JP7778764B2 - Toner container - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a toner container for storing toner .

Generally, electrophotographic image forming devices develop an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of a photosensitive drum into a toner image using toner, and then transfer the toner image from the photosensitive drum to a recording material, thereby forming an image on the recording material. Known methods for replenishing toner consumed during repeated image formation in an image forming device include the process cartridge method and the sequential replenishment method. The process cartridge method integrates the photosensitive drum and a developer container that contains toner into a process cartridge, and when the toner remaining in the developer container becomes empty, the process cartridge is replaced with a new one.

On the other hand, Patent Document 1 describes a developing device that uses a sequential replenishment system, which includes a toner transport path that supplies toner to a developing roll and a developer supply box connected to this toner transport path, and replenishes toner from the developer supply box to the toner transport path based on the detection results of the remaining toner amount.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8-30084

In recent years, users have been demanding a variety of uses for image forming devices, beyond the aforementioned process cartridge and sequential replenishment methods.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a toner container according to one embodiment.

One aspect of the present invention is a toner container comprising: a bag member for storing toner; a discharge member formed of resin and provided with a discharge outlet for discharging the toner from the bag member to the outside of the toner container; a shutter configured to be rotatable between an open position that opens the discharge outlet and a closed position that closes the discharge outlet, about a rotation axis extending in a first direction, where the direction in which the bag member and the discharge member are aligned is defined as a first direction; and a memory having a contact surface, wherein a direction intersecting the first direction is defined as a second direction and a direction intersecting both the first direction and the second direction is defined as a third direction, the bag member has a shape whose width in the third direction is wider than its width in the second direction, the discharge outlet is provided on an end face of the discharge member in the first direction, and the memory is attached to the discharge member so that the contact surface faces the second direction.

According to the present invention, one embodiment of a toner container can be provided.

1A is a cross-sectional view and FIG. 1B is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. 1A is a cross-sectional view and FIG. 1B is a perspective view of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment. 5A and 5B are diagrams for explaining attachment and detachment of a process cartridge according to the first embodiment. 3A to 3C are diagrams for explaining an openable/closable member of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. 3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating the configuration of a process cartridge according to the first embodiment. 3A to 3C are diagrams illustrating the configuration of a process cartridge according to the first embodiment. 1A is a perspective view of a toner pack according to a first embodiment, and FIG. 1B is a side view thereof. 1A is a perspective view of a toner pack according to a first embodiment, FIG. 1B is a side view thereof, and FIG. 1C is a view showing a state in which toner is being discharged. 1A is a perspective view, FIG. 1B is a top view, and FIG. 1C is an enlarged view of a supply container mounting portion according to a first embodiment. 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating the operation of the supply container attachment portion according to the first embodiment. 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating the position of a locking member according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a toner pack according to the first embodiment. 5A and 5B are diagrams illustrating a pressing mechanism of a locking member according to the first embodiment. 1A to 1C are diagrams showing a panel according to a first embodiment. 10A and 10B are perspective views, a side view, and a cross-sectional view of a toner bottle unit according to a first modified example; 10A to 10D are diagrams illustrating the internal configuration of a toner bottle unit according to a first modified example, and FIGS. 10E and 10F are diagrams illustrating rotation detection of the toner bottle unit. 10A is a perspective view, FIG. 10B is a top view, and FIG. 10C is a cross-sectional view of a process cartridge according to a second modified example. 10A is a perspective view, FIG. 10B is a top view, and FIG. 10C is a cross-sectional view of a process cartridge according to a third modified example. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control system of the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an operation unit according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of an external device according to the first embodiment. 1A to 1C are diagrams illustrating a refill container according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a supply container according to the first embodiment. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a control method for the image forming apparatus according to the first embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating another configuration example of the supply container according to the first embodiment. 10A is a diagram showing a circuit configuration of an image forming apparatus and a supply container according to a second embodiment, and FIG. 10B is a diagram showing a modified example thereof. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment. 10A to 10C are diagrams showing the circuit configuration of an image forming apparatus and a supply container according to a third embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a modified example of the circuit configuration of the image forming apparatus and the supply container according to the third embodiment. 10A to 10C are diagrams illustrating a refill container according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an image forming apparatus and a supply container according to a fourth embodiment. 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating modified examples of the image forming apparatus and the supply container according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a selection screen displayed on a display unit of an image forming apparatus according to a fifth embodiment. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating a selection screen displayed on a display of an external device in the fifth embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating a control method of an image forming apparatus according to a fifth embodiment.

Below, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First Embodiment
(1) Image Forming Apparatus Fig. 1A is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an image forming apparatus 1 according to a first embodiment. The image forming apparatus 1 is a monochrome printer that forms an image on a recording material based on image information input from an external device. The recording material includes various sheet materials of different materials, such as paper such as plain paper and cardboard, plastic film such as sheets for overhead projectors, sheets of special shapes such as envelopes and index paper, and cloth.

(1-1) Overall Configuration As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the image forming apparatus 1 includes a printer main body 100 as the apparatus main body, a reading device 200 supported by the printer main body 100 so as to be openable and closable, and an operation unit 300 attached to the exterior surface of the printer main body 100. The printer main body 100 includes an image forming unit 10, a feeding unit 60, a fixing unit 70, and a pair of discharge rollers 80. The feeding unit 60 feeds recording material to the image forming unit 10, which forms a toner image on the recording material. The fixing unit 70 fixes the toner image formed by the image forming unit 10 to the recording material, and the pair of discharge rollers 80 discharges the recording material that has passed through the fixing unit 70 to the outside of the apparatus. Furthermore, the process cartridge 20 of this embodiment employs a direct replenishment system in which toner is directly replenished from outside the image forming apparatus 1 using a toner pack 40 filled with replenishment toner.

The image forming unit 10 is an electrophotographic image forming means having a scanner unit 11, a process cartridge 20, and a transfer roller 12. The process cartridge 20 has a photosensitive drum 21, a charging roller 22 arranged around the photosensitive drum 21, a developing roller 31, and a cleaning blade 24.

The photosensitive drum 21 serving as the image carrier in this embodiment is a cylindrically shaped photosensitive member. The photosensitive drum 21 in this embodiment has a photosensitive layer formed of a negatively charged organic photosensitive material on a drum-shaped substrate made of aluminum. The photosensitive drum 21 is driven to rotate in a predetermined direction (clockwise in the figure) at a predetermined process speed by a motor.

The charging roller 22 contacts the photosensitive drum 21 with a predetermined pressure, forming a charging portion. A desired charging voltage is applied by a charging high-voltage power supply, uniformly charging the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 to a predetermined potential. In this embodiment, the photosensitive drum 21 is negatively charged by the charging roller 22.

The scanner unit 11 scans and exposes the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 by irradiating the photosensitive drum 21 with laser light L corresponding to image information input from an external device or the reading device 200 using a polygon mirror. This exposure forms an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image information on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21. Note that the scanner unit 11 is not limited to a laser scanner device, and may, for example, be an LED exposure device having an LED array in which multiple LEDs are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the photosensitive drum 21.

The developing unit 802 includes a developing roller 31 as a developer carrier that carries developer, a developing container 32 that forms the frame of the developing unit 802, and a supply roller 33 that can supply developer to the developing roller 31. The developing roller 31 and supply roller 33 are rotatably supported by the developing container 32. The developing roller 31 is disposed at the opening of the developing container 32 so as to face the photosensitive drum 21. The supply roller 33 rotatably abuts against the developing roller 31, and the toner contained in the developing container 32 as developer is applied to the surface of the developing roller 31 by the supply roller 33.

The development unit 802 of this embodiment uses a contact development method. That is, a toner layer carried by the development roller 31 serving as the development means comes into contact with the photosensitive drum 21 in the development section (development area) where the photosensitive drum 21 and the development roller 31 face each other. A development voltage is applied to the development roller 31 by a development high-voltage power supply. Under the development voltage, the toner carried by the development roller 31 is transferred from the development roller 31 to the drum surface in accordance with the potential distribution on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21, thereby developing the electrostatic latent image into a toner image. Note that this embodiment employs a reversal development method. That is, a toner image is formed by toner adhering to areas of the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 that have been charged in the charging process and whose charge has decayed due to exposure in the exposure process.

In this embodiment, a toner with a particle diameter of 6 μm and a normal negative charge polarity is used. As an example, the toner used in this embodiment is a polymerized toner produced by a polymerization method. The toner used in this embodiment does not contain a magnetic component and is a so-called non-magnetic single-component developer, in which the toner is supported on the developing roller 31 primarily by intermolecular forces and electrostatic forces (image forces). However, a single-component developer containing a magnetic component may also be used. In addition to toner particles, a single-component developer may also contain additives (e.g., wax or silica particles) to adjust the fluidity and charging performance of the toner. A two-component developer composed of non-magnetic toner and a magnetic carrier may also be used. When a magnetic developer is used, a cylindrical developing sleeve with a magnet disposed inside may be used as the developer carrier. In other words, the developer contained in the developing container 32 is not limited to a single-component developer composed of toner components, but may also be a two-component developer composed of toner and carrier.

A stirring member 34 is provided inside the developing container 32 as a stirring means. When driven to rotate, the stirring member 34 stirs the toner in the developing container 32 and sends the toner toward the developing roller 31 and the supply roller 33. The stirring member 34 also circulates the toner that is not used in development and has been scraped off from the developing roller 31 within the developing container, thereby homogenizing the toner inside the developing container.

In addition, a development blade 35 is located at the opening of the developer container 32 in which the development roller 31 is placed, and regulates the amount of toner carried by the development roller 31. As the development roller 31 rotates, the toner supplied to the surface of the development roller 31 passes through the area facing the development blade 35, where it is uniformly thinned into a thin layer and negatively charged by friction.

The feeding unit 60 has a front door 61 supported on the printer main body 100 so that it can be opened and closed, a stacking tray 62, a middle plate 63, a tray spring 64, and a pickup roller 65. The stacking tray 62 forms the bottom of the recording material storage space that appears when the front door 61 is opened, and the middle plate 63 is supported on the stacking tray 62 so that it can be raised and lowered. The tray spring 64 urges the middle plate 63 upward, pressing the recording material P loaded on the middle plate 63 against the pickup roller 65. When the front door 61 is closed relative to the printer main body 100, it closes off the recording material storage space, and when it is open relative to the printer main body 100, it supports the recording material P together with the stacking tray 62 and middle plate 63.

The transfer roller 12, which serves as transfer means, transfers the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum 21 of the process cartridge 20 onto the recording material. While this embodiment describes a direct transfer method in which a toner image formed on an image carrier is transferred directly from the image carrier to the recording material, an intermediate transfer method in which the toner image is transferred from the image carrier to the recording material via an intermediate transfer member such as an intermediate transfer belt may also be used. In this case, the transfer means functions as a transfer unit composed of, for example, an intermediate transfer belt, a primary transfer roller that performs the primary transfer of the toner image from the photosensitive drum to the intermediate transfer belt, and a secondary transfer roller that transfers the toner image from the intermediate transfer belt to the recording material.

The fixing unit 70 is a thermal fixing unit that fixes images by heating and melting the toner on the recording material. The fixing unit 70 includes a fixing film 71, a fixing heater such as a ceramic heater that heats the fixing film 71, a thermistor that measures the temperature of the fixing heater, and a pressure roller 72 that presses against the fixing film 71.

Next, the image forming operation of the image forming apparatus 1 will be described. When an image formation command is input to the image forming apparatus 1, the image forming process is initiated by the image forming unit 10 based on image information input from an external computer or reading device 200 connected to the image forming apparatus 1. The scanner unit 11 irradiates the photosensitive drum 21 with laser light L based on the input image information. At this time, the photosensitive drum 21 is pre-charged by the charging roller 22, and an electrostatic latent image is formed on the photosensitive drum 21 by irradiating it with the laser light L. This electrostatic latent image is then developed by the developing roller 31, forming a toner image on the photosensitive drum 21.

In parallel with the image formation process described above, the pickup roller 65 of the feeding unit 60 feeds out the recording material P supported by the front door 61, stacking tray 62, and middle plate 63. The recording material P is fed by the pickup roller 65 to the registration roller pair 15, and any skew is corrected when it hits the nip of the registration roller pair 15. The registration roller pair 15 is then driven in accordance with the transfer timing of the toner image determined from the exposure start time of the scanner unit 11, and transports the recording material P toward the transfer unit, which is the nip formed by the transfer roller 12 and the photosensitive drum 21.

A transfer voltage is applied to the transfer roller 12 from a transfer high-voltage power supply, and the toner image carried on the photosensitive drum 21 is transferred to the recording material P being transported by the registration roller pair 15. After transfer, residual toner on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 is removed by a cleaning blade 24, an elastic blade that abuts the photosensitive drum 21. The recording material P with the transferred toner image is transported to the fixing unit 70, where the toner image is heated and pressurized as it passes through the nip between the fixing film 71 and pressure roller 72 of the fixing unit 70. This melts the toner particles, which then solidify, fixing the toner image to the recording material P. After passing through the fixing unit 70, the recording material P is ejected outside the image forming apparatus 1 by the ejection roller pair 80 and loaded onto an ejection tray 81 formed at the top of the printer main body 100.

The discharge tray 81 is inclined upward toward the downstream side in the discharge direction of the recording material, and the recording material discharged onto the discharge tray 81 slides down the discharge tray 81, with its trailing edge being aligned by the regulating surface 84.

(1-2) Openable/Closable Portions of the Image Forming Apparatus As shown in FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 3, a first opening 101 that opens upward is provided at the top of the printer body 100. The first opening 101 is covered by a top cover 82 during use (FIG. 1B), and the process cartridge 20 is exposed by opening the top cover 82 upward (FIG. 2B). The top cover 82 is supported on the printer body 100 so as to be openable and closable around a pivot shaft 82c (FIG. 3) that extends in the left-right direction, and an ejection tray 81 is provided on its top surface. The top cover 82 opens from the front side toward the back side when the reading device 200 is open relative to the printer body 100. The reading device 200 and the top cover 82 may be configured to be held in an open or closed state by a holding mechanism such as a hinge mechanism.

For example, if a recording material jams in the transport path CP through which the recording material fed by the pickup roller 65 passes, the user opens the top cover 82 along with the reading device 200. The user then accesses the process cartridge 20 through the first opening 101 exposed by opening the top cover 82, and pulls out the process cartridge 20 along the cartridge guide 102. The cartridge guide 102 slides over and guides the protrusion 21a (Figure 5(a)) provided at the end of the process cartridge 20 in the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 21.

