JP7539042B2 - Image forming device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus .

In image forming devices such as copiers, printers, and facsimiles that use electrophotographic processes, a latent image formed on a photoconductor is made visible with toner in a developing device, but since toner is consumed by developing the latent image, it is necessary to replenish toner in the developing device. For this reason, a toner replenishing device serving as a powder supply device provided in the main body of the device transports toner from a toner container serving as a powder storage container to the developing device, and replenishes toner into the developing device. This developing device that replenishes toner enables continuous development. In addition, the toner container is detachable from the toner replenishing device, and when the toner stored inside runs out, it is replaced with a toner container that contains new toner.

It is desirable to effectively prevent toner leakage from a toner receiving port of the main body of an image forming apparatus that receives toner discharged from a toner container.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an image forming device body having a toner receiving port that receives toner discharged from a toner container and a shutter that slides parallel to the attachment /detachment direction of the toner container to close or open the toner receiving port , and a toner container in which at least a portion of the shutter is stored and which has an opening that opens facing the attachment/detachment direction of the toner container, and which is characterized in that the shutter slides in the stored state.

According to the present invention, there is an excellent effect that the shutter can effectively prevent toner leakage from the toner receiving port of the main body of the image forming apparatus .

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of the toner container and the toner supply device before the toner container is attached. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a copying machine according to an embodiment. FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a state in which a toner container is installed in a toner supply device in the copier. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which a toner container is installed in a toner-container housing of the copier; FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the toner container and the toner supply device before the toner container is attached. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the toner container and the toner supply device with the toner container attached; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of the toner container and the toner supply device in a state where the toner container is attached. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the toner container with the container front cover removed; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the toner container with the nozzle receiver removed from the container body; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the toner container with the nozzle receiver removed from the container body. 13 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of the toner container in a state where the nozzle receiver is attached to the container body from the state shown in FIG. 12 . FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a nozzle receiving member as viewed from the tip side of a container; FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the nozzle receiver as viewed from the rear end side of the container. FIG. 14 is a top cross-sectional view of the nozzle receiving member in the state shown in FIG. 13 . FIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view of the nozzle receiving member in the state shown in FIG. 13 . FIG. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the toner container has fallen downward with its rear end side facing downward. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of a toner container having a second shutter removal prevention claw before being set in the apparatus main body. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the toner container having the second shutter removal prevention claw is set in the main body of the apparatus. FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective explanatory view of the nozzle shutter as viewed from the nozzle tip side. FIG. 4 is a perspective explanatory view of the nozzle shutter as viewed from the nozzle base side. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the vicinity of a conveying nozzle of the toner supply device. FIG. 4 is a perspective cross-sectional explanatory view of the vicinity of a nozzle opening of a conveying nozzle. FIG. 13 is a perspective explanatory view of the vicinity of the conveying nozzle with the nozzle shutter removed, as viewed from the nozzle tip side. FIG. 4 is a perspective view illustrating the vicinity of a nozzle opening with a nozzle shutter removed. 11 is a timing chart showing a configuration in which the toner container is rotated first and then the conveying screw is rotated. 1A and 1B are explanatory diagrams of a drive transmission unit configured to cause the toner container and the conveying screw to rotate at different timings using the same drive source, FIG. 1A being a front view, and FIG. Schematic diagram of a toner container attached to a toner supply device, (a) is an explanatory diagram when the end face of the tip opening and the end face of the nozzle receiving member are positioned at the same position in the rotational axis direction, and (b) is an explanatory diagram when the end face of the nozzle receiving member is closer to the rear end of the container than the end face of the tip opening. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the toner container during storage. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the vicinity of the end portion on the container tip side of the toner container with the cap attached. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a first example of a toner container having an adsorbent provided in a cap. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a second example of a toner container having an adsorbent provided in a cap. FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a third example of a toner container having an adsorbent provided in a cap. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a first example of a toner container having a cap provided with a toner leakage prevention means; FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view of a second example of a toner container having a cap provided with a toner leakage prevention means; FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a third example of a toner container having a cap provided with a toner leakage prevention means; FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a fourth example of a toner container having a cap provided with a toner leakage prevention means; FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a fifth example of a toner container having a cap provided with a toner leakage prevention means; 13 is a perspective view of a container shutter support member used in a nozzle receiver fixed to a container body by screwing; FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a cross section perpendicular to the rotation axis at the position of the pumping portion. 10 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of a configuration in which the shutter side support portion acts as a bridge means, taken along the line E-E in FIG. 9 . 10A is an explanatory diagram of a configuration not acting as a bridging means, and FIG. 10B is an explanatory diagram of a configuration in which the shutter side support portion 335a acts as a bridging means. 6 is a graph showing the relationship between the amount of remaining toner in a container and the replenishment speed in an example and a comparative example. 1A is an explanatory diagram of a configuration having a pumping rib as a pumping section, FIG. 1A is an explanatory perspective view of a nozzle receiving member, FIG. 1B is an explanatory cross-sectional view of the nozzle receiving member shown in FIG. 1A assembled to a container body, FIG. 1C is an explanatory side cross-sectional view of the entire toner container assembled with the nozzle receiving member shown in FIG. 1A, and FIG. 1D is an explanatory perspective view of a container shutter provided on the toner container shown in FIG. 14A is a perspective view of a toner container according to a fourteenth embodiment with the nozzle receiver removed from the container body, and FIG. 14B is an enlarged view of an engagement protrusion of the receiver. FIG. 23 is a perspective view of the tip end portion of the toner container and the container mounting portion of the fourteenth embodiment. 19A is a cross-sectional view of a toner container in the vicinity of the tip end portion of the toner container, and FIG. 19B is an enlarged explanatory view of a region η in FIG. 19A. 23A and 23B are explanatory views of a toner container according to a sixteenth embodiment, in which FIG. 23A is a perspective view of a nozzle receiver, and FIG. 23B is a perspective view of a container body. 23A and 23B are explanatory views of a toner container according to a seventeenth embodiment, in which FIG. 23A is a perspective view of a nozzle receiver, and FIG. 23B is a perspective view of a container body. 23A is an explanatory diagram of a toner container of embodiment 18, where FIG. 23A is an enlarged perspective view of the tip opening, FIG. 23B is an enlarged perspective view of the receiving member fixing portion, and FIG. 23C is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the tip end portion of the toner container. 23A and 23B are explanatory views of a toner container according to a nineteenth embodiment, in which FIG. 23A is an enlarged perspective view of a tip opening, and FIG. 23B is an enlarged perspective view of a receiving member fixing portion. 4 is a perspective view of a connector fixed to the toner supply device and a tip end of the toner container; FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the container front end portion of the toner container and the connector in a state in which the ID tag holding mechanism is disassembled; FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the container front end portion of the toner container and the connector in a state in which the ID tag is temporarily attached to the holding member; FIG. 3A, 3B, and 3C are three-view diagrams of an ID tag, where (a) is a front view, (b) is a side view, and (c) is a back view. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the relative positional relationship between the ID tag, the holding member, and the connector. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a state in which the ID tag is engaged with the connector. FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram showing an electric circuit of an ID tag and an electric circuit of a connector. 1A is a front view showing a state in which the ID tag is held by a connector, and FIG. 1B is a front view showing a state in which the ID tag is rotated around an ID tag positioning hole portion. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an ID tag in a state where a probe of an electrical conductivity inspection device is in contact with the ID tag. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of a toner container in which the opening position of the nozzle receiving port in the direction of the rotation axis is the same as the end of the tip opening on the tip side of the container, (a) is an explanatory oblique view of the vicinity of the tip side end of the container, and (b) is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of the vicinity of the tip side end of the container. 5A and 5B are explanatory diagrams of a nozzle shutter having a cylindrical sealing member, FIG. 5A being a perspective view and FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the diameter of the outer circumferential surface of the container opening, the inner diameter of the receiver member fixing portion, and the diameters of components such as a container setting portion of the toner supply device. FIG.

<First embodiment>
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in which the present invention is applied to a copying machine (hereinafter, referred to as a copying machine 500) as an image forming apparatus.
2 is a schematic diagram of a copying machine 500 according to this embodiment, which is common to embodiments 1 to 20. The copying machine 500 is composed of 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) that is attached to the printer unit 100.

The toner container storage section 70 provided at the top of the printer section 100 has four toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) corresponding to each color (yellow, magenta, cyan, black) installed in a removable (replaceable) manner as powder storage containers. An intermediate transfer unit 85 is provided below the toner container storage section 70.

The intermediate transfer unit 85 is composed of an intermediate transfer belt 48, four primary transfer bias rollers 49 (Y, M, C, K), a secondary transfer backup roller 82, multiple tension rollers, and an intermediate transfer cleaning device (not shown). The intermediate transfer belt 48 is stretched and supported by multiple 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 multiple roller members.

In the printer unit 100, four image forming units 46 (Y, M, C, K) corresponding to each color are arranged side by side so as to face the intermediate transfer belt 48. In addition, four toner supply devices 60 (Y, M, C, K) corresponding to each of the four toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) are arranged below the four toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K). The toner contained in the toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) is supplied (replenished) by the corresponding toner supply devices 60 (Y, M, C, K) into the developing devices (powder-using units) of the image forming units 46 (Y, M, C, K) corresponding to each color.

As shown in FIG. 2, the printer unit 100 also includes an exposure device 47, which is a latent image forming means, below the four image creating units 46. The exposure device 47 exposes the surface of the photoconductor 41, which will 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, and forms an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the photoconductor 41. The exposure device 47 included in the printer unit 100 uses a laser beam scanner method using a laser diode, but other configurations such as an LED array may also be used as the exposure means.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the schematic configuration of the imaging unit 46Y corresponding to yellow.
The imaging section 46Y includes a drum-shaped photoconductor 41Y that is a latent image carrier. The imaging section 46Y further includes a charging roller 44Y that is a charging means, a developing device 50Y that is a developing means, a photoconductor cleaning device 42Y, a static eliminator (not shown), and the like that are arranged around the photoconductor 41Y. Then, an image forming process (charging process, exposure process, development process, transfer process, cleaning process) is performed on the photoconductor 41Y, and a yellow image is formed on the photoconductor 41Y.

The other three image forming units 46 (M, C, K) are configured in a similar manner to the image forming unit 46Y corresponding to yellow, except that they use different colors of toner, and images of the colors corresponding to the respective toners are formed on the photoconductors 41 (M, C, K). Below, we will omit the explanation of the other three image forming units 46 (M, C, K) as appropriate, and only explain the image forming unit 46Y corresponding to yellow.

The photoconductor 41Y is driven to rotate in the clockwise direction in FIG. 3 by a drive motor (not shown). Then, at a position facing the charging roller 44Y, the surface of the photoconductor 41Y is uniformly charged (charging process). The surface of the photoconductor 41Y then reaches a position irradiated with the laser light 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 photoconductor 41Y then reaches a position facing the development 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 sandwich the intermediate transfer belt 48 between the photoconductors 41 (Y, M, C, K) to form a primary transfer nip. A transfer bias opposite to the polarity of the toner is applied to the primary transfer bias rollers 49 (Y, M, C, K).

The surface of the photoconductor 41Y on which the toner image is formed in the development process reaches the primary transfer nip facing the primary transfer bias roller 49Y across the intermediate transfer belt 48, and the toner image on the photoconductor 41Y is transferred to the intermediate transfer belt 48 at this primary transfer nip (primary transfer process). At this time, a small amount of untransferred toner remains on the photoconductor 41Y. The surface of the photoconductor 41Y, which 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. At this facing position, the untransferred toner remaining on the photoconductor 41Y is mechanically collected by the cleaning blade 42a (cleaning process). Finally, the surface of the photoconductor 41Y reaches a position facing a charge removal device (not shown), and the residual potential on the photoconductor 41Y is removed at this position. In this way, a series of image formation processes performed on the photoconductor 41Y are completed.

This image forming process is also performed in the other image forming units 46 (M, C, K) in the same manner as in the yellow image forming unit 46Y. That is, laser light L based on image information is irradiated onto the photoconductor 41 (M, C, K) of each image forming unit 46 (M, C, K) from the exposure device 47 arranged below the image forming unit 46 (M, C, K). In detail, the exposure device 47 emits laser light L from a light source, and irradiates each photoconductor 41 (M, C, K) through multiple optical elements while scanning the laser light L with a rotating polygon mirror. After that, the toner images of each color formed on each photoconductor 41 (M, C, K) through the development 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 passes through the primary transfer nips of the primary transfer bias rollers 49 (Y, M, C, K) in sequence. As a result, the toner images of each color on each photoconductor 41 (Y, M, C, K) are primarily transferred onto the intermediate transfer belt 48 in a superimposed manner, forming a color toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 48.

The intermediate transfer belt 48, on which the toner images of each color are transferred and superimposed, reaches a position facing the secondary transfer roller 89. At this position, the secondary transfer backup roller 82 pinches the intermediate transfer belt 48 between itself and the secondary transfer roller 89 to form a secondary transfer nip. The color toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt 48 is then transferred onto a recording medium P, such as transfer paper, that has been transported 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. After passing through the secondary transfer nip, the intermediate transfer belt 48 reaches the position of an intermediate transfer cleaning device (not shown), and the untransferred toner on its surface is collected, completing the series of transfer processes performed on the intermediate transfer belt 48.

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

The recording medium P transported to the registration roller pair 28 stops at the roller nip of the registration roller pair 28, which has stopped rotating. Then, in time with the color toner image on the intermediate transfer belt 48 reaching the secondary transfer nip, the registration roller pair 28 is rotated and the recording medium P is transported toward the secondary transfer nip. This causes the desired color toner image to be transferred onto the recording medium P.

The recording medium P onto which the color toner image has been transferred at the secondary transfer nip is transported to the position of the fixing device 86. In the fixing device 86, the color toner image transferred to the surface is fixed onto the recording medium P by heat and pressure from the fixing belt and pressure roller. The recording medium P that has passed through the fixing device 86 passes between the rollers of the discharge roller pair 29 and is discharged outside the device. The recording medium P discharged outside the device by the discharge roller pair 29 is stacked in sequence on the stack section 30 as an output image. In this way, a series of image formation processes in the copier 500 is completed.

Next, the configuration and operation of the developing device 50 in the imaging unit 46 will be described in more detail. Note that the imaging unit 46Y corresponding to yellow will be used as an example for the description here, but the same applies to the imaging units 46 for the other colors (M, C, K).

As shown in FIG. 3, the developing device 50Y is composed of a developing roller 51Y, a doctor blade 52Y, two developer transport screws 55Y, and a toner concentration detection sensor 56Y. The developing roller 51Y faces the photoconductor 41Y, and the doctor blade 52Y faces the developing roller 51Y. The two developer transport screws 55Y are disposed in two developer storage sections (53Y, 54Y). The developing roller 51Y is composed of a magnet roller fixed inside and a sleeve that rotates around the magnet roller. The first developer storage section 53Y and the second developer storage section 54Y store two-component developer G consisting of carrier and toner. The second developer storage section 54Y is connected to the toner drop transport path 64Y through an opening formed above it. The toner concentration detection sensor 56Y detects the toner concentration in the developer G in the second developer storage section 54Y.

The developer G in the developing device 50 is circulated between the first developer storage section 53Y and the second developer storage section 54Y while being stirred by the two developer transport screws 55Y. The developer G in the first developer storage section 53Y is supplied to and carried on the sleeve surface of the developing roller 51Y by the magnetic field formed by the magnet roller in the developing roller 51Y while being transported to one of the developer transport screws 55Y. The sleeve of the developing roller 51Y rotates counterclockwise as shown 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 to a potential of the opposite polarity to the carrier due to frictional charging with the carrier in the developer G, and is electrostatically attracted to the carrier, and is carried on the developing roller 51Y together with the carrier attracted by the magnetic field formed on the developing roller 51Y.

The developer G carried on the developing roller 51Y is transported in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 3 and reaches the doctor section where the doctor blade 52Y and the developing roller 51Y face each other. The amount of developer G on the developing roller 51Y is adjusted as it passes through the doctor section, and then it is transported to the developing area, which is the position facing the photoconductor 41Y. In the developing area, the toner in the developer G is attracted to the latent image formed on the photoconductor 41Y by the developing electric field formed between the developing roller 51Y and the photoconductor 41Y. The developer G remaining on the surface of the developing roller 51Y that has passed through the developing area reaches above the first developer storage section 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 concentration is within a predetermined range. More specifically, the toner contained in the toner container 32Y is replenished into the second developer container 54Y via a toner replenishing device 60Y, which will be described later, in accordance with the amount of toner consumed by development contained in the developer G in the developing device 50Y.
The toner supplied to the second developer container 54Y is mixed and stirred together with the developer G by the two developer transport screws 55Y, and circulates between the first developer container 53Y and the second developer container 54Y.

Next, the toner supply devices 60 (Y, M, C, K) will be described.
Figure 4 is a schematic diagram showing the state in which a toner container 32Y is installed in a toner supply device 60Y, and Figure 5 is a schematic oblique view showing the state in which four toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) are installed in a toner container storage section 70.

The toner in each toner container 32 (Y, M, C, K) installed in the toner container storage unit 70 of the printer unit 100 is appropriately replenished into each developing device 50 (Y, M, C, K) according to the toner consumption in each color developing device 50 (Y, M, C, K). At this time, the toner in each toner container 32 (Y, M, C, K) is 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 toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) have almost the same structure except for the color of the toner used in the image creation process. Therefore, only the toner replenishing device 60Y and toner container 32Y corresponding to yellow will be described below, and the description of the toner replenishing device 60 (M, C, K) and toner container 32 (M, C, K) corresponding to the other three colors will be omitted as appropriate.

The toner supply device 60 (Y, M, C, K) is composed of a toner container storage section 70, a transport nozzle 611 (Y, M, C, K), a transport screw 614 (Y, M, C, K), a toner drop transport path 64 (Y, M, C, K), a container rotation drive section 91 (Y, M, C, K), etc.
When the toner container 32Y moves in the direction of the arrow Q in the figure and is mounted in the toner container storage unit 70 of the printer unit 100, the conveying nozzle 611Y of the toner replenishing device 60Y is inserted from the container tip side of the toner container 32Y in conjunction with the mounting operation. This allows communication between the inside of the toner container 32Y and the inside of the conveying nozzle 611Y. The details of the configuration for communication in conjunction with this mounting operation will be described later.

The toner container 32Y is a generally cylindrical toner bottle, which is a common toner container form for embodiments 1 to 20. It is mainly composed of a container front end cover 34Y that is held non-rotatably in the toner container storage section 70, and a container body 33Y that is integrally formed with a container gear 301Y. The container body 33Y is held rotatably relative to the container front end cover 34Y.

The toner container storage section 70 is mainly composed of a container cover receiving section 73, a container receiving section 72, and an insertion port forming section 71. The container cover receiving section 73 is a section for holding the container tip side cover 34Y of the toner container 32Y, and the container receiving section 72 is a section for holding the container body 33Y of the toner container 32Y. The insertion port forming section 71 is a section that forms an insertion port when the container receiving section 72 and the toner container 32Y are attached. When a body cover (not shown) installed on the front side of the copier 500 (the front side in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 2) is opened, the insertion port forming section 71 of the toner container storage section 70 is exposed. Then, with the longitudinal direction of each toner container 32 (Y, M, C, K) horizontal, the toner container 32 (Y, M, C, K) is attached and detached from the front side of the copier 500 (the toner container 32 is attached and detached in the longitudinal direction). Note that the set cover 608Y in FIG. 4 is part of the container cover receiving portion 73 of the toner container storage unit 70.

The container receiving portion 72 is formed so that its longitudinal length is approximately equal to the longitudinal length of the container body 33Y. In addition, the container cover receiving portion 73 is provided on the container tip side in the longitudinal direction (attachment/detachment direction) of the container receiving portion 72, and the insertion port forming portion 71 is provided on one end side in the longitudinal direction of the container receiving portion 72. Therefore, when the toner container 32Y is attached, the container tip cover 34Y slides on the container receiving portion 72 for a while after passing through the insertion port forming portion 71, and is then attached to the container cover receiving portion 73.

With the container tip cover 34Y attached to the container cover receiving section 73, a rotational drive is input from the container rotation drive section 91Y, which is composed of a drive motor, drive gears, etc., to the container gear 301Y provided on the container body 33Y via the container drive gear 601Y. As a result, the container body 33Y is rotated in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 4. As the container body 33Y itself rotates, the toner contained inside the container body 33Y is transported from the left side to the right side in FIG. 4 along the longitudinal direction of the container body by the helical protrusion 302Y formed in a helical shape on the inner peripheral surface of the container body 33Y. As a result, the toner is supplied from the container tip cover 34Y side into the transport nozzle 611Y.

A transport screw 614Y is disposed in the transport nozzle 611Y, and a rotational drive is input from the container rotation drive unit 91Y to the transport screw gear 605Y, whereby the transport screw 614Y rotates and transports the toner supplied into the transport nozzle 611Y. The downstream end of the transport nozzle 611Y in the transport direction is connected to a toner drop transport path 64Y, and the toner transported by the transport screw 614Y falls by its own weight through the toner drop transport path 64Y to be replenished into the developing device 50Y (second developer storage unit 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 the toner contained therein is almost all consumed and empty). A handle 303 is provided on the end of the toner container 32 opposite the container tip cover 34 in the longitudinal direction, and when replacing the toner container 32, the worker can remove the installed toner container 32 by grasping the handle 303 and pulling it out.

The control unit 90 may calculate the toner consumption amount based on the image information used in the exposure device 47 described above, and may determine that the development device 50Y needs to be supplied with toner. The control unit 90 may also detect that the toner concentration in the development device 50Y has decreased based on the detection result of the toner concentration detection sensor 56Y. In these cases, the control unit 90 controls the container rotation drive unit 91Y to rotate and rotate the container body 33Y and the conveying screw 614Y of the toner container 32Y for a predetermined time to supply toner to the development device 50Y. In addition, since the toner is supplied by rotating the conveying screw 614Y arranged in the conveying nozzle 611Y, the amount of toner supplied from the toner container 32Y can be calculated with high accuracy by detecting the number of rotations of the conveying screw 614Y. When the amount of toner supply calculated cumulatively from the time the toner container 32Y is attached reaches the amount of toner in the toner container 32Y at the time of attachment, it is determined that there is no toner in the toner container 32Y, and a display is displayed on the display unit (not shown) of the copier 500 to prompt the user to replace the toner container 32Y.
In addition, even if the toner concentration detection sensor 56Y detects a decrease in toner concentration, executes a replenishing operation, and repeats the determination of whether the toner concentration has recovered multiple times, there are cases where the toner concentration detection sensor 56Y does not detect that the toner concentration has recovered. In this case, it is determined that there is no toner in the toner container 32Y, and a display prompting the user to replace the toner container 32Y is displayed on the display unit (not shown) of the copier 500.

In the toner supply device 60Y common to the first to twentieth embodiments, the amount of toner supplied to the developing device 50Y is controlled by the rotation speed of the transport screw 614Y. Therefore, the toner that has passed through the transport nozzle 611Y is transported directly to the developing device 50Y via the toner drop transport path 64Y without controlling the amount of toner supplied to the developing device 50Y. Even in the toner supply device 60Y in which the transport nozzle 611Y is inserted into the toner container 32Y as in this embodiment, a toner storage unit such as a toner hopper may be provided. Then, the amount of toner transported from this toner storage unit to the developing device 50Y may be controlled to control the amount of toner supplied to the developing device 50Y.
In addition, in the toner supply device 60Y of the present embodiment, the toner supplied into the conveying nozzle 611Y is conveyed by the conveying screw 614Y, but the configuration for conveying the toner supplied into the conveying nozzle 611Y is not limited to a screw member. As in Patent Document 6, a configuration in which a powder pump is used to generate negative pressure at the opening of the conveying nozzle 611Y may be used, in which a conveying force is applied by something other than a screw member.

In the configuration with a toner storage section, a toner end sensor is installed to detect when the toner stored in the toner storage section falls below a predetermined amount. Then, based on the toner end detection by the toner end sensor, the container body 33Y and the conveying screw 614Y are rotated for a predetermined time to supply toner to the toner storage section. Furthermore, if the toner end detection by the toner end sensor is not canceled even after repeating such control a predetermined number of times, it is assumed that there is no toner in the toner container 32Y, and a display is displayed on the display unit (not shown) of the copier 500 to prompt the user to replace the toner container 32Y. In this way, if the toner container 32Y is configured to detect that there is no toner in it based on the toner end detection by the toner end sensor, there is no need to cumulatively calculate the amount of toner supplied since the toner container 32Y was installed. However, if a toner storage section is not provided, as in the toner supply device 60Y of this embodiment, the toner supply device 60Y can be made smaller, and the entire copier 500 can be made smaller.

Next, the toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) and toner supply devices 60 (Y, M, C, K) of this embodiment, which are common to embodiments 1 to 20, will be described in more detail. As described above, the toner containers 32 (Y, M, C, K) and toner supply devices 60 (Y, M, C, K) have almost the same configuration, except that they use different colors of toner. Therefore, in the following description, the subscripts Y, M, C, K indicating the colors of toner used will be omitted.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the toner container 32 common to embodiments 1 to 20. Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the toner supply device 60 before the toner container 32 is attached and the tip end of the toner container 32, and Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the toner supply device 60 with the toner container 32 attached and the tip end of the toner container 32.
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of a toner supply device 60 before a toner container 32 is attached and the end of the toner container 32 at the tip of the container, and FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of a toner supply device 60 with a toner container 32 attached and the end of the toner container 32 at the tip of the container.

The toner supply device 60 includes a conveying nozzle 611 with a conveying screw 614 inside. The toner supply device 60 also includes a nozzle shutter 612. The nozzle shutter 612 closes the nozzle opening 610 formed in the conveying nozzle 611 when the toner container 32 is not attached (the state shown in Figs. 1 and 7), and opens the nozzle opening 610 when the toner container 32 is attached (the state shown in Figs. 8 and 9). Meanwhile, a nozzle receiving opening 331 into which the conveying nozzle 611 is inserted when the toner container 32 is attached is formed in the center of the tip surface of the toner container 32, and the device includes a container shutter 332 that closes the nozzle receiving opening 331 when the toner container 32 is not attached.

First, the toner container 32 will be described.
As described above, the toner container 32 is mainly composed of the container body 33 and the container front end cover 34. Fig. 10 is a perspective explanatory view of the toner container 32 with the container front end cover 34 removed. As shown in Fig. 10, the toner container 32 with the container front end cover 34 removed is composed of the container body 33 and a nozzle receiver 330 that forms a nozzle receiving opening 331.
Fig. 11 is an explanatory perspective view of the toner container 32 with the nozzle receiver 330 removed from the container body 33, and Fig. 12 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of the toner container 32 with the nozzle receiver 330 removed from the container body 33. Fig. 13 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of the toner container 32 with the nozzle receiver 330 attached to the container body 33 from the state shown in Fig. 12 (the toner container 32 with the container front end cover 34 removed as in Fig. 10).

The container body 33 is substantially cylindrical and rotates around the central axis of the cylinder. Hereinafter, the direction parallel to this rotation axis will be referred to as the "rotation axis direction", and the side of the toner container 32 where the nozzle receiving port 331 is formed (the side where the container tip cover 34 is arranged) will be referred to as the "container tip side" in the rotation axis direction. In addition, the side of the toner container 32 where the handle portion 303 is arranged (the side opposite to the container tip side) will be referred to as the "container rear end side". The longitudinal direction of the toner container 32 described above is the rotation axis direction, and when the toner container 32 is attached to the toner supply device 60, the rotation axis direction is horizontal. The outer diameter of the container rear end side of the container gear 301 of the container body 33 is larger than that of the container tip side, and a spiral protrusion 302 is formed on the inner peripheral surface. When the container body 33 rotates in the direction of the arrow A in the figure, the toner in the container body 33 is given a transport force from one end side (the rear end side of the container) to the other end side (the front end side of the container) in the rotation axis direction by the action of the spiral protrusion 302.

A pumping portion 304 is formed on the inner wall of the container body 33 at the container tip side, which pumps up the toner conveyed to the container tip side by the spiral projection 302 as the container body 33 rotates in the direction of the arrow A in the figure, by the rotation of the container body 33. The pumping portion 304 is composed of a convex portion 304h and a pumping wall surface 304f. The convex portion 304h is a portion that protrudes inwardly from the container body 33 so as to form a ridgeline of a mountain toward the center of rotation of the container body 33 while forming a spiral. The pumping wall surface 304f is a wall surface that is downstream as viewed from the container rotation direction, among the wall surfaces of the protruding portion that connects from the convex portion 304h (ridgeline) to the inner wall of the circumferential surface of the container body 33. When the pumping wall surface 304f is in a downward position, the toner that has entered the internal space facing the pumping portion 304 by the conveying force of the spiral projection 302 is pumped upward by the pumping wall surface 304f in accordance with the rotation of the container body 33. This allows the toner to be pumped upward above the inserted conveying nozzle 611.
As shown in Figures 1 and 10, a helical projection 304a is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the pumping portion 304 so as to transport the toner inside in the same manner as the helical projection 302.

A container gear 301 is formed further toward the container tip side than the pumping portion 304 of the container body 33. The container tip cover 34 is provided with a gear exposure opening 34a so that a part of the container gear 301 (the rear side in FIG. 6) is exposed when the container tip cover 34 is attached to the container body 33. Then, by mounting the toner container 32 to the toner supply device 60, the container gear 301 exposed from the gear exposure opening 34a meshes with the container drive gear 601 on the toner supply device 60 side.

A cylindrical container opening 33a is formed on the container body 33 further toward the container tip side than the container gear 301. Then, by press-fitting a receiver fixing portion 337 of the nozzle receiver 330 into this container opening 33a, the nozzle receiver 330 can be fixed to the container body 33. The method of fixing the nozzle receiver 330 is not limited to press-fitting, and it may also be fixed by adhesive or by screwing.
The toner container 32 is configured such that after the toner is filled into the container body 33 through the opening of the container opening 33 a, the nozzle receiver 330 is fixed to the container opening 33 a of the container body 33 .

