development In Electrophotography (AREA)

Abstract

The invention provides a toner container and an image forming apparatus. The toner container of the present invention has a container body, a cap member, and a sealing member. The container body houses toner and is rotatable. The cover member covers an opening provided in the container body, and maintains a rotation stop state when the container body rotates. The seal member is mounted between the container body and the cover member, and maintains a rotation stopped state when the container body rotates, and at least a part thereof is made of an elastic material.

Description

Toner container and image forming apparatus
The present application is a divisional application of the invention application having the application number "201610213125.1", the invention name "toner container and image forming apparatus", and the application date "2016, 4, 7".
Technical Field
The present invention relates to a toner container and an image forming apparatus having the same.
Background
In the related art, in an image forming apparatus of an electrophotographic system, a developing process is performed by supplying toner to an electrostatic latent image formed on a surface of an image carrier (for example, a photosensitive drum) by a developer. The toner used for such a developing process is supplied from a toner container to a developer. The toner container includes, for example, a container body that houses toner and is rotatable.
In the toner container having the above-described structure, the opening of the container body may be covered with a cover member that is held in a rotation stopped state when the container body rotates. In this case, the toner is likely to leak out from between the container body and the cover member, as compared with the case where the cover member rotates together with the container body when the container body rotates.
Disclosure of Invention
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to prevent toner from leaking out from between a container main body and a cover member.
A toner container according to an aspect of the present invention includes a container body, a cap member, and a seal member. The container body houses toner and is rotatable. The cover member covers an opening provided in the container body, and maintains a rotation stop state when the container body rotates. The seal member is mounted between the container body and the cover member, and maintains a rotation stopped state when the container body rotates, and at least a part thereof is made of an elastic material.
An image forming apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention includes the toner container and a mounting portion for mounting the toner container.
Drawings
Fig. 1 is a schematic view schematically showing the configuration of a multifunctional integrated machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a toner cartridge for black toner and each toner replenishment mounting portion according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a toner cartridge for black toner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a rear portion of a toner cartridge for black toner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a toner cartridge for black toner according to an embodiment of the present invention when viewed from the front left.
Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a toner cartridge for black toner according to an embodiment of the present invention, viewed from the front right.
Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken along line VII-VII in fig. 3.
Fig. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing a toner cartridge for black toner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 9 is a perspective view showing a container body and a stirring member of a toner cartridge for black toner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 10 is a rear view showing a toner cartridge for black toner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 11A is a side view showing a state in which the 1 st operation lever is positioned at the 1 st position in the toner cartridge for black toner according to the embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 11B is a side view showing a state in which the 1 st lever is positioned at the 2 nd position in the toner cartridge for black toner according to the embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 12A is a side view showing a state in which the 2 nd handle is located at the 3 rd position in the toner cartridge for black toner according to the embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 12B is a side view showing a state in which the 2 nd lever is positioned at the 4 th position in the toner cartridge for black toner according to the embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 13 is a cross-sectional view showing a toner cartridge for cyan toner according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 14 is a perspective view showing a rear portion of each of the toner supply mounting portions according to the embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 15 is a perspective view showing a rear portion of each toner cartridge and a rear portion of each toner replenishment mounting portion according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 16 is a cross-sectional view showing a waste toner bottle according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 17 is a side view showing a waste toner collecting attachment portion according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 18 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a toner cartridge for black toner is attached to a toner replenishment attaching portion for black toner in the multifunctional integrated machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 19 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a waste toner bottle is attached to a waste toner collecting attachment portion in the multifunctional integrated machine according to the embodiment of the present invention.
Detailed Description
Next, a multifunction peripheral 1 (image forming apparatus) according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Arrows Fr, rr, L, R, U, lo appropriately indicated in the drawings represent the front side, the rear side, the left side, the right side, the upper side, and the lower side of the multifunction integrated machine 1, respectively.
First, the general configuration of the multifunction integrated machine 1 will be described.
As shown in fig. 1, the multifunction peripheral 1 has a box-shaped multifunction peripheral body 2 (apparatus body). An image reading apparatus 3 for reading an original image is provided at an upper end portion of the multifunction peripheral main body 2. A paper output tray 4 is provided below the image reading apparatus 3 in the upper part of the multifunctional integrated machine main body 2.
An intermediate transfer belt 5 is housed in a substantially central portion of the multifunctional integrated body 2. A cleaning mechanism 6 is provided on the left end side of the central transfer belt 5.
At the substantially central portion of the multifunctional integrated machine main body 2, 4 image forming units 7K, 7C, 7M, and 7Y are housed below the intermediate transfer belt 5. The 4 image forming portions 7K, 7C, 7M, and 7Y correspond to toners of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow, respectively. Each of the image forming portions 7K, 7C, 7M, and 7Y has a photosensitive drum 8 (image carrier), a charger 9, a developer 10, a primary transfer roller 11, and a cleaning device 12. The intermediate transfer belt 5 is sandwiched between the primary transfer roller 11 and the photosensitive drum 8, and a primary transfer nip N1 is formed between the intermediate transfer belt 5 and the photosensitive drum 8.
An exposure device 13 is housed below the 4 image forming units 7K, 7C, 7M, and 7Y in the lower part of the multifunction peripheral main body 2. A paper feed cassette 14 is housed below the exposure device 13 at the lower end of the multifunction peripheral main body 2. The paper feed cassette 14 contains paper S (recording medium).
A conveyance path 15 for the sheet S is provided on the right side of the multifunctional integrated machine body 2. A paper feed section 16 is provided at a lower end (upstream end) of the conveyance path 15. A secondary transfer roller 17 is provided at a midstream portion of the conveyance path 15. A secondary transfer nip N2 is formed between the secondary transfer roller 17 and the intermediate transfer belt 5. A fixing device 18 is provided at an upper portion (downstream portion) of the conveyance path 15. At an upper end (downstream end) of the conveyance path 15, a paper discharge unit 19 is provided.
On the upper part of the multifunctional integrated machine main body 2, 4 toner cartridges 21K, 21C, 21M, 21Y (toner containers) are housed below the paper discharge unit 4. The toner cartridges 21K, 21C, 21M, and 21Y house black, cyan, magenta, and yellow toners, respectively. The toner cartridges 21K, 21C, 21M, 21Y are detachably attached to the toner replenishment attaching portions 22K, 22C, 22M, 22Y, respectively. At the left end portion of the multifunctional integrated machine main body 2, a waste toner bottle 23 (toner container) is housed. The waste toner bottle 23 houses waste toner. The waste toner bottle 23 is detachably attached to the waste toner collecting attachment portion 24.
Next, the operation of the multifunction peripheral 1 having the above-described configuration will be described.
After an instruction to start printing is given to the multifunction peripheral 1, the multifunction peripheral 1 performs an image forming operation as follows. First, the charger 9 charges the surface of the photosensitive drum 8. Next, an electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 8 by light from the exposure device 13 (see arrow P in fig. 1). Then, the developer 10 supplies the toner supplied by the respective toner cartridges 21K, 21C, 21M, 21Y to the photosensitive drum 8, thereby developing the electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of the photosensitive drum 8 into a toner image, which is carried by the photosensitive drum 8. The toner image is primary-transferred onto the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 5 at the primary transfer nip N1. By performing the above-described operations in the image forming portions 7K, 7C, 7M, and 7Y, a full-color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 5. Further, waste toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 8 after the end of the image forming operation is collected by the cleaning device 12.
