JP5979482B2 - Powder container, powder supply device, and image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention has a storage portion for storing powder, and a holding portion that receives one end portion of the storage portion in the rotation axis direction of the storage portion and holds the powder in the rotation direction, and holds the powder in the storage portion in the rotation axis direction. It relates to a powder container that conveys from the other end side to the one end side. The present invention also relates to a powder replenishing device and an image forming apparatus using such a powder container.

  As this type of powder replenishing device, a toner replenishing device described in Patent Document 1 is known. A toner container as a powder container of the toner replenishing device includes a toner bottle as a container for storing toner, and a tip cover as a holding part for receiving and rotatably holding the tip of the toner bottle. Have. A bottle gear is provided on the peripheral surface of the tip of the toner bottle. When the bottle bottle rotates with the bottle gear engaged with the drive gear provided in the apparatus main body, the toner contained in the toner bottle is moved by the spiral protrusion provided on the inner peripheral surface of the bottle. It is sent from the rear end side toward the front end side. The toner sent to the tip of the toner bottle enters a hopper provided at the tip of the tip cover that covers the tip of the toner bottle. Then, it is sucked from the outside of the front end cover by the nozzle inserted into the hopper and sent to the developing device of the image forming apparatus.

  When the operation of the apparatus is stopped for a long time, the toner in the toner bottle may aggregate. As a toner replenishing device capable of loosening toner agglomerates, the one described in Patent Document 2 is known. In this toner replenishing device, the rear end portion of the toner bottle is inserted into a cylindrical bottle cradle having a diameter considerably larger than that of the bottle. And the inner surface protrusion which protrudes largely from an inner peripheral surface is provided in the predetermined position in the circumferential direction of the inner peripheral surface of a bottle receiving stand. Further, the rear end portion of the toner bottle is provided with a protruding portion at a predetermined position in the circumferential direction. When the toner bottle rotates within a predetermined rotation angle range, the protrusion at the rear end of the toner bottle gets over the inner protrusion of the bottle cradle. By applying vibration to the toner bottle by the impact at this time, the toner agglomerates in the bottle can be dusted.

  However, this toner replenishing device has a problem that the bottle gear provided at the tip of the toner bottle and the drive gear on the apparatus main body side are liable to be worn or damaged. Specifically, of the entire region in the rotation axis direction of the toner bottle, the tip portion provided with the bottle gear rotates on a substantially circular path in order to correctly mesh the bottle gear with the drive gear on the apparatus main body side. There is a need. On the other hand, the rear end portion provided with the protruding portion needs to rotate on an eccentric track in order to get over the protruding portion of the bottle cradle over the protruding portion. The rear end portion of the toner bottle makes an eccentric movement, and an excessive force is applied to the meshing portion between the bottle gear at the front end portion and the drive gear on the apparatus main body side, and it becomes easy to cause wear and breakage of these gears. .

  Up to now, the problem that occurs in the toner container that contains toner as powder and the toner replenishing device that uses the toner has been described, but the same applies to the powder container that contains powder different from the toner and powder replenishment. Problems can arise.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above background, and an object of the present invention is to provide a powder container and a powder that can loosen agglomerates of powder without causing the container to undergo a large eccentric motion. It is to provide a body supply device or the like.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention has a rotatable storage portion for storing powder, and the powder stored in the storage portion is moved along the rotation of the storage portion. In a powder container that conveys toward the one end side from the other end side in the rotation axis direction and moves the powder moved to one end side in the rotation axis direction of the housing portion , in the powder container, in the rotation axis direction of the housing portion The holding portion that receives at least a part of the region within itself and rotatably holds the protrusion, the protruding portion that protrudes from the outer peripheral surface of the accommodating portion, and the rotating portion that is rotated to a predetermined rotation angle while facing the outer peripheral surface. The contact portion is disposed so as to come into contact with the protruding portion, and is displaced in a direction away from the protruding portion along the rotational radius direction of the receiving portion along with the contact with the protruding portion. Contact displacement at the protrusion Only set the wood, said the protruding portion to the diameter of their orbit centered on the rotational axis in the projecting amount smaller than the inner diameter of the holding portion projecting from the outer peripheral surface of the receiving portion is disposed, In addition, the contact displacement member is disposed in the holding portion, or an opening for receiving the contact displacement member from the outside to the inside of the holding portion is provided in the holding portion. is there.

  In the present invention, when the container of the powder container rotates to a predetermined rotation angle, the protrusion provided on the outer peripheral surface of the container contacts the contact displacement member facing the outer peripheral surface of the container. . Or the contact displacement member currently hold | maintained at the accommodating part contacts the opposing member which has opposed the outer peripheral surface of the accommodating part. In any case of contact, a force for preventing the rotation of the housing portion acts upon contact, and an impact in the rotation direction is applied. This impact can loosen the agglomerates of the powder in the container. Thereafter, when the accommodating portion further rotates, the contact displacement member that is in contact with the protruding portion of the accommodating portion or the contact displacement member that is in contact with the opposing member while being held in the accommodating portion accommodates the position. The protrusion or the opposing member is displaced by being displaced in a direction away from the protrusion or the opposing member along the rotational radius direction of the part. As a result, in a state where the accommodating portion is rotated on a substantially circular path, the contact position with the contact displacement member is passed with respect to the protruding portion of the accommodating portion with the rotation, or the accommodating portion The contact position with the opposing member is passed through the contact displacement member. In this way, while rotating the accommodating portion on a substantially circular track, the protruding portion of the accommodating portion is periodically brought into contact with the contact displacement member, or the contact displacement member of the accommodating portion is periodically contacted with the opposing member. By bringing the container into contact with each other and applying vibration in the rotational direction to the container, the powder agglomerates can be loosened without causing the container to undergo a large eccentric motion.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a toner replenishing device and a front end portion of the toner container before the toner container is mounted. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a copier according to an embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an image forming unit for Y of the copier. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a state where a toner container is installed in a toner supply device in the copier. FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a container mounting portion of the copier in a state where a toner container is set. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the toner container. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view illustrating a toner replenishing device and a front end portion of the toner container before the toner container is mounted. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing a toner replenishing device in a state in which a toner container is mounted and a front end side of the toner container. FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a toner replenishing device with a toner container mounted thereon and a front end portion of the toner container. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a toner bottle of the toner container. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a toner bottle in a state where a nozzle receiving member is pulled out. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a tip portion of a toner bottle in a state where a nozzle receiving member is pulled out. FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a tip portion of an upper cheer toner bottle equipped with a nozzle receiving member. The perspective view which shows the nozzle receiving member 330 from the front end side. The perspective view which shows the nozzle receiving member 330 from the rear end side. The longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the nozzle receiving member of the state fractured | ruptured in the position of a shutter side surface support part. The longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the nozzle receiving member of the state fractured | ruptured in the position of a shutter support opening part. The disassembled perspective view which shows the nozzle receiving member of the state which pulled out the container shutter member. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a set cover in the toner replenishing device and a front end portion of the toner container received in the set cover. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a front end portion of a toner bottle, a container front end cover, and a set cover in a state where the protruding portion is rotated to a position at which the protrusion starts to contact the container lock member. FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view partially showing a front end portion of a toner bottle, a container front end cover, and a set cover in a state where the protruding portion is rotated to a position where the protruding portion is completely opposed to the container lock member. FIG. 6 is a partial cross-sectional view partially showing a front end portion of a toner bottle, a container front end cover, and a set cover in a state where the protruding portion is rotated to a position immediately after being separated from the container lock member. The graph which shows the relationship between the distance from the bottle rotation center in the front-end | tip of a container lock member, and a bottle rotation angle. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a set cover and a front end portion of a toner container that is received in the set cover in the toner supply device according to the embodiment. 6 is a graph showing the relationship between the distance from the bottle rotation center at the tip of the container locking member of the toner supply device according to the embodiment and the bottle rotation angle. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a container lock member in a toner supply device according to a first modification and a tip portion of a toner container just before being received in a set cover of the toner supply device. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a container lock member in a toner replenishing device according to a first modified example, and a front end portion of a toner container received in a set cover of the toner replenishing device. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a container lock member in a toner replenishing device according to a second modified example and a front end portion of a toner container just before being received in a set cover of the toner replenishing device. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing a container lock member in a toner replenishing device according to a second modified example and a front end portion of a toner container received in a set cover of the toner replenishing device.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention in which the present invention is applied to a copier as an image forming apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a copier 500) will be described.
FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a copying machine 500 according to the embodiment. The copying machine 500 includes a copying machine main body (hereinafter referred to as a printer unit 100), a paper feed table (hereinafter referred to as a paper feed unit 200), and a scanner (hereinafter referred to as a scanner unit 400) mounted on the printer unit 100. .

  Four toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) corresponding to the respective colors (yellow, magenta, cyan, black) are detachable (replaceable) in a container mounting section 70 provided in the upper part of the printer section 100. It is installed freely. An intermediate transfer unit 85 is disposed below the container mounting portion 70.