A cover claw hook 306 is formed on the end of the container opening 33a of the container body 33 on the container gear 301 side. The container tip cover 34 is attached to the toner container 32 (container body 33) in the state shown in FIG. 10 from the container tip side (lower left side in FIG. 10). As a result, the container body 33 penetrates the container tip cover 34 in the rotation axis direction, and the cover claw 341 provided on the upper part of the container tip cover 34 hooks onto the cover claw hook 306. The cover claw hook 306 is formed to go around the outer periphery of the container opening 33a, and the hooking of the cover claw 341 allows the container body 33 and the container tip cover 34 to be attached so as to be rotatable relative to each other.

The container body 33 is molded by biaxial stretch blow molding (see Patent Documents 1 to 3). This biaxial stretch blow molding method generally consists of two steps: a preform molding step and a stretch blow molding step. In the preform molding step, a test tube-shaped preform is molded by injection molding using resin. The injection molding at this time forms the container opening 33a, the cover claw hook portion 306, and the container gear 301 at the mouth of the test tube. In the stretch blow molding step, the preform is cooled after the preform molding step and removed from the mold, and then heated to soften it, and is then blow molded and stretched.

In the container body 33, the container rear end side from the container gear 301 is molded by the stretch blow molding process. That is, the pumping portion 304, the portion where the spiral projection 302 is formed, and the grip portion 303 are molded by the stretch blow molding process.
In the container body 33, each part from the container gear 301 to the container tip side, such as the container gear 301, the container opening 33a, and the cover claw hook part 306, has the shape of the injection molded preform as it is, and can be molded with high precision. On the other hand, the pumping part 304, the part where the spiral projection 302 is formed, and the grip part 303 are molded by stretching in the stretch blow molding process after injection molding, and therefore the molding precision is inferior to that of the preform molded part.

Next, the nozzle receiver 330 fixed to the container body 33 will be described.
Fig. 14 is an explanatory perspective view of the nozzle receiver 330 as viewed from the front end side of the container, and Fig. 15 is an explanatory perspective view of the nozzle receiver 330 as viewed from the rear end side of the container. Fig. 16 is a top cross-sectional view of the nozzle receiver 330 as viewed from above in the state shown in Fig. 13, and Fig. 17 is a cross-sectional view of the nozzle receiver 330 as viewed from the side (the back side in Fig. 13) in the state shown in Fig. 13. Furthermore, Fig. 18 is an exploded perspective view of the nozzle receiver 330.

The nozzle receiving member 330 is composed of a container shutter support member 340, a container shutter 332, a container seal 333, a container shutter spring 336, and a receiving member fixing part 337. The container shutter support member 340 is composed of a shutter rear end support part 335, a shutter side support part 335a, and a receiving member fixing part 337, and the container shutter spring 336 is composed of a coil spring.

The container shutter 332 is composed of a tip cylindrical portion 332c, a sliding portion 332d, a guide rod 332e, and a shutter removal prevention claw 332a. The tip cylindrical portion 332c is a portion on the tip side of the container that is in close contact with the cylindrical opening (nozzle receiving port 331) of the container seal 333. The sliding portion 332d is a cylindrical portion formed on the rear end side of the container from the tip cylindrical portion 332c, has a slightly larger outer diameter than the tip cylindrical portion 332c, and slides on the inner circumferential surface of a pair of shutter side support portions 335a. The guide rod 332e is a pillar that stands from the inside of the cylinder of the tip cylindrical portion 332c toward the rear end side of the container, and is a rod portion that is inserted into the inside of the coil of the container shutter spring 336 to guide the container shutter spring 336 so that it does not buckle. The shutter removal prevention claws 332a are provided at the end opposite the raised base of the guide rod 332e and are a pair of claws that prevent the container shutter 332 from falling off from the container shutter support member 340.

16 and 17, the tip end of the container shutter spring 336 abuts against the inner wall surface of the tip cylindrical portion 332c, and the rear end of the container shutter spring 336 abuts against the wall surface of the shutter rear end support portion 335. At this time, since the container shutter spring 336 is in a compressed state, the container shutter 332 receives a biasing force in a direction away from the shutter rear end support portion 335 (to the right in FIGS. 16 and 17, toward the container tip). However, the shutter removal prevention claw 332a formed at the end of the container rear end side of the container shutter 332 hooks onto the outer wall surface of the shutter rear end support portion 335. This prevents the container shutter 332 from moving in a direction away from the shutter rear end support portion 335 more than in the state shown in FIGS. 16 and 17. Positioning is performed by the hooking of the shutter removal prevention claw 332a on the shutter rear end support portion 335 and the biasing force of the container shutter spring 336. In more detail, the tip cylindrical portion 332c, which functions to prevent toner leakage of the container shutter 332, and the container seal 333 are positioned in the axial direction relative to the container shutter support member 340. The two are positioned in a tight contact relationship, preventing toner leakage.

The receiving member fixing portion 337 is cylindrical in shape with the diameters of the outer and inner surfaces gradually decreasing toward the rear end of the container. The diameters decrease from the front end of the container to the rear end of the container. There are two outer diameter portions on the outer surface (outer diameters AA and BB, in order from the front end of the container) and five inner diameter portions on the inner surface (outer diameters CC, DD, EE, FF, and GG, in order from the front end of the container). The boundary between outer surface AA and outer surface BB on the outer surface is connected by a tapered surface. The boundary between the fourth inner diameter portion FF and the fifth inner diameter portion GG on the inner surface is also connected by a tapered surface. The inner diameter portion FF of the inner surface and the tapered surface connected to it correspond to the seal member entrapment prevention space 337b described later, and the ridges of these surfaces correspond to the sides of a pentagonal cross section described later.

As shown in Figures 16 to 18, a pair of shutter side support parts 335a, which are in the form of pieces formed by cutting a cylinder in the axial direction, protrude from the receiving member fixing part 337 toward the rear end of the container, facing each other. The ends of the two shutter side support parts 335a toward the rear end of the container are connected to the shutter rear end support part 335, which is cup-shaped with an oval-shaped hole in the center of the bottom. The two shutter side support parts 335a face each other to form a cylindrical space S1 that can be recognized by their inner wall cylindrical surfaces and the virtual cylindrical surface of their extension. The receiving member fixing part 337 has an inner diameter part GG, which is the fifth part from the tip, as a cylindrical inner peripheral surface whose inner diameter is the same as the diameter of the cylindrical space S1. The sliding part 332d of the container shutter 332 slides on this cylindrical space S1 and the cylindrical inner peripheral surface GG. The third inner peripheral surface EE of the receiving member fixing portion 337 is an imaginary circumferential surface passing through the longitudinal tops of the nozzle shutter abutment ribs 337a that are equally spaced at 45° intervals. A cylindrical (tubular) container seal 333 having a square cross section (cross section in the cross-sectional views of Figures 16 and 17) is arranged corresponding to this inner peripheral surface EE. The container seal 333 is fixed to the vertical surface connecting the third inner peripheral surface EE to the fifth inner peripheral surface FF with adhesive or double-sided tape. The exposed surface on the opposite side to the attachment of this container seal 333 (the right side in Figures 16 and 17) forms the inner bottom of the cylindrical opening of the cylindrical receiving member fixing portion 337 (container opening).

16 and 17, a seal member entrapment prevention space 337b (pinch prevention space) is formed corresponding to the inner peripheral surface FF of the receiver member fixing portion 337 and the tapered surface connected thereto. The seal member entrapment prevention space 337b is a ring-shaped sealed space surrounded by three different members. That is, it is a ring-shaped space surrounded by the inner peripheral surface of the receiver member fixing portion 337 (the fourth inner peripheral surface FF and the tapered surface connected thereto), the vertical surface of the attachment side of the container seal 333, and the outer peripheral surface of the container shutter 332 from the tip cylindrical portion 332c to the sliding portion 332d. The cross section of this ring-shaped space (the cross section in the cross-sectional views of FIGS. 16 and 17) is pentagonal. The angle between the inner circumferential surface of the receiving member fixing portion 337 and the end face of the container seal 333, and the angle between the outer circumferential surface of the container shutter 332 and the end face of the container seal 333 are both 90°.

The function of the space 337b for preventing entrapment of the sealing member will now be described. When the container shutter 332 moves from a state in which it is covering the nozzle receiving opening 331 toward the rear end of the container, the inner circumferential surface of the container seal 333 slides against the tip cylindrical portion 332c of the container shutter 332. As a result, the inner circumferential surface of the container seal 333 is pulled by the container shutter 332 and elastically deforms so as to move toward the rear end of the container.
At this time, if there is no seal member entrapment prevention space 337b and the vertical surface (the attachment surface of container seal 333) connected from the third inner peripheral surface is connected perpendicularly to the fifth inner peripheral surface GG, the following situation may occur: That is, the elastically deformed portion of container seal 333 may be pinched and entrapped between the inner peripheral surface of receiver member fixing portion 337, which slides against container shutter 332, and the outer peripheral surface of container shutter 332. If container seal 333 is entrapped in the portion where receiver member fixing portion 337 and container shutter 332 slide, i.e., between tip cylindrical portion 332c and inner peripheral surface GG, container shutter 332 is locked to receiver member fixing portion 337, and nozzle receiver 331 cannot be opened or closed.

In contrast, the nozzle receiver 330 of this embodiment has a seal member entrapment prevention space 337b formed in its inner periphery. The inner diameter of the seal member entrapment prevention space 337b (the inner diameter of the inner periphery surface EE and the tapered surfaces connected to it) is smaller than the outer diameter of the container seal 333, so the entire container seal 333 does not enter the seal member entrapment prevention space 337b. In addition, there is a limit to the area of the container seal 333 that is pulled by the container shutter 332 and elastically deformed, and the container seal restores its own elasticity before reaching the inner periphery surface GG and being entrapped. This action prevents the nozzle receiver 331 from being unable to open or close due to the container shutter 332 being locked to the receiver fixing portion 337.

As shown in Figures 16 to 18, a plurality of nozzle shutter abutment ribs 337a are formed to extend radially on the inner peripheral surface of the receiving member fixing portion 337 adjacent to the outer periphery of the container seal 333. As shown in Figures 16 and 17, when the container seal 333 is fixed to the receiving member fixing portion 337, the vertical surface of the container tip side of the container seal 333 protrudes slightly in the direction of the rotation axis beyond the end of the nozzle shutter abutment rib 337a on the container tip side. As shown in Figure 9, when the toner container 32 is attached to the toner supply device 60, the nozzle shutter flange 612a of the nozzle shutter 612 on the toner supply device 60 side is biased by the nozzle shutter spring 613 to crush the protruding portion of the container seal 333. It further penetrates and covers the nozzle receiving opening 331 of the container seal 333 that abuts against the container tip end of the nozzle shutter abutment rib 337a, blocking the tip end face of the container seal 333 from the outside of the container. This ensures airtightness around the conveying nozzle 611 at the nozzle receiving opening 331 when installed, and prevents toner leakage.

The position of the nozzle shutter 612 in the rotational axis direction relative to the toner container 32 is determined by the back side of the nozzle shutter spring receiving surface 612f of the nozzle shutter flange 612a, which is biased by the nozzle shutter spring 613, abutting against the nozzle shutter abutment rib 337a. This determines the positional relationship in the rotational axis direction between the nozzle shutter 612 and the end face of the container seal 333 on the container tip side and the end face of the tip opening 305 (the internal space of the cylindrical receiving member fixing part 337 arranged inside the container opening 33a described later) on the container tip side.

As shown in FIG. 9 etc., when the toner container 32 is attached to the main body of the toner supply device 60, the nozzle shutter 612 as an abutting member and the nozzle shutter spring 613 as a biasing member are housed in the tip opening 305, which is a cylindrical internal space. Here, the relationship between the diameter of the outer circumferential surface of the container opening 33a, the inner diameter of the receiving member fixing portion 337, and the diameters of the components such as the container setting portion 615 of the toner supply device 60, which are required to realize such a configuration, will be described.

FIG. 66 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the diameter of the outer peripheral surface of the container opening 33a, the inner diameter of the receiver member fixing portion 337, and the diameters of components such as the container setting portion 615 of the toner supply device 60.
As described later, the container setting part 615 has a container setting part inner peripheral surface 615a that fits with the outer peripheral surface of the container opening 33a of the toner container 32 when the toner container 32 is set, and the inside diameter of this inner peripheral surface is defined as D1. The diameter of the outer peripheral surface of the container opening 33a of the toner container 32 is defined as d1.
The nozzle shutter 612 provided on the conveying nozzle 611 has a nozzle shutter flange 612a, and the outer diameter of the nozzle shutter flange 612a is defined as D2. The inner diameter of the inner diameter of the receiver fixing part 337 that is axially outward of the container seal 333 (the inner diameter of the second inner circumferential surface from the container tip) is defined as d2, and the outer diameter of the container seal 333 is defined as d3. The nozzle shutter abutment rib 337a contacts the outer circumferential surface of the container seal 333, and is disposed in plurality between the outer circumferential surface of the container seal 333 and the second inner circumferential surface from the container tip of the receiver fixing part 337. The outer diameter of the nozzle shutter 612 (the outer diameter of a nozzle shutter cylindrical part 612e described later) is defined as D3, and the inner diameter of the container seal 333 is defined as d4.

When the toner container 32 is attached, the conveying nozzle 611 enters the nozzle receiving opening 331 with the nozzle opening 610 closed by the nozzle shutter 612. The nozzle shutter flange 612a then contacts and crushes the container seal 333. The nozzle shutter flange 612a then abuts against the end of the nozzle shutter abutment rib 337a on the container tip side, opening the nozzle opening 610 and connecting the inside of the toner container 32 to the inside of the conveying nozzle 611. At this time, the outer peripheral surface of the container opening 33a of the toner container 32 and the container set section inner peripheral surface 615a fit together, and the container body 33 is rotatably held at this fitting point.

In order for the outer circumferential surface of the container opening 33a of the toner container 32 and the inner circumferential surface 615a of the container set section to rotatably fit together, the diameter d1 of the outer circumferential surface of the container opening 33a of the toner container 32 and the inner diameter D1 of the inner circumferential surface 615a of the container set section are set to satisfy the relationship "d1<D1". In addition, the fitting tolerance between d1 and D1 is set to approximately 0.01 to 0.1 mm. By having the relationship "d1<D1" in this way, the container body 33 can be rotated while being held in the container set section 615.

The conveying nozzle 611 and the nozzle shutter 612 are configured to enter the nozzle receiver 331 while the nozzle opening 610 of the conveying nozzle 611 remains in a state of being closed by the nozzle shutter 612. To realize this configuration, the outer diameter D2 of the nozzle shutter flange 612a and the inner diameter d2 of the inner diameter of the receiver member fixing part 337 that is axially outer than the container seal 333 (the inner diameter of the second inner circumferential surface DD from the tip of the container) are set to satisfy the relationship "D2<d2".
Furthermore, the outer diameter D2 of the nozzle shutter flange 612a is set to satisfy the relationship "D2>d3" so that the nozzle shutter flange 612a abuts against the end of the nozzle shutter abutment rib 337a on the container tip side after contacting and crushing the container seal 333. In other words, the relationship "d3<D2<d2" is set among the outer diameter D2 of the nozzle shutter flange 612a, the inner diameter d2 of the inner diameter of the receiver member fixing portion 337 that is axially outward of the container seal 333, and the outer diameter d3 of the container seal 333.

By setting it in this way, the nozzle shutter 612 can be stored in the tip opening 305 of the toner container 32 (inside the receiving member fixing portion 337). As the container body 33 rotates, the container seal 333 and the nozzle shutter flange 612a slide against each other, but deterioration of the container seal 333 due to this sliding can also be suppressed. This is because the nozzle shutter flange 612a is abutted against the nozzle shutter abutment rib 337a so as not to crush the container seal 333 excessively, thereby suppressing the sliding load. Furthermore, since the nozzle shutter flange 612a crushes the container seal 333 and is in a moderately tight contact state, toner scattering that occurs when the toner container 32 is attached can be reduced.

Furthermore, the outer diameter D3 of the nozzle shutter 612 and the inner diameter d4 of the container seal 333 of the nozzle receiver 330 are set to satisfy the relationship "d4<D3." By setting them in this way, the inner diameter of the container seal 333 is expanded as the conveying nozzle 611 advances, allowing it to come into moderate contact with the nozzle shutter 612. Therefore, it is possible to prevent toner leakage to the outside from the toner container 32 when the conveying nozzle 611 is inserted.
To summarize the above-mentioned relationships, each part of the toner container 32 is set so as to satisfy the diameter relationship of "d4<D3<d3<D2<d2<d1<D1." By setting in this way, it is possible to achieve a configuration that combines a sealing performance that prevents toner scattering and toner leakage from the toner container 32 and a storage capacity that stores the nozzle shutter 612 and the nozzle shutter spring 613.

As described below, when the toner container 32 is attached, the nozzle opening 610 begins to open after the nozzle shutter flange 612a abuts against the nozzle shutter abutment rib 337a and the relative position of the nozzle shutter 612 to the toner container 32 is fixed. On the other hand, when the toner container 32 is removed, even if the conveying nozzle 611 begins to come out of the toner container 32, the relative position of the nozzle shutter 612 to the toner container 32 does not change due to the biasing force of the nozzle shutter spring 613 while the nozzle opening 610 is open.

When the toner container 32 is pulled out, the relative position of the toner container 32 to the conveying nozzle 611 changes, and the relative position of the nozzle shutter 612 to the conveying nozzle 611 also changes, and the nozzle shutter 612 begins to close the nozzle opening 610. At this time, as the toner container 32 is pulled out, the distance between the toner container 32 and the container setting part 615 increases. As a result, the nozzle shutter spring 613 begins to return to its natural length due to its own restoring force, and the biasing force on the nozzle shutter 612 begins to decrease.

Furthermore, when the toner container 32 is pulled out and the nozzle shutter 612 completes closing the nozzle opening 610, a part of the nozzle shutter 612 (details of which are described later as the "shutter inner circumference first rib 612b") abuts against a part of the conveying nozzle 611. Due to this abutment, the relative position of the nozzle shutter 612 with respect to the conveying nozzle 611 is fixed, and the abutment of the nozzle shutter flange 612a against the nozzle shutter abutment rib 337a is released.
Thereafter, as the toner container 32 is further pulled out, the nozzle shutter 612 is removed from the toner container 32 together with the conveying nozzle 611 .

When the nozzle shutter flange 612a abuts against the nozzle shutter abutment rib 337a, the portion of the conveying nozzle 611 where the nozzle opening 610 is formed is located sufficiently inside the toner container 32 (towards the rear end of the container, towards the back) of the inlet portion of the nozzle receiving port 331. Specifically, the nozzle opening is positioned so that it is located in the rotation axis direction toward the rear end of the container, past the container gear 301, and facing the pumping portion 304. Since the nozzle opening 610 opens and closes from a state where it is located sufficiently inside the toner container 32, toner leakage from the nozzle opening 610 to the outside can be prevented.

In addition, the shutter side support parts 335a and the shutter support opening 335b are formed such that the two opposing shutter side support parts 335a form a part of a cylindrical shape, and the shutter support opening 335b has a shape in which the cylindrical shape is largely cut out at the shutter support opening 335b (two places). With this shape, the container shutter 332 can be guided to move in the direction of the rotation axis in the columnar space S1 formed inside the cylindrical shape.
The nozzle receiver 330 fixed to the container body 33 rotates together with the container body 33 when the container body 33 rotates, and at this time, the shutter side support portion 335a of the nozzle receiver 330 rotates around the conveying nozzle 611 on the toner supply device 60 side. Therefore, the rotating shutter side support portion 335a passes through the space immediately above the nozzle opening 610 formed at the upper part of the conveying nozzle 611. As a result, even if toner is momentarily accumulated above the nozzle opening 610, the shutter side support portion 335a crosses and breaks up the accumulated toner, so that it is possible to suppress the accumulated toner from coagulating when left unused and causing a toner conveyance failure when restarted. On the other hand, when the shutter side support portion 335a is located to the side of the conveying nozzle 611 and the nozzle opening 610 and the shutter support opening 335b face each other, the toner in the container body 33 is supplied into the conveying nozzle 611 as shown by the arrow β in FIG. 9.

16 and 17, the outer diameter of the outer peripheral surface of the receiving member fixing portion 337 of the nozzle receiving member 330 becomes smaller at the rear end of the container in the middle of the rotation axis direction, forming a step (a step between the first outer peripheral surface AA and the second outer peripheral surface BB). Also, as shown in FIG. 13, the inner peripheral surface of the container opening 33a of the container body 33 is shaped to conform to the outer peripheral surface of the receiving member fixing portion 337, and a step is formed so that the inner peripheral diameter becomes smaller at the rear end of the container. The step of the outer peripheral surface of the receiving member fixing portion 337 abuts against the step of the inner peripheral surface of the container opening 33a over the entire circumferential direction. This prevents the axial tilt of the nozzle receiving member 330 relative to the container body 33 (a state in which the central axis of the cylindrical receiving member fixing portion 337 is tilted relative to the central axis of the cylindrical container opening 33a).

<Embodiment 2>
Next, a toner container 32 according to a second embodiment will be described, which is an improvement over the toner container 32 according to the first embodiment in terms of the container shutter 332.
Although the toner container 32 can be freely attached to and detached from the copier 500 in the state shown in FIG. 6, the toner container 32 may be dropped during transportation alone or when the user sets the toner container 32 in the main body.
FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the toner container 32 has fallen with its rear end side facing downward, and an arrow δ1 in FIG. 19 indicates the falling direction.

When the toner container 32 is dropped and hits the floor as shown in FIG. 19, the inertial force of the container shutter 332 acts in the same direction as the drop direction, as shown by arrow δ2 in FIG. 19. The greater the impact of the drop, the greater the inertial force. When this inertial force exceeds the pressure force of the container shutter spring 336, the container shutter 332 moves in the direction in which the inertial force acts (the direction of arrow δ2 in FIG. 19). At this time, if the amount of movement of the container shutter 332 exceeds the thickness of the container seal 333, a gap may momentarily appear between the container shutter 332 and the container seal 333, causing the toner to scatter. In addition, if the container body 33 of the toner container 32 is a hollow resin product made by blow molding, the impact is converted into momentum upon impact, and the inertial force may increase.

In order to reduce the amount of movement of the container shutter 332 caused by the inertial force when the container is dropped, it is effective to use a container shutter spring 336 having a large pressure force. However, increasing the pressure force of the container shutter spring 336 causes the following side effects.
That is, when the pressure of the container shutter spring 336 is increased, the contact pressure between the container shutter 332 and the conveying nozzle 611 increases when the toner container 32 is attached to the toner replenishing device 60. The increased contact pressure increases the drive torque for rotating the toner container 32, requiring the drive motor 603 to have a high output, which increases the cost of the drive motor 603. Furthermore, the increased contact pressure increases wear on the contact surfaces of both the container shutter 332 and the conveying nozzle 611, shortening their lifespan.

Furthermore, if the pressure of the container shutter spring 336 is increased, a large force is required to set the toner container 32 in the main body of the toner supply device 60, which impairs operability.
Furthermore, the pressure of the container shutter spring 336 acts in a direction that pushes the toner container 32 out of the main body of the toner supply device 60. For this reason, if the pressure of the container shutter spring 336 is increased, there is a risk that the toner container 32 will jump out. More specifically, there is a risk that the toner container 32 will jump out of the main body of the toner supply device 60 the moment the mechanism (the supply device side locking member 609 and the container locking portion 339) that locks the toner container 32 to the toner supply device 60 is released.

20 and 21 are explanatory diagrams of a configuration in which a second shutter removal prevention claw 332b is provided slightly closer to the container tip than the shutter removal prevention claw 332a on the guide rod 332e of the container shutter 332. FIG. 20 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of the toner supply device 60 before the toner container 32 is attached and the end of the toner container 32 on the container tip side, and FIG. 21 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of the toner supply device 60 with the toner container 32 attached and the end of the toner container 32 on the container tip side.

In the configuration shown in Figures 20 and 21, the container shutter 332 of the toner container 32 is pressurized by the container shutter spring 336 in a direction that closes the nozzle receiving opening 331 (to the left in Figure 20). In addition, two pairs of hook-shaped anti-slip claws, a shutter anti-slip claw 332a and a second shutter anti-slip claw 332b, are provided on the rear end side of the container of the guide rod 332e to prevent the toner container from falling out.

The rear end side of the guide rod 332e is bifurcated to form a pair of cantilever beams 332f. The shutter removal prevention claw 332a and the second shutter removal prevention claw 332b are arranged on the outer circumferential surface of each beam. As shown in FIG. 20, when the container shutter 332 closes the nozzle receiving port 331, the shutter removal prevention claw 332a and the second shutter removal prevention claw 332b are arranged so that the vertical surface of the shutter rear end support part 335 is between them. A hole smaller than the axial projection area of the shutter removal prevention claw 332a is formed in the vertical surface of the shutter rear end support part 335. The guide rod 332e is passed through the container shutter spring 336, and the pair of cantilever beams 332f of the guide rod 332e are deflected toward the axial center of the guide rod 332e to pass the shutter removal prevention claw 332a through the hole in the vertical surface of the shutter rear end support part 335. This completes the assembly of the guide rod 332e to the nozzle receiver 33 as shown in FIG. 20. The guide rod 332 is molded from a resin such as polystyrene so that the cantilever beam 332f has the elasticity to bend.

The state shown in FIG. 20 is the state before the toner container 32 is set in the main body of the toner supply device 60 (when unused), such as at the time of shipment of the toner container 32.
20, when the toner container 32 is set in the toner supply device 60 body, the toner container 32 is pushed into the device body and the tip of the conveying nozzle 611 pushes the container shutter 332 into the inside of the toner container 32. At this time, the shutter removal prevention claw 332a at the end of the guide rod 332e is pushed out toward the container rear end side of the shutter rear end support part 335. Then, the second shutter removal prevention claw 332b, which is the second hook, engages with a hole in the vertical surface of the shutter rear end support part 335.

Since the hole on the vertical surface is smaller than the axial projection area of the second shutter removal prevention claw 332b, the second shutter removal prevention claw 332b does not come off when it abuts against the vertical surface. However, when the user further increases the force with which the toner container 32 is pressed, a pushing force acts on the abutting portion between the second shutter removal prevention claw 332b and the vertical surface. This pushing force causes both of the pair of cantilevers 332f, which have the second shutter removal prevention claw 332b on their outer periphery, to bend toward the axial center of the rod 332e, so that the second shutter removal prevention claw 332b passes through the hole on the vertical surface. As a result, as shown in FIG. 21, the second shutter removal prevention claw 332b is positioned inside the toner container 32 relative to the shutter rear end support portion 335.
Once the container shutter 332 of the toner container 32 has been set, the second shutter removal prevention claw 332b thereafter functions as a prevention mechanism for the container shutter 332 to be removed.

As described above, the toner container 32 may be dropped during transportation of the toner container 32 alone or when the user sets the toner container 32 in the main body. At this time, as described with reference to FIG. 19, the container shutter 332 may be subjected to a force in the direction in which the container shutter 332 opens due to its own inertia force. If the configuration of FIG. 20 and FIG. 21 is provided with the second shutter removal prevention claw 332b, the occurrence of toner scattering when the toner container 32 falls can be prevented for the following reason. That is, when the container shutter 332 tries to move in the opening direction, the pressure force of the container shutter spring 336 and the force required to pass through the hole of the second shutter removal prevention claw 332b (= the force that bends the cantilever beam 332f) prevent the container shutter 332 from moving in the opening direction. Unlike the pushing force of the user, the inertia force due to the impact at the time of dropping does not increase, so the second shutter removal prevention claw 332b can be prevented from engaging with the hole in the vertical surface of the shutter rear end support portion 335 to prevent the container shutter 332 from opening. This prevents toner from scattering when the toner container 32 is dropped.

The configuration of the toner container 32 shown in Figures 20 and 21 can suppress shutter movement when the toner container is dropped and hit without increasing the pressure of the container shutter spring 336, so toner scattering during a drop collision can be prevented without causing the side effects described above. In addition, compared to the configuration described using Figures 1 and 9, etc., it is only necessary to add and form the second shutter removal prevention claw 332b to the container shutter 332, and no additional parts are required, making it possible to prevent toner scattering during a drop collision with a low-cost modification.

Next, the configuration of the container front end cover 34 common to the first to twentieth embodiments will be described with reference to FIGS.
When the container tip cover 34 of the toner container 32 is attached to the toner supply device 60, it is slid and moved on the container receiving portion 72 of FIG. 5. In FIG. 5, a groove is formed directly below each of the four toner containers 32, with the axial direction of the container body 33 as the long direction, extending from the insertion opening forming portion 71 to the container cover receiving portion 73. A pair of slide guides 361 are provided on both sides of the lower part of the container tip cover 34 so as to fit into the groove and enable sliding movement. More specifically, the groove of the container receiving portion 72 has a pair of slide rails protruding from both sides. The slide guide 361 is formed with a slide groove 361a parallel to the rotation axis of the container body 33 so as to be sandwiched between the pair of slide rails from above and below. Furthermore, the container tip cover 34 is provided with a container lock portion 339 that is coupled with a supply device side lock member 609 provided on the set cover 608 when it is attached to the toner supply device 60.

The container tip cover 34 is provided with an ID tag (ID chip) 700 that records data such as the usage status of the toner container 32. Furthermore, the container tip cover 34 is provided with a color incompatible rib 34b that prevents a toner container 32 that contains a different color of toner from being attached to a set cover 608 of a different color. As described above, the slide guide 361 engages with the slide rail of the container receiving portion 72 when attached, thereby determining the position of the container tip cover 34 on the replenishing device 60. This allows smooth alignment of the container locking portion 339 with the replenishing device side locking member 609, and of the ID tag 700 with the main body side connector 800, which will be described later.

Next, the toner supply device 60 common to the first to twentieth embodiments will be described.
7 and 8, the toner supply device 60 includes a nozzle holder 607 that fixes a conveying nozzle 611 to a frame 602 of the main body of the copier 500, and a set cover 608 is fixed to the nozzle holder 607. Furthermore, a toner drop conveying path 64 is fixed to the nozzle holder 607, and is arranged so as to communicate from below the conveying nozzle 611 to the inside of the conveying nozzle 611.