The sheet S taken out from the sheet cassette 14 by the sheet feeding section 16 is conveyed downstream of the conveyance path 15, and enters the secondary transfer nip N2. In this secondary transfer nip N2, the full-color toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 5 is secondarily transferred onto the sheet S. Further, the toner remaining on the surface of the intermediate transfer belt 5 after the end of the secondary transfer is recovered by the cleaning mechanism 6.
The sheet S on which the toner image is secondarily transferred is further conveyed downstream via the conveying path 15, and enters the fixing device 18. In this fixing device 18, the toner image is fixed on the sheet S. The sheet S with the toner image fixed thereon is discharged onto the discharge tray 4 by the discharge unit 19.
Next, the toner cartridges 21K, 21C, 21M, 21Y will be further described. The arrow I appropriately labeled in each of fig. 2 and 2 after each other indicates the inside in the front-rear direction (inside in the front-rear direction) of each of the toner cartridges 21K, 21C, 21M, 21Y, and the arrow O appropriately labeled in each of fig. 2 and 2 after each of fig. 2 indicates the outside in the front-rear direction (outside in the front-rear direction) of each of the toner cartridges 21K, 21C, 21M, 21Y.
As shown in fig. 2, the toner cartridges 21K, 21C, 21M, 21Y are mounted on the respective toner replenishment mounting portions 22K, 22C, 22M, 22Y in a mounting direction X from the front side to the rear side. In the following description, the term "proximal side in the attachment direction" or "distal side in the attachment direction" means the proximal side or the distal side in the attachment direction X. Further, in fig. 2, only the toner cartridge 21K is in a state during installation, and the toner cartridges 21C, 21M, 21Y are in a state of being installed.
First, the toner cartridge 21K (a toner cartridge for black toner) will be described.
As shown in fig. 3, 4, and the like, the toner cartridge 21K includes a container main body 25, a transmission member 26 attached to the rear portion of the container main body 25, a cover member 27 provided on the rear side of the transmission member 26, a seal member 28 housed in the substantially central portion of the cover member 27, and a stirring member 29 fixed to the rear end portion of the container main body 25. These components are described in order below.
First, the container main body 25 of the toner cartridge 21K will be described.
As shown in fig. 3 and the like, the container body 25 has a cylindrical shape long in the front-rear direction. That is, in the present embodiment, the front-rear direction is the longitudinal direction of the container body 25. The container body 25 is configured to rotate about a rotation axis Y extending in the front-rear direction. That is, in the present embodiment, the front-rear direction is the rotation axis direction of the container main body 25.
A toner accommodating space P is formed inside the container body 25. A black toner (not shown) is stored in the toner storage space P. The arrow Z in fig. 3 and 4 indicates the conveyance direction of the toner in the toner accommodating space P (hereinafter referred to as "toner conveyance direction Z"). In the following description, when only "upstream side in the toner conveying direction" or "downstream side in the toner conveying direction" is described, it means the upstream side or the downstream side in the toner conveying direction Z.
As shown in fig. 3 and the like, the container body 25 has a handle portion 31, a large-diameter (large-size diameter) tube portion 32 provided on the rear side (downstream side in the toner conveying direction) of the handle portion 31, a medium-diameter (medium-size diameter) tube portion 33 provided on the rear side (downstream side in the toner conveying direction) of the large-diameter tube portion 32, and a small-diameter (small-size diameter) tube portion 34 provided on the rear side (downstream side in the toner conveying direction) of the medium-diameter tube portion 33.
The handle portion 31 of the container body 25 is provided at a front end portion (an end portion on the proximal side in the mounting direction) of the container body 25. The handle portion 31 has a minimum outer diameter in each portion of the container body 25. The inner space of the handle portion 31 communicates with the inner space of the large-diameter tube portion 32, and constitutes a part of the toner accommodating space P. The handle portion 31 has a cylindrical portion 35 extending in the mounting direction X and a closing portion 36 closing a front end portion (a mounting direction proximal end portion) of the cylindrical portion 35. The cylindrical portion 35 has a cylindrical shape centered on the rotation axis Y. The cylindrical portion 35 is enlarged in diameter toward the front side (the mounting direction proximal side). The closing portion 36 has a circular plate shape.
The large diameter cylindrical portion 32, the intermediate diameter cylindrical portion 33, and the small diameter cylindrical portion 34 of the container main body 25 have cylindrical shapes centered on the rotation axis Y. The intermediate diameter cylindrical portion 33 is provided between the large diameter cylindrical portion 32 and the small diameter cylindrical portion 34. The outer diameter R2 of the intermediate diameter tube portion 33 is smaller than the outer diameter R1 of the large diameter tube portion 32 and larger than the outer diameter R3 of the small diameter tube portion 34. The length of the middle diameter tube portion 33 in the front-rear direction is shorter than the length of the large diameter tube portion 32 in the front-rear direction, and longer than the length of the small diameter tube portion 34 in the front-rear direction.
A 1 st step 37 of a substantially circular shape is formed between the large diameter cylindrical portion 32 and the middle diameter cylindrical portion 33, and a 2 nd step 38 of a spiral shape is formed between the middle diameter cylindrical portion 33 and the small diameter cylindrical portion 34 on the outer peripheral surface of the container main body 25. The height dimension of the 1 st step portion 37 in the up-down direction (i.e., the difference between the outer diameter R1 of the large diameter portion 32 and the outer diameter R2 of the intermediate diameter cylindrical portion 33) is smaller than the height dimension of the 2 nd step portion 38 in the up-down direction (i.e., the difference between the outer diameter R2 of the intermediate diameter cylindrical portion 33 and the outer diameter R3 of the small diameter cylindrical portion 34).
A single spiral conveying bead 39 is continuously provided on the inner peripheral surfaces of the large diameter cylindrical portion 32, the intermediate diameter cylindrical portion 33, and the small diameter cylindrical portion 34 of the container body 25. The transfer bead 39 protrudes radially inward from the inner peripheral surface of the container body 25 in a substantially V-shape.
As shown in fig. 5, 6, etc., a plurality of 1 st reinforcing portions 41 and a plurality of 2 nd reinforcing portions 42 are provided at intervals in the spiral direction on the conveying bead 39 of the container body 25. The 1 st reinforcing portions 41 and the 2 nd reinforcing portions 42 are alternately arranged in the spiral direction of the conveying bead 39. The 1 st reinforcing portions 41 and the 2 nd reinforcing portions 42 protrude from the transport bead 39 to the radial outside in a substantially V-shape. The 1 st reinforcing portions 41 are provided along a 1 st reference line SL1, and the 2 nd reinforcing portions 42 are provided along a 2 nd reference line SL2, wherein the 1 st reference line SL1 and the 2 nd reference line SL2 extend in the mounting direction X. As shown in fig. 7, the 2 nd reference line SL2 is provided on the opposite side of the 1 st reference line SL1 with respect to the rotation axis Y.
As shown in fig. 5, 6, and the like, the 1 st finger placement portion 43 is provided along the 1 st reference straight line SL1 and the 2 nd finger placement portion 44 is provided along the 2 nd reference straight line SL2 at the front portion of the outer peripheral surface of the large-diameter cylindrical portion 32 of the container main body 25 (the portion on the side of the entire outer peripheral surface of the container main body 25 in the mounting direction). The 1 st and 2 nd finger placement portions 43 and 44 are portions for placing fingers of an operator who mounts the toner cartridge 21K on the toner replenishment mounting portion 22K. The 1 st and 2 nd finger rest portions 43 and 44 are formed of circular grooves. The 1 st and 2 nd finger rest portions 43, 44 are disposed so as not to overlap the transport bead 39.