  The intermediate transfer unit 85 includes an intermediate transfer belt 48, four primary transfer bias rollers 49 (Y, M, C, K), a secondary transfer backup roller 82, a plurality of tension rollers, an intermediate transfer cleaning device (not shown), and the like. It consists of The intermediate transfer belt 48 is stretched and supported by a plurality of roller members, and moves endlessly in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2 by the rotational drive of the secondary transfer backup roller 82 which is one of the plurality of roller members.

  In the printer unit 100, four image forming units 46 (Y, M, C, K) corresponding to the respective colors are arranged in parallel so as to face the intermediate transfer belt 48. Further, below the four toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) as the powder containers, four toner replenishing devices 60 (Y, M, C, K) corresponding to the respective powder containers are disposed. Has been. The toner stored in the toner container 32 (Y, M, C, K) is imaged by the toner replenishing device 60 (Y, M, C, K) corresponding to each color. Y (M, C, K) is supplied (supplemented) into the developing device (powder material use unit).

  As shown in FIG. 2, the printer unit 100 includes an exposure device 47 as a latent image forming unit below the four image forming units 46. The exposure device 47 exposes the surface of the photoconductor 41 to be described later based on image information of the original image read by the scanner unit 400 or image information input from an external device such as a personal computer. An electrostatic latent image is formed on the surface. The exposure device 47 provided in the printer unit 100 uses a laser beam scanner method using a laser diode, but other configurations such as an exposure unit using an LED array may be used.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of the image forming unit 46Y corresponding to yellow. The image forming unit 46Y includes a drum-shaped photoconductor 41Y as a latent image carrier. The image forming unit 46Y includes a charging roller 44Y as a charging unit, a developing device 50Y as a developing unit, a photoconductor cleaning device 42Y, a static elimination device (not shown), and the like around the photoconductor 41Y. In the image forming unit 46Y, an image forming process (charging process, exposure process, developing process, transfer process, cleaning process) is performed on the photoreceptor 41Y, and a yellow image is formed on the photoreceptor 41Y.

  The other three image forming units 46 (M, C, K) have substantially the same configuration as the image forming unit 46Y corresponding to yellow except that the color of the toner used is different. An image of a color corresponding to each toner is formed on the photoreceptor 41 (M, C, K). Hereinafter, description of the other three image forming units 46 (M, C, K) will be omitted as appropriate, and only the image forming unit 46Y corresponding to yellow will be described.

  The photoreceptor 41Y is rotationally driven in the clockwise direction in FIG. 3 by a drive motor (not shown). Then, the surface of the photoreceptor 41Y is uniformly charged at a position facing the charging roller 44Y (charging process). Thereafter, the surface of the photoreceptor 41Y reaches the irradiation position of the laser beam L emitted from the exposure device 47, and an electrostatic latent image corresponding to yellow is formed by exposure scanning at this position (exposure process). The surface of the photoreceptor 41Y reaches a position facing the developing device 50Y, and the electrostatic latent image is developed at this position to form a yellow toner image (developing process).

  The four primary transfer bias rollers 49 (Y, M, C, K) of the intermediate transfer unit 85 respectively sandwich the intermediate transfer belt 48 between the photoreceptors 41 (Y, M, C, K) and perform primary transfer. A nip is formed. Then, a transfer bias reverse to the polarity of the toner is applied to the primary transfer bias roller 49 (Y, M, C, K).

  The surface of the photoconductor 41Y on which the toner image is formed in the developing process reaches a primary transfer nip that faces the primary transfer bias roller 49Y with the intermediate transfer belt 48 interposed therebetween, and the toner image on the photoconductor 41Y at this primary transfer nip. Is transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 48 (primary transfer step). At this time, a small amount of untransferred toner remains on the photoreceptor 41Y. The surface of the photoconductor 41Y that has transferred the toner image to the intermediate transfer belt 48 at the primary transfer nip reaches a position facing the photoconductor cleaning device 42Y, and untransferred toner remaining on the photoconductor 41Y is removed at this position by the cleaning blade. It is mechanically recovered by 42a (cleaning process). Finally, the surface of the photoconductor 41Y reaches a position facing a static eliminator (not shown), and the residual potential on the photoconductor 41Y is removed at this position. Thus, a series of image forming processes performed on the photoreceptor 41Y is completed.

  Such an image forming process is performed in the other image forming units 46 (M, C, K) similarly to the yellow image forming unit 46Y. That is, the laser beam L based on the image information from the exposure device 47 disposed below the image forming unit 46 (M, C, K) is a photoconductor of each image forming unit 46 (M, C, K). 41 (M, C, K). Specifically, the exposure device 47 emits a laser beam L from a light source, and scans the laser beam L with a polygon mirror that is rotationally driven, while each photoconductor 41 (M, C, K) via a plurality of optical elements. ) Irradiate the top. Thereafter, the toner images of the respective colors formed on the photoreceptors 41 (M, C, K) through the developing process are transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 48.

  At this time, the intermediate transfer belt 48 travels in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 2 and sequentially passes through the primary transfer nip of each primary transfer bias roller 49 (Y, M, C, K). As a result, the toner images of the respective colors on the respective photoreceptors 41 (Y, M, C, K) are primarily transferred while being superimposed on the intermediate transfer belt 48, and a color toner image is formed on the intermediate transfer belt 48.

  The intermediate transfer belt 48 on which the toner images of the respective colors are transferred in a superimposed manner and the color toner image is formed reaches a position facing the secondary transfer roller 89. At this position, the secondary transfer backup roller 82 sandwiches the intermediate transfer belt 48 between the secondary transfer roller 89 and forms a secondary transfer nip. Then, the color toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 48 is transferred onto a recording medium P such as transfer paper conveyed to the position of the secondary transfer nip. At this time, untransferred toner that has not been transferred to the recording medium P remains on the intermediate transfer belt 48. The intermediate transfer belt 48 that has passed through the secondary transfer nip reaches the position of an intermediate transfer cleaning device (not shown), untransferred toner on the surface is collected, and a series of transfer processes performed on the intermediate transfer belt 48 is completed. To do.

Next, the movement of the recording medium P will be described.
The recording medium P conveyed to the secondary transfer nip described above is fed from the paper feed tray 26 of the paper feed unit 200 disposed below the printer unit 100 via the paper feed roller 27, the registration roller pair 28, and the like. It is to be transported. Specifically, a plurality of recording media P are stored in the paper feed tray 26 in an overlapping manner. When the paper feed roller 27 is driven to rotate counterclockwise in FIG. 2, the uppermost recording medium P is conveyed toward a roller nip formed by the two rollers of the registration roller pair 28.

  The recording medium P transported to the registration roller pair 28 temporarily stops at the position of the roller nip of the registration roller pair 28 whose rotation drive has been stopped. The registration roller pair 28 is rotationally driven in accordance with the timing at which the color toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 48 reaches the secondary transfer nip, and the recording medium P is conveyed toward the secondary transfer nip. As a result, a desired color toner image is transferred onto the recording medium P.

  The recording medium P on which the color toner image is transferred at the secondary transfer nip is conveyed to the position of the fixing device 86. In the fixing device 86, the color toner image transferred onto the surface is fixed on the recording medium P by heat and pressure generated by the fixing belt and the pressure roller. The recording medium P that has passed through the fixing device 86 is discharged to the outside of the apparatus after passing between the rollers of the discharge roller pair 29. The recording media P discharged to the outside of the apparatus by the discharge roller pair 29 are sequentially stacked on the stack unit 30 as an output image. Thus, a series of image forming processes in the copying machine 500 is completed.

  Next, the configuration and operation of the developing device 50 in the image forming unit 46 will be described in more detail. Here, the image forming unit 46Y corresponding to yellow is described as an example, but the same applies to the image forming units 46 (M, C, K) of other colors.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the developing device 50Y is disposed in a developing roller 51Y facing the photoreceptor 41Y, a doctor blade 52Y facing the developing roller 51Y, and two developer accommodating portions (53Y, 54Y). It is composed of two developer conveying screws 55Y, a toner density detection sensor 56Y, and the like. The developing roller 51Y includes a magnet roller fixed inside, a sleeve rotating around the magnet roller, and the like. In the first developer accommodating portion 53Y and the second developer accommodating portion 54Y, a two-component developer G composed of a carrier and toner is accommodated. The second developer accommodating portion 54Y communicates with the toner dropping conveyance path 64Y through an opening formed thereabove. Further, the toner concentration detection sensor 56Y detects the toner concentration in the developer G in the second developer accommodating portion 54Y.

  The developer G in the developing device 50 circulates between the first developer accommodating portion 53Y and the second developer accommodating portion 54Y while being agitated by the two developer conveying screws 55Y. The developer G in the first developer accommodating portion 53Y is supplied onto the sleeve surface of the developing roller 51Y by the magnetic field formed by the magnet roller in the developing roller 51Y while being conveyed to one of the developer conveying screws 55Y. Is done. The sleeve of the developing roller 51Y is driven to rotate counterclockwise as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3, and the developer G carried on the developing roller 51Y moves on the developing roller 51Y as the sleeve rotates. . At this time, the toner in the developer G is charged on the potential opposite to that of the carrier due to frictional charging with the carrier in the developer G, and is electrostatically attracted to the carrier, and is formed on the developing roller 51Y. Along with the carrier attracted by the magnetic field, it is carried on the developing roller 51Y.