The toner drop transport path 64 may have a swing spring 640 disposed therein as in the configuration shown in FIGS.
The swing spring 640 is engaged at one end with the rotating shaft of the transport screw 614, and is configured to move up and down with the rotation of the transport screw 614. The swing spring 640 scrapes off toner that is stagnant or adhered near the inner wall surface of the toner drop transport path 64, which is a tubular member, by this up and down movement. In order to improve the effect of preventing clogging of the toner drop transport path 64, it is desirable to bring the swing spring 640 close to the inner wall surface of the toner drop transport path 64. In the configuration of this embodiment, since the toner drop transport path 64 is a cylindrical member, the swing spring 640 (a spring member whose diameter is slightly smaller than the diameter of the inner wall of the toner drop transport path 64) is used as the swing scraping member. However, if the cross-sectional shape of the toner drop transport path 64 is not circular, it is preferable to adjust the shape of the swing scraping member to match the cross-sectional shape of the toner drop transport path 64.

In addition, 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 gear 601, and further includes a worm gear 603a that transmits the rotation drive of the drive motor 603 to the rotation shaft of the container drive gear 601. A drive transmission gear 604 is fixed to the rotation shaft of the container drive gear 601, and is configured to mesh with a conveying screw gear 605 fixed to the rotation shaft of the conveying screw 614. With this configuration, the toner container 32 can be rotated via the container drive gear 601 and the container gear 301 by rotating the drive motor 603. In addition, the conveying screw 614 can be rotated via the drive transmission gear 604 and the conveying screw gear 605 while rotating the toner container 32.

Note that a clutch may be provided in the drive transmission path from the drive motor 603 to the container gear 301, or in the 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 transport screw 614 is rotated when the drive motor 603 is driven to rotate.

Next, the conveying nozzle 611 of the toner supply device 60 will be described.
FIG. 22 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of the nozzle shutter 612. FIG. 23 is a perspective explanatory diagram of the nozzle shutter 612 as viewed from the side where the toner container 32 is attached (the nozzle tip side), and FIG. 24 is a perspective explanatory diagram of the nozzle shutter 612 as viewed from the toner supply device 60 side (the nozzle base side). FIG. 25 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of the vicinity of the conveying nozzle 611 of the toner supply device 60, and FIG. 26 is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of the vicinity of the nozzle opening 610 of the conveying nozzle 611. FIG. 27 is a perspective explanatory diagram of the vicinity of the conveying nozzle 611 as viewed from the nozzle tip side in a state where the nozzle shutter 612 is removed, and FIG. 28 is a perspective explanatory diagram of the vicinity of the nozzle opening 610 in a state where the nozzle shutter 612 is removed. Note that in FIG. 25, FIG. 26, and FIG. 28, the conveying screw 614 disposed in the conveying nozzle 611 is omitted from illustration.

At the base of the conveying nozzle 611, a container setting section 615 is formed into which the container opening 33a is fitted when the toner container 32 is attached to the toner supply device 60. The container setting section 615 is cylindrical, and its inner peripheral surface 615a and the outer peripheral surface of the container opening 33a are fitted in a slidable state. This fitting positions the toner container 32 relative to the toner supply device 60 in a plane direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the toner container 32. When the toner container 32 rotates, the outer peripheral surface of the container opening 33a functions as a rotation shaft, and the container setting section 615 functions as a bearing. The position at which the outer peripheral surface of the container opening 33a slidably contacts the container setting section 615 and positions the toner container 32 relative to the toner supply device 60 is indicated by α in FIG. 9.

22, the nozzle shutter 612 is composed of a nozzle shutter flange 612a and a nozzle shutter cylindrical portion 612e. A first shutter inner rib 612b is formed on a part of the upper part of the inner circumferential surface of the nozzle shutter cylindrical portion 612e near the end on the nozzle tip side. Meanwhile, a second shutter inner rib 612c and a third shutter inner rib 612d are formed on the inner circumferential surface of the nozzle shutter cylindrical portion 612e near the end on the nozzle base side, each of which goes around the inner circumferential surface.
The circumferential length of the inner surface of the shutter inner peripheral first rib 612 b is a length that can fit within the circumferential width of the nozzle opening 610 when the nozzle shutter 612 is attached to the conveying nozzle 611 .

1 and 25, the end of the nozzle shutter spring 613 on the nozzle base side abuts against the end surface 615b of the container setting section 615. Also, the end of the nozzle shutter spring 613 on the nozzle tip side abuts against the nozzle shutter spring receiving surface 612f of the nozzle shutter flange section 612a. At this time, since the nozzle shutter spring 613 is in a compressed state, the nozzle shutter 612 receives a biasing force in a direction in which it falls off from the nozzle tip side (to the left in FIG. 25). However, the edge on the nozzle tip side of the nozzle opening 610, that is, the shutter inner circumference first rib 612b abuts against the upper part of the inner wall surface of the nozzle tip section 611a of the conveying nozzle 611. This prevents the nozzle shutter 612 from moving in a direction in which it falls off from the conveying nozzle 611 more than in the state shown in FIG. 25 and FIG. 26. The nozzle shutter 612 is positioned in the rotation axis direction relative to the conveying nozzle 611 by the impact of the first shutter inner circumference rib 612b and the biasing force of the nozzle shutter spring 613.

Furthermore, an inner peripheral first rib tip 612g, which is the circumferential end of the shutter inner peripheral first rib 612b, is shaped to abut against a nozzle opening lateral edge 611s, which is the lateral edge of the nozzle opening 610. This is a shape in which, when the nozzle shutter 612 attempts to rotate in the direction of arrow A in Figure 26, the inner peripheral first rib tip 612g abuts against the nozzle opening lateral edge 611s.
When the toner container 32 rotates, a force acts on the nozzle shutter 612, the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle shutter cylindrical portion 612e of which contacts the inner peripheral surface of the container seal 333 fixed to the toner container 32, to rotate in the direction of the arrow A in Fig. 26. At this time, if the nozzle shutter 612 rotates relative to the conveying nozzle 611 and the shutter inner peripheral first rib 612b is positioned outside the nozzle opening 610, the following problem may occur. That is, when the toner container 32 is removed from the toner supply device 60, the nozzle shutter 612 may fall off the conveying nozzle 611 due to the biasing force caused by the restoring action of the nozzle shutter spring 613.

In addition, depending on the elasticity of the nozzle shutter 612, the first rib 612b on the inner periphery of the shutter that has come off the nozzle opening 610 may tightly grip the outer periphery of the conveying nozzle 611, preventing the nozzle shutter 612 from moving relative to the conveying nozzle 611. In either case, when the toner container 32 is removed from the toner supply device 60, the nozzle opening 610 may remain open, causing toner leakage.

In contrast, in the toner supply device 60 of this embodiment, when the nozzle shutter 612 attempts to rotate in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 26, the tip 612g of the inner peripheral first rib abuts against the nozzle opening side edge 611s. This prevents the nozzle shutter 612 from rotating relative to the conveying nozzle 611 more than in the state shown in FIG. 26.

The inner diameter of the second rib 612c and the third rib 612d is formed to be slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the cylindrical conveying nozzle 611. The second rib 612c and the third rib 612d are made of resin and elastically deform, allowing the nozzle shutter 612 to be attached to the conveying nozzle 611. The two ribs (612c and 612d), whose inner diameter is smaller than the outer diameter of the conveying nozzle 611, come into contact with the outer circumferential surface of the conveying nozzle 611 in an elastically deformed state, thereby improving the sealing between the inner circumferential surface of the nozzle shutter 612 and the outer circumferential surface of the conveying nozzle 611. This makes it possible to prevent toner leakage from between the nozzle shutter 612 and the conveying nozzle 611.

The toner supply device 60 of this embodiment also uses a conical spring as the nozzle shutter spring 613. When the conical spring is fully compressed, adjacent coils can at least partially overlap, and the length in the axial direction of the spring when fully compressed can be shorter than that of a cylindrical spring of the same spring length. This allows space to be saved in the axial direction of the nozzle shutter spring 613 when fully compressed.

Next, the process of mounting the toner container 32 to the toner supply device 60 will be described.
As shown by the arrow Q in Fig. 7 and Fig. 1, by moving the toner container 32 toward the toner supply device 60, the nozzle tip 611a of the conveying nozzle 611 comes into contact with the end face of the container shutter 332 on the container tip side. Furthermore, by moving the toner container 32 toward the toner supply device 60, the conveying nozzle 611 presses the end face of the container shutter 332 on the container tip side. By pressing the container shutter 332, the container shutter spring 336 contracts, and accordingly the container shutter 332 is pushed into the inside of the toner container 32 (the container rear end side), and the nozzle tip side of the conveying nozzle 611 is inserted into the nozzle receiving opening 331. At this time, the nozzle shutter tubular portion 612e on the nozzle tip side of the nozzle shutter flange portion 612a in the nozzle shutter 612 is also inserted into the nozzle receiving opening 331 together with the conveying nozzle 611.

By further moving the toner container 32 in the direction of the toner replenishing device 60, the surface of the nozzle shutter flange 612a opposite the nozzle shutter spring receiving surface comes into contact with the end surface of the container tip side of the container seal 333. Furthermore, by slightly squeezing the container seal 333, it comes into contact with the nozzle shutter abutment rib 337a. This fixes the position of the nozzle shutter 612 relative to the toner container 32 in the rotation axis direction.
By further moving the toner container 32 in the direction of the toner replenishing device 60, the conveying nozzle 611 is further inserted into the inside of the toner container 32. At this time, the nozzle shutter 612 that abuts against the nozzle shutter abutment rib 337a is pushed back toward the nozzle base side with respect to the conveying nozzle 611. This causes the nozzle shutter spring 613 to contract, and the relative position of the nozzle shutter 612 with respect to the conveying nozzle 611 moves toward the nozzle base side. With this movement of the relative position, the nozzle opening 610 that was covered by the nozzle shutter 612 becomes exposed inside the container body 33, and the inside of the container body 33 and the inside of the conveying nozzle 611 communicate with each other.

When the conveying nozzle 611 is inserted into the nozzle receiving opening 331, the urging force of the contracted container shutter spring 336 and nozzle shutter spring 613 acts to push the toner container 32 back against the toner supply device 60 (the opposite direction to the arrow Q in the figure). However, when the toner container 32 is attached to the toner supply device 60, the toner container 32 is moved toward the toner supply device 60 against this force until the container locking portion 339 engages with the supply device side locking member 609. This causes the urging force of the container shutter spring 336 and nozzle shutter spring 613 and the hook of the container locking portion 339 against the supply device side locking member 609 to act. Due to the action of the urging force and the hook, the toner container 32 is positioned in the rotation axis direction relative to the toner supply device 60 in the state shown in Figures 8 and 9.

7, the container locking portion 339 is composed of a guide protrusion 339a, a guide groove 339b, a bridging portion 339c, and a rectangular locking hole 339d. Two sets of these are arranged on both sides of the container tip cover 34, forming a pair with respect to a vertical line passing through the nozzle receiving opening 331. The guide protrusion 339a is arranged on the vertical surface on the tip side of the container tip cover 34, on a horizontal line passing through the center of the nozzle receiving opening 331. The guide protrusion 339a has an inclined surface that connects to the guide groove 339b so that the replenishing device side locking member 609 comes into contact with the guide protrusion 339a when the toner container 32 is attached, and can be guided toward the guide groove 339b. The guide groove 339b is a groove that is one step lower than the side peripheral surface of the container tip cover 34.

The width of the guide groove 339b is set slightly wider than the width of the replenishing device side locking member 609 so that the replenishing device side locking member 609 does not fall out of the groove.
The container rear end side of the guide groove 339b does not have a shape that directly connects to the locking hole 339d, but has an end that is at the same height as the side peripheral surface of the container front end cover 34. In other words, between the guide groove 339b and the locking hole 339d is the outer peripheral surface of the container front end cover 34 that is about 1 mm wide, which corresponds to the overhanging portion 339c. The replenishing device side locking member 609 climbs over this overhanging portion 339c and falls into the locking hole 339d, thereby achieving the connection between the toner container 32 and the toner replenishing device 60.

The toner container 32 is configured such that the container shutter 332 is located in the center of the line segment connecting the two container locking parts 339 on a virtual plane perpendicular to the rotation axis. If the container shutter 332 is not on the line segment connecting the two container locking parts 339, the following may occur. That is, the distance from the line segment to the container shutter 332 acts as a lever, and a force moment that rotates the toner container 32 around the line segment is applied by the biasing forces of the container shutter spring 336 and the nozzle shutter spring 613 acting at the position of the container shutter 332. Due to the action of this force moment, the toner container 32 may tilt relative to the toner supply device 60. In that case, the mounting load of the toner container 32 increases, and a load is applied to the nozzle receiving member 330 that holds and guides the container shutter 332.

In particular, when the toner container 32 is new and contains sufficient toner, when the toner container 32 is pushed in from the rear end so that the conveying nozzle 611 protruding from the horizontal direction is inserted, a moment of force that rotates the toner container 32, taking into account the weight of the toner, acts. This places a load on the nozzle receiving member 330 into which the conveying nozzle 611 is inserted, and in the worst case, the nozzle receiving member 330 may be deformed or damaged. In contrast, in the toner container 32 of this embodiment, the container shutter 332 is located on the line connecting the two container locking portions 339. Therefore, the biasing forces of the container shutter spring 336 and the nozzle shutter spring 613 acting at the position of the container shutter 332 can prevent the toner container 32 from tilting relative to the toner supply device 60.

As shown in FIG. 31B, when the toner container 32 is attached to the toner supply device 60, the circular end surface of the container opening 33a of the toner container 32 does not contact the end surface 615b of the container set portion 615. This is for the following reason. If the circular end surface of the container opening 33a were to contact the end surface 615b of the container set portion 615, there is a risk that the circular end surface of the container opening 33a would abut against the end surface 615b of the container set portion 615 before the engagement hole 339d of the container lock portion 339 is caught by the supply device side lock member 609. If it abuts in this way, the toner container 32 cannot be moved any further toward the toner supply device 60, and it becomes impossible to position it in the rotation axis direction. To prevent this, when the toner container 32 is attached to the toner supply device 60, there is a small gap between the circular end surface of the container opening 33a and the end surface 615b of the container setting part 615.

Furthermore, with the toner container 32 positioned in the direction of the rotation axis in this manner, the outer peripheral surface of the container opening 33a is slidably fitted onto the inner peripheral surface 615a of the container setting section 615. Therefore, as described above, the toner container 32 is positioned relative to the toner supply device 60 in a plane direction perpendicular to the rotation axis. This completes the installation of the toner container 32 in the toner supply device 60.

When the mounting of the toner container 32 is completed, the drive motor 603 is rotated to rotate the container body 33 of the toner container 32 and the conveying screw 614 in the conveying nozzle 611 .
As the container body 33 rotates, the toner in the container body 33 is transported by the spiral projection 302 to the container tip side of the container body 33. The toner that reaches the pumping section 304 by this transport is lifted above the nozzle opening 610 by the pumping section 304 as the container body 33 rotates. The toner that has been lifted above the nozzle opening 610 falls into the nozzle opening 610, and is supplied into the transport nozzle 611. The toner supplied into the transport nozzle 611 is transported by the transport screw 614 and replenished to the developing device 50 through the toner drop transport path 64. The flow of toner from inside the container body 33 to the toner drop transport path 64 at this time is indicated by an arrow β in FIG. 9.

<Third embodiment>
As a third embodiment, an improvement in the rotation timing of the toner container 32 and the like will be described.
In the configurations of the first and second embodiments described above, the toner container 32 and the transport screw 614 are rotated simultaneously. As for the timing of rotating them, the toner container 32 may be rotated first when toner supply starts, and the transport screw 614 may be rotated after a certain time. Also, when toner supply is stopped, the toner container 32 may be stopped first, and the transport screw 614 may be stopped after a certain time. A timing chart of such a rotation timing configuration is shown in FIG. 29.

29, when toner supply is stopped, the rotation of the toner container 32 is stopped before the rotation of the conveying screw 614 in the conveying nozzle 611 is stopped. With this rotation timing configuration, the conveying screw 614 continues to convey the toner in a state where the supply of new toner is stopped in the nozzle opening 610, and the rotation of the conveying screw 614 also stops after a certain time. Therefore, when the rotation of the toner container 32 is stopped, the toner T present near the nozzle opening 610 of the conveying nozzle 611 can be conveyed to the toner drop conveying path 64 side by the conveying screw 614. This reduces the amount of toner T remaining on the conveying nozzle 611 near the nozzle opening 610. After that, when the toner container 32 is removed from the device body, the amount of toner on the conveying nozzle 611 is reduced, so the conveying nozzle 611 can be easily cleaned by the container seal 333 provided on the nozzle receiving member 330. Therefore, it is possible to prevent toner scattering and toner drop caused by the attachment and detachment of the toner container 32 to the device body.

In addition, in the above-described configuration of rotation timing, when toner supply starts, the toner container 32 starts to rotate before the transport screw 614. Therefore, the transport screw 614 can start to rotate in a state where the vicinity of the nozzle opening 610 of the transport nozzle 611 is filled with toner. As a result, the amount of toner transported by one rotation of the transport screw 614 is stable from the start of the rotation of the transport screw 614, improving the stability of the toner supply amount.
In this way, the toner container 32 and the transport screw 614 can be easily configured to rotate at different timings by providing separate drive sources for rotating them.

<Fourth embodiment>
As a fourth embodiment, an improvement will be described in which the rotation timing of the toner container 32 and the like in the third embodiment is changed using the same drive source.
In the case of using the same driving source, this can be realized by providing a clutch. By using the same driving source, the above-mentioned configuration of different rotation timings can be realized at low cost.

An example of a drive transmission unit configured to be able to vary the rotation timing with the same drive source is shown in Figure 30. Figure 30(a) is a front view of the drive transmission unit, and Figure 30(b) is a side cross-sectional explanatory view of the drive transmission unit taken along the line H-H in Figure 30(a).
The drive transmission unit shown in Fig. 30 includes a container drive gear 601 fixed to a toner container drive shaft 650, and an idler gear 653 arranged rotatably about the toner container drive shaft 650. A gear surface hole 653a is formed over half the circumference of the idler gear 653 along the rotation direction. Furthermore, the drive transmission unit includes a drive pin 652 fixed to the container drive gear 601 and provided to engage with the gear surface hole 653a. Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 30(a), the drive transmission unit includes a delayed rotation generating spring 651 having one end fixed to the idler gear 653 by a spring fixing pin 651a and the other end fixed to the drive pin 652.

Furthermore, on the front side of the idler gear 653, there is provided a spring guide disk 655 that is arranged concentrically with the idler gear 653 and inside the gear surface hole 653a, and the delayed rotation generating spring 651 is arranged so as to extend along its outer circumferential surface.
The conveying screw gear 605 is fixed to the rotation shaft of the conveying screw 614 and is gear-coupled with an idler gear 653 to transmit the rotation of the idler gear 653 to the conveying screw 614 .

30, when a drive motor (not shown) rotates a toner container drive shaft 650 in the direction of arrow I in the figure, the container drive gear 601 also rotates. Then, a drive pin 652 formed integrally with the container drive gear 601 rotates along a gear surface hole 653a provided in an idler gear 653.
Then, when the container drive gear 601 rotates approximately 180° from the state in which the drive pin 652 is in the position shown by the solid line in Fig. 30(a), the drive pin 652 hits the end of the gear surface hole 653a as shown by the dashed line in Fig. 30(a). As the container drive gear 601 rotates further from the hit state, it reaches a state in which it rotates the idler gear 653. As a result, the conveying screw gear 605 rotates via the idler gear 653, and the conveying screw 614 starts to rotate.

In this manner, the time taken for the drive pin 652 to move through the gear surface hole 653a after the toner container drive shaft 650 starts to rotate is the time difference between when the toner container 32 starts to rotate and when the transport screw 614 starts to rotate.
At this time, the delayed rotation generating spring 651 is stretched approximately halfway around the outer periphery of the spring guide disk 655 .

On the other hand, when the drive motor stops rotating the toner container drive shaft 650, the rotation of the drive pin 652 stops. At this time, a force acts on the delayed rotation generating spring 651, one end of which is fixed to the drive pin 652 and which is in a state of being extended from its natural length, to return to its natural length, and the idler gear 653 rotates so as to bring the spring fixing pin 651a closer to the drive pin 652. Then, the idler gear 653 rotates by an amount equivalent to the gear surface hole 653a (approximately half a circumference). Therefore, after the rotation of the toner container 32 is stopped, the conveying screw 614 can be rotated by an amount equivalent to the rotation of the idler gear 653 by the delayed rotation generating spring 651 described above.
At this time, a desired drive time difference can be set by appropriately setting various parameters, such as the number of teeth of the idler gear 653 and the conveying screw gear 605, the movable range of the drive pin 652 (the opening range of the gear surface hole 653a of the idler gear), the pitch of the conveying screw 614, the width of the nozzle opening 610, etc.

After the rotation of the toner container 32 is stopped, it is desirable to rotate the transport screw 614 at least an amount of transport equivalent to the longitudinal width of the nozzle opening 610 of the transport nozzle 611, and then stop the rotation of the transport screw 614. This allows the toner T present near the nozzle opening 610 of the transport nozzle 611 to be transported toward the toner drop transport path 64 rather than to the position facing the nozzle opening 610. This transport makes it possible to more reliably prevent toner scattering and toner falling when the toner container 32 is attached to or detached from the device body.

In addition, after the toner container 32 starts to rotate, it is desirable to rotate the toner container 32 at least an amount sufficient to fill the nozzle opening 610 of the conveying nozzle 611 with toner T, and then start rotating the conveying screw 614. This further improves the stability of the amount of toner replenished.

The fitting portion between the toner container 32 and the container setting portion 615 and the surrounding structure common to the first to twentieth embodiments will be described.
As described above, the position where the outer peripheral surface of the container opening 33a comes into slidable contact with the container setting part 615 and the toner container 32 is positioned relative to the toner replenishing device 60 is indicated by α in Fig. 9. Here, the position α in Fig. 9 is not limited to a configuration having both the functions of a sliding part and a positioning part, but may be a configuration having either the function of a sliding part or a positioning part.

The toner container 32 of this embodiment is disposed at the opening of the container body 33 and has a nozzle receiving member 330 that forms a nozzle receiving port 331 and a shutter support opening 335b. The nozzle receiving port 331 is a portion into which a conveying nozzle 611 having a nozzle opening 610 that is a powder receiving port is inserted, and the shutter support opening 335b is a supply port that supplies the toner, which is a powder in the container body 33, to the nozzle opening 610. The toner container 32 is supported by the nozzle receiving member 330, and is provided with a container shutter 332 as an opening/closing member that slides in the rotation axis direction to open and close the nozzle receiving port 331 by inserting or extracting the conveying nozzle 611 relative to the nozzle receiving member 330. With this configuration, the toner container 32 maintains a state in which the nozzle receiving port 331 is closed until the conveying nozzle 611 is inserted, and toner leakage and scattering can be prevented before the toner container 32 is attached to the toner supply device 60.

In addition, when the conveying nozzle 611 is inserted into the nozzle receptacle 331 and the container shutter 332 pushed by the conveying nozzle 611 slides toward the back of the container, the toner accumulated near the shutter support opening 335b is pushed aside. Therefore, a space for the conveying nozzle 611 to enter the portion where the nozzle receptacle 331 is formed around the shutter support opening 335b can be secured, and toner can be reliably supplied from the shutter support opening 335b to the nozzle receptacle 331.
In this way, the toner container 32 prevents leakage or scattering of the toner stored in the container body 33 before being attached to the toner supply device 60, and can reliably discharge the toner outside the container body 33 when attached to the toner supply device 60.

Furthermore, as shown in Figures 1 and 7, the nozzle receiving port 331 of the toner container 32 is formed at a position toward the rear end of the container rather than the end of the tip opening 305 on the tip side of the container, i.e., at a position toward the back of the opening formed by the cylindrical tip opening 305.
Here, Fig. 64 shows an explanatory diagram of a toner container 32 as a comparative example in which the opening position of the nozzle receiving opening 331 in the rotation axis direction is the same position as the end portion on the container tip side of the tip opening 305. Fig. 64(a) is an explanatory perspective view of the vicinity of the container tip side end portion of the toner container 32, and Fig. 64(b) is an explanatory cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the container tip side end portion of the toner container 32.

1 to 21, the toner container 32 shown in Fig. 64 maintains the nozzle receiving opening 331 closed until the conveying nozzle 611 is inserted. This prevents toner from leaking or scattering before the container is attached to the toner supply device 60. When the conveying nozzle 611 is inserted into the nozzle receiving opening 331 and the container shutter 332 pressed by the conveying nozzle 611 slides toward the back of the container, the toner accumulated near the shutter support opening 335b is pushed aside. This allows toner to be reliably discharged outside the container body 33 when the container is attached to the toner supply device 60.
The toner container 32 shown in Fig. 64 is configured to supply toner in the container body 33 to a nozzle opening 610 provided at a portion of the conveying nozzle 611 inserted into the container body 33. In this configuration, the contact portion between the conveying nozzle 611 and the container seal 333, which is a sealing portion of the container body 33 where toner leakage is likely to occur, is separated from the nozzle opening 610 that supplies toner from inside the container body 33 to the conveying nozzle 611. Therefore, even in the toner container 32 as a comparative example shown in Fig. 64, during a toner supply operation in which the container seal 333 is completely attached to the toner supply device 60, toner leakage from the contact portion between the conveying nozzle 611 and the container seal 333 separated from the nozzle opening 610 can be prevented.

However, when the conveying nozzle 611 is inserted into the container body 33, the outer circumferential surface of the conveying nozzle 611 is in contact with the toner in the container body 33 due to the toner supply operation. A part of the toner that has come into contact remains attached to the conveying nozzle 611 even when the conveying nozzle 611 is pulled out from the toner container 32 (when it is removed from the toner supply device 60). Most of the toner that remains attached to the conveying nozzle 611 is scraped off by the container seal 333 when the conveying nozzle 611 passes through the contact portion with the container seal 333. However, a small amount of toner may pass through the contact portion with the container seal 333 together with the conveying nozzle 611, resulting in toner leakage. This leaked toner may wrap around the outer circumferential surface of the container opening 33a of the toner container 32 or adhere to the inner circumferential surface 615a of the container setting portion 615. This may cause a poor setting when reattaching the toner container 32 for reasons such as replacement, or may cause image defects due to the development of the aggregated adhering toner.

On the other hand, in the toner container 32 of the first to 20th embodiments, as shown in FIG. 1 etc., the end face of the container body 33 on the container tip side protrudes in the rotation axis direction from the end face on the container tip side where the nozzle receiving opening 331 of the nozzle receiving member 330 opens. In other words, the toner container 32 has the opening position of the nozzle receiving opening 331 located toward the rear end of the container from the end on the container tip side of the tip opening 305, which is the opening position of the container body 33.

In this way, the nozzle receiving opening 331 is located at a recessed position relative to the opening position of the container body 33, so that toner can be prevented from adhering to the outer peripheral surface of the container opening 33a. This is because, even if toner leakage occurs when the conveying nozzle 611 is removed from the toner container 32, the toner that leaks from the nozzle receiving opening 331 and floats around is unlikely to wrap around the end of the container tip side of the container opening 33a. In addition, the toner that leaks and falls from the nozzle receiving opening 331 is caught on the inner peripheral surface below the tip opening 305, so that the toner can be prevented from adhering to the inner peripheral surface 615a of the container set part 615. In this way, the toner that leaks from the nozzle receiving opening 331 can be kept within the area surrounded by the inner peripheral surface on the rear end side of the container from the end face on the container tip side of the container opening 33a, so that the toner can be prevented from scattering outside the toner container 32.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 9, in the first to 20th embodiments, the container setting part 615, which serves as both the positioning part and the rotation bearing of the toner container 32, is farther away from the nozzle opening 610 where toner scattering may occur than when the toner container 32 of the comparative example in FIG. 64 is attached, and there is a space. In addition, the container tip end of the container opening 33a on the toner container 32 side, which serves as both the positioning part and the rotation shaft of the toner container 32, protrudes from the nozzle opening 610 where toner scattering may occur. In the above-mentioned space between the container setting part 615 and the nozzle receiving port 331, there are the nozzle shutter flange part 612a and the nozzle shutter spring 613. Therefore, even during installation and removal, the effect of suppressing toner adhesion by wrapping around the inner circumferential surface 615b of the container setting part 615 and the container tip end of the container opening 33a is exhibited.

The container shutter 332, which seals the nozzle receiving port 331, which is the toner discharge portion of the toner container 32, is positioned toward the rear end (rear side) of the container from the container tip end of the tip opening 305 of the container body 33. By positioning it in this way, a certain distance can be secured between the container shutter 332 and the container tip end of the tip opening 305. This prevents toner from flowing around the opening position of the container body 33 from the nozzle receiving port 331, which is located further back than the opening position of the container body 33, and reaching the outer peripheral surface side of the container opening 33a, thereby preventing toner scattering.

As described above, the toner container 32 is positioned relative to the toner supply device 60 in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis by the engagement between the outer peripheral surface of the container opening 33a and the cylindrical inner peripheral surface 615a of the container setting part 615. That is, the outer peripheral surface of the container opening 33a of the container body 33, which is a powder storage member, is the positioning part with the toner supply device 60, which is a powder conveying device. Therefore, if toner stains occur on the outer peripheral surface side of the container opening 33a, the engagement state with the inner peripheral surface of the container setting part 615 may change, and the positioning accuracy may decrease. In contrast, the toner container 32 of this embodiment can prevent toner from reaching the outer peripheral surface side of the container opening 33a, so the positioning accuracy of the toner container 32 relative to the toner supply device 60 is stable.