As shown in fig. 5, 6, and the like, a 1 st mounting direction indicating portion 45 is provided along a 1 st reference straight line SL1 and a 2 nd mounting direction indicating portion 46 is provided along a 2 nd reference straight line SL2 at the rear of the outer peripheral surface of the large-diameter cylindrical portion 32 of the container main body 25 (at the substantially central portion of the outer peripheral surface of the entire container main body 25). The 1 st and 2 nd mounting direction indicating portions 45 and 46 are formed of arrow-shaped grooves indicating the mounting direction X. The 1 st and 2 nd mounting direction indicating portions 45 and 46 are disposed so as not to overlap the transmission bead 39.
As shown in fig. 6 and the like, a marker 47 is provided along the 2 nd reference straight line SL2 at a substantially central portion (a portion on the side of the entire outer peripheral surface of the container body 25 in the mounting direction near the outer peripheral surface) of the outer peripheral surface of the large-diameter tube portion 32 of the container body 25 in the front-rear direction. The marking portion 47 is provided between the 2 nd finger rest portion 44 and the 2 nd attachment direction indicating portion 46. The marking portion 47 is constituted by a substantially rectangular groove. The marking portion 47 is provided with, for example, a marking (not shown) related to the material of the container body 25. The marking 47 is disposed so as not to overlap with the conveyance bead 39.
As shown in fig. 8 and the like, the 1 st engagement projection 48 (1 st rotation restriction portion) is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter cylindrical portion 34 of the container body 25 (the portion on the far side in the mounting direction of the entire outer peripheral surface of the container body 25). The 1 st engaging projection 48 is disposed so as not to overlap the conveyance bead 39. As shown in fig. 9 and the like, the 2 nd engaging projection 49 (2 nd rotation restricting portion) is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter cylindrical portion 34 of the container body 25 (the portion on the far side in the mounting direction of the entire outer peripheral surface of the container body 25). The 2 nd engaging projection 49 is disposed so as to overlap the conveying bead 39. As shown in fig. 10 and the like, the 1 st and 2 nd engaging projections 48 and 49 are arranged on a plane F including the rotation axis Y and the 1 st and 2 nd reference lines SL1 and SL 2. The 2 nd engaging projection 49 is provided on the opposite side of the 1 st engaging projection 48 across the rotation axis Y.
As shown in fig. 8, 9, and the like, the 1 st projection 51 (1 st movement restricting portion) and the 2 nd projection 52 (2 nd movement restricting portion) are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter cylindrical portion 34 of the container body 25 (the portion on the distal side in the mounting direction of the entire outer peripheral surface of the container body 25). The 1 st and 2 nd protrusions 51 and 52 are disposed so as not to overlap the transport bead 39. As shown in fig. 10 and the like, the 2 nd protrusion 52 is provided on the opposite side of the 1 st protrusion 51 with respect to the rotation axis Y. The 1 st and 2 nd protrusions 51 and 52 and the 1 st and 2 nd engaging protrusions 48 and 49 are arranged at positions shifted from each other by 90 degrees in the circumferential direction. That is, the 1 st and 2 nd engaging projections 48 and 49 and the 1 st and 2 nd projections 51 and 52 are arranged so as not to overlap with each other in the circumferential direction.
As shown in fig. 9 and the like, a circular opening 53 is provided at the rear end portion of the small-diameter cylindrical portion 34 of the container body 25 (the end portion on the distal side in the mounting direction of the entire container body 25 and one end portion in the front-rear direction). An annular flange 54 is provided on the outer periphery of the opening 53 at the rear end of the small-diameter tube 34. The flange 54 protrudes radially outward.
Next, the transmission member 26 of the toner cartridge 21K will be described.
As shown in fig. 4 and the like, the transmission member 26 is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the small diameter cylindrical portion 34 of the container body 25. The transmission member 26 has a cylindrical shape centered on the rotation axis Y.
The transmission member 26 has a large diameter portion 55, an intermediate diameter portion 56 provided on the rear side (the outside in the front-rear direction) of the large diameter portion 55, and a small diameter portion 57 provided on the rear side (the outside in the front-rear direction) of the intermediate diameter portion 56. The outer diameters of the respective portions of the transmission member 26 decrease in the order of the large diameter portion 55, the intermediate diameter portion 56, and the small diameter portion 57. The front end portion (the end portion on the inner side in the front-rear direction of the entire transmission member 26) of the large diameter portion 55 faces the 1 st and 2 nd projecting portions 51, 52 of the container main body 25. The outer peripheral surface of the large diameter portion 55 is provided with a transmission gear 61. As shown in fig. 3 and the like, the diameter Rg of the transmission gear 61 is smaller than the outer diameter R1 of the large diameter tube portion 32 and the outer diameter R2 of the intermediate diameter tube portion 33 of the container body 25, and is larger than the outer diameter R3 of the small diameter tube portion 34 of the container body 25.
As shown in fig. 8 and the like, a plurality of engagement ribs 62 are provided on the inner peripheral surfaces of the large diameter portion 55 and the intermediate diameter portion 56 of the transmission member 26 at intervals in the circumferential direction. The plurality of engaging ribs 62 are provided at equal intervals, for example, 10 to 20. The plurality of engaging ribs 62 are provided over the entire inner peripheral surface of the transmission member 26. The plurality of engaging ribs 62 extend in the front-rear direction. As shown in fig. 5 and the like, the 1 st engaging projection 48 of the container main body 25 is inserted into the space between 1 group of engaging ribs 62 among the plurality of engaging ribs 62. As shown in fig. 6 and the like, the 2 nd engaging projection 49 of the container main body 25 is inserted into the space between the engaging ribs 62 of another group, which is different from the 1 st group of engaging ribs 62, of the plurality of engaging ribs 62. By adopting such a structure, the rotation of the transmission member 26 with respect to the container main body 25 is restricted. The engaging ribs 62 other than the 2-group engaging ribs 62 (the engaging ribs 62 in which the 1 st and 2 nd engaging protrusions 48 and 49 are not interposed in the space) serve as reinforcing portions for reinforcing the transmission member 26.
Next, the cover member 27 of the toner cartridge 21K will be described.
As shown in fig. 3 and the like, the cover member 27 covers the opening 53 provided in the small-diameter tube portion 34 of the container body 25. The length Lc of the cover member 27 in the up-down direction is shorter than the outer diameter R1 of the large diameter tube portion 32 and the outer diameter R2 of the intermediate diameter tube portion 33 of the container body 25, and longer than the outer diameter R3 of the small diameter tube portion 34 of the container body 25.
As shown in fig. 4 to 6, the cover member 27 includes: a main body 63; a holding portion 64 extending from the main body portion 63 toward the front side (toward the inside in the front-rear direction and toward the body side in the mounting direction); an engagement tube portion 65 protruding from a rear lower portion of the main body portion 63 to a rear side (a front-rear direction outer side and an installation direction distal side); a cover member side regulating portion 66 provided above the engagement tube portion 65; a cover member-side shutter member 67 provided below the main body 63, the holding portion 64, and the engagement tube 65; a support portion 68 extending upward from the main body portion 63 and the holding portion 64; a display portion 70 and a 1 st operation lever 71 (see fig. 5, etc.), both of which are provided on the left side of the support portion 68; a 2 nd operation lever 72 (see fig. 6, etc.) provided on the right side of the support portion 68.