  The developer G carried on the developing roller 51Y is conveyed in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3, and reaches the doctor portion where the doctor blade 52Y and the developing roller 51Y face each other. The amount of the developer G on the developing roller 51Y is adjusted to an appropriate amount when passing through the doctor portion, and is then transported to a developing region that is a position facing the photoreceptor 41Y. In the development area, the toner in the developer G is attracted to the latent image formed on the photoreceptor 41Y by the development electric field formed between the development roller 51Y and the photoreceptor 41Y. The developer G remaining on the surface of the developing roller 51Y that has passed through the developing region reaches the upper portion of the first developer containing portion 53Y as the sleeve rotates, and is detached from the developing roller 51Y at this position.

  The developer G in the developing device 50Y is adjusted so that the toner density is within a predetermined range. Specifically, the toner contained in the toner container 32Y is accommodated in the second developer via the toner replenishing device 60Y described later according to the consumption amount of the toner contained in the developer G in the developing device 50Y. The portion 54Y is replenished. The two developer conveying screws 55Y circulate between the first developer accommodating portion 53Y and the second developer accommodating portion 54Y while being mixed and stirred together with the developer G.

Next, the toner replenishing device 60 (Y, M, C, K) will be described.
FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which the toner container 32Y is installed in the toner replenishing device 60Y, and FIG. 5 shows a state in which four toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) are set. It is a schematic perspective view which shows the container mounting part 70. FIG.

  The toner in each toner container 32 (Y, M, C, K) installed in the container mounting portion 70 of the printer unit 100 is consumed by the toner in each color developing device 50 (Y, M, C, K). Accordingly, each developing device 50 (Y, M, C, K) is appropriately replenished by a toner replenishing device 60 (Y, M, C, K) provided for each toner color. The four toner replenishing devices 60 (Y, M, C, K) and the toner container 32 (Y, M, C, K) have substantially the same structure except that the colors of the toners used in the image forming process are different. is there. Therefore, only the toner replenishing device 60Y and the toner container 32Y corresponding to yellow will be described below, and the toner replenishing device 60 (M, C, K) and the toner container 32 (M corresponding to the other three colors are described. , C, K) will be omitted as appropriate.

  The toner replenishing device 60 (Y, M, C, K) includes a container mounting portion 70, a transport nozzle 611 (Y, M, C, K), a transport screw 614 (Y, M, C, K), and a toner drop transport. A path 64 (Y, M, C, K), a container rotation drive unit 91 (Y, M, C, K), and the like are configured.

  When the toner container 32Y is inserted in the direction of the arrow Q in the drawing and is mounted on the container mounting portion 70 of the printer unit 100, the toner replenishing device 60Y from the front end side of the toner container 32Y is interlocked with the mounting operation. The transfer nozzle 611Y is inserted, and the toner container 32Y communicates with the transfer nozzle 611Y.

  The toner container 32Y has a cylindrical shape, such as a container tip cover 34Y fixed to the container mounting portion 70 in a non-rotating state, a toner bottle 33Y integrally formed with a container rotation gear 301Y, and the like. It is composed of The container front end cover as a holding unit rotatably holds the toner bottle 33Y in a state where the front end of the toner bottle 33Y in the rotation axis direction is received.

  The container mounting unit 70 is configured to mount the tip receiving part 73 for fixing the container tip cover 34Y of the toner container 32Y, the container receiving part 72 for receiving the toner bottle 33Y of the toner container 32Y, and the toner container 32Y. It is comprised from the insertion port formation part 71 etc. which form the insertion port at the time. When the main body cover (not shown) installed on the front side of the copier 500 (the front side in the direction perpendicular to the paper in FIG. 2) is opened, the insertion port forming portion 71 of the container mounting portion 70 is exposed. Then, each toner container 32 (Y, M, C, K) is attached / detached from the front side of the copying machine 500 in a state where the longitudinal direction of each toner container 32 (Y, M, C, K) is horizontal. An operation (attachment / detachment operation in which the longitudinal direction of the toner container 32 is the attachment / detachment direction) is performed. The set cover 608Y in FIG. 4 is a part of the tip receiving portion 73 of the container mounting portion 70.

  The container receiving portion 72 is formed so that its length in the longitudinal direction is substantially equal to the length of the toner bottle 33Y in the longitudinal direction. Further, the tip receiving portion 73 is provided on one end side in the longitudinal direction (attachment / detachment direction) of the container receiving portion 72, and the insertion port forming portion 71 is provided on the other end side in the longitudinal direction of the container receiving portion 72. The container tip cover 34Y slides on the container receiving portion 72 for a while after passing through the insertion port forming portion 71 in accordance with the mounting operation of the toner container 32Y, and is then attached to the tip receiving portion 73.

  In a state where the container front end cover 34Y is attached to the front end receiving portion 73, the container rotation driving unit 91 configured by a drive motor, a drive gear, and the like transmits a rotation driving force to the container rotation gear 301Y, whereby the toner bottle 33Y. Is rotated in the direction of arrow A in FIG. By rotating the toner bottle 33Y itself, the toner contained in the toner bottle 33Y is moved along the longitudinal direction of the toner bottle by the spiral protrusion 302Y formed in a spiral shape on the inner peripheral surface of the toner bottle 33Y. It is transported from the rear end side to the front end side (from the left side to the right side in FIG. 4) and supplied from the container front end cover 34Y side into the transport nozzle 611Y.

  A transport screw 614Y is disposed in the transport nozzle 611Y, and rotation is input to the transport screw gear 605Y from the container rotation drive unit 91Y, whereby the transport screw 614Y rotates to remove the toner in the transport nozzle 611Y. Transport. The downstream end of the transport nozzle 611Y in the transport direction is connected to the toner drop transport path 64Y, and the toner transported by the transport screw 614Y falls by its own weight on the toner drop transport path 64Y, and the developing device 50Y (second developer storage). Part 54Y).

  Each of the toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) is replaced with a new one when it reaches the end of its life (when almost all the toner to be stored is consumed and emptied). A handle 303 is provided at the end of the toner container 32 opposite to the container tip cover 34 in the longitudinal direction. When replacing, the operator holds the handle 303 and pulls it out. The toner container 32 can be removed.

The control unit 90 calculates the toner consumption based on the image information used for the exposure device 47, and when the control unit 90 determines that it is necessary to supply the toner to the developing device 50Y, or the detection result of the toner density detection sensor 56Y. If the controller 90 detects that the toner concentration in the developing device 50Y has decreased, the container rotation drive unit 91Y is rotated by the control of the control unit 90, and the toner bottle 33Y of the toner container 32Y The conveying screw 614Y is rotated for a predetermined time to supply toner to the developing device 50Y. Further, since the toner is replenished by rotating the conveying screw 614Y disposed in the conveying nozzle 611Y, the amount of toner supplied from the toner container 32Y can be accurately detected by detecting the number of rotations of the conveying screw 614Y. It can also be calculated well. When the toner supply amount cumulatively calculated from when the toner container 32Y is mounted reaches the amount of toner in the toner container 32Y at the time of mounting, the control unit 90 causes the toner to be stored in the toner container 32Y. It is determined that there is no toner (toner end). Then, a message prompting replacement of the toner container 32Y is displayed on a display unit (not shown) of the copier 500. In addition, even when the replenishment operation is repeatedly executed and the toner density recovery is not detected, the control unit 90 determines that the toner has ended and displays the above-described message.
Display to the effect.

  The control unit 90 controls the amount of toner supplied to the developing device 50Y based on the rotation speed of the transport screw 614Y. Therefore, the toner that has passed through the transport nozzle 611Y is directly transported to the developing device 50Y via the toner dropping transport path 64Y without controlling the supply amount to the developing device 50Y. Even if the conveyance nozzle 611Y is configured to be inserted into the toner container 32Y, a primary toner storage unit such as a toner hopper may be provided. The toner supply amount to the developing device 50Y may be controlled by controlling the toner conveyance amount from the toner primary storage unit to the developing device 50Y.

  The toner replenishing device 60Y transports the toner supplied into the transport nozzle 611Y by the transport screw 614Y, but means for transporting the toner supplied into the transport nozzle 611Y is not limited to the screw member. The structure which provides a conveyance force by things different from a screw member, such as the structure which generate | occur | produces a negative pressure in the opening part of the conveyance nozzle 611Y using a powder pump, may be sufficient.

  In a configuration in which the toner primary storage unit is provided, it is common to provide a toner end sensor that detects that the amount of toner stored in the toner primary storage unit has become a predetermined amount or less. Then, based on the toner end detection of the toner end sensor, the toner bottle 33Y and the conveying screw 614Y are rotationally driven for a predetermined time to replenish the toner in the toner primary storage unit. Further, if the toner end detection by the toner end sensor is not canceled even after such control is repeated a predetermined number of times, it is assumed that there is no toner in the toner container 32Y, and the toner is stored in a display unit (not shown) of the copier 500. A message to prompt the user to replace the device 32Y is displayed. As described above, if it is configured to detect that the toner in the toner container 32Y runs out based on the toner end detection of the toner end sensor, the toner supply amount from when the toner container 32Y is mounted is cumulatively added. There is no need to calculate. However, as long as the toner replenishing device 60Y according to the embodiment is configured such that the toner primary storage unit is not provided, the toner replenishing device 60Y can be reduced in size, and the entire copying machine 500 can be reduced in size. it can.