Furthermore, the contact portion between the outer peripheral surface of the container opening 33a and the inner peripheral surface of the container set portion 615 is in a sliding relationship when the toner container 32 rotates. That is, the outer peripheral surface of the container opening 33a of the container body 33, which is a powder storage member, is a sliding portion with the toner supply device 60, which is a powder conveying device. If toner enters this sliding portion, the sliding load increases, and there is a risk that the rotation torque of the toner container 32 will increase. In contrast, the toner container 32 of this embodiment can suppress the toner from reaching the outer peripheral surface side of the container opening 33a and suppress the toner from entering the contact portion with the inner peripheral surface of the container set portion 615. Therefore, the increase in the sliding load is suppressed and the sliding property is stabilized, so that the rotation torque of the toner container 32 can be suppressed from increasing. In addition, since the toner can be suppressed from entering the sliding portion, the generation of toner aggregates due to the toner being compressed at the sliding portion can be suppressed.

As described above, when the toner container 32 is attached to the toner supply device 60, the container seal 333 is pressed against the nozzle shutter flange 612a. This brings the nozzle shutter flange 612a into a state of intimate contact and pressure with the container seal 333, more reliably preventing toner leakage. By configuring the container shutter 332 to be positioned longitudinally inward (toward the rear end of the container) from the opening position, a cylindrical space is formed between the tip of the toner container 32 and the end faces of the container shutter 332 and container seal 333 on the container tip side.

The toner container common to the first to twentieth embodiments shown in FIG. 1 will be described with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG.
31 is an explanatory diagram comparing the case where the position of the end face 330f of the nozzle receiver 330 on the container tip side relative to the end face 305f of the container opening 33a on the container tip side in the rotation axis direction is the same position and the case where it is located on the container rear end side. Here, the end face 330f on the container tip side of the nozzle receiver 330 is the end face where the nozzle receiver 331 opens. FIG. 31(a) is an explanatory diagram of the case where the position of the end face 330f of the nozzle receiver 330 on the rotation axis direction is the same position relative to the end face 305f of the container opening 33a. Also, FIG. 31(b) is an explanatory diagram of the case where the position of the end face 330f of the nozzle receiver 330 on the rotation axis direction relative to the end face 305f of the container opening 33a is located on the container rear end side.

In the toner supply device 60 shown in Figures 31(a) and (b), before the conveying nozzle 611 is inserted into the nozzle receiving opening 331 of the nozzle receiving member 330, the nozzle shutter 612 is biased in the tube insertion direction (to the right in the figure) by the nozzle shutter spring 613. As a result, the nozzle shutter 612 is positioned near the tip end of the conveying nozzle 611 and closes the nozzle opening 610. At this time, one end of the nozzle shutter spring 613 abuts against the back side of the nozzle shutter flange 612a, which is the abutment portion of the nozzle shutter 612, and the other end of the nozzle shutter spring 613 abuts against the end surface 615b of the toner supply device 60.

The toner container 32, which is a powder storage container, is slid in the direction of the arrow Q in FIG. 31 (container mounting direction) to the toner supply device 60 shown in FIG. 31 (a) and (b) and mounted. When mounted in this manner, the nozzle shutter 612, which is biased in the direction opposite to the Q direction by the nozzle shutter spring 613, hits the end surface 330f on the container tip side of the container body 33 where the nozzle receiving port 331 of the nozzle receiving member 330 is open. After that, when the toner container 32 is further slid in the Q direction, the nozzle shutter 612 moves in the Q direction relative to the conveying nozzle 611 being inserted into the toner container 32. As a result, the nozzle shutter 612 moves to the base side of the conveying nozzle 611, and the nozzle opening 610 is opened. Then, as shown in FIG. 31 (a) and (b), after the toner container 32 is mounted on the toner supply device 60, the nozzle opening 610 is in a fully opened state.

As the nozzle shutter 612 moves toward the base of the conveying nozzle 611, the nozzle shutter spring 613 is compressed. Then, as shown in FIGS. 31(a) and (b), after the toner container 32 is attached to the toner supply device 60, the length of the nozzle shutter spring 613 in the rotation axis direction is the shortest, but the nozzle shutter spring 613 at this time also has a certain amount of contact length in the rotation axis direction. For this reason, a retreat space (length in the rotation axis direction is W) is required between the end surface 330f of the nozzle receiver 330 and the end surface 615b of the toner supply device 60. Here, the retreat space (length in the rotation axis direction is W) is a space in which the nozzle shutter 612 on the container tip side from the nozzle shutter flange 612a and the nozzle shutter spring 613 can be accommodated.

The nozzle opening 610 must reach a position where it can receive the toner powder in the container body 33, which is the powder storage member, and the optimal position of the nozzle opening 610 is determined by the shape of the container body 33. For this reason, if the shape of the container body 33 is the same, the distance in the rotation axis direction from the end surface 305f on the container tip side of the container opening 33a in the container body 33 to the optimal position of the nozzle opening 610 is constant.

In such a configuration, if the toner container 32 has the structure shown in FIG. 31(a), the following problem occurs. In the structure shown in FIG. 31(a), the position in the rotational axis direction of the end face 305f on the container tip side of the container opening 33a is the same as the position in the rotational axis direction of the end face 330f on the container tip side where the nozzle receiving opening 331 of the nozzle receiving member 330 opens.

Therefore, the distance (L1) from end surface 615b of toner supply device 60 to fitting portion 615s becomes longer than the length (W) of the retreat space in the rotation axis direction, which leads to an increase in the size of toner supply device 60.
Moreover, if the shape of the container body 33 is the same, the distance in the rotational axis direction from the end face 305f on the container tip side of the container opening 33a in the container body 33 to the optimal position of the nozzle opening 610 is constant. Also, the position of the end face 305f on the container tip side of the container opening 33a, which is the starting point for determining the position of the nozzle opening 610 in the rotational axis direction, is a position away from the end face 615b of the toner supply device 60 by the length (W) of the evacuation space in the rotational axis direction or more. Therefore, the distance (L2) from the end face 615b of the toner supply device 60 to the tip of the conveying nozzle 611 becomes longer, leading to an increase in the size of the toner supply device 60.
Furthermore, the position of end face 305f on the container tip side of container opening 33a, which is the end on the container tip side of toner container 32, is located at a position that is away from end face 615b of toner supply device 60 by at least length W of the rotation axis direction of the evacuation space. Therefore, the distance (L3) from end face 615b of toner supply device 60 to one end side edge of toner container 32 becomes long, leading to an increase in the size of toner supply device 60 that holds toner container 32.

On the other hand, in the configuration shown in FIG. 31(b), the end surface 330f on the container tip side where the nozzle receiving port 331 of the nozzle receiving member 330 opens is provided on the container rear end side (right side in FIG. 31) from the end 305f on the container tip side of the container opening 33a. Therefore, when the toner container 32 is attached to the toner supply device 60, the nozzle shutter flange portion 612a of the nozzle shutter 612 abuts at a position on the tip side of the conveying nozzle 611 from the end surface 305f on the container tip side of the container opening 33a in the rotation axis direction. As a result, at least a part of the evacuation space is on the container rear end side (tip side of the conveying nozzle 611) from the end surface 305f on the container tip side of the container opening 33a. Therefore, the distance (L1) from the end surface 615b of the toner supply device 60 to the fitting portion 615s can be shortened (by La in FIG. 31) compared to the configuration shown in FIG. 31(a). Also, the distance (L2) from the end surface 615b of the toner supply device 60 to the tip of the conveying nozzle 611 can be made shorter (by La in FIG. 31) than the configuration shown in FIG. 31(a). Furthermore, the distance (L3) from the end surface 615b of the toner supply device 60 to one end side edge of the toner container 32 can be made shorter (by La in FIG. 31) than the configuration shown in FIG. 31(a). Therefore, it is possible to prevent the toner supply device 60, which is a powder conveying device, from becoming larger in the rotation axis direction.

In the configuration shown in FIG. 31B, the end face of the nozzle receiver 330 on the container tip side where the nozzle receiver 331 is open is provided on the container rear end side (right side in FIG. 31) from the container tip end of the container opening 33a (305f in FIG. 31). Here, the end face of the nozzle receiver 330 on the container tip side where the nozzle receiver 331 is open is 330f in FIG. 31, which is the container tip end side end face of the container seal 333 in the embodiment, and the container tip side end of the nozzle shutter abutment rib 337a. Therefore, when the toner container 32 is mounted on the toner supply device 60, the nozzle shutter flange 612a of the nozzle shutter 612 abuts at a position on the container rear end side from the container tip end of the container opening 33a in the rotation axis direction. As a result, at least a part of the evacuation space is within a cylindrical space formed between the opening position of the tip opening 305 (container tip end) and the container tip end face of the container seal 333. 31A, it is possible to reduce the distances L1, L2, and L3 in FIG. 31 by La compared to the configuration shown in FIG. 31A, thereby preventing the toner supply device 60 from becoming larger in the rotation axis direction. Here, L1 is the distance from the end face 615b of the toner supply device 60 to the fitting portion 615s, and L2 is the distance from the end face 615b of the toner supply device 60 to the tip of the conveying nozzle 611. Furthermore, L3 is the distance from the end face 615b of the toner supply device 60 to the rear end of the toner container 32.
If the toner supply device 60 is not to be reduced in size, the container body 33 can be lengthened in the rotation axis direction by La, and the amount of toner that can be stored in the toner container 32 can be increased.

When the toner container 32 is not attached to the toner supply device 60, the nozzle shutter 612 closes the nozzle opening 610 of the conveying nozzle 611. When the toner container 32 is attached to the toner supply device 60, the nozzle shutter 612 must be opened to allow the toner to be received.
In the toner supply device 60, a cylindrical space (tip opening 305) is formed between the container tip end of the container opening 33a and the container tip end faces of the container shutter 332 and the container seal 333. A retraction space is configured in this space to accommodate all or part of the retraction space for the nozzle shutter 612 when the nozzle shutter 612 is open. The retraction space also accommodates all or part of the nozzle shutter spring 613 for closing the nozzle shutter 612. This configuration makes it possible to save space for arranging the nozzle shutter 612 and the nozzle shutter spring 613.

9, in this embodiment, when the toner container 32 is attached to the toner replenishing device 60, the retracted position of the nozzle shutter 612 is located inside the container seal 333 on the nozzle tip side from the nozzle shutter flange 612a. The nozzle base side from the nozzle shutter flange 612a is approximately contained within a cylindrical space formed between the opening position of the tip opening 305 (container tip end) and the end face of the container seal 333 on the container tip side. Furthermore, the nozzle shutter spring 613 in a compressed state is also approximately contained within this cylindrical space.
With this configuration, it is possible to shorten the distance from the opening position of the tip opening 305, which is the most distal end of the toner container 32, to the toner dropping portion of the toner supply device 60 (the position where the toner dropping conveying path 64 is connected to the conveying nozzle 611), thereby making it possible to reduce the size of the device body.

As described with reference to Figures 22 to 28, when the nozzle shutter 612 is closed, the shutter inner circumference first rib 612b abuts against the edge of the nozzle tip side of the nozzle opening 610, i.e., the upper part of the inner wall surface of the nozzle tip portion 611a of the conveying nozzle 611. This provides a function to prevent the nozzle shutter 612 from coming off. In addition, the shutter inner circumference first rib 612b has its circumferential end, the inner circumference first rib tip portion 612g, abutting against the nozzle opening lateral edge portion 611s, which is the lateral edge of the nozzle opening 610, providing a rotation stop function for the nozzle shutter 612. This rotation stop function of the nozzle shutter 612 functions in the same way even when the toner container 32 is attached to the toner replenishing device 60.

As described above, the inner diameter of the second shutter inner rib 612c and the third shutter inner rib 612d is formed to be slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the conveying nozzle 611. As an example, when the outer diameter of the conveying nozzle 611 is φ15 [mm], the inner diameter of the second shutter inner rib 612c and the third shutter inner rib 612d may be set to about φ14.8 [mm] to 14.9 [mm]. In this way, the second shutter inner rib 612c and the third shutter inner rib 612d are formed on the inner surface of the nozzle shutter 612 in a circular shape with an inner diameter slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the conveying nozzle 611. This makes it possible to block the gap between the inner surface of the nozzle shutter 612 and the outer surface of the conveying nozzle 611, and a toner seal function can be obtained without a seal member, making a seal member such as sponge or rubber unnecessary. Since there is no need to use a seal member separate from the nozzle shutter 612, it is possible to prevent toner leakage and reduce costs.
As a configuration for preventing toner leakage, a circular seal member may be disposed instead of the shutter inner circumference second rib 612c and the shutter inner circumference third rib 612d. However, the gap between the inner circumference surface of the nozzle shutter 612 and the outer circumference surface of the conveying nozzle 611 is so narrow that a circular seal member cannot fit therein. Therefore, when a circular seal member is disposed, a circular nozzle shutter seal member 612h is disposed as shown in Fig. 65. In this case, the outer diameter of the nozzle shutter seal receiving portion 612j is set to be smaller than the diameter of the nozzle shutter spring 613 so that the nozzle shutter spring 613 abuts against the nozzle shutter spring receiving surface 612f.

In order to assemble the nozzle shutter 612 to the conveying nozzle 611, the nozzle shutter 612 must be temporarily deformed, and therefore the nozzle shutter 612 needs to be elastically deformed to a certain extent. If a material that is too hard to be elastically deformed is used, the shutter 612 will not be elastically deformed and will break during assembly. The nozzle shutter 612 is made of a material with appropriate elasticity. For example, if the outer shape of the conveying nozzle 611 is cylindrical, the nozzle shutter 612 is cylindrical with an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter. A first shutter inner rib 612b, which is a protrusion toward the inside, is formed on the inner diameter portion of the nozzle shutter 612. By arranging this first shutter inner rib 612b facing the nozzle opening 610 of the conveying nozzle 611, the nozzle shutter 612 can function as a stopper for preventing the nozzle shutter 612 from coming off and rotating. In addition, the portion of the conveying nozzle 611 with which the protrusion of the nozzle shutter 612 engages is not limited to the nozzle opening 610, but may be any portion of the conveying nozzle 611 as long as the protrusion can provide the functions of preventing the nozzle shutter 612 from coming loose or rotating.
According to experiments by the inventors, it is preferable to select a resin material with a tensile elastic modulus of 500 MPa to 2000 MPa as the material for the nozzle shutter 612. When the nozzle shutter 612 is assembled to the conveying nozzle 611, the three ribs (612b to 612d) formed on the inner peripheral surface of the nozzle shutter 612 provide resistance when the conveying nozzle 611 is inserted into the nozzle shutter 612. This resistance becomes particularly large when the first rib 612b on the inner peripheral surface of the shutter passes over the nozzle tip portion 611a and enters the nozzle opening 610.

At this time, if the nozzle shutter 612 is made of a material with a certain degree of elasticity, the nozzle shutter 612 can be deformed and easily assembled. Furthermore, there is an advantage that the sliding load caused by the second rib 612c on the inner periphery of the shutter and the third rib 612d on the inner periphery of the shutter tightening the conveying nozzle 611 is not increased.
Furthermore, if the nozzle shutter 612 is too easily deformed, the functions of preventing the shutter from coming off and preventing rotation of the first inner circumferential rib 612b will be lost.
The above-mentioned advantages can be stably obtained by selecting polyethylene or polypropylene as a material having a certain degree of elasticity for use in the nozzle shutter 612. In addition, it is preferable that the thickness of the nozzle shutter cylindrical portion 612e of the nozzle shutter 612 is 0.3 mm to 0.5 mm.
By providing the nozzle shutter 612 with the material characteristics and shape described above, the cost of the shutter mechanism that opens and closes the nozzle opening 610 can be reduced.

Next, the cap 370 common to the first to fourth embodiments will be described in relation to the toner container 32 during storage.
Fig. 32 is a perspective view of the toner container 32 during storage, with a cap 370 attached as a sealing member for sealing the tip opening 305 of the toner container 32 shown in Fig. 6. Fig. 33 is a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the tip end of the toner container 32 with the cap 370 attached.

The toner container 32 shown in FIG. 32 also includes the following invention. That is, the toner container 32 is a powder storage container that stores toner as a powder developer inside and can attach a cap 370 as a sealing member that seals the nozzle receiving port 331 that serves as a developer discharge port to the container opening 33a. As described above, the container opening 33a is a part of the container body 33, and as shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 6, FIG. 7, etc., the container body 33 is formed with the container opening 33a so as to penetrate the container tip side cover 34 required when fixing the toner container 32 to the toner supply device 60. This allows the container opening 33a of the container body 33 to be exposed from the container tip side cover 34. And, since the container opening 33a, which is a part of the container body 33 in which the toner is stored, can be directly sealed by the cap 370, the sealing effect is improved and toner leakage can be more reliably prevented.

In the toner container 32 common to the first to twentieth embodiments, a cap flange 371 is provided on the cap 370. When the cap 370 is attached to the toner container 32, as shown in Fig. 32, the cap flange 371 is configured to hide the ID tag 700 provided on the container front end cover 34. This makes it possible to prevent the ID tag 700 from being contacted or impacted from the outside while the toner container 32 is stored, and therefore makes it possible to protect the ID tag 700.
In the toner container 32 of the first to fourth embodiments, the cap flange 371 of the cap 370 is made larger in outer diameter than the container front cover 34 and the container body 33. This makes it possible to prevent the toner container 32 from being damaged when dropped, etc., and to protect the toner container 32.

Furthermore, the container opening 33a, which is part of the container body 33, is directly sealed by the cap 370, which provides a higher sealing effect than a configuration in which the container opening 33a is sealed via a member separate from the container body 33 (e.g., the container tip cover 34). If the container opening 33a is directly sealed, it is also possible to seal the container body 33, and if it can be sealed, it is possible to prevent air and moisture from entering the container body 33, and it is possible to reduce the amount of packaging material required for the toner container 32 during storage.

When using the toner container 32 (attaching it to the toner replenishing device 60), the cap 370 is removed before use. The method for attaching the cap 370 to the toner container 32 may be any method that can secure the cap, such as a screw method or a hook method. At this time, a fixing portion on the toner container 32 side, such as a thread for the screw method or a hook for the hook method, is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the container opening 33a exposed from the container front cover 34. In the toner container 32 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 33, a cap fixing thread 309 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the container opening 33a, and a screw method is used as a method for fixing the sealing member.
The configuration for sealing the opening formed by the tip opening 305 is not limited to fixing the cap 370 by a screw method, but the opening may also be sealed by pressing a film member against the tip end of the container opening 33a.

<Fifth embodiment>
As a fifth embodiment, a cap 370 provided with an adsorbent will be described.
First, a description will be given of a toner container 32 that uses an adsorbent such as a desiccant during storage. Note that an adsorbent is not limited to moisture and can adsorb various substances (gases, etc.). Therefore, a desiccant is included in the adsorbent category. Examples of adsorbents include silica gel, aluminum oxide, and zeolite, but any material that has adsorption properties will do.

If the container body 33 is completely sealed with the cap 370, the intrusion of air and moisture can be prevented, making the adsorbent unnecessary, and therefore the packaging material also unnecessary. With this method, the amount of packaging material, such as the bags, cushioning material, and individual packaging boxes, used to package the toner container 32 can be reduced, and the size of the packaging can be made smaller, thereby reducing the environmental impact through the reduction in materials used.
However, the inventors have confirmed that the toner, which is a powder, generates gas and generates small clumps of toner, although the gas does not go as far as coagulation or solidification. Such clumps lead to abnormal images such as white spots and spots of various colors, and therefore their generation must be suppressed. If the toner does not generate gas itself, it may be configured to be sealed without providing an adsorbent, as shown in Figure 33, but it is preferable that the toner container 32 that contains toner that generates gas itself is provided with an adsorbent that adsorbs this gas.

Figure 34 is a cross-sectional view of a first example of a toner container 32 in which an adsorbent 372 is provided on a cap 370. The toner container 32 shown in Figure 34 includes the following invention. That is, the toner container 32 shown in Figure 34 has a configuration in which an adsorbent 372 is provided on a cap 370, as compared to the toner container 32 shown in Figure 33. With the toner container 32 shown in Figure 34, by removing the cap 370 when using the toner container, the adsorbent 372 can be removed together with the cap 370, thereby improving operability.
However, in the configuration shown in FIG. 34, the adsorbent 372 is exposed to the outside air around the toner container 32, and therefore a packaging material is required.

<Sixth embodiment>
As a sixth embodiment, a second example of a cap 370 provided with an adsorbent will be described.
Fig. 35 is a cross-sectional view of a second example of a toner container 32 in which an adsorbent 372 is provided on a cap 370. The toner container 32 shown in Fig. 35 includes the following invention. That is, the toner container 32 shown in Fig. 35 stores toner as a powder developer inside. The toner container 32 is a powder storage container in which a cap 370 as a sealing member for sealing a nozzle receiving port 331 serving as a developer discharge port can be attached to a container opening 33a forming a tip opening so that the inside of the container body 33 is sealed. Furthermore, the toner container 32 shown in Fig. 35 has an adsorbent 372 provided inside the cap 370 that seals the tip opening.

The toner container 32 shown in Figure 35 is provided with an adsorbent 372 on the cap 370, and similarly to the toner container 32 shown in Figure 34, by removing the cap 370 when using the container, the adsorbent 372 can be removed together with the cap 370, thereby improving operability.
In addition, the space that contains the toner (the internal space of the container body 33) is completely sealed with the cap 370, so that it is possible to prevent air and moisture from entering the space that contains the toner. Furthermore, since the adsorbent 372 is provided inside the sealed space, it is possible to adsorb gas generated from the toner itself, and the adsorption performance is improved compared to the toner container 32 shown in Figure 34. In addition, since the space that contains the toner (the internal space of the container body 33) is sealed and the adsorbent 372 is provided in this sealed space, both the toner and the adsorbent 372 are not affected by the outside air around the toner container 32. This eliminates the need for packaging materials.

<Seventh embodiment>
As the seventh embodiment, a third example of a cap 370 provided with an adsorbent will be described.
FIG. 36 is a cross-sectional view of a third example of the toner container 32 in which an adsorbent 372 is provided on a cap 370. The toner container 32 shown in FIG. 36 includes the following invention. That is, the toner container 32 shown in FIG. 36 stores toner as a powder developer inside. The toner container 32 is a powder storage container in which a cap 370 as a sealing member for sealing a nozzle receiving port 331 serving as a developer discharge port can be attached to a container opening 33a forming a tip opening so that the inside of the container body 33 is in a sealed state. The toner container 32 shown in FIG. 36 is provided with an adsorbent 372 on the inside of the cap 370 that seals the tip opening. Furthermore, the toner container 32 shown in FIG. 36 is arranged so that at least a part of the adsorbent 372 fits in a recess at the tip of the toner container 32. Here, the recess at the tip of the toner container 32 is a cylindrical space formed between the opening position of the tip opening 305 and the end surface of the container tip side of the container seal 333.

36 has an adsorbent 372 provided on a cap 370. As a result, similar to the toner container 32 shown in FIGS. 34 and 35, when the cap 370 is removed for use, the adsorbent 372 can be removed together with the cap 370, improving operability.
35, the space for storing toner (internal space of container body 33) is completely sealed with cap 370, thereby preventing air and moisture from entering the space for storing toner. Furthermore, since adsorbent 372 is provided inside the sealed space, gas generated from the toner itself can also be adsorbed, improving the adsorption performance compared to toner container 32 shown in FIG. 34. Furthermore, since the space for storing toner (internal space of container body 33) is sealed and adsorbent 372 is provided in this sealed space, both the toner and adsorbent 372 are not affected by the outside air around toner container 32. This eliminates the need for packaging materials.

The toner container 32 shown in FIG. 36 has the same effect as the toner container 32 shown in FIG. 35 described above, and in addition, at least a portion of the adsorbent 372 is arranged to fit within the recess at the tip of the toner container 32, which allows the length of the cap 370 in the axial direction to be shortened. This allows the toner container 32 to be made smaller during storage.

Furthermore, in the case where the toner container 32 is sealed by the cap 370, a packing material or the like may be used to improve the degree of adhesion between the container opening 33a of the toner container 32 and the cap 370.
Furthermore, the adsorbent 372 may be provided integrally with the cap 370 (fixed to the cap 370) or separately (not fixed to the cap 370). However, if the adsorbent 372 is fixed to the cap 370 and provided integrally, the cap 370 and the adsorbent 372 can be removed together, which prevents the adsorbent 372 from being forgotten to be removed and improves operability.

Here, a problem with a conventional toner container, in which the space for storing toner (container body) cannot be directly sealed with a sealing member, will be described.
In recent years, the toner used in image forming devices has tended to be fixed at a lower temperature and have smaller particle size, which has led to poorer heat resistance. For example, if the toner is exposed to a high temperature environment during transportation, it may aggregate and, in the worst case, solidify, making it impossible to supply the toner from the toner container to the image forming device. It is known that this aggregation and solidification of toner is significantly more likely to occur in higher humidity environments than in the same temperature environment. There are various routes by which toner containers are supplied to users, and the environment cannot be controlled. For example, transportation can be by land, air, or sea, but it is difficult to control the temperature and humidity of these routes.

One solution to this problem is to use a container that controls the transport environment, but it is impossible to do so for all transport routes and there are also issues with costs. To address this issue, the toner container 32 of embodiments 1 to 7 can directly seal the container opening 33a, which is part of the container body 33 in which the toner is stored, with the cap 370, improving the sealing effect and more reliably preventing toner leakage. In addition, because the sealing effect is improved, the toner container 32 is less susceptible to the effects of the external environment when stored.

Furthermore, by removing the cap 370 from the toner container 32, it is possible to mount the toner container 32 on the toner supply device 60, thereby providing a powder storage container that is easy to use.
Furthermore, since the cap 370 is shaped to protect the ID tag 700 and the toner container 32, the amount of cushioning material and individual packaging boxes used to package the toner container 32 can be reduced, and the size of the packaging can be made smaller, thereby reducing the environmental impact by reducing the amount of materials used.

<Eighth embodiment>
As an eighth embodiment, a first example of a toner container 32 having a cap 370 equipped with a toner leakage prevention means will be described.
After the toner container 32, which is a powder storage container, is supplied to a user, it is often handled by the user, and since there is no particular restriction on how it is handled, it may be handled roughly. For this reason, the toner container 32 needs to have sufficient measures against vibration and dropping so that toner leakage does not occur even if it is handled roughly.
It is necessary to prevent toner leakage from the nozzle receiving opening 331. To prevent this leakage, it is necessary to prevent toner from leaking out when a gap occurs between the container seal 333 that forms the nozzle receiving opening 331 and the container shutter 332 that covers the nozzle receiving opening 331.

Figure 37 is a cross-sectional view of a first example of a toner container 32 in which a toner leakage prevention means is provided in the cap as the eighth embodiment. The toner container 32 shown in Figure 37 includes the following invention. That is, the toner container 32 shown in Figure 37 is a powder storage member in which a cylindrical member 373 is attached to the cap 370 in a powder storage container having a container body 33, a container seal 333, a container shutter 332, and a cap 370. Here, the container body 33 is a powder storage member that stores toner, which is a powder, inside, and the container seal 333 forms the nozzle receiving port 331, which is a tube receiving port provided at the opening on the container tip side of the container body 33. In addition, the container shutter 332 is an opening/closing member for the nozzle receiving port 331, the cap 370 is a sealing member for the opening on the container tip side that is the powder discharge side in the container body 33, and the cylindrical member 373 is a toner leakage prevention means.

In the toner container 32 shown in FIG. 37, the cylindrical member 373 is formed from a material different from the cap 370, and the container tip side in the rotation axis direction of the toner container 32 (left side in FIG. 37) is fixed to the cap 370 with adhesive or the like. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 37, when the cap 370 is attached, the cylindrical member 373 is configured so that the end face on one end side in the rotation axis direction of the toner container 32 (right side in FIG. 37) contacts the container tip side end face of the container shutter 332. The end face on one end side of the cylindrical member 373 is circular, and has a larger diameter than the container tip side end face of the container shutter 332 and a smaller diameter than the annular outer periphery of the container tip side end face of the container seal 333.

With this configuration, when the cap 370 is attached to the toner container 32, the end face on one end side of the cylindrical member 373 simultaneously contacts the end faces of the container shutter 332 and the container front end side of the container seal 333. At this time, the end face on the container rear end side of the cylindrical member 373 contacts the boundary between the container shutter 332 and the container seal 333 so as to straddle it. This allows the nozzle receiving port 331 to be directly sealed, and even if a gap occurs between the container seal 333 and the container shutter 332 due to impact from vibration or dropping, toner leakage can be prevented. In this way, the toner container 32 shown in FIG. 37 can prevent toner leakage, is advantageous against vibration and dropping, and can prevent toner leakage even if the toner container 32 is roughly handled during transportation, etc.

37, the columnar member 373 is made of a different material from the cap 370. Therefore, the cap 370 can be made of an inexpensive resin such as polystyrene resin, and the columnar member 373 can be made of a highly flexible material such as rubber or sponge. By making the columnar member 373 of a highly flexible material, the adhesion to the container shutter 332 and the container seal 333 at the end faces on the container tip side is improved when the columnar member 373 comes into contact with these members. This is further advantageous in preventing toner leakage caused by vibration or impact due to dropping.
Furthermore, by making the cap 370 out of an inexpensive resin such as polystyrene resin, which is a material different from that of the columnar member 373, it is possible to reduce costs while maintaining the toner leakage prevention function provided by the columnar member 373.

<Ninth embodiment>
As a ninth embodiment, a second example of a toner container 32 having a cap 370 equipped with a toner leakage prevention means will be described.
Fig. 38 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of a second example of a toner container 32 in which a toner leakage prevention means is provided in the cap. The toner container 32 shown in Fig. 38 includes the following invention. That is, the toner container 32 shown in Fig. 38 is a powder storage member having a container body 33, a container seal 333, a container shutter 332, and a cap 370, and a cylindrical portion 374 is formed integrally with the cap 370. Here, the cylindrical portion 374 is a toner leakage prevention means.

In the toner container 32 shown in FIG. 38, when the cap 370 is attached, the cylindrical portion 374 formed as part of the cap 370 comes into contact with the container shutter 332. At this time, the end face of the cylindrical portion 374 on one end side in the rotation axis direction of the toner container 32 (right side in FIG. 38) comes into contact with the end face of the container front end side of the container shutter 332 (left side in FIG. 38). The end face on one end side of the cylindrical portion 374 is circular, with a larger diameter than the end face on the container front end side of the container shutter 332 and a smaller diameter than the annular outer periphery of the end face on the container front end side of the container seal 333.