As shown in fig. 4 and the like, a communication space Q is provided in the main body 63 of the cover member 27, and the communication space Q communicates with the toner accommodating space P of the container body 25 through the opening 53 of the container body 25. The communication space Q extends in the up-down direction. The main body 63 is provided with a toner inlet 73 at the upper front side of the communication space Q. The main body 63 is provided with an annular base 74 around the toner inlet 73. The main body 63 is provided with an inclined wall 75 on the rear side (the outside in the front-rear direction) of the toner inlet 73. The inclined wall portion 75 is inclined to the rear side (the front-rear direction outer side) and to the lower side. The main body 63 is provided with a toner discharge port 76 at the lower end side of the communication space Q.
The holding portion 64 of the cover member 27 has a substantially cylindrical shape centered on the rotation axis Y. The transmission member 26 is sandwiched between the holding portion 64 and the 1 st and 2 nd protrusions 51 and 52 of the container body 25. With this structure, the movement of the transmission member 26 in the front-rear direction with respect to the container body 25 is restricted, and the transmission member 26 can be prevented from coming off the container body 25.
The holding portion 64 of the cover member 27 includes a large-diameter frame portion 78 and a small-diameter frame portion 79 provided on the rear side (the outside in the front-rear direction) of the large-diameter frame portion 78. The large diameter frame portion 78 has an outer diameter larger than that of the small diameter frame portion 79. The small diameter portion 57 of the transmission member 26 is inserted into the radial inner side of the large diameter frame portion 78. The front end of the large-diameter frame portion 78 faces the rear end of the intermediate-diameter portion 56 of the transmission member 26, and the front end of the small-diameter frame portion 79 faces the rear end of the small-diameter portion 57 of the transmission member 26.
As shown in fig. 8, etc., a total of 4 locking portions 82 are provided on the small-diameter frame portion 79 of the holding portion 64 of the cover member 27 at the upper and lower portions on the left and right sides. As shown in fig. 5, 6, etc., each locking portion 82 locks the flange portion 54 (the end on the distal side in the mounting direction and one end in the front-rear direction) of the container body 25. Thereby, the flange 54 of the container body 25 is held by the holding portion 64. The small-diameter frame portion 79 is provided with a window 83 on the rear side (the outside in the front-rear direction) of each locking portion 82.
As shown in fig. 10 and the like, the engagement tube portion 65 of the cover member 27 includes: a pair of left and right side wall portions 84; an upper wall portion 85 connecting upper end portions of the pair of left and right side wall portions 84; and a lower wall portion 86 connecting lower end portions of the pair of right and left side wall portions 84. The pair of right and left side wall portions 84 are substantially flat in the vertical direction and face each other. The upper wall portion 85 is curved in a circular arc shape upward. The lower wall portion 86 has a substantially flat plate shape in the horizontal direction.
A recess 87 (cover member side engaging portion) is provided inside the engaging cylinder portion 65 of the cover member 27. As shown in fig. 4 and the like, the recess 87 is provided on the rear surface (the surface on the distal side in the mounting direction and the surface on the outer side in the front-rear direction) of the cover member 27. The recess 87 extends along the mounting direction X and the front-rear direction.
As shown in fig. 10 and the like, the cover member-side restriction portion 66 of the cover member 27 has a fitting protrusion 88, a plurality of (8 in the present embodiment) base portions 89 provided on the outer periphery of the fitting protrusion 88, and a plurality of (4 in the present embodiment) restriction plates 90 provided on a part of the base portions 89 among the plurality of base portions 89. The fitting projection 88 is provided on the rotation axis Y. Each base portion 89 is disposed on a circumference G centered on the fitting projection 88, and a lower end portion of the circumference G overlaps with the recess 87 of the engagement tube portion 65. In the toner cartridge 21K of the present embodiment, the restriction plates 90 are provided on 4 bases 89 located on the right side among the 8 bases 89. In contrast, the combination of the base portion 89 provided with the restricting plate 90 in the toner cartridge 21K different from the one in which the toner cartridge 21K of the present embodiment is sold is different from that in the present embodiment. In addition, as a method of providing the restriction plate 90 on a part of the bases 89 among the plurality of bases 89, the restriction plate 90 may be provided on all of the bases 89 among the plurality of bases 89, and then the part of the restriction plate 90 may be removed, or the restriction plate 90 may be fixed only on a part of the bases 89 among the plurality of bases 89.
As shown in fig. 5, 6, and the like, the cover member-side shutter member 67 has a long shape in the front-rear direction. The cover member side shutter member 67 includes a fixed piece 91 and a movable piece 92 supported by the fixed piece 91. In fig. 4, the fixing piece 91 is omitted, and only the movable piece 92 is schematically shown. The movable piece 92 is configured to be movable in the front-rear direction between an open position (see a solid line in fig. 4) at which the toner discharge port 76 of the main body 63 is opened and a closed position (see a two-dot chain line in fig. 4) at which the toner discharge port 76 of the main body 63 is closed.
As shown in fig. 5, 6, and the like, the support portion 68 of the cover member 27 includes a pair of left and right support plates 93 and a connection plate 94 connecting upper ends of the pair of left and right support plates 93. The pair of left and right support plates 93 face each other. The lower end portion of each support plate 93 is connected to the main body 63 of the cover member 27 and to the holding portion 64. The right front corner of the connection plate 94 is provided with a through hole 95.
As shown in fig. 11A, 11B, and the like, the display portion 70 of the cover member 27 is formed of a rectangular label. The back surface of the indicating section 70 is bonded to the left surface of the support plate 93 on the left side of the support section 68. The surface of the indicating portion 70 is painted with a color different from the color of the members (e.g., the main body portion 63, the holding portion 64, the supporting portion 68, and the 1 st operation lever 71) around the indicating portion 70. In the present embodiment, the surface of the indicating portion 70 is colored red, and the members around the indicating portion 70 are colored black.
The 1 st operation lever 71 of the cover member 27 has a 1 st base plate 96 and a 1 st tab 97 protruding leftward (laterally outward) from the rear of the 1 st base plate 96. The 1 st operation lever 71 is supported on the left support plate 93 so as to be movable along the left surface of the left support plate 93 of the support portion 68. The 1 st operation lever 71 is configured to be movable in the front-rear direction between a 1 st position (see fig. 11A) and a 2 nd position (see fig. 11B) on the front side of the 1 st position.
As shown in fig. 12A, 12B, and the like, the 2 nd handle 72 of the cover member 27 includes a 2 nd base plate 100 and a 2 nd tab 101 protruding rightward (laterally outward) from the rear portion of the 2 nd base plate 100. The 2 nd operation lever 72 is supported on the right support plate 93 so as to be movable along the right surface of the right support plate 93 of the support portion 68. The 2 nd operation lever 72 is configured to be movable in the front-rear direction between a 3 rd position (see fig. 12A) and a 4 th position (see fig. 12B) on the front side of the 3 rd position.
Next, the seal member 28 of the toner cartridge 21K will be described.
As shown in fig. 4 and the like, the seal member 28 is disposed on the front side (front-rear direction inner side) of the main body portion 63 of the cover member 27 and is disposed on the radial inner side of the holding portion 64 of the cover member 27. The sealing member 28 is annular. The seal member 28 is mounted in a compressed state between the flange portion 54 of the container body 25 and the base portion 74 of the body portion 63 of the cover member 27. The seal member 28 is fixed to the front surface (front-rear direction inner side surface) of the base portion 74.