  Next, the toner container 32 (Y, M, C, K) and the toner replenishing device 60 (Y, M, C, K) will be described in more detail. As described above, the toner container 32 (Y, M, C, K) and the toner replenishing device 60 (Y, M, C, K) have substantially the same configuration except that the colors of the toners used are different. Therefore, in the following description, the suffixes Y, M, C, and K indicating the color of the toner to be used are omitted.

  FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the toner container 32 according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view showing the toner replenishing device 60 before the toner container 32 is mounted and the end portion on the front end side of the toner container 32. FIG. 8 is an enlarged perspective view showing the toner replenishing device 60 with the toner container 32 attached and the front end side of the toner container 32. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the toner replenishing device 60 before the toner container 32 is mounted and the tip of the toner container 32. FIG. 9 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing the toner replenishing device 60 with the toner container 32 attached and the tip of the toner container 32.

  The toner replenishing device 60 includes a transport nozzle 611 having a transport screw 614 therein. A nozzle shutter member 612 is also provided. The nozzle shutter member 612 closes the nozzle opening 610 formed in the transport nozzle 611 when the toner container 32 is not attached (the state shown in FIGS. 7 and 9) before the toner container 32 is attached. Further, when the toner container 32 is mounted (the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 8), the nozzle opening 610 is opened.

  In the center of the front end surface of the toner container 32, a nozzle receiving port 331 into which the transport nozzle 611 is inserted when mounted and a container shutter member 332 that closes the nozzle receiving port 331 when not mounted are provided.

  FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the toner bottle 33 of the toner container 32. A container front end cover (34) is attached to the front end of the toner bottle 33, but the container front end cover is removed in FIG. A nozzle receiving port 331 and a nozzle receiving member 330 are provided at the tip of the toner bottle 33.

  FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view showing the toner bottle 33 with the nozzle receiving member 330 pulled out. FIG. 12 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the tip of the toner container 32 with the nozzle receiving member 330 pulled out. FIG. 13 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the tip of the toner bottle 33 with the nozzle receiving member 330 attached.

  The toner bottle 33 has a substantially cylindrical shape and is configured to rotate about the central axis of the cylinder as a rotation axis. Hereinafter, in the rotation axis direction of the toner bottle 33, the side on which the container front end cover 34 is mounted is the front end side of the toner bottle 33, and the opposite side is the rear end side of the toner bottle 33. The longitudinal direction of the toner container 32 described above is along the rotation axis direction, and in the state where the toner container 32 is mounted on the toner replenishing device 60, the rotation axis direction is along the horizontal direction.

  The rear end side of the toner bottle 33 with respect to the container rotation gear 301 has an outer diameter larger than that of the front end side, and a helical protrusion 302 is formed on the inner peripheral surface thereof. When the toner bottle 33 rotates in the direction of arrow A in the figure, the toner in the toner bottle 33 moves from one end side (rear end side) to the other end side (front end side) in the rotation axis direction by the action of the spiral protrusion 302. The conveying force to go is given.

  At the front end side of the toner bottle 33, a pumping unit that pumps up the toner that has been transported to the front end side by the spiral protrusion 302 by rotating the toner bottle 33 in the direction of arrow A in the figure. 304 is formed. A pumping inner wall surface 304f, which is the inner wall surface of the casing on the upstream side in the rotation direction of the internal space of the pumping unit 304, has a shape like a paddle feather with respect to the rotation direction. Then, when the internal space of the pumping unit 304 is below, the toner that has entered the pumping unit 304 by the conveying force of the spiral projection 302 is inserted by the pumping inner wall surface 304f pumping up by the rotation of the toner bottle 33. The toner can be pumped up above the transport nozzle 611.

  A container rotation gear 301 is formed further on the front end side than the pumping portion 304 of the toner bottle 33. The container front end cover 34 is provided with a gear exposure opening 34a so that a part (the back side in FIG. 6) of the container rotation gear 301 is exposed in a state of being attached to the toner bottle 33. By attaching the toner container 32 to the toner replenishing device 60, the container rotation gear 301 exposed from the gear exposure opening 34a is engaged with the container drive output gear 601 on the toner replenishing device 60 side.

  A cylindrical tip opening forming portion 305 is formed on the tip side of the toner bottle 33 further than the container rotation gear 301. The nozzle receiving member 330 can be fixed to the toner bottle 33 by press-fitting the receiving member fixing portion 337 of the nozzle receiving member 330 into the tip opening forming portion 305. The method for fixing the nozzle receiving member 330 is not limited to press-fitting, but may be fixing by an adhesive or fixing by screws.

  The toner container 32 is configured such that after the toner bottle 33 is filled with toner from the opening of the tip opening forming portion 305, the nozzle receiving member 330 is fixed to the tip opening forming portion 305 of the toner bottle 33.

  A cover claw hooking portion 306 is formed at the end of the toner bottle 33 at the end opening forming portion 305 on the container rotation gear 301 side. A container front end cover 34 is attached to the toner container 32 (toner bottle 33) in the state shown in FIG. 10 from the front end side (lower left side in FIG. 10). It penetrates the tip cover 34. Then, the cover claw portion 341 provided on the upper portion of the container front end cover 34 is hooked on the cover claw hooking portion 306. The cover claw hooking portion 306 is formed so as to go around the outer peripheral surface of the front end opening forming portion 305, and the toner bottle 33 and the container front end cover 34 can be rotated relative to each other when the cover claw portion 341 is hooked. It has become. The cover claw hooking portion 306 does not need to go around completely, and may have a configuration in which, for example, three places are provided at intervals of 120 [°].

  The toner bottle 33 is formed by a biaxial stretch blow molding method. This biaxial stretch blow molding method generally comprises a two-stage process including a preform molding process and a stretch blow molding process. In the preform molding step, a test tubular preform is molded by injection molding using a resin. By this injection molding, a tip opening forming portion 305, a cover claw hooking portion 306, and a container rotation gear 301 are formed in the mouth portion of the test tube. In the stretch blow molding process, the preform cooled after the preform molding process is heated and softened, and then blow molded and stretched.

  The rear end side of the toner bottle 33 with respect to the container rotation gear 301 is formed by a stretch blow molding process. Therefore, the pumping part 304, the part in which the spiral protrusion 302 is formed, and the handle part 303 are formed by a stretch blow molding process.

  Each portion on the tip side from the container rotation gear 301 such as the container rotation gear 301, the tip opening forming portion 305, and the cover claw hooking portion 306 has a shape as an injection-molded preform, so that the dimensions are maintained with high accuracy. be able to. On the other hand, since the pumping portion 304, the portion where the spiral protrusion 302 is formed, and the handle portion 303 are injection molded and then stretched and molded in a stretch blow molding process, the accuracy is inferior. .

Next, the nozzle receiving member 330 fixed to the toner bottle 33 will be described.
FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing the nozzle receiving member 330 from the front end side. FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing the nozzle receiving member 330 from the rear end side. FIG. 16 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the nozzle receiving member 330 in a state of being broken at the position of the shutter side surface support portion 335a. FIG. 17 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the nozzle receiving member 330 in a state of being broken at the position of the shutter support opening 335b. FIG. 18 is an exploded perspective view showing the nozzle receiving member 330 with the container shutter member 332 pulled out.

  The nozzle receiving member 330 includes a shutter rear end support portion 335, a container shutter support member 340 including a shutter side surface support portion 335 a and a receiving member fixing portion 337, and a container shutter member 332. Further, a container seal member 333, a container shutter spring 336 made of a coil spring, and the like are also provided. As shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the end portion on the front end side of the container shutter spring 336 hits the wall surface of the container shutter member 332, and the end portion on the rear end side of the container shutter spring 336 is the wall surface of the shutter rear end support portion 335. I hit it. At this time, since the container shutter spring 336 is in a compressed state, the container shutter member 332 receives an urging force in a direction away from the shutter rear end support portion 335 (right direction in FIGS. 16 and 17 and the container front end direction).

  A shutter removal preventing claw 332 a formed at the end on the rear end side of the container shutter member 332 is hooked on the outer wall surface of the shutter rear end support portion 335. By this catch, the container shutter member 332 is prevented from moving in a direction away from the shutter rear end support portion 335 as compared with the state shown in FIGS. 16 and 17. Positioning of the container shutter member 332 with respect to the container shutter support member 340 is performed by the hook of the shutter removal preventing claw 332a with respect to the shutter rear end support portion 335 and the urging force of the container shutter spring 336.

  The receiving member fixing portion 337 has a cylindrical shape in which the diameter of the inner peripheral surface decreases stepwise toward the rear end side. And as FIG. 16 shows, the part (The outer peripheral surface of the container shutter member 332 slides) in which the diameter of the column-shaped space between the two shutter side surface support parts 335a and the diameter of an inner peripheral surface become the same magnitude | size. A donut-shaped container seal member 333 is arranged so as to abut against a step on the tip side with respect to a portion forming the inner peripheral surface. The container seal member 333 is fixed to the above-described step of the receiving member fixing portion 337 with an adhesive or a double-sided tape.