Then, by pulling the process cartridge 20 outward through the first opening 101, a space is created where the user can reach into the conveying path CP. The user can reach into the printer main body 100 through the first opening 101, access the jammed recording material in the conveying path CP, and remove the jammed recording material.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1(b) and 4(c), an opening/closing member 83 is provided on the top cover 82 in an openable/closable manner. An opening 82a that opens upward is provided on the top surface of the top cover 82, where the discharge tray 81 is provided. Closing the opening/closing member 83 covers the opening 82a. The opening/closing member 83 and opening 82a are provided on the right side of the top cover 82. The opening/closing member 83 is supported on the top cover 82 in an openable/closable manner around a pivot shaft 83a extending in the front-to-rear direction. It is opened to the left by placing a finger in a groove 82b provided in the top cover 82. The opening/closing member 83 is formed in a substantially L-shape to match the shape of the top cover 82. Note that the opening/closing member 83 is not limited to the above-described opening/closing mechanism. For example, the opening/closing member 83 may be arranged on the top cover 82 so as to cover the supply container attachment portion 701, and may be configured to open and close the opening 82a by rotating it slidably along the top surface of the top cover 82 around a pivot shaft that perpendicularly intersects with the top cover 82. Here, sliding on the top surface of the top cover 82 means that movement of the opening/closing member 83 in the direction of the rotation axis is restricted.

The opening 82a is open so that the replenishment container mounting portion 701 for toner replenishment, which is provided at the top of the process cartridge 20, is exposed. By opening the opening/closing member 83, the user can access the replenishment container mounting portion 701 without opening the top cover 82. The user can replenish toner into the process cartridge 20 by mounting the toner pack 40 in the replenishment container mounting portion 701.

In this embodiment, a method (direct replenishment method) is adopted in which the user replenishes toner from a toner pack 40 (Figures 1(a) and 1(b)) filled with replenishment toner to the process cartridge 20 while the process cartridge 20 remains attached to the image forming device 1. This eliminates the need to remove the process cartridge 20 from the printer main body 100 and replace it with a new process cartridge when the amount of toner remaining in the process cartridge 20 becomes low, thereby improving usability. The image forming device 1 and toner pack 40 constitute an image forming system.

In this embodiment, the reading device 200 is provided on top of the image forming device 1, and when opening the opening/closing member 83, it is necessary to first open the reading device 200 to expose the top cover 82. However, the reading device 200 may be omitted, and the opening/closing member 83 may be exposed on top of the image forming device 1 from the beginning.

4(a) and 4(b), the reading device 200 has a reading unit 201 that incorporates a reading section (not shown) therein, and a pressure plate 202 that is openably and closably supported by the reading unit 201. On the top surface of the reading unit 201, there is provided a document table glass 203 that transmits light emitted from the reading section and on which a document is placed.

When a user wants to have the image of a document read by the reading device 200, the user places the document on the platen glass 203 with the pressure plate 202 open. Then, by closing the pressure plate 202, the document on the platen glass 203 is prevented from shifting position, and a reading command is output to the image forming device 1 by operating the operation unit 300, for example. When the reading operation begins, the reading section within the reading unit 201 moves back and forth in the sub-scanning direction, i.e., left and right with the operation unit 300 of the image forming device 1 facing forward. The reading section emits light toward the document from the light-emitting section, receives light reflected by the document with the light-receiving section, and reads the image of the document by photoelectric conversion.

In the following, the front-to-rear, left-to-right, and up-to-down directions (direction of gravity) of the image forming apparatus 1 are defined based on the state in which the operation unit 300 is viewed from the front. The positional relationship of components that can be attached to and detached from the printer main body 100, including the process cartridge 20, will be explained based on the state in which they are attached to the printer main body 100. Furthermore, the "longitudinal direction" of the process cartridge 20 refers to the axial direction of the photosensitive drum 21.

(1-4) Structure of the Process Cartridge Next, the structure of the process cartridge 20 will be described. Fig. 5(a) is a perspective view showing the process cartridge 20 and the toner pack 40, and Fig. 5(b) is a side view showing the process cartridge 20 and the toner pack 40. Fig. 6(a) is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6A-6A of Fig. 5(b), Fig. 6(b) is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6B-6B of Fig. 5(b), and Fig. 6(c) is a cross-sectional view taken along line 6C-6C of Figs. 6(a) and 6(b). Note that Figs. 5 and 6 show a simplified external view of the replenishment container mounting portion 701 (for a detailed shape, see, for example, Fig. 9(a)).

As shown in Figures 5 and 6, the process cartridge 20 is composed of a toner receiving unit 801, a developing unit 802, and a cleaning unit 803. The toner receiving unit 801, cleaning unit 803, and developing unit 802 are arranged in this order from top to bottom in the direction of gravity. Each unit will be described in turn below.

The toner receiving unit 801 is disposed at the top of the process cartridge 20. Inside the toner receiving unit 801, there is a toner storage section 8011 consisting of a frame that stores toner, and at one longitudinal end, there is a replenishment container mounting section 701 that connects to the toner pack 40. The frame that makes up the toner storage section 8011 may be made up of a single member, or may be made up of a combination of multiple members. The replenishment container mounting section 701 has a replenishment port 8012 that receives toner discharged from the toner pack 40. The detailed structure of the replenishment container mounting section 701 and the mounting of the toner pack 40 to the replenishment container mounting section 701 will be described later.

Furthermore, a first conveying member 8013, a second conveying member 8014, and a third conveying member 8015 are provided inside the toner receiving unit 801. The first conveying member 8013 conveys toner that has fallen to the longitudinal end of the toner storage section 8011 via the supply port 8012 toward the center of the toner storage section 8011 in the direction of arrow H ( FIG. 6(c) ). The second conveying member 8014 conveys the toner conveyed by the first conveying member 8013 toward the direction of arrow J ( FIG. 6(c) ), which is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, to above the developing unit 802, i.e., to the discharge port 8016. The third conveying member 8015 receives toner from the second conveying member 8014 mainly at the longitudinal center and conveys it to one side and the other side in the longitudinal direction (the directions of arrows K and K'). Note that the first to third conveying members can also be referred to as first to third developer moving members, since they operate to move toner.

When toner flows into the toner receiving unit 801 from the toner pack 40 (supply container), air also flows in at the same time. The toner receiving unit 801 has an air filter 8017 (see Figure 5(a)) that allows air to flow in the direction of arrow H when toner is being replenished, making it easier to replenish the toner. This air filter 8017 prevents toner from being ejected from the supply port 8012 when the internal pressure of the toner receiving unit 801 increases during toner replenishment, causing some air to flow in the opposite direction to arrow H.

At both longitudinal ends of the toner receiving unit 801, there are provided discharge ports 8016 (Figure 6(b)) for discharging toner from the toner storage section 8011 to the developing container 32 of the developing unit 802. Toner that reaches the discharge ports 8016 via the third transport member 8015 falls into the developing container 32 due to gravity. Note that a further transport member may be provided midway along the path of the discharge port 8016 to maintain toner movement due to gravity.

The developing unit 802, located at the bottom of the process cartridge 20, has an opening 8021 that receives toner discharged from the discharge port 8016 (Figure 6(b)). A sealing member (not shown) is provided between the discharge port 8016 and the opening 8021, sealing the gap between the discharge port 8016 and the opening 8021 to prevent toner from leaking out.

Toner that falls from the toner pack 40 into the toner receiving unit 801 through the supply port 8012 is transported inside the toner receiving unit 801 by the first transport member 8013, second transport member 8014, and third transport member 8015. It is then transferred from the toner receiving unit 801 to the developing unit 802 through the discharge port 8016 and opening 8021 at both longitudinal ends. In this way, toner replenished through the supply port 8012, which is located at the end of the process cartridge 20 in the longitudinal direction and horizontally separated from the developing container 32 when viewed in the longitudinal direction, is transported inside the cartridge and reaches the developing container 32.

In this way, the toner storage section 8011 of the toner receiving unit 801 and the developing container 32 of the developing unit 802 communicate with each other, thereby constituting a storage container that forms a space for storing toner in the process cartridge 20. Therefore, in this embodiment, a supply port 8012 for replenishing toner from the outside is provided as part of the storage container of the process cartridge 20. However, a supply port that is directly connected to the supply container may also be provided in the printer body, and the process cartridge may receive toner through this supply port. In this case, the portion of the process cartridge 20 excluding the supply port becomes detachable from the image forming apparatus 1, as shown in FIG. 3.

Toner supplied to the developing unit 802 through the opening 8021 is contained in the transport chamber 36 formed inside the developing container 32, which is formed by the frame of the developing unit 802 (Figures 6(a) and 6(b)). The frame that makes up the developing container 32 may be composed of a single member, or a combination of multiple members. The transport chamber 36 is provided with an agitating member 34. The agitating member 34 has a shaft member 34a located near the center of rotation of the agitating member 34 and a blade portion 34b extending radially from the shaft member 34a. In cross section, toner within the rotational path of the tip of the blade portion 34b is pushed and moved in accordance with the movement of the blade portion 34b. The toner supplied through the opening 8021 is transported toward the developing roller 31, supply roller 33, and developing blade 35 while being agitated by the agitating member 34.

The cleaning unit 803 includes a waste toner chamber 8033 composed of a fourth conveying member 8031, a fifth conveying member 8032, and a frame ( Figures 6(a) and (b) ). The frame constituting the waste toner chamber 8033 may be composed of a single member, or may be composed of a combination of multiple members. The waste toner chamber 8033 is a space that contains recovered material (so-called waste toner), such as residual toner after transfer, recovered from the photosensitive drum 21 by the cleaning blade 24, and is separate from the internal spaces of the toner receiving unit 801 and the developing unit 802. The waste toner recovered by the cleaning blade 24 is transported in the direction of arrow M by the fourth conveying member 8031 and the fifth conveying member 8032, and gradually accumulates from the rear portion 8033a of the waste toner chamber to the front.

A laser passing space SP is formed between the cleaning unit 803 and the developing unit 802 (FIG. 6A), which is a gap through which the laser light L emitted from the scanner unit 11 (FIG. 1A) toward the photosensitive drum 21 can pass. As described above, the discharge port 8016 and opening 8021 for transferring toner from the toner receiving unit 801 to the developing unit 802 are provided at the longitudinal ends of each unit. This allows the process cartridge 20 to have a compact overall configuration, while still maintaining the laser passing space SP and transporting toner replenished from outside the image forming apparatus (particularly via a refill port opening on the top surface of the apparatus) to the developing container 32 at the bottom of the cartridge.

(1-5) Configuration of Toner Pack The configuration of the toner pack 40 will be described. Fig. 7(a) is a perspective view showing the toner pack 40 with the shutter member 41 in a closed state, and Fig. 7(b) is a bottom view thereof. Fig. 8(a) is a perspective view showing the toner pack 40 with the shutter member 41 in an open state, and Fig. 8(b) is a bottom view thereof. Fig. 8(c) shows the user squeezing the toner pack 40 by hand when refilling toner. Fig. 12 is a perspective view from below of the toner pack 40 with the shutter member 41 in a closed state.

As shown in Figures 7 and 8, a toner pack 40, an example of a replenishment container, includes a bag member 43 filled with toner, a resin discharge portion 42 attached to the bag member 43, and a shutter member 41 that can open and close the opening of the discharge portion 42. A memory unit 45 is attached to the discharge portion 42 as storage means for storing information about the toner pack 40. The memory unit 45 has multiple metal plates (metal terminals) exposed on the outside of the toner pack 40 as contact portions 45a that contact the contact portions 70133 (see Figure 9) of the replenishment container attachment portion 701, which will be described later. Materials that can be used for the bag member 43 include PP resin (polypropylene), PET resin (polyethylene terephthalate resin), cardboard, and paper. The thickness can be 0.01 mm to 1.2 mm. From the perspectives of ease of unpacking and durability, a thickness of 0.05 mm to 1.0 mm is even more preferable.

As shown in Figures 7(b), 8(b), and 12, the shutter member 41 has the shape of a disk with a portion cut out that is rotatable relative to the discharge portion 42. The side surface that forms the thickness of the shutter member 41 at the cutout portion functions as the engagement surface 41s. Meanwhile, the discharge portion 42 also has a cutout shape. The cutout portion of the discharge portion 42 has an engagement surface 42s that is parallel to the engagement surface 41s. The discharge opening 42a is located approximately 180 degrees away from the engagement surface 42s in the circumferential direction of the discharge opening 42a. Details of the engagement surfaces 41s and 42s are shown in Figure 12.

As shown in Figures 7(b) and 12, when the notches of the shutter member 41 and the discharge portion 42 are aligned when viewed from the top or bottom, the discharge opening 42a is covered by the shutter member 41 (closed state). As shown in Figure 8(b), when the shutter member 41 rotates 180 degrees relative to the discharge portion 42, the discharge opening 42a is exposed through the notch in the shutter member 41, and the internal space of the bag member 43 communicates with the external space of the toner pack 40. As shown in Figure 12, the shutter member 41 preferably has a structure in which a rigid main body portion 41a is bonded to a sealing layer 41b made of an elastic material such as sponge. In this case, in the closed state, the sealing layer 41b is in close contact with a sealing layer 42c that covers the periphery of the discharge opening 42a, preventing toner leakage. The sealing layer 42c is shown in Figure 12, and like the sealing layer 41b, this sealing layer 42c is also made of an elastic material such as sponge.

As described below, when replenishing toner from the toner pack 40 to the image forming device 1, the discharge portion 42 is aligned to a predetermined position, and the toner pack 40 is inserted and connected to the supply container mounting portion 701. Then, by rotating the discharge portion 42 180 degrees, the discharge portion 42 rotates relative to the shutter member 41, opening the discharge port 42a, and the toner in the bag member 43 flows down into the toner receiving unit 801 due to gravity. At this time, the shutter member does not move relative to the supply container mounting portion 701.

As shown in Figure 8(c), the user can install the toner pack 40 in the supply container mounting portion 701, rotate it 180 degrees, and then squeeze the bag member 43 with their hands to expel toner from the toner pack 40.

Note that while a rotating shutter member 41 is shown as an example here, the shutter member may be omitted, or a sliding shutter member may be used instead of the rotating shutter member 41. Furthermore, the shutter member 41 may be configured to be destroyed when the toner pack 40 is attached to the refill port 8012 or when the toner pack is rotated while attached, or may have a removable lid structure such as a seal.

It is also preferable to attach a protective cap to the discharge portion 42 of an unused toner pack 40 to prevent toner leakage during transportation, etc. The protective cap is configured to engage with the notched portions of the shutter member 41 and discharge portion 42 when attached to the discharge portion 42, restricting the relative rotation of the shutter member 41 and discharge portion 42. By removing the protective cap, the user can attach the toner pack 40 to the replenishment container attachment portion 701.

(1-6) Configuration of Replenishment Container Mounting Portion The shutter opening/closing mechanism for the toner pack 40 and the toner receiving unit 801, and the locking mechanism for the shutter member 41 will now be described. Fig. 9(a) is a perspective view of the replenishing container mounting portion 701, and Fig. 9(b) is its top view. The replenishing container mounting portion 701 has a replenishing port 8012, a replenishing port shutter 7013, a locking member 7014, and a rotation detection portion 7015.