With this configuration, when the cap 370 is attached to the toner container 32, the end face on one end side of the cylindrical portion 374 contacts the end faces on the container tip side of the container shutter 332 and the container seal 333 at the same time. At this time, the end face on one end side of the cylindrical portion 374 contacts the boundary between the container shutter 332 and the container seal 333 so as to straddle it. This allows the nozzle receiving port 331 to be directly sealed, and even if a gap occurs between the container seal 333 and the container shutter 332 due to impact from vibration or dropping, toner leakage can be prevented. In this way, the toner container 32 shown in FIG. 38 can prevent toner leakage, is advantageous against vibration and dropping, and can prevent toner leakage even if the toner container 32 is roughly handled during transportation, etc. In addition, since the cylindrical portion 374 can be made integrally as a part of the cap 370 (integrally molded), costs can be reduced.

<Embodiment 10>
As a tenth embodiment, a third example of the toner container 32 having a cap 370 equipped with a toner leakage prevention means will be described.
Fig. 39 is a cross-sectional view of a third example of a toner container 32 in which a toner leakage prevention means is provided in the cap. The toner container 32 shown in Fig. 39 includes the following invention. That is, the toner container 32 shown in Fig. 39 is a powder storage container having a container body 33, a container seal 333, a container shutter 332, and a cap 370, and a columnar portion 374 is formed integrally with the cap 370. Furthermore, this powder storage member is provided with a columnar tip elastic member 375 on the end surface of the columnar portion 374 that contacts the nozzle receiving opening 331. The columnar tip elastic member 375 is made of a highly flexible material such as rubber or sponge.

In the toner container 32 shown in FIG. 39, when the cap 370 is attached, the cylindrical tip elastic member 375 of the cylindrical portion 374 is configured to contact the end face of the container tip side (left side in FIG. 39) of the container shutter 332. Here, the cylindrical portion 374 is formed as a part of the cap 370, and the cylindrical tip elastic member 375 is provided on the end face of the cylindrical portion 374 on one end side (right side in FIG. 39) in the rotation axis direction of the toner container 32. The end face on one end side of the cylindrical tip elastic member 375 is circular, and has a larger diameter than the end face on the container tip side of the container shutter 332 and a smaller diameter than the annular outer periphery of the end face on the container tip side of the container seal 333.

With this configuration, when the cap 370 is attached to the toner container 32, the end face on one end side of the cylindrical tip elastic member 375 simultaneously contacts the end faces on the container tip side of the container shutter 332 and the container seal 333. At this time, the end face on one end side of the cylindrical tip elastic member 375 contacts the boundary between the container shutter 332 and the container seal 333 so as to straddle it. This allows the nozzle receiving port 331 to be directly sealed, and even if a gap occurs between the container seal 333 and the container shutter 332 due to impact from vibration or dropping, toner leakage can be prevented. In this way, the toner container 32 shown in FIG. 39 can prevent toner leakage, is advantageous against vibration and dropping, and can prevent toner leakage even if the toner container 32 is roughly handled during transportation, etc. In particular, in the configuration shown in FIG. 39, the cap 370 is attached by providing the cylindrical tip elastic member 375 at the tip of the cylindrical portion 374. As a result, when the cylindrical tip elastic member 375 comes into contact with the container shutter 332 and the container seal 333, the adhesion to these members is improved compared to the toner container 32 shown in FIG. 38. This is even more effective in preventing toner leakage caused by vibration or impact from being dropped.

<Embodiment 11>
As an eleventh embodiment, a fourth example of the toner container 32 having a cap 370 equipped with a toner leakage prevention means will be described.
Fig. 40 is a cross-sectional view of a fourth example of a toner container 32 in which a toner leakage prevention means is provided in the cap. The toner container 32 shown in Fig. 40 includes the following invention. That is, the toner container 32 shown in Fig. 40 is a powder storage container having a container body 33, a container seal 333, a container shutter 332, and a cap 370, and a cylindrical portion 374 is provided in the cap 370. Furthermore, an adsorbent 372 is provided inside the cylindrical portion 374 in a form that is open to the outside, i.e., exposed to the outside air.

The toner container 32 shown in Fig. 40 has a configuration in which an adsorbent 372 is added to the toner container 32 shown in Fig. 38, and therefore has an advantage over the toner container 32 shown in Fig. 38 in terms of resistance to vibration and dropping. This makes it possible to prevent toner leakage even if the toner container 32 is roughly handled during transportation, etc. Also, since the columnar portion 374 can be made integrally (integrally molded) as a part of the cap 370, costs can be reduced.
40 is provided with an adsorbent 372, which can prevent air and moisture from entering the inside of the toner container 32. Also, since the adsorbent 372 is provided in a cylindrical portion 374 formed in the cap 370, by removing the cap 370 when using the toner container 32, the adsorbent 372 can be removed together with the cap 370, improving operability.

However, in the configuration shown in FIG. 40, the adsorbent 372 is exposed to the outside air around the toner container 32, and since the adsorbent 372 is provided to absorb moisture around the toner container 32, packaging material such as a storage bag is required.
Essentially, it is believed that cap 370 is sufficient, but if cap 370 is not required to have a hermetic seal (if it is used to absorb shock, etc.), then a configuration having a cylindrical portion 374 and an adsorbent 372 as shown in Figure 40 is effective.

<Twelfth embodiment>
As a twelfth embodiment, a fifth example of the toner container 32 having a cap 370 with a toner leakage prevention means will be described.
Fig. 41 is a cross-sectional view of a fifth example of a toner container 32 in which a toner leakage prevention means is provided in the cap. The toner container 32 shown in Fig. 41 includes the following invention. That is, the toner container 32 shown in Fig. 41 is a powder storage container having a container body 33, a container seal 333, a container shutter 332, and a cap 370, and a cylindrical part 374 is provided on the cap 370. The cap 370 can be attached to the container opening 33a that forms the tip opening so that the inside of the container body 33 is sealed. Furthermore, an adsorbent 372 is arranged inside the cylindrical part 374 so as to adsorb an object to be adsorbed in the space sealed by the cap 370.
41, in order to allow the adsorbent to adsorb gases and the like generated from the toner itself, suction holes 374a are provided as openings on the side surface of the cylindrical portion 374. The toner container 32 is configured such that the space sealed by the cap 370 communicates with the space in which the suction holes 374a are arranged.

The toner container 32 shown in Fig. 41 has a configuration in which the end face on the container tip side of the cylindrical portion 374 of the toner container 32 shown in Fig. 38 is blocked and an adsorbent 372 is added thereto. Therefore, like the toner container 32 shown in Fig. 38, it is advantageous against vibration and dropping, and toner leakage can be prevented even if the toner container 32 is roughly handled during transportation, etc.
41 is provided with an adsorbent 372, which can prevent air and moisture from entering the inside of the toner container 32. In addition, since the adsorbent 372 is provided in a cylindrical portion 374 formed in the cap 370, by removing the cap 370 when using the toner container 32, the adsorbent 372 can be removed together with the cap 370, improving operability.

The toner container 32 shown in FIG. 41 can prevent air and moisture from entering the space that contains the toner by completely sealing the space that contains the toner (the internal space of the container body 33) with the cap 370. Furthermore, the space sealed by the cap 370 is in communication with the space in which the adsorption holes 374a are arranged, so that gas generated from the toner itself can also be adsorbed, improving the adsorption performance compared to the configuration shown in FIG. 40. In addition, since the space that contains the toner (the internal space of the container body 33) is sealed and the adsorbent 372 is provided in this sealed space, both the toner and the adsorbent 372 are not affected by the outside air around the toner container 32. This eliminates the need for packaging materials.

40 and 41, the toner container 32 has been described as being provided with the adsorbent 372 in the columnar portion 374 that is integrally formed with the cap 370. However, the toner leakage prevention means for providing the adsorbent 372 may be a columnar member 373 that is provided as a separate member with respect to the cap 370, as shown in FIG.
37 to 41, a screw system is used as a fixing method for the cap 370, which is a sealing member. However, as a method for attaching the cap 370 to the toner container 32, any method that can fix the cap 370, such as a screw system or a hook system, may be used, as long as the cap can be fixed, as in the configuration described in FIG. 33 etc.

37 to 41 (embodiments 8 to 12), the container shutter 332 and the container seal 333 are held down by a columnar member 373, a columnar portion 374, or a columnar tip elastic member 375. This provides an advantage against vibrations and shocks caused by dropping, and prevents toner leakage even if the container is roughly handled during transportation.
In addition, the cylindrical member 373, the cylindrical portion 374, or the cylindrical tip elastic member 375 presses the container shutter 332 and the container seal 333, so that the movement of the container shutter 332 is restricted even when the toner container 32 is vibrated or dropped. In addition, the container shutter 332 is in contact with the container seal 333 with some degree of compression, so no gap is created and toner leakage does not occur.
36 to 41 (embodiments 7 to 12) are all inventions that utilize the space between the end of the container opening 33a and the container shutter 332. This space is originally intended to house the nozzle shutter 612 and the nozzle shutter spring 613 in close contact when the toner container 32 is attached to the toner supply device 60, thereby suppressing toner scattering and reducing size. The inventions of FIGS. 36 to 41 are also interesting in that the space is utilized even when the toner container 32 is engaged with the cap 370 when it is stored separately.

<Embodiment 13>
The fixing of the nozzle receiver 330 to the container body 33 by screwing will be described.
The toner container 32 of embodiments 1 to 12 described using Figure 11 etc. is configured so that, after toner is filled into the container body 33 through the opening of the container opening 33a in a toner filling factory or the like, the nozzle receiving member 330 is pressed into the container opening 33a of the container body 33.
Therefore, each component can be reused by releasing this press-fitting, removing the nozzle receiver 330 from the container body 33, and refilling the container body 33 with toner. In addition, removing the nozzle receiver 330 from the container body 33 facilitates disassembly and sorting, making it possible to recycle materials.

Next, a configuration example in which the nozzle receiver 330 is fixed to the container body 33 by screwing will be described.
Fig. 42 is a perspective view of a container shutter support member 340 used in a nozzle receiver 330 fixed to a container body 33 by screwing. The container shutter support member 340 shown in Fig. 42 has a screw thread 337c formed on the outer peripheral surface of a receiver fixing portion 337. Although not shown, a thread groove used for screwing with the screw thread 337c is formed on the inner peripheral surface of a container opening 33a of a container body 33 of a toner container 32 using the container shutter support member 340 shown in Fig. 42.
In the nozzle receiver 330 using the container shutter support member 340 shown in Fig. 42, the container shutter 332 is held by the container shutter support member 340 together with the container seal 333, and is screwed to the container body 33. The toner container 32 including the container shutter support member 340 shown in Fig. 42 has the same configuration as the toner container 32 described using Fig. 11 etc., except that the nozzle receiver 330 is fixed to the container body 33 by screws.

In the toner container 32 described above using FIG. 11 etc., the opening of the container opening 33a, through which toner is filled, is blocked by the nozzle receiving member 330 that is pressed in. This makes it difficult to remove the nozzle receiving member 330 from the container body 33 after use, which may make recycling difficult. Recycling here includes refilling, in which the toner is refilled and reused as a toner container 32, and material recycling, in which the toner container 32 is disassembled and the materials are sorted.

In response to such a problem, in the toner container 32 using the container shutter support member 340 shown in FIG. 42, the nozzle receiver 330 is rotated in the direction of the arrow A in FIG. 42 with the toner container 32 fixed. Alternatively, the toner container 32 is rotated in the opposite direction to the arrow A in FIG. 42 with the nozzle receiver 330 fixed. By rotating in this manner, the nozzle receiver 330 is released from the container body 33 by screwing, making it easy to remove the nozzle receiver 330 from the container body 33 after use. Therefore, the nozzle receiver 330 that blocks the opening of the container opening 33a, which is the toner filling port, can be easily removed from the container body. Therefore, with the toner container 32 using the container shutter support member 340 shown in FIG. 42, it is easy to refill the toner container 32 after use and use it again as a toner container 32.

The nozzle receiving member 330 is composed of a container shutter support member 340, a container shutter 332, a container seal 333, a container shutter spring 336, and the like. The container shutter support member 340 and the container shutter 332 are composed of resin materials such as ABS, PS, and POM. The container seal 333 is composed of sponge, and the container shutter spring 336 is composed of SW-C (hard steel wire), SWP-A (piano wire), SUS304 (stainless steel wire for springs), and the like. In this way, the nozzle receiving member 330 is composed of different materials. Therefore, the nozzle receiving member 330 can be easily removed from the container body 33 made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate), and the like, and material recycling can be easily performed by disassembling the toner container 32 and sorting the materials.

This embodiment also includes the following invention. That is, in the toner container 32 of this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 6 etc., the spiral projection 302 on the side surface of the container body 33 on the right side as viewed from the container tip has a winding direction that inclines so that the upper part is closer to the container tip side. Therefore, the container body 33 rotates so that the side surface of the container body 33 on the right side as viewed from the container tip moves from above to below (rotates in the direction of arrow A in the figure), and the toner in the container body 33 can be transported to the container tip side.
The nozzle receiver 330 rotates in the direction A in the figure together with the container body 33, but since the container seal 333 slides against the conveying nozzle 611, a frictional force acts from the conveying nozzle 611 in a direction to stop the rotation. Here, a case where the winding direction of the thread 337c is different from that in FIG. 42 will be described. In such a case, the winding direction of the thread 337c is the same as that of the helical protrusion 302, that is, the thread 337c on the side surface of the receiver fixing part 337 on the right side as viewed from the container tip is inclined toward the container tip side as it goes up (right-handed direction). In this way, when the winding direction of the thread 337c is different from that in FIG. 42, when the container body 33 rotates in the direction of the arrow A in the figure, the rotation direction of the container body 33 is a direction to loosen the screw fastening with the receiver fixing part 337.

In contrast, in the toner container 32 using the container shutter support member 340 shown in FIG. 42, the winding direction of the screw thread 337c is set in the opposite direction to the winding direction of the helical protrusion 302. That is, in the toner container 32 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 42, the screw thread 337c is formed so that the nozzle receiving member 330 is a left-handed screw. This makes it possible to prevent the rotation of the container body 33 in the direction of arrow A from acting to loosen the screw fastening of the nozzle receiving member 330 to the container body 33.

Next, the positional relationship between the pumping wall surface 304f and the shutter side surface support portion 335, which are components inside the container body 33, will be described.
First, the problem will be described. When there is a sufficient amount of toner in the container body 33, such as immediately after the toner container 32 is attached to the toner replenishing device 60, toner continues to be supplied to the nozzle opening 610 of the conveying nozzle 611 to the extent that it overflows. For this reason, the shutter side support portion 335a rotates so as to cross above the nozzle opening 610 to break up the overflowing toner, and the amount of rotation of the conveying screw 614 is controlled by intermittent rotation, so that the target amount of toner can be replenished to the developing device 50.

On the other hand, as the toner in the container body 33 decreases over time, the ratio of the amount of toner that slips through the gap between the end of the pumping wall surface 304f on the rotation center side and the conveying nozzle 611 to the amount of toner that moves from the pumping section 304 toward the nozzle opening 610 increases. This reduces the amount of toner that can be replenished to the developing device 50. When the amount of toner that can be replenished to the developing device 50 decreases, the toner concentration of the developer G in the developing device 50 becomes unstable, and it becomes necessary to replace the toner container 32. In this state, a lot of toner remains in the container body 33, which results in a problem of a large amount of toner remaining in the toner container 32 at the time of replacement.

FIG. 43 is an explanatory cross-sectional view of a cross section perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the container body 33 to which the nozzle receiver 330 is fixed, where the position in the direction of the axis of rotation corresponds to the position of the pumping portion 304.
This embodiment includes the following invention. That is, as shown in FIG. 43, in the toner container 32, in a state where the nozzle receiver 330 is fixed to the container body 33, the outer peripheral surface of the shutter side support portion 335a is set to face the inner wall surface of the container body 33 upstream of the convex portion 304h. More specifically, among the inner wall surfaces divided by the convex portion 304h corresponding to the ridge line of the protruding portion protruding toward the inside of the container body 33, the inner wall surface upstream in the rotation direction of the container body 33 and the outer peripheral surface of the shutter side support portion 335a are set to face each other. By setting in this way, the following advantage is obtained. That is, when viewed on a surface perpendicular to the rotation axis, among the inner wall surfaces divided by the convex portion 304h of the container body 33, the pumping wall surface 304f, which is the inner wall surface downstream in the rotation direction, can be positioned relatively above the shutter support opening 335b as the container body 33 rotates. The nozzle opening 610 is always open toward the upward direction. Therefore, when the rotation of the toner container 32 causes the pumping section 304 to move upward, the shutter support opening 335b also moves upward, and the toner pumped up by the pumping section 304 passes through the shutter support opening 335b and is supplied to the nozzle opening 610.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 43, the downstream end surface 335c of the shutter side support portion 335a in the direction of rotation is positioned close to the protrusion 304h that protrudes toward the center of rotation of the container body 33. As a result, the toner that flows downward along the pumping wall surface 304f falls onto the downstream end surface 335c in the direction of rotation and is bounced off, and is supplied to the nozzle opening 610. In other words, the downstream end surface 335c in the direction of rotation has the function of bridging the toner received from the pumping wall surface 304f to the nozzle opening 610.

The bridging function of the shutter side support portion 335a common to the first to twentieth embodiments will be described.
Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the relationship between the pumping section 304 and the nozzle receiving port 331 of the container body 33 common to the first to twentieth embodiments. Fig. 44 is a cross-sectional explanatory view of the container body 33 in the E-E cross section taken at the tip side of the conveying nozzle 611 in Fig. 9 and the end face of the bearing of the conveying screw 614.
Fig. 45 is a schematic diagram functionally showing the cross section at E-E cross section. Fig. 45(a) is a schematic diagram of a comparative example functionally, and is an explanatory diagram of a configuration in which the shutter side support portion 335a does not act as a bridging means. Fig. 45(b) is a schematic diagram functionally showing Fig. 44, and is an explanatory diagram of a configuration in which the shutter side support portion 335a acts as a bridging means.

First, we will discuss the problems. In the case of a configuration capable of controlling the amount of toner transported in the transport tube, as in Patent Document 6, stable toner transport can be achieved if there is sufficient toner near the opening of the transport tube. However, when the amount of toner in the toner container becomes low, the amount of toner transported decreases, and stable toner transport cannot be achieved. This is because, even if the toner can be moved to the vicinity of the entrance by the spiral protrusion provided inside the toner container, the toner slips off before reaching the opening provided in the transport tube, and the amount of toner entering the transport tube decreases. When the amount of toner transported decreases and stable toner transport cannot be achieved, the toner concentration of the developer in the developing device becomes unstable, and it becomes necessary to replace the toner container. In this state, a lot of toner remains in the container body, which results in a problem of a large amount of toner remaining in the toner container when it is replaced.

9, the transport nozzle (transport tube) 611 is inserted into the nozzle receiver (tube insertion member) 330 in the container body 33. The nozzle opening (powder receiving port) 610 of the transport nozzle 611 inserted into the nozzle receiver 330 is open, and the toner can be transported to the toner supply device.
The pumping portion 304 partially overlaps with the nozzle opening 610 in the longitudinal direction of the toner container 32, and partially corresponds to the inner wall surface of the container body 33 on the container rear end side of the nozzle opening 610. In detail, the pumping portion 304 is formed by the inner wall of the container body 33 protruding in the rotation axis direction, and is composed of a convex portion 304h corresponding to the ridgeline of the protruding portion, and a pumping wall surface 304f which is the wall surface on the downstream side in the container rotation direction of the inner wall surface divided by the ridgeline (see FIG. 44 ).

As shown in FIG. 44, the ridge of the convex portion 304h is a gentle mountain shape due to the fact that the container body 33 is formed by blow molding. In FIG. 9 and other figures, the convex portion 304h is conveniently represented by a curved line in order to distinguish the pumping portion 304f. The pumping wall surface 304f is an area represented by a lattice as shown in FIG. 9, and as shown in FIG. 44, it is composed of a pair of slopes that connect the convex portion 304h and the inner peripheral surface of the container body 33 with the rotation axis of the container body 33 as a point-symmetric reference. At the E-E cross section, the wall surface upstream in the container rotation direction among the inner wall surfaces separated by the ridge line appears thick as shown in FIG. 44 because the cutting direction of the E-E cross section and the extension direction of the wall surface are roughly the same. The convex portion 304h is also located in that part that appears to be thick.

In FIG. 44, the tubular conveying nozzle 611 has a nozzle opening 610 that is open upward. Between the conveying nozzle 611 and the protruding portion 304h, there are a pair of shutter side support portions 335a fixed to the container body 33, which rotate integrally with the pumping wall surface 304f as the container body 33 rotates. At the E-E cross section (the tip side of the conveying nozzle 611, at the end face of the bearing of the conveying screw 614), the protruding portion 304h and the shutter side support portion 335a are in opposing positions. Also, when viewed from the downstream side of the container rotation direction, there are the pumping wall surface 304f, the downstream end face 335c of the shutter side support portion 335a in the rotation direction, and the lateral edge portion 611s on the upstream side of the rotation direction of the nozzle opening 610.

Similar to the pumping action described above with reference to Figure 43, the pumping section 304 formed by the pumping wall surface 304f of the container body 33 in Figure 44 also moves the toner as indicated by the arrow T1 toward the nozzle opening 610, which is the opening of the conveying nozzle 611, which is a conveying pipe. At this time, the outer peripheral surface and the downstream end surface 335c in the rotation direction of the shutter side support portion 335a function as a toner bridge that bridges the toner from the pumping section 304 to the nozzle opening 610.

As shown in FIG. 44, the inner diameter of the shutter side support portion 335a is larger than the outer diameter of the conveying nozzle 611. This prevents the conveying nozzle 611, which has passed through the area in contact with the container seal 333, from coming into contact with the inner circumferential surface of the shutter side support portion 335a, and makes it difficult for the conveying nozzle 611 to be loaded when it is inserted into the container body. The nozzle receiving member 330 is formed with a container seal 333 whose inner diameter is smaller than the outer diameter of the conveying nozzle 611, so that the toner in the container body 33 is prevented from leaking out of the container body 33 along the outer circumferential surface of the conveying nozzle 611. This prevents the toner from flowing out of the container body 33 in any direction other than the toner conveying path from the container body 33 through the conveying nozzle 611 toward the developing device 50.

The bridging function will be described in detail with reference to the schematic diagrams of FIGS.
45A shows the flow of toner inside the container body 33 in the case where the shutter side support portion 335a is configured not to perform the bridging function. When the container body 33 rotates in the direction of the arrow A in the figure, the toner pumped up along the circumferential direction of the container body by the pumping wall surface 304f flows by gravity in the direction of the nozzle opening 610 (arrow T1 in the figure). However, some toner flows through a gap between the conveying nozzle 611 and the convex portion 304h (the convex portion protruding toward the rotation center of the pumping wall surface 304f) (arrow T2 in the figure).

More specifically, the state shown in FIG. 45(a) is the moment when the pumping wall surface 304f is not high enough and the protrusion 304h is at the 9 o'clock position. At this moment, as viewed from downstream in the rotation direction of the container body 33, the upstream nozzle opening side edge 611s, the protrusion 304h of the pumping wall surface 304f, and the downstream end face of the shutter side support portion 335a are in this order. In this state, the end face of the intermediate shutter side support portion 335a is always lagging behind the protrusion 304h of the pumping wall surface 304f that is trying to transfer the toner, and cannot perform the toner bridging function. As a result, some toner leaks from the gaps between the conveying nozzle 611, the protrusion 304h, and the shutter side support portion 335a caused by the delay. This causes problems such as unstable replenishment speed and an increase in the amount of toner remaining in the container body 33 when replacing the toner container 32.

FIG. 45(b) shows the flow of toner inside the container body 33 having the shutter side support portion 335a functioning as a bridge means.
The toner pumped up by the pumping wall surface 304f along the circumferential direction of the container body 33 due to the rotation of the container body 33 in the direction of the arrow A in the figure flows toward the nozzle opening 610 by gravity (arrow T1 in the figure), which is the same as the configuration shown in Fig. 45(a). However, in the configuration shown in Fig. 45(b), the shutter side support portion 335a is arranged so as to close the gap between the conveying nozzle 611 and the convex portion 304h (the convex portion protruding toward the rotation center side of the pumping wall surface 304f). To achieve this, the downstream end surface 335c of the shutter side support portion 335a in the rotation direction and the convex portion 304h of the pumping portion 304 are arranged in this order when viewed from the downstream side of the rotation direction of the container body 33.

This arrangement suppresses the flow of toner as shown by the arrow T2 in Figure 45 (a), and the pumped toner efficiently enters the nozzle opening 610. This allows the replenishment speed to be stable even when the amount of toner in the container body 33 is low, and furthermore, the amount of toner remaining in the container body 33 when the toner container 32 is replaced can be reduced. In addition, because the amount of toner remaining in the container body 33 during replacement can be reduced, running costs can be reduced, improving economy, and the amount of residual toner to be discarded can be reduced, reducing the impact on the environment.

The degree to which the gap between the conveying nozzle 611 and the convex portion 304h is closed is best if the shutter side support portion 335a and the convex portion 304h are tightly attached to each other. However, if it is possible to prevent the toner from flowing off as in T2, it is acceptable to have a small gap (approximately 0.3 mm to 1 mm) between the shutter side support portion 335a and the convex portion 304h as in the lower convex portion 304h in FIG. 45(b). If there is a small gap, the toner will clog the gap when a large amount of toner is present at the start of replenishment, and this will act as a seal. In addition, since the pumping wall surface 304f is formed by blow molding, which does not have the same dimensional accuracy as injection molding, it is difficult to achieve perfect adhesion, and it is preferable to leave a small gap from the viewpoint of mass production.

FIG. 46 is a graph showing the relationship between the amount of toner remaining in the container and the replenishment speed (amount of toner replenished per unit time) for an embodiment (configuration shown in FIGS. 44 and 45(b)) and a comparative example (configuration shown in FIG. 45(a)).
46, it can be seen that in the embodiment, the replenishment speed is stable even when the amount of toner remaining in the container is low, but in the comparative example, the replenishment speed drops when the amount of toner remaining in the container is low. This is because in the comparative example without a bridging member, toner passes through (slips away from) the gap formed between the end of the pumping wall surface 304f, which is part of the container body 33, on the rotation center side and the conveying nozzle 611. For this reason, when the amount of toner remaining is low, a sufficient amount of toner cannot reach the nozzle opening 610, and the supply amount to the nozzle opening 610 cannot be maintained, which is thought to result in a drop in the replenishment speed.

The toner container 32 of the example shown in Figures 9, 44, and 45(b) includes the following invention. That is, pumping wall surfaces 304f are provided in two places on the container body, and bridging members (shutter side support portions 335a) are provided in two places corresponding to the pumping wall surfaces 304f. When the container body 33 has three pumping wall surfaces 304f, the bridging members are also provided in three places, and it is effective to provide the same number of pumping portions 304 and bridging members. Similarly, when the container body 33 has four or more pumping portions, it is effective to provide the same number of bridging members as the pumping portions 304.

Of course, there are a plurality of shutter side support parts 335a, but it is also possible to use fewer limited parts as bridging members to correspond to the pumping wall surface 304f. For example, it is possible to use only one of the two shutter side support parts 335a as a bridging member, and form only one pumping wall surface 304f in the container body 33 in correspondence therewith.
In addition, although the parts cost will be higher than that of the toner container 32 in FIG. 1, we will consider a configuration in which the container body 33 is a cylindrical member made of resin (for convenience, we will refer to it as the container body 1033 in order to distinguish it from the container bodies of the other embodiments) and part of the internal conveying member has a pumping function.

Figure 47(a) is a perspective view of a nozzle receiver 330 with integrated pumping rib 304g corresponding to pumping wall surface 304f (hereinafter referred to as nozzle receiver 1330). Figure 47(b) is a cross-sectional view showing the relationship between the nozzle receiver 1330 of Figure 47(a) placed inside the container body 1033 and the conveying nozzle 611. Figure 47(c) is a side cross-sectional explanatory view of the entire toner container 1032 equipped with the nozzle receiver 1330 shown in Figure 47(a), and Figure 47(d) is a perspective view of the container shutter 1332, which is a part of the toner container 1032.

The nozzle receiving member 1330 shown in Figure 47 is equipped with the pumping rib 304g as described above, and is integrally formed with a conveying blade holding portion 1330b to which a conveying blade 1302 made of a flexible material such as a resin film is fixed.
47 includes a container seal 1333, a nozzle receiving opening 1331, a container shutter 1332, and a container shutter spring 1336. The container seal 1333 is a sealing member having a contact surface that faces and contacts the nozzle shutter flange 612a of the nozzle shutter 612 held by the conveying nozzle 611 when the toner container 1032 is attached to the main body of the copier 500. The nozzle receiving opening 1331 is an opening into which the conveying nozzle 611 is inserted, and the container shutter 1332 is a shutter member that opens and closes the nozzle receiving opening 1331. The container shutter spring 1336 is a biasing member that biases the container shutter 1332 toward a position that closes the nozzle receiving opening 1331.

47, the nozzle receiver 1330 has a nozzle receiver outer peripheral surface 1330a that is slidably fitted with a container set portion inner peripheral surface 615a of the main body of the copier 500. As shown in FIG. 47D, the container shutter 1332 has an abutment portion 1332a that abuts against the conveying nozzle 611 and a shutter support portion 1332b. The shutter support portion 1332b extends from the abutment portion 1332a in the longitudinal direction of the container main body 1033 and has a hook portion 1332c that prevents the container shutter 1332 from falling off the nozzle receiver 1330 due to the bias of the container shutter spring 1336. The toner container 1032 has a container gear 1301 that is configured separately fixed to the nozzle receiver 1330 so as to be capable of transmitting drive force.
In this way, a structure for pumping toner from the inner wall surface, the bridging portion, and the shutter support opening 1335b into the nozzle opening 610 can be integrated.