  As shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, a seal member entanglement prevention space 337 b is formed at the innermost portion of the step portion where the container seal member 333 of the receiving member fixing portion 337 of the nozzle receiving member 330 abuts. The seal member entanglement prevention space 337b is a cylindrical space. The diameter is smaller than the outer diameter of the doughnut-shaped container seal member 333 and larger than the diameter of the portion forming the inner peripheral surface on which the outer peripheral surface of the container shutter member 332 slides.

  When the container shutter member 332 moves from the state of shielding the nozzle receiving port 331 toward the container rear end, the inner peripheral surface of the doughnut-shaped container seal member 333 slides with the container shutter member 332. For this reason, the part which forms the inner peripheral surface of the container seal member 333 is elastically deformed so as to be pulled by the container shutter member 332 and move toward the container rear end. It is assumed that the step portion where the container seal member 333 abuts on the receiving member fixing portion 337 and the portion forming the inner peripheral surface on which the outer peripheral surface of the container shutter member 332 slides are continuously formed. Then, the elastically deformed portion of the container seal member 333 is sandwiched between the inner peripheral surface of the receiving member fixing portion 337 that slides with the container shutter member 332 and the outer peripheral surface of the container shutter member 332, and is wound up. There is a risk of becoming. When the container seal member 333 is caught in a portion where the receiving member fixing portion 337 and the container shutter member 332 slide, the container shutter member 332 is locked with respect to the receiving member fixing portion 337 and the nozzle receiving port 331 can be opened and closed. Disappear.

  Therefore, the nozzle receiving member 330 of the toner container 32 according to the present embodiment has a seal member entanglement preventing space 337b formed on the inner peripheral portion thereof. Since the diameter of the seal member entrainment prevention space 337b is smaller than the outer diameter of the doughnut-shaped container seal member 333, the entire container seal member 333 does not enter. Even if the elastically deformed portion pulled by the container shutter member 332 of the container seal member 333 moves in the container rear end direction and enters the seal member entanglement prevention space 337b, the diameter of the seal member entanglement prevention space 337b is Because the diameter of the outer peripheral surface of the container shutter member 332 is larger than the diameter of the portion that forms the inner peripheral surface that slides, the container seal member 333 is wound around the portion where the receiving member fixing portion 337 and the container shutter member 332 slide. There is nothing. Therefore, the container seal member 333 is prevented from being caught in the portion where the receiving member fixing portion 337 and the container shutter member 332 slide, and the container shutter member 332 is locked with respect to the receiving member fixing portion 337. Thus, it is possible to prevent the nozzle receiving port 331 from being opened and closed.

  As shown in FIGS. 16 to 18, a plurality of nozzle shutter abutment ribs 337 a are formed on the inner peripheral surface of the receiving member fixing portion 337 where the container seal member 333 is disposed. As shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, in the state where the container seal member 333 is fixed to the receiving member fixing portion 337, the end surface on the front end side of the container seal member 333 is the end portion on the front end side of the nozzle shutter abutment rib 337a. Protrudes in the direction of the rotation axis. As shown in FIG. 9, when the toner container 32 is mounted on the toner replenishing device 60, the nozzle shutter collar 612a of the nozzle shutter member 612 on the toner replenishing device 60 side is connected to the tip side end of the nozzle shutter abutment rib 337a. I hit the part. At this time, after the nozzle shutter collar 612a comes into contact with the container seal member 333, the container seal member 333 protrudes from the front end side of the nozzle shutter abutment rib 337a. 333 is crushed and hits the nozzle shutter abutment rib 337a. As described above, when the toner container 32 is attached to the toner replenishing device 60, the container seal member 333 is crushed by the nozzle shutter collar 612a, so that the sealing around the transport nozzle 611 at the nozzle receiving port 331 at the time of attachment is performed. Can be ensured and toner leakage can be prevented.

  In the toner container 32, the end surface on the distal end side where the nozzle receiving port 331 that is the tube insertion port of the nozzle receiving member 330 that is the tube insertion member is opened is formed by the container seal member 333 that is an elastic member. Then, a nozzle shutter collar 612a that is an abutting portion of the nozzle shutter member 612 that is a powder receiving opening / closing member abuts in a state where the container seal member 333 is crushed and compressed. Thereby, the surface opposite to the nozzle shutter spring receiving surface 612f in the nozzle shutter collar 612a is brought into close contact with the container seal member 333, so that the toner leakage prevention function can be further improved.

  When the container seal member 333, which is an elastic member, is compressed in the receiving member fixing portion 337 of the nozzle receiving member 330, the nozzle shutter collar portion 612a (see FIG. 9) abuts against the plurality of nozzle shutter abutment ribs 337a. The back side of the nozzle shutter spring receiving surface 612f of the nozzle shutter collar 612a biased by the nozzle shutter spring 613 abuts against the nozzle shutter abutment rib 337a, so that the position of the nozzle shutter member 612 in the rotational axis direction with respect to the toner container 32 Is decided. Thereby, the positional relationship in the rotational axis direction between the end surface on the front end side of the container seal member 333 and the end surface on the front end side of the front end opening forming portion 305 and the nozzle shutter member 612 is determined.

  When the toner container 32 is mounted, the nozzle opening 610 starts to open after the nozzle shutter collar 612a hits the nozzle shutter abutment rib 337a and the relative position of the nozzle shutter member 612 with respect to the toner container 32 is fixed. . On the other hand, when the toner container 32 is removed, the relative position of the nozzle shutter member 612 with respect to the toner container 32 changes in a state where the nozzle opening 610 is opened even if the transport nozzle 611 starts to come out of the toner container 32. Instead, after the nozzle shutter member 612 closes the nozzle opening 610, the nozzle shutter member 612 moves out of the toner container 32 together with the transport nozzle 611. In a state in which the nozzle shutter collar 612a abuts against the nozzle shutter abutment rib 337a, the portion where the nozzle opening 610 of the transport nozzle 611 is formed is sufficiently inside the toner container 32 than the inlet portion of the nozzle receiving port 331. Is located. Since the nozzle opening 610 opens and closes from a state where it is sufficiently located inside the toner container 32, toner leakage from the nozzle opening 610 to the outside can be prevented.

  The shutter side support part 335a and the shutter support opening part 335b have a shape in which the two shutter side support parts 335a form a part of a cylindrical shape, and the cylindrical shape is largely cut off at the part of the shutter support opening part 335b. . With such a shape, it is possible to guide the container shutter member 332 to move in the direction of the rotation axis in a columnar space formed inside the cylindrical shape.

  The nozzle receiving member 330 fixed to the toner bottle 33 rotates together with the toner bottle 33 when the toner bottle 33 rotates. At this time, the shutter side surface support portion 335a of the nozzle receiving member 330 is a transport nozzle on the toner supply device 60 side. Rotate around 611. For this reason, the toner in the toner bottle 33 is supplied into the transport nozzle 611 at a timing when the rotating shutter side surface support portion 335a is positioned above the nozzle opening 610 formed in the upper portion of the transport nozzle 611. Be inhibited. On the other hand, at the timing when the shutter side surface support portion 335a is positioned on the side of the transport nozzle 611 and the nozzle opening portion 610 and the shutter support opening portion 335b face each other, as shown by the arrow β in FIG. The toner inside is supplied into the transport nozzle 611.

  As shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, a step is formed in the outer peripheral surface of the receiving member fixing portion 337 of the nozzle receiving member 330 such that the outer peripheral diameter on the rear end side becomes smaller in the middle of the rotation axis direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 13, the inner peripheral surface of the front end opening forming portion 305 of the toner bottle 33 is shaped along the outer peripheral surface of the receiving member fixing portion 337 so that the inner peripheral diameter becomes smaller at the rear end side. Are stepped. Then, the step of the outer peripheral surface of the receiving member fixing portion 337 abuts on the step of the inner peripheral surface of the tip opening forming portion 305 in the entire circumferential direction, so that the axis of the nozzle receiving member 330 with respect to the toner bottle 33 is prevented from falling. The axis collapse is a phenomenon in which the central axis of the cylindrical receiving member fixing portion 337 is inclined with respect to the central axis of the cylindrical tip opening forming portion 305.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the container front end cover 34 of the toner container 32 has a lock for allowing a container lock member 609 provided on the set cover 608 of the toner replenishing device 60 to penetrate from the outer side to the inner side. An opening 339 is provided. The container tip cover 34 is also provided with an ID chip 700 that records data such as the usage status of the toner container 32. Furthermore, a color non-compatible rib 34b is provided to prevent the toner container 32 having a different toner color from being attached to the set cover 608 of another color.

Next, the toner replenishing device 60 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the toner replenishing device 60 includes a nozzle holder 607 that fixes the conveying nozzle 611 to the frame 602 of the copying machine 500, and a set cover 608 is provided to the nozzle holder 607. It is fixed. Further, a toner drop conveyance path 64 is fixed to the nozzle holder 607 so as to communicate with the inside of the conveyance nozzle 611 from below the conveyance nozzle 611.