The supply port 8012 is an opening that communicates with the toner storage section 8011 (see Figure 6) of the toner receiving unit 801, and is fixed to the frame 8010 of the toner receiving unit 801. The supply port shutter 7013 has a lid portion 70131 that covers the supply port 8012, a cylindrical portion 70132 that receives the discharge section 42 of the toner pack 40, and a contact portion 70133 that connects to the contact portion 45a of the memory unit 45 of the toner pack 40 (see Figure 8(b)). In the figure, the portion of the cylindrical portion 70132 that covers the contact portion 70133 is indicated as cylindrical portion 70132a. The supply port shutter 7013 is a component that integrates the lid portion 70131, cylindrical portion 70132, and contact portion 70133 and is rotatably attached to the frame 8010 of the toner receiving unit 801. Each conductor exposed at the contact portion 70133 is electrically connected to the control unit of the image forming apparatus 1 mounted in the printer main body 100 via wiring provided in the process cartridge 20 and contacts between the process cartridge 20 and the printer main body 100.

The rotation detection unit 7015, which serves as a rotation detection sensor, is a mechanism that detects the rotation of the supply port shutter 7013. In this embodiment, the rotation detection unit 7015 is composed of two conductive leaf springs 70151 and 70152. The leaf spring 70152 is spring-biased in the clockwise direction, and when pressed by the protrusion 70135a provided on the outer periphery of the supply port shutter 7013, the tip 701521 comes into contact with the other leaf spring 70151. In other words, the rotation detection unit 7015 is an electrical circuit configured to switch between a conductive state and a disconnected state depending on the rotation angle (rotational position) of the supply port shutter 7013. As will be described later, the control unit 90 (Figure 19) of the image forming apparatus determines whether the discharge port 42a of the toner pack 40 and the supply port 8012 of the supply container mounting unit 701 are in communication with each other based on whether the rotation detection unit 7015 is conductive or disconnected. In other words, the control unit 90 can determine that the user's operation to replenish the toner pack 40 has been performed normally, at least up to the point of establishing communication between the discharge port 42a and the supply port 8012.

Multiple protrusions 70135a and 70135b are provided on the outer periphery of the cylindrical portion 70132 of the supply port shutter 7013. Furthermore, multiple protrusions 70125a and 70125b are also provided on the portion of the frame 8010 that supports the cylindrical portion 70132 of the supply port shutter 7013 (cylindrical portion 7011a of 7011). The multiple protrusions 70125a and 70125b are positioned lower in the direction of gravity than protrusion 70135a (right side in Figure 10(a)). Protrusion 70125b allows protrusion 70135a (right side in Figure 10(a)) to pass through due to rotational movement. On the other hand, protrusion 70135a (left side in Figure 10(a)) is at the same height as protrusion 70135a (right side in Figure 10(a)), and extends downward to a height that overlaps with protrusions 70125a and 70125b. Therefore, depending on the rotation angle (rotation position) of the supply port shutter 7013, protrusion 70125b abuts against protrusion 70135a (left side in Figure 10(a)), restricting the rotational movement of protrusion 70135a (left side in Figure 10(a)).

In addition, before the supply port shutter 7013 rotates in the R1 direction, the protrusion 70125a abuts against the protrusion 70135a (left side), restricting rotational movement of the protrusion 70135a in the R2 direction. In addition, the protrusion 70135a (right side in Figure 10(a)) abuts against the locking member 7014, restricting rotational movement of the locking member 7014 in the R1 direction. On the other hand, after the supply port shutter 7013 rotates in the R1 direction, the protrusion 70135b abuts against the locking member 7014 after it has moved to the locked position, restricting rotational movement of the locking member 7014 in the R2 direction. In addition, the protrusion 70135a (right side in Figure 10(a)) abuts against the protrusion 70125b, restricting further rotational movement of the protrusion 70135a in the R1 direction. The rotation direction of the supply port shutter 7013 is R1 direction when the toner pack 40 is installed, and R2 direction when it is removed.

The locking member 7014 is a member that restricts the rotation of the supply port shutter 7013. Figure 11(a) shows the locking member 7014 in the locked position, and Figure 11(b) shows the locking member 7014 in the unlocked position. The locking member 7014 can move up and down between the locked position (restricted position) and the unlocked position (permitted position). As shown in Figures 9(b) and 11(a), when the locking member 7014 abuts against the protrusion 70135a of the supply port shutter 7013 in the locked position, the rotation of the supply port shutter 7013 is restricted. When the locking member 7014 moves to the unlocked position as shown in Figure 11(b), the locking member 7014 moves out of the path of movement of the protrusion 70135a when the supply port shutter 7013 rotates, thereby allowing the supply port shutter 7013 to rotate.

(1-7) Pressing Mechanism for Locking Member Fig. 13 shows a pressing mechanism 600 that moves the locking member 7014 between a locked position and an unlocked position. The pressing mechanism 600 is made up of a motor 601, an input gear 602, a cam gear 603, and an advance/retract pin 604. The input gear 602 is a screw gear attached to the output shaft of the motor 601. The cam gear 603 includes a gear portion 6032 made up of a helical gear that meshes with the input gear 602, and a cam portion 6031 that causes the advance/retract pin 604 to move back and forth.

The retractable pin 604 is supported by a holding member so that it can move linearly in the direction of gravity and its opposite direction (vertical direction). When the motor 601 rotates, the cam gear 603 rotates via the input gear 602, and the retractable pin 604 is pressed against the cam portion 6031, causing it to reciprocate up and down. Accordingly, the locking member 7014 also moves up and down between the locked and unlocked positions. Figure 13 shows the locked state.

Note that, although the drive transmission configuration in the pressing mechanism 600 of this embodiment is a combination of a helical gear and a cross-head gear, it is not limited to this as long as it is capable of converting the rotation of the motor into linear motion. For example, bevel gears may be used, or the input gear 602 may be eliminated and the cam gear 603 may be directly driven by the motor 601. Furthermore, instead of the motor 601, an actuator that outputs linear motion, such as a solenoid, may be used as the drive source.

The components constituting the pressing mechanism 600 shown in Figure 13 are supported by the frame 609 of the printer body. Meanwhile, the pivot shaft 7014a of the locking member 7014 is held by a holder provided on the frame 8010 of the toner receiving unit 801 so that it can rotate and slide vertically. Therefore, when replacing the process cartridge 20, the locking member 7014 is also replaced at the same time, and the pressing mechanism 600 remains in the printer body. The pivot shaft 7014a and the retractable pin 604 are separate components. When the locking member 7014 is in the unlocked position, the retractable pin 604 is separated from the locking member, and the process cartridge 20 is removed from the printer body, leaving the retractable pin 604 in place. However, this configuration is not limited to this, and for example, it is also possible for the pivot shaft 7014a of the locking member 7014 to be supported by the printer body.

(1-8) Flow of Replenishment Operation Using Toner Pack A series of operations when the toner pack 40 is attached to the replenishment container attachment part 701, replenished with toner, and then removed will be described based on the above-described configurations of the toner pack 40, replenishment container attachment part 701, and pressing mechanism 600. Fig. 10(a) is a top view of the replenishment container attachment part 701 with the replenishment port 8012 in a closed state, and Fig. 10(b) is a top view of the replenishment container attachment part 701 with the replenishment port 8012 in an open state.

As shown in Figure 10(a), when the supply port shutter 7013 is in the closed state, the protrusion 70135a abuts against the locking member 7014, which is in the locked position, in the rotational direction, thereby fixing the supply port shutter 7013 so that it does not rotate relative to the supply port 8012. At this time, the lid portion 70131 of the supply port shutter 7013 completely blocks the supply port 8012. Furthermore, the leaf springs 70151 and 70152 of the rotation detection portion 7015 are separated, and the rotation detection portion 7015 is in a disconnected state.

When inserting the toner pack 40 into the supply container mounting portion 701, the user aligns the discharge portion 42 of the toner pack 40 and the cutout portion of the shutter member 41 (Figure 12) with the supply port 8012 and the lid portion 70131 of the supply port shutter 7013. Then, the engagement surface 42s of the discharge portion 42 engages with the engagement surface 7013s (see Figure 9(c)), which is the side surface of the lid portion 70131, and the engagement surface 41s of the shutter member 41 engages with the engagement surface 8012s (see Figure 9(c)) provided on the outer periphery of the supply port 8012. At this time, the discharge portion 42, which is engaged with the lid portion 70131 of the supply port shutter 7013, cannot rotate until the locking member 7014 later releases the lock on the supply port shutter 7013. Once the lock is released, the discharge portion 42 becomes rotatable along with the supply port shutter 7013. Meanwhile, the shutter member 41 of the toner pack 40 is prevented from rotating by engaging with a supply port 8012 fixed to the frame 8010 of the toner receiving unit 801. As an alternative engagement configuration for the lid portion 70131 and the discharge portion 42, a convex portion protruding upward from the top surface of the lid portion 70131 may be provided, and a concave portion that engages with this protrusion may be provided on the bottom surface 42b of the discharge portion 42 (see Figure 12).

In addition, when the toner pack 40 is inserted, the contact 45a (Figure 7) of the memory unit 45 comes into contact with the contact 70133 of the replenishment container mounting portion 701, and the information recorded in the memory unit 45 is read by the control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus. The memory unit 45 stores information (new product flag) indicating whether or not the toner pack 40 contains toner (whether or not it is a used toner pack). The control unit 90 reads the new product flag and, if it determines that the currently installed toner pack 40 contains toner (is unused), controls the pressing mechanism 600 to push up the locking member 7014. This moves the locking member 7014 from the locked position to the unlocked position (Figure 11(b)).

When the locking member 7014 is in the unlocked position, the locking member 7014 moves away from the protrusion 70135a of the supply port shutter 7013, allowing the supply port shutter 7013 to rotate in the R1 direction in Figures 10(a) and 10(b) (Figure 11(b)). However, because the protrusion 70125a on the frame 8010 of the toner receiving unit 801 interferes with the protrusion 70135a (Figure 10(a)), rotation of the supply port shutter 7013 in the R2 direction is restricted. In other words, in Figure 10(a), 70125a and 70125b are positioned lower in the direction of gravity than 70135a and 70135b, allowing 70135a and 70135b to move past in the rotational direction.

When the user grasps the toner pack 40 and rotates the discharge portion 42 or the bag member 43 nearby 180 degrees in the R1 direction, the state shown in Figure 10(b) is reached. As the supply port shutter 7013 rotates 180 degrees together with the discharge portion 42 of the toner pack 40, the lid portion 70131 moves from a position covering the supply port 8012, exposing the supply port 8012. The side of the lid portion 70131 is pressed against the engagement surface 42s, which is part of the rotating discharge portion 42, and rotates together with the engagement surface 42s. Furthermore, as the discharge portion 42 rotates 180 degrees while the shutter member 41 is fixed, the discharge port 42a of the toner pack 40 is exposed (Figure 8(b)) and faces the supply port 8012. As a result, the internal space of the toner pack 40 and the internal space of the toner receiving unit 801 are connected via the discharge port 42a and the supply port 8012, and the toner filled in the bag member 43 flows down into the toner storage section 8011.

As described above, the toner that falls into the toner storage section 8011 is transported through the toner receiving unit 801 and reaches the developer container 32, where it becomes available for use in the development process. Note that the development unit 802 may be configured to be able to carry out the development process even before newly replenished toner reaches the developer container 32, as long as the amount of toner required to maintain image quality remains in the developer container 32. In other words, the development unit 802 may be configured to be able to replenish toner from a replenishment container external to the image forming apparatus to the developer container, regardless of whether or not image formation is being performed in the image forming section 10 (Figure 1(a)).

Furthermore, protrusion 70125b is positioned so as to abut protrusion 70135a of the supply port shutter when the supply port shutter 7013 rotates 180 degrees in the R1 direction from the state shown in Figure 10(a) (Figure 10(b)). That is, like 70125a, protrusion 70125b is positioned lower in the direction of gravity than 70135a and 70135b. This prevents the supply port shutter 7013 from rotating in the R1 direction beyond 180 degrees. At the same time, protrusion 70135a of the supply port shutter 7013 presses against leaf spring 70152 of the rotation detection unit 7015, bringing its tip 701521 into contact with leaf spring 70151. When the rotation detection unit 7015 is conductive, the control unit 90 recognizes that the supply port shutter 7013 is open and operates the pressing mechanism 600 to move the locking member 7014 back to the locked position. The locking member 7014 then engages with the protrusion 70135b of the supply port shutter 7013, restricting rotation in the R2 direction, preventing the supply port shutter 7013 and toner pack 40 from rotating in either direction.

Furthermore, when the discharge portion 42 of the toner pack 40 and the refill port shutter 7013 are rotated 180 degrees as shown in Figure 10(b), the lid portion 70131 of the refill port shutter 7013 covers the top of the shutter member 41 of the toner pack 40. Therefore, even if an attempt is made to lift the toner pack 40 upward from the refill container mounting portion 701, the shutter member 41 interferes with the lid portion 70131, restricting movement of the toner pack 40. Therefore, the toner pack 40 is prevented from falling off the refill container mounting portion 701 unless the user removes the toner pack 40 using the specified procedure described below.

After toner has started to be discharged from the toner pack 40, when the conditions for determining whether toner has been discharged are met, the control unit 90 operates the pressing mechanism 600 and moves the locking member 7014 to the unlocked position. In this embodiment, whether toner has been discharged is determined based on the elapsed time from when the rotation detection unit 7015 becomes conductive.

After the locking member 7014 has moved to the unlocked position, the user can remove the toner pack 40 by reversing the procedure used to install the toner pack 40. That is, the user grasps the discharge portion 42 of the toner pack 40 or the bag member 43 near it and rotates it 180 degrees in the R2 direction, the opposite direction from installation. This causes the supply port shutter 7013 to rotate 180 degrees along with the discharge portion 42, and the supply port 8012 is covered by the lid portion 70131 of the supply port shutter 7013, as shown in FIG. 10(a). Furthermore, the protrusion 70135a (on the left side in FIG. 10(a)) of the supply port shutter 7013 abuts against the protrusion 70125a, thereby restricting the supply port shutter 7013 from rotating in the R2 direction beyond 180 degrees.

When the discharge portion 42 of the toner pack 40 is rotated 180 degrees in the R2 direction, the position of the notch in the discharge portion 42 is aligned with the position of the notch in the shutter member 41 (Figure 12). Therefore, even if the toner pack 40 moves upward, the shutter member 41 does not interfere with the lid portion 70131 of the refill port shutter 7013, and the user can grasp and lift the toner pack 40 to remove it from the refill container mounting portion 701.

As the refill port shutter 7013 rotates 180 degrees in the R2 direction, the protrusion 70135a separates from the leaf spring 70152, and the rotation detection unit 7015 returns to the disconnected state. The control unit 90 then recognizes that the refill port shutter 7013 has closed and operates the pressing mechanism 600 to move the locking member 7014 to the locked position. This returns the refill container attachment unit 701 to its initial state prior to the toner refill operation. For example, the control unit 90 may determine that a predetermined condition for moving the locking member 7014 to the unlocked state has been met when a predetermined time has passed since the rotation detection unit 7015 entered a conductive state. The trigger for moving the locking member 7014 to the locked position may be, for example, the loss of conductivity between the contact 70133 of the refill container attachment unit and the contact 45a of the toner pack (see FIG. 7 ), which occurs when the toner pack 40 is pulled out of the refill container attachment unit 701.