Next, the toner container 1032 having the pumping rib 304g will be described in detail.
47(c), the toner container 1032 is composed of a container front cover 1034, a container body 1033, a bottom lid 1035, a nozzle receiver 1330, etc. The container front cover 1034 is provided at the front end side of the toner container 1032 in the mounting direction to the copier 500 body, and the container body 1033 is substantially cylindrical in shape. The bottom lid 1035 is provided at the rear end side of the toner container 1032 in the mounting direction, and the nozzle receiver 1330 is rotatably held by the container body 1033, which is substantially cylindrical as described above.

The container tip cover 1034 is provided with a gear exposure opening 1034a (similar to the gear exposure opening 34a) (not shown) for exposing the container gear 1301 fixed to the nozzle receiving member 1330. The container body 1033, which is substantially cylindrical, rotatably holds the nozzle receiving member 1330, and is fixed (by a known method such as thermal welding or adhesive) to the container tip cover 1034 and the bottom cover 1035. The bottom cover 1035 has a rear end bearing 1035a that supports one end of the transport blade holding portion 1330b described above, and has a handle portion 1303 that the user can grip when attaching or detaching the toner container 1032 to the copier 500 body.

Next, a method of assembling the container tip cover 1034, the bottom lid 1035, and the nozzle receiver 1330 to the container body 1033 will be described.
First, the nozzle receiver 1330 is inserted into the container body 1033 from the rear end side, and the nozzle receiver 1330 is aligned so as to be rotatably supported by the front end bearing 1036 at the front end side of the container body 1033. Next, the rear end bearing 1035a provided on the bottom cover 1035 is aligned so as to rotatably support one end of the conveying blade holding portion 1330b of the nozzle receiver 1330, and the bottom cover 1035 is fixed to the container body 1033. After that, the container gear 1301 is fixed to the nozzle receiver 1330 from the container front end side. After the container gear 1301 is fixed, the container front end cover 1034 is fixed to the container body 1033 so as to cover the container gear 1301 from the container front end side.
In addition, the fixing of the container body 1033 to the container tip side cover 1034, the fixing of the container body 1033 to the bottom lid 1035, and the fixing of the nozzle receiving member 1330 to the container gear 1301 can be performed using any known method (e.g., thermal welding, adhesives, etc.).

Next, a configuration for transporting toner from the toner container 1032 to the nozzle opening 610 will be described.
The pumping rib 304g is protruded to the vicinity of the inner circumferential surface of the container body 1033 so that the rib surface is connected from the downstream end 1335c of the shutter side support portion 1335a in the rotation direction. Although the rib surface is bent at one point in the middle to be close to a curved surface, this configuration is not necessarily required depending on the compatibility with the toner, and a simple flat rib without bends may also be used. With this configuration, it is not necessary to form a raised portion on the container body 1033. Furthermore, since the pumping rib 304g is raised integrally from the shutter support opening 1335b, it is possible to exert a bridging effect in the same way as when the shutter side support portion 335a and the protruding portion 304h are in close contact with each other. That is, when the nozzle receiving member 1330 rotates when the toner container 1032 is mounted on the image forming apparatus body, the transport blade rotates, and the toner contained inside the toner container 1032 is transported from the rear end side to the front end side where the nozzle receiving member 1330 is provided. The toner conveyed by the conveying blade 1302 is received by the lift-up rib 304 g, which rotates to lift the toner from below upward, allowing the toner to flow to the nozzle opening 610 using the rib surface as a slide.

Next, the configuration for fixing the nozzle receiver 330 to the container body 33 in the toner container 32 will be described as embodiments 14 to 19. Note that the container gear 301 shown in Figures 48, 49, 51(b), and 52(b) is shown in a roller-like form with the gear teeth omitted.

<Embodiment 14>
48 to 50 are explanatory diagrams of the toner container 32 according to the fourteenth embodiment. FIG. 48 is an explanatory perspective view of the toner container 32 according to the fourteenth embodiment in a state in which the nozzle receiver 330 is removed from the container body 33, and FIG. 49 is an explanatory perspective view of the tip end of the toner container 32 according to the fourteenth embodiment and the container set part 615. FIG. 50 is a cross-sectional view of the toner container 32 according to the fourteenth embodiment, and FIG. 50(a) is a cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the tip end of the toner container 32, and FIG. 50(b) is an enlarged explanatory view of the region η in FIG. 50(a). In FIGS. 48 to 50, the container tip cover 34 is omitted, and in FIGS. 48 and 49, the container shutter 332 is omitted. In FIG. 50, the nozzle shutter 612 is omitted.

The container body 33 of the toner container 32 of the fourteenth embodiment is molded by blow molding as described in the previous embodiment, but this blow molding tends to have lower accuracy than injection molding used in general resin molding, and therefore the roundness of the cylindrical cross section of the container opening 33a, which is a part of the container body 33 formed by blow molding, may deteriorate.
As described above, the container opening 33a (the container outer peripheral surface in the radial direction of the tip opening 305) is slidably fitted into the inner peripheral surface 615a of the container setting part 615. This positions the toner container 32 relative to the toner supply device 60 in a plane direction perpendicular to the rotation axis. At this time, if the roundness of the outer peripheral surface of the container opening 33a, which contributes to positioning, is poor, there is a risk of a problem in that the position of the toner container 32 changes relative to the toner supply device 60 when the toner container is rotated.

On the other hand, since the nozzle receiving member 330 is a typical resin molded product made by injection molding, it can be molded with higher precision than the container body 33, and the receiving member fixing portion 337, which is part of the nozzle receiving member 330, can be molded into a cylindrical shape with good roundness.
In the fourteenth embodiment, the outer diameter of receiver fixing portion 337 of nozzle receiver 330 is larger than the inner diameter of container opening 33a. With this configuration, when nozzle receiver 330 is attached to container body 33, the outer peripheral surface of container opening 33a is corrected to follow receiver fixing portion 337, improving the roundness.
By improving the roundness of the outer peripheral surface of the container opening 33a, the positioning accuracy of the toner container 32 with respect to the toner supply device 60 is improved.

In addition, if the outer peripheral surface of the container opening 33a has poor roundness, it is necessary to set the dimensions of the inner peripheral surface 615a of the container setting part 615 to be larger in consideration of the variation in shape. However, if the dimensions of the inner peripheral surface 615a are set to be larger, the degree of freedom of displacement in a plane direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the outer peripheral surface of the container opening 33a relative to the inner peripheral surface 615a of the container setting part 615 increases, and the backlash increases. On the other hand, in the fourteenth embodiment, the roundness of the outer peripheral surface of the container opening 33a is improved, and it is no longer necessary to set the dimensions of the inner peripheral surface 615a of the container setting part 615 to be larger, so the backlash is reduced. By reducing the backlash in this way, the positioning accuracy of the toner container 32 relative to the toner supply device 60 is improved.

As shown in FIG. 48(a) and FIG. 50, the nozzle receiver 330 has two receiver engagement protrusions 3301 on the outer peripheral surface of the receiver fixing portion 337. The two receiver engagement protrusions 3301 are arranged at positions offset by 180° in the circumferential direction of the outer peripheral surface, that is, at positions opposite each other on the peripheral surface of the receiver fixing portion 337. The shape is a rectangle extending in the circumferential direction when viewed from the radial direction of the cylindrical receiver fixing portion 337. As shown in FIG. 48(b), it is a trapezoid when viewed from the axial direction of the receiver fixing portion 337. The protrusion amount (height) is about 0.5 mm from the peripheral surface of the receiver fixing portion 337. The slope of the trapezoid is downstream in the rotation direction when viewed from the rotation direction of the container body 33. The surface opposite to the slope stands in the radial direction and is upstream in the rotation direction of the container body 33.

On the other hand, the container body 33 has two tip opening engagement holes 3051 in the container opening 33a. The two tip opening engagement holes 3051 are provided at positions offset by 180° in the circumferential direction of the inner peripheral surface of the container opening 33a, that is, at opposing positions on the inner peripheral surface of the container opening 33a, so as to communicate between the inner peripheral surface side and the outer peripheral surface side. The tip opening engagement holes 3051 are elongated holes extending in the circumferential direction when viewed from the radial direction of the receiving member fixing portion 337.

With this configuration, when the nozzle receiver 330 is attached to the container body 33, the two receiver engagement protrusions 3301 respectively engage with the two tip opening engagement holes 3051. This engagement makes it possible to prevent the nozzle receiver 330 from coming off or rotating relative to the container body 33.
This rotation stopper is effective in maintaining the above-mentioned pumping inner circumferential surface 304f, its protrusion 304h, and the shutter side support portion 335a, which is a bridging member, in a relative positional relationship that exhibits a bridging effect for the toner. The reason why the receiving member engaging protrusion 3301 is formed into a trapezoidal shape in the axial direction is as follows.

Next, a detailed explanation will be given based on FIG. 48(b). By rotating the receiving member fixing portion 337 toward the inclined surface side, the nozzle receiving member 330 can be easily removed from the container body 33, and the toner in the container body 33 can be easily removed and refilled. On the other hand, when the container body 33 is mounted on the toner supply device and driven, the surface standing in the radial direction opposite the inclined surface is located upstream in the rotation direction of the container body 33, so the rotation force transmitted from the container gear 301 is received through the abutment with the tip opening engagement hole 3051. In other words, the vertical surface opposite the inclined surface of the receiving member engagement protrusion 3301 rotates so as to always bite into the tip opening engagement hole 3051, so the nozzle receiving member 330 does not rotate relative to the container body 33 during the supply operation and does not become displaced. If the inclined surface side of the trapezoid is located on the rotation direction side, the inclined surface may receive the rotation force and cause a positional displacement.

In addition, a ring-shaped receiver outer periphery seal 3302 is provided at the step where the outer diameter of the receiver fixing portion 337 of the nozzle receiver 330 becomes smaller. This step faces the step where the inner circumference of the container opening 33a becomes smaller, and when the nozzle receiver 330 is attached to the container body 33, the receiver outer periphery seal 3302 is sandwiched between the two step portions. This prevents toner inside the container body 33 from leaking out from the gap between the outer periphery of the receiver fixing portion 337 and the inner periphery of the container opening 33a.

The receiving member outer periphery seal 3302 is compressed by the two stepped portions. Therefore, when the nozzle receiving member 330 is attached to the container body 33, the restoring force of the compressed receiving member outer periphery seal 3302 acts to push the nozzle receiving member 330 back against the container body 33. This restoring force is received by the abutment (engagement) between the vertical surface of the receiving member engagement protrusion 3301 and the inner surface of the tip opening engagement hole 3051.

As described above, in the fourteenth embodiment, the container opening 33a is corrected to conform to the receiver fixing portion 337, improving the circularity.
The material of the container body 33 including the container opening 33a is PET (polyethylene terephthalate), and the thickness W1 of the cylindrical container opening 33a is 1.1 mm. On the other hand, the material of the nozzle receiver 330 including the receiver fixing portion 337 is PS (polystyrene), and the thickness W2 of the cylindrical receiver fixing portion 337 is 2 mm. In this case, when the press-fit allowance (the difference between the outer diameter of the receiver fixing portion 337 and the inner diameter of the container opening 33a) is set to 0.01 mm to 0.1 mm, good results were obtained in terms of the positioning accuracy of the toner container 32 relative to the toner supply device 60 and the prevention of toner leakage.

Generally, press-fitting is used to fix parts together, but in the mechanism of embodiment 14, the part tolerance can be set large. This ensures mass productivity, and engagement by the receiving member engaging protrusion 3301 receives the restoring force of the receiving member outer circumferential seal 3302 so that the press-fitting allowance can be as small as 0.01 mm. Furthermore, the receiving member engaging protrusion 3301 acts as a rotation stopper. The press-fitting portion is configured to correct the shape of the container opening 33a, and the functions of fixing the axial position of the parts together and correcting the shape of the container opening 33a are separated.

In the fourteenth embodiment, the nozzle receiver 330 is fixed to the container body 33 using the receiver engagement protrusion 3301. If the container body 33 and the nozzle receiver 330 are fixed only by the engagement of the receiver engagement protrusion 3301, the position of the nozzle receiver 330 relative to the container body 33 may shift in the planar direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the toner container 32. In contrast, in the fourteenth embodiment, the container opening 33a is press-fitted while being corrected, so that the position of the nozzle receiver 330 relative to the container body 33 can be prevented from shifting in the planar direction perpendicular to the rotation axis of the toner container 32.

In this way, in the fourteenth embodiment, both engagement using the receiving member engagement protrusion 3301 and press-fitting are used to fix the container body 33 and the nozzle receiving member 330. The engagement of the receiving member engagement protrusion 3301 determines the amount of compression of the receiving member outer circumferential seal 3302 made of rubber packing or the like, which contributes to positioning in the rotational axis direction of the toner container 32. On the other hand, the more the shape of the container opening 33a is corrected to follow the shape of the receiving member fixing portion 337 by the press-fitting, the closer the outer circumferential surface of the receiving member fixing portion 337 and the inner circumferential surface of the container opening 33a are to each other. Such press-fitting contributes to positioning in the plane direction perpendicular to the rotational axis of the toner container 32.

<Embodiment 15>
Like embodiment 14, embodiment 15 has a configuration that can be shown in Figures 48 to 50, but differs from embodiment 14 in that the outer diameter of receiver fixing portion 337 of nozzle receiver 330 is smaller than the inner diameter of container opening 33a.
The container opening 33a and the receiving member fixing portion 337 are made of a hard material because dimensional accuracy is required for fitting with the toner supply device 60. As a specific example, the material of the nozzle receiving member 330 having the receiving member fixing portion 337 can be PS (polystyrene) material, and the material of the container body 33 having the container opening 33a can be PET (polyethylene terephthalate) material. When the container opening 33a and the receiving member fixing portion 337 are fixed to each other by press-fitting, the inner peripheral surface of the container opening 33a tightly seals the outer peripheral surface of the receiving member fixing portion 337. In order to improve the tightness between the inner peripheral surface of the container opening 33a and the outer peripheral surface of the receiving member fixing portion 337, it is considered to set the outer diameter of the receiving member fixing portion 337 larger than the inner diameter of the container opening 33a. Here, if the outer diameter of the receiving member fixing portion 337 is made larger, it is possible to achieve the effect of correcting the container opening 33a as in the toner container 32 of the fourteenth embodiment, but a large press-fitting force is required during assembly. If the press-fitting force is large, there is a risk that the container opening 33a and the receiver member fixing portion 337 may be deformed or damaged, so the dimensional tolerances of the mating portions of the two must be set small and the process must be strictly controlled.

On the other hand, if the outer diameter of the receiver fixing portion 337 is simply made smaller than the inner diameter of the container opening 33a, the following problem occurs. That is, even if an engagement portion is installed to prevent dislodging and positioning is performed in the rotation axis direction, the receiver fixing portion 337 of the nozzle receiver 330 moves up and down within the container opening 33a within the part tolerance. This makes it difficult to seal the gap between the container opening 33a and the receiver fixing portion 337.

Therefore, in the fifteenth embodiment, the inner peripheral surface of the container opening 33a and the outer peripheral surface of the receiver fixing part 337 are sealed by the annular receiver outer peripheral seal 3302, which is a sealing member made of an elastic body. In detail, the receiver outer peripheral seal 3302 is sandwiched between the container opening 33a and the receiver fixing part 337, and the receiver outer peripheral seal 3302 is elastically deformed so as to be compressed, thereby sealing. Since the receiver outer peripheral seal 3302 is elastically deformed, a restoring force acts in the direction in which the receiver fixing part 337 is removed from the container opening 33a. However, in the fifteenth embodiment, the engagement part between the receiver engagement protrusion 3301 and the tip opening engagement hole 3051 restricts the movement of the receiver fixing part 337 in the direction in which it is removed from the container opening 33a. This allows the nozzle receiver 330 to be positioned in the rotation axis direction relative to the container body 33.

In addition, since the receiving member outer seal 3302 seals between the inner peripheral surface of the container opening 33a and the outer peripheral surface of the receiving member fixing portion 337 in an elastically deformed state, a restoring force against the deformation acts on the entire circumferential area between the inner peripheral surface and the outer peripheral surface. The action of this restoring force determines the position of the receiving member fixing portion 337 in a plane direction perpendicular to the rotation axis inside the container opening 33a, and positions the nozzle receiving member 330 in a plane direction perpendicular to the rotation axis relative to the container body 33. This positioning is effective in maintaining the above-mentioned pumping inner peripheral surface 304f and its protrusion 304h and the shutter side support portion 335a, which is a bridging member, in a relative positional relationship that exerts a bridging effect for toner.

In the fifteenth embodiment, since the inner peripheral surface of the container opening 33a and the outer peripheral surface of the receiver fixing portion 337 are not sealed, it is possible to increase the dimensional tolerance of the parts. By increasing the dimensional tolerance, it is possible to improve mass productivity. Furthermore, even if the receiver fixing portion 337 of the nozzle receiver 330 moves up and down within the container opening 33a within the dimensional tolerance, the receiver outer peripheral seal 3302 is elastically deformed to seal, making it possible to prevent toner leakage.

In the fifteenth embodiment, the inner peripheral surface, which is the seal receiving surface of the container opening 33a, and the outer peripheral surface, which is the seal receiving surface of the receiver fixing portion 337, compress the receiver outer peripheral seal 3302, which is a sealing member, to form a seal (sealing). The receiver engaging protrusion 3301, which is the engaging portion of the outer peripheral surface of the receiver fixing portion 337, enters and engages with the tip opening engaging hole 3051, which is the engaged portion of the container opening 33a. The repulsive force (restoring force) received from the compressed receiver outer peripheral seal 3302 is received by this engagement, preventing it from coming off. The axial position of the toner container 32 is determined by the repulsive force received from the receiver outer peripheral seal 3302 and the prevention of coming off by the engagement, and the nozzle receiver 330 is prevented from coming off from the container body 33 due to an impact caused by an external force, etc.

In addition, the tip opening engagement hole 3051 in the container opening 33a requires a certain degree of strength because the restoring force of the receiver peripheral seal 3302 acts when the receiver engaging protrusion 3301 engages with it. For this reason, it is desirable for the tip opening engagement hole 3051 to utilize the strength of the thick portion of the container opening 33a. In the fifteenth embodiment, as shown in Fig. 50, the cap fixing screw thread 309 is located on the container tip side (upper side in Fig. 50) of the tip opening engagement hole 3051, and is thicker than other parts of the container opening 33a. By utilizing the strength of such a thick portion, it is possible to prevent the container opening 33a from being damaged due to the restoring force of the receiver peripheral seal 3302.
In embodiment 15, a configuration has been described in which the receiving member outer peripheral seal 3302, which is a sealing member, is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the receiving member fixing portion 337 of the nozzle receiving member 330. However, a sealing member may also be provided on the inner peripheral surface of the container opening 33a of the container body 33.

<Embodiment 16>
Next, similar to embodiment 15, we will explain a first modified example (hereinafter referred to as embodiment 16) of a configuration in which the nozzle receiving member 330 is positioned relative to the container body 33 by utilizing the elastic deformation of a sealing member that seals the gap between the container body 33 and the nozzle receiving member 330.
51A and 51B are explanatory diagrams of a toner container 32 according to a sixteenth embodiment, in which FIG. 51A is an explanatory perspective view of a nozzle receiver 330, and FIG.

The toner container 32 of the sixteenth embodiment shown in Fig. 51 includes the following invention: That is, the rear end side of each of the receiver engaging protrusion 3301, which is the engaging portion, and the leading end opening engaging hole 3051, which is the engaged portion, have insertion position regulating portions that regulate the insertion position in the rotational direction when the nozzle receiver 330 is inserted into the container body 33.
The shape of the embodiment 16 shown in FIG. 51 will be described. The receiver engagement protrusion 3301 is pentagonal when viewed from the radial direction of the nozzle receiver 330. The protrusion (height) is about 0.5 mm from the peripheral surface of the receiver fixing portion 337. The top 3301a of the engagement protrusion is formed on the rear end side of the container as an insertion position restricting portion of the receiver engagement protrusion 3301. The tip opening engagement hole 3051 is a through hole formed by overlapping an oval hole extending in the circumferential direction of the container opening 33a and the above-mentioned pentagon at the center of the oval hole. The tip opening engagement hole 3051 has an engagement hole top 3051a (top of the pentagonal hole) formed on the rear end side of the container as an insertion restricting portion.

The tip opening engagement hole 3051, which is the engaged portion, is located inside (on the side of the portion that stores toner) the tip portion (opening end) of the cylindrical tip opening 305. For this reason, when the receiver fixing portion 337 is inserted into the container opening 33a when the nozzle receiver 330 is attached to the container body 33, the receiver engagement protrusion 3301 becomes hidden by the container opening 33a and cannot be seen. This makes it difficult to attach the nozzle receiver 330 to the container body 33 at a predetermined position where the receiver engagement protrusion 3301 engages with the tip opening engagement hole 3051.
In contrast, as in embodiment 16, if the shape includes a tip shape for regulating the insertion position, the receiving member engaging protrusion 3301 can be guided to a predetermined insertion position even if the insertion position in the rotational direction varies within a small range. The presence of an oval hole extending in the circumferential direction makes it easy to visually confirm the receiving member engaging protrusion 3301 in a misaligned position.

Providing an insertion position regulating portion also provides the following advantage. When a rotational drive is input and the container body 33 rotates, the insertion position regulating portion of one of the engaging portion and the engaged portion hooks onto a part of the other, allowing the nozzle receiving member 330 to rotate integrally with the container body 33. This makes it possible to prevent the nozzle receiving member 330 from rotating and becoming misaligned relative to the container body 33 when the toner container 32 rotates.

<Embodiment 17>
Next, similar to embodiment 15, a second modified example (hereinafter referred to as embodiment 17) of a configuration in which the nozzle receiving member 330 is positioned relative to the container body 33 by utilizing elastic deformation of a sealing member that seals the gap between the container body 33 and the nozzle receiving member 330 will be described.
52A and 52B are explanatory diagrams of a toner container 32 according to the seventeenth embodiment, in which FIG. 52A is an explanatory perspective view of a nozzle receiver 330, and FIG.

The toner container 32 of the seventeenth embodiment shown in Fig. 52 includes the following invention: That is, the toner container 32 has a pair of insertion positioning parts that perform positioning in the rotational direction when the nozzle receiver 330 is inserted into the container body 33 so as to overlap with at least one of the engaging part and the engaged part.
In the seventeenth embodiment shown in Fig. 52, first, as an engaging portion of the receiving member fixing portion 337, there is a receiving member engaging protrusion 3301 which is a protrusion extending in the circumferential direction. Furthermore, as one of the insertion positioning portions which regulates the insertion position of the engaging portion into the engaged portion, there is a receiving member side positioning groove 3303 which is formed so as to overlap with the receiving member engaging protrusion 3301 at the circumferential center and extend in the rotation axis direction of the container body 33. Furthermore, as the engaged portion of the container opening 33a, there is a tip opening engaging hole 3051 which is an oval hole extending in the circumferential direction of the tip opening 305. Furthermore, as the other insertion positioning portion which regulates the insertion position of the engaging portion into the engaged portion, there is a tip opening side positioning rib 3052 which is formed so as to overlap with the tip opening engaging hole 3051 at the circumferential center and extend in the rotation axis direction of the container body 33.

When the nozzle receiver 330 is attached to the container body 33, inserting the receiver fixing portion 337 into the container opening 33a causes the container opening 33a to expand around the receiver engaging protrusion 3301 protruding from the outer circumferential surface of the receiver fixing portion 337. For this reason, if an insertion positioning portion such as a rib or groove is provided near the engaging portion or the engaged portion and in a position that does not overlap with the engaging portion or the engaged portion, the container opening 33a must be expanded by both the engaging portion and the insertion positioning portion, which increases the press-fit load.
On the other hand, in the seventeenth embodiment, a pair of insertion positioning portions (3303, 3052) consisting of a rib and a groove are formed at positions overlapping the receiving member engaging protrusion 3301, which is the engaging portion, and the tip opening engaging hole 3051, which is the engaged portion, when viewed from the rotation axis direction of the container body 33. By forming the insertion positioning portions in this manner, the tip opening side positioning rib 3052 and the receiving member side positioning groove 3303 are fitted on the engaging portion (receiving member engaging protrusion 3301), which is in close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the container opening 33a when mounted. This minimizes the portion where the container opening 33a is widened to only the engaging portion, while allowing for positioning in the rotational direction when fitted, and preventing the nozzle receiving member 330 from rotating relative to the container body 33 when the toner container 32 rotates.

<Embodiment 18>
Next, we will explain a third modified example (hereinafter referred to as embodiment 18) of a configuration in which, similar to embodiment 15, the nozzle receiving member 330 is positioned relative to the container body 33 by utilizing elastic deformation of a sealing member that seals the gap between the container body 33 and the nozzle receiving member 330.
Figure 53 is an explanatory diagram of a toner container 32 of embodiment 18, where Figure 53(a) is an enlarged oblique view of a container opening 33a, Figure 53(b) is an enlarged oblique view of a receiving member fixing portion 337, and Figure 53(c) is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the tip end of the toner container 32.

In the eighteenth embodiment, the receiving member outer circumferential seal 3302, which is a sealing member, is provided on the outer circumferential surface of the receiving member fixing portion 337 of the nozzle receiving member 330, but the sealing member may also be provided on the inner circumferential surface of the container opening 33a of the container body 33.

As in the embodiment 15, the toner container 32 according to the embodiment 18 is also configured to have an engagement portion on the nozzle receiver 330 and an engagement hole that engages with the engagement portion on the container opening 33a. In order to more reliably prevent the nozzle receiver 330 from coming off, it is possible to enlarge the engagement portion and increase the hooking on the engagement hole. However, if the engagement portion provided on the nozzle receiver 330 is made larger, the insertion load becomes too large, and there is a risk of deformation or damage to the container opening 33a. In response to this, in the embodiment 18, in addition to the receiver engagement protrusion 3301 of the nozzle receiver 330, an engagement protrusion 3053 is also provided on the container body 33 side. Furthermore, in addition to the tip opening engagement hole 3051 of the container opening 33a, a receiver engagement hole 3304, which is an engagement hole, is also provided on the nozzle receiver 330 side. This makes it possible to increase the overall amount of hooking even if the amount of engagement of each is small.

<Embodiment 19>
Next, we will explain a fourth modified example (hereinafter referred to as embodiment 19) of a configuration in which, similar to embodiment 15, the nozzle receiving member 330 is positioned relative to the container body 33 by utilizing elastic deformation of a sealing member that seals the gap between the container body 33 and the nozzle receiving member 330.
54A and 54B are explanatory diagrams of a toner container 32 according to the nineteenth embodiment, in which FIG. 54A is an enlarged perspective view of a container opening 33a, and FIG. 54B is an enlarged perspective view of a receiver member fixing portion 337.

The toner container 32 of embodiment 19 shown in Figure 54 includes the following invention. That is, the toner container 32 of embodiment 18 has an insertion positioning portion that performs positioning in the rotational direction when inserting the nozzle receiver 330 into the container body 33 so that it overlaps with at least one of the engaging portion and the engaged portion.

When the nozzle receiver 330 is attached to the container body 33, inserting the receiver fixing portion 337 into the container opening 33a causes the container opening 33a to expand around the receiver engaging protrusion 3301 protruding from the outer circumferential surface of the receiver fixing portion 337. For this reason, if an insertion positioning portion such as a rib or groove is provided near the engaging portion or engaged portion and in a position that does not overlap with the engaging portion or engaged portion, the container opening 33a must be expanded by both the engaging portion and the insertion positioning portion, which increases the press-fit load.

On the other hand, in the nineteenth embodiment, a pair of insertion positioning portions (3052, 3303) consisting of a rib and a groove are formed at positions overlapping with the engaging protrusion 3053, which is the engaging portion, and the receiving member engaging hole 3304, which is the engaged portion, as viewed from the rotation axis direction of the container body 33. By forming the insertion positioning portions in this way, the tip opening side positioning rib 3052 and the receiving member side positioning groove 3303 are engaged on the engaging portion (receiving member engaging protrusion 3301) that comes into close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the container opening 33a when engaged. This minimizes the area where the container opening 33a is widened to only the engaging portion, while allowing for positioning in the rotational direction when engaged and preventing the nozzle receiving member 330 from rotating relative to the container body 33 when the toner container 32 rotates.

The toner container 32 of the fourteenth to nineteenth embodiments includes the following invention in common. That is, the container body 33 is a powder storage member that stores the toner, which is the powder to be supplied to the toner supply device 60, which is a powder transport device. The container body 33 transports the toner stored therein from the rear end side of the container in the rotation axis direction to the container tip side where the opening is provided, by rotating itself. Furthermore, a nozzle receiving port 331 is formed as a tube receiving port for inserting a transport nozzle 611, which is a transport tube fixed to the toner supply device 60, and a nozzle receiving member 330 is provided as a tube insertion member attached to the opening of the container body 33. In such a toner container 32, the nozzle receiving member 330 has a receiving member engagement protrusion 3301 as an engagement portion that engages with a tip opening engagement hole 3051, which is an engaged portion provided in the container opening 33a that forms the opening. Furthermore, when the receiving member engagement protrusion 3301 is engaged with the tip opening engagement hole 3051, a receiving member outer periphery seal 3302 is provided, which is a sealing member that is interposed between the nozzle receiving member 330 and the container body 33 and seals the gap between the nozzle receiving member 330 and the container body 33.

<Embodiment 20>
Next, a twentieth embodiment of the toner container 32 will be described. In the toner container 32 of the twentieth embodiment, a special feature is provided in the location where the nozzle receiver 330 is press-fitted into the container body 33.
13 was used in the explanation of the previous embodiment, but it can also be used to explain the press-fitting location of the nozzle receiver 330 into the container body 33 in this embodiment 20, so it will be used here. Either area γ1 or γ2 in the figure is the press-fitting location. Area γ1 is the inner circumferential surface at the position where the container gear 301 of the container body 33 is provided, and area γ2 is the inner circumferential surface at the position where the cover claw hook portion 306 of the container body 33 is provided.