As shown in fig. 4, 8, and the like, the seal member 28 includes: an elastic layer 103; a 1 st adhesive layer 104 provided on the rear side (the outside in the front-rear direction) of the elastic layer 103; a base material layer 105 provided on the rear side (the outside in the front-rear direction) of the 1 st adhesive layer 104; and a 2 nd adhesive layer 106 provided on the rear side (the outside in the front-rear direction) of the base material layer 105. The elastic layer 103 is composed of, for example, polyurethane foam as an elastic material. The 1 st adhesive layer 104 is made of, for example, a double-sided tape, and adheres the elastic layer 103 and the base material layer 105. The base material layer 105 is made of a material having higher rigidity than the polyurethane foam constituting the elastic layer 103. The base material layer 105 is made of, for example, a resin film. The 2 nd adhesive layer 106 is made of, for example, a double-sided tape, and adheres the base material layer 105 and the base portion 74 of the main body portion 63 of the cover member 27.
As shown in fig. 11A, 11B, 12A, 12B, etc., a part of the seal member 28 is exposed to the outside through a window 83 provided in the holding portion 64 of the cover member 27. Thus, a part of the sealing member 28 can be seen from the outside.
Next, the stirring member 29 of the toner cartridge 21K will be described.
As shown in fig. 4, 9, and the like, the stirring member 29 is disposed on the rear side (the outside in the front-rear direction) of the container body 25. The stirring member 29 is made of a material having a lower friction coefficient than the container main body 25. The stirring member 29 is made of, for example, a resin film.
The stirring member 29 has: a fixing portion 107; an extension portion 108 extending radially inward from the fixing portion 107; an insertion portion 109 extending from an end portion of the extension portion 108 on the inner side in the radial direction toward the rear side (the outer side in the front-rear direction and the communication space Q side).
The fixing portion 107 of the stirring member 29 has a circular shape. The front surface (front-rear direction inner surface) of the fixing portion 107 is fixed to the rear end portion (one end portion in the front-rear direction of the entire container body 25) of the small-diameter tube portion 34 of the container body 25. The rear end of the small diameter cylindrical portion 34 of the container body 25 and the fixing surface H of the fixing portion 107 are perpendicular to the rotation axis Y. The rear surface (front-rear direction outer surface) of the fixing portion 107 abuts against the front surface (front-rear direction inner surface) of the elastic layer 103 of the seal member 28. Thus, the fixing portion 107 is mounted between the rear end portion of the small diameter tube portion 34 of the container body 25 and the elastic layer 103 of the seal member 28.
The insertion portion 109 of the stirring member 29 protrudes to the rear side (the front-rear direction outer side and the communication space Q side) of the fixing portion 107 and the extending portion 108. The base end of the insertion portion 109 is bent at an obtuse angle from the radially inner end of the extension portion 108 to the rear side (the front-rear direction outer side and the communication space Q side), and penetrates the seal member 28. The tip end portion of the insertion portion 109 is inserted into the communication space Q of the main body portion 63 of the cover member 27. The tip end portion of the insertion portion 109 is located directly above the toner discharge port 76 provided in the main body portion 63 of the cover member 27. The tip end portion of the insertion portion 109 is curved in a circular arc shape.
Next, the toner cartridges 21C (toner cartridge for cyan toner), 21M (toner cartridge for magenta toner), and 21Y (toner cartridge for yellow toner) will be described. Since the toner cartridges 21C, 21M, and 21Y have the same structure, only the toner cartridge 21C will be described below, and the description of the toner cartridges 21M and 21Y will be omitted.
As shown in fig. 13 and the like, the toner cartridge 21C has: a container body 111; a transmission member 112 mounted to the rear of the container body 111; a cover member 113 provided on the rear side of the transmission member 112; a seal member 114 housed in a substantially central portion of the cover member 113; and a stirring member 115 fixed to the rear end of the container body 111.
The configuration of the transmission member 112, the sealing member 114, and the stirring member 115 of the toner cartridge 21C is the same as the configuration of the transmission member 26, the sealing member 28, and the stirring member 29 of the toner cartridge 21K, and thus a description thereof will be omitted. The structure of the cover member 113 of the toner cartridge 21C is the same as that of the cover member 27 of the toner cartridge 21K except that the 1 st and 2 nd operation handles 71 and 72 are not provided, and therefore, the description thereof will be omitted. Therefore, only the container main body 111 of the toner cartridge 21C will be described below.
The container main body 111 has a handle portion 116, a large-diameter tube portion 117 provided on the rear side (downstream side in the toner conveying direction) of the handle portion 116, and a small-diameter tube portion 118 provided on the rear side (downstream side in the toner conveying direction) of the large-diameter tube portion 117. The outer diameter R4 of the large diameter tube 117 is larger than the outer diameter R5 of the small diameter tube 118.
As shown in fig. 13 and the like, a step 119 (movement restriction portion) is formed between the large diameter tube 117 and the small diameter tube 118 on the outer peripheral surface of the container body 111. The step portion 119 has a spiral portion 121 and a flat portion 122 provided on the rear side (downstream side in the toner conveying direction) of the spiral portion 121. The spiral portion 121 is spirally inclined with respect to the front-rear direction. The planar portion 122 has a planar shape perpendicular to the front-rear direction. The transmission member 112 is sandwiched between a part of the flat surface portion 122 (upper portion in the paper surface of fig. 13) and the holding portion 64 of the cover member 113. With this structure, the movement of the transmission member 112 in the front-rear direction with respect to the container body 111 is restricted, and the transmission member 112 can be prevented from falling off from the container body 111. The configuration of the container body 111 other than the above is the same as that of the container body 25 of the toner cartridge 21K, and thus a description thereof will be omitted.
Next, the toner supply mounting portions 22K, 22C, 22M, and 22Y will be described.
As shown in fig. 2 and the like, the toner supply mounting portions 22K, 22C, 22M, 22Y are arranged in the left-right direction. The toner supply mounting portions 22K, 22C, 22M, and 22Y each have a cylindrical shape extending in the front-rear direction. The inner diameter of the toner replenishing mounting portion 22K is larger than the inner diameters of the toner replenishing mounting portions 22C, 22M, 22Y.
As shown in fig. 14 and the like, the mounting portion side restriction portion 132 is provided at the rear end portion of each of the toner supply mounting portions 22K, 22C, 22M, 22Y. The mounting portion-side restriction portion 132 includes a cylindrical fitting receiving portion 133 and a plurality of (e.g., 4) restriction pieces 134 provided on the outer periphery of the fitting receiving portion 133. In each of the toner supply mounting portions 22K, 22C, 22M, and 22Y of the present embodiment, 4 restricting pieces 134 are provided on the left side of the center of the fitting receiving portion 133. In contrast, the installation positions of the plurality of restricting pieces 134 in the respective toner supply mounting portions 22K, 22C, 22M, 22Y of the multifunction peripheral main body 2, which are different from those of the multifunction peripheral main body 2 of the present embodiment, are different from those of the present embodiment.
A toner replenishment port 135 is provided in the rear portion of the lower surface of each of the toner replenishment mounting portions 22K, 22C, 22M, 22Y. The toner replenishment ports 135 of the respective toner replenishment mounting portions 22K, 22C, 22M, 22Y communicate with the internal space of the developer 10 of the respective image forming portions 7K, 7C, 7M, 7Y through replenishment pipes 136 extending in the up-down direction.
A mount-side shutter member 137 is provided at the rear of each of the toner supply mounts 22K, 22C, 22M, and 22Y. The mounting portion-side shutter member 137 includes a shutter member main body 138 and a projection 139 (mounting portion-side engaging portion) provided on the front side (mounting direction proximal side) of the shutter member main body 138.
The mounting portion-side shutter member 137 of each of the toner supply mounting portions 22K, 22C, 22M, and 22Y is configured to be movable in the front-rear direction between an open position and a closed position, and when the mounting-side shutter member 137 is located at the open position, the shutter member main body 138 opens the toner supply opening 135, and when the mounting-side shutter member 137 is located at the closed position, the shutter member main body 138 closes the toner supply opening 135.