  A container rotation drive unit 91 is fixed to the frame 602. The container rotation drive unit 91 includes a drive motor 603 and a container drive output gear 601, a worm gear 603 a that transmits the rotation drive of the drive motor 603 to the rotation shaft of the container drive output gear 601 (not shown), and the like. A drive transmission gear 604 is fixed to the rotating shaft of the container drive output gear 601, and is configured to mesh with the conveying screw gear 605 fixed to the rotating shaft of the conveying screw 614. With such a configuration, the toner container 32 is rotated via the container drive output gear 601 and the container rotation gear 301 by rotating the drive motor 603. Then, the transport screw 614 is rotated via the drive transmission gear 604 and the transport screw gear 605.

  A clutch may be provided in a drive transmission path from the drive motor 603 to the container rotation gear 301 or a drive transmission path from the drive motor 603 to the transport screw gear 605. By providing such a clutch, it is possible to realize a configuration in which only one of the toner container 32 and the conveying screw 614 is rotated when the drive motor 603 is driven to rotate.

Next, a process of attaching the toner container 32 to the toner supply device 60 will be described.
When the toner container 32 moves in the direction of the toner supply device 60 as indicated by an arrow Q in FIGS. 7 and 1, the nozzle tip 611 a of the transport nozzle 611 contacts the end surface on the tip side of the container shutter member 332. To do. When the toner container 32 further moves in the direction of the toner replenishing device 60, the transport nozzle 611 presses the end surface on the front end side of the container shutter member 332. Thus, when the container shutter spring 336 contracts, the container shutter member 332 is pushed into the inner side (rear end side) of the toner container 32 and the nozzle front end side of the transport nozzle 611 is inserted into the nozzle receiving port 331. At this time, the nozzle shutter cylindrical portion 612e on the nozzle tip side of the nozzle shutter collar 612a in the nozzle shutter member 612 is also inserted into the nozzle receiving port 331 together with the transport nozzle 611.

  When the toner container 32 further moves in the direction of the toner replenishing device 60, the surface opposite to the nozzle shutter spring receiving surface of the nozzle shutter collar 612 a comes into contact with the end surface on the front end side of the container seal member 333 and the container seal. The member 333 is slightly crushed. As a result, the relative position of the nozzle shutter member 612 in the rotation axis direction with respect to the toner container 32 is fixed by abutting the aforementioned surface against the nozzle shutter abutment rib 337a.

  When the toner container 32 further moves in the direction of the toner supply device 60, the transport nozzle 611 is further inserted into the toner container 32. At this time, the nozzle shutter member 612 that has been in contact with the nozzle shutter abutment rib 337 a is pushed back toward the nozzle base with respect to the transport nozzle 611. As a result, the nozzle shutter spring 613 contracts, and the relative position of the nozzle shutter member 612 with respect to the transport nozzle 611 moves to the nozzle base side. Along with the movement of the relative position, the nozzle opening 610 covered with the nozzle shutter member 612 is exposed inside the toner bottle 33, and the inside of the toner bottle 33 and the inside of the transport nozzle 611 communicate with each other.

  In a state where the transport nozzle 611 is inserted into the nozzle receiving port 331, the following force acts by the biasing force of the container shutter spring 336 and the nozzle shutter spring 613 in a contracted state. That is, the force is in the direction in which the toner container 32 is pushed back against the toner replenishing device 60 (the direction opposite to the arrow Q in the figure). However, when the toner container 32 is attached to the toner replenishing device 60, the toner container 32 is moved to a position where the container lock member 609 of the set cover 608 of the toner replenishing device 60 is received by the lock opening 339. It is moved in the direction of the toner replenishing device 60 against this force. Accordingly, the toner replenishing device of the toner container 32 in the state shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 by the urging force of the container shutter spring 336 and the nozzle shutter spring 613 and the hook of the container lock member 609 with respect to the lock opening 339. Positioning in the rotation axis direction with respect to 60 is performed.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the lock openings 339 are provided on both side surfaces of the container tip cover 34. The toner container 32 has a layout in which the container shutter member 332 is positioned at the center of a line segment connecting two locking openings 339 on a virtual plane orthogonal to the rotation axis. If the container shutter member 332 does not exist on the line segment connecting the two locking openings 339, the following rotational moment acts. That is, the rotational moment that rotates the toner container 32 around the line segment by the biasing force of the container shutter spring 336 and the nozzle shutter spring 613 acting at the position of the container shutter member 332. As a result, the toner container 32 may be inclined with respect to the toner supply device 60. Therefore, in the toner container 32 according to the present embodiment, the container shutter member 332 is located on a line segment connecting the two lock openings 339. In such a configuration, the toner container 32 can be prevented from being tilted with respect to the toner replenishing device 60 by the urging force of the container shutter spring 336 and the nozzle shutter spring 613 acting at the position of the container shutter member 332.

  When the toner container 32 is mounted on the toner replenishing device 60, the circular end surface of the front end opening forming portion 305 that is the end portion on the front end side of the toner container 32 is the end surface (615b) of the container setting portion 615. It is the structure which does not touch. The reason why such a configuration is adopted is as follows. That is, before the container locking member 609 enters the locking opening 339, when the circular end surface of the tip opening forming portion 305 hits the end surface (615b) of the container setting portion 615, the toner container 32 is further moved to the toner. It cannot be moved toward the supply device 60 side. As a result, positioning in the direction of the rotation axis cannot be performed. Therefore, in a state where the toner container 32 is mounted on the toner supply device 60, there is a slight gap between the circular end surface of the tip opening forming portion 305 and the end surface (615b) of the container setting portion 615. I have to.

  When the toner container is positioned in the rotation axis direction, the outer peripheral surface of the tip opening forming portion 305 is slidably fitted to the inner peripheral surface (615a) of the container setting portion 615. For this reason, the toner container 32 is positioned with respect to the toner replenishing device 60 in the plane direction orthogonal to the rotation axis. Thereby, the mounting of the toner container 32 to the toner supply device 60 is completed.

  In a state where the toner container 32 is completely installed, the drive motor 603 is rotated to rotate the toner bottle 33 of the toner container 32 and the transport screw 614 in the transport nozzle 611. As the toner bottle 33 rotates, the toner in the toner bottle 33 is conveyed to the front end side of the toner bottle 33 by the spiral protrusion 302. The toner that has reached the pumping unit 304 by this conveyance is lifted above the nozzle opening 610 by the pumping unit 304 as the toner bottle 33 rotates. The toner that has been lifted above the nozzle opening 610 falls into the nozzle opening 610, whereby the toner is supplied into the transport nozzle 611. The toner supplied into the transport nozzle 611 is transported by the transport screw 614 and supplied to the developing device 50 through the toner dropping transport path 64. In FIG. 9, the flow of toner from the toner bottle 33 to the toner dropping / conveying path 64 at this time is indicated by an arrow β in FIG.

  9 indicates a position where the tip opening forming portion 305 is slidably in contact with the container setting portion 615 and the toner container 32 is positioned with respect to the toner replenishing device 60. This position is not limited to a configuration having both functions of the sliding portion and the positioning portion, and may have a configuration having either function of the sliding portion or the positioning portion.

  The nozzle receiving member 330 of the toner container 32 has a nozzle receiving port 331, a shutter support opening 335 b, and a container shutter member 332. A nozzle receiving port 331 provided at the position of the opening of the toner bottle 33 receives a transport nozzle 611 having a nozzle opening 610 that is a powder receiving port. The shutter support opening 335 b functions as a replenishing port for supplying toner, which is powder in the toner bottle 33, to the nozzle opening 610 at least partially. Further, the container shutter member 332 is supported by the nozzle receiving member 330, and is opened and closed to slide the moving nozzle 611 in the direction of the rotation axis and open / close the nozzle receiving port 331 by an operation of inserting or extracting the conveying nozzle 611 from the nozzle receiving member 330. Functions as a member. With such a configuration, the toner container 32 maintains the state in which the nozzle receiving port 331 is closed until the transport nozzle 611 is inserted, and the toner leakage in the state before being attached to the toner supply device 60. And can prevent scattering.

  When the transport nozzle 611 is inserted into the nozzle receiving port 331 and the container shutter member 332 pushed by the transport nozzle 611 slides toward the back of the container, the toner accumulated in the vicinity of the shutter support opening 335b is pushed away. For this reason, it is possible to secure a space for the conveyance nozzle 611 in the portion where the nozzle receiving port 331 is formed to enter the periphery of the shutter support opening 335b, and to reliably supply toner from the shutter support opening 335b to the nozzle receiving port 331. Yes. As described above, the toner container 32 is reliably attached to the toner replenishing device 60 when it is attached to the toner replenishing device 60 while preventing leakage and scattering of the toner stored in the toner bottle 33 in a state before the toner replenishing device 60 is attached. The toner can be discharged out of the toner bottle 33.

  In FIGS. 1 and 9, toner may be scattered from the nozzle opening 610 and the nozzle receiving port 331. The container setting portion 615 on the toner replenishing device 60 side and the tip end portion of the tip opening forming portion 305 on the toner container 32 side are separated from these openings in any state before and after the toner container 32 is mounted. Yes. Therefore, the toner leaks from the nozzle receiving port 331 before the toner container 32 is mounted, and the contact portion between the container seal member 333 and the transport nozzle 611 in a state where the toner container 32 is mounted on the toner supply device 60. Can be prevented. Further, the container setting unit 615 on the toner supply device 60 side is separated from the nozzle opening 610 when the toner container 32 is attached or detached. Further, the tip end portion of the tip opening forming portion 305 on the toner container 32 side is separated from the container shutter member 332.