In this embodiment, the toner pack 40's discharge port 42a and supply port 8012 are positioned to communicate with each other by rotating them 180 degrees, but the rotation angle required for communication can be changed as long as the toner pack 40 can be attached and detached using the same operation as in this embodiment.

(1-9) Panel Next, the panel 400 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1B and FIGS. 14A to 14C, the panel 400 is provided, for example, on the front of the housing of the printer main body 100. It is an example of a display unit that displays information regarding the remaining amount of toner in the developer container 32 (or the free space in the developer container 32). The panel 400 is made up of a liquid crystal panel including multiple scales (indicators). In this embodiment, three scales 4001, 4002, and 4003 are arranged vertically from top to bottom. The panel 400 indicates the amount of toner that can be replenished to the developer container 32 by displaying the scales 4001 to 4003, which change in stages. The control unit 90 updates the panel display as needed based on the recognition of the completion of the replenishment operation, which will be described later. Furthermore, if the completion of the replenishment operation is not reflected in the actual remaining toner amount, the remaining toner amount may be detected later and the panel display may be updated. For example, if the control unit 90 turns on the indicator 4002 and then detects via the optical sensors (51a, 51b, see FIG. 6A) that the remaining amount of toner is not actually sufficient, the control unit 90 turns off the indicator 4002 and updates the display on the panel 400. The scale 4003 at the bottom also indicates whether the toner in the developing container 32 is at a Low level or an Out level. The Low level indicates that toner needs to be replenished in the developing container 32, but a minimum amount of toner remains to maintain image quality, and image formation can currently be performed. The Out level indicates that almost no toner remains in the developing container 32, and image formation cannot be performed.

In the illustrated example configuration of the panel 400, when all three scales 4001, 4002, and 4003 are off, this indicates that the toner in the developer container 32 is at the Out level (fourth state).

As shown in Figure 14(a), when only the lower scale 4003 is lit, it indicates that the remaining toner in the developing container 32 is at a low level. In this state, two scales are unlit, indicating that, for example, two bottles' worth of toner can be replenished with the toner pack 40 (third state). In addition, the number panels "+1" and "+2" adjacent to the scale are lit, indicating that two bottles' worth of toner can be replenished with the toner pack 40.

As shown in Figure 14(b), when the lower and central scales 4002 and 4003 are lit and the upper scale 4001 is off, this indicates that the amount of toner remaining in the developing container 32 is greater than the Low level and less than the Full level (full). In this state, since one scale is off, it can be seen that, for example, one bottle's worth of toner can be replenished with the toner pack 40 (second state). In addition, the number panel "+1" adjacent to the scale is lit and the number panel "+2" is off, which also indicates that one bottle's worth of toner can be replenished with the toner pack 40.

As shown in Figure 14(c), when all three scales 4001 to 4003 are lit, this indicates that the remaining toner in the developing container 32 is at the full level. In this state, since no scales are lit, it is clear that toner cannot be replenished from the toner pack 40, for example (first state). In addition, the fact that the number panels "+1" and "+2" adjacent to the scales are unlit also indicates that toner cannot be replenished from the toner pack 40.

Note that the panel 400 shown in Figure 14 is one example of a display means whose display content changes depending on the amount of toner remaining in the developer container 32, and other configurations may be used. For example, instead of an LCD panel, the panel may be constructed by combining a light source such as an LED or incandescent lamp with a diffusion lens. The scale may be omitted and only a numeric panel may be used, or the numeric panel may be omitted and only a scale may be used.

The number of scale marks on the panel 400 and the way they are displayed can be changed as needed. For example, if the amount of toner remaining in the developer container 32 is low, the scale mark at the bottom can be made to flash, prompting the user to replenish toner.

(2) First Modification Next, as another example of a supply container, a first modification in which a bottle-shaped toner bottle unit is used instead of a bag-shaped toner pack will be described with reference to Fig. 15. Note that this toner bottle unit is configured to be attachable to and detachable from the supply container mounting portion 701, similar to the above-described toner pack 40. Therefore, a description of the configuration of the image forming apparatus that is common to the first embodiment will be omitted.

(2-1) Configuration of Toner Bottle Unit Figure 15(a) is a perspective view showing the appearance of toner bottle unit 900, and Figure 15(b) is a perspective view showing toner bottle unit 900 after toner has been discharged. Figure 15(c) is a view of toner bottle unit 900 seen from below the piston, and Figure 15(d) is a cross-sectional view of toner bottle unit 900 taken along cross-sectional position D-D shown in Figure 15(c).

Furthermore, Figure 16(a) is a perspective view of toner bottle unit 900 with outer cylinder 903 (see Figure 15(a)) hidden, and Figure 16(b) is a perspective view of toner bottle unit 900 with outer cylinder 903 hidden after toner has been discharged. Figure 16(c) is a diagram showing the state of the parts involved in push-in detection of toner bottle unit 900 before the push-in operation, and Figure 16(d) is a diagram showing the state of the parts involved in push-in detection after the push-in operation. Figure 16(e) is a diagram showing the state of the parts involved in rotation detection of toner bottle unit 900 before the rotation operation, and Figure 16(f) is a diagram showing the state of the parts involved in rotation detection of toner bottle unit 900 after the rotation operation.

As shown in Figures 15(a) and (d), the toner bottle unit 900 broadly comprises an outer cylinder 903, an inner cylinder 901, a piston 902, a shutter member 904, and a memory unit 911. The outer cylinder 903 and inner cylinder 901 are cylindrical, with the inner cylinder 901 fitted inside the outer cylinder 903, and the piston 902 fitted further inside the inner cylinder 901 and slidable relative to the inner cylinder 901. Hereinafter, the direction in which the piston 902 moves (the direction of the axes of the outer cylinder 903 and inner cylinder 901) will be referred to as the axial direction of the toner bottle unit 900. The piston 902 is an example of a pressing member.

The inner cylinder 901 has a cylindrical toner storage section 9014 that stores toner, a bottom 9013 at one axial end, and an outlet 9011 at the bottom 9013. The inner cylinder 901 is cylindrical in shape, with one axial end of the toner storage section 9014 closed by the bottom 9013. The other end of the toner storage section 9014 forms an opening 9012, and the piston 902 is inserted into the toner storage section 9014 through the opening 9012. The inner cylinder 901 also contains a spherical weight member 905 that can move freely within the toner storage section 9014.

The outer cylinder 903 has a cylindrical inner cylinder accommodating portion 9034 that accommodates the toner accommodating portion 9014 of the inner cylinder 901 inside, a bottom 9033 provided at one axial end, and an outlet 9031 provided at the bottom 9033. Like the inner cylinder 901, the outer cylinder 903 has a cylindrical shape with one axial end of the inner cylinder accommodating portion 9034 closed by the bottom 9033, holding the inner cylinder 901 so that it cannot move relative to it. The other end of the inner cylinder accommodating portion 9034 forms an opening 9032 through which the piston 902 is inserted.

The discharge port 9011 of the inner cylinder 901 is a thin cylinder extending from the bottom 9013 to one end in the axial direction. The discharge port 9031 of the outer cylinder 903 is provided at a position on the bottom 9033 corresponding to the discharge port 9011 of the inner cylinder 901. The discharge port 9031 of the outer cylinder 903 is a discharge port that discharges toner stored in the toner storage section 9014 to the outside of the toner bottle unit 900. Adjacent to the discharge port 9011 of the inner cylinder 901 is a retraction space 9013a into which the weight member 905 retracts to prevent blocking the discharge port 9011 when the piston is pushed in.

The bottom 9013 of the inner cylinder 901 has a tapered shape in which the cross-sectional area decreases axially toward the outlet (particularly, a conical shape in which the inner diameter decreases axially toward the outlet). The bottom 9033 of the outer cylinder 903, which faces the bottom 9013 of the inner cylinder 901, also has a similar tapered shape. The outlet 9011 and evacuation space 9013a of the inner cylinder 901 are located at the apex of the tapered shape of the bottom 9033. The weight member 905 is spherical and is guided by the bottom 9013, moving into the evacuation space 9013a by gravity.

The piston 902 is equipped with an elastic member 906 attached to the end 9023 at one axial end (the outlet side), and a push-in rib 9021 provided near the end 9022 at the other end (the part that the user presses when pushing the piston). The elastic member 906 is configured to make tight contact with the inner circumferential surface of the toner storage section 9014, and functions to prevent toner from slipping through when the piston is pushed in. The push-in rib 9021 has a convex shape that protrudes radially outward from the outer circumferential surface of the piston 902.

The shutter member 904 has the same configuration as the shutter member 41 provided on the toner pack 40 described above. That is, as shown in Figure 15(c), the shutter member 904 has the shape of a disk with a portion cut out that is rotatable relative to the outer cylinder 903. The side surface that forms the thickness of the shutter member 904 at the cut-out portion functions as the engagement surface 904s. Meanwhile, the outer cylinder 903 also has a cut-out portion. The cut-out portion of the outer cylinder 903 has an engagement surface 903s that is parallel to the engagement surface 904s. The discharge port 9031 is located approximately 180 degrees away from the engagement surface 903s in the circumferential direction of the outer cylinder 903.

Figure 15(c) shows a state in which the discharge port 9031 is already exposed, but in the state in which the toner bottle unit 900 is shipped, the positions of the notched engagement surfaces 903s, 904s of the shutter member 904 and the outer cylinder 903 are aligned. In this state, the discharge port 9031 is covered by the shutter member 904, and the toner storage section 9014 remains sealed (closed state). As shown in Figure 15(c), when the shutter member 904 rotates 180 degrees relative to the outer cylinder 903, the discharge port 9031 is exposed through the notched portion of the shutter member 904, the toner storage section 9014 is unsealed, and toner can be discharged (open state). The configurations of the discharge port 9031, engagement surface 903s, and shutter member 904 are basically the same as those described in Figures 7, 8, and 12.

A memory unit 911 is attached near the discharge port 9031 of the outer cylinder 903 as storage means for storing information about the toner bottle unit 900. The memory unit 911 has multiple metal plates 9111, 9112, and 9113 (Figure 16(a)) exposed to the outside of the toner bottle unit 900 as contact points 911a that come into contact with the contact points 70133 (Figure 9(a)) of the replenishment container mounting portion 701.

16( a) and 16(c) , a push-in detection mechanism for detecting the pushing operation of the piston 902 is disposed between the outer cylinder 903 and the inner cylinder 901. A push-in detection rod 907, a first contact plate 908, and a second contact plate 909 are arranged. The push-in detection rod 907 is made of an insulating material such as resin, while the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are made of a conductive material such as metal. The push-in detection rod 907 has a contact release portion 9072 at one axial end (discharge port side) and a piston contact portion 9071 at the other axial end that can come into contact with a push-in rib 9021 of the piston 902. The push-in detection rod 907 moves in the axial direction as the push-in rib 9021 presses the piston contact portion 9071 in conjunction with the pushing operation of the piston 902.

The push-in detection rod 907 is fitted into an axial groove formed on the outer peripheral surface of the inner cylinder 901 or the inner peripheral surface of the outer cylinder 903, for example, so that movement perpendicular to the axial direction is restricted while allowing axial movement relative to the inner cylinder 901 and outer cylinder 903. The piston contact portion 9071 is bent perpendicular to the axial direction, i.e., in an L-shape, allowing the push-in rib 9021 to more reliably abut against it. While the push-in rib 9021 is provided around the entire outer peripheral surface of the piston 902 in Figure 16(a), the push-in rib 9021 may be formed only at a circumferential position corresponding to the piston contact portion 9071.

The first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are metal plates that switch between a conductive state and a disconnected state depending on the position of the push-in detection rod 907, which is made of insulating resin. A method for detecting whether the toner bottle unit 900 is new using the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 will be described later.

In addition, a tube cover 910 (Figure 15(a)) is attached to the end of the outer tube 903 on the opening side, preventing the push-in detection rod 907 from falling off. In other words, the tube cover 910, which forms the opening 9032 of the outer tube 903, is narrowed inward (Figure 15(d)) from the radially outer end position of the piston contact portion 9071 (Figure 16(b)). Therefore, even if a force is applied that tries to move the push-in detection rod 907 axially toward the opening, the piston contact portion 9071 interferes with the tube cover 910, and the push-in detection rod 907 does not fall off from the toner bottle unit 900.

(2-3) Determining whether the toner bottle unit is new or used Next, a description will be given of a configuration for detecting whether the toner bottle unit 900 is unused (new) or used when the toner bottle unit 900 is attached to the supply container attachment portion 701. As shown in Figures 16(c) and 16(d), the contact release portion 9072 of the push-in detection rod 907 is located near the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909.

Figure 16(c) corresponds to the state before the piston is pushed in shown in Figure 16(a), in which the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are in contact with each other and are therefore in a conductive state. In this case, it is preferable to configure one of the metal first contact plate 908 and second contact plate 909 as a leaf spring so that it presses against the other contact plate. Furthermore, for example, applying conductive grease to the contact surfaces of the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 can further ensure conductivity between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909.

Figure 16(d) corresponds to the state after the piston is pushed in shown in Figure 16(b), in which the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are in a disconnected state. In this state, the contact release portion 9072 of the push-in detection rod 907, which is pushed in by the push-in rib 9021, enters between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909, physically separating them. At least the contact release portion 9072 of the push-in detection rod 907 is made of an insulating material, and in the state of Figure 16(d) with the contact release portion 9072 in place, conductivity between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 is cut off.

The first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are each connected to a different one of the multiple metal plates 9111-9113 at the end opposite the end that contacts the contact release portion 9072 of the push-in detection rod 907. Here, it is assumed that the first contact plate 908 is connected to the metal plate 9111, and the second contact plate 909 is connected to the metal plate 9113. In this case, by detecting the presence or absence of current when a weak voltage is applied between the metal plates 9111 and 9113, it is possible to determine whether the toner bottle unit 900 is in a state before the piston is pushed in (unused) or a state after the piston is pushed in (used). In other words, when the toner bottle unit 900 is attached to the replenishment container attachment portion 701, the control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus can determine whether the toner bottle unit 900 is unused or used based on the presence or absence of conductivity between the metal plates 9111 and 9113. Furthermore, when the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 become non-conductive, the control unit 90 can determine that the user's refilling operation has ended. Based on this determination, the control unit 90 controls the display of the panel 400 as described above. Furthermore, when the conductivity between the metal plates 9111 and 9113 changes, the control unit 90 writes a new product flag (new product: 1, used product: 0) to the memory unit 45, indicating that the toner bottle unit 900 has been used.