As shown in fig. 15 and the like, a drive source 146 including a motor and the like is provided behind the toner supply mounting portions 22K, 22C, 22M, and 22Y. A 1 st driving gear 147 is provided between the toner replenishing mounting portion 22K and the toner replenishing mounting portion 22C. The 1 st driving gear 147 is connected to the driving source 146 through a gear train 148 and a 1 st driving shaft 149. A 2 nd driving gear 151 is provided between the toner replenishing mounting portion 22M and the toner replenishing mounting portion 22Y. The 2 nd driving gear 151 is connected to the driving source 146 through a gear train 148 and a 2 nd driving shaft 152. An intermediate gear 153 is provided between the toner replenishing mounting portion 22C and the toner replenishing mounting portion 22M.
Next, the waste toner bottle 23 will be described.
As shown in fig. 16 and the like, the waste toner bottle 23 is a member obtained by turning the toner cartridge 21K upside down. The structure of the waste toner bottle 23 is the same as that of the toner cartridge 21K, and thus a description thereof will be omitted.
Next, the waste toner collecting attachment portion 24 will be described.
As shown in fig. 17 and the like, the waste toner collecting attachment portion 24 has a cylindrical shape extending in the front-rear direction. A waste pipe 154 extending in the up-down direction is provided at the rear upper side of the waste toner collecting attachment portion 24.
Next, an operation of attaching the toner cartridges 21K, 21C, 21M, 21Y to the toner replenishment attaching portions 22K, 22C, 22M, 22Y in the multifunction peripheral 1 having the above-described configuration will be described. Since the mounting operations of the toner cartridges 21K, 21C, 21M, and 21Y are the same, only the operation of mounting the toner cartridge 21K to the toner replenishment mounting portion 22K will be described below, and the operation of mounting the toner cartridges 21C, 21M, and 21Y to the toner replenishment mounting portions 22C, 22M, and 22Y will be omitted.
When the toner cartridge 21K is mounted on the toner replenishment mounting portion 22K, as shown in fig. 2 and the like, the toner cartridge 21K is gradually inserted into the toner replenishment mounting portion 22K from the front side to the rear side.
When the toner cartridge 21K is further inserted into the toner replenishment mounting portion 22K from this state, and the toner cartridge 21K is mounted on the toner replenishment mounting portion 22K, as shown in fig. 18, the protrusion 139 is pressed by the main body 63 of the cover member 27 in a state in which the recess 87 provided in the engagement tube 65 of the cover member 27 of the toner cartridge 21K is engaged with the protrusion 139 of the mounting portion side shutter member 137 of the toner replenishment mounting portion 22K. By this pressing, the mount-side shutter member 137 moves from the closed position to the open position, and thereby the toner supply port 135 of the toner supply mount 22K is opened.
Further, when the toner cartridge 21K is attached to the toner replenishment attaching portion 22K as described above, the movable piece 92 of the cover member-side shutter member 67 provided on the cover member 27 of the toner cartridge 21K is moved from the closed position to the open position, and the toner discharge port 76 of the main body 63 of the cover member 27 is opened. Accordingly, the communication space Q of the main body 63 communicates with the internal space of the supply pipe 136.
As described above, when the toner cartridge 21K is attached to the toner replenishment mounting portion 22K, the fitting projection 88 provided on the cover member side regulating portion 66 of the cover member 27 of the toner cartridge 21K is fitted to the fitting receiving portion 133 provided on the mounting portion side regulating portion 132 of the toner replenishment mounting portion 22K. When the selling places of the multifunctional integrated machine main body 2 match the selling places of the toner cartridges 21K, the restricting plates 90 provided in the cover member side restricting portions 66 of the cover member 27 and the restricting plates 134 provided in the mounting portion side restricting portions 132 of the toner replenishing mounting portion 22K (see fig. 14 and the like) do not interfere with each other, and the toner cartridges 21K are allowed to be mounted on the toner replenishing mounting portion 22K. When the selling places of the multifunctional integrated machine main body 2 do not match the selling places of the toner cartridges 21K, the restricting plates 90 provided in the cover member side restricting portions 66 of the cover member 27 and the restricting plates 134 provided in the mounting portion side restricting portions 132 of the toner replenishing mounting portion 22K interfere with each other, and the toner cartridges 21K are restricted from being mounted on the toner replenishing mounting portion 22K.
When the toner cartridge 21K is attached to the toner replenishment attaching portion 22K as described above, the transmission gear 61 of the transmission member 26 of the toner cartridge 21K is directly connected to the 1 st driving gear 147 as shown in fig. 15 and the like.
When the toner cartridges 21C, 21M, and 21Y are attached to the toner replenishment attaching portions 22C, 22M, and 22Y, as shown in fig. 15, the transmission gear 61 of the transmission member 112 of the toner cartridges 21M and 21Y is directly connected to the 2 nd driving gear 151. The transmission gear 61 of the transmission member 112 of the toner cartridges 21C, 21M is connected to the intermediate gear 153. Thereby, the transmission gear 61 of the transmission member 112 of the toner cartridge 21C is connected to the 2 nd driving gear 151 via the transmission gear 61 and the intermediate gear 153 of the transmission member 112 of the toner cartridge 21M.
Next, an operation of supplying toner from the toner cartridge 21K to the developer 10 of the image forming portion 7K in the multifunction peripheral 1 having the above-described configuration will be described.
When toner is supplied from the toner cartridge 21K to the developer 10 of the image forming portion 7K, as shown in fig. 15 and the like, the driving source 146 is driven in a state where the toner cartridge 21K is mounted on the toner supply mounting portion 22K. When the drive source 146 is driven in this manner, the rotational drive force of the drive source 146 is transmitted to the 1 st drive gear 147 via the gear train 148 and the 1 st drive shaft 149, and the 1 st drive gear 147 is rotated. That is, the 1 st driving gear 147 is rotated by the rotational driving force of the driving source 146.
When the 1 st driving gear 147 rotates in this way, the rotation of the 1 st driving gear 147 is transmitted to the transmission member 26 of the toner cartridge 21K, and the transmission member 26 is rotated. The transmission member 26 is rotated in this way, and the container body 25 of the toner cartridge 21K rotates together with the transmission member 26 as the transmission member 26 rotates. That is, the rotational driving force of the driving source 146 is transmitted to the container body 25 through the transmission member 26.
As described above, when the container body 25 of the toner cartridge 21K rotates, the stirring member 29 (see fig. 18 and the like) of the toner cartridge 21K rotates together with the container body 25. In addition, the cover member 27 and the seal member 28 of the toner cartridge 21K do not rotate when the container body 25 rotates, but remain in a rotation stopped state. Accordingly, the container main body 25 and the stirring member 29 are rotated relative to the cover member 27 and the sealing member 28, and the fixing portion 107 of the stirring member 29 slides relative to the elastic layer 103 of the sealing member 28.
When the container body 25 of the toner cartridge 21K rotates as described above, the toner in the container body 25 is conveyed from the front side to the rear side by the conveying rib 39 of the container body 25, and is discharged from the container body 25 through the opening 53, as indicated by an arrow a in fig. 18. The toner discharged from the container main body 25 through the opening 53 in this manner is introduced into the communication space Q of the main body 63 of the cover member 27 through the toner introduction port 73. The toner thus introduced into the communication space Q is stirred by the insertion portion 109 of the stirring member 29 rotating together with the container main body 25, and is discharged from the communication space Q through the toner discharge port 76 of the main body 63 as indicated by an arrow B in fig. 18. The toner discharged from the communication space Q through the toner discharge port 76 in this way is introduced into the replenishment pipe 136 through the toner replenishment port 135 of the toner replenishment mounting portion 22K, and is replenished from the replenishment pipe 136 to the developer 10 of the image forming portion 7K.