  The container shutter member 332 that seals the nozzle receiving port 331 that is a toner discharge portion in the toner container 32 is disposed on the rear end side (back side) from the front end side end portion of the front end opening forming portion 305 of the toner bottle 33. Has been. Accordingly, a certain distance is secured from the container shutter member 332 with respect to the distal end side end of the distal opening forming portion 305. In such a configuration, the toner goes around the opening position of the toner bottle 33 from the nozzle receiving port 331 located on the back side of the opening position of the toner bottle 33. Thereby, the toner can be prevented from reaching the outer peripheral surface side of the tip opening forming portion 305, and the occurrence of toner scattering can be suppressed.

  Positioning in the direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the toner container 32 with respect to the toner replenishing device 60 is performed by fitting the outer peripheral surface of the tip opening forming portion 305 and the cylindrical inner peripheral surface (615a) of the container setting portion 615. ing. That is, the outer peripheral surface of the tip opening forming portion 305 of the toner bottle 33 that is a powder storage member is a positioning portion for the toner replenishing device 60 that is a powder conveying device. For this reason, if toner contamination occurs on the outer peripheral surface side of the tip opening forming portion 305, the fitting state with the inner peripheral surface of the container setting portion 615 may change, and the positioning accuracy may decrease. Therefore, the toner container 32 according to the embodiment suppresses the toner from reaching the outer peripheral surface side of the tip opening forming portion 305, and stabilizes the positioning accuracy of the toner container 32 with respect to the toner supply device 60. ing.

  The contact portion between the outer peripheral surface of the tip opening forming portion 305 and the inner peripheral surface of the container setting portion 615 is in a sliding relationship when the toner container 32 rotates. That is, the outer peripheral surface of the tip opening forming portion 305 of the toner bottle 33 that is a powder storage member is a sliding portion with the toner replenishing device 60 that is a powder conveying device. When the toner enters the sliding portion, the sliding load increases and the rotational torque of the toner container 32 may increase. In contrast, the toner container 32 according to the embodiment suppresses the toner from reaching the outer peripheral surface side of the tip opening forming portion 305, and the toner enters the contact portion with the inner peripheral surface of the container setting portion 615. This can be suppressed. For this reason, it is possible to suppress an increase in the rotational load of the toner container 32 by suppressing an increase in the sliding load and stabilizing the slidability. Further, since the toner can be prevented from entering the sliding portion, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of toner aggregates due to the toner being pressed and solidified by the sliding portion.

  When the toner container 32 is attached to the toner supply device 60, the container seal member 333 is crushed by the nozzle shutter collar 612a. As a result, the nozzle shutter collar 612a is brought into close contact with the container seal member 333, and toner leakage can be prevented more reliably. By arranging the container shutter member 332 on the inner side (rear end side) in the longitudinal direction from the opening position, the space between the front end of the toner container 32 and the end surfaces on the front end side of the container shutter member 332 and the container seal member 333 is provided. A cylindrical space is formed.

Next, a characteristic configuration of the copier according to the embodiment will be described.
In FIG. 10, the toner bottle 33 as a storage unit has a cover claw hook 306, a container rotation gear 301, and a pumping unit 304 at the tip which is one end in the rotation axis direction. As shown in FIG. 6, the tip portion is received and held rotatably in a container tip cover 34 as a holding portion.

  As shown in FIG. 10, a protruding portion 304 g that protrudes from the outer peripheral surface is provided in a partial region in the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface of the pumping portion 304. The revolution radius of the protrusion 304 g around the rotation axis of the toner bottle 33 is larger than the radius of the container rotation gear 301.

  FIG. 19 is a cross-sectional view showing the set cover 608 in the toner replenishing device 60 and the front end portion of the toner storage 34 that is received in the set cover 608. Two protrusions 304 g described above are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the pumping part 304 of the toner bottle 33. These protruding portions 304g are present at point-symmetrical positions (positions that are 180 ° out of phase) about the rotation axis of the toner bottle 33.

  The protruding amount of the protruding portion 304g from the outer peripheral surface of the pumping portion 304 is the diameter (radius) of the revolution orbit of the outer edge of the protruding portion 304g around the rotation axis of the toner bottle 33, and the inner diameter ( It is set to a value smaller than (radius). A very small gap is interposed between the outer edge of the protruding portion 304 b of the pumping portion 304 received inside the container tip cover 34 and the inner peripheral surface of the container tip cover 34. For this reason, the protrusion 304g revolves around the rotation axis inside the container tip cover 34 as the pumping portion 304 rotates.

  If the tip of the toner bottle 33 uses an eccentric motion inside the container tip cover 34, one of the two protrusions 304 g provided on the pumping portion 304 is on the inner peripheral surface of the container tip cover 34. It strikes and stops the eccentric movement. For this reason, the front end portion of the toner bottle 33 rotates on a substantially circular rotation path inside the container front end cover 34.

  The container front end cover 34 that receives the pumping portion 304 inside has two locking openings 339 provided at predetermined positions in the circumferential direction thereof. These lock openings 339 exist at point-symmetric positions around the rotation axis of the toner bottle 33.

  The set cover 608 holds the two container lock members 609 so as to be slidable. The container lock member 609 is urged by the screw recoil spring 616 along the guide groove provided in the set cover 608 from the outside of the set cover 608 toward the rotation axis side of the toner bottle 33. The rear end portion of the container lock member 609 is thicker than the front end portion, and the rear end portion of the container lock member 609 urged by the torsion coil spring 616 toward the rotation axis is provided in the guide groove. It is caught in. Thereby, the container locking member 609 biased by the torsion coil spring 616 is locked at a predetermined position in the biasing direction.

  In a state where the front end portion of the toner container 32 is received in the set cover 608, the front end portion of the locked container lock member 609 passes through the lock opening 339 of the container front end cover 34 of the toner container 32. And enters the inside of the container front end cover 34. However, as shown, the outer peripheral surface of the pumping portion 304 of the toner bottle 33 is not reached. That is, the front end of the container lock member 609 in a locked state exists in the clearance between the inner peripheral surface of the container front end cover 34 and the outer peripheral surface of the pumping portion 304 of the toner bottle 33.

  The position of the front end of the locked container lock member 609 will be described in more detail as follows. That is, in the radial direction centering on the rotation axis of the toner bottle 33, the position is outside the outer peripheral surface of the pumping portion 304 of the toner bottle 33 and inside the revolution track of the protruding portion 304 g of the pumping portion 304. Since it is inside (close to the rotation axis) of the revolution track of the protruding portion 304g, the protruding portion 304g of the pumping portion 304 is in contact with the container lock member 609 as the toner bottle 33 rotates as shown in FIG. When moved to the vicinity of the facing position, the container lock member 609 and the protruding portion 304g come into contact with each other.

  The two container lock members 609 are disposed at point-symmetric positions around the rotation axis of the toner bottle 33. For this reason, as shown in the figure, when one of the two projecting portions 304g starts to contact one container lock member 609 by revolving around the rotation axis, the other projecting portion 304g also contacts the other container lock member 609. Start touching. For this reason, the toner bottle 33 tries to keep rotating on a substantially circular path without being eccentric.

  The container lock member 609 that has started to come into contact with the protruding portion 304g is pushed outward from the inside in the radial direction around the rotation axis by the protruding portion 304g. As a result, the container lock member 609 moves from the inner side to the outer side in the radial direction against the biasing force of the torsion coil spring 616. That is, the container locking member 609 as a contact displacement member displaces its own position in a direction away from the protruding portion 304g with the contact with the protruding portion 304g. As a result, as shown in FIG. 21, the container lock member 609 moves to a position where the protruding portion 304g can be completely removed, so that the toner bottle 33 rotates on a substantially circular rotation path centering on the rotation axis. Can continue.

  As shown in FIG. 20, when the protruding portion 304g that revolves around the rotation axis comes into contact with the container lock member 609, a force for preventing the rotation of the toner bottle 33 is applied to the protruding portion 304g. Due to the impact at this time, the toner contained in the toner bottle 33 can be imparted with vibration to loosen the aggregate of toner contained in the toner.

  In addition, when the protruding portion 304g moves away from the container lock member 609 that has been in contact with the rotation about the rotation axis, the protrusion 304g has been lifted by friction between the container lock member 609 and the container lock member 609. The drive torque decreases to a normal value at once. As a result, the rotation speed of the toner bottle 33 rapidly increases for a moment, thereby applying vibration to the toner in the toner bottle 33. The vibrations at this time can also loosen the toner agglomerates contained in the toner.