The toner container 32 shown in FIG. 13 includes the following invention. That is, it is a powder storage container that stores toner as a developer made of powder inside and has a container shutter 332 and a nozzle receiver 330. The container shutter 332 is a nozzle receiver opening/closing member that opens or closes the nozzle receiver 331, which is a powder discharge port through which the toner discharged from the container body 33 passes, and the nozzle receiver 330 is an opening/closing member holding member that holds the container shutter 332. In addition, the toner container 32 has a cylindrical container opening 33a formed at the container tip end, and the outer peripheral surface of this container opening 33a (corresponding to the rotating shaft portion of the container body 33) is fitted so as to slide against the cylindrical inner peripheral surface 615a (bearing portion) of the container set portion 615. Furthermore, the nozzle receiver 330 is press-fitted and fixed to the inner circumferential surface of the container body 33, and the position of the press-fitted location in the rotation axis direction is closer to the rear end of the container than the position where the outer circumferential surface of the container opening 33a slides against the cylindrical inner circumferential surface of the container setting part 615.

13, the container tip end of the nozzle receiver 330 and the container tip end of the container opening 33a are aligned in the rotation axis direction. For this reason, it is possible to press the nozzle receiver 330 against the inner circumferential surface of the container opening 33a near the container tip end. However, the container tip end of the container opening 33a near the container tip end is fitted into the cylindrical inner circumferential surface 615a of the container set part 615. For this reason, if the press-fitting of the nozzle receiver 330 causes the press-fitting part of the container opening 33a to swell and the outer diameter of the container opening 33a becomes large, it may become impossible to fit into the container set part 615, and the toner container 32 may not be able to be attached to the toner supply device 60. Even if it can be attached, it may lead to an increase in the rotation torque of the toner container 32.

To prevent such problems, it is conceivable to estimate the amount of expansion of the container opening 33a due to press-fitting in advance and set the outer diameter of the container opening 33a when the toner container 32 is manufactured. However, if the outer diameter of the container opening 33a is set taking into account the amount of expansion due to press-fitting, the following problem may occur. In other words, it is necessary to set the outer diameter dimensional tolerance large. If the amount of expansion is small within the tolerance range, the difference between the outer diameter of the container opening 33a and the inner diameter of the cylindrical inner surface 615a of the container setting part 615 will be large, and there is a risk of insufficient positioning.

To prevent such problems, in the toner container 32 of the embodiment 20, the outer diameter of the receiving member fixing portion 337 of the nozzle receiving member 330 near the container tip end is slightly smaller so that it fits into the inner circumferential surface of the container opening 33a with a gap rather than being pressed into it. The press-fitting point is set not at the container tip end but at a position that is unrelated to the attachment of the container set portion 615 and the container body 33, which is closer to the container rear end (a position that does not affect the attachment). Furthermore, the outer diameter of the receiving member fixing portion 337 at this position is set to a size that allows sufficient press-fitting into the container inner diameter. Examples of unrelated positions are the portion corresponding to the thickness of the container gear 301 (region γ1 in FIG. 13) or the portion where the inner diameter of the container opening 33a becomes smaller by one step and the thickness of the container opening 33a becomes larger (region γ2 in FIG. 13). The portion where the inner diameter changes and there is a step (region γ2 in FIG. 13) also has a cover claw hook portion 306 consisting of a ring-shaped rib on the outer periphery.

By forming a portion with a larger outer diameter, which serves as a press-fit portion, closer to the rear end of the container than to the container tip end of the receiver fixing portion 337 of the nozzle receiver 330, it is possible to prevent the container opening 33a from expanding at the portion that fits into the container setting portion 615. This makes it possible to prevent the toner container 32 from becoming unable to be attached to the toner replenishing device 60 and to prevent an increase in the rotational torque of the toner container 32.
In addition, the container opening 33a can be molded with high precision because it has the shape of the injection-molded preform. This position can be used as a positioning portion or a sliding portion without expanding due to the press-fitting of the nozzle receiver 330, so the precision of the injection molding can be maintained, and high-precision positioning and good sliding can be achieved.

The toner container 32 formed by pressing in the region γ1 also includes the following invention. That is, the press-in location in the receiver fixing portion 337 of the resin nozzle receiver 330 corresponds to the inner circumferential surface of the container body 33 at the location where the container gear 301 is provided. The location where the container gear 301 is provided has a gear structure around the entire circumference in the direction perpendicular to the rotation axis, so it is stronger than other parts of the container body 33 and is less likely to deform due to press-in. In addition, because the receiver fixing portion 337 is tightly fastened, the nozzle receiver 330 is less likely to come loose over time, making this an appropriate press-in location.

The toner container 32 formed by pressing in the region γ2 also includes the following invention. That is, the press-in location in the receiver fixing portion 337 of the nozzle receiver 330 is the location where the inner diameter of the container opening 33a becomes smaller and the wall thickness becomes larger. The location where the inner diameter of the container opening 33a becomes smaller has a thick wall all around in the direction perpendicular to the rotation axis, so it is stronger than other parts of the container body 33 and is less likely to deform due to press-in. In addition, because the receiver fixing portion 337 is tightly fastened, the nozzle receiver 330 is less likely to come loose over time, making this an appropriate press-in location.

The toner container 32 formed by pressing in the region γ2 also includes the following invention. That is, the press-in location of the receiver fixing portion 337 of the nozzle receiver 330 corresponds to the inner peripheral surface of the location of the cover claw hook portion 306 of the container body 33. The location of the cover claw hook portion 306 has a rib structure around the entire circumference in the direction perpendicular to the rotation axis, so it is stronger than other parts of the container body 33 and is less likely to deform due to press-in. In addition, because the receiver fixing portion 337 is tightly fastened, the nozzle receiver 330 is less likely to come off over time, making this an appropriate press-in location.

Next, a holding mechanism for the ID tag (ID chip) 700 provided in the toner container 32, which is a common configuration to the first to twentieth embodiments, will be described.
Fig. 55 is a perspective explanatory diagram of a connector 800 fixed to a toner replenishing device 60 and the container tip end of a toner container 32. As shown in Fig. 55, the toner container 32 includes a container body 33 and a container tip cover 34 attached to the container body 33 in a manner exposing a container opening 33a having a nozzle receiving port 331 as a toner discharge port formed in the container body 33. Furthermore, the toner container 32 includes an ID tag 700 as an information storage device attached to the tip of the container tip cover 34, and an ID tag holding mechanism 345 for holding the ID tag 700.

The communication method of the ID tag 700 in this embodiment is a contact type. Therefore, the connector 800 is disposed at a position facing the container front end surface of the container front end cover 34 on the main body side of the toner supply device 60.
Fig. 56 is a perspective explanatory view of the container tip end portion of the toner container 32 with the ID tag holding mechanism 345 disassembled, and the connector 800. As shown in Fig. 56, an ID tag hole portion 701 for positioning is formed in the ID tag 700, and when the toner container 32 is attached to the toner supply device 60, a positioning pin 801 of the connector 800 is inserted into the ID tag hole portion 701.

The ID tag holding mechanism 345 includes a holding section 343 having a base 358 for holding the ID tag 700, and a holding member 344 that holds the ID tag 700 movably in the X-Z directions in the figure and serves as a cover member that is detachably fitted to the holding section 343. The ID tag 700 and its holding mechanism 345 are arranged in the space diagonally above the right side of the container tip cover 34 when the toner container 32 is viewed from the container tip side along the rotation axis. This is because the holding mechanism 345 is arranged on the container tip cover 34, utilizing the space diagonally above the right side that becomes dead space when juxtaposing toner containers 32 of other colors. This makes it possible to provide a compact toner supply device in which cylindrical toner containers 32 can be arranged close to each other. The container gear 301 and the container drive gear 601 on the main body side are arranged in the space diagonally above the left side of the container tip cover 34. To prevent adjacent toner supply systems from interfering with each other, the ID tag 700, holding mechanism 345, and main body side terminal 804 are positioned so that they do not interfere with the container drive gear 601 on the main body side.

57 is a perspective view of the container tip end of the toner container 32 and the connector 800 in a state in which the ID tag 700 is temporarily attached to the holding member 344. As shown in FIG. 57, the holding portion 343 is formed on the ID tag attachment surface 357 of the container tip end of the container tip cover 34, and has a base 358 consisting of four square pillars that supports the wiring-free substrate surface on the back side of the ID tag 700. The holding member 344 also has a frame 352 and a holding member protrusion 353. The frame 352 is a frame formed to surround the base 358 from the outside when the ID tag 700 is fitted into the holding portion 343, preventing it from coming off. The holding member protrusion 353 is a portion that protrudes from the inner wall surface of the frame 352 so as to cover the area of the surface of the ID tag 700 that does not have terminals. The frame 352 provided on the holding member 344 is large enough to accommodate an ID tag with a rectangular outer shape inside the frame, and when the ID tag 700 is set inside, it holds the ID tag 700 in a manner that allows it to move to a certain extent in the X-Z directions.

The retention mechanism 345 will now be described in more detail.
The frame 352 provided on the holding member 344 is formed longer than the length of the base 358 in the Y-axis direction in the figure (height from the ID tag mounting surface 357). Therefore, when the ID tag 700 is installed on the base 358, the ID tag 700 is not fixed to the container front end cover 34. Furthermore, the ID tag 700 is installed with a gap between it and the frame 352 that exists so as to surround the outside of the ID tag 700 in the X-Z direction. In addition, since the ID tag 700 has a slight gap with the holding member protrusion 353 of the holding member 344, the ID tag 700 is not fixed to the container front end cover 34 but will not come off. The ID tag 700 is held to such an extent that it rattles and moves within the holding member 344 when the toner container 32 is lightly shaken.

When assembling the ID tag 700, as shown in FIG. 57, the ID tag 700 is hooked onto the inner wall rib 351 (see FIG. 56) of the holding member 344 and assembled to the base 358 of the holding part 343 in a temporarily fixed state. At this time, the exterior of the base 358 consisting of four rectangular pillars serves as a guide for the holding member 344, and the ID tag 700 after assembly to the base is separated from the inner wall rib 351 and placed on the end faces of the four bases 358 on the tip side of the container.

Next, the attachment of the holding member 344 will be described in detail.
In the toner container 32 of this embodiment, the holding member 344 is not fixed to the container front cover 34 by processing such as thermal caulking or by fastening with a fastening member, but is fixed by a fitting method using a claw member.
As shown in FIG. 56 , the holding member 344 is provided with an upper holding member claw 355 , a lower holding member claw 354 and a right side holding member claw 356 on an upper holding member portion 350 , a lower holding member portion 348 and a right side holding member portion 349 , respectively.
Around the ID tag mounting surface 357 on the container tip cover 34 side, three hook portions are formed at positions facing the three claw portions of the holding member upper claw 355, the holding member lower claw 354, and the holding member right side claw 356. More specifically, an upper mounting surface hook portion 359a is formed around the ID tag mounting surface 357 at a position facing the holding member upper claw 355. Also, a lower mounting surface hook portion 359b is formed around the ID tag mounting surface 357 at a position facing the holding member lower claw 354, and a horizontal mounting surface hook portion 360 is formed at a position facing the holding member right side claw 356.

When the holding member 344 is set on the container tip side cover 34, three claw portions (355, 354, and 356) on the holding member 344 side are engaged with and fixed to three hook portions (359a, 359b, and 360) on the container tip side cover 34 side. Of the three hook portions, two of the mounting surface upper hook portion 359a and the mounting surface lower hook portion 359b are hole-shaped, and one of the mounting surface lateral hook portions 360 is configured as a claw shape.
The hole-shaped upper mounting surface hook portion 359a and lower mounting surface hook portion 359b are set by utilizing the inclination of the tips of the two claw portions of the upper holding member claw 355 and the lower holding member claw 354 and the elasticity of the claw portions. Also, the claw-shaped horizontal mounting surface hook portion 360 is set by utilizing the inclination of the tip of the right side holding member claw 356 and the horizontal mounting surface hook portion inclined surface 360a of the horizontal mounting surface hook portion 360.

57, in this configuration, the ID tag 700 is temporarily set inside the frame 352 of the holding member 344, and the holding member 344 is moved along the base 358 on the container tip side cover 34 side. As a result, the claw portions (355, 354, and 356) formed on the holding member 344 side engage with the hook portions (359a, 359b, and 360) formed on the container tip side cover 34 side, and the fitting of the two can fix the holding member 344 to the container tip side cover 34.
55 to 57, the claws (355, 354, and 356) and the hooks (359a, 359b, and 360) are fitted to two locations, one at the top and bottom and one at the right, of the holding member 344. The fitting locations of the holding member 344 are not limited to a combination of the top and bottom and the right, and may be only the top and bottom, or only the left and right, or the top, bottom, left and right, etc., of the holding member 344, and the fitting locations and the number are not limited to this embodiment.

As described above, in this embodiment, the fitting method using the claw members has been described, but in some cases, the holding member 344 can be fixed to the container tip cover 34 by processing such as thermal caulking or by tightening with a fastening member. Furthermore, there may be cases where it is desired to attach the ID tag holding member 344 more firmly, or where there is a tool that allows the ID tag to be rewritten (rewritten) without removing it from the container tip cover 34 when recycling.

Next, the ID tag 700 as an information storage device provided in the toner container 32 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the following description, the term "approximately rectangular metal plate" is defined to include not only rectangular plates but also those having an approximately rectangular shape. Therefore, rectangular metal plates with all or part of the corners chamfered or rounded are also included in the term "approximately rectangular metal plate."

Fig. 58 is a three-view diagram of the ID tag 700. Fig. 58(a) is a front view of the ID tag 700 as viewed from the connector 800 side, and Fig. 58(b) is a side view of the ID tag 700 as viewed in a direction perpendicular to the attachment direction (diagonally upward to the right in Fig. 55). Fig. 58(c) is a back view of the ID tag 700 as viewed from the container tip cover 34 side.
Fig. 59 is a perspective view showing the ID tag 700, the holding member 344, and the connector 800, and is a perspective view showing the relative positional relationship of the three members (700, 344, and 800). Note that in Fig. 59, the holding member upper claw 355 and the holding member lower claw 354 shown in Figs. 56 and 57 are omitted.
Fig. 60 is a perspective view showing a state in which the ID tag 700 is engaged with the connector 800. Fig. 61 is a circuit diagram showing the electric circuit of the ID tag 700 and the electric circuit of the connector 800.

Fig. 62(a) is a front view showing a state in which the ID tag 700 is held by the connector 800, and Fig. 62(b) is a front view showing a state in which the ID tag 700 rotates around an ID tag positioning hole 701. Fig. 63 is a diagram showing the ID tag 700 in a state in which a probe 901 of an electrical conductivity inspection device 900 is abutted against the ID tag 700 in an inspection process during manufacturing at a factory.
In the ID tag 700 of this embodiment, only one ID tag hole 701 is formed in a substrate 702, and the ID tag hole 701 is disposed between a plurality of metal pads 710 (710a, 710b, 710c) made of a rectangular metal plate.

As shown in FIG. 55, in the toner container 32 of this embodiment, the long side of the rectangular ID tag 700 is not parallel to the vertical direction, but is arranged so that the long side is at an angle. Therefore, the up-down direction when placed in the toner container 32 does not coincide with the longitudinal direction of the ID tag 700. However, in the following description, for convenience, the direction parallel to the long side of the ID tag 700 (Z'-axis direction in FIG. 58) is referred to as the chip up-down direction, and the direction parallel to the short side of the ID tag 700 (X'-axis direction in FIG. 58) is referred to as the chip left-right direction. The same is true for the connector 800 arranged at an angle to the toner supply device 60.

As shown in Fig. 58, an ID tag 700 as an information storage device in this embodiment has an ID tag hole 701 formed at a position vertically above the center of gravity of a substrate 702 in the chip up-down direction. An earth terminal 703 made of a metal terminal is provided on the inner diameter and periphery of this ID tag hole 701. As shown in Fig. 58, the earth terminal 703 formed on the surface of the substrate 702 in this embodiment is formed so that two earth terminal protrusions 705 extend from the annular portion in the chip left-right direction.
Moreover, one rectangular metal pad 710 (first metal pad 710a) is provided at a position above the ID tag hole 701 in the vertical direction of the chip. Furthermore, two metal pads 710 (second metal pad 710b, third metal pad 710c) are provided at positions below the chip in the vertical direction.

58(c), a protective member 720 made of a resin material such as epoxy and having a hemispherical shape is provided on the back surface of the substrate 702 to cover and protect an information storage unit (not shown). The ID tag 700 has an information storage unit such as an IC (integrated circuit) inside, and the ID tag hole 701 is disposed above the protective member 720, which is the largest and heaviest component disposed on the back surface, in the vertical direction of the chip. As a result, as described above, a positional relationship is realized in which the ID tag hole 701 is located vertically above the center of gravity of the ID tag 700 in the vertical direction of the chip. The location of the ID tag hole 701 depends on the shape of the substrate 702 and the configuration and location of the back surface of the protective member 720, etc.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 62(a), the ID tag 700 of this embodiment is formed so that the center position of the ID tag hole 701 is a distance Za above the center of gravity of the ID tag 700 in the chip vertical direction.

As shown in FIG. 59, the connector 800 has a connector body 805 which is a hollow box made of resin, and a positioning pin 801 (positioning protrusion) which is a hollow cylinder with a tapered tip is provided on the connector body 805 so as to stand up horizontally. A grounding body side terminal 802 is provided on this positioning pin 801. This grounding body side terminal 802 is a plate-shaped (or wire-shaped) metal member, a part of which is stored in the hollow part of the positioning pin 801 which is formed integrally with the connector body 805. The curved part is exposed from a slit-shaped opening formed in a part of the peripheral surface of the hollow cylinder, and protrudes from the cylindrical outer peripheral surface of the positioning pin 801. One body side terminal 804 is provided at a position vertically above the positioning pin 801 (grounding body side terminal 802) in the vertical direction of the chip, and two body side terminals 804 are provided at positions vertically below the positioning pin 801 in the vertical direction of the chip. These main body side terminals 804 are plate-shaped (or wire-shaped) metal components.

In addition, below the connector body 805, at both sides in the left-right direction of the chip sandwiching the positioning pin 801, there is a pair of ribs formed so that the tapered surfaces on the inner ends of each rib are linearly symmetrical. Furthermore, there are provided anti-vibration members 803 as a pair of restricting members that face both end faces of the ID tag 700 at locations lower in the chip up-down direction than the center of the ID tag hole 701.

The holding member 344 is fixed to the container front end cover 34 of the toner container 32, and is located between the connector 800 and the ID tag 700 when the toner container 32 is attached to the toner replenishing device 60. The holding member 344 holds the ID tag 700 movably (with a certain degree of play).
59 , the holding member 344 has holding member protrusions 353 provided on each of the holding member lower part 348, the holding member left side part 342, and the holding member right side part 349. The three holding member protrusions 353 provided on each of the holding member lower part 348, the holding member left side part 342, and the holding member right side part 349 prevent the ID tag 700 from falling off toward the connector 800 side of the holding member 344.
A holding member opening 347 is formed at the end of the holding member 344 on the connector 800 side (the wall surface including the holding member protrusion 353). The holding member opening 347 is shaped so that most of the end of the holding member 344 on the connector 800 side, including the area facing the four terminals (three main body side terminals 804 and one ground main body side terminal 802) on the connector 800 side, is open. Furthermore, the holding member opening 347 of the holding member 344 is shaped so that it is open up to a portion corresponding to the vibration prevention member 803 provided on the connector 800. Then, when the toner container 32 is attached, the positioning pin 801 passes through the opening position of the holding member opening 347, and then the vibration prevention member 803 also passes through the opening position of the holding member opening 347 and enters the inside of the holding member 344.

The four pedestals 358 facing the back side (the side of the protective member 720) of the ID tag 700 are part of the container tip side cover 34, and are members extending from the holding portion 343 to the connector 800 side. The four pedestals 358 are configured to press the vicinity of the four corners of the rectangular substrate 702, and are shaped to avoid interference with the protective member 720 fixed to the ID tag 700 and the vibration prevention member 803 that enters when connecting with the connector 800.
On the other hand, when the positioning pin 801 is inserted into the ID tag hole 701 of the ID tag 700, the ID tag 700 is pressed toward the rear end of the container by the grounding body side terminal 802 and the body side terminal 804 of the positioning pin 801. At this time, the four pedestals 358 support the back surface of the substrate 702, so that the terminals can be maintained in contact with each other.

Figure 60 is a schematic perspective view showing the state in which the positioning of the connector 800 on the toner supply device 60 side and the ID tag 700 has been completed when the toner container 32 is attached to the toner supply device 60 (the main body of the copier 500). The state shown in Figure 60 shows the state in which the terminals on the main body side (main body side terminal 804 and grounding main body side terminal 802) are connected to the terminals on the ID tag 700 side (metal pad 710 and earth terminal 703). Note that in Figure 60, for ease of understanding, the holding member 344 between the connector 800 and the ID tag 700 and the three metal pads 710 are omitted from the illustration.

In the toner container 32 of this embodiment, the container opening 33a protrudes beyond the container front end cover 34. When the toner container 32 is moved from an unattached state in the direction of arrow Q in the figure to be attached to the toner supply device 60, first, the outer circumferential surface of the container opening 33a is fitted into the container setting portion 615. Then, the position of the toner container 32 in the direction perpendicular to the rotation axis direction relative to the toner supply device 60 is determined. Thereafter, the toner container 32 is further moved in the direction of arrow Q in the figure, thereby starting the connection between the ID tag 700 and the connector 800.
After the toner container 32 is positioned in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis direction and the container front end cover 34 is positioned in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis direction, the ID tag 700 is positioned in the direction perpendicular to the rotation axis direction. More specifically, after the container front end cover 34 is positioned in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis direction, the ID tag hole 701 of the ID tag 700 is fitted into the positioning pin 801 of the connector 800 so that the ID tag hole 701 is picked up by the taper of the tip of the positioning pin 801. This fitting simultaneously determines the chip up-down and chip left-right positions of the ID tag 700. That is, the ID tag 700 is positioned in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis direction.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 62(a), the anti-vibration member 803 of the connector 800 enters the lower edge portion that is on both the left and right sides of the substrate 702 in the left-right direction of the chip and is lower in the up-down direction of the chip than the center of the ID tag hole 701. At this time, even if the posture of the ID tag 700 is shifted as shown in FIG. 62(b), when the tapered surface at the tip of the rib-shaped anti-vibration member 803 contacts one of the above-mentioned edges, the part below the ID tag hole 701 rotates so as to face the opposite side of the contacted tapered surface. Then, the rotation stops at a position where it contacts the two tapered surfaces evenly, and the posture shift in the rotation direction (rotation in the direction of the double arrow shown in FIG. 62(b)) is corrected (returning to the state of FIG. 62(a)). This completes the positioning of the ID tag 700.

At this time, a part of the ground terminal 703 of the ID tag 700 (corresponding to the inner diameter of the ID tag hole 701) comes into contact with the grounding main body side terminal 802 of the positioning pin 801 shown in FIG. 60, and the ID tag 700 is grounded (conductive). Furthermore, after this grounding is achieved, as shown in FIG. 61(a), the three metal pads 710 (710a, 710b, 710c) of the ID tag 700 also come into contact with the three main body side terminals 804 of the connector 800, respectively. Then, information can be transmitted between the ID tag 700 and the control unit (control unit 90 of the copier 500) of the toner supply device 60 that is equipped with the connector 800.

In this way, in this embodiment, by incorporating the various ideas (1) to (5) below, a highly accurate positioning mechanism is realized with an inexpensive configuration.

(1) There is only one ID tag hole 701. This makes it possible to reduce the processing costs of the substrate 702.

(2) The ground body side terminal 802 is integrally installed on the side surface of the positioning pin 801. This makes it possible to make the distance between the positioning pin 801 and the ground body side terminal 802 essentially zero, thereby improving the positional accuracy of the earth terminal 703 relative to the ground body side terminal 802.

(3) In the completed mounting state shown in FIG. 60, the positional relationship between the ID tag hole 701 and the curved portions of the body side terminals 804 is adjusted so that the center of the ID tag hole 701 is aligned with the straight line connecting the vertices of the curved portions (contact portions) of the three body side terminals 804 on the connector 800 side. This makes it possible to reduce the distance in the left-right direction of the chip from the ID tag hole 701, which is the positioning portion, to the contact portion between the terminals (body side terminals 804 and metal pads 710) to approximately 0 mm. As a result, the positional accuracy when the three metal pads 710 (710a, 710b, 710c) and the three body side terminals 804 come into contact is improved.

(4) The position of the ID tag hole 701 is arranged in one of the gaps that are generated when multiple metal pads 710 (710a, 710b, 710c) are arranged. This makes it possible to shorten the distance (corresponding to the arm length of the pendulum) from the center of the ID tag hole 701 to the third metal pad 710c, which is located at the farthest position. This is compared to the case where a positioning hole (or cutout) is arranged above or below the chip vertical direction, which is outside the arrangement of multiple metal pads 710 (710a, 710b, 710c). Specifically, when a positioning hole (or cutout) is arranged outside the arrangement of three metal pads 710 (710a, 710b, 710c), the longest arm length is the distance from the hole center (or the center of the cutout) to three metal pads 710. On the other hand, in the ID tag 700 of this embodiment, the longest arm length can be set to a distance of two metal pads 710. By shortening the length of the swing arm, even if the parallelism of the farthest third metal pad 710c relative to the main body side terminal 804 shifts due to mass production variations or other reasons, the shift can be kept to a minimum.

(5) When the toner container 32 is stored individually, there is a risk that a foreign object may enter the holding member 344 and become caught between the ID tag 700 and the holding member protrusion 353 or the base 358, causing the position to shift. In response to this problem, in this embodiment, the positional relationship is devised so that the ID tag hole 701 of the ID tag 700 is located above the center of gravity in the chip vertical direction. This allows the ID tag 700 to rotate when the anti-vibration member 803 consisting of a pair of ribs enters below the ID tag hole 701, which is the center of rotation, in the chip vertical direction. In detail, the ID tag 700 can be rotated so that it is in a position where it is in even contact with the two tapered surfaces by abutting against the tapered surfaces of the anti-vibration member 803 (ribs). This allows the positional shift to be regulated and the posture to be corrected. As a result, even if there is only one ID tag hole 701, the positional accuracy of multiple metal pads 710 (710a, 710b, 710c) relative to multiple main body side terminals 804 can be improved simultaneously.

As described above in (1) to (5), each of the five ideas exerts its own effect. And even if an inexpensive configuration is adopted in which the area of the metal pad 710 is minimized, the positioning precision between the multiple terminals (703, 710) on the ID tag 700 side, including the ground terminal 703, and the multiple main body side terminals (802, 804) can be made extremely high.

Furthermore, the invention and the effects of this embodiment other than those described above will be described.
First, the three metal pads 710 (710a, 710b, 710c) will be described in detail. The first metal pad 710a at the top receives a clock signal for communication control. A serial communication method is adopted for sequential communication, which is slow but low cost, and I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit) is used as the serial bus. When connected to the connector 800 on the toner supply device 60 side, a signal line is formed to receive a serial clock (SCL). The first metal pad 710a corresponds to the terminal on the clock signal input side, but since the clock signal flows in one direction, it is predicted that the possibility of the ID tag 700 being destroyed by a short circuit with Vcc (power supply, third metal pad 710c) described later is higher than that of other terminals. Therefore, in order to avoid the destruction of the ID tag 700, it is arranged in a place away from Vcc. This is because the possibility of destruction is low even if it is shorted with GND (earth terminal 703).

The second metal pad 710b also employs a serial communication method, employs I2C as the serial bus, and forms a signal line for inputting and outputting serial data (SDA) when connected to the connector 800 on the toner supply device 60 side. Because the second metal pad 710b is bidirectional for input and output, there is less chance of the ID tag 700 being destroyed by a short circuit than with the first metal pad 710a, which is a one-way input.

The third metal pad 710c is the power supply input section (Vcc), and a voltage of 5 [V] or 3.3 [V] is input when connected to the connector 800 on the toner supply device 60 side. In order to reduce the risk of a short circuit between the power supply and GND, which would cause a malfunction of the entire device, the serial data input terminal (second metal pad 710b) is sandwiched between the GND (earth terminal 703) and the serial clock input terminal (first metal pad 710a). As shown in FIG. 58, the third metal pad 710c, which is Vcc, overlaps with the protective member 720 on the back side of the ID tag via the substrate 702, and is also close to the IC drive circuit (not shown) inside the protective member 720. This allows the power supply line to be made shorter and thicker, stabilizing the power supply operation (reducing noise malfunctions).

Next, a description will be given of a technique for earthing. During the mounting operation of the toner container 32, the earth terminal 703 of the ID tag 700 comes into contact with the grounding main body side terminal 802 of the positioning pin 801 (connector 800). After this contact, the three metal pads 710 (710a, 710b, 710c) of the ID tag 700 start to come into contact with the three main body side terminals 804 of the connector 800. In other words, during the removal operation of the toner container 32, the contact of the three metal pads 710 (710a, 710b, 710c) of the ID tag 700 with the three main body side terminals 804 of the connector 800 is released. After this contact is released, the earth terminal 703 of the ID tag 700 is released from contact (separated) with the grounding main body side terminal 802 of the positioning pin 801 (connector 800).
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 61( a ), in the connector 800 , the contact initiation position of the grounding body side terminal 802 is formed so as to be closer to the ID tag 700 than the three body side terminals 804 .

With this configuration, when the toner container 32 is attached, the connection between the metal pad 710 and the main body terminal 804 starts with the ID tag 700 always grounded. When the toner container 32 is removed, the separation (disconnection) between the metal pad 710 and the main body terminal 804 starts with the ID tag 700 always grounded. This prevents the electric circuit on the ID tag 700 side from being electrically floating due to lack of grounding, and makes the ID tag 700 less likely to be electrically damaged.
More specifically, when the electric circuit on the ID tag 700 side is not grounded and is in an electrically floating state, the electric circuit is in a state of being grounded with a very large impedance. In this case, if even a small amount of static electricity generated when the three metal pads 710 and the three main body side terminals 804 contact or separate from each other flows into the electric circuit, a high voltage equivalent to the current multiplied by the impedance is generated. This high voltage then causes insulation breakdown inside the IC in the ID tag 700, destroying the IC.