Next, the operation of supplying toner from the toner cartridges 21C, 21M, 21Y to the developers 10 of the image forming portions 7C, 7M, 7Y in the multifunction peripheral 1 having the above-described configuration will be described.
When supplying toner from the toner cartridges 21C, 21M, 21Y to the developers 10 of the image forming portions 7C, 7M, 7Y, as shown in fig. 15 and the like, the driving source 146 is driven in a state in which the toner cartridges 21C, 21M, 21Y are attached to the toner supplying attachment portions 22C, 22M, 22Y. When the drive source 146 is driven in this manner, the rotational drive force of the drive source 146 is transmitted to the 2 nd drive gear 151 via the gear train 148 and the 2 nd drive shaft 152, and the 2 nd drive gear 151 is rotated. That is, the 2 nd driving gear 151 is rotated by the rotational driving force of the driving source 146.
When the 2 nd driving gear 151 rotates in this manner, the rotation of the 2 nd driving gear 151 is transmitted to the transmission members 112 of the toner cartridges 21M, 21Y, and the transmission members 112 of the toner cartridges 21M, 21Y are rotated. In addition, the rotation of the 2 nd driving gear 151 is transmitted to the transmission member 112 of the toner cartridge 21C via the transmission member 112 of the toner cartridge 21M and the intermediate gear 153, and rotates the transmission member 112 of the toner cartridge 21C. Other operations are the same as the operations of replenishing the developer 10 of the image forming portion 7K with toner from the toner cartridge 21K, and therefore, a description thereof will be omitted.
Next, an operation of recovering the waste toner into the waste toner bottle 23 from the intermediate transfer belt 5 and the photosensitive drums 8 of the image forming portions 7K, 7C, 7M, and 7Y in the multi-function peripheral 1 having the above-described configuration will be described.
In the recovery of the waste toner, as shown in fig. 19, the transmission member 26 of the waste toner bottle 23 is rotated in a state where the waste toner bottle 23 is mounted on the waste toner recovery mounting portion 24. When the transmission member 26 is rotated in this way, the container body 25 of the waste toner bottle 23 rotates together with the transmission member 26, and the stirring member 29 of the waste toner bottle 23 rotates together with the container body 25.
In addition, when the waste toner is recovered, the waste toner is recovered from the intermediate transfer belt 5 by the cleaning mechanism 6, and the waste toner is recovered from the photosensitive drum 8 by the cleaning device 12 of each of the image forming portions 7K, 7C, 7M, 7Y. The waste toner thus recovered by the cleaning mechanism 6 and the cleaning device 12 is conveyed to the waste pipe 154 via a waste conduit (not shown). The waste toner thus transferred to the waste pipe 154 is introduced from the waste pipe 154 into the communication space Q of the cover member 27 of the waste toner bottle 23 as indicated by an arrow C in fig. 19. The waste toner thus introduced into the communication space Q of the cover member 27 is stirred by the stirring member 29 rotating together with the container body 25, and is introduced from the communication space Q of the cover member 27 into the toner accommodating space P of the container body 25. As indicated by arrow D in fig. 19, the waste toner introduced into the toner accommodating space P of the container body 25 is conveyed from the rear side to the front side by the conveying rib 39 of the container body 25, and accommodated in the container body 25.
In the present embodiment, after the black toner stored in the toner storage space P of the container main body 25 of the toner cartridge 21K is used up, the toner cartridge 21K is turned upside down, and then the toner cartridge 21K is used as the waste toner bottle 23.
Next, the effects exerted by the multifunction peripheral 1 according to the present embodiment will be described in more detail with respect to a modification of the multifunction peripheral 1 according to the present embodiment. Note that, effects or modifications common to the toner cartridges 21K, 21C, 21M, and 21Y will be described only for the toner cartridge 21K, and descriptions for the toner cartridges 21C, 21M, and 21Y will be omitted.
The toner cartridge 21K of the present embodiment has a sealing member 28 made of an elastic material, and the sealing member 28 is mounted between the container main body 25 and the cover member 27. By adopting such a structure, the container main body 26 and the cover member 27 can be flexibly connected by the seal member 28. Therefore, even if some kind of impact is applied to the container body 25 or the cover member 27 to cause a slight shift in the relative positional relationship between the container body 25 and the cover member 27, toner can be prevented from leaking between the container body 25 and the cover member 27.
Further, a transmission gear 61 connected to the 1 st driving gear 147 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the transmission member 26 of the toner cartridge 21K, wherein the 1 st driving gear 147 is driven to rotate by the rotational driving force of the driving source 146. By adopting such a structure, the transmission member 26 can be rotated with a simple structure.
As described above, when the transmission gear 61 is connected to the 1 st driving gear 147, when the 1 st driving gear 147, the transmission member 26, and the container body 25 rotate, a force in a direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction transmitted from the 1 st driving gear 147 via the transmission member 26 acts on the container body 25 (see arrow E in fig. 15). Therefore, the position of the container body 25 is easily shifted with respect to the position of the cover member 27. However, in the present embodiment, as described above, the container body 25 and the cover member 27 are in flexible contact with each other by the seal member 28, and therefore, even if the position of the container body 25 and the position of the cover member 27 are slightly shifted, toner can be reliably prevented from leaking out from between the container body 25 and the cover member 27.
The seal member 28 of the toner cartridge 21K is disposed on the front side (front-rear direction inner side) of the main body 63 of the cover member 27 and on the radial inner side of the holding portion 64 of the cover member 27. By adopting such a structure, the rear side (the front-rear direction outer side) and the radial outer side of the seal member 28 are covered with the cover member 27. With this, the positional displacement of the seal member 28 can be prevented, and the toner leakage can be effectively prevented.
The main body 63 of the cover member 27 of the toner cartridge 21K is provided with a toner inlet 73, the toner inlet 73 is for introducing the toner discharged from the container main body 25 through the opening 53 into the communication space Q, a base portion 74 is provided around the toner inlet 73, and the seal member 28 is fixed to a front surface (a front-rear direction inner surface) of the base portion 74. By adopting such a configuration, toner can be reliably prevented from leaking out from the vicinity of the toner introduction port 73.
The holding portion 64 of the cover member 27 of the toner cartridge 21K includes a locking portion 82 locked to the rear end portion (one end portion in the front-rear direction) of the container main body 25, and a window portion 83 provided on the rear side (the outside in the front-rear direction) of the locking portion 82, and a part of the seal member 28 is exposed to the outside through the window portion 83. By adopting such a configuration, it can be confirmed by visual inspection that the seal member 28 is disposed at an appropriate position after the completion of the assembly of the toner cartridge 21K. With this, the effect of preventing toner leakage can be improved.
In addition, the seal member 28 of the toner cartridge 21K has: an elastic layer 103 composed of an elastic material; a base material layer 105 made of a material having higher rigidity than the elastic material; a 1 st adhesive layer 104 for adhering the elastic layer 103 and the base material layer 105; and a 2 nd adhesive layer 106 that adheres the base material layer 105 and the cover member 27. By adopting such a structure, the rigidity of the sealing member 28 can be improved as compared with the case where the sealing member 28 is constituted only by the elastic layer 103. With this, excessive deformation of the seal member 28 can be suppressed, and the effect of preventing toner leakage can be improved.