In the above configuration, it is preferable to place the memory unit 911 on the circuit connecting the metal plates 9111 and 9112. This allows the image forming device's control unit 90 to monitor the pushing operation of the toner bottle unit 900 via the metal plates 9111 and 91113, while simultaneously accessing the memory unit 911 via the metal plates 9111 and 9112.

16(e) and 16(f), a method for detecting the rotation of toner bottle unit 900 will be described. The rotation detection method in this embodiment is the same as that in the embodiment using toner pack 40 described above, except that shutter member 904 that seals the discharge port of the toner bottle unit 900 is attached to outer cylinder 903 of toner bottle unit 900.

As shown in Figures 16(e) and (f), two conductive leaf springs 70151 and 70152 are arranged as the rotation detection part 7015 in the supply container mounting part 701 of the process cartridge. In addition, a protrusion 70135b is provided on the outer periphery of the supply port shutter 7013.

As shown in Figure 16(e), before the toner bottle unit 900 inserted into the replenishment container mounting portion 701 is rotated, the tip 701521 of the leaf spring 70152 is not in contact with the leaf spring 70152, and the rotation detection portion 7015 is in a disconnected state. In other words, even if a weak voltage is applied between the leaf springs 70151 and 70152, no current flows. As shown in Figure 16(f), when the toner bottle unit 900 is rotated 180 degrees, the leaf spring 70152 is pressed by the protrusion 70135a, and the tip 701521 comes into contact with the other leaf spring 70151, establishing a conductive state. In this state, when a weak voltage is applied between the leaf springs 70151 and 70152, a current flows. The control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus recognizes whether the discharge port 9031 of the toner bottle unit 900 and the supply port 8012 of the supply container mounting unit 701 are in a connected state based on whether the rotation detection unit 7015 is conductive or disconnected.

(2-5) Flow of Replenishment Operation Using Toner Bottle Unit This section describes a series of operations for attaching toner bottle unit 900 to replenishing container mounting portion 701, replenishing toner, and then removing toner bottle unit 900. Note that descriptions of parts that are the same as those in the above-described embodiment using toner pack 40 will be omitted.

First, the user attaches an unused toner bottle unit 900 to the supply container mounting portion 701. Specifically, the user aligns and inserts the notched engagement surfaces 903s, 904s (Figure 15(c)) of the outer cylinder 903 and shutter member 904 with the supply port 8012 and the lid portion 70131 (Figure 9(a)) of the supply port shutter 7013. Then, the engagement surface 903s of the outer cylinder 903 engages with the engagement surface 7013s, which is the side surface of the lid portion 70131, and the engagement surface 904s of the shutter member 904 engages with the engagement surface 8012s provided on the outer periphery of the supply port 8012. At this time, the outer cylinder 903, which is engaged with the lid portion 70131 of the supply port shutter 7013, cannot rotate until the locking member 7014 releases the lock on the supply port shutter 7013, at which point it becomes rotatable along with the supply port shutter 7013. Meanwhile, the shutter member 904 is in an unrotatable state by engaging with the supply port 8012, which is fixed to the frame 8010 of the toner receiving unit 801. Furthermore, the leaf springs 70151 and 70152 of the rotation detector 7015 are separated, and the rotation detector 7015 is in a disconnected state (Figure 16(e)).

When an unused toner bottle unit 900 is inserted into the replenishment container mounting portion 701, the control unit 90 recognizes that the toner bottle unit 900 is new using the new product detection configuration described above. As previously explained, the control unit 90 may recognize continuity between the metal plates 9111-91113, or may read and determine the new product flag (new: 1, used: 0) in the memory unit 45. The control unit 90 then operates the pressing mechanism 600 to move the locking member 7014 to the unlocked position, allowing the toner bottle unit 900 to rotate.

When the user then grasps the toner bottle unit 900 and rotates it 180 degrees, the shutter member 904 and supply port shutter 7013 are opened, and the outlet 9031 of the toner bottle unit 900 communicates with the supply port 8012 of the supply container mounting portion 701. The operation of opening the shutter member 904 and supply port shutter 7013 as the toner bottle unit 900 rotates is the same as in the case of the toner pack 40 described using Figures 10(a) and (b).

16(f), when the toner bottle unit 900 is rotated 180 degrees, the tip 701521 of the leaf spring 70152, which is pressed by the protrusion 70135b of the replenishing port shutter 7013, comes into contact with the other leaf spring 70151. When the rotation detector 7015 is thus brought into a conductive state, the control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus detects that the toner bottle unit 900 has been rotated. In other words, the control unit 90 recognizes that the shutter member 904 and the replenishing port shutter 7013 have been released from their sealing positions, thereby connecting the discharge port 42a of the toner pack 40 to the replenishing port 8012 of the replenishing container mounting unit 701. The control unit 90 also operates the pressing mechanism 600 to move the locking member 7014 to the locked position, restricting the rotation of the toner bottle unit 900.

Next, the user presses the piston 902 of the toner bottle unit 900 to begin discharging the toner. The toner that falls into the toner storage section 8011 is transported inside the toner receiving unit 801 and reaches the developing container 32. In this modified example, when the piston 902 is pushed all the way in, the above-mentioned push-in detection mechanism detects that the piston 902 has completed its pushing operation. That is, as shown in FIG. 16(b), the push-in rib 9021 of the piston 902 presses the piston contact portion 9071 of the push-in detection rod 907, causing the push-in detection rod 907 to move in conjunction with the piston 902. Then, as shown in FIG. 16(d), the contact release portion 9072 of the push-in detection rod 907 cuts off the electrical connection between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909. The control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus recognizes that the piston 902 has been pushed in completely based on the fact that no current flows when a voltage is applied between the metal plate 9111 connected to the first contact plate 908 and the metal plate 9113 connected to the second contact plate 909. In other words, in this modified example, the condition for determining that toner ejection is complete is that the push-in detection mechanism detects that the piston 902 has been pushed in completely. As another configuration example, when the electrical connection between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 is cut off, the control unit 90 may rewrite the new product flag in the memory unit 911, and determine that toner ejection is complete based on the rewriting of the new product flag.

When the control unit 90 detects that toner has been discharged from the toner bottle unit 900, it again operates the pressing mechanism 600 to move the locking member 7014 to the unlocked position, rendering the toner bottle unit 900 rotatable. The user grips the toner bottle unit 900 and rotates it 180 degrees. The discharge port 9031 of the toner bottle unit 900 is then covered by the shutter member 904, and the supply port 8012 of the supply container attachment portion 701 is covered by the lid portion 70131 of the supply port shutter 7013. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 16(e), the leaf springs 70151 and 70152 separate, and the rotation detection unit 7015 returns to its disconnected state. The control unit 90 then recognizes that the supply port shutter 7013 is now closed, and operates the pressing mechanism 600 to move the locking member 7014 to the locked position. This returns the supply container attachment portion 701 to its initial state before toner replenishment.

(3) Second Modification Next, a second modification will be described, which has a different process cartridge configuration. This modification has the same configuration as the first embodiment except for the configuration related to the process cartridge, and therefore a description of the common parts will be omitted.

(3-1) Process Cartridge Figure 17 shows (a) a perspective view, (b) a side view, (c) a cross-sectional view, and (d) a cross-sectional view of the process cartridge 20A according to this modification. Figures 17(c) and 17(d) each show a cross section taken at the cross-section position shown in Figure 17(b).

As shown in each diagram in Figure 17, the process cartridge 20A of this modified example is composed of a toner receiving unit 801, a developing unit 802, and a drum unit 803A. Compared to the first embodiment, the drum unit 803A does not have a cleaning blade 24 for cleaning the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 or a waste toner chamber 8033 (see Figure 6(a)) for storing waste toner. This is because this modified example employs a cleaner-less configuration in which residual toner that remains on the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 without being transferred to the recording material is collected in the developing unit 802 and reused. Note that here too, a non-magnetic or magnetic single-component developer, for example, is assumed to be used.

In the illustrated example, the development unit 802 is located at the bottom of the process cartridge 20A, and the toner receiving unit 801 and drum unit 803A are located above the development unit 802 in the direction of gravity. As shown in Figure 17(b), the toner receiving unit 801 and drum unit 803A do not overlap when viewed in the direction of gravity, but they may be configured to be at least partially aligned vertically. In addition, the toner receiving unit 801 is located in the space where the cleaning blade 24 and waste toner chamber 8033 were located in the first embodiment. The configuration of the replenishment container mounting portion 701 provided in the toner receiving unit 801 is the same as in the first embodiment, but Figure 17 illustrates a simplified shape.

A laser passing space SP is formed between the developing unit 802 and the drum unit 803A and toner receiving unit 801, allowing the laser light L emitted from the scanner unit 11 (see Figure 1(a)) toward the photosensitive drum 21 to pass through. It is also preferable to dispose a pre-exposure device in the drum unit 803A, downstream of the transfer section in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 21 and between the charging roller 22, that irradiates the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 with light to erase the electrostatic latent image.

(3-2) Toner Behavior in a Cleanerless Configuration The behavior of toner in a cleanerless configuration will be described. Residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 21 at the transfer unit is removed in the following process. The residual toner includes a mixture of positively charged toner and negatively charged toner that is insufficiently charged. The photosensitive drum 21 after transfer is neutralized by a pre-exposure device, and uniform discharge is generated by the charging roller 22, thereby causing the residual toner to be negatively charged again. The residual toner that has been negatively charged again at the charging unit reaches the development unit as the photosensitive drum 21 rotates. The surface area of the photosensitive drum 21 that has passed through the charging unit is then exposed by the scanner unit 11, with the residual toner still adhering to the surface, and an electrostatic latent image is written onto it.

Here, the behavior of transfer residual toner that reaches the development unit will be explained separately for the exposed and non-exposed areas of the photosensitive drum 21. Transfer residual toner adhering to the non-exposed area of the photosensitive drum 21 is transferred to the development roller 31 in the development unit due to the potential difference between the potential of the non-exposed area of the photosensitive drum 21 (dark area potential) and the development voltage, and is then collected in the development container 32. This is because the normal charging polarity of the toner is negative, and the development voltage applied to the development roller 31 is positive relative to the potential of the non-exposed area. The toner collected in the development container 32 is agitated and dispersed with the toner in the development container by the agitator 34, and is then carried by the development roller 31 for reuse in the development process.

On the other hand, residual toner adhering to the exposed area of the photosensitive drum 21 does not transfer from the photosensitive drum 21 to the developing roller 31 in the developing section, but remains on the drum surface. This is because the normal charging polarity of the toner is negative, and the developing voltage applied to the developing roller 31 is more negative than the potential of the exposed area (bright area potential). The residual toner remaining on the drum surface is carried by the photosensitive drum 21 along with the other toner that transfers from the developing roller 31 to the exposed area, and moves to the transfer section where it is transferred to the recording material.

By adopting a cleaner-less configuration, there is no need to install space for a collection container to collect residual toner, etc., making it possible to further reduce the size of the image forming device 1, and by reusing residual toner, it is also possible to reduce printing costs.

(4) Third Modification Next, a third modification will be described, in which the configuration of the process cartridge is different from any of the above-described embodiments. This modification has the same configuration as the first embodiment except for the configuration related to the process cartridge, and therefore a description of the common parts will be omitted.

(4-1) Third Form of Process Cartridge Figure 18 shows (a) a perspective view, (b) a side view, and (c) a cross-sectional view of a process cartridge 20B according to this modification. Figure 18(c) shows a cross section taken along the cutting position shown in Figure 18(b).

As shown in each diagram in Figure 18, the process cartridge 20B of this modified example is composed of a development unit 802 and a drum unit 803A. Compared to the third embodiment, the toner receiving unit 801 is omitted, and instead a supply container attachment section 701, a first conveying member 8013, and a second conveying member 8014 are arranged in the development unit 802. In other words, this modified example is configured so that toner is replenished by attaching a supply container such as a toner pack 40 or a toner bottle unit 900 from outside the image forming apparatus to a supply port 8012 provided in the developer container 32. The configuration of the supply container attachment section 701 is the same as in the first embodiment, but a simplified shape is shown.

A laser passing space SP is formed between the developing unit 802 and the drum unit 803A and toner receiving unit 801, allowing the laser light L emitted from the scanner unit 11 (see FIG. 1(a)) toward the photosensitive drum 21 to pass through. It is also preferable to dispose a pre-exposure device in the drum unit 803A downstream of the transfer unit in the rotation direction of the photosensitive drum 21 and between the charging roller 22, which irradiates the surface of the photosensitive drum 21 with light to erase the electrostatic latent image. This variant employs a cleanerless configuration. The behavior of toner in a cleanerless configuration is the same as in the second variant, so a description thereof will be omitted.

(5) Control System of Image Forming Apparatus FIG. 19 is a block diagram showing the control system of the image forming apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. The control unit 90, which serves as the control means for the image forming apparatus 1, includes a CPU 91 as a calculation device, a RAM 92 used as a work area for the CPU 91, and a non-volatile memory 93 for storing various programs. The control unit 90 also includes an I/O interface 94 as an input/output port for connecting to external devices, and an A/D converter 95 for converting analog signals into digital signals. The CPU 91 controls each component of the image forming apparatus 1 by reading and executing the control program stored in the non-volatile memory 93. Therefore, the non-volatile memory 93 is an example of a non-transitory storage medium that stores a control program for operating the image forming apparatus in a specific manner.

The control unit 90 is also connected to a T memory 57, which is a non-volatile memory mounted in a supply container such as the toner pack 40 or the toner bottle unit 900, and a P memory 58, which is a non-volatile memory mounted in the process cartridge 20. Examples of T memory 57 as storage means provided in a supply container are the memory unit 45 mounted in the toner pack 40 and the memory unit 911 mounted in the toner bottle unit 900. The T memory 57 also stores toner information indicating that the toner contained in a supply container such as the toner pack 40 or the toner bottle unit 900 is toner that can be replenished to the developing container 32. Toner information includes, for example, information describing whether the toner pack 40 is unused, the initial toner capacity, the expiration date, etc. The P memory 58 also stores the remaining amount of toner contained in the developing container 32, the total amount of toner replenished from the supply container to date, information regarding the photosensitive member lifespan, and information regarding the timing of replacing the process cartridge 20.

Furthermore, the control unit 90 is connected to a rotation lock mechanism 59 and the image forming unit 10. An example of the rotation lock mechanism 59 is the lock member 7014 (Figures 9 and 11) provided in the supply container mounting unit 701 and the pressing mechanism 600 (Figure 13) that moves this lock member 7014. The image forming unit 10 has a motor M1 as a drive source for driving the photosensitive drum 21, developing roller 31, supply roller 33, agitator 34, etc. Note that the drive sources for these rotating members do not necessarily have to be the same; for example, the photosensitive drum 21, developing roller 31, supply roller 33, and agitator 34 may each be driven by a separate motor. The image forming unit 10 also has a power supply unit 211 for applying voltage to each member, such as the developing roller 31, and an exposure control unit 212 for controlling the scanner unit 11.

The input side of the control unit 90 is connected to a remaining toner amount detection means 51, a waste toner full detection means 52, an installation detection means 53, an open/close detection means 54, a rotation detection means 55, and a push-in detection means 56.