Such a defect is likely to occur when, in a connector 800, the contact initiation positions of the three body side terminals 804 and the grounding body side terminal 802 with respect to the ID tag 700 are formed at the same position, as shown in Figure 61 (b).
In contrast to this, in this embodiment, the terminals are arranged as follows: That is, the curved portion of the grounding body-side terminal 802 exposed from the slit-shaped opening of the positioning pin 801 is arranged to be closer to the ID tag 700 than the curved portion of the body-side terminal 804, which is the portion that protrudes most toward the ID tag 700. As a result, the circuit is grounded first when contact is made and last when separation is made, so that the impedance is always theoretically zero and it is possible to prevent dielectric breakdown inside the IC even if static electricity flows into the electric circuit.

Furthermore, in the ID tag 700 of this embodiment, as previously described with reference to FIG. 58, two ground terminal protrusions 705 are provided on a portion of the outer periphery of the ground terminal 703 .
By providing the earth terminal protrusion 705 on the front surface of the substrate 702 of the ID tag 700 in this manner, the probe for the electrical conductivity test can be easily brought into contact during the inspection process (the process for inspecting whether the ID tag 700 is good or bad) during manufacturing at a factory. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 63, the tips of a plurality of probes 901 provided in the electrical conductivity test device 900 are pressed from above against the metal pad 710 and the earth terminal 703 of the ID tag 700 placed on an inspection table. At this time, the earth terminal protrusion 705 of the earth terminal 703 has an area sufficient for the tips of the probes 901 to contact, so that electrical conductivity test failures due to poor contact of the probes 901 can be prevented. Also, the tip of the probe 901 is brought into contact with the earth terminal 703 (earth terminal protrusion 705) from above to perform the electrical conductivity test. Therefore, it is possible to improve the durability of the probe 901 itself, which is used repeatedly for each test, compared to a case where an electrical test is performed by inserting the probe 901 into the ID tag hole 701. Furthermore, it is possible to prevent the ID tag hole 701 of the ID tag 700 from becoming worn down due to an electrical test.

In the wedge-shaped surplus space between the ring of the earth terminal 703 and the rectangular metal pad 710, the following arrangement is made. That is, the earth terminal protrusion 705 is arranged so that its boundary (boundary line) in the left-right direction of the chip is in contact with the outer circumference of the ring and is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the metal pad 710 (710a, 710b, 710c). This prevents the earth terminal protrusion 705 from protruding in the up-down direction of the chip, and suppresses the protrusion of the earth terminal protrusion 705 into the left-right sliding area of the substrate 702 that slides with the holding member protrusion 353 (protrusion in the left-right direction of the chip). As a result, it is possible to maximize the number of substrates 702 taken from a substrate material with a fixed dimension for manufacturing without increasing the size of the substrate 702, thereby suppressing an increase in the cost of the ID tag 700.

The three main body side terminals 804 in the connector 800 are plate-shaped (or linear) metal members, and are fixedly supported by the connector main body 805 with one end thereof as a fixed end and the container tip end as a free end. The three main body side terminals 804 are formed with a curved portion on the container tip side that curves toward the ID tag 700 (toner container 32) side. That is, the main body side terminals 804 are bent like a knee (or a boomerang) toward the ID tag 700. The curved portion of the main body side terminals 804 is the portion that becomes the contact point with the metal pad 710.
Then, as the toner container 32 is attached to the toner supply device 60, the curved portion of the main body side terminal 804 comes into contact with the approximate center of the metal pad 710 in the longitudinal direction (the chip left-right direction). As the toner container 32 is attached further, the ID tag 700 approaches the connector 800, and the main body side terminal 804 is pressed against the metal pad 710 and elastically deforms (like a bent knee straightening), displacing the curved portion of the main body side terminal 804 so as to approach the free end. That is, as the toner container 32 is attached, the curved portion of the main body side terminal 804 slides from the center of the longitudinal direction (the chip left-right direction) toward the free end while gradually increasing the contact pressure against the metal pad 710.

This configuration can reliably prevent poor contact between the main body side terminals 804 and the metal pads 710. More specifically, depending on the dimensional accuracy and assembly accuracy (dimensional variation) of related parts, the longitudinal position (left-right direction of the chip) of the container tip side cover 34 (metal pads 710) may shift relative to the connector 800 (main body side terminals 804). However, with the above-mentioned configuration, even if the longitudinal position of the container tip side cover 34 relative to the connector 800 shifts, poor contact between the main body side terminals 804 and the metal pads 710 can be reliably prevented.

As described above, in the toner container 32 of this embodiment, the contact type ID tag 700 (information storage device) is held by the holding mechanism 345 such as the holding member 344. In detail, the ID tag 700 is held by the holding mechanism 345 such as the holding member 344 so that it can move on a virtual plane that is approximately perpendicular to the moving direction (arrow Q direction) when the metal pad 710, which is the container side terminal, approaches and contacts the main body side terminal 804. As a result, even in the following cases, poor contact due to poor positioning between the metal pad 710 of the ID tag 700 and the main body side terminal 804 of the connector 800 provided in the toner supply device 60 is unlikely to occur. In other words, even if the contact type ID tag 700 is installed in the toner container 32 that is detachably installed in the toner supply device 60 (copier 500 main body), the above-mentioned poor contact is unlikely to occur.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, even if a contact-type ID tag 700 is installed in the toner container 32 that is detachably installed in the toner supply device 60, electrical damage to the ID tag 700 is unlikely to occur. This is because an earth terminal 703 that engages with a grounding main body side terminal 802 formed on a positioning pin 801 of the connector 800 is formed in one ID tag hole 701 formed in the substrate 702 of the ID tag 700.

If the toner has high fluidity, the toner is likely to scatter when the toner supply container is attached or detached, which is a problem addressed by this embodiment.
Known indices of toner fluidity include accelerated cohesion degree [%] and loose apparent density [g/ ^cm3 ]. The toner contained in the toner container 32 of this embodiment has a volume average particle size of about 5.5 [μm], accelerated cohesion degree of about 13 [%], and loose apparent density of about 0.36 [g/ ^cm3 ], to which about 3.3 [parts by weight] of silica and about 0.6 [parts by weight] of titanium are added. This toner can be fixed with a heat amount of about 120 [°C], and is a toner with so-called excellent low-temperature fixability.
As another toner, it is also possible to use a toner having a volume average particle size of about 4.5 μm, an accelerated cohesion degree of about 18%, a loose apparent density of about 0.38 g/ ^cm3 , to which about 2.3 parts by weight of silica and about 0.7 parts by weight of titanium have been added. Of course, it is also possible to use a toner other than those exemplified.

The toner can be manufactured using known polymerization and pulverization methods.
The particle size distribution of the toner particles can be measured by the Coulter counter method, and examples of measuring devices for this method include the Coulter Counter TA-II and Coulter Multisizer II (both manufactured by Coulter).
The accelerated cohesion of the toner was measured using a powder tester (manufactured by Hosokawa Micron Corporation) in an environment with a temperature of 24° C. and a humidity of 72%. Other conditions are as shown in Table 1.

After the measurement, the degree of cohesion of the toner is calculated using the following formula.
Weight percent of powder remaining on the upper sieve × 1 (a)
Weight percent of powder remaining on the middle sieve × 0.6 (b)
Weight percent of powder remaining in the lower sieve × 0.2 (c)
The degree of cohesion (%)=(a)+(b)+(c).
The measurement results are shown in Table 2. (Unit: [%])

From the results in Table 2, toner types D and E were evaluated as having low fluidity.
The loose apparent density is a value calculated by loosely filling a container with toner, cutting it, and dividing the content weight by the container volume.
Toner with high fluidity is prone to scattering, but the toner container and toner replenishing device to which the present invention is applied are configured to replenishing toner to the toner replenishing device from within the toner container, and therefore, although this configuration is of course effective for toner with not so high fluidity as well, it can be said to be even more effective for preventing toner scattering with such highly fluid toner.

The above description is merely an example, and the present invention provides unique effects for each of the following aspects.
(Aspect A)
a container body such as a container body 33 which is mounted on a powder conveying device such as a toner supply device 60 with its length oriented horizontally and which stores powder such as toner for image formation to be supplied to the powder conveying device; conveying means such as a spiral protrusion 302 which is disposed inside the container body and conveys the powder from one end side of the length to the other end side where a container opening such as a cylindrical tip opening 305 is provided; a tube receiving port such as a nozzle receiving port 331 which is disposed at the container opening and receives an insertion of a conveying tube such as a conveying nozzle 611 fixed to the powder conveying device; a tube inserting member such as a nozzle receiving member 330 which is disposed at the container opening and communicates with the tube receiving port to guide the conveying tube into the container body; and a pumping section such as pumping section 304 that moves powder to the powder receiving inlet of the toner container 32. The powder transport device has a powder receiving inlet that receives powder from the container body, a transport tube opening and closing member such as a nozzle shutter 612 that opens and closes the powder receiving inlet, a biasing member such as a nozzle shutter spring 613 that biases the transport tube opening and closing member to close the powder receiving inlet, and a contact member such as a nozzle shutter flange 612a that abuts against the cylindrical inner bottom of a container opening such as the end face of the container tip side of the container seal 333 and moves the powder receiving inlet to open relative to the transport tube opening and closing member, the container opening has a tube receiving inlet located at the inner bottom, and the cylindrical internal space of the container opening contains the abutment member and the biasing member when the powder storage container is attached to the powder transport device.
According to this, as described in the above embodiment, since the tube receiving port is disposed on the cylindrical inner bottom of the container opening, the end face on the other end side of the container opening, such as the container tip side, has a portion that protrudes in the rotation axis direction from the end face on the other end side where the tube receiving port of the tube insertion member is opened. This protruding portion prevents the powder leaking from the tube receiving port from scattering when the conveying tube is removed from the powder storage container, thereby suppressing the scattering of the powder. Furthermore, when the powder storage container is attached to the powder conveying device, the contact member and the biasing member are stored in the internal space of the cylindrical container opening, thereby suppressing the increase in the longitudinal size of the powder conveying device when the powder storage container is attached to the powder conveying device.
(Aspect B)
In (A), the outer peripheral surface of the container opening such as tip opening 305 of the container body such as container body 33 and the tip end face such as end face 305f are positioning parts with respect to a powder conveying device such as toner supply device 60.
As a result, as described in the above embodiment, powder such as toner can be prevented from reaching the outer peripheral surface of the container opening, thereby stabilizing the positioning accuracy of the powder storage container relative to the powder conveying device.
(Aspect C)
In (mode A), a container body such as container body 33 is held by a powder conveying device such as toner supply device 60 so as to be rotatable relative to a conveying tube such as a conveying nozzle 611, with the longitudinal direction as the rotation axis when conveying powder, and the cylindrical outer circumferential surface of a container opening such as tip opening 305 of the container body has a rotating shaft portion that is inserted into a rotating bearing portion such as a container setting portion 615 of the powder conveying device.
According to this, as explained in the above embodiment, if powder enters the gap between the rotary bearing part and the rotary shaft part, which are the sliding parts, the sliding load during rotation increases, and there is a risk of the rotation torque of the container body increasing, but in this aspect, it is possible to prevent powder from reaching the outer circumferential surface side of the container opening. Therefore, it is possible to prevent powder from entering the sliding part, prevent an increase in the sliding load, stabilize the sliding properties, and prevent an increase in the rotation torque of the container body.
(Aspect D)
In (Aspect C), the outer peripheral surface and the tip end surface of a container opening such as tip opening 305 of a container body such as container body 33 are positioned with a powder transport device such as toner supply device 60 .
According to this, as described in the above embodiment, the positioning accuracy of the powder container with respect to the powder transport device is stabilized.
(Aspect E)
In aspect C or D, a tube insertion member such as nozzle receiving member 330 has a fixing portion such as cylindrical receiving member fixing portion 337 that is fixed to a container opening such as tip opening 305 of a container body such as container body 33, and the fixing portion is fixed to the container opening of the container body by screwing with screw threads 337c or the like, and the tightening direction of the screws coincides with the direction in which a powder storage container such as toner container 32 rotates within a powder supply device such as toner supply device 60.
According to this, as explained in the thirteenth embodiment above, it is possible to prevent the rotational drive of the container body from acting to loosen the screws of the tube insertion member attached to the container body.
(Aspect F)
In aspect C or D, a tube insertion member such as nozzle receiving member 330 has a fixing part such as cylindrical receiving member fixing part 337 which is fixed to a container opening such as tip opening 305 of a container body such as container body 33, the cylindrical outer diameter of the fixing part is larger than the cylindrical inner diameter of the container opening of the container body, a protrusion such as receiving member engaging protrusion 3301 is formed on either the cylindrical outer periphery of the fixing part or the cylindrical inner periphery of the container opening of the container body, and an engaging hole such as tip opening engaging hole 3051 which engages with the protrusion is formed on the other, and the fixing part is press-fitted into the container opening at a position where the protrusion and the engaging hole engage.
As described above in the fourteenth embodiment, this prevents the tube insertion member from slipping out of and rotating around the container body by engaging the protrusion with the engaging hole. Furthermore, since the cylindrical outer diameter of the fixing portion is larger than the cylindrical inner diameter of the container opening, when the tube insertion member is attached to the container body, the container opening is corrected to match the fixing portion, improving the roundness. The improved roundness of the container opening improves the positioning accuracy of a powder storage container such as the toner container 32 with respect to a powder conveying device such as the toner replenishing device 60.
(Aspect G)
In aspect C or D, a tube insertion member such as nozzle receiving member 330 has a fixing part such as cylindrical receiving member fixing part 337 which is fixed to a container opening such as tip opening 305 of a container body such as container body 33, the cylindrical outer diameter of the fixing part is smaller than the cylindrical inner diameter of the container opening of the container body, a protrusion such as receiving member engaging protrusion 3301 is formed on either the cylindrical outer periphery of the fixing part or the cylindrical inner periphery of the container opening of the container body, and an engaging hole such as tip opening engaging hole 3051 which engages with the protrusion is formed on the other, a seal such as outer periphery seal 3302 is arranged in the gap between the fixing part and the container body, and the tube insertion member is fitted into the container opening so that the seal is sandwiched between the fixing part and the container body and compressed at the position where the protrusion and the engaging hole engage.
According to this, as explained in the above embodiment 15, the engagement between the protrusion and the engagement hole can prevent the tube insertion member from coming off and rotating relative to the container body. Furthermore, the axial position of the powder storage container such as the toner container 32 is determined by the repulsive force from the seal and the prevention of coming off by the engagement, and the tube insertion member is prevented from coming off from the container body due to an impact caused by an external force, etc. In addition, since the seal is compressed to seal, it is possible to prevent the powder such as toner from leaking.
(Aspect H)
In aspect C or D, a tube insertion member such as nozzle receiving member 330 has a fixing part such as cylindrical receiving member fixing part 337 which is fixed to a container opening such as tip opening 305 of a container body such as container body 33, and the cylindrical outer diameter of at least the region of the fixing part which coincides with the rotation shaft part is smaller than the cylindrical inner diameter of the container opening of the container body, and the cylindrical outer periphery of the fixing part outside the above-mentioned region such as γ1 has a portion which is larger than the cylindrical inner diameter of the container opening of the container body, and the fixing part is press-fitted into the container opening.
As a result, as explained in embodiment 20 above, the part that becomes the rotating shaft of the container opening does not expand when the fixing part is pressed in, and can be used as a positioning part or sliding part, so that the high molding accuracy of the container opening can be maintained, and high-precision positioning and good sliding can be achieved.
(Aspect I)
In aspect H, the outer periphery of the cylinder outside the above-mentioned region, which is the press-in point such as γ1, is the position of a gear such as container gear 301 formed in a container opening such as tip opening 305 so as to transmit a rotational force to a container body such as container body 33.
As a result, as explained in the above embodiment 20, the strength is higher than other parts of the container body, and deformation due to press-fitting is unlikely to occur. In addition, because the container body strongly tightens the fixing part, the nozzle receiver 330 and other tube insertion members are unlikely to come off over time.
(Aspect J)
In embodiment H, the outer periphery of the cylinder outside the above-mentioned region, which becomes the press-fitting portion such as γ1, is a position where the thickness of the container opening such as the tip opening 305 is larger than the thickness of the rotating shaft portion.
As a result, as explained in the above embodiment 20, the strength is higher than other parts of the container body, and deformation due to press-fitting is unlikely to occur. In addition, because the container body strongly tightens the fixing part, the nozzle receiver 330 and other tube insertion members are unlikely to come off over time.
(Aspect K)
In any of aspects A to J, a tube receiving port such as the nozzle receiving port 331 is formed by a through hole of an annular seal such as the container seal 333, and is configured between the annular seal and a tube insertion member such as the nozzle receiving member 330 so that when a conveying tube such as the conveying nozzle 611 is inserted, a closed space such as the seal member entrapment prevention space 337b is created around the conveying tube.
As described in the above embodiment, this makes it possible to prevent the annular seal from becoming entangled between the tube insertion member and the container opening/closing member such as the container shutter 332. This makes it possible to prevent the tube receiving port from becoming unable to open and close due to the annular seal becoming entangled.
(Aspect L)
a container body such as container body 33 which is mounted on a powder conveying device such as toner supply device 60 with the horizontal direction as its length and which stores powder such as toner for image formation to be supplied to the powder conveying device; conveying means such as spiral projection 302 which is arranged inside the container body and conveys the powder from one end side of the length to the other end side where a container opening such as tip opening 305 is provided; a tube receiving port such as nozzle receiving port 331 which is arranged at the container opening and into which a conveying tube such as conveying nozzle 611 fixed to the powder conveying device is inserted and receives the powder; a tube inserting member such as nozzle receiving member 330 which is arranged at the container opening and communicates with the tube receiving port to guide the conveying tube into the container body; In a powder storage container such as toner container 32 that is equipped with a pumping section such as pumping section 304 that rotates to lift powder from below the container body to above it and move the powder to a powder receiving port such as nozzle opening 610 of the transport tube, the tube insertion member has a container opening/closing member such as container shutter 332 that opens and closes the tube receiving port, a support section such as shutter side support section 335a that movably supports the container opening/closing member, and a support section opening such as shutter support opening 335b that is arranged adjacent to the support section and enables communication between the pumping section and the powder receiving port of the transport tube inserted into the tube insertion member, and as the tube insertion member rotates, the support section and the support section opening alternately cross the powder receiving port.
As a result, as described in the above embodiment, even if powder momentarily accumulates above the powder receiving port, the support part moves across the accumulated powder to break it down, thereby preventing the accumulated powder from agglomerating when left unused, which can lead to poor powder transport when the device is restarted.
(Aspect M)
In aspect L, the inner edge of a support portion opening such as shutter support opening 335b, or the outer peripheral surface and inner edge of a support portion such as shutter side support portion 335a, serves as a bridge when moving powder such as toner from a pumping portion such as pumping portion 304 to a powder receiving port such as nozzle opening 610.
According to this, as described in the above embodiment, it is possible to suppress the flow of powder passing through the gap between the conveying pipe of the conveying nozzle 611 or the like and the inner wall of the container body 33 or the like forming the pumping part of the convex part 304h or the like. As a result, the pumped powder efficiently enters the powder receiving port. Therefore, even when the amount of powder in the container body is low, the supply speed is stable, and further, the amount of powder remaining in the container body when replacing a powder storage container such as the toner container 32 can be reduced. In addition, since the amount of powder remaining in the container body when replacing can be reduced, it is possible to reduce running costs and improve economy, and reduce the amount of residual powder to be disposed of and reduce the impact on the environment.
(Aspect N)
In aspect M, the pumping parts such as the pumping part 304 and the bridging parts such as the shutter side support part 335a have the same rotation direction and are arranged close to each other so that, from the downstream side to the upstream side in the rotation direction, the order is the inner edge of the support part opening such as the shutter support opening 335b, and the convex part such as the convex part 304h that protrudes toward the inside of the container body of the pumping part, etc.
As a result, as described in the above embodiment, it is possible to suppress the flow of powder passing through the gap between a conveying pipe such as the conveying nozzle 611 and the inner wall of the container body 33, etc., which forms the pumping portion such as the convex portion 304h.
(Aspect O)
In aspect M, a container body such as container body 33 is held by a powder conveying device such as toner supply device 60 so as to be rotatable relative to a conveying tube such as conveying nozzle 611, with the longitudinal direction as the rotation axis when conveying powder, a tube insertion member such as nozzle receiving member 330 is fixed to the container body, and a pumping portion such as pumping portion 304 has a convex portion such as convex portion 304h where the inner wall surface of the container body is raised toward the inside of the container body, and an inner wall surface such as raised pumping wall surface 304f that connects from the convex portion to the inner wall of the periphery of the container body.
According to this, as described in the above embodiment, it is possible to realize a configuration in which the powder is pumped up by rotating the container body.
(Aspect P)
In aspects L or M, a container body such as container body 33 is held by a powder conveying device such as toner supply device 60 so as to be rotatable relative to a conveying tube such as conveying nozzle 611, with the longitudinal direction as the rotation axis, when conveying powder, and a tube insertion member such as nozzle receiver 330 is fixed to the container body, and a pumping portion such as pumping 304 has a convex portion such as convex portion 304h where the inner wall surface of the container body is raised toward the inside of the container body, and an inner wall surface such as raised pumping wall surface 304f that connects from the convex portion to the inner wall of the periphery of the container body, and the convex portion and a bridging portion such as shutter side support portion 335a are in close contact with each other or face each other with a slight gap.
According to this, as described in the above embodiment, it is possible to realize a configuration in which the powder is pumped up by the rotation of the container body, and it is also possible to suppress the flow of powder passing through a gap between a conveying pipe such as the conveying nozzle 611 and an inner wall of the container body 33 that forms a pumping portion such as the convex portion 304h.
(Aspect Q)
In aspect L, a container body such as container body 33 is held by a powder conveying device such as toner supply device 60 so as to be rotatable relative to a conveying tube such as conveying nozzle 611, with the longitudinal direction as the rotation axis, when conveying powder, a tube insertion member such as nozzle receiving member 330 is fixed to the container body, and a pumping portion such as pumping portion 304 has a rib such as pumping rib 304g that protrudes so as to extend from the tube insertion member to the vicinity of the inner wall of the circumferential surface of the container body.
As explained in the above modified example, this allows the ribs to receive the powder conveyed by the conveying means such as the spiral projection 302, and to pump the powder upward by rotation. The rib surface can then be used as a slide to allow the powder to flow up to the powder receiving port such as the nozzle opening 610.
(Aspect R)
In an image forming apparatus such as a copier 500 that includes an image forming unit such as a printer unit 100 that forms an image on an image carrier such as a photoconductor 41 using image forming powder such as toner, a powder transport unit such as a toner supply device 60 that transports the powder to the image forming unit, and a powder storage container such as a toner container 32 that is detachably held in the powder transport unit, a powder storage container described in any one of aspects A to Q is used as the powder storage container.
As described in the above embodiment, this prevents the powder from scattering, and prevents a decrease in the positioning accuracy of the powder storage container and an increase in the rotation torque of the powder storage container due to the powder scattering, so that the powder can be transported stably to the destination. Since the powder for image formation can be transported stably, the amount of powder transported to the image forming unit is stabilized, and the image density is stabilized, allowing good image formation.

26: Paper feed tray 27: Paper feed roller 28: Pair of registration rollers 29: Pair of paper discharge rollers 30: Stack unit 32: Toner container (powder container)
33 Container body (powder storage member)
33a Container opening 34 Container tip side cover (storage section cover member)
34a Gear exposure opening 34b Color incompatible rib 41 Photoconductor 42a Cleaning blade 42 Photoconductor cleaning device 44 Charging roller 46Y Yellow image forming section 46 Image forming section 47 Exposure device 48 Intermediate transfer belt 49 Primary transfer bias roller 50 Developing device 51 Developing roller 52 Doctor blade 53 First developer container 54 Developer container 54 Second developer container 55 Developer transport screw 56 Toner concentration detection sensor 60 Toner supply device (powder transport device)
64 Toner drop transport path 70 Toner container storage section 71 Insertion opening forming section 72 Container receiving section 73 Container cover receiving section (tip receiving section)
82 Secondary transfer backup roller 85 Intermediate transfer unit 86 Fixing device 89 Secondary transfer roller 90 Control unit (information processing means)
91 container rotation drive unit 100 printer unit 200 paper feed unit 301 container gear 302 spiral projection 303 grip unit 304 pumping unit 304a pumping unit spiral projection 304f pumping wall surface 304g pumping rib 304h protrusion 305 tip opening (opening forming unit)
305f end surface 306 cover claw hook portion 309 cap fixing screw thread 310 toner discharge port 320 shaft-equipped rotating conveying member 321 shaftless rotating conveying member 330 nozzle receiving member (tube insertion member)
330f end surface 331 nozzle receiving port (pipe receiving port)
332 Container shutter 332a Shutter removal prevention claw 332b Second shutter removal prevention claw 332c Tip cylindrical portion 332d Slide portion 332e Guide rod 332f Cantilever beam 333 Container seal 335 Shutter rear end support portion 335a Shutter side surface support portion 335b Shutter support opening 336 Container shutter spring 337 Receiving member fixing portion 337a Nozzle shutter abutment rib 337b Seal member entrapment prevention space 337c Screw thread 339 Container lock portion 339a Guide protrusion 339b Guide groove 339c Overcoming portion 339d Locking hole 340 Container shutter support member 341 Cover claw portion 342 Holding member left side portion (holding lid left side portion)
343 Holding portion 344 Holding member (holding lid)
345 Holding mechanism 347 Holding member opening (holding lid opening)
348 Lower part of holding member (lower part of holding lid)
349 Right side of holding member (right side of holding cover)
350 Upper part of holding member (upper part of holding lid)
351 Inner wall rib (ID chip temporary fixing rib)
352 Frame (ID chip installation wall)
353 Holding member protrusion (ID chip pressing protrusion)
354 Holding member lower claw (holding cover lower claw portion)
355 Holding member upper claw (holding lid upper claw part)
356 Right side claw of holding member (right side claw of holding cover)
357 ID tag mounting surface (ID chip mounting surface)
358 Pedestal (holding base part)
359a: Upper hook portion of mounting surface 359b: Lower hook portion of mounting surface 360: Horizontal hook portion of mounting surface 360a: Horizontal hook portion of mounting surface inclined surface 361: Slide guide 361a: Slide groove 370: Cap (cap member)
371 Cap flange 372 Adsorbent 373 Cylindrical member 374 Cylindrical portion 374a Adsorption hole 375 Cylindrical tip elastic member 400 Scanner portion 500 Copier (image forming apparatus)
601 Container drive gear 602 Frame (main body frame)
603 Drive motor 604 Drive transmission gear 605 Conveying screw gear 607 Nozzle holder 608 Set cover 609 Replenishment device side locking member (container locking member)
610 Nozzle opening (powder receiving port)
611 Conveying nozzle (conveying pipe)
611a Nozzle tip portion 611s Nozzle opening side edge portion 612 Nozzle shutter (powder receiving port opening/closing member)
612a Nozzle shutter flange (butting part)
612b: first rib on inner circumference of shutter; 612c: second rib on inner circumference of shutter; 612d: third rib on inner circumference of shutter; 612e: nozzle shutter cylindrical portion; 612f: nozzle shutter spring receiving surface; 612g: tip portion of first inner rib; 613: nozzle shutter spring (biasing member);
614 Conveying screw 615 Container setting portion 615a Container setting portion inner peripheral surface 615b Container setting portion end surface 640 Swing spring 650 Toner container drive shaft 651 Delay rotation generating spring 651a Spring fixing pin 652 Drive pin 653 Idler gear 653a Gear surface hole 655 Spring guide disk 700 ID tag (ID chip, information storage device)
701 ID tag hole (hole or notch)
702: Substrate 703: Ground terminal 705: Ground terminal protrusion 710: Metal pad (container side terminal)
710a First metal pad 710b Second metal pad 710c Third metal pad 720 Protective member 800 Connector 801 Positioning pin (protrusion)
802: Grounding terminal on main body side 803: Vibration prevention member (regulating member)
804 Main body side terminal 805 Connector main body 1032 Toner container 1033 Container main body 1034 Container tip side cover 1034a Gear exposure opening 1035 Bottom lid 1035a Rear end side bearing 1036 Tip side bearing 1301 Container gear 1302 Transport blade 1303 Handle portion 1330 Nozzle receiver 1330a Nozzle receiver outer circumferential surface 1330b Transport blade holding portion 1331 Nozzle receiver opening 1332 Container shutter 1332a Abutment portion 1332b Shutter support portion 1332c Hook portion 1333 Container seal 1335b Shutter support opening 1336 Container shutter spring 3051 Tip opening engagement hole 3051a Engagement hole top portion 3052 Tip opening side positioning rib 3053 Tip opening engagement protrusion (tip opening forming portion engagement claw)
3301 Receiving member engaging protrusion (receiving member engaging claw)
3301a Top of the engagement protrusion (claw side tip shape)
3302 Receiving member outer periphery seal 3303 Receiving member side positioning groove 3304 Receiving member engagement hole G Developer L Laser light P Recording medium

JP 2003-241496 A JP 2005-221825 A Patent No. 4342958 JP 2002-202656 A JP 2003-233247 A JP 2009-276659 A

Claims (6)

a toner receiving port for receiving toner discharged from a toner container ;
a shutter that slides in parallel with a direction in which the toner container is attached and detached to close or open the toner receiving opening ;
an image forming apparatus body having
a toner container having an opening in which at least a portion of the shutter is housed and which opens in a direction in which the toner container is attached and detached,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shutter slides in the housed state. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
an image forming apparatus including a sponge that is sandwiched between the shutter and the toner container when the toner container is attached to the image forming apparatus body; 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1,
The image forming apparatus is characterized in that the shutter is biased by a spring in a direction to close the toner receiving opening. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3,
the toner container has a container lock portion for resisting the biasing force,
The image forming apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that the image forming apparatus main body has an image forming apparatus side locking portion that is hooked onto the container locking portion. The image forming device according to claim 4, characterized in that the container locking portion has a crossing portion, and the toner container is attached to the image forming device main body by the image forming device side locking portion crossing over the crossing portion. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the container locking portions are formed in pairs on both sides of the toner container.

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