The toner cartridge 21K is attached to the toner replenishment attaching portion 22K in the attaching direction X, and the cover member 27 holds the rear end portion (the end portion on the distal side in the attaching direction) of the container main body 25. With this structure, when the toner cartridge 21K is attached to the toner supply attachment portion 22K, the toner is likely to leak out from between the container body 25 and the cover member 27 if the container body 25 is inclined obliquely with respect to the cover member 27. However, in the present embodiment, as described above, the container body 25 and the cover member 27 are in flexible contact with each other by the seal member 28, and therefore, even if the container body 25 is inclined obliquely with respect to the cover member 27, toner can be reliably prevented from leaking out from between the container body 25 and the cover member 27.
In this embodiment, the case where the sealing member 28 has the elastic layer 103, the 1 st adhesive layer 104, the base material layer 105, and the 2 nd adhesive layer 106 will be described. In other various embodiments, the sealing member 28 may have only the elastic layer 103 and the adhesive layer, and the sealing member 28 may have only the elastic layer 103.
In this embodiment, a case where the elastic layer 103 of the seal member 28 is made of polyurethane foam will be described. In other various embodiments, the elastic layer 103 of the seal member 28 may be made of an elastic material other than polyurethane foam, such as sponge and rubber.
In this embodiment, the case where the restriction plates 90 are provided on the right 4 bases 89 out of the 8 bases 89 of the toner cartridge 21K is described. However, as described above, the combination of the base portions 89 provided with the restricting plates 90 differs depending on the place of sale of the toner cartridge 21K. Therefore, in the other different embodiments, for example, the restriction plates 90 may be provided on the left 4 bases 89 out of the 8 bases 89, or the restriction plates 90 may be provided on the upper 4 bases 89 out of the 8 bases 89. In other various embodiments, the number of limiting plates 90 may be other than 4. In this way, the combination of the base portions 89 provided with the regulating plates 90 or the number of regulating plates 90 can be freely determined according to the selling places of the toner cartridges 21K.
In the present embodiment, the description has been given of the case where the configuration of the present invention is applied to the multifunction peripheral 1, but in other different embodiments, the configuration of the present invention may be applied to an image forming apparatus other than the multifunction peripheral 1, such as a printer, a copier, and a facsimile machine.

Claims (10)

1. A toner container is attached to an attachment portion in a predetermined attachment direction, and includes:
a container body that houses toner, rotates around a rotation axis, and has an opening at one end in a direction of the rotation axis;
a cover member that covers the opening of the container body and has a communication space that communicates with the internal space of the container body through the opening, and that maintains a rotation stop state when the container body rotates;
a stirring member which is made of a resin film and rotates together with the container body to stir the toner in the communication space;
a seal member that is mounted between the stirring member and the cover member, and that maintains a rotation stop state when the container body rotates, at least a part of which is made of an elastic material;
a transmission member mounted on an outer peripheral surface of the container body, rotating together with the container body, transmitting a rotational driving force to the container body,
The container body has:
two engaging protrusions and two protruding portions protruding from the outer peripheral surface;
a conveying rib having an inner peripheral surface formed in a spiral shape and conveying the toner in the container body to the opening;
a plurality of 1 st reinforcing portions and a plurality of 2 nd reinforcing portions alternately arranged in a spiral direction of the transport bead and protruding from an outer peripheral surface of the transport bead;
a 1 st finger placement part and a 2 nd finger placement part formed on the outer peripheral surface other than the transport rib and used for placing the fingers of an operator when being mounted on the mounting part,
the cover member has: a main body portion having the communication space; and a holding portion that extends from the main body portion toward the inside in the direction of the rotation axis and holds one end portion of the container main body in the direction of the rotation axis,
the stirring member has a fixing portion fixed around the opening of the container body,
the seal member is disposed on the inner side in the direction of the rotation axis of the main body portion and on the radially inner side of the holding portion, and when the container main body is rotated, the seal member slides with respect to the fixing portion of the stirring member and rotates relatively,
The transmission member has: a large diameter portion that is not covered by the cover member; a small diameter portion covered by the cover member; and a middle diameter portion which is arranged between the large diameter portion and the small diameter portion and is not covered by the cover member,
the large diameter portion has: a transmission gear formed on an outer peripheral surface of the large diameter portion and connected to a driving gear that rotates by a rotational driving force from a driving source; and a plurality of engaging ribs arranged on the inner peripheral surface of the large diameter portion at intervals in the circumferential direction,
the engaging projection is interposed between the two engaging ribs adjacent in the circumferential direction, whereby the transmission member rotates together with the container body,
the transmission member is sandwiched between the protrusion and the cover member by the intermediate diameter portion and the large diameter portion, thereby being restricted from moving in the longitudinal direction of the container body,
the plurality of 1 st reinforcing portions and the 1 st finger placement portion are arranged along a 1 st reference straight line, wherein the 1 st reference straight line is along the mounting direction,
the plurality of 2 nd reinforcing portions and the 2 nd finger rest portion are arranged along a 2 nd reference straight line, wherein the 2 nd reference straight line is located on an opposite side of the 1 st reference straight line across the rotation axis and along the mounting direction.
2. The toner container as claimed in claim 1, wherein,
the container body further has a 1 st mounting direction indicating portion and a 2 nd mounting direction indicating portion, wherein the 1 st mounting direction indicating portion and the 2 nd mounting direction indicating portion indicate the mounting direction and are formed on outer peripheral surfaces other than the conveying bead, the 1 st finger placing portion and the 2 nd finger placing portion,
the 1 st mounting direction indicating portion is formed along the 1 st reference straight line, and the 2 nd mounting direction indicating portion is formed along the 2 nd reference straight line.
3. The toner container as claimed in claim 2, wherein,
the container body further has a marking portion which indicates the characteristics of the container body and is formed on the outer peripheral surface other than the conveying bead,
the identification portion is disposed between the 2 nd finger placement portion and the 2 nd attachment direction indication portion.
4. The toner container as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein,
the engagement protrusion is disposed on a plane including the 1 st reference straight line and the 2 nd reference straight line.
5. The toner container as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein,
the main body portion is provided with a toner inlet for introducing the toner discharged from the container main body through the opening portion into the communication space, a pedestal portion is provided around the toner inlet,
The seal member is fixed to a surface of the inner side in the direction of the rotation axis of the base portion.
6. The toner container as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein,
the holding portion has:
a locking portion that locks one end portion of the container body in the direction of the rotation axis;
a window portion provided on the outer side of the locking portion in the direction of the rotation axis,
at least a part of the sealing member is exposed to the outside through the window portion.
7. The toner container as claimed in claim 1, wherein,
the sealing member has:
an elastic layer composed of the elastic material;
a base material layer made of a material having higher rigidity than the elastic material;
a 1 st adhesive layer that adheres the elastic layer and the base material layer;
and a 2 nd adhesive layer that adheres the base material layer and the cover member.
8. The toner container as claimed in claim 7, wherein,
the elastic layer is composed of a polyurethane foam,
the base material layer is made of a resin film.
9. The toner container as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein,
the seal member is mounted between the container body and the cover member in a compressed state.
10. An image forming apparatus, characterized in that,
a toner container according to any one of claims 1 to 9, and a mounting portion for mounting the toner container.
CN202011385732.9A 2016-04-07 2016-04-07 Toner container and image forming apparatus Active CN112596357B (en)

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US9207574B2 (en) * 2011-03-31 2015-12-08 Ricoh Company, Ltd. Powder material container and image forming apparatus provided therewith, and powder material replenishing method
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CN102023526A (en) * 2009-09-17 2011-04-20 柯尼卡美能达商用科技株式会社 Toner bottle and image formation apparatus provided with the same
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