  FIG. 23 is a graph showing the relationship between the distance from the bottle rotation center at the tip of the container lock member 609 and the bottle rotation angle. In the drawing, the contact angle region represents the rotation angle region of the toner bottle 33 where the container lock member 609 and the protrusion 304g come into contact with each other. As shown in the drawing, the tip of the container locking member 609 that has started contact with the protruding portion 304g expands the above-mentioned distance at a stretch to the revolution radius of the protruding portion 304g. As a result, the container lock member 609 moves to a position where the protruding portion 304g can be removed, and begins to rub against the protruding portion 304g. Further, as the toner bottle 33 rotates, the tip of the container lock member 609 that has started to be separated from the protruding portion 304g contracts the aforementioned distance to the original value at once.

  As described above, in the toner replenishing device 60 according to the embodiment, the toner agglomerates in the toner bottle 33 can be loosened without causing the toner bottle 33 serving as the storage portion to perform a large eccentric motion.

  Although the example in which the lock opening 339 for receiving the displaceable container lock member 609 from the outside of the container tip cover 34 as a holding portion is provided in the container tip cover 34 has been described, The container lock member 609 may be held displaceably.

  The container lock member 609 functions as a locking means that locks the container tip cover 34 in a state of being inserted into the lock opening 339. Thus, by making the container lock member 609 function not only as a contact displacement member but also as a locking means, the layout can be simplified as compared with the case where each is provided separately.

Next, an example in which a more characteristic configuration is added to the copying machine according to the embodiment will be described. Unless otherwise specified, the configuration of the copying machine according to the example is the same as that of the embodiment.
FIG. 24 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the set cover 608 and the tip of the toner container 32 received in the set cover in the toner supply device according to the embodiment. In the toner replenishing device according to the embodiment, the following taper is provided on the protruding portion 304g. That is, the taper moves away from the rotation axis as it goes from the upstream side to the downstream side in the rotation direction of the toner bottle 33.

  FIG. 25 is a graph showing the relationship between the distance from the bottle rotation center at the tip of the container lock member 609 of the toner supply device according to the embodiment and the bottle rotation angle. As shown in the drawing, the above-mentioned distance is gradually increased at the tip of the container lock member 609 that has started contact with the protruding portion 304g provided with the taper. Then, at the timing immediately before the separation from the protrusion 304g, the above-described distance is increased to the revolution radius of the protrusion 304g. As a result, after removing the protruding portion 304g, it is separated from the protruding portion 304g, and the aforementioned distance is reduced to the original value at once.

  In such a configuration, when the projecting portion 304g and the container lock member 609 start to contact with each other, the impact force applied to both is reduced. Thereby, generation | occurrence | production of the damage of the protrusion part 304g and the container lock member 609 by the impact at the time of a contact can be suppressed.

Next, modified examples of the copying machine according to the embodiment will be described. Unless otherwise specified below, the configuration of the copying machine according to each modification is the same as that of the embodiment.
FIG. 26 is a cross-sectional view showing the container lock member 609 in the toner replenishing device according to the first modification and the front end portion of the toner bottle 33 just before being received in the set cover of the toner replenishing device. The two container locking members 609 are cantilevered by supporting means (not shown) in a posture that extends in the bottle rotation axis direction. Then, the free end side is directed to the bottle rear end.

  The free end of the container lock member 609 is bent at an angle of approximately 90 ° from the direction extending in the bottle rotation axis direction to the bottle rotation axis direction. And this bent part is a lock claw. When the leading end of the toner container 32 begins to be inserted into a set cover (not shown), the two container lock members 609 contact the lock claws with the outer surface of the container leading cover 34 of the toner container 32 as shown in the figure. . Then, the container lock member 609 is bent from the rotation axis direction by the length of the lock claw.

  Thereafter, when the toner container 32 is completely received inside the set cover (not shown), the lock claw of the container lock member 609 enters the lock opening 339 of the container tip cover 34 as shown in FIG. At this time, the container lock member 609 in a bent state returns to the original position all at once, so that the outer surface of the container tip cover 34 is hit. Thus, vibration can be applied to the toner in the toner bottle 33 to loosen the toner agglomerates.

  FIG. 28 is a cross-sectional view showing the container lock member 609 in the toner replenishing device according to the second modification and the tip of the toner container 32 just before being received in the set cover of the toner replenishing device. The two container lock members 609 are biased toward the rotation axis direction by a coil spring 617 in a posture extending perpendicularly to the bottle rotation axis direction.

  When the leading end of the toner container 32 begins to be inserted into a set cover (not shown), the two container locking members 609 come into contact with the outer surface of the container leading cover 34 of the toner container 32 as illustrated. Thereafter, when the toner container 32 is completely received inside the set cover (not shown), the container lock member 609 enters the lock opening 339 as shown in FIG. At this time, the tip of the container lock member 609 urged by the coil spring 617 hits the outer surface of the container tip cover 34. Thus, vibration can be applied to the toner in the toner bottle 33 to loosen the toner agglomerates.

What has been described above is merely an example, and the present invention has a specific effect for each of the following modes.
[Aspect A]
Aspect A includes a rotatable storage portion (for example, toner bottle 33) for storing powder, and a holding portion (for example, a container tip) that receives one end portion in the rotation axis direction of the storage portion and holds it rotatably. A cover 34), and the powder accommodated in the accommodating part is conveyed from the other end side to the one end side in the rotation axis direction of the accommodating part with the rotation of the accommodating part, and the accommodating In a powder container (for example, toner container 32) that discharges powder that has moved to one end in the direction of the rotation axis of the unit, the diameter of its orbit around the rotation axis is the inner diameter of the holding unit. A protrusion (for example, a protrusion 304g) that protrudes from the outer peripheral surface of the one end with a smaller protrusion amount is provided at the one end, and is in contact with the protrusion of the accommodating portion rotated to a predetermined rotation angle. Whether the holding portion is provided with a contact displacement member (for example, a container locking member 609) that is disposed and displaces its own position in a direction away from the protruding portion in contact with the protruding portion. Alternatively, an opening (for example, a lock opening 339) for receiving the contact displacement member from the outside to the inside of the holding portion is provided in the holding portion.

[Aspect B]
Aspect B is a powder replenishing device having a powder container for storing powder, and a conveying means (for example, toner dropping conveyance path 64Y) for conveying the powder discharged from the powder container to a replenishment destination. The powder container of claim 1 is used as the powder container.

[Aspect C]
Aspect C (for example) is characterized in that, in aspect B, the tip of the contact displacement member is provided with a taper that moves away from the rotation axis as it goes from the upstream side to the downstream side in the rotation direction of the housing portion. To do. In such a configuration, it is possible to reduce the impact applied to both when the contact displacement member and the protruding portion are brought into contact with each other, and to suppress the occurrence of damage to both due to the impact.

[Aspect D]
Aspect D is the aspect B or C, wherein the contact displacement member is disposed separately from the holding portion, the opening is provided in the holding portion, and the holding portion is locked in a state of being inserted into the opening. The contact displacing member is made to function as the locking means. In such a configuration, by making the contact displacement member function as a locking means, the layout can be simplified as compared with the case where each is provided separately.

32: Toner container (powder container)
33: Toner bottle (container)
34: Container tip cover (holding part)
46Y, M, C, K: Image forming section (image forming means)
60: Toner supply device (powder supply device)
64Y: Toner dropping conveyance path (conveying means)
304 g: Projection 339: Locking opening (opening)
609: Container lock member (contact displacement member)

JP 2007-65613 A JP-A-11-327275

Claims (5)

A rotatable storage part for storing powder, and the powder stored in the storage part is directed from the other end side to the one end side in the rotation axis direction of the storage part as the storage part rotates. In the powder container for discharging the powder moved to one end side in the rotation axis direction of the storage unit to the outside,
In a state facing the outer peripheral surface, a holding portion that receives at least a partial region in the rotation axis direction of the storage portion and holds it rotatably inside, a protruding portion that protrudes from the outer peripheral surface of the storage portion, and It is arrange | positioned so that it may contact with the said protrusion part of the said accommodating part rotated to the predetermined | prescribed rotation angle, and its position with the contact with the said protrusion part is separated from the said protrusion part along the rotation radial direction of the said accommodating part. set and said protrusion dodge-contact displacement member by displacing away,
The protruding portion is arranged so as to protrude from the outer peripheral surface of the housing portion with a protruding amount that makes the diameter of its revolution track around the rotation axis smaller than the inner diameter of the holding portion,
and,
A powder container , wherein the contact displacement member is disposed in the holding portion, or an opening for receiving the contact displacement member from the outside to the inside of the holding portion is provided in the holding portion . . In a powder replenishing device having a powder container for storing powder, and a conveying means for conveying the powder discharged from the powder container to a replenishment destination,
A powder replenishing apparatus using the powder container of claim 1 as the powder container. The powder replenishing device according to claim 2 ,
The taper away from the axis of rotation toward the downstream side from the upstream side in the rotation direction of the front Symbol housing part, a powder supply device, characterized in that provided at the tip portion of the contact displacement member. The powder supply device according to claim 3 ,
Disposing the contact displacement member separately from the holding portion;
Providing the opening in the holding portion;
In addition, the powder replenishing device, wherein the contact displacement member is made to function as a locking means for locking the holding portion in a state of being inserted into the opening. An image forming apparatus comprising: an image forming unit that forms a toner image; and a toner supply device that supplies toner as powder to the image forming unit.
Said toner replenishing device, an image forming apparatus characterized by using any of the powder supply device of claims 2 to 4.

Images