The toner remaining amount detection means 51 detects the amount of toner remaining in the developer container 32. An example of the toner remaining amount detection means 51 is the optical sensor (51a, 51b) shown in Figure 6(a). This optical sensor includes a light-emitting element 51a that emits detection light toward the interior of the developer container 32 and a light-receiving element 51b that detects the detection light. In this case, the ratio of the period during which the optical path of the detection light is blocked by toner relative to the rotation period of the agitator 34 (duty) correlates with the amount of toner remaining in the developer container 32. By utilizing this and pre-establishing a correspondence between the duty value and the amount of toner remaining, the amount of toner remaining can be determined from the current duty value. Note that this optical sensor is one example of a toner remaining amount detection means; a pressure-sensitive sensor or a capacitance sensor may also be used. The waste toner full detection means 52 detects when the amount of waste toner accumulated in the waste toner chamber 8033 (Figure 6(a)) of the cleaning unit 803 has reached a predetermined upper limit. The waste toner full detection means 52 can be, for example, a pressure sensor placed in the waste toner chamber 8033. Furthermore, the control unit 90 may calculate and predict the amount of waste toner from the image information, assuming that a predetermined percentage of the image information will be collected as waste toner.

The attachment detection means 53 detects that a replenishment container such as a toner pack 40 has been attached to the replenishment container attachment portion 701. The attachment detection means 53 is, for example, configured as a pressure-sensitive switch provided in the replenishment container attachment portion 701 that outputs a detection signal when pressed by the bottom surface of the toner pack 40. The attachment detection means 53 may also be a detection circuit that detects that the T memory 57 has been electrically connected to the control unit 90 via the contact portion 70133 (Figure 9) of the replenishment container attachment portion 701.

The rotation detection means 55 detects the rotation of the replenishment container attached to the replenishment container attachment portion 701. An example of the rotation detection means 55 is the rotation detection unit 7015 composed of leaf springs 70151 and 70152 (Figures 9 and 16). The rotation detection unit 7015 is one example of the rotation detection means 55, and a photoelectric sensor that is shielded from light by a protrusion provided on the replenishment port shutter 7013 can also be used as the rotation detection sensor. Another example of a rotation detection sensor is one in which the leaf springs 70151 and 70152 of the rotation detection unit 7015 are electrically connected by a protrusion provided on the discharge portion 42 of the toner pack 40.

The push-in detection means 56 is an element added when the toner bottle unit 900 of the first modified example is used, and detects when the piston 902 of the toner bottle unit 900 has been completely pushed in. An example of the push-in detection means 56 is a detection circuit provided in the image forming apparatus 1 that detects changes in the state of the push-in detection mechanism (Figure 16) consisting of the push-in detection rod 907, first contact plate 908, and second contact plate 909 provided in the toner bottle unit 900. This detection circuit detects whether the piston 902 has been pushed in or not by monitoring the current value when a voltage is applied to the metal plates 9111 and 9113 to which the first contact plate 908 and second contact plate 909 are connected, respectively.

The control unit 90 is also connected to an operation unit 300, which serves as a user interface for the image forming apparatus 1, and a toner remaining amount panel 400, which serves as a notification means (alert means) that notifies the user of information regarding the amount of toner remaining in the developing container 32. Here, the information regarding the amount of toner remaining is not limited to indicating the amount of toner remaining itself. In addition, the information regarding the amount of toner remaining also includes information indicating how much toner has already been replenished using the toner packs 40 and the toner bottle unit 900. The information regarding the amount of toner remaining also includes information indicating how many toner packs 40 remain in the developing container 32, and the free capacity of the developing container 32 that can be replenished using the toner bottle unit 900.

As shown in FIG. 20, the operation unit 300 has a display unit 301 that can display various setting screens. The display unit 301 is configured, for example, as an LCD panel. The operation unit 300 also has an input unit 302 that accepts input operations from the user. The input unit 302 is configured, for example, as a physical button or a touch panel function unit of an LCD panel. Furthermore, the control unit 90 is connected to external devices such as a desktop computer or smartphone via an I/O interface 94.

Furthermore, the control unit 90 is connected to external devices such as a desktop computer or smartphone via the I/O interface 94, and is capable of displaying a message 561 such as that shown in FIG. 21 on the display 560 of the host computer.

(6) Control According to the Type of Replenishment Container The following describes the operation when toner is replenished from a replenishing container to the image forming apparatus 1. In this embodiment, multiple types of replenishing containers containing different amounts of toner can be connected to one image forming apparatus 1. The user can select the amount of toner to be replenished in one toner replenishment, which has the advantage of allowing the image forming apparatus 1 to be operated more flexibly. Here, a case where multiple types of toner bottle units with different capacities (fillings) are used will be described as an example of a replenishing container.

(6-1) Types of Toner Bottle Units Figure 22 shows the types of toner bottle units 900 described above. Figure 22(a) shows a small-capacity toner bottle unit 991, storing enough toner for 1,000 prints. Figure 22(b) shows a medium-capacity toner bottle unit 992, storing enough toner for 2,000 prints. Figure 22(c) shows a large-capacity toner bottle unit 993, storing enough toner for 4,000 prints. Note that the "number of prints" refers to the increase in the number of sheets of recording material on which an image forming apparatus can form an image, which is increased by using the toner bottle unit to replenish toner. Furthermore, the "amount of toner for 1,000 prints" refers to the amount of toner consumed when 1,000 images are output at a standard average printing rate (the ratio of the area of the toner image to the effective image area of the recording material).

Note that each toner bottle unit 991-993 has the same configuration as the aforementioned toner bottle unit 900, except that they have different capacities. Therefore, each toner bottle unit 991-993 includes a T memory 57 serving as storage means, such as a memory unit 911, and a first contact plate 908, a second contact plate 909, and a push-in detection rod 907 that constitute the push-in detection means 56.

(6-2) Circuit Configuration of Toner Bottle Unit Figure 23 shows the circuit configuration of the toner bottle units 991-993, including the T memory 57 and the push-in detection mechanism. The T memory 57 is connected to metal plates 9111 and 9112, the first contact plate 908 is connected to the metal plate 9111, and the second contact plate 909 is connected to the metal plate 9113. Furthermore, when the toner bottle units 991-993 are attached to the replenishment container attachment portion 701, the metal plates 9111-9113 of the contact portion 911a are electrically connected to the control unit of the image forming apparatus via the contact portion 70133 (Figure 9) of the replenishment container attachment portion 701.

The T memory 57 stores different capacity information (toner amount information) depending on the type of toner bottle unit 991-993. The T memory 57 is an example of a storage unit that stores information that can identify the type of replenishment container to which the T memory 57 is attached, among the multiple types of replenishment containers that exist. In this embodiment, the capacity information is stored as electronic information within the memory. For the small-capacity toner bottle unit 991, capacity information indicating that an amount of toner equivalent to 1,000 pages of prints is stored is stored in the T memory 57. For the medium- and large-capacity toner bottle units 992 and 993, capacity information indicating that an amount of toner equivalent to 2,000 and 4,000 pages of prints is stored is also stored in the T memory 57. Furthermore, the T memory 57 stores a new product flag indicating whether the toner bottle unit 991-993 is unused (new) or has already been used to replenish toner.

The control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus 1, which is connected to the T memory 57 via the contact portion 70133, acquires the capacity information stored in the T memory 57 through the metal plates 9111 and 9112. In other words, the contact portion 70133 is an example of an acquisition means by which the image forming apparatus acquires information indicating the type of replenishment container. In this embodiment, the control unit 90 identifies the type of toner bottle unit 991-993 by reading the capacity information from the T memory 57 via the contact portion 70133. The method of communication with the T memory 57 is a so-called two-wire transmission method that uses both the power supply line and the communication signal line, and communication is performed through the metal plates 9111 and 9112. Note that a different communication method may also be used.

The information that the control unit 90 obtains from the T memory 57 is not limited to information that directly indicates the capacity of the toner bottle unit, but may be information that can identify which of multiple types of toner bottle unit with different capacities the toner bottle unit is. In this case, the control unit 90 can determine the capacity of the toner bottle unit by referencing the correspondence between the type of toner bottle unit and its capacity, which is stored in advance in non-volatile memory.

As explained using Figures 16(a) to (d), when the piston 902 of the toner bottle unit 991-993 is pressed, the contact release portion 9072 of the push-in detection rod 907, which is an insulator, enters between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909, releasing the electrical continuity. In other words, Figure 23 shows the circuit state after the piston 902 is pushed in. However, in Figure 23, the switch mechanism consisting of the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 is shown as an equivalent circuit symbol that is turned on/off by the push-in detection rod 907.

When no current flows when a voltage is applied between the metal plates 9111 and 9113, the control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus 1 determines that the piston 902 has been pushed in and that the toner stored in the toner bottle units 991-993 has been completely discharged. On the other hand, if the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are electrically connected, the control unit 90 determines that the piston 902 is not pushed in (new condition) based on the fact that a current flows when a voltage is applied between the metal plates 9111 and 9113.

(6-3) Control During Toner Replenishment Next, the operation of the image forming apparatus when toner is replenished using one of the toner bottle units 991 to 993 with different capacities will be described.

During periods when toner is not being replenished, the control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus 1 changes the display level of the panel 400 (Fig. 14) based on the detection results of the toner remaining amount detection means 51 (Fig. 19). Hereinafter, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the panel 400 is capable of changing the display state between at least five display levels. In the case of the panel configuration shown in Fig. 14, for example, a display level between (a) and (b) can be set so that the lower scale 4003 is lit and the central scale 4002 flashes. Furthermore, a display level between (b) and (c) can be set so that the central and lower scales 4002 and 4003 are lit and the upper scale 4001 flashes.

As a result, the display level of panel 400 can be changed in at least six stages, combining the display states shown in Figures 14(a) to (c) and the display state at the Low level described above. In this case, one display level stage corresponds to the amount of toner in one small-capacity toner bottle unit 991, or the amount of toner for 1,000 prints. In other words, if image forming apparatus 1 repeats image formation operations without toner replenishment, the display level of panel 400 will decrease by one stage approximately every time images are formed on 1,000 sheets of recording material.

The operation when replenishing toner will be described using Figure 24. In the procedure of this flowchart, S501, S508, S511, S519, and S520 represent operations performed by the user. The other steps are realized by the CPU 91 (Figure 19) provided in the control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus 1 executing a program read from the non-volatile memory 93.

First, the user opens the opening/closing member 83 (Figure 4(c)) and installs one of the small-, medium-, or large-capacity toner bottle units 991, 992, or 993 into the supply container mounting portion 701 (S501). This connects the T memory 57 to the control unit 90, which then communicates with the T memory 57 to obtain the new product flag and capacity information stored in the T memory 57 (S502). Furthermore, the control unit 90 communicates with the P memory 58 to obtain the free capacity information of the developer container 32 stored in the P memory 58 (S503). The free capacity information of the developer container 32 in the P memory 58 is updated by the control unit 90 as needed based on the detection results of the remaining toner amount detection means 51.

The control unit 90 determines whether the toner bottle units 991-993 currently attached to the replenishment container mounting portion 701 are new based on the value of the new product flag obtained from the T memory 57 (S504). The control unit 90 also compares the capacity information of the toner bottle units 991-993 obtained from the T memory 57 with the free space information in the P memory 58 to determine whether the developer container 32 has sufficient free space (S505). In other words, if the free space in the developer container 32 is greater than the capacity of the toner bottle units 991-993 currently attached to the replenishment container mounting portion 701, it is determined that the developer container 32 has sufficient free space.

If the currently installed toner bottle units 991-993 are new and there is sufficient free space in the developer container 32, the control unit 90 operates the rotation lock mechanism 59 to unlock the supply port shutter 7013 (S506, see Figure 11(a)).

On the other hand, if the currently installed toner bottle units 991-993 are not new, the control unit 90 maintains the locked state of the supply port shutter 7013 (S507, see FIG. 11B). The control unit 90 also maintains the locked state of the supply port shutter 7013 if there is insufficient free space in the developer container 32 (S507, see FIG. 11B). If the supply port shutter 7013 is not unlocked, the user cannot rotate the toner bottle units 991-993, and the process does not proceed to the subsequent steps S506-S519. In this case, the user can remove the toner bottle units 991-993 to end the procedure (S520), and the image forming apparatus 1 returns to the state before the toner replenishment operation. In this way, the rotation lock mechanism 59 functions as a locking device that restricts the operation (in this embodiment, rotation) of connecting the outlet of the supply container attached to the supply port with the supply port, and determines whether to release the restriction based on the capacity of the attached supply container and other information.

When the refill port shutter 7013 is unlocked (S506), the user rotates the toner bottle units 991-993 180 degrees (S508). The rotation detection means 55 then detects that the refill port shutter 7013 has rotated 180 degrees (S509), and based on this, the control unit 90 locks the rotation lock mechanism 59 (S510). This prevents the user from rotating the toner bottle units 991-993, and maintains the state in which the outlets of the toner bottle units 991-993 attached to the refill container attachment portion 701 are connected to the refill port 8012.

When the user pushes in the piston 902 of the toner bottle unit 991-993 to eject the toner (S511), the pushing detection means 56 detects that the piston 902 has been pushed in (S512). That is, in this configuration example, the pushing detection means 56 is used as an ejection detection means that detects when toner has been completely ejected from the refill container. When it detects that toner has been completely ejected, the control unit 90 lights up at least one of the unlit scales on the panel 400 to notify the user that toner has been replenished.

Here, the control unit 90 changes the increase in the display level of the panel 400 depending on which of the multiple types of toner bottle units 991-993 with different capacities the toner was replenished from (S513-S516).

For example, suppose toner is replenished when the remaining toner in the developing container 32 is at a low level. In this case, if capacity information representing a small-capacity toner bottle unit 991 is acquired in S502, the control unit 90 increases the display level of the panel 400 by one level (S514). If capacity information representing a medium-capacity toner bottle unit 992 is acquired in S602, the control unit 90 increases the display level of the panel 400 by two levels (S515). If capacity information representing a large-capacity toner bottle unit 993 is acquired in S602, the control unit 90 increases the display level of the panel 400 by four levels (S516).

In this way, the unit by which the scale on the display means of this embodiment increases or decreases corresponds to the capacity of the supply container (first supply container) with the smallest capacity among the multiple types of supply containers. In other words, when toner is replenished using the first supply container with the smallest capacity among the multiple types of supply containers (for example, small-capacity toner bottle unit 991), the scale on the display means changes by one level. When toner is replenished using a second supply container (for example, medium-capacity toner bottle unit 992) with a larger capacity than the first supply container among the multiple types of supply containers, the scale on the display means changes by multiple levels.

After changing the display on panel 400, control unit 90 records in T memory 57 that the toner pack has been used up (S517) and releases rotation lock mechanism 59 (S518). The user then rotates toner bottle units 991-993 180 degrees (S519) and removes them from the replenishment container mounting portion 701 (S520). This completes the toner replenishment procedure for image forming device 1.

Note that while the procedure for replenishing toner using toner bottle units 991-993 has been described above, toner replenishment is basically performed using the same procedure when using other replenishment containers such as toner pack 40. Therefore, the control unit 90 can determine the type of toner pack by accessing the T memory 57 (memory unit 45) of the toner pack 40 attached to the replenishment container attachment unit 701.

However, in the case of a toner pack, since the piston is not pushed in, completion of toner discharge is detected using another discharge detection means instead of the steps S511 and S512 in Figure 24. Specifically, one method is to consider discharge to be complete when a predetermined time has passed since the rotation of the toner bottle was detected in S509. Another method is to, for example, display a button on the operation unit 300 after detecting the rotation of the toner bottle in S509, indicating that toner discharge is complete, and determine that toner discharge is complete when the user presses the button.

As such, in this embodiment, in a configuration in which multiple types of toner bottle units 991-993 with different capacities can be used, when a toner bottle unit is attached to an image forming device, the control unit 90 reads capacity information from the T memory 57 of that toner bottle unit. In other words, in a configuration in which multiple types of replenishment containers containing different amounts of toner can be used, the control unit 90, as a discrimination means, determines the type of replenishment container by reading capacity information stored in the T memory 57, which is an example of a holding means (S502 in Figure 24).

Based on the results of this determination, the control unit 90 can perform appropriate operations on the image forming device depending on the type of replenishment container used by the user to replenish toner. For example, in S505 of FIG. 24, the amount of toner contained in the replenishment container is monitored to ensure that it does not exceed the available capacity of the developer container 32, thereby preventing toner from overflowing from the developer container 32. Furthermore, in S513 to S516 of FIG. 24, the display level of the panel 400 is changed depending on the type of replenishment container used for the current toner replenishment. This allows the user to quickly check the change in the amount of toner available for replenishment in the developer container 32 without having to wait for the detection results of the toner remaining amount detection means after toner replenishment to be reflected in the display level of the panel 400.

The above-described determination of free space (S505) and panel display control (S513-S516) are both examples of operations performed in response to the results of determining the type of replenishment container, and the control unit 90 may use the results of determining the type of replenishment container for other operations. For example, following S502 in FIG. 24, the display unit 301 (FIG. 20) of the operation unit 300 or the display 560 (FIG. 21) of the external device may display a message indicating that a replenishment container has been attached to the replenishment container attachment unit 701 and indicating the type of replenishment container.

While Figure 23 illustrates one example of the circuit configuration of the toner bottle unit push-in detection mechanism, other circuit configurations may also be used. In this circuit configuration, the contact connected to the memory unit 911 and the contact of the push-in detection mechanism are shared by the same metal plate 9111. However, as shown in Figure 25, these contacts may be independent. In this circuit configuration, the memory unit 911 is connected to metal plates 9111 and 9112, the first contact plate 908 of the push-in detection mechanism is connected to metal plate 9114, and the second contact plate 909 is connected to metal plate 9113. In this case, too, the control unit 90 can access the T memory 57 via metal plates 9111 and 9112 to read the capacity information when the toner bottle unit is attached to the replenishment container attachment portion 701. Even with this circuit configuration, the control unit 90 can detect that the piston of the toner bottle unit has been pushed in and toner has been discharged based on the presence or absence of conductivity between metal plates 9113 and 9114.

Furthermore, the T memory 57 used as the holding means in this embodiment is an example of a storage medium that stores capacity information, which is information indicating the type of refill container, as electronic information. However, the holding means (means for storing information indicating the type of refill container) in this disclosure is not limited to electronic storage media, as will be explained in the following embodiments.

Second Embodiment
A second embodiment will be described. This embodiment differs from the first embodiment in the configuration and method for distinguishing between types of refill containers with different capacities. Other elements having the same configuration and function as those in the first embodiment will be assigned the same reference numerals as those in the first embodiment and will not be described again.

(Capacitive sensing using a resistor)
In this embodiment, as an example of a plurality of types of replenishment containers with different capacities, explanation will be given using small-capacity, medium-capacity, and large-capacity toner bottle units 991, 992, and 993 shown in Fig. 22. However, in this embodiment, instead of a memory unit which is a storage medium for storing electronic information, a resistor 912 is used as a storage means (storage means) for storing information about the replenishment container, as shown in Fig. 26(a).

Several types of resistors 912 with different resistance values are provided, and a resistor type corresponding to the type of toner bottle unit 991-993 is installed in each. Specifically, a resistor 912 with a resistance value of Ra is installed in a small-capacity toner bottle unit 991 that contains enough toner for 1,000 prints. A resistor 912 with a resistance value of 2Ra is installed in a medium-capacity toner bottle unit 992 that contains enough toner for 2,000 prints. A resistor 912 with a resistance value of 4Ra is installed in a large-capacity toner bottle unit 993 that contains enough toner for 4,000 prints. In each case, the resistor 912 is connected to the metal plates 9111 and 9112 of the contact portion 911a.

In this way, resistor 912, which serves as the holding means (storage means) of this embodiment, stores information (capacity information) related to the type of replenishment container as a resistance value. That is, a resistance value Ra represents capacity information corresponding to the amount of toner for 1,000 sheets, a resistance value 2Ra represents capacity information corresponding to the amount of toner for 2,000 sheets, and a resistance value 4Ra represents capacity information corresponding to the amount of toner for 4,000 sheets.

The control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus can confirm the resistance value of the resistor 712 by applying a voltage to the resistor 712 via the contact 70133 provided in the supply container mounting unit 701. That is, a voltage is applied to the metal plate 9112 via contact 91120 of the contact 70133. However, the voltage applied to the metal plate 9112 is the divided voltage of the resistance Ra and the voltage Vcc, and the contact 91110 in contact with the other metal plate 9111 is grounded. The control unit 90 confirms the resistance value of the resistor 712 by acquiring the voltage value on the resistor 912 side via the A/D conversion unit 95.

Here, the operation of the push-in detection means 56 (Figure 19) will also be explained using Figure 26. The configuration of the push-in detection mechanism in the toner bottle unit is the same as that described in the first embodiment. That is, the first contact plate 908 is connected to the metal plate 9111 of the contact portion 911a, and the second contact plate 909 is connected to another metal plate 9113 of the contact portion 911a. When the piston 902 is pushed in, the push-in detection rod 907 slides in conjunction with the piston 902, and the contact release portion 9072 of the push-in detection rod 907 cuts off the electrical connection between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 (see also Figures 16(a) to (d)). Furthermore, contact 91130 of the contact portion 70133 is connected to the second contact plate 909 via the metal plate 9113, and contact 91110 is connected to the first contact plate 908 via the metal plate 9111. However, in Figure 26, the switch mechanism consisting of the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 is shown as an equivalent circuit symbol that is turned on/off by the push-in detection rod 907.

The control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus can detect whether the piston 902 is being pushed in by monitoring the presence or absence of continuity between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 via the contact portion 70133 provided in the replenishment container mounting portion 701. That is, when the toner bottle unit is mounted in the replenishment container mounting portion 701 and the piston 902 is not being pushed in, the contact 91130 is grounded via the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909, which are in a conductive state. Therefore, the voltage value detected by the CPU 91 is 0 [V]. On the other hand, when the piston 902 is pushed in, the continuity between the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 is cut off, and the voltage value detected by the CPU 91 changes to Vcc [V]. Based on this change in voltage value, the control unit 90 determines whether the piston is being pushed in.

(Control during toner replenishment)
Next, the control of panel 400 when toner is replenished using toner bottle units 991 to 993 with different capacities will be described.

The operation when refilling a toner bottle will be described using Figure 27. In this flowchart, steps other than S601, S608, S611, S619, and S620, which are user operations, are realized by the CPU 91 (Figure 19) provided in the control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus 1 executing a program read from the non-volatile memory 93.

First, the user opens the open/close member 83 (FIG. 4(c)) and attaches one of the small-, medium-, or large-capacity toner bottle units 991-993 to the replenishment container attachment portion 701 (S601). This connects the resistor 912 to the control unit 90, which then acquires a voltage value from the circuit including the resistor 912 via the A/D conversion unit 95 and acquires capacity information for the toner bottle units 991-993 based on the acquired voltage value (S602). Specifically, if the voltage value acquired by the A/D conversion unit 95 in FIG. 26 is Vcc x Ra/(Ra + Rb), the control unit 90 determines that the capacity information represents the amount of toner for 1,000 printed pages. Furthermore, if the voltage value acquired by the A/D conversion unit 95 is Vcc x 2Ra/(2Ra + Rb), the control unit 90 determines that the capacity information represents the amount of toner for 2,000 printed pages. Furthermore, if the voltage value acquired by the A/D conversion unit 95 is Vcc x 4Ra/(4Ra + Rb), it is determined that the capacity information is the amount of toner for 4,000 prints. Furthermore, the control unit 90 communicates with the P memory 58 to acquire the free capacity information of the developing container 32 stored in the P memory 58 (S603).

The control unit 90 compares the capacity information of the toner bottle units 991-993, determined based on the resistance value of the resistor 912, with the free capacity information in the P memory 58, and determines whether there is sufficient free capacity in the developer container 32 (S605). In other words, if the free capacity of the developer container 32 is greater than the capacity of the toner bottle units 991-993 currently attached to the replenishment container attachment unit 701, it is determined that there is sufficient free capacity in the developer container 32.

If there is sufficient free space in the developer container 32, the control unit 90 operates the rotation lock mechanism 59 to unlock the supply port shutter 7013 (S606, see Figure 11(a)). On the other hand, if there is not enough free space in the developer container 32, the control unit 90 maintains the locked state of the supply port shutter 7013 (S607, see Figure 11(b)). If the supply port shutter 7013 is not unlocked, the user cannot rotate the toner bottle units 991-993, and the process does not proceed to the subsequent steps S606-S619. In this case, the user can remove the toner bottle units 991-993 to end the procedure (S620), and the image forming apparatus 1 returns to the state it was in before the toner replenishment operation.

A step may be provided between S603 and S605 in which the push-in detection means 56 confirms that the pistons 902 of the toner bottle units 991-993 have not been pushed in. At this time, if the toner bottle unit is in the state before the pistons are pushed in (if the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are conductive), the toner bottle unit is determined to be new and the process proceeds to S605. Also, if the toner bottle unit is in the state after the pistons are pushed in (if the first contact plate 908 and the second contact plate 909 are not conductive), the toner bottle unit is determined to be used and the process proceeds to S607.

When the refill port shutter 7013 is unlocked (S606), the user rotates the toner bottle units 991-993 180 degrees (S608). The rotation detection means 55 then detects that the refill port shutter 7013 has rotated 180 degrees (S609), and based on this, the control unit 90 locks the rotation lock mechanism 59 (S610). This prevents the user from rotating the toner bottle units 991-993, and maintains the state in which the outlets of the toner bottle units 991-993 attached to the refill container attachment portion 701 are connected to the refill port 8012.

When the user pushes in the piston 902 of the toner bottle unit 991-993 to eject the toner (S611), the pushing detection means 56 detects that the piston 902 has been pushed in (S612). That is, in this configuration example, the completion of toner ejection from the supply container is determined based on the detection result of the pushing detection means. When the completion of toner ejection is detected, the control unit 90 lights up at least one of the unlit scales on the panel 400 to notify the user that toner has been replenished.

Here, the control unit 90 changes the increase in the display level of the panel 400 depending on which of the multiple types of toner bottle units 991-993 with different capacities the toner was replenished from (S613-S616).

For example, suppose toner has been replenished, indicating that the amount of toner remaining in the developing container 32 is at a low level. In this case, if capacity information indicating a small-capacity toner bottle unit 991 has been acquired in S602, the control unit 90 increases the display level on the panel 400 by one level (S614). If capacity information indicating a medium-capacity toner bottle unit 992 has been acquired in S602, the control unit 90 increases the display level on the panel 400 by two levels (S615). If capacity information indicating a large-capacity toner bottle unit 993 has been acquired in S602, the control unit 90 increases the display level on the panel 400 by four levels (S616).

After changing the display on the panel 400, the control unit 90 releases the rotation lock mechanism 59 (S618). The user then rotates the toner bottle units 991-993 180 degrees (S619) and removes them from the replenishment container mounting portion 701 (S620). This completes the toner replenishment procedure for the image forming device 1.

As such, in this embodiment, when a toner bottle unit is attached to an image forming apparatus, the control unit 90 obtains capacity information for the toner bottle unit by measuring the resistance value of the resistor 912 of the toner bottle unit. In other words, in a configuration in which multiple types of replenishment containers containing different amounts of toner can be used, the control unit 90, as a discrimination means, determines the type of replenishment container based on the resistance value of the resistor 912, which is an example of a holding means (S502 in Figure 24). Using the results of this discrimination, the control unit 90 can operate the image forming apparatus appropriately depending on the type of replenishment container the user intends to use to replenish toner.

26(a), the same metal plate 9111 is used as both the contact connected to resistor 912 and the contact of the push-in detection mechanism. However, as shown in FIG. 26(b), these contacts may be independent. In this circuit configuration, resistor 912 is connected to metal plates 9111 and 9112, the first contact plate 908 of the push-in detection mechanism is connected to metal plate 9114, and the second contact plate 909 is connected to metal plate 9113. In this case, too, when the toner bottle unit is attached to the replenishment container attachment portion 701, the control unit 90 can obtain capacity information of the toner bottle unit based on the resistance value of resistor 912 via metal plates 9111 and 9112. Even with this circuit configuration, the control unit 90 can detect that the piston of the toner bottle unit has been pushed in and toner has been discharged based on the presence or absence of conductivity between metal plates 9113 and 9114.

In addition, while this embodiment describes the procedure for replenishing toner using toner bottle units 991-993, toner replenishing is performed using essentially the same procedure when using other replenishing containers such as toner pack 40. Therefore, the control unit 90 can determine the type of toner pack by detecting the resistance value of the resistor provided in the toner pack 40 attached to the replenishing container attachment unit 701.

Third Embodiment
As a third embodiment, a description will be given of an embodiment in which the wiring pattern between the multiple contacts provided on the refill container varies depending on the type of refill container. This embodiment differs from the first and second embodiments in the configuration and method for distinguishing between types of refill containers with different capacities. Hereinafter, elements having the same configuration and function as those of the first and second embodiments will be assigned the same reference numerals as those of the first and second embodiments, and their description will be omitted.

Figure 28 shows an example configuration of the wiring pattern 913 between the metal plates 9111, 9112, and 9115 exposed at the contact portion 911a when using small-capacity, medium-capacity, and large-capacity toner bottle units 991, 992, and 993 as supply containers.

The contact portion 70133 of the supply container mounting portion 701 is provided with contacts 91110, 91120, 91130, and 91150 that connect to the metal plates 9111, 9112, 9113, and 9115, respectively, when the toner bottle units 991 to 993 are mounted. Contact 91110 is connected to ground potential. Contacts 91120 and 91150 are connected to the supply voltage (Vcc) via resistors with resistances Rd and Re, respectively.

Figure 28(a) shows the circuit configuration of a small-capacity toner bottle unit 991, in which metal plates JP1 and JP2 are arranged. In this case, metal plates 9112 and 9115 are always electrically connected to metal plate 9111 via metal plates JP1 and JP2, respectively.

Figure 28(b) shows the circuit configuration of a medium-capacity toner bottle unit 992, in which metal plate JP1 is provided but metal plate JP2 is not. In this case, metal plate 9112 is always electrically connected to metal plate 9111 via metal plate JP1, while metal plate 9115 is insulated from metal plate 9111.

Figure 28(c) shows the circuit configuration of the large-capacity toner bottle unit 993, in which metal plate JP2 is installed and metal plate JP1 is not installed. In this case, metal plate 9112 is insulated from metal plate JP1, while metal plate 9115 is always electrically connected to metal plate 9111 via metal plate JP2.

When toner bottle units 991-993 are attached to the replenishment container attachment portion 701, the control unit 90 can determine the type of replenishment container by electrically detecting the presence or absence of metal plates JP1 and JP2. That is, when toner bottle units 991-993 are attached, the current flowing through contact 91120 is Vcc/Rd if metal plate JP1 is present (Figures 28(a) and (b)), and is 0 if metal plate JP1 is not present (Figure 28(c)). Furthermore, when toner bottle units 991-993 are attached, the current flowing through contact 91150 is Vcc/Re if metal plate JP2 is present (Figures 28(a) and (c)), and is 0 if metal plate JP2 is not present (Figure 28(b)).

As such, in this embodiment, the wiring pattern 913 of the electrical circuit provided on the replenishment container differs depending on the type of replenishment container. In other words, in this embodiment, the wiring pattern 913, which changes depending on the presence or absence of the metal plates JP1 and JP2, functions as a holding means for holding information about the replenishment container.

When a replenishment container is connected to the replenishment container mounting portion 701, the control unit 90 can detect differences in the wiring path of the replenishment container and determine the type of replenishment container based on the presence or absence of current flowing through each contact of the contact portion 70133 for the replenishment container. The method for using the determination results to control the operation of the image forming apparatus when a user performs a toner replenishment operation is the same as in the first and second embodiments, so a description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, the wiring pattern 913 is differentiated by changing the presence or absence of metal plates JP1 and JP2 depending on the type of refill container. However, the wiring pattern 913 may also be differentiated by changing the presence or absence of metal plates 9112 and 9115, for example. In this case, too, when a refill container is attached to the refill container attachment section 701, the control section 90 can determine the type of refill container based on the presence or absence of current flowing through each contact of the contact section 70133.

In the example shown in Figure 28, metal plate 9111 serves both as the contact for wiring pattern 913 indicating the type of refill container and as the contact for the push-in detection mechanism, but as shown in Figure 29, these contacts may be independent. In this circuit configuration, metal plate 9111 is part of wiring pattern 913, and the first contact plate 908 of the push-in detection mechanism is connected to metal plate 9114, and the second contact plate 909 is connected to metal plate 9113.

<Fourth embodiment>
As a fourth embodiment, a configuration in which the shape of a portion of a replenishment container varies depending on the type of replenishment container will be described. This embodiment differs from the first to third embodiments in the configuration and method for distinguishing between types of replenishment containers with different capacities. Hereinafter, elements having the same configuration and function as those of the first to third embodiments will be assigned the same reference numerals as those of the first to third embodiments, and descriptions thereof will be omitted.

Figure 30 shows toner bottle units 991, 992, and 993 as replenishment containers in this embodiment. Figure 30(a) shows a small-capacity toner bottle unit 991, which has two protrusions 994, 995 at its downstream end in the insertion direction into the replenishment container mounting portion 701. Figure 30(b) shows a medium-capacity toner bottle unit 992, which has one protrusion 994 at its downstream end in the insertion direction into the replenishment container mounting portion 701. Figure 30(c) shows a large-capacity toner bottle unit 993, which has another protrusion 995 at its downstream end in the insertion direction into the replenishment container mounting portion 701.

In this way, the multiple types of toner bottle units 991-993 with different capacities have shape patterns 914 formed in different shapes for each type. The shape patterns 914 are an example of a holding means (storage means) that physically holds information about the replenishment container.

When the toner bottle units 991-993 are attached to the supply container attachment portion 701, the control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus determines the type of toner bottle unit 991-993 by detecting the shape of the shape pattern 914. Specifically, in this embodiment, the supply container attachment portion 701 is provided with two switches SW1 and SW2 that are activated by contact with protrusions 994 and 995 of the shape pattern 914, as shown in FIG. 31 .

If the toner bottle unit has a protrusion 994, the protrusion 994 turns switch SW1 on when the toner bottle unit is installed; if the protrusion 994 is not installed, switch SW1 remains off. Similarly, if the toner bottle unit has a protrusion 995, the protrusion 995 turns switch SW2 on when the toner bottle unit is installed; if the protrusion 995 is not installed, switch SW2 remains off. The control unit 90 determines the type of toner bottle unit 991-993 currently installed based on the on/off patterns of switches SW1 and SW2.

The above switches SW1 and SW2 are one example of a detection means capable of detecting differences in the shape pattern 914 of the replenishment container, and other detection means may also be used. For example, as shown in FIG. 32, optical sensors PI1 and PI2, which are shielded from light by protrusions 994 and 995, respectively, could be placed in the replenishment container mounting portion 701. In this case, too, the control unit 90 can determine the type of toner bottle unit 991-993 currently installed based on the patterns of the output signals from optical sensors PI1 and PI2.

In the first to fourth embodiments described above, a configuration has been described in which information about the replenishment container is stored in a storage means (storage means) provided in the replenishment container, and the control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus reads the information from the storage means to determine the type of replenishment container. The storage means is not limited to those described in the above embodiments, and any storage means can be used as long as it is capable of storing information that can identify which of multiple types of replenishment containers is attached to the replenishment container attachment unit 701. For example, a two-dimensional barcode encoding information about the type (capacity) and expiration date of the replenishment container may be attached to the surface of the replenishment container, and the type of replenishment container may be determined by reading the information using an image sensor in the image forming apparatus.

Fifth Embodiment
As a fifth embodiment, a description will be given of an embodiment in which a user is prompted to input the type of replenishment container according to the difference in toner replenishment, and the image forming apparatus determines the type of replenishment container based on the user input. This embodiment differs from the first to fourth embodiments in the configuration and determination method for determining the type of replenishment container with different capacities. Hereinafter, elements having the same configuration and function as the first to fourth embodiments will be assigned the same reference numerals as the first to fourth embodiments, and their description will be omitted.

In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 33, the display unit 301 of the operation unit 300 displays a selection screen 562 that prompts the user to select the type of replenishment container used for toner replenishment. In this example, the user is to select from the three types of toner bottle units 991 to 993 shown in FIG. 22. The user inputs the type of replenishment container used for toner replenishment into the image forming apparatus by operating one of the buttons on the input unit 302 in accordance with the instructions on the selection screen 562.

As a variant, a selection screen 562 may be displayed on the display 560 of a host computer connected to the image forming device, prompting the user to select the type of replenishment container used for toner replenishment. In this case, the host computer displays the selection screen 562 based on information received from the image forming device, and transmits information about the type of replenishment container input by the user via an input device to the image forming device.

The operation of toner replenishment in this embodiment will be described using Figure 35. In this flowchart, steps other than S701 to S703, S706, S711, and S712, which are user operations, are realized by the CPU 91 (Figure 19) provided in the control unit 90 of the image forming apparatus 1 executing a program read from the non-volatile memory 93.

First, the user opens the opening/closing member 83 (Figure 4(c)) and attaches one of the small-, medium-, or large-capacity toner bottle units 991-993 to the replenishment container mounting portion 701 (S701). Next, the user rotates the toner bottle unit 991-993 180 degrees (S702). This connects the outlet of the toner bottle unit 991-993 attached to the replenishment container mounting portion 701 to the replenishment port 8012. When the user pushes in the piston 902 of the toner bottle unit 991-993 to eject the toner (S703), the push-in detection means 56 detects that the piston 902 has been pushed in (S704).

Here, the control unit 90, which has detected that toner has been discharged completely in S704, executes a process (display process) of displaying the selection screen 303 (Fig. 33) on the display unit 301, which allows the user to select the type of toner bottle (S705, S706). In the case of the above-described modified example, the control unit 90, which has detected that toner has been discharged completely in S704, sends a notification to the host computer via the I/O interface 94 (Fig. 19), and performs the display process by displaying the selection screen 562 (Fig. 34) on the display 560.

Then, when the control unit 90 receives information about the type of toner bottle unit input by the user from the operation unit 300, it changes the display level of the panel 400 based on the input information (S707-S710). For example, if information representing a small-capacity toner bottle unit 991 was acquired in S706, the control unit 90 increases the display level of the panel 400 by one level (S708). If information representing a medium-capacity toner bottle unit 992 was acquired in S706, the control unit 90 increases the display level of the panel 400 by two levels (S709). If information representing a large-capacity toner bottle unit 993 was acquired in S706, the control unit 90 increases the display level of the panel 400 by four levels (S710).

After inputting the type of toner bottle unit 991-993 in S706, the user rotates the toner bottle unit 991-993 180 degrees (S711) and removes the toner bottle unit 991-993 from the replenishment container mounting portion 701 (S712). This completes the toner replenishment procedure for the image forming device 1.

In this manner, in this embodiment, when toner is replenished, the selection screen 303, 562 is displayed on at least one of the image forming device's display unit 301 or the external display 560. The control unit 90 determines the type of toner bottle unit used for this toner replenishment based on the information entered by the user using the selection screen 303, 562. In other words, the control unit 90, as a determination means, requests the user to input information regarding the type of replenishment container via the image forming device or the external display unit, and determines the type of replenishment container based on the information entered by the user. Using the results of this determination, the control unit 90 can operate the image forming device appropriately according to the type of replenishment container used by the user for toner replenishment.

In this embodiment, the selection screen 303, 562 is displayed when the piston of the toner bottle unit is detected as being pushed in. However, the selection screen 303, 562 may also be displayed when the installation of a toner bottle unit into the supply container mounting portion 701 is detected. In this case, it is preferable to initially lock the supply port shutter 7013 using the rotation lock mechanism 59, and then unlock it when the capacity of the toner bottle unit selected by the user is equal to or less than the free capacity of the developer container 32 obtained from the P memory 58. (See S505-S507 in Figure 24.)

In addition, while this embodiment describes the procedure for replenishing toner using toner bottle units 991-993, toner replenishment is basically performed using the same procedure when using other replenishment containers such as toner packs 40. Therefore, the control unit 90 can determine the type of toner pack 40 attached to the replenishment container attachment unit 701 based on information entered by the user.

(Other embodiments)
The present invention can also be realized by supplying a program that realizes one or more of the functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or device via a network or a storage medium, and having one or more processors in the computer of the system or device read and execute the program.The present invention can also be realized by a circuit (e.g., an ASIC) that realizes one or more of the functions.

1...Image forming apparatus / 21...Image carrier (photosensitive drum) / 31...Developing means (developing roller) / 32...Developing container / 34...Agitating member / 40, 900, 991, 992, 993...Replenishing container (toner pack, toner bottle unit) / 51...Toner remaining amount detecting means / 56...Discharge detecting means (push-in detecting means) / 90...Discrimination means (controller) / 400...Display means (panel) / 45, 911...Holding means, storage medium / 912...Holding means, resistor / 913...Holding means, wiring pattern / 914...Holding means, shape pattern / 8012...Replenishing port

Claims (16)

A toner container,
a bag member for storing toner;
a discharge member formed of resin and having a discharge port for discharging the toner in the bag member to the outside of the toner container;
a shutter configured to be rotatable about a rotation axis extending in a first direction, where the direction in which the bag member and the discharge member are aligned is defined as a first direction, between an open position that opens the discharge outlet and a closed position that closes the discharge outlet;
a memory having a contact surface;
and
When a direction intersecting the first direction is defined as a second direction, and a direction intersecting both the first direction and the second direction is defined as a third direction,
the bag member has a shape in which the width in the third direction is greater than the width in the second direction,
the discharge port is provided on an end surface of the discharge member in the first direction,
the memory is attached to the ejection member so that the contact surface faces the second direction ;
A toner container characterized by: When the toner container is oriented in a predetermined direction in which the rotation axis is oriented in the direction of gravity and the discharge member is located below the bag member,
The outlet faces downward.
2. The toner container according to claim 1, wherein the toner container is a toner container. When the toner container is oriented in the predetermined direction, the discharge port is located below the mark.
3. The toner container according to claim 2. The image forming apparatus is configured to be mountable in the first direction,
the contact surface includes a plurality of metal plates each formed elongated with the first direction as a longitudinal direction and arranged with gaps between them in the third direction;
2. The toner container according to claim 1, wherein the toner container is a toner container. The contact surface is located farther from the rotation axis than the discharge port in a radial direction centered on the rotation axis.
5. The toner container according to claim 1, wherein the toner container is a toner container having a toner container body. the contact surface overlaps with the bag member when the toner container is viewed in the first direction;
6. The toner container according to claim 1, wherein the toner container is a toner container having a plurality of openings. The bag member is made of polypropylene or polyethylene terephthalate.
7. The toner container according to claim 1, wherein the toner container is a toner container. The bag member is made of paper.
7. The toner container according to claim 1, wherein the toner container is a toner container having a toner container. The bag member is made of a sheet having a thickness of 0.01 mm to 1.2 mm.
9. The toner container according to claim 1, wherein the toner container is a toner container having a toner container. The bag member is made of a sheet having a thickness of 0.05 mm to 1.0 mm.
9. The toner container according to claim 1, wherein the toner container is a toner container having a toner container. a cap for covering the discharge member;
The cap engages the discharge member.
11. The toner container according to claim 1. a cap for covering the discharge member;
The cap engages with the shutter.
11. The toner container according to claim 1. The cap restricts movement of the shutter relative to the ejection member.
13. The toner container according to claim 11 or 12. When viewed in the first direction, the memory and the outlet are aligned in the second direction.
11. The toner container according to claim 1. the shutter has a first recess recessed from an outer periphery of the shutter in a radial direction centered on the rotation axis toward the rotation axis,
When the shutter is in the closed position, the first recess is located on an opposite side of the rotation axis from the memory and the discharge port in the second direction,
When the shutter is in the open position, the first recess is on the same side as the memory and the discharge port with respect to the rotation axis in the second direction, and the discharge port is exposed through the first recess when viewed in the first direction.
15. The toner container according to claim 14. a cap for covering the discharge member;
the discharge member has a second recess formed at a position corresponding to the first recess when the shutter is in the closed position;
the cap engages with the first recess and the second recess when the shutter is in the closed position, thereby restricting movement of the shutter relative to the ejection member.
16. The toner container according to claim 15.